Musings from the basement...

Writer who laments the lack of smart sci-fi like Blade Runner 2049 doesn’t understand smart sci-fi

November 16, 2017 0 Comments

I’m not keen on attacking other writers, and indeed, this should not be construed as an attach. Still, I can’t help but vent a little frustration at this piece from the Guardian, Has Blade Runner 2049’s failure killed off the smart sci-fi blockbuster? The writer (who I’m sure is a terrific guy) has great praise for Denis Villeneuve’s unexpectedly astonishing sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction cult classic, Blade Runner. I agree with him wholeheartedly about that. This was a visually stunning, thematically rich modern masterpiece of the genre, one that had me talking about it and chewing it on for days after, exactly as great speculative fiction/science fiction should. I expected nothing from it, in fact openly said they shouldn’t even make it when it…
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , , , ,

I don’t want Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show

November 16, 2017 0 Comments

Earlier this week, Amazon announced it had struck a $250 million deal to produce a multi-season Lord of the Rings series. As a lifelong fan of all things Tolkien, this is not minor news. The name is a little misleading, of course, as this won’t be a television adaptation of the famous book (which had already been adapted to film by Peter Jackson in a wildly successful trilogy). Rather, the plan, according to their press release, is to “explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring,” along with a potential spinoff series. That’s the part that gives me pause, especially in light of the fact that Christopher Tolkien, longtime guardian of his father’s literary legacy, has stepped down from the Tolkien Estate….
Read more

Books & Authors, Geek Stuff, Television

, , ,

The new Godspeed You! Black Emperor disappoints, until it doesn’t

November 15, 2017 3 Comments

I can still remember my reaction the first time I heard Godspeed You! Black Emperor (then stylized as Godspeed You Black Emperor!): “Sonofabitch, some bastards did it! Those crazy bastards did it!” And it was amazing. This was mid 1998. I had pulled some friends together for a semi-improvisational noise band called Slumbersigh. We played a few shows early that year, blasted some feedback at the audience, and called it quits before summer. During that stretch, I waxed poetic to the drummer about this sound I heard in my head, this musical thing I wanted to do but had no idea how to accomplish. Sprawling, seemingly endless instrumental songs that built slowly towards a raging crescendo, backed by strings and horns, with multiple guitars weaving…
Read more

Music

, , , , ,

Our nerdy nostalgia podcast has somehow reached 20 episodes

October 23, 2017 1 Comment

About a year ago, I had a terribly stupid idea that I pitched to a friend during a brief moment when I was out of my damn mind. It went something like this:   And that was it. I mean, not really. There was planning and this and that, setting up pages and feeds, yada frickin’ yada. All the boring behind the scenes stuff. But the gist of it all was, “Let’s do a podcast waxing nostalgic about the 1990s” … which was an odd idea for me, since I’m not a particularly nostalgic person. Look forward, says I. Behind is bullshit. But it seemed like a fun idea for a podcast to add to the Youtube stuff we’d be doing together, so why not?…
Read more

Geek Stuff, Promotions, Videos, Works by Eric

, , ,

An interview with yours truly on The Walking Dead, from 94.3 The Point

September 30, 2017 1 Comment

I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Nicole Murray from 94.3 The Point, a radio station here in New Jersey. I was in to talk about The Walking Dead (’cause a few years back I independently published a book on the show, natch). If you want to take a look — and you should, because my shirt is a wonderful shade of blue — then you know what to do.

Comics & Graphic Novels, Geek Stuff, Television, Videos

, , , ,