(This is Excellent Things!, a monthly occasional feature in which I write about things that are excellent, or at least pretty good)
You would think, after existing some 150 years on this planet (longer than the horseless carriage!), that I’d stop attempting to dedicate myself to any sort of monthly project. I am simply unable to maintain it. A combination of ADHD, a lousy memory (also because of ADHD), and procrastination (also also because of ADHD) gets me every time, and I already know this. But I keep trying to find that miraculous task that will finally make it happen.
Anyway, here’s volume 2 of Excellent Things!, which I claimed was going to be monthly, but I haven’t actually done since last October.
I suppose the most excellent excellent thing is that I’m writing a book! No, this is not the first time I’ve tried to write a book! I have neither a contract, or an agent, and possess only the most ephemeral connections to the publishing industry, whatever’s left of it! In fact, I have no expectations whatsoever that this will ever be published other than by my own two hands on Amazon! This will be a wonderful use of my free time for sure.
Nevertheless, this has been an idea that’s been germinating for over a decade now, bringing together two of my favorite things to talk about: mental health and pop culture. Around the end of this past year I just decided out of the blue to finally start the damn thing, and it was officially underway the first week of this year. It’s…coming along. My two primary issues at this point are simply staying on task, which, due to the previously mentioned ADHD, affects nearly everything in my life, and issues of scope. There have been a lot of absolutely unhelpful, inaccurate, and outright inflammatory portrayals of mental illness in media, so the question is what do I narrow it down to? Should I write an entire chapter on why I absolutely loathe As Good as It Gets, or how Split, despite being a terrible depiction of dissociative identity disorder, is actually a pretty good movie? There’s a lot of ground to cover, and trying to cover all that ground when you have the attention span of a toddler is…challenging.
When I’m not actively working on the book, I am thinking about it, though, and researching and compiling notes. So I think it’s fair to say that even when I’m not typing I’m technically “working on it.” These are things I tell myself after I’ve designated a whole evening as “writing time” and only manage a paragraph. But, again, it’s coming along. I’m making some plans for a few DIY writing retreats, and have a medium to hard goal of having a workable first draft by the end of the year, even if it means having to put aside other things I enjoy doing. I know that seems like a long time, but, people, I reiterate: there is a lot of ground to cover. This thing is going to end up the size of the New York City White Pages (kids, ask your parents) if I don’t rein it in.
I won’t recommend writing a book, because it’s hard and very time-consuming (and that’s way before you get to all the publishing and promotion bullshit, ugh), but I will say that if there’s some sort of creative endeavor that you’ve been kicking around inside your noodle for a long time and just need a push to do it, here’s one: do it, because even just taking the first step to making it happen is an excellent thing!
Over at Kill by Kill, we’re continuing to hilariously lose the original plot of the show, as our recent episodes have been dedicated to such dubious works of art as KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park and the video for Rebbie Jackson’s “Centipede,” a song only people of a certain age (old) will remember. For February we’re covering erotic thrillers, which means finally getting around to the aggressively unsexy Body of Evidence, which expects the audience to believe that Willem Dafoe, who looks like he built his own sex dungeon from the ground up, is shocked by the idea of candle wax on nipples kink. It’s a terrible movie, but talking about it is an excellent thing!
At The Spool, I finally checked something off my very long “I’d Do This if I Was Less Self-Conscious List” by conducting my very first interview, and managed not to make an entire ass out of myself! Well, a little, when I was fumbling around trying to record it on Zoom. But overall it was a very positive experience, and the subject, director Joe Lynch, couldn’t have been nicer (or more patient). I also threw together a list of weird takes on the plot of Frankenstein, which meant digging up 1985’s The Bride, one of the last attempts at making Sting a movie star. In addition to that, I reviewed FX’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, which, having designated myself a Truman Capote expert, I found pretty good. Check them out, because thoughtful pop culture writing is dying in favor of AI and that is NOT an excellent thing!
On a personal entertainment front, I haven’t been digging in as much there as I would like to, because of the whole focusing on this book project thing and having no time management skills. I did enjoy reading Maria Bamford’s all too relatable Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, and Rob Harvilla’s 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, a book based on a podcast I haven’t listened to one minute of, but will certainly start now. I’m also all caught up on True Detective: Night Country, a show that on its own merits is pretty good, but I’m enjoying mostly because of Jodie Foster getting the chance to be a miserable asshole to everyone she encounters (and a sex scene at 60! What!). She really looks like she’s having the time of her life, and that’s an excellent thing!
Finally, have you tried those almond cookies Trader Joe’s sells? The ones that are shaped like little windmills? Well, you should, because they’re an excellent thing!
How about you? What are some excellent things in your life lately?