Yes, I'm Still Here

For those of you who may have wondered, yes I'm still here. I'll admit, I've been quite neglectful about posting. What can I say? My mind has been elsewhere.

For now, here's a very quick update about things I've read and seen. I truly do hope to resume more significant posts in the future.

I'm currently reading The Passage, by Justin Cronin. It does live up to the hype. I'm totally engrossed, up late turning pages. This is a good thing. I've been looking for a book this absorbing for some time now. That's not to say that some of my recent reads haven't been good. In fact, I've read some superb books, including Kraken by China Mieville and The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi; both are excellent, if dense and demanding, books.

I haven't been to many movies but I did see Toy Story 3 and was tremendously impressed. This was nearly a perfect movie and one that worked on many levels. I think that the Toy Story trilogy may be one of the best film trilogies of all time -- none of the films is weak, and each sequel builds upon the past to make a satisfying whole. I hope there will never be another Toy Story film; the story is complete and very satisfying. Bravo to Pixar for another amazing film!

There have been many, many good things on TV. Too many, really, to list in any detail. Special mention, however, goes to Treme on HBO. The series started slow and seemed, at times, to wander a bit. But in the end the show proved to be one of the most sophisticated pieces of television entertainment I've ever seen. Superbly written, directed and acted, Treme was an intricate and meticulous study of people coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst disasters in United States history. Wonderful reviews have been written about the series, most better than anything I could do here. One of the best was this one by Myles McNutt. Go read it.

I wish I could write more but other commitments are pulling me away. I hope to post again soon.

Take care!