CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (Wolfman/Pérez, 1985)

in

Long on my to-read list (decades, at this point), I finally finished CRISIS last night and remain perplexed – not necessarily by the story, but by my feelings towards it. Initial reaction: a gorgeously illustrated (what a talent, what a loss) historical document with too many one-note action figures (as was DC's wont back then; they were, if nothing else, devoted to the archetypal/mythological portrayal of their stable) whose impact is still being felt, for better or for worse – and will continue to be felt with every uni/multiversal company-wide crossover in any medium from now until the end of time – and was, judging by my complete sense of indifference to the fate of numerous (hundreds, according to the annotations / backmatter) characters and heroes, required to breathe new life into the DC Universe. It was – and remains – DC's only reboot of necessity.

My reading of CRISIS also demonstrated not only its likely narrative impact on the readers of its time but the seismic shift heralded by the arrival, not even a year later, of Moore's WATCHMEN and Miller's DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and YEAR ONE – come to think of it, I'd recommend anyone wanting to get a good grasp of '85-'86 in comics to read all three of these. Would prove illuminating.

Still, though, I wish I could read it as more than a historical document. Maybe next time.

newsletter sunday 0092

in

43°F, rain: Turkey surgery performed yesterday turned out fine, entrails duly removed, Mr Bean watch/turkey episode avoided, narrowly. Suppose it was comforting that I was handed a knife as soon as I entered my in-laws' home. Holidaze, such and such... also comforting: brief reunion with my mother's cat, Pumpkin, who remembered me and proceeded to purr and do all sorts of cat-affection things. We also engaged in our regular boxing match; he won. I wish he wasn't the only aspect of my mother that I miss but such is life... MacroParentheticals0092 arrives in t-minus two hours, give or take. NASA I am not.

links_2022w48

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A new Saturday thing: a compendium of links I've posted to Mastodon throughout the week as a way to wrap up. If I could figure out a way to automate the Mastodon -> Obsidian doc workflow, that'd be grand, but this was pretty simple. Anyways.

systems collisions etc

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Still working out (or wasting time with, IDK, probably both) the PR->Micro->Masto relationship. Tried going full-tilt Micro and making this space static yesterday but I realized I like the look (and URL naming conventions) of this space and all I've built here with all the weird collisions too much to let it slip into stasis.

That said, I like the ease of posting to Micro and, by extension, through to Mastodon. (I also like the ease of Mastodon verification via Micro-posting/siloing. )

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is utterly brilliant and my favorite film I've seen this year; I reiterate yesterday's panegyric to the divinity of Michelle Yeoh.

I found a throwing hatchet on the road yesterday and I haven't thrown it yet but I will. Only not at today's in-law gathering.

the morning's attendance card, a sketchy me in a meditative state surrounded by swirling people and partially cooked birds. dead turkey day, round two; happy to those who celebrate.

spacestreamthinking

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Post-Muskian social reshuffling continues: added Micro.blog back into the mix to create a Micro->Masto stream of in-betweens and decided, after much rethinking via writing a far longer and less decisive piece this morning and deleting most of it (leave it to writing it out to figure your way through) to give you only the results – those results being that this space will remain the home for all longform writing and projects and news directly related to those projects (read: 500+ characters; these daily things being a both a project and writing, an indelible part of my writing practice ) while the Micro->Masto (it helped me to recognize that they should be thought of as a single entity in my usage) stream is the social stuff, the random thoughtlets throughout the day – like how yesterday was the most relaxing Thanksgiving I've had in 20 years and how we're currently halfway through EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and how the film is conclusive evidence of one of the foundational truths of this or of any universe – one that we must agree upon to remain friends –, that Michelle Yeoh is a goddess whose every moment on screen is a gift though that wasn't one of yesterday's published thoughtlets but is, nonetheless, etched in the ephemeral stone of my adoration of run-on sentences (itself a foundational truth of my universe) and Michelle Yeoh so / ok / thanks / bye / the day awaits.