The Abyss

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The Abyss (1989): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finally got around to watching the new 4K release of The Abyss (the Special Edition cut, of course). Happily, it still holds up, and remains solidly in my list of favorite films. Even though I’ve seen it many times, know the story, and can quote quite a bit of it, I still found myself getting pulled in. The characters are fun, the claustrophobic tension is great, and the expanded details and characterization make the special edition well worth the extra time. And, of course, finally being able to have a high-quality copy is a real treat.

Long-time favorite quotes:

Hippy: “I got to tell you, I give this whole thing a sphincter-factor of about 9.5.”

Lindsey: “So raise your hand if you think that was a Russian water-tentacle.”

Lindsey (again): “We all see what we want to see. Coffey looks and he sees Russians. He sees hate and fear. You have to look with better eyes than that.”

Dune: Part Two

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Dune Part: Two (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Absolutely gorgeous, from start to finish, landscapes and production design both. I do kind of wonder if the Harkonnen designs were intentional homages to Giger’s work on the designs for Jodorowski’s aborted attempt. At some point I’ll want to find time to watch both parts back to back (maybe after Messiah comes out I’ll make it a trilogy marathon).

Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold

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36/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1995 Hugo Best Novel

Complex in both story and character, this becomes an excellent exploration of the differing personalities of the Vorkosigan brothers in the midst of military adventure and political maneuvering. As with the rest of the series, it’s Bujold’s ability to craft realistically flawed characters, some in very serious ways, while still making them relatable, believable, and often quite funny, that really makes these stand out. Though most of the books in the series are written to be readable on their own, this is one where I’d definitely recommend reading earlier books first.

Me holding Mirror Dance

Uncanny Magazine Issue 58 edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, and Monte Lin

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35/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Favorites this month were “Happily Ever After Comes Round” by Sarah Rees Brennan, “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou, “Markets of the Otherworld” by Rati Mehrotra, and “Hands Like Gold and Starlight” by K.S. Walker.

Me holding Uncanny Magazine issue 58 on my iPad

Year 50 Day 366

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Me, a white man, bald, with greying red beard, wearing glasses and a black t-shirt, against a white background.

Day 366: Oh, you thought this ended with day 365? It’s a leap year, so there’s an extra day!

However, this does bring an end to my project of a photo a day for my 50th year. While as with any year, there have been both ups and downs, overall, it’s been a pretty decent one. Semi-randomly selected highlights of the year included:

So that’s it for year fifty! Now on to fifty-one!

(Though without the photo-a-day project…I’ll still post photos, of course, but not daily. The real trick will be seeing if I can keep up blogging regularly without having this photo project to keep me going.)