Whenever I have a sore throat I like to imagine that I sound like Harrison Ford. Not current-day Harrison, no, I’m talking classic Harrison. You know that moment in The Raiders of the Lost Ark when he looks right at the camera (Marion Ravenwood) and says “Trust me.”

Right there! That is my sore throat voice!

Of course, this is complete poppycock. I just sound like myself, but more nasally and rough.

I always expect more of my voice. I assume it can sound smooth, I also assume I can sing. Both things proven wrong many, many times. Yet, there is a chance if you drive alongside me you might see me singing in my car. I actually got in an accident once driving and singing to They Might Be Giants. I kid you not! And, forever after that, you could hear the moment of the accident in the tape. It is like a hiccup. That tape hiccup was my life flashing before my eyes.

Whatever the case, I have a little bit of a cold today. I’ll be fine, and I’ll spend the rest of my day happily imagining I have the world to save from Nazis.

Here is my list of the five awesome things I am into right now. This is a great list. Trust me.

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Episodes

We all want a Friends reunion.

Wait, let me correct that, everyone but the creators of Friends wants a Friends reunion. For them it was a story and now it is done, the character put away. For us (especially those of us near the same age and growing up with them) they were real characters and we miss them.

Episodes is my new addiction and in many ways it is probably the closest we will ever get to a real Friends sequel. Granted, it has none of the same characters and it is more adult (very much more), but it is created by David Crane who also created Friends. Which means some of the relationships and situations are similar to what you would have seen in that show. Plus, it is wicked funny. It is rare a show surprises me or makes me laugh out loud. Episodes does that. Do yourself a favor and track it down (like here on Amazon).

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

With the recent passing of Gabriel Garcia Maquez I wanted to do someone special for him on WKAR; so I will be reviewing Love in the Time of Cholera soon (once I get past this sore throat, of course).

To help with the book review (and my lack of skills around pronouncing other languages, especially names) I watched the movie version of it. While the movie is a mess (the script is like a “best of” collection of moments as compared to a well-structured story), the book is a wonder. I could not have loved the book more. I hope when I get some free time from other reading commitments to re-read One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Such an amazing author. If you have never read his material before, please do so. They rarely get better than him.

Mad Men

I am NOT a big fan of AMC’s decision to break the last season of Mad Men up over two years. It feels unfair to me the watcher, and it makes me wonder what kind of pressure it is putting on the writers. Matthew Weiner has enough to do with just around ending his great series, why add to his burden?

Whatever the case, it is a fun season so far and I am enjoying the clash of Don Draper’s world view with the youth culture. Jon Hamm is definitely playing the character of Don older and you can see it in how he stands and sits.

I really hope that Don Draper emerges a stronger person by the end of the show. For so much of it, he goes forward and then retreats into affairs and drinking. I want to see him become something more. Whatever happens, it was a fun run of the show… when it ends next year. (Argh!)

Christopher Moore

I really get a kick out of Christopher Moore’s books. They tap into that part of me that loves Douglas Adams, P.G. Wodehouse and Monty Python. Silly, smart humor with a lot of wit.

I’ll be reviewing his new book The Serpent of Venice (which you can find on amazon here) sometime in the future for WKAR, but in preparation I am reading the earlier book Fool. For those that don’t know these comedy works, they follow the adventures of a fool named Pocket, who first spends his time entertaining King Lear and mocking his daughters’ husbands.

Yes, he is THAT fool!

Part Shakespeare parody, part comedic skit, these books are a fun and bawdy treat.

Saskwatch

I love this band.

I discovered them thanks to my local college station, and I haven’t stopped listening yet. This Australian band is still finding their audience, but I can’t imagine them not being huge someday. The music has a Motown vibe kind of like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

They have two albums out, but only one is available in the USA so far (Leave It All Behind). Check out the song “Your Love” (like here) and you can thank me later.

Trust me.

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If you liked reading this post, why not check out one of my books? I’ve had four novels published in the last few years, A Jane Austen Daydream,  Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, My Problem With Doors and Megan. You can find them via my amazon.com author page here, or as an eBook on Google eBooks here.  Thanks for reading!

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