I made promises and I didn't keep them.
I said I'd take a short break and be back soon.
And that did not happen.
So, all I can do is say, I'm sorry and I will do better in the future.
I haven't forgotten this blog, and I haven't forgotten any of you. I recently decided it's time to get back to this. And I am now doing so.
Full confession: I wasn't finished with It when I did the post on it. I was so excited to get it done that I just made the post and then stopped reading. So, in the spirit of being completist, I'm finishing it before moving on to another story.
In the year and a half that I've been letting this blog linger, four Kingian adaptations have been released. I saw It (which is what made me start pondering getting back to this) but have yet to see The Dark Tower (I'll wait for NetFlix) or the two NetFlix films, Gerald's Game and 1922, which I think I'll save for when I'm closer to reading those. I haven't read either book, so I'd prefer going in cold. It does likely mean that I won't be doing adaption entries for either one, however.
I absolutely loved Andy Muschietti's It, and it makes me think that sometimes my approach to these adaptations is a tad too devout. I'm treating them like they're holy writ or something, when really I need to focus on making sure the spirit of the work is kept. Muschetti's It absolutely had the spirit of the novel down cold, even if it changed a great deal. The Dark Tower, from what I've been given to understand, did not really understand the novel and thus presented something that only resembled it on the surface, which is about what I thought would be the case.
I briefly wondered about going back to change my casting for It to match the new film, but ultimately decided not to. I didn't cast the kids, and honestly, most of the adult characters I cast could easily be the adult versions of the kids in the film. Several of the side characters I cast probably won't even be included, and a few of them actually did appear in Muschietti's film, obviously not played by the same people I chose. Bill Skarsgaard did a commendable job as Pennywise, but I still kinda wish they'd gone with Doug Jones, who can literally become anyone or anything.
I also will not be re-shaping my Dark Tower series to to match the recent film. After all, it was a bomb, as I predicted it would be, so now a TV version that takes the source material more seriously can be produced.
But, I am back, and back to stay. I will be posting semi-regularly starting in the new year. In the meantime, there's a reader poll you can use to tell me how you feel about my long time away from this blog.
Welcome back. I saw your comment on Truth Inside the Lie, and I was happy to know you're still alive and well... well, presumably well enough to be blogging, at least. Last I remember you were starting a new job. I hope that's gone well, and the family situation. I did think about you from time to time, and even checked back in as recently as maybe a month ago (with decreasing regularity, I admit). You probably don't need my input on this, but the pace you were setting a couple of years ago, there's no mystery why you might have gotten burned out for a long time. It's perfectly fine to pace yourself on a project like this. You don't want extended layoffs, but if my memory serves, you were doing several posts a week, and while I really enjoyed them, even I was putting more time into it than I probably should have been. Anyway, I hope the last year and a half have been good for you. I look forward to participating again.
ReplyDeleteHey, man, good to know you'll be coming back, too! Your comments were always insightful and I'm glad you're here.
DeleteYou're probably onto something about my pace. The thing is, I'm an avid reader, and I'm reading something all the time regardless. I think I did start thinking of this as a "job" and that I had a responsibility to get these posts out in a timely fashion. Not actually having a job at the time, I think I just felt like I had to be doing SOMETHING in between interviews and hunting.
Anyway, I'm still gainfully employed in a job that I think I fit in very well. I can't say I spent literally all my time away fully employed, however. The job I talked about here was a contract position and that company was losing money and did not renew any contracts. The next job wasn't even a contract role; it was temping. I knew going in that I wouldn't be there long. But, I did get a job in December last year and I say with a smile on my face that I spent not one day of 2017 unemployed!