Stuff that's gonna rule in 2005

Ok, after reading my previous post I have officialy scared myself. So very cynical! What happened to the cheerful, upbeat, happy-go-lucky Moondog? Well, the easy answer is, George W. Bush happened, but heck, that's no reason to wallow in despair. So what if we're all terrified riders in a careening shopping cart bouncing around the lip of a volcano? Does that mean we can't have a little fun? I believe that we can, and indeed, probably should. Why? Why should we have fun in the face of impending globo-political disaster? To answer this question, I must tell an old zen story from about 2000 BC.

Seems a zen holy man was being hunted by ignorant villagers and bandits who believed he was a witch. They chased him out of town and, to escape them, he cut off the road and began climbing a cliff. Unfortunately, they had a tracker and soon, the holy man was halfway up the cliff with bandits climbing up after him. To make matters worse, he looked up and saw 12 more bandits at the top of the cliff, climbing down to get him. He shifted his grip on a rock and suddenly an angry bird started pecking at his fingers. At this point the zen master spied a wild stawberry growing out of the cliffside. He smiled, and with his one free hand, picked it and popped it into his mouth, and enjoyed it.

That's the story.

Now, there are zillions of interpretations about what that story means (as with any zen tale), but what I take from it is, if you're in the shit, and you've done what you can, and the shit is still rising, then hell...eat yourself a strawberry. For me, pop culture is my strawberry. Movies, tv, books, video games, and so forth. If I'm stuck halfway up the cliff, then damn, I'm gonna play some Half-Life 2.

Good pop culture due this year:

Movies: King Kong. Do you really think Peter Jackson is gonna ruin his follow up to Lord of the Rings? Neither do I. Can't wait. I think Domino, a movie scripted by Richard Kelly, the Donnie Darko guy, is also going to be great. Apart from that, i'm looking forward to Star Wars and the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Then, of course, theres the new Spielberg War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise which should kick booty. War of the Worlds, man. That's good stuff.

Books: I'm eagerly awaiting A Feast for Crows, the new George R.R. Martin fantasy tale. It comes out July 19. I also want to Read Jonathan Strange and Doctor Morrell. There's a memoir being written by Colin Powell which should be pretty fascinating.

TV: 24 starts this Sunday, and I'm anticipating Jack Bauer kicking all kinds of ass. Lost is the best thing on TV, and I'm REALLY looking forward to Hurly's backstory. I think the fat man has all kinds of interesting secrets.

Videogames: Jade Empire is a role playing game set in ancient China (perhaps it has zen priests) which is supposed to be absolutely fabulous. Apart from that, I'm waiting for the Xbox 2 announcement in march. That thing is going to rock.

Music - there's a new Lyle Lovett cd due out this year, and a new Aimee Mann as well. Can't wait.

Well, that's what comes to mind on january 5th. I'm sure that by May 1st, there will be all kinds of new things on the list. We shall see. For now, it's Tuesday and there's a new episode of Lost. Pass the strawberries.