Analog Coast

Letting go of attachments

I don’t know how TV networks can justify to themselves this four or five month hiatus between episodes, in the same season of a series.

Yes, I’m probably wearing my old-man pants, shaking my cane-wielding fist to the sky. I’m probably the only one who sees something horribly wrong with this. But hey, this is my place.

FlashForward, you and I are quits. Everything that made the show compelling in the first place – the opportunity for water cooler talk, the speculation – that’s all gone. All I can remember is the horrible, horrible acting of Joseph Fiennes. Maybe when he acts in British, he’s okay, but I can’t get past his two looks: Grumpy and Dopey. Maybe the bar was set too high by Lost for me to enjoy you properly, but why can’t I expect a show that started out that strongly to remain that strong? I certainly have no qualms about saying goodbye to you, since you haven’t been on the air in two or three months.

V, I’m very disappointed in you. You wave Alan Tudyk under my nose, with the promise of reviving one of my favourite series from the 80s. Then you not only make him a bad guy, but you kill him off right away. I don’t mind any of the actors, or the characters. The pacing was all right, tending a little to the slow side of things. But you aren’t on the air right now, are you? You’re screwing around with your agenda, trying to squeeze the last little bit of market share. You’re doing this for all the wrong reasons. You’re not there to entertain people, you’re not even there to sell soap. You’re there to entice people to sell soap with numbers that are completely artificial. This is the same bullshit that got Kings canceled. Don’t think I don’t have my eye on you, ABC.

Glee, I don’t really care. I watched a couple of your episodes. But my wife is very much looking forward to you coming back. And you’re gone almost until summer. What the hell is that?

All of this is pretty much leading toward me not watching any more new dramas until they are out on DVD.

Last month, I was at the end of my rope. I was spending my workday working, the sliver after work and before the kids’ bedtime trying not to think about work, then after the kids were in bed working on another project. I was not being the husband, the father, the homeowner, or the dog owner I wanted to be.

I’d put off certain things as long as possible. My dishwasher was broken, things were piling up, and I had to make a decision. So, I made it. The only thing that could be cut out from my life was the work I was doing that wasn’t paying me any money.

I felt bad about leaving the team. They’re working hard and doing a good job on a project I think has real wheels. I also really enjoyed the work.

I feel like I’m catching back up with life, finally. The kids and I have been under the weather, so I might have a little more catching up to do, but I went back to playing ball hockey in the morning. I am (obviously) getting to spend a little time writing blog entries. Kim and I are spending more time together in the evenings after the children are tucked away in bed, and I have gotten back into practicing the guitar.

Actually, the last couple of nights, I have been working on exercises from A Modern Method for Guitar while Kim and I catch up on Lost.

I’m guessing I’ll have more to write about guitar in the coming weeks, as I manage to get my fingers working with my brain which I have to teach to work with my eyes when it comes to reading music. The reading music is coming back faster than I thought it would.

So, while I will miss working with the team from California on the project about which I’m never sure how much I’m allowed to say, I feel that the spare time I’ve gained has allowed me to grow into a more well-rounded person, a better father, husband, homeowner and dog owner. As well as guitar owner. They were feeling sadly neglected.

So I got them some company.

Say Hello to the guy in the middle.

Until I have more to say,

Liam