Not even going to bother.

  On a whim, I bought a collection of short stories based around the Carl Kolchak character from the old television movie and show. It's by a bunch of different science fiction/horror/fantasy/what have you authors, some I'm heard of and some I haven't. So far it's okay. Not terribly but definitely better than the other Kolchak-based fiction I read, C.J. Henderson's A Black And Evil Truth.

 Which in itself wasn't bad. It just didn't feel like a Kolchak story. Everybody liked Carl. Vincenzo was praising him. The local law wanted to work with him. Hell, he even got the hot babe who was also intelligent and charming. That's not Kolchak. One of the things that makes the character so intriguing is that he's on his own. His editors think he's more trouble than he's worth, the fuzz thinks he's a bug that should be stepped on, and he rarely has luck with the ladies.

 The other thing about modern takes on Kolchak is they have him in the 21st century with access to all the technology we have. Or at least the first decade, so maybe not smartphones with a television-grade camera. Still, it never sets well with me.

 Kolchak is a creature of the '70s and just doesn't work in any other time. For one, the media landscape today is totally different, and the new stories acknowledge things like multiple 24-hour news channels and web-based magazines. One thing that doesn't exist and hasn't for years is even big cities having multiple newspapers that can afford to send a reporter across the country.

 I watched some of the Kolchak revival from a couple of years ago. It was terrible. One of the reasons is it gave Kolchak motivation beyond getting a byline. It made him all dark and tortured by the past instead of wanting to get a better gig at a higher-rated newspaper. Everyone was too pretty in that early part of the 21st century way, too. Kolchak is a ruffled, middle-aged shlump with a stupid hat and one suit. He's also cowardly, just like all of us would be if faced with an Aztec demon or a vampire.

 What do you call this sort of fiction? It's not really fan fiction but it sort of is in spirit. It's as often as not a part of a brand. Back in the '90s, LucasFilm gave the world the Star Wars Expanded Universe that started out okay but lost me fairly quickly. The time between the end of the series and the TV movie gave the world a bunch of Doctor Who books, both with the Seventh Doctor and Past Doctor Adventures. Virgin Books had the license at first but after the movie, BBC got it back. It was... spotty. A lot of the early Seventh Doctor books were based on the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan" which saw a darker turn, more "sophisticated and mature," which meant more sex scenes.

 I liked the Big Finish Audios better, anyway. It's not quite the same thing as Scarlett or Poodle Springs or suchlike. There has been a metric ton of Sherlock Holmes fiction that's post-Conan Doyle and it's really not worth the effort. The Robert Downey movie was fun but it still made the mistake of making Irene Adler a love interest.

 Some of the post-Stoker Dracula fiction is woeful, especially the stuff written by his ancestor. Everyone assumes, one, Jonathan Harker was disgusted by Mina after she'd been attacked and, two, the focus of Dracula's desire was Mina. It was Jonathan, and he said if she turned to a vampire, let him be turned as well and then destroy both of them. I get worked up over this, I admit.

 To give credit where credit is due, I have thoroughly enjoyed William Meikle's revival of the Carnacki: The Ghost Finder. They're well-written and fairly true to the originals. William Hope Hodgson had only written nine of the short stories before his death in World War I, so there's a lot of room to expand. They do get a bit repetitive but Meike's managed to find different scenarios for the plots, so if you space them out, you're good.

 Well, I should wrap this up, I guess. If nothing else, I've spent most of the day watching Kolchak: The Night Stalker reruns on NBC's streaming service. It cuts out every now and then regardless of which browser I use. The wonders of modern technology at work, I reckon.

And every time I see him, he's just barely getting by.

  I don't really have anything today, so we'll just fill up space while we listen to Charlie Daniels. Too bad it isn't yesterday. I had a flash of inspiration and worked out the background basics of what I think would be a neat science-fantasy tale. It's essentially a Quantum Leap or Voyagers that doesn't involve making sure history goes "like it should" because history - and existence - is fluid. The Many-Worlds Interpretation plays into it, of course.

 Is Voyagers remembered at all these days? I loved that show. Brief synopsis for you kids. Male-model-as-pirate and Punky Brewster's older brother travel through history to make sure it stays on the right path. They have a little pocket watch-looking deal that glows green when everything's okay. It ran for 20 episodes back in '82-'83 and all I remember was the Pirate character (Bogg) saying something would work with "Does Marie Antoinette have great legs," and when pressed by the Kid he said "No, Marie Antoinette had terrible legs," and I've thought about that ever since anytime she comes up.

 It was actually fairly popular, particularly since it was up against the juggernaut known as 60 Minutes. Apparently, it was canceled so NBC could launch a competing news magazine show. The idea was something shifty had gone down at 60 Minutes as happens from time to time, and NBC thought it could snag that market. That 60 Minutes still broadcasts every Sunday evening shows how that worked out.

 Like I said, this was in '82 or '83, so I was seven going on eight when this broadcast. It's also roughly about the same time I saw my first Doctor Who serial - Pyramids of Mars, yes I remember - and the first time I saw Time Bandits. I'm assuming that's where my fascination with time travel and time, in general, came from. I'm currently reading a non-fiction book on the nature of time by Alon Halperin called The Network of Time. So far it's nothing new - to me, anyway - but it's been an enjoyable read, and I have a book featuring H.G. Wells as the protagonist on deck plus a non-fiction book that's particularly about the science of time travel.

 I have no idea why time travel has such a hold on me. I have no desire to revisit my own past and living in any historical time holds no allure. Maybe Nashville during the '70s, but that's about it. Also, one of the ways my protagonist realizes that history has gone awry is him noting that Hank Williams died in the plane crash that killed Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins rather than due to alcoholism somewhere between Knoxville and Canton, Ohio.

 Anyhow. I've spent the last half-hour reading about the 1982-83 television year, so I guess I should wrap this up. I can't really think of anything too interesting to get into. I got my second Pfizer shot yesterday, and I think I'm feeling some effects from it. Nothing heavy, just a general achy/shitty overall feeling. I got in touch with the guy who sold me the Lucky 13 that apparently got lost in the mail, so he's sending me a new one. Hopefully, it gets here Friday. The PowerDraw says it's still stuck in China, but it's got until May 10. I also broke down and bought a Special 20 in F because the music store in Tupelo didn't have one, dammit.

 I've gotten further into Dragon Age: Origins than I ever have. Those games require a lot of time and dedication, and really don't allow for much else. Regardless, it's an exceptional game. That's enough of that.

If I had a bead on what I need to make the moment last I just might try I just might try. I just might try.

  Anyone who's spent any time on Twitter knows that every other day or so, one person's tweet blows up beyond what they expected. The reason it blows up is usually because it lays out some trite "common sense wisdom" from someone who doesn't really need to go there and isn't bringing anything useful to the discussion. Half of Twitter tells them what kind of damnfool peckerhead they are while the other half argues for the same trite horseshit. Something about "not being the star of Twitter" goes in here but I forget how it goes.

 Anyhow, yesterday the big to-do was some woman who works for the NFL Network saying only hard-work and grind will bring success, she appreciates the time she worked for around 16 grand a year and has no time for those who won't put in the effort. What she neglected to add is that she's the heiress to some rich chili concern out of Texas, and was able to live at one of the three homes her parents owned while grinding it out at poverty wages. You never hear that part of the story yet it always comes up, and generally, the right-on's are one dropped spinning play away from bankruptcy at the best.

 Before we get too deep into this, I should note that I am extremely lazy. I might be the laziest person in Northeast Mississippi, which is saying something. I come by my laziness honestly. My momma was lazy and her daddy was lazy. Laziness is my heritage. When I'm on the job, I put in the work expected for the compensation promised. But if I ain't getting paid, I'm not going to bust my ass. You can hustle your way to the grave, I'd rather sit on my porch and pick my guitar while getting stoned.

 This has influenced my life. I busted my ass trying to "make it" as some sort of a journalist until around 27 or so, when I realized I was really no better off in the decade-plus of trying and was probably in worse shape. Maybe it was a lack of talent and skill. Maybe it was a lack of effort and gumption. Maybe it was bad luck, but whatever it was, the end result was killing me while breaking my heart.

 Part of the problem was that it's goddamn near impossible to make it as a freelancer unless someone else pays the bills until the ship comes in. This really didn't settle in until I read Hunter Thompson's first book of letters, The Proud Highway. Basically, he had to scrimp, save, borrow, and steal when he wasn't living off his wife, and this went on until basically, he got a big check for Where The Buffalo Roam. This was a double-edged sword because he became too famous to do his type of journalism. He's said he could've either gone back to being poor and hungry or just give in and play the role, and we all know how that turned out.

 I digress. Reading that, however, lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. Unfortunately, it came too late to do anything about the absolute burnout I had from trying to make a living as a freelancer while having to hold down kitchen and bar jobs just to be able to eat, much less afford what I needed to do the job. I wasn't having any fun and I see no point in not having fun. It broke my heart when I realized all this, and the pain was only topped by the deaths of my father and maternal grandmother.

 Now, I said all that to say all this. Work and grind are fine and there is something to paying your dues in any business. But unpaid internships, especially, are bullshit and you are due proper compensation for your labor. You should have the right to tell anyone who wants you to work for "exposure" to piss off because anyone who expects you to work for free doesn't have your best interests at heart. They will screw you over, and as likely as not, people arguing for "the grind" have someone else paying the bills.

 Okay, so much for all that. The situation in Jackson is finally getting more attention, though I'm still a bit stunned none of the lefty alt-news websites like Mother Jones or Alternet are doing anything about it. Common Dreams does have a nice piece on the situation published today, so do check it out.

 I still haven't got my chromatic harmonica. I went ahead and ordered another one off of eBay from a place called dreamharmonica. Another cheap one, of course, but the first one was a 10-hole and 12-hole or better harps are the ones to get, apparently. And, yes, I would rather Buy American but that wasn't in the cards.

 I started a nifty book. It's another short-story collection of people writing Sherlock Holmes fanfiction but the twist is the authors are teaming the Great Detective with Occult Detectives. Some are classic characters, like John Silence, while some are original creations. The first story has Mary Marston, the future Mrs. John Watson, as Holmes' partner. The really nice thing is they're portraying Holmes as someone who knows he doesn't get magic but doesn't shut down completely when faced with it because of logic or some such nonsense. There was a Doctor Who book with that premise and it always irritated me. It was especially irritating because another Doctor Who book had the Fourth Doctor team up with Arthur Conan Doyle in the Watson role. Those Doctor Who books between the end of the series and the Fox TV movie really weren't that good, generally.

 All right then.

Do androind dogs dream of electric squirrels?

Another entry of nothing much interesting. The dog is destroying a rawhide bone and I'm watching old "Doctor Who" episodes on dailymotion.com. It occurs to me that if time travel was actually possible, there wouldn't be any missing episodes. There is, of course, one school that says time travel is possible through different ways that I am no where near qualified to even begin to explain, but I highly recommend Kip Thorne's Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy as a easily understood if nevertheless demanding explanation of how all it works out. Regardless, none of 'em really allow one to travel to a point the past, for example, Great Britain in the 1960s. I feel I should point that out.

 For what it's worth, I've watched the first episodes of "The Dalek's Master Plan", "The Ribos Operation" and, as we speak, "The Marca Terror". I must admit, I prefer the old Who to the new stuff. Don't get me wrong, the new stuff is quality stuff and I enjoy it for the most part. However, it lacks the gonzo weirdness of the older stuff and takes itself way too seriously sometimes. Plus, darn it, I just do not care for all the relationship/family stuff. Just give me rubbery monsters, gibberish science and lots of quarries. My TARDIS, get off its lawn.

 Anyhow. I have some writing ideas I'm going to jot down while they're fresh. As I said elsewhere, I don't mind if someone takes these ideas and makes a groovy piece of media out of it. All I ask is you tell me where to find it and don't try to sue me if I ever get around to actually doing something with these ideas, if indeed they're worth doing something with.