Dean Haspiel's Newsletter #9
Happy 2020!
I bought myself a Smart TV for Xmas and quickly discovered that it came with TOO MANY CHOICES. After I gave the monolith my passwords, DNA, and keys to the car, I slumped into my old couch and tried to watch television. There is so much television. I started a new show and within eight minutes I turned it off -- BECAUSE I COULD. I tried other shows and became super finicky. If I didn't like a line of dialogue, a plot point or a background prop, I banished the TV show to the "meh" pile. Anybody who knows me KNOWS I abhor the term "meh." But, there it was: "Meh." And it had a pile. A pile that belittles an unending supply of television -- ON A WHIM. Never to give a show a second chance like how I gave SO MANY other shows that, ultimately, were more than worth my while when I just stuck with it.
Five years ago I threw season 3 of Game Of Thrones against a wall the hundredth time two people were in casual conversation while raping and beheading other characters. You read me right, I actually threw a physical copy of Game Of Thrones against the wall. If I hadn't purchased the media, I may have simply moved on to other TV shows, never looking back. But, because I bought the damned thing for my library, I let it sit in the corner like a dunce with a paper cone hat.
I'm glad I took a year off from Game Of Thrones because, when I returned to the show, I shrugged off all the hype and chatter (avoiding most spoilers), and I could watch it on my own terms sans interference like I did when we only had a few channels and half our programming were reruns (I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Star Trek, Batman, Superman, The Twilight Zone, Chiller Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents...). Back when people were much more forgiving and gracious about their "stories."
Modern TV has gotten sophisticated, layered, and eccentric. Seasonal rather than episodic. Which is amazing. But, now we have CHOICE OVERLOAD and I don't know how to navigate it. Nothing scratches a particular itch because every itch is being scratched simultaneously. I feel like I have cinematic psoriasis.
I stared at the controls of my Smart TV and wound up watching...nothing. Instead, I called a friend. Played with my cats. And, curled up with a good book.
(excerpt from Richard S. Prather's Kill Me Tomorrow, a Shell Scott mystery)
LATEST TRACKS: A week ago I discovered Haus Arafna, a minimalist electronic/industrial band from Germany formed in 1990. "The woman you are" is my current fave. I love everything they do. Their music is like a cross-between Throbbing Gristle and Swans.
Boney M flexes a funky kung fu dance while singing "Daddy Cool."
Watch a declining Elvis Presley overcome "Unchained Melody."
Listen to me and Whitney Matheson discuss the origin of her "Punch Journal" on Patreon.
OUTLIER ART: I was invited to contribute original pieces to "Welcome Home: Friends & Family" group exhibition featuring art by Krista Dragomer, Jen Ferguson, and a bunch of other local artists. Come check out my two new paintings: "Helicopter Parent" and "The Coney, Self Portrait" at the opening this Friday, January 17th from 6pm – 8pm at Sunny's Bar, 253 Conover Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231. On view through February 21, 2020.
See you on the waterfront.
--Dean
Read THE RED HOOK saga for free at Webtoon:
Season 1: THE RED HOOK
Season 2: WAR CRY
Season 3: STARCROSS
THE RED HOOK vol.1 New Brooklyn is also available at ComiXology
THE RED HOOK print series is published by Image Comics
Listen to SCENE BY SCENE WITH JOSH & DEAN, the podcast that breaks down American Splendor the movie, Josh Neufeld & Dean Haspiel's relationship with the late/great Harvey Pekar, and growing up in NYC learning to make comix in the 1980s & 1990s.
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