Seen, Read - January 2022

Taking inspiration from Steven Soderbergh, here's everything I watched or read in January of 2022.

All caps, bold: MOVIE

All caps, bold, asterisk: SHORT*

All caps: TV SERIES

Quotation marks: “Special” (stand up comedy, theater, etc.)

Italics: Book

Italics, quotation marks: “Short Story”

No formatting: Live event (sports, awards show, etc.)

01-01-22 - ENCANTO, Sugar Bowl
01-02-22 - NFL Red Zone, Cowboys vs Cardinals, HILDA AND THE MOUNTAIN KING, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
01-03-22 - LETTERKENNY (10X01)
01-04-22 - THE JUNGLE BOOK (1967)
01-05-22 - THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT (1X02), THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016)
01-06-22 - COBRA KAI (4X01), THE CHAPERONE*, STAYCATION*, THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT KILLER*
01-07-22 - THE CAMERAMAN’S REVENGE*, LICORICE PIZZA
01-08-22 - ANIMATED SELF PORTRAITS*, HELTER SHELTER*, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL*, Cowboys vs Eagles, STATION ELEVEN (1X01,02) 
01-09-22 - NFL Red Zone
01-10-22 - ASSHOLES*, GASLIGHT*, CFB National Championship
01-11-22 - THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES (2X01,02)
01-12-22 - THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT (1X03), LETTERKENNY (10X02)
01-13-22 - INSIDE OUT, SCREAM (2022)
01-14-22 - HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, STATION ELEVEN (1X03,04,05)
01-15-22 - Mammon: Book One: Titan, STATION ELEVEN (1X06,07,08,09,10), Baylor MBB vs OkState, Bengals vs Raiders, Bills vs Patriots
01-16-22 - PEACEMAKER (1X01,02,03), Bucs vs Eagles, Cowboys vs 49ers, THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES (2X03), SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE (1X01), DEXTER: NEW BLOOD (1X06,07)
01-17-22 - DEXTER: NEW BLOOD (1X08), THE MORNING SHOW (1X01)
01-18-22 - THE MORNING SHOW (1X02)
01-19-22 - THE MORNING SHOW (1X03,04)
01-20-22 - THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT (1X04), PEACEMAKER (1X04), THE MORNING SHOW (1X05)
01-21-22 - UGLY DOLLS, THE MORNING SHOW (1X06)
01-22-22 - DEXTER: NEW BLOOD (1X09,10), LETTERKENNY (10X03), THE MORNING SHOW (1X07), Packers vs 49ers
1-23-22 - Rams vs Bucs, Bills vs Chiefs, THE MORNING SHOW (1X08), THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES (2X04)
1-24-22 - SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE (1X02), ROBIN HOOD (1973), FRAGGLE ROCK: BACK TO THE ROCK (1X01,02,03,04), I HAVE BEGUN LITTERING*
1-25-22 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959), COBRA KAI (4X02)
1-26-22 - THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT (1X05), RAKKA*
1-27-22 - PEACEMAKER (1X05), INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE
1-28-22 - TIES*, HAND IN HAND*, KANDITTUNDU*, A ROOM FULL OF NOTHING
1-29-22 - THE KING’S DAUGHTER 
1-30-22 - Chiefs vs Bengals, Rams vs 49ers, THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES (2X05), SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE (1X03)
1-31-22 - THE WINDSHIELD WIPER*, NIGHT BUS*

I'm back exclamation point question mark space shrug emoji

Decided I'm gonna get back to writing in 2022. We'll see how long it lasts.

I started this blog back in 2005. It was called "Adventures in Pokedom," named after my online handle, Poke. This was before poke bowls were all the delicious rage, but not before poke shows were a thing. I think my dad bought at least one of the cars I drove in my teenage years at a poke show, but I'm sure I had no knowledge of the terminology. Poking someone on Facebook wasn't a thing yet. And a quick trip to Wikipedia (here in the year of our lord, 2022) has informed me that there was a website, a card game, a pastry, a pudding, a language, and a fictional character in the book "Ender's Game" that all existed before I started using the moniker. But I was completely ignorant of all of it...and a lot of other stuff, if we're being honest..

My pseudonym, Poke, referred to a sound my old friend Andy would make when we both worked as projectionists at a local theater. He was fond of walking around the fairly cavernous projection booth belting out "pock-eh-wow!" I would often be on the opposite end of the theater and hear that sound echoing past the whirling rims and rattling gears of the 35 mm film projectors (I'm old). The shibboleth was supposed to refer to the sexy guitar riff one might hear in an old movie when two consenting adults decided to engage in the type of activities that called for a sexy guitar riff. We were in our early 20's and very mature.

In the late 90's, we tried to start a film company. We called it Pokewow Pictures. Thus my first ever username on an internet message board was "pokewow." Other users began calling me Poke shortly thereafter. And, naturally, I adopted the shortened, easier to type nom de plume.  

Then Andy moved away. Then I moved away. Pokewow Pictures became Creative Name Filmgroup. Then it became Pink Guy Pictures. Then I started focusing on sketch comedy. Then I completely gave up on my dream of making it in the entertainment industry. And the film company, that was itself always more of a dream than a reality, died from neglect. 

But somewhere in there - between the birth of my dream and the death of my dream - I started blogging.

I don't know if I was ever actually good at blogging. "Adventures in Pokedom" wasn't the only blog I started - I think there were at least 20 over the years - nor was it the most successful - the sketch comedy-centric "The Poke Show" got a lot of clicks during its short lifespan - but it was the one that stood the test of time. The last post I made here was in 2015, a little over 10 1/2 years after my first post. And since I am bringing it back, albeit without the old name, I guess it really did stand the test of time. Also, it's a zombie now. 

In 2015, I reformatted the blog into site to showcase my video work to prospective employers. Then I got a great job in 2016. So, the site has pretty much just lain dormant since then.

Looking back at those old posts - they're all private now, and, no, I will not let you see my private parts - it's remarkable how much I've changed, and, also, how much I haven't changed (still making jokes about private parts). I imagine this means I will either be better at blogging now or exactly the same at blogging as I was before...the good news is that I won't be worse. Or maybe I will. I'm still very ignorant about a lot of stuff, and the future, as far as I can tell, falls under the umbrella of "stuff."

Here's a fun question:

Why?

I don't know. I woke up this morning with no intention of putting on my old "blogging pants." I thought it was more of a "just-get-through-the-day pants" kind of day. But then I decided to check a link on the blog to make sure it still worked (it did). And for some reason, I started writing. As I mentioned so long ago at the beginning of this longer-than-it-needs-to-be post, I want to write more in 2022. So that's my only answer - I made a vague resolution and now I have made a kinda, sorta first step to fulfilling it.

I guess you should come back in a few days to see if I keep it up.