Entertainment Blues

I am an entertainment junkie. I live for the next great movie, cd, or video game. But the winter months are not only a winter for nature but a winter for the entertainment industry as well. There are no new movies, no new cds, and no new video games I want to see, hear, or play. I figure with the ongoing writers strike, this is soon to be how it will be all the time. This makes me sad. Really sad. You would think that because of this, I would explore other venues and find new ways to entertain myself. To some extent this is true. I've started to write poetry and short stories again. I am reading a lot more. I am writing a lot of music (although not any more than I have at other times). And though all this is good for me and I enjoy it, sadly, I still yearn for the entertainment industry to get rolling again. I'm trying to figure out why this is. I have concluded that it is one of two possibilities. 1) I am lazy and would rather be entertained than entertain myself or 2) I am really excited about what this year has to offer in entertainment. I think it is a combination of both but I lean more heavily towards the 2nd. These are the things I'm most looking forward to this year. (Warning: I am a nerd.)

In movies: The Dark Knight-The sequel to Batman Begins with what looks to be an amazing performance by the late Heath Ledger. Who would have thought that anyone could fill the shoes of Jack Nicholson when it came to playing the Joker? Heath Ledger's interpretation of the Joker is different from Nicholson's in that when the Joker is on screen, you won't laugh as you did with Nicholson. Ledger's Joker is serious and menacing and insane. Throw in the all-star cast from the last movie and you have my 10 bucks come July.

In music: Anonymous-The sad thing about this year is that none of the bands I really like have announced release dates for their new albums. However, many artists are due for the "two-year rule" which is my assumption that every band should come out with a new album every two years which seems to be the norm with most bands. The artists due for albums according to the two-year rule are: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flaming Lips, Coldplay, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Morning Jacket, Sigur ros, Beck, The Strokes, Muse and Pearl Jam. Enough said.

In video games: The video game I am most looking forward to this year is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. This video game follows the adventures of Darth Vader's secret apprentice and much of what you will do during the game is hunt down the remaining Jedi who did not get killed during Episode 3. How awesome is that? Pictures of the game show Vader's apprentice holding his lightsaber behind his back, as if he is so awesome, he doesn't have to hold it in front of him. It comes out in April and I can't wait.

So basically, when a person knows what is coming to them in the near future, it makes it all the harder to endure these long winter months. I guess I'll just have to keep hoping for an early spring.