Author: Karel Kerezman

  • House of Clubs

    You have a weekend to burn, and you’re planning a viewing marathon of a TV show on Netflix. If that’s your thing, who am I to judge? Perhaps I can help you make a decision, however, on what show to watch.

    The first season of Netflix’s version of the show, “House of Cards,” totals 13 episodes at just under an hour per episode, give or take. The only existing season of the anime, “Ouran High School Host Club,” totals 26 episodes at about twenty three minutes per episode, if you don’t skip the theme songs and previews. The run lengths balance out, more-or-less, for each show’s initial season outing.

    “But Karel,” I hear you asking, “what is it about either of these shows which would make me choose one over the other?” Well, let’s put it this way:

    One show centers on a group of rich and powerful people who use their money and influence to shape the world according to their whims, leverage the media to fashion narratives of their choosing, trample the fourth wall, shamelessly exploit taboo behaviors, and engage in complex schemes which would never actually come to fruition in the real world.

    The other show, of course, stars Kevin Spacey.

  • Soon No Longer To Be The Ultimate Answer

    Four weeks from now, I cease to be the Ultimate Answer To Life, The Universe, And Everything.

    I don’t know what the number 43 is. Wikipedia doesn’t give me anything interesting to go on. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?

    Enjoy it while it lasts, eh? Oh, and if you’re considering buying me things to ease the passing of this most momentous time in my life, I’m okay with that. Totally not required, mind you. It’s not like I have spent a lot of money on anybody outside my immediate circle in a while. (Hey, maybe my finances will settle down a bit more so I can change that…)

  • Starting A Thing

    Last night I began assembling ideas and “locations” and characters and plot beats for a writing project. I can’t promise anything grand, but I woke up this morning and didn’t immediately say to myself, “What a terrible idea, what was I thinking?” so maybe there’s hope for this one. We’ll see.

  • Accentuate The Positive

    I exercised more, and I ate junk food a lot less, thus I became a bit healthier.

    I even lost a few pounds, and a few inches around the waistline.

    I won not one but two raises (with additional responsibilities, mind you) at my job.

    I maintained the most important relationships in my life.

    I kept the drama levels low.

    I completed a public writing project.

    I feel like, even though 2014 wasn’t very good to very many people, I did the best I could this calendar year.

    I have no regrets going into 2015.

  • Ablative Pay Increase

    Ablative Pay Increase: The raise you receive at just about the same time as costs go up in every other part of your life, such that you actually end up taking home less money every month but hey, it could’ve been worse, right?

  • Dreamer Denied

    Here’s a new one on me: I spent a night of dreams romantically pursuing someone. Nope, no idea who, seems to be someone made up out of whole cloth by my dreaming brain. It certainly doesn’t correlate in the slightest to anyone I know. (Everyone may now breathe a sigh of relief!) Also, it was purely romantic, all those goopy gushy puppy-dog-eyes feelings. The frustrating part, though, was how things would seem to be going well and then, at some crucial moment, I’d jump into my mouth with both feet and make a mess of things with the dream-person.

    Yeah, how would you like to experience that, over and over in the span of a few hours?

    That’s not the entirety of the dreaming, mind you. There was also something to do with a book-and-music store with hidden treasures, some kind of festival, and other interesting scenarios for which the details have already mostly faded. Those parts were nice. But they’re not the parts which are sticking with me now that I’m awake. Go figure.

    What do you expect from pizza dreams, eh?