Wow, it's been ages since I wrote anything on my blog. The reason is actually pretty simple: I got a job. I've been working as a teacher for the last year. Indeed, my life has changed such that "northwest generalist" doesn't effectively describe where I am or what I want to write about anymore. So … Continue reading Don’t Worry! I’m Still Alive and Writing
Quarantined Review – The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
I've tried to write this review several times over the year or so since I've started this blog. At first, I wanted to delay the writing it of because if I started by writing a review of my favorite book, then where would I go from there? I figured that I would hold off on … Continue reading Quarantined Review – The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Quarantined Review – Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness
A Note From your Author: Hello! Sorry it's been forever since I wrote anything. Between grad school and the ever present job hunt, I've been busy. I've tried a few times, but nothing ever stuck. Until. Well...this. I have no idea how to begin writing this review. I'll start by saying that I very rarely … Continue reading Quarantined Review – Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness
So, Portland, Why Roses?
Well, it's that time of year again. Between May 24th and June 9th, the city of Portland, Oregon celebrated the annual Portland Rose Festival. Many folks observed the celebration by watching the famously floral Rose Parade, the second largest in the country. Others indulged in concerts, and other events through the two weeks. Come June … Continue reading So, Portland, Why Roses?
Heroes in Crisis – The Act of Talking
Author's Note: I didn't mean for both of my first two comic book pieces to cover the work of Tom King, but here we are I suppose... Event comics are tricky things. In one regard, they're the primordial soup of the modern superhero film. For instance, while most of Avengers: Endgame was an original story, … Continue reading Heroes in Crisis – The Act of Talking
Book Review: Fire and Blood by George RR Martin
"But it worked out all right for you, didn't it? It always does. If you were dice, you'd always roll sixes. Gods help the little people who are around when a big destiny is alive in the world, bending every poor bugger around itself... "- Terry Pratchett (by way of Samuel Vimes)A Song of Ice … Continue reading Book Review: Fire and Blood by George RR Martin
Movie Review – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
So I've been reading/listening to this book called Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind. It's a pretty gossipy tell-all piece of nonfiction about the rise of New Hollywood in the late 60s through to the 70s. Listening to that book has certainly been enlightening in some respects. But so far my main takeaway is … Continue reading Movie Review – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Nice House on the Lake – True Millennial Horror
The Theory of Generations is a term coined in a 1928 essay of the same name by Hungarian sociologist Karl Mannheim. The theory, which like any theory in sociology, psychology or...pretty much any social -ology, is limited but in brief it basically describes a "generation" as being a cohort of people who develop relationships and … Continue reading The Nice House on the Lake – True Millennial Horror
Star Wars: Andor – First Impressions
Welcome back to Midlands Generalist, the blog where we talk about currently airing genre TV. That's our brand now. That's what happens here. Oh well, at least it sort of motivates me to get stuff out in a timely manner. Anyway, this week we're talking about Andor, the newest Star Wars streaming series out of … Continue reading Star Wars: Andor – First Impressions
The One Part of the Rings of Power that Bugs Me
So there's this article from a satirical news site called Clickhole. It came out four years ago but it keeps coming up on social media. Like a lot of these joke articles, I get the feeling that very few people have actually read the piece, but the headline is clever enough that the article was … Continue reading The One Part of the Rings of Power that Bugs Me
House of the Dragon – Initial Impressions
Well crap, I guess I'm just a mark for this stuff, aren't I? Game of Thrones is probably the greatest story of Hubris in modern television history. It was an unprecedented and sprawling fantasy epic that was greenlit at the apex of the so-called "Golden Age of Television." The show received glowing reviews early on … Continue reading House of the Dragon – Initial Impressions
Undiscovered Country and Art from Trump’s America – A Comic Book Essay
A Note from Your Author: Greetings Fellow Travelers, I wrote this back in June and just sort of left it to sit. I'm publishing it now because the school year is starting and I want to say I wrote something in the last two months. I hope you enjoy. I'm a fan of pro wrestling, … Continue reading Undiscovered Country and Art from Trump’s America – A Comic Book Essay
Digital Comics Re-Examined – Seven Months Later
A while back, I wrote a pair of pieces about several new digital initiatives in the comics industry. I talked about the growing rise in creator-owned content on the Substack platform, partnerships between major creators and digital publishers, and a pivot towards new mediums of distribution for more traditional superhero stuff. Well it's been seven … Continue reading Digital Comics Re-Examined – Seven Months Later
Movie Review – The Northman
Robert Eggers is probably my favorite filmmaker working today. With only three movies under his belt, he's already established himself as a noteworthy talent and possessed of a distinct voice. What's more that voice is saying things are, to me specifically, super interesting. All three of his films, The Witch (sometimes stylized as The VVitch), … Continue reading Movie Review – The Northman
A Rambling Non-Review of The Batman
So this is a format that I tried with Dune, but never got around to posting. Basically, I'm going to try and put as many of my random, meandering thoughts down onto digital paper about this movie. Because I think The Batman is an interesting moving picture show. It was actually really quite good in … Continue reading A Rambling Non-Review of The Batman
Batman: Wayne Family Adventure – The Future of DC Comics?
So last time, we discussed how one creator and one company are riding a trend in the modern comic book industry by treating digital comics as the main course instead of a side dish. This time, we're going to talk about one of The Big Two, DC Comics, and the comic that's acting as a … Continue reading Batman: Wayne Family Adventure – The Future of DC Comics?
Midlands Generalist 