I haven’t blogged in a while, and many things have occurred in the past month that I would like to write about. So instead of numerous posts that could simply go on and on, I decided to make a package of random thoughts.
Bemidji
The wife and I have moved to Bemidji, where I have been hired as a reporter/copy editor for the Bemidji Pioneer. The job is going great, and I have gotten the chance to write some stories that I never imagined I would get to.
One story was about John Thavis, a retired journalist who lives in Bemidji who covered the Vatican for about three decades. He is a very interesting guy and had some great stories to share. He was in Rome promoting his new book when Benedict XVI resigned as pope.
I wrote the story and strangely enough the day it was to going to go into print also happened to be when the new pope was introduced. So I re-wrote the beginning of the story, and it was packaged with the new pope story in the Pioneer and also in my former paper, the Daily Globe (both are owned by the same parent company). I also wrote a reaction story for the issue as well. And I have never written a story on religion or religious affairs in my life.
The Return of David Bowie
I’m not a huge fan of David Bowie. I own “Ziggy Stardust” and the “I’m afraid of Americans” single which contains remixes by Nine Inch Nails. I have heard most of his albums from a decade of working in record stores. I have enjoyed them, but I never really got into his music like I have with other artists.
It was on the basis on some of my friends on Facebook posting about how great his new album that I decided to listen to “The Next Day” on Spotify. And I am impressed.
The album is interesting, funky and great. After being silent and not putting anything out for about a decade (his material in the ’90s and early ’00s did not interest me for the most part), Bowie has returned with an album I personally think is one of his best. From the first rack to the final, it is already a contender for making my “favorite albums of the year” list.
‘Star Wars’
I already wrote my initial reaction to the news that we, the people, are about to be bombarded with news “Star Wars” films. I was glad to hear that J.J. Abrams will direct the new one (not sure if he will do all three of the next chapters). His rebooting “Star Trek” was amazing. I actually enjoyed watching a “Star Trek” anything, rather than be annoyed by the franchise.
Rumors that Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher will return to their iconic roles. It would be cool to see. But I am skeptical after seeing the first 5 minutes of the last “Indiana Jones” film and turning it off because it was horrible. Sometimes we just don’t need our childhood character icons to comeback. If they can keep George Lucas from these films, they may be great. We will just have to wait and see.
There are more things to write about, but I’ll save them for later. I’ll try to post more often, hopefully on a weekly basis.
The JOE-DOWN 