Note: This was written before the most recent episodes aired.

Doctor Who

Who has returned for another season on BBC America with a new companion, Clara Oswald. I like Clara just fine, though I worry that she will become the new Rose to Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. I think the writing this season has been tighter, but the sentimentality remains, which, to me, is the biggest problem with new Who. Look, I watched the show back when I was a kid, and while I’m not the biggest fan in the world, I do love the character. I’m aware of his history, of the multitude of adventures he’s been on and the threats he’s defended against. I don’t need to have it yelled back at me in practically every episode. I feel like the show puts the Doctor on a pedestal, when it should be trying to crack that pedestal to pieces. And yes, you can make the Doctor badass or godlike or superhumanly clever, but show us that, don’t tell us all the time. I get weary of it. Still, I’m liking the mystery of Clara so far. I just hope there’s something more than that.

Community

I wanted to give Community a chance without Dan Harmon, but I feel like we’ve jumped into one of the alternate timelines from Remedial Chaos Theory. Not the Darkest Timeline, but the Most Boring Timeline. I was watching the show out of habit, I think, and it was three or four episodes into the latest season that I realized I wasn’t laughing. I was just going through the motions because that’s what the show seems to do. Its certainly lacking something and it’s hard not to label that as whatever Dan Harmon did. The best comment I saw about this came from someone else who said that they felt as if it were Community fanfiction rather than the real show. And I agree. Sad because this was once my favorite comedy on television.

Game of Thrones

Continues to be awesome. I have read all the books. Some of them twice, but my memory being what it is, the show still surprises me. And then there’s the places where it diverges from the book. I will always champion books over television–there’s just so much more on the written page, and television (like film) removes the great power of the imagination. However, I will say that seeing some of the scenes depicted in full color with capable actors is quite powerful, the best example being the most recent episode and Dany’s scene in Astapor. I loved that scene in the book, but watching it on television gave me chills. The show continues to be wildly popular, so I hope that it manages to continue through the end of the series (whenever that may be).

Mad Men

I know Mad Men isn’t for everyone, but this is one of my favorite shows on television. It’s pretty much unlike everything else being broadcast these days. It’s the closest thing to a novel, in terms of structure and pacing, that I’ve seen on television. And while the symbolism and meaning can sometimes be obvious, each episode seems layered so that you can continue to peel through those layers after the episode ends. Like every television show there are missteps, but Mad Men, for me, is a finely crafted series and you can see the care that goes into each episode. This season seems to be no different so far.

Supernatural

Say what you will about this series, but I’ve been a fan since I started watching it on DVD. I recently read something that said it should have ended with Season 5, and indeed that was a fitting ending for the series. However, with the possible exception of Season 6, the writers have managed to do an amazing job in my opinion of crafting interesting seasons since that build on what came before and expand and flesh out the world in interesting ways. And they have great opening titles. The last few episodes have been really great. And this season’s arc involves angels, and I think the angel mythology has been a really interesting part of the show.

I am thrilled to see that editor John Joseph Adams announced Dead Man’s Hand, a weird western anthology coming from Titan Books. My story, “Second Hand,” will be in the anthology, a continuation of the story begun in my Way of the Wizard story, “Card Sharp.”

I am even more excited to see all the amazing and talented writers who I’m sharing a TOC with. I have no idea how I ended up in this one to be honest. (Jeffrey Ford! Tad Williams!).

it’s not out for another year, but I can’t wait to see it in its finished form.

Also, I may be writing a related novel to the story in this one…

My birthday has always been a useful divider for me, and recently has become what New Year’s Day is for others, a day to kick off the next year or so of time, redefine goals, start a new path.

This year’s path is quite a doozy.

Due to various reasons which I won’t get into, this year brings with it some massive changes. For one, I’m moving out of my apartment. I’m moving out of New York City. This may not seem like that big a deal, but it’s been my home for the past seven years, and New York is among the short list of places (London, Seattle, parts of California) that have felt like home to me. I’m heading back to my home town, where my family still lives, to figure out my next move. I once told myself I would never go back, but sometimes you have to take a step backwards in order to find sure footing for the sprint ahead.

Distance-wise, it’s not that far from Manhattan, but it feels far. Especially without the benefit of NY public transportation and lacking a car. It will be…an adjustment. But it’s not forever. And it’s a safe place to be.

There will be some advantages. I will get to write more. I will be closer to job opportunities. The rest…well, we’ll see. But I’m optimistic that this is a step that will ultimately help me.

The path stretches out before me. Wish me a bon voyage and I’ll be on my way. But I’m pretty certain I’ll be back before too long. I’ll keep you all posted along the way.

Back to me again. My story, “Quantum Entanglement” which went out to Daily Science Fiction subscribers last week is now available to read, for free, on the internet. Having a story appear in January is such a great start to the year.

Hope you enjoy it!

I’m often aware that I spend way too much web space on self-promotion here. Which is why I’m happy to shine the spotlight on others when I can. Today I’d like to direct you to the story, “The Sounds of Old Earth” by Matthew Kressel, recently posted on the Lightspeed Magazine website. Matt’s in my writing group and we critiqued this story in the group. It started out as a great story, but Matt’s revisions took it into extraordinary territory. I think it might be the best thing he’s written (so far). I’m truly impressed by the power he managed to imbue into it. I would encourage everyone to read it if you haven’t already and please, if you’re part of the science fiction and fantasy community, don’t forget this story come awards season. It’s just that good.

Over at Tor.com, the Dresden Files Reread has reached book 7 in the series, Dead Beat. This one is the favorite of a lot of people I know. New posts go up on Mondays.

Finally, my Top Ten of Fantasy for 2012 is up at LitReactor. As usual, the frustrating part of making lists like this is that I’m limited by what I read, but I’m happy with the choices on that list. I’ve already picked up a few recommendations from other lists as well.

Hope you’ll check them out…

First up is Jim Morrison’s birthday. Jim would have been 69 today if he hadn’t died at 27. It’s odd to think that he was only born 2 years later than my dad. The Doors were huge for me when I was in college and I spent many nights listening to their albums.

Much more important to me, though, was John Lennon, who died 32 years ago today. I grew up with the Beatles playing in the house and My parents had bought the Double Fantasy album just a little while earlier. I remember being six years old and sliding the album out of its wrapper and putting it on the turntable. I must have scratched the shit out of that record, but I remember listening over and over again to (Just Like) Starting Over, Watching the Wheels, and my favorite, Woman. So when John was shot, I remember watching the news and my parents’ reaction and feeling like, in some way, I knew who this man was.

My relationship with John Lennon only became stronger as I got older and delved into both The Beatles and his solo work. He will always be one of my musical heroes and an example of how to be an activist and how to fight for peace.

I may have mentioned this before, but after he died, my mother took out the picture of John that came with the White Album (there was one for each Beatle) and she taped it to the back of her station wagon window. It got torn and battered, too, but I still remember sitting in the car and seeing so many people flash her a thumbs up, or beep or just nod their heads to her flying her flag.

I miss them both today.

However, I would like to point out that I put together a kind of Advent Calendar of Fantasy Fiction for LitReactor.com and it links to a free online story for every day leading up to Christmas. So check that out if you would like to read some really interesting holiday fiction.

I didn’t actually manage to pick up an Advent Calendar this year, and that’s okay. I’m doing things a little differently this year. However, could I afford it, I would have gone with this deliciously indulgent advent calendar full of whisky. I suppose it’s still early December. Someone could still get it for me, right? Of course that first night catching up would be a fun one…

First, though, I have to share that my middle-grade novel, which I’ve been working on for the past few years, was sent out on submission recently. In a rare moment of pride, I actually feel really good about this book. Fly confidently, little bird. I hope you find a home.

Next up, I’m doing a reread of The Dresden Files for Tor.com. So far the first five books in the series have been covered and new posts will go up every Monday until we get through the series. If you’re fans of the books or thinking about reading them, I hope you’ll give them a look.

Also Dresden-related, I wrote a review of the latest book in the series, Cold Days, also for Tor.com.

Finally, Diverse Energies is finally out. It contains my story, “What Arms to Hold Us,” but more importantly it has stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Paolo Bacigalupi, K. Tempest Bradford, Rahul Kanakia, and more. As mentioned here before, it’s dystopian YA stories highlighting diversity. I hope you’ll give it a read.

That’s all for now. More to come later…