Netflix and Literature and Camelot, oh my!

Hello!

I have two topics I want to address.....maybe three.

First,
How addicting is Netflix? Quite a dang lot, is the answer, at least in my case. I've found myself in front of the television for more hours than I'd like to admit in the last few weeks binging on shows like Supernatural, Lost, and Walking Dead.  It's a little frustrating, because I never used to be this person. You know, the one who watched Lost when it was actually still relevant? I didn't have much access to television as a teenager, and so I filled my time other ways. But lately I've found myself with an excess of empty afternoons, and the lure of unlimited streaming.

There's a Doctor Who episode called "The Idiot's Lantern", the title referring to, you guessed it, a television set. I don't want to follows the glow of an idiot's lantern. While I'll be the first to acknowledge that there are brilliant writers out there bringing us multi-faceted characters, witty dialogue, and twisting plot lines, I don't enjoy the inherent passivity of watching television. There's a time and a place for television: to relax, to socialize, to see what the buzz is about zombies. I'm sure as heck not giving up my Netflix subscription. It has documentaries! But I've made a conscious decision, witnessed here, that I want to cut back on my media intake. It needs to be a non-priority in my life. I'm not going cold turkey, and if I relapse, so be it. It's a commitment to be made on a daily basis.

Second,
How awesome are books? In filling the vacuum left by cutting out Netflix I've read three books to completion in the last three days, one of which I've been meaning to get around to since high school. The Unpersuadables by Will Storr promised me "Adventures with the enemies of science" and it certainly delivered. Some of the personalities visited by the author claimed to be abducted by aliens, others would tell you what lives you'd previously lived, and some have spent their entire careers fighting for non-traditional medicines. The main thing I got out of this was a reminder that my viewpoint is one of billions, and all of us are wrong about something, although the ego-inflating biases I carry within will vehemently deny this.

Around the World in Eighty Days was pure delight. I'm not a huge Jules Verne fan, but this book is full of laughs and misadventure and it's no surprise that they've made it into a musical. (I'm glad to have seen it.) The chapter titles are priceless, and it's always fun to remember that 19th century Europeans were kind of obsessed with Mormons.

I could do a whole post on Kim Stolz's Unfriending My Ex. The writing style is very casual, but the subject is one I feel strongly about: social media and the effect that it has on our lives, specifically pertaining to my generation. Addiction is a strong word, but it's one I would use to describe how we cling to facebook, texting, and all manner of instant communications. I'm not great at condensing my thoughts, and I have a multitude of them running through my mind, so I'll just say that I think we could all benefit from putting the smartphones down in exchange for time with a friend or solo reflection.

Books are the bomb.

Third,
How excited am I to tell you about my new show? !!!! (Four exclamation points worth, apparently.) I'm two weeks away from opening Camelot at the Empress Theatre in Magna. I'll be appearing on Monday, Friday, and Saturday nights as Lady Catherine, and I'd love to see you all there! What is included, you ask? Frolicking, sword fighting, and marital infidelity, to name a few things. The singing and dancing ought to be taken for granted. We run September 12 through October 4, and it's the highlight of my life.

That's all for now, folks!