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I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).

Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:

         *Penw* "The Soundtrackers GroupOpen in new Window.
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February 4, 2023 at 12:06pm
February 4, 2023 at 12:06pm
#1044246
         Soundtrack of Your Life Logo

| Day 1 |





"Over Yourself"
by Heart of Gold


Another year of "Invalid ItemOpen in new Window. is off and running!


It's only fair that I start this year's Soundtrackers with the song I listened to the most last year, at least according to Spotify. It's also emblematic of a lot of the songs I'm going to use for this year's activity, which are songs from artists that I hadn't really heard of before, and who I mostly don't follow or listen to beyond this one song. The reason for that is because I listened to Spotify a lot last year, and used their "Discover Weekly" playlist, which takes everything you've been listening to and finds new recommendations each week. For most of the weeks of the year, I tried to listen to all thirty songs Spotify would recommend (or at least most of them) and add the ones I liked to my playlist to revisit throughout the year. My 2022 playlist is composed mostly of those songs, with others added in as I found them elsewhere (usually as part of film and television soundtracks).

I don't really know anything about the artist Heart of Gold; there's very little biography information on Spotify and since the artist chose a fairly generic name, most of my quick Google research either points to the much more famous song of the same name by Neil Young, or The Heart of Gold Band which was formed by the husband and wife team of Keith and Donna Jena Godchaux after they left The Grateful Dead. So not a lot of biographical information or fun facts to be had with this one.

The reason why I listened to this song so much in 2022 is work related. Not because we used the song for any of my projects at work but because I spent a lot of nights working late this year, and I tend to listen to the same songs over and over when I want to get into a state of flow. So for more than a couple nights, I'd put the kids to bed, my wife would go to bed, and then I'd go downstairs to the office to put in a more couple hours of work. When I needed to buckle down and focus on a task like putting together a draft of the credits for a film, I'd put this song on repeat and let it play in the background while I worked. It's upbeat and energetic enough that it kept me awake while I was reviewing contracts or typing away at the keyboard late into the night.

I tried listening to some of Heart of Gold's other stuff on Spotify because I liked this song so much, but nothing really sparked my interest. This might end up being just a one-hit wonder that I really dig listening to.
February 4, 2023 at 12:25am
February 4, 2023 at 12:25am
#1044218
To qualify for my Watch List every month, the following has to be something that I've watched that's new to me. It doesn't necessarily have to be a current show, but it can't be reruns or rewatches of something I've already seen. So if I'm including it in this list, it means this month is the first time I've watched it. I'll put "DNF" (Did Not Finish) next to anything that I stopped watching and have no immediate plans to finish.

Movies
         *Movie* Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
         *Movie* Blonde
         *Movie* DC League of Super-Pets
         *Movie* Strange World

Television
         *TV* Bluey (Seasons 1-3)
         *TV* New Amsterdam (Season 1)
         *TV* Stranger Things (Season 4)
         *TV* Wednesday (Season 1)

I was really happy with all the television I watched this month, and less enthusiastic about the movies.

With the exception of ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, which I do think Marvel fans will really enjoy, the other three movies I watched this month were pretty blah. I had high hopes for BLONDE but found it to be pretty tedious (2 hours, 46 minutes!) and aside from Ana de Armas' performance it seemed more spectacle than substance. DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS was an okay animated kids' movie, and STRANGE WORLD wasn't exactly as bad as its box office performance suggests, but it wasn't great either.

After a third season that I liked but didn't love, the fourth season of STRANGER THINGS made me fall in love with the show all over again. It's just so good, and it built on the mythology built by previous seasons. I'm really excited for the fifth season coming up. On the less sci-fi side of things, NEW AMSTERDAM is a medical drama which are shows that my wife loves and I found this to be a pretty good one. The characters are great, and the stories are really touching. I love the Addams Family and at first I was a little wary that WEDNESDAY wasn't going to live up to the incredibly high standards that the Addams Family movies from the 1990s set, but it ended up being a really good show. Jenna Ortega was amazing in the role and I can't wait for the next season.

The real revelation this month, though, was BLUEY. It's an Australian children's program with a family of dogs. Each episode is only six or seven minutes long and it teaches a lesson, but it's written in a way that makes it enjoyable for both kids and parents. Our entire family will sit and watch episode after episode of the show, my wife and I laughing alongside our kids. It's truly delightful, and I love it when we find an "all ages" program that's actually enjoyable for all ages.

TOP PICK: Bluey


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