Category: Meta

Another one of those “I know it’s quiet” updates. But mainly I didn’t want you to think that all my attention was on ALF, or that once that series ends the site will cease to publish anything.

I’ve been busy lately, which probably isn’t much of a surprise…but I’ve also been rereading Gravity’s Rainbow, my personal favorite novel…and it’s one that occupies one hell of a lot of mental bandwidth. In fact, I just finished it, and I’m still stuck thinking about it.

Each time I read the book I can hold the narrative thread a little longer than I did the previous time. It’s a complex tale, in which it’s rarely made explicit that you’re in the realm of fantasy, or hallucination, or a dream, or that the character you’re following now or hearing from is a ghost, or that you’re hearing from a character at all. It’s rarely clear when you drift backward into the past or lurch in the space between two commas into the future. In short, it takes a lot of attention to read…and it rewires your brain into a kind of functional paranoia.

It’s great.

This time I made it just about to the end, I think, before the thread started to fray on me. And because of that, I found myself being moved deeply by passages that never even registered with me before. Reading Gravity’s Rainbow is a new experience every time…a text that’s always appropriate to wherever I am in life…one which never changes, but which reveals different, important aspects of itself to me when — and not before — I need to find them.

That’s what’s been distracting me from writing.

BUT ANYWAY ALF.

Since we’re so close to the end here — just the stream, Project: ALF, and a handful of wrap-up features — I’m going to try my damnedest to keep those coming. Usually when it’s quiet here ALF suffers, too, but this time, since we’re essentially just saying goodbye at this point, I want to keep that going, and that may, for the next few weeks, be at the expense of other content.

One interesting thing is that Google Analytics reveals to me that my daily traffic has tripled in the past month. Since it’s been so quiet and since ALF is coming to a stop, I’d have honestly guessed it would have decreased, if anything. In fact, that’s why I haven’t been checking it. I thought it’d be depressing news.

So…welcome, new readers! And thanks to everybody for making this site a success. It goes a long way toward convincing me that I haven’t wasted all of my time on Earth.

More to come, stay tuned, u.s.w.

One disappointing discovery: I had read at some point that the fourth and final section of Gravity’s Rainbow had a different epigraph in early printings. Instead of the Richard Nixon quote, it featured a much longer one from Joni Mitchell. But I own a pre-release review copy, and it has the Nixon quote, as you’ll see above in a photo I just snapped to immortalize my disappointment.

I don’t know if the Mitchell thing is apocryphal or if there were two pre-release printings, but I can’t find any photographic evidence of it, and my empirical evidence runs contrary to it, so until I see otherwise I’ll assume it’s false.

Which is sad. I thought that would be a fun difference to be able to point to. NOW I CAN POINT AT NOTHING.

Just a quick post today to let you know that I’m not dead, haven’t lost interest in Better Call Saul, and will be live-streaming Project: ALF.

OKAY BYE

…so, anyway. No, I didn’t die or experience anything sad or tragic. I’ve been pretty busy, though, and my time has been limited by a few other projects and commitments. That’s why things are pretty quiet overall. Since we’re so close to the end, though, I figured I’d devote the time I do have to plowing through the remainder of ALF. That’s my priority, if only so I never have to watch the fucking thing again.

The Better Call Saul reviews will continue at some point fairly soon. If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t even had time to watch the show, so when I do pick the reviews back up they won’t be tempered by knowledge of what’s to come. In fact, you’ll be able to read them and see me as more of a dope than ever because you already know things pan out completely differently than I’m predicting. Go you! Thanks for your patience on those, by the way. I feel bad, because the show deserves attention that I just can’t give it right now. This will be rectified.

And, finally, the live stream of Project: ALF will happen after the season four bonus posts…which means it’ll be pretty soon. (The actual, written review of that film will post afterward.) Details to come, but get ready.

That will be the big finale to the ALF Reviews, so I hope you can join us for the stream. There will be live text chat, so you can make fun of it or make fun of me as you see fit.

In addition to Project: ALF I’ll stream a handful of episodes, just to warm up the crowd and give folks time to settle in. So, if you have any suggestions for what episodes to include, let me know! The sooner the better, because I’m going to edit this thing as far in advance as possible.

Thanks for sticking around. This site’s biggest project ever (past and future) is almost at an end. Thanks for giving me a reason to keep going.

And, seriously, suggest some ALF episodes you want to see in the stream. Because otherwise I’m just going to loop “You’re the One That’s Out of This World” for four hours.