This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2023. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit.
Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.”
By the way, I know the actual quote is “music soothes the savage breast,” but I didn’t want to obfuscate the message here. Which is: I have listened to a lot of music since October 2022.
“Read”
Since the October 2022 update, the following books were completed:
- White Desert, by Loren D. Estleman (western)
- The Demon-Haunted World: science as a candle in the dark, by Carl Sagan (science/skepticism)
- Superman,Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth, by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), et al. (comic book trade)
- Thor: The Eternals Saga, Vol. 1, by Roy Thomas & John Buscema & Keith Pollard (comic book trade)
- Doctor Strange: The Oath (New Avengers), by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) & Marcos Martin (illustrator) (comic book trade)
Currently Reading:
- The Silent Speaker, by Rex Stout (mystery)
- Einstein: his life and universe, by Walter Isaacson (biography)
- I Am the Man, by Scott Ian (music biography)
- How Story Works, by Lani Diane Rich (how-to/writing)
- She-Hulk, by Dan Slott: the complete collection, Vol. 1
- Justice Society of America: The Next Age., Vol. 1, by Geoff Johns (writer), Dale Eaglesham (pencils), Art Thibert (inks), and Ruy Jose (inks) (comic book TPB)
Looking Forward to Reading:
- Dragonfire, by Bill Pronzini (mystery)
- The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly (mystery)
- Firefly: The Magnificent Nine, by James Lovegrove (media tie-in/science fantasy)
- Storyteller, by Kate Wilhelm (writing)
“Play”
Since October 2022, I stopped playing the following video games:
- NFS: Heat
- Mass Effect 2: Legendary Edition (taking a break)
- Far Cry 3
- Mafia III (replay)
Currently Playing:
- Far Cry 6
- NBA2K22
- Minecraft (replay)
- Project Cars 2
- PGA Tour 2K23
- Arcade Paradise
Looking Forward to Playing (* means I already own):
- Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (semi-replay)*
- Mass Effect: Andromeda (replay)*
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Spider-Man 2
- Grand Theft Auto 6
- Red Dead Redemption 3
- Starfield
“Watch”
This category gets subdivided into “Television” and “Movies.” Yes, I know that “Television” is becoming an obsolete phrase, since I watched most of these on streaming platforms. I did watch a few of them on the television in the living room.
Since October 2022, the following television series were completed:
- Van Helsing: Seasons 2 & 3
- Resident Evil: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Cowboy Bebop: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Sandman: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Cobra Kai: Season 5 (Netflix)
- She-Hulk:Attorney at Law: Season 1 (Disney +)
- Longmire: Seasons 3 thru 6 (Netflix)
- Crazyhead: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Seinfeld: Seasons 7 thru 9 (rewatch) (final)
- Stargate SG-1: Seasons 9 & 10 (final)
- The Man in the High Castle: Seasons 3 & 4 (Prime Video) (final)
- Blockbuster: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Paper Girls: Season 1 (Prime Video)
- Mindhunters: Seasons 1 & 2 (Netflix)
- The Terminal List: Season 1 (Prime Video)
- Star Wars: Rebels: Seasons 2 & 3 (Disney +)
- Andor: Season 1 (Disney +)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5 (rewatch)
- Farzar: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Big Mouth: Season 6 (Netflix)
- Key & Peele: Season 2 & 3
- Dead to Me: Seasons 1 & 2 (Netflix)
- Jack Ryan: Season 3 (Prime Video)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Season 1 (Disney +)
- The Crown: Season 5 (Netflix)
- Manifest: Season 4 (Part 1) (Netflix)
- Another Life: Season 1 (Netflix)
Currently Watching (TV Series):
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6 (rewatch)
- Van Helsing: Season 4
- Star Wars: Rebels: Season 4 (final)
- Dead to Me: Season 3 (Netflix) (final)
- Another Life: Season 2 (Netflix) (final)
- Upload: Season 1 (Prime Video)
- The Walking Dead: Season 11 (final)
- Will Trent: Season 1
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 2 (Disney +)
- Vikings:Valhalla: Season 2 (Netflix)
- Wednesday: Season 1 (Netflix)
- Kaleidoscope: Season 1 (Netflix – limited series)
- The Flash: Season 9 (final)
Looking Forward to Watching (TV Series):
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 (rewatch) (final)
- Van Helsing: Season 5 (final)
- Upload: Seasons 2 & 3 (Prime Video)
- Undone: Season 1 (Prime Video)
- Manifest: Season 4 (Part 2) (Netflix) (final)
- Jack Ryan: Season 4 (Prime Video)
- The Sinner: Seasons 1 thru 4 (Netflix)
- Better Call Saul: Season 6 (final)
- The Mandalorian: Season 3 (Disney +) (2023)
- Star Wars: Ahsoka: Season 1 (Disney +) (2023)
- Secret Invasion: Season 1 (Disney +) (Spring 2023)
- Loki: Season 2 (Disney +) (Summer 2023)
- What If…?: Season 2 (Disney +) (2023)
- Vikings:Valhalla: Season 3 (Netflix) (2023)
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season 1
- Foundation: Season 1 (Apple +)
- Marvel’s Runaways: Seasons 1 thru 3
- Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD: Seasons 1 thru 7 (rewatch)
- Firefly: Season 1 (rewatch)
Since the last update, the following movies were completed. For clarity’s sake, I’m breaking these down into subheadings.
Features:
- Vacation (1983) (rewatch)
- Die Hard (1988) (rewatch)
- Dazed and Confused (1993) (rewatch)
- Fargo (1996) (rewatch)
- John Wick (2014) (rewatch)
- Special Correspondents (2016) (Netflix)
- No Time to Die (2021)
- The Man from Toronto (2022) (Netflix)
- Werewolf by Night (2022) (Disney +)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) (Disney +)
- Glass Onion: a Knives Out mystery (2022) (Netflix)
Documentaries:
- That Guy…Who Was in That Thing (2012) (documentary)
- Bad Company (2014) (music documentary)
- Comix: Beyond the Comic Book Pages (2016)
- Joan Jett: Bad Reputation (2018) (music documentary)
- Attack of the Hollywood Clichés (2021) (Netflix)
- Roadrunner: a film about Anthony Bourdain (2021)
- Travelin’ Band: Creedence Clearwater Revival at Royal Albert Hall (2022) (music documentary/live concert)
- Rock Camp (2022) (music documentary)
- The Other One: the long strange trip of Bob Weir (2015) (music documentary)
Stand-Up Comedy Specials:
- Doug Stanhope’s The Unbookables (2017) (standup comedy/documentary)
Currently Watching (Movies):
- Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Looking Forward to Watching (Movies):
- Tombstone (1993) (rewatch)
- Wonder Woman: 1984 (2020)
- Clerks III (2022)
- Enola Holmes 2 (2022) (Netflix)
“Listen”
Since October 2022, I’ve listened to the following recorded works in their entirety. This seems like a lot, even for me. Maybe I’m suffering from something only music can cure. I have the rockin’ pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu.
- Please Please Me (1963) The Beatles
- With the Beatles (1963) The Beatles
- A Hard Day’s Night (1964) The Beatles
- Beatles For Sale (1964) The Beatles
- Help! (1965) The Beatles
- Rubber Soul (1965) The Beatles
- Revolver (1966) The Beatles
- Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) Pink Floyd
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) The Beatles
- The Doors (1967) The Doors
- Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The Beatles
- Strange Days (1967) The Doors
- A Saucer Full of Secrets (1968) Pink Floyd
- The Beatles (“The White Album”) (1968) The Beatles
- Vincebus Eruptum (1968) Blue Cheer
- Shades of Deep Purple (1968) Deep Purple
- Outsideinside (1968) Blue Cheer
- The Book of Taliesyn (1968) Deep Purple
- Waiting for the Sun (1968) The Doors
- Led Zeppelin (1969) Led Zeppelin
- More (1969) Pink Floyd
- Deep Purple (1969) Deep Purple
- Abbey Road (1969) The Beatles
- Ummagumma (1969) Pink Floyd
- The Soft Parade (1969) The Doors
- Led Zeppelin II (1969) Led Zeppelin
- Let It Be (1970) The Beatles
- Black Sabbath (1970) Black Sabbath
- Atom Heart Mother (1970) Pink Floyd
- Deep Purple in Rock (1970) Deep Purple
- Morrison Hotel (1970) The Doors
- Hawkwind (1970) Hawkwind
- Paranoid (1970) Black Sabbath
- Led Zeppelin III (1970) Led Zeppelin
- Meddle (1971) Pink Floyd
- No Answer [The Electric Light Orchestra] (1971) ELO
- Fireball (1971) Deep Purple
- In Search of Space (1971) Hawkwind
- Master of Reality (1971) Black Sabbath
- Thin Lizzy (1971) Thin Lizzy
- Led Zeppelin IV (1971) Led Zeppelin
- Obscured by Clouds (1972) Pink Floyd
- Machine Head (1972) Deep Purple
- Doremi Fasol Latido (1972) Hawkwind
- Vol. 4 (1972) Black Sabbath
- Shades of a Blue Orphanage (1972) Thin Lizzy
- Electric Light Orchestra II (1973) ELO
- Dark Side of the Moon (1973) Pink Floyd
- On the Third Day (1973) ELO
- Who Do We Think We Are? (1973) Deep Purple
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) Black Sabbath
- Vagabonds of the Western World (1973) Thin Lizzy
- Houses of the Holy (1973) Led Zeppelin
- Aerosmith (1973) Aerosmith
- Eldorado (1974) ELO
- Rush (1974) Rush
- Burn (1974) Deep Purple
- Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974) Hawkwind
- Stormbringer (1974) Deep Purple
- Nightlife (1974) Thin Lizzy
- Get Your Wings (1974) Aerosmith
- Wish You Were Here (1975) Pink Floyd
- Face the Music (1975) ELO
- Fly By Night (1975) Rush
- Come Taste the Band (1975) Deep Purple
- Caress of Steel (1975) Rush
- Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) Hawkwind
- Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1975) Rainbow
- Sabotage (1975) Black Sabbath
- Fighting (1975) Thin Lizzy
- Physical Graffiti (1975) Led Zeppelin
- Toys in the Attic (1975) Aerosmith
- A New World Record (1976) ELO
- 2112 (1976) Rush
- Rising (1976) Rainbow
- Technical Ecstacy (1976) Black Sabbath
- Jailbreak (1976) Thin Lizzy
- Presence (1976) Led Zeppelin
- Johnny the Fox (1976) Thin Lizzy
- Rocks (1976) Aerosmith
- Motörhead (1977) Motörhead
- Out of the Blue (1977) ELO
- Animals (1977) Pink Floyd
- A Farewell to Kings (1977) Rush
- Bad Reputation (1977) Thin Lizzy
- Draw the Line (1977) Aerosmith
- Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (1978) Rainbow
- Hemispheres (1978) Rush
- Never Say Die! (1978) Black Sabbath
- Overkill (1979) Motörhead
- The Wall (1979) Pink Floyd
- Bomber (1979) Motörhead
- Discovery (1979) ELO
- On Parole (1979) Motörhead
- Down to Earth (1979) Rainbow
- Black Rose: A Rock Legend (1979) Thin Lizzy
- In Through the Out Door (1979) Led Zeppelin
- Permanent Waves (1980) Rush
- Ace of Spades (1980) Motörhead
- Heaven and Hell (1980) Black Sabbath
- Blizzard of Ozz (1980) Ozzy Osbourne
- Chinatown (1980) Thin Lizzy
- Nine Tonight (1981) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
- Moving Pictures (1981) Rush
- Time (1981) ELO
- Difficult to Cure (1981) Rainbow
- Mob Rules (1981) Black Sabbath
- Diary of a Madman (1981) Ozzy Osbourne
- Iron Fist (1982) Motörhead
- Signals (1982) Rush
- Straight Between the Eyes (1982) Rainbow
- The Final Cut (1983) Pink Floyd
- Another Perfect Day (1983) Motörhead
- Bent Out of Shape (1983) Rainbow
- Holy Diver (1983) Dio
- Born Again (1983) Black Sabbath
- Bark at the Moon (1983) Ozzy Osbourne
- Kill ‘Em All (1983) Metallica
- Thunder and Lightning (1983) Thin Lizzy
- Perfect Strangers (1984) Deep Purple
- Grace Under Pressure (1984) Rush
- Last in Line (1984) Dio
- Ride the Lightning (1984) Metallica
- Fistful of Metal (1984) Anthrax
- Power Windows (1985) Rush
- Sacred Heart (1985) Dio
- Spreading the Disease (1985) Anthrax
- Orgasmatron (1986) Motörhead
- Seventh Star (1986) Black Sabbath
- The Ultimate Sin (1986) Ozzy Osbourne
- Master of Puppets (1986) Metallica
- A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) Pink Floyd
- Rock ‘n’ Roll (1987) Motörhead
- The House of Blue Light (1987) Deep Purple
- Hold Your Fire (1987) Rush
- Dream Evil (1987) Dio
- The Eternal Idol (1987) Black Sabbath
- Among the Living (1987) Anthrax
- No Rest for the Wicked (1988) Ozzy Osbourne
- …And Justice for All (1988) Metallica
- State of Euphoria (1988) Anthrax
- Presto (1989) Rush
- Lock Up the Wolves (1990) Dio
- Persistence of Time (1990) Anthrax
- 1916 (1991) Motörhead
- Roll the Bones (1991) Rush
- No More Tears (1991) Ozzy Osbourne
- Metallica [The Black Album] (1991) Metallica
- March ör Die (1992) Motörhead
- Dehumanizer (1992) Black Sabbath
- Bastards (1993) Motörhead
- Counterparts (1993) Rush
- Strange Highways (1993) Dio
- Sound of White Noise (1993) Anthrax
- The Division Bell (1994) Pink Floyd
- Sacrifice (1995) Motörhead
- Ozzmosis (1995) Ozzy Osbourne
- Stomp 442 (1995) Anthrax
- Load (1996) Metallica
- Overnight Sensation (1996) Motörhead
- Test for Echo (1996) Rush
- Angry Machines (1996) Dio
- Reload (1997) Metallica
- Snake Bite Love (1998) Motörhead
- Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998) Anthrax
- Majica (2000) Dio
- We AreMotörhead (2000) Motörhead
- Greatest Hits (2001) Billy Idol
- Down to Earth (2001) Ozzy Osbourne
- Hammered (2002) Motörhead
- Vapor Trails (2002) Rush
- Killing the Dragon (2002) Dio
- Remission (2002) Mastodon
- Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology (2003) Rainbow
- St. Anger (2003) Metallica
- We’ve Come for You All (2003) Anthrax
- Inferno (2004) Motörhead
- Retrospective (2004) The Animals
- Master of the Moon (2004) Dio
- Under Cover (2005) Ozzy Osbourne
- Kiss of Death (2006) Motörhead
- Snakes & Arrows (2007) Rush
- Black Rain (2007) Ozzy Osbourne
- Motörizer (2008) Motörhead
- Death Magnetic (2008) Metallica
- Scream (2010) Ozzy Osbourne
- Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets (2011) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
- I’m With You (2011) Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Worship Music (2011) Anthrax
- Blunderbuss (2012) Jack White
- Aftershock (2013) Motörhead
- Super Collider (2013) Megadeth
- 13 (2013) Black Sabbath
- Metal (2013) Newsted (EP)
- The Endless River (2014) Pink Floyd
- The Early Years 1967-1972 (2016) Pink Floyd
- Hardwired…to Self Destruct (2016) Metallica
- For All Kings (2016) Anthrax
- Ordinary Man (2020) Ozzy Osbourne
- Patient Number 9 (2022) Ozzy Osbourne
I’ve also listened to the following podcasts for the first time.
- How Story Works (with Lani Diane Rich)
- In the Gutters (by J. Clebourne)
- The Nerd Room Podcast
- Dead Robots’ Society
The next quadmonthly report will be filed in June 2023.
Until then . . . (with apologies to Cato the Elder) “Carthage must be destroyed!”
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