This is one of those posts that all of the alleged blogging pros tell you not to write. This is a post telling you all why I haven’t been posting very much lately. Those pros claim that telling people why you haven’t been posting only compounds the issue and will bring around death and digital pestilence. But what do they know, huh? This is my blog. Not theirs.

Anywho, things have been very busy with us crazy De Guia’s. To start with, our landlords filed for bankruptcy and foreclosed on the house we were renting from them. Joy, huh? So we’ve officially received the 60-day “GTFO” notice and have been going to look at damn near every apartment and condo in the Santa Rosa – Windsor – Rohnert Park area of Sonoma County. We think we have a lead on one, which is awesome. If everything pans out, we’ll be in a better and more affordable, albeit much smaller situation. Going from a two story, three bedroom, three bath home with a yard and garage to a small two bedroom, one bath apartment is going to be a slap in the face like none other. I figure it will feel much like it would if Bugs Bunny showed up suddenly in our house, dropped a brick into his leather glove and slapped me across the face with it.

I haven’t been writing much lately because, to be honest, the words are sort of stuck in my head. When I’m not to put the time into writing, I have a ton of things right there at the brink waiting to be put to paper. then later on when I’m finally able to sit down, after the kids are asleep, and write… there’s just nothing. So instead I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’m still slowly reading “World War Z” and it’s taking this long, not because I don’t like it, but because I’m savoring it. If you haven’t bought your own copy of the book, you should. It’s awesome! Beside “World War Z” I’m still on a Lovecraft kick along with pretty much anything else I can get my hands on.

Speaking of reading, I’ve been given a super cool opportunity to do a book review. That’s about all I’ll say about that right now. After all, I do want you all to come back and read the actual review when it’s done hopefully later this week!

I saw a couple of really good movies recently, too. The first was “Burn After Reading”. Now, before you choose sides on this movie just remember: It’s by the Cohen Brothers. Their movies are very good, but typically have some very unexpected twists and turns. People that like the Cohen Brothers will no doubt like “Burn After Reading”. Those of you who don’t like their stuff probably won’t enjoy this flick. Keli and I loved it and recommend it to anyone up for a funny, quirky and fun movie.

The other movie was “Traitor”. Someone described this movie to me as “the Bourne Identity, but with Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda & Reign Over me), Guy Pierce (Momento & L.A. Confidential) and Neal McDonough (The Guardian & Band of Brothers) to name a few. All I’ll really tell you is the movie is without a doubt one of Don Cheadle’s best performances and very much worth the rental.

What have you all been up to lately?

Books
I’ve been on a horror kick lately, having recently rediscovered H.P. Lovecraft, started writing a few short stories of the genre, and following those things up by reading “I Am Legend” which I recommend to everyone. I can’t really write too much about that book, since I’m still in the process of reading it to Keli and I don’t want to spoil anything for her.

A friend of mine bought me a copy of “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War“, by Max Brooks for my birthday. I started reading the book online at the Barnes and Noble web site and was hooked. World War Z “tells the story of the world’s desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts.” Without any spoilers, all I can really say is that if you’re remotely entertained – or even if you just get the heebie-jeebies – you really need to get a copy of this book and read it.

On a related note, Max Brooks is the same guy who brought us zombie junkies our bible, “The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead“.

Another book I have recently received, and haven’t been able to put down is “Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft” by H.P. Lovecraft. This book is a collection of things written by Lovecraft after he woke up from dreams. Some are only a page or two long, while others were molded into rather long short stories. It’s fascinating to read, in detail, the dreams of someone from the early 1930s, in their own words. If you’re into Lovecraft, this book is a great read, too.

Music
For me, the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving. That’s when I dust off the Christmas music and decorations. Aside from music of the season, I’ve been listening to “Nightmare Revisited” a lot. Not only is “The Nightmare Before Christmas” totally kick ass, but the soundtrack was awesome. So you take that existing masterpiece and put a different but equally creative and amazing spin on it by having musicians such as Marilyn Manson, Tiger Army, Flyleaf, Korn, All American Rejects and Rise Against, to name a few, cover those songs.

Movies
Like nearly everybody in the northern hemisphere, we bought a copy of “The Dark Knight” and certainly not because Christian Bale is a great actor. To be honest, I can’t stand the guy… but I digress.

“The Dark Knight” was such a good movie because Heath Ledger, as the Joker, was so incredibly brilliant and creepy that he is what made the movie. It’s not even because of the River Phoenix syndrome, either. I think he truly was as phenomenal as all the critics have said. The movie had just the right amount of darkness and “evil lurking in the shadows” that it was the edgy Batman that we should have always been presented.

So there you have it. This week’s (or at least until I do another one of these posts) update on what makes me giddy as a schoolboy with a new pack of baseball cards.