Clearly, I’m going through some sort of manic episode, although I hate using terminology like “manic episode,” because it’s way too clinical for my taste, but I just don’t swing that way. I yam what I yam, as the immortal bard said.

I was at work today and these two women were browsing around, and they saw our movie-edition copies of “Road to Perdition.” “Oh look,” one said, “Road to Perdition. My husband loved that movie, I should get the book…oh wait…it’s a comic book. Pfft. Nevermind.” It irritates me. It just does, but really, getting irritated about that kind of snobbery (from people in a masters program, natch) just gets you nowhere. But still…

Speaking of comics, the first issue of a four issue “Ghostbusters” comic series came out today. How fucking cool is that? It’s pretty decent and has a lot of the same kind of humor as the movie (although, how can you compete with Bill Murray? That’s right, you can’t). The art isn’t exactly to my liking, almost Todd McFarlane meets “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon, but it does the job and doesn’t get in the way. Ghostbusters comic book. How cool is that?

Last night I emailed my Dad a question about the story I’m working on, as it’s set in Manhattan, and despite being a NYC-suburbs kid, there’s still plenty I don’t know. He wrote back this morning with good input, and that made me feel real good. I don’t talk directly with my family (or most anyone, I guess) about writing, and I don’t know why that is. I think, on some level, I don’t think I’m ready to come out and say “I’m a writer” and deal with all the baggage that goes on with that (or maybe I’m sick of people saying “You know what you should write?” And God, I’ll never forget sharing a booth at the diner in town with Toni and this random guy we sat with because it was crowded. He gave us [mainly her] all this writing advice, which mainly consisted of staring at her profusely and saying things like “You should write a play that makes people think.” I really wanted to say “You should stop giving writing advice and trying to fuck my girlfriend, how about that?”).

That parenthetical diversion deserves its own paragraph (thanks to the profuse pondering), but I’m gonna let it stand as is.

I wonder why that’s why I have a hard time doing research that involves interviews and the like, that I’m not ready to face some stranger head on and say “Yes, this is for something I’m writing,” as if they would just laugh and say “You’re no writer.” Really, it’s the stupidest thing in the world, but I think it’s some kind of block. Slowly, I’ll wear it down. Fo’ serious.

So SpikeTV is running a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine marathon. And a choir of heavenly angels began to sing. Noon until 9 everyday, every episode, in order. I’ve got all my tapes of Trek stuff and am preparing to tape over a ton of shit. I mean, Voyager? C’mon. I watched an episode of Voyager tonight, actually (after watching three DS9 episodes when I got home from work tonight) trying to see if it was as bad as I remember. Good lord, it was worse.

“Technology brought us to the Delta Quadrant. It stands to reason that technology will be our way home.” Really Tuvok? Hold the fucking presses, Columbo, you solved the case! The fuck. I remember when Voyager was on the air, and there was this thin veil of hope, as we all talked about what we’d do different, and how it could get better next season if they did this and this and this, etc. What a total waste of a premise. What utterly lowest common denominator storytelling. The ratings are down? Let’s bring in a Borg with some big ass titties! Those geeks like that!

Thankfully, it looks like Enterprise is getting cancelled at the end of the season. Let the franchise rest, at least until Rick Berman, Brannon Bragga and all their cronies are long gone, and start fresh with people who have brains.

I leave you with the CD I made tonight that is burning as we speak…

Hip-Hop Identity Crisis
1. The Ceasars - Jerk it Out
2. They Might Be Giants - Mr. Me
3. Ludacris - Stand Up
4. Space - The Female of the Species
5. Miles Davis - Two Bass Hit (Alternate Take)
6. Roni Size & Cypress Hill - Child of the Wild West
7. Stevie Ray Vaughn - Pride & Joy
8. Eric Clapton & BB King - Hold on, I’m Coming
9. Jay-Z/DJ Danger Mouse - Change Clothes
10. 30 Seconds to Mars - Capricorn
11. Moby/Mystical - Gettin’ Agressive
12. Ben Folds Five - Narcolepsy
13. Nelly - Air Force Ones
14. Rolling Stones - 19th Nervous Breakdown
15. Danny Saber & Marco Bellitrami - I Against I
16. Paul Oakenfold - Zoo York
17. Harry Conick, Jr. - It Had to be You

Identity crisis, indeed, I remain…