Around fall 2015 Amazon started targeting me with Leviathan Wakes, the first book in a series called “The Expanse.” I’ve been a longtime fan of sci-fi, specifically the “deep space” variety (2001: A Space Odyssey, Moon, the 2000’s Battlestar Galactica reboot, etc.) and naturally I can’t resist something with cover art as intricate and compelling as this…

Not long after I’d cracked the first book I discovered it had been adapted into a series for SyFy. Both the books and the show became an addiction very quickly (though I have yet to read the 9th and final book, appropriately titled “Leviathan Falls.”) Naomi Nagata is easily one of my favorite characters in the series and Dominque Tipper did an excellent job with all of her layers and complexities for the 6 season run of the show. Spoiler alert: I will be posting another Expanse character here in the near future.

It was around 1997 when my taste in cinematic comedy took a swift turn. Up until that point it consisted mostly of the SNL alum “Fat Man Fall Down” Adam Sandler/Chris Farley. That is, until I was introduced to the indie, dialog driven stylings of Kevin Smith. His ability to craft a specific brand of sympathetic man-child really drew me in (and to which I heavily related at the time, as the comic book collecting art nerd that I was.) Chief among my favorites of Smith’s IP progeny was Brodie Bruce from MallRats. Something about Jason Lee’s line delivery and his “devil may care, but maybe he does” attitude struck a chord and it became an instant classic for me, despite the less than successful box office performance.

While I don’t really relate so much with a number of Smith’s characters these days (as I’ve grown into a different kind of man-child, and a lot of Smith’s newer character work deals with fatherhood,) I can still look back on characters like Brodie and give a hearty chuckle at his misanthropic worldview through the lens of 90’s consumerism Have yourself a chocolate covered pretzel. You’ve earned it.

Happy New Year, everyone!