One Year On.
In which I look back of twelve months of ramblings. Plus all the other usual stuff.
Apparently, it’s exactly a year ago this week that I ‘soft launched’ this weekly newsletter to see if it was something I enjoyed doing. Well, guess what, it is. I have skipped a couple of weeks along the way for travel or personal reasons so that makes this issue #50. I feel it should have a foil-stamped variant cover or something (dated 1990s comics reference).
I never intended this newsletter to be about any topic in particular, beyond just slice-of-life stuff as and when it occurred to me. And it seems enough folks seem to like that approach for me to continue along those lines.
Of course, if you do want the focused stuff we also now have the dedicated James Bond and Before They Were Beatles newsletters too (check out the links below).
Over the last twelve months here on Can’t See The Forest, I’ve rambled on about Star Wars, CARS, James Bond, Robin Hood, Doctor Who, Batman and The Beatles, along with trips to the UK, Canada, and Maryland. There’s also been a few motor sports posts about F1 and the Dakar Rally (and Carlos Sainz Sr. did indeed win this year’s event.)
It’s also been a place to post regular updates about the progress of the Brabazon book. Which has helped me keep on track with the work as well as share some of the stories I discovered along the way.
Each week when I sit down to put one of these newsletters together I’m always grateful to my subscribers - you have subscribed haven’t you? If not just click the button - as well as those nice folks who just check in each week to give it a read.
A special vote of thanks to those folks who’ve taken the time over the last year to like and comment on various posts, or sent me notes directly. It’s really appreciated.
Well, that’s enough rambling for this week, enjoy the rest of the regular stuff below, and don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks
Alan
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Brabazon Bits
This has been another week of emails tracking down photo permissions, and even managing to track down the location of some of the surviving pieces of the Brabazon (which was an unexpected bonus).
It’s also been a week of autobiographies having worked through the volumes penned by the Brabazon’s designer and test pilot, as well as the engine guru who arrived on the scene just a little too late.
Word Slinging
Last week I got to review the pitch documents and the spec pilot script for the proposed Before They Were Beatles inspired TV show (which has a different title). - There is still some tweaking to do and I provided a bunch of notes, but overall, I am very pleased with the direction it’s taking.
On The Road
It looks like my convention and conference travel list for 2024 is firmed up now, and it’s looking pretty full. You’ll be able to find me hanging out at these fine events:
February 21-23 – ACIG Best Practices – Orlando, FL
February 23-25 – FenCon – Dallas, TX
May 5-7 – CEX – Cleveland, OH
May 17-19 – STC Summit – Minneapolis, MN
May 24-26 - Comicpalooza – Houston, TX
August TBD – ArmadilloCon – Austin, TX
August 29 – September 2 – DragonCon – Atlanta, GA
September TBD – LibraryCon – Pflugerville, TX
October 27-30 – LavaCon – Portland, OR.
Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2024 - “Astro City Metro Book 1” by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson & various
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world full of superheroes, then this is the book for you.
A wonderful collection that pays homage to all the traditional superhero storytelling tropes while also focusing on the human aspect, be it a slice of life man in the street story, an in-depth examination of what it means to be a hero’s sidekick, or a superpowered child longing to just play games with kids her own age.
The grand spectacle of superpowered battles are there, but often just happening in the periphery rather than dominating the narrative.
Easily one of the most intelligent and engaging books that also happens to have people flying around wearing capes.
Podcast Procrastinations
Over on the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network, the Rogue Agents crew took a step away from the worlds of 007 to check out how one particular ex-Bond is working out as a mob hitman when we took a look at Pierce Brosnan’s recent movie outing in Fast Charlie.
You can find out what we thought about it right HERE.
Bond Briefings
The new bi-weekly James Bond Lexicon newsletter is off to a great start with more subscribers than we could have hoped for over the first few weeks. - Thanks to everyone who has subscribed.
In our latest issue, we took a look at Bond on the Bookshelf as we contemplate what makes a 007 library.
If you enjoy the worlds of 007 and haven’t subscribed, you can join us at the link below
Before They Were Beatles Updates
The Forgotten Beatles first episode is now online. We kick things off with a look at Pete Best’s story both before and after his time as a Beatle. - You can give it a listen right HERE.
Episode two on Quarrymen and Blackjack’s guitarist Ken Brown has been recorded and is now in production - look for that to drop in early February.
The January issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter is out now, in which we look at the educational establishment that shaped the lives of half of The Beatles. - The Liverpool Insitute High School for Boys. If you don’t want to miss out on the expanded story of the early Beatles history, you can sign up for a subscription below.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week we continue through October 1968, with reprint issues from Australia and Brazil.
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this week’s newsletter, or just my weekly ramblings in general - please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter
The Can’t See The Forest (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC