Hey, folks! I was going to come in here today with a whole bunch of positivity after the heavy negativeness of my last newsletter, but sadly, I've had a heck of a week.
First off, I'm about to head into knee surgery this Friday. That is a not a negative for me, but it's kind of a negative for all of you. See, that means Chris and I won't be able to shoot for at least a week or two during my healing time (healing is 4-6 weeks, but hopefully I should be able to get back to Camcasting ASAP). This is why there was no Camcast posted last week. I decided to go bi-weekly just to make sure content will still be coming (more on that below in this newsletter). The other thing I want to bring up... I had quite the health scare two days ago.
While at work, I was struck by severe pain in my chest. I nearly blacked out, my hearing phased out, and I shot into extreme cold sweats. It was hell, and I was scared. I'm prone to chest pain -- I have acid reflux attacks, deal with anxiety, etc. -- but this was something totally different. I went to the Human Resources office and they called an ambulance for me. I spent the majority of the day in the hospital being poked and prodded while loved ones and work friends checked in on me and, thankfully, it ended with the result that I did not have a heart attack. I will be referred to a heart specialist for a second opinion as well as a sleep clinic as it's believed that my restless sleeps lately may be leading to a lack of oxygen making its way to my heart. This could cause the symptoms that I received. The other culprit, of course, could be anxiety or a panic attack of sorts. Either way, it was scary as hell and, yes, the "life flashes in front of your eyes" is real. Take care of yourselves and do what you love because we're only here for a blip and that can be wiped at any moment.
If you'd like to discuss further what happened with me, please reach out. I'll gladly discuss it. Otherwise, let's get to the geeky stuff...
THE NEXT CAMCAST IS HAWKEYE
and it'll be a blast! I can't wait for all of you to see this one. Not only did Chris and I have a fantastic conversation about the HAWKEYE Disney Plus series, but we went off-topic in a lot of really interesting directions. It's just over an hour long and it'll be arriving on YouTube, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts this Thursday, March 17th. Here's a little clip from the episode regarding previous comics that I owned:
MOVIE THEATRE ROUND-UP
I've been getting to the movies as much as possible before I'm out of commission after my knee surgery, so here's some quick thoughts on my recent watches. THE CURSED is a unique take on the werewolf lore that takes place in early 1900s England. It's a slow burn, but it's visually striking and suspenseful as all hell. It's easily moved into my Top 5 Werewolf Films of All-Time.
JACKASS FOREVER was a much-needed return to the insanity of the early 2000s when there was no responsibility and watching grown men hurt themselves was hilarious. Most of the original cast sits on the sidelines while the newbies take the hits (OG Danger Ehren is the standout star in this instalment, easily), but it's still awesome and felt like a reunion with old friends.
STUDIO 666 is an absolute blast! The Foo Fighters horror film that sounded too bizarre to work absolutely works on all levels! Dave Grohl's acting reminds me a lot of Jack Black here and that's not a bad thing at all. Great music (John freakin' Carpenter composes the theme!), hilarious moments, and gallons of insane gore, I can't recommend it enough.
Lastly, UNCHARTED -- the long-awaited film based on the hit Naughty Dog games. It's a lot of fun! I went into it with the mindframe that I'd treat it as an adventure film on its own rather than a video game adaptation and that seemed to work for me. The action and set pieces are fantastic and Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg have great chemistry, but it's a bummer that they took so many story beats from the fourth game, my least favourite in the franchise. Overall, it's good fun and you should definitely check it out!
DUEL IS A KICK-ASS COMIC
that can't be missed! This one completely went under the radar to the point where I even missed it the first time around. From small publishing house Bliss on Tap, DUEL is an ongoing action/mystery series from writer Curtiss Martins and artist Alex Cormack which follows contestants of deep online website Duel.global, a site that "pits its growing number of subscribers against each other in real life, in a race to stop a high schooler who has challenged the site’s highest ranked dueler in a match to the death." The series itself is bi-monthly, so it's easily affordable, and there's a 2nd print of #1 still available as well as a bunch of cool variants here. Seriously, the first issue had me guessing until the end and the artwork was incredibly gorgeous. I recommend this one!
Alright, everyone -- I'm wrapping it up with that today! I hope you all have a great March Break and please stay careful out there (because even though the world wants you to think otherwise, there is still a pandemic going on). Much love!
~K