Just kind of quiet. And a little unsatisfactory: I’d planned on a full four days of work but I think I blew about half of them. Come 2024 I need to stop falling short.
I did more work on Savage Adventures, a little bit of work for The Local Reporter (mostly laying groundwork for stuff to do in January) and met with my editor and some of the other reporters for coffee (well, tea in my case) earlier today. Did a lot of extra dog care as TYG had a lot of year-end work stuff to do.
And then there was Christmas. Last weekend was a little odd because, being a three-day Christmas weekend, I felt like not doing much. And it’s very rare for me to just lie around on the weekend. Like so many other people, serious leisure takes a conscious effort to completely chill, but I managed it.
The day itself was lovely. My presents skewed unusually practical: a new enameled cast-iron pot (the one I’ve used for four decades no longer has a handle on the lid), socks, trousers, shorts. Plus food. I did get the third Epic collection of Dr. Strange from my brother and I used some of my gift money to get the second, which is out next month. 
As we’re closing out the year, why don’t I talk about my 2023 blogging stats (everyone else does). Just like a year ago, my Hellboy Chronology is still the top draw. It’s nice to know it’s appreciated. My Sherlock Holmes post discussing the quote “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact” came in second, with two more Holmes-quote posts in the top ten. The Shirley Exception post came in at number three, down from two last year. Matt Walsh advocating for compulsory marriage and no divorce was fourth. Also in the top ten, a post about John Carter rights and one about my issues with League of Extraordinary Gentleman. A related post, about Moore’s use of the Golliwog, made #11. Most of that is close to last year’s patterns; the Matt Walsh post came in late December, too late to get on the list for 2022, but a 2021 Matt Walsh post made the cut.
The real surprise is my #9 post on the “Taylor Swift is George Soros’ puppet” bullcrap the right wing’s beens pouting. As it came out Dec. 14, I’d have expected any impact to be on next year’s list but nope. Apparently Swift’s name carries a lot of weight. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start inserting it into title gratuitously.
Over at Atomic Junk Shop I reposted a blog I did some years about Christmas Carol adaptations, plus one about the badly written conspiracies in Kingsman and Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty.
At The Local Reporter, I have an article about Chapel Hill-based GoFundMe pleas. At Con-Tinual’s YouTube channel, I’m in a panel about time travel. It is, after all, an interest of mine.
I wish everyone a Happy New Year and a happy 364 days after that.
#SFWApro. Comics covers by Frank Brunner (t), Matt Smith and Carmin Carnero, all rights to images remain with current holders.
