October Round-Up
Issue 1: Hello Autumn!!!
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS
In this edition:
Re-discovering the joy of comic book shops
Dazed and Confused, back in the cinemas
Back to school… in a different place!
As we enter the pumpkin spice latte season, the summer holidays are a hazy memory, and its all “back to school” - although the past month has been a bit of an odd one to say the least.
A day or so before my son was due to start Year 5 we received a message informing us that the school wouldn’t be re-opening due to the now infamous RAAC concrete.
If you’re unfamiliar with this, here’s the full story!
Memories of home-schooling through COVID came flooding back, and any plans that had been made were all put on hold until more information about the situation arrived.
Word got out about the school closure, and within days (hours?) the press had descended on our little village, interviewing local parents for disgruntled soundbites, poking camera lenses over the locked school gate and even flying drones over the school for a better photo angle. Seeing our son’s school on the BBC 6 o’ clock news and in national newspaper articles was bizarre: It does make you feel protective of those at the centre of the situation, and the media obsession-of-the-week felt unnecessarily intrusive. Even local MP Lord Vader Priti Patel paid the children a visit.
The poor head teacher and her staff were under a huge amount of pressure to find a way through the desperate situation - and to their credit, they absolutely knocked it out of the park!
Within days, a new location had been secured, thanks to the generosity of a local venue situated on the edge of the village. It was a logistics nightmare, but they all did an amazing job ensuring the children were in a safe space and able to continue their education without too much disruption.
Hatfield Place became a temporary school for around six weeks - and what a stunning place to drop off/pick up every day!
As horribly stressful as it was for school staff and for parents juggling work and life in general, it was an amazing example of community spirit and crisis management.
While work is ongoing to fix the RAAC issue, all the stops have been pulled out to build temporary classrooms in the playground so that the children can return to their school ASAP. It should also be noted that the support and response from the local authorities has also been astounding, showing what can be achieved when pushed to the limit.
JUST ONE MORE THING…
In August, I went on holiday with my family to Aberdeen in Scotland, which was a lot of fun! It was my first time there, and as my daughter was keen to visit a comic book shop, we tracked down two - Plan 9 and Asylum Books & Games.
I was really into comics in my early-mid teens, frequently visiting Forbidden Planet, Atomic Comics and Mega City Comics, but it quickly became an expensive hobby, and my interest drifted. So it was nice to be back in a place which felt like home!
I’ve always been a sucker for a film tie-in, whether it was an unexpected/unnecessary novelization of Spies Like Us or a pointless/bizarre range of toys (see image below), so I used to focus on the Dark Horse Comics Aliens, The Terminator, Robocop, along with adaptations of Batman, Nightbreed and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
As a “grown up” I continued with more mature, serious graphic novels such as Craig Thompson’s Blankets, Daniel Clowes’ Ghost World, and anything by Adrian Tomine. But it was nice to a) find a comic shop that was still open and b) feel that excitement of being in a place with loads of cool stuff. Hopefully I won’t leave it another thirty years before my next visit!
Got any nerd shop recommendations? Let me know!
SUBSTACK RECOMMENDATIONS
Jess Pan’s
is a great read. Jess has a very chatty, informal style, and her words are very readable. The equivalent of drinking a pumpkin spice latte in word form.
I have a lot of time and feelings for this post, courtesy of
This month’s Short People Highlights
ON THE BOX
Only Murders in the Building
Always enjoyable in a cosy-but-sweary way, OMITB leaves you wanting more, but there’s no denying this season was the weakest yet. I’m not sure if it was the casting of Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep which made it too starry (a bit like when Friends moved from cameos by Jon Lovitz and Harry Shearer to the glitzier turns from Bruce Willis and Winona Ryder.), or if it’s showing natural signs of burnout, but I’m hoping S4 focuses more on the central trio. (That’s not to say there weren’t moments of brilliance, like this.)
Ahsoka
Star Wars is clawing its way back to greatness via the spin off series, and this was no exception. I was never into The Clone Wars, so the fact that I enjoyed this and was able to follow the story/characters speaks volumes. Now, if only they could get the films back on track…
Invasion
Apple TV’s Invasion takes a well-worn War of the Worlds-type of aliens-crushing-mankind trope and milks some decent mileage from it. It is one of those multi-strand storyline shows, focusing on different characters in different parts of the globe. It mostly works - but as is often the case in shows like this (hello, The Power), some stories are more interesting than others. Still working my way through this, but so far so good.
Partygate
If you like true stories that get your blood boiling then check out Channel 4’s factual account of what went on in Downing Street during the COVID pandemic. It was played a little on the jokey-side for my liking, but there were efforts to temper the ridiculous behaviour and heightened performances with the reality of those who bothered to stick to the lockdown rules.
The Reckoning
A brilliantly-conceived drama which handles its near-impossible subject with a measured approach: It neither shies away from the truth nor exploits the horror. Steve Coogan is brilliant, and this will deservedly win awards.
CINEMA
After a summer of some pretty great movies like Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, October has been pretty dry to say the least.
Thankfully, there has been a slew of anniversary screenings for me to trip down memory lane/feel very, very old!
Batman
Tim Burton’s Batman is 34. Yikes. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve watched this at home, but Batman on big screen is a much fuller experience: The score boomed, the atmosphere (which feels studio-based on the small screen) is all there in all its Gothic-waltz-glory. I even noticed some reactions and lines which get a little lost on television. It’s an era-defining movie, and remains as one of my all-time favourite films.
The Greatest Showman
I missed this the first time around at the cinema, mostly because EVERYONE WOULDN’T SHUT UP ABOUT IT - the songs were everywhere, and it had automatically gripped that nation in the same way Frozen did when it first came out: Meaning I had to run and hide.
I had probably seen most of the film out of sequence, as for a while the DVD lived in our player, but I thought I should experience it on the big screen, and I was glad that I did. The direction, cinematography and choreography work as one, and while the story is thin at times, the style and - YES, THE SONGS - more than make up for it.
Dazed and Confused
Richard Linklater’s cult classic was back for its 30th anniversary, and it’s still got it. For a film which is so light on plot, it is testament to Linklater’s creative skill that the film is so infinitely watchable. It has always been an experience akin to hanging out with your mates, even though I was one year old in 1976 (when the film is set). I get older, Dazed and Confused stays the same.
Grease
A brief re-release for Grease’s 45th anniversary. Like The Greatest Showman, there are so many shots from Grease that live in my head. There’s still so much to appreciate, in particular the sheer joy of the dance numbers and the silliness of exactly how old these “school kids” look in real life.
READING
One of my purchases from the Plan 9 comic shop in Aberdeen was MAX REBO, which replays Return of the Jedi’s Jabba’s Palace sequence from the perspective of the blue elephantine keyboardist. It’s a large slice of nostalgia aimed at grown ups whose lives revolved around Star Wars when they were kids - so perfect for me!
PLAYING
Any game that opens with A Tribe Called Quest’s I Left My Wallet in El Segundo is already onto a winner: It sets the tone perfectly. It’s a heightened reality/laws of physics-defying GTA-style shooter, is mad as a brush and a lot of fun!
FALLOUT 4: LONDON
Reportedly Fallout 5 will not be anywhere near a release date until early-mid 2030’s (so I’ll be, what, SIXTY????). BUT: Reading about the up-coming mod for Fallout 4 has got me stoked. I. Cannot. Wait.
WRITERS’ CORNER
If you’re interested in writing then I completely recommend checking out KM Weiland’s website as she’s excellent at what she does - namely helping writers become authors!
There are “deep dives” on every aspect of writing, from characters to plot and everything in between. So if you’re thinking about starting and don’t know where to start - well, now you know!
SUBSTAGRAM
It was Mrs. W’s birthday last weekend! We all had a nice relaxing time: Spent the afternoon playing a game and having a nice family time together.
(I made her a cherry bakewell cake, and very tasty it was too! Although Paul Hollywood would have wanted more almond flavouring, I suspect.)
BEST OF FIVE: Adrian Tomine books
I’ve previously mentioned on here about Adrian Tomine’s stories being the inspiration for Short People, so what better place to start with his top five books (IMHO)…
Summer Blonde
32 Stories
Sleepwalk
Killing and Dying
Shortcomings (now a MOVIE - available to rent on Amazon!)
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Regrets of the Dying: Stories and Wisdom That Remind Us How to Live by Georgina Scull deals with the big questions most of us have, and the biggest thing we may choose to ignore - our mortality.
Through a series of conversations with a number of individuals, the book ties together common themes which impact our lives: Putting work first, not doing what you love, hard decisions which lead to regret... whilst it's true to say some of the stories are deeply moving and downright sad, there is a lot of wisdom to take away from this book. All of the stories are relatable, and a few in particular resonated with me deeply.
It's such a well-conceived, straight-talking book which doesn't seek to throw out cheap and easy answers, but is far more meditative and insightful.
SEEN IN THE WILD
I want a Pickle Rick.
Joy Snack
This month’s Joy Snack is from the artist known in these parts as Monsieur Boy Snack (shout-out to my lil’ homie in da house etc.)! He has drawn us Gold Shadow Midas and Gold Agent Peeley from Fortnite. (But you knew that already, didn’t you?)
Finally, to accompany The Blunder Years: Letters of Note, here’s a playlist covering that particular era for you to enjoy!
If you enjoyed Short People, please spread the word!
Thank you for including me - this is a great list and excited to get reading!