Where I’ve Been
There’s clearly something about the winter months that make me hibernate, in terms of blogging. I have no idea why; it’s certainly not planned, and if you’d asked me in advance whether I was planning to spend most of the first couple of months of the year silent, I would’ve looked at you like you were if not insane, then clearly mistaken enough to allow for a “you’re insane” look. And yet, for the second year running, I’ve been quiet for what amounts to the last two months. What happened? Well, work, for one thing (Also, a trip to San Francisco for a couple of friends’ wedding – Hello, Emily and Nick!), but there’s also Winter Lethargy. It’s something I’m sure comes with age, the feeling that my brain has become sluggish and impossible to work with, what with the early darkness and the coldness and and and; everything starts to take longer to achieve that it should, it seems, and suddenly I’ve been io9ing for long enough each day that this place seems like something I an put off until tomorrow. Except, of course, tomorrow is kind of the same and suddenly it’s the middle of February. Sorry…?
Oh, okay, I admit it; the real reason there’s been so little here is that I’ve been sucked into reruns of The West Wing. I couldn’t help it; they’ve reached the non-Sorkin episodes, and I’d dropped off the show by then due to Protesting Creator Aaron Sorkin’s Departure/Spending Most Of My Time Visiting And Then Moving To The US (Delete as believable), so they’re new to me if, admittedly, not as good as the earlier episodes. But they’re still West Wing, which has this strange, strong hold over me. The show is almost single-handedly responsible for the weird interest in American politics that sees me read books like David Plouffe’s behind-the-scenes about the Obama campaign for fun, and continually wish for a real life White House staff as idealistic and self-righteous as CJ, Josh, Toby et al seemed to be. Watching The West Wing for me is a strangely patriotic act for my adopted homeland, because there’s something about the show even at its worst – and, oh man, some of these episodes are its worst – that makes me feel like America, for all its flaws and its inequalities and its everything that isn’t perfect, really is a wonderful place, full of hope and optimism to guide its ridiculous power, and that the people in charge are fundamentally good.
Although, of course, that’s a much easier sell when Martin Sheen is the man in charge.
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