Other plans.

So last Tuesday I went into the hospital to have a large mass removed from the right side of my brain, and then spent a week in the ICU after some complications in recovery, with the result that I am presently enjoying my first full day of recovering at home.

The good part of this is that -- thanks to a hideously blackened eye, shaved head, and jagged row of metal staples across my cranium -- I now look like a scary Russian convict; the type of person that a bookish sort like myself would normally shy away from. I also have a small section of scalp that goes in when pressed like a hidden key to a secret cave entrance.

The bad part is is that the words are still swimming in my head. Composing a text message of any complexity on an iPhone is the closest thing to Hell that Bruno Mattei could envision. This means it will be a bit before I get back to writing again at full steam.

This is a shame, really, because I would really have liked to dedicate no small amount of written tribute to the passing of Ray Harryhausen, a childhood idol of mine. So obsessed was I with the man that my mother to this very day sends me clippings about him whenever they turn up in the local paper -- no doubt fueled by memories of having waited in a long line with me to get into the matinee opening of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. This Harryhausen fandom of mine thrived during the days before one could buy garage kits or vinyl figures of the Ymir to fuel it, and was instead dependent on youthful reading, watching and research; In this regard, his long awaited Film Fantasy Scrapbook was a lifeline.

Like a lot of kids who idolized Harryhausen, I entertained the idea of doing what he did, leading to a fairly prolific series of modeling clay based epics shot in a makeshift basement studio. This enthusiasm was later washed away by my all consuming desire to play bass in a punk rock band. Fortunately, I found my way back to film in one way or another and am today able to say thanks for the memories.

And memories, under the present circumstances, are indeed something to be thankful for. Not to mention simply having a functioning -- if presently a bit addled -- brain in which to house them. I have a long stretch of road back to full recovery ahead, but getting back to 4DK is primary in my mind. Watch this space.