Saturday links and notes; story-telling is an addictive interest, and Paul Robinson's son passes away

by Josh Kirkendall on Mar 7, 2009 11:55 AM EST in Analysis

A friend of mine recommended a show on AMC called, Breaking Bad. I still haven't had time to settle down to watch it yet, but he tells me it's a great show. One thing I love is story telling. Good story telling. Books ranging from spy espionage, epic fantasy and science fiction to movies; observing how a character develops, how the story is told and how much investment we're forced to put into the characters. Along with this website, I write short stories and have a deep interest on how others tell stories. For the past several years, I've worked on putting together a collection of short stories as well as several working novellas. I'm not rushing them, but my goal is to get them published eventually. Make a name for myself as an author. It's ambitious, but we all have our hobbies that we do whether we get paid or not -- blogging here, for example.

Along with books and movies, there are three shows that have a unique method of story telling that I've watched lately. Shows like Lost, Heroes and 24. They're unique in their own right, develop characters that find yourself invested in. Lost tells a story through a fragmented timeline, flashbacks, flash-forwards, and now they're time traveling. It's a mind-trip, but it's a fun experience. The show 24 is obvious, completing a massive story within the time frame of one day. And the show Heroes appeals to the comic book fan in all of us. HBO's original series', like The Wire and The Sopranos, are massive successes and highly recommended if you've never seen them -- especially The Wire.

Do you guys have any books, shows or movies that you'd recommend? Shows with an awesome story, great character development and everything that makes it worth it?

We're short on the Bengals links today.

Paul Robinson's son suffered from Melas Syndrome, a rare form of dementia. He died on February 23. You can reach Robinson to send your condolences. For those of you that don't know, Robinson was drafted for the team's inaugural season and the team's feature back that year. The two-time Pro Bowler won several awards his (and the Bengals) rookie season, in which he led the AFL with eight touchdown rushing, 238 rushing attempts, and 1,023 yards rushing.

1968 - Sporting News: 1st team all-conf.
1968 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL
1968 - Pro Football Writers: 2nd team all-AFL
1968 - Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 1st team all-AFL
1968 - NY Daily News: 1st team all-AFL
1968 - Pro Football Weekly: 1st team all-AFL
1968 - UPI: 1st team all-AFL

Chick Ludwig thinks that cutting Dexter Jackson was addition by subtraction.

James Walker is still scratching his head why the Bengals franchised Shayne Graham rather than T.J. Houshmandzadeh. However, he thinks that the depth at wide receiver is there (which it is) and there's no reason to believe that the Bengals will draft Michael Crabtree early in the draft.

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Lord of the Rings

I know you have probably already watched the movies, but read the books. Most creative storytelling ever. My favorite books. They are long just like the movies but totally worth it.

by Diesel2405 on Mar 7, 2009 2:22 PM EST reply actions

If you liked LOTR

Try George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. They call Martin the American Tolkein. Give it a look.

Blogger at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.

by Josh Kirkendall on Mar 7, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe it’s just because I’m a contrarian but the three shows you mention are all ones I refuse to watch on general principle. Lost, because it’s too contrived, weird just for weirdness’ sake- unlike, say, Twin Peaks. Heroes, mainly because of the relentless promotional campaign NBC launched it with. And 24 because every episode is like an infomercial for the cowboy diplomacy/Bush Doctrine/absence of nuance that’s mad a mess of our foreign policy lately. Keep in mind, I’m also prefer the Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Who, and the Kinks all over the Beatles.

I tend to prefer the written word over film or television; Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milan Kundera, Vladimir Nabokov, Naghib Mahfouz, William T. Vollmann, Walker Percy, Thomas Pynchon, John Fante, Charles Bukowski, Neil Stephenson, or Umberto Eco for mind expansion and a well-crafted mystery/thriller for story and entertainment; Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Ken Bruen, Peter Robinson, Elizabeth George, Randy Wayne White, the list goes on. I also delve into the sci-fi/fantasy camp for Tolkien, Arthur C. Clark, Ursula K. Leguin, Douglas Adams, Jim Butcher- both the Dresden Files and the more fantastic series who’s name I can’t call to mind, the guy who wrote the Thomas Covenant series, and the inimitable Robert Anton Wilson- “The Illuminatus Trilogy” and “Schrodinger’s Cat”. Okay, so I read a lot.

by IgnatiusJReilly on Mar 7, 2009 5:35 PM EST reply actions

Fun TV

On the USA network there is a show called “Burn Notice” about a spy who has been cut loose or “burned” and in trying to figure out why helps people in trouble. The premise is that burn notices are issued by intelligence agencies to discredit or announce the dismissal of agents or sources who are considered to have become unreliable. When a spy is burned, they are wiped off the “grid.” They have no prior work history, no money; basically no identity. The main character is a man named Michael Westin and throughout the show he is trying to determine why he’s been burned, and by whom. As he does this he also does work as an unlicensed private investigator or spy for people in trouble, and need help.

This show has a great cast ( Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, and Sharon Gless) who have great chemistry with each other. The show goes with self contained storys (one show = one story line) but there is an overall larger story arc, which is built upon in each episode.

George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is a great series, especially the first book “A Game of Thrones.” One of the best things about the book and hardest as a fan is that Martin has no problem killing off main characters. You therefore never know what fate any character has.

by DCBengalFan on Mar 8, 2009 10:09 AM EDT reply actions

I just wish he'd release his newest!!

Blogger at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.

by Josh Kirkendall on Mar 9, 2009 3:07 AM EDT up reply actions

USA has “Monk” and “Psych”, the former being the first place I don’t find Tony Shalhoub annoying. Bruce Campbell has so much indie cred for the “Evil Dead” movies that anything he’s in is automatically cool.

by IgnatiusJReilly on Mar 9, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Dark Tower Series

Josh,

If you’ve never read Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, it’s a fantastic series of books. Highly recommended. The first book, The Gunslinger, is short but a bit tedious but beginning with Drawing of the Three, the series ramps up and takes you places you’d never imagine the story would go. My favorite series of books of all time.

Also, I don’t know if you like graphic novels or not but there are some excellent stories that have wrapped up recently, particularly Y The Last Man. All of the trade paperbacks are available in bookstores. The premise is basically that a plague has hit Earth, a plague that kills all of the men in the world except for two: a young twenty-something named Yorick and his pet monkey Ampersand. It’s phenomenal. Won a lot of Eisner awards for the storytelling and the art.

by Adam Morgan on Mar 8, 2009 4:23 PM EDT reply actions

I'll check 'em out. Thx

Blogger at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.

by Josh Kirkendall on Mar 9, 2009 3:07 AM EDT reply actions

As an aside...

Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote Y: The Last Man has also been doing a lot of the heavy lifting on writing Lost since the third season as well. If that makes it any more appealing. :)

by Adam Morgan on Mar 9, 2009 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions