Sluice Issue #8

Sluice  | by Arthur H. Manners

Issue #8

Things to share this week

1. Music: Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions. If you're on the young side: that one playing when Billy is introduced in Stranger Things. One for long car rides or for cooking with an attitude.2. TV/Film: Atypical, starring Keir Gilchrist and Brigette Lundy-Paine, created by Robia Rashid. Now into its third season, Atypical follows Sam, a young man with autism, as he navigates his way through life. A great example of how a show can be educational without sacrificing on viewer buy-in and entertainment value. I'm not going to claim that it gets everything right regarding what autism is actually like to live with, but it introduces and hopefully somewhat normalizes the concept of neurotypical vs non-neurotypical. My favourite character is Casey, Sam's sarcastic but secretly-loving sister, who often gets overlooked and has problems of her own.3. Books: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. This is one of those books that should simply be required reading, especially children in danger of having school kill their interest in... well, anything. The books covers pretty much everything that ever happened, from a scientific perspective, from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics. If you don't know Bill's other books, he's usually a hilarious travel writer, and he brings his wit, humour and endearing enthusiasm to his exploration of science — a topic he previously knew almost nothing about. This one is up there with Hawking's A Brief History of Time. 4. Graphic novels: Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Gah. Sandman. How could I possibly explain its brilliance in so little space without simply exploding with phrases like AHHHHHOMAGADINCREDIBLEPLZBUYIT. Twelve volumes of connected tales featuring Lord Morphius, the incarnation of and master of Dreams, one of the seven Endless. Otherwise known as the Sandman. After having been imprisoned for decades, Morphius returns to his realm of the Dreaming to find his kingdom has gone awry. He must venture across the multiverse to reclaim what is his, from New York to Hell itself. Neil Gaiman at his best in one of his first projects — a true epic.5. TV/Film: Feel Good, starring Mae Martin and Charlotte Ritchie, also co-written by Mae Martin. The second season of Feel Good just dropped a few weeks ago. Mae, a stand-up comedian and recovering drug addict, falls for George, a woman who is reluctant to come out as gay. A bittersweet, head-over-heels and tumultuous relationship ensues. Hilarous, raw, sweet and totally unpretentious. I love both Mae Martin and Charlotte Ritchie, and in this they really shine.

Until next time, be good.

Best regards,

Art

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