Sunday, August 26, 2012

A Great New Television Show and A Great New Book Store


Recently I was introduced to a new show on the SyFy network called Alphas. It is about a team of investigators that have special genetic mutations. The team consists of Dr. Lee Rosen who is the leader and has no special abilities. Bill who can activate his fight or flight response and increase his strength and endurance levels. Gary, an autistic person who can see the electromagnetic signals of digital devices such as cellphones, the Internet, and television. Rachel who can increase her five senses to extremely high levels. Nina who has the ability to influence (mind control) others. And finally Cameron who has perfect aim and balance. 

The premise is very similar to the X-Men. The big question of the show is how will humanity react when it learns that there are super-powered beings in the world. Even though it is not a completely original premise, the show is original. The character Gary has one of the most original and interesting super-powers in the genre. In a world that is so dependent on digital technology, having a human that can trace these devices presents many interesting plot lines.

The second season premiered back in late July and will continue through the end of September. The first season is also on Netflix streaming, I just finished it, and I am ready to start season 2.


Secondly  I was on a field trip downtown for my job yesterday and I so happened to discover a new independent bookstore. It is called After-Words Bookstore. It is off of State and Illinois. It is an absolutely wonderful bookstore. They have an incredible selection. In fact I found John Lennon's In His Own Write, which I thought was long out of print, and Raise High the Roof Beam and Franny and Zooey by my favorite author J.D. Salinger in hardcover editions.

The atmosphere of After-Words is that of the perfect bookstore. Quiet, peaceful. I personally cannot wait to go back there. If you are in the neighborhood, go check it out.

1 comment:

Matt Maldre said...

I need to visit this bookstore more often. I like that they have a little kitchen in the basement. Thinking about their basement makes me think about the act of browsing used books. Which makes me think about how I don't really buy physical books anymore. Which makes me think about what it's like to browse eBooks. And that you can't really browse eBooks. They are all pretty much locked down. Sure, Amazon lets you see a little sample, but often the sample doesn't go beyond the front matter of the book (intro, credits) and so you can't even read any part of the body of the book.

So then if you can't really browse eBooks, at least there is still the fabric of blogs and other online readable content. I love interacting in that fabric and leaving comments on specific blog posts--something you can't do with physical books. But I do miss the aspect of books where it's a gleaned, well-produced collection of writings. Blogs don't always provide that focus and gleaned-down content.

I'm glad you mentioned that Alphas is available on Netflix streaming. Anyone else like me who wants to add Alphas to your instant queue can do so here: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Alphas/70185014?trkid=2361637