Star Wars In My Ears - A Look At The Sith List Podcast.

There is no doubt that popular culture and popular entertainment has exploded in recent times. The seemingly unending cornucopia of super hero franchises as well as high end television franchises now serve a fan base that was unthinkable in terms of numbers when I was growing up in the 80's. And it wasn't until the popularity of the Internet really kicked off in the early 2000's that fans and fan communities from all over the world could interact with each other. 

I've observed this pattern for pretty much my entire life, having been born into world at a time when Star Wars erupted onto the screen and into the public consciousness in a way that was unprecedented. And, I've derived immense joy - particularly recently - in having found a global community of pop culture fans who appreciate pop culture as much as I do.

The nexus of this interaction has been audio podcasts which have allowed friendships to spring up, discussions to take place and generally good times to be had.

So, this week, I'm continuing my exploration of the podcasts that have filled my ears and have given me a whole lot of satisfaction and joy. I want to share with you a show called The Sith List.

(image credit: Iraj Dowlatshahi.)

The Sith List is a weekly pop culture podcast that covers not only Star Wars - which, of course, is catnip for me - but it explores a broader spectrum of popular culture and engages wide ranging discussions on the likes of Marvel, DC, Lost, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead - just to name a few. 

Hosted by Iraj Dowlatshahi and Carlos Arguello, The Sith List's appeal lies in the team's keen knowledge of a wide variety of pop culture franchises and their passion for the storytelling, characterizations and lore contained therein. They also step out of the in-universe content to explore and discuss behind the scenes aspects of the various franchises, drawing on up-to-the-minute news items from reputable entertainment sources. Their commitment to factual reporting is really admirable in a sea of similarly constructed audio productions who don't strive for that level of accuracy.

The Sith List hosts Carlos Arguello & Iraj Dowlatshahi. (image credit: Iraj Dowlatshahi.)

What I also really like about the podcast is that, for the casual fan - who may not be familiar with a particular franchise - Iraj and Carlos present their show in such a way that you don't necessarily have to be a fan. They make their content accessible and actually invite the listener into a given franchise by giving enough background information that one is encouraged to go out and look further. 

Their discussions, their debates are lively, sometimes passionate but always entertaining. With a roster of guests drawn from within pop culture fandom, you can be guaranteed to be informed as well as entertained by the differing opinions put on show. 

There is also a healthy dose of nostalgia available in The Sith List - one that especially appeals to us 80's kids for whom much of our Saturday mornings are but a distant memory. 

The Sith List brings it all back with affectionate immediacy.

Subscribe to The Sith List on iTunes here. 

Subscribe to The Sith List's generic feed here.

Connect with The Sith List here. 

Tweet The Sith List here. 

DFA.

Isolation, Silence & Dysfunctional Fandom.

It's been a week since my surgery.

A long, slow, grinding week, characterized by constant pain, an inability to eat anything more substantial than liquids or pureès, an inability to form anything more than a few words that register above a whisper. I've spent long hours looking at the walls, wrestling with the most basic of decisions - (should I pick up that empty toilet roll tube off the floor so that the dog doesn't chew it - or no?)

I took a photo of the visible part of my throat last night. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to see it and I when I did see it I was sure that I didn't - and I wish I hadn't.

It is raw. It is mutilated. It is green! There is so much putrid slough in there that mere sight of it makes me want to gag. If only I could gag.

In short - I am thoroughly sick of myself.

I'll understand if you choose to vague out now because I know my misery can be interpreted as self indulgent. But I will say that blogging about this experience has gone some way in helping me cope with the situation.

And I will say that on Thursday, I had a slight bump in energy and motivation - enough that I took my dog Sam for a walk to the park and let him off to run around for a bit. Adelaide's parklands near my house are a wonderful open space, safe from traffic and just perfect for burning off some canine energy. Sam was, of course, as pleased as punch. The walk ruined me but I was glad I did it.

I also did some writing on Thursday. Not much - around two thousand words; but they are new words I've committed to a project I've tentatively called Walhalla - one that I've been trying to get going for a little while now. Again, my concentration collapsed after a few hours but, for a time their, it was really nice to just write something - to have some creativity flowing through me. I have only the vaguest idea of where this material will fit into an eventual story. That doesn't matter to me though. These things can be worked out later.

As I predicted, the pointy end of necessary human interaction is beginning to make itself felt and it is not encouraging. Of the few trips I've made to my local grocer this week, I've found them to be understanding without having to divulge the circumstances of my situation. Other places have regarded me with confusion, a latent suspicion and unabashed antipathy. One lady at the chemist the other day when I was trying to mouth the word tramadol, came right out and said, rather incredulously, "You can talk you know!"

A predictable ignorance.

The minute you hope for understanding, human nature comes in and shits all over it.

So I'm avoiding going out unless it's absolutely necessary. Soon, sadly, it is going to be necessary. I'm dreading that.

I think I'm done with pop culture. Looking through my social network feed this week, I've seen a number of spot fires raging around controversies within the Marvel and Star Wars universes and they are just so hack. Something about Captain America being a Nazi now and, shock horror, the forthcoming Rogue One film has to undergo some reshoots - like that never happens.

The pretentiousness of these hyper fans is really difficult to cope with and I feel as though there is an expectation on the part of some of them to engage in a war to justify some sort of defense of an ideology. It's fucking fiction! It's not key to human survival. Their consistent argument is that "my fandom is bigger than your fandom so your opinion has no validity!" I've encountered this personally in just the past week. It is confronting.

It's indicative to me that fandom is essentially broken and that maybe it is time to abandon certain franchises - *cough* Marvel *cough* that have already been twisted up in so many knots, the ability to ret conn them is virtually useless.

Further, I find that fans in my own beloved franchise have hitched themselves to it in sych a way that they have begun identifying themselves as "Star Wars" celebrities. That, because they flaunt their fandom as though it's some kind of penis symbol, they have assumed the right to be intertwined with the universe - almost as if they were in the fucking films themselves. It is annoying. Infuriating even.

I am trying to pay attention to the Federal Election campaign here currently because I like to think of myself as a responsible civic citizen and I want to take my vote seriously. But, I can't make sense of any of the arguments being put forward by the participating political parties. It's becoming lost in confusion and slogans. The only things the nation seems to have been talking about is the economy, superannuation, tax and jobs. Nothing about the arts. Nothing about social justice issues. Nothing about climate. We are a nation obsessed with money and the problems we face as a nation going forward require more than just money to address them.

But then I'm lost again.

Anyway, I have gone off on a major tangent. But it is illustrative of where my mind is at right now. I am unable to focus on anything for more than a short period of time before I am quickly distracted - then disinterested.

And I sit and look out the window.

There's a toilet roll tube on the top of the fence paling.

DFA.