I don't "meh", the 00's anymore (Part 1).

Previously with the 00's...

• Bye bye, 00's.
• I "meh", the 00's!! (Part 1)
• I "meh", the 00's!! (Part 2!!)
• The Best Of: I "meh", the 00's.

Previously with THIS series...

I don't h8 the 90's anymore.

• Part 1 (Cartoons part 1)
• Part 1.5 (Cartoons part 1.5)
• Part 2 (Movies part 1)
• Part 2.5 (Movies part 1.5)
• Part 3 (Movies part 2)
• Part 3.5 (Movies part 2.5)
• Part 4 (Regular-ass TV)
• Part 5 (Cable TV part 1)
• Part 5.5 (Cable TV part 1.5)
• Part 5.75 (Cable TV part 1.75)
• Part 6 (Novels)
• Part 7 (Magazines/Comics)
• Part 8 (Music/Games/Internet)
• Part 9 (Trips/Treasures/Treats)

So, now that we're really far away from the Bush years, this decade doesn't look so bad anymore.
In fact, for me it was watershed.


The Summer Of Dune!! (2002)

The defining moment of the whole decade for me.

My next evolutionary jolt after the Nova Scotia trip.
In a way, I kinda count it as the "sequel", to the Nova Scotia trip.

Rewind a couple decades, I first became aware of Dune from the David Lynch movie in the 80's.
It made no fucking sense to me (at the time), and even though people close to me assured me up and down that the novels were a million times better, I was not the least bit interested.

Fast forward to 94-95, and Hyla had the books, and again, he swore up and down that they were masterpieces. But this time, I was interested, but I was all whole-hog into Star Wars Expanded Universe, and couldn't find the time commitment for such an undertaking.

Fast-forward to 2000, and the Sci-Fi Channel Dune miniseries came out, and everyone pisses on it, but I loved the fucking thing.
Everything clicked for me in this version way better than the Lynch version, and it finally made me grasp the Lynch version.

This was also around the time that the shitty Brian Herbert prequel novels started coming out, so I was like "damn, I gotta get into this!".

2001, the DVD of the miniseries comes out, and I get that.

Then, fucking 9/11 drops.

So, I was paranoid and afraid, and thinking World War III was on its way, because of course George Bush was going to do something stupid, and piss off a nuclear power somehow.

So, thinking death was truly on its way, and wanting to go out happy, I started watching my DVDs and tapes (the VCR still worked at the time).

I re-watched the Dune miniseries, then again on commentary mode, because "what the Hell?".

Then, I wanted more, but there was no more, and then that finally kicked me in the ass to get the books.

That Christmas, I wanted all brain food.
Dune, Watchmen, Sin City, Sgt. Peppers, Abby Road, Radiohead: Amnesiac, Alan Moore Swamp Thing updated to graphic novels, Thomas Paine's Age Of Reason, Voltaire, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History Of Time, all the shit I'd put off, and hand waved away in favor of fucking junkfood.

I was sick and tired of being stupid, and if the planet was going to explode, I wasn't going out that way.

Burned through the comics first, because those are easier, then devoured the music.
Actually, it was concurrently, because I know Sgt. Peppers and Amnesiac were my soundtrack for Watchmen.
Man, that was a twisted combo.
Loved it.
First written book I grabbed was Dune.
Everyone was right, the novel was better.
WAY better.
WAAAYYYY better.
I immediately needed the others.
I scarfed them up with Christmas money.

But then that stack was intimidating again, like when they were on Hyla's shelf.

Summer of 2002, I finally was like "fuck it", and burned through 'em.
I only stopped to eat and poop.
Took all summer.
Some would say I pissed that summer away.
Fuck those people.

I most wanted to see "God Emperor Of Dune", because that looked like the weirdest, therefore the coolest.

Oh my God, "Children Of Dune", took fooooreeeeverrr, it was torture, I wanted to get to "God Emperor", so fucking bad, but "Children", just kept going!!!
"Dune Messiah", was quick by comparison.
*Checks* yeah "Children", is only 400 pages.
It just felt long. It's not bad, it's excellent, they all are, but God DAMN I wanted to be on "God Emperor".
Oh, it didn't disappoint.
It's my favorite.
I knew it would be.

I mean, come on, a half-man half-sandworm who lives for millennia, and guides future human history, and has the genetic memories of all his human ancestors going back to ancient times to guide him? Tell me you don't wanna see that movie!

"Heretics", and "Chapterhouse", are excellent too, but they were building towards something that never got finished.

Afterward, my brain felt like a nympho after a gang-bang, or a competitive eater after putting away the 5 pound burrito.

Fucking satisfied!!!

The only time I've experienced this.
I've been chasing that high ever since.

Closest I've come was in 2007 when I read "The God Delusion", and "God Is Not Great", shed my last vestiges of superstition, and joined the Dawkins forum.

I got a little jolt of it again watching "Jodorowsky's Dune".

Oh, and I did buy the first two Brian Herbert prequels, and got a couple chapters into the first one, and bailed.
They're just adventure stories with political backstabbing, all the deep philosophy, and environmentalism, and God's-eye-view cosmic history stuff  stuff wasn't there.
It was like "Baby's First Dune".
No thanks.
Don't give me black tar heroin, then give me table pepper, and tell me it's the same thing.
Who do you fucking take me for?

I dunno, maybe they figured noobs needed the training wheels.
Fine for them.
I could handle the sextilogy by Frank just fine.

Anyway, I planned all along to do this entry, its just taken me forever to get here, and coincidentally enough, Comicbookgirl19 did her whole summer long reading of Dune on her channel.
So, that cattle prodded my ass too.

And seeing her do her thing, it was just like my "summer of Dune", so it's not just me.
These books change you.

Anyhoo, I've come full circle, now I'm the guy recommending them to friends who don't want to sit down and read.

Do it.
Buy 'em.
Read 'em.
Use audiobooks if that's easier for you.
Just do it.
Get them into your head.
Do it!!


And...that's that one done.
*Dusts hands*

Next time, reassessing the Star Wars Prequels.