At the movies: The Heat.

A very pleasant surprise here. Feel free to take Mom to this one, even though it uses a lot of F words and people get shot in the head. I wish I could go see it with Alison Bechdel.

Long Live The New Flesh: or, What Exactly is Going On inside my Body as of late.

This is rumor control; here are the facts.

On Thursday of this week, I had some surgery to excise two cervical discs from my neck.

They were worn down, compressed, and in the early-to-middle stages of calcification due to a genetic defect called Klippel-Feil Syndrome. These messed-up discs were impinging on my spinal cord, which had been causing me a lot of various and sundry issues over the past few years (haptic asynchrony, nerve pain, numbness, moodswings, existential terror, pinched nerves, and microburst headaches). It wasn't until my primary physician, Dr. Barbara Rogowski-Kent, who is awesomely pragmatic, suggested that I get a cervical MRI that we realized all of these things were tied to the same root cause.

Anyway, as of Thursday, those discs are gone. They have been replaced by bone grafts donated by someone I don't know and metal brackets to help it all fuse together appropriately. For about a day after the surgery, I had an insane-looking neck drain that looked like an Ood brain (for those of you who are Whovians). When they removed the drain from me, it was definitely surreal and felt like an Upstream Color moments, iffen you know what I mean.

I'm recovering currently. There are an abundance of interesting brusises and such everywhere, and I'll confess to not looking at my main incision or the currently-healing drainhole because I am not of sufficient fortitude to do so, But I'm feeling - different. I'm feeling better.

At the movies: Stories We Tell.

For the time being, at least, this is the best movie of 2013. Go see it, and spend some time with real human issues that aren't about drink-throwing and dumb shit. I wish Oprah was still on the air, because it's totally in her wheelhouse and she could get an insane amount of publicity for a small film that absolutely deserves your support. I guess that's my pull-quote: "If you miss when Oprah would use her powers for good, Stories We Tell is the movie you need to see."

Some thoughts on Behind the Candelabra.

This is a film worth seeing. Fortunately, thanks to the way viewing works these days, HBO Go is carrying it at your leisure. I've tried to get at everything I could possibly want to see about the film and what all it covers, but there's still something uncanny about it that feels elusive. What are your thoughts on the matter? 

At the movies: Heaven's Gate.

Yes, it's more than three and a half hours long. Yes, it's the movie that ended the era of studios giving directors leeway, power, and the benefit of the doubt. And yes, you should see it if at all possible.

At the movies: Furious 6.

Prepare for the onslaught. Furious 6 is going to kick the ass of most things this weekend; perhaps your ass will be one of them. I want more Gina Carano versus Michelle Rodriguez. If you aren't intrigued by this combination, watch the trailer... I'll wait.

Yeah, so get ready.

Some thoughts on Star Trek Into Darkness.

I am fortunate, because I have an editor and venue that is interested in hardcore Trekkie thoughts. Take a look, if you're inclined to dig deep (by which I mean Arex and M'Ress, a defense of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Klinzhai realness, and why Hollywood considers Wrath of Khan to be some kind of sacred ur-text). I welcome your thoughts, provided you're not just trying to be a jerkface.

I also made a point of not getting into my usual #1 Star Trek complaint (the abandonment of the Deltans in favor of their community college equivalents, the Betazoids), because the bald female navigator in this film (Ensign Darwin, as credited in the cast list), while she may not supposed to be Deltan, that is certainly the visual impression she gives. That she is an actress of color is even more awesome, because it's about time Paramount gave us some IDIC in action.

Also, here's a link to my take on the 2009 Trek, just to acclimate yourself to my perspectives. Cumberbatch is lightyears better than Bana, that is for damned sure.