Jake Ludington's Digital Lifestyle

As much fun as this high-tech, processor-intensive electronic lifestyle is, sometimes a break in the action is healthy, both for physical and mental health. Personally, I think I could play video games (Desert Combat, anyone?) all day and all night, with breaks only for ingress and egress of fuel. I'm flying a bit under the radar with this particular article to bring your attention back to the world of print media. And no, I don't mean a discussion of ink-jet cartridges. I know you're disappointed. Maybe later. Anyway, with the summer in full swing, getting outside with a good book is one of the great pleasures of life in the Northwest, as we appreciate sunny summer days perhaps more than those in climes blessed with fewer clouds. I have recently been introduced to a British writer who has been swiftly making a name for himself through not only print, but graphic novels and guest writing for comics such as prior issues of the recent (appalling) screen adaptation of Hellblazer, featuring the magical rake (in the literary sense, not the garden tool...) Constantine, a dark comic well worth seeking out. Neil Gaiman has put out several novels, most successful commercially and critically, but none I feel as good as his tour de force rendition of a second London, a vaguely medieval society populated by all manner of strange and unique creatures, many of them dangerous and base. This work, titled Neverwhere, is a classic Gaiman work, evoking a feeling of a dreamlike state throughout, never waking the reader, rather dipping in and out of a fugue like a dolphin on painkillers. Before I lose you, intrepid reader, in the dim corridors of your local library, take heart; for this masterwork has also been brought into the digital realm with a DVD adaptation by the BBC. Unlike most adaptations of books, this one features Gaiman at the helm, ensuring an accurate creation of his dream. As the book is necessarily concerned with the non-corporeal imagery of each particular reader, seeing the book in a concrete format is slightly jarring, but does as well as any adaptation I have ever seen at maintaining the author's vision. Both the book and DVD can be found at the Issaquah Public Library, and both come highly recommended for a needed break of eyes and mind from the comforting glow of a CRT. Now, back to Desert Combat and my Apache Hellfire Delivery System!!!