Our new series “Meet the Bloggers” is a way for the community to learn about the people who make Jet Fuel Review whole. For our first addition of this new weekly series for this semester, we are introducing Antonio Rodriguez. Rodriguez is one of our current television and film bloggers under his title, Antonio’s The Rare Review: A Look at Sci-Fi/Drama.
Antonio’s Bio:
A lifelong resident of Joliet with a degree in Social Sciences and Secondary Education, Antonio still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. He has tried his hand at teaching, financial sales (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance), college recruiting, and even law enforcement. In his current pursuits, Rodriguez has realized that his love of words combined with his love of the business world makes him well suited for a career in marketing. He hopes to copy the eloquence of his creative hero, Mad Men character Don Draper.
Below is our Q&A with Antonio Rodriguez:
-Who are you and what is your role in the Jet Fuel Review?
I am an at large student, so not degree seeking since I already have a bachelor’s degree from 2009. I’m focused on taking courses in Marketing and other subjects like Graphic Design which will allow me to succeed somewhere in the business world.
My role at the Jet Fuel Review is blogger, primarily focused on science fiction, fantasy, drama overall, and crime dramas.
-What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
I actually try and read a little bit before bed every night to calm my mind. Right now I’m partway through Stephen King’s The Waste Lands for maybe the fifth time. It is the third book in an eight book series that is King’s masterpiece, which even connects in small and large ways to other works he has written such as Insomnia and Salem’s Lot. I have revisited the series multiple times and I always find new details each time.
-If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
Stephen King would be interesting to meet and write with, since he is a master at creating whole worlds and characters with great backstories. However, his son, Joe Hill, might be even more interesting as he is a blossoming writer in his own right.
-Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
I tend to be a people watcher if I’m in public, so probably being under a lamp on my couch at home with one of my dogs curled up next to me would be the perfect atmosphere.
-What might your personal library look like?
There’s quite a bit of science fiction and fantasy from Tolkien to the very dark Necroscope series. I’ve also branched out at times into more philosophical works like Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Graphic novels and comic books are favorites as well. I’ve enjoyed future scenarios such as DC’s “Kingdom Come” in which an aging Superman comes out of a self-imposed exile to confront a calamity. My go to hero is Green Lantern, since the lanterns can literally create anything with pure thought.
-If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
I never saw it after poor reviews, but the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower deserves a second chance. They tried to chop up eight books of material and cram it into an hour and a half, which is just sloppy.
-What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
The Hobbit is always a familiar favorite that never gets old. I read it at an early age, and to this day I think that the animated film from all the way back in 1977 is the best homage to the tale. The three new movies added tons of fluff and extra scenes that aren’t in the book just to get to three movies and make more money, but the animated version features some pretty dark depictions of the bad guys, plus stirring music in the battles.
-Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“I’m your Huckleberry.” –Doc Holliday in Tombstone, 1993
-If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
An interesting but probably frustrating character would be Dr. Manhattan from the iconic graphic novel (and now HBO series) Watchmen. He was a mild mannered physicist who gained godlike powers from an accident with an experiment; he can teleport anywhere at will, manipulate and destroy matter, and even see his own future and past, experiencing time in a nonlinear fashion. I enjoyed the visuals more than the story in the Watchmen movie, but Manhattan’s logic paired with near omnipotence in the HBO series makes him a compelling and interesting figure.
-Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
- Snatch directed by Guy Ritchie
- The Gunslinger by Stephen King
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- Westworld (HBO series)
- Mad Men (AMC series)