As with any good adventure, planning and preparation are paramount. I’ve begun by gathering my supplies and charting my course. What’s particularly sad/wonderful about this specific trip is that once a small care package arrives from Amazon I will only be lacking two viewing items. Copies of the rest were already in my possession or had recently been obtained via The Internet. I suspect that’s more sad than wonderful, but doubtless the Germans have a word that means both at the same time. Or they should. Let’s call it erbärmlicheherrliche.

I’ll share my playlist with you once it’s complete. At the moment it only encompasses the material from 1998 to partway through 2004, where the first (soon to be filled) gap in my viewing collection occurs. The time for uninterrupted play is already over two full days.

That is a stat I would probably be better off not knowing.

I intend to keep notes during my viewing sessions. If they prove entertaining perhaps I will photograph them and add them to the write-ups. In preparation I am developing a note-taking template to help me focus and also to keep me from just writing “God no, why did I do this?” over and over and working on my best Jack Torrance impression.

Right now the template is still embryonic, but after I shake the bugs out on a trial run or two I’ll probably post it for you in case you want to play along at home during the BIYF Binge. To be clear, I expect no one to do this. I plan to take this bullet for you.

That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and use a little common sense, however. When I first considered committing to this marathon I had the thought that I might try to attempt it completely sober. That thought quickly passed, but I was left with the problem that I could not hide completely behind alcohol or I would:

• Need to enter a 12-step program of some sort before long.
• Quickly render myself incapable of putting together any sort of coherent review.
• Become unable to remain awake, seeking refuge from the onslaught in the welcoming arms of Morpheus. Not the one from The Matrix.

As such I will be operating under a compromise approach. I will begin each session sober, but I will be allowed one beer if the circumstances prove too punishing. In the event of a dire emergency – I’m looking at you, Cinderella 2000 – I will be allowed one mixed drink (made from the as yet unopened “Outer Space” vodka displayed at BIYF 2016) in addition to the one beer to give me a booster shot of fortitude. The catch will be that once the bottle of hard alcohol is exhausted it will not be replaced and I will have to rely on my wits and one lonely beer per session to see me through the remainder of the marathon.

I’m still not sure when I’ll actually start. I’d like to make sure that I have everything I’m planning to watch before I begin so that I don’t have that as a ready-made excuse to jump ship when I run into something I’m missing. I also think I’ll test drive my note-taking sheet on a couple things that are Not-of-This-BIYF to see if it will produce anything usable which will take a little time. Finding a few good and/or appropriate vodka drink recipes pre-marathon would probably be a good idea as well. Not that I’ll need them…

Am I stalling? Maybe just a little.

Tentatively I’m thinking I’ll begin no later than Memorial Day Weekend. That seems appropriate, though if everything is ready I might start earlier. On the 18th anniversary of the first BIYF ever perhaps? (1998, not 1993)

Let me know if you have suggestions (other than “For the love of all that is holy don’t do this, man!”) or comments here where “Zardoz Speaks to You” and I’ll continue to keep you apprised of any progress that occurs. Also, let me know if you have any issues with the blog logins I’ve sent out. Remember, I need to approve your first comment manually (which might take me a little bit) and then you should be able to comment with impunity.

The countdown has (not quite) begun.