Very happy to have Megan here for two days. We got out to some restaurants, a movie, and Kevin's hockey game She and Kevin get along so well. Nice for both of them to have such an admirer.And nice for his parents to share the good time.
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| Julie and Josh |
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| Megan and Kevin |
None of us enjoyed A STAR IS BORN much. Disliked the generic music that dominated it. Loved Sam Elliott though but disliked Cooper stealing his voice. We were in the minority in the theater where we saw it. Maybe the news of that day stole a good time from us. Have to see it again when we're feeling better about life.
Happy to have THE GOOD PLACE back on. Moderately enjoying SECRETS AND LIES although I found the POV less than ideal.
Fun to see how much Megan has learned about making a film. If DARE ME goes to series I can't see how she will be able to write a novel. It seems all-consuming.
Good friends are having their 60th anniversary in two weeks. They eloped from University of Wisconsin to Asheville NC 60 years ago. He drove from Dartmouth to Madison, WI and they took off. How romantic.
What about you?
16 comments:
Kevin is so grown up! Great picture.
I can identify with your feelings about A STAR IS BORN (which does not interest me at all). Yesterday we went to see THE NAP, the new play by Richard Bean, author of the hilarious ONE MAN, TWO GUV'NORS. (Granted, the latter had the brilliant performance of James Corden.) It was about a snooker tournament, not very interesting, but the NY Times raved about it and called it a brilliant farce.
I beg to differ. Yes, there were a few funny lines and some appealing silly bits, but we agreed at intermission that neither of us liked it, cared about the characters (caricatures, for the most part), or cared about what would happen next. And it wasn't just us, as I heard few laughs. Ben Brantley let us down.
What else? Nothing of great moment. I loved Mary Robinette Kowal's novelette, "The Lady Astronaut of Mars," when I read it (it is free on the tor.com website), so was looking forward to the prequel novel, THE CALCULATING STARS, and happily raced through the 425 pages. I'm waiting for book two from the library. In 1952 (a slightly different world from our ow), a meteorite hits off the Atlantic coast and wipes out Washington, D.C. and the entire government (I know, if only). The long-term effects necessitate speeding up the space program in hopes of establishing off-world colonies before the Earth becomes uninhabitable, which seems very likely (other than to some "fake news" politicians). Elma York was a pilot during WWII and her husband is Chief Engineer of the program. Good stuff.
What else is going on? The Yankees had to "settle" for the wild card despite winning 100 games, but they got past Oakland and are in position to (fingers crossed) take out their #1 rivals, the hated Red Sox. Of course, Houston looms beyond that, but one step at a time.
We have tickets to see the Eagles at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, the first of our four concerts in October.
Television. We're watching much the same stuff mentioned last week. Added season two of DICTE (Danish), watching REBECKA MARTINSSON (Swedish), SAFE (Harlan Coben), MINDHUNTER, THE WEST WING (season one), etc. Looking forward to MADAME SECRETARY, which we recorded last night.
The news is disheartening.
Jessie is "unofficially" cancer-free. The chemo did its work: The tumor shrunk and died and no cancer cells were found in the surrounding tissue. Eleven lymph node were removed, resulting in a very uncomfortable drain inserted in her armpit; the drain should be removed this week. She's not out of the woods yet...there's still radiation and a year of additional chemo to go before she's officially cancer-free. Cancer is a sneaky bastard and there is always a chance it could recur but she will be ever vigilant. We are over the moon with her results.
Erin's high school band took part in an all-day regional competition on Saturday. She's in the color guard, which combines dance, flag twirling, and spinning rifles and sabers in the air and catching them -- a far more difficult than my description. She had a perfect performance. She and the color guard generated more applause than any other group while we were there and Erin was bubbling over with pride. We left soon after her performance so we're not sure who won the competition but, in our minds, we know.
Another Sunday morning beach day. Kitty, Jessie, and I just sat and watched the vivid colors of the Gulf of Mexico while most of the others went in the water. It was a breezy morning with heavy chop and strong waves. Each wave that came in knocked Jack a foot or two backward; once a big wave tossed him into his mother, almost knocking her over in the process. It was fun to watch everybody prancing in the water. After, it was off to Dairy queen for treats. (Jessie, who is still very tired and has not had much of an appetite these past few months, scarfed down a chili cheese dog. Good to see.)
I was not happy over the whole Kavanaugh debacle where a judicial nominee lied under oath and showed how unfit he was to be an impartial judge. Luckily, I live in my own little world of imagination where Justice Kavanaugh drinks far too much beer every time the court is in session and ralphs all over Clarence Thomas (another one who lied during his nomination hearings). Also in my little world of imagination, the president is forced to eat Trump steaks rare and with no ketchup and Mitch McConnell is kicked out of the NRA for being too unreasonable pro-gun, divorces Elaine Cho, and marries a gay interior designer. It's fun living in my little world of imagination.
Not much else this week. I read and enjoyed Dean Koontz' fourth Jane Hawk novel, THE FORBIDDEN DOOR, despite its many flaws. My ankle seems to be getting better although this weekend it gave out once and sent me toppling. Luckily, Doctor Jack was on hand and I got the best medical treatment a six-year-old can give. (I am seeing an orthopedic man this morning.) Jack also said he was going to be very sad when I died because I was so old. Every attempt to dissuade him that I was not THAT old fell on deaf ears. **sigh**
Luckily, you, Phil, and family are not so old, allowing you to enjoy the week ahead.
Great news, Jerry.
Boy, do I enjoy reading your posts every Monday! Thanks!
I saw VENOM (which took in $80 million and set a record for movies opening in October). It was so-so.
The Buffalo Bills managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as they scored a 13-12 win over the Tennessee Titans with a last second field goal. Ugly win, but we Bills fans will take it.
I loved Jodie Whittaker as the new DOCTOR WHO!
Summer temps hit us today. We'll be back in the 80s for a few days. The A/C goes back on!
Megan will soon be a media mogul!
Can I start watching it with this incarnation and understand it, George.
NEWS OF THE WORLD also sounds like HOSTILES.
Have to agree with George. Venom was pretty mediocre. Have no interest in A Star is Born although it has to be better than the awful Streisand version where she goes on stage at a Woodstock type festival and sings the insipid Evergreen and is not booed off the stage. Did see A Simple Favor and was pleasantly surprised. Enjoyed it a lot.
Read Lethal White by Robert Galbraith(J.K. Rowlings). Very good and very long. Just started both Irontown Blues by John Varley and The Hard Stuff an autobiography by the MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer.
On tv enjoying Better Call Saul, The Deuce and Lodge 49. On Amazon Prime the 3rd season of The Man in the High Castle. On Netflix The Haunting of Hill House based on the Shirley Jackson novel starts Friday. It has received some pretty good advance reviews.
The Lions actually won and I didn't watch. Oh well.
Glad you enjoyed Megans visit. I see she is still listed as a story editor on The Deuce.
Congratulations to the House family.
It was funny to scroll through Instagram and see Megan and Patti's separate photos of the same restaurant get together.
A mostly unexciting week and a busy weekend. Our friends had an invite only, soft opening of their new downtown brewery on Friday evening. They had a nice crowd. My wife and I left at 9:30PM or so but the place stayed open until 2AM.
The next day was an incredibly wet and muddy soccer game for Boy #2. The field's drainage is very poor and the kids (6th-8th grades) would kick the ball to have it completely stop when it hit a puddle.
I then took Boy #1 up to Wausau for his mountain bike race. The rain held off and the fall weather was pleasant with temps in the mid-40s. I sometimes think I am really missing out by living in Southern Wisconsin. I drive north for some event or other and see the abundance of forests, state parks, rolling hills, and Autumn colors that we do not have as much of here in the southern side of the state.
Patti, this is the perfect time to start DOCTOR WHO. This new reboot should entertain you and Phil with some science fiction action and humor.
Thanks, George
Megan wrote the sixth episode of THE DEUCE so she is still on the credits. But her involvement with THE DEUCE has ended for now.
What a wet fall, we have had.
It is a lot like THE SEARCHERS in many ways. I can't remember if I saw HOSTILES or not.
Oh, I did see HOSTILES. Similar and not.
I have a cousin who is a executive producer for MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Maybe I mentioned that before. I've not seen him for 35 years or more. He, my brother, and I did NOT get along when he stayed with us for several days during a summer.
I just meant similar to HOSTILES in the "escorting the Indians home" way,
Been a tough week.
Sandi would have loved seeing her Red Sox win last night.
Jerry's news is fantastic.
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