Three good movies this week. Steve O and I saw ECHO IN THE CANYON, which looked at the music coming out of California in the mid-sixties. It was narrated and mostly sung by Jakob Dylan, a handsome lad who doesn't quite have the rock voice or charisma to be completely successful in this role, but some nice music and good observations about that time. I really enjoyed Spiderman, great combo of teen- age antics and a clever plot. And PAVAROTTI was nicely done by Ron Howard.
Reading BIG SKY by Kate Atkinson;. She is such a great writer.
Lost my power on the 3-4th of July but that allowed me to spend some time with my son and grandson and DIL. Not a bad week.
Go find the person you are married to (if you are) and tell them right now how much they have enhanced your life, how much they mean to you. Every day I am reminded of how we didn't say that enough to each other. We felt it was implied but implied is not enough. You will really regret it if this isn't something that was part of your everyday conversation, the fabric of your life. All of you are old enough that time isn't infinite for you anymore.
And I am telling you, how much you all have meant to me over the last decade or so. You are here every day and that counts for so much.
What are you up to this week?
20 comments:
Glad that you enjoyed the films, Patti. And I agree: Atkinson is talented!
Saw Echoes in the Canyon with Patti. Could have used more old clips and less Jakob Dylan, but I enjoyed it anyway. Also saw Midsomer which is a well reviewed horror film. I thought it tried too hard to be artsy and ended up way too long and slow. Plus if you ever saw The Wicker Man you know what is going on.
Watching third season of Stranger Things and not much else.
Haven't been to any concerts this week but hoping to see Wilco, Patti Smith and Steely Dan which are all coming up. So far haven't got tickets for any of these. Have to find someone to go with yet to all these although the first two shouldn't be a problem. It's the Steely Dan one which may be difficult. The friend who I go to most of my concerts with hates outdoor venues.
The weather has been nice. Temps okay but a bit too much rain and two power shortages within a two week period.
Midsomer is the British TV series (Midsomer Murders). This is spelled MIDSOMMAR, I believe.
We have Steely Dan tickets for October, when they do their annual week of concerts at the Beacon.
Highlight of the week was four days in Connecticut (and a daylong side trip to Newport, Rhode Island to see the "Servant Life" tour at The Elms) with my cousin Nancy and her husband, Jerry. We always have a good time with them, but this time we both overate and paid for it with stomach issues. We're not used to three big meals a day anymore. She is already planning next year's trip, to Boston (and environs).
The Elms is half the size of the Vanderbilts' place at Newport, The Breakers. It was built for coal baron Edward Berwind from 1899-1901, so more modern than the 1878 Breakers. The guide was very knowledgeable and led us up and down the 82 steps (there is an elevator for those who can't walk it) and showed us how the lower orders lived - not too bad for the time, except when he fired the entire staff in a fit of pique - and an amazing view of Newport and the harbor from the roof. The house cost over $1 million to build, but when his daughter died in 1961, they were ready to tear it down for a shopping center. The preservation society bought it for $116,000.
We spent most of the rest of the trip (and dined) in Mystic, a lovely village at the estuary of the Mystic River.
No, it's a movie, Jeff. By the director who did HERITARY. It's horror.
We saw THE BREAKERS when we were there and also their house in NC. Way too much money there for me. I love that area though. I have cousins who live in Providence.
Thanks for going with me, Steve. A nice afternoon.
It was my pleasure. Anytime you want to do something just let me know.
We're all glad to have you with us, Patti. Keep up the fine work!
I tell Barbara every day how much I value and love her. The Echos In The Canyon sounds interesting, though perhaps a documentary would be better. So glad you have been enjoying events lately!
It is a documentary of sorts.
THanks, Jeff. Not much work going on here except for trying to understand finances.
No, I know it is a movie. I was just correcting the spelling - MIDSOMMAR.
We went to the Biltmore in Asheville after the Raleigh Bouchercon. That was bigger than The Breakers, obviously. I still remember the pool in the basement.
A pool in the basement has always seemed creepy to me. But I hate basements.
I tell my wife that every day, Patti; so much so that she gets sick of it, but I never get sick of telling her and showing her. Family, friends, pets, the whole world around us -- it's all there to make us better, more appreciative persons.
Looking for to the Spider-Man movie.
Between GOOD OMENS and Season 3 of STRANGER THINGS it's been a happy TV week. I'm currently reading Neil Gaiman's THE QUITE NICE AND FAIRLY ACCURATE GOOD OMENS SCRIPT BOOK and am enjoying it as much as the series.
The Fourth was great. Beach time in the morning. The girls saw what they thought was a dolphin but on further reflection believe it was a shark. (There were three reported that
day despite the fact that it was a green flag day -- meaning perfect for swimming.) The girls swam and did not get eaten so that's one in the plus department. Then over to Christina's for a cookout. Walt made cheeseburgers and cooked up some great ribs; we had three kinds of potato salad, cole slaw, and chocolate chiffon pie. Mark's girlfriend and another friend from college joined in. We skipped out of going to the fireworks because we're old poops, but the kids said they were great.
Bought a mini-fridge to replace the 39-year-old that came with the apartment. It seems to be working out well. I had to take the doors off the old fridge before storing it on the back porch. It was nearly impossible to get to the screws to remove the door, making it a three-day effort. In the end the score was refrigerator - 0, me -1. Because I am totally mechanically inept, I take great pride in getting that job done.
Good friends are stopping for a few days later this week. We haven't seen them for several years so there will be a lot of catching up.
Next week is Jack's seventh birthday. It's amazing how fast the time flies and how much progress he has made since he became a part of the family. He was born to a drug-addicted mother and he had to detox in the hospital for the first six weeks of his life before Christina and Walt fostered, the adopted, him.) He has overcome so much in seven years and although there are still medical issues that have to be worked on, Jack is basically a sweet, intelligent, imaginative, and (very) active boy. It's a privilege to have him as part of the family.
Jack spends the night with us one or two nights a week. During those nights I read to him or -- more and more lately -- he reads to me before bedtime. I picked up a graphic novel SMILE by Raina Telgermeier, for a bedtime story. It's about an incident that happened to the author when she was eleven and how she coped with it over the next four years. A wonderful story. Jack loved it and read the entire book, asking for help only on the difficult words. Looks like the world may have another book lover -- we could do with as many of those as we can get.
As always, may you have the best of days and the best of weeks, Patti.
Jerry-thanks for your buoyant and family-centered life.
Loved SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. Loved PAVAROTTI.
We've had steamy temperatures last week. Today, it's cooler with lower humidity. At least the rain has decreased.
Patrick and Katie came home for the Fourth of July weekend. It's always fun when the kids come home for a visit.
Our Fourth was spent at a friend's house for their annual get together. Their home overlooks the fireworks show. My 16-year-old actually had someone his age to talk to at the party this year. Most of the time he goes to these family events and there are gaggles of teen girls sticking together and he just sits being bored. I'm glad to say I did not drink too much and felt just fine when I got to work on the 5th.
Speaking of booze, the new local brewer named a beer after my wife using the internet name I use for her: https://untappd.com/b/sunshine-brewing-company-nice-blonde-lady/3312788
On Saturday I drove the children over to the cat cafe in Milwaukee. That got the 13-year-old out of the house. We then went by a bookstore and headed home.
I'm looking forward to a Scout trip out to Yellowstone. The older Scouts have done all the planning with minimal adult input. If anything goes wrong I figure we can wing it. The only drawback is the driving. Four total days of driving including a 13 hour drive for the first day of travel from Southern WI to our overnight in Western SD. That day we meet at 4:30AM for a 5AM departure.
Wow. That is quite a lot of driving. Be careful.
Yes, nice when they come home. At least I have one in Michigan.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed SPIDERMAN. Tempted to stream the earlier one.
That is good advice to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, Patti. I am having surgery (outpatient, I hope, not too big a deal) tomorrow so we are are making that effort but we should do it more. It is so good that you think about what makes you happy regularly; I don't do well with that, although I feel very blessed with my family and my life.
TV I've been keeping up with includes reviewing, briefly, the upcoming Ursula K. Le Guin episode of AMERICAN MASTERS on PBS, on 2 August (trimmed down from the 65-minute form in which WORLDS OF URSULA K. LE GUIN has been playing at festivals and in limited release in art houses and the like. It's good, not flawless, but good.
Recommended:
Showtime:
CITY ON A HILL (the current successor to HOMICIDE...a bit slow but not too shabby...Sarah Shahi's performance is just the most remarkable in that of an excellent cast.
OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT
THE LOUDEST VOICE is just OK, so far, but watchable.
HBO:
DIVORCE remains fine.
EUPHORIA improved in its second episode from its good pilot...will catch up with it, as I've been sticking with Showtime to catch THE LOUDEST VOICE since it started.
LAST WEEK TONIGHT
TBS:
THE DETOUR
FULL FRONTAL
Starz:
THE ROOK also a bit slow going in the first two episodes, but has potential.
Epix:
Haven't tried PERPETUAL GRACE, LTD, but Jeff seems to like it, and will give it a try soon. Season 3 of GET SHORTY and the new PENNYWORTH coming later in July and August.
The CW:
The wrapping-up iZOMBIE continues to be very good indeed.
CBS:
BLOOD AND TREASURE has been more engaging than I expected.
Cozi TV:
I have been catching up on THE ROCKFORD FILES episodes I'd missed over the years.
MHz Worldview:
Taped most of the series of the Italian NERO WOLFE telefilm series in stripped repeats over the last week.
THE DAILY SHOW, THE LATE SHOW, and LATE NIGHT have usually gotten my attention of late.
It's useful advice, letting your special others know what you think and feel about them.
And best of luck to Tracy with this operation...should check her blog. As often the case, a fair amount of bad things happening to people I care about, and yet we mostly persevere.
MIDSOMMAR has been the biggest source of argument on the Indiana Uni Horror discussion list since whether or not I'm a snobbish jerk broke out a couple of weeks back.
Very glad, as well, you're continuing to get out and about a bit...
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