Reading The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer and assorted short stories.
Hanging onto the last Bosch, I will miss it. Also watching The Great Pottery Throw down, which never fails to relax me. Looking forward to Unforgotten tonight on PBS. And The White Lotus on HBO.
Two movies on TV this week. Shiva Baby and a rewatch of Homicide. Criterion has 20 neo-noirs on this month.
I continue to pay too much for cable television. I only use streaming channels almost all of the time so I know I need to cut the cord, but it's complicated, isn't it? I need someone to guide me with the scissors. After going through a lengthy process to install a new modem/router (which Comcast insisted I could easily do--not true at all), my old computer cannot find the new name and password. Do I buy a new computer or install a Mac of Phil's that is also old and I have never used Macs. Do I stick with Comcast or move over to Wow or At& T? Is there someone you can hire to lead you through this? (I bought a new computer)
In another piece of bad news, my good friend, who was vaccinated with me back in February, has Covid. She got the antibody infusion but still hasn't fully recovered. Less than 1% of the vaccinated have had this happen so what a piece of bad luck. And I know no one more careful than she has been.
I get hearing aids tomorrow. I hope I can adjust to them. Biden spoke of having cheaper ones available, but my hearing has been waiting too long already for help. The tinnitus is driving me crazy.
So what's new in your world?
17 comments:
Tired of the rain which looks to be around all week. I feel like I'm in Seattle.
Rewatched a few movies this week. Southern Comfort, The Limey, The Hit and Bringing Up Baby. Saw Black Widow are the theater. Mainly just to get out of the house. I would give it a C+ for that kind of m
Reading Ridgeline by Michael Punke who wrote The Revenant. Really good. Reminds me of Larry McMurtry. Also listening to Winter Counts by David Weska Wanbli Weiden on Audio. The first time I've ever been able to get through an audio book. Also read Moon Lake by Joe Lansdale. Good but not great.
I also pay too much for cable. I have Comcast. I have had AT&T at one time and didn't like it. I know people that have WOW and have had problems with them. Especially with the DVR functions.
I know from some people in my building that hearing aids are pricey. Why I'm not deaf is a mystery to me. Seems like I have spent have my life around loud music.
Been eating terribly. Went to my regular doctor visit this week. Have gained almost ten pounds in four months. Yet my long term sugar is at it's lowest. 6.4. Go figure.
I am paying $250 and that's for one TV. I do have very fast Internet, and I pay them for the modem/router, and for a DVR. And HBO Max. But I pay separately for Criterion, Netflix, Prime. Hulu and Apple. I should get rid of Hulu and Apple, I know.
And I never, never listened to loud music. I guess whoever my father was was deaf.
I've been watching a lot of streaming TV, too, Patti. I find it a lot more enjoyable than 'regular' TV. I do follow the news on 'regular' TV, but otherwise, I stream.
We're waiting for your assessment of SHIVA BABY. Polly Draper was a hoot as her controlling mother. Also watched the $160-200 million THE TOMORROW WAR on Amazon. Yeah, it was stupid and not very good, but for 2+ hours of mindless entertainment, it was better than I'd expected. Of course, they totally botched the time travel elements, but J. K. Simmons was great as Chris Pratt's father.
Finished BOSCH, which was a very good series finale, setting up the spin-off. Terrific all around and one of the best things on television in a while. Also finished series two of the Danish THE SOMMERDAHL MURDERS, which was OK (nice scenery and fun seeing actors from other Danish shows like SEASIDE HOTEL in guest appearances). Also Danish - finished RITA with a mediocre final series. We watched the first episode of the latest UNFORGOTTEN last night, It's always a can't miss show here.
As for cable, can't really help. Mostly, we punted. We do watch mostly streaming channels - Netflix, Amazon Prime/Acorn/Britbox/PBS Masterpiece, MHz Choice - but we kept HBO when we got rid of the other pay channels and still keep an eye on the TCM schedule. Hey, my biggest excitement of the week was discovering that we got The Weather Channel back on Fios after it was off for a year.
Weather has been in the "what did you expect, it's summer?" and "it could be worse" categories this week - two days over 90 but too much rain. Luckily it was no big deal here, but flood-prone areas got it bad with Elsa and other storms. No drought worries here.
Reading short stories as usual - Antonya Nelson and Jim Shepard currently - but I have been having trouble with novels. The ones I've read, that have received raves elsewhere, have not thrilled me at all, so maybe it's me. THE READERS' ROOM had its points but the ending was warmed over Simenon. Shepard's PHASE SIX showed his enormous research (as usual) about another possible pandemic, but let's just say I wouldn't put it in the "thriller" category. Parts were interesting but even at 230 pages I found it a chore to get through. Maybe it's me.
Exactly, Margot.
I liked Shiva Baby, but I didn't love it. I found the depiction of Jews mildly offensive. Like in the wedding scene in Goodbye Columbus. Was great to see Draper and also Fred M--sorry forget his last name. I found filming it all in that house pretty effective. It gave you the claustrophobia she felt living with her family. The scene in the car was hilarious. Most of my friends are Jewish and none of them are that overbearing with their kids but maybe the Midwesterness of them diluted it. What do you think, Jeff?
So right about Rita. The last season was awful. Did you see the one season series with her friend. That didn't work either. Was funny to see the actress playing Rita in Borgen.
I call Spectrum cable every year and threaten to cancel my cable and Internet because they're charging me too much. They always come up with "new rates" to keep me with them. It's all a scam.
Good luck with your new hearing aids!
Western NY has been in a drought, but the last week featured rain every day. Plus, high humidity. Summer is NOT my favorite season. My A/C is working overtime!
The Delta Variant is infecting the non-vaccinated here. Why people are resisting the vaccine is inexplicable to me. Stay safe!
Fred Melamed. Yes, definitely offensive. Obviously, it was on purpose but still... . Draper did remind me a little of my mother (the hovering, the constant monitoring and trying to control things). I didn't get why she went in the first place if she didn't even know the guy who died.
We decided to skip the Rita spinoff (Hjordis). Small doses of her are enough. We thought the fourth series was probably the best one, with the young Rita and her only real friend. They did a great job of casting there. The guy who played Rita's ex-husband plays a much nicer, more sympathetic character in SOMMERDAHL MURDERS. He was also in one episode of BORGEN and three of SEASIDE HOTEL. We've probably seen at least eight or ten from BORGEN in other shows.
I am very sorry about your friend, Patti. I hope she recovers soon. There is so much we don't know know about the disease, but the vaccines have proven to be very effective in most cases. Apparently all recent Covid deaths have been among the unvaccinated so, for the most part, we are thinning the herd of stupidity.
We dropped cable TV a long time ago and now just use streaming services piggy-backing off Jessamyn's account. We still use our cable company (Mediacom) for internet. As with anything technological, we have no major grips -- ony minor ones. We do refuse to pay anything extra for shows on Prime even though Jeff Bezos really needs the money.
Speaking of television we really enjoyed BEFOREIGNERS, a series about people from three different eras being unexpectedly dropped into modern-day Norway. The people are from 1) prehistoric times, 2) Viking era, and 3) Victorian England; the series focuses on a Viking-era shield maiden who becomes a cop and her modern-day partner. Weird premise, but a very entertaining show. Can't wait for Season 2. Watched THE TOMORROW WAR. Ptah! And Geroge said there's a sequel in the works...GAK! We are finally catching up with ENDEAVOR and enjoying it.
One of the minor gripes we have with the internet is actully about our computer -- it hates us and our Luddite ways. To prove its point, it shut down on us (deliberaately, I say) for a few days this week. It came back but still shuts down and restarts itself several times a day only to show its mastery over us. On top of that, Kitty's acute hemolytic anemia is threatening to come back. After two years, her numbers are beginning to climb up. As a precaution, she's started a short round of chemo on Friday. Because of Covid restrictions, I cannot be with her this time and the waiting room chairs are not suited for five-hour waits. **sigh** Then the doctor's office called in the wrong dosage on Kitty's medication so she will run out of medicine soon; the doctor was on vacation week so we couldn;t get the situation resolved. With luck, the situation will be resolved so she will have her medications before our trip to Cape Cod later this month. And then my PSA number (which have always been high) climbed up a bit so my urologist has scheduled a MRI to better target a biopsy if needed. If it turns out I do have cancer, the early treatment is pretty effective, so I'm not worried, but it does put n additional stress on Kitty **another sigh** To add to our problems I lost a battle with a hook hanging from a rafter a few days ago; the result was a gashing wound to my scalp and a lot of blood. I'm fine. No concussion, no fractured skull, no stiches needs...although I will have a beaut of a scar right where my hair is most thinning (when I say "thinning," I mean almost bald). Only needed a tetanus shot and I am hokey-dokey.
This is a birthday week. Willow the cat turned 16 yesterday (as did a much loved former sister-in-law). We would have baked Willow a cake, but she would have vomited it on the carpet, which is her way of saying, "I love you." Kitty's mother's birthday is Wednesday and we will be going out for Chinese food in honor of the time she took us out for Chinese food and insisted on ordering from a menu from a different Chinese restaurant, both confusing our waited and making Kitty want to crawl under the table. Then, Jack turns 9 on Friday and will probably celebrate at Lambert's in Foley, Alabama, where the waiters throw rolls across the room at customers -- something that always amuses Jack. Saturday is my Mother's birthday -- she would have been 99. And Sunday is the the 31st anniversary of my father's death, and I still miss him every day.
Sorry to hear about your pal getting COVID.
I've been watching Z NATION on Netflix. It's a zombie series by Syfy network. Entertaining and does not require much thought.
Disney is parsing out episodes of BENEDICT SOCIETY and the set design, costumes, and colors are still great.
I need to book a camping trip and have not done so yet.
Jerry, you can make a lot of not so great news sound charming or at least tolerable. If I only had your disposition. My hearing aids are in and boy is my keyboard noisy. It's a nosier world in general. I am tempted to take them out but the guy said not to until my brain adjusts. If only.
Z nation and Benedict Society are new ones on me.
I've thought of getting my hearing tested but have not done so. My father got his hearing aids from Costco and he would frequently lose them, which would greatly anger my mother. Hearing aids can get super pricey.
The weather has been very mild here, although it still is too hot in the sun when I garden. I bought too many plants at the nursery this Saturday and have too much to get into containers. Next week the temperatures are supposed to go up a bit.
I am glad you mentioned watching Homicide. We have enjoyed many films directed by Mamet, but I don't remember that one at all, so we will watch it soon.
Very sorry to hear about your friend getting Covid. That just encourages me to continue wearing masks when we go out, which isn't that often anyway. Less and less people are wearing them when we are out.
I hope your adjustment to hearing aids goes well. I think my husband and I both have hearing problems but I think his are worse. We have not had our hearing tested at all.
This last week I finished reading FOUNDATION by Asimov and A KILLING SPRING by Gail Bowen. Both very good. I am currently reading H.M.S. SURPRISE by Patrick O'Brian and reading more stories in COSMIC CORSAIRS (pirate science fiction short stories).
Mine got worse over the last year. I didn't notice it because I was alone so much during the worse of Covid. I have been wearing them all day and it seems okay. My husband loved O'Brien.
My earlier comment was just to say I’d be back to comment later. I didn’t even see this post go up yesterday, or I would have commented then. So, I’m late. Sorry!
No, I don’t think you said you are going to La Jolla, and if you can cancel until January, then you must have booked for…Spring ‘22? Long way off. I sure hope your hearing aids wok out for you. I think Barbara needs them, but she doesn’t want to have her hearing tested. Sometimes I have to raise my voice, which I don’t like to do.
We have Comcast, and Cable Box/DVR went on the blink, so they replaced it. No charge, but though they said all our recorded movies and shows were “on the cloud” they are gone. When told, they said, “oh, sorry.” . We’ve been watching the Tour de France, ad we do every year. It comes on at 3:30 or 4:00 am here, so we record it and watch in the afternoon, when we can speed through the commercials. Beautiful countryside. Here, itwill be back into the 90s for the weekend and beyond, but in the garden, everything is budded or in bloom: Roses, Daylilys, Oriental Lilies, Hydrangeas, Geraniums, Coneflower, Foxglove and the rest.
Amidst this, perhaps the hot weather is a factor, my eagerness for reading has wained, yet the library has begun making my holds available at an alarming rate. Suddenly I have a dozen books in hand or soon to be. A good problem to have, but slightly overwhelming just now.
I finished A SIEGE OF BITTERNS by Steve Burrows, the first in his series of Birder Murder mysteries featuring police inspector Domenic Jejeune who is new to the Norfolk coast marshlands area. A prominent environmentalist is found hung from a tree outside his home and there are no obvious clues to who committed the murder, though several people have motives, especially the landowner of a wind farm near the edge of the marshland. We’ll written with an interesting mix of characters, I liked it and have the second in the series on hold at the library.
THE KASSA GAMBIT by M. C. Planck is a science fiction novel I came across on my shelves whist looking for another book, and, since I had no memory of buying it, was curious, I read a couple of pages and then kept going. It was at about the one-third point that my reading ennui struck, and it has been set aside, for now, though I like it.
I read THE KILLING HILLS by Chris Offutt and thought is was okay. We’ll written with good characters, but I’m not fond of the Kentucky hill country setting and thought the plot was thin.
I had planned on reading The MOONFLOWER MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz, the latter being a follow-up to his MAGPIE MURDERS, which I liked very much, but then decided to reread the first book and ended up buying them both, so they await my reading pleasure. Barbara finished A LONG SHADOW by Charles Todd, which she especially liked. She’s now reading William Shaw’s series featuring Inspector Alexia Cupedi, THE BIRDWATCHER is identified as book 0, followed by SALT LANE as book 1. We both have read SALT LANE and Barbara has just started THE BIRDWATCHER. I’ll read it too, but books are coming from the library, so those come first.
Take care, be well.
Oops, in the Shaw books, Alexia Cupedi is a Detective Sgt., not an Inspector.
I am going to La Jolla from January 15 to February 12. I don't know why they let us cancel so late. Most places it was November 15th.
I like the idea of a series set in Norfolk. It was an area we never got to see when we were there in 1994-95. I wish I had you here, Rick, to advise me on some plants to fill up the circle in front of my house. It is pretty boring and needs more color.
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