When I began doing this Monday thing, I should have included a date on the title each week.
Anyway, enjoying BETTER on Hulu, NADA on Hulu, LUCKY HANK on AMC and DARK WINDS(AMC) (not so much). Lucky Hank paints a realistic picture of academic life although the professors in his department hang around a lot more than any I saw at Wayne. It is sort of more like a high school department where teachers have to be in all day than a college one where they are supposed to be off doing scholarship. Great cast though and Odenkirk is perfect in the lead.
NADA is lots of fun if you get HULU. He is a octogenarian who suddenly has to take care of himself. I can really relate to that.
Reading THE SEARCHERS by Tana French. The last five books I have announced on here I didn't finish so I hope this one breaks a bad habit. She is a terrific writer though.
Reading a lot of poetry. I have to take something into my writing group and this is a lot less effort than a short story. Probably I am not a poet though. They all seem like outlines for a poem.
I rewatched for the fourth time at least THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. I am fascinated by Streep's performance in this. It is so specific. Sometimes Streep feels too ordinary ONLY MURDERERS IN THE BLDG) but not in this one. Hathaway and Blunt are also terrific.
Lots and lots of podcasts. That seems to be my way of experiencing the world.
Love my chair yoga class. Hate the limbering up one.
U of Michigan won despite no Harbaugh. Hope the Lions do the same today.
What are you up to?
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Diane has been in "Get Ready for Winter" mode. We brought in the hoses. We raked the leaves, Diane had Al's Tree Service take down our Japanese Red Maple tree that was dying from a lightning strike. All that's left is for the work crew to come out and take down the awning and store it until the Spring.
Diane got her RSV shot. I have to wait a couple of weeks because I got my Covid-19 shot around Halloween and the pharmacist recommends I wait a month or so between shots.
Diane is watching the weather for Thanksgiving when we'll be flying to New York City to spend the weekend with Patrick and Katie. NPR is reporting that if the Government shuts down (thank youd ysfunctional House of Representatives!) air travel will be adversely affected. Stay safe!
Glad you're enjoying podcasts...seemed like it was a slow acceptance curve. I catch only so many myself these months.
Still mostly watching broadcast and cable, so Sunday caught the last THE CIRCUS (a series which never lived up to its hype, but had its moments), some of 60 MINUTES, SIMPSONS, pilot of BASS REEVES (not subtle, but better than other 101 Prods. so far--YELLOWSTONE et al.), nearly last episodes of ANNIKA and ASTRID, LAST WEEK TONIGHT (very good on Hamas and Likud vs. Palestinians and Israelis), and the new Epix/MGM+ sf series BEACON 23, which is well-acted (Lena Headey, et al.) but dumb in concept and script, with a few clever-enough details that might've led to a better show if cleverness applied throughout.
Now wondering how much Tuberville's holding back military appts. is meant to help Tramp, in his unlikely next term, set up his own Preferred Praetorian Guard. Heritage Foundation is on board.
Good luck in NYC, George...idiot Speaker might be forced to not be a fool, one way or another.
I think it is all about giving Trump a military that will support his plans for Amerika.
I have always listened to a lot of podcasts but add more all the time
Have a great time in NY. Megan has been seeing a lot of plays including WAITING FOR GODOT and something with John Turturo.
Personally, I hate the change to this cold weather. Can't wait for Winter in Florida.
Haven't been doing much other than eating out and reading and television, but we do have two more concerts in December and might see a show or two.
I've really liked Ann Patchett's non fiction books, but never read one of her novels before, but I enjoyed TOM LAKE quite a bit. It's set mostly in Traverse City, Michigan. Have to pick up the new Michael Connelly at the library (a Bosch/Haller mashup). Speaking of Bosch, we finished Bosch: Legacy yesterday. Not bad, but earlier Bosch series when he was on the force were better. Too much of the daughter.
Added a couple of Britbox series (which I know some of you have). In PAYBACK, a woman sees her accountant husband stabbed to death in the street, then discovers he had a secret life she knew nothing about, working for mobster Peter Mullan (chilling as usual). Mullan plays way against type in the comedy MUM, with the ubiquitous Lesley Manville as a new widow. He plays her late husband's best friend, who obviously has strong feelings for her. I appreciate the absence of a laugh track.
Still watching the shows I mentioned last week as well. We finished BODIES and I was glad there was a definite ending rather than a cliffhanger. Really like LITTLE BIRD (PBS) and we're enjoying ANNIKA. One episode of each still to come. Also watching French, German, Swedish and Danish series, with subtitles.
We're watching MI-5 (SPOOKS) on Saturday nights, as mentioned, and who should pop up in a small role on series two, episode one but a young (26) Benedict Cumberbatch.
Jeff, Diane loves Ann Patchett and her books. She's read all of them. We're on the list at the Library for the audiobook version of TOM LAKE narrated by Meryl Streep. We enjoyed THE DUTCH HOUSE narrated by Tom Hanks.
Disney is in trouble with the flop of THE MARVELS. You knew Disney was in trouble when I didn't go to see THE MARVELS!
Okay. Lions 7-2 .Nail biter winning it with a field goal with 2 seconds left.
Read A Different Kind of Noir with great stories by Lisa Tuttle, Elizabeth Hand and Megan Abbott. Should finish the new Michael Connelly. Great so far. From the library the new Denise Mina (a Philip Marlowe novel) and the new Elizabeth Hand (a bfollowup to the Haunting of Hill House.
Watched The Killer on Netflix.Very good but not quite great. Bears vrewatching. Watching 300 on HBO and Bosch (Would be better bwithout the daughter).
The Marvels is a flop. I think there is just too many of these kinds of movies. It looks terrible in the previews. No matter nhow good the CGI you just cant make a person flying look realistic.
I loved Patchett's BEL CANTO. But I do like the essays best. Tom Hank should read every book.
Go Lions. Can't believe I am watching every game of the Lions and U of M this year.
Trying to get up the nerve to watch THE KILLER.
Three people have recommended PAYBACK but my streaming bill is now higher than my cable bill.
Looks like DISNEY just hooked up to HULU so parents will have to be more careful.
I don't go to CA until the end of February. Way too late for me but that was the only time we could get three weeks in a place we really liked last year.
Binge watched the second year of Bosch Legacy on the weekend. While I think Titus Welliver does a fine job as Bosch, I have trouble accepting the actress playing his daughter as a tough female cop. I see that Michael Connelly has a new Lincoln Lawyer novel due out shortly with Harry Bosch again playing a minor role. Read an excellent Scottish crime novel titled The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster. The author was new to me. It's the second in a series featuring DS Max Craigie, who is part of a small unit in Police Scotland that focuses on crime and illicit activities with the police force. Book three is now on order at the library. Snow is almost gone here in Winnipeg. Our Blue Bombers won their Western football final on the weekend and now are in the Canadian final for the fourth year in a row. Unlike you, I never watch football on TV - CFL, NFL or college. I jokingly tell people I am a fan of Notre Dame football because I went to college there. Actually did so for a week many years ago one summer when I attended a national communications course for communicators working in the educational field. I was the only Canadian attending. Never go inside the football stadium because it was filled with RVs during a massive show.
This week was very quiet, not much to tell. It is finally getting cooler here. We may have rain here between Wednesday and Saturday.
Watching mostly the same shows lately. MURDER SHE WROTE, CSI, LONDON KILLS, LEVERAGE, THE INVADERS, STAR TREK: VOYAGER. Almost done with LONDON KILLS and we finally watched ENOLA HOLMES (the first one) and liked it.
I had a varied reading week and read much more than usual. Two of the books were very short which helped.
First: I read another science fiction book, ROGUE PROTOCOL, the third novella in the Murderbot Diaries series, by Martha Wells. The first one was the best but this one was very good. I have already got a copy of the 4th one. Second: a children's book, THE VANDERBEEKER'S OF 141ST STREET by Karina Yan Glaser (set at Christmas and set in Harlem). The family is biracial and has five kids from 4 to 12. About 300 pages. This was another good read, and because it was aimed at children, was a fast and easy read.
Last night I finished THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. The night before I had read the first 90 pages and wasn't enjoying it. Very well written but not my type of reading. However, the last 30 pages did improve my opinion, and was not what I expected. I have never seen any movie version so knew nothing about the story. (I did like both DOUBLE INDEMNITY and MILDRED PIERCE.)
Glen is currently reading CITY UNDER ONE ROOF by Iris Yamashita. Probably you already know about this book but the story is about "a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building." He is halfway through it and enjoying it. The story is set in rotten weather (a blizzard) and Glen likes that kind of setting. I will be reading it sometime soon, I hope.
Tracy, I agree. Good book. For a real life equivalent, there is Fermont, Quebec, on the border of Labrador. It is very similar to the book in structure. There was a French Canadian series called LA FAILLE in Quebec, THE WALL here, and the first series takes place in the town where everyone lives in this one building. The two later series were not as interesting, the first in Quebec City, with the Chateau Frontenac involved, and the third in rural Quebec. But the first series is worth seeing. I think it was streaming on PBS Masterpiece.
I keep forgetting to mention the Showtime series FELLOW TRAVELERS, but I don't really recommend it, to be honest. It's set mostly (so far) in 1953, with Senator Joe McCarthy investigating not only "subversives" but "deviants " - gay people. The later scenes deal with the AIDS years of the 1980s.
What is my problem with it? Being Showtime, there is way too much graphic gay sex, especially in the first episode. But my real problem is, Matt Bomer plays a WWII hero pilot. So he must be 30 in 1953 and in his 60s in the mid-80s, but they do nothing to even try to make him or the other characters look anywhere near old enough, other than a few gray hairs at the temple.
Patti, I think we are saying basically the same thing in re: Sen. Coach and his efforts on behalf of tRamp and MAGAts.
I was too depressed recently jump in on LTTLE BIRD, but it is very well done, as I slowly take it in.
Jeff, I thought I remembered that you had read CITY UNDER ONE ROOF and liked it. Thanks for the information on LA FAILLE. I will check into that.
I tried FELLOW TRAVELERS and was sort of ashamed for feeling that way about watching gay sex. Is it our age? Or really do I not want to watch any graphic sex at all. The City under One roof feels familiar. Maybe they have done it in lots of locales.
I will have to recommend the Scottish series to some friends from GLasgow. Is it me or are more and more series set in Scotland than ever.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON was terrific. Hard to beat for best film.
Yeah, Cain is not for everyone. The films are easier than the novels for me,
LITTLE BIRD is tough. But I am going to try and stick with it.
Spent late Friday to afternoon Monday at my mother's home. Visiting and assisting with household jobs. Next week I drive to Minneapolis to gather Boy #1 for the holiday.
How can anyone support a raping, lying, con man? I guess people live with it by projecting all those behaviors on the political opponent and crying "FOUL" you can convince yourself.
When Boy #1 was in 5th grade I had nothing to do as a classroom volunteer. The students were old enough to have their assignments to work on. I'd sit and read whatever was on the classroom shelf. I read a few chapters of Laurie Halse Anderson's FEVER, 1793 and never got back to it. Just started the audiobook over the weekend. Anderson presumably follows a historically accurate path. If so, the Yellow Fever epidemic really clobbered Philadelphia.
I heard an underwhelming WWI book, A GUNNER'S GREAT WAR. About ten years ago I read a journal by a British soldier that was a full journal of the war and often a gripping account. GUNNER'S was okay but mostly historical filler to explain the war's progress and give context to the writer's different movements and battles.
In an effort to find something more interesting on the same topic I started an eBook of the novel FEAR from ~1930 by French veteran Gabriel Chevallier. A more interesting book and with the veteran's mix of vitriolic anger and resignation.
Stephen Girard, the founder of a Girard College, a boy's school my great grandfather and his brother attended, as orphans, did much to help Philadelphia with that epidemic. I will look for that book. I am fascinated by Girard.
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