Beautiful Mother's Day weather but lots of ups and downs with temps this week. I have gone from heat to air to heat more than once. I saw AISHA with my movie club. It's an Irish movie about an immigrant from Nigeria who cannot impress the bureaucrats that her life in Nigeria is in danger. A good movie but so depressing. A few light-hearted scenes would have given the shadows some light to land on. Also went to see the Brentano Quartet play music from Beethoven and Schubert. I doubt there was anyone under 65 in the house. Who will support the arts when we're gone.
Watching NO OFFENSE on BRITBOX. Sadly I managed to order it in two places and am stuck with paying twice for the first month. Still watching NORTHERN EXPOSURE but I might be at the end. Or at least it says one more episode. Loving HACKS.
Had a nice brunch with my son and his family. I will probably get to spend a little time with Megan in June. Some friends invited me in for a long weekend. We are getting tkts for MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, STEREOPHONIC, and ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. Hopefully I will get there again in the Fall and get to see some other friends on that trip (like Jeff and Jackie). This is a quickie and really last minute. Three plays in three days seems like a lot, but I will top it off by watching the TONY'S.
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Mother's Day brunch at Christina's favorite Thai food restaurant. Then a well-deserved nap. I find I'm taking more naps lately, and all of them are well-deserved!
Mondays are Mark's days off at the zoo but last Monday he somehow ended up with a rhea egg that he scrambled up. Just because. Rheas are large flightless birds, related to the ostrich and the emu. The eggs are yellow and about the size of a child's football. Christina had a bite (she's not fond of scrambled eggs) and Mark and I each had a large bowl, with plenty left over. If I had a bucket list, this would be one more thing to cross off. Mark then spent most of the week transferring animals; the zoo is one of four owned by the same company and spring is when the animals get transferred from one place to another, depending on each zoos needs. Friday morning, most county schools delayed opening by two hours because of the threat of a major storm coming through. Naturally, the storm hit just when the two-hour delay was over. A couple of tornadoes and some damaged property, but no deaths in out area, thank goodness, but the zoo animals were not happy and let Mark know it.
Amy recently received a promotion. It happened to coincide with a major exodus of workers unhappy with the incompetent management at her shelter. The result was Amy being given an impossible work schedule, burdensome overtime hours with out pay, and absolutely no support from management. So Amy turned in her notice. She'll easily find a better-paying job and better working conditions elsewhere. Sad, because Amy loved her job there (with the exception of the poor management), but all the people she enjoyed working left in protest. Two days after she turned in her notice, Amy passed out three times at work. We were very concerned and, after six hours at the emergency room, she was told that she was fine and was sent home. I suspect stress had a lot to do with her passing out.
Erin is scheduled to take her GREs this Saturday. She's once again thinking of applying to veterinary school. The upcoming test has made her very nervous and she's spent a lot of time studying. We are trying to convince her that it doesn't matter. If she does poorly on the test, she can always take it again. It only would mean a little more investment of time and money. Stress and fear of failure have ended many a potential career and I don't want to see that happen to such a talented and intelligent woman are Erin.
Walt came back from a work trip to Maryland in time to take over Jack duties while Christina and the girls went on their first camping for the year. They really enjoy camping and relaxing in front of the campfire. Jessie has some new camping cookware and several new recipes that she was anxious to try out. Despite a drunken group of men at the next campsite, they had a great time. And lots of s'mores.
Watched the usual on television. The late night comics and new episodes of BEYOND PARADISE and SISTER BONIFACE. I'm about to start Season 10 (of 11) of FATHER BROWN today. I wonder what my next binge will be?
Again, I talk too much. More to come.
Me again, with my reading of the week.
I read Matt Wagner & Steven T, Seagle's massive collection SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, COMPENDIUM ONE. The deeper I got into it, the more nuanced and enjoyable it was. Also read two writing books by Lawrence Block: THE LIAR'S COMPANION, a collection of some forty columns from WRITER'S DIGEST, a fascinating look at the fiction game by one of the best, and WRITE FOR YOUR LIFE, the book version of the popular seminar that Block created a number of years ago (and my FFB); a highly recommended book for anyone stymied by writing (or by life, for that matter). Ed Brubaker's WHERE THE BODY WAS is a tricky, multilayered graphic novel about a body that mysterious appears on a quiet suburban street in 1984. Very good. And Stuart Kaminsky's BEHIND THE MYSTERY is a mini-coffee table book of interviews Kaminsky did with 18 of his friends, each having to be a leading mystery author, with some previously unknown insights. However, the book is severely flawed by poor copy-editing and amateurish mistakes. **Sigh** It's still worth a look, just be warned beforehand. Currently reading Janice Hallett's THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS, as well as dipping into Erle Stanley Gardner's second collection of Whispering Sands/Bob Zane stories, PAY DIRT.
I am happy to report that Kristi Noem did not shoot a single puppy in our neighborhood this week, although she did reportedly meet with Bibi Netanyahu over coffee and cake a couple mf houses down from us.
Enjoy your three-play extravaganza, Patti, Sounds like fun!
Jerry-As always it sounds like a fun time at your house. Mine is quiet since I changed apartments. Good move.
Reading Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. It's the fourth in his Inspector Hawthorne series. I like this series better than the one that included The Magpie Murders. I'm only reading about one book every 5 days now. I seem to be reading at a slower pace as I get older.
No movies at the theater this week. Watched another Danish movie on csble this week. A Royal Affair starring yet again Mads Mikkelson. Very good. And rewatched one of my favorite westerns in a new 4k disc-Once Upon A Tiume in the West.
On TV loved and binge watched Bodkins on Netflix. Still watching The Jinx. I find Robert Durst's second wife to be scarier than he is. Also liking and watching The Sympathizer and Shogun.
Great weather today. A lot of rain in our forecast.
The less said about the Detroit Tigers the better. Some of the best starting pitching in baseball but can't score runs.
Did splurge and buy tickets for Neil Young later this month. Concert tickets have just skyrocketed these last few yours.
I always liked Northern Exposure a lot, Patti. Glad you're taking the time to watch it.
I think MERRILY is closing this month, so might not be playing in June. We've been avoiding going into the city since we've been back, but some of that has been about the iffy weather. It's been very up and down here too. We will probably be home in June. We have one concert. For whatever reason - Jackie is convinced age as a lot to do with it, as we and a lot of our favorites are getting up there - there just do not seem to be that many people we want to see performing in the New York area this year. We have tickets for Bonnie Raitt, Santana with Steve Winwood, and The Doobie Brothers and Michael McDonald, so far.
You're doing a lot more than we are. It's mostly just restaurants, books and television here. Yes, watching NORTHERN EXPOSURE and HACKS. We finished THIS IS GOING TO HURT, which they took in a different, more depressing, way than the book. I doubt there'll be a second series. TEMPLE, on the other hand, does have a second series, after a killer (also, literally "killer") cliffhanger ending of series one. We finished CALL THE MIDWIFE and BEYOND PARADISE. We have a couple more episodes of FALLOUT to go.
Still reading mostly short stories, as well as a first mystery set in Alaska, Kerri Hakoda's COLD TO THE TOUCH, with a serial killer targeting young female baristas, it seems. In THE RISE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, I'm up to Roosevelt at 24 in 1883, Minority Leader of the NY State Assembly (where the Democrats have overwhelming control), leaving his newly pregnant wife for a trip hunting buffalo in the Dakota Territory. Just about finishing the William Maxwell and Charles Ardai story collections.
That's a lot of concerts, Jeff. The ones I go to are very near by. The venues that play pop or folk are further to drive. There has to be a psychological reason on why, no matter what the book for my group, I struggle to get through it. So I am still reading THERE, THERE. It is not a good format for a reader lacking focus. More like a novel in stories although you need to keep track of each character somehow.We have out tkts for all three productions--all right ahead of Tonys. So I think they will hang in to them MERRILY was nominated for all three major characters.
Oh, good. Over the years we've been to see shows just before they closed. I'm always afraid it will be depressing but it never is. In fact, sometimes they seem to be putting on an extra effort. But MERRILY isn't closing because of poor sales; I think they just had a certain date scheduled. For us, there just haven't been that many things we are excited about seeing that are available on TDF (online), that would overcome the hassle of iffy weather and Midtown issues. As soon as it gets a little warmer for good we will start going again. We've only been to the city once, when Jackie had her cataract fixed. She does refuse to take the subway, so we only travel by express bus, ad regular bus if we need to get around in the city. I'm sure you'll have a great time. STEREOPHONIC sounds long but interesting, obviously based on Fleetwood Mac.
I am listening to the podcast Deb recommended, A HISTORY OF ROCK IN 500 SONGS. He's up to #174 currently (I Heard it Through the Grapevine). In the last couple of weeks I've listened to the first 43 half hour episodes.
Half hour is good. One I just pulled up on films was over two hours. Crazy they think I want to hear their voices for two hours.
Diane enjoyed Mother's Day because the rain let up, the Sun showed up, and Patrick and Katie joined us for a Portal session. A few days ago we went to the Jon Batiste concert and heard some great music.
Diane has her Book Club meeting today. They read THE LIGHT PIRATE for this meeting. Diane liked it although it's a Disaster Novel.
We have a Cement Guy coming out tomorrow to give us an estimate on leveling our concrete slabs. Diane doesn't want anyone to trip. I have another 5 boxes of books to take to THE. BOOK CORNER, one of the few used bookstores still open. Stay safe!
Diane is certainly thoughtful. I tell you what I would like some people to do: Be mindful of how difficult coming down your front steps are. I almost fall often exiting houses: short legs and a weak knee. I wish my son would remedy his with a railing. I don't need knee surgery--it doesn't hurt, but steps are a hazard. And sometimes even curbs are difficult.
When we walk around here, Jackie always comments on those house that do not have railings by the steps. Even a few steps can be dangerous and you don't need to be old to fall. When I was a kid, my saxophone teacher fell down the steps leaving our house and broke his arm. He sued our landlord, who did put in a railing afterwards. When we were dating, her parents' house was fine in the front, but the back steps were metal and could get incredibly slippery when wet or icy. You had to hold on to both railings going down to be safe, and even then your feet could go out from under. I don't want to even think what they'd be like 50+ years later.
When we lived in the brownstone before we moved here, there was a railing, but you don't expect stone steps to be slippery. But in icy weather, I slipped more than once taking out the garbage. Luckily I was able to regain my balance because I held on to the rails.
A reason I hate to go outside in the winter. Black ice is common. My latest bone scan pinpointed my wrists as a problem. So says the old lady.
When I go to my doctor for my Annual Physical, the Physician's Assistant takes my blood pressure and temperature. Then she asks me: "Have you fallen since you were last here?"
When I see my orthopedic surgeon for my Yearly Check-up, his first question is: "Have you fallen since I last saw you?" Fortunately I can answer: "No." But when I leave the examination room, he tells me: "Don't fall. Be really, really careful."
They ask that question at every appointment with every doctor now. The percentage of older people who die after a fall is really high. Both my parents died with weeks of a fall and my father had no other health issues and seemed very sturdy still at 96.
Jerry, never any apologies needed for not editing your remarks further...yours is a life filled with interesting incidents, even when they are mostly involving those near and dear. If Emily did well on her SATs, the GRE isn't too frightening...I was amused to have dropped exact 10 points in both math and verbal scores from the HS test, while making no real effort either time to prep for the tests (I might've been slightly better-rested for the GRE).
Got some good news this morning, for a change, albeit still tantalizingly uncertain in its follow-through. More, perhaps, later, if it pans out.
Patti, as another person with relatively short legs holding up my large and too-constantly rather fat torso over the decades, the knees' complaints are a fairly constant chorus as well, over here. Not sure what can be done...having broken my left wrist a decade back in a fall, yes, you don't want that at all. Though the surgical scars are certainly a reminder to take care, along with some psychosomatic? tenderness.
Just watched the pilot and the seventh episode of MR. BROADWAY, the Craig Stevens follow-up series to PETER GUNN with a musical score by Dave Brubeck and some of it played by the early '60s quartet...I've had my copy of JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF NEW YORK, which is devoted to MB score music as recorded by the quartet, since my mid-teens, and it's interesting to see how the recordings were used in context. The seventh episode (with Sandy Dennis and Diana Muldaur) is better than the pilot (with Tuesday Weld), though the similarity of the scripts (largely about irresponsible young women being exploited by devious middle-aged men) doesn't help matters. Still watching THE SYMPATHIZER (not among the most cheerful of series as it reaches its end), and the last episodes of CSI: VEGAS, along with @FTER MIDNIGHT and the other better late-night series as well, often the next morning.
And I read a couple/few issues of SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER back in the day, and should hunt the compendium up.
I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. This week I have an eye doctor visit and the cat goes in to see the vet. My last bone density test showed osteoporosis in my hip, so I will be seeing the doctor for that soon too.
This weekend we watched DARK AND STORMY NIGHT by Larry Blamire and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3. We finished MAGPIE MURDERS and are still enjoying ELSBETH. We are only watching NORTHERN EXPOSURE two-three times a week and we just now starting Season 4 so we will be watching it for a few more months. Same for MURDER SHE WROTE.
I read two books I liked a lot this week: NEWCOMER by Keigo Higashino and THE WARDEN by Anthony Trollope. NEWCOMER is the second book in the Detective Kyoichiro Kaga series to be translated from Japanese. Very different from the first one, MALICE, but still a good read.
As for THE WARDEN, I am new to Trollope and will be reading more in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series. I think all the other books are very long though.
Glen is now reading KRAKATOA: THE DAY THE WORLD EXPLODED, AUGUST 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester. He is about 40 pages in and not yet finding it very compelling. On the other hand, he has told me some interesting things he has learned so far.
Todd, I've often felt that one of the biggest scams perpetrated on high school kids was the PSATs given to juniors to "prepare" them for the SATs in their senior year. I had my girls take the SATs in their junior years instead. There's no downside to this and there's no real upside to taking the PSATs. My brother took the SATs when he was a junior and scored a 780 on the Math test -- I was a senior at the time and had discovered that girls and beer and parties were far more interesting than math class; we both had the same math teacher and he thought I was a lost cause when compared to my brother. Good for my brother, I thought, and good for me also; we both survived and ended up learning many valuable things in many different ways.
Tracy, has Glen ever watched the 1968 disaster film KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA? The film is actually pretty forgettable until you realize that Krakatoa is WEST of Java.
Patti, as someone who has slipped on more stairs than Carter has liver pills, I heartily endorse the idea of railing.
Jerry, Glen has not seen KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA (nor have I), but he is aware that Krakatoa is west of Java. Why would they do that in a movie title of all places? It has been instilled in my mind for so long I keep getting it confused; I am really lacking in geography knowledge anyway.
I also endorse railings. With my vertigo / fear of heights, I cannot go down even a short flight of steps without railings.
We just walked home from the Avenue and happy to see that one of the railless houses just added rails today. We're wondering if the other houses have them on order too.
I know I took the GRE but I don't remember much beyond oversleeping a bit and then having an anxious drive to the testing location.
My older son installed or fixed stair railings at both my house and my parent's house. My father used to grab the screen door at my house as a handle and ended up pulling the door awry. The repair to my parent's house is still sturdy after several years.
I listened to Riley Sager's THE ONLY ONE LEFT. I stayed interested throughout but the mystery's solution was a bit of stretch.
I gave up on reading the THIN RED LINE. Will need to find an audio or ebook version and finish the story.
I went to a library conference a couple weeks ago and was the room monitor for one of the state author awardees. A.L. Graziadei. They go by Al and the promoun "they" and were nervous before speaking to an audience. They did well though and had an interesting story about growing up, battling mental health issues, and their writing career. I asked how many novels they wrote before one was published and the answer was something like seven.
I then bought their first book, ICEBREAKER. Except the novel is a teen romance set in hockeyland. I am not a fan of teen romances or hockey. I am fan of Graziadei though. I enjoyed assisting and hearing their talk.
Thoroughly agree that All such tests are more minting money for ETS and their peers...I only took the PSAT as the National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test (NMSQT--same test, but with hope of receiving a scholarship) as a junior, and achieved the highest "selection index" at Punahou Academy and perhaps even the state of Hawaii for 1981--they weirdly dropped zeroes of the scores, and declared a perfect score on either math or verbal would be a 78 (vs. an 80 or 800), to suggest, I suppose, that the SAT was That much harder (and to encourage any strivers sign up for prep courses so they could get that magic 800). And then they counted the verbal twice, so my 76 verbal was toted at 152 and my 68 mathematical resulted in a 220 "index"...my SATs that same year (we mostly took them as juniors) were 740 verbal and 700 math, and my GREs some years later were 730 verbal, 690 math, and 650 "reasoning" or whatever the were calling the third portion of the grad school test. At least one student in the class of '81 picked up double 800s, but no one in our class did. Typically for how things went between the school and me, at the grade 11 weekly assembly announcing the Nation Merit Scholar semi-finalists (one's grades and an essay made one a finalist), my name was omitted.
And the ETS (not them alone, but Very Much Them) do sell courses to students/parents that apparently Do help "hack" these supposedly "objective" tests of general scholarship (in the older sense)/academic potential.
The #2 and #3 NMSQT scores in '81 at PA both went on professionally to become physicists, as it happens...#3, Chau-Wen Tseng, might've had double 760s on his SATs...something like that.
George is the Trollope reader here. Another season of NE popped up so I guess I am not done. Although I have to say the scripts are getting a bit contrived. Still at least no one gets murdered.
Alice just slipped on the attic stairs yesterday morning (I did not endorse the notion of adding a carpet runner on the wooden stairs when we "finished" the attic bedroom), and it might well be time to add railings to this, our only rail-free stairwell. (I've slipped on it and jammed my finger pretty badly a year or three back, and tend to grab at the door at the bottom of the flight and the floor we walk down from when going down the stairs)(and definitely removed the coat hook on the inside of that door).
Tracy, I haven't tried Blamire's films, but gather they are very much the thing that might engage the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER fan, and will probably get to them eventually...I watched the video adaptations of THE PALLISERS and THE WAY WE LIVE NOW, but have yet to pick up the texts--shame!
Both my kids were national merit finalists. Boy #1 received a fair amount of scholarship money from the U of MN. Boy #1 only recently changed his preferred school choice to U of WI and will hopefully get a better aid offer. Current offer to Boy #2 is, "We'll get you a loan."
I've shared my kids' college admissions frustrations with my brother and mother. My brother pointed out a recent NYT article on the weirdness of admissions and offers. The article pointed out how in 2002 there were 134 perfect ACT scores. In 2023 there were 2,542 perfect scores. I can think of multiple reasons that would contribute to that massive increase in perfect scores.
Super-duper high test scores sure don't mean automatic acceptance any more.
Very glad to read of good MDs! (and will cease overpopulating the comments field).
Indeed, Gerard...the increasing realization that Training for the Tests is widely available and employed these years, and how much they Do "Help"...and I wouldn't be surprised if they are making (or are seen to be making) the tests "easier"...but being prepped for standardized tests doesn't really predict how well everyone will do under the current pressure-cooker of stratospheric tuition cost, a tougher job market, etc.
Congratulations to both your sons for getting the scholarships!
Better luck to everyone, if we ever start going in proper directions again in these matters.
The NEW YORKER (I think it was them) years ago had an article on the start of the testing preparation industry. Angle of the story was how the hoity-toity and Ivy League school used the tests to exclude non-WASPS and rich people. Testing study sessions and preparation were started by Jewish kids in NYC to beat the shadow ban.
Not surprising...and ETS itself jumped on that gravy train, as well, quickly enough.
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