I am sick so this will be short. I got my shots so I blame that airplane trip.
Liked CONCLAVE very much. Also MY NAME IS ALFRED HITCHCOCK.
Reading ALL FOURS by Miranda July. I am sure I am watching TV but I can't think of what.
How about you? Wait: THE DIPLOMAT, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. And a great little movie on AMAZON PRIME, LIMBO set in the outback.
21 comments:
Not much left to say...
The weather is turning cooler, it drizzled like crazy yesterday, eliminating the possibility of our beaching.
Taking a moment today to remember our veterans. Despite a low draft number, the Army did not want me (damaged eye -- accident; screwed up back -- many accidents; damaged hand -- result of a losing battle with a moving cement mixer) so I am not one of that number. My appreciation for veterans, though, goes far beyond there but the grace of God go I. They deserve out thanks and our gratitude, and many deserve far better care than what they are getting. I'll get off my soapbox now.
A lot of books read over the past two weeks. Since the election the most I could handle was comfort reading, and since I had a big pile of John Creasey novels handy, I tore through nine of them: RUNAWAY was originally published under his "Michael Halliday" pseudonym; it happened to be the first book he wrote on American soil, although the setting was England. MURDER, LONDON -- MIAMI, MURDER, LONDON -- SOUTH AFRICA, A PART FOR A POLICEMAN, LOOK THREE WAYS AT MURDER, THE KILLING STRIKE (also published as STRIKE FOR DEATH), and HANG THE LITTLE MAN were all Roger West mysteries; I've now read all 43 books in that series. I still have a long way to go before I finish the 70+ books in Cressey's TOFF series, but I made small dent with THE TOFF AND THE TRIP-TRIP-TRIPLETS and A ROCKET FOR THE TOFF. Earlier, I read two Miss Pickerell books by Ellen Macgregor and Dora Pantell: MISS PICKERELL HARVESTS THE SEA and MISS PICKERELL AND THE SUPERCOMPUTER, leaving me with only one book unread in that series. I also read James Lee Buirke's EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD, featuring Aaron Holland Broussard; as with every book by Burke, this one is highly recommended.
Feel better soon, Patti. Stay safe, and thank a veteran.
Hope you feel better soon. Another reason I avoid air travel these days.
The less said about last week the better, right?
We did see our rescheduled matinee of Delia Ephron's LEFT ON TENTH on Broadway, Saturday matinee. It's been a year since we were last in the theater, and the renamed (from the Cort to the James Earl Jones) and renovated theater was nice, though we could have used more legroom in our mezzanine seats. Jackie liked the play more than I did. I thought the NYT review was pretty accurate. It was...OK. Good but not great, as the late Marv Lachman was wont to say. It is one 100 minute act. Ephron (the second of four writing sisters of two screenwriting parents) lost her sister Nora and her husband Jerome Kass (most well known for QUEEN OF THE STARLIGHT BALLROOM, and the musical BALLROOM) in a three year period. But, astonishingly to her, she finds a new love in a San Francisco-based shrink. But then, like Nora, she gets leukemia. It's not that Julianna Margulies is bad, exactly (though she is at least a decade too young for the role). It's hard for me to put a finger on exactly what is wrong. Peter Gallagher is wonderful in the almost saint-like second husband role. Let's just say, the book was deeper and better, as one might expect.
The trip to the city was fine, but the tourists in Midtown were not. It reminded us why you should only go to Midtown this time of year if absolutely necessary.
I'm reading short story collections by Lydia Davis, Barry Malzberg, and Lee Child (non-Reacher stories). Also Paula Munier's Vermont-set K-9 mystery.
We're watching THE DIPLOMAT on Netflix (along with the other shows we were already watching), and added the third series of WHITSTABLE PEARL on Acorn (I think). We'll watch the tenth and final episode of the last series of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND tonight on HBO. We watched the first episode of the Aussie western TERRITORY (set on the world's biggest cattle ranch, in the Northern Territory) on Netflix, starring Anna Torv (FRINGE), Robert Taylor (LONGMIRE) and Michael Dorman (JOE PICKETT), and I thought every second was derivative of other, better shows, as well as incredibly predictable. Jackie will be watching the rest alone.
We added an interesting French crime series, MASTER CRIMES (MHz Choice), that is sort of like a cross between PROFESSOR T and HOUSE, about a criminology professor who chooses four of her students to "help" her solve crimes. What also made it interesting is that the star, Muriel Robin (who is 69), and her police foil, Anne Le Nen (53), are married in real life.
I had a high enough number in the first draft - 230 - that I was safe. My brother had #12, but he was not someone the Army wanted, like Jerry, but for other reasons.
I read a number of those Roger West books. I remember one year in England I bought a paperback with the trilogy of MURDER, LONDON-SOUTH AFRICA, MURDER, LONDON-AUSTRALIA, MURDER, LONDON-MIAMI. Never read The Toff or The Baron or Department Z.
Hope you feel better soon!
Diane and I raked leaves over the weekend. No snow yet. We're in for some rain on Veteran's Day. Patrick is in Costa Rica at a computer conference.
Katie is working today because everyone else in her office wanted the day off. I remember a year when my College held classes on Veteran's Day and the student veterans protested. That was the end of that: every year after that the College was closed on Veteran's Day. Stay safe!
George, the leaf blower guys have definitely been getting a workout here lately. Also, I feel like I'm dodging squirrels (we have a lot of oak trees) every time we go for a walk. We had the first real rain (not a lot, but it was rain) in SIX WEEKS overnight. No wonder there are fires in Prospect Park and along the New York-New Jersey border. It has been very dry since September started.
Everything is closed here - schools, banks, libraries, post office, etc.
We're going out for brunch today.
Sorry, Patti--Alice is also coming down with something, and she, too, is all shotted up ("Of course!" rasps RFK2), and who knows which things are doing what ("Eat more roadkill! More steroids!"). I'm pretty sure I contracted my first and I hope only C19 case in the Helium Comedy Club in Phila in 2023, or even from a guy who was hassling me for change while I was working the parking meter. Take it easy, and feel better soon...I suspect the tug in my throat just now might be something from Alice's, or that we are picking up more or less simultaneously.
Just watched the last episode of THE PENGUIN and last night's LAST WEEK TONIGHT this morning, after awaking rather early, then posted Kate Jackson's blog-tour short essay in support of her HOW TO SURVIVE A CLASSIC CRIME NOVEL book. "Instills" was the only Yankism, vs. the UK "instils", that I introduced into the text, which includes the new-to-me datum that there was a series detective Pat Abbott in the works of Frances Crane.
No one rakes leaves here-it's the sound of blowers all day
Phil was #5 in the draft but he was still working on his Ph.D until he turned 27.
Really like THE DIPLOMAT although you have to pay attention-so many characters.
The election is taking its toll on everyone I know. IN 2016, I marched locally in my pink hat but doubt I will this time. Just old for activism now.
Ninja the Car (our dark grey tabby) just awoke at the foot of the bed, rapidly mewing--"Too much typing! Too many dogs barking outdoors! Can't someone get some sleep in the sunshine around here? I guess I'll eat more breakfast."
She's a tabby car, with bronze trim.
I had a rough week. I diligently avoided all news after waking up on Wednesday. I attended a conference from Wednesday through Friday and was able to stay distracted by work or long walks.
Listened to AN OFFICER AND SPY by Robert Harris about the Dreyfus Affair. That mess all started around 1895 and the vicious anti-Semitism of the time explains a lot of French actions under Vichy and the Germans fifty years later.
Finished THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS by Michel Faber. Enjoyable SciFi that ran a bit long. Faber wrote UNDER THE SKIN and has the same themes of oligarchal and corporate control of government and economy, and climate change no longer a threat but an ongoing disaster. paired with a missionary from England who travels to a planet colony to preach to native creatures.
Starting the 19 hours of Upton Sincalir's OIL! about the Southern California oil book starting in 1913.
Earlier this morning I was thinking I would skip reading any nonfiction for a time. Yet, all three of the above novels deal with awful people, doing awful things and believing they are justified. Maybe I'm drawing parallels that aren't there.
On the bright side. the local school referenda passed and Sen Baldwin was re-elected over the latest "Rich Guy Decides To Be Senator".
And our new senator is a Dem. Non-fiction set in the theater world perhaps. Staying with my friend in DC, I grew fond of her cat, Buffy, although I took claritin. I think cats and I could have been good friends.
Cat allergies are terrible things. Litterboxes are, too.
My late mother named our NH cat, a gray and white tuxedo, Buffy because sexing kittens can be tricky, and his gray fur had a pink hue running through it. We couldn't take him to Hawaii without surrendering him to state quarantine for 180 days (as in, don't bring your pets to Hawaii). I'll always hold that against the state government there.
I hope your sickness doesn't last long, Patti. I can easily see how a trip and flying on an airplane can lead to that, but you had a good time... so maybe worth it. And I am glad you enjoyed the cat, even with your allergies.
We have been watching the new seasons of CBS shows: NCIS, NCIS Origins, and MATLOCK. We haven't seen any of the 2nd season of ELSBETH yet. Our science fiction shows are: THE ARK (finished season 1) and THE ORVILLE, plus DOCTOR WHO, the thirteenth doctor. I did not like Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor at first, but now she has grown on me, and her sidekicks.
This hasn't been the greatest month for reading, I haven't been able to concentrate. I read ALIAS EMMA by Ava Glass. It is spy fiction, about a novice spy working for an unnamed agency (nothing new there) who is tasked with getting a man to a safe house. It was good and entertaining (and nice and short), and I will read the 2nd (and probably the 3rd) book in the series someday to see how it goes.
Glen is continuing to read 1940: FDR, WILLKIE, LINDBERGH, HITLER—THE ELECTION AMID THE STORM, and is nearing the end. It sounds good to me because of the time period, and he has told me some interesting things about it, but I don't think I want to read about politics right now.
I can understand that, TracyK. It is impossible to believe last week. Short has become my go-to. Glen should have been a historian. Or maybe he was?
Glen mostly worked in Information Technology and tech support. His friend of 50 years had a Masters in History, and taught History classes for a while, and he may have been an influence over time.
Jerry, we have watched the first three seasons of McDONALD AND DODDS and just started the most recent season. We like them pretty well, but we try to put time between each episode.
I like the positive things Amy and Christina are doing since the election. Good for them.
Lindbergh's pro-Nazi sympathies were as strong as Henry Ford's...a lot of fascists running around at that point...hence all the Bund references when discussing Drumpf's Madison Square Garden debacle.
Oh, I can't believe that I didn't mention that we bought a new refrigerator last week, got it the day after the election, and it really helped take our minds off the disaster.
I'd love a fridge with the freezer on the bottom but all apartments in this building have it on the top.
I bet IT changed a lot over his years there. THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA was great novel for exposing Lindbergh.
Post a Comment