Yes, indeed. Weather-wise, of the three big summer holidays, generally Labor Day has the best weather, then July 4, and lastly Memorial Day. That is certainly the case this year, as we've been cold and rainy - mid-50s - all day Saturday and Sunday, with this morning pretty much the same. They are predicting some clearing and warmer temperatures this afternoon, but places like Coney Island and the Jersey Shore did not get the kind of Summer kickoff weekend they were hoping for. We stayed home the last two days, though we'll probably go out for burgers and fries today. Last year, Memorial Day was 73 and beautiful.
Hoping you have a great Memorial Day, Patti! Not only is it a time to enjoy the those fruits of our democracy that have been won and maintained by our servicemen and women, but also a day of solemn reflection -- each so equally important to us as Americans.
The thunder is rumbling as I write this and we are expected to have some heavy rain over the next two days, which may put a damper on holiday activities. With or without the rain, we have decided not to go beaching today. Locally, it is Pride Day at the beach, something which normally attracts a crowd almost as large as the Blue Angels, with overcrowding and traffic at a standstill. I fully support the LGBTQ+ community but cannot support overly large crowds, so I will be wearing my You Are Safe button around the house today.
School ends this week and Jack will then propelled into high school . Where does the time go? Jack is rapidly outgrowing his little boy phase and entering his grown-up phase, although I imagine there will be a brief stop with an obnoxious teenager phase, but I doubt that will last overly long. It's a joy to watch kids grow up, mingled with the appropriate amount of sadness because kids grow up.
Christina is going nicely at her new job. Jessie decided to forego the financial manager position for the transportation department; she had been helping them out part-time over the past few months and has steadily realized that the work environment was just not for her and to fully do the job would require far more time that she was willing to commit, so she's staying at her present job and will move up to run that department once her manger retires in a couple of years. Kaylee, Ivory, Amy, Erin, Trey, and Mark are all happy with their jobs; Gavyn had his orientation for his new job this week.
I spent much of the week cursing out Jeff Bezos -- something I do for billionaires on a regular basis. I do not own a Kindle per se, but have the Kindle app on my computer, which currently holds over 1700 books. It's been convenient to add books to it whenever George, Jeff Pierce, James Reasoner, or any of the other bloggers whose judgment I admire recommends a book that intrigues me. I am not about to buy a new Kindle to support any new purchases, nor am I anxious to use any of the roundabout tricks that are proliferating then internet to get around Amazon's new policy. It will take me forever to read what I already have and anything new will have to come (ever so slowly) from the library or from a direct purchase.
Amy and Gavyn are spending the holiday in Alabama in a yurt in a place which has many goat and a roaming cat, so Amy is happy. A nest on Kaylee's front door now has five baby birds, about two weeks old. they are cute and somewhat bald at the moment and Kaylee loves each one of them, and may well name them. I hope they each survive to full birdhood.
There is a pretty decent used book store in Foley, Alabama, and I had planned to take a trip out there this week, but have learned they are closed for repairs. Bummer. On the bright side of things, a new Costco will be opening up here very soon -- the nearest one had been in Mobile. I find Costco to be a much better warehouse store than Sam's Club or BJ's. I am far beyond bulk purchasing for myself but will join in with Christina or Jessie on some of their purchases.
Sunday is Erin's Family Book Club. this month's selection is THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward, a fast-moving novel with a whole buncha flaws; it'll be interesting to see what everyone else thinks.
I read six books this week, mainly non-fiction, so that was good.
We continue to watch a variety of mostly streaming shows. We did watch the Danish THE ASSET on Netflix, though most are Amazon-connected: Apple Plus, Britbox, MHz Choice, Acorn, etc. THE ASSET took a young woman out of the Police Academy (against her will) to encourage her to befriend the wife of a drug dealer to ensnare him.
We're on the final seasons (final of what is out so far, though there will be others) of SLOW HORSES and THE MORNING SHOW. Also on the last season (of 5) of the French THE BUREAU. Watching the second series of TEHRAN, about a Mossad agent inside the Iranian capital. You want to shake her sometimes, as she refuses to follow her instructions. This season added Glenn Close as a Mossad agent acting as an Iranian psychologist. Watching the second series of AFTER THE FLOOD. Lorraine Ashbourne, who was just in RIOT WOMEN (and recently in SHERWOOD), is the main character's mother. NEW TRICKS (series 5/7 "Communal Living") had several well known guest stars - Sylvia Syms (who died a couple of years ago at 89), Penny Downie (most recently in THE DIPLOMAT), Richard Harrington (HINTERLAND and other Welsh cop shows; looking a lot younger and thinner here) and Lorcan Cranitch (who usually plays obnoxious cops, starting with his rapist cop in CRACKER). We finished series 23 of SILENT WITNESS, with two of the actors/characters leaving. And there were many more.
Much of the week was spent in front of the boob tube. I finally watched SINNERS, which was great -- although the surrealistic dance floor scene was a bit overmuch. The final season of GOOD OMENS was enjoyable and a fitting ending. The new version of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE was saved by Malcolm's sister (Vaughan Murrae) and daughter (Keeley Karsten), as well as by Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek; it was also interesting to see how all the side characters had managed after twenty years. The first season of R. J. DECKER took Carl Hiaasen's somewhat forgiving character for a spin in what at first appeared to be a by-the-books television PI series which turned into something much more.
And then I went on a Sony-Marvel kick, catching five movies about Marvel characters that are not part of Marvel's MCU. Sony, you might remember, had the rights to Spider-Man, which also included the rights to various characters Spider-Man had faced. the movies I watched were KRAVEN, MADAME WEB, MORBIUS, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, and VENOM: THE LAST DANCE all with long, drawn-out battle scenes chockfull of CGI. All were interesting. but with plot holes you cold drive a Sherman tank through. Speaking of tanks, I am currently watching the 1952 12-part Republic serial ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, where in one scene one of the heroes borrows a tank that a local farmer just happens to have so he can chase down a speeding train...truly mindless stuff and I love it. (BTW, there are no zombies in the film, but there is Leonard Nemoy in a bit role as a Martian flunky (evidently his second credited role in films).
Because of my excessive viewing, I only read two books this week: PENDERGAST: THE BEGINNING by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, taking place shortly before 1995's RELIC, and FULLY DRESSED AND IN HIS RIGHT MIND by Michael Fessier, a quirky fantasy noir and my FFB this week.
I got the opportunity to see the new section of the Detroit Zoo which was lovely in a way with plantings and farm animals but much of it was given over to playscapes and better food than hotdogs. The hot exhibit was a virtual reality opportunity and that was paced. The goats were very eager to mix with humans. I saw the movie WE LOVE BOOSTERS, which was interesting, relevant but too loud for me. Watching THE BOROUGHS but as always with Netflix shows too visually dark. And a lot like STRANGER THINGS with grandparents. We had the rain too but today is nice so don't give up Jeff. Saw a play yesterday but I can't even remember the title. It was sweet but unmemorable.
We thought the same about THE BOROUGHS. Nice to see a show where almost everyone is in our age range:
Ed Begley, Jr. 76 Alfred Molina 73 Geena Davis 70 (and looking good) Clarke Peters 74 Alfre Woodard 73 Bill Pullman 72 Dee Wallace 77 (she's 3 weeks younger than me) Mary McDonnell 74 (not in the first episode) Jane Kaczmarek 70
The rain is indeed stopping, and it will be just cloudy all day, which is fine.
A local restaurant/pub has all hamburgers $12.95 (plain) or $14.95 (with toppings), with fries or other sides, every Monday, and they're really big and delicious, so that is Jackie's choice for today. We went there last year on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Katie landed in Boston last night after a weekend in San Francisco attending a friend's wedding. Patrick is in Poland being show around by a friend stationed there for a year.
Diane hosts her Book Club meeting tomorrow. I'm busy recovering from my colonoscopy. There's a big book sale on Wednesday so I'm excited about that. I've had good luck there in the past. Stay safe!
My doctor doesn't do colonoscopy's after 75 unless there are symptoms so hopefully I am done. I no longer go to book sales because I have no place to put books. Poland was very interesting. Or at least Krakow. I never saw Warsaw.
Looks like I am always late on Mondays, whether we go out or not. But that is OK, better late than never. And I get to read all the wonderful comments from others.
There is an "I Madonnari Chalk Painting" event every year in Santa Barbara at the Mission, over the Memorial Day Weekend. The first day was Saturday, but we went yesterday, the second day, because more progress has been made on the paintings at that point. We like to go in the morning for better parking and in case it gets hot. Yesterday it was overcast and cool, better for us and for the chalk painters. We will go back on Tuesday, after the event is over, because almost all of the painting will be finished. We take lots of photos.
Glen is still reading MURDER AND OTHER ACTS OF LITERATURE, ed. by Michelle Slung. He is about 75% done with the book. He started out liking the majority of the stories but at this point he has liked about half of the stories he has read. I look forward to trying some of them.
I read DEPT. OF SPECULATION by Jenny Offill. Offill is a new author for me and I don't know what motivated me to read the book, but it is very short, about 170 pages, in a small format, and told in brief anecdotes, in sections with a lot of spacing between, so it was easy to read in a couple of days. It is about a couple in their thirties who begin to have problems in their marriage. The best part is their young daughter. It was good, but not totally satisfying. Written a little poetically for me.
I am now reading a graphic nonfiction book about a couple with two cats rescue cats: MY CAT IS SUCH A WEIRDO, VOL. 1. I am enjoying it because our cat, London, is a weirdo and we are still adjusting to him after nearly 10 months. The author is Tamako Tamagoyama.
Jerry, I thought you might say that. And it is true. But London seems so much more weird than our first two cats. Bink was standoffish. Rosie was a sweetie, although she got a lot sweeter over time. London is big and moody and demands attention and focusses on food and climbs on everything and comes up with new behaviors every day or so. He is also a beautiful cat and loves to be petted, which makes up for a lot.
Definitely degrees of eccentricity in felines. Our elder, Ninja, is a sweetheart (but will put up with no nonsense from other cats, as both our younger cat and our former eldest female learned, or should have, PDQ...our current younger is a Very Slow Learner). Younger cat doesn't Get It when given pointers by feline or human companions.
A day late. I was going to skip the local Memorial Day service but decided I should walk down. Military service can be so dangerous without being in a war. 19-year-olds using heavy equipment and driving too fast come to mind. A year ago there were 4 soldiers killed in Lithuania when their armored vehicle left the road and sank into a swamp. And those guys were older with years in service, too. I recall 20+ years ago when it seemed like military helicopter crashes were happening every month.
I heard MARION by Lea Rowan which is a take on PSYCHO by the female victims perspective where she survives the shower attack, kills Norm, and then kills two more skeezy guys.
SQUAKY CLEAN came out in Scotland in about '24. Fun crime novel of a guy working at a car wash who takes a mobster's car in an attempt to make it to family court. Things go badly. All the Scottish crime novels make it feel like Glasgow is filled with crooks and hard men looking to punch me in the face.
Started listening to DRIFTLESS by David Rhodes. Rhodes was one of those literary wonders with three novels in the 1970s. He disappeared after a 1977 motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed. DRIFTLESS came out way back in 2008. Jeez, took me 18 years to get around to it.
Indeed. MARION seems like it would at very least verge on copyright infringement on Robert Bloch's novel, which the review I've seen of it notes that she ignores in favor of running changes on the Hitchcock-directed film as scripted by Joseph Stefano. A nod to Bloch would be warranted. (The original novel is better than the script.)
As several here have probably already seen, from Publisher's Weekly *Marion* By Leah Rowan (St. Martin's)
*Psycho* gets a feminist facelift in this punchy thriller that reframes Hitchock's masterpiece as both a revenge fantasy and a surprisingly sweet ode to sisterhood (while more or less ignoring Robert Bloch's original novel). Witty, muscular, and crowd-pleasing to no end, it's ideal poolside or plane-ride company as the weather heats up. —Conner Reed, mystery and memoir reviews editor
It took about a week for the three of us at home to decide on a name for the new cat. He is now Goose. He is also now recovering at the vet after being neutered. He and the first two cats are getting along better. I presume the friendliness of a kitten can wear down the two older cats.
While out yesterday to pick up a cake for Alice (attending one of her med school friends' daughter's birthday party today) to bring to said party, while Alice was checking in on the mother of another colleague, I chose to soothe the aftereffect of entering a Cheesecake Factory on a Saturday afternoon (particularly since their online system punted Alice's order, but things were soon put aright when the clerks and I could hear each other over the Not at All dull roar) by going over to B&N and seeing how the magazines were doing. Not great...but I did finally pick up the January issues of ASIMOV'S (with one of the last James Sallis stories), EQMM, and AHMM (the last print issues so far the publisher has managed)--ANALOG had insufficient attraction for me--and the penultimate (so far) PLOUGHSHARES, which looked a Lot more interesting than the most recent PLOUGHSHARES, also on the rack. So, I've gone back and done my bit for the furtherance of the form and its commercial near-viability. Sadly, a number of the other little magazines I might normally consider, such as THE SUN https://www.thesunmagazine.org/ and THE PARIS REVIEW (in recent years grossly overpriced) were missing, and I wonder for how long in either temporal direction. Ah, well.
Yes, indeed. Weather-wise, of the three big summer holidays, generally Labor Day has the best weather, then July 4, and lastly Memorial Day. That is certainly the case this year, as we've been cold and rainy - mid-50s - all day Saturday and Sunday, with this morning pretty much the same. They are predicting some clearing and warmer temperatures this afternoon, but places like Coney Island and the Jersey Shore did not get the kind of Summer kickoff weekend they were hoping for. We stayed home the last two days, though we'll probably go out for burgers and fries today. Last year, Memorial Day was 73 and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHoping you have a great Memorial Day, Patti! Not only is it a time to enjoy the those fruits of our democracy that have been won and maintained by our servicemen and women, but also a day of solemn reflection -- each so equally important to us as Americans.
ReplyDeleteThe thunder is rumbling as I write this and we are expected to have some heavy rain over the next two days, which may put a damper on holiday activities. With or without the rain, we have decided not to go beaching today. Locally, it is Pride Day at the beach, something which normally attracts a crowd almost as large as the Blue Angels, with overcrowding and traffic at a standstill. I fully support the LGBTQ+ community but cannot support overly large crowds, so I will be wearing my You Are Safe button around the house today.
School ends this week and Jack will then propelled into high school . Where does the time go? Jack is rapidly outgrowing his little boy phase and entering his grown-up phase, although I imagine there will be a brief stop with an obnoxious teenager phase, but I doubt that will last overly long. It's a joy to watch kids grow up, mingled with the appropriate amount of sadness because kids grow up.
Christina is going nicely at her new job. Jessie decided to forego the financial manager position for the transportation department; she had been helping them out part-time over the past few months and has steadily realized that the work environment was just not for her and to fully do the job would require far more time that she was willing to commit, so she's staying at her present job and will move up to run that department once her manger retires in a couple of years. Kaylee, Ivory, Amy, Erin, Trey, and Mark are all happy with their jobs; Gavyn had his orientation for his new job this week.
I spent much of the week cursing out Jeff Bezos -- something I do for billionaires on a regular basis. I do not own a Kindle per se, but have the Kindle app on my computer, which currently holds over 1700 books. It's been convenient to add books to it whenever George, Jeff Pierce, James Reasoner, or any of the other bloggers whose judgment I admire recommends a book that intrigues me. I am not about to buy a new Kindle to support any new purchases, nor am I anxious to use any of the roundabout tricks that are proliferating then internet to get around Amazon's new policy. It will take me forever to read what I already have and anything new will have to come (ever so slowly) from the library or from a direct purchase.
Amy and Gavyn are spending the holiday in Alabama in a yurt in a place which has many goat and a roaming cat, so Amy is happy. A nest on Kaylee's front door now has five baby birds, about two weeks old. they are cute and somewhat bald at the moment and Kaylee loves each one of them, and may well name them. I hope they each survive to full birdhood.
There is a pretty decent used book store in Foley, Alabama, and I had planned to take a trip out there this week, but have learned they are closed for repairs. Bummer. On the bright side of things, a new Costco will be opening up here very soon -- the nearest one had been in Mobile. I find Costco to be a much better warehouse store than Sam's Club or BJ's. I am far beyond bulk purchasing for myself but will join in with Christina or Jessie on some of their purchases.
Sunday is Erin's Family Book Club. this month's selection is THE LIFEGUARDS by Amanda Eyre Ward, a fast-moving novel with a whole buncha flaws; it'll be interesting to see what everyone else thinks.
More to come.
Jerry, we got new Kindles for $100 each - they are much lighter than our old ones and as bright as the more expensive Paperwhite.
DeleteJerry, Jackie said to get one over on Bezos, you can buy a used Amazon Kindle 16 GB (the newest model) for $79, compared with $109 on a new one.
DeleteA yurt in Alabama? That's different.
ReplyDeleteI read six books this week, mainly non-fiction, so that was good.
We continue to watch a variety of mostly streaming shows. We did watch the Danish THE ASSET on Netflix, though most are Amazon-connected: Apple Plus, Britbox, MHz Choice, Acorn, etc. THE ASSET took a young woman out of the Police Academy (against her will) to encourage her to befriend the wife of a drug dealer to ensnare him.
We're on the final seasons (final of what is out so far, though there will be others) of SLOW HORSES and THE MORNING SHOW. Also on the last season (of 5) of the French THE BUREAU. Watching the second series of TEHRAN, about a Mossad agent inside the Iranian capital. You want to shake her sometimes, as she refuses to follow her instructions. This season added Glenn Close as a Mossad agent acting as an Iranian psychologist. Watching the second series of AFTER THE FLOOD. Lorraine Ashbourne, who was just in RIOT WOMEN (and recently in SHERWOOD), is the main character's mother. NEW TRICKS (series 5/7 "Communal Living") had several well known guest stars - Sylvia Syms (who died a couple of years ago at 89), Penny Downie (most recently in THE DIPLOMAT), Richard Harrington (HINTERLAND and other Welsh cop shows; looking a lot younger and thinner here) and Lorcan Cranitch (who usually plays obnoxious cops, starting with his rapist cop in CRACKER). We finished series 23 of SILENT WITNESS, with two of the actors/characters leaving. And there were many more.
Back again.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the week was spent in front of the boob tube. I finally watched SINNERS, which was great -- although the surrealistic dance floor scene was a bit overmuch. The final season of GOOD OMENS was enjoyable and a fitting ending. The new version of MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE was saved by Malcolm's sister (Vaughan Murrae) and daughter (Keeley Karsten), as well as by Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek; it was also interesting to see how all the side characters had managed after twenty years. The first season of R. J. DECKER took Carl Hiaasen's somewhat forgiving character for a spin in what at first appeared to be a by-the-books television PI series which turned into something much more.
And then I went on a Sony-Marvel kick, catching five movies about Marvel characters that are not part of Marvel's MCU. Sony, you might remember, had the rights to Spider-Man, which also included the rights to various characters Spider-Man had faced. the movies I watched were KRAVEN, MADAME WEB, MORBIUS, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, and VENOM: THE LAST DANCE all with long, drawn-out battle scenes chockfull of CGI. All were interesting. but with plot holes you cold drive a Sherman tank through. Speaking of tanks, I am currently watching the 1952 12-part Republic serial ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, where in one scene one of the heroes borrows a tank that a local farmer just happens to have so he can chase down a speeding train...truly mindless stuff and I love it. (BTW, there are no zombies in the film, but there is Leonard Nemoy in a bit role as a Martian flunky (evidently his second credited role in films).
Because of my excessive viewing, I only read two books this week: PENDERGAST: THE BEGINNING by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, taking place shortly before 1995's RELIC, and FULLY DRESSED AND IN HIS RIGHT MIND by Michael Fessier, a quirky fantasy noir and my FFB this week.
Have a fantastic week, Petti. Stay safe.
I got the opportunity to see the new section of the Detroit Zoo which was lovely in a way with plantings and farm animals but much of it was given over to playscapes and better food than hotdogs. The hot exhibit was a virtual reality opportunity and that was paced. The goats were very eager to mix with humans. I saw the movie WE LOVE BOOSTERS, which was interesting, relevant but too loud for me. Watching THE BOROUGHS but as always with Netflix shows too visually dark. And a lot like STRANGER THINGS with grandparents. We had the rain too but today is nice so don't give up Jeff. Saw a play yesterday but I can't even remember the title. It was sweet but unmemorable.
ReplyDeleteWe thought the same about THE BOROUGHS. Nice to see a show where almost everyone is in our age range:
DeleteEd Begley, Jr. 76
Alfred Molina 73
Geena Davis 70 (and looking good)
Clarke Peters 74
Alfre Woodard 73
Bill Pullman 72
Dee Wallace 77 (she's 3 weeks younger than me)
Mary McDonnell 74 (not in the first episode)
Jane Kaczmarek 70
The rain is indeed stopping, and it will be just cloudy all day, which is fine.
DeleteA local restaurant/pub has all hamburgers $12.95 (plain) or $14.95 (with toppings), with fries or other sides, every Monday, and they're really big and delicious, so that is Jackie's choice for today. We went there last year on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
packed not paced
ReplyDeleteI eventually gathered!
DeleteKatie landed in Boston last night after a weekend in San Francisco attending a friend's wedding. Patrick is in Poland being show around by a friend stationed there for a year.
ReplyDeleteDiane hosts her Book Club meeting tomorrow. I'm busy recovering from my colonoscopy. There's a big book sale on Wednesday so I'm excited about that. I've had good luck there in the past. Stay safe!
My doctor doesn't do colonoscopy's after 75 unless there are symptoms so hopefully I am done. I no longer go to book sales because I have no place to put books. Poland was very interesting. Or at least Krakow. I never saw Warsaw.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I am always late on Mondays, whether we go out or not. But that is OK, better late than never. And I get to read all the wonderful comments from others.
ReplyDeleteThere is an "I Madonnari Chalk Painting" event every year in Santa Barbara at the Mission, over the Memorial Day Weekend. The first day was Saturday, but we went yesterday, the second day, because more progress has been made on the paintings at that point. We like to go in the morning for better parking and in case it gets hot. Yesterday it was overcast and cool, better for us and for the chalk painters. We will go back on Tuesday, after the event is over, because almost all of the painting will be finished. We take lots of photos.
Glen is still reading MURDER AND OTHER ACTS OF LITERATURE, ed. by Michelle Slung. He is about 75% done with the book. He started out liking the majority of the stories but at this point he has liked about half of the stories he has read. I look forward to trying some of them.
I read DEPT. OF SPECULATION by Jenny Offill. Offill is a new author for me and I don't know what motivated me to read the book, but it is very short, about 170 pages, in a small format, and told in brief anecdotes, in sections with a lot of spacing between, so it was easy to read in a couple of days. It is about a couple in their thirties who begin to have problems in their marriage. The best part is their young daughter. It was good, but not totally satisfying. Written a little poetically for me.
I am now reading a graphic nonfiction book about a couple with two cats rescue cats: MY CAT IS SUCH A WEIRDO, VOL. 1. I am enjoying it because our cat, London, is a weirdo and we are still adjusting to him after nearly 10 months. The author is Tamako Tamagoyama.
Tracy, all cats are weirdos. It's in their DNA. Otherwise they'd be dogs or goats or guppies.
DeleteJerry, I thought you might say that. And it is true. But London seems so much more weird than our first two cats. Bink was standoffish. Rosie was a sweetie, although she got a lot sweeter over time. London is big and moody and demands attention and focusses on food and climbs on everything and comes up with new behaviors every day or so. He is also a beautiful cat and loves to be petted, which makes up for a lot.
DeleteDefinitely degrees of eccentricity in felines. Our elder, Ninja, is a sweetheart (but will put up with no nonsense from other cats, as both our younger cat and our former eldest female learned, or should have, PDQ...our current younger is a Very Slow Learner). Younger cat doesn't Get It when given pointers by feline or human companions.
DeleteI am always amazed at how different animals can be from each other in temperament.
ReplyDeleteWell, all mammals are at least reasonably intelligent. Though our younger cat, and certainly Drumpf, seem to challenge that assertion regularly.
DeleteA day late.
ReplyDeleteI was going to skip the local Memorial Day service but decided I should walk down. Military service can be so dangerous without being in a war. 19-year-olds using heavy equipment and driving too fast come to mind. A year ago there were 4 soldiers killed in Lithuania when their armored vehicle left the road and sank into a swamp. And those guys were older with years in service, too. I recall 20+ years ago when it seemed like military helicopter crashes were happening every month.
I heard MARION by Lea Rowan which is a take on PSYCHO by the female victims perspective where she survives the shower attack, kills Norm, and then kills two more skeezy guys.
SQUAKY CLEAN came out in Scotland in about '24. Fun crime novel of a guy working at a car wash who takes a mobster's car in an attempt to make it to family court. Things go badly. All the Scottish crime novels make it feel like Glasgow is filled with crooks and hard men looking to punch me in the face.
Started listening to DRIFTLESS by David Rhodes. Rhodes was one of those literary wonders with three novels in the 1970s. He disappeared after a 1977 motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed. DRIFTLESS came out way back in 2008. Jeez, took me 18 years to get around to it.
Indeed. MARION seems like it would at very least verge on copyright infringement on Robert Bloch's novel, which the review I've seen of it notes that she ignores in favor of running changes on the Hitchcock-directed film as scripted by Joseph Stefano. A nod to Bloch would be warranted. (The original novel is better than the script.)
DeleteAs several here have probably already seen, from Publisher's Weekly
Delete*Marion*
By Leah Rowan (St. Martin's)
*Psycho* gets a feminist facelift in this punchy thriller that reframes Hitchock's masterpiece as both a revenge fantasy and a surprisingly sweet ode to sisterhood (while more or less ignoring Robert Bloch's original novel). Witty, muscular, and crowd-pleasing to no end, it's ideal poolside or plane-ride company as the weather heats up. —Conner Reed, mystery and memoir reviews editor
formal review: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-250-41646-9?oly_enc_id=3914I4580389E2X
It took about a week for the three of us at home to decide on a name for the new cat. He is now Goose. He is also now recovering at the vet after being neutered. He and the first two cats are getting along better. I presume the friendliness of a kitten can wear down the two older cats.
ReplyDeleteI suspect elder cats can also worry that a juvenile's mother will wander up at any time. Why Goose?
DeleteWhile out yesterday to pick up a cake for Alice (attending one of her med school friends' daughter's birthday party today) to bring to said party, while Alice was checking in on the mother of another colleague, I chose to soothe the aftereffect of entering a Cheesecake Factory on a Saturday afternoon (particularly since their online system punted Alice's order, but things were soon put aright when the clerks and I could hear each other over the Not at All dull roar) by going over to B&N and seeing how the magazines were doing. Not great...but I did finally pick up the January issues of ASIMOV'S (with one of the last James Sallis stories), EQMM, and AHMM (the last print issues so far the publisher has managed)--ANALOG had insufficient attraction for me--and the penultimate (so far) PLOUGHSHARES, which looked a Lot more interesting than the most recent PLOUGHSHARES, also on the rack. So, I've gone back and done my bit for the furtherance of the form and its commercial near-viability. Sadly, a number of the other little magazines I might normally consider, such as THE SUN https://www.thesunmagazine.org/ and THE PARIS REVIEW (in recent years grossly overpriced) were missing, and I wonder for how long in either temporal direction. Ah, well.
ReplyDelete