Monday, January 06, 2020

Things That Are Making Me Happy


The Fuhrer is making our lives the thing of nightmares but we will try to find joy. These last years is an example of how much harm can be done in very little time if power is concentrated and people are lied to.

Read 80% of Briar Patch and had no desire to finish it. Very disappointed because I believe I liked Ross Thomas in the seventies and eighties. Eighty percent through and I knew almost nothing about the sister who died and brought the protagonist back home. A series of meetings with various players stood in for plot. Tell me I am wrong. Now I have started a memoir of Vivian Gornick. Megan has the idea I can jump start my writing by doing a memoir. Hard to find any voice much less my own.

Three movies UNCUT GEMS (again), SYNONYMS (Israeli-French), and BOMBSHELL. BOMBSHELL wasn't bad but I did find it hard mustering up sympathy for Fox News women. Wrong, but there it is. Why are they shocked that men who work at Fox would hit on women? Still the acting was fine and the story told well enough.

Celebrated by birthday quietly. The weather is eerily good for January.
Finding nothing much on TV to watch. Other than DARE ME, of course.

What are you up to?

21 comments:

Jeff Meyerson said...

Agree on lack of sympathy for Fox News women and would not see the movie.

We watched the first series of DEAD TO ME on Netflix and recommend it if you haven't seen it. I was impressed with Christina Applegate.

Some of the hotel TVs have Netflix, good since there is little on network television. I liked the first episode of DARE ME much more than the second. Despite her good reasons for acting out, Beth is a pretty unsympathetic character for me.

So far, the trip down has been good. A little light rain on Saturday, but the main problem was fog. Yesterday was sunny and cool. Heading to Georgia today, Florida tomorrow.

George said...

Happy Birthday, Patti!

The Bills lost a Playoff game where they had a 16-0 lead. Western NY Bills fans did meet the team at the Airport when they returned from Houston. But it would have been more fun if the Bills had won and moved on to the next Round.

Like your part of the country, the Buffalo area is enjoying abnormally warm weather. No big snow storms in sight!

Clearly Trump launched this war with Iran to divert attention from the Impeachment. But today the Stock Market is headed way down. Gold and oil prices are headed upward. Recession is lurking. And, Iran may unleash dozens of terrorist attacks!

Steve Oerkfitz said...

I pretty much agree with you on Bombshell. It's a movie that should be see by Fox fans but won't be. Otherwise it is just preaching to the choir.
Read Steps by Jerzy Kosinski. His second novel. Not nearly as good as The Painted Bird. Halfway through the new Spenser novel by Ace Atkins. An enjoyable read so far.
Finished season 5 of Peaky Blinders. A seem to like better than most people I know. Liked the first two episodes of The Boys on Amazon.
Will probably see Uncut Gems this week
A week into January and I've only had to clean snow off my car once. I have no problem with that.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I guess I don’t have to like characters in fiction. I just have to find them interesting. Succession is my favorite show and I despise every character.
Need to go back to Peaky Binders!

Gerard - who is not logged in said...

Happy birthday. You're already doing some memoir writing by regularly posting here. You'd be expanding and elaborating, no?

We spent New Year's as a family watching RETURN OF THE JEDI and playing a few games. I was up too late the night before and up early that morning for work so I crashed hard at 11:30PM.

I read BELFAST NOIR from the Akashic noir series. There were a couple duds in there but overall a fun read.
I saw season one of CASTLE ROCK on Hulu. Very well done show.

TracyK said...

Thanks for letting us know how you fared on Briarpatch. I will still give it a try some day but no rush. I had good luck with the Ross Thomas books I have tried so far.

Now that I am retired, my days feel freer and I have more time for things I want to do (reading, blogging, walking) and even things that I don't want to do but need to... like going through the garage, etc. Still adjusting of course but very happy about it.

I just finished reading A KISS BEFORE DYING, more tension than I like in a book, but a wonderful read ... and a very fast read. Before that I read WOLF HALL, which was also very good but a slow read for me. Challenging.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Love Ira Levin. Such a versatile writer. The film with Robert Wagner is surprisingly good.
I think I had forgotten all about the Noir books. No book stores to see them in now.
I think this writing is more diary than memoir. All the stories I have to tell are about other people though. I could try and post one here and see what you guys think.

Jerry House said...

Sometimes quiet birthdays are the best.

Also quiet New Years. We toasted 2020 with glasses of orange juice and happily went to bed.

Willow is doing much better, although she resents the pills we have to give her. I am getting amazingly adept at forcing her mouth open, then keeping it closed until she swallows the pill. Sometimes she tries to fool me but I'm to smart for her!

This week Christina, Walt and family celebrated Jack's Adoption Day, an annual event in their household. Jack has come a long way is is very lucky to have this particular family.

After a week of agonizing pain, my back is again straightening out and I am able to walk again. This has been a regular occurrence since I was fifteen so I'm used to it, but it does bother Kitty quite a bit.

Schadenfreude is strong in me as Trump blunders his way in the Middle East. Things are not looking good, but I take some solace in the fact that more and more people are realizing what a snafu-inducing doofus he is.

Read Charles Beaumont's collection of previously unpublished stories, A TOUCH OF THE CREATURE, and realized once again what a talent we lost with his early (and horrible) death.

You should write more and more stories. You have the talent and compassion needed. And I need to read more from women named Abbott.

Have a good week, Patti!

Rick Robinson said...

Happy birthday, and New Year! Rainy, windy and cool here, but not cool enough. We've had no snow, and very little in the mountains. That's a problem because a deep snow pack is necessary for our Summer water. The warm winter everyone in the East seems to be so happy about means we could have drought this year.

Bird sightings: In addition to the usual ones, we have had three more visits from the Cooper's Hawk, and a Ring Necked Pheasant wandered across our lawn on Friday. First we have ever seen here!

I'm about halfway through The Best of Jerry Pournelle and am enjoying it. I'm also reading the Emily Dickenson book I got for Christmas. We watched an episode of Inspector Morse from season two. I'd read the book upon which it was based, and liked the book better. We looked in on the Golden Globe Awards last night, but found it pretty boring, and I really dislike Ricky Gervais. Barbara likes to see the clothes. Now she wants to see 1917.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes, this January makes me uneasy. I love the warmer weather but hate what it probably means.
I had back issues last week, Jerry from yanking the door open. It was excruciating. Have to see if I have read any Beaumont stories.

Gerard - who is not logged in said...

Re: back pain. I injured my back in football practice as a high school freshman in 1984 or so. It caused minor discomfort over the years and got progressively worse until about 2002 when I wrenched it bad and was given pain medication.

Another injury in 2015 or so sent me to a physical therapist. After years of trouble I expected to be told I would need surgery. The therapist did some massage techniques and directed me on exercises to improve flexibility, posture, and strength and it did absolute wonders and I've been trouble free since then. (Well... except for a time a couple months later after that when I had slacked off on exercise and was slouching at my desk.)

I know other people with degenerative discs and surgical repairs. I'm quite thankful my problem had such a simple resolution. I don't know if this is the problem for other people. There are tons of medical stories about patients just needing a correct diagnose and I suppose my story counts.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I am sure there is arthritis involved. I will seek PT if it happens again.

Margot Kinberg said...

Happy birthday (even if you did celebrate it quietly), Patti. I'm glad for you that the weather hasn't been bad. Sometimes it's terrible at this time of year. In the meantime, here's to some positive change in 2020.

THE ONLY TRUE HACKER IN THE WORLD ® said...
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YA Sleuth said...

UNCUT GEMS is on my list. I slept through half of STAR WARS (sorry to any fans out there), a concession to my husband who loves this franchise, so I'm dying to make up for that...

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Happy Birthday. I am glad the "holidays" are over and no winter weather events here so far. The downside is that it is looking more and more like a severe weather event is coming this Friday. They keep moving is closer and closer to the higher risk zone. Sigh.

Among other things, we watched Season Two of LOST IN SPACE. This season struck as better as there seemed to be more focus on characters and their actions and less of--oh god, something alien and wicked comes this way--sort of thing.

K

Todd Mason said...

Belated happy natals here vs. elsewhere.

One place you've encountered Charles Beaumont's writing is as the most consistently good contributor of scripts to THE TWILIGHT ZONE...till such time as his Very early-onset Alzheimer's made it difficult for him to finish his work, and a number of his friends and collaborators started helping him out/writing from his suggestions or outlines, till his very early death. He also did no little impressive film scripting. One place you haven't encountered his work, though you can now in the online postings of the back issues at Archive.org and the like, was in his film and television reviewing for THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, beginning in the last year or so of Anthony Boucher's editorship...he was the first to hold that post, and as good as any of the often brilliant folks who followed him in it.

Todd Mason said...

Sympathies for all our back-pain sufferers. Threw my back out for the first time in 1990, age 25, and have had to not take it for granted since. I've certainly moved too many books and other items at a quick pace over the years, and paid the price shortly thereafter. Got the contents of an apartment, as carried in a rental van, including a bed, up to a third-floor walkup by myself once in a few hours one afternoon...in 1996. Would not like to replicate that feat.

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