Monday, June 20, 2022

Monday, Monday

 

Saw this strange movie at a theater. It's a sort of spoof about the minutes missing on Rosemary Wood's record of Nixon's conversation. It didn't work for us and we were the entire audience. Plus the sound system in this tiny theater was not good. Or maybe it's partly my making do with one hearing aid as they replace the battery. 

Went out to lunch in Metamora, a town of 600 people and maybe more horses. The White Horse Inn has been there in one form or another since 1850. This is unusual in the Midwest.

Have been watching the films referenced in YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS PODCAST on the erotic eighties. So I have watched NO WAY OUT, DIRTY DANCING and a few more. 

Also watching THE OLD MAN (Hulu), where Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow give a master class in acting. Also FOR ALL MANKIND and DARK WINDS.

Strange weather -- two cool days following two hots ones. Looks like more high heat on its way.

Reading THE PLOT (Jean Hanff Korelitz)  but slowly. THE NEW YORKER had such a great issue that has been keep me busy. 

Watching the hearings and finding it horrific.

What about you? 

 


16 comments:

Steven A. Oerkfitz said...

Reading Sin Killer by Larry McMurty and short stories from various collections. Read Liarmouth by John Waters. I think he is better at non-fiction.
Watching Dark Wind, The Old Man and John Oliver. Rewatched an old movie I hadn't seen for years-Let It Ride starring Richard Dreyfus and David Johanson (New York Dolls front man). It was entertaining but not great.
Spent Father's Day
with my youngest daughter and her family.
May hit 100 here on Tuesday. Sure glad I don't live in Phoenix.

Margot Kinberg said...

Sorry to hear you didn't have a better film experience, Patti. I hope the heat doesn't get overwhelming for you.

Jerry House said...

Yes, the hearings are horrific. Trump should be indicted, but I fear the result; the radical right, speared on by Russia and other players, may again take to the streets, and many others may not want to see a United States President in jail. **sigh**

Medically, things remain the same with Kitty. We go back to Birmingham next Monday and we should get a better picture of her progress. Met with the urologist and my options are surgery, radiation, or just keeping an eye on things. Since something would have to be done in the next five years or so, it doesn't make sense to wait until I'm five years older to act. I'm leaning toward surgery, but have scheduled an appointment with the radiological oncologist for more information before I make a decision.

Fathers Day was make your own sundae day, followed by eight of us attempting to do a painting by following a Bob Ross video. We failed bigly. We ordered sandwiches from Publix (mine was a yummy corned beef). Knowing my weakness, Jessie and the girls gifted me with a package of Devil Dogs (those things are addictive!) and a mini-Cherry pie. There was also cupcakes, chips. and pineapple soda -- which covered all your non-basic food groups. A good time was had by all.

Reading has been difficult this week. Short stories only.

Television is the same. There's a lot of shows I'd like to watch, but m not in the mood. Kitty re-watched three seasons of some Nordic crime drama while I played on the computer.

It has been HOT here.

Glad to hear you are getting out some. Keep it up.

Gave a great week, Patti!

pattinase (abbott) said...

I have never heard of pineapple soda but I am intrigued. Phil had the prostate surgery and had an easy recovery. (It was the colon cancer that got him). Hoping you all get a break from this.
I was just wondering what happened to Richard Dreyfus. His name hardly gets mentioned when they talk of great actors but he brought something to a movie. (JAWS, DUDDY KRAVITZ, THE GOODBYE GIRL, THE BIG FIX, etc)
Yes SOCAL looks good right now, Margot.

Jeff Meyerson said...

Our weather has been up and down, temperature-wise - 88 on Friday, 54 Saturday night - but not too bad, especially considering what some others have endured.

We rarely socialize these days, even more so now with Covid, but went to my cousin and her husband's 55th Anniversary party Saturday night at a very nice Greek restaurant in Midtown. The food was wonderful. Sadly, their youngest daughter and her boyfriend were stranded in Colorado (where they live) by the airlines canceling their flightand her nutty sister refused to leave her cat for 24 hours, but it was a nice party (22 people). We stayed over in the Sheraton on 53rd & Seventh Avenue, which was a major disappointment. No lounge, no working wifi, mediocre restaurant. We'll stick to the Marriotts in future. (They've merged.)

Busy week. We have back to back concerts, our first of the season. Tuesday night is The Doobie Brothers' 50th Anniversary (with Michael McDonald) at Jones Beach. We'll stay in the Long Island Marriott. We come home Wednesday morning and go back to teh city (express bus) to see Bonnie Raitt (and special guest Lucinda Williams) at the Beacon. (We're staying at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.)

Yes, Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are terrific in THE OLD MAN. THE FIRST LADY finished, confirming my belief that Betty Ford's story made it worth watching. It was good to see Michelle Obama and her daughters express their true feelings about Trump, though. THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE ended with a wedding but it was mostly the same - Henry tumbling naked through time, over and over and over. The book had Claire into her 80s, so at this rate that could take 10 years. Really enjoying JULIA with Sarah Lancashire. And HACKS on HBO Max. THE LINCOLN LAWYER is fine but I don't see why some raved about it. It's no BOSCH.

Reading mostly non fiction this month so far. Ann Hood's memoir FLY GIRL was really good. Delia Ephron's memoir was harrowing. David Sedaris's latest collection (HAPPY-GO-LUCKY) just flew by.

George said...

Patrick and Katie set up an impromptu trip to New York City for me (and Diane) for Father's Day. Katie booked tickets to TWO Broadway shows, Patrick booked a suite at the Marriott hotel on 44th Street (short walking distance to all our shows and restaurants) and United flights. Friday was hot in NYC, but Saturday and Sunday were fabulously cool!

Like you, I'm fascinated by the January 6th Select Committee hearings. Our country, based on the evidence, is in Deep Shit. Judge Luttig calls Trump a “clear and present danger to American democracy”--and he's right.

Years of doing Nothing about Climate Change now results in brutally hot weather this Summer. And the West seems to be burning up. What a disaster!

Diane and I are looking forward to the start of Season Two of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING on HULU. Stay safe!

pattinase (abbott) said...

George-you didn't tell us what shows you saw! What great kids, you have.
Quite a life, Jeff and Jackie. I saw Lucinda Williams once and wish I could see her again. Sarah was perfect as Julia. I heard David on NPR and what a sad story even with the last redemptive period.

Gerard Saylor said...

- Midwest storms knocked down plenty of trees and tree branches last week. We've been without internet at home since Wed or Thu. Spectrum repair is not scheduled until Saturday. I'll call again today and see if we can move up in the schedule after cancellations and such.
- I watched one of the Netflix mini-series based off a Harlan Coben novel. Not so great but I kept watching rather than risk trying something new that could be worse. This was the 2nd or 3rd Coben series I watched and they are all pretty much the same. Everyone is lying. The lies are all connected. Parallel plots between teen and adult characters.
- I've also been watching BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR on Netflix and enjoy the weirdness.
- Not much reading so far. Another James R. Benn finished. I realized I had not yet read the latest from Scott Phillips - I blame COVID - and downloaded the audio. But, I much prefer to read his work and I may just pick up the hardcover.
- The family went into Madison on Saturday to walk around the Farmer's Market and attend a free orchestra performance. The Madison Farmer's Market is a big weekly event and surrounds the state capitol building. The Orchestra performance was an hour and a good time, even if I was falling asleep after eating lunch.
- Re: the January 6 Committee. I listened to C-SPAN's WASHINGTON JOURNAL this morning and some guy called n to complain about the 2020 election and how he "didn't care who won" he just wanted a fair and constitutional election. Bull. Shit. I used to listen to WASHINGTON JOURNAL more frequently but they would book trump apologists too often for me to take.

pattinase (abbott) said...

We have a small farmer's market in Birmingham but thinking there are no crops yet I haven't been. Maybe I will try next Sunday. We have free concerts on Wednesday nights but the heat is keeping me away. Supposed to be near 100 this week. I have not liked any of the Coben series so far. There is something so unorganic about them.

Jeff Meyerson said...

I didn't care for the two Coben series I watched so quit, but Jackie has watched ALL of the ones they've done so far, including one in Spain and two in Poland, of all places! Mostly they are dark and nasty and not really my thing. But then, she is also watching BRIDGERTON.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I watched the first Bridgerton but somehow that was enough. I don't know why. There is just so much to watch and I keep adding more!

TracyK said...

Reading: I just finished ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE. It wasn't what I expected but I liked it a lot. Most reviews talked about how funny it was and I found it much more serious. It is about a woman who is socially awkward, but the events in her past that caused it were traumatic.

The book I read before that was SOME DIE ELOQUENT, the eighth book in Catherine Aird's police procedural procedural series. The first book was THE RELIGIOUS BODY, published in 1966, and the twenty fifth in the series was published in 2019. It is a quiet, cozy series that I enjoy.

We are enjoying SHAKESPEARE & HATHAWAY. And BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES and MIDSOMER MURDERS (those are 2nd or 3rd viewings).

On Father's Day weekend Glen chose TOPSY TURVY and PIRATES OF PENZANCE with Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. Both were good.

Not much else going on and we have to go pick up medicine for our cat.

pattinase (abbott) said...

My book group all liked ELEANOR OLIPHANT too. Defintely more serious than we expected from the reviews. I remember seeing TOPSY TURVY when it came out. We went to see a couple Gilbert and Sullivan operettas after that. Hope your cat is okay!

TracyK said...

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who thought ELEANOR OLIPHANT was serious.

Our cat has thyroid problems and has lost a good bit of weight. The vet doesn't seem too concerned. But I don't know how successful we will be giving her two pills a day AND we are not supposed to touch the pills, we have to wear gloves to handle them.

George said...

Patrick and Katie knew I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan so they bought tickets to GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY. Just by chance, they also picked STRANGE LOOP which then won the Tony for BEST MUSICAL of 2022. I'll have reviews on my blog this week.

And, yes, Katie and Patrick are great kids! Diane and I really got lucky!

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