Finally moved in and it went well. Lots of pluses and only a minor negative-my fridge is smaller. Cost me a bit and it was hard work but I think it's worth it.
Watching PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Amazon), Season 10. Love this show. As someone who has zero talent in that area, I am always amazed. Plus I enjoy that they use British celebrities as models. Also watching a bizarre show about someone named Natalia Grace who is either 6 or 30 and is either evil or her parents are evil. Also Monsieur Spade and True Detective. I finished Loudermilk and would like another season, Netflix. All Creatures Great and Small-will Dr. Farnum and Mrs. Hall eventually get together.
Trying hard to read the Ann Cleves book but so far I fall asleep after a few pages every night. It is not the book, it's me.
Saw Teacher's Lounge, the German film nominated for Best International Film. It was a knockout.
So what's up with you guys.
24 comments:
Had to turn off the Superbowl. The second half was ruined by continual banter with the cast of Spongebob. See annoying. Why such heavy promotion of a kid's show during the Superbowl?
Finished The Best of Michael Swanwick. Now reading Comparative Anatomy the best of Stephen Gallegher. Also reading Harbor Lights the new collectionos stories by James Lee Burke. The first three are very impressive. Such a fine writer.
Saw The Holdovers which I liked. Oddly enough I just sold a book to Paul Giametti through Ebay. On the last season of Loudermilk. Still watching True Detective and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Finished the Australian Show Harrow on Hulu. Which I also liked.
Had my first visit to a Cardiologist on Monday. Neither wrong with my heart. Stopped me usisin Metapolol. Upped my Lisinopril a bit.
Very happy you're safely moved and with no snafus. Wishing you well in your new place!
I watch football games without audio. I can't even stand the banter of the sportscasters.
What book did he buy? Sure it's the same guy? So funny. I take both of those meds and a diuretic. However my bottom number is usually 55 so it may be too much.
Margot-are we going to meet in La Jolla. I will email you.
Glad you are safely ensconced in your new digs.
It's been a ho-hum blah week with nothing goong on. No family activities. Cold, rainy weather preluded beach time. Went nowhere, did nothing. My back is still acting up and, although it's getting better, I still spent most of the week horizontal with a heating pad. Couldn't care less about the Super Bowl, the teams, the commercials, the half-time show, or the romance in the stands; according to my newsfeed, Kansas City won, so good for them. Not only is my life boring, I'm boring, too. I can live with that.
I did read a bit this week. The strangest book I read this was the new Dean Koontz, THE BAD WEATHER FRIEND. It's one of his few attempts to write humor, which can be either a good or a bad thing, depending on your wheelhouse. The book is a strange amalgram of influences, from being the red-headed step-child of a Lemony Snickett Unfortunate Event, to being a rather warped version of BIG HERO 6, with stops along the way by Gustav Meyrink's THE GOLEM and Disney's animated version of ALADDIN. It features Spike, a near two-millennia-old supernatural creature called a "craggle." Spike is sent to aid Benny Catspaw, who has lost his job, his prospects, and his fiance in a matter of a few hours, and is the target of a global conspiracy by a cabal of ultra-ultra-billionaires. Benny's crime? He's just too nice -- and niceness can save the world. Aiding Spike and Benny is Harper Harper, a perky waitress and P.I.-in-training. A very strange book, but I raced through it. Plus -- horror of all horrors! -- Koontz did not include his standard golden retreiver(!), although an evil father is present, if ever so briefly.
Also read this week were two by John Creasey, THE TOFF AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA and A SHARP RISE IN CRIME, which was the 43rd and final Roger West book, and two Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels, THE FORGOTTEN MAN and THE WATCHMAN. I finished the Danny Dunn saga with DANNY DUNN AND THE VOICE FROM SPACE by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin. My FFB was James Lee Burke's historical western TWO FOR TEXAS, featuring an early ancestor of the Holland family. I read two short story collections: Frank Owen's THE WIND THAT TRAMPS THE WORLD (oriental fantasies) and Alan E. Nourse's TIGER BY THE TAIL AND OTHER SCIENCE FICTION STORIES. I also read the first three volumes of the 1930's UK anthologies in the "Creeps Library" -- CREEPS, SHUDDERS, and SHIVERS (all anonymously edited by Charles Birkin), and finished Robert Silverberg and Martin H. Greenberg's anthology GREAT TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION (apa THE ARBOR HOUSE TREASURY OF SCIENCE FICTION MASTERPIECES). I capped everything off with three graphic novels: Roz Chast's I MUST BE DREAMING, James Tynion IV's SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, VOLUME SIX, and Jeff Lemire's LITTLE MONSTERS, VOLUME TWO. Like Steve, I am currently reading James Lee Burke's HARBOR LIGHTS, as well as another of Creasey's Roger West novels (I tend to read Creaseys five at a time because there are so damn many of them).
There is thunder and lightning and rain outside as I type this. I think I'll go back to bed. Enjoy your new home, Patti. Have a great week and stay safe.
That is quite a bit of reading. Lying flat must be the secret. Although I prefer to read sitting up. I guess every week isn't paradise in FL.
Patti-I sold him a book from Subterranean Press called The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives by James Blaylock. It's the same Paul Giametti. He is a big SF fan and at one time wanted to play Philip K. Dick in a movie if my memoryis correct.
My fault this time. Did a whole comment and in trying to copy it to save, I somehow deleted it. F#ck.
At least we had an entertaining Super Bowl this year. Even Jackie was moderately interested. Even if the 49ers lost, you could have cleaned up by taking the OVER on Taylor Swift appearances, of which there were many.
We had 5 scattered days of 80+ in January, none so far in February (until today). The last two weeks have been in the 60s (3 days) and 70s (the rest), but at least most of the rain is gone. We're perfectly happy with cooler rather than hotter, as we don't go to the beach.
We finished JOE PICKETT series one and I hated it more each episode. He's a moron and EVERY DAMN PERSON in the county outside his family is corrupt, evil or otherwise crooked. Needless to say, I won;t be watching series two. (Jackie liked it and will watch,)
We started the first series of LOUDERMILK now that we realized we can watch Netflix here after all. Also watching ONE DAY. I read and liked the David Nicholls book years ago. Never saw the badly received Anne Hathaway movie.
We started a second watch of SCOTT & BAILEY (Britbox) now that we finished JONATHAN CREEK. Still watching MI-5 on Saturdays, also NO OFFENCE. Also several foreign language series on Acorn, MHz Choice or PBS Masterpiece - A MURDER OF CROWS (Germany), THE WAGNER METHOD (France), THE LAKESIDE MURDERS (Finland).
I meant to mention that Adam Kay's THIS IS GOING TO HURT improved as it went on. Presumably he matured as a person as he grew as a doctor. He still ended up quitting, with the last straw being the death of an infant after a Cesarean he was supervising went bad (not his fault).
Congratulations on a successful move!
We enjoyed the Super Bowl but Diane was rooting for the 49ers. I was neutral.
I can't read at night any more. My focus wanders and my eyelids get heavy.
Winter returns to Western NY this week after several days of 50 degree temps--highly unusual for February. But, of course, Global Warming is a myth.
A box of books from Barbara Robinson just arrived! I'm so excited! What a wonderful gift! Stay safe!
Indeed, glad the actual move wasn't too stressful. How much hassle would a new fridge be in getting, if necessary?
Woke up to feed the cats around 7 and flipped on the CBS morning show, and if you want something more boring than pointless commentary on the game (or Not about the game, as CBS won't leave any more money on the table than the NFL will), it would be Gayle King and company nattering on about the ads during the broadcast.
Still haven't seen the new TRUE DETECTIVE episode nor the M. SPADE (recorded to kill the ads) but FUNNY WOMAN and THE WOMAN IN THE WALL wrapped and the delayed Colbert show and Maria Bamford on the delayed AFTER MIDNIGHT beckoned. Sitting down to look CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM's Sunday episode after feeding led to me cutting it off about ten fairly rote minutes in.
Speaking of Colbert, he had Paul Giamatti on some years back, and they discussed their mutual affection for Avram Davidson's writing, to Giamatti's amazement, as you might remember. Too many chat shows where the topic was Super Bowl ads can leave one thus amazed.
Patti, very glad to hear that you are mostly happy with your new apartment and have moved in.
It has been dry here but colder than usual, and the nights are pretty cold. I talked to my younger sister yesterday, first time in a few years. We have been out of touch for a while, sporadically texting. It was good to catch up on her health and her escapades. She has had four husbands and three long term boyfriends, and she brought me up to date on how they are now. I have met all of the three boyfriends in my not too frequent trips back to Alabama.
My (also younger) brother texted me yesterday that, if we were watching the Super Bowl, his son had done the color correction on the Pringles commercial in the first quarter. I did not see the text until too late, but Glen found a YouTube version and we watched that. I have never watched the Super Bowl, although when I was very young I went to a Super Bowl party.
I got a box from Barbara Robinson a few days ago also, and it was exciting. I got a very nice copy of MORE THINGS IMPOSSIBLE by Hoch, so now I have some Sam Hawthorne stories to read. And I realized that the Victor Canning book I got, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, is the last book in the Birdcage series that I am reading.
I will be back with more (about what we have been watching and reading), did not want to make this comment too long.
This week we started watching MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD. I can't remember if anyone else here has watched that and what they thought about it. We like it after two episodes but it is creepy. Still watching DEATH AND OTHER DETAILS as it comes out. My favorite show now is NORTHERN EXPOSURE and we are just at the beginning of season 2. Soon NCIS, NCIS: Hawaii, and CSI Las Vegas will return. And I want to try THE IRRATIONAL, with Jesse L. Martin. Last night we watched an episode of THE CHELSEA DETECTIVE.
I finished DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP by Satoshi Yagisawa; it is only about 140 pages long and I liked it, but it was unusual and I am still mulling over what I liked about it. Now reading GALLOWS COURT, the first Rachel Savernake book by Martin Edwards. Not at all what I expected so far and I am still deciding whether I like it or not.
Glen finished reading LONDON 1945: LIFE IN THE DEBRIS OF WAR by Maureen Waller. He is now reading A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST by Rebecca Solnit. It is a book of essays; after a slow start, he enjoyed the last two essays he read. They were less philosophical and more historical.
Tracy-I watched Murder at the End of the World. I liked it but didn't love it.
I started MURDER AT THE END, but just didn't get into it. Maybe I lacked focus.This is not the kind of apartment building where you can replace appliances. They are tightly fitted in. I'll take a photo of it once organized. Right now I am making a pot roast and there is flour everywhere. I finishe FUNNY WOMAN a few weeks ago and liked it. I have never watched NCIS. I loved Northern Exposure even the second time around. It is original without being too kooky.
I didn't mind JOE PICKETT but once I heard it was cancelled I didn't bother watching the second season.
I got my books from Barbara Robinson also. I never have seen such small paperbacks before. I have three books by James Lee Burke and two by William Kent Kruger. I guess these are mass market paperbacks.
Patti-I watched a few episodes of NCIS when I was in the hospital. Just average broadcast tv shows. Not written to tghe same standards as cable shows. Plus they have them doing all sorts of things that they don't in real life. Also got my books from Barbara.
Murder at the End of the World was a disappointment and not worth the time.
I only asked for one of Rick's books - the Chandler short stories - and our next door neighbor picked it up and is holding it for me.
We do watch NCIS - we're on series 16, I think. We watch two or three episodes a week. Also NORTHERN EXPOSURE. Jackie doesn't like to watch two subtitled shows in a row, so I am always collecting English language things to watch ion between. Saturday nights are easy, as they are all-Brit Night.
Thanks to those who gave opinions on Murder at the End of the World. I am sure we will continue watching, unless it gets really creepy.
I only asked for the first one of each series but I guess when no one else asked for others, Dave stuck a few in. How kind of both Dave and Barbara. Rick chose his wife and friend well.
Mine have arrived...two Fredric Brown volumes. I was encouraging Dave to encourage Barbara to, if she didn't want to keep Rick's music collection, to consider selling it...if might be more portable than his books and/or fetch more in the secondhand market (he had some rarish jazz reissues). A very kind gesture.
Hope the small fridge isn't too much of trial then.
Tracy, your sister has been busy. Hope she (and you) are feeling good, or good enough. My own sister has been out of touch for a while.
It's not as small as you are picturing it. Just smaller than my last one. My stove is wider though.
I lost my comment from earlier. Neglected to post it and the text was lost after the machine powered down. Oh well.
Congratulations on the move. May the summer time traffic noise not reach you.
My sister-in-law's mother is in her 80s and had a fall a week or two ago in Illinois. She was on the floor for several hours with bone fractures. Her husband died within the last six months and she is also legally blind. She is in a rehab place now and will move to an assisted living spot. I've offered to go down help as needed and as I am able. So has my mother. Except my mother is 80 and having an 80-year-old drive over to help is not that helpful.
Been listening to Tod Goldberg's GANGSTERS DON'T DIE. The Sal Cupertine novels have been absolutely top notch. Stellar narration from Johnny Heller.
I finished watching the 10 episodes of MIDNIGHT CLUB featuring the healthiest looking dying teenagers I've ever seen. It was middling. I started watching BLACKLIST last night as a "May as well try it out..." series I can partially pay attention to as I exercise. It was absurd. I sorta liked it.
Watched the Super Bowl and took a needed nap during halftime and slept into the third quarter.
I had zero care about who won the game and enjoyed watching the game just to watch football.
Watched the SuperBowl and thought the first half was boring as was halftime. Second half was way better. Laughed at all the Taylor Swift complainers that freaked out over 54 seconds in a 4 hour game. Some sensitive snowflakes.
Weather here remains weird as do I.
Glad you are safely moved.
I don't always get back here and missed the last comments. Thanks for you good wishes. Having aged parents is not easy. I had them and ten years later I am one. The middle years were lost to me with parent and husband care.
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