LEE turned out to be a pretty ordinary biopic. Winslett was very good but the script didn't pursue her more interesting qualities enough. Still it did make me want to find out more about her and her photographs.
Reading THE SHRED SISTERS by Betsy Lerner. A first novel for a woman who has been in publishing for 30 years.
Going to see MOULIN ROUGE (the show not the movie) at the Detroit Opera House today.
Still watching SLOW HORSES, PACHINKO, HOMICIDE. Finished NOBODY WANTS THIS which I enjoyed. I am anxious to see what they do with it next. Gave up (again) on ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING. Is it written by AI? Trying WHERE IS WANDA?
Can you imagine our last President having a clue how to handle the world we now live in. I am not really thinking of his domestic horrors but what he would do about the Middle East, Ukraine, etc. Biden is struggling with it too. It might be an unsolvable crisis.
What's new in your hood?
23 comments:
Oh, I hope you'll really enjoy Moulin Rouge, Patti! And as for Lee, I've been wondering if I should see that. Thanks for your thoughts on it.
I really hope you enjoy MOULIN ROUGE!, although I'm afraid it's something one
would have to take me to see at gunpoint. I place watching the film was one of the worst experiences of my life. Baz Lurmann is the reason I break out in hives whenever someone mentions the word "auteur." Overblown, pretentious, insipid. I am solidly anti-Baz and I fear nothing can change my mind.
As you can tell, I'm in sort off a bad mood, which came roaring in early this morning when I read of the death of Bob Randisi, the writing phenom who co-founded MYSTERY SCENE magazine and Western Fictioneers, as well as founding The Private Eye Writers of America. Randisi wrote more tha 650 novels (including over 550 in the "Gunsmith" series) and edited over 30 anthologies. I never met Randisi but he nonetheless had a great influence on me. It feels like someone has ripped out a part of my life.
At to this the fact that I screwed up my back moving my bedroom this week and thus spent most of the last few days flat on my back with a heating pad and dosed up on muscle relaxers. I put most of the bedroom furniture in the garage, planning to strip and paint various book cases and desks over the coming week; I'm now going to put those chores off until after I return from Massachusetts next week. The actual move was done by Christina and Erin (who took pity on a suddenly crippled old man); Jessie and Amy came by after work to help rip the skanky carpet in my old bedroom in preparation for Walt refurbishing that room. Walt made a yummy pot roast for the weary workers and Amy brought along a homemade buttermilk cake, so part of the day was very good.
Between pain and pills, I did little this week except nap. My reading was limited to finishing only two books: TOM SWIFT AND HIS PLANET STONE (my FFB) and William F. Nolan's revised biography PHIL HILL: YANKEE CHAMPION. I have never cared for auto racing as a sport and I know nothing about cars, but Nolan's detailed account of auto races throughout the world drew me in. Who knew? (The remaining books in my on-going Lawrence Block-a-thon are stored on my computer, and since I was not able to sit down at it for any length of time, the block-a-thon has been officially delayed.)
I watched a little television, mainly the late-night comics. Also finished the latest season of THE BAY, and caught the latest episodes of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (straining too hard this season, I fear) and AGATHA ALL ALONG (getting more irrelevant, despite the cast). My bedroom move also came just as the computer algorithm gods decided (for no reason) to cancel my subscription to MAX, which temporarily eliminated THE PENGUIN from my viewing lineup. I think I have been able to convince the algorithm that it was in error and hope to have MAX (really HBO+) back soon. I'm also halfway through Season Three of SHAKESPEARE AND HATHAWAY (very light, but I appreciate all the quotes from the BARD).
Speaking of demented algorithms, Facebook recently deleted an innocuous post of mine for not meeting "community standards." I think it's the same algorithm that has threatened several times to pull Jessie's account for not meeting community standards after she had stopped posting for several months. Zuckerberg, get your head on straight!
Headed out at 0-dark-hundred Friday morning for the long drive the New Orleans to take a flight to Massachusetts. (If I have a window seat eat, I'll wave to DEB when we go over Lake Pontchartrain .) I look forward to seeing my brother and his fam; also looking forward to spending much time playing with the newly-installed Princess of the Bay State, the nearly year-and-a-half old Lily Marie. Blogging will be non-existent for a few days.
Even though I'm a grumpy-pants now, I can't help but wish you a fantastic week, Patti. Take care.
The weather in Western NY has finally become Fall-like. Temps will be in the 60s today.
You're right about the Middle East. Disaster after disaster.
My sister in Clearwater, Florida--near Tampa--is hunkering down for Hurricane Milton. I suspect she's starting to regret selling her house in Niagara Falls and moving to Florida. She should have considered Climate Change.
Stay safe!
Too bad. I heard Winslet was great in the movie.
We ate out all seven days this week, including at Junior's in the city on Tuesday (pre-Rosh Hashanah) when we went to see Graham Nash (82) and Judy Collins (85) at Carnegie Hall. Good concert. We stayed over at a Marriott on 38th Street.
Pretty nice weather for the most part. The Yankees and Mets are alive in the playoffs, and the Giants won a surprising victory in Seattle.
Still watching various shows. We did start (I've been recording them) the new series of THE OLD MAN (soso first episode, especially compared with series one) and MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (all Lenu until the end) last night. Finished THE BAY series 5, started THE TOWER series 3. Nearing the end of UNIT ONE (Denmark; MHz Choice) and CANDICE RENOIR (series 10; Acorn). It's amazing how little network television we watch - GREY'S ANATOMY (still), the 9-1-1 shows, MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN.
Got a bunch of library books, but I find I have less reading time, with the internet sucking up the hours - newspapers, blogs, games, you name it. But that is my choice, of course. Reading mysteries (crazy reading both at the same time, but I go from one to the other) by Cara Hunter and James Byrne, as well as short stories by Ed Hoch and Jim Shepard.
Have a safe week. Glad we're out of Manhattan today (October 7).
Sorry about the back, Jerry. It's standard for we older folks. Have fun in MA.
Worried about my brother and his family in Fort Meyers too. I think the map they sent me shows it heading right toward Tampa. Yikes.
Jerry, once again we are in total sync, this time re the awful Baz Luhrmann. Your analysis said it all. But at least I didn't sit through MOULIN ROUGE but gave up on it almost immediately.
This is the first I've heard about my fellow Brooklynite Bob Randisi. I've known him since the '80s. He was three years younger than me. RIP.
Sorry to hear about your back. Jackie has done that to herself many times over the years. It generally takes her a week to recover,
Have fun in Massachusetts!
Jackie has already firmed up our 2026 dates for Florida with our landlord there, and I've paid over half this year's rent. We leave January 3 and will be there until the end of March. At least there will be no hurricanes then.
Just saw the latest update. Milton (who names these things?) is up to a Cat. 4 and looks like somewhere between Ft. Myers and Sarasota is currently Ground Zero. But it has a couple of days before it hits, so let's hope it moves.
I guess your brother really picked the wrong time to move there.
I will be in Sarasota for the last week of February and the first two weeks in March. I don't get why my three friends want to go so late. By mid-March, it's about over.
We're going to ask for photos of that house if this storm hits that area.
Winslett is always great.
Milton is predicted to miss us completely. I'm hoping there is enough warning for the rest of Florida to minimize thee damage it is sure to cause.
Project 2025 wants to break up and downsize NOAA, as well as privatized the National Weather Service. Eleven of the useful idiots Florida calls their US representative voted against FEMA funding; you can go online to see what jamooks in your state did the same. Election Day is November 5...Just sayin'.
Still impossible to believe half the country will vote for him. He has no good points.
There was a big article today about the con men he is in bed with (along with his THREE SONS) in the new cryptocurrency scam they are working up. These two idiots have been in trouble before - one owes $84,000 in back taxes, one ran a Date Hot Girls web scam. So, perfect for the President of the United States to be in business with, right? F#uck these guys.
Less than half the country ever votes. The segment of the extremely irresponsible that tends to run toward Drumpf falls somewhere near 1/5 of the country.
Those who don't vote are almost worse than those who vote for Trump.
Further condolences on your back, Jerry. I've currently reached the point that if I stand for an hour or so of dishwashing, I will have to sit down...happily, most moving of heavy objects can be doled out in short time-frames of late (though I did once, twenty years ago, by myself have to move all of our possessions, in the second leg of from one apartment to another, including hauling beds and dish and book boxes and other lighter sorts of apartment furniture up two flights of stairs over the course of an hour or so, because the truck rental company was threatening prosecution if we held onto our truck for an extra couple of hours. Not recommended).
I will respectfully disagree there...too many of them don't think anyone they can vote for will make enough difference in their lives, and in too many cases/races, they are correct. However, even the usual levels of incompetence and corruption are beggared by Drumpf and his clown yacht navy, so there is that...and to beat my constant drum, we do need to lose the Electoral College, which if anything depresses voter turnout, and make ranked choice voting national and in all races.
Patti, I hope you enjoy MOULIN ROUGE, let us know what you think. I looked at a couple of reviews for THE SHRED SISTERS and it looks like a book I would enjoy. Since it is newly released I will wait awhile though.
We haven't been doing much but I am enjoying a week where I felt good and had energy. It has been so long. We got flu shots on Friday with no bad reactions. And we have been buying lots of books, since we missed most of the book sale and were not buying books in previous months of 2024.
We are continuing to watch our regular shows, plus we have started THE ARK, a science fiction series, and we are rewatching ALMOST PARADISE, set in the Philippines.
I read THE HAMLET TRAP by Kate Wilhelm, and I loved it. It is the first book in one of her two mystery series, and was published in 1987. The two sleuths are Charlie Meiklejohn (an ex-cop) and Constance Liedl (a psychologist), married, in their 50s? I have already ordered (from Abebooks) the next two in that series.
I am now reading LADIES' LUNCH AND OTHER STORIES by Lore Segal and WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple. I don't know what I think about Semple's book and I am halfway through it. But I will definitely finish it because I have to know what happens.
Glen finished reading RITES OF PASSAGE: DEATH AND MOURNING IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN by Judith Flanders. He enjoyed that book a lot, gave it five stars. Then he read more of MOSQUITO (nonfiction about the combat aircraft). And started reading, TURNED OUT NICE AGAIN: LIVING WITH THE WEATHER by Richard Mabey. It is a compilation of essays about weather, and he has already found a book by Thomas Hardy that he wants to read, because of this book.
Tracy, if you didn't see it, Lore Segal just died today at 94. I liked her stories.
Me too!
Jeff, I had not seen that. Thanks for letting me know. I just finished reading the book this afternoon. I liked the stories too.
Gerard Not Logged In says:
Had a busy day at work celebrating the Library's 122 year anniversary. Had a couple meetings to plan upciming capital campaign. But, since our grant application was not approved, we will likely have to scale down the project even more.
I listened to a Gerald Seymour thriller, THE OUTSIDERS Some of his work has been pretty good with elements of espionage and derring-do. This was kinda so-so with British intelligence going after a Russian gangster who killed a colleague a few years before.
Have been watching KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF on Netflix. Concept of the show is a sitcom wife with goofy husband who is sick of her life and wants to murder the husband. Some scenes filled on a brightly lit sitcom set with laughter acknowledge pauses. Some scenes with darker light, scraggly hair, and hunting for Oxycodene to murder the husband with.
Glad to find your blog via Tracy's site. Too bad about the Lee bio. It does look like pretty standard stuff - I will wait for it to stream. How is Shred Sisters? We are watching Slow Horses too ... and I loved the Pachinko but what about the series? Is it good enough? thx
Post a Comment