THE ORDER was a decent, well made movie but it reminded me too much of the rise of white nationalists yet again to enjoy. There is an odd assortment of movies at the theater right now. I would like to see ANORA but it's only time is at 10 PM.
Watched the Christopher Reeve doc, which was very depressing too. Not just his paralysis either. Haven't decided on what I think of BLACK DOVE. It is pretty far-fetched but still sort of fun to watch. Also watching NO GOOD DEED (Netflix) SHRINKING (APPLE) BAD SISTERS (APPLE).
READING still THE LIFE IMPOSSIBLE and THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE.
Today I am going to a concert with three friends. It is holiday Baroque Music.
How about you?
14 comments:
Happy you are going for Baroque today, Patti. Live it up!
Christina left Saturday to drive Mark's new car to Albuquerque. She reports that vast parts of Texas are still very, very flat. She landed last night and was happy to discover her hotel had a jacuzzi; the one we stayed at a few weeks ago had one but it was closed for the season (we tried to explain that after two days of driving, it was definitely jacuzzi season, but to no avail), She will be flying home either today or tomorrow, most likely over very, very flat areas of Texas.
Sad news, Rosie the elephant gave birth last Tuesday, but the calf was stillborn -- a not nice ending to 22 m0nths of work.
In other animal news, Wonky Cat (official name Creme Brulee -- Amy likes to name her animals after food) has suddenly gone blind. Wonk Cat has Cerebellar Hyperplasia, a condition that affects movement and coordination (to see what that's like, check out the videos on YouTube about Luka, the Dog Who Cannot Feckin' Run). Now it may turn out that he may not have CH and instead may have an degenerative neurological disorder that there is no cure for. Amy is devastated and hoping that whatever Wonky Cat has does not progress beyond blindness. Jessie and Amy noticed that his ataxia and tremors had gotten worse, and that he was falling over a lot more and running into things more; the brought him to the vet and got the bad news. Wonky Cat, however, is in a safe and protective and loving environment, and should adapt to being blind, eventually figuring out how to navigate things on his own. Hoping this isn't a sign of something bigger. He is abut two years old now.
In other animal news, Jolly the Golden turned two last week, and Sage, the tuxedo cat, celebrate her 10th anniversary with us the same day. And (drum roll, please)...Newcat is beginning to like me. He let me pat him three times in the past few days, and actually purred a bit the last time I stroked him. I guess he finally decided that Erin was lying all the times she was dissing me to him. Jerry the Cat Whisperer is back, baby!
In the Haven't We All Done This at Some Time Dept., Jessie put her phone in the dishwasher and let it run for ten minutes before she realized what she had done. The phone still works, but I don't think it will receive any dirty messages any longer (if it ever did).
I finally have my annual physical scheduled for next Monday. I expect they will discover I am still alive.
No television this week, although I expect to give Britbox a workout this coming week with various Christmas specials.
Books read include Max allan collins's QUARRY'S RETURN, Mike Lupica's latest Spencer novel ROBERT B> PARKER'S HOT PROPERTY, CHRISTA FAUST's Hard Case Crime-adjacent lost world Gideon Hunt novel HUNT BEYOND THE FROZEN FIRE, Donald e. Westlake's BABY, WOULD I LIE? (my FFB), and John Saul's early horror novel CREATURE. I also finished the John Connolly collection NIGHT & DAY. Currently reading Mickey Spillane's first Tiger Mann novel THE DAY OF THE GUNS and John Connolly's PARKER: A MISCELLANY.
This coming week will be spent wrapping presents. How about you, Patti? Stay safe, and have a fantastic week.
We had a busy week. As mentioned, Tuesday morning we flew to Phoenix to visit my sister, dealing with kidney cancer 14 years after her breast cancer. She is the older of my sisters, just over 10 years younger than me. The trip went fairly well, considering...air travel these days just sucks. JFK is much worse than Phoenix Sky Harbor. For instance, at the American terminal, everyone is just bunched into one line than winds in and out to security, while in Phoenix, American is divided into A, B, C & D concourses, so a lot fewer people in each line. Plus, of course, it is a much smaller airport. If you;re 75 or older, you don't have to take your shoes off (what, a 74 year old is more dangerous?), and I just sailed through after answering their questions negatively - "Any metal? Hip? Knee? Pacemaker?" - but Jackie had to go through the big scanner because of her knee, and then for some inexplicable reason, her shoes set off the scanner and she had a "personal" search that left her seething and vowing never to fly again. (It was better in Phoenix.)
The trip wasn't that expensive, as Jackie had 270,000 miles on American, so two free flights, though we did pay extra for more legroom in the exit row. And my sister generously let us use one of her cars so I didn't have to deal with the hassle (and expense) of the rental car nightmare.
The flights themselves were bearable - almost full, as usual, with little attention from the flight attendants or pilots. Arizona is two hours behind us at this time, so we left at 9:30 am and got in (early) at 1 pm. Coming home, we left at 4:30 pm and got to JFK before 11. When we left it was 65 degrees, when we got to New York it was 26.
The weather was lovely there, 65-70 and mostly sunny. We stayed at a nice Marriott resort-type hotel in North Scottsdale, and again, Jackie's Lifetime Titanium membership got us free breakfast daily. The latest scam is, they charge you $30 a day "destination fee" (we had this at the Marriott Marquis in New York too), which you can spend in the hotel, so we had expensive desserts and coffee the first night, then spent it on breakfasts after that.
Mostly we hung out with my sister, her husband and their son. She seemed tired and Jackie tried to convince her to take more time off work (she works in the Governor's office). Had some nice lunches and dinners - Chinese, Mexican, Cheesecake Factory, etc.
We'll just have to see how the next procedure (the day we leave for Florida) goes, and what happens next.
Like Jerry often does, I will divide this in two parts.
No television for four days, but we did watch our usual Saturday night Brit Night lineup and had a catch up day yesterday. Finished FAT FRIENDS and the third series of WHITSTABLE PEARL on Saturday. Watched the last ever BLUE BLOODS last night, and it was better than it's been in a long time. Watched the latest of THE AGENCY - Michael Fassbender is very good. Also watched the first episode (of 6) of EARTH ABIDES on MGM+. This is the kind of "end of the world" book Jackie likes - Stephen King said it was his inspiration when writing THE STAND - though it might hit a little close to home now, with a worldwide pandemic wiping out all but a few immune people (including Martin Donovan, who also plays Nicole Kidman's husband in LIONESS). I think, vaguely, that I read the book many years ago, like in the '60s, but I'm not sure, and either way, I don't remember anything about it. It is clearly Canadian, though supposedly set here. Why he would drive to Las Vegas (from the Bay Area, apparently) is not explained, other than wanting to show scenes of the Strip and empty casinos. And why is everything so empty? Surely not everyone died at home. All the roads are clear and totally empty (so unlike THE STAND), and there are only one or two bodies seen anywhere. It made little sense to me. But we'll keep watching.
We watched the first episode of BLACK DOVE (which, as Patti pointed out, is far fetched) last week, so have to catch up. Sarah Lancashire is always good, and I am still mad that they canceled JULIA.
I read two Martin Edwards-edited collections of stories, one set in Scotland and the other in Wales, and the same Max Collins book that Jerry read. I'm two thirds of the way through the new Michael Connelly, THE WAITING, which is very good. He's an outstanding mystery writer.
Have a good, safe week everyone.
There has never been a more animal-oriented family than the Houses. Except ALL Creatures and the one about the family on an island. You do need to write a book.
So sorry about your sister, Jeff. Just when you think you are safe...
Yes, I can't imagine anyone working for a spy agency that just sells secrets to the highest bidder. Pure evil. But it is entertaining.
The music was great yesterday. The group is called THE SEBASTIANS if they come your way. They jazzed up some of that Handel and Bach.
THE DURRELLS. But that was mainly youngest son Gerry (Gerald), who wrote several entertaining books about his family and his zoos (including MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS).
Jerry, Jackie is very impressed that Christina drove alone to Albuquerque, but then, she doesn't drive at all.
You and Jerry are such great resources.
It sounds as though you've been watching some thought-provoking pieces lately, and that can be a good things. Perhaps it's just me, but I like films and TV that make me think. Enjoy the concert!
We went out to breakfast and then to the post office to mail a package this morning, so got home late in the a.m. I sat in the car and read a short story while Glen and Doug took the package in to mail; the line was long due to Christmas.
This week we watched an episode of MIDSOMER MURDERS, and only have two more episodes with the first Barnaby (John Nettles). Also watching NUMB3RS, season 2; some DOCTOR WHO specials. We also have started rewatching DEATH IN PARADISE from Season 1, and enjoyed the first episode. It is probably the only episode that I remember how it ends, and it was interesting seeing it a second time and noticing things I had noticed before. It will be interesting to see how we handle watching the new season of DEATH IN PARADISE at the same time.
I finished reading THE UNFORTUNATE ENGLISHMAN by John Lawton, the 2nd book in the Joe Wilderness series. It was better than the first book in the series, with mostly the same characters. Set in Russia, Berlin, and the UK.
Last night I started reading MOM MEETS HER MAKER by James Yaffe. A post at BENEATH THE STAINS OF TIME listing some recommend Christmas novels reminded me of this book, and I ordered a copy finally. TomCat says: "A better Ellery Queen-style Christmas mystery than Ellery Queen's The Finishing Stroke (1958)."
Glen is getting close to finishing THE POWER AND THE GLORY by Adrian Tinniswood (country houses in the UK before World War I). He is reading HAUNTERS AT THE HEARTH along with that and has liked about 2/3 of the stories, which is pretty good. His favorite so far is "Christmas Honeymoon" by Howard Spring.
That comment was from Tracy, which you could probably tell. I forget that when I first get on the computer, Blogger doesn't recognize me.
As soon as I saw Glen, I knew. I don't know that you've ever mentioned Doug's name before. I watched many seasons of MIDSOMMER but all with John Nettles. Should try his replacement
Everyone should recognize you, Tracy, especially blogger!
Not too long ago I was hunting around for Faust's HUNT novel. Too bad they stopped publishing that series. Maybe that fell to the side when Hard Case lost their distributor (or whatever it was that happened).
I've been watching A.P. Bio on Netflix. A fun show.
Both Children will be here by the Saturday. My mother drives up on Monday.
I've been listening to WILDWOOD by Colin Meloy. A riff on the NARNIA series where a toddler is kidnapped by crows and taken into a unexplored forest next to Portland, OR. The toddler's 12-year-old sister and her classmate go into the woods to find him. Has anthropomorphic animals and plenty of violence. Narrated by actress Amanda Plummer who does solid work.
I read a history of the violent right-wing orgs featured in THE ORDER and intend to watch the show. For that matter, I listened to SAY NOTHING a year or two ago and it was freaking compelling. I need to take in the TV show.
I heard an interview with one of Jean McConville's sons at the time the book came out. He told a story of himself or one of his brothers catching a taxi cab and they get in the car and see that the driver is one of people who kidnapped his mother. There is not a damn thing he can do about seeing this guy. A man partially responsible for his mother's murder. Can't go to the police. Cannot rant and rave. Cannot beat the driver with a stick. Just... nothing. Do nothing and say nothing.
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