Now I am reading THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF by Evelyn Clarke.
A rainy day here, what do people that don't read to on days like this?
Watching THE HOUSE OF SPIRITS (Prime) PARADISE (Hulu)
Rewatched BODY HEAT. Movies are not this sexy any more.
How about you?
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A semi-quiet week, with thunderstorms every evening except Saturday, the Fourth, which was a pretty loud night on its own, thank you very much. Kids set off a lot of fireworks on the street in front of our house. I check yesterday morning -- my car had not been set on fire and there were no random digits lying around on the street, so all went well, although neighborhood pets might disagree. Christina, who was working as a police dispatcher from 4 pm to 2 am on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, was kept very busy with noise complaints (starting at 4:30 on Thursday) and Saturday was a horror show with multiple traffic accidents, a boat sinking, a fire, and general mayhem. But things were worse in neighboring Pensacola, where social media drew kids for a "teen takeover" in the downtown area. Even with an additional 50 police on duty, things were difficult to control, with drunkenness and random fights most of the evening. Then, at 1:30 Sunday, the gunfire began. Seven people were wounded, including a 19-year-old man (man? at 19 he was just a baby) who died shortly afterward from his wounds. Sadly, the Florida Panhandle is MAGA Central and the majority of comments online were disgustingly racist, even though no one knows what happened and no arrests have yet been made. The commenter were quick to blame blacks without proof, and very few mentioned the problem with guns in our society. I weep for our country.
For the most part, however, the Fourth was a time for celebration for our country and what it had promised to be, despite the fact that a certain president tried his hardest to wrestle the holiday from the American people. I truly believe that that certain president has shoot his wad and will soon be relegated to the dustbin of history and we will be able to begin healing.
Speaking of healing, I'm recovering finely from my cataract operation. Out of an excess of caution (and, I suspect, an excess of fear of liability suits), I have been given a strict list of instructions for the healing process. As of today, I can drive short distances, but must continue to avoid most exertion; I no longer have to wear an eyepatch when I sleep, but must continue steroid eyedrops four times a day from until the end of the month, at which time they will give me the all clear and set an appointment to have my other eye done. Will all this help my vision? We'll see.
So I've been a somebody for a week, mainly catching up on my sleep. For some reason I have become a cat, sleeping what seems to be 80% of the time. This also meant no bingo for me (not a great hardship; I usually go only to give Walt Senior some company). For some reason Senior has decided that I like /Cheetos, so he gave Christina a Walmart bag full of loose Cheetos for me. [???]
Watched BEYOND PARADISE. THE ONION, which took over the Infowars name from Alex Jones, who has not yet begun to pay the billion dollars he legally owes the Sandy Hook families, has just donated $100,000 from the sale of their own Infowars merchandise to the families as a way to thumb their nose at that p.o.s. So, in appreciation, I have begun to watch their 2011 television show THE ONION NEWS NETWORK (now streaming on YouTube), and have found the satire does not get old. So, major hat tip to THE ONION.
Book read include THE FURY AND THE TERRO by John Farris (my FFB ), J. R. Robb's fourth Eve Dallas novel, RAPTURE IN DEATH, and two very hefty anthologies, A CENTURY OF GREAT WESTERN STORIES, edited by John Jakes, and THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, edited by John Joseph Adams.
Time for me to take another nap, Patti. Stay safe.
"I've been a homebody...", although I'm also sure I've been a somebody. Stupid, stupid, stupid fumble fingers.
Yes, I thought the Strout book was very good too.
We survived the awful heat and humidity this week. The 90s arrived Wednesday, and Thursday was the first official 100 degree day in New York since 2012. (It was 98 Friday and 93
Saturday. );Of course that was the day we had an outdoor concert at Jones Beach. Long Island was even hotter than the city. Fortunately, by the time the concert (The Doobie Brothers followed by Santana) started at 7, there was a nice sea breeze off the ocean and we were very comfortable.
On the 4th, we just walked across the street and got a nice shady seat on a park bench o watch the parade of tall ships through the Narrows and up to the West Side of Manhattan. Jackie was particularly impressed with the ranks of sailors (many of them women) lined up on the rigging and above the sails on these ships, some of which were hundreds of feet tall.
We watched Jackie's favorite INDEPENDENCE DAY on Friday and 1776 on Saturday.
Due to weather concerns - and lot of rain today and possibly flooding in Connecticut - we pushed our New England trip back one day. We're driving to the Hartford area tomorrow and will go to Maine with my cousins Wednesday through Friday. Then back to Connecticut on Saturday and home on Sunday.
Series 25 of SILENT WITNESS is a little different in format. Instead of 5 two-part episodes, it is one story in 6 parts. Nikki and her team are brought in by Amanda Burton's Sam Ryan, who starred in the first 7+ series.
Series 4 of FOR ALL MANKIND is up to 2002, with Al Gore now the President, and the Mars colony the center of the show.
We also watched the documentary LINDA RONSTADT::THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (from 2019), and we've started series 13 of THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF.
Reading mostly short stories, as I seem to have little time, which I know is ridiculous. I have quite a few library vlbooks on hand.
I have a memory of seeing the tall ships once. Possibly because we used to go to NY regularly. I have not yet watched the last season of FOR ALL MANKIND.
One of my eyes saw a great improvement; the other not so much.
Started watching Astrid on PBS. It is better than Patience for me.
Patience is certainly watchable, but she's no Astrid and neither is the show. Boy, Laura Fraser sure keeps busy, including playing American (Breaking Bad and Better Cali Saul).
After baking Western NY last week with 90 degree temperatures, we've started off this week in the 70s. Much nicer!
The excitement last week was lightning hitting one of our tall trees which crushed our neighbor's shed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Diane told me to call the Tree service guy right away and he came out in a half hour to scope things out. "My crew will be here tomorrow at noon, " he told us. And, they were.
Diane and her Book Club have read most of Elizabeth Strout's books and loved them! Stay safe!
Patti, I am glad that you liked the new Strout book and not surprised. I will not get a copy until September or later in the year, but I will almost certainly read it as soon as I have a copy.
My health has been up and down lately, but at least that means that when it is up I get a little bit more done, and I am better company. Glen and my son have been very supportive.
After my doctor visit last Tuesday, she scheduled an endoscopy to verify that there are no serious problems in my upper GI tract. I had that Wednesday, and the results were good, so no worries there. It was very tiring, though. The results for the cardiac monitor did come in but with no explanation what they mean yet.
Watching: We have been watching a lot of BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES episodes from the early seasons. The first two seasons had a more serious tone but it seems to be moving toward more humor in the episodes in Season 3. We will soon be watching the last episode of ELEMENTARY (2nd time through, at least), and I will be sad. That may be my favorite police procedural show of all that I have seen. Glen has been choosing COLUMBO episodes recently and they have been consistently good. I think we have finished season 7. We have been watching the latest season of BEYOND PARADISE.
I only read 3 books in June and that bugs me. I know there is no reason to focus on numbers and I did read 500 pages of MIDDLEMARCH during June, but I am still bothered by it. I finished LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK by Kathleen Rooney on July 1st and I have now finished MIDDLEMARCH also. The last 300 pages were very good and I was motivated to read more during the day. A good number of MIDDLEMARCH readers had a similar experience to mine, finding the first half of the book a struggle and liking the last half much better.
I am now reading GLASS HOUSES by Louise Penny. It is the 13th book in the 20 book series. It starts well but I have only read 20 pages.
Glen is reading ATLANTIC by Simon Winchester. He says it is just OK and he finds the writing dry, but he will finish it, most likely.
I have meant to read Middlemarch my whole life. Also still seeing doctors out here. Five years almost on breast cancer drug snd I can hardly walk from leg pain.
I don't think I've read read Strout.
Recently read DIRT BAGS by Eryk Pruitt. Dark and bloody and humorous.
I head THE STAND-IN by Deborah Moggach and it was mostly good but had some slow parts. 38-year-old English gets a break when hired as the stand-in for a famous actress. Trouble ensues. Narrated by the English lady who commits murder. I think the plot was strung out a bit too long. But, that's just me.
Was able to visit my mother for the 4th and brought Boy #2. My wife had to stay home to watch all the dang cats. Our usual cat sitter was unavailable. The weather was MUGGY.
My mother has some recent mobility troubles and we went out and got her a fancy smart watch in case of falls. The rest of our time watching an all-day marathon of the CENTENNIAL mini-series which premiered in 1978-79. Those 1970s mini-series would have some amazingly deep casts. I spent a decent amount of time looking at actors bios and saying
"She died when she was 84."
"Timothy Dalton and Redgrave were an item for 14 years."
"Barbara Carrera had a heyday and disappeared."
"Oh. They were married?!"
"Is that Alex Karras?"
"Oh, it's what's his name."
The grey haired wigs and wrinkles around the eyes were not very convincing for the aging characters.
I have a smart watch and expect it to go off anytime I wave my arm.
The perils of having a cell phone with you. I miss plot points looking things up.
Oh, yes. I keep my phone with me so I am frequently looking up people from the older British shows we watch. For instance, David Leon played Vera's Sergeant until he left after several series, then came back in the same role the last couple of series. He plays a bureaucrat "from Numver 10" in series 25 of Silent Witness. Is this important? No, but I need to know that. It's always fun to see someone young and just starting out 20 years ago who you know is "someone" now.
Is this important? No, but I need to know that.
I NEED TO KNOW
Re Middlemarch, I struggled through at least 1/2 of the 800 pages, which seems too much effort, but I had to find out how it ended, and the last 300 pages went fast.
I have sympathy with lots of doctor's visits. They seem to take up so much time and it takes a long time to resolve anything, if ever. I am very sorry about the leg pain; I have had bouts with leg pain, hip pain and back pain, but right now they seem to be in remission. Plus bunions, which can be very painful, but I have learned to live with them.
Yes, that's it. I have a friend the same way. And if we are out in the car, she has me look up whatever comes to her mind because of course, I am not driving. The cell took the place of a pacifier in some respects.
Yes, PATIENCE takes care to make its protagonist less neurodivergent, usually to lesser effect; one wonders if the more "unusual" haircut of Astrid on her series has is a bit cutely much, among other aspects. The last two episodes to play in our area (on NJ and PA stations) were among the best I've seen of either, so no complaints in that regard.
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