What I Watched: Ahsoka, the spin-off of The Mandalorian focused on Ashoka’s quest to find Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger. Because the first episode was backstory-ish, and further on there was a typical semi-corny Star Wars soliloquy by Ezra Bridger, Ahsoka took me a bit to warm up to. But, by the time they ended an episode with the majestic pod of purrgil (hyperspace traveling whale/giant squid) I was all-in. Also, I love the Togrutan montrals: Starting as just small bumps in infancy, the horns grow as Togrutas age, soaring high above their heads and reaching to their waist. The montrals are hollow inside and the species uses them to sense the movement of objects around them.
What I Read: (speed-round reviews)
Backstitched and Stabbed (Grace Designs Mysteries Book 2) by Tilly Wallace: this mystery series features a seamstress/sleuth in Wellington, New Zealand in the early 1920s. I really like Tilly Wallace’s Manners and Monsters series, and the Seraphina spin-offs. This series is not quite as enticing. There is zero mystical/paranormal content, and I do not yet have a real affinity for the characters.
Payback in DeathAn Eve Dallas Novel by J. D. Robb: Robb has been churning out this series since 1995; this is book number 57. You either like them or you do not; NY cop with a troubled past, a charming Irish billionaire, and a cast of quirky continuing characters. Never read any? The first book, Naked in Death, is worth trying to see if you have the stamina to catch up on 28 years of writing.
The Grave Robber A Charley Davidson Novella by Darynda Jones: it is a total spin-off, but still my catnip “Eric Vause is done. Done with ghosts. Done with hellhounds. And definitely done with asshole demons, mostly because he’d been possessed by one. Even now, five years later, the rage he absorbed from the creature has yet to wane, so he decides a road trip is in order. Surely some cool air, great scenery, and a case of Dos Equis will shake things loose. Unfortunately, supernatural events happen everywhere.”
The Untitled Books (The Glass Library Book 3) by C.J. Archer: this series is about the next generation, the son of the title characters in the Glass and Steel novels. It is . . . okay . . . and you would think that I’d love it as it is based on libraries and magic. “When a set of bound manuscripts written on magician-made paper is brought to the Glass Library, Sylvia and the professor send the owner away. After all, the library collects books about magic, not containing it.”
What I Listened To: Freshera the new album by Chicos de Nazca (formerly of Santiago, Chile and now based in Berlin). Just Sold a House, She and I, and It’s Not the Place are stand-outs.
Thank you for playing Brain Drain! How are you, dearest ones? Darling DeadSplinterites, what’s going on? Please do share with us!
I saw the No Reservations episode where Bourdain went to Haiti about a year after the great earthquake, and then the Conan O’Brien segments where he went to Haiti after Trump called it a shithole.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well they both went.
Both guys were open about how screwed up the US treatment of Haiti has been, and both gave ample opportunities to Haitians to speak out without trying to minimize or rationalize in response.
One striking common thread is both showed Haitians being deeply suspicious of them, and let Haitians explain that they were well aware how much the US press flew in for misery porn stories.
It was pretty interesting how a former chef and comedian addressed complexities without falling into easy cliches.
Thanks for pointing out two items that haven’t hit my radar; they both sound worth watching.
I’m not a fan of a lot of his schticks, but I think the Conan Without Borders trips are great. They’re on Max and a bunch are on Youtube.
Trivia: Admiral Thrawn was the first important character introduced from the literary Star Wars Universe.
He was also one of the most ruthlessly competent Imperial admirals unlike the ones who ended up dead by their own stupidity or arrogance at the hands of Darth Vader which is probably why he became such a popular character.
The irony being that when the Rat/Mouse first bought Star Wars, they made it perfectly clear that they didn’t want anything to do with the literary universe or mine the stories for ideas. Now as they’re desperate for ideas, they went to the Thrawn well.
At least Chewie didn’t die because they dropped a moon on him (one of the most controversial stories.)
I read the first few books of the Star Wars literary-verse in the early 90s, but stopped as they got rather boring and/or repetitive.
I appreciate the backstory. Admiral Thrawn’s competence explains the quantity of his rabid devotees.
…so…stop me if it gets boring…well…I say stop…probably like start scrolling…& more than likely when, not if…but anyway
…two of my immediate family were avid readers of what I think they called either the “extended” or “expanded” universe…but I think the EU was the shorthand?
…I read a few…including…because neither of them told me…the one with the moon drop…so…in passing…not all spoilers are bad…& that book is…so…I’m on the record that they made the wrong call there just like the author…I mean…who are you to kill chewbacca with a moon like the cartoon foot from the heavens in a monty python montage?
…anyway…you might also hear people who think thrawn’s appearance is a foot in the door to suggest mara jade might make that jump back into canon…& she’s kinda…if han solo was cooler & a girl…sorta…& in the comics you get dr aphra…who is kinda sociopathic but…more like chaotic neutral alignment but the dr part is all the science & smarts
…but thrawn is from…out of town…even by hyperspace standards…& not from the place they found him this time, either…where he’s from they have a militaristic empire of their own & their standards are somewhat less lax than palpatine’s so he isn’t some stormtrooper with a paunch…he’s…well, on the page he could be almost boringly one-step-ahead but the theory of it is that he learns every scrap of everything that can be found about his quarry/opponents…personal, cultural, all that stuff…& from that point can second-guess the hell out of just about everyone
…but…despite the loyalty his extra-trained troops demonstrate…he has basically zero compunction or allegiance to anyone else but himself & his own agenda…hence all the “acceptable losses” & lack of panic…it’d even be a fair bet that he intentionally made it a closer call than necessary in order to be able to leave the one lady behind so she wasn’t an available asset to either the empire or the witches going forward…didn’t really matter if she lived or died…probably dies because he assumes the jedi won’t…but if she survives she’s still stranded
…& while I have no reason to believe it seems likely to be any sort of spoiler…in those books the place he came from employed a particular kind of creature to…interdict the force…like…they create bubbles of space within the volume of which you can’t use the force…so he’s not a sith or anything but he isn’t as unfamiliar with that sort of thing as pretty much the rest of the empire?
Ha! Additional backstory, thank you kindly.
That’s it. Extended Universe… that’s the term I wanted to use.
I’ve been reading King Lear and now I’m planning to watch some adaptations, including Anthony Hopkins’ 2018 version and Kurosawa’s RAN.
I enjoyed RAN. First Kurosawa film I ever saw.
…big fan of lear…ian mckellan was the lead in one directed by trevor nunn maybe 15 years or so back that (iirc) channel 4 in the UK taped & is watchable some places…feels like I might have come across it on PBS but not recently?
…if you find it & you used to watch dr who before it was cool you might recognize the guy who plays the fool, too
…but james earl jones, paul sorvino & raul julia seems to be right there on youtube?
I think that the author of King Lear would be quite pleased to know that versions of his work are still being produced, for media that didn’t exist until recently, in the grand scheme of things.
You mean Francis Bacon or the Earl of Oxford?
Watched: Ticket to Paradise. A typically formulaic, yet stupid-funny romcom with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. I generally swore off of romcoms about 20 years ago after I could start predicting what would happen in real time while watching the films. So, I only will watch ones when I’m with Mrs. Butcher and only if I get a sense that it will be more com than rom, which this one is.
Listened: Tommy Castro, a blues musician who isn’t particularly well known, but has solid chops.
George and Julia have a longtime friendship (spouses, too), so I imagine that the film was fun for them to make.
Good morning!
You’re killin’ me, here… I’ve still got a 6 week wait for Payback in Death! You also reminded me that I got the first Seraphina book and I now have it at the top of my kindle queue. Also, also, I read the first Glass Library book awhile ago and was unimpressed.
I just finished Weyward by Emilia Hart and it was really good. I was kind of iffy about it at first, but it kept me just enough interested to keep going, and I’m glad I finished it. It’s magical realism, kind of a Dark Greenwitch thing. If you’ve read and liked Sarah Addison Allen, you’d probably like this one.
Also recently read the Medieval Mysteries duology by Joan Wolf, No Dark Place and The Poisoned Serpent. Published in ’99, there’s some historical discrepancies that we are now looking at differently, but it’s an interesting story among the love story.
Sing Me to Sleep by R. M. Virtues is a prequel to a series, but it works just fine as a standalone book. I found it in the Stuff Your Kindle pile and really enjoyed it.
H. P. Mallory and J. R. Rain’s Midlife Mermaid series is goofy and sweet and the payoff in the last book is worth it, even if there’s some sloggy bits in the first 2.
I’ve been listening to the Turbo station on XM for car and background noise. I’ve come to realize that I really like Slipknot and Godsmack, I just didn’t listen to them on purpose before! Stone Sour is more like ballad metal, and I love them. Also, the Lithium station… Can’t deny my inner ’90’s kid her grunge!
Hi @HoneySmacks!!! Thank you for the Weyward tip, I do read Sarah Addison Allen. And nothing wrong with a little grunge.
I read Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. It’s a very quick and satisfying read. The KPS are ragtag team of scientists who study and preserve Kaiju in another dimension. I think it might be right up @farscythe and @splinterRIP allies.
I watched the first episode of The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix). I’m thrilled that it’s more like The Haunting of Hill House & The Haunting of Bly Manor rather than Midnight Mass & The Midnight Club. I love the cast that Mike Flanagan continues to work with. The settings are works of art and never an afterthought. The boo! scares are minimalist and effective. The slow plot pacing makes my skin crawl but in a spooky way. I think I already figured out one big plot device…but I won’t mention my theory in case it spoils it for others.
I’m playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Oohlala I’m loving it!
…kaiju preservation society, you say?
…why, yes…I would be happy to subscribe to your newsletter…email or postal address…what works for you?
If you read it, be sure to read the author’s note and acknowledgements at the end. It’s interesting to read what his state of mind was leading into writing such a fun book.
i’ve added it to my shopping cart….but will hold of on ordering til ive read the house witch books…which i havent started yet…. ive aquired quite a stack of books by my bedside i need to get through and im pretty sure if i add more now i’ll get intimidated by the task…lol
@HammerZeitgeist, I like John Scalzi. I just read the delightful Starter Villian, which will be mentioned in a future BrainDrain. I ordered his A Very Scalzi Christmas, not yet read, but looking forward to it. Thank you for recommending Kaiju Preservation Society.
Then I have you to thank for the kaiju book! I’m on the library wait-list for Starter Villain. The library suggests alternatives when the book you are interested isn’t available.
Edited to cross that first part out. Lol reading comprehension still low these days.
Also read KPS and definitely recommend.
welp….i’ll just skip all the things i didnt do this week…and go straight to the late 90s french song thats been stuck in my head
manau – la tribu de dana
what can i say…im a sucker for the chorus and violins in hip hop
…so…umm…these danites, then?
…aside from making me think the chorus was a whisker away from throwing in a set of bagpipes…did remind me that the french take their hip hop kinda serious…don’t get a lot of drill rappers making medieval allusions, let alone products of the original exodus
…think it was roo who put me on to keny arkana…who is likewise not rapping about nicking trainers & being a scary drug dealer but goes plenty hard…used to listen to a good bit of starflam “back in the day”…but god forbid anyone called them french?
i assume its those danites
tbh….i think its an outlier of the genre…..this side of the pond most our rap doesnt usually hit historical shit either….really… love dovey shit,anger and angst sell better in the mainstream
its an odd duck
I haven’t heard that song in forever! It was always playing on the French (Canadian) radio station that my bus driver blasted when I was a kid.
I also watched “Ashoka” despite not having watched all of “Clone Wars” or “Rebels” and it was … fine? I dunno, it felt really flat to me, like a lot of these shows do. Really well made, kinda empty. Again, I didn’t do the homework – though maybe it’s not a great starting point where it feels like homework to understand your show?