What I watched: The last season of Billions. It was…OK. They brought back Damian Lewis, which was great because that guy could read the phone book. I’m glad to see him back at work after the death of his wife. The downside of the season, however, was that they leaned so much harder into obscure references that they usually do. I was able to get some of them, but most I just let sail by. I shouldn’t have to fire up DuckDuckGo every five minutes when I’m watching a show. But, it was still worth watching.
What I read: The Best of Me, by David Sedaris. I’d been meaning to get some of his stuff for years but finally decided to do it. I wasn’t sure which book to start with so I got this recent “best of” compilation. Fucking hilarious book and excellent story telling. His ability to make the most mundane parts of life interesting is amazing.
What I listened to: Samantha Fish put out a new album with Jesse Dayton called Deathwish Blues.
Hand it over, Deadsplinters. Quit hoarding your secrets.
…damien lewis is great…as is sedaris…& his sister for that matter…but…not sure if it qualifies as a secret exactly…& I’m at least partway loathe to admit it since I only saw the thing by giving in to amazon’s algorithmic pushing of it in my direction…so…I watched a stop-animation thing called “chuck steel: rise of the trampires”
…I would have passed on it but the voice actors included jennifer saunders & paul whitehouse…so I rolled the dice?
…it was pretty entertaining as it goes…but in a mostly bonkers & off-color sort of a way…if team america met twilight or something
…not, I’d admit…at least if you’re me…as entertaining as 2 seasons/12 episodes of gary oldman embracing misanthropy as a defining characteristic in slow horses…which incidentally are based on books by mick herron…whose stuff is generally pretty drinkable as cups of tea go…& which I’ve enjoyed almost as much as the guy they cast to play river cartwright reminds me of a young simon pegg?
I finished Reacher S1. It was pretty good, but as folks pointed out the guy is almost indestructible. I know I’m not the guy who could take four or five solid whacks to the torso from a crowbar (without breaking ribs or arms or screaming in agony.)
I read that Lee Childs wrote that after being let go due to corporate downsizing. Can’t blame him as I’m writing about my life in corporate world as a SF novel.
Saw No Time To Die. It wasn’t bad, but for a Bond it was kind of slow in a LeCarre, folks sitting around talking about serious foreign policy implications of a SF weapon which was kind of funny. I prefer the LeCarre stuff (more realistic than Fleming’s Bond which only worked in WW2 where covert action was required more than stealing secrets.)
Thus ended the Daniel Craig era Bonds.
In the books, You Only Live Twice was meant to be the finale till the publishers hired another author (Amis) to continue the series after Fleming’s death. No Time To Die had the mournful dirge/air of the novel You Only Live Twice, where Bond is a depressed half drunk crank due to mourning the loss of his wife, Emma Peel… that happened to the other fellow.
…my suspicion would be that if you like le carré’s approach you’d probably enjoy mick herron’s slough house stuff…imagine oldman as an over-the-hill-&-out-to-pasture smiley with a tilt of the head towards malcolm tucker from the thick of it & you’d not be far off?
I’ll look at Mick Herron. Thanks
…nobody walks has a character or two in common but isn’t part of the sequence they’ve made the slow horses show out of, if you fancy a taster that isn’t a direct spoiler for the show
Daniel Craig is the best Bond, full stop. I hope the next iteration of 007 films takes that into account.
I watched the first couple of episodes of Eastbound and Down, and that’s good dumb entertainment.
I also watched the first couple of episodes of Workaholics, which by coincidence has Danny McBride’s costar from Righteous Gemstones, Adam DeVine.
The setup is three 20 something coworkers at a call center type place also share a house, and it has plots like the guys panicking over a drug test they forgot about. It’s also shaping up to be good dumb entertainment.
Looks like we have very similar tastes, I watched all those things and loved them!
I watched Barbie (HBO). I usually like “chick flicks”. It was just ok and didn’t live up to the hype. I don’t think they were snubbed by the Oscars. Ryan Gosling definitely doesn’t deserve one for this movie. I won’t bore you with my thoughts on the problematic side of white feminism messaging.
I’m rereading the graphic novel series called Saga. I was planning to wait until the series is complete but book 11 arrives in my mailbox soon. I’m steeling myself for the heart breaking cliffhanger that is bound to happen and then the long wait for book 12.
Has anyone read Monstress? My comic book store recommends that series to fill the void that Saga leaves its readers.
…on the last one…I want to say yes…but only an early issue or two & not really enough to have a proper feel for it…iirc it was promising, though?
I’ll report back once I’ve read them. I ordered books 1 and 2 (the collection of volumes). On paper it checks off a lot of boxes for me: Asian women author and illustrator team, matriarchal society, female lead, magic & monsters.
Have you read book 10 and maybe 11 of Saga? Or are you waiting for the series to end? I vaguely remember reading (during the pandemic) that they planned on finishing it with book 12 and Wikipedia says issue 108 but I can’t find anything to confirm that anymore. I try to avoid all spoilers which has impeded my search for the answer.
…I kind of lost track of how far through saga I was & aimed to figure it out once the finish line was on paper
…very much interested to hear your verdict on monstress
I’m watching the Netflix documentary series about the Six Nations rugby tournament. They feature Louis Rees-Zammit of Wales, who just announced that he’s leaving rugby to try to play in the NFL. It just goes to prove what a waste of rugby talent this move is.
As usual, I hoard my content like a dragon hoards it’s treasure, because these Brain Drains do not write themselves.
But . . . A dear friend recommended a cook book, The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnet. 100% winner of a book. It has “pairings” like one would so with wine. For example, if you have mushrooms that must be cooked before they turn, look up mushrooms and it lists all the additions to them, like parsley, thyme, and Bleu cheese. Or look up nutmeg and it shows foods it spices with very well. The flavor wheel, like a color wheel, is fun. The recipes are randomly interspersed and very short, they assume you know your way around a kitchen. I give it five 🌟 .
We’re just now getting to the new season of Slow Horses.
…then you’re still a swifter horse than I
…but I may inadvertently be stalking you
…sorry?
READ
My Midsummer Morning: Rediscovering a Life of Adventure by Alastair Humphreys.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43239368-my-midsummer-morning
The author takes on a journey that parallels one of his writing/adventure heroes, Laurie Lee, with whom I am entirely unfamiliar. Basic concept — Humphreys tramps across Spain during the height of summer, and supports himself by busking with a violin, despite not having a background in music. It is at times funny and joyous, but at times a bit self-pitying. Overall, I liked it and will read more by Humphreys. I likely also will read Lee’s book to compare/contrast. Recommended.
WATCHED
The final episode of Reacher, with relief more than anything. I would recommend S1 over S2.
LISTENED
Since we have Prime, we’re just playing the free-tier Amazon Music in the background this weekend. (The ads on free Pandora were driving me crazy.) Currently enjoying the Toad the Wet Sprocket channel.
…laurie lee was a poet & author…who by some may be best known for “as I walked out one midsummer morning” but for me will always first & foremost be the guy who wrote “cider with rosie”…which is somewhat of a recognized classic…not that the other one isn’t or anything…but it’s always the first thing the name calls to mind for me
Humphreys cites both books, but he is basically trying to emulate “As I Walked…” with his journey. That one struck him as a young man and stuck with him.