What I watched: Keitel and I are half-way through season three of Marcella, a dark British crime drama on Netflix. I think of her as a female version of Luther – all the angst, all the very bad decisions, all the violence. This season she is undercover and embedded with an Irish crime family. All the characters are flawed, all have some redeeming qualities, and many are just poor souls. I give it a nine out of 10 stars, but suggest you watch seasons one and two first if you are new to the show.
What I read: The Pear King by Sarah Painter. This is book four in the Crow Investigations series (yup, you should start with book one and read forward.) Set in present-day London, if London was controlled by shadow clans with magical powers who are holding an uneasy truce. Oh – and a ghost who does all the computer research for the hero’s private eye business. As one does.
What I also read: Ian Dex Urban Fantasy Box Set (10 Supernatural Thriller Books) (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets Book 3) by John P. Logsdon and Christopher P. Young. This is a deal, seven novels and three short stories for $9.99 on Amazon. Both authors spent years working in the video games industry, as designers, programmers, and producers on many online games, and it shows in their writing. Also, the hero has a sentient, talking penis (which his girlfriend can hear) and a heightened sex drive due to the amalgamation of his abilities (vampire, werewolf, pixie, mage, wizard, etc.) I suspect that the core audience here is teenage boys, but I found the books funny and escapist, and laughed at the creative swear words that are a supposed part of pixie culture.
What I listened to: Mondo Cozmo’s new LP, New Medicine, the song Come On.
And here is one you might recognize from his previous work, Shine:
So what’s up with you? It is the weekend for most of us, and you may have time to kick back a bit. What are you watching, reading, or listening to? Or Doing? Have any plans? Thank you for playing BrainDrain!
Watched: The Great Race, which was approximately 2 1/2 hours of my life that I will never get back.
Read: Nothing worthy of note this week.
Listened: Gary Clark’s “This Land” album. I’d heard of Clark, but hadn’t actually gotten around to listening to his stuff until CBS Sunday Morning did a profile on him. His playing is solid and production of the music is quite good. I could do without his falsetto though. His natural singing voice is really all that is needed.
Sorry about The Great Race. 😬
Does reading about Lean Six Sigma count?
It doesn’t. I don’t recommend it for entertainment.
Lean Six Sigma is boring as hell. I had no use for it, but it looked good for the internal mobility factor at the company, so I got as far as yellow belt. Moving beyond that would have required an actual commitment and I really don’t give a shit about it.
I hear you re work reading/watching – I had to watch videos on funnel marketing last week; I am amazed at the fuss made over common sense.
What’s so hard about marketing funnels? You have something you need to pour into a container with a small opening? Get a funnel and you won’t have any problems. Done.
hahahahahahahah *dies*
oh man…i actually have a certificate for that shit…
(i got paid to play with lego and got a diploma!)
anyhoo…that was a fun 8 hours of my life…
I introduced @Aquila121 to Aesop Rock recently as we had discussed that superbly researched and presented chart over at The Pudding about the most verbose rap artists.
As a result I started listening to Busdriver on Spotify.
He’s good. But I prefer Aesop more. I like the incredibly sarcastic delivery Busdriver has. And I fully admit this a personal bias, but I just identify more with Aesop. I’m trying to expand my perspective by listening to people who aren’t like me. But it can be difficult as I simply do not fully understand what is being discussed. My life experiences are vastly different and I generally lack a full awareness of what most of the songs are pointing out.
I also just prefer to not hear the N-word in my music, regardless of how it is used or who is saying it.
I’ve also tried to get into RTJ. I like some of their songs. The new album is very good. But again I feel most of it is just beyond my ability to comprehend.
watching…kipo…it are awesome
reading…nada
listening….
eh….ill go with an ancient local
I finished season 2 of Kipo, hope they don’t make me wait too long for S3!
Kipo be awesome indeed.
We watched this on Amazon Prime last night and it was pretty good!
I’ve heard good things about Marcella, been meaning to watch it.
Watching – Unorthodox(Netflix) A young woman flees her Hasidic community in Brooklyn. It’s a fascinating look inside a world I’ve seen but know very little about. And anyone who’s felt trapped in a controlling group, dysfunctional family or unhappy domestic situation will be able to relate in spite of the cultural differences.
Reading – I just downloaded The Water Dancer by Ta-Nihisi Coates. I’m excited to get started and plan to spend most of my day reading.
Listening to – Just finished season 5 of American Scandal podcast The Hare Krishna Murders. All organized religions are messed up. Still, I admit I’m sort of interested in Krishna Consciousness.
And the new Rufus Wainwright LP Unfollow the Rules
Romantical Man
watching: Not too much, work keeps me busy during the week, but I’m slowly working my way through the Hulu Marvel stuff (blew through Runaways and Cloak and Dagger whilst still at work-from-home, and have been slowly working through The Gifted
Reading: Also not much, since I used to do most of my reading on public transit and in bars. Bars are shut down, and with a partial bike commute, I’m not spending as much time on public transit. Right now I’m gradually working through Seanan McGuire’s Velveteen series. Since the libraries are closed, I’m currently going through the backlog of books I’ve accumulated at author signings, etc.
Speaking of author signings, I recently learned some unpleasant news. A bookstore I used to really like, and frequently hosted some great author signings and readings (I’ve seen Charles Stross, John Scalzi, N.K. Jemisin, Seanan McGuire, and several others) is in the news, because the owner has recently been accused of sexual assault and other really squicky behavior. 🙁
I like Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Her respect for “otherness” and her reflections of the beauty and terror of being “other”, whilst spinning a good tale, is lovely.