What I played while the TV was on: In the dark ages of only three network TV stations, at my home we watched the shows my father and grandfather wanted to watch, which meant the nightly news, golf, and Lawrence Welk. I’d sprawl on the floor and make paper dolls with elaborate wardrobes, drawing and listening to the TV, but only occasionally glancing at it. Those viewing habits are ingrained, and I still need to keep my hands busy while the television is on. Just sitting and watching TV makes me feel nervous and stressed. Perhaps I should learn to knit, crochet, embroider, or cross stitch – at least I’d be productive?
Instead, I play a game on my Fire tablet called The Secret Society. I am not a gamer. I was too busy earning a living to take part in the advent of console gaming, although over the years my son played Xbox, PlayStation, Sega, etc. For me, phone screens are too small to see what is going on, and after spending 10 hours a day on a computer at work, I have zero desire to play PC games… But even for me, Ms. Particular, The Secret Society is a winner. I pop on almost daily, at least for 10 minutes to give my friends gifts. The game has hidden object, puzzle, level, and event components, and the graphics are pretty.
Should you play this? No clue; I like it enough to reached level 267, but you, I am sure, are a better judge of quality games than I will ever be. What games do you play and recommend?
What I read: Hidden in Plain Sight is the smart second book in the Detective William Warwick series by Jeffrey Archer. (You may wish to start with book one, Nothing Ventured, and preorder the next book, Turn a Blind Eye, due in April.) Set in 1986, Warwick has defied his Lord barrister father and joined Scotland Yard, rather than the family law firm. He has been promoted and moved from art fraud to the major drugs area. The villain from the case in book one has a continued role in book two, as do prior coworkers and family members. The author knows his book environs; after Oxford University he served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and has served twenty-seven years as a Member of the House of Lords. His experience gives the books snap and realism.
Should you read this? My goodness yes, if you are fond of the police procedural format – it is well-written and I quite like the series…do start with book one though, so you don’t lose the plot by jumping into the middle of things.
What I listened to this week: An excellent cover of Harry Style’s Watermelon Sugar by The Main:
And some Bakermat, Good For Me with GoldFord:
And Bad Dreams, with a cartoon video that made me tear up. (I never, ever cry – I just get on with it, no drama – I might be a tad overwhelmed these days.)
So, darling, bright, fun DeadSplinterites, how are you? How was your week? Staying calm as things drag on politically? What did you watch, read, or listen to? Please tell us how you are doing, and what is going on in your word!
Jeffrey Archer: I read “First Among Equals” for a British Politics class in college, and loved it. Always intended to read more of him. Eventually, I read something about an attempt to assassinate the (woman) President. It was dreck. Now I don’t know if I should read Archer again.
Some of what I’ve been reading since the Spring:
Kurt Vonnegut, “Bonobo Snuff Box”: I had never read Vonnegut, though my college roommates loved him. This is a collection of early short stories published in magazines before he was KURT VONNEGUT. Probably wasn’t a good place to start.
Jack London, “Stories of Hawaii”: Having lived there for a couple years, I never would have thought a book called “Stories of Hawaii” would be so dark. Two of the first three stories were about leprosy. I stopped there.
Jimmy Buffett, “Tales From Margaritaville”: Not a big fan of his music. Turns out I’m not a big fan of his writing, either. I read the first 50-odd pages (novella? It’s hard to call 50 pages a “short story”) of something or other, and wouldn’t have cared if all the characters died in a fire. Except for the horse.
Michael Connelly, “The Crossing”: A Harry Bosch/Lincoln Lawyer crossover. Typical investigative/court procedural. A worthwhile distraction if you’re into that kind of thing. The Bosch series has been a little hit-and-miss lately but this one’s pretty good.
DJ Jaffe, “Insane Consequences”: An indictment of the move from a system that addresses mental illness to a system that addresses “mental health” to the detriment of the seriously mentally ill. Devolves into a laundry list of failed laws, policies, agencies, and nonprofits, but informative nonetheless. I work in the field and can’t argue with him.
Douglas Starr, “The Killer of Little Shepherds”: A true crime story of sorts. Early criminologists apply newly-developed psychological theories and methods of evidence collection and interpretation to catch a serial killer in 1890’s France. Pretty fascinating.
Walter Mosely, “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned”: Story of a philosophical ex-con trying to make his way in society, I guess? Sounds kind of trite, but Mosely could write about dirt and make it interesting and poignant. I love his Leonid McGill books. I also re-read “The Tempest Tales,” wherein a man who is murdered refuses to accept St. Peter’s judgement that he shall not enter Heaven.
Andrew Shaffer, “Hope Rides Again”: The second “Obama-Biden Mystery.” These are actually crazily entertaining and there is at least one chuckle on every page. Schaffer’s Biden is so earnest it hurts.
I bought the first Obama-Biden Mystery for my daughter, nieces and nephews as Christmas gifts a couple of years ago. But I haven’t read them myself. I’ll have to remedy that.
Thank you for the may book reviews – I always like to hear the good and the bad. I’ve read Bosch for years, and was happily surprised by the Amazon series. Have you seen it? Season 7, the finale as it was not renewed, will come out in early 2021. Aside from a few “that is NOT how it was written” moments, I think that they have done a good job. I’ve not read any Easy Rawlins, although I feel sure I must have read Mosley at some point.
I watched the first season with my trial of Amazon Prime, but lately I’m not of a mind to give Bezos any money. My Amazon purchases have dropped to almost nothing since Spring.
I read the first Easy Rawlins and was not crazy about it, but might try one of the later ones. As a one-off, “Debbie Doesn’t Do it Anymore” was pretty dark, but moving in a weird way. It’s kind of uncanny how he can credibly write the part of a porn actress in the first person.
I love the Easy Rawlins series. I was supposed to see Mosley speak in April. *sigh*
…I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun since none of us have been having enough fun of late but it’s oddly jarring for me to hear Jeffrey Archer spoken well of
…growing up in Thatcher’s Britain he was one of “those” tories for me (not that the subsequent crops have exactly been an improvement) & I remember him principally for the fact that he took a tabloid to court for libel & won despite pretty clearly not deserving to…which was how he wound up convicted & jailed for perjury
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/19/archer.politics4
…he wrote pretty terrible books back in the day & I haven’t read any of his recent stuff so for all I know they may be great but I doubt I’ll ever get past my distaste for the man?
Well there you go. I learned something new, and feel sure that I would agree with your take on his political activities and unsavory actions. This is a series I like… but only 3 books, so I will not be filling his coffers.
…yeah…really don’t want to spoil things if you’re enjoying the books…for all I know he’s a reformed man, even
…it was just too weird for me to entirely stay quiet about that little moment of culture shock
I started playing Fishdom on my phone a couple of years ago during long hospital waits and chemo visits while my mom was dealing with cancer. I added Gardenscapes this year during Covid quarantine. They’re pleasant little puzzles type games that let you either build aquariums or gardens with your wins. Also, probably rotting my brain and leading me down a path of ADHD but are good for a little respite when you need to tune out.
The Douglas Starr book sounds intriguing – I love anything detectivey from the turn of the century.
We can rot our brains together, Lymond. Nothing wrong with that. And you are surely due some pleasant game escapism.
Watched: Uncut Gems. Now, I’d heard far and wide how good this movie was, but honestly I hated it. Mostly because Sandler’s character reminded me so much of my brother and my father–two guys who wasted their entire lives constantly ducking and dodging and trying to get an angle on someone, because playing it straight was for suckers. I was fine when Sandler’s character got killed at the end even though he’d finally hit big because this asshole deserved it.
Read: America’s Next Authoritarian will be Much More Competent, by Zeynep Tufekci. It’s a concise explanation of why we’re headed for a solid fucking-over in four years if the Democrats keep doing what they’re doing and not making structural changes to keep the next Republican president from doing real and lasting damage to this country. Here’s the money section:
Listened: I’ve been listening to a lot of Pink Floyd lately. I was listening to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and it freaked Butcher Dog out in the most hilarious manner.
My four dogs didn’t care at all about the Pink Floyd. Apparently they only get riled up to Hannibal’s musical suggestions?
This: “constantly ducking and dodging and trying to get an angle on someone, because playing it straight was for suckers”…I know a few of those folks, some of my in-laws are out-laws. I think that the worst part is even when you treat them with kindness and respect, you know that they are looking to take advantage in some way.
And the Democratic outlook, I think that may well be correct. Let us hope that the party makes way for the smart, savvy young people who have done so well over the past few years (and by well I mean publicly espousing human decency, health care, a living wage – you know, all those radical ideas).
playing,watching, reading….nada… tho i do have a little racing game waiting for me to remember i play games
and listening to……uhhh…fucking everything?
And you have been posting on DUAN, and writing FYCE posts. Your friends at DeadSplinter can fill your time!
oh by the by… heres one for keitel
Now, now…don’t encourage him :)!
Good morning all!
I’ve played The Secret Society and agree it’s fun. Right now I’m playing Disney Emoji Blitz when I don’t have enough time to play a proper game on Steam.
I read The Good Lord Bird by James McBride and enjoyed it. It’s a comic look at serious historical events.
I’m watching Ted Lasso on Apple TV. This show is exactly what I need right now. It was recommended to me by bel_esprit on GT and as she put it “it’s about kindness and friendship, lifting people up, and learning how to be better. ” I hope it makes it’s way to Netflix or Prime eventually so more people can see it.
I’m listening to our local college radio station right now. These are the last two songs played
Porter Robinson – Mirror
Throttle – For Me
We reside in a county which is rich in higher education. One state university, two private colleges, one art college, and one trades college. Of the private colleges, one has a randomly good radio station. Luckily, we are within listening range of WXPN from the University of Pennsylvania (not to be confused with Penn State), and those people provide consistently excellent programming. I’ve added Porter Robinson to my play list, thank you.
I’ve been watching late night comedy & old Dave Attel clips…
and listening to this in a loop…
Oh man, what a great line “Gotta launder my karma”. And it is good to know that I am not alone it playing a song that strikes me on a loop now and again.
Holy fuck, someone else knows about Low Fidelity Allstars!?
Wanted to game with Aquila121, but my delicate internal balance decided otherwise.
Watched “From the Hip”. It’s a 1987 Judd Nelson courtroom drama that I quite enjoy. John Hurt is particularly excellent in his role.
Also watching “Haywire” again. Soderberg makes enjoyable films. I hope he can more spy films. If you haven’t watched Schizopolis, I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it; it’s real fucking strange.