What I watched: Keitel watched The Old Guard; I occasionally poked my nose out of my book to ask what was going on. (Have I mentioned that he is a patient guy?) Anyway, it was right in his wheelhouse – a comic book made into a movie. The “team” is mostly immortal; the bad guys are big pharma, and the ending set it up for a sequel. Genre violence scale: about the same as Iron Fist, nowhere near as bad as The Punisher. Should you watch it? Meh, it can help to while away a boring quarantine evening. I just ask Keitel if he had any rebuttal to this review, and he said, “It was a good way to kill two hours.”
What I read: The Lavinia Lake / Tobias March 3-Book Series by Amanda Quick. These books are comforting; they follow a familiar formula, from the character types through the plots and into the denouements. They are like listening to an old friend recount stories you have heard a million times before – nothing new, but still enjoyable. These regency historical/mystery/romance books were published in 2001 to 2003. In the first book, our heroes entrap a traitor/serial-killer/evil mastermind all while attending fancy balls and touring waxworks. In the second book they chase a murderer and delve into Lavinia’s mesmerism skills and background. In the final book, they chase after a killer imitating Memento Mori Man while looking for some personal privacy.
Amanda Quick is the nom de plume of Jayne Ann Krentz, who writes contemporary romantic-suspense, and writes futuristic books as Jayne Castle. She has had over 50 New York Times bestsellers, so you could do worse than to pick up one of her books. I’d suggest starting with the Rainshadow/Harmony/ Ghosthunter series by her Castle persona. Those books have smart little co-inhabitants that look like dryer fluff and cross dress.
What I listened to: Thurston Moore has a new album coming out, Into the Fire, and he recently released the first track, Hashish. I really would like to dislike his music because I question his choices. He quite famously divorced Kim Gordon and broke up Sonic Youth after he was caught cheating on her (for six years, the man has super sneaking around skills) with a woman he later moved in with. (Old lady’s pro tip: If you are going to cheat, man up and get divorced; if you are in an open relationship, ensure that you do not embarrass your partner.) While one may question the veracity of these cheater comments, they are fairly well documented. However, his music is darn good – I like the new song, and I hope you do as well.
What’s up with you, you dashing and darling DeadSplinterites? Have you any watch, read, or listen recommendations? Any big plans? Do tell….
watched… japan sinks
should a been a happy kids tale….like grave of the fireflies… wasnt ;p
it had the potential to be a true gut punch of an anime…but its soulless…asides from a couple shocky moments i’d say it isnt worth watching…
japan stinks
reading… the ingredients of my beer can…all four of them
and listening
wolfenstein the new order has the most amazing soundtrack
I like your local music offerings, both here and on DUAN. Thanks for expanding my horizons.
oh you are most welcome
tbh…im grateful you lot let me get away with that stuff
im pretty much banned from touching the stereo in every local pub round here….(i cant help meself….music is my thing)
That made me laugh. At least you aren’t banned from the pubs?
lol… well aside from being pretty forcefull about sharing me tunes…. im actually harmless and most of the time even fun to be around
(really…every gathering needs a space kadett that has ice breakers like…hey…did you know in japan they grew bonsai trees just to make the bonsai wolves and sheeps not feel so small)
….what…its true
the moon told me so
…I feel like we covered this the other week but if anyone has access to the HBO package & hasn’t made their way through the Studio Ghibli stuff
…& I forget if I’ve mentioned either before but should anyone be (still) waiting patiently for Patrick Rothfuss to finally finalize the tri- bit of the trilogy that started with The Name of the Wind & The Wise Man’s Fear (The Doors of Stone…rumoured to be coming in August)
…Joe Abercrombie‘s stuff has less whimsy & a good deal more blood one way or another…but I’d argue are at least as well-written?
I will add Joe Abercrombie to my list to read. I am in the middle of book 3 (Aloha from Hell) from your recommendation of the Sandman Slim series. It is fun but dark, so I needed a tiny break after powering through the first two books in just a few days. World events have been filling up my dark quotient lately. Keep the suggestions coming!
I feel the same about Thurston Moore, he’s a prick. But a prick who makes good music, I like the new song.
Watched – the first few episodes of Marcella on your recommendation. Wow, this show is intense. It’s really good but is anxiety inducing, lol. Still gonna keep watching it though.
Read – I’m reading The Water Dancer – Ta-Nehisi Coates and it’s so beautifully written and full of profound truths. DUH
Listened – The new song from the new Old 97’s LP, due out in August. Fun tune and the video has Puddles the Clown!
I suspect that it is unfair of me to hold artists, who have public adulation to contend with on top of normal life stuff, to a higher standard (or even a high standard.) But the sneaking isn’t cool. His music is good, still.
Super glad that you gave Marcella a try. I will confess to reading spoilers for shows that are really intense, to prepare myself. I had nightmares after the last Bosch a few seasons ago, because it was unexpected and horrific. Actually it might have been the Billy Bob Thornton lawyer show instead. Whatever.
Thanks for sharing your music, listening now!
…if you get around to the new perry mason show it might be worth noting that in the ones I’ve seen so far there’s been a moment of unexpectedly detailed makeup/special effects of the grotesque variety approximately once per episode
…but it does seem like it might be a pretty good show?
It was the second season of Goliath. It was brutal.
Relationships are hard, and complicated. People grow apart and break up for a number of reasons. But it was the six years of deceiving his domestic and musical partner that convinced me he was a cowardly prick. I’ll still listen to him though because as far as I know he isn’t a predator like Ryan Adams.
What is it aired on? I like Perry Mason.
…pretty sure it’s another HBO thing
Last weekend my entire book club forgot about our meeting. “Pandemic Brain” is real. Of course, one of the ladies had a valid excuse in that her daughter had a baby, but as for the rest of us…
We are supposed to be reading “All Adults Here”; I haven’t cracked it open, but it looks delightful…
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRVH8NN/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Also, The Chicks dropped the whole new album so that’s been on constant repeat.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1YV5Rh6n8dLOycCqWcUSq4?si=ctUp5Xi7SuKZHmD50TyHgQ
Please report back when you give it a read? And go Natalie!
“My husband’s girlfriend’s husband just called me how messed up is that?” Natalie pulling NO PUNCHES
Watched: Rock ‘n’ Roll Guns for Hire – The Story of the Sidemen on PBS. Very good program about the artists that almost everyone has heard–but haven’t actually heard about.
Read: Rough Mix by Jimmy Bowen. It’s out of print, but is a very readable memoir about Bowen’s life in the music business. One of my favorite lines in the book is when he talked about sitting next to Johnny Cash on an airplane. He said it was, “like sitting next to Abraham Lincoln. Well…Abraham Lincoln on pills.”
Listened: Queen: The Music of Dinah Washington. Dinah is one of my favorite singers, ever. The last track on the album is a studio outtake of Dinah telling a joke. She’s got great timing:
That book sounds very good. I bet Keitel would like it.
It is a good book, and Bowen is very funny.
I watched The Old Guard too. I agree with y’alls assessment. Not brilliant and not terrible
Many moons ago, my friend worked on a movie with Stuart Townsend when he was with Charlize Theron. She and her mother would come to visit. I don’t know if y’all know this – but Charlize’s mom killed Charlize’s dad in front of her. Apparently, it was self defense. Anyhoo – Charlize’s mom knit a lot of the crew people scarves – including my friend. It was a very nice peachy colored scarf.
Charlize gets a bad rap some times – but my friend liked her. Also, she and Stuart had 12 dogs at the time and she would bring a different one each day to the set to visit Stuart. I certainly can’t hate on that .
We have four dogs, puppy mill rescues of varying ages and temperaments. I will suggest that once you get over five or six, you need staff? Anyway, that is a good story.
Haha! Yes, I’m part of the multi dog rescue club myself. I had 5 up until a couple of months ago – now we’re down to 4 – a much more manageable number. They follow me everywhere I go. We refer to them as “The Team” as in “C’mon team! Let’s fill the bird feeders!”
I watched a trailer for Old Guard the other week, and thought it looked promising. I only use one streaming service at a time, and right now I’m still on Hulu, so it will have to wait…
I really liked Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road, and Atomic Blonde, I think she’s pulling off the action hero thing pretty well.
Agreed! She is excellent at action and quite ageless too.
Today is the day I start reading March by John Lewis. I’m sorry to say I’ve had it on my to-read shelf for a while.
I watched this documentary about astrologist Walter Mercado on Netflix last night. It was utterly charming.
I’ve been reading a biography of painter Horace Pippin who was one of the Harlem Hellfighters, the black regiment that fought in WWI. It’s very scholarly, but a fascinating story.
http://tupress.temple.edu/book/20000000009806