Friday, May 29, 2015

Fail. Just .... fail.


TGIF!



Plans?


Reading.
Napping.
Laundry.
Vacuuming.
Watching Outlander season finale.
Watching Game of Thrones.
Might try some real food. We'll see.

I've been listening to music today on Youtube to try to improve my mood. Here's my playlist:

Real Wild Child - Iggy Pop
Lucky Man - Emerson Palmer & Lake
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
Why - Annie Lennox
Mother - Pink Floyd
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
Baby Did a Bad Bad Think - Chris Isaccs
Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon
Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney & Wings (Live)
Cool Change - Little River Band
Seven Bridges Road - Eagles (Live)
How Great Thou Art - Carrie Underwood & Vince Gill (Live)
John Nineteen Forty-One - Jesus Christ Superstar (instrumental)
Let It Be - Beatles
Adiemus - Miriam Stockley
Theme from Twin Peaks - Angelo Badalamenti (instrumental)
Anthem - Leonard Cohen
Pullin' Back the Reins - K.D. Lang
Calling All Angels - Jane Silberry
Wicked Little Town - Drew Sarich
Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Wild Horses - Rolling Stones
Rippling Waters - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Angel - Sarah McLachlan


Have a great weekend, guys. 

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday, May 28, 2015

I see. And how are you feeling today?


I am feeling almost human today. Woot! I'm getting pretty tired of Progresso chicken rice soup after five days. The chicken soup that I really love? Lipton Ring-o-Noodle. Ever since I was a kid.



I don't know what it is about the ring noodles. The straight noodles make me gag but not the rings. This soup is hard to find, too. There's one store in town that I've found it at; so I stopped there yesterday and voila!



Happy camper, yes. It's the simple things.

Along with the Will Thomas book (hardcover) I'm also reading THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT by Simone St. James on the Kindle. This is a stand alone though it still has her common tropes of set in the 1920s with paranormal/gothic elements. Here's a description:
London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she's been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter. Ellie doesn't contact the dead—at least, not anymore. She specializes in miraculously finding lost items. Still, she can't refuse the final request of the only other true psychic she has known. Now Ellie must delve into Gloria's secrets and plunge back into the world of hucksters, lowlifes, and fakes. Worse, she cannot shake the attentions of handsome James Hawley, a damaged war veteran who has dedicated himself to debunking psychics. As Ellie and James uncover the sinister mysteries of Gloria's life and death, Ellie is tormented by nightmarish visions that herald the grisly murders of those in Gloria's circle. And as Ellie’s uneasy partnership with James turns dangerously intimate, an insidious evil force begins to undermine their quest for clues, a force determined to bury the truth, and whoever seeks to expose it...

Published in 2015, it has 331 pages. 

The CW channel is repeating their seasons of The Flash and Arrow during the summer. Last night was the season 3 first episode of Arrow (love!). Their seasons are 23 episodes long and it is kinda amazing to see the beginning again of such a tough, dark, painful season (death/near death, denial of happiness, etc., the usual angst). It's called "The Calm" and, yes, it was definitely the calm before the storm.



It was such a long haul over 23 episodes and seeing the characters almost happy and knowing what was the coming for them ....  And, yes, I'm using this as an excuse to post a photo. :)

Have a great day! It's already Thursday!

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Everything was going fine then it suddenly went nap


I am bleeping tired today.


I went home from work at lunch time yesterday and slept for a couple hours.


Last night, I turned out the light at 8:30 (though I was up several times).


I wonder if my infection is putting up a last resistance fight, their Waterloo.


I am getting better; I can feel it. Just no energy today.


So. I'll go as long as I can then probably another half day. Bah. Ah, it brings to mind the Beatles' song from The White Album (though Lennon's was drug induced):


And I leave you with one of my favorite comedic actresses in one her her greatest performances:



Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

And it's only Tuesday



.....aaaannnndd we're back.

I stayed off Facebook from Friday 5pm until Tuesday 6:30am. Yay! I did have to get on the computer Sunday afternoon after a trip to the walk-in clinic to do some research and from then on I said "screw it" and surfed the Net. And I don't feel bad about it.


I was off the Internet for almost 48 hours. That's amazing for me.

How was your weekend? Mine. Hmmm. The dogs got out twice so I had to go search for them. The aforementioned trip to the clinic resulted in a diagnosis of diverticulitis.


I slept pretty much 75% of the three days off. Sinceriously. I feel like I wasted all three days being unconscious. But I needed it.


But I suppose if one is going to be ill one should do it over a long weekend and not miss being in the office. Bah. And I'm on a "bland" food plan. Clear soups, lots of Jello until things are better, about five days. Double bah. But I did read. I finished three books!



So back at work, we are.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Friday, May 22, 2015

The shortest distance between two points ... is ... never mind.


I am fully planning on executing my plan for this 3-day weekend: I will not go on the computer. No Netflix. No Facebook. No emails. No surfing.



Nor will I cheat with my Kindle Fire. I am going to read.


I am also going to clean up my book piles throughout the house and organize.


No, I really want to do this. Here's the books:

I'm closing in on finishing THE MAYFAIR AFFAIR by Tracy Grant:


 About a quarter of the way into ANATOMY OF EVIL by Will Thomas:


Next up is THE GHOST FIELDS by Elly Griffiths.


This is 7th of 7 in series featuring Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, and Harry Nelson, a detective chief inspector, in the Saltmarsh area near Norfolk, England. Here's a description:
Norfolk is suffering from record summer heat when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery—a downed World War II plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realizes that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.  Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking on the outskirts of Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?

Published in 2015, it has 384 pages. 

On Monday, THE LEGER CONNECTION by Estelle Ryan will be on my Kindle.



This is 7th of 7 in series featuring Dr. Genevieve Lenard, nonverbal communication expert, art insurance investigator, and high functioning autistic. Here's a description: 
A video call from her dad leads top white-hat hacker Francine to four stolen masterpieces. And to a possible murder--in Brazil. Her frustration at being so far away is turned into anger when her loved ones are attacked and corrupt law enforcement officials stonewall their inquiries. Blackmail, a kidnapping and a blatant heist in their backyard in Strasbourg reveal a plan to use unregulated drone technology in a daring escape. Francine's concern for her best friend and her parents' safety has to take a back seat to her determination to save the lives of bystanders. Together with her team, she will do anything to stop these criminals from executing their brutal plan. If she's not already too late.
And I will nap. Because I know I will.


And because it's TGIF at last and to sneak in a little Arrow fix:





And, more seriously, remember what the holiday is about:


 
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Thursday, May 21, 2015

*sigh* Guess I'll have to go torture the dog. Again.



Hey! I actually READ A BOOK yesterday. Yes, it was a fluffy romance but I read it in one day. Getting back to normal.


I hope so anyway. I have the Tracy Grant and Will Thomas to finish. The Elly Griffiths to read and the new Estelle Ryan will show up on Monday. Woot!

I was thinking about music this morning. The Eagles are coming to town this summer. Now, in 2015.  I do love the Eagles' music but I don't want to see these 60+ year old men performing. I want to see the bands I love when they were in their prime. So I made a list.

The Beatles
If you know me, you know that I love and adore the Beatles but there are no live performances I would have wanted to see because when they did tour, there was so much screaming going on you couldn't hear anything. They stopped touring in 1966 and only released albums.  But maybe, just maybe, I'd like to go back in time and see them perform in 1962 at the Cavern Club. This clip in from August 1962, one week after Pete Best left the band and Ringo became the drummer.



The Who
I would have loved to see The Who when they were touring with the songs from Tommy. It was just the four of them and their instruments playing great songs. No special effects or synthesizers. This clip is from August 1970, the Isle of Wight Festival.



The Eagles
I love the original line up of the founding members of the Eagles: Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, Glen Frey, and Randy Meisner. They were country rock and their harmonies and voices blending were unbelievable. So I would like to see the Eagles somewhere around the 1973/1974 range. Desperado is my favorite of their albums. Here's a clip from 1973 singing a cappella -- those harmonies!



Paul McCartney and Wings
I would love to see the Wings over America tour in 1975/1976.




So I need a time machine.



And not just for concerts. I would love to see what Anne Boleyn was really like. Her ambitions caused Henry VIII to change the world. I would love to see Shakespeare's plays originally. I'd love to see the founding fathers hashing it out over the Declaration of Independence. I'd like to see what Jesus was really like. I'd like to see the golden age of Athens, circa the fifth century BC. I definitely want to see the library at Alexandria....  Come on, scientists, let's get this done.

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Yeah, but you should have seen us last millenium




Wow, last night's episode of The Flash was really good. I'm going to have to watch the entire season now. The guy playing Flash is just a puppy of a guy in his enthusiasm but can also break your heart with tears in his eyes (though Arrow still has my heart). This was the end of their first season and per Berlanti usual, the sweet, not-masked guy too pure for this world died saving someone he loved. But in this series, is he really dead? They're playing fast and loose with time in this show which is lovely in a mind-boggling way and I love those kind of stories but, in general, in this super hero-land no on is REALLY dead. They keep being not dead in some way and his body did get sucked into the singularity along with the super villain. And I loved this little throw away:






Oh, those important scientist problems when you're turning on a particle accelerator and having a metahuman (Flash) run at Mach 2 to collide with a hydrogen atom so he can create a worm hole in time. 

And, yes, I did read for a bit last night, thank you very much.



 And a funny:


Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Why are "cook" and "transport" buttons so close together?



Tonight I'll watch the season finale of The Flash.


"Fast Enough"
When the particle accelerator is back online, Barry will have to go back in time to stop Eobard Thawne on the night of his mother's murder 15 years ago.

And then I'm done with regular season TV. Next up: reading. I looked ahead into June for new releases. I've got nothing. NOTHING! Gack!
But, of course, I am really and truly not hurting for lack of reading. I have A LOT to read.



A LOT.

And May has been a fantastic month for new releases for me. In fact, I have another today and another on Monday. So this will spill over into June but still... the thought of a month-long drought ....


This weekend is a three-day holiday. Woot! And I'm thinking of making a vow. I will not binge watch anything. I will not ... gulp ... go on the Internet....for three days ....


Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster

Monday, May 18, 2015

Realizing the weekend is over ... followed by a Monday


So. Did the birthday work? I'm not sure. Maybe. It is always hard to tell. But we move on.

It rained all weekend which was lovely. We need the rain here, yes, but you know how I love cool, dark, and rainy days. :)


I surfed the Net a lot. Read a little. Watched Outlander and Game of Thrones.

Nothing on TV for me tonight. Woot!

Thirty-five years ago today, Mount St. Helens blew. Thirty-five years.


I remember that event vividly and the date; it actually happened on a Sunday morning. I was in the 7th grade. There was ash, not a whole lot, here in Billings but they cancelled events like my chorus concert which was on Tuesday.

As always, trying to end on a light note:






And back again. I tell you, life was hell back then. :)


Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster