Biden, huh. I think that gave him a big shot in the foot. I don't think it will help him but he needed experience from somewhere. I promised this wouldn't be a political blog so that's all I'm saying.My eyes are bothering me more today than yesterday it seems. I think they're getting better with the medication but I'm more aware of them bugging me today. I may have to do the audiobook route. But when I close them to rest them, they get stuck shut. I hate this. Last night I watched The Third Man (1949) on TCM channel. Here's the summary from www.imdb.com:
An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident. From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime.
Great actors in it - Joseph Cotton, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles. It is described as noir but I don't see it that way at all. Noir is more a doomed man digs himself deeper and the cinematography is all different. This is a straight-forward mystery of how did Harry Lime die and what is being covered up by his death in Vienna. The cinematography was BEAUTIFUL. I'm glad I stuck with it. Reading: About halfway through FORSAKEN SOUL by Priscilla Royal. Something a little bit different in this book than her others though I can't really put my finger on it. TV: I didn't stay to watch the whole game of the Cowboys last night but the Steelers play tonight so we'll probably watch that. Steve was going to get up early today to go do some work but he was up and then went back to bed so I'm thinking it's a late start or completely off. He needs to mow the lawn big time. I'm doing clothes laundry and will vacuum when Steve gets up again. There is a nap in my future; I got up at 6:30, per usual. I think tonight we'll have buffalo burgers and corn on the cob. Sounds very summery, eh? More later if it happens...Much love,PK the Bookeemonster
And the hits just keep on coming. I've got pink eye. In both eyes. So I went to the walk in clinic when it opened at 8; I was the third one there. One hour and twenty minutes later I was able to leave. Stopped by work to let them know I was taking four hours of sick time because I was contagious and they were saying "Go, Go! Ick!"; stopped by Billings Clinic to drop off a book for Mom and let her know my medical status, stopped by the library to pick up a hold; then went to Walmart to fill my prescription and get some groceries. An hour later for my prescription.... I was tired and hungry and finally got home at noon. Took a nap and woke to my eyes glowing red again and just finished walking Tug. Had to reschedule my hair cut for next week. AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH. I just want to be healthy.Work: Didn'tReading: Finished DEATH'S HALF ACRE by Margaret Maron. The Elizabeth Peters got pushed back a week so I'll have to go back next Tuesday. I picked up my special order, the newest in the Prioress Eleanor series, FORSAKEN SOUL by Priscilla Royal. Here's the blurb:Set in the summer of 1273, Royal's excellent fifth historical finds Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal beset by various problems: the local villagers disapprove of the nightly consultations Eleanor's difficult new anchoress has been conducting; the wife of her friend Crowner Ralf has recently died in childbirth, leaving him with an infant daughter; and she continues to struggle with her attraction to Brother Thomas, a monk (and prefers men). Then Martin the Cooper, a brute disliked by many, dies in bed with a prostitute at a Tyndal inn, an apparent poisoning victim. More horrific murders by poison follow before Eleanor and Ralf discover the truth in the stunning conclusion.
I don't have the book in front of me so I can't quote the first line today. As I mentioned previously, I met this author at LCC in Denver and was very impressed with her intelligence and wit. I've enjoyed her previous four books in this series. I also picked up Asa Larsson's THE BLACK PATH because it was a trade paperback and has been getting great responses, especially from Maddy Van, and THE MALICE OF UNNATURAL DEATH by Michael Jecks which is quite a ways into another medieval hystmyst series. I have the first in the series and have been trying and trying to get into but have had difficulties so perhaps it is a case of first-book-itis and I'm hoping plunging into the middle of the series after the author has had a run at it for a while it will spark it for me. There are about 25 books in that series so it would be a good long one to get into. At the library I picked up THE MERLOT MURDERS by Ellen Crosby which is into it's third book and looked initially too cozy for my tastes, but noted reviewer David Montgomery gave the third book a good review and he's no push over for cozies so I thought I'd give it a shot. I also picked up HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE by JK Rowling (of course) both in book and cd version. I've been meaning to re-read this as it is the next movie out (now next summer) and I have read it but it was very quickly when it first came out so I thought a refresher might be in order. I also picked up some more audios in case my eyes were bugging me too much: THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB by Karen Fowler -- thinking that maybe the audio would get me past my buggaboo about this, the next in series for me by Daniel Silva SECRET SERVANT, and Nevada Barr's newest, WINTER STUDY, which I had tried as a regular book but wasn't in the mood a while back so we'll see if this will do it -- it couldn't hurt.TV: I didn't think there was anything on for me but checking the listings it looks like there is an exhibition game with the Cowboys. They've been sucking in the preseason but we only get to see them sixteen times in the regular season so I should at least check them out tonight. My boys. Movies: Well, after I went to get my prescription and they told it would be longer for whatever reason, I went to the discounted DVDs stand to kill some time. Dangerous. They were only $5 each which is an amazing price, and damnit if I didn't get some, but I mean, these are fabulous movies: A Fistful of Dollars, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, The Magnificent Seven, Thin Red Line, Syriana, The Thomas Crowne Affair, Traffic, and Speed (which I love but only have on VHS). I could have gotten even double that because there are movies that I don't necessarily think of everyday but they are good for someday. For instance they had On Golden Pond, When Harry Met Sally, A River Runs Through It, etc. Evil people, making me kill time like that. But these are classic good movies for very cheap that I want to get more familiar with. Gotta make use of the laptop, eh? What I'd like to do is subscribe to Netflix and start taking advantage of that selection -not only for independent and notable films but also the tv series DVDs. But for now, I have enough of my own for a bit and I'll start working the library. My eyes are bugging me quite a bit so I'll get this done. I think Steve is doing some scrapping tomorrow. I am just going to get better this weekend. That's it: I'm done with this illness this weekend. So let it written; so let it be done (done in the voice of Yul Brynner) (quote from The Ten Commandments, another really great movie). See ya tomorrow...Much love,PK the Bookeemonster
Another Tuesday.Work: going through grants again. Updating info and checking out possibilities. And making files of donations. It's quiet today; everyone pretty much sticking to their projects.Reading: Last night I wasn't in the mood for the gothic so I started a nonfiction book about cold cases that came out a couple years ago called THE RESTLESS SLEEP: INSIDE THE NYC COLD CASE SQUAD by Stacy Horn. The first line (from the preface) states, "The minute you die you start to fade from the world and from the memories of the people who knew you." Cheerful, eh? Here's the blurb:NPR contributor Horn's deft writing and unique access to detectives laboring to bring justice to the many forgotten victims of murder create a significant addition to the genre. Horn tracks four very different unsolved killings—a brutal torture of drug dealers while their young children were restrained in an adjoining room; the murder of an off-duty cop who interrupted a robbery in progress; an apparent sex crime turned fatal that claimed the life of a teenager; and the fetishistic strangling of a transplanted Southerner. Each crime presents unique obstacles for the dedicated detectives assigned to them, and each yields very different results. The heroic and three-dimensional portrayals of the individual police officers are compelling, but many will find more novelty in Horn's detailed assessment of the bureaucratic turf battles surrounding the cold case squad, and the serious obstacles NYPD reformers continue to face.
I love cold cases for some reason and nonfiction was suiting my mood. I'm back to reading my WSJs -- I had taken break for a couple weeks because of the huge time commitment. Takes a lot of time but ya gotta stay informed somehow. I placed an order for a book coming out next week. The library doesn't list it though they have the author's previous books. This is the fifth book in the series by Priscilla Royal; a hystmyst set in 1273 England featuring Prioress Eleanor and Brother Thomas. I met this author when I went to LCC in Denver earlier this year. She didn't look at all like I pictured but she is a very intelligent and well-spoken person. I would love to just sit down and talk to her for an afternoon. She was one of the panel in the very first one I attended and I was able to go up to her later and tell her how much I enjoyed her work. Kinda thrilling for just a reader. Looks like I've got another hold ready to pick up. Will stop by on the way home. You know, in some ways I think I need to stop doing this because these books always jump the queu over books I REALLY want to read because I enjoy them so much. I'd love to get back to Susanna Gregory because I miss Matthew and Brother Michael, read the JT Ellison that I picked up at LCC, the Aline Templeton I got used, the next book by the author of THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON, continue the series reading I'm doing of Ian Rankin and Reginald Hill, etc. Yes, the holds allow me to get to books that I couldn't afford that I really want to read but often times I put books on hold that look interesting but maybe not necessarily what I want to be reading at the time, ya know what I mean? TV: One more TV night: 48 Hours and The Cleaner. A&E all the way. Steve has his monthly YRC board of directors meeting tonight. Dinner will have to be quick after I walk Tug. I was going to give Tug an extra long walk last night since it didn't get as hot and I was feeling like I needed some extra exercise but 10 minutes into it, it started to rain so I decided to just do our regular route. A nice gentle summer rain for the next half hour or so. It stopped five minutes before we got home. Yes, I was wet but it didn't thunder that much and was clearing up in the west so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. It was actually kinda nice.Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Dottie. I was shocked that she's leaving YAM; she had said she'd stick it out for two years but this is only one. Something tipped her over the edge. I don't think she'll want to talk about it much at lunch but I let her know I was a safe venting place. We're going to The Soup Place; I've never been so that will be interesting. Oh, I need to grab some cash. If anything crosses my mind to note later, I'll be back.Much love,PK the Bookeemonster
