Thursday, December 26, 2019

Post-Christmas Greetings

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and, if you're still on vacation, I hope you're enjoying the additional time off. I, unfortunately, am back to the grind, but I did have a few days off to enjoy the strangely warm weather we've been having around Chicago. Winter took a break this week and it's been quite nice, but we all know it's coming back.

I've been reading a lot lately about how bad the Cats movie is. I don't even understand who thought a movie version of Cats would be a good idea. The play is one thing, but a movie version just seems odd. Who is the audience for this? No one, apparently, given the lousy box office receipts and bad reviews. Speaking of movies, I saw Uncut Gems yesterday. Oy vey! I don't know what to make of it. Adam Sandler was good, but the movie was kind of a mess. A lot yelling, cursing, and thuggery. It wasn't my kind of movie, but it's been getting good reviews and the theater was packed when I saw it yesterday, so there is an audience out there for it.

And, speaking of audiences, there's been a lot of chatter on the internet about the Hallmark channel and their holiday movies and their censorship of commercials with gay characters (yet they claim they're open to having movies on their channel with gay characters--yeah, right). Although I don't watch the Hallmark channel, my stepmother and one of my cousins are huge fans. Why, I don't know. I guess they like the romance and escapism of their made-for-TV movies. There's something for everyone, I guess. I'd love to see them try to do a gay romance. That I would watch (hate watch) so I could complain about it later.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Kensington on the Come Up!

My old Brooklyn neighborhood and my old apartment building were featured in the real estate section of the NY Times this week. The broker I used is also featured. I couldn't believe how much the rent has increased in my old building since I left six years ago. (The couple hunting for a place didn't end up in my old building, unfortunately, because it really was a great building.) I always tell people that I couldn't afford to go back to Kensington if I wanted to and, clearly, I was right! The place is out of my price range now.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/realestate/19hunt-hively.html

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Distractions!

I have to find things to distract myself from Donny T's White House shenanigans so I turn to Netflix, books, writing, whatever! You can find ways to work block out our government mess. This week, I've been reading a lot about The Mandalorian, particularly the adorable Baby Yoda. I don't even have the Disney + streaming service so I haven't seen the show and I'm also not a Star Wars fan, but I have seen clips of the show online and read about it. It sounds interesting. The Baby Yoda character (who is not called Baby Yoda in the show), seems intent on protecting the Mandalorian and vice versa. With all of the recaps available online, I can find out what happened each week and, more importantly, find out what Baby Yoda did.

Another distraction this week was finishing Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. (You can read my review on Goodreads.) I wanted to like this book more than I did. At first, I was totally into it, and then it just went on and I found the characters to be really juvenile. But, in fairness to the author, I realize I'm not the demographic for this. It really was written for a younger audience who would probably appreciate a lot of the things that annoyed me (the pop culture references, the texting, the emails). One thing that the main character Alex kept saying was that he was "bisexual." As Datalounge posters would say, "Sure, Jan." Bisexual means you're with/attracted to men and women, yet you never saw Alex with any women or read about his experiences with women. So, where's the "bi" in that "bisexual"? Dude, come on.

My other distraction was to overhaul the story I've been working on, thinking about, and failing to write by changing the plot slightly and making the narration third-person rather than my usual first-person. I haven't written anything with third-person narration in quite some time so it's time to give it a whirl again. I think it's necessary for what I'm working on now since I'll have two points of view and I didn't want to have to keep switching between chapters from each character. I really hope to get a lot of work done over the holidays since I'll have some time off from my day job.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

WTF?

Two things made me go WTF this past weekend. One was a book and the other was a movie. Let's explore!

The WTF book I read was Find Me by Andre Aciman, the supposed sequel to Call Me By Your Name (CMBYN) except that it wasn't. (NOTE: Spoilers ahead so don't keep reading if you don't want to know!) I had to read more than 100 pages of some old guy (Elio's father) having a fling with a much younger woman he meets on a train. What does this have to do with Elio and Oliver? Nothing. And when we do finally get to Part 2 when Elio's point of view is presented, he's being wooed by a guy twice his age and he's in his early 30's. So he's doing a sixty-something-year-old? Really? Okay. Then Part 3 brings us to Oliver who's in his 40's now and depressed as he thinks about people he'd like to sleep with who are attending a dinner party with him. Then, finally, in Part 4 we get Elio and Oliver back together. I can't figure out what Aciman was thinking when he wrote this. Did he really think the audience for CMBYN wanted to read about the kid's father for more than 100 pages?? WTF was that? What a way to lose an audience. I didn't love CMBYN (the book) because Elio annoyed me, but I did like the movie mainly because Timothee Chalamet made Elio so sympathetic and he and Armie worked well together. I really wish the sequel had been better and I hope they don't make a movie version of it. I think this franchise is done. (Thanks, Skokie Library!)



My second WTF came after viewing the movie Midsommar (aka The Wicker Man, Take Three). What a hot mess this was. Swedish cults, weird sex, animal slaughters, and the ritual burning. (Hi, Wicker Man!) I couldn't figure out why the lone black guy was there. Wouldn't his Spidey sense tell him not to get involved in this kind of scene or, after he'd become involved, wouldn't it advise him to GTFO of there? Come on, man! When this movie came out at the theater, I avoided it because I found it was from the same guy who'd given us the awful horror movie Hereditary, that I did see at the theater. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me and that shame wasn't happening the second time around. Not with this guy. Alas, I watched the film via Netflix. Two hours wasted. It was beautifully shot apparently in Hungary, not Sweden.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Problems and More Problems

When it rains, it really does pour! I've had nothing but problems for the past month. My right leg had been giving me problems and now it's a full-blown issue. I can barely climb or descend a flight of stairs. Is it arthritis? A muscle issue? Bursitis? The verdict is still out and more testing to come. I love to walk and now my gait has been hobbled. I've been walking like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz and that's not good. Oy! Then, on top of that, my temporary crown came out. Personally, I think my dental appointments were spaced far too long apart and I'm surprised the temporary crown lasted as long as it did. If you get a temporary crown, it really should be replaced in a week or two at the most not three to four weeks. And of course the crown came out when the dental office is closed. (Why couldn't this have happened at noon when I could get dental help???) I complain, but I am grateful to have medical and dental insurance so I can get these problems (hopefully) taken care of. So many people don't have the luxury of getting the health or dental care they need when they need it. Still, getting older is no joke. The hits just keep coming.