The news is the news, and I will comment more later, but let’s face it - one does not live on the news alone; if you do, it’s going to eventually drive you nuts.
"The Dawn of Everything" is pretty much every bit as mind-bendingly paradigm-shifting as everybody says it is. David Graeber's loss is incalculable. I think both of us have a thing for POW movies...I've seen them all. have you ever seen "The Captive Heart?" I thought of that when you mentioned "The Dam Busters," which is also a Michael Redgrave movie and I will knock people down to watch any movie he was ever in; unfortunately, there are much too few. wasn't the first movie incarnation of "Outlander" a movie with Sean Connery as the ghost guy? probably at the end of the '80's or maybe even the early '90's? I'm sorta vaguely remembering the other guy in it as Christopher Lambert, but could be wrong. if not, what am I confusing it with? and somehow, I managed o miss the entire fifth season of "Better Call Saul," which is good news because it gives me a whole other season to binge before starting on the new one. I'm afraid I can't quite praise "Billions," mostly because of the dialogue, which is much too self-consciously "hip" in its popular culture allusions (I will, however, always watch because Maggie Siff is someone I find extraordinarily uhhh....fill in the blank with your own word...she's every girl who ever wasn't interested in me in Junior High School). the trouble with most of the allusions in "Billions" is that they go back only so far and betray the fact that the writers are THAT much younger than I am. or if they're not, they have the target audience too much in mind. if I want rich guy porn, I figure there's always "Succession," which has genuinely funny dialogue and a much more disturbing bunch of people to watch. I've noticed that this is where I think I'm supposed to add "IMHO," but I can never be sure because of my terminal unhipness about things like online abbreviations, the use of emojis, etc. but like you (and just about everybody else), I think the cable series is an amazing form to work in. I was so knocked out by "Deadwood," that I spent about half a year composing a very long letter to David Milch, begging him for a job on the basis that we met once in 1982, both doing things we ought not to have been doing. it was the only significant document I ever had disappear into the digital vapor. I sent a substitute and god knows what happened. I once thought he got it and ignored it, but now think that the best possible outcome would have been for it to have gotten lost. for years, I lost sleep about the weird way it ended (or didn't) until he made the sequel movie, which was great but nothing as great as another couple of seasons would have been.
Yeah, I loved Deadwood. Best Western ever. I think the movie you are thinking of with Connery and Christopher Lmbert is "Highlander", which I don't think of as having anything to do with Outlander other than they were Scots Highlanders. Maggie Siff - yeah.... "Succession" is good - I keep wishing the worst for every one of them. I loved Michael MacFadyen (who plays Tom the outsider husband to the daughter) when he played a British detective in "Jack the Ripper" era Victorian London who was trying to develop modern police investigative procedure, with the materials and society at hand. Very interesting show. But as every Brit actor will tell you, the money and the dentists for the kids are all in America.
...and what's the Jack the Ripper thing called? I had a minor Jack the Ripper preoccupation through my thirties. Paul West has a really, really good novel about it. I made the mistake of getting a coffee table book with the PICTURES. there are some things it's best NOT to see.
Just finished watching the first episode of The First Lady and am blown away, again, at how fantastic Viola Davis is. Not taking anything away from the other two, but she knocks it outa the park. Also discovered Outlander two weeks ago and am hooked. I haven't finished Season 5 of Better Call Saul, and am recording 6. I love, love how Jimmy came up with his new name, Saul Goodman, " 'S-All good, man!"
Go watch the earlier episodes. I can see exactly how a 21st century RN would find the concept a "grabber." In the beginning, the first two seasons, she starts as having been a World War II combat nurse.
I started from the beginning, season 1. She was a combat nurse trying to keep a soldier’s leg from bleeding out in the first scene. It has grabbed me. Nurses become doctors in war out of necessity. And we’re pretty damned good at it. The Covid war has brought that back.
Thank you, TC. When I lived in California, I was treated to an evening at the Magic Castle with a group of friends. Later when I shared with a good friend, now living In Milwaukee but who grew up in LA, she told me that during college she had a pass to the Magic Castle. I am now living in Calgary and it has been snowing all day! Not exactly an LA experience. It was an evening to remember! I moved back here in July and really miss my friends. I loved Outlander and am looking forward to seeing more.
I binged on Breaking Bad during the pandemic early days. Now my sister and I are catching up with Better Call Saul. Thank you for your recommendations.
It was time for many of us to have some great recommendations for books and movies! I found you on HCR’s letters. I will look for your books.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who reads all the Dam Busters books. Agreed about Holland. Just finished Tooze's book about Nazi economy last month.
I marked the 80th anniversary tonight by watching "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" which has great flying sequences and a Dalton Trumbo script. It's a rare wartime movie that actually understates the awful Japanese reprisals to the Chinese who helped the Yank fliers escape. Told my daughter, who enjoyed the picture, and remembered Leon Ames from "Meet Me in St. Louis", that the character he played helped to save the Franklin (and won the Navy Cross) while the movie still playing in theaters in 1945.
Got a copy of "Apollo Murders" and will read it soon, thank you very much.
Dang it, Tom, you're costing me money.....but as you mentioned, Max Hastings cannot be missed.....and I threw in James Holland's books as well - in for a penny and all that.....
How on earth do you find the time to do it all? I am immersed in another thriller and despite not wanting to put it down, I DO have to sleep sometime! LOL!
Thanks TC. I'm about to start The Dawn of Everything and will be looking for a history break after that.
I have that but haven't gotten to it yet other than to read about it. Sounds very interesting.
"The Dawn of Everything" is pretty much every bit as mind-bendingly paradigm-shifting as everybody says it is. David Graeber's loss is incalculable. I think both of us have a thing for POW movies...I've seen them all. have you ever seen "The Captive Heart?" I thought of that when you mentioned "The Dam Busters," which is also a Michael Redgrave movie and I will knock people down to watch any movie he was ever in; unfortunately, there are much too few. wasn't the first movie incarnation of "Outlander" a movie with Sean Connery as the ghost guy? probably at the end of the '80's or maybe even the early '90's? I'm sorta vaguely remembering the other guy in it as Christopher Lambert, but could be wrong. if not, what am I confusing it with? and somehow, I managed o miss the entire fifth season of "Better Call Saul," which is good news because it gives me a whole other season to binge before starting on the new one. I'm afraid I can't quite praise "Billions," mostly because of the dialogue, which is much too self-consciously "hip" in its popular culture allusions (I will, however, always watch because Maggie Siff is someone I find extraordinarily uhhh....fill in the blank with your own word...she's every girl who ever wasn't interested in me in Junior High School). the trouble with most of the allusions in "Billions" is that they go back only so far and betray the fact that the writers are THAT much younger than I am. or if they're not, they have the target audience too much in mind. if I want rich guy porn, I figure there's always "Succession," which has genuinely funny dialogue and a much more disturbing bunch of people to watch. I've noticed that this is where I think I'm supposed to add "IMHO," but I can never be sure because of my terminal unhipness about things like online abbreviations, the use of emojis, etc. but like you (and just about everybody else), I think the cable series is an amazing form to work in. I was so knocked out by "Deadwood," that I spent about half a year composing a very long letter to David Milch, begging him for a job on the basis that we met once in 1982, both doing things we ought not to have been doing. it was the only significant document I ever had disappear into the digital vapor. I sent a substitute and god knows what happened. I once thought he got it and ignored it, but now think that the best possible outcome would have been for it to have gotten lost. for years, I lost sleep about the weird way it ended (or didn't) until he made the sequel movie, which was great but nothing as great as another couple of seasons would have been.
Yeah, I loved Deadwood. Best Western ever. I think the movie you are thinking of with Connery and Christopher Lmbert is "Highlander", which I don't think of as having anything to do with Outlander other than they were Scots Highlanders. Maggie Siff - yeah.... "Succession" is good - I keep wishing the worst for every one of them. I loved Michael MacFadyen (who plays Tom the outsider husband to the daughter) when he played a British detective in "Jack the Ripper" era Victorian London who was trying to develop modern police investigative procedure, with the materials and society at hand. Very interesting show. But as every Brit actor will tell you, the money and the dentists for the kids are all in America.
thanks for disambiguating. I just wanted to write "disambiguating" for the first time. this is what it looks like when an old guy loses his cherry....
...and what's the Jack the Ripper thing called? I had a minor Jack the Ripper preoccupation through my thirties. Paul West has a really, really good novel about it. I made the mistake of getting a coffee table book with the PICTURES. there are some things it's best NOT to see.
Not a good beach read I take it?
Actually, it might be, just put on a lot of sunscreen. Reviews have been really positive.
It's on my summer list! Thanks.
Just finished watching the first episode of The First Lady and am blown away, again, at how fantastic Viola Davis is. Not taking anything away from the other two, but she knocks it outa the park. Also discovered Outlander two weeks ago and am hooked. I haven't finished Season 5 of Better Call Saul, and am recording 6. I love, love how Jimmy came up with his new name, Saul Goodman, " 'S-All good, man!"
I just started watching Outlander. So far I’m loving it!
Go watch the earlier episodes. I can see exactly how a 21st century RN would find the concept a "grabber." In the beginning, the first two seasons, she starts as having been a World War II combat nurse.
I started from the beginning, season 1. She was a combat nurse trying to keep a soldier’s leg from bleeding out in the first scene. It has grabbed me. Nurses become doctors in war out of necessity. And we’re pretty damned good at it. The Covid war has brought that back.
Yes.
Thank you, TC. When I lived in California, I was treated to an evening at the Magic Castle with a group of friends. Later when I shared with a good friend, now living In Milwaukee but who grew up in LA, she told me that during college she had a pass to the Magic Castle. I am now living in Calgary and it has been snowing all day! Not exactly an LA experience. It was an evening to remember! I moved back here in July and really miss my friends. I loved Outlander and am looking forward to seeing more.
I binged on Breaking Bad during the pandemic early days. Now my sister and I are catching up with Better Call Saul. Thank you for your recommendations.
It was time for many of us to have some great recommendations for books and movies! I found you on HCR’s letters. I will look for your books.
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(You'll note that Amazon will also let you buy actual Cleavers there too :-) )
Glad to see I'm not the only one who reads all the Dam Busters books. Agreed about Holland. Just finished Tooze's book about Nazi economy last month.
I marked the 80th anniversary tonight by watching "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" which has great flying sequences and a Dalton Trumbo script. It's a rare wartime movie that actually understates the awful Japanese reprisals to the Chinese who helped the Yank fliers escape. Told my daughter, who enjoyed the picture, and remembered Leon Ames from "Meet Me in St. Louis", that the character he played helped to save the Franklin (and won the Navy Cross) while the movie still playing in theaters in 1945.
Got a copy of "Apollo Murders" and will read it soon, thank you very much.
I read the two Bs as well.....great minds.....
Dang it, Tom, you're costing me money.....but as you mentioned, Max Hastings cannot be missed.....and I threw in James Holland's books as well - in for a penny and all that.....
Thanks!
How on earth do you find the time to do it all? I am immersed in another thriller and despite not wanting to put it down, I DO have to sleep sometime! LOL!