Things here have been less than great on the personal side (death and health problems in the family, issues with tenants, job insecurity, etc.) but there have been some real bright spots too.
* I spent yesterday with my brother (yes, he's back on this coast!) at the US Open, watching both of the men's semifinals. What a heartbreaker that first one was - Wawrinka (whom I've always liked and thought kind of adorable) was so close to winning it. Reaching the semis was already a breakthrough for him, but it would have been great for him to beat Djokovic at Arthur Ashe. The crowd seemed pretty evenly split for that one. But we were (almost) all for Rrrrrrrrafa, who came out and shut down every one of Gasquet's beautiful points. As my brother said, Rafa is so boring in interviews (in English, anyway), as he always says the same things: he's not taking anything for granted, each match is its own beast, his opponent was fantastic, the experience of playing in ____ tournament has been wonderful, etc. All of that is undeniably true, but I find it so charming that he's such a beast on the court who goes all dimply and smiley once the match is over. I wore my Rafa shirt and enjoyed every minute of the day. I'm trying to see if I can afford to go to the final on Monday - anyone have a ticket to sell?
* Last weekend, I saw The World's End for the second time with my BFF, J. I'd already seen it as part of the Cornetto Trilogy marathon with
* It is Martin Freeman's birthday today! He is The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything (42). Happy birthday!
* I've now watched the first two seasons of Homicide, courtesy of
* I'm writing four stories right now. One Cabin Pressure (for the Help Syria auction), two New Girl, and one Sherlock. The last is the only one without a deadline, so of course that's the one that's consuming me. It would be nice to be swept away by one (or more) of the new TV shows coming soon, but I don't anticipate that happening; then again, I could never have seen New Girl coming either, so who knows?
* Let's talk a little about Yuletide. I know I'm nominating Louisa May Alcott's two-book sequence Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Possibly, as mentioned above, The World's End. And there are about twenty other fandoms to consider. What are you thinking about?
This same entry also appears on Dreamwidth, at http://innie-darling.dreamwidth.org/431490.html.
Another reminder that Martin Freeman is younger than I am. Hey, but I look younger! And I've finally reached the age where I can appreciate looking younger than I actually am. I still find it appalling that increasingly, the actors I watch are younger than I am.
I loved Louisa May Alcott. Daughter has rejected our reading choices for years, so I couldn't even really suggest she read Alcott, and I think she has passed the age where she might appreciate those books. In a decade or two, she could give them a go. She's now a cynical tweenager.
I still find it appalling that increasingly, the actors I watch are younger than I am. I don't have this so much with actors, but with characters - I'm older than the "cool" audience that most shows are aiming for, which was an unpleasant shock.
I'd think, of all the LMA I've read (which is the Little Women series, the Eight Cousins series, and An Old-Fashioned Girl), Eight Cousins and especially the sequel Rose in Bloom would be the best bet for a modern chicklet to get into. Does she like L. M. Montgomery? How about Lois Lowry?
Afraid not.
She won My Friend Flicka as a prize at school for being the first in her grade to finish a reading list. I blurted out that I really liked that book. She has still never read it, and I think that's because I made the mistake of saying that I liked it. So I can't even suggest any of these authors or books to Dear Daughter. I can't leave them lying around the house, because she'd know they weren't hers. Our house has a library—we finally have enough rooms to have a library!—and she won't read a single book in it.
It's deeply frustrating. She's a voracious reader, but she wants books that her friends read, or new books. I have thought of trying to bribe her friends, but I figure they'd rat me out. ;-)
We have one radio drama, Cabin Pressure, and she loves it with a passion. She listens to our NPR program.s
So apparently we have good taste in tv and radio, but she won't even look at a book either of us liked. I have pointed out the irrationality of this, but that only annoyed her more. (Hey, I said I have good taste; I didn't say I have tact.)
Best of luck, truly - that situation would frustrate me to no end!
I felt the same way about The World's End, but I love Simon Pegg and Nick Frost together--and I found some of their scenes really touching (this is true of the other movies, too). I'd love to read fic for it!
For Yuletide, I think I'm going to nominate Ripper Street and Endeavour (though neither one probably needs my help), The Raven Boys (YA novel), and probably George Mallory under 20thC RPF.
Yes, TWE was truly touching, which shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did; I should have known that crew could pull off genuine emotion even in a film that boasted the "Pink Hulk" moment.
Have you seen this post for coordinating nominations? I don't know any of your fandoms, but I'll keep an eye out for The Raven Boys when I'm at the library later this week.
I was just making the Australian Open point to someone else! To earn the career slam twice would be so phenomenal.
I still need to post about it (with pictures!), but I'll tell you now - I was at the final, and it was GLORIOUS.
Speaking of reading up on tennis these days, I saw this rec'd on the SI.com site. Haven't read it all yet but it *looks* impressive and the bit I did read was really lovely:
http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/9/17/4736820/rafael-nadal-us-open-tennis-2013-comeback
I'm so envious :)
He's coming around to appreciate Rafa more, not that he never did but, he preferred Roger's obvious finesse. I think he's finally starting to see Rafa's finesse. Plus he can't stand Nole and isn't particularly fond of Murray so that leaves Rafa to cheer for LOL.
So glad you enjoyed that link I sent you. I'll have to read it in its entirety this weekend. I love the Michael Strahan quote she uses at the top. I *did* read that to my hubby ;).