Natchez Trace State Park Trails

On our recent trip to Natchez Trace State Park we walked a few of their trails. The Pin Oak Lakeside Trail is a 3-mile trail from the cabins to a picnic area and back:

There's a trail at Cub Lake, but it seemed to spend a lot of time on the paved road and close to the cabins and playgrounds, so we didn't walk that whole distance. We started it at the beach:

There are a couple of boardwalks across the lake:

None of these trails are more than pleasant walks in the woods and aren't what I would call "hikes". We didn't do any of the longer trails, and I'm sure that's where the legitimate hiking is to be found. The walking we did was lovely, though. The woods are beautiful, as are the lakes.

Younger Next Year

Younger Next Year*: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy -Until You're 80 and Beyond (*turn back your biological clock), by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. is a 2004 self-help book I picked up after having seen a blog post or article suggesting it somewhere. I heard there was a "for women" version of this, and I found it in our local bookstore, but it's exactly like the book I have with relatively minor changes, such as much less talk about penises and male competitiveness and a bit on menopause and osteoporosis. Not enough difference to justify buying the "women's" version. The Rules stay the same for both sexes:

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.
2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life.
3. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.
4. Spend less than you make.
5. Quit eating crap!
6. Care.
7. Connect and Commit.

Each of these rules is explored in the book, but it was the section on aerobics I knew least about and found most helpful. I need a heart monitor. Who knew? Also, his focus on this as something to be serious about committing to -in that you consider it like you would think of your job or your school- opened my eyes. I may not "work" in the traditional sense, but I can work at this.

I'd like to see their book Younger Next Year*: The Exercise Program: Use the Power of Exercise to Reverse Aging and Stay Strong, Fit, and Sexy
A training program for the rest of your life. I have a home yoga practice that I continue to refine to suit my changing needs, a Tai Chi class I enjoy, and a series of balance and strength training exercises I use, but a book (I'm a sucker for a book) might be helpful to me in coordinating my schedule. The exercise book was published last year, so I'm assuming the information will be updated and expanded from the more general suggestions in the earlier book.

It has inspired me to include some aerobics in my daily exercise routine, which is a good thing. I tend to avoid aerobic exercise. I enjoy walking, but don't walk quickly enough to get to an aerobic level. I'm looking into a gym membership (the Y, maybe) to use their exercycles. When we had an exercycle I used it faithfully, so that might be a good way to begin including aerobics in my routine.

from the back of the book:

Congratulations, you are about to get younger. Dr. Henry Lodge provides the science. Chris Crowley provides the motivation. And through their New York Times bestselling program, you'll discover how to put off 70 percent of the normal problems of aging —weakness, sore joints, bad balance— and eliminate 50 percent of serious illness and injury. How, in fact, to become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, and continue to live with newfound vitality and pleasure. The message is simple: Learn to train for the next third of your life, and you'll have a ball.

The Washington Post says,

Although it basically tells you why and how to exercise more, it's brain-rattling, irresistible, hilarious. If you're up for it, and anywhere near retirement, it could change your life.

The Examiner says, "Read the book and listen to the advice you'll thank yourself later."

The Devil's Eye

The Devil's Eye is the 4th book in the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt. I always enjoy this author. I've read many books by him, and he never disappoints. I'm reading these in publication order, but it's not necessary in this series.

from the back of the book:

Alex Benedict, interstellar antiquities dealer, and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, are on vacation when they receive a cryptic message from celebrated writer Vicki Greene, whom neither has ever met, asking for help. But when they return home, Alex discovers that Greene has asked for and been given a mind wipe. She has no memory of her past life or of her plea for assistance. Yet she has transferred an enormous sum of money to Alex. But for what purpose?

To answer that question, Alex and Chase venture to the place where Greene had been vacationing prior to sending her message. It is the most remote of human worlds, literally outside the galaxy. There, they will uncover a secret connected to a decades-old political upheaval, a secret somebody is desperate to keep hidden -though the price of that silence is unimaginable...

SF Site calls it "satisying" and closes with this:

As with all of McDevitt's novels, it provides the reader's sense of wonder with numerous fantastic settings and situations. McDevitt's universe, while not exactly space opera, provides the feeling of that subgenre imparts to its readers while incorporating the science of hard science fiction, well-defined characters, and, in the case of The Devil's Eye, a mystery to be solved.

Eyrie.org has a positive review. SFF World concludes, "The Devil’s Eye was one of the more fun Science Fiction novels I read this year and I can’t help but give this one a high recommendation."

Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn (2014) is the 4th in the Expanse series by James S. A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). I'm a big fan of this series and look forward to reading book 5, which is out in hardback now.

from the back of the book:

NPR calls it "the science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire". io9 calls it "an outstanding addition to the Expanse universe" and says, "The Expanse is the best space opera series running at full tilt right now, and Cibola Burn continues that streak of excellence."

SFF World says,

What we have here is a novel with some first contact / planet colonization elements, some ancient alien archaeology/ruins, and political thriller elements, among many other things. Howsoever you cut up the pieces of the whole, all of it makes for a damned fine and fun read.

Wings of Fire

Wings of Fire (1998) is the 2nd book in the Inspector Ian Rutledge post-WW1 detective series. Written by Charles Todd, this is the pen name of the mother/son writing team of Caroline and Charles Todd. The Younger Son and I both enjoyed the first book when we read it years ago, and we began passively looking for the second book without success. Later books in the series are on book shelves but never this second one. The Husband gave this to me this past Christmas.

from the back of the book:

Inspector Ian Rutledge is quickly sent to investigate the sudden deaths of three members of the same eminent Cornwall family, but the World War I veteran soon realizes that nothing about this case is routine. Including the identity of one of the dead, a reclusive spinster unmasked as O. A. Manning, whose war poetry helped Rutledge retain his grasp on sanity in the trenches of France. Guided by the voice of Hamish, the Scot he unwillingly executed on the battlefield, Rutledge is driven to uncover the haunting truths of murder and madness rooted in a family crypt…

Publishers Weekly calls it "brilliant".

I've also read the first book in this series: A Test of Wills (1996)

Eating in Lexington, TN

The restaurant at Natchez Trace State Park apparently shuts down during the winter, which we hadn't realized when we booked our trip back in October, so we had to drive out of the park once a day for real food. We ate twice in Lexington, TN, the county seat of Henderson County. It's the town everybody drives into for shopping, but honestly there's not a heckuva lot there. Of course there's a Wal-Mart and a McDonald's and all the other chains you expect to see at every wide spot in the road. It has a population of 7,000+ of which 84.5% are white (We saw our share of flagpoles with the Tennessee Confederate battle flag proudly displayed, and two flying the Israeli flag -what's that about?). There are 3 schools: an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. There's one library. The one museum is closed between mid-December and March 1 and otherwise is open 3 days a week.

The thing about Lexington that struck me most was that an episode of The X-Files happens there. Now that impresses me!

We ate one meal at The Lunch Box:

This place is precious:

Here's the tabletop where we sat:

The food wasn't cheap, but I enjoyed my club sandwich with Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade):

We ate in Lexington again the next day and this time I had fish at KC's Farmhouse Restaurant:

I had the fish filets, which came with wonderful hushpuppies, white beans, slaw (your choice of mayonnaise or vinegar. I chose vinegar, of course), and fries. I somehow managed to neglect a photo of the food -it was wonderful, and I guess I got carried away with eating it. The restaurant interior was a treat:

We tried to find a bookstore somewhere in Lexington and located online a place called Not Your Normal Bookstore. We followed the directions from GoogleMaps and found ourselves on a dead-end one-lane residential road with no bookstore. There was a house with a red DANGER sign on the front door, but we saw no sign of any businesses at all. That was not a normal bookstore, all right. We decided to pass on the 2 Bible bookstores and headed back to the park.

Please join the weekly T party over at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's. You'll receive a warm welcome.

Natchez Trace State Park

Last week we took a short vacation to Natchez Trace State Park, only about 1 1/2 hours from here. We stayed in one of the cabins. We were expecting highs in the lower 40s with a chance of snow, so we packed our sweat pants and prepared for cozy time in front of the fire.

Instead, we got highs in the upper 50s-lower 60s. Hmmm... We enjoyed the nice view from the cabin's balcony:

This is the view from the couch:

and the view from the dining table:

We walked a few trails while we were there, and we did this 1-mile trail on the afternoon we arrived:

Here's the view from the parking lot of the building where you check in:

We saw deer, an owl, crows, buzzards, hawks, squirrels, cardinals, a woodpecker and sparrows, but we didn't see anything unexpected or exotic. You can enjoy a virtual tour online at the park's website.

Someone has posted a 3 1/2 minute video of parts of the park:

We had a peaceful trip.

The Case of the Love Commandos

The Case of the Love Commandos is 4th in the Vish Puri mystery series by Tarquin Hall. I came across one used, and now I pick them up as I see them. The characters are a lot of fun, and the plots of these tend to include interesting local color and information on the history and culture and traditions of India. The detective has his own website here.

from the back of the book:

Vish Puri fights for love in a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

When Ram and Tulsi fall in love, the young woman's parents are dead set against the union. She's from a high-caste family; he's an Untouchable, from the lowest stratum of Indian society. Fortunately, India's Love Commandos, a real-life group of volunteers dedicated to helping mixed-caste couples, come to the rescue. But as soon as they free Tulsi from her father, Ram mysteriously disappears. It falls to Vish Puri to track him down. Unfortunately, Puri's having a bad month. He's failed to recover a stolen cache of jewels, and his wallet was stolen, forcing him to rely on his Mummy-ji to get it back. Worse yet, his archival, suave investigator Hari Kumar, is hot on the case as well. In the daring race to find Ram, Puri and his team must infiltrate his village and navigate the caste politics shaped by millennia-old prejudices.

I've also read these:

1) The Case of the Missing Servant (2008)
2) The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing (2010)
3) The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken (2012)

Greatest Science Fiction Movies Ever

The Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Movies Ever Made (from SF Signal):

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
1968, directed by Stanley Kubrick

2. Solaris
1972, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

3. Blade Runner
1982, directed by Ridley Scott

4. Forbidden Planet
1956, directed by Fred M. Wilcox

5. Planet of the Apes
1968, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner

6. Dark City
1998, directed by Alex Proyas

7. The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951, directed by Robert Wise

8. Her
2013, directed by Spike Jonze

9. Metropolis
1927, directed by Fritz Lang

10. Primer
2004, directed by Shane Carruth

Near-Misses
1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1982, directed by Nicholas Meyer

2. Sleeper
1973, directed by Woody Allen

3. The Empire Strikes Back
1980, directed by Irvin Kershner

4. Monsters
2010, directed by Gareth Edwards

5. Videodrome
1983, directed by David Cronenberg

6. The Damned
1963, directed by James Losey

7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1978, directed by Philip Kaufman

8. Akira
1988, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo

9. Galaxy Quest
1999, directed by Dean Parisot

10. Melancholia
2011, directed by Lars von Trier

I've seen the ones in bold print.

I do wonder why a person who had never heard of the film Altered States could be tasked with submitting a list to Time Out London on behalf of a science fiction website, but maybe I'm just making unwarranted assumptions about the general exposure necessary before official top-10 lists make sense.

The writer states his criteria:

They had to be science fiction, or obviously recognized as such

and he left off Repo Man and Kiss Me, Deadly because he didn't consider them SF. In regards to Repo Man, I always hear it referred to as science fiction (Wikipedia describes it that way, as do the Imdb and Criterion), so I'm not sure on what grounds he found it unsuitable for consideration. In regards to Kiss Me Deadly, I've only heard it described as science fiction by one reviewer, so that it would be considered and then eliminated seems bizarre to me.

Additionally, no director could appear on these lists more than once. I easily could have included at least two other movies by Stanley Kubrick, a half dozen by David Cronenberg, and at least one other by Tarkovsky, but felt that doing so would be cheating.

whereas I consider it "cheating" to call it a Best Movies list when it's not. I mean if a director has made 3 of the best SF films ever, should 2 of them be bumped by lesser films because they share a talented director?

He also says:

Another factor I considered was seriousness of intent. By this, I simply mean that the movies I recommended either had to be made with some desire for enduring appeal (Woody Allen’s Sleeper may be of its time, but its satiric teeth lose none of their bite, even if contemporary audiences might not understand references to such figures as Howard Cosell)

What? Really? I think if it's that dated, it doesn't matter how enduring the director wanted it to be.

He mentions other criteria, including that the films did actually endure and that he personally liked them.

Our family has issues with this list, as might be expected. Everybody's top-10 list will be different, and none of the folks in our family has any formal credentials in the field. We're just fans. In light of that, this is The Younger Son's list in uncertain order:

Alien
City of Lost Children
Pitch Black
Battlestar Galactica (miniseries)
Star Wars
Brazil
Blade Runner
Book of Eli
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Matrix

I've seen all of those.

The Husband's list (in no particular order):

Metropolis
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise)
Frankenstein
The War of the Worlds (1953)
The Time Machine
Book of Eli
The Fly (1958)
Dr. Strangelove
Independence Day
The Bride of Frankenstein

I've seen all of these.

Wings

Wings is a 1966 Soviet film, the debut feature film of Larisa Shepitko. It's the story of a woman who is dissatisfied with her life as a school principal after having served heroically as a fighter pilot.

I watched it when Hulu offered it as one of their free films. You can still see it there, but you need to subscribe to their service.

short clip:

Senses of Cinema says,

Wings follows the picaresque form in emphasising the protagonist Nadezhda’s similarly troubled movement through a world following war, a world with its own pressures and problems that appear to weigh on the ex-pilot even more heavily as she struggles with the everyday torments of family, job and relationships. It is in this respect that Wings emerges as an almost paradigmatic European art cinema text.

DVD Talk says,

This character study in war-induced ennui and inter-generational conflict engendered considerable controversy within a nation not yet ready to publicly acknowledge the lingering psychological effects of the Great Patriotic War. Despite the controversy, Wings established Shepitko's place among the contemporary vanguard of young Soviet filmmakers.

TCM has an article calling it "remarkable" and "superbly crafted in every way".

Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet

Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet is a 1976 novel, the 6th of the 12-book Rabbi Small mystery series by Harry Kemelman. The series was adapted for television: 1) the first book was adapted as a made-for-tv movie in 1976; 2) using that as a pilot, a series of 4 90-minute movies were aired in 1977 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie series. Both of these adaptations starred Art Carney as the chief detective. I'd never even heard of these, much less seen them, and they don't seem to be available either on DVD or online.

I don't read them in order, just picking them up as I come across them. This was one of two The Younger Son picked up for me in the used book section at our local bookseller. He remembered how much I'd enjoyed them. The characters are intriguing, the plots interesting, and I learn so much about Conservative Judaism just in passing.

from the dust jacket:

Rabbi David Small has become one of the most endearing sleuths in modern fiction. Irascible and compassionate, innocent and worldly wise, Rabbi Small can see the third side of any question, an exceptional talent he employs, along with Talmudic reasoning and insight, to solve the high crime of murder.

Now, in his latest novel in this spectacularly successful series, Harry Kemelman once again portrays the all-too-human world of Barnard's Crossing, the New England town where Rabbi Small serves as the religious leader of the temple.

This time the rabbi becomes involved in the mysterious death of an old man with many enemies, a death that intrigues and eventually fascinates both him and the town's chief of police, Hugh Lanigan.

But finding the solution to a puzzling death is not the only matter that concerns Rabbi Small. He is involved in saving the innocent from disgrace and the charge of murder, while also fighting the temple's well-intentioned but erring board of directors over a question of high principle.

One of the great appeals of Harry Kemelman's novels is the way he skillfully weaves the teachings of Judaism into the plot. In Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet the author presents, through Rabbi Small, a fascinating view of the Jewish attitudes toward meditation, mysticism, religious retreats, and Christianity.

Those who have read Harry Kemelman's earlier novels will find Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet among his very best. Those who have yet to become acquainted with Rabbi Small and Barnard's Crossing have a delectable treat in store for them.

I've read the following in this series:

1. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late (1964) (read in January, 2006)
3. Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home (1969)
7. Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out (1978)
10. One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross (1987) (read in March, 2006)

The author died in December of 1996, at the age of 88.

President #42

Bill Clinton is the 42nd president of the United States. How has it taken me so long to realize that?

A Nice Cup of Tea

A Nice Cup of Tea:

sung by Binnie Hale who died on January 10, 1984 at age 84. In addition to being a singer, she was a star of stage and screen.

Lyrics excerpt:

I like a nice cup of tea with my dinner,
And a nice cup of tea with my tea,
And when it's time for bed,
There's a lot to be said
For a nice cup of tea!

Some folks put much reliance
On politics and science;
There's only one hero for me!
Its praise we should be roaring,
The man who thought of pouring
The first boiling water onto tea!

I will most likely read while I drink my tea. Although I won't be starting any of these yet, I wanted to share what I recently picked up in the used book department of my local book store:

I need to quit going to book stores! I buy 'em faster than I can read 'em.

This post has been scheduled in advance, and I won't be around to visit or share this week.

The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window is a 1944 film noir directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Raymond Massey. A well-respected film since the time of its release, it makes it onto most of the best-of film noir lists. Wikipedia has a plot summary which begins with this:

After criminology professor Richard Wanley sends his wife and two children off on vacation, he goes to his club to meet friends. Next door, Wanley sees a striking oil portrait of Alice Reed (Joan Bennett) in a storefront window. He and his friends talk about the beautiful painting and its subject. Wanley stays at the club and reads Song of Songs. When he leaves, Wanley stops at the portrait and meets Reed, who is standing near the painting watching people watch it. Reed convinces Wanley to join her for drinks.

Complications of an unpleasant nature ensue, of course.

via Youtube:

Senses of Cinema has an article. DVD Talk says it's "Considered a top noir and one of Fritz Lang's very best American films" and is "considered Lang's most pure investigation of the nature of guilt and conscience." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Star Trek: Into Darkness is a film I saw a while back but never posted about. I'm not a fan of this alternate universe Star Trek, where we get the same characters only not. I'm tired of re-hashing the same original series plots. And, as much as I love Benedict Cumberbatch, I'm disappointed in his casting as Indian Sikh Khan. It's a fine action/adventure/science fiction movie. Star Trek it ain't, except for the character names.

trailer:

The Atlantic calls it "a more recognizable heir to George Lucas than to Gene Roddenberry." Empire Online has a positive review. Moria says, "It is certainly the most action oriented Star Trek film we have had to date. .... I’ll set my misgivings and loyalty to the original Trek aside and largely embrace the show that Abrams and co have put to say that they have for the most part done a rather entertaining job."

Wil Wheaton calls it "a damn entertaining film that may just provide an infection vector for a whole new audience — the next generation if you will — to explore the existing Star Trek world."

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 87%.

Payload

Payload is a 2011 science fiction short film directed by Stuart Willis. It is about the sacrifices we are willing to make for family. In a dystopian future, a poor family has difficult choices to make. The film has a website here.

view the film:

Payload from Stu Willis on Vimeo.

io9 has drawings that led to the film's space elevator.

The Quest

The Quest is a 1963 short film inspired by the Ray Bradbury story Frost and Fire, which can be read online here. It's directed by Saul and Elaine Bass. This is definitely a trippy period piece, but fun.

On Youtube (via Open Culture):

Reviews are scarce.

The Gate of Angels

The Gate of Angels is a 1990 novel by Penelope Fitzgerald. I am always on the look-out for books by this author, who wrote 9 novels and several other works before her death at age 83 in 2000.

from the back of the book:

It is 1912, and at Cambridge University the modern age is knocking at the gate. In lecture halls and laboratories, the model of a universe governed by the Mind of God is at last giving way to something wholly rational, a universe governed by the Laws of Physics. To Fred Fairly, a junior fellow at the College of St. Angelicus, this comes as a great comfort. Science, he is certain, will soon explain everything. Mystery will be routed by reason, and the demands of the soul will be seen for what they are -a distraction and an illusion.

Into Fred's orderly life comes Daisy, with a bang —literally. One moment the two are perfect strangers, fellow cyclists on a dark country road; the next, they are casualties of a freakish accident, occupants of the same warm bed. Fred has never been so close to a woman before, surely none so pretty, so plainspoken, and yet so -mysterious. Who is this Daisy Saunders? he wonders. Why have I met her? Is this a manifestation of Chaos, or is it a sign of another kind of Order?

As the smitten Fred pursues these questions, Penelope Fitzgerald suggests that scientists can still be mistaken -and that the soul must still be answered- even in this age of the atom.

The book begins:

How could the wind be so strong, so far inland, that cyclists coming into the town in the late afternoon looked more like sailors in peril? This was on the way into Cambridge, up Mill Road past the cemetery and the workhouse. On the open ground to the left the willow-trees had been blown, driven and cracked until their branches gave way and lay about the drenched grass, jerking convulsively and trailing cataracts of twigs. The cows had gone mad, tossing up the silvery weeping leaves which were suddenly, quite contrary to all their experience, everywhere within reach. Their horns were festooned with willow boughs. Not being able to see properly, they tripped and fell. Two or three of them were wallowing on their backs, idiotically, exhibiting vast pale bellies intended by nature to be always hidden. They were still munching. A scene of disorder, tree-tops on the earth, legs in the air, in a university city devoted to logic and reason.

How can you not love that writing? Plus her books have character development and plotting worth the reading. You can't do better than Fitzgerald!

I've read:

The Bookshop (1978)
Offshore (1979)
The Blue Flower (1995)

Passing On

Passing On is a 1989 novel by prolific author Penelope Lively. I enjoy her writing. This book explores the aftermath of the death of a mother of three grown children. The mother's presence continues to occupy Helen's thoughts, and it's Helen's story we get. Parts of the tale are quite unpleasant, but parts of life are unpleasant.

from the back of the book:

Booker Prize-winning author Penelope Lively is that rare writer who goes from strength to strength in book after perfectly assured book. In Passing On, she applies her distinctive insight and consummate artistry to the subtle story of a domineering and manipulative mother's legacy to her children. With their mother's death, Helen and Edward, both middle-aged and both unmarried, are left to face the ramifications of their mother's hold on their lives for all of these years. Helen and Edward slowly learn to accept what has been lost in their own lives and embrace what can yet be retrieved.

favorite quotes:

At the time, fatal steps are seldom recognized as such.

=======

[When asked by the lawyer after the funeral if they needed more advice] Helen racked her brains. Advice? Surely they needed advice? Of course they needed advice; she reviewed, in a flash, the whole unsatisfactory condition of Greystones, of her state of mind, of life itself. How can we stop the drain flooding whenever it rains? Why do I have to feel guilty because my mother has died? How can I achieve a comforting complacency?

"I can't think of anything."

=======

Distant, hazy, dead Daddy. Long since drowned out by other voices, other opinions; bleached now to a faded outline, a few mannerisms, a vague remembered preference for anchovy paste as opposed to jam. Could a lifetime be reduced to that?

=======

[after a reflection by Helen on what their mother was like] The others stared at her. "I'm not sure you should say all this," said Edward rather wildly.

"What's the difference between saying it and thinking it. And it's true. And it can't hurt her now because she'd dead. Also, it doesn't mean I feel any differently about her.

There was a silence. Louise, eventually, spoke. "What did you feel about her?"

"I loved her, I suppose," said Helen. "One does, willy-nilly."

"Sometimes I hated her," said Louise.

"Oh, that too."

=======

The NYT closes its review with this:

On the surface, certainly, ''Passing On'' reads like a fine piece of miniaturist work, depicting the course of two circumscribed lives within a small, circumscribed community. Yet at the same time, it subtly opens out into an evocative examination of familial history; it shows the reader how the geometry of childhood emotion affects and alters the arc of grown-up lives; how temperament conspires with circumstance to shape individual choices, how the past may be made to yield clues about the present.

Kirkus Reviews describes it as "An exquisitely patterned and witty tribute to pacific souls indecently victimized -who ""make do"" firmly through psychic crises in a world of ""making it."

I've also read Moon Tiger and The Photograph.

Just for Lunch

The Daughter and I went to Just for Lunch yesterday and enjoyed our time together. The restaurant is located inside a small mall which was still decorated for Christmas. The prices were higher than we remembered, and our total with tax and tip was over $27. The daughter had a bowl of tomato soup. You can see it in the corner of this photo:

My quiche came with tomato aspic (which I don't like at all) and a small fruit cup drizzled with something. Since the fruit cup was actually cubed melon decorated with a bit of blueberry and a piece of a strawberry, that wasn't much of a draw either. The quiche was good, the service was excellent, and the mall was pretty, but I'm thinking I've been to this restaurant several times over the years and going back will not be at the top of my list.

After we finished eating and shopping at the mall, we went across the parking lot of the main branch of our city's public library system. They have a used book shop there, and I came away with these:

Not bad for $11, right?

We had coffee and chocolate candy for dessert once we got back to the house, but I somehow neglected to take a photo of that. I got distracted by The Daughter, who was on the computer going through her Facebook friends list with an eye towards cutting dead wood. She had texted one of her old school chums, and this was how that phone text exchange went:

The Daughter: Hi! This is [first name]. Is this the [name redacted] I went to school with?

School Chum: Yes. Who is this?

The Daughter: This is [full name redacted]. I was just remembering our time together in school and thought we might have coffee sometime.

School Chum never responded. Days later, still no response. And then The Daughter realized the two of them were Facebook friends. This meant the School Chum had not responded to any of The Daughter's life events of the past several years, including sad ones like the death of her grandmother and news of her daddy's cancer and happy ones like her daddy's full recovery and her wedding. The Daughter has decided to cut the Facebook friends who have no interest in any personal contact, and she began that process yesterday.

I enjoy Facebook and use it mainly to stay in touch with old high school friends who've moved far away, but I have "met" new people there I enjoy. It's not a matter of whether or not I've met them in real life; it's a matter of whether or not we have mutual interests and a desire to share that. I think The Daughter has turned a page in her use of Facebook. It's a tool, after all, and different people use it in different ways -or don't use it at all, for that matter. It's not a matter of judging whether or not you use Facebook or how you use it. It's a matter of using it or not as it suits you. To each his or her own.

Please join in the weekly T party hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth. As it suits you, share your own thoughts -and a beverage- with us.

Death at La Fenice

I ran across a couple of Donna Leon's Inspector Brunetti mysteries in the used section of a local bookstore and enjoyed them, so when I came across several more I bought all they had. This one, Death at La Fenice, was written in 1992 and is the first in the series.

from the back of the book:

There is little violent crime in Venice, a serenely beautiful floating city of mystery and magic, history and decay. But the evil that does rear its head on occasion is the jurisdiction of Guido Brunetti, the suave, urbane vice-commissario of police and a genius at detection. Now all of his admirable characteristics must come into play in the deadly affair of Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a well-renouned conductor who died painfully from cyanide poisoning during intermission at La Fenice. But as the investigation begins to unfold, a chilling picture begins to take shape -a detailed portrait of revenge painted with vivid strokes of hatred and shocking depravity. And the dilemma of Guido Brunetti will not be finding a murder suspect... but, rather, narrowing the choice down to one.

Viktoria at One Sketch a Day reviewed this back in August and called it "a very enjoyable read".

Favorite quote:

Brunetti closed his notebook, in which he had done no more than scribble the American's last name [Lynch], as if to capture the full horror of a word composed of five consonants.

*******

I'm linking this post at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday gathering at the Altered Books blog because many of the conversations in this book take place over coffee or tea. Here's an example from early in the book:

The kettle shot out a burst of steam, and Paola went to pour the water into the chipped pot. As always, he found her mere physical presence comforting, found solace in observing the easy efficiency with which she moved and did things. Like many Venetian women, Paola was fair-skinned and had the red-gold hair so often seen in portraits of the women of the seventeenth century. Not beautiful by any ordinary canon, she had a nose that was a bit too long and a chin that was more than a bit too determined. He liked both.

"Any ideas?" she asked, bringing the pot and two mugs to the table. She sat opposite him, poured out the aromatic tea, then went back to the cupboard and returned with an immense jar of honey.

"It's too early," he said, spooning honey into his mug. He swirled it around, clicking the spoon against the side of the mug, then spoke in rhythm with the clicking of the spoon.

Reviewing the Evidence highly recommends it. Kirkus Reviews closes with this: "Deftly plotted and smoothly written in the Ngaio Marsh cultural mode, but recommended even for readers who, like Brett Lynch, don't care for Verdi."

The other 2 I've read so far:

#3) Dressed for Death
#18) About Face

Not Dead Yet

Not Dead Yet is one in the Peter James Roy Grace series. It's 8th in a series I've only read the 1st one of, but that worked out fine. I'd intended to read these in order, but someone gave this one to me. This detective reminds me strangely of Adam Dalgliesh (and I'm not saying that as a compliment), and I don't like the feeling that Roy Grace is just a bit too much like a detective I've known much longer. There is a plethora of subplots, and at times the book felt disjointed. The main detective has two different subplots going on, neither of them at all connected to the crime and neither of which is resolved. The main assistant detective also has a romantic subplot that is unresolved at the end of the book. The plot is just a bit busy for my taste. As when I read the first in the series: I like the detective just fine, but the plot doesn't suit me. I have so many books in my TBR stack that I think I won't add any more by this author to it.

from the dust jacket:

Days before one of Hollywood's hottest stars, Gaia Lafayette, leaves her Bel Air home for a movie role on location in Brighton, England, there is a bungled attempt on her life. The whole city of Brighton awaits Gaia's arrival, including her dangerously obsessive number-one fan looking for revenge and an anxious Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, charged with protecting Gaia.

When a mutilated torso is found on a chicken farm miles away in the countryside, Grace has no reason to connect this to the star's visit to the country. But as events rapidly begin to unfold, Grace and his team find themselves in a desperate race against time to save Gaia's life from a clever maniac who will stop at nothing to kill her.

Eurocrime closes a generally positive review with this: "it is becoming more the case that you will appreciate it much more if you read the series in sequence." Kirkus Reviews notes that criminals are unbelievably "thick on the ground". Publishers Weekly calls it "unnecessarily complicated".

Contagion

Contagion is a 2011 thriller starring Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kate Winslet. Steven Soderbergh directs. Beginning with the initial infection, the film follows the spread of the disease from patient 0 to worldwide pandemic with millions dead. I found the movie fascinating.

trailer:

Moria gives it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars and says,

Steven Soderbergh’s treatment of the outbreak drama is, as always, cool and soberly intellectual. While there are plenty of scenes where he could have done otherwise, Soderbergh focuses on the drama in ways that avoid cliches.

The New York Times has a positive review. The Guardian gives it 3 out of 5 stars.

Roger Ebert gives it 3 out of 4 stars. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 84%.

Dr. Mabuse

Dr. Mabuse (usually divided into parts 1 and 2 due to its 4-hour run time) is a 1922 silent German film directed by Fritz Lang. It is based on novels written by Norbert Jacques. The title character is a criminal mastermind/con artist/hypnotist/master of disguise/psychoanalyst who is involved in counterfeiting and gambling operations in Berlin.

The movies are available online. Part 1:

part 2:

DVD Journal says, "Even if this is your first exposure to the German silent cinema, Dr. Mabuse dishes up a fine paperback potboiler of a story filmed with a sense of style and craft that, like Dr. Mabuse himself, is often hypnotic." DVD Talk calls it "a special treat for people who love movies". Slant Magazine gives it 3 out of 5 stars, and likes the sequel better. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 92%.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

The Good, the Bad, the Weird is a 2008 self-described "Oriental Western" we gave The Younger Son for Christmas. A South Korean film directed by Kim Jee-woon, it premiered at Cannes and had only limited theatrical release here in the U.S. We got a big kick out of this, loving the Good/Bad/Ugly homage and enjoying the whole big extravagant experience.

trailer:

The Washington Post calls it "cracking good fun, especially if your love of the genre is tempered by a healthy irreverence for its conventions." NPR says, "Sergio Leone learns to speak Korean in The Good, the Bad, the Weird, an exuberant tale of greed, vengeance and, well, weirdness." The Guardian calls it "extremely enjoyable".

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 84%.