Saturday, March 16, 2024

48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch" things on TV --- or a TV screen --- and "see" movies in theaters?)

I digress.

Last night, I rented and watched "American Fiction."  

That gives me an opportunity to watch it tonight and again tomorrow.  That's how much I enjoyed it.  With Jeffrey Wright and Sterling K. Brown, and a wonderful supporting cast, how can you go wrong?

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

11:09

 It was Election Day here yesterday.  My voting spot is the elementary school that Briton and Hannah went to.  A couple of years ago, it was almost fully torn down and rebuilt, save for what we knew as the fifth grade hall, and the gym.  The gym is where the voting machines are, and it hasn't changed a whit.  It's where a 3rd grade Briton, dressed as C3PO, first took to a stage in a skit that was about time, I think?  Anyway, it's nice to go back and remember.

Sticking with non-fiction, reading-wise.

Not a surprise, I know.  Not quite a biography, but I realize that it's biography-adjacent.

What's the over/under on how many books until I get to a novel?

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

14 - 26

14.  Did I Ever Tell You This? by Sam Neill. (As charming as you'd expect, if you're a fan of Mr. Neill.  Which, of course, I am.)

15.  Confessions of an Actor by Laurence Olivier. (By many accounts, Olivier could be a prig, but he could also be funny and disarming.)

16.  Gregory Peck by Gary Fishgall. (Sometimes, I feel like I should stick to autobiographies.  Biographies often lack "something.")

17.  Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen. (She's such a delightful writer.  For instance, she says our bodies are basically personality-delivery systems.)

18.  I Never Had It Made by Jackie Robinson  (There's a huge difference between what we know from the outside and what he felt living it.)

19. My Extraordinary Ordinary Life by Sissy Spacek. (When reading this, you realize her life has been kind of "normal."  Except, you know, for winning an Oscar.)

20.  Rough Draft by Katy Tur. (Some of her story I read in Unbelievable , but there's greater depth here.)

21.   Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg.  (A hearing child of deaf parents, and the day-to-day difficulties of both.)

22.  Her Little Majesty by Carroll Erickson. (Maybe my favorite of all these?  Queen Victoria is a fascinating figure.)

23.   Educated by Tara Westover. (Again, the social psychologist in me was engrossed while the plain ol' person was enraged.)

24.  The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  (I didn't read this as a companion to MLK's, but they are ripe for compare-and-contrast.  Compelling.)

25.  The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep.  (Beautifully written.  Yep felt the pull of two cultures growing up, and used both to create his novels.)

26.  Black Friend by Ziwe.  (Funny, but so serious.  Why do we treat one another like this?  And when will we stop?)

1 - 13

1.  The Alphabet in My Hands  by Marjorie Agosin.  (She spent some of her teen years here in Athens.)

2.  Barkley  by Timothy Bella. (Not as good as it could have been, considering how entertaining Charles Barkley is.)

3.  Shattered Love  by Richard Chamberlain. (Are any of you watching the new "Shogun"?)

4.  Deaf Utopia  by Nyle DiMarco. (Apparently, he was a " Dancing with the Stars" contestant.)

5.  The Hilliker Curse by James Elroy. (Probably my least favorite of all 26.  Interesting premise --- the roots of his relationships with women* --- but, no.)

6.  In Pieces by Sally Field. (I like Sally Field**, but this was a bit content-shallow.)

7.  My Story  by Ava Gardner.  (I also read Ava Gardner: The Private Conversations , and  slightly preferred the first.)

8.  There is Nothing for You Here  by Fiona Hill.  (I was so impressed with her testimony before Congress, and continue to be impressed on reading her story.)

9.  Ishi in Two Worlds  by Theodora Kroeber. (I talked about it when I was reading it.  I'd still teach out of it if I could.)

10.  Vernon Can Read!  by Vernon Jordan. (Again, a little disappointing, but the stories of his youth were particularly good.)

11.  The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.  (If nothing else, read it for his account of the "Letter from the Birmingham Jail.")

12.  A History of Scars by Laura Lee. (You know those books that so many people " could just die for," but you wouldn't?  This is one.)

13.  One of the Fortunate Few by Diana Hendricks. (I love, love Delbert McClinton's music, and this gave me good insights on it, start to present.)



*Again, social psychologist here.

**I really like her!

Monday, March 11, 2024

26!

 I've finished my Alphabet Autobiography/Biography journey!  I'll provide a partial list tomorrow.


Saturday, March 9, 2024

1

I'm sure we can all agree that there's really only one Girl Scout Cookie.  Let's all say it together: 1, 2, 3

Tagalongs.

(Thin Mints people, there is catch-your-breath seating in the back.)

I live within 5 minutes of several big box stores (Kroger, Lowe's, Walmart), meaning I live within 5 minutes of prime places for troops to set up their selling tables.  My order is always easy, depending upon how many Tagalongs boxes they have on hand.  Now, I can eat a Trefoil, and the kind of new toffee ones are delicious, but, come on.  

Yes, I could probably eat an entire box.

48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch"...