What I Did On My Internet Vacation
Whee! The cable guy was here and I am back in the 21st century! (My new digital box is huuuuge compared to the last one, though. It's about the size of a VCR - the other one was the size of a paperback book. The cable guy tried to put it on top of the TV, but it fell off and nearly conked him on the head.)
It's been a while since I've gone a whole week without internet - and, okay, technically I didn't actually do that this week, since I made daily trips to the business center, but still... one hour of internet a day leaves an awful lot of time to be filled with non-internety activities. Fortunately, I had all the joys of moving and unpacking and going 10 rounds at the DMV to keep me occupied, but in between, I did manage to engage in the fine art of reading books again (and also watching movies).
1. I finally - FINALLY - finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Ye gods, I started the damn thing back around Christmas. I don't know what the problem was. It's not that it wasn't interesting, because it was, but I guess it just... wasn't compelling enough? Every time I put it down, I had no problem not picking it up again for days, weeks... months... I feel sort of silly saying this, given how long it took, but it is a good book. I just have the attention span of a gnat or something.
2. I knew that if I let myself start another book before I'd finished that one, I'd never, ever go back to it. So I've had a pile kind of building up, and first on my list of must-reads was Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, the latest in the Dresden Files series. I feel like I should do some sort of comparative study here, because this most definitely compelled me. Every Dresden book I read, I finish in a day or two, because I literally can't put it down. I have to say, though, this ending left me with more of an unsettled feeling than any previous book. I don't mean to say that it was badly written - and you know me, I don't require a happy ending, and I've come to expect that good people will die in this series since Grave Peril, so that didn't bother me - but more that I felt let down by some of the characters' decisions. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about; if not, just imagine how you'd feel if Spike, after choosing to be good and winning Buffy's respect, decided to start eating people again.
3. And now, for something in non-fiction, I am currently reading The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. Yeah, it's a book about the Puritans. And it's funny. No, really. I quote: By March, good old Miantonomi sends Boston a tribute of "forty fathom of wampum and a Pequot's hand," severed body parts being the seventeenth-century equivalent of a gift basket of mini-muffins. Also, as she points out, "Oh. Maybe the people who founded this country were kind of crazy." Indeed. :)
4. I watched movies, too! Really depressing movies! First up, Revolutionary Road... Kate and Leo, together again! My heart will go on. But seriously, it is just incredible to watch these two actors be marvelous on screen together. And for some reason, I am really drawn to stories about suburban malaise - after watching it, I found myself wanting to read fanfic about a Spike and Buffy for whom the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. Not many people write about them getting bored with each other, but hey, I've accepted that I am an odd duck in fandom. :) Besides, I think the story of rediscovering love is just as compelling as discovering it for the first time.
5. And if you don't believe Kate Winslet deserves every award ever, then rent that back to back with her other movie, The Reader, and watch the chameleon change colors. This one managed to make me uncomfortable in multiple ways, lol, but still fascinating to watch. Also, completely unrelated, but it makes me giggle that Ralph Fiennes only pronounces about half the letters in his name.
6. Finally, I also saw Rachel Getting Married. Described as a comedy by Blockbuster, I can only say that this is by far the most depressing comedy I have ever seen, except possibly The Savages. I am impressed, however, that Anne Hathaway can do more than play a princess, and the family angst was brilliantly done. I'm not ashamed to say I misted up a few times.
So, that's what I did without my internet. It's a little worrisome how productive I can be when I don't have my computer in my lap all the time...
It's been a while since I've gone a whole week without internet - and, okay, technically I didn't actually do that this week, since I made daily trips to the business center, but still... one hour of internet a day leaves an awful lot of time to be filled with non-internety activities. Fortunately, I had all the joys of moving and unpacking and going 10 rounds at the DMV to keep me occupied, but in between, I did manage to engage in the fine art of reading books again (and also watching movies).
1. I finally - FINALLY - finished reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Ye gods, I started the damn thing back around Christmas. I don't know what the problem was. It's not that it wasn't interesting, because it was, but I guess it just... wasn't compelling enough? Every time I put it down, I had no problem not picking it up again for days, weeks... months... I feel sort of silly saying this, given how long it took, but it is a good book. I just have the attention span of a gnat or something.
2. I knew that if I let myself start another book before I'd finished that one, I'd never, ever go back to it. So I've had a pile kind of building up, and first on my list of must-reads was Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, the latest in the Dresden Files series. I feel like I should do some sort of comparative study here, because this most definitely compelled me. Every Dresden book I read, I finish in a day or two, because I literally can't put it down. I have to say, though, this ending left me with more of an unsettled feeling than any previous book. I don't mean to say that it was badly written - and you know me, I don't require a happy ending, and I've come to expect that good people will die in this series since Grave Peril, so that didn't bother me - but more that I felt let down by some of the characters' decisions. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about; if not, just imagine how you'd feel if Spike, after choosing to be good and winning Buffy's respect, decided to start eating people again.
3. And now, for something in non-fiction, I am currently reading The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. Yeah, it's a book about the Puritans. And it's funny. No, really. I quote: By March, good old Miantonomi sends Boston a tribute of "forty fathom of wampum and a Pequot's hand," severed body parts being the seventeenth-century equivalent of a gift basket of mini-muffins. Also, as she points out, "Oh. Maybe the people who founded this country were kind of crazy." Indeed. :)
4. I watched movies, too! Really depressing movies! First up, Revolutionary Road... Kate and Leo, together again! My heart will go on. But seriously, it is just incredible to watch these two actors be marvelous on screen together. And for some reason, I am really drawn to stories about suburban malaise - after watching it, I found myself wanting to read fanfic about a Spike and Buffy for whom the bloom is off the rose, so to speak. Not many people write about them getting bored with each other, but hey, I've accepted that I am an odd duck in fandom. :) Besides, I think the story of rediscovering love is just as compelling as discovering it for the first time.
5. And if you don't believe Kate Winslet deserves every award ever, then rent that back to back with her other movie, The Reader, and watch the chameleon change colors. This one managed to make me uncomfortable in multiple ways, lol, but still fascinating to watch. Also, completely unrelated, but it makes me giggle that Ralph Fiennes only pronounces about half the letters in his name.
6. Finally, I also saw Rachel Getting Married. Described as a comedy by Blockbuster, I can only say that this is by far the most depressing comedy I have ever seen, except possibly The Savages. I am impressed, however, that Anne Hathaway can do more than play a princess, and the family angst was brilliantly done. I'm not ashamed to say I misted up a few times.
So, that's what I did without my internet. It's a little worrisome how productive I can be when I don't have my computer in my lap all the time...