What's up
I keep bemoaning the lack of activity on LJ, but I'm one of the problems. There's a quote about trying vs. doing, and I think Yoda is somehow involved. Anyway - here we go.
1. My record of reviewing new shows and having them die a rapid death still holds. First there was The River, and now I have Missing. I can pick 'em. Actually I like both of those shows, warts and all, and I wish they could have another chance. Missing is still on, but the ratings are plummeting, and the word is it's to be canceled. It's really got a lot of potential; the story started off slowly, then became quite gripping. The acting is great. The locales are gorgeous. It suffers from horrible marketing. As did Prime Suspect, which was far and away my favorite new show. I'm still kind of bitter about that one.
I realized that I'm way outside of the mainstream fandoms (even though that sounds like an oxymoron). I never got into Bones or Castle or House; I tried, but none of them took. I hate Sherlock Holmes. (I don't care if Bumbersnatch is to die for. Get another role, please.) Fringe turned me off right from the get-go because they decided to go with lots of gore, at least in the beginning. It may be better now on that score; I know it's beloved by rabid fans, and it does sound really interesting, but it's waaaaay too late to jump into it now. I avoid Big Bang Theory. I have to leave the room when Sheldon is on: I've had roommates like him - they are in no way funny or endearing. However, I really, really like Leonard. Likewise, Chevy Chase's character drove me away from Community. I have a very low tolerance for assholes, especially on TV. Again: not funny, not endearing.
I don't actually watch a lot of fictional TV. Of course I'm damn near welded to the TV when Game of Thrones is on; the same goes for Treme and The Walking Dead. I also try not to miss Dexter or True Blood or Nurse Jackie (love!!). The thing all of those shows have in common? Short seasons and they're not on network television. That appears to be the way to my heart.
In bookish things, I'm almost finished with The Lost City of Z. What a page turner! It's a fascinating read, and it just astounds me that it's all true. It is nearly unbelievable what those explorers put themselves through. darlong has been on medical missions to the Amazon with Doctors without Borders, and she vouches for how deadly the area can be due to insects and parasites. I had to stop reading the book before bed because it was giving me nightmares.
Even more horrifying than the diseases that struck down so many explorers is the brutality that the European and later North American conquerors inflicted on the indigenous people in the Amazon. The stories of the horrors inflicted on those poor people - by the millions - is the true stuff of nightmares. How does anyone get to be that savage, that callous about another human life? Or about animals, for that matter? I'd like to think we've evolved beyond that point, but I'm not so sure we have.
I don't mean to make it sound as if it's a horror show from page one to the end, but it certainly has those elements to it. Mostly it's exciting and instructive, and now in the final chapters it's showcasing the reality of the people and tribes who were spared contact with the early (and more recent) invaders - their civilization and culture and their advanced knowledge of homeopathic medicine. Fawcett (the main subject of the book) was one of the first Europeans to spread the word about the real Amazon cultures and to try to change the prevailing perspective of the "natives" as being stupid, brutish, weak and sickly. He's a larger than life character, and they truly do not make them like that anymore.
Next up is Rachel Maddow's Drift (thank you again, caerwynx!). I've heard nothing but praise for this book - even by conservatives - and I kind of worship the ground she walks on, so I'm anticipating a great read.
1. My record of reviewing new shows and having them die a rapid death still holds. First there was The River, and now I have Missing. I can pick 'em. Actually I like both of those shows, warts and all, and I wish they could have another chance. Missing is still on, but the ratings are plummeting, and the word is it's to be canceled. It's really got a lot of potential; the story started off slowly, then became quite gripping. The acting is great. The locales are gorgeous. It suffers from horrible marketing. As did Prime Suspect, which was far and away my favorite new show. I'm still kind of bitter about that one.
I realized that I'm way outside of the mainstream fandoms (even though that sounds like an oxymoron). I never got into Bones or Castle or House; I tried, but none of them took. I hate Sherlock Holmes. (I don't care if Bumbersnatch is to die for. Get another role, please.) Fringe turned me off right from the get-go because they decided to go with lots of gore, at least in the beginning. It may be better now on that score; I know it's beloved by rabid fans, and it does sound really interesting, but it's waaaaay too late to jump into it now. I avoid Big Bang Theory. I have to leave the room when Sheldon is on: I've had roommates like him - they are in no way funny or endearing. However, I really, really like Leonard. Likewise, Chevy Chase's character drove me away from Community. I have a very low tolerance for assholes, especially on TV. Again: not funny, not endearing.
I don't actually watch a lot of fictional TV. Of course I'm damn near welded to the TV when Game of Thrones is on; the same goes for Treme and The Walking Dead. I also try not to miss Dexter or True Blood or Nurse Jackie (love!!). The thing all of those shows have in common? Short seasons and they're not on network television. That appears to be the way to my heart.
In bookish things, I'm almost finished with The Lost City of Z. What a page turner! It's a fascinating read, and it just astounds me that it's all true. It is nearly unbelievable what those explorers put themselves through. darlong has been on medical missions to the Amazon with Doctors without Borders, and she vouches for how deadly the area can be due to insects and parasites. I had to stop reading the book before bed because it was giving me nightmares.
Even more horrifying than the diseases that struck down so many explorers is the brutality that the European and later North American conquerors inflicted on the indigenous people in the Amazon. The stories of the horrors inflicted on those poor people - by the millions - is the true stuff of nightmares. How does anyone get to be that savage, that callous about another human life? Or about animals, for that matter? I'd like to think we've evolved beyond that point, but I'm not so sure we have.
I don't mean to make it sound as if it's a horror show from page one to the end, but it certainly has those elements to it. Mostly it's exciting and instructive, and now in the final chapters it's showcasing the reality of the people and tribes who were spared contact with the early (and more recent) invaders - their civilization and culture and their advanced knowledge of homeopathic medicine. Fawcett (the main subject of the book) was one of the first Europeans to spread the word about the real Amazon cultures and to try to change the prevailing perspective of the "natives" as being stupid, brutish, weak and sickly. He's a larger than life character, and they truly do not make them like that anymore.
Next up is Rachel Maddow's Drift (thank you again, caerwynx!). I've heard nothing but praise for this book - even by conservatives - and I kind of worship the ground she walks on, so I'm anticipating a great read.