Sexpionage.
1. This week I've rediscovered the pleasure of curling up in bed with a book. Now, I read near-constantly, though I'll admit my reading is usually in the realm of magazines, online articles, and fic. I don't read nearly enough books. But just this month I've finished four -- quite a feat for me! I read In the Woods, the first in Tana French's series, and it made me want to go back and reread The Likeness to catch all the things I didn't understand the first time around. And yesterday I breezed through Samantha Bee's essay/memoir i know i am but what are you?, which I found hilarious despite the title's capitalization issues. ;)
2. I have a cheap laptop that's still running Windows Vista -- yes, I know, but it was all I could afford. I downloaded the latest updates on Monday, and since then it has been running very slowly. Any ideas why it has gotten so sluggish? (And please, no "because it's Windows" snark. ;)
3. Sis gave me a heads-up about The Smithsonian's 6th Annual Museum Day, in which you and a guest can get free admission to a number of museums nationwide. A friend and I plan to finally try out the Center for Puppetry Arts!
4. New TV! Yes, Undercovers is shallow. Yes, it's totally an Alias retread, down to the Marshall clone and the picturesque location chyrons wtih the city pushing through the screen. But I went in expecting a fun-but-ephemeral show, and I was not disappointed.
How the hell could these two have worked undercover? They're way too PRETTY, even in Dickies jumpsuits. Any bad guy who sees those faces is gonna remember them. And another peeve: why do sekrit ajents always stand by themselves in a party, carrying on a conversation with a hidden earpiece? Wouldn't the party guests notice the weird-but-gorgeous person talking to himself?
And it was fun to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw again, using her English accent. (The American one isn't *too* bad. Yet.) Damn, I miss Martha Jones. So cool, so totally screwed over. At least we have Alesha Phillips now!
5. Speaking of TV, I was dismayed by the truly horrid ratings for Lone Star, though I'm not really surprised. MonkeySee did a wonderful post about how "when the broadcast networks make a show that's smart, well-executed, well-written, well-acted, and entertaining, they can't get anybody to watch it." Bravo. I wasn't as impressed by LS as many of the critics were, but I did enjoy it and planned to keep watching. Fox has said they will show next week's episode, after which they'll probably cancel it. And while it's de rigeur to blame Fox for all the evils of cancellation, I can't really blame them for this one (or for several other controversial cancellations) because the ratings were terrible despite lots of promotion. Sigh.
2. I have a cheap laptop that's still running Windows Vista -- yes, I know, but it was all I could afford. I downloaded the latest updates on Monday, and since then it has been running very slowly. Any ideas why it has gotten so sluggish? (And please, no "because it's Windows" snark. ;)
3. Sis gave me a heads-up about The Smithsonian's 6th Annual Museum Day, in which you and a guest can get free admission to a number of museums nationwide. A friend and I plan to finally try out the Center for Puppetry Arts!
4. New TV! Yes, Undercovers is shallow. Yes, it's totally an Alias retread, down to the Marshall clone and the picturesque location chyrons wtih the city pushing through the screen. But I went in expecting a fun-but-ephemeral show, and I was not disappointed.
How the hell could these two have worked undercover? They're way too PRETTY, even in Dickies jumpsuits. Any bad guy who sees those faces is gonna remember them. And another peeve: why do sekrit ajents always stand by themselves in a party, carrying on a conversation with a hidden earpiece? Wouldn't the party guests notice the weird-but-gorgeous person talking to himself?
And it was fun to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw again, using her English accent. (The American one isn't *too* bad. Yet.) Damn, I miss Martha Jones. So cool, so totally screwed over. At least we have Alesha Phillips now!
5. Speaking of TV, I was dismayed by the truly horrid ratings for Lone Star, though I'm not really surprised. MonkeySee did a wonderful post about how "when the broadcast networks make a show that's smart, well-executed, well-written, well-acted, and entertaining, they can't get anybody to watch it." Bravo. I wasn't as impressed by LS as many of the critics were, but I did enjoy it and planned to keep watching. Fox has said they will show next week's episode, after which they'll probably cancel it. And while it's de rigeur to blame Fox for all the evils of cancellation, I can't really blame them for this one (or for several other controversial cancellations) because the ratings were terrible despite lots of promotion. Sigh.