Oct 6 2017

What’s it about? A non-review of La La Land.

La La LandThe other evening, I told hubby that I wanted to see La La Land on HBO Go. Like many men, he is a direct, compartmental thinker, and he wanted a succinct description, like a phrase. Complex sentences and paragraphs are too much after a hard day at the office, so I said, “It’s a musical.” And he said, “What kind?” Based on the tone as well as the question, I was getting the drift that he didn’t want to try this one, so I said something like, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Today, weary of grading essays, I turned our sorta smart TV to HBOGo and found La La Land. Before the end of the opening number, a sort of modern fantasy about singing and dancing in traffic, I was already glad that I decided to forgo explaining the film to my husband. He is just not gonna go for this sort of film.

That’s not to say it is bad, for it certainly isn’t. But, this clever film is not going to be pigeon holed into a category, although HBO places it under “romance.” The film pays homage to Hollywood in particular and the entertainment industry more generally, and the characters certainly are passionate about their craft, but they struggle to pave a path to personal success. Work gets in the way of their relationship, but there are some seriously romantic scenes in this film. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have both moved up a few notches in my estimation, based solely on the way they conveyed emotion through song and dance and just looking at the camera.

As I was searching for an answer to “What sort of movie (or musical) is it?” I read several reviews. The one at RogerEbert.com comes the closest to explaining it, and I don’t want to spoil it or plagiarize, so I will merely provide the link. However, should hubby ask again, which I rather doubt, I have my answer: “It’s a different sort of musical.” Yep, it isn’t peculiar, nor avant gardé, nor off-beat. It is just different.

Oct 3 2017

From a Distant Star— quick review and commentary

From a Distant StarThere are many themes in science fiction, and the one about an alien who is trapped on earth entering a host body isn’t exactly a new plot line. However, in this young adult novel, Karen McQuestion taps into the “kids dealing with big stuff” storyline that seems to be popular right now. (Think “Stranger Things” on Netflix or even Stephen King’s, IT! on the big screen.) Anyway, I didn’t find it difficult at all to get into this book and stay with it until the end. The main characters, Emma and her cancer stricken boyfriend Lucas, are believable, engaging, and their exploits are entertaining. Emma is particularly well drawn, and she is the point of view character for most of the novel.

I’m not a big fan of young adult fiction, but I genuinely believe that the most creative stories these days are found in that genre. Publishers, large and small, are not prone to take any chances with fiction intended for adult audiences, but they are more open to new authors and new ideas in YA fiction. This has been true for quite a while, and this trend plays out on the big screen. The Harry Potter novels were quite successfully adapted to film, as were the Hunger Games novels. The Divergent Series is another YA science fiction series that made it to the big screen. Even Twilight and its sequels begat movies.

Probably From a Distant Star won’t be the basis for a Hollywood block buster, but it would make a dandy film for the folks over at the SyFy channel. In the mean time, readers can find it in various formats, from $4.49 for the Kindle ebook to $10.95 in hard cover.

Sep 25 2017

The Lioness of Morocco— review

The Lioness of Morocco is quite a saga. I mean that in a positive way, but some readers may not be ready for a yarn that covers this many years. I, on the other hand, relished it, like a home cooked meal after a long stint of eating fast food.

This story reminds me of the “mini-series” that were once a staple of television networks: a multi-part yarn that covers much of the adult life of an interesting main character, often with a lengthy list of co-stars. Such sagas usually combined romance, suspense, and mystery, and The Lioness of Morocco does that fairly well. The protagonist, Sibylla Spencer, is a good (if not fabulous) character, sufficiently well developed that readers should want to follow along with her travels and travails. Although the story begins in England, before long her adventuresome nature, combined with her father’s shipping business, leads her and her new husband to Mogador, Morocco, where she grows into an even more bold woman, sometimes called “The Lioness” in part due to her mane of golden hair.

< a few spoilers follow>

As an Englishwoman, Sibylla could either cling to all things British, from her clothing and her companions, to her language. Or, she could learn more about the Moorish population, learn their language, and (perhaps) do a bit of business with them. She follows the second course of action, which does cause her more straight-laced neighbors to be a bit put out with her. However, she is well-mannered and well-bred and manages to keep both sides of her world reasonably happy with her most of the time.

The novel is set in a tumultuous time, so there are plenty of plot twists, but the reader is never rushed, as this story happens over a number of years. Much of the Moroccan culture is revealed via detailed descriptions, which I genuinely enjoyed. Several crises occur, from the time her husband is accused of trafficking slaves to being the family being involved in trade wars and political wars. However, Sibylla and her children seem to rise to the occasion, whatever comes their way.

I did find this to be a very satisfying novel, rich in history and culture, if not a compelling read. For anyone who hasn’t enjoyed a saga recently, I suggest this novel. It is available as a paperback and in eBook form.

Sep 15 2017

Project Day!

IMG_0725There is a hint of fall in the air here in northern Georgia, and most of summer’s heat seems to be gone. Yesterday, I used my big lawn-mower to crunch up the last of the leaves and twigs left by Tropical Storm Irma, so it is time to get some things done outside. This morning, I dragged out some big sheets of cardboard from the garage, grabbed some cans of spray paint, and went to work. The chairs pictured are really old resin chairs, but they have held up remarkably well, so I decided to give them some new life with a new coat of paint. Recently, I found a product that has made spray painting so much easier and better that I bought a couple of these: Rust-Oleum Spray Grip. When I first saw it, I thought it was a dorky idea, but my son tried it first, and he was a believer, so I got some for myself. The only downside is that you might need to buy more paint, because this thing makes painting a breeze, so you’ll end up doing more projects!

After I painted my rusty plant stands with Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer  and then a protective coat of black paint, I gave them some patina right out of a jar: Fusion Glaze.  This look isn’t for everyone, but if you like watching the folks on HGTV use “vintage” items in their decorating, you just might like adding some antiquing to your projects.

 

Sep 13 2017

Irma’s aftermath

crashed Athens carI’ve been picking up limbs—wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load of sticks. Some of the sticks were dead limbs, with no leaves attached, and some of the limbs have some greenery still clinging to them. All of these limbs were torn down by the 45+ miles per hour gusts associated with Tropical Storm Irma. And, as I lost electricity for just over an hour, and phone and internet for just over a day, I was darned lucky.

Nearby towns seemed to have it worse, and I’m not sure why, other than the population density is greater in some areas, so there is more infrastructure to break. Of course, as a whole, northern Georgia, which I call home, got out lightly, because we were where folks from the coast evacuated “to” rather than “from.”

I usually have some emergency supplies on hand, including freeze dried meals such as Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy and Mountain House Noodles & Chicken, but I didn’t need any of them. Still, as a country bred woman, I do keep plenty of emergency supplies on hand, including lots of AmazonBasics AA Performance Alkaline Batteries along with my small radio, flashlights, and so forth. I charged up my 2 in1 Lipstick powerbank LED Flashlight too, but with only an hour of outage before the nice folks at Jackson Electric got things working again, I didn’t actually use it. Getting prepared for the storm, for me at least, simply meant a quick trip to the grocery store to be sure we had survival items such as pre-cooked popcorn (yum!) and some bread for the peanut butter I generally have on hand.

Wherever you are, I hope you are doing well. I’ll write some more soon, but there are still some limbs to add to my growing burn pile.

Aug 3 2017

WIP— more of Ride to Eat

Helen to BlairsvilleAlthough I haven’t gotten any comments, I did get a bit of traffic based on my previous WIP post, so I have just added a portion of Part I, which is an overview of what hubby and I take with us when touring on our bikes. I’ve added a few links to products, including luggage and gadgets, and I also included links to two of my favorite websites: TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com. As of this post, the manuscript (which really is a WIP) for Ride to Eat: Northeastern Georgia is just under 7,000 words. A problem I am having is how to legally insert maps into the manuscript. (The one I’ve used for this post is an example of what I am working with currently, but I’m not too happy with it.) If any readers know of a website or app to generate maps, especially with the opportunity to highlight roadways, I’d really like your input.

Product links are to Amazon, as I am a Prime member, so lots of items have “free” and very quick shipping. Check it out: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial