As I am behind, there will not be a summary this week. Please go back and read my previous entries, and let me know if you need any clarifications or new sass.
Between the Bookends
Latest Book – I just finished listening to Daisy Jones and The Six. More like Daisy Jones and the 6,000. That is how long it took me to get through it. I loved the concept of fictionalizing the trials and tribulations of a rock band (loosely) based on Fleetwood Mac, and I also liked how it had a documentary feel through multiple narrators being “interviewed” for a retrospective. Okay.
Billy Dunn and Daisy Jones are ostensibly Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and Taylor Jenkins Reid tries to fill in the gaps of their volatile relationship and the recording of Rumours. Sounds great, and I enjoyed many of the voice actors especially Pablo Schreiber as Billy Dunn. It just never came out of neutral. Jenkins Reid tries to imbue some life philosophy and there is a nice but cursory twist at the end, but this is where the book fails. It comes off a bit preachy and the description of the events seems, as expected to lack the gritty realism of actually living it. C+
I tried to watch the Amazon series based on the novel, but it was also sluggish and a bit flat. I did not get past episode 3. If it got better, I would not know. Hard pass. Bring on The Boys.
Classic Choice – Please give Homer a go. I am as bored with parts of The Odyssey and The Iliad, and I taught the Odyssey for many years. The modern adventure novel was based off these epic poems. They are filled with intrigue, betrayal, violence, and desire. Yes, Achilles and Odysseus are heroes from another time, but they are also prideful, arrogant, a-holes. Therefore, they are not to be looked at as models for contemporary life or acts of modern heroism. Each of the books has lessons that can be gleaned that still apply to current situations, and they both provide a basis for understanding the Western Cultural Tradition while providing sufficient rigor. There are so many names. Hint: Only read the “adventure” books in The Odyssey and the last few books. Books are what these tomes call chapters.
MOVIES
P’s Pic Pass – Once again, I have not had much time to watch movies. I had every intention of watching John Wick 4, but then saw the run time… and ran. I did have the opportunity to see a classic I used to like. No Escape with Ray Liotta. Ray was hot, and he wanted to play an action hero. The problem is he is not built like an action hero.
The premise is much like a much better film, Escape from New York where prisoners are sent to an island. Not New York. Tropical. I think they filmed it in New Zealand. There are savage gangs led by a scenery chewing Marik (Stuart Wilson) and a civilized community led by The Father (Lance Henriksen). Nothing new here and the ending is completely anti-climactic. Ironically, they wanted Kurt Russell for the role of Robbins (Liotta) but he wisely passed to play Snake Plissken in Escape. Watch that or The Road Warrior, instead.
MUSIC
P’s. Choice Cut
I know this one is a bit dated, but I only recently discovered the artist and the song (Thanks Dancer and/or Choogs) This song has a pulsing rhythm, an intelligent lyric and has an anthemic quality without stagnating on a brash, repetitive chorus. The song is Play God, by Sam Fender (2017). Picture Ed Sheeran melded with Bruce Springsteen. If the subject matter did not blend church and state, I would have had my team come out to this or at least warm up to it. “He will. Play God.”
P’s. Classic Choice Cut
Hold onto your seats because our new car came with three months of free Sirius XM Radio. I have already tapped into 80’s on 8, Hair Nation, and Yacht Rock Radio. These were some that I had some experience with, but it has also opened up Pandora’s box on classic choice cuts. Maybe, I will spend an entire blog on classic cuts, but I am sticking with my choice from last week.
Rainbow in the Dark, Dio (1983)
Okay. Metal. Ugh, I can’t listen to metal. Well, this song is metal light -heavy with keyboards, but rife with the signature growl of the diminutive Ronnie James Dio, one of the best frontman in rock. Forget the lyrics. Like most 80’s metal, the lyrics were just a thread for the musicianship of the band. Note: I Am a VIking, by Yngwie Malmsteen. The musicians on this cut are Jimmy Bain on bass /keyboards; Vinny Appice on drums, and Vivian Campbell on guitar. Yes, the same Vivian Campbell who paired with Adrian Vandenberg in Vandeberg and currently with Phil Collen in Def Leppard. Roll the windows down, and turn up the volume.
TRAVEL
Easy one this week. Niagara Falls. I know, schmaltzy honeymoon spot. I disagree. I had the pleasure of spending three days on the American side, and found it remarkable. We road the Maid of the Mist, and that was wonderful, but the coolest aspect was when I paused on the bridge between two countries and looked out over the vastness of the gorge and the power of the water. Something close to 700,000 gallons of water fall over Horseshoe Falls every second. That is quite the shower. Another scary aspect is the signs that appear right before the Falls. Class 6 rapids. Unsurvivable. Puts a bit more doubt on the barrel riders. Pulsing water, history, casinos, and poutine. Go anytime, except for your honeymoon.
Love and laughter,
P.