Under pressure

One thing I’ll say about Eureka. The writers know how to take a metaphor and beat it to death. This week’s episode was about “pressure.” Academic pressure, wedding pressure, pressure to make diamonds, job pressure. Still, it’s a cute show. Mostly harmless, as Douglas Adams would say.

Last night I finished and posted my review of Leather Maiden by Joe R. Lansdale.

Then I watched Big Brother. They did a good job of misleading viewers, making it seem like the tide had turned against Keesha instead of Libra. When it came down to the wire, though, it was another unanimous decision, which has been the trend this year (except for last week). And the power shifts again, with Rennie winning HoH. Boy, did April ever give her a dirty look when she elected to knock her out of the competition in the first round. Dan continues to fly beneath the radar for the most part. I liked his response to Jerry during the live interviews.

I finished Red Dragon this morning. I had forgotten how the book ended. Now I appreciate Poppy’s comments yesterday about the necessity of seeing Dolarhyde’s back story so that when he makes some crucial decisions late in the book (albeit for a variety of reasons, not all of which are on the surface) it makes sense and makes him seem more sympathetic. I love the way Harris handles the ending, after the return to Marathon. It’s the classic “monster movie” trope of the dead rising from the ashes, but Harris is a true magician, making us pay attention to Graham’s angst and the fact that things aren’t okay at home to catch us off guard. It feels like denouement, and it isn’t.