I guess winter isn’t leaving any time soon. We had our first rainfall of any significance yesterday, but I doubt it was enough to put an end to the drought we’ve been in for all of 2009.
The NY Times posted a live update of London betting odds during the course of the Super Bowl yesterday. Pittsburgh started out at 3:1 odds, more or less, and remained mostly at or above that level for most of the game. Then, all of a sudden, the two parallel lines crossed and exchanged places when Arizona took the lead late in the game. From that point on it was fun watching the odds re-converge and swap places again as Pittsburgh gained field position and ultimately scored. It was an exciting game. I’ve read some complaints about poor officiating, but there are so many nuances of the game that I simply don’t understand (what kinds of hits and tackles are allowed on who and when, for example) that I couldn’t say whether that was true or not.
As I watched the game, I also wrote and posted my review of They Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston.
I did a season two marathon of the UK edition of Life on Mars this weekend. The creators (along with some prodding from John Simm, who thought he had done as much with the character of Sam as possible) chose to bring the series to a conclusion after year two, which allowed them to build toward a very satisfying finale, in much the way the creators of Lost are doing now. I don’t know what the US producers are planning, but I think it was a smart move. Obviously, it’s possible to string a “trying to get back home” plot along for years, but every now and then there has to be a payoff for the viewers. This one was handled very cleverly, with some jaw-dropping revelations and astonishing plot developments.
I liked the fact that the UK series could get very gritty. There was some nudity and plenty of coarse language, which fit well with the tone of the series. Next up, I’m going to try out a few episodes of Ashes to Ashes, the UK sequel that concentrates on the Gene Hunt character. I’ve heard that it’s not as good as Mars, but I’m willing to give it a shot.
I crossed the 30k word threshhold on the manuscript this morning. I’m going to write a few more sidebars and then call it a day on the first draft. I’ll print the whole thing out and then start the task of proofreading and revising it. The final draft isn’t due until the end of the month, so I have some time to get it in order.
