Just because it’s spring doesn’t mean winter is over yet. Today the temperature has dropped over 25° from what it was this morning as a cold front sweeps through. We might also get ½” of rain or more in the process. By tomorrow morning it’s supposed to be in the mid-forties. Imagine that. I might have to turn the heat back on.
I got a very cool acceptance letter this morning, but I can’t talk about it for another couple of months. That sorta sucks, but I’m really excited about this one. I haven’t had a story acceptance for a while, mostly because I don’t have many stories out there at the moment. I’ve been busy doing other stuff and I’ve let my submissions slide. I’ll rectify that this month, I hope.
I started reviewing the page proofs for another project that I can’t talk about yet. Should get that done tomorrow. I keep promising myself I’m going to get back to that novel any day now, but something else always seems to come up. I have, in fact, turned down at least one request to do something lately, so maybe there’s a chance.
I did get back to The Casual Vacancy again, finally. I started it last year and put it aside and other books kept coming along and insisting that they be read first. Seriously. That happens. I’m about halfway through and I was able to pick up and go on without feeling lost, so that’s a good thing. I’m trying to figure out what the book reminds me of. It’s not The Stepford Wives or Peyton Place, and not Our Town, but something in that neighborhood.
I was able to watch a few TV shows from the DVR on my iPad while I was in Tokyo through the magic of modern technology. I saw The Amazing Race, CSI and Survivor. The rest had to wait until my return. Survivor was a real surprise. I think Cochrane’s got it going on this season. The way he handled that food challenge was astonishing. Given that I was slightly outside my comfort zone with respect to food at the time, I sympathized a bit. Too bad the episode was titled “Blindside,” as that gave away some of the surprise, but it was still fun to see Corrine get taken out that way.
The first thing I watched after I got back was the Justified finale, which was just fine and dandy. I was surprised by how quickly they resolved the Winona-in-jeopardy situation, but it was a rockin’ scene with Winona getting in a good shot in the process. Both Raylan and Winona had the chance to reiterate their love for each other, though in neither case did the circumstances allow them to explore that. Raylan’s not exactly sure what to make of Boyd’s love for Ava, either, but Boyd gets a few good shots in at Raylan, too. Except for his one scene with Ava, I liked Nicky Augustine, but I guess he had to go, and he was eliminated in a way that kept Raylan from raising Art’s hackles and without him breaking any laws, technically. He was suspended, after all. The body swap was an idea destined to go bad from the git go. Bringing it back to the bar was the first bad decision, but Ava flitting off to dispose of it herself? What a mess. Hard to figure how Boyd’s going to keep his promise to her. He’s a sad man right now. Sure, he’s got Wynn Duffy offering him the moon and the stars, but the dream house is going to be empty for quite some time. I figure the Clover Hill gang is going to feel some of Boyd’s rage, along with the new candidate for sheriff. Seeing Arlo’s grave at the end was a nice touch.
I can’t say I was as happy with the season finale of The Walking Dead. There was all this build-up for a big confrontation between the governor’s group and the prison folks, and it hardly happened at all. At first I thought Rick and crew had lit out for the territories before the bad guys got there, but, no, it was all an ambush that did very little, in the final analysis. The governor is apparently bulletproof—shots never even get close to him. His meltdown felt wrong, unmotivated. I was hoping that one of his surviving men would frag him, to be honest. Carl’s sociopathic tendencies are showing. I regret the loss of Winston, who was one of the most interesting characters on the show, and I’ll miss Audrey. I had a soft spot for her because I got to eat lunch next to Laurie Holden in the commissary on the set of The Mist a few years back. It’s hard to imagine how dynamic next season is going to be with all those new people in the prison, mostly young and elderly. Saddling them with a baby was bad enough.
In the world of creepy kids, the one on Law & Order: SVU last week is near the top of the list. He was chilling. Dead eyes. Yeeesh.
I’m not a big fan of the Doctor’s long-winded tirades on Doctor Who. Mostly I find them tedious and overblown, especially when they’re delivered toward a creature who probably can’t even hear them. And shame on him for making Clara give up her ring rather than his sonic screwdriver. I loved the little girl who played the Queen of Years—she was great. I’m also liking Clara a lot as a companion. The 21st century episodes have been less about the Doctor (except when he’s alone) than about the companions’ reactions to being with him. The older series didn’t have that sense of wonder and delight in the companions. After all, they’re being offered these wonderful adventures. It’s been that way since Rose forward, and I like it. It’s only by sharing in that delight that the Doctor himself gets to live.
Mad Men is back, jumping ahead several months to the end of 1967, although it feels like it’s later. The two hour launch was existential as Don contemplated his lot in life, as per usual. Watching his doorman die right in front of him (even though he was subsequently resuscitated) knocked him off axis. Though the other people in his ad agency claimed that they didn’t see the suicide interpretation in the ad he came up with after his trip to Hawaii, it seemed pretty plain to me. I liked the notion that he accidentally swapped lighters with the Army guy who asked him to give away his fiance. That’s not the first time Don’s done a swap with someone in the military. I have a sinking suspicion he’s going to be told that the guy didn’t make it back from Vietnam.
I have no idea what to make of the Betty story as she slummed around in a flophouse trying to find a 15-year-old runaway. Things are looking up for Peggy, though I wonder when she and Don will cross paths again and under what circumstances. Tell you what, though. They could have an extra 15-30 seconds each week by giving up the “next week on Mad Men” segment because they’re nothing more than a string of out-of-context lines chosen to deliberately reveal nothing whatsoever. Also, you’d think that the companies advertising during Mad Men would feel pressured to bring their A game to the spots they run, but apparently not. Some of them are wretched.
