As I recall, “Potpourri” was the title for categories on Jeopardy! that had no theme. Make of that what you will.
I’ve been struggling with a short story. It’s a tad on the experimental side, and I’m probably forcing it. I have no idea where I’m going with it. Problem is, the deadline for the anthology is the end of the month and I’m going to be AFK for the last week of the month, so if I don’t get this thing done in the next few days, it’s not going to get done. Not for that market, anyway.
The other problem is that an idea for a different anthology came along and is pushing its way to the head of the line. I see a lot more of this story than I do of the other, but it’s not due for months. I guess you can’t force these things.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. I finished Darker Than Amber by John D. MacDonald and then I churned through The Prophet by Michael Koryta in a couple of days. How have I not read anything of his before? What a great crime novel. In a way it reminded me of Mystic River, but not for any tangible reason. It also has a lot of football. Now I’m reading Sycamore Row by John Grisham, the sequel to A Time to Kill, which takes place three years after the trial in Ford County and opens with the suicide of a terminally ill rich recluse.
I posted reviews of Police by Jo Nesbø and The Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson.
I finished watching the Swedish series Beck recently. I’m not sure if there are plans for any more of these 90-minute films. The last ones were from 2009, but having long gaps between series wasn’t unusual. Though Martin Beck is the main character, the leader of the homicide division, the most interesting character is his second-in-command, a guy named Gunvald, who doesn’t mind using his fists or his gun. At times he reminds me of Christopher Walken, but they do a lot to develop his character over the two-dozen or so films. For comedy relief, Beck has a next door neighbor who is a hoot. The things that come out of his mouth are so random and existential.
Speaking of Christopher Walken, the guy who plays Robert Kirkland on The Mentalist looks like he’s trying very hard to channel Walken. I wonder what happens to the series after Red John is revealed. It’s sort of like Moonlighting after Addison and Hayes got together. On the other hand, Castle is doing well enough with the two main characters headed for the aisle. I thought for the briefest of moments that Deschile was going to turn out to be Pi this week. Glad to see him gone off the couch, though.
We started watching House of Cards this weekend. Two episodes in. All that wheeling and dealing. I watched the BBC version many, many years ago and remember enjoying it. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.
The Walking Dead is pretty lame so far this season. Turns out all those new characters were redshirts and now they’re dropping like flies, killing each other or being killed by the A Team. I was especially frustrated by the way Carol treated those kids after their father died. It’s like she’s going a tad psycho.
