Apparently last Friday’s “winter storm” was nothing compared to what we’re supposed to get tomorrow. It was over 70° yesterday, in the sixties today and tomorrow we’re supposed to get 2-4″ of snow. Friday’s storm shut down a lot of Houston because of ice on the overpasses and bridges, but there was no accumulation on the ground elsewhere, which meant I was able to drive around the community without problem. Tomorrow might be a different story. We have had snow a couple of times during my 25 years in Texas, but it is a rare thing. School districts are already cancelling classes for tomorrow. And it’s still 60° out.
I read Megan Abbott’s next book, The Fever, this weekend. It was inspired by a real story about a bunch of teenagers who all came down with a mysterious set of ailments. It’s a fairly brief novel, one that I might almost describe as a mystery. The main characters are the father, son and daughter from one family: the father is a teacher at the school where his kids are students. Another fine book, her follow up to Dare Me. I have a full review written, but the book isn’t out until June, so I’ll hold it back for a while.
I finished the first draft of the new short story. Came in at 4000 words. Sent it off to a friend to peruse while I revise it. Surprisingly, the second draft is also 4000 words. I changed a few things around and tightened up the language some, but I didn’t cut my usual 10%, and I’m not sure why that is.
We watched Captain Phillips this weekend. I already knew quite a bit about the movie, but I was still surprised by how much of it takes place in the escape pod. It’s an adrenaline rush, very chaotic at times. I thought that it would inspire more sympathy for Muse, the Somali pirate, but other than an introductory scene where we see how he and his people are gang-pressed into action, and a few bits of commentary, I didn’t really feel all that bad to him. It takes more than a character saying he had few choices for me to believe that to be the case. Maybe it’s true, but I didn’t get that necessarily from the film.
Having finished Pole to Pole, we’re now going Full Circle with Michael Palin as he embarks on a year-long trip to the countries the border the Pacific. Quite an undertaking.
Episode 3 of True Detective continues a strong story. Just when I had assigned Woody Harrelson’s character the role of the better adjusted of the duo, he goes off the deep end with his girlfriend, so he has his dark side, too. The juxtaposition of him threatening her date while in the present he talked about how having a family gave his life balance was well done. And then there was the bit about “don’t you mow my lawn. I enjoy mowing my lawn.” Okay, so maybe that was a little bit of a euphemism? And we enter Twin Peaks territory at the end with the guy in the gas mask. What? At least he wasn’t carrying a log.
Okay, so I’m a bit out of it when it comes to the latest in music. I know who Lorde is, and Robin Thicke, and even Pharrell Williams, up to a point. I’ve heard of Daft Punk but I had no idea they were Boba Fett’s long lost cousins. Why is it that Lady Gaga gets grief for her weird get-ups and these guys, not so much. Hardly anyone blinked an eye. I think we writers are missing out on a good gig: wearing eccentric getups. Imagine the street cred John Grisham would get if he wore a Darth Vader helmet to book signings. Ringo’s performance was fun. I hadn’t heard the new Paul McCartney song, which sounds a lot like other recent McCartney songs. Hadn’t heard of Kacey Musgraves before, even though she’s from the neck of the woods, but I couldn’t help but think that, boy, the themes allowed in country music sure have changed (and for the better). I think someone slipped quaaludes into the Highwaymen’s drinks, but there were some good performances. Watching the Grammy’s is like a refresher course in what’s going on in music these days that I’m somewhat oblivious to.
So how many times did Sheriff Hood take a beating this week in Banshee? At least two, maybe three. The trouble with taking on someone else’s identity is that someone from the other person’s past might show up. And the problem with assuming the identity of a sheriff is that occasionally you have to try to solve crimes, which puts you up against some bad people, the kind that tasers don’t knock down. It’s such a ridiculously over-the-top show, but I like it.
