Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry for she of the Evil Eye will be here bright and early and for the first time in many days I will have to go out and breakfast and do errands and whatnot because I, BK, have decided to rejoin the human race like Dolly Gallagher Levi. That was a many-layered sentence. And love is a many-splendored thing. So, to get right into it, I had eight hours of sleep, got up, had to answer e-mails, including several back and forths to get yesterday’s task right. That took a bit of time and then I ordered some fettucine with a meatball and pink sauce. It arrived pretty quickly, and I ate it all up and it was very good. Food in starting to taste better to me. Once I was done with lunch I thankfully had no more tasks so I sat on my couch like so much fish and watched the last five episodes of the Shooter series. I was along for the ride for the first three episodes, the next two were okay, but then in episode six they jumped the shark by doing that let’s start with the hero in trouble and put “Twenty hours earlier.” That is just so yesterday’s mashed potatoes and Alias, which was, I believe, the first show to ever do that. There were several more sharks jumped throughout the rest of it. It was fine and there are two more seasons based on the next two books in the Bob Lee Swagger series, but I’m not sure I’ll watch those. The acting, with a couple of major exceptions, is fine, the writing is much less than fine, and the director obviously has studied every moviemaking cliché known to man – at least from the year 1990 on. Thankfully, we only get the obligatory drone shot of trees twice – once in episode one, and one in episode ten. It’s all shakycam but done in such a way that it makes it seem like someone is lurking. But no one is ever lurking, just the camera for no reason whatsoever. The real problem, however, is they use the movie script as their template, which is a shame because the novel on which movie and series one is based, Stephen Hunter’s Point of Impact, is pretty great. I read it when it came out in 1993 and loved it. I thought back then that it would make a great movie. But Mark Wahlberg is not really the Bob Lee Swagger that Hunter wrote – in the book the character is older and that works better. And of course, both movie and series take place in the present, which is a bit different than when 1993 was the present. In the book, Bobby Lee Swagger is single – in movie and series he’s married with a young daughter. It’s all cliché all the time, whereas the book is not cliched. It’s not terrible and I stuck with it so if you enjoy political thrillers, you might enjoy it.
That took most of the day and evening. I sent the book files to the designer, and then I shaved and showered and just tried to relax. I felt a bit better and only had one minor coughing jag that didn’t last long. I didn’t talk all day or evening. My voice is still raspy and hoarse and I’m really hoping that goes away in the next couple of days – if not, I’ll probably get a prescription for prednisone, which will help.
Today, I’ll be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty. I’ll go somewhere that’s not crowded for breakfast, then I have a few errands to run – mail place, more Ricola, and a few other items I’m low on. I’ll come right home at eleven-thirty and rest for the rest of the day and do whatever needs doing. I’ll start thinking about a show order, and I want to get the commentary done sooner than later. As soon as my voice is a bit stronger, I’ll call my gal at the publisher and get everything in the works for the new book. Then I can watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the weeks I’ll lay low and rest my voice and try to stop with the NyQuil and will try the Flonase for allergies rather than more Claritin-D.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eight and out the door by eight-thirty, eat, do errands and whatnot, come home, rest my voice, think about a show order, start the commentary, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Of all the shows you’ve binge watched, which were your favorites? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, kind of happy to be going out and about for three hours. It’s been a while.