Category: Uncategorized

Currently Read or Heard or Viewed, and Recommended

A few people have asked recently, so here goes …

the-queen-of-the-tambourineAfter finishing the Filth trilogy, we read more of Jane Gardam, this time The Queen of the Tambourine (said to have won the Whitbread Prize for Novel of the Year).  Will probably seek out more Jane Gardam in the future; she’s written a ton of stuff.

orphan_masters_sonKim is reading The Orphan Master’s Son, and I am awaiting a version on Kindle.

gloria_steinem_my-life-on-the-roadAt the moment I am off to a good start on Gloria Steinem’s My Life On The Road.  Found both its Prelude and Introduction highly enjoyable.

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A special treat is to go to the local library every few days and just browse and loiter.  As there’s only time to read on an occasional basis — what with the news and commentary online at NYT, Quartz, Politico, etc. sites, and not to mention email and other stuff from the Outer Interwebz — sometimes we have to relax the eyes and just listen.  Our noontime favorite is probably Terry Gross’ Fresh Air and then there is always Kai Ryssdal’s Marketplace podcast as an evening prelude to evening news.

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On another note, the Roku is malfunctioning and we are recently also having trouble getting a decent digital TV signal over our antenna.  As a result, we have basically abandoned the TV device itself.  Instead, we are watching Netflix and Amazon and PBS on YouTube via the largest computer screens in the house.  Maybe we don’t need the TV set itself at all.  Recent recommends would be the latest season of the outrageous crime-solving abilities of Idris Elba’s character in Luther (Netflix) and Tig Notaro’s dark humor in One Mississippi (Amazon).  And we are in the middle of Chef’s Table: France, having gone through the original Chef’s Table series on Netflix earlier this year.  Also taking a look at The Kettering Incident, a BBC thing set in Tasmania, highly visual, somewhat overwrought, slightly reminiscent of Twin Peaks.

rDay Five-Hundred-Thirty: Labor Day

Today, Labor Day, saw our morning mostly given over to rest and relaxation and reading, both aloud and silently of the previously-discussed works of Jane Gardam and Sarah Bakewell.  And more of The Ascent of Woman in the evening. The afternoon and early evening were a bit more eventful …

The Matter of the Deer

Of more pressing concern than cougar presence would be the activity of the marauding herds of deer that seems to greatly increase starting about this time of year. If you walk around the neighborhood, you will easily see several of the creatures, almost on any block, grazing in front and back yards, resting by the sidewalks and under trees and even crossing well-trafficked streets. There are almost as many deer on each residential street as there are Subarus.

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In  the past couple of years, Kim has found a novel way to impede this insurgency and ward off the deers’ goat-like behavior of eating all foliage in sight. Her method has been to attach strips of reflective foil at the top of fencing, apparently scaring off the animals as the strips flap in the breeze and bounce flashes of light about. However, because the solution is not particularly durable, Kim is experimenting with the use of old CDs, hanging in pairs with their reflective sides out. So this Labor Day we started outfitting the front gate, and will soon follow with the backyard gate and the adjoining un-hedged strip of fence. And Kim has now secured the west gate that they have been pushing aside to enter alongside that end of the house.

Charles the Invincible

Picture this: Our afternoon/early evening dog walk often finds us on the grounds of the nearby high and elementary schools. The upsloping terrain presents a soccer and sports practice field, a full-sized track and a football practice field with adjacent playground, all contiguous but on different elevations. I generally am doing laps around the central track, while Kim and Charlie run throughout the rest of the area. This is a popular dog venue, and Kim often has to exert some discipline to keep Charlie from inappropriate encounters. On one of my laps, I suddenly saw Charlie bolt at extreme velocity up over the rise from the field below the track, then lost sight of him, then he reappeared again in a blaze of speed, being hotly pursued by a trio consisting of a Lab, a German Shepherd and a slightly smaller unidentified breed. Kim later told me that she witnessed the entire spectacle and saw Charlie outrun his pursuers, despite having legs of about half their length. And when they gave up, Charlie turned and gave chase to them, but their owners soon took custody of the beasts and Charlie returned to the company of his mistress. Some time I must get some video of Charlie at speed; it is something to behold.  Especially in contrast to his Shade-Dog alter-ego.
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Epilogue

For the customary late afternoon stroll, we walked about the neighborhood, exploring some seldom-seen alleys and back streets and trying to keep The Charles out of trouble.