Holidays are finally over and I’m dealing with the back end of a mean little virus (COVID/FLU/Cold? does it matter really? I dunno). Annoyingly, this is the third time I’ve been virused since August. I’ve been lucky enough to have not been sick during the pandemic so I guess I was due. Maybe I need to revisit my hand washing protocols….
Anyway on the mend now and it’s time to clean the shed and give myself a fresh slate to look at what I’ve done this year and start thinking about 2024.
Reads:
- Finally finished the “God of Endings” By Jacquline Holland. Very good book about a Vampire contemplating immortality and looking at her life and its meaning. Ironically, the ending isn’t that great.
- “Essex Dogs”, Dan Jones. I read a medieval history by Jones last year (“Powers and Thrones”) and it was really good. So when I saw this getting good reviews I grabbed it from the library (no wait!). It’s a novel about the Hundred Years war I saw described as Tarantino-esque which intrigued me. And book two comes out in January, so, if I like it I don’t have to wait long for the next installment.
- “Okinawa”, Susumu Higa – graphic novel about the history of the island, its occupation by the Japanese army, the bloody battles with the Americans and the aftermath.
Movies: Three great movies over the past couple days – caught one before I got sick, one on Christmas Eve as I was getting sick, and then another little gem while stuck in bed on Tuesday.
- Godzilla minus 1 – Excellent monster movie. Maybe the best Godzilla movie ever made. The Japanese bring Godzilla back to his roots: he’s not your friend. He’s not an environmentalist summoned by greenpeace to combat the evils of pollution. No. He is complete catastrophe. Mother nature at her worst, most destructive, most indifferent. Lots of damage. Lots of fun. Even a little scary.
- The Wizard of Oz (Max) – Marcus suggested we watch this as a family on Christmas Eve and it was great. It’s been a while since I watched this and it was really nice to see again. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is an amazing song. Lovely.
- Wind River (Netflix) Great police movie about a grisly murder on an Arapahoe reservation in Wyoming.
