Without normal broadcast TV, I didn't get all of the convention coverage. But it's surprising what you can get live on the computer, so I watched some of that. On Wednesday night I had a comp night in a new room at the hotel where I work, so I was lucky to watch Joe Biden and President Obama speak. Their speeches were, to me, excellent. The next evening I watched Hillary Clinton's speech via the computer and it was equally as good. Bill's was a little creepy, do we really care how he picked up his wife? No. And Chelsea, well, whatever.
If you are a Hillary supporter and if you don't mind parody, check this out. https://medium.com/@shitHRCcantsay/let-me-remind-you-fuckers-who-i-am-e6e8b297fe47#.9fullvt50
It's rather amusing. And if you are planning on voting Republican I would urge you to stay at home on election day, it will be cold and rainy and you might catch your death of cold. If you are unsure about voting for Hillary, I implore you to just vote for her. You don't need to like her, but vote for her so we can get one more liberal Supreme Court Justice on the bench to protect rights that will be in jeopardy if a Republican wins the race. Everyone's rights are at stake. Just vote. Please. Vote for the future, vote for that judge who will sit for 20+ years and watch out for women, children, people of color and ethnicity, gay people, special needs people, the disenfranchised, the elderly, the poor. Vote to uphold a tiny part of Obama's legacy. Just vote.
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Sunday, July 31, 2016
"Fastball" documentary streaming on Netflix
If you like baseball, you will like the documentary "Fastball" that is currently streaming on Netflix. If you love baseball, you will like it even more. Great pitchers, great pitching stats, nice footage. There were stories about pitchers I knew like Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan but lots that I didn't know. The directness of the fastball, the speed of the pitch, the way it seems to float upwards as gets near the plate, all are discussed.
It's a great way to spend 90 minutes. Narrated by Kevin Costner, I promise you will learn a lot about pitching, about the game, about the fastball.
Check it out.
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It's a great way to spend 90 minutes. Narrated by Kevin Costner, I promise you will learn a lot about pitching, about the game, about the fastball.
Check it out.
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Saturday, July 30, 2016
And a book review: "The Girls" by Emma Cline
Hot new book of the summer. Don't bother buying it. If you can get it free at the library, it's an OK read.
It's Cline's first novel, although she did win some award for something else she wrote at some other time. But because it's her first novel, she relies on narrative cliches a little too often. "Now he had hard edges, the creep of tattoos under his shirt. He didn't remember me and why should he? I was a woman outside his range of erotic attentions." But Cline leaves those behind at times and can now and then write with great force. "Even possessing that small amount of money tindered an obsessive need in me, a desire to see how much I was worth. The equation excited me."
The story follows a young girl who tries to run away from home, hooks up with some vagabond "tribe" but never really fits in. Modeled after the Charles Manson group in the 1960's, the reader knows from the beginning that something terrible will happen. But the fact of that makes the book almost boring until you get to the Big Thing That Happens. Who really cares about the little lost and sometimes stupid girl when the Killing is waiting around the corner?
I guess it's just me, but I got tired of her sad whines about not fitting in and then her stark realizations that she, too, could have been one of the killers if the group just liked her better. Wow. Too bad on that one!
It's a quick read but I am not sure I would bother. We all know the Charles Manson stuff, we all know about runaway girls. There's nothing here that makes the reader feel good and there are really no likable characters. The narrator tells the story thirty-some years after the killing, so she is not a young girl any longer, but she is still a bit whiny and lost and sad. We can all be whiny and lost and sad but buck up. Get over yourself and get on with it. Get a real job. Get over the fact you once belonged to a creepy, sadistic cult.
Get some therapy and change your life.
OK, harsh? Probably. But hey, it's my review.....
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It's Cline's first novel, although she did win some award for something else she wrote at some other time. But because it's her first novel, she relies on narrative cliches a little too often. "Now he had hard edges, the creep of tattoos under his shirt. He didn't remember me and why should he? I was a woman outside his range of erotic attentions." But Cline leaves those behind at times and can now and then write with great force. "Even possessing that small amount of money tindered an obsessive need in me, a desire to see how much I was worth. The equation excited me."
The story follows a young girl who tries to run away from home, hooks up with some vagabond "tribe" but never really fits in. Modeled after the Charles Manson group in the 1960's, the reader knows from the beginning that something terrible will happen. But the fact of that makes the book almost boring until you get to the Big Thing That Happens. Who really cares about the little lost and sometimes stupid girl when the Killing is waiting around the corner?
I guess it's just me, but I got tired of her sad whines about not fitting in and then her stark realizations that she, too, could have been one of the killers if the group just liked her better. Wow. Too bad on that one!
It's a quick read but I am not sure I would bother. We all know the Charles Manson stuff, we all know about runaway girls. There's nothing here that makes the reader feel good and there are really no likable characters. The narrator tells the story thirty-some years after the killing, so she is not a young girl any longer, but she is still a bit whiny and lost and sad. We can all be whiny and lost and sad but buck up. Get over yourself and get on with it. Get a real job. Get over the fact you once belonged to a creepy, sadistic cult.
Get some therapy and change your life.
OK, harsh? Probably. But hey, it's my review.....
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Life like a pair of pants on a coat hanger
That's kinda how I feel right now. Yes, I got the new place to live. Sort of. I paid a month's rent deposit, was stupid to not get a receipt but the guy I dealt with was so ... nice and seemingly honest. Ten days go by, the check is cashed and I have nothing in writing. After firing off a very clear and direct email and phone call and text message, I finally got a call from the owner. He said the rental agreement would be mailed to me the next day. That was Wednesday night. I still don't have it.
Am I dismayed? Yes, a bit. Do I think it's legit? Yes, a bit. Do I feel like pants on a hanger, waiting around to see if I will be used poorly or used appropriately? Yes, a bit. My friend Margaret, upon my request, scoped out the office site of the supposed owner and she reported back that it looked legit. If the papers don't come in the mail on Monday, I am showing up at that door and confronting the situation in person.
Sigh. I do feel like this will all work out but yet I am a bit trepidatious. I will know more soon.
Am I dismayed? Yes, a bit. Do I think it's legit? Yes, a bit. Do I feel like pants on a hanger, waiting around to see if I will be used poorly or used appropriately? Yes, a bit. My friend Margaret, upon my request, scoped out the office site of the supposed owner and she reported back that it looked legit. If the papers don't come in the mail on Monday, I am showing up at that door and confronting the situation in person.
Sigh. I do feel like this will all work out but yet I am a bit trepidatious. I will know more soon.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Janis Joplin documentary
The title is "Janis: Little Girl Blue" and it is streaming on Netflix. A sincere and honest look at her life. Good music, of course, and a look at an iconic blues singer who died so young. What she would have become had she lived....
Check it out if you can. It's moving and insightful.
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Check it out if you can. It's moving and insightful.
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A couple of things
First, a few days ago I asked you all to put that positive energy thing out there for me finding a new place to live. Some of you must have because I got the new place to live. So THANK YOU whoever you are. Thank you.
Second, the small hotel I work for, Olea Hotel, won Sunset Magazine's Award for Best Hotel in Wine Country. We were up against huge places like the Fairmont. The biggest reason the hotel won the award, apart from the beautiful grounds and great rooms, is because of the front desk staff. It felt good to be validated that way, oddly, especially since I don't put a lot of stock in awards. Check out our reviews on Tripadvisor and you can see the Sunset blurb here: http://www.sunset.com/travel/2016-travel-awards-winners/best-wine-country-hotel-olea-hotel-glen-ellen-ca
Third, and not important, on Friday I am driving to San Rafael to meet men (my son's age) to see a SR Pacifics game and on Monday I am driving to SF to see a SF GIANTS game and how cool is that? Baseball, bookending a weekend.
LTBT. Happy, yes, I am.
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Second, the small hotel I work for, Olea Hotel, won Sunset Magazine's Award for Best Hotel in Wine Country. We were up against huge places like the Fairmont. The biggest reason the hotel won the award, apart from the beautiful grounds and great rooms, is because of the front desk staff. It felt good to be validated that way, oddly, especially since I don't put a lot of stock in awards. Check out our reviews on Tripadvisor and you can see the Sunset blurb here: http://www.sunset.com/travel/2016-travel-awards-winners/best-wine-country-hotel-olea-hotel-glen-ellen-ca
Third, and not important, on Friday I am driving to San Rafael to meet men (my son's age) to see a SR Pacifics game and on Monday I am driving to SF to see a SF GIANTS game and how cool is that? Baseball, bookending a weekend.
LTBT. Happy, yes, I am.
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Wednesday, July 20, 2016
YAY!!! HURRAY!!! NO MORE NAKED PEOPLE IN MY KITCHEN!!!
Yes, it's true!!!! I got myself another place to live, away from the crazy ass lovely Roberta! A small one bedroom duplex, about a mile from where I live now, all mine. All mine.
I have to say, when I was staying at Steve's I had the epiphany that changed everything. My love for living alone was reinforced and, more important, I understood what was keeping me from finding my own place: my own mind, my own attitude. Everything I said about my current situation was negative. The focus was on the negativity. Staying at Steve's changed that: I realized that in order to change things, my attitude had to be positive, not negative. Talk about a sea change. Once I acknowledged that fact, I was happier and more certain that a new place to live would come to me. Asking the universe for help sounds odd, especially for those that know me, but it's what I did. (Plus I promised St. Anthony, my personal Saint for Finding Things, a $200 bonus to St. Anthony's kitchen if he helped me find a place by the end of the year. Hey, I might not believe in a god but I do believe in spirits. And I believe in paying them when necessary. St. Anthony also found a buyer for the Big White House in 1998 when I was down to my last hundred bucks. Go figure.)
I spoke about this change of heart and mind out loud. I told people that my goal was to find a place by the end of the year but no more negative stuff, just all positive looking-ahead stuff. In the past two weeks four different living scenarios came into my view. Two were not right, one could be OK and this last one is just fine! Isn't it a wonder what the power of positive thinking can do? That and acknowledging that sometimes one needs help.
YAY for this! Details remain to be worked out but I am dropping off the deposit tomorrow and will finalize the move-in dates, etc.
Sigh. Life is Good.
.
I have to say, when I was staying at Steve's I had the epiphany that changed everything. My love for living alone was reinforced and, more important, I understood what was keeping me from finding my own place: my own mind, my own attitude. Everything I said about my current situation was negative. The focus was on the negativity. Staying at Steve's changed that: I realized that in order to change things, my attitude had to be positive, not negative. Talk about a sea change. Once I acknowledged that fact, I was happier and more certain that a new place to live would come to me. Asking the universe for help sounds odd, especially for those that know me, but it's what I did. (Plus I promised St. Anthony, my personal Saint for Finding Things, a $200 bonus to St. Anthony's kitchen if he helped me find a place by the end of the year. Hey, I might not believe in a god but I do believe in spirits. And I believe in paying them when necessary. St. Anthony also found a buyer for the Big White House in 1998 when I was down to my last hundred bucks. Go figure.)
I spoke about this change of heart and mind out loud. I told people that my goal was to find a place by the end of the year but no more negative stuff, just all positive looking-ahead stuff. In the past two weeks four different living scenarios came into my view. Two were not right, one could be OK and this last one is just fine! Isn't it a wonder what the power of positive thinking can do? That and acknowledging that sometimes one needs help.
YAY for this! Details remain to be worked out but I am dropping off the deposit tomorrow and will finalize the move-in dates, etc.
Sigh. Life is Good.
.
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