Smack in the middle of summer . . .

Currently Reading: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

So here we are, smack in the middle of summer. Two weeks into July, two weeks left of July plus August. Yeah we're pretty much right in the middle with the hot part still left to come. Of course, I'm using the old schedule from my high school days. For the kids these days summer ends much earlier in August than it did for us. We just didn't have quite as many vacation days during the year as they get now.

And now that we've reached the half-way point, what can be said of summer? Not a whole lot really. I mean, all things considered, it's been rather slow. We've got the usual movies playing in the theaters. The latest Harry Potter is the only one that can really be called an undisputed hit. I do get a kick out of reading the reviews on that one. It's not as highly rated as some of the others and they complain that Harry spends a lot of time being bitchy. Now, if you've read the book, you know that's pretty much what happens there too. It's really more of a bridge leading from the earlier parts of the story to the climax that builds in book 6 and finishes up in the book to be released on Saturday.

Actually, when you get right down to it, Harry Potter book 7 is really THE event of the summer as it stands right now. Forget that lame environmental concert thing that no one really watched. What's got everyone talking is what happens to the Potter characters. There's been a LOT of speculation floating around and I agree with some of it and disagree with others. I suppose we'll know for sure on Saturday won't we? Don't worry, I'm not going to post any spoilers once I've finished the book. That would be mean. I probably won't even mention anything about it until the ending is common knowledge.

I woke up this morning with a song stuck in my head. That sort of thing happens to everyone I suppose but what was weird was that I have no idea how it got in there in the first place. It's not a song I'd heard recently or one that I was thinking about. I just woke up and there it was. At least it wasn't anything annoying. It was Best of Times by Styx. Yeah, way back in the 70's for that one. But you know, it was stuck in my head and I just couldn't shake it so I went out earlier today and got their greatest hits CD and I've been listening to that all morning. Then I decided I'd share a little of that so I hit You Tube and crawled through there for a while. Not many videos from the 70's of course and the few there are tend to be a little embarrassing. So, rather than subject you to that sort of suffering, here's a video that was sort of re-mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean.




I was cleaning out my e-mail box this morning and I came across this picture . . .
Those are a pair of my great great great great grandparents. My cousin had sent me that picture some time last year and it's been sitting at the bottom of my in-box for so long I'd forgotten I had it. She also sent me two more pictures that are what passed for immigration papers at the time. That guy there is Charles White. His father John is the one we have the immigration papers on. Shockingly enough, he had a home in the "French Republic" somewhere. Could be he came down from Canada or up from the south or even the Caribbean. But you know, there's still the most tragic possibility that I may, in fact, be part French. Talk about having skeletons in your closet!

My future reading list is getting longer. Since I won't be reading any NEW books until the last Potter comes out on Saturday I've been bouncing between books. Some have been short stories like the Lovecraft, others are just books I read a while back and wanted to read again like Dune and now Dune Messiah. I'm thinking the newest Potter will only take me a few days to get through depending on how much work I have to do at the salon and then I'll end up floating again trying to decide what to read. I've got another one by William Gibson coming out in August I think but that's it probably for the year. Not much in terms of new fiction for me. We've had the Murakami books, next is Potter, then Gibson. I would expect Neil Gaiman to have something out soon but you know, he's so tied up in making movies lately that I don't think he's got any long fiction coming out. Ah well, worst case I'll get back to the classics. I've still got I am Legend sitting here on my desk. That one is being turned into a movie with Will Smith later this year. And I've got at least two more of the Dune novels to read if I'm going to finish up this chunk of the series. Will it keep me busy for the rest of the year? Probably not, but maybe somewhere along the way I'll take a liking to some other author and the problem will be solved.

I've been letting the housework pile up again for some reason. I would NEVER do this if CC were here. She's probably reading this and nodding and thinking, "Damn right you wouldn't." It's not like I'm living in unsanitary conditions or anything like that. There's just more than the usual number of newspapers sitting in the chair by the table. There's a little more dog hair in the carpet. Still haven't done the laundry yet. I'll probably do most of these things later today but then again, I still have tomorrow too. Maybe I'll get to it then. Of course, I can't do laundry AND ironing in the same day I don't think. Well, I can but it'd be rushed so laundry has to go today.

Guess I'd better get that started.

The Dead Zone

Currently Reading: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

And so we've arrived here in the dead zone. No more football. Spring training for baseball is still two weeks away and the season won't start until April. That's a long time to pretend to be interested in basketball and NASCAR. I suppose I could always pretend to be following hockey too but let's face it, we're in Memphis. Who would care if I was interested in hockey or not? No one ELSE here is following it :-)

I was checking out CC's blog the other day and I got a kick out of her entry about my reading list. Yes, it's true I'm currently reading Moby Dick. Why? I dunno, just felt like it. I've read it before and I was in the mood to read it again. In the first chapter, first page in fact, Ishmael talks about how when his mood gets to be in a certain way, he longs for the sea and heads out on a merchant ship (though this time he decided to try a whaling ship instead). Me, sometimes I'm in the mood to read literary classics.

If you check out my reading list for last year, you'll see I sort of rotate what I'm reading. I spread it around a bit between more modern books, sci fi, and the classics. I don't usually read more than a few in any given category in a row. If I do, they tend to get boring. It's rare that I'll even read several books in a series in a row though I do that if the books are short or I get attached to the characters or plots and need to see how things turn out.

And for the record, even if CC didn't read the full version of the Count of Monte Cristo, honestly, that's ok. Dumas put in so much unnecessary stuff it's almost like he was TRYING to bore readers before they got to the good parts :-)

Hey did you catch the weather reports lately? Did they show what's been going on in up-state New York? Holy COW! There's one corner of Lake Onterio where they've gotten over 10 feet of snow! That's not just since the start of winter or even since the start of the year. That's just in the past week or so! For most of us, that's a bit hard to get a handle on. 10 feet, that's just a bit shy of the height of the ceiling in my living room! And if you're in a standard house or apartment with 8 foot ceilings, well, that's up to your ceiling and then some.


Have you seen the movie The Guru? Probably not. Most people haven't. I'm not sure when it came out and when/if it ran over here in the US but it shows up from time to time on cable. It was on USA this weekend. Damn funny movie.

It's about a guy from India who moves to the US to try and become a movie star. He ends up in New York and goes to auditions, accidentally ending up working with a cheesy little porn studio. He's also working as a waiter for a caterer. They're working this high society party with an India theme and it's supposed to feature a guru who comes in and does some spiritual readings and so forth but the guy gets drunk and passes out SO our hero steps in and takes over. It looks something like this . . .

What folks here might not realize, and which might explain why not so many people have heard of it, is that it's a parody of movies from India, especially the ones that feature music video style scenes, like this one . . .



Having seen The Guru, it's almost impossible for me to watch any of the Bollywood films without snickering a little. Even when we eat out at Bombay House I can't help but think of The Guru. They often run videos and movies from India on the TVs there.

You must admit though, it is rather unique :-)