Peter Sarsgaard, “The Killing”

June 18, 2013 at 6:22 am (Links, Recommended, Surprises, television)
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No more “Game of Thrones” until next year.  People, do you realize what this means?  It means that self has to rehash all the old episodes, everything from Season 2 episode 1 all the way to Season 3 episode 10, minus Season 3 episode 9 because she can never ever watch that wedding/massacre without having nightmares.

The Man, however, knows just how to distract her, because yesterday he casually switched channels to AMC, which was showing something called “The Killing.”

After watching for a few minutes, self realized that the Death Row inmate being hustled to the showers, the one who adroitly slips a razor blade from a bar of soap into his mouth, was none other than Peter Sarsgaard.  Hoooly Hotness! (How does one slip a razor blade  into a bar of soap?  Self has not a clue.  Perhaps more to the point:  Who put it there?)

Then self determined that the female detective with the unsmiling demeanor and the red mane of hair (played by Mireille Enos) was an interesting character.

Self let her fingers do the walking on her computer and found that “The Killing” was about to be canceled.  Ratings for the season premiere were bad.

Noooo!

Tonight, The Man found her yet another episode and self sat there, spellbound:  Watch Peter Sarsgaard engage another Death Row inmate in conversation!  Watch him throw out sardonic put-downs to the prison guards!  Watch him lift his shirt to show New Best Friend (fellow inmate) various scars on his torso!  Watch him be all rebellious by spitting antibiotic pills straight into the face of a prison guard!  Watch him recline on his prison bed, nonchalantly reading a book!

There was also a crackling good scene set in the home of one of the prison guards, involving a wife who knows no boundaries.

There were also a number of moody shots of a rainy Seattle.  Did dear blog readers know that a large tribe of street children haunt the streets of Seattle?  And that these youngsters are so vulnerable that they repeatedly end up getting into extremely dangerous situations?

Holy Grrrreat Show!

Tonight, self also decided to google “Justified” Season 5 and discovered that the new season is scheduled to start in January.

Whereupon she began counting the number of months between now (June 2013) and the “Justified” Season 5 premiere in January 2014, and came up with seven.  Which seems like a very, very long time to be waiting.

Maybe she can fill that time with productive reading?  Her reading pace is so slow this year!  Today she only managed to read a further 20 pages into Sister Carrie.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.

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A Review of Books About Insomnia (The New Yorker, 11 March 2013)

June 14, 2013 at 11:20 pm (Books, Family, Insomnia, Links, Recommended, television)
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Since it is a very long time until the next season of Game of Thrones, self has been watching Season 2.  Believe it or not, she has gotten into such a rhythm with watching this show (The Man wants to know why self is so obssessed.  Channeling Ygritte, self tells him:  “You know nuthin’, The Man!” In other words, he better keep his trap shut if he doesn’t want to get plugged with so many arrows he ends up looking like a hedgehog, which was the sight presented by Jon Snow when he dazedly arrived at Castle Black in the final episode of Season 3!)

Anyhoo, it seems she can’t get to sleep at night unless she watches one episode, just before bedtime.  Last night, The Man (who is a Great Tease), played two back-to-back episodes for self, and this was a little bit too much, as then self found that instead of falling asleep at midnight, she was very jacked up.

But, enough with the digressions!  While plowing through her once-again-humongous Pile of Stuff today, Friday, self happened to come across an essay called “Up All Night:  The Science of Sleeplessness,” in The New Yorker of 11 March 2013.  She read the article straight through, from beginning to end, with only one break:  to go to the Redwood City Library and pick up a copy of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (It’s self’s first Hilary Mantel.  Isn’t that crrrrazy???)

One of the books reviewed, The Slumbering Masses, written by a UC Santa Cruz anthropology professor named Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer (What a fabulous name for a professor!), has this to say about our modern pattern of sleep:

Until a century and a half or so ago, Wolf-Meyer observes, “Americans, like other people around the world, used to sleep in an unconsolidated fashion, that is, in two or more periods throughout the day.”  They went to bed not long after the sun went down.  Four or five hours later, they woke from their “first sleep” and rattled around –  praying, chatting, smoking, or making love.  (Benjamin Franklin reportedly liked to spend this time reading naked in a chair).  Eventually, they went back to their “second sleep.”

As for self, she fell into the habit of wakefulness when she became a mother.  So that she would not waste a single minute of the nocturnal hours, she would read next to son’s crib.  When he woke, she would wake, and then read some more.  In this way, self managed to read many, many, many books, all the while son was an infant, and years and years beyond, up to today.

The Man is exactly the opposite:  he falls asleep instantaneously, and sleeps 10 hours at a stretch.  One minute he’s awake, the next –  Bang! –  he’s asleep.  Then he starts to snore.  Loud.  And this makes self so frustratingly envious that she is tempted to pinch The Man’s nose.  But she restrains herself.  She is not the type of person who pinches sleeping people’s noses.  Of course not!

She read somewhere that people who have insomnia live much shorter lifespans than other people.  Which means –  hello!  There is absolutely no time to waste, self!  Get cracking and finish your book!

Another book mentioned in the essay is Internal Time:  Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You’re So Tired, by Till Roenneberg, of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Again, what a name.  Self can go years at a stretch without encountering one single outstandingly fabulous name, and suddenly, in one essay, she encounters two).  Here the professor categorizes people according to sleep habits.  Some people are larks, which means they are indefatigable early risers.  And other people are owls, which means they stay up all night.  According to the author of the essay, Elizabeth Kolbert (which has self wondering if it’s pronounced like Stephen Colbert’s name, but once again she digresses), “Teen-agers are owls, which is why high schools are filled with students who look (and act) like zombies.”  Self wonders how teen-agers graduate from being owls to being normal?  Or do some people stay owls for the rest of their lives?

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.

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“Game of Thrones” Quotes: Season 3 Finale

June 10, 2013 at 8:23 pm (television)
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Self’s heart was beating so fast last night.  That’s the first time it’s ever happened to self while watching a television show.

Of course, her heart has speeded up occasionally, especially during moments of extreme duress.  But never, ever, ever until last night did a television show reduce her to such a state of quivering anxiety and tension!

Onward!

There were a few very thrilling scenes last night (None of which, alas, involved dragons.  Sorry Khaleesi!  But now that you’re Queen of Yunkai, Astropor, etc etc, self would just like to stay that your storyline is becoming a bit –  shall we say — predictable?  What your thread needs is some hot setback.  No, don’t kill off hunky dude with the long hair who it’s clear is being set up as your lover in Season 4.  But do you think you could dispense with being all virtuous and triumphant, at least for one episode?  BTW, hunk’s name is Daario.  That’s right, it’s spelled with two ‘a’s and rhymes with Fabio.  Cheesy, much?)

1st Memorable Quote of Season 3, Episode 10:  Yara Greyjoy  (Apologies, dear blog readers:  This is a paraphrase rather than a direct quote.  First of all, blog was out of commission all weekend.  Second, self’s jaw dropped so far upon listening to Yara’s awesomeness that she couldn’t be bothered to hunt around for a pen and paper)

(In voice-over):  I’m going to take the fastest ship, and 50 of the best killers.  I’m going to sail up the narrow river, all the way to Dreadfort.  I’m going to find my baby brother, and bring him home.

There is such mournfulness and resolve mixed together in this actress’s voice.  Self happened to catch an interview with her on YouTube, and she is the skinniest thing.  Skinny and fragile looking.  Which means she is one hell of an actress.  In Season 2, Episode 8, she was totally, totally bad-ass.  Theon boasts about how he killed the Stark boys and she interrupts:  “Which one gave you the tougher fight, the six-year-old or the cripple?”

In last night’s Season 3 finale, the scene in the Greyjoy castle fades away and viewers see a ship and crew under full sail.  Whoa, that is pretty epic scene-laying, right there.   Benioff and Weiss, you are so clever!  First you subjected us, the entire Season 3, to watching the disgusting torture and degradation of Theon.  You made us wait until the very last episode and then you let us hear Yara’s voice.  After this, when Yara makes her entrance in Season 4, you just know it will be big, splashy, and memorable.  And we will be so relieved that we might not be able to stop ourselves from doing the happy happy joy joy dance, when Theon is finally liberated.  Then of course, since Yara is pretty handy with an axe, we all know what is going to happen to Ramsay and his favorite member.  And then we hope she serves it up on a plate, because that scene of Ramsay chewing a sausage in front of Theon was just frankly horrible.

2nd Memorable Quote of Season 3, Episode 10:  Ser Davos

Ser Davos to Self’s Favorite GOT Bastard:  You ever been in a boat before?

Gendry:  No.

Ser Davos:  You know how to swim?

Gendry:  No.

Ser Davos:  Don’t fall out.

The funny thing is, during that entire scene, self was wondering what Davos was going to do, seeing as how Gendry is just so — so unsophisticated!  Thus, the admonition “Don’t fall out” was hilarious!  A real hoot!

Anyhoo, The Most Honorable Knight in Westeros (Davos, who else) tells Gendry to head to King’s Landing.  “What if someone recognizes me?” Gendry asks, completely taken aback by this turn of events (as was self).  “Has anyone seen your face before?” Davos asks.  “No,” Gendry says.  “I’d worry more about the Red Woman than about them,” Davos says.

Whenever the camera panned to the cliffs behind, self would find herself shrieking:  “Watch out!  Melisandre’s behind you! Aaaaargh!”  Amazing:  despite possessing the gift of being able to see the future, Melisandre did not “see” Davos helping Gendry escape.  Who knew that Melisandre’s powers could be so inconsistent!  Self’s prediction for Melisandre:  Dire Death, preferably by Dragons.

BTW, Jaime makes it back to King’s Landing with Brienne (The scar on her neck almost entirely healed:  How long did this journey take?) and Qyburn.  Self hopes this trio continues to operate as a trio in King’s Landing.

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.

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Game of Thrones Quote of the Day: Mike Hogan

June 3, 2013 at 6:43 pm (Eavesdropping, Links, television)
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Self now has a way to describe what last night’s Game of Thrones episode (#9) put loyal viewers through:  emotional evisceration.

There was poor Catelyn Stark, the most stalwart, steadfast, loyal and courageous mother and wife ever to grace HBO,  shouting herself hoarse, begging in a most strident, no-holds-barred, unbecoming manner for the Read the rest of this entry »

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GOT Episode 3.9 — Self Rendered Utterly Speechless!

June 3, 2013 at 5:36 am (Links, television, Surprises, Sundays)
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Game of Thrones ended approximately 20 minutes ago, and everyone in the living room (The Man had wisely absconded long before the episode started) were so horrified, no one, including self, could speak for a few minutes.  Then afterwards, there was an eruption of groans and remarks like, “Ugh!  That was just gruesome!”  and “Ugh!  How can I sleep tonight?” and “Ugh!  To think we waited two weeks for this?”

But self has a wee confession to make, and it is that she landed on a blog called self thinks, if she remembers correctly — it is so hard to think straight after one of her most favorite characters has just been sliced through the neck!  –  asiaofw, or something like that, and she learned this morning that there was to be a massacre at The Twins.  So, she knew things were going to be grim.  And at first she was so overjoyed that there seemed to be no updates forthcoming on Theon (castrated, Episode 8)  Or Gendry (fodder for leeches, also Episode 8), but alas, now that everything has unfolded just the way this blogger said they would unfold, she knows that things are not looking good for Brienne of Tarth, self just hopes The End doesn’t happen for Brienne until Season 5 or 6.

Poor ittle Arya makes it to The Twins while the massacre is still going down, so she and The Hound are told that the wedding ceremony is over, they’ve missed it, and she has to watch as soldiers go running forth from the castle, on some urgent errand, and then she watches as a company of Frey men go to Rob Stark’s caged Dire Wolf, and do something terrible to it with the crossbows.  Through the bars of the creature’s cage.  And Arya sees all this, so self is quite prepared to see Arya in the next season transformed into –  The Destroyer!

Self must say, it was pretty masterful the way the whole bloody scene unfolded.  The first strange thing was the beautiful bride (who was not one of the Frey girls lined up at the reception ceremony earlier), then the “bedding ceremony” at which the girl was bundled away and also poor Edmure (to his death, but at least still happily smiling like the fool he is/was), and then the most horrible, telling thing of all, the soldier who walked right past Catelyn Starke, so brusquely, just walked right past her as if she wasn’t there.  We notice this.  But it in no way prepares one for the horrors of what happens next.  And one knows Rob Stark probably wanted to die, at that moment.  And so did Catelyn, after she saw him die.

Michelle Fairley, what an acting job.  It reminded self of the scene in Godfather II, when the mother of Vito Corleone begs the Sicilian Don for her son’s life, and then grabs a knife and puts it to the Don’s neck.

God!  Where are Jaime and Brienne!  What happened to all the light-hearted bantering of most of the episodes of Season 3?  And why can’t Daenerys tell that Jorah is madly in love with her?

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.

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Anticipatory: Sunday Night, Game of Thrones Viewing Par-tay!

June 2, 2013 at 1:11 am (Conversations, Family, Food and Drink, Lists, Sundays, Surprises, television)
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Tomorrow is Game of Thrones‘ Season 3 penultimate episode.  In an exact replay of what happened in Chino when self and The Man drove down for Son’s graduation ceremony at Claremont, two weeks ago, self issued this dire warning to all in the immediate vicinity (and that includes The Ancient One):  “I will not –  repeat NOT — be able to do anything Sunday night, starting 9 p.m.  Have to watch Game of Thrones.”

This morning, son said casually, “Finnessy likes Game of Thrones, too!”

Oh yeah?  What a surprise!  Honestly, self never imagined another person liked Game of Thrones as much as she!

“So, he’s gonna come over and watch it here.”

For reals?  Oh, sure, Sole Fruit of Her Loins!  As Finnessy is a musician, he may be able to add a certain je ne se quois to the viewing!

“And Kevin might come, too!  So could we have some barbecue?”

!!!

“Sure,” self said, perky as all get-out.  “I’ll just start marinating some chicken thighs . . . “

So, this is why self is so, so busy this evening, assembling:

  • rib-eye steaks
  • her famous steak marinade (has 15+ ingredients and the only way to blend them together is to put in a BLENDER, Duh!)
  • chicken thighs (need to marinate)
  • fresh corn (stripping and cleaning)
  • a humongous pot of rice

Also, The Man bought Corona beer, a case of Coke . . .

Everything must be pre-assembled because — no way can self be preparing anything between 9 and 10 p.m. tomorrow.  No, make that:  8 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow.  Just to make double sure she is not distracted or tired or what-have-you.  Her full attention must be focused on the screen!

Yours truly in anticipation,

Self.

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Author Photos, and Other Matters of Great Importance

May 26, 2013 at 10:26 pm (anthologies, Links, Recommended, short story collections, Sundays, Surprises, television, Women Writers, Writing)
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Self received a message from Anvil Press of the Philippines, who published her third collection in 2009 (Don’t worry; you’ve never heard of it):  They owe her royalties of 3,000 pesos (about $73)

Whoopie!!!  Her first set of Anvil royalties!  She feels so, so validated!!!

She also heard, via La Hagedorn, that Anvil is putting out a Philippine edition of Manila Noir, just out Read the rest of this entry »

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GAME OF THRONES Quotes (You’re Welcome)

May 24, 2013 at 10:54 pm (Conversations, Eavesdropping, Family, Links, television)
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Self has undertaken to watch the whole of Game of Thrones Season 3 over again.  This, as dear blog readers well know, is an extremely rewarding activity, especially as she needs to be reminded how it all began:  the Brienne/ Jaime Lannister trek (Highlight of Season 3, in self’s HO), how Catelyn Stark became her son’s prisoner, how Daenarys acquired an army of 8,000 Unsullied, why Lord Tywin loves to cast aspersions on Tyrion, how Arya came to be traveling with Gendry and Hot Pie, and so forth.

Yesterday The Man came home and self inquired if he wanted to watch Episode 7, which he missed.  Sure! he said.  That, for dear blog readers who know nothing (like Jon Snow, channeling Ygritte), is called “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.”  So we sat and watched it together, and self got to see Stumpy for the first time since the Maester Who Is No Maester, Qyburn (She quite loves that gruesome scar around his neck) poured boiling wine over it.  And Stumpy looks just like the Giant Worm in Tremors, which is a very very old horror movie.  And you know it’s old because it’s the last time Kevin Bacon was funny.  Truly.

Anyhoo, The Man remarked, nosy as ever:  Wow, you’ve been watching a LOT of Game of Thrones? (And who asked him to comment, pray tell?  Who asked him to go through all the “Saved Searches” on the Comcast On-Demand channel?)

Last weekend, self was so excited to discover that Sole Fruit of Her Loins had read all the books.

Anyhoo, the first Game of Thrones quote self will post today is actually NOT a quote from Game of Thrones, it’s a quote from Son.  Without further ado, GOT Quote # 1:

Put those claws back in those paws, You Damn Bear!

Self promised son she would put that on her blog.  And now that she’s done it, she has such a sense of accomplishment!

GOT Quote # 2:

Lady Olenna Tyrell (a fabulous Diana Rigg):  The cheese will be served when I WANT it to be served, and I want it served NOW!

GOT Quote # 3:

Margaery to Joffrey, in the most intimate tete-a-tete imaginable, in Joffrey’s bedchamber, holding his favorite weapon:  I imagine it must be so exciting to put your hand over here and watch something die over there.

And since The Man will be home imminently to share with self the latest tale of horrors from the office, Arrivederci.

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More on That Bear (In Episode 7 of “Game of Thrones”)

May 13, 2013 at 8:21 pm (Recommended, Surprises, television)
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Self was having a heart attack the whole time Jaime was up on the ramparts with the (cowardly) men of Harrenhall Castle, watching poor Brienne bravely attempting to defend herself –  still wearing that pink dress! –  against a fearsome bear.

“You gave her a wooden spear!” Jaime blurts out, to sadistic Locke.

Self just wanted to say, Jaime Jaime Jaime, there is a woman down there fighting for her life and you waste time arguing over whether or not she should have been given something other than a wooden spear?

SPOILER ALERT!

Thank goodness Brienne herself settles the question by attempting a very foolhardy maneuver:  attacking the rearing bear head-on.  For that, she gets a good, hard swipe at the neck.

At that moment, self’s jaw went slack:  IT’S ALL UP FOR THE MAID OF TARTH, self thought.  FOR SURE!

But no!  Jaime bestirs himself to jump into the pit!  He shouts to Brienne:  “Get behind me!”

The scene ends the episode, but self’s heart was still racing.  The last name on the closing credits was:

BART THE BEAR

Tee-hee Ha ha BWAH HA HA!  So that was a REAL bear after all, not CGI as self surmised!

Kudos to Gwendoline Christie for being such a good sport!

Stay tuned, dear blog readers.  Stay tuned.

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OMG, Brienne!

May 13, 2013 at 5:41 am (Lists, Sundays, television)
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Oh my goodness!  There was so much meat in this episode (Season 3 # 7) of “Game of Thrones”!

  • Peter Dinklage aka Tyrion swears undying loyalty and affection towards his whore.
  • Arya receives archery lessons in the forest (“Don’t bother taking aim before you shoot.  Your eyes know where the target is.”).
  • Gendry, Arya’s best bud, gets carted off by a purported witch.
  • Margaery and Sansa have a heart-to-heart about the pleasures of the wedding night.
  • Tyrion and his field marshall discuss Sansa Stark, Tyrion’s whore, and what a man has to do in order to keep both his wife and his mistress happy.
  • Ygritte tells Jon Snow she is his woman now and if she finds he’s betrayed her, she’ll cut off his member and string it around his neck.  Fortunately, Jon Snow appears to take this threat very, very seriously.
  • Brienne gets to fight a bear.

Whoa!  Did self just type “fight a bear”?  Indeed, she did!

Self loves Brienne, there’s just something so, so — majestic about her.  When she squares off against a marauding bear, in the middle of a pit surrounded by jeering louts, wearing her least favorite attire (a dress, and pink at that), she still summons dignity and courage.

Is it any wonder that Jaime has to rescue her?

OMG, OMG, OMG.

Stay tuned.

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