Saturday, June 07, 2008
One day into a four day heat wave. A thunderstorm popped up outta nowhere shortly after sunset, cooled down the pavement & took some of the oppressiveness out of the air. A sliver of orange moon followed. I was up the street feeding Gina's cats & catching a few innings of the college baseball playoffs. Miami versus Arizona, there's two teams that can't involve me emotionally. Now I'm trying to ventilate my apartment & decide if I need the a/c tonight.
Yahoo claims it improved the mailbox but it only added an unnecessary page with more ads between the start page & the inbox, & it now has that fluttery effect as the crap loads. It also seems to automatically save every e mail I write to the draft folder.
Recent books read:
Gore Vidal, Inventing a Nation; Washington Adams, Jefferson. Hamilton, too. Like taking a seminar with a great lefty history prof. Prepared, cranky, informal, gossipy. After awhile you catch on that he prefers the Virginians, & why.
Linda Greenlaw, The Lobster Chronicles (2003). Former swordfish boat captain gained celebrity in The Perfect Storm (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio played her in the movie). A basically sad book - though not promoted as such - about incompatible desires & goals, like moving in with her parents on an isolate Maine island with a population of around 40, catching lobster for a living, & dreaming, as she approaches 40 years old, of marrying & raising a family there. A really likable woman, lovely writer.
Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road. For some reason I avoided this writer, so fashionable a few years ago. This novel was published serially in NYT Magazine. A fast read, quite silly, a spin on the old theme of two con men with some scruples, but totally inhabiting its own exotic universe circa A.D. 950. , which I enjoyed. He must have gotten big bucks for the movie rights. His original title: Jews With Swords.
Yahoo claims it improved the mailbox but it only added an unnecessary page with more ads between the start page & the inbox, & it now has that fluttery effect as the crap loads. It also seems to automatically save every e mail I write to the draft folder.
Recent books read:
Gore Vidal, Inventing a Nation; Washington Adams, Jefferson. Hamilton, too. Like taking a seminar with a great lefty history prof. Prepared, cranky, informal, gossipy. After awhile you catch on that he prefers the Virginians, & why.
Linda Greenlaw, The Lobster Chronicles (2003). Former swordfish boat captain gained celebrity in The Perfect Storm (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio played her in the movie). A basically sad book - though not promoted as such - about incompatible desires & goals, like moving in with her parents on an isolate Maine island with a population of around 40, catching lobster for a living, & dreaming, as she approaches 40 years old, of marrying & raising a family there. A really likable woman, lovely writer.
Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road. For some reason I avoided this writer, so fashionable a few years ago. This novel was published serially in NYT Magazine. A fast read, quite silly, a spin on the old theme of two con men with some scruples, but totally inhabiting its own exotic universe circa A.D. 950. , which I enjoyed. He must have gotten big bucks for the movie rights. His original title: Jews With Swords.
Labels: weather, what I'm reading
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
This is a bad day for my bedroom a/c to die a warm death. I'm presently scouring Craigslist for an affordable replacement.
Little Contrarian and I are hitting the beach this morning!
Little Contrarian and I are hitting the beach this morning!
Utilities are covered by the owner, i.e., I don't pay for gas, electric or water, so I have one massive air conditioning uint in the living area, where the owners of the apartments have superwired all the air conditioners to a separate electrical outlet. Then I have a 5,000 btu small one in my bedroom. My apartment is always cold, thank goodness!
Nice for when those hot Santa Ana winds blow in. Weather so miserable that, Raymond Chandler said, it makes the meekest wife stare at her husband's throat as she slices bread.
Paraphrasing Tip O'Neil, all weather is local. I sat in bed on that hot evening, watched the lightning dance among the towering cumulonimbus clouds and listed to the low roll of distant thunder. But the storm veered over Elizabeth and missed Rahway completely. My flowers were not pleased.
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