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Monday, Waiting for Rain
May. 12th, 2014 03:02 pmLine of storms off to the west, moving this way. In the meantime it is cloudy, warm, and windy. The Early Girl tomato that was pink-orange is now red, and the tomato next to it is starting to turn. :D
1) I did finish Nicola Griffith's Hild, and I really liked it, to the degree that I was seriously looking forward to each new chapter. It is like taking a full-immersion course in Medieval British History, though, and there are LOTS of unpronounceable names and sentences like this:
Two days later, sitting in the meddaeg sun in the ruins of Broac, Brocavum that was, Cian was still lost in tales of Yr Hen Ogledd, this time of Ceneu and Gorbanian, the sons of Coel Hen, as told by Uinniau, Rhoedd's younger sister-son, who had ridden with them to the remains of the fort.
So, yeah, I mean LOTS of sentences like that, and before too long my eyes starting glazing over and I would just scan them. Also I am going to say I think there is an element of Mary Sue-ness about Hild -- Griffith is absolutely amazing about inventing the details of a life that is pretty much unknown to historians, but, well. It's clear she's done a massive amount of research into the period, but there were a few instances where my belief was stretched very, very near the breaking point. That said, I will definitely buy the next volume (Griffith is apparently writing a trilogy) because the story really is that good.
2) Watched the first episode of Penny Dreadful last night on Showtime and liked it a lot. My biggest question by the end was "holy crap, why haven't I seen Harry Treadaway and Alex Price before, because they did more incredible acting without any lines than many actors can do with a whole soliloquy." Wow.
3) Still watching Da Vinci's Demons, which, as I think I've said before, takes an absolutely bonkers view of history and runs with it. It is really a fun show, and one that's not afraid to steal from the best -- I've spottedthievery nods to Sherlock, Doctor Who (the van Gogh episode), 2001: A Space Odyssey (no, really), and Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Also I very much enjoy Elliot Cowan. A naked Elliot Cowan. The man is built like a rugby player. :D
4) Reading Blake Bailey's biography of John Cheever. So far it is EXCELLENT.
5) Pretend this is a fifth something.
Five things make a post.
1) I did finish Nicola Griffith's Hild, and I really liked it, to the degree that I was seriously looking forward to each new chapter. It is like taking a full-immersion course in Medieval British History, though, and there are LOTS of unpronounceable names and sentences like this:
Two days later, sitting in the meddaeg sun in the ruins of Broac, Brocavum that was, Cian was still lost in tales of Yr Hen Ogledd, this time of Ceneu and Gorbanian, the sons of Coel Hen, as told by Uinniau, Rhoedd's younger sister-son, who had ridden with them to the remains of the fort.
So, yeah, I mean LOTS of sentences like that, and before too long my eyes starting glazing over and I would just scan them. Also I am going to say I think there is an element of Mary Sue-ness about Hild -- Griffith is absolutely amazing about inventing the details of a life that is pretty much unknown to historians, but, well. It's clear she's done a massive amount of research into the period, but there were a few instances where my belief was stretched very, very near the breaking point. That said, I will definitely buy the next volume (Griffith is apparently writing a trilogy) because the story really is that good.
2) Watched the first episode of Penny Dreadful last night on Showtime and liked it a lot. My biggest question by the end was "holy crap, why haven't I seen Harry Treadaway and Alex Price before, because they did more incredible acting without any lines than many actors can do with a whole soliloquy." Wow.
3) Still watching Da Vinci's Demons, which, as I think I've said before, takes an absolutely bonkers view of history and runs with it. It is really a fun show, and one that's not afraid to steal from the best -- I've spotted
4) Reading Blake Bailey's biography of John Cheever. So far it is EXCELLENT.
5) Pretend this is a fifth something.
Five things make a post.