Black Sails and a nope

I started watching Black Sails last week when it was added to Netflix. I had no expectations plot-wise, beyond general knowledge of the age of piracy. Its pacing is a little slow and I’m somewhat impatient with Eleanor Guthrie and Charles Vane, but I’m definitely going to keep watching, in part because it’s beautifully shot and the sets look amazing. I find the pervasive female nudity irritating, not out of prudery but because there’s so much full frontal for women and almost none for the men.

A social media algorithm suggested The Summer Proposal to me. (Not BookTok, thanks, I have Opinions about that app and do not use it.) I find a lot of recent hockey-set romances to be terrible but it had a bunch of positive reviews, so I downloaded a sample. It failed the 20 page test. Did the author do any hockey research? I couldn’t say because I didn’t get that far. Had they ever watched a game? Or even done a web search for game day schedules? Seems unlikely, which is unfortunate because there is SO MUCH information out there. Most players start arriving at least two hours before puck drop. Warm ups on the ice start 30+ minutes before puck drop. I am sorry, but a starting player is not going to be in a bar down the street from the arena 30 minutes before puck drop unless they want to be healthy scratched. Maybe in the 1980s but not in the 2020s. Or maybe if it is a Very Different book, not a romance. Nope. Could the rest of the book be awesome? Maybe, but the lack of basic accuracy in the opening erased any credibility for the author for me. Deleted the sample. Next.

(Shout out to Lexi Lafleur Brown for her commentary as a former player and spouse of a former NHL player. Her reviews are terribly funny.)

Now reading The French Ingredient by Jane Bertsch.

car vs pedestrian

I feel a wikipedia spiral and other web search rabbit hole about to strike. Are there psychological or sociological studies about USian drivers and their absolute disregard for pedestrians, even in the face of actual laws giving pedestrians rights of way in places?

Twice today while in a pedestrian crosswalk drivers in giant SUVs with tinted windows beeped at me, presumably because they wanted to make a right turn and I was delaying it by not walking fast enough through the crosswalk to suit them.

What benefit do they think they will derive from beeping? Yes, I saw them. Yes, I still had the right of way, was in the crosswalk, had the little walking man sign. Frankly, beeping at me makes me want to stop dead so they have to wait longer. (I didn’t but I wanted to.)

If you cannot share the road in densely populated urban areas consistent with the traffic laws on the books (which locally give pedestrians in crosswalks the right of way) then maybe you should not drive there. Your impatience is not the problem of pedestrians.

Happy Stab Caesar Day

If you celebrate it. Or belated Pi Day.

I have not seen all of the Oscar nominees or winners still. But I did see American Fiction, which I liked very much. And The Taste of Things, which was absolutely gorgeous: the lighting, the setting, the acting, the food. I may need to find a copy of The Passionate Epicure.

Reading-wise, I just finished Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes. The writing was fine and I liked the concept, but I didn’t particularly care for or about any of the narrators. I liked it enough to finish it, but I’m not sure I would pick up a sequel, which seemed to be signaled by the afterword. Before that I read the newest Penric and Desdemona novella: if read as a book end to the series (which I have no idea if it is), it’s a little predictable, but I enjoyed revisiting that fantasy world.

Next up is the new book by Juan Gomez Jurado, Black Wolf, the second in a series. I’d read the first, Red Queen, in translation. But I’ve also borrowed the original Spanish version from the library. I guess I’ll see how terrible my reading comprehension has become.

Number Go Up

I am not a fan of cryptocurrency. There could be utility to the blockchain but the various coins and tokens as currently operated? Vehicle for money laundering IMO, or gambling maybe at best. And so much of what is out there looks like a scam, the modern tulip bulb craze. (My personal opinion. Your mileage may vary.)

Anyway, Matt Levine’s newsletter mentioned Number Go Up by Zeke Faux, so I borrowed a copy from the library. The full title is Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Ride and Staggering Fall. Which, yeah, that’s about right. 

It didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know at the macro level: the Celsius crash, Three Arrows, FTX, etc. But the writing is engaging, and following the author as he tries to pry information out of crypto bros or in some cases just listen to them vent is fascinating. The central question posed by the author, whether Tether is a Ponzi scheme, is left unanswered in the end. (I suppose only time will tell.) For me, the heart of the book boils down to a paragraph in the introduction:

From the beginning, I thought that crypto was pretty dumb. And it turned out to be even dumber than I imagined. Never before has so much wealth been generated with such flimsy schemes. But what shocked me was not the vapidity of the crypto bros. It was how their heedlessness had devastating consequences for people across the world. By the end, I’d find myself in Cambodia, investigating how crypto fueled a vast human-trafficking scheme run by Chinese gangsters.

Of course, since the book was published, there have been conflicting SDNY opinions about whether certain coins or tokens are securities, as well as dueling motions in the Coinbase and Bitcoin cases, and the SEC was arm-twisted* into approving Bitcoin ETFs. So crypto seems to have gotten back up, although it remains to be seen whether it will not just go on another wild ride. Ugh.

*I say arm-twisted because they were first denied, but in August 2023 the DC Court of Appeals found that the Commission had not sufficiently explained its reasoning and should review its decision. Ultimately in January 2024, the Commission approved the applications of several spot BTC ETFs.

2023 in review

On the reading front, I finished 28 books in 2023 which was equivalent to recent years but nothing close to the early 2000s when I read 150+ books per year. The best books of the year for me were Patrick Stewart’s memoir, Making It So, and the English language translation of Juan Gomez Jurado’s Red Queen.

In terms of other media, I don’t keep track of movies or television as well as I do books (thanks, LibraryThing!). But here’s what I remember off hand:

• Foundation – hit or miss.
• Ted Lasso – not impressed with S3.
• Only Murders in the Building – liked the two episodes we watched at Thx, on my list to subscribe to Hulu for it when I pause other streaming subs.
• GBBO – I always enjoy it, I’m predictable that way.
• Deadloch – I finished the first series but am not sure I would watch the second series.
• The Fall of the House of Usher – really enjoyed it.
• Queen Charlotte – ambivalent about it.
• The Diplomat – some of it was cringey but I liked the PM and his sister.
• Glass Onion – yes, please, more Benoit Blanc.
• Hijack – I have professional opinions about parts of this that I will keep to myself. But Idris Elba.
• Klaus – friend recommended this holiday movie and I really liked it.
• Last Christmas – only good things about this movie were the music and Michelle Yeoh (who I assume did it for the paycheck), otherwise it was painfully written/plotted and acted.
• Dungeons & Dragons – enjoyed, would watch a sequel set in the same universe.
• Last season of Escape to the Chateau – it was time for a variety of reasons.
• Mafia Mamma – it was terrible, I can only hope that Toni Collette got a huge paycheck because otherwise there is no excuse for it.

Rewatches: Persuasion, While You Were Sleeping, The Grinch (Original), The Expanse

Theater/BCS: Tiny Beautiful Things, Life is a Stage, Flamenco by the Royal Opera of Madrid

Hockey: a lot? Games in PGH vs the Bruins, the Flyers, opening night against the Next Next Next One, VGK, the Rangers, the Blues, and the Islands. And Chicago vs. the Leafs in Chicago.

Live music: Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, The Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel.

Travel:

• Pittsburgh (does it could as travel at this point?)
• Chicago
• Portland (Maine)
• Cape Cod
• Portugal – Lisbon, Porto, and Sintra, with road/day trips to Evora, Aveiro, Braga, Guimaraes, Azeitao, Setubal, Arrabida, Tomar, Obidos, Fatima, Nazare, Batalha, Queluz, and Cascais.

As an aside, I cannot express how much I do not care for the upgrades/updates to WordPress. As someone who does a lot of writing in Word, I find its formatting to be clunky and the hovering box to be irritating. I don’t blog much, although I would like to do it more and get back into the habit, but I’m not sure it will be with WP/JP.

Creative-ish things lately

Did some holiday baking. Candied orange slices and some peel for the first time. Loved the slices but the state of my stove after making them was a sticky mess. Candied some almonds as well.

I saw an Atlas Oscura post on serpentone and thought I’d try it. Almond flour, sugar, egg whites, how hard could it be? Uh… The dough was crumblier and dryer than I expected. I might add less sugar and another egg white next time. My serpentone looked more like The Hungry Caterpillar.

Before baking.

After baking.

It puffed up more than I anticipated (egg whites, I assume). And the peel used for the tongue was inedible. Lesson learned there.

I love frangipane tarts and make them regularly during the winter. Use homemade cranberry sauce at the base, yum, and store-bought crust. Somehow when I bake them for anything other than eating at home, they are less attractive. (Like last Christmas’s poached pears on top.) This year I decided to add candied orange slices…but I should have put them on at the end of baking or after. Tasted fine but looked wonky.

Before.

After.

Also on the creative or crafty front, I tried decoupage of glass vessels. Mostly to repurpose some jars and bottles. I like it.

Need to let them cure then seal them.

My favorite scarf – the one I knitted to match a hat I fell in love with – has been lost. I know where but when I went back to the restaurant, they said no one had turned it in or found it. I think I’ve found the same yarn online and will try to remake it. Meanwhile, I’m making a navy scarf in a simple moss pattern, but the breakage is ridiculous. My fault for not using the yarn sooner, I guess?

The late, lamented scarf. 😭

Portugal again

This is going to sound silly, but I had no idea that Christmas was such a big deal in Portugal. There were decorations and street markets and fairs in every town I visited. Porto? There for their light up night and concert, with other events near Mercado do Bolhão. Braga, Guinarães, Aveiro? Yes. Loved the holiday tree competition using only repurposed materials in Braga. Sintra? Yep. Queluz? Certainly. Lisbon? Cascais? Absolutely.

Having said that, the things I enjoyed most were little things like the boat ride in Aveiro (under beribboned bridges) and trying a joãninha at Piriquita in Sintra, and the shoreline at Boca do Inferno in Cascais. I could probably do a collage of photos of tile and old doors that caught my eye.

I envy the reasonable standard of living, and the good public transportation.

Will be going back, probably to Algarve and Alentejo next time.

I bid on an upgrade for the return flight. I am spoiled for economy on international flights now 😛

Photos under the cut.

More from the library

I’m on a little bit of a reading roll. (knock on wood!)

I finished Rosalind Franklin The Dark Lady of DNA, a biography of the scientist whose unpublished data and photograph of DNA was used/seen by Crick and Watson in their discovery of the structure of DNA. She died young and did a lot of other research and science, and DNA wasn’t even her focus. But their misogyny and lack of attribution is pretty galling to read even today.

Liked the new Murderbot installment, System Collapse.

Enjoyed Patrick Stewart’s autobiography or memoir, Making It So. He’s my favorite Star Trek captain based almost entirely on age of introduction to the series, and I was fortunate enough to see him and Ian McKellen on Broadway a decade ago. There’s always a danger that an autobiography will reveal feet of clay, and there are some less than admirable episodes, which is to be expected in an 80+ year life. But it was a relief to read of his pro-union, anti-Thatcher, anti-Reagan stances, even as they were just casual asides among anecdotes. (As ever, I remain perplexed by affection expressed for royals, although I would not presume to speculate on his opinion about the monarchy generally.)

Started watching Only Murders in the Building while visiting my sister and brother-in-law over Turkey Day, so I’m going to have to investigate a subscription for that. Others have recommended The Bear as well, so…

There was no turkey on Turkey Day – brother-in-law made cassoulet, and it was delightful. We went to a hockey game (another NHL city/arena checked off the list) and watched football and hockey and were couch potatoes. Or I was; they both went running, while I loafed.

Borrowed from the library

When I was in Cape Cod in August, I stopped at The Mystery Bookstop in West Dennis. It has a lot of mysteries (as one might expect) along with a fair amount of new young adult fiction and some beachy-type reads. I bought two books (Winspear mystery and a ~meh~ romance or chicklit type), and made note of two YA authors whose books looked interesting – Namina Forna and Jasmine Wargo. My local library had one of the books (Forna’s The Gilded Ones) and a different book by the other (Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga). I could appreciate the craft and narrative style in both books, but didn’t really love either: it’s me, not them.

Next book up is a biography of Rosalind Franklin.

Watched The Fall of the House of Usher online. Now I need to go back and re-read Edgar Allan Poe.

Went to a bunch of open houses. Two possibles…I’m just cringing at interest rates right now. But I’m balancing that against having fewer immediate neighbors, which would be a relief.

Flu shot and Covid booster scheduled for next week. Had delayed it due to a potential labor strike at my HCP.

Wondering if there will be a government shutdown in November. I’ve got travel planned and selfishly wonder about TSA agents and FAA controllers, especially over Turkey Day. (Based on other shutdowns, I would likely be excepted and have to work, too, but can do so online.)

Don’t really know what to say (or do to help) with things going on in the world. Have so many things been so bad all the time, or was I just not paying close enough attention?

Recent music

It’s a shame that paper tickets and ticket stubs are no longer a thing. I used to collect them and then put them in a scrapbook of sorts at the end of each year. I very often forget what live performances and even movies I’ve seen now that I lack the physical reminder.

So I’m reminding myself here.

Flamenco by the Royal Opera of Madrid – seen at the Howard Theater. Really enjoyed it, although as usual I could only make out about 10% of the lyrics. Which is to be expected since I can’t tell lyrics in English half the time. (Looking at you, FOB)

The Eagles on their farewell tour. Steely Dan opened, but due to a complete meltdown by Amtrak (a 3:10 delay) I missed it. Got there just in time to hear the full show by the Eagles though. Don Henley has aged very well. Joe Walsh looks pretty dessicated and sounds like a crotchety old stoner when he talks but he still kills on the Stratocaster. Vince Gill did well on some vocals, as did Deacon Frey. The set list was about what you’d expect, I think, and didn’t miss any of the biggest hits. My personal favorite was Heartache Tonight. (I refuse to acknowledge the Michael Buble cover. It’s just wrong.)

Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel. The pre-show PA music could have been a set list lifted straight from a high school dance in 1990. Seriously. I forget how much I like Stevie Nicks and how many of her songs I know…until it’s pointed out to me. Loved the Free Falling cover with video of Tom Petty and Billy Joel coming out to sing his part in Stop Dragging My heart Around. Closing with Landslide and a montage of Christie McVie photos seemed appropriate. Billy Joel’s set list was what you’d expect, I think, plus a bit that you might not: the first verse of Start Me Up, part of an Italian opera aria sung by backup vocalist, etc. His intro of Vienna was something like, “This next song is from an album I did in 1977. It has a lot of hits. This song isn’t one of them.” My favorites were An Innocent Man and We Didn’t Start the Fire, the latter mostly because of nostalgia. (Shout out to Mr. R., the history teacher who used the song as a lesson and made us add lines/lyrics with historical updates.)

Today’s musical inquiry – Carin Leon, who was in town last night also. (There should be acute accents over the I and O but once again I fail at the keyboard command for that.)