AuntiePam

What was it she said to Partlow about the nailgun? Something like "the guy sold it to me said Cadillac but he meant Lexus." I was getting good at interpreting the street talk by this point, but she had me back at square one. Love that character.

It's realistic to me. He didn't grow up with a computer in the house, probably finished high school before all the schools had computers, and he wouldn't have spent much time in a library. Ziggy, on the other hand, was always looking out. Kids now are being given tablets to take home. And no smartphones. How many kids will grow up today using smartphones rather than computers? I know some adults who don't touch their laptops anymore -- everythings on the phone. Season 2 is my favorite. My first husband was union (general laborers and hodcarriers), I worked for a union and for union lawyers (longshoremen and ship scalers), and I was in a union for awhile (UAW). The thing about labor unions is that the pay is so damn good, even if you only get to work six months out of the year, you can make it. Some longshoremen could work one or two days a week and send their kids to college. So that could be why Nicky and the others didn't try another line of work. And even back then, there would have been lots of competition for jobs in the skilled trades. Chris Bauer was amazing. I almost cried when I saw what he stooped to in True Blood. What a waste.

I've dumped Nora Webster. Ordinarily I like character studies, slice of life, and I don't need a riveting plot (or any plot) or even a likable character to keep me reading, but damn, this was a chore. It wouldn't have been so bad if the writing had flowed better, but it was clunky, disjointed. And then it got silly. Recently widowed Nora goes back to work, in an office where she worked before she married. Her immediate superior is a woman holding a grudge from a trick Nora played on her twenty years before. The woman is a shrew who treats everyone badly. We've probably all encountered a boss like that but in most cases, the boss would have had some value to the company -- a reason for staying -- efficiency, bringing in new business, even sleeping with the owner. But nope, this gal is useless, yet is still given authority. The situation was too silly and unbelievable. It reminded me of a bad SNL skit. Stay away from this book.

Brew is easy. Brew-ary -- does not roll off the tongue. Brewery, on the other hand, does roll off, so maybe it's going from an "oo" to an "a" sound that makes it feel clumsy.

I also say Feb-yoo-ary, without shame. Whoever put the unnecessary R in there in the first place can kiss my butt. Pronouncing the roo is good exercise for the lip muscles though.

Nora Webster by Colm Toibin (don't know how to put those little marks above the "i" in his name). A newly-widowed Irish woman with two young sons is putting her life back together. His writing -- sentence structure -- is a bit clunky. I don't know if it's just his style or if the book needed a proofreader. Is "appal" a word? As in "knowing this would appal her"? I'm familiar with someone being "appalled", but I've never seen "appal" used this way. And shouldn't it be "appall"? Finished Station Eleven and absolutely adored it.

Well, this is how gullible I am -- I totally bought that Chris had a longstanding crush on Valerie, and that Val not picking up on it was another example of how disconnected she is. I really need to stop taking things at face value, especially with shows like this. I was okay with Jane not being able to follow Valerie. Wasn't her camera crew shooed away? If so, she wouldn't have been able to get around Ron in the wheelchair and gather the crew in time to catch up with her. I was also okay with Val leaving. The encounter with Burrows opened her eyes, thank heaven.

sandman, do you think people use "your home" because they think saying "one's home" sounds pretentious?

GaT, I probably would have appreciated it twenty years ago, but I've developed an aversion to sex scenes. Getting old sucks. :-) There's very little sex in Simmons' other novels. Simmons was one of the "big three" in horror in the 70's and 80's, along with King and McCammon. Or maybe the big four, if we include Peter Straub. Simmons' early books are quite good, if you like supernatural.

Stephen King -- loyal fan for many years, and then Under the Dome happened. He'd been hit and miss for awhile, but UTD was the last straw. Dan Simmons -- until Black Hills. The padding wasn't so bad (the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge) -- it was the Penthouse-style letters and sex scenes between Custer and his wife. History tells us they were a love match, but would she really give him a blow job in some bushes while his soldiers were nearby? I don't think so. David L. Martin -- I've forgotten the title of the book that made me quit him -- something involving Native Americans. Rushmore, maybe? Anyway, Martin wrote this like he's the first person EVER to notice that Native Americans were treated badly. Robert McCammon -- his historical series is even more padded than King's books. Take out the scenes where someone walks from one room to another and you'd have a pamphlet.

I work for a utility provider and I've had this happen. I have to insist that the customer hang around long enough for me to write a receipt. "I don't need a receipt -- I trust you!" Too weird.

Local news anchor reported that a business owner was "meered in corruption". Who would look at "mired" and think "meered"? A typical graduate of any school in the US, probably.

Philip Kerr's novels aren't immediately after WWI, but they're before WWII. The main character is a detective who's on the outs with the new regime.

I liked it except for Evelyn banging Santa -- right there on the couch? She couldn't take him to a bedroom? Leave it to this show to smut up Christmas.

I don't think Mark was planning to ask for a divorce. Even after he found out Val was wearing a mic, he didn't ask for one. Mark asking Val "Are you even in there?" tells us what we already know but haven't seen -- there's another Valerie, one who's a different woman when the cameras aren't around. I agree with the HuffPo reviewer who said that this season should have showed us more of that Valerie. She's so damn insecure -- with reason -- she's not that special as an actress. Where she can be special is as a person.

What's Half A World the middle of? I loved The First Law trilogy but haven't kept up with Abercrombie. Was Half A King the beginning?

Well, now I'm really excited about Station Eleven. I'm almost finished with Canada by Richard Ford, so I ventured over to Amazon to read some reviews. It's a love it or hate it book. Even though there's a bank robbery and a murder (or maybe two), events which are usually tense and thrilling, the book is mostly a character's inner thoughts, and descriptions of very mundane activities. Still, it's enthralling, but maybe only if you like getting into people's heads. It also helps to have an appreciation for physical space -- open space, like Montana and Saskatchewan, places that seem boring to many of us. I love those places. I'd live in Nebraska if I could. Doesn't get much more open than that.

Well, I'm confused. The local case that everyone in town says was on the show was reported in this week's newspaper as filed and dismissed in the local district court. I thought that when litigants went on JJ, that meant they couldn't have filed anywhere else. Or is that from People's Court? Or Judge Mathis?

It raised my consciousness. I mean, I know that you don't have to be a 10 to be sexually attractive (hell, I might be a 4 on a good day and I've had my share), but watching those two go on about Dawn's body parts was an eye-opener. I'm disappointed that the hospital admin/legal are so willing to throw Jenna and the others under the bus. Where was their oversight on the hospice deal? Shouldn't they have been involved from the beginning? Why do they think they'll be in the clear by blaming everything on Jenna? But I'm also disappointed that Jenna wanted to destroy files. It fits with her not always thinking things through -- she can be pretty manic.

That's what I liked too -- the look at that segment of society in that time and place. Lilian's family, Frances' mother's friends, how they spent their time -- it was mundane but interesting. Frances and Lilian's relationship seemed to be based on Frances' sexual attraction to Lilian and Lilian's dissatisfaction with her husband. Not a bad basis for an affair, but not something to build a life around. Amazon has another 25% off deal going, so I used the discount to get Station Eleven, a post-apocalypse novel that's getting good reviews.

I think it's interesting that gay Alan is more attractive to women than straight Alan, but kinda sad, for Alan, that he can't be totally himself. Or maybe it's not sad. Who IS the real Alan? He can be smart and funny and caring. His worst quality is what -- he uses people? The mooch factor? It's unbelievable that Yoga Woman hasn't had sex in two years. Could Walden really be the first acceptable man she's met?

When Amazon had its 30% off one book sale, I splurged and picked up the new one by Sarah Waters -- The Paying Guests. I rarely buy new hardbacks but I love Sarah Waters. This one was fine for about 200 pages, then it turned into a romantic wallow. I dumped it, checked out the reviews, decided to leave it unread. Next up is Canada by Richard Ford.

Rose is a joy. So is Kandi.

Pun intended? ;-)

Me too! It must have driven Paulie G. nuts too, that she was replacing him.