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1. Sigh, I read or look at the news and it's as if the US is being run by the offspring of Goldfinger and Cruella Du Ville.

2. Government Shutdown 2018 - What's open and what's closed

The Statue of Liberty is not accepting huddled masses at this time, but the beleaguered U.S. Post Office is still processing packages and delivering mail after lawmakers failed to pass a spending bill on Friday, sending the federal government into shutdown limbo.

After the federal spending authority expired at midnight Saturday, federal workers deemed "non-essential" were furloughed, a temporary layoff. “Essential” federal workers are still on the job. Airports, national mail service, national security and law enforcement operations, among others, are still operating.

Most federal buildings are closed, but some are still operating with non-furloughed employees, they’re just not open to the public.

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Discussion with mother about books...and podcasts.

Me: So, I've discovered this pod-cast - The Wicked Wallflower - basically its two women, former archaeologists/current writers discussing the romance genre, or defending it. The only problem, is I sort had to get past the envy factor - which was slightly distracting.
Mother: Envy factor?
Me: One of them is a former archaeologist, whose gone to all these great sites, and a former dominatrix who is married to a 6'5 Alpha Male Sex God who stepped out of a romance novel.
Mother (bursts out laughing)
Me: I'm thinking honey, you might not want to brag about that. She goes on an on about how caring and gentle and great in bed he is.
Mother: Hmmm...
Me: And how this is proof that romance is not unbelievable fantasy.
Mother: That's sounding like some serious fantasizing to me. What better place to make up stuff and fantasize than on a podcast?
Me: Yeah, this occurred to me too as I was describing it to you. I mean really, how do we know she's not making this stuff up? It's very easy to lie on the internet, particularly on podcasts.

Mother: So, I'm reading "I AM PILGRIM" for my book club. It's about 792 pages. And it's a weird book for a book club -- it's a thriller about a guy hunting a terrorist. The protagonist spends about a 100 pages with the CIA explaining in detail how waterboarding works, and they are waterboarding this guy to get information -- but are unable to get it because he shits in his pants..
ME: Ugh. I don't want to know --
Mother: Then he visits this warlord who pours concrete onto his enemies while they are alive, so that they are forever cast screaming, then hangs the concrete masks on his walls...meanwhile the antagonist -
Me:Wait, this isn't the antagonist?
Mother: No, the antagonist was hurt really badly by the Saudis and has decided that the best way to destroy the Saudis is to hurt Americans. So he develops this deadly strain of small-pox that can run through any vaccination or basically the vaccine won't work against. See, they never cured small pox, they just developed a vaccine and that's how they eradicated it. So if you come up with a deadly strain it will overtake it.
ME: Ugh...
Mother: Anyhow, he, the antagonist, asks the warlord for three prisoners -- they can be anybody. The Warlord advises against Americans because they get angry -- so he gives him a pregnant Italian woman, and two men. The antagonist puts them in a concrete cell with food and water and bedding. Then he vaccinates the Italian Woman against small pox, and injects the two men with the strain -- while they've been sedated. The men give the woman the small pox and all three die horrific deaths.
Me: This sounds horrible. Ugh, the writer has one nasty imagination. Proof the human mind is capable of horrible, horrible things.
Mother: Yeah, well I'm on page 400, and there's 792 pages, so I'm wondering what's next.
Me: I'm amazed you are able to read this -
Mother: Well you know that these sort of things don't tend to bother me...but I'm not sure how we are going to discuss it in book club. That's the problem with mystery novels and thrillers -- there really isn't much to discuss -- it's all laid out there. At least romance novels have more to them to discuss, such as the relationships between the people, motivations, etc -- here there's a clear bad guy who wants revenge and a good guy to stop him, and obviously he will, because I don't think they will kill off the entire US.
ME: Not unless it is a Stephen King novel or a dystopian novel. There''s really only three books that I've hated or disliked...or so I was telling someone online -- and one of them American Psycho, I stopped because ...well, I couldn't handle the rape by rat.
Mother: Okay, now that, I would have problems with and be unable to finish reading.

See? This is why I'm reading romance novels. Although the ones that the Wicked Wallflowers like, I'm not as crazy about -- the writing is rather amateurish and the men over-idealized in some of them. Also, I don't see Diana Galbadron's Outlander as a classic.

They think they can convince men to read them and don't understand why there's no cross-over. After all, if women can read action comic books. (Sigh, they don't get it. And, uh, good luck with that.)

First of all - there are men who read romance novels. I have a male co-worker who loved The Outlander series of books, enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey, and the Twilight novels. He pretty much reads all genres. And his happily married and well into his 60s, a huge Doctor Who fan, and a bright guy.

Second -- of the men who don't? Most men I know don't tend to read fiction, they read non-fiction and prefer -- if fiction - that it be plot-centric and informative.

Many have or will read comics -- because it's like watching an action movie. They read for information, not necessarily character or relationships.

Also, many romance novels idealize the male form or men -- we are looking at men through the female gaze -- and often objectifying it, which would hardly be appealing to some men. Even slash romance novels (m/m) are looking at men through the female gaze. In action comics -- one of the critiques is that we are looking at women through the male gaze. But having read both? I'd say we're looking through both gazes. The male and female body is highly sexualized and objectified in our culture -- and in most genre fiction. Heck in the pod-cast the women are objectifying the male form -- "I'm married to a 6'5 Alpha Male Sex God", really? As if, the 5'6 somewhat beta, guy, can't be one?

And there are men who enjoy romance novels (not many) and women who enjoy superhero comics (not many), and like both.

So, while I found the podcast interesting, like most podcasts ...I get irritated with the sub-tangents. I like Smartbitches a tad better.

Television and Books..

Because I'm procrastinating writing again...and listening to The Wicked Wallflower Club podcast. (I think I want one of the podcaster's boyfriends, who apparently is a mathematician with tattoos and plays dodge-ball.)

They've gotten me to buy two more books, which weren't on sale, damn it. And pushing for a third.
And..the one click on Amazon is a dangerous dangerous thing. Just saying.

So far I've bought the entire Octavia Butler series -- Parable of the Sower, Station Eleven (sci-fi),
and various romance novels (one about a valet and a maid), including one about sci-fi heroes for under $1.99. Also, now, three books rec'd by the crazy pod-cast for $7.99.

Evil.

1. Reading meme

* What I just finished reading?

Never Love a Scondrel or something like that by Darcy Burke. I liked the set-up, but the execution did not work. I think it takes place in the Regency period. The hero got a scar down his face when he was pushed through the window by his half-brother. The part of the book I liked was the two brothers attempting to reconcile, the romance, however, didn't work. I kept wanting to smack the heroine.
Also the heroine did things that were out of character. I preferred her best friend, who made more sense. The heroine is residing with her Great Aunt who is a notorious gossip and had ruined the hero's life with her gossip. The hero is ruined because he can't control his temper and basically had a temper-tantrum after his mother went a bit mad, and his brother taunted him about it. So, shunned by society he has "Vice Parties" -- that all the male heads of society go to...so apparently not that shunned.

Anyhow the heroine befriends him, and is told by her Aunt to marry him or she'll be sent back to Northumberland to her father. She ignores her Aunt and proceeds to flirt with and sort of seduce him.
They end up having sex during a tour of his house at her instigation -- which didn't make a lot of sense and seemed woefully out of character for them both. Because, for one thing she's a virgin, has had very little experience with men, and is easily shocked by things. Also, she's been told he's a bit of a scoundrel. He, on the other hand, is hoping she'll help him get back into Society, and not ruin him with gossip.

Their romance felt a bit rushed, as did the sex scenes. The writer should have waited and built it better.

Also -- I didn't like the dialogue or the writing style that much - drug. Note to self, you probably should finish reading the book, before buying more books in the series even if one is for free, and the other is for 99 cents.

What I'm reading now?

I decided to read the next book, which I'd purchased for 99 cents. And is about the criminal half-brother struggling to reform. It's actually better than the first book -- and sort of picks up where the first one left off -- with the half-brother on the run from his former boss, who he'd help save the previous book's heroine from. (Getting himself framed for two crimes in the process. What made no sense in the previous book -- was why neither his brother nor the heroine testified to the fact that his former boss committed the crimes -- because the former boss confessed it to them. Like I said, poorly executed.)

Anyhow, this one picks up where the last one left off -- except from the half-brother's pov and the heroine's best friend. (The two characters I found more interesting in the first book.) The half-brother sort of takes off with the heroine's best friend when he discovers his former boss, the villain, is going after her to get to him. He's not in love with her -- but she had been helping her friend teach him how to dance. The friend is tall and gangly, not beautiful or pretty, and has been a wall-flower forever. She craves adventure and has no interest in marrying some stodgy old Lord. Nor does she care what Society thinks of her. My sort of heroine. The other one cared what Society thought and seemed rather wimpy.

It also is, so far, more focused than the other book -- mainly because they are on the run, so there is just two characters.

What I'm Reading Next?

No idea. Probably something I just bought. I need to stop doing these impulse buys. I'm losing track of the books I have on the kindle. I think I have over 400 that I haven't read.

I seriously need a chaperone.

2. Television Shows

* Grey's Anatomy - eh. I'm not liking this season as much as the last two. Possibly because the focus is on characters that irritate me?

( spoilers )

* Nashville was just boring. Also, it's too focused on the male character's perspectives not the female characters and feels less diverse than last season. I think the writer's have run out of steam. Last year was so much better. They really should have ended it last year.

* The Gifted -- well they did shake things up a bit for the season finale. Reminded me a lot of the X-men. One group takes off to become terrorists, while the other struggles to survive peacefully. But hey, at least it's not, oh damn, we're captured again, we have to fight to get free.
That said, my attention kept wandering during it. And two of the characters, Andy and his Dad, sort of irritate me. Stephen Moyer just doesn't work for me as an actor.

( spoilers )

* The Good Place

Favorite television series on at the moment. This week's episode made fun of Kant. Hee. I'm not a fan of Kant, so was rather amused. Also, I think I dated a lot of Chidi's in college...which may explain why I'm still single and none of it took. It also explains why I'm loving this show. (It's a must if you ever dated a philosophy major.)

Also, I've decided I'm a moral particularist. The Hall of Low-Crap Human Misery is comic gold.
And Ted Dansen better stick with the series because he's comic gold.

And this is the only situation comedy that I've seen that actually progresses. It has surprised me, and in a good way. I honestly thought it would just continue the way it had last year and be an entire year of the first episode of this season. But instead, the writer's broke the rules of the format and exceeded my expectations.

* Supernatural Spin-Off Wayward Sisters

Eh. They need better actors, and better writing. Everyone was rather stiff. I got bored halfway through. The ladies just don't have the same charisma and chemistry as the fellas, shame, I'd have totally watched the spin-off. My difficulty with SPN is too testrone heavy. But, I loved the brother dynamic and the actors are nice on the eyes not to mention have great chemistry, so stuck with it for five-six seasons. I think it's on it's 13th.

* Damnation -- tried. Was bored. Everyone looks alike -- same clothes, same hairstyles, same skin color -- white and pasty. The coloring is faded. And it clearly takes place during the depression. Also I don't like anyone, they are all assholes.

Deleted all ten episodes to date and the series from DVR without bothering with more than the first episode. (I really need to try these shows earlier so they don't take up space on the DVR.)

But have been told by parents to watch Godless on Netflix. Also been advised by a co-worker and someone on flist. So may try that at some point.

*Call the Midwife Christmas Special -- frankly, I missed Patsy. But other than that -- it was fun. I think they are writing out another one of the characters. The characters get married and get written out. Or something. The latest is the gal who married the priest or the Jenny replacement, she looks the same as Jenny did (whose memoirs the series is based on).

I like the show because it shows the best in humanity and is rather comforting. So many things fixate on the worst.

*This is Us -- Randall is getting on my nerves. I feel sorry for his wife. I agree with her, he needs to focus on something. Also agree with his brother, Kevin, it really was the Randall show a lot of the time...but this episode at least showed the parents bonding more with the other two.

Also, I liked the development of a female relationship between Kate and Madison. No Toby this week, which worked actually.

And not quite as sentimental or emotionally manipulative as prior weeks. It does get rather corny at times. (I can see why some people hate it. Well that and there's a heavy "disenfranchised" male pov in it -- or mansplaining, which admittedly gets on my nerves at times. I wanted to smack both Kevin and Randall the last few weeks.)

I have too many television shows. My taste is too diverse for my own good.