Decade in Notable Books - 2010-2019

On the entertainment front?

I don't remember that many of the books I read. Let's see...

1. Notable and or Memorable Books that I read in 2010-2019

( Memorable Books of the Decade )

2. Other notable items in books during this decade.

* Published my novel "Doing Time on Planet Earth" - hint it's not the astrology book or about prisons, which have the same title. Nor is it the one that became a movie.
This was my resolution at the end of 2014 -- and I accomplished it in 2015! It wasn't cheap. We'll see if it happens again. But on a plus note? I got two book clubs to read it, and over 1000 people purchased it (not for very much money and a lot of them did it during free give-aways, but still). Also I received good reviews from people whose opinions to me, at least, mattered.

* I co-produced, acted in, and helped organize a production of a live reading of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. You have to read them, not act them.

* I co-wrote a play, that was read aloud by various actors at my church.

* Joined and left a book club, coming to the realization that I didn't really want to be a member of one. (I've reached the point in which I don't want people choosing what I read for pleasure.)

Other lists will be posted later tomorrow or later in the week.

Happy 2020 Everyone!

The Decade in Memorable Television...

Below is a list of the memorable television series that I watched between 2010-2020, what they have in common is an emphasis on the anti-hero. Missing is the ultimate in anti-hero series Hannibal, House of Cards and The Americans, which in some respects color the second half of the decade better than they should.

In the 10s, the anti-hero was big. Culminating in the election of the ultimate television anti-hero, a reality television star who got off on bullying contestants and declaring them fired. He was so horrible, that everyone who worked on the series was forced to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements. And various sequences had to be re-shot due to his nasty behavior.

That is until the end of a decade...when a shift began in popular culture away from the anti-hero bratty bully entitled white male (see a photo of Walter White and Don Draper) to the heroic/anti-heroic POC male/female characters in series ranging from This is Us, Blackish, Luther, Atlanta, Legacies, Dear White People, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, All Rise, Empire, The Good Fight, Nancy Drew, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Flea-Bag, His Dark Materials, Great British Bake-Off, Songland, the Voice, Ru-Paul's Drag Race, Watchmen,and The Expanse.

We went from nasty white guys in reality series like Simon Cowell and Trump to folks like Lionel Ritchie, the lesbian hosts and Paul Hollywood on Great British Bake-Off, John Legend on Songland and The Voice, and Ru-Paul.

Shifted from Walter White and Saul to well, Alicia Florik and Diane, Tyrion Lannister and Ayra Stark. Jumped from Big Bang Theory to Bob Hearts Abishola. Or Roseanne to the far more ensemble not to mention more inclusive, The Connors. The perpetually white male Doctor Who shifted from an entitled old white guy to a compassionate woman.

Commercials began to feature gay couples of all races and creeds. Instead of a white guy leading the group on the Walking Dead, it became a kick-ass black woman warrior.

The anti-hero white male politician was out-gunned, out-manuevered and out-lived by a smart woman (House of Cards, Scandal, and The Good Wife).

The nasty white guy misogynistic/sexist comedy got replaced by the white feminist anti-hero comedys. (Better Things, Fleabag, Broad City, The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel.)

Black sitcoms got upgraded -- Blackish, Mixedish, Atlanta, The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola.

Dramas with an all-POC cast got produced and aired. Lead characters are now POC. Grey's Anatomy went from being a show with mainly white doctors to a series with a diverse cast that included a transgender doctor, a muslim, and a chief of the hospital that was an African-American Woman with attitude. 9-1-1 - a popular procedural on FOX featured Angela Bassett as a police officer and sgt. along with her ex-husband who is gay, and a black female fire fighter who is a lesbian. This is a major shift from previous fire-fighter series that tended to be rather misogynistic, racist and sexist -- such as Rescue Me with it's anti-hero white male protagonists.

Also, Grey's Anatomy has outlasted the sexist white male centric paranormal noir series Supernatural. Which is being replaced by the far more inclusive Nancy Drew.

Towards the end of the decade actors lost their careers and series were cancelled due to allegations of sexual harassment. And the white male reality star bully who got himself elected President was impeached in a Congress led by women.


What's that song by Bob Dylan? Oh yeah, The Times They Are A-Changing - and nowhere was this more visible than on our television sets.
( Thirty Notable Television Series That I Watched This Decade )

Decade in Film

The decade in film, so many changes in film over the past decade due in part to technology and the increase in streaming services. Also, this is easier to do by category.

( notable films )

New Year's Resolutions

I've only one New Year's Resolution this go-around, and that is to work on being kinder to those around me. And not giving into pride.

Meditation has helped in this regard. I find myself less likely to fly off the handle or erupt in rage than before. And walking away from more and more online and offline arguments. Let them think they've won -- it does me no harm either way.

You can persuade me, but I'm more likely to be persuaded with calm logic and kindness than bullying, humiliation and emotional rage. Isn't everyone?

Television Reviews...

Binge Watched a lot of shows over the holidays, here's the reviews below.

1. Boys Over Flowers - a Korean adaptation of a Japanese shogu magna about a young commoner girl who enrolls in an elite high school and takes on a bunch of spoiled rich boys, who rule the school. The Boys Over Flowers title is a play on words - the boys who rule the school are called the Flowered 4 or F4 -- the favored. Heirs to their father's kingdoms. All privileged. Jan-di, the heroine, gets into the school by saving a student from the bullies or at least trying to. Then subsequently becomes their target, until she gains their respect and love by fighting back and standing up to their bullying no matter what. It's an interesting commentary on gender and class roles in Korean society and society at large. Also provides an in-depth look at Korean language, culture, scenery, and food. The characters are well-developed, the acting better than average, and it was a popular series that won awards in Korea at the time. This aired in Korea in 2005. Currently streaming on Netflix. In Korean with subtitles. Has about 25 episodes in total.

2. Lost in Space S2 -- if you gave up after S1, you should give S2 a go. It's a lot better plotted and paced than S1, and there's more focus on survival and the family dynamic. Also on the robot aliens and how the Resolute Team was inappropriately using them. In addition, Judy, the Father, and Penny are better developed with far less time on Will and Maureen -- who took up almost all the screen time in the previous season. We also get a bit more development of both Dr. Smith and Don, the smuggler, along with clear redemptive arcs for both.

It's by far the best rendition of the series I've seen to date and held my attention throughout. Currently streaming on Netflix, about 10 episodes in the second season.

3. Kominsky Method S2 finished streaming this one as well. It's about an aging actor running an actor's studio, along with his family and friends. A Chuck Lorre comedy, it's a bit lighter and more on target than most, also funnier. It also makes the statement -- a strong one that comedy comes from drama, and there really isn't a dividing line between the too. The best comedy is real and not just a joke at the character's expense. Less preachy than most -- it has some touching moments intertwined. Stars Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin, Nancy Travis, Rob Reiser (Mad About You fame), Jane Seymour, among others -- and stellar performances throughout. About 8 episodes and currently streaming on Netflix.

4. Marvelous Mrs. Maizel by Amy Palladino Sherman and Donald Sherman. It's not as good as last year. And has some of the same pitfalls that Gilmore Girls and Bunheads had -- the comedy and satire are a bit too on the nose, and it gets a bit preachy. Also Midge Maizel isn't always that likable, and somewhat narcissistic. In some respects this season is more about the education of Susie Myerson who is attempting to be an agent and failing mightily, because she thinks she can have a life outside of the person she is managing and doesn't have to be involved constantly, reviewing the fine print of every contract, and careful with the finances. She also gets in deep with gamboling. Meanwhile both her charges, Midge Maizel and Sophie Lennon are high maintenance self-involved women who don't seem to care that much about anyone around them. Empathetic, they aren't. Breezy and charming instead. As a result both screw themselves spectacularly on the verge of a big break -- they do get the audience's applause but they piss off the people they are working with in such a manner that they are cut completely.

It's uneven in places, but at times a good take on the pitfalls of the entertainment biz, and in particular standup comedy, and the dicey gender and sexual politics of the times.

There's eight episodes, and it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

(no subject)

Back to work tomorrow -- after a lengthy break. Oh well at least it's just two days until the weekend. The hardest part is getting up at 5:45 am and getting on the subway. Using the new bag that my brother got me for Xmas -- we'll see how well it works. My brother considers himself a bag expert.

One of the things I accomplished this year was to improve my relationship with my brother and niece. So progress. Not that we were ever really estranged, but I'm working on keeping us a bit closer. And not letting dumb things like pride and envy get in the way.

Been sleeping in late, and staying up even later -- so this may be tricky.

Also need to figure out what I should binge-watch next.

*Witcher?
* The Inheritors/Heirs (Korean Drama on Netflix)
* The Expanse S4
* Finish watching The Crown

Or something else? I should watch The Irishman, Marriage Story, Judy, Ad Astra, and Downton Abby - I suppose, but I'm just not in the mood.

Did get some work done on current book (subversive and possibly unpublishable contemporary romance novel), but wanting to go back to sci-fi which is shorter and closer to done. (OR at least the first book in the series is done.) I write stories for myself mostly. My mother did tell me that her choir director is anxiously awaiting my next published novel. Apparently he's read Doing Time on Planet Earth twice and adores it. It's nice to have a few fans. I figure if you can please one person outside of yourself with a story -- or have connected with one person, you've achieved something -- even more so if he/she/they are a stranger that you've never really met. Which is the case here.