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Memorial Day ramblings
It's Memorial Day in the US. I'd wish folks a happy one? But it's Memorial Day? The day that we remember the dead, specifically those who died in multiple Wars throughout the centuries. Not exactly something to celebrate? I used to visit my Grandmother in Liberty, Missouri, on Memorial Day. I was in my mid-twenties and we'd wander about decorating the graves with her handpicked roses and peonies from her garden. There were three grave sites that we visited. And some of the grave stones were so weathered by time - you could barely read the names let alone the dates on them. (This was long before I moved to NYC and while my parents were in Australia.) Then we'd have pie. And watch action flicks on her big television set. Not as big as my television set now, but it was the 1990s. Now my mother's cousin does it - although she's in her 80s now and lives in Seattle, so maybe not?
I think graves are more about the living than the dead. The dead have passed on for the most part, leaving maybe a residual amount of energy behind depending on how, when and where they died. They aren't here any more. But the living need some way to memorialize and commemorate them, if only as a means of dealing with the constant and never-ending cognitive dissonance of their actual loss (ie. the fact that their loved ones, friends, and/or family members are no longer here and incomprehensibility of that.).
***
I've gotten into the British dark comedy Rivals adapted from Jilly Coopers Rutshire Chronicles novels - the series, which is set in the fictional county of Rutshire, England, follows an intense rivalry between David Tennant's legendary head of a television network, Tony Baddingham, and Alex Hass, an ex-Olympian show jumper turned Tory politician. It takes place in 1980s Britain, and does what the Brits do best, dark sex comedy.
It's on Hulu, and it's adult. Not much violence to speak of? But a lot of graphic sex, and full frontal nudity. Kind of gives HBO a run for its money in that department.
I'm enjoying it. The characters are engaging, and its fun. Also it's nice to see British 1980s hairstyles and clothes for a change of pace.
Also stars Aidan Quinn. He gets full frontal nudity scenes, but Tennant doesn't. The series tends to only give the full front nudity scenes to the good looking guys and gals, although the woman get less nudity then the men, which I thought was interesting and a nice switch.
**
I took a walk - since the sun actually peeked out for a bit and it has stopped drizzling. Stopped by the book store and picked up two art books - one is Quiet Moments - a guided sketchbook (in the hopes that it will jump start my muse), and the other is Sketching Outside - an illstrated guide to making art on the go. I have a traveling water color and sketch kit and I want to make the most of them.
Looked for the highly touted book - Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid but couldn't find it. Odd that. It's a best seller. The independent book store, Lofty Pigeons, has an eclectic book selection to say the least. Making me wonder how books are distributed among bookstores in the US now? Do they stack based on word of mouth? Because the Matt Dinimian series - Dugeon Crawler Carl is visible, but you can barely find Illona Andrews or Jim Butcher. Sarah J Maas - has an entire shelf now, but I couldn't locate books by Anne McCaffrey or many by RF Kuang. William Gibson? Only Neuromancer was shelved.
See? This is why folks buy from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and not from the indies?
On the way to the book store, an older woman (around my age) greeted me in Spanish, I understood roughly half of it? Possibly by osmosis? I hear Spanish a lot. That and a variety of Eastern European dialects. I can tell the latin ones apart, but not the Eastern European. I waved and greeted her in English. I didn't even attempt Spanish. All the flowers were in bloom, the trees heavy with green leaves - it looked like June, felt like early May.
I think graves are more about the living than the dead. The dead have passed on for the most part, leaving maybe a residual amount of energy behind depending on how, when and where they died. They aren't here any more. But the living need some way to memorialize and commemorate them, if only as a means of dealing with the constant and never-ending cognitive dissonance of their actual loss (ie. the fact that their loved ones, friends, and/or family members are no longer here and incomprehensibility of that.).
***
I've gotten into the British dark comedy Rivals adapted from Jilly Coopers Rutshire Chronicles novels - the series, which is set in the fictional county of Rutshire, England, follows an intense rivalry between David Tennant's legendary head of a television network, Tony Baddingham, and Alex Hass, an ex-Olympian show jumper turned Tory politician. It takes place in 1980s Britain, and does what the Brits do best, dark sex comedy.
It's on Hulu, and it's adult. Not much violence to speak of? But a lot of graphic sex, and full frontal nudity. Kind of gives HBO a run for its money in that department.
I'm enjoying it. The characters are engaging, and its fun. Also it's nice to see British 1980s hairstyles and clothes for a change of pace.
Also stars Aidan Quinn. He gets full frontal nudity scenes, but Tennant doesn't. The series tends to only give the full front nudity scenes to the good looking guys and gals, although the woman get less nudity then the men, which I thought was interesting and a nice switch.
**
I took a walk - since the sun actually peeked out for a bit and it has stopped drizzling. Stopped by the book store and picked up two art books - one is Quiet Moments - a guided sketchbook (in the hopes that it will jump start my muse), and the other is Sketching Outside - an illstrated guide to making art on the go. I have a traveling water color and sketch kit and I want to make the most of them.
Looked for the highly touted book - Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid but couldn't find it. Odd that. It's a best seller. The independent book store, Lofty Pigeons, has an eclectic book selection to say the least. Making me wonder how books are distributed among bookstores in the US now? Do they stack based on word of mouth? Because the Matt Dinimian series - Dugeon Crawler Carl is visible, but you can barely find Illona Andrews or Jim Butcher. Sarah J Maas - has an entire shelf now, but I couldn't locate books by Anne McCaffrey or many by RF Kuang. William Gibson? Only Neuromancer was shelved.
See? This is why folks buy from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and not from the indies?
On the way to the book store, an older woman (around my age) greeted me in Spanish, I understood roughly half of it? Possibly by osmosis? I hear Spanish a lot. That and a variety of Eastern European dialects. I can tell the latin ones apart, but not the Eastern European. I waved and greeted her in English. I didn't even attempt Spanish. All the flowers were in bloom, the trees heavy with green leaves - it looked like June, felt like early May.
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Speaking of which, I got a photo/graduation notice for one of my brother's grandsons this week. I've never met the boy, but with my brother no longer with us, I've tried to keep contact with his parents, my nephew and his wife. I can't replace his grandfather, but I'll give him something for graduation in his grandfather's place.
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Did you mean Aiden Turner? He of the manscaped chest, or have they let him grow out his hair as it's supposed to be the 80s LOL!
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He has lots of hair on his chest in this one (I couldn't remember if he did in previous outtings). Alex Hassel doesn't. Aidan also is allowed to look less pretty, mainly because the actual hunk on the show is Rupert Cambell-Black (the rake, ex-Olympian, rich peer of the realm), not Aidan Turner, although both have nude scenes. Aidan just has less of them, and only with his wife.
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