Hello hello,
Another week, another Friday off of work. Monday off too. This is the dream. Despite only working three days this week, I don’t have too much to show for it. But, here we go:
- TV: As anticipated, I finished off The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and tried out Shadow & Bone. FAWS: My thoughts on the final episode are similar to my thoughts on the same episode of WandaVision; all of the nuance of the characters (what there was to begin with) is ditched in favour of an action sequence(s) that take up most of the episode. Once that is done, we get a Hallmark Monologue and then some more scenes that wrapped the series up in a satisfying and emotional way. I enjoyed it, but I thought it was clearly not as good as WandaVision. S&B: I’ve only watched two episodes, mostly because it didn’t hook me. I’ve heard some people say the Six of Crows characters are perfectly cast. This might be another example of me paying zero attention to what characters look like, because none of them work particularly well for me. I’ll finish it this weekend, and I’m hoping it grabs my attention in the next few episodes.
- AUDIO: This week I’ve listened to about half of The City We Became. So far so good. Well written, interesting characters, including an intriguing villain. I hadn’t expected it to lean so explicitly into alt-right/white supremacy in the US, but it fits and (thus far) is well done. I am intrigued to see how the character of Staten Island, the only white MC, is dealt with in the latter half of the book.
- EBOOK: I am continuing to work my way through Renegade Swords, an anthology of Sword & Sorcery stories. This week I read ‘Necromancy in Naat’ by Clark Ashton Smith. This is only my second CAS story, but I’m 2/2 on enjoying them.
- FILM: I watched Palm Springs earlier in the week. I enjoy most of what Andy Samberg is in, and I was interested to see whether Cristin Milioti could redeem herself for her role in HIMYM, the only other thing I’ve seen her in. Happy to say I was satisfied on both accounts. This film is very funny and quite clever at times. It reminds me of a more adult version of Groundhog Day. The film is driven almost entirely by Andy and Cristin, but JK Simmons is great in a secondary role.
- FOOD: To celebrate my day off of work, as well as restaurants reopening, I went to a local seafood restaurant. I’ve walked past this restaurant so many times without going in (other than to pick up a prepare-at-home Valentines Day meal). It was delicious (and pricy) and I am extremely pleased with my decision. Pics below:
Have a nice weekend!
Cheers,
Shannon
Two Pints and a Paperback 