Trying To Make the Best of It
I'm going to try to keep that in mind as a personal theme for the new year. (We'll see how many minutes that lasts.)
With school and work resuming tomorrow, getting us all back into the schedule the world demands of us could easily be the greatest immediate challenge. I've at least managed to avoid a post-dinner nap, though considering that I didn't get up for the day until around 2pm I likely don't deserve a medal for iron resolve.
We saw in the first day of the new year with a turkey dinner -- with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans and asparagus -- which everyone had a hand in preparing. I did my part by prepping and sealing the turkey, which I set up and started before finally crashing a little after 5:30 this morning.
As I get ready to officially call a wrap to the holiday stretch (not that the tree's going to be coming down until at least this weekend -- that could stay a happy night light in the living room for another couple weeks; one of the benefits of having a tree that'll be disassembled and stored in a box) I'm primarily enjoying the better than 8 hours of songs I have newly loaded on an MP3 player, set for a once-through play of random selections - and David Milch's wonderful Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills.
The latter's a companion volume to the three seasons of the show, offering historical and thematic insights both from the series' creator and the actors & actresses who completed each of the main characters. Milch is sufficiently steeped in history, literature and philosophy that the text is rich and multifaceted without becoming pedantic; one read-through won't be sufficient. (This is all the more so considering how addled I've been during much of this illness.)
It was written at the point when Milch seemed to still believe that a few 2-hour movies would be coming to provide a cap for the series. That those plans have been scuttled is made all the more painful by Milch's assertion that he could easily see years of additional stories, though it wasn't as if he came into the project with a specific projection in mind.
To belabor the point, I recommend the book for any serious fans of the series, however disappointed they may have been by the seeming lack of a dramatic resolution in the closing episodes of season three. Between sifting through the details of what was history and what confabulation, and seeing how Milch viewed the psychology, perspective and motivations of each of the main characters, it's enjoyable in its own right and leaves me wanting to re-watch the series again sometime soon.
I was pleased to see that among Milch's references in the book was Estelline Bennett's Old Deadwood Days, her memoir as someone who spent part of her childhood in Deadwood back in the years under consideration. We've had that trade kicking around the house for the past year or so. While nowhere near as rich and engrossing as Milch's book (which, admittedly, is able to draw on the drama of his partially fictionized and colorful version of history) it's still an interesting memoir and historical snapshot.
All of the items, from this season's MP3 player (and a helpful assist with loading it up) and the Milch book to the earlier memoir (which was a gift from a while back), are thanks to my wife, btw.
Trying to bring together a pleasingly eclectic mix for the MP3 player's seen me taking some of this time off to poke around for new music while looking for those odds and ends I've run across from time to time but forgotten by the time I was looking to acquire new music.
Okay... time to take care of a little more clean-up around here, make sure we have clothes set for our return to the obligatory world outside tomorrow, and then dose up with enough meds (and drink, if necessary) to fell me so I have a shot at some restful, recuperative sleep.
I'm going to try to keep that in mind as a personal theme for the new year. (We'll see how many minutes that lasts.)
With school and work resuming tomorrow, getting us all back into the schedule the world demands of us could easily be the greatest immediate challenge. I've at least managed to avoid a post-dinner nap, though considering that I didn't get up for the day until around 2pm I likely don't deserve a medal for iron resolve.
We saw in the first day of the new year with a turkey dinner -- with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans and asparagus -- which everyone had a hand in preparing. I did my part by prepping and sealing the turkey, which I set up and started before finally crashing a little after 5:30 this morning.
As I get ready to officially call a wrap to the holiday stretch (not that the tree's going to be coming down until at least this weekend -- that could stay a happy night light in the living room for another couple weeks; one of the benefits of having a tree that'll be disassembled and stored in a box) I'm primarily enjoying the better than 8 hours of songs I have newly loaded on an MP3 player, set for a once-through play of random selections - and David Milch's wonderful Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills.
The latter's a companion volume to the three seasons of the show, offering historical and thematic insights both from the series' creator and the actors & actresses who completed each of the main characters. Milch is sufficiently steeped in history, literature and philosophy that the text is rich and multifaceted without becoming pedantic; one read-through won't be sufficient. (This is all the more so considering how addled I've been during much of this illness.)It was written at the point when Milch seemed to still believe that a few 2-hour movies would be coming to provide a cap for the series. That those plans have been scuttled is made all the more painful by Milch's assertion that he could easily see years of additional stories, though it wasn't as if he came into the project with a specific projection in mind.
To belabor the point, I recommend the book for any serious fans of the series, however disappointed they may have been by the seeming lack of a dramatic resolution in the closing episodes of season three. Between sifting through the details of what was history and what confabulation, and seeing how Milch viewed the psychology, perspective and motivations of each of the main characters, it's enjoyable in its own right and leaves me wanting to re-watch the series again sometime soon.
I was pleased to see that among Milch's references in the book was Estelline Bennett's Old Deadwood Days, her memoir as someone who spent part of her childhood in Deadwood back in the years under consideration. We've had that trade kicking around the house for the past year or so. While nowhere near as rich and engrossing as Milch's book (which, admittedly, is able to draw on the drama of his partially fictionized and colorful version of history) it's still an interesting memoir and historical snapshot.
All of the items, from this season's MP3 player (and a helpful assist with loading it up) and the Milch book to the earlier memoir (which was a gift from a while back), are thanks to my wife, btw.
Trying to bring together a pleasingly eclectic mix for the MP3 player's seen me taking some of this time off to poke around for new music while looking for those odds and ends I've run across from time to time but forgotten by the time I was looking to acquire new music.
Okay... time to take care of a little more clean-up around here, make sure we have clothes set for our return to the obligatory world outside tomorrow, and then dose up with enough meds (and drink, if necessary) to fell me so I have a shot at some restful, recuperative sleep.
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Comments
I'll have to look around for a copy of the Deadwood volume(s) you mention as I could certainly be interested in such a thing.
Sounds like Mrs. N. did a good job on gifties for you this year. I'm glad!
We spent yesterday undecorating and doing some general cleaning. Consequently, the pork roast I had planned to make ended up in the freezer and we had leftovers (Chinese carryout from the day before and some leftover hors d'oerves from NY Eve) instead.