Winter Watching and Reading Projects

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silverscreenselect
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#26 Post by silverscreenselect » Sat Dec 14, 2024 9:26 am

I just started Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd. It's one of the advance review works that I'm catching up on (it was officially published last week). It's set in the Congo at the time of independence from Belgium, and the Gabriel in the title is a British travel writer who gets involved in a lot of international intrigue after he conducts an interview with Patrice Lumumba just before his death. It's the first Boyd book I've read, although I've heard a lot of good things about him. I thought it might interest you; I'll have more when I finish.
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themanintheseersuckersuit
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#27 Post by themanintheseersuckersuit » Mon Dec 16, 2024 9:07 am

One Magnum fan theory is that Higgins is actually Robin Masters
Suitguy is not bitter.

feels he represents the many educated and rational onlookers who believe that the hysterical denouncement of lay scepticism is both unwarranted and counter-productive

The problem, then, is that such calls do not address an opposition audience so much as they signal virtue. They talk past those who need convincing. They ignore actual facts and counterargument. And they are irreparably smug.

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silverscreenselect
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#28 Post by silverscreenselect » Thu Dec 19, 2024 9:06 am

silverscreenselect wrote:
Sat Dec 14, 2024 9:26 am
I just started Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd. It's one of the advance review works that I'm catching up on (it was officially published last week). It's set in the Congo at the time of independence from Belgium, and the Gabriel in the title is a British travel writer who gets involved in a lot of international intrigue after he conducts an interview with Patrice Lumumba just before his death. It's the first Boyd book I've read, although I've heard a lot of good things about him. I thought it might interest you; I'll have more when I finish.
I finished Gabriel's Moon. Although Lumumba's death and the writer's interview figure into the story, most of it takes place in England and elsewhere in Europe. The book covers a two-year period, and it's mostly about how this somewhat innocent travel writer gradually gets co-opted into being an intelligence agent. It's interesting but not a great thriller. I also think the book reflects more 21st-century sensibilities than 1960s ones. I doubt an author would have written this book in the same manner in the mid-60s.
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#29 Post by Spock » Thu Dec 19, 2024 9:41 am

silverscreenselect wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2024 9:06 am
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sat Dec 14, 2024 9:26 am
I just started Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd. It's one of the advance review works that I'm catching up on (it was officially published last week). It's set in the Congo at the time of independence from Belgium, and the Gabriel in the title is a British travel writer who gets involved in a lot of international intrigue after he conducts an interview with Patrice Lumumba just before his death. It's the first Boyd book I've read, although I've heard a lot of good things about him. I thought it might interest you; I'll have more when I finish.
I finished Gabriel's Moon. Although Lumumba's death and the writer's interview figure into the story, most of it takes place in England and elsewhere in Europe. The book covers a two-year period, and it's mostly about how this somewhat innocent travel writer gradually gets co-opted into being an intelligence agent. It's interesting but not a great thriller. I also think the book reflects more 21st-century sensibilities than 1960s ones. I doubt an author would have written this book in the same manner in the mid-60s.
Thanks-I will check into it. Never heard of the book-or Boyd before. Hmm, a Congo book-I might have to watch "The Wild Geese" as I just about started that one last night-but...

I started watching one of my favorite Christmas movies (LA Confidential) last night. A case can be made that it is a Christmas movie as everything flows from the events in the police station on Christmas Eve.

It may surprise some as to how much I love this movie. I rewatch it every year or 2 and, while it is not my normal fare, it is in my probably in my Top 5 of all time favorites along with more expected fare such as "Breaker Morant," "Second-Hand Lions, and so forth.

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#30 Post by Spock » Fri Dec 20, 2024 12:53 pm

themanintheseersuckersuit wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2024 9:07 am
One Magnum fan theory is that Higgins is actually Robin Masters
In S1 E11. we get an answer as to what happened to Rick's bar that was known as "Rick's Cafe Americain" from the first 2 episodes in an obvious shoutout to "Casablanca". Since those episodes he has been managing the King Kamehameha Club with nary a mention of Rick's bar.

Apparently, he either shut it down or sold it as it wasn't making any money.

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#31 Post by Spock » Sun Dec 22, 2024 10:59 pm

In addition to LA Confidential. I just recently watched another perennial favorite-"Lone Star" that I usually try and watch every couple of years but it had been quite awhile this time since I had seen it.

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#32 Post by silverscreenselect » Sat Jan 04, 2025 11:15 pm

silverscreenselect wrote:
Wed Dec 04, 2024 12:04 am
An interesting note about John Hillerman, who played Higgins. He was actually a native Texan who attended the University of Texas. He learned his Higgins accent by listening to recordings of Laurence Olivier.
Another interesting tidbit I picked up today about John Hillerman. He was a cousin of Tony Hillerman, the mystery writer who wrote the Leaphorn/Chee novels featuring Native American cops in the Southwest. Some of those books have been adapted into the TV series Dark Winds on AMC, which will begin its third season in a couple of months.
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#33 Post by Vandal » Sun Jan 05, 2025 11:06 am

I just saw him in the movie Chinatown earlier this week.
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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#34 Post by Spock » Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:48 pm

We ended up setting aside Magnum for now as we got into another Taylor Sheridan series-his prison based drama-"The Mayor of Kingstown."

We have also been watching his "Landman" in which the season ended today. My favorite storyline started in the last 2 episodes with Tommy Norris's (Billy Bob Thornton) son seeming to start doing actual landman stuff-or as close as we got anyway.

In addition to reading way too many books at one time-I am still slowly working my way through "War and Peace." As I said earlier, the 4 to 6 page "scenes" make it easy to knock out a few pages at a time. When I finally get done with it, I will be happy that I did not die without reading it.

I also started reading a new (to me) author that I have kind of had on my TBR pile for awhile-Louise Erdrich and I picked the exact right book (for me) to start her with-"The Mighty Red." Now I am going to have to read more of her stuff.

Until I read "The Mighty Red" I had no intention of reading Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina." To me it appeared that it would just be like reading the "Peace" parts of "War and Peace" and that would kind of suck-lol.

But, one of Erdrich's characters on "The Mighty Red" is reading "Anna Karenina" and she is surprised at all the farming parts-so I guess that will probably be my next classic.

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#35 Post by Beebs52 » Sun Jan 12, 2025 6:04 pm

I read Erdrich wayyy back. Must read the rest of hers. She's good. Thx for the reminder.
Well, then

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#36 Post by Spock » Sun Jan 26, 2025 1:57 pm

Has anybody read Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth?"

This apparently odd book about the building of a cathedral in 11th(?) century England is absolutely raved about on book Youtube and readers seems blown away by it. I think that will be my next big book after I finish "War and Peace."

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Re: Winter Watching and Reading Projects

#37 Post by tlynn78 » Sun Jan 26, 2025 7:18 pm

For the first time in I can't remember when, I actually sat down to watch a movie yesterday. I was interested to see how Cameron Diaz" hiatus might have affected her acting. "Back in Action" was really a fun watch! Highly recommend.
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