Cinemascope: This Is Us (Season 2)

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of love, joy, triumph and heartbreak, revelations emerge from parents Jack and Rebecca's past, while triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin discover deeper meaning in their present day lives.

I finished watching the season finale yesterday, and seriously love this show. One of the best on TV at the moment in my opinion. I love the exploration of real issues, complex people, and no easy answers to what life throws your way. I cannot talk about why I love this one more without spoilers, so do yourself a favor and give it a try. So dang good.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is TV worth watching.

Recent Reads

124. Poppies of Iraq
This graphic memoir shares "memories of her middle class childhood touching on cultural practices, the education system, Saddam Hussein's state control, and her family's history as Orthodox Christians in the Arab world."

It should have worked, as it's not often that we get such a close up look into the lives of people only seen as a problem or collateral damage here in the Western news. It didn't work because it felt too disjointed in the telling, and while there were some really illuminating anecdotes, for the most part this read more like a book written for family records than an outsider like me. The art is cutesy, which I didn't love, and there were family photos interspersed throughout the book that were too small and dark and not labeled, so I'm not sure why they were included, other than as proof that these events described did indeed take place. An OK but not memorable read. Rating: 2 stars.

125. A Bride's Story, Vol. 5
We continue this series with a much anticipated wedding. The twins are finally getting hitched. I continue to love the historical setting, and the art is astoundingly good; the pen and ink details showcases the talents of a master craftswoman. I really loved getting an insider look at all the customs and traditions of marriage in these communities, but overall this was my least favorite of the series so far. The twins are bit too shout-y in this one, and while I empathize with their frustrations, I was glad to leave them behind as our journey along the Silk Road takes us away from what is hopefully wedded bliss for the two of them. Rating: 3 stars.

126. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #3)
3.5 stars.

I'm listening to this series on audio, and this one continues to be superbly narrated by Frank Muller.

This, the third book in the Dark Tower series, is fantastic and page turnery in parts, and plodding and oh so slow in others. There's not much I can say without spoilers, so all I'll say is that I quite enjoyed the way King plays with the concept of multiverses and the ripples caused by changes in any one. I also enjoyed following this strange band of travelers on their journey, and it's always fun to see how King weaves in tips of the hat to his other books and popular culture. This one, of course, ends with a whopper of a cliff hanger, and I started the next book in the series as soon as I finished it. If this was a standalone book, I'd round down, but am enjoying the series so much that I'll round up instead. Rating: 4 stars.

Cinemascope: The Exception

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2016.

Plot line: German soldier Stefan Brandt goes on a mission to investigate exiled German Monarch Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Kaiser lives in a secluded mansion in the Netherlands, and as Germany is taking over Holland, the country's authorities are concerned that Dutch spies may be watching the Kaiser. As Brandt begins to infiltrate the Kaiser's life in search of clues, he finds himself drawn into an unexpected and passionate romance with Mieke, one of the Kaiser's maids.

I cannot recall how it is that I requested this title, but it was certainly not what I expected. A wonderful period piece of a dark time in history told through the specific lives of a handful of characters. The themes explored gave me lots to think about. The only strange thing about it is that the characters are all German, yet everyone has a British accent. Not sure I understood that choice, but really good nonetheless.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

2017 Sketchbook Part 2: Inktober Journal Flip (Video)

A flip of the second section of my cheapo sketchbook, in which I discuss the art supplies used and pages created for Inktober this year.



If the embedded video doesn't work, click here.

Link to Part 1.
Link to Part 2.

Recent Reads

121. How to Make Friends with a Ghost

This picture book might well be the perfect Halloween read for the littles in your life. It didn't work as well for this adult reader however. The art is cute and colorful, and there are things that made me smile, but there isn't anything that made me want to hug this book, or give it to someone else and say, here read this! And given that it's targeted at kids, that ending is rather strange no? Rating: 2 stars.

122. Shadow of the Lions
DNFed at 47%.

I listened to the audiobook which is well narrated by James Anderson Foster.

Every year when the air gets chilly and the leaves start to fall I find myself in the mood for a campus novel. This one is set at elite Blackburne, a boys boarding school, with two main timelines, one when the main character is at the school as a student, and one where he comes back a decade later as a teacher. It does have an atmospheric setting, but this is mislabeled as a thriller. Yes, there is a mystery, but there wasn't much of a plot or a compelling enough reason to keep reading. I bailed at about the halfway point, at the play by play account of a football game. There is no character development to speak of, so the characters are all rather flat, and ultimately I didn't care enough to see how this story played out. The writing itself is not bad, but if I'd read it through it might have received a 2 star rating, so why bother? Rating: 1 stars,

123. Bitch Planet, Vol. 2: President Bitch
Rated M for Mature indeed.

The setting is the near future, and if you are woman who does not conform to what the men you encounter want you to be, you get shipped off to a the meanest penal planet in the galaxy. But how did this come to pass? This volume covers some of that back story.

I loved the first volume, but this one did not work as well for me. I am still totally on board for the premise, the hard look at patriarchal modes and the men and women who aid in keeping the system in place, but something was lost in this installment for me. I can't quite place a finger on it, as I continue to like the diverse characters in the story. My fave parts were the ads between story sections. Loved every one of those. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood and will continue on to see if the sparkle I found in the first volume returns. Rating: 3 stars.

Cinemascope: Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne.

While I have not read all her work, Joan Didion is a author I admire, so was delighted when Netflix released this documentary. There are criticisms about this documentary, and I would agree with some of it. Having a nephew tell this story means that things are slanted a certain way. There is way too much about her husband and not nearly enough about the author and her critical mind, let alone the fashionista side to her. But then, maybe no-one other than family would have had enough access to make this documentary, so we've got to take what we're given. I'm fascinated by the public/private personas of celebrity figures, and this gave me insights into the woman.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

2017 Sketchbook Part 2: July to Sept Journal Flip (Video)

In which I share a chatty flip of the first section of my cheapo sketchbook.



If the embedded video does not work, click here.

Link to Part 1: https://youtu.be/Gef5pcUIqm0

Recent Reads

118. A Halloween Treat & Edward Gorey's Ghosts
This little book has two stories. Halloween Treat is a fun tale of trick or treating, and when you turn the book over and start from the back you find a curated sample of his Ghosts oeuvre. This is a fun little book, but I'd only recommend it to Edward Gorey fans. It's all about the art. The words are simply window dressing, and could be skipped entirely. The art though is something else. All that pen and ink. I would love to see some of these in a larger format as as to really appreciate the detailed cross hatching. I love this his artistic style, and it would be a fun exercise to make up your own stories for each page. Rating: 3 stars.

119. Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong
Sometimes I wonder why I bother with fiction when there are nonfiction books like these waiting for me to dive into.

We often forget that what we consider advances today come at a cost. Sometimes the cost is bearable, other times it's not. Or at the very least it's not us that bear it. Smart people make mistakes. Smart people believe junk "science". Everyone is influenced by the cultural, political, social, economic, and scientific worlds they live in, and to pretend otherwise is naive. The path to hell is indeed often paved with good intentions, and as this book illuminates, there are many versions of hell.

This book is well researched and well written, and I was horrified, educated, and fascinated from the first page to the last. I knew about some of the events in these seven chapters, but the author does a wonderful job of connecting pieces in a way I had not know about, or even considered, but I don't want to review the specific histories mentioned as that would spoil the reveal. I was really disturbed by this one, so much so that I asked my partner to also read it so I'd have someone to discuss it with.

I listened to the audiobook which is well narrated by Paul Tremblay, and this should be required reading for every single person, even if the last time you attended a science class was in the 7th grade.

This book gave me a new framework with which to discuss these topics, educated me on things I didn't know about, and connected dots in a way that changed my understanding of the world. One of the best books I've read this year. Rating: 5 stars.

120. Night Waking
I've struggled with how to rate this book. There are 5 star sections, and 2 star sections. I was compelled to read on while I had it in my hands, but reluctant to pick it back up once I had put it down.

The setting is an isolated island in the Hebrides. Anna Bennett, her two kids, and husband have moved here so that hubby can count the puffins. Anna, a historian, in unable to get any work done as she is sleep deprived, and has her hands full with motherly and wifely duties. One day while digging in the garden the bones of an infant are uncovered. Whose bones are these?

There are stories within stories within stories in this novel. It is very atmospheric, and I was delighted with the frank and honest way Anna's ambivalence at being a mother is described. It is not often we get such direct light shed on this holy of holies. Work family balance? No such thing here. I was intrigued by the history of childhood, and the paper that Anna works on is interspersed throughout the novel. It was interesting reading about Anna's inner life and her struggles. However, I could have cared less about the mystery at the core of this story, though it was interesting to learn more about the natives and their history. All these various plot lines get rather muddled in the final telling, at least for me. This is a quiet, character driven story, so if you're looking for a fast paced plot, skip this one.

The author is wonderfully skilled at crafting these worlds within worlds, and as I've already said, there are sections of breathtaking beauty. I am still hard pressed to give this a higher rating because of my ambivalence with it overall. That being said, I do plan to read her other books as there is real talent here, and this is one of her earlier ones. Rating: 3 stars.

Cinemascope: Gerald's Game

Cinemascope is a regular blog post where I will share with you movies and TV shows I think are worth watching.



Released in 2017.

Plot line: While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame.

I'm not really a fan of scary movies, especially slasher types, but I do try to creep myself out with season books and movies around Halloween. When this showed up on Netflix, I started to watch it, got totally spooked so had to stop watching. Then went back after several days, during day light hours, and finished watching it. This is based on a Stephen King book of the same name, and it's really good. It's not what you think it's about when you start, but don't read any reviews, go in cold and see what you think.

You can see the trailer here. If you have yet to see it, this is a movie worth watching.

2017 Sketchbook Part 1: Supplies and Background Prep (video)

In which I answer questions about my current cheapo sketchbook and supplies.

If the embedded video does not work, click here.

Recent Reads

115. Paper Girls, Vol. 3
I think I might need one of those universal translator thingies so I can figure out what the heck is going on here. Every installment has the four girls and their future selves in different times and places, and this one is the craziest of them all so far. Are we in the future or the past? Does it matter? Time folds in on itself in dizzying ways, but the art continues to be really good, the girls continue to be brave and work on figuring out what is going on, and usual teen stuff keeps surfacing. Speaking of surfacing, monsters do that too. A fun if still confusing romp. Where the heck is this headed? Rating: 3 stars.

116. Ms. Marvel, Vol. 7: Damage Per Second
It actually hurts me to give this such a low rating. I love the premise of this graphic novel series, and I really admire the diversity of the characters and the issues discussed, but this installment felt like reading a PSA (public service announcement).

There are essentially three story lines. The first is a straight forward get out the vote pamphlet, and since it was released after the US elections I'm not sure why they bothered with it. The second story line is about the internet and gaming, and while I agree that we should all be kinder and treat each other respectfully, did we need this entire section for that PSA? And finally we zoom over to Bruno in Wakanda. Am I the only one who didn't recall what he was doing there? Anyways, hi-jinks ensue, but they seemed rather forced given the players involved.

I continue to like the art and the overall themes, but the writing felt really weak in this installment. Has it Ms. Marvel finally run out of steam? Rating: 2 stars.

117. Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002
30% in and on the DNF pile this goes.

I'm a fan of his essays, but this collection of diary entries felt tedious to read. While there is some humor, I found myself mostly annoyed with this one. The author expects us to dip in and out, and maybe I'll do that at some date if some reader I trust tells me it's worth pushing through, but in the meanwhile I'd be better off going back and reading my own old journals!

I listened to the audiobook which is well narrated by the author, but don't care enough to continue. Rating: 1 star.

Journal pages

Here are my final drawings for Inktober 2017. As always click on the images to view larger.

27/31:



28/31:



29/31:



30/31:



31/31:



I always have such a fun time with this challenge, and having done two of these now an certainly learned some things that I'll put into effect for next year. As usual I love some of the sketches better than others, but I'm quite proud of myself for holding to a daily sketching and posting schedule for 31 days. Done is better than perfect.