I was sad to hear of the passing of one of my favorite
authors - Colleen McCullough. Much to the consternation of my daughter I
usually avoid female authors as too wordy (she continues in her efforts to re-educate
me). McCullough was one of the clear exceptions. I loved everything she ever wrote
starting with The Thorn Birds, the epic novel about the Australian
outback, that’s been favorably compared to Gone with the Wind. My favorite
McCullough though was her series of historical novels covering late Republican
Rome and the iconic characters of that era, starting with Marius, Sulla, and continuing
through the death of the republic with Caesar, Antony, and Octavian. While I’ve
always been a big history nut, that era of Rome always held a special
fascination for me and she brought the people and times to vivid life in her
books. Well done Ms. McCullough and thank you for the words.
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| R.I.P. |
The entire area around Worcester is digging out from the monumental
storm. It remained so cold that virtually no melting has occurred and all but
the main thoroughfares are still snow covered which makes for an interesting
and much slower commute. My Army buddies, the infamous Roothuggers, checked in
to poke fun at all the snow. Most of them are of a southern persuasion and took
pains to complain about having to wear a sweater in sixty degree weather or how
hot the sun was at the Kaneohe Golf Course. In true Roothugger fashion I
informed them they could collectively kiss my fourth point of contact. This morning
I received the following reply from one: “Sorry to take so long getting back to
you, was out grilling by the pool after golf.” It’s why I love ‘em so much.
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| Roothuggers in Hawaii - And Rubbing It In |
My wife checked in periodically to secretly rejoice at her
tropical location during the storm. Her dad went through a series of medical tests
which brought back some troubling results so while her weather is tropical she’s
not in the best frame of mind. We were talking on the phone after I returned
from the movies last night and I suggested she try face timing our daughter
since it’s allegedly three hours earlier in California. She tried while we were
still talking and soon had both of us on different phones. She thought nothing
of continuing both conversations simultaneously – it’s how she rolls.
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| My Daughter's Cat Inspecting Some New Furniture in California |
I leave shortly to get the stitches out of my nose. Hopefully
there won’t be a requirement for a bandage after that and I can go into full “pirate”
mode. I’ve got some awesome stories imagined for explaining away the scar to
strangers. We’ve got another snow storm inbound overnight which hopefully will
not prevent a planned lunch date with the Wingman who’s band is playing in
Boston tomorrow night.
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| Wingman (R) in NYC Last Night |
Being a self-admitted movie addict I’ve rarely, if ever,
left a movie in the middle –even when it is abominably terrible. Last night may
have been the acid test with the incredibly bad – Mortdecai. It is so bad on so
many levels that it presents a real challenge to capture the level of putridity.
Johnny Depp is on a real losing streak and may have reached rock bottom here
playing an effected English fop. Ever since he played Jack Sparrow he seems
drawn to outrageous characters.
English actors routinely and expertly hide their accents while
playing American characters. It’s seems to be much more difficult trying the
vice versa. Both Depp and Paltrow fail miserably as English nobility and only
achieve in making themselves thoroughly unlikable for the length and breadth of
this embarrassment. The only redeeming features in the movie are the real Brits,
Paul Bettany and Ewan McGregor, who at least had the courage to look properly chagrined
at their effort. Do not spend any money on this complete waste of time.
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