Winter Storm Grayson

We're in the process of digging out after Winter Storm Grayson. I forgot to get pictures, but we received about 12 inches of snow. It's cold, blustery, and beautiful out. I loaded up all the bird feeders, squirrel feeder, and suet cage, because holy heck this is a lousy winter for the wildlife.

Preview to viewing for the Hugo Awards (movies and TV shows)

The category "Best Dramatic Presentation (Longform)" is the only one where I've usually seen all the finalists before the final ballot comes out. I don't watch that much TV these days, and what I do watch is usually just police procedurals. I keep meaning to watch The Expanse or The Magicians... I saw Person of Interest about two years too late and really enjoyed it, so maybe there's hope for me?

The movies I would nominate right now are as follows:
Logan
Wonder Woman
The Last Jedi
Coco
Blade Runner 2049

Movies I've seen that would technically qualify, but aren't in my top 5:
Beauty and the Beast
Power Rangers
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
The Dark Tower
Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Movies I should probably see before nominating:
Get Out
Justice League
Alien: Covenant
Marjorie Prime
Ghost in the Shell
Okja
Bright
Flatliners

Any other movies from 2017 that I should try to see in the next month?

Preview to Reading for the Hugo Awards (novels)

This year, my older son has decided that he'd like to be a Hugo voter, so we bought him a Supporting Membership as one of his presents. I showed him where we keep the stack of novels to read, and have started texting him with links to cool short stories.

These are the Hugo eligible novels that I've read thus far:
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
The Stone Sky by N K Jemisin
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

Novella length:
The Dispatcher by John Scalzi (edited to add: not eligible, because audiobook was 2016)
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker

I've developed a bad habit of dipping into books and then losing track of them, and hence not finishing them. Included on that list are

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King
City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Then there's the books I've purchased but haven't read yet...

Artemis by Andy Weir

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

Provenance by Ann Leckie

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

The Last Good Man by Linda Nagata

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

I really need to buckle down and start reading! 

Favorite Movies from 2017

Hidden Figures: started 2017 off right, by watching this with a few friends. I absolutely adored it and nominated it for a Hugo.

Logan: really good, really sad, loved the character of Laura.

Wonder Woman: loved the first 2/3 of this. Last 1/3 devolved into a more typical action movie, but was still good.

The Big Sick: absolutely wonderful, heart-breaking movie about inter-racial love and traumatic illness

The Last Jedi: I have mixed feelings about Admiral Holdo and the entire subplot of Canto Bight, but Carrie Fisher rocks, Kelly Marie Tran rocks, Oscar Isaac (amusingly) has chemistry with everyone he meets, and the porgs are adorable.

Deadpool (late to the party, I know): finally watched this and loved it, as expected.

Murder on the Orient Express: nothing very new in this new version of the classic, but the acting is great and the cinematography is gorgeous.

Blade Runner 2049: I never quite bought the hype about the first one, with its many different versions, so I went into this with realistic expectations. Sadly for me, I spotted one of the the major plot twists far too early. But I did like most of the plot and the scenery was gorgeous and yes, I'd totally watch it again.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: I really like Cara Delevigne and she made the movie sparkle in her (unfairly limited) role as Laureline. The sets were gorgeous and the first major scene of the agents in action was truly mind-blowing. After that, the movie devolved into "meh" territory, including the insta-romance and the half-baked conspiracy plot. But I'd still watch it again...

Coco: look, I'll be honest... despite loving the music, I'm that one person who made major issues with this movie. Of course, seeing a Mexican family centered in a major motion picture is a huge step forward for Disney. But I kept thinking about how the kid was pretty clearly being physically abused, and how terrified he was of his older relatives, and how his wishes were completely ignored by them. It's not a pretty picture, when viewed through that lens. Also, the religious view of the movie is that you can't ever get away from your family, even in death... which means that if your family include your abuser(s), you can never get away from them. Grim stuff in what's supposed to be an uplifting children's movie. But I'll watch it again just for the music.

Welcome to 2018

How did I do with last year's resolutions? Well, the whole "more people less screens" resolution worked out so well that I've watched ZERO new TV shows this year, and barely kept up with my old ones. In fact, I felt like I was looking for excuses to drop shows.

Hawaii 5-O loses both its Asian leads? GONE.

Code Black cans Raza Jaffrey after the first season? BYE-BYE

Losing interest in NCIS? (but really, the interest had been fading ever since Cote de Pablo left the show in 2013) SO OVER IT.

I didn't particularly get healthier, but I don't think I got less healthy.

I read 211 books, tried 66 new recipes, and watched 26 movies.

This year's possible resolutions are to get savvier with technology, find a way to get more exercise, and make better use of my physical cookbooks. (I tend to work straight from cooking blogs.) Plus, of course, the usual trio of reading, movies, new recipes.

What I read this fall

I received a Kindle Unlimited subscription for my birthday, which shifted my reading list A LOT - more, shorter, trashier is probably the nicest way to summarize the change. The following are the best things I read in the past three months:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves

Penhale Wood by Julia Thomas

Wilde in Love by Eloisa James

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavalarro

And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker

Galaxy's Edge: Legionnaire by Nick Cole and Jason Anspach


It should be noted that only the last book in the list came to me from Kindle Unlimited...

The best things I cooked earlier this year

A few more great recipes, from earlier this year...

Ja Jang Myeon from My Korean Kitchen: just like my favorite restaurant version

Scallion and Coconut Rice with Pork from Food52: this is fairly dull the day you make it, but as leftovers it's just amazing

Irish Soda Bread Muffins from Well Plated: very easy, and the version with dried cranberries is something special

White Chicken Potpie from NYT: not easy, but so delicious! You can make the filling ahead of time, to speed things up at dinner time.

Thai Green Curry from Rasa Malaysia: easy and tasty. I usually add some extra vegetables.

Shiksa Blintzes from Tori Avey: delicious! remember to drain the ricotta really well before making these.

Custardy Apple Squares by Dorie Greenspan via Serious Eats: so yummy, but a little messy to serve