Not Snowed In

I had a really good writing day yesterday, moving the book forward significantly. And I know what happens next, so today should be good, as well. I'd been kind of stuck for a while, so it's good to feel like I'm moving forward. It probably helped that it was cold and rainy outside, with the wind howling madly. That makes huddling under a blanket with my laptop and a cup of tea very appealing. Today it's still cold and with howling wind, but it's sunny, so it's a different atmosphere. In a weird way, I'm a little jealous of the people getting snowed in. I'd get so much reading and writing done.

Not that being snowed in would change things all that significantly for me. It would just eliminate the few occasions I have that require me to leave the house.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to do DVR catchup on some of the new stuff.

There's Mercy Street on PBS, the Civil War drama that comes on after Downton Abbey. I'm so-so on it. The Civil War era has never really interested me all that much, and this series so far seems to hit all the tropes. I could probably write a very accurate outline of how the rest of the series is going to go. But I like the cast, so I may give it at least one more episode before I try to fight off the sense of obligation (because it's PBS and therefore Good For Me).

I'm most of the way through the first installment of War & Peace (showing simultaneously on History, A&E and Lifetime), and I like what I've seen of it. It's the same writer who did the Pride and Prejudice adaptation in the 90s. I've seen some comments that it's too "British," but that's probably going to be the case in something produced by the BBC. Plus, at the time the Russian nobility was trying hard not to be Russian. They were emulating the west and most of them spoke French at home. I only got a jarring sense when someone had an obvious regional British accent rather than the generic "BBC Accent" that's generally become TV/movie code for "not American." The music and setting gives it a touch of Russian flair. I was a little distracted by the constant wondering of "who is that under that wig, and what else have I seen him/her in?" but a bout with IMDB should take care of that so I can focus on the story. I'm afraid it's going to make me want to read the book, and I really don't have time to wade through that right now. See, I need a blizzard. Mostly, this series is reminding me of the glory days of A&E, when it looked like they were going to be serious competition for PBS rather than the home of a lot of trashy stuff.

I keep giving that Shannara series one more chance. I'm not sure I could just sit and watch it. I use it for knitting background noise, and there's a fair amount of snarking. I've had to give up imagining any link between the book and the series. It looks like the latest episode finally set up and launched them on the quest that was the main plot of the book, so they get one more before I decide I'd rather just re-read the book. Right now, I don't like any of the younger leading characters.

My big joy at the moment is Galavant, for all its poking fun at fantasy (and other) tropes and catchy earworm songs that are so warped but still quite good music. A couple of weeks ago, we had the lovely ballad "Maybe You Won't Die Alone." Last week, they did an insanely wonderful sendup of West Side Story, involving a fight between the dwarfs and the giants (all of whom were average-size men), and then there was the rousing Les Miserables parody. All shows should be forced to label their Forest of Coincidence as such.

I have a relatively quiet weekend, with just an afternoon/evening event on Saturday, which is nice. I like having a Saturday morning without the need to get up and go anywhere anytime soon. I can put on some music and linger over the newspaper and crossword puzzle as I drink my tea. If it warms up Sunday, I may take a walk, if I can find a walking path that's not under water. All my "I need trees!" routes are currently closed.