“I can’t find a book that I want to read”
I completed a ballot for the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night. I did some research on the likely winners and then adjusted for my preferences. Diana picked purely based on what she had enjoyed.
I was pleased with my 19 correct of 28 awards, or 68% success. Just not that many movies that I liked this year. “Blue Moon” was a real highlight.
The inauguration for our new mayor, Helena Moreno, was televised on Monday morning. We were pleased to see our New Year’s Eve party guest, River Eckert, kicking off the ceremony with Trombone Shorty. They did a great job on “Sunny Side of the Street:”
While Kara and family were in Mexico City, Diana had volunteered to help make some bracelets for the upcoming parade. Kara, Nina, and Debra walk in the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus (IKOC – you can see the letters on the bracelets) which rolls on January 24th. They walk in the Wonder Woman group – hence the “WW” on the bracelets. Attempts have been made to recruit Diana and I have advised her that I don’t think she would be able to stand the waiting around for the parade to start and the other delays. And it could be chilly for a Wonder Woman outfit.
The bracelet factory was running pretty much 24 hours a day and had produced over 50 items by the end of Sunday.
I had my annual eye exam on Tuesday morning, and Diana enjoyed a pickleball clinic – seems the overly competitive and serious folks from last week didn’t attend this week. We made a trip to Trader Joes in the afternoon and found it pleasantly uncrowded and well stocked. I’m sad to report that I’ve been to this new store enough times that I feel like I know my way around.
Tuesday evening brought our worst trivia performance in a long time. We scored 50 points, when the winners are usually scoring 100 or more. Our second half performance was very poor. “Is Egypt part of the Middle East?”, “How old do you need to be to serve in Congress?”, and many others stumped us. The final question was just as tricky:
Kenny knew that Reagan had carried 48 or 49 states. Some of us thought Spielberg had more than that if you included screenwriting, directing, producing and executive producing. Jack said he had 24 – very close. I thought the Stones had 8-10 top ten albums – 38? Wow! We all agreed that volcanoes was the smallest value. Bottom line – we were nowhere close on this question and lost the 20 points that we wagered.
I watched the Colbert show to cleanse my palette from that horrible trivia performance and was amazed (as usual) by Yo Yo Ma’s performance – Bach into Somewhere Over the Rainbow:
If it’s Wednesday, Diana’s doing yoga (too cold for a run this morning pre-yoga.) I stuck around to let Billy in and out as he mostly finished up the post repair, and brought redfish and trout that he caught recently.
Diana took a volley and “net play” pickleball clinic and seemed to enjoy what she learned.
Thursday started with a pleasant walk along Magazine to Undergrowth coffee where Diana and I shared one of their award winning breakfast burritos. Then we walked up Napoleon to St Charles and back home. It was a little chilly but nice for a brisk walk.
In the afternoon we saw the movie “Is This Thing On?” starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern, and directed by Bradley Cooper. Thom had been raving about this show at trivia. It was good but seemed a bit slow and predictable. The Peyton Manning cameo was entertaining. The Broad is always so pleasantly different than normal big box theaters.
We followed the movie with Happy Hour at Cafe Degas. Always such an affordable treat. The guys at the table next to us provided some good entertainment.
Billy finished up the post repair on Friday afternoon. It’s good to know we’re back to having good structural integrity- I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn’t noticed or we had been out of town for a while.
We had shopped for the ingredients for a black bean fajita casserole recipe that sounded good to me, and I made that for Friday dinner. I think it turned out well and I would make it again. And it’s a plus that it’s a one pan (cast iron skillet) dish.
Saturday brought a couple of divisional NFL playoff games. The Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills played a very close and good game, with Denver ultimately winning by a field goal in overtime. And then came the bad news, the Broncos quarterback, Bo Nix, broke his ankle at the end of the game and will miss the remainder of the season. Let’s see what kind of magic Sean Payton can come up with from a backup.
The 49ers did not fare as well. They lost in a very one-sided game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Kenny and Kara came out to play on Sunday afternoon. We visited the Michalopoulos exhibit at the Cabildo in the French Quarter.
The exhibit had over 60 of his paintings and they were all of houses and street scenes. None of his cars or animals – I do like his old car paintings. Here are some of my favourites from the exhibit:
Vaughan’s lounge where I saw Kermit Ruffins perform with Henry Butler on my first night in New Orleans:
Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar – the oldest bar in New Orleans:
Two house and street scenes:
This was my first time in the Cabildo and it is an impressive old building, well used for exhibit displays. Here’s a little more on the history of the building:
The Cabildo in New Orleans, built by the Spanish (1795-1799), was the seat of colonial government, the site of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase transfer, and later housed the Louisiana Supreme Court, including for the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case. Now part of the Louisiana State Museum, this historic building showcases Louisiana’s history, from its French and Spanish colonial past through significant American events, with exhibits covering culture, politics, and even Hurricane Katrina.
- Spanish Government: The building housed the Spanish colonial government and its municipal council (the Illustrious Cabildo) from its completion until 1803.
- Louisiana Purchase: The formal transfer ceremony where France ceded Louisiana to the United States, effectively doubling the size of the young nation, took place in its Sala Capitular (Council Chamber) in December 1803.
- City Hall & Supreme Court: It served as New Orleans’ City Hall until 1853 and then became home to the Louisiana Supreme Court, where major cases like the Slaughterhouse Cases and Plessy v. Ferguson were heard.
We followed our cultural visit with a stop at Patula for drinks and snacks. Turkish meatballs, mushroom toast and the Patula sandwich filled us up nicely.
Meanwhile, in Redwood City, Will was busy getting Finn’s car ready for sale. It looks better than new after all Will’s efforts:
I had the hardest time finding a book to read this week. I started “Queen Esther” by John Irving, got 50 or more pages in and decided it wasn’t for me. Irving’s books are never fast paced page turners, but this one was exceptionally plodding and with subject matter that really didn’t capture my interest.
Next, I tried “Marriage at Sea” by Sophie Elmhirst. This was a little better but again became really slow in the middle section. I gave up on this one too. The critics and President Obama don’t see it the same as I do.
“THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025″
Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for reading. I don’t remember not finishing two in a row ever. Onto the third option, “The Vaster Wilds” by Lauren Groff. One of my favourite writers, I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve read from Groff.
Not this one – two much fantasy from a little girl lost in the woods. Again, it seemed to drag on very slowly. And again, President Obama is wrong.
“ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, TIME, ESQUIRE, VOGUE, LA TIMES, SLATE, HARPER’S BAZAAR and others.”
Ok, I give up, I’m going with a very safe option, Anne Tyler. She’s 84 and continues to write at the very highest level. Her books are typically about relatively mundane family happenings, but with such wonderful insights and empathy.
I chose “Three Days in June”, a story about a mother and her ex-husband during their daughters wedding weekend. Excellent characters, plenty of humour and the precision of the dialogue and the observations. Always a good choice.
Here’s hoping that I don’t have such a difficult time selecting my next book.
Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead passed away over the weekend. I have enjoyed his music with Ratdog and Dead and Company for many years.
I came across this fun app that lets you recreate the MTV shows of the 80s and 90s – Diana and I have enjoyed the 80s channel.