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Just adding some more nonsense into cyberspace.
Sat., March 28th
- Slept in...which is good for my exhaustion levels and mental health, but bad for the back. The inactivity/lack of movement for so many hours makes it cranky.
- Went for a walk...in the rain...and hail...while playing Pokemon Go. I was woefully underdressed, with only a hoodie for protection. Thankfully I made it back to the house before the worst of the downpour started. 🌧
- I figured out how to set up "buddies" in Pokemon Go and picked Ponyta. You can play with them in VR mode, which just uses your camera and inserts the Pokemon into the environment. I'm too low level to really do much, but it makes for some fun pics. 📷
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| In front of the house, Friday evening |
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| In the backyard on Saturday afternoon, after getting rained and hailed on. |
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| Seeking shelter from the rain. |
- Read some more Emma in preparation for tonight's cyber book club meeting. Sadly I didn't finish it in time (unlike with Persuasion). I only got a little more than halfway through. 😬
- Book club! Since we couldn't meet in person, we decided to hang out remotely. After some technical difficulties, we got everyone up on a Facebook Messenger video chat. We discussed the book, the new movie (which I still need to watch) and decided on Mansfield Park as our next Austen novel.
Two people were missing at this point. At our best, we had nine people participating. - After our book club meeting, I watched a couple episodes of The Office. I made it to the end of season 2, when Jim finally tells Pam he loves her, the episode ending with him kissing her in a deserted office. I'm so glad I wasn't watching the show in real time when I first saw it. It would have killed me to wait until season 3 to know how things played out! 😳 Rewatching the seasons reminds me how much I want a Jim. He's far from perfect, but he's caring, fun and thoughtful. Most of their relationship is built on time spent together, genuinely enjoying each other's company. It also runs counter to typical rom-com tropes, like the "grand gesture", and is based on appreciating the little things (like the tea pot).
Sun., March 29th
- We "attended" Mass at St. Teresa's at noon. Never thought Joey, the chiweenie, would go to Mass with us. 🐶
- We made eggs with onions, sausage and cheddar, a package of bacon and English muffins with cinnamon sugar for brunch. Few things scream comfort food like English muffins with cinnamon sugar. So good.
- Finally folded what was left of the 3 loads of laundry I did during the week. I have a mental block when it comes to finalizing things like towels, wash cloths, unmentionables, etc. I hang most of my clothes to dry, so those get dealt with and hung up pretty quickly post-laundry day, but the other things remain unfolded until it bugs me so much I finally do it. Why not just deal with it before it gets to that point?! I know, right? I'd love to offer a reasonable explanation, but alas, I cannot.
- Started reading The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie. I read it a long time ago and wanted to at least jog my memory before watching the Amazon mini-series.
- Went for a slightly longer walk, Pokemon-ing along the way. Fortunately there was no rain to assail us.
- Mom found a very good, very simple recipe for authentic Carbonara. It turned out really well and is absolutely going to contribute to my personal Covid 19 (like Freshman 15...get it?). 😁
- Made the mistake of watching the two-part Amazon travesty known as The Pale Horse. See below for my review...rant...tomato, to-mah-tow. 🍅
(Contains Spoilers)
Short version: I told a friend that if it had been any more than two episodes, I would have stopped after the first one.
I understand the need for a certain amount of literary licence and that translating from one artistic medium to another requires changes. However, especially when you call something "Agatha Christie: The Pale Horse," the resultant adaptation should at least capture the spirit of her story. Unfortunately this was not the case. The Pale Horse shared the same screenwriter as Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence - one Sarah Phelps - who clearly lacks an appreciation for the source material, changing the tone, major plot points and endings in both calamitous adaptations. In case you couldn't tell, I am not a fan.
From the very beginning there were huge story changes. In the book, a Catholic priest was called to a dying woman's bedside. We don't know what she told him, other than she was distressed and that he stopped at a coffee shop on his way home to write down a list of names she gave him before he forgot any. Before he made it back to his rectory, he was bashed over the head and killed. The situation comes to the attention of Mark Easterbrook, a man living in Chelsea while writing a book about Mogul architecture. Most of the book takes place in the 1st person, from Mark's perspective. He gets involved in the case once the coroner, an old college friend, found out one of the names on the list was Mark's godmother. Another name draws Mark's attention - Thomasina "Tommy" Tuckerton - a rowdy young heiress he'd seen in a coffee shop and learned pass away about a week before.
In the mini-series, the dying woman wrote down the list of names and died as she limped her way to a police station. One of the names on the list was Mark Easterbrook, with a question mark after it. We learn Mark's in an icy second marriage, which took place shortly after the death of his first wife (in the book, he's single). We also find out within the first few minutes that he's cheating on wife #2 (Hermia), going home with a dance hall girl named Thomasina "Tommy" Tuckerton, who's dead when he wakes up in the morning. In shock, he flees the scene, lying to Hermia as to why he's throwing his favorite suit down the garbage shoot. Apparently he couldn't come up with a better story than he'd hit a cat with his car and got blood all over it (what?!).
In the book, Hermia was a good friend of Mark's, though he ends marrying a woman named Ginger by the end (who doesn't appear in the mini-series). Ginger helps him unravel the mystery of the names on the list and The Pale Horse, nearly dying when they used her as bait to see if their theory was correct.
I won't give away the differences in the endings, other than to mention if you're as confused by the mini-series wrap up as I was, you can read an explanation here.
~ Katie Q. 🐧
Ultimately all they did was take the character names and the very basic plot of Agatha Christie's book, benefit from her name being attached the project, and then produce a darker, more salacious, bastardized retelling of her classic story.
I'd suggest just reading the book itself and pass on Amazon's mini-series.
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Last, unrelated, but not least, Pray More Novenas is starting another novena TODAY for the end of the Coronavirus. Should you be interested in participating, you can sign up for daily email reminders here. I've included Day One below to save you some time.
The Coronavirus Novena - Day 1
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Father in Heaven, have mercy on us and on the whole world. We come to you today with our fears and concerns -- You know what's in our hearts. We love You, trust You, we need You. We ask You to be with us. Stay with us. Help us through these times of uncertainty and sorrow.
We know you are the Divine Physician, the healer of all. And so we ask that you bring your loving and healing presence to all those who are sick and suffering right now. Please comfort them.
Please be with the grieving families of those who have passed away.
Please have mercy on those who have died, may they be with You in heaven.
Please stand at the side of all medical professionals who are putting themselves at risk while they work to bring healing to others.
Lord, we are scared and we are sorrowful. Please heal us. Send us your peace and overwhelming presence.
(Mention your intentions here)
We ask the Fourteen Holy Helpers, those who lived during the time of the plague, to pray for us and all who are at-risk!
Jesus, we thirst for You. You chose to enter this world as a vulnerable baby. Be with the most vulnerable now. Help us to continue to return to You with our whole hearts throughout this ordeal.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
What have you been up to?
~ Katie Q. 🐧
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