Wednesday, May 10, 2017

one good turn

One Good Turn (Jackson Brodie, #2)One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is what happens after “Case Studies,” with two the same characters: Jackson Brodie and Julia (who has become Jackson’s sort-of girlfriend). Brodie has moved to France, but gives the impression that he’s kind of bored with it. He’s in Edinburgh for a festival because Julia is performing in a play. While there, he witnesses a road rage incident, which spins out to having all sorts of repercussions.

In the meantime, a very rich but very criminal home developer who is about to be taken down for fraud has a heart attack while with a woman providing “favors” and his wife, Gloria, decides she doesn’t want to be bothered by his employees and minions so tells them he’s off somewhere. This appears to be a side story, but ...

Jackson, while doing a bit of sightseeing, comes across the body of a drowned woman, but loses it (the body, I mean) as he’s trying to pull it away from the incoming tide. This sets up a the introduction of Louise, a Scottish cop (and her son, Archie, and his bad friend, Hamish). And very interesting character, though it’s hard to see what she ads to the actual plot. Even after everything is resolved, Louise seems to be a set-up for a future Jackson Brodie book. Which is fine—I like her, just don’t see the point of her character in this particular tale. Events involving Louise and her son just kind of hang. Unresolved threads here. Maybe for the next JB novel (which I will download next).

A central theme revolves around matryoshka (the Russian dolls that stack inside each other), and indeed the entire plot is matryoshka. It all makes sense in the end, though it’s kind of dizzying while in process.

What I enjoy a lot about the way Atkinson spends a lot of time with the inner stories of many, but not all, of the characters. Some people say it bogs down the plot too much, but I think the characters’ development is the point of Atkinson’s Brodie books and not so much the plot, and I enjoy this.

There was one reference to “Case Studies” that did bother me, and that was in reference to one of the characters in that novel, her ultimate fate—seemed gratuitous and pointless. I won’t get into it because I don’t want to spoil “Case Studies” for anyone.

The main problem I have with this, and with “Case Studies,” is the plots do not quite resolve. Things are left hanging; some answers are just assumptions the reader draws based on hints. I don’t know yet if this is planned or if it’s just weak storytelling (or laziness) on Atkinson’s part. Or I’m just nitpicky. Maybe this novel ties up in the next ... ?

posted by lee on 05/10/17 at 02:08 PM
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Saturday, May 20, 2017

when will there be good news

When Will There Be Good News? (Jackson Brodie, #3)When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book introduces a character I like even more than Jackson Brodie: Reggie, a smart, loyal, and resourceful 16-year-old girl strives to do the right thing while dealing with the worst circumstances.

This novel, like the earlier two in the series, is far from perfect. Sometimes there are just too many details and too many characters, sometimes there’s not enough detail about the characters who drive the plot. Not every thread is wrapped up or resolved—you can only hope things are resolved in the next JB novel (which I will read as soon as I can download it from the library) or, hopefully, the one after that. (These really are not standalone books—you’ll get very lost if you don’t read them in order.)

I love the humor of the characters. I love learning more about the characters—even the ones that are, really, unnecessary to the plot, such as Louise (she was introduced in JB2, and was unnecessary there, too) other than getting Jackson out of a sticky spot or two. (I like her, and hope it ends up well for her—she deserves a happy resolution.)

The story revolves around a 30-year-old massacre of a family leaving one survivor, a killer, a train wreck, an orphan, and fierce loyalty to loved ones. There are very sad events, some brutal events, and plenty of humor and hope. It left me wanting to know what happens next.

posted by lee on 05/20/17 at 03:38 PM
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Sunday, May 21, 2017

cat snot & other tribulations

This afternoon, I decided to open the window for a while. It was wicked hot earlier this week, but now it’s just cold.

Slink was here, in the living room:

image
Slink snoozing. (click to see it big!)

Which is at the front of the house and includes getting by the dog to get to the window at the back of the house.

But he managed to do it, probably by teleportation since it was instantaneous.

He then proceeded to rub against my face as I was opening the window. Then sneezed in my face. A full, snot-laden, allergy-induced cat sneeze.

Which caused me to step back fast—stepping right into the dog’s water bowl.

Normally it’s just an “oh shit” moment. But I’ve been sick for a week (allergies or a cold, who knows?) and am exhausted because last night I 1) binge-watched every episode of Marcella on Netflix and 2) got very little sleep once I did get to bed since every time I settled down, I started coughing. And trying not to cough so I wouldn’t wake Stanley. Which made the coughing worse, of course.

(Marcella was very good. But a lot of holes, kind of built-in to the series—she suffers from fugue states, it seems—maybe to explain things where you don’t really know what happened but seem to be resolved so the story continues. Hmm. Maybe these get resolved in season two?)

Anyway, after stepping into the dog’s water bowl, I just started laughing (while sopping up the water), which made me start coughing again. Which made me think about the benefits of Depends.

It’s just too cold for May.

posted by lee on 05/21/17 at 07:00 PM
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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

learning stuff in photoshop

Though I’ve been using Photoshop for more than 15 years now, I’ve pretty much used it for journeyman stuff, such as making and processing graphics and photos for use on websites and in digital advertising. Haven’t had time to experiment much with it, or learn new stuff unless I have to in order to achieve an effect I want. So I decided to try to learn something new at least once a week.

Today comes from the MediaLoot blog: Make Colors Pop in Lightroom or Photoshop—I have both, but use Photoshop all the time while I haven’t had time to actually learn Lightroom. It involves using the Camera Raw filter. I used the settings from the tutorial, and here are the before (minimal processing, low-res image taken with my Galaxy phone):

flowers on the mantle, pre-filter
Flowers on the mantle, before processing (click to see it big!)

Flowers on the Mantle, filter applied
Flowers on the mantle, after applying camera raw filtering (click to see it big!)

I think the second image does look a lot better. So much so that I’m willing to use the preset filter I made with the tutorial on other photos. But I also think I need to learn more about what I’m actually doing so I can twitch the filter to make it look even better.

Here are two more experiments. I think the processed photos are much better—these are images taken with my Canon:

Slink in the Window, May 25, 2016, no processing
Slink in the Window, May 25, 2016, no processing (click to see it big!)

Slink in the Window, May 25, 2016,color processed
Slink in the Window, May 25, 2016, after filter application (click to see it big!)

Pepper in the Window October 29 2015 no processing
Pepper in the Window, October 29, 2015, no processing (click to see it big!)

Pepper in the Window October 29 2015 color processed
Pepper in the Window, October 29, 2015, after filter application (click to see it big!)

So, cool. Learned something new.

posted by lee on 05/24/17 at 05:20 PM
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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

cold end to may, but roses!

The drought is definitely over. And so far, we had only one unbearable day as far as the heat goes—one day, it got up to near 90°. But, for the most part, May has been a chilly month. Today it will not get up to 65°. And it’s dreary. Overcast and damp.

But, the roses are blooming! Stanley brought some in for me, and the fragrance is just lovely.

First roses, May 30, 2017
First roses of the summer. (click to see it big!)

Roses, May 30,2017
Another shot (click to see it big!)

And yet another shot of the first roses, May 30, 2017
And yet another shot of the first roses, May 30, 2017, because why not? (click to see it big!)

Roses and Peruvian Lilies on the mantle, May 30, 2017
I put the roses on the mantle to protect them from Bad Cat Slink. (click to see it big!)

Pepper still surprises us.Earlier this month she decided to explore the ceiling—something she’s never done before, at least not that we’d ever seen!

Pepper checking out the ceiling, May 4, 2017
Perhaps she was looking for spiders? (click to see it big!)

posted by lee on 05/30/17 at 03:45 PM
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