The Friday Weekly Round-Up

December 11, 2020 Edition

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery and in this case I’m stealing from a bunch of my favorite podcasts, shows, and newsletter when I present all the things making me happy and that were especially notable this week. So saddle up and let’s dig in.

favorite show that’s giving me life: The Flight Attendant

HBO Max and Kaley Cuoco have teamed up to bring us this incredible Hitchcockian mystery-slash-thriller served up in eight neat little 1-hour packages and I’m all in. I’m going to write a separate who deal on this show because it’s packed with interesting and possibly genre-bending tidbits but let me tell you why it’s making me so happy: 1) it’s not at all predictable and 2) it’s joyfully messing with all of us. If this show had an agenda it’s to keep the viewer off kilter, from the casting straight through to the drop schedule (3 episodes on Thanksgiving, 2 last week, who knows what’s next).

I have a lot of questions and some serious moments of doubt but the number of times I’ve yelled at the screen in disbelief is very worthwhile. Also it’s got the best opening titles I’ve ever seen. And Zosia Mamet. Just watch it. You’ll get sucked in like the rest of us.

what am I reading right now and how am I loving it?

Man, I started this based on a gazillion awesome reviews everywhere, most of which said she’s so funny. I figured how could I lose? Funny, check. Book about Mars, check. Astronauts, check.

So far, it’s a real snooze, y’all, and I’m searching for the funny. Now, I’ll be honest: I haven’t given her my full attention so I’m going to reboot and give it another shot but it’s gonna have to really turn around for me to finish.

I have learned something about myself, though. As much as I love the content, reading is an experience for me and I’ll admit, I don’t love the physical copy of this and that might be the problem. It’s not an editor’s copy paperback with a nice weight white paper. It’s like a mass print paperback with yellowy, newprint pages…it looks like every James Michener book I’ve ever seen. I’m preemptively smelling the dust that will accumulate on it when it hits my shelf, inevitably half-read.

One more college try and then I’m out.

trend that I’ve fully bought into: Advent Calendars

I’ve Advent Calendar-ed up this year. Every day June gets her Trader Joe’s Advent Calendar salmon and sweet potato treat for dogs. My nephews are hopefully opening their Trader Joe’s Advent Calendar for people. I’m working my way through my Nespresso Advent Calendar. Apparently, I can’t get enough waiting.

this week, all my money has gone to: Trader Joe’s

Advent Calendars, duh. Also, since COVID restrictions have tightened, TJ’s doesn’t have baskets anymore, just carts. Guess what the cart does? Invite a single-person to buy 2-3x more stuff than ever before. It’s not a complaint so much as it is a cap-tip to the genius of a store that already got a fair amount of every paycheck. On the other hand, I’ve now got as much Unexpected Cheddar as I’ll need for the next month so…you win some, you lose some.

visiting old friends: Kate Potter’s Namaste Yoga

There are few things I treasure as much as this yoga series…I love it so much for so many reasons, including but not limited to Kate Potter’s own Canadian-accented audio BUT it’s Canadian which means it’s unexplicably hard to find for purchase in the US. So I’ve had a set on DVD that pre-dates all my nephews, the eldest of whom is in the 3rd grade. In addition to old, it’s also helpful only when I actually owned a corresponding DVD player. This week, as I was dusting my bookshelf, running across this set, I knew that this was an answer that I had been seeking and so resourcefulness had to win this day. So I searched for it on streaming and after a long trek down the Tubi rabbit hole, I found THE ENTIRE SERIES, INCLUDING SEASON 4…on Amazon Prime. Always the last place I look. I’m so happy to start with it again…and do an entirely new season.

dumbest thing i’ve witnessed this week: Donald Trump joining a lawsuit brought by the State of Texas (?) against other swing states who certified their elections in an attempt to overthrow the election results. This is like dumbass². I cannot wait until January 20 lumbers around.

and in conclusion…

I need to get to the holidays quickly. I’m running out of steam here. So I’m going to find some delicious things to put on a pizza, grab a glass of wine, and re-watch all of The Flight Attendant (why? because I’m obsessed) to prepare for tomorrow’s Christmas Tree extravaganza in this household. It’s just what the doctor ordered.