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Freaky warm weather out there, but it feels weird to complain about sunshine (especially since in the last month we've had more than 19 inches of rain. So... yay sunshine!) Still, it's still January and I saw a daffodil blooming in my front yard today, and the tea olives are blooming in the back (and the scent is glorious).
My poor Dad came down with the stomach flu on Friday. He was feeling a little better by Sunday, but Mom started to come down with it, so I went over to make dinner for my parents (homemade chicken soup). Only Mom became pyrotechnically ill with the stomach flu Sunday night. I ended up sleeping over at their house (they are both over 70 and both were in gastric distress), just to be there in case they needed something. Here's hoping I don't come down with the thing since goodness knows I am now completely exposed. I've been even more vigilant about taking my vitamins and washing my hands.
Watched last night's Downton Abbey. I was spoiled for the primary event of the episode, but it still moved me. Lord Grantham has certainly been reduced to arrogant twit, though. Seriously, when was the last time that he did something right?
Saw some of the clips of the upcoming new season of Game of Thrones in an HBO behind-the-scenes clip. Looking forward to it!
Also saw the trailer for the movie "Warm Bodies" and it looked sort of off the wall and funny (look! It's zombies in love!) So I bought the book. This was the sort of questionable decision making that brought me to buying "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which was awful. Plus, Warm Bodies has this blurb on the front by none other than Stephanie Meyers, so... y'know. Hopes were not high.
I have to say that so far, I've found Warm Bodies to be...well... almost charming. I have no idea how in the hell they are making this a movie because 90% of it takes place inside the zombie's head. R (protagonist zombie) can barely speak. Other zombies (such as his friend M) can speak even less. But, inside his own head R is downright eloquent. Is the entire movie going to be voice over? That could become annoying. What works in a book doesn't work very well in movies.
Plus a lot of it is non-linear (I'll explain why in a moment).
Anyway, bizarre premise and cheesy Stephanie Meyer rec aside, the book has been reasonably enjoyable so far. Central conceit is that zombie eat the living because it is what makes them feel alive, and when they eat brains (BRAAAINSSS!!!) they actually glimpse the living person's memories. The protagonist, R eats a kid named Perry and glimpses Perry's memories. This makes R want to protect Perry's girlfriend Julie... which, to say the least, goes against R's instincts.
Anyway, there's a fairly transparent metaphor going on. The zombies don't care, or stopped caring sometime... they aren't sure when because they don't think of the past or the future. They live only in the present and then only barely. . They've checked out. They've given up. They are ... well... dead inside. So the enemy is cynicism, resignation, ennui, etc.
The surviving humans, on the other hand, have gone to such a bunker mentality, that even though they are quite alive... it's awful. Everything is awful... until they give up or die or become chow... in which case they become zombies too.
I remember at the height of the vampire craze wondering, what next? Zombies? Will there be zombie romances? Well, the answer is yes. And, you know what? I'm liking it better than I ever thought I might. (I haven't read the end though, so I can't speak of the book as a whole, just what I've read so far.)
My poor Dad came down with the stomach flu on Friday. He was feeling a little better by Sunday, but Mom started to come down with it, so I went over to make dinner for my parents (homemade chicken soup). Only Mom became pyrotechnically ill with the stomach flu Sunday night. I ended up sleeping over at their house (they are both over 70 and both were in gastric distress), just to be there in case they needed something. Here's hoping I don't come down with the thing since goodness knows I am now completely exposed. I've been even more vigilant about taking my vitamins and washing my hands.
Watched last night's Downton Abbey. I was spoiled for the primary event of the episode, but it still moved me. Lord Grantham has certainly been reduced to arrogant twit, though. Seriously, when was the last time that he did something right?
Saw some of the clips of the upcoming new season of Game of Thrones in an HBO behind-the-scenes clip. Looking forward to it!
Also saw the trailer for the movie "Warm Bodies" and it looked sort of off the wall and funny (look! It's zombies in love!) So I bought the book. This was the sort of questionable decision making that brought me to buying "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which was awful. Plus, Warm Bodies has this blurb on the front by none other than Stephanie Meyers, so... y'know. Hopes were not high.
I have to say that so far, I've found Warm Bodies to be...well... almost charming. I have no idea how in the hell they are making this a movie because 90% of it takes place inside the zombie's head. R (protagonist zombie) can barely speak. Other zombies (such as his friend M) can speak even less. But, inside his own head R is downright eloquent. Is the entire movie going to be voice over? That could become annoying. What works in a book doesn't work very well in movies.
Plus a lot of it is non-linear (I'll explain why in a moment).
Anyway, bizarre premise and cheesy Stephanie Meyer rec aside, the book has been reasonably enjoyable so far. Central conceit is that zombie eat the living because it is what makes them feel alive, and when they eat brains (BRAAAINSSS!!!) they actually glimpse the living person's memories. The protagonist, R eats a kid named Perry and glimpses Perry's memories. This makes R want to protect Perry's girlfriend Julie... which, to say the least, goes against R's instincts.
Anyway, there's a fairly transparent metaphor going on. The zombies don't care, or stopped caring sometime... they aren't sure when because they don't think of the past or the future. They live only in the present and then only barely. . They've checked out. They've given up. They are ... well... dead inside. So the enemy is cynicism, resignation, ennui, etc.
The surviving humans, on the other hand, have gone to such a bunker mentality, that even though they are quite alive... it's awful. Everything is awful... until they give up or die or become chow... in which case they become zombies too.
I remember at the height of the vampire craze wondering, what next? Zombies? Will there be zombie romances? Well, the answer is yes. And, you know what? I'm liking it better than I ever thought I might. (I haven't read the end though, so I can't speak of the book as a whole, just what I've read so far.)
