The Passage, Justin Cronin

A government experiment goes badly awry and virals (vampire-ish creatures) are released into an unsuspecting world, creating havoc to say the least.  Is there a hero that saves the world?  Most everyone left alive is too focused on merely staying alive.  Well, there is a little girl.  As Justin Cronin begins:

Before she became the Girl from Nowhere--the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years--she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy.

 Amy, you see, was one of the subjects of the experiment.  She's a strange and vulnerable little girl who for some reason wasn't destroyed or disfigured like the others.  The first half of the novel is destruction.  The second half is the realization that the status quo is unsustainable.  There is continuous juxtaposition between journeys and imprisonment.  What is safe?  Where is safe?  Can safety be counted on when the barbarians are always at the gate?

The Passage was heavily promoted this past summer, and I bought into the hype (I'm so weak) and ran out and bought a copy.  Am I glad I did?  Ye-es.  I missed the whole dragon tattoo craze (and I have no intention of catching up), so I thought I'd get ahead of the game with The Passage before the movie comes out (the rights have been sold already).  It's a long book, and I read it over a long weekend.  I was sick at the time so perhaps I didn't appreciate it as much as I might have if I were feeling more like myself.  That being said, it was a good story and Cronin is a good storyteller.  There was only one point - during an "is he dead or not" section - that I thought a good editor should have suggested that Cronin make some changes because he and the story are better than what's on the page.  It's a quibble only.  I do have a heads up, though.  This book is reported to be the first of a trilogy, which I didn't know until the last page, and then I wanted to throw the book across the room.  It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but the end is a shocker.  Chances are pretty good I'll be back for part two.

Oven-Fried Panko Chicken

Yesterday was hectic.  We were out of town, so we are behind in a lot of tasks.  Trying to catch up, we had a ton of chores and errands to complete before the Steelers game at 8:15.  I did not have the time or energy for an elaborate meal, but after such a busy and cold day, a good meal was in order.  We decided on one of our fall-back favorites, Oven-Fried Panko Chicken.  It's super-easy, juicy, and tasty:  chicken (I used boneless breasts) dipped in butter and coated in panko with salt, pepper, and cayenne and baked at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  I chopped a few potatoes (left the peels on) and coated them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and put that in the oven along with the chicken.  The potatoes came out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.  The rosemary wasn't a great complement to the panko/cayenne chicken, but it was okay.  I also steamed a big bunch of fresh broccoli to offset some of that butter in the chicken.

I served a 2007 Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay with dinner.  The prep was maybe fifteen minutes, and I was able to run to Wal-Mart while dinner was in the oven.  It was a satisfying meal leading to a satisfying Steelers win!

Iron Man 2

This is not a bad sequel.  It certainly doesn't replicate the fun of the first one, but it's not an awful way to spend some time, especially if it's a slow night and there's not much else going on.  I liked it, but I also finished a crossword puzzle during the movie so obviously I wasn't glued to the television during it.  Robert Downey, Jr., is a kick again as Tony Stark, I think Gwyneth Paltrow was sick throughout filming, Scarlet Johansson looked great, and Don Cheadle didn't make me miss Terrence Howard, slipping seamlessly into the role of Stark friend Jim Rhodes.  Mickey Rourke was good, as were the effects.  I hoped for more, but the original would have been hard to match for sheer enjoyment.

Bad Things Happen, Harry Dolan

At the start of Bad Things Happen, Harry Dolan introduces David Loogan by telling us he "looks nothing at all like a man heading off to dig a grave."  We're not sure exactly who David Loogan is, but we want to find out.  As the story begins, Loogan submits a story to a mystery magazine and is subsequently given a job as an editor and befriends the publisher.  There's a murder, and David is a suspect, along with several other people.  In this literate, well-told tale--which had me stopping frequently to marvel over a well-crafted sentence or phrase--police detective Elizabeth Waishkey tries to discover the murderer and the unravel the mystery of David Loogan.  I don't know that I was very surprised at outcome, but I absolutely enjoyed the journey.  I don't often read mysteries, but I highly recommend this book.

Hurray for Hallmark

We all have our weaknesses.  One of mine reared its lovely head this morning.  As I skimmed the TV listings, I came across this:

Daphne Zuniga stars in "A Family Thanksgiving" (Hallmark at 9) as a single attorney too busy to celebrate the holidays who suddenly wakes up one day as a wife and mother in an alternate universe. 

My heart leapt and a smile stole across my face.  My plans for tonight are set.  This movie looks to have everything:  Daphne Zuniga (Jo from "Melrose Place"!), holidays, family, realizing what's really important in life, alternate lives, and--I'm quite positive--a dashing love interest.  And it co-stars Faye Dunaway.  Really.  I've already alerted the family that I am not to be disturbed from 8:55 pm until 11:00 pm tonight, unless it is to refill my wine glass or bring me tasty hors d'oeuvres.

It also reminds me of another thing I'm thankful for:  The Hallmark Channel, the last refuge for these kinds of movies on television since Lifetime Television for Women abandoned us.  Today's line-up on Lifetime Movie Network is typical (the descriptions are theirs): 

• 4 pm:  "Night of Terror" - Forget about enjoying a relaxing family boat trip: This troubled family must contend with a deadly storm and, to add to their misery, a vicious stalker who's out to get them. 
• 6 pm:  "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger" - A naive college student (Tori Spelling) falls in love with a charming pathological liar, credit card scammer and murderer (Ivan Sergei). When her mother (Lisa Banes) attempts to break off the relationship, the crazed boyfriend abducts her daughter and hides her in his cabin in the woods.
• 8 pm:  "Confined" - Victoria and Michael Peyton move from the big city to the suburbs after Victoria's job loss and possible mental breakdown. When she starts to suspect that her next door neighbor is keeping a young woman locked in his basement, her husband thinks she may be losing touch with reality. But the neighbor's evil starts to become all too real.
• 10 pm:  "Homecoming" - A jilted ex girlfriend has a plan in store for her ex beau who is coming back to their small town with his new love.

Argh.  Seriously?  There are certain times when I must have chick movies:  when I'm sick, the day after major holidays, when I'm home alone, and from Thanksgiving to Christmas (New Year's if it's not pushing my luck).  At these times, I do not want stalkers and murderers, and not just because they don't go with Chardonnay.  If I want the twisted side of life, I'll take "Cold Case Files" and "American Justice" on A&E (I might actually have a crush on Bill Kurtis--so serious, so solemn, so reliable).

So, thank you, Hallmark.  I love your Countdown to Thanksgiving (and the ticker! 18 days until Thanksgiving!), and I will be watching "A Family Thanksgiving" and "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" (Hallmark calls it "a holiday story of family and forgiveness").  I look forward with great anticipation to the "Countdown to Christmas" and movies like these:

• "The Town Christmas Forgot" - An urban family that can’t seem to get along gets stranded in a remote, impoverished lumber town two days before Christmas. When they become involved in the town’s home-grown Christmas pageant, they not only help solve the town’s problems but learn to connect with each other just in time for the holidays.
• "The Good Witch's Gift" - Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale always has a few tricks up her sleeve, but is surprised when her handsome sweetheart, Police Chief Jake Russell, proposes. Getting into the spirit of the season, they set their wedding date for Christmas Eve--only six days away! As the two hurry to plan the wedding, trouble clouds their happiness when a mysterious man from Jake's past returns to town. 

Not a brutal crime in sight.  I can feel the holiday spirit already.

NaNo Not

I look forward to November.  I count down the days actually.  All because November is National Novel Writing Month. 

Somehow, and it always seems to happen, November does not behave as it should, and I can't find the time to write.  I have found a way to win two of the last four years, although last year it took 13,000 words in the last weekend to finish, an accomplish I still draw strength from.  It's usually a week or two before I start to think I can't do it, but that moment always comes.  The first win I owe to my sister, another NaNoWriMo-er that year.  She was a huge inspiration--largely in trying to keep up with (beat) her word count.  The second win was fueled by the memory of and determination for the sweet taste of victory again.

After writing zero words on Days 1 or 2 this year, I was still hopeful and optimistic about my chances of success...or near success...or participation even.  This November is a different beast altogether.  I have the exact moment this year when my prospects dimmed:  Wednesday, November 3rd at 1:09pm.  My world has been spinning since then (up is down, left is right, etc.)  I still have a small shred of ambition and a dim glimmer of hope, but I can't start writing until I can see straight, and the outlook for that is not promising.  I know:  poor me.  But it really is a hard, cruel world.

Happy Halloween and Braised Short Ribs

I'm not good at Halloween. I like it, theoretically and in moderation. In contrast, I LOVE Christmas. I know what to do for Christmas--tree, garlands, wreaths, presents, parties, etc. But Halloween? I'm burdened of memories of Halloweens past. There was the year that my mother pinned a few leaves to my multi-colored coat, told me to hold my arms out because I was now a tree, and marched me down main street in the community Halloween parade that way. That was one of the better years. I'm not good at costumes, either. Is it because of nature or nurture? I'm not sure. We are invited to an annual Halloween bash hostessed by friends who love Halloween. I'm always happy when we get the invitation, and then I stress for the next two weeks over what to wear. My ideas this year: Dora the Explorer (where do you find orange shorts in late October on the East Coast?), an American tourist (I hate to disrespect my fellow countrymen/ women), Amy Winehouse (or is it Cher? Snooki?).  Despite my extending worrying, I was still costume-less the afternoon before the party.  I found my inspiration this year in a satin dress I bought on clearance for $5:

I saw it as Audrey Hepburn-ish.  The scarf on my head was practical, too, because we were outside all night and it helped to keep the heat in.  (Apparently, scientists are hard at work debunking the myth that we lose so much heat that way.  Go Science!)

Sunday, of course, was the actual holiday, except where my parents live.  Their township had trick-or-treating on the 30th.  ????  Who does that?  Is this common in small towns?  Any why would you do that?  Is it only Halloween that gets this special rescheduling? Why again?

Anyway, the Steelers were playing at 8:15 so we had that to consider as well.  I needed something for dinner that I could put on early and didn't require much attention, what with all the trips to answer the door, but was hearty enough for a cold, football night.  We decided on Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes.  I love this recipe.  (I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of how good it looked.  Sorry.)  You braise the short ribs, carmelize carrots/onions/celery/garlic/thyme, deglaze with broth, and then roast in the oven for 2.5 hours.  The recipe calls for 1.5 hours, but that's not long enough for the meat to get tender enough (this I have learned from experience).  You will have to skim the fat off of the surface before serving.  I have skimped on skimming in the past and sorely regretted it.  The ribs and gravy are fantastic over mashed potatoes.  I started with a salad (green! raw! fresh!) to balance the heavy meatiness and served it with some rolls to sop up the gravy (mmmmm).  We went with a Rhone (sigh):  Domaine Grand Veneur 2007 Clos de Sixte Lirac, a Robert Parker 93.  I did remember to take a picture of the wine (okay, the empty bottle):

So delicious.  It was good with dinner, but just as good on its own.  We bought three bottles but might go back for a case.