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I finished “Neverwhere” this morning and I finished watching the TV show too. The book is much better, after reading it the tv show just seems very abbreviated. I really liked that the story was just about Richard and his ideas about life and what he wants his life to be were not based on any romantic decisions. He was friends with Door, he and Jessica were over for other reasons and he wanted to go back not because of a relationship but for his own personal character growth reasons. I read too many fairy tales and fantasy stories to be surprised by any plot points; I figured out the villain much earlier than the characters did. But I really enjoyed the story and the ride and the characters. Definitely fun to read.

I do like coming to Bear’s house and spending time here since it always feels like a vacation. However, I really hate allergies in this house. Something in this house is out to get me and my nose always, always gets stuffy and I never bring Claritin with me like I should. This is the only part of holidays I really dislike.

This afternoon, Bear and I finally went to visit Walt Whitman’s Birthplace. We’ve been meaning to go there since last Thanksgiving and somehow we usually ended up doing something else. I love visiting historic houses and seeing how people used to live and old furniture and decoration and combining that with important people is always fun. (The only part of the Louvre I really liked were rooms with furniture). This house was built around 1819 by Walt Whitman’s father. Walt Whitman was born in it and lived here for the first four years of his life. It was part of a farmhouse. Furniture was period pieces with only one chair really belonging to the family. We got an almost private tour since it was us and one other couple. My favorite parts were the ropes on the bed (that one had to tighten – hence ‘sleep tight’ phrase) and the footwarmer box where you put coals inside and put under your feet. We also watched a little video about Whitman in the little museum there and I actually bought a poetry book in the gift store. I don’t read poetry often, but I still remember memorizing Whitman’s “Miracles” poem for twelfth grade English presentation. I also got one of those leather bookmarks one finds in poet’s houses gift shops – I have Keats’ somewhere.

pictures of Walt Whitman's Birthplace )

After the museum we went to visit one of Bear’s friends at her new condo. We were her first guests actually and we had a nice late afternoon/evening with salad, sandwiches and desert. She has a two-bedroom with a really huge kitchen. We actually stayed later than we thought we would so it was a good visit.
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I didn’t realize that “Neverwhere” was a TV show first and the book is an adaptation of the TV show. I thought it was the other way around. Now that I’m making my way through the book, I figure I can watch some episodes once I finish reading about them. (When I read I inevitable skim ahead a bit and then read more slowly, I don’t know when that habit has started. But with this book I actually don’t want to spoil myself). Since the show is available on Netflix InstantPlay I watched the first two episodes. On a random note, I liked that Jessica has a picture of herself on her desk. I found that I like the book much better maybe because we get more into the character’s heads. It was interesting to see what the characters look like.

Burn Notice Bingo . Hee. Totally true, too. I’ll actually catch the new episode this weekend but this is fun.

Bones S6E6 )
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Aftermath by Jim Butcher )

Interview with Jim Butcher . There are spoilers for “Changes” and “Ghost Story” in this interview, so beware.

I might read “Infidel” too, together with “Neverwhere” because it really hits the kind of stuff I like to read. I read the introduction today and I hope I find the time, I want to finish “Neverwhere” first.

Bones S6E5 )
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Election day. Since it is a midterm election, we actually had a lot to vote about. We had races for Governor, City Comptroller, State Attorney General, Two US Senate races (one was appointed when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State so it was time for her to be actually elected), US Congressman, State Senator, State Assemblyman and 2 propositions. I really did not want to vote for my Congressman (he was one of the few that really didn’t stick to his party in the last two years) and at the same time I did not want to vote for the republican candidate, so I actually gave my protest vote to a libertarian.

I want to turn off the fraking phone today. The number of automatic election phone calls are ridiculous this year, I don’t remember quite so many.

Well, it looks like Republicans will take over the House. It will make things even more difficult to get done. It might help the Democrats in the long term, for 2012. At least I have to cling to that belief. The idea of Tea Party picking up seats in Congress just makes me uncomfortable. How naïve can they be if they think they can enact any change in how Congress works. And being angry is not a platform.

Cuomo won the governor race so that is something. Most of the election results are pretty expected.

Teaching:
Two classes – two different discussions today. I felt drained by the end of the first one, maybe that is why the second was more stilted. Also the first room is small and cozier and people feel freer to talk – one student who never talks really opened up with this reading. The second class had more trouble understanding what a paragraph on writing meant. The more I read the Lenore Look article on her trip to China with her parents the more I like her writing style. As one of my students pointed out – she writes poetically.

Entertainment:
There is some ‘free’ British TV on YouTube – I tried out “Fortysomething” today, a 2003 show with Hugh Laurie and young Sherlock. There are only 6 episodes. One great thing about British TV – these limited series. The episode was ok, there were good moments but I don’t think it can sustain my interest.

I started “Neverwhere” today with the prologue. It reads very much in Gaiman style with his humor. I am going to read a chapter a night. I still have “All Together Dead” to finish as I’m halfway and I’m almost done with Jim Butcher novella but I want to read the book club stuff too. I like it so far.
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Sherlock: The Blind Banker )

A great and funny slideshow of the signs at Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear that happened this past Saturday in DC.

“Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman is the book club choice this month with “Infidel” by Ayaal Hirsi Ali as the secondary book. I’m looking forward to this.

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