killing time this morning

We are on the Little Peninsula* to attend an event this afternoon but I am sitting at me in-laws' house waiting for everyone to get back-- my husband woke me up at 8:32 and said "Can you be ready for church at 9?"  No, I can't be presentable in 25 minutes when 4 or more people are competing for one bathroom.  On the plus side, I've gotten to enjoy several cups of coffee in quietness.  First, though, I picked up my book.  I was excited to crack the next one in Jodi Taylor's series.  I had looked at it a bit dubiously when I checked it out yesterday: having read the title list a few times, I thought the title I had in hand came farther down the list.  But, 1) I ordered the titles in order on successive ordering carts, so trusted that they would arrive in order, and 2) the back of the book shows the cover images of the first three books, which encouraged my belief that this was #4 in hand.  After reading a few pages, I was surprised that some obviously big life events had apparently happened between books.  After a few other catching-the-reader-up-to-speed info-bombs, I determined this was not, in fact, book 4.  In actuality, it is book 7.
*not its real name.

Brave with Kelly Macdonald.  I've watched this once (maaaaybe twice) before, but I don't think I wrote it down.  This is a fun movie and I like the music.  It keeps the silliness to a minimum, but unlike Inside Out, it is definitely a kids' movie (although, in the way of most Disney/Pixar, still fun for grown-ups).  Not one I feel driven to own, but I'll probably watch it again sometime.

Orange is the new black, season 4, with Taylor Schilling.  I apprecciate how little we actually had to see Piper in most of these episodes (although the whineyness is starting to dissipate).  I like the depth we get with Joe.  This series certainly isn't for everyone, but fans will not be disapointed in this season.  (I'm probably late to the party-- I'm sure most big fans binge-watched it in a week, so this is old news.)

Up with Ed Asner.  This was a super deep, complicated, awesome story... until the bird part.  Then it got crazy and stupid-silly.  There were still a few touching moments, but my husband and I both independently described it as parts of two different movies, written by different people and scotch-taped together.  The kid parts are kid parts, and the grown-up parts are grown-up; they are not woven together smoothly.

Men in black 3 with Will Smith.  This is the best of the three-- less silliness-for-the-sake-of-silliness, fewer outrageous special effects inserted only to say "look at our budget!"  The story was simpler and there was more reason to care about the characters.  I was extremely impressed with the actor for Young K.  He is amazing.  How long did he have to practice to get the voice down?  He did a wonderful job.

Life Story with David Attenborough.  Another David Attenborough documentary?  Yes, please.  Some fun new facts and cool shots, and I didn't notice any shots borrowed from previous Attenborough series, as I have in a few previous documentaries.  I also really liked the short "behind the scenes" mini-documentaries appended.  It was really cool to see the conditions and work that went in to the episodes, and having them separated kept the animal episodes clean.

Martin Clunes: Man to manta with (predictably) Martin Clunes.  Netflix suggested this documentary.  Based on the variety of characters he plays (really well), I expected the actor to be a pretty cool person.  This gives the very strong impression of someone who is a bit too self-centered and not super deep.

He spends a significant amount of time talking about himself, his history, his feelings; is he that much of a celebrity in Great Britain that those are topics of interest?  I will be skipping all his other documentaries Netflix suggested.

First bite: How we learn to eat by Bee Wilson.  (641.013)  Super recommend!  This is a very good read, although it has a significantly different feel and style than her first book.  Readers invested in essentially a repeat preformance (the same writing on a similar topic) won't find it, but it is still a wonderful book with oodles of great information.  A good suggestion for Mary Roach fans.

Thor: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Jorge Molina.  I read a glowing review which left me with the impression that I could jump in here even without having a deep background inside the universe.  Nope.  I read somewhere between a quarter and half, and I have no good idea of what's going on.