Better Weeks

It's been over a week since I've had time to even think about posting something. Work last week was hell, just one of those weeks that are best forgotten. Over the weekend, David and Lorin and their friend Pat came down from Sharjah on Thursday and stayed the night. We had dinner at Hemingway's at the Hilton. Very little about Hemingway's really changes and I find it's my favorite place to go for a bar meal. The music isn't too intrusive and you can carry on a decent conversation and the crowd isn't too rowdy, until much later in the night. Most of had the huge burgers and they were great, even if they are now only a once a month treat for us over-50's. On Friday we went over to Phil and Enma's flat for Phil's birthday. There was a nice crowd there and the food was great as always.
I finished Carter Beats the Devil. It was a very good read. The writing was very strong and the plotting and pacing were quite good. Opening with President Harding visiting Carter the Great's magician show in San Francisco and his dying the same night to the new invention of television, the book was an entertaining mix of history and fiction. Turned to detective fiction after that with The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis. It's a series with the police detective Wesley Peterson, so I started this series with about book 6. I hate that. Still, the characters are strong and interesting, with personality, and the setting is Devon, England, which adds a bit to the plot. It also is a mix of history and fiction with strong writing and fast pacing, although the plot at times got a little bit convoluted. I'd try another in the series, though, just to give it a chance. I just started Folly by Laurie R. King. I'll let you know.
Well, it was another bad week for the Bushies and for America. One can only shake one's head and hope that the country can survive. I have my doubts. America is in the midst of its own internal holy war and it looks like the bad guys are winning. It will mean the end of the American Dream, you know that don't you. Why intelligent people still feel the need for the god mythology is beyond me, but if they need it, okay, no problem. But when it's used to damage others lives and as a means of government, it's unforgivable. It's sad when the news bits showing the Bushies appear to be a parody of themselves. I saw Karl Rove referring to Iran's president as nuts for believing he had a halo on when he addressed the UN some months back and for believing that he has some sort of divine knowledge. If you changed the name of the country and the president, Rove could have been talking about his own boss. Oh well. That's the way it is.