Skip to main content

Cut/Snikt

As I mentioned in my last post, I read the latest George Pelecanos novel, The Cut, in just a few days last week. I think this is my third Pelecanos; the previous two I read were stand-alone novels but this one is the first is a projected series (well, at least one more is coming). The main character, Spero Lucas, is a vet of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Since he's been home, he's been working as an investigator, sometimes for an attorney and sometimes as a freelancer. On the freelance jobs, he takes a 40% cut of whatever it is he receives and that's how he makes his real money. He's still young and he likes his women. His brother is a high school teacher and the boys still hang out with their adoptive mother. All of this is background, of course. The main thrust of the plot deals with his being hired to retrieve a wholesale package of marijuana. Things don't go well, of course, and get complicated from there. It's a breezy read and an enjoyable one.

DC Comics has been making big news in the comic book world with 52 relaunched titles rolling out in the month of September. I haven't been able to pick up any, as they've been selling out and I didn't do any pre-ordering. That's okay, I'll read the ones I'm interested in eventually even if it's in trade format. I did, however, pick a one-shot from Marvel, Wolverine: Debt of Death. It was written by David Lapham of Stray Bullets fame  and drawn by David Aja with colors by Bettie Breitweiser. The title page promises that it's "A Wolverine Story Featuring Shinpu attack Robots, ninjas, killing, explosions, preventive spheres of doom and the always welcome Nicholas Fury." Boy howdy, does it deliver. The story seems to take place in the late 70s/early 80s and it is fun, beautifully to look at, and well worth $3.99.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Shuffle #413

Summer is here and I'm happy that it is. Jill finished school this week, but Grant and I have to go through Friday. I have the week off from my TTT course, so I'm going to catch up on some reading and TV. There was baseball I could watch yesterday and I can watch some again today, so you can bet I'll be doing that. Few things bring me joy more than baseball and a book in my lap for between innings. Here's today's ten... 1. I 4 U & U 4 Me (Home Demo)/The Decemberists (15) - last played on 8/19/15 2. Part One/Band of Horses (6) - last played on 5/7/16 3. Shame Chamber/Kurt Vile (5) - last played on 7/23/15 4. In the Eyes of My Friends/Sugar (2) - last played on 10/5/14 5. I Could Have Done This Myself/Lightspeed Champion (4) - last played on 9/1/14 6. Nonstop Disco Powerpack/The Beastie Boys (10) - 5/15/16 7. Mountain/Lucero (7) - last played on 4/29/12 8. Evergreen/Matthew Sweet (1) - played countless times on CD 9. The Sleeping Beauty/American Music ...

Sunday Shuffle #479

I don't know if it's the weather, nostalgia, or something else, but I woke up feeling like I wanted to do a Sunday Shuffle today. I barely open up iTunes anymore and haven't downloaded new music into it in a long time...which also means I haven't listened to a lot of the music I have stored there in a while. So, this is simultaneously old and new in a way and that feels interesting to me this morning. Let's get to today's ten... 1. Pulling On A Line/Great Lake Swimmers (6) - last played on 11/8/15 2. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Of/U2 (7) - last played on 5/19/13 3. Us/Spoon (4) - last played on 11/24/17 4. Meat Is Murder/Shout Out Louds (6) - last played on 12/11/16 5. Different Days/Jason Isbell (11) - last played on 6/1/17 6. Another Way I Could Do It/Sloan (34) - last played on 6/22/18 7. Wizard Buys A Hat/The Mountain Goats (8) - last played on 2/12/17 8. Decks Dark/Radiohead (8) - last played on 7/10/18 9. Luisa/Jay Gonzalez (13) - last ...

Heavy Rotation #37

This past Friday was a big release day, with 4 new albums that I will probably be listening to over and over again. That means it's probably time to write about what I've been into over the last month-and-a-half or so. Sound good? Phoebe Bridgers/Stranger in the Alps - Before last fall, I hadn't listened to any of Bridgers' music. Sure, I knew of her, but that was it. It wasn't until Boygenius (the group she's in with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus) that I really heard anything she'd done. Their EP is great, so I thought it was time to expand my horizons and give this one a listen. Better late than never is a cliche for a reason, right? Anyway, the album starts off very strong with "Smoke Signals" and "Motion Sickness." The former is contemplative and moody and lovely with killer lyrics while the latter is more prickly and up-tempo with (again) killer lyrics. It's a strong start to the album. If I had to pick one track to get someon...