I had a very slow day in the library yesterday. But in a way I'm glad because I'm going to be working this weekend. My co-worker arranged a conference of European school librarians on Friday and Saturday, and since it's happening at our school I couldn't very well not attend. Maybe I'll learn something. Who knows?
There is construction everywhere at the moment. Parts of Finchley Road are closed near the school for some kind of water works (above)...
...and the entrance to Billy Fury Way (that alley between the two buildings) is closed on West End Lane. I have no idea what's happening here and Google can't seem to tell me, but there's a notice posted at the site so maybe I just need to read it a bit more closely. This sidewalk is a very busy path between West Hampstead's three tube and train stations -- driving all those pedestrians into the street (or across it) seems pretty hazardous, even temporarily.
As a friend of mine used to say, "Will the world ever be finished?"
Dave and I started "The White Lotus" last night. We're two episodes in already, but I dozed off about halfway through the second (a fault of fatigue, not the show) so I need a recap. I'll re-watch it this evening.
Yesterday I got rather exasperated that there was yet another article about "Severance" in The New York Times. The NYT folks are obsessed with that show. They've run at least 14 articles about it in the past month, according to the somewhat wonky search function on the web site, and 24 since January. For a single TV show in the newspaper of record, that seems unprecedented. There have been articles about the building where it's filmed, the food in the show, the "dystopian signifiers" in the clocks and cubicles, the paranoia depicted in the show's relationships, and the proposition that it's "a brutal tale of female self-loathing." It's to the point that yesterday I tried to leave a comment on the most recent article to say "ENOUGH WITH 'SEVERANCE' ALREADY!" But the site wasn't accepting coments on that story, so I'll leave my feedback here.
Working on the weekend isn't fair :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like that could be an interesting and worthwhile conference..it may be on a weekend but a nice change in routine
ReplyDeleteNot the first time the nyt has become obsessed with a story. 38 features about her emails..
ReplyDeleteHave you watched Adolescence yet? I've watched it and everybody seems to be talking about it.
ReplyDeleteOh whoopee-do! You will be at work on Saturday! That means you will have a one day weekend. As for the work on Billy Fury Way, Billy Fury would have been so furious he'd have sung...
ReplyDeleteMaybe tomorrow there'll be no sorrow
Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow
I've seen all those articles about Severance, and I agree with you. It's too much. I've enjoyed watching it, but damn. Enough is enough. Also, besides you and one person at work, no one I know has seen the show at all.
ReplyDelete"Will the world ever be finished?" ... I fear that it is well on its way at the moment. Finished for good.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve been enjoying White Lotus season 3, but it is slower at times than the previous two. We find it an improvement over season 2. Finished Adolescence. Powerful, devastating, and quality. Haven’t watched Severance. It sounds interesting except for the non-stop talk about it. “Will the world ever be finished” is a great line with more than one way to read it. The long view from our terrace includes three tall construction cranes. I find them annoying.
ReplyDeleteConstruction everywhere, apparently, usually with nothing going on. It's infuriating.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they will never finish working.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get Apple TV, so I haven't watched it. I sure have seen a lot of headlines about it though. Remember the days when there were just three TV networks and no VCRs? My how things have changed!
ReplyDeleteMy NYT newsletter mentioned that their most clicked story for a couple days now was something about "18 uses for your Apple phone you never knew about" and I thought, That is what is wrong with the world today! People are not paying attention! The most clicked stories should be about the horrors going on in our government!
ReplyDeleteI just realized how ironic it is that Glen and I are currently watching Alfred Hitchcock TV episodes from the mid-fifties. They can be pretty bad but they are amusing. Lots of new TV that can't make that claim. But there is some excellent programming too.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to your friend is, yes, the world will eventually be finished building. The caveat is that we humans as a species will likely not be around to witness the completion.
ReplyDeleteI went to every conference I could. There was always something to learn. So enjoy your conference.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know how to tell out of towners how to get to my house anymore -- the highways, roads are torn up for constructions, exits closed. I was going to meet a friend for lunch next week here but I'm thinking of either a 'burg or meet-in-the-middle. Do you get comp time Monday if you do a work conference Saturday? I don't have whatever streams White Lotus or Severance. I'm getting tired of hearing about them both!
ReplyDeleteWork related conferences can be great. How times have changed. My work-related conferences were mostly out-of-town and entirely at company expense. We even had a budget for conferences.
ReplyDeleteBecause we have freezing temperatures at night and gardening is still in the future,
I'm watching Monty Don on TV.
I've noticed that same thing about articles about that TV show. I haven't watched it yet but all that hype makes want to skip it.
ReplyDeleteThat construction and road repair is going on everywhere it seems. Here, it's hard to find a street that doesn't have road blocks and lane closures.
I just finished my 3rd day in a row of starting work at 6 a.m. I'll have worked 10 hours each of the three days - but I get to comp it by taking a full day off sometime (my boss just handed me a certificate - ha!). I'm kind of excited about it, but I have to say that my quality of work for the rest of this particular day might be a smidge lower than usual.
ReplyDeleteI hope the conference is interesting!
I've always felt that way about roads/highways in particular. There is ALWAYS construction going on somewhere!
ReplyDeleteYes, enough on Severance. I like the show and have been to several places they filmed (Minnewaska State Park, Beacon and Kingston in New York) but the last episode made me mad! That conference sounds interesting although I hated giving up my weekends when I worked. I would sign up for classes and then hate myself for it when the time arrived!
ReplyDeleteLove your friend's clever question.
ReplyDeleteI may be the only person who has NOT heard of Severance. Reading about it, I can't say I would be interested in seeing it. Hope something good comes out of your Saturday at work.
ReplyDeleteHave not heard of Severance, either. Still losing touch with my culture.........
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of Severance and probably don't want to see it. "A brutal tale of female self-loathing" sounds terrible to me. I have heard of The White Lotus but haven't looked into it, so I don't know if I would want to see it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the world WAS once already finished, then man learned to talk, and the decline began.
ReplyDeleteI'm baffled that Severance is getting so much attention. I had to force myself to sit through an entire episode, which I did only because of Patricia Arquette. What is it that people find so interesting? Even the articles about it are dull!
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