Sunday, 5 November 2023

Sunday Seven


So here's what I got up to this week, in no particular order --

VAXXED: got my flu shot & covid booster at the same time. For 24 hours, felt like I'd been beaten all over with a big stick. I signed up with the Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network to fill out some surveys over the next little while about side effects, so I have a handy outlet for complaining.

BOUGHT: my poppies for Remembrance Day. This year I also purchased and replaced the black felt centres with new black enamel tack pins especially designed for that purpose. No more lost poppies or stab wounds from the straight pins that poppies traditionally come with!


REALIZED: my last 3 clothing purchases have all been made at Costco. I just bought a new fleece top there for winter. Sheesh, no more Paris Fashion Week for me, I guess.

LISTENED TO: Dwight Yoakam's classic country hurtin' songs. Such an inventive songwriter, a great hook in every hit, a true master of rockabilly style. I had quite the little binge with this fave 1990 album --


STARTED: my Christmas shopping. Last year I had it all done by Halloween, so I'm running late. I must have it done by the end of November, though, because I refuse to set foot in a mall during December's Christmas rush mayhem.

FEASTED ON: my kitchen creations this week included beef and barley soup, plus cheddar and bacon quiche.

WATCHED: Kubrick's classic 1980 horror film The Shining starring Jack Nicolson and Shelley Duvall. This is how I celebrated Halloween on October 31. Can you believe I've never seen this movie before? It only took me 43 years to cross it off my "to watch" list, LOL! I'm not a big fan of horror, so there was no rush. The film is certainly chock full of iconic visuals, isn't it? However, I found the script was patchy and inadequate in quality. No wonder Stephen King hates this adaptation of his book. I haven't even read King's original version, but I know it would have been better at making the story hang together.


39 comments:

  1. i think it was sheran stone who called dwight a dirt sandwich....hahaha!

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  2. I like The Shining, the film, but I had read the book first and it was oh so much better.
    Clever solution to the poppy straight pin problem, and much more elegant.
    When we lived in Palm Springs and had our hotel that was draining us of every last cent we had, SG bought two pairs of shorts at Costco. He came home SO depressed. He used to shop only in places that served him champagne and grapes and brought the clothes to him.

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  3. I'm making quiche today (always looking for ways to use up eggs), and I made a beef barely stew last week. Are you also doing leek and potato, and that way you and I can be exactly alike! I haven't even seen poppies for sale yet, but I want one of those centres. -Jenn

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  4. Never again will I go into a shopping mall in December. Sounds like a great week.

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  5. I really wish AHS had gotten their shit together in time for me to have been vaccinated, prior to getting covid. I'm so frustrated with this government.

    Glad you had a good week.

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  6. There were some really great scenes in King's book that should have made it into the film but didn't. I don't know if it would have helped the film, but the film seemed less King and more Nicholson.

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  7. @ jaz@octoberfarm -- I'm sure Sharon Stone is an accurate judge. I don't doubt her assessment. Dwight Yoakam's musical image/persona is very, very carefully crafted.

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  8. @ Moving with Mitchell -- Forgive me, but I had a good chuckle at your description of SG slumming it at Costco.

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  9. I, too, got my COVID booster and flu shot on the same day. I've done it that way each year in October.

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  10. I read King's book, and read it before I saw the movie, and it is much, much better than Kubrick's version. One problem is this story is supposed to be about a man slowly becoming possessed (or, as Kubrick seems to be saying, slowly losing his mind), but Jack Nicholson looks possessed or crazy from the moment he appears on the screen! And the movie totally botches the ending. Shelly Duvall is really the best thing about it. Still, a lot of people seem to think it's the greatest horror film ever made.

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  11. The book is much better than the film. Especially when read alone in the house, on a windy blustery night that makes the house creak. But isn't that the best time to read any of Stephen King's books?

    In the US, Memorial Day poppies come on wire, so you can loop them through a lapel, twist them on a bag, stick them in a hair clip, etc. That's the ones from American Legion. There may be other versions by other veteran groups, but I've never seen them.

    I've just put the flu/covid vaccines on my list for Tuesday's shopping trip, thanks for the reminder.

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  12. I am grateful you got your vaccines. Maybe now you will be more compliant and easier for the government to control. Also maybe you will be safer from this shadow wave of COVID nobody is actually talking about, but which is spreading like wildfire.

    As for Costco: remember that fashion is for followers, and style is for trendsetters. No doubt you are setting your own fashion trends!

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  13. Hi Debra, Friday I got my flu shot, and yesterday all day had that same "run over by a truck" feeling. Tuesday I get the covid vaccine, but I am hoping for a milder reaction!
    --Jim

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  14. It was tragic, Debra. He even phoned his sister. “My life is over. I bought clothes at Costco!”

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  15. mmmmmm...cheddar and bacon quiche. now i'm hungry! i've never seen the shining or read the book. i love jack though and will probably watch it sometime. i can only watch horror movies while it is light out. i know...defeats the purpose, but...i'm a big scaredy cat now. sounds like you had a good week.
    hope the next one is great.
    love & magicks
    ~*~

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  16. I have a few of Dwight Yoakum's albums and thought they were pretty good.

    He's one of those few musicians who've made the successful transition to acting (e.g. Sling Blade and Crank).

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  17. I'm assuming I'm behind on my covid vaccine but I did get the one that was updated for the more recent variant

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  18. Some of the scenes from that movie have stayed with me forever!

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  19. I'm not a fan of horror but I've seen most of that movie. Parts were filmed at Timberline Lodge in Oregon.

    I saw that the broadcasters were wearing their poppies during that terrible Oilers game yesterday. I like those pins you found!

    I've got an appointment for the updated vaccine... it's not as widely available as the previous, and it's no longer free. Hmph!

    The only thing I know about Dwight Yoakam is that line in the Mary Chapin Carpenter song, 'I feel lucky'. 'Dwight Yoakam's in the corner, trying to catch my eye/ Lyle Lovett's right beside me with his hand upon my thigh'

    Cheers!

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  20. Vaxxed - What about the RSV shot? We just got ours on Friday.

    Feasted on - Bacon and cheese pie, yum.

    Watched - Hey, me too. Watched it about 3 or 4 months ago. Was not impressed.

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  21. @ e -- Yes, the Oilers better pull up their socks and tighten their garters, that's all I can say! And I like that Mary Chapin Carpenter song too.

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  22. David and I got our shots too. I found that taking Magnesium 500mg lessened the vax side effects to the point of almost no effects at all. I just felt a bit tired the second day.
    I feasted on my potato corn chowder for 3 days and it was sooooo good. King's book version is so much better. You have to read it.

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  23. @ Mike -- Yes, I know the RSV shot is being widely and quite aggressively marketed to all seniors, but the medical advice I received is that RSV is a serious threat only to small children and elders with poor health who live in congregate care. So I'm skipping that one. The shot is not yet covered by medicare in Canada and is being sold at $300 per pop. I think that's why it's being pushed so hard by its manufacturer.

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  24. This is a great life journal for the week. I watched 3 horror series on streaming.

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  25. I too got my flu and covid shots together. Thankfully the discomfort only lasted a day and was helped by paracetamol
    We are now heading to summer, I hope, and we have had a spike in covid cases. I think people have decided it’s gone and they don’t need to vaccinate anymore.
    I’ve never seen the shining either. Maybe one day I will

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  26. I got my flu vaccine and I was encouraged to get the Covid shot at the same time but I did not! The flu vaccine was enough! It felt like someone had CUT into my arm for several days and then, it subsided enough to feel as if someone had HIT my arm very, very hard. I nearly cried at night trying to sleep. Now, if I get the flu after that, I will be SO MAD.

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  27. @Deb - Strange about your insurance. Ours was free.

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  28. I'm a big fan of Dwight's music!
    I too have purchased some shorts and sweatshirts at Costco; I'll NOT be at Fashion Week with you.

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  29. I've watched the Shining. Redrum - I didn't read the book but I assume that backwards spelling was in the book. Most every movie is not as good as the book. I think books let your imagination run longer.

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  30. I never seen shinning.
    Coffee is on.

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  31. I haven't read Stephen King's book, but I saw the movie and was disappointed, it seemd "unfinished" like the wrong bits were left on the cutting room floor.

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  32. We know we are getting old when our wardrobes come from Costco.

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  33. Cheddar and bacon quiche sounds AMAZING! I watched The Shining too, those twins scare the crap out of me lol. To reply: I WAS going to give up TADD because I'm not going to be on Blogger in 2024 (building websites instead), but I'm going to miss it too much so I decided to keep at it. It's too much fun! I'll let everyone know with a redirect when my new websites are built! Hope all is well Debra! ♥

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  34. Great idea for the poppies
    I got my shots separately...Covid today..I don't think it's a good idea to mix a brand new vaccine with another..Confuses your immune system..Even though they said we could..what do THEY know??
    I don't do Christmas shopping much anymore..nobody needs or wants anything..sadly
    Have a happy day!!

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  35. The Shining is one instance where the film is superior to the novel. Or at least this can definitely be argued. I find the film borderline perfect. A video on the subject: https://youtu.be/AmULZDWDHPE?si=s2FOK5WnB5Ku8UJp

    Oh and King's own adaptation didn't exactly fare well in comparison.

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  36. No reaction to both shots same day.
    I remember when poppies came with the little stick pins. Where did you buy them? I have mine on my jacket so the straight pin doesn't bother me but the little pin is far better

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  37. @ The Blog Fodder -- I ordered them from the Legion's online "Poppy Store." Here's the link:
    https://www.poppystore.ca/pins/centre-poppy-black-each-300570

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  38. I've absolutely have to get both of my shots very soon. Thank goodness you can get them from the drug stores now.

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