Another John Le Carré, Call for the Dead blends espionage with procedural. Less than 150 pages in paperback, but a fine read. George Smiley’s introduction is pedestrian: even the opening chapter’s title is dry, “A brief history of George Smiley.” Wonder if Le Carré had any premonition he would be writing novels with Smiley involved…

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Thanks to Neal Stephenson (1, 2, 3), Isaac Newton interests me. Ghostwalk, by Rebecca Stott, was a Books Inc. recommendation when I was in the store early last month. It’s a murder mystery in the 20th century infused with Newton’s early alchemical explorations at Cambridge in the 17th century. The tactic of addressing the story…

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Never heard about You Kill Me before it showed up in the house, but mildly entertaining movie. The 64 on Metacritic is accurate, but if you’re in the mood for near-mindless, almost-dark comedy, you could do worse. Téa Leone and Sir Ben Kingsley are the stars, but Bill Pullman is funny. It’s hard to watch…

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Congratulations to Isabel and Cort on the new arrival. I hope the older sister learns to appreciate her new sister quickly.

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A 53 might be the lowest Metacritic score of any movie I’ve watched. Goal “earned” its way to the bottom. The movie was on my Netflix queue because it was a pitched as a Rocky on the soccer field. In its outline, yes, that’s true. Other than making Newcastle seem scenic, Goal is simply trying…

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My chess is limited, but until tonight, it’s been enough to hold off the boy. I got sloppy. The boy, playing black, got his first ever win (one stalemate previously). He didn’t realize he’d won until I pointed it out, but he sauntered off to bed with a buoyancy that’s rare. Click on the thumbnail…

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First bicycle race under my belt yesterday, and I’m happy enough with the results. Official time, 20:03, which put me 115th out of 228 overall. I was 21st out of 37 in the Master 35+…which seems less competitive (slightly) than the Elite Men 5 results. I don’t really understand these groupings yet, but it was…

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I’m a bit early for everyone here in America, but Happy New Year! I’m more familiar with UTC (aka GMT) thanks to OpenDNS; that threshold was crossed hours ago. Besides, I won’t make it to midnight tonight, especially with a hill to climb in the morning. As long as my back doesn’t flare up, I’m…

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Peter noted my introduction to John Le Carré last month, and Santa’s wheels turned. Thank you! I now have a box of Le Carré awaiting time to turn the pages. One is already completed: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Cold indeed. The spy in question, Leamas, is a hard man, an operator.…

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I haven’t read Ian McEwan’s novel yet, but the wife has, so Atonement was always going to be on the must-see list. Very compelling. The trailers had given away a bit much, but the main twist jarred me still. I wonder how the book will read knowing the basic story. There’s no doubt I will…

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