© by Gerald So | 2:30 AM
Two weeks ago, I discovered one of my fitted bedsheets torn. The Boston Linen percale cotton set, mentioned here, had served in biweekly rotation with a Pinzon percale set from May 2019 to November 2021 and triweekly since then.
I looked to replace it with a second Pinzon percale set since my first is helding strong, but Amazon seems to have discontinued that set. Finding many cotton sheet sets warrantied for two years, I decided on a navy blue Brielle Tencel Modal jersey knit set, having read modal is more durable in bedsheets than cotton.
You may be interested in the difference between the Brielle Tencel modal sheet set and a Brielle Tencel lyocell sheet set I bought in 2021. Tencel modal processing is less eco-friendly than Tencel lyocell's closed-loop, Among modals, however, Tencel is certified sustainably-sourced and uses less energy and water, causing less global warming and eutrophication. The Tencel modal sheet set can be washed in a cold-water normal cycle where the lyocell set specifies a cold-water gentle cycle.
Monday, October 30, 2023
Sunday, October 29, 2023
Matthew Perry dies at 54
Posted 1:30 AM by Gerald So
I'm still in denial hours after reading reports FRIENDS star Matthew Perry died today at his Los Angeles home. I had watched Perry before FRIENDS on an 1987 FOX sitcom, SECOND CHANCE. The premise involved an older character played by Kiel Martin who, upon his death, finds himself in limbo, having been not quite good enough to get to heaven. St. Peter grants him the ability to try and influence his teenaged self toward better decisions.
I next watched Perry in an arc on GROWING PAINS, where he played Carol's charming boyfriend Sandy. In the last episode of the arc, coincidentally titled "Second Chance," Sandy has a car accident and vows to lick the drinking problem that caused it. Tragically he doesn't get the chance, dying in the hospital shortly after appearing on the road to recovery.
I wish Perry's death hadn't resembled Sandy's. One bright spot is Perry got to publish his 2022 memoir about trying to overcome addiction, FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING. I'll remember him as the actor who got to play Chandler Bing, the enbodiment of 1990s wit, the character who said what we all wish we had.
Embed from Getty Images
I'm still in denial hours after reading reports FRIENDS star Matthew Perry died today at his Los Angeles home. I had watched Perry before FRIENDS on an 1987 FOX sitcom, SECOND CHANCE. The premise involved an older character played by Kiel Martin who, upon his death, finds himself in limbo, having been not quite good enough to get to heaven. St. Peter grants him the ability to try and influence his teenaged self toward better decisions.
I next watched Perry in an arc on GROWING PAINS, where he played Carol's charming boyfriend Sandy. In the last episode of the arc, coincidentally titled "Second Chance," Sandy has a car accident and vows to lick the drinking problem that caused it. Tragically he doesn't get the chance, dying in the hospital shortly after appearing on the road to recovery.
I wish Perry's death hadn't resembled Sandy's. One bright spot is Perry got to publish his 2022 memoir about trying to overcome addiction, FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING. I'll remember him as the actor who got to play Chandler Bing, the enbodiment of 1990s wit, the character who said what we all wish we had.
Embed from Getty Images
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Fifty Years of Spenser
Posted 5:30 AM by Gerald So
2023 is the fiftieth anniversary of fictional Boston private eye Spenser's debut in THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT. Earlier this week the website CrimeReads marked the occasion with an essay by L. Wayne Hicks including quotes from Parker's late widow Joan, his older son David, SPENSER: FOR HIRE screenwriter John Wilder, and continuation authors Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica.
A Spenser reader since 1993, I started an online discussion of Parker's works and legacy in 2001 and moderated it until 2018. The perks have included writing a tribute to Parker for a 2007 lifetime achievement award, interviewing Ace Atkins two days after his 2011 announcement as continuation author, and advance-reviewing the Spenser sequels. Here's my look at how Spenser has weathered the years.
While THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT is our first glance at Spenser, the additions of psychiatrist Susan Silverman in book two and legbreaker Hawk in book four help reveal him as he endures and elevate the series like Avery Brooks elevates SPENSER: FOR HIRE.
Books two through ten test Spenser and Susan's love to a breakup that lasts through book twelve. The romantic tension a meaningful part of the series to that point, I miss it in the rest of Parker's entries. In his later years, the characters become settled and ageless, the books virtually standalone. This lets me down as a longtime fan, but lets new readers start with any book, lets Spenser live anytime.
I covered Ace Atkins' continuation run here and elsewhere at the time. Summing it up, I admire that he didn't pick the characters up in the infinite episodic state Parker left them. Instead, his sequel to Parker's final Spenser read more like Parker in his prime. Atkins didn't ride Parker's coattails. He established his own credibility and made a case for Spenser's relevance with every book.
Mike Lupica steps into Spenser this November with ROBERT B. PARKER'S BROKEN TRUST. Before the promotion, he ably emulated Parker in four Sunny Randall and three Jesse Stone sequels. His writing in Spenser's voice, though, is less flowing than Parker's or Atkins'. His Spenser is also quick to explain poetic remarks. These changes lessen my enjoyment, but they may make Spenser more accessible to people not as steeped in poetry. That might boost sales and create demand for further Spenser.
Similarly, Netflix's 2020 picture SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL didn't aim to please Spenser readers; it aimed to draw Mark Wahlberg fans. Maybe they'd read Spenser from there, maybe not. How many more books, TV shows, movies can there be? The market will decide.
Spenser author slideshow - Robert B. Parker, Ace Atkins, Mike Lupica:
Embed from Getty Images
Spenser actor slideshow - Robert Urich, Joe Mantegna, Mark Wahlberg:
Embed from Getty Images
2023 is the fiftieth anniversary of fictional Boston private eye Spenser's debut in THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT. Earlier this week the website CrimeReads marked the occasion with an essay by L. Wayne Hicks including quotes from Parker's late widow Joan, his older son David, SPENSER: FOR HIRE screenwriter John Wilder, and continuation authors Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica.
A Spenser reader since 1993, I started an online discussion of Parker's works and legacy in 2001 and moderated it until 2018. The perks have included writing a tribute to Parker for a 2007 lifetime achievement award, interviewing Ace Atkins two days after his 2011 announcement as continuation author, and advance-reviewing the Spenser sequels. Here's my look at how Spenser has weathered the years.
While THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT is our first glance at Spenser, the additions of psychiatrist Susan Silverman in book two and legbreaker Hawk in book four help reveal him as he endures and elevate the series like Avery Brooks elevates SPENSER: FOR HIRE.
Books two through ten test Spenser and Susan's love to a breakup that lasts through book twelve. The romantic tension a meaningful part of the series to that point, I miss it in the rest of Parker's entries. In his later years, the characters become settled and ageless, the books virtually standalone. This lets me down as a longtime fan, but lets new readers start with any book, lets Spenser live anytime.
I covered Ace Atkins' continuation run here and elsewhere at the time. Summing it up, I admire that he didn't pick the characters up in the infinite episodic state Parker left them. Instead, his sequel to Parker's final Spenser read more like Parker in his prime. Atkins didn't ride Parker's coattails. He established his own credibility and made a case for Spenser's relevance with every book.
Mike Lupica steps into Spenser this November with ROBERT B. PARKER'S BROKEN TRUST. Before the promotion, he ably emulated Parker in four Sunny Randall and three Jesse Stone sequels. His writing in Spenser's voice, though, is less flowing than Parker's or Atkins'. His Spenser is also quick to explain poetic remarks. These changes lessen my enjoyment, but they may make Spenser more accessible to people not as steeped in poetry. That might boost sales and create demand for further Spenser.
Similarly, Netflix's 2020 picture SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL didn't aim to please Spenser readers; it aimed to draw Mark Wahlberg fans. Maybe they'd read Spenser from there, maybe not. How many more books, TV shows, movies can there be? The market will decide.
Spenser author slideshow - Robert B. Parker, Ace Atkins, Mike Lupica:
Embed from Getty Images
Spenser actor slideshow - Robert Urich, Joe Mantegna, Mark Wahlberg:
Embed from Getty Images
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