Let's face it. Sometimes I'm just slow on the uptake. I've been knitting up a storm on the evenings Denis is at work, and I've completed six afghans-- certainly a record when it used to take me two years to finish just one. Obviously, knitting and watching television really help to keep my mind off the pandemic and anything else that might be bugging me.
But guess what? After months, I finally began to tire of my nightly British and Australian crime drama marathons. I'm even beginning to remember all the whodunits on Midsomer Murders. I wanted something that would hold my interest but wasn't another crime drama. Then it finally dawned on me. Duh.
The Poisoned Pen has been hosting all sorts of virtual events during this pandemic, but I was woefully behind on watching them. Normally I would either watch one while sitting here at the computer or on my smartphone. Neither "venue" was ideal. When I sit here at the computer, I'm almost always writing something and the dialogue from the events can easily derail my train of thought. I'm also lazy and get tired of holding my phone... and the screen is so smallllll... *whine*
The night I was going through the various channels on Roku was a revelation. There was the Youtube channel. After The Poisoned Pen events appear on Facebook, they are posted to Youtube. I can watch/listen to all these events I've missed on the big screen while I'm knitting. Hallelujah!
Took me long enough to figure that out, didn't it?
The photo shows me knitting on an afghan for Denis (who keeps telling me to hurry up) while watching Barbara Peters and Val McDermid in conversation. I've gone through almost a dozen more events since then and am looking forward to more tonight. Now I'm wondering what else I've been slow on the uptake on...
Enjoy the links!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- Nev March, author of Murder in Old Bombay, asks Was Uncle Dino a Murderer?
- The Vatican Library enlists artificial intelligence to protect its digitized treasures.
- Only one factory in North American makes washboards, and they are flying off the shelves.
- Native American veterans receive a place of their own to reflect and to heal. ('bout time!) Also, the remarkable and complex legacy of Native American military service.
- Toni Morrison's personal library is now available to purchase.
- From first-time diarists to lifelong notebook enthusiasts, people around the world are jotting down their thoughts in the pandemic.
- The history of the color blue: from Ancient Egypt to the latest scientific discoveries.
- On hot days, asphalt can release as much air pollution as cars.
- One hundred years of Agatha Christie: a retrospective on the Queen of Crime.
- Is there anything wrong with being a slow reader?
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- Inside Rome's secure vault for stolen art.
- Archaeologists finally peer inside Egyptian mummies that were first found in 1615.
- The lost Egyptian city of Thonis Heracleion, submerged for 1,000 years.
- Pottery fragments may hold clues to the Roanoke colonists' fate.
- The sunken city of Baia, Italy-- a submerged archaeological park that holds the wonders of a Roman Sodom.
- Record flooding threatens millennia-old pyramids in Sudan.
- Remnants of an ancient palace have been discovered in Jerusalem.
- Why were this ancient Scottish tomb's chambers built upside down?
- The most dangerous toy in the world.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- Warmongering female mongooses lead their groups into battle to mate with the enemy.
- Monkey the dog successfully completes a challenging "American Ninja Warrior" style obstacle course.
- This kind man gets adorably mobbed by raccoons while feeding them hot dogs on a cold Nova Scotia night.
- A record number of great white sharks have been tagged in southern California.
- Why are South American animals smaller than those on other continents?
- A curious family of otters poke their heads out of a hiding place like the moles in a whack-a-mole game.
- 57 buffalo have been relocated from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. (Yes, there are wild herds of buffalo roaming around up there.)
- A rare snow leopard cub debuted at a zoo in Illinois.
- A scuba diver was greeted by two endangered sea turtles that he had rescued.
►The Happy Wanderer◄
- A virtual tour of Jane Austen's house.
- The origin of the most famous wax museum in history started with Marie Antoinette's severed head.
- A chunk of Yellowstone the size of Chicago has been pulsing. Why?
- Have you ever watched Monarch of the Glen? There are now self-catering cottages at Glenbogle. (Actually the Ardverikie estate.)
- The French Embassy's beautiful New York City bookstore.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- The true story of Rose Dugdale, the woman who stole Vermeer.
- Spotlighting 500 years of women in British art, from Tudor portraitists to the Bloomsbury Group.
►Crafty Little Gems◄
- Liz Joy of Inspired to Taste tells the stories of classic fairy tales and memorable books using the elaborate pies she bakes and decorates. (They have to be seen to be believed!)
►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄
- Time Magazine's 100 Must-Read books of 2020.
- The most unusual murder weapons in crime fiction.
- Literary Hub's 100 books that defined the decade.
- Pass the little ribbons: Merriam-Webster's pasta word quiz.
- Ten domestic thrillers that make you read between the lies.
- Can you match the classic book to its not-so-classic sequel?
- Eight chilly winter mysteries for a cozy weekend in.
- Seven things crime readers will no longer tolerate.
- The crime novels of Christmas.
That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!
Glad you got to the PP video webinars. I've watched several. I also watched many hours of Bloody Scotland panels and laughed until I was crying.
ReplyDeleteHere is a discussion between Denise Mina and Jane Casey which is fun. I just watched this:
https://www.crowdcast.io/e/the-murder-one-festival-
There are a lot of festivals now online since no one can attend any in person.
Thanks for the link. I'll have to do some checking to see how many of these are available on Youtube so I can watch them while I knit; otherwise, I probably won't see them.
DeleteI'm so glad you can see those PP events on YouTube, Cathy! I know how much those visits mean to you, and at least you can catch up this way. And it is nice to have something different to watch. Now, I'm off to explore that lost Egyptian city!
ReplyDeleteI thought you might be headed in that direction, Margot!
DeleteWow, six afghans! Impressive. Thanks for the tip about youtube and The Poisoned Pen. Now to check out links. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you find a few you enjoy!
DeleteWe certainly have an abundance of choice these days, don't we. We watch so much from Prime Video and Netflix that the regular networks don't seem to exist for us anymore. And we tried BritBox for a while but grew a bit weary of it after a couple of months, so we replaced that with a subscription to the PBS/Masterpiece Theater service - and have loved that "channel." It's a combination of Masterpiece Theater productions and a provider of similar things from all over the world. Now, we find ourselves watching more and more of the foreign dramas and comedies.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's all the streaming stuff that's gotten better and better during the pandemic. YouTube can really be surprising. Heck, I've even got a YouTube channel of my own featuring videos of live music I've shot over the years - pure country music, bluegrass festivals, etc.
And then you come along and give us all these links to follow...and I see at least half a dozen I'll be clicking on. We certainly don't lack for mental stimulation these days.
I, for one, appreciate that mental stimulation to keep me focused away from things that don't need thinking about.
DeleteMy viewing can be somewhat limited since I can't knit and read subtitles at the same time, so it means that I tend to miss foreign programming I might otherwise watch.
Well, I can't imagine what you are slow on the uptake on because I happen to be awfully slow myself :).
ReplyDeleteI love murder mysteries too, but I can't take a steady diet of them. Midsomer Murders was our favorite for a while, but the pace is so soothing that either my husband or I usually fell asleep.
There is so much on YouTube it is overwhelming. It is great when you know what you are looking for.
Enjoy your weekend!
Enjoy yours, too, Gretchen!
DeleteJust subscribed to the Poison Pen channel, thank you
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! There is more than one Aussie author event to be found.
DeleteBy the way, that turquoise blue afghan is a gorgeous color. Enjoy your holiday, however you and Denis spend it.
ReplyDeleteDenis chose it. It's called "Blue Hawaii." From the frequency of his requests for progress reports, I think he's looking forward to using it.
DeleteWell, good. He'll enjoy it. And you can see the results of your work.
ReplyDeleteI have a very dear friend who's been going through agony with his latest back surgery. The afghan I made him is being put to good use, and he's good about sending me photographic proof, bless 'im.
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