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Book 16 (of 52) – Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark – Riley Sager

Home Before Dark, the latest from Riley Sager, Maggie Holt returns to the site of her family’s biggest secrets in order to learn the truth, about her childhood, her parents, and the book that sat between them.  After her father’s death, she inherits the home they lived in for 3 weeks when she was a child, the one her parents claimed was haunted and drove them away.  Hoping to find out the truth about what happened and prove the book that defined her life was a fraud, she finds that her father just may have been telling the truth.  As she tries to battle the ghosts of her past, she finds some new ghosts which threaten to take her sanity, if not her freedom.

In his fourth novel in as many years, Sager continues to explore the theme of an isolated young woman trying to make sense of the past.  I’ve yet to be disappointed by his work and look forward to whatever comes next from him.

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Fitbit 6: Week 32

Week 25 of working from home due to the corona virus saw a big slip back, as I posted my worst week since the beginning of May.  Sunday started out the week poorly, just under 3000 steps.  Monday saw a slight improvement, up to 3700 steps.  Tuesday was the worst day of the week, with only 2600 steps.  Wednesday bounced back a bit, but still was only 3 steps shy of 5300.  Thursday was the highpoint of the week. earning nearly 7600 steps.  Friday emded with just 4200 steps, as I was working into the night.  Saturday I spent the morning working before driving up to Michigan, leaving me with only 3400 steps.

Total steps: 29,956

Daily average: 4279.4

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You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 2 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen, down 1 from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

The most recent of her films that I’ve seen is still Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Cameron Diaz

I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper.  She managed to get 2 films on my list in 4 different years, most recently in 2010.  She has not been acting much in recent years, leading to a 4 year break between films before I saw her again in 2019, though that was 2010’s Knight And Day.

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Fitbit 6: Week 31

Week 24 of working from home due to the corona virus saw a big slip back, as I posted my worst week since the beginning of May.  Sunday turned out to be the best day of the week, as a couple of walks outside led me to 6900 steps.  Unfortunately for the rest of the week, it also resulted in my fall allergies kicking in.  Monday fell down to 4900 steps.  Tuesday was even worse, with only 2800 steps.  Wednesday bounced back a bit, but still was only 1 step shy of 3600.  Thursday. despite a midday trip out for ice cream with Michael,  I only managed 3000 steps.  Friday and Saturday I failed to reach even 2000 steps.

Total steps: 24,980

Daily average: 3568.6

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Back To School

School is back in session and we have Michael to bring us into fall.  The main photo is from his graduation last spring.  Surrounding it, clockwise from the top left, is a shot of him on the field at Guaranteed Rate Field, posing with White Sox legend Bill Melton at Grinder Bash, with Danny at the WWII Memorial in DC, on the balcony at the Newseum with the Capitol building in the background, with Danny again at Miller Park in Milwaukee, and at his final junior high band concert.

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You Ought To Be In (15) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 9 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen, an increase of 4 at this level from 3 years ago.

Anne Hathaway

Like most of America, I first saw Anne Hathaway on the silver screen back in 2003 in The Princess Diaries.  In the intervening 11 years, she has been a steadfast presence on my movie (or television) screen, including 3 films in 2005 and 4 in 2009.  She’s moved up 2 spots in the past 3 years, with her latest appearance being 2019’s The Hustle, which I saw earlier this year.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

The last starring role of his that I saw remains 2005’s Shopgirl, which I saw in 2009.

Brad Pitt

In 1994, I saw a little film called Kalifornia, which introduced me to Brad Pitt.  While he would become a mega-star over the next few years, I was a bit of a late comer to his films.  Other than watching A River Runs Through It in 1997 during the Sports in Literature class I took during my last semester of college, it was 2000 before I saw another Pitt film.  Making up for lost time, I plowed through 3 films in 2000.  He had a 4 year streak between in 2010 and 2013, then entered a dry spell that ended this year, when I saw him in both Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Ad Astra.

Natalie Portman

The first starring roles of Natalie Portman’s that I saw were in 2001, when I watched a double feature of Where The Heart Is and Anywhere But Here.  Her appearances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Thor franchise have accounted for nearly 27% of her overall total.  2011 was a big Portman year for me, as I saw a whopping 4 of her films.  My last experience with her work was last year’s Lucy In The Sky, which I watched earlier this year.

Will Smith

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Post Mortem – Homeland

In August of 2019, Showtime announced that, after 8 seasons, Homeland would be coming to an end.  Starring Claire Danes as a CIA operative, the show jumped back and forth between the US and the middle east, as Danes’ Carrie Mathison worked to make the world more secure for the United States.  After struggling to find its way after a successful first season, which led to keeping the engaging Damian Lewis’ Nicholas Brody for far too long, the show found its footing by turning its focus back overseas.

 

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No-No

In 2018, Lucas Giolito was, statistically, the worst starting pitcher in baseball.  That offseason, he began rebuilding his game from the ground up, leading to an All Star appearance last year and culminating in a no hitter last night.  Giolito held the hapless Pirates hitless, striking out 13 while facing one batter over the minimum of 27.

Giolito’s no hitter was the first of 2020 and the 19th in White Sox history, the first since Phillip Humber’s perfect game against the Mariners in 2012.

 

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Fitbit 6: Week 30

Week 23 of working from home due to the corona virus saw another slip back, though I did manage to get over goal 4 times.  Things got off to a poor start on Sunday, where I managed only 3800 steps.  Monday bounced back above goal, coming in just over 7500 steps.  Tuesday was more of the same, finishing 1 step over of 7600.  Wednesday was the biggest disappointment of the week, coming in just 1 step shy of 3300.  Thursday I rebounded a bit to 5200 steps.  Friday, I used another day off to go back over goal with 7700 steps.  A strong Saturday, with 7800 steps, wasn’t enough to save the week.

Total steps: 43,205

Daily average: 6172.1

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You Ought To Be In (14) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 10 actors that have starred in 14 movies that I have seen, an increase of 3 at this level from 3 years ago.

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman probably first appeared on my radar with 1987’s Teen Wolf Too.  After another film in 1992, he took the rest of the century off and didn’t reappear on my screen until 2010, when he started a streak of 5 films in 3 years, followed by another streak of 7 films in 5 years, culminating in 2018 Game Night.

Will Ferrell

The SNL alum first streaked on to the list of film actors I’ve seen in 2003 with Old School.  Since then, his appearances have been pretty consistent, with 2012-2013 being the longest streak of him not appearing on my screen.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2005’s Bewitched, which I saw earlier this year.

Morgan Freeman

The first film I saw starring Morgan Freeman was the Kevin Costner vehicle Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.  Starting in 2000, he put together a 6 year streak that covered 8 films.  My biggest Freeman years were 2000, 2005, and 2008, when I saw him in 2 films.  After a 5 year layoff, he returned this year in 2019’s Angel Has Fallen.

Winona Ryder

The last films of hers that I saw is still 2002’s Mr. Deeds, which I finally got around to watching in 2011.

Adam Sandler

2011’s Just Go With It, which I saw in 2013, is still my most current exposure to Sandler’s work.

Christian Slater

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