Links and Stuff

Week Two of the Rio Olympics and, aside from Michael Phelps winning a boatload more medals, perhaps the most notable thing (at least for me) is how well the UK is doing. As of this writing, they are third in total medal count (behind China), and second in gold medal count (behind the US). Here’s the NBC Olympic Medal Race chart so you can keep track for yourself. As an ex-pat Brit, now a US citizen, I always have conflicting feelings whenever the US and UK compete against each other. I probably tilt a little to the UK, simply because it’s a British trait to root for the underdog, and they are definitely the underdogs against the US. Though I stand by what I said to the Immigration Officer at my citizenship interview: if the US and the UK were to go to war, I’d be on the US side. Sorry Mum. And yes–they asked.

House Hunting Update: We looked at some more houses this week, and I made a list of all the houses we still want to look at, so we can start narrowing down our options. We’ve already crossed off four or five houses, and we have a couple that are the current favorites. But we still have a lot to look at. One house we liked is out in the countryside, but not too far from town. Unfortunately, it’s a little on the expensive side, and it’s still liable for city taxes, so money is a hindrance, even though we all liked it. Wifey grudgingly thinks we should strike it from the list. Call me ever the optimist, but I’m keeping it on there for now. Then there was the house we wanted to see but we couldn’t get in. The realtor’s key turned the deadbolt, but the door wouldn’t budge. We considered breaking the door down, but decided we’re not that desperate. Our realtor is going to contact the selling agent to let them know, so hopefully we can make a return visit. Note to house sellers: if you want to sell your house, make sure potential buyers can actually get into it. 🙂

I recently read my first Lisa Gardner novel, FEAR NOTHING. Lisa was on the cover of Writer’s Digest not long ago, and I bought FEAR NOTHING on the basis of that interview. I wasn’t at all disappointed. The novel is well-written and well-plotted, using two different POVs for the two main characters. One of these (third person POV), is a police detective injured in the line of duty. The other is her pain therapist (first person POV), who has a genetic condition that makes her incapable of feeling pain. The twist? The therapist’s father was a notorious serial killer, and her sister is currently in prison for murder. What’s more, the case under investigation involves someone who is murdering people in exactly the same style as the therapist’s father…! There’s profanity and some moderately gruesome scenes (depending on your tolerance for such things), but otherwise I recommend it.

Finally, the British Library has digitized and put online a 1,000 year old manuscript of the poem “Beowulf.” As you probably know, “Beowulf” was written in Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), and is the oldest surviving poem in the English language. So this is quite a big deal for students of ancient literature. Of course, to fully appreciate this manuscript you need to be able to read Old English. But even if your linguistic repertoire does not extend to Anglo-Saxon, you can still have fun getting an up-close look at 1,000-year-old writing.

That’s all from me. How’s your week been? Read anything good?