Nutley Life
Music & meditation give me joy.
I go to the gym. I visit Nutley's beautiful parks, watch the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Tour de France, NFL football, and cross country skiing. I also garden, and occasionally paint.
I'm a big fan of eating together with friends, and even minor acquaintances.
I also have a 24/7 radio station with original music created by me.
See the @NutleyLife posts on π.
Recent books, movies & TV shows
π Patrick Leyton (1928) By Foul Means β centers around Ardenmore House, a remote estate where a character named Hermione Rodenberg retreats to escape a troubled past. The story is built around hidden identities, buried secrets, tension, and unexpected plot revelations. π
π Isabel Ostrander (1918) Suspense β follows Betty Shaw, a young woman with a scarred face who becomes a paid companion to wealthy Mrs. Atterbury. Surrounded by mysterious visitors, shadowy figures, and lingering murder secrets, Betty must navigate a dangerous web of deception, psychological tension, and hidden motives. π
π¦ Office Space (1999) β a cult classic comedy directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes late-90s corporate tech culture through Peter Gibbons, an unmotivated software engineer who rebels against his soul-crushing office job, incompetent bosses, and mind-numbing routines alongside his disgruntled coworkers and a flair-hating waitress named Joanna. π
πΊ Vanity Fair (1987) β Adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's classic satirical novel, this 1987 BBC television miniseries chronicles the ambitious social climbing of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley during the Napoleonic era. The period drama details witty manipulation, class mobility, and romantic intrigue across Regency society, capturing complex moral hypocrisy. π
π Erskine Childers (1903) The Riddle of the Sands β this maritime thriller follows Carruthers, a restless Londoner invited on a yachting trip in the Baltic by his acquaintance Davies. Expecting leisure, Carruthers instead becomes entangled in a dangerous web of mystery, espionage, and political intrigue threatening national security.
π Prosper MΓ©rimΓ©e (1845) Carmen β a novella. In the lonely hills of Andalusia, a scholar meets a notorious outlaw named Don JosΓ©, who tells the tale of his tragic downfall. His story revolves around Carmen, a captivating Romani woman whose fierce independence and refusal to be tamed leads to jealousy, violence, and death. This dark narrative of passion and fate later inspired Bizet's famous opera.
π Hal Clement (1953) Mission Of Gravity β a classic hard science fiction novel about a massive, rapidly spinning planet named Mesklin with extreme gravity at its poles. A human expedition enlists an ingenious native alien captain named Barlennan to retrieve a lost research probe, exploring physics, adaptability, and alien culture across a uniquely harsh world.
π Ann Ward Radcliffe (1794) The Mysteries of Udolpho β a Gothic novel published in 1794. Young Emily St. Aubert endures a cascade of misfortunes after her parents' deaths, finding herself trapped in a sinister Italian castle controlled by the menacing Montoni. Surrounded by mysterious terrors, hidden secrets, and supernatural phenomena, Emily must navigate perilous intrigues while separated from her beloved Valancourt. This archetypal Gothic tale weaves romance, suspense, and dark mysteries through remote castles and haunted landscapes. π
π Agatha Christie (1925) The Secret of Chimneys β an early thriller centering on a country house weekend party that turns into a complex murder mystery involving international political intrigue, stolen memoirs, and hidden identities, introducing the iconic Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard to readers.
π Arthur Edgar Forrest (1863 - 1940) Silent Guests β Published in 1927. The American literature work explores romantic themes and human relationships through prose. The book reflects the author's distinctive literary style during the early twentieth century and remains accessible to modern readers.