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Currently | In the Room Where it Happens

currently june 26 2016

Briefly | We’re going to see Hamilton! I managed to snag tickets for my sister, a friend, and I to see the Chicago run of Hamilton for March 11, 2017. Yes, we’re planning a theater trip nine months early. No, we’re not sorry about it.

Reading | I think I finally hit a reading groove this week. I finished Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley (a follow-up to his excellent debutThe Rook, about a government bureaucracy tasked with saving Great Britain from supernatural threats). It was a delight, if maybe 100 pages too long. I also made good progress in two other titles — Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge (Oct. 4 from Nation Books) and Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend. They’re both great so far, and I am so glad to be getting over my reading slump!

Watching | After finishing Person of Interest, I needed something that seemed more fun. Enter Grace and Frankie from Netflix, a comedy-drama about two women who come together after they learn their husbands — business partners for 20 years — are in love and want to be together.

Loving | Marigolds! There’s a house down the street with two beautiful planters of marigolds right by the sidewalk. They make me smile every time.

Hating | Like many Americans, I was late to paying attention to the vote in England over whether to stay exist European Union. But now that the vote has passed, I’m trying to catch up. I thought this article on voting demographics was particularly telling.

Experimenting | I’m working to build some better lifestyle habits playing around with Habitica, an online role-playing game where you turn to dos and habits into a game where you can level up and earn treasure. It’s silly, but I’m having fun so far.

Anticipating | We’re headed to the cabin again this weekend! This time it’s for a bit Fourth of July celebration my parents throw every year, and since it’s a long weekend we’ll actually get to be there for longer than just 24 hours. Hooray!

Can’t Let It Go | I thought this article from TV critic James Poniewozik on coverage of the House Democrats sit-in over legislation on gun control was great. I love his point about there being no “neutral” way to share the news given the oddities of who controls television access in the House chambers:

All this put C-Span in an unusual position, carrying a news event shot from the perspective of an interested party. But it was news, and another interested party controlled the usual television cameras. There was no party-neutral decision to be made here, but there was a journalistic one, and C-Span made it.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links through Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of those links, I will receive a small commission.

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  • Shannon @ River City Reading June 27, 2016, 6:06 am

    You’re not alone with early Hamilton planning! I bought tickets for our October trip 11 months early – seems that’s the only way to do it right now. Congrats on the grab 🙂

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:16 am

      I felt so ridiculously victorious when we finally got the tickets. I’m a little nervous — March travel in the midwest can be easily derailed by sudden storms — but hopefully everything will be fine 🙂

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) June 27, 2016, 8:05 am

    I’m jealous of the Hamilton trip. There were rumors the play was going to come here, but our new season was just announced and it wasn’t on the schedule.

    I am so sick of both US and world politics right now. It’s such a scary time!

  • Lisa June 27, 2016, 12:12 pm

    That is a great article about the sit in! I had Facebook friends saying things like “stop the sit-in and do your jobs.” Which I found ironic given that the whole thing was about the Republicans refusal to vote and that they couldn’t do their jobs because Ryan had decided to close up shop regardless.

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:17 am

      It’s all kind of frustrating, since a lot of it (all of it?) is just political maneuvering in advance of a major election. I do hope that there continues to be some momentum on gun control measures, but I’m not sure what it will take to make a real difference.

  • Anita June 27, 2016, 12:35 pm

    Yay on the Hamilton tickets…until it’s in a much wider performance release it will be years before we see it in Orlando. Planning and timing is everything! I didn’t know much about the UK exit from the EU either, but know I fear it’s just a tumble down cluster F, and between that and our own politics I really feel sick. I hope your weekend away is relaxing!

  • Christine @ BookishlyB June 27, 2016, 5:23 pm

    I will have to check out Habitica- I’ve never heard of it! Anything I can use as a competition, even with myself, makes me happy.

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:18 am

      It’s kind of fun! I’m trying to use it strategically, more on building habits than tracking my to do list, which it seems pretty well built for.

  • Kailana June 27, 2016, 7:42 pm

    Someone commented on your Instagram that Daniel O’Malley is good on audio (I think that was your Instagram…) so I plan to go that route and finally read him after hearing good things! Have a great long weekend! I am looking forward to mine, too. It is great that both Canada and the US get long weekends this weekend. 🙂

  • Jenny @ Reading the End June 27, 2016, 8:11 pm

    So excited for you to see Hamilton! The longer in advance you book the tickets, the more time you have to get pumped for it!

  • Jeanne June 28, 2016, 7:13 am

    We also got Hamilton tickets for Chicago, on Jan. 4! And by “we” I mean my brother and sister-in-law, who stood in line at the box office but got most of the tickets online while standing there.

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:19 am

      We ended up getting ours using the Ticketmaster app, rather than the website, which seems a little odd to me. But whatever, it worked and we’re going!

  • Leah @ Books Speak Volumes June 28, 2016, 10:30 am

    I’m so jealous that you got Hamilton tickets! And I’ll have to check out Habita; my schedule is so out of whack, and I could really use some help developing better habits.

  • Shaina June 28, 2016, 10:34 am

    Ooh, so many good things! Hamilton, pretty flowers, good books (can’t wait to read Another Day in the Death of America, even if it’s sure to get me down). I couldn’t help but think of how goofily I grin every time I passed by daffodils in the spring. Something about them is just so kooky, and they always put me in a good mood.

    Enjoy your trip, and be sure to log your Dailies so you don’t get attacked by any boss monsters! (Yes, I got bitten by the Habitica bug, too.)

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:20 am

      Oh gosh, I didn’t even think about Habitica while I’m away this weekend! I think there’s a way you can put it on “pause” so that it doesn’t hurt you to miss dailies and habits, but I’m not sure… now I need to investigate!

  • Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf June 28, 2016, 12:11 pm

    I didn’t know that was the premise of Grace & Frankie! I’ve been looking for a new comedy-drama to binge-watch. And Habitica is fun, isn’t it? I feel so productive thanks to it. 😊

  • Gabby June 28, 2016, 11:56 pm

    I really enjoyed Enchanted Islands…I’ve put another of Amend’s books on my TBR because I like her writing so much

    • Kim June 29, 2016, 7:21 am

      I’m really enjoying it too! I love the format — a lady looking back at an exciting life — and the topic. I’m hoping to finish it this weekend.

  • Amelia June 30, 2016, 6:26 pm

    So jealous! I keep trying for lottery tickets for the Broadway run.

    My mother LOVED Grace and Frankie. I have it on my list to watch but I wanted to refresh myself (like I really need it) with Girlmore Girls

    I love the idea of gamifying life. You should checked out the books Reality is Broken and SupperBetter both by Jane McGonigal.

  • Unruly Reader July 8, 2016, 9:31 pm

    Hamilton — awesome! And it’s great that you’ll get to look forward to it for a while — I always like that aspect of planning ahead.