The Week in Entertainment

TV: House - somewhat better than last week's, but still not really good. Lone Star - as I said, I wouldn't be watching it even if it hadn't been canceled... The Middle - what coach ever schedules a track meet at the same time as Homecoming? One trying to get fired, that's who. Better With You this remains really uneven, but since it's scheduled where it is I guess I'll watch it some more. Modern Family - I do love this show. Wonderful performances, strong writing. And funny! No Ordinary Family has promise, though it could go either way. Still, Michael Chiklis is a strong argument for watching. Raising Hope - the schtick with the ukelele was cute when it was on Scrubs a couple of years ago. Yeah, the show's not doing it for me. The Mentalist - I love that Jane's wife was from carnie royalty. Also that she didn't like the us-them mentality of that world. Jane lost much more than family when he lost them. Also the Ryder Cup, or at least as much of it as they got done by Sunday night, and the first week's recap of the World Equestrian Games.

Read: Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self - some wonderful short stories by Danielle Evans. My favorite was "The King of a Great Empire", but "Snakes", "Robert E Lee Is Dead", and "Jellyfish" are wonderful, too. Slightly melancholy, not ending up where you'd think, and excellent, excellent. Still Life, by Louise Penny, which was so wonderful I ended up reading her other five Inspector Gamache books, and they did not disappoint. Highly recommended.