Angelique arrived from college. Ordered a pork chop, tomato, and rice dish from M.'s cafe. Sat with her while she had her dinner in the dining room.

Aubrey and R. arrived from university and dinner out.

A shredded beef and vegetable dish and unsweetened pineapple juice at M.'s cafe. Dark Phoenix played and I stayed to watch all of it. Alas, if that is a sample of twenty-first century movie-making, I am happy to stay away from all of it. The scenes were disjointed, the casting seemed B-grade, the location choices were unimaginative, and the performances were mediocre. No Bel Ami models, which was the saving grace of previous episodes. Everyone in this movie strutted across the screen announcing, "Yoo-hoo! I'm an X-Man! Watch me depict my character!" Worst of all was the horrible script and decadent dialogue, which, I observe, is often the disaster that results when a director decides to write his own screenplay. The whole story seems to have been written backwards, from the climax backtracking to the very beginning--a surefire process by which the writer flounders for the most appropriate point of attack.

Now back inside my bedroom with _Towards Zero_ which I am actually reading rather than rereading. I recall that, years ago, I made it only through the first five pages and then abandoned it, deciding that it was uninteresting. Now that I've retired, I'm giving its author a second chance.