Dad is finally home after a week in the hospital. There was no definitive clue as to what caused the fluid in his lungs, but we're pretty sure that's what cause his O2 levels to drop. His blood sugar is stable and his O2 is back to 3-4 litres. I hope he's lost some weight, but I'm not really sure. He seems to be right as rain.

He's finally admitting that he needs someone to police his food. He needs to have a strict schedule, and he needs to keep it. Otherwise, he's just going to continue to make bad choices. He simply doesn't have the willpower to do it on his own. So here's hoping that this round will be better.

I can't believe that we're at week 46 already. Where is this year going?! But, at least I'm managing to stay ahead of the curve. I could stop reading now and still make my 52 books. But that would be lazy!

First up is The Real Thing. I've read Stoppard before. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a fun read for those who like and know Shakespeare. RT was definitely different. It's a bit of a play-within-a-play with various scenes actually being parts of plays. It details the lives and loves of the characters who continually cheat and leave their lovers. It was hard to follow at times, but it was a good read. Nothing fabulous, just good.

Second was Sleuth by Shaffer. Now this was a really good show. It's the tale of two men outwitting each other. Milo wants to marry Andrew's wife. Andrew doesn't want to let her go, even if he doesn't love her. So Andrew sets up an elaborate ruse to try and scare Milo to death. Milo retaliates in kind with a vengeance only an Italian could muster. The show has five roles, but two men play them all. It really is amazing to see the mysteries evolve. The actors must be great voice actors, so I don't know if we could do it at dcp now. But a good show for the future.

Third was Let's All Kill Constance, the third installment of Ray Bradbury's "writer" series. This book follows are hapless unnamed author as he tries again to solve a mystery. We see the return of Crumbley, Fritz, Henry, and of course Constance, but the book is lackluster despite its star power. While the idea of Constance tracking down her old identities and "killing" them is interesting, the addition of Fritz and Henry seemed contrived. I didn't really understand why Henry was included at all, as much as I love him. Overall it's not a bad book, just not Ray's finest. But rally, what can compare to The Illustrated Man?

Next on the reading list is Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward and Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie.

Visual Audio Sensory Theater is one of my all-time favorite albums. So with that in mind, I recently dug into Music for People, also by Jon Crosby, otherwise known as Vast. While I doubt that anything will ever be as great as the debut album, the sophomore offering was still very good with a 4 out of 5 from me. I absolutely love Jon's voice. It's a sound I don't think I would confuse with anyone else. For some reason, I find it very soothing. That's not to say that Jon doesn't rock out at times; he certainly does. There are hard edges mixed with beautiful vocal arrangements that only the most learned music scholar would recognize. There is still a flow to the album, although not as tight as V.A.S.T.

My personal favorite was Blue. I can't explain what it was, but the song haunted me. I think it's written in 5/4 time or something similar, but the lilt of the rhythm is awesome. It sucks you in because it's so different than your usual 4/4. Follow-up favs were Last One Alive, I Don't Have Anything, What Else Do I Need, Better Place, and Lady of Dreams.

I'm waiting for a copy of the next album, Nude, to become available. I hope the trend of good music continues.

Long story short, the EMTs came out last night to see Dad. He had gone loopy again. His blood sugar was around 40 and his O2 levels were at 80%. They gave him a glucose IV and bumped his O2 to 6 liters instead of 3. He came around and declined to go to the hospital because he has an appointment with the pulmonary doctor today anyway. He has a crackle in his chest which is most likely either pneumonia or congestive heart failure. I stayed up with him all night and checked on him every hour. He got better and better as the night progressed, and his BS came up to 130. However, I'm still worried. My sis will take him to the doc's today.

Please, PLEASE, no matter how old you may be, please be sure that you have a living will in place for yourself.

Yes, I managed to finish Company and H2S this week.  It was some great feet with me having yesterday off.  Why does that mean anything?  Because I can't spend at least two hours a day reading at work.  When I have a day off, I tend not to read my assignments.  So anyways . . .

Company is another Sondheim property.  Reading a lot of Sondheim this year.  The basic premise is a 30something man living in NYC surrounded by his unhappily married friends who are all waiting for him to get unhappily married as well.  The music is alright, and the writing is interesting.  I think part of my issue was that these people were all too aware of their own situations and limitations.  I mean, I know New Yorkers are supposed to be chic and sophisticated, but it seems overkill when EVERYONE is willing to air out their dirty laundry.  Still, some of the vignettes were cool, but it's still just a luke warm show for me.

H2S wasn't any more successful (pun) than Company.  It was another luke warm show.  The story of a young man who uses every trick in the book (literally a book) to get ahead.  Insert love interest, idiot boss, conniving nephew of said boss, and bubble-headed mistress of said boss.  Hours of fun, not really.  Most of the music is contrived and not really hummable.  But it has a good pace and a relatively relate-able story.  So luke warm, but cooler (temp-wise) than Company.

Next up I'm starting with The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer.

I had to reshelve Master Class.  It's not that it wasn't good or anything, it's just not a do-able show at dcp.  So I didn't even bother finishing it.  It's the life and times of Maria Callas, and we don't have the singers needed.  I also didn't start Company, but I am going to try and watch it this weekend.

So what did I read?  Da (Hugh Leonard) and Copenhagen (Michael Frayn).  Da was okay, but nothing special.  It's basically an autobiography of the writer, who is an Irish playwright.  He's just back home for his father's funeral, and he's encountering ghosts from his past.  There is some interesting casting with him as a young man and an old man.  But there's the issue of everyone having an Irish accent.  So I'm guessing it's a no-go for dcp.

Copenhagen was surprisingly good, and I'm not sure why.  I mean, I wasn't expecting to like it much, but the presentation of the play with the occasional breaking of the fourth wall was really neat.  The physics parts are kept to plain English so you can easily follow the metaphors.  Bohr, his wife, and Heisenberg discussing their infamous meeting in 1941, you don't think it could be cool.  But it's taken from the perspective that they're all dead and simply reliving these moments over and again to try and find meaning.  I guess I'm not saying it quite right, but it's really neat.

So I guess Company is back on the table along with How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  Longest . . . musical . . . title . . . ever.

I've never been a big fan of Stephen Sondheim.  It was everything Heidi could do to get me to watch Sweeney Todd, which I am forever in her debt because it's one of the greatest musicals ever written.  However, we're talking about Into the Woods.  I've heard alot about this show over the years.  Those who like it do clamor on about it.  Most people I know do like the show, with very few nay-sayers.  I won't say I don't like it, but I certainly didn't love it. 

The plot is interesting enough with the mixture of all the fairy tale characters, and I appreciate that there are some not so very happy endings.  It definitely makes it more realistic.  The songs are short and very singable.  I liked Red and Cinderella best, and the Princes were hilarious.  My favorite titles were "Agony" and "On the Steps of the Palace".   I could see myself in the role of Cinderella.

I'd like to see a production before I make any further judgments.  Sometimes seeing a show can make it better or worse.  But an even 3 out of 5 for Into the Woods.

What a depressing week of reading.  I should have known better.  I had plays by Mamet and T.S. Eliot, neither of whom I like.  So I was destined to be miserable.  But the titles were Glengarry Glen Ross (Mamet), That Championship Season (Miller), Never Too Late (Long), and The Cocktail Party (Eliot).  So let's do this thing.

GGR:  Most people probably know this title from the movie.  It details the not so wholesome activities in a real estate firm.  People either love or hate Mamet.  There's no in between.  His writing style is very difficult to read and perform.  It's like . . . like . . . it's like reading this . . . I mean . . . no . . . like reading this . . . what? . . . this way.  I'm not kidding.  The stories themselves were okay, what with all these salesmen trying to out-do each other, and the nefarious plot to steal all the leads.  But I still didn't like it.  It's just too arduous.

TCS:  This one started strong.  An old high school basketball team gets together with their old coach to celebrate the anniversary of their, tada, championship season.  We have the Mayor, the Land Barron, the Political Wanna-Be, and the Drunk, along with the coach who is the Bigot.  Sounds like a nice group, huh?  And watching their relationships break down as hidden agendas are revealed was great.  So why the thumbs down?  Because the ending is pure shite.  Everyone makes up because "you boys were a team and you need to stick together".  The bigoted coach is still seen as this amazing hero, and this useless flock of sheep just do what he tells them.  There was no comeuppance, which I personally require when you have such loathsome characters.  So it's a big no on this one.

NTL;  A husband and wife are living in their home with their daughter and her husband (who are both terribly lazy and superficial).  Momma gets pregnant, and hilarity ensures.  (Think Father of the Bride.)  It's a fun show, I'll give you that.  It's a bit dated with it's 1950's style of homemaking, but it's still quaint.  Any time you get to hide a toilet in a coat closet is a good time.  So a passing grade, but nothing stellar.

CP:  This show is billed as a comedy, and I cannot figure out why.  Is it based on the Shakespeare principle that the way you can tell the comedies from the tragedies because at the end of the tragedies, EVERYONE is dead? The main plot is a married couple who are having difficulties find love again through a mysterious stranger.  I think it's more of a satire than a comedy.  The middle and end of the play are dark, culminating in the death of one of the main characters.  The show is mainly a vehicle to show the isolation of the human condition.  But there was a killer quote, "If we all were judged according to the consequences of all our words and deeds, beyond the intention and beyond our limited understanding of ourselves and others, we should all be condemned."  I liked that, but it's still not a show for dcp.

Next up I have Company, Master Class, and Copenhagen.

More scripts.  This week was Dancing at Lughnasa, The Rose Tattoo, Death of a Salesman, and The Subject Was Roses.

DL:  This show came highly recommended, but I have to say I didn't really enjoy it.  I'm not much surprised by that since it's written by Brian Friel; and if you remember past posts, I wasn't too enamored with his play Lovers.  It takes place in Ireland in the time of way back.  It details a short period of time for one family of five sisters (one who is "touched"), their one illegitimate son, the father of said child, and a missionary-uncle who has malaria.  My problem was I didn't see the point of the show.  It was a snapshot, but there was no real macguffin or moral.  I felt kind of lost.

RT:  Second verse, same as the first.  My second show by Tennessee Williams (The Night of the Iguana), and I liked it about as much.  It takes place in the Sicilian area of New Orleans.  The show started strong with interesting characters and a sad story.  A woman goes into hiding for three years after her husband is killed in a car accident.  Her daughter suffers alongside her, but refuses to give up her own happiness.  It's discovered that the husband was unfaithful, and the woman's religious faith is tested.  The mother and daughter have a row, and the younger runs away to be with her boyfriend.  The ending fell flat for me.  There wasn't enough of a final confrontation.  The heavy use of Italian would make it hard to produce at dcp.

DS:  If you know nothing about theatre, this is probably a show of which you've heard.  It's one of Arthur Miller's most famous plays alongside The Crucible (which I liked).  I knew nothing about the show except that it's famous; however, I'm happy to report I liked it.  Willy Loman is a lie-telling salesman at the end of his rope.  He has two sons, one a huge disappointment and one who appears to be a success.  But both adult boys are hiding their true selves.  Poor Willy's wife is trying to keep him from committing suicide while she keeps the home in order.  The writing is very honest and straight-forward.  The characters are not necessarily likable, but they are true to their own limitations.  The ending is justified but sad.  The American dream is not what we think it is.  I'd like to do this show, but it's too heavy a drama for right now.

SWR:  This was a new author for me, Frank Gilroy.  Another strong starter with a somewhat weak finish.  A son returns from the war to visit his parents.  In each scene, we see how each couple relates to each other.  We can see what's happened and what's been happening.  If pushed for it, I'd say it's a play about relationships.  Mother-son, father-son, husband-wife.  My only issue is that it seems a bit contrived and phony.  So an average rating.

Next up is Diary by Chuck Palahniuk.  Why?  Because I had it on me when I finished the last script I had on hand.  I've been getting a lot of his books through www.paperbackswap.com.  This one was the thinnest (since I'm supposed to be reading scripts).  First off, Fight Club is one of my favorite books of all time.  That's saying a lot since most books are just okay in my opinion.  So it's unlikely that any of his other works will measure quite so high.  Diary is written just as it sounds, in diary format.  You follow the story of Misty Wilmot, a so-called artist who's lost her muse and is now living in her husband's hometown on an island.  There is a story within the story, and it takes a bit to figure it out.  But it's really interesting once you get into it.  Her emotional weather reports were great, "Just for the record, the weather today is partly soused with occasional bursts of despair and irritation."  It was, however, easier to read than Invisible Monsters, which was very confusing.

Next up are more scripts, however I can't think of a single one I took home.

The original reading for this week was The Elephant Man, The Fourposter, and I'm Not Rappaport.  However, I didn't read EM since it was stricken from the reading list.  So I filled in with Twelve Angry Men and The Odd Couple.

FP:  This is a one man/one woman show.  It details the life of one couple from their honeymoon night to their eventual retirement and subsequent move.  It's billed as a comedy, but I can't really see why.  It's more uncomfortable than funny, even in a satirical way.  The time period is 1890s-1930s, so you can just imagine what the role of the woman is.  It starts nice enough, but they both have a flit with unfaithfulness, and that just rubs me the wrong way.  It wasn't bad, I just didn't care for it.

INR:  This was another show billed as a comedy, and it's not really.  The main focus is two old men sitting on a park bench in Central Park, NY.  I suppose it's about growing old and being scared, trying to find your place without becoming a burden, but I just didn't like it.  The one main character is a pathological liar, and that never wins points with me.  There is just so many lousy people in this show, it makes it hard to have a good feeling at the end.

TAM:  The movie is probably the way most people know this title.  I've never seen the movie myself.  It takes place in the jury room of a murder trial.  The verdict seems simple, guilty.  But one man's concerns slowly sway the rest of the jury, and now no one is as sure as before.  Could it be this young man might be innocent?  I knew the plot, and I'm happy to say I liked the play.  It's very well written and flows with very little lag.  The characters are well-defined for how little you know about them personally.  I'd love to see us do this show again; but it's a drama, so it'll have to wait.

OC:  I've never seen the TV show, but I had a vague idea of the premise.  Two divorced men living together, learning that while they might be friends, they can't be roommates.  I couldn't get into the show.  Oscar is a self-centered slob, and Felix is a completely neurotic neat-freak.  It was hard for me to feel for either of them since they were both so extreme.  The show is one of Neil Simon's best known, but I wouldn't care to produce it again at dcp.

Next up on the list is Dancing at Lughnasa.  I'll pick up some other titles at the theatre this weekend.

This is a CD for which I had been waiting many moons.  It came up as a recommendation on Amazon.  I can't say that I had ever heard of it before, and it certainly wasn't on Broadway for very long.  I mean, it's not a very likely subject for a musical.  If Jane Eyre weren't one of my favorite books, I might not have even given it a second glance.  This review is based solely on the CD as I never had a chance to see it on the stage.

Let's start off and say that it's okay.  It's easier to start with the basis of it being okay than dragging this on and on.  The music is very heavy on the leitmotif  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitmotif), and it feels like the music is just repeating itself over and over.  However, there are some bright spots. 

I can't say much for Marla Schaffel who plays Jane.  She's good, but I never really got into her voice.  However, James Barbour was pretty impressive as Rochester, especially on the song The Gypsy, which you need to hear to understand his crazy falsetto.  His voice is very rich, and I loved listening to the sometimes trite lyrics just because he was singing them.  Also notable was Mary Stout as Mrs. Fairfax.  Her voice is good for the role she plays, but the writing for her character is just a scream.  She's so flighty and common (in the 19th century Englishwoman way), that she's a dear.  She becomes confused while speaking with Jane, and losing her train of thought she actually sings "Did I have a point?" (Perfectly Nice).  She only has two songs, but they're two of the best in the show.  Stout owns them.  Elizabeth DeGrazia, as Blanche Ingram, has a wonderful coloratura piece called The Finer Things.  I find myself singing along with this one, and it has nothing to do with those musical runs.  No really.  It doesn't.

The lyrics, as I stated, as sometimes overkill.  They seemed terribly forced, and there's a bit of rhyme-overload.  Most of the people who worked on this production were also engaged on Les Miserables.  You can hear touches of it throughout the show, but it's never as good as the original.  It's definitely worth a listen if you know the story.  Otherwise the CD doesn't give you enough of the music to follow the plot which is a shame since the few ensemble pieces are lovely.  So, a good CD.  I only wish I could have seen the whole show.

I finished A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt.  I have to say that I'm surprised.  It was actually very good.  I was expecting something stodgy and slow since it is a history of Sir Thomas More, but the play is arranged in a very modern way.  The Common Man character speaks to the audience and dons various costumes right before our eyes to become different characters.  He's the connector of all the scenes which are produced in a minimalistic fashion.  The characters speak in such a way that you easily identify with them.  So all in all, a good read.

Next up for the dcp script reading: The Elephant Man, The Fourposter, and I'm Not Rappaport.  A very serious drama and two comedies.  Here we go!

Ok, does this make anyone else need to run to Broadway?  I can't help loving Jude.  Regardless of his own personal issues, he's still a cutie.  So, who wants to go with me?

www.broadway.com/buzz/what-piece-work-jude-law-word-mouth-panel-gives-hamlet-rave/

I've finally finished A Series of Unfortunate Events with the completion of book #12 (The Penultimate Peril), book #13 (The End), and Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.  The last two books were very good, and things did indeed pick up from the lull of the middle books.  I'm glad to see that while it wasn't a "happy" ending, it was at least an ending to this particular chapter of their lives.  We don't know what happens in the future, nor does it really matter.  The autobiography just served to fill in a few of the blanks. 

All in all, I think the books are pretty intelligent and not meant just for children.  The books are crammed full of literary, historical, musical, and cultural references.  Almost every name references something or someone else such as Georgina Orwell = George Orwell and Esmé Squalor = For Esmé - with Love & Squalor by J.D. Salinger.  The codes are lines from actual books and poetry.  Sunny's strange speech is usually a reference to another language or a phonetic spelling.  When I knew the reference, I smiled.  When I looked up the unknown references, I felt like a detective or an archaeologist. 

The last lines of Count Olaf reference a pretty interesting poem.  I'm wondering how many kids looked it up like I did, and I wonder how many told their parents about what they found.  =D

So, my next book is a step in the dcp Playreading direction.  I was already planning on reading A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt.  The fact that it's on the reading list just makes for a nice transition.

So close yet so far.  I'm almost done Series of Unfortunate Events.  It's not that I haven't liked the books, but the grind has been a wearisome.  I finished book #10 (The Slippery Slope) and book #11 (The Grim Grotto).  The children are continuing to grow up and have more interesting experiences with other people.  While there are tons of non sequiturs in the books, I really hope that in the end these books at least have some definitive finish.  I also hope that at least a few of the mysteries are revealed, or I'll feel sorely cheated.

Today I start in on book #12 (The Penultimate Peril).  And in case you didn't know (from www.m-w.com):

• Main Entry: pen·ul·ti·mate
• Pronunciation: \pi-ˈnəl-tə-mət\
• Function: adjective
• Date: 1677

1 : next to the last <the penultimate chapter of a book>
2 : of or relating to a penult <a penultimate accent>

— pen·ul·ti·mate·ly adverb

Those who know me well are aware that I'm a big supporter of "having your shit together".  To me that means 1) you can support yourself in the worst case scenario and 2) you know who you are and what you want in life.  For a long time, I've been neither.  Or I should say, I was pretending.  I thought I was living as a grown up with a direction and purpose, but I have come to believe that I was unintentionally lying to myself.

While I have, or better yet had a good job, I was still relying on other people.  Dad was still covering some of the bills because he wanted to help.  His finances are now in the toilet, but that's for another post.  So, Dad was paying some bills, and Trev has been paying rent.  Which means I've had all this extra cash.  Well, even that's not accurate.  I don't have extra cash.  This is money I should have been using to pay bills and take care of business.  But since I had the extra cash flow, I didn't need to really watch my finances.  However, because of Dad's situation and Trev talking (again) of moving out, I really need to take stock. 

For years I've been trimming my budget.  I cut out all kinds of things in order to make sure I could pay my bills.  I don't live extravagantly, which makes it even harder to trim since I don't have a lot of wiggle room.  Part of the issue is that I don't make a whole lot and I don't have a spouse/partner.  I have to be able to care for myself without any help.  I still have my 401k, so if everything goes tits up, I'm not going to be homeless.  I'm back to the real work of trimming costs and reevaluating my job sitch.  The big issue is that I really like the job I have now.  But with Trev moving, I won't make enough.  So I'd have to get a different job, which I'm resisting.

A follow up to that is my revelation that I have no passion.  I know, that sounds dramatic, but I'm pretty sure it's accurate.  Case in point: my niece, Meg.  She's known since she was little what she's wanted to do.  She loves animals.  She volunteers at shelters.  She was top in her class at tech school for vet science.  She's going to college now to become a vet tech.  This is her to the very core.  No one can even imagine her doing anything else.

So then let's look at me.  I don't have this.  There isn't any one thing that drives me night and day.  I'm not consumed by one passion.  Sure, I'm good at a lot of things.  I'd even go so far as to say I'm better than most people when it comes to singing and music.  I thought about grad school when I was in my mid-twenties.  I didn't go because I needed to improve my piano skills.  Ten years later, and I thought about grad school again.  But I never had the discipline to improve my piano skills, so I'm still in the same boat.  One of my personal mottos is " It's either important or it's not."  Clearly, it wasn't important enough to me to do it.  And I feel like my life is like that all over.

There isn't any one thing I'd like to do with my life.  There are so many things I like to do.  I love performing, but it's near impossible to make a living doing just that.  I would have to teach which I didn't enjoy.  I love books as well.  I'd thought about becoming a book restorer or even owning a book shop.  I like playing my computer games and watching movies.  I like volunteering at dcp theatre and with the Boy Scouts.  I'd like to learn how to sew better and make gothy clothes.  I have a strange desire to strip and restain furniture.  I also want the ability to travel.

That's why I like my secretary job.  It uses my organizational skills to the max, and my anal-retentive tendencies are an asset.  I can listen to music while I file or shred, and I can sit at my desk and read when there's no work to do.  They appreciate my mad Microsoft Office skills, and they want to hire me and only me.  Plus the stress level is super low which I need with the Huntington's.  But liking my job and it making ends meet may be mutually exclusive.

One thing is for sure; I'm still sure of my own purpose.  To serve as a positive influence on others.  So as long as I'm doing that, I guess I'm still living truthfully.  So maybe someone else can learn from my errors.

Since I had a full week this time, I got more reading done.  So, book #8 (The Hostile Hospital) and book #9 (The Carnivorous Carnival)  are now finished.  Hooray for the Baudelaires, they've finally redeemed themselves.  These two books show their resourcefulness and intelligence, which I was almost sure had disappeared.  So good going Lemony.  Also, the little notes Snicket places in the books are becoming more frequent, and I love those as much as the actual story.

Next up is book #10 (The Slippery Slope).  I'm already on Chapter 7, so I should finish at least one or two more before next week.  I should be finished with the whole series within two weeks.

What else did I read?  Well, it really shouldn't count, but it was Dog's Think Everyday is Christmas by Ray Bradbury.  It's similar to With Cat for Comforter as it's a poem with a few pictures.  I can't believe that Ray would publish these things, but whatever.  I'm sure he had a good enough reason.

The last book was The Weaving of a Dream by Marilee Heyer.  It's a very short children's book.  I wanted to read it after I saw the beautiful cover art.  However, it wasn't really my taste, so I swapped it to someone else.  Hope they like it better than I did.

I finished up book #7 (The Vile Village) of Series of Unfortunate Events.  It did get better, but not by leaps and bounds.  The orphans were able to regain some brain cells, and it's had the best ending yet.  I'm hoping that the Quagmires have no further run-ins with Olaf.  I'm pretty sure I've figured out their clues, but only time will tell.

Now I'm into book #8 (The Hostile Hospital).  I would have been further along, but I had Monday off due to Labor Day.  So I'm a bit behind, but I'm still well ahead of my goal.  Once I finish the series, I have no idea what I'll read next.  But I have tons of books from which to choose.

I finished books #5 (The Austere Academy) and #6 (The Ersatz Elevator) in Series of Unfortunate Events.  I have to say the gild is definitely off the lily with this group.  It's not that I expected the shine to stay forever, but it's just gotten so tedious reading the books.  They're short enough that it's not a brain-killer, but there's very little variety.  It's formulaic.  And now the Baudelaire orphans seem to be losing IQ points as the story progresses.  At first they seemed like very bright children, but they nearly tripped and broke open their brainpans in book #6.  The clue was RIGHT THERE, and the completely miss it.  It literally made me angry, and I yelled at the book.  So these were "meh" quality at best.  But at least the introduction of the Quagmire triplets made the books a bit more interesting.

So, it's on to book #7 (The Vile Village).  If these orphans don't get smarter, I might start cheering for Count Olaf.