Tag: entertainment

Sunday’s Theme Music

Mood: sunlazy

Welcome to Sunday, February 25, 2024, where the sun is above average in Ashlandia. Spring seems to be cementing its hold as our current season. 55% chance of snow in our area in the next 7 days. 47 F now we’re heading for the same region for a high as yesterday, about 65 F. I’m sipping coffee and assessing the sky. Faded blue around the horizons, clues point to clouds creeping around the valley’s protective mountains and ridges. There’s no precipitation anticipated for today.

The cats are lovin’ it. Tucked into a loaf, Tucker has taken up the living room catbird seat. I raised the blind and sunshine is dumping on him, and he has a sweet backyard view. Papi, of course, being the rugged floof he is, is out on on the sunwashed back patio, braving the clear sky and sunshine as he grooms.

We spent yesterday running around on a staycation. No writing for me and little computer time. No errands were run; we just explored and buzzed around they valley. Sadly, we found two of our favorite used bookstores have been lost to history. A third, Bookmarks, has moved closer, making it more accessible. That’s four used bookstores gone to the area since we’ve lived here. We still have two new bookstores and two used ones. I wonder if someone will open another. Lot of vacant business locations available for rent.

Speaking of that, we went to the Rogue Valley Mall. Haven’t been there since last summer. We’re not really mall people. Fascinating to in and see what’s gone. Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Victoria’s Secret. We didn’t know what were in other places. Looked like seven or eight empty spaces. Wasn’t overly busy for a Saturday. We’re of the belief that most people prefer shopping online these days. Escape traffic and crowds.

Today’s music is Beyonce’s country song, “Texas Hold ‘Em” (2024). By topping one of Billboard’s country and western charts, Beyonce became the first black woman in history to have a #1 country song. I was interested in it because I heard it briefly during the Super Bowl, and then my wife played it for me again. The Neurons were wrestling with what they thought of it and kept it in the morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks), strangely, alongside George Benson and “On Broadway”. I find the videos unusual. One just has a gun on a church firing. I watched for something else to happen but it didn’t. The other showed people dancing; it was mostly their legs and feet. The video also shared Beyonce modeling different outfits. I’ve included both of these videos.

Then there’s also a visualization. I’ve included it so we may keep up with pop trends.

Of course, it being Beyonce, a black woman, the bouncy upbeat song has found controversy. One Oklahoma radio station refused to play it with the excuse that they’re a country station and don’t play Beyonce. They added that this song also had to chart higher before they would play it. Also, ahem, and this is a big ahem, they weren’t aware that it was country. So, you know, they fully vetted the song before responding.

Stay strong, be positive lean forward, and vote. I’ve had coffee, thanks. Off to write now. Be good, y’all. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

Mood: wintslow (wintry and slow)

Yes, it’s a wintslow Monday on this January 8, 2024. First off: how long after New Year begins is it acceptable to wish people happy New Year or variations of that? After I challenged a person telling me happy New Year, I countered, Merry Christmas: it is coming.

Winter holds court outside. Snow sketches lines over the mountain ridge’s dark pines and firs. Grey clouds mute the sun’s impact and diminishes the land’s colors, though the starkness of snow and mountains across the valley is majestic and pulls eyes and thoughts. It’s 33 F now, with 46 F offered as a cap to today’s warm streak.

Most are pleased that snow has fallen at last. One young woman, a high school senior, told me yesterday that when the big flakes started really dumping, she went out and danced in the snow. ‘Course the skies and snowshoes have come out and people are heading for slopes and mountain treks.

Just a pause to note that one person conversing with me yesterday claimed the local hospital is full of COVID patients. She’s a nurse so I have some faith in her observation.

Football and award shows about popular culture hold forth in the news today, although some elements are also addressing the upcoming Iowa caucuses. Many world and national events are still ignored, or not spoken about, at least, part of the stalemate in communications which we’ve reached. F’r instance, the economy is ‘better’ and ‘doing great’ but that doesn’t mean much if you’re hanging on to pay for necessities or are suffering food or shelter insecurity. Just as it’s been for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. There are some who have more than enough to indulge whatever they want for themselves, and a chunk who live in desperate situations. Fault lines shift but the bottom line throughout history is that the rich get richer. After all, from being born to advantage, to having people grovel before them because of ‘who they are’ — i.e., the money they have, which begets power — to being able to buy favoritism and special treatment, money moves our civilization and the wealthy are indulged with preferential treatment.

The Neurons, being who and what they are, served up “Do You Wanna Dance” to the morning mental music stream (Trademark launched). This came as I was asking the cats as part of our morning routine, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? Yes, they told me, Tucker in his quiet and understated manner, Papi in his youthful, energetic, more vocal style. Meanwhile, The Ramones had taken over my head with their 1978 cover of the song had my head jerking and my feet tapping as I dished out pate to the floofs.

Stay pos., be strong, remain calm, and lean forward. I am presently leaning toward my coffee; once I drink more, I hope to right myself. Here’s the music. Sing it to your floofs. Let me know what they think. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Wandering Thought

Years have passed since he’s spent much time at a place with cable television. Flipping through the channels, he’s astounded how many of the stations offer hours of the same thing, such as sitcoms like “Everybody Loves Raymond”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld”, and “The Office”, along with movies shown again and again. The Shawshank Redemption and Top Gun have been the offerings he’d seen time and again. “Mannix” is there, and Perry Mason. There are live game shows and the news and weather. But it’s mostly a wasteland lively with the reruns of yesteryear.

It has expanded. There are many more shows offering more specialized insights. None of them on retirement, cross-dressing, or cooking, seized his attention.

It reminds him exactly why he cut the cable over a decade ago.

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What I’m Watching

Yes, it’s time to tell the world again what I’m watching. Mostly so someone will provide tips on other things to watch but also to spead the word on the good stuff.

  1. Loki. Finished it. Wasn’t hugely impressed. Wasn’t that impressed with WandaVision either. Neat concepts but both struck me as comic books. I wasn’t wowed as so many critics and audiences were. Not sorry that Loki is over. Not looking forward to the next season.
  2. Just started the seventh and final season of Grace & Frankie. We enjoyed the first episode. We love their beach house. Gives us house envy.
  3. Hit and Run. Into the fourth episode of this Israeli – American show. It’s holding our attention and we do root for Segev, but sometimes question some of his decisions and behavior.
  4. Seaside Hotel. Now watching season 5 of this Danish melodrama. Love the character and relationship arcs, and the world’s changes around them, imparted in small ways. A sweet and gentle show, for now at least.
  5. The Last Wave. This French production caught my attention as I was drifting through choices the other day. I’ve enjoyed a number of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Aussie supernatural themed shows, so I was willing to try this one. It’s holding onto us with its tale of a cloud and the impact on the town and some individuals. Looking forward to seeing this through. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
  6. C.B. Strike. I started watching this British offering on my own in the evening. Then my wife was going by, stopped to watch, and was drawn in. We completed the series as released to date. Based on the Robert Galbraith novel series (and you know who he really is), they were entertaining fare, although some aspects became tedious and overdone (IMO, of course) by the end.
  7. We’d already finished Shrill, for which we experienced mixed feelings — she didn’t seem to learn lessons, and, as always on television, life as a writer seemed amazingly easy. Also finished was The Underground Railroad. I finished it; my wife did not. Too brutal for her. I agreed, it was terribly brutal. How we marginalize and treat people as a society based on skin color. Origins. Religion. Whatever little thing is deemed different is unacceptable and used to brutalize others.
  8. Walked away from Halifax. Strong cast, etc., but I didn’t buy into her role as a psychologist on the task force. Seemed forced and unrealistic.
  9. While I wasn’t particularly entertained by The Bay‘s first year, the second year was stronger and kept my attention. It came to an intelligent and satisfying conclusion. The last season of Jack Irish was good, bringing us up a lot of ancient history, expanding on everyone’s story, and spilling greater light on the circumstances that led to Jack Irish as we knew him. Helps that I’m a Guy Pearce fan, though, I think.
  10. Also just about finished is Unforgotten. Satisfying cold-case investigations. I could watch Nicola Walker in anything. She does a great job. I think she’s one of those actors who lifts up the production. One point that always has my wife and I laughing is how they ask people what they were doing on a particular night or weekend thirty years ago. This people always remember! Even thought they’re sixty, seventy, eighty. We’re of the opinion that we need to get on whatever memory diet they’re following.
  11. Just picking back up on The Sommerdahl Murders. I find this Danish show an intelligent take on relationships and personal histories and personalities as well as a decent murder mystery.
  12. Still on Thou Shalt Not Kill, from Italy. Hard to believe this thirty-year-old woman is a police inspector — that seems like an amazingly young age and she hasn’t done anything that makes me think it’s because she’s brilliant — but it is well-acted and with sufficient twists that I keep on going back. Not the highest one on my list but still worthwhile.
  13. Tested Kevin Can F**k Himself. Weren’t blown away. Didn’t go back for more.

There are a number of shows watched and off the list — Sweet Tooth, Chewing Gum, Please Like Me, Work in Progress, The Expanse, Killing Eve, What We Do in the Shadows, The Kominsky Method, The Queen’s Gambit, and Counterpoint all come to mind. And there are comedies where I watched the latest season and I’m waiting for the next: Would I Lie to You and QI. Of course, I’ve gone through all the Bosch, Vera, Hamilton, Varg Veum, and Line of Duty to date, along with Case Histories. Wouldn’t mind seeing more new ones of all these. I also watched, again, the one and only season of Firefly.

I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few. In the meantime, I’ll keep hunting up new things to watch. So what’s on your telly/laptop/streaming device? Any must see?

Cheers

1

The Skunk Report

It was Valentine’s Day, ten PM. The blinds were down. Thumping came from beside the house. Squeaking ensued. Definitely an animal noise. I turned. Outside lights detected motion and lit the area.

I pulled the blinds up. The squeaking came from a skunk, our skunk, as we call her. Haven’t formally named her yet but we know her by her tail, which looks like a well-used white toilet brush.

Furious squeaking kept going. She was jumping and darting briskly around. I zipped into the other room to bring my wife to the spectacle. Not much was on television and I’d just finished reading my book.

“What’s she doing?” my wife asked.

“I think she’s fighting with something.”

“I think she has a mouse.”

The skunk jumped back, leaped to one side, and twirled. “I don’t see a mouse. I think she’s fighting with something else.”

Our skunk turned and rushed away. There was no mouse. As we stood to consider what we’ve seen, another skunk darted out from under the house. Bigger than our skunk, I’d seen ‘him’ before. “Look.” I pointed him out. “I think she was fighting him. They sometimes fight.”

My wife was nodding. “Yes. I read that females will reject males and sometimes spray them in a defensive action.”

“So he came a-callin’…”

“And she said, no thank you.” The skunk disappeared. The lights went off. My wife turned away. “I think she doesn’t want him because she’s in love with Boo.” Boo is our big black cat with a single white star on his chest.

I remained doubtful. I began lowering the blind. The light appeared. ‘He’ appeared. He looked up at me.

I nodded down at him. “Tough luck, brother. Can you go somewhere else?”

He scurried off into the night. The light went off. I finished lowering the blind on the theater and began wondering what I was going to watch on the telly.

Live theater is so much better.

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Zomboat

Our entertainment efforts are sinking. By that, I mean, the stuff that others create that entertain us. “Devs” was interesting but I didn’t have anyone to talk to about the science. My wife’s eyes glazed over as soon as I asked, “What’d you think of the science?”

But it was a diversion, as was “The Last Kingdom”. I’m a Bernard Cornwell fan. I was leery and excited about the series when it came out. Sometimes when a movie or series is made about a novel or series, it hurts too much to watch, because they change everything, damn it.

(Likewise, it’s ruined if I know too much about a subject. I didn’t enjoy Ford v. Ferrari as much as many because there were too many small lies. Likewise, Rocketman failed to launch for me. I kept saying, “Elton John didn’t write that song, Bernie did,” or, “That song didn’t come out until years later. WTF?” Then I’d hurry to googlepedia to verify that I wasn’t going insane. Some critics noted that Rocketman was a musical fantasy. Ohhh; like that’s a license to lie. Anyway.)

(Yeah, and that was my problem with “Devs”. I’m not a computer wizard or physicist or anything, but when they said some of their stuff, I retorted to the screen, “What? But — “. Then I whirled to speak to my wife, who steadfastly looked away. Some of it was clarified by the end, but some just hangs out there, waiting for discussion.)

“The Last Kingdom” was very entertaining, although I had to keep googlepediaing everything for veracity. Cornwell often explains in his novels where he diverges from history, and why, and often had meticulous reasons. Yeah, I know the series itself is based on some fanciful potentials, but he generally fits it in well.

I’d also gone through the newest season of “Bosch” fast, and then “Upload”. The two seasons of “Counterpart” that were made were swallowed like cold beer on a hot day. We’re indulging in “The Great” but it’s another one where the truth is a dim light. At least they warn you right up front that it’s sometimes historically correct and is satire, but yeah, they cut out a huge chunk of history in making it.

The Aussies, of course, have pitched in something intriguing. They often manage to kick something out that makes us pause to watch. In this case, it’s “Bloom”. It has lost its luster for my wife, but she says she’ll keep watching to see if it ends up making sense.

Besides those, we’re watching “What We Do in the Shadows”. Had to, with Jemaine Clement and Taiki Waititi involved. It’s entertaining (although I keep thinking that Matt Berry is still Toast, but as a vampire).

We really like smart mysteries and comedies, though. It’s best when they’re combined. “Raised by Wolves” and “Misfits” come to mind as two ideal shows. “The Kominsky Method” and “Fleabag” answered our humorous tastes. The Aussie effort, “Rake”, too, and the Brit show, “Shameless” from eons ago (American versions of “Rake” and “Shameless” didn’t work out for me.) We’d tried “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”, and found it, ‘okay’. CBS was a little more fun with “Picard”. But really, where was the new offbeat stuff?

Then I stumbled over “Zomboat”. Zombedy always energizes us. Give us Shaun of the Dead and the Zombieland movies, and we’re very happy. “Zomboat” was like them, but fresher and smarter.

These people were idiots, but with some self-awareness. Better, they had distinct personalities, and were struggling with life and their situation. They bring history but not anything heavy. They were, if you will, well fleshed-out characters.

Alas, it was also only one year, and just six episodes. We went through them in three days.

So now, here we are, searching entertainmentland for new ventures to push the sludge of time along. “Baroness von Skit” was found. A few of those were consumed. They might be the short-term antidote that we seek.

Meanwhile, there’s got to be something else out there.

The quest goes on.

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Floofertainment

Floofertainment (floofinition) – 1. Diversion or amusement provided by animals, especially pets, live or via recorded or printed media.

In use: “Floofertainment often ends up with people wondering just what the animals are thinking, or becoming surprised by the animals’ apparent intelligence.”

2. Activities animals use to divert or amuse themselves.

In use: “Many housepets go to the house windows for floofertainment, watching squirrels, birds, and other animals running around or flying past, sometimes becoming as excited and jubilant as an NFL fan watching their team score.”

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Flooftella

Flooftella (floofinition) 1. Nutella with animal fur in it. 2. Television shows about animals. 3. Turning on a television or streaming a video or program to entertain pets.

In use: “Every morning before leaving, a flooftella was set up so the cats would have hours of watching birds and squirrels, an offering he made to them because there was little to watch outside of the highrise building.”

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