Dec 30, 2021

 

Almost the end of the year.

I spent time with friend Christmas Eve and for dinner on Christmas Day.  So far no indication that any of us got sick.  With the current numbers of infections in Ontario getting together may not have been the best idea but we were all vaccinated and asymptomatic and the number of people was well below the recommended 10.

I have no plans for any social contact in the foreseeable future.

On Netflix:

Power of the Dog.  It seemed slow at the start but by the end I realized what a joy it was to watch a film that took time for the story to unfold.  This was one of the best movies I've seen this year, or in the last few years.

Don't Look Up.  This was just wonderful.  

I've been watching lots of things this month but these two were real standouts.

I've also been eating a lot of things this month.  I've gained weight.  The problem now is to get through the days without constantly using food as a reward.

Dec 16, 2021

 

November and December have been much like the last 18 months.  Groceries, library and limited contact with other people.  To the dentist for hygiene and a small filling.

I have twice gotten together with one friend for dinner.  

I'm invited to a small gathering on Christmas Eve and a dinner on Christmas Day.  However, the daily case numbers in Ontario have taken off again and I think both those events may be cancelled for safety reasons.  Which is fine - it would be nice to see people but still, I'm quite happy being home on my own reading and watching Christmas movies. 

"Single All The Way" on Netflix is happy gay fun.  Thank you Netflix.

Movie: Werewolves Within (2021)

 

Comedy-horror (or horror-comedy) is one of my favourite movie genres.

This film is just a delight - fast moving, great dialogue, and well-acted offbeat characters.

Thoughts on a Quote

 

"We read books to find out who we are."

              - Ursula K. Le Guin

This struck me because it rings true, it has certainly been my experience.  But the last few years I have found I have less and less interest in books about people finding their place in the world or overcoming obstacles or working their way through struggles or bad relationships.  It would be nice to think that, being past 70, I know who I am and am no longer searching to find my "true self".  But it may well be that I'm just tired and have given up the search and have just accepted myself as I am without trying to understand.

I wonder if that is why so many older readers love mystery stories so much.  They're stories that are interesting and fun to read but aren't necessarily trying to teach you anything about yourself or life.  Although the good ones often do, but without it being the central meaning of the book.

Netflix Movie: Shimmer Lake

 

This was excellent.

The kind of movie I love - presumably not a big budget, no big special effects, but a clever story well written and directed and a good cast.

Author: David S Pederson

 

He has a series of books about a gay detective in Milwaukee in the late 1940's.  There's a bit of a retro mystery feel to them, a bit of a throwback to the "Golden Age" that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

He also makes clear the difficulties/dangers of being a gay person in that era.  

Good plots too.

Netflix: The Chestnut Man

 

This was excellent.  

The kind of program I was expecting when I subscribed to Netflix.

Gripping and worthy of a bingewatch.

The Nordic/Scandinavian shows are pretty consistently the best mystery type productions anywhere.

Unfortunately there are so many services now that unless you spend a fortune subscribing you can't see all the good stuff.  

MHz, Acorn, BritBox all have great programming.  Not to mention the many many North American services.

A friend commented recently that even with all these services it can be very hard to find a particular program/movie that you're interested in, especially older things.

I borrow a lot of  DVD's from the library but unfortunately the older they are the more scratches they have and it is so frustrating when there's a section of a program that you cannot play - especially if it's the ending!

What Have I Done?

 

Yesterday I bought a frozen turkey at Loblaws.  They had a two day sale and small turkeys were $22, plus store points worth $6 on future purchases.  So I have a 10 pound turkey that cost me roughly $1.60 per pound, which seems like a pretty good deal.  I don't have enough room in the freezer in my fridge so I have no choice but to cook the bird.  It's thawing the fridge, I have bread drying for stuffing, and tomorrow I will roast it. I live alone, and with the pandemic I'm not having people over to my home.  

My question is...what am I going to do with all that meat?

Making Space

 

It's been a lot of years since I started downsizing and decluttering and for a while I've been thinking that I had done as much as I could as far as furniture goes.  But a few days ago I was looking at the wall in my bedroom where I had my TV and my computer desk and two cabinets, and a printer stand.  I've always found it cluttered but manageable.  But looking at I realized that I could put the printer on the lower shelf of the desk and everything else on the stand could go somewhere else.  So I did that and the printer stand is gone.  It has made a huge difference - that cluttered look is gone.  I am so pleased and I have been smiling about it for days.

Netflix: Clickbait

 From the description I had decided not to watch this, but a friend really liked it so I gave it a try.

I wasn't impressed with the opening scenes but stuck with it and got hooked and ended up bingeing the whole thing.

Families

 

When I hear someone proudly talking about their family background I tend to think that that's fine, but no family is purely good, somewhere back in your bloodline there are going to be individuals who were absolutely horrible creatures. 

 What's important is what you are in the here and now.

Back to School

 

I live near a high school.  What I was thinking, or not thinking, when I bought this unit I don't know.  Although in downtown Toronto it's hard not be near a school of some sort.

It's been so peaceful during the pandemic with the school closed, but soon it will be open again and the neighbourhood will once again be filled with students and the little bastards will be running around being their usual rude obnoxious selves.

I don't understand why they're around on the streets, parks and stores all day long.  Do they ever actually sit in a classroom?

Skinny Jeans

 

Today on Twitter there were a lot of people complaining about "mom jeans" and saying how they will NEVER give up their skinny jeans etc etc.

I find myself being a bit smug about this because I've felt that way often over the years about changes in styles but in the end the fashion people always win -  at some point clothes wear out and you simply have to give in and buy the new style because there is nothing else available in the stores.  And eventually almost everyone is wearing the new style and you start to feel uncomfortable being in seen in out of style clothing.

Personally I have never liked tight clothing.  I have been around for several bouts of tight pants and while have had to give in and wear them I have never liked them.  I like clothing that is comfortable to wear and is easy to move around in, clothes where you don't feel constricted or have to keep adjusting them because they're pinching or they've rolled up.

As for the current thing for skinny jeans and tights (both on men and women) I think they look ridiculous on anyone who doesn't have a perfectly toned body.  I mean seriously, who wants to have their eyes affronted by someone's sags and bulges flopping around.  Clothing ideally should be about making you look your best and that often involves concealing, not flaunting, your flaws.  (That's what women do with makeup so why not with their clothing?)

Currently in men's fashion I find tight pants, low rise pants, shirts with no pocket, bizarre facial hair, extreme haircuts and bits of hair tied up in clumps annoying.

Movie: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

 

I liked this movie a lot when it came out.  I haven't seen it for years until tonight and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again.

It's flawed, there are slow spots and some stilted camera work, but there are also some visually wonderful scenes. 

I liked Yves Montand better seeing him after all these years but unfortunately there was little chemistry between him and Barbra Streisand.  

Ms Streisand was at her comedic best in this film.  Particularly in the flashbacks to 19th century England. We don't get to see enough of this waggy natural humour in her later films.  

I read that this was heavily edited down from an original three hour running time and I wonder how many awkward moments were the result of this.  

Still,  I loved seeing it and will watch it again in the future.

Lack of forethought

 

So, I bought a new flash drive so I could copy some things from one flash drive to a separate one.

BUT, my new computer has only two USB ports and they are side by side.  My old flash drives fit fine side by side but the new one is wider and once it was in the port there was no way anything could fit in the port beside it.

So I copied the files to the computer and from there to the new flash drive.  But I had not wanted to put that information on my computer.  Sure I could delete the file afterward but we all know that deleting a file does not mean that it is unretrieveable. 

USB ports and flash drives have been in use for years.  How could this potential problem not have occurred to the person designing the flash drive case  - or their supervisor or anyone down the line in the production of this product?

Netflix: Fear Street, Parts 1,2 and 3.

 

This was great fun.  Good story, good cast, good effects.  It just whipped along and came together nicely. Some nice moments and just enough feely stuff that you actually could care about the characters.

Netflix: Slasher: Seasons 2 and 3

 Season 2, I watched a bit and while I know summer camp and cults are traditional in slasher films I just couldn't face another summer camp or another cult.

Season 3.  This was pretty good, although a little talky at times.  The last two episodes seemed to go on forever - they easily could have been edited down to one episode.  I didn't feel particularly sympathetic to any of the characters - they all could have died for all I cared.

I find it interesting how blase I have become about blood and violence in shows like this.  It certainly was realistic in this production but somehow I didn't find it in the least disturbing or scary or repulsive.  It just felt like same old same old.

What to do with inherited money.

 

1) Pay off debt.

2) Save/invest anything left.

Netflix: Slasher, Season One

 

This was pretty good.  It was typical slasher material but perhaps that is why is seemed comfortable and familiar to watch.  There were plot holes and unfortunately the last episode was way way over the top but still, lots of fun to watch.

The lead character though (not the actress, she was fine) seemed to have absolutely no sense of personal or social boundaries.  Not someone you'd want to have in your life.

Parry Sound, where it was filmed, is a very pretty town.

As with a lot of stories I found myself wondering how things went for the minor characters after their part in the plot was done.

Character Names

 

I hate it when I read a description of a movie or series and it looks like it's going to be about two gay guys and then it turns out it's about a guy and a woman who has a "cute" guy's name.

I'm sure this is an unpopular thing to say in today's gender-correcteness obsessed world but there you have it.

Netflix: Requiem

[Spoilers]

I would call this series a near miss.

It drew me in enough that I binged it, BUT.

It was numbingly slow at times.  Too many long shots of people looking thoughtful, or worried, or sad, or confused or as though they smelled something bad.

It got sillier as it went along and the ending was just ridiculous and unsatisfying.  I believe it was based on a novel which I haven't/won't read.  The series would have worked far better as just as mystery.  The supernatural business would have been ok if it had been presented as just misguided people thinking they were witches.  To make the supernatural real just did not work - in the end it just felt overly contrived.   I suppose being partially possessed by an archangel could explain why the lead character was so angry, impulsive, volatile and kind of stupid. 

The hair was enough to drive one to stop watching.

I hope they have no plans for another season.  If they do I certainly will not watch.  This crossed my mind because there weren't enough shallow graves at the end to account for all the people who were missing.

Netflix: Halston

 

Initially I wasn't going to watch this since I'm not at all interested in the fashion industry.  But several friends liked it so I decided to give it a try.

It was not bad overall, although a little slow at times and I did get a bit tired of the voice by the end.

The last twenty mintues or so of the last episode were quite wonderful.

A shout out to Jack Mikesell as John David Ridge.  A small part but a really lovely performance.

Author: Dal Maclean

 

Her first two books are:

Object of Desire

Bitter Legacy

There are M/M gay romance mysteries, a genre which I usually read when I'm in the mood for something light and entertaining.

Both these books were far better than average as far as gay romance novels.

As mysteries they were excellent - once I started reading I couldn't put them down.

Her third book (which I have not yet read) is:

Blue on Blue

 

I know they have good intentions but overall I wish people wouldn't reccomend books to me.

I do check into them but often decide they're not of interest to me.

The problem is that some people take it as an insult if you don't read what they have suggested.

Movie: Adam and Steve 2005)

 

How have I never seen this movie before?  I loved it.

The first few minutes are a little weak and it would be easy to turn it off at this point but it quickly finds its feet.

There are certainly times when it veers into high school humour but I think by not milking it but just doing it and moving right along it gets away with it.   There are also some touching moments that again aren't milked, they're just presented for you to catch if you're paying attention.

The always reliable Parker Posey is here and there are moments when she's astonishingly beautiful.

There are lot of minor characters in this film and I like that there were all given the time and respect to do their work and have it shown.  Too often in film minor characters are just considered filler or background and not given a chance to shine.   The writing is sharp and there are some very good lines.

The film veers from comedy to drama repeatedly and rapidly but is always controlled.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Malcom Gets is good throughout the film but in a scene near the end when he quietly sings a song he is heartbreaking.  He's transcendent.    There are rare times when an actor gets to do this - Maggie Smith in a dark classroom lit by a projector in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"- Catherine O'Hara not getting the Academy Award nomination in "For Your Consideration".

Track it down if you can and give it a watch.

 

I have become so comfortable living this isolated life away from people.

I'm ok with email and social media but I find even talking to someone on the phone has become kind of annoying.

When I hear human voices outside the building or in the hallway I just want to shout at them to shut up.

How will I cope when I have to go back to seeing people in person?

Movie: The Motel Life (2012)

 

What a perfect little film.  

The kind of film I love that doesn't rely on big budgets or special effects, just people who know how to tell a story.  Actors, director, writer, crew who know what they're doing. Where the story and the characters are why we're watching.

Tatort:Borowski cont'd

 

Season Four:  Episode One  (via HOOPLA)

What the hell happened?

This episode was just a mess.

Acting, direction, writing, camera work.  All bad.

I probably won't use any of my 8 per month credits to watch the rest of the season.

 

What is it when someone asks if they've told you something and you say

YES

and then they proceed to tell you again

often in great detail

 

Singles go to a dinner and bring a bottle of wine.

Couples go to dinner and bring a single bottle of wine.

Couples go on a cruise and share a cabin.

Singles go on a cruise and pay a supplement.

Singles go to a birthday party and bring a present.

Couples go to a birthday party and bring a single present.

Tatort: Borowski

 

I've been watching this older series from Germany.  It's been pretty good, if a little dated, and I suppose getting better as the episodes go along.

Then there's an episode called "Borowski and the Crystal Sky" which seems pretty typical, sad, and then there's this ending that takes your breath away and you realize that right at that moment you're in the presence of art.

the miniseries problem

 

So once again I've watched three episodes of a mini-series and realized that I'm only continuing to watch out of some misguided sense of obligation.  Obligation to whom??  This happens so often and I think it is not a fault in me but that most mini-series just do not have enough content to sustain them - they'd be better with fewer episodes, or often they really would work far better as a two hour movie.  I'm ok with a  series when each episode is a different story, and I'm ok with a series when there's a subplot running through the series but the main part of each episode has it's own story.

And why does so very much of the dialogue consist of "fuck, fucking, fucked"?  It's a word that used to have impact but now it's used so much in productions that it feels like it's just used by lazy scriptwriters attempting to have impact while being too lazy to actually write.

A plus about the pandemic

I have a lot of digestive issues and tend to produce a lot of gas.  Living alone and being able to fart whenever I feel like it has been wonderful during these months,

 

Another thing I hate about the guitar is when the performer does not make the effort (or have the skill) to lift their finger and you hear that horrible squeak as the finger slips along the string.

There is a difference between a classical guitarist and an amateur.  I can actually like a decent piece of music played well on a guitar.

Unlike the saxaphone, which I just do not like, ever.

 

When someone in a movie or TV show, let alone in real life, brings out a guitar I just cringe.

Bread

 

It's interesting (sad, disappointing) that bagels, English muffins, even croissants are converging on being just bread made in different shapes.  The characteristics that make each of them distinct, from each other and from bread, seem to be disappearing and we're left with, bread.

At the same time, muffins seem to be converging on cupcakes.

Things That I'm Tired Of

 

1) Men's facial hair.

2) Men with long hair.

3) Men with pony tails.  Even more so, men with manbuns.

4) Women with long, purposely "messy" hair, especially when it's blond, especially when it's parted in the middle.

5) Women wearing tight leotards and thinking a) they're pants and b) they look good.

6) Glitter on and in greeting cards.

7) Women (or men) with long hair who flick it back in elevators, theatres etc.  I mean ugh, who wants someone else's hair touching them?

8) Movies that are so dark that you can't see a damn thing that's going on. 

9) Fashion.

10) People who are famous for being famous.

New Years 2020-21

 

Like Christmas I spent New Years on my own.  Unlike Christmas I couldn't think of much to do to make it special.  I usually go away and spend New Years with a group of friends so it was a little lonely being on my own, but I was in touch with most of them by phone, email and Facebook.

I put a little more effort into dinner yesterday than I usually do.  I'm truly not fond of cooking.  I would probably live on prepared foods but they tend to have a lot of salt and fat which I'm trying to keep to a minimum, and spices, onions and garlic etc which wreak havoc with my digestive system.  So I do cook.  I just try to keep it simple.

So a new year begins with record daily numbers of new infections in the province.  I'm staying in even more.  I try to get out for walks for exercise but there are a lot of people not wearing masks, still!, and they're not always good at making the effort to distance.  I'm considering for the first time having groceries delivered rather than going to the store.  The library is doing a good job of being cautious but if the numbers keep going up I may put my account on hold for a while.

I do look forward to seeing people again, but at the same time it's been kind of great not having to bother socializing or having anyone over and I need to remember to enjoy that while it lasts.  Which realistically is going to be many more months.