TV: Chucky, Seasons One and Two

 

I wasn't going to watch this but decided to give it a try.

It was great.  The writing was wonderful.  Just when you thought the plot had backed itself into a corner some new twist happened and off the story went.

The second half of the second season in particular was just a wonderful manic romp with allusions to all sorts of things flashing in and out.

The cast was good and were certainly up for anything.  I had the feeling that Jennifer Tilly and Rosemary Dunsmore in particular were just ready to go for it.

Lost Things

 

I was reading today and the author mentioned a picture of a milkweed.  That reminded me that I once owned a picture, that I rather liked, of a milkweed and I wondered whatever became of it.  I don't think it involved anything dramatic but I just don't recall it leaving my life.

During the last thirty years or so since I embraced minimalism there are so many things that have been discarded but those have been deliberate decisions that I remember making.  I occasionally  think of one of those things and say to myself, "Yes, that was a nice thing" but not in any sense of missing it or regretting letting go of it.

But there are those other things that now and then come to mind, things that were once part of life, that are simply gone.

In turn that leads to the realization of just how many many things I have owned over the years.

It would be nice if you could go back over your life and pull the things, the pieces of clothing, the books, movies, tv shows, types of food, moments, and people, everything that you really liked, into the present.

Book: Livingsky, by Anthony Bidulka

 I liked this book very much.

There was a vividness to the setting and characters that totally involved me.

I liked these people.

I really hope he follows up with more books in this setting.

I have read Mr. Bidulka's books for many years and have always found them to be good reads.

BritBox

 

I subscribed to BritBox and I am so pleased with the service.  

There are lots of mystery programs which is the kind of viewing I most enjoy at this stage of my life.  

There are new programs but also older shows like A Touch of Frost, Morse, Dalziel and Pascoe, Bergeron. Some of these I've seen before but it's been so long that they seem like new to me.

They also have the extant episodes of the original Dr. Who series from the twentieth century.  I remember watching them when they were first broadcast on the CBC and seeing them now is like getting in touch with old friends.  I'm also enjoying seeing anew how creative the BBC people were putting these together on a limited budget.

I still have Netflix but I watch less and less as time goes by.  Perhaps it just my age but I'm just not interested in supernatural, post-apocalyptic, magic, superhero, crime, gangster and romance programs.  I'm keeping it at the moment.

Rule?

 

In movies and TV shows, there should be a rule that one never, never, kills off the pretty blond boy.

(And by "boy" I mean, "young man in his twenties".)

Declining quality

I bought a new fan yesterday.

It was a model I have owned before and liked.

When I opened the box it turned out it is made of very lightweight plastic and high speed on this fan moves the air at most at the same rate as medium speed on the old model.

 I can't remember if I wrote about the replacement desk lamp I bought a while ago.  It was so shabby that I just threw it out and decided to try and get the old one rewired.

I hear people saying similar things about fridges and other appliances.  

Perhaps with our new consciousness of the environment and waste we will be able to demand some quality in our purchases. 

In the mad dash for profit all these conglomerate corporations seem to have lost all track of the idea of supplying a good product at a reasonable profit.

Junior

 

Thank god I wasn't named after my father.

Imagine going through life (until your father's death) with "Jr." after you name, let alone being called "Junior".

What a demeaning thing to inflict on a child.  What an egotistical thing to do.

I wonder what percentage of patricides are committed by "Juniors"?

(But then I grew up terrified of my father so I do have father issues.)