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Six Sentence Sunday
Jan. 11th, 2026 10:56 am“Oh, my story’s not so impressive,” she says with a laugh. “I fell on broken glass when I was twelve. Needed nine stitches.”
“Nine’s a lot.” A lighter voice this time, now El knows it was just dumb kid stuff, not something anybody did to her. Always with the Mariachi melodrama – he’d be looking to go shoot some clueless fuckwit if she’d given him a different answer, and they really don’t need those kind of theatrics their last day here. A manhunt makes the airport drill twenty times more annoying.
“Nine’s a lot.” A lighter voice this time, now El knows it was just dumb kid stuff, not something anybody did to her. Always with the Mariachi melodrama – he’d be looking to go shoot some clueless fuckwit if she’d given him a different answer, and they really don’t need those kind of theatrics their last day here. A manhunt makes the airport drill twenty times more annoying.
TV Round Up Time
Jan. 6th, 2026 09:25 pm
I'm getting back-logged again - time for a rapid-fire catch-up!
Slow Horses season 5 It's Slow Horses. That means it's good. If you haven't believed me by now and given it a go, you probably won't, I guess 🤪 The combination of spy action drama and dry comedy remains as solid as ever, and the revolving supporting cast around the core characters mean that interactions and relationships don't get stale. As always, they filmed two seasons back to back, meaning six is already in the can and coming later this year.
Person of Interest season 5 As I had predicted, I didn't find this quite as enjoyable as some of the others. I was glad to see I was wrong about Elias and he did resurface, but an ensemble cast like this thrives on the ensemble, and having Shaw separated from the rest for so long hurts it. Like the 'Fiona in jail' arc in season six of Burn Notice, you can't just rip one person out and give them their own plotline without it breaking up the vibe and making everything feel disjointed.
The ending made sense for the series and the characters - like Burn Notice, this isn't a setup where these people can keep doing this stuff forever and getting away with it, and some characters were more likely to be paying that price than others. It felt right.
Shogun I finally got around to watching this, a year late. It had been on the watch list all along, I just kept picking other things from the list instead. The critics liked it, but it didn't set the world on fire, and I'll go with that. It has a great cast, fabulous production values and beautiful cinematography and direction. It should have grabbed me more than it did. Five way politicking, manipulation and back-stabbing is exactly my bag, yet somehow it just didn't take off. I don't regret watching it, but I don't think I'd have missed out on much if I'd skipped it either.
The Witcher season 4 The one with the new Witcher. Cavill was prettier than Hemsworth, Hemsworth emotes more. Whether the latter is a good thing or not depends on your take on how Geralt should be, I guess. I never read the books or played the games, so I don't have too much of an opinion on that. But also the character plot of the season was how Geralt's becoming more open, as remarked upon by the people surrounding him, so it was obviously a deliberate choice. Geralt's and Yennefer's plots for the season were fine.
Ciri's arc for the season with the rats annoyed the shit out of me. Girl, what the fuck are you doing with these people? They're stupid and they're awful! They're lying to and manipulating you from the start, one of them tries to blackmail you into sex on day one, and then another one comes along to 'rescue' you and says, 'How about fucking me instead?' And you do! It just looks like more manipulation, a deliberate good cop-bad cop set up, and whether it actually was or not doesn't matter when you're hanging out with a rapist and a bunch of people who are all chill with hanging out with a rapist. And they're all chill with kidnapping children too. Not only are they awful people, they're actively bad at being awful and keep doing stupid shit that Ciri has to bail them out of. She should have ditched their arses and moved on, but somehow every time she discovers something else they've been keeping from her and lying to her about, she keeps on forgiving them. Ugh.
(Also, do not get me started on Ciri's attempt to disguise herself. You cut your hair from waist length to shoulder length? What is that supposed to do? You look exactly the same! Did the actor just refuse to get a buzz cut or something? Or did management decide they couldn't make the pretty girl couldn't less pretty? A buzz cut might have been effective, but apparently that was too much to ask.)
Pluribus Hell, yes! What happens when almost everyone in the world turns into an Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod person, and you're one of a handful of people scattered across the planet who remain human? Very different from Vince Gilligan's previous awesome series, but the same mix of high drama and wry humour.
This series lives or dies by Rhea Seehorn, and of course it lives - anyone who saw her as Kim in Better Call Saul knows exactly that she can do. There are a couple of episodes in there when she's acting almost entirely alone for the full fifty minutes, nobody to play off, and she nails it. (She's also in some scenes obviously having the time of her life as an actor, running the whole gamut of everything. And good for her, getting the chance to do that.)
It was fun to see the card game spit make an appearance - I hadn't thought of that in years! I loved the history lesson about nobody knows where it came from, but it went viral in the UK in the 80s - why, yes it did! They tried to ban it in my school because we were all spending all our breaks bruising one another's hands 🤪
Season two is all set up by this ending, and it's confirmed it's happening, and I'm going to be so here for it.
Slow Horses season 5 It's Slow Horses. That means it's good. If you haven't believed me by now and given it a go, you probably won't, I guess 🤪 The combination of spy action drama and dry comedy remains as solid as ever, and the revolving supporting cast around the core characters mean that interactions and relationships don't get stale. As always, they filmed two seasons back to back, meaning six is already in the can and coming later this year.
Person of Interest season 5 As I had predicted, I didn't find this quite as enjoyable as some of the others. I was glad to see I was wrong about Elias and he did resurface, but an ensemble cast like this thrives on the ensemble, and having Shaw separated from the rest for so long hurts it. Like the 'Fiona in jail' arc in season six of Burn Notice, you can't just rip one person out and give them their own plotline without it breaking up the vibe and making everything feel disjointed.
The ending made sense for the series and the characters - like Burn Notice, this isn't a setup where these people can keep doing this stuff forever and getting away with it, and some characters were more likely to be paying that price than others. It felt right.
Shogun I finally got around to watching this, a year late. It had been on the watch list all along, I just kept picking other things from the list instead. The critics liked it, but it didn't set the world on fire, and I'll go with that. It has a great cast, fabulous production values and beautiful cinematography and direction. It should have grabbed me more than it did. Five way politicking, manipulation and back-stabbing is exactly my bag, yet somehow it just didn't take off. I don't regret watching it, but I don't think I'd have missed out on much if I'd skipped it either.
The Witcher season 4 The one with the new Witcher. Cavill was prettier than Hemsworth, Hemsworth emotes more. Whether the latter is a good thing or not depends on your take on how Geralt should be, I guess. I never read the books or played the games, so I don't have too much of an opinion on that. But also the character plot of the season was how Geralt's becoming more open, as remarked upon by the people surrounding him, so it was obviously a deliberate choice. Geralt's and Yennefer's plots for the season were fine.
Ciri's arc for the season with the rats annoyed the shit out of me. Girl, what the fuck are you doing with these people? They're stupid and they're awful! They're lying to and manipulating you from the start, one of them tries to blackmail you into sex on day one, and then another one comes along to 'rescue' you and says, 'How about fucking me instead?' And you do! It just looks like more manipulation, a deliberate good cop-bad cop set up, and whether it actually was or not doesn't matter when you're hanging out with a rapist and a bunch of people who are all chill with hanging out with a rapist. And they're all chill with kidnapping children too. Not only are they awful people, they're actively bad at being awful and keep doing stupid shit that Ciri has to bail them out of. She should have ditched their arses and moved on, but somehow every time she discovers something else they've been keeping from her and lying to her about, she keeps on forgiving them. Ugh.
(Also, do not get me started on Ciri's attempt to disguise herself. You cut your hair from waist length to shoulder length? What is that supposed to do? You look exactly the same! Did the actor just refuse to get a buzz cut or something? Or did management decide they couldn't make the pretty girl couldn't less pretty? A buzz cut might have been effective, but apparently that was too much to ask.)
Pluribus Hell, yes! What happens when almost everyone in the world turns into an Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod person, and you're one of a handful of people scattered across the planet who remain human? Very different from Vince Gilligan's previous awesome series, but the same mix of high drama and wry humour.
This series lives or dies by Rhea Seehorn, and of course it lives - anyone who saw her as Kim in Better Call Saul knows exactly that she can do. There are a couple of episodes in there when she's acting almost entirely alone for the full fifty minutes, nobody to play off, and she nails it. (She's also in some scenes obviously having the time of her life as an actor, running the whole gamut of everything. And good for her, getting the chance to do that.)
It was fun to see the card game spit make an appearance - I hadn't thought of that in years! I loved the history lesson about nobody knows where it came from, but it went viral in the UK in the 80s - why, yes it did! They tried to ban it in my school because we were all spending all our breaks bruising one another's hands 🤪
Season two is all set up by this ending, and it's confirmed it's happening, and I'm going to be so here for it.
I watched Desperado again last night, since I'm writing for the fandom again, and I had forgotten what utter crack it is. Batshit insanity right from Steve Buscemi's opening eight minute near-monologue (who starts a film that way? But it works!), mental fight choreography - I just couldn't stop giggling all through, and I had to keep rewinding the most batshit bits to watch again.
And then there's Antonio Banderas being one of the hottest men to ever walk the planet, that part doesn't hurt either :-)
And then there's Antonio Banderas being one of the hottest men to ever walk the planet, that part doesn't hurt either :-)
Six Sentence Sunday
Jan. 4th, 2026 11:36 pm“God? Really?” Sands is instantly amused, as he always is with any mention of religion. "Take a look at your life, El. Hell, take a look at who you're shacked up with, then tell me you think God had anything to do with it, because I'm guessing that particular god doesn't like you very much."
"I know who I’m with,” El says, his hand gliding down Sands’ arm to rest over the bullet scar. “And I know if God had given me someone 'nice', someone good and innocent, I would have left them."
(It is still Sunday here, if only barely.)
"I know who I’m with,” El says, his hand gliding down Sands’ arm to rest over the bullet scar. “And I know if God had given me someone 'nice', someone good and innocent, I would have left them."
(It is still Sunday here, if only barely.)
Heather Lake on New Year's Eve
Jan. 2nd, 2026 04:11 pmWe had a few days of clear sunny weather in the run-up to New Year, so I waited until day three when some of the mud might have dried up a bit and went hiking! After all the rain and flooding, some places aren't accessible right now because roads and trails have washed out, including a 50 mile section of Highway 2 that's closed which they say will take months to repair, so that limits some options. I knew from the trip reports that there was snow at Heather Lake, but most of the trail up there was snow-free.
( Winter Wonderland )
( Winter Wonderland )
(no subject)
Dec. 31st, 2025 03:49 pmI'd almost forgotten how cathartic writing some characters can be. Nobody unleashes the inner bitch quite like Sands 🤣
Watching stuff
Dec. 27th, 2025 08:54 pmHeated Rivalry I'll admit, I almost didn't watch the gay hockey show. People have tried to make me watch so much desperately mediocre TV over so many years just because it was queer or slashy that I'm pretty jaded about it, and sports TV doesn't interest me at all.
But it's actually good! It's entertaining and funny and sweet, and sometimes sad, in a mix that hits just right. It's paced beautifully, with some engaging dialogue and it amused me immensely from episode one.
It's also a masterclass in how to write sex scenes. There are a LOT of sex scenes, especially in the first two eps, and none of them are repetitive. Each one of them has something different to say about these people and who they are, and how their relationship is evolving, and that's absolutely how it should be. There's nothing more boring than a sex scene that's just dropped in there because 'the audience will be expecting one now' and none of these are. Really nicely done.
10 Dance I enjoyed this, for most of it. Beautifully filmed, incredibly pretty repressed man desperately trying to avoid his feelings. It wasn't setting me on fire, but it was following the expected script in an entertaining enough way and looking good while doing it. Until it just stopped. There wasn't an ending, there was just the credits suddenly, and I'm all, 'Huh?' The film's called 10 Dance, they're training for the 10 Dance, and they don't even compete in the 10 Dance!
So I did some research, and it's based on a manga, but only part of the manga, so of course it doesn't have an ending because the manga's continuing on. Which will be fine, I suppose, if the film gets a sequel to tell the rest of the story, but so far I'm not seeing anything to suggest there will be. Which it leaves it standing there with a weird and deeply unsatisfying non-ending. Meh.
Wake Up Dead Man Absolutely loved it. The first Knives Out was entertaining and a lot of fun, Glass Onion was a sadly disappointing miss. They were both basically about what arseholes rich people can be, which is fair, but not exactly news. The difference between them was in the plotting and the writing, which worked so much better in the first film.
This third film actually has something to say. Layers about abuse of power, about how it's turned on family and naive children and the desperate, about the people who stand by and see it happening and do nothing, about greed and corruption. It still has all the detective elements with a weird murder and a long list of suspects, but it adds so much more to that and becomes genuinely good. Even if it is still weird seeing Daniel Craig turning himself into Mads Mikkelsen, with the hair and the beard and the clothes 🤣🤣🤣
But it's actually good! It's entertaining and funny and sweet, and sometimes sad, in a mix that hits just right. It's paced beautifully, with some engaging dialogue and it amused me immensely from episode one.
It's also a masterclass in how to write sex scenes. There are a LOT of sex scenes, especially in the first two eps, and none of them are repetitive. Each one of them has something different to say about these people and who they are, and how their relationship is evolving, and that's absolutely how it should be. There's nothing more boring than a sex scene that's just dropped in there because 'the audience will be expecting one now' and none of these are. Really nicely done.
10 Dance I enjoyed this, for most of it. Beautifully filmed, incredibly pretty repressed man desperately trying to avoid his feelings. It wasn't setting me on fire, but it was following the expected script in an entertaining enough way and looking good while doing it. Until it just stopped. There wasn't an ending, there was just the credits suddenly, and I'm all, 'Huh?' The film's called 10 Dance, they're training for the 10 Dance, and they don't even compete in the 10 Dance!
So I did some research, and it's based on a manga, but only part of the manga, so of course it doesn't have an ending because the manga's continuing on. Which will be fine, I suppose, if the film gets a sequel to tell the rest of the story, but so far I'm not seeing anything to suggest there will be. Which it leaves it standing there with a weird and deeply unsatisfying non-ending. Meh.
Wake Up Dead Man Absolutely loved it. The first Knives Out was entertaining and a lot of fun, Glass Onion was a sadly disappointing miss. They were both basically about what arseholes rich people can be, which is fair, but not exactly news. The difference between them was in the plotting and the writing, which worked so much better in the first film.
This third film actually has something to say. Layers about abuse of power, about how it's turned on family and naive children and the desperate, about the people who stand by and see it happening and do nothing, about greed and corruption. It still has all the detective elements with a weird murder and a long list of suspects, but it adds so much more to that and becomes genuinely good. Even if it is still weird seeing Daniel Craig turning himself into Mads Mikkelsen, with the hair and the beard and the clothes 🤣🤣🤣
Writing again
Dec. 25th, 2025 08:29 amThat person who went through my sprawling 230k epic a few weeks ago, commenting in detail on every part, made me go back and read the whole thing again myself. Twice. And we've been chatting back and forth a bit more, and I'd always intended there to be one more part to that story to finish it off, but I stalled on it a few thousand words in.
But now I'm all inspired again, and giddy and excited, and I'm back working on a WIP I abandoned in 2009. The best readers are absolute gold ❤️
(Though the timing could be more convenient. Since it's Christmas and I have stuff to do today, which will not be postponed regardless of the fact that I only slept for four hours last night because my head was alive with scenes and bitchy Sands dialogue.)
Anyway, Season's Greasons to all those who do this holiday, in whatever form 🎂
But now I'm all inspired again, and giddy and excited, and I'm back working on a WIP I abandoned in 2009. The best readers are absolute gold ❤️
(Though the timing could be more convenient. Since it's Christmas and I have stuff to do today, which will not be postponed regardless of the fact that I only slept for four hours last night because my head was alive with scenes and bitchy Sands dialogue.)
Anyway, Season's Greasons to all those who do this holiday, in whatever form 🎂
Cle Elum in the rain
Dec. 17th, 2025 10:59 pmIt was strange to drive over to Cle Elum in mid December with not one jot of snow along the road over the pass. The snow that I hiked in on Black Friday all melted away and hasn't been replaced.
We cancelled the Monday morning owling because the forecast was for heavy rain, and that's exactly what it did. Owls don't want to be out in the rain any more than I do - they can't hear their prey rustling when everything's rustling and they can't glide silently with drenched feathers, so they just stay in bed, and we did the same.
The daylight hours started pretty dismal too - it rained thoroughly until around 10.30 and then things improved to light, intermittent showers with occasional sun breaks. Mist clearing over the hillsides makes for some pretty photos.
We were able to access some parts of the count circle that we normally wouldn't because of snow, but the bird total for the day was still a near-record low in numbers of both species and individual birds. With no snow and all the ponds unfrozen, there's nothing to push the birds closer to town and feeders and water supplies - they could spread out in places far from roads and paths where we would never see them. Still a pleasant day to be out overall, though (at least once the solid wall of rain stopped) with enjoyable company.
We cancelled the Monday morning owling because the forecast was for heavy rain, and that's exactly what it did. Owls don't want to be out in the rain any more than I do - they can't hear their prey rustling when everything's rustling and they can't glide silently with drenched feathers, so they just stay in bed, and we did the same.
The daylight hours started pretty dismal too - it rained thoroughly until around 10.30 and then things improved to light, intermittent showers with occasional sun breaks. Mist clearing over the hillsides makes for some pretty photos.
We were able to access some parts of the count circle that we normally wouldn't because of snow, but the bird total for the day was still a near-record low in numbers of both species and individual birds. With no snow and all the ponds unfrozen, there's nothing to push the birds closer to town and feeders and water supplies - they could spread out in places far from roads and paths where we would never see them. Still a pleasant day to be out overall, though (at least once the solid wall of rain stopped) with enjoyable company.
Rain rain rain
Dec. 12th, 2025 08:11 am
It's been very damp here over the last week (and before that too). I got a free day off work yesterday because the Snoqualmie river got a lot bigger and the town I work in is currently an island. Not exactly unheard of for that town since the three roads into it all run alongside the river or cross it, but it's the first time it's happened in a few years. Last time was 2019, I think?
Heavy rain is supposed to hit again Sunday and Monday, which is sad, because that's when I'll be doing the Christmas Bird Count. Most years we get snow over in the mountains, not rain, but this year it's still too warm. So we'll be out in the grey and the damp and the mud, and the birds will sensibly stay in the bushes. I suspect it will be a low count year...
Heavy rain is supposed to hit again Sunday and Monday, which is sad, because that's when I'll be doing the Christmas Bird Count. Most years we get snow over in the mountains, not rain, but this year it's still too warm. So we'll be out in the grey and the damp and the mud, and the birds will sensibly stay in the bushes. I suspect it will be a low count year...
Films Again
Dec. 11th, 2025 09:13 pmAnatomy of a Fall I heard a lot of good things about this when it was released and finally got around to watching it. None of its characters are truly sympathetic, so it takes a while for any emotional involvement to start, but everyone and their circumstances are realistic. An interesting study in the complexities of relationships and how easily circumstantial evidence can start to look like guilt, and the difficulty of actually achieving justice. Great acting, when there's not always an easy balance to find, and no characters are inherently right or wrong.
Frankenstein Typical Guillermo del Toro, absolutely beautifully filmed with glorious direction and cinematography and artwork/effects (okay, the wolves are dodgy, but there are limits...) It's been decades since I read the book - I remember the broad outlines, but not the specific details, so I know some of it is book faithful and some of it is added, but I can't track the exact percentages. The overall tone and message is the same, though, and the sadness and frustrations of the story carry through. The creature is doomed by the narrative, no matter how hard he tries, and so in some ways is Frankenstein. Really well done.
My Father's Dragon From the same animation studio that did The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, this film very clearly has the same animation style and mood while not being quite as good as either of those. A young boy and his mother are forced to move from a small town to a grey, industrial city in search of work, their dreams crushed by successive failures. Until the boy meets a talking cat, whose story leads him out to sea and a magical but doomed island and the struggling animals that live there. A story of tragedy and fear and courage, it's entertaining enough for the duration, but not something I'd go back to.
Kneecap Loved it! Brilliant and bitter and funny, it has vibes of Trainspotting with added music and Irish politics. The cast are fantastic, despite being band members first and fictionalised versions of themselves secondarily. The direction with the added emphatic touches of animation is a delight, with some hilarious scenes that had me cracking up. 100% recommend to anyone with a twisted sense of humour or any interest in Ireland.
Frankenstein Typical Guillermo del Toro, absolutely beautifully filmed with glorious direction and cinematography and artwork/effects (okay, the wolves are dodgy, but there are limits...) It's been decades since I read the book - I remember the broad outlines, but not the specific details, so I know some of it is book faithful and some of it is added, but I can't track the exact percentages. The overall tone and message is the same, though, and the sadness and frustrations of the story carry through. The creature is doomed by the narrative, no matter how hard he tries, and so in some ways is Frankenstein. Really well done.
My Father's Dragon From the same animation studio that did The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, this film very clearly has the same animation style and mood while not being quite as good as either of those. A young boy and his mother are forced to move from a small town to a grey, industrial city in search of work, their dreams crushed by successive failures. Until the boy meets a talking cat, whose story leads him out to sea and a magical but doomed island and the struggling animals that live there. A story of tragedy and fear and courage, it's entertaining enough for the duration, but not something I'd go back to.
Kneecap Loved it! Brilliant and bitter and funny, it has vibes of Trainspotting with added music and Irish politics. The cast are fantastic, despite being band members first and fictionalised versions of themselves secondarily. The direction with the added emphatic touches of animation is a delight, with some hilarious scenes that had me cracking up. 100% recommend to anyone with a twisted sense of humour or any interest in Ireland.
(no subject)
Dec. 5th, 2025 01:27 pmYesterday evening I came home from work to find that someone had spent the day reading my circa 20 year old 230k word series for a very niche fandom, and had left detailed comments on every story in the series. After a tedious and sometimes frustrating day at work, that was just awesome ❤️ Today I am replying to their comments, and getting distracted by going back and reading parts of the stories myself - also awesome!
The Sun Came Out! aka Snow Lake
Nov. 29th, 2025 11:06 pmBlack Friday dawned the opposite of black, so I strapped on my crampons and headed for the hills! This was the first time I'd actually hiked Snow Lake in the snow - I've always gone in summer, basking in shorts and T-shirt.
The trail to Snow Lake crosses several avalanche chutes, so if you go later in the winter, you need to know exactly what you're doing and take avalanche beacons and the like - not for me. Just after the first snows when it's not deep enough to worry about those things is ideal. A trip report from last week said snow-free all the way to the lake. A trip report from Thursday said snow all the way from the car park, so Friday after just one more inch overnight sounded great.
( Snow Lake by name... )
The trail to Snow Lake crosses several avalanche chutes, so if you go later in the winter, you need to know exactly what you're doing and take avalanche beacons and the like - not for me. Just after the first snows when it's not deep enough to worry about those things is ideal. A trip report from last week said snow-free all the way to the lake. A trip report from Thursday said snow all the way from the car park, so Friday after just one more inch overnight sounded great.
( Snow Lake by name... )
TV Time Again
Nov. 27th, 2025 09:29 pmI'm trying to get better about posting things in a more timely manner - today is apparently Good Intentions Day!
Gen V season 2 I'm still impressed by the quality of this. I honestly had zero expectations for a late teenaged spin-off of The Boys, but the writers are doing a great job. Beneath the deliberate silliness and grossness, the characters continue to be complex, all with their own story arcs and issues - none of them evil, none of them good, all just kids with problems who can go either way. There was an interesting narrative twist to the season's main plot, and the plot threads of Gen V and The Boys are now coming together in a way that makes upcoming series potentially very interesting indeed. I'm fully on board.
Castlevania Nocturne I took a while to get into this Castlevania sequel. The basic set-up is the same - a Belmont, a magic-using female alongside him and some other characters adding to the mix. I initially missed the banter, though - I'm always up for a series where the main characters bitch each other out in the most affectionate of ways, and this sequel doesn't have that the way the original did. These main characters are a little younger and more idealistic and vulnerable. The plot was interesting, though, and the historical references behind it (I have to feel bad for Maria, knowing where her beloved revolution is going - and Annette when her Saint Domingue revolution is going to get ripped apart and dragged down into chaos too).
I loved the return of Alucard - an older Alucard, embittered by so many years of caring for mortals. He was so happy when he saw him at the end of Castlevania, surrounded by his newfound village and playing with the kids, but how many times could he watch them all live and die without it wearing him down? Olrox was a great character, too - introduced up-front as the series villain, but far more layered than that. And I really liked the way this series used music and Edouard's singing. I've read some complaints that his singing wasn't that great at first and then it suddenly got better, and why couldn't the actor have done better from the start? But have those people considered it might be deliberate? That Edouard the boy from a Caribbean island might have been considered a good singer locally but maybe not so great on the world stage? And maybe when he becomes a supernatural creature, that might enhance his voice as well as his strength? I thought he was a delight.
Person of Interest season 4 Pros and cons here. I didn't like it as much as season 3, but that's mainly because I MISS SHAW DAMMIT! Shaw was so good - she added a lot to this ensemble, and suddenly having her gone sucks. I'm coming around to Root a little more as the show progresses and so does her character, but she's definitely not replacing Shaw.
I'll miss Elias too - he was devious and conniving and Very Much Not Good but also not exclusively evil, which is always a fascinating mix. But I can also see that the show had played out all the possibilities with him and was coming back full circle, so maybe best to draw a line under that. The problem is we now seem to be left with a straight fight against Samaritan, and the Samaritan people are just not interesting or charismatic. None of them. It might be a good thing that season five is half the length...
Gen V season 2 I'm still impressed by the quality of this. I honestly had zero expectations for a late teenaged spin-off of The Boys, but the writers are doing a great job. Beneath the deliberate silliness and grossness, the characters continue to be complex, all with their own story arcs and issues - none of them evil, none of them good, all just kids with problems who can go either way. There was an interesting narrative twist to the season's main plot, and the plot threads of Gen V and The Boys are now coming together in a way that makes upcoming series potentially very interesting indeed. I'm fully on board.
Castlevania Nocturne I took a while to get into this Castlevania sequel. The basic set-up is the same - a Belmont, a magic-using female alongside him and some other characters adding to the mix. I initially missed the banter, though - I'm always up for a series where the main characters bitch each other out in the most affectionate of ways, and this sequel doesn't have that the way the original did. These main characters are a little younger and more idealistic and vulnerable. The plot was interesting, though, and the historical references behind it (I have to feel bad for Maria, knowing where her beloved revolution is going - and Annette when her Saint Domingue revolution is going to get ripped apart and dragged down into chaos too).
I loved the return of Alucard - an older Alucard, embittered by so many years of caring for mortals. He was so happy when he saw him at the end of Castlevania, surrounded by his newfound village and playing with the kids, but how many times could he watch them all live and die without it wearing him down? Olrox was a great character, too - introduced up-front as the series villain, but far more layered than that. And I really liked the way this series used music and Edouard's singing. I've read some complaints that his singing wasn't that great at first and then it suddenly got better, and why couldn't the actor have done better from the start? But have those people considered it might be deliberate? That Edouard the boy from a Caribbean island might have been considered a good singer locally but maybe not so great on the world stage? And maybe when he becomes a supernatural creature, that might enhance his voice as well as his strength? I thought he was a delight.
Person of Interest season 4 Pros and cons here. I didn't like it as much as season 3, but that's mainly because I MISS SHAW DAMMIT! Shaw was so good - she added a lot to this ensemble, and suddenly having her gone sucks. I'm coming around to Root a little more as the show progresses and so does her character, but she's definitely not replacing Shaw.
I'll miss Elias too - he was devious and conniving and Very Much Not Good but also not exclusively evil, which is always a fascinating mix. But I can also see that the show had played out all the possibilities with him and was coming back full circle, so maybe best to draw a line under that. The problem is we now seem to be left with a straight fight against Samaritan, and the Samaritan people are just not interesting or charismatic. None of them. It might be a good thing that season five is half the length...
Iceland continental rift dive
Nov. 19th, 2025 10:50 pmI finally got around to editing the video from the Silfra dive in Iceland. It only took 8 months 🤪
https://youtu.be/5CZhf-NdpRo
You're diving the no mans land between the European and North American plates at Thingvellir National Park in Iceland. The water clarity is transparent. It's insanely blue - I actually reduced the amount of blue in the video to make it look a little less fake, but it barely helps! There's not much alive down there - some algae on the rocks, and I saw a few small fish, but it's really just about the geology and the experience.
Much of the dive is in a narrow channel. A couple of spots get wider and very shallow. Apologies for the camera work there - it's hard to hold it straight when you're crawling over the rocks with your tank sticking out!
The water is cold - 2-3C, and that doesn't improve if you dive it in summer since it's melted snow. I wore my heated undergarment, which I was extremely glad about. I didn't notice the cold during the dive itself, though I could feel my lips going a little numb around the reg. When I got out and had to change in the driving wind and lightly falling snow, that was frigid! That part at least might be a little better in summer 🤪
https://youtu.be/5CZhf-NdpRo
You're diving the no mans land between the European and North American plates at Thingvellir National Park in Iceland. The water clarity is transparent. It's insanely blue - I actually reduced the amount of blue in the video to make it look a little less fake, but it barely helps! There's not much alive down there - some algae on the rocks, and I saw a few small fish, but it's really just about the geology and the experience.
Much of the dive is in a narrow channel. A couple of spots get wider and very shallow. Apologies for the camera work there - it's hard to hold it straight when you're crawling over the rocks with your tank sticking out!
The water is cold - 2-3C, and that doesn't improve if you dive it in summer since it's melted snow. I wore my heated undergarment, which I was extremely glad about. I didn't notice the cold during the dive itself, though I could feel my lips going a little numb around the reg. When I got out and had to change in the driving wind and lightly falling snow, that was frigid! That part at least might be a little better in summer 🤪
TV Round Up Time
Nov. 9th, 2025 09:20 pmAlien Earth (a couple of small spoilers) Damn, this was almost so good. The cast and the characters were great - there was good social commentary and everyone's motivations for their actions made sense. The direction and the music were awesome - it created an incredible sense of atmosphere and intense psychological drama that really drew me in. The look of it and the effects were fantastic.
There were just too many big flaws in the plotting for me to really love it. You have a high biosecurity alien containment lab, but someone stupid can open a door to one of the alien enclosures without any alarms going off. The idiot kid who cannot keep his mouth shut the entire series and is constantly on the edge of telling everyone they meet the incredibly important secret they must never mention - that kid somehow doesn't tell anybody when the guy who almost killed them starts talking inside his head. Once it becomes direct blackmail, it makes sense - but the kid saying nothing for days before that? Not a chance.
These are flaws that really wouldn't have needed much fixing. The plot could still have worked out the same way in the end with just a little more care taken with the plot devices, and it would have made a world of difference to the overall quality.
Peacemaker season 2 More of the same, and the same is gold. Genuinely funny, genuinely moving, absolutely insane. I love this cast, and James Gunn's writing is fantastic.
Some people were annoyed about the ending, I know, but the ending itself works with the plot and the situations it has set up. The only thing annoying about it to me is that there aren't any plans for a season three - the intent is to continue that storyline in crossovers with other James Gunn media. And that annoys the fuck out of me, because this story and these characters deserve to be given another season entirely their own 😭
Person of Interest season 3 OMG, this season really pushed the boat out with Carter. She rocked, and she deserved all of it. It was something they sorely needed to do with her, and I'm so glad they did. Her relationship with Elias was awesome (I'm really liking Elias more and more as the series goes on). I was not expecting the mid-season twist, that was A Thing.
Still really liking both Finch and Reese, and Shaw is making the most of all the potential I thought she had as a character, I love her ❤️. Root remains a) too crazy and b) too much of a plot device. They've chosen an interesting way to try and rehab her personality, but unlike the rest of the cast, she has no explanation for her skillset. A certain amount of things you can achieve just by following instructions in real time, but other things take rather more than that... But right now, she's the only weak spot in a very solid and entertaining series. Onward to season four...
Only Murders in the Building season 5 More of the same, and it's starting to get a little too same-y. It's fine; it's entertaining on a superficial level, but there are a limited number of places they can go with this, and five seasons in, those limitations are becoming very apparent. Martin Short and Meryl Strep continue to make an absolutely adorable screen couple, though - their scenes are perfection.
What We Do in the Shadows season 6 I finally got around to watching this, after the deeply underwhelmed reactions of the fans on my tumblr dash pushed it down the priority list. Overall, it's not bad, just kind of meh. Like Only Murders, there are inherent limitations with the format, and the writers tried to get around those somewhat with the office corporate culture plotline and satire, but it only partly worked. It was definitely time for this to end.
I wasn't a fan of the ending ending, where they tried to be all things to all people by offering multiple options in a total cop-out. You can't give a maybe wink wink nudge on the ship you've been teasing for years and expect people to be happy with that. I'm not even a shipper for them and it was irritating. Please, just choose the ending you think it needs and commit.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 (a couple of small spoilers) Overall, I enjoy Strange New Worlds, but I have to think of it as Not Trek. If I treat it like The Orville, something clearly Trek-inspired but not actually Trek, most of the time it's a lot of fun. It has a great cast generally, and Anson Mount's Pike is fantastic. But this is not Spock and it's not Kirk. I understand the general irritation with a Spock who bounces from het romance to het romance (see also This Is Not Spock) but Spock and La'An make a lot more sense as a couple than Spock and Chapel ever did, so that's an improvement.
As in previous seasons, it was very up and down. The last two eps in particular were genuinely good stuff, with actual emotional impact. Sure, one of them was just a rewrite of Enemy Mine, but it was written and acted well, and that's the detail that matters when you're borrowing. Episode five, meanwhile, was some of the most godawful writing I've seen since the final season of Game of Thrones. I'm talking 'fanfic written by a thirteen year old' level drivel. These people are supposed to be trained professionals! They have an actual professional archaeologist with them! And yet they discover a lost temple from an ancient civilisation and a random group of people go bumbling all around inside, touching everything and documenting nothing. Then when one of the random touchy people gets zapped by a glowy orb and collapses, they beam him up to sick bay. Do they put him in an isolation ward? Nah, the put him in a standard bed. Does the doctor treating him wear PPE? Nah, why would you bother doing that when dealing with unknown alien shit? Please. That script should never have made it past the initial pitch. Hard to believe somebody actually got paid for it... 😡
There were just too many big flaws in the plotting for me to really love it. You have a high biosecurity alien containment lab, but someone stupid can open a door to one of the alien enclosures without any alarms going off. The idiot kid who cannot keep his mouth shut the entire series and is constantly on the edge of telling everyone they meet the incredibly important secret they must never mention - that kid somehow doesn't tell anybody when the guy who almost killed them starts talking inside his head. Once it becomes direct blackmail, it makes sense - but the kid saying nothing for days before that? Not a chance.
These are flaws that really wouldn't have needed much fixing. The plot could still have worked out the same way in the end with just a little more care taken with the plot devices, and it would have made a world of difference to the overall quality.
Peacemaker season 2 More of the same, and the same is gold. Genuinely funny, genuinely moving, absolutely insane. I love this cast, and James Gunn's writing is fantastic.
Some people were annoyed about the ending, I know, but the ending itself works with the plot and the situations it has set up. The only thing annoying about it to me is that there aren't any plans for a season three - the intent is to continue that storyline in crossovers with other James Gunn media. And that annoys the fuck out of me, because this story and these characters deserve to be given another season entirely their own 😭
Person of Interest season 3 OMG, this season really pushed the boat out with Carter. She rocked, and she deserved all of it. It was something they sorely needed to do with her, and I'm so glad they did. Her relationship with Elias was awesome (I'm really liking Elias more and more as the series goes on). I was not expecting the mid-season twist, that was A Thing.
Still really liking both Finch and Reese, and Shaw is making the most of all the potential I thought she had as a character, I love her ❤️. Root remains a) too crazy and b) too much of a plot device. They've chosen an interesting way to try and rehab her personality, but unlike the rest of the cast, she has no explanation for her skillset. A certain amount of things you can achieve just by following instructions in real time, but other things take rather more than that... But right now, she's the only weak spot in a very solid and entertaining series. Onward to season four...
Only Murders in the Building season 5 More of the same, and it's starting to get a little too same-y. It's fine; it's entertaining on a superficial level, but there are a limited number of places they can go with this, and five seasons in, those limitations are becoming very apparent. Martin Short and Meryl Strep continue to make an absolutely adorable screen couple, though - their scenes are perfection.
What We Do in the Shadows season 6 I finally got around to watching this, after the deeply underwhelmed reactions of the fans on my tumblr dash pushed it down the priority list. Overall, it's not bad, just kind of meh. Like Only Murders, there are inherent limitations with the format, and the writers tried to get around those somewhat with the office corporate culture plotline and satire, but it only partly worked. It was definitely time for this to end.
I wasn't a fan of the ending ending, where they tried to be all things to all people by offering multiple options in a total cop-out. You can't give a maybe wink wink nudge on the ship you've been teasing for years and expect people to be happy with that. I'm not even a shipper for them and it was irritating. Please, just choose the ending you think it needs and commit.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 (a couple of small spoilers) Overall, I enjoy Strange New Worlds, but I have to think of it as Not Trek. If I treat it like The Orville, something clearly Trek-inspired but not actually Trek, most of the time it's a lot of fun. It has a great cast generally, and Anson Mount's Pike is fantastic. But this is not Spock and it's not Kirk. I understand the general irritation with a Spock who bounces from het romance to het romance (see also This Is Not Spock) but Spock and La'An make a lot more sense as a couple than Spock and Chapel ever did, so that's an improvement.
As in previous seasons, it was very up and down. The last two eps in particular were genuinely good stuff, with actual emotional impact. Sure, one of them was just a rewrite of Enemy Mine, but it was written and acted well, and that's the detail that matters when you're borrowing. Episode five, meanwhile, was some of the most godawful writing I've seen since the final season of Game of Thrones. I'm talking 'fanfic written by a thirteen year old' level drivel. These people are supposed to be trained professionals! They have an actual professional archaeologist with them! And yet they discover a lost temple from an ancient civilisation and a random group of people go bumbling all around inside, touching everything and documenting nothing. Then when one of the random touchy people gets zapped by a glowy orb and collapses, they beam him up to sick bay. Do they put him in an isolation ward? Nah, the put him in a standard bed. Does the doctor treating him wear PPE? Nah, why would you bother doing that when dealing with unknown alien shit? Please. That script should never have made it past the initial pitch. Hard to believe somebody actually got paid for it... 😡
Films I Watched
Oct. 28th, 2025 11:10 amSinners Really enjoyed this. Good cast, beautifully directed with good sound and music, very much captures the mood and the vibe. A historic US-set vampire film that also covers racism and wealth inequality sounds like an interesting mix and they definitely made it work.
The Thursday Murder Club I was looking forward to this, because I love the books and they got an amazing cast for the film, but with hindsight I suspect the let-down was inevitable. The cast are as good as expected, but overall the film’s just fine. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing standout. And honestly that’s the problem of trying to adapt a book like this, where the strength doesn’t come from the plot but the witty brilliance of the text that makes you laugh out loud. Some of that carries over in the dialogue, but so much of it’s in the descriptive writing and there’s no way to capture that. It’s the same problem that afflicts every Terry Pratchett adaptation – when the genius is in the written word, you can’t put that on a screen. So you end up with something mildly entertaining that you watch once and then move on.
Mickey 17 Another one that I was expecting more from based on how good Parasite was. Mickey 17 has a lot of valid things to say about capitalism and worker exploitation and US christofascist politicians, but it really does whack you over the head with them. The brilliance of Parasite was in the slow build – it starts with the tale of a poor family who tell small lies to get some money, then bigger and bigger lies, and it’s all fine until it starts causing harm to other people who don’t deserve it, and things spiral uncontrollably. Mickey 17 doesn’t build – it opens with the sledgehammer and then it really has nowhere to go. Worth a watch, definitely funny in parts, but not what I was hoping for.
Superman I heard so many people enthusing about this on tumblr that I went in with expectations that were too high. It’s fine. It’s a perfectly decent Superman film. It made the sensible decision to dispense with the origin story that everyone already knows, and the choice to have the Clark-Lois relationship already established with her in the know was a good one. But it’s hardly redefining the franchise or the superhero genre. And James Gunn has done so much good stuff, but I’m guessing the problem here was the studio putting too many limitations on him. He had to make a Superman film, so it wasn’t allowed to be a James Gunn film, and the man’s at his best when he’s allowed to push the boat all the way out. Honestly, the best reason for watching this film was to see how it ties in to season two of Peacemaker, because that was good. (More on that when I do the next TV round-up…)
The Alabama Solution And in an entirely different vein, an HBO documentary about the appalling conditions in Alabama state prisons. Filmed mostly by the prisoners themselves on smuggled in cellphones, they’re able to document what goes on and film all the things the film crew were barred from seeing when they went into the prison themselves. The conditions unfit for habitation, the brutality of the guards (backed up by testimony from a couple of ex-prison guards) – it’s not exactly shocking, because we know what goes on in those places, but seeing it is different from hearing about it. And then of course there are consequences for the prisoners who were brave enough to do it... Far from an easy watch, but it deserves to be seen.
The Thursday Murder Club I was looking forward to this, because I love the books and they got an amazing cast for the film, but with hindsight I suspect the let-down was inevitable. The cast are as good as expected, but overall the film’s just fine. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing standout. And honestly that’s the problem of trying to adapt a book like this, where the strength doesn’t come from the plot but the witty brilliance of the text that makes you laugh out loud. Some of that carries over in the dialogue, but so much of it’s in the descriptive writing and there’s no way to capture that. It’s the same problem that afflicts every Terry Pratchett adaptation – when the genius is in the written word, you can’t put that on a screen. So you end up with something mildly entertaining that you watch once and then move on.
Mickey 17 Another one that I was expecting more from based on how good Parasite was. Mickey 17 has a lot of valid things to say about capitalism and worker exploitation and US christofascist politicians, but it really does whack you over the head with them. The brilliance of Parasite was in the slow build – it starts with the tale of a poor family who tell small lies to get some money, then bigger and bigger lies, and it’s all fine until it starts causing harm to other people who don’t deserve it, and things spiral uncontrollably. Mickey 17 doesn’t build – it opens with the sledgehammer and then it really has nowhere to go. Worth a watch, definitely funny in parts, but not what I was hoping for.
Superman I heard so many people enthusing about this on tumblr that I went in with expectations that were too high. It’s fine. It’s a perfectly decent Superman film. It made the sensible decision to dispense with the origin story that everyone already knows, and the choice to have the Clark-Lois relationship already established with her in the know was a good one. But it’s hardly redefining the franchise or the superhero genre. And James Gunn has done so much good stuff, but I’m guessing the problem here was the studio putting too many limitations on him. He had to make a Superman film, so it wasn’t allowed to be a James Gunn film, and the man’s at his best when he’s allowed to push the boat all the way out. Honestly, the best reason for watching this film was to see how it ties in to season two of Peacemaker, because that was good. (More on that when I do the next TV round-up…)
The Alabama Solution And in an entirely different vein, an HBO documentary about the appalling conditions in Alabama state prisons. Filmed mostly by the prisoners themselves on smuggled in cellphones, they’re able to document what goes on and film all the things the film crew were barred from seeing when they went into the prison themselves. The conditions unfit for habitation, the brutality of the guards (backed up by testimony from a couple of ex-prison guards) – it’s not exactly shocking, because we know what goes on in those places, but seeing it is different from hearing about it. And then of course there are consequences for the prisoners who were brave enough to do it... Far from an easy watch, but it deserves to be seen.
Talapus and Olallie Lakes
Oct. 22nd, 2025 11:18 amYesterday was another gorgeous afternoon - Tuesdays seem to be hiking days the last few weeks.
( Talapus and Olallie )
( Talapus and Olallie )
