What I watched: The Boys season one. This show was recommended by commenters on a previous Brain Drain. Season two just released, so I needed to get caught up.
Did you like the TV show Punisher? This is like that, but with more female characters and a bit less gore. While there were many obvious gore-induced cringe moments, the worst for me was watching the fish guy get his gills raped during consensual sex (it was really gross and squishy). More to the point, this is the plotline: superheroes owned by a conglomerate, artificially created, hidden behind a religious backstory, and corrupted by power vs. morally ambiguous underdogs wronged by the aforementioned supes.
Should you watch it? Well, do you like watching the Marvel Comics pantheon of TV shows? If so, then you will enjoy The Boys. Watch it while drinking a boilermaker.
What I read: The Company of Strangers series by Melissa McShane, six books about the adventures of a group of scrappers (scavengers of artifacts from a destroyed world). They are quick reads, engaging, and book one is currently free on Amazon. Should you read these books? Maybe? They were, for me, the book version of watching whatever is on TV – good enough that you don’t change the channel, but not winning any awards.
What I listened to this week: The Holydrug Couple, Valle de los Espejos
FRogers, Reverser
Wallace, DYSLM? (She is the daughter of a friend.)
Jens Kuross, The Man Nobody Can Touch
So, dearest DeadSplinterites, whatcha doing? Are you hanging in there despite our head-exploding reality? Did you watch, read, or listen to anything good (or bad)? How was your week?!
…I think I’ve probably said a bunch about The Boys here or there already so I won’t bore anyone with more “do read the comics” nonsense
…but the reading thing I might have something for?
https://joeabercrombie.com/books/the-trouble-with-peace/
…I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point because there have been a fair few installments that come before that one…but if you like swords & sorcery type stuff…& particularly if you think George RR Martin is generally over-rated & you’re sick of waiting for Patrick Rothfuss to come up with part 3 of the Kingkiller Chronicles (he’s been claiming he’ll be done with it for a good couple of years at this point so I’ll believe it when I see it) you could do a lot worse than Abercrombie’s “The First Law” books…I’ve enjoyed all of the stuff of his I’ve read, anyway
Thank you for the recommendations, I now have The Blade Itself, First Law Trilogy on the Kindle.
…have fun…give my regards to the bloody nine
Watching Netflix Challenger. This is another tragedy where politics, profit, pride and optics clash with science/engineering. Being on the science/engineering side of things, I’ve been trying to stop grinding my teeth while watching the folks recount the political shit.
I learned about many of the facts on display many years ago as my elective on engineering failures so not much is new, but it is a still current reminder especially as members of the Raygun Admin are among those of the CoVIDiot, er, Trump Admin.
…can you imagine what Richard Feynman would have made of the shower of clusterfucking clueless assholes claiming to be in charge these days?
…that idea has somehow put a smile on my face…not sure what that says about me…but he was kind of an awesome guy
I image that these days in general are especially frustrating for a science/engineering person to watch as politics pervert the truth – a truth that is factual as opinion-based. Your poor teeth.
tbh…the part where fish guy erm..rescues a dolphin is fucking hilarious…lol
not currently watching anything (tho i have finally got my eyesight back proper….now my hands all bandaged up)
and i really need to buy myself some new reading material…currently re reading the lost fleet (well..a few pages at a time before i get sleepy anyway)…its space opera junk reading..nothing too challenging
and listening toooooo….pop..actually..
i rather like it…wierd
I liked the series. It’s not the most complex to read, but I found it a lot more engaging in the long run over the Honor Harrington series which morphed into something I can’t read without constantly rolling my eyes.
tbh…my only real gripe with the lost fleet is that it has a habbit of explaining things repeatedly (like…i swear they explain relativistic distortion at least once in every book) same with repeating certain key story points
which would probably be less grating if you we’re reading them as they came out with a suitably long wait in between books…but is pretty annoying when you are binging your way through the series
then again…i get annoyed at recaps before new episodes of anything too….so…could be just a me thing
I emailed the author about that a while back. It is because of the fact each book took a year to be published.
Also the author does reply to his fan mail. Seems a decent fellow.
The fish guy may be the most likeable of the characters. And the poor dolphin, sigh. i will check out your Jack Campbell recommendation. Very happy to hear that your eye is recovered, sorry to hear about your hand.
lol…eh…no worries about the hand but cheers…price i paid for being absent minded
gave myself the idiot cut
(first rule of metal work…and kitchens… dont try to catch falling shit)
i know better
…I think “frenchie” might be more likeable in the show than I recall him being in the comics but there’s not a lot to like about many of them, really
…although the character of hughie (I know I said I wouldn’t do this but I guess so much for that) was drawn to resemble simon pegg…without anyone running it by him…& I think was intended to be likeable
…simon pegg certainly is…not least because when he found out they’d essentially used his likeness without his permission he didn’t get them shut down or force them to pay him some crippling fee…instead he wrote the foreword to the first of the “trade paperback” editions
…but then he is kind of a geek…as anyone who watched the show “spaced” would probably know even before he started showing up in movies like “hot fuzz” or “shaun of the dead”
…all three of which are worth a watch, incidentally…although the tv show may be a smidge dated at this point?
spaced? dated?
shiiiiiiit……spaced is timeless :p
i think ill watch that again later now
…maybe we should have “gunfight” to settle it?
…kiora’s too orangey for crows & all that…& don’t get me started on the phantom menace?
…it occurs to me that if you haven’t watched the show the gunfight thing might seem like fucked up suggestion…so I’m just gonna add this as a p.s.
lol better safe than sorry
I’ve been watching way too much Vice News…
I probably need to watch some happy shows. So far the NBA finals has been a happy show. Where else can you seen Obama, Shaq, James Worthy, and Robin Roberts sitting next to each other (virtually).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2020/09/30/barack-obama-virtual-fan-game-1-nba-finals/5875498002/
Listening to Joscho takes me to my happy place to escape this news cycle…
So I feel like this is a place where I can ask about The Boys without getting a chorus of “google is your friend” and “sigh, we already talked about it” replies.
Is it highly self aware, winking, and meta? Or does it mostly play things straight and let the social and political stuff flow naturally from the stories?
I’d be interested in something Watchman-like, but don’t think I’d want an extended Saturday Night Live skit.
…it sort of splits that field?
…in the comics there was a good bit of quite clever satire about the genre but slathered in enough somewhat adolescent “are you shocked?” stuff to make some of it hard to notice if you weren’t inured to the author’s tendencies in that regard
…some of it works better in the show…& some maybe not so well…on balance it’s funny in places & seems to be trying to balance the exaggerated cliché stuff with some less heavy handed commentary…I wouldn’t say it does quite as good a job as the Watchmen show managed but it’s better than the feature-length SNL skit, I think
Thanks, that’s helpful. It’s one of the the things I want to check out, so I’ll keep it on the list.
The fascist is named Stormfront so I feel like they kind of bonk you over the head with it
I am quite critical about super hero TV, so my view may not reflect that of others. If you watched both The Punisher and The Iron Fist, I think this leans more to the Iron Fist level of writing and content. The super hero costumes themselves are satirical (and all look like they could use a good dry cleaning), and there is much angst among all characters…much, much angst. That said there is a bit of dark humor. But as for likable characters? I guess that fish guy and as SplinterRIP mentions, Frenchie, are the best? But the SplinterRIP input is better than mine, as he knows the comics.
…speaking of which…always felt the Iron Fist thing was a wasted opportunity…the character is kind of extra-absurd in that he’s heir to a colossal fortune (à la Batman) & an orphan (à la…lots of superheroes) so he’s got all kinds of white privilege baggage…plus default angst…but he’s also literally a by-the-numbers white saviour type, too…so it had a lot of work to do
…most of which I think they could have skipped past nearly by leaning into the thing where he’s been raised in a place where life actually follows all the tropes & conventions of kung fu movies
…so if they’d made him constantly thrown by anything you’d think of as normal but completely unfazed by the shit anyone else would find unbelievable about a superhero show (think Kung Fu Hustle crossed with…I dunno…Crocodile Dundee) it could have been funny & cool & less…whatever it was?
…also the very last bit of it made it seem like the season they never got to make would have been one of the better arcs I remember reading…so that was a shame?
I watched the first two episodes of the new season of The Great British Bake Off. I wish I didn’t have to wait a whole week for the next one. I’ve been spoiled by binge watching. My only complaint is the addition of Matt Lucas as cohost. I miss the original hosts, Noel does nothing for me and I like Lucas on here even less. I still enjoy the bakes though.
I read The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett. It was…fine. So many people recommended it that I expected more.
I listened to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Music To Kill Bad People To
From the recovered audio Unreleased Demos
Hannibal, you are playing Keitel music for sure! And the Bake Off… oh happy day!
Just finished Bernd Heinrich’s “One Man’s Owl“, which is a fairly quick read and interesting if you like the scientific process.
Now reading a very differently written bird book, “How to Be a (Bad) Birdwatcher” by Simon Barnes. So far, so good. Lots of humor with lots of practical advice.
Doves have a new album out, “The Universal Want“. Have loved the singles thus far.
There is a series on YouTube, “British Masters“, that Noisey (Vice) has been running for a number of years. Chances are some UK artist that you like has been interviewed over the last several years. That linked playlist is kinda shite, because it’s not in chronological order, but that’s a peeve of mine and probably won’t bother most folks.
My boss is an avid birder, and has done so from 3 continents. That book is a perfect holiday gift idea! Many thanks.
I’m going to have to check out that birdwatcher book. I love birds & live on a greenbelt with a huge variety of birds. I’m always taking pictures of them and sending them to a birdwatcher friend to identify them. Just in the last couple weeks I have seen a hawk almost take out a squirrel, a falcon take out a pigeon, and our crazy resident hummingbirds chasing away birds 5x bigger if they get near their feeder.
I got to go back at both jobs (grocery store Thurs, and the school on Friday!😁), because my Covid test came back negative and I was past the 10-14 day window😉
But during the week I mostly worked on various things for our classroom, read LOTS of news, cooked, and prepped fabric for making more masks (serged the raw edges of fabrics, until my server gave out–the motor is apparently dying, because it smells like “hot electric” and SMOKES, when i try to use it!😳😲🥴😱), luckily, my Bernina (a “regular” sewing machine), still works, and *it* can do a type of “overcast” stitch, soooo I was able to finish all the raw edges, and wash literally YARDS of fabric, so that i can make allll kinds of masks, as soon as everything is pressed & cut out😉
One of the things I DID get done, which went home with our kiddos in their backpacks Weds (I dropped it off with my teacher on Tues afternoon), was fabric shapes for the all kids to be able to do this activity;
http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/BigGreenMonsterVisualDiscrimination.htm
My room’s teacher and my co-para made up the books. The teacher recorded a short video explaining how to use them, for the parents, annnnd I’d made cut out, & bagged up all the “monster parts” so that the kids can do their OWN “Go Away Big Green Monster(s)”😉
This is a read-aloud of the story;
It’s one of the books used by our pre-K program, for a FEW reasons.
The story can be used to teach empowerment & self-advocacy, it’s GOOD for helping children to identify body parts, AND colors, and it’s also really good, for teaching “sequencing” (steps in the order of things–you can teach first, next, then, last, etc. with this one😉).
I LOVE that I was able to work from home, while waiting for my results (only needed to burn *two* sick/vacation days, for the two days we had kids in the room, rather than six!😁)
And it *also* meant that i could be REALLY creative, and use skills i haven’t gotten to exercise thoroughly in a few years🤗
I used to do “creative” stuff ALL.THE.TIME.
It was a major part of my life, and as much a part of my identity, as my physical SELF… but somehow, living out in the Exurb, and having to just *be busy* with so many OTHER things in my life, I slowly let that part wither away. Getting to exercise those skills again was FUN.
Finding an activity for the book was the *first* task the teacher have me, on Mon.
Once I found it, there was a matter of figuring out *how* to make it–i didn’t have enough paper for everyone at my house, I don’t have ANY colored felt at present, annnd I needed to ponder a bit, about what materials I DID have access to…
Realized I had a bunch of different cottons and some pellon fusible interfacing.. THEN realized I ALSO had enough “Textured” fabrics in every color I needed, so i could do even better, than just the cottons!😉…
And then I spent the rest of the day, pressing the various fusibles, designing pattern pieces (because it was impossible to just print, because my printer is out of ink, ANNNNND “quarantining” that day!🙃) and HOURS cutting everything out & bagging the parts up.
And it turned out CUTE, even if i *do* say so, myself!😉 (if I can, I’ll try to snag a pic, later on).
I used to do things like this, ALL the time, in my old sewing jobs.
I was the “idea” person, who could take a bunch of random crap, and find a solution to problems wd had, back in my old field.
And it felt REALLY nice, to be able to pull out something like that, again🤗💖
I realized,how much i MISS being “creatively challenged” and how I get *mentally* challenged a LOT with my school stuff, and my kiddos, but how I’ve let the creative stuff slide, due to time constraints & “tiredness” (due to burning SO much mental energy when I wasn’t on ADHD meds, and just “trying to keep up” in the neurotypical world!).
I DO best, when i have that creative challenge & skill-use going on.
I really DO.
Because that outlet just makes me happier, because it IS challenging😉
Think of it like the irl-version of “Chopped,” you have a basket of random crap, some of it AWESOME, some CRAP, but you have decent tools, and plenty of knowledge… and you can make something NEAT & useful out of the basket-o-crap!😉
I’ve MISSED being able to do that…
And I feel kinda like I got it back, this past week😉😁🤗💖
That’s *also* how I KNOW my ADHD meds are working… i was able to focus, and get ALL of that☝️ done, in just over 24 hours…
The “me” that I *had* been, when unmedicated (and prior to 3 years ago–entirely undiagnosed, too!), in the last… 4-7-ish(?) years… wouldn’t have had enough focus/mental energy, to manage getting it all DONE, and into the hands of the classroom’s teacher, in the approximately 30 hour time frame I did it all in😉
…congrats…that sounds like a bunch of time-well-spent…which frankly feels like something I can only aspire to given the amount of the last week I must have spent scanning the news in one form or another?
Congratulations on your negative test! And wow am I impressed by your creativity and “get ‘er done” results. Cheers to you!
Huzzah for the negative test!