What I watched: The Brokenwood Mysteries, New Zealand’s answer to England’s Midsomer Murders. There are six six-episode seasons, with another coming after the pandemic. I really like this show. It is another police procedural crime drama, but it has humor, reoccurring bit-part cast members, and fun ongoing character lines. Things like poor Frodo whose boss always gets killed; the murder-obsessed elderly lady who know each victim, and the slightly off Russian pathologist. Here’s a trailer to try it out. Many characters were also in the New Zealand-based show The Almighty Johnsons. It is on Acorn TV.
Should you watch this show? Yes!
What I read: Book Two, Bailed Out, from Rebecca Zanetti’s new-ish series the Anna Albertini Files. The third book in the series is due in March, so you have time to catch up. Anna is a lawyer from a large Italian-Irish family ruled by the grandmothers, who is involved with an apparent bad guy motor cycle dude. Murder and mayhem ensue, and it is a fun, easy read. But I think you need to start with book one, Disorderly Conduct, to really enjoy book two.
I also read the next book Jayne Ann Krentz’s Fogg Lake Series, All the Colors of Night, an off shoot of her Arcane Society series. Book one, The Vanishing, is about an explosion in a government research facility hidden in a cave system that releases paranormal gases which affect the residents of Fogg Lake. All the Colors of Night continues exploring the people who gained paranormal abilities, in this case, those who work for The Foundation, an organization that polices fringe groups. Krentz also writes as Amanda Quick for the historical versions of the Arcane Society, and as Jayne Castle for a futuristic continuation of the series under the Harmony umbrella. One of the best parts of the Harmony books are sentient pet-like dust bunnies (some may live under my sofa, just saying). She has a particular style, and reading her work is akin to pulling on a favorite old sweater.
What I listened to this week: I’ve been all over the place this week, looking for “new to me” music:
TRAAMS – The Greyhound
Mount Kimbie – Marilyn featuring Micachu
Kevin Morby – Miss Ohio
So, dearest DeadSplinterites, Is everyone okay? Are you doing all right after this ridiculous week? Are you still sequestered at home? Have you been vaccinated? What have you watched, read, or listened to? Please do stop by and tell us what is up with you!
Watched: the first episode of Fargo. I’m still not sure if this series was inspired by the movie (there seem to be a lot of parallels), but it’s damned sure just as weird. We’ll see how it goes. I’m looking forward to the episodes with Chris Rock because I think he will do well as a dramatic actor.
Read: A BBC story called “The airman from Sierra Leone who was shot down over Nazi Germany.” I’ve read a lot of articles and books (including my grandfather’s letters) about people’s war experiences, so that aspect of it wasn’t new to me. What did grab my attention was the part where this guy convinced the British government to accept a ship loaded with men from Africa and the Caribbean because economic prospects in their home countries were total shit–and when the men arrived in Essex they were greeted as heroes because the Brits were so grateful for what they had done during the war. It is such a stark contrast to how the US treated it’s own black citizens when they returned.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-55286092
Listened: Been on a Ray Charles kick lately, particularly his stuff before Atlantic picked him up.
I really like the Fargo series and S1 isn’t even the best. You won’t be disappointed by Chris Rock, he gives an excellent performance.
I once read, and maybe still have, “Citizens of London,” a sort of group bio of three Americans in Britain when World War II broke out over there: Averell Harriman, a fantastically rich scion who FDR put in charge of Lend-Lease, Edward R. Murrow, who certainly needs no introduction, and the US ambassador to GB, John Gilbert Winant. They became buddies with PM Churchill and were probably among the greatest American friends Britain has ever had. It was they, most of all, who swung a skeptical America to sympathy for the British before and while the bombs were falling during the Blitz. Certainly Roosevelt was sympathetic but how to sell active participation to isolationist, America-first Senators and Congresspeople and the wider American audience, who had been so scarred by The Great War that was barely a generation ago? Complicating this was widespread belief that the Germans got a raw deal after WWI, and a plurality of Americans at the time had German immigrant roots. I think that’s still actually the case.
You might enjoy that.
And by the way, as people should know, we only entered the war when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, and then only to declare war on them. Then Hitler, in his Trump-like mania, declared war on us in solidarity with his ally, not we on him, so that’s what actually got us formally involved.
I also read another good book about the experiences of American service members in Britain during WWII. A lot of men who were interested in aviation and/or had been fighter pilots during WWI went over first, by their own means. Then, once war was declared, eventually the D-Day plan was hatched and Britain was flooded with young, horny American service members far from home receiving steady service pay and access to foods and goods the British hadn’t seen in years, through the commissaries. This prompted the famous British complaint that the Americans were, “Overpaid, oversexed, and over here.” The young women, at least, didn’t seem to mind. After the war America, in turn, was flooded with British war brides. If you ever meet someone and they happen to mention that they have a mother or grandmother (depending on their age) who were born in Britain there’s more than a 50/50 chance they were a war bride.
My favorite food show of all time has been The Supersizers Go from BBC. I caught it years ago on some cable channel.
I learned about this with the American GIs in their episode on WW2 cooking and food.
https://www.facebook.com/Sue-Perkins-862952200403628/videos/the-supersizers-gowartime/1347072651991578/
I found it on Facebook, but I bet it’s also streaming somewhere else.
Supersizes is excellent. All the episodes are on YouTube, save for 1, for some reason, the one that deals with the Edwardian era, I think. On YouTube it’s broken up into chunks with is a little irritating but well worth it. In the 50s Mary Berry shows up, and the woman half of the Supersizes went on to join her on the Great British Bakeoff. The man, I learned to my displeasure, has an unsavory reputation in GB, but I can’t remember exactly why, and I think it was post-Supersizers.
…giles corenis who I think you’re talking about…& I’m fairly certain he went on some unhinged rant about brexit?
Fargo isn’t on a channel I get, much to my disappointment- enjoy it! Also congratulations on your tooth finalization…I am still saving for the financial hell my dentist has suggested.
this week i havent watched read or listened to much of anything..just followed the news (dunno why i still do that…im pretty sure its not good for me)
but yeah..first week back at work and its been rough courtesy of some *improvements* management had installed over the christmas break despite being told it would cause problems
sooo yeah…its been work and after work watching ozzy man reviews or silly meme videos till i stop feeling the urge to strangle office personel for me this week
programming should return to something more normal next week
You take care, my friend…none of us require a life with additional stress; especially work-provided stress.
That TRAAMS song is excellent Ellie! Need to go down that rabbit hole of TRAAMS stuff when I have some time. Unfortunately, I’m off to work then try to catch the Seahawks playoff game. Have a great Saturday. Looking for some good new comedy if anybody has suggestions. Preferably Netflix or Prime.
…you might have already seen them both but I think prime has both patriot & alpha house which I found pretty funny, although I guess neither is exactly new?
Thank you @SplinterRIP, I assume that all of us can use some humor…because 11 days, etc.
…I feel like I ought to have been able to think of some other/newer things to recommend but (as I think I mentioned last week) I’ve been mainly catching up on sci fi in the viewing stakes of late so I’m low on what’s been funny recently…netflix generally seems to stock a higher calibre of standup shows than prime but for anyone that doesn’t mind the fact that the former is somewhat darkly comic & the latter may ring disturbingly true in places I think those two ought to get some chuckles?
@SplinterRIP darkly comic is my jam, recommendations appreciated. Your reading recommendations are always, for me, spot on…
Thanks, I’ll check those out
So glad that you liked it, Loveshaq! Hope your team does well!
Sigh @Loveshaq re above comment.
TRAAMS is also new to me but I’ll be listening to more, thanks!
What I watched – the news
What I read – the news
What I listened to – the news
Sorry @Elliecoo, I don’t have much to offer SMBD today. But I’ll give you an appropriate tune
Iggy Pop – Watching The News
Oh @Hannibal, I hear you. Thank you for the content appropriate song. (One of my work tasks is to ensure over-arching coordination of content, programs, images, blah blah blah.) You are on point with that song!
Finished up, Peter Jackson’s documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old” on Netflix. Not something light or refreshing. Very haunting, heavy and sad. Seemed like that kind of week.
All original footage and recorded voices of long dead men haunted by what they had seen and done.
dangit…not on netflix over here
that sounds like one i want to watch (having googled it)
@ManchuCandidate that sounds so worthwhile…not sure my psyche could deal with right now. I will squirrel your recommendation away for a better time.
ManchuCandidate introduced the topic of documentaries. Michael Apted, who directed the last 8 of the 9 “Up” documentaries, just died. He worked on the first one too, from 1964, as a researcher. They’re fascinating reality TV and groundbreaking. They took 14 children (seven years old in 1964, the first one) from different backgrounds and followed them over the course of their lives. The last one was “63 Up”, so they were 63 in 2019, and there might be a “70 Up” but that’s very vague and it wouldn’t come out until 2026. I highly recommend but where they stream, if they do, I don’t know.
…I think they’re available through amazon but possibly as a purchase & my netflix-fu is insufficient to provide an instant answer but since I think they were originally produced in the UK (unless I have my documentaries mixed up) perhaps @elliecoo can confirm/deny if they’re available on britbox?
@matthewcrawley, @SplinterRIP, I shall check when finished cooking/baking…stay tuned.
@SplinterRIP @Matthewcrawley it is indeed offered on BritBox.
They are indeed British, although Michael Apted up and moved himself to the US and did a lot of directing work here, too. Among many other things, he directed “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in 1980, and was the head of the Director’s Guild of America for a few years in the early 00s.
I got halfway through The Tenet last night before my brain turned into a pretzel. So far so good! …with the exception of the damsel in distress trope. I was literally yelling at the screen everytime the main character chose the woman he just met over his mission. Tiresome plot device.
@HammerZeitgeist, this a thousand times. The entire damsel trope is tired and out of date, very prior centuries. Case in point, not a one of the Deadsplinter commenters who identify as female are freaking damsels. They are all strong, self-aware people. All persons-of any type, male, female, or they/them, need help now and then. But the rescue the damsel trope makes my skin crawl.
…another not-new thing but your comment reminded me of this
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
…AKA “My Correct Bedtime Stories”…I don’t remember most of them but I remember them being pretty funny…& one bit I do remember was the moment where the woodcutter shows up to save the day in little red riding hood & gets chewed out by (iirc) the young lady in question, her grandmother & possibly the wolf for presuming they can’t settle matters between themselves without needing to hit anything with an axe
@SplinterRIP I will look up at your link later today. But giving the gentleman who presumed his axe was needed (and that is a metaphor in itself) a setting down will no doubt be a fun read!
Watched: Chopped marathon on Hulu. I remember years back when this show was more like Iron Chef. Talented chefs take 4 exotic/random ingredients and make an upscale dish of them. Amaranth/ sea beans/ wild boar ribs/ coffee liqueur. Okay so that made for an interesting show. Challenging the skills with creative cuisine. These new episodes- it just seems so gimmicky and weird. Cooking with kraft Mac n cheese/Jell-O shots/leftover sandwiches /sour gummi worms isn’t a cooking challenge. It’s a parody.
Read: Continued The Princess Bride (about 1/2 done) and added in Ray Bradbury’s I Sing The Body Electric. I love Bradbury’s works
Listened: to my new red & yellow splatter vinyl of The Offspring’s Conspiracy of One. Overall good quality sound on the pressing, I think 2 songs had some noisy pops but the rest sounds nice and clear
@CestLaVie, thank you for the insight – I dislike Nailed It for the reasons of gimmicky and weird.
I still like Chopped but I get so irked whenever a chef gets a Normal American Food like Lucky Charms or Twinkies (or whatever generic branding they give it) and proceed to act like they’ve never seen or heard of such a thing before! Who eats like this!?! Sorry, most of us (esp the audience of the show, not necessarily worldwide) don’t come out of the womb eating sea urchin or goat testicles.
I also instantly root against the one in a jaunty hat. There’s always one.
Hey, howdy, hey, Deadsplinterites. This week has been something else, all right!
I’m currently watching The Princess Bride on Hulu (“I’m not a witch! I’m your wife!”) Comfort food for the brain. I read the book awhile back, but it wasn’t as good as the movie. I watched the first 4 episodes of Bridgerton this week… might watch the rest this evening. Yesterday, I watched Best Leftovers Ever on Netflix. It’s cute, and a good cooking competition show, but it’s no Nailed It! No idea what I’ll watch next, but I’m considering the Leo DiCaprio/Claire Danes Romeo and Juliet.
Reading – still on The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman. Normally, I read faster than this, but I’ve been watching more tv and doing other stuff. It’s no reflection on the book! I’ve also been reading Fifty Years In Polygamy: Big Secrets and Little White Lies by Kristyn Decker (Kindle Unlimited) because I find firsthand accounts of living in fringe groups fascinating. I have to say, though, this one is a bit on the long and whinging side. Irene Spencer’s book, Shattered Dreams, was far more eloquent. The Witness Wore Red, which was written by another member of the same group, tells a very similar story with a lot less of the “… and then I cried and cried.”
Listening to – I can’t get a YouTube link to work, but I discovered The Wellerman by The Longest Johns last night and I ended up following links and listening to a bunch of folkie stuff and sea shanties. Also found an old Tartanic CD and put that on for a bit (warning: lots of bagpipes!)
@HoneySmacks, talk to me a bit (if you have the time) about why you like Nailed It? I couldn’t get past the host shrieking at the contestants, and their failure to produce anything near to actual basic-skills baking. Maybe I am looking it in the wrong way? Is it more reality TV as opposed to aspirational cooking/baking show? I jumped ship after the first episode – should I try it again?
It definitely gets better after the first episode! They start to hit their stride a few episodes in. Nicole Byer is nuts, but in a fun way, and I love Jaques! I’d say it’s about half and half reality show and actual cooking show.
I’m one of those people who loves to cook and bake, and I’m good at both, but plating/decorating is where I fail, so I can both appreciate the effort the contestants put in and sympathize with them when they fall (far) short.
I missed last week, so catching up.
READING:
– Rewild Yourself, by Simon Barnes. Same guy who wrote “How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher”. Broader scope in this one, but once again a lot of simple, common-sense tips that not everyone would think of in the space of a typical day. Highly recommended.
– The Soil Will Save Us, by Kristin Ohlson. Really interesting read that explains how current agricultural and environmental groups are focusing on soil health to not only revive played out farm plots, but also to help combat climate change by using soil for carbon sequestration. It sounds complex, but it’s laid out very well in this book. Ohlson talks to a lot of different people who are working in this area, and it’s way more interesting than I thought it would be. Highly recommended.
– The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday. Think I mentioned this before, but I finished it a week ago and plan to actually read it again. Good explanations of many ideas behind Stoicism. Recommended.
– Earth Keeper, by N. Scott Momaday. Currently reading, almost done. Stories, poems, drawings from 1969 Pulitzer Prize winner (“House Made of Dawn”). Small, fast read, but still impactful. This is the third Momaday book I’ve read, and I need to go back and read more. If you’re interested in Native American lit, highly recommended.
LISTENING:
Pretty much everything, and all over the map. I had Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day off, so music was playing constantly (while I read). Once work started back up, I gravitated to electronic/techno/ambient to keep a good working rhythm going. These guys are great — Covenant (YouTube playlist of mine).
@MemeWeaver, Covenant – almost Nine Inch Nail-ish? I added their 2016 albumn to my playlist just now, upon your band recommendation!
@Elliecoo, thanks. Hope you like them. I’d say they’re a bit more synthpop than NIN, and not as dark lyrically. But great beats and arrangements. And I love the video for “Bullet”. Good Swedish electro-schtuff.
Gah, I didn’t realize that my playlist was private. Just reset to public. Sorry for being an idiot.
…it might be a device issue or it might be just me being inept but I only seem to be able to pull the one clip/link out of that rather than a playlist…might have something to do with how the embed thing works?
…or some kindly soul could point out where I’m getting that wrong…that would be handy…either way I don’t think you qualify for idiot status…don’t know if you’ve heard but the bar for that has gone way the fuck up these last few years
Reading: just finished “Chernobyl 01:23:40” by Andrew Leatherbarrow. Alternates recalling his own visit to Pripyat with the historical record. Now reading “What If?” by Randall Munroe ( the artist behind the comic xkcd). It answers insane questions like “what would happen if you stacked all the elements of the periodic table up in order in real life?” ( Absolutely nothing good).
Watching: “In Ice Cold Blood with Ice T” on Peacock. It originally aired on Oxygen but I never heard of it. It’s actually a really good show. Kinda like Snapped, with recreations and interviews but with Ice T 😆
@PumpkinSpies, “What If” sounds like a good read!
…he also did a book called “thing explainer” where he drew exploded diagrams of stuff & added explanatory labels but limited himself to only using the 1,000 most commonly used words in english
…iirc the saturn V rocket that went to the moon was titled “big goer upper” or something along those lines
…so I expect “what if” would indeed be a good read
@elliecoo @splinterrip
It’s hilarious so far and I’m only 20 pgs in.
Please tell me he explains things.
Yeah he’s pretty much that guy 😆