It’s been a while since Dan and I have happened upon good sci-fi. The world is swamped with sewage, which made this gem really stand out. Strong storytelling with callbacks to Khan and the Prime Directive, solid arguments against racism and oppression, and wit and charm through fabulous performances from the entire cast.
Category: Consumption
Raleigh Rodeo
Ken decided he was coming to Raleigh, yay! Then he talked Matt into joining. And I convinced Erik to come. So local friends and I gathered here and there all over town to pack in quite a fun-filled weekend.
Friday: Regina left a huge bag of St. Paddy gear on my doorstep! “Hide it until tomorrow” ok! ❤️ Young Hearts Distillery then Raleigh Times for plates and drinks; Slims for loud noise and bad beer.
Saturday: Slept through St. Paddy’s parade, met at 444 for breakfast coffee chat, headed to St. Paddy’s street party at Hibernian; met Kelly and Shannen, drank much Guinness, Erik fell in love with the young singer; went to Morgan St. Food Hall and grabbed pizza etc, had our epic Epic Axe battle, Matt wins $5 off us all by ONE POINT; Watts and Ward Old Fashioned Raleigh tradition, chilled and chatted; Regina met us for amazing Brewery Bhavana dinner, she and I shared small plates, everyone enjoyed such such good good beer… we were all pretty crispy by the end!
Sunday: up, breakfast, coffee, chill… toured ArtSpace’s gallery and studios; epic ART LESSON from Matt! He was in town all day, awesome; Regina called us to The Davie to meet up with Bob and LeeAnn and her sister Lisa, such a great mashup of great people; next we planned exits, how sad… Erik ran everyone to the airport.
Can’t wait for the next one!
9.0 Light & Magic
Kathleen Kennedy just went way up in my book for releasing this behind-the-scenes gold. The whole journey is captured, from Ray Harryhassen stop motion to the gorgeous ring volume of The Mandalorian.
Another day, another impossibly long list of entertainment options…
9.0 The Offer
It’s rare to find anything with this much high quality triple layering (actors playing actors playing characters). Some complain it is from a mysoginist eta (true) better left dead. Some elitist critics (*cough Rolling Stone *cough) find it shameful. Just focus on the world class acting through the twists and turns, it’s quite a journey.
Amazing Race season 34
mike wins! -259 to -301
Here we go again!
Erik Dan and I are in!
- Pick the team you think will win, and pick the team you think will be eliminated next.
- For winners, if your winning team wins, you score a point. If they are eliminted, you lose a point and repick!
- For losers, if your losing team is eliminated, you score a point, and get to pick another. If they win, you’re a loser (of one point)!
- Contest winner is the one with the most points after the final episode!
WAIT!! WE WENT OFF THE RAILS!
See the bottom…
SCORE
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | Ep11 | ||
| Dan | 0 | -1 | -17 | |||||||||
| Mike | 0 | +1 | -35 | |||||||||
| Erik | 0 | -1 |
| LEGEND | |
|---|---|
| +1 | Winning choice won this leg of the race |
| +1 | Losing choice was eliminated (pick again) |
| +2 | Winning choice won, and losing choice was eliminated – PERFECT! |
| -1 | Winning choice was eliminated – pick again, loser… |
| -1 | Losing choice won this leg – just… sad… |
| -2 | Your winner lost, and your loser won? Seriously?? Nice work. |
WIN PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | Ep11 | ||
| Dan | – |  |  | |||||||||
| Mike | – |  |  | |||||||||
| Erik |  | | ||||||||||
| Winner | |  | n/a |
LOSE PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | Ep11 | ||
| Dan | – | |  | |||||||||
| Mike | – |  |  | |||||||||
| Erik | | | ||||||||||
| Loser |  | | n/a | (none) | (none) |
FULL LEG RESULTS
| Ep01 |           |
| Ep02 |  |
| Ep03 | |
| Ep04 | |
| Ep05 | |
| Ep06 | |
| Ep07 | |
| Ep08 | |
| Ep09 | |
| Ep10 | |
| Ep11 |
GONNA GO SPREADSHEEEEEEEET!!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SELZAWO9MSTurbX9KXseQUhvaJzs_Pd_YWe5avdYd8k/edit?usp=sharing
Amazing Race 33
DAN WINS 7 to 1!
Even Covid can’t stop it.
- Pick the team you think will win, and pick the team you think will be eliminated next.
- For winners, if your winning team wins, you score a point.
- For losers, if your losing team is eliminated, you score a point, and get to pick another.
- Contest winner is the one with the most points after the final episode!
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 Normcore |  |  |
SCORE
| LEGEND | |
|---|---|
| +1 | Winning choice won this leg of the race |
| +1 | Losing choice was eliminated (pick again) |
| +2 | Winning choice won, and losing choice was eliminated – PERFECT! |
| -1 | Winning choice was eliminated – pick again, loser… |
| -1 | Losing choice won this leg – just… sad… |
WIN PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | | | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | Ep11 | |
| Dan | – |  | |  | | | | | | | | |
| Mike | – |  | |  | | | | | | | | |
| Winner |  | | | | | | | |  | | |
LOSE PICKS
| Ep01 | Ep02 | Ep03 | | | Ep04 | Ep05 | Ep06 | Ep07 | Ep08 | Ep09 | Ep10 | Ep11 | |
| Dan | – |  | | | | |  | | | | | |
| Mike | – | | |  | | | | | | | | |
| Loser |  | | | (none) | | (none) | | (none) | | |
FULL LEG RESULTS
| Ep01 |         |
| Ep02 |    |
| Ep03 | |
| (reset) | |
| Ep04 | |
| Ep05 | |
| Ep06 | |
| Ep07 | |
| Ep08 | |
| Ep09 | |
| Ep10 | |
| Ep11 | |
9.5 The Gentleman
“Butter the toast, eat the toast, shit the toast”. Life is a hard long slog sandwiched between Guy Ritchie movie releases. Once he sets the bar, whatever else you were watching turns to tepid tea.
9.5 What We Do In The Shadows, Succession, Peep Show, Four Lions, et al
Thank you Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. For everything!
Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish
Smoother than smooth… near perfection.
The Communists Have The Music by TMBG
Thank you Johns for… everything!