TV Shows: The Abandons

I’ve persisted with The Abandons despite being triggered in the first episode and then, taking a over a week before watching the next episode. Why did I come back to it? I’m not sure other than being intrigued to see where a show (and a western at that) starring not one but two female leads, goes.

The main event and catalyst in the first episode put me off wanting to watch more. But here I am 4 episodes in and wondering which of the two women, Constance Van Ness (Gillian Anderson) or Fiona Nolan (Lena Headey), will win the day in their battle of wills.

How will it all end? In hell fire and damnation I suspect.

Movie: Knives Out Wake Up Dead Man

At nearly two and a half hours long, this third instalment of the Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man, was 45 minutes too long. At least, in my humble opinion. I started to watch this Saturday night and, got as far as Msgr. Wick’ confession to Father Jud outside the church, and gave up due to the trite and childish need to appeal to an audience of 12 year old boys. I didn’t actually finish the movie till late Sunday afternoon.

Sadly, my opinion didn’t change much about the characters and, by the sordid end, hoped they would all end up dead. The only light in this whole hot mess was Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. He lifted this morass but still, in the end, couldn’t save it from itself.

Two bags of popcorn and that’s being overly generous: 🍿🍿

10 Pointless Facts About Me

David from over at Forking Mad has challenged us to share 10 Pointless Facts and, as everyone seems to be on a challenge kick these last few months, me included, I thought, why not.

Do you floss your teeth?

Yes, religiously every night before bed. Doesn’t everyone?

Tea, coffee, or water?

Tea with a side order of water.

Footwear preference?

Flip flops. Except in winter then it’s boots baby, boots all the way.

Favourite dessert?

Lemon merengue pie.

The first thing you do when you wake up?

Honey, I’m old. I pee, doesn’t everyone?

Age you’d like to stick to?

Maybe somewhere in my late 20s.

How many hats do you own?

Way to many, and I mean dozens.

Describe the last photo you took

The snow and a squirrel outside my window.

Worst TV show?

The one I watched last night … Lioness.

As a child, what was your aspiration for adulthood?

To be either a marine biologist or an astronaut. I did eventually study earth science at university level, but as of now, have yet to make it into space. Maybe I’ll have them poot me into space when I’m dead?

And now, it’s your turn. Join me in answering 10 pointless questions, or maybe, make your own up.

My Online Brand

I’ve never really thought about it before this morning, thinking I don’t have an online brand per se, but the truth is, when I looked closer, yes, I do. And it’s quite distinctive. From the choice of fonts I like to use because of the way they look, to the colours I choose for links, and the fact I like clean, crisp, uncluttered white space.

I think most of this stems from when I changed jobs moving from the stress of air traffic control (from my time in the military) to publishing when computers were moving full time into the work place. I gravitated to both, and combining the two, had a thirty plus year career in print & publishing.

Obviously, working within this dynamically changing arena has informed my online presence in subtle ways I hadn’t really notice before. Of course it did. My artistic side has had training and now, has free reign to create in a way that’s simplistic and understated. I crafted any number of magazines back in the day. I’m not saying I didn’t go bold, and wild, and out there. I did. Especially when I worked on the early incarnation of UK music magazine, MOJO. Those first few issues, setting up a brand and style, were some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a job.

And while I have had that background in print from those years, whether it was magazines or technical journals and handbooks, through to fiction, my own style has been growing, changing and forming quietly in the background, as I’ve learnt what I like. What works for me, as a person.

I think that’s part of the reason I gravitated to WordPress after trying out other platforms that put too much emphasis on what goes on under the hood rather than with the visuals, the layout and style. This website gives me the ability to craft almost anything I set your mind to. And that works perfectly for me, and so many others who use WordPress.

So, here I am, with my own online style, one I hope is simple and understated.

And you, do you have a brand or style that you’ve created specifically, or discovered?

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

And Yet, More Blood Tests

So this Monday I had another blood test to check my magnesium levels and got a call yesterday afternoon, late, from the pharmacist (as I don’t currently have a family doctor) telling me my level was hovering on the very edge of normal. Which is to say the least, not good. So we both agreed, I need to see a doctor to have them authorise further tests to see what’s going on.

The problem is, it’s not so easy to get to see a doctor outside of having a family doctor. Yes, it’s true the government created a Portal to facilitate access to a nurse, for making appointments. But it works as easy as standing naked in the middle of a road, at midnight, under a full moon, chanting gibberish. The categories and sub categories are limited and don’t allow for leeway when trying to navigate getting said call-back from a nurse.

We sat there looking at the screen trying them all, till we just chose one in order to get the call. This is even before you get referred to an agent to book an actual appointment with a random, free doctor somewhere within the city limits.

The nurse did call within the hour (which in and of itself was a miracle.) I then had to answer 101 questions detailing everything that has happened to me in the last 6 months (information that should by all accounts, be in my records already) and then, when she finally said she was going to transfer me to a booking agent, her computer froze.

Of course, she had to call me back.

Thankfully, it was only a 10 minute wait. Another several minutes and finally, I was transferred to a booking agent who took all of a minute to type into their computer to see which doctor was available and get me an appointment (all which seems dumb, leaving me wondering why couldn’t the nurse do this?) Who knows.

I actually got an appointment for this year, amazing. December 23rd. And, it’s in an easy to get to business mall. This is when the next part of this mini drama starts.

It’s all very exhausting.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧