On A Roll

After that epic battle last week (me writing it and you reading it), I will take my foot off the gas and lighten your load. I do appreciate the kind words and a tip of the hat to David French who wrote a great piece on which it was based.

Comparing Apples with Apples

Even though he is apparently a horrible human being, Taylor Sheridan is on quite a roll. For comparison:
Aaron Spelling had Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills 90210, 7th Heaven, Starsky & Hutch, Melrose Place & Charmed. He also had a daughter named Tori but we will forgive him that. He had married a blonde thirty years younger than him named Candy. These things happen for God's sakes!
Aaron Sorkin had movies on the big screen that included The Social Network, A Few Good Men and Moneyball. Not bad? On the small screen, what he lacked in quantity he made up for with quality. The West Wing, Sportsnet & Newsroom were nominated for 114 Emmys!
Lucille Ball (and Desi Arnez) get special mention. About thirty years of I Love Lucy shows; but perhaps more importantly; she went around her own Board of Directors and wrote a personal cheque to fund a second pilot for a Gene Roddenbury science fiction pilot. Star Trek and the subsequent 600 hours of television and movies that came out of that visionary decision were the result. Mmm? 600 hours? If I started now and watched two hours a day, I could be done watching it all again by January 17th 2027. I would also be living alone about the time the tulips come up? I think I'll pass.

That brings us back to our guy. Taylor Sheridan got his start on Veronica Mars, then moved over to play David Hale on Sons of Anarchy. While this was going on, he was writing. A few well-received movies; Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River and the The Day of the Solidad followed. These got him some real recognition and a bankroll. He parlayed that into writing, directing, producing and occasionally acting in no less than about fifteen seasons of the best stuff on television these days. Yellowstone, the two prequels 1883 and 1923. Lioness, Tulsa King, The Mayor of Kingstown and Landman. His new series The Madison, has already been panned by the critics as a soap opera with spurs.

I am pretty sure he will find plenty of people to watch it now that Disney has had to cancel The Bachelorette. The host assaulting her ex with a metal chair doesn't play too well in The Happiest Place In The World. They were however, OK with her becoming famous on her previous show for "swinging" with multiple partners at orgies with her Mormon neighbours. What a world we live in?

Jump Scare

SWMBO has (to me) cute pudgy little feet. I seldom see them, as her use of moccasins while in the house is pretty ubiquitous. They come off, shoes go on. She leaves. She come in the door, shoes go off, moccasins (and pajamas) go back on. Sometime last year, I wrote about the jump scare strategy employed by Hollywood to shock theatre audiences. I have noticed lately that I don't wake up in the same gentle manner as I have all my life. My old way can be best described as how those pods open in the first Alien movie. Just a dimmer switch being turned slowly from off to medium brightness over the course of twenty or thirty seconds. Gentle. Relaxing. Not these days. I go from zero to emergency nuclear launch codes in a about a second. One of these days, I am going to survive the night as an old man, then die of a heart attack ten seconds after I wake up? It goes like this ....

Maddie sleeps up against me on on my lap. When SWMBO comes in to use the bathroom, she will occasionally startle Maddie who goes off like a bomb. The other night, I actually screamed in horror when it happened. I was so ... still asleep, when it happened that I had to ask SWMBO the next day if I screamed out loud or just imagined it? "Oh yes. Like you had been stabbed". Weird.

We are pee pad training Milo and he is too small to get off the bed without orthopaedic shoulder surgery, so I have him tethered ... to me. Maddie comes and goes as she pleases. So lately, I am in that dreamy half sleep when Maddie makes a loud thump exiting the bed. Of course, I come out of this half slumber like a shot calling out for Milo, heart pounding as i will have to explain to his evil owner why I hurt her dog. Happens about twice a night!

Which brings us back to SWMBO's feet. The other day she was walking down the hall (sans moccasins) towards me and for no good reason it scared me out of a half sleep. I didn't scream, but I woke up scrambling, sort of incoherent, clutching my pearls as it were. SWMBO says; "What the hell?" Sorry, I replied. "I thought a giant duck was coming down the hall to eat me!" Slap. Slap. Slap.

Our Optimum Week

I will just assume you all went crazy last week and stocked up on that excellent flyer, extra points and Moredays event. The planets aligned for us on Tuesday. SWMBO needed dairy. I got a weekly TEXT offer (sign up for those, they are not brutally aggravating) from Shoppers. It was a Spend $60 for 20K! PC bacon was already on, 4K in points per purchase and Old El Paso kits, spend $10 for 5K. Add that all up, throw in some NN butter on a Flash Sale for $3.99 and I spent $62 and got back $41 in points! Beat that or shut up (BL). You will note that our points total went through 1.6 million. It's not looking good for my goal of hitting 2 MM by June 1st. This clean pantry living kick I have been on has cut my spend and subsequent points (in half) these last two months. Perhaps 1.8 million? I am planning a new vegetable garden in the front, so I will use em! It's a short list this week but if you have points, Shoppers has an unprecedented Redemption Event. I am not sure what is going on but ... 280,000 points for $500 off? Thats an extra $220? I mean, go buy a digital camera or a pickup truck full of groceries. I gave you the best seven deals from three stores and a Redemption List (at the bottom). Rake your lawn. It's time.

I Am Reading

Final Cut Pro (Efficient Editing) by Ian Anderson - It''s like the Hebrew Bible but without the genocide, rape, dismemberment and incest. This one is a beast but hopefully will result in some YouTube content.

Hilarious press releases from NASA about their moon plans. Get this. Now the Lunar Gateway Program ($3 billion so far) will no longer be an orbiting station. They are going to land it on the south pole. Of the moon! So to be clear, orbit the moon, next month. Earth orbital rendezvous, 2027. Bootprints, 2028. Moonbase 2033. China is saying 2030.

We Are Watching

Around The World In Eighty Days on PBS Masterpiece Theatre - Did this really need to be made again for the fifteenth time? Not really, but it is surprisingly good. Supporting cast is excellent and David Tennant can do no wrong. Worth your time and a few twists on this timeless classic. Three stars.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO - I don't know? If I had created Season Three of Game of Thrones and then came out with this, I would be embarrassed. It's not that it's bad, it is just not great. The young bald prince (Egg) is the best thing about it. We will see if they find their stride next Season and it has already been ordered. Two stars.

Scarpetta on Prime - If television shows that jump back and forth between timelines drives you crazy, then this is not for you. There is just a lot going on here with different murder investigations, every character played by a younger and older actor and I shit you not, a crashed space station. My advise would be to binge watch if you can, don't leave days between episodes if you can't. Take notes, talk among yourselves. Whatever it takes. It's worth it. Four stars.

... and finally

Locksley Hall

Tennyson should have said "love of gardening" in his famous poem? I am going to build a cribbed vegetable garden over the Rain Garden I built several years ago. I have a downspout and a rain barrel system already at that spot. I can't get any sort of lawn to grow there anyway and other than up against the house, it is full sun.

So, for up against the house ...
Heuchera - Grown primarily for its colourful ruffled foliage, this perennial’s mounding habit shoots up small flower spikes in spring to mid-summer, which hummingbirds love! Try: Dolce Appletini or Primo Pistachio

Siberian Bugloss - This perennial is grown for its striking foliage and graceful sprays of long-lasting, tiny blue flowers, Also known as brunnera, it’s a hardy, low-maintenance plant. Try: Jack Frost or Queen of Hearts

With these (purchased with points), I will mix in the two varieties of Hostas which have been donated over the years by the G's.

I think I will leave the tomatoes and cucumbers on the fence in back. They do well there and I can sneak out in my underwear to grab a tomato when required. The neighbours shriek and run for cover but I have become used to their taunts of "one-ball". I have two but only the left one flops out of the old Tommy Hilfiger boxer briefs? The only thing for sure I am growing in the front is asparagus (and yellow wax beans).

Mitch & Maddie

(... and radishes)