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Posts tagged television

Lighthousemen of Eilean Mòr

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Have you seen Tasting History with Max Miller? Do you watch it? ‘Cause I heartily recommend giving it a try. It was among the few really fabulous and reliable YouTube channels my household watched during lock-downs and shut-ins and the just-getting-used-to-not-having-cable times. For someone who loves old recipes and story behind food, it is perfect.

But that’s not actually what I wanted to talk about. Max’s most recent episode, above, reminded me of a thing I did a long time ago for a comic anthology submissions call. It didn’t get in the anthology, but I am super proud of it all the same: The Lighthousemen of Eilean Mòr.

The short comic follows the real mysterious disappearance of three men from the Eilean Mòr, and the strange clues they left behind.

Comic challenges have always resulted in some surprising results for me. I have more of them in my comic directory if you’d like some fun reading.

A Beautiful Video

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2021 Happy New Year from the Crafsman

We cancelled regular cable services a little while ago, and while we subscribe to some streaming channels and services, we have been getting a lot of entertainment from YouTube. I want to do a round up of all the fabulous channels and creators I have been enjoying, and the Crafsman will definitely be on it. This video is too beautiful not to share right away (that is, as soon as I’ve seen it), and perhaps every single year to come. It’s still January. Lunar new year has not yet passed. Happy New Year!

The Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en

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We gave up traditional cable a little while ago and currently have only a slim selection of streaming channels, most of them very specialized. For the most part a lot of our non-movie watching is on YouTube, and this I love so much I had to share:

Watching stuff: Aerial America

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My house has been doing a lot of non-cable watching. We have a few subscription streaming channels through a Roku stick: PBS, BritBox, and Shudder, and we have been spending quite a bit of time finding interesting programming on YouTube. One of our recent obsessions is Aerial America. Aerial America takes you on a history tour of each US state, showing the landscape, monuments, and urban scenes from the air with over-narration that tells the story of the state. There are several full episodes available on Smithsonian’s YouTube channel.

What I find most refreshing and a little depressing is the frankness with which the history is delivered. If, like me, you thought you were pretty well informed about how horribly the United States treated Native Americans, Aerial America will tell you all the horrible massacres and broken treaties you didn’t know about. If you enjoy seeing the natural beauty and vast vistas that we are lucky to have in the US, Aerial America will show you fracking, strip mining, and logging operations. I wouldn’t say this to discourage anyone from enjoying the show. I love it, it has beauty, moments of pride and triumph, and it balances this with the dirty little secrets that underpin a lot of our history. I highly recommend it.

Drunk History: Frankenstein

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Drunk History isn’t new, but its been a long time since I watched any and there are several that I have never seen. Some are funnier than others. This one made me laugh harder than I have in years. I cried. I am afraid to watch it again, i laughed so hard.

The IT Crowd – FriendFace

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Just one more reason why the IT Crowd is awesome!

music from Miss Fisher’s

music from Miss Fisher’s published on 2 Comments on music from Miss Fisher’s

Before my blueray player decided it didn’t like Netflix any longer I was enjoying Miss Fisher’s Mysteries.  More than once, the credits started to roll and the accompanying song was delightful and fresh in a way that 1920s radio mixes are new and fresh.  Being a popular show, of course the soundtrack is available commercially, however, I suspected that a lot of the songs would be freely available courtesy of the Internet Archive.  I was right, and I made you a little mix of all the songs I could find for Season One with a script I have been dying to try.



Continue reading music from Miss Fisher’s

What do you mean, you don’t know about Brisco County Jr.?

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Okay, okay, so you did used to watch it religiously on Fox in 1994 like I did, but what have you done for the Adventures of Brisco County Jr. lately?   While you think about it, have some auditory nostalgia:

The Formula For An Episode Of Murder, She Wrote – a post on Tom Francis’ blog

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murder-she-wrote
You know I love Murder She Wrote. I found someone else who loves Murder She Wrote. At least, he watches it a lot:

Apartment, day

HANDSOME YOUNG MAN WHO WORKS FOR SOMEONE BUT IS OTHERWISE NOT REALLY INVOLVED:
I love you PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN WHO IS RELATED TO SOMEONE.

PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN WHO IS RELATED TO SOMEONE BUT OTHERWISE NOT REALLY INVOLVED:
Oh, but it’s no use HANDSOME YOUNG MAN WHO WORKS FOR SOMEONE! In some obtuse way this business merger makes our love impossible!

HANDSOME YOUNG MAN WHO WORKS FOR SOMEONE BUT IS OTHERWISE NOT REALLY INVOLVED:
This is weird but accurate.

Source: The Formula For An Episode Of Murder, She Wrote – a post on Tom Francis’ blog

The sexiest accordion player

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myronI have a crush.  Richard and I watch tons of Lawrence Welk (only not recently because PBS has stopped playing it for some reason).  Myron Floren always steals the show, and over the years more and more of the show seems to be given to him – as if the producers know that he is the sexiest accordion player on the planet.

I am speaking as someone who likes the sound of a well played accordion; but I imagine his chops would be appreciated even by those who don’t.  What’s more, he always has the happy little grin on his face while playing and seems completely at ease being in front of a crowd and/or camera.

When I mentioned that more and more of the show is given to him through the years, I didn’t mean more accordion spots.  Eventually he starts to MC half the show in place of Mr. Welk.  And he does this better than Mr. Welk.

Self realization: entertainment

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Do you ever catch yourself doing the same thing over and over again and realize that this thing is a weird ass thing you are doing?  I mean, out of character?  I noticed just such a thing last weekend.  Whenever I am left alone with no preplanned entertainment programming I do what most American couch potatoes do and surf the cable guide for something to watch.  I found that I cannot pass a program on extreme RVs without stopping.  Unlike other shows, even the beloved bath/kitchen/yard/room crashers, Golden Girls and NCIS, there is never anything that encourages me to change the channel away from an extreme RV special.  There is even a good chance that I will pick an extreme RV show over another TV favorite.

I never want an RV.  I cannot picture any lifestyle change that might happen to me to change my mind about wanting an RV.  I find most RV designs on these shows overly extravagant and wrought with wasted space.  Can I pass the shows up?  No.

Murder She Wrote top 5 (so far)

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MSWAll right, after my first ruminations on Murder She Wrote,  Brad challenged me to pick my top 5 episodes.  It was hard, and maybe not completely accurate because I’ve only finished 7.5 of 12 seasons, but here we go!

  1. “If It’s Thursday, It Must Be Beverly:”  wherein the Sheriff’s deputy services a different Cabot Cove female everyday of the week, and records it in the log book.
  2. “Sticks & Stones:”  including the talents of John Astin (as in Gomez Addams) as the new town Sheriff, and a bunch of gossipy letters.
  3. “Who Killed J.B. Fletcher:”  wherein a bunch of looney Fletcher Fan’s goad and gaggle Jessica through solving a case.
  4. “The Sins of Castle Cove:” which is also awesome because it exposes the Cabot Cove residents as oversexed and underhanded yet somehow adorable persons.  (see “If It’s Thursday….”)
  5. “Mr. Penroy’s Vacation:” which I liked immediately because of the plot and character references to Arsenic and Old Lace.

Another episode I liked for it’s familiar plot line was “Jessica Behind Bars” in which she has to solve a murder in a locked-down women’s prison before riot and police enforcement collided.  Though it didn’t so much harken back to something else I’d seen so much as establish that Jessica did it first.

Also a runner up was “Trouble in Eden” because of the shock and hilarity of sending Jessica as the hereditary replacement of the madame of a brothel.   See, if I have runners up, I still only picked a top five!

A couple worst of the worst:

  1. “Sing a Song of Murder:”  because no, no Jessica!  a red headed identical twin Irish cousin!?!
  2. “No Laughing Matter:”  aptly named.  Oh, Buddy Hackett…why?

Some thoughts on Murder She Wrote

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Yup, that’s right.  It has been my go to background show for all things packing and unpacking and now I’ve just become addicted to it.

NCIS-ers, remember when Timmy got sent to that women’s prison and then trapped in a riot where the only way to keep the peace is for him to solve the murder before the authorities busted everything up?  Jessica did it first – with Adrienne Barbeau, no less!  So maybe, Jessica solved an Amish murder after Harrison Ford, but she did it before Neve Campbell!  She’s uncovered toxic waste, helped Russians defect, gone to the circus, stood in as the madame of a brothel, run afoul of MI6, foiled a voodoo curse, teamed up with Magnum P.I. and she even has a look-a-like Irish twin! 

If it’s a murder mystery or a slasher movie plot, Jessica has done it:  murders at a snowed in ski lodge, anyone?  Hauntings by an executed witch?  And, I’m only up to season 7; there are 12 of these duders!  I wonder why I hadn’t been paying attention when Mom and I used to watch Murder She Wrote every week.  I am waiting for aliens, ’cause they’ve just got to be coming.

Usavich

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Another from the GReader starred list.  Usavich is a Russian cartoon about rabbits and?  I really don’t know.  But it’s hilarious and not focused on language, so completely understandable.

Usavich [Season 1] – YouTube.

Give me some Lawrence Welk

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No really, give me some.  I remember sitting on the shag carpet of my grandma’s den, watching Lawrence Welk on Saturday night with her and my mom.  I have to admit, I didn’t appreciate it then.  I relegated it to all the other things I wouldn’t have watched had I not been hanging out with Grandma (hello Little House on the Prairie).  But lately I have developed a strong appreciation for the show – with it’s awkward host and all.  I especially like the orchestra’s suits.

I drew this while watching a very special holiday episode.  This dude is a little to loose for Welk, though.

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