Dickinson – season 3

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

Loved the first two seasons.

I thought the novelty might wear off — yet season 3 is just as good. Perhaps better.

I’m sorry it’s ending.

I’ll miss the music, for one thing.

The Civil War is a big theme. And the plot diverges more from her actual life. More to magic realism.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Gabriel Ebert) is an excellent addition. An author, abolitionist, and soldier who was one of the first to recognize the poet’s genius.

A LITTLE madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown
Who ponders this tremendous scene –
This whole experiment of green,
As if it were his own!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Runaway by Peter May

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Quite different than the usual Peter May novel, this one is a bit autobiographical.

The decision of five teenage boys to leave their homes in Glasgow in 1965 and head for London is led by Jack Mackay when he is expelled from school. His friends need little incentive to run away from abusive families and dead end jobs to pursue fame and fortune as a band.  However, the boys find the reality to be devastatingly different from their dreams, and within less than eight weeks of their departure, just three of them return home, their lives irrevocably damaged.

Fifty years later, in 2015, a brutal murder takes place in London and the three men, who are now in their sixties, are forced to return to the city to confront the demons which have haunted them and blighted their lives for five decades.

PeterMay.com

In fact, when Peter was age 17 he had been expelled. And convinced his buddy Stephen to run away from Glasgow to London. They didn’t last long.

Here are Peter and Stephen reminiscing about their escape 50 years in the past.

Impulse – season 1

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

Because I HATE advertising, I subscribe to YouTube Premium for about $10 / month.

Included in that bundle is YouTube Music. I downloaded about 100 favourite songs so I can listen offline on the rare occasion I want music rather than podcasts and audio books.

It includes “YouTube Original” TV and movies, a sad collection of things you’d never want to watch. Google has ALL the money so I’m surprised they don’t buy some streaming platforms and compete against Disney, Netflix and the rest.

BUT their only remaining scripted series is Cobra Kai.

However, I tried Impulse, a science fiction drama streaming television series based on the 2013 Steven Gould novel.

Excellent.

It’s part SciFi, part female teen coming-of-age drama.

16-year-old Henrietta “Henry” Coles who discovers she has the ability to teleport but has no control over her destination. …

The main plot gets more complex as it turns out there are others with her superpower. And they come looking for Henry.

Madelaine Hasson plays the strong, unlikable lead character.

The cast is all good, but I particularly like Enuka Okuma as Anna Hulce. A good cop in a very bad situation.

And Daniel Maslany as Townes Linderman, an autistic student.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

I also watched the second and final season — but don’t recommend it.

One highlight, however, of season two is Callum Keith Rennie as Nikolai, another with Henry’s powers who’s trying to help(?) her.

And Townes gets a girlfriend.

Kimbra MOCKS Traditional Female Gender Roles

On By Rick McIn ethics, happiness, music, things getting betterLeave a comment

Are little girls still brainwashed to dream about marriage in 2022?

Women who DECIDE to marry and have kids should do so. But it shouldn’t be a cultural expectation.

Kimbra is now age-31. Not married. No kids.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Mercy by David Baldacci

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The 4th book in the Atlee Pine series.

Atlee is a badass FBI agent obsessed with finding her twin sister, Mercy, who was abducted at the age of six and never seen again.

… Mercy left at least one dead body behind before fleeing her captors years before.

Atlee has no idea if her sister is still alive, and if so, how she has been surviving all this time. When the truth is finally revealed …

Amazon

This ain’t literature. But it kept me going.

I appreciated Mercy turning out to be an uneducated 6 foot tall MMA fighter.

What’s Love Got to Do with It

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

Ron recommended this remake of the classic Tina Turner 1984 hit.

At the 1985 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

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Connelly‘s latest book is set during the pandemic starting New Year’s Eve 2020 in Los Angeles.

It’s the 4th featuring Renée Ballard, the female badass surfing successor to Harry Bosch who has a secondary role. This is the 23rd Bosch book.

Like Bosch, Renée’s a talented, hard working — undisciplined — investigator.

Also reckless.

The book is Bosch so it’s good. But I haven’t been won over by Renée in the way I’ve always like Harry.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Raised by Wolves – season 1

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Raised by Wolves is an American science fiction drama launched September 2020.

… “two androids—Father and Mother—tasked with raising human children on Kepler-22b after the Earth was destroyed by a great religious war. …

Great casting.

Unfortunately, all the human embryos they brought with them did not survive — except one.

It looked bad.

BUT a large ship of human refugees arrives. Led by a priesthood, it’s the theocracy that destroyed Earth.

The androids were programmed to start the new seed civilization based on science. Conflict results, of course.

If you like SciFi, I recommend it.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.