Worth the Money?

I have Netflix streaming and a Netflix DVD subscription (that I've had for years when there was no streaming available). When I signed up for the streaming service, I rarely even used it until maybe about a year ago. But, for me, the shows and movies available with the streaming service don't seem worth the money.  I understand Netflix is trying to build its base by creating its own shows and not having to rely on purchasing the rights for network shows. However, the majority of the shows and movies offered just don't seem worth it to me. I'll start watching something and then abandon it because it wasn't holding my interest. Plus, there's not enough international content. I still have to rely on the DVD service to see a lot of things that aren't available through streaming (and the DVD content isn't great either). When I read recently that Netflix lost subscribers, I can't say I was surprised. I'm thinking about cutting the cord myself on at least one of their services (and it would probably be the streaming).

I also bailed on several shows I tried to watch when I had HBO for free (because I refuse to pay for HBO). I bailed on Game of Thrones (not my cup of tea), Euphoria (drug-addicted teens? Hard pass on that one), Chernobyl (I fell asleep during episode one and woke up to episode two), Big Little Lies (suburban moms? Hard pass again), Insecure (couldn't get into it), and Succession (didn't care for it). I watched (or tried to watch) the first episode of each of these shows and had no desire to watch any additional episodes. I did fast forward through a few episodes of Girls, but only ones with Andrew Rannells in them because Lena Dunham and that crew make my neck hurt. But it's not all gloom and doom from me for HBO. I love Curb Your Enthusiasm and I've seen every episode of that show, but only via DVD or during a free HBO weekend. Larry David is a genius!

One thing I do like about streaming services and On Demand is that you're allowed to pick what you want to see and that's great. Eventually, cable in its current form will go extinct and an a la carte service will be the norm. I just hope by then that the offerings are better than what we have now.

The Playlist

My new short story, “The Playlist,” will be published July 27. “The Playlist” is the story of Chicago ophthalmologist Patrick Holt and his partner, marketing manager, Clayton Teal. Patrick wants to move to the suburbs, but Clay doesn’t. The two men, who share a condo together in the city, are having a hard time coming to an agreement about their future living arrangements. An argument ensues and Clay storms out of their home and heads to the gym to burn off steam. While he’s running on the treadmill, he listens to a playlist Patrick recently made for him. The playlist contains nine songs and each one reminds Clay of times, both happy and sad, that he and Patrick shared over the years.

The characters in “The Playlist” also appear in the author’s novel, Baggage, and the short stories “Three Cakes” and “Blue Velvet,” all available from JMS Books.

Dumb Donny Strikes Again!

After spending a rather laid-back week in California (shout out to the great folks of La Jolla!), I had to come back to reality and back to more foolishness from dumb Donny T. Go back to where you came from? Uh....Michigan? Detroit?  Pressley really should have come back on him hard. If it had been me, I would've gone with, "My parents, my grandparents, their parents are all from the United States. You can't say that. I'm more American than you are!" I'm so tired of him and his bullshit and I wish someone would call him out as the human garbage that he is. And I'm tired of people claiming he's not racist. Do some research and read about how he and his father were sued by the government for discriminating against blacks who tired to reside in their buildings in New York in the 1970's. This has been going on for a long time, folks.

Anyway, I'll try to focus on something more zen like California...

The Barf Boat

During my remaining time in California, I went on a whale watching boat ride this afternoon and actually saw a whale and some dolphins. Great! What wasn’t great was how several people on the ride got sea sick and spent the last half of the three-hour cruise barfing into plastic bags and garbage cans. Gross. I’m not one to get motion sickness so I was fine, but I felt sorry for the sick folks. I’m sure they were glad to get back to the dock and off of that boat.

California Dreaming

I’m spending some time in La Jolla, California for my day job. It’s not all work though and I’m enjoying the weather and the change of pace.

I don’t know how people can afford to live out here. Everything seems so expensive! But it’s lovely and if I had the means I’d go for it too!

Annabelle Comes Home...Sort Of

I saw Annabelle Comes Home yesterday because I've seen all of the other Annabelle/Conjuring movies, so I wanted to see this one too. What a disappointment! First, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were barely in the movie! It largely takes place while they're out of town. (I guess they had other projects going on.) You know who else was missing from the movie? Freaking Annabelle! That creepy doll was in the movie about as much as Patrick and Vera which is sad since the movie IS called Annabelle Comes Home. I expected creepy Annabelle to be in this movie much more than she was. Instead, we get Patrick and Vera's daughter, the babysitter, and assorted friends of the babysitter being terrorized by other random evil spirits. (Annabelle, apparently, was controlling things behind the scenes.) One thing I thought was funny in the movie was a scene from a TV show (the Dating Game or something) where you see a kid holding a large Raggedy Ann doll. The real Annabelle is a big Raggedy Ann doll and not the doll you see in the Annabelle/Conjuring movies. That was sort of an inside joke, I guess. At least I saw this one at the matinee and didn't pay much. I probably should have gone to see Toy Story 4 again.

During the many previews I saw, there was one movie that looked interesting called Them That Follow about religious snake handlers. I didn't realize religious snake handlers were a real thing until I went to South Carolina for two disastrous semesters of grad school and there was a discussion in one of my classes about them. I remembered seeing a movie in the 1970's about them, but I figured that was just Hollywood fiction. Not so! I also saw previews for the next installment of Stephen King's It and Doctor Sleep, neither of which intrigued me. (Stephen King must be making money hand over fist with all of these movie deals. Good for him.) I remember reading a quote from him talking about being raised by a single mother and he said something like, "She did the best she could with what she had." I feel the same way about my own late mother. What a great statement. It's really all any of us can do.

Post-Independence Day Greetings

Hopefully you are able to continue the holiday weekend as I am by having an additional day off from your day job. What a relief to have a four-day weekend! As I look back on this year's Independence Day, I wonder why we can't have a POTUS who has even a basic, school-level understanding of our government? Is it too much to ask to have a POTUS who has read a book and can speak in whole sentences? Apparently it is. Ugh. Also, I'm tired of draft-dodgers praising the military. (And this doesn't just apply to Donny T.) This national nightmare can't be over soon enough. God help us all if we have to suffer through four more years of this ridiculousness.