Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Spring Watch List

Since I created a list for my winter viewing, I thought I would make a list of stuff I'm watching for every season! When I make a list like this, I become painfully aware of how very much tv I watch!

• >>Season 48 of Survivor started in February and I watch pretty religiously every Thursday commercial free on Paramount+. I'm NOT one of those fans who ever wanted to be on the show. I love watching the social dynamics. I know I'd be one of the first voted off since I don't have the physical or mental prowess to make it through challenges.
• >>Star Wars' Andor is the latest series on Disney+ and I decided to watch the movies leading up to and after the series as well. Andor isn't for kids which makes it great drama. Unlike other Star Wars stories, this show has superb dialogue and complex characters! Watching this caused me to start watching the movies before Andor -- Episodes 1, 2 & 3. and the plan is to continue with Rogue One and the rest. We'll see how far I get.
• >>Season 3 of Dark Winds. This is one of the few shows both Jim and I both loved. I joined AMC+ to watch it giving me the opportunity to watch the 2nd season of Interview with a Vampire as well (not something Jim would ever want to watch). 
• >>While I wait for the the summer release of  Strange New Worlds Season 3, I am watching Star Trek New Generation mostly at the gym. One episode is 45 minutes and a great way to make an elliptical workout move quickly.
• >>On my Plex, I added and watched an old BBC Sense and Sensibility series from 1981 with 7 episodes I'd never seen before, the 1993 Dazed and Confused movie I had never seen. I rewatched the 1999 Bicentennial Man with the late Robin Williams. Jim and I also watched The Brutalist with award winning Adrian Brody and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, which Jim had never seen so I rewatched with him. While every Quentin Tarantino film is very good, the violence is always way too much for me. We watched Inglorious Basterds over Thanksgiving at Jessi's because it was one of Connor's favorite movies but Jim and I had never seen it. It also was very good. 
• >>On Netflix, Jim's go to for viewing, I end up watching a lot documentaries that I probably would never watch on my own-- Bad Influences ( 3 episodes), Turning Point: The Vietnam War (5 episodes), A Deadly American Marriage, Flight 3054, iHostage, From Rockstar to Killer, Oklahoma City Bombing; American Terror, Dancing for the Devil (3 parts),The Twister; Caught in the Storm, and Adolescence (4 episodes <not a documentary but very a dark drama). By far the best thing we caught on Netflix this season for me personally was Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Awards.
• >>We watched Jude Law in the The Order on Hulu which was excellent. This is one of those movies Jim talks me into watching and I am glad he did. I also watched Jude Law in the Skeleton Crew on Disney+ which was very much a kids' show and nothing Jim would be interested in. I enjoyed it very much.
• >>I often get recommendations from social media or my kids and don't want to miss out on the cultural phenomena of watching what everyone else is watching. I made time to watch The Pitt and The White Lotus on HBO as well as Dying for Sex on Hulu. I haven't been able to get to The Last of Us season 2 and might not ever as those flower head zombies really freak me out. The Pitt really freaked me out too. I don't ever want to have to go to an emergency room ever!

Winter Watchlist

Just for s&g here's a list of shows & movies I've been watching so far this year:

• >>After watching The Christopher Reeve Story (documentary) I started watching a bunch of old Christopher Reeve movies. I watched Superman 1 but never got to the rest (although I think #2 is the best). I watched Somewhere in Time for the first time since the 80's and was quite disappointed in how it ended. Luckily it was a short movie. It's crazy how very slow old movies are!
• >>I usually start watching Oscar nominated movies this time of year. I'd already watched Dune 2, Monika and I went to the theater in January to see Wicked, Jessi and I watched Emilia Perez on Netflix and A Real Pain on Hulu while I was in Virginia. Jim and I watched September 5 and Conclave on Plex together in Rochester. I checked out The Wild Robot from library to watch (and add it to my Plex). I also watched Inside Out 2 on Disney+, and plan to watch Flow soon! I watched The Apprentice on my Plex while I was in Virginia. I'm afraid to watch The Substance but want to and have it on my Plex when I can get the courage to do so. I typically stay away from horror so probably won't get to Nosferatu.
• >>After watching You're Cordially Invited with Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon on Prime in Virginia I wanted to watch a few old Will Ferrell movies I had never seen. I finally watched Step Brothers and Starsky&Hutch but could not find Dick anywhere (for free). 
• >>I started watching Star Trek Discovery (for a 3rd or maybe 4th time) in order to prep for the new Section 31 movie with Michelle Yeoh. The movie was awful, but I so thoroughly enjoyed rewatching Star Trek that I started rewatching Strange New Worlds to prep for the 3rd season coming out soon.
• >>I started watching 30 Rock episodes (for the first time) this month in part because of of all the hoopla re: SNL 50th anniversary, which I watched on Peacock. 
• >>I rewatched Severance 1st season on Apple to prep for the 2nd season and have been watching it on Fridays religiously. After each episode I watch a lot of the Youtube summaries and theories videos. I'm also listening to the official Severance podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott. I'm a huge fan!

Birthday Weekend

I turn 59 on Monday! I've been enjoying my last week of 58. Since I have so much more time on my hands, I spend a lot of it on exercise. My apple watch has noticed and lets me know. My average workout time prior to August was 45 minutes a day. Once school started, it's gone up to 1 hour and 20 minutes. I've always wanted to learn more about pilates, so I'm finally taking classes as well as keeping up with yoga. I also added a weight lifting regime but I'm only doing 2x a week (I need to step it up to 3).

I found out that Jim had a whole DVD collection of his own. I thought I had managed to digitized our whole movie collection and add it to my Plex server only to find that Jim has 6 books filled with mostly educational and historical movies. I began the process of transferring them this week. I got through 1 book-- so I probably won't finish until the end of the year at this rate but boy, is my Plex account expanding. I currently have almost 2500 movies and 50 TV shows saved and it's quite the eclectic collection. Ultimately the goal is to be rid of all hard copies of the hundreds (thousands) of videos, DVDs and Blurays we have purchased through the decades!

What I've been watching lately...

Of course once school got out, there was no holding me back and there was so much to watch. The newest Star Trek series; Strange New Worlds is maybe the best the Star Trek series thus far! Jim and I had very long conversation about Star Wars vs. Star Trek (he prefers Star Wars). When asked if I could only choose one (I love both) which would I choose? It's Star Trek, without hesitation. But I still love Star Wars tons and Disney+ has a new series on Obi-Wan Kenobi which I finished while in Norfolk but am watching again with Jim in Rochester. Also in Norfolk, I finished the new Stranger Things season on Netflix with Cody and Megan, which was very fun. This fourth season was a lot creepier and closer to horror than previous seasons. 

I certainly did not neglect the MCU :). In anticipation of the new Thor; Love and Thunder, I decided to watch all the Marvel movies with Thor, which is 7, so that kept me busy for a while. I finished End Game and am waiting to see the new Thor with Monika once I get back to Madison next week. I also downed the new Ms. Marvel on Disney in a couple of days. While not a favorite, I'm still a fan. I loved Captain Marvel more but love the inclusion of Ms. Marvel with Monica Rambeau in the upcoming Marvels movie in 2023.

Persuation on Netflix came out this week and I was dying to watch it and it was everything I wanted it to be. It was wonderful!! I've seen several BBC/tv renditions but this is the first movie of this Jane Austin story I am aware of and it was perfect. 

What I've been watching lately

Now that Monika is back home, I'm watching even more TV than I might if I were living alone. Certainly more than if I were living with Jim. Jim and I have very little we like to watch in common other than news, documentaries and some dramas-- especially historical. I can get Jim to watch Star Wars but not Star Trek (I love both).  Monika and I overlap in our interested quite a bit more-- add all sci fi, all super heros,  all romantic comedies and some reality tv. I like to think that I don't watch a lot of tv but occasionally when I connect with someone at work and discuss entertainment, I find that I watch way more than most of my colleagues BUT sometimes not as much as my students (often just as much or more). I do like to watch a series episode then catch the commentary on Youtube on that episode. Anything Star Trek or in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) will have multiple Youtube channels to check out on any given series with all the Easter eggs, call backs, or references mentioned in any episode. Some nights after watching just one show, I can spend the rest of the night watching all the Youtube shows referencing that show.

Monika and I just finished Raised by Wolves on HBO and Star Trek Discovery on Paramount last week. Both were on Thursday nights and it became a weekly ritual for a couple of months to watch both shows-- Star Trek first while eating dinner and then Raised by Wolves with dessert. While Star Trek was pretty entertaining, Raised by Wolves would leave us confused or at times completely dumbfounded. We'd often quickly turn to Youtube for answers after some conversation. It was a lot of fun while it lasted. I watched the first season last year after seeing several references to in on my Youtube channels so I checked it out and LOVED it. I got Monika to watch it (that was when she was living in Michigan). Now that season 2 is done, I will eagerly watch season 3 as soon as it drops next year!

We are now on to Bridgerton on Netflix (just started) and in the middle of Bel Air on Peacock. I've been watching Survivor 42 and Severance on Apple on my own while Monika watches stuff I'm not interested in. Jessi gave Monika an old tv that had been Erika's after Cody moved in with a big tv, so Monika has her own tv in her room, so there are times when I'm watching my show downstairs while Monika watches hers upstairs. Which is fine. I grew up with the tv always on, even if no one was watching. There was a time when there almost a tv in every room, including the garage at my mom's house. So only having one tv per floor (3) in the condo seems reasonable. I've got 2 in the new house in Rochester (a small one in my bedroom and a big one in the finished basement). 

Okay Summer, What to do?

I'm enjoying my summer school classes and getting to know my kids (lots of freshmen boys with lots of positive energy). I don't have one bad kid in my bunch, a couple of lazy ones and a few goofy ones, but not one bad apple. The kid in the picture is 4th brother of 4 boys I have had in an art class. His oldest brother graduated from HS 10 years ago! I love it when I get to know a family and this particular one is a very cool one.  My second class only has 7 kids and 2 did not make it to class today, so it was extremely quiet. I get all my pep done in the second class for the next day and some personal artwork done too. I need to start a new project to keep me busy. After school I got home and wondered about what to do next. I have too much time on my hands that I am not used to. It's been too cool to go to the pool but at least today I made it to a hot yoga class. I watched a movie on Netflix called "What the Health" that kind of blew my mind. I've seen health documentaries like this before and I keep getting hit with the knowledge that I need to be a vegan if I want to find true health and wellness, but first I need to finish all the eggs that are in my fridge. I told Erika to watch it and then she crossed off milk from the grocery list. It's a start.

Technology keeps us close.

My day off was nice. Ideally, I'd love to have all three girls in California with me visiting my mom, but this year we could not make it happen again. I will just have to enjoy my memories from the past two Thanksgivings and enjoy some video chatting time. I got to video chat with Monika in Jordan this morning, talk with my mom on the phone, have lunch with Erika and text with Jessi, who's in New York for the holiday. So even though we are not physically all together, we are together in spirit and through technology. I love technology!

As for my day... Balt had me up at 5am. It was raining out all morning, so I managed to put off our walk until 8am but we still walked in the rain. I went to a very hot yoga class at 9:30am, ran a few late morning errands and then met up with Erika for lunch. She has to work this week, which works out. I will see her in the morning at yoga and she'll get to come home for lunch and have the rest of the day free. It'll be just the two of us and our phones! I spent the evening next to my Christmas tree watching a movie and then catching a two hour Survivor. I find it interesting that the whole Gen X vs Millennials has broken down and now alliances are mixing up. Personalities start playing a bigger roll than age, which I think is true in life as well. 

Live On, Live Long and Prosper...

I think yesterday was the official 50th anniversary for Star Trek, the franchise. Fifty years ago, yesterday, in 1966, on NBC the first episode called “The Man Trap” aired, of what is now known as The Original Series. I knew it was this week and wanted to write up a blog post on the day but of course I missed it. But I'm only missing it by one day, Paramount missed it by 48 days. I thought Star Trek Beyond was supposed to come out in time to celebrate the 5oth but instead, it came out while I was traveling in India without any fanfare that I heard of. Yesterday the franchise released a short commercial sometime in the afternoon to promote, perhaps, the new series that is coming in January. The new series is supposed to take place 10 years before the original series, while the Scott Bakula "Enterprise" series took place about 100 years before. I am a little disappointed that the video ( below ) offers no clips from any of the other series other than the New Generation. As fan, although I've not attended a convention yet, I can say I have seen every episode and every movie at least once, many several times. I spent a whole year, a couple of years ago going through the whole franchise, but not in order. I am inclined to start watching Star Trek from the beginning of the timeline in preparation of the new series, which would only mean catching Enterprise and few other miscellaneous episodes. Anyway, I was hoping for some kind of special on tv to celebrate, but I could find nothing. Maybe it was on cable?

As for my Friday? It was a pretty good day. I got a good walk in with Balt this morning, presented a brand new project I just made up, treated myself out to lunch and then went to hot yoga after to work. I ate a scrambled egg for dinner while watching a Chelsea episode. I'm in for a wonderful weekend!

Related articles

A Mashup of the Original Star Trek TV Series and the First Trailer for Star Trek Beyond

'Star Trek' and NASA: 50 Years of Fictional and Factual Space Crossovers

Stranger Things Season 1

After a 3 1/2 mile walk with Balt I did some house cleaning and then went to the pool. It had rained most of the morning so it was not a hang out at the pool kind of day. I got a 1/2 hour of laps in with some ab work and then went grocery shopping. By 2pm, I was ready to take a break so I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix and I got hooked... so hooked I did not stop until the season was finished around 9pm. So it's only 8 episodes, making the whole season quite doable in a day. It's OMG, thrilling, funny and nostalgic. Set in the 80's with Winona Ryder -- what could be better?  Oh, well, the fact that most of the songs on the show are from the early 80's-- New Order's Elegia (from Low Life) is the perfect mood setter for this thriller. Netflix has totally outdone itself this time. I know everyone loves House of Cards and Orange is the New Black but I really think this series is the best yet-- it's definitely my favorite. Having just finished 6 seasons of Parenthood over the summer, I've been laying kind low on Netflix, just enjoying the Chelsea talk show episodes 3x a week but I totally binge watched Stranger Things today. With school starting soon, I'm not sure what's next on the horizon but I'll be looking forward to season 2 next year (it's so good, there's no way Netflix won't make another 8 episodes!).

Pets and Parenthood

Balt and I went for a long walk this morning-- about 3 1/2 miles. Since my return to Madison, my cats have wanted to be close to me as much as possible and even follow Balt and I on our walk, which is annoying. I often have to walk back home to lock them in the house since I don't want them walking blocks away. While I was away, they got out of the habit of using the litter box since it was not emptied consistently and started using my mats to potty on. I've had to pull the box out of the bathroom and put it where the carpet mats were (in front of the doorway in) and wash the mats several times. They started using the box again but when I slid back toward the bathroom, they went back to the mat. So I'm back to the box out in the entryway and the mats being washed once again. I'm hoping this process won't take too long. 

As I was walking this morning I realized that I was very sore. I swam yesterday for about 1/2 hour, only over 1000 meters, not a big deal but more than I had in a long time. Plus, while the yoga everyday is loosening things, it's also using muscles that I had not in a couple of months. While traveling can be somewhat strenuous, neither of my big trips to Cuba or India were all that physical. The occasional day here or there with a lot of mileage kept my summer active but the days of sitting on trains, planes and buses all day also made things very tight. Anyway, yoga this morning seemed especially difficult. I came home and chatted with Monika on Facebook messenger. I need to send her a box before school starts but I'm not sure how long it will take so I need to get on it asap.

I spent most of the afternoon finishing up the 6th season of Parenthood on Netflix. Every episode was so emotional for me and I have to admit I cried through the whole season and wept like a baby during the last episode (wedding, birth and death; the trifecta of emotional tv watching).  If there is a real man out there like the character Adam Braverman, he's got the luckiest wife in the world. The fact that I had already fallen in love with the actor Peter Krause (who plays Adam) on Six Feet Under probably helped my deep affection. Then there's Zeke Braverman ("coach" Craig T. Nelson) the perfect patriarch of the whole Parenthood/Baverman clan that explains why everyone is so wonderful. Yes, I got emotionally attached this summer... Joel leaving Sarah was very hard on me considering my situation and seeing them get back together only made me realize how much of a fantasy this show really is. So what do I do now that it's over... I tried to watch some Olympics but its just so boring for me. Sorry, I'm not into sports, although catching Leslie Jone's snaps at the Olympics are totally fun! I'm a fan.

 

 

Wonderful Getaway

I actually got to sleep in and then wake up to coffee and friends waiting for me near an amazing view. Breakfast was served and then Geof asked about going for a hike. He said it would only take 45 minutes. I did not have hiking books but figured my sneakers would be fine. Well, we had a wonderful hike, but it was much longer then Geof planned-- more than 5 miles! My sneakers were not fine, but it was worth slipping and sliding to be among friends, out in nature. We packed up shortly after the hike back and I was home before 1pm. I chatted a while with Monika and then sat to enjoy a fire and my book. I made a nice dinner and sat to watch Madame Secretary and then, of course, Downton Abbey. I was a bit teary eyed watching the very last episode of so grand a show... I was so glad it ended so happily. All is well in the Downton world. Still, I hear there might be movies or tv specials in the future! We can only hope!

A View of the Future

I spent the Summer of 2013 watching Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-05) with Monika. I found the series on Netflix, having never seen an episode before. While it wasn't the best series in the franchise, I loved the experience so much that I jumped into another Star Trek series right away. After watching all seven seasons I wrote at length about Deep Space Nine (1993-99) in December of 2013 and then moved on to Star Trek: Voyager (199-2001). After binging on episodes of Voyager, I moved on to the New Generation (1987-94) but there were so many episodes I had seen so many times that I tended to put on episodes in the back ground to do other things. Still, it was interesting to finally get to watch the series in order for the first time ever. By the time I ran through all of that series, I felt compelled to finish the school year watching the original Star Trek (1966-69) but it was difficult to watch for some reason. The lack of special effects and the slow moving plots kind made it difficult to stay awake through any episode. By the time Halloween came around that year, I decided to go with a Star Trek theme. I purchased a "Uhura" dress from the new movies but could not pull off wearing it since it was way too short and quite snug. I got a men's captain's shirt from the original series and instead of being my favorite character (Spock) I was his best friend (seen below).

The announcement of a new Star Trek series coming out in 2017 was totally exciting. I am compelled to start over watching all the series in preparation but this time I want to keep to the timeline in my viewing. What I found in Deep Space Nine especially, the episodic television programs had running serial drama themes that continued throughout several seasons. Back when I was watching episodes on television half haphazardly, when one had to watch tv only as shows were available or in re-runs, I missed out on all of those running dramas. I grew up watching Star Trek reruns. Episodes were never watched in order back then. I had to watch what ever I could whenever it was being broadcasted.

It is my hope that this new show will bring in the richness of a serial drama, especially since it is pegged for CBS's digital streaming service, rather than its public network. And while I'm a total Star Trek fan, I've never been to a convention and I'm certainly no "buff." This announcement has me thinking I'll probably sign on for a CBS subscription just to watch it. I'm sure that is what they are hoping for. The streaming service, which hosts thousands of episodes from the CBS' listings (both past and present) only costs $5.99 per month.

Unrelated to this new show coming out next year is a new Star Trek movie premiering this summer, Star Trek Beyond (2016) with the original Star Trek characters but the new cast and of course my favorite is Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock. Although the plot of this upcoming movie is still unknown, I believe it's coming out in part to celebrate the franchise's 50 years in existence. The reason Star Trek keeps going is it's belief in the good in humanity. I know some seem to think humanity is growing more wicked with it eventually leading to a dystopia but I don't think that is what's happening. Even with all the world conflicts in the Middle East and else where, I believe we are slowly working our way to a society, that may never make it to a utopian Star Trek episode, but we are making progress, slowly. Maybe someday we'll look back in history and see how Star Trek not only predicted communicators (cell phones) and iPads but it also saw a society that sought only to better humanity without greed or crime.

Rather than writing another 700 words about Star Trek, let me just tell you about my day which was marvelous. We having wonderful Autumn weather in Madison this week. I took Balt for a 3 mile walk this morning. I ran out at lunch to pick up printing for my graphic designers and I have to admit was wonderful getting out and about. After school I took Balt for a short walk and then went to a power yoga class. I came home and made a salad and sat to work on my blog post. I'm not sure this one counts as a full essay, but I never promised one every night and I have yet to make it to 1500 words.

Oh Happy Sunday

For the past 19 days I've been posting happy quotes on my Twitter account. I was thinking about how just thinking about happiness has made me more happy. A lot of the quotes are about how we make ourselves happy simply by being happy. I started my day heading out to Governor Nelson State Park. It was absolutely beautiful. It was not at peak color but it was still wonderful. Balt was very happy. I got back to Madison in time to make it to a yoga class that ends in meditation. I came home, showered and enjoyed left over chili for lunch. I had a great afternoon. I did not stay up late last night watching Transparent, so I splurged and watched the rest of the season this evening. The family dysfunctionalness is almost amazing. There is a beauty and ugliness in it all that draws you in. At the end of one of the episodes I started crying. Granted, I can cry at a drop of a hat, but it had occurred to me that the selfishness of Mora's (the lead character, so wonderful portrayed by Jeffery Tambor) children are a direct reflection of his own selfishnes, as well as his wife's. As parents, we create our own dysfunction in our families. It kind of hit me hard, but what I loved was the love and connection that this family offers each other even with all the crazy behavior. I am relieved that my family is not nearly so dysfunctional, at least, I don't think so. 

So I did not get much work done this weekend, but I had a wonderful one...

"And really, nothing else matters, does it?”

 

It was a beautiful May day. Balt is in great spirits and I often wonder what it is that gives him so much joy. He wakes me up wagging his tail, thrilled for the day to begin. I can't help but share his joy, especially when it's sunny and warm. I had a great day, chipping away at all the things that need to be done at school. I got home and took Balt for a dog park run. Monika went for a run today and wanted to go out to dinner, so of course I accommodated her. We had a wonderfully pleasant evening together. I came home and watched all the youtube clips of Dave Letterman's last show last night.

Back in the early 80's I had a guy friend, Mike Forgerson  (I happened to have a huge crush on him as well), who would tape all the week's Late Night shows and then have everyone gather at his house at the week's end to watch them all together with food and drink. These were highlight fun times of my late teens. I loved staying up to watch Dave and always preferred it over Leno (except for the years Conan had the show).  Of course, of the 33 years of shows, I only watched off and on, here and there. As a busy, working mom, staying up late to watch tv was not a part of our scheduling. Staying up late to watch Dave became a luxury really. As I watched all the clips this evening, I found myself quite misty eyed, remembering my youth and all those fun nights spent at Mike's watching Late Night. Part of Dave's last words of thanks were directed to his family and how he loved them... and that nothing else mattered, I thought that was wonderful. 

Melting

There was a high of 55 degrees today! It was warm, kids were in shorts and I wore sandals even though my toe nails were in desperate need of painting. Of course the best thing about the weather is how nice it is to take the dog out on a walk. The worst thing is all the water, especially in my driveway-- it flooded. Although Balt seems to enjoy the warmer weather, asking to go outside just sit on the snow covered lawn, he is starting to pant!

On Friday, Netflix added The Clone Wars to its line up and I decided to add it to my list of things to watch. I had started watching ST: The Next Generation but it had become painful at times, and mostly a way to fall asleep more quickly. I don't have any trouble falling asleep usually, but if I started watching a TNG episode in the evening, I found myself fighting to stay awake. I would say I only saw the first 5 -15 minutes of the whole first season. I'm on the 2nd season now and beginning to watch episodes I am much more familiar with and noticing a bit higher quality. I've never been one to enjoy an animated series but The Clone Wars offered a part of the Star Wars franchise I had never seen and am enjoying. With episodes only 20 minutes long, I have no problem taking a quick episode in before bed or during my treadmill walk. 

Just a Little Bit More.

Balt let me sleep in until 8am, which was so wonderful. We woke to a beautiful snowy Saturday. After some coffee and toast, Balt and went on a long walk around the school yard. It's was one of the few places we could go that was fairly plowed for walking. It was snowing the whole time and even though I'm quite sick of snow, it was beautiful. It kind felt like Christmas. 

I spent the day working on paperwork for school, washing all the bedding, making juice for the week and watching the rest of Star Trek Voyager. I have to admit I teared up in the last episodes. I can't believe its all done. I ended up going back to New Generation episodes after and was astonished at how slow moving the stories are and silly the effects seem. Although I've seen all the New Generation episodes several times, I have no recollection of the first season ones I watched this evening. While living in Germany, I used to watch a couple of episodes a week in German. We lived there in 1994-95, so I guess I watched mostly the later ones. 

There aren't a lot of great reviews of Star Trek Voyager (1995 -2001) out there. Fans seem to think of all the Star Trek shows, it's the worst. I disagree. I admit to lots of sappy stuff, but New Generation (1987 -1994) was pretty sappy. One might say the whole franchise is based on the sap of a futuristic utopian perfection. I loved that the captain of Voyager was a women, and find it interesting that one of the criticisms I read was that she wasn't always consistent, sometimes she followed the rules and sometimes she didn't. That seems pretty consistent to her gender. Of all the characters of all the Star Trek shows, I believe Seven of Nine, the Borg drone who regains her humanity is the most interesting of all characters but she doesn't show up until season three. The hologram Doctor might also be among the top 5 after Data and Spock. The crew also has a Vulcan on board, Tuvok, as head of security. I think anyone who's a fan of the Star Trek franchise loves getting know Vulcans. There was a Vulcan on Enterprise (2001-2005), T'Pol, which was one of most interesting characters for that show.  That may have been the only thing lacking on Deep Space Nine (1993 -1999)-- no main vulcan character. I know I'll miss having Voyager on my list of things to watch. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and watching their adventures.

 

Deep Space Nine (1993 -1999)

So I started watching Star Trek; Enterprise over the summer. I got drawn in by Scott Bakula but enjoyed the series very much and was not ready to end my Star Trek experience. I decided to jump ahead to Deep Space Nine, skipping the New Generation series because I feel like I've seen everyone of those episode at least 3 times. When looking the Star Trek Timeline, DS9 takes place at the end of the New Generation series with a couple characters who carry over; Miles O'Brian and Commander Worf. Avery Brooks is just as captivating as Scott Bakula in this series but is offered a deeper story line and richer character to run with. I had watched many of the episodes in the past but never the whole series running through.  Approaching DS9 in the context of one 130 some-odd hour movie is a completely different and highly enriching experience then just watching an episode here and there as I did in the past. I got to know the characters and understand the the relationships between the characters, showcasing a mixed race relationship and marriage with Worf and Dax, a male bonding friendship with O'Brian and Dr.Julian Bashir, the odd Founder/Odo and  Ferengi/Quark rivalry as well as the on going feud of Captian Sisko and Cardassian Gul Dukat, the past commander of the Station. This series created some genuinely great characters. 

I am sad to see it come to an end and look to move onto Voyager, just to keep the Star Trek streaming story line. I love the promise of Star Trek, like that future might be possible. A future where all of one's needs are taken care of and a profession is chosen for personal fulfillment, not for money. But it isn't all rainbows and love in the future. DS9 takes on themes of war, spirituality, sexism, racism and even genocide. Evil still exsists and humanity is still fighting a battle even though Earth has become a Utopian paradise. 

Quiet Monday

Monika got up early to work out at school. It was raining so I didn't take Balt on a walk until nearly 10am. I worked on the parent newsletter, did laundry and watched Star Trek Enterprise. So if the truth be known, I'm in love with Scot Bakula-- since 1989 really when he was in Quantum Leap. I'm not sure what I'm going to do once I finish this series. I guess it will be time to get back to work, but I've fallen in love with the Star Trek franchise all over again.

I made a zucchini-tomato casarole for lunch/dinner. I went into school to connect with the secretary for the newsletter. There's a lot of construction stuff going on there which was kind of weird but I'm not ready to get back to work at all. Hopefully I will be after we get back from visiting Jessi-- I hope. Monika decided she did not want to do east coast college visits. The idea of leaving already for another trip was not appealing to her at all. So we will have a few more days in Madison taking it easy. Today was nice and boring and kind of cold-- 74 and wet. At 3:30pm I met up with a retired teacher friend to walk dogs, drink coffee and catch up. I got home to an empty house (Monika was out playing tennis) and had my zucchini dinner while watching star trek. I will make some home-made chocolate chip cookies for Jessi tomorrow but the trick will be to make sure they last until we can give them to her on Friday! I'm hoping freezing them will help. I'm very excited for this weekend-- thinking about trying to make a video about it, if my family cooperates. I found the photo below today on line from last night-- it's Jessi's platoon waiting to meet their sponsor families.
 

So Many Words

Balt woke me up early for breakfast and his walk. I took him to a bagel shop 1/2 mile away so I could pick up a cup of coffee. I got home around 6am only to find my husband was eager to go to Indian Lake. We then took Balt there while it was still cool but by the end of our time there, it was heating up. It was a beautiful morning. Monika and I went to the pool around noon to enjoy the warmth of the day and get some laps in. I swam my 1/2 mile there and realized all I needed now was to get a bike ride in and I'd be training for a triathlon again. My husband asked me earlier what I was going to do with all my free time next year since Jessi would be gone. I told him that as I age, I think I have to fill every free moment with physical activity or else I was going to turn into a marshmellow. 

Once we got home we found our first letter from Jessi and there were LOTS of words in it! I was so excited to hear Monika read it out loud, so that all three of us could hear what she had to say at the same time. She is surviving, likes her room mates and figuring things out. She's extremely busy and extremely stressed, but she understood that she was learning how to deal with stress. It was wonderful to hear from her. The post mark is from the 1st but she says she was writing Saturday night- day 3. I know a lot has happened since then. It's now day 9.

It's interesting to find images of her on line almost daily. This afternoon someone posted a bunch of pictures of plebes walking about the yard and I spotted Jessi right away from her stride. I called her dad in to see the photo and we both chuckled. She walks just like her dad. There are lots of tourist standing about watching. I suppose she must be used to the fact that she is now a tourist attraction, but it still is strange that so many people are at the Naval Academy taking photos! 

Right after getting her letter, we all went to Target to pick out some things to send her. All of the boxes are picked through by the detailers and she made sure to let us know never to send anything embarrassing. 

Later this evening after walking Balt to Starbucks and back, I noticed a post from Jessi's swim coach of Jessi looking up talking to someone. I know that her time in the water is the highlight of her day. 

I didn't do much today and after doing NOTHING yesterday, I'm realizing how easy it is just enjoy vacation. There is still all those socks to sort in the basement, but I've started watching Star Trek: Enterprize on Netflix. Set 100 years before the original Star Trek, I certainly like it better than the original, but not sure if its my favorite of all the Star Trek series off shoots. For now, it's filling my summer "down" time. 

Puppy love

I've been watching a few documentaries on dogs on Netflix lately. The one I caught tonight while waiting from Jessi to get back from a basketball game in Waukesha was really good. It seems that dogs have figured out how to communicate with us and more intelligently than any other animal including chimps. It is fascinating to learn about how very smart dogs are and how genetically they have changed to become better companions for us.

Today was a really long day. I took Balt into work for a short amount of time which was really fun. I had too much to do to keep him there for too long and the hour he was there seemed to over-excite him. I wanted to share some puppy love for Geof's birthday; maybe help lessen some of his stress and perhaps even lengthen his life. Of anyone I have ever know, Geof is the most animal friendly, animal loving, animal tuned in person. I wish I had captured a picture of Geof digging his face into Balt's fur as Balt gleefully enjoying the attention.

After getting Jessi on her way to her game, I ran Monika home and then went to a yoga class. Jessi had a hard time getting her stuff together for the game, forgetting her "Tuesday Report" (an accountability card that allows her to play), Jim was upset because she had called him to get it for her but he had taken too long and the bus left without it which meant she could not play in the game tonight. It all got me so uptight. I have learned to let go of the stress, unwind & sweat it out in yoga. I was able to come home completely wrung out and ready to enjoy life again. I had a bowl of cereal, showered and went to the hockey game to sell tickets. I got home, watched the NOVA documentary and then picked up a very exhausted (she ended up playing a bit in the second half) and hungry basketball player at school after 10pm. After a McD's drive thru, I got a call from Erika who wanted a ride. I didn't get home until nearly 11pm and now I'm feeling like tomorrow will be here too quick.

Stowaway (1936)

Last night we watched Home Alone 2, tonight I wanted a classic. When Netflix was unable to stream It's a Wonderful Life it led me to Shirley Temple's Stowaway. I would have rather watched The Blue Bird but that also is not available for instant viewing. The Stowaway is not quite a Christmas movie, but ends with a Christmas song, "That's what I want for Christmas." It's about an orphan girl (Shirley Temple) in China who meets an American bachelor (Robert Young) and is accidentally put on board his cruise ship.This is the kind of movie I stayed up watching during vacation when I was a teen. In Los Angeles there were two independent tv stations (KTLA & KTTV) that would air old movies. Back when there were no movies to rent or stream, I would study the weekly TV guide looking for classic movies. Anything with Shirley Temple was a must see. I believe Fox Movie Channel is having a holiday Shirley Temple movie marathon this week and they are airing The Blue Bird on Christmas! That's one of the very few times when I wish we had a tv with cable. Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the DVD to come in my mailbox in a couple of day... that is unless someone bumps it off the top spot in the queue. I hate when that happens!

Mr. Monk and the Sunday Afternoon

You can stream all Monk episodes on Netflix now. So our Sunday afternoons and/or evenings are spent watching Monk. It's the one day a week we have time and it is one of the few shows that everyone in our family loves to watch together, especially Jim. The truth is that there are a lot of similarities between Monk and Jim and I think we all really appreciate that about the show. Luckily, while Jim is pretty savvy, he's not quite as neurotic on Monk.

This morning I woke up to find Monika already downstairs working on homework. She started Winter soccer training today-- every Sunday morning at 9am. She said she was glad it would get her going every Sunday. After getting her to soccer, I ran off to yoga. My Sunday mornings are quite wonderful in part because of my morning yoga time. I envision retirement to feel like everyday being a Sunday. I can't wait but I still have at least 10 years of work (more like 20).

Facebook friends are asking people to change their profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood until Monday as a campaign for children's rights and in order to end violence against children. I'm not sure how it can help end violence, but it's fun to look around at everyone's favorite childhood cartoon characters. I actually wasn't crazy for cartoons as a kid. I liked live action shows like Isis and Shazam. I have very fond memories of watching Saturday morning shows with my little brother. He was totally into the Justice League and of course I absolutely loved Wonder Woman but what I really liked was the prime time version of The New Adventures of Wonder Woman on Friday nights with Lynda Carter best, back in 1975.

An extra hour for Chuck.

When the girls mentioned to Jim they were getting into Chuck, he thought they meant Chucky from the 1988 movie Child's Play. Until my recent exposure to Chuck, the tv show, I thought of Chuck as either beef or always in the plural as shoes-- I love Chucks. Now, I'm in love with Chuck... Bartowski, not Norris. Because of our lack of television, we usually get into shows a couple of years behind and then spend several weeks to a couple of months catching up. Right now we are going through the Chuck series, which premiered in 2007 and loving every episode. We are on season 2, while the rest of America is currently enjoying season 4. I don't get to watch them all, but I get to see little bits of lots of them. I try not to get too sucked in, but it's hard. This morning the girls got up wanted breakfast and Chuck. I watched  an episode and a half then left for yoga. The rest of the day was quite restful, with time for a little bit of cleaning, some shopping, an indoor soccer game and more Chuck.
 

John Adams (2008)

After all the clean up yesterday, I spent my evening watching disc 1 of the HBO series on John Adams.  Tonight I watched disc 2.  I was surprised by how much the man did for our country-- he is so overlooked between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  I very much like Paul Giamatti, but Laura Linney as Abigail Adams does an amazing job showing the intelligence of a wife behind the scenes.  During the declaration of independence, I teared up.  I do love this country.

My thoughts of independence are feeling quite personal... I am feeling strangely British.