I've been looking at my reading page, but haven't had the willpower or concentration to sit down and write up a post.

So beware incoming word vomit!!!

TV Shows (spoilers)

Two shows with a similar pedigree - prequels to massively successful fantasy franchises. Neither perfect, but one being almost flawless and the other a semi going over the cliff by the end.

• House of the Dragon - I really enjoyed this, although, having experienced Game of Thrones, I knew there would be pain, and I was not wrong. I was blown away by the performances, however, especially Paddy Considine. Wow. The best thing about this show is how character-driven it is. The rift and evolution of Alicent and Rhaenyra's relationship was fascinating. All four actresses did really well. I wasn't a fan of grown-up Alicent until she faced down Rhaenys in the Dragonpit. I'm here for this story, even if it's sure to lead to heartache. I think part of the reason I'm partial to this one is that it is fixing the bad taste that the end of Game of Thrones left behind.


• Rings of Power - In contrast to House of the Dragon, I'm having a hard time enjoying this one. It may be because I've read the source material here, and not for HotD. Also, HotD has the advantage of the creator being involved. RoP is more of a surface-level fantasy story, which is fun in it's own right. But it's missing a lot of the depth found in the rest of Tolkien's work. I can't decide if it would be better or not to have watched any of the Jackson movies? The two big twists were telegraphed so early and obviously, by that I mean the reveal of Gandalf and Sauron. The thing the did surprise me was the eruption of Mt. Doom. The whole thing with the tunnels and the key was very confusing, but paid off really well. The main emotion I felt at the end of the season was sadness for what happened to the Southlands. Was this whole thing an anti-colonialism metaphor? The other thing was empathy for the Orcs. Maybe that was the point? I'll say again, I have no issues with the casting of anyone, other than Elrond. He just doesn't have Hugo Weaving's intensity. RoP may have suffered because the bar was so high.


• Duillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities - I'm not sure what I was expecting, more fantasy perhaps? I watched the first episode and found it too horror-focused for my taste. Reminded me of the old series, Tales from the Crypt. del Toro did an outstanding job, no complaints there. But yeah. Not my thing.


• Great British Baking Show - on the other hand, this warms my heart. My safe spot to land. I discovered it during the first few months of the pandemic, and it's been my comfort ever since.


• Over the Garden Wall - My annual October watch!

Fanworks

I'm very happy with my assignment for due South Seekrit Santa and I'm well into writing it. I have both a title (the hardest part, sometimes) and a concept that I'm excited about. I've written over 1000 words so far. I just have to set aside time to sit down and write.

My assignment above side-tracked me from another fairy tale that I've been working on. I hope I can come back to it and get it finished.

Video Games

• Breath of the Wild - Before I got my own Switch, I played the very first part of this game on someone else's Switch. I got as far as first shrine, I think, but it wasn't my console so I stopped. When I bought my Switch, I bought BotW because that's what you do with a Switch, right? But I never played it until a couple weeks ago, when I put it in on a whim. I know I'm extremely late to the party, but I can't even express what a fantastic game it is. I can see why it tops pretty much every list of greatest video game ever. I'm obsessed, and if I didn't have a full-time job, I would play it all the time.


• Hollow Knight - Funnily enough, I also started this game on someone else's Switch, but that person lives with me, so I could play as much as I wanted. I absolutely fell in love with this game. I got as far as the False Knight, and then got stuck. When I bought my own Switch, this game was my number-one priority, and I started over on my own file. Once again, I got stuck at the False Knight. I would put it away and not play for weeks on end, playing Animal Crossing instead, but then I would pick it back up and try some more. I finally beat the False Knight. Now I understand why game-based learning is a thing. The sense of pride and accomplishment when I finally did was just unbelievable, and so motivating to continue. I've gotten 'stuck' in a few more places, but never for long. I'm not saying I've mastered the game play, but I've definitely leveled up and that feels so good.

My Life

For the first time since the pandemic, we had an out-of-town visitor. We had a great time, cooking together, watching the shows mentioned above, and just hanging out. The other thing we did, that I haven't done since before the pandemic, was go to a Dallas Stars game. We had a great time, and the Stars won, so what more could I ask?

It's not a return to normal - we stayed masked the whole time at the arena. When we were wandering through the shops in town, we put masks on every time we went inside one.

Today, I'm making Vegan Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells, a nice autumn dish. The weather has finally cooled off some; I turned my AC off last week. When I change my sheets today, I'll probably put my down comforter on the bed, and put the summer quilt away.

After my post about the visiting butterflies to my yard, I looked into what it would take to make it an official Monarch waystation. It seems the only thing I still need is some milkweed, so I'm going to try to find some that will grow around here. Then I'll register my yard and get a sign. https://monarchwatch.org/waystations/

I've really fallen behind on posting things about my life.

Movies

• In the Heights a great summertime movie, clearly a tribute to New York City. I didn't find the songs as memorable, and stick-in-your-head as Hamilton. Possibly because I'm over-saturated with Lin-Manuel Miranda these days. He definitely has some song-writing tics that make his songs instantly identifiable. A summertime movie that doesn't try to be a SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER. Very good.

TV Shows

• Stanley Cup Playoffs The Dallas Stars are of the opinion that they are still the Western Conference Champions since no team from the West is in the Final. I'm rooting for Montreal because no repeat for Tampa, and they don't need another parade after the past year. This year will definitely be a future trivia game question because Montreal has been around for over 120 years, and won 24 Stanley Cup Championships, but never won the Clarence Campbell bowl. Until this year. Because of pandemic weirdness.
  
  A minor rant. When Gary Bettman took over as commissioner in the 1990s, he renamed the divisions and conferences to make them easier to understand went the reasoning. Previously, they had interesting names, but now they are as bland as can be. And not any easier to understand. What exactly does it mean "Metropolitan" Division. I think my university used to be in something called the Metro Division in the NCAA. And then the geographic names aren't even accurate except the Atlantic Division, although Ottawa and Toronto are pretty far from the ocean.
  
  Bring back the old names! We want the Wales Conference to contain the Adams Division and the Patrick Division. And the Campbell Conference to have the Norris Division and the Smythe Division. Give your fans the benefit of the doubt, Gary Bettman.
  
  (I'm not ignoring the huge elephant that has planted itself in Chicago. I'll have thoughts on that at another time.)


• The Nevers I liked it a lot. The set design was amazing, the story intriguing, especially the final ep, holy crap!!


• Black Sails I think I've finally reached the tipping point on this show where I want to see it through to the end. Will report back once I finish it

Video Games

• Hollow Knight I randomly saw a video or gif of it, liked the look of it, asked my son about it. Turns out he had it on his Switch. So I've taken over the Switch and been playing every day. My goal is to beat the game before the sequel comes out in the fall. Also, as it turns out, I really like playing on the Switch. My son and I had a long discussion about ergonomics and controllers designed for children versus adult males. He finds the Switch too small and his hands get cramped after a while. It fits my hands perfectly. I may have to get my own when he goes back to school in August, if he takes the Switch with him.

That's pretty much how I've been spending my free time over the past few weeks.