You know, the ones that I watched and cared about. I was going to go by premiere date, but I don’t have it in me to figure out what came on when, so I’ll just go by station.dddd
Rel (FOX)
I watched the first two episodes. I actually liked the pilot more than the second episode. The pilot was kind of clunky at the beginning, but I found myself laughing a lot by the end. (Loose boots! So random, so funny.) The second episode stayed clunky and was weirdly preachy and heavy handed in its messaging. I mean, for a second episode. So basically, the tone wasn’t consistent between the two episodes.
Links! It’s been a while, but I’ve been reading some good stuff lately and wanted to share.
I can always tell when I am dealing with WMWF by their rallying cry “be nice” or “choose kindness”, as if the act of calling out racism, misogyny, ableism and homophobia is the problem and not the act of racism, misogyny, ableism and homophobia. — #KidLitWomen: An Open Letter to Well-Meaning White Women
You don’t have to watch The Good Place for long to realize that Tahani Al-Jamil is more than, as Eleanor Shellstrop says, “a hot, rich fraud with legs for days.” She’s also a relentless name-dropper. But when Princess Diana is your godmother and Beyoncé if your best friend, can you really blame a girl for bragging? — Every Celebrity That Tahani Has Name-Dropped on The Good Place
1. A lot has been going on this week. I asked some friends how they were and what was happening, and then I listed two things for myself and thought of a bunch more. But then I remembered I have a blog.
Not really, Willy Wonka, and to be honest, I don’t like your tone. (source)
I think that four-hour nap threw me off my game yesterday because I totally didn’t realize it was Monday so missed my Monday wrap-up. So here it is on a Tuesday.
1. I’m still blogging my way through NaBloPoMo. Posts from the past week with a heavy emphasis on poetry for some reason:
3. I didn’t finish any books this past week, so I’m still making my way through these two:
Pictured: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Warcross by Marie Lu
4. I wore jeans to work today (for this first time all semester!), which may have made me a touch too relaxed with my students. We talked about gangsta rap (which I just call “rap,” I told them), I told suggested one student to stop studying something he wasn’t interested in, and I am pretty sure there was something about food in there. Oh, right. The one student said the granola bar he ate for breakfast didn’t count as food because he ate it in two bites. “That’s not even a snack,” he said. “That’s a taste.”
5. I am supposed to be packing for my trip up to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving, but instead I have officially started powering down. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not having office hours tomorrow.
6. Related to that last point, I have been grading so slowly these past few days. I should be speeding through these grammar reviews, and instead I have graded one set per day. Do you know the semester is almost over? And there are other things to grade? This does not bode well is what I’m saying.
7. The Jeopardy! tournament of champions just ended, and I am pleased by the winner. In fact, I actually liked all of the contestants this go ’round, and I don’t think that has ever happened before.
8. I finally put up my tree. It is pre-lit, so the decorating is already halfway done. Perhaps I shall add the ornaments before the weekend is out?
9. The coolest thing about my apartment is that I have a fireplace, which means I can actually hang stockings over it. First time ever! Too bad I won’t be here for Christmas. 🙃 But still!
I am not participating in NaNoWriMo, but I did decide today to blog every day for the month of November. What better way to start than to catch up on all the blog posts I didn’t make during the last two weeks of October?
(Also, I only have 20 minutes to crank this out, so let’s see how it goes.)
1. My daughter came to visit me for her fall break and the whole thing was an adventure. She missed her flight, we rode public transportation, she got sick, and then some other stuff happened that I don’t remember because I didn’t blog about it. The short version is adventure! The long version is lost somewhere in my brain.
2. I finished two books (er, abandoned one actually):
Here is what’s making me happy this week. (For more info, see here.)
There is so much delightful TV on right now. My heart is happy. It’s so fun to watch TV and actually use it as a form of escapism. I mean, sure there is light torture on The Good Place and a murderous crimelord on Jane the Virgin. BUT OVERALL.
So, yes, the three TV shows making me happy this week:
1. Kevin Probably Saves the World
As I said on Facebook, I was hesitant to try this one because Kevin is visited by a messenger from God, which okay. But she is also kind of a magical Negro who is also a sassy best friend to guide him???
Anyway, I liked it. It’s sweet and has heart, and it’s all about someone trying to figure out what the right thing is to do and how to do it and helping people. I also really liked the focus on family and that the main love story seems to be between Kevin and his sister (but not in a twincest-y way–oh, internet you have ruined me). So, that is also A+. And the sister is a professor! (Engineering, but we can’t all be perfect.)
2. The Good Place
Chidi continues to be everything good and perfect in this world.
3. Jane the Virgin (slight spoilers for the premiere)
Listen, I miss Michael with the very fabric of my soul, but I also think Adam and Jane are super adorable (he wrote her love cue!!!), and Jane rolling on the floor trying to zip her dress had me rolling. Also, I wasn’t prepared for the dueling narrators, but I enjoyed that Adam’s is a woman and that she is so over Petra’s shenanigans.
And, yes, I know two of these shows are an hour long, but that’s just where I am right now.
Specifically, Still Star-Crossed, Jane the Virgin, and The Good Place.
So, the thing about Still Star-Crossed is that it’s kind of dumb, but the characters are pretty. Which…TV, am I right? Anyway, the biggest thing that makes it dumb is that it is still taking itself a little too seriously. And there is so much murdering. (And, yes, I know Romeo & Juliet is at its core about petty street gangs, but still.) Also, and I hate to be a purist, but are we really just going to ignore the fact that Rosaline and Romeo totally had a thing in the play? She dumped him because he kept pressuring her to put out, and in the show, she’s all, “I HATE MONTAGUES FOREVER.” I mean, sure, that’s valid (they killed her dad on the show, and then Romeo did turn around and marry her cousin), but, you know: canon.
Today is the first day of my vacation where I actually had nothing to do. NOTHING. So I actually did nothing. I didn’t even go to the gym. This is the first time I haven’t left my house in…I don’t even know when. So that was exciting.
Last week was busy because we celebrated my daughter’s high school graduation on Thursday. Her father and paternal grandparents came into town. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you’re her), the graduation was ticketed and at night, which meant the celebration was very small. I would have preferred a huge party with everyone we know in the whole wide world. She was happy to have it be just family. And that’s all that matters. I guess.
So, January passed pretty quickly. I mean, it dragged emotionally but I can’t quite believe it’s already February. Things are going well here; they’re just busy as all get out. I have a ton of grading (shocker, I know) along with some prep and then there’s my life that’s not work: I’m serving on a search committee for our church’s new minister. That’s not even counting my support groups, bible study, working out (of which I have not done nearly enough), or, oh, I don’t know, being a mom or a person who lives in a house that I would like to enjoy.
1. I watched the premiere of Riverdale (The CW). While I liked some parts of it, I did not love it. Nor did I like it enough to keep watching. The main reason is that it took this bright poppy bubblegum comic:
And turned it into this dreary and aesthetically displeasing bleakness:
1. I continue to be in love with The Good Place. Jason Mendoza is the dumbest person alive (well, dead), and I may love him for it. Also, he died in the most Florida Man way possible. I mean, seriously. I can see the headline (highlight to read because spoilers): Florida Man Suffocates to Death in Failed Robbery Attempt. I laughed, but also: Jason. Seriously.
The Englishist 