I'm sure there's a unifying theme here somewhere

[bironic]

Today is Patriots' Day in Boston, a.k.a. Marathon Monday, a.k.a. the day most people in the city seem to have off from work and school except us. My usual commute is bisected by the marathon line, so I came home the long way tonight, through the city: a packed train of tourists, Sox and Bruins fans, and an international collection of runners in foil cloaks, some limping and leaning on one another and some looking like they just went for a jog around the block.

This afternoon, per tradition, a few of us walked to the local portion of the marathon course to cheer on our now-former coworker as she ran by. The crowd was quiet enough this year that she heard us, smiled and waved as she continued along the final stretch. (It was hot today and she's injured in two places, yet she still ran the thing in less than 4 hours. Unbelievable.)

*

Friends are great. Some came over for a seder on the first night of Passover; some were in town for lunch this weekend; some will be moving here from far away; some are helping me sift through an enormous amount of source material for this multifandom vid. I've only sent out a handful of emails so far, so if you volunteered for something and haven't heard yet, stay tuned.

Since last we spoke, I've watched or scanned through a whole bunch of movies and short TV shows. Let's see: Crazyhead (fun), Cleverman (difficult but rewarding), Extant (derivative but enjoyable), Travelers (meh), now starting Timeless (fun); the "San Junipero" episode of Black Mirror (not traumatizing, hooray), the Green Fury episode of Powerless (I liked parts of it, but sitcoms are still not my thing) and the new Doctor Who premiere (winning me back over); Pacific Rim (meh), Fantastic Four (2015) (Action Movie formulaic emptiness), Z for Zachariah (great), The Fits (as wonderful as promised). I am not a huge TV fan compared to the general fan community -- some of my dearest and most passionate fandoms have been TV shows, but I'm not well-"read" in TV and don't love the medium as a medium as much as I love movies -- so this endeavor presents an interesting challenge.

There is still a ton to go, but it feels good to have made a dent.

*

Meanwhile, my de-stressor and pre-bedtime media over the last month or so has been a BBC show made for five-year-olds: Sarah & Duck. Have any of you seen it? It's so lovely and chill, wholesome, and often funny. Sarah is curious, imaginative and accepting, and every day seems to be a vacation day, which sounds nice right about now. From time to time the art is really beautiful, too. You never know when the plot will go full-on surreal or stay within the realm of the plausible -- well, given a reality where ducks sort of understand English and ladybugs play small trumpets. I am a particular fan of Duck wagging his tail, Sarah when she gets really excited about things like baby manatees, and Scarf Lady's long-suffering handbag.

I'm almost out of episodes on Netflix, though, and then whatever can take its place?

Comments

[gingicat]

I feel that somehow, despite the chaos in my life, I should make a better effort to hang out with Boston-locals.

Regarding video, you might like Kipper the Dog or Peg+Cat.

[bironic]

Indeed, I have enjoyed Kipper in the past! Will check out Peg + Cat, maybe brush up on my remedial math skills. :)

[scribe]

Oh man, my roommate got really into Sarah & Duck and I've seen a few episodes, it's so lovely!

[bironic]

Yes yes! I'm glad your household, too, has basked in it.

[sheafrotherdon]

I will have to check out Sarah and the Duck!

I confess to having loved Pacific Rim. I've been intrigued by the idea of Timeless, though, so I will try to check that one out.

[bironic]

A friend and a blogger (different people) have called Sarah & Duck very Zen, which may explain some of its relaxing qualities. If you try, I hope you enjoy.

Timeless too. I've only seen the pilot, but come to think of it, it seemed there was a tiiiiiiny bit of Peggy Carter to the historian protagonist, so that was enjoyable. The episode head-on addressed some of the risks of sending a black character back in time in American history, and Paterson Joseph as the one who sent him was a delight. Of course the logic of the time travel plots quickly unravels, but it doesn't strike me so far as a show that particularly minds.

In Pacific Rim I did like the Mako-Pentecost stuff but the general testosterone and summer-blockbuster structure didn't intrigue. I do very much grok why fandom was attracted to the concept of drift compatibility, though!


ETA: I am sorry to report that things are going downhill for Timeless - ex. in 1x2 a white woman's feelings about the historical repercussions of the assassination of Lincoln are more important than a black man's, and in 1x3 it's becoming clear that some of my least favorite tropes are in play, including concocting elaborate lies to cover for something that should have been shared up front, and repeatedly delaying an explanation/motivation for the purposes of "tension."

[stultiloquentia]

Wallace and Gromit? Avatar: The Last Airbender?

[bironic]

Wallace and Gromit is indeed of the same ilk! If only there were new ones to consume.

It seemed to me that A:tLA requires (or rewards) paying attention to characters and plots and stuff, as a regular fannish-type show? Y/N? I do want to watch it eventually but it may not be the best zone-out sort of cartoon for the purpose of coming down from vid-related shows before going to bed. Hm. Maybe I will return to my perennial Deep Space Nine rewatches. :)

[ldthomps]

I feel like Marathon Monday should be a holiday for everyone in MA. My guy used to work for a small office of a bigger out of state company, and even though they were someplace like Burlington, someone had convinced the big company that, "oh, everyone in Boston has it off, we couldn't possibly go in with the Marathon". I wanted to high-five whoever that was :D. Glad you got to see some runners, too, though!

[bironic]

Ha. Rubbing salt in the (minor) wound was our boss, who came in Monday morning saying 'It's a beautiful day, why are we in the office?' as if she didn't have the power to tell us we could work from home or whatever. Alas!