It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights. It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight…

Here’s some money. Go see a Star War.

Wow. He did not give a fuck. What’s his name again?

You’re a bit of a failure, aren’t you? You come all the way over here in this country to kill Tommy Shelby, but…I mean, well, he’s not dead, is he?

In the not-so-distant past, I was very much an advocate for cord-cutting. Everyone likes to bag on the cable companies, but to be honest, the only real issues I’ve had with them my entire life are cost and channel selection. The former always goes up and the latter never seemed to include exactly what I wanted. Cord-cutting seemed to be the solution – just let me pay for the channels I want. Unfortunately, the TV provider also being the internet bandwidth provider makes it difficult to get one without the other. The last time we moved, Comcast basically offered me internet plus a bunch of channels for the same price as just internet (which also turns out to be a very good deal if you like live sports).

Today, I seem to have a bit of everything (and the amount I pay to Comcast continues to rise). I have an old AppleTV connected to our Sony set, which streams multiple services that I get billed for in addition to Comcast: Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Disney+ and CBS All Access (which we just added so Colleen could watch The Stand). At some point, I need to catalog all of these accounts, see how much I’m paying in total and decide if we really get that much value out of them. In normal times? Probably not. During a stay-at-home pandemic? Likely a bargain.

My list of lists page has always had movies and TV shows I want to watch. Here are some recent things I’ve finished (or just started) since my best of 2020 post:

• Dark, Netflix (seasons 1-3): Armon told me to watch this German science fiction series about murder and time travel. It’s got subtitles, so you really have to pay attention. That’s good advice even if it was in English, as there is a large cast and it gets confusing very quickly. I did like it overall, but to be honest, it was a battle to finish all three seasons.
• Letterkenny, Hulu (season 9): I love this Canadian comedy and was super excited for a new season, but flew through all seven episodes in one sitting and now it’s gone again. Pitter Patter.
• Disenchantment, Netflix (part 3): Matt Groening’s medieval cartoon series is more Futurama than Simpsons, but the trio of Bean, Elfo and Luci make me laugh. Similar to Letterkenny, season/part 3 was over way too fast.
• Lupin, Netflix (season 1, part 1): Another foreign language Netflix original (France), this mystery thriller with subtitles demands attention. With only five episodes online now (out of ten shot for season one), it’s a quick watch. Cliff hanger warning: hopefully the second half of the season gets released soon so we can find out what happens to Omar Sy’s excellent character Assane Diop.
• Kim’s Convenience, Netflix (seasons 1-4): this Canadian comedy series set in Toronto has some of the best husband-wife and parent-child jokes of any show we’ve watched. Almost done with season four (and very happy to read there will be at least two more seasons coming).
• Night Stalker, Netflix: The New York Post (of all places) said this four-part true crime documentary about serial killer Richard Ramirez was “too graphic,” but we found it very interesting. I believe most of this happened while Colleen and I were in high school, but I only had a vague recollection of the case.
• Snowpiercer (movie): This 2013 science fiction thriller was on my watch list for a long time, as part of our recent Bong Joon-ho kick (Parasite, Okja, The Host). Can’t remember which service it popped up on, but we recently learned this is now also a series on TNT (with two seasons).
• Peaky Blinders, Netflix (season 1): With five seasons of this BBC show available, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit the time to a period piece set in post-WWI Birmingham, but now it’s almost like a British Sopranos for me, to be honest. Will continue onward.
• The Aristocats: I like that Disney+ has almost all of the old Disney animated movies to watch whenever you want (no more “available for a limited time on VHS” crap). When I read that some of the old movies now have disclaimers at the beginning, I decided to re-watch this one first. More details can be found on their “Stories Matter” website.
• Behind the Scenes of The Mandalorian, Disney+: I know I just linked to something different on the Star Wars website, but the behind the scenes series on Disney+ is really good (after you’ve watched both seasons). This franchise is in such good hands: Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Carl Weathers, Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau (who was a guest on Letterman the one time I got to see it in person) all seem like such cool, dorky people.

Thinking back on how many hours I’ve spent watching these, it’s a good thing at least some were also spent on the treadmill…

UPDATE: Per Kid Two, *she* pays for Hulu and also said I forgot about Amazon Prime Video…

Man, after-work drinks taste so much better than instead-of-work drinks…

Damn I love Duluth

HBO + Candyland

Did you know that China’s having a shortage of ninjas?

https://www.startribune.com/from-play-ball-to-play-bally-s-sinclair-betting-on-legal-gambling-to-boost-viewership/573452881/

I’m Mister White Christmas, I’m Mister Snow. I’m Mister Icicle, I’m Mister Ten Below…

With the whole fam too

My favorite pandemic time killers (alphabetical):

• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Fargo
• The Mandalorian
• Ozark
• The Queen’s Gambit
• Schitt’s Creek
• Ted Lasso

Any others I should start? Better Call Saul was good too…

Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Schwartzman (and so many other great actors)

Cue the outrage

From no coverage of the front nine to (perhaps) too much coverage?

…and The Child

It’s funny, but it’s also true

Ronnie, gentle reminder, the line has been changed to I want to KISS you like an animal…

Ferda, boys

Gossip is the devil’s telephone, best to just hang up…

Trust me, people aren’t thinking about you the way that you’re thinking about you…

Um, what the hell, Mickey?

Welcome to the real world, jackass!

Every human relationship can be adjusted with the right amount of money…

Everybody counts or nobody counts…

Baby Groot, do me a favor. Keep my name out of your little tree mouth, before I snap you like a twig…

Mood.

The boat no longer goes to Loserville!

Sweargen, you cock-sucka

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Regina-Spektor-Youve-Got-Time-OITNB-Theme-Song-Video-46425999

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/tw2ltp/chappelle-s-show-wu-tang-financial—uncensored

So much is said in silence…

Now we just need a win over Oakland

It’s scotch whisky… Glenlivet, single malt. When you die, you’ll go to heaven, say hello to God; and when God says hello to you, this is what you’ll smell on his breath…

He’s just some angry old man who hates joy…

That was some good TV sportsball

What, you think I’m stupid? I’m not a part of your system. My dad’s not a phone, duh!

From the handshake line to the booing of Bettman and the handoff of the trophy

Spokane visit or Stranger Things audition?

These are sweet

The big woman still here?

People have said a lot of thing about the Masters over the years, but the ability to follow Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia for their entire first round in HD on my AppleTV with no commercials, announcers that don’t scream and silence the majority of the broadcast (aside from the birds chirping) is about as good as sports TV gets, in my opinion. Add in a work-from-home snow day blizzard outside (with wife and daughter safely inside) + hot pizza from across the street + new levels in Two Dots = my favorite day in weeks.

They were like little movies, which is what I was always trying to do: A little movie every week…

I really don’t know how to describe it. It was like the turkeys mounted a counter-attack. It was almost as if they were…organized!

Word on the street was bad for Disenchantment, but I really liked it (plus music by Mark Mothersbaugh!)

Come on, Tim, wow us

Have you turned it off and back on again?

Thanks a lot, Simpsons

Back in my high school days, I had the option to take more than your average amount of history classes: Ancient Civilizations, Western Civilizations, American Experience. St. Paul Central’s Quest program was an early precursor to AP and IB type coursework and Mr. Demers, the history teacher, was one of my all-time favorites. I also was a fan of geography, so when you mixed in the opportunity to travel that my mom’s work allowed, history literally came alive for me.

This past week I’ve been watching the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick ten-part documentary on the Vietnam War. It amazes me how much I didn’t know about this historical event that played out during my lifetime – especially since my father participated in it directly (and it’s the reason I’m not a native Minnesotan). Now I’m looking forward to lunch with him and having an opportunity to ask questions about a topic we’ve never really discussed much (something I wish I’d done with my grandfather and World War II).

I found it interesting to see so many similarities between then and now politically. We like to think that our current environment is the most divisive ever, but this has really been America for a long time. As Thomas Polgar, the Saigon station chief for the C.I.A. wrote in his last cable from the embassy: “Those who fail to learn from history are forced to repeat it. Let us hope that we will not have another Vietnam experience and that we have learned our lesson.”

Note to self: research how so many Midwest politicians rose to play such prominent roles during this period of history (Humphrey and McCarthy in Minnesota, McGovern in South Dakota).

Silence is one of the greatest gifts we have…

Garry was the Prince of comedy…

White people with beards, they ruined everything…

Bob Hope makes an appearance at the Minneapolis VA

https://www.today.com/video/this-year-s-super-bowl-stadium-flexes-its-high-tech-muscles-1153401411949

This made me laugh

The 2017 British Arrows Awards, Minneapolis

Games 15 through 21

This weather, though…

Stranger Things 2 marathon for kid one

Was this really a brand (and did Red Dwarf steal it)?

Everyone wants to be the pickle jar hero…

You think you’re fooling anyone with that topknot?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/entertainment/game-of-thrones/?hpid=hp_no-name_graphic-story-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

Too hot, but had to get the T-shirt (not pictured)

We’re sinking down deep in the mud, and the fucks are at it again!

Taller windows; bigger TV

http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/david-letterman-in-conversation.html