Currently Watching?

[Ruby]

^^I watched the series. It was perhaps not as in depth as I was expecting, in terms of the psychological and physical effects of a year in space - a little bit sanitised IMHO. That's ok though - it still went into a fair amount of detail and it's interesting to see footage from Kazakstan - of Star City, and the Soyuz base - what a harsh environment. Scott Kelly is the US astronaut (Mikhail Kornienko the cosmonaut) and he has an identical twin brother, also an astronaut, so there would have been plenty of studies done on the differences a year on earth vs a year in space makes in each one which wasn't really gone into at all. (I read afterwards that his DNA changed by 7%.) You must have to be mentally extraordinarily tough to get through 340 days on board the ISS - the ultimate isolation. Aside from the obvious, they miss the simple things, like the smells of earth, opening a tap - being able to sit at a table to eat. There was also some old footage of the first ever space walk by Aleksey Leonov, and some comment from him. Those cosmonauts are revered and spoken of as heroic but by the looks of things don't receive any special treatment or compensation for their heroism - very modest accommodation, etc., on the surface, at any rate. Quite fascinating to see how Russia almost seems to be in a time warp in some respects. Worth a watch if this sort of thing appeals to you.

[Jerome]

And let's not forget Laika. Without her ultimate sacrifice humans would never have made it up there at all. Three dogs were chosen for the program. Unfortunately for her. Laika was deemed the most suitable.

[Ruby]

^Yes - pretty heart wrenching to think of and lousy that animals are used for testing. I don't buy/use products that have been tested on animals, as far as I am aware - can't bear the thought. The cosmetics industry has a lot to answer for.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
I have so got to watch that Ruby.

LOL, Jerome.

on animal testing,
Paul McCartney has been an outspoken advocate for boycotting companies who practice experimentation on animals
since the late 1970s, well before it was cool/in vogue to jump on the bandwagon.

it took him till the 1990s to actually write a song about it:

"looking for changes" (lyrics)

I saw a cat with a machine in his brain
The man beside him said he didn't feel any pain
I'd like to see that man take out that machine
And stick it in his own brain
You know what I mean. 

I saw a rabbit with its eyes full of tears
The lab that owned her had been doing it for years
Why don't we make them pay for every last eye
That couldn't cry its own tears
Do you know what I mean.

When I tell you that we'll all be
Looking for changes (oh oh)
Changes in the way we treat our fellow creatures
And we will learn how to grow
Learn how to grow, grow, grow

I saw a monkey that was learning to choke
A guy beside him gave him cigarettes to smoke
And every time that monkey started to cough
The bastard laughed his head off
Do you know what I mean.


When I tell you that we'll all be
Looking for changes (oh oh)
Changes in the way we treat our fellow creatures (oh oh)
And we will learn how to grow

[CRAZY-HORSE]

so Pee'd off right now...
had finished season 11 of Big Bang Theory knowing there was one last season to go.
that season aired on TV last year and guess what?....Netflix hasn't got it yet so ive binged eleven seasons and unable to watch the final season...!!!!

so now im awaiting that one, the next season of Lucifer and also Stranger Things...
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on a brighter note:



also watched the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal for the first time in years.
Dani hadn't seen it but it was worth a second viewing.

the Wiki:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminal

movie was loosely based on the true story of an Iranian refugee who ended up at Charles De Gaulle Airport in 1988:
the Wiki on the true story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminal

plot:

set in NYC Internationl Airport.
Hanks, from a fictional Eastern Block country arrives just as civil war breaks out in his homeland.
the US refuse him entry because they don't recognise the now government, likewise no one can travel there
for the same reason.
Hanks has to stay in the terminal until the political unrest is sorted.

a feelgood movie about the hope and the determination of the human spirit over adversity.
theres laughter, sadness, hope and loss, often at the same time.

rating: 3.5/5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

started watching The Mist tv series this afternoon.
the movie based on the Stephen King novella was very good, superb ending also.
a lot of differences between that and this series so far (two episodes in)...

[CRAZY-HORSE]

finished watching The Mist series today (one season, ten 45 minute episodes).
I thought it was one of the better Stephen King adaptations but it was cancelled after one season.
the ending obviously left it open for another season but it also left it for the viewer to make up their own mind in hindsight.
would have liked the makers to just make another movie length episode to tie up the loose ends but it is what it is..

a lot of similarities with The Stand but that's the way King rolls.

Rating: 4/5 from me despite the lack of ending.
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also watched one episode of Star Trek Original Series, season II today.
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two walks again today one around dawn and another around dusk.
that's my routine since the local swimming pools closed six or so weeks ago due to C-19, and being diabetic I have to exercise to stop
excess weight and control my BSL's.

[Ruby]

^So lucky you can go out and walk. Not even isolated walking/exercising is allowed for now. I will definitely be going for a very long walk on the beach as soon as we are granted parole. 


I watched The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. It's about a young Malawian boy, William Kamkwamba, who had an interest in engineering and was always tinkering around with bits and pieces he found at the local dump. This, his persistence, and his ability to see the bigger picture result in him being able to find a solution to getting water to beleaguered crops. Malawi is largely undeveloped and he and his family live in a small, more or less subsistence farming community, subject to the whimsies and extremes of the weather which severely impede crop production - it's nothing but an almighty and thankless struggle, an endless cycle of poverty not helped along by the usual corrupt government officials, nor by the short sightedness of the population themselves who are not able to see past immediate needs - who can blame them? Hunger is a dreadful scourge. 

This movie will definitely open eyes to the desperate conditions and food insecurity that afflicts so much of the continent. Plenty of Malawians end up in South Africa - they can only school their children if they pay the fees, which is why most come here - to be able to give their kids a better opportunity. Often, they themselves have not been schooled and don't speak English yet the chances of them making any money at all are so much greater here despite all the hoops they have to jump through, the menial labour, low wages and the sometimes terrible xenophobia with which they must contend. And it's a generalisation, i know, but those with whom I am acquainted are damned hard workers. 

Anyway - this is based on a true story and contrary to all the misery mentioned above, ends up being one of hope and survival albeit against fairly heavily loaded odds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Wh...d_the_Wind

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
have noticed it in my recommended list on Netflix but have just overlooked it.
i'll make note to watch it tonight after dinner.

on walking:
our Government is allowing people to 'exercise/walk' as long as we all stick to the 'no more than two in a group' rule.
the Police and Rangers do monitor areas like parks/ovals, if you are seen in groups bigger than two they will fine you.
anyway, our Police said its safer to walk as couples, especially females.
I do try to go at first and last light like I mentioned as there are fewer people around.
theyre only short walks, around 1.5-2KM.
I generally walk to the local sports oval, do a couple of laps and back home,on weekends I try to go somewhere else like nature reserves,
the bush, walking trails etc to get a change of scenery and to keep motivated.
Dani comes with me once or twice a week for a walk, one of her daughter's will accompany me two to three times a week as she doesn't like going alone,

[CRAZY-HORSE]

action movie
stars two of my favourite actors, Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton
I don't by any means think either actor would ever be in line for, or deserve to get, an Oscar but Dwayne is always good value and Billy Bob has an aura, a presence, on the screen.

anyway.
Dwayne has just been released from a 10 year prison term and sets out on a mission to 'get even' with the killers of his brother, Billy Bob is the soon to be retired detective out to stop him.

Wiki:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faster_(2010_film)

Rating: 3.5/5
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followed by another episode of Season 2 - Star Trek, original series.