personal

Image from Pixabay because pretty.

Answer’s to Jo’s weekly questions over at Dreamwidth.

1. What would a perfect city be like?

Size about my city (Turku), but which feels like you're living in the deepest countryside with neighbors in your line of sight and have woods/natural-state-fields/river/sea just a minute away. All the houses are single family homes (no apartment buildings) but the maintenance is a provided service like in an apartment building, and all the houses are surrounded by a garden or other woods. But all the grocery shops and drugstore are 10 minutes walk away, and the city center is 20 minutes by bus with a hospital, restaurants and other services. Basically like Turku is now as far as distances and services go, but add woods into everywhere and around everything, and get rid of tall buildings and replace them with one story ones.

I'm not sure how that would work with the populaton numbers but I don't care! It's my dream. Country side in middle of and surrounding a city. LOL

2. What are some small things that make your day better?

When I have little more energy than my normal because that's when I accomplish things! The day I wrote this (which is not the day I posted this) was a good day: I've been both to shopping *and* I've done some cleaning! And I'm not still out of energy, and actually I think today is one of those days I have a ghost of an appetite making an appearance so eating doesn't feel as much of a chore as it normally does! Kind small things but also big!

3. Do you have a go-to band or artist when you can't decide on something to listen to?

Not a band or artist, but a few soundtracks: Star Trek "Amok Time" soundtrack, and the soundtracks of The Piano, The Last Of The Mohicans and The Leftovers.

4. Is there a TV show or movie that you just refuse to watch?

Reality TV, any and all sports, and anything with Jack Black in it.

5. What are you interested in that most people haven't heard of?

Star Trek tv series. Star Trek's not a thing here. Most people vaguely have heard of the reboot movies and maybe about some tv show called "Star Trek", but unless they're a scifi tv fan they don't usually know what I'm talking about. Fountain pens - they've heard of them, but mostly don't know that people still actually use them and love them a lot abroad.

6. What could you do a 40-minute presentation on with no (or very little) preparation?

Star Trek!

7. If you were dictator of your country, what would you do?

Force all the rich and well off people to pay their taxes just like the poor people have to. Tax planning (read: evasion) wouldn't be allowed anymore). Introduce basic universal income that would be enough to live by and that wouldn't be below poverty line. Stop the insane difference between a regular person salary and the business owners/CEO etc. salaries and golden handshakes etc. No one person could own salary/property/dividends etc. over 100 million put together, and also corporations would have limit too but higher. The excess would be taxed off and used to fund UBI and things such as public healthcare that benefits the entire society and not just the obscenely rich few.

8. Is there a product or service you love so much that you'd happily be that company's spokesperson?

No! I'd hate being a spokesperson for anything because I hate doing presentations and public speaking and being a center of attention for anything, so it'd have to be a truly fabulousty amazing thing! Which I don't believe exists in enough amount to overcome my loathing.

9. Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now (or if you're retired, the work you were doing prior to retirement)?

I'm not working currently and haven't since 2008 due to health problems. I think I should be on disablity retirement (because honestly, no employer will ever hire someone with as many absences and challenges with functionality as I have), but that's has been denied everytime. So I switch between long-term sick leave (months to a year), and unemployement benefits. But I'm a librarian by profession, and that's what I did before getting ill and I loved it.

I chose library work right from the start, it's the only thing I ever really wanted to do. I've also done general office work and like it fine too, so I'd be okay with having an office job too! Library because I love books and I love reading, libraries are great places, the library people just feel like my kind of people, there's interaction with customers so I get my social interaction needs filled that way. Libraries are also usually quite peaceful and quiet places to work and not as hectic as elsewhere, so before my migraine went chronic, myhead liked that. I also liked getting to teach our customers to use computers, which we did a lot and libraries still do but now with older generations. Also we put up all sorts of little exhibitions - art, books on a theme etc. Not to mention getting so see all the new books coming out among the first! I really like library work!

10. We have no control over where we're from, but do you wish you could have been from somewhere else?

Not really, no. When I was a kid I wanted to be from some place exciting like New York or Miami, or London or Cairo, or having a little more exciting parents - ie. ones that were so into going biking, hiking and all kinds of outdoor activities and excersices. To my mind that was boring and weird because none of my friends and their parents excersiced like that. But as an adult, I'm happy to be a Finn and come from where I come from and be who I am.

11. What are some things you've had to unlearn?

A big thing I had to learn, and had a huge impart in my life was that I can't do everything like a "normal", healthy person anymore. I had to learn to pace myself out, because if I didn't I'd pay for it in the evening or for the next week.

Also, all kinds of biases such as what society at large tends to think of a person who goes unemployed for more than a few months, or can't work because of illnesses or injury, because historically the view was that people who don't work are lazy trash, and some parts (read: right wing) of society still think that. And all the traditional thinking about sex and gender. All that is still very much a work in progress but I try to be forward thinking and inclusive.

12. New internet rules restrict everyone's free access to email, a search engine, and five sites of their choosing. To access any other site, you have to pay $1 per visit. What sites would you include in your five free sites, and what sites would you be willing to pay to access? (Sites you need to access for work-related purposes would be provided/paid for by your employer.)

Wow, what a bullshit plan!! As a poor person who's struggling to cover all of my monthly bills, that would stop me visiting pretty much all sites except the free ones and maybe one or two pay-sites in addition, and the pay-sites only maybe twice a month. It'd also severely, severely cripple my ability to follow news :/ I can't imagine that majority of sites would survive because I don't believe people are willing to pay for like 99% of the sites they visit. Internet would die. And/Or darkweb would burst with new people.

Also for Finland: all the government sites such as KELA, unemployment services, police, municipal services, banking sites etc. would need to be free to access as well because those services are very hard to get face-to-face or on phone and people's livelyhoods and things like paying bills and reporting taxes, getting IDs and passports and various lisences that are mandatory and required by police and various government/country/city instances etc. depend on online access to to those sites. All iof these services are expected/strongly recommended to be used online now! This stupid limit would cripple people-at-large ability use the public services as well.

So five free *purely* entertainment sites then: AO3, tumblr, my own domain course, my webhost's site, yle.fi... if any of these still exists then. I'm pretty sure yle.fi would be the only one of these to stay alive and maybe AO3!

13. Who inspires you to be better?

I'm not the kind of person who finds other persons to be inspiring because they're good or noble or something. Certain persons and artists can and do inspire me to try things, or encourage me to stick with it. That's the kind of inspiration and motivation I experience.

14. Is there something dumb or ridiculous that you did that actually turned out pretty well?

I'm sure I did some dumb-and-low-effort-not-my-best-even-though-I-knew-I-should-put-proper-effort-into-it things in school because I hated school but that actually turned out okay or even well because the other kids didn't have base skill in them like I did because it was a hobby of mine, or we did it as a family while the others didn't. Looking back the only reason I didn't get taken to task about them is that the teachers didn't know I could've done it better. But apparently it wasn't anything huge because I don't remember any specific instance.

15. What are the best and worst things about aging?

The best thing definitely is not caring about other people's opinions anymore! I'm so much more comfortable in my own skin now that am approaching the big five-o than I ever was in my childhood/teenage years or in my 20s.

The worst thing is that I can't trust my body anymore - it seems to be falling apart, revealing one chronic illness or pain after another. I can't trust it to do what I need it to do.

Image from Pixabay. Because pretty.

Answers to this week's question The Friday Five @ DW.

1. Do you buy and use canned food?

I frequently use canned fruits such as peaches, pineapple and those canned fruit cocktails (the salads, not drink) which contain several fruits. I also frequently use canned meatballs in brown souce and just cook rice, macaroni or spaghetti to go with it. Occasionally I also eat some canned tuna. Occasionally for baking/ice cream making, I use condensed milk and coconut milk/cream.

2. What is your favourite canned food?

Canned peaches!

3. Do you like some canned food better than the fresh or dried version of it?

Canned peaches!

4. Do you have a can that just sits at the back of the cupboard? has anything weird happened to it? or do you still plan on using it in the future?

I don't think so... too lazy to get up and check right now.

5. What is the weirdest thing you have seen canned?

Can't think of anything weird. I tend only to pay attention to what I'm looking for and ignore the rest.

Answer’s to Jo’s weekly questions over at Dreamwidth.

16. What’s more important: doing the right thing or doing things right?

It depends on the case. I tend to think both are important.

17. What do you hope never changes?

I can't think of anything that I don't want ever to change. Change is important and necessary.

18. What’s the best way to start the day?

Waking up on your own once you have slept enough. Waking up to an alarm clock and being forced to get up and go somewhere/do something immediately is awful.

19. Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully?

I think it's possible, but all parties must want it and be ready to work for it, to put effort in it.

20. Do you have a "and then it got worse" story? Will you share it?

Basically my whole health history since 2008. I've written a lot about in the tag/category "health".

21. Have you ever eaten so much of something you made yourself sick?

Not as an adult, for sure. I'm not sure if I ever did that as a kid? I sure did eat so much at times to feel uncomfortably full, but I don't recall ever eating myself sick.

22. What are some fun and interesting alternatives to war that countries could engage in to settle their differences?

Chess! Or maybe one of our Finnish weird competition such as eukonkanto (wife-carrying) or that competion where pairs tie one leg to their teammate's leg so that they now have only three legs. And then compete against others by hopping to endline. Those two are appropriately silly competitions!

23. What's the weirdest or rudest thing a guest has done at your house?

Turn on all the lights. It's also smart because I don't always remember to do it myself when I have people over (I usually only have a weak kitchen light on for the kitchen/living room/foyer. My eyes don't like normal brightness ceiling lights, they're too sensitive.) I'm so used to it that we actually laugh about it now, and I've straight out told everybody to turn on the lights if I don't remember to do it.

24. Do you swear? What's your favourite swear word?

Sometimes when I'm really pissed off. "Helvetin kuustoista!" is my favorite swear. I also might string together many swear words if the situation requires it: "voi helvetti saatana vittu kusipää paskiainen vittu paska!".

25. What fictional character is amazing in their book/movie/TV show, but would be insufferable if you had to deal with them in mundane, everyday situations?

Any loud, high energy person that talks all the time! There's a couple of them that I've often thought I wouldn't be able to stand them in real life but they're really fun in fiction, but I can't name one right now! And then there's Rodney McKay who I can't stand in fiction, and I doubt I'd tolerate them any better in real life either.

26. If you had intro music, what would it be?

Something that goes from bombastic to thoughtful and ends in a question.

27. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?

The Carrington manor from the original Dynasty, most likely! I love that house and the interiors that were shown in the original Dynasty. I'd also want a sort of rural look, with stone and wood and elegant, earthy colors. I'd probably do theme rooms, so the rooms would have different looks.

28. What songs have your completely memorized?

I'm not sure I can repeat lyrics completely of any song without the song playing at least in the background. But songs that I remember the lyrics as it goes on so I can sing to it? Hundreds.

29. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Computers.

30. What takes up too much of your time?

Nothing really. Unless you count my illnesses, which I choose not to this time.

31. What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years?

Have Crohn's Disease and migraine been cured/solved?

Answers to this week's questions at The Friday Five @ Livejournal

1. Do you have any big plans for the summer/winter (depending upon your hemisphere)?

Summer, and nope! I just focus is on surviving it.

2. Have you ever been or are you a fan of camping?

I LOVED camping as a child. Through my ages about 0-11 my family camped as much as we could during the summers - pretty much all weekends, and all/most of the summer vacation weeks (4) Mom and Dad had. We used my Dad's Union's camping area which was open to only Union members, and our tent remained up there all through the summer. Our friends would visit us there, and my two best friends would come and stay for a couple of days or a week a several times during the summer. My friends and I would have a little orange tent we'd sleep in, while Mom and Dad slept in the big tent. It was fun! The ocean was about 3-4 minutes walk away, the camping area was surrounded by woods and small hills. We'd go hiking - both just us kids and have adventures in the woods about 15 minutes to 30 minutes away in the woods, as well as all adults and kids going hiking together for whole day trips.

I haven't been camping as an adult. I'm sure my memories of it are overly romanticized.

3. Did you ever go to a sleep-away camp in the summer when you were a kid?

No! That would've been my nightmare! I hated school, so many noisy kids and just crowds in general... summers were my rest from the noise and discomfort of having too many noisy kids and crowds around me all day five days a week. I needed that solitude of having only my actual friends to deal with during the summer to withstand the school months.

4. What is going to be the high point of the fast-approaching season?

Food, absolutely! New potatos, strawberries, rhubarb, ice cream, cool summer drinks... I eat so much ice cream and drink so many cool drinks, because they taste great but also to help keep coo, refreshedl and hydrated.

5. What is your favorite way to beat the heat/ be warm and toasty?

Aircon is my favorite - I love grocery shopping in the summer because food shops are the that are cool/cold in the summer.

I'd love to have aircon at home but aircon is not a thing in homes here or in most buildings. Indeed, hospitals have been having problems during summers because they don't have cooling aircon. We didn't used to get hot weather for long (days rather than weeks) until about 15 years ago, so most homes have to invest in standing/table fans or those pump things you mount on a wall and that can be used both for heating and cooling if you want cooling in the summer. But in the future I'm sure aircon will be included in more and more buildings in the building stage or when renovating, considering the increasingly hot and long summers.

I just have to rely running my standing fan all the time, taking cool showers as many times a day as necessary and not toweling off, and also just wetting a towel in cold water and wiping all my limbs down with that to cool off. It doesn't beat the heat, but makes it survivable even though just barely IME.

Some thoughts about tv series I've recently been watching:

• 1883
• Arlene Martel in The Monkees
• Star Trek: Discovery
• Star Trek: Picard
• Murder, She Wrote
• The Endgame (Morena Baccarin)
• Bridgerton S2
• Law & Order S21.

Spoilers for many of these. Cut for length.

1883

Music was great, and it's available to Youtube. The series is well-written and beautifully shot, just don't watch it if you're looking for something uplifting or even neutral.

The show had IMO three main characters: Shea Brenna (played by Sam Elliott), a grizzly experienced old man who was the wagon master, James Dutton the founding father of the Dutton family from tv series Yellowstone, and Dutton's 18 year old daughter Elsa. Plus a couple more importan ones and a whole lot of background characters. The voice over POV narrative is Elsa's.

Wow. I can't remember the last time when literally everyone died - even two of the three main characters! Shea Brennan was suicidal from the very first scene he was in, following the death of his wife and daughter. Unlike in stories usually, he did not re-gain his will to live and joy of life during the journey. Instead he killed himself in the last episode, after fullfilling a promise to his wife he had made to himself. The 18 year old Elsa was shown to get severely wounded in the opening scene of the series. Usually there's a cure for this kind of character and they survive, but not this one and she dies a slow death due to infection. Really, there were like, I don't know, 20 wagons in the wagon train at the start and I think something like 50-80 people, and in the second to last episode, only three wagons remained and like maybe 15-20 people? These are very rough numbers, but really, pretty much everyone died! I think the only ones who came out somewhat happy at the end were Michael and Noemi, and her two sons. At least they found each other, and didn't die (except for Noemi's husband at the start) and in the end found a plot of land in Oregon where they thought they could be happy. But practically everyone either lost family member(s), friend(s), had a limb amputated or lost all their possessions whether it was to thieves, tornados or accidents.

The Monkees

I've been wanting to re-watch the first episode of The Monkees Arlene Martell (T'Pring From Star Trek "Amok Time") was in, "The Spy Who Came In From The Cool". I saw it in the late 1990s on TVTV/SubTV when it was aired, and being her fan enjoyed it a lot. And still do! I thought she had great comedic timing, I loved watching her in this. It also made me want to watch more of the early The Monkees episodes - I remember enjoying them a lot, but not the later ones. I got the same feeling as watching Get Smart! now, and no wonder - Gerald Gardner, a writer who wrote several Get Smart! eps, also wrote for The Monkees.

The Endgame

The latest Morena Baccarin vehicle. I looked forward to this, thought it might be quality television like Homeland. It's... not. Five episodes have aired, and seen first four. So far this is one of those shows, where the evil mastermind is so genious, that the good FBI agent being a total genious maverick is the only one can solve the mystery while everyone else stands around looking like idiots. All while the cases aren't actually that smart or complicated, and depend on the genious maverick FBI agent to latch on to something totally random and normal the evil mastermind said and realize that's a clue. Also, this particular maverick FBI agent is butthurt that after her also-FBI-agent husband and childhood sweetheart got caught, trialled, sentenced and enprisoned for serious crimes (I'm unclear exactly what the crime is, I can't remember if it's been said) and because of that that her supervisors are now suspicious of her integrity as well... apparently it's totally uncalled for for her bosses to wonder what, when and how much did she know about her husband's criminal activities. And of course, the genious evil mastermind and her husband are behind all of FBI-husband's troubles, and it looks like the three are working together for purposes unknown. And that the evil mastermind, a weapns dealer, might actually be doing all this to right some wrongs or something. The music (and the whole show) is terribly cliched and bombastic. And why didn't I use characters' names in any of this? I can't remember any of them! That's how memorable the characters are.

Morena Baccarin is always fun to watch but if she wasn't in this, I'd pass totally, and might decide to pass if the show doesn't get more original and actually smart, Morena or no Morena.

Edit to add: I had so much trouble getting through episode 5 and have zero curiosity about what happens in the next episode... I think I'm dropping this. So bad, so sad!

Edit to edit: Never finished episode 5 and formally made the decision to stop watching. I'll check the reviews when the season ends, and if it seems like it re-skins itself into something smart and compelling, I can always go back and pick up where I left off.

Law & Order (the original) - Season 21

The original Law & Order is back for season 21 after more than a decade off the air! Watched first four episodes now and had not realized how much I missed a Law & Order that concentrated on the cases and not the detectives personal lives. Or how much Benson's breathy whispering got on my nerves, or how much I missed cases that were other than rape-of-the-week. So far I'm liking both the detectives and their boss (and I've long liked all three actors, so that's a plus!), as well as the female prosecutor (not sure about the male one). Nice to see McCoy again too although I'm wondering isn't he old enough now that he should be retired? Can't wait for more episodes!

Star Trek: Discovery

Season 4 is definitely my favorite season so far! I LOVED that the big bad wasn't a big bad, but aliens that hadn't realized their mining tool was destroying planets with intelligent life who the moment they did realize that, stopped it. I liked very much that some attention was given to the minor supporting characters although boy was it done clumsily! DSC really isn't an ensemble show the way TNG and DS9 was. I also appreciated that Tarka wasn't evil either, just really messed up by grief. Booker's whole arc was predictable including his "surprise" survival by the aliens, though. I also didn't enjoy Michael having angst (Booker) once again this season. And it's getting really hard to care when every season features an existence ending threat. It's already stretching credulity that Discovery is always the only ship and these people are always the only people who could possibly solve it.

Just in general I wish they'd go for more episodic style in future seasons, maybe that would give the non-main characters screentime to develop as people beyond being props since they seem to insist filming them (showing reaction shots) like they're an meaningful part of the story while simultanously ignoring their presence for the most part. Or maybe I should just give up - but it's hard because I can see so much potential for telling interesting stories of these characters too! The other Treks managed it - why can't Discovery?? I've almost decided to give up hope on that potential, and accept that DSC will never be what it could be. Maybe my vision just simply differs so much from DSC TPTB's vision and maybe I should just accept that and try to enjoy it for what it is and ignore the potential I see? Something to think about while waiting for the next season.

Star Trek: Picard

I enjoyed all season 2 episodes, but I think they could've spent two episodes in the dystopian reality before jumping to past. It would've given time for the characters and viewers to really breathe and feel the oppressive athmospere, as well as have given Annika Hansen's husband more time to get suspicious of his President wife and how President Annika differed from Seven - now the suspicision happened out of thin air... or maybe we're supposed to believe that he's actually her handler or something, rather than a husband who loves her? Or maybe their marriage is just a political affair? Or just that everybody suspects everybody all the time? In any case, now the husband seemed suspicious the moment he first stepped onto the scene and there's no explanation given, or even to be inferred about why he got suspicious of her within minutes.

I also thought that the plot line slowed down too much in the middle episodes - feels like Raffi and Seven wondered around Los Angeles forever without nothing much happening. I didn't much like Raffi last season, I thought she blamed Picard for her own shortcomings and problems. I didn't like her this season eather, felt like she just thought about herself and kept whining about Elnor and her problems all through the series even though they had much bigger problems at hand like the whole future of the galaxy. And in the season finale when she said she'd like to focus on herself for a while - bloody hell, that's what's she's been doing all the time.

I loved the Jurati and the Borg Queen scenes, and once the Borg Queen started assimilating Jurati, Alison Pill did really great in incorporating some of Annie Wersching's expressions and movements to her performance.

It was fun to see Q and Quinan again! And neither were overused like Brent Spiner and his characters are.

Which brings me to the thing I'm truly disappointed and annoyed about: shoving Brent Spiner into it again, and again playing some Soong. I thought we left him behind last season (didn't love it then either). It's all done and over already! Give it a rest and give a some new actor a chance to develop a character. The Star Trek world starts to feel small when it's always an ancestor/clone/relative of an existing main character. I never want to see Brent Spiner in any way ever again in any incarnation of Star Trek!!! I'm starting to hate him, so much so that it's threatening my fondness for TNG!Data as well. Talk about riding a horse to death. Some other, new mad scientist would've worked just as well for his part in the plot. I guess maybe it was so that they could believable bring Soji/Kore into this? I'd rather they had left her out, I don't think her bit plot had any meaning whatsoever to the outcome.

I did enjoy and found believable the whole thing with Picard's mother and how it had affected him. I remember that when I watched TNG in the 1980s, when me and my best friend were only about 13 ourselves, that we both thought that Picard (and Crusher) was an emotional coward - that he was afraid to form deep, lasting bonds with any living soul. And we thought that he got a little better at it throughout the series, making at least a few good friends, but truly giving his heart and commitment to a person, nope. So this season just filled in the blanks to me why that is so, and I'm glad he got to work through it and open himself like that. And even though it's so very cliche a reason, I think it works because of exactly that.

Murder, She Wrote

I haven't watched this since it's original airing in the 1980s except for the one Jeri Ryan episode, and recently I decided to do a rewatch seeing as how it's out on Bluray. I'm about 10 episodes into the first season, and I'm having so much fun! Watching these eps brings my childhood mind - this was one of the tv series we watched as a family for 3-4 years (until my Dad died). It went on for so many years that I stopped watching in early 90s, I think right around when I moved to Helsinki for the library studies. My memory of the show is that we enjoyed watching it as a family.

Murder, She Wrote is what I've started to think of as "feel good murders" ie. movies and tv shows about crimes, usually murders, where everything is bloodless, light and care-free and you come out of each episode feeling like you've been well entertained and no worries in sight and no complex moral issues to ponder after. Where often the detective/crime solver isn't police but an amateur sleuth. I don't know if there's a term for that?

The only thing is... not being a little kid anymore and having been watching serious crime/murder dramas and cop shows and reading books about the same for about four decades since, I'm having some real problems with my suspension of disbelief! All the murder victims and/or murder suspects have been the main character's relatives/friends/relative's spouses/business acquintances so far. All the various sheriffs and cops investigating said murders have no trouble at all, except maybe for a bit of grumbling at first, having a civilian - a nosy old crime writer lady - butting her nose into their murder investigations. Usually while she should have been a suspect no less, or a witness at the very least. Instead, they happily tell her everything forensics found as soon as the results come in as well as everything the investigation has uncovered so far and happily defer the desicion making to her. And the cops leave the body of the murder victim unguarded while there are witnesses-slash-murder-suspects standing around it, important items such as the coffee cup the murdered person was drinking from or a musical instruments he was holding/using immediately before his mysterious death, aren't taken into custody until later in the investigation after anyone could have made them disappear or tampered with them. Just... it's ridiculous! So much! So many little things that if the police had followed at least a rudimentary procedure - not letting random people stick around the body after the police arrive, forensics teams apparently never around to gather evidence etc. - while not changing any beats of the plot or outcomes, but would've been so much less ridiculous. I don't expect them the search for DNA obviously, but if you don't look for finger prints... well! So yeah, as far as procedural side, it's best to turn to your brain off!

Admitedly I'm only half way through season 1, maybe it'll improve as the show goes on.

I don't think shows purely like these could be made anymore. Amateur sleuth who randomly butts in murder investigations while often they shoud also be a murder suspect or at least a witness and the police being a-okay with it. Police work shown to be so sloppy not because they're bad cops, but because that part isn't important to the nature of the series. Police work is taken much more seriously in tv shows today; at most you can have a civilian assisting the police investigator (like in say, Grantchester) in a semi-formal manner, but usually formally and on the police payroll. At least if a show is taking place in current time, because of all the need for technical access, need to control the chain of evidence, concerns with witness tampering, needing access to various databases etc... Maybe if it took place in 1980s or earlier, this sort of show could still be done?

But it's still fun watching Murder, She Wrote - it's so innocent, just like Bridgerton. You just need to be in the right head space to enjoy it because of the procedural stuff! Not to mention trying to spot all familiar faces that I remember either from old black and white movies or 60s/70s shows like Star Trek, Get Smart! (Hymie!!!), Soap or Battlestar Galactica TOS. Or actors that became well known to me long after their apprearance in the series such as Jeff Conaway (Zach Allan on Babylon 5). And all the familiar faces that I remember seeing a lot of in lots tv shows and movies when I was a kid in the 80s but never knew names of, and that have disappeared from my screen in the decades since. Real nostalgia!

Bridgerton - Season 2

Season 2 was a fun watch! I love how colorful the costuming is, and I enjoy the Bridgerton family a lot. They feel like a real family. I liked the modern music arranged classically they used in the dancing scenes, it felt livelier this way than if they'd used some real classic classical music. I though there were some pacing issues where things seemed stall as far as the main romance went, and I would have prefferred to see the married Kate and Anthony in their settled married life, without all the fighting and angst. But I enjoyed the season, and will happily see season 3 once it comes along! It's so colorful, bright and happy, real brain candy. It's just what I needed what with the last two years with covid and now the Russia and the war in Ukraine.

Lady Danbury and the Queen remain my favorite characters, and are joined by Lady Mary and Edwina. Although I'm pretty sure I so much like Lady Mary only because I've always liked the actress in all roles I've seen her, rather than the character because Lady Mary hasn't gotten to do anything except in the last two eps or so she had a proper scene or two. She's... just there. Usually in the background.

I LOVE Edwina - she's sweet, intelligent, emotionally intelligent, mature. When she realized what was going on with her sister and her own fiance, she acted immediately. I feel like Edwina would've been a perfect Viscountess for Anthony, based on what he said he was looking for. He totally deserved to be rejected by her after not being able to keep his eyes to himself even during his own marriage seremony but I'm angry her own sister and fiance put her through this. I want all the best things for her!

I don't like Kate much, or rather I'm indifferent about her. I feel like we don't get to know her. She dislikes the Viscount, spends her time arguing with him and that's the extent we get to know her. I don't even get much of a impression that she actually falls in love with him at any point - she just honestly seems to dislike him, but also is sexually attracted to him. Her confession of love to the Viscount was completely devoid of emotion and I felt like she only said it because it was scripted so. She also lies to her family, and keeps pertinent information from Edwina regarding her pending marriage to the Viscount - namely that she and the Viscount can barely keep their hands off each other. I also don't understand why Kate seems to be the head of the household and is making all the decisions. Shouldn't Lady Mary be the one in charge?

I didn't find Anthony the Viscount much of interest either although the actor brought some nice intensity to the role at times. I just didn't like that his problem was also basically daddy issues like the last season's love interest what's his name (where was he anyway??), although at least it was because his Dad had died suddenly and not because he was abusive. I didn't like that he disrespected Edwina by going to marry her while emotionally cheating on her all the fucking time. And I don't believe for a second that he and Kate would've been able to keep their hands off each other much longer, marriage or not.

I find this season's couple unsympatethic because I found their characters lacking, and also there wasn't whole lot of emotion there at least on her part, and I having trouble seeing why he fell in love with her? Also their close-up horse fast riding shots were laughably bad. I chortled everytime during those scenes.

This time I could tell the three brothers apart, finally - although only starting with late in episode 2, and I only remember Anthony's name! Last season I couldn't tell Anthony and the artist brother apart - I thought they were one and the same person, and kept getting befuddled by "his" story LOL Last season it was so bad I couldn't tell Anthony and the artist brother apart even after reading there were actually two different persons and seing pictures of each and then being on the lookout for each brother while watching the latter eps. I'm still also a little weirded out because the artist brother looks clearly older to me so my brain keeps insisting that he should be the Viscount. But apparently the actors are both the same age, one just looks a lot younger than the other.

Daphne's husband's absence was weird - there were a couple of events he should've been attending with his wife, considering who they are. He must've been out of the country or something.

In general, I thought the parent characters were the most interesting this time around - the Queen, Lady Danbury, Lady Mary, Lady Violet. I kept wanting to see more of them. I also enjoyed their costuming the best.

Answers to today's questions at thefridayfive @ DW

1. Where are you right now?

At home on the couch. I just finished breakfast.

2. Where would you like to be right now?

Honestly? I'm good right here! In less than an hour I'll leave to have my hair cut short and neat again by hair stylist school's students, and I've been looking forward to it for two weeks! This is the first time I'm letting a student cut my hair short, and I'm a little nervous and a lot excited! I've had my hair dyed by them before and that went great both times. I've heard good things about all the services the students in the school offer, so I thought I'd try them even though I want to cut my hair really short again! If they mess it up - it's only hair and it'll grow back!

3. Where have you always wanted to visit (but have not yet)?

USA: The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone. Egypt: Cairo, the pyramids and a cruise on the Nile, France: Versailles and Paris. Angkor Wat in Cambodia...

4. What is the most peaceful place you’ve ever visited?

I can only think of my Mom and her partner's summer place when they still had it... it was always nice to be there because it was away from the city. Honestly, my Mom's garden is really good - they live in a small terraced house with only 15 apartments, and it's really quiet there most of the time (no kids and all inhabitants are middle aged or older), because the house is situated so that one side is a tiny forest, one side is a field, and two sides are the backs of town houses with gardens. It's like living in the country when you sit in the garden, even though there are two large shopping centers only 5 minutes drive away, and the town center is about 10 minutes drive away. But none of the sounds of traffic reach the terraced house, and my Mom and her partner's apartment is the very last one, so they're have it the most quiet of all. I love sitting in their garden in summer and just chatting; that's the most peaceful surroundings I ever experience. I myself live in an apartment complex with 4 houses and about 70 apartments by a highly trafficed road; there's always kids or other noise outside or just traffic so it's nice to get away sometimes :-D 

5. Where do you want to visit in your dreams tonight?

Honestly, I don't want to visit anywhere. Whenever I see dreams that means I slept badly, and sleep badly or not at all too much as it is. So I want a good, proper sleep.

I'm bored so have answer’s to Jo’s January weekly questions over at Dreamwidth.

January

1. After roughly two years now of living with various changes and restrictions brought about by the Covid pandemic, which, if any, measures do you think you will continue to do all the time?

Washing hands when I get home! Also using hand sanitizer if it's offered by the shops like it now. Not washing hands when I get home feels weird now.

2. When you are old(er), what do you think children will ask you to tell stories about?

I don't have children myself, nor do my friends and we're all closer to 50 than 40 so it's unlikely we'll have any anymore. I don't much like children and so have never been much around them, and I don't see that changing in the future. So I doubt there'll be children who'll ask **me** to tell them anything.

3. January 3 is Fruitcake Toss Day. Do you like fruitcake? Why does it get such a bad rap?

I don't think fruit cake is much of a thing here in Finland? There's never any on offer on cafes or when I visit someone (even as a kid), I can't remember ever seeing any recipes on Finnish baking blogs, and I myself have only baked it maybe a half a dozen times in my life time. It's fine and I like it but I don't think it has enough presence here to have any kind of reputation, honestly.

4. iOs or Android?

Android.

5. What do you do to get rid of stress?

My go to is to read a book, preferably something that makes me forget my troubles entirely for a while because I get so absorbed in the story. But sometimes that doesn't work, and that's when I do some mindfullness excercises.

6. How often do you binge-watch TV shows?

It's a rare day that I don't watch at least 2-3 episodes of a tv series in a row. That's my main way of watching tv shows these days, except for shows that I can't bear to wait to finish a season. I binge maybe half of all tv shows I watch.

7. Have you ever saved an animal's life? How about a person's life?

Nope.

8. Would you rather be able to see 10 minutes into your own future, or 10 minutes into the future of anyone but yourself?

I don't want to see into anyone's future, my own or anybody elses. That'd be terrible responsibility.

9. Would you rather lose the ability to read, or the ability to speak?

Ability to speak.

10. What Olympic (or other) sport would be the funniest to add a mandatory amount of alcohol to?

Donno, don't care. None of it is fun/funny under any circumstances, and alcohol would just make it even worse.

11. What do you think are three things that are pretty great or interesting about you?

I'm fucking patient. I'm artistic. I make actual websites (people seem to find that interesting!).

12. What's your favourite number? Why?

I don't have a favorite number.

13. Would you rather have all illicit drugs be legalized, or duelling between consenting adults be legalized?

Depends on the illicit drugs because I don't want them all legalized. Maybe dueling would be better to legalize - then idiots could kill each other off.

14. What movie would be greatly improved if made into a musical?

Donno.

15. What social stigma does society need to get over?

Unemployment.

16. What's the most creative use of emojis you've ever seen?

I don't think I've ever seen anything particularly creative? At least I don't remember.

17. Where do you get most of your news?

https://yle.fi and https://www.kansanuutiset.fi

18. In 40 years, what will people be nostalgic for?

Some of the current and older music. Slower, friendlier life style if the pace goes on like it is now.

19. Do you like reality/competition TV shows? Why or why not? If so, which ones?

Couldn't care less. They're just totally uninteresting.

20. How fast do you read?

Donno. Haven't timed myself.

21. Do you like classical music? If yes, name your favourite composer(s).

I do enjoy many pieces, but I don't have a favorite composer. I just like this piece, and that piece and I don't care who made it.

22. How often do you check your phone?

Too often! If I'm waiting for a message or a package I check it even more often, even though I know the phone will usually bleet out when I get a message/package status changes because sometimes it doesn't. Although I have no problems turning my phone off for the night, or ignore it when I do something else.

23. What is your favourite thing to eat or drink in winter?

Hot chocolate is my fave drink when it's fall/winter/spring. The only time of year I don't drink it is summer because I can't stand anything hot to drink when it's hot out.

24. If you could switch two movie/book/TV characters, what switch would lead to the most inappropriate movie/book/TV show?

Donno, don't have energy to think about it.

25. How often do you stay up past 3:00 a.m.?

On purpose? Rarely. Because of insomnia? Weekly, most of the year. Sometimes a have a stretch of week or two that Insomnia doesn't keep me up, but it never goes on for longer than 1,5 or 2 weeks.

26. If you opened a business, what kind of business would it be?

Specialty shop, with stationery geared towards fountain pen users so fountain pens, fountain pen inks and fountain pen friendly paper. Also stickers, washi tape etc. And because I love chocolate, I'd maybe have some handmade chocolates as well. I'd be bankcrupt within the year because a shop like that doesn't have enough of a customer base here.

27. Who was your worst teacher/professor? Why?

It's a toss up between two teachers. First one was my Swedish teacher in comprehensive school Years 3-6... I hated Swedish and didn't want to learn it, and when the teacher came into the classroom I always felt like the room went stuffy and dark. Later on I've wondered whether she was the worst because she wasn't a good teacher, or because I just hated Swedish so much.

The other was my biology/geography teacher in Years 7-9. He couldn't keep any sort of discipline (pupils ran around the class room during the hour regardless of what he said or didn't say, some read non-school books/magazines, nobody listened to him and talked amongst themselves instead, left the class 5-10 minutes before it ended - all this without repercussions). I had zero respect for him because of it. I and my friend were always nice and obeyed our teachers most of the time and never were rowdy or acted out - except in this teacher's class. We'd talk to each other like everyone else, didn't listen to him at all, one of us always had her back towards him to talk to the other because of how we were sat in rows. Yeah, no pupil in that school respected him.

28. Who was your best teacher/professor? Why?

My first English teacher in Year 7. She was strict and demanding, and you knew that if she gave you a good grade you really earned it. She was old and retired when Year 7 was out; everybody else hated her because she was strict and demanding and suffered no rowdiness or foolishness but I was sad. I liked her, respected her and she gave me a really good base to continue to study English.

29. If you are an only child, do you wish you had siblings? If you have siblings, do you wish you were an only child?

I'm an only child and have siblings. (I'm adopted, but have biological siblings whom I've never met and have no interest in meeting). I didn't want siblings when I was a kid.

30. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? If you don't use top sheets, if you stay somewhere that does, do you prefer your sheets tucked in or out?

Out! Can't sleep any covers tucked in - I feel trapped. And I also have to get a foot out when I get hot. When we went to England on holiday, I had heck of a time pulling all the coverings out because they were always tightly tucked in. It was frustrating having to have that fight with my bed every night!

31. Toilet paper: over or under?

Over!

Answer’s to Jo’s weekly questions over at Dreamwidth.

8. Would you rather give up all drinks except water, or give up eating anything that was cooked in an oven?

I could never give up baked goods, so I guess drinks other than water have to go!

9. What would happen if a maximum income of $500,000 (or equivalent in your currency) was implemented?

I would like to think the excess was used to spread it around so that nobody would have to live below the poverty line, but what I really think would happen that the well-off/rich would just find a way around it just like they now find ways around paying their taxes.

10. If extra-terrestrials ever made first contact with us, would you prefer they be robotic or organic?

I think organic... because I think there'd be a huge change that robotic intelligence would see us (humanity) as a illogical scourge to be abolished whether it's to save the planet and nature, or to mine the planet for metals etc. they need is just a toss of a coin.

11. When was the last time you worked incredibly hard?

Incredibly hard? I'm not sure I've worked **incredibly** hard since my school days so 30+ years ago. Hard? Yes, every year at some point when I get fed up with having so medications to take and having to keep track of my symptoms, but so far that hasn't crossed into the realm **incredibly hard**.

12. Do you know someone who really reminds you of a character in a TV show, movie or book?

Not a character, but my cousin when she was young sometimes looked like then-young Jon Bon Jovi when she smiled/grinned in a certain way.

13. What is the most annoying thing about the social media platform you use most often?

It's a toss up between shouting into void (my posts) and finding new posts relevant to interests because algorythim throws up old (popular) posts up.

14. Do you have nicknames for people in your life (not including nicknames or code names that you might use on social media for privacy reasons)?

Nope.

15. What or who has taught you most of the information you use regularly?

I read every day and everything I use/do regularly is in one way or another based on being able to read well. My parents taught me the basics of reading, and school went on to to teach more. School also as schooled me in the the basics of society and what a citizen (in theory) can find and apply/achieve/reach for. And especially library studies taught me how to look for further information when I need it.