Whinges and Other Stuff

Time for a wee whinge! Why is it that when a new, updated, version of something arrives, although it might look slick and shiny it's never quite as handy as the older version? We used to find this phenomenon at work, many years ago when our computer programs were updated - by them as knew what they were doing - allegedly. We used to complain "Why don't they come and see how we use the flippin' system before they go and reinvent the darn thing?" I've had two experiences of a similar phenomenon this week.

Our new washing machine was installed, much the same as the old one, but now it's all electronic rather than, "mechanical" (as described to us by the sales person). I did a load of laundry straight away. Knobs and settings are similar to before. As the machine did its biz I returned to the computer, expecting to hear a familiar alarm buzzer telling me when the job was done, and ready to transfer the washing to the dryer. Nothing! Had I forgotten to adjust a setting? Research online turned up that there is no buzzer on this model to signal the end of the cycle. TSK! What a flippin' nuisance. That is something I'd have thought would be standard. It's easy to forget that the washer is washing when it doesn't make a lot of noise, easy to forget all about the wet stuff. Ah well, I got out a little alarm clock - next time I used the washer I set it for 45 or so minutes ahead. Anyway, black mark awarded to Maytag - this is not up to their usual standard of excellence. More of what's becoming known as "crapification".

Another instance of crapification: my replacement basic astrology software, to becompatible with Windows 10 has similarly frustrating omissions, especially when trying to re-size a chart to post on my blog. It used to be so easy! Now it ain't, this is the same brand, but it ain't nearly as good, nor as clear due to some pale colours which almost disappear on the screen. Alos, it's no longer possible to choose one's own colours. I don't blog on astrology very often these days, so it doesn't matter much, but it's still annoying.

I was going to do a quick astro-job on author Catherine Cookson's natal chart, after we had watched a TV dramatised version (streamed on Amazon Prime) of her novel "The Black Velvet Gown". I enjoyed the story - although it is very similar in style to many (or all) of her other novels read in my younger years. 'Nuf to say, regarding her astrology, that Ms Cookson had Sun, Mercury, Mars, and Neptune in Cancer, which made her a definite Cancer-type person - sensitive, empathetic and nurturing; this definitely comes out in her novels. She also had planets in Leo (limelight) and Gemini (communication), with natal Moon probably in Virgo (practical, organised) - but her time of birth isn't known, so can't be sure.

On the medical front - nothing to report, all remains much as was - except that it appears something has changed in rules regarding prescriptions for some pain killing medicines. Last year it was necessary to obtain a paper prescription, signed in ink by the prescribing doctor, the paper to be taken to the pharmacy in person - fax and email not allowed. It now appears that faxing these prescriptions to pharmacies is allowed once more. Less journeys to the hospital to collect prescriptions - that's good!

As regards my new (or re-found) knitting hobby, I've just finished a V-shaped shawl. It was supposed to look something like:

It turned out to be somewhat bigger than expected, though my yarn and needles were as prescribed by pattern and my natural knitting tension isn't exceptionally loose. LOL! It looks exactly like something that Riah, main character of "The Black Velvet Gown" was wearing in the north of England in 1830 something. The women wore a lot of shawls back then - or at least the costume department thinks they did. The lovely colour and subtle sheen of the knitted shawl doesn't show here - lighting not too good.

Music Monday ~ Champions

For the next few weeks an America's Got Talent spin-off (or sequel) of the original show - with the words "The Champions" added to the title, will be airing. Each week, past winners or runners-up of AGT proper, along with winners from "......Got Talent" in other countries (for example, Spain, Russia) will compete to discover who is "Champion of Champions". Voting isn't being done by viewers this time, but by panels of "super-fans" in each of the USA's 50 states - a similar system, I guess, to the voting system of the dreaded, and occasionally hilarious, annual Eurovison Song Contest.

I've always been a fan of talent shows, mainly singing shows, but we've also watched AGT fairly regularly through the years. A few singers or musicians are always included in these shows. My husband has tagged along, watched beside me stuff he never would've watched before we met. I have to say, though, my fandom has been wearing very thin in relation to The Voice recently - so much so that this year we didn't even watch the finale. It remains to be seen whether American Idol will meet with the same fate when it returns later this year.

Anyway - back to AGT the Champions.

Last week a singer new to America, Cristina Ramos, appeared; she was winner of Spain's Got Talent. She sang a great version of "Bohemian Rhapsody", and was one of two contestants voted through to the final.





In the previous week's show we saw, again, Susan Boyle. It has been some 9 years since Susan Boyle first came to the notice of people on this side of the Atlantic - and of most on t'other side too. America's Got Talent, in 2009, was her vehicle, her vocal talent was the power driving her. In The Champions episode she was awarded a "Golden Buzzer" by Mel B, one of the judges, for her rendition of "Wild Horses", so will automatically proceed to the final.

Here it is. If you'd prefer to miss the intros, skip to around the 2 minute spot.



I'd recommend also listening to her album version of the song, linked at the first link below, from 2009.

https://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/11/sunday-supplement-horses-wild-others-no.html

My first ever post about Susan is at:
https://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/04/susan-boyle-phenomenon.html

A later one is here:
https://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2009/11/susan-boyle-realising-her-dreams.html

Midweek Meander Around the Issue of 'Othering'.

I experienced some synchronicity a few days ago. Synchronicity was once explained by Carl Jung as being “meaningful coincidence”. A Quora friend had recommended to a questioner a very good piece by John Powell, from The Guardian:

Us vs them: the sinister techniques of ‘Othering’ – and how to avoid them.

I decided to read the piece. 'Othering' wasn't part of my everyday vocabulary. Snips from the piece will follow in a mo. Synchronicity occurred that same day when, towards the end of a slow trek, evening by evening, through a streamed sci-fi series (Amazon Prime), Electric Dreams, based on short stories by Philip K. Dick, we reached an episode titled "Kill All Others". There's a review of the episode HERE.

My nutshell synopsis: Philbert Noyce is a quality-control factory worker of the future, one of three in a vast factory powered by robots which needs just 3 humans when it once needed 3,000. Noyce is a decent guy, dislikes the hate speech being offered up by the single presidential candidate on offer - it appears there is in place a one-party political system. What we, in 2019 might consider to be hate speech is always capped by a catch phrase, also used frequently on billboards :
"Kill All Others".
'Others' were anyone who dared not to toe the line in respect of government edicts and approved opinions. No critical thinking allowed!

'Othering'.
That experience of synchronicity persuaded me to start scribbling! Following are snips from the aforementioned piece, plus one other article available on line. These helped to clarify, for myself, various aspects of 'othering'. Perhaps any stray passer-by might find them of interest too.

From John Powell's piece, linked above:

Humans can only process a limited amount of change in a short period of time without experiencing anxiety. It’s a natural human reaction – but how we respond to that anxiety is social. When societies experience big and rapid change, a frequent response is for people to narrowly define who qualifies as a full member of society – a process I call “Othering”. An alternative response is seeing the change in demographics as positive, and regarding the apparent other as enhancing our life and who we are. This is what I refer to as “belonging and bridging”.

Othering is not about liking or disliking someone. It is based on the conscious or unconscious assumption that a certain identified group poses a threat to the favoured group. It is largely driven by politicians and the media, as opposed to personal contact. Overwhelmingly, people don’t “know” those that they are Othering.

So while today’s global anxiety has been precipitated by globalisation, technology and a changing economy, demographics play a crucial role in the process of Othering. The attributes of who gets defined as Other differ from place to place, and can be based upon race, religion, nationality or language. It is not these attributes themselves that are the problem, of course, but how they are made salient, and how they are manipulated.

I am therefore particularly concerned with how Othering shows up in today’s power structures: how it is used to divide and dehumanise groups, and capture and reshape government and institutions. For society’s leaders and culture play an oversized role in helping us make sense of change – and so greatly affect our responses to anxiety...........

People don’t just figure out on their own that collectively they need to be afraid of another group. Leadership plays a critical role. Often people who have been living with one another for years are made to feel suddenly that those differences have become threatening..

So how do we respond to our collective anxiety today? Either we “bridge”, reaching across to other groups and towards our inherent, shared humanity and connection, while recognising that we have differences; or we “break”, pulling away from other groups and making it easier to tell and believe false stories of “us vs them”, then supporting practices that dehumanise the “them”......

If we are to combat the rising tide of extremism across the globe, we must actively create bridges across difference, and resist strategic exploitation of our collective anxiety. For when we bridge, we not only open up to others, we also open up to change in ourselves – and actively participate in co-creating a society to which we can all belong.

The opposite of Othering is not “saming”, it is belonging. And belonging does not insist that we are all the same. It means we recognise and celebrate our differences, in a society where “we the people” includes all the people.

From: Otherness 101 - What is Othering?

This psychological tactic may have had its uses in our tribal past. Group cohesion was crucially important in the early days of human civilisation, and required strong demarcation between our allies and our enemies. To thrive, we needed to be part of a close-knit tribe who’d look out for us, in exchange for knowing that we’d help to look out for them in kind. People in your tribe, who live in the same community as you, are more likely to be closely related to you and consequently share your genes. As a result, there’s a powerful evolutionary drive to identify in some way with a tribe of people who are “like you”, and to feel a stronger connection and allegiance to them than to anyone else. Today, this tribe might not be a local and insular community you grew up with, but can be, for instance, fellow supporters of a sports team or political party.

But there’s no doubt that grouping people into certain stereotyped classes, who we then treat differently based on the classes we’ve sorted them into, is a deeply rooted aspect of human nature. Intergroup bias is a well established psychological trait.

Poem by ― Kamand Kojouri (Goodreads)

“They want us to be afraid.
They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes.
They want us to barricade our doors
and hide our children.
Their aim is to make us fear life itself!
They want us to hate.
They want us to hate 'the other'.
They want us to practice aggression
and perfect antagonism.
Their aim is to divide us all!
They want us to be inhuman.
They want us to throw out our kindness.
They want us to bury our love
and burn our hope.
Their aim is to take all our light!
They think their bricked walls
will separate us.
They think their damned bombs
will defeat us.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that my soul and your soul are old friends.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that when they cut you I bleed.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that we will never be afraid,
we will never hate
and we will never be silent
for life is ours!”
― Kamand Kojouri (Goodreads)

I've highlighted two lines which I find particularly striking. We are, all of us as Carl Sagan wrote, made from stardust. We humans came from the self-same ancient batch of that stardust. Once we, as atoms and particles, nestled together on the shores of the universe. It is sad that we no longer choose to remember that, but strive constantly to divide ourselves, one from another.

Music Monday's Ups and Downs

We are currently making our way through sets of DVDs of that old British TV series from the early 1970s, Upstairs Downstairs. It's a far better series, in my opinion, than the much-lauded Downton Abbey - a series that might never have existed without inspiration from its predecessor.

For Music Monday, do take a listen to the pleasant theme music from the show. It was composed by Alexander Faris, who died some three years ago, aged 94. An obituary piece from The Independent is HERE.

The rather courtly, early part of the theme reflects the times depicted in Upstairs Downstairs - London, around the turn of 19th/20th centuries. At 1 minute 36 seconds in, there's a change of rhythm and a more jaunty, cheeky theme develops - an echo of the song, "What are we going to do with Uncle Arthur?"
sung in the show by "Sarah", played with much verve by Pauline Collins.




Clips of the song:

South, In the Pacific with R & H - "Who can explain it, who can tell you why?"

Last week, in a thrift store, I found a DVD of South Pacific in a version I'd not had the pleasure of seeing - a film made for TV in 2001. In this version Glen Close plays Ensign Nellie Forbush, the part played in the original, 1958, film by Mitzi Gaynor. Another well-known name in the cast: Harry Connick Jnr playing Lt. Joe Cable (John Kerr's part in the 1958 film). The rest of the cast weren't well-known (to me, anyway).

I thoroughly enjoyed this version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. It'd be hard to dislike anything by that well-matched pair of musical wonders! The themes of the film are based on parts of James Michener's book of linked short stories about South Pacific Island life during World War 2.

After reading reviews of this 2001 version at imdb HERE I suspect that I'm the only person with a good word to say about it - I'm easily pleased, I guess!

Glen Close, of course, was not quite right for Nellie, as originally written - but I found it easy to view the story from a slightly different perspective age-wise. It wasn't Glen Close's age that mattered to me, but I did find it hard to see her as an unsophisticated racist "hick" from Arkansas - we know her from so many other roles, just too well - and no amount of decent acting could erase our ingrained image of her. Harry Connick Jnr was a tad underwhelming, but perhaps that was how he interpreted Joe Cable. I'm waiting for the the book to arrive from e-bay find out how Mr Michener originally described him.

The singing and dancing in this newer version, while not up to the best stage musical level, were adequate. Rodgers and Hammerstein's words and music are of such high quality, and have magic enough to carry a less than top notch vocalist.

I liked the fact that more background detail of the war was included in this 2001 film - it kept things more real and properly oriented for me, rather than being completely swept away by the froth of the lighter side of the stories being told.

I read, on the net, that another re-make of the film version of South Pacific was in the works (but some five years ago). Names being thrown around, then, for starring roles were Michelle Williams, Hugh Jackman and Justin Timberlake. Hmm.

I was sure I'd done a post on Rodgers and Hammerstein in the past - they certainly had a magical bond - but on checking the archives - nope! That needs to be rectified. Below are their natal charts - I'm interested to see what astrological links there were. Richard Rodgers was the composer, and Oscar Hammerstein the lyricist, by the way. Their greatest successes include: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music.

A snip from HERE

As businessmen, R&H revolutionized Broadway. Rodgers and Hammerstein fully understood that the show is just half of show business, wrote business historian John Steele Gordon in American Heritage (1990). They became the first men from the creative side of Broadway to establish a permanent organization to handle the business side of what they created. In doing so, they built a business empire that earned them the first great American fortune to be based on creative theatrical talent.

Like ASCAP [American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ], which had been established a generation before, R&H wanted to protect the writer; that they were writers themselves made the duo especially sensitive to the issues. They both detested Hollywood because there the writer was well paid but stuck at the bottom of the evolutionary scale; but on Broadway, on stage, they knew the writer could and should have control over his or her work. Producers held too many of the cards, they felt, and the best way to wrest some of that control was to become producers themselves.

Richard Rodgers born in New York City on 28 June 1902 at 2.3-AM. (Astrodatabank)

Oscar Hammerstein born in New York City on 12 July 1895 at 4.30 AM. (Astrodatabank)

Both men had natal Sun in Cancer and natal Moon in Pisces. Hammerstein had Cancer rising, with Mercury on the ascendant angle (excellent placement for a lyricist!). Rodgers had Taurus rising, with Venus, planet of the arts in Taurus, a sign ruled by Venus, and in First House.

There are helpful links between Uranus (innovation) and Jupiter (expansion, publication) in both charts, trine for Hammerstein, sextile for Rodgers.

In relation to the link above describing this duo's building of a business empire - I look to Saturn in their charts and find it well placed in both. Rodgers had a trine from Saturn in Capricorn (it's sign of rulership) to Venus in Taurus - linking business (Saturn in Capricorn) to the arts (Venus in Taurus). Hammerstein had Saturn in Scorpio in trine to...yes Mercury on the Cancer ascendant - linking business (Saturn) to sensitive word-smithing (Mercury in Cancer).

It's not hard to see, astrologically, why these two were such a successful pair!

Law & Order SVU's Smart Casting

In these days of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Vudu and so on, we can have police procedurals, detective series, and law court oriented dramas coming out of our ears! They do tend to become wearying at times. One such, a long-established TV series, also available for streaming, never gets old for us: Law and Order SVU.

The pairing in SVU of Benson and Stabler (played to perfection by Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni) had a lot to do with the original attraction. When Stabler left the show we wondered whether it'd die a gradual death, at least on our own viewing schedule - it didn't! We still watch episodes of the series both on the USA channel, where re-runs are common, as well an occasional 'live' episode on NBC, or on whichever streaming source is offering 'em. For us, SVU is the only TV series with the "it never gets old" accolade.

I recently read the following pieces of trivia, but interesting trivia, about Law and Order SVU. See more in the whole piece at screenrant.com HERE

Hargitay & Meloni’s Chemistry was Instantaneous, even at Their Audition

Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay met for the first time at their audition. The final casting call was down to three women (Hargitay, Reiko Aylesoworth, and Samantha Mathis) and three men (Meloni, Tim Matheson, and Nick Chinlund). Hargitay had heard that a friend-of-a-friend would be among them, so she walked in, saw Meloni, who she didn't know, and assumed that he was the guy. She shouted the actor's name, and Meloni stood up and shouted his own name instead, in fake recognition. Since she was already standing, they ended up in a huge hug, despite having never met before.

She noticed the big tattoo on his arm of Jesus on the cross, and asked, hopefully, if he was a Christian. When he said no, she asked why he had the tattoo. "Just liked his commitment," he told her.

They auditioned individually, and then the casting directors started pairing up the finalists. Hargitay crossed her fingers, and knew as soon as they said, "Mariska and Chris" that they were going to make magic. So did producers; as soon as the actors all left, no debate was needed. They'd found their stars...

SVU is currently in its 18th season, and while Chris Meloni isn't on the show anymore, he's still tight with former co-star Mariska Hargitay. She's the godmother to one of his children, and they recently got together and posted a selfie on Instagram, making fans drool at the possibility that Stabler might one day make his way back to the show. Fingers crossed!

 See HERE

What about the astrology of this pair of actors? I'd already spotted that Ms Hargitay and I share a Sun sign in early Aquarius ( - see this archived post), but I've never posted her chart, nor have I looked into Chris Meloni's astrology until now. So....

Mariska Hargitay, born 23 January 1964 in Santa Monica, California, at 5.58 AM

Christopher Meloni born on 2 April 1961 in Washington DC, at 1.52 AM

Alrighty then...not far to seek for the key ingredients linking these two charts and these two personalities! His natal Sun at 12 Aries conjoins her natal Jupiter at 13 Aries; Her Sun and Mars at 2 and 8 degrees of Aquarius respectively, conjoin his Jupiter at 2 Aquarius, with natal Saturn conjoined, over the cusp from 28 Capricorn.

Natal Jupiter would appear to be key here to the 'chemistry' between the two actors. Additionally, in Ms Hargitay's chart there are 2 Yods (Fingers of Fate) involving Jupiter. One Yod links generational Neptune to generational Uranus/Pluto by sextile, then links both to natal Jupiter via two 150 degree angles known as quincunxes. The other Yod links Jupiter to Mars by sextile and both to generational Uranus by quincunx. What does all of that mean? "Proper" astrologers might differ, but I see it as more evidence that Jupiter (expansion, abundance, generosity, publication - of which acting is a form) is a strong "vibe" in her personality. Chris Meloni's Jupiter lay in his first house of self at time of birth, which puts Jupiter (along with Saturn (matters relating to the law) in the front seat of his personality too.

A passing thought unrelated to the TV series: my husband, anyjazz, has Sun in Aries (like Chris) and I have Sun in early Aquarius (like Mariska) - we gelled immediately too. His natal Jupiter at 23 Capricorn conjoins my Mercury at 21 Capricorn! My natal Jupiter at 6 Aquarius is close enough to his natal Sun at 1 Aries to be termed conjunct. Hmm! Yet many would still say astrology is nothing but rubbish!!

Saturday and Sundry Scribblings on Home Decor as Sleep Aid

During the last several weeks - months even - for various reasons I've had trouble sleeping. I removed myself from our bed, so as not to disturb the husband's sleep, and have taken to sleeping in one of the recliners we bought earlier this year, padded with a few pillows. As a sleep aid I turn on the TV, subtitles on, sound muted, watch until eyes signal imminent closure. I regularly choose a segment of something from the selection of documentaries or reality shows available via Netflix.

TV has become a definite sleep aid, even when I'm not trying! Earlier in evenings, of late, I've missed great chunks of TV series or movies we've been watching.

Among the jumble of sleep-aid stuff I've watched in snatches, in the early hours, have been episodes from a couple of series from the UK relating to house decor, sales, and how to best present a house when trying to win over the goodwill of potential buyers. I understand this kind of thing is called "home staging".

In one such series an American, rather over- bubbly, "house dresser" (Tracy Metro in "House Doctor") runs around different areas of the UK showing sellers where they are going wrong, then tarting up their decor, often in fairly iffy (to my eye) ways! It was nice to see a few of my old stomping grounds included though, as featured locations. Even a house in often ignored Hull was the star of one show!

In the other series a more down to earth estate agent, Sarah Beeny presents "Selling Houses". In each episode, a couple looking to buy a house in a specific location and price range, is featured. Three options of houses for sale are suggested. The sellers are allowed to critique one another's styles, first. Then they are given a thousand pounds to use on improvements to their decor and property, so as to better appeal to the chosen buyers. The conclusion (which I often missed) showed which house the buyers (allegedly) had chosen.

What amazed me more than some of the decorative style (or lack of same) in "Selling Houses" - both before and after so-called improvements - were some of the house (and flat/apartment) prices! Yikes! Admittedly the locations were in the south of England's "leafy suburbia" or one of the outer London boroughs, rather than the more down to earth (and pocket) northerly towns and cities. How do people afford these prices - three hundred and thirty thousand pounds + in many cases for a 2 or 3 bedroomed house, and just short of half a million pounds for a not all that swish apartment in outer London! These are in pounds remember, add around a third to translate to dollars. Jaw hits floor. The buyers (always supposing they are genuine buyers and not actors posing for this show) were youngish - in their late 20s or thirties. The mind boggles at the thought of mortgage payments !

The other thing I found surprising was how potential buyers fixate on wall colour, decor items, pieces of furniture. The latter will disappear entirely when owners move out, and the former are easily changed. I can appreciate that, in some cases, new owners prefer to move in with "nothing to do", but I'd bet that happens only rarely. We all like to put our own marks on our homes, and a few pots of paint will not break the bank. Ever the cynic, I wonder, could everything possibly be faked and scripted especially for these shows?

Fake or genuine, I've always had a soft spot for these types of programmes - I guess it's the arty farty streak in me. Years ago, back in the UK, I enjoyed "Changing Rooms" a then popular series with a house decor theme. Its presenter, who was part of the show's appeal for me, was one Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. He got himself in hot water more than once with house owners due to his outlandish style of decor. It was good to see him again a few months ago, somewhat older and a tad less flamboyant not, in this case as a sleep aid, but in a series of shows we watched: "Hidden Houses of Wales" (Netflix again). The series featured some historic houses in Wales, houses still lived in as real homes. The shows investigated the history of these houses, with current owners interviewed by Laurence.

Anyway, back to the point of all these scribbles...one of these nights I'll be back in bed, sans sleep aid - we have no TV in the bedroom. I predict numerous visits to bed and mattress stores in our future!

Saturday and Sundry Thoughts on the Outlander TV series, & on Two Battles

I recently bought a used set of DVDs, as a change from Netflix etc. These cover season 1, volumes 1 and 2, of the TV series Outlander. Any tale with time travel embedded, for us, is always worth a look!

So far we've watched only volume 1 of season 1 - and in black and white. The new TV set we had to buy when ours decided to go awry, has yet to be fully sorted out for use of our older DVD player. I do believe that, as I type, the husband has managed to do this, so volume 2 will probably be viewed in colour. I actually enjoy black and white movies, and lack of colour in volume 1 of Outlander didn't bother me at all - in fact I thought it rather enhanced the mysterious side of the time travel involved.
From the Wikipedia link above:

Outlander is a television drama series based on the historical time travel Outlander series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Developed by Ronald D. Moore and produced by Sony Pictures Television and Left Bank Pictures for Starz, the show premiered on August 9, 2014. It stars Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall, a married World War II nurse who in 1945 finds herself transported back to the Scotland of 1743, where she encounters the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and becomes embroiled in the Jacobite risings.

The second season, based on the novel Dragonfly in Amber, awaits - if we decide to continue.
We are enjoying the beginnings of this tall tale of time travel with a side of steamy romance, and background of history, fairly honestly reflected, so far. As we left volume 1 of season 1 the the epic Battle of Culloden was on the far horizon. Mention of the Battle of Culloden sparked my interest.

My maiden name was Scott, though I have not found any direct link to Scotland in my genealogy, and the Scotts in question were based in Suffolk, way down in the south-east of England. There are several theories as to how a Scott family (or even more than one Scott family) arrived so far south back in the 17th and 18th centuries, or earlier. One, among other theories I've come across, is that some prisoners from various battles, including the Battle of Culloden, were sent to Norfolk, in England, to work on draining the marshes there. Norfolk is a county bordering Suffolk. People of Scottish background, away from their homeland, were often referred to as, for instance,
James the Scot then, eventually, just James (or whatever) Scot(t).

My husband, aka anyjazz, in researching his family history, found that the earliest known ancestor on his mother's side was one Sander (short for Alexander) Milleson, who arrived in Massachusetts USA on a ship carrying prisoners, the majority of whom were Scottish, taken during the Battle of Worcester in 1650. Sander's name appears in the ship's list of prisoners, he is #178 on the 'John and Sarah' passenger list. He can be linked to other known members of husband's maternal family members. These prisoners were put into indentured labour for a number of years, and later released. Husband's relatives moved, eventually, into Pennsylvania, then into Kansas.

How erm...'cool' would it be if my ancestor and my husband's ancestor were Scottish prisoners from battles a century apart, sent off in different directions, one to the New World and one southward to England then, centuries later, courtesy of the internet, two of their distant relatives met and married?

Saturday & Sundry Favourite Actors

Couldn't think what to write about this weekend. Apropos of absolutely nothing then, sundry personal thoughts on actors in film and TV dramas.

These actors remain in my A-list whatever they do - I'll happily watch them in anything and everything:

Paul Giamatti

David Strathairn

Matthew McConaughey

Damian Lewis

Simon Baker

No diversity in my list, so far - all male (sorry!) and all white. But there's Danny Glover too - he was great in "Lonesome Dove" - my favourite character in fact - but he, unfortunately, was cast in Lethal Weapon movies with Mel Gibson, which I didn't enjoy. He has starred in some super roles since though.








Former favourites, who in my opinion were spoiled by the direction the industry has sent them:

Bruce Willis -compare Moonlighting to Die Hard and similar violent movies.

James Spader - compare Stargate (which he said he did only for the money, but it's one of my favourites) also his great performances in Boston Legal to ultra violent The Blacklist

Two newer (to me) faces I've started follow: Joel Kinnaman - I first saw him in "The Killing" TV series, and was impressed, then I sniffed him out in a variety of other roles - all very different- he's an excellent actor - one who doesn't simply "play himself" in every role.










And Jeffrey Dean Morgan (as he was in The Good Wife and a few other series). Sadly he has already moved off in the wrong direction for me, with his role in The Walking Dead.










Why don't I have female favourites? I'm not sure. I admire Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, am always happy to see Sarah Lancashire in any role - they are all British. Sometimes the tones of American female actors' voices irritate my ear - that might have a bearing on the dearth of 'em in this list. But let's finish with three of the best of British:

Saturday & Sundry Watchables

We watched, via Netflix, two movies one after t'other one evening during the week, and they unexpectedly turned out to have similar themes. Both movies had female leads - gals who, uncharacteristically, decided to take the law into their own hands:
Miss Meadows, and
I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore.

Miss Meadows has Katie Holmes as a young teacher with perfect manners, old world style, but packs a punch and a dinky firearm in her little handbag. She carries said bag a la Queen Elizabeth II, it's on her arm at all times. The story unfolds in both predictable and unpredictable ways.

In the film with the unwieldy title I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore Melanie Lynskey is Ruth, who is sickened by the human indecency around her. Her home is burglarized, the police are disinterested, so she teams up with her neighbor (Elijah Wood) to find the burglar and deal with him. It's complicated though. Things rapidly become far more dangerous than the pair ever expected.





Both movies belong to the genre 'black comedy'. Black comedy is a strange genre - I suppose a tag line for it could be "if we don't laugh we'll cry". There are a few wry chuckles available in these two films, about the characters themselves, rather than their actions, which is testament to the excellent direction and performances by all involved.


AND... for something completely different:

New on Netflix this month is Queer Eye, It's a re-boot of a 2003/4 show, back then titled Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. I remember seeing episodes of the old 2003/4 show on TV, in England before I left. We've now watched the first few episodes of the re-booted version. The show now has a new cast, five different guys, but the mix of personalities is similar. One of the five is very camp - fun, lovable; the others are less overtly gay, all are charming. In the 2018 version we have diversity, this was missing in 2004. One of the new five is black, another is British and of (I think) Pakistani background.

As well as making over their subjects' personal styles of dress and grooming, and their homes being given an attractive uplift of new decor, there's an added psychological element. This, for me, is especially interesting. Lack of self-confidence is tackled in the first episode, and in the second episode the subject is a police officer. He has a touchingly candid conversation with the black member of the five guys, about....well you can guess. It's affecting, especially so at the end of the show as they all bid farewell.

Critics might judge Queer Eye as just another tacky reality makeover show, but it has more potential than that - and so far, for me anyway, it is living up to that potential.

Music Monday ~ Earworms

Earworms! I have two at the moment, thanks to the theme tunes of a couple of old TV series we're watching, at the rate of one or two episodes per evening.

The first song accompanies The Guardian, first aired between 2001 and 2004, starring Simon Baker - I love to watch Simon Baker! He has a gorgeous face. There are times when he reminds me, facially, of the late Paul Newman - now he had a face for the ages! Simon, the guardian, is a very different Simon from Simon The Mentalist.

The earworm - by The Wallflowers:




My second earwormy tune: the theme song from British comedy series The Royle Family, aired originally between 1998 and 2000, with 'specials' from 2006 to 2012. This show is definitely an acquired taste, even for British viewers - and what American viewers make of it I cannot imagine - though my husband gets it, and enjoys many a belly laugh while watching it.

The show's theme song is sung by Neil Gallagher of the band Oasis.

Golden Globules

We actually watched 'proper' TV for a few hours on Sunday evening, instead of foraging for binge-worthy material on Netflix. Yep, it was time, once again, for distribution of those Golden Globules!

This year the show had a Feminism theme - "Me too" or "Time's Up" - not sure which, but both are shout-outs, to any would-be sexual harassers, that women in the workplace will no longer put up in silence with harassers' doings. Good thing too!

Women at the glitzy affair this year all donned their chosen uniform: black designer gowns, a few of of which, I thought, could have been a tad more modest, less enticing to any would-be predators! There was the occasional black trouser suit on show too, Susan Sarandon wore one of those.

I was very happy to see Frances McDormand and Allison Janney both win awards - two of my own favourites.

I was already determined to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri when the DVD is released - I've had the film bookmarked since I first read about in last September/October. Frances McDormand received the Best Actress award for her part in the film. Allison Janney received Best Supporting Actress award for her role in I, Tonya. We hadn't heard of this film, but after learning of its theme, husband is keen to see it, commenting "How on earth did they come to make a film about Tonya Harding?" I'd never even heard of this person. Apparently, Tonya was a figure skater, Ms Janney plays her mother.

Oh yes...Oprah and her speechifying. She was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award. I have never been a fan of Ms Winfrey, or her speeches - still am not. She's a good reader, wears those would-be intellectual heavy-rimmed specs rather well, but until she speaks out for all the underprivileged, all the homeless, all the jobless, all those in dire need in the USA, then I'm not impressed. She is a typical Establishment Democrat. Did she support Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primaries? No - to my recall only Susan Sarandon did that. That says it all for me. Case closed.