Category: Watch

Watched Look up! There's an emu in the sky | Duane Hamacher at TEDxNorthernSydneyInstitute by Dr. Duane Hamacher from TEDx Talks | YouTube

A trained astrophysicist, Dr Duane Hamacher is a lecturer in the Nura Gili Indigenous Centre at the University of New South Wales. After studying planets orbiting other stars for two years, his interest in the crossroads of science and culture was too great and he decided to complete a PhD in Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University. He researches in how navigating the boundaries between Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science can show how these ways of understanding the natural world are beneficial to both.

For those who appreciated Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass and want to delve further into Indigenous science, I’m recommending Duane Hamacher and co-authors’ book The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders Read the Stars (Allen & Unwin, 2022). This video seems to be a pretty solid, short primer of what to expect.

I’m personally interested in reading/learning about these areas above and beyond the primary education levels which are presented here.

Watched "Ghosts" Sam's Mom from Paramount+
Sam's Mom: Directed by Katie Locke O'Brien. With Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock. Sam and Jay travel to where Sam's mother, Sheryl (Rachael Harris), died to see if she's now a ghost. Also, Sasappis divulges a secret to his fellow ghosts that he overheard Sam and Jay discussing.
Nice to see an episode move out and away from the main setting of the house, but it’s not really bringing the funny.
Watched "Ghosts" Who Do You Think You Are? from HBO Max
Who Do You Think You Are?: Directed by Tom Kingsley. With Lolly Adefope, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas. Cash-strapped Alison and Mike think their dreams have come true when they inherit a grand country house, unaware that it's falling apart and teeming with the ghosts of former inhabitants.
Watching the credits of the American remake, I noticed the British roots and had to go back to see the source material. Perhaps not too shockingly, it’s an almost exact remake. The chamber maid has turned into a flower child and the caveman(?) has turned into a Viking, but almost everything in the original has been moved directly into the remake. 

Poorly reflecting on the remake, I think the original is actually funnier, though I do like the Viking character in the remake more.

I was a bit surprised to find the original airing on HBO Max instead of BritBox.

Watched "Ghosts" Alberta's Fan from Paramount+
Alberta's Fan: Directed by Nick Wong. With Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock. Alberta is thrilled when a super-fan visits the mansion; Thorfinn convinces Hetty to go on a walk that would hopefully spark a special memory.
I was waiting for the hammer to fall on this one and it went the other direction. 
Watched "Ghosts" D&D from Paramount+
D&D: Directed by Nick Wong. With Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock. After Jay is kicked out of a Dungeons and Dragons game with his city friends, Sam agrees to facilitate a new one between him and the ghosts; Isaac confronts his feelings for Nigel, a ghost from whom he's been keeping a gigantic secret.
This show isn’t good at handling the vast amounts of context that Jay is missing in the conversations with the ghosts. He just sits there not showing how uncomfortable things really must be for himself and it makes him seem so much less human.
Watched "Tattoo Redo" Hot Mess, Spicy Bets from Netflix
Hot Mess, Spicy Bets: With Matt Beckerich, Rose Hardy, Miryam Lumpini, Tommy Montoya. Twig gives a silly chile a spicy makeover, Matt replaces Michael Jackson's glove with a rose, and Tommy vanquishes a quote from "Gladiator."
The second episode isn’t any better. The artists’ work is great, but there’s not any real drama or surprise here.
Watched "Tattoo Redo" Who's Ready to See Some Bad Tattoos? from Netflix
Who's Ready to See Some Bad Tattoos?: With Matt Beckerich, Rose Hardy, Miryam Lumpini, Tommy Montoya. Matt transforms a black blob into a bouquet, Tommy Montoya gives a raunchy quote a skull and 'shrooms redo, while Rose tackles a tribute to an ex.
Lowest common denominator television. Watching out of morbid curiosity.
Watched “Shetland” Red Bones: Part 2 from BritBox
Directed by Peter Hoar. With Gemma Chan, Steven Robertson, Douglas Henshall, Alison O'Donnell. With two murders and no strong leads, can Perez apprehend the suspect before crowds descend on the Shetland Islands for Up Helly Aa, the biggest fire festival in Europe?
The Up Helly Aa could have been used to up the stress and tension even more than it did here.

While a good pair of episodes, I think I definitely liked the book better , especially for building character.

Watched “Shetland” Red Bones: Part 1 from BritBox
"Shetland" Red Bones: Part 1 Directed by Peter Hoar. With Sandra Voe, Douglas Henshall, Erin Armstrong, Steven Robertson. As DI Jimmy Perez investigates the murder of an elderly lady who is shot dead outside her croft, he finds evidence of a massive, bitter dispute between two families.
Finally circling back to watch some of the earlier episodes that I either missed or only caught portions of on PBS airings.

Subscribed to BritBox just for this (and its new season) and a few other things in the coming weeks.

Watched "The West Wing" The Leadership Breakfast from HBO Max
The Leadership Breakfast: Directed by Scott Winant. Toby wants to use a bipartisan breakfast to discuss real issues instead of making it a staged event; Sam floats the idea of moving the press room across the street; Leo wants Josh to apologize to a columnist on his behalf; Leo and Toby realize they need to start thinking about reelection.
Watched "The West Wing" Galileo from HBO Max
Galileo: Directed by Alex Graves. The President and NASA plan a TV event for a probe's landing on Mars; satellite photographs show a suspicious-looking fire in Russia; Leo asks Toby and Josh to decide on the next postage stamp; Sam and C.J. have personal reasons for not wanting to accompany the President to a concert.
Watched "The West Wing" Shibboleth from HBO Max
Shibboleth: Directed by Laura Innes. Dozens of Chinese stowaways are discovered in a container ship in California; Toby looks to pick a fight over school prayer with a recess appointment; Thanksgiving at the White House sees C.J. in charge of turkeys and Charlie looking for the ultimate carving knife.
Watched "Breaking Bad" Felina from Netflix
Felina: Directed by Vince Gilligan. With Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris. Walter White makes one last attempt to secure his family's future, while also visiting some old enemies, during his final return to Albuquerque.
I’d started rewatching all five seasons this past year, this finally puts the cap on my second viewing of the whole series. Still solid, though it’s not as compelling as watching it the first time. Knowing how things turn out does dampen a bit of the excitement.