Syfy’s Ascension Jumps The Shark In Its Very First Episode

http://io9.com/syfys-ascension-jumps-the-shark-in-its-very-first-episo-1671860541

Meh.  I don’t need another police procedural in a fish bowl. Ugh.

I began to suspect something was extremely fishy within the first couple of minutes.

If it was really early 1960s, then the examining doctor would not be wearing blue latex gloves.

Once we the audience ‘knew’ Ascension was a spaceship, my first thought was the microgravity problem. No spinning section yet people are walking around and using elevators like it’s a skyscraper.

And when a prisoner is locked in a cell it included a very modern shiny stainless steel sink and toilet combo.

The ‘Big Reveal’ arrived in the last minute, and sealed my dislike for this show.

Where are the explorers and scientists?

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Update Mid-Afternoon:  And this show gets negative marks for the role of women in this ‘society.’  I find it extremely hard to believe that a society would be so locked in time (early to mid 60s) and not change little if any in fifty years.  For better or worse, some change would occur.  And there would be considerable wear and tear on the physical media: books, magnetic tape, film, vinyl, etc.  Most spaceship environments are also quite damp, which would have caused mold and mildew issues.  I wonder home many cathode ray tubes had to be provisioned as well as vacuum tubes.

BigRead: Veteran Panel Discussion Video

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwkpP9RW-I?rel=0]

 

I had the pleasure of attending the Big Read Veteran Panel Discussion this past Tuesday at City Hall in Lansing, Kansas, a signature event for the Lansing Community Library‘s “The Things They Carried” Big Read.   Continue reading “BigRead: Veteran Panel Discussion Video”

Queen City Musicians: Support Rachelle Moss

Reposting this in a non-Facebook location for friends and family who do not have Facebook accounts.  For those of you new to my blog, Rachelle is my daughter.

Queen City MusiciansRachelle Moss, Mezzo-Contralto

Become a Musicians Friend by supporting one of our musicians for our January performance.

RACHELLE MOSS, $150*

SUPPORT RACHELLE at this link: https://www.crowdrise.com/queencitymusicians

Rachelle Moss is an American mezzo-contralto. She has been praised for her warm and sultry timbre.She performed the Alto Solo for Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the KCKCC Honorworks Choir. Rachelle received a Bachelor’s in Music History and Master’s in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas.

During the summer of 2013 Rachelle worked with Spotlight on Opera in Austin, Texas. She portrayed Madame Larina (Eugene Onegin) and Gertrude (Romeo et Juliette) in scenes programs, and covered both Mama McCourt (The Ballad of Baby Doe) and Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia). Immediately following her return to North Texas, Ms. Moss sang the part of Maddalena in the Rigoletto Quartet for Verdi’s 200th Birthday at the University of North Texas.

Rachelle Moss now resides in Gig Harbor, Wa.

To read more about Rachelle:  http://rachellemoss.blogspot.com/p/biography.html

*6 days of rehearsal as chorus, two performances.

Looking Like Christmas in Kansas City

You can always count on Hallmark and Crown Center to pull out all the stops at Christmas time.  I drive through the heart of Crown Center twice a day during my commute.  The December mornings are especially pretty in the pre-dawn darkness:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/mossjon/93qF0V
Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center (Dec 2014)

Continue reading “Looking Like Christmas in Kansas City”

Porthos Update: Walking

Porthos playing after his first bath.
Porthos playing after his first bath.

This past weekend wasn’t quite as rough as the previous one.  Porthos has fully recovered from his upper respiratory infection and is now eating like the Rottweiler I knew he was (i.e., if there’s a bowl of dog food handy, he will snarf it or inhale it, whichever is faster).  Terry is still recovering from his viral mishap, so we didn’t do much besides sleep and watch television.

I did manage to get Porthos and Lexy out for walks on Sunday afternoon.  Saturday was too miserable (cold and damp and sometimes drizzly) to walk or even let them in the backyard.  Sunday was still overcast but at least not wet.

I walked Lexy first so she wouldn’t feel slighted.  She did her usual amble around the neighborhood.  She really doesn’t like walking back among the houses, where I feel ‘safer’ or less worried about traffic.  Lexy likes to walk along the main thoroughfare into our neighborhood, which involves a slight uphill climb to where the Community Library and City Hall are (about a block away).  When we turned around and headed back north, I regretted not grabbing my ears muffs.  My ears were stinging by the time we got back to the house.

Continue reading “Porthos Update: Walking”

Introducing Porthos

My Thanksgiving break was supposed to be less stressful and more relaxing this year because Terry and I decided to 1) not travel to Texas and 2) not host relatives for dinner.  While my Thanksgiving day cooking was somewhat less stressful and not on any kind of set schedule (see last week’s blog post), my feet and back hurt quite a bit before we finished dinner and enjoyed pumpkin pie for dessert.  My only consolation was I didn’t do eight hours of driving AND cook for eight.

Continue reading “Introducing Porthos”