Day 236: It’s a cookie baking day! There have actually been several of these over the past week, but those took place while I was at work; today’s batch of gingerbread I was of (some) assistance in creating. They’re quite tasty, too!
Michael Hanscom
🎥 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023): ⭐️⭐️
Having now watched the purported fifth film in the Indiana Jones franchise, the best thing I can say about it is how glad I am that, much like Star Wars, the creators knew that they could never recapture the magic and success of the originals and never tried to make anything beyond the original trilogy. (Highlander also falls into this category, though it had a single self-contained story rather than a trilogy.)
Too long (that did not need to be a nearly three-hour movie, and tightening it down to right around two hours would have helped the pacing greatly), not nearly the humor of the originals, and felt very much like it was made due to cynical studio greed in an effort to pander to Gen X-ers rather than out of any real love for the franchise or strong belief in having a good story.
Really, the best thing about this is that I now know that when I get around to upgrading my Indiana Jones DVDs to Blu-Ray or 4K, I can just get the trilogy films individually and not bother with any sort of full collection box set. Might save me a little money that way.
Year 50 Day 235
Day 235: Classic vs. Old Fashioned: What’s the difference? Seriously, I haven’t got a clue — aside from different names with essentially the same meaning, they appear to be identical, even down to the marketing copy on the side of the carton (though I’ll admit, I didn’t do a line-by-line check of the ingredients). I ended up choosing by which one had the most forgiving expiration date.
Year 50 Day 234
Day 234: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number four: peekaboo Santa (the creepy ol’ stalker!).
📚 Storm Front by Jim Butcher
71/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
According to my reading history, I read this 13 years ago. I have no memory of this, even while reading it this time; and after reading it, I’m not terribly surprised that I don’t remember it. Not that it’s bad, it’s just…not really my thing, I guess? I’ve enjoyed urban fantasy, and noir, and noir urban fantasy, so I don’t think it’s the parts, but they’re not summing up as well as they have in other books I’ve read. It was entertaining enough that I’ll likely read at least another one or two in the series to see how it progresses; this is a first book, after all, and the series has gone on long enough and has enough fans that there’s a chance I’ll find later installments more engaging.
Year 50 Day 233
Day 233: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number three: Holiday gifts, Santa hats, gingerbread people, candy canes, mittens, hot chocolate mugs, and snowflakes.
Year 50 Day 232
Day 232: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number two: poinsettia, holly, and candy canes.
Year 50 Day 231
Day 231: Pre-holiday-break week work shirt number one: trees, hats, and presents.
Year 50 Day 230
Day 230: Thankfully, feeling much better today. Still a little more tired than usual, and I was glad it was a work from home day, but not feeling the body ache or complete lack of energy I did yesterday. Vaccinated is far better than not, but I’m glad it’ll be a few months before I have to do this again, and that the shingles series is a one-time thing, not annual!
📚 Debtors’ Planet by W.R. Thompson
70/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one surprised me in good ways. I wasn’t optimistic at first, with its focus on Ferengi, who can be annoying (especially in the pre-Quark days), and with it bringing back an (intentionally) annoying character from the show. But it handled both of these elements surprisingly well; the primary Ferengi antagonist is a little more thoughtful than most of the era, and the returning character is actually given some depth and is able to use his traits and quirks in ways that advance the story. Add in some amusing Worf/Riker bits and Wesley actually being treated like a worthwhile character as he forms a friendship with an alien ensign, and this (notwithstanding some confusion over how the Federation handles money and an “offscreen” sexual assault that wasn’t really necessary) is definitely an above average entry in the series.
