My buddy raises hens. It’s frikkin’ awesome. (This post’s headline refers to the black chicken in the fourth photo. She looks like she wants to fight me.)
Hens are safe to hold, too — though they might try to get away, so you’ve got to hold their wings in place, gently but firmly. It’s the roosters that can hurt you; they have large, lateral claws called “spurs” that can be sharp, and they’ll act aggressively to protect the hens.
I hate to say it, but “24: Legacy” (2017) was mostly average stuff; I’d give the 12-episode arc a 7 out of 10 for being a mildly engaging thriller, but nothing more than that.
I was one of the few people back in the day who opined that “24” could continue even without Kiefer Sutherland. As priceless as he was in his role as anti-hero Jack Bauer, he wasn’t the only star of the show — the show’s gritty universe and its unique format could carry on without him. I even thought, during the early years, that Fox was grooming Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) to be a viable lead if Sutherland departed.
I still think the show could manage without Sutherland. The real culprit behind “Legacy’s” failure to stand out was its somewhat average writing. It wasn’t bad, exactly … it was just average. (Alright — for a little while, it was bad. We see a key subplot/cliffhanger repeated three times, consecutively, in the same season. I’m surprised that major redundancy made it past the editing process.) But mostly, it was average — we see thin staples of characters, and a plot that seemed largely reminiscent of … well, every other season of “24.” (Admittedly, it must be tough after nine years to think up an original story for a serialized contemporary terror thriller in real-time format.)
The sad part is this — during the show’s final two or three episodes, it started showing more promise, with truly original plotting and unexpected conflicts.
The show got disappointing ratings. We won’t know until at least May, but I think most viewers are guessing it won’t be renewed for another season.
Market Street in Salem, VA, looking north across Main Street toward the Alleghenies. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is at left.
This is the 80’s-est 80’s song that ever 80’s-ed. This is more of an 80’s song than “99 Red Balloons,” “Take On Me” or even the goddam “Ghostbusters” theme.
I remember hearing this play on the school bus radio on the way to school in the morning.
AND THEY’RE SPECTACULAR.*
Of course I’ve always know about PEANUT M&M’s, and even “Crispy M&M’s,” but I was honestly unaware of the peanut butter variation.
My friend Jen told me about them, and Blog Correspondent Pete Harrison corroborated her story. But I was skeptical. Jen is from Canada, and I thought maybe they were some sort of nigh-magical product that you could only find there, like a rifle that shoots maple syrup, or the starter kit for a wolverine farm.
But you can buy these at the supermarket. Where I’m from, this is what we call a damn fine product.
*”Seinfeld” reference.
I’m not sure what to say about “Underworld: Blood Wars” (2016). It really differs little from the previous “Underworld” movies. If you’ve seen those, you’ve kinda seen this one.
The vampires look like underwear models, or maybe a goths-only high school drama club. The werewolves look … not homeless, exactly, but like burly, long-haired, unemployed grunge rockers. Both groups speak portentously and repeatedly about things like “LINEAGE” and “BLOOD LINES” and “THE WAR” and “AMELIA.” (Who was Amelia again?) There are the requisite betrayals and forbidden inter-species romances. The entire thing felt like a feature-length music video.
Maybe I’m being too harsh. I would actually give this film a 5 out of 10 for at least bringing some good things to the table. Kate Beckinsale is a good actress, and she brings the same magnetism that she always does to Selene, the franchise’s protagonist. Charles Dance is always superb, and is always fun to watch. (There are at least two “Game of Thrones” alumni here — one is Dance as a vampire elder, and the other is Tobias Menzies as the leader of the “Lycans.”) The nicest surprise, though, was seeing Lara Pulver as an ambitious vampire alpha female — fans of “Sherlock” (2010 – 2017) will recognize her as that series’ incarnation of Irene Adler. She’s a great actress, and she seems to relish this kind of role.
All in all, though, I can’t say I actually recommend this.
This is heading into Roanoke Southwest.
Dark Horse Comics.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 