Ironside Pilot (NBC)

I sat in my easy chair for a bit this evening watching the pilot for  the new series Ironside on my iPod.

There were a few fuzzy scenes but most came through really clearly.  At first I thought it a bit gritty and violent for my taste, but soon Blair Underwood as Robert Ironside won me over.  He is a really tough guy and seems to have no trouble taking down most bad guys with a little help from his team.  They are all young, but they seemed dedicated, smart, funny in some cases.

Ironside is a good team leader (he also coaches hockey).  He uses his assistants well.  Contrasted with Ironside's tendency to whomp on people is his tendency to get all smooshy eyed over an innocent victim.   That won me over right there.  As long as the guy cares I guess he can whomp on people if he needs to.

There are a few relationship complexities to explore:

The guilt of his ex-partner.

The odd relationship he has with his boss.

Spencer Grammer as Holly seems to have a fond relationship with a weirdo fat guy in a car.  Looks like a gang boss.  Knows more than he ought to about weird sex.

I thought the sister of a dead girl was quite compelling as an actress.  I think she also played her dead sister, if so, most interesting.

The premier is October second. You can watch the pilot and see what you think now:

http://www.nbc.com/ironside/

Side note there were intriguing commercials for Revolution included.

Molly Murphy: Murphy's Law

Our mystery book group is discussing Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen in the morning.  I read my first copy from the library and have bought all subsequent volumes.  The series is set in New York City at the beginning of the last century.

Molly is on the run from her home after pushing away the landowner's son, who falls and gashes his head.   She makes her way to Dublin and tries to find work, looking over her shoulder every minute for the pursuing police.  Just as they close in on her she is saved by a very ill woman who pretends Molly is her sister.

The woman is dying and though she has passage to America for herself and children, she knows that she will not be allowed to leave the ship in America, if she lives long enough to get there to bring the children to her husband.  She begs Molly to go in her place, making the ship's passage as herself, bringing the young children to her husband who has been trying to make a living in America.

On the ocean voyage Molly gains the attention of a ratty man who is killed.  She comes under suspicion for the grisly crime though there is no real evidence.  Brought before Captain Daniel Sullivan of the New York Police Dept., she struggles to remain logical and composed, not letting her famously sharp tongue get the better of her.  She is certain that her crime in Ireland will catch up with her as well and that she'll be sent back home to an execution.

Desperately coming up with other scenarios and suspects, Molly impresses the Captain who releases her. 

New York City for new immigrants proves to be a hardscrabble life, with people packed into apartments.  Seamus's cousin Nuala instantly dislikes Molly so Molly takes to the winter streets looking for work and still trying to solve the onboard crime.

Always looking for work, always digging deeper into the crime that now crossed two oceans, Molly finds herself learning the ropes quickly and enjoying the company of the captain who reluctantly listens to her theories.

I first read this right after visiting Ireland and have been charmed by Molly and her keen wit and big heart ever since.


Rhys Bowen is very active on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/RhysBowenAuthor  and on her personal blog  http://www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com/   She also writes with seven other popular mystery authors on the Jungle Red Writers blog http://www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com/


You can find links to these on her web site http://rhysbowen.com/

There are three series by Bowen:

 

The Constable Evans Series

Set in a bucolic Welsh highlands town of Llanfair.  Everyone in the town shares the last name Evans and each title plays on the name as if it were spelled "heaven".

Evans Above
Evan Help Us
Evanly Choirs
Evan and Elle
Evan Can Wait
Evans to Betsy
Evan Only Knows
Evan's Gate
Evan Blessed
Evanly Bodies

I read the first of these long ago, and was not pleased with everyone having the same name for some reason, and perhaps I wasn't fond of the characters.  I saw someone else on Amazon compare these to the Hamish Macbeth series by M. C. Beaton, but setting aside, the character is not the lazy, smirky Hamish character. 

Molly Murphy Mysteries

An excellent historical mystery series set in early New York City.  You get a real flavor for the times.  Molly has terrific side characters to help her solve her mysteries and provide connections in society she would not have as a new immigrant.  The romance between Molly and Daniel Sullivan plays out wonderfully over the series.  Molly's detection skills improve over time enough to get her the attention of some very high placed men in law enforcement.  Over time her past and "The Troubles" in Ireland reach across the ocean to give further depth to this brave young woman.  I buy these and read them as soon as they arrive :)

Murphy's Law
Death of Riley
For the Love of Mike
In Like Flynn
Oh Danny Boy
In Dublin's Fair City
Tell Me Pretty Maiden
In a Gilded Cage
The Last Illusion
The Amersham Rubies
Bless the Bride
The Family Way
City of Darkness and Light (upcoming title)

Her Royal Spyness

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in succession for the throne and penniless, often hires herself out as a maid to the wealthy in order to make ends meet.  She is able to do some favors for the Queen herself in her disguise, and learn about 1930s British Society that she may not have access to otherwise. Glamour, romance and a bit of the "caper" film quality to the stories.

Her Royal Spyness
A Royal Pain
Royal Flush
Royal Blood
Naughty in Nice

If you enjoyed the Molly Murphy series, I highly recommend

Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mysteries

Set at about the same time period as Molly in New York City, Sarah Brandt's adventures as a midwife in the lower quarters of the city contrast with her being the daughter of one of New York's wealthiest men.    http://victoriathompson.homestead.com/ 



Shirley Tallman's  Sarah Woolsen Mysteries take place in 1880's San Francisco.  Sarah comes from a family of lawyers and is one herself, striving to find employ as the first woman lawyer in the city.  She is absolutely committed to being successful in her career.  The city of San Francisco at that time (and all times!) is exciting, as are her adventures.  http://shirleytallman.com/


The first of these is:

Murder on Nob Hill

Kathy Lynn Emerson's Diana Spaulding Mysteries

Set in 1880s New York Diana is a reporter for a small paper in a time when "yellow journalism" was rampant and papers vied to write the most outrageous stories possible.   I think there are only three of these and Emerson writes a more well known series the Face Down Mystery series set in 16th century England.    http://www.kathylynnemerson.com/

Dianne Day's Fremont Jones Mysteries beginning with The Strange Files of Fremont Jones   http://www.avadianneday.com/books.html     Fremont is able to make a business for herself and solve mysteries as a capable "type-writer" using the new machine in early 1900s San Francisco.  Richly immersive of that city and the times.

Further reading!

19th Mysteries in Series from Williamsburg Regional Library


Historical Mysteries with Women Sleuths

DOA in the Kitchen: Caprese Salad Returneth

I made Caprese Salad once before after seeing it roll by on Facebook. You know how that goes.  It is such simple ingredients but such a wonderful flavor!

I finally have some medium sized tomatoes RIPE from my garden but I am crushed as they are mushy and near tasteless.  Good thing I keep such good garden notes because those aren't going in again.  It needs to look like a tomato, smell like a tomato, TASTE LIKE A TOMATO.  Sheesh.

I thought that I could try using them up in the Caprese salad and the robust flavors of that salad would compensate.  I was right!  They were great.  Lovely.

I followed the Pioneer Woman's recipe with the balsamic vinegar reduction. It stinks like a pot of ammonia cooking on the stove, but when it is nice and glazy the taste is a delicately sweet taste, utterly transformed. That last time I reduced it too much, this time too little.  Too much is better!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/caprese-salad/

This time I had my pretty but mushy tomatoes, some really nice sliced Mozzarella fresh basil and that lovely vinegar.  I used the leaves whole this time but they did taste better sliced into the salad the last time so I'd go that route.

When is the last time you actually found yourself craving a salad?

I Love Old Photographs

Recently I "liked" a page on Facebook called "Old Minneapolis".  Pictures are from all different time periods, and they are so cool.  I'm doing some photo scanning this weekend and here are a few charmers from my own files on various topics:


I'm not sure if this is a parade or funeral or what.  I like the way the boy is looking back at the camera.  The soldiers are all very solemn.

This looks like a very bare bones town doesn't it?  This must be what they mean by "a one horse town"

An old bridge likely in southwestern Minnesota

A woman tries to get her two small pets to be friends.

Just the sort of farm I fantasized living on when I was around ten or so, having listened to mom's stories of living on a farm.

I like this guy for his Brillo Pad bristly beard.  I did not write his name in ink. Tsk.

A Single Tomato

I have officially had a single red tomato in my garden.  An aptly named Supersweet 100 was red and ripe and gone in a trice.  No photo, but it was REAL.

Notebook Stories

I came across a site while searching for 11 x 17 pastel notepads (I know) called  Notebook stories: notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, diaries: in search of the perfect page

Dreamy, eh?

Saving Mr. Banks

Via Word and Film, two of my favorite entities in the universe, Walt Disney and P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins, star in a December release "Saving Mr. Banks." 

The film is about Walt attempting to get film rights to the Mary Poppins character and P. L. Travers reluctance to let her character be made into something silly.







Walt (Tom Hanks) comes across in the trailer as a bit of an oily type and P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) is a bit of a stiff upper lip type, very much like her own character.  Still, I'll be right there on opening day.

The movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke was a wonderful thing, full of magic and music that you find yourself singing just out of nowhere.

The book series, however is one of the best fantasy series ever, with Mary being a much more serious person and the magic being much more incredible and just amazing.  You should read them all:

Coming to the Small Screen This Fall!

I don't watch television at all in the summer, but we're halfway to fall when potentially exciting new programs will debut.  And favorites will return, yay!   I only watch genre television shows, and they're the same genres that I read:  Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror, Historical.  Anything that doesn't fit there doesn't exist for me. Poof.  (Then I looked through the list and pick some off genre shows...doh).

It turns out there are actually far more than the usual shows I am willing to give a shot.  Nice!  The descriptions are from TV Guide's Fall Preview.  Take a look for great pictures and the many shows I thought looked too horrid to mention.   http://www.tvguide.com/PhotoGallery/2013-New-Fall-Shows-1065172/1065300

The 100 (CW) Nearly a century after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, a spaceship sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing. Based on the forthcoming Kass Morgan book of the same name, Jason Rothenberg will write and executive-produce with Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo. Henry Ian Cusick, Isaiah Washington, Paige Turco, Kelly Hu, Thomas McDonell, Eli Goree, Eliza Taylor, Christopher Larkin, Marie Avgeropoulos and Bob Morley will star.   

Almost Human (Fox)
This action-packed buddy cop show is set in a future in which LAPD officers like John Kennex (Karl Urban) are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids like Dorian (Michael Ealy). Fringe's J.H. Wyman, who will write, will reteam with Lost's J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk as executive producers. Minka Kelly, Lili Taylor, Mackenzie Crook, Mekia Cox and Michael Irby will also star.

Believe (NBC)
An unlikely relationship develops between a young girl (Johnny Sequoyah) with a gift and a man (Jake McLaughlin) sprung from prison who has been tasked with protecting her from the evildoers who covet her power. Harry Potter's Alfonso Cuaron and The Forgotten's Mark Friedman will write and executive-produce with Lost's J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk. Kyle MacLachlan, Delroy Lindo, Sienna Guillory, Arian Moayed and Jamie Chung will also star.   


Don't ask:

Cosworld (Syfy)This six-episode docuseries lifts the veil on the world of cosplay competition. The series follows some of the hottest cosplay stars as they travel to various comic book conventions around the country. The show tracks their process as they create extravagant costumes and transform themselves into amazing fictional characters in the hope of impressing the convention judges.

I would never even peek at this but for the two remarkable stars:

The Crazy Ones (CBS)A single-camera, half-hour workplace comedy about a father-and-daughter team in the world of advertising. (Oscar winner Robin Williams plays the dad, while Sarah Michelle Gellar is the daughter.) Ally McBeal's David E. Kelley will write the pilot and executive-produce with Arrested Development's Dean Lorey and McBeal's Bill D'Elia. James Wolk, Amanda Setton and Hamish Linklater will also star.


Sounds Horrible but I'm a HUGE Dracula fan.

Dracula (NBC)
Inspired by the classic Bram Stoker novel, this drama stars The Tudors' Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the title role. Based on a script from co-executive producer Cole Haddon, this version finds Dracula in London posing as an American entrepreneur who wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. But his true plan — to seek revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier — is thwarted when her falls hopelessly in love with a woman named Mina (Jessica DeGouw ), who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife. Dracula will be executive-produced by Colin Callender, Tony Krantz (24), Gareth Neame (Downton Abbey) and Anne Mensah.


I dunno. Terry O'Quinn and an intriguing enough premise...

Gang Related (Fox)
A gang member (Ramon Rodriguez) sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department and rise through its ranks must balance his obligations to his crime family with an increasing sense of loyalty to his new "family": the SFPD's Gang Task Force. Fast Five scribe Chris Morgan will write and executive-produce with V's Scott Rosenbaum and Brian Grazer. Jay Hernandez, Terry O'Quinn, Cliff Curtis, Sung Kang, RZA, Shantel VanSanten and Inbar Lavi will also star.

Six Million Dollar Man gets microchipped?

Intelligence (CBS)At the U.S. Cyber Command, a unit has been created around one agent (Lost's Josh Holloway) with a very special gift — a microchip has been implanted in his brain that allows him to access the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Michael Seitzman will write and executive-produce with American Horror Story's David Semel, who will direct. Michael Rady, Meghan Ory, Marg Helgenberger and James Martinez will also star. Will Yun Lee, P.J. Byrne and John Billingsley will guest-star.


I might have watched the original if Raymond Burr hadn't been doing that wierdo heavy breathing thing by then.  The new guy looks much more...dynamic.

Ironside (NBC)In a remake of the 1960s drama, an acerbic police detective (Blair Underwood) who uses a wheelchair pushes and prods his hand-picked team to solve the most difficult cases in the city. The Sopranos' Michael Caleo will write and executive-produce with American Horror Story's David Semel. Spencer Grammer, Brent Sexton, Pablo Schreiber, Kenneth Choi and Neal Bledsoe will also star.

I like the Marvel Comics based movies but do not believe this has legs.

Marvel's Agents S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC)Based on Marvel Universe's fictional and secret law-enforcement agency. Avengers' Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen will write and executive-produce. Clark Gregg will reprise his Avengers role, joined by Ming-Na, Brett Dalton, Elizabeth Henstridge, Ian De Caestecker and Chloe Bennet.


Just because I love him.

The Michael J. Fox Show (NBC)Michael J. Fox returns to TV as Mike, a former New York news anchor who goes back to work but still manages to find time to drive his wife (Betsy Brandt) and three kids crazy. The show is executive-produced with Fox by Sam Laybourne and Will Gluck and also stars Conor Romero, Juliette Goglia, Jack Gore, Kate Finneran and Wendell Pierce.

Probably doomed but I like the premise and Christian Slater.

Mind Games (ABC)From Awake's creator Kyle Killen, the project is a provocative workplace ensemble about the complicated relationship between two brothers — Steve Zahn and Christian Slater — who head an agency that uses the real science of human motivation and manipulation to solve its clients' problems. Megalyn Echikunwoke, Gregory Marcel, Wynn Everett and Cedric Sanders will also star. Ron Rifkin will guest-star.

Liked MASH and ER.  Will likely not watch after a peek but who knows.

The Night Shift (NBC) Think M*A*S*H-meets-ER. A motley crew of rogue ex-Army surgeons bring humor and rock-n-roll energy to the night shift at a chaotic trauma center in San Antonio, Texas. 90210 scribes Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah will write and executive-produce with Taken's Pierre Morel. Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under), Jeananne Goossen, Brendan Fehr, Brigid Brannagh, Jill Flint (Royal Pains), Ken Leung (Lost), Robert Bailey, Jr. and J.R. Lemon will star.

I do not think this concept/place has enough depth to deliver stories of the caliber of the original Once Upon a Time series.  I also fear they are spreading themselves and their concepts/plotlines too thin doing this extra show.  I hope I am wrong.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (ABC) The Wonderland-set Once Upon a Time spin-off is told through the eyes of Alice (Sophie Lowe), who has a generous heart, but carries the scars of a long and hard life. Once producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz will write and executive-produce alongside Jane Espenson, Zack Estrin and Steve Pearlman. Emma Rigby, Michael Socha, Peter Gadiot and Paul Reubens will also star.

What's not to like?

Reign (CW) Watch as a 15-year-old Mary Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) arrives in France, betrothed to Prince Frances (Toby Regbo). She must survive fierce foes, dark forces and a world of sexual intrigue. Outlaw's Stephanie Sengupta and CSI: Miami's Laurie McCarthy will write and executive-produce. Celina Sinden, Torrance Coombs, Jenessa Grant, Anna Popplewell, Megan Follows, Rossif Sutherland and Caitlin Stasey will also star.

 Potential heartbreaker or mind boggler.

Resurrection (ABC)What happens when the people you have mourned and buried suddenly appear on your doorstep as if not a day's gone by? The lives of the people of Arcadia are forever changed when their deceased loved ones... return! Based on the novel by Jason Mott, the pilot is written by Criminal Minds' Aaron Zelman. Matt Craven, Frances Fisher, Samaire Armstrong, Sam Hazeldine, Nicholas Gonzalez, Devin Kelley, Mark Hildreth, Landon Gimenez, Omar Epps and Kurtwood Smith will star.

Whoa.

Sleepy Hollow (Fox)
Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) partners with Sleepy Hollow's sheriff (Nicole Beharie) to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by the battle between good and evil. Fringe's Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will write and executive-produce. Orlando Jones and Katia Winter will also star. John Cho will guest-star.

Cheesy concept. Might be just the thing.

The Tomorrow People (CW) Based on the U.K. series of the same name, it's the story of several young people — Peyton List, Robbie Amell, Luke Mitchell and Aaron Yoo, among them — from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution, possessing special powers like teleportation and telepathy. They work together to defeat the forces of evil. Chuck's Phil Klemmer will write and executive-produce with The Vampire Diaries' Julie Plec and Arrow's Greg Berlanti. Mark Pellegrino and Madeleine Mantock will also star.       

July in the Garden

Winter finally left. Heat is da bomb.  My vegetables love it except the peas.  My main project this year aside from growing veggies is to move everything inside my fenced area.  It will be a lot easier to maintain all in one place.  And beautiful, right?  A few pictures from June snuck in at the end.

Random garden photos.  Yes you do see weeds.  Heat, torrential rains, a sleepy gardener. These things add up.  Chipping away nonetheless.

A miniature bee balm. Very crimson, though it doesn't show it here. Perfectly matches the coloring and bloom time of another plant Stacys Humello (sp?).

Coreopsis Zagreb

Coreopsis Moonbeam

A zinnia mix seedling that should be in a pot but nooo.

Black Dragon Coleus from seed.

Shasta Daisy Snowcap.

Munstead Lavender.

A rogue Hens and Chicks. I've never had one flower like this before.

Stacys Humello (sp?)  Really a lovely upright plant with crimson/purple flowers.  Dark green leaves too. Too washed out but voila, here it is.

My cornfield!  Not knee high by the fourth of July by a longshot.

A Closeup wherein it looks waaay more like a stalk of corn.

White lilies from one of those "mixes" you get free when ordering bulbs.

A pink lily from the same mix.

I thought this was daylily Naomi Ruth when I took the picture but it is clearly not.

Checking my maps to see what these are before I move them.  I love pink.

Lily Tiger Babies.  I thought somehow when I planted them they would be small, short, baby like, but they're tall and happy so I will let them stay where they are.

Two different lettuces, my cucumbers and some swiss chard.  Just so pretty.

Yukon Gold Potatoes, marigolds and a tomato from seed. 

A tradescantia.  I have numerous, and love their many variations of color.  (June pic)

A white allium.  Hoping to add more this fall. (June pic)

A hosta with an iris draped over its leaves. (June pic)

Everything here but the trees will be moved and these gardens sodded over.  (June pic)

Through the Looking Glass?

Coming Soon.Net reports that a sequel to the Alice in Wonderland film with Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp is in the works.  I'm not sure who all is signed on but Mia and JD are the key players for me.

It seems to me I have been reading that the first Alice film wasn't so well received (though I loved it) and I thought it screamed for a sequel to see where our brave Alice went next.  Here we go!