Happy Halloween!

 

Which Question?

 Witch question, of course.

Shameless #2

There they are. The Gallaghers plus the neighbors two houses down. Of Shameless fame. I barely got through the first couple of episodes for all the gratuitious sex, nudity, foul language, drinking, smoking, and drug use. I felt like I needed a shower after viewing. But then I became attached to the various characters who dwell on the South Side of Chicago. I had something of a sketchy upbringing but anything that happened to me pales away to nothing compared to what Fiona, et al, have endured at the hands of their alcoholic, drug-addicted, mostly absent parents. In between shuddering over rape, incest, needle drugs, the system (educational, penal, etc), and all the poor choices made by every stinking one of them, I began to admire them for their ingenuity and survival instincts. I started to look forward to the genuine moments of affection and humanity between them. Now that I have watched over half the episodes, I find myself torn between continuing to rush forward through them or to possibly slow down since there really aren't that many left. And I hate how at the end of a series the writers and producers tend to muck things up. Either by hastily throwing together neatly tied up endings for multiple story lines or failing to answer pertinent questions about the fates of the characters. Anyway, I am enjoying the ride with these people and the dangerous, bizarre, hilarious, painful situations they get themselves into. All I know is, I have always adored Joan Cusack. Her turn as Sheila Jackson convinced me all over again just how brilliant and enigmatic an actress she is. I really must go, the next episode is cued up.   

Shameless #1

I have been binging. Netflix. Though Shameless was originally produced by Showtime. Which explains all the nakedness and swearing. I have just started Season 8 of eleven in all. Early on when a main character's name was uttered in its whole form, Francis rather than Frank, Gallagher, I had to pause for a moment. Why was this name so freakishly familiar? Why? Digging way back in the recesses of my brain I unearthed the answer. I'm talking going way back to high school, children. Francis Gallagher was the name of one of my girlfriend's boyfriends. Two of them, actually, JoAnn and Cindy. Though I can't remember who was the first to receive his affections. I do remember that Cindy gave birth to a baby that he sired. And that she remarked that Francis really shouldn't have bought a car with a white interior, him being a farmer and all. JoAnn's friend Mary referred to him as spic, though I'm pretty certain he was mostly Irish rather than Latino. He also spoke English, as in, his first language. I haven't thought about these people in years. Thank you, Shameless, for this trip down Memory Lane.

October Rant

Today, in the New York Times. 

It's the season of pumpkin flavor everything. But is pumpkin actually good for you?

For fuck's sake, people! When something is marketed using the words pumpkin spice, it does not contain even a shred of pumpkin. It contains the spices usually associated with pumpkin pie. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, perhaps others. At least the article does go on to tout the pumpkin as something of a super food. Fiber and vitamin rich, it actually is good for you. You can even roast the seeds for a healthy snack as long as you don't go crazy with the salt. The article was good, but the blurb was a little misleading. You can eat a bucket of pumpkin spiced anything without consuming any pumpkin at all. Do eat the pumpkin, though, with or without the traditional spices. It's one of those things that is good for you that also tastes good. Rant over, move along.

  

I Learned Something Today

Take a closer look at the cute little jug of buttermilk. Right? Was anyone else aware of Bulgarian style buttermilk? Bulgarian? Really? Really! Bulgarian style buttermilk is made by supplementing or completely replacing the cream cultures. Then it is fermented at a higher temperature resulting in a thicker, more tart final product. All I know is, the scones were delicious.

It's In The Numbers

I've been doing this blogging thing for a while now. I do enjoy watching the stats for views and comments. Mostly I'm tickled that anyone reads my highly sophisticated drivel, or at least clicks over to it, and I truly love the comments. Not the spamments*, mind you, but genuine posted remarks concerning the content. Where was I? Oh, yes, the numbers. Last month they made no sense at all, as if the internet had gone mad with thousands of clicks to this location. Thousands of clicks in one day! Adding up to a grand total of 92,199 for the month of September. How is this even possible that after over sixteen years of blogging that just over 11% of all views over that time took place last month? I have no idea what this means, but it would be pretty cool if I got a dollar for each click on that tote board. For now, I guess I'll enjoy seeing that almost ninety three thousand number for a few more days. When midnight on Halloween causes the far less impressive total for October to take its place I will be a little sad to see it go. But keep clicking over to this blog! It makes me happy.

 *obviously, comments that are spam