13 Netflix Shows

A couple weeks ago, I listed shows from Apple TV Plus that I have seen and rather liked. In the same theme, I thought I'd do the same for Netflix. This is by no means a best-of list. These are just my rather limited choices that I liked. And, of course, it's a Thursday 13. 

1. Midnight at the Pera Palace: A reporter in Istanbul doing a puff piece on a hotel's 125th anniversary manages to travel back in time about a hundred years and of course throws history off course. I wrote about this show already, and I hope they give us a season 3 (although I have no idea if it'll happen), but the two seasons are still excellent. If you like these sorts of stories (and don't mind that the show was dubbed into English). 

2. Travelers: Five travelers from the future have taken over the bodies of people who were about to die, and their mission... Well, I'm not sure what their mission was, but it was fascinating to watch. Three seasons (with a finale, not a cliffhanger) were not quite enough, but a great show nonetheless. 

3. 3-Body Problem: You may have heard of this one. A group of college friends end up in the middle of... Well, it's hard to explain without giving the whole thing away. Give it three to four episodes, for that's how long it takes to really get off the ground. And then just hold on. I'm not sure if there's going to be a season two, but it really does need a season two.

4. Man on the Inside: Ted Danson plays a retired widower who is driving his daughter crazy. So, he takes on a "project". He takes a job with a private investigator as the "inside man" in a nursing home. He's investigating a theft. Sort of. (He's not a very good investigator.) This one is a comedy and it's definitely as good as you've heard. 

5. Warrior Nun: A dead, disabled young woman is revived with a "halo", and now she's part of a group of warrior nuns who hunt demons. It was only two seasons and then cancelled, but it was fun while it lasted. 

6. Lucifer: This one was on broadcast TV, then cancelled, then brought back to be finished off on Netflix. Six seasons (and it ended with a finale). The devil left hell because he was bored. He hangs around an LA police detective and helps solve homicides. (Yes, a procedural.) 

7. The Good Place: Originally on broadcast, but now all four seasons are on Netflix. Eleanor died and went to "the good place", only she knows she does not belong there. So, she's going to do all she can to fake it so she doesn't get sent to "the bad place". It's a comedy. If you haven't seen it, totally worth it. 

8. North of North: A 26-year-old woman is trying to find her place in the world. Hijinks ensue. It's only one season so far (a second is coming). What's unique about this show is that the main character Siaja is Inuk and living in a small Arctic town. It feels familiar and relatable in a place that is foreign to most of us (I suspect). 

9. Bridgerton: This is another one you may have heard of. Historical romance. Three seasons thus far (plus a spinoff). The eight children of the Bridgerton clan will find their spouses one by one (each season). If you like historical romance, this is the show for you. 

10. The Queen's Gambit: This one season and done miniseries is based on a book. A young girl in an orphanage discovers chess, and the game gives her access to money and success in the mid-twentieth century. 

11. Wednesday: Wednesday Addams (of the Addams Family) has been sent to a boarding school after she has some "issues" at her school near her home. Only one season so far, but I believe that season two is coming soon. 

12. A Discovery of Witches: Based on a trilogy of books, these three seasons are about an academic witch who has inadvertently stumbled upon the "book of life" for all the "creatures" (witches, vampires, and demons). It was originally on cable TV, but now the whole series is on Netflix. I just finished rewatching (which was great to watch it all at once rather than with a year plus between seasons). 

13. Dead Boy Detectives: Another one and done series, sadly cancelled too soon. The dead boys are ghosts who solve mysteries for the also dead. 

Anyone have any good Netflix recommendations. There's so much there, it's hard to know what else to try. 

Setting Up the Comments

So, um, I'm starting to run out of ideas. But, I've only got a couple more weeks until school starts back up. If anyone has any good ideas on a how-to-in-Blogger post, let me know in the comments. 

(Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué did a couple posts on blogging things as well. First: How to create a custom "Back to Top" button in Blogger, with a reading progress indicator. And then: How to add a visual box such as a display box or horizontal scroll code to a blog post, with a "copy" button. Both are new to me and very cool. I thought you might enjoy them as well.) 

Comments. In Blogger, they can be glitchy. So, we each chose our comment boxes based on that which we felt worked the best for each of us. 

(About a month ago I did a post on how to respond to comments via email. This can work with your commenting box choices if you wish.) 

To adjust your comments settings, go to "Settings":

Then scroll down to "Comments":

You can click on any of these. Let's start with "Comment location". As you can see, I have it set to "Embedded". There are other choices: 

I like "Embedded" because it has that little "Reply" option. So you can directly reply to any individual comment. Alas, some people have trouble with Blogger recognizing them. When they go to comment: 

(Using the arrow key next to the "Comment as:") they can't select their name. I don't know why this is. I know I sometimes (when I'm using a different computer, like at school) have to log in using my Google account. Or I'm logged in, but I have to tell the thing to use my account. But for some, they can't get this to work. 

(I don't know if it's a cookies thing--like they need to clear their cookies, or if they have to turn something on or off. When I use "Incognito Mode", there was a toggle I turned off, and then suddenly I could log in and stay logged in. All I know is it won't work for some people.) 

Because of this issue, many bloggers use "Popup window" instead. When you go to comment: 

You get a popup: 

Which, now that I'm doing this, I see it has a little orange "Reply". So, popup windows do reply now? Wow. 

The reason I hadn't gone to the popup window (besides the annoyance of having to scroll through a second screen to get to the place where you comment) was because you couldn't reply directly to people. But if you can... 

Although, it is a second step. Whichever works best for you is the way to go. (If you do the popup window, let me know if it has glitches, too.) 

Then we've got "Who can comment?":

I have "Anyone" selected. Because of the glitches with some people not able to log in. You can limit it to people with Google accounts as well. "Only members of this blog" only works if you have a closed group of subscribers. Otherwise, you're limiting your reach. (I can think of reasons why someone would want a closed blog, but I doubt that's for many of us here.) 

"Anyone" includes anonymous commenters. And some of you might not want to allow anonymous commenters. Spammers use anonymous, although some spammers have accounts they use as well. I don't have a big spam problem, mostly because I get all my comments emailed to me, so any spam gets deleted from the blog within a day. Depending on your reach and how much time you have to moderate your comments, you might want to exclude anonymous. That's when you select "Users with Google Accounts". 

Then, finally, did you know you can write your own "Comment form message"? 

If you click on the message, it'll take you to a form where you can write your own. You can use basic HTML for line breaks, bold, italics, and such. 

Most of us set up our comments and have since forgotten about it. And that's fine. Whatever works. But, if you've been wondering about changing things, you can always do that. If you hate it, you can always go back to what you had before.

Have you considered changing your comments? Do you have any other blogging topic ideas for me? 

A Quibble

Today is my Uncle Frank's birthday. He reads the blog, so feel free to wish him a happy birthday in the comments. 

Last week I shared a graphic I found on Bluesky about the ICE raids snatching more non-criminals than criminals (even though they said they'd go after the criminals). One comment attacked the veracity of the statistics used. 

And, the thing is, I don't care. I don't care if the statistics were wrong. (I mean, I won't knowingly share fake statistics. There's enough false information out there. No need to add to it.) My point was that the masked thugs kidnapping people off the streets are indiscriminate. The comment talked about all undocumented immigrants being criminals. 

(Of course, the thugs are kidnapping citizens and legal immigrants. These aren't targeted raids. They're going after brown people and people who are "hindering" their kidnapping attempts.) 

This whole thing is not about immigration. The legal immigration system is broken. 

This whole thing is a racist dog whistle trying to "cleanse" this country of non-white people. (If you didn't catch that, you're not paying attention.) And, it's also a way for the thug in charge to punish the parts of the country that have gone loudly anti this regime. 

The cruelty is the point. 

(It's only hurting the economy. And yet, they're still planning to ramp this up to make it even more cruel.) 

And those who are arguing any sort of "but they deserve this" are arguing for concentration camps. Which are designed to be cruel. No one deserves to be rounded up and thrown into these terrible locations (many times for the profit of the concentration camp owners). 

If you think we're being "overrun" by immigrants, you're a racist. Have you been to any place that has a lot of immigrants? I live here. Really, we're not being overrun. We're fine. 

I've been in the newcomer classes at the middle and high school. Some of them are badly behaved. But I don't fear for my life. 

I fear for their lives, now. Because with this indiscriminate kidnapping and imprisonment, how many of them might be swept up in that? And yes, they're going after kids. 

We're just a step or two away from death camps. Seriously. The rhetoric has started. These human beings are being called dehumanizing names. That's how it starts. 

And I had a comment attacking the statistics. 

Don't apologize for the concentration camps. Oppose them. Loudly. Call your reps. Remind people that this sort of thing has happened before, and as a whole the world was horrified. 

The people doing this deserve to be tried for Crimes Against Humanity. The atrocities are already happening. We must all oppose this. Now.

Two Down

When I visited family at the beginning of last month, I asked them what they wanted me to knit/crochet them for Christmas. Middle nephew requested a beanie in "Lakers colors". 

So, first I went on a search for beanie patterns that utilized two colors. I found this pattern. That'd work. 

Then I headed to the local Michael's. I knew I'd find the yarn there, and I did. 

Unfortunately, digital images do something to the color purple. (I've discussed this problem in the past.) So, you probably can't see how perfect those colors really are. 

Right after finishing random beanie, I started on this one. My gauge was a little off, so I knit a couple sizes down to compensate. I finished it on Wednesday. 

My father was kind enough to model it for me. 

I knit the "child/teen" size using the lengths for the adult size. I made it a bit too long, but slouchy works, right? 

I rather like the way it turned out. It was way easier to knit than I imagined. 

I had read someplace that the best way to do colorwork is to hold one color in each hand, "picking" for one color and "throwing" for the other. (Non-knitters will have no idea what that sentence meant. It's not critical, really.) Turns out that works really well, especially for a pattern as regular as this. Plus, it makes the floats on the inside really regular. 

So, now it's on to eldest nephew's sweater. That will definitely take longer than a week to complete. (Eldest nephew is 19 years old and over 6 feet tall.) 

And I'll be contemplating the rest of the Christmas projects. It's better to have them all going at the same time just in case I get stuck on one for whatever reason. 

After modeling the beanie, I offered to make my father one as well. He said he wouldn't mind. 

(As I got questions, I'll give a brief rundown of the family. I've got my brother and his wife. And their five kids--in order of age: niece, eldest nephew, middle nephew (15), and the twins (12).) 

General Knowledge Quiz

Quizly now sends me a new quiz every day. Last week this one popped up: 

Can You Pass This Increasingly Difficult General Knowledge Quiz?

When they warn me these things are going to be hard, I believe them. And then, they're not. But that's a good thing. For us.

I got 13 out of 15. I missed the capitals of countries. (Geography is my weak subject, so no surprise there.) The rest weren't as hard as advertised.

Let me know how you did in the comments. 

Happy Birthday to Me 13

Today is my birthday. (No, it's not a decade one.) And, as it's Thursday, it's time for a Thursday 13. 

Several years ago, my brother got all of our very old pictures digitized. And then he uploaded them to Google Images. In honor of my birthday, I'm posting images of me as a kid. Just because. 

1. Me as a newborn. Although, I have a couple pics where I had just... ahem... emerged, I think I'll go with one after I've been cleaned up a bit. 

2. I searched year by year, and this is me at somewhere near one-year-old. 

3. I do not remember this pic, but I recognize the couch, and I recognize the room. This was taken in the house I grew up in, in the living room. (The kitchen was behind that wall behind me.) 

4. Same location as photo #3, just a different angle. And about a year later. 

5. My hair still kind of curls like that. But I wear it longer now, so I can kind of tame that weird wave away. 

6. I vaguely remember this dress. 

7. As the years go on, it gets harder to find pictures of me solo. The feet and hand to the right of me in this photo are of my brother. 

8. I look perturbed. I don't know why I was perturbed. But I loved this dress. 

9. The year I was the Pink Panther for Halloween. (Mom made the costume. Mom made all my costumes until the costumes stopped somewhere around junior high.)

10. Not my cowboy hat. But we kids liked "borrowing" the cowboy hat. 

11. I remember this jacket. I don't remember anything else from this photo. 

12. The t-shirt says "Catalina" as in Catalina Island. (We had visited not long before this.) 

13. Me in glasses. I think I still have this pair lying around somewhere. I started wearing contact lenses when I was a freshman in high school. 

Customizing Blogger

Danielle asked about templates on Blogger. Alas, I have no idea what those are. When I searched for them, I got a bunch of third-party sites and designers doing various things. If anyone has any expertise, I think there are many who would appreciate a blog post about how they work. 

So, in lieu of writing about templates, today I'm going to talk about customizing your blog. Because that is something I know how to do. 

From your first screen, click on "Theme". (If the sidebar doesn't pop up, click on the "hamburger"--the three lines--in the upper left hand corner.) You can click on each of these images to make them bigger if needed. 

I think most everyone has gone through and picked a theme that they like. And that's cool. Personally, I like to keep a background image of something I knit. My current background image is of a blanket I knit a little over a year ago. (I like to switch that out every so often. I haven't knit anything that would make a good blog background recently.) 

To use your own image, you click on "Customize" and "Background", then you can add your image there. 

This bit requires some trial and error. Because, depending on the image you use, you may wish to adjust how you do "Alignment". I have mine as "Tile" and "Scroll with page" because that way you can actually see the knit piece in the background. Other types of images will work better with different configurations. 

You can also adjust the "Layout", especially if you want to add things to a sidebar. (And it is a good idea to clean up your sidebar from time to time. When was the last time you checked to make sure everything was current and working?) 

The last tab, "Advanced", is where you fix fonts and colors. From my image, you can see Page Text, Backgrounds, Links, and Blog Title. The rest of the list contains: Tabs Text, Tabs Background, Post Title, Date Header, Post, Gadgets, Footer, Footer Links, and Add CSS. 

Click on the item you want to play with. Up will pop the option to change the font and/or colors associated with it. 

If you plan on playing with this a bit, set aside some time for it. You might be surprised by what you can do. 

There is one last bit that I kind of skipped over. The arrow next to "customize". 

If you click on HTML, you get the code behind the whole blog. Which is fascinating to look at, especially if you kind of understand how HTML works. I wouldn't change anything there unless you know what you're doing, but if there's some formatting issue that you're continuing to have issues with, that would be your final way to fix it.

Have you customized your blog? If there was one thing you could change on your blog (that you haven't attempted), what would it be?

Breaking Up Families

I keep seeing headlines about a certain dead felon and his "files". But I'm angry about the concentration camps. 

I don't like living in interesting times. 

Some articles I ran across: 

• Google’s AI Is Destroying Search, the Internet, and Your Brain
• The Landlord Gutting America’s Hospitals
• 'Hell on Earth': Venezuelans deported to El Salvador mega-prison tell of brutal abuse

Feel free to rant in the comments. 

A Finished Random Beanie

Last week I told you about the first beanie of my Christmas projects. I was about halfway through random beanie when I decided it would be the perfect birthday present for my sister-in-law. (All the birthdays for that branch of the family are done for this year except for hers and eldest nephew, who was born the day after Christmas.) 

And I finished it on Thursday. 

I modeled it as it's easier to see worn. I really like this colorway, especially for SIL. It's perfect. 

I rather enjoyed knitting this. It may look complicated, but the yarn did all the work. There were a couple interesting rows (where you pull up a strand of yarn and where you tack that yarn down), but otherwise it was a 2x2 rib. 

It went fast. I'm tempted to make a bunch of these in various colorways. But, that would require buying yarn, and the whole point of using this pattern was to use up the yarn I already had. 

My one complaint is this top bit. I deliberately made the "slouchy" version. To get this to flatten out, I need to block it. Which I have not done. I need a balloon or something, which I do not have. Of course, just wearing it long enough to stretch it out will fix all of that. 

Otherwise, yeah. I'm good with this. 

I have one other colorway that I might make for my brother. Would this be too busy for a guy? I have some time to ponder as I've already begun middle nephew's beanie in "Lakers colors". I'll show that off next week. (Not sure if it'll be finished or not, though.) 

Oh, and just to note on the other thing I mentioned last week, the yarn for eldest nephew's sweater arrived. So, I can begin on that sweater any day. 

Recognized and Remembered

At the continuation high school there is an orientation class. It is a class for the newcomers, the ones that have just transferred from their other schools. 

On the second day of school, I was surprised by this orientation class fourth period. The school is making some adjustments with how they do things (some practices were out of date, and it was time to rethink and redo them). And so now Mr. G has a period of orientation. Okay, then...

As with every new group, there were several students I did not recognize. But there were a couple who I did. And I was not surprised to see them. 

I did not say anything to Jensen even though I immediately recognized him. 

But, on Friday, Jensen brought it up. 

Jensen: "Do you remember me from the alternative education center?"

Me: "Yup. I even remember you from [traditional high school]."

Jensen: Looking confused. Then recognition dawns. "Oh, the English class..."

Yeah, among others. 

The good news: Jensen can't really roam like he did at the traditional high school as there's nowhere to roam. And he seems to have matured a little. (Very little.) 

But now I get to see him when I go to the continuation high school. Of course, that means he can't escape me as well. *evil grin*

Second Day Drama

Thursday. Fifth period. 

So, well, um, the continuation high school starts early. Some years I get work, some years I don't. 

It was only their second day of school, so students aren't sure of their schedules. And I don't take roll first thing. I always get them going on the assignment before I figure out who is absent. Usually this works out just fine... 

So, I was looking at the roll. And I realized that I had a student who did not belong in the class. I had seen him the day before. I checked, and he was supposed to be in my sixth period. No biggie. He could explain to his fifth period teacher where he was, and if the teacher needed verification I would give it. 

Only, something else was happening at that moment... 

I was only half listening. Something something someone's girlfriend. And Travis was looking at her? Only, Travis got very upset at the accusation, because he said he knew she was dating someone, and he wasn't looking at her? I don't know, it was a ridiculous disagreement. 

But Travis.

Some people just aren't quite able to get along. You know who I mean. The kind of person who blows up for no reason whatsoever. 

On Wednesday, I had given Travis the assignment. And he complained. Loudly. The lines he was supposed to draw hurt his hand. And he was sure Mr. G wouldn't make him complete the assignment. (Continuation high school. If he didn't do the assignment he wouldn't get the credits for it. There would be other assignments he could get the credits for later.) 

I wasn't in the mood for an argument, so I moved on. Travis sat in the back far corner, and he did (or did not do) his work. Fine. 

But this time Travis wasn't going to let the whole "looking at the girlfriend" go. Andres said something that set Travis off. And Travis was getting louder and louder about it. 

At roughly the same time, I asked Andres what class he was supposed to be in. He realized he was supposed to be in my sixth period. I asked him to go to his actual fifth period. And Andres was willing to go. 

Only, Travis wasn't backing down. Travis was taunting Andres. Challenging him. Making it as if Andres leaving the class was Andres running away from him. Because Travis could take him. Travis was tough, and he would mess Andres up. 

I picked up the classroom phone and dialed security. 

Andres got up. Headed out. Travis continued his taunting. 

I told security that maybe they were settling... 

Andres left. Travis got up from his seat and followed him out. 

Nope, I told security. Fight incoming... 

But small school. The boys were facing off outside, but five other staff members (including security) were there before it came to blows. 

Whew. Fight averted. 

We shooed the students back to class (because everyone left their classes when it looked like a fight was starting) while Travis and Andres were escorted to the office. 

I did not see Travis again that day. Andres showed up on time to sixth period. 

It's been a while since I witnessed a near fight. Glad that sort of thing doesn't happen every day. 

After school and the next day I talked to other adults on campus, and I got a clearer picture of what that dispute was all about. 

Andres' girlfriend had reported to the administration that Travis had been "watching" her, and I heard he was doing other things that were making her uncomfortable. (Andres and his girlfriend have a baby daughter.) Andres had mentioned to Travis that he should stay away from her. Rather than backing off, Travis doubled down. 

And, apparently Andres was nowhere near stone cold sober that day (hence not realizing he was in the wrong class). 

Early Start

Monday. I was on my phone, playing a game, when a text popped up. "I was curious if you're up for subbing for 3 days, beginning this wed..." 

I knew the first day of school for the continuation high school was Wednesday. And I had no plans for the week. Of course I took the gig. 

It was for the computer aided drafting class (CAD). I've subbed for this teacher and this class many times in the past. 

But then I saw the lesson plans for the day: "Students will complete the sketching exercise since computers are non-operational." 

The computers, in the computer aided drafting class, are non-operational... Uh... 

When I arrived on campus on Wednesday, all questions were answered. The teacher, Mr. G, showed up before school to make sure everything was ready to go. (He was finishing up his summer job--teaching a class at the community college.) The computers were non-operational because the school had bought brand new computers for the class, but they were still waiting on a cable to connect them. (Public schools...) 

And... Everything was fine. Pretty much. The "sketching exercise" was an intro drafting exercise, which was fine since many of the students were brand new to the class. 

So, does this count as having worked the first day of school? I mean, kind of? (The district superintendent even showed up to say hello. So, kind of a first day.) 

Digging into Glonzo

Just a few thoughts this week: 

While perusing Bluesky (as I do), someone had linked to an article from 2017 titled "The Al Capone Theory of Sexual Harassment". In a nutshell, the idea was that, "often people who engage in sexually predatory behavior also faked expense reports, plagiarized writing, or stole credit for other people’s work." (That's quoted from the article. Click on the link to get the full explanation.) 

Not that there's any specific reason I'd be mentioning this at the moment, you understand... 

Indivisible is doing a training thing. "We’re launching a national effort to train one million people in the tools and tactics to fight authoritarianism. Next session is July 30." The first training session was the 16th. The video is below: 

Then, MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas presents the Indivisible One Million Rising Initiative to train one million people in how to best participate in the peaceful protests and mass mobilization: 

As of Sunday, it's been six months since the regime began. Dismantling the federal government, yanking support for poor and working-class Americans, and emboldening extremism have been among his accomplishments so far.

And finally, a little post about "The Glonzo Strategy". What's a Glonzo? 

If 25% of the population believed that a creature called ‘Glonzo’ caused high power prices by chewing through transmission lines, any competent politician would be negligent in not trying to find a way to exploit this. This doesn’t mean that these people wouldn’t be fucking morons.

Feel free to rant in the comments.  

Random Beanie

I. Have. Projects. 

Finally. 

I've been whining about not having anything to work on for months now. When I went back to Ohio to visit the family, I asked each of the niblings what they wanted for Christmas. With a niece, four nephews, a brother, and a sister-in-law, there's no way I'll complete them all in time for Christmas. But at least I now have things to keep my hands busy. 

Eldest nephew requested a heavy sweater. I found a cute pattern. I ordered yarn online. I'm waiting for the yarn to arrive. 

Middle nephew requested a beanie in "Lakers colors". I think this pattern will be cute, only do I use the yellow on the top or the purple? I go back and forth. Of course, it would help if I got the yarn already, but I'll do that this week, I think. 

But what did I start on? A beanie that doesn't really have a recipient. 

My brother, for the first time, actually requested I make him something. A beanie. And so, I went on a hunt for interesting beanie patterns. I found this one. And what caught my eye was that it used a variegated yarn with long color strands. I have some of that yarn in my stash from when I made niece that eye sweater last year. 

I printed out that pattern. I found the yarn I already had. I dug out the needles required. And this is how far I've gotten... 

But, will I actually give this to my brother? It might just be too busy for him. I just don't know. 

It's something to work on while I acquire the yarn I need for the other specific projects I have to do. I'll keep you posted as how things progress. 

1980s Movies, 3 Clues

It's Friday, and other than my "fun" flight home from Ohio, not much has been going on. So, it's quiz day... 

Can You Name These 1980s Movies With Just 3 Clues?

I was a teen for the majority of the '80s. I saw most of these films. And I have a good memory for movies. So, my 14 out of 15 was kind of expected. (The one I missed is a movie I have never seen.) 

Let me know how you did in the comments. I only taunt low scores for people like me. (For example, if Alex were to do poorly on this. Which he won't. If he tries it.) Everyone else, you did amazing. 

13 Apple TV Plus Shows

When the show Murderbot began on Apple TV Plus, an account I follow on Bluesky did a list of other shows people should check out when they subscribe. Because they assumed that certain people would just subscribe for that one show. And this got me thinking. 

Are there 13 shows I would recommend from Apple TV Plus? (Because Thursday, this is a Thursday 13.) Do I recall 13 separate shows from the service? Let's see... 

1. Ted Lasso: This is the one about the American football coach who is hired to coach a UK soccer team. This is absolutely my favorite Apple TV Plus show. I may be due for (another) rewatch...

2. Severance: What if you could leave work at work, because you literally have no memory of your work life when you're outside of it? That's the premise of this show executive produced by Ben Stiller (yes, that Ben Stiller). Two seasons thus far, and that corporation has gotten up to some nefarious activities. Creepy, but fascinating. 

3. Silo: In a post-apocalyptic future, 10,000ish people are living in an underground silo, but they have no idea why. I had been avoiding starting this one, but then my father said it looked interesting, so we watched it together. Two seasons, but I heard a third season has been ordered. 

4. Mythic Quest: As of this writing, I am just a couple episodes into season four (the last season, as it's officially been cancelled). This is a workplace comedy with Rob McElhenney as the creator of the video game in the title. 

5. Schmigadoon!: Do you like musicals? How would you like to end up stuck in the middle of one? Yeah, no? Our heroes don't particularly like it, either. They go hiking/camping in the woods when they stumble across a town adhering to musical rules (plot, breaking into song), and they can't get out until they complete the story. Two seasons, also sadly cancelled. 

6. The Morning Show: At the beginning of season three, one of the characters goes up to space in a rocket for a publicity thing. Several months before it happened in real life. This is all about the cast and crew of an early morning TV show. They try to be topical (so seasons one and two will feel behind the times now). It's really well done.

7. The Buccaneers: As of this writing, season two just dropped (and I haven't started it yet, but I will). Based on the unfinished novel by Edith Wharton, it's the story of four rich young American women who travel to England (in the 1870s) and end up hunting for husbands with titles. Things don't go really well. (Culture clashes. The titled are kinda horrible people.) 

8. Lessons in Chemistry: This was a one (season) and done, based on the book of the same name. Midcentury female chemist and her struggles. She ends up hosting a cooking show. 

9. Franklin: Another one (season) and done, with Michael Douglas playing Benjamin Franklin when he went to France to try to secure funding for the Revolutionary War. The political intrigue... These are the stories missing from history in school. 

10. Time Bandits: If you've seen the 1981 movie, you understand the premise. Lisa Kudrow leads a group of time bandits who aren't very good at the bandit part, and aren't all that sure of the historical periods, either. I'm not sure if any more seasons are coming, but this one was fun. And, unlike the movie, I could actually follow the plot. 

11. Amazing Stories: There's five episodes of this show, and I've seen two. But I liked the two, and I intend to watch the rest eventually. I have fond memories of the '80s show (exec produced by Steven Spielberg), and these episodes recapture a bit of that. 

Oops, ran out of shows to recommend. So, for my last two on the list, I'll add two shows I plan to watch next. 

12. Shining Girls: I've heard good things about this one. The official description: Newspaper archivist Kirby Mazrachi's dreams of becoming a journalist are put on hold after she survives a brutal attack that leaves her in a constantly shifting reality.

13. Constellation: And this one also came highly recommended. We'll see. The official description: Jo returns to earth after a disaster in space and discovers that there are missing pieces in her life, so she sets out to expose the truth about the hidden secrets of space travel and recover what she has lost. 

Does anyone else have Apple TV Plus? If you do, do you have any other recommendations?

Following Others' Blogs

How do you keep track of all the blogs you follow? 

When I started blogging, someone wrote a post about how they kept track of the blogs they followed using a feed reader. (At the time it was Google's Reader, but Google killed that off over a decade ago.) 

A feed reader is an app that uses RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) to collect all the sites that regularly publish material in one location. So, rather than having to go to each website, you can go to the RSS app and see a list of all the articles published since you last checked. 

Some more info: The 3 best free RSS reader apps in 2025. Follow your favorite blogs, sites, and feeds for free.

I use Feedly. On any given day, I open Feedly, and there is a list of all the blogs that have been published since I last checked. I click on a title, and it pulls up the post. I can then click on the title of the post and it'll take me to that website (so I can comment there). Once I've read the post, I close it out, and that post disappears from my reader. Then on to the next. 

There are other readers, and they work similarly. To add a blog, I click on "Follow Sources" in the sidebar, and I add the website to the box that pops open. Then I add it to one of my "Feeds". 

I have several topics under "Feeds". I find it's easier to group them, so certain sites that I don't always read I can delete in one click. It's way easier to get all the feeds at once and delete those I don't want to read rather than having to check back on each blog daily or weekly to keep up. It just wouldn't happen for me that way. 

How do you keep track of the blogs you follow? If you use a feed reader, which one do you use?