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I'm back. You can read about my garden visits here; otherwise, here's the continuation of the previous post.
Last Wednesday I was in St. Johnsbury VT, and did see the Athenaeum before I left (splendid!), then drove a long way by back roads across New Hampshire and Maine and wiggled my way down to the coast, where I stayed a couple of days with my uncle and aunt, sorting out books and walking on the beach and watching "The Roosevelts." Then (see garden blog) I popped up to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (lovely!) and then down to my dad's in MA for another couple of days, then (see garden blog) to Tower Hill Botanic Garden (I am forever intrigued by which gardens decide to be botanic and which botanical, and which pluralize themselves, but never mind) and then to New Haven CT to spend the night with my sister and brother-in-law and their cats. Then Monday I drove down to PA and spent the night close to Chanticleer Garden which I was going to visit again the next day until I checked the website and discovered it was closed on Tuesdays. Oops. So I drove home, stopping to outfit myself at an Eddie Bauer outlet store on the way. The end.
I was cautiously pleased by last night's POI season four premiere - if they keep that up, it'll be a good season. I sort of expected more of them being apart before they were together again, but while the Root-Shaw meeting might have been their first since the reconfiguration, the Finch-Reese one definitely wasn't, which isn't really surprising. I am iffy about the Machine's idea that John-as-cop could stay off Samaritan's radar, but maybe she never intended that to happen (Shaw certainly wasn't going to last long as department store salesperson). And what's Root's new identity? One she has to look stunning for, it seems. Glad that Fusco is part of the team from the beginning, and that he and Reese will be working together (but again, wtf Samaritan is not that stupid). Nice moment when Reese realized he'd be sitting at Carter's desk. And I love that Root is now the one trying to convince Finch that people are worth saving; the more scenes with Amy Acker and Michael Emerson together, the better, and it's a delicious reversal. And I am not surprised or disappointed that Finch is hard to convince; he felt the Machine's turn toward violence as a real betrayal. Also Finch and Reese can exchange Bear and meaningful looks a few more times if they want. Did the Machine provide a new identity for Bear? And I hope Elias and Scarface are going to be regulars, along with John's smugface at using them.
I need to catch up on the openers of "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Good Wife." And I'm watching "Doctor Who" despite misgivings; speaking of betrayal and difficult transitions, I got pissed off at everyone being disappointed in Clara for reacting badly to the regeneration. After all, it's a shocking event if you're not expecting it, and she's the only one of the New Who companions to witness one of his* except Rose, who at least got David Tennant out of it. Not that Capaldi is without his attractions, but I'm getting a vibe of back-to-the-sexless for this season. Back to it being a rather creepy kids' show, perhaps. Anyway, I've caught up on that and am enjoying it, without huge amounts of enthusiasm, but without wanting to throw things at the screen either. (It's on my lap; there wouldn't be much windup room.) I love the new opening graphics, the new TARDIS, and the eyebrows. And Danny Pink, whose surname must be significant.
*Amy and Rory saw one, but it wasn't the Doctor's.
ETA: I did watch the Sleepy Hollow ep, and ha, still love this crazy show, although Franklin did his kite and key experiment in 1752, but the SH timeline has never made the slightest sense anyway.
Last Wednesday I was in St. Johnsbury VT, and did see the Athenaeum before I left (splendid!), then drove a long way by back roads across New Hampshire and Maine and wiggled my way down to the coast, where I stayed a couple of days with my uncle and aunt, sorting out books and walking on the beach and watching "The Roosevelts." Then (see garden blog) I popped up to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (lovely!) and then down to my dad's in MA for another couple of days, then (see garden blog) to Tower Hill Botanic Garden (I am forever intrigued by which gardens decide to be botanic and which botanical, and which pluralize themselves, but never mind) and then to New Haven CT to spend the night with my sister and brother-in-law and their cats. Then Monday I drove down to PA and spent the night close to Chanticleer Garden which I was going to visit again the next day until I checked the website and discovered it was closed on Tuesdays. Oops. So I drove home, stopping to outfit myself at an Eddie Bauer outlet store on the way. The end.
I was cautiously pleased by last night's POI season four premiere - if they keep that up, it'll be a good season. I sort of expected more of them being apart before they were together again, but while the Root-Shaw meeting might have been their first since the reconfiguration, the Finch-Reese one definitely wasn't, which isn't really surprising. I am iffy about the Machine's idea that John-as-cop could stay off Samaritan's radar, but maybe she never intended that to happen (Shaw certainly wasn't going to last long as department store salesperson). And what's Root's new identity? One she has to look stunning for, it seems. Glad that Fusco is part of the team from the beginning, and that he and Reese will be working together (but again, wtf Samaritan is not that stupid). Nice moment when Reese realized he'd be sitting at Carter's desk. And I love that Root is now the one trying to convince Finch that people are worth saving; the more scenes with Amy Acker and Michael Emerson together, the better, and it's a delicious reversal. And I am not surprised or disappointed that Finch is hard to convince; he felt the Machine's turn toward violence as a real betrayal. Also Finch and Reese can exchange Bear and meaningful looks a few more times if they want. Did the Machine provide a new identity for Bear? And I hope Elias and Scarface are going to be regulars, along with John's smugface at using them.
I need to catch up on the openers of "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Good Wife." And I'm watching "Doctor Who" despite misgivings; speaking of betrayal and difficult transitions, I got pissed off at everyone being disappointed in Clara for reacting badly to the regeneration. After all, it's a shocking event if you're not expecting it, and she's the only one of the New Who companions to witness one of his* except Rose, who at least got David Tennant out of it. Not that Capaldi is without his attractions, but I'm getting a vibe of back-to-the-sexless for this season. Back to it being a rather creepy kids' show, perhaps. Anyway, I've caught up on that and am enjoying it, without huge amounts of enthusiasm, but without wanting to throw things at the screen either. (It's on my lap; there wouldn't be much windup room.) I love the new opening graphics, the new TARDIS, and the eyebrows. And Danny Pink, whose surname must be significant.
*Amy and Rory saw one, but it wasn't the Doctor's.
ETA: I did watch the Sleepy Hollow ep, and ha, still love this crazy show, although Franklin did his kite and key experiment in 1752, but the SH timeline has never made the slightest sense anyway.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 10:55 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-09-24 11:59 pm (UTC)From:Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that. ROFL
And, yeah, anyone who watches SH for anything remotely related to the shirttail cousin of historical accuracy needs his head examined. I need to look up the guy who played Franklin, though. He looked familiar. Snort. That was Timothy Busfield, who I last remember seeing as a teenager? in some show or other way back in the day. How hilarious.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 12:03 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 12:04 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 09:04 am (UTC)From:Huh, I didn't really think about that, but I guess you are right.
expected more of them being apart before they were together again
Yeah, that was a whole lot of pathos at the end of last season for nothing. And they re-established some other things really quickly as well - the secure phone network is awfully convenient, if cleverly done, and the same goes for the new batcave, which nonetheless excited me because I was following Harold being excited and unable to not give into his curiosity. Which is true for the network as well, his genuine delight at Ali's idea was nice to see, breaking through that shell of fear he was in. He isn't made for a life of just surviving after all. I guess it was mainly Harold in general who pulled me into this episode despite my reservations after last season. And I like that Harold seemed to do what he did to help in this episode not because he wanted to keep going with the numbers, but a) to keep John and Sam safe, and b) because he couldn't help being curious. I'm still holding out for a direct interaction between Harold and the Machine, but at this point I'm not sure we'll ever get it, because I think the writers want to keep the AIs as ambiguous as possible and tell the story largely through the people involved.
iffy about the Machine's idea that John-as-cop could stay off Samaritan's radar
Ha, yes, absolutely. And a narcotics cop at that, it's not like he crossed the lines of many many drug dealers during the last years or anything. And now he's even wearing his 'uniform' again. Sure. (Though I do see how this job might be quite useful for their mission.)
Also Finch and Reese can exchange Bear and meaningful looks a few more times if they want.
Not gonna argue with that.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 11:37 am (UTC)From:It does seem that the Machine is in a bit of a hurry for them all to be working again, and everything she arranged - Ali and the phone network, John's job, Harold's job and the dissertation typos, etc. - was with the goal of not having them apart longer than necessary. And I guess if she'd put John into retail he'd have taken a few days longer to get involved with a number (he can't help himself either). Not that it wouldn't have been funny to see him help people try on shoes, but one of the customers would probably have been a criminal whose kneecaps he'd blasted a couple years back, needing good lateral support.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 11:58 am (UTC)From:I need to watch more Sleepy Hollow! The few episodes I saw were delightfully fun. Though yeah, if I wanted a history lesson I'd watch something else.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-25 03:33 pm (UTC)From:The theory behind Sleepy Hollow's history seems to be that everything having to do with the American Revolution and the people involved in it happened at the same time, or can be rearranged into whatever order suits the plot, since it was all a false front hiding the occult backdrop anyway.