test please delete

[BR14]

threatening cloud, but feck all precipitation yet, - all mouth and trousers in the south east, as usual

[DoctorStrangelove]

This evening's television, such as it was, consisted of another viewing of this week's "Elementary" after I'd adjusted the skew on the LNB to improve the signal a bit.

Sky Living still drops out but not nearly as much as it was doing on Monday.

Considering the LNB has used the previous skew setting for years, I don't understand wtf is going on, unless it the satellite constellation changing a bit, or a different transponder being used.

So it still dropped out now & again but at least it was watchable.

This was followed by "Engineering Disasters" or some such on "Blaze", this being about an unfortunate 707 attempting to land at JFK NY in bad weather with poor visibility at night, having low fuel, and ATC effectively ignoring the urgency of the situation since the aircrew said "priority" instead of "emergency".

Killed 72 people when it crashed with empty tanks.

This last being a blessing in disguise since there was no fire.

TFBSZ.

Oh, and the moderately tedious 8 mins of extras on the "Sin City" dvd.

[vetran]

finally pitter patter raindrops.

Nature serenades me as I post.

Dinner was chicken sandwich + a nice glass (or 2) of white wine after collecting Miss V1 from work.

[NickFitz]

Tonight's biggish screen experience opened with yet another rewatch, this time of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), which is a good example of its genre and worth both a watch and a rewatch IMHO.

After that, a first watch: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016), being the true story (or the motion picture version of true) of the attack on the USA's diplomatic compound, and then on their "secret" CIA base, in Benghazi in 2012 during a visit there by the American ambassador to Libya. I understand this got some poor reviews, which seem to have been predicated on a failure to grasp that war is a messy business and doesn't always fit a convenient narrative flow. Anyway, it's a gripping but thoroughly depressing film, because a bunch of people had to go through all this crap for real because of crappy international politics and general ****ups by the US military. Worth a watch, but don't expect to feel uplifted by the end; just relieved that at least a fair few people made it out alive.

Incidentally, have you noticed that they're called "private military contractors" rather than "mercenaries" if and only if they're being paid by a company that has made large financial contributions to American politicians?

Goodnight all

[DoctorStrangelove]

Time to wash the dishes & bugger off down town to do The Saturday Shoppe.

Ho hum.

And it's sunny again, but currently not unbearably hot.

[WTFH]

Morning all CBS, still no rain. Oh, and it's HOT

[DoctorStrangelove]

currently not unbearably hot.

It is now.

<DrS in "phew wot a scorcher" mode>

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

A bit too warm again here

[DoctorStrangelove]

It's gone nicely grey, but out of principle, this afternoon's first feature was "16 Blocks" with Bruce Willis (in a wig), and Mos Def (without a wig).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450232/

I rather enjoyed it, though the repeated pressing of the time left button sort of implies that it wasn't gripping me overmuch.

It's of slight interest to note that the pile it came out of held the receipt that shows it's been in said pile for 10 years and 3 months.


Followed by "The Road" with Viggo Mortensen:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It's so relentlessly grim that I turned it off after 20 minutes & went out & picked some more blackberries.

Because I can.

When the sun comes out it's very strong.

A horsefly attempted to suck my blood but I told it to feck off & not come back or I'd kill it.

It listened.

Tea was a Morrisons steak & kidney pie with Heinz baked beans, followed by stewed blackberries, icecream(BBE 09/2013), and custard.

It was all Very Nice.

The nice hot cup of tea is going down well too.

Dear Deity, this film is grim with added grimness just in case the original grim wasn't grim enough.

Why the feck did I decide to watch it?

Today's 3rd feature, following the immensely depressing "The Road", is "The Watch".

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298649/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It is very mildly amusing.


To be fair, once the aliens appear it gets much funnier.

Laugh out loud funny in a few places.

For which, after watching "The Road", much thanks.

[NickFitz]

Gourmet lunch of fish fingers in a wholemeal bap, with tomato sauce

And I had a really nice juicy nectarine for breakfast