Cellar Scribblings

[Jeff Wrangler]

I bought a new smart TV for $300 (or about what I was paying a month for cable). It's slightly harder to navigate than Comcast was but worth it. It's only problematic if there's something on regular network TV I want to watch. I think there are workarounds for that, too, and it's rarely an issue anyway. I found it difficult to watch the Republican debates in their entirety, but I'm probably going to want to figure something out before the Oscars and, later in the year, for any presidential debates that might happen, although who knows if they even will.

Wait. You have a smart TV, and it's hard/difficult/confusing to watch things on the "regular" networks (e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS)? 

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

Hope that everyone is starting the New Year in a way that makes them happy!

I had a bit of a sleep in, which is always good. 

I always keep Christmas stuff up until January 6th (Little Christmas / Epiphany) but I decided that this week I would take some down each day, leaving the windows and tree for last, which will be taken down on the 6th.

Today I cleared off the small amount of Christmas stuff I had in the kitchen, the bathroom, and the coffee table.   Tuesday I'll clear off the end table,  Wednesday the Ruldolph plushies will be packed, and then Thursday and Friday the ornaments will start to get packed away.

That leaves the tree and windows for the weekend.

[Front-Ranger]

Happy New Year, Chuck and friends!

My fireworks were different...I woke up sneezing like crazy. Don't know what set it off but I felt much better after clearing out my lungs. I was doing some New Year's cleaning a few days ago and I had to begin by taking apart my vacuum and cleaning it out with a brush. I had to cut all the long strings and ribbons and hair off the beater brush and put in a new bag. That vacuum runs so much better now! It's an Oreck, made in Louisiana which my mother was very proud of.

The other fireworks were when I popped open the champagne, no, the biscuit package. You know how you press on the seam with a spoon and it makes a big pop? I was making a special dish, biscuits and gravy, which was well received, along with sausages and an omelet, by my upstairs renter, a special person who most of you know! 

[serious crayons]

It seems like the bigger screen would be an asset for that movie because Christopher   Nolan's work  is always on an epic scale. Plus, you could really feel the intensity in Cillian Murphy's eyes. Other benefits are a great sound system, being able to see trailers of coming features, and being around people, feeling like you're watching in a community of kindred spirits. Sometimes I strike up instant critiques with people while leaving the theater and, a time or two, I''ve even gone to a bar or coffee shop nearby to discuss the show.

You've gone to a bar or coffee shop to discuss the show with people you just met while leaving the theater? Impressive!

All good reasons to see movies in a theater, FRiend! With the possible exception of Cillian Murphy's eyes -- I've never especially liked Cillian Murphy. I can't even say exactly why -- there's nothing wrong with him, he's a good actor and objectively decent looking. But for some reason I've never warmed up to him, starting with the first movie in which I saw him, 28 Days Later (which is a good zombie-apocalypse movie, and clearly provided a lot of the inspiration for The Walking Dead, a so-so TV show).

Oppenheimer is epically scaled as usual for Nolan, but IMO could be watched effectively on a TV. And although it's appearing on critics Top 10 lists and so on, my favorite Nolan movies are still among his earliest: Memento, The Prestige and Insomnia.

[serious crayons]

Wait. You have a smart TV, and it's hard/difficult/confusing to watch things on the "regular" networks (e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS)? 

Yeah, all "smart" really means is that it's connected to the internet, so you don't *need* cable or dish to watch it. What you watch are streaming apps like HBO, Netflix, etc. I'm not sure whether ABC, NBC etc. stream their shows -- or if they do via separate apps but charge for the service more than it would be worth  for the sake of an Oscar broadcast and a couple of presidential debates. (Otherwise, I haven't watched network TV for years.) Apparently you can get local channels with a (cheap) antenna, though I'm not sure how effectively you can install one in an apartment, or I think also by subscribing to certain networks like Sling or Hulu, but that gets confusing, too. I need to wait until a millennial visits, which will be happening later this month. (I don't know why there's not a more thriving industry for handyman-like types who exclusively help people set up their home electronics -- like Geek Squad but independent operators.)

And supposedly you can watch live TV on a network's website. But I wound up "watching" the first presidential debate, which was broadcast by Fox, via little clips they'd post every few minutes of what they deemed important moments in the debate. Awkward. And you have to trust Fox's judgement of what moments are important. I've watched subsequent debates in chunks on the internet after the fact. All I've concluded so far is that if I were forced at gunpoint to vote for a Republican candidate it would be Chris Christie because at least he has the guts to be honest about Trump.

[Sason]

See? Hallmark movies are all-around easier on the eyes than Tabasco. 

 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Yeah, all "smart" really means is that it's connected to the internet, so you don't *need* cable or dish to watch it. What you watch are streaming apps like HBO, Netflix, etc. I'm not sure whether ABC, NBC etc. stream their shows -- or if they do via separate apps but charge for the service more than it would be worth  for the sake of an Oscar broadcast and a couple of presidential debates. (Otherwise, I haven't watched network TV for years.) Apparently you can get local channels with a (cheap) antenna, though I'm not sure how effectively you can install one in an apartment, or I think also by subscribing to certain networks like Sling or Hulu, but that gets confusing, too. I need to wait until a millennial visits, which will be happening later this month. (I don't know why there's not a more thriving industry for handyman-like types who exclusively help people set up their home electronics -- like Geek Squad but independent operators.)

And supposedly you can watch live TV on a network's website. But I wound up "watching" the first presidential debate, which was broadcast by Fox, via little clips they'd post every few minutes of what they deemed important moments in the debate. Awkward. And you have to trust Fox's judgement of what moments are important. I've watched subsequent debates in chunks on the internet after the fact. All I've concluded so far is that if I were forced at gunpoint to vote for a Republican candidate it would be Chris Christie because at least he has the guts to be honest about Trump.

NBC has a streaming service it calls Peacock. I guess the other networks have them, too, but I can't say.

After reading your post, I think I'll stick with a dumb TV. I mean, maybe some day I'll have a flat screen for the living room, but it doesn't seem worth my trouble to give up easy access to the local network affiliates. There's still some high-time entertainment on those networks.

[serious crayons]

NBC has a streaming service it calls Peacock. I guess the other networks have them, too, but I can't say.

After reading your post, I think I'll stick with a dumb TV. I mean, maybe some day I'll have a flat screen for the living room, but it doesn't seem worth my trouble to give up easy access to the local network affiliates. There's still some high-time entertainment on those networks.

True about Peacock, but it's $6/mo. I imagine the other networks have something similar. But if there's a cheaper way to access them all together it would make sense. I think I can still access PBS. I don't watch it that much but I like American Experience now and then.

Mainly it was a financial decision for me -- after cutting the cable I saved the cost of the TV in about two months. (It was ~$350 for TV and internet -- now it's $25 for internet; the TV set cost just over $300.)

But aside from debate season and possible award-season frustrations, giving up local programming was not a huge sacrifice for me. Last network TV show I watched was The Good Place, which ended three years ago. I've never made a habit of watching local or national news because I tend to read most of my news.

[Front-Ranger]

When I wanted to watch the Oscars, I subscribed to YouTube. It was free for a month, but then the price was $80-$120 a month after that. I didn't get around to unsubscribing until I had been charged for two months in which I didn't watch YouTube premium at all. There are many features I just don't use.

The libraries also have a way you can access premium content like that.

Stop the presses! I actually watched television last night! My upstairs renter invited me to watch some music videos of a man named Dimach something who has a 7-octave range, a Korean group, and a Hallmark-style movie called "Make the Yuletide Gay" that stars an adorable couple played by Keith Jordan and Adamo Ruggiero. It was a hoot!

[CellarDweller]

Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!

January 6th, Little Christmas, Epiphany.  I spent part of today taking down the tree and all the Christmas stuff.  Definitely not as fun as putting it up, but I do like the apartment looking back to its usual self, and roomy again as well.

We're getting snow today, my area should be  getting between 1 - 3 inches overnight but turning to rain tomorrow, which will wash it away.

Other than that, things have been pretty much the same.