Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[annzeepark914]

57 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I have no problem with Peacock's figure skating coverage. You get the NBC announcers for Skate America, but the rest of the Grand Prix is sans commentary, which people on figure skating forums enjoy. They also show Euros and 4CC in addition to worlds. 

I get Peacock for free, but it's worth a 6 month deal for the skating.

Thanks! Hey... not having to listen to Tara & Johnny would make my day. But it does help to have *some* commentary to help explain why skaters received certain scores. NBC could save $$ by just hiring Ben Agosto (along with amiable & respectful Terry) to do their commentary. 

Edited September 9, 2023 by annzeepark914

[SuprSuprElevated]

Aw now see, as much as I find Tara & Johnny a bit too try-hard to look at, I think they're terrific at moderating the fs competitions. I would miss them.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 9/5/2023 at 6:32 PM, shapeshifter said:

On Peacock I watch NBC show episodes I missed, and also Poker Face, the movies Nope and Asteroid City, and The Amber Ruffian Show
— all of which had some mentally or socially redeeming value, but were mostly a mixed bag, which might not be worthwhile to many would-be viewers.

Wikipedia has an extensive list of what Peacock offers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Peacock_original_programming

 

Ooh thanks for pointing out that asteroid city was on peacock. Now I don’t have to rent it. I don’t really like Wes Anderson but I’m a little curious to watch it. 
 

ETA watched it and it was awful. Didn’t stick with it. Too “meta” or whatever. 

Edited September 10, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[oliviabenson]

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I keep wondering if I should sign up for Peacock so I can see more figure skating competitions. There have been complaints from skating fans at various forums about Peacock. Not sure it's worth it.

Wait until it’s $20 a year or something similar. 

[stewedsquash]

@kristen111

I want to high five your response at the bottom.  

eta Also, when you do a quote, if you will hit the return key and then start your response, it will get you out of the quote box so your response is seen. I noticed you have that issue sometimes. It's a glitch, not really you.

Edited September 10, 2023 by stewedsquash
screenshot

[shapeshifter]

15 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

There is a fairly active thread about streaming services buried under

Beyond TV Shows > Other TV Talk > Everything Else TV 

 

Thanks.
Categories with titles like “Miscellaneous,” “Everything Else,” and “General Works” bug the hell out of me for precisely this reason — there is no rhyme or reason why an item gets dumped in the Miscellaneous category, so one has to look everywhere else first.😤
“General Works” is used by Librarians, which makes me ashamed of my former profession.
</end-rant>

Well, not quite end-rant: I can never find the Movies threads on this site. I have to use Google-fu.
Sorry. I’m cranky today. 
I must admit I do f’love the randomness of our Chit-Chat thread.
And, yes, I have a junk drawer in my kitchen.

Anyhoo, I gave a very generous review/post here for the over-hyped, chock full of a-list stars, Asteroid City movie, which was initially released “only in theaters,” but quickly disappeared into Peacock, and I have to agree with “it was awful”:

8 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Ooh thanks for pointing out that asteroid city was on peacock. Now I don’t have to rent it. I don’t really like Wes Anderson but I’m a little curious to watch it. 

ETA watched it and it was awful. Didn’t stick with it. Too “meta” or whatever. 

Heh, Asteroid City was more “whatever” than “meta,” in my final opinion.😉 

Edited September 10, 2023 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

@shapeshifter you can find the movies thread under pop culture.  Try that and see if it's easier.

[Browncoat]

To be fair, if you don't like Wes Anderson in general, there is no way on Earth you'd like Asteroid City.  It is unquestionably the most Wes Anderson-y Wes Anderson movie he's made.

I loved it.  

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

@shapeshifter you can find the movies thread under pop culture.  Try that and see if it's easier.

Yes, thank you, although not intuitive or memorable for me thus far. 
I think maybe they're still updating the thread and category titles?

The top of the Movies page shows:

• 
  

So I kept going to Everything Else instead of Pop Culture:

• 
   

[kristen111]

18 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I keep wondering if I should sign up for Peacock so I can see more figure skating competitions. There have been complaints from skating fans at various forums about Peacock. Not sure it's worth it.

$5.99 isn’t bad.  Who knows if it will be lowered again this year by the way things are going lately.   Every year my Condo dues go up.  This year, up $135.  Husband wants to move to a house again.  I don’t have the energy to pack up one box.  The thought makes me sick…

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

Every year my Condo dues go up.  This year, up $135.  Husband wants to move to a house again.  I don’t have the energy to pack up one box.  The thought makes me sick…

It's not very expensive to hire movers to do all the packing.
Maybe make a deal with hubby: We can move if we hire packers.
But the housing market is through the roof too (unavoidable pun).

Edited September 10, 2023 by shapeshifter

[EtheltoTillie]

Condo fees cover all maintenance activities.  In a house you will have to do the maintenance yourself or find someone to do it.  $135 seems reasonable considering. 

But if you must move, it really is worth it to hire the movers to pack. 

[Laura Holt]

18 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

This year, up $135.  Husband wants to move to a house again.  I don’t have the energy to pack up one box.  The thought makes me sick…

Do you mean an additional $135 or is now $135?  My parents lived in a condo until a few years ago and they were paying about $800 a month in condo fees - which was insane IMO!

[kristen111]

9 minutes ago, Laura Holt said:

Do you mean an additional $135 or is now $135?  My parents lived in a condo until a few years ago and they were paying about $800 a month in condo fees - which was insane IMO!

We will be paying $707. Per month, but there’s everything here, and he does nothing except play golf and does the food shopping.  He’s done with taking care of houses.  Been there, done that.

[Mindthinkr]

Having moved from a town house to a single family home I wasn’t prepared for all the extra expenses. Taxes, insurance, home repairs (I had to install new air conditioning and am looking at a new roof), yard maintenance, painting and decor, garbage collection, etc plus I have 2 HOA’s. Although I love where I’m living, now I think how much easier it would be at my age to just get back into a townhouse or condos. Nah, I like not listening to neighbors fight and their dogs pooping in my backyard. Until I can’t handle the extra time and expense I’ll stay put. 

[kristen111]

2 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Having moved from a town house to a single family home I wasn’t prepared for all the extra expenses. Taxes, insurance, home repairs (I had to install new air conditioning and am looking at a new roof), yard maintenance, painting and decor, garbage collection, etc plus I have 2 HOA’s. Although I love where I’m living, now I think how much easier it would be at my age to just get back into a townhouse or condos. Nah, I like not listening to neighbors fight and their dogs pooping in my backyard. Until I can’t handle the extra time and expense I’ll stay put. 

You have a nice set up there.  Stay, as long as you can.  I’m staying put too.

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

You have a nice set up there.  Stay, as long as you can.  I’m staying put too.

We bought our little house back in the eighties. We own the house next door and only have across the street neighbors. I don't think I can ever live in a condo. Looks like it's the trailer park for me.

[Laura Holt]

Just now, peacheslatour said:

I don't think I can ever live in a condo. Looks like it's the trailer park for me.

My daughter keeps reminding us that they have an apartment in their basement earmarked for us "one day".  Which may well be where we end up as we will never have the financial means to move to a retirement residence - at least none of the ones around here! - and in any event the idea of going back to sharing walls with strangers is one that is on my "never going to happen if I can help it!" list.

 

[theredhead77]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks.
Categories with titles like “Miscellaneous,” “Everything Else,” and “General Works” bug the hell out of me for precisely this reason — there is no rhyme or reason why an item gets dumped in the Miscellaneous category, so one has to look everywhere else first.😤

You're welcome. The site organization does make topics hard to find.

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I must admit I do f’love the randomness of our Chit-Chat thread.

It is random. I like to point out topical threads (if I know they exist) in case people want to do a dive into a specific topic (or don't know the thread exists, because of how the site it organized).

 

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

Having moved from a town house to a single family home I wasn’t prepared for all the extra expenses. Taxes, insurance, home repairs (I had to install new air conditioning and am looking at a new roof), yard maintenance, painting and decor, garbage collection, etc plus I have 2 HOA’s. Although I love where I’m living, now I think how much easier it would be at my age to just get back into a townhouse or condos. Nah, I like not listening to neighbors fight and their dogs pooping in my backyard. Until I can’t handle the extra time and expense I’ll stay put. 

I went from apartments to a townhouse to a single family home. I don't think I was fully prepared for how much things would cost but I'm also feeling really empowered as I learn how to DIY (thanks to YouTube).

My next project is to replace the gutter downspouts on my patio cover since they are leaking at the connectors and joints, and sealant isn't working. They're narrow and replacing the downspout with a wider one will help accommodate the rainfall and also allow me to add a longer output at the bottom which will hopefully stop my patio from flooding.

On the topic of topical threads, there is also a home improvement thread.

The gardening thread will be useful as I figure out what plants to plant.
 

 

[nokat]

3 hours ago, kristen111 said:

We will be paying $707. Per month, but there’s everything here, and he does nothing except play golf and does the food shopping.  He’s done with taking care of houses.  Been there, done that.

I feel that. I just couldn't anymore.  I now don't have to worry about mowing, or shoveling snow, or trimming trees. Or finding a plumber to fix the pinhole leaks.

[Laura Holt]

22 minutes ago, nokat said:

I now don't have to worry about mowing, or shoveling snow, or trimming trees.

Funny to read this just after I basically fired the kid who is supposed to be mowing our lawn.  I say supposed to be because since the beginning of June he's shown up maybe 5-6 times.  I let it go because hey he's a teenager earning  money for college and I figured he may have taken on more customers than he could handle and I wanted to be a nice guy.  Well three weeks have now gone by since we've seen him and no more Mr. Nice Guy.  Although my text message was worded way nicer than it should have been!  

[kristen111]

5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

We bought our little house back in the eighties. We own the house next door and only have across the street neighbors. I don't think I can ever live in a condo. Looks like it's the trailer park for me.

I can understand that.  But, this Condo is in the middle of Long Island .. west to N.Y.City, and East to the Hamptons.  2 pools, golf course, beautiful clubhouse, and very social.  The reason, my hubs found out about the increase, was that 6 people fell and sued the Association.  Now, dues went up.  After we moved back from Florida after 18 months, we were in an apartment and looked around and met a friend we worked with who lived her, so bought as things were just as nice as in Florida.  He was fascinated with the golf course, and we are near the three kids.  He calmed down today.  I’m not moving.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

and very social. 

And you just lost me. I'm a hermit, sorry.

[kristen111]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

And you just lost me. I'm a hermit, sorry.

So am I, sort of.  Years ago, I did the card games, canasta, dances, etc.  At this point, I’d rather be home watching my tv.  Plus, I hate getting dressed up to go out at night.    I’ve always been a home body.        Aside from golf, my husband likes to stay home and watch the sports.

[stewedsquash]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It's not very expensive to hire movers to do all the packing.
Maybe make a deal with hubby: We can move if we hire packers.
But the housing market is through the roof too (unavoidable pun).

I used to love when Jeff Lewis and his guy Gage along with his office crew would move to a new house. It was so ridiculously organized. They all worked in synch with each other, had lists there was never any clutter of moving. Sigh, I miss his shows.

[peacheslatour]

20 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

So am I, sort of.  Years ago, I did the card games, canasta, dances, etc.  At this point, I’d rather be home watching my tv.  Plus, I hate getting dressed up to go out at night.    I’ve always been a home body.        Aside from golf, my husband likes to stay home and watch the sports.

Yep. My husband still works so it's just me and the cat and my eleventy billion robes. I like nothing better than reading, watching tv and cooking. I'm happiest when I'm eating coffee ice cream and talking to you fine people. Of course, when my husband is home, all my attention is on him.

Edited September 10, 2023 by peacheslatour

[kristen111]

7 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

My daughter keeps reminding us that they have an apartment in their basement earmarked for us "one day".  Which may well be where we end up as we will never have the financial means to move to a retirement residence - at least none of the ones around here! - and in any event the idea of going back to sharing walls with strangers is one that is on my "never going to happen if I can help it!" list.

 

Believe it or not, I’ve had more noise when we owned our four houses.  Air conditioners right near our window, barking dogs next door, a party house all weekend, loud neighbors, etc.  My condo neighbors now are pretty quiet.  So far.  I hate noise.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, nokat said:

I now don't have to worry about mowing, or shoveling snow, or trimming trees.

8 hours ago, kristen111 said:

We will be paying $707. Per month

8 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Having moved from a town house to a single family home I wasn’t prepared for all the extra expenses. Taxes, insurance, home repairs (I had to install new air conditioning and am looking at a new roof), yard maintenance, painting and decor, garbage collection, etc plus I have 2 HOA’s. Although I love where I’m living, now I think how much easier it would be at my age to just get back into a townhouse or condos.

8 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Condo fees cover all maintenance activities.  In a house you will have to do the maintenance yourself or find someone to do it

I was a model renter, living in most places for 5-7 years at a time over decades, with landlords telling me how wonderful I was when I moved out. 

When I unexpectedly inherited enough money to buy something, my daughter pushed me towards a condo because she thought it would be like all of you are describing, but no, it is not.

The HOA is $350/mo., but only covers lawn care, snow removal, garbage, and water. So it's like what a landlord often paid for. 

I pay property taxes, school taxes, electric, gas, and any plumbing or other problems that are part of my unit. Supposedly anything outside of my unit is covered, but nope. I have to replace and repair the outside air conditioning unit, the dryer vent that goes through the roof, the windows, etc. etc. 
And anything major, like roof or driveways, requires chipping in thousands for a "special assessment."

And I can't plant anything or make the lawn more eco-friendly. I can't put an antennae on my roof.

One of my neighbors is incontinent, and sometimes the main hallway smells like stale urine, which reminds me of when my sister finally got my parents to visit the assisted living place and Mom said it smelled, but as soon as my dad was in hospice, my sister moved them there anyway.

But I would *probably* not complain (so much) if I had views of water and sky and didn't have to carry my groceries up 15 steps.
And I'd really like to be able to hear the waves when the surf is high. 

Edited September 10, 2023 by shapeshifter

[kristen111]

40 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

I used to love when Jeff Lewis and his guy Gage along with his office crew would move to a new house. It was so ridiculously organized. They all worked in synch with each other, had lists there was never any clutter of moving. Sigh, I miss his shows.

Love Jeff Lewis and Monroe.  Wonder what happened with Gage.  I recently watched his whole series on one of my channels.  Is he on anything now?  Nobody brings a lunch sandwich on his show.  He buys lunch everyday for everyone, lol.  He’s a great boss.

[kristen111]

12 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I was a model renter, living in most places for 5-7 years at a time over decades, with landlords telling me how wonderful I was when I moved out. 

When I unexpectedly inherited enough money to buy something, my daughter pushed me towards a condo because she thought it would be like all of you are describing, but no, it is not.

The HOA is $350/mo., but only covers lawn care, snow removal, garbage, and water. So it's like what a landlord often paid for. 

I pay property taxes, school taxes, electric, gas, and any plumbing or other problems that are part of my unit. Supposedly anything outside of my unit is covered, but nope. I have to replace and repair the outside air conditioning unit, the dryer vent that goes through the roof, the windows, etc. etc. 
And anything major, like roof or driveways, requires chipping in thousands for a "special assessment."

And I can't plant anything or make the lawn more eco-friendly. I can't put an antennae on my roof.

One of my neighbors is incontinent, and sometimes the main hallway smells like stale urine, which reminds me of when my sister finally got my parents to visit the assisted living place and Mom said it smelled, but as soon as my dad was in hospice, my sister moved them there anyway.

But I would *probably* not complain (so much) if I had views of water and sky and didn't have to carry my groceries up 15 steps.
And I'd really like to be able to hear the waves when the surf is high. 

But you have all that out East.  No?  When you go out there?

[PRgal]

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

We bought our little house back in the eighties. We own the house next door and only have across the street neighbors. I don't think I can ever live in a condo. Looks like it's the trailer park for me.

My family moved into a condo in the late 90s when I went away to university and never looked back.  I plan to raise my son in the one that we’re in right now.  We can always rent a house to spend the summer.  I prefer not having to mow the lawn or shovel the driveway.  

[shapeshifter]

Just now, kristen111 said:

But you have all that out East.  No?  When you go out there?

I only have the condo, in Rochester NY. 
I've lived a lot of other places that I've mentioned here, so that may have caused some confusion.

[kristen111]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I only have the condo, in Rochester NY. 
I've lived a lot of other places that I've mentioned here, so that may have caused some confusion.

Sorry.  Thought I was answering @EtheltoTillie.  Not drinking either.  In fact I’m watching Murder She Wrote on Peacock while typing.  I also watched the Book movie with the four actresses.  All new faces from work done, especially Jane Fonda and Mary Steenbergen.  Yikes!  Overdone.

[kristen111]

12 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

Sorry.  Thought I was answering @EtheltoTillie.  Not drinking either.  In fact I’m watching Murder She Wrote on Peacock while typing.  I also watched the Book movie with the four actresses.  All new faces from work done, especially Jane Fonda and Mary Steenbergen.  Yikes!  Overdone.

Guess I’m not good at multitasking.  Eyeballs falling out from tv all day.  Watched Poker Face too.  I love a series.

[annzeepark914]

Has anyone here watched the Marvelous Mrs Maisel series? I'd heard about it & watched two episodes (one Friday, the second one last night) on Prime on my laptop. It was fun seeing the clothes from the late 50's, the big phones, the beautiful apts in NYC. But, I was a bit exhausted afterward. They speak so fast. I'm from NYS, my mom from the city, but no one I know from that area speaks so damn fast. I went to the MMM forum but don't want to read spoilers and no one's discussing the early stuff. I can't decide if I want to watch any more.

[SoMuchTV]

21 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I went to the MMM forum but don't want to read spoilers and no one's discussing the early stuff. I can't decide if I want to watch any more.

There are threads for each episode so you should be able to limit your reading to the ones you’ve already seen. But to answer your question, yeah, I thought it was a fun series to watch. 

[theredhead77]

54 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has anyone here watched the Marvelous Mrs Maisel series? I'd heard about it & watched two episodes (one Friday, the second one last night) on Prime on my laptop. It was fun seeing the clothes from the late 50's, the big phones, the beautiful apts in NYC. But, I was a bit exhausted afterward. They speak so fast. I'm from NYS, my mom from the city, but no one I know from that area speaks so damn fast. I went to the MMM forum but don't want to read spoilers and no one's discussing the early stuff. I can't decide if I want to watch any more.

I really enjoyed the series. It can be "a lot" but if you have Prime and the time, I think it's worth the ride (and time).

[Suzn]

57 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has anyone here watched the Marvelous Mrs Maisel series? I'd heard about it & watched two episodes (one Friday, the second one last night) on Prime on my laptop. It was fun seeing the clothes from the late 50's, the big phones, the beautiful apts in NYC. But, I was a bit exhausted afterward. They speak so fast. I'm from NYS, my mom from the city, but no one I know from that area speaks so damn fast. I went to the MMM forum but don't want to read spoilers and no one's discussing the early stuff. I can't decide if I want to watch any more.

 I think if you liked the first couple of episodes, you'd enjoy the rest.  Visually it is feast of 50s clothes and interior decorating.  Because I can be super critical, I can pick at the characters and sometimes at the plots, but it remains compelling to the end.

[SuprSuprElevated]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Has anyone here watched the Marvelous Mrs Maisel series? I'd heard about it & watched two episodes (one Friday, the second one last night) on Prime on my laptop. It was fun seeing the clothes from the late 50's, the big phones, the beautiful apts in NYC. But, I was a bit exhausted afterward. They speak so fast. I'm from NYS, my mom from the city, but no one I know from that area speaks so damn fast. I went to the MMM forum but don't want to read spoilers and no one's discussing the early stuff. I can't decide if I want to watch any more.

It's a good show, but yes, the Mrs. Maisel character is exhausting. And her mananger.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Suzn said:

 I think if you liked the first couple of episodes, you'd enjoy the rest.  Visually it is feast of 50s clothes and interior decorating.
…it remains compelling to the end.

I agree with this👆 and other kudos forThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
The writers are the same who wrote the equally snappy dialogue of seasons 1-6 of Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino (wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmore_Girls#Writing). 

The show is of consistent quality over 43 episodes from 2028-2023, earning and deserving of its many awards, despite the pandemic raging on IRL (imdb.com/title/tt5788792/awards). 

To me,TMMM felt like a tribute to my own marvelous Mom, who passed in 2019.

[stewedsquash]

I went to Prime to check out this MMM and I have added it to my watchlist, not so much on the lead actress but on all the other actors that I recognized. How have I missed this show? 

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

I went to Prime to check out this MMM and I have added it to my watchlist, not so much on the lead actress but on all the other actors that I recognized. How have I missed this show? 

I actually started watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel because of the lead actress, Rachel Brosnahan, who I loved along with other compelling actors in Manhattan, which is about the Manhattan Project, not the city (imdb.com/title/tt3231564).

[stewedsquash]

I am not familiar with the MMM actress but when I started watching the trailer I almost immediately went wait, is that?/this person is on this show?/I know who that is!/who is that, I know them but I can't place them/whoa whoa whoa I can't believe I get to see this person again!,  every time a new face showed up. 

I am going to have to get rid of some littles. They are hindering my royals fun (Mike Tindall's podcast, which I had no clue of!) and now this show. I just want to superficially royal watch, binge a season of a show in one day,  and start then finish a book in a timely manner. Each day I am hopeful that this will be the day and I guess that is the bat signal or something. 

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, stewedsquash said:

I am not familiar with the MMM actress but when I started watching the trailer I almost immediately went wait, is that?/this person is on this show?/I know who that is!/who is that, I know them but I can't place them/whoa whoa whoa I can't believe I get to see this person again!,  every time a new face showed up. 

As I mention in the discussion threads of the 2 shows I watched her in, Rachel Brosnahan bears a striking resemblance to a best friend of mine from high school, who was from the same geographic area and ancestry. But you might possibly recognize her as the niece of the late Kate Spade?

[EtheltoTillie]

I eagerly watched MMM as it aired.  I commented in the forums, as did @shapeshifter, for one. There was a lot of lively discussion. Some of the things the characters do are inexplicable. They talk too fast, which is the trademark of the showrunnners. The costumes are to die for. You can now enjoy bingeing, which I was unable to do. 

[ABay]

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had one of the best endings to a series I've seen.

[annzeepark914]

Snappy dialogue. Wasn't that the style of West Wing? I never watched that show but heard that the characters all talked fast.

[oliviabenson]

The palladinos ruined Gilmore girls. I will never watch anything they create! I’m will never get over my unhappiness with what they did to GG.
 

In Gilmore Girls the 2 leading women talked fasttt lol.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

As I mention in the discussion threads of the 2 shows I watched her in, Rachel Brosnahan bears a striking resemblance to a best friend of mine from high school, who was from the same geographic area and ancestry. But you might possibly recognize her as the niece of the late Kate Spade?

Also sister in law of comedian David Spade. 

[Quof]

To be clear, Rachel is not David Spade's sister-in-law.