S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 25

The Simpsons

I recently finished watching the first ten seasons of The Simpsons on Disney+. My goal starting out was twenty seasons, but I'm not going to make it. The tenth season was hard enough to slog through (except there was one joke in the second-to-last episode of the tenth season that almost literally had me rolling on the floor).  And I have already seen most if not all of my favorite episodes such as "Last Exit to Springfield," "Duffless," and "Deep Space Homer."
One thing I didn't like was that Disney+ showed the episodes widescreen when they were originally 4:3. That sometimes cut off important parts of the visuals (such as in "Duffless.") See details here.
Also, the third season episode, "Stark Raving Dad" isn't on Disney+, perhaps because of its Michael Jackson connection (Jackson voiced a character who things he's Michael Jackson). Apparently you have to buy the complete third season on DVD to see it these day.

I watched normally two episodes a day. Sometimes on the weekend I'd watch more. 

Watching the series so fast, you can almost feel the quality degrading as the years pass. The early seasons (after the short season one) seemed to be the best, and it went downhill from there but with occasional brilliant episodes. 

I also watched the seventeenth season episode "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" as it was, I believe, the last truly brilliant episode. 

I watched The Simpsons in first run for thirty years. But then I gave up on it. I see it still is running but I'm not watching (I gave up on Family Guy, too).

Now I'm going to have to find something new to watch. Not sure what. Maybe catch up on The Expanse. 

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.

The Pac-12 and Who I Hate

College football starts soon. And I am, of course, rooting for the University of Washington Huskies (Go Dawgs!) The Huskies play in the Pac-12 conference and there are some rivalries and teams I outright hate in that conference.
For football, the Pac-12 is divided into two divisions each with six teams. They are the Pac-12 North and the Pac-12 South. The winner of each division plays in the Pac-12 Conference Championship game.

First, I loath the Oregon Nike Ducks (Pac-12 North). They are my most-hated team. Mostly because they usually beat the Huskies. But also going back to when the Huskies had some minor recruiting violations, Oregon led the way for the Pac-12 to discipline the program even when the NCAA said there was no need for that. I will root against Oregon no matter who they are playing. Even the Cougs.

In second place, is the Washington State University Cougars (Pac-12 North). They are my second most-hated team and a cross-state rival. We beat the Cougars a lot, but of course, it's a cross-state rivalry. I'm required to hate them.

In third place is USC Trojans (Pac-12 South). They are just so arrogant. Even when they lose.

In fourth place is the Stanford Cardinal (it's a color and Pac-12 North). For some reason, we have trouble beating them.

In fifth place is the Utah Utes (Pac-12 South). They are a tough team to beat.

Finally, in sixth place is the University of Arizona Wildcats (Pac-12 South). They are (usually) a tough team to beat, especially when they play at home. Predictions are they won't be very good this year.

And the rest of the teams, including Pac-12 North teams Oregon State and California and Pac-12 South Teams Colorado, Arizona State, and UCLA I don't have much feelings toward. Except, of course, I always want to beat them when the Huskies play them.

Trees in 140 Characters

 I was looking for ideas to blog about and I found this random blog idea generator. It first wanted me to enter a noun so I entered "tree." Don't ask why. Five ideas came up. I didn't really like most of them (and they all had "tree" in them someplace). But one caught my eye:

"Tree explained in 140 characters."

I have a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources. I probably know more about trees than the average Joe (although my specific area of study was turning trees into paper). And, as you probably know, 140 characters was what Twitter used to allow (now it's 280).

I had to think about what do trees do? How do they do it? What is the net result?

Here's what I came up with:

Trees grow up, turning air into sugar, sugar into structure, structure into height. They can be huge or merely tall. They make oxygen for us 

The last period is missing because that's the 141st character.

Trees take air, that is, carbon dioxide, plus water and turn it into glucose, a sugar. Then in a process I don't understand (never learned) they take glucose and turn it into cellulose which then becomes the structure of the tree. Some trees are tall and some hare huge (such as the California Redwoods and Sequoias). 

So what do you think of my 140-character description of trees? Let me know in the comments below.

Thirty Days!

It's thirty days until the University of Washington Huskies start their 2021 season. I'm going to be there as they take on an FCS team, the Montana Grizzlies.

This year is a bit of a mystery going in. Coach Jimmy Lake's record is 3-1 from last year's COVID-shortened season. So who knows how he'll handle a full season?

I've seen predictions that the Huskies will go 14-0 this season. I've seen predictions they'll be in second place in the Pac-12 North behind the despised (by me and all right-thinking people) Oregon Nike Ducks. So I don't know. I'm pretty confident they'll win their first game on September 4th against Montana. But I'm worried about their second game which is at Michigan. The Huskies historically don't do well on big, out-of-conference, nationally-broadcast away games. But maybe they will be better this year.

The recruiting buzz is positive as the Huskies apparently had some good players commit to the team. I don't know if that will manifest itself this year or later.

A while back I was watching a Huskies game from 2016. That was the year they ended up at #4 in the nation and were 12-2 overall (having lost to Alabama in the CFP). And the team oozed talent, from John Ross to Jake Browning, Myles Gaskin, and Tyler Rapp. Maybe that magic can happen again this year. We'll have to see.

That first game in thirty days is on September 4th at 5:00 PM PDT. It will be on the Pac-12 Network (which I get on my Dish satellite television service). I'll be in the stands yelling, "Go Dawgs!"

Simone Biles Did the Right Thing

Gymnast Simone Biles has pretty much dropped out of the Olympics being held in Tokyo this week. She said she needs to focus on her mental health.

Some people are mad at because she probably cost the US at least one if not more gold medals. I heard a news talking head say "There's Gen Z for ya."

But, I don't agree with that. As a person who is neurologically diverse (I'm bipolar), I understand Biles's motivations. As I explained in this blog post, you have to take care of yourself. It's important. More important than almost anything else.

Plus, watching gymnastics, I'm sure it takes a lot of concentration and you can't be distracted by anything. Otherwise, you could get hurt, perhaps seriously. It's like driving on a racetrack. You can't be distracted.

I admire Biles for having the courage to disappoint a lot of people to take care of herself. This is her third Olympics and she's 24 years old. That's a lot of pressure for a young woman. She'll be 27 when the next Olympics happen in 2024. She may still compete then. 

So, give Biles a break. She did the right thing.

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.

Second Guessing

I suppose everyone second guesses themselves. But I seem to have made an art form out of it. I'm always second guessing myself. In my freelance work, I'll send off an assignment, then wonder if I did something wrong, or forgot something. So then I'm always double checking after the fact.

Or in my fiction writing, I'll always wonder if I forgot something important. Then I hope beta readers find it. I usually don't forget; I'm pretty good at keeping things straight. Although I was just editing a first draft of a work in progress and a minor character changed names.

This isn't just in my writing. Late in June this year I worried that I forgot to pay my estimated taxes (due June 15th). But I, of course, had.

It's frustrating to always be waiting for the other shoe to drop because I'm not sure I did something right, when I did.

I don't know if I second guess myself more than other people. I have the feeling I do.

Do you second guess yourself a lot? Let me know in the comments below.

An Ode to Cruse Control

I like to drive. I enjoy it and the faster the better, at least for short periods. I've gone 155 mph on a race track. That was the most fun I've had with my clothes on.

But on long trips, I love cruse control. 

I recently went to Seattle and back in one day and, surprise, it rained. Also we ran into stop-and-go traffic on the way over (before the rain). Coming back it was raining hard on Snoqualmie Pass and for some reason traffic was heavy. I couldn't use my cruise control, which made driving more of a chore.

Also, around where I live, roads tend to be straight and not too busy. Cruise control is a must. Set your speed 5 mph over the speed limit and... cruise. It takes some of the tedium out of driving on straight roads. That, and having SiriusXM blasting out of the radio.

I also use cruise control to not speed (too much). My right foot is a rebel and without cruise control I'd likely go too fast (for the speed limit, not conditions). A few years back I rented a minivan to take the family on vacation. We drove to Yellowstone Park and then to Mount Rushmore. A lot of straight roads (especially in Wyoming and South Dakota). And the cruise control didn't work. I had to be careful lest I find myself going 85-90 mph (and most of the speed limits were 75 mph).

Four years ago I was in Idaho and the speed limit was 80. I set the cruise control at 85 mph and enjoyed the ride.

So I love cruise control. How do you feel about it? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars Prequels

Over the Independence Day long weekend, I watched Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars II: The Attack of the Clones on Disney+ in 4K UHD and my Dolby Atmos 7.1 surround sound system. I then watched Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith last night, also on Disney+.

I haven't watched these movies since they came out on the theater years ago (1999 for Phantom Menace, 2002 for Attack of the Clones, and 2005 for Revenge of the Sith). I remembered my rank disappointment in these films, especially Phantom Menace. Watching them again about 20 years later I've changed my opinions a little. 

**Spoilers ahead**

Phantom Menace is as bad as I remembered. As a lot of people have said, Darth Maul was the only interesting character, and they killed him off. From the opening scroll about taxes and trade relations, the whole thing ends up being boring. The pod racing sequence goes on forever and isn't as exciting as I think Lucas thought it was. And then there's Anikan's virgin birth. Is Lucas trying to make him a Jesus figure? It was all a mess. The best part was the light saber fight with Darth Maul. 

And don't get me started on Jar Jar Binks.

Attack of the Clones was in some ways, better then I remembered. Anikan was still whiny and hard to like. How did Padmé ever fall in love with him? The action sequences were better than I remember (with Natalie Portman's top strategically ripped). But I still think the love story is completely unbelievable. 

Revenge of the Sith is definitely the better of the three movies even if it is a little over-long. Lucas did a good job setting up Star Wars IV: A New Hope. The two climactic light saber duels (Yoda versus the new emperor and Obi Wan vs Darth Vader) are well done and fun to watch. It's interesting to see how Anikan is seduced by the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader. I actually enjoyed this movie more than I expected to.

George Lucas is a visionary. His movies used to be exceptionally good... when he was constrained by budget and the studios. But when he has a free hand and lots of money, he tends to try to do too much and it doesn't always work as well. 

How do you like these movies? Did you like them more than I? Let me know in the comments below.

Movie Rankings

A while back I ranked the Star Wars and Star Trek moves in order from best to worst. I've thought about doing that for other movie series, but there haven't really been any series that I've watched that have that many movies (except the Fast and Furious movies, and there's at least one-Tokyo Drift-I haven't seen). Problem is, they aren't very memorable. I can barely tell you what they are about. I do remember the one with Nathalie Emmanuel in it. But then again, she's gorgeous.

Joke: hasn't the Fast and Furious series gone on long enough for J. J. Abrams to ruin them now?

I didn't watch all the Harry Potter movies. I did watch all the Hunger Games moves but I didn't like them much. And, of course, I didn't watch all the Twilight movies. Yes, I watched the first one just to see what it was about.

I could do the three Indiana Jones movies (yes, there are only three) but that's pretty simple:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark

2) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 

3) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

(My wife might switch the first two's positions.)

Or I could do the Matrix movies

1) the first movie

2) the second movie

3) the third movie

(I've heard rumors of a fourth movie in the Matrix series. I hope it's better than I expect.)

I thought about doing the Pixar movies, but there are a lot of them and I haven't seen them all (I've see 21 out of 23, though).

I could rank the Toy Story movies:

1) Toy Story 2

2) Toy Story

3) Toy Story 3

4) Toy Story 4

So, I guess there's little to be ranked once you've done Star Wars and Star Trek movies.

Do you have any ideas for movie series to rank? Or do you think I've covered the gamut? Let me know in the comments below.

Somebody Write This Podcast

 I was the guest on the Somebody Write This podcast where we try to brainstorm a random plot into a story. It was fun. Listen here.