Books And Stuff

I watched the first season of The Crown on DVD years ago. I enjoyed it but never saw any other seasons. The second season overall is also good. 

We should not expect pure history here. This is a dramatized view of things. Also, a pure examination of history will likely provide enough material to fill ten episodes each season. The Strict Scrutiny Podcast crew (at least Murray and Litman) noted their love of Ashley Judd's film Double Jeopardy. They know legally it cannot be taken seriously.  

Keeping that in mind, the series is well done. I only was bored a few times, including an episode about the prince (he's the queen's husband, but that's his title) requiring Charles to go to a school that the prince himself had difficulties surviving. 

One thing notably not covered much is the decolonization of Africa. There is a subplot involving the Suez Crisis and the JFK episode partially involves Ghana. Nonetheless, 1955-65 is a major moment there and I think more should have been covered. The whole dancing with an African bit also overblows the importance of the event.  Again, dramatic license, especially to compare Elizabeth and Jackie Kennedy.   

The final season is still ongoing. The summary notes it ends up in the early 21st Century. So they are leaving out fifteen years of QEII's life?  

[ETA: To toss it in, this week's Blondie film on a retro station is Blondie's Big Moment, another rather generic title. 

The truly "big" news is that suddenly there is a new boss (in the last film playing a different role), who Dagwood gets in trouble with even before he knows who he is. Overall mildly enjoyable. Blondie meeting the boss is a good scene. The new boss is younger and the actor does a good job. The fish thing is pretty stupid.]

After struggling through a few books, including one that I finished without liking it too much, this book was enjoyable. It was an easy read while still being over three hundred pages. 

One interesting thing is that the "Darwin's Finches" was not important to Charles Darwin himself to understand the concept of natural selection and evolution. The finches with a common ancestor who diversified depending on the needs of their environment (different beaks) is Darwin's thought in action. But, the idea he himself had an eureka moment by viewing them is a myth.  He did briefly discuss them. They were not that important. 

This is a fun graphic novel with LGBTQ content. The story is engaging and the art is excellent. The pages are glossy and the pictures colorful. 

A daughter in a kingdom where only married women (her father only had a daughter) can inherit pretends to be a man. Her father offered her this option when she refused to marry. He was accepting of her feelings. 

She falls in love with a princess. The feeling is mutual. The princess discovers her secret, but is afraid to come out. Her friend, who had an unloving marriage so she could have a career she loved, talks her into letting true love win. The couple bonds over love of grilled cheese. The character names have are often puns of types of cheese.  

The author, a graphic artist, was inspired by her own life. She is also married to a woman. Who she nicknamed "princess." Princess makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches.  She talks about this in the appendix.