Some things never change

Early voting has started this week, but I forgot due to a mixup about my days off at work. I'll have to go on Monday I guess and try to remember my voter guide about the various propositions on the ballot. I hope the weather won't be bad.

Meanwhile I've finished reading a book called Harriet and Isabella, historical fiction about two of the Beecher sisters. They had a falling out due to their brother Henry Ward Beecher's adultery scandal, and they mourn the loss of their relationship as Henry dies in 1887. The book explores their long estrangement and the adultery scandal, which also involved famous feminists like Victoria Woodhull, Susan B. Antony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Due to Harriet's fame as the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Isabella's commitment to suffrage, the book also touches on topics like slavery, fame, Gilded Age capitalism, feminism, free love, and spiritualism. Other Beecher siblings, as well as their father Lyman Beecher, are mentioned in the book, but the focus is mostly on Harriet and Isabella.

Maybe it's clearer in print than in the ebook, but sometimes it got confusing when the point of view switched back and forth between the sisters. Other than that, it was an engrossing read. I felt that Harriet was close minded and blind in her insistence on blind loyalty to Henry. I feel that Henry was guilty, but a hypocrite. He was also still a spoiled boy coddled by his older sisters, and used to getting his way. Too many people were fiercely invested in the idea that if he was guilty, then his brand of compassionate religion would be tainted and destroyed with him. So they just couldn't let that happen, and the apologists would make scapegoats and pariahs out of people like Isabella, who dared to suggest that Henry wasn't morally perfect and innocent. The alleged affair with Elizabeth Tilton was supposedly consensual, but Henry Beecher was still an authority figure in her life, and the story of how he was left alone with her while she was vulnerable to pressure her into retracting the adultery charge is fishy as hell.

After #metoo, it does remind me of many men like Les Moonves or fucking Brett Kavanaugh who act like they did nothing wrong even in the face of multiple accusations. Acting like they're being destroyed when they're still sitting there all wealthy and untouched and unjailed. So damn brazen about their victimhood, like Harvey Weinstein trying to "find solace" after "his life turned upside down." Fuck him.

Anyway, it was a good book about an iconic American family.

Magical Jason Bateman

I made a couple of gifs from that Hogan Family episode "The Go Between" with Jason Bateman's character performing for a charity talent show. First he breaks out the ventriloquist dummy:

Like Gob, his mouth moves whenever the dummy talks, and he gets a little crazy talking to the puppet. Nobody likes his corny jokes and manic laughter.

So, claiming that Clifford is "holding him back", Dave tries magic:

He needs an assistant for his swords stuck in the box trick, and soon persuades his Aunt Sandy to get in, with the usual sitcom hi-jinks. Love this episode, even though this is the B-plot compared to the Cyrano plot with his twin brothers.

ETA: Well, apparently Giphy took down my Gifs. I don't understand how they host tons of other clips from TV shows, but apparently those were no-go. Oh well.

Maleficient 2

I mostly enjoyed the Maleficent sequel, except for how many night scenes were de-saturated and blue-tinged. It probably looked even darker and duller in 3D. I wish they'd had more bright daytime scenes with color, not all this grim darkness. Oh, and I thought the tiny hedgehog and mushroom creatures were pointless cutseyness that should have been cut. I thought the three little fairies also were a bit annoying, and it took them forever to realize that somebody just needed to stop the person playing the church organ. But then we got a homage to how the fairies kept changing Aurora's dress pink and blue. At the wedding, the fairies change Aurora's wedding gown pink and green before settling on a pale powder blue. That made me smile, as a nod to the original animated Sleeping Beauty.

Oh no!

I just heard that Elijah Cummings passed away. What a huge loss to our nation! He was such a hero and a leader in the House.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that AOC would endorse Bernie yesterday, since she described herself as a Democratic Socialist all along, but I was annoyed that Ilhan Omar did as well. At least the other two Squad members declined to endorse anyone. They're not a monolith at all.

So the latest Nancy Drew continued the jump scares with dead Lucy, and I really wish they'd stop doing that. At least reserve it for a big revelation. They also seem to be implicating Nancy's parents in dead Lucy, because they both were digging up the trunk when Nancy was little. Are they guilty or just covering up for someone? The whole Sea Bucket ceremony was whacko. Who would do that? And it's so easy to just pour dye or something red in somebody's bucket to give them a scare, what with them leaving it outside their porch all night, so why do it?

Meanwhile Black Lightning is disjointed once again. Resurrecting not only Lala but also Khalil, even after making such a big deal about his death last season. They'll probably get back to Tobias Whale later too, once they play out this ASA/Markovian takeover thing. There was a hint about Grace Choi, but nothing after; it's annoying how they keep teasing this but never developing her.

Fall TV Impressions

So I mostly enjoyed Nancy Drew, especially with the updates about her friends. I wish that her relationship with her father was better, though, because I loved the dynamic between Veronica Mars and her dad. Since the murder happened so quick, I was hoping that it would be solved in the pilot, but it looks like they're going to stretch the mystery out all season instead. The hauntings of dead Lucy seems to be entwined too, and I'm not sure I like the scary horror parts; if the ghost had just been kept as a spooky fog, or a trick that would be debunked later, that would be better. Anyway, it's a good start.

I kinda like Stumptown too, though I missed an episode and wonder if her brother is going to be more than just a stereotype. They're implying something happened with their parents, but I'm not familiar with the comic backstory. I'm not sure if the casino owner Sue Lynn Blackbird is going to recur as an adversary or eventually warm up to Dex.

I liked the Batwoman pilot, but unfortunately missed the 2nd episode. I forgot to set the season pass, and need to clear some more space on my Tivo anyway. As for returning shows, I'm relieved that Supergirl is back into comics/fantasy rather than trying to parallel real politics again. Last season was just too depressing and all over the place. Leave that to Black Lightning, which I hope will be more coherent than last season. They still haven't given up their long episode titles.

Ramblings

Fall temperatures finally arrived with some rain. Unfortunately I just read that Trump is coming to Dallas this week for another rally. Why the hell can't he stay away? He's desperately trying to gin up support and distract from impeachment, as well as the fuckup about abandoning the Kurds. As if DFW doesn't have enough deal with, what with that witness in Botham Jean's case who got shot, and now a woman shot in her house... The world continues to be terrible chaos.

I've distracted myself with various projects like fingerknitting, sewing, and even bleaching my hair so I can dye it. I've lost some interest in Lego lately in favor of Barbie. It seems that Mattel keeps trying to keep Barbie in the news with releases like the gender-neutral Creatable World dolls. I think it's an interesting concept, though I saw that the long wigs fit imperfectly over the short hair. And $30 for a kit, even with all the clothes, seems expensive. On the other hand, that's the price that most Barbie Francie reproduction dolls go for, and I was willing to pay that for a gift. Barbie also had other releases such as the Rosa Parks doll and the Sally Ride doll, also going for $30. Still no Chloe Kim doll, though. Other Asian dolls I find just don't look convincing.

Anyway, I can't splurge on all of these things at once, so I'll have to wait on that. Meanwhile, I got a Liv doll to experiment with. I love the joints, but their heads are just so damn big. But rebodying dolls means having to match skin tones, or else try to change the color, when I can't find a good clear primer for vinyl and plastic.