Mandaris

I really enjoy how Leon steps us through the journey of setting up self-hosting as well as giving us his reasons on why he's doing it.

Well, if I was going to do this at all, it was time to do it for real. I decided to set up my own code hosting properly this time, complete with CI/CD runners, all hosted under my own domain name.

Leon even includes some price breakdowns, design diagrams and links to get some more information.

Don’t have time to read the post? He also has it narrated in his wonderful Australian accent.

I really recommend that you follow his RSS feed!

I'm continuing with the series by Lou Plummer and trying not to get too worked up over the format of the posts.

2. On what subjects are you outspoken and on what subjects are you mostly mute?

I read the prompt and thought about the times that I would shout out about how pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. I feel that pineapple is too sweet to be on something that so savory. The juices from the pineapple spread throughout the pizza and you can’t separate it the same way you could with other toppings like mushrooms or olives.

I’ve even gotten in a couple discussions on how pancakes are better than waffles because of how many varieties you can find in different cultures around the world.

But no one has heard me speak out about the genocides that are happening. Do you know what my stance is on climate change? Health care? How about workers rights?

No, I don’t think I’ve used my website for any of those.

Even though they effect me, I go about my daily writing and web surfing feeling that “those bad things are bad and I’m sure we’ll all get through it some how.”

I feel that’s ultimately the issue.

When it comes to being outspoken, I find myself using my inside voice.

Lou has put together a nice list of writing prompts on his website. It seems like a perfect time as I was looking for something to write about.

1. A road trip you’ve taken that was memorable

I remember the first trip that I took with my children to Disneyland. My wife and I drove through the night in a rental car with two sleeping kids in the back. Both of us taking turns driving and trying to find our way through the darkness of a long drive.

I don’t remember all the stops but I remember getting to our hotel early the next morning to find out that the room that we had reserved had been given to someone else so we had to move to a room that a smoker had used the day before or try to find another hotel.

A lot of bumps before we even got to the park.

But it was worth it to see the girls having such a great time.

I have pictures, but not enough and the memory fades day by day.

I only have the feelings left.

I wanted to get familiar with the characters again before I watch the latest iteration coming out tin a couple weeks. And it was just as fun as I remember it.

It’s a lot of crude jokes and over the top action.

I’ll watch it again when the next one comes out.

Overview

The origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who, after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

Violence is nothing new to The Boys series. It’s one of the more pronounced aspects of the show where the Supes demonstrate that their extraordinary abilities. Some of the more notable deaths are people being blasted by lasers, having their heads explode, or literally having someone else run through them at high speed.

Just like a horror movie, I’m able to take this and just enjoy it. It’s not like an alien is going to jump out of my chest, or a demon is going to invade my dreams and kill me in my sleep.

Another thing I realized when looking at this episode is that the murders are all methodical. These are not crimes of passion, escalation of tension, or incompetence.

That’s when it gets really scary for me.

In the world of The Boys, you could always get killed just from being a bystander. In fact, the pilot had someone being murdered for stepping off the curb. This episode shows someone who is hurt specifically because they are passionate about something they believe in.

I had to sit with that for a little bit.

I really, really enjoy the show but with all the things going on with the world. I had to take a little break before going into the next episode.

I have to admit it this version of the Jane Austen classic is pretty good. I normally avoid watching period pieces because I look at all the wealth that some of these people have and how their only concern is that they have the most fashionable clothes of the season.

I feel that this version got me because I was actually paying attention. Mr. Darcy is lonely in that his money and status has isolated him in such a way that it’s hard for him to trust. I’ve had friends who have only wanted something from me and I get where he’s coming from with his distrust.

Other than that, the rest of the cast is doing a great job and I don’t feel that I would hate it if my daughter wanted to make me watch it again.

Overview

Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.

Still working on how I want to format these reviews… Any feedback is welcome.

We’re getting to the end of the season and there are still a lot of questions to be answered. It can be really hard to stick the landing. This episode is there to build up some tension and get us ready for those last two episodes.

Unfortunately, it feels like you could sum it up in 2-3 minutes but sometimes you need to let things sit and set up.

Oh man! Episode 4 and 5 are amazing together!

If you wanted to see something different from Star Wars than this has something for you. It’s not perfect but I really like having new ideas and new possibilities given to me.

I saw this on the flight after watching the Thriller documentary and I’m pretty happy that I did. I think it’s a good example of how you could have all the talent in the world around a project and still have things go wrong. I also feel that this is where the business of making things can also hurt the creative practice as well.

One of the interesting things about this is that they don’t have a lot of direct footage from the actors of the Holiday special, but footage of them talking about it on other shows. It also uses a video of a tap player to show that some of the interviews are recorded phone calls.

Me? Have I seen it?

No, thank you.

I’ve never seen the Holiday Special and I don’t have a desire to at this point in my life.

But I think that’s really part of the excitement about it.

Overview

In 1978, CBS aired the "Star Wars Holiday Special" the week before Thanksgiving to an audience of 13 million people. Considered one of the worst shows in television history, it aired only once. George Lucas tried to bury it and an infamous camp legend was born. This documentary unravels the mysteries behind the most bizarre Star Wars spin-offs of all time.

Here is a link to the trailer on YouTube.

I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson. I’ve been that way since I was kid. His music is timeless and has a global impact. I feel that every fan of music can get some enjoyment of this movie that tells the story of the biggest album of all time.

What I enjoyed the most about this was how they talked about how things led to the creation of the album and its composition of different songs. As well as a couple minutes of the business/politics of how a music label works with its artists.

Another takeaway, never trust Don King. He finds his way to be around successful people, but it feels like it doesn’t go well afterwards.

But back to the movie.

I really liked it, it’s well produced and now I’m going to take a break from the computer and listen to the album.

Forty years after the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all-time, director Nelson George takes fans back in time to the making of a pop masterpiece, featuring never-before-seen footage and candid interviews.

Here is a link to the trailer on YouTube.