Digested Ham

Media Digest: September 10, 2016 -- Working for the man

What I'm Watching

• Columbo 3.8 (A Friend in Deed): This is the one where Columbo's boss, the deputy commissioner of police, kills his wife and tries to pin it on a burglar. So it's interesting, because Columbo has to investigate his own (quite arrogant) superior, and work around the guy's efforts to stifle his findings. But it's not the greatest because the killer isn't particularly interesting or sympathetic.

What I'm Reading

• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (audio): Sirius Black is off safely with Buckbeak, and Harry et al. are ready for their fourth year at Hogwarts. This one gets a bit darker, of course. Well, the Dark Lord and all, so that's to be expected.
• Still reading Notes from a Small Island and The Once and Future King. One day I'll finish them....

Media Digest: August 13, 2016 -- Orchids and nepoticide

What I'm Reading

• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (audio): Onward to book 3 in the series, which I believe is about 12 hours listening time. Jim Dale really does an excellent job on these.

What I'm Watching

• Columbo 2.2 (The Greenhouse Jungle): Orchid grower Ray Milland kills his nephew as part of a complex faux kidnapping scheme. The victim looks like he hangs out with Jack Tripper at the Regal Beagle.

The victim (right) would look right at home in Three's Company.

Media Digest: July 31, 2016 -- Wart, Lorelai, and JoJo

What I'm Reading

• Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island (print): Now I get why he's so popular. He's a good writer!
• T.H. White, The Once and Future King (Kindle): Reading this at the same time as my daughter, who has to read it as summer homework before high school. It's enough to turn someone off books.
• Zygmunt Miłoszewski, Rage (Kindle): I seem to have gotten this for free as a Kindle First selection and I'm glad I did. Great writing. Enthralling plot. I'll be buying the other books in the series.
• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (audio): I've never been much of an audiobook person, but I'm enjoying reliving the series aurally. 

What I'm Watching

• Gone Girl: A good adaptation of the book.
• The Gilmore Girls, episode 7.8: [SPOILERS] This show is driving me crazy. At least half of it is about Lorelai's relationships and now she up and marries Christopher in Paris and they decide to not even show us? And we're supposed to be happy with her selection? I would have been years ago perhaps, but not now. Not now. And apparently we're still supposed to think Rory is super gifted and super responsible even after she steals a boat and drops out of Yale. But that's all forgiven now because she's back to being super Rory, the poor little not really rich girl who has not one but two familial sources who want to pay for her education so bad they practically fight each other for it—not to mention a rich boyfriend to live with so she doesn't have to pay rent. So, so much in this show is maddeningly unrealistic, and so many of the characters annoy the hell out of me (looking at you, Sookie St. James), and yet I can't stop watching it.
• The Bachelorette: [SPOILERS] Jojo ditched Luke for no good reason and is now deciding between Robbie and Jordan. 

What I'm Playing

• slither.io: My highest score to date is 37,749.