I rarely go to in-theater movies, but I’ll use this section to comment on TV that I have seen and believe to be worthy of such comment. I do watch a lot of TV.

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Babylon Berlin
This is a German-language “mini-series” on Netflix. Assuming that you can handle subtitles (or are fluent in German) this is an excellent period-piece. I am kind-of a history-geek and this show deals with Germany in 1929; a vibrant, violent, decadent and very confusing time. There are the Stalinists, the Trotskyites, the Monarchists trying restore the Kaiser, and even a small cameo by the Nazis near the end, since at this time they were just one-of-many players on the scene. The show gives a taste of why it was that the German people were so desperate for any kind of stability that they finally gave power to the Nazis. There is some nudity here.

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Versailles
This is also on Netflix and although it is produced in France, it is entirely in English. This is about Louis-XIV and the court at Versailles Palace, and it is set in the 1660’s and 1670’s with gorgeous costumes and locations. As I said, I am a history-geek, and the remarkable thing to me with this show is the historical accuracy of the major events and people (it had better be, since it is produced by the French themselves). Most productions like this are very loose with the actual events and personalities, but this seems very close to the facts, especially when showing some of the strong female personalities – and yes, they HAD those in the seventeenth-century. There is nudity in this show, and you also need to be prepared to accept depictions of homosexual behavior too, since Louis-XIV’s brother is well-known to history as an overt homosexual.

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I listen to traditional blues, be-bop and hard-bop jazz, baroque classical, and on occasion the “classic-rock” of our youth of course, but I love exploring the new music of today. A lot of high-profile pop-music is crap (as it ever was), but there is some great stuff if you are willing to dig for it. Here is a selection of some current favorites;

Griz (electro-funk)
Feel the Love (2013)

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Emancipator (down-tempo electronic)
Nevergreen (2010)

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Big Gigantic (up-tempo electro-rock)
The Little Things (2016)

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Parov Stelar (electro-swing)
Booty Swing (2010)

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Blackmill (down-tempo electronic)
Let It Be (2011 - No, not a Beatles cover)

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C2C (electro-blues)
Down the Road (2012)

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Tycho (down-tempo electronic)
Dictaphone’s Lament (2013)

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Caravan Palace (electro-swing)
Beatophone (2012)

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16-bit Lolitas (electronic)
Nobody Seems to Care (2014)

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Chris Joss (down-tempo funky)
Tune Down (2015)

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Radio Citizen (down-tempo funky)
The Hop (2006)

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Tape Five (electro-swing)
Bad Boy Good Man (2010)

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Pretty Lights (electro-rock)
Let the World Hurry By (2010)

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Nightmares On Wax (down-tempo funky)
You Wish (2006)

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Photography:
jrd-pa on Flickr

Not really.

There is nothing that I feel that I “need” to do before I die. I have had a very pleasant and fulfilling life – so far.
Life’s Been Good

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I do have to say that I do NOT want to live forever. For one thing, I have no reason to believe that this life is all that there is – or even the best there is. It is not death-itself that I fear as much as the discomfort of the dying-process. Since there is no avoiding it however, there is also no point in worrying about it – come what may.

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.(Mark Twain)

NOTE:
All photography on this page is taken (or owned) by me
My great-great-great-grandfather; b. 1787 d. 1875. We can trace our family back to 1630 and the passenger list of “The Winthrop Fleet” that founded Massachusetts Bay and Boston.

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I am retired from a 40-year career in IT. My last position was running the computer and wifi networks for a small liberal-arts college in SE-Pennsylvania.

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I am an iconoclast who does not fit well into any pre-defined category. I have absolutely no fear of being a “majority-of-one”. I have no friends IRL, I haven’t for almost 30-years, and I am perfectly content this way.

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I tend to be socially “liberal”, and economically “conservative”, but there are pet-programs of both major political parties that I both support and oppose. In most elections I will vote for the person least likely to win, because keeping the race as tight-as-possible promotes ideological moderation in both parties, and that is more important than who actually gets elected (except for our current POTUS, of course).

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I am an “Elitist”, and proud of it. I believe that the majority of the human race are idiots, and that assessment is reinforced daily. Don't worry though, it is my policy to give everyone I meet the benefit of the doubt. Oh Well!

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I am “non-religious”. I have no idea What-Comes-Next, and I feel no urgency to have an answer to that question before the time comes. We’re all gonna die and we’re all gonna find out soon enough. I am confident that I am living a Good Life however, and that’s just gonna have to be Good Enough for whatever is waiting on the other side.

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Quotes from Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain.
“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.” (Oscar Wilde)

People who “follow the crowd”, focus on what’s “trending” or buy the “most popular”. I define my life by a simple principle - The majority is almost-always wrong - and in that, I am almost-always right.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. (Mark Twain)