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Poker Face, Season 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐︎
[Poker Face, Season 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐︎
There’s nothing I don’t like about this series - the acting, the cinematography, the Columbo-style mystery format with a Jester-esque character, the sympathetic take on the transient underclass in America. The guest stars are given a chance to shine in roles they absolutely relish, which works perfectly for a show where the twists and drama are character driven more than plot driven. If you liked Knives Out, you’ll like this show.
Am I going to rush to the next (and final) season? Not really. It feels like a show you can pick up on when you need a quiet comfort show, and I think that’s why it didn’t get renewed. It many ways, in feel, execution, and style, it’s a homage to a different era. Monk, a more recent long-running murder-of-the-week show, worked for many seasons as comfort show too, but in a way it was as much an extended riff on Monk’s mental illness and trauma as it was a mystery-of-the-week. People came to watch Tony Sholub play weird but lovable Adrien Monk, who is a mess in a funny way. Poker Face doesn’t have that, which makes it better material in my opinion, but also means it lacks a look-at-this-mess hook. Even the overarching motivating plot, which I won’t spoil here, isn’t presented as a source of major threat in every episode, other than providing some tension and plot devices to make the murder solving more interesting. I’ll watch Natasha Lyon in anything; Benjamin Bratt is magnetic as Cliff LeGrand, and as I said, the guest stars in each episode are each worth double the price of admission. But these days? I don’t know if that matters as much. The greater viewing public wants spectacle that announces and demands our attention; Poker Face isn’t that.
It also could have ended after one season, very easily, with everyone getting their just endings, including Charlie. (Spoilers: she seems condemned to constantly clean up after messes she inadvertently makes.) A chance for all the actors and writers to shine, and maybe do it again with a different ensemble. The network execs want income streams, though, and a one-season show isn’t that.
I think Rian Johnson can get this show picked up for a miniseries or a relatively low budget movie, easily. A continuation of the series? I’m not sure. But if it does, I’ll give it a shot too. 📺🔪
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Currently reading: The Perigrine, by J.A. Baker.
Sparrowhawks were always near me in the dusk, like something I meant to say but could never quite remember.
I’m only three pages in, and I already know I’d skip the once-a-year event I paid almost $100 to attend just to keep reading this. 📚💬
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Finished reading: Strange Houses
Finished reading: Strange Houses by Uketsu
Strange Houses ended up being a dud, for me at least. It’s a good, tightly written book that I highly recommend, it just wasn’t for me.
I loved the use of architecture floor plans and visual aids to help the reader follow along, as if they were examining the sketches for themselves. Also, without spoiling the plot, the central cause of the drama is pretty creepy. The writing was just too on-the-nose, telling the reader instead of showing them and letting the mystery build. It might be a cultural or translation issue - maybe if I was raised in Japanese society, this story would affect me differently. As it exists now, it doesn’t compare well to Poe’s works, in my opinion.
I’m still glad I read it, and I happily recommend it! It was well written and translated, and it made for a nice and quick diversion from my reading list. If horror, mystery, or detective-like stories are something akin to what you prefer, pick it up, give it a shot! 📚
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It’s a bitingly cold morning, too cold to use my phone’s camera, but trust me, the magic hour light right now is just chef’s kiss. 🌄
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Never ordering delivery from IKEA again. A delivery late by several hours, and they think it’s perfectly ok. Next time, I’ll rent the damn delivery truck myself - it will be cheaper and on time.
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I’m supposed to be reading Kinky History for book club, but I saw this in a bookstore last night and just had to pick it up. Mystery and architecture, in a 203 page book, by an enigmatic author? Don’t mind if I do! 📚
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Lots of dreams about losing friends, a job, housing, yet still finding my footing and new friends. Still with the uncertainty and fear, but not ending with these. More like a series of small arcs in a larger story, than a depressing ending.
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Catching up on Critical Role Season 4, and on top of that emotional rollercoaster of the overture, I’m beginning to wonder if Brennan isn’t channeling a little Milton and planning a Paradise Lost story for this campaign. It worked for Pullman and His Dark Materials, why not here? 📺🎲⚔️
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I enjoy finding these sincere bits of gentle whimsy in my travels. ☕️
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Accidental Connections poetry. 📝🧩
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October 17, 2025
What a wonderful day:
- I helped my mother with some chores and errands;
- I made birthday dinner plans for one friend and included another;
- I finished The Creative Act, then started and finished Ajax Penumbra 1969 (I really need to update my bookshelf…);
- I painted my nails a rich green, OPI’s “Stay Off the Lawn!”;
- and I had a fantastic dinner of beer, charred salmon, mashed potatoes, grilled green beans, and a chocolate mousse cake.
Really, the only down side has been trying to choose my next book. I’m torn between the many activism and progressive books I’ve added to my queue, and the classics that have been waiting patiently for too long. But I think that’s a decision for tomorrow.
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On a Friday like today?! Oh boy.
Their machine also sported “Don’t Use Dead Inside”, and the barista had “No Espresso” taped to their back. I’m guessing I was the only customer who just wanted tea!
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The nice thing about wearing a chainmail bi pride necklace over your black hoodie is that it accentuates the look of each.
The bad thing is when you forget you’re wearing the chain, whip off your hoodie, and whack yourself with said necklace.
It’s ok, I didn’t need to use that eye today. 🤕
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Happy start of spooky season! 🎃
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🔗 Nick Cave on where he stands
It is both calming and invigorating to hear someone speak and feel your soul nod in agreement. I really needed to read this, and maybe you do too:
I acknowledge that this may be, to you and your friends, an unhelpful admission, but I’m not entirely sure where I stand on anything these days. As the ground shifts and slides beneath us, and the world hardens around its particular views, I become increasingly uncertain and less self-assured. I am neither on the left nor on the right, finding both sides, as they mainly present themselves, indefensible and unrecognisable.
And later:
Perhaps this all amounts to very little, but I suppose, in the end, I value deeds over words.
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You can tell we’re in Trump’s world when the Harvard Co-op plays 80s hits back to back.
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One of the things they don’t emphasize about dealing with depression, is that doing the thing stops you from doing nothing, also takes energy.
Tonight, I’m letting depression have the win. Not forever, but just tonight.
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The Naked Gun (2025) ⭐️⭐️
I’ll be the one to say it- it’s not as good as the original movies. There are a few too many gags that didn’t make me laugh, but instead took me out of the flow and made me go, “Um, what? That’s a weird choice.” This type of movie should never make me think that. 🎬
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And with that, my student loans are paid off. 😮💨💸 #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles
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These quiet fall mornings are becoming increasingly rare. The quiet this photo was taken in was quickly replaced with rush hour traffic. I’d rather have this than a commute, though. ☕️🥐🍂
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Finished Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3. Quite the uneven season, and I think they took the lazy way out of a major plot point. Still, I’ll look out for season 4! 📺
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Of all the random connections: the Philip Johnson chapter of Bad Gays describes how he built the Crystal Cathedral. My mother watched Robert Schuller religiously, and the slow pans across that building are indelibly etched in my mind. What a shame such an awful person built it. ⛪️🏛️🏳️🌈
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Taken a few days ago: A Spotted Lanternfly. in my neighborhood. It’s such a pretty creature; too bad it’s invasive. Next time I see it, I’ll wish it a good rebirth as I kill it. 🪲
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I’m sitting in my living room, mad at myself for something I shouldn’t be.
I’m sick; it happens, right? I just woke up from a nap, wondering how I got sick and how I can handle recovery while also achieving work goals and projects, and not let my friends and coworkers down.
That’s why I’m mad at myself. This is a highly inconvenient time to be sick! Why couldn’t I have taken better care of myself? Why did I schedule all these events and tasks in my life? Why am I not strong or tenacious enough to do the work while sick? I see my friends and coworkers doing it, why am I just now waking up from a nap during the productive time of my day? Now I’ll have to cut into my personal time to catch up and lose more sleep-
Do you see? I talk to myself like an entitled fool. I should rest, that is the right thing to do now. And a large factor contributing to why I am sick today, is because of the obligations and stress I have put on myself; berating myself as weak or stupid for not being able to bear it isn’t just unfair, it’s counterproductive. Pushing myself in any way is the wrong thing to do right now, in my position.
I’m mad because my world isn’t the way I want it to be. Resting, reflecting, and taking stock (literally and figuratively) is what I should be doing. And if I do take on one of the delayed tasks, it should be because I get joy from it. Obligations have no hold on me today; needs do.
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A short rest.
A cool, quiet evening just after sunset. The acrid and welcoming smell of low tide. Occasional barking cries of sea gulls somewhere around. The overcast grey of a rain already gone by. The impossible windmill blades, resting like starships in dry dock, reflecting the many harsh suns of floodlights.
Amongst the fishing and shipping warehouses in this industrial part of New Bedford, I found this momentary respite from people and politics and news and worry. There is only this scene, and the quiet space it makes in my mind.
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