W♥M

Black Friday 2022

Read More Black Friday Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases). …

With Black Friday coming up this Friday (November 25), we are already starting to see some really good deals on Bluray/UHD discs. Some of my favorite A24 films are on sale, including X, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Green Knight. I bought a ton of discs this week. Most UHD discs are $10 and Bluray are either $5 or $8. It’s really the only time that I make mass Bluray purchases.

Over at Target, the best deal I’ve seen is $200 for the Xbox Series S. That’s $50 off and a $50 Target Gift card (which is as good as cash). I’m very tempted to try and buy it, even though I already own the Xbox Series X (the superior version). But the price is so good that I’m really thinking about it. If you are going to buy an Xbox this year, you might as well get Elden Ring for $40. This is the lowest price I’ve seen for this amazing game. Honestly, Elden Ring is my Game of the Year.

Walmart has the best deals on 4K TV. They have a 50 inch ONN 4K LED for $150. Onn is Walmart’s brand, and for that low bottom prices, I’m not sure if it’ll have the quality. On the bright side, the TV has Roku built into the television. If you want to upgrade, Walmart also sells a TCL 65” 4k TV for $228 (also with Roku).

If you’re looking for a Macbook, Best Buy is selling the M1 MacBook Air 13.3” for $800 (a $200 savings). If you want this year’s MacBook Air, with the M2 chip, you can get it for $1,050… but from what I’ve read, it’s not worth the upgrade.

LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570

Also, the best OLED TV prices I’ve ever seen is for the LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570. This is a $730 savings, and I’m definitely looking at this very closely. I think the biggest problem is that I rarely watch TV. I spend all my time sitting at my computer and watch YouTube videos or movies I’ve ripped from my Bluray…

So maybe the better money might go to another 4k monitor? My current favorite monitor is on sale for $230. I bought the monitor for $320 in Apr 2022 and absolutely love the “Picture in Picture” feature: “There is another feature that they highlight, and I found it really useful. The monitor has the ability to do Picture in Picture (or as Samsung lists it PBP). What this means is that the monitor can display two simultaneous sources on the monitor at the same time. You have some options, side-by-side or a small popup screen (which you can position in four areas and with varying sizes). The P-i-P is the best thing about this monitor.”

If you’re looking for a new PC or laptop, I would recommend looking at MicroCenter’s Black Friday sale. They have my Lenovo Legion PC for the same amazing price of $850. I’ve said it before, the video card (3060) costs $400 by itself(!), so to have it come with your computer, it’s a steal.

MicroCenter also sells really cheap Wyze cameras. Their v3 camera with color night vision is $30. I currently own two Wyze cameras that I use for my security cameras.

This year, I’ve already started my Black Friday shopping last week. Most retailers already started their sale last week. I’ll be looking at bigger purchases sometime this week, since some retailers won’t unveil their biggest deals until closer to Friday.

Read more Black Friday, Movies and Television.

Vu’s Early Black Friday Bluray/UHD purchases

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

iPhone 14 Plus, eSIM, and Visible

Read More Visible I’ve been using internet-only telephone service called Visible for three months now… and I feel I’ve experienced all the pain and strain of using their service. The short story is that this is a very inexpensive mobile service . …

So, I recently bought the new iPhone 14 Plus, which is a 6.7 inch larger iPhone, but not “Pro” level. A quick review: the iPhone 14 Plus is the same as the iPhone 13, only slightly bigger. I wouldn’t recommend upgrading. I bought the new one so I can gift the old phone, but otherwise, there’s really no need to upgrade.

iPhone 14 Plus

Going to the new iPhone 14 was a little tricky, because the iPhone 14 do not have a physical SIM tray. So you can’t just yank out your SIM card and put it into the new phone. Instead, you have to use eSIM. eSIM are less convenient, but it’s more secure. For example, someone can steal your phone, they can’t just do a “SIM Swap” (it’s horrible if your passwords are tied to your phone).

The other thing about going all eSIM is that it has better anti-water/moister protection.

The last benefit about eSIM is that a phone company can just activate a new phone number/account in a few seconds. In the past, if you wanted to open a new line, they would have to mail you one of their SIM cards.

Having said all that, I truly wish there was a physical SIM option.

For what it’s worth, activating the Visible service, using eSIM, on the new iPhone 14 Plus was relatively easy. You have to key in some unique numbers from Visible and you have to tell them the phone’s EID. The only trouble I ran into was that I needed internet for the new phone to activate properly (as the old phone was disconnected once you transfer to the new phone).

Anyway, since getting rid of my DSL home internet earlier in September, I’ve been looking into other unlimited cellular plans with tethering or hotspot options.

If you are in the same boat of getting rid of your home internet, I’ve broken down some of the options available.

Right now, I’m quite happy with Visible, with both the pricing and the ability to use hotspot to multiple devices using my iPhone. Even though there is a speed cap of 5mps, I don’t actually mind this, as I was used to speed slower than 3mpbs on DSL. It is fast enough to stream YouTube and get my email… and it’s free unlimited hotspot. If you don’t want to hotspot, you can always plug in your phone to your computer and it automatically will share internet with the computer.

Anyway, looking at the other phone companies, none of them comes close to offering unlimited hotspot. Most of these service cap at 5GB, 25GB, or 50GB. The only true “unlimited hotspot” on the list, are Google Fi and AT&T… but you are going to have to pay through the nose at $65 or $85 a month. With AT&T, you do get HBO Max… but I don’t think it’s worth $85.

To sum it up, If you are looking for an unlimited data/phone line, based on features and pricing, I would recommend Visible. I’ve used the service for over a year… and for the past two months, the phone has become my home internet as well. I have had no issues with it, so far.

In November, or so, I will have to switch over to one of Visible’s two new plans: Unlimited $30 and Unlimited Plus $45. Since I’ve been enjoying the unlimited internet so much, I may spend the extra $45 because I’m interested in the new Ultraband 5G speed… plus some limited roaming in Mexico and Canada.

	Name	Plan	Price	Network	Limitations and Notes
	Visible	Unlimited	$30	Verizon	Hotspot speed is capped at 5mbps One connection at a time* * iPhone does not have this restriction
	Google Fi	Unlimited Plus	$65	T-Mobile Sprint	Hotspot up to 10 devices Data slow after 50GB 100 GB of Google One
	Tello	Unlimited	$30	T-Mobile	Speed slowed to 2G after 25GB
	Mint	Unlimited	$40	T-Mobile	Hotspot is limited to 5GB Data slow after 35GB
	US Mobile	Unlimited Premium	$45	Verizon	Speed slow after 100GB Hotspot limited to 50GB eSim International Data: 10GB
	AT&T	Unlimited Elite	$85	AT&T	Includes HBO Max Speed slow after 100GB Hotspot speed slow after 30GB

Read more Technology.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

iPad Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro 12.9

Read More iPad I’ve been living with the iPad 12.9 Pro (2017 Model) since March 2018. After using the iPad daily for about two months, here are my thoughts …

I caved in and bought a used iPad Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro 12.9 (2020). You see, between my Asus Electropunk Laptop and iPad, there is no comparison in terms of portability. The laptop weighs a ton, I never want to travel with it. Instead, if I need to do some work, the iPad and Keyboard combination works best for me.

Previously, I was using the iPad and Keyboard Folio, which is fine, but I didn’t exactly love the typing experience. Plus over time, the Folio is showing some wear and tear.

The shocker of the iPad Magic Keyboard is that it costs $350 new. This is really an insane amount of money to pay for a keyboard… and I felt like it was the barrier to entry for those in the market for a keyboard for their iPad. There are many third party keyboard maker, but I decided to go with the Magic Keyboard because it uses the smart connector.

After playing around with it, like putting the keyboard light brightness to the max, I was shocked that within a few minutes, I went from 100% charged to 84%! I turned off the light on the keyboard immediately. Wow, what a battery drainer.

In the few minutes since I started typing this review, I started noticing the battery quickly dropping. It went from 84% earlier to 81% in a few minutes… Judging by the battery drain, I feel like you need to plug this in if you intend to do a lot of work on the iPad.

The best perk about this keyboard is that you can assign the four physical button at the bottom-left of the keyboard. The four keys are Globe, Control, Option, and Command. I’m a PC user, so using the CMD+C or CMD+V is annoying to me, because of the layout. I’m just used to the Ctrl key to be the furthest left of the PC keyboard. Thankfully, you can reassign the Globe key to CMD, making a better keyboard (in my opinion).

I also like the mousepad, but it doesn’t always work with all the applications. For example, it doesn’t seem to work with Google’s Keep. I am assuming it will work better with native Apple Applications, such as Safari or their iOS Mail App.

The other thing you should know about the Magic Keyboard is that it is a little heavier than the folio. Weight may be necessary so it can anchor the “floating” iPad. As for versatility - it is only a keyboard or it can only close to protect the iPad. That’s all you can do with it.

If you need to use the iPad as a tablet, like reading digital comic books, you have to remove it from the keyboard. I think it was intentionally designed this way… which I don’t like. You see with the Folio, you can just fold the keyboard all the way to the back and use it as a Tablet, if you don’t need the keyboard.

In the end, if you need a keyboard for your iPad, I would recommend either the Folio or the Magic Keyboard, it just depends on how much money you want to spend. I have to admit, typing on the Magic Keyboard is 100% better than on the Folio.

I think my biggest concern is the battery drain. It’s already at 70%, as I finish writing this.

Update: I thought perhaps it’s just a fluke that the keyboard was draining the iPad’s battery like water (even if you have the lights on the keyboard turned off)… but after using it for a week, I can confirm that you need to plug in the keyboard if you intend to type a lot. If you are not using the keyboard, obviously it won’t draw power.

The magnet is very strong and can really hold the iPad in place. You can rock it around in a moving vehicle and know that it won’t go flying off.

PS, the other cool thing about this keyboard is if you need to lock your iPad, you can use the keys: CTRL+CMD+Q and it will lock the iPad right away.

Photo below is my Magic Keyboard with Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (from Mighty Skins) and my iPad with Death Dealer by Frank Frazetta from Skinit. I’ve previously ordered a Skinit for my Xbox Series X, and I love it. The printing looks very good and it seemed durable.

Apple Magic Keyboard and iPad Pro 12.9

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ @weheartmusic

Clockology

Read More Apple I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple ....

One of my biggest complaint about the Apple Watch was that there weren’t many official face options for your watch. While that remains true, I have since discovered Clockology. This changes everything.

With Clockology, you can create any sort of clock face that you want. I have downloaded a few from the internet, and I’ve modified a few of them for my needs.

The app is very powerful and contains a lot of nice perks. The only drawback is that weather and certain features are not available on the non-paid version. Normally, I wouldn’t mind paying once for a feature, but unfortunately, it’s currently subscription-based (about $20 a year).

Since I don’t have access to weather, I’ve removed a lot of those features when I tweaked these clock faces.

The other thing about Clockology is that it is really clunky how to get it to work.I’ll summarize, you need to download a special “enable beta” file. Once you download the file, you need to “Watch Sync” … and voila, the Clockology will now work on your watch.

Since it’s an app on your watch, you need to keep Clockology running… which means you might have to look in your settings to let it run in the background and so on.

So, I take it back, regarding limited clock faces for the Apple Watch. Now with the Clockology app, it’s unlimited what I can do… and now my new problem is deciding which clock face to use! I’m partial to the Star Trek’s LCARS or Fallout’s Pip Boy.

Anyway, I have put together a few of my favorite Clockology clock faces that I’ve downloaded and tweaked to my needs. Download here: drive.google.com.

Enjoy,

- Weekend Gamer

Monty Python

Fallout

Super Mario Bros

Cyberpunk 2077

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Apple Watch SE

Read More Apple The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack ....

I didn’t intend to get it, but after contemplating about the Black Friday prices for the new Apple Watch SE for about $200, I couldn’t pass it up. As you know, starting last year, Apple introduced their “budget” Apple Watch, the SE, which strips out some features.

What’s missing from the SE is a faster/latest processor, no ECG and blood oximiter sensors, no always-on display, and lacking UWB or 5GHz Wi-Fi communication capabilities. If you absolutely have to one of those things, then you need to buy the new Series 7.

My biggest complaint is that you must have an iPhone to use with the Apple Watch. I believe you can only have one active watch at one time, so if you own multiple Apple Watches, it only works with just one.

The other complaint is that battery life is absolutely bad. You need to charge it every day. To be fair, most smart watches requires you to charge once a day. My Amazfit GTR 2 advertised battery life of 7 days, but in reality, it’s really only two or three days. So battery life just sucks all across the board.

My last complaint is there aren’t many watch faces officially available from Apple. I’m assuming that it will get better over time. There are many third party watch face makers, but none of them are very good. The really good one costs subscription fees, which I would rather not pay for. If they sell individual face for, say $1, I wouldn’t mind paying for one or two… but unfortunately, there’s not many choices.

Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the new watch. I feel it’s “fast enough” for my needs, and it has all the health tracking abilities in other smart watches. My two health focus is sleep tracking and heart beats… but obviously, you can use it to track various other things, like standing up or walking/running.

One of the coolest thing going from my Amazfit watch to the Apple Watch is that Apple has some applications built for WatchOS… which Amazfit some some Android Watches don’t have. For example, I used the calculator on my watch (for tipping) and showed up the compass on the watch to my brother.

Another perk in the Apple brand that you may not be aware of, is all the many, many, many accessories you can get for the Apple Watch. Need a new wrist band ? There are a million bands out there. Don’t want to pay $100 for Apple’s Milanese Loop ? There are knock-offs you can get for $15 (which is exactly what I did for a similar Milanese Loop at Walmart).

So, if you’re keeping track, I’m officially 100% into the Apple Echosystem, owning the new iPhone 13, iPad Pro 12.9 (2021), Apple TV (HD), and, now, the Apple Watch SE (2021).

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Divinity: Original Sin II on the iPad

Read More Larian Studios I have been hyped about Baldur’s Gate 3 since Larian Studios announced their teaser in August 2019. I’ve already mentioned that I was a massive fan of Black Isle Studios …

You know I’m a big fan of Larian Studios, the Belgium company that is currently developing Baldur’s Gate III (which I already pre-ordered) and the successful Divinity series. While I haven’t loved the original games from 2002, I came around with 2014’s Divinity: Original Sin and its sequel Divinity: Original Sin II.

Sadly, I haven’t beaten either of the Divinity: Original Sin saga, but from all my hours of gameplay, I love it. So much that I’ve decided to spend $25 to see how Divinity: Original Sin II will work on my iPad Pro 12.9. I saw that it supported Bluetooth controller and keyboard, but I will likely just use touch to play.

In the past, I’ve played around with Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II on the iPad, but those games originally came out in 1998 and 2000 (and yes, I bought and played them back then).

With Divinity: Original Sin II, which originally came out in 2017, on the iPad, I was just eager to see a semi-recent, modern game on the iPad. We all know that Apple have never been known for video games… so I’m glad to see companies, like Larian, take a chance.

So, for some bad news, those with older iPads, they cannot run the game. The game will run on iPad Pro 2018 to 2021 (basically any iPad with the A12 Bionic chip or later). The other bad news is that the game will take up at least 18GB of storage, so if you have an 32GB iPad, it’s going to take up half your space!

Even many users might feel that $25 is expensive (especially for an iPad app), you have to understand that this is a first-class game. I’ve played the PC, I’ve paid $50 for the game originally, so $25 is really bargain, in my opinion…. But it’s true, $25 is a million times more expensive than the typical $1.99 iPad.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Site Update: Lucky 13

Read More iPhone The iconic iPhone 7 has been announced by Apple yesterday (September 7th). It is the latest and greatest from the company, and they are getting a lot of negative feedback about the lack of a headphone jack ....

As you may, or may not, know, I’m about to wind down and heading into Winter Hibernation mode. I do have one final show that I (want) and will cover, Bad Religion at the Palace Theatre in St Paul on November 16th. I am a long-time Bad Religion fan and will brave the snow, if I have to, to see the band play.

Anyway, as an early birthday gift to myself, I’ve decided to buy Apple’s latest iPhone 13. The move from Google’s Android is partly due to the way Visible Mobile works on iOS. I can connect up to five devices to my iOS Phone, verses one device on Android.

Plus, since I started using an iPhone X in the last few months, I’ve learned to really admire how easy it was to use the iPhone. Everything just seems to work better and easier on the iPhone. For example, the Bluetooth connects with my car without any issues. My old Android phone would sometime randomly disconnect. It’s super annoying, especially when you’re driving and you absolutely need my phone to connect to the car.

Since I’m already a big iPad fan, moving to the iPhone is effortless.

Now, for the bad news, if you’re also on the fence about switching to the iPhone… it’s actually hard to switch over (at least for me).

For starters, you cannot just buy an unlocked brand new iPhone at any retailers, such as Target or Best Buy or Amazon. Basically, the only way to get an unlock phone is through Apple. You can buy it online, or you can visit one of their retail stores. Unfortunately, their physical store can be quite popular … meaning you have to wait in line to get an appointment to buy a phone (which can take over an hour).

The other bad thing is that generally when you buy into the Apple ecosystem, you’re going to be locked in their system. Again, having own an iPad and an Apple TV, and thinking about getting an iWatch… I’m basically already locked in. Just be aware that Apple always charges more for their products… but if it means quality and that the money goes to an American company, I’m okay with paying more.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

TV: Midnight Mass, Squid Game, and See

Read more Television.

Read More Haunting of Hill House The Haunting of Hill House is a long, re-imagining of the Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name. It’s a haunted house show, but actually the majority of the show is in flashback. The family all moved out of the haunted house years later... but events all lead them back to Hill House. …

MIDNIGHT MASS
netflix.com

From the creator of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass came out just in time for Halloween, on Netflix. Flanagan and his crew, including music by The Newton Brothers, Andy Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart, all of whom have worked with Flanagan since his 2013 film Oculus (a film that I love and own on Bluray).

I feel if I talk about the story of Midnight Mass, it may be “spoilers”, but I don’t think it would ruin anything if I were to mention or identify the evil forces in the story. I think part of the enjoyment is that the story will slowly reveal what is behind all the “miracles”, so it is a bit of a mystery. However, I still don’t think you won’t enjoy it if I told you what it is about.

Like Flanagan’s previous shows, it’s really not about the ghost or the evil thing… it’s all about the characters. And he does this many of the characters on the isolated Crockett Island.

Riley Flynn is our main character, he returns to his hometown after spending years in prison for killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident. His character is haunted by this dead woman, and you always see her with flashing police light when the show shows his vision. Riley’s childhood sweetheart, Erin Greene, is also back on the island. Greene left the island, but found herself back, leaving her abusive husband, when she got pregnant.

Other characters that we follow are Father Paul Hill, the young, new priest at St. Patrick's Church, he holds a secret, which we will find out midway in the show, and Bev Keane, the overly zealous believer at St. Patrick’s Church. I don’t care what anyone says, Keane is the most evil character on the island… even though she doesn’t believe she’s evil.

The thing is, if you love the two previous Haunting shows, you’ll really love Midnight Mass. Everyone has long, long, long dialogues and monologues, but they are all delivered with such passion and sadness, that it’s hard to look away. You’ll cry, especially hearing Flynn’s last speech and his confession of love for Greene. It’s simply heart breaking.

If you hated Haunting for its slow burn, then I don’t think you can handle Midnight Mass. If you can survive the pilot (which doesn’t even hint at what the show is about), you might get a chance to enjoy it… but if slowness isn’t your thing, you won’t like Midnight Mass.

Read More The Hunger Games Film update: I just saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire at the dollar theater. We saw this at the New Hope Cinema Grill, for about $12, you can get meal and a film, which isn't bad. …

SQUID GAME
netflix.com

If you haven’t heard, Squid Game is Netflix’s blockbuster television show. Everyone, at least over 111 million, is watching this South Korean drama/thriller.

The show creator and director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, wrote the story, originally called “Round 6”, in 2009 and tried to get companies to fund the project. No one was interested, until finally in 2019, Netflix agreed to pay for it, as part of their foreign programming offerings.

This show is about desperate contestants in a game of death. Immediately, people will notice how similar it is to other films before it, like Battle Royale or The Hunger Games… except the contestants in Squid Game, they all want to play (they are not forced) for a chance to win.

The large cast of characters includes our main character Seong Gi-hun, player #456, who signed up for the deadly game to settle his gambling debts. Cho Sang-woo, player #218), is wanted by the police for embezzling billions of dollars… and who is also Gi-hun’s childhood friend. Kang Sae-byeok, player #067, is a North Korean defector, trying to get money to bring her mother and brother across the border.

The protagonist in the story is a gangster named Jang Deok-su, player #101, who will do anything, kill anyone, in order to win the game. There are many other characters, but those are the main ones that I followed closely.

The most interesting thing about the television series is that is is very gripping and tense. I love how the story will unfold in directions that I didn’t see coming… but it made sense in the context of the film.

Anyway, in the end, the winner of the game received about 40 billion dollars.

The ending of the show is pretty good… although I felt like the show creator left some things open so there might be a second season of Squid Game. I hope not, I personally think that the story should just end with Episode 9, I don’t need a continuation of this story.

I can see another show, in this same universe, that takes place in a different country. After all, in the show, the V.I.P.’s talked about how they liked the Korean Games the best, suggesting that there are other games in other countries. With that… I wouldn’t mind seeing a deadly game of tic-tac-toe or hopscotch.

Read More Apple TV+ I’ve been enjoying the new American drama series called The Mosquito Coast on Apple TV+. The television series was developed by Neil Cross and Tom Bissell and based on the 1981 novel by Paul Theroux. …

SEE
apple.com

Apple TV’s See is a post-apocalyptic science fiction television show about a world where humans lost the ability to see. It stars Jason Momoa, who was a big draw for me to watch it, but ultimately, I just felt the whole concept is just silly.

The story is about this sightless world, with its own rules, the Kane clan wanted to destroy all those who can see… putting our hero, Baba Voss (played by Jason Momoa) and his children in danger. Soon enough, Voss’ tribe is destroyed and they are on the run.

The second season just ended, setting up some things for season three (which was renewed by Apple).

Personally speaking, they should just end the series with the final episode in Season 2. The big battle was very good, and I felt it should just end in a high note.

Before I talk about the bad things in See, I wanted to point out the one good thing the show has: it’s blind fight scenes. Because no one can see, the way they battle is just very interesting. For example, lots of low shots and misdirection. Visually, it looks so cool, because no one with vision will fight like this.

And that brings me to the terrible things about the show. Everyone is beautiful, like they have hairdressers and they wear makeup. Why would anyone look good when everyone is blind ? While we’re at it, why are there windows in houses ? Why are there flowers in vases ???? It just doesn’t make sense. In a visionless word, to me, there shouldn’t really be fire on torches or people wearing uniforms! I guess, realistically, if no one can see, wouldn’t you just walk around naked? Maybe I’m just overthinking it, but this whole sightless concept is just dumb.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

TV: Bosch and Lisey’s Story

Read More Television The pilot does an incredible job of setting the tone and style of the show. This was a police procedural crime drama with two parallel storylines: Detective Bosch on trial for the murder of an alleged serial killer …

BOSCH
amazon.com

Out of nowhere, I got notification that the new Season 7 of Bosch just dropped on Amazon Prime!

I was so excited that I launched the pilot and after viewing the “Last Season on Bosch” recap… I realized I had totally missed the entire Season 6. Basically, I had to binged through Season 6 so I can start on Season 7.

Since these Bosch seasons are based on the Bosch novels, the mysteries are all really well-crafted. The characters are wonderful and unique… and it’s the great writing that kept me interested since I watched the pilot in Feb 2014.

In Season 6, the storylines are based on The Overlook (Book 13) and Dark Sacred Night (Book 21). The FBI/radioactive storyline wrapped up mid-season, but the aftermath (and court trials) would take a backseat as other stories (such as the serial killer copycat) surfaced and resolved.

Overall, Season 6 was solid. I do have some issues, like I didn’t particularly enjoyed the Jerry Edgar/The Butcher storyline. The story felt unsatisfying. We, along with Harry Bosch, knew the truth behind the fatal shooting of the Butcher, but what was the point… and why go in this direction? I suppose, it’s all to setup Edgar’s actions in Season 7.

Season 7 is the final season of Bosch. The storyline was based on The Burning Room (Book 17). Once again, Detective Harry Bosch is doing all he can to solve the death of a 10-year-old girl in an arson fire. This season also heavily focused on Bosch’s daughter, Maddie, who is on a hitlist.

The Inter-Police Division fighting Plot B of Season 7 was just plain silly, in my opinion. I understand that they want to spotlight the other supporting characters in the police department… but it just felt like it was time-consuming and going nowhere.

While it’s true that this is the final season of Bosch, Variety wrote that there will be a spinoff series… From what I’ve read, it seems like the new spinoff series will be focused on Maddie Bosch. Which makes sense to continue the story in this new direction, considering that Maddie was such a main focus in Season 7.

Since Harry Bosch is such a jazz enthusiast, you can expect that same music language in the upcoming spinoff series.

While there’s no official soundtrack for Season 7, Titus Welliver (who plays Bosch) curated his Bosch Playlist, which includes The Soul of John Black and Etta James.

Read More Television The concept is pretty cool, especially because it’s based on the characters and stories of Stephen King... but the execution is just not that great. The same can be said for all of Stephen King’s TV …

LISEY'S STORY
apple.com

Stephen King’s favorite novel that he’s ever written, Lisey’s Story, is being adapted to a limited series on Apple TV+. I’ve previously mentioned that I did not enjoy any of King’s stories to television, based on the horrible Under the Dome and The Mist. It’s the same for Lisey’s Story… the pilot was down-right boring to me, that I gave up. For a pilot, you really need to hook the viewer, and the first episode did nothing for me.

The only Stephen King television I like are Creepshow and, I will admit to liking The Outsider (except for that ending).

Critics are also hit or miss on the new Lisey’s Story show, citing that it’s very slow-paced. I can agree with that, but given that it is based on a long novel, that it would make sense to let the show interpret the story to television form. Even though some people hated the show, they all agree that actress Julianne Moore is doing a great job, playing the lead character.

If you were interested, the Lisey’s Story Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack is available on Loud Robot and WaterTower Music. The soundtrack was composed by Clark (aka Chris Clark) and he wanted the music to sound threatening and uneasy: “The idea was to capture the demented threat of Long Boy's presence in a way that made it sound beautiful, like the maws in an H.R Giger painting. So much detail and there's a visceral shock factor that works on screen, but the malevolence is crafted with love and care.”

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More Morrissey: Mozquito Coast and ASappy

Read More The Smiths I was excited to see that This Day Is Music is publishing The Smiths - The Day I Was There, a new book on the Manchester band. This book is more or less a collection of memories from various fans, compiled and edited by Richard Houghton. … Morrissey As you know, I used to be a devoted The Smiths and Morrissey fan. Like many of you, I have grown up and may have been a little disenchanted by singer Morrissey’s beliefs and personality... but I still love the music .…

We recently talked about how cool it was to see that Morrissey and The Smiths were suddenly in the news (being on The Simpsons and the topic of Shoplifters of the World) a few weeks ago. Here are a few other Morrissey/Smiths items in the news:



MOSQUITO COAST
apple.com

I’ve been enjoying the new American drama series called The Mosquito Coast on Apple TV+. The television series was developed by Neil Cross and Tom Bissell and based on the 1981 novel by Paul Theroux. The same novel was also made into a motion picture (of the same name) in 1986, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

I haven’t seen the movie, but based on the six episodes that already aired (the finale will air on June 5), I’m really contemplating on checking out the film.

The story is about an American family living off the grid for nine years. They’re discovered by the government and the family soon went on the run. Their journey leads them to The Mosquito Coast, in Mexico.

What I like about the story is that it’s very smart and written in a way that you’re not quite sure how the family will get out of one troubled situation after another. It’s almost on the Breaking Bad level, because you know the main character is really intelligent and without resorting to violence… can out think his way out of the trap.

As for the Smiths appearance, in the second episode, “foxes and coyotes”, the family sought help with a coyote to take them across the border to Mexico. While their father, Allie Fox, removes a police ankle bracelet, their daughter, Dina, goes through the coyotes’ record collection to discover a copy of The Smiths’ classic The Queen Is Dead album. The timeline doesn’t make sense, since the book was written in 1981, and this album came out in 1986. Clearly an invention for the television show.

Anyway, the owner of the records, Chuy, said he much prefers Morrissey’s solo music, and puts on “The First of the Gang to Die” and started dancing with their mother, Margot.

The Mosquito Coast, Episode 2: “foxes and coyotes” (30 April 2021)

A$AP ROCKY
asapmob.com

In the recent GQ interview with A$AP Rocky, he dropped the news that his latest collaboration is with Morrissey! The rapper is a fan and previously mentioned in 2018 on Open Late, that he “f*** with Morrissey on some Smiths sh**. Make some emo, real, retro-infusion, motherf**in’ 2018 shit, man.”

With that, in GQ, A$AP said his album is called All Smiles and will feature the Pope of Mope: “Anything you need him to do, he show up and do.”

Apparently, the new album will be a slight departure from what you normally think of when you think of A$AP. He noted, “It's all about the evolution. If I’m still doing the same sh** with the same sounds and the same bars and the same visuals from years ago, what's the point? You got that catalog. You can go revisit that.”

Say what you will, but based on that, thought, I’m interested in hearing the new All Smiles record.

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