Riverdale...

I'm almost caught up on Riverdale, which while compelling in places, has plotting issues. There are moments in which I'm thinking...uhm, this makes no sense, but okay, I'll hand wave because it's a teen serial on the CW. Such as the whole bit with Paulie, Jason and Jason's murder. The show has a 50s sensibility transferred into the 21st Century that doesn't quite play...And there a few plot-holes in that murder mystery.


Also, Archie's makeup continues to distract me. It's almost as if they don't trust the actor to come across as earnest, so have gone out of their way to make sure his make-up gets it across. Short brows and a furrowed white forehead.

I like the actor, but I wish they'd cast someone that required less makeup.

That said, it is doing for the most part a nifty job of avoiding cliches and trite romantic tropes.
Veronica freaking out about her mother's love life...doesn't quite work for a whole host of reasons.
It seems a bit forced and contrived. She goes from being embarrassed about her father and wanting to disassociate herself, to suddenly being loyal...uhh what?

I prefer the Betty/Jughead storyline/romance. It feels a bit more real, even if the murder mystery has some plot holes here and there.

Archie/Valerie also works for me, and was a nice twist. I like the pussycats and would like to see more of them. That's one of the better changes they've made.

Luke Perry looks a bit worn out...as if the actor was drug over rough turf for the last few years.
And his character is a bit cliche, actually all the parents feel a bit cliche and underdeveloped -- a pitfall of teen soaps. I don't know what the problem is with television writers -- they either underdevelop the teens or the adults. The only series that didn't do that was "Stranger Things".

Yet, I'm still enjoying it. There's moments of brilliance here and there. I like the cinematography, and the characters are compelling in their way.

So...

(no subject)

1. Watching Riverdale, I'm struck by the fact that the parents are all my age. Or a couple of years younger. Luke Perry turned 50 in October (Archie's Dad). Skeetch Ulrich turned 47 recently (Jughead's dad).

This is Us is a bit easier, the parents are Baby Boomers and in their 60s/70s, while the kids are in their late 25-43-- kids of the Baby Boomers. Gen X - those of us between 45-55 or thereabouts, have spend our lives competing for jobs with the Baby Boomers (who refuse to retire) and their kids. We were the kids of the Silent Generation - between the Baby Boomers and the Greatest Generation. The Silent Generation were the kids born in the 1930s and early 40s during or just before the war, not after it. (74-85).

Personally, I hate these marketing categories. But, it is what it is.

As an aside, Veronica is annoying me. She's went from being likable to a self-absorbed brat. This may because I identify more with her Mom than Ronnie. And...it reminds me of why I'm glad I do not have children.

2. Beautiful day.

Making my way through "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which has some good moments. Addams apparently has issues with poetry, because he goes on a ten page tangent ripping it apart. I find the writer interesting in his tangents. He also has issues with highways...and bureaucrats.

Sky blue. Snow...multi-colored - depending on where you are. In some places it was neon green. Others orange. And some pink. (Making one wonder what people are feeding their dogs these days? Because that's some interestingly colored urine.) Mostly gray and yellow.

Warmer than it has been. In the 40s instead of the 20s. Nice change. My body was happy.

3. Addicted to chocolate. I know this, because I felt better after I had chocolate. Which means not having it for a few days resulted in withdraw symptoms. Hmmm...

I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to.

Coffee in Costa Rica is amazing by the way -- no acid burn. And the caffeine effect is rather low.
I miss it.

4. The Guest Speaker/Sermon at church was on Buddhism. We did a meditation, and learned about Buddhism. One of my favorite sermons to date. Buddhism is resonating for me, particularly Zen or Mindfulness Buddhism, originating from India. Letting go of the ego or the thoughts, and being silent in the mind. It's to date the only thing that has helped reduce anxiety and alleviate depression.
Letting go of those thoughts...not letting them take root.

Does require practice and discipline, also guide meditation -- which you can get for free via an APP put out by Insight Timer.

Afterwards, I went to an event co-sponsored by the Youth Group and Women's Alliance, where we exchanged questions and information regarding what each group did, sexist experiences, and moments of empowerment. It seemed to reiterate in an odd way the Buddhist lecture...of how attaching to certain thoughts or letting ego rule makes us miserable, which I found interesting.