January/February Entertainment Review: TV Series, Movie & Books

 Here's the lowdown on what I watched and read in January/February 2022:

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TV Series: Search Party on HBOMax

John and I watched all five seasons over the course of a month or so, although I honestly lost track of exactly how long it took us to watch. He had already watched season one and I happened to be sitting with him while he was watching a season two episode and he said he thought I'd like it. He offered to re-watch season one and off we went.

I really have to say that the first two seasons and probably the third were GREAT. I really enjoyed the four main characters and how each brought a different facet to their friendship. Meredith Hagner (the blond on the left in the above image) is the airheaded actress and pulls it off magnificently. But the star of the show? The one who made me LOL? John Early who plays Elliott (the one in the yellow suit and sunglasses in the above image.) I mean, roll on the floor, laugh your ass off. 

However, when seasons four and five came along, even Elliott's amazing sense of humor couldn't save the show. Classic example of "jumped the shark." Let's just say that I did not invest all that time to have the series end in a zombie apocalypse (::major eyeroll::) I am not a zombie person to begin with, but this just totally went off the rails. 

So, feel free to watch seasons one-three and then find something else!

If you watched it, what did you think?

Gilded Age on HBOMax

This will be quick as we didn't even make it through the first episode.

Julian Fellowes, who created Downton Abbey, also created this series. I thought, "Brilliant! I loved Downton, so I'll love the Gilded Age." And you can't go wrong with Christine Baranski!

Major snooze-a-palooza! Way too slow. 

If you watched it and enjoyed it, I'd be interested to hear what specifically you liked about it.

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Movie: The Tender Bar on Amazon Prime

So many things to love about this movie. A lot of it was shot on the North Shore of Massachusetts/Cape Ann, which is where I live and work, so it was fun recognizing landmarks in scenes. It took place in the 70's/80's- my era. Ben Affleck. Already has a "real" Boston accent, so no need for a cringe-worthy fake accent. Lastly- a well written "slice of life" story. 

Watch it- you'll thank me.

If you watched it, what did you think?

Books: Here is a book that I've read since the beginning of the year and rated an A+, A or A-.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Description: Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

Rating: A. While this isn't exactly "light" reading, it's an extremely well written story about real life issues. I was empathetic to the characters and when Gifty wanted her mother to get out of bed so so much, I could feel that longing. The only reason I didn't give it an A+, was the somewhat random interjections of biomedical jargon- almost like an excerpt from a science textbook.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think? 

What good books have you read lately?

Consumer Report February 2022: The Good & the Not So Good

Let's start with the positive, shall we?

For those of us who are lactose intolerant, eating cereal can be off the table. (I take Lactaid pills, but they don't seem to be effective for milk & cereal.) My Mom came up to visit in October and she drinks lactose-free milk, so we bought it for her. 

Go figure. Lactose-free milk is not exactly a new item and if I'd been buying it, I could've had cereal back in my life much sooner!

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Fairlife lactose-free milk is spectacular! I (obviously) don't drink "regular" milk frequently, but I honestly didn't find a taste difference between the two. We use it in cooking and for cereal and it saves me a lot on Lactaid pills!

After having cereal for the first time with this milk and not feeling sick after, I wanted to break into song- "A Whole New World" from Alladdin. 😂 (Again, just annoying it took me so long to try it!)

Next up are Dill, Olive Oil & Sea Salt Triscuits. Love, love, love them! They are salty (but not too salty) and pair perfectly with all kinds of cheeses or are tasty just on their own! These are not your OG dry flavorless Triscuits! (They also have some other funky flavors which I've yet to try!)

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I feel like these are the (semi) healthy version of Brown Sugar Pop Tarts. Kellogg's Special K Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pastry Crisps are so tasty. Whenever I have a sugar craving, this definitely satisfies it. The drizzle of frosting and the brown sugar are the perfect combination- for breakfast, snack or dessert.

Now, the not so good.

Since I have a new lease on life in the cereal department, I immediately gravitated toward one of my all-time favorites, Cinnamon Life. I then happened to see on the box that there's Vanilla Life. 

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Since my regular grocery store doesn't carry it, I went out of my way to get it at another (more expensive) grocery store. What.a.letdown. 

See the "...artificially flavored" statement on the box? Yup, that's completely accurate. The vanilla flavor tasted very fake. It had an aftertaste, like artificial sugar. I don't recommend it. At all. ::runs back to grocery store to buy Cinnamon Life::

I feel like I may have complained about this next one already, so if I did in a previous blog post, sorry. However, it's SO bad that it's worth repeating how awful it is.

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I love love love love love (not enough loves) maple frosted donuts. It is my donut of choice at Dunkin. (I rarely go to other donut shops but if I did, it would be my donut of choice at those places, too.) I just happened to be Googling maple frosted to see what other recipes or products I might stumble upon and lo and behold I came across Maple Glazed Doughnut ONE Bar. 

Perfect! A nutrition bar (healthy!) that is frosted with maple goodness? Sign me up. My regular grocery store did have this and I almost bought an entire box, but (thankfully), I restrained myself and bought one bar to try. 

There really aren't many words for the taste of this. Artificial sugar is one problem, which comes with major aftertaste. Weird texture. This bar should not be using the phrase "maple frosted donut" on it's label- it's consumer fraud. Yuck.

Have you tried any new food items lately that you loved or hated?