Tag Archives: cable television

At Least It’s a Post

Posted on March 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

My trials and tribulations with the cable company continue. I am lounged on my couch typing in one letter at a time with the stylus on my phone, not my Tablet, because I am currently off line. It seems I need new equipment to connect with the internet now that I cancelled cable television.

My first inkling of this was when I received a package from the cable company yesterday. I said, “What the hell is this?” They patiently explained things to me on the phone (which apparently and luckily was still working) (I should perhaps mention I have a landline as well as a cell) and scheduled a semi-convenient time for a tech to come hook me up.

My internet had been working earlier in the day, but it stopped sometime after said phone call. Yes, yes, these are first world problems. I am grateful that I still have my cell and can at least make some semblance of a post.

I must say, it is a little awkward posting this way. I don’t have the tool bar I am used to and I don’t see a word count. YES, these are first world problems, you don’t have to keep telling me! (You know who you are.)

I am just going to count this as a Tired Tuesday Post and drive on. Perhaps I can get to the library later and make my Wednesday post from a computer and on time. As always I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Bad Sunday, Good Pizza

Posted on March 6, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

My Sunday was really crappy, although I’ll admit my problems were primarily of the first world variety.  Then again, when you feel your desires are simple, it can be twice as frustrating to be unable to meet them. Additionally, my whole life these days is overshadowed by the grief of losing my husband.  I am afraid anything that sucks is going to suck a little bit more for the foreseeable future.  One must live through these things.

All I wanted to do was watch television.  A little news in the morning while I played solitaire (on the floor with a regular deck of cards), a little Snapped in the afternoon while I knitted.  A relaxing Sunday.  However, it did not work out that way.  Once again, my television persistently told me “No Signal.”

I spent time on the phone with cable people, I drove to New Hartford, NY to pick up a cable they said I needed, I figured out how to replace said cable, I spent more time on the phone, I drove to Little Falls so the UPS store could send my (brand new) cable box back to the cable company, I required two more phone calls to actually cancel service.  Phew!  That is the short version, but I did not want to skip any steps.

So now I sit in silence on Monday morning, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet (I always feel the need to tell you that), making my Sunday blog post late once again.  As you see, I did not cancel internet.  I am not a savage, after all.

Just to add a plug for a local business,  in between the last two phone calls, I went to Mangia Macrina’s which is handily located in the same building, for a wood-fired pizza and a glass of wine.  While I sipped and munched, I wrote another character sheet for my upcoming murder mystery, Shooting at the Grange (more about that later) (preview of coming attractions).

Good pizza!

Mangia Macrina’s (Macrina’s, not Marine’s, autocorrect!  Sheesh!) is located at Canal Place in Little Falls, NY.

 

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The Post Is Certainly Scattered

Posted on March 5, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was all set to do a Scattered Saturday Post, but I guess I was too scatterbrained to actually do it on Saturday.  My bad.

It was not a super good day for me.  I started out having problems with my cable.  Instead of going on a run, I got some exercise by attempting to shovel my driveway.  In this I was helped by an anonymous neighbor who snowblew the end, a path to the front steps, and the walk in front of the house.  So that was a very nice thing.

The cable problem wasn’t complete frustration, either.  They were actually able to send a tech on a Saturday morning, he showed up when they said he was, and he was very nice and helpful.  I only have trouble feeling grateful for it now, though, because I got up this morning to the same damn problem!  It must be operator error, because the guy gave me a new cable box and replaced some outside wire.  I talked to a guy on the phone this morning who concluded that an inside wire is to blame.  He is sending me a replacement, but I can also drive to New Hartford, NY, and pick one up for free.  That way I will not have to wait and will have a spare in case it happens again.

I Don’t Know About My Saturday, But This Post Is Certainly Scattered.

I just typed that into the title bar then realized it was far too long for a title.  Under the heading Waste Not Want Not, I copied and pasted it here.  Now I am too lazy to change the capital letters to lowercase (but apparently not too lazy to spell out “capital letters” when the rest of the world just says “caps”).

Anyways, the rest of my Saturday was spent with my friend, Kim. She met me at the End Zone Pub, where I had gone after  I walked my post cards to the post office (that makes it sound like the post cards walked too, like they were my pets that needed exersise).  We enjoyed a libation, and I took a picture, since I had it in mind to do a Scattered Saturday Post.

They posed and approved the shot.

Next Kim took me to my house to pick up an afghan to donate to the HALO Chinese Auction, which was being set up at the Mohawk American Legion.  We stopped on the way to the Legion at Mohawk Antiques Mall to pick up a copy of Mohawk Valley Living magazine.

Lots of good prizes to try for!

Local readers, if you see this in time, I encourage you to go to the auction.  It is today, Sunday, March 5, 2023.

 

Easier the trying to type in the info. Did I mention I was lazy?

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It’s a Crime to Not Watch Movies

Posted on March 16, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

A distinguished cast of characters? Or a rogues gallery?  What’s bothering me is where is Cecil Kellaway?

I found this picture among my downloads recently and thought it might be a nice way to begin a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  Full disclosure:  I have another one of my headaches in addition to feeling quite lazy and whiny today.  I suppose you never feel lazy and whiny (you know who you are).  Well, I will bestir myself to type a few words including as few petty complaints as possible.

The above picture, in case you didn’t know, is from Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, one of my favorite movies.  My current profile picture on Facebook is Bette Davis in that flick:

“Oh, so you want a blog post, do you?”

I am feeling a little movie melancholy these days, because our DVD/VCR abruptly quit on us during the snow storm of March 2.  It happened right after we briefly lost power.  It seems a little odd, though, because we have a power strip, which I thought was also a surge protector.  The television and cable box emerged unscathed.  Phew!  The nice this that when we finally get a new player, we will not have seen all our favorite movies for a while.

One of my other favorites.

We don’t watch as many movies these days anyways.  As regular readers know, I am addicted to true crime television.  And when I really want a movie, I have a few on my DVR, including, if I am not mistaken, a couple of Hammer Horror flicks I recorded last October and haven’t watched yet.

Who could be uncheered by a vampire?

Or I could just read a book.

You were expecting War and Peace?

I see I am closing in on almost 300 words.  300 silly words, but aren’t they usually?  I’m going to watch a true crime show till bedtime.  Maybe a monster movie tomorrow.  Or perhaps I will have a Mohawk Valley adventure I can write a real blog post about.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Another Wrist to Crime Sunday

Posted on January 8, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello, and welcome to Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I just cooked a not too contemptible dinner, so I suppose I could do a cooking post instead.  Or I could just rattle on for 200 words or so and hit Publish.  Which to do you think I am more likely to do?

My favorite.

I am actually having an enjoyable sort of a day.  My husband, Steven, and I have been hanging out watching True Crime shows, which regular readers know I love.  In fact, I posted on Facebook, “I cannot get enough of murder and mayhem.”  I gave it a red background, at the fear of being too obvious.  At least it was a darker kind of red, more like dried blood than the freshly shed kind.

We watched a couple of DVR’d Datelines, one of which looked quite familiar.  As regular readers know, I love to see the same case on different shows.  Apropos that, when we got done with a DVR’d episode and put it on Forensic Files, we saw an episode dealing with Stacy Castor, a local murderess who poisoned two husbands with “antifree.”  Steven saw some actual trial footage while it was happening, when Court TV was a thing (it is TruTv now.  Some shows are still enjoyable, but it has not nearly the class).

I prefer Snapped or Dateline, but Forensic Files will do in a pinch.

The television is tuned to Snapped now, my perennial favorite. This past week I have been questioning my blog, wondering if it is not time to stop bothering you all with my crap, since I so rarely do “real” posts any more.  I just do not have the mental wherewithal to answer these questions now.  I shall continue to watch my True Crime and see what I can come up with for tomorrow.  As always, I hope you will stay tuned.

I enjoy “Snapped” most days of the the week.

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Writing About Not Writing About Boston Legal

Posted on May 5, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m really wishing I had saved Nosferatu and the Flowers for today, because it would have made such a nice Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  Now here I am with nothing.  Additionally, Boston Legal is on the television.  I haven’t seen that show in years and I love it!  I don’t have one of those streaming services where I can just binge watch shows t my leisure.  I have to depend on finding re-runs on cable.  Anybody opening their mouth to snort, “First world problems” can just shut up.  I am not complaining; I am delighted to have found this show.  I was merely explaining my situation.

I wrote that first paragraph during a commercial break.  Another good thing about cable television: long commercial breaks.  Some people do not see this as an advantage, but sometimes it can be quite handy.  One can take a bathroom break or go get a snack.  Some commercial breaks are long enough to do both.  Score!  I know, if you are watching a DVD for example, you can hit pause, but then you have to find a good leaving off place and sometimes I am just not that decisive.  In your more advanced cable services, you can pause live television and doesn’t that make you feel like you’ve gone back to the future! (Michael J. Fox is guesting on Boston Legal, by the way).

The other thing I am wishing is that I was writing about this in the TV Journal.  I have made only sporadic entries in our TV Journal lately.  I mean to get better about that.  I mean to get better about writing in general.  You may have noticed, I’m having the damnedest time with it lately.  I started earlier to write about that, because after all, writing about not writing is still writing, but quite frankly, I am tired about writing about not writing.  I want to get back to just writing.

Probably a good start for that would be to turn off the television.  Well, maybe I could just watch the rest of this episode of Boston Legal first…

 

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Lame Brained and Not Really Friday

Posted on August 15, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, logging on to WordPress to finally make my Lame Post Friday blog post for the week.  Why, oh why does Reader pop up first?  I just can’t help but scroll down and read a few.  Sometimes I resist the urge, then I feel guilty for ignoring my fellow bloggers.  We all like to be read, that’s why we do this.  At least, it is one reason (oh, don’t sit there saying in that superior tone of voice, “I blog for ME!  I don’t care if NOBODY reads it!”  If that was the case, you’d just write a diary).

Where was I?  Ah yes, making my blog post and I think I went a little bit long on the first paragraph,but you’ll have that sometimes.  Let’s make the second paragraph shorter, shall we?

It isn’t even really a real Friday for me, because I work tomorrow.  I am quite happy to be doing so.  For one reason, I’ve already spent the money (don’t judge).  For another reason, the DARE 5K is tomorrow.  I have not kept up my training since the Boilermaker 15K so am unable to participate.  The Kids’ Fun Run goes right by my house.  The 5K goes by the end of my street.  It is not easy to avoid, and I will feel bad to see all those people running without me.

As I sit in my living room typing this, I can hear thunder outside.  Herkimer County is under a severe thunderstorm warning for the next 40 to 45 minutes or so.  I do love a good thunderstorm.  Of course, it would be a problem if we lost power, but I’ll just keep the good thought and enjoy the rumble.

Another thing for me to enjoy is an episode of Snapped on digital cable.  Regular readers may recall that this is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I usually watch it on Sundays (sometimes all day), but I have found another channel that shows it on Fridays.

And now I am beginning to think I am having a Non-Sequitur Friday.  That’s not right!  It’s Non-Sequitur Thursday, and I had that yesterday!  Sorry, folks.  I guess it’s my brain on overtime.  Hope to see you all on Saturday.  AFTER I get done work.

 

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Cheesy TV

Posted on May 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here is a new feature I recently came up with: Cheesy TV. Regular readers know how I love to write about cheesy movies. Well, they are not always easy to come by. However, I am discovering a whole world of cheese on cable television.

I have a long-standing addiction to true crime shows. I prefer a real documentary where they cover the facts of the case. I despise re-enactments. I find they are always cheesy and usually unnecessary. However, as re-enactment fests take over my true crime channels, I occasionally tune in to one. And I find they sometimes have a charm all their own. The dialogue in the re-enactments, which is often supposed to play like they’re being overheard, is laughable. The acting is of the scenery chewing variety. And when they show a photo of the actual people, you see the casting director had a very flattering idea of their attractiveness.

I almost feel I should include a spoiler alert, because this episode did not turn out as I expected. However, I also feel I can treat a true crime show, however cheesy, differently from now I treat a cheesy movie. I will also point out that I was paying my usual desultory attention to this one. They may actually have said who was going to end up dead and I missed it.

I will preface this essay by saying: Nobody deserves to be murdered. I suppose there are those who will dispute that statement, but I am not going there today. I would like to talk about a murder victim who, I feel, could have avoided the situation in which the murder took place. I intend to comment on this, and on the cheesy nature of the program which presented the case. I fear sounding insensitive, since an actual person did, in fact, die. Sorry about that.

OK, on with the write-up. Steven and I watched one of the cheesier crime shows on Investigation Discovery: Deadly Affairs. This one is narrated by the divine Susan Lucci, which I feel make it a cut above the rest.

Lucci presents to us a guy who has a girlfriend who is really a guy. They are off again/on again, because the guy is a serial cheater. Then they go on again and move to this cowboy town where the guy insists his lover live as a man and they keep their love affair a secret.

Soon the Guy is having an affair with a hot single mother. At first she doesn’t mind that he has a boyfriend, then she does, so he sends the boyfriend packing.

As soon as the Girl moves in, she discovers the Guy is a control freak. After many public screaming matches (all we see is a fairly hilarious fight about him telling her what order to hang her clothes in), they break up. The Guy can’t stand being alone, so he gets the Boyfriend back by telling him he can live as a woman and they can get married.

However, the Girl did not think they were permanently broken up, and she is not happy with this development. She follows them around, announcing in a loud voice that the fiance is really a man. She even has the nerve to crash their wedding. Naturally the Guy starts having sex with her again. Any slimy hound dog serial cheater would. But he makes no move to get rid of his new wife. Tensions escalate.

Of course I’ve been thinking all this time that Boyfriend/Wife is going to get it, probably from the Girl, because the narration keeps talking about jealousy. Imagine my surprise.

The Girl is out drinking one night and gets all maudlin talking about how she wants to “make amends.” Those are the exact words, used several times. If only she can see the Guy without his Boyfriend/Wife, she can “make amends.” So she goes over to their house at two in the morning.

Hello! Who goes over to somebody’s house at two in the morning and expects the wife NOT to be there? And if you really want to “make amends,” it is a better plan to wait till a decent hour of broad daylight and, for example, SEND FLOWERS! Maybe write a nice note. A conciliatory phone call.

The story is that the Boyfriend/Wife beats the poor Girl to death while the husband is sound asleep upstairs. Did you buy that? I didn’t. I don’t know what went down, and I don’t think the producers of this show did, either. I think they picked the version they liked best, and I’m kind of glad they did, because it certainly gave me something to write about.

I can believe the Girl SAID she wanted to make amends, but I don’t believe that is really what she had in mind. And I sure as hell don’t believe that the horn dog that started it all slept through a beat-down of that magnitude.

Really, when I think about it, it is a very sad story. That Girl did not deserve to be murdered and buried in the desert (oh yeah, I left that part out) (the post is getting a little long). I think what she needed to do to begin with was to find a classier guy to set her sights on. Same goes for the Boyfriend/Wife, although I lost a whole lot of sympathy for him when I found out he was a murderer.

But it is a fun show to watch. Susan Lucci pops up a couple of times looking delicious in an evening gown, about to go out on the town with a hottie who, presumably, does not plan to murder her. Lacking cheesy movies and sometimes time to watch a whole movie, I will continue to embrace cheesy television.

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