Castle and other Murder Mystery TV Shows.

So, my latest little obsession is Castle. I'm almost done watching the two seasons produced to date after having only started watching a month ago, and it definitely ranks right there with Monk and Veronica Mars as my favorite tv shows ever. They all follow a common formula. They feature unusual crimes - in the case of Monk and Castle, it usually a murder, but in Veronica Mars, it's mostly petty crimes. Another common theme is the ongoing investigation of a murder from many years before the show takes place. While each 40 minute episode contains 1 murder investigation, the investigation of Veronica's best friend's murder, Monk's wife's murder, and Detective Beckett's mother's murder, helps keep us coming back for more. Additionally, Monk's assistant Natalie Teeger and Beckett's assistant Rick Castle each have an attractive teenage daughter. This largely is comic relief but it does add another little dimension of interest in the tv series. It's always neat how there's some parallel between the murder case and something that happens to be going on in the teenager's life.

It's strange that I love murder mysteries so much. I mean, I'm as non-violent a person as any and I'm terrified of guns and knives and just about anything that can be a weapon. I guess it's all just part of my natural tendency to want to solve problems and reach a clear resolution, good or bad.

Anyway, Castle has finished its second season and will be back for a third season in the fall. Basically, Castle is a best-selling author who writes murder mysteries, and he now works with Detective Kate Beckett initially in search for inspiration for a new book. But clearly he has a real knack for detective work as well. And it seems inevitable that the two will fall in love eventually, although they deny that any such relationship will happen. So, I highly recommend this show for you, especially if you've been a Monk fan.

Respect

Is respect something you should get by default or something you have to earn? Does doing something someone dislikes entitle them to disrespect you?even after you apologize?

If I know you well and I ask you a question and you give a vague roundabout answer, you can/should expect me to ask at least 2 more times. I deserve a more straight answer. Sometimes, we have an understanding with some people that saying certain phrases or using a certain tone is a way of saying something else and that's fine, but most of the time, that's not the case.

If someone has upset you and they apologize, doesn't that person deserve the respect to at least some acknowledgment? Maybe you're not actually ready to forgive said person but some response is called for. Ignorance is not the way to handle things, at least not until later on if the other person still doesn't acknowledge a mistake after you've tried to explain and resolve it. If someone asks what they've fond to upset you, doesn't that person still deserve the respect of being told this information?

This doesn't apply to bridge. I don't expect anyone to say sorry for anything related to how he or she bid or played a hand, and I never will. I will acknowledge errors and point out others' errors at an appropriate time but apologies are unnecessary.

New Year's Resolutions... in June

I don't remember making any resolutions at the start of this year. I don't typically, at least I don't do such things when the calendar or society dictates it. But I do remember writing about some things I wanted to do this year. Anyway, it seems my social life had become very much attached to bridge base as virtually all of my friends, especially any new one, are bridge players, and mostly live nowhere near middle Georgia. So, what am I resolving to do? 1) get back into regularly exercising, which shouldn't be too difficult. There are numerous people I can play tennis with here. I've just been too lazy to call people or return calls to play. And it's not like I have a time issue. 2) No bridge after midnight on a weekday. 3) Watching tv is the only acceptable activity after 2am. I posted on the whole "After 2am, just go to sleep" theme from an episode of "How I Met Your Mother" a couple of months ago and have totally not stuck to that. 4) Cook more. And bring my lunch to work at least twice a week.. to stay in practice for when I actually have someone to cook for again, and save a couple of bucks, but the money saving thing is actually pretty insignificant.

Schism

Yes, I'm pointing fingers. This time I'm not accepting this notion that it's no one's fault. In the past I blamed myself for everything and lost many hours of sleep thinking about what I could have done before eventually deciding it's just bad dumb luck. It's someone's fault and it's not my fault.

"Schism" by Tool:

I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot seem to reach an end crippling our communication.

I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesn't mean I don't desire to
Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Finding beauty in the dissonance.

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication.

Sans

I've noticed the word sans used a lot lately. It's French for "without." I guess I first heard the word in Germany. There's a park and palace in Potsdam called Sans Souci, which means "without care." I didn't actually learn the word until 10th grade when studying French, and I never heard it used in an English context until college, and I've noticed its use more and more since. Strangely, the first time I noticed it used as an English word was on a math test that was to be taken "sans calculators and sans books." Since then I have seen it used in many different contexts, mostly pertaining to food and drink - sand alcohol or sans gratuity. A quick search on dictionary websites show that apparently it has been in the English dictionary since the 1100's. Maybe it went out of style and has been coming back into common usage lately?