2021 the year that never was (just like 2020)

So here we are on the brink of 2022. 2021 has been weird to say the least (much like 2020 if I am totally honest). The years that time forgot (or at last would like to forget). So many plans and events were cancelled to postponed (and then postponed again) and most of us spent a lot of time at home and not seeing friends and family.

It feels like things are shifting and although the Covid-19 pandemic rages on it feels like things are slowly improving (sort of). I am not counting my chickens though as I suspect things might still take a turn for the worse.

It's not all been bad though as I have really enjoyed the change of pace and I absolutely love being able to spend more time with Toni. We have had some major events with Sam moving out and off to Southend with his mate Dave and Zoë is currently working and probably getting ready to fly the nest too.

2022 could well be another year for change that might see us finally child free on a permanent basis! Maybe! 

We had a nice chilled day today. Season 6 of Queer Eye dropped on Netflix so we spent the day watching that.

There was some eating and lots of tea/coffee drinking but no alcohol for us. Just the two of us spending quality time together and feeling very relaxed.

We rolled towards the midnight hour watching The Big Fat Quiz Of The Tear 2021.

I don't really do New Year Revolutions but this one seems good :)

Saying that, maybe we'll skip the partying, drinking, fighting and smoking part..... Broken it already, damn, or maybe this is just resolution lite!

See you on the other side........ new beginnings and all that!

'Rogue One' Director Admits Attending Secret 'Star Wars' Meeting During 'Godzilla' Filming - Culture Slate

In 2016 Star Wars premiered its first standalone movie in the form of Rogue One. Directed by British movie maker Gareth Edwards, Rogue One took the Star Wars universe in a new direction while butting in closely to A New Hope. It was a bold and dark move to create a movie with new characters facing peril through out, culminating with them all dying for the cause by the end.  

You can read the full article here:

'Rogue One' Director Admits Attending Secret 'Star Wars' Meeting During 'Godzilla' Filming

Frohe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas, Yuletide Wishes & Season's Greetings everybody

Frohe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas, Yuletide Wishes and Season's Greetings to all my family and friends. I hope you all enjoy your holidays and time off no matter how you celebrate! However you celebrate (or even if you don't) have a fantastic day. Peace, light and love to one and all.

Why Palpatine Felt Lightsabers Were ‘Beneath’ The Sith - Culture Slate

Most people immediately envisage the iconic red lightsaber when you think of the Sith. We have seen them from the start with Darth Vader in A New Hope, Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. There is even a glimpse of one in The Rise of Skywalker with Dark Side Rey. On the other hand, Palpatine is only seen using a lightsaber in combat once in the all the movies, in Revenge of the Sith. 

You can read the full article here:

Why Palpatine Felt Lightsabers Were ‘Beneath’ The Sith

Why Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, And Disney Didn't Ruin Your Childhood - Culture Slate

Most people can remember the first time they watched a Star Wars movie. I would imagine that these are childhood memories like mine in many cases. I was eight years old when I first saw Star Wars, and I was addicted from the get-go. I had the toys and the comics, and everything revolved around Star Wars.

You can read the full article here:

Why Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, And Disney Didn't Ruin Your Childhood

‘Star Wars’ Movies vs TV: Which Is Better? - Culture Slate

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... I was going to start by being clever and saying it wasn't long ago. However, Star Wars first burst onto cinema screens in 1977, 45 years ago, so I guess it really was! Everything kicked off with that one movie. I have been a Star Wars fan since I first saw A New Hope in 1978 when it had its mainstream release in the UK (well, it was just Star Wars back then) and have been swimming in movies and TV content ever since. It's not necessarily all been a good thing, though. So which is better, the movies or TV content? 

You can read the full article here:

‘Star Wars’ Movies vs TV: Which Is Better? 

Theory: How Did Padme Really Die? - Culture Slate

Medical droid (about Padmé): Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi: She's dying?

Medical droid: We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. 

These words were the inevitable build up to Padme Amidala’s expected death in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. No other explanation was given in the film for her death. Over the years there has been much speculation as to whether it was as simple as that or if there was something else at play?  

You can read the full article here:

Theory: How Did Padme Really Die?

A Brief History Of The Eternals - Culture Slate

Eternals, Marvel’s latest movie in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is showing exclusively in cinemas now. There are a lot of people out there asking the question, “Who are the Eternals?” Most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies released so far have dealt with well known iconic characters and superheroes, so this question is no real surprise. With that in mind, let’s look at how the Eternals came into being within Marvel Comics. Like a lot of Marvel Comics characters, this all harks back to the vision of Jack Kirby. He had to go round the houses to create what he wanted, and it was certainly worth the wait. 

You can read the full article here:

A Brief History Of The Eternals

Did A ‘Star Wars’ Comic Foreshadow Hayden Christensen's Return And Hint At Character Arc? - Culture Slate

It has been confirmed for a while now that Hayden Christiansen will be returning to his role as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Star Wars Disney+ show Ahsoka, alongside Rosario Dawson. Anakin Skywalker was deemed to be The Chosen One who was a central figure in a Jedi prophecy that would bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith. The prophecy also said that The Chosen One would become the strongest Force-sensitive in the entire galaxy. It has long been a matter of debate as to exactly what bringing balance to the Force actually meant to the Star Wars universe and it has never been truly clarified.

You can read the full article here:

Did A ‘Star Wars’ Comic Foreshadow Hayden Christensen's Return And Hint At Character Arc?

The Surprising Reason Behind General Grievous's Famous Cough - Culture Slate

When it comes to iconic bad guys in the Star Wars universe, General Grievous certainly ranks quite high. George Lucas has a talent for creating distinctive and memorable characters and General Grievous is certainly no exception. Over the years, Grievous has become a bit of a cult figure and has been featured in many forms of Star Wars media. 

You can read the full article here:

The Surprising Reason Behind General Grievous's Famous Cough - Culture Slate

Writing for Culture Slate

I recently put myself forward for a volunteer position as a writer for pop culture website Culture Slate and I am pleased to report that I have been accepted and have joined the writing team. 

Along with my usual twaddle on this site you you will now be seeing links to my articles on the Culture Slate website as they are published. 

You can check out Culture Slate here: https://www.cultureslate.com

Morning, squirrel and night views

Another early morning walk with a wonderful view en route.

Here's our cheeky squirrel standing guard on the garden fence. I couldn't get him to turn round despite banging on windows and rattling door handles, he was just having none of it!

We made the living room all cosy tonight

Pumpkins United

Pumpkins United? No, this is not another Helloween post. This year a friend of mine ran a Facebook for a Giant Pumpkin Growing Competition. The group composed of friends, mutual friends and strangers from around the world embarking on a journey of pumpkin growing. For a lot of us, myself included, this was our first time. It was great fun watching things grow, not grow, suffer, recover, die (not necessarily in that order). It was such fun and everyone was sharing hints, tips and advice with everyone else. I was a late starter and for a while it looked like there was nothing doing for me and then suddenly there was success. Sadly my growing stopped and it was harvest time. I was way off of being a competition winner but I was so proud to have grown these beauties (and I was at least mid-table in the competition).

Next stop is turning them into something yummy in the kitchen!

Another beautiful day but a tiring one

Another beautiful day! The first three photos are through the bathroom window so less good LOL

Sandwiched around the beauty of the world was getting called out in the early hours of the morning, full working day and then covering a late shift on top of that. It was a somewhat tiring day overall.

Let The Be Carnage

It's been great to get out and about more and today was no exception. We got up and headed into Eltham for a breakfast at Miggi's.

After Miggi's it was off to the Vue Cineman to watch the Venom sequel, Venom: Let The Be Carnage.

We really enjoyed the first Venom film and Sony did a pretty good job with their Marvel francise. The question was though, would the sequel be as good and take things forward? For me, the answer was no. Don't get me wrong, it's an entertaining film but it was a slow build up to the massive visual effects showdown at the end. The ending was planned and they had to find a way to get there but it just seemed a bit clumsy to me, maybe they could have extended the length to flesh out the story a bit more, there were a few unanswered questions. We got what we wanted though, a massive Venom v Carnage fight.

It isn't ground breaking as a superhero movie though and seemed to be playing it a little bit safe compared with things like The Suicide Squad and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings. On a personal level the very end of the film plus the mid credits scene made the whole thing 100% worth waiting for. 

Not necessarily a must see movie but it is entertaining and worth watching.

Here's the Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer:

I have no doubt there will be a third instalment at some point.....

No angst, grey sunrise and nobody died

I am pleased to report that there was no unreasonable angsty feelings today. Had a lovely walk first thing although the sky was grey rather than a glorious sunrise.

It was a good working day, got some stuff done, didn't shout at anyone, didn't kill anyone so that was a result!

Now the weekend beckons.....

Fog/mist, unreasonable feelings and chill......

Out on my early walk today there was fog/mist. These photos don't really do it justice but it looked amazing.

Before I started work I was making a coffee and doing a few things and found myself becoming uncharacteristically angry, and unreasonably so, over the littlest of things. Not sure what the heck was going on there but I didn't like it very much. It did seem to subside quite quickly and I certainly hope this isn't something I have to come to face on a regular basis.

Bulbs arrived today so now we have a proper working light in the bathroom again, this is much cause for celebration!

Thankfully my angsty side wasn't around for most of the day so I managed to end the day a bit more chill....

Late start nice sunrise, bulbs (a lack of) and a squirrel

I expect you are getting bored of the sunrise now but I am not LOL. Slightly later start today so the sunrise was not quite as impressive as previous days but it still looked lovely and was a great start to the day.

The bathroom light had blown so I went to replace it today only to find that the fitting for that one didn't match any of the bulbs I had spare, typical! I put in a quick order with Amazon to get some tomorrow and we rhad to put up with some alternative lighting for another night. 

We have a new regular visitor to our garden in the form of a squirrel. He is mostly harmless except he managed to ruin our crop of aubergine's that we were growing. Clearly he doesn't like them but taking a bite out of each one just in case meant that we couldn't enjoy them either, little shit! 

Other than that he is in everyday, exploring and coming right up close to the house. Toni has taken to leaving him some nuts out (much to my disgust as they are my nuts LOL). He does like them though and here he is:

Another glorious sunrise

There was another beautiful sunrise out on my walk today. Nature is a wonderful thing! Look at that sky!

It's good to be alive and outside with such wonderful things to look at.