Liverpool Part 2 -- Settling In

[Ed Rooney]

I felt I had to open a thread to get away from the 3 or 4 pages of ferries. 😉

 

A simple domestic life is filled with so much stuff to do. I'd almost forgotten. I've eaten both breakfast and lunch in my new studio flat for the past 7 days. I still fast at night, so no dinner. I had missed my own Italian cooking and very much missed washing dishes by hand. Two things that can produce original creative thoughts, I found, are riding on a slow-moving city bus and washing dishes.  

 

I went to the Apple Store today and updated all my Adobe CC apps. They have powerful WiFi there, so it took no time at all. They have no problem with my being there. 

 

I'm wondering what to do about watching videos. I don't think I've seen a film in the last year. Crazy, eh? I don't think I'm going to buy a TV, so I have to figure out what I can watch on a Mac. I feel like a visitor from the Planet Zim. What is this wet stuff that keeps falling out of the sky? 

 

All you Brits -- please vote tomorrow . . . for something.

 

Edo 

 

 

[John Mitchell]

I just checked the weather forecast for Liverpool, and it looks very much like Vancouver's.

This is what a Vancouver snowman looks like:

 

[Bryan]

I don't have a Mac  but much of our TV watching is done via the Internet. Saturday night TV is generally dire, but there are hoards of gems to be picked up from past transmissions. Suggest you buy a BBC TV licence and take a look at the delights on offer. This week's highlights for me included James Galway at the BBC, a programme about the origin of Xmas Carols and a series on the evolution of country music in the USA.

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

Edo, am so pleased you are settling in, in your new studio.  As to what others watch on a Mac - ummm I'm sure there will be many posts 😉

 

The wet stuff falling from the sky is very pretty when it turns white, I had a little sale today PK4HYE wet white stuff😉

 

Yes I will vote.....

 

All the best and take care if you venture out in the wet white stuff if and when it arrives.....

 

Carol

[Thyrsis]

15 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Suggest you buy a BBC TV licence and take a look at the delights on offer. 

 

Ed, apply for a free TV license which will be valid until the end of May 2020. Even if you have to pay after that it’s worth every penny.

 

90% chance of rain in Oxford all day today, going to be a wet walk to the polling station!

Edited December 12, 2019 by Thyrsis

[Inchiquin]

9 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Two things that can produce original creative thoughts, I found, are riding on a slow-moving city bus and washing dishes.  

 

 

 

For me it's ironing.

 

Alan

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

I don't have a Mac  but much of our TV watching is done via the Internet. Saturday night TV is generally dire, but there are hoards of gems to be picked up from past transmissions. Suggest you buy a BBC TV licence and take a look at the delights on offer. This week's highlights for me included James Galway at the BBC, a programme about the origin of Xmas Carols and a series on the evolution of country music in the USA.

 

I wonder if Edo will actually be able to stream iPlayer or anything else if his internet connection is so poor. He could try a free trial with the likes of Amazon Prime and see if it works. 

 

For sure the BBC is producing and showing some fantastic programs. I do hope it survives as the Bojo and his people really do not like free state run TV. He let something oiminous slip the other day about the license fee. And there is this new Britbox service which will be charging for older BBC programs so older stuff will no longer be free on the iPlayer. There are a lot of these streaming services now as well. If I had to choose one I would pick Netflix. It has some really top class stuff including a lot of older BBC and other British TV. 

 

I love that Ken Burns country music series tracing the evolution of the genre from the 1920s through to the 90s. It's the best I've ever seen on the subject and it is a lot broader than what most people think of as country music. The  influence of Hank WIlliams on electric rock music was fascinating and his life story is heart rending. These people coming from dire poverty and making it out by singing about their experiences - Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and so on. Even if one isn't a fan of the music, this is an excellent recent historical documentary.

Edited December 12, 2019 by MDM

[Harry Harrison]

+1 for Ken Burns on Country Music. I read a review that noted how the Country Music stars have got healthier and healthier through the decades (thankfully) so that now they "seem like they have been plumped up like cushion", more difficult to sing about hard times now. The early stars were from deep poverty and deprivation, much worse than I had realised, a fascinating story well told.

 

Is it that you can't play DVDs on your Mac? Would an external drive work, they are pretty cheap. Video shops have gone but charity shops have a good eclectic selection of DVDs now that people prefer to stream, at least they do round here. Netflix would probably be cheaper in the long run but if your internet is bad it might be an option, and it's all for a good cause of course!

[Harry Harrison]

10 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Two things that can produce original creative thoughts, I found, are riding on a slow-moving city bus and washing dishes.  

Retouching scans.

[Ed Rooney]

I should have said Internet, not Mac. Apple, Windows, or whatnot, it was the connections I was asking about. When I lived in Oxfordshire, thirty years ago, I had a TV and a TV licence. And I did a weekly spot on BBC Radio Oxford. But that was in the last century. Hmmm. 

 

Asking about which of the various steaming services to get, I instead got your tastes in content (teehee). Understandable. I had Amazon Prime in NYC and several of the others before that. I will be doing a trial run to see if whichever system I try works okay on the super-slow WiFi. 

 

Charlie Parker, the jazz alto player, liked country music. "Listen to the words, man, the story," he told a young bebopper. I like country, but then I like most types of music. I listen most to classical, from Baroque to Modern. 

 

Alan, I think the last time I ironed anything was in 1951. I burned a finger. 

[MDM]

10 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

 

I'm wondering what to do about watching videos. I don't think I've seen a film in the last year. Crazy, eh? I don't think I'm going to buy a TV, so I have to figure out what I can watch on a Mac. I feel like a visitor from the Planet Zim. What is this wet stuff that keeps falling out of the sky? 

 

All you Brits -- please vote tomorrow . . . for something.

 

Edo 

 

 

 

Edo - I don't know if you like Martin Scorsese gangster movies but his new movie - The Irishman - is getting absolutely rave reviews from all sides. They are saying it is the best thing he has done in 30 years if not ever. It uses some really advanced technology and is by all accounts brilliant. It is based on the true story of an Irish-American mafia hitman in New York - stars Robert De Niro with Al Pacino. It is still on in the cinemas but will then be Netflix only  as it is a Netflix production. Not sure how much longer it will be in the cinemas. I haven't seen it yet as I have been waiting to find a 3 hour timeslot to watch it with my family.

[MDM]

9 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

 

Asking about which of the various steaming services to get, I instead got your tastes in content (teehee). Understandable. I had Amazon Prime in NYC and several of the others before that. I will be doing a trial run to see if whichever system I try works okay on the super-slow WiFi. 

 

 

 

I don't think you can really neatly separate the content from the service. For example, Britbox is as it says on the tin so if you like old British TV series then off you go. Apple have their own streaming service now as well. I think it is a tossup between Netflix and Amazon at the moment but Netflix is my favourite because they are producing some amazing original content. 

 

If your internet is not fast enough for streaming then as Harry says you can buy an external DVD drive. 

[Ed Rooney]

The Irishman was showing just around the corner. It's gone now.

 

Scorsese is probably the best living film director, and I'm sure his latest flick is fine, but it would have to be very fine indeed to outshine many of his past works. The only film of his that I've seen and did not like at all was Gangs of New York. It had a glossy Hollywood look to it with little of Jacob Riis's still images feel of The Five Points, where I lived. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Points,_Manhattan

 

Poco a poco with my video system. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Ed Rooney

[MDM]

8 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

The Irishman was showing just around the corner. It's gone now.

 

Scorsese is probably the best living film director, and I'm sure his latest flick is fine, but it would have to be very fine indeed to outshine many of his past works. The only film of his that I've seen and did not like at all was Gangs of New York. It had a glossy Hollywood look to it with little of Jacob Riis's still images feel of The Five Points, where I lived. 

 

Poco a poco with my video system. 

 

The Irishman is still on in the Everyman cinema in Liverpool. It is getting some seriously good reviews.

 

I think the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York made the movie into something special - a truly scary guy - otherwise yes I agree. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by MDM

[Allan Bell]

Good to hear you are settling into your new flat Edo. Another plus for washing dishes by hand. I think most of the variants to watching films have been brought up in posts above.

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

Our public libraries here have DVDs to borrow. How about there?

 

Paulette

[Ed Rooney]

What would life on Planet Earth be without a functioning public library system, Paulette? The modern Central Library of Liverpool is no more than 10 minutes away on foot. They have most of what I've asked about -- wifi use, with or without my own computer, books to take out on paper or for my iPad. I've not asked about DVDs yet. I'll need to get a reader. 

 

 

I have as many loose ends as Brexit will have. (Well no, not that many.) 

[MDM]

4 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

What would life on Planet Earth be without a functioning public library system, Paulette? The modern Central Library of Liverpool is no more than 10 minutes away on foot. They have most of what I've asked about -- wifi use, with or without my own computer, books to take out on paper or for my iPad. I've not asked about DVDs yet. I'll need to get a reader. 

 

 I have as many loose ends as Brexit will have. (Well no, not that many.) 

 

The public libraries are another public service that has suffered greatly due to government cutbacks during the austerity years here. Good to know that the Liverpool one is alive and kicking for now. Hopefully they will continue to survive. 

 

[Shergar]

Ed,  I use a VPN from here in the states to watch British TV. Perhaps they have the same in reverse in the UK it only costs me $12 a month if you are interested in catching up with news and tv from home.

[John Mitchell]

I still like DVD's and music CD's. The Vancouver library system has plenty of both. DVD players are really cheap now.

 

What's "ironing"? 😛

[MDM]

25 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

I still like DVD's and music CD's. The Vancouver library system has plenty of both. DVD players are really cheap now.

 

What's "ironing"? 😛

 

Yes I was wondering about that myself. Must be something they do in Yorkshire. 😀

[Ed Rooney]

"I think the performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York made the movie into something special - a truly scary guy - otherwise yes I agree."

 

I had the pleasure of talking with Daniel Day-Lewis at Il Fornaio, my regular trattoria on Mulberry Street, after he finish Lincoln in 2012.  He was having a late lunch with an Italian shoemaker. And we all ended up all speaking Italian. DL's Italian was better than mine! 

[Lisa]

I have an Infomir box to see all BBC and ITV channels. It is expensive and only available outside of the UK, so not a good recommendation for Eddo. I like the show "Pointless". 

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

16 hours ago, MDM said:

 

I wonder if Edo will actually be able to stream iPlayer or anything else if his internet connection is so poor. He could try a free trial with the likes of Amazon Prime and see if it works. 

 

For sure the BBC is producing and showing some fantastic programs. I do hope it survives as the Bojo and his people really do not like free state run TV. He let something oiminous slip the other day about the license fee. And there is this new Britbox service which will be charging for older BBC programs so older stuff will no longer be free on the iPlayer. There are a lot of these streaming services now as well. If I had to choose one I would pick Netflix. It has some really top class stuff including a lot of older BBC and other British TV. 

 

I love that Ken Burns country music series tracing the evolution of the genre from the 1920s through to the 90s. It's the best I've ever seen on the subject and it is a lot broader than what most people think of as country music. The  influence of Hank WIlliams on electric rock music was fascinating and his life story is heart rending. These people coming from dire poverty and making it out by singing about their experiences - Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and so on. Even if one isn't a fan of the music, this is an excellent recent historical documentary.

All of those names are familiar because I’ve listened to country music all of my life.  There was a time my mother, sister, brother-in-law and I performed at small-town clubs and meetings. My brother-in-law played the guitar and he and all of us sang. George Jones was a favorite country singer of mine, and nobody sings like Willie Nelson. I love him. He was on the Country Music awards recently with a woman singer, and he seemed confused. One day, we’ll hear that he’s passed. A decade or two ago, he played concerts, many open-air, to raise money for farmers in trouble.

If you get a chance to ever hear his original recording of “Angel Flying too Close to the Ground”, listen. There is some outstanding guitar riffs in it. Of course, Dolly Pardon’s “I Will Always Love You” is special. I could name a 100 favorite singers and songs easily. Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is another. Kris is a songwriter supreme, with a voice that sometimes is rough and wobbles. I think that’s why I love his unique style that he never felt was good enough.

Betty

edited to add:

I grew up in Oklahoma, the state that suffered so much during the dust bowl. My grandmother lived through it.  Grapes of Wrath was written about it. While things have changed since then, the people, for the most part, are “down home” folks that would give you the shirt off their backs. These are the kinds of people country music was written about. When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, it turned cold and rainy a couple of days later. Rescuers from out of state didn’t have warm footwear. It was mentioned on TV, and one common working man drove up to a barricade and pulled the work boots off his feet and handed them over.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Betty LaRue

[Ed Rooney]

 

Country don't get no better than these guys.