What I've Been Watching: March

Hi! It's the end of the month already, so you know what time it is. I have a little addition to this month's list, which I'll get back to in a minute. I have to confess, even though this series is titled "What I've Been Watching on Netflix," most of the shows on my list this month are actually on regular tv. LOL I'm such a jackass and I apologize. I stop watching regular tv because I'm always watching Netflix so the TV portion of the site goes untouched for years. I finally figure out that I should mention what I watch on Netflix, then get a couple months into it and get overtaken by regular tv again. I'm gonna get it right one of these days, I promise. lol Anyway, let's get into what I've been watching this month.

Feud


Ultimate Beastmaster


The New Frontier


Duck Dynasty


WWE Raw & SmackDown Live


Amy Schumer: The Leather Special

The Most Hated Woman in America




When I first heard that the Joan Crawford/Bette Davis feud was being brought back to life, I internally cringed. I was really worried that the need to bring excitement to the story would cause a lot of fabricated drama that would make the ladies look worse, but so far it's been an awesomely layered story. Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon have been knocking it out of the park and its been so much fun to watch. I haven't been excited for a show on regular tv in a long time. The rest of the cast isn't made up of slouches either, Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci being the standouts for me. Kiernan Shipka's doing a fantastic job of making me hate B.D. but her mother's no innocent either, so even though I cannot stand the character, I understand a bit of why she is the way she is. Operative phrase being 'a bit.'


I want to say I've included Ultimate Beastmaster on one of my WIBW lists before, but I can't clearly remember. In case I haven't, this is a challenge show in the vein of Stone Cold's Broken Skull Challenge, with a little American Ninja Warrior thrown in for good measure. This is harder than both of those challenges and the BSC ain't no bitch so that should give you some indication of the difficulty. lol In this show, a total of 12 participants take on the Beast, two apiece from 6 countries (USA, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Mexico and Brazil, I want to say) while two hosts from each country serve as both commentary and moral support. It's a fun show to watch.


If you've watched tv over the past few years, I don't need to tell you about Duck Dynasty. The show is in its final season, so that made me go back to the episodes I have on the DVR and watch the first few seasons. I definitely don't agree with the family's political views, but I do appreciate their commitment to show a good family program that doesn't have hoodrat behavior and cursing through the roof. It's a simple show, it takes me back to a simpler time, and I love Uncle Si. lol


I've said this before, but I've loved wrasslin' all of my life. I'm not quite so happy with the programming and content right now, but they're heading into Wrestlemania and I usually come back for that, so here I am. lol I may leave the crowd for awhile, but I always come back. I don't really know what else to say--if you know me, you know the target of my thirst, and that's a primary reason why I watch Raw. Smackdown is a more solid show as wrestling goes so while I enjoy that more in terms of the actual program, Raw is more entertaining. At times, watching wrestling also helps me calm down when I'm up all night with anxiety, which has been the case as of late (the last 12 years if we're being technical, but who's counting?), and having the Network around to find things to get through the night really helps.

I've never been an Amy Schumer fan. Not because I specifically disliked her, but her style of comedy was never really my thing. No knocks on those who do like her style of comedy; it just wasn't for me. I decided to try again when she released her latest show, which was a collaboration with Netflix called The Leather Special. I wasn't expecting to love it--so I wasn't surprised when I didn't lol--but I was hoping I'd laugh a few times. Other than a few chuckles here and there throughout the special, which were more related to Amy's delivery rather than the meat of the joke, I wouldn't call it laugh out loud funny unless you're already a fan of Schumer's work. I felt this was more for her core crowd, her ride or dies. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. But if you're not already an Amy Schumer fan, I can't see you getting a lot out of it. I don't like knocking a comedian's work as I know a lot of time goes into trying to build a routine for a one-off special. But I just felt like I'd heard many of the jokes before and if they were new jokes, they seemed built off of a tried-and-true schtick that had lost a bit of its sheen. Some of the jokes were new and the delivery of other jokes made it a bit fresher, but overall it just wasn't my butter and jam.

The Most Hated Woman in America told the true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who was one of the first advocates for atheism, primarily through her fight to end the then-mandatory prayer policy in American schools back during the '1960s. She became an outspoken activist for and creator of one of the first prominent atheist organizations. The story is a long, tangled one but in her later years, she was abducted, along with her son and granddaughter, and later found dead at the hands of an ex-felon former employee of O'Hair's organization. She wasn't an innocent granny herself and I think the fact that she wasn't made her story all the more complex. Despite that, nobody deserves to have their life ended the way hers did and it's a sad end to an otherwise courageous story. This was a completely new story to me and while I didn't agree with many of O'Hair's views, I did respect her gumption. 

YouTube:

I thought I'd add a new section into my WIBW posts and it's a little funny to me that I hadn't considered including it until now. I talk about my borderline obsession with watching YouTube all the time, but when I talk about what I've been watching throughout the month I never mention it. There are months when I don't watch a lot of new things on Netflix or tv, but its usually because I've been watching more YouTube than anything else. So I thought I'd include a couple of the channels I watched a lot during the month, in case any of them are up your alley. This month was a little dry, I'll have some more up next month.

Tati (Glam Life Guru)

UNHhhh with Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova













I've been watching YouTube for a few years now and Tati periodically came up in my recommended feed, but she wasn't quite my style at the time so I didn't watch her regularly. I will say though that I trusted her opinion on brands and the like, despite not being a regular viewer of her content.  Tati's approach to establishing a schedule of consistent but relevant and fun content has been agreeing with me lately. I go through phases where I prefer certain beauty gurus over others, but right now I prefer to watch Tati's videos. 

When I tell you that I love drag queens, I LOVE drag queens. I know liking drag queens is 'in' now because RPDR is going mainstream, but I actually don't watch Drag Race. The only season I watched was season 7 and that was because I was a fan of Miss Fame from her YouTube channel. That brings me to UNHhhh, which is hosted by two other fan favorites of season 7, the hilarious duo known as Trixya. I don't really remember Trixie's time on the show, but I remember liking Katya and finding her really unique. Then the two joined forces for this show and it is some of the kookiest, off-kilter commentary I've seen in awhile. Each week is about a different topic and from what I can see, that's the only direction they get and the rest of the episode is them, unfiltered, playing off of each other. The editing is also a hoot.


Pick of the Month: Feud, The Most Hated Woman in America

Throwaway Pick: Duck Dynasty

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Spring Bucket List

Hi! I'm doing something a bit new today, for the entire week actually. With Spring Break (already!) on the horizon, I'm doing something I didn't get to do last year. I wanted to put together a month full of weekly posts centered around spring cleaning and the like, but I didn't fully figure out what I wanted to do in enough time so it didn't happen. I got my ish together this year (for the most part), so I'm doing it. I wanted to start things off with something new; a bucket list. I've never done anything like this for spring before; the seasons that I usually focus on creating lists for are summer and fall and I thought it would be fun to challenge myself a bit. So here's what I came up with:

I believe this list is even shorter than last summer's bucket list, which is for three reasons: Firstly, I don't have a lot of experience with trying to find spring-themed things to do, secondly, there aren't a ton of outdoorsy things to do in my city that aren't amusement park or fair related (two places many emetophobes have near the top of their "Nope" lists) around this time of year, and thirdly, I had to make sure that I added things that were feasible for my budget and transport limitations. So let's get to them.


1. Get frozen yogurt 

Not much explaining to be done here; even though Texas winters are typically mild in comparison to the rest of the country, they're still cold to me, so obviously I'm not going out for frozen anything in the middle of December. I'm not quite in the mood for ice cream yet (and I've convinced myself that frozen yogurt would be healthier to eat--even with the inordinate amount of sweet toppings I put on top of it) but it's warm enough again to want a cold treat, so here we are. 

2. Feed the birds 

I want to say I've mentioned this before, but in case I haven't, one of my favorite calming pasttimes is feeding birds. I know that's boring and weird but I find it really relaxing. I usually feed the birds who nest near my house, but they're so skittish that tossing the food usually makes them fly away so I'm on the hunt for more courageous birds. lol At our downtown bus depot the birds give no f*cks about any of us and will box with each other for crumbs but we're no longer allowed to give them anything, so that's no fun either. Geez Louise I sound like an 80 year old. I'm talking to you about the best places to feed birds. lol 

3. Make a dish with fresh ingredients

I'm not sure why it's a bigger deal to me to cook with fresh elements during certain seasons, but when I think of spring food, I think of lighter foods with more fresh ingredients and lighter tastes. I don't often cook with fresh veggies so I thought this would be a fun challenge to take on. It can also be difficult to utilize fresh ingredients on a low budget and I wanted to see if I could do it on mine.


4. Have a picnic

Ideally, I could take my little dish from up above to said picnic that I'd like to have in the park. The park is one of my favorite places to be this time of year; it's warm enough to not need five layers of clothing anymore, but it's not so hot that I sweat my makeup off the moment I step outside. So while the elevator has momentarily stopped on its way back down to hell temperatures, I'd like to enjoy it by spending an afternoon picnicking at the park.


5. Tackle this year's Reading Challenge 

I just mentioned this in the 2nd edition of Posts from the Vault (which should have gone up yesterday) but I've been so busy trying to finish the last set of late posts then roll right into 2017's posts that the first two and a half months of this year have already blown right by. I just finished my 2nd annual Black History Spotlight over on ATV, which explains where I was for a lot of January and all of February but as a result, I fell right back off the wagon over here. lol I've been trying to catch up on book reviews I was asked to do so naturally those come first, but I'm also trying to get better at scheduling my time so that I can get to this year's Challenge.


6. Plant at least one thing

I have always dreamed about having my own garden one day. I can't have it living at home for a number of reasons, but it has always been my goal to have a garden the moment that I move out, whether it be a small portable garden or a huge oasis. Personally, I'd love the latter but if we're talking on a realistic financial scale, it'll probably be the former. Now that it's warm enough for me to finally plant something, I'd like to finally do it. I say that I want to plant something every spring but I never do it. Even if it's one solitary flower, I'd love to finally get something planted.


7. Take a class

I've been missing school something serious. I've been out of school for four years come September and the last college I graduated from, Le Cordon Bleu, is closing all of its American campuses this month so I've been a bit depressed about not going back. I ran out of fin aid as I was graduating and that combined with the closure of the college closed the door on my going back for my Bachelor's degree. Since I can no longer go through an entire program, I've been trying to find some classes I'd like to take instead. I've had my eye on a photography class but it requires you to own a DSLR and since that's strictly against the terms and conditions of my Empty Pockets sponsorship, I've been trying to find a different class that would be relevant for me to take.


8. Start walking at the park

Another goal I always set and never keep is to start walking. This time the reason's more legit than laziness and lack of transportation, though. A couple of years ago I was running from a rodent and smacked my toe pretty good on a shelf in the process. I mentioned this in my "Things I'm Grateful For" post for Thanksgiving 2015 and said that I was grateful I hadn't broken anything because I'd since been able to start moving my toe and walking on it again. I have to apologize now for selling you a bridge because that shit was broken. lol I found out it was broken last May and I've been in a boot (that I've named Chi-Chi) since last June. She's quite heavy for my chicken legs so I won't be doing any extensive walking until we fix my toe, but the minute the doc says it's okay for me to walk without her again, I am on it.


9. Take family pics

This one is more of a gift rather than a bucket list item, but it's something I wanted to do last year and wasn't able to. My egg donor doesn't read my blog but a couple of relatives peek in from time to time and I don't want word getting back to her, so I'll leave this one alone.


10. Go to an outdoor event

For both social anxiety and emetophobic reasons, I don't count outdoor events among my favorite places to frequent. Amusement parks and fairs are super crowded, they scare the paranoid person inside of me who always worries about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and both of those places are excellent breeding grounds for running into people losing their lunches. While many people think their friend getting sick after being on a ride is comedy hour, it is terrifying for folks like myself and as a result I steer clear of places where it's a thing. So the challenge for me this year is to find an outdoor event that isn't overflowing with people but wouldn't make one sick. Good luck with that one, right?


11. Make another flower crown 

I talk about my love for flower crowns so much that it now elicits the same response from my family; they usually roll their eyes and hit me with a DJ Khaled. "Another one?" And the answer to that will always be yes. You can never have too many flower crowns. Well, you can when you already have an issue storing the ones you have, but we'll get to that later in the week. Anyway, I can already see this crown in my head. I'm seeing one that goes across the forehead rather than sitting on the top, and lots of large, pastel-colored flowers. I'm making one for St. Patty's as well, I think. They're not functional or practical and they're very extra but who cares? I like them. So I'm gonna make more of them. lol


12. Take seasonally themed photos

Since my Empty Pockets sponsorship has banned me from buying the DSLR of my dreams, I've had to get resourceful in order to still take quality photos. One of my favorite kinds of photos to take are nature-themed, and it's been a goal for a number of years now to take pictures of the same tree throughout all four seasons. Spring is not a season I'm used to being active for, so I think I miss a lot of the more subtle hints of the season.


13. Find a good place to read outdoors

Because I am your typical wheezing, sneezing geek spring often wreaks havoc on my sinuses. I am allergic to all of the grass, weeds, trees and plants native to my area, adding on to the growing list of reasons I don't spend a lot of time outside. I'd like to find somewhere I can enjoy the weather without being right in the sun or near a ton of greenery so that I can read in peace.


14. Find a garden to go to

Living in a desert has the obvious drawback of not having the conditions to grow all the plants you see in the more famous botanical gardens. My city also isn't about to spend all that money on a botanical garden, so there's that. We have a desert botanical garden but I'm not very interested in going, so I'm trying to find a garden or large greenhouse I can take a walk through.


15. Extra: Make potpourri 

I know it's going to make me sound like a total fool, but I only recently realized you could make your own potpourri. I was experimenting with potpourris and making your own scents for them for one of the posts in the series and came across some potpourri recipes. I didn't know that it was mainly composed of dry flowers! So if I develop the patience necessary to do this correctly, I'd like to try my hand at making a batch of potpourri.


16. Unlisted Extras: Get through this series! and catalog book collection

I know I have a bad reputation in these parts for not finishing what I start. To be honest, remaining consistent has long been a flaw and challenge of mine. But I've been waiting for a year to have the opportunity to do this series, so I'm going to make sure I do my best to see it through.

Something else I've been wanting to do for quite some time is catalog my physical book collection. I primarily read e-books now but when I see a physical book out in the wild I'll still pick it up; I just don't pay as much attention to the physical collection as I used to. It's still growing though, so I'd like to get a new bookshelf one of these days so the books will stop taking over my room. 

So that's my spring bucket list. Wasn't too long but per usual, I've dragged it out. lol I'd just like you to get to know me aside from my reviews so when I do posts like this, I like trying to give a little backstory on it. Clearly, I give novels but whatever. Anyway, hope you'll be joining me this week (if you have no life like myself) and I'll see you tomorrow!

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