Consortium of Seven: Year 4

      We've officially wandered into spring since last time, though how much the experience outside your window matches that is likely to vary widely.       This past weekend - another of those thanks to a friend situations - I got to see Cocaine Bear (2023 R 1h 35m). A bloody action comedy, only remotely based on actual events. It's not even so much a case of "print the legend" as write the screenplay based on what a few, likely drunk writers imagined might happen if an air-drop of cocaine went awry, a bear found it, and decided she definitely wanted the rest of it.        A period piece, it's set in the mid-'80s, so no cell phones, and the War On Drugs was making life worse for pretty much everyone. An entertaining cast and over-the-top violence by men, women, and bear, along with players on each side of the drug war, make for a brisk, often funny (providing the violence and blood doesn't muffle that for you) li...

        I'll note - potentially apologize for? - this week's piece not having a real holiday theme... aside, I suppose, for anticipating more leisure time in the coming week for most of us. While we'll likely all be getting to spend some time with family and friends in here somewhere, there are at least three, big, viral infections out there, leaving me wondering how many people will either be out sick, or dragging their diseased selves back into the workplace to spread it all anew, when we step into the new year in about 11 days.     My slow, gradual move into Apple TV+ territory continues. Since last time, I completed the remainder of Ted Lasso 's second season - the most recent - and so have that behind me. The second season ended with much more emotional weight, but still much more in a good way than a threatening one. Much for fans to conjure with as they await season three, likely somewhere off in 2023, when the series will conclude. My...

        Another of those weeks that simultaneously feels unnaturally long - was the Georgia runoff election really just this past Tuesday? - yet so quick, as in I can't say where most of the time went. I think I spend too much time these days in a state where I'm tired, want a nap, but there's always a few more things to be done.       Occasionally while looking up details on a movie or tv episode, I'll happen to note the release or broadcast date - what a wonderful age we live in for indulging nerdy/geeky impulses!       Recently, while thinking about seasonal television, most specifically about holiday episodes of shows, I fairly quickly thought about the ones that Dan Harmon's show, Community , did during its six- season run. Likely my favorite Christmas-y episode from that series was season two's " Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas ." (Season 2, episode 11.)     While checking for some details...