Sunday Sparklies
Fatal iPhones, shanties, queer lit, prices, grapes, space junk, entertainment
These posts, in Odds and Ends, along with other occasional “stuff”, are not that different from those in my new section, Sort of a Journal. The only difference is that the new section needs you to opt in specifically.
Woman dies in Brazilian restaurant with 26 iPhones glued to her body
This was a CTV News headline that I just had to read. Was she an influencer with a dozen livestreams? Had ‘the voices’ told her to do it? No, she was a smuggler and had collapsed on a bus with cardiac issues. The article does not say that it was the actual phones that killed her. Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service estimates 10,000 cellphones enter Brazil illegally every day.
Games
ShantyTown - free on Steam, as a demo. The review claims it is very relaxing. It looks pretty simple, is now on my list.
Book recommendations
From CBC - Canadian sci-fi and fantasy novels under 300 pages to read this summer
Via a Guardian newsletter - “The best of queer lit | Bookmarks”. News about the long list for this year’s Polari prize for the best in LGBTQ+ literature from the UK and Ireland.
Health
Article on the latest hydration hero and a possible cancer defence - grapes. I wonder if the same benefits follow through to grape juice, carefully fermented?
Pricier Due to Tariffs
Article from the BBC
Fridges and washing machines - our counter tariffs plus US tariffs on the steel and aluminum we send south to the factories. Check out models from Europe or Asia.
New and used cars - well, auto tariffs. Plus, the impacts on sub-assemblies that make multiple border crossings
Groceries - check the label for that Made in Canada, or even better Product of Canada notice.
Clothing - even for non-US imports, a modest bump just from uncertainties.
Housing and home improvements - pricier imports for carpets, furniture, siding, furnaces, etc. Plus, a more cautious market.
The Sky is Falling
OK, not that often, but there are a lot of active satellites up there. Forbes says 10,000, and most belong to Musk. His Starlink plans to expand to 40,000 eventually. And the current total doesn’t count the 28,000 bits of defunct junk that are catalogued, and the some 10 million smaller bits and pieces. Check out the Kessler Syndrome.
Entertainment
A look at July’s videos and movies for me.
Next
The Loch? Mixed reviews, but looks interesting
Ongoing (some)
Predator (1987) - sort of a prequel. Sort of ok, so far.
The Gilded Age - It’s 1882, and the Gilded Age is in full swing. Set in an opulent New York, sort of a Downton Abbey meets Dallas. Season 3 is almost over, the last episode ended with a bang.
Altered Carbon - After 250 years on ice, a prisoner returns to life in a new body with one chance to win his freedom: by solving a mind-bending murder. The book and the series are both good. I’ve watched 12/18 edpsodes to far, so need to get it done before I forget too much! 7/10 so far.
Mindhunter - Set in late 70s. The Behavioral Science Unit's killer instincts move from theory into action when the FBI joins in a high-profile hunt for a serial child murderer. At 12/19 episodes so far, but faltering. 7/10
Done
Murderbot - It’s a good book, but the series is doled out at 20 minutes a week. Finally done, still a 7/10 rating but I would have preferred fewer but longer episodes.
The Machine - super-strong human cyborg. And it rebels - of course. Already watched this in 2019, apparently, but forgot most of it. Still good - 7/10
Blood Machines - Unusual. An artificial intelligence escapes her spaceship to turn into a female ghost and challenges two blade runners to a galactic chase.. Three short episodes. Lots of red lighting, dark synth music by Carpenter Brut. 8/10
Death Valley - Cute, two mismatched detectives, set in Wales. Only 6 episodes, I wish there were more. 8/10
Kinky Boots - Kinky. Faltering sho business finds a new market with some queens. 7/10
On a light note, I was glad to read the good news about the carefully fermented grapes!