Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Good News, Bad News

Good News:

We were able to take a semi-spontaneous and not at all well-deserved long weekend trip to the Florida Panhandle.


Bad News:

http://brightcove01.brightcove.com/23/1612802193/201409/2041/1612802193_3814563090001_20140930230000dickej-rsse-still.jpg?pubId=1612802193


Good News:

The place we rented had a Netflix account and they just added new episodes of "Call the Midwife!"

http://image.pbs.org/video-assets/pbs/call-midwife/84462/images/Mezzanine_619.jpg

IUf you have not seen "Call the Midwife," you must immediately stop what you are doing, log on to Netflix and begin with Season 1, Episode 1.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/8f79e588f2d8d21627c379ccce097da5/tumblr_inline_n96cneGWTN1qlr65v.png  
Now! Or you'll face my stern disapproval!

To be honest, this really isn't the sort of show I would have expected to like. When it was recommended to me, I thought it sounded like one of those silly English sit-coms, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. It is not. Definitely not. 

What it is is a period piece, set in 1950s London about a group of nuns and nurses who provide midwifery services to the women of an impoverished East End neighborhood. Sounds like it could be corny, but it isn't. It touches on issues ranging from domestic violence to racism to the impact of crushing poverty without ever getting too "heavy." 

Fair warning, though, if you are, like me, squeamish about childbirth, you may have a bit of trouble watching some scenes. I tend to watch through my fingers shouting "tell me when the scary part is over!" Unfortunately, the Missus does the same, so we have to guess when it's safe to look again. 

http://i2.cdnds.net/12/01/618x400/uktv_call_the_midwife_1.jpg 

Go watch it now.

Unless you are a baseball fan.
Then watch the Giants clobber the Pirates first.