My Current Interest

                    A lot of home renovation shows absolutely horrify me.   I cannot believe some of the things home owners and designers do to the houses.   Then there is the show with Mike Holmes where he fixes the messes of what contractors have done.   That one is so scary I think its episodes should be shown as Halloween specials.   I have that hard of a time watching it.   However, there is one home renovation show I do not struggle to watch, at least most of the time.   Property Brothers is different from the others.   They are good at what they do and they try to do it right.                           Drew and Jonathan Scott are brothers who help people get their dream home with a smaller budget.   It just takes some renovation...

                There is something about spring and home improvements.   So many projects are begun during this time.   Maybe it is because the warmer weather makes them easier to do.   At least it seems to in the state of Wisconsin.   I do not recall what season it is in the third Simon Kirby-Jones book, but there certainly are home improvements.   Depending on who you ask, it may be in more ways than one.                              Lady Prunella has invited celebrity interior designer Zeke Harwood and his television show to her home to redecorate her drawing room.   At first this is very exciting.   Then Zeke arrives.   He is very rude, does not listen to what Lady Prunella wants, stages arguments, and gets killed in a locked room. ...

                The night before the 2013 Oscars one of the cable networks aired Schindler’s List without commercials.   They advertised this event for weeks.   I had seen this film once before, and I was so excited to see it again, I got the air date wrong.   For some reason I thought it was going to be on one week earlier.   When I found out the correct date, I was disappointed.   I had to wait seven more days before I could sit down and watch this great film.                   Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is in Poland to start a manufacturing company.   A member of the Nazi party, he takes over what the Jews were forced to leave behind.   While the Jews live in the ghetto, Schindler lives in luxury.   He does not think much about this.   The reason he is in Poland is to make money...

                   Watching a show about spirits attaching themselves to objects has made me wonder about the things in my house.   I do not believe any of my possessions are haunted, but do I know that for sure? If something in this house does have a spirit attached to it, that spirit is certainly not bothering me.   Other people are not so fortunate.   They do have haunted objects and they are encountering big problems.   Some of them are very fearful and do not understand what is causing the disturbances in their home.   That is where John Zaffis comes in.                   Mr. Zaffis is known as the Haunted Collector.   Starring in a TV show of the same name, Mr. Zaffis and his team go to different locations in order to find haunted objects.   Usually they go to individuals’ h...

                 My favorite vampire sleuth is back in this second book of the series.   This time Simon is off to be part of a writers’ conference held at the home of Lady Hermione Kinsale.   She has brought together a group of respected authors for what is supposed to be an educational and inspiring week for aspiring writers.   Then the unexpected happens: an imposter and a murder.                                During the conference, well-known author Dorinda Darlington is killed.   Well, she is but she is not. The true Dorinda Darlington is Simon.   He uses the name as a pen name in order to keep his true identity a secret.   The reason he was invited to the conference is for the historical books Simon writes under his own name...

                    Sometimes a restaurant can fall apart because of one person.   Often the owners know there is a problem somewhere, but they do not know for certain who or what is causing it.   That is where the show Mystery Diners comes in.   Charles Stiles and his team set up cameras throughout the restaurant and send people in undercover in order to figure out what is really going on when the boss is away.                                Most often the people calling in Mr. Stiles are owners, but there have been a few managers as well.   They all usually have a suspicion as to who is creating the trouble, and Mr. Stiles directs the attention towards that person.   He sends in team members posing as new employees, c...

                  When the brochure for the Milwaukee Ballet’s 2012-13 season arrived last year I came across Genesis in the line-up.   An International Choreographic Competition, I knew it was something I wanted to see.   I was curious to discover what up and coming choreographers were creating.   For months I waited for this event.   Finally, this past weekend, it arrived.                              The competition featured three different choreographers.   Each created a segment of dance about twenty minutes long.   All had their own story, costumes, lighting, music, and dancers.   There were two awards the choreographers had a chance to win.   First was the one chosen by a panel judges.   The other was the Audience...