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Post by dave on Feb 2, 2015 12:25:50 GMT -5
Has anyone here watched this series? I am about half way through the programs (Gretchen finds out Walter has been lying to his family, telling them she and her husband have been paying for his medical treatments). There is so much to this story, much more than the obvious plot. I just began subscribing to Netflex last month after a year of Amazon's Prime, which I bought mainly for the Amazon free shipping but don't think I will renew. Now that I've watched over 200 hours of "24." The audio breaks up on Prime no matter what browser I use (although Chrome is far and away much better than Firefox.)  |
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Post by clarencebunsen on Feb 2, 2015 14:41:31 GMT -5
I wasn't interested in it when it was first broadcast, I didn't even sample one episode. About a year ago I received a Chromecast and this was one of the things I tried bootlegging on my daughter's Netflix account while I decided if I wanted my own. I was drawn into the story immediately and watched 2 or 3 episodes a day. We also did decide to get a Netflix account. We watch movies with family several times per month and the cost of Netflix per month is less than 2 movie rentals (either pay per view or from a regular rental place).
I've watched Netflix a few times on a computer or tablet but found I much prefer it on a regular television. We have one TV with the Chromecast and one with an internet capable DVD player. I haven't noticed any buffering or audio problems with either.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2015 17:34:01 GMT -5
Dave and CB is that program about the Amish kids who choose to go into the world and experience what it has to offer before continuing their commitment to Amishism.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Feb 2, 2015 19:53:13 GMT -5
No, I've heard of the one to which you refer but can't think of the name just now. Breaking Bad is about a high school chemistry teacher who receives a diagnosis of lung cancer. He is presented as a very sympathetic character with a disabled son, new child on the way, faced with expensive treatment with a low probability of success. Through a series of circumstances he becomes involved with a former student who is cooking and distributing meth and doing badly at both. Before long he is using his chemical knowledge to meth production and his general intelligence to improving the distribution chain.
I don't think it is giving anything away to say that it gets progressively darker and harder to like a protagonist as he gets further from the person we thought he was.
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Post by Clipper on Feb 2, 2015 22:06:00 GMT -5
You are thinking of "Breaking Amish" Alan. We used to watch that show. There is a lot of hub bub about it being a fraud and rumors that many of them weren't even Amish at the time of the production.They say that the girl named Kate hasn't been Amish for many many years, got a DWI in Florida, and now works at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Lebanon Pa.
I always suspected that the show about the Amish Mafia and the guy named Levi was also a big "made for TV" fraud.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2015 10:30:56 GMT -5
Thanks for clearing that up
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Post by dave on Feb 3, 2015 21:13:59 GMT -5
CB is right about a sympathetic character losing our sympathy as the series progresses. That is kind of unusual. A character like Tony Soprano sometimes had our sympathy and sometimes not, but the show wasn't designed to move us from one end of this spectrum to the other. Breaking Bad seems designed to do exactly that. I'm watching 2 or 3 daily, also, at night. I'm only in Season 2 and I think there were 5 seasons of 12 or 13 show each, so I'm not even half through. (I just watched the show where we find out what the floating red Teddy Bear is all about.)
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Post by dave on Feb 3, 2015 21:17:02 GMT -5
I'm enjoying Netflix and think it's a good deal. I've had it a month, I think, and have watched lots of movies. I have Prime, which I originally got for free Amazon shipping, but it appears less and less items are now qualifying for the Prime free ship. And I didn't find Prime's movie selection as good as Netflix. That could be just how the selections are presented, but i suspect Netflix has more.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Feb 3, 2015 22:22:21 GMT -5
Other off the beaten path stuff I've watched on Netflix: Peaky Blinders set in post WWI Birmingham, another deeply flawed protagonist. Waiting for God, a BBC comedy set in a retirement home. Lilyhammer from Norwegian TV, which defies description. Don't worry, the parts of the dialog which are not in English are subtitled.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2015 12:18:26 GMT -5
Waiting for God, a BBC comedy about life in a retirement home.
Ah I feel like that all the time. What more can we do as we move into the time of life where our time gets shorter and shorter.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Feb 4, 2015 12:51:33 GMT -5
It hits a little close to home at times but I find it enjoyable. The main characters are subject to the same aches and infirmaties which are becoming increasingly familiar but still remain engaged. The series itself is at least 20 years old but still occasionally shows up on PBS.
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Post by Clipper on Feb 4, 2015 15:08:41 GMT -5
"Waiting for God" may be the title of a BBC sitcom, but it is also a very real subject that all of us who believe in a God are faced with as we age. We all reach that point in our lives where if we are sensible we plan for our funeral and final resting place. We plan for many different phases of our lives, when we get older we plan for retirement, and if we are sensible, we plan for death.
Many people, many different beliefs. Personally I am happy that I was brought up believing that there is a hereafter, and a benevolent and forgiving God. Armed with those beliefs, death is not something to be feared. Do I look forward to it? Heck no. Would I like to live to a very old age? I want only to live for as long as I am able to function at a level that allows me to enjoy daily life and to care for myself.
"Waiting for God" is a reality as we reach the waning years of our lives. Kathy and I have discussed it in depth, planned for it, in that we have discussed what one of us will do if we are the surviving one after the demise of the other, and also have laid out a plan to get our remains back to NY, have purchased our graves and all I have left to do is to order and pay for my headstone when we are up there this summer.
"Waiting for God." Most don't think about it, but everyday from the day we are born forward could be the last day that we are allowed to walk this earth and live this mortal life. NOBODY is guaranteed a tomorrow, nor are they given a date when they will be taken from this life. For those of us that believe as I do, I simply try to live a life that includes taking care of myself to the best of my ability, taking care of others when the opportunity arises, and passing along the knowledge I have gained through life's experiences, good and bad. I simply try to live today so that if it is that last day, I will go with little to regret and as little inconvenience to those around me.
My father was a perfect example of trust in God. He lived a full life, contributed his all to those around him, and when he was ready to leave this life, he simply decided to stop all the medicines and treatments and to allow nature to take it's course. His words to me were that he was sick of being old and in pain with rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and bad knees. He was tired, and bored with nursing home life, although I visited him almost daily and the home where he resided had a staff that was very attentive to his needs and caring. He said that he was ready to go and join my mom, who had passed on 4 yrs prior. He told me not to be sad, and that he truly believed that he was going to be reunited with those that went before him. He told us that he wanted us to celebrate his life and not to grieve. I fully understood his position. He had reached a point while living with Kathy and I where we could no longer meet his needs medically and physically. His life consisted of reading his paperback westerns and watching TV. He was a very soft spoken and docile person who seldom complained and his decision to discontinue the unnatural processes and substances that were sustaining his life was easy enough to understand. He ended his life just as he lived it. Peaceful, proud, and loving, with no regrets, with no fear or struggle.
It is with my dad's words still audible in my ears, that I am "waiting for God." We all live a life of ups and downs, of happiness and of turmoil. We all fight our demons at one time or another in our lives. Many of us have faced death on several different levels and have been snatched back to live another day. We all have sinned. I try my best to keep my affairs in order, to never go to bed angry or with unresolved issues with those around me. I would like to hang around to spend some time with my 4 beautiful grand children, and to see the fifth that is expected this summer. It is with all my wishes and desires in mind, that I also want my children to be prepared, and to be able to lay me to rest with no financial burden, and hopefully prepared to celebrate my life rather than to grieve my departure.
I recently had this discussion with another friend, who is about my own age, and who was pondering the fact that he was aging and approaching his end days. Not that he was expecting to die in the near future, but the fact that we have reached that point in life when there are far more days behind us than there are ahead of us. We discussed how each day has taken on more value than days seemed to have when we were young, relatively care free, and didn't really give any thought to the idea that each day could be our last, and that each day should be valued. We talked about how we have become much more intent on making each day a memorable experience. Making each day count and trying to make our daily interactions with others something that will leave them with a pleasant memory of our relationship with them. I am only 68. My friend that I speak of was 81. I had always believed him to be around my own age. The discussion was casual and took place at a table in the snack bar at the bowling alley as I was waiting while Kathy bowled on her league. My friend was eating an individual sized pizza, and drinking a cup of coffee, as he has done every bowling night for several years. I always sit with him and have a coffee. He was a very active man and at his advanced age he still played 18 holes of golf while walking the course with a pull cart for his clubs. He also still rode a bicycle 6-8 miles two or three times a week on paved trails around one of our local lakes. Our conversation took place on a Thursday night. We chit chatted and kidded around while he bowled, and parted with a handshake as always at the end of the night. That following Monday his son got a call that one of my friend's neighbors could not raise him while knocking on his door and the Sunday paper was still in the door. His son went over and found him dead on the floor beside his bed. He had suffered either a massive coronary or a stroke. It gave me a peaceful feeling to know that he was content in the belief that he would be joining his departed wife when he left this life. While I grieve the loss of a friend, I rejoice in knowing that he was not afraid of death and believed he would be reunited with his wife.
It was in my late twenties that I was guided to a 12 step program that not only saved my life, but also allowed me to start living life for today, with a true belief that yesterday is gone, and that worrying about tomorrow is futile and beyond my control. There was an amazing abundance of wisdom to be found around those tables. Sipping coffee, and sharing experiences with others, and there was a certain comfort and peace that came with the knowledge gained from that experience. That experience ended a period of WANTING God to take me away, and began a period of serenity, and confidence that when the time comes, I will leave this life behind without fear. It is not a cause for worry on my part, and to this day, I live one day at a time, with a knowledge that I am "waiting for God." The comfort is in waiting without worry or apprehension.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2015 16:19:57 GMT -5
Very well said Clipper but to be truthful I look forward to death. I really have nothing to live for. I am unable to plan for retirement I am just forced to take what I got unhappy as I am with the entire lot. Once I am dead that is it for me. Social Security can bury me where ever they wish cause I won't be around. No head stone for me. I was thinking of starting some life insurance but can't afford it. And then again Medicaid only allows $2,000 in life insurance because it is considered income like a savings account. I just hope I get into heaven and have some happiness in life but I will most likely end up in purgatory with a punishment of shopping for groceries in the winter cold and driving around Utica endlessly in a Bus.
I just hope when the time comes I die in my sleep and that someone will notice I am dead so I don't have to lie around waiting for someone to call the office because they smell something real bad. That happens all to much. Poor Russian guy last year it was 5 days before anyone checked on him. Had a heart attack on the toilet. Imagine not found for 5 days!
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Post by dave on Feb 4, 2015 19:27:39 GMT -5
Alan, I am sorry for your misery and hope never to be in your shoes. I believe my older brother felt as you do when he died a bit over a year ago. He had a number of issues going on in his life, other than physical, and his last couple of years were such that he waited for death.
I did see light flash on for a short time about three years before he died. He got a major concern of his life cleared away for awhile and kind of woke up and looked around. In public housing, probably in similar circumstances to yours, but without benefit of your education and training, all he saw around him were the needs of others, some in worse shape than him, some in not quite as bad circumstances. He picked the first of these closest to him and simply reached out as a servant would.
It's true he owned no one anything, except perhaps what we all owe to our fellow creatures, and he had nothing more to give but his time. A big heart he no doubt inherited from his father, also my father, must have shined through because he really tried to help wherever he saw a need. He got his wheelchair down to his car, drove to the supermarket and got on a scooter and shopped for neighbors, but he also did the simpler less heroic things. He sat with neighbors and fellow Vets and listened to those who had a story to tell, a heartbreak to share, a fear to finally uncover in the presence of someone else.
Unfortunately, his demons overtook him on the path and he fell away again to a listless existence, his mind and his concern directed inward. But I have to say that the year he showed up among the living was among the happiest of his life. Without specifically aiming to do so, he turned his vale of tears into worthwhile time spent outside the gates.
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Post by Clipper on Feb 4, 2015 21:43:29 GMT -5
My heart goes out to you Alan. I have spent my share of time alone, living in an apartment with no one to check on me or notice my absence if I didn't show my face for a day or three. I also always hoped that I would not lay around in my apartment for days before anyone thought to look for me. I think MOST people hope to die in their sleep. I know that I do. Dying alone used to be my greatest fear and I still face that possibility should Kathy pass on before I do. I am not well versed on Catholic doctrine in late years, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the modern Catholic church was slowly leaning away from the theory that one had to pay for their sins in Purgatory before being allowed to enter into heaven. I would wager that you will be welcomed into his kingdom without any delays enroute.
I know that we are wandering into shaky territory when we discuss religion and religious beliefs, and I am not inclined to subscribe to any particular denominational religious group myself. I seldom attend church services, but have developed a deep belief in God and the power of prayer simply by events that have taken place in my own life. I certainly would not intend to offend, or to contradict any belief relative to your religion or beliefs.
I wish I still lived in the area. While by no means an informed bible scholar or student of religion, I would love to spend time just casually discussing the bible with someone as learned as you are in the interest of simply broadening my horizons. Heck, if I still lived in the area, you could have called me and I would have taken you to the store to buy stew meat and carrots, eliminating the need to risk frost bite waiting for buses and it would give me untold pleasure to share a carafe of good coffee and pleasant conversation somewhere along the way. I truly enjoy the wit and the wisdom that is imparted in many of your posts.
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