The Crown is back For Season 2, and a whole new set of problems for Queen Elizabeth to deal with.
Claire Foy and Matt Smith reprise their roles as the Queen and Prince Philip, as they get replaced in Season 3 with the passing of time, and do an outstanding job living up to the royalty.
Troubles facing the Queen this time around? Egypt and the Suez Canal, her prime ministers overstepping boundaries and trying to retire to Jamaica, and the Duke spending way too much time with his male friends on luxury stag parties.
Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) and her troubled life continue, living in the large shadow of her sister.
There is no room for mistakes. There is no room for scandal. There is no room for humanity. – Philip
As the show progresses, as does history, with the rise of Philip from Duke to Prince, and the births of Andrew and Edward.
Paul Sparks, known as Tom Yates from House of Cards, makes an appearance as the Reverand Billy Graham.
But the biggest, most talked about episode on social media, is the arrival of the Kennedy’s in England, as Michael C. Hall (Dexter) plays JFK and Jodi Balfour as Jackie.
But what this show does best is to not focus on the minute details, and instead makes the main storyline the best part of the show.
This method allows them to progress years in just one episode, from pregnancy to childbirth, and beginning school to graduation.
One of my favorite episodes is the overlapping story of Philip and Charles’ journeys through school at Gordonstoun, and the way that Philip was ‘toughened’ as a kid.
This show continues it’s pace from Season 1, with an 8.5 out of 10.
I hate to say it, but Eminem’s newest album Revival came out this morning, and he sounds older and tired. Eminem is truly one of the greatest rappers in music history, with a long list of classics from Lose Yourself and Stan, to Not Afraid and Love The Way You Lie. But his smooth vocals of past appear to be over. I didn’t see it a few weeks ago on SNL, when everyone else noticed it, but with this album, you just hear him lag through it at times.
Yet despite all that negativity and shade I am throwing his way, there’s enough on the album to make Eminem a Top 40 artist again.
His first single Walk on Water, featuring Queen Bey herself, is a great start to the album, albeit it sounds better with the ever-talented Skylar Grey singing it with him during Live performances.
And really that is the common theme of the album. The songs that he sings with others are the ones that stand out from the pack.
Whether it’s Ed Sheeran on River or Pink’s Need Me, it’s the other voices that help lift him back to the levels he once was. He also gets a nice boost from up-and-comer Khelani in Nowhere Fast.
And of course he turns to one of his favorite past times: Redoing a classic with his own touch. In the past it was Sing For The Moment, and now it’s Joan Jett’s I Love Rock & Roll that’s sampled in Remind Me.
These days Eminem is best known for ripping on Trump, and he touches on that subject, as well as other 2017 going-ons like sitting through the National Anthem in Like Home with Alicia Keys.
The Golden Globes, being held on January 7th and hosted by Seth Myers, released their nominations this week, and I get to play the annual game of trying to incorrectly guess all the nominees…or at least make my picks if they gave me a vote.
Best Motion Picture, Drama – Dunkirk — This WWII Drama is listed by many as one of the best movies of the year. I haven’t watched any of them yet…so my take on it is weak.
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – I, Tonya — James Franco’s The Disaster Artist is a great start into his directorial career, and The Greatest Showman had potential, but lacked a bit on execution. It may be the surprising I, Tonya that walks away with it.
Best Director, Motion Picture – Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya” — Emma Stone will make a run for it with Battle of the Sexes, but it’s I, Tonya that will be the continuing upset movie.
Or at least upsetting my picks.
Best Supporting Actress in Any Motion Picture – Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama – Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread” — It’s hard to ever argue against Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington’s (Roman J. IsraelEsq.) performances, and the two of them are going to make this one interesting.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy – Hugh Jackman, “The Greatest Showman” — Steve Carell’s performance in Battle of the Sexes will battle Jackman for the top ‘Showman’, the only brightside to a mostly dull movie.
Best Original Song, Motion Picture – “This is Me”, “The Greatest Showman”
Best Motion Picture, Animated – Coco
Best Television Series, Drama – “The Crown,” Netflix — Expect my review on the latest season within the next few days.
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy – “Master of None,” Netflix
Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama – Katherine Langford, “13 Reasons Why” — Best actor and actress in a TV series are some of my hardest choices. Claire Foy in The Crown should win her second straight award. But Langford made a good case for a surprise win, and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale made big waves this year.
Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy – Alison Brie, ”Glow”
Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama – Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan” — Schreiber is great as the hardcore Ray, but Jason Bateman’s Ozark made for a pleasantly good show, and Bob Odenkirk as Better Call Saul makes for a good argument.
Best Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy – William H. Macy, “Shameless” — Frank Gallagher is one of the best characters currently on TV, especially as his new reformed self, while Aziz Ansari keeps his Italian adventure in line for a win.
The following categories I hadn’t seen enough of/know enough about to make a decision or educated guess:
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Best Supporting Actor in Any Motion Picture
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Supporting Actress, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Everyone has loved his movies for years. The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up are some of his more famous ones, and Love (Season 1 and Season 2) has made his breach into Netflix successful.
And now Judd Apatow is making his long-awaited return to Standup Comedy after 25-years, and The Return is his reminder to everyone of just how funny he is.
I’m rich, I’m very rich.
The special is genuinely funny from beginning to end, with talk of his family and college days, Anti-Semitic New York Mets to the future of robots, and of course everyone’s easy topic of Donald Trump.
While Obama was doing standup, he sent people to kill bin Laden. How badass is that? He was murdering while murdering.
But this weird looking guy puts together 70-minutes of hilarity and should be on everyone’s holiday vacation watch list. It gets a 9 out of 10.
One of the more popular posts from my trips is the cost of it, as it allows people to see what a similar vacation would cost them, should they take it.
San Diego was the first trip that I went by plane, so the prices are more volatile, and I’ll say it not based on what I paid, but rather what I saw and observed.
Obviously, you may find things at a much lower or higher rate…
Country Inn and Suites, booked a few months in advance (although prices stayed fairly flat) was $127/night.
I always look at Country Inn first, as their amenities outweigh all their competitors.
Free WiFi, free parking, and free breakfast, which when you price out can add upwards of $20 a day to your bill at other hotels.
Car Rental
Hertz. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it to anyone that asks, when you book Hertz with AAA you will save enough money to pay for AAA and still have savings.
I paid about $200 for a weeks rental of a Midsize SUV.
Attractions
The San Diego Go Card, regularly $279, was found at a discount for $240 and got me into just about every tourist site in the city.
But regardless what the costs of a vacation are, the end result is: Did you have a good time?
And if you did, then it is all worth it! And taking pictures with a dolphin? Priceless.
Before I went to San Diego everyone told me that I would HAVE to visit the Hotel del Coronado. I marked it down, but had no plans of visiting it, until I ran out of things to do on the last day there.
What a waste of time.
Sure, the Hotel is famous, having been built in the 1800s and housing numerous movies and filmings…but to me the excitement level is overrated.
The beach there is nice, but you have similar views at La Jolla, and the hotel is just overrun with tourists…so much so that I’d feel bad for anyone actually staying there.
If it was something you have to do, go ahead and do it. But the majestic bridge leading out to the island can be viewed nicely from Downtown, and the Hotel as a tourist site is only okay.
After last years failure in music, this year was much better, and that brings us to the third annual #Avisously giveaway.
Complete the form below and submit a list of my Top 20 songs of the year. That’s right, this year has expanded to 20 songs, but you only need one correct song to have a chance of winning Amazon gift cards!!
Here’s the price breakdown for how to win this year, and more info can be found on iamavig.com!
Most correct songs = $10 Amazon Gift Card
Top 10 in any order = $25 Amazon Gift Card
15 of 20 in any order = $30 Amazon Gift Card
Top 20 in any order = $40 Amazon Gift Card
Top 10 in correct order = $50 Amazon Gift Card
Top 20 in correct order = $75 Amazon Gift Card
And just like previous years, if we get 10+ entrants (or 25+ entries) the Top 2 entries win!
I’ll give the same hint as I give every year: Think how I think. Consider what music I like and what I’ve used in the past, and remember that in order to qualify the song MUST HAVE COME OUT IN 2017.
Another thing to consider: No artist has more than one song on this list (as the primary artist).
As the entrants from last year know, I am great at giving hints if you ask for them after your submissions, and in previous years all multiple entrants walked away with a gift card!
Disclosures: One winner, unless above conditions are met. Multiple entries are allowed (up to 10, any remaining ones will be disqualified) and in the event of a tie, monies will be split amongst the winners. Contest ends when Top Songs of 2017 post goes live!
Part 1 focused on the animals, but now I’ll turn to the attractions and “Safari” part of the Safari Park.
Park in the lot and walk through their long paths, but when you get to the African Plains you finally get the opportunity to hop on a safari car and head up to the animals…almost.
The free Africa Tram will take you around the Plains, allowing you to see the Buffalos and Giraffes, Antelopes and Hippos, from a much closer distance than when you are standing at the Watering Hole or at the Kijami Overlook.
For the Tram, you want to sit on the left side, which will put you in a good place to see the Plains animals up close.
But if you want a real experience, you will have to lay out extra money, whether it’s with the “Caravan Safari” taking you up close and personal with the giraffes and rhinos up against your cart, or the “Cart Safari” and “Behind-The-Scenes Safari” that will bring you into employee-only areas.
Meanwhile, the Lemurs let you go into the enclosure with them, and if they are feeling up to it will come up and socialize with you.
The Petting Zoo, different from the typical NYC ones, allow you inside with the goats, handing out brushes at the door so you can make those baaaad boys your pet.
Balloon Safari – A tethered hot air balloon will take you high in the air for a sky view of the animals below
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, located 30+ minutes away from the zoo itself, is less of a “safari park” feel, but more of a “Bronx Zoo” feel, with a lot of walking to be done.
While the Zoo had a large variety of animals, the safari park features a large footprint, with less animals, but a lot of each.
Because of the amount of space that the safari park has, it leaves great plains to look over, with animals roaming and the traditional safari cars to drive through.
The Walking Path here is a lot more laid out than the Zoo, with Numbered posts throughout, and if you follow it from 1 thru 17 you’ll see the whole place.
African Loop – Will take you through the African Woods and Outpost, that includes okapi, flamingoes, and boars
Lion Camp – The lions come right up to the door when the feeders come to visit
Tiger Trail – Most of the trail isn’t worth the time, but when you see her in her element, it’s well worth it, as I caught her cooling off in the wading pool
Elephant Valley – Lots of toys and watering holes for the herd to show off with
Condor Ridge – Under construction due to the Walkabout Australia exhibit being built next door, but if you decide to make the treck up the hill anyway, you’ll be greeted by Condors and Mountain Goats
After 3+ years with the Moto 360 it was finally time to move on. A deteriorating battery that would turn off after only two hours at the first sign of a vibrate/notification, and when placed on the charger still showed 80%, caused it to be more of a weight on my wrist than any other use.
So I went on a search for a new watch, and while looking at some of the watches, like the Gear S3 Frontier, which was fantastic but way too pricey, I instead turned to the cheaper/older model of the Gear S2, and after a month with it…I’m glad I picked it.
The Face The round face, with a rotating bezel to control notifications, has a great look to it, and with the preinstalled watch faces, the watch really stands out whether you want a classy or sporty look.
Meanwhile, the notification and apps system is easy enough to figure out and use, although some of the apps don’t hold sign-in information so well.
Battery Life As the years advance so does the technology, and the 2+ day battery life on this watch is great. But what adds to it is the Quick Charging that it provides, allowing you to place it on the charger when you head to shower and come back and find it fully fueled and ready to go.
I recently was on 2+ days with another day still showing on the “estimated usage” bar, so I’m very happy.
Size While the screen is technically smaller than some others, it is large enough (and crisp enough) to read everything, and get full functionality out of it.
Operating System While other watches run Android Wear (or watchOS on Apple), Samsung has their own Tizen OS, which has support from many apps including ESPN, Flipboard, and Bloomberg.
And while it runs a different system, it is compatible with all recent Android and Apple phones.
S-Voice I haven’t tried it…and have no urge to try the voice-controlled options on the watch, but other reviews for it haven’t been entirely positive.
Final Thoughts I would highly recommend it for anyone that is looking for a lower priced smartwatch, but if money isn’t an issue, try the newer S3, which has an even larger battery, built-in GPS, and more RAM, albeit a very large watch face.
BTW, all pictures have the very basic image shown below…but trust me, it looks a lot better once you customize it and make it your own.
Aviously 