MyLifeInString

5 hour mark. Trying to remember this is a Lifetime Project and progress will be slooooow. I wish I could get a more accurate photo; the project is grey so far with brown, blue, and purple speckles.

Been listening to Dracula by Bram Stoker. Honestly not loving it, although it did just finally pick up the pace. I’m hoping it goes somewhere because so far it’s just a lot of rambling and descriptions of places. I’m a horror addict, this should be my jam, but Jesus something needs to happen!

Starting a Lifetime Project. Almost 900K stitches! I created the pattern from @niru723 ‘s beautiful Mass Effect artwork. So far it’s been around $300 on fabric and floss, and worth every penny :)

Listening to the Audible version of Dracula while I do this. I’ve never managed to make it through the book, but it’s my husband’s favorite, so I figured I’d try to drag myself through it aurally.

Making: Fire Blanket

Yarn: Red Heart Hopscotch in the colorway Jump Rose

Made: 4 motifs. (Pics at the bottom)

Watching: The Pinkertons 1x01 “Kansas City”

Notes on Blanket: I’ve made this blanket before, so it’s a good one to work on while watching a new TV show. I had a decent amount of trouble with it the first time, as its a really odd stitch I had never seen before. But making that swirl was so satisfying!

Summary: The Pinkertons were founded in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton. This is fact. Allan Pinkerton is also one of the main three characters in this show. The first episode introduces us to him, as well as his son Will and one of his employees, the First Lady detective Kate Warne. There’s been a rash of train robberies and during one, a former Union sharpshooter has been executed. This is their first clue.

Notes on Show: It’s got the stereotypical macho, gotta-prove-myself-to-my-daddy guy who’s incredibly insulted that his coworker is a woman — and a woman who is supposedly better than he is. I mean, she is, she even points out that women have to be twice as good to be seen as remotely AS good. I can already see where it’s going — not sure about the romance/shipping, but they’re already emphasizing that these two are both really good, just in VERY different ways. She’s all about deduction and analysis, a kind of Spock/Holt figure so far. She might loosen up as the show goes on, this might all be part of the “twice as good” mask. Or, rather, the “if a woman shows emotion she’s immediately dismissed” mask. Or it might be her personality. Who knows? And he’s the “by the seat of his pants” guy, and I can see that going very well for him - or very very badly.

I like that they’ve already pointed out her true value to the Pinkertons - “Who ever heard of a lady detective?” “No one. That’s the point.”

I LIKE JOHN BELL. Is he a main character? He wasn’t in the main credits, only the main three are. They’re incorporating the Civil War in immediately, and dealing with the attendant racism and continuing tension between the North and the South. I’m not keen on how every single person with a Southern accent is already the villain. I hope that they don’t go cardboard cutout with this.

Wow, uptight stoic Kate is already seeing the value in her kinda crazy partner. She doesn’t condemn his crazy shit, and has already called one of his decisions rational. She’s already not cardboard. Awesome :) Annnnd now they’re doing the fun fight-flirting. Not shipping it. It’s cute and funny, but I am NOT shipping it.

Bugs on the table indoors. I actually like that — it’s not a sanitized set, but an actual location.

I thought this would be a traveling show — episode 1 in Kansas City, next one in Chicago, whatever, but apparently this is about establishing an office there.

Episode 1x02: “Double Shot”

Wow, the bartender REMOVED THE BOTTLES FROM THE BAR when a fight started, so no one got to use one as a bludgeon. That’s new.

Will can be observant, so long as it involves women and what they’re wearing.

They’re pushing these two so far against each other that, stereotypically, they’re setting them up for romance.

YES. THEY REFERENCED ALLAN’S FERVENT STANCE ON ABOLITION. He actually got into this line of work being all sneaky in helping escaped slaves. And John Bell HAS to become important at some point; maybe an arc? It makes no sense to introduce a regular character, specifically a Black man working on the white woman’s land, unless it was to set something else up.

I see William’s role in the show now. Not only “Mr. Reckless and Impulsive” but also the show’s homonculus. He’s DUMB sometimes, and things that should only need to be implied IRL but need to be explained out loud for any watchers not following along are now explained directly to William. Situational Dumbness.

Another dumb trope - local law enforcement is always dumb and/or corrupt, forcing the main characters to take over the investigation.

I’m not loving the incredibly precise language. “If I should tell tales on them, they shall harm myself and everything I hold dear.” Like.....no. Even then, people didn’t speak like this. Not in dire circumstances.

So far, not loving this episode. This show is just Law & Order: Civil War. They’re trying to support weak, short plot with bickering characters. Not interested.

Verdict: 6/10 so far. Will likely give the show another shot, but only one. First episode had a lot of promise, second is falling flat.

Pics of my four fire motifs :)

And one of my dog, who always thinks he’s helping.