7 Likes
Aw, video was “removed by uploader.” 
4 Likes
4 Likes
I think this should work for most people:
Waffle House has quite a reputation, huh?
5 Likes
I wasn’t as into this as the previous ones. There were just too many unbelievable actions, like the daughter searching for danger instead of running from it, the sloppy takedown of the inside man, and a cop being given a weapon by the bad guy and not using it on him. 
Also, I miss Alice. Luther is better with Alice. 
Good ending, though.
4 Likes
5 Likes
What is the deal with Pedro Pascal’s voice on The Mandalorian? Since day one, all I hear is Timothy Olyphant. 
1 Like
4 Likes
5 Likes
Ok, I am still on sick leave, I can’t do much anyway, so I got myself a treat and watched The Peripheral during the last two weeks.
If you watched itz you have noticed the symbolism in regard to bees, for sure. You might also have noticed a lot of metaphors and images around plants, in particular: trees.
I’m going on a limb here, but is Gibson playing with names here, as well? I have some quick hypotheses.
Ainsley Lowbeer is double-edged wordplay on the German Lorbeer (Laurus nobilis, laurel) and, of course, at (low quality?) beer. I’m not sure about the Ainsley, but I suspect some phonetic pun I am missing. Laurel is a hard and inflexible wood, very aromatic not only in its leaves, and from an old lineage within the flowering plants.
Cherise Nuland is wordplay on Cherries and, again maybe a nod to German, Neuland (new land). Everyone on the Germanophone slice of the interwebs is still facepalming about Angela Merkel’s Neuland presser during the visit of Obama in 2013 - about the time The Peripheral was probably in copyediting. A cherry on a sundae, this queen bee. Cherry wood is hard and enduring, but the tree itself is rather vulnerable to a lot of influences. Fungi, bacteria, climatic stressors…
With Lev Zubov, I am out of my depth. Anyone firm in Slavic languages who can work with that?
Ash is quite literal as hard and flexible as her namesake, which is used for tool handles like axes and hammers, and also for some bows and bats. And her flowering tattoos, I haven’t even got a proper look for some symbolism here.
Ossian? Seems to have nothing to do with any plant. Demi-god, also the namegiver of a certain Y-chromosomal haplogroup. Gibson might know about this, he is definitely into that stuff.
The Fishers, well ain’t that biblical. I’m not going to speculate further.
“A support for an arch or similar heavy structure that sticks out of a wall and is usually made of stone or brick”? Pick at? Now we are playing around, Mr. Gibson, aren’t we? Cobell Pickett?
Constantine, well, yeah, just far to much possibility here, so not gonna even try.
Did I miss something else?
4 Likes
ISWYDT 
You’re right, it does sound like an interesting mix of botanical and architectural terms. In addition to Pickett, there’s Netherton…
derived from the Old English “neothera,” meaning “lower,” and “tun,” meaning “enclosure,” or “settlement.”
…and Burton:
originally derived from a place name meaning “fortified town” in Old English.
There’s also a homophone for Aelita, although there’s already a sci-fi association from Tolstoy for that character’s name. I’m just very glad this series was renewed for season 2.
2 Likes
Oh, thanks, I missed the architectural angle.
Gibson is very particular towards details, and is a well-known clothing nerd. Did you notice how the show is playing with patterns and fabric? Jacquard-woven Paisley for the Klept? Strict geometries for the RI? Tweed for Ainsley Lowbeer, geometric, logical, but also the epitome of the British outdoors. I also looked at their cravats, and there’s the one with them birds as well as another with a geometric pattern I don’t recognise.
I haven’t checked the credits, but I would not be surprised if the wardrobe department would be quite large.
Sidenote on Ainsley: I just looked up the celtic origins, and it resonates with the character. Also, this interview with the actor makes me quite happy. And I very much agree: I hope this series runs for a while. I would not mind if they take on all three books. It’s quite entertaining on so many different levels. And the best visualisation of Gibson’s writing I’ve seen so far.
3 Likes
5 Likes
It’s not a very serious show, more along the lines of Murder She Wrote, but there are some decent actors in this one. Kris Marshall, the goofy guy trying to go to the USA to get laid in Love, Actually, Zahra Ahmadi (Doctor Who), Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls), Jamie Bamber (Law & Order UK), and Sally Bretton (The Office UK).
It’s a light, breezy watch, but not terrible.
1 Like
I especially appreciate how they manage to find crimes to solve that don’t necessarily involve a corpse.
2 Likes
I know it’s based on a short story, but it’s wonderful take on a body snatchers type story. The conversation between the doctor and the alien was loaded with tension.
5 Likes
4 Likes
Darn it, it’s official: Hulu is not bringing back Kindred for a second season.
7 Likes
