Forgot how good this was!

 A random conversation at the New Years Zoom party about Firefly props inspired me to start rewatching the series. Man, I'd forgotten what a brilliant show this was!  The immersive world building, the character interactions, the acting, the pacing, even the evocative twangy theme music - all world class. And yes, the inventive props and costume design are wonderful, adding so much to the world-building without saying a word.

The casual use of untranslated Chinese works on multiple levels, making the point about the blended culture of this future civilization but also engaging the viewer's imagination to try to figure out what the characters are probably saying. At least for non-Chinese speaking viewers. I'm not sure how it strikes people who understand Chinese. 

I originally discovered the series in progress on broadcast TV so had no idea that Fox had showed the episodes out of order. What a bizarre decision that was! The pilot (which I just watched) does such a wonderful job of introducing the world and the characters. Why on earth would they skip the pilot episode and just dump the viewer into the middle of such a complex undertaking? 

 

A different New Years resolution

A few years ago I read about somebody who vowed to give up plastic for a year as her way of fighting pollution or global warming or something. I was impressed with the idea at the time, and briefly thought "Maybe I should do that!" until I actually thought about what that would entail. But I feel increasingly guilty every time I regard the ridiculous pile of plastic left behind by one salad kit. Surely I could do better.

So I'm resolving to use LESS plastic this year. I'm not willing to give up all packaged foods, cancel my newspaper subscription, brush my teeth with baking soda, and bake all my own bread. But surely I can find a way to make a salad that doesn't require 4 plastic sleeves inside another larger plastic sleeve inside a plastic bag, right?  

I should probably do less ordering from Amazon (although I'm not even going to think about that until the latest pandemic surge abates). But even if you shop only in brick-and-mortar stores, almost everything on the shelves is sheathed in plastic film, stuffed in a plastic bag, or embedded in a plastic clamshell. 

Any suggestions, folks?