Sunday Morning Sidewalk #62

Spoilers

His & Hers

“Episode Six”

Well, what do you know.

I was right.

Well, kind of…

I had speculated after the third episode that Anna’s mother, Alice, was the killer and that she had killed Rachel in a state of confusion. When the second body showed up, I figured that my twist suspect was innocent.

Nope. I was right. Alice was the killer. However, I was wrong in that she did it in a state of confusion. No, she planned it out and executed all three of the killings as retribution for an attack that Anna suffered at her 16th birthday party when she was raped by a bunch of men and these girls just sat back and watched. The whole dementia thing was faked as part of her plan to get away with the murders.

She confesses in a letter she wrote to Anna, who was pregnant and had reunited with Jack.

For awhile, the show hinted that maybe the killer was actually Kathryn, and I was guessing that she had faked her own death, but that was also a theory that was quickly dropped in this finale. Turned out that Lexy Jones was actually Kathryn. Lexy and her husband was the patsies here because Alice was planning on framing Lexy for the murders, but Priya shot her before that could happen. Poor Richard the camera guy got totally f-ed up during this whole thing, and he did not do anything,

It always felt as if there was something missing. I stated it last week that it felt as if there were some pieces that did not fit together and that I was hoping that the show would fill those gaps in in the finale. It sure did that.

The video tape that Alice found that showed the assault on Anna at her 16th birthday, and it inspired her to go after the others. That twist made a lot of the missing gaps go away. At first, I was not sure about the twist, but as it continued on, I found it to be a neat way to wrap up the limited series.

I enjoyed the six episodes and it does feel like it was a satisfying conclusion to an intense series. I am not sure how I feel about the ending as things are left fairly up in the air. And poor Richard…

So with that, another series during the Sunday Morning Sidewalk comes to a close. Next week, we start the new series, the Game of Thrones prequel series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO Max. I never watched Game of Thrones, but I heard that you do not need to have seen the original to enjoy this show. I hope they are right.

Daily Countdown: Weird Al Songs #98

#98

Jackson Park Express

Title: Jackson Park Express

Written: Al Yankovic

Album: Mandatory Fun

Style Pastiche: Cat Stevens; Harry Chapin

Release: 2013

Jackson Park Express is one of the longer songs Weird Al has done. It runs 9 minutes and 4 seconds. It is an epic love story between two people who see each other on a bus for the first time. The romance lasts until the woman gets off the bus, without ever speaking to the man.

Ah, love.

Lyrics

Tuesday morning, 8:15
I was riding to work on the
Jackson Park Express
Seemed like any other day
Then my whole world changed
In a way I never could have guessed
‘Cause she walked in
Took the seat right across the aisle
I knew we had a special connection
The second I saw her smile

She smiled as if to say
“Hello, haven’t seen you on this bus before”
I gave her a look that said
“Huh, life is funny, you never know what’s in store
By the way, your hair is beautiful
I bet it smells like raisins”

She looked at me in a way that asked
“Did you have a nose job or something?
I’m only asking, cause your nose looks slightly better
Than the rest of your face”
I arched my eyebrow, ever so slightly
Which was my way of asking
“Do you want my old Hewlett-Packard printer?
It still works, kinda
And I got a bunch of ink cartridges left”

Then, she let out a long sigh
Which, I took to mean, “Uh”
“Mama, what is that deodorant you’re wearing?
It’s intoxicating
Why don’t we drive out to the country sometime?
And collect deer ticks in a zip-lock baggie”, oh yeah

I gave her a penetrating stare
Which could only mean
“You are my answer, my answer to everything
Which is why, I’ll probably do very poorly
On the written part of my driver’s test”

Yes, it all happened
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express

I knew she was starting to fall for me
‘Cause she crinkled her nose, which unmistakably meant
“Baby, lets wear each other’s clothes
And speak in a thick German accent
And, maybe someday we can own and operate
Our own mobile pet-grooming service”
I couldn’t hold back my feelings
I gave her a look, that said
“I would make any sacrifice for your love
Goat, chicken, whatever
I could never hold you close enough
Let’s have our bodies surgically grafted together
Oh, surgically grafted together”

She picked up a newspaper, and started reading to herself
Which I’m sure, was a way of telling me
“When you’re cold, I will warm you
When you’re shivering, I will hold you
When your nauseous, I will give you Pepto-Bismol every hour
For as long as the symptoms persist”
Oh, I, I never, ever want to see you cry
So, please let me cauterize your tear ducts with an arc welder
Then, I glanced down, at her shirt, for a second
In a way that clearly implied
“I like your boobs”

Yes, it all happened
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express

I cleared my throat quietly, and then, I looked away
And I’m sure it was obvious to her, just what I was trying to say
I was trying to say, “Hey
I’d like to make a wall-sized mural out of all the dead skin cells
That you slough off while you sleep at night”
Whoa-o-Oh, “I’d like to rip you wide open
And french-kiss every single one of your internal organs
Oh, I’d like to remove all your skin, and wear your skin, over my own skin
But not in a creepy way”

Then, I’m pretty sure, she looked at me, out of the corner of her good eye
And, though, she never spoke a word, this is exactly what I heard
She was saying, “Oh!
I wanna make out with you, in an abandoned toll-booth, in the middle of a monsoon
I wanna ride dolphins with you, in the moonlight
Until the staff at Sea World kicks us out
I want you inside me, oh, like a tapeworm”

I pointed to the side of my mouth, as a way of indicating
“Hey, I think you got something on the side of your mouth”
She licked the corner of her lips, as if to say
“Here?”, I nodded, implying, “Yeah, you got it”

And, then the bus stopped, at 53rd Street, and she got up suddenly
“Where are you going?”, pleaded my eyes, “Baby, don’t you do this to me
Think of the beautiful children we could have someday
We could school them at home, raise them up the right way
And protect them from the evils of the world
Like Trigonometry and Prime Numbers, oh no
Baby, please don’t go”

She brushed my leg, as she left the bus
I’m sure that was her way of saying
“I’m sorry this just isn’t working out
You’re suffocating me
I need some space to find out what life’s all about
So, goodbye forever, my love”

And deep inside, I knew she was right
It was time for us both to move on
And no, I never got her number, oh no no
She never bothered to leave her address, oh
But, as long as I live, I’ll never forget
Those precious moments we shared together

On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express
On the Jackson Park Express

Source: LyricFind

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #61

Spoilers

“Episode Five”

Whoa. Big episode. Major reveals leading into the finale. This was the first week that I really wanted to keep watching instead of waiting until next Sunday.

However, I am not sure how I feel about the reveal that it appeared that we got. I can’t see them doing this as a huge red herring at this point in the series. There really feels like there are some gaps in this potential solution that are very coincidental. It makes me think that there is something major missing yet.

Jack’s sister Zoe was murdered this week in a shocking moment. This was after she went to Jack and begged him to listen to her. As always, Jack was just too buried in his own crap to pay any attention to her. Zoe was worried about being the next victim and she wanted to tell Jack something about Anna. The show does a tremendous job of pointing the finger of suspicion at Anna until the last bit of the episode.

How much guilt will Jack have since his sister showed up practically begging for help and he blew her off?

That is until we see that the hotel rooms for Anna and Richard had been canceled and they had no where to go. Richard took Anna to his in-laws place, through the most dense forest around. The tension of that trip was tight as Anna recalled a memory of a time when the five of the friends, including the heavy-set girl named Kathryn (who we saw a few episodes ago in a flashback), who wound up getting raped at this get together.

We find out that Kathryn is dead as well. Zoe had told Priya while she was at the police station about Kathryn. Priya has been focused on the four friends, two of which were murdered. Priya was looking closely at Anna as a suspect.

When Anna and Richard arrived at the lake house, Anna discovered that Richard’s wife and her rival at the station, Lexy, was there too. Anna saw some pictures on the wall of Lexy’s family, her parents and … there was pictures of Kathryn too.

Could Kathryn be related to Lexy? Were they sisters?

Does that mean that Lexy is the killer? Does Richard know or is she just stringing him along. And if that is the case, there is one big thread that bothers me. When the murder of Rachel first takes place and Anna wants to follow the story, she specifically requested Richard as her cameraman. Isn’t that a huge coincidence that makes me unsure about the entire situation.

There is also the fact that Rachel was blackmailing somebody, and her husband, in a taunting scene with Jack, implied that it was not him she was blackmailing. Could it have been Lexy? Richard? Was this all a big revenge scheme to get back at the girls who were so mean to Kathryn when they were in school together? Why would it take so long? Is it connected to Kathryn’s death?

There feels like there are a piece or two that will connect everything together to make it all make sense… or at least I hope it does. Next Sunday I will watch the finale of the limited series and I hope it ties together well.

Shrinking S3 E7

Spoilers

“I Will Be Grape”

It is the birthday of Tia so Jimmy and Alice are celebrating in their own way. The whole group of characters are circling around, lending their help and support. Alice is very worried that her father will be alone and be completely lonely when she went to college.

Jimmy definitely showed how much he still missed his wife, as we see a sweet scene with them singing “A Thousand Years” and Tia messing up the lyrics to sing “I Will Be Grape.”

Alice called Louis to come to Tia’s grave so Jimmy can see how good his life has become. Alice tells Jimmy that he was the reason why Louis was able to move on, and she worried that Jimmy would never be able to move on.

New epic guest star this week. Shrinking has amazing actors in secondary and supporting roles, and Candace Bergen is here as Constance, Derek’s mother, who has had a very contemptuous relationship with Liz over the years.

I love Candace Bergen and having her on Shrinking is fabulous. What was even better was the all-too-short scene between Candace Bergen and Harrison Ford. What a wonderfully written moment and I loved every second of it.

Michael J. Fox also returned this week in a session with Paul.

Then, we get Cobie Smulders back as Sofie, who gets invited to the final sing-a-long with Jimmy and his whole family/friends at the celebration of Tia’s birthday. A little awkward, but fitting right in with the way Shrinking goes.

Then, it ends with a brutal thud as Gaby gets a phone call telling her that “We lost Maya.” I assumed that she died, as she did seem like she had made a decision at the end of last episode.

Strong episode again as this show is just so awesome. So many amazing actors with such excellent writing.

Clean Room #12

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“The Damned Lay Dying”

I love this issue. We get a couple of major face offs and sets our two main protagonists on a course for each other.

Astrid video called into the board meeting, revealing that she was very much alive. The confrontation with Mr. Wenuka was like the worst Zoom call ever. Astrid sure showed that even on a mountain top, she had everything under control. I loved how she dealt with Todd, who was the assassin who attempted to kill her on the mountain. She treated him way better than I expected.

Meanwhile, inside the Clean Room, Chloe embraced her ability to control the Clean Room and to show Spark his past… something Spark did not want to see. There were some horrible scenes with Spark possessing a little girl and the tragedy around it. Chloe seemed to be in control as much as Astrid was during the video conference. Killian was shocked since she only knew of one person, Astrid, who could activate the Clean Room.

Both of the assassins, Todd and Duncan, were shown to have been hypnotized and the people around them forgave them quickly. I like that very much. It also seems as if Spark may have taken a step back from the evil that it had looked to reclaim last issue.

Astrid’s brother’s baby was discovered by Astrid’s people. They told her the baby was normal. Of course, Astrid is able to see things differently as the last shot shows the baby with the monstrous head.

Every issue has a twist that I did not see coming. I love how this series feels like a roller coaster that is just flying without me knowing where it was going.

Paradise S2 E4

Spoilers

“A Holy Charge”

What a fabulously emotional and powerful episode. The first three episodes were strong, but this episode of Paradise was tremendous. It was surprising, engaging, emotional. I found myself tearing up at a specific spot in the episode.

One of my favorite things was that as Xavier and Annie were on their way to Atlanta, they came across some people in another wagon. If The Walking Dead and The Last of Us have taught us one thing, it is that the real monsters in any sort of post-apocalyptic world are other humans. Annie begged Xavier not to look at these people, just to ignore them, and not speak to them. Xavier greeted them anyhow.

Later, Annie goes into labor, and Xavier ran for help from them. I swear I have seen this scene before on one of the aforementioned dramas. However, Xavier returned with a group of these people who went right into helping with the situation. I loved the fact that this show led with the message that not everyone has become monsters. There are good people still around.

The show did a juxtaposition between two births: Annie’s baby birth, and the first birth of a baby in the Colorado bunker (it was great to see James Marsden, once again). I was so on edge the whole time expecting something to happen to one of the babies, and they both survived. I was so happy.

Then, the show threw a twist that fit right with those other shows. Annie died from the birth. I couldn’t believe it. It was such a major shock. This was where I was nearly crying. The scene where the horse would not leave her graveside was so great.

Excellent episode. Next week looks like the story will be taking off, big time.

Clean Room #10

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon Davis-Hunt

Cover Art by Jenny Frison

“The Last Breath of an Exile”

So, what I wrote about last issue is a touch different now.

It appeared that Spark is not dead. The electricity that was sent through him last issue did not turn him into a pile of ashes. That is what I thought happened, but we see Spark this issue, still alive, still in the Clean Room and being tortured for information. The panel where Spark spoke for Chloe Clim Clam, begging for her to help him, made me worry that Spark is going to resent her for leaving him.

In fact, Chloe knows Spark is alive and I wonder why she left him in the first place. We see her investigating Mueller holdings, and she called Astrid all kinds of nasty names, but why did she leave in the first place?

We return to the scene several days later and Astrid has left the Clean Room and gone to a mountain retreat. Killian sent Capone to retrieve Astrid, but Astrid does not seem to be planning on coming back. Suddenly, there is some feeling for Astrid, a character who I called cold and sent straight t team bad guy last issue. I had some pity for her as she dealt with the idea that her brother shot her through the heart. I am such a manipulated mark.

We also have a new pair of horrendous individuals to fill that villain role. Wenuka and Pete are Jesus-loving corporate businessmen who are looking for a takeover of Astrid Mueller’s followers. We met them earlier, but this issue, we discover that they are darker than we imagined. They had their own “Dark Room,” which made me think it was similar to the Clean Room, and they seem to be ready to torture a poor couple. Weirdos.

I was sure of how I felt about these characters after issue #9 and then #10 flipped it over again. I love that this series is able to play with my emotions. I just hope Spark does not turn angry after his suffering, blaming Chloe.

Shrinking S3 E5

Spoilers

“Hold Your Horsies”

Another funny episode of Shrinking dropped on Apple TV + this week.

Maybe the scene of the season so far was Jimmy and Brian singing the song, “The Confrontation” from Les Misérables as they were driving to pick up Paul’s daughter Meg. I had seen Jason Segal do this before with Neil Patrick Harris and it was tremendous. This was every bit as awesome, but I spent much of the time watching Harrison Ford reacting in the back seat. Paul’s comment at the end of their song, “Did you guys make that up?” nearly knocked me out of my chair.

We looked at the relationship between Derrick and Gabby as well as the relationship between Sean and Marisol.

I suppose it is more about the individuals in Gabby and Sean than it is in their relationships. They have wonderful significant others at the moment, but both are dealing with their own issues to overcome.

The episode ended with the surprising kiss between Meg and Jimmy, although, to be honest, it did not seem to be a surprise kiss to me. I saw some flickers between them, at least with Meg, earlier this year, that made me think that there might be something here.

Jimmy is struggling to move on, clearly. He wanted one uncomplicated kiss to help kick him into the next level, but, of course, that is not from Meg, who is like a sister to him and is the daughter of his best friend and mentor Paul. Maybe it was me, but it felt like Paul was pushing for Meg and Jimmy to go get the files together. Was he playing matchmaker? That does not seem like Paul, but that is how I took those scenes.

Shrinking continues to be one of the most entertaining shows of TV, with the best dialogue you will find anywhere. This talented cast never fails to fill the show with laughs as well as true feels.

Clean Room #1

Spoilers

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Jon David-Hunt

Cover art by Jenny Frison

“Spring Cleaning Part One”

Welcome to the Daily Read. This is going to be a new semi-regular column at EYG where we take a comic series and we read an issue a day, every day until we finish the run. Much like the DailyView where we watch a movie a day, this will be reading a comic.

I was inspired to do this by a series that I picked up on eBay this past week. I had been interested in the latest rebirth of DC Comics’ Vertigo line. These new books are intriguing and I will be picking them up. Meanwhile, I was on Blue Sky recently and Gail Simone (or someone who was responding to her) brought up a series called Clean Room. I had never heard of it before so I went to eBay and found the whole 18-issue series. It had debuted in December 2015 and I decided to order it.

I have been a huge fan of Gail Simone’s work on the Uncanny X-Men recently, and I have been looking into other work that she had done in comics. I was able to meet her at the SiouxCon this past September and get her to sign some books. I purchased a comic script she had written for Savage Wolverine #19, which was so cool.

So I wanted to read this series, but I have a busy schedule and it is difficult to make time for things. That is… unless I am doing a column about it. This led to me creating the Daily Read in order to make sure that I carve out the time needed to read the series.

I read issue one this afternoon and I was fully engaged with it. It started out with a frightening scene with a little girl and an angry man driving a truck. For a moment, I thought this book was starting out with something truly tragic, but the little girl survived only to ask a creepy question: “Mama, why is Papa’s face made of snakes?”

We then meet Chloe, who is on a mission to discover what she could about Astrid Mueller. Mueller had written a self-help book that led to Chloe’s husband’s death (I am not sure if it was explicitly said, but it certainly implied that he had taken his own life).

Chloe’s path in just this first issue was rough as she seemingly tried to drown herself, only to be rescued. She decided on her path to find out why Philip, her husband, died.

Meanwhile, we do not meet Astrid Mueller until the final page, but the book does a great job of setting this woman up as something horrendous, even comparing her to Satan. The story does a sensational job of creating an aura around this character before we see her walk into the scene.

After reading the first issue, I confirmed that I wanted to do this Daily Read on EYG. I have decided that this series is very much worth the time that I will need to commit to read it and write about it. I love it when a series is clever and creative and makes me think about what is going on, and, so far, Clean Room has succeeded in that.

I will be reading an issue a day for the next 17 days and posting my thoughts about it.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #56

Spoilers

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

“The Finger Points”

The Seven Dials three part series wrapped up here on the Sunday Morning Sidewalk with the final episode “The Finger Points” where we solve the mystery of what was going down.

Last week, it turned out that I was right about the guy at the end of the episode being involved and not dead. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that Jimmy was up to his ears with this case.

I also was not surprised about the “big bad” behind everything being Bundle’s mother, Lady Caterham. Once they had mentioned that there was someone behind everything, there were only so many possible characters that we had been introduced to that could work. It was a sad and emotional resolution for Bundle and I felt really bad for her. I needed more Helena Bonham Carter in the series though.

What did catch me off guard was the reveal that the Seven Dials were a good guy organization led by Superintendent Battle and that they offered Bundle a position on the team. I liked that ending which left things very much open ended for potential expansion of the property.

I thought this was a quick watch and, although it could have been expanded to make the mystery more than what it was, I did enjoy the flow of the show. Martin Freeman was excellent in this episode and I really liked how he allowed Bundle to be involved without letting his hidden agenda out.

Mia McKenna-Bruce was great in the lead role and was very easy to root for as the mystery unfurled.

Next week, we are staying on Netflix for another series. It has been one of the most successful recent series on the platform. His & Hers starred Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson and was a limited series that ran for six episodes.

Agents of Shield S3 E1, E2, E3

Spoilers

“Laws of Nature”

“Purpose in the Machine”

“A Wanted (Inhu)man”

Third season rewatch is underway with the team scattered about and everyone trying to face the possibility that Simmons was killed by being sucked into the monolith. Of course, Fitz never gave up and he was taking risk after even greater risk to prove that Simmons was alive.

I actually did not remember Simmons being brought back from the alien planet so quickly, but I know there is an episode coming up that is dedicated to the time she spent on the alien planet.

I am not 100% sure why May is doing what she is doing at the beginning of the season or why she decided to accompany Hunter on his mission. It has to be more than just the opportunity to kill Ward. However, the scene of May kicking the ass of the three brutes in a backroom of a fight club was awesome.

A new agency was formed by the President to deal with “alien” threats, meaning specifically Inhumans. The ATCU is led by Rosalind Price, and she and Coulson have some interactions.

Lincoln is being pursued by both the ATCU and Shield, and Daisy has her own personal feelings involved. It has been a rough three episodes for poor Lincoln.

Grant Ward recruited the son of Baron Von Strucker, Werner Von Strucker. I remember this character being a big piece over the seasons. Ward’s recruitment of Hydra agents does not seem to have gone very well so far.

We see the first appearance of the Inhuman named Lash. He was quite the powerhouse and a dangerous force.

Simmons struggled to readjust to earth, but she also seemed to want to go back to the planet. I do not remember why so I am curious to the answer.

Good start to the season and Dr. Garner even named dropped “Secret Warriors.”

The Perfect Family

There was a family everyone admired. The D’Amore family looked perfect from the outside—a loving mother, a hardworking father, and three well-behaved daughters. Little did they know, perfection can hide terrible secrets.

         It was November 15, 1992, the D’Amores arrived at church at  7:30 p.m. The building was quiet, and the air felt strangely cold, as they stepped inside. Before church the family went to turn the lights on and unlock the doors. When the girls got back together the lights went out and Charlotte went to turn the circuit breaker back on.

That’s when the screaming began.

Mr. D’Amore  body lay motionless in the hallway, blood pooling beneath him. He had been murdered. Mrs. D’Amore immediately called the police, clutching her younger twins, Lizzy and Belle, who were crying in confusion. When the officers arrived, Mrs. D’Amore realized Charlotte, her oldest daughter, was missing.

Moments later, a scream echoed from the back hallway. Charlotte appeared walking toward them, oddly calm .She told the police she saw something, something she couldn’t explain, almost demonic in nature in the pale glow of the moon light.

The police took the family home that night. Once inside, Mrs. D’Amore sat her daughters down and spoke gently. “Something very bad happened to your father,” she said. “But we are safe now.” She turned to Charlotte. “Are you okay, sweetheart? I know that was scary.”

Charlotte stared at the floor. “I can’t stop seeing his body,” she whispered. “Mom, I’m scared. Her mother hugged her tightly. “No, Charlotte. You didn’t do anything wrong. Go get some sleep.”

Charlotte went to bed with her sisters that night listening to their quiet breathing. What her mother didn’t know was that Charlotte had lied, she remembered seeing the figure first, seeing the blade in her hands, then washing something off her hands.

One year later the family returned to the church where it all took place and tragedy struck again. Mrs. D’Amore was killed in the same hallway as her husband. This time Charlotte was seen with a blade in her hands. Years of being starved, and abused had filled her with rage. Something about that church and that day had caused her to snap and finally act out. Charlotte was arrested, and Lizzy and Belle were taken away.

Ten years later, Charlotte was released, her only desire is to find her sisters.

By: E.N.S

The Secrets We Bury

The Secrets We Bury is a documentary streaming on HBO Max recently dealing with the disappearance of George Carroll.

According to IMDB, “In the early 1960s, George Carroll walked out on his family, leaving his wife, Dorothy, and their four children behind. Decades later, the Carroll siblings are still left haunted by what happened to their father. Seeking much-needed closure for himself and his family, ‘The Secrets We Bury’ follows Mike Carroll as he unravels the mystery of his father’s disappearance and uncovers a story much darker and more complex than his family could have imagined. Told through extensive sit-down interviews with the Carroll siblings and layered with intimate archival footage of the Carroll family spanning decades of their lives, the documentary offers a sensitive look into one family’s journey to find closure. Part mystery and part family drama, ‘The Secrets We Bury’ raises important questions about whose stories we choose to believe, and why.”

This was a slow burn of a documentary that had a wild story involving abuse, disappearances, psychics and murder.

There are beats in this doc that are difficult to believe, making one think that there is a part of this story that is not being told to us accurately. In particular, the psychic who, apparently, was able to direct Mike where to look for his father.

The documentary spent a bunch of time in this story telling us how Mike’s mother could not have been involved with this cover up, how that she believed the story that she told them, about George abandoning them. I think this is the biggest error of the doc. There is no way that I don’t believe that she had, at the very least, the knowledge of what had happened to George, if not participated in it. They did a lot to try and make it seem like she was an innocent, even going as far as to showing us a reading by the psychic where the mother supposedly said as much. Nope. I don’t buy that at all.

This was a intriguing case that will never truly be solved. It was a mysterious and thrilling story.

3.75 stars

Daily Countdown: TV Shows #20

#20

The Big Bang Theory

As we enter the Top 20 remaining in our Daily Countdown, we come to a sitcom that ran for 12 seasons on CBS.

Bazinga!

The Big Bang Theory was the story of a group of four geeks, all incredibly smart scientists, engineers and physicists, who love geek culture, playing D & D, and comic books. We follow these four men, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali and Sheldon Cooper, through their lives, loves and shenanigans.

There are people I know who hate The Big Bang Theory because of their portrayal of the main characters as geeks. They say it is insulting to the geek community. While they are welcome to that opinion, I disagree. It is a sitcom and the characters are exaggerated. It’s like saying that detectives should be mad about Monk or that doctors should be offended by Doogie Howser.

The center relationship of the show is Leonard and Sheldon, who are roommates. Sheldon is, let’s say, difficult to deal with, yet Leonard continued to put up with his craziness. When Penny (no last name) moves in next door, Leonard fall for her hard. Other love interests were introduced into the show as regulars: Bernadette Rostenkowski, who would wind up marrying Howard, and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, whose relationship with Sheldon would be a major focus of the last half of the show’s run.

The relationship with Howard and Bernadette, for me, really saved the character of Howard, who I disliked for much of the early seasons. He was so creepy so often that I just did not understand why the others wanted him around. Still, Howard had his moments and became one of my favorites as he became a husband and father.

The show had a regular set that was a comic book shop, which I always find awesome. The comic book shop owner, Stuart, eventually became a regular, and is reportedly part of a spin off of the show coming sometime over the next year or two.

The cast included Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, and Kevin Sussman. Recurring actors to appear on the show included such stars as Kathy Bates, Bob Newhart, Sara Gilbert, Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, Teller, and Stephen Hawking. There were also a bunch of cameos of people as themselves including Stan Lee, Leonard Nemoy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Levar Burton, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, James Earl Jones, Kevin Smith, Nathan Fillion, and many more.

The Delivery Guy

By Care Rot 

The Delivery Guy

Hi my name is Millie. I am a tall blonde with blue eyes. I am 13 years old and 5’7. My favorite thing in the whole world is my sheep named Daisy. She is a hairsheep and is black and white. Daisy is like a dog. She follows me everywhere. Daisy also follows me while I do chores, but sometimes she finds the daisies that I have planted and sometimes eats them but it is ok because I can always get more. 

One Saturday morning I woke up and Daisy was sleeping in her usual spot, right next to me. I went downstairs and Daisy followed me. But it was kind of strange because Daisy was not acting normal. I didn’t really think anything of it so we just went on with our day. I made myself a bowl of  Cap’n Crunch. After I got done eating I got Daisy a bowl of sweet feed and some hay. While Daisy was eating I got a really strange phone call. I looked at my phone and it said an unknown caller so I answered.

“Hello” I said. 

The unknown caller silently said “Grrrrr”

I was really scared so I decided to hang up. When Daisy got done eating we went out to do some chores around the farm. We first fed the chickens. Daisy stood outside the cage while I went in and fed them. I also had to gather the eggs and water them. The next chore on the farm that I had was to feed and water all of my sheep. Besides Daisy because I already fed her and she always has access to water. I got a bucket of sweet feed and dragged the hose down to the water tank. I dumped the feed in and put hay in the hay feeder. After I fed them I went up to the spicket and turned on the water. I didn’t have to wait very long because the water was pretty full. 

I got done with all of my chores around 12 pm. After we got done with the chores we went inside. I was pretty hungry so I decided to order pizza from Dominos. I didn’t know the phone number to call so I had to look it up on google. It said the number was 563-556-2300 so I dialed it on my phone and called them.

“Hello this is Dominos pizza what can I get started for you” 

“Can I get a medium hawaiian pizza”

“Yes, will that be all?” 

“Yes I think so” 

“Okay your total is 9.99.”

“Okay sounds good”

“Ma’am what is your address”

“My address is 7461 167th street Maquoketa Iowa”

“Okay your pizza will be there in about 30 minutes. What is a good name for that order?”

“Millie is a good name and sounds good thank you!”

Thirty minutes passed by and my pizza just arrived. The delivery guy was standing at my door so I grabbed my money and opened the door. 

“Hi, is this Millie?”

“Yes it is!”

“Okay your total is $9.99”

I handed him a ten dollar bill and he handed me the pizza. Daisy smelled the pizza and ran over to the door. 

The pizza delivery guy said “Aww you sheep is so cute. May I take a picture of it?”

I was kind of confused so I replied with “Sure?”

The pizza guy took the picture and left. Later did I know that picture was gonna haunt me for the rest of my life.

The next morning I had to run a few errands in town. I had to get some more chicken feed from Maquoketa Feed and I also had to run to Theisens to get a pitchfork since I broke my other one. The sad thing is though that I had to leave Daisy at home. I knew she wouldn’t run away so I decided to let her graze on the grass in my front yard. I got in my  Ford F-150 and went off to town.  I live 10 minutes away from Theisens and 15 minutes away from Maquoketa feed so I went to Theisens first.

When I got to Theisens I tried to find the pitchfork but I couldn’t find it so I asked an employee. 

“Hi where are your pitchforks at?” 

“Oh yes they are in aisle 6.”  

“Okay thank you!” 

I went to aisle 6 and there they were. There were 4 different colors, red, blue, pink, and neon green. My favorite color is pink so that is the one I went with.  I went to the cash register and I got another strange call. I answered and it said unknown caller. I thought this was another trick but it wasn’t .  I picked up the phone and started talking.

“Hello?”

This person replied with “Baaa”

The “baaa” didn’t sound like any kind of  “baaa” it sounded like my sheep Daisy. I was kind of scared but I knew it couldn’t be her so I finished checking out and headed out to Maquoketa Feeds. When I got there I told him that I needed chicken feed and went inside to pay. I got four bags of chicken feed to last me 2 weeks. After I got the chicken feed I headed home. 

When I got home I walked inside and noticed something strange, nothing came running to the door and the house was silent. I’ve then remembered that I let her outside to graze on grass so I went and checked outside. I looked at my whole property and nothing was there. I even contacted my neighbors but they haven’t seen her. I knew someone who had to have taken her. But no one has been at my house since yesterday when I ordered my pizza so I knew it was either the Domino’s pizza delivery guy or the unknown caller. 

I called Domino’s Pizza and asked if the guy was there. They said he hasn’t been to work since yesterday afternoon. So then I went back to my phone and called the unknown caller. When I call them collar he answered. 

He said “WHAT DO YOU WANT” 

“What did you do with my sheep” 

“What do you mean?” 

  “I know you took her. You are probably the Domino’s delivery pizza guy”

 “How did you know?” 

“I find it kind of obvious when you ask to take a picture of my sheep and then you call and start making sheep sounds.”

“ I don’t have Daisy so I don’t know what you are talking about.” 

I knew that he had her so I just hung up. I needed to figure out a way to find where she put her and get him in trouble with the cops. I just didn’t know where to start. I thought of some ideas. I could maybe put up posters around the town where Dominos is or maybe even go to Dominos and ask where he lives. I couldn’t decide on which one to do, so I did both.

 I opened my computer and went on to Canva. I found a blank template and started describing her. I also put a picture of her on the poster. After I got done describing her I added my phone number and put missing in all caps and bolded. I was really hoping that someone would find her. My next step was to print off the posters. I didn’t know how many to print so I just printed 100 because I can always have extra. I got them all printed off and headed for town. I went to every single telephone pole and every bulletin board that I could find. After I hung up the posters I went to Domino’s pizza to ask about the delivery guy. 

I walked in and talked to the front desk lady and she said that he got fired. She was explaining to me that  got a lot of complaints about him so they fired him. I asked her if she could tell me where he lived but she said she couldn’t share that information. But I wasn’t going to stop looking for his house there. I went to the police station and explained my situation to them. They said they can check his house but they wouldn’t be able to just let me go there.  The policeman and I went to his house and I stayed in the back of the car. His house looked very sketchy. It had broken windows and the paint was peeling off of the house. He also had a garage in the door that had holes in it.

 It was now time to go in with the policeman. He came back out and said he couldn’t find anything, but Daisy was in there. I walked a couple steps and said she has to be in here somewhere. All of the sudden I heard Daisy saying “Baaa”. I KNEW SHE WAS HERE I screamed.  I heard it from the room right in front of me so I opened the door. There Daisy was tied up on the pole. I quickly ran over and untied her. After I got her untied I hugged her tightly. I thought I was never going to find her.  The delivery guy was sitting in the  corner of that room and the policeman handcuffed him. The delivery guy got arrested for life since he stole my sheep. I went home and Daisy and I lived happily ever after.