Watch “Robin Williams on Carson w/ Jonathan Winters 1991” on YouTube

I’ve been fighting a sinus infection for most of the past week. At one point I turned on YouTube, then fell asleep for I-don’t-know-how-long. I woke to see this video going. Memories of seeing Robin Williams filled me with joy, amongst other feelings. So much joy and laughter, balanced against so much sadness and pain. No other person made me laugh harder than Robin. Which makes the fact he took his own life so much more heartbreaking.

I’d never seen this combo of Williams and Jonathan Winters on the old Tonight Show. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

His Dark Materials: Season 1 | Official Trailer | HBO

I don’t have a great connection to the Golden Compass, or the His Dark Materials series, but this trailer is making me inclined to check this series out.

The good folks at Nerdist have written up a nice summary of where we are in this production, from the first movie, The Golden Compass, to this most current video series (what should we call these bingeworthy series at this point? Back in the day, they were mini-series. Now what?)

Are you looking forward to it? Do you love it enough to share? Say, sharing your HBO account credentials?

Those home shows on TV, and real estate reality

Finally made it to taekwondo yesterday and the gym today. This after a several week sabbatical of sorts. Was fighting a nasty cold for a few weeks, then sprained my ankle at taekwondo. Now, that sounds better than the full description. I sprained my ankle, at taekwondo, after my third JUMPING JACK! Jeez…I’m a black belt who can land jumping back kicks, and I lose my ability to walk normally from jumping jacks. Ugh!

Anyway, I’m slowly coming back up to speed, and didn’t push myself that hard tonight. Spent about 1/2 hour on the treadmill watching one of the real estate shows. This one is about buying fixers and flipping them.

I’ve seen the show before, and recognize the hosts. I admire their work, find the subject interesting. But…BUT…elements of the show boggle me. Today there was one moment where the project was nearly derailed because, in Torrence, CA, there’s a code preventing powerlines from crossing above pools. I get that, and it makes sense. What doesn’t, though, is how no one discovers this until the concrete patio has been poured. How did they get permits without having this addressed? Maybe California is different, and the grant permits after you build. But that seems quite daft.

The other thing this evening, which almost caused me to truly laugh out loud, was this shot where a host discovers a rat in this nasty, messy bank repo property. Now, don’t get me wrong, many of these houses have rats. When I was working for a real estate company selling bank owned properties, we had many. However, the rats were never, EVER a pristine white. Nor were they demure, like the one in the ad. The ones I’ve seen would hiss and snarl at you, and quite possibly chase you.

Anyway, that’s just my experience ruining the suspension of disbelieve. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying the shows. Just now that those shows aren’t, well, “exactly” realistic. So, having a team of folks who knows what they’re doing might be a worthwhile investment.