Flix

Netflix tells me I like dramas "featuring a strong female lead" - who knew this was even a category? but more importantly, do you think they keep track of and recommend "dramas with weak female characters only" ? ;)

I've taken an unexpected stumble down the path of getting more acquainted with period films based on nineteenth century British novels. And I find I can't stand Dickens. The stories make me feel as though I'm watching some old version of the silly day time soaps where everyone has a secret twin brother abducted at birth, develops a bizarre and rare medical condition, lands a humongous inheritance unexpectedly, falls in love with their half-sibling unknowingly, or all of the above in any chronology. Too contrived, too over-the-top for my taste.

misc

NPR story on new machine which can republish out-of-print books - I suppose I admit to geeky bookishness when I say it sounds very exciting.

Also, thought-provoking: is the great increase in murder-suicides (the father kills the whole family variety) a sign of a culture's twisted notion of manliness?

strawberries

Do you say strôh-breez or straw-bay-reez? Or is it simply a UK vs. US thing?