Yesterday was Independence Day in the US and a day off for me. Today, I'm back to work. Same for my rocket engineer son, one day off. My wife remembers a few of her companies giving a 4-day weekend when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, but that hasn't been my experience and isn't this week.

I know we're barely into summer, which technically started Jun 21, but most of my life has measured summer between the end of one school year and the beginning of another. That's usually late May (Memorial Day) to early September (Labor Day). I think that's a very American thing, as I know lots of my friends in Europe are just starting their break between two grade years. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I'm sure this time of year is even more different.

In any case, since it feels like midsummer to me, I wanted to take a break from technology and write about interesting fun things I've seen lately in the world of books and tv/movies. Even as I write that it seems strange since I think TV isn't a concept for me anymore. I've gone completely to digital streaming, with episodic shows that aren't ever broadcasted. They just drop, individually or as a whole season at once.

In any case, I'm starting with Presumed Innocent. I read this book a long time ago, probably in 1987 or 1988. I couldn't remember the story, but a friend recommended the series on Apple+. The first episode started slow, and I wasn't sure I'd watch more, but the end caught both my wife's and my own eyes. We had to watch the second episode right away. It's dropping episodes week by week, which feels very old-fashioned and unsatisfying.

I've also been working through Lost in Space on Netflix. I've watched the various versions of this since the old black-and-white TV version. I went through Season 1 of this a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I just realized there were more seasons and have been enjoying them. It's a bit silly, far-fetched, and inconsistent in places, but still entertaining as a sci-fi view of colonists traveling through strange places in the galaxy.

My wife and I completed season 1 of Resident Alien on Netflix as well. The casting is great and it was very entertaining. A fun watch for us. I haven't found a lot of funny series lately, and fall back on old episodes of Scrubs, Community (first 2 seasons), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the US Office, and Mom. Even though I've seen most of these series, they're still good for a laugh. Once in awhile I even see an episode I haven't seen (or don't remember). In any case, Resident Alien was good.

I like to read a lot. This summer, I've caught up on the latest in a few series I've enjoyed over the years. I'm working on Spinward Fringe 17, along with Observability Engineering. That latter isn't entertainment, but it is interesting. I've also enjoyed these books lately: Toxic Prey, I Will Find You, Murder One, The Last Detective, and The Unincorporated Future. I've read a bunch more, but those were the highlights.

I haven't see many movies this year, but I have watched a few documentaries. The Thriller 40th Anniversary, the We Are the World documentary, and the George Michael one were great. I did see One Love (on Bob Marley), but it wasn't that good. The music and actor are good, but the story isn't. If you want a fun, unusual watch, try the Donut King.

If you've got some fun escapes from work, either written or video, let me know. I enjoy watching a Slack channel at work that is dedicated to movies and tv, getting some recommendations there. I'm sure I'll see something from one of you that's worth checking out.