Have you ever seen ‘Friday the 13th: The Series’? If you have then you’ve seen this show. They’ve expanded the antique/occult store into a gigantic warehouse (think of the last scene from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’) and turned over retrieval of dangerous occult objects to a pair of somewhat reluctant government agents.

Fairly well acted but with weak writing, it won’t win any Emmys, the special effects are decent though not ground breaking. It isn’t a BAD show and I’ll give it at least one more try before I truly make up my mind about it but it’s not a great show, like ‘Eureka’.

I’ve been reading science fiction, Sci-Fi, for some thirty plus years. I’ve been watching the Sci-Fi channel for more than a decade. Did they really need to reinvent themselves? I am not amused.

I read them, back then, in the ‘wrong’ order (many argue it’s the right order). The boxed set I had was put together by publication date. The omnibus edition I just finished has them in the chronological order that the author, in a letter to a fan, suggested they be read in. He also said it didn’t really matter what order you read them in so those people who feel the need to get all annoyed by this, get the hell over it, seriously, find something worth getting annoyed over.

Collectively they’re quite worth reading. The prose is a bit old fashioned and definitely aimed at the younger reading set, the slang and dialog are decidedly British. The children featured even when being beastly churls are prim and proper most often ‘knowing their place’ as children of the 1930’s and ’40s were taught.

The Magician’s Nephew - I can understand why people dislike the idea of this being the first book. It gives a lot of back story away, but only IF you’ve read the series in the past. Lewis writes idiots, prats and generally annoying people rather well and there’s several in this novel. For me it was one of the harder books in the series to get through.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - The one that started it all. The one that was made into a movie. I hear Caspian’s a movie as well but haven’t seen it. When I was a kid I went banging around the back of every closet and wardrobe I could find hoping to find the entry way to a secret land.

The Horse and His Boy - A mortality lesson in not being too full of yourself stretched to novella lengths. A little unbelievable, especially the desert crossing bit, but still worth reading.

Prince Caspian - A huge leap into the future, of Narnia at least, a nearly forgettable book. Nothing wrong with that, I’ve forgotten hundreds of books…

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - I don’t know why but I found this book to be delightful. Lewis once again proves he can make you really, really dislike a character. My only complaint is the mouse, he’s the mouthy little brat that hangs out with the bigger kids knowing he can start the fight and his friends will pull all the bullies off of him. He’s also dumb enough to leap off a boat to avenge a perceived slight to his honor. Dumbass.

The Silver Chair - The quality of Lewis’ writing begins to fall off with this novel. This reads more like a parody of itself than anything else. People do the dumbest things forget, nearly immediately things they’ve been told. And don’t get me started on Puddleglum, the 1950’s version of Jar Jar Binks, ugh.

The Last Battle - The worst of the series. The Lobotomy Fairy has visited Narnia and rendered everyone idiots. Hurrah! Everyone dies, except Susan (who’s not in the book at all). Hurrah! I had a terrible time getting through this novel but it was the last so I forced myself to finish it.

If you were a major player in professional basketball, had a supposed NY Times Bestseller novel and ran a not-for-profit foundation with core values such as “Accountability to having quality standards” and “Empowering, and improving the quality of life for, our community” would you be flogging the rip-off experts Rent A Center? (seriously, $2,500 for a $450 computer? What a BARGAIN!) If you were Magic Johnson you would.

I’ve seen two ‘well known’ NASCAR drivers hawking 3rd party car repair insurance. Sadly I care so little about NASCAR I’m not going to spend the time tracking down their names. Turn left! Turn Left! Go straight! Turn left! Turn Left! Repeat hundreds of times. Meh!

Supposedly rich, supposedly well off people doing jobs that make them look, if not downright moronic, then, at least in Johnson’s case, just plain bad. I don’t know about you, dear readers, but if *I* were a rich man (can you hear the Fiddler on the Roof music playing?) I’d have a nice, large, log cabin on a lake somewhere in the middle of nowhere and I’d be flying my friends in for weekend and week-long visits whenever they wanted. I would NOT be making an ass out of myself on television (what IS wrong with Trump’s mouth, he looks like a fish out of water!) or debasing myself trying to get you to pay five times the price to ‘rent to own’ junk. If *I* were a rich man, I’d still live frugally. I can’t even bring myself to buy a $6 DVD of one of my favorite movies even thought I’ve got the spare coin right now.

What’s up with these people? Is Trump not as rich as we think? Has Johnson blown through those millions and millions of dollars he was paid to bounce a ball? Are these people THAT desperate?