The Man in the High Castle — Series 2 — Episode 5: Duck and Cover

25th March, 2018.

No, really … 

I have with my normal breakfast — usually a bowl of cornflakes — for something else.

As you might know, if you’ve read this morning’s Daily Teaser, I’ve come down with what’s called Bell’s Palsy: a type of facial paralysis caused by a trapped nerve, after an infection.

One I think I caught, after having a tooth out, a while back.

At any rate?   I’ve a course of steroids to take: and some eyepatches to wear over night: to stop my left eye drying out.

Although I had to buy my own surgical tape to stick them on.

Which possibly says a lot about the hospital, or the mood I was in, when I got this lot.

At any rate?   I’m going to have to try and have a word with my GP, I think.

I think something like that could well be … … 

Useful.

~≈§≈~

There’s something else I meant To tell you, as well.

I mentioned — the last time I wrote about a TV show — that’s I’d been half lucking: when installing popular DVD transcoding, HandBrake onto my new iMac: the current version of the operating system, High Sierra, doesn’t allow you too.

I’ve done a little experimenting: and found a workaround for this.

The original one I found?   Was to install MakeMKV: which will turn the contents of a DVD or bluray into a series of .mkv files: which you can then rip as normal with HandBrake.

The OTHER workaround?

Out there— very much not on Apple’s App Store — is an app called RipIt which can copy a DVD: and store the contents where you want to put them … 

MINUS the copy protection.

The resulting DVD media … ?

Can be transcoded with HandBrake, as per normal.

~≈§≈~

Now … 

In ALL this … ?

In all this, I mentioned that I … had watched some TV.

You’re right …

Lay discussions about video transcoding, and facial paralysis aren’t going to stop me watching more season two The Man in the High Castle.

Oh, no … 

~≈§≈~

Episode 5 — Duck and Cover — sees Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) making the decision to leave his’s father’s house in Berlin: only for his father, Reichsminister Martin Heusmann (Sebastian Roché) tell Joe more about his family history.

Back in New York?   Juliana Craine (Alexa Davalos) has been contacted by her half-sister’s father, George Dixon (Tate Donovan).   Dixon is, it seems, a senior members of the Resistance: a Resistance unhappy Juliana has been involved with them … AND defected to the Reich.   They want her help: keeping an eye on someone.

Meanwhile?   Meanwhile, Obergruppenführer Smith (Rufus Sewell) has to deal with Inspector Kids (Joel de la Fuente): demanding the reeling of Juliana Craine.

And Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa)?   Has his own problems: dealing with his estranged wife … in an alternative reality …

~≈§≈~

Now … ?

All else aside, this is still a series I’m enjoying.

Yes, I’ve got a bit of a rough patch going on at the moment.

Yes, money could well be SERIOUSLY coming into my bank account, I could be both fitter, lighter and younger … 

And magic hamsters might well be crawling about the flat, doing the cleaning.

Life is what it is, and, while it could be better, it could be worse.

So long as I can get hold of a good little series like The Man in the High Castle?

I’m not complaining!