The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

I, Claudius….I Simply Can't Believe This is from the 70s!!!

Everybody who hasn’t seen I, Claudius, raise your hand. Perhaps it would be easier to ask for those who haven’t seen I, Claudius to raise their hands in disbelief that they have missed one of the best (in my opinion) miniseries EVER. My family ranks this miniseries right up there with Upstairs, Downstairs…  Both shows come to us from Great Britain, but have no similarities in the content area. They do, however, have one thing in common………….. They are both phenomenal. Oh, and another thing they have in common…. if you haven’t seen them, you will probably regret it. (I have to admit that the later seasons of Upstairs, Downstairs weren’t on par with the earlier seasons….)

Of course, Derek Jacobi (before he was Sir Derek Jacobi!) is absolutely phenomenal as Claudius. (I know I am not supposed to use the same adjectives over and over, but, is there another word that describes Jacobi’s Claudius more succinctly? Brilliant, Exceptional, Fantastic, …. well, yes, then I could use those words.)

The 13-part miniseries is based on the novel by Robert Graves and the Roman Empire circa 24 BC to 54 AD is the setting. We see the action through Claudius’s narration of events. He is able to outlive many of the members of his family because they think he is a simpleton. (Did I say "many of the members of his family?  I mean "ALL"!!!!!) His grandmother Livia (played by Sian Philips) makes Snow White’s stepmother look like everybody’s favorite auntie.

Claudius is forced to watch the debauchery and ambition of his family members while acting the part of a fool who isn’t aware of all the happenings and goings-on. By being able to quietly observe, almost undetected, he has become a master of what is needed to survive in the cesspool in which his family resides.

Don’t expect the special effects and all of the bells and whistles that miniseries from later years provide…. BUT….. do expect a great story with great acting!  I have seen the miniseries three times, and plan on watching it again….. and again.

(Oh, and by the way, in case you haven’t already guessed…. this is not a cozy…. nor a mystery.)

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Do I Have to Leave My Computer? Part III…..

So, how do we get ready for a trip? As I stated earlier, I am very lucky to have three other people who get all of my computer preparations done for me.

When I was contemplating a short time away from home this summer, I asked my husband how I would be able to continue working on my site. Of course, his first response was that I should be able to leave the site for a few days since, after all, it would be a vacation. After considering that idea for about one minute, I promptly replied that no, I didn’t think that I would be able to enjoy myself without my computer.

So, that is the end of my computer preparation. Unfortunately for the other three members of my household (both of our children are home for the summer) this means that they are going to have to take care of my "away-from-home" computer. My husband assure me that it is not big deal…. that all he will have to do is get my passwords/log-ins, whatever it is that my computer’s memory "knows," and put them on my daughter’s laptop. I just think that this is incredible…. How this little laptop computer is going to be able to take all of my Cozy Mystery site and store it in there, for me to access while others are taking naps. How is this possible!?!

Well, I guess that since it is indeed possible, like a gift horse, I shouldn’t look it in the mouth… and I should just enjoy it. I am pretty sure I have said this in an earlier blog…….. but aren’t these computers great!!! We can leave home… with them!  Now to decide if I am actually going to take a few days to travel or not…

(P.S.>>> And, they tell me that if you don’t have access to a laptop…. there are places all over that have computers that you can use!)

Do I Have to Leave My Computer? Part II…..

Getting back to what I actually had planned to talk about yesterday…… before I started talking about magic markers and accordion lists… or whatever else you were able to get from that blog…

We are now faced with new travelling preparations. We now have the same old preps to make…. sunscreen, toothbrushes, favorite cozy mysteries, clean undies, alarm clocks (Forget those! We are going on vacation…… no need to wake up early… unless of course we want to beat the crowds at some of the high people-volume attractions.), comfortable shoes, our favorite mysteries for when we finish our favorite cozy mysteries, ETC. 

But in this computer age, we are faced with new preparations to make before we leave home. Remember Karl Malden telling us "Don’t Leave Home without It"… Well, that’s how I feel about leaving home without my internet connection! I have to admit that I am totally dependent on this little corner of our "play room." We used to have a Nintendo game station, the Fisher Price dollhouses, a Master of the Universe castle, and the Ninja Turtles’ sundry items in this room. Now we have portals into different worlds….. all at our fingertips…. at our computers. How can we "leave home without it"???

Is it just me who has become so obsessively dependent on computers? Just this morning I order some scented candles for the upcoming holiday season……… since now that I have this wonderful computer, how will I possibly have time to actually bake!?! Thus the necessity for "pumpkin pie" and the "warm apple pie" candles!

Oh, oh, I have gone off topic again…. More on the computer VS. vacations in tomorrow’s blog. (I am not doing this on purpose…. this is actually how my brain functions… when I try to wing it without a magic marked-accordion note!)

Do I Have to Leave My Computer?

‘Tis the season for vacationing…. and that usually means a lot of fun….. and "computer withdrawal" for some of us un-savvy computer users. Besides all of the usual travel preparations, we people who have become "computer dependent" now face new pre-travelling preparations. For me, it doesn’t mean a lot, since I am totally dependent on my husband and two children for all of my computer "knowledge."

So, why do I have the above-mentioned word "knowledge" in quotation marks? You would only have to see my computer desk to know why……… I have piles of stapled notes and scotch-taped notes…. (and, you-name-it-notes!) all over my computer desk area. I actually have a desk file and an end table right next to my computer with even more piles of stapled notes.

Whenever one of the computer-savvy in my household "teaches" me how to do something on the computer……. I get out my trusty magic markers and recycled note-taking paper, and write like a mad woman. I know that once they leave the room, they will expect me to know what I am doing …. since they have "taught"  me my new skill.

Thank goodness for the boxes of un-dried magic markers that my children’s elementary school teachers insisted they have at the beginning of the school years! I use magic markers because I just prefer to be able to actually see the notes that I take! And, being as compulsive as I am, I then tape the ends of the notes together making an accordion type of pamphlet, so that when I perform the new (learned) skill by myself, I can just keep reading down the accordion notes.

But, I have rambled on for long enough (off topic, again!)…. I guess I will have to "blog" about travelling preparations later…

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