Month: August 2018

Walking Dead Recaps

Fear The Walking Dead Recap – The Code

Bonnie Byrne

Fear’s Season 4, 11th episode – The Code, begins with Morgan looking for Alicia in the hurricane, to no avail. It is raining so hard he has to take refuge in the back of a transport truck.  There are boxes inside with the words: “Take what you need, leave what you don’t” written on them and he takes a peanut butter protein bar, smiling as he bites into it.

The next morning, the storm has passed and Morgan disembarks from the truck, only to see a sign outside that says Flip-Flop Truck Stop, Mississippi. He walks inside the gas station calling out “hello”. No one answers.

Breaker Breaker: Morgan makes his decision at the bridge. AMC TV.

A woman’s voice comes over a radio, looking for “Polar Bear”. Morgan tells her he doesn’t know any Polar Bear and that he is at a truck stop in Mississippi. She tells him to take what he needs and leave what he doesn’t. He flips a switch, the electricity comes on and he brews himself some coffee. The look of delight on his face as he takes the first sip is something many viewers could relate to. How long has it been since he’d had a cup of coffee? Then, he gets to use an actual toilet with actual toilet paper. Continue reading “Fear The Walking Dead Recap – The Code” →

Walking Dead Recaps

Fear The Walking Dead Recap – Close Your Eyes

Bonnie Byrne

Considering the abysmal failure that has been Fear The Walking Dead Season 4, it’s time to celebrate when an actual decent episode rolls around. So pop open the champagne – last night’s 10th episode, entitled Close Your Eyes, was decent. Not great but not bad either.

The hurricane has hit and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) has found refuge in an abandoned house. She kills a couple of zombies and looks for food, only to hear a noise upstairs. When she investigates, she finds none other than her brother Nick’s murderer, Charlie, played by Alexa Nisenson.

Ticket to Die: Alicia tries to open the car door. AMC TV.

Alicia plans to drive away from the house in a car parked outside but she can’t open the driver’s side door. A gust of wind blows it open full force and she ends up falling to the ground and passing out. When next we see her, she wakes up inside the house and it appears Charlie has dragged her there. Alicia calls her but she’s in a bedroom with the door locked. Continue reading “Fear The Walking Dead Recap – Close Your Eyes” →

Walking Dead Recaps

Fear The Walking Dead’s Fall From Grace

Bonnie Byrne

With the loss of its lead character, Madison (Kim Dickens), in the Mid-Season 4 finale this past June, Fear the Walking Dead has continued the journey of eviscerating its female characters.

From Strong to Sulky: Luciana brooding over Nick. AMC Studios.

When we initially saw the character of Luciana (Danay Garcia) in Season 2, Episode 9, she was a hard-core warrior. Encountering Nick (Frank Dillane) for the first time, she attacked him with a baseball bat and subsequently spurned his romantic advances until he eventually won her over. In Season 3, Luciana was strong enough to leave Nick in the dust at Broke Jaw Ranch when she realized those running it were not what they seemed. With new showrunners Andrew Chambliss, Ian Goldberg and executive producer Scott M. Gimple at the helm for Season 4, this fierce female character was relegated to lying around a mansion, moping over her lost love, on last night’s mid-season premiere.

Meanwhile, Strand (Colman Domingo) reunited with his lost love, alcohol, and the scenes of him stumbling around the mansion that boasts a “fully stocked wine cellar” were the highlight of the episode. I couldn’t help wondering, though, how much more entertaining these scenes could have been if his drinking buddy Madison had been with him. Continue reading “Fear The Walking Dead’s Fall From Grace” →

Health

How Our Furry Friends Improve Our Health

Bonnie Byrne

Adopting and owning a pet can be a double-edged sword. They can be high maintenance, expensive and a pain in the butt to clean up after, but what we humans get in return is well worth it. Numerous medical studies have cited that pets not only provide their owners with social interaction, companionship and exercise, but they can also help relieve stress and lower blood pressure.

relieve stress and lower blood pressure
Darcy and Tucker: Although I am a die-hard cat person, the occasional dog or two has won me over.

Dogs and cats can vastly improve their human companions’ physical and mental health, but even horses, birds, turtles and fish can make a difference in their owners’ lives.  Here’s how adopting a pet can improve your life:

Daily Exercise

Nebby: Named after Nebula, a Pokemon character.

I do not like dogs – there, I said it. However, my cold, dog-disliking heart has somewhat softened lately towards little dogs.  Maybe it’s because I know a lot of people who own little dogs. Aside from my opinion on dogs, walking one daily can provide heart-healthy physical activity people may not otherwise get. And dog owners often have the chance to interact with other humans on a regular basis, as people walking their dogs typically appear friendly and approachable. One of my friends and her kids recently moved into a new house and adopted a Shih Tzu, from the Animal Hospital of Cambridge. The little dog, her daughter aptly named Nebby, has helped them get to know their neighbours when they take her out for walks.

Another enjoyable, albeit more expensive, animal that can provide its owner with regular exercise is a horse, of course. Horses are beautiful and gentle creatures and anyone who has gone horseback riding knows it is a great work out for your thighs and glutes. When I worked as a reporter, in a time when Breaking News arrived daily on your front stoop in the form of a newspaper, one of my favourite assignments was writing a feature article on the local horseback riding stables.  Continue reading “How Our Furry Friends Improve Our Health” →