The Hexecutioners (2015)

I watched this film last night. It follows the journey of a young woman who is starting a new job as a euthanasiast. The film starts with a bit of text that says that euthanasia has been legalised and this sets the scene. So we follow the character on her first solo job and everyone she meets is creepy in one way or another. The patient she puts to sleep suddenly sits up, vomits and then calls out the word “murderer” and the patient’s husband grabs a pillow and puts it over her face. Not a great start. She goes back to her flat and her landlord is also very creepy. In the middle of the night she get up and opens her door to find him reading the bible loudly on the stairs. He tells her he has a message from God for her: that the people she puts to sleep don’t go to him. He tells her she has to leave.
The second part of the film has her team up with another euthanist who has been doing it longer. So they go to this mansion house and the rest of the film is set there. I do have to confess I fell asleep for some of the later stages in the mansion. I did wake up for the climax and it is good. Not a bad film overall really.

Doctor Who returns with a new series

So the obvious thing to say is that Dr Who has returned with a different actor playing the character, I believe its the 13th actor to play the character but I’m sure a Dr Who nerd will point out if I’m wrong about that. Jodie Whittaker has stepped into the shoes left by Peter Capaldi. Two episodes in and I would say she has made a better start in the role already, so things are looking up I think for the remainder of the season. I never subscribed to the viewpoint that the character had to be played by a male actor, in fact it sees quite ridiculous to even type it now. But that seemed to be the controversial thing about the casting of the new Dr. I think Jodie Whittaker has a wide appeal and great acting talent, which at the end of the day is what you need in the role. Well done Jodie, long may you reign!
A quick word on the companions: Bradley Walsh is entertaining but I’m not so sure about the others. They still have to find their feet I think.

Returning to Apple

I looked into replacement tablets. I considered seriously the Windows Surface Go but ultimately it was vey expensive when I factored in things like the pen and a keyboard. I watched a few videos and weighed up the Windows Surface against the Apple iPad. The 2018 ipad has some significant improvements over previous generations of ipad. One of the most important for me personally is pen support: specifically the Apple Pencil. Perhaps another factor was that we recently bought my daughter a large 12” iPad Pro and this was very impressive when it was demonstrated to my wife and I. So, being able to FaceTime with her while she is at University is certainly an advantage. There are other video calling technologies I know but FaceTime works so easily. However, this wasn’t the only reason. I considered the price and my wife could get me a slight educational discount, so I made my mind up and we went to the Apple store. I don’t like the fact that even on a Sunday the Apple store is incredibly busy. It’s not even that close to Christmas, the new iPhone was obviously very popular.
I bought an iPad with the gold back, it’s a little bit like the Rose Gold of a couple of years ago.
The Apple Pencil works very well. I’ve had the iPad for two weeks and I’ve enjoyed using it very much. I’ve done some drawings on it and have to say that the experience of drawing on the screen isn’t like drawing on paper but you do get used to it. If its good enough for David Hockney, it’s good enough for me.
Today I received a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. I purchased a cheap 3rd party protective cover. I purchased a sling for the pencil to go around the iPad and included with the sling is a grip for the Apple Pencil. I have yet to try a drawing with the new grip. I’m a very happy chap with my purchases: I’ve only spent about £20 on the accessories.
I’ve been using my new keyboard and listening to SoundCloud while I type. It’s all pretty good so far. I’m feeling that this new iPad could replace a lot of my laptop needs. It doesn’t have a CD player, so there are some things I still need a laptop for.