Assorted stuff

They say that the 1950s Dragnet is grittier than the 1960s version. I hadn't remembered that at first, as it had been so long since I'd seen the original. But when I started watching the 1950s version again I saw that it was definitely true. I was a bit surprised, as I had thought that the 1960s version, not being as old, would be grittier.

I keep feeling guilty, but ... I like my Dragnet grittier rather than not. I feel like I'm a horrible person for it. My favorite cases to find to watch are usually murders or other really intense things. It doesn't mean I have no heart; I often sit there with my heart breaking for the poor people involved, but I don't feel bad enough to not watch those types of episodes. Sometimes if I see it's something mild by comparison, like a racket/bunco mystery, I save it for later and go seeking something darker.

Of course, keep in mind that this is 1950s grittiness. No matter how surprising it was back then, it was still very tasteful and mild compared to what's flung at us these days. I don't usually watch modern-day grittiness, although I suppose disaster movies fall into that category. I do watch them, with as many mixed feelings and overall enjoyment as I watch the 1950s Dragnet.

The thing I love most about disaster movies, however, is seeing how people sacrifice to save each other. If the movies didn't have that, and were just about a mad mob running around trying to save number one, I would deem them utter garbage and refuse to watch. As it is, they're usually instead very beautiful and heart-wrenching. Likewise, I suppose what I like about the intense Dragnet episodes is seeing the dangerous situations the police get into and how they're able to get out of them by helping each other. And let's face it, the situations are just not going to be as intense and suspenseful without a violent/potentially violent criminal at large. So maybe I shouldn't have to feel so terribly guilty for preferring those episodes.

Switching topics, last year I really wanted a blue fish plushie I saw online. Then I decided any fish would do. I got a tomato clown fish plushie for Christmas and I adored him so much, I felt I didn't need or want any other fish at that time.

For months he didn't even have a real name. I was originally going to name him after one of our real fish, but nothing sounded right, so instead I called him Fishie. It was sometime in the summer or fall when I determined that the perfect name for him would be Hamilton.

This year Dad found a bunch of puffer fish plushies at the local hardware store and we gave them to some of the very little ones in our family. I ended up wrapping the last one we needed and there were two left at the time. I suppose this is awful too, but I kind of hoped Mom would decide to give me one of them, so I chose the one I liked best and then wrapped the other one for the kid.

I did end up getting the one I chose for Christmas! I named him Perry. I had already decided that if I got him I would name him that.

And then I was thinking that it was so fun having two fishies that it was time and I was ready to get that blue fish I'd wanted in the first place. So I bought him on eBay this morning. I've already picked out his name, too: Andy. (For Lieutenant Anderson, not Andy Taylor.)

Fish are my favorite animal other than cats. I suppose no one but a fellow fish aficionado would understand how and why I love them so much. It seems like I see people bashing fish a lot and saying they don't make interesting pets, or they don't care about fish the way they'd care about something bigger, like a dog. Some people don't even seem to feel bad over a fish dying like they would over another kind of animal. I don't understand those attitudes at all.

I just adore them. They're so cute! I thrill watching Sea Hunt and seeing the fish that swim in front of the camera. I love watching them scamper and frisk about. Even when we didn't own fish, I found other ways to watch them. When Grandma was in and out of various hospitals for so long and we were hanging around hospitals several times a week, I would enjoy watching the fish in the tanks. They were all so individual and hilarious. I named a lot of them.

I don't know if I'll ever want to own any more real fish, though. It's heart-breaking when they die, just as much as any other pet. I found a betta fish community a few months ago, maybe even a year ago, and thought I might join. But when I looked through the pictures and saw so many fishies that reminded me of our Boba and Frodo, and so many messages about people's fish dying, I broke down crying and realized that even after so many years, it still hurt too much to think of joining a betta fish comm.

So for now I'll just be happy with my fish plushies.