Winters in the northern US can be pretty brutal. If you aren't dealing with inches to feet of snow, you are probably suffering from sub zero temps thanks to the polar vortex. Actually, things seem to be pushing further south over the past couple of years due to global warming or whatever your preferred reason is.
There were a couple of years that I feel like Kentucky and Tennessee got more snow than we did. In any event, the cooler temperatures and white stuff tends to keep people inside a bit more. Unless you are a skier, snowboarder, or rich enough to own a snowmobile, you probably don't spend a ton of time outdoors from the middle of November until the end of February.
Which means in the winter 
A while ago my wife expressed an interest in watching the show "Ballard" on Amazon Prime. I added it to our list, and then promptly found out it was a spin off of the show Bosch. So we started the dive into the ten seasons of Bosch that are on Amazon Prime. Bosch is a LAPD Detective created by Michael Connelly, the same guy who created The Lincoln Lawyer.
It's been a fun watch and we are finally on the last season right now. After that we will transition to watching Ballard finally. I also recently bought the first couple of Bosch books by Connelly. I have heard the books are different enough from the show that you can still enjoy both of them. When I finish reading my current book I will start those. Either that or The Wheel of Time.
Speaking of books... I've been reading a series called Orphan X lately by an author named Gregg Hurwitz. If I had to explain the premise of the books, it is basically a cross between The Equalizer and The Borne Identity. Without the memory loss. It's been a fun read and I am currently in the middle of Lone Wolf which is the ninth book in the series.
There are only two more and then I am finished with them, but I think the last one hasn't even been written yet. The Internet gives it a publish date of 2026. They have been entertaining and I have been able to get through them more quickly than most books. In fact, the 8th book before Lone Wolf I think I finished in four or five days. That's a pretty big deal for me!
I still can't keep up with
Some time ago the wife and I were watching TV and we saw an advertisement for a movie that was coming out called The Order. We both looked at each other and said "that looks really good". Then we kind of forgot about it. I tried to find it a couple of times after that, but it was only available to watch via paid services.
I was pleasantly surprised to find it on Hulu the other day as part of our subscription. We took a break from watching Bosch over the holiday to watch The Order. It stars Jude Law as an FBI agent investigating a white supremacist faction in the northwestern US. It was actually based on true events and it was really really good. Disturbing, but good. If you get the chance to watch it, you definitely should.
I'm not going to talk about it too much so I don't spoil it for you.
Personally, when
Despite that, it has been fun to watch and once I finish it up, I will probably move on to the third season of Dark Winds or something else.
Finally, I've also been listening to a Podcast a bit lately called Jazz Legends There are quite a few episodes and it is basically a panel of prominent jazz artists talking about some of the legends of jazz. They have some pretty amazing stories and it has been really interesting to listen to. I am only about six or seven episodes in, but it is safe to say I am hooked.
I don't always understand the terms they are using, or know all of the artists they reference, but it is still a good listen and that doesn't detract from it at all. It gives you a really great insight into some of the artists who shaped jazz music and made it what it is today.
This is my first dive into podcasts in a while, but I highly recommend it if you like jazz music and you are looking for something new to listen to.
I also got my Spotify year in review update yesterday. My niece shared hers with me, so I went and took a look at mine. I am only mildly surprised by the results. Perhaps I will share that in a different post.
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