Hanging with the Hendersons Review

Reality television is everywhere these days. The newest trend on Animal Planet is following the lives and careers of those who work in the veterinary field.

The new Animal Planet program, Hanging with the Hendersons, premiered last night.

The show follows Drs. Ross and Ryan Henderson, who work at Fox Hollow Animal Hospital in Colorado with their father, who is also a veterinarian. The premise of the show is presenting not only the work life the show’s subjects, but also their home lives.

As reality shows go, Hanging with the Hendersons is fairly normal. It’s nothing new and different, but there are worse things to watch on a Friday night after a long week of work or school.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Hanging with the Hendersons airs on Animal Planet on Fridays at 9pm. 

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The Song of Hartgrove Hall Book Review

Life has a way of surprising us. When we think we are defeated, we find a way to rise from the ashes.

Natasha Solomons’s 2015 novel, The Song of Hartgrove Hall is set in two different time periods and is told through the eyes of one character. Harry Fox-Talbot is the youngest son of a family that has resided in an aristocratic home in Dorset, England for centuries. But the world around him has changed. Though he and his brothers have returned from fighting for King and country in World War II in one piece, the home they grew up in is not so lucky.

A year after the war ends, a new woman enters Harry’s (known to his family and peers as Fox) life. She is Edie Rose, a Jewish woman who became known all over the country for her wartime songs. Her presence in his life changes everything. Fifty years later, Edie has recently passed away. Fox is unable to move on from his grief, until he starts to spend time with his grandson. Though the boy is very young, his musical abilities are obvious. Through the time with his grandson, Fox not only starts to come back to life, but to heal the wounds of the past.

The ability to jump between time periods and narratives, as a writer, is a skill that for many writers does not come easy. Many writers who are unable to do this seamlessly often lose readers who are unable to follow the narrative and character arcs. Natasha Solomons is not one of those writers. But while the book is well written and a good read, I thought that this was not one of Ms. Solomons’s better books. I cannot put my finger on the exact reason, but I just prefer her other novels.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Stop Blaming Antisemitism For Your Problems

Antisemitism is defined as the following:

Hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews.

Since the cancellation of the successful reboot of her television show, Roseanne gone from contrite to blaming everything under the sun for the cancellation.

Her latest complaint is that antisemitism was the reason for the cancellation.

Pardon my French, but that is b*llshit. She said something that she shouldn’t have said. It was her hurtful words that caused the cancellation and the near loss of jobs/income for everyone who worked on that show.

As a fellow Jew, I am appalled that she would use the weak excuse of antisemitism for her actions. If the heads of the network were truly antisemitic, they would have never given the show the green light thirty years ago. I am also angry because the number of antisemitic acts are rising at a scary rate. Her accusation is akin to a woman claiming that she raped when she wasn’t. It invalidates every other charge of antisemitism and causes one to wonder if it was really an act of antisemitism or someone playing the victim card because they can.

One of the things I have learned as I have gotten older is that as an adult, you fess up when you have made a mistake. You don’t blame something else or someone else simply because you can.

Roseanne, grow up. You made the mistake, you said those words, you caused the near cancellation of your show. The rest of us have moved on, I suggest you do the same.