Unless the Saints are playing (has only happened once), Super Bowl usually means chili. This, like risotto, means I keep out of the way as Hubby makes it. He comes from a different view than I do, however, his chili is delicious so I have no issue with yielding the stove. He starts with big  chunks of beef – the cut depends on what is available. He cubes it, then there are the two-three types of dried chilies he will use. Lots of onions and canned fire-roasted tomatoes. I am also okay with beans in chili which makes it simpler. He puts two different types, often black and red (canned). Seasoning is a combination, also might be two types of chili powder; maybe extra cumin, and he is a big believer in Carroll Shelby’s mix. This includes using at least one packet of the masa in the latter part of cooking. Actual cook time is 2.5-3 hours minimum and of course it can simmer much longer if needed for timing purposes. We had fresh cilantro this time, but that doesn’t go in until about the last ten minutes. My only contribution to the process is check it for heat. He likes his hotter, but we have hot sauce for that purpose. He usually gets it correct for what I like although occasionally it will be at the upper level. Last night’s was perfect on the first tasting.

I did pick up a box of cornbread mix at the store yesterday. That’s his preferred accompaniment and corn chips will do if we’ve forgotten the cornbread. No other adds except he will sometimes use shredded cheddar. As you can imagine, cook time is one thing; prep time is definitely more.

Unlike the movie “Armageddon” that had little scientific and technological accuracy, “The Martian” was highly praised. “Apollo 13” was of course the most accurate as it was a dramatization of a historical event. In fact, there were at least three quotes used in The Martian that came from Apollo 13.

For those who haven’t seen the movie, a crew goes to Mars and in a severe dust storm, the character Mark (Matt Damon) is injured and presumed dead. The rest of the crew must leave him in order to survive. He does survive and is faced with how to continue to survive in the Mars habitat. The overriding issue is the next mission to Mars is not scheduled in time to keep him from starving to death and how can he communicate with NASA. Therein sets the stage for numerous difficult decisions for the head of NASA.

Before NASA learns he is still alive, one of the engineers wants to have extra satellite footage of Mars and the Director initially refuses because he “doesn’t want to broadcast pictures of a dead astronaut” and they predict his body will be covered with sand within a year. As the engineer is processing public relations over science, in the early morning hours one day, a technician observing the site realizes there are changes which can only mean Mark is not dead. The movie goes back-and-forth to Mark recording everything he is attempting to do and discussions at NASA. When they do finally work out a way to communicate, they are faced with the many complications of if they can actually save him and of course now the world is watching and asking questions. The movie progresses and during an intense analysis, if the crew still in space makes a course alteration, they have a chance to retrieve Mark. The option does come with danger.

“The high risk of losing one individual versus the low risk of losing five,” the engineer says. “I’m glad I’m not the one who has to decide.”

The deputy director insists the crew should be told and allowed to make the decision and the director is adamant he won’t risk five for the sake of one. Angered, the deputy director sends a private message to the crew. They too, have an intense discussion. Having left Mark for dead, they all agree they have a moral obligation to take the risk. In committing what is in essence “mutiny”, the director realizes he must yield to their choice. In yet another Public Relations “pivot” he projects the rescue had been the plan all along, and then he tells the deputy, “when this is over, I expect your resignation.” There are of course multiple dramatic moments, the rescue is successful, and the deputy does resign. For the director, they had luck on their side. Had it not worked, he rather than the deputy, would have been held responsible and indeed all six would have been lost rather than one.

The issue of sacrificing one or a few to save more is sadly a real situation military commanders have faced for millennia.

We didn’t watch the TV series “Vikings” when it came out and I ordered it a few months ago. I posted once or maybe twice before about while there is far more violence than I cared for, in the same manner as “Game of Thrones”, I am expert at averting my eyes from the screen until the bloodshed stops. I had been told the series was carefully researched and I did some follow-up after certain episodes. I’m not sure how long the gap was, but a shorter series at three seasons instead of six was “Vikings Vahalla”. and it picked up 100 years after the first series so that a number of characters were descendants of the those featured in the original series. Strong female characters were a mainstay and there were indeed “Shield Maidens” who fought alongside men although probably not as many as were portrayed in the TV series.

As with the ending to the first series, the fate of the characters who survived to the end – and many did not – was mixed in a way I mostly approved of as both a viewer and a writer. There was one more magnificent Viking funeral of the strong king who about as good as one could be at the time and still retain power (more about that in a moment). The placement of his body on the ship with his shield and items of significance as the ship was released from the harbor and lighted arrows fired to set it blazing was a great scene. His queen was a character who did some bad things, yet retaining rule as a woman – was more difficult and that was her justification. There were those who would happily kill her.

Of the three primary Vikings who were left, the man and woman who could have stayed together and ruled did not because their destinies ultimately were in too great a conflict. The painful choice to part ways was a more logical ending. The woman’s brother was also following his destiny and through a sequence of many events, her destiny aligned with his in the end. There was a well-crafted symmetry in the three saying their farewells.

I think most who follow the blog may also be on Facebook and saw that “Shades of Remorse” is finally out in paperback. The Kindle version will be another couple of weeks which continues my annoyance with the new publisher. Since the primary reason I went with them instead of the one I’ve used for the last few books is they include a marketing package. We’ll see if that does anything for me.

As I mentioned in a previous post, writing from three different Points of View was a first for me and I don’t plan to do that again. Not only did it take me a long time to decide how to approach it, I had to re-sequence a number of things in order to get the flow the way I wanted. I did also modify the ending a bit after I decided my original intent was a bit too dark. I’m not sure what I’ll do next. I have a stand-alone I’ve been considering for several years and may play around with that for a while. I do have a short story collection and I might check the market and see if there is much of an audience for that genre these days. It seems to come and go. I actually had a niche publisher interested in it several years, but they didn’t survive in what is a competitive business.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I picked the kids up yesterday afternoon and it will be a busy few days. They are staying one day longer than usual and so far, the weather looks promising.

I have posted before about being startled the first time I went to my husband’s family gathering for Thanksgiving in Georgia. Not the 30 people by the time you added everyone up because my family was similar at it’s peak. Traditional turkey and ham as the meats were also the same and of course dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce, plus desserts. The unexpected part was also regular green beans, broccoli coleslaw, potato salad (yes), macaroni and cheese, corn casserole, collards, and seems like at least one other. Not that lots of food wasn’t required; I simply wasn’t familiar with that many different extras. I finally asked Hubby about it and he said people had certain favorites and the tradition seemed to evolve with everyone bringing those as well as the “regular” dishes.

We are hosting this year here for friends – a small group – and since others really do want to bring something, I am going to be smart about it for a change. One friend will do the green bean casserole, another has a wonder roasted brussel sprouts dish, and the final one has this delicious cranberry relish. I will handle the dressing, mashed potatoes, lots of gravy and rolls, plus  apple pie. The cranberry relish person also does lemon curd cheesecake. Since I don’t have to do much with sides, I’ll come up with some kind of nice appetizer. I’ll do something different from the ones we do for our New Year’s Eve party. BJs tends to have some fancy, frozen appetizers they are probably stocking and we do have a three-rack oven to use.

In the on-going tussle, the promised aide to give my sister a shower did not show up yesterday as promised. Hopefully she will come today as will the promised PT. On the other hand, using the walker is becoming easier and I think we’ve worked out a way to position a chair in the master bath where she can sit to be able to brush her teeth.

I did use their wonderful pool the other day. It also has the soft chlorination system as we have which is a great feature. It is a huge pool with an actual deep end and a shall “sunshelf” which serves two purposes. At only a few inches deep, it is perfect for certain leg exercises and for simply lying down to have water under you and relax in the sun if you are that type. The two dogs also love it as they walk back and forth in it. The custom design of the pool was to combine fitness training with recreation.