Steven Helmer Publications

I came into the office and spotted this critter on the hill nearby. It's not the first time I've seen a skunk in town, but it's not a normal occurrence.  Fortunately, I had my camera in the car, so I was able to get some photos. It was still kind of dark out and I had to keep my distance for obvious reasons, and the photos are a little blurry as a result. However, I think they are still clear enough to see the stripes.

Considering this is one of the very few spring days we've had that was both sunny and not super windy, I was a little surprised when there wasn't anyone else at the park when I was there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I do like being able to get my walk in without someone being ahead of me and scaring off my photos. Here are some of the shots I took today:

I had my share of doubts about the reboot of one of my favorite series, Night Court , but the Melissa Rauch -led series did pleasantly surprise me. So, I was very disappointed when I learned NBC chose to cancel the show after just three seasons and end it on a cliffhanger.  While I'll be the first to admit the series reboot had its share of issues, including multiple cast changes, I think the show ultimately fell victim to what I've seen in other series, impatience. In 1987 (when the original Night Court was in its third season), Star Trek: The Next Generation began airing in syndication and many believed the popularity of the original series and movies would result in a quick cancellation. While this almost came to fruition, TNG both survived the first season and went on to six more, followed by multiple movies of its own and other spinoffs.  In a way, Night Court was in a similar situation. The only difference is both NBC and the showrunners seemed to give up on the show ...

My wife and youngest daughter had a photoshoot in Milwaukee yesterday and since I didn't follow them around for another behind-the-scenes spread (someone needed to guard their bags), I used my phone to snap some photos of some of the buildings near the park.  

Synopsis: After a botched advertising campaign puts her marketing job in jeopardy, Ally McCabe is assigned to work with freelancer Jay Simmonds, who invites her to dinner on Valentine's Day so they can discuss next steps. When she spots her ex-boyfriend outside the restaurant, she kisses Jay and pretends he is her new love. Unfortunately for Ally, the notorious Heart Eyes Killer, wanted in multiple states for killing couples on Valentine's Day, is watching. Who's in it? The movie stars Olivia Holt , Mason Gooding , Michaela Watkins , Lauren O'Hara and Jordana Brewster . Review: My wife and I thought about seeing Heart Eyes when it was at our local cinema in February but since it was in the much older upstairs theater, with very uncomfortable chairs, we ended up watching The Monkey instead. Since this film is now available via Netflix, we finally watched it last night.  I thought it was pretty decent. There were a couple things I found I really liked about this fil...

  Image courtesy of Alexas_Fotos via Pixabay The grocery store three blocks from my house had been family owned since at least a decade before I was born. That recently changed, however, after the original owner retired and his son decided to sell a couple years later due to health issues. Now, the store is owned by some corporation out of California. Sure, they claim nothing has changed other than the name but there are plenty of not-so-subtle differences whenever I stop there on the way home from work. The produce department, for example, is smaller with less of a selection. Meanwhile, my pizza rolls are in the freezer that used to contain chicken nuggets, and the chicken nuggets seem to be relocated once per week. The most noticeable difference though is at the front of the store, where even during the busiest times of the day (like when I shop), there is usually just one cashier working. I don’t know if it is by choice, as a way of cutting costs in these uncertain economic ...

  I didn't spot a whole lot on my lunchtime walk today and the animals I did see (including a sandhill crane) were just too far away or didn't sit still long enough for me to get a good photo. I did, however, see some of the trees beginning to bloom and snapped some photos of that, giving me reason to hope we'll start seeing spring-like weather more consistently than has been the case.