The long anticipated Star Trek Discovery just aired on CBS and it was amazing. The cast is great. The prosthetics, costuming, design and new races are great. Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh are great. The set and graphics are great. It was a good story that captivated me and kept me engaged. So why do I have to go to a CBS streaming service in order to watch the rest of the series? I was hoping they were joking. I hoped that they would say, "OK, you fans aren't happy so it will just air on CBS proper". But that doesn't seem to be what's happening. 

They aired the first episode on CBS while the first and second episodes are available on the streaming service today. They give you a 1 week trial, (1 week!) if you watch with commercials which is &5.99 a month and with no commercials, its $9.99 per month and a 2 day free trial. TWO DAYS! How absurd! 

So now, the very thing that CBS was counting on, has happened. I want to watch the show. I pay for cable but can't watch on CBS so I am forced to subscribe to a streaming service for which I'll only be able to see the first two episodes for free. They are hoping that I give them my billing information and watch episode 2 right now, and then forget to cancel and say "Oh well, it was only $5.99". They know that's what will happen but now my upset and don't want to play their little game. 

I watch nothing else on CBS. NOTHING! If not for Star Trek, I wouldn't think about CBS, another reason they are doing this. So for now, I'm refusing to give in. I refuse to be bullied by a network to watch a show. I refuse to spend additional money on top of cable. I refuse and that's that. 

Yet, you know how this story ends. I want to see the first black woman command a ship and crew in the Star Trek universe. I want to see Harry Mud and tribbles and Sarek and Klingons and red shirts and ships in a galaxy far, far away. I'm a fan! In the game Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Star Trek is a whole other beast that is really incomparable to the world of Star Wars. The long form series lends itself to Star Trek in a way that the movies have only been able to marginally touch. We want the stories, the lore, the cultures and conflicts of character. Though both tackle characters in ships traversing through space, that's really where the comparisons end. 

So like a child whose been given a toy and had it taken away...I'll try to hold out (or find another way to watch) for as long as I can (probably 15 more minutes). But along with my $5.99 I think I'll send a strongly worded email to CBS and relish in the thought that I said my piece, as I watch Sasha/Micheal Burnam/Sonequa strut into frame and smile with glee. 

So, I was reading The New Yorker and came across this crazy article about Trump supporters enraged by an 18th century dessert. Apparently, Jon Townsend & Sons is a YouTube show that looks at 18th century cooking, historical sites and historical interpreters. The host, James, was on location at George and Martha's place at Mt. Vernon around the fourth of July this year. 

He was cooking with one of the historical interpreters onsite an orange custard, for which I have unwittingly memorized the recipe for, whose name is Orange Fool. Followers of the YouTube show became angry that Townsend would disrespect the current president in such a manner as to call him a fool. You see, they thought that he was underhandedly commenting on current politics by calling Trump an Orange Fool. 

So much attention was given that several media outlets picked up the story, leading me to the New Yorker. Townsend vehemently denies any malice in preparing a Washington household dessert dating back hundreds of years. Though the situation caused him great frustration, I'm so glad it happened and glad that I was led to the channel. 

For it led me to Michael Twitty, who I follow on social media and Brenda Parker, historical interpreter at Mt. Vernon. Her moving account of why she portrays enslaved women on the former Washington plantation, reaffirmed my love of and devotion to history. I love her and must meet her one day!