MY ENHANCED LIFE

I'm in my 12th year of residence at 15 Craigside, a retirement community.  For 32 years I resided next door in a penthouse with a magnificent view of Honolulu.  That's the brown building behind the bluish one where I now live.  I still have a decent view, but nothing like before.

Thus, all continues not only to be well, but my apartment at 15C has recently been enhanced.

• First, I had my bathtub removed, and thereby eliminated what was a terrible mold problem.
• I then got a new toilet (the old one had some lingering mold) and topped it with a new Toto Washlet.  What does a washlet do?  Watch this.  Note that the seat is warm, so you don't get a cold shock every time you sit.

The third enhancement was the addition of Disney's Unlimited Bundle:  HBO Max, Hulu and ESPN stream, which of course is owned by Disney.  Recently, 15C announced that these stations could be added to our apartment FOR FREE.  That's a cost of $33/month if you subscribed.

I finally got around to tuning in HBO Max, and it works well.  One gripe is that, unless you pay a premium, like for Prime, you need to contend with commercials. 

About HBO Max.

• Launched in 2020 under WarnerMedia Entertainment and rebranded as HBO Max in 2022.
• Then simplified to just Max in 2023.

• 
  Announced partnership with Disney Streaming in 2024.
• Renamed to HBO Max this year.
• The platform offers content from the libraries of Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, TBS, TNT, Eurosport, and their related brands.
• Is #4 in streaming to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
• According to Google AI.

Top streaming companies by subscriber count

• Netflix: Leads the market with over 300 million subscribers as of December 2024.
• Amazon Prime: Estimated at 200 million subscribers as of June 2024.
• Disney+: Has 127.8 million subscribers as of June 2025.

• 
  HBO Max: Includes an estimated 125.7 million subscribers as of June 2025.
• Tencent Video: Has 114 million subscribers as of June 2025.

• 
  iQIYI: Has 101.1 million subscribers as of March 2024.
• JioHotstar: Has 100 million subscribers as of March 2025.
• Paramount+: Has 77.7 million subscribers as of June 2025 (actually, I just learned that Paramount can also be added to my system....for free, too.)

• Hulu: Has 55.5 million subscribers as of June 2025. (The Hulu app is going away, but Hulu was purchased by Disney in June of this year, and has been added to Disney+.)
• Peacock: Has 41 million subscribers as of June 2025. 

I began watching HBO Max with two shows rated by Rotten Tomatoes reviewers at 100.

• Season 1 of The Chair Company, which got excellent 100/80 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.  I quit 20 minutes into this show because it was too trivial.  I'll go back someday.  Maybe I missed something.

• 
  The Alabama Solution, which also got a 100 score from Rotten Tomatoes reviewers.  I stopped watching in 15 minutes because it was so depressing.  I might return some time in the future.

Then I switched to The White Lotus, for I've long wanted to watch this series.

• Rotten Tomatoes scores of 90 from reviewers and 77 from the audiences.
• Three seasons, with a fourth to come.  Season one filmed on Maui at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
• I've been reading about this production since 2021, but it was only playing on HBO.
• Watched the first episode from season one.    

Then last night saw The Substance, with Demi Moore.

• Oh my God, unbelievable.  
• I never ever came away so terrified, mentally and physically.  
• The body horror affected my sleep.

• 
  Got to wonder about the deviant mind of 48-year old Coralie Fargeat, who wrote, co-produced and directed this Frankenstein monster.
• Demi Moore at the end was, well, indescribable.
• Dennis Quaid was only despicable.

• 
  The film has been panned many different ways, but also praised.
• Bold, original and incredible special effects.  Also won the award for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival.  Got three Academy Award nominations.
• Panned here, and BBC says it was a gross-out and most divisive film of the 2024.

• 
  Rotten Tomatoes scores of 89/76.
• I cannot recommend your watching this monster.  Demi gets truly horrific, much worse than the form to the left.  She did win a Golden Globe for Best Female Actor.

Then I went to check on Hulu.

• It was launched in 2007 and acquired by Disney in 2019.
• Hulu is Mandarin for gourd. And so when we were launching Hulu, we thought, "what a great name that is." And it had this great sort of symbolism of the holder of precious things, which is the holder of premium content. So that's why we named it Hulu.^[5]

• 
  In addition to NBC, ABC and Fox programs and movies, Hulu carries shows from networks: A&E, Big Ten Network, Bravo, E!, Fox Sports 2, FX, PBS, NFL Network, Oxygen, RT America, Fox Sports 1, Sundance TV, Syfy, USA Network, NBCSN, and online comedy sources such as Onion News Network.^[92]   In particular, I like the link with FX, for this station has recently come with with a number of terrific series.
• Features 4K video and 5.1 surround sound.

I haven't yet explored Hulu nor how the streaming ESPN differs from the standard channel.  ESPN, of course, is owned by Disney.

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