Spontaneous Musings

I didn't go out at all today - even though it was for the most part, clear blue skies, and in the mid-fifties. Combination of a sinus headache verging on a migraine, and my right knee. I've put a knee compression sleeve on it, to provide support, and I'm icing it.

Commuting is becoming difficult, because Transit failed in making its subway stations fully accessible to anyone with mobility issues. The R train is the worst line in this regard. I thought the G line was bad, but the R is worse. Install ramps, not steps. RAMPS. Transit and I are going to have words on this issue, soon.

Only watched "Great British Bake Off" episode 9, and proceeded to go to sleep during it. So had to rewind (which is close to impossible on Netflix - I swear Netflix has the worst interface). Then watched church service, which also put me to sleep. (I actually fell asleep during it.) I've not been sleeping well - due to the knee issue. Last night, I turned and somehow moved the left knee into a position - it really did not appreciate, and it woke me up. (Note to younger self - never ever run on a tread mill - and if you do, and your knees go out - hunt down an orthopedist to fix them?)

Then, after the service, I made lunch, and clocked into the congregational meeting live-streaming on Zoom. (Gotta love technology.) It was unexpectedly interesting and in some respects informative, in a positive way. ( Read more... )

After that, I tried to watch Murder in a Small Town on Hulu (it's a new Fox series, about a Police Chief and a Librarian, based on a series of books published in the 1980s. ( Read more... )

October Mememage

23. How do you dry your laundry? Indoors, outside or in a drier?

Indoors. (Outdoors is impossible where I live.) On a clothes drier hanger in my bedroom for clothing that can't be dried in a drier - and need to be laid flat, and in a drier for everything else. Occasionally, I send it out to be cleaned.

24. Do you own a calculator, or do you rely on your mental arithmetic skills?

Calculator. I can't do math in my head.

25. Have you ever had surgery?

Tonsils and wisdom teeth. Ages ago. Also a skin biopsy - it was negative. (Fingers crossed - that it never goes beyond that.)

26. Do you have a go-to ‘comfort’ novel you will return to again and again? Or do you prefer reading new fiction instead? Do you often reread books?

Yes - I have a go-to comfort novel(s). ( Read more... )

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale

Description per IMBD: "Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil."

Pilot: "Nova, a 16-year-old bookworm, discovers she's a vampire Slayer in a rebuilt Sunnydale. During Vampire Weekend, a festival celebrating the town's dark past, vampires Jack and Shirley plan a ritual to raise a vampire army."

Only returning cast member listed from the previous series is Buffy.

Per Variety

( basically states what is stated above in less detail on plot and more on folks involved )

Spent most of my vacation attempting to quell various aches and pains, brought on by various factors, some known, some guessed at, some not?
( Read more... )

***

The UU Church has a Devotional Poetry Writing Group. I flirted with it. But I'm wary of anything regarding the writing and sharing of poetry. ( Read more... )

UU Church is also featuring a singer/song-writer for tomorrow's service, who is (apparently) popular? I hadn't heard of them before the Church newsletter told me about him - but I'm also not really into religious music? While I have, as you've no doubt figured out by now, widely diverse taste in music, there are few genres I rarely listen to? They are "traditional classical opera", "electronica" (depending on the electronica), "religious music", "gospel", "choral music", "rap" (depending on the rap), and heavy metal (depending on the heavy metal). So, as result, I hadn't come across this person, who I think is trans, and is creating queer religious music and going across the country with it.

Anyhow...I checked them out last night, and their song, entitled Ploushare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye.

Folks, they made me cry? It really moved me. I was surprised.
( Ploushare Prayer Video )
But not sure I can deal with the crowd that will converge on the church tomorrow to hear them play for free. I'll do it on Facebook or Zoom instead. No steps. Sleep in. And better acoustics, not to mention I can see more.

***

Pain and fear of large crowds kept me from participating in the No Kings Day. I hope it went well. More to the point? I hope it accomplishes something?

Ah, it's getting darker earlier now. Sunset was at 6:30. My heart goes out to my brother - whose heating and cooling system has failed him. He's tried to get it fixed multiple times. The first time, they came out, he paid them, they claimed that they fixed it. They didn't. They came out again, claimed to fix it, they didn't. Then they got bought by someone else. Who kept claiming they didn't get my brother's calls or emails, and came out, and then well up and disappeared. So he found a new company - and the whole system has to be replaced. He has a wood burning stove - but it's not going to heat the entire house, and his bedroom is one floor below it, and heat rises? And it gets cold up there? And my brother gets cold easily. [I'm so glad I rent. Let all of that be somebody else's problem. We've had hitting issues - but they tend to get resolved quickly - since there's about 100 people affected.)

****

Television

1. Weirdly I'm enjoying Angel the Series better now than I did way back when I first watched it in the late 1990s. If I was to hazard a guess - I think it would be lowered expectations, and no longer wanting Angel and Buffy to be together - or being disappointed that they aren't? I wasn't in the fandom until roughly 2002 - or midway through S6. ( Read more... ) At any rate - I'm enjoying Angel more now. Partly, because I like Angel, Wes, and Cordelia better now than I did twenty five years ago. I find them a bit more relatable and comforting. They are all a tad lost, and doing the best they can to make things work, while flailing miserably most of the time. The writers dig down into classic noir tropes.

And, I like how most of the writers veer away from the classical hero trope. For all the times, Angel succeeds, he also fails miserably. In the Scourge? The seventh or eighth episode, he attempts to sacrifice himself heroically - but his speeches to Doyle about why he sacrificed his humanity and a life with his one true love to pursue the cause, backfires on him in a huge way. ( Read more... )

Moving on to Parting Gifts - which I didn't like the first time I saw it, twenty five years ago, I do now. It's a great study in characters and contrasts. Also demonstrates how Wes, Cordy and Angel work slightly better than Doyle, Angel and Cordy did. For one thing - they get it across pretty quickly - that there are 0 romantic feelings between Angel/Cordy or Cordy/Wes. ( Read more... ). They also set up each character's skill sets. ( Read more... ) But mainly, within a short period of time - they set up the problem, the on-going villain (WRH law firm in the shadows), and the relationship dynamic between Angel, Cordy, Wes. And I realized while watching that I like all three, and all three actors in spite of myself?

I prefer watching this outside of a fandom superimposing its views onto me?
I can find it comforting and enjoyable on my own. Also, no longer caring who ends up with who, or romantic ships - makes the show more interesting?
I was never much into romantic relationships on television shows? I much prefer the platonic friendships - they are more interesting to watch, and less frustrating - particularly within the noir/horror genre.

2. The Diplomat S3 - this is fun. Want sparkling funny witty dialogue - this is it. Good actors. And excellent political satire. Also, even though the President in this series was responsible for an act of terrorism? I still prefer Allison Janey as President to the one we currently have. I'd rather live in the world of the Diplomat? Sad I know. But here we are. And, sigh, Rufus Sewell is hot. This show just makes me laugh. I'm not binging it this go around - I'm letting it last. Then I may rewatch from the beginning.

[I'm still watching Poker Face and Rain Maker on Peacock, just slowly.]

Off to get lunch soon, and then a massage at 3:15.

On the Buffy/Angel rewatch - I actually think what the writers did in the episodes Bachelor Party through Something Blue is rather clever? They managed to move Willow, Doyle, Buffy and Angel on from their first loves in an entertaining and convincing manner. Also from the metaphor - no longer are we doing the Beauty and the Beast metaphor, or the taming the wild beast in the man - or being abandoned by Daddy. We've moved on to the sick mother, or the dark mother imagery and providing women with greater agency in a relationship.

Tough to do, well. But they did it. I'm convinced by the end of Something Blue that both Willow and Buffy have to move on to someone else. And I've stopped shipping them with OZ (Willow) or Angel (Buffy) and have decided they are better off without them. Also done with the trope. Both OZ and Angel leave for more or less the same reason - they can't control the beast inside when they are around Willow and Buffy, so they have to leave. And they tend to weaken Willow and Buffy, and take away their agency. On the surface the relationships seemed great and really romantic, but in reality they were toxic to everyone involved. And, well didn't help either character grow or evolve. The writers had no choice but to somehow get this across - since Angel had moved onto his own series, and you can't have Angel and Buffy on separate shows and in a relationship. And well the actor playing OZ wanted to be written out. Doyle - was given a wife - to make him more appealing to Cordelia, and to parallel the character with Willow's situation. It doesn't quite work - but it does give him a back story, which was needed.

Sciatica is slightly better - but I've also not aggravated it too much this morning. At least the calves no longer hurt, and digestion is working better.

Started watching Rain Maker on Peacock, which stars in supporting roles, the actress who played the Evil Queen (in Once Upon a Time) as the bad ass lawyer that Rudy (the protagonist) ends up working for - "Bruiser", and John Slattery (Mad Men) as the head of the firm, that Rudy was fired from, and is fighting against. Slattery is inspired, since he doesn't come across as either a bully or evil, but likable - and that works actually.
And LP (who played the Evil Queen) is also cast against type, as the good guy rouge with the heart of gold lawyer. It's actually better than expected and based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Grisham is an executive producer.

1. After much contemplation - I finally bit the bullet and booked a "Thai" massage for Friday.

My plans - such as they were - have kind of fallen through as a result of a combination of things - weather, sleep/exhaustion and mobility issues. Does anyone know how to heal tightened sore calve muscles? I've tried everything - yoga, stretching exercises, leg exercises, drinking lots of water, cutting back on antihistamines. Hopefully one will work. Also massage - to stretch out and re-align, because not sure how much of the pain is due to alignment. [I'm leaving calling the doctor again as a last resort - I already asked them for help, and they told me: 1) dehydration (drink more water, and limit the anithistamines) and 2) do exercises, and 3) lose weight.)

But that's okay, I'm doing other stuff - and at least I'm away from work and my body is hopefully healing - getting more sleep, and more exercise?

2. PSA: Ao3 finally posted something about how to protect yourself from scammers - probably because they'd gotten a barrage of complaints about them - if you've been posting fic, meta, any type of writing for more than a year, and have followers, on social media platforms - you've probably run across the scammers.

They pop up on live-journal and dream-width too, by the way. I've not really seen that many on WordPress or Facebook (mainly because my FB page is friends/family only and private). They are a nuisance.

3. Buffy S4 - continues to be good, and an improvement over previous seasons. The one flaw - is well - the Initiative Story-Arc, which basically just underlines how little the writers know about the military outside of watching cheesy 1960s science fiction serials. Oh well, at least they have Spike to poke fun at it - and he does.

Sunday's hippie Vampire Frat Boy: Don't drink that it's drugged.
Spike: Ugh. And you might be?
SHVFB: A rat like all the other lab rats. We're here to die. They starve us until we bite our own arm off, then feed us drugged blood ...
Spike: And they might be who exactly? The government, Nazis, a major cosmetics company?
Lab Rat: It was all fine until the slayer came in and broke up our group - we had a great thing going until she arrived.
Spike: the Slayer! I always wondered what would happen if she got some good funding behind her...

He clearly thinks more of the Slayer as a threat that well the government.

S4 Episode 7 - The Initiative - makes me wonder about the writers again.

Juliet Landau brings this up in her rewatch - so it's not just me, apparently. The writers seem to like to show the male characters in the worst light, and often emphasize their misogynistic and chauvinistic traits. ( Read more... )

It's a good episode for several stand out scenes: ( Read more... )

Pangs - I've less to say about, but I loved this episode. It has some of the best lines and banter in the entire series. Also the bantering debate between Willow, Giles, Xander, Spike, Buffy and Anya about the Native Americans and Thanksgiving is hilarious, and informative...and realistic. It reminds me of why I liked the later seasons - I really loved the addition of Anya and Spike - I liked those two characters (and actors) far better than Angel and Cordelia - they were less mopey? Whiny? And more witty. (It does depend on one's sense of humor? Angel's didn't work for me, Buffy's did.)

"And they say Romance is dead, or maybe we just wish it were?" - Buffy

"You made a Bear!" - Spike
"I didn't mean to." - Buffy
"Undo it! Undo it!" - Spike

"It's a sham, with yams. It's a yam sham!"
"You won't be able to jokingly rhyme your way out of this one!"

[Actually, it just occurred to me? Buffy and Spike hit it off - because they are both poets and sardonic quips. They like to make fun of things.]

Pangs is proof that Buffy succeeded because the writers could write dialogue. According to the Juliette Landau rewatch - when she interviewed Charles Martin Smith one of the Buffy directors - Whedon had a tendency to write pages of dialogue, no set direction, no camera direction, no action - just dialogue. And from what I've read - he was the go-to guy for good dialogue. And came from Roseanne - which had great comedic dialogue and one liners. Say what you will about Whedon - he was a good script writer. Might have been a horrific boss that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy - but he could churn out a good script, and tended to find other writers who could.

4. Finished another S1 episode of Poker Face- this is the Rian Johnson series that stars Natasha Lyon as a kind of Columbo style detective, in a stealth anthology series. The only on-going link in the series is Lyon's Charlie, who is a former card counter/gambling security checker on the run from the Mob (and any law enforcement associated with it). She takes odd jobs here and there, and cleverly solves mysteries along the way. The odd jobs range from sweeping up hair in a barber shop to assisting a special effects film director. She drives a ratty old 1970s era Cad, that looks like it was picked off the lot of Starsky and Hutch. And each episode features older rather famous actors (much as Columbo and Murder She Wrote did back in the day). The episode I just watched had Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, and Luz Guzman.

Like all stealth anthology series - some episodes are better than others. It's not really binge material. I watch it sporadically. It does require some attention or focus though, and it has commercials - although they aren't intrusive.

If you like Rian Johnson (who is admittedly an acquired taste), Natasha Lyonn (also an acquired taste and the female version of Peter Falk), and Columbo/Alfred Hitchcock/Agatha Christie style mysteries - this is for you.

This episode was written and directed by Natasha Lyon. I'm impressed by Nolte who is still acting at 84, and doing a great job of it. (Nolte is another one of my actor crushes.)

I should have posted this previously? If you get this comment anywhere, it's fraudulent.

[Comment left on "Buffy vs. the Buffy Comic Writers" on September 13, 2025]

Hello shadowkat67,
Hope you’re doing well.
I just wrapped up reading your story, and I truly couldn’t put it down. The imagery you create with your words is so strong that I immediately pictured it as a comic or animation.
I’m Flossie, an artist working mainly with comics, manga, and illustrations. What I enjoy most is collaborating with writers to give their stories visual life.
If you’re curious, I’d be glad to share some samples and talk about turning your work into a comic.
You can find me at:
Discord: floessie_the_artist
Instagram: flossie_the_artist
Email: floessietheartist@gmail.com

Looking forward to your reply :)
Cheers,
Flossie

They've contacted a lot of writers on Ao3.

I blatantly ignored them, after having read about them commenting on another social media friend's fic at Ao3 several months prior - that friend had already reported them to Ao3.

Although I didn't really consider mine a fic - so much as a meta-commentary of the comics. So, I rolled my eyes.

I've gotten a lot of these solicitations over the years. Folks? Don't solicit people that you don't personally know on social media platforms for work. Just don't. We aren't going to pay you. We don't trust you. It's a social media platform, we're all using pseudonyms. Hullo?

Well, the Sketchers UNO Black Sneakers finally got delivered. That was a lot of stress and bother over a pair of sneakers. I'm not ordering that again. ( Read more... )

Also I turned my mattress, and made the bed up clean this morning. The heat came on around 9, so I had to turn on some fans. But it's off now, and the apartment is a comfortable 73-76 degrees. No A/C, no heat. One small fan, and the window fan in the bedroom which I reversed the air flow to the outdoors.

Sciatica is slightly better? Still hurts when I get up, and I got to walk for a bit. I'm definitely taking up chair and bed yoga again. I'm hunting a balance disc.

***

Made a pot of chili last night - using my mother's recipe, with some tweaks and from memory. ( Read more... )

Today - Had wild albacore tuna fish, celery, chopped onions and Helman's Mayo mixed together on seeded gluten free sourdough, toasted in George Foreman grill for lunch. It was a tasty lunch.

Breakfast was fried eggs, greens, and radishes. And some apple cinnamon almond flour muffins with walnuts.

Snack - green apple dipped in dark melted chocolate and walnut butter.

***

I indulged another actor crush today - and watch Cillian Murphy's latest film - Steve - which just popped up on Netflix. ( Read more... )

(My actor crushes are: ( Read more... )

Christian Bale and Cate Blanchette are in another flick that just dropped on Netflix - "Knight of Cups" - which I found today. I thought - oh, goody, then oh damn - Netflix. Netflix has the worst interface of all the streamers. It crashes. You can't find anything on it. It's almost impossible to fast forward, pause, or rewind. It has a tendency to keep going to the next episode without telling you. And it is often unavailable - while I have no issues with Hulu or Disney + or HBO. Prime is getting wonky too.

You will have to pry my streaming channels along with my books and Apple music account out of my cold dead hands. ( Read more... )

Memage

9. Did you ever have one of those ‘magic’ painting books where you used water on the paper to bring out the colours when you were small?

I asked my mother about it. She had one. But I didn't, nor did my brother. So maybe they weren't a thing in the 1970s? She also didn't bother with coloring books, paint by numbers oils, or any of that - preferring to encourage us to draw and paint our own things, finger paint, use paints, brushes, pencils, and blank paper.

My mother was a frustrated artist and art teacher, who had horrible teachers - who told her she wasn't any good. ( rant about evil culture vultures/arbiters of taste who deserve to choke on their tongues )

10. It’s World Porridge (oatmeal) Day! Are you a fan?

I am. But I don't think it likes me all that much? ( Read more... ) I eat eggs over greens instead - easier to digest. Or coconut yogurt and nuts.

11. Do you own/use a food processor or blender?

Yes, but I rarely use it. I am single. It's huge. And I don't process much. Food digests better when I don't?

The phrase..."they shoot horses, don't they" comes to mind, it's also the title of a film about people killing themselves participating in an insane dance marathon.

To the tune of ... Bad Day by REM...[BTW - there's one too many songs with the title "Bad Day" (and quite a few are NOT to my liking - I do not like David Powters) - it took me forever to find REM's because I forgot it was REM who did the song that I actually liked. I couldn't remember the title nor the band, just that it was about a Bad Day.]

I woke up early this morning with my alarm - after a restless night of bad dreams - only to discover that my right leg just wasn't functioning. It did not want to go to work this morning. At all. [Of course - I ignored it, and dragged it to work anyhow. Because it's better to walk off sciatica then to baby it, or so I'm told. Also, I didn't want to risk getting into trouble for trying to take a sick day prior to vacation. ]

It felt like someone was sticking hot needles in it from the hip to the toes. Frigging Sciatic Nerve - probably the result of constipation/digestive issues or sleeping wrong or throwing things out of alignment...ugh. Frak, Frak, Frak.

( Fighting the Sciatic Nerve All Day )

****

I checked email - only to discover that no, Fed-EX did not deliver the shoes. They ignored my message in the door. Took a picture of it, told me that no one was there, and they required a signature. So blatantly ignored the signed form. I called them, talked to them in person at the FedEX across the street, and even did virtual chat.

( I spent the day futilely fighting with FedEx and my sciatic nerve )

During the Teams Meeting today - I was distracted by sciatic nerve, back pain, and well the Fed Ex issue. So it was hard to focus on what they were talking about. And the meeting didn't go well, or I didn't feel it did? I probably wasn't the best judge.

Outside of that? I was bored out of my mind, and I hurt. So I ate three chocolate chip cookies (one left over from the day they gave me two free ones). I'm turning into the Cookie Monster. Must stop.

Off to make dinner, and maybe lunch? And watch more television. And try not to pray for someone to put me out of my misery.

So, the side-effect of listening to Landau's podcasts, and seeing her independent film is...I've developed a major gurl-crush on Juliette Landau. I tend to develop crushes on cult television/movie and theater character actors who aren't in that much? Not enough of one to pay for her podcast, I'm willing to do it for free though. She's adorable - she loves theater, is detailed on theater, film, music, and the craft. And an excellent interviewer - she's better than the guy who did Inside the Actor's Studio.

(Previous gurl-crushes include Claudia Black, Carrie Fisher, Angela Basset, Katee Sackoff...)

Oh well it's fitting, she's the other side of Spike/James Marsters - which is my other Buffy actor crush. Along with Anthony Stewart Head. I do wish I'd get crushes on people with lots of content available - and good content available. I've watched a lot of bad television and films because of actor crushes. Note to self - do not follow actors, follow directors and writers (although they aren't that reliable either, sorry to say - so just whatever looks appealing and has been rec'd by folks I trust?)

***

AHM told me to try "Telecharge" Lottery - to get discounted Broadway Theater tickets. Kyoto is on it. Just in Time isn't - so that's kind of out. Any of the Big Ticket Tourist Shows are out. Which is a shame - I really want to see Chess - I didn't know the score was ABBA and Tim Rice. (I'm a shameless ABBA fan - I had their music on 8 track in the 1970s and 80s). But alas, Big Ticket Tourist item - with rates between $440-$1K. Way outside my price range.

***

After I took my fifteen to twenty minute walk down the pier and around the tiny historic housing district, I went to Insomina Cookies to snag my Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookies - freshly baked, warm, with melt in your mouth chocolate. I've going there almost every weekday for a while now - the counter folks are getting to know me - in part, because I'm the only one getting gluten free cookies.

Counter guy: So, I only charged you for one cookie and gave you three.
ME: Huh? But I only ordered two -
( Read more... )

Mother wants me to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral to see the new murals that the Cardinal commissioned and have been put up. I don't know. I'm more curious about the Cathedral of St. John the Divine - I've never been to it.

****

Buffy Rewatch - S4 Buffy - Beer Bad is better than I remembered. It's hilarious in places. Also, it has the added bonus of watching Kal Penn (who was later on the West Wing, and for a while interned in Obama's White House) and is a comedic actor - turn into a caveman after drinking too much beer.

Xander: How much beer does someone have to drink before they start questing for fire?
Pub owner: Oh, don't worry - it'll wear off in a day or two.
Xander: I served that beer to them - to Buffy - someone could get seriously hurt in a day or two. You are a bad bad man.

Xander is hilarious in S4. I actually like all the characters in this season, which is a first for the series. In S1-3, Xander got on my ever living nerve. Willow kind of did too, along with Cordelia at various points.

I'm liking Buffy S4 more than Angel S1, which isn't as entertaining and a bit too much like a dozen other similar series I've seen. In listening to the Landau podcasts - I learned a lot of recent Buffy fans, had watched Angel first - and then watched Buffy, they were David B fans first. But, ironically their favorite Buffy episodes are Hush and OMWF, not Angel centric episodes.

**

Regarding Buffy S1? I learned from Juliet Landau's podcasts and interviews that Mark Metcalf's makeup for the Master took six hours to put on, and he didn't take it off the whole time he played the role. Those who acted with him, never saw him without it. Julie Benze who portrayed Darla - said he was disgusting with it on, and it was hard for her to look at him. But he was easy to work with. Benze was able to create her own character - and made various suggestions, most of which the writers took. (Except for one - she wasn't going to be a Greek Fury, she wasn't that old.)

Baking Apple Cinnamon Muffins for the week ahead and watching S6 of Call the Midwife on Netflix.

Below is the Good News Report from The American Resistance & It's Global Allies - because we all need a little good news? As always, good news is in the eye of the beholder or mileage may vary on this.

1. The Conservation Fund purchases North America’s largest blackwater swamp, saving over 350,000 acres of designated wilderness from a mining company.

https://augustafreepress.com/news/conservation-funds-purchase-of-georgia-florida-wildlife-refuge-saves-land-from-mining-company/?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

( Read more... )

2.California takes steps to protect school and college students, school staff, and hospital patients from unjust ICE enforcement activity.Governor Newsom signed the nation’s strongest protections into law to limit tactics being used by Trump’s federal “secret police,” protect children at schools, and patients in public hospitals from Trump’s lawlessness.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/09/20/governor-newsom-signs-laws-to-protect-school-children-and-hospital-patients-and-limit-fear-tactics-used-by-trumps-secret-police-force-to-terrorize-communities/

3. California’s Supreme Court unanimously rules that state regulators were given undue deference in the decision to roll back rooftop solar panel credits for homeowners.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-supreme-court-rooftop-solar-credits-cpuc-environmental-groups/

4. Maine fast-tracks plans for renewable energy projects before climate-friendly government incentives are removed under the budget passed this summer. The state is prioritizing projects built on PFAS-contaminated land as it looks to kickstart installations that can help it reach 100% clean energy by 2040.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/maine-fast-track-tax-credits

5.Three chemical and materials companies will pay the state of New Jersey up to $2B in a settlement over the environmental hazards of PFAS. "DuPont and two other companies will settle environmental claims concerning PFAS, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals," and pay New Jersey up to $2 billion, the companies announced Monday."

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/dupont-pfas-settlement-chemours-corteva-new-jersey-repauno-parlin/

6.Walmart said it is planning to remove synthetic dyes from all its private label store-brand foods by the start of 2027 (Wall Street Journal).

7.Australia funds solar microgrids to replace diesel in First Nations communities.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/08/20/australia-funds-solar-microgrids-to-replace-diesel-in-remote-first-nations-towns/

8. NIH races to spend 2025 grant budget

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is on track to dole out its entire US$48-billion budget by the end of the fiscal year on 30 September, despite the administration of Donald Trump laying off thousands of the agency’s workers and delaying meetings to review research grants. The agency’s staff banded together to “clean up the mess”, an NIH programme officer told Nature, and ensure that the funds were invested in science. Although the agency’s budget will be spent, many fewer new projects will be funded because of a government directive to award large sums to research projects upfront.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03168-4

9. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. have decreased by 20 percent since 2005.

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-co2-carbon-emissions-falling-states-natural-gas-renewables/760374/

10. The city of San Francisco moves to ensure that substantial renovations to existing buildings are all-electric.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/carbon-free-buildings/san-francisco-renovations-gas-ban
( the rest of the forty-six )


Here's a flower: