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I got up bright and early, had a spot of breakfast (poached egg over protein greens (basically pea shoots and raw green leaf spinach and chard with a touch of lemon juice, and pepper)) and lugged myself off to the mammogram. I took the F train (the G isn't running due to track work - life with trains). Got to the facility, only to discover it was locked and they had to let me in, it was 7:40 AM. And they apparently changed the check in process?

First of all? I checked in online several days prior - and filled out and signed five different forms.

Is that enough? Of course not. ( Read more... ) Got upstairs. Headed to the toilet. Came out. Noticed no one was there. Another woman popped up. She was an older African-American woman (not Caribbean), who had gotten there early for an 8:45 exam. She didn't understand why she had to still have one, since she was 70. I informed her that no, you can't age opt-out of mammograms. Cancer doesn't care - it can affect you at any age. In fact they had to advocate to have them earlier. Also everybody can get it, it's not gender specific. Men can get it. Anyone who has breasts regardless of size can get it.
( Read more... )

The breast exam itself was uneventful. In and out. ( Read more... )

After that, I grabbed the train at Bergen, took it to Jay, got out, went up the steps, then down the steps, and took the F back to Church. (Due to track work the F to Church is skipping Bergen through 4th and 9th Street, stops at 7th, then skips 15th-Church, gets off at Church, then skips to 18th, and then to Kings Highway.) Got off at Abermerle end of the station, walked up to 5th Street and Caton, and stood in line to vote.

( voting )

Gifts for voting:
( they give you a sticker and a free pen )
On the way home, I saw a sign for an apartment rental completely in Bengali. (How do I know? I see the language in the signs of stores surrounding the subway station at Church Avenue.)

( Apt sign in Bengali on a tree )

And on the sidewalk up to the voting place..

( the Fuck ICE sign on the sidewalk )

And also lots of Halloween Decorations - no one does Halloween Decorations like NYC.

( a black cat scouting the street about to pounce )

( one house went all out )

New York's Jewish Community not only lives in harmony with the Islamic Community - they host music events at the Jewish Community Center.

( sign advertising an Islamic music event at the Flatbush Jewish Community Center )

( the Flatbush Jewish Community Center down the block from my apartment in Kensington Brooklyn (originally just Flatbush) )

And finally a garden on the way to the voting spot.

All in all, a productive morning. Then I came home, surfed the net, ate lunch (pumpkin bisque and a roll - which I of course ruined by eating the gluten free brownie with whipped cream for a snack, and a protein oatmeal bite, and chocolate - my weakness is sigh, chocolate and sweets), watched Avengers Age of Ultron (which drags in the middle - pacing is a problem in that movie), napped while attempting to watch Vision Quest episode 3 (not it's fault - I was tired).

1. A discussion on a thread elsewhere got me to thinking about problematic authors, actors, directors, and artists - whose behavior may or may not have affected how I view them and if I can watch or read or listen or look at their art any longer. And to the degree that I can separate the artist from the work? (Leaving aside of course the tricky subject of whether they are sending the proceeds or earnings from their work to nefarious and troublesome causes.)

Generally speaking, this is a personal thing, and people's mileage varies.

There's also a lot of variables at play. It depends on what the artist did, who they did it to, if they are still doing it, if they paid for it, how long ago it happened, and if whatever it was that happened happened as a direct result of the art or in the process of creating the art.

This of course involves work that I've not seen, read or heard yet, or didn't see, read or hear prior to the action or wasn't aware the action was occurring when I saw, read or heard it.

Examples?
( Read more... )

2. Work is work. I spent a lot of time doing something that needless to say was headache inducing. But it was a lovely day, if a might bit chilly - lows in the 40sF, highs in 50sF. I wore a jacket over a sweater and was fine. Took a walk around the piers near Battery Park, watched the boats, stood in the sun, and favored my knee a bit on the way back.

3. Tomorrow, I have to get a mammogram - the annual physical mammogram. ( Read more... )

4. A bit of good news? They didn't find any more tumors (cancerous or otherwise) in Sisinlaw. The CAT scan came back negative - well except for the one tumor they are removing. But there's nothing else but that one. We are very relieved.

5. Mother: Do you remember Dave Mannverick.
Me: No, why?
( Read more... )

( Read more... )

The lovely thing about getting older? Is I forget stuff.
I like forgetting stuff. I just wish I had more control over it - ie. "I don't like that particular memory - I know let's delete it - gone now."
They did a movie about that once? ( Read more... )

5. I should do meme questions...

Question a Day Meme - October

20. Today is International Chef’s Day (created in 2004 by esteemed chef Dr Bill Gallagher) and is focused on educating children around the world about the importance of eating healthy, promoting the career of chefs and helping change local communities. What was the last thing you made from scratch to eat?

A salad

21. It’s International Infection Week – we all got into the habit of carrying around some hand sanitiser back in the C19 days. Do you still do that?

Yes. I live in NYC? Although I don't always use it? But I have a ton of it. I have it at work. I have it in my bag. It's NYC?

22. Have you ever seen a Fabergé egg?

Yes. Once in a museum, and often in pictures. I've only a vague memory of it.

23. Michael Crichton was born on this day in 1942. Have you read any of his novels (e.g. Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery) or seen anything he screenwrote or produced (ER, Twister, Looker)?

Yes. I had friends who loved his writing and rec'd it. So I've read quite a few - borrowed.

Read: Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Rising Sun, Timeline (I only remember Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, and Rising Sun)

Movies adapted from his books that I've seen: Rising Sun, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Disclosure, The Great Train Robbery

Television series and films he wrote? ER, Twister

Remember and Recommend? Andromeda Strain (it's excellent), Jurassic Park, ER and Twister

Rising Sun and Disclosure probably doesn't date well. And Timeline was horrible.

Crichton fell out of favor due to the fact that he didn't believe the science behind climate change.

Current Mood: tired

Anyone want a nature calendar? Various charities keep sending me nature calendars. I currently have two copies of five different nature calendars, along with two copies of two different planners, plus a boat load of labels.

I'll either bring them to work after New Years, which is what I did this year. Or earlier. Or I'll take them downstairs, along with the boat load of greeting cards they've sent me. The evil marketing people are driving me crazy. I've been inundated with useless paper. Although some of it is admittedly attractive in character?

Meanwhile, NYU Langone is driving me crazy - sending me updates on my Primary Care Doctor's retirement. ( Read more... )

*

Twitter keeps asking...

What is your favorite television show, in various guises - with the caveat that it can't be Breaking Bad, The Wire, Sopranoes, Game of Thrones, The Office, Mad Men...

And with cheeky thrill, I state: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Mainly because all the other shows (which you can't state) are so fulled with testosterone, I almost gag on it. I wouldn't have picked any of them anyhow? Well maybe the Wire - except I have no interest in rewatching it?
While Buffy is a comfort show that I've rewatched about 50 times.

Also Buffy had game-changing episodes - that changed television as an art form.

The other thing those other shows have in common is they focused on anti-heroes. Male anti-heroes. Not something I have any interest in rewatching.

***

Speaking of comfort rewatches...I'm rewatching the MCU films out of order, although some in order. Vision Quest kind of inspired me. I rewatched "The Avengers" over two days, because I kept getting interrupted. ( Read more... )

Also considering a Star Wars comfort rewatch and dive into Star Wars content.

**

Work has gotten mildly busy again. I keep trying to delete files or find files I can delete to free up disc space, because it keeps telling me that if I don't - it can't update my computer with vital security patches. It's annoying. I may have to call them.

And the weather keeps jumping between 38-74 degrees F. It's in the 30s in the morning, and 70 by afternoon. Makes it hard to figure out what to wear to work each day? I've been doing layers. It is clear though, pretty clear blue skies.

Still struggling with the sinus migraines - start with fullness in the ears, and it's down hill from there. But, good news? I've figured out a way to fend them off at the pass - I take a decongestant plus two migraine headache meds (basically generic motrin), an antihistamine, and wear the anti-nausea wrist bands. Seems to be working. No clue what causes them - best guess is shifts in the weather and allergies, plus stress.

My disc space on my work computer is too full - so I keep trying to delete files. If that doesn't work - I'll contact IT and ask for more disc space.
It needs to have at least 8.75 KB for all of their updates. You know you failed as a software engineer if the system you created has multiple updates.

Sometimes I miss the old Windows Operating systems, which seemingly had less updates.

***

It's cooler here? In the low 50s, dipping into the 40s at night, and the upper fifties to mid-sixties during the day. Jacket weather. And alas the radiators are on again. Although not too bad. I had them turn off the one in my bedroom. I have a radiator and a pipe, both get hot, one had to be turned off. It still gets a little warm but not overtly so.

Pretty day though. Lots of blue sky. I took a walk, ran across a young film documentarian on the piers, while snapping my own shots with my iphone. He had a complicated and professional camera.

I watched the boats glide on by. They were moving faster than I was.
( barge )

One of which appeared to be a privately owned fishing boat, staked out in the middle of the harbor.

And took time to look at the flowers. (Some not pictured, had a lot of honey bees and small butterflies.)

( flowers )

***

Television Review

I finished East of Eden - the most recent adaptation. I've seen three and read the book. I recommend the book - mainly because it is broader in scope and doesn't just focus on the tragic Trask family. There's the Hamiltons, Lee, and various other side characters that are not featured in either the mini-serieses or the original Elia Kazan/James Dean film.

This adaptation is fairly similar to the 1981 version, except in some respects the casting is slightly better for the leads, also Florence Pugh plays Cathy with a touch more vulnerability than Jane Seymour did, and Cathy is written as far more sympathetic. Her sociopathic behavior is partially explained by a history of abuse, and a dark passage in her childhood, that is alluded to, but unexplained. This is quite different than the other versions, and the book - in that Cathy is present as a sociopath without much if any explanation.

Unlike others who have reviewed this mini-series, I found Adam to be for the most part unlikeable. ( spoilers lie within )

Combined Friday 5 Questions

1. What arts or crafts do you spend time on these days?

Watercolor painting, sketching and drawing - which is problematic at times due to a tremor. (sometimes knitting - although I suck at it - but I'm thinking of turning a scarf that I was knitting into a blanket. I am an intuitive artist? I don't follow the rules and tend to break them? My sister-in-law once gave me the book - knitting for anarchists, because I can't follow a knitting pattern to save my life.)

2. What arts or crafts have you stopped doing, and why?

Embroidery, cross stitch - because I have problems threading needles and my hands shake.

Beading jewelry and bead work - the needle issue (see above)

Pottery and clay sculpture - I'm allergic to clay dust or discovered I was, also the paint when it dries prior to going into the kiln is like chalk - and I'm allergic to that as well. I had to stop because of that.

3. What new art or craft are you interested in trying?

Oil or acrylic painting, also stained glass mosaic, mural painting, art of making puppets

4. Are you more of an experimental craftsperson, or do you tend more toward the traditional?

Experimental. I am an intuitive artist? I know the technique but tend to play around with it and color outside the lines. Coloring books have never worked for me and give me headaches. Also I don't have fine hand motor coordination - due to an essential tremor.

5. Choose your favorite, and explain why: line shape form light color texture

Not sure what the question is here? Color is my favorite. Mainly because I tend to think in colors not forms, shapes, lines or lights. And I adore working with color - there's more flexibility.

6. If you could do anything in the world as your career, what would you do?

Professional Writer and Artist

8. If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Witch (pagan-wiccan variety), it's the least painful and most creative? You have magic. You can fly. An actor described this really well on youtube interview once. Let's face it no one wants to be a werewolf - for obvious reasons. Ghost - same. Vampire? Living forever isn't something I want to do. Also ugh, blood. Fae might not be bad though...hmmm maybe Fae over Witch if it is an option, Fae doesn't have the annoying religious component.

9. If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would you teach?

Either English Literature, Art, or Creative Writing.

10. What is the one thing you would tell your teenage self if you could?

Don't Worry. Everything in life is temporary. This too will pass.

Also, never ever run on a tread mill.

***

Question a Day Meme - October

17. It’s International Repair Day – have you ever tried to repair things yourself?

Yes. With mixed success. Usually toilets, and computers.

I've given up on repairing clothing. ( Read more... )

18. From October 17th to November 8th, in Croatia, the Truffle Festival is celebrated. Do you like the flavour (e.g. truffle oil, truffle-infused pasta, or cheese with truffles or something else)?

I do like the flavor. Quite a bit actually, and all of the above. But I rarely have it. It's expensive.

19. On International Gin and Tonic Day – will you be raising a glass?

No. I no longer drink alcohol.

Work is lately feeling akin to wrangling jello, it has bureaucracies on top of bureaucracies. I used to be able to get hold of folks - now, I am sitting waiting for someone for about thirty minutes prior to giving up. The human resources and payroll and benefits department has the worst customer service. Next time I get a chance to do a survey, I am giving them a very low rating.

Also it makes me do math.

I want to retire. Breaking Bad told me to get in line.

Anyhow enough of that.

***

Book News

Which also feels like wrangling jello? I can't do anything about any of this and am very frustrated. I thought I'd share my frustration with everyone else, because misery enjoys company and all that.

1. Not to get political on you all, but the UK apparently has a law (the Act on Terrorism 2000) that is the equivalent to "censorship" and fascist in character.

Sally Rooney's support of Palestine Action results in her books being withdrawn from UK sale.
( Irish novelist Sally Rooney said Wed that her books are being withdrawn from sale in the UK )
And..
( this is because of her support for Palestine Action banned as a direct action network that has been labeled as a terrorist group in the UK under the Terrorism Act of 2000 )
Variety's article

( booksellers who have copies still on shelves may sell them, however, it is just ebooks and the publisher can no longer distribute them in the UK. It appears to affect the UK only. )

BBC News has more information

Sigh. Now, I feel a sudden need to buy and read all the books Sally Rooney ever wrote and watch that series on Hulu. And her books don't interest me at all. But I feel like buying them and doing it - probably will. Be like giving whomever wrote that law the proverbial finger. [Just in case you can't figure out where I stand on this issue? It's with Rooney. I'm so done with Israel and the Zionists. I was done with them in the 1980s. I keep trying to see their side of things, but honestly...I'm done.]

By the way - this is goes back to my posts about banning and censoring books based solely on whether the author is using the proceeds to fund charities and actions we dislike, etc.

I'm still on the fence about this? Isn't it censorship? ( Read more... )

2. JKR confirms new harry potter books

( the books being released )

No interest at all. ( Read more... )

Would I prefer that the UK ban her? Yes. Definitely. Is that hypocritical of me? Probably. Do I think that's something they should do? No, censorship. So definitely not.

But JKR is annoyingly smug, full of herself, and willfully and self-righteously hurting people who haven't hurt her, and are only 1% of the population - some of which are my extended family members, and people I know. I do hope the television series fails, as do her new books. I certainly won't be buying them or watching the series.

3. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files may get a new television series adaptation.

Deadline News - states Fox21 Television Studios optioned the rights in 2018"

Dresden Files might be getting a new adaptation

Word comes from a profile done in the NY Times.
( Excerpts )
Per the NY Times Article - Butcher saw the previous adaptation of his books as an AU version, that resembled the books, but was vastly different for the most part. ( Read more... )

BTW? It is close to impossible to get movies and television series made. You can't imagine how many end up shelved, break down in negotiations, stop right before filming, get cancelled in the middle of filming, are filmed in their entirety but never seen or distributed. Getting one made and distributed is a miracle.

With television series? It's a miracle to get it made and to get more than one season, let alone five.

The costlier the series - the less likely it will last. Fantasy and sci-fi series are expensive. Police/medical procedurals, situation comedies, reality shows, game shows, and mysteries are cheap and can run forever. The simpler the show - the cheaper it is.

I want them to make Dresden - because it's the best and most adaptable of the urban fantasy series. Also the only one that isn't romance centric, most are. My favorite of the romance centric is Illona Andrews Kate Daniels series - but it's not adaptable - it's almost impossible to adapt well. I like it because slow-burn romance, they get married, and it explores them as a husband/wife relationship of equals. All the others...sigh, don't.

Question a Day Meme - October

10. On Universal Music Day, what is the most annoying musical instrument in your opinion?

The Kazoo and possibly the bongo drums (if you rode the NY Subway system with people jumping on and off it with bongo drums, you would understand this. It kind of takes the phrase 'head-ache inducing' to a whole new level.)

11. On this day in 1844, German-American entrepreneur Henry John Heinz (who founded H.J. Heinz Company-57 varieties) was born. Do you buy Heinz products?

Not really. I like their Chili sauce, but avoid it - because it has a lot of sugar in it. The ketchup is at least gluten free - but I don't like ketchup and it tends to have a lot of sugar in it. I prefer mustard, and not Heinz mustard - I like Grey Poupon or really hot mustard.

12.Today it’s the National Day of Spain. The day commemorates a pivotal moment in history when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas, an event that significantly shaped Spain’s global influence. Can you speak Spanish and/or have you ever visited Spain?

I can't really speak it, but I do understand bits and pieces here and there. I hear it constantly. That and Russian, Polish, Ukrianian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, various Scandinavian languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Bengali, Hindu, Arabic...

I need to take it. It should be easier than the others - since I have taken French. I suck at languages though.

No, haven't visited Spain. Have however visited Mexico, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico (where everyone speaks Spanish - in Mexico and Costa Rica, the locals did not speak English) - so various Spanish speaking countries. It's not text book Spanish. It's kind of similar to American English? Lots of slang. And street Spanish.

13. How old are the oldest pair of shoes you own?

I don't know. Maybe sixteen-twenty years old? I have a lot of shoes I have to throw out and no longer wear. I walk a lot - so they do wear out.

****

It was another lovely day. I wandered about the pier, although not that long a walk - since my knee was bothering me. The osteoarthritis was acting up for some reason or other. I have a hobble to my gait now, stupid knee.
Went to the bank and deposited the $100 that the Governor refunded me for my State Taxes, which was nice of her - considering I had to pay extra in taxes this year.

My mother keeps trying to find a way to comfort my brother long distance regarding his wife's ailments. I keep telling her - she can't. And to leave him alone. He doesn't like to talk about his issues or healthcare concerns, he prefers to ignore them until he can do something about them. He is his father's son.

My brother and I chose to live in NY, and my parents chose to live on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. And here we are. How we both ended up in the same state is...interesting? Considering we weren't raised in NY. But we've both lived here longer than anywhere else and approximately the same amount of time, having both arrived in NYC in 1996. He moved upstate (still in NY - just further up) around 2008, and I stayed in NYC. It blew my extended family member's minds that both of us ended up in NY, considering we're like oil and water and don't get along. Apparently we're more similar than either of us like to admit?

Work was work. But I did have work at least and for that I'm grateful.

Also Breaking Bad told me there were Bagels and Cream Cheese on the other side of the floor, with the rest of our department.

Breaking Bad: There are bagels and cream cheese and salmon. I don't want you to feel left out.
Me: Unless there's gluten free - I can't eat anyhow. And even that I can't really have...without getting ill.
Breaking Bad: Well we don't want that. Sure you don't want to try the salmon and cream cheese?
I look at him oddly. And he explains it to me. Apparently Philadelphia Cream cheese has created a brand that has mixed salmon in with the cream cheese.
Breaking Bad: It's really gross, it looks like someone vomited out salmon and cream cheese and put it in a bowl.
Me: Ugh. As opposed to just putting on the cream cheese, then adding the salmon on a toasted bagel ...they just took out a step. I'll pass.

Breaking Bad said they got them from Dunkin Donuts. He used to bring in donuts and bagels for his department - but it's not really required with me. I'm an incredibly low maintenance employee. I require little supervision. Come in early, leave on time. Don't take long lunches. Quiet.
And don't eat donuts or bagels or cakes or require them, because I'm gluten intolerant.

I don't know if I'll continue with East of Eden or not, I know how it ends and this version is very close to the 1981 version. I'm currently flirting with watching the Magpie Murders on PBS Passport.

Oh heard this song on MP3 Player, and I thought it did a good job of expressing mine and fans lusting after the character of Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or really anyone on the television screen.

Kraken

Here's a sampling?

"Sometimes my body seems so alien to me
I quiet it down by watching TV
Grow restless and grow hungry
As the water rises up around me
You come onscreen
So good looking it's obscene
I put my fist into my mouth and scream
Some things it seems are catching up with me
And as it rises to my chin, I should really stop watching
And as I reach for the remote, it is rushing down my throat
I let it in, I start to swim
I grow many arms and legs and then I start to sing"

I have a couple of go-to bands and singers that I'll listen to whenever, Florence + The Machine is among them. I like that kind of grungy, lyrical, folk rock style.

Around 4pm, I took a walk, and checked out the paper mache masks placed on various trees along one block in the neighborhood, among other things. It was about a 20 block walk around the neighborhood block? I didn't take any photos because somehow I managed to forget my smartphone. My problematic for the interruption of the blood glucose sensor than the inability to take photos.

Good news? The storm took my sinus headache from hell with it. As the storm clouds cleared off by noon, so did my vibrating vestibular migraine. It is now blissfully gone, and I was able to remove my wrist bands for the first time in five days. Yes, it started on Thursday and continued until 1:30pm on Monday.

I did get laundry done. Robo vacuumed. Straightened some things. Folded and put away clothes - I always do it immediately after doing laundry. I can't imagine not doing it that way. It's probably a side effect of not owning a washer and dryer. The only time I owned one was when I was a kid and adolescent, living with my parents. I've not owned a washer/dryer or dishwasher since I was 28 years of age. ~~Dishwashers~~ Garbage Disposals are for the most part illegal in NYC, although there are areas in NY State that permit them apparently.

Television

1. Found the Dresden Files television series streaming on Peacock. Watched two episodes, which honestly felt stolen from Buffy and Angel and various other supernatural mystery series.( Read more... )

It's a shame. The guy they picked to play Dresden was spot on. (He's unfortunately the only casting choice that is spot on.) Also the source material is perfect for a series. They could have used the source material, and instead of changing it - kept it.

This the loosest and worst adaptation I've ever seen. ( Read more... )

This is begging for a reboot. But, do they reboot this? Nooo. Instead they reboot ( the things they've rebooted instead that do not require rebooting at all ) You'd think there weren't any other novels out there they can adapt? Stop doing the same ones over and over again. We do not need to see Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Dracula, Frankenstein, Haunting of Hill House, Wuthering Heights, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, or Hamlet for the upteenth time?

Dear Television Writers/Producers/Executives - Reboot Television Series that were not done correctly, failed their source material, have plenty of good source material and world building, are best sellers, and can take advantage of technological improvements. Also don't have highly problematic authors?

Sigh. The entertainment world can be frustratingly repetitive at times. If you feel like you've seen this before? It's because you have. Multiple times.

2. East of Eden - this is the newest version directed by Zoe Kalzan. Starring Florence Pugh, Mike Faist, Ciarian Hinds, Christopher Abbott...and is grainer a film, and far darker in color and undertones than the 1981 version. Also despite what people may think? Jane Seymour's version of Cathy was far more chilling and hateful than Florence Pugh's? I actually feel sorry for Cathy in this version and I found Cathy to be hateful in the previous one. Also Seymour was more attractive - she has different colored eyes - and they used that trait to make Cathy recognizable. Seymour's performance is memorable. It's hard to forget. I honestly think it's among the best things she's done.

Pugh plays a far more sympathetic version, but not quite as strikingly beautiful. And as such some of the sexism and misogyny is underlined and seen - far more than in the previous version.( Read more... )

Did we need another version? Yes, most people didn't see the 1981 take, and it was limiting in cast and scope - only three episodes. Also the movie only adapted the last quarter of the book. This is an example of a book that demanded another adaptation.

Tale of Two Cities may as well.

Les Miserables really doesn't.

3. New CBS Series that I recorded, watched and thought eh, not worth breaking my boycott of CBS/Paramount ( why I'm boycotting CBS/Paramount and possibly HBO/WB - even if it is just me that is doing it )

* Eternally Yours - it has an interesting concept? But I feel like I've seen it before (possibly in animated form or via the Addams Family, which is better and less, offensive?). It was mildly amusing in places? The set-up? A vampire couple accidentally kills their vampire daughter's boyfriend when he discovers they are vampires. Freaks out. Turns him into a vampire. Much chaos ensues. And there are other family members involved.

It's an American Suburban Situation Comedy set in Seattle with Yuppie Millenial Vampires. Not for me. Neither the cast or the writing worked for me. Felt very paint by numbers.

* CIA stars Tom Ellis, and a bunch of other people. Basically Ellis is playing a British Rogue CIA agent paired with an FBI agent who has infilterated his task force to find a leak. (That doesn't happen, by the way? The CIA and the FBI do not work together or trust each other. US government is very...parochial and into fiefdoms. ) I caught about the third episode of the second season. But could figure it out. Even if I had problems following or caring about the mystery/case/puzzle of the week. I couldn't get into it. It has a deservedly low rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The cast is good. The writing might as well be by AI.

* >Cupertino - sigh this is by the Kings. I've only like The Good Wife. Everything else feels a bit too - wink wink satire. I can literally feel the writers winking at me. Also, the main leads aren't working for me or pulling me in. It's the same actor who played Luke Cage and stared in Evil, good looking guy, but his acting style is very restrained to the point of being wooden. I'm bored by him. And whenever he's on screen, my mind checks out.

So also not for me. I think towards the end of the Good Wife - the Kings committed to satire, and are kind of preachy about it at times. American Satire can get really preachy and hit you over the head. Subtle it's not.
I preferred the Good Wife, which was more subtle, more believable, and much funnier as a result. I also liked the actors better. And the cinematography. The Good Wife had a biting sly wit, that is missing in the King's later efforts such as The Good Fight, Evil, and Cupertino.

Not worth breaking my boycott over.

4. In Line of Fire - new NBC series, also streams on Peacock (free with advertisements and unlike CBS, the advertisements aren't as annoying).
This was among the better procedurals I've seen. It does require quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. (But honestly, I think they all do?) It's also relatively innovative in its approach.

It manages to blend the family drama with the criminal/espionage procedural. How? Each family member is involved in a different government organization: US Marshal Service, FBI, DOJ, and Secret Service. It's case of the week, and over-arching mystery. Has a nice twist on the multiple murders mystery. Also dysfunctional family drama.

( spoilers for the first episode )
And I got intrigued, because I like convoluted plots that are impossible to explain in one sentence.

I'm sticking with NBC and ABC. CBS and Fox are still on my shit list.

5.Great British Baking Show or Bake Off (depending on where you live) (Note it's not called Bake Off in the US due to trademark issues. Pillsbury Bake Off owns the trademark for "Bake Off" in the United States. Pesky thing Copyright and Trademark Law, isn't it?)

I'm enjoying this season more than expected? It's certainly a touch different from previous seasons. Nigella isn't quite as comfortable in the hosting role as Prue and Mary Berry were, but she's coming along. I like the challenges. The audience inspired challenge was actually interesting.

I like it when they bake things I don't want to eat - like the wearable apparels.

It's a cool rain soaked day and I'm fending off my monthly vestibular headache, with a combination of meds, and anti-nausea bracelets. The bracelets are doing a stellar job of keeping both the nausea and the vertigo that accompanies these migraines at bay. Despite what the medical establishment believes - they are clearly sinus related, since they abate once my sinuses start to clear - also weather related. I have one now, it's thudding along in the background despite everything I've done to counter-act it, accompanied by an occasional hot flash, and a hollow fullness in the ears. But with the bracelets on - no vertigo or nausea. I do get sore wrists after a bit, but that's a minor side-effect.

The rain is also pitter-pattering away on the a/c. And I can see it now outside my winder. Vertical streaks against the leaves.

Yesterday, I took advantage of the lovely day, and receding headache, to take a walk around my neighborhood. I walked up to the small pocket garden near Fort Hamilton Parkway, and just behind Hamilton's Restaurant. They were having a Bluegrass Jam Session between 1-3pm, and it was approximately 2:15 pm when I reached the sign. No, I didn't know aobut it before hand. So this was a pleasant surprise - or something I accidentally stumbled upon.
NYC is kind of like that? You accidentally stumble upon cool cultural things daily and often without warning.

It was a small little gathering of folks who played various string instruments from banjos to a cello. Along with a harmonica. And the songs were folk blue grass country songs, passed down over time. The music native to the US, and as comforting as the smell of BBQ on the grill and corn bread in the oven, with an apple pie cooling nearby. (None of which were literally in evidence.)

( more photos of the musicians )

I had to take three photos to get them all. It was a small grassy space, yet spacious enough to fit at least twenty to thirty people. Plus a large vegetable and flower garden behind, and a little sitting space next to a small pound and fountain. It's quiet, and shaded, and peaceful. I sat for a bit, and after a bit a woman around my age joined me on the other side of my bench. Then, a blind man and his two friends strolled by, and I got up to ensure they got a seat.

It was the first time in well over a week that I was sitting near and around folks that were my age and older. And no one was scrolling on their cell phones, or talking on them. They were just listening to the music. And only two of us used our cells to take photos. Me, and an older woman with her main of white hair dyed purple.

After a bit I toured the garden. And took a picture of a flower.

( flower )

Then meandered towards Fort Hamilton Parkway, pausing to take a photo of the much larger than life Jack Skeleton...

( Jack Skeleton Halloween Decoration )

Then continued onwards towards Fort Hamilton Parkway Pedestrian Bride. A bridge, I'd not walked over before, pausing briefly to take a photo of a bunch of carrier pigeons doing an impression of the crows from The Birds...prior to walking over it.

( Carrier Pigeons )

I think they are carrier pigeons, they may not be? [I'm certain somebody out there will pop up to correct me if they aren't? There's a lot of fact checkers on Dreamwidth? And Google isn't as reliable in finding info on this sort of thing as it used to be? Well unless you think citing Reddit and Quora posts is reliable?]

I wandered and crossed yet another bridge over yet another highway. I'd prefer rivers, but sigh, cars. The US invested more in its highway infrastructure than in its waterways and trains over the years - which it is paying for in spades now. That said, NYC as you can see is very pedestrian friendly. This area of Brooklyn has multiple pedestrian bridges over highways. Altogether, I ended up crossing three, with no steps, just ramps, before getting back to my side of the highway or my neighborhood.

On the way home, I passed a Little Free Library (and pantry).

They are all over the place in Kensington and Ditmas, Brooklyn.

This one is in Ditmas, about a thirty minute walk in the opposite direction.

( another prettier little library )

I don't know why I continue to buy books? It's not as if I can't get them for free at multiple locations? I've two libraries within walking distance. Twenty free little libraries. And a basement full of free books. I don't feel guilty for buying them. I never have. Clothing, yes. Food, yes. Books and music, no.

Halloween directions were also out. Earlier than expected. Not everyone. Just a few houses here and there - had decided to get ahead of everyone else. I live in a culturally diverse area? And it goes overboard on Halloween decorations - possibly because the holiday isn't as linked to a specific religion as Christmas is. Although there are sections that go overboard with Christmas as well. It also starts early - or as quickly as it can get away with. During the pandemic - Halloween decorations went up in September. Christmas, the week of Thanksgiving. They've scaled back a bit now.

I thought this one was rather innovative...

( day of the dead Halloween yard decorations )

All in all it was a nice walk. Not necessarily fruitful nor what I planned for the weekend. But it got the job done. I felt relaxed afterwards.

Ran into Monica - the Super - and she informed me that the rude neighbor across the hall from me (about five steps from my doorway, yet thankfully not directly next door) had finally been evicted. ( Read more... )

I told Monica about toilet issues. I'll take a photo to remind her. And thanked her for only putting up only pleasant and pretty Halloween decorations. She told me she didn't like scary decorations and leans towards seasonal Fall Decorations only. And she's afraid of spiders. So only pumpkins no spiders. Thankful for that. Last apartment I lived in the downstairs neighbors put up huge spiders as Halloween decorations. I had to talk them out of the one they put up in the entrance way - because I was having PTSD anxiety attacks every time I entered the building. ( why my spider phobia is PTSD related )

Also, she confirmed that Optimum fixed our cable and internet, so I don't have to cancel them and switch back to Verizon (who I hate with the force of a thousand suns).

So all in all a pair of restful days. I read portions of a really good and satisfying book that I've been savoring. Watched television, and found a new show to get invested in. Only down-side? Pesky digestive issues. Although I think I've cornered the culprit? The GF rice flour bagel from Merediths. I'm better today. Had broth, carrot and flax muffin, and bean salad for lunch. No horrible heart burn or angina attack. Just the pesky migraine, which is receding as I complete this lengthy post. I even slept better last night and got to bed at a reasonable hour. So maybe, I'm on the mend, health wise, and maybe getting the rain out of the way is helping?

Instead of going into the City, I took a walk down to Courtelyou and picked up groceries and looked at the trees and flowers. ( Read more... ) Took another walk - this time to Lofty Pigeons Book Store, and ended up with not one but three books telling me that I had to buy them - so I did. It was too nice a day not to take walks. Low 70s. Blue skies. Also I needed the exercise - so I took heartburn meds, and put on my anti-naseau motion sickness bracelets and ventured out - with no difficulty whatsoever. And I wanted to go to a bookstore in honor of National Banned Books Week.

1. Sleeping Beauties by Musician David Byrn

I flipped through it - and it was cool. Also has not dust cover, and has a cool cover design.

2. The Disappearers by Marlon James (I have two books by him, one's a fantasy novel and one's - well this one.) It's in hardcover. All three are hardcover. This is short listed for the Booker Prize. I flipped through it - and it said - pick me. Now. Twice. I'm like okay, okay, you don't have to tell me twice.

3. The Maginogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton

( Read more... )

Not been feeling well today or most of the week - so kind of cranky? But I did make the best of the day. I may, weather and health permitting, try to go into the city tomorrow. I have a four day weekend after all.

****

NY State refunded me - tax dollars. It wasn't a lot. But it was something.
I got my check in the mail today. So, I'll take it into the bank on Tuesday - assuming it will let me deposit it - it should.

***

( dietary crap )
***

Television

Watched first episode of the newest adaptation of East of Eden directed/adapted by Zoe Kazan (Eli Kazan's granddaughter), starring Florence Pugh (Midsommer, Yelena - Black Widow - Avengers), Mike Faist (West Side Story - Riff), and Christopher Abbot (new Professor Xavier) on Netflix. It is well done. Has the same issues as the previous 1981 miniseries and the book - Adam is a bit of an underdeveloped cipher in the book (Steinbeck had that problem with his lead protagonists/heroes for some reason - they seemed to be observers in their own stories) - but the actors portraying the silent Adam are good at emoting with their eyes, which is an improvement over the 1981 version. ( Read more... )

Watching Great British Baking Show now. It's a comforting show. And I like Nigella more than expected. Pru allegedly left due to being 86 and wanting to enjoy her summers. I rather like the contestants this round. Dani who refurbishes old computers on the weekends, and creates bakes with foraged flavors and plants, is a favorite.

Witch Hat Atelier's series is on Crunchy Row - for $9.99 a month. I don't need another subscription. So, alas, I'll have to read it instead.

Read an article today at work about the Romanian film Fjord directed by Cristian Mungo. And he said something interesting in the article that I've been tossing around for some time now and trying to figure out how best to articulate.

[Per the article, Fjord] is the rare art house movie to pose uncomfortable questions for largely left-leaning audiences. Mungiu is himself politically liberal, but “Fjord” dramatizes a progressive brand of closed-mindedness and sanctimony that, he feels, rivals traits of the far right.

The extreme left behaves the same,” Mungiu said over coffee in a recent interview. “They are certain that they hold the truth. The only thing you do is divide the society to the level of division that exists today. We don’t live in society. We live in bubbles, on different shores of the same river.”

***

“It doesn’t mean, not even for a second, that I encourage the conservative view of the world,” Mungiu says. “But nowadays it’s considered that if you don’t use your energy as a filmmaker to make a film directly against that, it’s a big sin. Most of the films that people produce today are for or against something. These films don’t create a dialogue. Nobody else will watch them but people in this bubble. The film confirms to them they are already on the good side of things. The others are guilty.”

While playing “Fjord” at film festivals, Mungiu has stressed that this story could been set in any liberal society. He believes the same evolution of leftist ideals throughout Europe and in the United States is part of what’s fueling political polarization.

“Show a little bit more understanding,” says Mungiu, addressing progressives. “Try to be less dogmatic. The general habit is to label people. But you pretend to be smarter. I have more expectations from you.”

**

When “Fjord” won the Palme, Mungiu said in his acceptance speech that society had become “radicalized” — split down the middle, with one side judging other and neither communicating any longer."

****

I had a co-worker once use as a tag line on all of his emails: "When arguing with a fool, make sure you aren't the fool." It's kind of similar to when fighting monsters? Don't become the monster. Or when staring into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.

I don't know if social media and the internet has made this type of radicalized and divisive dialogue worse or not over time? But I have found a lot of people attempting to cancel or shut down the side of the argument that they disagree with without listening first. Often resorting to name calling. They do it on minor trivial debates. I've had folks shut me down over debates over Buffy or Soap Operas or comics? Let alone politics.

And unfortunately discussing something with people you don't see face to face, and hear, and only see words floating across a computer screen - makes it easier to be well, cruel?
( Read more... )

Current Mood: contemplative

An aggravating day... at work, where I basically wanted to hit people. But didn't. Because I'm not a violent person.

I rewarded myself (for not hitting people or screaming at them) by buying a large slice of gluten free chocolate layer cake from Whole Foods, sushi rice paper wrapped spring rolls (also gluten free), a chocolate mousse, nuts, a chocolate bar with pumpkin spices, and some hard boiled eggs with greens. I only ate the greens, the sushi and the cake - but alas that was enough to spike the blood sugar. Still? The cake made me feel better. When the going gets rough - the tough eat cake?

It was a brief walk just before the Stock Exchange, and back. The air was brisk but not cold. And I was warmer than expected under my jacket. The temperatures really dropped last night - enough to rev up the heaters this morning.

It's not as cool tonight - 60 degrees. Last night it dipped to 45 degrees F.

Entertainment Weekly - I print magazine that cancelled its print edition about ten years ago? Without warning - sent me a magazine entitled "The 2026 Makers Issue" - featuring articles on stop-motion animation, puppetry, and various bits on filmmaking. I'm pleasantly surprised. I miss film, theater,television and book magazines. I loved those magazines. Premiere, Film Quarterly, Sci-Fi, Entertainment Weekly....Seeing it was a nice little pick me up. Quite cheering actually.

I'm also flirting with an art studio group in Windsor Terrace that is doing Creative Circles - where women meet and create art spontaneously. I need to start creating art again. I'm woefully stuck. I got shut down, and I don't quite know how to get out of it. Maybe just paint, draw and screw up?
And not worry about it? My mistake was dreaming about doing something with it. I'm an intuitive artist - the moment I start planning something, I shut down. This journal is called spontaneous musings for a reason? I don't plan creative endeavors well - it tends to shut me down for some reason?

**

Reading meme:

* On Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 5 : the Butcher's Masquerade. Apparently these books have taken over the Amazon best seller's list. It's probably because it's a biting satire of our society at the moment - and I do mean EVERYTHING in our society at the moment. Lots of biting corporate and political satire. It's also horror, but the satire is ever present. And it's a breezy writing style, that kind of makes me smile in spite of myself.

This one has them on the 6th floor, fending off alien hunters, dealing with the ex-girlfriend (who apparently survived the planetary collapse without being sucked into a dungeon and has been deposited on a talk show to torment Carl and her show-cat donut, who is none too pleased with her for planning on trading her in for another model), Donut's pet dinosaur having sex with other dinosaurs, a withering spirit/former god who has possessed the head of a sex doll with fangs, and handling various quests. All of this during a corporate merger between two feuding alien corporations.

* Still ploughing through e-book, Supernatural/Thriller/Romance entitled Winterblaze. It keeps getting stalled by sex scenes. That's the problem with sex scenes - if not written well or in a way that pushes characters and plot forward - it stalls both. I've been skimming over them. (Want to know someone who handled sex scenes well? Buffy did. Say what you will about their sex scenes? But they propelled the plot and characters forward, and weren't redundant. Also for a horror series - it didn't rely on rape. There's really only two attempted rapes. And neither go that far, and Buffy throws both guys across the room, one she slams with a desk. Outlander? Redundant - it relied too heavily on rape (as in every single lead or major character gets raped to further their story arc - when I found that out, I gave up on the series. Not worth plowing through.)

This series doesn't have any sexual violence - so no worries there. Just a lot of sexy scenes - usually when they ought to be doing something else. And a few unfortunate scenes of people crumbling into a thousand spiders, which I really could do without.

Oh for National Banned Book Week - the NY Public Library is giving away free book versions of each of the banned books to patrons. Also via book mobile at various locations. And, it is providing free e-book and audible versions of each banned book to patrons, also free of charge.

We don't charge for library books or pay the people who wrote them. At all.
Mother told one of her friends about PLR, and the friend was outraged.

Me:Ah, so I'm not the only one. This is reassuring.
Mother: She got very upset about it. Apparently, she runs big book fairs in South Carolina and has in the Northeast, and has obtained rare out of print books through them, including first editions worth thousands of dollars.

Although I don't think authors make any money off of used or resale book fairs and rare used book trade in Europe under PLR either? I got the feeling that PLR just covered libraries?

Speaking of British authors - rumor has it that the nefarious JKR is allegedly publishing two new Harry Potter books next year or within the next two years. I'm curious to see how well they'll do, considering she's alienated over 40% of her fandom by her horrible behavior on Twitter and her nasty TERF views? It may be more than that. I want it to be more than that? But I know people. So it's not just the television series and the play you need to ignore/boycott, but two new Harry Potter novels - to support trans rights. Oh well, you could always check them out at an American Library a few years after they've been published.

***

I've not been sleeping well. So off to bed.

Current Mood: blah

Almost forgot to share what I found via my work browser. It throws dumb articles at me? Some are worth a look, some really aren't? (Most of them are actually lists of horror films, novels, and scary places - which is disturbing. I suppose if I stopped clicking on them, it would stop throwing lists of horror movies at me? Want recs on horror movies, I can probably give them based on seeing all of these lists.)

This below article which I decided I had to share with folks (for reasons that currently escape me), finally provided information on the settlement between Skydance Media and the 12 State Attorney Generals who sued them over the Paramount/Warner Merger, along with the UK who also protested the merger, and the WGA.(They had to make settlements with a lot of people for this to go through.)

"After months of twists and turns that included a bidding war with Netflix and a legal fight with 12 state attorneys general and the Writers' Guild of America, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed their $110 billion merger on Tuesday.

The move creates an entertainment behemoth that will oversee multiple streaming services, including Paramount+, Pluto TV, HBO Max and Discovery+, and TV networks like CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, HBO and CNN. It will also oversee a vast library of IP, such as Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Game of Thrones, SpongeBob SquarePants and more." (Paramount is behind Star Trek, Yellowstone franchise, NCIS.) I guess it was only a matter of time, considering UPN (Paramount) and WB. (Warner) became CW in the early 00s.

Paramount/Warner Bros/Discovery 110 Billion Merger Closes (If they hadn't closed this week, it would have cost Skydance millions.)

"Paramount received clearance from Warner Bros. shareholders and regulators and governments representing 68 jurisdictions globally, including the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission, the European Commission and the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority."

Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin also approved a settlement between Paramount and a dozen state attorneys general that includes commitments to invest $1.5 billion in domestic film and TV production over five years, release at least 30 films a year in theaters and negotiate the distribution agreements for each company's suite of cable networks separately.

The combined company also must set up an independent editorial board to oversee CNN and CBS News' operations and continue to operate Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery's studio lots for five years, among other things.

Failure to comply with the various commitments in the settlement range from a $30 million penalty per film that misses the theatrical goal to forced divestitures of the company's 49% Miramax stake within a 12-month period as well as BET, Comedy Central, VH1, Smithsonian, Destination America and Science Channel within a 120-day period.

Additionally, Paramount reached a separate resolution with the WGA, including a five-year layoff pause at CBS and a $17.5 million health fund contribution.

It also agreed to concessions in the U.K. and Europe, including terminating its stake in United International Pictures and commitments to not to combine linear channels with its streaming services, maintain the editorial independence of its news services and children's networks and provide more funding to Channel 5 to support high-quality news, original children's programming and drama. "

***

Alrighty then.

Now I'm trying to decide if it still makes sense to boycott Paramount + and Warner Brothers (HBO). Is this good news or bad news or neither? Inevitable at any rate.

I don't know if the Ellisons are actually using funds from Paramount (and soon Warner Brothers (HBO)) properties to fund nefarious political donations to folks like the Israeli government's war in Gaza, and the Republican Party. Truth is - I can't get away from the bastards? They invented Peoplesoft and Oracle, both of which are embedded in my work place and I use daily. Actually I want to decimate them for creating Peoplesoft, alone.

OTOH - I could save the money. I have too many streaming subscriptions, and some are bundled with other things (such as Apple and Amazon). Well it makes boycotting Harry Potter easier. But I'd miss The Pitt. It's my favorite live action television drama.

***

I despise mergers. I wish they'd stop. I've been a merger victim and am now a merger refugee. They only make life good for the rich idiots who benefited from the stock options.

The health insurance merger - resulted in the upper management and share holders making enough money that they could do whatever they wanted. While various employees who got laid off - had to scramble to find new jobs, ended up struggling to pay COBRA, and the customers health insurance costs went up.

Although...I did hear that some of them were not smart with their financial earnings and had to struggle to find work to support themselves, with a lot of difficulty.

Not that there's anyone on my correspondence list that will remotely care about this epiphany but I recently re-watched Buffy and Angel (ended my rewatch sometime in March 2026), and upon re-watch, the line that appears early on in Angel, midway through Angel S2, takes on a different meaning after the end of the series. The line is in the episode entitled "Epiphany" after Angel once again gets gobsmacked after being brilliantly played by WRH - the evil law firm.

It didn't occur to me until today - what the writers were doing with that line. One of the reasons I fell in love with those shows was that the writers had a tendency to throw out a moral line or time-worn platitude and then spend about twenty episodes sometimes more deconstructing, satirizing and undercutting it, and well...demonstrating the inherent flaws in the platitude. "Yes, that's lovely, they seemed to state, but..." I doubt I'd have gotten so obsessed with those shows if they didn't keep doing that. On Buffy they liked to play with the line - "with great power comes great responsibility" or "saving lives is her reward" - then undercut. The title of the series - Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in itself an undercut or play on words. Just as Angel the Vampire is an undercut or play on words.

The shows specialized in a kind of a meta narrative or sharp satiric and at times biting commentary on the teen after-school special and those very special episodes that plagued 1980s and 1970s situation comedy series - and the writers who wrote Buffy grew up during the 1970s and 80s.

The line that I'm talking about is one that is repeated as a theme of Angel (when I actually think the theme is something else entirely), and I think some of the meta commentary and satire following that line may have gone unnoticed by the audience? We're talking about comedy writers here - who like to satirize things? And have issues with platitudes? They can't help but undercut it.

" 'If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.' Especially when something seems hopeless, it's important to stand up"

Sounds great right?

Except, there's a counterpoint and this is a noir anti-hero series with more than a little satire interwoven within? Also like most platitudes, there's a flip side. Which is simply this? "The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions." All that matters isn't what we do, it's never that simple - but rather, the how, why, and who we are doing it with and for. It's not enough to just want to help the helpless or to go out there and do it? It's how and why you go about it that matters. Because if you go about it the wrong way, for the selfish reasons, or the wrong reasons, and with the wrong people - it's not going to end well. (Probably not end fighting a bunch of monsters in a dark alley...but close.)
( Read more... )

I don't know why I didn't see it initially - now that I do see it? It seems so blatantly obvious that I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. I think it is because, despite their flaws (which are sizable), the characters are relatable and for the most part likable and very human. We want them to succeed and because the audience identifies with them, they don't necessarily want to see them as anti-heroes.

Buffy and Angel are shows that reward re-watchings, which is why they still have a vibrant fandom.

At any rate, I realized while responding to a comment on someone else's journal on a separate but related topic - that it's not what we do that matters, it's more than that? It's how we do it. Why we do it. Who we do it for. When we do it. And it's never simple. And it often requires thoughtfulness, curiosity, open heart and mind, and kindness.

***

Didn't sleep well last night. Hopefully tonight will be better.

End of September - Question a Day Meme - Catch up

25. Do you keep physical copies of photographs you’ve taken?

Yes. I have about eight of them enlarged and framed in my apartment, and several sunflower photos taped to the kitchen window. Also I have photos from college and trips in college in albums. I like my photographs, I find them comforting, and was to a degree raised with them on the walls at home.

26. It’s International Lace Day! Lace was first developed in Europe in the 1600s and was handmade until it was industrialised at the end of the 18th century. Have you ever owned anything made or trimmed with lace?

Yes. Not really a fan though? I find it itchy? So it depends on how it is done.

27. It’s World Tourism Day – are there any places you have visited as a tourist that you remember fondly?

Yes. ( Read more... )

28. What is your favourite writing instrument (pencil, rollerball, fountain pen or something else)?

Rollerball pen . The one that is kind of between a fountain pen and a ballpoint ink pen, with a soft grip - and preferably in purple ink or black.

29. Are you a fan of opera?

Depends on the opera? ( Read more... )

30. Do you often listen to podcasts? Do you have a favourite?

I like to listen to actor podcasts - where they discuss their craft and the process of making a film or television series or soap opera. I also like to listen to filmmaker podcasts about the same thing? ( Read more... ) I find the process of making film, theater, or television fascinating and comforting in a way that I can't quite describe? And as a result of this fascination, I know a great deal about how films, television shows, and theaterical plays are made. I also like to listen to comic book, author, and animation podcasts.

Some people are sports nerds, some music nerds, I'm a theater/film/television/art/book nerd. Although I will listen podcasts about music and the creation of music. But I tend towards visuals? So dance interests me more?

October Question a Day Meme

1. Do you often get actual phone calls these days, or do you rely on texts and emails to keep in touch?

Yes, I get actual phone calls. I talk daily to my mother on the phone. Talk to people at work on phone or teams, and to the health care folks occasionally on the phone. Also have virtual doctor's appointments.

2. We are now heading towards winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and summer in the Southern Hemisphere – what are the plants doing where you live?

Right now, everything is very green. Although the flowers are starting to droop and die off. And some of the leaves are turning yellow and red and orange, but not many. Fall usually doesn't get into full sway until late October in New York City.

3. Have you ever won an award for anything?

Yes. I think I already answered this? No that was a prize. I apparently don't know the difference? ( Read more... )

4. Have you ever bought anything that was a really good bargain?

I feel like I've answered this previously as well? No that was about thrift stores. Yes, but I've no idea what it was.

I need to make dinner - probably bean salad and the rest of the cucumber soup. The doctor got back to me on my blood work - the only issue is the folate - and she told me to start taking 400 mg of folate daily. (I already started doing that - moment I discovered it - I bought folate. And had white corn grits this morning which is high in folate and iron.). The rest is fine - the high B12 either means I'm eating very healthy, or to reduce B12 intake. (I wasn't taking that much of it to begin with - I kept forgetting to take it, and have three full bottles of it.) B12 is supposed to become deficient with Menopause? But I've not experienced this? Maybe I just eat healthier than most women with menopause? IDK. (Shrugs) And she said the hemoglobin was normal - so obviously she wasn't concerned about that one blood count being slightly off (and she's the expert not me).

One of the things I've learned in life is to be skeptical of whatever I see on the internet.

Rainy Day, so I just stayed in and loafed. Slept in until 9, since I had issues getting to sleep last night. Ended up taking a shower around midnight to calm my nervous energy. I'm sensitive to shifts in weather. And it went from being over 80 on Friday to the low 60s and 50s today. Thankfully, I got to be outside most of the day on Saturday and on Wednesday, which were both beautiful days. And took long walks both days.
Made me feel less guilty for loafing today.

Watched three things:

1. Lanterns Episode 7 - yup, DC has a character and tone problem. While I'm enjoying Lanterns, it's a dark and gritty sci-fi noir mystery series, with horror components, not exactly superhero fare? Also, the most likable and engaging character remains Hal Jordan. John Stewart is not portrayed well in this series. ( Read more... )

I'm curious to see what survives post WB/Paramount merger - even though I'll unfortunately have to cancel my subscription come January (for reasons below the cut - mainly political). It is unfortunately a good fit? Both studios have gotten in the habit of producing increasingly dark and gritty adult fare, some of which verges on the violently sadistic. Star Trek is among the few light properties produced by either, and that's about to change in a big way. I fear the Ellison's and Skydance don't have the sensibility to continue with Star Trek as Gene Roddenberry envisioned it? ( Read more... )

2. Toy Story 5 - on Disney was enjoyable. And not quite as preachy as feared. ( Read more... )

After it - I watched the Taylor Swift music video associated with it (which is okay?) and "Lamp Story" - a twenty minute, if that, short on Little Bo Peep's journey from Baby Lamp to toy in the play ground. In some respects I liked it better than Toy Story 5 and Swift's romantic music video? Although both were enjoyable.

The world definitely is built well enough for multiple movies, and the later films are much lighter and in some respects more enjoyable than the first film - which was rather dark and had elements of horror in the narrative. Women write the later films, while the first was written by Joss Whedon et company.

3. Hoppers - a bit too much on the preachy side. And I kind of lost track of what it was trying to say somewhere in the middle of the film - partly because it does ask a bit of the audience? ( Read more... )
In short? Toy Story was much better on multiple levels. Although animation was fairly good for the most part. It does have an all star cast - which I find annoying, because I know there's a lot of under-employed talented voice actors out there, and really no need to cast employed actors such as Jon Hamm and Meryl Streep in roles. I didn't notice. So why bother?

****

Making my way through book 5 of Dungeon Crawler Carl series. At least I think it is book 5? I'm doing it on audible, so not quite as easy to keep track of which book is which. At any rate this one is "The Butchers Masquerade". A couple of notable points about this series? ( Read more... )

1. End of two aggravating weeks. I think the Universe was working against me most of this week, today included? Although as Breaking Bad and one of the cheerful engineers who works near me stated, "Every day that I can get up and pee unassisted is a good day."

On the plus side, the digestive system appears to be back on track. Unfortunately I've got a bout of the sneezes - which I blame on the weather and hay fever. It was 82 F (26 C) degrees today (unseasonably warm to say the least), and had a bit of a breeze. I started sneezing when I got out of the subway at Church Avenue, my nose wouldn't stop running, up to and until now? It's been on and off pretty much since 4:30 pm. Now it's dissipating a bit. But it was touch and go for a while there. Hopefully, I won't get a vestibular migraine.

I wanted a gluten free muffin this morning - so went to the place that has them, Cafe Rosario. I walked about ten minutes to the cafe, only to find it vacant, and under construction. ( Read more... )

There was no work. (I'm basically too efficient for my own good. I didn't want to hold the rest of the team up - so finished my portion of the work Monday and Tuesday, before my day off. Now, sigh, crickets.) So to pass the time, I distracted myself by spending the entire morning researching the history of American Libraries and US Copyright Law for a response to a comment on a prior post. (Thank oursin for providing me with the distraction.) ( Read more... )

Waiting for the subway at Whitehall Street, which is a very narrow platform by the way, I was listening to the song I am not okay by jelly roll - and promptly burst into tears. Okay, that's an exaggeration. My eyes welled up with tears, and I kept wiping at them, and stepping back a bit next to the painted column. Didn't matter, no one was looking at me. That song can sideswipe me at certain times - and totally fit my mood and what I'm feeling and down come the tears. It's the ultimate in tear jerker songs.

On the way to work? The song that was playing was Hold on by Wilson Phillips. (Someone on Threads recently stated they felt they've been holding on for one more day per the Wilson Phillip's song for about five years now, and are wondering if it will get better soon. I can relate.)

The Health Insurance Nurse Practitioner, employed by the Health Insurance Company, called. She called around 5:10pm. I discovered her time window was between 4:30 - 5:30 pm. It was a short call.
( Read more... )
So in sum? The good news? It's fully paid for and doesn't cost me a dime. It's a free resource provided by the insurance company. Bad news? It's not as useful as I'd hoped? I don't need to be educated on diabetes or ceiliac disease or heart disease. Maybe five years ago - on diabetes. Now, I know a lot. And I've been celiac since 2005. I know more than she does about it.

I'm disappointed but not surprised? People keep disappointing me? This is not a healthy pattern.

2. On a cheerier note? I have a hair appointment at 11 am tomorrow with a new stylist and at a new hair salon, that is closer, on street level, and between $50-$90 dollars, so not exorbitantly expensive. (The other place was fancy, but up five flights of steps, bathroom up a big step, and cost between $200-$300 now for a hair cut. (I get it you are dying your hair and getting a hair cut, but seriously - for a hair cut?)

3. Learned something today. I was trying to figure out why the UK and Europe, Hong Kong, and Eastern Europe have Public Lending Rights (basically the library pays authors a royalty each time someone checks out a book), and why this upset me so much but the Europeans/Canadians and Brits thought it was a good idea. Why was this remotely a good idea?

And while researching what the US does in regards to author's rights, libraries and copyright law and finding out from oursin what the UK does in regards to libraries and authors...I discovered the reason.

( Read more... )

What I learned? It's a cultural difference. We live in a time of culture wars. Where we fight over differences in culture. Instead of striving to understand them. I learned that I need to work harder on understanding?
( Read more... )

I can do better. Emotion doesn't help. And being aggravated doesn't either and I've been extremely aggravated these past two weeks for reasons that have nothing to do with this.

So I apologize if I upset anyone by my ramblings on this issue and my somewhat clumsy attempts to understand it. It's hard to wrap my mind around something that is foreign to my way of thinking - it's akin to learning a new language, it doesn't quite click, and I fumble around with it.

I realized that so much of our misunderstandings online are due to assumptions - we assume that our cultural perspectives are the same, they aren't. That our world view is the same, it's not. And that we are among like-minded individuals, this isn't always the case. And so, in assuming, we clumsily step on landmines. We don't think the same. Our perceptions aren't the same. And that is okay, I think? It makes life more interesting, and at the same time challenging. It forces me to listen, to learn, and to be mindful of views that vary greatly from my own, and to attempt to not judge them for varying.

1. So, I got annoyed by a comment by Joyce Carol Oats on Twitter aka X, and ended up having a very bizarre conversation or a pseudo passive aggressive debate with the arrogant author? (Apologies to anyone out there who fan worships Joyce Carol Oates.) I wouldn't consider it a conversation so much as Joyce taking a comment I made about post out of context, and writing numerous posts on it?

Just when I was beginning to think that maybe she wasn't all that bad, she managed to remind me of why I don't like Joyce Carol Oates?

Mother: I thought you disliked the author?
ME: I do.
Mother: then why?
Me: she annoyed me?
( Read more... )

Joyce Carol Oates: This is why AI-generated romance novels make perfect sense. Formulaic fiction doesn’t need to be written by hand, so to speak; what difference does it make if a machine “writes” it? There are machine-made clothes & there are custom-made clothes. They appeal to different consumers

I took exception to her snotty take on the romance genre.

So responded by quoting her post (see post above) and providing the following comment proceeding it.

ME: Says someone who hasn’t read romance novels. They’re not all paint by numbers. There’s good romance novels and bad ones, just like all other fiction.

[I have a small character count on X because I refuse to pay for it. It's X, I'd pay for DW first - and I'm opposed to paying for social media platforms. It's admittedly very 20th Century of me, but there you go.]

She surprised me by deciding to respond to my comment, by quoting my post (apparently I struck a nerve?):
( my odd conversation with Oats...about the romance genre and AI )

She was apparently initially responding to a blurb by the New York Magazine advertising this article: Romance Novel's Divisive Chili Pepper Scale Decoded

But she didn't really post the article - just reposted a blurb/ad about it.
(Also after having read the article - or rather skimmed, I don't think she did either?)

( excerpt from article )

My critique of Oates holds true - she's obviously not read any or a wide. range of romance novels.

Also she ironically missed the point of the article? She thinks spice is formulaic - it's not. She also thinks Wuthering Heights is a romance - it's not. Nor is it spicy.

The pitfalls of social media platforms. ;-)

And alas the pitfalls of AI, and by the way - I can tell the difference between AI and non-AI now in regards to writing, art and film expression. AI makes weird mistakes?

RESIST AI LIST

2. I took the day off for a physical, or the annual physical.

Nurse: Take your top off and put on the gown.
Me: Why? There's no reason for an ECG since my cardiologist will do one in November. Do I need to do two?
Nurse:No, okay .....well, you can opt out of taking off your shirt if you want to? I'll tell her.

Nurse: Did you fast?
ME: yes (I lie - I had a poached egg over greens. I've learned my lesson, also I don't need to - since had the fasting blood work done two weeks ago.) But I had blood work done two weeks ago.

Doctor: Did you fast?
Me: I already had the blood work done two weeks ago. What I need is the Magnesium, B-12, and other stuff. So I had a poached egg over greens.
Doctor: You're right. Good thing you ate something.
( Read more... )

3. After the doctor's appointment - took a walk and went grocery shopping (basically buying stuff I can't get in my own neighborhood). (It was a lovely morning for a walk. The doctor's appointment was at 8:20 am, and I got out around 9:30 am. So not that long, considering I also did blood work. But still a lovely morning - sun was out, it was in the 60s, nice breeze, nice sun...perfect.)

( walk or rather looking for gluten free items and grocery shopping )

4. Got home. Unpacked it all. Did laundry. I ended up doing the equivalent of two small loads, and one big load. But the laundry room was for the most part vacant, and I beat the family to the punch. (The father usually does it - he's a young lanky attractive guy - who I swear is the spitting image of my brother about 30 years ago. I'm always a little jarred by the resemblance. I knew a guy in college who also looked and acted a lot like my brother - we were fast friends. People didn't understand why I wasn't dating him or into him? Simple, he resembled my brother. I'm not attracted to people who resemble my brother.) ( Read more... )

Felt somewhat accomplished after all of that.

5. My poor mother is still having issues with her bank fraud. They don't know how it happened, but her residential community concierge informed her that she's the third resident that this happened to within the last few months.
( Read more... )

1. 57 year old man dragged to death when his backpack got caught in subway doors while exiting the train at Utica Avenue, Brooklyn

( excerpt )

When I heard it on the news this morning - I thought it had happened that morning, and he'd been dragged underneath the train, which I couldn't figure out. Came to work - spoke to co-workers, they couldn't figure it out either - one looked it up and discovered he was dragged on the platform.
(Ah, working in transportation is always interesting.)

2. Cornell gang rape controversy finally hits the national media after circulating for weeks on social media

I first saw it on threads about two weeks ago. I was waiting to see if it took off further - it has. This is the case about the young woman who was forcibly drugged and gang raped at a frat party in 2024, and the 7 men responsible didn't get prosecuted. She's suing. And doing it anonymously, bringing all the scrutiny to the men involved. It took off on social media, bit by bit. Then celebs found out about it - and spoke out. Then the students at Cornell found out - and spoke out, and protested. Then the Cornell newspaper and student collective published stories on it. Then it hit the news. Now the Mayor of Ithaca is involved and the DA is reopening the case.[ETA: now the governor is involved and starting an outside investigation of how Cornell handled it. Also it made Good Morning America this morning. So went from blurbs on threads, to articles in the Cornell Student papers, to the national news. This by the way is an example of how speaking out on the internet can help.]

It's horrific. The whole thing is. ( Read more... )

****

Sigh. And this is why I keep trying to avoid the news.

Haven't accomplished much this weekend. Watched it rain. Watched Television. Listened to Audiobook. Slept. Talked to Mother and Mother's cousin. Watched the new director of religious ed at church give sermon on Youtube - she's interesting? She's about five foot, in her late 50s/early 60s, gray headed, African-American woman. And great with the kids.

Her sermon was entitled "Burn the Book" and was about "Banned Books" in honor of the Brooklyn Book Festive. She referenced Toni Morrison's Essay Peril, which is in a book of essays on banned books, edited by Toni Morrison and called Burn This Book.

I've been thinking a lot about Banned Books and the history of it - since my post on problematic authors and Harry Potter. Some of the responses, while clearly meant to be helpful, were ...ahem disturbing? I think we need to be mindful in our desire to help, that we don't inadvertently do more harm? The problem with righteousness in the course of a just cause that we feel strongly about - is it can often lead towards a deeply myopic take on the world, and we can lose sight of the big picture.

Example? Reading Neil Gaimans books in no way supports his actions. Any more than reading JK Rowling's novels supports hers. Nor does checking out the movies from the library support her actions. You aren't financing or funding them in any way, checking out those books from a library, nor are you furthering their views. But if you ban those books - you are preventing others from experiencing them for themselves, and also justifying the banning of other books in the process.

As Elizabeth Anne Terry, the Religious Ed Instructor stated, we all should have the right to check out any book from a library, and the right to read and judge that book for ourselves. To interpret it for ourselves. Just as everyone should have the right to write any book they please about anything that they please and share it with others.

The difficulty with freedom of speech or really any right for that matter, is we don't get to choose who has them. People we disagree with - are allowed the same rights that we have. Otherwise they aren't rights. Fascism and Authoritarianism occurs when only one group has rights, and the others are suppressed and don't.

I bring this up because October 4th is the beginning of National Banned Books Week. A banned book - is any book that an individual or group of individuals or organization has decided needs to be banned or removed from a libraries book shelves, whether it be a school library or a public library. Libraries are sacred - they are free - and provide access to books to all. Banned books - are often banned out of fear - fear that a book will change how people think, cause them to see the world differently, expand their thinking, inform, or even incite or provide another viewpoint.

Want to see a list of Banned Books - during the Sermon, Terry listed the following books:
( Read more... )
There's more.

Banned and Challenged Books Updated in 2026

Pen America Banned Book List for 2024-2025, updated in February 2026

I get hating a book. ( Read more... )

I will not destroy a book. Even "Art of the Deal" written by Donald Trump. I hate Mein Kempf, but I won't destroy it. I find the books written by Marquis de Sade disturbing, but I won't destroy them.

Books are historical records. They should be cherished. We don't destroy or ban books.

And I get that there are writers and artists out there who have lead questionable and problematic private and public lives, some have done monstrous things. They are not monsters. They have committed monstrous acts. This tendency to demonize people and not the act, is akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater. People are more than one thing? And they can create something beautiful that is worth reading, worth looking at, and worth savoring - even if they've also done something horrible. And just because XYZ thinks that the work was evil, doesn't necessarily mean it is, and it can be interpreted more than one way. And XYZ does not have the right to prevent the rest of us from making up our own minds about it. Or telling us how we should think about it, nor do book critics, academics, professors, or anyone else. We are allowed to read, see or view it for ourselves and make up our own minds.

Should Machiavelli's The Prince be censored and banned just because one group of people saw it as a handbook on how to rule, while another interpret it as a satire - showing the opposite?

I ask people to think about this. Every time you want to censor or ban something, imagine for a moment a work of art that you love or has changed and transformed you in a positive way being banned and censored - so that you never ever saw or read it? Imagine what that would be like. And ask yourself, do you have the right to do that to someone else? And who are you to judge what should or shouldn't be read or seen or heard or watched?

I know this is hard. But we don't know how others will view something. And how it will change them. And it's not on us to decide for them. We shouldn't have that kind of power.

Yes, I get that you want to support LGBTA and you want to help those who suffered abuses, but there are other ways? Donate funds to LGBTA charities. To Services for Domestic Violence, The Trevor Project, Legal Services that support Trans Rights. Stop subscribing to Paramount and HBO streaming services. Don't purchase merchandise.

Banning the books doesn't help anyone. Telling people not to read them. Shaming people who read Harry Potter, or love Ocean at the End of the Lane, or adore Enders Game helps no one. You aren't furthering any cause. You are doing the exact opposite. You can defend Trans Rights, at the same time you ensure a child has access to Harry Potter novels on school library shelves. It's possible. Same with Ender's Game, and countless other books.

Try to support Libraries and the effort to prevent censorship, by championing a book, even one you might personally hate.

Thanks for reading/listening, if you made it this far.

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Page Summary

Saturday voted and got a mammogram
Friday is just tired...
No title comes to mind...
Monday glides on by...with barely a thought
Memage - Question a Day and Friday 5
Wrangling Jello is apparently part of the Wed Book Meme
Question a Day Meme - October, and well stuff...
Monday is a holiday...so did laundry and vacuumed.
Saturday was lovely, today is rainy...and not worth mentioning
Friday had a change of plans...and bought books
The pitfalls of righteous discourse and actions...
The day just sat there waiting to be forgotten, as quickly as possible
The latest entertainment merger ....
Epiphany of a sort? If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do? No, not exactly.
Catching up September & October Question a Day Memes
Reviews and other stuff...
Friday is contemplative...it's been an aggravating two weeks
Wednesday is running errands, fighting with annoying authors on Twitter, and taking a breather...
Drive by posting..links mostly
National Banned Books Week starts October 4...

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Page generated Oct. 25th, 2026 02:26 am

Spontaneous Musings

from a curious soul

Recent Entries

Saturday voted and got a mammogram

Friday is just tired...

No title comes to mind...

Monday glides on by...with barely a thought

Memage - Question a Day and Friday 5

Wrangling Jello is apparently part of the Wed Book Meme

Question a Day Meme - October, and well stuff...

Monday is a holiday...so did laundry and vacuumed.

Saturday was lovely, today is rainy...and not worth mentioning

Friday had a change of plans...and bought books

The pitfalls of righteous discourse and actions...

The day just sat there waiting to be forgotten, as quickly as possible

The latest entertainment merger ....

Epiphany of a sort? If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do? No, not exactly.

Catching up September & October Question a Day Memes

Reviews and other stuff...

Friday is contemplative...it's been an aggravating two weeks

Wednesday is running errands, fighting with annoying authors on Twitter, and taking a breather...

Drive by posting..links mostly

National Banned Books Week starts October 4...

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