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Hasta La Vista 2018
Well, unless I decide to post later -- which is iffy at the moment. Still sick, but seem to be coming out on the other side of whatever this is -- not sure if it is allergies or a bad cold? Doesn't matter, as long as it goes away soon. Cold and rainy here -- although not as cold as it has been in previous years. According to the news, we have insanely warm temperatures for this time of year -- in the 40s, and will reach 50 before midnight. Too bad it's pouring. Can't be fun standing in the middle of Times Square while it's pouring. (I'm not. I plan to be in bed and asleep long before the clock strikes twelve.)
This morning -- while in the shower, a thought popped into my head...life is not a competition no matter how much the world, the media, and everyone wants to turn it into one. It's a journey. Not a race. So, New Year's resolution is basically not to compete and stay out of competitions.
With that in mind, the below are the entertaining and at times thought provoking items that I watched, read, and experienced in 2019 that I can remember and want to either recommend or share.
1. Notable Books
* Brian K. Vaughn's Saga series...which was published long before 2018, but I just got around to. It's rather good. Humorous, anti-war, anti-violence, and clever. It winks at a lot of established tropes.
What is it about? Too tired to bother explaining it all. I'm sick, remember. But I think I posted on it a while back.
* An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard -- more a horror novel than a fantasy novel. Interesting concepts -- magic has a price, which the elite get around paying by taking it from others.
[It's sad, but I can't really think of anything else. Can we say long reading slump?]
2. Notable Television
* The Haunting of Hill House -- I binged this on Netflix in November and I still can't forget it. It still can't dislodge some of it from my head. I think it is the most frightening thing I've ever seen. And also the most disturbing. Granted it ends on a good note, but also an oddly unsettling one.
It's an adaptation of Jackson's original, but it develops the ghosts and menace of the house in another way, and is a disturbing commentary on mental illness and grief. Standout performances by the actress who plays Nell, and Carla G. who plays the mother.
* Killing Eve...which is worth watching for Sandra Oh and Jodi Comer alone. Yes, the plot meanders a bit. I admittedly got lost in various spots. But the cat and mouse game, with the two leads switching up the roles of cat and mouse, is worth every minute.
* Marvelous Mrs Maisel S2 -- in some respects better than season 1. Tony Shaloub is hilarious, doing almost nothing. And it utilizes every member of the cast -- at the same time, winking at various cultural bits from the 1950s, and making strong feminist statements about how women were treated back then and now. There's a particularly humorous scene between Midge's mother and her art class.
[And I'm drawing a blank on the others...did just watch Runaways S2 on Hulu, which was better than S1, although the best bits seemed to feature James Marsters, Julian McMahon's Jonah, Nico, or Tina for some reason. I'm thisclose to kicking Gerdt, Karolina and Alex. Will review elsewhere. Also Chilling Adventures of Sabrina -- although I was rather disappointed in it. It lacks something, I think the pacing is off? Or like Runaways it's at its best when it focuses on the adults...?]
3. Movies
* Black Panther (all the other Marvel films you sort have to have seen the previous ones in order to follow them, this one, you didn't). Also it is a game-changer, in much the same way that Hamilton was on Broadway. It opened the gate for all-black cast action films. But I enjoyed it.
* Wrinkle in Time -- I thought it was lovely. Very close to the book.
* Black KKKlansman -- slow in places, funny in others.
* A Quiet Place -- not what I expected. More thoughtful and clever than scary, but in a good way.
* Won't You Be My Neighbor? - a stunningly thoughtful documentary about Mr. Rogers and his attempt to change children's television.
4. Theater
* Carousel -- an interesting recast of Carousel, with stunning vocals. There were moments in it that blew me away.
* A Man Walks a Mile in a Woman's Shoes -- a one-man show, written and performed by an Irish Man for the Irish Arts Center, about a man who walks a mile in a woman's heels, which he created and cobbled for her. She's a soccer coach and he's a mute cobbler who can't speak.
___________
2018 --Accomplishments
* I got my promotion - finally. Only took two years. They'd put the paper work in - in 2017. This is the last one. So I feel this sense of relief. Like I'm no longer looking for the ball to drop. Safe. And my boss can't threaten me any longer. He'd been holding that over my head for a while now. More money, more responsibility, heavier work load. (Except I'd been doing the work load and had the higher responsibility for the past three years...so now, finally, getting compensated for it.)
* Made a couple new friends, or so it seems
* Reconnected with a few old friends, including Former BFF (Wales), who I hadn't spoken to in eight years.
* Researched my Ancestry via Ancestry DNA and discovered pretty much what I already knew -- I'm mostly Irish and Scottish, the rest British, Norwegian, German, and French.
* Started writing a new novel which I'm about 75% of the way through -- it's 400 some pages at the moment (albeit with lots of spacing, so, 175,000 words.)
* Got my digestive system somewhat fixed or so it would appear, and along with it my anxiety/depression for the most part.
* Visited Seattle, Washington and reconnected with my cousin.
So overall not a bad year, in some respects.
My Dad did manage to use the walker to get to and from dinner at my parent's club the other day, as opposed to the wheelchair. And seems to be doing a little better. Also no longer has to use a catheter. And my Mom's back surgery was successful. My niece got into the high school/college of her choice -- Simon Rock (yes apparently applying to high school as if it were college and it being a sort of hybrid of high school and undergad is a thing nowadays.)
End of year donations, included Enviromental Defense Fund, Nature Conservancy, ACLU (as long as the GOP and the Doofus are in power -- I'm donating to the ACLU - aka American Civil Liberties Union), and my church (which is currently housing and acting as a sancturary for two immigrant families among other social justice issues.).
I'm trying to focus on the positives at the moment. Let the negative stuff fade away into the background where it belongs.
Hopefully 2019 will bring positive things its way and challenges that won't make me too crazy. (Looks pointedly at my work place.)
Happy New Year to everyone, or to those who celebrate. (Not everyone does apparently. Which is interesting.) Hope the new year brings good things your way or at the very least interesting lessons that don't hurt too much.
This morning -- while in the shower, a thought popped into my head...life is not a competition no matter how much the world, the media, and everyone wants to turn it into one. It's a journey. Not a race. So, New Year's resolution is basically not to compete and stay out of competitions.
With that in mind, the below are the entertaining and at times thought provoking items that I watched, read, and experienced in 2019 that I can remember and want to either recommend or share.
1. Notable Books
* Brian K. Vaughn's Saga series...which was published long before 2018, but I just got around to. It's rather good. Humorous, anti-war, anti-violence, and clever. It winks at a lot of established tropes.
What is it about? Too tired to bother explaining it all. I'm sick, remember. But I think I posted on it a while back.
* An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard -- more a horror novel than a fantasy novel. Interesting concepts -- magic has a price, which the elite get around paying by taking it from others.
[It's sad, but I can't really think of anything else. Can we say long reading slump?]
2. Notable Television
* The Haunting of Hill House -- I binged this on Netflix in November and I still can't forget it. It still can't dislodge some of it from my head. I think it is the most frightening thing I've ever seen. And also the most disturbing. Granted it ends on a good note, but also an oddly unsettling one.
It's an adaptation of Jackson's original, but it develops the ghosts and menace of the house in another way, and is a disturbing commentary on mental illness and grief. Standout performances by the actress who plays Nell, and Carla G. who plays the mother.
* Killing Eve...which is worth watching for Sandra Oh and Jodi Comer alone. Yes, the plot meanders a bit. I admittedly got lost in various spots. But the cat and mouse game, with the two leads switching up the roles of cat and mouse, is worth every minute.
* Marvelous Mrs Maisel S2 -- in some respects better than season 1. Tony Shaloub is hilarious, doing almost nothing. And it utilizes every member of the cast -- at the same time, winking at various cultural bits from the 1950s, and making strong feminist statements about how women were treated back then and now. There's a particularly humorous scene between Midge's mother and her art class.
[And I'm drawing a blank on the others...did just watch Runaways S2 on Hulu, which was better than S1, although the best bits seemed to feature James Marsters, Julian McMahon's Jonah, Nico, or Tina for some reason. I'm thisclose to kicking Gerdt, Karolina and Alex. Will review elsewhere. Also Chilling Adventures of Sabrina -- although I was rather disappointed in it. It lacks something, I think the pacing is off? Or like Runaways it's at its best when it focuses on the adults...?]
3. Movies
* Black Panther (all the other Marvel films you sort have to have seen the previous ones in order to follow them, this one, you didn't). Also it is a game-changer, in much the same way that Hamilton was on Broadway. It opened the gate for all-black cast action films. But I enjoyed it.
* Wrinkle in Time -- I thought it was lovely. Very close to the book.
* Black KKKlansman -- slow in places, funny in others.
* A Quiet Place -- not what I expected. More thoughtful and clever than scary, but in a good way.
* Won't You Be My Neighbor? - a stunningly thoughtful documentary about Mr. Rogers and his attempt to change children's television.
4. Theater
* Carousel -- an interesting recast of Carousel, with stunning vocals. There were moments in it that blew me away.
* A Man Walks a Mile in a Woman's Shoes -- a one-man show, written and performed by an Irish Man for the Irish Arts Center, about a man who walks a mile in a woman's heels, which he created and cobbled for her. She's a soccer coach and he's a mute cobbler who can't speak.
___________
2018 --Accomplishments
* I got my promotion - finally. Only took two years. They'd put the paper work in - in 2017. This is the last one. So I feel this sense of relief. Like I'm no longer looking for the ball to drop. Safe. And my boss can't threaten me any longer. He'd been holding that over my head for a while now. More money, more responsibility, heavier work load. (Except I'd been doing the work load and had the higher responsibility for the past three years...so now, finally, getting compensated for it.)
* Made a couple new friends, or so it seems
* Reconnected with a few old friends, including Former BFF (Wales), who I hadn't spoken to in eight years.
* Researched my Ancestry via Ancestry DNA and discovered pretty much what I already knew -- I'm mostly Irish and Scottish, the rest British, Norwegian, German, and French.
* Started writing a new novel which I'm about 75% of the way through -- it's 400 some pages at the moment (albeit with lots of spacing, so, 175,000 words.)
* Got my digestive system somewhat fixed or so it would appear, and along with it my anxiety/depression for the most part.
* Visited Seattle, Washington and reconnected with my cousin.
So overall not a bad year, in some respects.
My Dad did manage to use the walker to get to and from dinner at my parent's club the other day, as opposed to the wheelchair. And seems to be doing a little better. Also no longer has to use a catheter. And my Mom's back surgery was successful. My niece got into the high school/college of her choice -- Simon Rock (yes apparently applying to high school as if it were college and it being a sort of hybrid of high school and undergad is a thing nowadays.)
End of year donations, included Enviromental Defense Fund, Nature Conservancy, ACLU (as long as the GOP and the Doofus are in power -- I'm donating to the ACLU - aka American Civil Liberties Union), and my church (which is currently housing and acting as a sancturary for two immigrant families among other social justice issues.).
I'm trying to focus on the positives at the moment. Let the negative stuff fade away into the background where it belongs.
Hopefully 2019 will bring positive things its way and challenges that won't make me too crazy. (Looks pointedly at my work place.)
Happy New Year to everyone, or to those who celebrate. (Not everyone does apparently. Which is interesting.) Hope the new year brings good things your way or at the very least interesting lessons that don't hurt too much.