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Mar. 2nd, 2020 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. I'm loving Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - which gets better with each episode. Also, it manages to circumvent the flaws of Crazy Ex-Girl Friend and Jason (Probably) Saves the World - of which it appears to be an odd hybrid of. It's not as "mean-spirited" as Crazy (which has a "mean" sense of humor), nor as silly and improbably neat as Jason. It's more in line with "God Friended Me" in a way. Plausible, utilizing songs we know, but in a different way, and with a warm-hearted message. Anyhow, I'm finding it comforting and the cast is likable, also they can sing.
Sample song - This Little Light of Mine as sung by the gender-fluid character MO, who is transgender.
Zoey, after being stuck in an MRI machine during an earthquake, now has the ability to hear people's feeling and heart-felt desires through song. They basically sing and dance it out in front of her -- but she's the only person who sees and hears it.
No one else does, and they are aware they are doing it at all.
Zoey, herself, is not musically inclined and is basically a tech nerd. And the only female techie outside of her boss in tech startup company in San Francisco. Her father has severe MS, and is basically paralyzed (Peter Gallagher) and her mother (Mary Steenbergen) is his sole caregiver. With her brother (a public defender) and his pregnant wife helping out.
The series is fairly diverse. We also have Lauren Graham as Zoey's Boss, plus Mo (Zoey's friend and super/landlady) who is black and gender neutral, Simon, black, her brother's wife, Asian. One of the nice things about the 21st Century television series - is diverse casting. (That was my difficulty with 20th century media - it wasn't diverse enough for my taste.)
2. Discussed writing with co-worker. Most writers have day-jobs. Very few can make afford it. Television writing isn't as high paying as you think. Nor is novel writing or reviews or freelance. Hence the term "glamour".
Co-worker (frustrated Screen-writer and Yoko Ono fan): Did you know that under the old studio system, the television scribes and screenwriters would punch in a time card each day?
I look at him, one eyebrow raised. Okay both eyebrows raised, I'm not that coordinated, and well one is kind of permanently raised anyhow due to an injury.
Co-worker: Yeah, they'd clock in. Go to their bungalow and write for 18 hours, then go home.
Me: Well it's not that different now. They write a script for 15 hours. It's pretty much a rough draft, gets changed, and film it.
I asked co-worker if he'd found anything good on television to watch. He's the one who talked me into watching Breaking Bad. (We both gave up on Better Call Saul - got bored with Saul, who wasn't a character that interested either of us all that much.)
He said that he was in love with this network that showed foreign television series, no commercials, each television episode was shot like a movie with European actors, and imported from Europe. And the European actors were so much better than the American ones. Then it left -- decided to go streaming. So now, he's stuck and has nothing to watch. I told him he needed to subscribe to streaming - but he doesn't have internet access - which would be a problem. Although I understand why he doesn't have the internet. There are days I wish I didn't have access to the internet.
Meanwhile in stark contrast, my younger (much younger) co-workers are wandering about with smart watches.
We both agreed television was a mixed bag. It's very hard to make, and kind of miraculous when you get a good episode let along a season. So - for instance, Breaking Bad? First two seasons...okay, third season? Bloody brilliant. Last two seasons - okay. This is true with pretty much all television shows.
And yes, I told him, I can hand-wave a lot if I like the characters and the story.
And I watch a lot of bad television shows. (I do however draw the line at reality shows.)
Also, told co-worker that someone had suggested I quit my job and take up writing full time. We both laughed our heads off. "Yeah, right, and do they want to support me, pay all my health care bills, my rent, my transportation, fund my retirement, and basically be my patron -- because if so...sure." This is the co-worker who read my book. Loved it. And wrote two rave reviews about it.
I have an interesting work place. I've a co-worker who is a frustrated litigator/race car driver and musician, one who is a frustrated music teacher, another who is a frustrated screen-writer/playwrite...most people don't get to do what they dreamed of doing in life. They fall into crap. My father was a frustrated writer and cartoonist. My brother is a frustrated landscape designer/architect. Actually half my family are frustrated writers.
My uncle (the spy) told my mother that now that he'd finished typing up his novel, all he had to do was send it out to publishers, and voila published.
You'd think he would know better - considering he had to self-publish all his poetry. And of course it's written on a type-writer, single spaced, because he refuses to buy a computer. He's 82.
I know a lot about the publishing, independent publishing, freelance writing profession - enough to know I can't make a living at creative writing. I did try. More than once. Failed miserably. I have friends who were journalism majors that got jobs in IT.
I do write professionally by the way -- just not creative crap. It's financial and legal writing. It's harder actually - and more precise. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, actually. You see me drop into that style of writing from time to time on this journal.
3. I'm out of shape. Ran to catch a train and ended up with a coughing fit. Saw people back away slowly. It was unnerving. The coronavirus hit NY with one confirmed case - COVID-19 is what it is called. Boss was printing off information on it.
Also, an Intensive Care Nurse provided information on FB from her briefing - apparently there is a cure in progress - should be available in 18 months. Incubation period - 14 days. Not severe for everyone -- mainly for those with other problems. It presents like pneumonia. The test is a deep nasal swab, deep inside the nostril.
The confirmed case in NY was a woman who had just returned from a trip to Iran. Her husband probably has it too. They are confined to their house. The officials discovered it - after NY decided to do their own testing and stopped waiting on the stupid Federal government to authorize it. They had requested permission - but decided fuck that, we're doing it on our own anyhow. They did get permission - today, but like I said they did it already.
Sat next to a woman at the hair-dressers on Saturday, she said that the biggest problem with traveling - was not that she was afraid of catching virus, so much as getting stuck somewhere. She works for American Express - and travels a lot. The organization has cancelled multiple overseas trips -- such as one to India, due to where people have to fly out of for connections. And she felt lucky to only have to fly domestically. Another co-worker (sci-fi/Doctor Who fan co-worker who convinced me to try What We Do in the Shadows (his favorite show)) - told me that a friend of his had to cancel plans to go to Italy this spring. Their whole family was going - to visit their son who was in college over there - on an overseas program. Not only did they have to cancel their family trip, but their son's college had cancelled the semester and was sending all the kids home. (Italy has 1900 cases to date.)
Anyone else feel like they've fallen into a dystopian horror movie or novel from the 1990s and early 00s? Worse? It reminds me a wee bit too much of this weird ass television documentary special that aired in 1981 or thereabouts, entitled the The Man Who Saw Tomorrow. In the documentary? They said that the major landmark in NYC would be blown up, and then the son of a president would declare war on the evil man in the Middle East who blew up the landmark. Then there would be a series of increasingly severe and horrible natural disasters. The US and Russia would team up and go against Asia, there'd be some sort of pandemic, and the earth would burn, then we'd have tranformative leader, and 100 years of peace and tranguility.
The stupid thing gave me nightmares as a kid. I was home alone at the time. No one else in my family saw it. I remember thinking at the time - note to self, avoid living in NYC. (Apparently the Universe has a sense of humor?)
Oh well, good news? There's a happy ending.
Sample song - This Little Light of Mine as sung by the gender-fluid character MO, who is transgender.
Zoey, after being stuck in an MRI machine during an earthquake, now has the ability to hear people's feeling and heart-felt desires through song. They basically sing and dance it out in front of her -- but she's the only person who sees and hears it.
No one else does, and they are aware they are doing it at all.
Zoey, herself, is not musically inclined and is basically a tech nerd. And the only female techie outside of her boss in tech startup company in San Francisco. Her father has severe MS, and is basically paralyzed (Peter Gallagher) and her mother (Mary Steenbergen) is his sole caregiver. With her brother (a public defender) and his pregnant wife helping out.
The series is fairly diverse. We also have Lauren Graham as Zoey's Boss, plus Mo (Zoey's friend and super/landlady) who is black and gender neutral, Simon, black, her brother's wife, Asian. One of the nice things about the 21st Century television series - is diverse casting. (That was my difficulty with 20th century media - it wasn't diverse enough for my taste.)
2. Discussed writing with co-worker. Most writers have day-jobs. Very few can make afford it. Television writing isn't as high paying as you think. Nor is novel writing or reviews or freelance. Hence the term "glamour".
Co-worker (frustrated Screen-writer and Yoko Ono fan): Did you know that under the old studio system, the television scribes and screenwriters would punch in a time card each day?
I look at him, one eyebrow raised. Okay both eyebrows raised, I'm not that coordinated, and well one is kind of permanently raised anyhow due to an injury.
Co-worker: Yeah, they'd clock in. Go to their bungalow and write for 18 hours, then go home.
Me: Well it's not that different now. They write a script for 15 hours. It's pretty much a rough draft, gets changed, and film it.
I asked co-worker if he'd found anything good on television to watch. He's the one who talked me into watching Breaking Bad. (We both gave up on Better Call Saul - got bored with Saul, who wasn't a character that interested either of us all that much.)
He said that he was in love with this network that showed foreign television series, no commercials, each television episode was shot like a movie with European actors, and imported from Europe. And the European actors were so much better than the American ones. Then it left -- decided to go streaming. So now, he's stuck and has nothing to watch. I told him he needed to subscribe to streaming - but he doesn't have internet access - which would be a problem. Although I understand why he doesn't have the internet. There are days I wish I didn't have access to the internet.
Meanwhile in stark contrast, my younger (much younger) co-workers are wandering about with smart watches.
We both agreed television was a mixed bag. It's very hard to make, and kind of miraculous when you get a good episode let along a season. So - for instance, Breaking Bad? First two seasons...okay, third season? Bloody brilliant. Last two seasons - okay. This is true with pretty much all television shows.
And yes, I told him, I can hand-wave a lot if I like the characters and the story.
And I watch a lot of bad television shows. (I do however draw the line at reality shows.)
Also, told co-worker that someone had suggested I quit my job and take up writing full time. We both laughed our heads off. "Yeah, right, and do they want to support me, pay all my health care bills, my rent, my transportation, fund my retirement, and basically be my patron -- because if so...sure." This is the co-worker who read my book. Loved it. And wrote two rave reviews about it.
I have an interesting work place. I've a co-worker who is a frustrated litigator/race car driver and musician, one who is a frustrated music teacher, another who is a frustrated screen-writer/playwrite...most people don't get to do what they dreamed of doing in life. They fall into crap. My father was a frustrated writer and cartoonist. My brother is a frustrated landscape designer/architect. Actually half my family are frustrated writers.
My uncle (the spy) told my mother that now that he'd finished typing up his novel, all he had to do was send it out to publishers, and voila published.
You'd think he would know better - considering he had to self-publish all his poetry. And of course it's written on a type-writer, single spaced, because he refuses to buy a computer. He's 82.
I know a lot about the publishing, independent publishing, freelance writing profession - enough to know I can't make a living at creative writing. I did try. More than once. Failed miserably. I have friends who were journalism majors that got jobs in IT.
I do write professionally by the way -- just not creative crap. It's financial and legal writing. It's harder actually - and more precise. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, actually. You see me drop into that style of writing from time to time on this journal.
3. I'm out of shape. Ran to catch a train and ended up with a coughing fit. Saw people back away slowly. It was unnerving. The coronavirus hit NY with one confirmed case - COVID-19 is what it is called. Boss was printing off information on it.
Also, an Intensive Care Nurse provided information on FB from her briefing - apparently there is a cure in progress - should be available in 18 months. Incubation period - 14 days. Not severe for everyone -- mainly for those with other problems. It presents like pneumonia. The test is a deep nasal swab, deep inside the nostril.
The confirmed case in NY was a woman who had just returned from a trip to Iran. Her husband probably has it too. They are confined to their house. The officials discovered it - after NY decided to do their own testing and stopped waiting on the stupid Federal government to authorize it. They had requested permission - but decided fuck that, we're doing it on our own anyhow. They did get permission - today, but like I said they did it already.
Sat next to a woman at the hair-dressers on Saturday, she said that the biggest problem with traveling - was not that she was afraid of catching virus, so much as getting stuck somewhere. She works for American Express - and travels a lot. The organization has cancelled multiple overseas trips -- such as one to India, due to where people have to fly out of for connections. And she felt lucky to only have to fly domestically. Another co-worker (sci-fi/Doctor Who fan co-worker who convinced me to try What We Do in the Shadows (his favorite show)) - told me that a friend of his had to cancel plans to go to Italy this spring. Their whole family was going - to visit their son who was in college over there - on an overseas program. Not only did they have to cancel their family trip, but their son's college had cancelled the semester and was sending all the kids home. (Italy has 1900 cases to date.)
Anyone else feel like they've fallen into a dystopian horror movie or novel from the 1990s and early 00s? Worse? It reminds me a wee bit too much of this weird ass television documentary special that aired in 1981 or thereabouts, entitled the The Man Who Saw Tomorrow. In the documentary? They said that the major landmark in NYC would be blown up, and then the son of a president would declare war on the evil man in the Middle East who blew up the landmark. Then there would be a series of increasingly severe and horrible natural disasters. The US and Russia would team up and go against Asia, there'd be some sort of pandemic, and the earth would burn, then we'd have tranformative leader, and 100 years of peace and tranguility.
The stupid thing gave me nightmares as a kid. I was home alone at the time. No one else in my family saw it. I remember thinking at the time - note to self, avoid living in NYC. (Apparently the Universe has a sense of humor?)
Oh well, good news? There's a happy ending.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 11:28 am (UTC)I coughed the other day and watched people move away from me. I had just choked on my water. The paranoia, at least, is real.