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Aug. 15th, 2020 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. I binge-watched four more episodes of Halt Catch Fire tonight, so I'm about seven episodes into S1, with three left to go. Shipping Cameron/Joe hard, although I know they don't end up together and can't possibly - because both are too damaged in different ways.
Gordon, I still want to smack upside the head. I really feel sorry for his wife.
The series has two very strong female roles at the center of it - and the women really are the brains, and the most stable characters in the series. The men are train wrecks. It also does an excellent job of showing how a toxic and entitled male corporate culture is toxic to everyone within it.
Guest appearances by the actor who played Robin Wood in Buffy, and the actor who played the lawyer boy-friend of Rebecca Bunch in Crazy-Ex Girlfriend.
It's very good, and weirdly comforting right now. It's just not associated with anything. And there's no mention of well the terrorist in the white house.
2. Working my way through a few audio books, also have discovered a fantasy novel that I might be able to read, that I can't remember the name of.
3. If you are interested, and no reason why you should be...the NY Times has gathered all the info you need or would want on the Coronavirus. Updates and everything you need to know on the Coronavirus Outbreak.
I check it and the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center's COVID MAP OF DOOM daily.
Yes, it may be evidence of a slight OCD tendency in my nature.
4. 5 South Texas Communities Have the Highest Known Infection Rates.
5. Some people have quarantine envy, I have vacation envy.
D (immigrant from Moscow Russia): Look - see the great pics I took of our vacation to Maine!
Chidi: Just had a great trip in Martha's Vineyard, we biked everywhere.
Gabe: I'm going up to the Adirondacks next week to just veg.
Me: I heard about her vacation and...it felt like someone had physically punched me in the stomach. It physically hurt. It's weird. I know that makes no sense, but it hurt. I felt as if I had been punched.
Mother: I know...have I told you about the Bowmans?
Me: No?
Mother: The Bowman's daughter rents a house out on the beach every year. She decided to do it this year too. Invited 25 people down. A family reunion. Grandchildren, kids, family members. Mary got to visit with all of them.
I can only visit my husband once a day in the hospital room. I can't even see my kids or grand-daughter - and I only have two kids and one grand kid.
Me: Ow.
Mother: I heard on the television recently and you even told this to me - "Do not compare yourself to anyone. Ever. Only pain lies in that direction."
Me: Reminds me of this article I read in the NY Times about quarantine envy..but I got pissed off at the journalist.
Why? Because she told people to get a pet if they are lonely or go on Zoom with relatives and play games on Zoom...
Mother: I wish people wouldn't advise getting pets...they are a huge responsibility. You have to take care of them. You still have to go out and walk the dog, feed the dog, take it to the vet.
Me: I know. Some people are very good at taking care of dogs and cats. People like my brother...
Mother: He was much better than I was -
Me: I don't know you were pretty good. According to a post on my neighborhood's FB page, people adopted ducks. Then after the lockdown, when they got big, didn't know what to do with them.
Mother: Ducks?
Me: I know. Right? Why on earth would you adopt a duck?
Mother: How do you have a ducks in an apartment?
Me: Well apparently they were living in a house with a yard.
Mother: But they would poop everywhere - you can't really train ducks.
Me: Also birds are very sensitive creatures, and can get very attached to people. Ducks get more attached than dogs or cats.
Mother: Ducks?
Me: Yes, so it's also kind of cruel. They are trying to figure out how to reintroduce the ducks back into the wild. Except they are white farm ducks, not wild mallard ducks.
Mother: Why would anyone do this?
ME: I don't know. People blow my mind.
Personally, I blame bored internet journalists who like to give pseudo-psychological advice.
Here's some free advice? Never take advice - asked for or otherwise from a journalist.
Did however like this blurb:
When the coronavirus hit France, Leila Slimani, a popular French-Moroccan novelist, and her family left Paris for their country home. Once there, Ms. Slimani began writing a quarantine diary for the newspaper Le Monde. The response, especially from people in teeny Parisian apartments, was so scathing, she apparently abandoned the series. When the billionaire David Geffen posted photos of his mega-yacht on Instagram while he quarantined in the Grenadines, the backlash led him to turn his account private.
Quarantine envy: If it’s not a widespread term yet, it should be. Envy, of course, is the joy-devouring emotion of craving what others have. Even before the pandemic, social media was linked to rising levels of the emotion. “Social media magnifies and creates instant, destructive envy,” said Andrew Oswald, professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Warwick in England, and a co-author of a study on whether envy is societally harmful (short answer: yes). “There’s a globalization of envy and in the longer run, we have to regulate it.”
I’ve seen the discontent over the years, in my day job, moderating reader comments. Growing wealth disparity, along with ubiquitous social media, appears to have made us all less satisfied (and snarkier). The pandemic has fueled the fire. Essential workers envy those working at home. People who were laid off envy those who weren’t. Those home-schooling young children envy those who aren’t. We all envy the rich. Those studying the topic find the reaction understandable.
“When people are miserable, their resilience to other bad things becomes reduced,” said Dr. Oswald. “It’s easier to shrug off others’ good fortune when your life is OK. It’s been a terrible time for many people and the last thing they want to see is a millionaire’s house with a giant lawn.”
Envy, studies show, presents as a measurable brain response and is quantifiable via self-report scales. (Researchers suspect envy is underreported because people are ashamed to admit to it.)
“Envy is an ugly two-headed monster,” said Dr. Christine Harris, a psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego, who studies emotions. “One head wants what someone else has. The other head chews on the first, for having these negative feelings.”
Jens Lange, a psychologist at the University of Hamburg in Germany, agreed that the pandemic has created conditions that are ripe for envy.
“At the heart of envy is social comparison of your situation with someone else’s,” Dr. Lange said. “It’s a basic process across all cultures.”
He added: “The pandemic is increasing the divide between the advantaged and disadvantaged, so there’s more opportunity to compare yourself to others in unflattering ways. You may also realize certain things are important that you never thought about. Say you’re alone in lockdown. Before, you were never socially isolated. Now your envy increases toward people locked down in others’ company.”
That’s been true for Bethany Grace Howe, 52, C.E.O. of the TransHealth Data Collective in Eugene, Ore. Ms. Howe, who describes herself as a “raging extrovert,” is quarantined solo, except when her young daughter visits.
“I’m envious of people who have more than cats to talk to,” Ms. Howe said. “I see my friend and her family on Facebook doing puzzles. And I think, It would be nice to be doing puzzles with a family. People have told me, ‘Turn it off,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but that’s the only social connection I have.’
And later this bit..
Upsetting as it is, one of the best ways to work with envy, during the pandemic or any other time, is not to judge yourself. The emotion, found in studies of both dogs and monkeys, likely has ancient roots.
“We’ve come from highly competitive ape packs where status in the hierarchy shaped your whole life or condemned you to early death,” said Dr. Oswald. “We are creatures of that past and it’s not sensible to think we can shake it off entirely. It’s what we do with envious feelings that matters.”
I'll let it speak for itself. The article is fine until the idiotic journalist decides to give advice. She should have stopped while she was ahead.
Gordon, I still want to smack upside the head. I really feel sorry for his wife.
The series has two very strong female roles at the center of it - and the women really are the brains, and the most stable characters in the series. The men are train wrecks. It also does an excellent job of showing how a toxic and entitled male corporate culture is toxic to everyone within it.
Guest appearances by the actor who played Robin Wood in Buffy, and the actor who played the lawyer boy-friend of Rebecca Bunch in Crazy-Ex Girlfriend.
It's very good, and weirdly comforting right now. It's just not associated with anything. And there's no mention of well the terrorist in the white house.
2. Working my way through a few audio books, also have discovered a fantasy novel that I might be able to read, that I can't remember the name of.
3. If you are interested, and no reason why you should be...the NY Times has gathered all the info you need or would want on the Coronavirus. Updates and everything you need to know on the Coronavirus Outbreak.
I check it and the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center's COVID MAP OF DOOM daily.
Yes, it may be evidence of a slight OCD tendency in my nature.
4. 5 South Texas Communities Have the Highest Known Infection Rates.
5. Some people have quarantine envy, I have vacation envy.
D (immigrant from Moscow Russia): Look - see the great pics I took of our vacation to Maine!
Chidi: Just had a great trip in Martha's Vineyard, we biked everywhere.
Gabe: I'm going up to the Adirondacks next week to just veg.
Me: I heard about her vacation and...it felt like someone had physically punched me in the stomach. It physically hurt. It's weird. I know that makes no sense, but it hurt. I felt as if I had been punched.
Mother: I know...have I told you about the Bowmans?
Me: No?
Mother: The Bowman's daughter rents a house out on the beach every year. She decided to do it this year too. Invited 25 people down. A family reunion. Grandchildren, kids, family members. Mary got to visit with all of them.
I can only visit my husband once a day in the hospital room. I can't even see my kids or grand-daughter - and I only have two kids and one grand kid.
Me: Ow.
Mother: I heard on the television recently and you even told this to me - "Do not compare yourself to anyone. Ever. Only pain lies in that direction."
Me: Reminds me of this article I read in the NY Times about quarantine envy..but I got pissed off at the journalist.
Why? Because she told people to get a pet if they are lonely or go on Zoom with relatives and play games on Zoom...
Mother: I wish people wouldn't advise getting pets...they are a huge responsibility. You have to take care of them. You still have to go out and walk the dog, feed the dog, take it to the vet.
Me: I know. Some people are very good at taking care of dogs and cats. People like my brother...
Mother: He was much better than I was -
Me: I don't know you were pretty good. According to a post on my neighborhood's FB page, people adopted ducks. Then after the lockdown, when they got big, didn't know what to do with them.
Mother: Ducks?
Me: I know. Right? Why on earth would you adopt a duck?
Mother: How do you have a ducks in an apartment?
Me: Well apparently they were living in a house with a yard.
Mother: But they would poop everywhere - you can't really train ducks.
Me: Also birds are very sensitive creatures, and can get very attached to people. Ducks get more attached than dogs or cats.
Mother: Ducks?
Me: Yes, so it's also kind of cruel. They are trying to figure out how to reintroduce the ducks back into the wild. Except they are white farm ducks, not wild mallard ducks.
Mother: Why would anyone do this?
ME: I don't know. People blow my mind.
Personally, I blame bored internet journalists who like to give pseudo-psychological advice.
Here's some free advice? Never take advice - asked for or otherwise from a journalist.
Did however like this blurb:
When the coronavirus hit France, Leila Slimani, a popular French-Moroccan novelist, and her family left Paris for their country home. Once there, Ms. Slimani began writing a quarantine diary for the newspaper Le Monde. The response, especially from people in teeny Parisian apartments, was so scathing, she apparently abandoned the series. When the billionaire David Geffen posted photos of his mega-yacht on Instagram while he quarantined in the Grenadines, the backlash led him to turn his account private.
Quarantine envy: If it’s not a widespread term yet, it should be. Envy, of course, is the joy-devouring emotion of craving what others have. Even before the pandemic, social media was linked to rising levels of the emotion. “Social media magnifies and creates instant, destructive envy,” said Andrew Oswald, professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Warwick in England, and a co-author of a study on whether envy is societally harmful (short answer: yes). “There’s a globalization of envy and in the longer run, we have to regulate it.”
I’ve seen the discontent over the years, in my day job, moderating reader comments. Growing wealth disparity, along with ubiquitous social media, appears to have made us all less satisfied (and snarkier). The pandemic has fueled the fire. Essential workers envy those working at home. People who were laid off envy those who weren’t. Those home-schooling young children envy those who aren’t. We all envy the rich. Those studying the topic find the reaction understandable.
“When people are miserable, their resilience to other bad things becomes reduced,” said Dr. Oswald. “It’s easier to shrug off others’ good fortune when your life is OK. It’s been a terrible time for many people and the last thing they want to see is a millionaire’s house with a giant lawn.”
Envy, studies show, presents as a measurable brain response and is quantifiable via self-report scales. (Researchers suspect envy is underreported because people are ashamed to admit to it.)
“Envy is an ugly two-headed monster,” said Dr. Christine Harris, a psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego, who studies emotions. “One head wants what someone else has. The other head chews on the first, for having these negative feelings.”
Jens Lange, a psychologist at the University of Hamburg in Germany, agreed that the pandemic has created conditions that are ripe for envy.
“At the heart of envy is social comparison of your situation with someone else’s,” Dr. Lange said. “It’s a basic process across all cultures.”
He added: “The pandemic is increasing the divide between the advantaged and disadvantaged, so there’s more opportunity to compare yourself to others in unflattering ways. You may also realize certain things are important that you never thought about. Say you’re alone in lockdown. Before, you were never socially isolated. Now your envy increases toward people locked down in others’ company.”
That’s been true for Bethany Grace Howe, 52, C.E.O. of the TransHealth Data Collective in Eugene, Ore. Ms. Howe, who describes herself as a “raging extrovert,” is quarantined solo, except when her young daughter visits.
“I’m envious of people who have more than cats to talk to,” Ms. Howe said. “I see my friend and her family on Facebook doing puzzles. And I think, It would be nice to be doing puzzles with a family. People have told me, ‘Turn it off,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but that’s the only social connection I have.’
And later this bit..
Upsetting as it is, one of the best ways to work with envy, during the pandemic or any other time, is not to judge yourself. The emotion, found in studies of both dogs and monkeys, likely has ancient roots.
“We’ve come from highly competitive ape packs where status in the hierarchy shaped your whole life or condemned you to early death,” said Dr. Oswald. “We are creatures of that past and it’s not sensible to think we can shake it off entirely. It’s what we do with envious feelings that matters.”
I'll let it speak for itself. The article is fine until the idiotic journalist decides to give advice. She should have stopped while she was ahead.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-17 12:52 pm (UTC)Anyhow, I know the area - although I haven't been there in ages. My father grew up in Marshelton, Landsdown, and Glendolden. He preferred Glenolden, hated Marshelton - which was heavily rural, about 11 miles from town, and he often hitch-hiked to school. Way out in the country.
So, you've lived in one place all of your life? Or close? I kind of envy that. It was never much of an option for me. I wonder sometimes though - if it is actually a true choice for anyone? (shrugs) I suppose it's how you look at it?
The goose sounds rather entertaining. Far more entertaining than a dog, and possibly more effective in the watch department. Also, gooses can be very aggressive and their bites can hurt. I'm careful around them. Was it a brown, Canadian style Goose, or a white goose?
Did you have a pond or lake for it?
Guessing you went from high school into vocational work immediately?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-18 06:17 am (UTC)A very handsome gray.
Did you have a pond or lake for it?
We did, one we had dug in the far end of the yard back when we had the ducks. The only problem was we had to refill it regularly, since the water kept settling into the ground. It was maybe about 6 feet by 4 feet in size.
Guessing you went from high school into vocational work immediately?
Almost. I worked for one year in the food service at F&M college, where I had worked part time my junior and senior years in high school. In the beginning of summer 1972, I stumbled into the appliance biz when a downtown TV & appliance store was going to hire a friend of mine. He decided to stay at the job he currently had, and recommended me to the store manager, saying I was handy with machines, worked on my own car, etc.
They were desperate, since their appliance tech had quit just two weeks before, and summer is ultra-busy time in the appliance industry. They hired me, the store manager took me out for a week on calls to cover the basic basics, and then... "go for it, kid!"
He didn't actually say that, but essentially, I taught myself the job, and got good at it pretty quickly. I was in that field for 16 years total (the last 9 at another, much better company), then shifted into audio work.