Bored today, so was on the internet
May. 20th, 2022 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatIt was gloomy, foggy, and in the 60s and 70s. Since my internal heating and cooling system is currently on the fritz, I wore a short sleeved shirt, a light black cardigan, and a light black LL Bean windbreaker. Then proceeded to peel them off and put them back on at various intervals during the commute. At work - it was the sweater, then the work sweatshirt and back to the shirt again for the same reasons.
Then on the way home - after going to the pharmacy - it decided to have what can best be described as a bit of a deluge. (I was woefully unprepared, because the idiotic weather person told me it would sunny this afternoon and wouldn't rain. Well, I did have an umbrella - and I bought one. Not that it made much difference.) The sky opened up and dumped water on everything, also thunder and lightening, but that came later. I could have hung out at the pharmacy - but I had to go to the bathroom. So I decided getting soaked was the lesser of two evils. I had bought a huge umbrella. But alas, it rains sideways in NYC, so it didn't matter. My back pack was soaked, my shoes were soaked and my paints were soaked. The upper body was protected by the rain slicker/windbreaker from LL Bean. So, I had to air dry my wallet and back pack, also the shoes. Everything else was fine. For the most part - the ice cream bar box did get soaked.
Brain fog big time today. It was so bad, I lost track of time and almost missed my train. I looked up and realized, whoops it's 4:07, my train leaves at 4:14, and I have to save stuff, close Excel (which refused to close), clock out, go to the bathroom, jog down five flights of steps (its faster than the elevator), dash through the human obstacle course coming towards the Air Train (because they are too dumb to take the elevators at the subway entrance to the top and walk across from there - no they have to lug their luggage up the escalator, walk outside past the commuter train entrances, and got up the escalator with their luggage (even when they have been told not to) to get there. I blame the signage. I also have to dash up four flights of steps, and down a long platform, to wait for a train and hop on it.
I did manage it, with time to spare. Believe it or not. Also, it's better than it was previously - we used to have to walk six blocks and cross busy intersections to get to the train. This is so much better.
The boredom at work (I'm in a holding pattern - waiting on other people to provide me with stuff, while trying to create boring spreadsheets and charts), also filing (which I'm procrastinating, because I hate putting files together - I'm not that clerical.). So to entertain myself - I decided to torture myself by surfing the internet hunting information on childhood friend. (Found more than I wanted on her professional life as a prestigious international avant garde design architect. She has installations in various museums, and commissioned a work in Stockholm, and in a prestigious and well known residential work in Sweden. She's also a professor at Sci-Arc.)
I informed my brother of this via text.
Brother: Stalker. Did she answer you back on Linked In?
Me: No. And she won't. I'm not in the art world.
Me: Have you heard of Sci-Arc?
Brother: Yes, I've heard of Sci-Arc.
Of course she didn't - answer me back. Would have been surprised if she did. After my research, I regretted my message and hoped she wouldn't respond. Felt kind of silly for sending it off to begin with. (I blame mother for infecting me with her nostalgic kick.)
My bit of research made it clear childhood friend never would, assuming she even sees it. She's high up in the academic art world, and has gone to a great deal of effort to brand herself in a certain manner. In short, she'd most likely think I was nuts for contacting her, and sneer down at my accomplishments. The friend I had at 11 years of age, is long gone. She redefined herself. We were very close friends for a brief moment in time - a snapshot really - when we both needed each other, and then it ended. Now? She has more in common with my brother actually. He has has heard of Sci-Arc (Southern California School of Architectural Design in Downtown LA), and understands what she's been doing with architectural design. Apparently designed two major works in Sweden, one was a residential complex that looks like boulders.
I'm happy for her. But also depressed by all of it. Mainly because it would be nice to reconnect with an old childhood friend, but alas, it's impossible. We're worlds apart now - in more ways than one. I see the gulf all too clearly, and know it can't possibly be bridged.
***
Quote of the Day:
It is time to come to your senses. You are to live and to learn to laugh. You are to learn to listen to the cursed radio music of life and to reverence the spirit behind it and to laugh at its distortions. So there you are. More will not be asked of you. - Herman Hesse
Oddly comforting.
***
1. Twitter: Do any of my US fiends fancy living in a forest in Scotland?
Me: I do. Sounds appealing at the moment. Add in a hot Scotsman, and I'm sold.
2. Twitter...
A bunch of writers posted this on Twitter and then proceeded to discuss it at length, to my amusement.
Here's the Thread
I did learn something from the Thread - whatever you do, don't mess around with Hippos.
Everyone apparently thought the tiger or the croc were the best bet. Although it depends on whether they were fed first.
StephenClarke #REJOIN
stephenthld1
·
9h
Replying to
nameshiv
Is it just me who's thinking this would make great reality TV?
Perhaps we could start with a Celebrity special?
I'm thinking 1st contestant could be TFG?
Me: Certainly would help with the Darwin Awards.
Megan J TJ
megantheepony
·
8h
Replying to
nameshiv
Am I allowed to have a non lethal item with me for this fight?
If so, I also choose tiger.
I will bring one large cardboard box.
Twitter: I pick the Tiger, they'd just kill you, the others are torturers.
Response: Have you ever met a cat?
Most people figure they are safe with the croc (who apparently is really a Caiman, so really safe), and possibly the tiger, who may ignore them. No way in hell - regarding the hippo. And iffy on the bear. Most of the discussion was regarding the other three (tiger, bear, and croc - people were pretty much united on avoiding Hippos at all costs). And what the requirements were. (Could they climb a tree? What was the proximity? Were weapons allowed? Would they be in a cage with them? Handcuffed? Could they bring non-lethal weapons? Or any weapon? Was it combat? What type of bear? What type of Crocodile? I mean these were novelists discussing this - they have imaginations. They were rather funny though.)
Yes, this is how a bunch of bored professional novelists entertain themselves on a Friday afternoon.
3. Twitter was also posting list memes...
* Top Six Films You Can Watch at Any Time and Consider Close to Perfect.
[This made me more aware of the fact that a lot of the comedic and other types of films that most people love that do not work for me at all. For example? I have yet to get through The Big Lebowski by the Cohen Brothers. I don't like the movie. It doesn't work for me at all, and I can't get through it. Wales loves it so much, she took a day off work to honor it. And the word "Dude" gets on my nerves. Another example? This is Spinal Tape (I feel asleep during it). Wayne's World - sigh. Bill & Ted - sigh. (Let's face it movies about stupid nerdy fan boys who objectify women, tend to irritate me.) I'm also not a fan of Wes Anderson's films.
So Top Six Films...off the top of my head?
Gross Point Blank
His Girl Friday
Blade Runner
Empire Strikes Back
Jaws
Singing in the Rain
But I won't be held to that.
Stolen from another part of Twitter: 10 bands or Songwriters/Singers to know me
1 Joni Mitchell
2 Helen Reddy
3 The Beatles
4 Aertha Franklin
5. Nina Simone
6. Pink Floyd
7. Bob Dylan
8. The Magnetic Tapes
9. Elle McllWaine
10. R.E.M
How accurate that is? I'm clueless. But weirdly I found that I got most folks taste in music - better than their taste in film. I think I like a story in film.
***
Niece is definitely better - she took a beach day. After deferring her exam, she wandered about a bit today, and went to the beach. (See, that's how I should have been able to handle my recuperation from COVID. But nooo, I drug my sorry ass to work and back. No wonder I still have brain fog.)
Off to bed. To sleep and hopefully have better dreams than last night.
Then on the way home - after going to the pharmacy - it decided to have what can best be described as a bit of a deluge. (I was woefully unprepared, because the idiotic weather person told me it would sunny this afternoon and wouldn't rain. Well, I did have an umbrella - and I bought one. Not that it made much difference.) The sky opened up and dumped water on everything, also thunder and lightening, but that came later. I could have hung out at the pharmacy - but I had to go to the bathroom. So I decided getting soaked was the lesser of two evils. I had bought a huge umbrella. But alas, it rains sideways in NYC, so it didn't matter. My back pack was soaked, my shoes were soaked and my paints were soaked. The upper body was protected by the rain slicker/windbreaker from LL Bean. So, I had to air dry my wallet and back pack, also the shoes. Everything else was fine. For the most part - the ice cream bar box did get soaked.
Brain fog big time today. It was so bad, I lost track of time and almost missed my train. I looked up and realized, whoops it's 4:07, my train leaves at 4:14, and I have to save stuff, close Excel (which refused to close), clock out, go to the bathroom, jog down five flights of steps (its faster than the elevator), dash through the human obstacle course coming towards the Air Train (because they are too dumb to take the elevators at the subway entrance to the top and walk across from there - no they have to lug their luggage up the escalator, walk outside past the commuter train entrances, and got up the escalator with their luggage (even when they have been told not to) to get there. I blame the signage. I also have to dash up four flights of steps, and down a long platform, to wait for a train and hop on it.
I did manage it, with time to spare. Believe it or not. Also, it's better than it was previously - we used to have to walk six blocks and cross busy intersections to get to the train. This is so much better.
The boredom at work (I'm in a holding pattern - waiting on other people to provide me with stuff, while trying to create boring spreadsheets and charts), also filing (which I'm procrastinating, because I hate putting files together - I'm not that clerical.). So to entertain myself - I decided to torture myself by surfing the internet hunting information on childhood friend. (Found more than I wanted on her professional life as a prestigious international avant garde design architect. She has installations in various museums, and commissioned a work in Stockholm, and in a prestigious and well known residential work in Sweden. She's also a professor at Sci-Arc.)
I informed my brother of this via text.
Brother: Stalker. Did she answer you back on Linked In?
Me: No. And she won't. I'm not in the art world.
Me: Have you heard of Sci-Arc?
Brother: Yes, I've heard of Sci-Arc.
Of course she didn't - answer me back. Would have been surprised if she did. After my research, I regretted my message and hoped she wouldn't respond. Felt kind of silly for sending it off to begin with. (I blame mother for infecting me with her nostalgic kick.)
My bit of research made it clear childhood friend never would, assuming she even sees it. She's high up in the academic art world, and has gone to a great deal of effort to brand herself in a certain manner. In short, she'd most likely think I was nuts for contacting her, and sneer down at my accomplishments. The friend I had at 11 years of age, is long gone. She redefined herself. We were very close friends for a brief moment in time - a snapshot really - when we both needed each other, and then it ended. Now? She has more in common with my brother actually. He has has heard of Sci-Arc (Southern California School of Architectural Design in Downtown LA), and understands what she's been doing with architectural design. Apparently designed two major works in Sweden, one was a residential complex that looks like boulders.
I'm happy for her. But also depressed by all of it. Mainly because it would be nice to reconnect with an old childhood friend, but alas, it's impossible. We're worlds apart now - in more ways than one. I see the gulf all too clearly, and know it can't possibly be bridged.
***
Quote of the Day:
It is time to come to your senses. You are to live and to learn to laugh. You are to learn to listen to the cursed radio music of life and to reverence the spirit behind it and to laugh at its distortions. So there you are. More will not be asked of you. - Herman Hesse
Oddly comforting.
***
1. Twitter: Do any of my US fiends fancy living in a forest in Scotland?
Me: I do. Sounds appealing at the moment. Add in a hot Scotsman, and I'm sold.
2. Twitter...
A bunch of writers posted this on Twitter and then proceeded to discuss it at length, to my amusement.
Here's the Thread
I did learn something from the Thread - whatever you do, don't mess around with Hippos.
Everyone apparently thought the tiger or the croc were the best bet. Although it depends on whether they were fed first.
StephenClarke #REJOIN
stephenthld1·
9h
Replying to
nameshivIs it just me who's thinking this would make great reality TV?
Perhaps we could start with a Celebrity special?
I'm thinking 1st contestant could be TFG?
Me: Certainly would help with the Darwin Awards.
Megan J TJ
megantheepony·
8h
Replying to
nameshivAm I allowed to have a non lethal item with me for this fight?
If so, I also choose tiger.
I will bring one large cardboard box.
Twitter: I pick the Tiger, they'd just kill you, the others are torturers.
Response: Have you ever met a cat?
Most people figure they are safe with the croc (who apparently is really a Caiman, so really safe), and possibly the tiger, who may ignore them. No way in hell - regarding the hippo. And iffy on the bear. Most of the discussion was regarding the other three (tiger, bear, and croc - people were pretty much united on avoiding Hippos at all costs). And what the requirements were. (Could they climb a tree? What was the proximity? Were weapons allowed? Would they be in a cage with them? Handcuffed? Could they bring non-lethal weapons? Or any weapon? Was it combat? What type of bear? What type of Crocodile? I mean these were novelists discussing this - they have imaginations. They were rather funny though.)
Yes, this is how a bunch of bored professional novelists entertain themselves on a Friday afternoon.
3. Twitter was also posting list memes...
* Top Six Films You Can Watch at Any Time and Consider Close to Perfect.
[This made me more aware of the fact that a lot of the comedic and other types of films that most people love that do not work for me at all. For example? I have yet to get through The Big Lebowski by the Cohen Brothers. I don't like the movie. It doesn't work for me at all, and I can't get through it. Wales loves it so much, she took a day off work to honor it. And the word "Dude" gets on my nerves. Another example? This is Spinal Tape (I feel asleep during it). Wayne's World - sigh. Bill & Ted - sigh. (Let's face it movies about stupid nerdy fan boys who objectify women, tend to irritate me.) I'm also not a fan of Wes Anderson's films.
So Top Six Films...off the top of my head?
Gross Point Blank
His Girl Friday
Blade Runner
Empire Strikes Back
Jaws
Singing in the Rain
But I won't be held to that.
Stolen from another part of Twitter: 10 bands or Songwriters/Singers to know me
1 Joni Mitchell
2 Helen Reddy
3 The Beatles
4 Aertha Franklin
5. Nina Simone
6. Pink Floyd
7. Bob Dylan
8. The Magnetic Tapes
9. Elle McllWaine
10. R.E.M
How accurate that is? I'm clueless. But weirdly I found that I got most folks taste in music - better than their taste in film. I think I like a story in film.
***
Niece is definitely better - she took a beach day. After deferring her exam, she wandered about a bit today, and went to the beach. (See, that's how I should have been able to handle my recuperation from COVID. But nooo, I drug my sorry ass to work and back. No wonder I still have brain fog.)
Off to bed. To sleep and hopefully have better dreams than last night.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-21 05:09 am (UTC)La luciernaga is playing right now as it happens.
I don't know that I;d consider any film as close to perfect; though the Seven Samurai might qualify, but those above fit the bill right now as, unless time constraints prevent it, I will watch them no matter how many times I have seen them, or how recently. Of course, whenever I could make up a list like this, there will come a point where I need to rest them, so that they do not become so familiar I lose my love of them.
Alto is set in Brooklyn and Jersey City btw.
Missing out on the second ever Trans Pride Scotland, in Paisley this time, today, as I simply am not in a stable enough place mentally. I have hope I will make it to Fife Pride in Kirkcaldy; went to the first three; last two being cancelled, so I really would like to keep my record of attending them all.
If all else fails I hope to make it to Foyle Pride in Derry, which should be going ahead at the start of September.
kerk
ps. and this is why I can have a hard time picking a list like this; I am also watching The Prince of Tides & The Bridges of Madison County a lot too right now.
They make me cry; not been able to watch them for over twenty years and they still make me do so after all that time.
kerk
no subject
Date: 2022-05-21 03:01 pm (UTC)Thanks for sharing.
I think doing parades or marches requires a positive frame of mind, high energy, and a group of folks to do it with. Doing it alone, in a bad mood, or in a depressed state of mind - is not a good idea. (I am not a fan of crowds however - and tend to not like parades or marches, so probably not the best view on this. ;-) ) But I think you're right to sit this one out?
no subject
Date: 2022-05-21 09:00 am (UTC)* L.A. Story
* The New World
* The Road Warrior
* Spirited Away
* Until The End Of The World
* Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Ten bands / musicians / singers:
* The Moody Blues
* The Who
* The Doors
* Leo Kottke
* Joni Mitchell
* Sandy Denny
* Pentangle
* John Prine
* Bruce Cockburn
* Renaissance / Annie Haslam
* Claude Debussy
* Linda Ronstadt
* Joan Armatrading
* Thomas Dolby
* Steve Goodman
* Ellen McIlwaine
* John Fahey
* Dada
* Kate Bush
* Ludovico Einaudi
Yeah, that's 20. Frankly, I'd say you might need more like, 100 to figure me out. 200? 300?
Maybe later!
:-)
no subject
Date: 2022-05-21 02:52 pm (UTC)Also I struggled with the films - picked ones that come to mind.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-22 01:13 am (UTC)Also it is too bad about the childhood friend. I don't see any thing wrong in trying to contact them. While it is up to them to respond, there is no harm in reaching out.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-22 08:28 am (UTC)It's quite painful sometimes, the people I thought were good friends and just turned out to be ... not.
And 10 bands or Songwriters/Singers is not enough! Or maybe I just don't know myself, or else it's very diffuse and random.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-23 02:19 am (UTC)1. Sullivan's Travels
2. Stairway to Heaven (aka A Matter of Life and Death)
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4. The In-Laws (1979)
5. Brazil
6. Whispers of the Heart
All Time Great Songwriters (who never hit the pop charts as performers)
1. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller
2. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland
3. Richard Thompson
4. Laura Nyro
5. Burt Bacharach and Hal David
no subject
Date: 2022-05-23 01:22 pm (UTC)I'd say kudos for finding obscure films, but I honestly think kerk has you beat in that department. I haven't heard of any of his, and I've heard of five of yours.
The songwriters?
Hee, you ignored the meme rules and created your own.
I've heard of two - Burt Bachnarach ( he actually has hit the pop charts, and is in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame - I saw his induction ceremony on cable a while back) and Richard Thompson (mainly from you in prior posts).
Granted I'm not a huge fan of pop. It and electronica and opera are probably my least favorite. Although there are genres that get classified or thrown under pop that really do not belong there - so, I do like it, but usually because another genre gets filed there by accident. I wouldn't put Thompson under pop for example or Dolly Parton for that matter - more folk country?
You're going to have to list songs for the others - since no clue who they are without the actual songs. (Suck at remembering names on a good day. That's why these lists are problematic for me - I honestly think they work better for folks who can remember names?)
no subject
Date: 2022-05-23 04:02 pm (UTC)1. Sullivan's Travels is a great Preston Sturges film from 1941 about a filmmaker (Joel McCrae, never better) who wants to stop making fluffy farces (like "Hey Hey in the Hayloft") and do something that Touches the American Soul. My favorite Hollywood satire, bar none.
2. Stairway to Heaven (1946) is from the same team (billed as "The Archers") that did Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. It's a fantasy about love and destiny and Britain and America post-WWII. It has a young David Niven at his most charming. It is wild and extravagant and messy, and has too many ideas. I love every minute.
3. Brazil. Terry Gilliam's dystopian masterpiece. (Director's cut only, please.)
4. Whisper of the Heart (1995) was written by Hayao Miyazaki, but directed by his protégé, the late Yoshifumi Kondo. Kondo's more grounded, realistic take on contemporary Japan gives Miyazaki a unique spin. It's my sentimental favorite Studio Ghibli film.
The songwriters:
1. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Hound Dog, Yakety Yak, and a million others. The Coasters and the Drifters were defined by their catalogue. Maybe the greatest songwriting team of the 1950s.
2. Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Walk on By, The Look of Love, A House Is Not a Home, and a million others. Dionne Warwick made her career on their songs, but these songs are now perennials, picked up by subsequent generations...
3. Holland/Dozier/Holland. Motown's pre-eminent songwriting team. Heat Wave, Stop! in the Name of Love, Nowhere to Run and (yes) a million others.
4. Laura Nyro. Stoney End, Wedding Bell Blues, Eli's Coming and Stoned Soul Picnic. Critics loved her albums, but the public didn't fall in love with her songs until they were covered by Streisand and the Fifth Dimension. (Was just settling in as a late-discovery feminist icon when she died in 1997.)
no subject
Date: 2022-05-24 12:38 am (UTC)Also thanks for the music notes, I looked up Laura on Apple Music but couldn't find her. Now, I'll see if I can't grab her via Fifth Dimension. The others I already have.