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1. Flirted with Alaska trips today. G Adventures actually has Alaska and National Parks trips. The National Parks excursions are tempting (they are Death Valley, Palm Springs/Joshua Tree, Monument Valley, Canyonlands, Vegas, Yosemite, San Fransico.
Also checked out Cruises. G Adventures trips to Alaska (which are by ground not cruise ship) are actually cheaper than the Anchorage to Vacouver cruises.
Maybe when I retire, I'll move to Seattle and spend my retirement traveling about by boat?
(I'm not serious about this - well not really).
2. The difficulty with self-help/pop psychology books - is well, the generalizing. I'm almost done listening to the Mel Robbins Take Control of Your Life - How to Face the Fear and Take Control of Your Life audiobook. By the way - self-help books are easier to listen to than to read. I've no clue why.
Anyhow, Robbins is a pop psychologist, self-help guru, and motivational speaker. Most of her advice is common sense. A lot of it is stuff that worked for her. Whether it will work for anyone else is ...debatable.
While there are some great take-aways, I have to keep reminding myself that she is talking about herself and whichever client she's persuaded to allow themselves to be taped for the book. And it may or may not apply to me, some of it does - but it's also universal and basically applies to everyone.
She also uses all terminology that is a bit broad or generalization, and doesn't know enough to break it down onto an individual level - which is true of pop psychology. The more universal it is - the bigger the audience.
For example? She uses the term "dyslexic" in a general way. I've become more and more aware over the years why the psychologist who tested me back in the 1990s didn't want to use the term dyslexia to explain my learning disability. Everytime I used it - she'd correct me. She said dyslexia was an old term used to explain flipping letters. Mine was more complex than that - most people's is. And dyslexia was an easy label and often used all inclusively to define all learning disabilities. That was in error, since people apply different coping mechanisms, and depending on the type you have - you can learn different things. Some have auditory, some visual, some spatial, some all three, etc. What it comes down to - is we don't think the same.
Anyhow, Robbins states dyslexics tend to become really good liars to hide their dyslexia. (I'm not a liar. I don't pretend. What you see is what you get. A flawed human, who screws up at various points. Or a Work in Progress. So, I was kind of offended by this rather broad generalization which is based on Robbins, her son, and the client, that's it. And how they distanced people and had social issues based on lying. You know? You can have social issues and feel isolated, and not be a liar and completely yourself.
My other issue with "pop psychology" is the whole "authentic" terminology. Being "authentic" or your true self. I'm not sure it exists. We are just ourselves. And different people bring out different aspects of ourselves. Someone who is into Marvel Movies and Comics - will bring out the comic book geek in me, while someone who is into literary works and classical music, and philosophy may bring out the intellectual. People are more than one thing - we're complicated, and we show different aspects of ourselves to different people. We're not lying. It's not necessarily deliberate. You aren't going to bring your home life into your work environment. You may talk politics with one person and not with another.
Robbins goes to one extreme - the ideology of the authentic self, while various psychologists, including the ones I had a few years back went along with the ideology that there is no such thing as an authentic self. So there is warring views on this. Psychology is a soft science for a reason - no one has a clue what is accurate most of the time. It's what always annoyed and intrigued me about psychology - it's one of those sciences that you make up as you go.
That said, she does state some useful things, such as digging down deep to see what emotional trauma you experienced that is making you stuck. Getting help if need be. And pulling out of old patterns or coping mechanisms that aren't working any longer.
[Sigh, next door neighbors have gotten in the habit of blaring their television lately. After months of silence. I'm annoyed. Although it's not that bad. I can't hear it in the bedroom. Or over my own. Also they don't have it on that long.]
Anyhow the book is motivating me to do something about my living room. I took care of the bedroom finally. Clothes are no longer piled up at the foot of the bed on the storage trunks. They are now inside storage containers (cloth baskets with lids). Now, I just have to find a way to get a storage unit and shelves for the living room - so I can get rid of some of the clutter. Get more space for my painting, and maybe buy a loveseat so I can have folks over? Then we can commiserate about the wave in my television together. Also, put pictures on the walls - I'm thinking of putting up some of my photos. (I have thousands on my phone...it's just a matter of figuring out which ones.)
3. I've gotten into the habit of drawing people I see each day on the subway and then watercoloring them. It's unconventional - since technically, most watercolorists don't draw it first or they lightly sketch it and then paint it. Although I know a few who do. I'm an unconventional artist - with an impressionistic style - I don't tend to draw things exact. I can, I just am not really that interested in doing so.
4. I've made progress on my novel revisions. I managed to chop the book down from 860 pages to 755. Go me. What was original page 222 is now 165. So basically took the word count down from 365450 words to 279,650 words.
Or thereabouts.
As you can see - verbosity has never been my issue, brevity on the other hand is. Much to the annoyance of many a boss, manager, editor, parent, and professor.
My father was always telling me to tighten it. I explained the novel to my mother..
Mother: What is your novel about.
ME (I talk for about twenty minutes)
Mother: That sounds very complicated.
Me: Are you about to shut me down -
Mother: No, no. Just that you always have liked very complicated characters with a lot going on with them. Simplistic you aren't.
Me: I get bored. I want to deal with the complicated emotions. And the difficult ones. A creative writing professor once told me that I was an interesting writer - because I wanted to delve into the emotions most people shy away from. I don't know why - it's not like I decide to write these stories - they just come to me like movies in my head.
Always have.
I also figured out a plot bunny that was aggravating me.
5. Soap Twitter had a kerfuffle - which I only got glimpses of - because I've only followed about five to six people on the app who are in soap twitter. (Being Twitter - I get to see all the people those six like or follow...in my feed at various points.)
Near as I can figure from the sidelines of this thing - some idiot decided to pretend to be someone else. Basically they set up a fake twitter account and used it to harass people and divide fans. They have an actual account, but they posed as someone else under the fake account to torment soap fans.
I think some people have too much time on their hands, and need to find better hobbies. Or at the very least more constructive ones.
Someone apparently figured this out - and let everyone else on ST know. And everyone got upset. Those enabling the fake account or who had believed the person and were supporting them, got defensive, while those who had been at the receiving end or were targeted by it - felt validated and vindicated and could not resist rubbing the idiots who enabled it nose in the dirt, and those who were sidelines - couldn't resist commenting on all involved.
Meanwhile there were those of us, like myself, who somehow missed it or were oblivious to the whole thing - and trying to figure out what was going on.
I see "huh?" or "What did I miss?" or "What are we talking about?" a lot on Soap Twitter, actually on Twitter in general, and on FB. This is the result of lazy communicators. Who have forgotten that they are not texting their buddy privately in a thread on their phones, but texting in the middle of Times Square to about 100-1000 - 1 million people. And a little context is required.
There's a lot of lazy writers on social media.
I did however restrain myself from stating - "god, do all fandoms do this nonsense on the internet? And they've not figured out how to stop that by now?" Because people were doing that in the Buffy Fandom on Voy Forums in 2002. And I'm willing to bet they did it in other fandoms as well and in other forums, further back.
6. Did some research on Sentinel Island - turns out people were visiting it in the 1800s, the British checked it out, as did India. They even tried to take people off of it - only to have them die, so they put them back on the island.
There's nothing of any value on it. Except the inhabitants, who have chosen to self-isolate from the rest of humanity. And they did it rather peacefully until around 1997. Oh they would have ship wrecks from time to time, but the people got rescued without too much incident.
However since 1997, no one has gone on the island. And the inhabitants will let them monitor from distance - but too close and the arrows fly. If you come on the island - you are dead. To date three people have been killed, who came onto the island.
7. Work has ground to a halt. I've done everything I can do, outside of traveling into Manhattan and sitting in management's offices and screaming in their ear. (I work in Queens.)
So, to preserve my sanity, I've opted to revise my novel when I have nothing else to do or can't locate anything to do or make work for myself.
No one can tell that I'm doing it. So it's actually the perfect project. Others have done much the same thing over the years.
8. Renfeld Bombed at the Box Office. Good News? I can see it on streaming faster than expected. Bad News? Not in theaters. Not that I was planning on seeing it in the theater anyhow.
Here's a review - a very spoilery review
From a quick scan? It bombed due to too much plot.
Although why anyone in their right mind would waste money on Super Mario Brothers is beyond me. But I also don't get why people went to Avatar 2.
9. Still trying to figure out what bookshelves and storage cubes to get. Too many choices. Also I keep losing the one I liked and looked possible.
There are days that I wish I could get my handyman brother on loan.
Also checked out Cruises. G Adventures trips to Alaska (which are by ground not cruise ship) are actually cheaper than the Anchorage to Vacouver cruises.
Maybe when I retire, I'll move to Seattle and spend my retirement traveling about by boat?
(I'm not serious about this - well not really).
2. The difficulty with self-help/pop psychology books - is well, the generalizing. I'm almost done listening to the Mel Robbins Take Control of Your Life - How to Face the Fear and Take Control of Your Life audiobook. By the way - self-help books are easier to listen to than to read. I've no clue why.
Anyhow, Robbins is a pop psychologist, self-help guru, and motivational speaker. Most of her advice is common sense. A lot of it is stuff that worked for her. Whether it will work for anyone else is ...debatable.
While there are some great take-aways, I have to keep reminding myself that she is talking about herself and whichever client she's persuaded to allow themselves to be taped for the book. And it may or may not apply to me, some of it does - but it's also universal and basically applies to everyone.
She also uses all terminology that is a bit broad or generalization, and doesn't know enough to break it down onto an individual level - which is true of pop psychology. The more universal it is - the bigger the audience.
For example? She uses the term "dyslexic" in a general way. I've become more and more aware over the years why the psychologist who tested me back in the 1990s didn't want to use the term dyslexia to explain my learning disability. Everytime I used it - she'd correct me. She said dyslexia was an old term used to explain flipping letters. Mine was more complex than that - most people's is. And dyslexia was an easy label and often used all inclusively to define all learning disabilities. That was in error, since people apply different coping mechanisms, and depending on the type you have - you can learn different things. Some have auditory, some visual, some spatial, some all three, etc. What it comes down to - is we don't think the same.
Anyhow, Robbins states dyslexics tend to become really good liars to hide their dyslexia. (I'm not a liar. I don't pretend. What you see is what you get. A flawed human, who screws up at various points. Or a Work in Progress. So, I was kind of offended by this rather broad generalization which is based on Robbins, her son, and the client, that's it. And how they distanced people and had social issues based on lying. You know? You can have social issues and feel isolated, and not be a liar and completely yourself.
My other issue with "pop psychology" is the whole "authentic" terminology. Being "authentic" or your true self. I'm not sure it exists. We are just ourselves. And different people bring out different aspects of ourselves. Someone who is into Marvel Movies and Comics - will bring out the comic book geek in me, while someone who is into literary works and classical music, and philosophy may bring out the intellectual. People are more than one thing - we're complicated, and we show different aspects of ourselves to different people. We're not lying. It's not necessarily deliberate. You aren't going to bring your home life into your work environment. You may talk politics with one person and not with another.
Robbins goes to one extreme - the ideology of the authentic self, while various psychologists, including the ones I had a few years back went along with the ideology that there is no such thing as an authentic self. So there is warring views on this. Psychology is a soft science for a reason - no one has a clue what is accurate most of the time. It's what always annoyed and intrigued me about psychology - it's one of those sciences that you make up as you go.
That said, she does state some useful things, such as digging down deep to see what emotional trauma you experienced that is making you stuck. Getting help if need be. And pulling out of old patterns or coping mechanisms that aren't working any longer.
[Sigh, next door neighbors have gotten in the habit of blaring their television lately. After months of silence. I'm annoyed. Although it's not that bad. I can't hear it in the bedroom. Or over my own. Also they don't have it on that long.]
Anyhow the book is motivating me to do something about my living room. I took care of the bedroom finally. Clothes are no longer piled up at the foot of the bed on the storage trunks. They are now inside storage containers (cloth baskets with lids). Now, I just have to find a way to get a storage unit and shelves for the living room - so I can get rid of some of the clutter. Get more space for my painting, and maybe buy a loveseat so I can have folks over? Then we can commiserate about the wave in my television together. Also, put pictures on the walls - I'm thinking of putting up some of my photos. (I have thousands on my phone...it's just a matter of figuring out which ones.)
3. I've gotten into the habit of drawing people I see each day on the subway and then watercoloring them. It's unconventional - since technically, most watercolorists don't draw it first or they lightly sketch it and then paint it. Although I know a few who do. I'm an unconventional artist - with an impressionistic style - I don't tend to draw things exact. I can, I just am not really that interested in doing so.
4. I've made progress on my novel revisions. I managed to chop the book down from 860 pages to 755. Go me. What was original page 222 is now 165. So basically took the word count down from 365450 words to 279,650 words.
Or thereabouts.
As you can see - verbosity has never been my issue, brevity on the other hand is. Much to the annoyance of many a boss, manager, editor, parent, and professor.
My father was always telling me to tighten it. I explained the novel to my mother..
Mother: What is your novel about.
ME (I talk for about twenty minutes)
Mother: That sounds very complicated.
Me: Are you about to shut me down -
Mother: No, no. Just that you always have liked very complicated characters with a lot going on with them. Simplistic you aren't.
Me: I get bored. I want to deal with the complicated emotions. And the difficult ones. A creative writing professor once told me that I was an interesting writer - because I wanted to delve into the emotions most people shy away from. I don't know why - it's not like I decide to write these stories - they just come to me like movies in my head.
Always have.
I also figured out a plot bunny that was aggravating me.
5. Soap Twitter had a kerfuffle - which I only got glimpses of - because I've only followed about five to six people on the app who are in soap twitter. (Being Twitter - I get to see all the people those six like or follow...in my feed at various points.)
Near as I can figure from the sidelines of this thing - some idiot decided to pretend to be someone else. Basically they set up a fake twitter account and used it to harass people and divide fans. They have an actual account, but they posed as someone else under the fake account to torment soap fans.
I think some people have too much time on their hands, and need to find better hobbies. Or at the very least more constructive ones.
Someone apparently figured this out - and let everyone else on ST know. And everyone got upset. Those enabling the fake account or who had believed the person and were supporting them, got defensive, while those who had been at the receiving end or were targeted by it - felt validated and vindicated and could not resist rubbing the idiots who enabled it nose in the dirt, and those who were sidelines - couldn't resist commenting on all involved.
Meanwhile there were those of us, like myself, who somehow missed it or were oblivious to the whole thing - and trying to figure out what was going on.
I see "huh?" or "What did I miss?" or "What are we talking about?" a lot on Soap Twitter, actually on Twitter in general, and on FB. This is the result of lazy communicators. Who have forgotten that they are not texting their buddy privately in a thread on their phones, but texting in the middle of Times Square to about 100-1000 - 1 million people. And a little context is required.
There's a lot of lazy writers on social media.
I did however restrain myself from stating - "god, do all fandoms do this nonsense on the internet? And they've not figured out how to stop that by now?" Because people were doing that in the Buffy Fandom on Voy Forums in 2002. And I'm willing to bet they did it in other fandoms as well and in other forums, further back.
6. Did some research on Sentinel Island - turns out people were visiting it in the 1800s, the British checked it out, as did India. They even tried to take people off of it - only to have them die, so they put them back on the island.
There's nothing of any value on it. Except the inhabitants, who have chosen to self-isolate from the rest of humanity. And they did it rather peacefully until around 1997. Oh they would have ship wrecks from time to time, but the people got rescued without too much incident.
However since 1997, no one has gone on the island. And the inhabitants will let them monitor from distance - but too close and the arrows fly. If you come on the island - you are dead. To date three people have been killed, who came onto the island.
7. Work has ground to a halt. I've done everything I can do, outside of traveling into Manhattan and sitting in management's offices and screaming in their ear. (I work in Queens.)
So, to preserve my sanity, I've opted to revise my novel when I have nothing else to do or can't locate anything to do or make work for myself.
No one can tell that I'm doing it. So it's actually the perfect project. Others have done much the same thing over the years.
8. Renfeld Bombed at the Box Office. Good News? I can see it on streaming faster than expected. Bad News? Not in theaters. Not that I was planning on seeing it in the theater anyhow.
Here's a review - a very spoilery review
From a quick scan? It bombed due to too much plot.
Although why anyone in their right mind would waste money on Super Mario Brothers is beyond me. But I also don't get why people went to Avatar 2.
9. Still trying to figure out what bookshelves and storage cubes to get. Too many choices. Also I keep losing the one I liked and looked possible.
There are days that I wish I could get my handyman brother on loan.
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That's not including air fare.
The Cruises include all meals for the most part, and board. But excursions are extra.
Land includes most excursions, all transportation, hotels, breakfast, and some lunches or dinners.
So, yeah, cruises more expensive.