Trolls and Wit

1. Bright hot morning (okay not hot since I have air conditioning - which has apparently become a necessity in this day and age - anyone remember not having air conditioning when they were a little kid? I didn't have it in Pennsylvania when I was little - as a result we were outside most of the time, swimming and playing. Nor did I have it the first three years I was living in NYC - which resulted in the watching of a lot of really bad movies in air-conditioned movie theaters. The movie theaters were actually cheaper back then. And no this wasn't the dark ages. It was the 1990s. Well Pennsylvania may have been the dark ages...that was the 1970s. ). Anyhow, decided to pull up the old lj to check messages prior to fixing breakfast. Mainly because fixing breakfast requires standing up and I don't want to do that right now. Skipped a shower this morning for more or less the same reason. (Well that and the fact that I took a shower last night.)

And what is the first message I see when I pull up last night's post? A troll. And a nastier hairier, smellier troll you never did see. (Apparently smellier is a word?) How in the heck this troll discovered me, I've no idea. I pride myself on keeping a low profile. Wait - it may have been that post I did recently on Buffy? As much as I love fandom, it seems to attract trollish personalities like a dirty dog attracts flies. I only get troll responses when or shortly after I post about Buffy.

Except this wasn't in response to the Buffy post. Even though I did receive an anonymous response to that post - hence the linking of the two in my brain. My brain will create patterns that aren't there. What is odd is that they posted in response to a two sentence post about Falling Skies - wherein I was asking if anyone reading me was watching it, but me. Apparently this question irked the poor thing enough that they felt the overwhelming need to verbally attack me. You know you have anger management issues, if you attack someone for asking if anyone else is watching Falling Skies.

My policy regarding trolls (and after ten years on the internet you sort of do have to create a policy) is to treat the little nits like spam. You can't engage a troll. It's pointless. I used to just delete and ban - but that only works if they have a livejournal account. If it is anonymous - you can delete, but there's not much else. Good news about anonymous though is they are always screened, which means no one has to see them but the lj owner.

So I push the spam button. It makes me happy at any rate. I know a lot of my friends flock all their posts now - better protection. But I don't want to do that. Besides gives trolls too much power. I like being open to meeting new people. Besides it's only one troll. I've gotten more spam than trolls in the last year or so. One of the pluses of not being a popular journal or blogging for a living - you don't have to worry that much about trolls.

2. Reading a rather witty and charming novel by Eloise James, entitled A Kiss at Midnight. It's basically a re-telling of the Cinderella Story, except by way of Georgette Heyer and PD Wodehouse or so it seems. James has a similar wit.
No, it's not great literature, but I'm not in the mood for great literature at the moment.
Great literature requires great concentration, of which, I currently have none. Just want light and witty.

In case you haven't noticed by now, I have a dry wit. Called snark in this day and age. But
considering the fact that up until recently snark wasn't even a word in our lexicon, dry wit works. I inherited it from my father who in turn inherited it from his. I discussed my dry wit once with my father, who stated, "Yes, but you have to be careful, it doesn't always go over that well with your fellow man." (Or woman as the case may be). This is quite true. I often have to edit myself for my mother. Not everyone appreciates it. Humor is often in the
eye of the beholder. What makes one person cackle with glee, makes another bristle with outrage or so I've discovered. Good thing to remember about Humor is something I learned ages ago - it all comes from a place of pain. It is how we handle painful situations or frustrations, in order to stay sane. Somebody somewhere once said that if a joke didn't offend or make someone bristle with outrage...you weren't doing it right. Although, if no one laughs, you aren't either - there is that. Although in some cases - we tell jokes just to make ourselves laugh.

Off to make breakfast. Was interrupted mid-post by a phone call. So am hungry now.

Witty Cinderella Retelling

Eloise James aka Mary Bly is quite witty. The re-telling of Cinderella (A Kiss At Midnight) is wittier than the Sondheim version (which is my favorite). The Sondheim version is from "Into the Woods" based on the Grim fairy tales. In that version, Cinderella dances with the Prince each night and races off at midnight. She sings a rather witty song about having to make a decision...because turns out the Prince is rather smart and has put pitch on the stairs, so that she's stuck.

In this version the banter and witty commentary regarding the characters and situations has me cackling out loud. Example:
( cut for length and vague spoilers )

Earlier on there's a bit about how one of the original residents of Pomeroy castle absconded with an Italian Sculptor and the Sculptor in a fit of pique turned everyone in the castle into cherubs and escaped in a butter churn.

My only complaint so far is the heroine thinks she's over the hill at 23. Although the writer appears to be making fun of that particular trope. And one must keep in mind this was back in Regency England or the early 1800s, back then people died at 40.
Now, we can live much longer.