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1. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving...which was also this weekend. I have the day off due to...well a holiday that's in bad taste but our governor refuses to let go of or change, because of his Italian heritage. Honestly I'd be ashamed to identify myself with a dude that got lost, didn't realize that most people already knew the world was round, is partially responsible for genocide and mass slavery of the indigenous population.

But hey, day off.

I'm watching it rain. Also watched The Exorcist - the television series not the horror movie.
It's notably creepy. And this season is better than last season in that its moving away from the source material a bit more.

I'll give a chance, not sure if I'll stick with it. It's a bit overtly religious ...well the whole angles vs. demons bit turns me off. TV shows tend to melt by the wayside due to too many choices. I'm rather eclectic in my choices and tend to like pretty much everything. So...

2. The Mary Sue has an in-depth review of The Runaways -- an adaptation of Brian K. Vaughn's comic that premiered around 2010 or thereabouts.

The Runaways reminds me of my friend Maribeth Martell aka embers_log, who passed away several years back at the age of 62. She sent me her copy of it, which I sent to someone else. We used to send gifts to each other. I still have a ceramic lady she made me -- she was an accomplished artist.
She loved the Runaways and would have been eager to see the series.

The review of it...makes me feel old. Why? Eh..

Chase’s icy father is played by James Marsters (Buffy’s Spike) with tightly-held menace, and Gregg Sulkin told me that Marsters is incredible to work with. Marsters has advised Sulkin on how to approach his new fanbase and fame—and relayed mistakes he made as cautionary tales. “The guy is a legend,” Sulkin enthused, seeming thrilled when I asked about his on-screen dad. The British-born, chisel-cheeked Sulkin received high-pitched screams upon his entrance to the Runaways panel, so it’s safe to say those tales from Marsters are going to prove useful when the Runaways fandom kicks into high gear.

A legend? Oh dear. Buffy couldn't have been that long ago? No wait, 20 years. Which means I've been in NYC twenty-one years. And at my current job for ten years. Ack. I was twenty-eight when I moved to NYC and Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered.

Getting older...it hasn't gotten easier and I appear to have less tolerance for nonsense than I did at twenty-eight. Also, I seem to have become less idealistic, more pragmatic, and less optimistic.
Sometimes I miss the innocence I had at 28, when anything seemed possible.

3. Prayers or hopes are with those who live in California. California Burning: Historic Fires break out from Sonoma to SoCal. My aunt informed us on FB that she had to evacuate...due to the fires entering her area. The shopping center is gone. It's ravaging her area. First Montana, now California.

Wildfires broke out Sunday night and Monday morning in California's prized wine country, advancing with stunning, and potentially deadly, speed across the dry and gusty Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

A total of 14 fires in northern California had destroyed about 1,500 structures as of Monday morning, local time, putting this event as among the most destructive in state history.

Winds gusting to 55 miles per hour fanned the flames in Napa and Sonoma County overnight. CalFire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox told KTVU on Monday that the Tubbs Fire, located between Santa Rosa and Calistoga, "exploded" in size overnight, from 200 to 20,000 acres.

Don't read the comments -- they are obnoxious.

Some members of family, my father's side, live in this area. I pray they are safe.

4. Smart Bitches Reviews the Sci-Fi novel Rebel Seoul

There’s kind of a lot going on, but it’s mostly folded into the world building. Oh spends most of the book very slowly exploring the world of Neo Seoul and building out the history for the reader. Actual plot movement shows up very late, so it’s really difficult to give a summary.

What I liked about this book is that it’s very steeped in Korean culture and (I’m assuming) K-dramas. There’s a glossary in the back of Korean words that pepper the text and dialogue (which is handy, since the only Korean I know is Tae Kwon Do related), and there’s details about geography and food that make the world more real.

I get that there was a lot of world building to do: there’s a whole history of three wars, massive global geopolitical upheaval, and whole society to describe and populate, but it was kind of maddeningly slow at times. I wish that the history had been delivered faster, instead of in dribs and drabs among all of the other details. It wasn’t until actual things started happening at about the 75-80% mark that I went “oh, good, there’s the plot.”

And that’s my main criticism: I feel like so much time was spent building up this universe that it’s at the expense of Jaewon’s story. He’s a kid from the wrong side of the tracks trying to make it in a super exclusive high school in a military dictatorship. It’s a story we’ve had a lot, but it’s one that resonates with audiences, and seeing it through the lens of a K-drama was fun.

This review highlights the difficulties I've had with writing and reading sci-fi over the years. And the pitfalls of writing it. Also why a lot of professional writing instructors tell students not to do it unil they have a strong grasp of plot and character.

Often the writer will get so invested in the world-building that it will be at the expense of the characters and the plot, so there's no real story there -- just the world. Which is fine, if you want to build a world...but not so much if you are trying to tell a story.

It's definitely taken me out of a few books. I require interesting characters and a plot of sorts. World-building is setting, and not that interesting to me. YMMV. So will probably pass on Rebel Seoul.

Lucifer - S3, Episode 2

After Poldark, which has pacing problems...my attention kept wandering, too much focus on Mr. & Mrs Narcissist Warleggan, not enough on Dr. Ennis, Caroline, and Delmelza, watched Lucifer, which I enjoyed a lot more. Sorry, but there it is. Lucifer is just the more enjoyable series.

Lucifier - Episode 3.2

Eh, spoilers ensue. Still not feeling the love for Welling's Pierce or Ella. The Procedural story however had me laughing really hard at one point...and was rather run. I'm wondering if the writers have decided to use the procedural storylines as comic relief? If so, they really need to tone down Ella's fannishness. It's grating on my nerves.

( spoilers )

Odd, the show is on at 8, yet it's going a bit darker than last season when it was on at nine.
Meanwhile the family show about mutants is on at 9, shouldn't that be on at 8? Granted no-one actually watches television live any longer, but still.

I loved this episode.

But, I'm not really "fannish" about the series. I feel no need to purchase the DVDs or re-watch the episodes. I don't really feel that way about any series at the moment. The closest I came was the Great British Baking Show and Daredevil this summer, but that was more out of boredom than anything else...and in regards to Great British Baking...comfort food.