Stuff that looked interesting...

1. The Good Place Will End With a 90 Minute Series Finale -- which could be a bad or good thing, it's not clear.

2. 27 Things We Learned on Set With Sarah Michelle Gellar, including her top three Buffy episodes, which did not surprise me at all.

I learn a lot about folks when they tell me their favorite Buffy episodes or which ships they liked. Although I can't say I understand what I learn, since my own personal shit often gets in the way of that, not to mention my own unique perceptions of the universe and the series. But hey, I do learn stuff.

My top three favorite Buffy episodes off the top of my head?

* Once More with Feeling
* Hush
* Fool For Love

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Actors and Experts on the Favorite Buffy Episodes -- Anthony Stewart Head's choice was the most interesting and made me love him all the more. Still my favorite actor from that series. Sorry, James.

Other takeaway from Gellar article? Apparently she's filming a new television series. And just when I thought she'd left acting for good -- she tries again.

15 Great Buffy Episodes That Nobody Talks About..

Well, I wouldn't say nobody. That's pushing it. Clearly this individual is not in the Buffy fandom or grossly underestimates fandom.

I certainly analyzed them to death, along with about 1000 other people around the globe that I know of...so nobody is bit extreme. Actually on the board that I was on, we analyzed literally all of the episodes to death and when we grew bored of those? We analyzed the Angel episodes. Then moved on to the Firefly episodes. Then to Dollhouse episodes. We also analyzed every single thing associated with them. We took overthinking a television series to a whole new level.

And when that board folded, we moved onto another forum and analyzed all the comic book issues of S8. So "nobody" is a bit ...excessive (?) when talking about a fandom. Fandom will discuss any and all content to death and beyond. And publish a million different papers on it. Never underestimate fandom.

3. Eh, Cousin has gotten creative in regards to promoting her non-traditionally published book.

Book Trailer Promo for Cousin's Book

It's New Adult, which basically means it's targeted to 18-25 year olds, and is a contemporary romance/dysfunctional family story.

The movie trailer for books idea doesn't quite work for me. I'm not sure why. It just turns me off. So if and when I choose to publish the epic mess that I currently working on, rest assured it will not be promoted with a trailer.

That said? More power to her. It looks like a lot of work and she didn't do a bad job with it. It's almost impossible to promote your own work without a lot of money behind you or a professional marketing manager helping you.

4. The Art of Losing Friends and Alienating People

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Personally, I don't think we have all that much control over relationships. People come and go in and out of our lives, like fellow travelers along a rough and twisting road, with various turn-offs or splits. You go left and I go right or vice versa. It just is.

All relationships are temporary. Some last longer than others. Some people leave our lives without warning. Some have extended goodbyes. Others leave then come back again like beloved boomerangs that we can never quite lose track of. Years may go by, and wham, here they are again, and we are picking up right where we left off as if no time passed in between. And we don't have as much choice in all of this as we may think -- mainly because it takes two...if the other person isn't into it, tough cookies. It has to be mutual, which is a special kind of magic all its own.

It's always thrown me how people regard their interpersonal relationships. As if they are trophies on a wall. I have this "many" friends, look how cool I am. (I blame "It's A Wonderful Life" for this tendency. A man is never truly alone as long as he has lots of friends. One does wonder about Frank Capra at times.) Or, oh my god, she clearly doesn't have any friends, there must be something wrong with her.
And...of course the time old, what will she do in retirement, she has no friends outside of work.

Which brings me to how people define friendship. I think everyone defines it differently.

But the number of friends you have doesn't define you. And it doesn't make you any less alone. You can have millions of friends and be the lonilest and most miserable creature on earth, or relatively few and be happy.

I used to worry a lot about alienating people until I began to realize it's impossible not to alienate people here and there. Not everyone will like me. Some will. Some won't. Not a whole lot I can do about it. The people who like you, will, for their own reasons --- and vice versa. It really has nothing to do with me.

All I have control over is how I react to it.

Also, what the Dali Lama tweeted (I read it randomly, I'm seldom on Twitter) -- resonated, which is: "We should value our enemies because they provide us with unique opportunities to practice patience, tolerance and forbearance." (Which for some reason, I remembered as...we can learn a lot from our enemies and they are important learning tools.)

5. What Would Mr. Rogers Do? Or My Friend Fred Rogers

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6. 43 Embarrassing Grammar Mistakes Even Smart People Make

7. Magical Microbes How to Feed Your Gut