(no subject)

1. Spent a portion of the day binge watching Hacks on HBO Max, which if nothing else, has helped clarify why I dislike stand-up comedy and most television situation comedic writing.

Embarrassment and insult comedy makes me cringe and want to leave the room or hide my eyes.

However, I found the two characters weirdly compelling, and kind of likable. I don't get it either.

Ava is a twenty-something television comedy writer who got booted from her show, and is taxed with writing for a has been Las Vegas Stand-up Comedian Jean Smart's Deborah Vance, who has seen better days. The series chronicles their less than cozy working relationship, and what it is like to work for a standup comedian in vegas and on-tour. [The job is kind of horrific, which is part of the joke.]

The actors are good. The writing - trying too hard to be funny, with mixed results.


2. Watched The Hobbit : Desolation of Smaug - which is an odd movie and not at all as I remembered the original version - although I admittedly read the book over forty years ago, and saw the Ralph Batchi(sp?) animated version over thirty years ago - so...

What's odd about it - is it is rather good up until everyone reaches Laketown, then the action kind of grinds to a halt. Smaug is interesting for about ten minutes - but it goes on too long. Gone is the charming riddling by-play between Smaug and Bilbo Baggins, also far too much foreshadowing of The Lord of the Rings and the coming of Sauron. In the novel, and granted it's been a long time since I've read or thought about it, Sauron wasn't a consideration, the orcs barely registered, and the threat was more insidious, and less obvious throughout. Also Bilbo's discovery of the Ring of Power wasn't as ominous, partly because in the novel we remain in Bilbo's perspective. So if Bilbo doesn't know it, neither do we. Bilbo has no reason to think the ring is anything other than what it is - renders him invisible - so a gift. He's not overly attached to it, and doesn't feel the need to tell anyone about it - why would he? The Dwarves are annoying, untrustworthy, and would probably take it from him. And Gandalf comes and goes without warning.

The movie decides to put us in everyone's point of view - which I understand, but may have been a mistake? OTOH - Tauriel, Leglos, and the interaction between the elves and the dwarves is far more entertaining than it had been in the book. Also the first part of the film which takes place in Murkwood with the elves is engrossing. (I could have done without the rather lengthy and tedious fight sequence with the spiders. Actually I could have done without the spiders at all. And what we learn of the Wood Elves is helpful.

The pacing is off - due to exceedingly long chase and action sequences. There are three - and they all take forever. 1)The spiders, where the dwarves and Bilbo fight them off to a stand-over until the elves save them - with more fighting. It's unnecessary. 2) the escape through the barrels ensuing chase by and fight with the orcs and elves. 3) the chase and fight with Smaug. In the book - it's more interesting, because Bilbo outwits the huge dragon with words, while here - all he does is manage to piss him off with the drwaves help.

It's too long and needed a good editor. I'd have shortened all three sequences.

So mixed review there. I kept dozing while writing this. For some reason or other, I suddenly got very sleepy. So my writing keeps sliding into gibberish as I doze off during a sentence.


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(no subject)

I'm debating either re-watching sections of "Elvis" or another episode of Hacks, or trying The Hobbit - The Fight of the Five Armies. I think one of the three is far too long, and I got to get into bed by 10ish. I get up early tomorrow - and this is going to be a difficult, and very very busy work week, with laundry crammed in there somewhere.

Some interesting writing questions that seem to be fanfic writing related. (I've written everything. Why? I am a professional writer - it is what I do.) I'm not answering all of them or reposting all of them - some of them are just about writing fanfiction.
( writing questions )

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Books

Borrowed another Kindle Unlimited book - this one about a man who turns into a tiger, the search for a man with a missing finger, a boy, and a dancehall girl who wants to be a doctor - awash in Chinese Folk lore and mythology. And no, I don't remember the name of it. I think the writer is Yangzee Zoo.

Wales is reading a lot of African American fiction, her latest is Rattlebone, which is about various people's interlocking stories in Kansas City. I'm reading a lot of Asian fantasy stories and romances. I'm on an Asian kick. (And by the way, outside of the mythology, there's not a lot of cultural differences, I see mostly similarities in the story structure.)

Lesbian stories don't do a lot for me, at the moment, which is odd, since I have a lesbian relationship (two actually) in the novel I'm writing - although they aren't the central relationships. This is weird romance novel that I'm currently working on - perhaps too weird to ever get published? ( Read more... )

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Been having issues focusing lately. And I've noticed that if I have too much sugar - I get very wired, and then crash - or fall asleep. It's odd.
Should I be concerned, hard to know.

Doing more meditation lately - which has helped me focus better, and gotten rid of some of the negative thought loops in my head. Also is helping with grief.

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Mother's kidney stone seems to have passed. She's not in pain any longer.
There's no nausea (which I can't spell to save my life - I keep having to use spell check). And she figures it must have passed when she was in pain, on pain killers and then was urinating constantly - the system flushed itself out. God only knows. She doesn't think she needs to go back to the doctor again to check, but will if any other issues present themselves. So, whew?