Brooklyn Festivals and Rain...

It's kind of pouring, at least I think it is pouring and not just the water tumbling off of air conditioners and gutters above me.

Artarmeggadon (an extensive outdoor art and music festival from basically Prospect Park to Below Newkirk Avenue, in Flatbush, Brooklyn or a five to ten minute walk from where I live) - was supposed to be held today.

9 hours ago:

Rob E (the organizer/founder of the Brooklyn Community Art Collective who is putting it on): We're definitely on for tomorrow.
Resident: I hope it doesn't pour.
Rob E: It's not going to pour.

35 minutes ago:

Rob E: We are officially cancelled. It's being held October 6. Sorry Not Sorry. Come then.

I feel sorry for the Brooklyn Book Festival. I know it's still on. Mainly because I've been to it while it was raining. The vendors are all under shelters, and so are most of the panels. But the audience/visitors aren't. You basically meander through or stand and listen, while holding umbrellas, or try to find a seat under the tent or shelter, assuming it has one.

I picked up the schedule to see what was being offered? I wasn't planning on going anyhow. I don't know any of the authors, outside of Emily Nussbaum (a television, book, and film critic who annoys me), and Chris Hays (a political critic who...also annoys me). And well Edwidge Danticat, who I'm not into. So no point. Plus I have more than enough books as it is - I do not need more.

Swiped Daily Memage

1. In 1940 Piet Mondrian, the Dutch painter, left Europe to live in New York for the rest of his life. Are you familiar with Mondrian’s work?

I didn't recognize the name - because I don't tend to recognize names unless repeated frequently. But I looked up his work? And yes, I am familiar with his work:

( The Gray Tree )

And.. Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow

2. Have you ever owned a small, caged pet (hamster, gerbil, guinea pig, rabbit)?

Yes. When I was a kid I had two hamsters, and my brother had a gerbil. They kept getting out and my mother had to keep rescuing them from our cats. (It's probably best not to own rodents if you own cats.) We also for a weekend had a huge white bunny rabbit from science camp.

3. The first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1952. Are you a fan of fried chicken?

Yes, but after being diagnosed with Ceiliac disease - I can't eat it, unless I attempt to make it myself with almond or bean flour, and it's just not the same. Also a pain in the ass to make - messy as all get out, and stinks up the kitchen. And impossible on an electric stove - which I have now, since they felt the need to remove the gas stove. I really miss the gas stove. (It may not be great for the environment, but it's easier to cook on.)

4. In September 1955 the very first TV advertisement was broadcast on UK TV. Do TV ad breaks annoy you?

Yes, I watch too much on streaming. Although they've always annoyed me. (And whomever did this meme clearly lives in the UK.)

In the US, the first ad aired during a Baseball Game in 1941, when the FCC finally lifted its ban on advertising. The History of Commercials and Television Advertising. I found that surprising - since I know they did ads with radio.
( chart showing history of television commercials in the US )

Interesting. I can blame Eisenhower and the Republican Party for the annoying political campaign ads on television. They started with Eisenhower's campaign.

5. In 1946 Hergé published the first Adventures of TinTin. Do you remember the cartoon (comic books or TV series)?

Definitely somebody in the UK. Yes, I remember them - mainly because the little boy across the street who was best friends with my brother, and from the UK, adored them. We had a family from England living across the street from us. They hailed from London, and the father wrote for the Christian Science Monitor. The kids were artists and musicians. One ended up working for Disney, and the other did his own art and music.

Tintin isn't from the UK. It's from Belgium. But a lot of Europeans loved it.

The History of the Adventures of Tintin

( here's a picture )

Spielberg even did a Film Version a while back. It was kind of popular in the 1980s and 90s in the US. I actually have read the comics in a book version - they didn't appeal to me, but they did influence Spielberg quite a bit. A lot of Indiana Jones came from Tintin.

6. International Rabbit Day - have you ever seen wild rabbits?

Yes. Not often. But yes. (I live in the residential area of city now, so don't see them very often. But on occasion. Whether they are wild or someone's escaped or abandoned pet is another issue.)

Television Round-Up

I've been jumping around television shows - which I watch mainly on the weekends depending on time, which is sparse. So this is kind of over various weekends?

1. Scavengers Reign Limited Animated Sci-Fi Series- (Netflix, although created by MAX) - this is an innovative and critically acclaimed adult sci-fi animated series. (It should not be confused with a cartoon. There's a difference in styles, and this is more towards hyper-realism, while cartoons tend to be more caricature art or representative, also cartoons are usually (not always) targeted towards 6-25 year old audience. I would not show Scavengers Reign to children, it would give them nightmares. And has adult content.)

The set-up? ( vague spoilers )

It's among the most innovative human/alien planet series that I've seen to date. But falls within the sci-fi horror trope. And thank god, it's animated. I wouldn't be able to watch a live action version, assuming it could be done, and I'm not so sure it could be.

During it - I thought, well, I wouldn't want to be trapped on a hostile planet awaiting rescue. Then realized, I'm already on a hostile planet. Depends on where you are. Just as the characters in this story realize - it depends on what they do and where they are and what they run into. I mean there's hidden dangers here too, and all sorts of things that could kill me, invisible and otherwise.

I'd call this biological science fiction or ecological/bio sci-fi, as opposed to space opera. More sci-fi than horror, although it does fall within the horror genre - in that horrifying things happen during it.

I'm eight episodes in, with four remaining. It's a limited series with 12 episodes in all. One season.

2. Nobody Wants This -a new rom-com by Erin Foster, on Netflix, about 10 episodes, and stars Kristin Bell (Veronica Mars/The Good Place), Adam Brody (The OC, Startup).
( review )

In Memorium

A lot of deaths of entertainers this week..(ahem, a few evil Republican politicians?? Just to even things out??? No? Okay..)

Rest in Peace and In Memorium:

1. Dame Maggie Smith died on September 27, 2024 at age 89. She's been in countless films and British television series, but you most likely know her best from Downtown Abbey.

Watch on YouTube

2. Drake Hogestyn dead at 70 on September 28, 2024 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Known for his role as John Black on the long running soap opera Days of Our Lives (he assumed the role in the 1980s).

Watch on YouTube

3. John Ashton who played Taggart on the Beverly Hills Cop series is dead at 76, this weekend

4. Kris Kristofferson dies at 88 this weekend

"Kristofferson died at his home on Maui, Hawaii on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said in an email. He was 88."

Singer and songwriter and actor - known for writing Me and Bobby MGee, along with "Come Sunday Morning" and various other songs. Also for Star is Born and touring with Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan on the Highwaymen. (I think Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan are the only survivors of that group now?)

Watch on YouTube