(no subject)

Found this on FB and I found it to be comforting amidst all the photo posts of people's years on instagram and FB, making me miss the days when this wasn't possible.

"And so another year comes to an end,
And you made it.

Whether the year was good or bad,
you made it.
You

And that's pretty incredible.
So if no one's told you yet, I'm so proud of you.

And I can't wait to see what the new year brings for us, With both the ups and the downs. But we'll make it, once again.

got through 100% of your bad days,

sortofpoetry "

**

"Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe." ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

"Socrates said, “The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.” He wasn’t talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth. A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers and poets spend their lives learning that skill and art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper.”

~ Ursula K. Le Guin


***

Church has a practice of writing letters about the resolutions or items you want to change or improve on or challenges, then you get them back the next year to see what you've done or accomplished.

But I've learned that this practice/ritual doesn't quite work for me? I've tried a lot of rituals that don't quite work for me. And over time I've learned I'm not lesser for them not working or greater for that matter. They just don't work. I must do and find what works for me - and not worry so much what works for someone else. Neither compare nor judge either way. That does not mean not trying it out - to see, but it does mean not to judge myself too harshly when it doesn't work out for me.

Culture Junkie report...

1. Books

* I've gotten into T.A. White's Rules of Redemption: Firebird #1. A lot of the language and world-building has an Asian flavor to it - it feels Japanese. ( Read more... )

* on Audio - listening to an urban fantasy novel by Illona Andrews, entitled Iron and Magic - it's the redemptive tale of Hugh D'Ambrey (a major villain and antagonist in two of the Kate Daniels novels, but interesting enough to warrant a redemptive tale and his own book - which was independently published by the writers.) The narrator is excellent. I could listen to him read anything. He can do multiple voices, and has a voice like British silk.


2. Television

* Finished Rings of Power S2 - which surprised me. I found it compelling and far better than S1 after about the third episode. You do, however, have to watch S1 to be able to follow it. I realized that I liked pretty much all of the characters, except possibly the folks in Numenor - who began to irritate me. (I had the same issues with the Lord of the Rings, then male political maneuvering and the men fighting a war - bored me in that as well. I'm much more interested in the Wizards, Ents, Harfoots, Stoors, Elves and Dwarves. The humans are kind of dull for the most part.)

* Finished Skeleton Crew - on Disney +. It's Star Wars meets the Goonies by way of Treasure Island. Heavy on the Treasure Island references. The writers basically borrowed lock stock and barrel Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of Long John Silver hunting for the legendary Treasure Island. Jude Law plays the Star Wars version of Silver, with a droid as the cranky first mate of the legendary Captain who discovered Treasure Island. It works for the most part, except when it falls too deeply into Goonies territory. Playing up the cuteness of the kids for laughs doesn't quite work? If anything I found the kids annoying, and was sympathizing a wee bit too much with Jon Silvo, who may or may not be a Jedi Wizard. Law and whomever is playing KB, the kid with visor, are the best things in it, along with the droid. In other words - it works best when it pushes hard on the Star Wars, Sci-Fi, and Treasure Island Pirate aspects (which Star Wars admittedly lends itself too) and not so well when it plays into the Goonies. That said, there are some good episodes in there, and only six in all. I'd say it's worth the watch - if you like Star Wars and Treasure Island meets the Goonies.

What's up next? I'm flirting with The Witcher. I may rewatch S1 and watch it. By the time, I get through S3, S4 will be released. I don't really care that Henry Caville is being replaced by Liam Helmsworth, since I prefer the later to the former anyhow. Caville is apparently up for a Marvel role - looks like Captain Britain - and he's perfect for Captain Britain.

I've decided to stick with Sci-fi and Fantasy for a bit. I'm not in the mood for spy thrillers, horror, or mysteries at the moment. I want to escape reality and politics, not watch horrific televised versions of it. The news is terrifying all on its own. Although, down-grading to basic cable has managed to block a lot of it. What I can't decide is if my issues with my cable and television have anything to do with the downgrade?

By the way - where is Interview with a Vampire streaming all its episodes? Just AMC? Or is there another streamer covering it?