Wednesday - at last...more commuting woes, Buffy/Angel rewatch & Angelica Huston on Polanski

Another difficult commute - I swear, me and Transit are going to have words one of these days. (Considering I currently inhabit the same building that they inhabit - it could actually happen. Possibly in an elevator or in a hallway.) The R train was running with delays and on other tracks, skipping Whitehall Street again this evening. I wish I knew before I hobbled down the eight flights of steps. Someone pulled the Emergency Break again. So, ended up taking the 4 to Borough Hall Brooklyn and walked 10 blocks to Bergen, took the G home. The 4/5 also had delays due to a passenger being hit by a train but seemed to be fine by the time I got there. And the G was running with delays due to a incident with a train being taken out of service somewhere on 21st Street in North Brooklyn. Plus they had a police officer patrolling the G train. Knee was bothering by the time I got there - so icing. Hopefully can do exercises after dinner. Did exercises at work at least.

It's hard to find the time to fit them in, with work. Also hard to do the cardiac activity necessary to lose weight. Stupid knees.

My 83 year old mother is doing fine. I'm the invalid. Turns out a sedentary desk job is tough on the knees.

Oh, digestive issues woke me last night - but, have discovered a concoction that helps a sour stomach. (Gas pains, gastric reflex, and cramping or anything stuck in the esophagus).

1 teaspoon baking soda
Lemon juice
Mixed in a glass of water

It's basically home-brewed alka seltzer, but more effective. Works like a charm - takes about five to ten minutes to work.

Had two decent and reassuring conversations with higher ups today - so I feel a little less sidelined and more valuable than I did previously. They do see me as a valuable resource. (Actually I think Breaking Bad is the one in trouble - and has been for a while now. But I'm not.) I just need to be patient, and keep doing what I've been doing. Being helpful. And keeping my charts up to date.

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More on Angel/Buffy Rewatch

David Greenwalt in the chat with Holtz, Lindsey, and Lilah actors - stated that Whedon had asked him if he wanted to do work on an Angel spin-off and show-run it for him. It was supposed to be dark and noir - similar in tone to what Greenwalt had previously done with Profit. The actor who played Holtz - came from Profit. Greenwalt asked for Charisma Carpenter - who played Cordelia - because he felt they needed humor and some lightness to the show, which was rather dark in concept. Also apparently they went too dark for the network in the second episode's original/initial script by David Fury - which initially had Angel killing the girl and licking blood off the floor of the bathroom. The network understandably went nuts - and said no, you can't do that.

The actor who played Holtz - brought up how he didn't view his character as a villain. And Greenwalt stated that they tried not to write characters as villains. That's kind of boring. And the other actors chimed in - that you never see your character as a villain, the character doesn't. But it is more fun to play them. Christian Kane (Lindsey) said he looked at it as - you're the company you keep. Lindsey was tainted by WRH. He said having his character be a villain but not quite - made him more fun to play, than to have him be a hero. It's better to have an edge. Romanov (Lilah) agreed.

I'm beginning to understand why I still love these shows - the cast, crew, writers, and fandom are so enjoyable.

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The characters of Dawn, Riley and Xander with a few exceptions, have the worst episodes in Buffy for some reason. I think the writers either didn't identify with them, over-identified, or didn't know what to do with them? ( Read more... )

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Angelica Huston memoir - Watch Me, which I'm listening to via audible.
It's well written. She really disliked Ryan O'Neal, who was violent and Huston describes as a bully with no conscience. She'd been in love with him for a bit - and in a very toxic relationship. He beat her and abused her, and it took her a while to break off the relationship and go back to Jack Nicholson.

She also writes about Roman Polanski - whom she lived next door to for a bit, and was friends with. Apparently they tried to get her to testify against Polanski in the "statutory rape" case - by offering her a deal to drop cocaine charges. ( Read more... )

Off to make dinner.

January Question A Day Meme

Catching up on the January Question a Day Meme:

11. The first National State lottery in England was drawn in 1569. The first prize was £5,000, and other prizes included tapestries and high-quality linen cloth. How much does it cost to enter where you live (and have you ever bought a ticket)?

A couple of things? It wasn't initially successful in the US. the First National Lottery in the US which took place on November 18, 1776 was a colossal failure.

"On November 18, 1776, the First Continental Congress enacted a national lottery designed to complete with state and local lotteries at the time. The reason for getting in the lottery game was a simple yet important one for delegates of the thirteen colonies: help fund the costly Revolutionary War."

( And it's well complicated? )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotteries_in_the_United_States

12. In 1948, the first Supermarket in the UK opened - the Co-op, the country’s first permanent self-service store, in East London’s Manor Park. Do you use one specific supermarket to buy groceries, and do they have a loyalty card scheme you belong to? How does it work?

"Chain grocery retailing was a phenomenon that took off around the beginning of the twentieth century in the United States, with the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (1859) and other small, regional players. Grocery stores of this era tended to be small (generally less than a thousand square feet) and also focused on only one aspect of food retailing. Grocers (and most of the chains fell into this camp) sold what is known as “dry grocery” items, or canned goods and other non-perishable staples. Butchers and greengrocers (produce vendors) were completely separate entities, although they tended to cluster together for convenience’s sake."

Although it is debated and most think it was Piggly Wiggly in Memphis in 1916.

A Quick History of the American Supermarket.

Yes. I usually go to Met Fresh, before that Food Town. And yes, they have the loyalty card scheme - Food Town gives you a free chicken, when you collect enough points. Met Fresh gives you a percentage off - but theirs requires putting in the number in a separate slot, and it doesn't always work. Foodtown, you just tell the cashier your number or they scan a card.

13. January is the best time to see the bright gas giant planet Jupiter in the sky – have you ever seen it?

Yes. But a long time ago, and not in NYC. Too much light pollution.

14. Mark Antony was born today in Rome in 83BCE. Have you ever seen “Cleopatra” starring Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra and Richard Burton as Mark Antony?

Yes, it's a horrible movie. I also read the Court case in a Contract's Law course in law school - where Twentieth Century Fox sued Burton and Taylor for misbehavior on the set and damages for delaying production.

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/239/913/2379197/

It got settled. The court case isn't about the lawsuit - it's about jurisdiction and whether it should be settled by New York State or Federal Court.

The movie is just bad. I couldn't get through it. They fell in love during it - resulting in delays.