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shadowkat1. Whoa, A.S. Byatt died - she was the author of one of my all time favorite books "Possession". It was turned into a film, but the book was much better.
2. "Be careful who you open up to. Only a few people actually care, the rest are just curious." - sigh, good advice, too bad I never follow it.
3. Okay, this is an odd choice...Pedro Pascale of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian is slated to play Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four. With Vanessa Kirby (The Crown and Mission Impossible) widely tipped to be Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), who is said to be the clear lead of the film, and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things - Eddie Munson) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear's cousin) poised to play Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (aka the Thing), respectively, the feeling at Marvel was that they needed a big star for Mister Fantastic. Apparently that's Pascale. Also according to the article, they needed someone who wasn't white to round out the cast.
I admit, I'll watch anything with Kirby in it. She was the best thing in The Crown.
4. Still "all bad moody" - decided to take a breather from hunting a European Vacation (I really want to go to Spain), and maybe just see my mother in the winter or take a quick flight to the Caribbean with Wales, and hang out at a resort.
Did however get a major rec to try Road Scholar in the US and abroad. It's apparently a great place to meet interesting people, and engage with cultural pursuits. Also it's geared towards folks that are 50+ or in my age range. OAT is too many days - 15 or more. It's actually affordable - if you consider the number of days, and how much is included. G Adventures - which I've done is geared more towards younger adults - within the age range of 18-45. And is almost too active, and jumps around a lot. Road Scholar tends to stick more to one centralized location and shoot out from there. Rick Stevens - doesn't handle airfare and is jam packed with activities, also has tours of 24-28 people, while Road Scholar tends to be less. Trafalgar is up to 48 people. Intrepid is really geared more towards 18-45 years of age, and is highly active, with emphasis on roughing it. It does however have some interesting expeditions to places like India, Jordan, and Iran.
And their Seville trip isn't bad - just not very inclusive for the cost.
[BYT halted my plans, when she told me that she couldn't give permission for any vacation time next year - because she doesn't know what the vacation schedule looks like. My union would probably tell me to schedule it, and take it anyhow.]
5. Laundry
So, the apartment complex removed the laundry machines and put in new ones this week. With a couple of caveats.
Here are the notes I read on the door this week:
* "Tenants, the laundry factory people came a day early and removed all the machines. They came on the morning of November 13. Sorry. But if you have money remaining on your cards - you can mail them to this address. The new machines will be fully installed by the 17, and the laundry room open by then."
[They must have come in at 9 or 10 AM, because there was no one down there when I completed my laundry at 8:15 that morning. Also, I'm glad I didn't wait, and just navigated my way around the couple who were doing ten loads.]
* "Tenants - we've ordered new laundry baskets but they've not arrived yet, please use the ones on top of the washers and dryers."
* "Tenants - the laundry room will be open today between 12 noon and 9pm, since we had to paint it and need time for the paint to dry."
* "Tenants -the laundry room money machine isn't working due to issues with internet connectivity - we've contacted Optimum to fix."
So basically, no one is doing laundry this week? Damn, next week is going to be interesting. I may wait to do it on the morning of the 27 - I can actually wait that long.
6. Crazy workplace.
Had yet another conversation about the HVAC system replacement at the train terminal. HVAC is a centralized air conditioning system. The gist basically was - can we get the contractor to tell us whether they can work at night per the contractual requirements. (We could - if the project team would stop complicating things and confusing the contractor, which they've done on every meeting to date. Resulting in a lengthy debate.) Now, we have a meeting about it on Monday - hopefully the last one.
This baby was a lot of work for everyone - all of which is wasted. We're going to have to do everything again. (It's been out three times already, this will be the fourth.) It's clearly not being awarded this year. At this rate, I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever award it. You'd think it would be simple to procure and furnish an HVAC system to a railroad terminal employee facility and ticket office. You'd be wrong.
Also, New York State changed their contractual regulations again on various items. (This folks is why it so hard to pass the Bar in NY, they change the rules constantly. And I do mean constantly. They've changed them five times in the last six months, alone. Boilerplates don't exist or they do, but just keep getting changed.)
And to add insult to injury - for reasons I do not understand, they added Aviation Insurance for Drones to the insurance coverage. I do not know why this has been added - or why they think they need it for a bridge replacement or to replace train platforms, escalators and elevators. But apparently they do.
I've come to the conclusion that technology has driven some people insane.
7. Social media is making me want to see Marvels. I don't know who to see it with? May need to pester movie buddy. Wales - is not a good person to see Marvel superhero films with - she doesn't like them, and jumps at loud noises. I could go by myself or wait for it to pop up on Disney +.
8. Netflix keeps adapting interesting books...such as The Hugo Award Winning The Three Body Problem
They also adapted All the Light You Cannot See - which I've yet to check out.
9. This Five Minute Clip of Doctor Who - Teaser from RT Davies new run of the show was more fun than I expected It also underlines the difficulty with Chinblain's Who, which was the lack of humor. And why I like Tennant best in the role - he can go from drama to wacky comedy in the blink of an eye.
And, apparently...all the Classic Doctor Who is now available on Tubi?
Also, there are days when I'm taking the train home from work - with a bunch of annoying teenagers, that I wonder where's a tardis when I need one, or better yet a Darlek?
10. Once again...music choices fit my mood today. Mainly depressing.
Sing me a Song - Cowboy Junkies
Fireworks - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Shades of Scarlette Conguering - Joni Mitchell
Make Em Wait - Ike and Tina Turner
Devil May Cry - the Weekend
Carry that Wait - the Beatles
The House that Built Me - Miranda Lambert
I Don't Know Where I Stand - Joni Mitchell
Closer to Fine - Brenda Carlile and Catherine Carlile
Free - Prince
I Drink Wine - Adele
Wake me up to Drive - Big Thief
And on a different note - after a while all of John Williams instrumentals sound the same. He has the beginning of the Superman theme in a lot of them, also seems to like using the same compositions across the board. It's gotten so I can tell a Williams composition with my eyes closed.
2. "Be careful who you open up to. Only a few people actually care, the rest are just curious." - sigh, good advice, too bad I never follow it.
3. Okay, this is an odd choice...Pedro Pascale of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian is slated to play Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four. With Vanessa Kirby (The Crown and Mission Impossible) widely tipped to be Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), who is said to be the clear lead of the film, and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things - Eddie Munson) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear's cousin) poised to play Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (aka the Thing), respectively, the feeling at Marvel was that they needed a big star for Mister Fantastic. Apparently that's Pascale. Also according to the article, they needed someone who wasn't white to round out the cast.
I admit, I'll watch anything with Kirby in it. She was the best thing in The Crown.
4. Still "all bad moody" - decided to take a breather from hunting a European Vacation (I really want to go to Spain), and maybe just see my mother in the winter or take a quick flight to the Caribbean with Wales, and hang out at a resort.
Did however get a major rec to try Road Scholar in the US and abroad. It's apparently a great place to meet interesting people, and engage with cultural pursuits. Also it's geared towards folks that are 50+ or in my age range. OAT is too many days - 15 or more. It's actually affordable - if you consider the number of days, and how much is included. G Adventures - which I've done is geared more towards younger adults - within the age range of 18-45. And is almost too active, and jumps around a lot. Road Scholar tends to stick more to one centralized location and shoot out from there. Rick Stevens - doesn't handle airfare and is jam packed with activities, also has tours of 24-28 people, while Road Scholar tends to be less. Trafalgar is up to 48 people. Intrepid is really geared more towards 18-45 years of age, and is highly active, with emphasis on roughing it. It does however have some interesting expeditions to places like India, Jordan, and Iran.
And their Seville trip isn't bad - just not very inclusive for the cost.
[BYT halted my plans, when she told me that she couldn't give permission for any vacation time next year - because she doesn't know what the vacation schedule looks like. My union would probably tell me to schedule it, and take it anyhow.]
5. Laundry
So, the apartment complex removed the laundry machines and put in new ones this week. With a couple of caveats.
Here are the notes I read on the door this week:
* "Tenants, the laundry factory people came a day early and removed all the machines. They came on the morning of November 13. Sorry. But if you have money remaining on your cards - you can mail them to this address. The new machines will be fully installed by the 17, and the laundry room open by then."
[They must have come in at 9 or 10 AM, because there was no one down there when I completed my laundry at 8:15 that morning. Also, I'm glad I didn't wait, and just navigated my way around the couple who were doing ten loads.]
* "Tenants - we've ordered new laundry baskets but they've not arrived yet, please use the ones on top of the washers and dryers."
* "Tenants - the laundry room will be open today between 12 noon and 9pm, since we had to paint it and need time for the paint to dry."
* "Tenants -the laundry room money machine isn't working due to issues with internet connectivity - we've contacted Optimum to fix."
So basically, no one is doing laundry this week? Damn, next week is going to be interesting. I may wait to do it on the morning of the 27 - I can actually wait that long.
6. Crazy workplace.
Had yet another conversation about the HVAC system replacement at the train terminal. HVAC is a centralized air conditioning system. The gist basically was - can we get the contractor to tell us whether they can work at night per the contractual requirements. (We could - if the project team would stop complicating things and confusing the contractor, which they've done on every meeting to date. Resulting in a lengthy debate.) Now, we have a meeting about it on Monday - hopefully the last one.
This baby was a lot of work for everyone - all of which is wasted. We're going to have to do everything again. (It's been out three times already, this will be the fourth.) It's clearly not being awarded this year. At this rate, I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever award it. You'd think it would be simple to procure and furnish an HVAC system to a railroad terminal employee facility and ticket office. You'd be wrong.
Also, New York State changed their contractual regulations again on various items. (This folks is why it so hard to pass the Bar in NY, they change the rules constantly. And I do mean constantly. They've changed them five times in the last six months, alone. Boilerplates don't exist or they do, but just keep getting changed.)
And to add insult to injury - for reasons I do not understand, they added Aviation Insurance for Drones to the insurance coverage. I do not know why this has been added - or why they think they need it for a bridge replacement or to replace train platforms, escalators and elevators. But apparently they do.
I've come to the conclusion that technology has driven some people insane.
7. Social media is making me want to see Marvels. I don't know who to see it with? May need to pester movie buddy. Wales - is not a good person to see Marvel superhero films with - she doesn't like them, and jumps at loud noises. I could go by myself or wait for it to pop up on Disney +.
8. Netflix keeps adapting interesting books...such as The Hugo Award Winning The Three Body Problem
They also adapted All the Light You Cannot See - which I've yet to check out.
9. This Five Minute Clip of Doctor Who - Teaser from RT Davies new run of the show was more fun than I expected It also underlines the difficulty with Chinblain's Who, which was the lack of humor. And why I like Tennant best in the role - he can go from drama to wacky comedy in the blink of an eye.
And, apparently...all the Classic Doctor Who is now available on Tubi?
Also, there are days when I'm taking the train home from work - with a bunch of annoying teenagers, that I wonder where's a tardis when I need one, or better yet a Darlek?
10. Once again...music choices fit my mood today. Mainly depressing.
Sing me a Song - Cowboy Junkies
Fireworks - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Shades of Scarlette Conguering - Joni Mitchell
Make Em Wait - Ike and Tina Turner
Devil May Cry - the Weekend
Carry that Wait - the Beatles
The House that Built Me - Miranda Lambert
I Don't Know Where I Stand - Joni Mitchell
Closer to Fine - Brenda Carlile and Catherine Carlile
Free - Prince
I Drink Wine - Adele
Wake me up to Drive - Big Thief
And on a different note - after a while all of John Williams instrumentals sound the same. He has the beginning of the Superman theme in a lot of them, also seems to like using the same compositions across the board. It's gotten so I can tell a Williams composition with my eyes closed.
no subject
Date: 2023-11-18 05:23 am (UTC):-)
https://xpn.org/
(I've plugged 'em before here several times, and they do stream.)
NPR station, so not much in the way of talk or commercials. Hosts all program their own stuff. If nothing else, you might wish to tune in Saturdays at 5:00 PM for The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn. Fave of mine, ridiculously wide range of music. And how could you not like a show that says "We're here in the Relay Shack, Broadcasting from Parts Unknown, USA."
(I believe this guy has a bigger music library than the Library of Congress.)
Every Saturday at 5:00 PM. Some links:
https://xpn.org/program/the-many-moods-of-ben-vaughn/
https://www.facebook.com/relayshack/
https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-many-moods-of-ben-vaughn-hosted-by-ben-vaughn/id425468151
no subject
Date: 2023-11-18 01:56 pm (UTC)Thank you for the recs.
When I was growing up - I did listen to the radio a lot. Found non-talk stations with limited or no commercials. I used to tape songs off of it and make myself mixed tapes - so I could have my own playlist, and not have to put up with the songs or the talk. That's my problem with radio - I don't want to hear anything but the music, no talk, no commentary, no commercials, just music. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2023-11-19 07:18 am (UTC)Vaughn is a musician himself, and had issued a number of sometimes quirky but always interesting and well-crafted albums over the years. He has a naturally great radio voice, and so I don't mind listening to him, plus his comments are often informative re: what he just played, especially for some of the obscure artists or versions of well-known songs by people who-- aren't.
And of course, if one likes the tunes but prefers to have no commentary, what you did before still works-- record the show and then just edit out the stuff you don't want, something even easier today with PC technology.
no subject
Date: 2023-11-19 01:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-18 08:03 pm (UTC)Also according to the article, they needed someone who wasn't white to round out the cast.
I can see that and I prefer it to the casting for the rebooted Fantastic 4. When I saw John Krasinski was in the role in Doctor Strange I thought he was a great choice. I was going to say Pascal is too old for the role but he's only 5 years older than Krasinski. Still -- I don't know why they don't choose younger actors for a film series that might be running a decade or more.
no subject
Date: 2023-11-19 03:03 am (UTC)I don't know who I'd cast as Reed. I didn't like John Krasinski in the part - and apparently neither did Kevin Fiege or he wasn't available. I looked at the others up for it? And just no. Well except for maybe Dev Patel .
The hardest teams to cast are the most popular in Marvel comics - The Fantastic Four and the X-men.
And the hardest characters? Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost. Those are really hard to cast well.
The guy they hired to play Ben Grimm - is perfect casting. And Vanessa Kirby is a good choice for Sue Storm - although I'd have cast her as Emma Frost. But I'm on the fence about Johnny Storm and Reed Richards. Also Fox did four Fantastic Four films - and screwed them up. They also screwed up with the X-men, although they did manage to achieve perfect casting on three of the X-men characters(Magneto, Professor X, Wolverine).
no subject
Date: 2023-11-19 03:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-19 01:56 pm (UTC)