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Dec. 10th, 2023 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. It's 17 days until Christmas. How do you feel about that?
Got gifts online for my brother and his family. Already have Wales' gift.
Just need to get mother something. And of course the grab bag, and give out the Christmas Cards.
Feel? Trying not to let it get me down, so doing various little things to ensure that. I plan on taking the 26 and 27 off. I am inviting Wales over for Xmas dinner. Going to Church service on Christmas Eve, and most likely to the Children's Christmas Pageant on the 17th, and the Solistice Vespers on the 21st. Also, going to the Annual Holiday Breakfast that our floor puts on and participating in the Grab Bag this year. And being grateful that I do not have to travel. Mother is fine - she's busy with her choir, her singing group, Ma-john, and going to dinner with various friends. She was working on her Christmas Letter when I last talked to her. I love her resilience. It's inspiring.
Also trying to enjoy the city lights. I still need to put up the small tree with the ornaments, but not sure where so procrastinating. It may not be necessary, I have a small one in the window with fairy lights. (I'm minimalist on the decorating front.)
2. It's the second night of Hanukkah. How do you feel about that?
Ambivalent? I'm not Jewish - I don't practice it. But at Church today they lit the Menorah, and they have one lit downstairs, and at work and in the park in Fort Green.
3. It's Howie Hawkins's birthday. Have you wished him a happy birthday yet?
I had to look this guy up - I've no clue who he is. I don't really care either.
Howard Gresham Hawkins III[1][2] (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee in the 2020 presidential election. His ideological platform includes enacting an eco-socialist version of the Green New Deal—which he first proposed in 2010—and building a viable, independent working-class political and social movement in opposition to the country's two major political parties, and capitalism in general.
I thought it was Janet Green in 2020?? No, that was 2016 - and she's one of the reasons Trump got elected. Clearly he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell - considering most of us have no clue who he is?
Whomever wrote this meme is clearly a social activist and Green Party Follower, New Yorker optional.
4. John Lennon died on December 7 in 1980. Your reaction?
Ambivalent.
5. Beethoven's 7th Symphony premiered in Vienna with Beethoven conducting, on this day in 1813. Can you hum any part of the 7th?
No. I'm not musically inclined. I can barely hum the theme to Jaws.
***
Yesterday was my father's birthday. Mother and I did not discuss it - although I did post about it on FB in memorium.
Here's a picture from the 1970s, where he is teaching my brother and I how to swim.
He'd have been 88.
***
In the news? They were complaining about NYC's crackdown on the Airbnb's reducing the number of people (mainly tourists) coming to NYC and it's outer boroughs. It could reduce it by 20%.
Okay, to put this in context? This is NYC, not Philadelphia, or Kansas City. We have 60 Million tourists coming into NYC per year. A reduction of 8-10 million is not necessarily a bad thing.
So, my reaction was basically - how is this a bad thing exactly?
They also mentioned it might make people less likely to buy and pay a lot to rent. And I thought, once again, how is this a bad thing?
When people complain about people leaving NYC - I think, good riddance. The city isn't exactly "underpopulated" or ever in danger of becoming so. We have over 12 million, with 60 million visiting. Do away with the Airbnb, please. Also Airbnb is kind of dangerous in NYC - since you do want someone regulating and inspecting that. Trust me. Do not stay in a place that hasn't been.
***
Watched the following this weekend:
* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse on Apple Plus. This made me cry, it's so beautiful and comforting. Go watch that - if you can. It's not that long.
I think it won best animated short this year.
* Doctor Who - Special #2 - Wild Blue Yonder - which was excellent, and among the scariest Doctor Who episodes that I've seen. I swear Ten and Donna have the scariest episodes. Blink, Forest of the Dead, Silence in the Library, and Wild Blue Yonder.
I was pleasantly surprised by this episode - it was suspenseful, tightly written, and character centric - partly because the only two people in it were Ten and Donna, and Tennant and Tate have great platonic chemistry.
RT Davies is clearly one of the better show-runners on this series. He's good at the emotional character acts, while Moffat was good at the plotting.
I was riveted throughout, and it did a good job of showing how the Doctor had changed, and how he had become more world-weary.
I really had missed this pairing, and it is by far and away my favorite.
* Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - directed by James Mangold.
This was surprisingly good, and far better than expected. It didn't go the way that I expected at all. I was pleasantly surprised. It contains a time travel scenario - but it handles it well - with a nice reference to Raiders of the Lost Arc. Most of the film references Raider's, with minor references to all the other films.
It also nicely wraps up Indy's journey, with a last scene that echoes two scenes in Raiders, and one in Temple of Doom.
Definite must for Indiana Jones fans. If, however, you didn't like the previous films or haven't seen them? You might want to skip. This film was clearly made for those of us who have seen the previous films, and loved them.
I honestly don't know how someone who never saw them, or grew up with them would react to the film.
I found it bittersweet and relatable in part, because it focuses on and is in the point of view of a man who is retiring from his job, and trying to figure out now what? The adventures are winding to an end, and he's grown weary of the changing times - and somewhat lost in them. The things he used to care about, he no longer does, while the things he barely noticed before, come front and center.
Phoebe Waller-Bridges is quite good in the co-lead role of his Goddaughter, Helena, who is a bit like a much much younger version of Indy. She's part anti-hero, and seems to be full of herself - even reluctantly has a kid sidekick - a call out to Indy's Short-Round in Temple of Doom. And she has a good character arc - ending in a separate spot at the end. Indy and Helena kind of switch roles in a way.
The film guest-stars an almost unrecognizable Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, John Rhys-Davis as Sallah, Karen Allen as Marion, Toby Jones as Baz (Indy's old comrade and Helena's father), and Mads Mikkelsen as the villain.
***
Trying not to worry about tomorrow. Figure best I can do is just push my way through. And accept that I can only control my reactions, nothing else.
Got gifts online for my brother and his family. Already have Wales' gift.
Just need to get mother something. And of course the grab bag, and give out the Christmas Cards.
Feel? Trying not to let it get me down, so doing various little things to ensure that. I plan on taking the 26 and 27 off. I am inviting Wales over for Xmas dinner. Going to Church service on Christmas Eve, and most likely to the Children's Christmas Pageant on the 17th, and the Solistice Vespers on the 21st. Also, going to the Annual Holiday Breakfast that our floor puts on and participating in the Grab Bag this year. And being grateful that I do not have to travel. Mother is fine - she's busy with her choir, her singing group, Ma-john, and going to dinner with various friends. She was working on her Christmas Letter when I last talked to her. I love her resilience. It's inspiring.
Also trying to enjoy the city lights. I still need to put up the small tree with the ornaments, but not sure where so procrastinating. It may not be necessary, I have a small one in the window with fairy lights. (I'm minimalist on the decorating front.)
2. It's the second night of Hanukkah. How do you feel about that?
Ambivalent? I'm not Jewish - I don't practice it. But at Church today they lit the Menorah, and they have one lit downstairs, and at work and in the park in Fort Green.
3. It's Howie Hawkins's birthday. Have you wished him a happy birthday yet?
I had to look this guy up - I've no clue who he is. I don't really care either.
Howard Gresham Hawkins III[1][2] (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee in the 2020 presidential election. His ideological platform includes enacting an eco-socialist version of the Green New Deal—which he first proposed in 2010—and building a viable, independent working-class political and social movement in opposition to the country's two major political parties, and capitalism in general.
I thought it was Janet Green in 2020?? No, that was 2016 - and she's one of the reasons Trump got elected. Clearly he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell - considering most of us have no clue who he is?
Whomever wrote this meme is clearly a social activist and Green Party Follower, New Yorker optional.
4. John Lennon died on December 7 in 1980. Your reaction?
Ambivalent.
5. Beethoven's 7th Symphony premiered in Vienna with Beethoven conducting, on this day in 1813. Can you hum any part of the 7th?
No. I'm not musically inclined. I can barely hum the theme to Jaws.
***
Yesterday was my father's birthday. Mother and I did not discuss it - although I did post about it on FB in memorium.
Here's a picture from the 1970s, where he is teaching my brother and I how to swim.
He'd have been 88.
***
In the news? They were complaining about NYC's crackdown on the Airbnb's reducing the number of people (mainly tourists) coming to NYC and it's outer boroughs. It could reduce it by 20%.
Okay, to put this in context? This is NYC, not Philadelphia, or Kansas City. We have 60 Million tourists coming into NYC per year. A reduction of 8-10 million is not necessarily a bad thing.
So, my reaction was basically - how is this a bad thing exactly?
They also mentioned it might make people less likely to buy and pay a lot to rent. And I thought, once again, how is this a bad thing?
When people complain about people leaving NYC - I think, good riddance. The city isn't exactly "underpopulated" or ever in danger of becoming so. We have over 12 million, with 60 million visiting. Do away with the Airbnb, please. Also Airbnb is kind of dangerous in NYC - since you do want someone regulating and inspecting that. Trust me. Do not stay in a place that hasn't been.
***
Watched the following this weekend:
* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse on Apple Plus. This made me cry, it's so beautiful and comforting. Go watch that - if you can. It's not that long.
I think it won best animated short this year.
* Doctor Who - Special #2 - Wild Blue Yonder - which was excellent, and among the scariest Doctor Who episodes that I've seen. I swear Ten and Donna have the scariest episodes. Blink, Forest of the Dead, Silence in the Library, and Wild Blue Yonder.
I was pleasantly surprised by this episode - it was suspenseful, tightly written, and character centric - partly because the only two people in it were Ten and Donna, and Tennant and Tate have great platonic chemistry.
RT Davies is clearly one of the better show-runners on this series. He's good at the emotional character acts, while Moffat was good at the plotting.
I was riveted throughout, and it did a good job of showing how the Doctor had changed, and how he had become more world-weary.
I really had missed this pairing, and it is by far and away my favorite.
* Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - directed by James Mangold.
This was surprisingly good, and far better than expected. It didn't go the way that I expected at all. I was pleasantly surprised. It contains a time travel scenario - but it handles it well - with a nice reference to Raiders of the Lost Arc. Most of the film references Raider's, with minor references to all the other films.
It also nicely wraps up Indy's journey, with a last scene that echoes two scenes in Raiders, and one in Temple of Doom.
Definite must for Indiana Jones fans. If, however, you didn't like the previous films or haven't seen them? You might want to skip. This film was clearly made for those of us who have seen the previous films, and loved them.
I honestly don't know how someone who never saw them, or grew up with them would react to the film.
I found it bittersweet and relatable in part, because it focuses on and is in the point of view of a man who is retiring from his job, and trying to figure out now what? The adventures are winding to an end, and he's grown weary of the changing times - and somewhat lost in them. The things he used to care about, he no longer does, while the things he barely noticed before, come front and center.
Phoebe Waller-Bridges is quite good in the co-lead role of his Goddaughter, Helena, who is a bit like a much much younger version of Indy. She's part anti-hero, and seems to be full of herself - even reluctantly has a kid sidekick - a call out to Indy's Short-Round in Temple of Doom. And she has a good character arc - ending in a separate spot at the end. Indy and Helena kind of switch roles in a way.
The film guest-stars an almost unrecognizable Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, John Rhys-Davis as Sallah, Karen Allen as Marion, Toby Jones as Baz (Indy's old comrade and Helena's father), and Mads Mikkelsen as the villain.
***
Trying not to worry about tomorrow. Figure best I can do is just push my way through. And accept that I can only control my reactions, nothing else.
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Date: 2023-12-11 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2023-12-11 03:20 pm (UTC)