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Thoughts on My Father, Discourse, Horror Novels...among other things.
1. Saw this on FB.
"It's important in life to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong."
Me: Particularly on social media platforms.
Also, at work and in arguments with my little brother. Actually I learned this lesson ages ago - because of said little brother.
I had an Aunt, mother's older sister, who always had to have the last word. She believed she won the argument if she had the last word. I've learned that's not true. Particularly on social media.
There's another statement that I learned from a co-worker - who would use it as the tag-line to all his emails...
"When arguing with an idiot, make sure you aren't the idiot."
More often than not? I am. As embarrassingly as it is to admit that - it is alas true. I'd get myself in far less trouble if I didn't respond to things.
2. Bought or grabbed a lot of horror novels today off of Amazon. Most of them were free with my Kindle Unlimited Subscription, which has a lot of great books on it. Independently published books are becoming as good if not better than traditionally published - mainly because the traditional publishing industry is afraid to take risks or play. And has become, alas, far too conservative, stagnant, and formulaic for its own good. (In short, I keep getting bored. Yeah, yeah, I've read that book already - type of boredom. I blame the Radcliff School of Publishing and the Ivy's that spit out book editors who can't get past the need to read things that sound the same.)
Horror novels grabbed?
* The Croning by Laird Barron, also grabbed The Occultation on audible.
The narrator for The Occultation is quite good.
This is a cosmic horror novel - that is a riff over a very dark take on the Rumplestilskin tale. It's more of a psychological thriller that leaves a lot to the imagination apparently - I love those. I actually prefer horror novels and films that are kind of vague and leave a lot to the imagination.
I find them more terrifying and far more interesting.
* PenPal
* The Last House on Needless Street
* The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks
* BlueJay
* Experimental Film - also the free audible book.
I'm still flirting with Only the Good Indians and The Fisherman which were more expensive.
I like horror novels. Not everyone does. Of course not everyone likes Romance Novels either. I used to read them in book stores cover to cover, horror novels not romance novels. I actually like all genres. The only genre I seem to struggle with is the historical (well that and memoirs -which is another discussion) - due to two issues with it (historicals not memoirs): 1) the heavily mannered writing style - intended to replicate the writing style of the period (but is just distracting), and/or 2) the less than reliable research. (It's often one or the other, the more mannered the writing style - the more reliable the research, which is odd, but there you go.)
The difficulty with history - is historians aren't the most reliable narrators on the planet. My father, a frustrated historian, used to warn me that history is in the eye of the historian and historian's embellish, lie, and often twist the history to fit their own interpretation of the facts or personal beliefs. So, I always have to read it with a touch of skepticism in place. My father believed that a more than healthy dose of skepticism was good for the soul.
My father's favorite sayings?
"That's a radical interpretation of the text." - my particular favorite.
"Don't sweat the small stuff" or "Don't let the turkey's get you down."
"Don't worry about the uncontrollables."
"Wherever you go, there you are."
"Good on you mate." (He spent a year in Australia and picked up a few Australianisms.)
"There you go."
"It's Alright? It's Alright."
"All stories need a little embellishment, and it's the prerogative of the teller to embellish..."
My father was kind of like Mr Spock. He would tell me to push aside the emotions are look at it rationally and logically. And from all angles.
Sometimes I think the best way to understand me - is to have known my father, which is impossible of course - now that he is gone. Yet, I feel him from time to time. Which is interesting.
3. Started watching Dead Boys Detectives again, I've two episodes left, I think. It's the YA series adapted from the Neil Gaiman stories/comics of the same name, within the Sandman Universe. It's okay. I find some of the characters a touch grating - but this true of Neil Gaiman's stories generally speaking. I love some, some I want to smack upside the head.
4. Didn't do much today besides read, look for horror novels and sleep. I was checking out horror novel reviews on Amazon and Good Reads, and kept dozing off during it. It would only have taken an hour or two, if I didn't keep nodding off. As a result it took all morning. I thought I slept well enough last night? Apparently not.
Oh well, can't do it tomorrow - have the day off, yes, but have a mammogram scheduled at 1:45 in Cobble Hill - which is about a 15-20 minute subway ride, and a ten minute walk - so 30 minutes? They are funny about mammograms - you are told not to bring any valuables. But I kind of have to? I have to bring my wallet, phone, keys, and book. I'm guessing they mean things like laptops and jewelry. The later isn't a problem - I never wear any.
I don't understand the appeal of wearing jewelry. It gets in my way, and is bothersome.
Off to read, and hopefully sleep.
"It's important in life to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong."
Me: Particularly on social media platforms.
Also, at work and in arguments with my little brother. Actually I learned this lesson ages ago - because of said little brother.
I had an Aunt, mother's older sister, who always had to have the last word. She believed she won the argument if she had the last word. I've learned that's not true. Particularly on social media.
There's another statement that I learned from a co-worker - who would use it as the tag-line to all his emails...
"When arguing with an idiot, make sure you aren't the idiot."
More often than not? I am. As embarrassingly as it is to admit that - it is alas true. I'd get myself in far less trouble if I didn't respond to things.
2. Bought or grabbed a lot of horror novels today off of Amazon. Most of them were free with my Kindle Unlimited Subscription, which has a lot of great books on it. Independently published books are becoming as good if not better than traditionally published - mainly because the traditional publishing industry is afraid to take risks or play. And has become, alas, far too conservative, stagnant, and formulaic for its own good. (In short, I keep getting bored. Yeah, yeah, I've read that book already - type of boredom. I blame the Radcliff School of Publishing and the Ivy's that spit out book editors who can't get past the need to read things that sound the same.)
Horror novels grabbed?
* The Croning by Laird Barron, also grabbed The Occultation on audible.
The narrator for The Occultation is quite good.
This is a cosmic horror novel - that is a riff over a very dark take on the Rumplestilskin tale. It's more of a psychological thriller that leaves a lot to the imagination apparently - I love those. I actually prefer horror novels and films that are kind of vague and leave a lot to the imagination.
I find them more terrifying and far more interesting.
* PenPal
* The Last House on Needless Street
* The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks
* BlueJay
* Experimental Film - also the free audible book.
I'm still flirting with Only the Good Indians and The Fisherman which were more expensive.
I like horror novels. Not everyone does. Of course not everyone likes Romance Novels either. I used to read them in book stores cover to cover, horror novels not romance novels. I actually like all genres. The only genre I seem to struggle with is the historical (well that and memoirs -which is another discussion) - due to two issues with it (historicals not memoirs): 1) the heavily mannered writing style - intended to replicate the writing style of the period (but is just distracting), and/or 2) the less than reliable research. (It's often one or the other, the more mannered the writing style - the more reliable the research, which is odd, but there you go.)
The difficulty with history - is historians aren't the most reliable narrators on the planet. My father, a frustrated historian, used to warn me that history is in the eye of the historian and historian's embellish, lie, and often twist the history to fit their own interpretation of the facts or personal beliefs. So, I always have to read it with a touch of skepticism in place. My father believed that a more than healthy dose of skepticism was good for the soul.
My father's favorite sayings?
"That's a radical interpretation of the text." - my particular favorite.
"Don't sweat the small stuff" or "Don't let the turkey's get you down."
"Don't worry about the uncontrollables."
"Wherever you go, there you are."
"Good on you mate." (He spent a year in Australia and picked up a few Australianisms.)
"There you go."
"It's Alright? It's Alright."
"All stories need a little embellishment, and it's the prerogative of the teller to embellish..."
My father was kind of like Mr Spock. He would tell me to push aside the emotions are look at it rationally and logically. And from all angles.
Sometimes I think the best way to understand me - is to have known my father, which is impossible of course - now that he is gone. Yet, I feel him from time to time. Which is interesting.
3. Started watching Dead Boys Detectives again, I've two episodes left, I think. It's the YA series adapted from the Neil Gaiman stories/comics of the same name, within the Sandman Universe. It's okay. I find some of the characters a touch grating - but this true of Neil Gaiman's stories generally speaking. I love some, some I want to smack upside the head.
4. Didn't do much today besides read, look for horror novels and sleep. I was checking out horror novel reviews on Amazon and Good Reads, and kept dozing off during it. It would only have taken an hour or two, if I didn't keep nodding off. As a result it took all morning. I thought I slept well enough last night? Apparently not.
Oh well, can't do it tomorrow - have the day off, yes, but have a mammogram scheduled at 1:45 in Cobble Hill - which is about a 15-20 minute subway ride, and a ten minute walk - so 30 minutes? They are funny about mammograms - you are told not to bring any valuables. But I kind of have to? I have to bring my wallet, phone, keys, and book. I'm guessing they mean things like laptops and jewelry. The later isn't a problem - I never wear any.
I don't understand the appeal of wearing jewelry. It gets in my way, and is bothersome.
Off to read, and hopefully sleep.
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I had one of these myself this week: I'd pointed out that someone had made a sweeping and incorrect statement, and rather than saying 'oops, didn't know that', they tried to niggle away at the facts. Life is too short.
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I learned something recently that I hadn't realized, and can't remember who said it - but:
People tend to remember how something made them feel - not what was said. They don't remember the correction - they remember how they felt. So if I get in a heated argument with someone, and they leave with bruised feelings or I do, or we both do, that's what we will remember from the interaction. I have to be more careful in how I interact with folks - and how I phrase things. Which is difficult for me, because I have a tendency to get either snarky or condescending when I'm irritable, annoyed or angry. Which is probably why it's not a good idea to get on social media when I'm feeling any of those emotions.
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Also, that seems an odd thing for them to request at the mammogram place. Where I go, you get let into a small dressing room that locks behind you and only they can open on the other side, so you leave your purse and clothes there and they bring you through to the machine. It all seems quite secure since the other people waiting in the waiting room can’t get in there.
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They always had lockers where I was previously, and little rooms you could wait in. So I'm not sure?
Will find out, today. I'm a little concerned since the new location has gotten bad reviews, but only ten reviews. So no clue.
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It's my belief that within our brains, we don't just have memories of people we know well, but little (imperfect, obviously) replicas of their personality. When we think about them, we fell their presence as if they were really there, because in a sense, they are.