Saturday laying about...
Jan. 10th, 2026 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Batman casting news...apparently Sebastain Stan has decided to be in both the MCU franchise and the DC franchise, and is the latest to appear in both to date. (Christian Bale did the same thing but in reverse - he appeared as Batman in DC's franchise, and Gor: the God Killer in the Thor films in MCU's franchise.)
Stan has been selected to portray Harvey Dent aka Half and Half in The Batman Part II (the Robert Pattinson Batman films). Actually The Batman was pretty good - in that it focused, for once, more on Batman. And it is clearly taken from Frank Miller's run on the comics - aka Batman Year 1.
Go HERE
If you know anything about the character or the comics, that's actually perfect casting. DC is doing a better job of casting their films than expected. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them.
2. I used a cold compress last night on my knee in bed - to quell the pain in the middle of the night - and it apparently tore in the night. I discovered this when I awoke - and ended up with tiny blue plastic beads on the floor and on the bed. Not too many thankfully, but enough to almost undo all the work that the cold compress had accomplished. Also I liked that cold compress - which alas is in the waste bin. So around 4:30 am, I'm cleaning up the little plastic beads from the floor. Took a while to get back to sleep - and ended up getting up around 8:30 am.
Now, icing again, after doing exercises, and robot vacuuming my apartment.
3. Angel S3 rewatch - Episode 13, Waiting in the Wings - which delves into the doomed romances of Angel. It's the companion piece to Buffy. In case you've never watched any of the Whedon series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) - a word to the wise? Don't ship the romantic or sexual relationships on them. (Platonic, yes, romantic, no.) They won't end well. There is no such thing as a romantic HEA in a Whedon series. The writers of Buffy/Angel are NOT romance writers. I kept trying to tell people in the fandom this - but they wouldn't listen to me, and sure enough they'd get their little hearts broken. I'm a long running serial fan - happy romantic relationships seldom last on serials.
While Buffy, against her better judgement has fallen hard for Spike, Angel against his better judgement has fallen hard for Cordelia. They clearly have a type. Actually, these romantic relationships are more interesting and based on a lot more than physical attraction. The writers took their time to build them both up. Both are impossible of course but for different reasons.
But the writers throw everything including the kitchen sink in the way of Cordelia and Angel. I actually prefer the obstacle in Spike/Buffy's path - which is - Spike is a vampire without a soul. He has no connection to humanity, and doesn't really care about humanity or feel any remorse for what he did to humanity. This means - Buffy can't trust him as far as she can toss him, which admittedly is pretty far. The obstacles in Cordy/Angel's path are annoying? It's basically the fact that neither can see past themselves long enough to admit their feelings. Or miscommunication.
Fred sees Angel's passion for Cordy - and sees them together, but Cordy is oblivious. Meanwhile, ironically, Cordy sees Wes's passion for Fred, but Fred is oblivious and falling for Gunn.
This whole episode, Waiting in the Wings, is about the doomed romances, and obstacles. We have the doomed love triangle of Wes/Fred/Gunn - which unfortunately leads to Wes isolating himself more and not trusting anyone. And the doomed love triangle of Groo/Cordy/Angel. Both Angel and Wes are jealous and desolate at the end. And the problem here is lack of communication.
After this episode - it's kind of clear that they will eventually kill off Cordelia. The moment that Angel and Cordelia get close to coming together, something will break it apart.
Never wish for a character you love to hook up with the leads in a horror series - that character will be killed off at some point. It's a given.
I liked this episode better this go around, mainly because somehow I was able to ignore the silly ballet bit with Wes imagining himself as the lead dancer, and Fred as the prima ballerina. I don't know if it was cut out of the Hulu presentation of it, or I managed to just miss it? What I didn't notice previously, was how much Gunn loved the ballet. This is followed up with Gunn's enjoyment of Gilbert and Sullivan in Angel S5. In fact the only one of the five characters who is into the ballet is Gunn, Angel's distracted by Cordy snoring (he'd gotten tickets for her), and the ballet being exactly the same as the 1890 version. (He probably saw the original with Spike, Darla, and Drusilla). Wes is distracted by imagining himself and Fred in the lead roles. Fred is distracted by Gunn.
It also feels like a retread of I Only Have Eyes for You - with Angel and Cordy re-enacting the passion of the ghosts. Angel doesn't want to re-enact it - mainly because been there done that - and the fact that he recalls it, not Cordy, indicates that he was aware of all the things that Angelus did and remembers them.
All in all, the romances on Buffy work better for me - mainly because they aren't love triangles, and the obstacles are more central to the characters, and less contrived misunderstandings.
4. Reading...
* Working my way through Angelica Huston's autobiography on audible:
Finished "A Story Lately Told: Growing up in Ireland, London, and New York"
and half way into "Watch Me" - about her life in Hollywood, mainly with Jack Nicholson, who ironically discovered his mother was his sister, long after both his mother and grandmother died. (Ironic if you remember the plot of Chinatown - which Nicholson starred in.) Also it was Time Magazine who broke the story - in 1974, before he found out about it. Huston touches on it, and describes how he reacted. I'm learning a lot about Jack Nicholson (Chinatown, The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Prizzi's Honor, Batman, Five Easy Pieces...), and none of it good. Damn, I'm glad I don't live that life. Sounds kind of hollow? Also they apparently lived next door to Marlon Brando, who well, be happy you didn't live next door to Marlon Brando? Brando gleefully sold his estate to Sylvester Stallone for a ton of money, and got off on the exceedingly private Nicholson fretting over the Stallone fandom flooding the gates.
* Also reading "The Botanist's Assistant" in paperback, but not getting that far - because I'm struggling to focus on reading books at the moment.
Don't know why. Could be the commute is too short and disruptive to read? It's only a 19-20 minute train ride, then off, steps, walk, steps, stand, five minute train ride, walk, there. That's kind of difficult to really read during? And the way my brain works - I need at least ten-fifteen minutes to get into any task, be it reading, writing, what have you.
It's good - so not the book's fault. About an ungainly tall middle-aged female research assistant working in a University botany lab, who discovers her boss's body. Refusing to accept that it was by natural causes, she begins to investigate the death. She also cared for the man, and had a serious crush on him.
Stan has been selected to portray Harvey Dent aka Half and Half in The Batman Part II (the Robert Pattinson Batman films). Actually The Batman was pretty good - in that it focused, for once, more on Batman. And it is clearly taken from Frank Miller's run on the comics - aka Batman Year 1.
Go HERE
If you know anything about the character or the comics, that's actually perfect casting. DC is doing a better job of casting their films than expected. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them.
2. I used a cold compress last night on my knee in bed - to quell the pain in the middle of the night - and it apparently tore in the night. I discovered this when I awoke - and ended up with tiny blue plastic beads on the floor and on the bed. Not too many thankfully, but enough to almost undo all the work that the cold compress had accomplished. Also I liked that cold compress - which alas is in the waste bin. So around 4:30 am, I'm cleaning up the little plastic beads from the floor. Took a while to get back to sleep - and ended up getting up around 8:30 am.
Now, icing again, after doing exercises, and robot vacuuming my apartment.
3. Angel S3 rewatch - Episode 13, Waiting in the Wings - which delves into the doomed romances of Angel. It's the companion piece to Buffy. In case you've never watched any of the Whedon series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) - a word to the wise? Don't ship the romantic or sexual relationships on them. (Platonic, yes, romantic, no.) They won't end well. There is no such thing as a romantic HEA in a Whedon series. The writers of Buffy/Angel are NOT romance writers. I kept trying to tell people in the fandom this - but they wouldn't listen to me, and sure enough they'd get their little hearts broken. I'm a long running serial fan - happy romantic relationships seldom last on serials.
While Buffy, against her better judgement has fallen hard for Spike, Angel against his better judgement has fallen hard for Cordelia. They clearly have a type. Actually, these romantic relationships are more interesting and based on a lot more than physical attraction. The writers took their time to build them both up. Both are impossible of course but for different reasons.
But the writers throw everything including the kitchen sink in the way of Cordelia and Angel. I actually prefer the obstacle in Spike/Buffy's path - which is - Spike is a vampire without a soul. He has no connection to humanity, and doesn't really care about humanity or feel any remorse for what he did to humanity. This means - Buffy can't trust him as far as she can toss him, which admittedly is pretty far. The obstacles in Cordy/Angel's path are annoying? It's basically the fact that neither can see past themselves long enough to admit their feelings. Or miscommunication.
Fred sees Angel's passion for Cordy - and sees them together, but Cordy is oblivious. Meanwhile, ironically, Cordy sees Wes's passion for Fred, but Fred is oblivious and falling for Gunn.
This whole episode, Waiting in the Wings, is about the doomed romances, and obstacles. We have the doomed love triangle of Wes/Fred/Gunn - which unfortunately leads to Wes isolating himself more and not trusting anyone. And the doomed love triangle of Groo/Cordy/Angel. Both Angel and Wes are jealous and desolate at the end. And the problem here is lack of communication.
After this episode - it's kind of clear that they will eventually kill off Cordelia. The moment that Angel and Cordelia get close to coming together, something will break it apart.
Never wish for a character you love to hook up with the leads in a horror series - that character will be killed off at some point. It's a given.
I liked this episode better this go around, mainly because somehow I was able to ignore the silly ballet bit with Wes imagining himself as the lead dancer, and Fred as the prima ballerina. I don't know if it was cut out of the Hulu presentation of it, or I managed to just miss it? What I didn't notice previously, was how much Gunn loved the ballet. This is followed up with Gunn's enjoyment of Gilbert and Sullivan in Angel S5. In fact the only one of the five characters who is into the ballet is Gunn, Angel's distracted by Cordy snoring (he'd gotten tickets for her), and the ballet being exactly the same as the 1890 version. (He probably saw the original with Spike, Darla, and Drusilla). Wes is distracted by imagining himself and Fred in the lead roles. Fred is distracted by Gunn.
It also feels like a retread of I Only Have Eyes for You - with Angel and Cordy re-enacting the passion of the ghosts. Angel doesn't want to re-enact it - mainly because been there done that - and the fact that he recalls it, not Cordy, indicates that he was aware of all the things that Angelus did and remembers them.
All in all, the romances on Buffy work better for me - mainly because they aren't love triangles, and the obstacles are more central to the characters, and less contrived misunderstandings.
4. Reading...
* Working my way through Angelica Huston's autobiography on audible:
Finished "A Story Lately Told: Growing up in Ireland, London, and New York"
and half way into "Watch Me" - about her life in Hollywood, mainly with Jack Nicholson, who ironically discovered his mother was his sister, long after both his mother and grandmother died. (Ironic if you remember the plot of Chinatown - which Nicholson starred in.) Also it was Time Magazine who broke the story - in 1974, before he found out about it. Huston touches on it, and describes how he reacted. I'm learning a lot about Jack Nicholson (Chinatown, The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Prizzi's Honor, Batman, Five Easy Pieces...), and none of it good. Damn, I'm glad I don't live that life. Sounds kind of hollow? Also they apparently lived next door to Marlon Brando, who well, be happy you didn't live next door to Marlon Brando? Brando gleefully sold his estate to Sylvester Stallone for a ton of money, and got off on the exceedingly private Nicholson fretting over the Stallone fandom flooding the gates.
* Also reading "The Botanist's Assistant" in paperback, but not getting that far - because I'm struggling to focus on reading books at the moment.
Don't know why. Could be the commute is too short and disruptive to read? It's only a 19-20 minute train ride, then off, steps, walk, steps, stand, five minute train ride, walk, there. That's kind of difficult to really read during? And the way my brain works - I need at least ten-fifteen minutes to get into any task, be it reading, writing, what have you.
It's good - so not the book's fault. About an ungainly tall middle-aged female research assistant working in a University botany lab, who discovers her boss's body. Refusing to accept that it was by natural causes, she begins to investigate the death. She also cared for the man, and had a serious crush on him.