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shadowkatHibernating in my apartment (because it is -16 degrees F outside with windchill, that translates to - 26 C (correction - it's now dropped to 6 degrees and is between -12 and -14, so I guess the wind is leveling off at least?), it's 68 degrees inside with radiators). I'm wearing a turtle neck, sweats, and fluffy socks. So I'm warm. Had hot coco earlier.
Drinking some sort of non-alcoholic sparkling low carb thing that frankly tastes like cough syrup or cough suppressants? So it's going down the drain soon.
Mother convinced me to watch the Winter Olympics to see the Men's Ice Skating program. She keeps raving about Ilani Milan, who has changed the sport with his multiple quad jumps. He also did a backflip. But honestly, the Japanese kid, named Yuma, impressed me more - he just danced across the ice, bouncing about, and having a grand old time. (I'm not rooting for anyone really?)
I did finish "Buffy S7: Storyteller" - and the ending isn't bad? Wood tries to kill Spike in the hallway while fighting the rioters, without Spike noticing. Wood would be more sympathetic if it was clear that he'd not lived a privileged life in Beverly Hills, going to great schools, and actually was better off with his mother dead, and doing a lot better than Buffy. The point is the abuse of power in telling stories or lies. Andrew is a good liar - he makes up "stories" or "lies" about his life and those around him and enjoys living in the lie. Buffy manages to smash his lies, and forces him to see the truth of things, and he cries - closing up the seal. (My difficulty is - I can't tell if he's actually remorseful? Or upset that his lies aren't real? Or if he's just scared witless? (Buffy is threatening him with his knife and holding him over the seal.) I think the intent was remorse? But it doesn't come across. Spike shows more remorse in Seeing Red and through most of S5-S6, then Andrew ever does. And Spike's a soulless vampire in SR and S5-6. So what gives writers?) First Date is actually better. The standalone's from a point of view other than Buffy's such as Superstar, Storyteller, and The Zeppo - are problematic in oh so many ways.
Then watched two episodes of The Pitt S2 - which were excellent. I love this series. (It's a hyper-realistic medical procedural that focuses on one 16 hour shift in an American inner city ER. It's less personal than This is Gonna Hurt or ER, in that we don't see the home lives of any of the characters. The only set is the ER and the immediate area into and out of it. We see Dr. Robi riding his motorcycle to the ER to start his last night shift before leaving on sabbatical, but after that? It's indoors. Medical health care workers - have stated that when people ask them to describe what they do? They point to the Pitt.)
I can relate - I have troubles explaining my profession too - although it's not that, and no one in their right mind would do a television show off of it. The viewers would go to sleep, god knows, I do.
Mother called after the figure skating (partly to apologize for the American's short program being a disappointment - it isn't usually) and to tell me about a comedy sketch she's working on for her retirement center's variety program. The center's self-appointed theater director has grown weary of writing sketches and has asked people to write or develop their own acts to be edited together into one program. They just have to write it about the center and issues involving it. Mother's decided to do a "Who's on First, What's on Second" sketch - except using maintenance workers.
Mother: The nicknames of the maintenance workers are Who, What, and I don't know. Who is in Building A, What is in Building B, and I don't know is in Building C.
Person: So who's in Building C?
Mother: I don't know. Who's in Building A.
Person: What?
Mother: No, what is in Building B...
Person: Who's in Building B?
Mother: no Who is in Building A.
I wished her luck with it. She's presenting it to her friend (the self-appointed theater director) tomorrow. (Mother is 83 turning 84 this year, and her friend is about four-five years older, I think.)
**
The self-appointed Buddhist expert on FB posted a list of things to do to change your life and become...I don't know? Calmer? More empathetic? A better person? One never knows with self-appointed internet Buddhist experts.
Their list?
Anywho - the first three aren't bad: Get sun regularly, practice gratitude, practice detachment (unless of course it means becoming a sociopath - in which case? Bad Buddhist, and I do not think that's what Buddhism is about). But the fourth one kind of lost me and I fluttered away after that, arguing with the person who posted in my head (assuming of course it is an actual person? It could be Generative AI or a Digitial auto pilot account, one never knows these days. (And also not very Buddhist. Techie, yes, Buddhist, no.)
The fourth was: "replace tv with podcasts". Uhm, have you listened to podcasts? Most of them are horrible true crime things, self-indulgent ranmblings by so called experts on random topics they don't really know anything about...meanwhile there are television series that provide you with another view of a profession or the world, and help with empathy. Plus are imaginative. The Pitt, The Bear, The Wire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, MASH, China Beach, This is Gonna Hurt, All Creatures Great and Small, Star Trek, BSG, Farscape, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad...just to name a few.
Bad Buddhist. No cookies for you. Or brownies as the case may be. Internet Buddhists tend to be more Egotists than Buddhists - very judgemental and weirdly authoritative. Which is kind of counter to the whole philosophy of well Buddhism?
Granted, what do I expect? It is Facebook. (I restrained myself from responding - it's best not to. Responding just makes it worse.)
**
Against my better judgement, I caved and made brownies. I blame the weather. Cold days make me crave brownies, chocolate chip cookies, soup, mac and cheese, and hot coco for some reason. So far I've had all of the above this week. (Not today - I'm not crazy and my blood sugar would be through the roof.) I'm making shrimp, brussle sprouts, and broccoli in the air fryer, possibly with brown rice for dinner. I've discovered that brussle sprouts seasoned with oil, pepper, flake sea salt, garlic salt, and
Mrs. Dash and cooked in the air fryer - are quite tasty. Apparently it's how you cook them that makes all the difference? Roasted brussle sprouts - are burnt and gross, but air fried ones are rather tasty and delicious? Note to self - only do air fry from now on. YMMV.
**
I've managed to do my knee exercises or most of them - the important ones at any rate. Not necessarily three times today, but the knee was hurting still from yesterday. I'd stood on it too long - so it wanted to rest. It finally stopped hurting sometime around noon.
***
Memage
4. How old is the oldest book you own?
God knows. It appears to be On the Road with Jack Keroack - 1955. I was going to say my copy of the Hobbit or the Last Hurrah, but On the Road wins. (I don't tend to keep old books - since I'm allergic to the dust and book mold - and I don't have the space, and I can barely read the small print any longer.)
5. It’s the 60th anniversary of the game ‘Twister’ – have you ever played it?
Yes. Although not since the 1980s. I vaguely remember enjoying it a lot in the 1970s as a kid.
6. In 1869, Harper's Weekly published the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers. Do you know anyone with a beard or a moustache?
Most of my neighbors and male co-workers. My boss has a beard and moustache, his boss does. Most of the young men in the neighborhood do. Most of my male neighbors - next door, across the hall, downstairs, the guy in the basement. It's incredibly trendy at the moment?
7. Is there a subject at school which you disliked, but you would consider learning now?
No. The ones I disliked, I ended up learning in spite of myself, and unfortunately doing for a living and figuring out on my own. So I don't think it matters? There's no avoiding math. It's a fact of life. As is business law, contracts, and property law. Whether you go to law school or not. Same with computers. Can't avoid it.
Science? No. I hated biology then, I hate it now. Dissection really wasn't my thing. And chemistry - too many annoying formulas and you kind of need to know calculus.
Drinking some sort of non-alcoholic sparkling low carb thing that frankly tastes like cough syrup or cough suppressants? So it's going down the drain soon.
Mother convinced me to watch the Winter Olympics to see the Men's Ice Skating program. She keeps raving about Ilani Milan, who has changed the sport with his multiple quad jumps. He also did a backflip. But honestly, the Japanese kid, named Yuma, impressed me more - he just danced across the ice, bouncing about, and having a grand old time. (I'm not rooting for anyone really?)
I did finish "Buffy S7: Storyteller" - and the ending isn't bad? Wood tries to kill Spike in the hallway while fighting the rioters, without Spike noticing. Wood would be more sympathetic if it was clear that he'd not lived a privileged life in Beverly Hills, going to great schools, and actually was better off with his mother dead, and doing a lot better than Buffy. The point is the abuse of power in telling stories or lies. Andrew is a good liar - he makes up "stories" or "lies" about his life and those around him and enjoys living in the lie. Buffy manages to smash his lies, and forces him to see the truth of things, and he cries - closing up the seal. (My difficulty is - I can't tell if he's actually remorseful? Or upset that his lies aren't real? Or if he's just scared witless? (Buffy is threatening him with his knife and holding him over the seal.) I think the intent was remorse? But it doesn't come across. Spike shows more remorse in Seeing Red and through most of S5-S6, then Andrew ever does. And Spike's a soulless vampire in SR and S5-6. So what gives writers?) First Date is actually better. The standalone's from a point of view other than Buffy's such as Superstar, Storyteller, and The Zeppo - are problematic in oh so many ways.
Then watched two episodes of The Pitt S2 - which were excellent. I love this series. (It's a hyper-realistic medical procedural that focuses on one 16 hour shift in an American inner city ER. It's less personal than This is Gonna Hurt or ER, in that we don't see the home lives of any of the characters. The only set is the ER and the immediate area into and out of it. We see Dr. Robi riding his motorcycle to the ER to start his last night shift before leaving on sabbatical, but after that? It's indoors. Medical health care workers - have stated that when people ask them to describe what they do? They point to the Pitt.)
I can relate - I have troubles explaining my profession too - although it's not that, and no one in their right mind would do a television show off of it. The viewers would go to sleep, god knows, I do.
Mother called after the figure skating (partly to apologize for the American's short program being a disappointment - it isn't usually) and to tell me about a comedy sketch she's working on for her retirement center's variety program. The center's self-appointed theater director has grown weary of writing sketches and has asked people to write or develop their own acts to be edited together into one program. They just have to write it about the center and issues involving it. Mother's decided to do a "Who's on First, What's on Second" sketch - except using maintenance workers.
Mother: The nicknames of the maintenance workers are Who, What, and I don't know. Who is in Building A, What is in Building B, and I don't know is in Building C.
Person: So who's in Building C?
Mother: I don't know. Who's in Building A.
Person: What?
Mother: No, what is in Building B...
Person: Who's in Building B?
Mother: no Who is in Building A.
I wished her luck with it. She's presenting it to her friend (the self-appointed theater director) tomorrow. (Mother is 83 turning 84 this year, and her friend is about four-five years older, I think.)
**
The self-appointed Buddhist expert on FB posted a list of things to do to change your life and become...I don't know? Calmer? More empathetic? A better person? One never knows with self-appointed internet Buddhist experts.
Their list?
Anywho - the first three aren't bad: Get sun regularly, practice gratitude, practice detachment (unless of course it means becoming a sociopath - in which case? Bad Buddhist, and I do not think that's what Buddhism is about). But the fourth one kind of lost me and I fluttered away after that, arguing with the person who posted in my head (assuming of course it is an actual person? It could be Generative AI or a Digitial auto pilot account, one never knows these days. (And also not very Buddhist. Techie, yes, Buddhist, no.)
The fourth was: "replace tv with podcasts". Uhm, have you listened to podcasts? Most of them are horrible true crime things, self-indulgent ranmblings by so called experts on random topics they don't really know anything about...meanwhile there are television series that provide you with another view of a profession or the world, and help with empathy. Plus are imaginative. The Pitt, The Bear, The Wire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, MASH, China Beach, This is Gonna Hurt, All Creatures Great and Small, Star Trek, BSG, Farscape, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad...just to name a few.
Bad Buddhist. No cookies for you. Or brownies as the case may be. Internet Buddhists tend to be more Egotists than Buddhists - very judgemental and weirdly authoritative. Which is kind of counter to the whole philosophy of well Buddhism?
Granted, what do I expect? It is Facebook. (I restrained myself from responding - it's best not to. Responding just makes it worse.)
**
Against my better judgement, I caved and made brownies. I blame the weather. Cold days make me crave brownies, chocolate chip cookies, soup, mac and cheese, and hot coco for some reason. So far I've had all of the above this week. (Not today - I'm not crazy and my blood sugar would be through the roof.) I'm making shrimp, brussle sprouts, and broccoli in the air fryer, possibly with brown rice for dinner. I've discovered that brussle sprouts seasoned with oil, pepper, flake sea salt, garlic salt, and
Mrs. Dash and cooked in the air fryer - are quite tasty. Apparently it's how you cook them that makes all the difference? Roasted brussle sprouts - are burnt and gross, but air fried ones are rather tasty and delicious? Note to self - only do air fry from now on. YMMV.
**
I've managed to do my knee exercises or most of them - the important ones at any rate. Not necessarily three times today, but the knee was hurting still from yesterday. I'd stood on it too long - so it wanted to rest. It finally stopped hurting sometime around noon.
***
Memage
4. How old is the oldest book you own?
God knows. It appears to be On the Road with Jack Keroack - 1955. I was going to say my copy of the Hobbit or the Last Hurrah, but On the Road wins. (I don't tend to keep old books - since I'm allergic to the dust and book mold - and I don't have the space, and I can barely read the small print any longer.)
5. It’s the 60th anniversary of the game ‘Twister’ – have you ever played it?
Yes. Although not since the 1980s. I vaguely remember enjoying it a lot in the 1970s as a kid.
6. In 1869, Harper's Weekly published the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers. Do you know anyone with a beard or a moustache?
Most of my neighbors and male co-workers. My boss has a beard and moustache, his boss does. Most of the young men in the neighborhood do. Most of my male neighbors - next door, across the hall, downstairs, the guy in the basement. It's incredibly trendy at the moment?
7. Is there a subject at school which you disliked, but you would consider learning now?
No. The ones I disliked, I ended up learning in spite of myself, and unfortunately doing for a living and figuring out on my own. So I don't think it matters? There's no avoiding math. It's a fact of life. As is business law, contracts, and property law. Whether you go to law school or not. Same with computers. Can't avoid it.
Science? No. I hated biology then, I hate it now. Dissection really wasn't my thing. And chemistry - too many annoying formulas and you kind of need to know calculus.