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shadowkatWork and my commute are attempting to take bites out of my good mood, along with a potential rainy weather pattern coming into NYC for tomorrow. But I persevere and the cheeriness continues for the most part.
So too are various areas of the internet at work and at home, but not DW (so no worries).
1. MSN's browser at work throws stories at me - one was the headline: Woman's Hike Through Texas' Big Bend National Park Turns into a Nightmare. Thinking for a quick getaway from people and in nature, in the rarely visited park, a woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by hundreds of tiny animals and stumbles into a nightmare.
Trying to figure out what "tiny animals" would surround you and terrify you, I of course took a peek?
Sigh. I really wish I hadn't.
I'm arachnophobic - so no, I didn't read any more of the article (not because I can't read about spiders) - it had pictures. I can't look at pictures of spiders. They couldn't have written the article without the pictures? No, of course not. It's the internet. I hate the internet. It is doing a really good job of biting into my good mood. Fuck you, internet.
2. I apparently liked a few Buffy posts on FB, so FB keeps throwing all things Buffy related at me. Today it threw an Instagram Post by the guy who played Parker Abrhams on Buffy in S4, and who was also on Dawson's Creek shortly thereafter - he was posting a tribute to the lead of Dawson's who died recently from cancer. The gist? "I was coming off of this horrible experience on another WB show, so bad, I considered never acting again, and my agent talked me into trying out for Dawson's Creek - and I got a bit part on it, and James was so kind to me that first day. All I wanted to do was get a job where I could make friends, hang and have a good time connecting with folks."
Acting is a tough biz. It has a 99% unemployment rate. Over 1000 people audition for television roles. Guest spots have a going rate of $1K-5K per episode. You don't get health care or union benefits unless you have a certain number of jobs each year. This isn't fun. Professional actors don't audition so that they can hang out and make friends.
Buffy was 13-20 hour days. Most shows are 8-12 hour days. Buffy worked weekends, that's not done. Whedon was a perfectionist and often did over 20 takes per scene. There was one bathroom on the set. They were doing a supernatural/special effects series on a very low budget on a network that was new and under the wire.
Dawson's Creek was a boiler plate coming of age story, without special effects, and by Kevin Smith who had already done the Scream flicks, and wasn't a perfectionist. It was 10-12 hour shoots if that. Also, at the time, men had more sway than women. The lead of Dawson's was a twenty-something white male. The lead of Buffy was an 20 year old white female.
Buffy from all reports was a prime gig at the time - a lot of actors wanted to land it. Why? The writing. It had great scripts. Dawson's Creek was not a prime gig - the writing was not critically applauded on that show. I gave up on Dawson's after three seasons, and drifted back for the finale, which was horrible.
Sigh. This guy who posted his tribute comes across as whiny, and
entitled. There's ways he could have done it. I was thinking about that after I read it. He could have said..."after having a bad experience on another television show at the time, I was about to give up acting, but ..." or "after having had a bad experience elsewhere in the industry, I was about to give up when..." That would have placed the emphasis on the person he was writing the tribute for and not on himself or his bad experiences. He didn't need to mention the WB at all.
3. And MSN keeps throwing the following at me at work:
* how to prepare for retirement with $1M in 401 K or IRA and $2,465 Social Security. (Sigh, if I had $1M in 401K - I'd have retired already.)
* The best small towns or places to retire in every state. (They all have one thing in common? You need a car. I don't drive.)
* If you travel you shouldn't use a hard suitcase with wheels since it is banned in certain European countries, (Apparently for noise pollution and wear and tear on cobblestone streets? Too many tourists wandering about with baggage at all times at night.)
* No, it is better to have one since a back pack or duffel is hard on your back and you can't pack as much. (I wish people would make up their minds.)
* If you travel to these 20 countries - you will need an electronic visa or electronic authorization ahead of time - and provide before you get on the plane. (So what happens if your phone dies en route? Oh, brings up a story mother told me the other day - a man was denied passage on a cruise because he brought the wrong passport. He accidentally packed the expired passport as opposed to the new one. This is after traveling by bus all the way down to Miami, with people from the retirement center. Mother didn't seem to know what happened next, except that he turned down the offer to catch up with the cruise in New Orleans. He needed it for Mexico.)
* TSA has changed its rules and you need to ensure you do these 12 things, and not bring these things...
Sigh. Now I'm afraid to retire and travel. The stupid internet is stressful. I miss the days in which I didn't know all this crap.
***
It's also throwing television shows at me. Netflix has apparently added more shows. And the internet wants me to watch Sharp Objects on HBO, which it has decided is the best and most twisty thriller ever. I just know it's by Gillian Flynn who used to write for Entertainment Weekly, and I dislike intensely. She also did Gone Girl. So have been avoiding it. I didn't like Gone Girl. I'm not a fan of that trope. You'd think I would be - since I like noire - but I like subversive noir not traditional noir.
I want fantasy, with mystery and romance. I don't want romantasy - that tends to annoy me, and is geared towards a much younger demographic (people my niece's age, and just no.) Also medical procedural like The Pitt. And romantic political satire like The Diplomat and The Good Wife. Historical Romantic Satire like Bridgerton. British Costume Drama.
I don't really want horror or thrillers or sex-comedies. I don't find sex all that funny or interesting. But alas, that's what it is throwing at me.
That and the Mellow Pillow and Mellow Comforter Set. Also a lot of videos with folks torturing their cats - often with the same Alaska Husky, which may be AI generated. The other videos I see - are bizarre cake decorating videos, and videos where people are making insane sugar concoctions. (I keep thinking, okay, this is a diabetic coma waiting to happen, how are these people still alive?)
Me and the Internet are at cross-purposes at the moment? I think AI has made the internet worse?
***
What else should I complain about?
I don't know what to read next. That's not a complaint. Right now I'm reading or trying out Illona Andrews latest novel - Inheritance, which they'd initially wrote as a lark or a serialized novella, no more than 12,000 words for their blog. But alas, it's become a two-book series. And they had to add a lot of world building. It reads a bit like a post-apocalyptic survival video game, actually, with banter. I can tell the writers played a lot of video games during the pandemic. Survival video games have become a thing - now. The internet was flinging those at me as well. And I'm admittedly tempted but afraid to put that on my phone or computer. Maybe the ipad? (No, Inheritance is not a video game - I switched tracks in mid-paragraph.)
The book, Inheritance, is about an earth that suddenly found itself fighting for its very survival - when a bunch of gates or portholes to other worlds began to open and monsters came thundering out of them. Some people were gifted with talents, either combatant or non-combatant, and called to fight the monsters - they get paid. The protagonist, Adaline, decides to join up in return for the great health care plan (500,000 medical deductible, full dental, and full vision). While writing this - the authors were having issues with health insurance, apparently.
I like the authors mainly because they are crazily detail oriented about weird things. For example - they found out that you never throw alcohol on a wound - so that's in their books. I like the attention to medical details, weapon details (one was in the military), Eastern European folklore/legends/myths and monsters (one is a Russian folklorist), and food preparation. Also, they write great banter. And have a snarky and offbeat sense of humor. But they are annoyingly into video games.
I'm hoping I don't regret grabbing Ministry of Time - I didn't know it was about the same thing the Terror television series is about when I purchased it. It doesn't tell you that. Hmm. Oh well, maybe it won't be an issue?
***
Took some long walks yesterday and today - first in a long time - at work location. First was up to the cherry blossoms on Pier 15, turns out they are fake cherry blossoms - so not worth the trip or tickets. (Why fake? I don't know, it's NY? It is odd though - I mean it's not like we don't have actual cherry blossoms in several botanical gardens, parks, and a cemetery in late March/early April? Maybe they got desperate and wanted to do it now?) The green houses are tiny, and claustrophobic, and you couldn't pay me to sit in one of them for dinner.
I have a picture of it - see below and assuming you can see it - let me know what you think?
The other walk will have to wait until tomorrow. Since long past bedtime for me. Good night all.
So too are various areas of the internet at work and at home, but not DW (so no worries).
1. MSN's browser at work throws stories at me - one was the headline: Woman's Hike Through Texas' Big Bend National Park Turns into a Nightmare. Thinking for a quick getaway from people and in nature, in the rarely visited park, a woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by hundreds of tiny animals and stumbles into a nightmare.
Trying to figure out what "tiny animals" would surround you and terrify you, I of course took a peek?
Sigh. I really wish I hadn't.
I'm arachnophobic - so no, I didn't read any more of the article (not because I can't read about spiders) - it had pictures. I can't look at pictures of spiders. They couldn't have written the article without the pictures? No, of course not. It's the internet. I hate the internet. It is doing a really good job of biting into my good mood. Fuck you, internet.
2. I apparently liked a few Buffy posts on FB, so FB keeps throwing all things Buffy related at me. Today it threw an Instagram Post by the guy who played Parker Abrhams on Buffy in S4, and who was also on Dawson's Creek shortly thereafter - he was posting a tribute to the lead of Dawson's who died recently from cancer. The gist? "I was coming off of this horrible experience on another WB show, so bad, I considered never acting again, and my agent talked me into trying out for Dawson's Creek - and I got a bit part on it, and James was so kind to me that first day. All I wanted to do was get a job where I could make friends, hang and have a good time connecting with folks."
Acting is a tough biz. It has a 99% unemployment rate. Over 1000 people audition for television roles. Guest spots have a going rate of $1K-5K per episode. You don't get health care or union benefits unless you have a certain number of jobs each year. This isn't fun. Professional actors don't audition so that they can hang out and make friends.
Buffy was 13-20 hour days. Most shows are 8-12 hour days. Buffy worked weekends, that's not done. Whedon was a perfectionist and often did over 20 takes per scene. There was one bathroom on the set. They were doing a supernatural/special effects series on a very low budget on a network that was new and under the wire.
Dawson's Creek was a boiler plate coming of age story, without special effects, and by Kevin Smith who had already done the Scream flicks, and wasn't a perfectionist. It was 10-12 hour shoots if that. Also, at the time, men had more sway than women. The lead of Dawson's was a twenty-something white male. The lead of Buffy was an 20 year old white female.
Buffy from all reports was a prime gig at the time - a lot of actors wanted to land it. Why? The writing. It had great scripts. Dawson's Creek was not a prime gig - the writing was not critically applauded on that show. I gave up on Dawson's after three seasons, and drifted back for the finale, which was horrible.
Sigh. This guy who posted his tribute comes across as whiny, and
entitled. There's ways he could have done it. I was thinking about that after I read it. He could have said..."after having a bad experience on another television show at the time, I was about to give up acting, but ..." or "after having had a bad experience elsewhere in the industry, I was about to give up when..." That would have placed the emphasis on the person he was writing the tribute for and not on himself or his bad experiences. He didn't need to mention the WB at all.
3. And MSN keeps throwing the following at me at work:
* how to prepare for retirement with $1M in 401 K or IRA and $2,465 Social Security. (Sigh, if I had $1M in 401K - I'd have retired already.)
* The best small towns or places to retire in every state. (They all have one thing in common? You need a car. I don't drive.)
* If you travel you shouldn't use a hard suitcase with wheels since it is banned in certain European countries, (Apparently for noise pollution and wear and tear on cobblestone streets? Too many tourists wandering about with baggage at all times at night.)
* No, it is better to have one since a back pack or duffel is hard on your back and you can't pack as much. (I wish people would make up their minds.)
* If you travel to these 20 countries - you will need an electronic visa or electronic authorization ahead of time - and provide before you get on the plane. (So what happens if your phone dies en route? Oh, brings up a story mother told me the other day - a man was denied passage on a cruise because he brought the wrong passport. He accidentally packed the expired passport as opposed to the new one. This is after traveling by bus all the way down to Miami, with people from the retirement center. Mother didn't seem to know what happened next, except that he turned down the offer to catch up with the cruise in New Orleans. He needed it for Mexico.)
* TSA has changed its rules and you need to ensure you do these 12 things, and not bring these things...
Sigh. Now I'm afraid to retire and travel. The stupid internet is stressful. I miss the days in which I didn't know all this crap.
***
It's also throwing television shows at me. Netflix has apparently added more shows. And the internet wants me to watch Sharp Objects on HBO, which it has decided is the best and most twisty thriller ever. I just know it's by Gillian Flynn who used to write for Entertainment Weekly, and I dislike intensely. She also did Gone Girl. So have been avoiding it. I didn't like Gone Girl. I'm not a fan of that trope. You'd think I would be - since I like noire - but I like subversive noir not traditional noir.
I want fantasy, with mystery and romance. I don't want romantasy - that tends to annoy me, and is geared towards a much younger demographic (people my niece's age, and just no.) Also medical procedural like The Pitt. And romantic political satire like The Diplomat and The Good Wife. Historical Romantic Satire like Bridgerton. British Costume Drama.
I don't really want horror or thrillers or sex-comedies. I don't find sex all that funny or interesting. But alas, that's what it is throwing at me.
That and the Mellow Pillow and Mellow Comforter Set. Also a lot of videos with folks torturing their cats - often with the same Alaska Husky, which may be AI generated. The other videos I see - are bizarre cake decorating videos, and videos where people are making insane sugar concoctions. (I keep thinking, okay, this is a diabetic coma waiting to happen, how are these people still alive?)
Me and the Internet are at cross-purposes at the moment? I think AI has made the internet worse?
***
What else should I complain about?
I don't know what to read next. That's not a complaint. Right now I'm reading or trying out Illona Andrews latest novel - Inheritance, which they'd initially wrote as a lark or a serialized novella, no more than 12,000 words for their blog. But alas, it's become a two-book series. And they had to add a lot of world building. It reads a bit like a post-apocalyptic survival video game, actually, with banter. I can tell the writers played a lot of video games during the pandemic. Survival video games have become a thing - now. The internet was flinging those at me as well. And I'm admittedly tempted but afraid to put that on my phone or computer. Maybe the ipad? (No, Inheritance is not a video game - I switched tracks in mid-paragraph.)
The book, Inheritance, is about an earth that suddenly found itself fighting for its very survival - when a bunch of gates or portholes to other worlds began to open and monsters came thundering out of them. Some people were gifted with talents, either combatant or non-combatant, and called to fight the monsters - they get paid. The protagonist, Adaline, decides to join up in return for the great health care plan (500,000 medical deductible, full dental, and full vision). While writing this - the authors were having issues with health insurance, apparently.
I like the authors mainly because they are crazily detail oriented about weird things. For example - they found out that you never throw alcohol on a wound - so that's in their books. I like the attention to medical details, weapon details (one was in the military), Eastern European folklore/legends/myths and monsters (one is a Russian folklorist), and food preparation. Also, they write great banter. And have a snarky and offbeat sense of humor. But they are annoyingly into video games.
I'm hoping I don't regret grabbing Ministry of Time - I didn't know it was about the same thing the Terror television series is about when I purchased it. It doesn't tell you that. Hmm. Oh well, maybe it won't be an issue?
***
Took some long walks yesterday and today - first in a long time - at work location. First was up to the cherry blossoms on Pier 15, turns out they are fake cherry blossoms - so not worth the trip or tickets. (Why fake? I don't know, it's NY? It is odd though - I mean it's not like we don't have actual cherry blossoms in several botanical gardens, parks, and a cemetery in late March/early April? Maybe they got desperate and wanted to do it now?) The green houses are tiny, and claustrophobic, and you couldn't pay me to sit in one of them for dinner.
I have a picture of it - see below and assuming you can see it - let me know what you think?
The other walk will have to wait until tomorrow. Since long past bedtime for me. Good night all.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 02:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 01:20 pm (UTC)I think a huge amount of things on the internet are AI now. Especially when animals are involved. Anytime an animal is doing something highly unlikely and/or it's highly unlikely that someone just happened to be there with a camera, I assume it's AI and stop watching it.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 05:55 pm (UTC)And it costs $15 per person to enter, with an additional cost for dining.
I think a huge amount of things on the internet are AI now. Especially when animals are involved
That and babies. Also catastrophes, and certain types of rides.
Some is obvious, some less so. My mother was watching babies talking like adults - and I told her that it was AI, then she realized it was obvious.
AI is kind of scary - I'm glad I'm not a filmmaker or professional actor, because...
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 05:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 09:56 pm (UTC)The Mellow Pillow made more sense - since I had paused to check out the first video thrown at me. The trick is to ignore the first ad and not look at it.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 09:54 pm (UTC)So apparently the hiker isn't terrified of spiders like I am? Some people adore tarantulas - they apparently make good pets? IDK (shrugs).
I'd have run in the opposite direction. The appeal of tarantulas is lost on me. I can't even think of them without flinching.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 08:15 pm (UTC)Interesting about the hard suitcase with wheels. I don't have a hard suitcase but I absolutely use wheeled bags (can't imagine who doesn't these days). It would definitely be hell to drag one on cobblestones though.
Yeah, I definitely wish I had traveled more before 2019. It does not look appealing these days.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 09:42 pm (UTC)Same. Lots of soft suitcases with wheels. I did get a back pack suitcase - rec'd by my niece and brother one year for my birthday, for traveling. But it will be a while before I travel in Europe again. Belize - maybe, Belize is easier, and English is the official language in Belize. Plus it has ruins and monkeys and clear waters. Or Hawaii. I'm sticking to the US, Central America, possibly the Caribbean, and Canada for now.
I also wish I traveled more pre-2019. I had a boss who would have let me. I did travel quite a bit though - just mainly in the US - I was busy cutting expenses. So was visiting folks. It's expensive to travel.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 09:50 pm (UTC)My mom just came over and said her bucket list wish is to go to Manhattan and see a Broadway show.
I already wanted to go see: https://sail4th.org/
And I think the only play we can agree upon at that time would be https://www.broadway.com/shows/oh-mary/
Do you have a mid-ranged hotel in mind that would work for us? Mom is pretty mobile, just off her cane, but is still 72.
Do you have other advice? Please and thank you.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 10:48 pm (UTC)I wouldn't stay in Times Square - it's loud and chaotic. And I think Oh Mary is off the main drive? (the people I talked to who saw Oh Mary, liked it well enough). Midtown is not a bad place to stay, since it's easy to get to multiple points from it. That said? A bit of good news? They are making most of Broadway and the theater district car free this summer or so I've been told, so it will be easier to walk around at least. I think you'd be happier in either Chelsea, Midtown, or Battery Park/Tribeca/Financial District, closer to where the tall ships are?
The Marriot, as chains go, usually isn't too expensive? I don't know hotels all that well, and I put my parents up in the Marriot in Brooklyn Heights in 2014, so that was ages ago? I know folks do Airbnb's and Smaller Hotels. There are quite a few in the Tribeca and Battery Park area, but no clue about affordability? I was looking for the hotel that my cousin stayed in - but it was a long time ago and couldn't find it. I honestly have no idea about NYC hotels. I've not stayed in one since roughly 2005?
I've lived as a resident too long. I did ask folks on my FB page : "Anyone know of a good mid range hotel to stay in - in Manhattan? Asking for a social media friend."
By the way, if you want to meet up while you are there to have lunch or dinner - message me.
No worries either way. I don't know if I'll be around or not? My 83 year old mother wants to take me to Chicago at some point - this is apparently on her bucket list - mainly because I spent the first three years of my life there and have no memory of it?
Don't know if this helped or not.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-12 10:58 pm (UTC)And yes, I'll let you know if we come up with something.
The Green Mill was my favorite part of Chicago :)
no subject
Date: 2026-03-13 12:49 am (UTC)"Mint House at 70 Pine in the Financial District and the Marriott in Times Square last we were in NYC."
Mint House - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d8501479-Reviews-Mint_House_At_70_Pine_NYC_by_Kasa-New_York_City_New_York.html
no subject
Date: 2026-03-13 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-13 10:54 pm (UTC)(For a long time as a kid, I believed Franklin's expedition was more successful than it really was - he was born in the same small town where my uncle and aunt currently live, and they really big him up. There's a big statue of him on the market - put up in the 1860s, so not that long afterwards and at a time when people who knew him might feasibly have still lived there - which described him as having actually discovered the Northwest Passage.)
no subject
Date: 2026-03-14 12:46 am (UTC)Yeah, I thought Franklin's expedition was more suscessful as well.
Ministry of Time is in my reading queue. I may start this weekend or next. It's been constantly rec'd online and off - so I'm curious about it. But no spoilers, please. I think it's a book better left unspoiled. The only books I'm willing to be spoiled on - are horror and romance novels.