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shadowkat1. Mostly overcast today, in the low sixties. Warmer than yesterday, thankfully, so no radiators. [ETA: Until nightfall, when it dropped into the forties - so they blasted them again and on went the A/C.] (My apartment building turns on the radiators whenever it dips below fifty-five degrees, or so it seems. As a result, the apartment gets rather warm, even though I have one of the radiators turned off and a window fan on. It also plays havoc with my allergies. So too does Spring and opening a window for that matter, because, ahem, tree pollen?)
Narcissus are in bloom - and seem to be popular this year? While they are admittedly pretty, they also exude a perfume that gives me a headache - the metaphor is not lost on me.
2. I took a brief walk to Lofty Pigeons Book Store - in search of the new Illona Andrews Epic Fantasy novel "This Kingdom will Not Kill Me" but alas, it's too obscure (non-mainstream) for the independent sellers, and only available through Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, Waterstones, and various European Booksellers. (For some reason or other - the international market is nicer to the non-mainstream/trendy books than the US domestic.) No matter, I can get it next week at either B&N or as an e-book through Amazon. There's another independent book store franchise in NYC (they are trendy right now with the twenty-thirtysomething crowd - since they are popping up everywhere). We have at least five in Brooklyn alone, not including B&N (which has started trending again). The other one is Books are Magic, owned by contemporary women's fiction/romance (aka chick-lit) novelist Emma Straub (no, I've not read her - not my genre) and her husband. There's two stores - one in ritzy Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill and one in Brooklyn Heights. She's launching a new book at my former church - interviewing Lin Miranda at the launching. I tried to figure out what the writer/actor/director of Hamilton had to do with her latest (very) mainstream trendy romance novel, but was at a loss. I think it's a marketing gimmick?
3. On Threads (I can't access Bluesky, no real loss), GA Aiken asked: "Have you ever considered quitting your job and following your dream? I'm thinking of quitting mine and becoming a full time writer."
My response: Depends on how much you enjoy marketing? Because novelists or professional freelance creative writers spend 80% of their time and money promoting and marketing themselves, and roughly 20% of it actually writing.
Also, it depends on how good you are at marketing yourself. Note you are marketing and branding yourself - as a writer, not necessarily your writing. Either to the masses or to an agent or to the publishers.
To be successful in the arts? You don't really have to be that talented or that good of an artist (although it admittedly helps), you have to be good at marketing and self-promotion. If you are a talented writer or artist but suck at marketing and self-promotion - you won't be successful. Talented yes, successful no. Well not unless someone who is very good at marketing and promotion discovers and falls in love with your work and takes it upon themselves to make everyone else aware of it. Which is kind of what happened to James Joyce and Van Gough.
I've written a lot of books, only managed to publish one. Writing is easy, publishing and getting it out there on the other hand - is close to impossible. I know I'm speaking to the choir on this one - since most people who stumble upon this write and post mainly fanfic partly due to just that.
4. Still battling the migraine/sinus headaches. Got a recurrence of the dizzy headache on Tuesday night - woke me up in the middle of the night. Took forever to get rid of it. Ended up propping my pillow - so I could sleep partially elevated, and blew my nose a lot. Also running eyes. Which thankfully cleared it up. That and a glucose tablet. Have a dull one now. It's most likely caused by a combination of the weather and my sinuses. I do, however, have a vestibular therapy setup for next month - earliest I could get in, with my work schedule. (I can't afford to take a vacation day or personal day - already have to take one for the knee doctor's appointment next Friday - since he doesn't have any appointments after 2:40pm. That's the latest, I could get.)
5. Television Meme found on various social media platforms:
Name Five Television Shows (Past or Present) to Know You By. (Best approach is not to think too hard about it and just name them)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Farscape
* General Hospital
* The Bear
* The Pitt
If you want to know why? You can ask?
6. Television Shows
I've tried a few that just didn't land for some reason or other.
Happiness on PBS - didn't work for me at all. (It's a British comedy about a gay Brit Broadway Director who got fired from CATS, and lost his VISA, so he's back in the UK being forced by his overly cheery mother to direct their local theater's original musical. Much chaos ensues. The opening musical number didn't work for the protagonist or me, which...doesn't bode well. It's on PBS Passport) I got bored and played a video game during it.
The Forysthes - apparently there's two versions. The old one, or one done over 10 years ago and is currently on Netflix - starring Damien Lewish, and the newer version on PBS Passport with a younger cast and a better production style. Bascially the upgraded version, but with the exception of Francesica Annis, no famous Brit actors that I can see.
I tried the old version and didn't get very far. I may or may not try the newer version.
Pursuit of Jade - it's a Chinese Drama on Netflix- very pretty, subtitled in English, but voiced in Mandarin. I got bored and moved on. The female character was a bit too...for me?
Operation Mincemeat - the British film about a comedic WWII operation based on a seemingly true fictional account by Ian Fleming. (Upon which the successful musical is based.) I've been told the musical is fun.
The movie, however, put me to sleep. Didn't help that I couldn't see what was going on through most of it - a problem with Netflix or my tv, in which items filmed at night or in the dark need to also be watched in the dark.
Virgin River S7 - my attention wandered during it. I'm losing interest in the characters and finding it hard to care about them. It's also rather slow and unevenly written.
*******
Meanwhile.. I've been enjoying:
* Grantchester S1 - with James Norton, the jazz loving priest in the 1950s. Watching it on Netflix. I like all the characters, and the murder mysteries are nicely done. It's a comfort series that is also a murder mystery.
* The Pitt S2 - a medical procedural about working in a high stress American inner city ER Department during a major holiday - in 2026. It has got to be the most realistic medical procedural ever done. The emphasis is on procedural, and the effects of the situation and atmosphere on the individuals working in it. Takes place solely in the ER, and during a 15 hour shift. American inner city hospital staff often work 15 hour shifts, which is unheard of in various other countries (such as China). (I only know this because I dated a Chinese Doctor from Shanhai once upon a time.) This series does an excellent job of shining a light on the state of health care in the US right now. And I can verify that yes - that's exactly what a city ER looks like - I've been in several in NYC over the years, and they are all exactly like that. It's on HBO MAX. I find it oddly comforting and validating in a way that other medical procedurals aren't.
* Daredevil S2 - it's better than S1, I guess? Although I liked S1 better than most? It's harder to watch - since almost all the scenes are filmed at night - so another series I have to watch at night. They are expanding on Bullseye - PointDexter's character, and Karen's. They flipped the script on the comic a bit... by killing off Foggy instead of Karen which worked better for me for many reasons. Kudos to the writing team and Disney for doing that. It's also taking a very front and center stance on the whole ICE issue. (It's anti-ICE, actually anyone with a soul, a conscience, kind heart, and an iota of intelligence is anti-ICE. But it's good to see that Marvel and Disney are anti-ICE. So too is HBO and The PITT.)
* And started watching...Something Very Bad is Going to Happen - it's the new horror series produced by the Duffer Brothers, but written by someone else. (The Duffer Brothers are alas, better writers.) But it's definitely clever in places, and every episode has something really creepy happen in the middle of it. It's trying to be a satire, and not quite succeeding? It's written and directed by the same writer behind Baby Reindeer (I couldn't watch Baby Reindeer - it wasn't my thing.) This is more farcical or satirical, and very dark and very creepy. I'm finding it hard to take it or the characters all that seriously - since with the possible exception of the protagonist (Rachel Martin) and her fiancee (Nicky) - everyone feels like a roughly drawn caricature. So far it is more unnerving or disturbing than scary. I'd describe it as a dark satirical fairy tale. It did manage to surprise me? I thought it was going in a different direction.
The problem with it - is I don't really like anyone but Rachel. Although her brother in law is growing on me? The characters all have this nails on chalkboard quality to them? Also the fiancee's father is a taxidermist who has stuffed his dead poodles and positioned them at the entrance underneath the family portrait, and the dogs eyes can allegedly still see? They have a scene of him working on fixing up the poodles again. (It's gross.) I don't like taxidermy - it makes no sense to me. I don't understand hunting animals as trophies, then stuffing them. I find that gross and inhumane. I get hunting animals for food, clothing, and to survive, but for sport and trophies? (Shudders.)
Narcissus are in bloom - and seem to be popular this year? While they are admittedly pretty, they also exude a perfume that gives me a headache - the metaphor is not lost on me.
2. I took a brief walk to Lofty Pigeons Book Store - in search of the new Illona Andrews Epic Fantasy novel "This Kingdom will Not Kill Me" but alas, it's too obscure (non-mainstream) for the independent sellers, and only available through Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, Waterstones, and various European Booksellers. (For some reason or other - the international market is nicer to the non-mainstream/trendy books than the US domestic.) No matter, I can get it next week at either B&N or as an e-book through Amazon. There's another independent book store franchise in NYC (they are trendy right now with the twenty-thirtysomething crowd - since they are popping up everywhere). We have at least five in Brooklyn alone, not including B&N (which has started trending again). The other one is Books are Magic, owned by contemporary women's fiction/romance (aka chick-lit) novelist Emma Straub (no, I've not read her - not my genre) and her husband. There's two stores - one in ritzy Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill and one in Brooklyn Heights. She's launching a new book at my former church - interviewing Lin Miranda at the launching. I tried to figure out what the writer/actor/director of Hamilton had to do with her latest (very) mainstream trendy romance novel, but was at a loss. I think it's a marketing gimmick?
3. On Threads (I can't access Bluesky, no real loss), GA Aiken asked: "Have you ever considered quitting your job and following your dream? I'm thinking of quitting mine and becoming a full time writer."
My response: Depends on how much you enjoy marketing? Because novelists or professional freelance creative writers spend 80% of their time and money promoting and marketing themselves, and roughly 20% of it actually writing.
Also, it depends on how good you are at marketing yourself. Note you are marketing and branding yourself - as a writer, not necessarily your writing. Either to the masses or to an agent or to the publishers.
To be successful in the arts? You don't really have to be that talented or that good of an artist (although it admittedly helps), you have to be good at marketing and self-promotion. If you are a talented writer or artist but suck at marketing and self-promotion - you won't be successful. Talented yes, successful no. Well not unless someone who is very good at marketing and promotion discovers and falls in love with your work and takes it upon themselves to make everyone else aware of it. Which is kind of what happened to James Joyce and Van Gough.
I've written a lot of books, only managed to publish one. Writing is easy, publishing and getting it out there on the other hand - is close to impossible. I know I'm speaking to the choir on this one - since most people who stumble upon this write and post mainly fanfic partly due to just that.
4. Still battling the migraine/sinus headaches. Got a recurrence of the dizzy headache on Tuesday night - woke me up in the middle of the night. Took forever to get rid of it. Ended up propping my pillow - so I could sleep partially elevated, and blew my nose a lot. Also running eyes. Which thankfully cleared it up. That and a glucose tablet. Have a dull one now. It's most likely caused by a combination of the weather and my sinuses. I do, however, have a vestibular therapy setup for next month - earliest I could get in, with my work schedule. (I can't afford to take a vacation day or personal day - already have to take one for the knee doctor's appointment next Friday - since he doesn't have any appointments after 2:40pm. That's the latest, I could get.)
5. Television Meme found on various social media platforms:
Name Five Television Shows (Past or Present) to Know You By. (Best approach is not to think too hard about it and just name them)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Farscape
* General Hospital
* The Bear
* The Pitt
If you want to know why? You can ask?
6. Television Shows
I've tried a few that just didn't land for some reason or other.
Happiness on PBS - didn't work for me at all. (It's a British comedy about a gay Brit Broadway Director who got fired from CATS, and lost his VISA, so he's back in the UK being forced by his overly cheery mother to direct their local theater's original musical. Much chaos ensues. The opening musical number didn't work for the protagonist or me, which...doesn't bode well. It's on PBS Passport) I got bored and played a video game during it.
The Forysthes - apparently there's two versions. The old one, or one done over 10 years ago and is currently on Netflix - starring Damien Lewish, and the newer version on PBS Passport with a younger cast and a better production style. Bascially the upgraded version, but with the exception of Francesica Annis, no famous Brit actors that I can see.
I tried the old version and didn't get very far. I may or may not try the newer version.
Pursuit of Jade - it's a Chinese Drama on Netflix- very pretty, subtitled in English, but voiced in Mandarin. I got bored and moved on. The female character was a bit too...for me?
Operation Mincemeat - the British film about a comedic WWII operation based on a seemingly true fictional account by Ian Fleming. (Upon which the successful musical is based.) I've been told the musical is fun.
The movie, however, put me to sleep. Didn't help that I couldn't see what was going on through most of it - a problem with Netflix or my tv, in which items filmed at night or in the dark need to also be watched in the dark.
Virgin River S7 - my attention wandered during it. I'm losing interest in the characters and finding it hard to care about them. It's also rather slow and unevenly written.
*******
Meanwhile.. I've been enjoying:
* Grantchester S1 - with James Norton, the jazz loving priest in the 1950s. Watching it on Netflix. I like all the characters, and the murder mysteries are nicely done. It's a comfort series that is also a murder mystery.
* The Pitt S2 - a medical procedural about working in a high stress American inner city ER Department during a major holiday - in 2026. It has got to be the most realistic medical procedural ever done. The emphasis is on procedural, and the effects of the situation and atmosphere on the individuals working in it. Takes place solely in the ER, and during a 15 hour shift. American inner city hospital staff often work 15 hour shifts, which is unheard of in various other countries (such as China). (I only know this because I dated a Chinese Doctor from Shanhai once upon a time.) This series does an excellent job of shining a light on the state of health care in the US right now. And I can verify that yes - that's exactly what a city ER looks like - I've been in several in NYC over the years, and they are all exactly like that. It's on HBO MAX. I find it oddly comforting and validating in a way that other medical procedurals aren't.
* Daredevil S2 - it's better than S1, I guess? Although I liked S1 better than most? It's harder to watch - since almost all the scenes are filmed at night - so another series I have to watch at night. They are expanding on Bullseye - PointDexter's character, and Karen's. They flipped the script on the comic a bit... by killing off Foggy instead of Karen which worked better for me for many reasons. Kudos to the writing team and Disney for doing that. It's also taking a very front and center stance on the whole ICE issue. (It's anti-ICE, actually anyone with a soul, a conscience, kind heart, and an iota of intelligence is anti-ICE. But it's good to see that Marvel and Disney are anti-ICE. So too is HBO and The PITT.)
* And started watching...Something Very Bad is Going to Happen - it's the new horror series produced by the Duffer Brothers, but written by someone else. (The Duffer Brothers are alas, better writers.) But it's definitely clever in places, and every episode has something really creepy happen in the middle of it. It's trying to be a satire, and not quite succeeding? It's written and directed by the same writer behind Baby Reindeer (I couldn't watch Baby Reindeer - it wasn't my thing.) This is more farcical or satirical, and very dark and very creepy. I'm finding it hard to take it or the characters all that seriously - since with the possible exception of the protagonist (Rachel Martin) and her fiancee (Nicky) - everyone feels like a roughly drawn caricature. So far it is more unnerving or disturbing than scary. I'd describe it as a dark satirical fairy tale. It did manage to surprise me? I thought it was going in a different direction.
The problem with it - is I don't really like anyone but Rachel. Although her brother in law is growing on me? The characters all have this nails on chalkboard quality to them? Also the fiancee's father is a taxidermist who has stuffed his dead poodles and positioned them at the entrance underneath the family portrait, and the dogs eyes can allegedly still see? They have a scene of him working on fixing up the poodles again. (It's gross.) I don't like taxidermy - it makes no sense to me. I don't understand hunting animals as trophies, then stuffing them. I find that gross and inhumane. I get hunting animals for food, clothing, and to survive, but for sport and trophies? (Shudders.)
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 02:40 am (UTC)I've been interacting with authors on Threads, and it's only served to reinforce my desire to keep writing for fun, because I don't have it in me to do all the non-writing things that one has to do to become a professional writer.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-05 09:40 pm (UTC)I had not realized Mincemeat had been made into a musical! Somehow disinformation work with corpses seems a not-upbeat topic.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-06 03:51 pm (UTC)It's a very odd musical? I've not gone - because the music doesn't appeal to me. It's kind of rapid fire dialogue which I'll lose most of - and not be able to make sense of what is being said. That's why I decided to pass on Hamilton - and just watch it on screen with close captioning. Easier to follow, also I could take breaks. Not to mention less expensive. Musicals are pricey.
Merrily We Roll Along is on Netflix now - free with subscription.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-06 06:27 pm (UTC)