Saturday blues...of varying degrees...
Apr. 11th, 2026 06:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe doctor wants to insert a gell into my knee which will act as lubricant or an oil job for the knee - or a cushion. Evaluation is in two weeks.
Then three weeks of injections, if insurance goes for it. Mother informs me this is standard practice - apparently she's had it done multiple times.
Also the stiff leg is normal. Plus, I appear to be walking more than most people do. (I average anywhere between 4,000- 10,000 steps a day depending on the day of the week.) They said walking and being mobile was a good thing, and to make sure I stand periodically.
This spiel motivated me to walk from the Doctor's office on Atlantic and Henry Street to the subway station on Smith and 2nd street. Which is approximately a 15-20 block hike or a little over a mile. I stopped along the way - in the B&N book store to pick up a few books (mainly the latest book by Illona Andrews - which is the first I've actually found in hardcover in a book store along with B&N's tote - bag of books). I spent way too much at B&N, they talked me into their premium membership card.
(Which I will most likely live to regret - already regretting it.) Note to self - stop going to book stores after doctor's appointments.
The books, I grabbed were for the most part across genres.
1. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews
It's a portal fantasy, and a kind of satire of portal fantasy novels. The protagonist, Maggie, finds herself naked and muddy and alone in the world of the fantasy novels she knows by heart. But these aren't princess riding unicorns style fantasy novels, they are more along the lines of Game of Thrones fantasy novels. She has no powers, no friends, just her knowledge of the novels and the world depicted to an extent within them, and the fact that for some reason or other she can't die.
Sample?
"I read this type of story before. It was a portal fantasy, a subgenre that had grown really popular in fantasy romance lately. It seemed in every other book some poor office worker woman about my age got hit by a bus or collapsed from overworking and ended up in a fictional world.
I knew exactly how things were supposed to go. I was meant to appear in this new world as a woman of prophecy with magic holy powers so I could assist the kingdom with their blight or curse problem. I would be met by a prince or some high-ranking and stunning noble, and upon heroically demonstrating my abilities, I would become the center of attention, while a gaggle of ridiculously handsome men followed me around, pledged their swords to me, and pleased with me not to overexert myself.
Failing that, I could wake up in the body of the female lead, usually a daughter of a prominent noble house, after she flung herself into a lake in despair over being being shunned by a villainous prince and died, conveniently vacating her body for my soul to take it over. I would pretend to suffer from amnesia, while an army of maids waited on me hand and foot, and plot my revenge, during which I would be fawned on by a dangerous and ice-cold male lead, who would turn into a devoted puppy in my vicinity.
Alternatively, I could come to in the body of the villainess, usually another daughter of a prominent noble house, after she flung herself into a lake, etc, etc, despair, death, maids, hand and foot and then I would convince everyone that I was just misunderstood and win over the dangerous and ice-cold male lead, who would abandon the heroine fro me.
If not the heroine or the villainess, I could be their best friend. Their younger sister. A lesser noble. A chamber maid. I would've happily taken the fucking chamber maid.
That's not what I got.
I woke up choking on rainwater in a muddy ditch. Naked. Without any magic powers. When I'd finally coughed all the sludge out of my mouth, crawled out, and saw the Mage Tower rising above the city with its magical glass petals, I thought I'd lost my mind.
The Rise of Kair Toren was not a pretty-princess-rides-a-unicorn kind of fantasy. I'd stumbled on a ragged blanket someone had forgoteen in the rain, dug it out of the mud, and wrapped it around me, stench of urine and all."
Pets book. Book and I are going to get along famously. Only one problem - I read it better with contacts and reading glasses. Bi-focals not so much.
But it does mean I can read it on subways - if I desire - even if it is a hard back book that takes up space in the backpack. Also has a very pretty cover. It's love at first sight. (I fall in love with books all the time. Books, music, movie and television shows. People - I've increasingly become leery of.)
2. Also picked up "A Walk in the Park - the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarku" - per the back cover:
" Shortly after quitting his job to pursue the ill-advised ambition of becoming a white-water guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that McBride promised would be a walk in the park. Against his better judgement, Fedarko agreed - despite being dimly aware that there is no trail spanning the entire canyon and that the tiny cluster of experts who had actually completed the crossing billed it as the " toughest hike in the world"." [ It has pictures. And was Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-Fiction...] It's in large paperback.
3. The others are also large paperbacks, with bigger print than average paperback novels. "The Lies of Locke LaMora by Scott Lynch" a fantasy novel about a con gone famously wrong, with lots of twists. "The God of the Woods by Liz Moore" - in Large Print paperback - it's a mystery novel. When a teenager goes missing from her Adirondack summer camp - two worlds collide.
And some tea - Honey Lavender Black Tea from the Republic of Tea.
After that - I went grocery shopping at Union, picked up various gluten free items, and to Planted for a gluten free jelly donut (it was okay) and a chocolate chip cookie (gluten-free) - also okay. Not really worth the price of admission, so to speak.
**
4. Today was pretty. But I spent it inside sorting through clothing and yanking out spring clothes for 50s-80s weather. It's supposed to warm up next week.
Been in a grumpy irritable mood of late (hence the book buying) - so I'm glad the doctor's appointment on Friday went quickly and well. Part of it is due to physical issues. I have arthritic knees, where the bone and cartilage around the knee are slowly degenerating. The arthritis is also in the back, feet, and hands. Like all my other ailments - it's genetic. Also struggling with the IBS, diabetes, and ceiliac - and figuring out what to eat. Gluten Free is no longer trending nor a fad, so it's harder to fing things. Bakeries and restaurants no longer cater to it as much, and the ones that do - are alas not very good at it? They are vegan and vegans aren't necessarily that good at gluten-free, since they care more about well being vegan? That said?
* Insominac Cookies Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are by far - the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I've had from any establishment in my life.
* The only other good gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are from Bakery Island Foods - Chocolate Chunk Gluten Free Cookie Dough. It's excellent - I got it from Union. (I couldn't remember where I got it - so was happy to see it at Union again and grabbed two packages of it.)
I spend more on groceries - because of my diet restrictions. Gluten Free + Carb Free + Sugar Free + Fresh vegetables/Fruits and Fish and Eggs. Cheap groceries = pain and suffering.
***
5. Fandom Entertainment News
* The International Buffy Fandom is plotting a major protest and various activities in connection with it on April 14, Buffy's Birthday - aka International Buffy Day - with the first celebration happening on April 14.
"International Buffy Day is both a celebration and a protest, a global show of solidarity from Scoobies everywhere.
How to get involved:
1. Attend in-person rallies in New York City and Los Angeles
2. Join the “Class Protector Project” by sending cocktail umbrellas to Hulu headquarters
3. Stream Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the day, if you can’t do a full marathon, watch “The Prom”
4. Follow International Buffy Day on TikTok and Instagram
5. Spread the word, create content, like and share information.
If you’d like to get more involved or organise your own rally, you can reach out at Internationalbuffyday@gmail.com
If you’re planning to attend a rally or host one in your city, make sure to fill out the International Buffy Day rally sign-up form. Int. Buffy Day Rally Sign-up."
***
* "X-men Film Reboot News" - X-men reboot director has hired the show-runners of BEEF and The Bear to write the script
Jake Schreier is working on the X-Men film reboot and has revealed that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo are working on a script for the Marvel movie. (These are the writers and team behind Thunderbolts.)
It's being released in 2028. Rumor has it that it will focus on the original four X-men, with Rogue as a potential villain.
This is a franchise that literally could feature any of 100 different characters, and 1000 different storylines. (But I will be annoyed if Cyclops isn't in it - he's the leader of the X-men, and Jean isn't in it, it's like doing the Avengers without Iron Man and Captain America.)
* Spiderman: Brand New Day
* Super Girl - Woman of Tomorrow - about Super Girl saving her dog and getting revenge in space. Actually this flick looks really good. I think they finally found someone who understands the DC Universe to show run these flicks?
* Avengers: Doomsday - all the official trailers so far
* Star Wars Films currently in the works
***
6. Television
Watched this week's The Pitt, and Robby really resonated with me. When asked what's up by his biker friend, Robby states, he's not sure he can be here any longer.
JK: Well after 12 minutes in there - I'm not sure how you handle 12 minutes let alone 12 hours in that chaos -
Robby: Not in there. In there is fine. That's a distraction. I feel secure there. It's out here. I don't want to be "here" anymore.
JK: So what do you plan on doing?
Robby: Just ride and keep riding.
JK: Where do you want to go?
Robby: Nowhere...I don't know. Anywhere but here. I just...can't..
JK: Is't that just running away?
I've been feeling that way a lot lately. This need for distraction. To lose myself in other things. Because I don't want to be here either?
There are television shows that kind of get it? This one does, and Buffy the Vampire Season 6 got it. That lost feeling of not quite belonging anywhere and the pain of continuing to be well here.
I realized recently when people say - I just want to go home (my father and grandmother said it all the time prior to their deaths, almost on an hourly basis) - they aren't talking about a place on earth, a house, or even family - but home, the source, where their "energy" originated from. To go back home to their source. Because being energy beings in degenerating meat sacks on a swiftly turning planet in the vast vacuum of space with oh such creatures on it - can be wondrous at times, but also deeply painful and often at the same time.
I've been struggling not to lash out. Suppressing the impulse to verbally smack folks upside the head for being idiots - has grown wearisome. Off to watch Daredevil kick some asses.
Then three weeks of injections, if insurance goes for it. Mother informs me this is standard practice - apparently she's had it done multiple times.
Also the stiff leg is normal. Plus, I appear to be walking more than most people do. (I average anywhere between 4,000- 10,000 steps a day depending on the day of the week.) They said walking and being mobile was a good thing, and to make sure I stand periodically.
This spiel motivated me to walk from the Doctor's office on Atlantic and Henry Street to the subway station on Smith and 2nd street. Which is approximately a 15-20 block hike or a little over a mile. I stopped along the way - in the B&N book store to pick up a few books (mainly the latest book by Illona Andrews - which is the first I've actually found in hardcover in a book store along with B&N's tote - bag of books). I spent way too much at B&N, they talked me into their premium membership card.
(Which I will most likely live to regret - already regretting it.) Note to self - stop going to book stores after doctor's appointments.
The books, I grabbed were for the most part across genres.
1. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews
It's a portal fantasy, and a kind of satire of portal fantasy novels. The protagonist, Maggie, finds herself naked and muddy and alone in the world of the fantasy novels she knows by heart. But these aren't princess riding unicorns style fantasy novels, they are more along the lines of Game of Thrones fantasy novels. She has no powers, no friends, just her knowledge of the novels and the world depicted to an extent within them, and the fact that for some reason or other she can't die.
Sample?
"I read this type of story before. It was a portal fantasy, a subgenre that had grown really popular in fantasy romance lately. It seemed in every other book some poor office worker woman about my age got hit by a bus or collapsed from overworking and ended up in a fictional world.
I knew exactly how things were supposed to go. I was meant to appear in this new world as a woman of prophecy with magic holy powers so I could assist the kingdom with their blight or curse problem. I would be met by a prince or some high-ranking and stunning noble, and upon heroically demonstrating my abilities, I would become the center of attention, while a gaggle of ridiculously handsome men followed me around, pledged their swords to me, and pleased with me not to overexert myself.
Failing that, I could wake up in the body of the female lead, usually a daughter of a prominent noble house, after she flung herself into a lake in despair over being being shunned by a villainous prince and died, conveniently vacating her body for my soul to take it over. I would pretend to suffer from amnesia, while an army of maids waited on me hand and foot, and plot my revenge, during which I would be fawned on by a dangerous and ice-cold male lead, who would turn into a devoted puppy in my vicinity.
Alternatively, I could come to in the body of the villainess, usually another daughter of a prominent noble house, after she flung herself into a lake, etc, etc, despair, death, maids, hand and foot and then I would convince everyone that I was just misunderstood and win over the dangerous and ice-cold male lead, who would abandon the heroine fro me.
If not the heroine or the villainess, I could be their best friend. Their younger sister. A lesser noble. A chamber maid. I would've happily taken the fucking chamber maid.
That's not what I got.
I woke up choking on rainwater in a muddy ditch. Naked. Without any magic powers. When I'd finally coughed all the sludge out of my mouth, crawled out, and saw the Mage Tower rising above the city with its magical glass petals, I thought I'd lost my mind.
The Rise of Kair Toren was not a pretty-princess-rides-a-unicorn kind of fantasy. I'd stumbled on a ragged blanket someone had forgoteen in the rain, dug it out of the mud, and wrapped it around me, stench of urine and all."
Pets book. Book and I are going to get along famously. Only one problem - I read it better with contacts and reading glasses. Bi-focals not so much.
But it does mean I can read it on subways - if I desire - even if it is a hard back book that takes up space in the backpack. Also has a very pretty cover. It's love at first sight. (I fall in love with books all the time. Books, music, movie and television shows. People - I've increasingly become leery of.)
2. Also picked up "A Walk in the Park - the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarku" - per the back cover:
" Shortly after quitting his job to pursue the ill-advised ambition of becoming a white-water guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that McBride promised would be a walk in the park. Against his better judgement, Fedarko agreed - despite being dimly aware that there is no trail spanning the entire canyon and that the tiny cluster of experts who had actually completed the crossing billed it as the " toughest hike in the world"." [ It has pictures. And was Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-Fiction...] It's in large paperback.
3. The others are also large paperbacks, with bigger print than average paperback novels. "The Lies of Locke LaMora by Scott Lynch" a fantasy novel about a con gone famously wrong, with lots of twists. "The God of the Woods by Liz Moore" - in Large Print paperback - it's a mystery novel. When a teenager goes missing from her Adirondack summer camp - two worlds collide.
And some tea - Honey Lavender Black Tea from the Republic of Tea.
After that - I went grocery shopping at Union, picked up various gluten free items, and to Planted for a gluten free jelly donut (it was okay) and a chocolate chip cookie (gluten-free) - also okay. Not really worth the price of admission, so to speak.
**
4. Today was pretty. But I spent it inside sorting through clothing and yanking out spring clothes for 50s-80s weather. It's supposed to warm up next week.
Been in a grumpy irritable mood of late (hence the book buying) - so I'm glad the doctor's appointment on Friday went quickly and well. Part of it is due to physical issues. I have arthritic knees, where the bone and cartilage around the knee are slowly degenerating. The arthritis is also in the back, feet, and hands. Like all my other ailments - it's genetic. Also struggling with the IBS, diabetes, and ceiliac - and figuring out what to eat. Gluten Free is no longer trending nor a fad, so it's harder to fing things. Bakeries and restaurants no longer cater to it as much, and the ones that do - are alas not very good at it? They are vegan and vegans aren't necessarily that good at gluten-free, since they care more about well being vegan? That said?
* Insominac Cookies Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are by far - the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I've had from any establishment in my life.
* The only other good gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are from Bakery Island Foods - Chocolate Chunk Gluten Free Cookie Dough. It's excellent - I got it from Union. (I couldn't remember where I got it - so was happy to see it at Union again and grabbed two packages of it.)
I spend more on groceries - because of my diet restrictions. Gluten Free + Carb Free + Sugar Free + Fresh vegetables/Fruits and Fish and Eggs. Cheap groceries = pain and suffering.
***
5. Fandom Entertainment News
* The International Buffy Fandom is plotting a major protest and various activities in connection with it on April 14, Buffy's Birthday - aka International Buffy Day - with the first celebration happening on April 14.
"International Buffy Day is both a celebration and a protest, a global show of solidarity from Scoobies everywhere.
How to get involved:
1. Attend in-person rallies in New York City and Los Angeles
2. Join the “Class Protector Project” by sending cocktail umbrellas to Hulu headquarters
3. Stream Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the day, if you can’t do a full marathon, watch “The Prom”
4. Follow International Buffy Day on TikTok and Instagram
5. Spread the word, create content, like and share information.
If you’d like to get more involved or organise your own rally, you can reach out at Internationalbuffyday@gmail.com
If you’re planning to attend a rally or host one in your city, make sure to fill out the International Buffy Day rally sign-up form. Int. Buffy Day Rally Sign-up."
***
* "X-men Film Reboot News" - X-men reboot director has hired the show-runners of BEEF and The Bear to write the script
Jake Schreier is working on the X-Men film reboot and has revealed that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo are working on a script for the Marvel movie. (These are the writers and team behind Thunderbolts.)
It's being released in 2028. Rumor has it that it will focus on the original four X-men, with Rogue as a potential villain.
This is a franchise that literally could feature any of 100 different characters, and 1000 different storylines. (But I will be annoyed if Cyclops isn't in it - he's the leader of the X-men, and Jean isn't in it, it's like doing the Avengers without Iron Man and Captain America.)
* Spiderman: Brand New Day
* Super Girl - Woman of Tomorrow - about Super Girl saving her dog and getting revenge in space. Actually this flick looks really good. I think they finally found someone who understands the DC Universe to show run these flicks?
* Avengers: Doomsday - all the official trailers so far
* Star Wars Films currently in the works
***
6. Television
Watched this week's The Pitt, and Robby really resonated with me. When asked what's up by his biker friend, Robby states, he's not sure he can be here any longer.
JK: Well after 12 minutes in there - I'm not sure how you handle 12 minutes let alone 12 hours in that chaos -
Robby: Not in there. In there is fine. That's a distraction. I feel secure there. It's out here. I don't want to be "here" anymore.
JK: So what do you plan on doing?
Robby: Just ride and keep riding.
JK: Where do you want to go?
Robby: Nowhere...I don't know. Anywhere but here. I just...can't..
JK: Is't that just running away?
I've been feeling that way a lot lately. This need for distraction. To lose myself in other things. Because I don't want to be here either?
There are television shows that kind of get it? This one does, and Buffy the Vampire Season 6 got it. That lost feeling of not quite belonging anywhere and the pain of continuing to be well here.
I realized recently when people say - I just want to go home (my father and grandmother said it all the time prior to their deaths, almost on an hourly basis) - they aren't talking about a place on earth, a house, or even family - but home, the source, where their "energy" originated from. To go back home to their source. Because being energy beings in degenerating meat sacks on a swiftly turning planet in the vast vacuum of space with oh such creatures on it - can be wondrous at times, but also deeply painful and often at the same time.
I've been struggling not to lash out. Suppressing the impulse to verbally smack folks upside the head for being idiots - has grown wearisome. Off to watch Daredevil kick some asses.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-12 09:27 pm (UTC)