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May. 31st, 2026 10:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatEnd of the May Question a Day Meme
27. Have you ever tried box breathing? It is an effective way to calm yourself if you are feeling panicky or overwhelmed. You can find the instructions on this page.
The question references the Calm App's instructions on Box Breathing. I switched from the Headspace Meditation App to Calm about a year ago - I was doing both for a bit, and cancelled Headspace this year. Calm is the superior app.
Anyhow, yes. It helped greatly when I did the stress heart MRI last year - which basically is asking you to do an extended and multiple variations on box breathing.
Also, I listened to a short sleep story on the Calm App last night entitled The Tree of Life, it was about a bonsai specialist, who was remembering his life while creating his granddaughter's tree. It had two takeaways worth sharing: The bonsai method - when bored or impatient or stressed, breath slowly, and slow down, and this will help you approach the world with kindness and curiosity. And in bonsai - you cannot bend the tree to your will or control it, you can only go where it needs to go, and go with its flow. To find where the tree is going. And it cannot be predicted and must be done with patience. To remember the past, and pull the lessons of it to the present, and be in the present, to foresee various avenues to the future. Plan where each branch should go, but carefully and with consideration of that path. Treat your life and yourself as a bonsai tree.
(It's not exact, kind of my memory of what I heard while attempting sleep.)
28. Do you have a favourite cologne or perfume?
No. I'm allergic. So it's any cologne or perfume that doesn't give me a migraine. Usually anything that is lavender, or eucalyptus, or citris, or ocean breeze. Rose? Ack. Musks? Ack. People also have a tendency to overdo on cologne.
The perfume section of department stores is brutal - I used to love Lord and Taylor, partly because it was among the few department stores I could get to the clothing department, without going through the entire perfume department first. Usually I'd have a headache before I made it through them. Polo by Ralph Lauren - was the absolute worst - it gave me horrible headaches.
29. When was the last time it rained where you live?
I wanted to say yesterday - but it didn't really rain, so much as threatened to do so? So, Thursday. Three days ago? We've had a lot of rain. It's very green outside my window. People aren't as into flowers this year? I see more greenery than flowers for some reason. Maybe the constant cold snaps have done in the flowers?
30. What is your favourite way to eat vegetables?
Air fried or steamed at the moment. (I don't like roasted - they tend to get burned or carmelized and are kind of slimy in texture).
31. Have you ever been in a self-driving car? Would you want to try it?
No.
Yes, but not until it's been tested to death, and proclaimed safe. Right now they appear to be driving without anyone in them like insane drones around suburban cul-de-sacs. Just no. Being stuck in a car driving about aimlessly in suburbia is my idea of hell.
However? Considering that 80% of Americans shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a car and drive abysmally and do all the things you should not do while driving? A self-driving car is most likely an improvement. Make it an electric, solar powered, car - and we're in business.
****
A lot of books are being made into films that I've either never heard of, or wish weren't (anything by Colleen Hoover - the appeal is lost on me). I miss the days when it was cool stuff that I got excited about? Although there are a handful to get excited about. Below are the ones I'm excited about, albeit, cautiously.
*. CS Lewis's last book in the Narnia series, albeit technically the first in the storyline. Lewis wrote the first book, last. Gret Gerwig is adapting The Magician's Nephew, with a stellar cast. It's the origin story of the White Witch.
* Neuromancer by William Gibson - Apple TV is doing it. "Apple TV+ is developing a 10-episode sci-fi series based on William Gibson’s foundational 1984 cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer. Created by Graham Roland and J.D. Dillard, the show follows a washed-up super-hacker named Case and a razor-girl assassin, Molly, executing a dangerous heist on a powerful corporate dynasty." (Gibson is notoriously hard to adapt. But Apple is doing pretty well with sci-fi at the moment, so well see.)
* Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, adapted by Denis Villenieuve, the third in his Dune movies. Probably will be good, the last two films were excellent.
And Villenieve seems to understand Herbert.
****
I'm over three quarters of the way through "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" and am listening to the audio book. It's a clever satire of epic fantasy and portal fantasy. But, I do feel like the writers have a couple of tropes they are comfortable writing in and a style - that makes it feel at times like I've read it before, and from that have an idea what will happen next. On the other hand - I like their tropes, and their style of writing, which is sardonic casual, and am known to re-read their novels. In short? It works for me, it may not work for others?
They are kind of competency nerds? So we have details on how to make soap and the heroine has a soap making business. Also details on how to run a business, and financing. And in regards to fight and battle scenes - I can tell one of the writers served in the armed forces and understands the reality of battle. In addition to that? They make fun of incompetence and illogical thinking. There's lots of sardonic and witty banter - they know how to write banter. Banter is NOT throwing insults at each other incessantly to the point that the reader has a migraine. (See Gideon on the Ninth). Banter is sardonic and sarcastic asides. Its often dry, and not obvious. And its not mean. There's a lot of books being published that have confused insult-a-thons with banter, and insult humor with wit. They aren't the same. The Three Stooges and I Love Lucy were many things, but witty banter wasn't among them.
It also veers from the romancefantasy genre - in that the central focus isn't erotic sex scenes between the leads? There are no sex scenes in this book. The most you get is a kiss - as far as I can tell. The writers tend to be conservative on sex scenes - we get maybe one or two, and then implied and that's usually by the second book. They do slow burn romance, no love at first sight, and the sex scenes are brief. Illona Andrews is more into plot and world building than romance.
Sigh, I need to spend less time on Book Instagram.
27. Have you ever tried box breathing? It is an effective way to calm yourself if you are feeling panicky or overwhelmed. You can find the instructions on this page.
The question references the Calm App's instructions on Box Breathing. I switched from the Headspace Meditation App to Calm about a year ago - I was doing both for a bit, and cancelled Headspace this year. Calm is the superior app.
Anyhow, yes. It helped greatly when I did the stress heart MRI last year - which basically is asking you to do an extended and multiple variations on box breathing.
Also, I listened to a short sleep story on the Calm App last night entitled The Tree of Life, it was about a bonsai specialist, who was remembering his life while creating his granddaughter's tree. It had two takeaways worth sharing: The bonsai method - when bored or impatient or stressed, breath slowly, and slow down, and this will help you approach the world with kindness and curiosity. And in bonsai - you cannot bend the tree to your will or control it, you can only go where it needs to go, and go with its flow. To find where the tree is going. And it cannot be predicted and must be done with patience. To remember the past, and pull the lessons of it to the present, and be in the present, to foresee various avenues to the future. Plan where each branch should go, but carefully and with consideration of that path. Treat your life and yourself as a bonsai tree.
(It's not exact, kind of my memory of what I heard while attempting sleep.)
28. Do you have a favourite cologne or perfume?
No. I'm allergic. So it's any cologne or perfume that doesn't give me a migraine. Usually anything that is lavender, or eucalyptus, or citris, or ocean breeze. Rose? Ack. Musks? Ack. People also have a tendency to overdo on cologne.
The perfume section of department stores is brutal - I used to love Lord and Taylor, partly because it was among the few department stores I could get to the clothing department, without going through the entire perfume department first. Usually I'd have a headache before I made it through them. Polo by Ralph Lauren - was the absolute worst - it gave me horrible headaches.
29. When was the last time it rained where you live?
I wanted to say yesterday - but it didn't really rain, so much as threatened to do so? So, Thursday. Three days ago? We've had a lot of rain. It's very green outside my window. People aren't as into flowers this year? I see more greenery than flowers for some reason. Maybe the constant cold snaps have done in the flowers?
30. What is your favourite way to eat vegetables?
Air fried or steamed at the moment. (I don't like roasted - they tend to get burned or carmelized and are kind of slimy in texture).
31. Have you ever been in a self-driving car? Would you want to try it?
No.
Yes, but not until it's been tested to death, and proclaimed safe. Right now they appear to be driving without anyone in them like insane drones around suburban cul-de-sacs. Just no. Being stuck in a car driving about aimlessly in suburbia is my idea of hell.
However? Considering that 80% of Americans shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a car and drive abysmally and do all the things you should not do while driving? A self-driving car is most likely an improvement. Make it an electric, solar powered, car - and we're in business.
****
A lot of books are being made into films that I've either never heard of, or wish weren't (anything by Colleen Hoover - the appeal is lost on me). I miss the days when it was cool stuff that I got excited about? Although there are a handful to get excited about. Below are the ones I'm excited about, albeit, cautiously.
*. CS Lewis's last book in the Narnia series, albeit technically the first in the storyline. Lewis wrote the first book, last. Gret Gerwig is adapting The Magician's Nephew, with a stellar cast. It's the origin story of the White Witch.
* Neuromancer by William Gibson - Apple TV is doing it. "Apple TV+ is developing a 10-episode sci-fi series based on William Gibson’s foundational 1984 cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer. Created by Graham Roland and J.D. Dillard, the show follows a washed-up super-hacker named Case and a razor-girl assassin, Molly, executing a dangerous heist on a powerful corporate dynasty." (Gibson is notoriously hard to adapt. But Apple is doing pretty well with sci-fi at the moment, so well see.)
* Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert, adapted by Denis Villenieuve, the third in his Dune movies. Probably will be good, the last two films were excellent.
And Villenieve seems to understand Herbert.
****
I'm over three quarters of the way through "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" and am listening to the audio book. It's a clever satire of epic fantasy and portal fantasy. But, I do feel like the writers have a couple of tropes they are comfortable writing in and a style - that makes it feel at times like I've read it before, and from that have an idea what will happen next. On the other hand - I like their tropes, and their style of writing, which is sardonic casual, and am known to re-read their novels. In short? It works for me, it may not work for others?
They are kind of competency nerds? So we have details on how to make soap and the heroine has a soap making business. Also details on how to run a business, and financing. And in regards to fight and battle scenes - I can tell one of the writers served in the armed forces and understands the reality of battle. In addition to that? They make fun of incompetence and illogical thinking. There's lots of sardonic and witty banter - they know how to write banter. Banter is NOT throwing insults at each other incessantly to the point that the reader has a migraine. (See Gideon on the Ninth). Banter is sardonic and sarcastic asides. Its often dry, and not obvious. And its not mean. There's a lot of books being published that have confused insult-a-thons with banter, and insult humor with wit. They aren't the same. The Three Stooges and I Love Lucy were many things, but witty banter wasn't among them.
It also veers from the romancefantasy genre - in that the central focus isn't erotic sex scenes between the leads? There are no sex scenes in this book. The most you get is a kiss - as far as I can tell. The writers tend to be conservative on sex scenes - we get maybe one or two, and then implied and that's usually by the second book. They do slow burn romance, no love at first sight, and the sex scenes are brief. Illona Andrews is more into plot and world building than romance.
Sigh, I need to spend less time on Book Instagram.