Spontaneous Musings

Buffy vs. Hulu, and well...my union vs. Crazy Org

2026-03-19T02:11:17Z

So...two groups are fighting at the moment in the media.

My insane Union vs. Crazy Org and well the Feds in the middle of it. The Feds took the unions side, which is interesting although doesn't mean all that much, since the Feds on the Board of Review were pre-existing the current administration (of which we shall not name - spits).

That's just anxiety inducing.
( Read more... )

The other group is far more entertaining and much less anxiety inducing, mainly because I don't have a stake in any of it, and am mostly ambivalent.

Buffy vs. Hulu, (with well, a Zen Like Chloe Zhao somewhere in the middle?)

SMG (Buffy) announces Hulu axed the Buffy reboot with no warning, and it was because of one exec who hates Buffy and never liked the original show.

(So of course the journalists do some digging to find out who the executive in question is, because really, who in their right mind hates Buffy? - Some random executive isn't exactly helpful?)

Deadline outted the Executive...because of course... (honestly the journalists in our media have way too much time on their hands? There's either too many of them or...they just can't figure out what to do with the abundance of news already out there? Granted this is less anxiety inducing than the rest of it.)

Here's Deadline Article. [ Which is a must read for anyone interested in why it is so hard to get a television show produced and aired. And why this is a difficult business. Writing is easy - television is hard.]

"Here is how Buffy: New Sunnydale went from a dream reboot two decades in the making, with Gellar starring and Oscar winner Chloé Zhao directing, to a discarded pilot. There were issues — as Deadline reported on Saturday, the original pilot was “not perfect”; some called it “not great.” Yet, after a well-received rewrite with a lot more Buffy Summers in it, no one expected the pass. Written by Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, whose previous credits include Poker Face and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the pilot would have turned the attention to a new young slayer, commonly referred to as Nova. She was played by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and The Lowdown star Ryan Kiera Armstrong. It's said that the premise, initially seen as promising, gradually fell apart.
( Rest of the article )

And Here's Hollywood Reporter's Article on it via People Magazine -

( article below the cut regarding Gellar's take in an interview with People and Hollywood Reporter )

"A statement obtained by People noted that because Disney owns the Buffy IP, the project cannot be shopped elsewhere."

***

What did Craig Erwich green light - or what programs did he champion?

Erwich Interview with Hollywood Reporter on Future shows

Erwich shows

"Craig Erwich will now oversee 20th Television and 20th Television Animation, with Karey Burke and Marci Proietto reporting to him. Craig will continue to lead ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals."

https://deadline.com/2026/03/debra-oconnell-disney-craig-erwich-20th-television-1236757197/

In retribution? Someone leaked the alleged draft of the filmed pilot (I removed the link because I decided I agree with SMG not whomever leaked it.) (ETA: SMG has since requested folks not read it or share it, since it's just a draft and very rough, and pilots aren't the television show - pointing to the original pilot episode of the original Buffy series as evidence of this. In that - there was a different Willow, and Gellar had dark hair.)

Note - the leaked script was written in 2024, and has since been rewritten and tweaked. Also, I know Marsters (per interviews) was contacted in late 2025 - they'd shown interest in his return. And rumor has it that - they made the new script more adult, it was a 90 minute pilot, and more like a streaming show with a bigger budget, and everyone had liked it per the above.

So? We don't know what they would have come up with. Only the people involved know for certain.

***

I've not read the leaked script. There's no evidence it's actual? And we all know by now how much scripts change from paper to screen while shooting, often to the point in which very little on the draft makes it to screen.

I can't say I'm surprised it got axed. ( Read more... )

The online fandom, being contentious and fractious as ever - is fighting over it on various social media platforms - FB, Reddit, and X. I've seen the Reddit and FB fights, also one on X. There's several factions?
( Buffy fans are fighting over the Hulu/Buffy war )
This all rather entertaining, but not all that surprising? Fandom. Sigh. Fandom.

It is a nice distraction though from other...less entertaining and more worrisome problems, of which we shall not speak.

The leaked script sparks fanfiction ideas in my head. I'm tempted to write fanfic based on that synopsis. It's interesting. I can see all sorts of interesting things they could have done with the show and the general concept.

Stupid network/studio/streaming service executives with no imagination.

This is why I'm glad I'm not a television writer or television actor or working in television. As nutty and frustrating as my work in transportation and construction is? It's relatively sane and stable in comparison. The frustration alone would kill me - if I worked in television. Damn, that's a hard business.

So, just in case someone out there wants to get a book, novel, idea, what have you - produced and developed as a television series? Read the Buffy vs. Hulu fight, and find another career to invest yourself in. Trust me, the pain and suffering isn't worth it.

For every show, Whedon got produced - he had twenty others that never made it, and then he got cancelled - by the actors from his first successful (and possibly only really successful) television series.

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Pondering Life's Little Annoyances...

2026-03-17T22:52:45Z

1. Came home, did the exercises. ( general state of health )

2. Oh as an aside on PT and knee/hip/leg issues? The ballerina in the Sinner's number at the Oscars - who did a split with one leg up in the air and other bent beneath her? She had hip replacement surgery about three months prior.

"Just weeks before the Oscars, Copeland had undergone hip replacement surgery to address various injuries from her decorated ballet career, including bone spurs and cartilage loss. Despite this, she was determined to be a part of the Sinners performance, which allowed her to step back on pointe and join the celebration of the film's success, including Michael B. Jordan's Oscar win for Best Actor."

In December 2025, Copeland underwent hip replacement surgery.
On March 16, 2026, Copeland appeared on stage during the Oscars performance of "I Lied To You" from Sinners."

https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/los-angeles/news/2026/03/17/misty-copeland-joins-sinners-oscars-performance-after-hip-surgery/

3. Commute is irritating me - ( Read more... )

4. Work is also irritating me. ( Read more... )

5. Is this journaling or venting, I can't tell? Well at least it's mostly under a cut?

6. Stumbled upon the Florence + The Machine Song that references Buffy S6, finally. [Take that Christopher Golden (who told Charisma Carpenter in her podcast that he disliked S6 and thought the characters were Out of Character or OTT (?) - which probably explains why I found his Buffy novels unreadable and never bothered with them (I tried them in the book stores and gave up)) and all the other naysayers. (What can I say? Except that the Buffy fandom is a contentious and fractious one. Most are, actually. People rarely agree on anything - even the things they love - so this is hardly surprising? ) ]

The song is entitled "This Old Religion" - and I'd not really listened to it before today. I actually love it - it's a good song.
( This Old Religion )

Here's the lyric:
( Read more... )

6. Regarding Buffy - apparently they not only filmed the pilot, they even reworked the script when Hulu wasn't satisfied with it, and made the show more adult and more centered on the character of Buffy.

I'm fascinated with this - because it shows how impossible it is to get good television shows on the air. Crap is easy. But a good television show is really hard to put out there - you have to get around the network. And sci-fantasy is really hard because it is so expensive to produce. Why? They are looking for a sure-thing, so go by market analysis and logarithms and statistical data. Demographics. They used to do focus groups - and select a group to view something.

The way Hulu handled the Buffy revival and dealt with the creators involved - reminds me of my own experiences with the publishing industry ( Read more... )

And Gellar's comment about the executive at Hulu who disliked Buffy and bragged about never watching it - makes me want to drop my Hulu subscription. (I won't - I watch too much on it at the moment.)( Read more... ) The problem with our society is too many of the wrong people have all the power. That said? I like the New Mayor of NYC so far - he's coming across as a genuinely kind human being and proactive in his efforts to help all New Yorkers.

Chloe Zhao is less angry than Gellar - but Zhao has had different experiences having her hopes dashed and struggling with the corporate animal. (Zhao has had more luck than Gellar overall.) ( Read more... )

I know most of the folks who stumble across this - couldn't care less about the Buffy revival or Buffy. Depressing that. I miss the Buffy fandom. But alas, it scampered elsewhere. Mostly on Tumblr, Ticktock, Bluesky, Twitter, and Facebook. And that's not the fandom that I miss. I miss the one that analyzed the show, discussed things to death, and on occasion, not often, wrote fanfic.

7. I've joined then left a private group site on FB. "What to Do in NY" - I finally jumped out of. I decided its a tourist group site that exists solely to annoy the heck out of New Yorker's. (It's painful at times living in a highly frequented Tourist destination.) People would post, and all of the NY Residents on the site, myself included, would be compelled to state - no, no, you idiot, don't do that. Or yes, that's fine, stop worrying. Or for heaven's sake - if you are that concerned, just stay home, NY will eat you alive.

( examples of what not to ask - well if you don't want to annoy New Yorkers )
So, I finally gave up and left.

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Saturday....is accomplished but trying not to fret and dread what lies ahead...

2026-02-22T04:22:19Z

Well, I've accomplished a few things at least. Got up early enough to do my knee exercises, eat breakfast, and get distilled water for the humidifier/Nosh Steam Oven, and veggies/fruit, paper towels, and other mildly essential groceries. When I was putting said groceries away, the kitchen light decided to burn out. I notified the super - that it needs to be replaced (I have light bulbs). And transferred the small lamp that I have in the living room to the kitchen. It fits. So it will work for the interim. (Oh to have a ladder and a handy person to fix it - because I can't do it without killing myself. Tempting. But no. Mother would miss me. And knowing me - I wouldn't die, I'd just critically injure myself.)

Finished my taxes (although it cost me more to do them this year than my actual refund, also I have to pay NY State, damn it). ( tax hell )

It was nice weather today - in the upper thirties and forties, high about 45 degrees F (which is practically balmy considering the temps we've been having in NYC this winter). And the grocery store - was surprisingly sparse, not as many customers as expected, considering a big storm is moving in. (People are procrastinators - so they all probably came late in the day or tomorrow.)

I'm trying not to fret too much about the upcoming hellish winter storm. Breaking Bad warned me, but it didn't register and I didn't get it - I was overwhelmed with work this week - being blind sighted by C leaving. (C tracks everything for us and is my liaison with the project team, also one of the few people I can talk to.) Her last day was Friday. So, I was kind of discombobulated, and recovering from a head cold, so didn't pick up on the fact that a huge winter storm was coming on Sunday night. Figured it out when I got home - and saw the weather report. We're supposed to have blizzard conditions between 1 am and 10 am on Monday. I don't know if I can get to work in that? I walk and take the subways, which are above and below ground?
( Read more... )

I really wish the storm hit Friday night into Saturday instead, like last time. When I actually did take Monday off.

Dinner was "shrimp, brussel sprouts, and aspergus in the air fryer" - seasoned with red pepper, teriaki, fauk garlic salt (this is amazing on shrimp and veggies), and Mrs. Dash. (Which I need to get more of at some point.)

Also watched both Destiny and Harm's Way of Angel S5 rewatch. Picked up on the following:

( Read more... )

***

Question a Day - February Meme:

18. What is your favourite shellfish dish (if you have one)?

Lobster, preferably with melted butter, and lemon.

19. Have you ever worn false eyelashes or had eyelash extensions?

No. Or not that I recall? I might have - I have a vague memory of trying to do that - and it not working, and being a mess. Makeup and me are kind of unmixy things - particularly eye-makeup. I can do foundation but that's it.

20. Are you a fan of mayonnaise in a sandwich (either egg-based or vegan)?

No.

( Read more... )

21. When was the last time you heard music played live (at a concert, in a musical)?

The Broadway musical SMASH this past summer.

I'm not really a live concert person, I'm a live theater person. I like sitting in a seat and watching folks dance, sing, act, and tell a story on stage.

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Wednesday is...just there staring into space...humming along to Comfortably Numb

2026-02-19T01:25:09Z

Finding myself redefining patience of late. I've managed to sink into a routine of not thinking, and just ambling through to the tune of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb.

Right now, half watching the pilot episode of The Rockford Files - Backlash of the Hunter (it's available on Amazon Prime, Roku and Friendly TV), which aired on March 24, 1974, and co-starred a very young Lindsey Wagner - before Bionic Woman. James Garner has an effortless charm, chiseled good looks, and is the best thing in it. It was created by Stephen J Cannel, who did a lot of these sort of action/mystery series. It's kind of a Sam Spade/Raymond Chandler light PI series. My father loved it.( Read more... ) This was one of the better 1970s television series, but it has bland dialogue, which Garner does his best with - better than the supporting actors. (The series gets better ones as it goes). But alas, I've been watching Angel which has better dialogue and is a lot more compelling - this is kind of boring and I don't really care? It reminds me a lot of the writing/direction and acting in Poker Face actually. I remember watching a lot of these shows in the 20th Century and early 21st. It doesn't date well in regards to sexual orientation - uses words like queer in a derogatory manner. (Welcome to 1970s network television!) Also not very diverse in its casting, although more so than other shows on at the time.

Cold is getting better, I think? But I cancelled the second PT appointment - Friday's. Mainly because I don't want to hurt anyone who may be sensitive to germs - and they frown on you coming to their offices with a cough or runny nose. Work isn't an issue - I'm not near anybody at the moment, and only have to mask in public areas (break room, halls, lobby, restroom, and the trains/platforms). And I'm not coughing enough for it to be an actual problem. Although I think this is probably just allergies or a cold. Since switching off the bedroom radiator helped tremendously. I'm taking plenty of Mucinex, cough drops, antihistamines, etc. Runny nose, eyes, and a persistent cough. Also, a sense of being out of breath, tired, and lack of appetite. But other than that, fine. Doesn't prevent me from eating chocolate, unfortunately.

Bee aka cubical mate was discussing a new television show that she'd binged over the weekend and couldn't stop watching - with someone. I kept trying to figure out what it was? She mentioned people starting a company, the FBI hunting them down, insane things happening, and it being kind of twisted in places, and fast paced. Also way off her radar.

I sat there for fifteen minutes trying to figure it out. Gave up. Tried to convince myself not to ask. Gave up. Curiosity killed the cat and all that?

Me: What's the television show that you are discussing?
Bee: I'm about to go on another call, but, it's Start-up.

Start Up??? I look it up. Or rather google "Start Up Television Show". (Weirdly Bing or my work browser has it only on Apple TV and Prime, while Google and Firefox show it is on Netflix. Work browser is not accurate and often brings up different things than home browser. I work on a PC, and at home on a Mac. I'm computer versatile.)

When she gets off the phone - I ask her if it's the one with Martin Freeman playing the FBI agent Rask, and about crypto. She pauses to think and says yes. And she's watching it on Netflix.

I tell her - that I'll try it - but does it require a lot of focus? She says yup. So, I may have to wait - I'm watching old television shows for a reason? Also, my ability to focus on a television series right now is about at the level of Bridgerton. I need characters I love, good dialogue, and plots that aren't too convoluted.

Has anyone else seen "Start Up"? Is it any good? It's an older series - 2016-2018.

I am having the same issues with reading at the moment. I'll read a page and have to re-read it more than once sometimes. So, I'm listening to "Twelve Months" the latest in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, narrated by James Marsters. And still reading The Botanist's Assistant on the train, and various digital comic books.

All I want to do is stare into space and think about nothing. I think it's a combination of the cold, NYC in February, the weather, work, and my knees. And not having much to look forward to at the moment? The knees are slowly getting better or stronger. The exercises appear to be working - and I am doing them every day. At least once a day. So there's that.

Off to do something else.

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Merry Christmas

2025-12-25T04:14:30Z

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate.

I took today off, and did next to nothing with it - outside of baking chocolate chip cookies I didn't need to bake, and resting my knee. I think I just wanted to watch television, play Royal Match and veg?

Decided to do laundry either tomorrow or Friday. Knee needed a respite. Struggling with my diet still - chocolate chip cookies tends to spike blood sugar, so does fries. I had fixed lamb, asparagus, and fries for dinner. It was a good dinner, but not the best for my blood sugar. The holidays are hard for restricted diets.

Zigging back and forth between Angel and Buffy, has made me aware of a few things? ( Read more... )

It's time for bed. The year is slowly winding down again, isn't it? And once again we've sunk into winter. Although it was sunny today. I have the lights on my little christmas tree on. And I watched my UUA Church's service on my big screen television set via Youtube. It's easier that way. Plus I can see more - such as the musicians. I couldn't see a thing when I attended it in person last year. (I won't do that again. Too crowded.) I don't get the little chocolate Christmas bells they handed out - but I didn't want or need them either. I think they gave chocolate coins, a little thing of perfume, and something else last year - to symbolize the gifts of the three kings (for the past several years the Magi had been the general theme), this year immigrants and angles were the general theme.

And it was topped off by a rendering of this song Huddled Masses. Listen to it, and I dare you not to cry. It's very moving, and particularly now.

At work yesterday, my cubicle mate did her busy holiday dance. This is when someone feels the need to tell me how busy they are, and all the things they are doing and have to do - like a little spinning top that can't stop spinning. I told her to just focus on one task at a time, stop thinking of all the things she needs to do, and break it down bit by bit.

The Department Wide Holiday Party that was held on Monday apparently ran out of food about fifteen minutes into the Party. People had to go out and get food on their own. They also ran out of bowls, and utensils. And all they had food wise was pizza (it was good pizza apparently from Adrienne's), salad (a small side salad), and a bowl of pasta. When cubicle mate left - they were hunting for bowls to serve the pasta. Cubicle mate was able to score one of the remaining two slices of pizza, which were small slices. In short, I missed nothing. The party on my own floor was better catered.

On that note - off to bed.

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Tuesday is cold but hanging in there...

2025-12-10T02:13:03Z

Had another PT appointment on Monday, which...went okay, I guess? ( Read more... )

Work party and work in general made me want to walk out the door and retire today. But alas, I can't. I'm not positive, but I have a feeling Breaking Bad felt much the same way.
( Read more... )
Today was my father's birthday - which FB decided to alert me to. Annoying considering my father was never on FB and disliked it. My father, had he lived, would have turned 90. He died in 2022 at the age of 86 just short of his 87th birthday.

So feeling a bit down and out today. Not helped by the bitter cold snap plaguing New York and the East Coast at the moment. It was 18 F degrees this morning, I think that is -6 C. Tomorrow it is supposed to get up to 45 and possibly rain, practically balmy.
****

Buffy S5 Rewatch

Episode S5.4 Out of My Mind

Definitely enjoying Angel more this go-around, probably because I've watched this season one too many times? That said, the dialogue in this episode for the most part is rather good. And there are some good bits here and there.

The episode is mainly about Riley and Spike.
( Read more... )

Off to bed and other things.

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Friday is thankful it is Friday finally...and the Vertigo is gone!

2025-11-22T02:11:18Z

I'm procrastinating dinner, mainly because I don't know what to eat? (I have to throw out the chicken and chicken soup that I made last weekend - and haven't touched, after getting incredibly ill. I didn't get ill because of it? But the idea of reminds me of it - so just no.)

Both Crazy Workplace and Apartment Complex are having holiday parties the second week of December, and since I will be around - I should probably go to them. ( Read more... )

There's a new list of top 100 books - that is kind of interesting? - it's the Australian Radio List or what I want to call the Top 100 Books that have been, will be or are soon to be adapted into movies or television series. I've either read, tried to read, seen or tried to watch over half of them - some I have on my to see/to read list, and actually own. I could literally go down a good portion of that list and give recommendations. I'm tempted.

Decided on the left over baked salmon, celery, carrots and some quinoa.
Then watched Buffy S4 Primeval, after watching Yoko Factor the night before.

Buffy S4 Rewatch - Yoko Factor and Primeval

After watching Yoko Factor again, I get why the fandom split over the character of Spike to the degree it did? I'd forgotten how cool Spike was as an anti-hero character, and how good an antagonist. ( Read more... )

What's interesting about Angel and Buffy's cross-overs to each other's series - is that Buffy only crosses over to Angel in S1. ( Read more... )

At any rate, Yoko Factor reminds me of why I love this series. Snappy banter, which is just a joy to behold (a lot of television writers ironically can't write dialogue - how they become television writers without being able to write good dialogue is beyond me?). Also, Adam is actually palpable in the episode - due to Spike. I was actually rooting for him to get his chip out and disappointed he didn't. Although, they'd have to kill him off. So that wasn't happening.

There's a hilarious scene where Xander gives Spike a gun, and Spike gleefully points it at him - only to get a migraine. ( Read more... )

Primeval - eh, this feels like watching a bad comic book brought to life. I remember liking it better in the early 00s. It doesn't age well, and is kind of on the campy side? Forrest is ...annoyingly misogynistic - so much so, that it doesn't surprise me that Whedon went there again with Warren and Caleb. I prefer the villains who aren't misogynistic. I really did not like the villians in S4 at all. This episode just reminds me of why.

( Read more... )

Note while this is the last arc episode? It's not the last episode of the season. Which is interesting, and different from S1-3, in which it would have been the last episode. Showing that S4 was meant to be a bridge episode between S3 and S5.

Some say this is the best episode of S4, IMBD did, which makes me wonder about some of their reviewers? I mean obviously HUSH is the best episode, with several others coming close. HUSH is among the best of the series. Each season has one or two standout episodes. S4 is hands down - HUSH.

***

Crazy Workplace

Breaking Bad: I swear this place could be a Paddy Chafesky play. It is a Paddy Chafesky play. It might even be better if it was.
Me: Paddy Chafesky wrote Network right?
Breaking Bad: Yup, excellent writer.
ME: Agreed. I read all his plays in high school. (Don't remember them, but I did read them.)

I even put a Paddy Chafesky quote from NETWORK in my high school yearbook. "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm not going to take any longer." I kind of regret doing that. But I found it amusing at the time.

***

Now that the Vertigo is blessedly gone, I've a ENT on Monday about it. (Taking the day off.) I'd rather have had the ENT appointment on Tuesday when it was still there, bugging me. On the other hand - I wouldn't have been able to get to the ENT appointment or provided coherent information, so maybe not.

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Friday is well glad it is Friday, but sigh, another doctor's appointment on Saturday

2025-11-08T03:47:40Z

I have to go to the Optometrist tomorrow. I thought it was next weekend, but apparently not. They confused me. It's at 2pm - so I can sleep in at least. It only takes fifteen to twenty minutes to get there. I'll probably leave around 1:30 - because sciatica.

[I met yet another co-worker with sciatic nerve today - hers is also going down her right leg from the mid-back. Wanted to know how I was managing to sleep? (Not well.) We discussed how our nutty workplace is trying to kill us amid the chaos. ( more on co-worker )

Optometrist requested I wear glasses to the appointment and bring my contacts. (I'd rather do the opposite - ( brief rant as to why )

[Ack. I think I saw a little mouse dart out from under one of my armchairs. But I'm not sure where it disappeared to. And whether I imagined it. It's the downside of living in an old pre-war 77 unit apartment building - there's mice often from other tenants apartments, and living in the walls between. I'm going to have to put down more mint. To date mint works the best at fending off mice. They hate the smell of mint - I think they are allergic. It's also the most humane. I am not comfortable killing them. And mice traps are gross.]

***

Buffy/Angel Rewatch

Picked up on something that I'm not sure I saw the last time I watched the two shows together? In S4 Buffy and S1 Angel - the writers all of sudden decided to expand on their world by making the humans the bad guys, and the demons kind of...ambiguous?

The other thing I noticed is how they are paralleling Spike and Angel in the two series - which is kind of odd, and interesting at the same time.
( rather lengthy analysis of Angel S1:The Ring and Buffy S4:Goodbye Iowa )

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Wednesday is happy with the election results...

2025-11-06T02:26:03Z

1. Woo-hoo! Democrats won across the board. (In NYC - they won everything but Staten Island Borough President, because you know...Staten Island? And Texas. But it is Staten Island and Texas...)

New York City hits 2 million votes for first time since 1969. Biggest turnout for a Mayoral election ever.

( Read more... )

Miki Sherrel won the Governor's Race in New Jersey - becoming the first female Democrat Governor of the State.

Oh, and NBC has an interactive map showing how each neighborhood in NYC voted for the Mayoral race. It's kind of fun, and shows that elections are complicated.

2. Work wore me out. That and lack of sleep - I couldn't get comfortable, and I kept waking up. Didn't fall asleep until Midnight, and woke up at 3 am and 5:26 am. Something beeped outside and woke me up at 3. Took a while to get back to sleep. Then something woke me at 5:26, and I never got back to sleep.

Very busy. Kind of inundated? They decided to get together and unload all their work on myself and Breaking Bad at the same time. Don't procrastinate folks? It just makes more work for everybody. But my good deed was installing two printers on my computer and Breaking Bad's. Just in time for the new folks to move in - in two weeks. Maybe they'll bring a printer that is in closer proximity. Albeit not too close proximity.

Commute wasn't easy either - but went smoother than expected. I miss hopping on the G taking it to 4/9th Streets, and running down the steps.
Now? Going down steps hurts, so I take the F, run up, then down steps, and wait on a tiny platform with a ton of folks for the R. Oh well, it's 35 minutes either way.

But overall? Happy to be back at work. I enjoy what I do for the most part - it's a lot of analysis, editing, problem solving, and figuring things out.

3. Cooler - in the 40s-low 60s. Typical Autumn weather in NY. A-typical is 60s-80s, typical is 40s,50s, and low 60s.

Time change is still messing with me though - by the time my body gets accustomed to it - they'll change it again, right around my birthday.
Whose bright idea was it to do the Time Warp?

4. Buffy/Angel re-watch.

I'm enjoying Angel more now than I did the first go-around. Buffy, I always enjoy. It occurred to me today that the writers fell in love with a specific plot twist - which they employed in S2. Which is the good guy turns bad or switches sides. They also did the bad guy switches sides to help the heroine - but they enjoy the good guy turns bad a lot more.
( Read more... )

[I'm mainly just writing about this at this point to please myself at this point. Hopefully it entertains others too. But alas, as in most things, there's really no way of knowing for sure. I'm thinking I probably wrote it to please myself back in the day as well. Although a bit better, and more targeted.]

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Friday is sagging in relief that the week from heck is finally over...

2025-10-11T02:36:45Z

Updates...

* Sciatica - it still hurt today, but not quite as badly as yesterday, and mostly when I went down steps. Less so - up steps. But down steps was excruciating. And...well, NYC Transit and I are going to have words about their alleged accessibility endeavor. Frigging hell - there's a lot of steps.

I came home and did more stretching exercises, and was finally able to yank the right hip back into alignment, which helped (not completely - it's a cocktail and it was bothering me before that). But yes, it was partially an alignment issue. The hip no longer hurts at least. Just the back and knee.
( Read more... )

* Getting a Pair of Sneakers Delivered Shouldn't be this Difficult?

I'm reminded of why I hate FedEx or having to sign for anything. Also why I attempt to get everything sent by Amazon Prime or USPS.

Long story short - despite my best efforts, the package was not delivered. Instead they left a slip in front of my sign. Why wasn't it delivered?
( Read more... )
So, I'm trying again - with a new sign, a request to ring my buzzer three times, and if there are issues to call me. I'm home tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they comply.

* Omni Subway Pass

So, my "free" transit pass didn't work today - I swiped it, it didn't go through, my hand shook when it tried again, because my leg was killing me from going down the steps. Then it said "just used" and I can't use it again - for another fifteen minutes - because they don't want me giving free rides to others. As a result, I was out a ride and had to purchase one.

This is how I discovered that all you need to do to get the OMNI - is tap your credit card against the turnstile. You don't need a card. You don't need the app. You don't need a cell phone. Just a credit or debit card - tap and go, like you do at the grocery store. It will only charge you once.

If you have a credit card on your phone - you can use it.

I can't wait to get the "One Pass" - which will take the place of the annoying transit pass that I currently have - and I can tap it, as opposed to swiping, and also use it to swipe in and out of work.

Gotta love technology. I remember when we had tokens, and they were heavy and took up space in my wallet. I even had a separate change purse for them.

* Jury Duty

They found me. I need to move again. ( Read more... )

It's just the questionnaire. I have 10 days to answer the questions and send them in - either by postage or online or phone. I'm in no hurry. It's not a summons as of yet.

* Breaking Bad and I discuss everything but work

Found out Breaking Bad's family is from Bretagne or Brittany quite by accident today. (I thought he was Italian). He's French/Italian. I got him beat - I'm French Belgium, German, Eastern European, Swedish, Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh, and Spanish (according to Ancestry.com, so...whether that's reliable or not is another discussion. Oh - as an aside, I'm apparently "distantly" related to a famous person - 10th cousin. Who is it? Dwight D. Eisenhower, of all people. Sigh. We were also for a bit distantly related to Prime Minister Lloyd George, but somehow that got debunked. Now it's Dwight D. Eisenhower, so we kind of graduated from an obscure British Prime Minister to a WWII General and President of the US. My grandparents would be impressed, so would my father, if he were still alive. I keep forgetting to tell my mother about it and I forgot to tell Breaking Bad, which shows how impressed I am about it?)

We were talking about languages. (Neither one of us are linguists or good at languages or we'd be doing anything else.) ( Read more... )

*****

I'm currently flirting with Quadaphrenia - a Rock Ballet at NY City Center. Prices are between $185-$45. It's ballet - so you kind of need good seats, or it's not worth the bother. Still cheaper than Broadway though.
I love ballet and dance. I took ballet as a kid and in college. I sucked at it. I can't do anything choreographed to save my life. But I have to admit I stuck with Ballet longer than most. So, I understand it. It makes sense to me. I speak its language. Also I get wanting to move to music.

Also, it's to Pete Townsend's Quadaphrenia...so wicked cool.

I kind of missed the window for David Byrne and Hugh Jackman at Radio City Music Hall. Which is okay.

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Nightmare commute and sigh, more on the Buffy reboot

2025-08-01T01:16:28Z

Had a bit of a nightmarish commute home. It usually just takes me about thirty minutes. Today - it took an hour and a half.

Storms blew in around 3 pm and lasted until roughly 5 pm, with temperatures topping off at around 87 degrees with humidity at 80%. And of course that played havoc with the subway system. Outside of the trains, there's no A/C or much air circulation in underground portion of the subway system. And it can get to over 100 degrees in the winter months in the communications rooms.
( the headache inducing commute )

If you read that - you got awarded by a picture.

***

Still keeping abreast of the Buffy Reboot News. They've done more casting.
Seriously as if they don't have enough male characters, they've added one more.

The casting news is not thrilling me. It's very teen supernatural boilerplate casting. (Yes, I've seen one too many teen supernatural soap operas in my lifetime, sorry to say. Only a handful are any good. The most innovative of them was actually Shadow and Bone based on the books.)

The latest?

Buffy Reboot ads another casting member and names the new slayer

( excerpt )

And...

"Deadline reports that Kingston Vernes will play a character named Carson in the show. He will serve as a love interest for the new Slayer, Ryan Kiera Armstrong's Nova. The outlet says that Carson is "a Junior Olympian and popular student at New Sunnydale Academy who is the object of Nova’s (Armstrong) crush and starts noticing her after a life-changing event." "

https://www.cbr.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-reboot-kingston-vernes-carson/
( for the rest )

I don't know about anyone else? But I'm taking a wait and see approach.

***

I'm cranky partly due to the weather, and work frustrations. Taking tomorrow off - because we're finally getting a nice weekend. I'll do laundry tomorrow as opposed to tonight - when I'm cranky. I don't like doing it late - since there are folks living in the basement apartment and I like to be considerate of them, even if others aren't.

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Recasting the MCU, RIP MJW, Climate Resilency Projects & personal crap

2025-07-21T22:23:16Z

Somewhat depressed today, been feeling lonely and depressed lately - kind of like that Adele song? My Little Love? Except I don't have kids. ( Read more... )

Random tidbits:

1. Kevin Feige announced today that yes, the MCU plans on recasting all of the X-men, and Tony Stark and Steve Rogers down the road. Probably around 2027, after Secret Wars.

He made some good points. Why not? It's not like they haven't recast James Bond, Doctor Who, Captain Kirk, Spock, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman - multiple times.

Superhero films/comics have a lot in common daytime soap operas and insanely long-running television serials/film franchises - in that the following often happens, and their audience/readers are used to it and tend to shrug it off or hand-wave it:
( Read more... )

That said... I find this disconcerting: ( Read more... )

I've mixed feelings? ( Read more... )

What do you think? Assuming there's anyone out there reading this that's still into the MCU films and the Marvel comics. I honestly can't tell. [Note: If you aren't into it? Or it's not your thing? I really don't need to know, silence remains golden on that front.]

2. Malcolm Jamal-Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died at the age of 54.

"Per The Associated Press, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department confirmed that Warner died on Sunday in a drowning accident while on vacation with his family at a beach along the country's Caribbean coast. He was pulled into a current. Fellow beachgoers tried to rescue him, but first responders from Costa Rica's Red Cross were unable to revive him."

Go Here

I'm thrown by the folks who are dying that are younger than me. This is the second one in a few weeks. The first was Julian McMahon of cancer.

3. On a more positive note? I attended a Zoom presentation of my agency's new climate protection toy today. ( Read more... )

Here's a link to the MTA's Climate Resilience Program

And a link to the newly proposed high speed train: GO HERE.

4. Went on a walk around Battery Park at lunch today, and saw a man holding a large yellow python, also a man playing a kind of old style string instrument (he was playing AULD LANG SYNE) and took pictures of flowers and buildings.

Man holding huge python - behind the cut for the snake adverse:

( really big yellow snake )

Man playing weird instrument:

( weird instrument )

Slabs of a WWII War Memorial amid the greenery.

( see memorial )

And finally...a field of corn flowers in NYC:

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On a quiet and somewhat dull Thursday...

2025-06-27T01:51:51Z

The temperature dropped outside. It's now in the 70s. As Breaking Bad put it - night and day outside today.

At work, I ran into a neighbor in the lobby of my building (it's all Crazy Org).

He saw me, first. Told me this was his last day - he was retiring. (I honestly thought he was retired. He is definitely older than me.) We pass all the time in the laundry room and elevator - he lives across the hall from me with his family. He has a dog, and a neurodivergent son, who I think has either Touretts or Ausbergers?

Apparently he was a legal investigator for one of the agencies in Crazy Org since roughly 1993. I was somewhat envious - it sounded more interesting than editing legal documents and financial analysis and negotiations. I'm admittedly bored and frustrated at the moment. It's making me cranky? Well that and struggling with sleep, lingering chest congestion, and brain fog.

Below is a photo of Crazy Org today, standing tall against a gray sky.

It was bound to happen - that I'd run into a neighbor as they are retiring, considering Crazy Org employs over 75,000 New Yorkers.

I took a walk at lunch - it was mild, pleasant even, and overcast - also the last day of school in New York, apparently, so not that many tourists wandering about mucking up the works. Or many bikes for that matter.

And I saw a wild turkey in Battery City Park. Breaking Bad and I decided that the turkey probably escaped from Staten Island via the Ferry. [ETA: Where the turkey came from was/is a joke. We've no clue. We were just joking that it escaped a farm in Staten Island and came by ferry. (Which didn't happen). And since the photo is horrible - no I did not approach the wild turkey.]

( bad photo of a turkey )

Other than that the day was slow. So slow, I worked on my novel, played with spreadsheets, and played on my phone. Art History Major is off to see her family in Ohio.

***

Some good news?

The Senate Parliamentarian managed to take a hatchet to the Big Shitty Bill. Apparently you can't just add everything you like to a reconciliation bill which is meant to balance the government's budget. It's basically an accounting bill - that gets quickly passed because it's needed to balance a budget. They tried to add a bunch of stuff that had zip to do with that to the bill, which is in violation of the Senate's rules.

Parliamentarian removes medicaid cuts from Reconciliation Big Beautiful Bill

Violations Continue to Mount on Big Beautiful Bill

As one commentator aptly put it - adding the things the Republicans did to the Bill would be akin to balancing your household budget and adding a fancy new car for yourself.

For those who have raised valid concern following the Parliamentarian rulings knocking out some of the worst aspects of the GOP’s budget bill, Thune has reiterated no overruling.

***

R.I.P Bill Moyers

"Legendary journalist Bill Moyers has died at age 91. Moyers was the former White House press secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and leaves behind a distinguished legacy in American journalism. Over five decades, he became known for his in-depth interviews and thoughtful documentaries on programs such as Bill Moyers Journal and Now with Bill Moyers. A champion of public broadcasting, Moyers received more than 30 Emmy Awards, nine Peabody Awards, and the National Humanities Medal for his contributions to civic discourse. Rest in peace, Bill."

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Rambling post about many things...

2025-06-04T01:02:36Z

Today, I wandered through the Urban Farm at the foot of Manhattan, in Battery Park. I also sat in the park on a chair on the grass beneath the trees, watching children play. It was a beautiful day, with a slight haze, most likely from the Canadian Wild Fires in the North.

It was a frustrating day, so I needed a break from it. As tempting as it is to regale you all with the details? I'll refrain.

Some bad news? Dochawk, you may or may not remember him from the ATPO_BTVS and ATS Fan Discussion Board? His two female cousins were victims of the flame-thrower attack in Boulder, Colorado. ( Read more... )

I'm trying to ignore the news for the most part - but keep stumbling upon it, whether I want to or not. Thank you, information age.

Been comforting myself by watching and listening to James Marsters Q&A's on youtube. I have a serious crush on that actor. I have crushes on several actors. Cillian Murphy is another one, so too is Hugh Jackman, Robert Downy Jr, David Tennant, Claudia Black, also Juliet Landau, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis, Angela Basset, Jonathon Groff....I am notorious for actor crushes.

Marsters said something interesting in regards to a question about Whedon and separating art from the artist. ( Read more... )

Been rewatching Buffy as a comfort show - and it still holds up, and rather well at that. I just saw I Only Have Eyes for You - it's an episode that airs late in S2. I'd forgotten most of it. And forgot how good it is. The first few times I'd seen it - I hadn't thought much of it, but now, it resonates in a different way? The writers are commenting on multiple things - and it subverts various tropes. It's actually surprising the network let them do it - back in the 90s.
( spoilers for those who never saw it, is there anyone? )

***

I didn't sleep well last night. Ached. And I ache now. Digestive issues, I think? Although did many things in the hopes of counter-acting them. My failing was giving in and having ice cream (Malawi Coffee and Rose Almond both Indian flavors and locally made). I did everything else right - baked salmon with zuccini and summer squash, and lots of water.

Oh well, it is what it is. Hopefully I can get the restless legs to calm down enough to sleep.

Here's a nice photo to round out this long rambling post.

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Wednesday wishes it stayed in bed, with the covers pulled over its head

2025-03-13T00:18:40Z

All achey breaky today - I took an aleve before leaving work, and a shower, and did a little yoga - and sigh, my legs are bugging me, and it's most likely digestive related. (It usually is.) At least the commute was okay for the most part. No one tried to dig into my backpack and I got a seat.
(Technically speaking - the attempt to open my backpack, only happened once, and by a wet between the years white, blond haired, and blue eyed teenage boy from a wealthy neighborhood, who should have known better.)

Found this oration on boycotting by John Scalzi, entitled The Billionaire Boycott Conudrum

He makes some valid points about the difficulty of boycotting Amazon. I realized today how impossible it is. For one thing? My health care aka NYU Langone is using Amazon One as their new check in tech starting this summer. Boycotting NYU Langone is out of the question. Also, as an independently published writer? My novel is on Amazon and was published via Amazon - if it weren't for Amazon, I couldn't have afforded to get it published. I'm techie enough to do it myself. And a lot of other indie publishers survive because of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.

And as Scalzi validly points out - it's not like the other publishers are much better. The Trades are basically nazis. I've been boycotting Simon and Schuster and Random House for decades.

( Excerpt on the Publishing Trade )

Another example? "Even then you may find yourself contributing to the bottom line of a company you intended to boycott. If you ditch The Washington Post (not owned by Amazon, but owned by Jeff Bezos) and subscribe to The Guardian instead, you are still putting money in Bezos’ pocket, because The Guardian uses Amazon Web Services to stay online. Ditching Amazon’s streaming services for Netflix? Same problem. And so on. Note well that Amazon Web Services is actually the biggest division of the company and the largest contributor to its operating revenue… and is not public-facing in any meaningful sense. It’s merely the backbone of a third of the commercial internet."

[I did not know that. Did you know that?]

I was discussing this with mother, and we both agree that Bezos isn't the same as Musk.( Read more... )

***

Crazy Workplace

I solved the work problem that I was kind of whinging about yesterday - or rather Lawyer solved it. I putted it in her direction and Breaking Bad's, and Breaking Bad had no clue, so Lawyer stepped in.

Lawyer: Do you want to reach out to them for more information, or should I?
ME: Unfortunately, you probably should, since I attempted it and just went around in a circle.

Also today...

Me: (reviewing Modification 7) okay where's Mod 5?
Document: Mod 5 is currently in progress and this will be involved in Mod 5.
Me: Wait a minute? Did you frigging project managers jump over mod 5 and issue the mods out of order, after I told you not to??

Anyone else feel like they are just banging their head against a wall of jello? Or as my father used to put it - throwing jello at a wall.

**

Also bought a black sweatshirt with the subway map printed on it, and New York in big letters. I got it from the NYC Transit Museum Store. Also bought a card with New Yorker cover on it for niece. I'm going to start writing niece.

***

Books

I'm reading The New Yorker on the subway now instead of my Kindle. Mainly because I got lost in Station Eternity - too many characters, too many points of view, and I kept losing the plot. I just don't have the attention span for it? Also it's hard to read on the subway. While short magazine articles don't require quite as much work and it's nice not to be reading off a screen for a bit.

Finished Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Mass on Audible - it's not bad. ( Read more... )

Now, listening to Leigh Bardouch's Six of Crows - which is hard to follow, so we'll see. It has multiple points of view, and more than one narrator involved. However, I saw the television series - so it may work.
The best part of Shadow and Bone was "Six of Crows".

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Coping mechanisms and well a Subway Explosion..

2024-12-13T02:56:08Z

Auntie N told me via mother, to write down the things that I felt anxious about and then rip them up. Or write down negative things and positive things, and rip up the negative ones. It's apparently how she's been coping with all her health issues and anxieties of late. (Auntie N has breast cancer, and cyrossis of the liver, which had to be fixed.)

Mother: So write it down.
Me: Kind of already doing that...and making fun of it.
Mother: that works too, but it's better to tear it up afterwards...

I'd been stressing over whether or not I'm moving my office from Queens to Manhattan.
( Read more... )
Also been stressing over receiving Xmas gifts being delivered by Amazon to an Amazon Locker in my building. These are gifts sent to me by my family members. I have a small immediate family of four people that I'm close to - but who live a long ways from me. One lives in Montana. Two in Upstate New York near the Massachustus border, and one in South Carolina on an island.
We're not very good at living close to each other - very nomadic and free-spirited, my family.

Amazon has installed "lockers" in my apartment building. They are allegedly safe, secure, and reliable. But also a royal pain. ( Read more... )
I miss the days in which all I had to worry about were package thieves. Or wrapping presents and figuring out how to cart them back to my apartment via plane.

My mother's is allegedly arriving on Friday - so we shall see what happens. My brother's is allegedly arriving by Sunday.

***

I really wish I owned a crystal ball sometimes. I want spoilers. But they aren't forthcoming. On the other hand, maybe I'm better off without the spoilers?

**

Update on the power outage that took out several train lines last night, resulting in Wales being stranded for hours and having to hail a cab home.

Explosion at electrical substation caused subway meltdown for thousands, MTA says.

["An explosion that blew a door off its hinges in an electric room that powers several New York City subway lines caused Wednesday night’s service meltdown for thousands of riders, highlighting the transit system’s aging infrastructure and modernization needs, according to MTA officials.

Riders were still experiencing a variety of lengthy delays across the subway during rush hour on Thursday morning, after a hellish commute during the Wednesday evening rush due to the power loss. That disruption left some 3,500 riders stuck in tunnels for hours, officials said.

“We had a 90-year-old electrical substation that had a fire and an explosion of some kind because the door was off the hinges,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said at a news conference on Thursday morning. “That speaks to the urgency of making the investments to the very old pieces of our system.”

Lieber said the transit agency had already put the substation on a shortlist for necessary upgrades."]

According to another report..
People were peeing in between the cars. People were passing out cookies. It became a little community thing." [They were also sharing water.]

And this link.. Power Outage Leaves 3500 NYC Subway Riders Stranded

"The trapped riders were eventually led off the stalled trains by firefighters into dark subway tunnels and up service stairways that led to trap doors in the middle of Brooklyn sidewalks, according to photos of the debacle shared on social media.

“Trapped in an unpowered rush hour F train with no a/c for the last 70 minutes til FDNY got us out through a damn maintenance tunnel at Smith and Atlantic,” one of the evacuated riders tweeted alongside a photo of people walking up a steep, graffiti-covered stairway.

[So, needless to say, Transit was not having a good day. At all.]

Governor Kathy Hocheul is asking for a full review from both the MTA and Con Edison to ensure it never happens again

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Wednesday Book Meme...among other things..

2024-10-03T01:41:17Z

I found this title on DW which I like..."The Book on the Edge of Forever", it's apparently the title of a book about an anthology of stories by Harlan Ellison that were never published. They've been talking about it all over social media, regardless of the platform.

1.) Book Meme

* Still reading Experimental Film by Gemma Files
( Read more... )
* Audio Books

- Completed On the Edge by Illona Andrews as read by Rene Raudman

The narrator is excellent. Among the better narrators. I actually think it's a full cast? She can do up to thirty distinctive voices.

It's hard to describe. ( Read more... )

Main quibble? There's far too much ruminating over the romance. Or navel gazing over it. The writers hadn't quite mastered their banter yet.

- Still working my way through: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews as read by Renee Raudman - it's much better than On the Edge.
( Read more... )
* Digital Comic Books

Finished
( Read more... )
Still reading:
( Read more... )
So far?( Read more... )

Up next?
( Read more... )
***

2. Donated Blood at work today. The NY Blood Drive was taking blood donations at my workplace, so I went ahead and did it on my lunch break. Once again I wore a long sleeve button down blouse. So had to roll up the sleeve. I've been wearing short sleeve shirts all year long, and on the days I have to donate blood and get a flu shot - I wear long sleeve button down shirts?

It's a process donating blood. Reminded me of why I've not done it in a while. ( Read more... )
I donated because I wasn't that busy, and I learned it could save three people's lives. And I was annoyed with people today, so...I figured I'd help a bunch of strangers.

I think I may try to give blood once or twice a year now. Do what I can to help people even if they drive me crazy.

3. Mother: You sounded tired when you called earlier, now you sound better, more upbeat and more energetic.
Me: That's because I've been alone in my apartment and away from people for about an hour, maybe two?
Mother explodes with laughter.

People are exhausting.

Frigging city is constantly under construction. They are putting in a couple of traffic lights at the intersection that leads to the train station. ( a new obstacle on my commute )

4. Crazy Workplace

Well, the "pendant" attorney, who is also a frustrated copy-editor and grammatical pendant, is leaving the organization. I only know this - because the head honcho sent me an invite to his going away party. We got the "farewell party" notice via email today. They are throwing a farewell party for him next week at a local pub in Manhattan around 5pm.
( Read more... )
5. Television

I attempted Doctor Odyssey. It reminds me of 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star, a kind of comforting medical/rescue procedural, with various relationship dynamics. With likable actors, and likable characters. In short, it's very plain vanilla. I expect a bit more from Ryan Murphy, sheesh.

( Read more... )
Right now, David E Kelly's Lincoln Lawyer is the winner of the procedurals. It's better written. Mainly because Kelly at least knows something about his subject matter, and has good source material.

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Scavenger's Reign, Kris Kristofferson, among other things..

2024-10-01T02:03:12Z

1. Finished Scavenger's Reign over the weekend. It's a limited animated science fiction series by MAX, which wisely only gave it one season. While there was room for more, I'm glad it only had one - because it had a satisfying ending. Often television series go on too long, when twelve episodes is the perfect amount.

It is among the most innovative animated series that I've seen to date. It's also among the best sci-fi series that I've seen, specifically in regards to the humans stranded on an alien planet trope. The humans stranded on an alien planet trope is hard to pull off. Or settling on an alien planet, equally hard to pull off. This is both. And it pulls it off, partly by telling the story through animation.

The series reminded me of why I adore science fiction. When done well, it's brilliant. I don't want to discuss it too much, because it's best to go in blind.

***

2. Work was frustrating and depressing. ( Read more... )

***

3. Watching the Voice - because it has Michael Buble and Reba McIntyre on it. And I'm curious. We'll see how long I last, because it also has Snoop (who I can barely stand), and Gwen Stefani (who annoys me). I lasted fifteen minutes. So no, not long. Buble and McIntyre aren't worth the pain. Also my interest in both waned a while ago. I like Seth McFarlane better than Buble. I realized he also annoyed me.

( Read more... )
***

Found out a few things about Kris Kristofferson via social media that I did not know.

When Sinead O'Connor was "booed" off stage at the Bob Dylan 75th Tribute Concert in the 1990s, Kristofferson came up and hugged her. And comforted her as she cried on his shoulder. And he went on to write and sing this song about her...

Sister Sinead - which is an excellent song about artists who have the courage to stand by their convictions no matter what.

He was a kind man, who struggled with addiction and his own demons. And an excellent song-writer, known as the poet. His songs hit hard, and we often don't even realize he wrote them - since they are made famous by others. In that he's a lot like Dolly Parton. Also an actor, who was in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Star is Born.

And toured with legends Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash.

Me and Bobby McGee - was made famous by Janis Joplin.

Sunday Morning, Coming Down - the song he wrote for Johnny Cash, but was about his own demons, which Cash identified with.

Go HERE for others...

One of my favorites is the one he wrote for the band The Highwaymen - that included Orbison, Nelson, and Cash.
( Read more... )

In addition, my mother talked to her sister about Drake Hogestern who played John Black for years on her sister's favorite soap. He did 4290 episodes of the series and was on it from 1986-2024. Everyone who knew him - mentioned how kind he was, and how much they'd miss him.

We lost a few kind souls this past week. I'm glad they were in the world, the world was made better by their presence in it.

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Notations on a Monday

2024-04-29T21:55:07Z

( the cheese stands alone )
***

On the subway ride home, I look up from my book, earphones in place, and catch a young man with spectacles and a goatee drawing me.
( Read more... )
***

Drops of water hit my shoulders on the way home. Kids and their mothers huddle on a patch of grass near an apartment doorway, while a man rolls about in a wheelchair with no legs, and another strums a tune on the guitar behind him. Balding, yet young, the guitar player, not the man with no legs.

***

( Mother broke her nose. )
***

Loneliness slips beneath the cracks
While the world whirls and laughs
Until one feels almost gone
Swallowed whole
Not quite there
At all

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This that and the other thingamig

2024-02-13T23:17:29Z

Snow storm was a bit underwhelming in my neck of the woods. I don't think we got an inch - regardless of what the news states. It's pretty out now. Sun-streaked sky, with a hit of orange or pink across robin's egg blue. The rooftops just creasted with melting snow. As the branches are feathered against it.

I like the view outside my living room windows. It's calming. Watching the snow-storm today was equally calming.

Sleep Apnea and the CPAP Device

Community Surgical Supply called to arrange for my CPAP mask to be delivered and fitted this Saturday. I'm dreading it. ( Read more... )

Ugee Digital Art Device

So, I found out from Gabe awhile back that the digital art device I got for my birthday works with specific software - it's the hardware for the software. The software it works best with appears to be Adobe Photoshop. So I bought a $25 a month subscription to Adobe Photoshop. ( Read more... )

Diet & Exercise

Speaking of diet. ( Read more... )

Did exercises - several arm lifts with ten pound weights, they may be five pound weights, not certain. Squats. Plank. Wall pushups. Counter lifts. Shoulder rolls. Stretches. About thirty to forty minutes worth. I get bored quickly.

I'm looking for boxing and rock climbing courses in the area - considering trying that. Or something fun? Not finding anything. But who knows?

Writing

I'm thinking of giving up on my romance novel and starting something else.
Maybe a book about my grandmother, who wanted to become a nun and became a mother of eleven kids instead?

I keep second-guessing myself. There's this pseudo-psychology out there, which Streisand keeps talking about in her book - but I've heard it a lot before. Actually one my therapists (the reflexologist/actress/shaman) was really into it. Actors tend to be. All the actor bios go off on this. Actually it's the focus of Julie Cameron's The Artist's Way, and a lot of the lectures at my church. The theory is - "if you fully commit to your dream or what you wish to do - then everything will open up for you, and all of these opportunities will come your way." I feel like I haven't?
That maybe if I just did my writing full time and did nothing but send off query letters, and do art, and writing groups - this would happen?

OTOH - I'd starve, be homeless, have no healthcare, and...well...be unable to write. Also, I might just not be good enough?

At any rate - it's shutting me down creatively. This second-guessing and introspection. Maybe I should just stop thinking or worrying about it and write?

Work

I'm kind of glad I didn't go to work today. I didn't want to deal with people. I think I'm burned out? I feel like it doesn't matter what I do - my workplace won't care. I'm basically irrelevant. Or been rendered irrelevant, and because I'm in a union - they want to push me out. And there's nothing I can do. And I don't dare leave the union - or I will be pushed out.

It's depressing. My workplace is depressing me. So too is February.

International Politics

* It's not Taylor Swift's fault that the media is obsessed with her. I think the media just wants to focus on something pretty and positive for a change?

* The Seemingly Endless Israel/Palestine War. (If there was an area of the globe begging for a massive earthquake or natural disaster to get these nitwits heads in the right place - it was this one.) This thing has been going on forever. It was the main topic in the book "The People of Forever Are Not Afraid" - which I read somewhere between 2005-2012. And the book took place in the early 00s.

Per this Timeline this goes back to the 1800s.

( abbreviated timeline of events - depicting the Israel/Palestine conflict dating back to 1948. Yes, 1948 )

This is why I don't care any longer. That part of the world is just begging for a natural disaster - although nature may have given up on it too.

Also, in case you think this is the ONLY place in the world that this is happening or happened? Think again.

List of Genocides

Depressed? So am I.

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shadowkat @ 2023-11-16T18:08:00

2023-11-17T00:16:54Z

I'm in a bad mood. Blame Crazy Workplace, honestly what's new? I had the same circle arguments today that I've been having for the last two to three months, and didn't get anywhere. I'm tired of arguing with people at work. I can't seem to go a day without it.

Work is exhausting. I should have gone to my Church's evening vespers today but alas, passed.

Meme that I swiped from slaymesoftly.

1. Do you have a button stash. My answer is, well, kind of? I put them somewhere, forget about them...and never sew them on. I can't sew. I occasionally manage to sew a button on, but it's not pretty.

The rest of the questions -
( Read more... )

**

Frustration is possibly the worst emotion next to anger and envy/jealousy, and often all three are interrelated.

My music choices today fit my mood, and were oddly reassuring:

*Don't You Need - Melissa Etheridge
*Tokyo A Go-Go - The Magnetic Fields
* Insecure - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
* Giants - Dermot Kennedy
* Woman of Heart and Mind - Joni Mitchell
* Breaking Glass - David Bowie
* Corner of the Sky - the Jackson 5
* Stranded - Heart
* She Never Could Resist a Winding Road - Richard Thompson

I particularly appreciated Insecure. It helps to know everyone else is in the same boat.

***

Reading...

* Finished reading the Jean Grey comic arc written by Louise Simonson. It's four issues. And available via comixcology and Marvel.
It was oddly reassuring. The whole theme of it was - that we have limited control, and we do the best we can, and the direction our lives take us isn't necessarily all our fault. Jean is blaming herself for all these deaths and thinking she went wrong somewhere or made the wrong choices, and tries to undo it by making different choices in her head - but is gradually shown that wouldn't matter, the choices she made were the best ones that she could possibly have made at the time. She went with her gut, and that's all she could do, and really it's all any of us can do. We don't know everything, we don't have all the information, and there are other variables at play that we don't have any control over.

* Finished listening to Turn of the Screw as read by Emma Thompson, with some material read by Richard Armitage via audible. It's okay. I had difficulty following it. Thompson was excellent - no complaints there. I'm just not a fan of James. He takes a long time to get to the point. I feel like I'm listening to legalese. And he's very flowery, which is a writing style that irritates me - mainly because I was taught not to be flowery.
My father was a minimalist who preferred Hemingway.

The story is about the ghosts of a manservant and governess - go after two children, who are under the care of the current governess. The title refers to the horrific use of children by ghosts. "The turn of the screw is when a child is possessed or taken over by a ghost, it's worse when it is two turns of the screw." James was obsessed with sexuality or repressed sexual desire - I personally think it was the time period? (And it is why I hate that particular time period in literature - it irritates me). And wrote a great deal about sexual repression as did many of his contemporaries - Hawthorn, Wharton, etc. ( Spoilers )

Now, I'm listening to Barbara Streisand's Memoir - "My Name is Barbara" - which she wrote in order to tell her story, her way, and stomp on the lies told about her by various journalists and critics over time. She makes a point of stating that she likes facts and can't stand lies. (Unfortunately we all lie, whether we want to admit, acknowledge or realize it. People tend to twist things to make themselves look good, embellish a story, or fit whatever belief or worldview they have. And they lie to themselves. We see the past as we wish to - and tend to remember it the same. But alas, I'm not sure everyone has figured this out yet? Or is that self-aware?)

Streisand is apparently the same age as mother - 81. I wonder if her son is the same age that I am?

She's reading the book herself - which is excellent. If you plan on listening to a memoir - pick one read by the author, and preferably by an actor - since most people can't read their own work without going into a monotone.

Almost done with Starling House which has been categorized as dark fantasy by Good Reads. I guess that works.

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Music, the Beatles and other stuff...

2023-11-04T02:59:17Z

1. Music

So, I've listened to the new Beatles song, Now and Then via articles, Dreamwidth links, on Apple Music (it's actually best with Bose earphones) and in the below music video digitally mastered by Peter Jackson:

It's controversial, of course. All artistic expression is - well except for bland stuff that we forget about the moment we see or hear it. And the Beatles have always been controversial. There's even an book out about how the Beatles ruined Rock and Roll.

Everyone has their opinion on the subject. Which they are of course entitled to - whether they are entitled to act on it or share it, is another matter. I'd say just as long as it isn't hurting anyone or promoting censorship.

Anywho, the song, I thought, was rather good. I liked it enough to download it and save it to my library of songs on my phone. And enough to have listened to it numerous times. It's an interesting song, and in some respects one of the better artistic expressions of "grief" that I've seen to date. It has a sense of wistfulness to it. It's nostalgic as well - but grief tends to be - that's what a lot of people don't seem to realize, nostalgia is often an expression or form of grief. We look through old photos or albums of those who've long passed by or on, as the case may be, along with past versions of ourselves, that no longer exist. Grieving both side by side, and often mixed up, to such an extent, we aren't always certain what it is we are grieving.

The music video shared above and this song - seem to express that feeling better than most. Grief is a complicated and painful emotion, that ebbs and flows. Some days it will hit me all at once, and others...not at all. And McCartney and Ringo manage to get this across in their cobbling together of this song, as does Jackson. It is a song that haunts long after I hear it, and makes me want to re-listen, to hear the musical nuances in the chords and voices.

McCartney's aged and world weary voice paired with Lennon's younger one, speaks volumes. It's a song that almost has to be sung by someone older besides someone who is far younger. I'm not it is a song that can be song quite as effectively by anyone else.

The lyrics are rather simple, yet haunting, both in how they are sung and phrased.
( Read more... )

Listening to it - I found myself thinking about my father, and wistfully past friendships, long dissolved and gone. Age has taught me that life is temporary. I have all of this for a short period of time, and should be grateful for the time that I've had it. For it will be all gone in a flash, or so it will seem. And no matter how often I rewind the memories in my head - I will never quite be able to recapture those moments or reach out and touch them. The people are gone. And the memories slowly fade with time.

At any rate, the song resonated for me...mainly due to how it is sung.

**

Pop music - I'm not a huge fan of Pop. The stars of it - for the most part sound the same to me, as does a lot of their music. I listened to all of Taylor Swift for a bit - and finally gave up, it all sounded the same. It was like listening to the same riff. I got bored. Same is true of Harry Styles, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Lizzo, Madonna, etc.

The appeal of Swift - I can't quite decide if it is similar to Britney Spears and Madonna? She's limited in range. However, her songs are fine. I like Spears and Madonna's slightly better - but that may be an age or nostalgia thing.

It's odd to be nostalgic about the 1980s and 1990s, but here we are.

2. Health

I'm beginning to think my digestive issues may be allergy related. Had digestive issues again today, along with a sick sinus headache that went away when I got home. And I had a little caffeine and sugar - which made it go away.

But alas, it's why I decided not to run off to the poetry/spoken word MC night at my church tonight.

3. Making my way through Starling House and Turn of the Screw, I like Starling House better, but neither are remotely scary. Also James...sigh, over-writes. I keep getting lost in his verbiage. I've been taught to cut on the flowery speech and description, and James just rambles onwards.
( Read more... )
4. On the television front - so many things to choose from. I may put off a few until Thanksgiving to give myself something to watch with Wales, and with myself.

I finished Discovery of Witches

My "Cablevision" remote won't turn off the television but the Roku one will, which may mean that I accidentally switched it to the roku, which I've been using more. I'm getting very close to cutting the cable cord like just about everyone else (except mother). I have Optimum, which is also Cable Vision. I am considering switching to Verizon. But I hate Verizon. And I do not hate Optimum.

Halfway through Spy X Family - which is mostly a kids show. But based on magna, so better written than most. It's on Hulu.

Some good movies have popped up on streaming now along with series. Too many to choose from.

Choices?
( Read more... )
There's more, I'm certain. I keep forgetting about the shows I want to watch.

5. On the theater front...I'm getting tempted again.
( Read more... )
Ah, the culture junkie in me - is squirming.

6. On the work front - work isn't too bad. ( Read more... )

***

Goals this weekend - which will be four days - since I'm taking Monday off as a Personal Day, and Tuesday, we get off as a holiday (Election Day).
( Read more... )

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Radical Interpretation of the Text

2023-10-27T02:37:37Z

A post I read on DW last night - haunted me today. Social media does that occasionally, as did letters back in the day.

It was about interpreting text. The reason it haunts me - is well it occurred to me that I've been interpreting and analyzing and arguing over interpretations of text for over forty years, and do it for a living.
I'm a contract specialist - I debate contractual language with contractors daily, and interpret it for them.

Today, for example, we had a meeting in which we basically argued over contractual language with a construction contractor. We've been doing this for weeks now, and going in a circle. It can be very frustrating explaining to someone that their interpretation of the text is a) radical, b) their own isolated interpretation, and c) not proven by anything actually in the text. Not helped by cultural and language barriers. This requires a great deal of patience and stamina.

So if I get a little impatient with folks in fandoms, DW, or other social media regarding interpretations of text - that's probably why - I've been doing it at work all day long. I've had enough. Not always, but often.

Example from meeting?
( Read more... )
Sigh. This is unfortunately typical. I had a fight with a contractor once over whether the contract stated that he could only charge 5% on materials, and that bonds and insurance were inclusive of overhead. I underlined the text in the contract and highlighted it. And he kept telling me that this wasn't how he interpreted it. To wit - I stated, "look, you can't interpret it however you wish - the language states it clearly, a judge will not rule in your favor on this - and if you want to rally it up the flag pole, and further delay your payment - we can send it to legal." He caved.

I remember one time, I let the project team and the contractor yell at each other for two hours over lunch, while I ate my lunch (this was during the pandemic and we were working remotely and doing negotiations virtually on our computers via teams). They finally stopped. And I told them they could either go with what we had decided, or we could continue negotiating. They asked if they could have another meeting tomorrow. I said, no, I could go all night. They said - they were hungry, wasn't I hungry. No, I'd eaten my lunch while they were yelling at each other. Settle it at the negotiated amount. They caved. (They were really hungry.)

What haunted me from last night post (which shall remain nameless) is an English Lit Professor informed a student (the poster) that the following interpretation of Pride and Prejudice was a plausible interpretation of the text: "Elizabeth hated Darcy and only married him to save her family." Stating this was plausible, even if we may not like it.

Okay, it has been admittedly twenty years since I've read the book or fifteen years since I watched the film for that matter - but that is not a plausible interpretation of Pride and Prejudice. I'm beginning to wonder about some of these teachers. The former English Lit Major in me had a hissy fit. Pride and Prejudice is several things - a romance, a comedy of manners, and light satire - what is not is a tragedy or Thomas Hardy, Emily Bronte, or for that matter, Richardson, Thackery, etc.

I mentioned this to mother, who has read it far more recently. And has recently rewatched the film. She was appalled.
( Read more... )

* The Maine Shooting is horrible, and most likely the result of people twisting facts and information to promote their own perceptions of reality.

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shadowkat @ 2023-05-01T20:55:00

2023-05-02T01:59:04Z

Well, I finished another watercolor tonight. This one was of a girl reading on the train. Proof people still read books, not kindles, not cell phones, but books on trains.

Wales was surprised I stated this. She reads books all the time on the train and sees other people doing it too. So maybe it's a Manhattan thing?
Wales works in Manhattan. I work at the tail end of Queens.

Speaking of...Lee told me today that this is her last week at the Queens location, next week she moves back to the Manhattan one. I burst out laughing.
( Read more... )
**

I have somehow managed to get my AIC to 6.2. So my diet choices are working. (Basically no carbs or limited. Lots of greens, proteins, and limit on sugar.)

The Polish Super who doesn't actually know English but speaks Russian fluently, came by to check the fire safety in my apartment. I told him one of fire alarms wasn't working - he ignored it. And seemed to be okay with the fact that kitchen windowsill wasn't completely clear for escape (it was clear enough - I can get out). Personally, I'd rather have the fire escape out the bedroom - because if a fire enters my home - it's coming to the kitchen. At any rate - I don't see myself surviving a fire in this building. Without some serious injury.

Back hurt from Saturday's shenanigans. (I cleaned out the bottom of my hall closet). Everyone I've told was impressed - if they'd seen the closet, they would have been more so. Although - I still need to get rid of the extension chords, television cables, and humidifiers.

****

Talked to Wales on Sunday - she told me that she could set up a show for my work if I wanted. She thinks I should have an art show - and the watercolors are good. I, of course, see flaws. Some are better than others. I should probably go back to just doing one person portraits. With the two people portraits, one of the people doesn't quite work. She said they reminded her of another artist's work - who did subway passengers, but he did long rows of people from more of a distance. Mine were more initimate portraits.

I'm think of doing superheroes on subways next. Except drawn as real folks. Such as an out of shape Batman. Basically folks going to Comic Con.
( watercolor of girl on train )

It didn't quite come out like I wanted. The man's outfit should have been more of lighter yellow, than orange and red, but I was trying to cover up the harsh pencil lines. Also while his face is dark, I think I screwed up with his features.

The girl reading is perfect however. She actually looked like that. Even down to the outfit. I just wanted the light green to come out more. It does in person. Photographs tend to darken or brighten colors and flatten the painting a bit.

Here's the Work in Progress...
( girl in train painting in progress )

***

Killing John Wayne has about four hours left in it. It's a long-ass book. I've gotten through the filming of the Conqueror - dear lord, that was harrowing.

( more on the making of the film and the fallout )

I discussed this with mother, who informed me that she'd seen the film too - just didn't remember it, outside of seeing it and that it was awful.

Me: That bad eh?
Mother: Well can you envision John Wayne as Genghis Khan?

No. LOL!

Wayne went back to safe territory - Westerns with John Ford, and ended up doing one of the best films of his career, best roles of his career, and later determined to be among the best films of the genre - "The Searchers".

Ironically, the Searchers and The Conqueror (that's what the Genghis Khan film was called) were released at the same time. ( how well the Conqueror did at the box office - a heck of a lot better than you'd expect, seriously people are weird )

The reason it was released so late - was Howard Hughes, who was holding it as collateral in the sale of RKO. He refused to release it until he got paid fully for the sale of the film studio.

It took the buyer of RKO (Mike Lee (I think that was his name, might have been Tom Lee), about four years to pry the film from Howard Hughes.

The reason it did so well - was it had Hayward and Wayne as box office draws. And people were curious - due to the marketing blitz. They went nuts with the marketing, and premiers and the red carpet. People lined up for blocks to see their idol - John Wayne. (He was kind of the equivalent of Tom Cruise - now, except even more popular and much bigger?)

But it was really bad.

Oh, I found the original theatrical trailer!
( The Trailer for The Conqueror )

It's basically a toxic male historical romance or boddice ripper. And the dialogue and performances are astonishingly bad - as you can tell from the trailer. There were good films made in the 1950s, this just wasn't one of them.

The audiobook goes into detail. ( the details of why it was so bad )

I've not gotten to the bit about a quarter of the cast and crew contracting and dying of cancer. The Director, all four of the leads, and several of the supporting cast, and crew all died of cancer ten to fifteen years later. And their kids who were on the set - all had brushes with cancer.
I did read about it on Wiki though. A lot of people from that film ended up dying of cancer - the percentage was so high, people wondered, but not high enough to get money from the government. Agnes Moorehead's estate sued. Wayne said it was probably his six pack of cigarettes a day habit that did him in, and June Allison said the same of Dick Powell. Both died of lung cancer.

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Artist Way, Pondering Good and Evil, Extraordinary vs. Ordinary, and living in the moment

2023-03-25T03:01:19Z

I've been pondering the following two items today...

1. What do I consider extraordinary, and is this subjective?

2. Can someone be truly bad or good? Or there any bad guys or good guys?

Both arose from conversations with other people. The first was online, the second was with a co-worker. (Who I inspired to start watercoloring botanicals. She shared two of her art books with me. She's very good. Very detailed artist. She has an Associates Degree in Art, a BA in Education and Psychology, along with Botany. People can be very interesting. You never know who you will learn something new from.)

The first? I think we defined extraordinary differently? ( Read more... )

The second conversation? Which kind of bounces off of the first - which arose out of a debate on whether Walter White (and two monsters from X-Files) had extraordinary talents.

The second one...came up with the interesting idea of doing a children's book where one side tells the story from one perspective, the guy who thinks he's the hero, then the reverse side of the book tells it from the alleged antagonist's perspective and how he is the hero. Basically the concept is - we're all the hero of our story in our heads. The villain doesn't see themselves as the villain, they see themselves as the hero. And there really aren't any good guys or bad guys in life.
( Read more... )

The book idea is interesting. However? I think I've seen it done before. Almost positive that I saw it done in either Marvel or DC comics. They like to do those sorts of experimental things. Actually, it's what I like about pulp. Daytime Soaps, Superhero comics, all of that? It experiments. Buffy did too. Why? Because they lie below the critical radar screen - the writers and artists aren't being that closely monitored, because there's so much content they are churning out day by day - that they can play and be a bit more creative about it.

But, I do wonder, are there instances where people truly are one or the other? My co-worker was stating no one was one or the other - and she was trying to teach her son not to see himself as a bad person for making bad mistakes. I agree with her there - too often we demonize the person not the action. People aren't bad, it's the act that is. People are more than one thing. Going back to Walter White - he loved his family, he loved Jesse, he was loyal to both, he gave money to help his obnoxious emasculating brother in law. But he was also a conniving, sniveling, nasty, good for nothing drug dealing, meth making, murderer. Both sides existed in him. He was both. And that is possible. People are capable of horrendous and wonderful things often at the same time, we can often be both the villain and the hero in our own stories - Walter White was.

I just don't this is true of Donald Trump or Adolph Hitler...

***

For this week's Artist Date - (The Artist Date is where I am assigned to take my artist self out on a date. It can be anything really - except that I have to do it alone (no problem there), and it has to be something for my inner child or fun or something I want to do - not work related, not a chore, not something I have to do such as groceries or laundry.)

I decided to do it on Friday (today) instead of Saturday, because it is supposed to be rainy and cold all day tomorrow. It was lovely after work - the sky was blue, the sun blazing, and it was unseasonably warm at 56 degrees, almost 60 in the sun. This was at 4:30pm. (I get off work at 4 - I work from 8 to 4 each day, with an hour and ten minute commute to and from work or thereabouts. Used to be an hour and a half, but they kindly shaved off twenty minutes by making the trains more frequent.)

I got off the commuter train at Atlantic Avenue Terminal, and instead of going directly to the subway, walked a block or two south on Layfaette, (the subway is on Layfaette and Fulton) to the Center for Fiction. It used to be located in Manhattan, but several years back it moved to Brooklyn. (I know it was in Manhattan - because I visited it when I worked, briefly, at Grand Central. Convenient of it to move closer to me, wasn't it? )

I'd been meaning to check it out for some time now. But kept talking myself out of it. Today, I did it. Finally. And it was lovely. I spent more money than I should - buying things I did not need.

What did I get?

1. I discovered this weird little short story kiosk - where you hover your finger over a 1 minute, 3 minute or 5 minute button, and a little short story prints out for you on a long narrow piece of paper. It's free.

( short story that came out of the kiosk )

2. I found a ceramic coaster with the literary cover of Zora Neal Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God".

( blurry photo of coaster - because my hand shook )

3. This month's The Paris Review (because I liked the cover)
( The Paris Review )

4. The others were two boxes of matches - one big box "Make a Wish" and one small box "with the Hobbit on the front", a Jasmine scented candle, and a handpainted notebook (because I really need another notebook...(I don't but I like them). )

( Read more... )
***

All of these little purchases (which did add up) made me happy. I may go back there for events. It's a cool little place. They have a cafe with books, and a little stage where people speak. And a large book store - focused mainly on fiction, but also non-fictional works, and staff suggestions.

Big windows. Very swank. That's the word that comes to mind. Swank.

Overall, a productive little Artist Date. Also I bought toys for my Artist, as the book recommends. (Although my artist is hardly deprived. Based solely on self-help books, I am beginning to think there are a lot of miserable people on this planet who don't know how to treat themselves?)

Having finished the Cranston book, I'm currently listening to Brene Brown's book on Shame, she's a shame researcher, and she wrote a book on that research and how to be resilient against shame - which is prevalent in our society. She's right, it is. Not a day goes by in which someone somewhere isn't trying to shame me or someone around me. I need a people free day - which is tomorrow.

***
( work more or less... )

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