Spontaneous Musings

Happy Mother's Day for those who celebrate..and the Protest Song

Sun, 10 May 2026 17:10:30 GMT

Not everyone does, and we should be mindful of the reasons some don't and show compassion in how we celebrate and talk about this day - I think?

I am forever grateful that I have a loving mother who is my best friend. And have been for the most surrounded by loving mothers, including my beloved maternal grandmother. While far from perfect, I am grateful for my mom. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not.

There but for the grace of god, go I - since I'm mindful that not everyone got that. And an insane amount of people did not.

Last year - I visited mother around this date, and took time off work. This year, I'm navigating doctor's appointments, work, and the fear of an impending strike over what amounts to pennies.

**********************

Haven't been sleeping well this week for many reasons not worth going into. I swear the internet has a solution for everything, some of which seem to be competing with each other for my attention and use. Choose me! I can solve all your physical ills! Choose me! I'm the expert! (Sigh, the snake oil salesmen no longer have to go town to town, they have the internet. And they seem to multiply daily. They've even evolved to selling apps and weight scales that will solve all your problems. I kid you not, there is actually a weight scale that diagnoses what ails you and provides the solution. It's like something out of a bad 1980s sci-fi satire. Maybe it did originate from that - and someone out there got the bright idea to create one and sell it.)

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2026 is the year that folks have started writing and releasing "Protest Songs" again en mass. Not that they didn't do it off and on previously, they have. And there are some good ones from yesteryear...

( pre-2020s Protest Songs..or from yesteryear )

And here are some from 2026...
( newer protest songs )

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The Rainy Saturday Info Dump....

Sat, 09 May 2026 22:38:01 GMT

Wasted time watching two movies today. One took way longer than it should have and ate up all of the afternoon.

* Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix) - adapted and directed by Olivia Wilde, and starring Sally Field, Lewis Pullman (who looks a lot like Bill Pullman), Colm Meany, and Kathy Baker along with Alfred Molina as the voice of the octopus. It's adapted from Shelby Van Pelt's novel of the same name. I remember enough of the novel - to see where they veered away from it (they excised a lot of the dead weight and fixed the pacing, also it ends on a happier note in some respects, the novel was more realistic and slower). [So, yes, I was completely spoiled - since the plot was more or less the same, just tighter. The book meanders all over the place, to the point that I had issues following it at times - because it unlike the movie, felt the need to be in every character's point of view. The movie is just in Tova's (Sally Field) and the Octopus's point of view for the most part.]

It's okay. It's a nice little sentimental film, with the oomph removed from it. The novel wasn't great? But it had a bit more going on?

Some books don't adapt well? Although I'm not sure I'd made it through a series. The interesting thing about Sally Field - is you can see her grow up and grow old on screen - if you watch enough of her films.

That said, the movie has a good line - said by the Octopus:

"With all their good points, humans have abysmal communication skills."

God, yes. We're all horrible communicators. Which is kind of ironic if you think about it? Only one species can manage to come up with a way to complicate language to such an extent that they can't understand what the majority of their species is actually saying.

* Marty Supreme (HBO MAX) starring Timothy Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa Azion, Fran Dreschler...and directed by Josh Safdie, has the distinction of not having any likable characters. It's loosely based on the story of Marty Reiseman who wanted to become the best pin pong player in the world. ( vague spoilers )

***

Okay, I'm done with hyper-realism, I'm off to watch Daredevil and From next.

Meryl Streep stated that modern movies are marvelizing all the villains and making them one dimensional, and Miranda in Devil Wears Prada has more layers?

I'm guessing she's not actually seen any of the Marvel films? Because Killmonger in Black Panther, Thanos in the Avengers, not to mention King Pin, Magneto, Loki, Ultron, Scarlet Witch, and Agatha Harkness were far more developed than Miranda was in Devil Wears Prada. Miranda, I'm sorry, wasn't that developed and kind of two-dimensional. Devil Wears Prada is a fun flick, I enjoyed it for what it was, memorable cinema, it's not. Darth Vader had more layers.

I wish people wouldn't dis something they've not actually watched? This is a huge pet peeve of mine. It makes people look like nitwits? Film watching like all things is a subjective experience. It's okay to dislike something? But dissing a whole genre - which granted isn't to your taste and making the assumption films have been ruined by that genre? Is just stupid troll logic. Also, Meryl? You made both Mama Mia films? Great Cinema, it's not. Give your ego a rest.

Also on social media:

* Poster: The MET is just a Fashion Museum for Rich People
* New Yorkers on Threads: Eh, actually the MET is free for the most part, and pay what you can afford. It also is not a fashion museum. The Fashion exhibit is seasonal, lasts maybe two months, and is actually rather small. Blink and you miss it? You'd know this if you googled it on your phone. It's not hard to do. Just google - the Met.

[If you don't currently live in NYC, it's probably wise not to comment on NYC? Visiting it repeatedly as a tourist, doesn't count.]

Apparently the MAGA nitwits want to cancel Mark Hamill for supporting Obama. Folks say they missed the point of Star Wars. Not exactly, they interpreted it differently? Keep in mind that the villain doesn't see themselves as the villain - they see themselves as the hero. We're all villains and heroes depending on one's perspective. It's all a matter of perspective. [That said, cancelling Mark Hamil is akin to trying to cancel Big Bird or Santa Clause, people like him, I like him - he's not being cancelled. Any more than Obama is.]

**

Union had a rally out on Long Island. My spy (Babs) texted me about it.
And showed a photo. It was near the railroad tracks out in Massapequa on a rainy dreary Saturday. I'm not sure if it has actually rained all day? But it's definitely threatened to. Eh, it's doing it now.

Everyone in the photo was male, mostly white, appeared to be over the age of 40, and wore caps and red and black shirts. It wasn't a bad turn out? But it wasn't that many people either.
( Read more... )

***

Book Instagram doesn't appear to like "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews". (which is a best seller, so no worries there - and damn the writers are selling the bejesus out of it? They have pictures you can buy, stuffed animals, t-shirts, book marks, tea bags...when did writing a book become a massive marketing and cross-product merchandizing event? Also some of the merchandise spoils the book. So if you pick up a book now to read, you have to jump off of social media and not follow the writer at all until you are done reading it. And some people read at the speed of light, and then insist on spoiling everyone else.) As a result of this - I kind of figured out the plot twist early on.

I can understand why people are having issues with the book. ( Read more... )

***

May Question a Day Meme

Catching up on the May Question a Day Meme - prior to making dinner, now that it is finally raining after spending most of the day pondering it. Honestly? The sky looked constipated. It's looking a bit better now.

4. Today is a holiday in many countries, either to celebrate Labour Day or May Day. If you have a day off today, what are your plans?

Well in the US it was May the Fourth Be With You - or Star Wars Day. Labor Day is the first Monday in September. Memorial Day is May 25, I think or the last Monday in May. We don't celebrate May Day - mainly because the US has issues with the Harvest Calendar, except of course for Halloween.

5. Do you like rhubarb?

Depends on how it is fixed? I like rhubarb pie. Ages ago, when I was kid, on one of our first trips to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, we discovered this out of the way little restaurant which had a to die for strawberry rhubarb pie. It was the best pie we ever had. We couldn't find the restaurant again and spent years trying to recreate experience. Had a similar thing happen with Key Lime Pie (discovered in the Keys) albeit better luck recreating it. Turns out, it's easier to make.

6. Have you ever completed a cryptic crossword, or do you stick to the easy ones?

I don't know what it is? Probably not. I suck at crosswords. My brain doesn't understand them - it's probably a dyslexic thing? My father hated them, yet he worked in cryptology or code breaking while in the army.

7. Do you take your phone everywhere, or sometimes leave it at home and not worry about it?

I take it everywhere now. Why? I wear a diabetic sensor and the damn thing is linked into my phone. I miss the days, I could leave it at home.

8. Henry Dunant was born today in 1828 – he was the co-founder of the Red Cross. Have you ever learned first aid? Could you resuscitate someone?

Yes. Ages ago. No, I can't resuscitate anyone. I learned first aid over thirty years ago. I've forgotten most of it.

9. In 1896, the first horseless carriage show in London featured ten models. Do you own a car? What kind of car is it?

No.

***

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The Met Gala...and sigh rail strike worries...

Wed, 06 May 2026 01:11:45 GMT

I forgot about the Met Gala which happened on Monday night. I was admittedly distracted by personal health issues among other things. I'm watching it on youtube - "The Met Gala with Vogue". The theme is "Fashion is Art" or "Costume is Art" - with a focus on disabled bodies. Explicit and radical invitation for disabled, and accessibility in art and fashion. It's a fund-raiser for the Met's Costume Exhibition. The Met Museum is actually by donation, or pay what you will - when you visit. But the Gala? Requires an invitation to attend and costs $100,000 to attend, and up to over a million to dress for it. The cameras are only allowed in the entry up to the doors, inside there aren't any cameras. So the participants often have a change of clothes, and once they get inside - they have something more comfortable to wear. Also they get dressed a block away.

This is by far my favorite look for the women.
( favorite )

This is one of the hosts of the Gala, who is also a fashion designer, and fits the disabled or accessibility theme [Note: she used the word disabled, I'm quoting her.]:
( disabled or accessible outfits )
Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman came - but neither wore anything remotely interesting. Nor did Ben Stiller. Adrian Brody looked good but wasn't all that interesting.

A lot of folks had gowns with...hands on their body parts, which is odd. This was the best of those:
( Read more... )

This is among the oddest...
( Read more... )
Heidi Klum went for a Living Sculpture

And here they are next to their Costume Inspiration

Best Dressed Male Customes Ranked

All the Best, Weirdest, and worst celeb looks

***

Still worried about the pending railroad strike which if it happens would be akin to dropping a neutron bomb on the Long Island economy.

ABC News on the Unions and the MTA and pending strike

Strike still looms as MTA and LIRR unions meet

They got a few things wrong in the article? There was no work rule discussed about the locomotive engineers in the PEB Report or Federal Mediation Board Report, and in reality the unions are asking for a 4-4.5% increase in the fourth year (this year) not a 5%. They've been without since 2023.

This could get political and could cost the Democrat's the Governor seat, if they don't resolve it. Ironically, the Republicans appear to be supporting the union and the Democrats don't appear to be (on the State level at least). Goes to show you, that both sides have their hypocrites.

Rail Strike could devastate Long Island Economy

Potential Rail Strike will Impact over 200,000 commuters

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Mon, 04 May 2026 00:53:39 GMT

Tried "Widow's Bay" on Apple + and it's okay? Kind of mildly amusing, and mildly scary? The first episode wasn't all that compelling. But I may try a few more.

It's a Stephen King style horror - but kind of styled as a comedy? Absurdist comedy? Reminds me of Plurbist (which is apocalyptic horror absurdist comedy). Both are on Apple.

Some example lines from Widow's Bay?

Mayor: Have you heard of the Sea Hag?
Old Crochety Town Story Teller (sings the ditty of the sea hag)
Mayor (at the end of the creepy song): So uhm, how does she kill you exactly?
Old CTST (aka Stephen Root): She crawls into your bed and sits on your face.

Or

NY Times Writer: So, did you have cannibalism in your town's history?
Mayor: No, no that's just a story, I don't know where you got that idea.
Writer: It's on a framed news story in your historical society (he turns to point to the large framed story and exhibit - they are standing in the historical society.)

****

Read the following blurbs on social media this past week:

If you are in a reader's slump, it may be for other reasons:

* Your brain is overwhelmed and can't handle any more information.
* The books aren't fitting your mood.
* That's not the book your brain wants to deal with right now.

Or? You just don't like those books and need to find a different source for recommendations, preferably not twenty-somethings getting money off of providing marketing content for books geared towards twenty-somethings?

If it were like the 1990s again - with no cell phones, doom scrolling, social media...what is the first thing you'd do?

Go to the movies. Seriously - cell phones ruined movie theaters for me. [Not that they didn't have issues to begin with - but give people a little computer or computer on a watch that they can talk to, text in, and play with? Forget about it.]

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Question a Day Meme - May (and other things)

Sun, 03 May 2026 21:27:48 GMT

Question a Day Meme - May:

1. Have you ever contributed to something being crowdfunded? Was there an incentive to do so?

No. Although I did contribute to an acquaintance's Go Fund Me for cancer treatment once or twice. (She died, so it's not like it necessarily worked? But I guess it helped keep her alive a bit longer...)

2. Have you heard of the ‘Language of Flowers’, published in 1884? Victorian Britain and America were caught up in the concept in the 19th Century. Do you know the secret meaning of any flowers?

Yes, I've heard of it. I don't remember any of it.

3. Have you ever traced any of your family tree?

Yes, I fell down the genealogy rabbit hole a few years ago - traced it back to the 1600s in the Americas and Britain. Got bored. And forgot most of it. That of course didn't prevent various extended family members from doing it? The most famous person I'm related to - appears to be Eisenhower - 9th cousin nine times removed. (See? That's genealogy.)

I'm not sure how accurate most of it is? There's a couple of countries that were good at preserving records of well, just about everybody, and the records weren't destroyed in bombings. Also they weren't in danger of people tracking them down to kill them or enslave them.

Britain, Ireland, and their descendants in the US. Also the Mormons. So if you are British, Irish, British-Canadian, Scottish, or Mormon - you can probably trace it back fairly easily. Germany? Not so much, it was brutally bombed during the first and second World Wars, as was France and a good portion of Western Europe. We also had a lot of records changed or destroyed because of the Holocaust and the Nazis. Scandinavia didn't tend to keep records of anyone who was well not of a certain class.
And good luck hunting accurate records of ancestry if you are Black or Native American descent - those records were destroyed on purpose in the US or altered to protect people from being found and enslaved or killed by armed militias.

****

It's a beautiful but chilly day for spring. In the 40s, looks like the 60s.
Comfortable indoors for a change - in the low 70s. Lots of green outside my window. And blue sky, with streaks of cloud cover. I'm battling a headache and irritability. Have two scheduled doctor's visits next week - PT (vestibular) and lab work, then a doctor's appointment (virtual) the next week and somewhere in there - I have to plug in X-rays. I'm tired of doctor's appointments - I don't think I've had a week off from any of them in a while. I need a vacation from waiting for doctors and going to work.

Making my way slowly through This Kingdom will Not Kill Me - which isn't the book's fault. I can only read it in snatches at home. I can't cart it around with me - it's a hard cover book. It's interesting because it is employing the unreliable narrator tactic. The narrator thinks they know everything about the world they are in and the people in it - because they read the book it's based on? But alas, they don't and get quite a few things wrong. The writer's are slyly commenting on how fans misinterpret the stories they love and read over and over again. Thinking they know everything about it. Or that their interpretation is the correct one. Or their memory of it is right. (It's not, people are human and fallible.)
I may have to re-read the book when I finish it and stuff is revealed.

My reading slump has more to do with system overload than anything else.
But it is what it is.

**

I'm up to date now on From - ie, I can't be spoiled any longer. It's an interesting set-up, but I'm not sure I trust the writers not to go for the shiny/creepy Twilight Zone ending in S5. (ie. Everyone dies and a whole new batch of people enter the town to struggle. I've seen this trope done a few times before. Usually that's how it ends. No one gets out and it just keeps rinsing and repeating itself in an endless frustrating loop.) Maybe I should stop now?

On the other hand, I'm curious. So will probably keep watching until the end. I want to see how quickly they figure out the latest plot development?

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Sun, 03 May 2026 02:38:04 GMT

1. Pleased for the weekend, finally. Got the trash taken out. Did exercises. Slept in - so got the requisite 8 hours. End of a stressful work week. And, I discovered that it takes anywhere between 6-8 weeks to get insurance approval and additional four to order and receive the injection from the pharmacy - for the knee injections. So that doctor's appointment was pushed out to June. Means only PT, lab and maybe X-rays next week.
June's going to be dicey scheduling doc appointments around work.

2. From - I've binged S3 now, which wasn't quite as good as S1-2. S3 has a few really annoying story threads. I'll warn anyone intending to watch this? The last three episodes have a torture sequence that I could have done without. [*Note - it is no where near as bad as the torture sequences in Game of Thrones, and you don't see the torture - just the aftermath. So more implied - than actually watching it? While in Game of Thrones - they actually showed it. So it's nothing like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, or The Last of Us - mainly because it's on MGM+ and not HBO and AMC. Word to the wise - if you don't like graphic violence and torture steer clear of these types of series on AMC and HBO.] I spoiled myself for it - so at least I knew it was coming and was prepared for it. S1-2 aren't quite as violent and unsavory as S3 (where the writers clearly got bored and decided to get a touch sadistic). Also, S3, suffers greatly from annoying character syndrome or disposable side-character syndrome, replacing some highly likable characters with a few new and highly annoying ones?

The writers have a tendency to show conflict by having various characters explode with rage (yelling at everyone and smashing things) or having mini-temper tantrums, often lashing out at other characters who are either trying to be helpful, or trying to communicate something, or just get them to calm down. No one listens to each other in this show? Communication is a major problem. If they could communicate and listen to each other - they'd probably figure it out and find a way out of the town. But alas, no. (That said? It is realistic. I'll give it that. People really are like that. So, hyper-realistic horror?)

( spoilers )

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Question a Day Meme & the illfated return of the dreaded reading slump

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:44:38 GMT

I'm horribly behind on the Question a Day - April - Meme - so, I'm just going to finish out the month while I have the opportunity. I was going to read more of "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" but the vagus nerve associated with my neck is bothering me today - and I'd need to well bend over the book? Had troubles reading on the train for the same reason. It's the weather - which is turning again, and as a result my arthritis is flaring up. (I may go back to audio books - actually, that was why Masq (from ATPOBTVS) started on audio books, back and neck issues.)

22. If you took part in a quiz, what would be your specialist subject?

Probably movies, television, theater and fictional books. I have an insane amount of trivia knowledge in that arena. For some reason or other, my brain holds onto that sort of data? When I played Jeopardy on my phone - every time it did that category - I won. Same with Trivia pursuit.

23. In 1895, Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand detective writer and producer, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Have you ever read any of her detective novels? If not, who is your favourite detective novelist?

Yes, a couple. It's been a long time since I read them though - and I get her confused with PD James (who I prefer and have read more of). Neither are my favorite. My favorite is the Master - Agatha Christie. I read all of her books. I did find Peters Vicky Bliss mysteries up to and including The Night Train to Memphis - to be fun and memorable. I always wished those novels had been adapted in a series or movies. But alas, no.

I also loved Minette Walters, another British mystery writer - whose first novel was adapted. Not sure any others were. She would be a close second to Agatha Christie.

24. It’s Barbara Streisand’s birthday – are you a fan of her music or movies?

I didn't realize she was born in April. So is my niece and brother. Fan? Not really? I'm not sure I'd call myself a fan exactly? I enjoy her music and her movies. Like her music better - she has an amazing range. One of the original belters. Her movies are a mixed bag, unfortunately. But I have enjoyed several of them. Her better ones were when she was younger...

She's the same age as my mother and Harrison Ford.

25. When’s the last time you had to use a plumber?

I can't remember? I always call the Super, and they tend to fix the problem if I can't.

26. Do you still have a landline, or do you only use your mobile phone/cellphone?

Yes. Although not sure why - since it's not really a landline but through a cable bundle? Phone, cable and internet. It does make the other two cheaper, but it would probably be cheaper just to have the internet. I just don't want to deal with figuring out how to return the equipment.

27. What sweets/candies do you remember from your childhood? When was the last time you ate some?

Butterfingers, Kit Kats, 3 Musketeers, Big Chew Gum, those sour balls that you can suck for hours and they change flavors and colors, sweet tarts, colored sugar in straws (can't remember the name of it)...

I had a 3 Musketeers about a year ago. The rest, I can't eat any longer - too much sugar or they have gluten. Kit Kats are a thing of the past - I can't have them at all. Butterfingers are possible - but high in sugar, as are all the rest.

I don't know what I did? But sugar got angry at me. So did gluten. And here we are.

28. In 2004, Shrek the sheep from Tarras, Central Otago, New Zealand, was finally shorn live on TV after 6 years of avoidance; the fleece weighed 27 kg (60 lb). Do you own, or have you made anything from sheep’s wool?

There's a sheep named Shrek? Oh that's hilarious. Did they name it after the movie Shrek?

Yes, I have wool - not a lot, I find it itchy. But I have wool sweaters. I even have a knitted wool blanket. At least I think it is wool - it might be alpaca.

29. When was the last time you received a letter (not junk mail)?

God knows. I've no clue. I miss letters. I think it might have been five years ago - from my mother? She has sent me cards - do those count? The rest of the family uses Facebook or Texts.

And my penpals are on social media now.

30. In 2018, Sweden's official Twitter account confirmed that Swedish meatballs actually originated in Turkey. Do you like Swedish meatballs? Ever had them in IKEA?

Yes. My mother used to make them a lot - with rice. But I can't have them now - because they contain gluten. I suppose you could make them without?
But I've also kind of limited red meat intake - because it doesn't agree with me any longer. So, I eat it sparingly, if at all.

***

I should have put that under a cut, but I didn't feel like it. It's been one of those days.

***

Today I finally "attempted" to schedule my X-rays, only to be reminded of why I was procrastinating?

So I call the Trinity location in Manhattan.
( hell is scheduling x-rays )

Oh well, if it doesn't work - I'll try Lennox Hill in Cobble Hill, which has openings on weekends. I just hate their portal and it's difficult to share with other doctors.

I'm worried about my vagus nerve - which apparently affects the gut and the head, and causes all sorts of issues if out of wack.

***

So, I gave up on Firebird and went over to Scalzi's Locked-In (I may go back to Firebird, not sure yet.) John Scalzi is kind of the Stephen King of Sci-Fi writing. ( Read more... )

Book Instagram is odd? Very young. And kind of whiny? Apparently book reviews and book blogging has been replaced with book podcasting?? Where everybody and their mother gives book reviews via podcasts. Some of them are paid to do this? Why? ( Read more... )

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Nothing to see, move it along, just me rambling..

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:48:15 GMT

I think I've given up on Gideon the Ninth, made it to the 15% mark, I just can't follow it? I have no idea what is going on or why? I'm confused? It's a busy and harrowing/ugly narrative style, and the way it's written is hard for my brain to make sense of - and this is coming from someone who read and analyzed and wrote a paper on James Joyce's Ulysses and William Faulkner's Sound and the Fury.

The writing style was just irritating me, I think. Here's the first chapter.

How to explain? I think it's the made-up slang? My brain doesn't like made up words or slang laden novels. Examples? Clockwork Orange (couldn't make it through that book either). There are others. Their Eyes Are Watching God, also gave me a headache. Too much slang and dialect.

I don't know if an audio book would be better? It might. Because this book was playing havoc with the dyslexia. (I need poetic prose or sentences to have a certain rhythm to them or my mind won't grasp it.)

I've decided to start reading "Firebird by Susanne Kearse" on the Kindle now, it's only been waiting in the queue for the last five years. We'll see - it's a historical/supernatural romance. I tried it twice before and gave up. Ugh. I like my hard cover novel better.

***

Mental illness has increasingly become a problem in our society - and our media isn't helping matters. It's judgemental of the mentally ill. People are really judgemental of others, aren't they? I guess there are positive aspects of being judgemental - so probably not something we want to get rid of completely.

I keep thinking...there but for the grace go we or I or you. It helps push away the judgement, and superimpose empathy and compassion instead. Emphasis on compassion. Sympathy tends to fall into the trap of judgement. Empathy, often falls into the trap of over-relating, but compassion is just caring for the other person and being mindful of their situation and our own, and trying to not do more harm.

I keep reminding myself that I'm here on this earth, right now, to learn and to help wherever or however I am able (emphasis on able? I'm not always able.). And everything is a lesson. It helps. More than one might think?

***

Wasn't planning on it - but since it recorded instead of General Hospital, I watched King Charles III's speech. I was impressed - he's a good speaker and it was an excellent speech. (Granted the bar was set pretty low with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in the White House at the Moment, but still.) He said, words and actions matter - and made a very strong point about how we need to be careful about the ones we take and honor the past in doing so. Britain may not have wanted him to come - for well, understandable and obvious reasons, but I'm glad he did - because what he said to both houses of the US Congress - needed to be said, and both Houses and both parties for the most part were in agreement with what he stated. Specifically, that we need to fight against tyranny, and honor checks and balances. It's ironic that a British King is kindly admonishing and reminding the United States ( a former colony that rebelled against tyranny) of what it's shared values are - and why it rebelled and won that rebellion in the first place.
Made all the more ironic - by the fact that the King in question is a direct descendant of the one the US's founders rebelled against, and just a few months before the US's 250th birthday. But there you have it.

Maybe the people who needed to hear that - did? Let's hope it wasn't just the choir - but also the congregation? It appeared to be both? Nonetheless, it gave me a smidgen of hope. And the befuddled yet not quite dead historian in me celebrated and did a little dance in my head.

So make of that what you will.

Off to bed, to sleep, or at least I hope. It's been up in the air of late.

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Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:33:08 GMT

I binged the first two seasons of From this weekend and am quarter of the way into the third. It's been renewed for two more seasons, with the fifth as the final season. S4 is currently airing on MGM+ in the US.

Damn thing is good. Each episode ends on a creepy cliff-hanger. I'd classify it as psychological/supernatural folk horror.

M: I thought you didn't like horror?
Me: Depends on the horror. (I'm not a fan of torture porn, gore, or body horror for example? Also slasher and rape horror tropes - I steer clear of. Most of the teen horror flicks - I'm not interested in, and I can't watch 98% of the stuff directed by Wes Craven.)
M: So as long as it doesn't have spiders right?
Me: well among other things. But yes, definitely not spiders.

I need characters that are interesting figuring out a problem, with some modicum of success.

From - does have some issues? It has a couple of annoying characters that I keep wishing they'd kill off - but nooo...instead they keep killing off minor supporting characters that I kind of liked? They can kill off that kid at any time - but alas, I don't see it happening. There's a lot of characters who have temper tantrums, almost every other episode, while other characters attempt to calm them down.

That said, right around the time I start wishing they'd kill someone off - the show makes them likable?

It's the folks lost in a nightmare/Twilight Zone style town, unable to find the way out, and the town keeps playing mind-games with them, and trying to kill them - trope. (See Lost, a lot of Stephen King stories, and there was a sci-fi horror series in the 1970s starring Ike Eisenman and Roddy Dowel about folks who end up on this island in the Bermuda Triangle and are kind of lost, and have nightmarish adventures. I've seen this done a lot - it was popular in the 1960s and 70s.)

The writing for the most part, is rather clever. Blending elements of folk horror with psychological and supernatural horror. Also rather innovative.

Also, for the most part, the main or lead characters are likable. Boyd, Donna, Kristi, and Kenny are among my favorites.

***

Mother called to let me know that her friend loved the book I self-published. The friend loved the cover, the title, and the writing. And wants to know when I'm going to finish writing and will publish another one.

When I manage to write one that I think is publishable? The last three weren't.

****

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Thu, 23 Apr 2026 01:53:03 GMT

My back and neck have been bugging me today, along with my right knee. I blame the weather, and arthritis. And sitting at a desk all day. And the commute. Oh well, at least I scheduled my lab work. Now, I just have to schedule three more doctor appointments and two x-rays. And figure out where to do it around my schedule.

And try not to worry about the stupid union going on strike. Folks were worrying over it in line to get cookies at Insominac Cookies today. A strike would effectively shut down a good portion of the city and all of Long Island - it would be a nightmare for everybody - which is why I'm against it. The Insominac Cookie Clerk decided I deserved a free cookie and a discount - since I come in every day or every other day. I got three cookies today as a result, one was free, and I only paid $5.58 for all three of the home-made, freshly baked, chewey, warm cookies - and the cookies are medium size. I was in heaven. Insominac has the best gluten free cookies anywhere. I've not had better gluten-free cookies anywhere - the closest I've come to these are Heritage. They are even better than home-made tollhouse cookies and the old Mrs. Fields that I had prior to being diagnosed with Ceiliac. You've not had cookies until you've had these. Yum.

I wish there was a pill or something I could take - to get more patience. I feel I've almost reached my limit?

Mother thinks I've a phenomenal amount of patience.

Apparently folks in the publishing realm and in educational circles have decided that people are writing with AI, if:

* they are using em -- dashes.
* semicolons
* proper word syntax
* coma usage

Yes, we live in a world in which -- if you have learned to write well or know proper grammar usage, you are considered a robot. So, from now on - if anyone checks my grammar or syntax - can I accuse them of being a bot? Yeah, that'll end well.

***

Chloe Zhao was apparently interviewed (prior to the cancellation of the Buffy pilot) on the Buffy ships. (Damn, they must all be very disappointed that the Revival was cancelled - since they marketed the hell out of the pilot.) ( Read more... )

As an aside? I'd rather have a continuation of Buffy in animated form, than a continuation of Firefly. We've enough stuff like Firefly out there, I mean come on - Star Trek, BSG, Farscape, Star Wars, Expanse (which is a lot better by the way), etc... Firefly wasn't that good. I tried a re-watch and thought, damn, this is annoying in places - it may have gotten better. I should try again? I remember enjoying it, but I never really loved it. It was problematic? It kind of took the worst things in Westerns and threw them in the middle of a space opera, that reminded me a touch more of Space 1999 meets Star Wars? I'd have preferred more of Caprica - which was a bit more...innovative?

I don't see myself watching an animated Firefly. I barely watch animated Star Trek or Star Wars, and I liked those better.

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This that and the other thingamagig

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:55:02 GMT

Television Re-Watches

I attempted to re-watch Veronica Mars and Firefly - but neither held my interest, and Veronica Mars - sigh, it neither dates well nor holds up. I remember liking this better when I first watched it? Maybe I wanted to like it? The writing and direction just aren't that good. And Bell doesn't quite sell the high school student vibe? The performances are more forced and less natural than the ones on Buffy - there's a scene with Veronica crying in about the seventh or eighth episode, and I don't buy it. Buffy cried - and I bought it. Also, Veronica isn't as likable nor is Keith, none of the characters are - and I think it's a dual problem, writing and direction. I can see why Rob Thomas's work didn't take off and Veronica Mars didn't last more than three seasons, and the revival didn't take off. I may try Firefly, again, not certain, don't really remember it all. I only have a vague memory of most of the episodes.

April Question a Day Memage:

20. Did you sleep well last night?

Not really. I need to go to bed earlier. I've been getting to bed around 10:30, and as a result only sleep a little over 5 hours. Also getting up at 5:50 am. I slept longer, when I went to bed by 10 am, and slept until 6 am.

21. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

New York City. I really don't want to live anywhere else? It has ease of transportation, my favorite mode of transportation, is near water, has lots of trees, and a temperate climate. Plus lots of cultural pursuits, and is very diverse in population.

I'm a New Yorker, I think. It's going to be very hard to prod me out. NYC has kind of ruined me for anywhere else. You either take to this city and love it for life, or you can't wait to get out of it - and don't stay long. It's often one or the other. Also apparently, you either love Boston or NYC, not both.

Maybe London would work? I remember loving London in the 1980s. I suck at languages, so it would have to be a place that spoke English as the official language. Also, I don't/can't drive any longer (yes, I drove once upon a time - long ago, in a galaxy far far away - it was called Kansas, and it was back in the 20th Century). I like trains. And I need trees.

**

Books

To get out of the reading slump - I've embraced one of my go-to genres, Fantasy. And am exploring all the new fantasy novels out there. I have two favorite go-to genres - Fantasy and Science Fiction. (Then mystery and romance, and horror, and sigh, regular realistic fiction which more often than not tends to bore me? I need more plot and world-building than actually exists in realistic fiction.)

I finished Illona Andrews "The Kinsmen Universe" novellas, Silver Shark and Silver Streak (I think), and stopped short of the soft core porn short story (Illona Andrews isn't that good at sex scenes, and I tend to roll my eyes?). It was good. Not enough plot. But fast reads.

Now? I'm reading Gideon, the Ninth on my Kindle - it's a book about lesbian necromancers in Space. Gideon is attempting to escape a necromancer strong-hold. We'll see. I'm heterosexual - so lesbian stories sometimes work for me, and sometimes don't. It depends on the characters. Actually that's true of heterosexual stories too, so never mind. It came highly rec'd - mainly for the banter and laugh out loud sections, also emotional core. From various social media sources - people here, and random strangers on "Book Instagram" (I finally found "Book Instagram" - which is kind of like Book TikTok but far less annoying, and not quite as obnoxious with the marketing and pimping - not that I'm on TikTock - TikTock irritates me - and that's just from the posts folks throw at me from it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It reminds me of the worst of Twitter - but with videos.)

Also making my way through This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews - in hard cover (so I can only read it at home - although, I am debating lugging it to doctor's appointments). This book is a portal fantasy - except into a "GrimDark Fantasy World" (a la Game of Thrones without GRR Martin's abilities - so think a very watered down version of Game of Thrones?). Portal Fantasy is not my favorite fantasy sub-genre?
It's hard to pull off well - and Illona Andrews doesn't quite manage it? So far there are far too many information dumps, and way too much telling and not enough showing. Every time a character shows up - we get a couple of paragraphs, sometimes pages of character backstory, summarized by the protagonist based on her memory of the book's world. It's kind of like having a commentator with you as you read? CS Lewis did a better job with the portal fantasy in the Chronicles of Narnia, as did the guy who wrote The Magicians, which became a series. Long Live Evil - was atrocious, I couldn't get through it.

Also the world, which is GrimDark, is much nicer to the protagonist than it should be. It's kind of a comforting, romantic take on Game of Thrones, while at the same time making fun of Game of Thrones...or the fact that GRR Martin can't finish the series because he wrote himself into a corner and got writer's block as a result. (We're never going to see Winds of Winter.)

***

Doctors...

I've finally figured out why people who see doctors are called patients. I'm surprised it took this long. It's kind of obvious when you think about it.

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Dispatches...

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:02:26 GMT

1. My workplace's browser (MSN) shot an article at me today on the renewed, cancelled and still waiting television series. I'll see if I can find it?

Well I found it HERE on Scary Mommy (sigh don't ask) (does it by network and streaming channel) and via Rotten Tomatoes (does it alphabetically),
and Tv Line and Metacritic (which is more up to date than Scary Mommy, not surprising in the least).

Interesting, albeit not surprising, sidebar? Paramount is cancelling all the Star Trek in favor of all of the Taylor Sheridan modern (also uber violent) Westerns. (I'm feeling validated for cancelling Paramount and boycotting CBS. Honestly, people were willing to unsubscribe to Disney for Jimmy Kimmel, but not unsubscribe from Paramount for Star Trek and cancelling Colbert? People? Really?)

Gone are the days, I can just list them. There's too many. It would take me hours.

2. Listened to a podcast - with Juliet Landau interviewing David Greenwalt.
Landau is great at interviewing folks. She barely talks and just lets them talk, with various targeted questions that spur them to say more about the business, and she, for the most part, avoids problematic topics.

Take away? Greenwalt's reward for doing Buffy was supposed to be - joining the writing and producing team for the X-Files. But Greenwalt states that he couldn't write for the X-Files. He just couldn't write that type of television series. When Landau asked why, he said that he needed an emotional arc or an emotional core - that his writing was more character based and emotion based. He said that while the X-Files is brilliantly written - it has no emotional core. It's just not there, and he couldn't write for it because of that. The network apparently wanted Mulder and Scully to kiss in the first episode, and the writers fought against it and won. Which was the right decision - it wouldn't have worked at all.

X-Files is plot based, not character based. You literally could put anyone in it and it would for the most part work - a skeptic and a true believer.
That's actually a hard format to pull off well. Emotion based is easier.
Plot based can get redundant and old fast. X-Files had good writers: Tim Minear came from the X-Files as did Vince Gillian.

I didn't like the X-Files that much - for two reasons? 1) I don't really like hyper-realistic horror. I like my horror unrealistic. Also alien invasion/government conspiracy stories irritate me - it's most likely a side effect of being forced to watch a lot of 1950s, 1960s and 1970s sci-fi alien invasion/government conspiracy series/ and B movies as a child. My best friend at the time loved that shit. 2) It's a by the books, plot procedural with no emotional base - and I'm a bit like Greenwalt, I need the emotional arc. I get bored or my attention starts to wander if I don't have that. I'm more character than plot oriented, most people tend to be one or the other? Some are both. I preferred Fringe? It was less hyper-realistic scary, and had more of an emotional core.

3. Listened to Nerd Subculture - which is an Australian Podcast Series on well, American television series? It's not very good. FB kept throwing snatches of it at me. So I gave it a try. They lost me in their analysis of Beneath You. (It's a couple, one has seen the series, one hasn't.)
( Read more... )

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Sun, 19 Apr 2026 23:23:45 GMT

April Question a Day Memage:

18. How often do you listen to the radio? If you do, what kind of things do you listen to (talk/pop/classical)?

I don't really listen to the radio? But if I do - it's usually music, and a mix. I have an Apple Music account - so I just download music, and its unlimited.

19. In 1934, Shirley Temple starred in her first film. Have you ever seen any of her films?

Yes. In law school during the 1990s, I had a friend who adored Shirley Temple films - so we binge watched a few of them. (I'm not a fan - Temple annoyed me. So, I suffered through them? Also saw a lot of them in the 1970s during the afternoon movie. I've suffered through Shirley Temple, Godzilla, Elvis, Frankie and Annette Beach Party, Sandra Dee, and Kurt Russell films in the 70s. The best were the Kurt Russell films. )

We didn't have cable or streaming back then - so the pickings were kind of slim?

***

Started watching From on Prime, although it's an MGM + series. It's rather good. Surprisingly so. I don't find it scary so much as...suspenseful with an air of dread? Also kind of gory, but not overly violent. It's a common enough horror trope - made rather popular in the 1950s and 60s, actually (Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits loved this trope) - in which a group of people find themselves stuck in a town or specific local, there's no way out, and monsters hunt them at night. All they have to depend on is each other - which being human beings whose default is selfish entitled stupid asshole syndrome, isn't necessarily helpful? In these series, it's really the human beings that cause all the problems. Actually that's true in most horror tales. Let's face it - the worst monster is well, us.

The setup is written rather well - or the trap. I enjoyed the first episode, and the tension didn't let up and delivered. It has some nice jump scares. Stars Harold Perrineau of LOST, except with a much bigger role - he's the lead. (Note LOST is part of this particular horror trope - and among the better entries. Where folks are stuck somewhere and keep trying to escape, yet keep finding themselves back there.)

***

Online kerfuffles

People will fight about anything online.

I joined a Gluten Free for Beginner's Site on FB, and they keep breaking out into fights on that site.
It's painful.
( Read more... )
**

Also, there are still, STILL, idiotic judgemental holier than thou kerfuffles over Spike/Buffy and the attempted sexual assault in Seeing Red. That episode happened over 25 years ago? Seriously, people. Get a grip.

**

And, sigh, political kerfuffles over literally everything you can think of.

***

I've been battling a sinus headache verging on a migraine, with vertigo lurking in the background all day long. It's made me irritable. I blame it on the weather, allergies, and neck issues. It's also made it hard to do any exercises. I just want to sit very still and pray it goes away.

It appears to be dissipating now, along with the storm clouds.

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The Pitt and a few other things...

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:01:24 GMT

Finished The Pitt S2 and here's an interview with Noah Wyle, producer, writer, director and star of The Pitt (he wrote the 14th Episode). I admittedly started watching it because of Noah Wyle (well that and I have a weakness for medical dramas). Now I love most if not all the characters. It's my favorite show at the moment. The Bear is close second. The only two characters I wasn't overly fond of - left the show during S1 or are about to. So, lucky me? I'm ignoring the fandom, because it's insane and doesn't appear to understand how television works. Sigh. Online fandom has become increasingly insane and insufferable since the early 00s, which considering it wasn't exactly sane to begin with... The nerd fandom is a little less crazy but not nearly as insufferable (nerds don't tend to ship romantic pairings (or care who is with whom) and are more into debating consistency issues, such as why is Spike's reflection visible in the glass of that store, along with the nitty gritty details of how a worm hole actually works and can you really fly that that thing through space - which is much easier to deal with.) (I miss the days in which I didn't know shows like the Pitt had a fandom.)

The Pitt is not a melodrama. Even if the crazy marketing folks online keep trying to pretend it is. It's a strict medical procedural that is hyper-realism, kind of like Homicide Life on the Streets was or Law and Order, or This is Going to Hurt (except more so than that).

Anyhow it was a good season. And I found it relatable and comforting. In the interview, Wyle provides five reasons for why it works so well and how it differs from other medical dramas (I'm a medical drama fan - so have seen all of them.)

Five things that make the Pitt work so well

"“It’s a couple of things that work beautifully in concert.

1.) No music. ( Read more... )

2) Shooting it with almost exclusively 50-millimeter or 65-millimeter lenses, which is the most comparable to the human eye—and only shooting from the point of view of a human being that’s present in this space. ( Read more... )

3) Taking place in real time. ( Read more... )

4). The election went the other way,” he says with a shrug. ( Read more... )

5.) This is essentially competence porn. ( Read more... )

Note, while the article may have spoilers, the above does not, and if anything tells you whether you'd enjoy the series. It's not for everyone? I don't like criminal procedurals for example - for some of the same reasons a lot of folks don't like medical dramas.

***

I completed Grantchester S2 as well. It surprised me, and not necessarily in a good way. I thought it was swinging more towards hyper-realism than, well it actually is? At the end of the final episode of S2, ( major spoilers )

***

It was very warm this past week, but over the past three days it's cooled a bit, and we're back to spring like temperatures. It's in the 50s and upper 40s today, overcast, with a slight breeze. Rain is in the forecast.

While this did affect my health a bit, it didn't as much as usual - ie. no vertigo. Which means what I'm taking to fend off the vertigo and doing to fend it off - seems to be working? I still think it is a combination of neck and sinus issues. The neck resulting in the vestibular, the sinus resulting in the headaches.

Had troubles getting to sleep last night. Spent time before bed on social media - which probably caused it. I got triggered - and as a result, my brain wouldn't shut off. But, I found a cure finally? My Calm App - I used two separate sleep meditations which managed to calm my brain and dis-spell the onslaught of negative thoughts churned up by time wasted on the internet. Note to self - stay off the internet at night.

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Catching up on Question a Day Memage among other things..

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 02:20:35 GMT

April Question a Day memage:

11. Have you ever flown a kite?

Yes. When I was a kid - which was sometime in the 1970s?

12. What’s your favourite breed of dog?

I am partial to spaniels, but also adore collies.

13. Have you ever volunteered to do something long-term?

Yes. I worked with the Legal Aid Association of Western Missouri and the Domestic Violence Coalition as a volunteer for about a year or well over in the 1990s. And, volunteered with a social justice organization in my church for about two-three years.

14. It’s International Laverbread Day. Have you ever tried it?

No. (Per the youtube link, it is essentially seaweed turned into a kind of a paste. Richard Burton called it the Welsh Cavier.) The Wiki link wouldn't come up for some reason, instead I got an AI description and well the youtube link on what it is. They call it laverbread - because they knead the seaweed, and to eat it - mix it with oatmeal and use bacon grease to make it into cakes.

The youtube link is kind of fun and informative - it's an Asian woman trying Welsh Laverbread and showing how to make it. I enjoyed it more than reading a Wiki entry.

15. Leonardo Da Vinci was born today in 1452. What comes to mind when you think of Leonardo? Have you ever seen one of his works?

Mona Lisa, also The Anatomical Jesus and the Last Supper. Or the Da Vinci Code - which my parents thrust on me when I visited them in the early 00s.

16. In 1922, Annie Oakley set a women's record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row. Have you ever been clay pigeon shooting?

No.

17. Have you ever seen bats flying in your area? Have you ever seen a bat up close or seen a bat house attached to a tree?

Yes. Fruit Bats are rather common on the East Coast. And when I was a kid in West Chester, Pa - I saw them all the time.

***

Having quite a bit of down-time at work (albeit not nearly as much as many television actors and retail employees do, or flagmen for that matter), I listened to actor podcasts while playing with a spreadsheet.

It's a trend now. Actor podcasts. Not everyone has them. Just the struggling actors who require side-hustles. And considering there's a 99% unemployment rate in professional acting? There's a lot of actors hunting side-hustles.

The podcasts range from:

1. actors re-watching the television shows they were in over 20 years ago, and somehow never got around to watching until now. ( Read more... )

Charisma's Bitch is Back much like Landau's Revamped and Sackoff's podcasts, have interviews with lots of old cast mates and friends. Charisma did one with Seth Green - and they discuss trying out varieties of psychedelic drugs. ( Read more... )

Seth does explain why he had issues with Buffy. Even though, generally speaking, he enjoyed the experience and appreciated working with Joss - and had known Joss, Sarah and Hannigan for a long time. He grew up with Sarah and Aly. Also Green was in the original Buffy film - his scene was cut. He played a vampire with bad teeth. ( Green and Charisma's difficulties on Buffy )

2. Actors interviewing other actors (usually their friends and fellow cast mates - ie. other struggling actors)

* Michael Rosenbloom does "Inside of You" - he's a good interviewer but the ad breaks are annoying. He knows a lot of people - so he has a good range of guests on his series, and he gets a lot of information from them. He also talks a lot about mental illness and therapy on his series. And how difficult it is to work in the business and get work.

I listened to one with Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys, etc) - which was interesting. ( Read more... )

Others are:

Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner - Dropping Names (a fun one is where they invite Alan Tyduke and Nathan Fillon over, who in turn pimp their podcast Once We Were Spacemen).

Alan Tyduke and Nathan Fillon - Once We Were Spacemen (which is mostly them riffing)

Maurice Bernard - State of Mind (has a lot of soap actors, along with other celebrities of sports, music and acting) - discusses mental illness (take away? An alarming number of soap opera actors have bi-polar disease.)

Katee Sack-Off - she interviews a lot of folks prior to doing the rewatch

James Marsters and Mark Devine - Schmactors, and VidIdiots

There are more, obviously, I just don't feel like rambling all of them off?
When I say it's the latest trend - I'm not exaggerating. Actors have a lot of side hustles. They kind of have to? Acting is a difficult profession to make a living in.

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Still dwadling along..somehow...

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 02:13:30 GMT

Sigh, I continue to collect doctors. Price of growing older, I guess? ( health issues..which are seemingly endless )

Books...

I'm making my way through two Illona Andrews books, one in hardcover, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - which is lovely (in that I'm really enjoying it - the heroine is clever, strategic and not a killer and it has engaging characters and banter - if a touch pedestrian in the description department. I prefer good dialogue to description anyhow, so not an issue. And right now, the brain doesn't want all that much description.) but I've little time to read it? I can't cart it with me to and from work. Too bulky.

And..."The Silver Streak?" I think that's the name of it? It's the second novella in the Kinsmen series. More science fiction than fantasy. It has a neat subversive take on the personal assistant/powerful boss romantic trope. The set up is: ( Read more... )

I like Andrews - partly because their novels remind me a little of ones I've written or stories I've told. Not exact, but similar vibe.

Andrews is also more into weird nerdy details than the mere description of interiors. They briefly state what everything looks like - kind of like, okay now I have to tell you what they are wearing and where they are - done - off to the more interesting bits - such as how does one buy or rent a house in this place? Or how does a bio-network work. While other writers give you specific details on clothing, attire, and scenery, but skimp on how you rent a house or get into an Inn.

The Silver Streak provides details on the job. I'm a fan of books showing me what folks do for a living and how they do it - and I prefer jobs that aren't glamour (fashion, magazine editor, novelist, singer, chef) or educator. (Too many writers write about professions they've done, and folks - after the fourth book - student, professor, writer, editor - gets really boring. I'd rather read about a pilot or an intelligence officer.) Books that skimp over that sort of thing, tend to annoy me.

***

The result of International Buffy Day? Hard to say. We live in a very noisy world? ( Read more... )

A spot of ...good news? Apparently it is illegal for anyone "living" to appear on a US coin, postage stamp, currency of any kind, bond...

Trump Commemorative Coin Spurs Portland Man to Act - it Bugged Me

( Blurb )

(Most of the article is distressingly beneath a pay wall. And no, I refuse to subscribe. I'm having issues getting rid of the subscriptions I already have.)

Oh by the way... The Rook by Daniel O'Malley was turned into a television series - adapted by Stephanie Meyer (Twilight - yes that one) of all people - but she left after two episodes due to creative differences.
There was only eight episodes and it was Starz in US and Virgin TV Ultra HD in the UK, until Starz cancelled it in 2020.

I'd like to find it - but it may be impossible. It got mixed reviews.
Good acting, bad pacing. (Which was actually my difficulty with the book - interesting characters and world building, bad pacing.)

***

The heat affecting the rest of the country, finally caught up with NYC this week. We've been in the upper 80s and made it to 90 degrees in some areas (mainly mid-town Manhattan and upstate) over the past three days. It only made it to 83-85 degrees in my area - I'm near the water. Still hot though.
But I didn't mind it that much. My knees didn't hurt as much. When it's warmer, I don't hurt. Which most likely means cold climates may be out for retirement? I won't be able to move without pain.

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Happy First Annual International Buffy Day!!

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:04:00 GMT

Decided to celebrate with a rewatch of The Prom, and a bit of a listen to Once More With Feeling.

Link to an insane amount of meta on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

(There may be some fic in there?

And a dialogue drabble :

( Pesky television characters - they never do what you want them to... )

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Saturday blues...of varying degrees...

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 01:16:10 GMT

The doctor wants to insert a gell into my knee which will act as lubricant or an oil job for the knee - or a cushion. Evaluation is in two weeks.
Then three weeks of injections, if insurance goes for it. Mother informs me this is standard practice - apparently she's had it done multiple times.
Also the stiff leg is normal. Plus, I appear to be walking more than most people do. (I average anywhere between 4,000- 10,000 steps a day depending on the day of the week.) They said walking and being mobile was a good thing, and to make sure I stand periodically.

This spiel motivated me to walk from the Doctor's office on Atlantic and Henry Street to the subway station on Smith and 2nd street. Which is approximately a 15-20 block hike or a little over a mile. I stopped along the way - in the B&N book store to pick up a few books (mainly the latest book by Illona Andrews - which is the first I've actually found in hardcover in a book store along with B&N's tote - bag of books). I spent way too much at B&N, they talked me into their premium membership card.
(Which I will most likely live to regret - already regretting it.) Note to self - stop going to book stores after doctor's appointments.

The books, I grabbed were for the most part across genres.

1. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews

It's a portal fantasy, and a kind of satire of portal fantasy novels. The protagonist, Maggie, finds herself naked and muddy and alone in the world of the fantasy novels she knows by heart. But these aren't princess riding unicorns style fantasy novels, they are more along the lines of Game of Thrones fantasy novels. She has no powers, no friends, just her knowledge of the novels and the world depicted to an extent within them, and the fact that for some reason or other she can't die.

Sample?
( Read more... )

Pets book. Book and I are going to get along famously. Only one problem - I read it better with contacts and reading glasses. Bi-focals not so much.
But it does mean I can read it on subways - if I desire - even if it is a hard back book that takes up space in the backpack. Also has a very pretty cover. It's love at first sight. (I fall in love with books all the time. Books, music, movie and television shows. People - I've increasingly become leery of.)

2. Also picked up "A Walk in the Park - the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarku" - per the back cover:

" Shortly after quitting his job to pursue the ill-advised ambition of becoming a white-water guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that McBride promised would be a walk in the park. Against his better judgement, Fedarko agreed - despite being dimly aware that there is no trail spanning the entire canyon and that the tiny cluster of experts who had actually completed the crossing billed it as the " toughest hike in the world"." [ It has pictures. And was Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Non-Fiction...] It's in large paperback.

3. The others are also large paperbacks, with bigger print than average paperback novels. "The Lies of Locke LaMora by Scott Lynch" a fantasy novel about a con gone famously wrong, with lots of twists. "The God of the Woods by Liz Moore" - in Large Print paperback - it's a mystery novel. When a teenager goes missing from her Adirondack summer camp - two worlds collide.

And some tea - Honey Lavender Black Tea from the Republic of Tea.

After that - I went grocery shopping at Union, picked up various gluten free items, and to Planted for a gluten free jelly donut (it was okay) and a chocolate chip cookie (gluten-free) - also okay. Not really worth the price of admission, so to speak.

**

4. Today was pretty. But I spent it inside sorting through clothing and yanking out spring clothes for 50s-80s weather. It's supposed to warm up next week.

Been in a grumpy irritable mood of late (hence the book buying) - so I'm glad the doctor's appointment on Friday went quickly and well. Part of it is due to physical issues. ( Read more... )

* Insominac Cookies Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are by far - the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I've had from any establishment in my life.

* The only other good gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are from Bakery Island Foods - Chocolate Chunk Gluten Free Cookie Dough. It's excellent - I got it from Union. (I couldn't remember where I got it - so was happy to see it at Union again and grabbed two packages of it.)

I spend more on groceries - because of my diet restrictions. Gluten Free + Carb Free + Sugar Free + Fresh vegetables/Fruits and Fish and Eggs. Cheap groceries = pain and suffering.

***

5. Fandom Entertainment News

* The International Buffy Fandom is plotting a major protest and various activities in connection with it on April 14, Buffy's Birthday - aka International Buffy Day - with the first celebration happening on April 14.

"International Buffy Day is both a celebration and a protest, a global show of solidarity from Scoobies everywhere.

How to get involved:
( Read more... )

***

* "X-men Film Reboot News" - X-men reboot director has hired the show-runners of BEEF and The Bear to write the script
( Read more... )

* Spiderman: Brand New Day

* Super Girl - Woman of Tomorrow - about Super Girl saving her dog and getting revenge in space. Actually this flick looks really good. I think they finally found someone who understands the DC Universe to show run these flicks?

* Avengers: Doomsday - all the official trailers so far

* Star Wars Films currently in the works

***

6. Television

Watched this week's The Pitt, and Robby really resonated with me. ( spoilers )

I realized recently when people say - I just want to go home (my father and grandmother said it all the time prior to their deaths, almost on an hourly basis) - they aren't talking about a place on earth, a house, or even family - but home, the source, where their "energy" originated from. To go back home to their source. Because being energy beings in degenerating meat sacks on a swiftly turning planet in the vast vacuum of space with oh such creatures on it - can be wondrous at times, but also deeply painful and often at the same time.

I've been struggling not to lash out. Suppressing the impulse to verbally smack folks upside the head for being idiots - has grown wearisome. Off to watch Daredevil kick some asses.

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Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:05:39 GMT

Took the day off for what amounts to a 15-20 minute knee doctor's appointment at 2:40pm, the commute to it will take longer - well that and the wait time. Although, according to the PT - my knee doctor is world-renowned or nationally renowned, and people come from all over to see him. (Probably explains why he sees 30 patients a day.) No, the knee isn't really getting that much better. It's less painful. But still problematic.
And PT asked if I was okay with doing the knee exercises for the rest of my life, every day?

Look, I just want to be able to occasionally walk a three-five miles without pain, and go up and down eight flights of steps. It's not like I want to run a marathon or play tennis or anything. Just do floor exercises, hike, kneel, and dash to the train.

**

Discovered this singer on Instagram:

Labor by Paris Palomar

You have to listen to the live version to get it. Also once you hear the final choral lyrics - it's hard to get them out of your head? Talk about earworms - although this is one - in a good way?

It's a female primal scream at our toxic society. I can relate.

***

4. Are there opportunities to go walking where you live? Do you take advantage of that?

Yes. I walk everywhere. I don't own a car, nor take any. I walk and take the subway. There's two large parks nearby, with lots of green space.

5. Pineapple on a pizza – yes, or no?

Ewww. No.

6. Is there a fashion or style from your youth that you wish would come back, or are you happy with how people dress these days?

I don't care that much about fashion, and don't really pay attention to the trends. When it comes to clothing - I just want to be comfortable and presentable. Fashion makes no sense to me - why unnecessarily hurt yourself to look pretty?

7. It’s National Robotics Week – if you could have a personal robot, what would you like it to do for you?

Laundry. (I already have two robot vacuums - that handle vacuuming.) Also dusting would be nice.

8. Have you ever played card games? If so, what’s your favourite game?

Yes. I don't remember them after I play them well enough to answer? I don't even remember the names of them.

9. It’s National Garlic Month – are you a fan? If so, what’s your favourite recipe using garlic?

Yes. I don't remember or really follow recipes? I just add garlic to stuff - when it suits me? I'm an intuitive cook.

10. Do you often see wild birds in your backyard/garden/nearby open spaces? What are the most common ones you see in your area?

pigeons. doves. cardinals. and sparrows. Also a handful of robins.

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Sun, 05 Apr 2026 21:46:39 GMT

Finished Something Really Bad is Going to Happen - and while it did surprise me in places and was a lot more interesting than expected? I was kind of disappointed with it and found the ending kind of predictable?
I'd say it was violent and gory - but everything is filmed at night with little to no lighting - so I couldn't exactly see the gore?

Also, Jennifer Jason Lee - is not aging well. (I always confuse her with Juliette Lewis - who is aging far better.)

James Marsters isn't aging well either - he's too thin and looks ten years older as a result. Tony Head looks younger, and he's ten years older. Nor is Gellar, Hannigan and Carpenter look younger and they are five to ten years older than Gellar. Maybe it's a good thing they didn't do the Buffy reboot? And maybe they should consider "animation"?

I'm in a bit of a television slump at the moment. I'm bored by things that shouldn't bore me.

Also, reading slump returned. I made it a quarter of the way through ~~"Name of the Wind"~~ [ETA: it's "Shadow of the Wind" (sorry for the confusion) - I keep confusing the two titles] before throwing in the towel. I didn't like the first person pov protagonist? I kept wanting to smack him. I've been feeling that way a lot lately? This overwhelming desire to smack folks. Very irritable for some reason or other. Restraining myself from doing so - requires more effort than usual. So, I jumped over to another Illona Andrews novel - Silver Blade - Kinsman Universe. We'll see if I stick with it.

Bro asked if I'd seen Wonder Man? I tried. But I couldn't get past the fourth episode? It kept putting me to sleep. Same problem with Paradise.
Also Succession. I have, however, made it through S1 of Grantchester. But S7 of Virgin River put me to sleep as well.

I think it is a mood thing?

Daredevil S2 is okay? I keep waiting for Jessica Jones to pop up, and keep getting disappointed that she hasn't yet? Stupid ads were misleading. (Granted, only three episodes have dropped.) Television is disappointing me at the moment?

The lengthy fight scenes and discussions in the dark are getting old. As is the endless and somewhat repetitive back and forth between Winston Fisk, his wife, and their assorted minions. Lili Taylor has really aged - dear god, I feel old. As has Mathew Lillard (who is younger than I am). Lillard's role is more interesting than Taylor's.

**

The weather is echoing my mood this weekend. Clouds with occasional sun, but mostly dusty grey clouds, rain, and in the 40s-low 60s, resulting in frequent battles with the radiators, not to mention bad sinus headaches.

But I continue to be grateful for the following: apartment (which is rather nice and peaceful), job, and family however far away...but not painfully in my face. Also unsweetened hot coco with foamed milk, gluten free chocolate chip cookies, gluten free almond flour biscuit, and just the sound of tweeting birds.

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There is nothing remotely mainstream or typical to see here...

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 01:07:29 GMT

1. Mostly overcast today, in the low sixties. Warmer than yesterday, thankfully, so no radiators. [ETA: Until nightfall, when it dropped into the forties - so they blasted them again and on went the A/C.] (My apartment building turns on the radiators whenever it dips below fifty-five degrees, or so it seems. As a result, the apartment gets rather warm, even though I have one of the radiators turned off and a window fan on. It also plays havoc with my allergies. So too does Spring and opening a window for that matter, because, ahem, tree pollen?)
Narcissus are in bloom - and seem to be popular this year? While they are admittedly pretty, they also exude a perfume that gives me a headache - the metaphor is not lost on me.

2. I took a brief walk to Lofty Pigeons Book Store - in search of the new Illona Andrews Epic Fantasy novel "This Kingdom will Not Kill Me" but alas, it's too obscure (non-mainstream) for the independent sellers, and only available through Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, Waterstones, and various European Booksellers. ( Read more... )

3. On Threads (I can't access Bluesky, no real loss), GA Aiken asked: "Have you ever considered quitting your job and following your dream? I'm thinking of quitting mine and becoming a full time writer."

My response: Depends on how much you enjoy marketing? Because novelists or professional freelance creative writers spend 80% of their time and money promoting and marketing themselves, and roughly 20% of it actually writing.
( Read more... )

I've written a lot of books, only managed to publish one. Writing is easy, publishing and getting it out there on the other hand - is close to impossible. I know I'm speaking to the choir on this one - since most people who stumble upon this write and post mainly fanfic partly due to just that.

4. Still battling the migraine/sinus headaches. ( Read more... )

5. Television Meme found on various social media platforms:

Name Five Television Shows (Past or Present) to Know You By. (Best approach is not to think too hard about it and just name them)

* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Farscape
* General Hospital
* The Bear
* The Pitt

If you want to know why? You can ask?

6. Television Shows

I've tried a few that just didn't land for some reason or other.

( television shows that didn't work for me )
*******

Meanwhile.. I've been enjoying:

* Grantchester S1 - with James Norton, the jazz loving priest in the 1950s. Watching it on Netflix. I like all the characters, and the murder mysteries are nicely done. It's a comfort series that is also a murder mystery.

* The Pitt S2 - a medical procedural about working in a high stress American inner city ER Department during a major holiday - in 2026. It has got to be the most realistic medical procedural ever done. The emphasis is on procedural, and the effects of the situation and atmosphere on the individuals working in it. Takes place solely in the ER, and during a 15 hour shift. American inner city hospital staff often work 15 hour shifts, which is unheard of in various other countries (such as China). (I only know this because I dated a Chinese Doctor from Shanhai once upon a time.) This series does an excellent job of shining a light on the state of health care in the US right now. And I can verify that yes - that's exactly what a city ER looks like - I've been in several in NYC over the years, and they are all exactly like that. It's on HBO MAX. I find it oddly comforting and validating in a way that other medical procedurals aren't.

* Daredevil S2 - it's better than S1, I guess? Although I liked S1 better than most? It's harder to watch - since almost all the scenes are filmed at night - so another series I have to watch at night. They are expanding on Bullseye - PointDexter's character, and Karen's. They flipped the script on the comic a bit...( spoiler ) which worked better for me for many reasons. Kudos to the writing team and Disney for doing that. It's also taking a very front and center stance on the whole ICE issue. (It's anti-ICE, actually anyone with a soul, a conscience, kind heart, and an iota of intelligence is anti-ICE. But it's good to see that Marvel and Disney are anti-ICE. So too is HBO and The PITT.)

* And started watching...Something Very Bad is Going to Happen - it's the new horror series produced by the Duffer Brothers, but written by someone else. (The Duffer Brothers are alas, better writers.) But it's definitely clever in places, and every episode has something really creepy happen in the middle of it. ( Read more... )

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Sat, 28 Mar 2026 02:40:12 GMT

Another day, another dollar - or several dollars - hence the reason I got up at 6 am, got on the subway around 7 am, and lugged my sorry old ass to the tip of Manhattan and the eighteenth floor of a steel and glass building to work. My thirty-odd years in NYC has resulted in jumping between all sorts of office buildings and in just about every borough but Staten Island. (Which is good thing, because I'm not entirely sure how I'd commute to Staten Island from where I live?) I finally made into an office with a window and a few, and some semblance of privacy, it's still a cubicle - but at least it's a nice one.

Political Interactions on Threads or social media (that is not Dreamwidth), which is why I'm rarely on Threads? It makes me wish there were a lot more Darwin Awards.
( humorous if it wasn't true, which alas it is, so...anxiety inducing right now, humorous about 30-50 years from now, assuming of course anyone is still alive and we've not destroyed ourselves yet? )

Shower. Bed. I'll write more another day, hopefully not about politics.

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Sigh, I acquire more books...now that reading slump is gone

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 02:01:53 GMT

Dang-nabbit, internet, is persuading me to buy books again. (I really do not need to buy any more books. Although at least they are e-books - which is either a lease to read it on the Kindle, so not really buying ...I don't know, the whole thing confuses me to no end. And I can't afford a Kindle and a Kobo. Plus buying books on Kindle is easy and cheap, so there's that and I get points. )

1. I bought Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Safron - about a boy in late 1940s Barcelona or post WWII Barcelona who is charged with protecting a book, long out of print, and rare - from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The Book in question is also entitled "Shadow of the Wind". Thank you Sarah Michelle Gellar for perking my curiosity enough for me to purchase this book. Much appreciated. (She said in an interview broadcast on Instagram that her two favorite books were Donna Tartt's Secret History (which I loved and devoured in the 1990s) and Shadow of the Wind (so I got curious about Shadow of the Wind - which Stephen King also adored). The book is difficult to describe with a convoluted plot - I apparently like to read and write these types of books, which makes my life more difficult but far less dull.

Then grabbed, "Locked-In by John Scalzi" - which I'd flirted with previously, as when he first published it ages ago, but got persuaded when he posted that a bunch of people in Texas (it's always one of the Southern States - must be all those hot days? Bakes the brain?) had chosen to ban it. He was upset about it. (I'd have been too.) Apparently it's never happened to him before. (which is interesting - he's certainly liberal and political enough). So, I got curious - and decided to get it for $6.99.
Which is admittedly more than usual, but there you go. It's a sci-fi/mystery hybrid with a convoluted plot. Has a Black Mirror vibe to it. I've read a couple of his "stand alone" books: Red Shirts, Starter Villain, Kaijiu Preservation Society...the last two were read by Will Wheaton. Scalzi is a nerdy sci-fi writer, and usually has nerdy protagonists. He's kind of similar to Andy Weir? Except I like Weir's books slightly better.

As an aside? I'm fundamentally against censorship. Are there books that I despise? Yes. Do I think they should be censored? No. The challenge of "free speech" is folks you don't agree with have to have it too - in order for it to work. There were librarians commenting on Scalzi's post stating they sent out books they despised all the time.
( thoughts on book censorship )
And finally a Dark London Mystery/Romance Series novel entitled Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan which was $1.99,
and a second chance romance between an estranged married couple, in a paranormal verse. "Poppy Lane is keeping secrets. Her powerful gift has earned her membership in the Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals, but she must keep both her ability and her alliance with the Society from her husband, Winston. Yet when Winston is brutally attacked by a werewolf, Poppy’s secrets are revealed, leaving Winston’s trust in her as broken as his body. Now Poppy will do anything to win back his affections." The second chance ex-lover trope is a huge kink of mine. (I prefer older romances to young ones...for the most part.)

I love books. Books are my friends. They've seen me through some tough times.

Coworker: Are you one of those people who always has a book in your hand or with you?
ME: Definitely

If I had to choose between books, television and movies - I'd probably pick books - easier to carry around and less noisy.

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Wed Book Meme...

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 01:19:11 GMT

I've a bunch of doves, sparrows, cardinals, and robins, also pigeons, tweeting in the backyards behind my building. My living room windows look out on a bunch of tree tops - so I see the birds, along with an occasional squirrel in them. I've debated buying a bird feeder - but I've no idea how I'd attach it to the back of a window without killing myself in the process. And it's not really necessary? They perch on my wide window sill all on their own.

***

I finished, Illona Andrews' The Inheritance (Breach-World Series #1) - which is a survival/adventure story not a romance, and if you are at all familiar with the writer - is most likely within the Innkeeper and Bayou world-building, it has similar characters and a similar tone/writing style to those two series, albeit without the romantic elements.

The book is hard to describe? There's a lot of world-building. And it has a convoluted plot. But I'll take a crack at it? ( description of book I just read, without any major spoilers ) So this is definitely not a romance novel - it's a science-fiction survival story and what the heck happened investigation, which is a huge story kink of mine. I love stuff like this. Mystery/Survival/Sci-Fi Hybrids are my favorite. (Also reminds me a little bit of a video game.)

It's the first book - I sped through in a while. So fingers crossed that the reading slump from hell has ended? Not wishing to tempt fate, I'm trying an earlier series by the writers - The Kinsman Series - which has two novellas, a short story, and a book length book involved in it. I don't know - but it appears to be more along the lines of romance fantasy or romance sci-fi, which isn't really my thing? But it might work. Who knows? At least the writers write strong female characters for the most part. Also the books are dirt cheap. The first ebook was $4.99, and the other was free on Kindle Unlimited.

***

Flirting with the television series Succession - which I'm told gets really good after the third or fourth episode, and takes off in the sixth episode. This is unfortunately true of a lot of television series? Particularly HBO series that fall under the category of hyper-realism.
Also flirting with the c-drama, Pursuit of Jade - of which there are 40 episodes on Netflix, it's in Mandarin with subtitles, and is...very pretty on the eyes? Honestly the cinematography is amazing for a television series. It's a historical action/adventure romance. I may continue - it's pretty and kind of relaxing to watch? Considering I have subtitles or closed captioning on half the time anyhow...not sure it matters? I have more issues with it for animated series. Mainly because it's hard to see the close captioning through the animation - they have a tendency to put it in white.

***

Catching up on March Question a Day Meme:

23. When was the last time you ate some chocolate?

About an hour and fifteen minutes ago. It's my main vice. And I'm not giving it up.

24. Harry Houdini was born today in 1874. Are you a fan of magic shows? Have you ever seen someone perform close-up magic?

Depends on the magic show? For the most part I enjoy them? But I also know some of the tricks?

Yes, more than once. I was even pulled into the act once on a girl scout retreat with my father when I was roughly speaking 10 years of age?( Read more... )

25. How often do you wash your hair? Do you style it, or just let it dry naturally?

Just did. But typically every other day, and sometimes every two days, depending on what I'm doing and usually at night.( Read more... )

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Monday Monday ...Rainy Days and Mondays...

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:55:15 GMT

It was raining most of today - as it turns out, and cold. With a chill in the air. When it wasn't raining, it was misting.

1. I'm glad I'm not flying anywhere at the moment. Newark has had several plane collisions in the last few months, and on Sunday, Laguardia (LGA) in NY had a fatal plane collision with a Fire Truck. Air Canada and a Fire Truck collided.

LGA Air Canada and Fire Truck Collision.

I woke up this morning - turned on the news - and there it was as the lead story. It happened late Sunday night, they shut down the airport and evacuated the terminal - the news broadcasters told us that nothing was flying in or out of LGA until 2pm.

And if you were catching a flight before then - to contact your airline because it was probably cancelled and the airport was closed. This was at 6:30 am this morning.

( what happened as far as we know... )

( how many flights were canceled )

Art History Major aka Busy Bee - is off to Florida on Wed. ( TSA and ICE not the best mix for travel )

God, how did we get here? We all agreed that we wanted the thing in the White House gone. And when it happens? We'll flood the streets, hold impromptu celebrations, dance in the street, kiss each other on the cheeks, and hold a big street party. We'll be united in glee. Another rendition of ...the classic 1941 ditty, When that Man is Dead and Gone - which is both tragically and ironically valid today

Mother, I, AHM's boss, and Breaking Bad have all decided we're not flying anywhere any time soon. I'm hoping this sorts itself out by at least May or June. But not holding my breath.

2. I'm frustrated with My Doctor's Office/Health Care Provider. So the PT wanted me to schedule an appointment with his buddy - the vestibular therapist on Tuesday, but alas my primary care gave me a referral to a therapist who can't see me until May and isn't the vestibular therapist the PT introduced me to and wanted me to see this week.

I went online, and after a lot of maneuvering in their site - managed to find the PT that I wanted.

So I asked if I could choose my own or switch to the other one. Primary Care agreed - and if they don't allow it, let her know and she'll send a new referral.

So I call the physical therapy scheduling office and after an hour on hold and, it doesn't exactly go well?

( talking to healthcare provider schedulers requires far too much patience... )
[I'll got talk to the schedulers tomorrow in person. Maybe I'll get somewhere. Unlikely, I'm going in with low expectations? With Healthcare Providers - it's best to go in with low expectations - that way you don't get disappointed.]

See? This is the reason that I've done nothing about the vestibular/vertigo issue. By the time, I actually see the guy, the problem will be gone.

3. There's been a lot of "problematic" famous people dying lately? James Vander Beek, the guy who shall not be named - he was a political guy, and Nick Brendan. Of the three JVB was probably the least controversial and easiest to deal with - and considering he was against vaccines, and a Trump supporter, that's kind of saying something?

Nick Brendan portrayed a problematic character on Buffy (who I consider complicated and was actually quite likable towards the end of S3 and through S7 for the most part. Being a well-rounded and 3 dimensional character - he had plenty of flaws, but that made the character memorable. Also, beloved and relatable to many. Perfect characters or goody two shoe characters are not relatable or beloved. We tend to forget about them. Yes, he was a bit of a jerk in S1-3, but also an adorable goof-ball, and he saved Buffy's life three times). He was troubled and problematic man in life, far more so, actually than most of the characters he portrayed or at least the most familiar of them.

I stumbled upon Nick Brendan's last post on FB - where he takes questions from his devoted fans, and ....I felt for him, while at the same time, was horrified at what he'd become and what his fans, unwittingly enabled. There's a lesson for us all in there somewhere? ( discussing a dead man feels so morbid but here we go... )

The internet scared me today - because I looked up what ailed him. It's "Cauda equina syndrome (CES)" which according to the Orthopedic Centers of Colorado is a rare, medical emergency involving severe compression of nerve roots at the base of the spine, requiring immediate decompression surgery—ideally within 24 hours—to prevent permanent paralysis, incontinence, and sexual dysfunction. Key symptoms include severe low back pain, saddle anesthesia (numbness in groin/buttocks), and sudden bowel/bladder dysfunction.

The internet loves to throw symptoms at you that you think you have and don't. Technology is turning me into a hypochondriac.

( back to discussing Brendan's demons )

4. Stumbled upon this disturbing article about being a young professional screen actor and dealing with the toxicity of social media.

Barry Keoghan Says Online Abuse Means He
Doesn't Want to Go Outside Any More

"Oscar-nominated actor Barry Keoghan has said online abuse about his appearance is affecting his life, to the point that he now does “not want to go outside”.

The Irish actor, who is playing Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles tetralogy, told SiriusXM host Ben Harlum that though he left social media in 2024 due to online abuse, it was still so bad that he was “shying away” from the public eye – and it was making him want to retreat from acting.

Asked about his fans, Keoghan acknowledged that some “people are so lovely out there”, but added: “There’s also a nasty side of it. And I’ve removed myself from online, but I’m still a curious human being that wants to go on. And if I attend an event or if I go somewhere, you want to see how it was received. And it’s not nice, you know?”
( my two cents )

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