Spontaneous Musings

Not been sleeping well - last night was a combination of digestive issues and a weird vibrating noise. The apartment complex next door - from as well as I can figure - had turned on some sort of ice melt machine or generator that was generating a high pitched vibrating hum. At first I thought it was my window air conditioning unit - it wasn't. Took me a while to figure it out - the Super's wife coming outside into the courtyard in her winter coat, cloves and boots - shouting at the folks in the complex next door went a long ways towards explaining it. (This was at midnight. And they had the light on for a bit.) It didn't stop. So, I put on my noise cancelling headphones and some music, and that helped for a while. Finally around 6 or 7 am, I think, it stopped. It had been going on since 8pm last night. Was making me crazy and from the Super's response, not to mention the lit windows across the way - I'm guessing I wasn't the only one? The noise cancelling headphones were the only thing that helped. Earplugs weren't enough. The multitude of things people do on a daily or hourly basis to benefit themselves that unwittingly injure or hurt others is mind blowing.
Anyhow, I'm grateful for the noise cancelling headphones - they aren't cheap but worth every penny. I have to update every three or four years.

Took a personal day or snow day - today. And since I slept abysmally due to the above, I'm grateful for it. Accomplished a few items - I did laundry, including a comforter sitting at the foot of my bed (and no one was down there until I'd finished my last load - the comforter). Also got the blood sugar doctor's visit out of the way. Wants to see me again in May - via video chat. We spend five to six minutes chatting - so it really makes no sense not to do it virtually.

Came home - watched more Buffy S7 and Angel S4, and even with lowered expectations, Buffy S7 is so much better than Angel S4. (It's the Cordelia arc - the actress isn't selling it. ( Read more... )

Buffy S7 works better when the potential slayers aren't on screen. I think it suffered from the same issues that S6, and to a degree S3 did. Too many characters, and group scenes. S4 also had that problem. Some television writers/directors can do group scenes well - the Mutant Enemy writers weren't among them. And S7 had the same problem with extraneous characters that S6 does, which is they aren't well developed, with a few possible exceptions. The potential slayers - I don't care about, with the exception of Kennedy. They are more annoying than interesting. S7 has one too many annoying characters for its own good. And at this point? I'm about ready to send Dawn, Andrew, and Anya off together with the potentials.

I did notice something this time around that I hadn't previously - which is that Giles actually does touch things. ( Read more... )

With lowered expectations and anticipation - the series is more enjoyable. (Also helps if you are no longer invested in any of the romantic entanglements and just enjoying them while they last and how they further the story-thread. This is not a good show to become invested in romantic relationships - the writers are kind of brutal to them?) The difficulty with becoming overly obsessed with a television series - to the extent of writing essays, meta, or fanfic about it - is wanting it to play out the way it is in your head? Or have high expectations regarding it. Or getting to caught up in minor details. And forgetting at the end of the day, it's a television serial with a limited budget, produced/acted/and written in an abbreviated amount of time, and writers who may have a different story in mind. After all, it's their story not ours? They are just sharing it with us.

That said? The Killer in Me, Buffy S7 - is a really interesting and good episode. Much better than I remembered. And I actually really like the Kennedy/Willow pairing (better actually than her previous pairings, just because it feels like the characters are on equal footing, and Kennedy isn't judging Willow) and I like Kennedy, who is the only potential who has a personality and has been rounded out as a character. (I think the fandom hated the character because they were too invested in the Oz/Willow and Willow/Tara pairings - again this is not a good show to get invested in romantic pairings.) ( thoughts on Killer in Me )

Another takeaway from this episode and the season? The writers go out of their way to make it clear that Willow is "Gay" not "bisexual". ( Read more... )

***

Also watched Supersymmetry through Awakening. There's some good episodes in Angel S4. ( Read more... )


****

Question a Day Meme

24. Have you ever knitted a garment or had one knitted for you?

Yes. My mother knitted me a vest once - it was ugly. But I wore it for a while anyhow. I've also knitted hats (poorly), scarves (okay) and two blankets (expensive).

25. It’s Burn’s Night – a night to celebrate Robert Burns and all things Scottish. Do you like Scotch whisky or do you prefer Irish Whiskey?

No. I don't drink or like Whiskey. It plays havoc with my body. I'm gluten intolerant/ceiliac - and can't drink anything made with wheat, rye, or barely, apparently the glutens are still a problem - even if they are fermented.

26. It’s Australia Day! What do you think of when you think of Australia?

I love Australia. I visited Australia for about a month around Christmas and New Years in 1990. ( Read more... )

1. Sleep

I might actually get more than 6 hours sleep tonight. ( general state of my health such as it is )

2. The Weather outside is frightful...actually it's just really windy and as a result, really cold. ( it's cold and everyone is cancelling activities this weekend except for insane Prospect Park hikers )

3. The Unasked for, but you will get it anyway...Daily Buffy Rewatch Post - for those who are remotely interested.

On the Buffy Re-Watch - about to enter one of my favorite stretches in the Spike redemption arc - Conversations with Dead People through Never Leave Me. These episodes, along with Lies My Parents Told Me - explain the Spike/Buffy relationship rather well or what drew the characters together.
And what they needed to learn from each other. ( Where I feel the need to explain my thoughts on it for the millioneth time )

(This is probably the only television show that I've felt the need to endlessly write about. I've written about others just not to this degree. I don't what it is about Buffy that makes me feel the need to do this...)

4. Social media has found a way to convince me to check out Star Fleet Academy (which I was previously ambivalent about) and breaking my boycott of Paramount +. How? ( Read more... )

5. Not that any one cares any longer...(time was I'd see a lot of posts on this, now, John Scalzi didn't even post on it) - the Oscar nominations came out.
( Read more... )
Actually most of the nominees this year were kind of amazing. 20 Cool, Shocking, and Downright Wild Facts about the 2026 Oscars( Read more... )

*********

January Question a Day Memage

19. What colour scheme is your bedroom?

I don't know - shades of blue, with some red in there? (The bed spread, throw pillows - blue, coverlet, white, rug - it's a turkish red and blue rug, photo on wall of niece and big fluffy white (streaked with red) cats.

20. Have you read any of the Winnie the Pooh books?

Yes. To say I was an avid reader as a child would be a gross understatement. I couldn't read until the second-third grade, but once I figured out how? I read whatever I could find. I also had them read to me at one stage. I've read most of the children's classics. Plus the Winnie the Pooh books had pictures and illustrations.

21. Do you like wearing colourful socks? What do the brightest socks you own look like?

I tend to only wear them at home - and they usually are fluffy stay at home socks. The brightest ones had a raccoon on them - but I lost them, now they are the purple fluffy ones. I also have a pair of fluffy socks with penguins on them. My difficulty with socks is I lose them doing laundry.

22. In January 1496, Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tested a flying machine. Do you like flying?

Not really? I mean it's okay. I don't mind being in the plane. But I'm six foot, and planes are built for midgets. Also, I hate the logistics of flying? Which has only gotten worse over the years? Too many odds and bits to worry about. Personally, I prefer trains - easier to get on and off, not as many things to worry about, more comfortable seats, bigger windows, better views, and more leg room.

23. The pirate William Kidd was born this month in 1645. Have you read Treasure Island?

No. Seen it performed a lot on screen, but never felt the need to read it.

Had today off - since it's MLK's Birthday. (It's also a day of service, but alas, I'm being insanely lazy and resting my knees.)

Found out last night that my niece passed her EMT training and is a now a certified EMT. Also she may end up in Georgia at some point in May, with a course on how to prevent fires by setting them (burning off brush). My lovely niece is well on the way towards her goal of becoming a forest ranger. It's actually easier to protect trees than people. People are difficult. So, I'm glad she shifted from human rights to environmental protection and forestry.

I'm really enjoying my re-watch of Buffy and Angel. The later seasons hold up better than the earlier ones do - partly because the later seasons were done in the early 00s and not the late 1990s. So while there's still the errant - "I ran like a girl" - the other characters snort at it.

Season 7 and Season 4 Angel actually have some well-written episodes in there. Deep Down - S4 Angel, where Wes searches the ocean for Angel and rescues him, and Angel, Gunn and Fred confront Connor is a good episode. And Wes has become very interesting.

Also, the first episodes of S7 are really good. I find the series more entertaining now than I did when I initially watched it. Maybe because while I don't remember most of the details, I remember the final result, so don't have quite the same anticipation or worry that I had when I first watched it - when it aired for the first time in 1997-2003. Also, I'm not as invested in the romantic "ships"? I know they are all doomed. So, it's comforting in a way it wasn't back then. And, I'm not trying to figure out where it is going, or pulling it apart like a puzzle to figure out what will happen next. There's something to be said for not over-analyzing the plots of television shows?

Buffy S7 Takeaways?
( Lessons through Beneath ME )

And Angel S4 is more enjoyable than I remembered. It's kind of obvious though that the writers are writing out Cordelia.( Read more... )

Wes's arc is more enjoyable than Cordelia's. ( Read more... )

They brought in Gwen to chemistry test her against Angel and Gunn, as a potential replacement for Cordelia - I can tell. She got a back story and everything.

I don't remember most of this - or enjoying it nearly this much.

**

Outside of television watching - I did another watercolor. Not perfect. This is of a confrontation between a little old woman with a walker and big truck that I saw ages ago in Jamaica, but can still visualize.

Time got away from me last night - as it often does whenever I ramble on - and I wasn't able to finish writing down my thoughts on my rewatch of Buffy S6 (up to Villians) and Angel S2 (up to Forgiving).

It's snowing again, but not as heavy, and the floakes are much smaller. They almost look like sleep or rain, but they are definitely snow. I love it when it snows in New York City - it quiets the world just a nudge, blankets it in white, and it's pretty. All I hear on this quiet Sunday morning is the hissing and creaking of radiators. And since I woke up to a cool bedroom (64 degrees - I'd put on my window fan last night since it was too warm in the bedroom to start), I'm grateful for the heat now. It's 76 degrees F in the living room. Much colder outside of course - in the low thirties. But alas, it stopped, leaving but a trace.

Rewatching Angel and Buffy, I've picked up on various things that seem rather obvious now, but for some reason or other I didn't pick up on the first go around? I think it was because I was watching it embroiled in the fandom, and other fans can influence what I see on screen.

( Spike getting a soul instead of removing his chip )

There's a lot of foreshadowing in Angel S3 about Cordelia, Gunn and Fred's arcs. Also, it's made clear in S3 that Angel cares about his son, and possibly the people who help him. He literally would throw everyone under the bus to save Connor and himself. This is sharply contrasted with Buffy who only sacrifices herself for Dawn, and doesn't put Dawn above all else.
She cares about Dawn and protects Dawn, but she is also invested in saving Willow - who has gone dark, and even fought her, and betrayed her.

There's two episodes in S3 that foreshadow Fred's death in S5. ( Read more... )
Cordy's demise is also foreshadowed - she's made part demon, and rarely gets visions now - and no one questions it. Including Cordelia. ( Read more... )

Angel who refuses to forgive Wesley for taking his son (in an ill-advised attempt to save him), is now faced with a son who can't forgive him for all his misdeeds, and refuses to hear his side of the story. ( Read more... )

The best part of this arc is Dark Wesley. The episodes Loyalty through Forgiving are better than the ones that come after, and the difference is the first three focus more on Wesley and the later focus on Cordelia and Connor - who are weak links. ( Read more... )

I finished all of S6 Buffy today - and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the last three episodes. ( Read more... )

What surprised me about the end of S6 - is the writers felt the need to show us Spike hunting his soul and undergoing the trials to get it. ( Read more... ) Equally interesting - is Willow is saved by the love of her best friend who has known her entire life, wants nothing from her, and just loves her because of who she is. Platonic love. Same with Buffy - Buffy falls in love with her sister, and wants to show her sister the world - they bond and climb out of the ground together. Willow sends them into it, and together they climb out. Anya stays with Giles, she doesn't go after Xander, instead she stays by Giles side, and shows her platonic love for her mentor and co-owner.

Giles saves Willow - by dosing her with good magic or the magic that connects her to humanity, to those around her - her soul.

Both shows poke at the addictive nature of sex, romantic love, and power. Often using the metaphors of blood and vampirism. ( Read more... )

I'm enjoying my re-watch far more than expected. I find both shows oddly comforting in a way, and it's fun to watch them without the greek chorus of a fan board in the background, with it's own demands and views on what is happening on screen - often clouding what I see myself. Truth of the matter is - people see different things, and relate to different things? Some people related most to Connor, some Cordelia, some Wes...or on Buffy? Some Buffy, some Spike, etc. No one sees the same show or performance, no one perceives it the same way, or thinks about it the same way. And that's the way it should be, I think?

At any rate, my takeaway from Buffy S6 - is while it is an uneven season, overall an enjoyable one. I like it a lot better than S1, 3, and 4. I tend to prefer the later seasons - I find them more relatable than the early ones?

Television

Started watching Pluribus on Apple + finally. This is the latest television series written and created by Vince Gillian (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Terriers, and writer on the X-Files). And it is a satirical and subversively funny take on a viral zombie apocalypse. Imagine if an alien virus were to wipe out a third of the global population and turn the rest into a happy peace-loving hive mind that's sole purpose is to make everybody and everything happy? No pollution, no violence, no crime, no fighting, no killing, etc. Except for about eleven to twelve people who were immune around the globe - that the rest are trying to figure out how to save and incorporate into the happy and connected hive mind that shares everything. It's hilarious in places. Say what you will about Vince Gillian - but he's great at dialogue.

Example?

Carol (who is immune to the virus): Why would you give me a frigging grenade? (Frigging is my word not Carol's.)
Guy at hospital and part of the Hive Mind: Because you wanted one.
Carol: Why not make it fake grenade?
Guy: Did you want a fake grenade?
Carol: Would you give me a bazooka and the rocket it fires if I asked for it?
Guy: Yes.
Carol: Would you give me a ...tank?
Guy: Yes, if you wanted a tank...

I have seen every iteration on the zombie and alien invasion theme - but I gotta to say this is innovative and a new one. It's not clear that the hive mind is bad or good idea? We're in Carol's point of view - and Carol was unhappy to begin with.

Also? As an aside? Vince Gillian apparently has issues with Rick Stevens, the vacation/travel guru. Carol keeps making fun of him.

Will give Gillian credit - I like his satire. Satire is hard to do well. And Gillian pulls it off without hammering me too hard over the head with it.

***

Angel S3 Rewatch. Yup, I prefer Buffy S6. Angel S3 is unfortunately weighed down by the irritating love triangles and the Grooslaug. ( Read more... )

********

Question a Day Mememage - January

8. Do you look back on your school days with fondness? What was your favourite subject to learn?

Not really? Most of it has blurred together and I can't say I liked school that much? Favorite subject was Social Studies or History. I was usually in Honors Social Studies. I found it to be the most challenging, and least disruptive. Also the most interesting. I was fascinated by world history, politics, and culture.

In college? Favorites were Folklore/Myth courses, Ancient Religions, trip to Britain to study theater, Creative Writing Course, and a Poetry Course, also I rather liked extracurricular pottery courses.

9. What time do you usually get up and go to bed each day?

Get up at 6 AM during the weekdays and between 9:45-10PM at night, if possible. To average between 6-8 hours a sleep. Weekends or days off, between 10-11:30pm, and get up between 8-8:30 AM. I usually can't sleep past 8-8:30 no matter what I do. I am a night owl - and tend to get a burst of energy at night. But alas, my work hours are 8-4pm. With a 30-45 minute commute.

10. Are you impulsive, or do you take time to make decisions?

It depends? I'm impulsive about some things. Not others. Trips - no. Anything logistic related - definitely not. When it comes to buying books, television shows, movies, theater, music, writing posts in my journal or what to have for dinner - I'm impulsive. Also clothing and shoes apparently - due to online shopping. So, it depends? I do a lot of things innately or with my gut - or intuitively.

***

Oh and below is my finished water color - cartoon of the nasty woman yelling at me when I was stumbling across a street on Christmas Eve. (While I don't own a purple coat or a cane, the woman did look EXACTLY like that.)

I like how the car and the woman calling me "bitch" came out - but not myself. It was harder to draw and paint a woman walking across the street, carrying bags, than it was a woman driving a black van for some reasons.
But I was going for a cartoon - so I think that worked.

( Woman flipping me off for stumbling across the street on Christmas Eve )

Well, some good news? I misread the Bed Bugs notice on the entrance of my apartment building. Not surprising - considering it was in tiny print. ( I brought home my reading glasses from work to read it properly.) I read after I asked a neighbor if we should be worried about it - and he looked at me quizzically, and said, not really, although I'm always concerned.

Then I read it. It stated:

Units: 81
Inspected: All
Infested:0
Cleaned: 0
Number found: 0

And the date of the inspection.

No wonder I was confused. Without my reading glasses, 0's look like 8's and 9's.

I worried about this all day long, went on the internet (which of course made it worse) - and finally convinced myself to read the sign in the lobby again, but with my reading glasses this time around.

Whew. No bed bugs in the building.

***

Now, I just have to figure out the will - first things first complete it, have it reviewed by lawyer, then sent, notarized and witnessed. And try not to worry about the knees. I'm icing both now. And hobbling very slowly up and down steps. Plus side? I'm grateful I moved years ago to this apartment complex - it's highly accessible for folks with ailments. It has a ramp to the entrance, so you can avoid the two steps. Then once inside - two elevators. So I don't have to go up and down the steps. And, I can either do laundry in the basement or send it out to be down - still without having to go up and down steps. I can also order food to be delivered to me.
Not certain about pharmaceuticals (other places yes, just not sure about my pharmacy).

***

Thought about the Spike/Buffy ("Spuffy") and Angel/Cordy ("Cangel") relationships, and ( Read more... )

I liked how the writers delved in the nasty consequences of using another person to "get off" or using sex as a drug. While alcohol and other drugs - are problematic, using sex as a drug is kind of similar to vampirism - in that you are using someone, with little care to how they feel, to get yourself off. Our society tends to handwave that - or generalize and state all consensual and kinky sex is bad, ie demonize the people and the act of sex (particularly if the act varies from whatever is considered the norm). (Let's face it - our global society and culture has serious issues regarding sex and sexual behavior. Always has. They also like to generalize (no despite what people might think we all don't experience sex the same way, our bodies are very different from each other, and no two people experience or need the same thing in regards to it, everyone is different). Part of our problem is - we can't talk about it in a way that doesn't involve ribald humor or running for the hills. A lot of folks can't say the words vagina and penis. And come up with other words for these parts of their anatomy.) One of the things I loved about Buffy is how the writers satirized societal views regarding sex and the culture's relationship to sex. ( Read more... )

Getting slightly more done today. Did exercises - minimal. Made up the bed (well do that every day). Made breakfast and lunch. Cleaned the air fryer - it has a self-cleaning mechanism. Refilled the humidifier. And finished my water color - finally, knitted a lop-sided scarf, and edited a bit more of my work in progress, which may never see the light of day.

Also binged a bunch of Angel S3 and Buffy S6 episodes. I'm remembering why I gave up on Angel S3 now - oh dear god, it has some really bad episodes. Worse than S1, and that's saying something. Buffy S6 is the better of the two seasons, and I really love the beginning of this seasons - I'd forgotten how much. I find it highly relatable. It's also oddly realistic, the most realistic of all the seasons actually - in how it is shot and written.

That said, Angel S3 does have some good episodes in the mix - most of the good ones center on Angel, Cordelia or Wes. Carpe Diam - Angel S3 Episode 3 or 4, about Marcus, the old guy in the retirement home who is using a spell to jump into young male bodies, until he burns through them. It reminded me a little of Lonely Hearts, S1. ( Read more... )

They handle Buffy/Angel reunion oddly? ( Read more... )

Also they appear to be paralleling or comparing Cordy holding onto to her visions, to Angel holding onto being a vampire with a soul. Both are given at different points in the series - the opportunity to lose this gift. Both refuse, and see it as the only way they can be champions or chosen. It's not really a selfless act. Or the writers are questioning it.

The most frustrating thing in Buffy S6, actually is what makes it work the best - which is her friends inability or unwillingness to help her. I think she asked Angel for help - and he turned her down. ( Read more... )

Ah, it's 5:16pm and dark. So off to make dinner. I think.

Taking tomorrow and Friday off, and get Xmas Day off of course - it's a Federal and State Holiday in the US.

Happy to have the break at last - work has become infuriatingly tedious of late. Needless to say, I'm burnt out, and desperately need a break from all of it. Also the commute is playing havoc with my right knee, and I've been sleeping poorly as a result.

I hope to do knee exercises, and maybe get some watercolors and writing done. Lately, I've become addicted to Royal Match on my phone. Only one problem with it? It costs money - or I get tempted to expend small amounts for more tries. I need to find a game with no costs and no ads. The Majhong game's pop up ads kept freezing the game and my Iphone. See? This is why I'm not much of a gamer. I should try the board game link.

Pondering Buffy S5 and Angel S2 today - and in my rewatch, I picked up something that in hindsight, is relatively obvious. It's a television trope that I've actually seen a lot since Buffy/Angel aired, but not as much prior. I think the series may have influenced a lot of writers to play with it. What it is - is the bait and switch, or mislead the audience into thinking this is going to happen, but do something else entirely. Otherwise known as the hairpin plot twist. It's hard to pull off well, without annoying the audience. The writers of Buffy and Angel tried to pull it off in just about every episode of the series and in the seasonal arcs.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said - it's hard to pull off.
( Read more... )

I keep writing about this because I can't figure out how to articulate my thoughts on it. And keep thinking, perhaps erroneously, that writing it out will help.

**

Working my way through Angelica Huston's Memoir - which I keep forgetting the name of. Ah found it - A Story Lately Told - Coming of Age in Ireland, London and New York. It's well written and narrated. Listening to it on audible.

Gave up on "Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem" and went back to T Kingfisher's novel "What Moves the Dead". I like Kingfisher's writing style (possibly because it's very close to my own and I don't have to work that hard to read it? I've learned recently that reading a writing style that is close to my own style is easier for me to process, than one that is alien to it - or very different from it. Because of what I do for a living, and the amount of legal and technical reading I do - I have a tendency to skim formal writing, and disconnect from it. The more formal it is - the less likely I will be able to remember what I've read, without re-reading it five or six times.) It has a lot to do with dyslexia - I think? Formal writing has a tendency to make my eyes glaze over, and my focus shift away from the text.

Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem - has a formal writing style - in that the writer is trying to copy a formal British style of writing, most likely from the Victorian period. While I respect this choice? I wish they wouldn't. It makes it hard for me to stay focused on their story.

I can actually write in more than one style. I've been trained to do so, and can shift on a whim. I often do in these posts. I just prefer the casual or conversational writing style - it's easier for me to write in and to read. YMMV. People don't process information the same way or read the same way.

***

Off to bed, and hopefully to sleep. I need sleep. Been averaging 5 and a half hours the last couple of nights.

1. Still doing the Buffy/Angel rewatch. Watched Episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Angel S2, and episodes 5, 6, and 7 of Buffy S5.

Takeaways?

Whomever designed Joyce's bedroom has no sense of design. Also it appears to be stuck in the 1970s? It's the worst set in the show, which is saying something, since we have Tara's entirely black bedroom. Joyce's entirely red bedroom vs. Tara's black one, decisions decisions.

Angel/Darla sequence in the Convent Basement in Dear Boy (Episode 5) is similar to Buffy/Spike sequence in the alley behind the Bronze in Fool for Love (Episode 7). ( Read more... )

Another thing I didn't previously pick up on? In Fool For Love - Spike's interaction with each slayer he is trying to kill - involves mothers, not sure the extent to which he's aware of it, though. ( Read more... )

Spike does actually provide some insightful information to Buffy and the audience, not necessarily intentionally - and from his perspective, it's relatively obvious. He doesn't appear to understand why Buffy and her friends don't get it. ( Read more... )

What doesn't quite work in the episode is Riley and her friends. It's also clear from the episode why the writers intend to write out Riley and how. ( Read more... )

2. Watched the 1968 film Rachel, Rachel yesterday on Apple + for $2.99. I rented it. It starred Joanne Woodward, Estelle Parsons, and Jim Olsen and was directed by Paul Newman. ( Read more... )

3. Finished Down Cemetery Road - the series by Mike Heron based on his book of the same name, on Apple +. Apple + has an annoying interface, that is similar to HBO's, in that it is hard to select episodes to watch on it. It automatically kicks you to the next one or makes you rewatch the one you just saw. Also, I can't always tell how many episodes there are, or if I've seen the last one. I looked it up - it only has eight episodes, the last one aired this week, on December 10.

( Read more... )

4. Re-started S2 of The Morning Show on Apple + - it's okay. Doesn't really start to take off until Episode 3, ( Read more... )

***

Other than that, and doing knee exercises, and icing my knee, and figuring out how to use my new cooking appliance (the NOSH steam/air fryer/bake/toaster oven) - I've not done much. I have tried out a few more video puzzle games - Royal Match (which starts simple then gets hard and feels rigged for money), various attempts at Mahjong games that don't have ads (they seem to acquire them after a certain point) and I have to delete the game entirely because the pop up ads freeze the phone. There's a nasty AI cleaner ad that really froze the phone and had me worried, but once I deleted the game - it went away.

Did manage to cook a biscuit (American version not the British - think small scone), and crisp some gluten free french bread in the oven.

It's easier to use than expected and meets my needs. Also smaller than expected and doesn't take up as much space as I feared. This may work. I'd been holding off getting one due to the spacing issue. But it doesn't appear to be a problem.

***

A little lonely this Xmas. Be happy when it's over. Mother is a little lonely too. Crazy Org is the reason I'm not spending it with Mother, which is annoying me to no end. (I'll save you the gory details.)

Oh, well, I have nice lights up, the lobby is well decorated, there's some snow on the ground, and presents wrapped in Amazon gift bags under the tree. I'd say I miss the other wrapping, but this is actually easier to recycle.

The folks singing in the lobby - aka the apartment Christmas Party, can't sing. So, I put on my headphones and decided to listen to EMDR Bilateral Simulation to block it out, and to calm my nervous system, which is kind of keyed up.

The apartment building Christmas Party - was not what I'd expected? Instead of a party for the complex celebrating the building's 100th birthday, it was more a gathering of a select group of people and their kids to visit with Santa, get gifts, sing songs with audio equipment, and have a pizza party with cupcakes, brownies, cookies and snacks.
( Read more... )

So, having been weirdly triggered food wise, I came back up and had left-over chili (I make a mean vegetarian gluten-free chili, if I say so myself), gluten free NY Cheesecake (small) with berries, and some pumpkin latte ice cream with nuts. Oatmilk eggnog with a touch of brandy to drink.

Then watched the rest of Otto Preminger's classic adaptation of Leon Uris' epic "Exodus" on Amazon Prime, starring Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, John Derek, Sir Ralph Richardson, and Lee J. Cob. I'd been watching it off and on most of the day.

(The book was actually better - I read it in high school, but the film has some excellent and understated performances in it, even if it shows it's age - it was done in 1960.) Not to be confused with the Moses Story, this is the story of the battle to create Israel in 1948, after WWII during the British occupation. ( Read more... )

I watched it - because I remembered it being one my favorite Paul Newman films. Also I've been listening to the Newman memoir on audible. Newman keeps stating in his book that he wasn't a great actor, he was just good enough, and it didn't set his world on fire or anything. He hadn't found his calling. And he is convinced he probably had a learning disability - because he struggled with reading his entire life, and struggled to memorize lines - as if he didn't quite do it properly or something, but he didn't quite know why or how. (Sounds like dyslexia to me? I struggled with memorizing lines too for similar reasons.) I read well now - but I had to work at it, and still do, I have all sorts of tricks that I apply, most of which I'm no longer aware of doing, and couldn't explain to anyone.

It's astonishing that he actually thinks this - because his acting seems effortless. He's effortlessly charming, charismatic, and pulls in the audience - even in a film like Exodus. He also didn't think of himself as attractive to women or anyone. He reminds me of my brother - who didn't see it either. Often the most attractive people are the ones who are the most oblivious to it.

***

I'm enjoying S2 Angel much more than expected. [Even though, David Boreanze is not as thin and hot as he was in Buffy S1-3.] Most likely assisted by the fact that I couldn't remember most of it - having not watched it since it aired or shortly thereafter? I thought I remembered it better than I had? But I totally forgot about Angel's Darla dreams, or how Darla was seducing Angel in his sleep. I also forgot about the scenes with Cordelia and Gunn bonding. They have some nifty platonic scenes between Cordelia/Gunn, and Cordelia/Wes - indicating that Cordelia most likely gets along better with men than women? Cordelia is growing on me, and I don't remember liking Cordy this much when I watched the series back in the day? (I think the difficulty was I came in and out of it, and like all the characters, she has her ups and downs.)

Finished watching First Impressions - which is the third episode of Angel S2. It establishes Lorne's club as another new set. We've moved from the Bar that Angel met Kate at in S1, to Lorne's Demon Bar. In this episode, Angel dreams of singing Send in the Clowns and Tears of the Clown, at Lorne's club - apparently he was going for a medley (which was thankfully off screen - since David Boreanze can't sing to save his life. And I'd rather he didn't butcher one of my favorite Sondheim songs.) Believe it or not, Tears of the Clown is actually a song by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles with a lyric like "there's sad things around but nothing sadder than the tears of a clown when there's no one around".

I'm thinking okay, where are we going with this? Is this a dream? It is - he's meeting Darla at Lorne's bar, and starts dating her, and having a relationship with her in his dreams.
( Read more... )

Interesting episode, all things considered. Only quibble is sigh, Gunn.
He's annoyingly stereotypical, and kind of cringe. I've seen it done better elsewhere. I honestly don't think the writers knew what to do with the character?

**

On a final note?

My contacts came today. I was told they'd shipped on Friday. And they arrived today. That was fast. Considering they were ordered November 8.
How much you want to bet that they forgot to order them, and didn't do it until I reminded them to, this week?


Ah. As predicted the party in the lobby finally ended - and prior to 10 pm. The plus side of families with small children throwing a party - is it is never a late one.

Off to bed.