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I slept later than usual, but on the bright side - actually got a solid 8 hours of sleep, most of it core, but what can one do? Did get 55 minutes of deep, and 2 hours of rem. I tend to be a light sleeper for the most part, either that or this smart watch sleep monitoring isn't as accurate as it may appear.

Thinking of reading "actual books" and not ones on the Kindle for a bit. The books on my shelves are more appealing than the ones on the Kindle at the moment, and I've been in a long and annoying book slump. I was more engrossed in The Fair Folk - a book this morning, than What Moves the Dead on the Kindle. Books also have a weight to them, and they don't annoyingly go blank without notice.

The technology/information age is currently depressing me, I think? Do you feel like people are throwing their opinions at you constantly? Often unedited, unfiltered, and misinformed? It's not just on social media, it's journalistic articles, non-fiction editorials, etc. And via text message. I can't escape it. People stop. I really don't want to know what some random political analyst, political science professor, historian, social activist, journalist, bored academic, or law professor thinks about our current political situation, politics, the Wars (cultural, actual, and otherwise). Yes, I know they all think the world is coming to an end, I just wish they'd keep it to themselves, why depress the rest of us?

I've been jumping around television shows this weekend, not quite sticking with anything?

Watched Andor S2 Ep. 7 last night - the end the second three arc. Each arc ends with Andor and Bix - blowing something up or killing someone, or so it seems. Good news, Bix seems to have taken care of her problem. So Episode 7 for the most part was a satisfying conclusion to the Bix/Andor and Gorst situation, that was hanging over from S1. I adore Andor and Bix.

I got a bit lost in the episode, and had to rewind it and rewatch. Mainly because my attention kept drifting away from it. This may well be a me thing and not an Andor thing, folks. Read more... )

Poker Face - also had to keep rewinding, because my attention kept wandering - I'd play on the phone, I'd play on the internet, I'd cook, etc. It's partly due to the commercials - it's on Peacock and has commercial interruptions, and partly due to the mystery not always being that gripping? This is basically Murder she wrote by way of Columbo by way of person on the run doing odd jobs. Sometimes the mystery of the week is interesting, sometimes not. Like Murder She Wrote and Columbo it likes to utilize old and big time movie stars, some of which I've not seen in a while and are over the age of 70. Ellen Barkin is a very skeletal 70.

Outlander - see previous post. [And now I'm back to it again - and watching S2 Ep.2 - mainly because I'm curious. Also, I like the actress playing Clair and she's written better in the series than in the book. Odd I know, but there it is. Also Jaime is admittedly very appeal - I rather like the actor portraying him. And I find the differences between mid-20th century medicine and 18th century medicine interesting. It's what people do that fascinates me.]

Buffy S3 - Helpless - was surprised at how well written this was. Was going to skip over it, decided not to, and it was rather better than I thought. Not quite as scary, and amusing in places. Also had to keep rewinding, because I kept wandering about doing things while it was on. It's David Fury - who, sigh, "not the nicest human on the planet" is possibly an understatement? (It comes through in the writing - his episodes have an underlying meanness to them that is hard to put my finger on - but is there? I don't think he likes people all that much? And clearly has Mommy issues?) But he's a good writer, got to give him that. And the acting is through the roof. Also, weirdly, I liked Cordelia in the episode, but did not like Willow, Xander, or OZ - who were kind of useless and annoying. Giles...wasn't supposed to be likable, but Head sold it, and made him likable and interesting. Gellar blows me away. She does things in Buffy that she's not done before or since. Jeff Kober as the villain of the week is rather excellent. But Kober always is. spoilers for well anyone who hasn't seen it in the last 25 years )

Damn, this series holds up well. And it gets better as it goes. S3 is much better than S1 and S2, writing wise. The writers finally hit their stride. I can see why Gellar was done by S3 - they worked her to death. She's in every scene, they are all very physical scenes, and she has to cry a lot. She was doing 20 hour days, seven days a week. I think they burned her out, and it's why she's not really done anything great since. They also burned out Marsters. Not so much the others.

**

Took a long walk to get groceries. Used the robot vacuums. Read a bit of The Fair Folk. Meditated. And tried not to let the noise on the internet bother me too much. The birds outside were tweeting. The sun was shining. The trees are green. It's a warm balmy day in Brooklyn. And if I don't think too much and just be, everything is seemingly just fine.
shadowkat: (work/reading)
Haven't accomplished much this weekend. It's been cool, and mostly overcast anyhow. I did spend a lot of time looking out on the treetops outside my living room window, and listening to actor podcasts.

The news, sigh. I don't know about you? But it is depressing me. And kind of makes me route for a sizable meteor, a tornado, or a green dragon to take out Washington, DC. Never felt that way before. I'm actually terrified of reading the news. Is it just me or has the world just gotten scarier since technology took off? Bad techies. Life would have been so much better if we paid techies and marketing folks fifty cents an hour or very little at all, and sanitation workers, tree planters, forest rangers, and climate change scientist more.

Reviews

1. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler : I finished this on Friday. It took me forever, and I'm not sure I'd recommend reading it now? It's a science fiction novel about the consequences of climate change, with the federal government selling off lands to corporations resulting in societal collapse in the year 2025. A group of hardy and diverse souls decide to walk north to find land, jobs, or a place to live and pick up people along the way. Butler focuses on community building and kindness of strangers. While there is violence earlier in the novel, towards the end, it is less so.

The novel ends in the year 2027, and the next one Parable of the Talents begins in 2032, with flashbacks.

There's a romance, between the 18 year old heroine and a fifty-seven year old man in the novel that I found kind of odd, considering I'm fifty-eight.
Also the novel was published in 1992, and takes place in 2025-2027, so...

Some of the things in the novel she gets right about the future - we do have the beginnings of climate change. California is suffering from heat waves and wild fires. We do have an insane federal government that is trying to cater to corporations. What we don't quite have yet is slave labor, keep in mind this is Octavia Butler - and most of her novels tended to focus on slave labor, mainly because she was an African-American Female Science Fiction Writer in the 20th Century. Also, Butler doesn't quite understand state government. So, she gets an alarming amount right, but also quite a bit wrong, which gives me hope at least, if only a smattering.

It's a scarier book now than I think it was when it was originally published. And perhaps a more timely one. I recommend but with the caveat that it is unnerving, and disturbing in spots. I have the sequel, but am taking a break from it. It was slow going. I may like it once the current administration in DC is gone. Not sure I can read more of it now - hits a little too close to home and I'm terrified enough by the news.

2. Murderbot - started watching on Apple + and it's better than expected. It seems to follow the novels rather closely and Alexander Starsgaard is pitch perfect casting for the Murderbot. It's funny in places and charming in others, just like the novellas were. Murderbot is adapted from the novella All Systems Collapse along with the other novellas in the Murderbot series by Martha Wells, which were initially published as e-books and audio books several years ago.

It has a widely diverse cast, and focuses on a group of hippie research scientists/geologists who purchase a cheap refurbished security protocol bot to take with them to a planet for a research expedition. The Corporations who control the rim planets they are visiting, require that they take a bot with them, so they take the cheapest available, Murderbot.

Murderbot - which is what the Bot calls itself, the government name is security unit, has hacked into its own system and basically watches television most of the time, when it doesn't save the stupid humans. We see most everything from its perspective. It has a rather funny running commentary, and we get parodies of space operas as the television shows it's become invested in.

(Murderbot reminds me uncomfortably of AI, to be honest. Read more... )

3. Andor S2 - I've seen one episode. It was good. Took a little while to get into, but well paced. It kind of throws you into the heart of the action without much lead in. And much like the previous season, there is a lot of hoping about between story threads and characters. Took me a little while to figure out where the characters were and what was going on.

It's a series about the beginning of the Rebellion against the evil Corporate Empire, and I'm not certain it's the best series to watch now?
Hits a little close to home in spots. Such as the bad guys discussing how they need to get a mining planet that specializes in silk clothing, to provide them with it's rick minerals for energy and fusion. The trick is to get the people to rebel, and they can invade and take over. And I'm thinking, this reminds me a lot of what is currently happening in the US government at the moment. I think I would have enjoyed this episode more if Kamala Harris had won or Obama was still President, just saying. As it is, it was giving me the heebie jeebies.

I do like the series, however, so will continue with it.

***

Currently reading:

* Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, which is about an old cleaning lady at an aquarium who befriends a giant Pacific Octopus. I was told this was a happy book, or comfortable and funny read by folks online. They asked to rec happy or funny or comfort reads, and a lot of folks rec'd this one.

Read more... )

On the Kindle.

* The Fair Folk by Su Bristow

"It’s 1959. To eight-year-old Felicity—who lives on a dying farm in England—the fairies in the woods have much more to offer than the people in her everyday life. As she becomes more rooted in their world, she learns that their magic is far from safe. Their queen, Elfrida, offers Felicity a gift. But fairy bargains are never what they seem. As an adult, Felicity leaves for university. Unfortunately, books are not her only company at Elfrida and Hobb—the queen’s constant companions—wield the ability to appear at any time, causing havoc in her new friendships and love life. Desperate, Felicity finally begins to explore the true nature of the Fair Folk and their magic. Her ally, the folklorist Professor Edgerley, asks, “What do they want from you?” The answer lies in the distant past, and in the secrets of her own family. As the consequences of the “gift” play out, Felicity must draw on her courage to confront Elfrida, and make the right choice. Interwoven with traditional stories and striking characters, The Fair Folk poses questions about how we care for our children, our land, and our love-hate relationship with what we desire most."

Reading in large paperback. Well-written and deliciously creepy in places.

*. And almost done with the audio book version of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, the sequel to The Six of Crows.
Read more... )

Heavily references Slavic and Eastern European Myths and Folklore, which I find nicely innovative, most things are Western European Folklore.
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1. Someone on Facebook posted this statement by Virginia Woolf.

“Whatever happens, stay alive. Don't die before you're dead. Don't lose yourself, don't lose hope, don't loose direction.Read more... )

And I thought, wait, didn't Virginia Woolf die by suicide? Yep, she ironically did. I think this was probably Woolf trying desperately to stay alive.

This is a tough time for a lot of folks. The holidays always are. Points at icon.

2. Television...

I finished watching Arcane - both seasons, on Netflix. I loved it. It worked for me, the metaphors, the characters, the relationships, and the themes. And it had a great romance between Viv and Caitlin throughout.
One of the better f/f romances I've seen on television. Usually they don't work for me. But this did for some reason or other.

Also it had fascinating relationships - which propelled the plot, as opposed to the plot propelling the relationships. It's very much a character driven piece, with some interesting themes about technology, science, hubris, and war.

After re-watching the Rankin/Bass & Ralph Bashi 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit on HBO Max, I decided to go back to Rings of Power on Prime. (By the way, MAX has all the Lord of the Rings films, including the Ralph Baski animated versions done in the 1970s and early 1980s. I decided to hunt it down after reading a review of the recently released Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim by Athena Scalzi (who isn't quite there yet as a film reviewer or writer. She's sloppy.) She states in her review that this is the first animated film of the Lord of the Rings series. And I thought, Scalzi? You just lost your geek and nerd creds. Seriously, you never showed your daughter the 1970s Hobbit? Or saw it yourself?

Her father is my age. The Hobbit aired on Network Television in 1977 or thereabouts, and then was re-shown in 1979, along with Return of the King Film, which was an abridged version of the Lord of the Rings, and shown as a kind of sequel to the Hobbit. Read more... )

Does it hold up well? Yes, and no. Read more... )

I tried to watch the animated version of the Return of the King - which I also loved as a child. But it doesn't hold up well at all. Read more... )

At any rate - I started watching S1 of Rings of Power again - its a rewatch. I can't remember most of it, and it's kind of necessary for S2. It's very odd - I can remember films I've not seen in years, but can't remember something I saw as far back as last year. I think it may have a lot to do with how much time I spent on it? Read more... )

3. Books...

I've completed the audiobook version of Sanctuary by Illona Andrews - while I enjoyed Brinkley's narration and voice, he didn't do a good enough job of vocalizing the other characters - I couldn't quite tell them apart. I've admittedly gotten used to the stellar "Graphic Audio Dramatizations" so that could be part of the problem. It's interesting in how it utilizes Russian folklore, myths and legends. I've learned a lot about modern and ancient Russia in the last couple of years, without intending to, and realized how many misconceptions Americans have about Russia. Read more... )

Illona Andrews unlike a lot of mainstream writers, writes and self-publishes side stories about their world. Sancturary is self-published or non-traditionally published. Read more... )

Now, I'm listening to the audio book version of the Kate Daniels Wilmington Years - "Magic Tides and Magic Claims" that is dualy narrated by a female and male narrators - in the roles of Kate and Curran. Read more... )

Working on "Rules of Redemption by T.A. White" rec'd by Illona Andrews fandom. But, I can't quite get into it? My focus is off. Too keyed up about things work related, I think? I may be better able to read it this week. Still struggling with a reading slump. Audio books aren't a problem, other's weirdly are. It's ironic, considering in 2019, I stated that I couldn't do audio books and didn't understand the appeal. The pandemic changed me in oh so many ways.
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Books

Smartbitches informed me of two Kindle Daily Deals that I couldn't pass up.

*
The Honjin Murders (Detective Kindaichi Mysteries Book 28)
by Seishi Yokomizo (Author), Louise Heal Kawai (Translator)
- for about $1.99 at Amazon.

"This was originally published in the 1940s and is a Japanese police procedural and murder mystery. I also mentioned this one in a previous edition of Get Rec’d.

One of Japan’s greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time."

And...

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang is $2.99!

"Inspired by a classic of martial arts literature, S. L. Huang’s The Water Outlaws are bandits of devastating ruthlessness, unseemly femininity, dangerous philosophies, and ungovernable gender who are ready to make history—or tear it apart.

In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire."

***

In other news, making my way through "Experimental Films" by the Canadian author, which is combination ghost story/folklore horror novel. vague spoilers )

I think it needed a good editor. Which unfortunately is true of most books nowadays. Editing seems to be a dying art form? Writers do not always make the best editors of their own work.

Finally, before going to bed...

Almost done with the audio book "On the Edge" - the Illona Andrews books work really well as audio books. I can't say that about all books.

This one is an urban fantasy tale about a world that is Split between the Weird (total fantasy), the Edge (magical/non-magical) and The Broken (no magic). It has a lot of interesting world building. Different than most of the books in this genre. But it is a bit long, and I can tell this was among the author's earlier efforts.
shadowkat: (Default)
1. If you are into Fireworks...check out seriously insane fireworks:

HERE

Although you may want to fast forward, I got bored in the first twenty minutes. Also the host repeats the words "Seriously Insane Fireworks" and "Really Weird Fireworks" so many times in the first twenty minutes - that I wanted to inform him - "uhm we get it, these are insane fireworks, let's move on".

2. I talked to various people about the ranking of the Top Cities for Public Transportation. [See last post.]

Me: They have Chicago ranked at the bottom below Kansas City.
Mother: But Kansas City's is non-existent?
Me: I know. Also LA is number three.
Mother: Does LA even have one? It doesn't.
Me: No, it does. No one uses it. But it does.

Cousin on FB, who live in Chicago:

"Currently Chicago has multiple systems. The suburbs bus is 1 company & ticket, the suburbs commuter train downtown is company #2, the downtown subway & elevated trains is company #3, & the downtown Chicago bus is company #4. It confuses the heck out of the non-natives. But a recent state law is supposed to make it all 1 company & ticket, so maybe it'll improve in the future. The other problem is in the suburbs, you can get downtown pretty easily but not between the suburbs. So yeah, we have terrible public transportation so far. Not surprised Kansas City is allegedly better."

Me: Currently in a merger situation with public transportation - it's not as smooth as you might think. So no, it's not going to necessarily be better. So much as Different?

Also does Kansas City even have a public transportation system?

I've given the article the side-eye. I honestly don't think whomever wrote it knows anything about public transportation? Because their rankings make no sense.

3. PBS Special on How We See Numbers

I lost interest half way through. It began to give me a headache, actually?

4. A Reminder about things from John Scalzi

Apparently actors and folks wanting to get parts - send John Scalzi head shots, audition tapes, etc ? Why? Honestly, why would you send it to the novelist? He's not making casting decisions. If he has any input - it's after the actors have been brought in for audition. And most writers don't.

5. Books

I finished King of Diamonds on audio, and it was okay. Yes, we get a resolution - and find out who the burglar was or diamond thief. Turns out it was more than one - which makes sense considering it took place over a lengthy period of time. And the differences between the thefts.

I'm not sure if this would have worked better - in print, ie. reading it? The voice actor or narrator reading it - was kind of dull.

Have moved on to the far more entertaining Graphic Audio Dramatization of Kate Daniels short story Magic Gifts.

Almost done with Dreadful - which I've been reading in "paperback" format. I am to date the only person on my trains reading an actual book. Everyone else either reads/watches/plays on their phones or stares blankly into space. I miss the days that people read the paper or magazines. This may explain why print journalism is dying. I've given up on it.

It's odd being the only person reading a book. Every once and a while, someone will stare. But usually no one pays attention. Any more than they notice that I have diabetic sensor on my upper arm, above the elbow.

The lovely thing about NYC is folks are wildly unobservant. That and the fact it has no architectural building zoning guidelines, basically people build whatever they want and more or less wherever they want. And they are constantly building things. For a city on a couple of small islands, it's certainly building a lot of structures. And somehow magically finds space for all of them. NYC is a contradiction in terms - or rather proof that you can be wildly libertarian and socialist at the same time, while also sporting a capitalistic veneer.

Anyhow, the book is amusing me. I wouldn't call it ground-breaking or great or anything. But it is enjoyable. It holds my attention for the most part. And I think I may actually finish it. Also I like it better than the last five books I read, so there's that.

PenPal - is kind a surreal horror novel. I'm not sure what to make of it. I gave it a rest in favor of squinting to read Dreadful on the train. (I should put on glasses to read Dreadful, but I don't want to.)

6. Television

I don't know what I'm going to watch this weekend. Flirting with: Reacher (read an interview with the star and he's cool - made me want to watch the series, which admittedly is not the right reason to watch the series. Last time I tried to watch it - was with Wales, who insisted on poking fun at it and informing me how bad it is. After that - it was hard to watch the show. But I may go back to it.), Glee (except I'm annoyed with at least six of the lead characters...not sure I can get past them enough to just watch the musical numbers), Acolyte (which has finally dropped enough episodes), The Witcher (albeit a rewatch from S1, because I discovered S2 is kind of confusing if you can't remember S1. Damn, Netflix for the long wait times between seasons)...or some random movie. Or whatever I land on.

The problem with having too many choices is making a choice.
shadowkat: (Default)
I told Wales I was depressed on Saturday and not up to brunch. So, Wales decided to send me something to cheer me up. It arrived today.

In came in a white box which stated "Forever Love". And inside was...




another view of it behind the cut )

A perpetual flower. If you can't see the photos? My apologies. It's basically the flower from Beauty and the Beast - or that's what it reminds me of at any rate, complete with glass case (although I think it's plastic and it doesn't come off of the flower, it's sealed in there. And it may light up - although not sure why it needs too? Kind of sparkly on its own.)

Funky, right. It's a forever rose under glass, and when the light hits it? It sparkles. Also apparently you can put batteries in it, and it lights up or something? I don't know - didn't come with instructions or anything, just a blank card that said Best Wishes.

I put it in my window. It is cheery.

***

Thought about describing my commute - but I don't want to remember it. After debarking the train at Atlantic Avenue Terminal, I climbed a staircase that smelled of urine, with an empty cup at the top, and liquid trickling down it. This city really needs to address its homeless problem.
the homeless situation )

***

Books

* Starter Villain by John Scalzi as read by Will Wheaton It's about a divorced down-on-his-luck substitute teacher (Charlie) living in his parents house with two cats, that inherits his uncle's business. One problem? His uncle is a villain. Oh, and that's not all? His uncle dabbled in various types of highly illegal genetic research - so apparently he has highly intelligent cats running his intelligence and spying on his nephew. The cats living with Charlie - have been collecting intelligence on him for his nephew. And, he employs genetically enhanced dolphins to main security and also collect intelligence. But the dolphins are about to go on strike in protest of bad working conditions.

It's amusing, to say the least.

Scalzi seems to write tongue-in-cheek satiric sci-fi, or at least that's what I've read or listened to - to date. Red Shirts and The Kaiju Preservation Society. I've not tried Old Man's War.

I like his writing style, and Andy Weir's. They kind of are similar, except Weir is more hard science fiction and Scalzi is more playful.

* Yellowface by R. F. Kuang - well, it does an excellent take down of the cancel culture on Twitter in regards to the publishing industry, I'll give it that. The publishing industry (in case you were unaware) is highly dependent on social media platforms like Twitter and Bluesky and Instagram to market its wares. Mainly Twitter and Bluesky. And like all marketing platforms - it's designed to make the most negative marketing go viral. Read more... )

Anyhow, this is not a good book to read before bed. Instead of putting me to sleep? It had me raging and yelling at it. I was ranting at the book.
Not conducive to sleep at all.

* Magic Tides by the husband & wife writing team Illona Andrews - the magic series basically ruined me in regards to all urban fantasy.
I like a specific writing style - which is heavy dialogue, banter, and snark. Also causal or conversational writing style. Formal writing style or classical will annoy me in this genre. It's why I can't read the Toby fairy series - the dialogue is too formal, they all sound like they are in Elizabethan England, and just no.

Writing style is an important factor in choosing a book. I honestly think it alone can make or break certain books for me, and I'm guessing others?
Read more... )

Off to bed.
shadowkat: (Default)
1. Well, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson managed to save TCM aka Turner Classic Movies from the evil new executive at Warner Brothers, who attempted to do away with it.

I'm grateful. I agree with them. Our classic films should be preserved.

As IndieWire first reported, the trio placed an "emergency" call to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav last week following cuts to the majority of the network's leadership, including senior VP of programming and content strategy, Charles Tabesh.

Tabesh, however, will return to TCM with Scorsese, Spielberg, and Anderson acting as unpaid volunteers who will help guide and curate the network's programming, even including host intros and outros. TCM's Classic Film Festival will also continue.

"We have already begun working on ideas with [Warner Bros. executives Michael de Luca and Pamela Abdy], both true film enthusiasts who share a passion and reverence for classic cinema that is the hallmark of the TCM community," the directors said in a joint statement.


Thanks to Petz for the link.

2. Somebody Somewhere on HBO Max of all places, has become my new comfort show. It's a highly relatable series about struggling forty-something singles in Manhattan, Kansas. I finished the first two seasons and was blown away by it.

I'd describe it as hyper-realism. A dramedy, with touching and humorous moments. Relationship drama as opposed to workplace drama, but the focus is on friendship not romantic entanglements, and sibling/family relationships.
The core relationship is between a forty-something woman and a gay forty-something man, and their friends and family. It's among the best shows I've seen, well written and acted. (I admittedly don't find it that funny, but I don't have a raunchy sense of humor. But I found it touching and relatable enough to handwave that. It's also a kind comedy and not cruel like most of the comedies that I've seen to date.)

Here's the Guardian Review - Review of Somebody Somewhere.

excerpt )

Highly recommend.

3. It's official, apparently, that The Flash bombed at the box office - it's barely gotten to $100M domestically, and just scratched $216M world-wide. The film cost over $200 Million to make.

The linked article explains why it bombed - which is simple enough, people like myself decided not to see it in movie theaters and wait for it to pop up on HBO MAX based on the reviews.

I was interested - until I read the reviews, and thought, Ack, I can watch that better on television with far less annoyance.

Scalzi's kid reviews it - HERE - complete with spoilers, although not all spoilers. I thoroughly spoiled - I've read too many reviews. So I know the unpredictable spoilers.

None of the spoilers endear me to the movie.

The movie did so badly at the box office, that they went ahead and announced that Rachel Bronshanan (Mrs. Maizel) will be Lois, and David Corenswet as Superman. [My favs were Christopher Reeves and Tyler Hoechel, I didn't like Cavill's Superman nor Brandon Rousch's. I'm picky, I like the optimistic and kind take - go too dark and gritty and you get awfully close to fascism. Superman does not work well as an anti-hero. Batman, yes, Superman, no.]

4. Wales and I discussed what we're doing on the fourth, and honestly, I think we'll be lucky if we do much of anything at this point. I want to go to the American Natural History Museum - but I don't want to get reserved pre-paid tickets online - just in case everything falls through, and we don't go. So the current plan is to meet at 11:30 Am in Carroll Gardens, and go from there on Tuesday. Worse case scenario we can wander about and do something else.

I haven't been over to that part of the city in years, so that alone would be entertaining.

5. Twitter is back up and running, and everyone is acting like nothing happened, and they've all flooded back after threatening to jump ship.

I honestly think a lot of them have an abusive love/hate relationship with Twitter. I can relate, I have love/hate relationships with NYC, BookStores, Mass Transit, and my church.

6. I'm tempted to get a ticket via TDF to see Merrily We'll Roll Along, starring Daniel Radcliff and Josh Groff. (I like Groff, a lot.)

7. My brother's air conditioner went out the other day. The earliest the A/C people could look at it was August. We have been having air quality issues all week long. (Canadian Wildfires - apparently mother nature figured she burned enough of the forests on the West Coast of Canada, and it was the East Coast's turn?) Anyhow, my brother went up into his attic and rewired his air-conditioner, and now its working. Read more... )

In other news, the frigging NY medical community is still gas-lighting my poor sister-in-law. I swear they gaslight everyone. This is why we have medical malpractice attorneys. Read more... )

8. On the book front...

I was reminded recently of my love/hate relationships with book stores. Old Freshman Roommate - who kind of needs a nickname....(Queen Charlotte) - informed FB that she'd sent press releases to area booksellers that she'd published a book. A couple of the booksellers emailed her back that they won't carry anything published via createspace or via Amazon, because Amazon is putting them out of business. And would only carry anything published via Ingram.

That's complete BS.
long involved somewhat ranty discussion of book-selling - read at your own risk )

9. I have been in a long reading slump. I get through audio books, but not actual books. Almost done with Moonlighting - an Oral History - which could use a better narrator - the one it has - has a very thick nasal New Jersey accent that's annoying me. Also, the author seems to want me to think Cybil Shepard was a diva, but I'm beginning to think she was more a victim of a misogynistic and sexist show-runner/producer who favored Bruce Willis.
Read more... )

Have made it through graphic novels or comics recently.

X-men Red (2022-Present) is really good. It's kind of like Game of Thrones for the X-men. Lead by Storm and Magneto, also various other lesser known characters.

Actually the current run of the X-men verse falls heavily into speculative science fiction, and focuses on a broader range of characters. It's a nuanced and character driven serial. Not as a much of a relationship soap opera like in the 1990s and 20th Century.

The Cat Sebastian Historical Romance is moving slowly for some reason. And I couldn't get through The Witch King (too much world-building, and war mongering, not to mention speechifying, and not enough character stuff) - I got bored and my attention drifted away from it. Also I'm not a fan of Judeo-Christian mythology, and this relies heavily on that - and witch/demon mythos, which doesn't work for me, personally.

Reading is, as I tried to explain to Wales today without much success, is a subjective sport. What's to one person's taste won't be to another's. Doesn't mean the book isn't any good, just that it isn't to my taste.

10. Finished my latest painting/drawing - this was inspired from a picture of a fictional couple that I've been following on a soap opera. It's not real close to the picture, at all. But I did like how it came out. I found it to be interesting, and better than expected.

So sharing beneath the cut.

lovers )
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