Spontaneous Musings

Contemplating taking up chair yoga at home. All I need is my chair which I bought for the peddler that I got rid of. I don't know what it is about December and the Christmas season that seems to instill me with anxiety and depression - often at the same time. I'm fighting both at the moment.

Called the optometrist to find out what the status was on my contacts, which I'd ordered way back on November 8. I left two messages.

Optometrist: We didn't order any contacts for you.
Me: Yes, you did. Either that or it was an incredibly expensive exam.
Optometrist: Let me check - oh, wait, yes, we did. (flustered). My mistake. Sorry about that. I'll look into it and get back to you.
ME: Whew. You had me worried. Considering I ordered them way back on November 8 - they should be ready by now, that was over a month ago.
Optometrist: Yes, yes, we're so sorry. We'll get back to you.

How much you want to bet that that order hadn't gone through in November or they stupidly gave it to someone else and now have to order them again? Thank god, I have enough for another two-three months.

People are stressing me out. Work is always stressful at this time of year - our fiscal year ends in December, so there's this mad rush by all the idiotic procrastinators to send work my way. (I don't procrastinate at work, elsewhere yes, but not at work.) Honestly, sometimes I wish I could take off sometime around November to some exotic island somewhere, and not return until March 30. Solves the seasonal depression issue, and the anxiety issue. I am prone to seasonal depression because I need sunlight and blue skies. Drab, gray, rainy skies make me hurt and depress me. Hence the reason I don't live further north than NYC, nor in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, or Canada. I don't mind darkness at night? But I need sunshine.

**

Buffy S5 Rewatch ( Buffy is my mental health/comfort series, particularly the later seasons. I don't know why exactly? But something about it comforts me when I get stressed, frustrated or depressed. More than anything else. It's one of those things that you either get or you don't?)

The Replacement - Season 5, Episode 3. The first three episodes spend a lot of time setting the stage for what is coming, and setting up the characters, also depending on the previous year - placing the characters in either a good spot or a bad one. You can always tell how the season will end, based on where everyone is in the beginning of the season. If a character is isolated from everyone in the beginning of the season - they won't be at the end for example? Or if a character is happy, and in a relationship, and seemingly doing great - they won't be at the end. They also set the tone and the theme. It's pretty clear by the time we get to this episode that this season is about duality.
( Read more... )


Book Meme

1. Still reading "The Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem" - which is spending way too much time developing a romance between a newspaper owner and a police inspector, and not enough time on the friendship between two female journalists, investigating the murder, and well the promised mischief and mayhem. I may jump over to the Ill-Manner Ladies Guide to Utter Ruin Book 2 instead. Or Gideon The Ninth.

2. Am making more headway listening to the Paul Newman memoir - which is all the transcripts of all the audio recordings. (Newman burned the audio recordings in a fit of self-revulsion and embarrassment (he was a private man, and not comfortable talking about himself), but, alas they were all transcribed by his best friend a year or so prior to the burning and his kids found them a few years after both he and his friend died, and after much hemming and hawing, decided to publish them in a book - they also gave them to the actor and director Ethan Hawk (for reasons that I fail to completely understand) to make a documentary. This by the way proves that I'm wrong about why Hawk didn't delve into Paul's relationships with his family and siblings and the Sporting Goods Store. It wasn't because he didn't have access or was necessarily forbidden? I think it was because it was already in the memoir and already out there and didn't interest Hawk, the actor and director, all that much? Actors and Directors tend to be somewhat introspective and self-involved? And like to well talk about their own field more than dysfunctional families and Sporting Goods Stores? Hawk focused on what interested Hawk and ignored everything else.)

I started this after I finished re-listening to Graphic Audio's dramatization of the entire Kate Daniels Magic Series - which is excellent by the way. It has a full cast. Like a movie in your mind.
( Read more... )

Finished re-watching Buffy S4 and Angel S1 yesterday, with the iconic episodes "Restless" (Buffy S4) and "To Shanshu in LA" (Angel S1), which were both written and directed by the principle show-runner creator of each series, Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt respectfully.

Both date rather well for the most part, with a few crucial exceptions (the white male writers of Northern European descent have some decidedly judgmental stereotypes about Black and African culture that regrettably end up on screen and are kind of racist) - Gunn and the First Slayer...ugh.

Upon re-watching I picked up on the flaws in the writing, and of the two, I think Greenwalt's is easier to follow and more engrossing, while Whedon's is a bit more on the self-indulgent side (if you doubt Whedon's creativity, sizable ego, or his power on that show - just watch Restless), far more ambitious, and drags a bit. Even if Whedon's is much more memorable and kind of a game-changer in television writing.

Can you skip over Restless and still enjoy the series? Absolutely. It's a stand-alone episode, filled with foreshadowing, but so vaguely and confusingly displayed, that you are almost better off not thinking too much about it? People did at the time (myself included) - and came up with far better plots than the writer did or even imagined, which is never a good thing and alas one of the pitfalls of reading and writing fanfic while a series is airing, and before it's been completed. It's almost better to read it after the fact (which I seldom do) but there you go.

To Shanshu in LA on the other hand is kind of required to understand what is happening in Angel. It's not a skippable episode, and I would state one of the anchors of the series? There's a handful of episodes in Angel S1 that you need to watch to understand what is happening, the arc of the characters, etc. It is not a stand-a-alone, which is why David Greenwalt wrote and directed it. The only problem with it - is I'm not sure Greenwalt knows whether he is writing noir or a classic hero story or both? It's a confusing episode. Because it seems fairly clear from the ending, just as it did from the ending of Blind Date (the episode before it) - that the Senior Partners are gleeful with the result, and busy rewarding both Lindsey and Holland Mathers for executing it. Lilah is just along for the ride.

I think Greenwalt is attempting to do two things here? Hoodwink/mislead the audience and our heroes, while at the same time get across what the villains are doing and how they succeed. Plus, be able to get across to the audience the twist or the mislead upon completion of the series - so if someone were to re-watch it after seeing S5, they'd get it. And that's really hard to pull off well, without a few confusing plot holes. (Especially with the constant turn-over in writers and show-runners. But Whedon was most likely the instigator of the mislead, as was Minear.) It's more coherent than Restless, but then just about anything in either series is? And overall, I'd say Greenwalt was slightly more successful in the mislead than Whedon was in Restless, although it's not real clear Whedon knew what he was doing in Restless. Or if he was, he didn't do a good job of communicating that to anyone else?

Take-aways and Reviews of the two upon re-watching years later, are below:

Restless - written & directed by Joss Whedon (who wrote about four-five episodes per season in the first four-five seasons, and often the first episode and the last episode, this is common with show-runners of broadcast television shows with large team of writers and 22 episodes).

There's a dream sequence episode in Dark Winds S3, where the lead character Joe Leaphorn is wrestling with his own inner demons, and goes through this confusing dream sequence in the desert - while being attacked by someone that he believes is a monster in reality. The dream sequence finally gets across to him, as he figures out who killed a priest in his distant past during it, that there are no monsters, just men. And the thing fighting him the desert isn't a monster, but a man.

Restless is kind of similar set up? ( Read more... )

Overall, an okay episode? I kept falling asleep during it yesterday and found it, as I always find dreams shown in art and media - to be mentally exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.

To Shanshu in LA - written and directed by David Greenwalt (who was technically the show-runner of Angel, with oversight by Whedon).

Before Angel the Series, there was another cult noirish vampire detective series known as Nick at Night and later Forever Knight. It was about a Vampire who solved cases, while dealing with his creators. Moonlight reminds me a lot of Forever Knight. Angel the Series is kind of merger of Forever Knight (a Canadian 1980/early 90s series) and Kojack the Night Stalker (which was a cult show in the 1960s). It is at its heart - a noir or dark anti-hero series about a Vampire and his friends attempting to help people, and solve crimes, for a fee. Notably, a big difference between Angel Investigations and the Scooby Gange - is Angel is "paid". Often with big checks by folks who can afford it. Up until To Shanshu in LA? I'd say Angel the Series was very similar to Forever Night, Nick at Knight (earlier version of Forever Knight) and Kojack the Night Stalker. After that it goes in another direction entirely.

The beginning of the episode, two things happen worth noting. ( Read more... )

Overall a good episode, if a bit clunky and confusing in places. I did enjoy it more than Restless, in that I stayed awake during it.

***

Now that I've finished my rewatch of Angel S1 and Buffy S4, I'd say they were both a mixed bag? Buffy's stand-a-alones are better, while Angel's arc episodes are better.

( Buffy S4 Rewatch Over-view, cut for length )

If you really dislike S4, and preferred S1-3, and love those seasons and their narrative framework, setting, etc, then, you probably are better off sticking with the first three seasons and not continuing with the series. If however, you were like me, and loved aspects of S4, then yes, it gets better as we go. And is a very different series post-S4.

Takeaways?
( Read more... )

Angel S1 overview.

Better than I remembered. Less skippable episodes than I recalled, although they are there. It is more noirish than I thought. And dives deep into many noir tropes. Every single episode has a dark twist, some better than others.

Also the characters are well developed, and more likable and relatable here than they were on Buffy. Angel, Wes, and Cordelia are far more developed and more three dimensional. We get inside each's point of view. And they are given room to breath and develop that they never had on the other show, too busy competing for screen time.

The writers clearly aren't good at the stealth anthology or case of the week format, and by the end of the season give into serial for the most part. A recurring theme with this series.

WRH may be among the best villains in television. They work on multiple levels, the evil law firm on speed. It's a trope that has been done repeatedly of course, but the Angel writers kind of run with it and take it to new lows. And they keep with the noir themes and landscape - Angel is the classic Noir anti-hero, along with Wes and Cordelia.

I'm looking forward to rewatching S2, which I've mostly forgotten.

Now, I just have to decide if I want to keep the ENT appointment on Monday. I'm thinking it's probably a good idea, since I've had the vertigo twice this fall - and both times associated with severe sinus congestion and weather fluctuations.

But, it's nice that it is blessedly gone now. The pills I was taking for it - really did help. Along with the nasal spray.

Already decided to switch the Personal Day from Friday to Monday. Works better all around.

Buffy S4/Angel S1 Rewatch

It's worth keeping in mind that the two shows have definitively different tones and are different genres. Angel is paranormal horror noir, while Buffy is paranormal horror romance (well, romantic horror at any rate).
Angel S1 makes it a lot clearer than I thought, mainly because the Angel fandom kept insisting it was the Classical Hero's Journey (all evidence to the contrary). I can kind of see why they thought that? And Whedon didn't help. But if anything they are undercutting that trope in Angel.

Blind Date, the 21st episode of Angel S1 - is another WRH episode, which are by far the best episodes in the season. And it is an arc episode.
The episode has all the main arc players except for Kate (who I think the writers were re-thinking as a potential romance at this point, Angel isn't really a romance? Nor does Angel really need one?). Gunn is there instead of Kate, in the thankless role of distraction - playing up the stereotypes.

What is interesting about the episode is how cleverly the writers manage to hoodwink their audience. I didn't realize they did it - when I first watched ages ago, when it aired live. I wished I had, I would have kept watching, instead of jumping in and out of it like I did - skipping episodes. When I first saw it live, and even the second time I saw it prior to seeing Season 4, I didn't see the twist. They completely fooled me along with the fandom. I thought the episode was lame and it annoyed me. Now that I see the twist. It's kind of hilarious and rather clever. And perfectly foils the characters. I see it now, of course. After having seen S5 several times, it's pretty obvious - but it wasn't then.
( how they fool their audience )

Buffy S4: New Moon Rising - there's several things the writers need to accomplish in this episode. In a way, Blind Date is easier? I liked it a lot better, because it's nice and twisty, and they hoodwink the lead characters and audience. And once you see it - it's hilarious. I love episodes like that. With hidden twists. Even if I don't see it until years later and I was also hoodwinked. I think I would have enjoyed the series more the first go-around, if I'd seen the twist and not been hoodwinked.

In New Moon Rising - they need to somehow get Adam and Spike together. Also firmly shut the door on the Willow/Oz romance, and open it on the Willow/Tara (also firmly state that this is a romantic relationship and have Willow come out of the closet to Buffy). And, get Riley to cut ties with the Initiative. (Not to worry, he returns in S5. Take the boy out of the military, but you can't take the military out of the boy - which is kind of clear in this episode.)

It's a very plotty episode, so not the best. Much like S3 - the arc episodes aren't as good. The problem here is Riley/Adam and the Initiative, while in S3 it was the Mayor/Faith (although I liked the Mayor/Faith better than Riley/Adam - I like S4 better than S3, mainly due to the characters, and the situation).

That said - this episode is among the better arc episodes, and works better than a lot of the previous ones did in hitting all the crucial points. Not sure who wrote it? Ah, Marti Noxon. (Jeannine Renishaw wrote Blind Date Angel s1). Explains a lot. Noxon wrote Willow/Tara the best.
( Read more... )

Off to get lunch soon, and then a massage at 3:15.

On the Buffy/Angel rewatch - I actually think what the writers did in the episodes Bachelor Party through Something Blue is rather clever? They managed to move Willow, Doyle, Buffy and Angel on from their first loves in an entertaining and convincing manner. Also from the metaphor - no longer are we doing the Beauty and the Beast metaphor, or the taming the wild beast in the man - or being abandoned by Daddy. We've moved on to the sick mother, or the dark mother imagery and providing women with greater agency in a relationship.

Tough to do, well. But they did it. I'm convinced by the end of Something Blue that both Willow and Buffy have to move on to someone else. And I've stopped shipping them with OZ (Willow) or Angel (Buffy) and have decided they are better off without them. Also done with the trope. Both OZ and Angel leave for more or less the same reason - they can't control the beast inside when they are around Willow and Buffy, so they have to leave. And they tend to weaken Willow and Buffy, and take away their agency. On the surface the relationships seemed great and really romantic, but in reality they were toxic to everyone involved. And, well didn't help either character grow or evolve. The writers had no choice but to somehow get this across - since Angel had moved onto his own series, and you can't have Angel and Buffy on separate shows and in a relationship. And well the actor playing OZ wanted to be written out. Doyle - was given a wife - to make him more appealing to Cordelia, and to parallel the character with Willow's situation. It doesn't quite work - but it does give him a back story, which was needed.

Sciatica is slightly better - but I've also not aggravated it too much this morning. At least the calves no longer hurt, and digestion is working better.

Started watching Rain Maker on Peacock, which stars in supporting roles, the actress who played the Evil Queen (in Once Upon a Time) as the bad ass lawyer that Rudy (the protagonist) ends up working for - "Bruiser", and John Slattery (Mad Men) as the head of the firm, that Rudy was fired from, and is fighting against. Slattery is inspired, since he doesn't come across as either a bully or evil, but likable - and that works actually.
And LP (who played the Evil Queen) is also cast against type, as the good guy rouge with the heart of gold lawyer. It's actually better than expected and based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Grisham is an executive producer.

1. After much contemplation - I finally bit the bullet and booked a "Thai" massage for Friday.

My plans - such as they were - have kind of fallen through as a result of a combination of things - weather, sleep/exhaustion and mobility issues. Does anyone know how to heal tightened sore calve muscles? I've tried everything - yoga, stretching exercises, leg exercises, drinking lots of water, cutting back on antihistamines. Hopefully one will work. Also massage - to stretch out and re-align, because not sure how much of the pain is due to alignment. [I'm leaving calling the doctor again as a last resort - I already asked them for help, and they told me: 1) dehydration (drink more water, and limit the anithistamines) and 2) do exercises, and 3) lose weight.)

But that's okay, I'm doing other stuff - and at least I'm away from work and my body is hopefully healing - getting more sleep, and more exercise?

2. PSA: Ao3 finally posted something about how to protect yourself from scammers - probably because they'd gotten a barrage of complaints about them - if you've been posting fic, meta, any type of writing for more than a year, and have followers, on social media platforms - you've probably run across the scammers.

They pop up on live-journal and dream-width too, by the way. I've not really seen that many on WordPress or Facebook (mainly because my FB page is friends/family only and private). They are a nuisance.

3. Buffy S4 - continues to be good, and an improvement over previous seasons. The one flaw - is well - the Initiative Story-Arc, which basically just underlines how little the writers know about the military outside of watching cheesy 1960s science fiction serials. Oh well, at least they have Spike to poke fun at it - and he does.

Sunday's hippie Vampire Frat Boy: Don't drink that it's drugged.
Spike: Ugh. And you might be?
SHVFB: A rat like all the other lab rats. We're here to die. They starve us until we bite our own arm off, then feed us drugged blood ...
Spike: And they might be who exactly? The government, Nazis, a major cosmetics company?
Lab Rat: It was all fine until the slayer came in and broke up our group - we had a great thing going until she arrived.
Spike: the Slayer! I always wondered what would happen if she got some good funding behind her...

He clearly thinks more of the Slayer as a threat that well the government.

S4 Episode 7 - The Initiative - makes me wonder about the writers again.

Juliet Landau brings this up in her rewatch - so it's not just me, apparently. The writers seem to like to show the male characters in the worst light, and often emphasize their misogynistic and chauvinistic traits. ( Read more... )

It's a good episode for several stand out scenes: ( Read more... )

Pangs - I've less to say about, but I loved this episode. It has some of the best lines and banter in the entire series. Also the bantering debate between Willow, Giles, Xander, Spike, Buffy and Anya about the Native Americans and Thanksgiving is hilarious, and informative...and realistic. It reminds me of why I liked the later seasons - I really loved the addition of Anya and Spike - I liked those two characters (and actors) far better than Angel and Cordelia - they were less mopey? Whiny? And more witty. (It does depend on one's sense of humor? Angel's didn't work for me, Buffy's did.)

"And they say Romance is dead, or maybe we just wish it were?" - Buffy

"You made a Bear!" - Spike
"I didn't mean to." - Buffy
"Undo it! Undo it!" - Spike

"It's a sham, with yams. It's a yam sham!"
"You won't be able to jokingly rhyme your way out of this one!"

[Actually, it just occurred to me? Buffy and Spike hit it off - because they are both poets and sardonic quips. They like to make fun of things.]

Pangs is proof that Buffy succeeded because the writers could write dialogue. According to the Juliette Landau rewatch - when she interviewed Charles Martin Smith one of the Buffy directors - Whedon had a tendency to write pages of dialogue, no set direction, no camera direction, no action - just dialogue. And from what I've read - he was the go-to guy for good dialogue. And came from Roseanne - which had great comedic dialogue and one liners. Say what you will about Whedon - he was a good script writer. Might have been a horrific boss that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy - but he could churn out a good script, and tended to find other writers who could.

4. Finished another S1 episode of Poker Face- this is the Rian Johnson series that stars Natasha Lyon as a kind of Columbo style detective, in a stealth anthology series. The only on-going link in the series is Lyon's Charlie, who is a former card counter/gambling security checker on the run from the Mob (and any law enforcement associated with it). She takes odd jobs here and there, and cleverly solves mysteries along the way. The odd jobs range from sweeping up hair in a barber shop to assisting a special effects film director. She drives a ratty old 1970s era Cad, that looks like it was picked off the lot of Starsky and Hutch. And each episode features older rather famous actors (much as Columbo and Murder She Wrote did back in the day). The episode I just watched had Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, and Luz Guzman.

Like all stealth anthology series - some episodes are better than others. It's not really binge material. I watch it sporadically. It does require some attention or focus though, and it has commercials - although they aren't intrusive.

If you like Rian Johnson (who is admittedly an acquired taste), Natasha Lyonn (also an acquired taste and the female version of Peter Falk), and Columbo/Alfred Hitchcock/Agatha Christie style mysteries - this is for you.

This episode was written and directed by Natasha Lyon. I'm impressed by Nolte who is still acting at 84, and doing a great job of it. (Nolte is another one of my actor crushes.)

So, the side-effect of listening to Landau's podcasts, and seeing her independent film is...I've developed a major gurl-crush on Juliette Landau. I tend to develop crushes on cult television/movie and theater character actors who aren't in that much? Not enough of one to pay for her podcast, I'm willing to do it for free though. She's adorable - she loves theater, is detailed on theater, film, music, and the craft. And an excellent interviewer - she's better than the guy who did Inside the Actor's Studio.

(Previous gurl-crushes include Claudia Black, Carrie Fisher, Angela Basset, Katee Sackoff...)

Oh well it's fitting, she's the other side of Spike/James Marsters - which is my other Buffy actor crush. Along with Anthony Stewart Head. I do wish I'd get crushes on people with lots of content available - and good content available. I've watched a lot of bad television and films because of actor crushes. Note to self - do not follow actors, follow directors and writers (although they aren't that reliable either, sorry to say - so just whatever looks appealing and has been rec'd by folks I trust?)

***

AHM told me to try "Telecharge" Lottery - to get discounted Broadway Theater tickets. Kyoto is on it. Just in Time isn't - so that's kind of out. Any of the Big Ticket Tourist Shows are out. Which is a shame - I really want to see Chess - I didn't know the score was ABBA and Tim Rice. (I'm a shameless ABBA fan - I had their music on 8 track in the 1970s and 80s). But alas, Big Ticket Tourist item - with rates between $440-$1K. Way outside my price range.

***

After I took my fifteen to twenty minute walk down the pier and around the tiny historic housing district, I went to Insomina Cookies to snag my Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookies - freshly baked, warm, with melt in your mouth chocolate. I've going there almost every weekday for a while now - the counter folks are getting to know me - in part, because I'm the only one getting gluten free cookies.

Counter guy: So, I only charged you for one cookie and gave you three.
ME: Huh? But I only ordered two -
( Read more... )

Mother wants me to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral to see the new murals that the Cardinal commissioned and have been put up. I don't know. I'm more curious about the Cathedral of St. John the Divine - I've never been to it.

****

Buffy Rewatch - S4 Buffy - Beer Bad is better than I remembered. It's hilarious in places. Also, it has the added bonus of watching Kal Penn (who was later on the West Wing, and for a while interned in Obama's White House) and is a comedic actor - turn into a caveman after drinking too much beer.

Xander: How much beer does someone have to drink before they start questing for fire?
Pub owner: Oh, don't worry - it'll wear off in a day or two.
Xander: I served that beer to them - to Buffy - someone could get seriously hurt in a day or two. You are a bad bad man.

Xander is hilarious in S4. I actually like all the characters in this season, which is a first for the series. In S1-3, Xander got on my ever living nerve. Willow kind of did too, along with Cordelia at various points.

I'm liking Buffy S4 more than Angel S1, which isn't as entertaining and a bit too much like a dozen other similar series I've seen. In listening to the Landau podcasts - I learned a lot of recent Buffy fans, had watched Angel first - and then watched Buffy, they were David B fans first. But, ironically their favorite Buffy episodes are Hush and OMWF, not Angel centric episodes.

**

Regarding Buffy S1? I learned from Juliet Landau's podcasts and interviews that Mark Metcalf's makeup for the Master took six hours to put on, and he didn't take it off the whole time he played the role. Those who acted with him, never saw him without it. Julie Benze who portrayed Darla - said he was disgusting with it on, and it was hard for her to look at him. But he was easy to work with. Benze was able to create her own character - and made various suggestions, most of which the writers took. (Except for one - she wasn't going to be a Greek Fury, she wasn't that old.)

But alas, no, a heating pad will have to do.

It's a lovely day, clear blue sky, and in the low seventies, upper sixties. Brisk breeze. Apartment is cool as well - in the low seventies. So no A/C nor fans are required. I do have air purifiers running. But whatever was in the air last weekend beating my sinuses up - is gone now. Thank heavens.

For a moment or two today - I got confused and thought it was Thursday, but no, it is thankfully Friday. Been listening to Juliette Landau's Revamped podcasts on youtube via my smartphone, all day long, along with music here and there. Made it through her re-watch of part 1 of Prophecy Girl, and When She was Bad, also interviews with Nerf Herder (apparently Alyson Hannigan recommended the band to Whedon), and Charles Martin Smith (who directed Welcolme to the Hellmouth and was in American Graffitti, his father was also a Parisian animator, who did the Peanuts animation). I highly recommend Landaus for film and television geeks and nerds. She goes into detail on theater, film, and music bits. At one point she informs the listener that the prop/set designer for Buffy's husband, created the Pirate ship for Pirates of the Caribbean. He was told by the studio/director to go to town on it - spend whatever he wanted - he had an unlimited budget to design the Pirate Ship. The twelve year old child in him was hopping up and down yelling - best job ever! Landau is charming, lovely, and easy to listen to. She is also quite knowledgable about film and theater techniques and how to convey them to the listener. Plus a considerate interviewer. She's won an award for her podcast - and I can see why.

Question a Day Meme - September and October

29. When was the last time you had to take part in a fire evacuation?

Eh, about ten years ago - I think - in Jamaica. We used to have them a lot in the old workplace in Jamaica. Mainly because folks were always setting off the alarm by leaving bagels in toaster ovens. At one point - the fire department took the toaster oven and the microwave away from us. While we understood the toaster oven, the microwave didn't make much sense, and they got a new one.

30. Have you ever owned an electric blanket?

Yes, but it was a very long time ago - in the 20th Century, and possibly the 1980s. So I don't remember it clearly.

OCTOBER

1. It’s National Cookbook Month – do you own many cookbooks, or do you rely on the internet for recipe ideas?

I own a lot of cookbooks. I rarely use them. I rarely follow recipes. I read the recipe - then go off and do my own thing. Mainly because I rarely have the right ingredients or appliances, so have to redefine the recipe to fit my needs. That - and I'm single - and most recipes are designed for a family of five. I don't know why it's five - but it is. Sometimes it's two, but rarely just one person. We live in a society that actively discriminates against single people - it's as if everyone assumes that the vast majority of people are married and have kids.

Uh no.

2. Have you ever made chilli (with meat or vegetarian)? Even if you haven’t, what do you like to have alongside chilli as part of the meal?

Yes. I've made both. I prefer vegetarian. I make it with dark chocolate like my mother does. And usually have it either with a small side salad, and cheese and crackers.

3. Do you have well-organised kitchen storage?

LOL! No.

***

Bonus questions:

Name a television show that you will be a fan of until you die - and know everything about, and seen more than twenty times...and never get tired of re-watching?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sigh. (not sure why exactly - combination of dialogue, snarky self-deprecating sense of humor, and characters - also it features strong women and is among the few series that is female centric and allows women to be strong physically, and take on a traditional male role...subverting expectations).

Film series?

Star Wars. (Not sure why - it may be a combination of the world building, dialogue, characters, and the sense of hope...)

Book series?

Kate Daniels Magic Series by Illona Andrews ( I have no idea why - I think it's the dialogue and sardonic sense of humor? Also features a badass female lead who can take on the male leads, excellent sword-fighter, and is equal to the male romantic lead. And I'm partial to the idea of lions - a shapeshifter who is a lion as opposed to a werewolf is appealing to me.)

Breaths a sigh of relief - it's finally Friday. It's been a difficult week, I'm glad it's over. Although today wasn't bad overall? The weather was pleasant for once. If a touch on the hazy side.

Question a Day Meme : August

( days 8-15 )

*****

Facebook and other social media platforms - keep throwing Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revival articles at me. They keep calling it the Buffy Reboot, and people keep stating - "it's not a reboot". And then other people state: "no, it is a reboot, the other is a remake". Sigh. Keep in mind this is the same fandom that fought over what a soul meant, and whether vampires had breath. They also were still fighting over the shanshu and were worried the Buffy Revival would mess with their precious Angel. (No, the writers of the Buffy Revival couldn't care less about Angel. Gellar didn't care about Angel. I doubt she's ever watched it. ) That said? If they decide to bring back Spike or Angel - they will either have to be human (and there are many ways for that to happen outside of a shanshu, all you need is an imagination - I could do it, easy), or be insanely aged vampires (which is also possible), because both actors have definitely aged and they look their age.

Note, what I've learned from various articles thrown at me about the Buffy Revival?

It has an IMBD page now.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale appears to be the working title.

Description? Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil.
( Read more... )

Still rewatching S3, although debating skipping a few episodes and jumping to S4. I really don't like the Faith/Mayor main plot arc for some reason or other. I know I'm in the minority. Most people adore it for some reason or other.

***

Off to bed. Hopefully to sleep and dream of sheep...or ponies.

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

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

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

***

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

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

The latest?

Buffy Reboot ads another casting member and names the new slayer

( excerpt )

And...

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

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

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

***

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

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.