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... )


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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... )

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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?

Difficult, long, and tedious work week requiring a touch more patience than I wished to give it - not helped by the cold snap. Although my knees did appreciate it, since I need to ice them anyhow. Nor helped by issues with subways earlier in the week, resulting in more walking and more steps.

But it's Friday, finally! Thank god. And I've got a three day weekend - since we get Martin Luther King Day off - most people do in NYC.

I can sleep in. Rest my knee. And get some chores done. Also maybe a few watercolors.

Been entertaining myself with Buffy podcasts - which require little to no attention, and I find entertaining. Did learn a few things? ( Read more... )

It's really hard to know what is true and what isn't in this day and age. Information Age, my foot - more like Mis-Information Age.

***

Finally finished re-watching Hells Bells - I've mixed feelings about this episode. It's alas a Xander episode - which well pretty much tells you everything right there. That said - it's a mixed bag? When the story is focusing on the Scooby Gange or main leads, it's actually pretty good? But when it shifts to the twenty or so never-seen, rarely seen, and never to be seen again - ancillary characters - it loses focus. ( Read more... )

I realized today why I find this show so comforting and feel the need to write about it. It's central theme is "don't give up, life is painful and hard, but don't give up, the people you meet throughout it - make it worth it". I think that's why I love the later seasons - I find them oddly to be the most relatable.

**

PT went okay. He said that it's the muscles around the knee that are sore and hurting, because they are weak or strained, so to ice them and do the exercises.

**

I'm not enjoying the Angelica Huston Memoir as much as the others, partly because...I don't much like Angelica Huston? ( Read more... )

1. Batman casting news...apparently Sebastain Stan has decided to be in both the MCU franchise and the DC franchise, and is the latest to appear in both to date. (Christian Bale did the same thing but in reverse - he appeared as Batman in DC's franchise, and Gor: the God Killer in the Thor films in MCU's franchise.)

Stan has been selected to portray Harvey Dent aka Half and Half in The Batman Part II (the Robert Pattinson Batman films). Actually The Batman was pretty good - in that it focused, for once, more on Batman. And it is clearly taken from Frank Miller's run on the comics - aka Batman Year 1.

Go HERE

If you know anything about the character or the comics, that's actually perfect casting. DC is doing a better job of casting their films than expected. I'm actually looking forward to seeing them.

2. I used a cold compress last night on my knee in bed - to quell the pain in the middle of the night - and it apparently tore in the night. I discovered this when I awoke - and ended up with tiny blue plastic beads on the floor and on the bed. Not too many thankfully, but enough to almost undo all the work that the cold compress had accomplished. Also I liked that cold compress - which alas is in the waste bin. So around 4:30 am, I'm cleaning up the little plastic beads from the floor. Took a while to get back to sleep - and ended up getting up around 8:30 am.

Now, icing again, after doing exercises, and robot vacuuming my apartment.

3. Angel S3 rewatch - Episode 13, Waiting in the Wings - which delves into the doomed romances of Angel. It's the companion piece to Buffy. In case you've never watched any of the Whedon series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) - a word to the wise? Don't ship the romantic or sexual relationships on them. (Platonic, yes, romantic, no.) They won't end well. There is no such thing as a romantic HEA in a Whedon series. The writers of Buffy/Angel are NOT romance writers. I kept trying to tell people in the fandom this - but they wouldn't listen to me, and sure enough they'd get their little hearts broken. I'm a long running serial fan - happy romantic relationships seldom last on serials.
( Read more... )
All in all, the romances on Buffy work better for me - mainly because they aren't love triangles, and the obstacles are more central to the characters, and less contrived misunderstandings.

4. Reading...

* Working my way through Angelica Huston's autobiography on audible:

Finished "A Story Lately Told: Growing up in Ireland, London, and New York"

and half way into "Watch Me" - about her life in Hollywood, mainly with Jack Nicholson, who ironically discovered his mother was his sister, long after both his mother and grandmother died. (Ironic if you remember the plot of Chinatown - which Nicholson starred in.) ( Read more... )

* Also reading "The Botanist's Assistant" in paperback, but not getting that far - because I'm struggling to focus on reading books at the moment.
Don't know why. Could be the commute is too short and disruptive to read? It's only a 19-20 minute train ride, then off, steps, walk, steps, stand, five minute train ride, walk, there. That's kind of difficult to really read during? And the way my brain works - I need at least ten-fifteen minutes to get into any task, be it reading, writing, what have you.

It's good - so not the book's fault. About an ungainly tall middle-aged female research assistant working in a University botany lab, who discovers her boss's body. Refusing to accept that it was by natural causes, she begins to investigate the death. She also cared for the man, and had a serious crush on him.

Question a Day Meme - January:

6. In 1709 The Great Frost began during the night, a sudden cold snap that remains Europe's coldest ever winter. What temperature will it reach today where you live?

It's actually warmer this week? So it reached 45 degrees, and is supposed to reach 51 on Friday. Also supposed to rain. But hopefully not when I'm off to see the doctor on Friday.

7. In 1803, Henri Herz, an Austrian pianist and composer, was born in Vienna, Austria. Have you ever learned the piano? If not, would you like to?

Yes. When I was 13, my mother and I took lessons separately, but from the same teacher. I sucked at it - dysgraphia/dyslexia and piano don't mix well. I could play with one hand, but both? And use the pedals? And read the music? Uh, not without a great deal of difficulty.

The teacher went to my mother and told her - that I'd never be able to learn to play the piano and to not waste any more time on it.

My family can draw, paint, write - but we are not musically inclined. We love music, we just can't sing or play an instrument to save our lives.

***

Buffy S6 Rewatch.

I like S5 and S4 better? Even though S6 is much riskier. The production design is slightly off in S6 - hair, makeup, etc. Also Gellar and Marsters apparently decided they had to lose fifty pounds for all those sex scenes.
(Sigh.) They are TOO thin. So is Emma Caulfield. Meanwhile Xander keeps gaining weight. Weirdly, wardrobe has decided to play with Spike's wardrobe - he's gotten a wardrobe upgrade. Actually, Buffy, Spike, and possibly Willow have the best wardrobe.

The writers are having a lot of fun implying sex - without really showing anything? And they seem to be hunting about every way to do it, available.
( Read more... )

Question a Day Meme:

4. Do you have any travel plans arranged for this year?

Well, kind of? But nothing really planned or definite at the moment - due to continuing health issues from 2025 - specifically my cranky knees (which aren't cooperating with me and deteriorating at the ripe old age of 58). My plan was to go to Chicago in the Spring with Mother, maybe a train trip in the fall, and possibly a short excursion to see her in Hilton Head. Now, not sure what I'm doing.

5. Are you looking forward to any TV shows this year?

* The Pitt S2 - HBO
* Diplomat S4 or is it 5 - Netflix
* Lanterns - HBO
* Slow Horses S5 (I think - the next season in any event) - Apple +
* Second Season of Dept Q - Netflix
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale (assuming of course Hulu shows the pilot and any new episodes post-pilot) - Hulu

***

Oh, Angel/Buffy rewatch?

The Angel/Cordelia and Buffy/Spike romances are ...frustrating? In many respects I prefer them to Buffy/Angel, but they are still frustrating to watch?

Neither Angel nor Buffy know how to communicate, while Spike and Cordelia are kind of no-nonsense, and say it like it is.

Also, the writers don't appear to know what to do with Xander and Gunn. They are in holding pattern with Xander/Anya. Poor Anya appears to be stuck in the Magic Shop either planning her wedding, working, or researching with Xander at night. Xander and Gunn are similar characters - "dudes" - and the writers have no idea what to do with them.

Buffy and Spike - need to talk more? I actually feel more for Spike than Buffy this season - mainly because he just wants to talk it out. And she refuses to. She likes to talk at him - basically complain about her life, or lack thereof, but not discuss their relationship, or his role in her life. It's hard not to identify with Spike in this situation. Which while insanely interesting and rather innovative from an overall narrative/ story-telling perspective, it's also a touch messy from a plot perspective? Because I know where this is headed? And I'm not sure it works - if I'm rooting for Spike? Worse - I'm rooting for Spike to be redeemed without a soul and get Buffy. And that's against the story-thread and the canon. We're supposed to rooting for Buffy to get away from Spike, to see he can't change, and be shocked that he goes and gets a soul - and think, but of course, and then realize no he still can't have her - but at least he gets it now, and finally can be redeemed? But it's not quite being written that way entirely - because I think the writers being rather existentialist were on the fence about it? (I mean let's face it - where's the fun in writing this sort of thing, if you can't break your own rules?) Also the story-thread is kind of predictable and boring, so the writers decided to be a bit more ambiguous about it, and let both Spike and Buffy think, well, maybe, he can be? That's great - but it can prove to be problematic.

I think S6 fascinates me - because it's so subversive, and indecisive, and filled with risks. Honestly, it and S4 - they writers had a lot of fun breaking a ton of television writing and trope rules. And I had a blast watching them do it. They did manage to change the medium in the process - because other writers, actors, creative types saw it - and got excited, and decided to do it too. I'm not sure we'd have BSG, RT Davies Doctor Who/Torchwood, Lost, Vampire Diaries, Interview with a Vampire, Veronica Mars, Grey's Anatomy, Bridgerton, etc without Buffy. Whedon had fun breaking rules, and god bless them, the network let him do it.

Continuing with my comfort re-watch of Buffy and Angel, and for some reason or other, I don't feel compelled to watch anything else. Outside of a movie here and there. Nothing else is appealing to me at the moment, including Stranger Things, which recently dropped the first part of its' fifth and final season. I think I'm waiting for the second part to drop? Also trying to remember what happened previously.

Mother: Should I watch Stranger Things?
Me: No, I'd not recommend it - think Steven King and Steven Spielberg, circa 1980s.
Mother: What's it about?
Me: It's about a bunch of folks in a small New England town who stumble upon a porthole to a hell dimension, which brings in various demonic monsters - one captures a small boy. It's sci-horror. Very similar to the stuff Steven King and Steven Spielberg did in the 1980s.
Mother: Ugh. Really? Say no more, I'll pass.
Me: Told you.

I don't recommend television shows, books, or films to folks that I know won't like them. For example? If someone likes hyper-realistic dramas, with top-notch diverse casts, and hates fantasy and horror, I'm not going to recommend Buffy the Vampire Slayer to them, the Wire yes, Buffy no.

Why torture myself and them unnecessarily? I'm not that masochistic. Much easier to say - no you won't like it - it's a fantasy, with this that, and the other thing, and leave it at that. People need to be more tolerant of others tastes, and realize we most likely do not share the same tastes and leave it at that? Also, I'm a moody television and film and book watcher/reader. I go with whatever is calling me to it at the moment. If it's not, my brain will refuse to pay attention to it.

Finished Angel S2 finally - and it's a mixed bag. Buffy S5 is actually better - and more fluid and tighter. Of course it didn't have the problems Angel did. Angel S2, had some of the same issues Buffy S4 had - in that half of the supporting cast suddenly and without warning became unavailable in the second half of the season. Julie Benze (Darla) and Christian Kane (Lindsey) were both unavailable at the end of S2, and they had to write another story instead. Also, they ended up writing out Kate - because her involvement was contrived, also the actress got a role on Law and Order, and was unavailable. They intended to bring her back in Angel S3 as part of the Holtz story arc (she was supposed to be in the Justine role), but the actress wasn't available.

As a result, we got the Pylea arc - which is....not great. I kind of played a video game through it, and watched as background noise? I'd stop every once and awhile - out of curiosity - because I wanted to know something. (Such as Joss Whedon plays Numfar, who is told to keep dancing, in the background at Lorne's family reunion. And how Cordy becomes Princess, and how they figure out the way home (Fred figures it out with Wes's help).)

Takeaways?
( Read more... )

As an aside? You really can't trust Google's AI summaries, can you? I googled why Christian Kane and Elizabeth Roem left Angel or were unavailable - and the summary told me that Roem came back in the episode Same Time, Same Place in the 4th Season. (Uhm no. Also that's an episode in Buffy S7). Also when I was googling the Nosh Oven and how to fix something in it - it told me to preheat (you aren't supposed to, it heats up fast), and gave me the wrong cooking time.

It also says, Lindsey comes and goes in the later seasons. He only came back in S5, and on a limited basis.

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.

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