Spontaneous Musings

Fallen in love with Peaky Blinders, which kind of reminds me of Breaking Bad, in that it is a dark anti-hero series about criminals. I like the characters better than Breaking Bad. My difficulty with Breaking Bad is I disliked the characters but loved the writing, one of the many reasons I didn't bother with Better Call Saul. Good dialogue, folks, can only get you so far.
( Read more... )

Mother's into it too. MG had talked her into it. Actually we both did, separately. She told MG that she finished the first season.

Mother: Tommy Shelby is one sexy man.
MG: Yes, he can put his boots under my bed at any time.

Well, you know where our priorities are, don't you?

**

You can believe it or not, avoid bigoted assholes on social media. I've gotten good at it. I am for the most part oblivious to the political trolls and bigots online. I only know they exist because other people mention them occasionally in passing.

Of course my Twitter feed is mainly: Soap Twitter (just GH), Book Twitter (or Literary Twitter), Romance Twitter, Nature Twitter, Art Twitter, Music Twitter, Black Twitter, Poetry Twitter, and Cat Twitter.

I don't do political twitter. And I'm not into sports or gaming or reality television or celebrity gossip or the royals - all of which attract bigots for some reason.

***

Queer Historical Romance Novel is highly entertaining and has great dialogue. Making me think I should read more of these?

( from memory, so not exact )
Reader? I burst out laughing. In the middle of the subway. On the way home from work. With my mask on. So it was muffled laughter. People glanced at me, then away. There weren't that many people.

Traveling through public transportation depots or stations - provides one with excellent opportunities to people watch. And people are..interesting.
On the way from my office to the train platform, a man wrapped in what appeared to be bed comforter, pajamas, and a rolling suitcase passed me.
I did a double take. No, he wasn't homeless. Homeless tends to be ragged, dirty, and unkept. He was perfectly clean, well-kept, combed, just...had a bed comforter (a rather nice one) wrapped around him, and striped blue pjs, and a nice small suitcase. He was racing from the Air Train building to the Subway.

Mother: So did he just come from sleeping on the plane?
Me": Well, kind of, had to leave the plane, go through the airport, get to the air train, and to the street level and subway...which by the way is an ordeal, even without a blanket, pjs, and a suitcase.

Add to all of that? It was 45 degrees outside, dreary and looked like rain. It didn't rain. But it looked like rain.

The guy was in his late twenties.

***

I'm sending photos of sunflowers to myself at work, so I can print them off and use them for watercolors. Having decided trying to paint off pictures on the computer screen isn't going to work. Reminds me, I should bring photo paper. (Home printer isn't working.)

***

Book Twitter was amusing.

One of the posters commented on how you need to be wary of people who are unfamiliar with non-monogamous relationships - wanting to try one.
( probably not best for anyone under the age of 18 )
And he's asking Twitter or rather Reddit for help?

The commentator sees all sorts of red flags popping up here.

You think?

And people wonder why I'm still single.

Oh, and another commentator on Book Twitter warned me off of the new novel "How to Sell a Haunted House" which I'd been flirting with. Apparently it's a bait and switch. They stated - "Warning: if dolls and puppets are a hard pass for you, you might want to skip this one. Because this book is not kidding around in that department. At all."

Good to know. Dolls and puppets are a hard pass for me. My mother has a doll collection, and I grew up with one in my bedroom. And when I visit, there's Madame Alexander Dolls in the place where I sleep.

I stay away from anything with creepy dolls or puppets in it. That's a hard pass. This is actually my problem with the horror genre - there's too many things that are hard passes within it:

1. Spiders (arachnophobic)
2. Dolls/Puppets
3. Zombies or diseases
4. Body Horror
5. Metamphorsis (see #4)

Which means I probably should jump genres soon?

Was speaking to mother last night, bemoaning "The Bride Test" which I could not finish.

Me: I thought I was getting a novel about a Vietnamese immigrant hunting her father with an autistic man, and they fall in love. [Note to self - read the reviews on Good Reads and the snyopsis there a bit closer. Not just the smart bitches rec on the Kindle Daily Deal.] Instead it's all about why he can't say the words I love you, and thinks for some dumb reason he can't love anyone. So she feels worthless - because he can't tell her he loves her. That's 90% of the book. THAT.
Mother: Oh god, I hear you - same problem. They can't tell anyone they love them, and feel that aren't worthy because of it, despite all the great sex, they wonderful things he's done for her, etc, but no...it's about whether or not they can say the words? I just finished a historical novel that did the same exact thing - that was the main conflict.

Neither of us can relate to this trope, and it's an on-going complaint we have. I wonder if people realize how many sociopaths, sexual predators and psychos manipulate women with those words? Heck, the horror film "FRESH" - in that the serial killer manipulates his victims by telling them how much he loves them.

Abusive husbands do this all the time. As do abusive husbands. It's abusive behavior 101, you beat your wife, then tell her how much you "love" her.

I want to throw this song at every nitwit romance writer who feels the need to bore me with this damn trope: Show Me.

So here's the list:
( Read more... )

My apologies if you love any of those. Please don't tell me.

Or happy Memorial Day? Seems odd to say that. Time was I visited the graves with my Gran on this day - but that was over twenty some years past. (She died in 09, and I moved in 96, so...the last time I did that was probably 1994 or 95. Now my mother's cousin A visits Liberty, Mo once a year, at Memorial Day, to do it. I don't know who will do it when she passes, she's eighty. [No, it won't be me - can't drive and you kind of have to. Well that and I've an aversion to the mid-west.]

Didn't do much today outside of robot vacuum, and watch television. It was hot. I did make it to the grocery store and back - mainly for lunch items, and got a sick sinus headache for my efforts.

***

Television

1. Crimson Peak by Guillimoro Del Toro (whose name I can't spell). It stars Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Waswachowski, Jim Beaver, and Charlie Hunam. Hiddleston and Chastain pretty much own the movie.

It kind of reminds me of Dragonwyck, except with a murderous sister and incest. Or basically it's Bluebeard but with a murderous sister.

This is a common trope. The only thing Del Toro does differently is he has the brother and sister in love, and incestuous, and he kind of focuses on the sister's love for the brother - having her state at the end, that love makes monsters of us all.

The difficulty with this film is honestly the difficulty with all of Del Toro's films - he's more interested in his lovable monsters than the human characters. Also he tends to go for visual style over characterization or plot.

At any rate, it's not a scary film - it's more of a romantic gothic film? But in the vein of Dragonwyck not Jane Eyre.

Some nice visual imagery though.

[Available on Netflix, everywhere else you have to spend money for it.]

2. The Offer - via Paramount Plus. This is a series about the making of The Godfather. The principle characters are Al Ruddy (portrayed by Miles Teller - who took the role from Arnie Hammer, gee, guess why?), Robert Evans (Mathew Goode), Bettye McCart (Juno Temple), Mario Puzo, Francis Fort Coppla, and a producer portrayed by Burn Gorman.

It's okay. It's pretty much Paramount Studios and Hollywood during the late 1960s early 70s. Robert Redford, Frank Sinatra (who hated The Godfather), Mia Farrow, Ali McGraw, and various others pop up. And it focuses on the difficulties of getting a movie made, and producing it. The focus or central characters are the producers.

3. Star Trek : Strange New Worlds - it has almost the same credits music and entry signature as the Original Trek - with Pike making it up and giving voice to it. This is basically Star Trek or the voyages of the Enterprise with Christopher Pike, before James T. Kirk took over his crew.
It has Uhura, Spock, and Lt. Samuel Kirk. I like the cast. Also Ethan Peck makes a great Spock.

First episode was interesting, and there's some tension in the series - due to Pike's vision on Discovery of his horrific death and paralysis. (Which most Star Trek fans, or anyone who has seen the Star Trek episode "The Cage"/"The Menagerie" - that is referenced in Star Trek : Discovery, and shows Pike's fate. It's a disturbing episode in the original canon, and I'd love it if they were to undo it.) Anyhow Pike fears this ending, and his fear is affecting some of his decision making, until one of his officers gives him an epiphany of sorts - "those who fear death are more likely to live longer and survive longer than those who don't. If you can't see your death or imagine it, the quicker it will happen."

Also the episode references the classic film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with the Enterprise playing a role that is similar to the aliens in the classic film.

3. Picard - I made the colossal mistake of watching the first episdoe of S2 (which is easy to do on these streaming channels which assume you've seen the first season already, I hadn't.) So I was confused by it.
I kept thinking - okay who are these characters and why are they doing whatever it is that they are doing? Also, why is Picard so messed up? And why did Q show up.

I just have to watch S1 first to understand it, apparently.

S2 is playing games with time travel and alternate timelines. I get the feeling Picard is playing into the temporal wars that are referenced in Star Trek Discovery.

What I like about the Star Trek franchise - and why I prefer it to the Star Wars franchise - is it kind of branched out more and created new characters, while at the same time building upon the old ones. Also it has managed to resolve and complete its character arcs in a satisfying fashion. With all of the original actors involved. We get all of Lt. Spock's history, including his back story (in Discovery and Strange New Worlds), all of Kirk's, all of Picard's, pretty everyones. And they weren't afraid to branch out and character new characters.

Add to all of the above? Trak is consistent, and explains the inconsistencies well.

Star Wars franchise - only works well when it veers completely away from the Skywalker/Solo clan. Mandalorian and Rogue One were for the most part pretty good. But the films that center on that clan with the exception of the first three films, and maybe Force Awakens, are a mess. As are the series.

Trek in sharp contrast has for the most part been fairly consistent. And rewarded long-time viewers with satisfying endings for their favs.

***

On the book front - I downloaded a lot of free gothic romances to the Kindle. There were four or five of them - rec'd by a blogger who hunted for modern writers of gothic romance that were good. The three that cost something - I ignored, one was Dragonwyck by Anya Seton (moustache twirling sociopathic love interest/villain and simpering, somewhat stupid, damsel in distress - with a young doctor who saves her - kind of a dumb version of Crimson Peak - hard pass), and the other was Jane (basically Jane Eyre with a Reclusive Rock Star - screamed New Adult, and hard pass), there was also one that was clearly the beginning of a mystery series and featured a serial killer (another hard pass).

Finished "Stitch in Time" - which Crimson Peak kind of reminded me of, except I liked Stitch better. Felt Stitch was a touch less cliche. Although both were problematic in that they followed common tropes. And Stitch felt a touch sexist, misogynistic in its trope. I know the author thought she was being clever with the twist, but I'd have gone the way I originally thought she was going - to be honest. This had the same problem that Crimson Peak had (without the incest, and the brother isn't nasty and is older, and rather sane). Stitch also focused more on the romantic and less on the horrific.

Will state that I agree with many of the reviewers in that Stich is among the few time travel stories that actually worked for me. Mainly because the heroine is not permitted much past the hero, so can't affect the timeline easily. Okay worked for the most part - it didn't bug me the way most of these time travel stories do.

Off to bed. Hopefully I won't wake up five times in the night like I have the last few nights. The disrupted sleep is resulting in irritability and increased tiredness.

Covid-19 Antibody test came back..( Read more... )

Oh, I told my mother that the doctor thinks my high cholesterol might be genetic. My mother begs to differ.

Mother: Except your father and I didn't have it until recently.
Me: Nor did I.
Mother: We were older than you.
Me: By what ten years??

Mother suggested that instead of giving away all my Easter candy, I just throw it in the freezer like my grandmother used to do with her candy. (She'd get free candy in Vegas or at Christmas or make it, then throw it in the freezer and eat it sparingly.) Except, mother pointed out - this doesn't necessarily stop her from eating it. It stopped my grandmother, it did not stop mother.

I'm wondering if the combo keto and paeolo diets over the years caused my cholesterol to spike - due to the increase in cheese substitutes and meat fats? Although I have kind of gone off of red meat for the foreseeable future on account of it just not being digestible. (I know keto has resulted in a lot of folks getting their gall bladder's removed or in high cholesterol due to the fact that most people can't process fat that well.)
(As an aside cholesterol is a difficult word to spell.)

***

I may re-watch Bridgerton - I'm in the mood for fluffy romance, and I like the characters. It's not for everyone. But nothing is. There are things other people like that I can't watch. It's like food. I don't like brussle sprouts, my brother loves them. I don't know which family he sprouted out of - but it wasn't ours, no one in my family likes it but him.

***

Oh, Biden appointed the first female to an Admiral Position via Kamala Harris on Twitter.

President Biden has nominated Adm. Linda Fagan to serve as the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, the administration announced Tuesday.

If confirmed, Fagan would be the first woman ever to lead a branch of the U.S. military, lawmakers said.

YAY! And about bloody time. I feel like going into a chorus of anything you can do, I can do better...or something.

Although, this does mean that women can be drafted, although I think we could be as early as the 1990s, so never mind.

**

Been feeling a tad depressed of late, combination of the weather (gloomy and we're getting a late Spring), work, and my frustration with my body at the moment.

Reading another romance novel - It's one of Julie Anne Long's books about the Palace of Rogues. ( Read more... )

Mother survived yet another surgery - this time around on her left knee. I think it's her left knee, the opposite knee from the hip that she had massive surgery on last year. She had to get a full knee replacement, the arthritis in the knee got so bad that it was bone on bone. The surgeon was amazed she made it this far on that knee, stating she really needed the surgery - and thought she was a real trooper.

Brother texted me that she was okay. He'd gone down to help her out. He's staying a week. (He drives (I do not) and he's retired for the most part, with not as many responsibilities or rather he's more flexible.

Bro: She's doing good, alert, chatty. Very chatty.
Me: LOL! Well, you'll get caught up on all of the gossip on Hilton Head and in the family.
Bro: Eesh.
Me: LOL!

Mother said he'd been very patient with her.

Niece is arriving home (back in the US) tomorrow - her mother switched her flight to Wed, because the teachers are on strike again in Britain, so they got out a week early for spring break. They get an entire month off.

Her mother is in the city tonight attending a British - African Hip Hop Concert that she couldn't get any of her friends to go to. So she's going by herself. My brother said it's going to be my tiny Jewish/Italian/Cherokee by way of Ireland sister-in-law in a room with a bunch of huge black men. (I doubt it - hip hop is fairly diverse.) I don't know which band it is - just that they aren't here very often and she couldn't pass up the chance to see them in person.

Meanwhile I can't even get myself to go out to eat with Wales, let alone a movie, or theater date. I'm also still wearing a mask everywhere. Most folks are, although quite a few aren't. A lot of my co-workers have stopped wearing them now. There's just a handful of us who refuse to stop. Everyone does on public transportation at least - except for a handful of folks who don't - there's always been a handful. I see more and more of them. Yesterday and this morning, I found myself sitting next to them.

It unnerves me, but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. My super's no longer wear them, and many of the folks in my building don't. I get it.
I know why - they don't. It's not simple, it's complicated. But I feel more comfortable wearing my KF94's and KN95's. I don't get sick when I wear them.

At work, I had a lengthy chat with Ali the lawyer/engineer. She's both. Double Trouble. Actually, I like her. We were chatting about Bridgerton and romance novels. She'd read the books, and was upset that the second season completely veered away from the books altogether. The lead female character was apparently ruined - in the book she's selfless and sacrifices herself for her sister, in this one - she doesn't, and is selfish, and there's a love triangle - when there wasn't one at all in the book.

In short they turned it into a soap opera.

My brother was watching it with my mother and asked what happened to all the sex scenes. He was lead to believe it had lots of raunchy sex.
So mother, being mother, felt the need to regale him with the details of the raunchy sex scenes in the previous season of Bridgerton. (Mother has no shame. Or filter in this regard.)

Mother: I think I gave him too much information.
ME: LOL! Poor thing.

I've not seen it yet - both Gabe and I are saving it for this weekend. I was in a pseudo-serious mood last weekend. Although I may watch Spiderman again. As Ali-the-lawyer pointed out, life is painful enough as it is - we need some joy, hence romance novels. (She also reads science fiction and fantasy, sigh, a woman after my own heart. Those are my fav's too. I told her that I couldn't read mysteries and horror any longer - there was too much murder, torture and mayhem in them for my current mood.) Apparently one of her former law professors is a well-known romance novelist in her spare time. (I should have gotten better at writing romance novels. I have one I'm working on, but it's a contemporary...and it still may not see the light of day or make it out of my hard drive/cloud alive.)

Ugh, off to bed. Nite.

I finished watching Bridgerton on Netflix last night. This is the new Shondra Rhimes series, helmed by her protegee, and long time writer Chris Van Dunsen.

It is a fun series. Fluffy, soapy, and very true to the "Regency-style" historical romances written by American writers. These aren't high-brow fiction by the way, but fun fluffy relationship dramas focusing on gender politics and place in a bygone age. They are mainly "fantasy" fiction and those reading and enjoying them - don't tend to view them as much more than fantasy. If I were to compare them to a painting - I'd say one of those romantic landscapes from the romantic period. Historically accurate, they aren't - and there are alas plot holes and inconsistencies aplenty in the genre. It's fun though, with witty banter, sex scenes, and everything works out in the end. There's a reason I've been reading the genre for the last several years - it's comforting, like a nice warm blanket, a cup of coca with marshmallows, and a fluffy pastry.

In watching it - I thought with glee - ah, the Regency Romances I've been reading (and forgetting with equal frequency) brought to life. It should be noted that part of the appeal of the genre is how easily I can forget it. It takes up no place in the old brain. It's fun little escape or distraction.

That said, they shouldn't be discounted so arbitrarily, any more than Bridgerton should. The romance genre much like daytime soaps, superhero/action comics (Marvel and DC) - do examine social issues. They just often do it with a light touch. It's not the point of their narratives, and it's more of a passing glance, that may or may not be followed up on or delved into with greater depth. Often it's just kind of commented on. Sandition, Pride & Prejudice, Downton Abbey or the Crown - this isn't. It's more akin to the early seasons of Grey's Anatomy or Scandal. It's a touch above the Hallmark movie, and a touch below the BBC Masterpiece Theater British Costume Drama.

I watched a little of Andrew Davies' Sanditon this morning and a little of Outlander - both work hard for historical accuracy, and delve deeply into social issues, and the history of the times. The romance, such as it is, is secondary. Neither have a happy ending. And they stick in the head longer.
In Sanditon, which also takes place during the Regency Period or close enough, lighting is done by candles, the streets of London are dark and dingy, and muddy. Bridgerton in stark contrast, is clean and neat. Racism is more than commented on - it's dwelled on in Sanditon but admittedly from a white perspective.

Bridgerton has a great deal in common with Shonda Rhimes other series, Scandal and Grey's Anatomy, where social issues are commented on, but the main focus are the romantic and familial relationships. Everything is background noise. Rhimes hired medical consultants for Grey's - so the hospital masks, and for the most part the hospital itself fits what most would expect. But if you know anything about hospitals or medicine, it will most likely jar you. Same here, with Bridgerton, they hired historical consultants to get fashion, furnishings, dance routines, etc correct, but if you know anything of the period or British history - it will probably jar you.

The other commonality, is plot inconsistencies.( Read more... )

Overall rating? B+

Took a walk, watched church's evening vespers, avoided the news...and watched television. Oh dear lord, there is a lot of television to choose from - I could happily do nothing but watch it for five years and still not see everything I want to see on it.

The NY Times had a list of all the things they recommended to watch on various streaming services and I kind of got overwhelmed and my brain shut off after about the 150th show.

Here's the Link - if you are feeling adventurous or at a loss as to what to watch.

Anyhow, had a nice walk around the cemetery - about 2.6 miles, didn't do more than that because the cold aggravates the arthritis and I hurt. It's in the 30s here. Tomorrow will be warmer - we'll have a warming trend to 50s, then it will drop down again. I go back to work on January 4. I'm actually enjoying my stay-cation more than expected. It's nice to be able to sleep late and not have to do anything for a bit. My work is kind of stressful regardless of where I do it - it's for a state agency, and it is with a bunch of crazy engineers, with the NY Governor as the boss. Right now the Governor is obsessed with the virus, so it's not quite so bad. But if the stupid Stimulus Bill doesn't get passed soon, we could be in trouble. (Stupid Federal Government, I'd like to smack it upside the head.) Don't worry, I've promised myself that won't talk or think about it. It's a deal I've made with my blood pressure. It agrees to stay down if I don't think or talk about work or the stimulus package.



I've also been watching The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO Max - it's really good. I like it much better than the Great British Baking Show.
I kind of miss throwing pots. It's expensive to be a potter though - you need a kilm, a wheel, clay and glazes, also how to work all of the above. One of my dream-lives is to have a pottery studio and a garden. But I realize I'm somewhat lazy and absent-minded, and both require a lot of work to maintain - they are kind of full time jobs. Not exactly amenable to someone who likes to sit and veg and write stories.

Also been watching Bridgerton - which is much better than expected. (Rhimes did a good job of casting for a change. The last "failed" series she tried was horribly cast. This one is so much better. Casting is very important with television series. It's actually as important as the writing.)
( review of Bridgerton to date )




I don't want to talk about COVID at the moment. It's raging on in the background and I'm stead-fastedly avoiding it by keeping to my self-isolation. ( COVID and depressing shit )

1. Been struggling with despair lately...so I found this quote in the middle of the comic book that I was reading tonight...to be rather comforting.

"For many years we've been trying in our own bumbling way, to illustrate that love is a far greater force ,a far greater power than hate. Now we don't mean you're expected to go around like a pirouetting Pollyanna, tossing posies at everyone who passes by, but we do want to make a point. Let's consider three men: Buddha, Christ, and Moses...men of peace, whose thoughts and deeds have influenced countless millions throughout the ages -- and whose presence still is felt in every corner of the earth. Buddha, Christ and Moses...men of good will, men of tolerance, and especially men of love. Now, consider the practioners of hate who have sullied the pages of history. Who still venerates their words? Where is homage still paid to their memory? What banners still are raised to their cause? The power of love - and the power of hate. Which is most truly enduring? When you tend to despair ...let the answer sustain you." - Stan Lee (from May 1969).

Just finished House of X - #4 -- and,( major plot spoilers including character deaths )

As an aside, Jay of "Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-men" stated in a recent podcast that while she liked Hickman a lot, she was disappointed that Marvel hadn't hired a marginalized writer to write about a team of marginalized super powered characters.
That once again they went with the straight white dude. Well, to be fair, most of Marvel is straight white dudes. That's the problem with the comic industry -- it's dominated by straight white dudes. Inroads have been made and things are slowly changing but it takes time. That said? Sometimes a straight white dude can surprise you and write a damn moving story about women and marginalized but empowered characters who aren't white.

2. Still reading a romance novel about a Jewel Thief and Bow Street Runner, which is interesting, but poorly executed. There are so many typos. I don't think they are intentional, these feel like word gaps, where one's brain is jumping ahead of the fingers and the fingers just skip over certain words. There are also a few grammatical errors and weird syntax -- such as the wrong pronoun. I think these are editing mistakes -- which makes me wonder about the line editors, and if she had to do it all herself. My sympathies. I made typographical errors too. Word to the wise -- it's frigging hard to publish a book without these errors -- unless you have another pair of eyes go over it a few times. Also the computer doesn't always help with it's spell-grammar checking, it will tell you to remove words that you should keep in there.

Anyhow, the errors are distracting. Also too much time is spent on back story, other relationships, etc and not enough on the romance. Which is an interesting tactic for a romance novel. In some respects, I found it refreshing that I got more scenes of Juliette and her brother, Bran, who she was raised with, than with the hero. Or more scenes with the hero and his fellow runners. Or more about what it is to be a thief.
Juliette and the hero, Grant, seem to have a strong physical attraction and a similar taste for high adrenaline activities...but outside of that they barely know each other or talk. Every time they are together -- they want to well kiss passionately. (They haven't done much else, yet. Which is surprising. We're well past the 80% mark.)

It's an enjoyable quick read, but nothing to rave over. I'd rec the comic books I'm reading over it at the moment.

1. Hee...

Apparently some high school put on a play adaptation of the Ridley Scott Film Alien -- yes, THAT "Alien".

2. And there's FINALLY a movement to do older people in romance What's Age Got to Do With it? It also explains why every romance novel for years has women between the ages of 16-28 in a romance, but no one over that. And we wonder why our society is wacked. Why? Because the publishing industry was under the delusion that people don't want to read about older people getting it on -- all evidence to contrary. (Were they blind to the success of Bridges of Madison County?) Also weirdly more men write older women romance novels. They don't write the younger ones. Interesting. (The article didn't say that -- I just picked up on it.) I noticed it in the fanfic too, women (lesbian and het) wrote young innocent gal older guy erotica, while men did not. Interesting. I wonder why? (Of course I may be completely wrong on this -- it's not like I made a study of it or anything, just a random observation.)

Anyhow, another thing I noticed? It's bloody hard to find historical romance novels with older heroines. I've found a couple. Reading one now, actually. Easier to find contemporary with older heroines. Although, you do have to look. I'm actually sort of writing one -- except my book sort of defies description at the moment.

3. You can stream Jordan Peele's premiere episode of the Twilight Zone for free on Youtube. Go HERE. Yes, this is a blatant attempt to get subscribers. They haven't gotten me yet. But that's mainly because I've more television shows to watch than I know what to do with. Having widely diverse tastes or eclectic ones -- comes with its downsides in content saturated marketplace.

4. Hmmm..

Seeing Red - She begged for her life" post by itsnotmymind (nifty name by the way), is about how the writer's made the interesting choice to have Buffy beg Spike to stop in the attempted rape sequence, not just kick him off right off the bat -- while neither of the slayers he killed begged for their lives.

What I find interesting -- is I saw two television shows deal with domestic violence and assault in the last two weeks. Both showed it solely from the victim's perspective. One showed the aftermath, and the victim's helplessness, and inability to do anything to the attacker or defend themselves, the other showed the victim finally killing him, after literally fighting for her life.
( spoilers for Grey's Anatomy, Seeing Red, and 9-1-1 )

1. Insane How Controversial Romance Novels Are -- a tumblr post ganked from conly.

My response? Eh, really? Have you not read romance novels?
( Read more... )

2. This brings me to... the news that Charles Dickens tried to lock his sane wife in an asylum. Apparently it was unlocked in a trove of letters?
( Read more... )


3. Regarding the OSCARS? ( Read more... )

4. Haunting of Hill House S2 is going the anthology route and will actually be the Haunting of Bly House -- -- good news. ( Read more... )

5. How People Read Fanfic

There's a nifty chart. Which you can find at the link above. Or on YourLibrarian's post about it.

How do I read and interact with fanfic?
( Read more... )

Ugh. Time got away from me again. It's past midnight. I got to go to bed.