Spontaneous Musings

1. Daredevil Born Again is bringing back Luke Cage, Iron Fist (who seriously needs to be recast, but whatever), and Jessica Jones to join Daredevil as the Defenders. They are all in S2 Daredevil. (Basically Daredevil is getting the Disney treatment, which works for me - since I liked The Defenders.)

2. Wheel of Time was cancelled by Amazon after the 3rd season. Cancelled due to ratings and a hefty price tag. (Amazon's head honcho got absurdly political and it has cost him.) I haven't made it past S1. I have too many television shows, and the characters didn't grab me for some reason or other. I was thinking of going back to it - but now? Probably not.

3. Finished watching:

* Etoile (on Amazon) while visiting Mother. We both enjoyed it. It's about the Paris and New National Ballet Theaters - trading lead talent in order to booster each others ticket sales. It's in French and English. And has performances by professional ballet dancers, who are also lead actors in the series. Focuses more on the running of the two theaters, and putting together the performances. It's not a relationship drama, so much as a workplace drama or dramedy? It's written by the same people who did Bunheads and Gilmore Girls - so swings towards witty comedic banter and comedic situations.

Etoile was picked up for two seasons by Amazon, so season 2 is being filmed and the entire cast is returning for it.

* The Residence (on Netflix) (finished yesterday) - it's a satirical mystery series, about an unorthodox detective, who is rather brilliant, and prefer to watch birds. ( Read more... )

Other than that - it's fun and hilarious in places, with a farcical humor, touched with light satire.

This works very well as a stand-a-lone. All the plot-threads were satisfyingly closed. I'm not sure I want a second season?

* The Four Seasons - this is a relationship comedy - it is loosely adapted from Alan Alda's 1981 film of the same name, with Tina Fey taking on the Carol Burnett role, and Colman Domingo taking on Jack Weston's role, except as a gay Black man, with his Italian husband (the original was portrayed by Rita Moreno). It's about three couples that vacation together each season. We see them only on their vacations or trips together. The first or main point of view couple is Tina Fey and Will Forte (Katie and Jack), then Danny and Claude (Colman Domingo and an Italian actor), finally Steve Carrol's Nick (and Anne (his wife) and Ginny (the girl-friend, after he divorces his wife). It reminded me vaguely of the original, but I'm not certain how close it is - because I haven't seen the original version since the 1980s. Also, now, I'm the same age as the four couples, when the last time I saw it - I was much younger.

It's okay. I found the other two television series funnier. Wales liked it better than I did. I'm admittedly not a huge fan of relationship comedy.

4. Buffy Reboot

I could be wrong about this? But I'm becoming increasingly convinced that James Marsters is involved in the Reboot, not sure how big his role will be or how he'll be involved. ( Read more... )

Yes, I'm still a fan of Buffy. It was that rare television series which had perfect casting, good writing, and blending of collaborative creative talent in various sections (makeup, stunt craft, writing, directing, production, casting, acting) that just worked and got better as it went. The first season is okay, but the second season ...was leaps and bounds better in all areas. There's a handful of television series that I've been a fan of, and 98% of them are fantasy and science fiction series.
What this says about me, I do not know.

[ETA:
Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On by Kristin Russo (Author), Jenny Owen Youngs (Author) -

"Read by the authors and hosts of the hit podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer, this memoir reflects on heartbreak, perseverance, building community, and life lessons learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This audiobook features bonus songs, jingles, and clips from the podcast and live shows, and contributions from fans/committed Scoobies.

Kristin and Jenny’s marriage started with an ultimatum: to further their relationship, Kristin must watch Jenny's favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With the terms set, they began a journey that has led them through seven seasons of the beloved genre show, a podcast rewatching the series with their newly minted listenership of “Scoobies,” unexpected success, and a divorce. Through it all, their love for Buffy and their commitment to their community held them together against the odds."

Sigh, I feel old. Buffering the Vampire Slayer - was a podcast they did to rewatch the show in 2016. I watched the show live between 1997 - 2004, and was on the internet with people discussing as far back as the 1990s. The podcasts I listened to - you can't find now. Nor the sites for that matter. Even my own web site is long gone - although all my essays and fanfic can be found on Ao3, but I didn't write much in the way of fanfic. ]

ETA: Apparently "Slayers" the audio book did amazingly well, too well, and Disney stopped it from doing any more and pulled the rights. (Disney owns the rights to Buffy now, not Fox not Whedon. That's important.) The reason was - they were doing the Buffy Reboot and didn't want Slayers to get in the way of it.

Below is the link to the Q&A where Marsters explains it - it's at the very end of the Q&A. (Marsters Q&A's are highly entertaining, because he clearly loves Conventions and has been going to them since he was thirteen with Star Trek. Most actors at these things are kind of boring. Please note? I have NEVER been to a fan convention, I watch it all on youtube or the internet. I found the American Library Association Conventions and the E-Publishing ones to be headache inducing enough. I hate crowds, claustrophobic convention halls, etc. My idea of hell is a convention. The appeal is lost on me. If I wanted to - I could go to the big one - Comic Con in NYC, but it would kill me.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aj5esoZOi8 ]

5. Also saw two filmed theater performances on PBS (Great Performances). PBS is kind of the US equivalent of the BBC, except it doesn't have quite as much money, and is mostly locally supported by subscribers.

* Next to Normal - I saw the original on Broadway ages ago. This is the West End Revival - in London. Apparently it hadn't made it to the UK, so they revived it. What's remarkable is the entire cast is speaking with an American accent, even though they are all British. I'm surprised they didn't make it British - they could. It's a musical/rock opera about mental illness, grief, and it's devastating effects on the family dynamic- I call it a rock opera, because there's no dancing, and most of the lines are sung, and the band is on stage. It has some truly beautiful music and excellent performances.

* YellowFace - the semi-autobiographical satirical play by David
Henry Kwang about racism in the US. It's hilarious in places and overall rather well done. Danial Dae Kim (Angel, LOST, Hawaii 5-0) portrays Kwang, and Ryan Eggold (Blacklist and New Amsterdam) portrays a Russian actor who can pass as Asian. (Actually I think it's a call out to Yul Brunner and they even reference the King and I.) A lot of the play is actors talking to the audience, and sometimes to each other. It breaks the fourth wall a lot -- in that the actors are directly speaking to the audience or step outside the framework of the play - to do so in monologues. ( Read more... )

Actually, I took the following picture yesterday - on my walk around a section of the financial district. The section that is in front of Trinity Church and towards the Freedom Tower. Didn't go that far yesterday - because my leg was bothering me, and I didn't have a lot of time. At any rate I've been down this cobble stone road before -- it's completely blocked off to traffic - due to the New York Stock Exchange being on the cross street. Security and historic preservation.

The street is in front of The Trump Building (which I have not taking a photo of - because it's an ugly building, and not worth it - it's circa 1930s gothic, but it's ugly). And across from the Trump Building aka 40 Wall Street is...a Caribbean Jerk Chicken Vending Truck - smells delicious. (I'd get some - but my dietary restrictions keep me at bay.)



The Jerk Chicken Stand is kind of sticking the finger to Trump, it's right across from his Building, is the only vendor stand across from it, and the only vehicle across from the building. And about as diverse and non-white as you can get. Gotta love it. There's all sorts of subtle little protests across the Financial District.

My new work digs, as you may have guessed by now, is a photographer's dream come true. So many new things to take photos of.

Work was better today, aided greatly by sleep - I slept 6 hours and 43 minutes as opposed to 5 hours and twenty-three minutes, and that made a huge difference in my cognitive abilities. ( personal stuff - kind of boring...actually )

Anyhow, need to stop this and make dinner. But before I do? On today's walk, I discovered a little farmer's market, where I picked up gluten-free Irish Soda Bread, and gluten-free biscotti. I've never had either. So was happy with my finds.

It was just across the street from my office building. Insanely convenient.



And not much further, was Battery City Park, and this lovely little walk complete with lots of flowers in full bloom. They are hardy little flowers, and unlike the impatiens around Bowling Green Park, actually survived the dip into the 40s last night. I have no idea what they are called. I take pictures of flowers - I can't grow them or remember their names. I may be many things, but a horticulturist or botanist is not among them. The green thumb jumped over me and landed on my brother.

I feel battered by the news. To date, I've sent cards, subscribed to The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair (Vanity Fair is by the way the cheapest at $18 a year (it's a special deal), after that it is $30 dollars a year, includes unlimited digital, print, and a tote bag. Everybody gives out tote bags. I now have more tote bags than I know what to do with. Also given to various charitable and non-profit organizations.

So finally a little good news from my sources on other social media platforms that you may not have access to.

As always, the good news may well be in the eye of the beholder, your mileage may vary on some of it.

Good news from the American Resistance and its Global Allies

1. Australia and Canada elected liberal Prime Ministers. ( Read more... )

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/03/australia/australia-election-results-albanese-dutton-intl-hnk?cid=ios_app

***

Trump’s administration is facing more than 200 lawsuits over his immigration policies, his ill-advised tariffs, his revenge against law firms, his attempts to shut down government agencies, and many more actions. Trump appears to be in deep denial. [Honestly, sometimes I think the man is either a frustrated litigator or just likes to be sued? At least we are winning most of them.]

An unprecedented in history legal blitz against the Trump Administration (No President in the History of the US has faced this many lawsuits within their first 100 days.)

The below includes items like political rallies and actors speaking out against the Doofus politically. I didn't number them, because it would require renumbering and that leads to all sorts of issues.

( The Resistance wins lots of legal cases against the Trump Administration, along with a lot of lawsuits and court cases being filed )

Non-Court and Non-Political Related Good News

11. The Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honored the “Six Triple Eight,” an all-Black, predominantly female unit of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II.

( Read more... )

Learn More About the 6-Triple 8 Here

12.In the “groundbreaking” results of an immunotherapy clinical trial, most cancer patients saw their tumors disappear.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/health/cancer-immunotherapy-solid-tumors.html?unlocked_article_code=1.C08.XEHY.yLYIErw8VKKE&smid=url-share&ck_subscriber_id=2454664808

13. Dozens of miniature horses galloped for a good cause in New Zealand - their own.
( Read more... )

https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2025/apr/23/great-northern-gallop-new-zealand-miniature-horses-race-in-pictures?ck_subscriber_id=2454664808

14.“A City in a Park”: Chattanooga, Tennessee, Is North America’s First National Park City.

( Read more... )

https://nicenews.com/environment/chattanooga-tennessee-first-national-park-city-north-america/

( the rest regarding environmental, the arts, animals, science, etc.. )

I hope you found something in there to smile about? If not, here's a pretty tree?

Listened to the church service today via FB, but didn't manage to get it until almost halfway through - or five minutes into the Sermon. Didn't matter, just meant that I missed a lot of the introductory items and the wisdom story. The Sermon surprised me, because it was from an intern minister who I'd mixed feelings regarding. Her sermon was about reclaiming things like the American Flag and Religion from those who've tainted it.
It belongs to no one, just as God belongs to no one person or religion. Patriotism is protesting and attempting to protect one's constitutional rights. And Jesus? He had a lot of amazing things to say, that maybe we should consider and think about promoting - such as "love one another", "share", "there's enough for us all to share equally", and "treat others as they wish to be treated and as you would wish to be treated with kindness".

It ended with a remastering of the ABBA song Thank you for the Music. It skipped the first lyric and went with the chorus only, kicking all the other lyrics to the curb. (Which I'd have done to, the chorus is lovely on its own.)

I've also been thinking about a random comment on some social media platform - can't remember which one - which stated "where are all the protest songs for this period?"

And I thought, but we have so many already that fit? Today, when she talked about reclaiming the flag - I thought of Johnny Cash's song about the American Flag. Ragged Old Flag It's an odd song - and like most of Cash's songs can be interpreted more than one way. Also thinking about Bruce Springsteen's song Born in the USA which was co-opted without Springsteen's permission by the Regan in the 80s. Listening to that song, I realize it's not at all what Regan and the Republicans twisted it into, but something else entirely. Still Patriotic, still featuring the American Flag, but it is in reality a protest song, with a lot of ironic twists and turns.

Then of course, there's Woody Guthrie's classic song, that he wrote as a counter-point to God Bless, America (which he had massive issues with). Guthrie a folk singer who traveled the breath of the US, often on the back of a rail car, wrote songs on what he saw - as a way of chronicling what he observed and felt about the towns and places he visited. He, like Springsteen, Cash, Mitchell, Young, and Dylan used music to tell stories.
Interestingly enough, Springsteen and Dylan have done covers of this one. As have many others. And I honestly think it should be the rallying cry we use now.

Here's the versions of it, in case you are interested?
( several versions of the song )

( here's the original lyrics )

And then there's this haunting song from the film MockingJay part of the Hunger Games film quartet.

The Hanging Tree

***

There's other songs of course..empowering ones, like 500 Miles or this version 500 Miles, same title, different songs.

And of course, this past week, I've been thinking of Nine Inch Nails - whose songs often feel like primal screams in the brain. They do a rendition of Kristofferson's Hurt (made popular by Cash) - Hurt and of course the one with David Bowie and the original with CASH

Or... American Idiot by Green Day - which screams frustration much like a primal scream, where no one can quite hear you without preaching peace kindness and forgiveness in a whisper.

I often think music says it better than any prose.

Here's Michelle Shocked's song Quality of Mercy. It feels like a protest song in its own right, and is about forgiveness. And Bruce Springsteen's Dead Man Walking,
not to mention the previously linked Amazing Grace, which is the plea of a former slave ship owner for forgiveness from God for his sin of slavery, which to the enslaved is an unforgivable one.

And Harry Belafonte's classic Turn the World Around

***

This week, my church hosted a traveling high school choir from Transylvania. The Unitarian Church has its roots in Romania and Transylvania or so I'm told.

Translyvanian Choir

And here they are thanking their host families in the US in song

***

From someone who can neither sing or play a musical instrument, Thank you for the music world.

[Proceed with caution, I'm cranky from lack of sleep and assorted aches and pains. But hey at least the sinus headache is gone. It's been lurking for the last five days, but now, it's finally gone. I think the barometric pressure shifted? It also got colder, so hello radiators. And sigh, overcast again, but we keep getting smatterings of blue sky and sun. The purple roses drooped, so I had to dispose of them, I have two that are hanging in there. Feeling a touch lonely and depressed at the moment, and kind of impotent? Some nitwit just called me to ask for money for "the officers"?
( weird phone call )
Sigh. I feel at times like I'm a nameless and faceless entity living in a senseless world.

Work was well, work.

*****

More April Meme-mage:

12. Do you like playing card games? Which is your favourite?

I'm not into games. I've played card games and actually have done very well at them, then promptly forget the rules. I used to like Solitare and Uno.

13. Have you ever made yoghurt or kefir?

No.

14. What’s your geography knowledge like? If you were given a world map, how many countries could you confidently identify?

Fair to middling? I'm fine to an extent, but there are areas in the world such as ahem, Eastern Europe and the Middle East that like to change their geographical boundaries constantly. As does Africa and Central America.
So I get confused. The geographical map has changed at least five-six times since I was learned it all in junior high.

15. Have you a good sense of direction, or do you rely on maps/online navigation? When was the last time you got lost?

No. I have no sense of direction at all. I rely completely on maps. I rarely get lost, because I rely completely on maps. I always have one. That said - I did get lost once in Greenwood Cemetery, because I did not have a map and had to use the phone to orient myself.

16. Today, in 1850, the French artist Madame Tussaud died. She is known for her wax sculptures of famous figures and for founding Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in London. Have you ever visited the London Wax Museum or any other wax museum worldwide? What did you think of the likenesses of the models?

Yes, I visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum way back in the 1980s. It was okay. The models were fairly close in the likeness to what I know of the the actual people - but without having seen any of them in person? It's hard to know for sure. Mainly I found the Museum kind of creepy? Wax museums creep me out. I blame 1960s and 70s schlock horror films.

***

Fandom news...

* Sarah Michelle Gellar Gets a Lead Role in another series ahead of the Buffy Reboot
( excerpt )

In my head - Buffy goes to find help being a Watcher or maybe form a new Watcher Council for the new slayer, because honestly she has better things to do? And hunts down Liam and William running a record store, band, and detective agency out of London.
( Read more... )
*****

Book recommendations

* For those interested in the Crisis in Gaza:

Born Jewish in Nazi Germany, My Journey to Become Anti-Zionist by Suzanne Ross

( synopsis in the words of the author )

* Speculative Science Fiction by Black Women

I'm working my way through Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which is actually quite good. Octavia Butler was a speculative science fiction writer during the 20th Century and a more than adept wordsmith and writer. (I read Kindred by her - and it is among the few Time Travel novels that blew me away and worked.) Parable of the Sower was first published in 1993, thirty years ago, but the book takes place in 2024-2025. Yes, it takes place now. It's very odd reading a science fiction novel that is taking place in present time, when it was written thirty years before. I find myself checking to see how close the novel is to real events. (Frighteningly so, in some respects? However no where near as bleak. She's writing about an apocalyptic world that a young fifteen year old girl with empathetic abilities (she literally feels the pain of anyone or anything in close proximity to her as if it is happening to her) works to survive within, along with her family and how she does it.)

Octavia Butler Article in the New Yorker

( Excerpt from the New Yorker Article on Butler and the Novel, Parable of the Sower )

Parable of the Sower is also on the Banned Books list.

* Audio Books

Finished Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo and working my way through the sequel. The Crooked Kingdom. Six of Crows were my favorite characters in the Shadow and Bone series on Netflix. And the audio book is a treat. It has six narrators, actually seven or eight narrators - one for each character's point of view, since the chapters are split by points of view, similar to GRR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. ( where I for reasons I don't quite understand compare the two novels... )

It's better than expected. Or I'm rather enjoying it more than I thought I would. I'm on a fantasy/science fiction kick at the moment, having gotten burned out on romance novels. This happens to me. I binge a genre to the point in which I eventually get burned out on it. Then after an extensive break? I may zig-zag back to it. The only genre this has not happened with is the sci-fi/fantasy genres. I'm not quite sure why.

1. The Hands Off Protests - had an estimated turn out of anywhere between 10-20 million. It is estimated the 5 Million people turned out on the West Coast and Big Cities alone, and we already know the East Coast was even bigger - since the biggest turn outs were in DC, NYC, Boston, and Florida, but also in the Midwest - with Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis, not to mention the Southwest. Please believe me when I state that I am not exaggerating when I inform you that every single state, plus the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico came out en mass to protest in HANDS OFF yesterday. Cities, towns, suburbs, and even rural areas - along highways, came out in all the states. Places with just under 2000 residents, came out with over a thousand. People who had never protested in their lives, protested. They did in the rain (Kentucky has had flooding and is in emergency crisis - but protested anyhow, NY it rained most of the day - and was in the forties and fifties, and over 200,000 protested in NYC, and that's not counting the thousands across the state), they did it Vegas, in LA, in Oklahoma City, in Topeka, Kansas, in Kansas City, in Indiana, in JD Vance's home town of Middletown, Ohio, they did it Fort Myers Florida, and in Alabama, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Main, Wisconsin, Arkansas, every single state. They protested and flooded DC. They protested in Canada, and in Europe. They protested in Mexico and the US Virgin Islands.

It was huge.

Hmmm...they even showed up in Conservative Heavy Long Island... Mineola had 2,000 people show up (it has a population of about 4,000 if that).

[See previous post for links]

I told Bro.

Bro - glad someone went, I don't go to protests, I'm too tall - they'd point the laser canon at my head. [Bro also has to stay home with his cat.]

[I didn't go either - I can't handle massive crowds of people. I did the Women's March and decided, yeah, no, not doing that ever again. I'll do other things.]

2. On the heels of terminating 10,000 jobs from the Department of Health and Human Services this week, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News on Thursday some programs would soon be reinstated because they were mistakenly cut.

Go Here

3. The list of famous auto industry flops is long and storied, topped by stinkers like Ford’s Edsel and exploding Pinto and General Motors’s unsightly Pontiac Aztek crossover SUV. Even John Delorean’s sleek, stainless steel DMC-12, iconic from its role in the “Back To The Future” films, was a sales dud that drove the company to bankruptcy.
Elon Musk’s pet project, the dumpster-driving Tesla Cybertruck, now tops that list.

AND The just-released production and delivery report was Tesla’s worst in three years. Dan Ives of Wedbush said in a note to clients that Tesla is seeing soft demand in the United States and China, as well as facing pressure in Europe. “The brand crisis issues are clearly having a negative impact on Tesla...there is no debate,” he said. Ives said that Wall Street and analysts alike knew that the first-quarter figures were likely to be bad, but that it was even worse than expected. “We are not going to look at these numbers with rose-colored glasses...they were a disaster on every metric,” he said.

Go Here


4.The global under-five mortality rate has fallen by over 50% since 1990 according to a new report by the United Nations. The report highlights five “exemplar” countries - India, Nepal, Senegal, Ghana, and Burundi - that, despite resource constraints and diverse contexts, have surpassed global declines through a common cocktail of strong governance, data-driven policies, expanded immunization, and innovative health financing.

5. Illinois has returned stolen land to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation The federal government ceded the land to Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay in 1829, but then sold it to white settlers 20 years later. Governor JB Pritzker has now signed a law restoring the 1,500-acre Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area back to Potawatomi ownership. The land will stay open to the public as a park.

6. Thailand prohibits all corporal punishment of children. Thailand has enacted full prohibition of all corporal punishment of children, making itself the 68th state worldwide to protect children from violent punishment. With a child population of 14,131,000, prohibition in Thailand brings the total number of children worldwide protected by law from corporal punishment to approximately 343 million, or 15% of the global child population.

7. California pilots a solar-over-canal system to combat drought. Project Nexus will cover canals with solar panels, generating clean energy while preventing water evaporation. The $20 million pilot follows UC Merced research showing potential for 13 GW of annual energy—one-sixth of state capacity—while saving 50,000 acres of land. There's more solar canals coming, too. Go HERE

8. Research shows that community groups and small farmers restore land 6 to 20 times more effectively than international NGOs or governments and deliver more sustainable and equitable results.From Mexican fishers who have planted 1.8 million mangroves to locals in Guyana that are protecting a rare bird, here are 10 community-led conservation solutions that are working around the world.

9.In the U.K., “Safe Spaces” in banks and pharmacies give domestic abuse victims a lifeline to seek support — and start again. QT gas stations have safe spaces in the US. Signs posted near the pumps and indoors. Ask the managers and they will shelter you and get help.

10. Every generation in the United States has a lower risk of dementia than the last. While previous projections estimated U.S. dementia cases would double by 2050, a new analysis finds that age-adjusted prevalence has dropped by 67% over the past 40 years. If this trend continues, total cases may rise by only 25% instead of doubling.

( 59 items )

1. I'm watching the 200 meter race, which mother spoiled me on.

Commentator: Why did Noah Lyles collapse? Maybe he's not okay? And why did he get a Bronze? There's no response from the Americans, however yeah for the Botswanian and Teboga. This won't be the last time...unless Noah is injured. He was lead off in a wheelchair....

Me: He has COVID, tested positive two days ago, and decided to run anyhow.
( more on COVID )
2. I am starting to question the "Me#Too" social media cancel culture on liberal (and it is mainly) writers/artists. Not politicians. No. Liberal/progressive writers, producers, and artists. The folks who advocate for LGBTA, gender issues, human rights, etc.

I'm beginning to get suspicious of the media and people making the allegations. One or two? I can kind of hand-wave and yeah, yeah...but it's been an undue number of "specifically" liberal and beloved writers who are "progressive" and "major human rights advocates" in their writing, charitable contributions, and proponents of LGBTA and gender rights, along with promoting diversity in casting. Particularly since the evil politicians who have had far worse allegations seem to escape unscathed by the media? As too, have various conservatives. Well, except for Andrew Cuomo, who was kind of minor and also, wait for it, an LGBTA advocate and passed more social justice reform laws for LGBTA than anyone else in office. The conservatives hated him. (I had issues because of how he handled transportation agencies in the state, but I applauded his social justice stance.) And let's not forget Bill Clinton (who was ripped apart for something that's relatively minor in comparison to various conservative politicians.)

I was discussing this with mother. And she mentioned yet another writer whose wife was also a writer, and got into trouble as well.
( Read more... )

3. My cousin has now entered the "indie" romance publisher's club.

She's been workshopping books, and got a mentor to help her with marketing.
And is now writing contemporary romance novels.

Nothing on Amazon yet. Or Good Reads. Just her site.

Not my genre. I've tried similar books by other people - it bores me. Also I kind of burned out on romances. I need more plot less dysfunctional family hijinks.

But they are very popular right now. Everyone seems to be publishing books like this - and they sell like gangbusters on Amazon.

4. My own writing continues to progress apace - on the commute, at home, at lunch time or in the morning at work. I was writing up until my subway stop today. I sneak in between things.

I realized why I can't write via prompts or demand? Example? I can't draw a fish or a mermaid or something oceanic for a local art show theme. Nor can I write about it.

But I can draw and write stories that I dream up in my head.

I think it is because I have to write really dry things for a living. And come up with how to write them. Today for example - I was struggling to figure out how to explain a complicated financial situation in writing.
Also I have to write specifically, following the lawyers guidelines.
I've learned how to write in fifteen different styles, and how to change the style to cater to a specific audience at work.

So when I write for myself? I don't want to do any of that. And when I write or draw creatively? I don't want to cater to some invisible group of strangers. I want to express myself and hopefully someone will connect to it or listen?

It's why I can't write to prompts. Because I do that at work. If that makes sense?

5. I read somewhere that I can get virtual reality equipment that allows me to see what it is like to be floating in space and looking down at earth.

So looked up VR.

Hmmm. Maybe not ?

The first thing you must never forget about crossing over into the magical world of VR is that you have to wear massive goggles on your head. The Quest 3 headset was painfully apparent throughout all of my experiences, and it never allowed me to fully relax. It weighs 515 grams (or a little more than 1 pound), and it’s fantastically irritating. National Geographic’s Explore VR ($9.99) is the first VR tourism app I try. I don’t know it at the time, but I’m about to enter a world of pain.
Meta Quest 3.

Meta does a list of all the 11 vr apps for travel

I think my difficulty would be the headgear. It would drive me insane, and probably give me motion sickness. I'm highly susceptible to motion sickness.

6. Olympics?
( events I'm following )

****

Off to bed. Digestive issues kept me awake last night for about two hours and twenty-seven minutes according to the sleep monitoring on my smart watch. I also know that I breath between 12-23 minutes, and my heart rate is between 44-80 minutes. A little low, so I've cut back on the beta blockers.

That and the beta blockers are putting me to sleep in the mornings - usually around noon. Knocking me out is more appropriate. I awake groggy and disoriented. So, not taking the morning one. Was taking three a day, now maybe one or two.

Sleep? I have deep sleep and a lot of core, not much on the REM side, which explains why I don't remember my dreams. I'm not dreaming that much. So working on getting to bed earlier.

Mother: How are you?
Me: Languishing...

***

Took two brief walks today, since it was in the low sixties and an pretty day. First at lunch, the second after work.

Idiot soap actor (who was fired for not getting the vaccine) got himself into trouble again over the weekend. The man re-posted a transphobic, and racist tweet in his instagram account. It took me a while to figure out what he did and why everyone was so upset about it. Here's the post in case you are at all curious:
( what he did )

Soap Actor Out for Transphobic Post (uhm no, he's actually out for not getting the vaccine. Although I think they were intending on writing him out anyhow for racist remarks he made in the spring on Twitter. But whatever.)

Then of course, he tried to apologize by stating that "transgender women don't empower women because they aren't women and where does that leave women who have worked so hard to distance themselves from men." Oh dear, Facepalm.

( The bungled apology )

And you thought the Buffy fandom and cast was dramatic and toxic? It has nothing on soap operas. Cassandra James is a transgender woman who plays a transgender woman on General Hospital, a first for daytime soaps. People are confused about transgender women - they are women. "A trans woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women may experience gender dysphoria and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and sometimes sex reassignment surgery, which can bring relief and resolve feelings of gender dysphoria." Just because they are trans doesn't mean they are into women. A lot are into men, and were before they went through the transition, some are into women. Sexual orientation and transgender aren't necessarily connected. Also gender is a spectrum.

I feel for Cassandra, although to my knowledge she never acted in a scene with the nitwit soap actor. And doesn't have to in the future. Also her cast mates stood by her as did the fandom, which is fairly liberal.

Anyhow that happened. Honestly, soap opera actors should hire publicists to manage their online accounts. Or stay off social media. It's very easy to get yourself into trouble.

**

Crazy workplace

As expected, cubical mates sudden departure resulted in more work. I inherited four of his projects, all of which have already been awarded and have change orders. I swear, I'm beginning an expert in change orders. It's all I'm doing at the moment.

Oh, well, job security for another two years at least.

Spent the afternoon figuring them out.

***

On a positive note? Mother is making herself meals now with the assistance of a cane, and is for the most part off the walker. Progress. She's been mobile for eight months.

***

Working my way through a contemporary romance novel that feels like the young Minnesota lawyer/Twitter version of The Shop Around the Corner. It is The Shop Around the Corner, just with two rival lawyers, who met anonymously on Twitter - even plays out more or less the same.

Also, enjoying the 3rd Season of Yellowstone. I saw most of the first season, skipped over the second (watched a recap) and binge watched a good portion of the third over the weekend.

***

In the news...considering where I work, I was pleased by the trillion dollar infrastructure bill being passed. Means more money coming my agency's way, and job security. But at the same time - I feel like I have to relearn my job again, why bother getting a new one? The one I already have feels brand new - new managers, new organization, new process...same people, same location, same equipment.

COVID

* New data shows that more than 101,000 New York City public school students were homeless last year, a staggering figure exacerbated by the pandemic. [ Dear god. Are we doing anything about this? Probably not. They did try to put shelters in place, but if you've tried the Netflix series MAID, it does make a good point about how unsafe it is to take kids to shelters.]

* Demand for booster shots in California has been lower than expected, The Los Angeles Times reports. [Nit-witty actors into holistic medicine.]

* A new analysis suggests masking is most useful indoors and during long exposures to infected people, Nature reports. [Hence the reason we still wear it on public transit and at work.]

*A jump in breakthrough cases in Britain is being driven in part by parents in their 40s and their largely unvaccinated children, The Wall Street Journal reports. [ Sigh. Britain is as dumb as the US, apparently.]

* In The Morning, David Leonhardt explains how the partisan gap in Covid deaths is growing fast. [Hmmm...hunting that link down..found it - Partisan Gap in COVID Deaths growing fast

( excerpt )

[Keep this up, we won't have to worry about 2024, half the Republicans will be dead.]

* Derek Thompson at The Atlantic argues that the U.S. needs to rethink the antiquated way it funds scientific research.

* When someone with long Covid dies, should the person’s organs be donated? [Interesting question....also apparently the person who died, had committed suicide after getting COVID, and was a screenwriter for Dawson's Creek.]

( excerpt )

* Bloomberg Opinion asks, is India ready for another big wave of the virus? [I'm not sure anyone is? China keeps locking down to avoid it.]

* Northern Ireland’s health minister is suing Van Morrison over his criticism of Covid-19 restrictions. [Morrison is kind of like Clapton, he doesn't understand why COVID is an issue. Good musician, but an idiot.]

( How Van Morrison is an idiot )

[I keep getting him confused with Warren Zevon who is dead.]

* Romania now has the world's highest death rate per capita. (Keep in mind this is a small country with a small population.)
( The fault is mistrust of medical information due to fake news influence on Eastern European Countries )

Yep, I've been noticing a pattern both in the US and elsewhere. The Eastern Europeans aren't buying the whole vaccine/mask effort. It's been an issue in my area, and it's one elsewhere.

***

Well that was fun. My allergies are back, along with the heat coming on and off, making it hard to sleep.

So random picture of the night..

Been flirting with television series.

1. Just finished Masters of the Universe : Relevations, which was written by Kevin Smith (of Clerks fame). Apparently, He-Man and Masters of the Universe has a fandom. Who knew? And they are all busy rebooting it in various forms. First She-Rah, now this.

This has the vocal talents of Sarah Michelle Gellar (Tessla), Chris Wood (Adam/He-Man), Mark Hamill (Skeletor), Lena Hedly (Evilynn), and Liam Cunningham (Master of Arms). I only recognized Gellar, who has a distinctive voice. Hamill can disguise his voice. Oh, also Kevin Conroy did Merman.

The plot surprised me. ( spoilers )

The animation was pretty good. There's only five episodes, and a second season on order.

2. I'm flirting with Voltron - which is based on or rather a reboot of a cartoon that I was a fan of way back in the 1980s - Battle of the Planets which eventually morphed into Voltron. It's on Netflix, and is a reboot of the original Voltron. I was a fan of the anime cartoons.

Another one is Sailor Moon - which has a two-part movie on Netflix. (I'm picky about animation.) So mixed feelings about that one.

Also finishing Mandalorian, and watching Tenet, Hacks, and White Lotus on HBO Max. There's so many television shows to watch and so little time and mind-space for them.

3.Was thinking about this today - I've had various actors, directors, and writers ruined for me over the years. I can't bring myself to watch or read or see their art any longer. I know it's kind of silly - because I know folks are more than one thing. Our actions shouldn't define us. People aren't simple creatures, we're complex ones.

But..I can't watch or read these folks without seeing their transgressions right now.

* Tom Hiddleston (my brother ruined him for me - when I visited him. Ugh. Although good news, he only ruined Loki and I didn't like Loki that much anyhow.)

* Bill Cosby

* JK Rowling

* Mel Gibson

* Woody Allen

* Roman Polanski

* Orson Scott Card

* Marion Zimmer Bradley

* James Franco

* Joss Whedon

[Do you have any that have been ruined for you?]

Note I did not say why for a reason - I don't want to foist my dislike onto you.

4. I'm wondering if we've gotten a bit too politically correct in our speech again - as a reaction to the last four years? I get annoyed when people go overboard with semantics.
( Read more... )

5. The outdoor dining establishment around the corner from where I live was destroyed in a car crash today, apparently. Angelica's Outdoor Dining Destroyed in Kensington

The comments to the FB announcement of it?

J: This is awful, but sometimes bikes ride on sidewalks.
T: A bike didn’t do this.
J: that’s the point I am making….
D: what is the point you are trying to make?
J: people on this group constantly complain about bikes being dangerous but cars are what’s killing people and causing damage like this
J: this is why bikes and scooters ride on the sidewalk.
T:couldn’t agree with you more

Me: while from a pedestrian perspective, if there were no such thing as bikes, scooters or cars - life would be good. Take the frigging subway and trains folks - those are safe and you don't kill innocent people.

Also, COVID is killing the wrong people.

6. Gender Neutral Bathroom at the new Penn Station aka Monyhian Station.

Elisi does an excellent job of explaining transgender and the issues concerning it in her journal.

Transthology: Like an Anthology on Transgender issues

Sometimes...I think people who went to school and either graduated from it in the 20th Century or early 21st Century...were programmed to think a certain way about gender, sexuality, race, etc. And we have had to deprogram ourselves. For me it wasn't that hard - because I always questioned what I was taught, my father taught me to question everything. So the programming never took. But I don't think that was true of most folks?

Anyhow Elisi goes into detail and it's rather long - so go there for more information.