Spontaneous Musings

Started watching Bridgerton S4 - and was reminded of why I dislike the Cinderella Trope. Cinderella is way too nice. She should have looked into poisoning her evil stepmother. Deathly Nightshade. Hemlock. Arsenic. Mold. Maybe valium or opium? ( Read more... )

Took a shower to relax the muscles last night, and my tub mat got crooked and loose and when I tried to fix it - the mat slipped under my feet, and I tumbled out of the shower/tub and sprawled somewhat painfully onto the bathroom floor. ( Read more... )

I didn't get in nearly as much knee exercises or other activities, as I'd planned. I also fell asleep watching the James Bond flick Spectra - which isn't nearly as good as the prior films. The actress playing his love interest has almost no chemistry with him, and doesn't "spark". [I think I'm as tired of the James Bond trope as Daniel Craig appears to be - he was kind of walking through the film.]

Watched Angel S4 - Soulless - which is an interesting episode to watch while watching Buffy S7. ( Read more... )

An unfortunate side effect of the Buffy/Angel rewatch - is every time I watch these series - I get obsessed with the character of Spike and crave more of him. And more of the actor's performance. I don't know why. There was just something about his performance as Spike that sparked a response in me?

**

I've decided to subscribe to the Calm App - to deal with insomina, feelings of anger, anxiety, and depression - which are kind of wrapped up together in one nice neat bundle. Calm is actually helping. The problem I had with Headspace - was it was geared more towards millenials with small children or Yuppies. And kept triggering me. Also, it had embraced AI and was going the text psychology route with AI. While Calm was using sound technology to help with rebalancing the nervous system, and calming it.

Calm's also cheaper than Headspace.

***

End of January Memage

30. In 1873, Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne was published in France. Have you read the book or seen any of the films?

I think I read it once? Can't remember. I've seen multiple film and television versions. The best is the most recent version with David Tennet that was done a few years back. The worst was probably the one with David Niven. I don't really remember the David Niven one that well, but it does NOT date well - Shirly McLaine plays an Asian woman in it (yes, Shirly McLaine). The Pierce Bronsan version is okay - I vaguely remember that one.

31. Do you like hot chocolate with or without marshmallows?

I used to? But now? Not so much. It makes the hot chocolate too sweet. I guess if you can get a home-made marshmallow - which I've done. Those home made gourmet ones - are a treat. But it also doesn't work well. The marshallows don't quite melt the way they should and get kind of slimy and again too sweet.

I prefer whipped cream. And peppermint. Also I prefer unsweetened hot chocolate with almond milk, and zero sugar whipped cream. It's insanely difficult to get unsweetened hot chocolate though - because people put sugar in everything.

***

Weather - very cold. But not as bad as yesterday, believe it or not. We didn't have the wind chills. So the apartment was actually 70-73 degrees as opposed to 65-69 degrees. And outside, it made it up to 22 F/ -18 C.
Low was 10 degrees F.

I've been hibernating this weekend - nesting and watching television. It's either snowing or sleeting at the moment, per my phone sleeting. Did make brownies - probably shouldn't have made brownies (gluten-free obviously), and Skinny Popcorn. Which caused my blood sugar to sky rocket. Lovely. It does appear to have stablized and is coming down. So there's that.

Didn't sleep well at all last night. Due mainly to stomach/digestive issue, and muscle cramping. I'm thinking of taking a hot shower before bed tonight, in the hopes that it will calm down the muscles.

It got cold in my bedroom last night - around 65. So I took out the window fan and put another cover on the window A/C and put window coverings on both. Now, it's about 70 in there, and 74 degrees in the living room, so not as cold as last night - no wind. It's always the wind. This week is going to be brutal though - with record low temperatures and bad wind chills. I prefer the snow, personally, to the bitter cold.

Been side-eyeing the news via social media all weekend. Minnesota for folks who don't live in North America and Canada - is about the same distance from New York City as Spain is from London. ( Read more... )

The Nation lists corporations that you can boycott - to defund ICE (Some are easier than others?)

How US Citzens Can Protect the Immigrant Community from the Deportation Force

***

Buffy S7 and Angel S4 Rewatch.

I feel a little sorry for Angel? ( Read more... )

The Lilah/Wes romance has some of the same dialogue as the Spike/Buffy romance, which is interesting. ( Read more... )

Over on Buffy, it's becoming abundantly clear to me that Buffy fell for Spike at the end of S5, but didn't want to. And didn't want him to love her. Nor did she want to be loved in S6. Her difficulty was she couldn't completely trust him or for that matter, herself at that point. She was overwhelmed with guilt. ( Read more... )

The writers do make it confusing though.

Difficult and tedious day - went to get lab work after work - which was supposed to take fifteen minutes, and in actuality took forty-five. NYU Langon has had a lot of turn-over and is heavily under-staffed. So they had to close the fourth floor lab and pull everyone to the second floor lab.
That would have been fine? But during that - someone pulled the emergency brakes on the R, and as a result, the R train was running on the Q and N line with severe delays. And there was a fire on the Brooklyn Bridge - so the 4/5, 1/2, and Q/N/J were experiencing delays.

I ended up giving up on the R, up the steps, across the street, and to the 4/5 elevator.
( Read more... )

***

Was listening to a podcast by Juliet Landau which featured the actors who played Lilah, Lindsey, Holtz, and the writer David Greenwalt chatting at a con. During it - I discovered a few interesting tid-bits. Christian Kane prior to snagging the role of Lindsey on Angel, was up for the role of Riley Finn on Buffy (it went to his friend Marc Blucas), and both Kane and Romanov (Lilah) were supposed to just be in three episodes.

Buffy/Angel Rewatch

I've made it up to and part way through "Hells Bells" Buffy Episode 16, and up to Loyalty Angel Episode 15 - which I'm kind of saving? (I like the episode, Loyalty, not Hells Bells. I don't like Hells Bells.)

There's a handful of episodes in Buffy S6, between roughly Dead Things and Normal Again, that I could have done without? Or I wish had been written better? Doublemeat Palace is actually underrated, and hilarious at times, it's not a bad satirical piece on fast food restaurants and American advertising and consumerism, specifically the Burger Wars which were a thing in the later half of the 20th Century and beginning of the 21st.
(I can see why that was the episode that made the network rethink leaving the writers completely on their own. They got notes on how they were handling fast food.) It also is focused, and really centers on two perspectives, Buffy and Willow. The better episodes focus on Buffy and Willow in S6, actually.

As You Were - aka the return of GI Joe (& GI Jane) to split up Spike and Buffy, also fight monsters, and end Buffy's job at the Doublemeat Palace (or does that end after Normal Again? Not sure.) She takes off in the middle of a shift to help Riley - which would normally get her fired, but she also has leverage - so maybe she can't get fired? Shame, I agree with the network - the fastfood jokes are getting kind of old, and there's a lot of folks who have to do that for a living. They are littered throughout this episode. Everyone mentions that Buffy smells bad because of her job.
Only one who doesn't is Spike.
( Read more... )

Rest for another day. Off to bed.

Resting my knee tonight, so didn't do the exercises - did ice it, also did exercises at work. Also took a longer walk than I should have? I wanted to see if Trinity Church, Printemps, and NYSE had been dressed up at all for Xmas. It had, but minimalist in style. The over-blown festive decorations are apparently saved for Dyker Heights, my apartment complex lobby, and Midtown Shopping District. The Financial District is well...not exactly spendthrift when it comes to Christmas decor - and errs on the tasteful and minimalist side of the fence?

( The Financial District, Trinity Church and NYSE at Christmas Time )

After the walk - which included an ill advised journey to Insomiac Cookies, which was alas closed - my right knee/leg was killing me. It was my own fault - if I'd ended it five to ten minutes sooner, I'd have been fine. Plus it was cold outside. ( Would have been nice if Insomina Cookies had warned me that they were closed this week.) And I didn't even get any chocolate chip cookies. I wanted my cookies. Instead I bought a chocolate bar - which resulted in high blood sugar, the cookies were the better bet.

On the plus side (knee wise, at least) - I managed to schedule an MRI for January 4 at the Brooklyn location, and on a Sunday morning, no less. Go me. So not quite as far as the Manhattan one, and less steps. Also a followup appointment with the orthopedist at 2:30pm on January 9 (Friday). I'll probably have to take the day off. Unfortunately. Either that or take two hours of comp time. I only have 10 hours of comp time remaining. Currently have a PT appointment scheduled at 4:30pm after it, which I might cancel or try to reschedule. So got it a lot faster than expected.

2. Gave up on the Larry Silverstein book - the narrator was speaking in a monotone, and I was having troubles following it. Jumped over to Tim Curry's autobiography entitled "Vagabound" - which Curry was reading himself, only one small problem? He'd just suffered a stroke. After about an hour and a half, I gave up. I can't do 10 hours of that - it was painful listening to him. So, I jumped over to Angelica Huston's autobiography/memoir, The Story of Me - which is a two party, and read by Huston, to high acclaim. She has a lovely voice, and it's beautifully written. Also very interesting - since she talks about her parents, the acclaimed actor, film director and writer, John Huston, his wife a prima ballerina, his father, an acclaimed actor, and their friends. It talks a lot about old Hollywood - during the 1950s. I just finished a chapter, where she talks about how her father, along with Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, etc - formed an organization supporting the First Amendment - to speak out against the McCarthy Hearings and the infamous Hollywood Blacklist. This also resulted in Huston leaving the US, and filming outside of it, and living outside of it for the remainder of his life. Huston married Angelica Huston's mother when he was 40 years of age, and her mother was 18 years of age, and a prima ballerina at the premier ballet company in the US which later became the NY Ballet.

Angelica Huston doesn't tell so much as show? She relates the facts, and lets the reader figure it out. Reminds me of Paul Newman's memoir in that respect. It's well written.

3. Progressing along in my rewatch of Buffy S5. Some takeaways, after seeing I was Made to Love You and Crush.
( still pondering the contradictions in Crush and in IWMTLY )

Had another PT appointment on Monday, which...went okay, I guess? ( Read more... )

Work party and work in general made me want to walk out the door and retire today. But alas, I can't. I'm not positive, but I have a feeling Breaking Bad felt much the same way.
( Read more... )
Today was my father's birthday - which FB decided to alert me to. Annoying considering my father was never on FB and disliked it. My father, had he lived, would have turned 90. He died in 2022 at the age of 86 just short of his 87th birthday.

So feeling a bit down and out today. Not helped by the bitter cold snap plaguing New York and the East Coast at the moment. It was 18 F degrees this morning, I think that is -6 C. Tomorrow it is supposed to get up to 45 and possibly rain, practically balmy.
****

Buffy S5 Rewatch

Episode S5.4 Out of My Mind

Definitely enjoying Angel more this go-around, probably because I've watched this season one too many times? That said, the dialogue in this episode for the most part is rather good. And there are some good bits here and there.

The episode is mainly about Riley and Spike.
( Read more... )

Off to bed and other things.

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

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

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

Buffy S4/Angel S1 Rewatch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Got today off - as a paid holiday, it used to be Columbus Day, and is now officially Indigenous Peoples Day.

I watched two Christian Bale flicks over the weekend that dealt with genocide and indigenous people. One was Hostiles (starring Bale, Rosamund Pike and Wes Studi) - ( Read more... ) The other film was The Promise (starring Oscar Issacs and Bale in a love triangle with another woman whose name I can't remember), - it focused on the genocide by the Turks of the Armenians during the first part of WWI. Turkey has a lot to answer for in WWI. ( Read more... )

I'm seeing a general theme in my viewing? I also saw Penguin Lessons on Netflix - which is adapted from Michel's memoir of teaching at a school in Fascist Argentina during the 1970s. ( Read more... )

Yup. I need to find a film or series that isn't about Fascism? [Still hope to visit the Jewish Holocaust Museum near Battery Park on Thursday, and walk down the pier afterwards.

Speaking of Bale? He's got another movie coming out. Ironically, Oscar Issacs and Christian Bale are in two different films, but they are in the same over all genre, and versions of the same story trope.

Oscar Issacs is playing Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Guilermo Del Torro which takes place in 1800s England, while Christian Bale is playing Frankenstein the Monster in Maggie Gyllenhal's film The Bride - about the Bride to Frankenstein, which takes place in 1930s Chicago.

Here's the trailers:

The Bride - this is only in Theaters. (Bale's worked with Maggie Gyllenhal before - but when both were actors. And enjoys working with female filmmakers. He hit it off with the filmmaker behind American Psycho.)

AND Frankenstein

I should add Oscar Isaccs to my male actor crushes, also Antonio Banderas.

****

Angel S1 rewatch. Apparently they liked the actor who played Ken in the Buffy episode Anne so much they rehired him - to play the demon fiancee of Doyle's wife Harry in Bachelor Party. I was watching - and thought, wait, isn't that Ken from Anne? I thought Buffy killed him? And why is Doyle's cute human wife marrying him? OR is this just my imagination?

( Read more... )

(It's a horribly written episode with plot holes a plenty. (Example? It doesn't make a lot of sense that Harry left Quinn and hooked up with another demon, when Quinn's half-demon status caused her to freak. It also doesn't make a lot of sense that four-five years later, they are still married. And it kind of drops in out of the blue? There's no real build-up. It's a testament to Glenn Quinn's charm that it works at all.) The writing in Angel S1 is very uneven and reminiscent of Buffy's early seasons. Sigh. Network television - always a mixed bag. Cordelia is fulfilling the Xander role here and not always in a good way. Seriously Cordy can you be any more annoying. I'm reminded of why I didn't watch Angel consistently back in the day and Dochawk had to send me copies of the episodes on VHS - for me to be able to write about them in 2002. The episodes aren't that...compelling? Relatable? Good? And the characters don't jump off the screen or grab me in the same way they do on Buffy.)

Glenn Quinn's story is rather tragic. And what happened to him on Angel is kind of the opposite of what happened with Marsters. ( Read more... )

For Buffy and Angel fans...or rather Tara, Anya, Spike, Cordelia, Dru and Giles fans, and fans of the actors who portrayed them?

Buffy Cast Reunion on Audible - Slayers by Amber Bensen and Christopher Golden

It's basically an interview with Golden, Benson, Marsters, and Chase.

Extensive Interview with Marsters about Spike for the 20th Anniversary with Radio Times

( excerpt )

And..
Inside Joss Whedon’s ‘Cutting’ and ‘Toxic’ World of ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ (EXCLUSIVE)


"Interviews that Variety conducted with 11 individuals who worked directly on “Buffy” or “Angel,” or were closely familiar with the productions during their runs on The WB and UPN, painted a portrait of Whedon as a talented, collaborative writer-producer with a pattern of inappropriate, imperious and disparaging behavior toward those who worked for him. Whedon created a “cult of personality” around himself, according to these sources. Those on the inside of Whedon’s circle basked in his attention, praise and friendship; those on the outside got the opposite: scorn, derision and callousness. (Everyone Variety spoke with did so on condition of anonymity, either so they could speak freely or out of concern for their careers.)

Variety also reached out to 40 other actors, writers, producers and directors from “Buffy” and “Angel” — including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, Eliza Dushku, David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan — all of whom declined to participate in this story."

Which is interesting - the actors declined to participate, but the crew and writers did on the condition of anonymity. Making it difficult to know how much of what they state is true? Except this happens a lot - most of Burn it Down - about similar allegations on various television and film sets in Hollywood - were all done with anonymity. However - if you listened to any of the Q&A's at the cons - the actors did verify most of it over the years.

***

I've only been an obsessed or huge fan of a few things in my lifetime, and not in the same way. And it's often fleeting.

We all have something that just jives with us. Don't we? But it also at some point disappoints - when we find out a touch too much about it. Which is too often the case in this day and age.

I find it interesting how fans and folks who worked on Buffy have reclaimed it as their own. They did it by writing their own fanfic.

So, I've been binge-watching Angel S5 on Hulu, with no commercials. I splurged and at 11.95 a month, I can watch any television show that airs on it, with no commercials. It has a lot of old television series. Sort of the TV Land of streaming services.

Anyhow...realized a few things upon re-watching:

* In "You're Welcome" -- seriously can they give Cordy a more revealing shirt? It's unbuttoned to the degree in which her boobs appear to be popping out of it. I swear I saw a nipple in one shot.

Also, Cordy doesn't really do much in the episode, except give Angel a pep talk and say the PTB are still behind him, he still has a destiny, he's still the chosen one. To such an extent -- that I couldn't help but wonder if the Senior Partners of WRH had woken her up to get their gig back on track. Lindsey had successfully begun to push it off the rails. And they needed someone to come in there and expose Lindsey, so they can grab him.

The reason I don't think she was working for the PTB upon re-watch (outside of the fact that I know what the writers had planned down the road, and have read the comics) is two-fold, ( Read more... )

* An interesting pattern has emerged from each and every episode...in every single one, someone in the lead cast is being manipulated or is manipulating someone else -- pulling their strings. And usually the manipulation is being done through the character's desire to be a hero, to be great at something, to have a destiny, to be important. It's all about their egos and insecurities. Every single episode. And in Destiny, Damage, and Why We Fight -- we are reminded at what a master manipulator Angel is, and was -- he enjoyed breaking people down, using their weaknesses against them, and pulling their strings. As he tells Spike in Damage -- "He was in it for the EVIL."

Hmmm.

* The episode after Whedon's "Hole in the World" by Stephen Denight, is actually the better episode.
It has better lines here and there, and is a little less over the top. Whedon goes overboard in Hole in telling the audience how important Fred is to everyone. And then we get the longest death sequence on record...( spoilers )

[This brings up a few difficulties with the series -- ( spoilers )

[Note -- this is my first read of the comics. I'm not re-reading them. I know I'm behind everyone else. But I despised the last five issues of Season 8 Comics, and the first six issues of the Season 9 comics. So gave up. Then accidentally hit upon some excellent panels from Season 10, and thought okay, will give them a second shot. So word to the wise, if you want to read these? Skip Season 9 Vol. 1 Freefall, Season 9 Vol. 3 - Guarded, the Last Six Comics of S8, and go from there. Also grab the last two volumes of Angel & Faith S10 -- which are a great character back-study of Giles, and also provide much fodder for the Angel/Spike and Spike/Faith relationships. Since Angel doesn't evolve at all in the comics, he remains the least interesting character in them. I get why they did that, but, it's a tired trope and the writers really need to shake the character up a bit.]

Review of Buffy Season 10 Comics.

With a few weak spots here and there, these are by far the best comics of the series. They do a marvelous job of building two key relationships, Dawn and Xander, and Spike and Buffy. Also a rather good job of continuing to evolve Giles, Andrew, and Willow. Andrew FINALLY is established as gay.
We also get some closure with Jonathan and Anya.


The weak spots are mostly in regards to art. Meghan does a good job with pretty much everyone but Spike, who has the same nose as my Dad. I found this odd. And her art is heavier lined, more cartoonish in character and not quite as smooth as Rebecca Isaacs. I wish Rebecca could have done all of it. I agree with Whedon that changing artists can be jarring.

Xander -- if you are a Xander fan this season is a must. His character is by far the most developed that it has been in the series. And the writers have apparently infused his character with some of Nick Brendan's actual issues. Various issues delve into Xander's anger management issues -- and how his issues with anger have caused problems in his relationships. He also spends a lot of time discussing these issues with Anya's Ghost (which admittedly got repetitive after a bit), and Spike.
The Xander/Spike scenes are by far the best.

Spike -- for the most part is well-utilized in this season. While he spends most of his time with Buffy, working out their issues and building their relationship, we do get bits with Harmony, Xander, and Dawn.

[Also Angel, who makes an appearance, and would be a heck of a lot more interesting if the character had evolved. The writer's justification is that Angel is immortal and his status really hasn't changed all the much. He's either cursed with a soul, or not. I actually think one of the weaknesses here is that the Angel character can't evolve or change -- for both the television series and the comics. I think something major has to happen to motivate Angel to do something -- instead of letting forces around him manipulate him, or manipulating those around him to appease those forces and obtain their approval. He's also so self-centered, he honestly sees everyone's behavior as a reflection of his own, and is somewhat deluded regarding his own. Shame he can't see his own reflection.Anyhow, he's barely in it, and his purposes seems to be to shake up Willow, Buffy and Spike a bit.]

The writers do a marvelous job of building Spike/Buffy as a relationship here -- they address what happened in Season 6 and 7 pretty much in depth between the two characters. Along with all of their issues and the fans issues regarding them. Finally we get a discussion of both the BDSM sexual relationship and the attempted sexual assault. It's well-handled. Kudos. We also have Buffy address with Spike her prior involvements with Angel and Riley and why neither worked. Along with Spike addressing his with Harmony and Drusilla -- and why they didn't work, and how bad he felt about Harmony. (Although Harmony doesn't care -- being a soulless vampire, she's moved on to using Clem like a whipping dog.)


Buffy -- is also well-done. It really delves into Buffy taking responsibility for her role in the verse, as the holder of the magic book. Also responsibility for her inter-personal relationships, instead of just running away from them.

Dawn -- the powers of the key are finally explored. And Dawn is given a chance to grow up a bit more.

The plot is okay, it gets a little convoluted in places -- and the main villain appears to be D'Hoffryn, which is an interesting choice. The most frightening villain is the Soul Glutton, who also appears to be a social commentary on well vegetarianism? There's a lot of social commentary in here, although not as blatant as in the previous series.

Overall, a good read. I highly recommend.

I skipped Angel&Faith, mainly because I'm not interested in any of the characters. It's not worth the money. These cost between nothing (if you can borrow) to $16.99. The Angel & Faith are pricier actually.