promethia

Tried "Widow's Bay" on Apple + and it's okay? Kind of mildly amusing, and mildly scary? The first episode wasn't all that compelling. But I may try a few more.

It's a Stephen King style horror - but kind of styled as a comedy? Absurdist comedy? Reminds me of Plurbist (which is apocalyptic horror absurdist comedy). Both are on Apple.

Some example lines from Widow's Bay?

Mayor: Have you heard of the Sea Hag?
Old Crochety Town Story Teller (sings the ditty of the sea hag)
Mayor (at the end of the creepy song): So uhm, how does she kill you exactly?
Old CTST (aka Stephen Root): She crawls into your bed and sits on your face.

Or

NY Times Writer: So, did you have cannibalism in your town's history?
Mayor: No, no that's just a story, I don't know where you got that idea.
Writer: It's on a framed news story in your historical society (he turns to point to the large framed story and exhibit - they are standing in the historical society.)

****

Read the following blurbs on social media this past week:

If you are in a reader's slump, it may be for other reasons:

* Your brain is overwhelmed and can't handle any more information.
* The books aren't fitting your mood.
* That's not the book your brain wants to deal with right now.

Or? You just don't like those books and need to find a different source for recommendations, preferably not twenty-somethings getting money off of providing marketing content for books geared towards twenty-somethings?

If it were like the 1990s again - with no cell phones, doom scrolling, social media...what is the first thing you'd do?

Go to the movies. Seriously - cell phones ruined movie theaters for me. [Not that they didn't have issues to begin with - but give people a little computer or computer on a watch that they can talk to, text in, and play with? Forget about it.]

Question a Day Meme - May:

1. Have you ever contributed to something being crowdfunded? Was there an incentive to do so?

No. Although I did contribute to an acquaintance's Go Fund Me for cancer treatment once or twice. (She died, so it's not like it necessarily worked? But I guess it helped keep her alive a bit longer...)

2. Have you heard of the ‘Language of Flowers’, published in 1884? Victorian Britain and America were caught up in the concept in the 19th Century. Do you know the secret meaning of any flowers?

Yes, I've heard of it. I don't remember any of it.

3. Have you ever traced any of your family tree?

Yes, I fell down the genealogy rabbit hole a few years ago - traced it back to the 1600s in the Americas and Britain. Got bored. And forgot most of it. That of course didn't prevent various extended family members from doing it? The most famous person I'm related to - appears to be Eisenhower - 9th cousin nine times removed. (See? That's genealogy.)

I'm not sure how accurate most of it is? There's a couple of countries that were good at preserving records of well, just about everybody, and the records weren't destroyed in bombings. Also they weren't in danger of people tracking them down to kill them or enslave them.

Britain, Ireland, and their descendants in the US. Also the Mormons. So if you are British, Irish, British-Canadian, Scottish, or Mormon - you can probably trace it back fairly easily. Germany? Not so much, it was brutally bombed during the first and second World Wars, as was France and a good portion of Western Europe. We also had a lot of records changed or destroyed because of the Holocaust and the Nazis. Scandinavia didn't tend to keep records of anyone who was well not of a certain class.
And good luck hunting accurate records of ancestry if you are Black or Native American descent - those records were destroyed on purpose in the US or altered to protect people from being found and enslaved or killed by armed militias.

****

It's a beautiful but chilly day for spring. In the 40s, looks like the 60s.
Comfortable indoors for a change - in the low 70s. Lots of green outside my window. And blue sky, with streaks of cloud cover. I'm battling a headache and irritability. Have two scheduled doctor's visits next week - PT (vestibular) and lab work, then a doctor's appointment (virtual) the next week and somewhere in there - I have to plug in X-rays. I'm tired of doctor's appointments - I don't think I've had a week off from any of them in a while. I need a vacation from waiting for doctors and going to work.

Making my way slowly through This Kingdom will Not Kill Me - which isn't the book's fault. I can only read it in snatches at home. I can't cart it around with me - it's a hard cover book. It's interesting because it is employing the unreliable narrator tactic. The narrator thinks they know everything about the world they are in and the people in it - because they read the book it's based on? But alas, they don't and get quite a few things wrong. The writer's are slyly commenting on how fans misinterpret the stories they love and read over and over again. Thinking they know everything about it. Or that their interpretation is the correct one. Or their memory of it is right. (It's not, people are human and fallible.)
I may have to re-read the book when I finish it and stuff is revealed.

My reading slump has more to do with system overload than anything else.
But it is what it is.

**

I'm up to date now on From - ie, I can't be spoiled any longer. It's an interesting set-up, but I'm not sure I trust the writers not to go for the shiny/creepy Twilight Zone ending in S5. (ie. Everyone dies and a whole new batch of people enter the town to struggle. I've seen this trope done a few times before. Usually that's how it ends. No one gets out and it just keeps rinsing and repeating itself in an endless frustrating loop.) Maybe I should stop now?

On the other hand, I'm curious. So will probably keep watching until the end. I want to see how quickly they figure out the latest plot development?

1. Pleased for the weekend, finally. Got the trash taken out. Did exercises. Slept in - so got the requisite 8 hours. End of a stressful work week. And, I discovered that it takes anywhere between 6-8 weeks to get insurance approval and additional four to order and receive the injection from the pharmacy - for the knee injections. So that doctor's appointment was pushed out to June. Means only PT, lab and maybe X-rays next week.
June's going to be dicey scheduling doc appointments around work.

2. From - I've binged S3 now, which wasn't quite as good as S1-2. S3 has a few really annoying story threads. I'll warn anyone intending to watch this? The last three episodes have a torture sequence that I could have done without. [*Note - it is no where near as bad as the torture sequences in Game of Thrones, and you don't see the torture - just the aftermath. So more implied - than actually watching it? While in Game of Thrones - they actually showed it. So it's nothing like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, or The Last of Us - mainly because it's on MGM+ and not HBO and AMC. Word to the wise - if you don't like graphic violence and torture steer clear of these types of series on AMC and HBO.] I spoiled myself for it - so at least I knew it was coming and was prepared for it. S1-2 aren't quite as violent and unsavory as S3 (where the writers clearly got bored and decided to get a touch sadistic). Also, S3, suffers greatly from annoying character syndrome or disposable side-character syndrome, replacing some highly likable characters with a few new and highly annoying ones?

The writers have a tendency to show conflict by having various characters explode with rage (yelling at everyone and smashing things) or having mini-temper tantrums, often lashing out at other characters who are either trying to be helpful, or trying to communicate something, or just get them to calm down. No one listens to each other in this show? Communication is a major problem. If they could communicate and listen to each other - they'd probably figure it out and find a way out of the town. But alas, no. (That said? It is realistic. I'll give it that. People really are like that. So, hyper-realistic horror?)

( spoilers )

I'm horribly behind on the Question a Day - April - Meme - so, I'm just going to finish out the month while I have the opportunity. I was going to read more of "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" but the vagus nerve associated with my neck is bothering me today - and I'd need to well bend over the book? Had troubles reading on the train for the same reason. It's the weather - which is turning again, and as a result my arthritis is flaring up. (I may go back to audio books - actually, that was why Masq (from ATPOBTVS) started on audio books, back and neck issues.)

22. If you took part in a quiz, what would be your specialist subject?

Probably movies, television, theater and fictional books. I have an insane amount of trivia knowledge in that arena. For some reason or other, my brain holds onto that sort of data? When I played Jeopardy on my phone - every time it did that category - I won. Same with Trivia pursuit.

23. In 1895, Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand detective writer and producer, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Have you ever read any of her detective novels? If not, who is your favourite detective novelist?

Yes, a couple. It's been a long time since I read them though - and I get her confused with PD James (who I prefer and have read more of). Neither are my favorite. My favorite is the Master - Agatha Christie. I read all of her books. I did find Peters Vicky Bliss mysteries up to and including The Night Train to Memphis - to be fun and memorable. I always wished those novels had been adapted in a series or movies. But alas, no.

I also loved Minette Walters, another British mystery writer - whose first novel was adapted. Not sure any others were. She would be a close second to Agatha Christie.

24. It’s Barbara Streisand’s birthday – are you a fan of her music or movies?

I didn't realize she was born in April. So is my niece and brother. Fan? Not really? I'm not sure I'd call myself a fan exactly? I enjoy her music and her movies. Like her music better - she has an amazing range. One of the original belters. Her movies are a mixed bag, unfortunately. But I have enjoyed several of them. Her better ones were when she was younger...

She's the same age as my mother and Harrison Ford.

25. When’s the last time you had to use a plumber?

I can't remember? I always call the Super, and they tend to fix the problem if I can't.

26. Do you still have a landline, or do you only use your mobile phone/cellphone?

Yes. Although not sure why - since it's not really a landline but through a cable bundle? Phone, cable and internet. It does make the other two cheaper, but it would probably be cheaper just to have the internet. I just don't want to deal with figuring out how to return the equipment.

27. What sweets/candies do you remember from your childhood? When was the last time you ate some?

Butterfingers, Kit Kats, 3 Musketeers, Big Chew Gum, those sour balls that you can suck for hours and they change flavors and colors, sweet tarts, colored sugar in straws (can't remember the name of it)...

I had a 3 Musketeers about a year ago. The rest, I can't eat any longer - too much sugar or they have gluten. Kit Kats are a thing of the past - I can't have them at all. Butterfingers are possible - but high in sugar, as are all the rest.

I don't know what I did? But sugar got angry at me. So did gluten. And here we are.

28. In 2004, Shrek the sheep from Tarras, Central Otago, New Zealand, was finally shorn live on TV after 6 years of avoidance; the fleece weighed 27 kg (60 lb). Do you own, or have you made anything from sheep’s wool?

There's a sheep named Shrek? Oh that's hilarious. Did they name it after the movie Shrek?

Yes, I have wool - not a lot, I find it itchy. But I have wool sweaters. I even have a knitted wool blanket. At least I think it is wool - it might be alpaca.

29. When was the last time you received a letter (not junk mail)?

God knows. I've no clue. I miss letters. I think it might have been five years ago - from my mother? She has sent me cards - do those count? The rest of the family uses Facebook or Texts.

And my penpals are on social media now.

30. In 2018, Sweden's official Twitter account confirmed that Swedish meatballs actually originated in Turkey. Do you like Swedish meatballs? Ever had them in IKEA?

Yes. My mother used to make them a lot - with rice. But I can't have them now - because they contain gluten. I suppose you could make them without?
But I've also kind of limited red meat intake - because it doesn't agree with me any longer. So, I eat it sparingly, if at all.

***

I should have put that under a cut, but I didn't feel like it. It's been one of those days.

***

Today I finally "attempted" to schedule my X-rays, only to be reminded of why I was procrastinating?

So I call the Trinity location in Manhattan.
( hell is scheduling x-rays )

Oh well, if it doesn't work - I'll try Lennox Hill in Cobble Hill, which has openings on weekends. I just hate their portal and it's difficult to share with other doctors.

I'm worried about my vagus nerve - which apparently affects the gut and the head, and causes all sorts of issues if out of wack.

***

So, I gave up on Firebird and went over to Scalzi's Locked-In (I may go back to Firebird, not sure yet.) John Scalzi is kind of the Stephen King of Sci-Fi writing. ( Read more... )

Book Instagram is odd? Very young. And kind of whiny? Apparently book reviews and book blogging has been replaced with book podcasting?? Where everybody and their mother gives book reviews via podcasts. Some of them are paid to do this? Why? ( Read more... )

I think I've given up on Gideon the Ninth, made it to the 15% mark, I just can't follow it? I have no idea what is going on or why? I'm confused? It's a busy and harrowing/ugly narrative style, and the way it's written is hard for my brain to make sense of - and this is coming from someone who read and analyzed and wrote a paper on James Joyce's Ulysses and William Faulkner's Sound and the Fury.

The writing style was just irritating me, I think. Here's the first chapter.

How to explain? I think it's the made-up slang? My brain doesn't like made up words or slang laden novels. Examples? Clockwork Orange (couldn't make it through that book either). There are others. Their Eyes Are Watching God, also gave me a headache. Too much slang and dialect.

I don't know if an audio book would be better? It might. Because this book was playing havoc with the dyslexia. (I need poetic prose or sentences to have a certain rhythm to them or my mind won't grasp it.)

I've decided to start reading "Firebird by Susanne Kearse" on the Kindle now, it's only been waiting in the queue for the last five years. We'll see - it's a historical/supernatural romance. I tried it twice before and gave up. Ugh. I like my hard cover novel better.

***

Mental illness has increasingly become a problem in our society - and our media isn't helping matters. It's judgemental of the mentally ill. People are really judgemental of others, aren't they? I guess there are positive aspects of being judgemental - so probably not something we want to get rid of completely.

I keep thinking...there but for the grace go we or I or you. It helps push away the judgement, and superimpose empathy and compassion instead. Emphasis on compassion. Sympathy tends to fall into the trap of judgement. Empathy, often falls into the trap of over-relating, but compassion is just caring for the other person and being mindful of their situation and our own, and trying to not do more harm.

I keep reminding myself that I'm here on this earth, right now, to learn and to help wherever or however I am able (emphasis on able? I'm not always able.). And everything is a lesson. It helps. More than one might think?

***

Wasn't planning on it - but since it recorded instead of General Hospital, I watched King Charles III's speech. I was impressed - he's a good speaker and it was an excellent speech. (Granted the bar was set pretty low with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in the White House at the Moment, but still.) He said, words and actions matter - and made a very strong point about how we need to be careful about the ones we take and honor the past in doing so. Britain may not have wanted him to come - for well, understandable and obvious reasons, but I'm glad he did - because what he said to both houses of the US Congress - needed to be said, and both Houses and both parties for the most part were in agreement with what he stated. Specifically, that we need to fight against tyranny, and honor checks and balances. It's ironic that a British King is kindly admonishing and reminding the United States ( a former colony that rebelled against tyranny) of what it's shared values are - and why it rebelled and won that rebellion in the first place.
Made all the more ironic - by the fact that the King in question is a direct descendant of the one the US's founders rebelled against, and just a few months before the US's 250th birthday. But there you have it.

Maybe the people who needed to hear that - did? Let's hope it wasn't just the choir - but also the congregation? It appeared to be both? Nonetheless, it gave me a smidgen of hope. And the befuddled yet not quite dead historian in me celebrated and did a little dance in my head.

So make of that what you will.

Off to bed, to sleep, or at least I hope. It's been up in the air of late.