sueworld | Reading

1. Eye Doctor. I got up early, made it to the eye doctor's office at 7:55 am, with my appointment scheduled at 8:15 am, only to discover that the doctor was no longer working at NYU Langone. They'd left.
And NYU Langone was calling me to reschedule with yet another brand new opthamologist literally twenty minutes before my appointment.
( Read more... )
I could have slept another hour. Although they did do the vision test, and the dilation around 8:30, with the Doctor seeing me around 9:30. All in all it was two hours. I knew it would be - that's why I didn't try to schedule the knee doctor on the same day.

After a five minute vision test done at the speed of light.
( Read more... )

Doctors? Its basically hurry, wait, hurry, wait. It's why Breaking Bad refuses to see them, and my Aunt did. My mother has persuaded me to see them - because she's convinced her sister, my Aunt, died because she refused to.

I'm going to have to find an opthamologist/optometrist duo, because NYU can't keep an opthamologist to save its life, and the optometrist - I noticed that office was temporarily closed and people were being redirected to the horrible Tisch Center for Men's Health.

The Good News? My eyes are fine. I mean I still need bifocals, and contacts. But there's no other issues. This morning, while putting in one of the contacts I got a piece of hair caught between my eye and the contact - which was excruciatingly painful until I got the contact out, and the offending hair out - but apparently it didn't result in any damage to the eye.

One down, four to go. (X-rays tomorrow, knee doctor tomorrow, then two weeks from now, on Saturday - the Optometrist, then in December, the PT.)

I feel like I've spent a lot of money on copayments to doctor's this year.

I did however accomplish two things at least? Eye doctor and laundry, also set up optometrist appointment in two weeks.

2. Still rewatching Buffy and Angel, and noticing things I didn't notice before? Not being obsessed with the stories or worried about where they are going - makes certain bits clearer? Also knowing what will happen - makes other things clearer? It helps when you aren't overly emotionally invested in what happens to the characters - or worse writing or reading fanfic about them. Makes the story as whole and the big picture much clearer?
( Read more... )

3. I am not used to it getting dark by 4:50pm. It's throwing me off my game? I keep thinking it's 7pm when it's actually just 5:45pm. Yes, I know it being dark at 7:30 am in the morning was an issue. But I honestly wish we would just stick with one time adjustment, and not keep doing this flipping back and forth.

Clearly I'm in the minority, or it would have changed by now. But I wish.

****

November Memage:

1. In the UK, the 5th of November is Guy Fawkes night, which is celebrated with fireworks. The firework displays and parties usually start this weekend and may continue for several days of November. When was the last time you attended a firework display?

Hm. I think sometime in 2010? It was the 4th of July display in NYC.

I have watched them out my window at home - but not sure that counts.

2. Do you have anything you love so much on TV that you record all the episodes?

I don't need to any longer with streaming. Also the DVR doesn't always work?

But, when I had a VHS recorder - yes. I recorded all the episodes of Buffy, and Angel. Also Farscape. Those are three shows I loved enough to record all the episodes and own the DVDs (for a bit).

3. What’s the weather like today?

Partly Cloudy, Cool, potential for rain (but mostly sunny). In the upper fifties, high was 60 degrees.

shadowkat

1. Sigh, Let's Do the Time Warp Again

I don't know about anyone else? But regardless of what I do? I'm always thrown sideways by the time change. It's dark out - and I keep thinking it's 6:58 or almost 7pm, when in reality it's only 5:58 pm and almost 6. (I really wish they'd stop doing time change back and forth.

It just occurred to me that maybe this is the inspiration behind the song (or not as the case may be? I don't really want to know either way, and regardless - I posted it on FB too, so an annoying relative will most likely tell me) - Time Warp.

2. Watched the Associate Minister's last hurrah - so to speak - or her last sermon. The church really needs to acquire a Director of Religious Education who isn't interested in becoming a minister - this is the second one they've lost to the Minister path. There's clearly something about Religious Education that calls people to become Unitarian Minister's? That and yoga.

I didn't go in person - for various reasons - I had ambivalent feelings about the Minister in question, and my church isn't the most accessible on the planet? ( Read more... ) And I wasn't exactly close to the Assoc Minister, actually I'm kind of relieved she's leaving? And I can't say I didn't agree with her sentiment that letting go of this congregation and moving on to one out on Long Island, (the Assoc Ministers always go out to Long Island for some reason - the last one went to Huntington, this one to Shelter Rock), was a good idea for all involved? The church really needed to jettison the prior leadership - the music is fine, they can keep that, but the management of the church needed to be reconfigured.

Have you ever met people that you feel you are supposed to click with or should click with - and just don't no matter what you do? Or that you do sort of like, but sense that they don't really like or understand or see you - and wish you'd go away?

That's the energy I always kind of felt from the Associate Minister? I'm learning the best approach in these situations is to - back away and give that person plenty of space. It happens to me online as well. So it's not relegated to in-person interactions.

Also I'm irritable folks. ( Read more... )

I don't know if any of that made sense. Perhaps it did? Perhaps it didn't?

3. Television

* I've given up on Outlander. It's not my cup of coco. I don't like it and there are too many other shows to watch instead.

* I finished Rainmaker S1 finally - this is on Netflix. It's a legal procedural. And among the better ones. There are a lot of twists and turns.
It's more serialized than most - and far more character centric. It's based on the book by John Grisham, except instead of a big Insurance firm being the bad guy, it's a law firm. So a blending of The Firm and Rainmaker, I think? It has a lot of Grisham's legal tropes in it. ( Read more... )
Anyhow, recommend, the above doesn't really have any spoilers, or only vague ones.

* Watched two more Angel episodes from S1, She and I've Got You Under My Skin

A. "She" is the episode with the comedic dancing from Angel and Wes, and manages to get across both characters personalities with it. Also the humor of the writers - I think they were going for Seinfield's comedic bit with Elaine and the dancing? Hollywood writers like to make fun of how people dance for some reason? ( Read more... )

[I was going to skip it - glad I didn't - you kind of need to see it, to understand the Wes/Angel and Cordy dynamic. Also, it has great character moments. I think I kind of skipped over it the first two or three times I'd watched the series. I've not watched or rewatched since roughly 2005 or thereabouts. I think the only season I've rewatched since then was S5.]

B. In I've Got You Under the Skin - the writers pull an interesting twist, actually two twists. It's another episode written by Jeannine Renshaw - who was also responsible for co-writing I Will Always Remember You, and Parting Gifts. She's known for writing for The Cleaning Lady, In the Dark, and Grey's Anatomy, among others. The episode comments heavily on The Exorcist, and kind of makes fun of it - even has the name of the priest being the same name as the director of the Exorcist, and dead. It also furthers the bond between Wes and Angel. The writers are working over-time to develop Wes and Angel's bond to equal Doyle and Angel's. ( spoilers and length )

* Watched Jurassic World: Rebirth on Peacock - this is the latest Jurassic World flick. I have a weakness for these movies and have seen all of them. I saw roughly three of them in theaters. My favorites are 1, 3, and 5, or all the ones with Sam Neil and Laura Dern in them. Film 4 wasn't bad, and slightly better than film 2. But this film is horrible. ( Read more... )

Skippable.

* Welcome to Derry - this was on HBO. It's a prequel to IT. And I can't tell if it's a satire of Stephen King horror films and books or supposed to be taken seriously? It's a bit over the top? Even the credits are over the top and tongue in cheek. It's screaming satire or parody to me? And it's not real subtle about it. Reminds me a little bit of Fallout in that respect. ( Read more... )

***

Off to bed, have to get up early for eye doctor's appointment tomorrow.

tellshannon815

elisi

Time just seems to vanish.

Last week was my birthday and I was totally going to make a birthday post, and then just... didn't.

So, belated thank you's to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. <3

And I got fanart from Lee (for my Seeker 'verse), which is very shiny. Not used to fanart. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Although speaking of fanart, then Promethia and I also had a stunning piece of fanart created for The Song of Rowland, so truly my cup currently overfloweth. (Technically the art work is spoilery, although not hugely.)

And fic-wise, then I posted Chapter 5 of Crystal Gets A Boyfriend on my birthday, and then Chapter 6 the week after! (This will probably never happen again. There is usually a month between any updates.)

But enough about me... Have a few links:

No more Disney!Who. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

UK petition: Scrap the Bathroom Ban

And from the Good Law Project, please sign this open letter: Women in support of the trans+ community.

I feel that there were so many more things I was going to mention, but time has stolen them...

shadowkat

Voted finally. It was fast - took longer to get there. It's technically a ten minute walk if that, but with the sciatica, it was more like twenty minutes. I researched what and who I was voting for ahead of time, and marked up a cheat sheet. So I didn't have to read the ballot proposals.
As a result, I was pretty much in and out within ten to fifteen minutes, almost no wait time.

On the way back, picked up more groceries from Met Fresh (and it cost more than Trader Joes, of course I did pick up different things...). Came home and had the Salmon Gluten Free Cesar Salad from Trader Joes, put my feet up and relaxed.

On TV front - just watched the Angel S1 Episode: Expecting. (No, it doesn't really improve upon re-watch - but is worth a look just to see how it builds the relationship between Angel/Wes, and Cordelia. I realized that Cordelia's boyfriend (Wilson) who impregnates her with demon spawn, is the same actor who played Hollinger on The Residence.) And realized something (other than recognizing guest actors)? ( Read more... )

End of the Month Question a Day Memage:

27. What is your favourite thing to walk on with bare feet or do you hate walking barefoot?

With bare feet? Grass or the beach. Also in water.

28. The American costume designer Edith Head was born today in 1879. She won eight Oscars for her work, and her last one was for her work on Paul Newman/Robert Redford’s film The Sting. Have you seen it?

Yes. Didn't know that was her last one...interesting. I love The Sting. If you haven't seen it? Go see it. It's among my favorite movies.

29. What kind of toothbrush do you own?

Multiple. I had electric - but they aren't working at the moment, so need a new one.

30. Can you click your fingers (and are you doing it now – LOL)?

You mean like snapping. No.

31. Do you have a favourite aroma you love (a perfume, something baking, a flower etc)?

I like the smell of lemon, chocolate chip cookies, vanilla, eucalyptus, and pies baking.

Not a fan of floral scents - I sneeze.

Also musk - gives me a headache.

angrboda

Yesterday, at work, I managed to get myself into a spot of bother.

In order to promote the personnel policy, hospital management have been handing out these chocolate confectionaries (P tærter, containing white nougat and peanuts, covered in chocolate) with stickers on them to go and read said policy. (Which, incidentally, is exactly the sort of inconcrete high-flying nonsense that you would expect) I happen to know, because I've checked previously due to Husband being vegetarian, that these contain gelatine.

And so at lunch a coworker sat down across the table from me and put her chocolate next to her plate no doubt to have as a little dessert. Said coworker is muslim. I couldn't not tell her when I knew it had gelatine in it, because I didn't know how strict she is about it.

Flist, she was so disappointed. It had never occurred to her that chocolate might not be safe for her to eat and she loves those. At first she tried to argue that it didn't say that it was gelatine from swine, but failed to convince herself that it was okay, and in the end she couldn't bring herself to eat it. Instead she gave it to me, which made me feel like I had tricked her out of her chocolate, so I couldn't bring myself to eat it either, and ended up giving it to a third person with the complete story of why it was a bit tainted.

I absolutely think it was the best thing to tell her about it, especially since it obviously did matter to her, but the guilt was still real.

When Husband does the grocery shopping for next week, I have asked him to buy me a Snickers bar. Those are definitely safe and it's a relatively similar confectionary, so I will give her that on Monday instead. A little plaster on the wound.

Can't imagine what purpose the gelatine could possibly have in there, though.

shadowkat

1. Now, I've got an X-ray scheduled for next Tuesday along with the doctor's appt. They went ahead and scheduled it for me. Nice of them. Means getting there earlier - but that's okay. Hopefully, it's nothing but a sciatic nerve and arthritis. Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are doctors visits - oh well at least they are all in the same location. I wish it was closer to the subway stations, but it could be worse. Ten blocks isn't that bad. (Ten-Fifteen minute walk, with sciatica and a bad knee - it may actually be a twenty minute walk, I should give myself more time to get there.). I could take a car service - but I've neither the patience or the funds for it. Also they stress me out.

I'm collecting doctors again. Appear to have slight hoarseness tonight - thinking allergies? Also, hoping I've managed to avoid digestive issues by having tuna fish on gluten free sourdough deli toast, with small salad, cucumber, celery and carrot sticks. Did have a greek yogurt bar and chocolate for desert.

2. I really wish the fund-raising charity folks would stop sending me stuff? ( the stuff I've acquired from fund-raising folks ) (I figure if I put this out there into the Universe, they will?)

3. FB neighborhood page shot out a link regarding those pesky proposals on the ballot, which I shared with my brother. [Those ballot proposals took my cubicle mate by surprise, along with a bunch of others.] Now, we know how we're voting on those vague as mud ballot proposals. (Yes, I'm voting - it's a major election for NYC City - because of the mayoral race. The race is between Cuomo, Sliwa, and Zohran Mamadani. After losing the Democratic primary, Cuomo is running as an Independent, and Sliwa is running as a Republican (he was the only candidate running for Republican). The conservative newspapers are trying to get him to pull out - which of course he won't.
Oh, the drama.

4. Lots of torrential rain fall today. (Outside of Super being unable to turn off bedroom radiator today - I wasn't affected.) So, southeastern Brooklyn had flooding in various spots. They posted a ton of photos on FB of the various spots that had been flooded around Ditmas and Flatbush in Brooklyn. Kesington for the most part was fine - when I got home - mainly because they had fixed the gutters.

Flooding in NYC, West Chester, Long Island, and New Jersey

Flooding in BedStuy

Bedstuy Brooklyn Flooding

Post on Ditmas Neighborhood Page: "Cortelyou Road is flooded. If your car is parked near Tribeca Pediatrics you should move your car. The water is rising and is almost to the top a sedan's tires.

Never mind. Someone just cleared the drain. It's all good."

It really is just a gutter problem.

ME: Are we still on for the radiator valve switch off?
Super: We had flooding in 3 building basements.
Me: Okay, not today then. Maybe next week?
Super: Okay, thanks.

I hope the basement apartment is okay. Although, honestly, you'd have to be desperate or nuts to live in a basement apartment in NYC.

***

Eh, I'll catch up on memage tomorrow.

Have a photo instead.

yourlibrarian

1) I enjoyed watching Emma Thompson's arrival on Colbert's show, and also her rant about how AI keeps trying to change her writing. "“And so I end up just going, ‘I don’t need you to f**king rewrite what I’ve just written! Will you f*** off? Just f*** off" "Colbert then jokingly suggested that Thompson show her computer the Academy Award she won for her screenwriting on the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility, which made her the only person to ever win an Oscar for both acting and writing."

2) Watched a Donna Summers' documentary, which was pretty uninformative. I knew little about her career so some of the info was new, but hardly anything was explored. ( Read more... )

3) Also saw the new 2025 documentary about LiveAid. I already knew a fair amount about it but given there were new interviews there were still some new bits. ( Read more... )

4) Had an afternoon with everything higgledy piggeldy. Got a call mid-afternoon from the leasing office that the utility company needed to make repairs to a transformer by our building. It would mean a 2-hour electricity cut off. So I got off the computer and decided to run the TV and finish exercises while I was waiting. But despite being told the power would be off in about 15 minutes, we still had power an hour later. My partner wasn't sure whether to stay late at work or come home. And if he did, we'd have to either eat snacks or wait for power to come back since we wouldn't want to open the fridge or freezer. ( Read more... )

5) A bit of hope that major money can be gotten out of politics, via a legal case. "Corporations exist with the express permission of the state in which they are incorporated. They are legal inventions, statutorily-created entities. They only have as much power as the states grant them.

That means the answer to Citizens United may be staring everyone straight in the face. After all, the states—and this Supreme Court majority is for “states’ rights” after all—by definition have the final say over what corporations may do in their states. As noted by the Center for American Progress, which backs campaign finance law reforms, “Corporations are pure creatures of state law. And for more than two centuries, the Supreme Court has affirmed that states have virtually unlimited authority to modify and withdraw the powers they grant to their corporations.”

Why couldn’t that authority include never granting corporations the power to spend money on political contributions in the first place?"

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shadowkat

Not having a great week so far health wise. While I was nursing my hip, knee, back and leg - the exterminator popped up - requiring all sorts of physical hijinks in the kitchen afterwards - basically cleaning floor, removing dishes, cleaning counter with disinfectant wipes. And cleaning dish dryer mat which was a mess - and needs to put in the washer.

Exterminator: Let it all sit undisturbed for two hours.
Me: 2 hours?

Not happening. He left at 5:30 pm. I compromised. It's sitting. But I did clean the counter top with disinfectant wipes.

But hey, I've accomplished a lot - considering I came home wishing someone would just shoot me and put me out of my misery. Took a shower, talked to mother (who called while I was attempting to apply lidocaine and Aleve pain relieving menthol rub to my knee and hip), exterminator and cleaned portion of kitchen.

Me: can you kill the flies.
Exterminator: sure, but I don't see any.

Now that he's gone, the five that I can't seem to kill have returned.

***

On the health front - yes, it was really hurting today. Not helped by the fact that I'm having problems sleeping. ( Read more... )

Some potential good news? Primary Care Doctor finally gave me a referral on the knee. So I scheduled an appointment for November 4 with an orthopedist for my knee. If I wasn't working - I'd have been able to do it earlier. But scheduling it around working hours is dicey. Also I don't want back to back doctor's appointments - not with a bad back and knee. I three doctor's appointments this coming weekend (I'm taking Monday off as a Personal Day, and Tuesday, Election Day, I get off). Getting older seems to result in acquiring lots of doctors?

Me: I need to vote, but it hurts more and more to stand, or walk - and the voting place is about six to ten blocks.
Mother: Can you not vote - if you hurt?
Me: I'm contemplating it - since I'm finding it hard to care. But I really should vote.
Mother: Well, if you hurt - don't. (this is the woman who was in League of Women Voters when I was a child and went door to door telling folks to vote - she campaigned for Jimmy Carter.)

***

Work humor

So the Press Office at crazy agency likes to send out emails weekly on power switching on the tracks near the support facility - informing everyone it's happening and they may not be able to catch a train at specific times during the day - whether we all care or not.

Press office: power switching is taking place, so plan accordingly.
Engineer: do we get any pants?
2nd Engineer: fantastic question
Email recipient: you realize this is being sent to 4000 people, right?
Email recipient 2: can you not press reply all?
Press Office: This is being sent to about thirty people on the list, so please stop replying all.
Engineers: so we aren’t getting any pants?

Moral - BCC is there for a reason.

***

On Monday, when it was sunny, warmer, and I didn't hurt quite as bad - leg wasn't as bad on Monday for some reason or other, God knows why - I took a walk up the pier, not that far, just to pier 5. (It goes up to pier 20.)
I took photos of the NYPD boat, a big yellow and black barge, and the helicopter port.

Here's the NYPD boat. Isn't it cute? (NYPD not to be confused with ICE, honestly - there are currently the MTAPD, Port Authority PD, NYPD, State Troopers, National Guard, ICE, and the NY Sheriff's Department. And I'm probably leaving something out? We have cops on horses, cops in cars, cops on subways, cops on trains, cops on bicycles, cops on motorcycles, cops on foot, cops on boats...hardly a shortage of police officers. I see them everywhere. People who whine about not enough cops in NYC need to have their heads examined.)

scripsi

Gakked from all over my f-list.

Rules: How many letters of the alphabet have you used for starting a fic title? One fic per line, ‘A’ and 'The’ do not count for 'a’ and ’t’. Post your score out of 26 at the end, along with your total fic count.

Whenever a letter has more than one fic, I have shamelessly chosen the one I felt most to share. Leaning towards one-shots, and trying to spread the fandoms around.

A. All That You Love Will Be Lost (Doctor Who, Ninth Doctor & Nyssa of Traken)
B. But A Dream (Victoria, Queen Victoria/Lord Melbourne)
C. A Conversation In the Drawing Room, And Other Letters to Mrs. Strange (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Emma Pole/John Childermass)
D. The Devourer (Peter Pan, Captain Hook)
E. Elizabeth’s Child (Emily of New Moon, Elizabeth Murray)
F. The First Passion, And the Last (Doctor Who, Twelfth Doctor/River Song, Missy/River Song)
G. A Gift For Her Heart (Ivanhoe, Rebecca of York/Brian de Bois-Guilbert)
H. Homeward (The Borgias, Cesare Borgia/Micheletto Corella, Lucrezia Borgia & Micheletto Corella)
I I Always Wanted To Be A Pirate Queen (Doctor Who. Liz Shaw & Delgado!Master)
J. Juliana and John (The Man In the High Castle, Juliana Crane & John Smith)
L. Little Miss Sunbeam (Doctor Who, Delgado!Master & OC)
M. Make Her Yours (The Queen’s Gambit, Beth Harmon/Vasily Borgov)
N. Nothing Interesting Ever Happens in Perivale (Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Smith & Ainley!Master & Third Doctor)
O. Only Forever (Labyrinth, Jareth/Sarah Williams)
P. A Place In the Shadows (Penny Dreadful, Vanessa Ives & Sembene)
R. Requesting Comfort (Agent Carter, Peggy Carter/Ana Jarvis/Edwin Jarvis
S. Susan, Once Queen of Narnia, Always Queen of Narnia (Piranesi & Chronicles of Narnia, Piranesi & Susan Pevensie)
T. Three’s Company (The Mummy, Ardeth Bay/Evy Carnahan O'Connell/Rick O'Connell)
V. Visiting Time (Doctor Who, Delgado!Master/River Song)
W. Wedding Nerves (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Jonathan Strange/Arabella Strange)
Y Yellow, Sweetie? (Doctor Who, Eleven Doctor/River Song)

22 letters out of 26 covered. I missed out on K, Q, U, and X. But with 123 fics, I'm not surprised I have covered most of the alphabet.

shadowkat

I didn't go out at all today - even though it was for the most part, clear blue skies, and in the mid-fifties. Combination of a sinus headache verging on a migraine, and my right knee. I've put a knee compression sleeve on it, to provide support, and I'm icing it.

Commuting is becoming difficult, because Transit failed in making its subway stations fully accessible to anyone with mobility issues. The R train is the worst line in this regard. I thought the G line was bad, but the R is worse. Install ramps, not steps. RAMPS. Transit and I are going to have words on this issue, soon.

Only watched "Great British Bake Off" episode 9, and proceeded to go to sleep during it. So had to rewind (which is close to impossible on Netflix - I swear Netflix has the worst interface). Then watched church service, which also put me to sleep. (I actually fell asleep during it.) I've not been sleeping well - due to the knee issue. Last night, I turned and somehow moved the left knee into a position - it really did not appreciate, and it woke me up. (Note to younger self - never ever run on a tread mill - and if you do, and your knees go out - hunt down an orthopedist to fix them?)

Then, after the service, I made lunch, and clocked into the congregational meeting live-streaming on Zoom. (Gotta love technology.) It was unexpectedly interesting and in some respects informative, in a positive way. ( Read more... )

After that, I tried to watch Murder in a Small Town on Hulu (it's a new Fox series, about a Police Chief and a Librarian, based on a series of books published in the 1980s. ( Read more... )

October Mememage

23. How do you dry your laundry? Indoors, outside or in a drier?

Indoors. (Outdoors is impossible where I live.) On a clothes drier hanger in my bedroom for clothing that can't be dried in a drier - and need to be laid flat, and in a drier for everything else. Occasionally, I send it out to be cleaned.

24. Do you own a calculator, or do you rely on your mental arithmetic skills?

Calculator. I can't do math in my head.

25. Have you ever had surgery?

Tonsils and wisdom teeth. Ages ago. Also a skin biopsy - it was negative. (Fingers crossed - that it never goes beyond that.)

26. Do you have a go-to ‘comfort’ novel you will return to again and again? Or do you prefer reading new fiction instead? Do you often reread books?

Yes - I have a go-to comfort novel(s). ( Read more... )

angrboda

We went to opera cinema today. This time the Met offered us La Somnambula (The Sleepwalker) by Bellini, which was rather thin plot-wise but I'm going to want to listen to the music again.

This was also the second one we've seen where they've had the general manager of the Met say a few words at the beginning and both times, without mentioning him at all, it was abundantly clear that he is NOT a fan of That Guy. You know the one. This time it was a bit of a greeting/dedication to "those who are marching, those who have marched and those who wish they could be marching." I have decided I rather like him.

We have also put in the calendar our first go at Opera on the Sofa and we'll see if we can make that a thing. We will stream one or procure a disk or something (almost certainly stream one, we have sources), and we will get some cheese and some biscuits and some goodies and snacks and maybe I'll make some little sandwiches, and we'll have a brunch-y nom to go with the opera. Bit like we do with the concert from Vienna on new year's day. It's a bit of a test run. If it does become a thing that we do from time to time, we might try out the Met's own streaming subscription and indulge in more of their stuff, and then we can also see the things that aren't going to work out with the cinema. Husband, for example, was quite disappointed that Tristan and Isolde isn't going to be possible for us to go and see.

*

In other non-operatic news, we are making good progress on wall paper removal in my room. We are well over half way at this point. Not a lot is likely to be happening next weekend as we're going to a wedding, but we'll probably be close to finished with this step then.

Have also received the fabric for my new curtains, but there's no haste in sewing them yet.

scripsi

Not only is 4.50 from Paddington (1957) one of my favourite Christie’s, it’s also the one I have re-read the most, and it also has one of my favourites among her characters.

On the train to see Miss Marple, her friend Mrs. McGillicuddy observes a man strangling a woman on a train that is temporarily beside her own. She and Miss Marple report the crime, but as no body is found, the police dismiss it all as a dream. Miss Marple, of course, thinks otherwise. She figures out that the body must have been thrown out of the train on the Crackenthorpe estate, and manages to get help from her friend Lucy Eylesbarrow, who gets a job at Rutherford Hall as a housekeeper.The Crackenthorpe family is a fine collection of Agatha Christie tropes. The elderly family father who keeps a thigh rein on his money. The spinster caretaker, the bohemian artist, the successful businessman, with a wife from a noble but poor family, and lastly the never-do-well son. There is also the daughter who died young, but her husband, the war hero, is around. Another son died in the war, and the dead daughter has a teenage son who sometimes visits. To complete the picture there is also the family doctor who seems very interested in the spinster daughter. Lucy manages to find the dead body secreted away in a barn, and then she and Miss Marple need to find out who she was, and also which one of the many men having access to the estate who is the murderer. Needless to say Miss Marple figures it all out, through there a couple of more murders before that happens.

It’s a pretty solid Christie mystery, but a large reason why I love this book is because of Lucy Eylesbarrow. She’s an attractive woman in her early 30s who, despite being a highly gifted academic, decides to have a career as a short time housekeeper. She’s very good at her job, and is therefore in high demand and is very expensive. I love that Christie, though Lucy, points out that taking care of a home is actually a job that requires a number of talents and hard labour. Whenever I feel household chores are just a drudge, I always feel more motivated after re-reading 4.50 from Paddington, because Lucy thinks doing chores are fun. Lucy also proves to be an excellent detective, and she and Miss Marple make a very good team. I’ve always felt it’s a pity Lucy never returns, she would have made a good returning character.

Mild spoilers below the cut.

( Read more... )

Overall I think Christie does a good job with the characters in this book. Yes, they are a selection of her stock characters, but they still have distinct personalities. Like Emma, the spinster daughter, who isn’t at all down trodden, and clearly has her own life and interests, even if she lives a life as her father’s caretaker. Mrs. McGillicuddy, who we only see at the beginning and the end of the book, is still a real human being, and I think it’s a testament to Christie’s skill as a writer that even if Mrs. McGillicuddy is so briefly described, you are still left with a real person. Someone who isn’t very imaginative, who may not be very generous with money, but who still has a large family who loves her, and close friends who look forward to seeing her.

I’ve seen two adaptations of this book. One from 1987 with Joan Hickson. She was a marvellous Miss Marple, but this particular adaptation is one of the weakest in her Marple series. I don’t mind that there are some cuts and changes in the cast, but several of the characters have significant changes to their characters, and none for the better. I’m especially annoyed with how Lucy is portrayed. On the other hand the one from 2004, part of the Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, is one of the better episodes from that series, even if I don’t think Geraldine McEwan is the best Miss Marple. There are some changes in this adaptation as well, for example Inspector Craddock is made into a relative to Miss Marple.Not that I mind, especially as he is played by the ever charming John Hannah.

shadowkat

Flirted with seeing the CHESS revival. But then I listened to the music again - and well, my music tastes have changed over the past forty some years? I loved the original cast recording and even saw the musical live in London with Anthony Head subbing for his brother Murray Head on London's West End, as The American. But I don't like the music now - it's overly melodramatic and doesn't really make sense? It's not ABBA or Tim Rice's best score, and I think Rice worked better with Lloyd Webber in retrospect. Also the story is a mess - and I didn't like any of the characters all that much - most of my sympathy was with Freddie and Anatoly's wife.

I think I'm over the power ballads in musicals? Listened to them one too many times? There's a revival concert of Les Miz at Radio City - and I may shoot myself in the head if I listen to that score one more time. I saw it with the original cast in London in 1987. And then again the touring show in Kansas City in the early 1990s. Plus the movie. It's interesting how tastes change over time? I used to hate celery for example? Now I love it.
I used to love ABBA power ballads, now I can't make it through them.

***

Didn't do much today - outside of binge watch The Diplomat on Netflix, watched Buffy S4 Episode 10 - HUSH (which still holds up and is a brilliant episode), and this week's Grey's Anatomy. My knee was killing me this morning - so I lay about. I did manage a walk to Met Fresh to pick up some food essentials. (Basically more bean soups, fresh made sushi, vegetables, salad greens, eggs, gluten free deli bread, gluten free coffee cake muffins, some rice and quinoa to make grain bowls for the bean (lentil and kidney bean) soups.) (I live in NYC - so I'm within walking distance to six or seven grocery and fruit/vegetable stores. )

Talked to mother, who told me what my niece was up to. Now I want to brag about my niece. ( cut for shameless bragging about niece - look I don't have plants, gardens, pets, or kids - but I do have a niece and she's amazing, so I'm bragging about her )

***

The knee is not getting better. And I'm worried about it. It's fine - when I'm not using it. But it hurts when I walk, go down steps, or move it a certain way. And last night, it kept waking me up. It also looks off somehow. So I sent a message to the primary care - asking for help today. And I might, try City MD urgent care near my work place next week.

The last thing I need is knee surgery or a knee replacement. But I'll cross the bridge when I come to it.

***

Television

1. Buffy S4 - this season is delightful. ( Read more... )

I've been listening to podcasts again. Landau's is the better bet - Charisma's isn't as good, and she saves most of it for her Patreon subscriber page, while Landau provides quite a bit on youtube. Landau's is called Revamped with Juliet Landau, and she does it with Dev Weeks (her husband), and her friend Rebecca Griggs (who interviews folks at cons and has a background in film production). They do a lot of research and provide interesting back story tid-bits on the episodes and Hollywood history - such as haunted Hollywood hotels, etc.

I'm not sure the "Revival, Continuation, Reboot" of Buffy will get picked up for a full order. ( Read more... )

2. Diplomat Finished S3 and ...Run, Kate, Run. Get as far away from Hal as you can get. Honestly by the end of this season, I wanted her to dump him and run off with Aidan Turner's Callum.

And that surprised me. I agree with my mother - I didn't like this season as well as the previous ones. And found some of the characters unlikable and borderline amoral.

3. Angel S1 episode 10 - Sonumbalist - this is among Jeremy Renner's first roles. (Buffy and Angel gave a lot of premiere actors/writers first roles...Shane West, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Pedro Pascale, Danny Strong). ( Read more... )

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

bubblesbrnaid

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

slaymesoftly

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

shadowkat

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale

Description per IMBD: "Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil."

Pilot: "Nova, a 16-year-old bookworm, discovers she's a vampire Slayer in a rebuilt Sunnydale. During Vampire Weekend, a festival celebrating the town's dark past, vampires Jack and Shirley plan a ritual to raise a vampire army."

Only returning cast member listed from the previous series is Buffy.

Per Variety

( basically states what is stated above in less detail on plot and more on folks involved )

shadowkat

I managed to get a referral for physical therapy finally - but couldn't schedule an appointment until December 4. It's about ten-fifteen minutes (walk, train, walk) from work. So not too bad. Assuming there are no delays, in which case, I'm screwed.

After raining most of the night, it cleared by mid-morning and was a windy blustery day with bulbous white clouds latter in the day. So blustery - that I put my hood up, and I felt the wind cut through my wind breaker during my walk at lunch time along the pier.

It's cool in the apartment tonight, around 68. Which means the wind and chill have carried into evening. And the chill and damp may be aggravating the arthritis in the spine and knees. I don't know.

Because of where I work - I get more on the political front than most? For example? There's a huge Freight Rail Merger - which the Doofus was fond of supporting, but now all the manufacturers, specifically the chemically manufacturers, have pleaded with him not to support it - because it will create a monopoly in regards to rail transportation - and raise their costs.

My brother went to a No Kings Demonstration in upstate NY over the weekend, and informed mother that most of the protesters were Baby Boomers, the one's she saw seemed much younger. He also keeps seeing Sam Waterson (Law and Order, among others) in passing. I wouldn't have recognized him. If I see someone out of context, and don't interact with them daily - I have no idea who they are. I barely recognized a minister at my church on the subway.

Mememage

17. Have you ever bought something via the Internet and regretted it?

Yes, more times than I care to think about. Usually bags or clothing, also knitting supplies. I keep thinking I can knit, and keep forgetting you kind have to be able to count in order to knit, and I can't count without skipping over numbers. Also I suck at threading needles.

18. The definition of an antique is something that is 100 years old – do you own anything that old?

No. At least I don't think so? No.

19. Are you wearing any finger rings today?

No. I don't wear jewelry. No rings, no necklaces, not even earrings any longer. The appeal of rings is completely lost on me? They get in my way and having anything on my fingers irritates me. Good thing I don't have to wear them.

20. When was the last time it rained where you live? Has it been drier than normal for this time of year?

Last night. Not really, although we've had dry spells this year. And it threatens drought, but then it rains. I live on islands? And we just had a Nor'Easter.

21. Do you own a wine rack? What do you keep in it?

No. I no longer drink alcohol and I have no space for it.

22. What size is the smallest decorative ornament in your home?

I have no idea. I can't measure to save my life. If I had to guess? An inch? I got a wooden Russian shell doll from Moscow Mentee some time ago, and it has a tiny little doll, and I think that's the smallest. So whatever size that is?

tellshannon815

Rules: How many letters of the alphabet have you used for [starting] a fic title? One fic per line, ‘A’ and 'The’ do not count for 'a’ and ’t’. Post your score out of 26 at the end, along with your total fic count.

A — And The World Has Changed So Much Since You've Been Gone (Yellowjackets, Jeff. I really want to see this in canon)
B — Be Devil May Care, Fulfil Your Dream (The Way Home. My newest show)
C — Caught Somewhere In Time (Dark. This is the one I've been agonising over for ages because it's taking me towards an ending I started this trying to avoid. Moral of the story is to never mess with a timeline as complicated as Dark's.)
D — Dominic Cummings's Leaving Present (Real cat fiction, Larry the Cat. These got me through lockdowns)
E — Everything That's Broke, Leave It to The Breeze (Sweet Valley High, Bruce/Amy. Because this loose end needed tying up)
F — Five People Sawyer Visited Off-Island In The 1970s (Lost. Because obviously he would have.)
G — Got A Secret, Can You Keep It (Control Z)
H — Heavenly Hosts Sing Alleluia (Doctor Who. A sequel to Voyage of the Damned)
I — In Violet's Place (Light as a Feather. I'm actually revisiting this for spook_me)
J — Just To Get It All Out What's In My Head (Yellowjackets, Taissa/Van)
K — Knock, Knock, Knocking On Heaven's Door (The Haunting of Hill House)
L — Loophole (Lost/From crossover. Because what better punishment for Smokey McSmokeFace than trapping him in the From town with those things?)
M — Maybe, You're Gonna Be The One That Saves Me (Being Human UK/Lost crossover. Because Mitchell and Charlie had their common ground and they needed to meet.)
N — No One Here Is Free (From, the history of Colony House, written for sunshine_revival prompt to write a house's POV)
O — Our Lives Will Change When Tomorrow Comes, Tonight Our Hearts Drown the Distant Drums (Lost, Desmond/Sayid, my ultimate OTP)
P — Please Don't Bother Trying To Find Her, She's Not There (School Spirits, Simon, a S2 prediction before it aired).
Q — Q is for Quiet (Pretty Little Liars, Bethany. Part of a series.)
R — Reverse Flashpoint (The Flash. This is the hill I will die on. Eobard should have manipulated Nora into giving Barry the cure, and Cicada could have been skipped altogether.)
S — Sing With Me The Songs We Knew (Hunger Games-verse, Haymitch)
T — The Thunder Cracks, And The Sea Is Rolling (The Wilds. Because the Twilight of Adam group deserve some love.)
U — Uncomfortably Numb (Lost, Locke)
V — V is for Vengeance (Pretty Little Liars, Charlotte).
W — Will The World Remember You When You Fall, Could It Be Your Death Means Nothing At All? (Hunger Games, Chaff and Haymitch the night before the Quarter Quell. A personal favourite)
X — X is for X-ray (Pretty Little Liars, Wren. From what I remember, it did take me a while to come up with an X at the time.)
Y — You're Brand New, The Power of Death Couldn't Hold You (School Spirits, Maddie)
Z — Zelena Street (Once Upon a Time, Zelena. Inspired by a real trip to Bratislava)

So, I managed it. Having said that, back in 2014 I did set out to write an alphabet series (titles in the same format as Sue Grafton's alphabet series, which I've read most of and planning to finish over the next few weeks). She didn't end up making it to Z, I did. So I did end up using that series for three letters (I was a bit surprised that one of them ended up being V because I didn't think that was obscure. I think I need to go back to cross posting my old Lost fics to AO3 where they'll be easier to find, I still have a lot that haven't been done.)

Quite a few of these are from the Ultimate Top Five (Lost, Dark, From, Yellowjackets and School Spirits) but some from others as well.

Ramblings of a sad old nutter...

Reading

Navigation

Monday survived the eye doctor cluckup, and went on to do laundry

Sunday is irritable from being forced to do The Time Warp Again...

(no subject)

Things...

Voted, Angel Rewatch and Question a Day Memage..

(no subject)

Thursday is just relieved to have avoided the flooding and downpours...

One of Us

Tuesday is contemplating getting its right leg amputated

Fanfic meme, A to Z

Sunday nurses a headache and a bad knee, while dozing...

Maestro to the pit, please. Maestro to the pit.

The Agatha Christie reread: 4.50 From Paddington

Saturday needs to sleep but is procrastinating...

Database maintenance

(no subject)

Fun?

News such as it is on the Buffy Reboot/Continuation:

Sleep deprived Wed hangs in there...

Stolen from a few of you.

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January 2019

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