gluten-free friends

I slept later than usual, but on the bright side - actually got a solid 8 hours of sleep, most of it core, but what can one do? Did get 55 minutes of deep, and 2 hours of rem. I tend to be a light sleeper for the most part, either that or this smart watch sleep monitoring isn't as accurate as it may appear.

Thinking of reading "actual books" and not ones on the Kindle for a bit. The books on my shelves are more appealing than the ones on the Kindle at the moment, and I've been in a long and annoying book slump. I was more engrossed in The Fair Folk - a book this morning, than What Moves the Dead on the Kindle. Books also have a weight to them, and they don't annoyingly go blank without notice.

The technology/information age is currently depressing me, I think? Do you feel like people are throwing their opinions at you constantly? Often unedited, unfiltered, and misinformed? It's not just on social media, it's journalistic articles, non-fiction editorials, etc. And via text message. I can't escape it. People stop. I really don't want to know what some random political analyst, political science professor, historian, social activist, journalist, bored academic, or law professor thinks about our current political situation, politics, the Wars (cultural, actual, and otherwise). Yes, I know they all think the world is coming to an end, I just wish they'd keep it to themselves, why depress the rest of us?

I've been jumping around television shows this weekend, not quite sticking with anything?

Watched Andor S2 Ep. 7 last night - the end the second three arc. Each arc ends with Andor and Bix - blowing something up or killing someone, or so it seems. Good news, Bix seems to have taken care of her problem. So Episode 7 for the most part was a satisfying conclusion to the Bix/Andor and Gorst situation, that was hanging over from S1. I adore Andor and Bix.

I got a bit lost in the episode, and had to rewind it and rewatch. Mainly because my attention kept drifting away from it. This may well be a me thing and not an Andor thing, folks. ( Read more... )

Poker Face - also had to keep rewinding, because my attention kept wandering - I'd play on the phone, I'd play on the internet, I'd cook, etc. It's partly due to the commercials - it's on Peacock and has commercial interruptions, and partly due to the mystery not always being that gripping? This is basically Murder she wrote by way of Columbo by way of person on the run doing odd jobs. Sometimes the mystery of the week is interesting, sometimes not. Like Murder She Wrote and Columbo it likes to utilize old and big time movie stars, some of which I've not seen in a while and are over the age of 70. Ellen Barkin is a very skeletal 70.

Outlander - see previous post. [And now I'm back to it again - and watching S2 Ep.2 - mainly because I'm curious. Also, I like the actress playing Clair and she's written better in the series than in the book. Odd I know, but there it is. Also Jaime is admittedly very appeal - I rather like the actor portraying him. And I find the differences between mid-20th century medicine and 18th century medicine interesting. It's what people do that fascinates me.]

Buffy S3 - Helpless - was surprised at how well written this was. Was going to skip over it, decided not to, and it was rather better than I thought. Not quite as scary, and amusing in places. Also had to keep rewinding, because I kept wandering about doing things while it was on. It's David Fury - who, sigh, "not the nicest human on the planet" is possibly an understatement? (It comes through in the writing - his episodes have an underlying meanness to them that is hard to put my finger on - but is there? I don't think he likes people all that much? And clearly has Mommy issues?) But he's a good writer, got to give him that. And the acting is through the roof. Also, weirdly, I liked Cordelia in the episode, but did not like Willow, Xander, or OZ - who were kind of useless and annoying. Giles...wasn't supposed to be likable, but Head sold it, and made him likable and interesting. Gellar blows me away. She does things in Buffy that she's not done before or since. Jeff Kober as the villain of the week is rather excellent. But Kober always is. ( spoilers for well anyone who hasn't seen it in the last 25 years )

Damn, this series holds up well. And it gets better as it goes. S3 is much better than S1 and S2, writing wise. The writers finally hit their stride. I can see why Gellar was done by S3 - they worked her to death. She's in every scene, they are all very physical scenes, and she has to cry a lot. She was doing 20 hour days, seven days a week. I think they burned her out, and it's why she's not really done anything great since. They also burned out Marsters. Not so much the others.

**

Took a long walk to get groceries. Used the robot vacuums. Read a bit of The Fair Folk. Meditated. And tried not to let the noise on the internet bother me too much. The birds outside were tweeting. The sun was shining. The trees are green. It's a warm balmy day in Brooklyn. And if I don't think too much and just be, everything is seemingly just fine.

Didn't sleep well last night - every time I go to bed past 11 pm, I don't sleep well. It's odd. Also, my body wants to get up at 6AM. Regardless of the time I go to bed. I think it's because I get up at 6 AM every morning and my body is used to it? Lately it's been waking up half an hour before then, and I force it to go back to sleep.

I attempted to get back into Outlander, S2, Episode 1 - and was, alas, reminded of why I stopped reading the books. ( Read more... )

Back to watching Murderbot (I actually prefer sci-fi to historical drama or hyper-realism). I may try Sinners - next, it's on Max. Finished Murderbot - which I keep wanting to call the Murderbot Diaries. I liked the books better - I don't remember them well enough to know how closely this followed them? Also, I'm not sure I read all of them. It was okay? I like Mensha, Gurathin, and Murderbot, everyone else was kind of annoying? It was heavy on absurdist humor, which was dependent on stupid human behavior, although the Murderbot's snarky sense of humor made up for it. I wonder if it will be renewed? It can legitimately be one season.

Also accomplished today - putting together my drug carousels for the top of my dresser - which worked a lot better than expected. Now instead of being cluttered with pill bottles and medications, the dresser is clean and neat, with all the pills neatly arranged on two clear plastic and somewhat attractive carousels. I also put together a tea and spice shelf for my kitchen, which had decluttered it in an amazing fashion. See picture below the cut:
( picture )

I'd take a photo of the other - but some things must stay private. At any rate, bit by bit, I am winning my battle against clutter.

Questions/Memage:

1. What is the flavor that makes you think of summer? Or favorite summer foods?

( flavors of summer days gone by )

July Question a Day Memage:

9. Have you ever been on a journey and been held up for a long time? What happened and how late were you at your destination?

Yes, multiple times. Once it was cancelled entirely. Plane travel is alas like that. I went to France by myself at the age of 16 to stay with a French family, on the way home, there was fog in Orly airport, and our plane had mechanical difficulties. ( long story )

10. Do you enjoy salad? What would be in a typical salad that you would serve/eat?

Yes. Power greens (pea shoots, spinach, argula and shard), green onion, cucumber, a protein (either nuts, feta cheese, seeds or chicken strips), radish, with lemon and/or apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

11. Have you ever used an old-fashioned typewriter? Can you touch type (type without looking at the keys?)

Yes. I learned how to type on one. Then graduated to electric, then to the computer. Yes, I can touch type without looking at keys, I'm doing it now. Not very fast though. I don't do anything that requires hand/eye coordination quickly. Maybe 20 minutes an hour? I'm not a fast typist. It used to matter - it no longer does - because now, we have computers.

12. Do you like sushi?

Quite a bit. My father first introduced it to me. He loved trying new foods, and had discovered sushi at work. I get it all the time. Perfect summer meal.

13. Have you ever tried Tai Chi?

Yes, I was actually taking classes from folks my junior year in college. We'd do it in the mornings in front of our residence. My boyfriend, me, another guy we were living with, and his girlfriend - who was teaching us.
( Read more... )

I was in a good mood when the day started, only to have it turn sour on me as it evolved. I did take a walk though, see previous entry.

I won't bore you with all the gory details. Work is boring me at the moment, but it is at least non-stressful and for the most part pleasant, unlike last year which was boring, stressful and unpleasant. So, let's be grateful for small mercies. Also having been unemployed, I'm always grateful for employment. There are worse jobs, and I'm good at this one and it utilizes my analytical and writing/communication/legal skills for the most part. I'm doing a lot more math than I'd like - but such is life. Some things are unavoidable. The boredom has to do with too many of the same edits. Parts of my job were given to incompetent people, and I'm now editing work that I used to do outright - the irony is not lost on me.

Each day, every day, of this week, actually - for reasons I don't quite understand? The local news has been reporting on hit and runs in various portions of Brooklyn. Almost as if they are tracking hit and runs across the borough? And all the hit and runs happen in the wee hours of the morning. Usually between 1 am and 4:30 am. Why people are wandering the streets in the early hours of the morning, I've no idea. It's not the safest time to be wandering about. For one thing - it's dark outside. There's no one really out there. And people tend to be more reckless at that time. Either driving drunk, speeding, or half asleep. Also people wandering about are probably drunk or not quite awake? ( the incidents )

I just wanted the weather and the road and rail report. I did not want to know about various hit and runs around the area. They also feel the need to tell me about various shootings around the area, in places I never venture in and never would need to. No wonder people think the city is unsafe. Frigging media.

That didn't put me in a bad mood. Other things did. But, I started out in a good mood - because there were good news items posted on Threads. I'm posting beneath the cut.

( good news items )

Gave me hope. Might not give others hope. I find human beings frustrating.
Does anyone else? It can't just be me?

**

In other news? I finally finished Remarkably Bright Creatures by
Shelby Van Pelt

This is a book about a 70 year old woman who works as a janitor in an aquarium who befriends an octopus. Through a series of events, the octopus manages to solve the mystery of her missing son.
( needless to say the appeal was utterly lost on me )

Reading T Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead now. We'll see if I stick with it. Kingfisher's writing style appeals to me more than Van Pelt's. (This may be why I get stuff from Amazon and on the Kindle - I like non-mainstream writers better than mainstream traditionally published and highly marketed ones? Although What Moves the Dead made it into book stores.) I also like Kingfisher's quirky characters better. They are less whiny and more real, also Kingfisher's plots feel organic to the characters and not as contrived. I think she's a better writer. But mileage may vary on that front, it always does.

Off to bed, and perchance to sleep and dream of flowers and boats and happy things. Unlikely, my subconscious is stubbornly in nightmare mode. It likes to ponder all my worries and anxieties and concerns through my dreams.