cactuswatcher | Reading

DW is seeing some issues due to today's Amazon outage. For right now it looks like the site is loading, but it may be slow. Some of our processes like notifications and journal search don't appear to be running and can't be started due to rate limiting or capacity issues. DW could go down later if Amazon isn't able to improve things soon, but our services should return to normal when Amazon has cleared up the outage.

Edit: all services are running as of 16:12 CDT, but there is definitely still a backlog of notifications to get through.

Edit 2: and at 18:20 CDT everything's been running normally for about the last hour.

Spent most of my vacation attempting to quell various aches and pains, brought on by various factors, some known, some guessed at, some not?
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The UU Church has a Devotional Poetry Writing Group. I flirted with it. But I'm wary of anything regarding the writing and sharing of poetry. ( Read more... )

UU Church is also featuring a singer/song-writer for tomorrow's service, who is (apparently) popular? I hadn't heard of them before the Church newsletter told me about him - but I'm also not really into religious music? While I have, as you've no doubt figured out by now, widely diverse taste in music, there are few genres I rarely listen to? They are "traditional classical opera", "electronica" (depending on the electronica), "religious music", "gospel", "choral music", "rap" (depending on the rap), and heavy metal (depending on the heavy metal). So, as result, I hadn't come across this person, who I think is trans, and is creating queer religious music and going across the country with it.

Anyhow...I checked them out last night, and their song, entitled Ploushare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye.

Folks, they made me cry? It really moved me. I was surprised.
( Ploushare Prayer Video )
But not sure I can deal with the crowd that will converge on the church tomorrow to hear them play for free. I'll do it on Facebook or Zoom instead. No steps. Sleep in. And better acoustics, not to mention I can see more.

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Pain and fear of large crowds kept me from participating in the No Kings Day. I hope it went well. More to the point? I hope it accomplishes something?

Ah, it's getting darker earlier now. Sunset was at 6:30. My heart goes out to my brother - whose heating and cooling system has failed him. He's tried to get it fixed multiple times. The first time, they came out, he paid them, they claimed that they fixed it. They didn't. They came out again, claimed to fix it, they didn't. Then they got bought by someone else. Who kept claiming they didn't get my brother's calls or emails, and came out, and then well up and disappeared. So he found a new company - and the whole system has to be replaced. He has a wood burning stove - but it's not going to heat the entire house, and his bedroom is one floor below it, and heat rises? And it gets cold up there? And my brother gets cold easily. [I'm so glad I rent. Let all of that be somebody else's problem. We've had hitting issues - but they tend to get resolved quickly - since there's about 100 people affected.)

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Television

1. Weirdly I'm enjoying Angel the Series better now than I did way back when I first watched it in the late 1990s. If I was to hazard a guess - I think it would be lowered expectations, and no longer wanting Angel and Buffy to be together - or being disappointed that they aren't? I wasn't in the fandom until roughly 2002 - or midway through S6. ( Read more... ) At any rate - I'm enjoying Angel more now. Partly, because I like Angel, Wes, and Cordelia better now than I did twenty five years ago. I find them a bit more relatable and comforting. They are all a tad lost, and doing the best they can to make things work, while flailing miserably most of the time. The writers dig down into classic noir tropes.

And, I like how most of the writers veer away from the classical hero trope. For all the times, Angel succeeds, he also fails miserably. In the Scourge? The seventh or eighth episode, he attempts to sacrifice himself heroically - but his speeches to Doyle about why he sacrificed his humanity and a life with his one true love to pursue the cause, backfires on him in a huge way. ( Read more... )

Moving on to Parting Gifts - which I didn't like the first time I saw it, twenty five years ago, I do now. It's a great study in characters and contrasts. Also demonstrates how Wes, Cordy and Angel work slightly better than Doyle, Angel and Cordy did. For one thing - they get it across pretty quickly - that there are 0 romantic feelings between Angel/Cordy or Cordy/Wes. ( Read more... ). They also set up each character's skill sets. ( Read more... ) But mainly, within a short period of time - they set up the problem, the on-going villain (WRH law firm in the shadows), and the relationship dynamic between Angel, Cordy, Wes. And I realized while watching that I like all three, and all three actors in spite of myself?

I prefer watching this outside of a fandom superimposing its views onto me?
I can find it comforting and enjoyable on my own. Also, no longer caring who ends up with who, or romantic ships - makes the show more interesting?
I was never much into romantic relationships on television shows? I much prefer the platonic friendships - they are more interesting to watch, and less frustrating - particularly within the noir/horror genre.

2. The Diplomat S3 - this is fun. Want sparkling funny witty dialogue - this is it. Good actors. And excellent political satire. Also, even though the President in this series was responsible for an act of terrorism? I still prefer Allison Janey as President to the one we currently have. I'd rather live in the world of the Diplomat? Sad I know. But here we are. And, sigh, Rufus Sewell is hot. This show just makes me laugh. I'm not binging it this go around - I'm letting it last. Then I may rewatch from the beginning.

[I'm still watching Poker Face and Rain Maker on Peacock, just slowly.]

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For one reason and one reason only, which is to criticize their set design.

We're supposed to believe that the protagonist of the series is a recently sober waitress, single mom. One kid's dad is nonexistent, the other is there but he certainly doesn't pay any child support. Her own family is definitely not helping out - indeed, she has to help her mother, who is also recently sober!

Dialog establishes that her nonsober life was pretty chaotic - evictions, jail time, the works.

And their house is fucking amazing. Three bedrooms for a mom and two kids, which to my NYC eyes is astonishing, and everything matches. None of the furniture has cigarette burns or scratches or crayon marks, nothing is missing a drawer pull or, indeed, a drawer, all their windows have curtains - matching curtains, even! - and all their lights have lampshades, none of their comforters are frayed around the edges, there's no food or drink stains, the doors all close properly....

You know, it occurs to me that I may be revealing a bit more about my own childhood home than perhaps I want to, so I guess I'll stop here. But seriously, set and costume design have some questions to answer, because they really didn't think any of this through. I can see such a tidy house from a waitress who is diligent about estate sales and thrifting - though probably none of it would match, it would be eclectic in a classy way. Or I can see nice furnishings from an alcoholic with a bigger income who was managing to keep a fingerhold on being functional in a way that this family clearly wasn't before the show. But c'mon!

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And no headache, which is great - I've been super headachy these past few weeks.

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but I'm not sure I like pink any better.

Maybe they could've eased us into it gradually, with purples?

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I fall very in the middle - I enjoyed it, probably won't read it again.

But - am I supposed to feel most sympathetic towards the ( Read more... )

Diddy-dallying prior to taking off for massage. Also, spent time revising novel. Making some progress?

Friday Five...(I'd say I'm happy it's Friday? But I wish I had five more days of vacation now that the sciatica is getting better, and I can walk without too much pain?)

1. How long ago did you join LJ (or DW)?

I joined Lj in August of 2003 then DW about eight years later - when a Russian firm bought LJ, and it began posting ads and making it like FB...and kind of went downhill from there? So both combined? 22 years.

2. How did you find out about LJ (or DW)?

Through the ATPO_BTVS & ATS Board or Buffy fandom Voy boards.

3. If someone introduced you to LJ (or DW), is s/he still on your friends list?

Sadly, not any more. She was on FB for a while, but disappeared from it shortly after the pandemic or during it. (Social media friends much like real life ones - can at times feel like a revolving door? Or folks you meet on a hike - but eventually part ways with - because, well, everyone has to do their own hike?)

4. Have you introduced anyone to LJ (or DW)?

Yep. Quite a few actually. I had a bunch follow me from LJ over to DW.

5. Is your LJ (or DW) public or friends only, and why?

If it's about my workplace, or really personal - about family or personal friendships - it's usually locked. Everything else is public - I've made a few new friends on both sites because they've seen my unlocked posts.

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memage

Off to get lunch soon, and then a massage at 3:15.

On the Buffy/Angel rewatch - I actually think what the writers did in the episodes Bachelor Party through Something Blue is rather clever? They managed to move Willow, Doyle, Buffy and Angel on from their first loves in an entertaining and convincing manner. Also from the metaphor - no longer are we doing the Beauty and the Beast metaphor, or the taming the wild beast in the man - or being abandoned by Daddy. We've moved on to the sick mother, or the dark mother imagery and providing women with greater agency in a relationship.

Tough to do, well. But they did it. I'm convinced by the end of Something Blue that both Willow and Buffy have to move on to someone else. And I've stopped shipping them with OZ (Willow) or Angel (Buffy) and have decided they are better off without them. Also done with the trope. Both OZ and Angel leave for more or less the same reason - they can't control the beast inside when they are around Willow and Buffy, so they have to leave. And they tend to weaken Willow and Buffy, and take away their agency. On the surface the relationships seemed great and really romantic, but in reality they were toxic to everyone involved. And, well didn't help either character grow or evolve. The writers had no choice but to somehow get this across - since Angel had moved onto his own series, and you can't have Angel and Buffy on separate shows and in a relationship. And well the actor playing OZ wanted to be written out. Doyle - was given a wife - to make him more appealing to Cordelia, and to parallel the character with Willow's situation. It doesn't quite work - but it does give him a back story, which was needed.

Sciatica is slightly better - but I've also not aggravated it too much this morning. At least the calves no longer hurt, and digestion is working better.

Started watching Rain Maker on Peacock, which stars in supporting roles, the actress who played the Evil Queen (in Once Upon a Time) as the bad ass lawyer that Rudy (the protagonist) ends up working for - "Bruiser", and John Slattery (Mad Men) as the head of the firm, that Rudy was fired from, and is fighting against. Slattery is inspired, since he doesn't come across as either a bully or evil, but likable - and that works actually.
And LP (who played the Evil Queen) is also cast against type, as the good guy rouge with the heart of gold lawyer. It's actually better than expected and based on John Grisham's novel of the same name. Grisham is an executive producer.

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Buffy S4 and Angel S1 rewatch. Every time I watch Bachelor Party (Angel S1 ep. 6), Pangs (Buffy S4 Ep 8), I Will Always Remember You (Angel S1 Ep.7), and Something Blue (Buffy S4 Ep. 9) - I wonder the same thing - how in the bloody hell could anyone still ship Buffy and Angel together after watching those episodes? Are they metaphor blind? Blind to subtext? I felt the writers hammered me over the head with why Buffy and Angel could never work - to the point in which I wanted to say, enough already, can we please move on? I get it. But alas, I know people still shipped them, thought IWARY was terribly romantic, and basically everything about why they didn't work flew over these folks heads. My niece didn't get it. My brother didn't get it. Various online friends didn't get it. Very disconcerting. They are smart people too. Oh well. Not everyone thinks the same way.

Watched them again - curious to see if I'd change my mind. I didn't.

It's been a while since I'd seen them, and I forgot a few things? ( Read more... )

2. I managed to clean out my kitchen cabinets above the sink - so I know there are no bugs hiding in them. Also, I have too much food and don't need to go grocery shopping for a long time.

There's a lot of things I need to get rid of. And a lot of bean salads, chili, and bean soaps in my future.

Already managed to clear out the cans of tuna fish and salmon.

3. Sciatica is still plaguing me. I bought an "Aleve Topical Cream Rub" to see if that helps.

It helped a little. Couldn't walk that far, made it about ten blocks to and from the pharmacy, and gave up. Did that twice today actually. Also doing leg exercises.

Good news? The calves aren't tight any longer, and I can walk. Which means reducing the antihistmines helped, and increasing the water. Probably was caused by dehydration. Now, if I can just fix the sciatica - hopefully tomorrow's massage.

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12. Do you like doing puzzles (crosswords, wordle, sudoku or something else)? Do you do something that tests your brain every day?

I like the puzzles known as Cross Sums (for a time also known as Kakuro). I was never a huge fan of crosswords or word search. I liked a puzzle type called Kriss Crosses, but I don't see them as often as I used to. I can do easy to medium sudoku. The hardest ones are a little beyond me. As I've gotten older, 'logic problems' have gotten more difficult for me. It's harder to juggle everything I read in my head, and get it all written down in the right places. I like another puzzle type, trigons, which is another puzzle of fitting numbers into a grid. I've never actually finished a trigon, but still like working on them!

13. Are there things you ate as a child that you would never eat now?

Yes. Plain bologna, beef liver and my mother's eggplant. The bologna because it's my money now and I'd rather have something less boring in sandwiches. Beef liver because I only ate it when I was a kid under duress. Not fond of chicken liver either, but I can't remember being forced to eat it. My mother did not know how to prepare eggplant so when she served it, it was horrible! After she passed away my brother learned how to prepare it correctly, so I no longer gag at the very thought of eggplant.

14. It’s Ada Lovelace Day - daughter of the poet Lord Byron, she worked with Charles Babbage to create the ‘Analytical Engine’. This is considered to be the first computer and she is considered the first computer programmer. Have you ever learned any computer code such as html to create programs?

Yes. I know BASIC and Forth, I've written programs in Fortran, and C, but I only know them at a minimal level. Before I retired, I often programed a particular piece of computer-controlled heavy machinery in the manufacturer's own language. The machine properly programmed then made metal parts for aircraft, experimental projects and test equipment.

15. Have you ever owned a leather coat or jacket? Do you still have it?

I never actually owned it, but I wore my father's World War II leather jacket for several years. It was warm and rugged. (It may have been a 'pilot's jacket,' but he wasn't a pilot till many years later. He was an officer in the war and may have bought it from someone else or from the PX.) The seams gave out eventually, and I don't know if any of it exists anymore.

16. Do you own many things that need to be recharged rather than having a battery you change when it’s stopped working?

A phone, and other things with rechargeable batteries that can be exchanged for others rather than sitting around waiting for them to recharge including an answering machine, a computer mouse, XBOX controllers and my TV remote.

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dw memes

I'm meh on the lyrics and music, but the video...! So here it is, with a couple of other videos that inexplicably got skipped last time I posted a lot of videos.

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( Fate of Ophelia )

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( Two covers of the same song )

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( Guinea pigs exit and enter the tube )

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( Ghost waltz )

Also, another one of our furnace pipes has developed a leak. Every time we fix one, the next one goes. I've patched this one, so with any luck (and with our keeping the heat pretty low) it should last until we can call in a plumber.

(Does anybody know a plumber who will accept payment in semi-feral kittens? There's a batch around the corner, very adorable, very healthy, and willing to warm up to anybody who feeds them! They do need to be just a little bit neutered, defleaed, and probably dewormed as well, not to mention vaxxed, but that's surely no big deal for the right family! Actually, I think it's two litters, so that should be ample payment for a little bit of plumbing work.)

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1. After much contemplation - I finally bit the bullet and booked a "Thai" massage for Friday.

My plans - such as they were - have kind of fallen through as a result of a combination of things - weather, sleep/exhaustion and mobility issues. Does anyone know how to heal tightened sore calve muscles? I've tried everything - yoga, stretching exercises, leg exercises, drinking lots of water, cutting back on antihistamines. Hopefully one will work. Also massage - to stretch out and re-align, because not sure how much of the pain is due to alignment. [I'm leaving calling the doctor again as a last resort - I already asked them for help, and they told me: 1) dehydration (drink more water, and limit the anithistamines) and 2) do exercises, and 3) lose weight.)

But that's okay, I'm doing other stuff - and at least I'm away from work and my body is hopefully healing - getting more sleep, and more exercise?

2. PSA: Ao3 finally posted something about how to protect yourself from scammers - probably because they'd gotten a barrage of complaints about them - if you've been posting fic, meta, any type of writing for more than a year, and have followers, on social media platforms - you've probably run across the scammers.

They pop up on live-journal and dream-width too, by the way. I've not really seen that many on WordPress or Facebook (mainly because my FB page is friends/family only and private). They are a nuisance.

3. Buffy S4 - continues to be good, and an improvement over previous seasons. The one flaw - is well - the Initiative Story-Arc, which basically just underlines how little the writers know about the military outside of watching cheesy 1960s science fiction serials. Oh well, at least they have Spike to poke fun at it - and he does.

Sunday's hippie Vampire Frat Boy: Don't drink that it's drugged.
Spike: Ugh. And you might be?
SHVFB: A rat like all the other lab rats. We're here to die. They starve us until we bite our own arm off, then feed us drugged blood ...
Spike: And they might be who exactly? The government, Nazis, a major cosmetics company?
Lab Rat: It was all fine until the slayer came in and broke up our group - we had a great thing going until she arrived.
Spike: the Slayer! I always wondered what would happen if she got some good funding behind her...

He clearly thinks more of the Slayer as a threat that well the government.

S4 Episode 7 - The Initiative - makes me wonder about the writers again.

Juliet Landau brings this up in her rewatch - so it's not just me, apparently. The writers seem to like to show the male characters in the worst light, and often emphasize their misogynistic and chauvinistic traits. ( Read more... )

It's a good episode for several stand out scenes: ( Read more... )

Pangs - I've less to say about, but I loved this episode. It has some of the best lines and banter in the entire series. Also the bantering debate between Willow, Giles, Xander, Spike, Buffy and Anya about the Native Americans and Thanksgiving is hilarious, and informative...and realistic. It reminds me of why I liked the later seasons - I really loved the addition of Anya and Spike - I liked those two characters (and actors) far better than Angel and Cordelia - they were less mopey? Whiny? And more witty. (It does depend on one's sense of humor? Angel's didn't work for me, Buffy's did.)

"And they say Romance is dead, or maybe we just wish it were?" - Buffy

"You made a Bear!" - Spike
"I didn't mean to." - Buffy
"Undo it! Undo it!" - Spike

"It's a sham, with yams. It's a yam sham!"
"You won't be able to jokingly rhyme your way out of this one!"

[Actually, it just occurred to me? Buffy and Spike hit it off - because they are both poets and sardonic quips. They like to make fun of things.]

Pangs is proof that Buffy succeeded because the writers could write dialogue. According to the Juliette Landau rewatch - when she interviewed Charles Martin Smith one of the Buffy directors - Whedon had a tendency to write pages of dialogue, no set direction, no camera direction, no action - just dialogue. And from what I've read - he was the go-to guy for good dialogue. And came from Roseanne - which had great comedic dialogue and one liners. Say what you will about Whedon - he was a good script writer. Might have been a horrific boss that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy - but he could churn out a good script, and tended to find other writers who could.

4. Finished another S1 episode of Poker Face- this is the Rian Johnson series that stars Natasha Lyon as a kind of Columbo style detective, in a stealth anthology series. The only on-going link in the series is Lyon's Charlie, who is a former card counter/gambling security checker on the run from the Mob (and any law enforcement associated with it). She takes odd jobs here and there, and cleverly solves mysteries along the way. The odd jobs range from sweeping up hair in a barber shop to assisting a special effects film director. She drives a ratty old 1970s era Cad, that looks like it was picked off the lot of Starsky and Hutch. And each episode features older rather famous actors (much as Columbo and Murder She Wrote did back in the day). The episode I just watched had Nick Nolte, Cherry Jones, and Luz Guzman.

Like all stealth anthology series - some episodes are better than others. It's not really binge material. I watch it sporadically. It does require some attention or focus though, and it has commercials - although they aren't intrusive.

If you like Rian Johnson (who is admittedly an acquired taste), Natasha Lyonn (also an acquired taste and the female version of Peter Falk), and Columbo/Alfred Hitchcock/Agatha Christie style mysteries - this is for you.

This episode was written and directed by Natasha Lyon. I'm impressed by Nolte who is still acting at 84, and doing a great job of it. (Nolte is another one of my actor crushes.)

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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.

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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?

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(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... )

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I should have posted this previously? If you get this comment anywhere, it's fraudulent.

[Comment left on "Buffy vs. the Buffy Comic Writers" on September 13, 2025]

Hello shadowkat67,
Hope you’re doing well.
I just wrapped up reading your story, and I truly couldn’t put it down. The imagery you create with your words is so strong that I immediately pictured it as a comic or animation.
I’m Flossie, an artist working mainly with comics, manga, and illustrations. What I enjoy most is collaborating with writers to give their stories visual life.
If you’re curious, I’d be glad to share some samples and talk about turning your work into a comic.
You can find me at:
Discord: floessie_the_artist
Instagram: flossie_the_artist
Email: floessietheartist@gmail.com

Looking forward to your reply :)
Cheers,
Flossie

They've contacted a lot of writers on Ao3.

I blatantly ignored them, after having read about them commenting on another social media friend's fic at Ao3 several months prior - that friend had already reported them to Ao3.

Although I didn't really consider mine a fic - so much as a meta-commentary of the comics. So, I rolled my eyes.

I've gotten a lot of these solicitations over the years. Folks? Don't solicit people that you don't personally know on social media platforms for work. Just don't. We aren't going to pay you. We don't trust you. It's a social media platform, we're all using pseudonyms. Hullo?

1. Uhm, they actually did a graphic novel of the life of Ed Gein and scans daily scanned all of it. At work, one of the guys that sits near me (but works for another agency/department within my agency), was talking about the Ryan Murphy television series loosely based on Gein's life - entitled Monster : the Ed Gein Story - it turned his stomach, but he couldn't look away or stop watching it. The two people who did the graphic novel - didn't like the television series - which they felt took liberties with the story and exaggerated bits that didn't require exaggeration. ( more on the Ed Gein: Monster miniseries currently airing on Netflix )

2. Buffy S4 rewatch. I just finished watching "Wild at Heart" - the episode that marks the return of Spike to the series post-Angel, and the beginning of Spike's redemption arc. And the exit of OZ from the series, although he does briefly return later. Spike's entrance is brief and at the very beginning of the episode. And it's interesting that Spike collides with the Initiative (the actual big bad of the season) in the same episode that Buffy collides with them, although she does it later. And it's Buffy that brings them to Giles' attention as a potential threat - they'd delayed her in her pursuit of OZ (ironically I think they were also pursuing OZ). We also have "boy scout" Riley pop up and save Willow from being hit by a car - slowly building on his relationship with Buffy. He's kind of the Anti-Angel? Much like Angel, he is in the background. But not exactly lurking? Also he's trying to fight demons on his own - but is oblivious to Buffy as she is of him. The Initiative and Riley - is the writers expanding on the world and answering a vital question - which is, is anyone else fighting demons besides Buffy? Wouldn't the military or others be aware of them? They aren't exactly hidden?
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Marsters demonstrates his comedic chops in the entry of the episode...when Buffy laminates the lack of an appreciative audience for her puns and quips, Spike announces she shouldn't tempt the Universe - because here he is to answer that demand - when the Initiative soldiers come up behind him and taze him. ( Read more... )

I was certain there was a line about Willow's shirt by Veruca, and an exchange between Buffy and Willow about it. But I didn't see it in the episode, so maybe I misremembered it? It's possible?

I wish I can say I'll miss OZ. But no. ( Read more... )

I like Riley at the moment. I always did. I did not share the fandom's dislike for the character, and was more ambivalent. I didn't see him as being with Buffy for long - they came from different worlds, and wanted different things. He was a lot like Angel - and I think she may well have realized, being with him, why long-term with Angel wouldn't have worked.
Two Alpha characters or leaders don't work. ( Read more... )

I'm enjoying watching this again without having to argue with insane shippers. I was constantly biting my tongue. And not always very well.

3. Also watching mindless comfort shows such as : Great British Baking Show S13, Grey's Anatomy S22 (dear god, that show has actually been on 22 years, and Bailey looks exactly the same), 911 Nashville (it stars Chris O'Donnell - who makes me feel old, since he's a Dad with a grown son in the show, Jessica Capshaw, married to O'Donnell with a grown son) - but kind of like the others. I like Lone Star and the original better. This one is kind of soapy, which I'm not sure works with the trope? And "Call the Midwife" - S6. Of the comfort shows, the British ones are the best, hardly surprising, that. I just wish they were on better streaming services - Netflix is making me crazy.

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Well, the Sketchers UNO Black Sneakers finally got delivered. That was a lot of stress and bother over a pair of sneakers. I'm not ordering that again. ( Read more... )

Also I turned my mattress, and made the bed up clean this morning. The heat came on around 9, so I had to turn on some fans. But it's off now, and the apartment is a comfortable 73-76 degrees. No A/C, no heat. One small fan, and the window fan in the bedroom which I reversed the air flow to the outdoors.

Sciatica is slightly better? Still hurts when I get up, and I got to walk for a bit. I'm definitely taking up chair and bed yoga again. I'm hunting a balance disc.

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Made a pot of chili last night - using my mother's recipe, with some tweaks and from memory. ( Read more... )

Today - Had wild albacore tuna fish, celery, chopped onions and Helman's Mayo mixed together on seeded gluten free sourdough, toasted in George Foreman grill for lunch. It was a tasty lunch.

Breakfast was fried eggs, greens, and radishes. And some apple cinnamon almond flour muffins with walnuts.

Snack - green apple dipped in dark melted chocolate and walnut butter.

***

I indulged another actor crush today - and watch Cillian Murphy's latest film - Steve - which just popped up on Netflix. ( Read more... )

(My actor crushes are: ( Read more... )

Christian Bale and Cate Blanchette are in another flick that just dropped on Netflix - "Knight of Cups" - which I found today. I thought - oh, goody, then oh damn - Netflix. Netflix has the worst interface of all the streamers. It crashes. You can't find anything on it. It's almost impossible to fast forward, pause, or rewind. It has a tendency to keep going to the next episode without telling you. And it is often unavailable - while I have no issues with Hulu or Disney + or HBO. Prime is getting wonky too.

You will have to pry my streaming channels along with my books and Apple music account out of my cold dead hands. ( Read more... )

Memage

9. Did you ever have one of those ‘magic’ painting books where you used water on the paper to bring out the colours when you were small?

I asked my mother about it. She had one. But I didn't, nor did my brother. So maybe they weren't a thing in the 1970s? She also didn't bother with coloring books, paint by numbers oils, or any of that - preferring to encourage us to draw and paint our own things, finger paint, use paints, brushes, pencils, and blank paper.

My mother was a frustrated artist and art teacher, who had horrible teachers - who told her she wasn't any good. ( rant about evil culture vultures/arbiters of taste who deserve to choke on their tongues )

10. It’s World Porridge (oatmeal) Day! Are you a fan?

I am. But I don't think it likes me all that much? ( Read more... ) I eat eggs over greens instead - easier to digest. Or coconut yogurt and nuts.

11. Do you own/use a food processor or blender?

Yes, but I rarely use it. I am single. It's huge. And I don't process much. Food digests better when I don't?

Tags:

in the downstairs front hall. Hasn't worked in over a decade. Flip the switch, nothing happens.

I happened to be lying on the floor today when I saw....

Me: Huh. Hey, Jenn? Does that hall light have a pull cord?

Jenn: What? No, I don't think so.

Me: I'm looking right at it. You just can't see it because there's less than an inch of it left, right up against the ceiling.

After I sourced the stepladder and a new light bulb it turns out - the whole time, the only reason it didn't work was because the pull cord was set to off.

Welp, it's fixed now!

***********************

( Read more... )

Detectives from the vice squad
with weary sadistic eyes
spotting fairies.
Degenerates,
some folks say.

But God, Nature,
or somebody
made them that way.

Police lady or Lesbian
over there?
Where?

********

This poem is brought to you by the NYHS exhibit on The Gay Harlem Renaissance, which you should definitely see if you're in the city. They have pay-as-you-wish admission every Friday from 5 - 8.

Also, I'm incrementing my Robert Moses counter up but only a little, because it was a complaint embedded in an exhibit about somebody else, but it was at the NYHS, so it doesn't really count. So it has now been one day since the last Robert Moses mention, but only kinda.

Updates...

* Sciatica - it still hurt today, but not quite as badly as yesterday, and mostly when I went down steps. Less so - up steps. But down steps was excruciating. And...well, NYC Transit and I are going to have words about their alleged accessibility endeavor. Frigging hell - there's a lot of steps.

I came home and did more stretching exercises, and was finally able to yank the right hip back into alignment, which helped (not completely - it's a cocktail and it was bothering me before that). But yes, it was partially an alignment issue. The hip no longer hurts at least. Just the back and knee.
( Read more... )

* Getting a Pair of Sneakers Delivered Shouldn't be this Difficult?

I'm reminded of why I hate FedEx or having to sign for anything. Also why I attempt to get everything sent by Amazon Prime or USPS.

Long story short - despite my best efforts, the package was not delivered. Instead they left a slip in front of my sign. Why wasn't it delivered?
( Read more... )
So, I'm trying again - with a new sign, a request to ring my buzzer three times, and if there are issues to call me. I'm home tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they comply.

* Omni Subway Pass

So, my "free" transit pass didn't work today - I swiped it, it didn't go through, my hand shook when it tried again, because my leg was killing me from going down the steps. Then it said "just used" and I can't use it again - for another fifteen minutes - because they don't want me giving free rides to others. As a result, I was out a ride and had to purchase one.

This is how I discovered that all you need to do to get the OMNI - is tap your credit card against the turnstile. You don't need a card. You don't need the app. You don't need a cell phone. Just a credit or debit card - tap and go, like you do at the grocery store. It will only charge you once.

If you have a credit card on your phone - you can use it.

I can't wait to get the "One Pass" - which will take the place of the annoying transit pass that I currently have - and I can tap it, as opposed to swiping, and also use it to swipe in and out of work.

Gotta love technology. I remember when we had tokens, and they were heavy and took up space in my wallet. I even had a separate change purse for them.

* Jury Duty

They found me. I need to move again. ( Read more... )

It's just the questionnaire. I have 10 days to answer the questions and send them in - either by postage or online or phone. I'm in no hurry. It's not a summons as of yet.

* Breaking Bad and I discuss everything but work

Found out Breaking Bad's family is from Bretagne or Brittany quite by accident today. (I thought he was Italian). He's French/Italian. I got him beat - I'm French Belgium, German, Eastern European, Swedish, Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh, and Spanish (according to Ancestry.com, so...whether that's reliable or not is another discussion. Oh - as an aside, I'm apparently "distantly" related to a famous person - 10th cousin. Who is it? Dwight D. Eisenhower, of all people. Sigh. We were also for a bit distantly related to Prime Minister Lloyd George, but somehow that got debunked. Now it's Dwight D. Eisenhower, so we kind of graduated from an obscure British Prime Minister to a WWII General and President of the US. My grandparents would be impressed, so would my father, if he were still alive. I keep forgetting to tell my mother about it and I forgot to tell Breaking Bad, which shows how impressed I am about it?)

We were talking about languages. (Neither one of us are linguists or good at languages or we'd be doing anything else.) ( Read more... )

*****

I'm currently flirting with Quadaphrenia - a Rock Ballet at NY City Center. Prices are between $185-$45. It's ballet - so you kind of need good seats, or it's not worth the bother. Still cheaper than Broadway though.
I love ballet and dance. I took ballet as a kid and in college. I sucked at it. I can't do anything choreographed to save my life. But I have to admit I stuck with Ballet longer than most. So, I understand it. It makes sense to me. I speak its language. Also I get wanting to move to music.

Also, it's to Pete Townsend's Quadaphrenia...so wicked cool.

I kind of missed the window for David Byrne and Hugh Jackman at Radio City Music Hall. Which is okay.

Tags:

The Gang

AWS outage

Saturday breezed on by....like it always does

So, sometimes E and I have been watching Mom

Another beautiful day!

I know we all laughed at the blue liquid used in pad commercials

I read The Incandescent, which has gotten decidedly mixed reviews from all of you

Friday Five

(no subject)

Cool brisk Thursday...slides away into night

More October meme

I have been kinda obsessed with The Fate of Ophelia choreography

The rain has stopped and the weather is amazing

Television and other things...

Happy Indigneous People's Day for those who celebrate...

Beware Flossie the comic book artist solicitator...

Television - Buffy Re-watch among other things..

Saturday is raining and overall dreary...so did chores

Soooooooooooooo, we had a light that didn't work

Cafe: 3 AM by Langston Hughes

Friday is sagging in relief that the week from heck is finally over...

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