Update on my niece's situation. Per mother and my brother, niece has been encouraged to switch departments and majors, from environmental studies (forestry) to system ecology (forestry), which is more science based, has a bigger program and is more suited to fit her needs. Also, in order to get an advisor in this department to help her with her thesis - she needs to switch departments, and take a few more science courses (she's good in science, so it shouldn't be an issue), along with statistics. It may take her longer to graduate though - instead of graduating in the spring, she probably won't be able to graduate until next December, so maybe three years instead of two. Her next T.A. assignment is in Systems Ecology Department - so this will work out better.

Her current advisor and professors in environmental studies - want her to just write non-fiction papers, or journal articles, and niece wants to do a more in-depth scientific paper, with data analysis, exposing an actual problem and the potential solutions. Mainly, because she can write non-fiction research papers and journal articles in her sleep and get A's. It's not challenging and doesn't further her career goals. Also she wants to help the environment in a proactive way - writing environmental articles doesn't really accomplish that. At the age of 19, she wrote an environmental thesis regarding refuges fleeing climate change in Greece. She's switched majors twice now, from human rights advocacy to environmental studies to system ecology. What she really wants to do is work in forestry.

***

More on educational opportunities - well for the rest of us, not just my niece.

Harvard Has Released $40,000 Worth of Courses Free in 2025
No applications.
No tuition.
Completely free and online.

Here are 5 powerful picks to start with:
( see below )

Damn. Harvard's fighting the evil fascists by providing free educational programs to everyone online. I shared the information with my brother and my niece.

I'm flirting with seeing the "Chess" revival, which has a new book by Danny Strong (yes, that Danny Strong (aka Jonathan on Buffy), starring Lea Michele. But it is pricey! Previews are $135-$449 seats. The cheap ones are $135. Ugh. No. I'll have to either do Today's Tix or TDF to do it, assuming that will work. I love the musical Chess - I saw the original cast in it in London in the 1980s, when Anthony Stewart Head subbed for his brother, who had been playing one of the lead roles. I fell in love with Anthony Stewart Head in the role - this was in 1987-88, long before the coffee commercials or Buffy. Also it was a lot cheaper. London's West End tends to be a lot cheaper than Broadway, also more interesting. I miss London, I need to visit it again some day. One of my dreams is to do a rail trip across Europe. I want to retire and wander about by train. Trains are perhaps the only source of transportation that does not result in motion sickness, and I feel safe on. I adore trains.

Work and my attempts at having some semblance of a social life, including making new friends (not necessarily in tandem), are leaving me confused and frustrated. Also a touch depressed.( Read more... )

Niece is running into issues with her thesis - she can't find an advisor to help her with it. ( Read more... )

I didn't sleep well last night - mainly because I forgot to take a shower earlier in the day, even though I had the day off. ( Read more... )

August Question a Day Memage (catching up again)

22. Do you have many lamps in your home, or do you rely on overhead lighting?

Yes, two - and they are kind of cheap craft lamps that don't have to have light bulbs replaced. I use them in case the overhead lighting goes out on me. I tend to rely on overhead lighting and natural light through my windows - I get a lot of indirect natural light, so can leave the lights off most of the time, particularly during the late spring and summer months. I have them off at 6:30 pm for example. I prefer natural light.

23. Do you own any clothing you only wear for a specific activity?

Yes, work clothes. Pajamas for sleep. And joggers or light sweats for laying about the house. Casual clothes for wandering about, not work related. I tend to compartmentalize my life.

24. Are you good at packing when you go away, or do you pack all the things ‘just in case’?

I was raised by a father who traveled constantly by airline, he was a road warrior. So I pack light and compact. With the view that I'm more than likely to bring the wrong things or forget something, but I'll survive.
I only bring a carry-on bag and a back pack, very little else. And I have a packing list.

25. If you ended up on a deserted desert island, what luxury would you want to have with you?

Hmmm...this is tough. I honestly don't know. Maybe some sort of wireless solar powered radio?

26. Do you have any tattoos?

No. The appeal is kind of lost on me?

1. I've been following the Scalzi Kitten Saga - where Scalzi's daughter and her friend found four kittens behind her friend's apartment, living in his old car. Eventually one of them (black tuxedo kitten) expired due to the hazards of living outside, so they chose to snatch the remaining trio and put them somewhere safer - namely Scalzi's basement guest room. So Scalzi is asking if anyone wants them, or they'll most likely try to find homes for two of them, send them to a no-kill shelter, and possibly adopt the third.

I don't know they don't all look like kittens in those photos, they look like cats. The only one that resembles a kitten is the calico.

The Scalzi Kitten Saga

One person wanted the calico, and was arranging transportation to pick it up. But the rest were stating - eh, can't get to Ohio, or they have enough cats already, thank you very much.

I'm glad he's in Ohio. I do not need the temptation. Those kittens would be miserable with me. I have no space for cats. Or any pets for that matter.

2. Well, Eatly was a disappointment

Today was lovely, crisp blue sky, warm with a cool breeze, in the low eighties. I most definitely did not require the jacket that I was wearing. It had been in the upper fifties low sixties this morning, hence the jacket. I decided to get a salad at Pret (spinach, white bean pesto, walnuts, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and avocado), with a gluten free tiramisu for desert from Eatly. I first went back to my desk to eat the salad, and then took off for Eatly - basically for a walk, and to see what they had. I got back around 1:10pm, left at 12:27 pm. It was a 15 minute walk. But I also spent at least 15 minutes in the store, then took ten minutes to get back at a brisk pace. I got a denim tote with space to hold a wallet and phone, also the aforementioned tiramisu. It is ridiculously hard to find gluten free tiramisu.

I was disappointed in Etaly. ( Read more... )

Spent more than I should - but I liked the denim tote bag with the inside pocket. Very useful. I could use that for work.

3. How to get a television pilot for a historical series about a 16th Century Indian Harem made, when you are a fifty-something self-published writer and have just written your first television screenplay?

Ex-college roommate - you know the one who self-published the chronicles about the 16th Century Harem? She's now written a screenplay with help from a screenwriting mentor.

" So we finished writing a screenplay for the pilot. We have the whole pitch deck. An executive read it and gave us her feedback. Basically, she said it would be a hit, if anyone had the courage to produce it, which no one has (in mainstream media). Her suggestion - make it ourselves. Put it out on social media. Okay, then...next stop... Angel Investors!"

I considered advising her to try a Kick-Starter campaign, but decided against it. Everyone and their dog plus a few cats have attempted that to date. There's too many of them.

She has a web site, a blog about 16th Century practices and the research she's done on 16th Century India, and a couple of short stories if you want to check it all out for yourselves.
( Read more... )

I posted this - because I'm curious what other people think? What do you think about the possibilities of this working or taking off?

4. Department Q has been renewed for a second season! Netflix finally got around to renewing it.

Executive producer Rob Bullock said he had a "really wonderful response" to the news of the second series.

"It is going to be loosely based on the second book in Jussi's series," he said.

"And much like season one, we will take the book and the gold that's in that book but then go off and tell our own stories alongside it."

I'm happy about this. I liked the characters and wanted more story. It felt unresolved.

5. Mother informed me that the Australian Detective Series that TV Talk had rec'd and I couldn't find - has popped up on Hulu, High Country - I'm guessing this is part of Disney's distribution deal with the BBC, because they've picked up a bunch of other British BBC mystery series as well.
I'm happy, it means I don't have to stream Brit Box to see some of them.

And I really wanted to see High Country. They also have the Tunnel, and the Fall, and the Secrets of Mr. Whitcher.

6. Online - FB touted a new Disney Tween Buffy Series named Vampirina (not to be confused with Vampirella, which I, alas did) based on the acclaimed books, about a secret vampire girl who wants to go to a school for the performing arts to pursue music (yes, it's a musical). Accompanied by a 600 year old ghost. She's in secret. Uhm, how is this a Buffy show? It sounds more like Wednesday meets Hotel Transylvania by way of High School Musical? I don't see anyone over the age of 14 watching it?

Buffy was a show about a teen tasked with killing vampires and demons, while trying to juggle high school, but honestly, none of the cast were really teens (with the possible exception of 3 of them), and they only did high school for three years. So, it was about a young woman fighting vampires. It was targeted at teens, but since the writers were in their late twenties and early thirties, didn't really have kids or care, and were writing about their own nightmares - it was more twenty-something - thirty-something show about a young woman slaying her personal demons.

7. They cancelled Dexter:Original Sin on Paramount after one season. Not surprised. I watched an episode of that - it wasn't that good. Also, it's Paramount - which is undergoing a merger and shakeup. Also, Original Sin didn't do that well, and they brought back the original series - which did better, and had Michael C. Hall. Prequels are rarely successful. Let's face it - the audience isn't that interested. Also, in the case of Dexter, we already got the flashbacks in the Dexter series.

But, Gellar's television curse continues. Buffy to date is the longest series she's had on the air. Everything else she's tried since Buffy has either not flown/been picked up for full series, or was cancelled after just one season. The Crazy Ones may have made it two seasons? No, Williams committed suicide in the middle of it - it was one season. I don't have a lot of faith in the Buffy Revival entitled: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - New Sunnydale surviving, I may be wrong. Gellar's track record hasn't been exactly stellar. From the original cast? Boreanze has done the best, with Hannigan not that far behind. Everyone else, with the possible exception of Head, has stumbled. Let's face it - Television and Film are impossible industries. Few succeed in them.

***

It's late. Time for bed.

Work was irritating me. It was overcast, cool, and spitting rain outside, and I felt I deserved a cookie and a decafe cappucino, with unsweetened Almond-Milk. Plus it was a short walk - so exercise. (I can always justify buying a cookie with the exercise required to obtain said cookie.) The financial district is not good for my budget.

Make that two gluten-free freshly baked cookies from Insominia Cookies. Apparently they also deliver. And you can get the cookies with ice cream. I just got the cookies. They have a wide variety of regular cookies...apparently they only know how to bake gluten-free chocolate chip? (They had five different vegan cookies. )

I'm just grateful for the cookies. It's very hard to find fresh baked gluten free cookies. Okay, maybe not that hard? I've found four places to date in the financial district. And one near me at home. Still on the hunt for a croissant, but that may be impossible.

So far, Printemps is ahead by a nudge (although it's pricey), with Insomina a close second. Meredith's (the cheapest) is behind both, and I think I'd put Natural Way fourth. Haven't tried Funny Face yet - it also has one gluten-free type of cookie - chocolate chip. Natural Way at least branches out with Oatmeal Raisin. You'd think there would be more oatmeal cookies (which was my father's favorite cookie) but you'd be wrong. I used to make them with chocolate chips, because I don't like raisins that much. (Towards the end of his life, my father would eat any cookie. He couldn't drink, he couldn't smoke, so he ate cookies. Any cookie. Even imaginary cookies. No other desert would do, just, well cookies. Mother called him the cookie monster.)

***

Oh, and last weekend, I finished another watercolor of a woman that I saw repeatedly on the subway. I added a kid to it. Mainly because I'm considering putting the watercolors together to tell the story of a little girl visiting her mother in the hospital and all the people she meets and sees on the subway that help her along the way. It may or may not happen. We'll see if I can do enough viable and presentable paintings first, then I'll write the little story, put together a sample photo book of them, and pitch the idea to Arts in Transit. I like the paintings, but alas, art like beauty and humor is in the eye of the beholder - so I'm not sure other folks will. Everybody is a critic, and my art leans more towards impressionistic than realism?

( woman I saw on the subway - watercolor )

Off to make dinner.

Much like The Fantastic Four film - I was on the fence about seeing this film. It had mixed reviews, and I didn't exactly love the last few Superman films I'd seen. Also, James Gunn's last cinematic effort, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol III gave me a headache. (Although I'm thinking that may have been more of a Star Lord and Rocket issue than a Gunn issue.)

As you may or may not know, Superman 2025 is the eleventh Superman film in a long and winding series of films, dating back to 1948, with the most recent being Zack Snyder's highly controversial Man of Steel (2013). (That's not including all the television serials and animated films and serials.) Superman was originally created by two Jewish immigrants way back in 1938 - when fascism was on the rise in Europe, and Hitler was in the midst of persecuting the Jews. They created Superman as a sort of inspiring hero during those dark times, he was an immigrant to the US, an alien, who was kind and helped others no matter what. A beacon of hope.

I've seen various people in comics and in film try to do a more nihilistic take on the character of Superman or a nihilistic commentary on the character - and it never quite works for me. I understand the desire to do it - and why a lot of folks don't like the original version, but Superman at his core is a hopeful character and a kind one. What lies at the center of the Superman story, at its very core, is hope. Get away from that - you lose the story. If you veer too far away from that - you are kind of losing who the character is and why, which is what happened with the previous take on the character, and why Gunn for the most part wisely goes back to the source material and the Salkind's version. It's worth noting that Gunn cleverly references both Salkind's take on Superman and Snyder's. Snyder's science fiction take, and version of Lex is kind of melded with Salkind's.

Superman 2025 directed by James Gunn, written by James Gunn, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - is the first film in James Gunn's Gods and Monsters arc for DC's rebooted film verse. Clocking in at just over two hours, it clicks by at a good pace, and I didn't notice the time fly by, but, there are one or two fight scenes I'd have trimmed, but I feel that way about most action films.

It's important to note that unlike all the previous films, with the exception of sequels, this does not start with Superman's origin story. It starts in the middle of story - Superman has lost a major battle, his first, the film tells us why and what later on. A lot of action happens before the film even begins. We're in the middle of it and it works, because we've all seen the origin tale multiple times, over twenty to be exact, so it's not really needed. They refer to it, we're told what it is, so in case you were hiding under the proverbial rock for the last 80 years, you know.

Unlike the Fantastic Four Film - this film is harder to discuss without substantive spoilers. I tried, I gave up.
( spoilers )

All that aside? I loved the movie. It kept to the core values of the source material, and the original intent of the writers. The filmmakers told their story with just the right amount of humor, and humility. And it put a smile on my face. Lifted my spirits. And gave me hope.

After watching it, I had an overwhelming urge to break into a jig and cheer, instead I just posted online that I loved it to little bitty pieces. I enjoyed it so much, that I've watched it twice now. And will most likely down load the soundtrack to listen to - tomorrow at work.

It also taught me a valuable lesson - be careful with reviews or read them with discretion. Many of the reviews I read turned me off of the film - leading me to believe, erroneously so, that it was too busy, head-ache inducing, with a low-brow and crude sense of humor. This couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know what film they saw? But it wasn't the same film I saw - and I've watched it twice now.

Reviewers, myself included, are human and tend to critique the film through their own lens. We often tell a story with an agenda in mind, either hidden or overt, and that includes reviews. I've learned, the hard way, not to determine what to watch, read or listen to based solely on someone else's view of it. More often than not, I have to see it for myself. We never see the same films as others do, because we see them filtered through our own mind and baggage. And more often than not, we only see what we want to see.

Breaths a sigh of relief - it's finally Friday. It's been a difficult week, I'm glad it's over. Although today wasn't bad overall? The weather was pleasant for once. If a touch on the hazy side.

Question a Day Meme : August

( days 8-15 )

*****

Facebook and other social media platforms - keep throwing Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revival articles at me. They keep calling it the Buffy Reboot, and people keep stating - "it's not a reboot". And then other people state: "no, it is a reboot, the other is a remake". Sigh. Keep in mind this is the same fandom that fought over what a soul meant, and whether vampires had breath. They also were still fighting over the shanshu and were worried the Buffy Revival would mess with their precious Angel. (No, the writers of the Buffy Revival couldn't care less about Angel. Gellar didn't care about Angel. I doubt she's ever watched it. ) That said? If they decide to bring back Spike or Angel - they will either have to be human (and there are many ways for that to happen outside of a shanshu, all you need is an imagination - I could do it, easy), or be insanely aged vampires (which is also possible), because both actors have definitely aged and they look their age.

Note, what I've learned from various articles thrown at me about the Buffy Revival?

It has an IMBD page now.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale appears to be the working title.

Description? Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil.
( Read more... )

Still rewatching S3, although debating skipping a few episodes and jumping to S4. I really don't like the Faith/Mayor main plot arc for some reason or other. I know I'm in the minority. Most people adore it for some reason or other.

***

Off to bed. Hopefully to sleep and dream of sheep...or ponies.