Spontaneous Musings

I found this title on DW which I like..."The Book on the Edge of Forever", it's apparently the title of a book about an anthology of stories by Harlan Ellison that were never published. They've been talking about it all over social media, regardless of the platform.

1.) Book Meme

* Still reading Experimental Film by Gemma Files

It's slow going, about 69% of the way through it now. Delves heavily into a group of Wendish myths/folk legends, which the protagonist is investigating in association with an investigation of a group of experimental films created by an obscure Canadian filmmaker in the 1800s. It's a ghost story.
The filmmaker is haunting the protagonist, as is Lady Midday, one of the subjects of the filmmaker's films.

I'd call it hyper-realist psychological horror? In some respects that's creepier and more frightening than "supernatural" horror. It also falls into folk horror - or horror associated with folk traditions and folklore.
(I find that stuff fascinating - my minor was in epic, myth, and folklore - and I studied modern urban legends for a portion of it, and the oral traditions of ghost stories and horror tales in Wales. Hence the reason, I'm still reading it and haven't given up on it yet. But the narrator/protagonist is...sigh, exhausting. She has migraine headaches, an autistic son, a lovely husband, and is incessantly whining. I want to shake her.)

* Audio Books

- Completed On the Edge by Illona Andrews as read by Rene Raudman

The narrator is excellent. Among the better narrators. I actually think it's a full cast? She can do up to thirty distinctive voices.

It's hard to describe. It falls under Urban Fantasy - but it's not in an urban area. It takes place in between a fantasy realm (the Weird) and the real world (the Broken), in the world known as the edge. So more "dark fantasy"? I find it rather innovative - in how the writers create monsters and creatures - I've never heard of. And blend science fiction and fantasy in their story. So, kind of a sci-fantasy/dark fantasy hybrid? With romance as the central focus.

I don't like contemporary romance unless it's urban fantasy, dark fantasy, or sci-fantasy hybrid. I find the characters in straight up contemporary romance to be insufferably annoying.

This a modern rural fantasy - Wallmart exists. It's not medieval fantasy - which also annoys me. I tend to prefer urban fantasy, dark fantasy, sci-fantasy, but not medieval fantasy, which I can tolerate but annoys me for the most part.

Main quibble? There's far too much ruminating over the romance. Or navel gazing over it. The writers hadn't quite mastered their banter yet.

- Still working my way through: Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews as read by Renee Raudman - it's much better than On the Edge.

This has more characters, and is less of a romance, which helps greatly. The other characters much like the last book - are more interesting than the main couple. And the romance, while marketed as the central focus - is less of one here.

The villain is also scary and gross as all get out. It has a fairly convoluted plot, heavy on world-building, and characterization. Much more ambitious.

There's a heavy emphasis on class in the book, with multiple pov's which can be confusing with audio, although the reader does a good job of distinguishing them.

It takes place in the same world as On the Edge, and Illona Andrews Innkeeper series (which is slightly better - or tighter, you can tell they wrote the Edge series first).

* Digital Comic Books

Finished

- Phoenix by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo (issue 3 - I think)
- X-men by Jed Mckay and Ryan Stegman ( issue 4)
- Uncanny X-men by Gail Simone and David Marquez (issue 3)
- Exceptional X-men by Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero (issue 1)
- NYX by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, with art by Francesco Mortarino(issue 3)

Still reading:

- Dazzler issue one by Jason Loo and Rafael Loureiro.(issue 1)

So far? I like NYX, Exceptional, Uncanny and Phoenix the best. X-men is uneven, and too much focus on fight scenes. Issue 3 was the best. Phoenix has great art and writing. As does Uncanny. Say what you will about Gail Simone - she can write a good comic. Exceptional is excellent as well - good art, and good writing reminiscent of the original Ms. Marvel (Kamala) series.

Up next?

-Storm

***

2. Donated Blood at work today. The NY Blood Drive was taking blood donations at my workplace, so I went ahead and did it on my lunch break. Once again I wore a long sleeve button down blouse. So had to roll up the sleeve. I've been wearing short sleeve shirts all year long, and on the days I have to donate blood and get a flu shot - I wear long sleeve button down shirts?

It's a process donating blood. Reminded me of why I've not done it in a while. After checking in, they send you to a cheap dell laptop, with easy to replace batteries but horrific mouse pad/touch screen, fill out a questionnaire on it, take a survey on it, then get your blood pressure, pulse, and temperature taken, plus a finger prick. They now have temperature strips. (Plastic things you put under your tongue that are disposable). Also can check if you have a fever, by holding something up to your forehead. Gotta to love technology, right? This took about twenty minutes. Then you go to a chair, roll up the sleeve, they plug in a needle, the blood drips into a bag, as you (or I rather) squeeze a stick wrapped in a paper towel. They fill about five tubes with my blood, the rest goes into a bag. They tell me to squeeze it every five seconds. Across from me is the guy who got there before me, and he's been there for about thirty minutes. I worry that it will take me at least that long.

"So, how many bags?"

"Just the one - we take a pint. Squeeze that every five seconds."

So I squeeze, trying to figure out if I have to fill up this tiny bag, which isn't filling - and they'd taken the initial blood out of.

Maybe water will help?

"Can I have water?"

"No, not while you're giving blood, only before or after."

Then I notice the bigger bag which is filling up with blood and rather quickly.

And check out this flashing thing that beeps - with a number on it. Ah, that's what I need to watch. Once the green line on the computer screen with the digital number reaches 410, and is a complete circle, I'm done.

The last time I did this? We didn't have all this crazy-ass technology.

I donated because I wasn't that busy, and I learned it could save three people's lives. And I was annoyed with people today, so...I figured I'd help a bunch of strangers.

I think I may try to give blood once or twice a year now. Do what I can to help people even if they drive me crazy.

3. Mother: You sounded tired when you called earlier, now you sound better, more upbeat and more energetic.
Me: That's because I've been alone in my apartment and away from people for about an hour, maybe two?
Mother explodes with laughter.

People are exhausting.

Frigging city is constantly under construction. They are putting in a couple of traffic lights at the intersection that leads to the train station. There's a side street behind BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) that leads to the street in front of Atlantic Avenue Terminal. The traffic there is problematic, mainly because you have folks picking up and dropping off people for the train station/subways and mall, and people dropping their kids off for BAM. Plus residents. So DOT (Department of Transportation) is putting in new traffic lights, and tearing up the sidewalk. As a result it's a perpetual obstacle course to get to and from the train station in the morning and evening. I'm racing between the G train (subway or tube) and the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to get to work. It's a long block from the G to the LIRR. About five to ten minutes, with two cross streets.

At any rate, one of the sidewalks is completely blocked off (the one I use) while the other is partially blocked off. Any other route takes about ten more minutes. So I zig-zag around.

Today, some idiotic SUV/Mini-Van driver tried to park in the spot in front of the sidewalk barricade, that I had to walk around this evening. I was furious. I barely got past them. Finally realized that no, they couldn't park there. They also looked like the same idiotic SUV that cut me off this morning, with an illegal right hand turn. I had the light. They could have waited.

In short a big black SUV tried to kill me twice today. Apparently the Universe wanted me alive?

I also have bikes that I have to skirt around, on subways, sidewalks, streets. The frigging things are a menace. Scooters are just as bad. The electric scooters are the worst.

Sigh. I curse these people too. Honestly, can't people just walk and take the train? It's not hard.


4. Crazy Workplace

Well, the "pendant" attorney, who is also a frustrated copy-editor and grammatical pendant, is leaving the organization. I only know this - because the head honcho sent me an invite to his going away party. We got the "farewell party" notice via email today. They are throwing a farewell party for him next week at a local pub in Manhattan around 5pm.

Me: So, did you know the grammar attorney was leaving?
Breaking Bad: Not until today, via the party notice.
Me: You learned the same time, I did?
Breaking Bad: Yup.
Me: Wonder if lawyer knew?
Breaking Bad: Probably, but anything is possible. They are so disorganized over there. Can't say I'm surprised though. I knew he wasn't going to last long.
Me: True. You predicted this months ago.

Pendant Attorney nitpicked everything. Dear god, I've not heard any spiels about passive and active voice since...high school?

Me: Are you going to his party?
Breaking Bad: Nope.
Me: I'm not going either. It's out of the way for one thing. And I've never met him. I doubt they'll notice if I'm even there.
Breaking Bad: nods sagely.

I haven't. The guy has no idea what I look like, and I've no idea what he looks like. I can't pronounce his name either - not that it matters, since he's going to be gone as of next week.

It is out of the way. My workplace is in Queens. I live in Brooklyn. The party is in Manhattan.

Me: There's a lot of turn-over over there.
Breaking Bad: You think?

5. Television

I attempted Doctor Odyssey. It reminds me of 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star, a kind of comforting medical/rescue procedural, with various relationship dynamics. With likable actors, and likable characters. In short, it's very plain vanilla. I expect a bit more from Ryan Murphy, sheesh.


I watched for Joshua Jackson and Don Johnson. Johnson is barely in it. So Jackson is the real lead, supported by two pretty twenty-somethings. It's a Ryan Murphy project, so expect it to play with the genre a bit, but not too much. I'm surprised there's no LGBTA characters - but he may be catering to Disney and ABC, and bringing them in slowly as supporting characters down the line. With Disney, you kind of have to sneak them in. The show is very mainstream, unlike Murphy's other franchises.

Unlike Netflix - where you can do whatever you want.

I doubt I'll stick with it. I got bored fairly quickly and began to do other things. I like 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lonestar better, although I didn't stick with it either.

Right now, David E Kelly's Lincoln Lawyer is the winner of the procedurals. It's better written. Mainly because Kelly at least knows something about his subject matter, and has good source material.