sandy_s | Fellow Travelers

A couple of things that have zip to do with the meme.

Spoke with Mother. Apparently her church is requiring her to do a virtual background check to see if she complies - in order for her to sing in her church's choir. And she can't get it to say she complies.
( our conversation regarding this insanity... )

Oh, and I saw Fantastic Four : First Steps - which was excellent. It was everything I wanted in a superhero Fantastic Four film and then some. I've been lucky - I've only been to the movies twice in the last three years, and both films I loved to pieces (the other one was Oppenheimer).

***

Below is an insanely long MCU (Marvel Cinema Universe) franchise list - television and films, meme. Similar to the Star Wars and Star Trek memes, but longer. I thought about making it even longer by adding all the films that were adapted from Marvel Comics by other studios, such as Across the Spiderverse, and well all the X-men films, but chose not to, because the list is long enough on its own. There are lot of Superhero films and television shows out there. If they stopped making them tomorrow? We would not be deprived. (Not to worry - they won't.)

I take no credit for this monstrosity, I snagged it from colls, thank you colls for doing it.

( insanely long MCU superhero film list )

Tags:

List Memeage, only culture junkies need apply.

Bold = Watched Entirety
Italic = Watched Part
* Watched more than once.
† Watched in the first few weeks of release (at least initially, for TV shows).

Star Wars Franchise

RELEASE ORDER
( all the star wars series and films released to date that you've seen. )

I've actually seen more of the MCU stuff than the Star Wars stuff. Although I have admittedly watched more of the Star Wars than Star Trek - at least I think I have? Let's see?

Bold = Watched Entirety
Italic = Watched Part
* Watched more than once.
† Watched in the first few weeks of release (at least initially, for TV shows).

Star Trek

RELEASE ORDER
( all the Star Trek Series and films seen to date )

Hmm, I was wrong, I've seen more Trek than Star Wars. [Morale? Never assume without checking first.] There's only a handful that I've not seen. Who knew? Apparently I'm more of a Trekkie than a Star Wars fan. Granted Trek had more content availability when I was growing up - Star Wars didn't take off again until the 21st century.

And that's a lot of Trek. I think that out does the Star Wars franchise ten to one.

Side note? The forgettable film, Star Trek Nemesis? The villain was written with James Marsters in mind - based on his performance as Spike. But Marsters is a die hard Trekkie, and blew the audition. He froze when he met James Patrick Stewart, had similar problem when he met Nimoy. So, Tom Hardy got the role and his career took off instead.

And I've seen more of the DCU and MCU franchise than of those two. Let's face it I'm a sci-fi/fantasy fan, with a weakness for superhero films. I tend to hide this side of myself from most of the folks that I know - current cubicle mate wouldn't understand. I miss my previous cubicle mate who loved superhero films and science fiction.

Tags:

I was going to post a quote of the day, but I can't remember it? So probably not that important.

After a bit of a lull, here is the return of the Good News Report, which is mainly about the environment, and not for once, about a hundred different litigation disputes. (In case you didn't already know that that US is a highly litigious country, with an insanely complicated court system - 2025 has managed to educate you on that point with interest, and in less than six months. 2025 is providing litigation attorneys with a lot of work.)

Anyhow, this post is mostly about environmental good news, although I'm certain there will be court cases resolved and otherwise in the middle of it, because that's how we roll.

Disclaimer: As always, good news much like humor and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So mileage may vary on this?

1. The United Nations reported a global shift toward renewable energy, passing a “positive tipping point” where solar and wind power will become even cheaper and more widespread.

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-solar-wind-power-fossil-fuels-6aca4846e594ea8405f91edda39a03ad?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

2. Todd Koehnke and Tim Macklin, cofounders of the Collective Oyster Recycling and Restoration, have set out to restore the health of Connecticut’s overfished oyster beds by collecting shells from about 50 seafood restaurants in the state and dropping them back where they came from.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/used-oyster-shells-connecticut-long-island-sound/?ck_subscriber_id=2496857656

3.Conservationists and AI are successfully teaming up to help save the California red-legged frog.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/19/g-s1-78230/ai-california-frog-science-conservation-threatened-species?ck_subscriber_id=2496857656

4. Despite the national extension shutting down, Illinois is keeping its dedicated 988 lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth.

https://khqa.com/news/local/illinois-to-keep-988-suicide-crisis-lifeline-for-lgbtqia-youth-after-national-extension-hangs-up-federal-funding-cuts-trump-administration-governor-jb-pritzker-idhs-secretary-dulce-m-quintero-mental-health-behavioral-services-counseling-support-teens?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

5. There are now about 11,400 high-speed, public charging stations in the US, and hundreds more are being added every few months. Driven by the private sector, the rapid expansion has continued despite the Trump administration’s freezing of construction subsidies.

https://archive.is/

6.President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognize Palestine as a state in pursuit of what he called the historical French commitment “to a just and durable peace in the Middle East.”

https://archive.ph/CcnmN

7.Enbridge announced it will invest $900 million on a 600 megawatt solar power project in Texas.

https://archive.ph/Z9ARd#selection-1309.20-1319.206

8.In general, donations to NPR and PBS stations have surged since Trump’s cuts were signed into law.

https://archive.ph/vc5ex

9.Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels signed a declaration of principles to end decades of fighting, commit to a comprehensive peace agreement, and commit to “building trust” through various measures.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-m23-rebels-peace-qatar-rwanda-f80166117d557991896ef89d4cd3a324?user_id=66c4cab45d78644b3acfbcde&sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

10.Tree planting in England is now at its highest recorded rate in over 20 years

https://forestrycommission.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/27/a-year-of-growth-tree-planting-rates-hit-their-highest-level-in-over-20-years/?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

( the rest of the 30 items of note )

Tags:

links,
nature

Sleepy. I didn't sleep well last night. Woke up in the middle of the night, and my body would not let me get back to sleep. Finally did, and had an odd dream about being unable to give new people I met my contact information. As if something was preventing me from putting it down accurately. I kept putting down the wrong thing. Also, I couldn't seem to get to my flight on time. Very odd dream. As a result of the sleep deprivation - I decided to only take a short walk today at lunchtime, well that and the fact that the pants I was wearing kept sliding down my hips as I walked, because I'd put a wallet and a phone in the front pockets. So I had to keep pulling them up. (Highly annoying.)

And spent most of the morning, taking a cybersecurity course that made me paranoid about everything I've ever posted on DW and social media in my lifetime. (We're required to take web based training modules for work every year, they are the same ones. Actually this one may have been updated. But the others are the same. )

***

Anyhow, here's a bit more of the August Question a Day Memage.

4. The artist Laura Knight was born on this day in 1877. She was an artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving, and drypoint. Can you draw? Do you doodle?

Yes. I've been able to draw and paint since I was a small child. And took watercolor as a teenager. And have had art classes intermittently from the age of 5 until roughly my mid-thirties. I have worked in watercolors, etchings, engraving, and acrylic, not so much oil. And I don't think I've done drypoint.

I've posted some of them here from time to time. I can draw from memory, from life, and from photos.

Some people can sing, some can play instruments, I can draw and paint. - that came naturally to me. So does taking pictures. I'm visual. I can usually reproduce what I've seen, or a representation of it, through my own lens. My difficulty is knowing when to stop adding stuff to it. My mother used to yank my drawings and paintings away from me as a child before I ruined them.

5. How often do you check what paid subscriptions you’ve signed up for (e.g. an App on your phone, a TV channel, a subscription to a magazine, a membership to an organisation).

Not as often as I should? But I do keep track. If I'm not using, then I cancel. Just cancelled Paramount Plus and New York Magazine, next up may be three others.

6. Would you rather go on a city break, a seaside holiday or have a staycation?

I live and work in the city, and can go to the seaside if I want to. So probably a staycation and just do both?

7. This week in Bristol in the UK is the National Balloon Fiesta, a time to celebrate hot air balloons which draws thousands of visitors each year. Have you ever been in a hot air balloon (or would you like to?).

No. And...ambivalent? I'm not really a fan of heights? I could probably handle it, but I wouldn't go out of my way or anything.

***

So, I've been slowly rewatching the Buffy series, I forgot more about it than I realized. I honestly thought it was memorized, but apparently I managed to delete some of that over the years. Go figure.

I had forgotten why I didn't like Season 3 of Buffy as much as most fans of the series seem to? People rank that season high, and seem to love it.
But I never quite did and I forgot why, well until now.

It's the Faith Arc. It doesn't work for me. I was watching Dopplegangland last night, which much like Amends, is a stand out episode. The dialogue snaps, crackles and pops. It feels a bit like watching a movie. The color palette is precise, the costumes perfect for the characters, and every lead character is utilized in some way. Also the characters emotional arcs are all furthered.

But, it is also an episode in which the writer, in this case Whedon, is working over time to fill in some serious plot holes.( Read more... )

Anyhow, it's late and bed calls.

So I may or may not continue rambling about this at a later point.

Tags:

btvs,
memage

Work is aggravating me. I'd regale you with all the reasons why, but then I'd have to kill you - and we can't have that, can we?

I can tell you that I've found someone who might help me get my picture taken in Manhattan as opposed to going all the way to Hollis, Queens (which is about an hour and a half away from my work site, a pain in the neck to get to (I have to take three trains, and one of them runs on intermittent schedules - which means, if I don't plot it right - I could be standing around for thirty minutes at Jamaica), and an hour and a half away from my home.) Actually it may be closer to the work site - so about just an hour depending on time waiting for trains. Plus a gadzillion stairs. Welcome to NYC folks - the stair-master capital of the universe.

I did the switch from the R to the F at 4th/9th Streets again - and dang, that's a lot of steps. I counted. It's about four flights to the ground level, and then four more to the top. So eight flights. Steep. I was spent.
This is after going down ten flights, then another flight to get to the R.
The R is deep underground, doesn't have an elevator, and has one escalator at Whitehall going up. The one at 4th/9th doesn't have any escalators or elevators. No wonder the MTA is getting sued by the ADA advocacy groups.

****

Things I want to talk to you about, that I read...or noticed, and I've been pondering.

1. Whatever You Do, Don't Do the Silent Treatment

( excerpt )

I was pondering if I do that with Wales? Not really. I'm not sure if you can state deleting text messages and not answering them is the silent treatment? So much as protecting one's continued mental health? I answer the phone when she calls me. I've had it done to me - my brother likes to inflict it when he gets angry. And BYT was notorious for doing it. I don't like it - to be honest, mainly because I want things resolved and out in the open.

Also, there are situations in which it is called for? Such as social media.
IDK. What do you think?

2. Buddhism: If you have issues with someone correcting you, then you have an ego problem.

Except everyone hates being criticized? Right?

I wanted to respond to the Buddhism post on FB as follows: You are incredibly judgemental for a Buddhist. [I refrained.]

3. Comfort animals. Is it fair to use an animal to give oneself comfort? And have them for the sole purpose of comfort? Carrying the animal into stressful situations, such as plane rides, cars, trains, doctor's appointments, trips - just to soothe anxieties? Is this fair to the animal who is soaking in the human's anxieties and may be stressed or scared itself?
( Read more... )

Was feeling a bit off, so I took three COVID tests - all negative, so it's not COVID. And I'll go to work tomorrow. I think it's a combination of sleep deprivation, sensitivity to wildfire smoke (frigging Canadian wildfires), massive swings in blood sugar, and boredom at work.

I did get 8,900 steps in. ( Read more... )

Finished watching another episode of Andor S2 Ep. 8 - which was quite good and a rather satisfying ending to the whole Cassian/Syril arc, also Deidre/Syril and Cassian arc. Cassian clearly has no idea who Syril is, while Syril was obsessed with killing Cassian.

( Read more... )

It was a good episode, if a brutal one. The second season is slow to start but picks up its pace towards the second half. It takes a while to build everything, also there's two storylines that kind of bog things down - Mon Motha, and whatever Forest Whittacker's character is doing.

Still doing Buffy S3 rewatch, and well, the writers don't appear to know what to do with either Xander or Cordelia at this point. ( Read more... )

The Faith centric episodes that immediately follow are somewhat better, but the B villains drag the first of the two down a tad. ( Read more... )

Other take-aways?

I can see why Faith ditched the Scooby Gang for the Mayor, except for one small problem? Faith is anti-authority to the max - so it would have made more sense for her to leave town? I mean I get why she ditched Buffy and company, I would have too, if I were Faith. But I don't understand why she hooked up with the Mayor?
( critical explanation follows )

Oh another takeaway - I can now tell that Gellar did not do her own stunts at all. ( Read more... )

It's still enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable as it was twenty years ago.

Here's a picture from today's walk at lunch time. And I think I have a biting fly or bug in her, it just bit my foot, and it stung. Doesn't itch, just has a slight burn to it. No, no bite. Maybe just a nerve tingle? Ugga Bugga, I don't understand my body at all sometimes.

Well Walking is considered an exercise, can't imagine why it wouldn't be? (Physical therapists prefer it - running causes lots of injuries. I should know, I used to run.)

And I've been doing "Japanese Walking" my entire life. Three minutes fast-paced, then slower walking, then increasing intensity, then a slow down.

I slow down to take pictures, then speed up. I walk everywhere. My preferred mod of transportation is my feet on the ground.

Also finally started on the watercolor of a woman I saw on the train, that was plaguing me. It's turning out better than expected. Now lets hope I don't destroy it - which I often do - by not adding to much to it.

***

Television Shows

1. Paradise - I don't know about this one. The mystery is okay. The science fiction trope - annoys me. I don't like the trope. I'm not a fan of ( spoiler for the reveal in the first episode )

Also, there's something about the lead actor, that always has grated on my nerves? A kind of smug self-righteousness or superiority? It comes across in every role he plays? I do however like Julianne Nicholson and Cassidy Freeman, so I may stick with it, not certain?

2. Andor S2 - Episode 7 was good. I kind of split it in half though. I do like the sense that each episode is its own separate movie?
It's getting better as it goes. And I've fallen for Cassian.

3. And So it Goes - Billy Joel documentary on HBO Max - is about five hours long, and I'm three quarters of the way through. It encompasses Billy Joel's life from a child to roughly 76 years of age now, where he is now. Joel as previously stated is an American Pop Singer, Song-Writer and Composer who rose to fame in the later half of the 20th Century. He was/is classically trained, and his musical underpinnings are classical - not blues or rhythm or blues like most rock and roll music. His musical structure tended to be closer to the 1950s and early 60s rock and the songs of Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Frankie Valley, the Sherrels. Which you either appreciate and like or you don't. Many rock critics have a fondness for the Blues, and don't like anything that veers away from it. The other problem was well - a prejudice against Long Island. There's a kind of Manhattan/NY snobbery about those who live out on Long Island or Jersey (it's silly of course, but people are well silly.)

The documentary much like the Beatles docs - focuses on the music, and the personal hand in hand. It's well edited, and well put together. But it does...how to put this exactly? Goes a bit overboard in promoting the product of Billy Joel, and how great Billy Joel is. And it's a difficulty I have with musician documentaries. At times they feel a bit like fan service? I find them slightly more interesting when they back down from the fan service and let the person and their life stand for who and what they are. Instead of asking - why do we like him, what appeals to us, and trying to answer that? Just let those questions and answers go unsaid? It's not a critical documentary at all - however, there are critical things under the surface? Joel married much younger and very beautiful women, post-Elizabeth Webber. The latest 33 years younger. Those were the women he has had children with. He also is a heavy drinker, and at least two of his marriages broke up because of heavy drinking, partying and not being around. And he was never satisfied - always hunting for something else, out there.

I think it goes back to my painting - adding too much on top, which causes problems. Sometimes stepping back and letting it stand is best.

I don't need to hear that music saved his life, or he doesn't know what else he could have done, or you do what you love...just let the music stand with the story, and let it just be that.

At any rate, others loved it, I have mixed feelings about it? But I've always had mixed feelings about Billy Joel and his music. And I can see why people don't like him.

***

Today's and yesterday's questions:

2. Do you like milkshakes? What’s your favourite flavour?

Yes. At the moment? Coffee. When I was a teen - Strawberry - I loved McDonalds'Strawberry milkshakes - I can't drink them now of course. But when I was in Junior High aka Middle School - I'd get one on my walk home from school at McDonald's which I passed in the mini-shopping center one block down from the school. (The Middle School is long gone - it's now an independent retirement center, and so too, is the McDonald's. I haven't seen them - was told this by a friend of my brother's - I've not been back to that area of the world in more than 20 years.)

3. Have you ever played hopscotch?

Yes, as a child, and as an adult.

It's a popular pavement or sidewalk game.

***

Here have a flower:

Tags:

television

Well, the mammogram wasn't painful at all, uncomfortable yes - I had to contort my body, also a lot faster than the last one. (I can't decide if opting not to do the enhanced digital imaging helped in that regard or not? Or maybe it was the technician? I liked this technician better than the one I had for the last three times I did it.) It took maybe fifteen minutes. While the last one took a thirty minutes.

Afterwards I tried to go to Duman but alas it wasn't open yet. (I also couldn't remember where it was. I knew it was on Court, but thought it was closer to the grocery store - in reality it was five blocks north of the Union Grocery Store. I did not go to that grocery store, instead I walked a good ten blocks to the Health Food Store across from Carroll Park, and bought a bunch of gluten free items that I've not found elsewhere - ( Read more... )

It's a good thing I didn't try to meet Wales for brunch - since I got out of there by 9:25, and was done with my errands by 10:30, and home by 11.

I decided, after a quick snack, to take a walk, sat for a bit in a garden:
( garden )

And then went to Hamilton's for lunch. Since it was a lovely day, in the upper-70s, with a nice breeze, I chose to sit outside under the blue domed canopy on the side street, listening to an audiobook via my ipods (which I'd gotten dirt cheap for $24 on Amazon some time ago). ( food good, service was lacking )

After that, I walked off the meal by wandering towards Greenwood Cemetery - I wanted a small water bottle but the eateries only served teas and coffee.
I did however find Uncle Frankie's Pizza, which serves gluten free crust. It's brick over pizza with gluten free crust - and you can get it to go. Definitely going back there. I may drag Wales there at some point.

I almost wished I'd gone there today, but I wanted a burger, fries, and an iced tea, and to sit outside in the shade, listening to an audio book, while I watched people.

Uncle Frankie's as you can see below (well not everyone, but those who can) doesn't quite provide that - all they provide is an uncomfortable picnic table.

Then off I went to GreenWood Cemetery - but didn't take that long a walk, because I ended up getting a blister on my right ankle, from wearing sneakers with no socks. I'd done it before. Hadn't gotten any blisters. Even wore them to work and back, no blisters. I have no idea why I got blisters on that foot today. It hurt for a bit, then didn't. So I managed to make it home. Then it hurt again. I have a band-aid on it now and am nursing it.
( Greenwood Cemetery )

Did however manage to take some photos of flowers on the way to the cemetery, which I'll leave you with while I continue to nurse my blister.
All in all, I clocked over 12,000 steps today and approximately 5.5 miles. ( Read more... )

Tags:

The flowers are outside of a building about a block down from my own, which I passed on my way home from the grocery store today.

On the way to the grocery store - it was spitting or drizzling in snippets, so I had an umbrella. And along the way, ran into a young man eating chips. He was roughly half my height and probably twenties. Attractive for the most part. Thin. Athletic. I was bigger than he was - but I'm bigger than a lot of folks, and have gotten used to it?

( Read more... )

Tomorrow - cancer screening - breasts, and maybe a stop by the linen store on the way home. Wanted to maybe do brunch with Wales, but Wales wants to sleep in and it didn't pan out and I got annoyed.

People have been annoying me lately for some reason or other. I keep wanting to smack them upside the head, which I can't do of course. Also they don't really deserve it. People sometimes are just annoying. I can be annoying. I honestly think it's just the nature of the beast or humanity. We can be an annoying species. How the Earth tolerates us, I don't know.

OR.. I think it's just a combination of not getting enough solid sleep, blood sugar issues, menopause, weather, and ordinary frustrations. Let's face it - life is difficult for everybody.

Had a bit of a nightmarish commute home. It usually just takes me about thirty minutes. Today - it took an hour and a half.

Storms blew in around 3 pm and lasted until roughly 5 pm, with temperatures topping off at around 87 degrees with humidity at 80%. And of course that played havoc with the subway system. Outside of the trains, there's no A/C or much air circulation in underground portion of the subway system. And it can get to over 100 degrees in the winter months in the communications rooms.
( the headache inducing commute )

If you read that - you got awarded by a picture.

***

Still keeping abreast of the Buffy Reboot News. They've done more casting.
Seriously as if they don't have enough male characters, they've added one more.

The casting news is not thrilling me. It's very teen supernatural boilerplate casting. (Yes, I've seen one too many teen supernatural soap operas in my lifetime, sorry to say. Only a handful are any good. The most innovative of them was actually Shadow and Bone based on the books.)

The latest?

Buffy Reboot ads another casting member and names the new slayer

( excerpt )

And...

"Deadline reports that Kingston Vernes will play a character named Carson in the show. He will serve as a love interest for the new Slayer, Ryan Kiera Armstrong's Nova. The outlet says that Carson is "a Junior Olympian and popular student at New Sunnydale Academy who is the object of Nova’s (Armstrong) crush and starts noticing her after a life-changing event." "

https://www.cbr.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-reboot-kingston-vernes-carson/
( for the rest )

I don't know about anyone else? But I'm taking a wait and see approach.

***

I'm cranky partly due to the weather, and work frustrations. Taking tomorrow off - because we're finally getting a nice weekend. I'll do laundry tomorrow as opposed to tonight - when I'm cranky. I don't like doing it late - since there are folks living in the basement apartment and I like to be considerate of them, even if others aren't.

Tags:

btvs,
work

It's been beastly hot this week in NYC. It got to 98 degrees in the Financial District - felt like a 101. With 55% humidity. The commute home involved wearing a fan around my neck, and praying for the best. I lucked out - while there were transit signal issues earlier, they were resolved by the time I got to the subway, and due to the extensive delays earlier - I was able to catch an express home. They had a power outage at West Fourth Street. Took them all day to fix it, apparently, and stalled the system. It was at 8:30 am. I was fine - I got to work by 7:27 am.

Meanwhile, they apparently had a random shooter in Midtown yesterday - who invaded the Blackstone Building and shot a lot of folks, before shooting himself. They were talking about on the news. It was at 345 Park in Manhattan (far from where I work - I work in the Financial District.). I was no where near it - thankfully, nor was anyone that I knew.

I'm sleep deprived again, which meant feeling off all day. My digestive issues kept me awake last night, along with too much matcha yesterday - so wired. My body wouldn't let me sleep. And kept waking me up. I did get about 3 hours, or a little over, and one hour of deep sleep. But alas, it was painful. I ended up waking up at 5:16 am, and gave up and took a shower at 5:45. As a result, I got to work early - and didn't have to take a shower when I got home. But made it hard to focus today. I wisely did not have a lot of caffeine today, and instead of a matcha latte - got a zero sugar vitamin water. Also sinus head

***

July Question a Memage:

27. Do you like honey?

Yes. I like raw honey best. I use it as a substitute for sugar for the most part, if at all. I rarely do. I don't add sugar to anything.

28. Jigsaws were invented in the mid-18th century by a cartographer called John Spilsbury, who thought that mounting a map on wood and cutting it into interlocking shapes would make an informative game for children and students. When was the last time you made a jigsaw (how many pieces did it have)?

I've never made a jigsaw. I've put together jigsaws, but I've never made one.

29. Do you know anyone who is a twin?

Yes, several. A co-worker and Carnegie Hall's music coordinator have an identical twin. Two of my cousin's kids are fraternal twins, and my paternal grandmother was a fraternal twin.

***

Can an old television show be revived or rebooted successfully?

Depends on the television series? I mean if it's clunky, and they do a reboot that fixes a bunch of things - then yes. See Battle Star Galatica, although a lot of fans of the previous version were upset with the reboot, but they were in the minority. Also there was a good thirty years between?

But can they reboot a series with a devoted fandom?

Star Trek continued its series with Star Trek Next Generation, after it did a bunch of movies - and it had a die-hard fandom. But it had a world in which you can do that? And STNG was kind of just another series in the world, not a reboot.

Science Fiction it works very well with - because the thrust of Sci-Fi is the world-building.

Fantasy? Hard to know. I'm not sure about Buffy.

I don't know about anyone else? But I watched Buffy for the characters not the world, and I felt Whedon kind of sucked at world-building? A lot of things contradicted each other. And some were ahem, problematic, such as the Watcher's Council. I was never really that interested in the world - unlike Star Trek or Star Wars.

Then again, I'd have said the same thing about Battle Star Galatica - but I loved that reboot. But it was an actual reboot. The characters were revised, recast and the world expanded upon.

Also, another issue with Buffy - I was more interested in certain characters than others. That may make a difference? I don't know. I'd like to think I'd continue to watch - if Spike wasn't in it, or I didn't see any of the others. But I don't know if that's true?

Anyhow, thoughts?

Tags:

I may have had one too many matcha latte's today. Hopefully, I will sleep tonight.

Buffy Reboot Casting News

I'm not crazy about this? It feels too much like a retread. But I may be wrong? Also there's one too many new regulars or new characters, and none of them look intriguing. Plus a lot of men, and not many women - the original series had more women or female characters and built in new characters as it went.
( excerpt )

Here's IGN's take on the above:

https://www.ign.com/articles/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-reboot-casting-confirms-its-new-scooby-gang-backing-up-previous-leaks

"As previously announced, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong will lead the project, while Gellar will appear in its first episode, then appear afterwards in a recurring role.

The rest of the cast are all new to the franchise, TVLine reports, and include Severance's Sarah Bock as Gracie, Law & Order: SVU's Ava Jean as Larkin, and Faly Rakotohavana as Hugo. Major Crimes' Daniel di Tomasso plays Abe, while Frasier's Jack Cutmore-Scott is the mysterious Mr. Burke.

Gellar, meanwhile, was credited on the new script as Buffy "Anne" Summers, which some fans have suggested might mean the Slayer is once again attempting to operate under the radar, and using her middle name as a pseudonym.

While Gellar, who acts as an executive producer on the new show, has said she was keen for the reboot to feature a mix of new and returning characters, including those who were no longer alive, it's perhaps not surprising to see the series' core cast confirmed as all-new characters.
( Read more... )

And the casting breakdown leaked on LJ:

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/130240609.html
( see below )

Again, mixed feelings? I'll try it of course. But I'm going in with low expectations. So much will depend on the writing? It can go in any number of directions.

Unfortunately, they may well need more than just Gellar to pull in the Buffy fandom, since the vast majority of it wasn't watching for just Buffy, and many were watching for the supporting characters.

That said? I remain convinced that Marsters is involved somehow. Along with many others from the original cast (or Disney wouldn't have stopped them from doing Slayers on audio books) and Marsters wouldn't be as tight lipped about it and what he's working on. They don't need to do much - just bring them in as ten minute cameos or recurring - to pull in an audience.

Also they are just shooting the pilot at the moment. Whether it airs, has a lot to do with how well the pilot is received by Disney.

They are also rebooting the Buffy and Angel comics, again.

Kelly Thompson Takes over the Buffy and Angel Comics

( Excerpt )

Sigh. I have no idea who Kelly Thompson is? I liked "The Last Slayer" best, with a 50 year old Buffy. But that's just me.
***

It's brutally hot here. In the 90s, feels like the 100s. (I let you figure out the translation to C, since I'm too lazy to google it.) The high today was 94, felt like 104 with the humidity. It's currently 90 degrees. I have A/C on and damn it's costing me a lot this summer. It has to be on all day - or it will work harder to cool down the apartment, and medications, etc could be affected.

Oh well, at least the smoke is gone - it's 58 air quality today as opposed to 100-138 over the weekend.

***

I was enjoying the Billy Joel Documentary And So it Goes which is coupled with an album of over 155 songs also entitled And So it Goes, Sunday Night on HBO. It told me a lot of things about Billy Joel that I didn't know - such as how Elizabeth Webber was the love of his life and his manager for a good portion of his career. She's interviewed in the documentary, and is responsible for getting him situated in the music business, and ensuring his songs became hit singles - by picking the ones that would take off such as "Just the Way You Are" - she was a better judge of his music and what would become a hit than he was or his producer. Just the Way You Are - is the song that got Paul McCartney's attention and the one McCartney wished he wrote. (Seriously Paul? You can't write all of them.)

Just the Way You Are

Although my favorite Joel songs were the stories he told, such as The Piano Man and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.

****

I'm ignoring the news at the moment, and side eyeing it? Or looking at it from the corner of my eye. I can't do anything about it. And it's not like I don't care - I do. But I can't help the Ukraine (there's a lot of Ukrainians in my area and building), and I can't help Gaza. Or any of the other places around the world that are suffering and under fire (sigh, there are so many). I think humans like to kill each other? Today on the morning news - they informed me that over 3000 ghost guns had been taken off the streets. Ghost Guns = illegal guns, that have been purchased illegally. Also shootings have gone down in NYC since they've started the program. There was bad news too, but I jumped away from it.

Work was..frustrating? But I let it go. I edit, then someone else edits, then someone else edits, then I see it again - and I think okay, why did I bother? And why did they make those edits? I'm trying to copy their edits from other reviews, but they aren't consistent, and contradict themselves.
I'm also apparently the financial guru, by default - no one else cares about the financials. So someone has to - me. This amuses me to no end. Oh well, I only have three - four more years left, possibly just three depending.

Example?
( Read more... )

***

Here's a photo:

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Sandy's Musings of the Moment

MCU Meme - List - How many of these have you seen? (among other things)

Science Fiction Franchises - How many Star Wars and Star Trek series/films have you seen?

The Return of the Weekly Good News Report

Thursday is catching up on memage...and is sleepy

Wednesday is pondering deep thoughts ....because it is bored

This that and the other thing...

Lazy Ass Sunday Blues

Walking about on a mild and lovely summer's day

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Nightmare commute and sigh, more on the Buffy reboot

Questions mostly, and ugh, it's hot.

Buffy Reboot Casting News, Buffy & Angel Comics Reboot, among other things

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