promethia

1. A discussion on a thread elsewhere got me to thinking about problematic authors, actors, directors, and artists - whose behavior may or may not have affected how I view them and if I can watch or read or listen or look at their art any longer. And to the degree that I can separate the artist from the work? (Leaving aside of course the tricky subject of whether they are sending the proceeds or earnings from their work to nefarious and troublesome causes.)

Generally speaking, this is a personal thing, and people's mileage varies.

There's also a lot of variables at play. It depends on what the artist did, who they did it to, if they are still doing it, if they paid for it, how long ago it happened, and if whatever it was that happened happened as a direct result of the art or in the process of creating the art.

This of course involves work that I've not seen, read or heard yet, or didn't see, read or hear prior to the action or wasn't aware the action was occurring when I saw, read or heard it.

Examples?
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2. Work is work. I spent a lot of time doing something that needless to say was headache inducing. But it was a lovely day, if a might bit chilly - lows in the 40sF, highs in 50sF. I wore a jacket over a sweater and was fine. Took a walk around the piers near Battery Park, watched the boats, stood in the sun, and favored my knee a bit on the way back.

3. Tomorrow, I have to get a mammogram - the annual physical mammogram. ( Read more... )

4. A bit of good news? They didn't find any more tumors (cancerous or otherwise) in Sisinlaw. The CAT scan came back negative - well except for the one tumor they are removing. But there's nothing else but that one. We are very relieved.

5. Mother: Do you remember Dave Mannverick.
Me: No, why?
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The lovely thing about getting older? Is I forget stuff.
I like forgetting stuff. I just wish I had more control over it - ie. "I don't like that particular memory - I know let's delete it - gone now."
They did a movie about that once? ( Read more... )

5. I should do meme questions...

Question a Day Meme - October

20. Today is International Chef’s Day (created in 2004 by esteemed chef Dr Bill Gallagher) and is focused on educating children around the world about the importance of eating healthy, promoting the career of chefs and helping change local communities. What was the last thing you made from scratch to eat?

A salad

21. It’s International Infection Week – we all got into the habit of carrying around some hand sanitiser back in the C19 days. Do you still do that?

Yes. I live in NYC? Although I don't always use it? But I have a ton of it. I have it at work. I have it in my bag. It's NYC?

22. Have you ever seen a Fabergé egg?

Yes. Once in a museum, and often in pictures. I've only a vague memory of it.

23. Michael Crichton was born on this day in 1942. Have you read any of his novels (e.g. Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery) or seen anything he screenwrote or produced (ER, Twister, Looker)?

Yes. I had friends who loved his writing and rec'd it. So I've read quite a few - borrowed.

Read: Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Rising Sun, Timeline (I only remember Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, and Rising Sun)

Movies adapted from his books that I've seen: Rising Sun, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Disclosure, The Great Train Robbery

Television series and films he wrote? ER, Twister

Remember and Recommend? Andromeda Strain (it's excellent), Jurassic Park, ER and Twister

Rising Sun and Disclosure probably doesn't date well. And Timeline was horrible.

Crichton fell out of favor due to the fact that he didn't believe the science behind climate change.

Still struggling with the sinus migraines - start with fullness in the ears, and it's down hill from there. But, good news? I've figured out a way to fend them off at the pass - I take a decongestant plus two migraine headache meds (basically generic motrin), an antihistamine, and wear the anti-nausea wrist bands. Seems to be working. No clue what causes them - best guess is shifts in the weather and allergies, plus stress.

My disc space on my work computer is too full - so I keep trying to delete files. If that doesn't work - I'll contact IT and ask for more disc space.
It needs to have at least 8.75 KB for all of their updates. You know you failed as a software engineer if the system you created has multiple updates.

Sometimes I miss the old Windows Operating systems, which seemingly had less updates.

***

It's cooler here? In the low 50s, dipping into the 40s at night, and the upper fifties to mid-sixties during the day. Jacket weather. And alas the radiators are on again. Although not too bad. I had them turn off the one in my bedroom. I have a radiator and a pipe, both get hot, one had to be turned off. It still gets a little warm but not overtly so.

Pretty day though. Lots of blue sky. I took a walk, ran across a young film documentarian on the piers, while snapping my own shots with my iphone. He had a complicated and professional camera.

I watched the boats glide on by. They were moving faster than I was.
( barge )

One of which appeared to be a privately owned fishing boat, staked out in the middle of the harbor.



And took time to look at the flowers. (Some not pictured, had a lot of honey bees and small butterflies.)

( flowers )

***

Television Review

I finished East of Eden - the most recent adaptation. I've seen three and read the book. I recommend the book - mainly because it is broader in scope and doesn't just focus on the tragic Trask family. There's the Hamiltons, Lee, and various other side characters that are not featured in either the mini-serieses or the original Elia Kazan/James Dean film.

This adaptation is fairly similar to the 1981 version, except in some respects the casting is slightly better for the leads, also Florence Pugh plays Cathy with a touch more vulnerability than Jane Seymour did, and Cathy is written as far more sympathetic. Her sociopathic behavior is partially explained by a history of abuse, and a dark passage in her childhood, that is alluded to, but unexplained. This is quite different than the other versions, and the book - in that Cathy is present as a sociopath without much if any explanation.

Unlike others who have reviewed this mini-series, I found Adam to be for the most part unlikeable. ( spoilers lie within )