The Ides of Oscar

I'm glad I had so many naps today, we stayed up way too late watching the Oscars and a little bit of the World Baseball Classic during the ads (Oscar ads are not as inspiring or fun as they used to be, seems like everyone goes for their debuts during the Stuporbowl now), and for the most part I enjoyed them. I had no horse in any race here, so I mostly watch it for the fashions. I still don't get the whole sculpted-front dress thing, but it's cool to see feathers making a comeback. Goodness knows how rested I'll be for tomorrow's work-related challenges. At least I remembered to steam my green blouses for Tuesday in Manhattan!

Iran So Far Away

White Rabbits! We finally got out this morning to see my uncle at the assisted living facility a few blocks away from us, but we were too optimistic about the temperature and froze our tushies off between the parking garage and the building where his apartment is. In any case it was a lovely visit, I passed along the matzoh blanket I'd gotten Mom for her 94th birthday (the last and best birthday gift I ever got her), and it appears the power steering belt has finally quieted down after giving off one last screech when the car was stopped by the entry gate. I still need to take it in for an oil change at the least, which may be the coming weekend if the weather holds up. Now we're watching the Actor awards (the new name for the SAG awards) and it's actually an enjoyable show. It doesn't hurt that host Kristin Bell has a lovely set of pipes; I kept listening to her and picturing Ana from Frozen (and Frozen II, probably my fave Disney animated movie of recent vintage), but I don't consider that a bad thing. And Samwise Gamgee makes a terrific new SAG president as far as I'm concerned. But what's with the sculpted fronts of those gowns? A way to show boobs without having to use clothing tape? Ah well, have to occupy my mind with something given the current events horrorshow...

Bye Bye Olympics, Hello Blizzard Prep

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Olympics closing ceremonies. I always like the ceremonial stuff itself, even though the TV commentators don't shut up and the network goes to commercials constantly mid-proceedings. But I didn't much care for the operatic theme of today's event, although I did love the costumes (I bet they probably even outshone Johnny Weir). And the jingoism... my word, it's exhausting! The whole point of the Olympics is supposed to be athletes from all nations getting to know one another amid friendly competition; instead it's increasingly become US Against The World, and I find that highly distasteful. It's as if we deliberately want to perpetuate the stereotype of The Ugly American. Watching the BAFTA awards rebroadcast this evening was a nice antidote. Closer to home, the blizzard has begun and my dearest hope is that our power doesn't go out with the high winds to come.

Winding Down

Another work week done, another scramble to make plans before a big storm. And there was so much I wanted to do now that I thought the snow from the last big blast was finally melting! The car needs an oil change, I need to start making medical appointments, and I've got to get to that bank that isn't open on weekends. But not today. Today was all about Olympics watching and getting my work week wrapped up. Tomorrow will be a mad scramble at the supermarket (thank goodness we don't need much) before another nor'easter wallops us. Let's hope this one melts more quickly!

Done Fall on a Friday

No no, not me. I actually slept through the night and didn't even need the neck pillow to prevent that rhomboid muscle (I assume) from flaring up and causing my right arm to tingle or throb in pain. That seems to be taking the longest to heal, and its pain has shifted from nighttime to daytime, which is actually a good thing as sleep is probably the best healer. Taking things easy over the weekend, more or less, and watching Olympics certainly helps, although I fear Friday the 13th got to the male skaters today...

Seasons Change and So Do I

We had planned on a sushi lunch in the Scarsdale strip mall that also houses a Super ShopRite, so we could stock up on some different Stuporbowl snackies than we usually get, but the temps dropped precipitously this morning after about a half inch of powder and we decided to play it safer and stick to the pharmacy and the nearby Stop & Shop in Yonkers. I'd been worried much of the night: will the 22-year-old car start in this cold? will I be able to leave the driveway with everything turning icy? can I even drive with my hand battered? how bad will the wind be? can we deal with the cold going to and from the car? All my fears were allayed in short order, we got all our shopping done, we were back home around noon and we spent the afternoon Olympic- and thermometer-watching. I think it's down to around 4 degrees Fahrenheit now and dropping, with the wind making everything feel much worse, but I have no further plans to go out until at least Wednesday. Let's hope this helps my hand and knee heal more quickly!

Olympic Distraction

Being caught up on most job stuff, I had time to rest and recuperate from yesterday's spill by watching the opening ceremonies of the Whatever-Number-It-Is Winter Olympiad. As usual the US coverage of the ceremony was dreadful, with numerous ads and Oo-Ess-Eh worship tainting what appeared to be a very lovely evening in Milan and Cortina. As usual, some sports were already underway and we caught a number of those; I tend to be partial to the ice skating, where the team competition got underway with said Oo-Ess-Eh in relatively deserved first place. I mean, I don't fault the athletes, I fault the jingoism, which will probably be unbearable in the summer of '28 when the games are currently scheduled to be in Los Angeles. Still, it was a nice distraction from the hand and knee pain, which I suspect I'll have for awhile, particularly with the coming colder snap...

Wintry Wonderland

Wow, I can't believe I'm almost tired of A Christmas Carol movies this early! Various channels have already shown the Alastair Sim version, the George C. Scott version, and of course Disney's animated version with Jim Carrey doing half the voices. Just finished rewatching Frozen II and I can't tell you how many times I've seen the same Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, etc. musicals repeatedly the last couple of weeks. Definite soul-candy for me. Earrings are all sorted, we're snowed in and it's below freezing all day so we won't be going anywhere, and I'm fine with that.

Silly Site o' the Day

Been watching movies on and off between work stuff all day, so I'm particularly enamored of the History of the Wilhelm Scream:

 Via Laughing Squid.

Sticking Close to Home

Yeah, the intestinal thingie isn't quite gone yet. Fortunately I was able to get us to the supermarket and back, and shopping went relatively quickly, so I could spend the day trying to sleep it off (no help so far, but there's always sleeping tonight) and eating soothing food. TV was crap again, both NY baseball teams went down in flames, so we polished off a couple more episodes of QI on BritBox, a show which never fails to lighten my mood. We have to pace ourselves before we've gone through the entire season. And now, to bed once more...

Medical Dropoff

A couple weeks back while looking for an old vanity mirror in my old vanity, I realized I could no longer easily open one of the drawers because it was so full of old medications I no longer take. Robin mentioned the pharmacy we frequent had a dropoff service, and today (after the Tour de France stage ended) seemed to be the perfect day to safely dispose of the stuff. Easy peasy, just like dropping off library books or parcel post back when they had mailboxes with pull-down slots that took those things. Alas, they wouldn't take my unused Ozempic needles (the kits always come with extras), so I'll have to figure out a way to rehouse those. We followed that trip with, again, lunch at our favorite conveyor belt sushi place, enticing us to give them our custom by offering coupons if we eat there twice this month. My QR code was scanned in making us halfway eligible, and lo and behold when I arrived back home I found the place had also deposited three $5 off coupons into my account. Not sure I can use them all at once, but I'm certainly going to try next time! No baseball today but lots of binging, including the very enjoyable British procedural Shakespeare & Hathaway, which hooked me right off the bat. Clever writing, good performances, very nice chemistry among all the actors. Highly recommended!

Silly Site o' the Day

This is a cute idea, a website that collects "title drops" - as BoingBoing explains, "when someone says the name of the film, in the film."

Mom and the Deluge

I love my mother, of course, but I do not love the 1+ hour drive in the driving rain, and the weather was pretty white-knuckled horrid today. Still, I found a decent spot at the long-term care facility, and had a lovely visit with her before turning back around and braving the elements again. That chicken soup I made yesterday was a godsend upon my return. We've just started watching Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary show, which has been excellent thus far, and I fear I'll be up until the end (of course they're ending with Paul McCartney as they know nobody can follow him) and pretty unable to function at 100% capacity tomorrow. Fortunately, with the wind having gotten up to howling strength, I get to work from home and perhaps pace myself a bit.

Stupor Bowl

Wow. Entertaining game (except for the cutaway shots of the orange shitgibbon and his Aussie enabler), some fun ads (love the Seal one!), and a helluva halftime show that's going to be discussed for some time to come, especially considering it was not necessarily for us white people. Just terrific, well worth staying up for, even more so after watching Liverpool's B-squad lose their FA cup game this morning. I'll probably be walking around like a bit of a zombie tomorrow, but I knew what would happen going in.

Of Groundhogs and Grammies

I had to nap periodically during the day, as I got up early to watch the silliness that is Groundhog Day in Why Are We Even Here PA, and stayed up late to watch as much as I could of the silliness that is the Grammy Awards. Trust me, the latter was far better than the former. Lots of amazing music, enough to make this Boomer really excited about the current state of things and even contemplating purchasing some of the tunes. The silliness was mostly sartorial in nature - I mean, Will Smith's son wore a miniature house on his head (a miniature horse would have been better methinks), and every other woman wore a "cutout" outfit, meaning clothing featuring barely any cloth, but it's the Grammies so it's probably expected. And again, I'm a Boomer so you know, probably a prude. Trevor Noah has been a bit too ingratiating and insincere as usual, but inoffensive enough. All in all a very good showing.

Half Staff

I don't want to think about where our country is going for the next four years. So many of my friends and acquaintances are bound to suffer. Where I'm bound, I have no idea. I stayed far, far away from any news today, catching up on Outlander (only three episodes behind now!) and other TV, reading comics, and generally enjoying the day off. The snow turned crispy and icy and we can't really go anywhere due to the cold anyway. I wish I could retreat into myself until 2029 but I can't, so my empathy forces me to reconsider making art, as our minds and our joy are about the only things They can't take from us. Now I just need to find out what my art is. Tomorrow's it's cooking, and in this cold I can only think one day at a time.

Silly Site o' the Day

Another work week ended, another weekend of binging and reading to look forward to. It's the little things! Speaking of binging, I'm sorry Star Trek: Lower Decks has ended, but we'll always have this behind-the-scenes look:

Via Laughing Squid.

Having Done

All the holiday cards and decorations are filed away, the finances are caught up on, the New Year's Eve champagne is finished, and I've rolled enough joints to probably last me through the winter. And now I rest. I mean, I don't have a choice, it's bloody cold out there and everything is done and my body doesn't like this weather. At least I don't feel drugged any more. On to the Golden Globes!

Silly Site o' the Day

With the short work week done, Robin and I finally caught up on the season ender of the Dune prequel, where lots of stuff happened that neither of us will remember by the time the next season begins. Meanwhile, Alasdair Beckett-King takes a whack at what happens when modern American writers tackle British period pieces:

Via Laughing Squid.

How Do You Solve a Problem like Dr. Doolittle?

I think I'm binging too many movies that only seem to come 'round at the holidays (but of course they play more often, it's just I feel more like watching them now). I rewatched the original Dr. Doolittle for the first time in forever, and now The Sound of Music is on but I'll probably turn away before the stormtroopers arrive. After all, I got a lot done today now that my body is obeying me again. In addition to getting back on the exercise bike, I roasted a whole mess of vegetables for dinner, got caught up on finances, and stuffed and addressed 75 holiday cards to friends, coworkers, and family, the last year we plan on doing so since the world of greeting cards is becoming increasingly antiquated, and I'm an Old often enough as it is. Say, did you ever notice that a melody snippet from one of the Dr. Doolittle songs sounds suspiciously like "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria"? It's true. Now, back to the Von Trapps.