Small Talk: The Quiver

[statsgirl]

We have two funds that are paid by a combination of employer and employee.  One is for retirement, the other unemployment insurance.

There is a problem though for people who are self-employed and do not pay into the mandatory fund.  They are entirely on their own when it comes to retirement.  Some people make out okay in retirement but others don't.  There is a move to have self-employed people also have access to a fund like that.

On 11/4/2017 at 8:41 AM, lemotomato said:

When I visited my relatives there last year, my uncle (in typical grumpy older guy fashion) could not stop complaining about how overseas investors were buying up property in Vancouver and driving up prices, then just letting them sit empty. It's such a big problem the government instituted an extra tax on vacant residences.

They brought one of those taxes in for Toronto too and it's cooled the market somewhat but not really enough.  Affordable housing is already a big problem here.  A big reason why I don't want Amazon to build their new headquarters here.

ETA: Chris Evans seems like one of the good guys.  And his tweets about his dog are adorbs

Edited November 7, 2017 by statsgirl

[LeighAn]

I've decided I feel sorry for Todd on Love it or List it Vancouver. The deck is stacked against him. Like he takes them around to all these houses and the people selling them have all their crap and clutter lying around that it takes away from the buyers ability to to see the homes potential. Then when they come home Jillians renovation is beautiful and clean and perfectly staged to get the owners to emotionally pull to keep their house (even though they will probably clutter up those spaces three weeks later themselves). Like I don't know which real estate agency the show uses to source these houses but they need to employ professional real estate stagers. 

[kismet]

I had a colleague do "House Hunters" and the show was completely rigged. Putting it in spoilers, for those who do not want the illusion lost.

Spoiler

She had basically already purchased the house, signed papers and put money down. So all of these other houses she was being shown, she basically could do nothing about it without having to go through a lot of hassle and financial loss. She was even shown a house she had already rejected.

I don't know if "love it or list it" is similar, but I can't imagine they put that much money into renovating without knowing exactly what is going to happen to it.

[statsgirl]

I know someone who used to work for LIoLI in Toronto.  She told me that the offer to move is real but most people choose to stay in their homes.  The cynic in me wonders if some of these are just people who were intending to stay and just want to have a reno done on their house for cheap (appliances are donated by the companies and decorator work is free).

[Starfish35]

I just ran across this today about Vancouver and the housing market there.  

I Left Vancouver Because Vancouver Left Me

[Mellowyellow]

Imagine if you had bought a few houses to stash away! Ahh if only we knew these things when we were younger!

[Starfish35]

@statsgirl, that dog video is adorable. :)

[LeighAn]

44 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

I know someone who used to work for LIoLI in Toronto.  She told me that the offer to move is real but most people choose to stay in their homes.  The cynic in me wonders if some of these are just people who were intending to stay and just want to have a reno done on their house for cheap (appliances are donated by the companies and decorator work is free).

Well I've been bingeing season 1 of Love it or List it and so far of 17 episodes Todd has convinced I think 3 people to List and the rest have opted to stay so I wouldn't be surprised if they sign up for free renos. At the same time again if the houses they were being shown were properly staged by professionals who know how to get rid of owners crap and make the houses look appealing there might be a more even spread between Love and List.

 

I started watching the Vancouver series because I watched the Australian one first and even though the Australia designer is more sophisticated in his designs then the Vancouver designer he pretty much only won 50% of the time because the clients are taken to homes that you can tell have been staged for sale.

 

I also like that unlike the Vancouver series there's less forced or scripted drama in the Australian series and they actually tell you whether the clients ended up buying other homes or not. 

 

Like Todd on some of his tours will literally be showing clients the junk room of people's homes (which most people have mind you) where as Jillian she makes beautiful rooms but she never really offers that much storage options for the clients and the amount of stuff you see them have at the beginning of the episode that I just know their beautiful clean well designed rooms won't stay like that haha. But all the clients see is this magazine ready designed room and they're won over. It's the same with the Australian version to. Beautiful sophisticated classy rooms but considering 90% of the time the clients problem is not enough storage that never seems to be really fixed. 

[statsgirl]

Did you see the episode with Mike Dopud?  (He played Viktor on the Arrow flashbacks s5.)  He and his wife have three kids, a mother-in-law who lives with them and their house had no doors.  He's someone I thought should have moved.

1 hour ago, Starfish35 said:

I just ran across this today about Vancouver and the housing market there.  

I Left Vancouver Because Vancouver Left Me

That's a sad statement.  I've heard of various ways people try to afford to live in Vancouver, including two families joining their funds and sharing a house in order to be able to afford it.

1 hour ago, Starfish35 said:

@statsgirl, that dog video is adorable. :)

He posted one a few months ago where he came home to his dog who tackled hugged him on the floor, wiggling in delight.

Edited November 8, 2017 by statsgirl

[LeighAn]

15 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Did you see the episode with Mike Dopud?  (He played Viktor on the Arrow flashbacks s5.)  He and his wife have three kids, a mother-in-law who lives with them and their house had no doors.  He's someone I thought should have moved.

That's a sad statement.  I've heard of two families joining their funds and sharing a house in order to be able to afford it.

He posted one a few months ago where he came home to his dog who tackled hugged him on the floor, wiggling in delight.

I looked him up. I don't think I've seen his episode yet but I'm weirdly addicted so give me time haha. 

 

I was shocked by how many houses in Vancouver have rental properties and how it's a desirable feature. 

[statsgirl]

Having a rental apartment on your property means that there's some income and makes the massive mortgage loan more affordable. 

It's not just Vancouver.  On my block, there are four basement apartments that I know of.

[LeighAn]

13 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Having a rental apartment on your property means that there's some income and makes the massive mortgage loan more affordable. 

It's not just Vancouver.  On my block, there are four basement apartments that I know of.

It makes sense. It's funny but we don't really have rental apartments like that where I live but we don't have many houses that are built with basements or apartments over garages either but that's certainly a smart way to pay off your mortgage. I've known though of people who subdivide their land and either sell off half to pay for the other half or build two houses to sell one to pay for the other though. 

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, LeighAn said:

apartments over garages

My city has made a real push for laneway housing, which is a house that opens out onto a laneway usually in the back of a lot.  I don't know how they get the water attached but it shows how desperate the situation is.

Another idea I've read about is tiny homes, especially for people with little income or who are homeless (some of whom lost their homes in the 2008 crash).  In Detroit, they have a program where they can rent to own. Homeless is a big problem here.   

[BkWurm1]

The problem with many of these Tiny Houses is so many states won't zone for them year round.  You'd think you could just toss it in a backyard but most cities won't allow it. 

[Starfish35]

Sooo......I just impulsively signed up for a Tumblr account.  It's new, and prone to be deleted without notice once I recover from sleep deprivation and regain my senses, but for the (likely brief) moment, it's Starfly76.  (Starfish35 was apparently already taken.)  I'm not sure what, if anything, I'm going to do with it yet, but....we'll see.  

Edited November 8, 2017 by Starfish35

[BunsenBurner]

• My brother in California bought his house because it had an apartment. He says it pays for 2/3 of his mortgage payment.  

Edited November 8, 2017 by BunsenBurner

[Starfish35]

May I ask a (probably dumb) Tumblr ediquette question?  (The Tumblr project is is still in the evaluation stage - lol.)

What is considered acceptable practice as far as reblogging other people's posts?  I used to think that it was fine as long as you didn't claim the posts as your own.  But I not too long ago ran across something that made me think that that reblogging even with credit is not always considered acceptable.  So....I'm just trying not to offend anyone and wondered what Best Practices were here. :)

------

In other news (since these posts were merged), Dynasty got picked up for a full 22 episode season; Valor did not.  

http://tvline.com/2017/11/08/dynasty-full-season-1-order-the-cw-reboot/

Edited November 9, 2017 by Starfish35

[lemotomato]

Dynasty got a full season order, and Valor is probably cancelled. That leaves 4 open spots in the spring schedule to fit 5 midseason shows (Black Lightning, Life Sentence, iZombie, The 100, The Originals). I wonder which one gets pushed to the summer?

[SmallScreenDiva]

18 minutes ago, Starfish35 said:

May I ask a (probably dumb) Tumblr ediquette question?  (The Tumblr project is is still in the evaluation stage - lol.)

What is considered acceptable practice as far as reblogging other people's posts?  I used to think that it was fine as long as you didn't claim the posts as your own.  But I not too long ago ran across something that made me think that that reblogging even with credit is not always considered acceptable.  So....I'm just trying not to offend anyone and wondered what Best Practices were here. :)

------

In other news (since these posts were merged), Dynasty got picked up for a full 22 episode season; Valor did not.  

http://tvline.com/2017/11/08/dynasty-full-season-1-order-the-cw-reboot/

Reblogging is perfectly acceptable, AFAIK. As long as you're not reposting things... meaning downloading what's posted and then reuploading it, even with credit, you should be fine. What was the incident that made you rethink reblogging wouldn't be acceptable?

[Starfish35]

2 minutes ago, SmallScreenDiva said:

What was the incident that made you rethink reblogging wouldn't be acceptable?

It was a secret on Fandom Secrets a few weeks ago.  I don't even remember what the secret itself said.  I just remember it generating a discussion in the comments about whether it was acceptable.  But it's possible that I, not being familiar at all with Tumblr, mistook "reposting" for "reblogging".  What you said makes perfect sense.  Thanks!  It eases my social media anxieties somewhat. :)

[calliope1975]

@Starfish35 All I do on Tumblr is reblog unless I'm crossposting from Instagram. I think I have less than 10 original posts. As SmallScreenDiva said, the key is to reblog and not repost. Reblogging should automatically give credit.

[Delphi]

Yeah,  I reblog people's post constantly and indiscriminately.   You can't own memes and gifs and I wouldn't care if anyone for mad at me about it. 

[bijoux]

Is anyone still watching This Is Us? I'm not finding it as engrossing as I did last season, but last week I came across a rerun while channel surfing, and there was Olivia. I forgot about how utterly annoying she was and realizing she's not there anymore immediately made this season better in my eyes. Also, I'm almost freaked out be how much I'm liking Toby this year.

Spoiler

In fact, given this show's love for misdirection, I'm now expecting Kate to actually carry the baby to term, and Toby to die from another heart attack.

[strikera0]

Damn, I knew of Allison Mack's involvement with NXIVM but I had no idea things have gotten this far out of control:

Former Smallville actress Allison Mack is 'second in command of sex cult under investigation for extorting, beating and branding its members - including Catherine Oxenberg's daughter

Edited November 9, 2017 by strikera0

[tv echo]

I never saw Tom Cruise's The Mummy, but I came across this review and almost threw up...
 
Is Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’ Dead in the Water? 
Brian Hadsell  November 9, 2017
http://www.tvovermind.com/entertainment-news/universals-dark-universe-dead-water

Quote

The Mummy was somehow even worse.  Although conceptually interesting, the Tom Cruise vehicle was the worst sort of Hollywood blockbuster: a shameless, trend-chasing cash-grab that got greenlit and released before Universal could so much as work out what they wanted it to be.  The fact that they tried to set up the undead princess Ahmanet into some kind of feminist icon living millennia before her time was forced to contend with the fact that she is defeated by Tom Cruise “heroically” raping her to death in what is easily the most morally reprehensible ending to any blockbuster in recent memory.

[Chaser]

I've seen that movie and while I don't remember much, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that.

[tv echo]

In a linked article, the reviewer said the rape was implicit...

Quote

And then there’s the finale.  The film – and especially Ahmanet actress Sofia Boutella – tries to establish the mummy as some kind of feminist icon who bucks the patriarchy and takes her fate into her own hands.  And while that’s fine in principle, that image dissolves when Tom Cruise’s character forces him on her in the film’s climax, implicitly raping her to death.  This is made even worse by the fact that there’s an actual feminist icon that people can go and watch in theaters right now.

http://www.tvovermind.com/movies/mummy-tom-cruises-confused-star-vehicle-limps-along-theater-near

[Chaser]

I still didn't get that.

[BkWurm1]

This is what they say on Wikipedia 

Quote

Nick puts up a determined fight, but he gives up and lets himself embrace Ahmanet, using it as a ruse to steal the dagger and shatter the ruby. 

[kismet]

11 hours ago, bijoux said:

Is anyone still watching This Is Us? I'm not finding it as engrossing as I did last season, but last week I came across a rerun while channel surfing, and there was Olivia. I forgot about how utterly annoying she was and realizing she's not there anymore immediately made this season better in my eyes. Also, I'm almost freaked out be how much I'm liking Toby this year.

  Reveal hidden contents

In fact, given this show's love for misdirection, I'm now expecting Kate to actually carry the baby to term, and Toby to die from another heart attack.

I'm still watching it. I found it a little wanting in the first couple of episodes. But I think it's finding it's groove again. The first episodes seemed like they were going heavy into predictable TV melodrama. I was getting concerned that it was trying to be a little too dark. However, the past few episodes have had such a quiet power to them, I found myself in actual happy & sad tears. Plus I find Randall & Kevin's plotlines to be the most fascinating. I'm finding Mandy Moore's acting a revelation this season, who knew she was actually a very good actress? And Beth is just as amazing as always. I'm also glad the show has not forgotten about William. I love Jack, but I'm glad we are getting to see the good Jack. It's bad enough we don't have him in the present, I was scared every episode was going to be him falling apart. Personally I think the big reveal in s2e1 is a red herring.

As for Toby, I'm still not liking him. I mean I don't actively dislike him. Although his scene with the urn was very enjoyable. But he is just there for me most of the time. But it makes it easier that I actively dislike adult Kate, so when they have scenes with just the two of them I mentally check out. While I don't wish anything bad to happen to adult Kate, I do wonder if she can just find a way to move away. People always say that Kevin is selfish & shallow. But honestly, Kate to me feels like the most shallow & self-absorbed of the adult Big 3. While I get that she deeply grieves her father, everything outside of that is just blaming other people or all about her. It doesn't surprise me that she loves Toby, their self-absorption is probably a common interest. I just feel bad for that baby.

[kismet]

21 hours ago, lemotomato said:

Dynasty got a full season order, and Valor is probably cancelled. That leaves 4 open spots in the spring schedule to fit 5 midseason shows (Black Lightning, Life Sentence, iZombie, The 100, The Originals). I wonder which one gets pushed to the summer?

I'm thinking the Originals is going to get the summer treatment. It's like BATB, where it has a built in loyal audience that the CW will know it can trust to tune in during the summer. I also think the CW is not trying to expand it's audience or use it to bring people to the other shows.

The 100 or IZombie could be in similar positions, but I think they perform well-enough for the spring.

[Starfish35]

It's also The Originals' final season, although apparently they are considering a spin-off based around Klaus's and Hayley's daughter. 

[bijoux]

And the hits keep on coming. I'm fully expecting for Hollywood to implode by the end of this calender year at the rate this is going.

Former Mad Men Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harrasment

I mean, Weiner gave off assholey vibes and has made his name writing offensive, abusive, sexist jerks, but he didn't need to embody them. 

If I can ask a favor. I can't read the whole article without a subscription, so if someone could copy paste it, or link another source, I'd appreciate it.

[strikera0]

Add Louis CK to the list as well:

Louis C.K. Crossed a Line Into Sexual Misconduct, 5 Women Say

The sad thing is, none of this is surprising. It was an open secret in the industry, but everyone looked the other way as long as they were profiting of these perverts. Right now, I'm just wondering when the likes of Alec Baldwin, Bryan Singer, Jared Leto, John Travolta and Dan Schneider finally get theirs. 

[BkWurm1]

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/matthew-weiner-accused-sexual-harassment-assistant-kater-gordon-mad-men-1201895936/

 

This site recaps the article.

Quote

 

And the hits keep on coming. I'm fully expecting for Hollywood to implode by the end of this calender year at the rate this is going.

Former Mad Men Writer Starts Nonprofit After Alleged Harrasment

I mean, Weiner gave off assholey vibes and has made his name writing offensive, abusive, sexist jerks, but he didn't need to embody them. 

If I can ask a favor. I can't read the whole article without a subscription, so if someone could copy paste it, or link another source, I'd appreciate it.

 

Edited November 9, 2017 by BkWurm1

[LeighAn]

Nooooo! You're telling me I can never watch Gossip Girl Smallville House of cards and now Mad Men again. Ugh Hollywood is trash. 

[bijoux]

12 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/matthew-weiner-accused-sexual-harassment-assistant-kater-gordon-mad-men-1201895936/

 

This site recaps the article.

Thanks.

[Mellowyellow]

@statsgirl any chance you're willing to give us a quick run down on your "Mattering" workshop?

Could be useful in raising the kidlet! I'm on a mission to raise the most well adjusted human I can (after successfully raising the most well adjusted golden) so I pounce on this kind of stuff!

[EmeraldArcher]

Hi, Everyone!  I haven't been as active on the boards this season because I've hit the jackpot profession-wise and am ecstatically building my empire, but I really miss being a part of this cozy community.  I still try to skim the threads to stay caught up on spoilers, and I've loved the Olicity-ness of this season.  It's been enough to make me sell out despite my resolve to quit after Baby Sara's erasure--shipper 4-eva!  

I feel like I've been catching up with old friends as I binge-read your posts every now and then.  Tonight, I realized that I haven't read anything from @wonderwall in awhile; I was looking forward to her triumphant commentary about Olicity rising. Is she still here?

I would like some advice from anybody who might know about wooing a celebrity to visit a university.  Given my field, I would love to invite Alan Alda to campus to give a public talk, but I'm not sure what the best way to reach out is.  He just published a book this summer--do I contact his publisher and frame it as a talk about his book?  Do I invite him via the Alan Alda Center at Stonybrook?  Or, do I reach out to his agent?  Is there an option that would be lower cost than another (e.g., book tour stop versus guest seminar)?  I don't know where to start or what to offer.

Lastly, @Soulfire, thank you so much for the gorgeous gifs you provide every week!  They've been the perfect little Olicity nuggets to sustain me until I eventually get around to watching the episodes.

[tv echo]

New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy in Works With Rian Johnson, TV Series Also Coming to Disney Streaming Service
By Cynthia Littleton  November 9, 2017
http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/star-wars-tv-series-disney-streaming-service-1202611408/

Quote

Disney has closed a deal with director Rian Johnson to develop a new “Star Wars” trilogy, and it is planning a live-action “Star Wars” TV series to air on its entertainment streaming service that is expected to launch by the end of 2019.

[way2interested]

Given the virtually no bts drama from the Last Jedi I'm not surprised that Kathleen Kennedy wants to lock Rian Johnson down for more, but I am always wary anytime when movies or tv shows jump down on something that no one has seen yet.

[Mellowyellow]

Up to the second last ep of Big Little Lies. It's not normally the kind of thing I watch but it's absolutely riveting. Nicole Kidman is amazing in it! I can see why she won the Emmy!

[kismet]

On 11/10/2017 at 0:40 AM, EmeraldArcher said:

Hi, Everyone!  I haven't been as active on the boards this season because I've hit the jackpot profession-wise and am ecstatically building my empire, but I really miss being a part of this cozy community.  I still try to skim the threads to stay caught up on spoilers, and I've loved the Olicity-ness of this season.  It's been enough to make me sell out despite my resolve to quit after Baby Sara's erasure--shipper 4-eva! 

I would like some advice from anybody who might know about wooing a celebrity to visit a university.  Given my field, I would love to invite Alan Alda to campus to give a public talk, but I'm not sure what the best way to reach out is.  He just published a book this summer--do I contact his publisher and frame it as a talk about his book?  Do I invite him via the Alan Alda Center at Stonybrook?  Or, do I reach out to his agent?  Is there an option that would be lower cost than another (e.g., book tour stop versus guest seminar)?  I don't know where to start or what to offer.

I would probably go to the publisher first and they probably have a flowchart of communication. If the talk is about the book, I imagine the publisher would handle talks in coordination with his team. Your university may also have a department or office that could help make professional overtures, especially if you are going for a celebrity level outside of just local celebrity. Alan Alda is definitely a higher level celebrity.

Congrats on hitting the jackpot!

The Olicity-ness of this season is also breaking down my resolve. However, I'm still only inching towards potentially binging later. I definitely need to make sure the season doesn't tank in the mid/end. That is where the writers tend to go wrong. Too many years have left me weary of trusting the writers too soon.

[kismet]

Looks like the sexual harassment apple doesn't fall too far from the Flarrowverse tree. I never liked the way AK handled women & women's issues on the shows. But it's disheartening to think that there may be some truth to these allegations. I would not be surprised if there was some truth to some of the allegations considering his handling of women on the shows. It's also not surprising that allegations would be made considering the long-standing issues of sexualization and mishandling of females in the comic industry as a whole.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/‘supergirl’-‘arrow’-producer-suspended-amid-sexual-harassment-allegations-by-warner-bros/ar-BBEPqtd?ocid=mailsignout

Edited November 11, 2017 by kismet

[bijoux]

[BkWurm1]

Nice to see a bit of power being wielded for good.

[LeighAn]

2 hours ago, bijoux said:

It'll be interesting to see what WB does. Gal is the star but Brett helped the WB finance the film and depending on what their deal is they could be looking at litigation if Brett decides to sue, given he's only been accused not proven to be a sexual harasser (even though he probably totally is). 

[Morrigan2575]

Good for her. I wonder if it'll work?

[lemotomato]

Variety summarized the harassment claims against "One Tree Hill" showrunner Mark Schwann. I've been seeing the actresses tweet each other in support, but I didn't know they wrote a letter describing how bad it was and that every female regular signed it. 

[bijoux]

I don't really follow Sophia Bush, but each time I come across her statements is a treat. I love how savage she grew up to be.

She's also retweeting support from some male cast members. So far I caught Lee Norris, Austin Nichols and James Lafferty.

There's also this from Hilarie Burton and Kate Voegele.