Small Talk: The Library

[Erratic]

Vibes to HostileDad. And to everyone dealing with their aging and sick parents.

[AnnieF]

Sorry, got too lingo-ey there. You "break" into semi or final rounds. So if you broke, you made it past early rounds and have a chance to compete for a trophy. To break in your very first tournament is really good; the F-ster was the only kid from his school in Novice division who broke (all the kids in Senior division broke [to move up to Senior division you have to trophy twice in Novice] but then, this school has a very strong debate program). The second day was much less of a disaster than it could've been; he informed his coach that he forgot his cases, she said, "find someone who'll let you run theirs," a classmate let him make copies of her cases and run them. So he got to compete, which is the main thing at this point -- he needs experience, more than anything.

He didn't break in his second day event, but he wasn't expecting to. He didn't trophy in his first day event, either, which has not discouraged him; he wants to do better. And "beat all those Manogue girls" (all three trophy winners were from the same school). Heh. I'm hoping that he gets some more positive reinforcement during today's'postmortem at school. He will get to see his first-ever judging ballots. That's always fun (I'll never forget the ballot I got that said "I hate your outfit." Um, sorry?) At any rate, he got the bug to compete, so it's all good. I just desperately needed him to do something social and out-of-the-house.

Big big vibes to your dad, Hostile.

Edited September 22, 2014 by AnnieF

[Loandbehold]

 

Positive vibes for Hostile's dad, work vibes for KPC, continuing vibes for Erratic and to all who need them.

Ditto.

 

My mom's housing court hearing didn't go as well as I'd hoped. The judge didn't seem too happy that my current offer is less than my original one (which the landlord had rejected out of hand and therefore no longer exists). She said that we can argue our case, and that we might have case law on our side, but "what is legal might be different from what is right." Both sides have submitted papers and the judge will issue a ruling at some point. If it goes against us, we pay the attorney more money and press on. At this point, I don't care how much it costs in attorney's fees, every penny that bastard landlord doesn't get is worth a thousandfold.

 

As for the game, it was a lot of fun. As you said, AnnieF, it was the Giants first win, which means that the person who holds the season tickets will have to give them to us until they lose. Not that I'm superstitious or anything. Getting to the game was easy. There is a shuttle bus from the Port Authority that costs $5 each way and takes 15 minutes if there's no traffic. My friends were "tailgating" - no cooked food, just sandwiches, chips, salads, and a carrot, with beer (no bottle opener) and water. Unfortunately, from where the shuttle bus left me off to where they were parked was a hike-and-a-half. Almost literally in "you can't get there from here" land. The trip back to the City took over an hour because of traffic. Not unexpected.

 

I'm glad the debate went well for the F-ster. I don't recall if you told us the issues and whether he was pro or anti.

 

Edited b/c "suspicious" and "superstitious" do not mean the same thing.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Loandbehold

[AnnieF]

I'm glad the debate went well for the F-ster. I don't recall if you told us the issues and whether he was pro or anti.

The topic was organ donation; essentially, should it remain opt-in (status quo) or should it be opt-out? You have to write a case for both sides, because you'll end up doing both. It's usually a coin flip to decide aff and neg, and there are three rounds of prelim competition.

I'm sorry that housing court didn't go as well as you'd hoped. But you're screwing the bastard landlord, so yay for that.

[Endeavour]

I'm glad the F-ster did well. How difficult did he find it to run someone else's cases?

Any timeframe on the ruling, LnB?

[KittenPokerCheater]

Curses upon the evil landlord LnB.  I hope he gets a huge karmic kick in the nether-parts. 

 

But I am glad that you got to see a good football game.  Must be a change from some of the baseball games you saw this summer,.  ;)

 

Huge vibes for Hostile's Dad and his checkup.

[trudi-tru]

what is legal might be different from what is right.

And that is why I could never be a lawyer.

 

Evil Landlord needs a bad case of leprosy.

[Loandbehold]

Agree on the all the evil landlord comments. As for the ruling, it's when the judge decides she wants to read the papers and issue a ruling. I also believe that in this case, what is legal is what is right. I'm just not optimistic that the judge feels the same way.

[Endeavour]

I also believe that in this case, what is legal is what is right. I'm just not optimistic that the judge feels the same way.

 

I tend to agree. The judge's comment isn't very encouraging but you never know.

[Loandbehold]

Message to the Universe: This is NOT the week to test my patience. Stop it. Now. That is all.

 

You may now return to your regularly scheduled lives. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Dear Universe- do not mess with LnB this week or I will hurt you.  Badly.

 

In fact, Universe, stop with the doing bad things to good people (and doing good things to bad people).  I'd go as far to say that I will turn this car around and give you a very big bang especially for you.

 

Bies for all.

 

In very small news, I watched Scorpion last night.  I'm a fan.  

[KittenPokerCheater]

Dear Universe- do not mess with LnB this week or I will hurt you.  Badly.

 

In fact, Universe, stop with the doing bad things to good people (and doing good things to bad people).  I'd go as far to say that I will turn this car around and give you a very big bang especially for you.

 

Bies for all.

 

In very small news, I watched Scorpion last night.  I'm a fan.  

[Endeavour]

Universe backing off vibes to LnB.

 

I cannot wait for this week to be over.

[Valny]

Universe backing off vibes to LnB.

 

I cannot wait for this week to be over.

Three more days, three more days Endeavour.

 

Vibing for Hostile's dad for good test results on Friday.

 

Hang in there Loandbehold.  You want me to get Helena to come over and take care of the evil landlord for you?

[Endeavour]

Three more days, three more days Endeavour.

 

I know, but it feels like a frickin eternity right now.

I'm going to check out Gotham now. I forgot it was starting yesterday.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Endeavour

[cko]

Vibes all around, especially Hostile's dad, LnB's shoulder, and F-ster's learning experience.

 

Oh the beginning of the Fall season, so much hope and promise, so much time spent in front of the TV. I'm watching:

--Gotham: it's a bit on the grim side, but I'm hoping it gets more fun with all the different characters popping up. Origin stories!

--Scorpion: more formulaic and corny than I was expecting, but could be fun.

--Forever: ditto, pretty standard considering the premise, which I do like, and the actors are appealing, so I'll stick with it. I think it was smart to run two episodes on consecutive nights.

--The usual comedies! Echo the love for The Mindy Project. Love Danny and pretty much everyone.

[Earl Is Dead]

I am sorry if it is an unpopular opinion, but I am so tired of Batman.  I just feel like we've been inundated with him for decades now and I do not feel the love, so I won't be checking out Gotham.  (However the write up on this site of the first episode made me laugh).  Forever looks like it could be promising, although I'll give it a few weeks to see if it lasts before I watch.

 

I'm not into the NCSI/CIS franchises, but Mr. Earl is.  Last night the New Orleans flavor debuted and I have to say I may not mind watching that one with him because Scott Bakula. He might be my oldest TV boyfriend - we've been together since I was in high school, and he just keeps getting better.

 

I hope the universe treats you better today LnB.  Ass-kicking vibes if it does not. 

[Chyna]

Loving The Mindy Project even more than last season. (How perfect was Rhea Perlman as Danny's mom?) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was pretty great too--plus, Agent Triplett in a military uniform (*fans self*).

 

Major vibes to LnB, KPC, Barphe, and everyone else who needs them.

[Loandbehold]

 

You want me to get Helena to come over and take care of the evil landlord for you?

Oh, if only you could, valny. And, I now have Helena's "I'm about to do some crazy, nasty shit" theme in my head. Scary thing is, I'm kind of liking it.

 

I watched Gotham and enjoyed it, although I do have problems with Gordon

first promising to find the killers, and then giving Bruce his badge and letting a 10? 11? 12? year old decide whether he gets to remain a cop.

Scorpion and Forever don't hold any interest. They both seem quite formulaic and no actors that I absolutely have to watch. Someone can tell me if Katherine McPhee still has the dead eyes and complete inability to emote that she had in Smash.

 

I hope the rest of the week goes better for you, Endeavor. And vibes to all others.

[Boliver]

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long; I just kinda fell off in here and then got behind and never caught up since I had the other place to fall back on. I read the last 2 months' worth yesterday and today and am now thankful this board isn't as busy as the old one. So, catching up: mongo adoption vibes to Erratic, who will make one half of a dynamic parenting duo if it goes through; one foot in front of the other vibes to Barphe who has so many plates in the air that it's staggering; housing verdict vibes to LnB and his mom; and FUCK MS vibes to my beloved AnnieF- I'm so sorry about this strange and painful trip you're on.

 

Past convos: my first car was a Datsun 1978 280Z, root beer colored, beautiful, and named Miranda. I miss her. The saddest and most depressing movie I've ever seen was 12 Years a Slave. SilverFox and I saw it in the theater with a friend, and by the end we were shaking with repressed sobs. I wish I'd seen it at home, because I still feel robbed of that ugly-faced cry. But I can't bring myself to ever watch it again; every American should watch it, alone, in a dark room. I disliked the first few new Doctor Who eps, except Saturday's I liked a lot. I'm just not feeling the Capaldi with Twinkie Face and wish he had a Donna around him instead.

 

I'm planning to give a try to black-ish, Gotham, Forever, Gracepoint, Constantine, Selfie, Madam Secretary, The Flash, and others I'm not remembering. I was looking forward to The Affair, but I cancelled Showtime and the landline phone last weekend to save $40/month. I think I'm pretty stressed about money right now with SilverKid shipped off to college and us paying for room and board and a bassoon, and still trying to claw out of other debt. I know it'll happen, but the money planner in me hates that we can't do it faster.

 

Sunday Assembly is still at the forefront of our lives and I'm deeply thankful for that, but I'm feeling kind of numb, and I don't know why. Maybe just typing that out will help. SF and I need a vacay, big time. He's been working until 9pm a lot of days, and a long series of his vacation days were taken up by him flying to Nebraska for the death of his grandmother, who was an onery person that nobody talked about at all during the non-funeral party at her house after. SF went up there to take care of his early dementia-d father, and drive him and his uncle to Boise, where he learned from his uncle that Obama plans to make millions of "illegals" instant Americans, and that global warming is from those tsunamis in Japan years ago. Noted. After that trip, SF and I went to Silicon Valley to train to become Humanist Celebrants who can perform weddings and funerals ("celebrations of life," for Humanists) and baby namings and shit like that.

 

Life is so good, though, that I can't believe my luck. I waver between appreciation of the wonderfulness that is my beloved, and stress, and numbness. Good times.

 

Lastly, from Buffiejunkie on 9/2:

 

Dusky, does she do this about everything, which is what I suspect?  You could always try the Boliver approach ™, "Are you aware that you correct me on every topic?   As a sheer probability problem, what do you think the odds are that I'm wrong every single time?  And why do you think you do that?"  Good luck.

Wow. That was uncanny. It's like you've met me.

[AnnieF]

I'm sorry about the numbth, Bol.

I have leveled up on Pain. Just when I think I'm at the top, there's another new dimension lurking. Fucking sucks.

Vibes to everyone in need.

(Btw who hates iOs 8? I do I do!)

[Boliver]

I'm lurving iOs 8 on the phone and the iPad. The dictation feature is WAY better: more accurate, it shows the words as you say them, and it's much faster. I had to delete my music off the iPad to make room for the update, but since I have iTunes match (where the music streams) and listen to Pandora all day at work so that works fine for me.

 

ETA that I forgot to add a "Yum" to the end of last week's The Mindy Project. Gulp.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Boliver

[Chyna]

So you can do weddings and such now, Bol? That's cool. Between you and Barphe, I'm almost disappointed (although not really) that I don't have a wedding or baby-naming coming up. I'd have the first ever Humanist-Jewish-agnostic-Catholic ceremony, and it would be awesome.

 

Sorry about the pain, AnnieF. I wish those experimental treatments had worked longer for you. :(

[Boliver]

We both still have to apply for the certificates from the American Humanist Association, and have 3 letters of rec (the Humanist Chaplain at Stanford who trained us will be one of those), but after that? Yep. There are 30 new Sunday Assemblies starting this Sunday, so it's getting global-y-er, and we'll need celebrants. The training was fantastic. SilverFox is looking forward to doing weddings, and I think I'd excel at funerals. There's a lot of writing and research and meeting with the families that goes into both, and my death-related legal experience at work will really help me. Huh. Just typing about it now makes me excited. That's seriously cool.

 

I still hold out hope that vein replacement/ dissolvable stents/ some other magical-science hybrid thing will come along for MS.

[buffyjunkie]

The topic was organ donation; essentially, should it remain opt-in (status quo) or should it be opt-out? You have to write a case for both sides, because you'll end up doing both. It's usually a coin flip to decide aff and neg, and there are three rounds of prelim competition.

Damn, I used to love this shit.  Nothing better than arguing a side and winning, and then turning around and arguing the other side and winning that too (not in the actual debate mind you, just afterwards...amongst us geeks.)  Go F-ster.

 

OK, so I just realized that when I reply to a post I apparently can't cut and paste from the previous posts, so here goes.

 

Fuck MS and the horse it rode in on nine ways to Sunday.

 

Universe, don't make me get some powerful people out of the tub to take care of LNB.   You may not win, but you'll still be a brown-coat to me :)

 

Boliver, met you and love you.  Sounds like you've entered burn-out territory.  Hope you and the SilverFox get some well-deserved vacation time.

 

Crap, the boy just reminded me that I missed SHIELD.  Did I miss Orphan Black as well?  'Cuz I love me some Helena.

 

OK, so here is some messed up stuff from my life.  The girl is graduating and in putting together a little tribute for the yearbook I've been going through old photo albums.  And damn we were all so young, and so pretty, and so in love.  And now so many of those people are gone, including our younger and more hopeful selves, and we wasted so much time stressing about stupid stuff and beating ourselves up on how we never measured up and now I'm all weepy.  <Anya voice>And why?  Why can't we just go back and sit together talking and laughing and not caring that we're poor and drinking fruit punch or whatever?

 

On a happier note, due to a last soccer tournament in FL, the spousal unit, girl, and I will be visiting Universal Studios for Harry Potter.  I welcome suggestions as to what we absolutely must see and do in our two days. 

Edited September 24, 2014 by buffyjunkie

[Erratic]

Oh wow! Boliver, life is very exciting for you right now. I kind of hope one of us gets married soon so you can be our Joey :)

I hope the numbs go away!

[KittenPokerCheater]

Fuck MS and the horse it rode in on nine ways to Sunday.

 

Yes yes yes!  Also, I'm adding cancer and the LnB evil landlord to the list.

 

Annief, I'm sorry you've leveled up on the pain.  I hope you have something to help with the pain part.  

 

I've always wanted a two minions (for comedic love), a hulk (to knock things over for me when I'm mad) and now I want a Helena (to eff up all those who wrong me or my friends).

 

I understand that Jeter is retiring and all of NYC and the tri state area is going into mourning.  Condolences, but oy, the local news outlets are treating it like a presidential funeral. 

 

So cool to see you here cko- miss you.  I'm iffy on Forever, mostly because it feels a bit clunky.  I onboard with Scorpion (even over Sleepy Hollow, go figure).  I have a soft spot for awkward adorkable people saving the world.  Hate that Cat McPhee is in it, though.  The mindy project, arrow, checking out the flash...oh and doctor who.  Orphan Black isn't coming back fast enough, I think.

 

Happy relaxing vibes for ALL.

[Endeavour]

Vibes to all who need them. I'm hoping we all find a way to balance everything going on in our lives (work in progress for me!), and I really hope the good outweighs any difficulties we're having.

 

I am sorry if it is an unpopular opinion, but I am so tired of Batman.  I just feel like we've been inundated with him for decades now and I do not feel the love, so I won't be checking out Gotham.  (However the write up on this site of the first episode made me laugh).  Forever looks like it could be promising, although I'll give it a few weeks to see if it lasts before I watch.

 

I'm not into the NCSI/CIS franchises, but Mr. Earl is.  Last night the New Orleans flavor debuted and I have to say I may not mind watching that one with him because Scott Bakula. He might be my oldest TV boyfriend - we've been together since I was in high school, and he just keeps getting better.

I haven't watched all of the Batman movies, so I'm not feeling overloaded. I'm giving Gotham a try. I thought the first ep was pretty good, although I agree with LnB that there were a few issues. I used to watch the original NCIS, but there was a problem with my DVR where I lost all the eps, and I haven't gone back to it. Maybe I'll check out this new version. 

  

(Btw who hates iOs 8? I do I do!)

 

Oh no, why? I don't defend Apple as much as I used to, but I actually thought this new OS had some good improvements.

 

I'm iffy on Forever, mostly because it feels a bit clunky.  I onboard with Scorpion (even over Sleepy Hollow, go figure).

 

I'm not familiar with Forever or Scorpion, but, if you're liking Scorpion more than Sleepy Hollow, I think I'll check it out.

I didn't think I was going to watch the Affair, but the writeup in the link that Valny posted convinced me to give it a shot.

buffyjunkie - you can click the quote mark under any posts you want to reply to as you're reading along. Then when you go to reply, click the button that says "reply to xx quoted post(s)." They'll all be pasted into the reply box and you can edit as necessary. They will even carry across threads.

[Chyna]

blackish was decent. I think it's one of those shows with average writing made funnier by the actors. Anthony Anderson is really good in this, and those kids are freaking adorable. Lawrence Fishburne as crotchety grandpa just makes me feel old.

[cko]

I liked Black-ish but not sure if enough to stick with it. I can't wait for Orphan Black. OOh Bol, next time you come to the Bay Area...

 

Sorry about the pain, AnnieF, fuck MS.

 

So cool to see you here cko- miss you.

 

Thanks KPC--I'm here almost every day, but it's weird, my life just hasn't been comment-worthy of late. :-)

[trudi-tru]

I think it's perfectly normal to feel nostalgic when you get to certain points in your life, like your younger child graduating.

There's still a lot to come for you and your family, buffyjunkie.

 

the spousal unit, girl, and I will be visiting Universal Studios for Harry Potter.  I welcome suggestions as to what we absolutely must see and do in our two days.

If you guys are into rides, there are two in the Harry Potter section at Universal Studios: one's a roller coaster and the other is like a simulator type thing.

Even if you don't want to do the ride, you can still do the castle tour, which I recommend.

Don't do the wand shop. I waited in line for like an hour just to see a guy waive his wand around and making lights turn on.

You obviously have to get the butterbeer. Duh.

 

Nice to see you, Bol. Glad to hear life's good.

 

Pain relief vibes for Annie. Fuck MS.

 

If I ever get married (unlikely) it'll be in the US with both Barphe and Boliver officiating. You can take turns speaking. Like a duet. With Chynette and TinyC as bridesmaids.

[Ace Hansen]

Virtual hugs to everyone. I feel huggy today.

 

I really enjoyed the return of Sleepy Hollow - I'm trying to not let increased expectations for the show get me down. Shows you think will be terrible but then turn out to be fun are great, but then maybe one expects too much for the second season and sets the bar too high? So I'll try to keep my brain turned off.

 

I watched Gotham because I was home sick and had time, but am really only intrigued by Selena Kyle. I'd like a show just about her and Bruce and Alfred, and I really don't care about Jim Gordon's furrowed brows of ethical dilemma.

 

Agents of Shield was fun - I really like wosserhername, uh Skye's new look. And

totes crazyballs

Ward is really funny to me. I was sleepy, though, and didn't follow who all the new people were or what the hell was going on at the end.

Coulson was doing everything in the episode to steal a plane?

Edited September 25, 2014 by Ace Hansen

[KittenPokerCheater]

I will happily concede that Sleep Hollow is better than Scorpion, but somehow, the show has just lost me.  I sort of wish it was more fish out of water fun than x-files myth/arcs.  It gets too convoluted for me.

 

I, too, have Batman fatigue.  Which is why I'm not watching.

 

I like Ward.  I might be in the minority, but I want a redemption storyline for him.  Hey, if Angel/Spike can do it....and Ward already has his soul.  ;)

 

Happy New Year/Rosh Hasshanah for everyone who celebrates.  A shiny new year, what's not to love?

[Chyna]

Sleepy Hollow is kind of like Doctor Who in that the internal logic doesn't always hold up, but it's so damn fun that you can forgive. I also didn't really notice this until the premiere--probably because Jenny wasn't really a main character until the end of last season--but it's got one of the most diverse casts on TV right now. That combined with the insane supernatural plot, the biracial/bi-gender duo at the forefront, I'm surprised the show got greenlight in the first place. But so glad it did!

 

Ace, if you fell asleep at the end of SHIELD, did you see the bit with Fitz and Simmons at the end?

The part where they revealed that Simmons actually left the agency after last season's finale, and Fitz has been imagining her throughout the episode

? Heartbreaking.

[Endeavour]

I watched Sleepy Hollow last night and agree that it was a lot of fun. I really like all the bits of humor they manage to fit in and

the scenes where the headless horseman was nonchalantly walking around and getting changed cracked me up.

 

It sounds like AoS may have improved. I haven't watched that yet, but Chyna's post has concerned.

 

I would say the biggest disappointment so far has been Intruders. I will finish this season out but zzzzzzz.

[Boliver]

We watched 3 episodes of Intruders, but gave up out of the not caring; it had broken my "there has to be at least one character I would be sad to see die" rule.

[Ace Hansen]

Chyna, I did see the outcome on Fitz, which was very touching. Storylines about

aphasia

get me in the feels because of my dad. I was just too sleepy to follow the major plot of the episode/which McGuffin everyone wanted.

 

Last season my two favorite new shows, Sleepy Hollow and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, were both (non-coincidentally) really good on the diversity front. The Sleepy Hollow promo pics this season are half female and half minority, which is great! (side-eye at most other TV which isn't doing so good.)

[Endeavour]

I figure Intruders is only 8 eps, so I will stick with it to see if they pull it together.

 

I don't usually watch comedies but have heard good things about Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I tried watching the pilot and it didn't really grab me. I'm going to give it another try partly because I keep hearing how good it is and partly because I like Andre Braugher and am glad he's back on a successful show.

[Harvester]

I'm give Gotham another chance or two to see what happens. SHIELD does not emotionally impact me at all, but the last few episodes of last season were fun, so I will try a few more. If any new shows become good, I can always catch them On Demand. I tried SH, but anything too creepy is not for me these days.

I would be honored to have any of you officiate my (non-existent) wedding. I think I would have to have everyone else Skype or FaceTime in.

Now I shall go spend my non-existent lottery winnings.

[Erratic]

arcticgirl is getting married on Saturday, but it's probably too late to change officiant.

[trudi-tru]

Congratulations arcticgirl.

[Hostile16]

As usual, the MM vibes came through like gangbusters: Dad had his endoscopy this morning, and his doc said he didn' t see anything that looked remotely suspicious. We won't get the results of the biopsies until next Thursday, but it looks all clear. Thanks for the goodwill.

And if you have to be at the hospital at 6:15 a.m., may I recommend having a live European event like the Ryder Cup to follow? Much better than those local news "Morning!!!!" shows.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Hostile16

[Boliver]

That's wonderful, Hostile! I'm so glad for you and your dad.

[Chyna]

Good news!!

[Endeavour]

Congrats to arcticgirl.

 

That's great to hear Hostile16.

 

I watched AoS last night and agree on the scenes with Fitz and Simmons.

 

The week is finally over! Whew. Happy weekend everyone!

[Erratic]

Fucking A, Hostile :)

[trudi-tru]

Great news, Hostile. We do rock as positive vibers.

[Earl Is Dead]

Yaay! So happy to hear that Hostile .

[KittenPokerCheater]

Happy Wedding Congrats to [/b]arcticgirl!!!![/b]

That's great to hear Hostile16!  Yay for the terrific MM threads.

 

I worked yesterday!!!!  (yay!  But I need to work like 5 days a week for the next three weeks to catch up financially).  Thank you THERE for your vibes.

 

In fun complaining news. there is a huge concert in central park today, and they've been sound checking all day- It's about 30+ blocks from where I live, but it's been deep drum sounds all day.  I expect tonight to be pretty crazy, what with cheering crowds and loud volumes and stuff.  Hee!

 

How is everyone's weekend going?

[Loandbehold]

Hooray for weddings, good medical news, and work assignments. 

 

For those Talking Heads-Muppets fans, and, who amongst us isn't, I give you http://dangerousminds.net/comments/its_not_easy_being_david_byrne_kermit_the_frog_covers_once_in_a_lifetime