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What's On Your Mind?

Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

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This is a thread that I have always enjoyed on MR, and indeed, elsewhere.

In essence, the thread title is so broad, that it allows for the discussion of almost anything, a discussion that usually takes place in a congenial manner, as well.

Hence, (and thanking Gutwrench for starting the original thread on MR), I have decided to start such a thread here.
 
Yesterday, I paid a visit to the French bakery to collect the bread (a rye bread loaf, and a baguette in their "campagne" style) that I had ordered - by phone - the previous day, when I noticed what appeared to be an exceptionally attractive, rather appetising, new style of cake on display.

I queried it, asking about it, and was informed that it contains an almond flavoured centre; I shrugged, but the appearance of that cake teased me and tugged at my mind.

Later, browsing idly online, and wondering about this cake, (and I am not a cake person), I checked the website of the French bakery, and was rewarded when an image of this exquisite offering appeared, complete with a name and title:

I learned (from Mr Google, among others, as the name of the cake prompted further research), that this is a seasonal, traditional, French specialty, a delicacy that goes by the wonderful name of "Galette de Rois", the cake of kings, a treat that is traditionally prepared especially for the Feast of the Epiphany, the kings in question.

A further phone call confirmed that they shall stock it - baked freshly daily - for the entire month of January.

Thus, and therefore, I shall pay a visit to the French bakery over the coming two days. To stock up on a baguette and - yes - very possibly, a "Galette de Rois".
 
In no particular order the following are on my mind:

Good friends.

Interviews.

And how cost of living conditions have dictated that one seeks out well regarded people (companies) who can carry out repairs to devices rather than purchasing brand new ones.
 
There was a fire in my condo building yesterday. It apparently only affected one unit plus water leaking below that unit. I am thankful it was of minimal impact.

It was an interesting way to catch up with your neighbors and their various pets: on a cold sidewalk across the street from your building for an hour.
 
Why is January so long?

It seems eternal.

I know that - logically - the month lasts only for 31 days, yet somehow, it always feels far longer; actually, to my mind, January always feels as though it is about six weeks long.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Why is January so long?

It seems eternal.

I know that - logically - the month lasts only for 31 days, yet somehow, it always feels far longer; actually, to my mind, January always feels as though it is about six weeks long.
Click to expand...

For me that month is November. Once the winter solstice has passed, I'm excited about the return of the light, even though January can sometimes be a bitterly cold and snowy month here. So far this year it's been abnormally warm. The grass has even greened up; it's crazy. But we have some weather heading in here for the wrap of January, so by this time next week I might feel as you do about it!
 
This dissonance between what is actual recorded time (of January, a month that is 31 days long, something that I sternly remind myself is also the case with several other months, where this dissonance does not remotely occur), and felt time (for, I always feel as though January is at least six weeks long) is (or feels) especially acute, or pronounced, this year, for some strange reason.
 
Daffodils:

Daffodils are on my mind.

Daffodils do not just put a smile on my face whenever I see them, rather, I realise, when I lay eyes on them, that I am grinning from ear to ear; the realisation comes after the grin, which comes after my eyes have feasted on their golden yellow glory, a genuine harbinger of spring.
 
Please pray for my sister, who is in hospital after adverse reaction to some meds for a very recently diagnosed illness and ensuing surgery for blood clots thrown to lung... prognosis very poor and may not even make it through the night. I would not know what to pray for past acceptance of what cannot be changed, and that she not suffer. I am ruefully mindful of some very wonderful lines from a W.S. Merwin poem:
​
“Send me out into another life​
lord because this one is growing faint​
I do not think it goes all the way.”​
​
-- W.S. Merwin, in “Words from a Totem Animal”​
​
No one can take away my memories of our great times together, and I figure that wherever she lands next, those around her will be lucky. Such a loving, caring companion to all who have ever known her.

So tonight, listening to some of the tracks from the Michael Hoppé and Martin Tillman album, The Poet. Here is the Gold Leaves track.

 
lizkat said:
Please pray for my sister, who is in hospital after adverse reaction to some meds for a very recently diagnosed illness and ensuing surgery for blood clots thrown to lung... prognosis very poor and may not even make it through the night. I would not know what to pray for past acceptance of what cannot be changed, and that she not suffer. I am ruefully mindful of some very wonderful lines from a W.S. Merwin poem:
​
“Send me out into another life​
lord because this one is growing faint​
I do not think it goes all the way.”​
​
-- W.S. Merwin, in “Words from a Totem Animal”​
​
No one can take away my memories of our great times together, and I figure that wherever she lands next, those around her will be lucky. Such a loving, caring companion to all who have ever known her.

So tonight, listening to some of the tracks from the Michael Hoppé and Martin Tillman album, The Poet. Here is the Gold Leaves track.

Click to expand...

Holding a good thought for you; this must be a very tough - and heart-breaking - time.

Farewells are so final, yet the person will still live as long as a cherished and treasured memory of who they are and what they meant remains with you.

Honour her, her life and memory both, but remember to try to be kind to yourself.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Holding a good thought for you; this must be a very tough - and heart-breaking - time.

Farewells are so final, yet the person will still live as long as a cherished and treasured memory of who they are and what they meant remains with you.

Honour her, her life and memory both, but remember to try to be kind to yourself.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. She passed away peacefully earlier this evening, with superb palliative care at the very hospital where she had worked for a long time. Her longtime companion and her grown children were with her. It's stunning that a last chapter can roll up and unravel like that at what has seemed like the speed of light. A reminder that life is in the moment and we never know when paths may diverge for the last time on this planet.

So tonight listening to some Beethoven and Mozart that were mentioned in some texts she and I had traded back in December... as kids we both played piano, she also studied the viola and I the violin and cello, so our classical music choices were often similar or the same as we grew up. The message thread has lots of photos of her gardens and quilting "show and tell" stuff and that rascal cat of hers, so it was a tonic to prowl through a microcosm of the so many interests and discoveries we've shared over the years.

Stayed calm this afternoon hanging onto a few lines from yet another favored poet, Dana Gioia. Just seeking acceptance. It works.

O Lord of indirection and ellipses,​
ignore our prayers. Deliver us from distraction.​
Slow our heartbeat to a cricket's call.​
​
-- from 'Prophecy' by Dana Gioia​
 
Waterfront property... noticed a neighborhood of properties right on the water. Most have newer, fancy homes on them, but there’s that one shack from back when they were all likely just places for fishermen to sleep.
 
We had the inexpressible delight of the Vernal Equinox last week, and the clocks went forward last night.

Joy.
 
Well, until a few years ago it was six months of each. Now it’s five months of Standard Time and seven months of DST, so that’s something.

But I’m with you. All this talk about doing away with Daylight Saving Time? Not for me. Keep it and make it permanent.
 
Do I have a basis to be irritated* when I constantly watch stories, either movie or television set in the US, but in actually are filmed some place else? For The Last of Us, these are places I know well, Austin, Boston, Kansas City, yet, it‘s all in Canada which consistently substitutes for the United States in all manor of projects. For the long shots, they use the modern equivalent of mat paintings to portray a location, and it is all make believe anyway… 🤔 I was happy when they used Georgia and the Atlanta area for The Walking Dead… 🙂

*When I say irritated, I’m not losing any sleep over it, maybe I should say disappointed. . 🙂
 
Short answer: it depends.

Long answer: In another topic you brought up the Willful Suspension of Disbelief--what makes us jump! in a horror movie even though in the back of our minds we realize we’re safely sitting in a comfortable theater chair with popcorn and friends next to us.

Anything that intrudes into that mutually-agreed-upon quasi dream state takes us out of that and for a moment returns us to reality.

Whether a locale works or not depends. When The X Files shot in Vancouver, the weather and many homes and businesses easily passed for Detroit or Buffalo or Cleveland. It also helped that that show didn’t use a lot of establishing shots, where you see a wide view of the city.

On the other hand, if a director were to try to pass off well-known parts of Chicago as New York, you'd justifiably call BS on that. I guess it depends on how well you know the location that is actually being used.

There's only one type of situation where you can totally get away with that, and that's subbing for non-existent cities like Metropolis. New York was a superb stand-in for Gotham City on the TV series Gotham, but even then they used CG to alter the skyline shots to make it look different. And look at how Glasgow was passed off for Gotham City in "The Batman"...again, with some CG alterations.

_123484575_bm2.jpg

(I couldn't tell you whether anyone in the UK would recognize Glasgow in that movie. 😏 I've never been.)

(And ten years later, I'm still amazed that Gotham's GCPD headquarters isn't an actual New York location as I assumed. It's a soundstage set. 😮 )

GCPD.jpg​
 
Ugh! Current home has polybutylene. We needed some work done which has spiraled into "re-pipe first, then work". We are at 8 days into a full house upheaval. I came home Friday to find that we won't have our laundry room for at least another day. We will have water every day, although at lowered pressure until our downstairs bathroom is finished.

We are adding a full house filter and extra water bib on the north side of the house. We'll also get our downstairs bathroom to have a shower or tub at floor level, and a pressure regulator on the incoming line. Mostly happy with it.
 
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