Personal Blogs: Going the Way of MySpace?

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:48:12 GMT

Been thinking in the shift in how I spend my time online. As it happens, I'm on Facebook more than anywhere else. That's not necessarily how I want it; it's just where everyone is. I still pop by DW/LJ, and I hit up Google+ mainly to wait for people to show up. I haven't figured out how to get a decent feed that shows posts in chronological order. That might help. I don't like that I can't go back and find Facebook conversations I had a month ago. I don't like how much information I'm entering but have absolutely no control over. I can't put my finger on my fear--since I'm not really hiding anything from anyone. I just have a feeling that all this sharing is going to come back to bite me later, and I'll wonder how the hell I ever could have been so stupid and naive. After all, humanity is always coming up with new and terrifying ways to exploit the vulnerable for profit.

Watched both parts of Appropriate Adult, the BBC movie about Fred and Rosemary West. As far as I know, I've read or watched all available material on this case. Godawful parents are a speciality of mine. This movie didn't come close to the true horror of the case, the family, the crimes, the victims. Emily Watson, the chick from Red Dragon, was the main character, as some sort of civilian helper for criminals--some kind of barely trained social worker I guess. She was great in it, but the movie itself was just a big dud. It implied that all sorts of facts about the case weren't known--stuff I'd already read about years ago. I don't get it, and I didn't like it.
The most striking thing to me was the treatment of the main characters partner (live-in bloke but not married). He was bi-polar and went off his meds. So the MC calls an ambulance and says "My partner's bi polar and has gone off his meds. He's having a manic episode." So the ambulance picks him up, takes him to a nice hospital where he has a private room. He stays there until he's better. And when he gets out, his job is waiting for him with no reprimand or judgement whatsoever. He starts taking his meds again, and everyone moves on. As an American, that knocks me on my ass. How much healthier would our country be on the whole if we had such a reasonable attitude about helping the mentally ill? How many less people would be in prison? How many less drug addicts who deteriorate slowly over years of dysfunction and unhappiness? What am I saying? If Facebook is any indication, people can't even agree that gay people should be allowed to be gay--let alone that people are still worthy of dignity even though they're mentally odd.

Scaling back on everything but The Finster Effect, as I am in the home stretch. No more freelancing for a bit. May even skip a podcast, we shall see. TFE is shaping up nicely, just like I keep saying.

New TV season starts soon. Yay! This season, I'll be watching
(or at least saving to the DVR or catching On Demand):
Criminal Minds
Dexter
Boardwalk Empire
The Walking Dead (I know...I can't resist)
Person of Interest
Sunday night FOX
and we'll probably keep going with Falling Skies whenever that comes back, midseason I'd guess. H also wants to start downloading Fringe.

Sleep Study on Wednesday. They were supposed to send me some paperwork that still hasn't arrived. I called, and they sent me a link to download it, saying that it often doesn't arrive until the day before. Front page, it says you have to give 48 hours notice to cancel (everywhere else on earth it's 24 hours). If you don't, they charge you $200 out of pocket. Fine, fair enough. But if that's the case, shouldn't they be telling you that within 48 hours of your appointment? *sigh* As my great-grandpa used to say That's how they gitcha!

New Zombie Zone News interview is up. This week: James L Grant. Some of you local types may know him as flemco. He's what my mom would call "mouthy," which made for a great interview.

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My Kingdom for um...this!

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:02:26 GMT

Just like to make a general announcement that the person who sends me a copy of Appropriate Adult, BBC's made-for-TV movie about Fred and Rosemary West will receive a bounty of gifts superior to anything they could possibly imagine. You guys like candy and signed books, right?
;-]

That story is freaky as shit, and a nice reminder for ME that I didn't have the craziest, most secretly fucked up family in the world. The BBC does not tend to fuck around.
This movie is gonna be amazing--far superior to any overhyped sensationalized American shit WE would have come up with on the off chance that we'd even touch a story like that. Apparently, the BBC cast just the right guy to play Fred.

And I want it. Want. Want. Want.

Fabulous prizes await the first person to send me a clean copy that I can play on an American DVD player.

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Things that are good.

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:59:28 GMT

To counteract my annoyance, short temperedness, and irritation of the last week, the following things will be written so as to emphasis the positive:

--West Memphis Three: FREED!!!

--Shrimp Satay for dinner at the day job.

--Clearing the air on unfortunate situation from earlier in the week.

--JoJo not covering my new chair with any bodily excretions...yet.

--Fright Night remake opens today. I'm totally going (despite still not seeing the new Planet of the Apes). I just adore it when David Tennant takes his shirt off. I mean, he's no James Purefoy, but he's pretty spicy for a British guy.

--Daily Show and Colbert on vacation for two weeks. This means extra sleep since I won't be staying up until midnight on work nights.

--Applied for a few jobs. Might even get some (jobs, I mean).

--Planning a weekend full of productivity and article writing.

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Whaddaya MEAN You've Never Heard of Me?!?

Personal Blogs: Going the Way of MySpace?

My Kingdom for um...this!

Things that are good.