sundries

[rm]

Last night Patty and I went out to a lovely dinner on a pier on the west side. This was marred only by how slammed they were, and so it took forever to get our order, which also would have been fine, had I not had to deal with other random pushy New Yorkers as I waited for it. Also, we should have brought jackets. When the sun went down it got cold fast. But I ate prosciutto wrapped asparagus and you didn't.

I've been trying to figure out where to stay in London. This is complicated by the completely intolerable hotel reviews people leave on sites. Last night I got fed up after I read "I will never book online again. In ethnic neighborhood! Not safe for women!" SO SO SO ANGRY, and yes, European hotels for solo travelers feature Very Small Rooms, get over it. Right now I'm thinking about the Easy Hotel in Victoria. Again, if I don't just go back to our place in Brick Lane. It arguable I felt so at home there because it was the first thing we saw in London, but I really, REALLY did, and really, REALLY didn't in a lot of the places I sort of felt like I "should."

Apparently building a mosque near the WTC site is controversial. The idea that this is somehow an issue is so offensive the mind boggles.

With the closure of St. Vincent's home birth is being rendered effectively illegal in NYC. nex0s has more.

Atlantis comes home for the last time.

The rent-controlled and rent stabilized apartments of NYC. FYI, while all such apartments are bargains, not all such apartments are bargains like that. Ours is stabilized and we pay $1450. My parent's place, which is huger and way more awesome than ours is also stabilized and I think they pay about $2200 now. This may be rude to discuss elsewhere, normal here.

Another subway hero.

Allies to US: Get Over It. Sometimes the hardest thing about dealing with life in the US is listening to all the fear, day in and day out, not just about gays, but about EVERYTHING. No wonder I have anxiety. No wonder we all do. It's the shark attack principle, and I hate it.

New York State again tries to pass a bill against anti-gay bullying and discrimination in schools. New York's dysfunctional senate will probably see its death. Again.

Hey, do you all know about Kickstarter? I should really, really consider this as an option for some of the projects I have lying around (everything from the chihuahua infestation mockumentary to where I want to take the mourning project next).

Last night on Buffy: Someone actually said "rape," Buffy & Spike are almost having a relationship, everything else is falling apart. The rape thing was both appropriate and necessary, and weirdly jarring, since Buffy spends a lot of time being about rape without talking about rape. So that was interesting. I also feel like I can't really comment on that aspect of this episode without having seen Dollhouse.

Comments

[sevendayloan.livejournal.com]

Which Buffy episode was this? I can't remember which one you're on.

I'm heartened to see that the anti-bullying bill has made it to senate at least, but the fact that it's "languishing" doesn't seem to be a good sign. Does the NY senate have a history of that sort of thing? [/ignorant Californian]

[rm.livejournal.com]

The New York State senate is very conservative. These things always pass the the Assembly and then stall out in the Senate, which is not only conservative but filled with criminals and corruption (not hyperbole -- it's got everything from constant ethics violations to various people on trial for domestic violence and then sometimes various senate factions decide to convene as a shadow senate and not in the proper senate in protest and NOTHING EVER GETS DONE).

For Buffy we are on "Dead Things."

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

My problems with the NY Legislature are on both sides of the aisle. There's no lack of bills that are passed by the Senate that die in the Assembly for lack of a sponsor (or at least it was like this in years past), and you surely have to "pay" Sheldon Silver to get anything through the Assembly. I think it's kind of a scam, so that legislators in both houses can appear busy to their constituents but still present a need for them to get re-elected so they can try again in the next session.

See, the thing about "Dead Things" that bugged me is that the Trio crossed the line but the dialog remains predominately about how they are still the same ol' goofy nerds who would just as soon debate which Star Trek captain was best as take over the world. And they haul out the trusty "all women are whores" anvil just in case we need to be reminded that they really are Bad Guys. For the love of me, I don't know if I like the Willow storyline or just hate it less passionately than The Trio, Buffy/Spike, and screwing around with Dawn.

[dulcinbradbury.livejournal.com]

See, the thing about "Dead Things" that bugged me is that the Trio crossed the line but the dialog remains predominately about how they are still the same ol' goofy nerds who would just as soon debate which Star Trek captain was best as take over the world.

I think that's actually fairly accurate to the severe "Nice Guy" types. Rather than admit they've done something horrible, they find ways to rationalize what they've done & who they are.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Agreed - while I hated all of Season 6 after the musical, I found Dead Things noticably less bad, and think that the episode did a good job of showing that Warren really was an utterly monstrous person and that the other two were complicit by ignoring this and going along with him.