Leapsheep

(no subject)

Today I was re-reminded of the utility and benefit of just keeping my god damned mouth shut. Not my circus. Not my monkeys.

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Leapsheep

Sanctity of life, and poops.

The weather is getting colder in Idaho, which means mice are coming out of the fields and into our houses. We store bulk dog/cat food, books, laundry, and other mouse-popular features, in the rec room/laundry room. Last year we set out spring traps that solved the problem in a rather gruesome but concise manner. This year my mom brought home poison traps and glue traps. We opted against the poison after I explained about collateral damage and unintended consequences. And when I talked about the prolonged nature of glue traps, and how animals gnaw off their own feet while they slowly die there, I thought we'd decided not to go that route either. But apparently the plan turned out to be 'put out the glue trap without exposing the glue' and this morning we had three new friends rattling around inside the trap. Her advice was to open up the trap and empty it into the dumpster. After I made certain she knew these were not dead mice, I asked for confirmation that the plan was to drop them into the trash bin to either be crushed or starved or taken on a fun ride to the dump (the latter seems unlikely). That indeed was the plan.
I understand that co-existing with the mice is not really an option. I understand that relocating them isn't really an option. I understand not wanting to acknowledge the inevitable products of that conflict. But I don't know as I can countenance this. I've told her I'd prefer going back to the spring traps. While she's getting her shower tomorrow I may spring the three in the bin.

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Leapsheep

Buying trouble on account

I'm in Idaho for six weeks caretaking for my Mom while my sister (who covers the other 46) takes care of personal items.

It's a view into my future and it does not fill me with joy. It might be a good Black Mirror episode.

She is constantly in pain, which technically is not too different from my current situation except in its magnitude. The same goes with her stamina. I have joint pain, but she has serious mobility issues, and doesn't get out much. I think we both are dealing with fibromyalgia. And the memory issues look like they'll keep getting worse. She has always had pronoun issues. ("Go get the thing on the counter.") But it's far more pronounced now. She's asked me the same question a few days apart on multiple days, and I was gently mocking about it at first but stopped quickly. Generally speaking, brain-wise, her cognitive abilities are definitely slowing, and that's the worst thing to watch. I'm proud of my brain, vain to be precise, and as I putter around the house I find myself considering what the boundaries of decrepitude that I'm willing to live with are.

. . . . .

On a completely different topic, living in this space is frustrating. There's a lot of *stuff* in this space, which makes it hard to move around without upending a stack of books or paperwork or a bottle of moisturizing lotion or a remote. There's also essentially no work area because flat space is at such a premium. Luckily we have a set of 'tv trays' that I can grab easily for a temporary space.

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Leapsheep

Coyote Cinema: Fast and Furious Presents: Snakes and Ladders

Okay, for real it's Hobbes and Shaw, but when I couldn't remember the name of the film that was my fallback position. I'd seen trailers and was pretty ambivalent about the project. My first comment was "I am obviously not cool enough to watch this picture". It was stuffed so full of toxic masculine energy that I started to wonder if this would be a send up maybe.

And in the end, the film itself was a little ambivalent. Over all, though, this was an above average loud dumb summer action film.

The cons:
There's a lot of male gaze, and despite the lampshade there's still a lot of 'boys will be boys' toxic masculinity. Sometimes people are Stupid For Plot or Stupid For The Funny. And they do that thing in chase scenes where everybody's going as fast as they possibly can and then one guy decides to just push the 'fasterer' button to speed up beyond maximum speed.

But our lead female actor has agency and competency, which I always appreciate, even if she is the MacGuffin. There were some really impressive set pieces (Like the escape from the Ukranian lab) and cool toys (Like the segmented motorbike omg). Idris Elba is good, but he's not putting anything special into this performance. Much like Rock and Statham. The soundtrack, despite not really being my thing, is very good at doing what it's supposed to be doing--telling you how to feel about the scene. In the end, the toxic masculinity is called out and proven to be a bad thing. Yay. Ryan Reynolds, who I didn't even know was tied to this project, was still almost the best part of the movie. And this film has the best case of Chekov's Mum I've ever seen.

All in all? Four wags out of five.

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Leapsheep

Coyote Cinema: Terminator 3

Prepping for the new release in the Terminator franchise, I thought I'd watch the older ones I hadn't seen. (Considering rewatching Judgement Day, I might enjoy it this time.) Rise of the Machines is... not good. It has serious tonal issues, going from 'high emotional stakes end of the world' to a Looney Tunes cartoon complete with *boing* sound effect. (Yes, really.) I really liked Claire Danes in Romeo + Juliet, and thought she had potential. But in this movie the only human emotion she seems to have in her repertoire is 'annoyance'. Also, lines like "The future is up to us" don't help anybody.

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Leapsheep

Just an update

For the first time since the move, things have gotten grey. I've finally assembled an RP group and I'm having to fight to keep up momentum. Most things just aren't worth the effort. John helped me get the last of my bookshelves together, which was great, but they're still empty while the big pile of fuck off boxes looms at the side of my room. I need outside cues to remind me to eat. But I've got a new PCP and a new psychiatrist, and I'm on the waiting list for a counselor (Should have an opening Aug/Sep). So I guess progress is being made. The back porch is screened in, so it's nice to go out late at night after the temperature has been knocked down a bit.

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Leapsheep

Coyote Cinema: Booksmart and John Wick Parabellum

This time you get a twofer! Double billing! Woo!

( BooksmartCollapse )

And then there's the whiplash of going into the next auditorium to see

( John Wick 3: ParabellumCollapse )

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