So, the side-effect of listening to Landau's podcasts, and seeing her independent film is...I've developed a major gurl-crush on Juliette Landau. I tend to develop crushes on cult television/movie and theater character actors who aren't in that much? Not enough of one to pay for her podcast, I'm willing to do it for free though. She's adorable - she loves theater, is detailed on theater, film, music, and the craft. And an excellent interviewer - she's better than the guy who did Inside the Actor's Studio.

(Previous gurl-crushes include Claudia Black, Carrie Fisher, Angela Basset, Katee Sackoff...)

Oh well it's fitting, she's the other side of Spike/James Marsters - which is my other Buffy actor crush. Along with Anthony Stewart Head. I do wish I'd get crushes on people with lots of content available - and good content available. I've watched a lot of bad television and films because of actor crushes. Note to self - do not follow actors, follow directors and writers (although they aren't that reliable either, sorry to say - so just whatever looks appealing and has been rec'd by folks I trust?)

***

AHM told me to try "Telecharge" Lottery - to get discounted Broadway Theater tickets. Kyoto is on it. Just in Time isn't - so that's kind of out. Any of the Big Ticket Tourist Shows are out. Which is a shame - I really want to see Chess - I didn't know the score was ABBA and Tim Rice. (I'm a shameless ABBA fan - I had their music on 8 track in the 1970s and 80s). But alas, Big Ticket Tourist item - with rates between $440-$1K. Way outside my price range.

***

After I took my fifteen to twenty minute walk down the pier and around the tiny historic housing district, I went to Insomina Cookies to snag my Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookies - freshly baked, warm, with melt in your mouth chocolate. I've going there almost every weekday for a while now - the counter folks are getting to know me - in part, because I'm the only one getting gluten free cookies.

Counter guy: So, I only charged you for one cookie and gave you three.
ME: Huh? But I only ordered two -
( Read more... )

Mother wants me to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral to see the new murals that the Cardinal commissioned and have been put up. I don't know. I'm more curious about the Cathedral of St. John the Divine - I've never been to it.

****

Buffy Rewatch - S4 Buffy - Beer Bad is better than I remembered. It's hilarious in places. Also, it has the added bonus of watching Kal Penn (who was later on the West Wing, and for a while interned in Obama's White House) and is a comedic actor - turn into a caveman after drinking too much beer.

Xander: How much beer does someone have to drink before they start questing for fire?
Pub owner: Oh, don't worry - it'll wear off in a day or two.
Xander: I served that beer to them - to Buffy - someone could get seriously hurt in a day or two. You are a bad bad man.

Xander is hilarious in S4. I actually like all the characters in this season, which is a first for the series. In S1-3, Xander got on my ever living nerve. Willow kind of did too, along with Cordelia at various points.

I'm liking Buffy S4 more than Angel S1, which isn't as entertaining and a bit too much like a dozen other similar series I've seen. In listening to the Landau podcasts - I learned a lot of recent Buffy fans, had watched Angel first - and then watched Buffy, they were David B fans first. But, ironically their favorite Buffy episodes are Hush and OMWF, not Angel centric episodes.

**

Regarding Buffy S1? I learned from Juliet Landau's podcasts and interviews that Mark Metcalf's makeup for the Master took six hours to put on, and he didn't take it off the whole time he played the role. Those who acted with him, never saw him without it. Julie Benze who portrayed Darla - said he was disgusting with it on, and it was hard for her to look at him. But he was easy to work with. Benze was able to create her own character - and made various suggestions, most of which the writers took. (Except for one - she wasn't going to be a Greek Fury, she wasn't that old.)

It was a pretty day today - in the low eighties and high seventies by mid-afternoon, with a nice breeze, and in the sixties this morning. Tomorrow promises to be the same. Then it is going to rain and dip into the fifties and sixties again - just in time for my vacation next week. Kaloo Kalay.

But hey, clear, no clouds, and lovely today - I took a fifteen minute walk at lunch time through the bike path garden at Battery Park, and up and around the historic section to grab - you guessed it - gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

Most of the day, I worried that someone had stolen the bag that Amazon had allegedly delivered on Saturday. Mainly because I didn't see the package over the weekend. (Considering how hard it is to read the labels on these packages, and how they hide behind other packages - there was an off chance that I just overlooked it.) So when I got home - and looked and gasp, found the package - I was relieved. The bag wasn't necessarily that expensive? But I wanted it. Hippie Cross Body Bag for $16.99. It's perfect for non-work traveling about the city. Big enough to fit grocery bags, light, and easy to cart about.

I'm currently flirting with Wildgrains Gluten Free Products (it's also dairy free). But I have no real freezer space, let alone much refigerator space. I can't freeze that much - my freezer space is very limited (think small box at top of refrigerator). And they give you a ton of stuff. Also, it's high in carbs which in turn equals high blood sugar.
And big family size portions. So no, probably not a good idea? But if the link helps anyone else? Go for it.

And, does anyone want to explain - when it became necessary to buy non-cotton materials for hiking? Apparently after years of wearing cotton on long hikes, I can't do it anymore. At least I remember wearing cotton in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Did I? Sigh. It was too long ago - I can't remember.

At any rate - I have next week off as a staycation. I'm not going anywhere.
And I don't really want to plan ahead or buy tickets ahead? I want to be spontaneous. Go shopping one day. Maybe take a train to the Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens? Or tour the Met? Or just check out the Highline park.
Wander about the city, exploring. Check out some parks. Maybe take a ferry ride. Or just clean out my closets and switch clothes around, write, and paint.

***

The Juliet Landau podcasts that she's doing with her husband, Dev Weeks, (original titled "Slaying It" and now, "Revamped") are rather charming, comforting and reassuring. By far my favorite podcasts. I've become quite charmed and enamored of Landau. She's a hard working character actress, who has a ballet background. ( Landau's informative podcasts on the acting and entertainment profession )

I get a kind of schendfreud thrill from listening to it? Or it comforts me? Because I struggle to get my art down and out there too, but as a side hustle. And often just do it for myself. Juliette charmed me - when she states that no one should stop you from expressing yourself through art, whether it is singing, music, painting, acting, performance, what have you - you should be allowed to do it. And some will love it, and some won't. But be free to get it out there.

Also, listening to them - while working on a spreadsheet at work - helps make the time go by faster. It gives me something to look forward to.

Baking Apple Cinnamon Muffins for the week ahead and watching S6 of Call the Midwife on Netflix.

Below is the Good News Report from The American Resistance & It's Global Allies - because we all need a little good news? As always, good news is in the eye of the beholder or mileage may vary on this.

1. The Conservation Fund purchases North America’s largest blackwater swamp, saving over 350,000 acres of designated wilderness from a mining company.

https://augustafreepress.com/news/conservation-funds-purchase-of-georgia-florida-wildlife-refuge-saves-land-from-mining-company/?sh_kit=7a2950363f4b90b1881ae76c68d24551846eea9063b67a6a14e9fa39bc419e40

( Read more... )

2.California takes steps to protect school and college students, school staff, and hospital patients from unjust ICE enforcement activity.Governor Newsom signed the nation’s strongest protections into law to limit tactics being used by Trump’s federal “secret police,” protect children at schools, and patients in public hospitals from Trump’s lawlessness.

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/09/20/governor-newsom-signs-laws-to-protect-school-children-and-hospital-patients-and-limit-fear-tactics-used-by-trumps-secret-police-force-to-terrorize-communities/

3. California’s Supreme Court unanimously rules that state regulators were given undue deference in the decision to roll back rooftop solar panel credits for homeowners.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-supreme-court-rooftop-solar-credits-cpuc-environmental-groups/

4. Maine fast-tracks plans for renewable energy projects before climate-friendly government incentives are removed under the budget passed this summer. The state is prioritizing projects built on PFAS-contaminated land as it looks to kickstart installations that can help it reach 100% clean energy by 2040.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/maine-fast-track-tax-credits

5.Three chemical and materials companies will pay the state of New Jersey up to $2B in a settlement over the environmental hazards of PFAS. "DuPont and two other companies will settle environmental claims concerning PFAS, commonly referred to as "forever chemicals," and pay New Jersey up to $2 billion, the companies announced Monday."

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/dupont-pfas-settlement-chemours-corteva-new-jersey-repauno-parlin/

6.Walmart said it is planning to remove synthetic dyes from all its private label store-brand foods by the start of 2027 (Wall Street Journal).

7.Australia funds solar microgrids to replace diesel in First Nations communities.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/08/20/australia-funds-solar-microgrids-to-replace-diesel-in-remote-first-nations-towns/

8. NIH races to spend 2025 grant budget

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is on track to dole out its entire US$48-billion budget by the end of the fiscal year on 30 September, despite the administration of Donald Trump laying off thousands of the agency’s workers and delaying meetings to review research grants. The agency’s staff banded together to “clean up the mess”, an NIH programme officer told Nature, and ensure that the funds were invested in science. Although the agency’s budget will be spent, many fewer new projects will be funded because of a government directive to award large sums to research projects upfront.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03168-4

9. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. have decreased by 20 percent since 2005.

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-co2-carbon-emissions-falling-states-natural-gas-renewables/760374/

10. The city of San Francisco moves to ensure that substantial renovations to existing buildings are all-electric.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/carbon-free-buildings/san-francisco-renovations-gas-ban
( the rest of the forty-six )


Here's a flower:

1. Guillermo Del Torro's Trailer for Frankenstein has finally been released. In watching it - I was reminded of the British National Theater presentation (which was also filmed) of Johnny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch switching back and forth - on who played Frankenstein and who played Victor. One night Miller played Frankenstein, and Cumberbatch played Victor, then the next night the opposite. National Theater filmed both performances and showed them in theaters, and on National Theater website.
I got National Theater so I could watch them.

So, yes, I'm looking forward to seeing Del Torro's Frankenstein - and may make a point of seeing it in theaters. But it looks very similar to the plot of the National Theater presentation - which was excellent.

What the British National Theater presentation got across by having the actors flip roles each night - is that the line between who was the monster and who wasn't - was very thin, and in many ways Victor was far more of a monster than his creation.

2. After listening to a lot of Revamped podcasts, I decided to rent Landau's A Place Among the Dead - which is an independent film that was written by Landau and her husband, directed by Landau, and starring Landau, along with various people they found to do it with them. Including Anne Rice, Charlain Harris, Lance Henrikson, Joss Whedon (who appears for less than a minute - so if that's a problem for you, I wouldn't worry about it), Ron Perlman, Gary Oldman, and Robert Patrick among others. It's filmed like a documentary, and Landau and her husband more or less play themselves, as do most of the name stars. And they interview most of them about vampires and evil, and what it is and means.

Through the use of the vampire metaphor explores the psychological trauma and consequences of being raised by narcissists, and the on-going psychological abuse. Landau has pictures of her parents, and hires actors to play them, and voice them. Harry Groenig plays Dad, and another woman plays Mom. (Landau is the daughter of Barbara Bain and Martin Landau, who met on Mission Impossible. Barbara Bain was the first female actress to win consecutive emmys for a drama role from the same series. And both starred on Space 1999. Whose theme song inspired Nerf Herder's Buffy theme.)

Basically, Landau made the film with her husband to work through her traumatic upbringing.

It's an interesting film, but flawed and definitely low budget. There's a few creepy shots, but for the most part - it drags, and my attention wandered. As a result, I kind of lost the metaphor here and there. I did like how Landau pokes fun at the somewhat cliche/horror trope advice: "you must stand up to evil, and face it head on, to stop it and you can only stop it with love" - because she basically decides to do that - and ends up opening the door to evil instead. She's too vulnerable, and instead of locking it out, it gets in.

The setup? ( Read more... )

3. Finished watching Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret adapted from the novel by Judy Blume, of the same name. The novel was published in 1970. And the film takes place in 1970. I read it around 1976 or 77. I can't remember exactly. I started binge reading Judy Blume somewhere around the third or fourth grade. I've found it interesting that most of my favorite books as a child have been adapted into films, some more than once:

The Hobbit
The Chronicles of Narnia
Escape to Witch Mountain
Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret.
Bridge to Terribetha
A Wrinkle in Time
Dune - I was a bit older - somewhere in high school (it's not a kid's book)
Stuart Little
Charlotte's Web
The Westing Game
The Wizard of Earthsea (and not well)
The Incredible Journey
Watership Down
All Things Great and Small
The Lord of the Rings

There are a quite few that haven't been, and I'm not sure I want them too? The Witches of Worm, Dark is Rising, Perilous Guard, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Lisa Bright and Dark, Where the Red Fern Grows, I Am the Cheese, The Girl Who Owned a City, Misty of Chitanoogue, Dragon Riders of Pern, The Ship Who Sang, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: the Unbeliever by Stephen R Donaldson (I had to look it up because I couldn't remember the name of it.)

Anyhow, back to my review, such as it is. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret to the best of my memory (which is hazy at best - I can't remember when I read it? Just that it was before the fifth grade?) - is a faithful adaptation of the Judy Blume novel. It's about a 12 year old girl who moves from one state to another with her parents, and at the same time has to deal with change in schools, menstruation, new friends, puberty, etc. I did the same thing - but in the fifth grade - which is when I think I read the book, and that was in 1977-78. So about seven years after it was written - it fit my time period better than it may fit folks now? I don't know? I don't think my niece ever read it.

I found the film charming and nostalgic. I also remembered the book better as I watched it. And it moved me. ( vague spoilers )

Overall? A good movie. I don't remember the book well enough to take any issues with differences or discrepancies, although I sincerely doubt there are any?

1. Do you ever wonder if the way you see things visually aren't how other people see them?

Yes. All the time. ( Read more... )

2. What kind of sounds are the most annoying?

Squeaking sounds. Chalk on a chalk board. Squeaking wheels. High pitched sounds. I don't like high soprano - it's why opera doesn't work for me for the most part, that high squeak. Sirens. Car Alarms. Fire Alarms.

3. When walking through a store, do you shop with your hands by touching/feeling the texture of things

I try not to, but often do. Most stores don't want you to touch things.

4. If you could only smell three scents for the rest of your life, what would they be?

fresh sea breeze or water, sunshine, and laundry

5. What sorts of things do you savour when eating them?

chocolate mousse, apple or pumpkin pie, a good muffin or cookie, savory meal...matcha latte (drinking),

Off to bed. I hope.

1. At least the weather has been nice lately - in the low 50s, 60s, and 70s. Nice breeze. Cool enough for a light jacket. Was able to take a few long walks. One up to the WTC, and another to the South Street Seaport. Played tourist yesterday and took photos.

Here's the Anne Frank Tree - "a white chestnut tree, a clone grown from an original tree outside the hiding place of Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam, 188 Keizersgracht. Anne wrote about her view from the annex window: “As long as this exists, how can I be sad?” and referred to the chestnut three three times in her diary. This tree in Liberty Park is the eleventh clone of the tree in the United States planted by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. The date, June 12th, also marks what would have been Anne’s 88th birthday, sharing a birth year with Martin Luther King. Jr and Audrey Hepburn."



2. I can't seem to draw at the moment - which is putting a cramp in my painting project. I keep trying and its not fitting what is in my head. I'm frustrated. It's like I lost the ability or something - all of a sudden. I think I may be too much in my head or too self-conscious. I draw best when I'm not trying to make it fit something, or not worried about it. Art is hard when others eyes are upon you, or rather you feel their critical eyes upon you. It's easier when you or rather I forget they exist.

3. Buffy and Angel Fandom Bits

Started rewatch of Buffy S4 and Angel S1 - I watch an episode of one every other day, skipping episodes I don't want to re-watch, such as the Angel episode "I Fall To Pieces" (I saw that one twice, and that was one too many times, I don't need to watch it again. Angel S1 has some horrible episodes.)

Saw Fear Itself and The Harsh Light of Day - and both hold up really well. ( Read more... )

In the Dark and Room with a View are a mixed bag. I like Room better. Which surprised me. ( Read more... )

Also been listening to podcasts. It's the current trend/fad - actors doing podcasts. (Not the famous ones, the struggling ones, who are also doing conventions to make ends meet - which is a reminder of how tough a profession acting truly is - to make a living in. There are more actors than there are gigs, apparently.)

Of the podcasts - I'd say Juliet Landau's
Re-Vamped is the best.
She's a good interviewer and very funny. She doesn't take herself too seriously, which is more than I can say for a lot of podcasters. ( Read more... )

Landau's podcasts are informative though - about the process, how the series was made, backstage tid-bits, auditions, etc. She also, being a theater geek and theater actress - delves heavily into the theater and the film backgrounds of her guests. If you are interested in the nitty gritty behind the scenes stuff - they are worth checking out. (I found out for example that the actress who portrayed Sheila in School Hard, went on to produce two award-winning documentaries, one about a cult, and one about sexual allegations against a hip-hop record producer. Also, apparently Drusilla and Spike were Seinfield fans, and watched all the episodes more than once.)

5. The First Responder Memorial Statue at Liberty Park at the World Trade Center. (it's also where we're supposed to meet in case of a fire or evacuation of the building at Crazy Workplace. I figured that out today - when I looked up the Anne Frank Tree - because I didn't know where Liberty Park was until I looked it up.)



Here's another photo for the road, before I go to bed..