Open Thread for Personal Stuff: May 2017 Cat Bird Edition

@NickNameNick:
I was disappointed with Jennifer Government. It could have been really good, given that the author writes well and the theme is interesting. However, it felt like a novel-length straw-man without even the wit of a clever satire.

Altered Carbon, on the other hand, is magnificent. Like all the best sci-fi it’s really about our own age, using technological extrapolation as a device to examine our society.

I’ve recently started reading Apex Hides the Hurt. It’s fun – I like the very terse, bare style.

@NickNameNick:
I see what you mean about Takeshi Kovacs. I have a theory that he’s actually an unstable mixture of two different characters: the human being that Morgan wanted to write him as, and the hardboiled killer that the genre requires him to be written as. The character sort of lurches from one characterisation to the other depending on the needs of the particular scene. It’s a huge credit to Morgan as a writer that he manages to tie this together into a single fairly believable character.

I haven’t read the other two, but they’re on the list.

I had a date this week – yay! And it was good. And then I saw him again the next day and made him my famous slow cooked pork. (not a euphemism)

There will be a bit of break as he’s away for work and then spending time with his kids, but I’ll see him again after that even though I’m not 100% sure about it.

Part of me is a little nervous about him because he reminds me of my ex in some ways. They kinda sorta work in the same field. But this one is better looking and at a more prestigious employer – the fact that this pleases me worries me, too.

@wwth (from a while back) – I’ve had similar problems with work, being told I’m not getting enough tasks done, and then “The reason you make mistakes is that you get in a rush.”

wwth and dreemr – Thanks, I think I’ll try that since my lifelong habit has been to read first, then watch. I’ve gotten over (mostly) being disappointed by differences between books and their adaptations, except when it affects the story heavily.

Stephen King I’ve always had to read first because a good portion of what he writes I don’t want to see in movie form. If “Misery” is on TV, I’ll change the channel or leave the room if at all possible. Same for “Cujo” and “Pet Sematary.” I have problems with too much tension and suspense and a book is easy to put down until I’m ready to deal with it again.

@rugbyyogi, I think the fact that you are aware of the things you mention means you are unlikely to let them blind you either way – I mean as to whether or not you feel that you are genuinely getting on well with this person and whether or not you and they are a good enough fit for each other to have another date or two … So hopefully you can enjoy each other’s company and see how it goes … ?

Anyway, yay for having had an enjoyable date and a nice meal!

I went to a Captain Awkward meetup and everyone was lovely and also extra yay I got some Very Useful info wrt a benefit I am trying to help someone get, because by chance someone at the meetup had a flatmate who had done the same process and someone else there also had some advice. Hooray! The condition that means they need the benefit in the first place will still be there, of course, making their life more difficult – but it certainly helps to get advice about the application process.

@Hambeast – give them a try, you’ll like both, probably. I used to re-read and re-watch things but I don’t do that so much anymore, and I haven’t done it with either ASoIaF nor with GoT, but I have enjoyed both.

My son has the same trouble with high tension in films. It’s better when it’s something we watch at home, where you can kind of dilute it a bit? If it’s something I’ve already seen or know the ending of, though, I will often tell him if the character he’s worried about lives/dies/etc. He HATES ambiguous or unhappy endings, so I avoid those with him if I can – and I am one who really likes ambiguous or non-standard endings.

I was never able to watch scary movies until I was around 21-22 years old, I think “Nightmare on Elm Street” was the first one I saw, on HBO. Then, during the heydey of VHS, for a long time horror films were the ones most often out on video, so I saw a lot of older ones then.

For everyone who wants/needs hugs:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c2/cc/94/c2cc94e242b589eea347014046406fd6.jpg
http://www.island-cats.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/BigCatHug.gif

Victoria – That’s a good idea, I should try that sometime. I will still never watch “Misery” though, it was hard enough to get through in print! Also, people here are great about allowing you to share your worries/issues/problems. If you think it might help, give it a try?

Dormousing_it – I was giving Catbeast the CBD oil for appetite issues; he has an abdominal growth that kind of smooshes his stomach and small intestines. I’ve stopped for now because he started vomiting it up and is currently eating as well without it as he was with. That being said, he hardly eats enough to keep a bird alive anymore. :/ He still enjoys his daily life, just more slowly. I’m enjoying every day I still get to have with him but I don’t think we’ll have him for too much longer; he also has kidney failure and a heart murmur which makes him a non-candidate for surgery. :'(

A few weeks ago, he did have some bald spots developing around the whiskers on his mouth. I looked it up on a forum and a few people said something about bacterial growth in water dishes so I started washing his water dish every morning and they have gone away completely. Since your cat has the bald spot on her back, I think allergies or reactions to bites or scratches is more likely. CBD oil can help those, too.

If you live in a state with legal or medical cannabis, it’s probably less expensive to get CBD oil in a dispensary if you can; it’s quite pricey online.

@PaganReader

Antidepressants can make it hard to feel emotions?

A significant number of people experience SSRIs as feelling like their brains are wrapped in cotton or they are watching the world through a glass pane. I am one of those people.

Ooglyboggles: YAY!

@EJ and Dalillama:

I have a theory that he’s actually an unstable mixture of two different characters: the human being that Morgan wanted to write him as, and the hardboiled killer that the genre requires him to be written as. The character sort of lurches from one characterisation to the other depending on the needs of the particular scene. It’s a huge credit to Morgan as a writer that he manages to tie this together into a single fairly believable character.

Pretty sure that’s the point of the character; he’s had massive brainfuckery to make him a supersoldier and it shows. Also, he was a person before that, and that shows through sometimes. Also probably has a million kinds of ptsd.

Not to mention the physical dysphoria and identity crisis that comes with switching bodies and, in some cases, making copies of yourself. Moreso than the majority of other characters within the setting. It’s mentioned off-handedly that the average person is “re-sleeved” only once, because they can only afford that much and getting transferred to a new sleeve once is more than enough.

I liked the bit involving Irene Elliot where, upon sleeping with her husband in a body that isn’t her own (’cause Takeshi had to be a dick to an antagonistic benefactor and wasn’t able to get her original one back), she claims it felt like an act of infidelity on both of their parts as well as all the out-of-body moments Kovacs has when occupying Elias Ryker’s body. Specifically the fact he finds it difficult to quit smoking due to Ryker’s own habits, then wonders at one point if his attraction to Kristin Ortega has more to do with physical chemistry than through personal interaction.

@Francesca Torpedo:

I notice you seem to be disquieted by overly cute things

So, kind of like a Klingon…?

😛