Weblog 278
June 12, 2011~ 12:00 am
As I've shared in here, I've had to circumvent the usual way to get into Blogger since the middle of April, so I've been hanging around and sometimes participating in the help section that was set up by Google, and I've been studying how frantically folks there are clamoring for fixes to their various roadblocks to signing in or seeing their followers-- being able to post (or all of the above) -- and it's apparent how very dependent we've become on media in our everyday lives. We watch.
I would imagine that many of those same folks in the forum also have other social media accounts set up and carry iphones and are texting regularly; then settle down to watch television, choosing what the networks have found to be a very lucrative and easy way to program: 'reality shows'. No paid actors with contracts, no expensive sets or writers for each episode.... just gravy for the producers of these series showing people often behaving badly or ludicrously while the at-home viewer sits glued to their TV, perhaps texting a friend when something particularly outrageous happens on their flat screen.
We've become a world of watchers. It's troubling.
I ask myself if Blogger was working so well for so long for so many people, WHY are there so many problems in connecting now? I can only speak for myself when I say when I connect I allow only Google cookies (which is a must to get in) --but I don't use javascript, I DON'T remain logged in and by blocking third party cookies, I deny all other tidbits that advertizers would LOVE to gather up about me. In other words, I refuse to be marketed to.
I think a lot of people have various ad-blocking, cookie-blocking features or add-on's they employ, and I truly believe that the powers-that-be, in the guise of BETTER MORE EXCITING FEATURES, have just found iframe and coding ways to prevent entrance unless these features are permitted to function.
GOOGLE IS INDEED THE COOKIE MONSTER.
What we are participating in is one long interconnected commercial. That's the simple truth.
What we used to deem 'time for a bathroom trip, time to let the dog out' while those annoying ads blared from our TV sets, we now allow to co-exist in everything we do online. We've allowed this invasion of our privacy and have grown used to being wholly engaged in being panderers for products pushed on every web page, all day long.
Maybe other people don't think about it or maybe they simply don't care about being tracked, but 'new features' come at a price. Blogger can pinpoint where on the globe you are visiting from, what blogs you like and therefore what kind of 'stuff' you'd probably consider buying, and by providing folks who are 'followers', we give them a FATTER, BIGGER POOL of potential customers. More clicks... more friends..... more revenue and more knowledge about you as a consumer... and yes, EVEN FOR THE SPANKING NEW COMPUTERS AND OPERATING SYSTEMS, slower loading time while all the junk stacks up behind the scenes. Don't believe me? Do a right click and view source on any page you visit. You'll be appalled at how much extra JUNK has been piggy-backed and scripted onto that one click.
(I'll stick to proxies that scrape all script away. I like the clean, quick way it renders.) My own blog is a place to share links and neat stuff I've come across, with a bit of personal sharing, but not too much, and that's it. I don't blurt every moment of every day and I like my disconnection from the big machine: I like using the internet on my OWN terms and not letting it use ME. It's as simple as that. (Speech over. Soapbox put away.)
It's been a HOT HOT week, sticky and uncomfortable in these parts and I look forward to the cooling trend that's supposed to ride in by Sunday. (I almost didn't post an entry this evening because it was too stifling here and I was longing for my cool bedroom and a book.) Wayne and I did manage a movie (with electric fans going) --and though I'd looked forward to seeing 'The Kids Are All Right', it was, in my opinion, a 'so-so' film.
Annette Bening was a tiresome control freak. (That lady's eyes SCARE ME. lol) --they're a bit glassy, a bit too much white showing all round the irises making her look rabid at times. She plays a good role, but oh my, how terribly unlikeable.
Julianne Moore's role was a lot more sympathetic, and parts of the film with Mark Ruffalo (always such a sweetie) were nearly comic farce. (I think I enjoyed those most.) But it's precisely those 'farce vs. drama' components at war with one another, that made the film terribly uneven: a film that couldn't decide once and for all on its own thrust.
The lesbian parents come across as cloying in their manner toward one another; I found that a HUGE distraction. Very irksome.
I just didn't buy Moore's jumping into bed with Ruffalo (unless it was because she'd been plucked up by Bening when she was still an unformed young thing who then finds herself firmly under the thumb of a controlling same-sex partner, and one who never gives her enough leash to discover herself sexually.. or in any other way.) But that's left hanging. It bothers the viewer, but doesn't seem to bother the characters one bit.
The real joys of the film were the two children.
The casting was excellent. They portrayed the fruit of that unconvential union with a perfect-pitch mixture of strained loyalty- with love despite it -as they grapple desperately for some definition of where they fit in: both in the world and with their two female 'moms'. The actress Mia Wasikowska was marvelous.
Looking very much like a young Gwyneth Paltrow, her face showed every subtle emotion that moved across it. I think that young lady has quite a career in front of her. I'm sure we'll be hearing much about Ms. Wasikowska.
Overall the film disappointed me.
The lesbian mothers were too smarmily unctuous toward one another and toward their offspring-- and the pat way the 'adultery problem' was patched up so quickly and neatly was the plot point hardest to swallow. (If Bening didn't see that interlude as a HUGE symptom of a marriage having gone very, very wrong, her character must have been even crazier than what she portrayed.) It was a story too neatly sewn-up at the end and too 'I wonder what the heck this film is about' throughout the rest of it.
I found nothing truly exceptional in Bening's performance, and can't really understand why she was nominated for best actress for that particular role. Ah... the mysteries of Hollywood. (I suppose, like Google, like Blogger, it's a question of what sells and what is marketable. Maybe they thought they had an enlightened, urbane, and 'with it' storyline, but all they really had were bits and pieces of a thing that never truly came together with any veracity whatsoever.) Still.... I'm glad I finally saw it. I'd been wondering.
June 13, 2011~ 7:30 pm
See that fun chair above?? Do you hate to sit in them (regardless of how delightfully MOBILE they are?) LOL!! Yep. That's a dental chair... and I spent an hour and a half today after work, lazing about in one of those. Was I afraid? NOT ANY MORE... because there's nuthin' to drill, nuthin' to poke at, just smooth gums. (At this point, 5 1/2 months now since my extractions, my pink gums have pruned up like little Amazonian shrunken heads, and are now ready for the permanent set.)
I went back to Brentwood Aspen Dental again today (first trip since January) to have the blue goo slathered inside my mouth again to take new impressions for tighter fitting dentures. (I've been stubborn, as per usual ...and didn't have any follow up trips for relining or adjustments: no......... I just kept PACKING ON the POLIDENT adhesive.... TUBES at a time, and today was no exception. lol) I thought I was being careful and clever, so I stopped at home to remove and scrub them off, then put 'just a daub of the stuff' to hold them in place for my appointment. Little did I know that 'just a daub' creates a sticky, stubborn MESS trying to get the gunk off the gum tissue and mouth cavity to render a good impression for the second set of choppers. Every speck had to be out, and I have to say it's comparable to trying to get gum off your sneaker sole on a hot day. Those patient folks had to do the impression twice to get a usable mold.
But they were good-humored and pleasant; they even allowed me to stay in that wonderful chair (which ISN'T SCARY AT ALL if there's no drilling going on, no needles, and I have to tell you, those things are COMFORTABLE when you're not shaking in your boots while sitting in them) and I was allowed to remain 'privately toothless' in that chair while they did their work. (That was very sweet of them not to make me sit outside in the waiting room like Moms Mabley
smacking my lips and looking puckered.) I read my library book, I played my little hand-held poker game and was close to nodding off when they came back in with my current dentures COMFORTABLY RELINED with soft, rubbery pink stuff, and THEY FIT!!! LOL!!! What is wrong with me that I didn't avail myself of this sooner? (Yep. Hard-headed is what.)
I'll go back in two days to try on the wax set and critique the look, the fit...... and when everything is just right, they'll go ahead with making my final pair.
So THANK YOU Dr. Christine Smith and thank you Lori, the technician-- (and the sweet lady who patiently cleaned that old Polident out of my gob hole, but I never got your name)..... you GUYS ARE GREAT!!
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
As I've shared in here, I've had to circumvent the usual way to get into Blogger since the middle of April, so I've been hanging around and sometimes participating in the help section that was set up by Google, and I've been studying how frantically folks there are clamoring for fixes to their various roadblocks to signing in or seeing their followers-- being able to post (or all of the above) -- and it's apparent how very dependent we've become on media in our everyday lives. We watch.
I would imagine that many of those same folks in the forum also have other social media accounts set up and carry iphones and are texting regularly; then settle down to watch television, choosing what the networks have found to be a very lucrative and easy way to program: 'reality shows'. No paid actors with contracts, no expensive sets or writers for each episode.... just gravy for the producers of these series showing people often behaving badly or ludicrously while the at-home viewer sits glued to their TV, perhaps texting a friend when something particularly outrageous happens on their flat screen.
We've become a world of watchers. It's troubling.
I ask myself if Blogger was working so well for so long for so many people, WHY are there so many problems in connecting now? I can only speak for myself when I say when I connect I allow only Google cookies (which is a must to get in) --but I don't use javascript, I DON'T remain logged in and by blocking third party cookies, I deny all other tidbits that advertizers would LOVE to gather up about me. In other words, I refuse to be marketed to.
I think a lot of people have various ad-blocking, cookie-blocking features or add-on's they employ, and I truly believe that the powers-that-be, in the guise of BETTER MORE EXCITING FEATURES, have just found iframe and coding ways to prevent entrance unless these features are permitted to function.
What we are participating in is one long interconnected commercial. That's the simple truth.
What we used to deem 'time for a bathroom trip, time to let the dog out' while those annoying ads blared from our TV sets, we now allow to co-exist in everything we do online. We've allowed this invasion of our privacy and have grown used to being wholly engaged in being panderers for products pushed on every web page, all day long.
Maybe other people don't think about it or maybe they simply don't care about being tracked, but 'new features' come at a price. Blogger can pinpoint where on the globe you are visiting from, what blogs you like and therefore what kind of 'stuff' you'd probably consider buying, and by providing folks who are 'followers', we give them a FATTER, BIGGER POOL of potential customers. More clicks... more friends..... more revenue and more knowledge about you as a consumer... and yes, EVEN FOR THE SPANKING NEW COMPUTERS AND OPERATING SYSTEMS, slower loading time while all the junk stacks up behind the scenes. Don't believe me? Do a right click and view source on any page you visit. You'll be appalled at how much extra JUNK has been piggy-backed and scripted onto that one click.
(I'll stick to proxies that scrape all script away. I like the clean, quick way it renders.) My own blog is a place to share links and neat stuff I've come across, with a bit of personal sharing, but not too much, and that's it. I don't blurt every moment of every day and I like my disconnection from the big machine: I like using the internet on my OWN terms and not letting it use ME. It's as simple as that. (Speech over. Soapbox put away.)
It's been a HOT HOT week, sticky and uncomfortable in these parts and I look forward to the cooling trend that's supposed to ride in by Sunday. (I almost didn't post an entry this evening because it was too stifling here and I was longing for my cool bedroom and a book.) Wayne and I did manage a movie (with electric fans going) --and though I'd looked forward to seeing 'The Kids Are All Right', it was, in my opinion, a 'so-so' film.
Annette Bening was a tiresome control freak. (That lady's eyes SCARE ME. lol) --they're a bit glassy, a bit too much white showing all round the irises making her look rabid at times. She plays a good role, but oh my, how terribly unlikeable.
Julianne Moore's role was a lot more sympathetic, and parts of the film with Mark Ruffalo (always such a sweetie) were nearly comic farce. (I think I enjoyed those most.) But it's precisely those 'farce vs. drama' components at war with one another, that made the film terribly uneven: a film that couldn't decide once and for all on its own thrust.
The lesbian parents come across as cloying in their manner toward one another; I found that a HUGE distraction. Very irksome.
I just didn't buy Moore's jumping into bed with Ruffalo (unless it was because she'd been plucked up by Bening when she was still an unformed young thing who then finds herself firmly under the thumb of a controlling same-sex partner, and one who never gives her enough leash to discover herself sexually.. or in any other way.) But that's left hanging. It bothers the viewer, but doesn't seem to bother the characters one bit.
The real joys of the film were the two children.
The casting was excellent. They portrayed the fruit of that unconvential union with a perfect-pitch mixture of strained loyalty- with love despite it -as they grapple desperately for some definition of where they fit in: both in the world and with their two female 'moms'. The actress Mia Wasikowska was marvelous.
Looking very much like a young Gwyneth Paltrow, her face showed every subtle emotion that moved across it. I think that young lady has quite a career in front of her. I'm sure we'll be hearing much about Ms. Wasikowska.
Overall the film disappointed me.
The lesbian mothers were too smarmily unctuous toward one another and toward their offspring-- and the pat way the 'adultery problem' was patched up so quickly and neatly was the plot point hardest to swallow. (If Bening didn't see that interlude as a HUGE symptom of a marriage having gone very, very wrong, her character must have been even crazier than what she portrayed.) It was a story too neatly sewn-up at the end and too 'I wonder what the heck this film is about' throughout the rest of it.
I found nothing truly exceptional in Bening's performance, and can't really understand why she was nominated for best actress for that particular role. Ah... the mysteries of Hollywood. (I suppose, like Google, like Blogger, it's a question of what sells and what is marketable. Maybe they thought they had an enlightened, urbane, and 'with it' storyline, but all they really had were bits and pieces of a thing that never truly came together with any veracity whatsoever.) Still.... I'm glad I finally saw it. I'd been wondering.
June 13, 2011~ 7:30 pm
See that fun chair above?? Do you hate to sit in them (regardless of how delightfully MOBILE they are?) LOL!! Yep. That's a dental chair... and I spent an hour and a half today after work, lazing about in one of those. Was I afraid? NOT ANY MORE... because there's nuthin' to drill, nuthin' to poke at, just smooth gums. (At this point, 5 1/2 months now since my extractions, my pink gums have pruned up like little Amazonian shrunken heads, and are now ready for the permanent set.)
I went back to Brentwood Aspen Dental again today (first trip since January) to have the blue goo slathered inside my mouth again to take new impressions for tighter fitting dentures. (I've been stubborn, as per usual ...and didn't have any follow up trips for relining or adjustments: no......... I just kept PACKING ON the POLIDENT adhesive.... TUBES at a time, and today was no exception. lol) I thought I was being careful and clever, so I stopped at home to remove and scrub them off, then put 'just a daub of the stuff' to hold them in place for my appointment. Little did I know that 'just a daub' creates a sticky, stubborn MESS trying to get the gunk off the gum tissue and mouth cavity to render a good impression for the second set of choppers. Every speck had to be out, and I have to say it's comparable to trying to get gum off your sneaker sole on a hot day. Those patient folks had to do the impression twice to get a usable mold.
But they were good-humored and pleasant; they even allowed me to stay in that wonderful chair (which ISN'T SCARY AT ALL if there's no drilling going on, no needles, and I have to tell you, those things are COMFORTABLE when you're not shaking in your boots while sitting in them) and I was allowed to remain 'privately toothless' in that chair while they did their work. (That was very sweet of them not to make me sit outside in the waiting room like Moms Mabley
smacking my lips and looking puckered.) I read my library book, I played my little hand-held poker game and was close to nodding off when they came back in with my current dentures COMFORTABLY RELINED with soft, rubbery pink stuff, and THEY FIT!!! LOL!!! What is wrong with me that I didn't avail myself of this sooner? (Yep. Hard-headed is what.)
I'll go back in two days to try on the wax set and critique the look, the fit...... and when everything is just right, they'll go ahead with making my final pair.
So THANK YOU Dr. Christine Smith and thank you Lori, the technician-- (and the sweet lady who patiently cleaned that old Polident out of my gob hole, but I never got your name)..... you GUYS ARE GREAT!!
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Labels: Brentwood Aspen Dental, Dr. Christine Smith, Lori dental technician
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