sarakingdom Posted June 7, 2021 Report Share Posted June 7, 2021 Spoiler My friends. Trek has such a checkered history on sexism. It wanted to be so good. And it was not. It was mostly written by horny dudes who liked boobs, and whose vision usually topped out at empowered boobs. But it sort of tried. Sometimes. So there are all these great female characters with a few great moments who are so badly served by the actual shows, and all these great female actors who fought hard for better representation (several getting fired in the process), and you can kind of have great female characters out of that, but you have to subvert the narrative and see what they were trying to do instead of what they actually did. Ah, the old days, when all we had was subtext. Which segues neatly into Voyager. It had so much promise. A great cast. A great premise. It began shortly after the zenith of televised Star Trek, and ended shortly before the nadir of televised Star Trek, and that tells you most of what you need to know. They bottled it on their great premise by the second episode, and pulled most of their punches. By the final years, one of the two leads was phoning it in, hoping to be fired and released from his contract, and the other was playing her character as driven by severe PTSD or undiagnosed bipolar just to make sense of the bizarrely variable writing decisions. Oh, and they also hired the girlfriend of one of the producers to provide gratuitous tits and ass, and kind of made the show about her. Fortunately, she turned out to be a really good actor and sort of overcame that somewhat, but it shows the quality of the production decisions going on by that point. But there were good things. A very dry sense of humor. An excellent cast, and quite a few excellent characters. With slightly better writing, possibly the best starship captain of any series. It's time to see if Voyager can be reclaimed with a little hindsight, a healthy dose of narrative subversion, and the new realization that all Star Trek series are really about the space bonking. There were definitely problems with the feminism in Voyager, despite this being their big feminist flagship show. Everyone knew it at the time. Literally everyone, especially the actors involved, who tried their best. But a lot of the feminist eyes viewing it were still using some yardsticks highly based on the male gaze, and that has changed. Also, feminism in general is in some ways tamer than it was in the 1990s, so it's possible it accompished more than we thought or we graded it on an overly steep curve. (Enterprise tanked the curve in all respects, so on that alone, it's due a re-evaluation. Certainly it's no DS9, but I think we can safely say it's no Enterprise, either.) So Voyager may be better than we thought, and there may be an excellent show hiding underneath the flaws of the show we got. Basically, I'm tired of Kathryn Janeway not being the most awesome thing ever, so it's time to go back with a rewatch and see if we can change that. This challenge: Captain's Log - Stuff is going on in my life, and I need my brain to work on it, so I will write it all down and create documentation. This is the "pics or it didn't happen" of the thinking process. Starfleet Fitness Training - Does what it says on the tin. Vulcan Meditation - Having Vulcan officers makes this hard to avoid. Ship Routines - Routines are hard, but ships run on them. I will try again. What Would Janeway Do - Take advice from Janeway during my rewatch. 14 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Tanktimus the Encourager Posted June 7, 2021 Report Share Posted June 7, 2021 I've always wanted to ask Kate Mulgrew what she thought of the inconsistent writing of Janeway. Following, of course. 2 Quote Current Challenge "By the Most-Righteous-and-Blessed Beard of Sir Tanktimus the Encourager!" - Jarl Rurik Harrgath Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2021 12 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said: I've always wanted to ask Kate Mulgrew what she thought of the inconsistent writing of Janeway. I feel for that whole damn cast. Everyone but Jeri Ryan and Robert Picardo got a pretty raw deal on the writing end. None of them ended up being what they could have been. But on top of that, Kate Mulgrew ran headfirst into the producers' major blind spots every season because it was literally her job to do that. Rough gig. I think she did a lot better with what she had to work with than many would have. 5 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 Week 0 Goals Captain's Log: Find a fresh notebook Begin with three morning pages End the day with one page Starfleet Fitness Training: Week 0: Do one fitness thing a day Bonus: move the first one onto a morning schedule Vulcan Meditation: Five minutes a day. Five minutes of body scan or metta at bedtime. Ship Routines: Continue the daily semi-schedules, and adjust as needed. Move the morning alarm back half an hour. Work on a more doable evening routine. Get the bathroom media center back online, and schedule for routines. What Would Janeway Do: S01x01-S01x07 6 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 Weekly Template Spoiler Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Captain's Log: Morning pages Captain's Log: Evening page Captain's Log: TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ WWJD? Starfleet Fitness: do one thing Starfleet Fitness: yoga TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ Starfleet Fitness: strength TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ Vulcan Meditation: 5 min/day Vulcan Meditation: bedtime Ship Routines: morning Ship Routines: tasks done Ship Routines: tasks undone Ship Routines: evening Stardate: Week 2 Day X Daily Schedule Planning Spoiler Deep Work 1 Deep Work 2 Deep Work 3 Deep Work 4 Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Review number crunching Intro to R Work 1 Work 2 Work 3 End of Work Day break TBD break UFYH sessions break Make food Run outside errands Sunlight break and walk Start of Day Project 1 Project 2 End of Day Hydration & setup Morning pages Sunlight walk WWJD? Meta course Burnout book Yoga PM fast clean Daily List Generator & Tracker Spoiler To Do Now Done Prime directives Meditate - 5 Bedtime meditation - 5 Evening pages 15 Evening routine - 30 Morning pages - 30 Walk - 30 Basic duties Make a meal - 15 Make a meal - 15 Run one errand - 15 UFYH cleaning session 1 - 15 UFYH cleaning session 2 - 15 Meds & hydrate - 5 Ship Maintenance Bathroom maintenance Sink zero Red alert Yellow alert Research (pick 4) Course 1 🌟 Course 2 🌟 Course 3 🌟 Admin paperwork Meta course 1- 30 Burnout book Intro to R 30 Review number crunching Shore Leave Crochet - 15 Coloring book - 15 WWJD? - 60 Music- 30 Cargo Bay (stored tasks) More server work Finish holiday cleanup prep mailers Grocery top up Tidy plant pots and move to final location Replant microgreens Solve bathroom media power problem - 15 Plan evening routine - 30 Finish irrigation setup Plant herbs and lettuce Check notes for unfinished jobs Cargo Bay (stored projects) Get hall off hotspot list Fridge organize More laundry Food portion and freeze Cabinet organize Mop, sweep, and rug Mount Awful Closet Tidy laundry room 3 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2021 The Voyager Rewatch So about the time Voyager came out, Trek was peaking. Someone really had their eye on the production quality of late TNG and DS9. There was moral complexity. There were seasonal arcs. Strong ensemble casts. This was the climate where they designed Voyager: a feminist icon for the Trek universe, a BAMF captain to rival Kirk and Picard, and a politically complicated show where the Starfleet crew and the outlaw political dissident crew they were chasing had to work together one ship to survive a difficult situation that would test them and their Starfleet principles to breaking. They cast it right. They even recast it better; Kate Mulgrew was a replacement for a first choice that didn't work. They had built up the nuanced political conflict and sympathy for both sides over several seasons of TNG and DS9. It was very forward-looking TV for the mid-90s, and could have outdone Battlestar Galactica for watershed sci-fi moments. The show it could have been would have been memorable today. But it didn't become that show, because of people got scared, and started pulling the tiller away from whoever was steering the production quality. The network nixed the political conflict (and also, later on, a dark season they had planned based on a really good two-parter that would have been amazing). Those punches got pulled, and it shows. It's like part of the premise of the show just... mostly disappears, except when mentioned in passing. One of the producers hated story arcs, and started pushing the show back towards 1980s-style episodic TV, which it finally reached when Enterprise came out, and was utter 1980s episodic cookie-cutter extruded sci-fi product with a 1980s sci-fi star at the helm. Voyager got caught up in the really uneven transition period, and was tossed around from the peaks of DS9's strong modern sci-fi to the lows of 1980s Trek-lite. And worst of all, what they did to Janeway. Here's the thing about women on TV: even today, they're judged on a different yardstick than male characters. You put in a female lead, you know a portion of the audience will hate them, because people statistically react differently to men giving orders versus women giving orders; the man is authoritative, the woman is a bitch. You give a female character any moral complexity, and a portion of the audience will think she's a total villain who needs to go down, while not doing the same to the male characters, and even full antiheroes. (Look at, say, audience reaction to Breaking Bad. Skylar White is despised for not being a more supportive wife. And if there were ever anyone who had strong ethical reasons to be a very unsupportive wife...) There's still today a very strong expectation that women, and especially women on TV, be, above all, likeable. That they put others first, never cause conflict, and make people feel good. So if you put a woman in charge of a starship where she gives orders and has command conflicts, and put her in a scenario where she needs to make the hard and sometimes morally compromising decisions, you are going to get some backlash from part of the audience. It's a given. And someone involved in Voyager got very scared of that. They started pushing writers to make her more likeable. More acceptably feminine. Softer, more maternal, more idealistic, more vulnerable. It ended up with half the writers writing the steely badass Janeway commanding a starship through unknown hostile territory, and half the writers writing gentle space-mom loading her lost ducklings into the space-minivan for a trip home. Mulgrew did her best to keep the character on track, but in the end just had to find a way to rationalise these swings. And that is how we lost our amazing morally-nuanced feminist icon show. What we were going to get 25 years ago, but didn't. But it is time for a reevaluation. First, because I'm disinclined to let the bastards win, and second, because female leadership has changed a bit since the mid-90s, and it may be that the show reads differently to modern eyes. Back then, it was very much a case of playing by male rules and playing the game hard; it was the adult version of being a tomboy. Do the job like men do. Speak with the verbal authority tells that men have. And at the time, that was probably necessary. But that's still a privileging of masculinity as the common standard, and that has changed somewhat. A version of Janeway who is leading by blending traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine behavior may look less jarring today than it did then. Less diverse in terms of gender roles for women and less pure badass than the original plan, so still a bit of a loss for onscreen representation, but less jarring. I hope so, because Janeway is easily the best Trek captain there is, and Mulgrew is easily up there with Patrick Stewart and Avery Brooks as an actor, if not (I'm gonna go there) better. She just had a more badly-written show. It me. And also, I suspect, Mulgrew. Plus, having reluctantly accepted that all Star Trek is, at its core, about horny space bonking, I'm now better equipped to handle the lizard sex and hologram-shagging than I was when they were getting their eyerolling hormones all over my serious-business lady-BAMF show and following it up with trip to the tiki bar. I mean, I'll still roll my eyes, but that's the basic DNA of Star Trek. The full-on space-mom scenes are going to drive me nuts. A lot of the writing was tanking anyway, compared the highs of previous years. It's going to vary wildly between 1987 sci-fi, 1997 sci-fi, and maybe a little 2007 sci-fi. It's going to be more potential and subtext than solid execution. But I do think it will reward a return to it with modern eyes. It's apparently a big favorite of new Trek fans, and when it was on form, it was really on form. However, I am still feeding Neelix piece by piece to Jar-Jar Binks at the first opportunity. NO REDEMPTION. 7 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 Stardate: Week 0 Day 0 Getting a Sunday start to zero week. Daily List Generator & Tracker Spoiler To Do Now Done Prime directives data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==Bedtime meditation Evening bath - 30 Walk 🌟 Evening page Morning pages Meditate 30 Basic duties Meds & hydrate Eat Run one errand (trash) 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Make a meal Red alert Tidy workspace - 15 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Tidy fridge 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Yellow alert Move alarm back half an hour Order groceries- 5 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Put away groceries 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Research (pick 4) Admin paperwork - 60 🌟data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Cargo Bay (stored tasks) More server work prep mailers Finish holiday cleanup Cargo Bay (stored projects) Get bathroom off hotspot list Get hall off hotspot list Fridge organize Food portion and freeze Cabinet organize Finish mopping, sweeping, and rug More laundry 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 Since we're live, a video to celebrate the start of the challenge: 2 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 Stardate: Week 0 Day 1 Monday! First, today's musical offering. You will begin to sense a theme. Next some tracking for the week: Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Captain's Log: Morning pages 🖖 Captain's Log: Evening page Captain's Log: TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ WWJD? Starfleet Fitness: do one thing Starfleet Fitness: yoga TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ Starfleet Fitness: strength TBD ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ Vulcan Meditation: 5 min/day Vulcan Meditation: bedtime 🖖 Ship Routines: morning 🖖 Ship Routines: tasks done Ship Routines: tasks undone Ship Routines: evening Daily Schedule Planning Hide contents Deep Work 2 Deep Work 3 Deep Work 4 Admin paperwork 🌟 Admin paperwork 🌟 TBD Work 2 Work 3 End of Work Day break UFYH sessions break Make food Run outside errands Sunlight break Project 1 Project 2 End of Day Project Downtime Project Downtime Yoga PM fast clean Daily List Generator & Tracker Hide contents To Do Now Done Prime directives Evening pages 15 Meditate - 5 Walk - 30 🌟 Morning pages Bedtime meditation Basic duties Bathroom off hotspot list - 15 🌟 Hall off hotspot list 🌟 PM Make a meal - 15 Batch cook breakfasts Meds & hydrate Small job Get package 🌟 Red alert Kitchen maintenance - 15 🌟 Yellow alert PM Do laundry overnight- 5 Research (pick 4) Admin paperwork- prep 🌟 Admin paperwork - check 🌟 Admin paperwork - email 🌟 Shore Leave WWJD? - 60 Cargo Bay (stored tasks) More server work Finish holiday cleanup prep mailers Grocery top up Tidy plant pots and move to final location Replant microgreens Solve bathroom media power problem - 15 Plan evening routine - 30 Finish irrigation setup Plant herbs and lettuce Check notes for unfinished jobs Cargo Bay (stored projects) Get bathroom off hotspot list Get hall off hotspot list Fridge organize Food portion and freeze Cabinet organize Finish mopping, sweeping, and rug More laundry Mount Awful Closet Tidy laundry room 1 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 On a side note, geeze, who knew there could be so much crap on just the top two shelves of the fridge? Yes, I finally started cleaning out the damn fridge. Kind of tired and don't-wanna-ish today. Took some willpower to Even. I need to get it together for a couple of days of doing stuff before I can spend some time in brain recovery mode, so cheer me on here, guys. 2 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Snarkyfishguts Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 I am here for the Janeway love. I hated when she would get super maternal, because it didn't really mesh with her character. For me, she was at her best when she was compassionate, but also working. like she's a Captain! She doesn't need your approval, you need hers. and she's going to care about you and protect her crew, but she has a whole ship to run, deal with your shit and do your job. And 7 of 9 was a lot of fun, but you know what bugged me the most about her? The incredibly sexist innocent sexpot thing they did to her "Oh I don't understand romance and relationships, is THIS sexy?" bending over and puckering lips. What the hell. I loved when she was on the away mission with Tuvok (the episode with The Rock and Jeffrey Combs and oooh the guy who also played Martok.. dang what is his name? Dang. ANYWAY. I loved it when she apologized for the awkward silence and not talking more and he was like "Does this feel awkward to you?" and she was like "NOPE" and they were really happy in that friendship. And I would've loved to see her character be like "Look bitches, I was raised like this, and I'm gonna have bad days, but overall, I'm okay as I am, stop trying to make me fit your female construct!" And who put her in heels? BORG DONT WEAR HEELS. *ahem* to the point: following! 3 Quote Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 13 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said: I am here for the Janeway love. I hated when she would get super maternal, because it didn't really mesh with her character. For me, she was at her best when she was compassionate, but also working. like she's a Captain! She doesn't need your approval, you need hers. and she's going to care about you and protect her crew, but she has a whole ship to run, deal with your shit and do your job. It was a weird swing. Compassionate but also no-nonsense captaining, yes. But there were some strange "oh no, she has to be more stereotypically feminine" moments, which was really odd, when surely the point was that she didn't have to be and she wasn't. She commanded a starship. It's not that it can't be done, it's just that the kind of guy who runs Star Trek has never been remotely sophisticated enough with female characters to do it. They've had some great female characters, but honestly despite their showrunners rather than because of them. All their showrunners were, at best, way stuck in the past on women. 32 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said: And 7 of 9 was a lot of fun, but you know what bugged me the most about her? The incredibly sexist innocent sexpot thing they did to her "Oh I don't understand romance and relationships, is THIS sexy?" bending over and puckering lips. What the hell. Yeah, she ended up being a pretty good character because Jeri Ryan is very good, but the character design was a really cynical tits-and-ass ratings ploy. Really cynical. And it kind of worked, because, honestly, there is a segment of the audience that has always watched Star Trek for that, and feels entitled to get it. I think the writing was just all over the place. You got some very smart modern sci-fi, and you got some real lightweight throwback sci-fi romance for teenage boys. (Not that teenage boys shouldn't have access to cheesy romance novels of their own, but decide what you are, man. You can't be both. Also, just try not to make it 1960s sexist. Boys deserve better, too.) The whole show is just a weird jumble where sometimes the writers are phoning it in, sometimes one of the actors is, the producers and the network didn't support it... nearly every character came out sort of inconsistent as a result. Which is a shame, because it is a pretty strong cast, for the most part. 33 minutes ago, Snarkyfishguts said: I loved when she was on the away mission with Tuvok (the episode with The Rock and Jeffrey Combs and oooh the guy who also played Martok.. dang what is his name? Dang. ANYWAY. I loved it when she apologized for the awkward silence and not talking more and he was like "Does this feel awkward to you?" and she was like "NOPE" and they were really happy in that friendship. I'm actually thinking how they wrote the men's roles and how they relate to the women might be one of the things I pay attention to in the reevaluation. I recently rethought how they handled Beverly Crusher, and decided that, while she was way underused, in a very stealth way they'd actually done a surprisingly compelling and unusual female character there, one that's very unusual in terms of onscreen representation. Part of that was a very mature friendship with Picard that was close, involved ambiguous attraction, and yet was always professional. They didn't even go the route of angsting about the need to keep it professional, it just went without saying, and there was a sort of mature realism to that that I didn't appreciate first time around. (She also did not once angst about whether her job had ever made her a bad parent.) Tuvok will probably be one of the ones I look at, because he's got a very old friendship with Janeway that I didn't pay attention to the first time around, and he's the parenting expert on the ship, which is a subtle inversion of what you'd expect traditionally. And if you look at the cast once the show matures, there is collectively an interesting gender role setup. All three female leads - Janeway, Torres, and Seven - are very forceful alpha characters who fly somewhat against traditional female characterization at least part of the time, while all of the male leads are lower-key personalities in support roles to them, and very content with that. (With the exception of the EMH, I suppose, whom I can't call low-key.) It's a very unusual setup. So, like with Crusher, I'm interested to see what they got right implicitly, even while they were mishandling some of the explicit stuff they were doing. 3 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 In proper Janeway fashion, we are starting with a massive coffee addiction. One liter of coffee, which will become two liters of iced coffee. Mmm, hydration. It is too hot for pants. 4 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 Also, I've just realized that I basically only got breakfast groceries. Oops. I may need to get some dinner groceries. First I'll see what I stashed in the freezer for getting covid. Now that I have antibodies, I don't need that stuff anymore, and I want my freezer space back. I did have a pretty good breakfast, though. Rather than make omelets every day, I made a breakfast egg bake with all the ingredients. It's not quite as good, but it's very close, and 1/4 the work. I now have one shelf of cheeseboard pickles and olives and one shelf of breakfast. The next shelf down is still a work in progress, but it's basically for wine and iced coffee. (Priorities.)This leaves me short a shelf for dinner. I'm going to have to put that in the drawers somehow. 2 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Harriet Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 On 6/12/2021 at 12:04 AM, sarakingdom said: But it didn't become that show, because of people got scared, and started pulling the tiller away from whoever was steering the production quality. The network nixed the political conflict (and also, later on, a dark season they had planned based on a really good two-parter that would have been amazing). Those punches got pulled, and it shows. It's like part of the premise of the show just... mostly disappears, except when mentioned in passing. One of the producers hated story arcs, and started pushing the show back towards 1980s-style episodic TV, which it finally reached when Enterprise came out, and was utter 1980s episodic cookie-cutter extruded sci-fi product with a 1980s sci-fi star at the helm. Voyager got caught up in the really uneven transition period, and was tossed around from the peaks of DS9's strong modern sci-fi to the lows of 1980s Trek-lite. That's sad to learn about. But we have to look for role models where we can, so if you can reinterpet the show as you watch, that sounds like a good plan. Quote Let cheese and oxen and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination - Harriet the Viking Just be bold, fluid and unapologetic, not small, hairy and indecisive - Harriet the Artist You can absorb me! - Harriet the Contextless Guru Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 18 minutes ago, Harriet said: That's sad to learn about. But we have to look for role models where we can, so if you can reinterpet the show as you watch, that sounds like a good plan. It wasn't all lows. It did have some real highs, too. There are some amazingly badass fan videos of Voyager, so the reinterpretation doesn't seem all that hard for part of the fan base. And I sort of suspect that it might be easier to like if you go in knowing what show you're getting. I think we were all expecting something else at the time, something closer to how DS9 was playing out. They'd really built up the internal political elements of this in a specific way in previous shows. It had a touch of that, but also a touch of the earlier shows that really softened it a bit, and tamped down some of the realism in favor of much lighter fare. And after the past few years, maybe that's not going to look like such a sellout, you know? Maybe after the past few years, shows about difficult situations that focus more optimistically on how close-knit people become and how well they adapt together are more welcome than the entirely gritty version. If it turns out the core theme of the show is a deep dive on the value of found family, which I'm kind of expecting, that's not a bad thing. I could see why it would mess with what we expected from a feminist starship captain story in 1995, because we didn't think it'd be focusing on the traditional feminine nurturing role... but maybe in the context of a show about found family, it doesn't read that way. It may read far more as a particular type of leadership for a particular challenge, and the soft skills involved may be more evident today than they were then. Soft skills in women playing the boys' game were not especially valued back then, but it doesn't mean they aren't valuable. I don't know, it'll really depend on what they do with it. But a couple of things make me hopeful that it'll genuinely read better. But I do expect unevenness in the writing. Alas. 3 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Mistr Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 15 hours ago, sarakingdom said: On a side note, geeze, who knew there could be so much crap on just the top two shelves of the fridge? Yes, I finally started cleaning out the damn fridge. Yeah, it's amazing what can hide on the top shelf of the fridge. Quite large jars can completely disappear. I swear we should just give up on saving little takeout containers of sauces. The chances of finding them and using them is negligible. 15 hours ago, sarakingdom said: I need to get it together for a couple of days of doing stuff before I can spend some time in brain recovery mode, so cheer me on here, guys. 2 hours ago, sarakingdom said: Also, I've just realized that I basically only got breakfast groceries. Oops. I may need to get some dinner groceries. First I'll see what I stashed in the freezer for getting covid. Now that I have antibodies, I don't need that stuff anymore, and I want my freezer space back. I did have a pretty good breakfast, though. Rather than make omelets every day, I made a breakfast egg bake with all the ingredients. It's not quite as good, but it's very close, and 1/4 the work. I now have one shelf of cheeseboard pickles and olives and one shelf of breakfast. The next shelf down is still a work in progress, but it's basically for wine and iced coffee. (Priorities.)This leaves me short a shelf for dinner. I'm going to have to put that in the drawers somehow. Food is food. You can eat whatever sounds good at any meal. On Friday morning, Elf had just gotten home from work and was cooking a burger. I asked them to make one for me too. I don't see any reason why a burger would be appropriate for an after-work meal and not a before-work meal, which happened at 8am. That said, variety in food is a good thing, and there are important things that could be done with the space you free up. 2 hours ago, sarakingdom said: In proper Janeway fashion, we are starting with a massive coffee addiction. One liter of coffee, which will become two liters of iced coffee. Mmm, hydration. What is your preferred way to make iced coffee? Inquiring minds want to know. 2 hours ago, sarakingdom said: It is too hot for pants. Yep. I am soooooo happy I bought these earlier this spring. They are perfect for pretending to wear pants for work. Quote Level 71 Viking paladin My current challenge Battle log Link to comment
fearless 2.0 Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 cheering you on even though I know shit about sf movies! yay for metta meditation! and fitness things! and clean fridges!!! 1 Quote be fearlessly yourself! Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 19 minutes ago, Mistr said: That said, variety in food is a good thing, and there are important things that could be done with the space you free up. Yeah, the issue is mostly variety. I basically have one and a half types of meal available. I can eat a lot of eggs and salsa, but not only eggs and salsa. 19 minutes ago, Mistr said: What is your preferred way to make iced coffee? Inquiring minds want to know. My very favorite way is 12 ounces of ice with 3 ounces of espresso poured over it, and some cream. The melting ice dilutes the espresso just right. My second favorite way is cold brew made double strong to account for the ice/dairy dilution. This is neither; I just made a French press and am pouring it over ice. It's adequate. I'm accepting the extra dilution because I didn't use the decaf, and a liter of double strong full-caf seemed excessive, even for me. 21 minutes ago, Mistr said: Yep. I am soooooo happy I bought these earlier this spring. They are perfect for pretending to wear pants for work. Those are kind of cute. One of the Indian fashion bloggers I ollow has done some interesting things with palazzo pants. I know I have enough 3/4-length leggings for summer, I'm just not sure where they all are. I'll have to round them up. 1 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 I did the annoying thing I'd been procrastinating on, because that's what Janeway would do. She probably doesn't know the meaning of the word. (Unfortunately, I do, and should have done this earlier. I'm not saying this last minute, but it's very darned close. Still. I made myself do it, and before the actual last minute. This is an improvement over recent performance.) 6 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
sarakingdom Posted June 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 Woot, success with the not exactly last minute thing. My timing did not bite me. 4 Quote I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever. Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23 Link to comment
Scaly Freak Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 6 hours ago, Mistr said: Yep. I am soooooo happy I bought these earlier this spring. They are perfect for pretending to wear pants for work. I want these. All the red and black ones. 1 Quote The Great Reading Thread of 2023 “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scalyfreak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26; Ch 27; Ch 28; Ch 29; Ch 30; Ch 31; Ch 32; Ch 33; Ch 34; Ch 35; Ch 36; Ch 37; Ch 38; Ch 39; Ch 40; Intermission V; Ch 41; Ch 42; Ch 43; Ch 44; Ch 45; Ch 46 Link to comment
Mad Hatter Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 8 hours ago, sarakingdom said: I did the annoying thing I'd been procrastinating on, because that's what Janeway would do. She probably doesn't know the meaning of the word. (Unfortunately, I do, and should have done this earlier. I'm not saying this last minute, but it's very darned close. Still. I made myself do it, and before the actual last minute. This is an improvement over recent performance.) Hooray! Awesome job. 1 Quote Link to comment
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