Blogocentric Formulations (Book)

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I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.

Blogocentric Formulations

Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).

Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:

"The Soundtrackers Group"

"Blogging Circle of Friends "

"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"

"JAFBG"

"Take up Your Cross"

Thanks for stopping by!

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Aiva Raine

Nov 6, 2024 at 4:49pm
In response to "October Watch List"

Grin. I loved Psych! I rewatched White Collar approx a month ago. Having issues finding good new shows so I've resorted to rewatching my favorites from old.

Currently rewatching Castle, Supernatural, and Buffy/Angel.

Enjoyed The Great and Lady Jane Grey, sad they both got cancelled. The "I made a teddy bear" episode on The Great was so funny hubby and I had to rewatch that scene 4 times before we could finally stop laughing hysterically at it.

Thanks for your recaps of shows- it's given me some new items to add to our lists.

Jeff

Nov 6, 2024 at 3:20am
In response to "October Watch List"

Aiva Raine

- I've actually watched all three! PERSON OF INTEREST was a really good show, but WHITE COLLAR and BURN NOTICE (along with another great USA Network show called PSYCH) are some of my favorite television shows of all time. I actually just started rewatching WHITE COLLAR a few weeks ago!

Aiva Raine

Nov 5, 2024 at 3:08pm
In response to "October Watch List"

Wasn't aware that there was a movie for "What we do in the shadows"- thought it was just a TV show on Hulu. Thanks for sharing that tidbit- will find the movie and add it to our watch list. The TV show is quite humorous.

I also enjoyed the Lincoln Lawyer- need to watch the newest season.

Have you ever checked out Person of Interest, White Collar, or Burn Notice? If so, did you enjoy them?

1 Like

Aiva Raine

Aug 3, 2024 at 11:10pm
In response to "Man on the Moon"

Just missed seeing the moon landing by a few years and as one of those "old people", I will admit to being depressed at our lack of space progress. Sure, we've got great new telescopes that are letting us see wonderful things way out in space, but we still haven't even put a man back on the moon again after all this time. Putting someone on Mars looked promising for a while, until Elon Musk went all nutso and can't stop mucking up everything. Yeah, he's got reusable rockets, but we aren't really progressing much beyond that.

I truly hope I can live long enough to see humans do some real space exploration. Because even though I didn't see the original moon landing in person- watching it on TV after the fact still was pretty freaking cool. Although watching the Challenger blow up from our desks at school sucked. Here's hoping we get to bring the astronauts stuck in space home soon. Maybe NASA can work with someone besides Boeing for that!

Aiva Raine

Aug 3, 2024 at 11:01pm
In response to "July 2024 Watch List"

Only seen the Fall Guy and Deadpool & Wolverine. Both fell a bit flat for me. I think because the first Deadpool was just so awesome. This last one felt a bit Disneyfied. Yes, I know- tons of gore and the occasional sex joke, but it just, meh. There wasn't any real "bite" to it.

The first one had a real plot. It made you belly laugh hard. And you cared a bit about the characters. This last one, I didn't really care at all. About anyone. I laughed, but most were the "oh wow- that's so over the top it's funny" laughs, not "that's freaking hysterical and I'm still gonna be laughing about that on the way home".

Fall guy- it was more cheesy than funny or entertaining. It wasn't that memorable at all. So not memorable that I'm trying to remember anything I hated or liked about it and well, I can't. I do remember at the end going, well, not sure that was worth the 2 or so hours it took to watch.

There really hasn't been a movie lately that's wowed me. Everything seems to be trying to follow the whole Marvel action movie formula and they just don't do it for me. There's only so many explosions, fart jokes, and over the top gore scenes all done special effecty that you can do before you've completely lost me. I quit watching Marvel or Superhero movies a while ago, but went to Deadpool because- it was Deadpool and my son asked me to go for a Mom/Son outing.

I've tried watching many of the newer shows that get all the hype and they fall flat. I've gone back to watching reruns of shows I actually enjoyed- like Leverage, or White Collar. I'm on rewatch # 3 of Supernatural, rewatch 2 of Vampire Diaries, got about half-way through rewatch 2 of Originals before I gave up.

I did enjoy "The Great" and was bummed they killed it after 3 seasons. That was funny!

I loved the Bridgerton series, but this last season left me a bit unimpressed.

I'm currently rewatching Warehouse 13 with hubby who has never seen it. We watched Eureka before then. Somehow- all these older shows are much better than 99% of the newer shows and I honestly want to know why.

Why do most of the newer shows suck? Lazy writing? AI writing? What's the story? I'm really curious?

Kåre เลียม Enga

Aug 3, 2024 at 4:46pm
In response to "July 2024 Watch List"

I don't go out or have a television. I would watch more on-line but the internet has been wonky recently.

Two Thai BLs:

"1000 Year Old Vampire"

So... uneven. Some of the premise makes sense in a supernatural way. A vampire can't die even though he's bored of living. He's old... very old... and keeps meeting the same human/alien again and again. That 'love story' has some merit. The final scene is moving.

12 episodes could've been condensed to 4 or 6 (so... 160 - 240 minutes total; even a 90 minute western movie would've been better). I could take the final words "Wave goodbye, Master Yoh" and rewrite it as a prequel, having it placed in 1940 (not necessarily in Bangkok), ending in 2000... with it being 'reborn' in 2020. I like the idea, not just how it's done.

"Love Sea"

Good acting, great chemistry, edgy at times. It tackles sex-for-pay, family abuse/neglect, criminality, and the age old "what happens when we fall in love". I love a romance when there are layers of other genres and when it takes me to a time and/or place. Episode 2 is steamy and geo-restricted but it's fitting to get past the 'sex' because that's not the story.

Both main actors are top-shelf and work well together. The niece Meena is adorable. The father is chilling (evil wrapped up in normality). It hasn't finished yet. There are 10 episodes. #9 airs August 4th.

"1000YO" gets about a 6.5 rating at MyDramaList ... and that's about right imho for PG silliness. "Love Sea" is rated 8.0 and that's a tad low. The story may be a bit too 'real' for some audiences as it's 18+ and serious.

These are the opening episodes to save time looking for them! IMHO, it's getting harder to find some things on-line.

1000YO: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8sq35e
LoveSea: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9037r4

[Visit the entry for more...]

Kåre เลียม Enga

Jul 29, 2024 at 12:01am
In response to "Hiding behind humor"

"I was just joking" can trigger my traumas and make me distrust someone. I want to respond, "I'm not laughing" ... without an apology or smile. It's too akin to bullying.

1 Like

Kåre เลียม Enga

Jul 28, 2024 at 11:55pm
In response to "Man on the Moon"

The original Star Trek was 1966-1969. And let's not forget the Jetsons. Both forecast new technologies... as people looked to the future.

The future seems more dystopian now. And since the Moon has little commercial value, money has gone elsewhere. NASA has a $25 billion budget; Pentagon ... $825 billion.

When there's a military base on the Moon... or when it's found to be made of gold instead of cheese... then it will become a priority.

Sumojo

Jul 16, 2024 at 2:16am
In response to "Memorable Places"

Hi, Jeff, I’m reviewing this interesting blog post as next in line for I Write in 24.

I’ll comment on each of your memorable places in turn.

Flathead Lake (Polson, Montana
I could feel the connection you had to this place, but also to the memories of your grandparents. I couldn’t quite envisage the boathouse though. To me a boathouse is a shelter for a boat! But obviously it wasn’t just that.
I could also feel the sadness when you returned there, even if it was just on line. It’s distressing really to see the new owners had messed with a place you held so dear.

Zuma Beach (Malibu, California)
Now here you showed your true romanticism. What a beautiful plan you devised to recreate the table setting of your wedding day. Your wife would have been so happy.

Gare du Nord (Paris, France).
I understand that feeling when you become the foreigner when you first land in a country whose language is not yours. I felt it when we were in Vietnam, even the street signs weren’t in English and finding one’s way around was daunting.
I believe though that the French people are willing to speak English if one makes at least an attempt at French.

Edmund D. Edelman Children's Courthouse (Los Angeles, California).

A different feeling and experience here. I was a little taken aback when I saw a courthouse as a place you had strong memories about until I read the rest of the post. Yes, a location can leave a person traumatised. Your experiences at that particular courthouse are mixed. The applications and endless paperwork involved in the process which allowed you to adopt your precious children would certainly have left you with mixed feelings of that location.

The Walt Disney Studios Lot (Burbank, California)

Now this location isn’t one where many people can put as their workplace. You certainly have an interesting job.I would have loved to hear more about your experiences in the movie business.

Overall I throughly enjoyed the blog post. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sue.

[Visit the entry for more...]

Wordsmitty ✍️

Jul 15, 2024 at 12:12am
In response to "Memorable Places"

A nice time capsule of your life as well. Thanks for sharing.

1 Like

February 29, 2024 at 2:11pm

#1065258

Is It Over Now?

"Invalid Item" | Day 29
"Is It Over Now?" by Taylor Swift

It's only fitting that I end this year's "Invalid Item"

with a Taylor Swift song. After the year she's had and all the record's she's broken, it's only fair that she extend her record-setting run of being featured on (now) six consecutive "Invalid Item"

playlists of mine. Talk about real achievements...

I had a really hard time choosing just one song to feature this year. She released her album Midnights in late 2022 which has a ton of songs that I really love. I featured "Anti-Hero"

on last year's playlist but have really come to appreciate some of the other songs on that album even more, including "Maroon," "Midnight Rain," and "Bejewled," plus "Paris" off the 3am Edition extended album release. But the album was at least represented on a previously playlist.

But then I started thinking back to the Taylor Swift concert my wife and I attended over the summer, and how many phenomenal songs we were reminded of. "Long Live," "My Tears Ricochet," and "Dress" (the last of which was one of the songs from the acoustic set of our show) were all songs that I started listening to again in earnest since the concert, and all of which eventually ended up on my Spotify year-end playlist. But ultimately I decided not to go with any of those because...

... the real highlight of Taylor Swift's year, for me, was the release of 1989 (Taylor's Version), which was the self-produced re-release album that I was most looking forward to. Not only is it my favorite album of hers (although Lover and Reputation are very close), but the "From The Vault" bonus tracks are all amazing. This is the one that's been my favorite so far ("Now That We Don't Talk" is a close second), and I've been listening to it on repeat for a while now. The fact that it's near the top of my Spotify "most listened to songs of 2023" and it wasn't even released until the very end of October 2023 should give you an indication of just how much I've been listening to it over the past few months.

The final reason why I chose it is because the song title ("Is It Over Now?") is a perfect encapsulation of my feelings about this year's "Invalid Item"

. I have mixed feelings about it being over. On the one hand, I'm sad that it's now over and done for another year, and we have the longest possible wait until it reopens again in February 2025. As usual, I didn't get to fit nearly all the songs I wanted to (I left off all the Contemporary Christian and worship music I've been listening to all year, even though it was the genre I listened to most!), and it felt like I was more rushed than usual this year. Which is why I'm also kind of glad it's over; I really had to power through over the past few days and get caught up on a lot of entries because I was stuck at six entries for about three weeks.

Still, I really love this activity and I'm looking forward to getting caught up on everyone else's playlists and starting to put together my own for next year!

(552 words)

1 Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 1:53pm

#1065257

bad idea right?

"Invalid Item" | Day 28
"bad idea right?" by Olivia Rodrigo

I really like Olivia Rodrigo's music. At first when she was a Disney kid I didn't think much of her, but the way she really struck out on her own with her first album Sour was revelatory... and now her second album Guts is proving that it's not just a one-off. She's managing to bring an older, adult perspective (ironic, considering she's only 21) to pop music and I love the fact that the subject matter of her songs and lyrics don't hold anything back. Lyrics from this song like, "I only see him as a friend / (biggest lie I've ever said)" and "I only see him as a friend / I tripped and fell into his bed" are great turns of phrase that I think a lot of people can really relate to.

If she's only 21 and already releasing music that's this catchy and this sophisticated, I'm really excited to see where her career goes from here.

Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 1:41pm

#1065255

Homemade Dynamite

"Invalid Item" | Day 27
"Homemade Dynamite" by Lorde

I'm not a big fan of Lorde in general (I know some people absolutely adore her), but I have to admit that this song is really catchy. I discovered it playing on the radio of a friend's car on the way to Disneyland and found it really catchy. I had nothing else to do but listen to it because she was trying to surprise him so she made him wear a blindfold and earplugs then snuck me into the car so I could let them in... so I was in the back of the car and we couldn't talk or anything (lest we spoil the surprise) so she cranked up the radio and this was the song that was playing. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time until we got to the park and could reveal where we'd brought him.

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February 29, 2024 at 1:34pm

#1065253

These Days

"Invalid Item" | Day 26
"These Days (AJR Remix)" by Rudimental feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore, and Dan Caplen

I think this song wins the award for the most collaborators of anything on my playlist this year. Rudimental recorded the track with Jess Glynne, Macklemore, and Dan Caplen... and then just for a little extra oomph, AJR remixed this version.

I really love this song, though. Macklemore is a great rapper and mixing it with Rudimental's lyrics and the vocals of the others all just kind of works together. It's a nostalgic, feel-good song that I found myself listening to more than once when I needed a little pick-me-up.

1 Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 1:28pm

#1065252

Best Friend Song

"Invalid Item" | Day 25
"Best Friend Song" by Rozzi

This is the third year in a row that I've featured Rozzi on my "Invalid Item"

playlist. She actually might be the most consistently featured artist that I've used, other than Taylor Swift, who's had at least one song appear on my playlist every year for the past five years.

There's something about Rozzi's voice that just really resonates with me. I think it's really unique and she manages to pair it with really interesting lyrics and simple beats that make it stand out. I don't really know what makes the particular version of the song in the video the "Lemon Ice Mix" (it sounds an awful lot like the original to me), but this is a pretty simple and fun song to listen to... even though I can't listen to it in the car with the kids because I don't want them asking me what "giving someone mushrooms" means.

Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 1:22pm

#1065251

Waves

"Invalid Item" | Day 24
"Waves" by Pace Randolph feat. The Choir Imperfect

I'd never heard of Pace Randolph (or The Choir Imperfect) before, but this was another Spotify recommendation find that I really enjoyed and listened to a lot over the past year. I really dig the combination of vocals and a bit of both country and electronic vibes. It's a unique-sounding song that is a really good mix of the two major genres I've probably been listening to the most over this past year: electro-pop and country.

Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 1:03pm

#1065248

If You Want Blood (You've Got It)

"Invalid Item" | Day 23
"If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" by AC/DC

I hadn't heard this song in years until it was featured on the second season of The Bear (which is an absolutely phenomenal show, by the way. The episode "Forks" might be one of my favorite episodes of television ever). AC/DC is one of those bands that I absolutely love, but I always forget about their deeper catalog beyond the huge hits that everyone knows ("Thunderstruck," "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell," etc.). And then, inevitably, a song will be featured somewhere and I'll go, "Oh! I love this song!" and completely rediscover it all over again.

It's hard to believe that AC/DC is still going strong. Other than a hiatus from 2016-2018 following the retirement of one of their band members, AC/DC has literally been in existence for more than fifty years at this point and are still performing. That's wild!

Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 12:58pm

#1065247

I'm A Star

"Invalid Item" | Day 22
"I'm A Star (Dance Version)" by Devin Lewis feat. Solea Pfeiffer

The first time I'd ever heard Solea Pfeiffer's name was when she played the role of Eliza Hamilton in the U.S. Tour of the Broadway musical Hamilton. We managed to get tickets to one of the Los Angeles shows and, in preparation, had been listening to the Broadway cast recording (where the role was most notably performed by the phenomenal Phillipa Soo), and I remember thinking how impressed I was by the fact that she was almost as good. Some of the traveling cast weren't anywhere close to the magic of the most notable performers, but Solea was amazing.

This is also my second blog post of this year's "Invalid Item"

where I'm featuring someone that made an appearance in Hadestown, a musical that I really, really want to see. I previously mentioned in "Whisper"

that Betty Who played the role of Persephone in some Broadway productions of the musical, and Solea Pfeiffer did the same with the role of Eurydice. I would pay so much money to see a Broadway musical with both of those artists in it.

I really like this song as a productivity listen, when I need something up-tempo to keep focused and plugging along on a task.

Like • Comment

February 29, 2024 at 12:42pm

#1065245

Don't

"Invalid Item" | Day 21
"Don't" by Wild Rivers

Wild Rivers is a bit of a strange band for me because I really like a lot of their songs, but I don't think they have a consistent sound. In looking back on my most-listened to songs of 2023, the band actually shows up a handful of times, but it wasn't intentional on my part. Each time they were added based on Spotify recommendations (where the service provides a curated playlist of new music) and I'd hear the song and go, "Okay, I'll definitely listen to that again," and will add it to my regular playlist. Then, at the end of the year, I had a moment where I was like, "Wait, that song AND that song AND that song are all the same band?" It was a strange experience for sure, but I really love this song and it's my most listened-to song by the band from last year.

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