I'm Alice and this is a multifandom, multicontent blog (on its better days). I use tags to rant. Don't hold it against me. Greek. This user is the owner of strong opinions, often correct ones :P
I'd prefer it if minors didn't follow because when I write the post, I won't think, "Is this content suitable for minors?" at all. I might think to censor my posts but for other reasons. I also frequently use curse words. Having said that, I can't do anything to stop you and I rarely check ages on bios.
My normal tv content is crime shows.
Every time I write my opinion on something relevant to Greek mythology, you should mentally add a "speaking as a Greek" in front of every sentence. And I will be annoying about it. I have spent way more time on the subject than a lot of you have. That doesn't make me right all the time. Just most of the time.
PS: If you came here with questions, from getting a like/reblog from me when your post wasn't tagged, I use the old tumblr search system. Like a weirdo. It gives me search results and not tag results.
✨ Please reblog the polls to make them reach out to as many people as possible, but KEEP IT SPOILER-FREE to make people listen to the music with an open mind 💖
✨ Artists and titles will be revealed with the full song after the poll's conclusion, check the original post for an update!
⚠️➡️ Yes, spoilers includes posting the lyrics. Please don't spoil. There are other ways to have fun with the post if you reblog it, maybe be sneaky/witty about it with obscure references. Have fun while following the rules! 😄💖 Fandom blogs/communities are welcome to reblog, but please keep that as far as it goes with spoilers!
✨ Please reblog the polls to make them reach out to as many people as possible, but KEEP IT SPOILER-FREE to make people listen to the music with an open mind 💖
✨ Artists and titles will be revealed with the full song after the poll's conclusion, check the original post for an update!
⚠️➡️ Yes, spoilers includes posting the lyrics. Please don't spoil. There are other ways to have fun with the post if you reblog it, maybe be sneaky/witty about it with obscure references. Have fun while following the rules! 😄💖 Fandom blogs/communities are welcome to reblog, but please keep that as far as it goes with spoilers!
I just want you all to know, that if and when this site does experience a real exodus and/or get sunsetted for good, even if we don't keep in touch I'll remember you so fondly. You're the online equivalent of the other kid on the beach where we built sandcastles together; the girl at the campsite where we explored the trees. You're the drunk person who shared kind words in the bathroom at the club, you're the talented artists at the life drawing class or the poetry night in a city where I don't live anymore. It makes me sad that maybe in the future our paths won't cross so easily, but even when we leave this little shared piece of cyberspace, carried away on our briefly intersecting trajectories, just know I still love you
Okay, here we go. Let me preface this by saying this is reviewed by a human, so I'll be biased, and I don't really want to watch these. Also, I'm not watching this twice so I'll go off of what I remember.
I cannot believe that they actually put the promo's training session in the episode. Like, who actually wants that? Also the editing is unbelievably choppy in that scene. Comparatively, the promo is edited better lol
The scene with the "team" gathering and Jesse playing a song. I don't know what the purpose of this is, honestly, and it's later explained that Mark connected with the song because of his heartache but it more seems like they were trying to make a tribute to Charlie, everyone was sad, Mark looked miles away while the rest of them looked present in the moment. I might be reading too much into it but it was as if they'd cut lines where it would be made clear that this gathering was for Charlie.
Once again, it is abhorrent that Rex lives in a trailer. The "Rex prefers to be close to nature" excuse is ridiculous. If we're talking what Rex likes, an actual dog who had just lost his partner would be distraught over that fact and not have preferences over living arrangements.
The actor who played the criminal they were trying to convince the whole time to tattle on the rest, was pretty good. The only bright spot in an otherwise mediocre premiere of a poor season I don't want to watch. His daughter did nothing for me in terms of evoking emotion. The rest of the "gang" seemed funny more than actually believable. These aren't elements that the show hasn't exhibited before but in the absence of anything substantial, even errors that I'd let slide before become more glaring.
No one's particularly happy but no one's saying why. Their faces are solemn most of the time. This episode does not make people excited for the rest of the season.
I remember some of the corridors in the SJPD which were painted white, now being painted black. I honestly do not comprehend why they made changes like that. It's as if they decided to mourn Charlie in anything other than the actual story.
The gunfight scenes are more than a little ridiculous. You mean to tell me that Mark, with an army background, just sat in the middle of a gunfight instead of seeking cover? And he was shot twice and none of the shots (from what I recall they were by a semi-automatic) threw him on his ass? What is he made of, granite?
Also, how much time did the shooter allow Mark to set up his "trap"? The shooter who, at one point, was right on his trail? This is unrealistic. Not to mention editing is somehow worse than previous seasons, and it was already the worst part of the show. Random speedups in the workout at the start, holding the scene too much later.
Tactically, Mark is a mess. Which is why they shouldn't have had his background be in the army. No one knows how to write that, and no one cares to either get a consultant or do the research themselves. When you write a guy like Charlie, who just has tactical training as a cop, you can get away with it. Mark doesn't have that excuse.
I used to be able to tell what Rex wanted to say with his expression when he'd communication with Charlie. Now with Mark, I found myself wondering what Rex wanted to say or do. I'm not sure who to attribute that to, honestly.
They wasted money on helicopter shots on this episode. Unreal.
At this point I need to mention that around the time this episode had finished filming, Sherri Davis was already boasting about how great the bond was between Mark and Rex. Well, in my humble opinion, none of whatever that was made it on-screen, at least comparatively to Charlie and Rex's bond. And I'm not comparing it to Charlie and Rex's bond in later seasons because that would be unfair. The best scenes of Rex are the ones where he is alone. When he wasn't alone, he was largely overshadowed by the show's need to show that Mark is, in fact, competent. Of course there was a need for that but I think that not only does the show fail to actually show why Mark is special or worth paying attention to but at the same time as I said, Rex takes a backseat in this episode.
The episode relies a lot in Newfoundland scenery which on a show in its 8th season is once again not the point for a premiere. I had the same complaint in the S6 premiere, this isn't new.
In an aging show in its eighth season which has gone through drastic changes, this episode was supposed to show people why they should keep tuning in after the show practically ripped its heart out. Not only does it fail at that but it also makes a strong case of why the show was better with Charlie. The atmosphere has rightly been described as pensive, I noticed that myself. It's a mixture of things, from acting choices to directorial ones, to even lighting and design. And I have to point out again how a character like Mark does not fit in a show like this because he drags the atmosphere down and the show itself has to go darker to meet him. And this happens not because Mark has bigger demons than Charlie, Charlie has earned the right to have more than a few emotional scars which the show refused to acknowledge, it happens... just because. Because they decided on it and then decided to hire an actor that would fit that character description.
So, I'd love to say that the ratings dropping was entirely because of the way the production handled John Reardon's exit, but it's not like they did any better with the actual show. The production never concerned themselves with how Mark would be accepted by the audience, they just were presented with a narrative solution (if we can call it that) that looked and acted slightly different than Charlie, and were like yes, this is Mark Hudson, proceed. The changes were so jarring that they were rejected by a general audience which would have been more than happy with a mediocre show. That is, if the show had managed to stay mediocre.
One of the things that bears repeating before the hot weather takes over is that once your body reaches a certain temperature you can no longer count on making good decisions that you would normally make and you can no longer count on your physical coordination.
Keeping yourself as cool as possible isn't being weak or wimpy. It's protecting your capacity to think and move well if you need to.
In France and other countries last week it was clear that some people died from doing things they never would have done had they been thinking clearly. That confusion can happen to anyone and it comes sooner than people expect. Please, my Tumblr friends in places that will be getting very hot this week, be safe! Don't tough it out and don't take chances. Go somewhere cool if you can and of course, hydrate!
I think that the most logical path for the show is to get back to how it was before S8. And that includes Charlie and Sarah.
Charah solves a big logistical problem, which I've mentioned before. It gives Mayko Nguyen more screentime which the show would otherwise have to give her either way because she's an actress and not a background lamp, but they don't want to do that separately from Rex. So, having Charlie and Sarah together solves that problem without taking time away from Rex.
Now, since they got John Reardon back I assume he negotiated a better contract. More screentime is probably impossible because Charlie always had a lot of screentime. What he didn't have was a lot of meaningful screentime. So, that makes Charah scenes paramount for me, otherwise we'd have to bring a relative of Charlie's for each episode.
And since it's this show, the focus of Charlie's return will be on how Rex will react. So, to me that gives less chances to them wanting to damage Charah for the drama. Now, as I've said before, it wouldn't be weird for some temporary drama to happen but that's different from ruining the ship. That would be normal.
Keep in mind that there may be any number of new writers with any number of new ideas. Just because they got John Reardon back, doesn't mean they'll actually get old writers back. It doesn't even mean that S8 writers will be there. My opinion is that writers who know these characters would want for Charlie and Sarah's relationship to survive.
Hey, Bandcamp users. You have probably already heard, but Bandcamp was bought by a music licensing firm, and laid off half its staff "as a cost cutting measure."
I will be downloading everything I purchased from Bandcamp and keeping an eye on it.
In a significant shift of ownership, Bandcamp, the renowned digital music marketplace, has officially transitioned from its previous owner,
If you read ecology books printed in the 70s and 80s, they were absolutely convinced that whales and tigers would not survive the century. There's a whole plot in Star Trek about how whales are extinct actually. Here in Argentina, we were sure that yaguaretés would have gone extinct. It was thought that rainforests would be forever lost, because there was no way that such complex ecosystems would be restored.
Now, you can go to Península Valdés and find that the whale population there is growing year after year, people can see them from their windows. In Iberá, where yaguaretés were extinct for over 70 years, there's now a population of 35 and growing, after being reintroduced just five years ago. As for rainforests?
We've becoming very, very good on restoring them. Natural environments, when given space and time to heal, can return to that they were. And after all, all natural enviroments are managed by human societies. It is up to us to implement a good management, un buen gobierno.
I firmly believe our children and grandchildren will see a restoration of Earth like never before.
Millions of people are working on this. You can learn about it, perhaps even become one of them. Or be a pointless doomer in my ask box. Your choice.
if there are people who care, it's never a lost cause. at one point, kākāpō, a nocturnal flightless parrot species from aotearoa, were thought to be entirely extinct for decades. until 1977, where booming calls from males were heard on the small island of whenua hou. now, thanks to people who care so much they dedicated their lives to caring, kākāpō numbers are close to 300. despite the setbacks. despite the small gene pool causing infertility and health problems. people cared so fucking much that they survived. this is one of COUNTLESS, countless similar stories. I'm studying ecology so that I can go into conservation and all around me, every day, I see people who care enough to put years of their lives into learning about and solving environmental problems. I don't know man. hope isn't just some nebulous thing. it's tangible if you do something with it.
Tim Wong saw the decline of the pipeline swallowtail butterfly, and dedicated himself to providing habitat and raising babies, and it worked.
Spix's Macaws were extinct in the wild for 70 years, and now captive breeding and conservation groups have reintroduced a small population (with more on the way) and there are babies being successfully raised in the wild again.
And what else is there, but hope? We exist for the grace of hope. Those who have lost all hope don't stay here. If you are here to send an ask like this, it is not because you have given up, it's that you are hoping someone will show you that that hope is worth having.
It is!! It always is!!
There will be good things and if you cannot find them, make them! The time will pass anyway, you can choose what to do with it, and so many, many people are choosing to try to help.
The Lord Howe Island rodent eradication project never fails to make me cry, it’s so beautiful.
The population of an entire island working together to eradicate every last rat and mouse to save the native bird populations. They had to trap a bunch of the birds and keep them in captivity so they wouldn’t be hurt by the rodenticides, and released them after the rodents were gone. Normal residents helped by phoning in tips whenever they saw rodents. And they did it. Lord Howe Island, last I read, remains rodent free, and the native bird populations are rebounding!
Acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer, both of which were terrifying specters of my childhood, have been largely dealt with. Ecosystems devastated by acid rain are also recovering.
In 1979, an audacious, expensive conservation project was begun to try and breed california condors in captivity toward being released into the wild again. This was considered useless and hopeless by many people, but many more people said we had to at least TRY.
In 1991, the first captive-raised condors were re-introduced to Big Sur, Pinnacles, and Bitter Creek.
In 2006, three months before I turned eighteen, the first wild pair of condors was seen nesting in Big Sur in over a hundred years. A hundred years.
We did that. We fixed it.
How about another example.
When my mom was small, in the 1960s, there were many, many days of the year she was not allowed outside. Days and days they had recess indoors, because the air was so poisonous to breathe. Here's an article about it, with some good pictures.
My mom was 13 in the picture on the left. She was 50 in the picture on the right.
In 1987, there were 27 California Condors in the world, all captive.
In 2024, there were 566.
369 of them fly free.
That happened within my lifetime, and I'm not even 40 yet.
When you lose hope, think of our stories we're telling you. Recount them to yourself like a prayer. That's what I do.
There are 369 California Condors flying free in the sky right now.
Black footed ferrets were considered completely extinct in 1979. Then we found a single den in Wyoming in 1981. In 1996 it was classified as extinct in the wild.
By 2013, there were approximately 1,200 living wild, across 18 dens. Their numbers increase regularly, and while the face challenges due to habitat loss, climate change, and their limited genetic diversity, they're in a much better place than they were.
Because people cared, and they worked, and they fought to make things better.
This has been my main argument against "AI" from the very beginning.
OpenAI scraped the entire web. All of which had been a labor of love from humans. Wikipedia is the backbone of a lot of LLMs, and that was volunteer human labor. They stole it and now they're selling it back to us.
And worse, they're trying to destroy the free sources that they stole from. It's destruction of human knowledge on an unprecedented scale. The burning of the library of Alexandria has nothing on this.
