Facebook's Reach

 I get off work today and check my phone's notifications only to learn that Facebook was down.  Now, this typically wouldn't be a problem, except that I use Facebook for a lot of my phone log-ins, but that is not what I wished to harp about, at least not entirely.

See, I realized as I had to relog into a vast number of my apps, despite having them linked to my Google account, that a vast majority of the ones I logged into through Facebook were because it was easier at the time, so now I'm having to try to find ways to make certain that I'm not out of those particular apps if Facebook ever goes down again, because let's face it: Facebook will go down again.  It could be 25 years from now or it could be tomorrow, but it will happen.

Despite that, I still find myself relying on my Facebook login because for me it's a habit.  It's a habit that I'm beyond comfortable with and that is what makes this so much worse.  I couldn't play Pokemon Go! because I couldn't remember my Trainer Club log-in credentials and my Google account is linked to a different Go! account from the days when you couldn't just link the accounts together, and I've been too lazy to deal with it.  On top of that, I feared access to other media accounts would be either restricted or not possible, but of the ones I use fairly regularly, none were affected. 

Thank you to who- or whatever took down Facebook for not affecting Discord, my main socializing platform!  Also, a lot of fandom reliant sites were unaffected, which is really great for those who use them, so just a reminder despite everything, that there are always alternatives to when lemons are the only fruit you seem to have.  

September 2021 Plans

 So, I know it’s been a while since I last posted a blog, but it wasn’t for a lack of things to type about, I promise.  This post is going to be a quick update, since I have had a lot of changes occur in my RL recently.  The first is that I changed jobs…I think I may have mentioned that in a previous post, but I can’t remember as I’m typing this up and I’m currently to lazy to read back through my previous posts, which is funny since there aren’t nearly as many posts as I originally wanted to get written.

 

After obtaining a new job, we moved.  It’s a nice new place that while it has a few issues, isn’t anywhere near what we had in my last place of residence.  Moving to a new town also means learning new things about said town.  Towns always have things that aren’t easily found online and tend to be little treasures for their residents.  Small parks, eateries, and small businesses being only a few of these that exist in any town to city in any location of the world.

 

We finally got moved, but unpacking is taking forever, probably at least partially due to the jobs that my husband and I have and our unwillingness to take any more time off than absolutely necessary so that we can unpack.  The summer heat and humidity do not help, nor that we know we’ll be needing to buy new pieces of furniture.  We’ve already bought a new bed, couch, and computer chair for me.  We have a bit of a list of things that we know we want or need to buy.

 

Sadly, I can’t seem to stay focused on getting things unpacked and instead have been getting back into some of my phone games (returning to Pokemon GO after 2 years, for one) and watching so many YouTube videos that catch my attention.  However, I’m definitely getting back on track and trying to work back into the schedule I had originally planned for myself of weekly posts. 

 

Hopefully, by the end of the year, I will return to my Charmed: A Revisiting of the First Version and my Cookbooks series.  I also plan to work on NaNo again in November.  So, seeing as this is the first post of September 2021, let’s just put that I will get a Charmed post and Cookbooks post typed up.  For the third post of the month, I’m hoping to get a post typed up with an update regarding my fanfiction.  So here’s to hoping I manage to get these done.  My fingers are crossed and yet I still haven’t fully gotten our new home unpacked!

The Real Protagonist of The New Girl

 So recently I noticed that the YouTube Channel The Take had a video about The New Girl: New Girl - Why Jess Isn't Really the Protagonist.  Just the title drew me in.  I liked what little I had seen of The New Girl before this, but right from the start, I never considered this series to be about Jess in and of herself, but rather the lives she changes after she hit a low point in her own life.  From this point on, let it be known there will be spoilers about early seasons, but I have yet to watch the entire show so this may not be as comprehensive as I may have wanted it to be. (And yes, I know I need to get back to my ReWatching Charmed posts...I will, too, eventually!)

When we first meet Jess she has all the earmarks of the typical quirky, weird, growing into themselves protagonist.  She just got out of a bad relationship which causes a major change in her life.  She's seen as someone that may not be typically seen as someone to be romantically involved in and be proud of that fact, like I already mentioned - she's weird by society's standards.  I mean she's trying to surprise her boyfriend and instead walks in on a surprise that makes her breakdown, but after finding a new place (complete with roommates) and a pep talk from her supermodel best friend (I wish I had a friendship like those two have!) she manages to pick herself up and continue on.  In fact, in a way it reminds me of shows like Full House, Step By Step, Seinfeld, Boy Meets World, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  There are plenty more, but what it boils down to is that the series is a more modern sitcom.

There are definite instances of overarching storylines in The New Girl but the title follows Jess as she interacts with others.  A few other characters make up the rest of the main group and honestly, it's more like a new generation's Friends but with more attention to a cohesive timeline.  The series may seem to target Jess as the lead character and protagonist in the theme song, but she's not.  Jess doesn't have a huge character personality change that she goes through because as she put it in one memorable part despite everything that makes her weird she's still "smart and tough and strong!"

So what is The New Girl actually all about?  It's the relationships that surround Jess and that she becomes enmeshed in.  The guys in the loft that accept her as her new roommate and even her best friend all need to go through changes.  They all have character arcs that must change, but Jess is very much aware of who she is and what she wants.  

So, technically I agree with the title of the video: Jess is not the protagonist, but in this case, a protagonist is not necessary.  The reason is that the story is about how Jess manages to affect others, not about how others affect her.

Litany of Descendants' Queen of Mean

So, I've finally managed to watch all three Descendants movies and I've found that while I loved both of the first two movies' intro songs, I loved a different song in Descendants 3 - Queen of Mean.

Don't get me wrong, I love all of the Descendants movie songs.  Rotten to the Core and Ways to Be Wicked are my favorites from their respective movies, but of all the songs I'd say Queen of Mean is something girls and guys can relate to.  And if you don't know what the Descendants franchise is about, it's literally the children of various Disney characters.

The thing is that while I love the majority of the musical numbers, somehow there's a difference when it comes to Queen of Mean.  A part of it is definitely the music style.  It's got close to a rap or hip-hop beat in the background (I can honestly say I don't care about what the differences in genres actually are, if I like something, I like it.  If I don't, then I don't.)

The first movie had set up with a fun song to start and explain and songs that gave that the nostalgia of the original movies without keeping to the old music scores.  Some of the songs I didn't care for as much, but that's likely more to do with the mood I was in personally than the songs themselves.  

When Ways To Be Wicked first became available for viewing people noted things that once the movie was available to be certain about the reason for it made sense.  After all, it ended up being a dream, but the lyrics could easily be related to the VKs (Villain Kids).

The third movie's opening sequence however left me with feelings that I've been wrestling with for a very long time - that of being compared to others.  It felt like they were saying where you came from and what you had does matter because getting privileges is about who you know and what you can manipulate rather than what you have ability-wise for yourself.  So when Queen of Mean came on later, it showed that even when you think someone has what they want or what you think they want, there's a chance they don't.

Don't get me wrong, Good to Be Bad is a good song in its own right and fits the story.  The beat makes me want to get up and dance.  It just makes me think back to when I'd attempt things and be either berated or treated like it didn't matter.  At least when watching in the movie.  On its own, I love this song.

  

Basically, of all the different songs available related to the Descendants franchise, Queen of Mean is likely to be and remain my favorite.

25 HoliDays of Winter: an Interrupted Series

 I had truly meant to keep up with watching Winter/Christmas Movies, but suddenly the power steering in our car went out.  Upon taking it to the mechanic, we learned it was an issue with an electrical component, and got a quick fix until we could take it back for a proper fit.  I would have continued on the original plan, but we've had various health and home issues crop up and further issues with our car - had to replace the whole steering column instead of just the one component.  So I will try this again in 2021, starting on December 1!  Hope everyone else has been having a wonderful past few months despite all the other things going on!