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Firefly news and Buffy petition
Mar. 15th, 2026 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWell, I've got news on Firefly - they weren't rumors after all. Nathan Fillon is attempting to bring Firefly back as an animated series.
Fillion posts on social media that Firefly is happening, they just need a home
Firefly Cast is Reuniting to Bring Firefly Back as an Animated Series
"The animated series stems from Fillion's production banner Collision33, in partnership with 20th Television Animation. Marc Guggenheim (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) are attached as showrunners, and a script has been completed. Joss Whedon will not be involved in the animated project. The animated series is expected to be set between the original 2002 television run and the 2005 feature film, Serenity. Early concept art from animation studio ShadowMachine was also shown."
https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/
( Read more... )
So, Fillion is doing what I thought Gellar should have done. Which is bring back the show as an animated series with the original cast voicing the characters. Fillion wisely realizes that the audience was invested in the original cast and characters not the world. We'll see if he finds a home for it - being animated, there's a better chance, animation is cheaper.
Meanwhile the Buffy fandom is attempting to change Hulu's mind about the Buffy reboot with an Online Petition. (It's possible the Hulu was fine about the Buffy revival but wanted to change a bunch of things including the showrunners and Zhao. So, having not seen the pilot that Hulu passed on? Or knowing why they passed? I'm reluctant to sign a petition to get them to show it to us and continue with it? Also, I get the feeling everyone has moved on?)
Personally? I think Firefly has the best chance of the two? Firefly is planning on providing animated episodes of the series between the abrupt ending and the film Serenity, with the entire original cast (except for the deceased Ron Glass who will most likely be recast). And has show-runners who are familiar with the world, familiar with Whedon's writing style and the genre. If you are going to revive an old television series with the original cast? Animation is the best way to go, in my opinion. YMMV.
Fillion posts on social media that Firefly is happening, they just need a home
Firefly Cast is Reuniting to Bring Firefly Back as an Animated Series
"The animated series stems from Fillion's production banner Collision33, in partnership with 20th Television Animation. Marc Guggenheim (DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow) and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper) are attached as showrunners, and a script has been completed. Joss Whedon will not be involved in the animated project. The animated series is expected to be set between the original 2002 television run and the 2005 feature film, Serenity. Early concept art from animation studio ShadowMachine was also shown."
https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/
( Read more... )
So, Fillion is doing what I thought Gellar should have done. Which is bring back the show as an animated series with the original cast voicing the characters. Fillion wisely realizes that the audience was invested in the original cast and characters not the world. We'll see if he finds a home for it - being animated, there's a better chance, animation is cheaper.
Meanwhile the Buffy fandom is attempting to change Hulu's mind about the Buffy reboot with an Online Petition. (It's possible the Hulu was fine about the Buffy revival but wanted to change a bunch of things including the showrunners and Zhao. So, having not seen the pilot that Hulu passed on? Or knowing why they passed? I'm reluctant to sign a petition to get them to show it to us and continue with it? Also, I get the feeling everyone has moved on?)
Personally? I think Firefly has the best chance of the two? Firefly is planning on providing animated episodes of the series between the abrupt ending and the film Serenity, with the entire original cast (except for the deceased Ron Glass who will most likely be recast). And has show-runners who are familiar with the world, familiar with Whedon's writing style and the genre. If you are going to revive an old television series with the original cast? Animation is the best way to go, in my opinion. YMMV.
(no subject)
Mar. 14th, 2026 06:55 pmshadowkatHello, it's been a nice and quiet Saturday. Temperatures in the mid to high forties and low fifties. Jacket and sweatshirt weather. Wore sweats for most of the day. Niece sent me a University of Montana sweatshirt for my birthday. I had bought myself the HOKA training/walking shoes (although not from the link provided) rec'd by the PT. Which I wore yesterday and took a twenty minute walk around the block and to MetFresh today. (I know I should probably order groceries? But I find I buy less and I'm more frugal if I go to the grocery store - plus exercise, since I don't own or drive a car and walk everywhere, well outside of using the subway.)
Also clear blue sky with a scant trace of cloud cover. But alas no flowers or greenery anywhere, unlike I'd found, albeit briefly, in Battery Park earlier in the week. (Green grass, and one bush. Spring! I thought. But alas, no, still winter.) So, aching for flowers and greenery - I purchased more cut flowers from the grocery store. Red Roses, and a bunch of purple and reddish purple flowers that I do not know the names of - one's a purple globe, the others look like various versions of purple and red baby's breath. I'd buy an actual plant - but I have a dreadful black thumb and kill them. The green thumb skipped me and landed on my brother. I have a black thumb. I can kill a cactus. And fake plants - I associate with dust.
**
I did a few walks earlier in the week - when it was still warm outside, before we slid kicking and screaming back into winter. The first was up the pier to check out the cherry blossom festival (or the fake cherry blossom festival) on Pier 15. (It only it actually looked like that? It doesn't. Ah, the wonders of photo-shop and AI.) The second was around Battery City Park - the grass was actually green with flowers, purple flowers sprouting from a patch in the middle of it - helped no doubt by the fact that it was sealed off from people and dogs - and only geese, birds, insects and squirrels could frolic in the enclosure. People and dogs can do a lot of damage. Want to grow grass? Keep dogs and people away from it.
I also saw a green bush. And I thought - ah spring. Then it was in the thirties and forties the next day, and felt like 29 degrees, and I thought, no, still winter. Dang it.
The bush has green buds on it - but you have to enlarge the picture to see it. Also we now have an open pier that you can walk along to see the Statue of Liberty. When the Tall Boats Conference happens in July - that entire walkway should be open - so people can walk along and look at boats in the New York harbor.
The second walk was admittedly more productive than the first. I got stopped along the way by a Statue of Liberty Ticket Ferry scammer who was attempting to tell me that I was going the wrong way to the Statue of Liberty Ferry. I ignored him.
**
Mother interrupted this entry with a phone call - to regale me with news from my brother. I rarely talk to him myself - and honestly, don't need to, she tells me everything he's doing, his daughter is doing, and his wife doing - his friends are doing - and various and sundry family members whether I want this information or not. (Well in snatches, she doesn't remember half of it - and it's the stuff that I'm usually curious about that she doesn't remember, while the stuff I was happier not knowing - she does).
( discussions with mother )
***
Television
* Scarpetta This is the series starring Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Simon Baker, and Bobbie Carnvale (along with his son) adapted from the Patricia Cornwall - Kay Scarpetta mysteries - which I read in the 1990s and early 00s, and now have only vague memories of. I honestly don't remember them at all, just the characters names, and vaguely their relationships with each other? I don't remember the FBI agent, or the sister, just the cop Marino and Kay. That means, I can be fairly open-minded about the series, and won't be comparing it to the books at all. And I didn't. I honestly can't remember much if anything at all about the books - and I read most of them.
Patricia Cornwall served as a consultant on the series, and it has a woman showrunner and director.
I want to like it? But there's something off about it? It's really kind of busy and noisy? I think I want to calm it down a little or cut some of it out? ( Read more... )
It's gotten mixed reviews? The professional critics seem to like it, but the audience really doesn't.
* Grantchester - this is on Netflix and PBS Passport. I like it better than Scarpetta. It's a historical mystery series featuring a young jazz loving Vicar who solves murder mysteries in his parish with a local homicide detective during the 1950s. The Vicar is a former solider who served in the WWII and is struggling to get past it.
* The Pitt - still enjoying this, although it seems a bit subdued from last year, not sure why. I think the characters are a little less on edge - or the characters that are on edge, aren't the principal characters so it's less apparent? Not sure. It's not a bad thing, just a tonal shift.
* Count of Monte Cristo - almost done. It's subdued as well, and very understated. I'm hesistant to rec too heavily? I'm enjoying it - because I kind of want understated and restrained and subdued at the moment. I'm appreciating it. I don't why. Maybe I'm tired of the noise that seems to surround me constantly? All the ads, all the marketing, all the noise...I want subdued?
This may explain why Scarpetta isn't working for me, but the Pitt, Grantchester, and Monte Cristo are? I'm apparently in the mood for a more realistic touch and a less frenetic high gloss one?
Off to bed.
Also clear blue sky with a scant trace of cloud cover. But alas no flowers or greenery anywhere, unlike I'd found, albeit briefly, in Battery Park earlier in the week. (Green grass, and one bush. Spring! I thought. But alas, no, still winter.) So, aching for flowers and greenery - I purchased more cut flowers from the grocery store. Red Roses, and a bunch of purple and reddish purple flowers that I do not know the names of - one's a purple globe, the others look like various versions of purple and red baby's breath. I'd buy an actual plant - but I have a dreadful black thumb and kill them. The green thumb skipped me and landed on my brother. I have a black thumb. I can kill a cactus. And fake plants - I associate with dust.
**
I did a few walks earlier in the week - when it was still warm outside, before we slid kicking and screaming back into winter. The first was up the pier to check out the cherry blossom festival (or the fake cherry blossom festival) on Pier 15. (It only it actually looked like that? It doesn't. Ah, the wonders of photo-shop and AI.) The second was around Battery City Park - the grass was actually green with flowers, purple flowers sprouting from a patch in the middle of it - helped no doubt by the fact that it was sealed off from people and dogs - and only geese, birds, insects and squirrels could frolic in the enclosure. People and dogs can do a lot of damage. Want to grow grass? Keep dogs and people away from it.
I also saw a green bush. And I thought - ah spring. Then it was in the thirties and forties the next day, and felt like 29 degrees, and I thought, no, still winter. Dang it.
The bush has green buds on it - but you have to enlarge the picture to see it. Also we now have an open pier that you can walk along to see the Statue of Liberty. When the Tall Boats Conference happens in July - that entire walkway should be open - so people can walk along and look at boats in the New York harbor.
The second walk was admittedly more productive than the first. I got stopped along the way by a Statue of Liberty Ticket Ferry scammer who was attempting to tell me that I was going the wrong way to the Statue of Liberty Ferry. I ignored him.
**
Mother interrupted this entry with a phone call - to regale me with news from my brother. I rarely talk to him myself - and honestly, don't need to, she tells me everything he's doing, his daughter is doing, and his wife doing - his friends are doing - and various and sundry family members whether I want this information or not. (Well in snatches, she doesn't remember half of it - and it's the stuff that I'm usually curious about that she doesn't remember, while the stuff I was happier not knowing - she does).
( discussions with mother )
***
Television
* Scarpetta This is the series starring Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Simon Baker, and Bobbie Carnvale (along with his son) adapted from the Patricia Cornwall - Kay Scarpetta mysteries - which I read in the 1990s and early 00s, and now have only vague memories of. I honestly don't remember them at all, just the characters names, and vaguely their relationships with each other? I don't remember the FBI agent, or the sister, just the cop Marino and Kay. That means, I can be fairly open-minded about the series, and won't be comparing it to the books at all. And I didn't. I honestly can't remember much if anything at all about the books - and I read most of them.
Patricia Cornwall served as a consultant on the series, and it has a woman showrunner and director.
I want to like it? But there's something off about it? It's really kind of busy and noisy? I think I want to calm it down a little or cut some of it out? ( Read more... )
It's gotten mixed reviews? The professional critics seem to like it, but the audience really doesn't.
* Grantchester - this is on Netflix and PBS Passport. I like it better than Scarpetta. It's a historical mystery series featuring a young jazz loving Vicar who solves murder mysteries in his parish with a local homicide detective during the 1950s. The Vicar is a former solider who served in the WWII and is struggling to get past it.
* The Pitt - still enjoying this, although it seems a bit subdued from last year, not sure why. I think the characters are a little less on edge - or the characters that are on edge, aren't the principal characters so it's less apparent? Not sure. It's not a bad thing, just a tonal shift.
* Count of Monte Cristo - almost done. It's subdued as well, and very understated. I'm hesistant to rec too heavily? I'm enjoying it - because I kind of want understated and restrained and subdued at the moment. I'm appreciating it. I don't why. Maybe I'm tired of the noise that seems to surround me constantly? All the ads, all the marketing, all the noise...I want subdued?
This may explain why Scarpetta isn't working for me, but the Pitt, Grantchester, and Monte Cristo are? I'm apparently in the mood for a more realistic touch and a less frenetic high gloss one?
Off to bed.
Performing some traffic maintenance today
Mar. 14th, 2026 01:04 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHappy Saturday!
I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!
If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.
Buffy and Firefly fandom news...
Mar. 14th, 2026 01:08 pmshadowkatSarah Michelle Gellar just reported on her Instagram site about four minutes ago that Hulu has unfortunately chosen not to move forward with Buffy: New Sunnydale but "if the apocalypse comes, you can still beep me".
"Announcement: Sarah Michelle Gellar shared in a recent video that the project was not proceeding on Instagram.
The Project: The revival was to be titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, with Gellar returning alongside new cast members.
Development Issues: Prior to this, reports suggested that differences over the number of episodes (18 vs. 8) and a need to focus on a new cast were causing delay."
ETA for links, which weren't available until now - clearly people were waiting for Gellar to announce it before doing it themselves?
https://pagesix.com/2026/03/14/entertainment/buffy-series-revival-new-sunnydale-not-moving-forward-at-hulu-sarah-michelle-gellar-reveals/
https://deadline.com/2026/03/buffy-reboot-dead-sarah-michelle-gellar-hulu-chloe-zhao-1236753736/
( my two cents for what it's worth... )
In other news? There's rumors they may be reviving Firefly - with the entire cast on board - or it's just a reunion at a convention. That's actually more likely - since Firefly got cancelled too soon, and the cast and crew and writers wanted to continue with it, and were all on board and happy with each other.
"Announcement: Sarah Michelle Gellar shared in a recent video that the project was not proceeding on Instagram.
The Project: The revival was to be titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, with Gellar returning alongside new cast members.
Development Issues: Prior to this, reports suggested that differences over the number of episodes (18 vs. 8) and a need to focus on a new cast were causing delay."
ETA for links, which weren't available until now - clearly people were waiting for Gellar to announce it before doing it themselves?
https://pagesix.com/2026/03/14/entertainment/buffy-series-revival-new-sunnydale-not-moving-forward-at-hulu-sarah-michelle-gellar-reveals/
https://deadline.com/2026/03/buffy-reboot-dead-sarah-michelle-gellar-hulu-chloe-zhao-1236753736/
( my two cents for what it's worth... )
In other news? There's rumors they may be reviving Firefly - with the entire cast on board - or it's just a reunion at a convention. That's actually more likely - since Firefly got cancelled too soon, and the cast and crew and writers wanted to continue with it, and were all on board and happy with each other.
Writing Carefully or Trying To
Mar. 12th, 2026 09:05 pmshadowkatSigh. I had a story, the first paragraph, and now it's gone. It was in my head walking to the subway. And I thought I could grab it again...when I got on my computer tonight. But alas, it's gone. It'll come back again if need be. I may have to purchase the Tiles Survival Video Game to reprise it.
I learned a valuable lesson this week? When correcting someone or editing, be careful of tone. This is easier said than done? I am doing a lot of editing now - and it requires a lot of patience. Often I am correcting the same mistakes over and over and over again. And the mistakes from my perspective appear to be obvious? Like how can they not know this? And I often have to re-write my comments, and rewrite my emails multiple times, to ensure that my tone is okay.
On the internet it's remarkably easy to screw up with tone, resulting in miscommunications and fights and hurt feelings.
I've been corrected this week - by people who were careful with their tone, and by people who either don't understand tone or aren't careful. Precision in words doesn't always matter as much as how you choose to phrase them. After all, if your phrasing and tone is off - then your reader isn't understanding your words and they fall on death ears. Your intentions will be misunderstood.
I define tone by how I write the sentence. Not just the words that I chose, but the actual phrasing. I think of writing as a means of communicating thoughts, expression, emotion, facts, and information among other things (that I can't think of at the moment), and tone conveys the writers intent to the reader. Also emotion can affect tone - if you are writing from a place of frustration, irritation, impatience, or rage - it will be reflected in your tone. Because you aren't speaking orally - the emotion or intent often has to be conveyed through phrasing.
I've learned that tone in writing matters. So many miscommunications happen because of tone. I've lost count of the number of posts and comments that I've either walked away from or deleted because of the tone. Or the number of correspondents that I've parted ways with because of tone. When my tone is condescending or patronizing - I shut down the listener or reader - they stop hearing me. They stop reading. Instead of engaging their mind, I've engaged their emotions.
Writing carefully takes practice. It's an art. And it is hard to do on social media. I struggle with it. Some are better at it than others. It of course helps if you don't write in anger or frustration.
So many on the internet write carelessly, with little to no regard to the reader. You should care about the reader. We aren't posting our words to the abyss. And as a reader, you should care about the writer.
We should ask ourselves prior to responding directly to any post on the internet - whether it wise? Is it useful? Is it kind? Can we write our response in a way that the reader will respond favorably, and not get upset? Would we respond favorably to that response or comment or would we respond in anger? Do not post anything that makes you think you are clever or smarter or better than another. Or makes you feel superior to the person who posted? Leave your ego at the curb.
This is also hard to do in internet correspondence. I think sometimes it is really hard for people to hear each other? They are so caught up in their own heads they can't hear the other person?
I saw this great little bit on FB recently, where the commentator stated that "when someone is sharing their story with you - listen to it, without thinking about your own. Our tendency is to want to share our own similar story with the other person, as opposed to just hearing and responding to theirs. An example is - if I were to show you around my home or office, and your immediate response is - let me show you mine now."
I'm trying to get better at all of these things. But alas I am a work in progress as are we all. I'm also trying to forgive and be patient with those at work, on DW, in personal life, facebook, fandom, social media platforms, what have you - whose tone is often condescending and hurtful - and try to remember I don't know what their day was like? I don't know what they are feeling right now? Maybe a loved one died? Maybe work pissed them off? Maybe they want to lash out at the world?
It is hard sometimes, I think, to remember this? That in the end, we are all just doing time on planet earth the best that we are able. And sometimes we need to vent into the void without anyone kicking us for it?
[All comments have been disabled.]
I learned a valuable lesson this week? When correcting someone or editing, be careful of tone. This is easier said than done? I am doing a lot of editing now - and it requires a lot of patience. Often I am correcting the same mistakes over and over and over again. And the mistakes from my perspective appear to be obvious? Like how can they not know this? And I often have to re-write my comments, and rewrite my emails multiple times, to ensure that my tone is okay.
On the internet it's remarkably easy to screw up with tone, resulting in miscommunications and fights and hurt feelings.
I've been corrected this week - by people who were careful with their tone, and by people who either don't understand tone or aren't careful. Precision in words doesn't always matter as much as how you choose to phrase them. After all, if your phrasing and tone is off - then your reader isn't understanding your words and they fall on death ears. Your intentions will be misunderstood.
I define tone by how I write the sentence. Not just the words that I chose, but the actual phrasing. I think of writing as a means of communicating thoughts, expression, emotion, facts, and information among other things (that I can't think of at the moment), and tone conveys the writers intent to the reader. Also emotion can affect tone - if you are writing from a place of frustration, irritation, impatience, or rage - it will be reflected in your tone. Because you aren't speaking orally - the emotion or intent often has to be conveyed through phrasing.
I've learned that tone in writing matters. So many miscommunications happen because of tone. I've lost count of the number of posts and comments that I've either walked away from or deleted because of the tone. Or the number of correspondents that I've parted ways with because of tone. When my tone is condescending or patronizing - I shut down the listener or reader - they stop hearing me. They stop reading. Instead of engaging their mind, I've engaged their emotions.
Writing carefully takes practice. It's an art. And it is hard to do on social media. I struggle with it. Some are better at it than others. It of course helps if you don't write in anger or frustration.
So many on the internet write carelessly, with little to no regard to the reader. You should care about the reader. We aren't posting our words to the abyss. And as a reader, you should care about the writer.
We should ask ourselves prior to responding directly to any post on the internet - whether it wise? Is it useful? Is it kind? Can we write our response in a way that the reader will respond favorably, and not get upset? Would we respond favorably to that response or comment or would we respond in anger? Do not post anything that makes you think you are clever or smarter or better than another. Or makes you feel superior to the person who posted? Leave your ego at the curb.
This is also hard to do in internet correspondence. I think sometimes it is really hard for people to hear each other? They are so caught up in their own heads they can't hear the other person?
I saw this great little bit on FB recently, where the commentator stated that "when someone is sharing their story with you - listen to it, without thinking about your own. Our tendency is to want to share our own similar story with the other person, as opposed to just hearing and responding to theirs. An example is - if I were to show you around my home or office, and your immediate response is - let me show you mine now."
I'm trying to get better at all of these things. But alas I am a work in progress as are we all. I'm also trying to forgive and be patient with those at work, on DW, in personal life, facebook, fandom, social media platforms, what have you - whose tone is often condescending and hurtful - and try to remember I don't know what their day was like? I don't know what they are feeling right now? Maybe a loved one died? Maybe work pissed them off? Maybe they want to lash out at the world?
It is hard sometimes, I think, to remember this? That in the end, we are all just doing time on planet earth the best that we are able. And sometimes we need to vent into the void without anyone kicking us for it?
[All comments have been disabled.]
Cute vids to keep.
Mar. 12th, 2026 11:10 amstarwatcherJust what the title says. This post is mostly for me; I need a place to keep cute animal vid links to share with Cindy. But if you want to watch 30 to 60 seconds of animals being cute -- mostly on TikTok and/or BlueSky, enjoy!
Music vid, Ilya/Ducky comparison. 3 minutes
petting a squirrel
parrot matches colors
cat appalled at bath water
dog with ball skills
dog break dancing
dog on skateboard
dog belly dancing
normal dog vs husky
Uzbek bread making
dog pulls cat on sled 3:20 minutes
silent letter day 4:40 minutes
“easy open” desk 3 minutes
This. that and fake cherry blossom festival (it's NY)
Mar. 11th, 2026 08:22 pmshadowkatWork and my commute are attempting to take bites out of my good mood, along with a potential rainy weather pattern coming into NYC for tomorrow. But I persevere and the cheeriness continues for the most part.
So too are various areas of the internet at work and at home, but not DW (so no worries).
1. MSN's browser at work throws stories at me - one was the headline: Woman's Hike Through Texas' Big Bend National Park Turns into a Nightmare. Thinking for a quick getaway from people and in nature, in the rarely visited park, a woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by hundreds of tiny animals and stumbles into a nightmare.
Trying to figure out what "tiny animals" would surround you and terrify you, I of course took a peek?
Sigh. I really wish I hadn't.
I'm arachnophobic - so no, I didn't read any more of the article (not because I can't read about spiders) - it had pictures. I can't look at pictures of spiders. They couldn't have written the article without the pictures? No, of course not. It's the internet. I hate the internet. It is doing a really good job of biting into my good mood. Fuck you, internet.
2. I apparently liked a few Buffy posts on FB, so FB keeps throwing all things Buffy related at me. Today it threw an Instagram Post by the guy who played Parker Abrhams on Buffy in S4, and who was also on Dawson's Creek shortly thereafter - he was posting a tribute to the lead of Dawson's who died recently from cancer. The gist? ( Read more... )
3. And MSN keeps throwing the following at me at work:
* how to prepare for retirement with $1M in 401 K or IRA and $2,465 Social Security. (Sigh, if I had $1M in 401K - I'd have retired already.)
* The best small towns or places to retire in every state. (They all have one thing in common? You need a car. I don't drive.)
* If you travel you shouldn't use a hard suitcase with wheels since it is banned in certain European countries, (Apparently for noise pollution and wear and tear on cobblestone streets? Too many tourists wandering about with baggage at all times at night.)
* No, it is better to have one since a back pack or duffel is hard on your back and you can't pack as much. (I wish people would make up their minds.)
* If you travel to these 20 countries - you will need an electronic visa or electronic authorization ahead of time - and provide before you get on the plane. (So what happens if your phone dies en route? Oh, brings up a story mother told me the other day - a man was denied passage on a cruise because he brought the wrong passport. He accidentally packed the expired passport as opposed to the new one. This is after traveling by bus all the way down to Miami, with people from the retirement center. Mother didn't seem to know what happened next, except that he turned down the offer to catch up with the cruise in New Orleans. He needed it for Mexico.)
* TSA has changed its rules and you need to ensure you do these 12 things, and not bring these things...
Sigh. Now I'm afraid to retire and travel. The stupid internet is stressful. I miss the days in which I didn't know all this crap.
***
It's also throwing television shows at me. Netflix has apparently added more shows. And the internet wants me to watch Sharp Objects on HBO, which it has decided is the best and most twisty thriller ever. ( Read more... )
Me and the Internet are at cross-purposes at the moment? I think AI has made the internet worse?
***
What else should I complain about?
I don't know what to read next. That's not a complaint. Right now I'm reading or trying out Illona Andrews latest novel - Inheritance, which they'd initially wrote as a lark or a serialized novella, no more than 12,000 words for their blog. But alas, it's become a two-book series. And they had to add a lot of world building. It reads a bit like a post-apocalyptic survival video game, actually, with banter. I can tell the writers played a lot of video games during the pandemic. Survival video games have become a thing - now. The internet was flinging those at me as well. And I'm admittedly tempted but afraid to put that on my phone or computer. Maybe the ipad? (No, Inheritance is not a video game - I switched tracks in mid-paragraph.)
The book, Inheritance, is about ( Read more... )
I'm hoping I don't regret grabbing Ministry of Time - I didn't know it was about the same thing the Terror television series is about when I purchased it. It doesn't tell you that. Hmm. Oh well, maybe it won't be an issue?
***
Took some long walks yesterday and today - first in a long time - at work location. First was up to the cherry blossoms on Pier 15, turns out they are fake cherry blossoms - so not worth the trip or tickets. (Why fake? I don't know, it's NY? It is odd though - I mean it's not like we don't have actual cherry blossoms in several botanical gardens, parks, and a cemetery in late March/early April? Maybe they got desperate and wanted to do it now?) The green houses are tiny, and claustrophobic, and you couldn't pay me to sit in one of them for dinner.
I have a picture of it - see below and assuming you can see it - let me know what you think?
The other walk will have to wait until tomorrow. Since long past bedtime for me. Good night all.
So too are various areas of the internet at work and at home, but not DW (so no worries).
1. MSN's browser at work throws stories at me - one was the headline: Woman's Hike Through Texas' Big Bend National Park Turns into a Nightmare. Thinking for a quick getaway from people and in nature, in the rarely visited park, a woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by hundreds of tiny animals and stumbles into a nightmare.
Trying to figure out what "tiny animals" would surround you and terrify you, I of course took a peek?
Sigh. I really wish I hadn't.
I'm arachnophobic - so no, I didn't read any more of the article (not because I can't read about spiders) - it had pictures. I can't look at pictures of spiders. They couldn't have written the article without the pictures? No, of course not. It's the internet. I hate the internet. It is doing a really good job of biting into my good mood. Fuck you, internet.
2. I apparently liked a few Buffy posts on FB, so FB keeps throwing all things Buffy related at me. Today it threw an Instagram Post by the guy who played Parker Abrhams on Buffy in S4, and who was also on Dawson's Creek shortly thereafter - he was posting a tribute to the lead of Dawson's who died recently from cancer. The gist? ( Read more... )
3. And MSN keeps throwing the following at me at work:
* how to prepare for retirement with $1M in 401 K or IRA and $2,465 Social Security. (Sigh, if I had $1M in 401K - I'd have retired already.)
* The best small towns or places to retire in every state. (They all have one thing in common? You need a car. I don't drive.)
* If you travel you shouldn't use a hard suitcase with wheels since it is banned in certain European countries, (Apparently for noise pollution and wear and tear on cobblestone streets? Too many tourists wandering about with baggage at all times at night.)
* No, it is better to have one since a back pack or duffel is hard on your back and you can't pack as much. (I wish people would make up their minds.)
* If you travel to these 20 countries - you will need an electronic visa or electronic authorization ahead of time - and provide before you get on the plane. (So what happens if your phone dies en route? Oh, brings up a story mother told me the other day - a man was denied passage on a cruise because he brought the wrong passport. He accidentally packed the expired passport as opposed to the new one. This is after traveling by bus all the way down to Miami, with people from the retirement center. Mother didn't seem to know what happened next, except that he turned down the offer to catch up with the cruise in New Orleans. He needed it for Mexico.)
* TSA has changed its rules and you need to ensure you do these 12 things, and not bring these things...
Sigh. Now I'm afraid to retire and travel. The stupid internet is stressful. I miss the days in which I didn't know all this crap.
***
It's also throwing television shows at me. Netflix has apparently added more shows. And the internet wants me to watch Sharp Objects on HBO, which it has decided is the best and most twisty thriller ever. ( Read more... )
Me and the Internet are at cross-purposes at the moment? I think AI has made the internet worse?
***
What else should I complain about?
I don't know what to read next. That's not a complaint. Right now I'm reading or trying out Illona Andrews latest novel - Inheritance, which they'd initially wrote as a lark or a serialized novella, no more than 12,000 words for their blog. But alas, it's become a two-book series. And they had to add a lot of world building. It reads a bit like a post-apocalyptic survival video game, actually, with banter. I can tell the writers played a lot of video games during the pandemic. Survival video games have become a thing - now. The internet was flinging those at me as well. And I'm admittedly tempted but afraid to put that on my phone or computer. Maybe the ipad? (No, Inheritance is not a video game - I switched tracks in mid-paragraph.)
The book, Inheritance, is about ( Read more... )
I'm hoping I don't regret grabbing Ministry of Time - I didn't know it was about the same thing the Terror television series is about when I purchased it. It doesn't tell you that. Hmm. Oh well, maybe it won't be an issue?
***
Took some long walks yesterday and today - first in a long time - at work location. First was up to the cherry blossoms on Pier 15, turns out they are fake cherry blossoms - so not worth the trip or tickets. (Why fake? I don't know, it's NY? It is odd though - I mean it's not like we don't have actual cherry blossoms in several botanical gardens, parks, and a cemetery in late March/early April? Maybe they got desperate and wanted to do it now?) The green houses are tiny, and claustrophobic, and you couldn't pay me to sit in one of them for dinner.
I have a picture of it - see below and assuming you can see it - let me know what you think?
The other walk will have to wait until tomorrow. Since long past bedtime for me. Good night all.
(no subject)
Mar. 10th, 2026 09:20 pmshadowkatEnjoying my birthday gifts today. The digital photos change every thirty minutes and are cheery to look at at work. And the new head phones have amazing sound, clear, clean, and immersive. Great for teams calls, and listening to music to and from and at work. And, the speaker phone device works for phone calls and for audio books. Also music at home.
My phone - however - now has about ten different devices connected to it via blue tooth...so if there's a down-side that's it. I also bought a towel rack with a very strong adhesive that I was able to attach to a shower wall without any drilling. (It won't get wet - the shower doesn't spray water that far.) New bath mat doesn't slip and it doesn't show crud. (Old one was uncomfortable and slipped - I fell out of the shower using that one and scared myself half to death.)
Flirted with a new management opening that moscow-co-worker sent me. It's the manager of his department. ( Read more... )
On the reading front? Now that I've finished The Botanist's Assistant, decided to go back to the Kindle/E-books - mainly because they are easier to read on subways. The print can be made larger. It has a back light.
And it's compact and easy to carry. Also much easier to hold.
I need to stop buying hard back and paperback books that take up space. Don't I?
So, I flirted again with What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher, but think I'll probably read the easier, Inheritance by Illona Andrews (which is self-published and shorter - it started out as an online blog novella).
Not that T Kingfisher isn't easy to read for the most part, they are, but they've also created their own language for the book - and no. Just no.
I spend enough time deciphering Engineering slang, along with various industry acronyms, don't need to be deciphering a made up language in a book (or a non-made up one - I honestly don't know which it is.).
Yawn, off to bed, to try the new cervical neck pillow aka Cloud Align Pillow that I grabbed from Amazon.
My phone - however - now has about ten different devices connected to it via blue tooth...so if there's a down-side that's it. I also bought a towel rack with a very strong adhesive that I was able to attach to a shower wall without any drilling. (It won't get wet - the shower doesn't spray water that far.) New bath mat doesn't slip and it doesn't show crud. (Old one was uncomfortable and slipped - I fell out of the shower using that one and scared myself half to death.)
Flirted with a new management opening that moscow-co-worker sent me. It's the manager of his department. ( Read more... )
On the reading front? Now that I've finished The Botanist's Assistant, decided to go back to the Kindle/E-books - mainly because they are easier to read on subways. The print can be made larger. It has a back light.
And it's compact and easy to carry. Also much easier to hold.
I need to stop buying hard back and paperback books that take up space. Don't I?
So, I flirted again with What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher, but think I'll probably read the easier, Inheritance by Illona Andrews (which is self-published and shorter - it started out as an online blog novella).
Not that T Kingfisher isn't easy to read for the most part, they are, but they've also created their own language for the book - and no. Just no.
I spend enough time deciphering Engineering slang, along with various industry acronyms, don't need to be deciphering a made up language in a book (or a non-made up one - I honestly don't know which it is.).
Yawn, off to bed, to try the new cervical neck pillow aka Cloud Align Pillow that I grabbed from Amazon.
March 9, 2026 - my 59th year on this earth starts today...
Mar. 9th, 2026 05:44 pmshadowkat59 years...doesn't feel that long somehow. Good news - I only have three-four years until retirement now. Yippee! (Actually it may be more like three and a half, we'll see, it depends a lot on finances and crazy org, and crazy union.) Although the body feels it. What's that saying? It's not the years, it's the mileage? I always consider my birthday - my own personal New Year's Day. Since our years on this earth and for things like pension, medicare, senior discounts, and retirement are tracked by the date of our birth.
It's been a good birthday so far. The Universe gifted me with a sunny spring day, with barely a cloud marring the pristine robin's egg blue surface, plus Daylight Savings Time - so the day is ever so slightly longer, with sunset around 6:45 pm - granted no flowers or green trees as of yet, but I bought some reddish purple carnations to fill a vase in my living room window and a smaller vase in the bathroom. Also, took a long walk to Courtyelou Road in Ditmas Park, and browsed a smaller bookstore (which had comics, and mostly books by minority authors), the Brooklyn Artrery, and just meandered. Didn't buy anything.
Finished Merrily We Roll Along - which I rented for $9.99 from Apple TV (it's also available on Prime for the same amount). It's the 2024 smash hit Broadway musical revival by Stephen Sondheim, Martha Friedman, George Kaufman and Moss Hart - starring Jonathon Groff, Daniel Radcliff, and Lindsey Mendez. It's much better than expected. Daniel Radcliff blew me away during his number Franklin Shepard, Inc. Also features the classic, "Not a Day Goes By". I found it weirdly comforting - in that it shows how friendships can dissolve over time bit by bit due to various things, but mainly that the friends don't want the same things or have the same central focus. ( Read more... )
Also been binging Count of Monte Cristo on PBS. Had the last of the three slices of Birthday cake from BY THE WAY BAKERY (courtesy of Whole Foods in the Financial District). Tonight - am considering having the freshly made artichoke and spinach gluten free ravioli.
[And I've been enjoying the three birthday gifts that I received - which are: ( Read more... )]
Was considering renting another movie ("Hamnet by Chole Zhao") - but I may hold off, it could very well become available for free - soon enough.
Question a Day Meme - March Catch-Up
4. Have you ever been in a road traffic accident (either as a driver, pedestrian or on a bike)?
Not that I recall? I've witnessed quite a few.
5. How many local birds can you name?
Robin, Bluejay, Pigeon, Whitetail Hawk, Bald Eagle, Sparrow, Cardinal, Crows, Ravens...technical names? No. I have enough issues remembering the names of humans, let alone names humans give specific birds.
6. Have you ever seen a dinosaur skeleton?
Yes, at the Museum of Natural History in NYC
7. Do you embrace technology or prefer things the way they used to be (or a bit of both)?
See birthday gifts. So yes, I've embraced it. I resist for a bit, give up, and embrace. I don't go overboard. I have co-workers who update their iphones and headphones and watches every year. I don't. Also, I learned from my parents to wait a while before trying the latest gadget - like maybe a couple of years. (We learned this lesson - when we were among the first to get the 8 track player (I even owned a mini-one) - which was the newest gadget and my father was convinced it would take off. It well...didn't. So after that colossal failure - our family waits a few years before getting the gadget.)
8. It’s International Women’s Day – can you name any famous female artists, musicians, scientists or authors?
Octavia Butler, Chole Zhao, Marie Curie, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin,
Kate Bush, The Runaways, The Go Gos, Cyndie Lauper, Lady Gaga, Toni Morrison, Jane Austen
9. As it’s ‘Check Your Batteries Day’, when was the last time you checked your stock of batteries? Or, do you just buy them when you need them?
I have batteries that will last at least ten years in my fire/carbon dioxide alarm. So not an issue. They are too hard to replace - so I got one last year that has batteries that last close to fifteen years.
It's been a good birthday so far. The Universe gifted me with a sunny spring day, with barely a cloud marring the pristine robin's egg blue surface, plus Daylight Savings Time - so the day is ever so slightly longer, with sunset around 6:45 pm - granted no flowers or green trees as of yet, but I bought some reddish purple carnations to fill a vase in my living room window and a smaller vase in the bathroom. Also, took a long walk to Courtyelou Road in Ditmas Park, and browsed a smaller bookstore (which had comics, and mostly books by minority authors), the Brooklyn Artrery, and just meandered. Didn't buy anything.
Finished Merrily We Roll Along - which I rented for $9.99 from Apple TV (it's also available on Prime for the same amount). It's the 2024 smash hit Broadway musical revival by Stephen Sondheim, Martha Friedman, George Kaufman and Moss Hart - starring Jonathon Groff, Daniel Radcliff, and Lindsey Mendez. It's much better than expected. Daniel Radcliff blew me away during his number Franklin Shepard, Inc. Also features the classic, "Not a Day Goes By". I found it weirdly comforting - in that it shows how friendships can dissolve over time bit by bit due to various things, but mainly that the friends don't want the same things or have the same central focus. ( Read more... )
Also been binging Count of Monte Cristo on PBS. Had the last of the three slices of Birthday cake from BY THE WAY BAKERY (courtesy of Whole Foods in the Financial District). Tonight - am considering having the freshly made artichoke and spinach gluten free ravioli.
[And I've been enjoying the three birthday gifts that I received - which are: ( Read more... )]
Was considering renting another movie ("Hamnet by Chole Zhao") - but I may hold off, it could very well become available for free - soon enough.
Question a Day Meme - March Catch-Up
4. Have you ever been in a road traffic accident (either as a driver, pedestrian or on a bike)?
Not that I recall? I've witnessed quite a few.
5. How many local birds can you name?
Robin, Bluejay, Pigeon, Whitetail Hawk, Bald Eagle, Sparrow, Cardinal, Crows, Ravens...technical names? No. I have enough issues remembering the names of humans, let alone names humans give specific birds.
6. Have you ever seen a dinosaur skeleton?
Yes, at the Museum of Natural History in NYC
7. Do you embrace technology or prefer things the way they used to be (or a bit of both)?
See birthday gifts. So yes, I've embraced it. I resist for a bit, give up, and embrace. I don't go overboard. I have co-workers who update their iphones and headphones and watches every year. I don't. Also, I learned from my parents to wait a while before trying the latest gadget - like maybe a couple of years. (We learned this lesson - when we were among the first to get the 8 track player (I even owned a mini-one) - which was the newest gadget and my father was convinced it would take off. It well...didn't. So after that colossal failure - our family waits a few years before getting the gadget.)
8. It’s International Women’s Day – can you name any famous female artists, musicians, scientists or authors?
Octavia Butler, Chole Zhao, Marie Curie, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin,
Kate Bush, The Runaways, The Go Gos, Cyndie Lauper, Lady Gaga, Toni Morrison, Jane Austen
9. As it’s ‘Check Your Batteries Day’, when was the last time you checked your stock of batteries? Or, do you just buy them when you need them?
I have batteries that will last at least ten years in my fire/carbon dioxide alarm. So not an issue. They are too hard to replace - so I got one last year that has batteries that last close to fifteen years.
There was some good news in February appparently?
Mar. 8th, 2026 03:47 pmshadowkatDisclaimer: As always, good news like humor and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In short, mileage it varies.
1.A new treatment has shown huge potential for treating spina bifida in the womb, after a trial showed that it improved children’s mobility and quality of life. Spina bifida, a condition in which a baby’s spinal cord is not properly enclosed during gestation, can lead to a range of lifelong disabilities. However, scientists claimed this week to have a promising new treatment, which involves applying stem cells from the mother’s placenta to her baby’s spine while surgeons repair it in the womb.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02466-3/fulltext
2.Researchers hailed new prostate cancer treatment
A new immunotherapy drug for treating prostate cancer has shown “remarkable” results in an early clinical trial.
The VIR-5500 drug was given to 58 patients with advanced prostate cancer that had stopped responding to other treatments. Almost half saw their tumour shrink after taking the drug, according to the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research, which led the research. Most patients had only mild side-effects.
3.After surviving breast cancer, Mary Mwangi started crafting handmade prosthetic breasts for those who’ve had mastectomies in Kenya, as an alternative to costly silicone options. She now leads a group of women who have produced over 600 pieces for fellow survivors in need, all while finding a sense of solace in the art itself. “Knitting takes you through a process of healing,” Mwangi said. “Once you are not thinking about your disease, you are positive, and that positive mind helps you, because healing starts from your mind.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breast-cancer-survivor-knits-prostheses-050739235.html
4.Chile has become the first country in the Americas, and only the second globally, to be verified as having eliminated leprosy. Announcing the verification on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) described the milestone as a “landmark public health achievement” and “a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish”.
Chile’s leprosy-free certification follows sustained public health efforts, including prevention strategies, early diagnosis, improved treatments, and continuous follow-ups. “Chile’s elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The first country to be verified as having eliminated leprosy was Jordan in September 2024.
https://worldhealthorganization.com/
5.Indigenous river defenders are celebrating after winning a David versus Goliath battle against the Brazilian government and corporate giants over plans to industrialise an Amazonian waterway.
The Tapajós River faced the threat of being dredged and privatised to boost soy and grain shipments out of Santarém, a small city in the Brazilian state of Pará. But activists had other ideas. They occupied a local grain terminal belonging to Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the US, forcing Brazil’s government into a policy U-turn.“The transformation of Amazonian rivers into routes for economic exploitation directly threatens Indigenous territories, traditional ways of life, food security, biodiversity and the environmental balance of the entire region,” said the Federation of Indigenous Peoples. Reacting to the U-turn, Maria Leusa, an Indigenous campaigner, said: “This proves that life – the river – has no price. It cannot be sold, it is not negotiable. That’s why we will never back down.”
6.Lawmakers in Vietnam have passed legislation regulating artificial intelligence, making it the first country in southeast Asia to place safeguards on the fast-moving technology. Like the European Union’s AI Act, Vietnam’s law requires companies to clearly label AI-generated content, which is often not easy to differentiate from reality. It will also oblige them to inform customers when they are interacting with a chatbot rather than a human. Internet safety campaigners welcomed the move, but said enforcement will be key for it to be effective.
https://www.positive.news/science/eu-approves-draft-law-to-regulate-ai-how-it-works/
South Korea became the first country to enact an AI law in January (the European Union’s is entering force in phases). It comes amid growing concern about AI firms’ involvement in the military, after the Trump administration demanded that AI companies give the Pentagon unrestricted access to their technology – including for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, obliged, signing a deal with the Pentagon this week that will allow its systems to be used by the US military. It sparked a fierce backlash, with millions pledging to quit ChatGPT, resulting in a rapid reversal and Open AI changing the deal. "On Monday OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company would add the language to its agreement, including explicitly prohibiting the use of its systems to spy on Americans." [Proof boycotts work at any rate.]
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rz1nd0egro
7. The UK’s green economy grew by 10.2% in the last year, outpacing the nation’s broader economy, which grew by just 1.3% in 2025.
That’s according to research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which comes amid increasing hostility to green industries from opposition political parties.
The CBI’s research shows the green economy to be in rude health, generating around £83.1bn in gross added value. Every £1 it generates, it added, creates an additional £1.89 in the wider economy.
“It is clear, you can’t have growth without green,” said Louise Hellem, CBI’s chief economist. “At a time when the cost of doing business has squeezed appetite for capital investments, and high energy prices are being cited as a drag factor across the economy, investments in clean technologies can significantly bolster competitiveness and productivity.”
The report follows separate research from Carbon Brief, which found that clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025. It comes as the war in the Middle East sends oil and gas prices soaring.
“Long-term sustainable growth is unattainable without a future powered by clean, affordable, and secure energy,” said Hellem.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-drove-more-than-a-third-of-chinas-gdp-growth-in-2025/
8.Europe’s night train network is set to expand after the community owned rail firm European Sleeper announced a new route between Brussels and Milan. Launching in September, the service will call at Cologne and Zürich, providing an important north–south connection on the continent.
European Sleeper has been a driving force behind Europe’s unexpected night train renaissance, which comes amid growing demand for low-carbon travel. In 2023, the Dutch-Belgian company launched a Brussels to Berlin service, which has since been extended in both directions to include Amsterdam and Prague. European Sleeper is part of Europe’s burgeoning community ownership movement, which has seen regular folk take ownership of everything from pubs and shopping centres to a ferry service. Owned by its readers, Positive News is part of that movement.
https://www.positive.news/society/how-communities-are-stepping-up-to-revive-our-tired-towns/
9.Ireland’s basic income for artists became permanent. A basic income scheme for artists that launched during the pandemic to kickstart Irish culture was made permanent this week. Offering participants a weekly stipend of €325 (£283), the €25m (£21m) pilot helped more than 2,000 artists, although many more applied. According to an independent study, the scheme generated €100m (£87m) in “social and economic benefits” to Ireland’s economy. Elinor O’Donovan is among the artists to have been accepted onto the scheme, which was launched by the Irish government in 2022. “Before I started receiving it, I was working part-time as a receptionist just to be able to afford my rent. I was thinking about moving to a country where I might be able to afford to live a bit cheaper.”
“Now I work full-time as an artist. [The scheme] has given me the flexibility that the job of an artist requires and has allowed me to take risks. I’ve gone into film and I was able to pay other people to work with me on it.” Although limited in scope, it’s the world’s first basic income scheme to be made permanent.
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/press-releases/basic-income-for-the-arts-pilot-produced-over-100-million-in-social-and-economic-benefits/
10.A new law was proposed to crack down on abusive online images
The UK government this week revealed a new law that would require tech companies to remove intimate images that have been shared without consent, within 48 hours. Currently making its way through the House of Lords, the proposed amendment to the crime and policing bill would mean that a survivor only needs to flag an offensive image once, instead of contacting different platforms separately. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, told BBC Breakfast on Thursday that this law would mean a survivor “doesn’t have to do a sort of whack-a-mole chasing wherever this image is next going up”. The law would be enforced by fines and other as-yet-undetermined measures.
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said that the proposed law “sends a powerful message that women and girls’ rights and freedoms matter, and should not be threatened by image-based abuse. “This announcement rightly places the responsibility on tech companies to act, because it is they who can stop images from spreading, and that have profited from hosting this harm. We need to see government build on this work by giving survivors more options to take action, and ultimately to prevent this abuse from happening in the first place.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6ed1549yvo
( the rest of the thirty items )
[In personal news, been battling a bit of a weather related headache, the weather is shifting and I think it's finally going to clear in time for my birthday tomorrow. I went to the book store - and picked up three books as a birthday gift to myself - "Ministry of Time"; Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles; and The Color Palette ( a journey exploring the history and origins of color), so two non-fiction, one fiction to add to my ever increasing pile of books.
Yes, I'm one of those people who goes to a book store intent on either buying nothing or just one book - and ends up with three. This is pathetic. It's not like I don't have two libraries in walking distance, numerous little libraries, and a massive book depository in the basement laundry room. Not to mention all the unread books in my apartment, and on my kindle. I have enough to last me five lifetimes. Sigh. What can I say? Buying and owning books has always made me gleefully happy. Nothing else does in quite the same way. Well maybe records did when I was a kid - but I no longer own a record player and have an unlimited music account with Apple Music, which is much easier to use than the record player, and takes up less space.]
1.A new treatment has shown huge potential for treating spina bifida in the womb, after a trial showed that it improved children’s mobility and quality of life. Spina bifida, a condition in which a baby’s spinal cord is not properly enclosed during gestation, can lead to a range of lifelong disabilities. However, scientists claimed this week to have a promising new treatment, which involves applying stem cells from the mother’s placenta to her baby’s spine while surgeons repair it in the womb.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02466-3/fulltext
2.Researchers hailed new prostate cancer treatment
A new immunotherapy drug for treating prostate cancer has shown “remarkable” results in an early clinical trial.
The VIR-5500 drug was given to 58 patients with advanced prostate cancer that had stopped responding to other treatments. Almost half saw their tumour shrink after taking the drug, according to the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research, which led the research. Most patients had only mild side-effects.
3.After surviving breast cancer, Mary Mwangi started crafting handmade prosthetic breasts for those who’ve had mastectomies in Kenya, as an alternative to costly silicone options. She now leads a group of women who have produced over 600 pieces for fellow survivors in need, all while finding a sense of solace in the art itself. “Knitting takes you through a process of healing,” Mwangi said. “Once you are not thinking about your disease, you are positive, and that positive mind helps you, because healing starts from your mind.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/breast-cancer-survivor-knits-prostheses-050739235.html
4.Chile has become the first country in the Americas, and only the second globally, to be verified as having eliminated leprosy. Announcing the verification on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) described the milestone as a “landmark public health achievement” and “a powerful testament to what leadership, science, and solidarity can accomplish”.
Chile’s leprosy-free certification follows sustained public health efforts, including prevention strategies, early diagnosis, improved treatments, and continuous follow-ups. “Chile’s elimination of leprosy sends a clear message to the world: with sustained commitment, inclusive health services, integrated public health strategies, early detection and universal access to care, we can consign ancient diseases to history,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The first country to be verified as having eliminated leprosy was Jordan in September 2024.
https://worldhealthorganization.com/
5.Indigenous river defenders are celebrating after winning a David versus Goliath battle against the Brazilian government and corporate giants over plans to industrialise an Amazonian waterway.
The Tapajós River faced the threat of being dredged and privatised to boost soy and grain shipments out of Santarém, a small city in the Brazilian state of Pará. But activists had other ideas. They occupied a local grain terminal belonging to Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the US, forcing Brazil’s government into a policy U-turn.“The transformation of Amazonian rivers into routes for economic exploitation directly threatens Indigenous territories, traditional ways of life, food security, biodiversity and the environmental balance of the entire region,” said the Federation of Indigenous Peoples. Reacting to the U-turn, Maria Leusa, an Indigenous campaigner, said: “This proves that life – the river – has no price. It cannot be sold, it is not negotiable. That’s why we will never back down.”
6.Lawmakers in Vietnam have passed legislation regulating artificial intelligence, making it the first country in southeast Asia to place safeguards on the fast-moving technology. Like the European Union’s AI Act, Vietnam’s law requires companies to clearly label AI-generated content, which is often not easy to differentiate from reality. It will also oblige them to inform customers when they are interacting with a chatbot rather than a human. Internet safety campaigners welcomed the move, but said enforcement will be key for it to be effective.
https://www.positive.news/science/eu-approves-draft-law-to-regulate-ai-how-it-works/
South Korea became the first country to enact an AI law in January (the European Union’s is entering force in phases). It comes amid growing concern about AI firms’ involvement in the military, after the Trump administration demanded that AI companies give the Pentagon unrestricted access to their technology – including for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, obliged, signing a deal with the Pentagon this week that will allow its systems to be used by the US military. It sparked a fierce backlash, with millions pledging to quit ChatGPT, resulting in a rapid reversal and Open AI changing the deal. "On Monday OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company would add the language to its agreement, including explicitly prohibiting the use of its systems to spy on Americans." [Proof boycotts work at any rate.]
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rz1nd0egro
7. The UK’s green economy grew by 10.2% in the last year, outpacing the nation’s broader economy, which grew by just 1.3% in 2025.
That’s according to research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which comes amid increasing hostility to green industries from opposition political parties.
The CBI’s research shows the green economy to be in rude health, generating around £83.1bn in gross added value. Every £1 it generates, it added, creates an additional £1.89 in the wider economy.
“It is clear, you can’t have growth without green,” said Louise Hellem, CBI’s chief economist. “At a time when the cost of doing business has squeezed appetite for capital investments, and high energy prices are being cited as a drag factor across the economy, investments in clean technologies can significantly bolster competitiveness and productivity.”
The report follows separate research from Carbon Brief, which found that clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025. It comes as the war in the Middle East sends oil and gas prices soaring.
“Long-term sustainable growth is unattainable without a future powered by clean, affordable, and secure energy,” said Hellem.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-drove-more-than-a-third-of-chinas-gdp-growth-in-2025/
8.Europe’s night train network is set to expand after the community owned rail firm European Sleeper announced a new route between Brussels and Milan. Launching in September, the service will call at Cologne and Zürich, providing an important north–south connection on the continent.
European Sleeper has been a driving force behind Europe’s unexpected night train renaissance, which comes amid growing demand for low-carbon travel. In 2023, the Dutch-Belgian company launched a Brussels to Berlin service, which has since been extended in both directions to include Amsterdam and Prague. European Sleeper is part of Europe’s burgeoning community ownership movement, which has seen regular folk take ownership of everything from pubs and shopping centres to a ferry service. Owned by its readers, Positive News is part of that movement.
https://www.positive.news/society/how-communities-are-stepping-up-to-revive-our-tired-towns/
9.Ireland’s basic income for artists became permanent. A basic income scheme for artists that launched during the pandemic to kickstart Irish culture was made permanent this week. Offering participants a weekly stipend of €325 (£283), the €25m (£21m) pilot helped more than 2,000 artists, although many more applied. According to an independent study, the scheme generated €100m (£87m) in “social and economic benefits” to Ireland’s economy. Elinor O’Donovan is among the artists to have been accepted onto the scheme, which was launched by the Irish government in 2022. “Before I started receiving it, I was working part-time as a receptionist just to be able to afford my rent. I was thinking about moving to a country where I might be able to afford to live a bit cheaper.”
“Now I work full-time as an artist. [The scheme] has given me the flexibility that the job of an artist requires and has allowed me to take risks. I’ve gone into film and I was able to pay other people to work with me on it.” Although limited in scope, it’s the world’s first basic income scheme to be made permanent.
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/press-releases/basic-income-for-the-arts-pilot-produced-over-100-million-in-social-and-economic-benefits/
10.A new law was proposed to crack down on abusive online images
The UK government this week revealed a new law that would require tech companies to remove intimate images that have been shared without consent, within 48 hours. Currently making its way through the House of Lords, the proposed amendment to the crime and policing bill would mean that a survivor only needs to flag an offensive image once, instead of contacting different platforms separately. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, told BBC Breakfast on Thursday that this law would mean a survivor “doesn’t have to do a sort of whack-a-mole chasing wherever this image is next going up”. The law would be enforced by fines and other as-yet-undetermined measures.
Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said that the proposed law “sends a powerful message that women and girls’ rights and freedoms matter, and should not be threatened by image-based abuse. “This announcement rightly places the responsibility on tech companies to act, because it is they who can stop images from spreading, and that have profited from hosting this harm. We need to see government build on this work by giving survivors more options to take action, and ultimately to prevent this abuse from happening in the first place.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6ed1549yvo
( the rest of the thirty items )
[In personal news, been battling a bit of a weather related headache, the weather is shifting and I think it's finally going to clear in time for my birthday tomorrow. I went to the book store - and picked up three books as a birthday gift to myself - "Ministry of Time"; Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles; and The Color Palette ( a journey exploring the history and origins of color), so two non-fiction, one fiction to add to my ever increasing pile of books.
Yes, I'm one of those people who goes to a book store intent on either buying nothing or just one book - and ends up with three. This is pathetic. It's not like I don't have two libraries in walking distance, numerous little libraries, and a massive book depository in the basement laundry room. Not to mention all the unread books in my apartment, and on my kindle. I have enough to last me five lifetimes. Sigh. What can I say? Buying and owning books has always made me gleefully happy. Nothing else does in quite the same way. Well maybe records did when I was a kid - but I no longer own a record player and have an unlimited music account with Apple Music, which is much easier to use than the record player, and takes up less space.]