Where I put thoughts to text

the RSS icon: orange ground, a whit dot in the bottom left corner, two quarter circles going out form there to suggest ripples of sound waves. Subscribe via RSS feed

Weeknotes - W44/2026 (No.10)

posted on:

Walter Koenig died. 🖖 Which reminds me that I had started a Babylon 5 watch through years ago that I never continued for reasons unknown. One day I'll start over and watch it all. And then Sir Patrick Stewart died. 🖖 May they both rest in peace.

Goings on 🚶‍♀️‍➡️

  • I was bikeless this week. Which is not as bad as it could have been because it was autumn break. But the repairs I brought it into the bike shop for last week turned out to be more complicated. (I had run down my breaks in such a way that I gave the mechanics something to see they had never seen before. LOL) Anyway, the problem with not having a bike is that I need to take the bus then. And bus tickets are so fucking expensive here. 3.70€ for 2 hours (6.30€ for the day)!! And we are just a small wanna-be-big city. It's ridiculous. Public transport should be free, but if that is not an option, it should be cheaper than what we've got. But a car loving country like mine rather throws money at that sector than support public transport. At least, however, my city made it free to use on Saturdays a while back. One step forward.
  • I met with a former co-worker for coffee and cinema (see below), which was super nice. She's such a kind person. She's 20 years younger than I am, which is a bit funny. I have been friends with older co-workers, and now it seems my role is changing to being the older. I guess I am in that age now. LOL

Media 📚🎞️🎧

  • Saw the new Sense & Sensibility in the cinema. Unfortunately in German, there was no OV screening offered. I did not really like the film a lot, so when I came home I poured myself a big glass of red wine and watched the 1995 version with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, and many other great actors. It's still the best adaptation of the book. But I do like some things about the new film: the family dying their gowns black at the beginning, younger actors for Mrs. Dashwood and Elinor specifically (compared to 1995), Daisy Edgar-Jones' and Esmé Creed-Miles' work specifically, the locations and photography. (⭐⭐/5)
    Thoughts, no real spoilers
    • It seems I'm in the minority with my feelings towards the film though, as most reviews I stumbled upon say it's one of the best of the recent Austen adaptaions. Sometimes I fear I am turning into a grumpy old woman finding new interpretations of old favourites abominable. However, I LOVE the 2020 Emma., and there are two or three "modern" things the Netflix Persuasion did that I find brilliant (just not all the rest of it).
    • The makers of those new, "modern" adaptations argue they made the changes for the "modern" audience. Why? What does that modern audience especially need? Do they really have to make Marianne practically feral to make the audience understand that she's the one with the deep feelings and emotions? Wearing her hair down is not the problem, as she is very young and that is ok. But I doubt she would walk around like she does in that film. Marianne is cultivated, she has style. The maid would make her up in the evening for bed and the morning for the day. She's a teenager who thinks the adults are too stiff, that holding back your emotions is wrong because that leads to you not getting what you want. But that does not mean she stops brushing her hair.
    • I also missed the humour very very much. Austen is so good in making fun of everyone, but not even Mrs. Jennings was funny. Am I really turning into a grumpy old woman or is this "modern" generation maybe a little boring?
    • But then again, I know the stuff, I know the story. A younger generation might not yet and this film may be their first introduction to Jane Austen's work. Maybe they fall in love with it through this film, just as I did with the Pride and Prejudice miniseries of 1995. Why am I such a gatekeeper suddenly?
    • Here's my current, possibly grumpy old woman-y thinking: If film makers want to give an old story a modern twist, which is absolutely legitimate, I would love to see them go so much further that what they've been doing. Be really courageous. Go truly wild. Shock and provoke, don't just annoy! Or take the story out of the period and put it in our time, or even the future. (A Sci-fi version auf an Austen story could be awesome. Like, please point me towards that kind of fan fiction!) Clueless is a brilliant example of that: Here, the story of Emma was transferred to 1995 Beverly Hills and suddenly there was more freedom for changes than if they had stayed in the period.
  • So while we were at it I re-watched Clueless. It is still such a fun watch and transported me right back to my teenage years. I wanted to have - and be able to wear - that yellow plaid outfit so badly. Of course, however, I was definitely more a Tai than a Cher, minus the money, the body, and necessary style. LOL (⭐⭐⭐⭐/5)
  • Finished reading the German Warum ist hier schon wieder Chaos? that I mentioned last week. It's written for young women (which I am not), so the language is very non-adult (if that makes any sense to anyone), which I enjoyed. (I am young at heart. 😁) It gives useful tipps on how to keep house with ADHD, which was why I got it in the first place. Now, those tips are not super detailed. Infact, that part of the book is smaller than the one about what ADHD is and how it manifests. But all in all it was impactful enough for me to being pretty sure I've got ADHD, thinking about my household routines (non-existent, really) and how to change them, and wanting to find a doctor and/or therapist to get a diagnosis (and possibly therapy) finally. We'll see how long that takes me, though. It's not like that's a new desire of mine. (⭐⭐⭐⭐/5) (Books)
  • I remembered that a while ago I had started to watch Farscape for the first time. All episodes are on Youtube, which is amazing. I am still in season 1 and watched a few more episodes this weekend. It's a fun show, very unique.

The Web 💻

- Elena.

Leave a comment in the Fediverse
or write me an e-mail: hello [-at-] theresmiling [dot] eu