What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Today, I found these two interesting videos about seemingly different things that both really spoke to me.

https://youtu.be/tWYxrowovts
This one is about how some things previously were made to be prettier than they are now. There has been a running argument about this among some friends I shared this with. My take-away is that we don't have to accept that everything is shitty, boring, or ugly. Obviously, I'm not advocating a worldwide home owners' association to regulate how everything looks. It just reminds me that I can make choices to have things be nicer looking rather than just convenient. Like the wall for the raised bed in the garden. Yes, we could have gone with something more generic or convenient, but there is value in choosing something that is really nice.

https://youtu.be/tvwPKBXEOKE
This one is about how some techniques of modern filmmaking have decreased the feeling that a movie is a real world you could step into. Interestingly, one seems to be making the background blurry, and I noticed that in some of the shots that he used to exemplify the issue, sometimes, the sides of the shots were also blurry. Joel thinks this is because the filmmakers are convinced that people aren't going to be able to figure out where the main action is otherwise. Ugh. Apparently, also, films have a lot of processing after they are filmed. To make that processing super effective, many movies are filmed with really generic lighting, so that the correct lighting can be added in later. The way he described it, filmmakers didn't want to commit to anything while filming. Now, I don't watch movies or TV, but it seemed really interesting.

After thinking about both of these, I decided that they both are about intentionality. Rather than just existing in my space and putting up with things I don't like, I can choose to make my space nicer. The lack of committing to a specific feel for a film seems to be hurting filmmaking. Not super deep thoughts, but good things to remember.

So, Joel got me a jug of water from the store, and that seems to have helped a lot. Except maybe me brushing my teeth with tap water was an issue (I did that even in Africa). Now, I don't feel so great either, but I may be getting my period soon. Ugh. Stupid body.

Unrelated to that, a friend asked me for this link, and I am too lazy to send it to her, so here is a full coverage bathing suit.

The painting and I are having more difficulties. The mint is just such a fight. This is what I get for not having a perfect reference photo. Maybe I should use an AI to make a reference photo. I don't know how well they do with shadows (or anything).

Yesterday, we walked into the city from our new house. It was great! (There was some bickering, though, because someone - ie me - didn't eat enough before the trip. I feel like I should write "I will not go on a long walk without having eaten breakfast" one hundred times on the blackboard. We were rushed, but that is no excuse.) The contractor has already started working on the roof. They took all the ivy off the outside walls and are dismantling the roof. He sends us photos. All is well.

We will have no natural light source on the first floor besides the windows in the front door. I spent hours last night and this morning thinking about solutions. We are interested in something torch-like (where torch is a stick that is on fire on one end rather than a British flashlight). I'm considering ways to make these. I could make actual LED lights using a kit. I'm sure nothing could go wrong with that. Or, I could come up with some way to use this lamp inside a torch. Or, if I didn't want to try to come up with a way to insert it into wood, I could put it inside one of these (option 1, option 2, option 3). If that doesn't work, we could make one from these decorative metal sheets.

A couple of days ago, I had a Portuguese lesson. The teacher was really good. I knew her classes were expensive, but I was ready for it. Then, I saw how expensive they were, and I just couldn't. They are almost twice as expensive as other places. I believe she is good, but will I learn Portuguese twice as fast or twice as easily? I don't think so. So, I went with a different place instead. I'm anxious about it (surprise!), but it will be fine. I just need to learn Portuguese.