It 2, movie vs book

 IT CHAPTER II

"Key aspects of the It novel were lost. An important storyline involving Bill's (James McAvoy) wife, Audra, is, for instance, left on the cutting room floor. The latter character only briefly appears in the film (played by Jess Weixler), despite the fact that she is at the center of It's book ending. Indeed, King's novel ends not with the Losers celebrating their renewed, ever-lasting friendship, but with Bill taking a catatonic Audra on a ride on his childhood bike, Silver. The experience wakes her up from her Derry-induced coma and, in It's closing passage, Bill wakes up next to her one morning and muses about the difficulty and beauty of growing up. "He thinks that it is good to be a child, but it is also good to be grown up and able to consider the mystery of childhood… its beliefs and desires," King writes." (copy/pasted from an online article)

I was also disappointed that Bev's husband Tom wasn't involved. In the novel he hunts her, finds she's in Derry and is guided by Pennywise to kill, not just her but all her Losers Club friends. 

In another part an important piece of dialogue was left out: When deceased buddy Vic was breaking Henry out of the [mental hospital/prison facility] to kill the Losers Club with his old knife he asked Vic "Why me?" He knew the otherworldly 'Vic' was more powerful than he was. 'Vic' replied "Because they believe. If they didn't believe, even if they only half-believed, we'd kill them all easily. But with you and your knife, it doesn't matter if they believe or not."

Belief is powerful. 'It' needs its victims to believe what they're seeing is real, otherwise it can't harm them. And Bill discovered belief can be turned against It. He was able to fire an unloaded gun at It because he believed the gun was loaded. And they all believed they were able to kick Pennywise's ass, which of course they did. In the novel Eddie was able to use his inhaler to spray acid at It because he believed. Hell I imagined Ben picking up a water gun, believing it was a flame thrower so he could torch It. And Eddie adding a huge burst of Xenomorph blood-acid from his inhaler. 

Belief was so powerful that It needed Tom & Henry to protect It from the Losers Club.

It, a powerful entity, needed humans to protect it from humans. I imagine Bev realizing that and laughing. Just that derisive laughter would be enough to shrink Pennywise, don't ya think? (I once saw this big strong man get smaller because of girls laughing at him. Unreal!)

And yes, the ending about Bill & Audra. I was very touched by that ending in the novel. A happy ending, one with meaning.

I have always preferred a story ending that makes one think and reflect over a vacuous happily ever after.

EYES ON THE ROAD!!!

 I like this paragraph from the book "f It Bleeds" by Stephen King, page 184

(Holly Gibney is driving)
"Jerome sounds troubled. She sees him look at her, but only out of the corner of her eye; Holly always faces directly forward when she's driving. Those movie sequences where the driver looks at his passenger for seconds at a time while delivering dialogue drive her absolutely crazy. She always wants to shout, 'Look at the road, dummy! Do you want to hit a kid while you're discussing your love life?' "

That's me exactly. My movie watching experience is ruined Every. Single. Time. a driver turns to look at the passenger during a conversation. "EYES ON THE ROAD YOU IDIOT!!" is what my brain screams every time. I can't help it!!
Why do they ALWAYS do that?? No, seriously, that's a question....
I just looked at some Reddit threads on that topic. Yes, the actors' facial gestures are part of the storytelling, with eye contact being crucial to that storytelling. But still, aren't there directors willing to go out on a limb and just have the driver keep their eyes on the road like in real life?? So that people like me can experience the story instead of the stupidity???

Wealth & perception of Others

 A frequent thought experiment I often carry out goes along the lines of, "How would, in this case, members of the Walton family perceive people in specific levels of socio-economic classes differently if they weren't billion$ wealthy? If they were moderately wealthy? If they were poor? In each case how would they define "riff-raff"? 

If a person's social "Operating System" relied primarily on reciprocity (IF I do this, THEN what will I get back?) then the amount of personal wealth will dictate how they treat others. If the OS relied on a holistic perception of humanity ("Inherently, I'm no better or worse than others") then their attitude of others will not change. 

If I were that wealthy, I don't want ANYbody around me to know about it. I'd be pretty much as I am now, while more people needing scholarships to university would get them, public schools would be receiving anonymously donated science equipment, and those few politicians that genuinely care about their working-class&lower constituents would receive generous campaign $. 

I'd also live in a moderately-sized motorhome RV with no fixed address.

Cat meditation

 After less than two hours sleep I woke up in a really pissed off mood. Being a victim of a lifelong prank, in this case of an apocalyptic cult is going to create serious life issues.

Mindfulness meditation is a way out of the storm. Focusing on imagery is another. I recommend the trunk of a large tree, its strength and mass a firm anchor during a storm. The goal here is to go from the leaves and branches thrashing, being torn apart by the winds to the stillness of the trunk.

Instead, I used my Ladybug. She was on my chest purring away, happily kneading her claws through my shirt. I simply focused on what is likely her point of view, her state of mind, her existence. No trace of having been cheated out of a better life here. To her this IS life and it is GOOD!!

I've been up for several hours and I'm still not out of the woods. But with Ladybug and meditation I'll be fine.

Gazpacho soup...

 I'm a bit confused here:

Is gazpacho soup to be served in peach tree dishes? At police gatherings? With artificial meat courtesy of Bill Gates?

I'd better ask MTGreene  <( °~°)_/

Stephen Colbert bit

 In one of his interviews Colbert said something that was funny to everyone else but his guest Hannah Gatsby. (I don't recall specifics, sorry) Not only did he not point out she didn't get it like I know Letterman would have, he didn't even explain to her, which would have pointed attention to her having missed that bus but just kept the conversation going as if her running behind everyone never happened. Stephen Colbert's a combination of respect for his guests and being real slick if that's what it takes to keep his guests comfortable. I love that about him!!

Emotional Intelligence in Three Steps

 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mindbodygreen.com/articles/3-steps-to-improve-your-eq-daily-from-psychologist

A Simple Daily Practice For Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence Over Time

By Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

Healthy emotional intelligence can bring you greater joy and fulfillment in your own life, and it surely has the power to increase the quality of your relationships. There's a reason why my recent book Date Smart, which sets out to help people find and build healthy relationships, focuses so heavily on EQ skills: Solid emotional intelligence is critical for all healthy intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. In truth, with so much change and chaos in the world, emotion intelligence is the go-to quality we all need.

But emotional intelligence is not a given. We have to work to gain and maintain our EQ throughout life.

There are five core aspects of EQ:

1) Self-knowledge

2) Self-control

3) Social skills

4) Empathy

5) Personal motivation for self growth

The depth and breadth of these key components might seem intimidating, but increasing your EQ doesn't need to be complicated. Over the years working with clients as a clinical psychologist, I've developed a simple, actionable strategy that reliably helps people grow in each of these areas simultaneously.

The method is a simple "1-2-3" process. As situations come up in life that bring up uncomfortable thoughts and feelings such as anger, irritation, or confusion, mentally run through these three steps. Although the process may feel unfamiliar at first, it will become second nature with patience, practice, and perseverance. Each step naturally increases all five of the core EQ aspects, though some steps will hone. certain EQ elements more than others.

With this little "1-2-3" mindset shift-and a lot of ongoing practice-you'll feel your level of EQ growing stronger by the day:

Step 1: Look within to understand what you want and deserve.

This first step, which tends to improve the EQ components of self-knowledge, self control, and self-growth motivation, focuses on self-reflection.

For example, if you're feeling deeply stuck in your romantic relationship, you may be so confused that you don't know what you really want or truly deserve. To unravel the situation and make an emotionally intelligent decision on what to do next, you must first make space to self-reflect. That

might look like journaling, meditating, or sitting in quiet to nonjudgmentally reflect on what's taking place.

The more space you make for your own experiences, the more self-knowledge you will accrue. So, when you pause to self reflect, allow your thoughts and feelings to flow. You may need to repeat this process several times before gaining the clarity you want and need.

As you make time to be with yourself in quiet, objective self-reflection, you'll also find that you become less reactive and more self-controlled; this will lead to a greater sense of personal empowerment. As well, the fruits of your self-reflection will naturally foster greater self-growth; you will feel yourself developing more fully over time.

Step 2: Look outside yourself to evaluate the pros and cons.

This second step fosters the important EQ areas of social skills, empathy, self-control, and overall self-growth.

Evaluate the pros and cons of your decision while considering those around you, in addition to yourself. When you slow down to assess how your thoughts and actions might affect your own life and the lives of others, you increase your ability to make healthy decisions. As well, for those who tend to be either people-pleasers or more on the self-oriented side, this step promotes balance and general awareness.

For example, if you desperately want to leave an unfulfilling job but fear disappointing or upsetting others, this s helps you factor in the overall pros and cons of the situation. Difficulties tend to 

arise if you focus just on people-pleasing or if you follow your own agenda with no empathy for others. When you pause to mindfully evaluate the overall picture from a neutral stance, you benefit from a perspective that tends to be more balanced and objective. Your EQ will naturally improve when you use a mindful, evaluative process to nonreactively consider the "big picture."

Step 3: Make a healthy, deeply aware decision.

Learning how to make the ideal decision can be challenging. This final step harnesses and hones all five of the EQ components to help you make choices that are truly right for you and those in your world, which is what emotional intelligence is all about. Your self-knowledge, self control, social skills, empathy, and motivation for self-growth will benefit as you work through this step.

After moving through the first two steps that help you understand and balance your desires with the larger picture, you'll feel better knowing that your ultimate decision is based on healthy self-reflection and overall awareness. For example, if you've been dealing with a difficult family member, your self-reflection on what you need (completed in Step 1) combined with your evaluative process of how all parties will be affected (completed in Step 2) might bring you to the decision that you need to set healthy boundaries that serve both you and your relationships in the long run.

This is an emotionally intelligent decision because it considers your true needs and the context of the people and relationships being affected.

The takeaway.

When you embrace this 1-2-3 method for increasing EQ, you'll notice that you feel more grounded and less reactive over time. And, of course, all those big and little decisions that affect the very quality of your life will feel less like challenging hurdles and more like kernels of self growth. You may even be surprised to notice that your self-esteem improves; this is a wonderful side benefit of increased emotional intelligence. The more balanced and powerful you feel within yourself, the more you'll radiate with strong authenticity.

As with every intentional step we take in our self-growth journey, it's important to be kind and patient with yourself as your skills evolve. As I often say, all things change for the better when we change with love.

Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist

Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist based in Sonoma County, California. With a holistic, body mind-spirit approach, Manly specializes in the treatment of anxiety,...