1883 and 1923

 I was an early adopter when the TV series Yellowstone premiered. I loved the location and the complex storylines, especially about indigenous land reclamation and casinos. But I ulitmately only watched the first 2 seasons - as it caught on and the audience grew, the storylines got soapier and sillier.

I had no real interest in the prequel series and I didn't want to add another streaming service to my panthenon. But, on a recent flight, I watched a couple episodes of 1923 in lieu of a movie and I was kinda hooked. Paramont is only $12 a month, so I thought I could afford to subscribe for a month to catch the two series. 

I really enjoyed 1923. The cast is great and the storylines have some punch and pathos. I think the series reflects Taylor Sheridan's strengths better than Yellowstone does - his sentimentality and his poetic turn with dialog. Helen Mirren is a treasure of course, and the Montana locations are used to tremendous effect (though season 2 will be filmed in Texas due to tax incentives the production company received). In this series, the Duttons have been established in Montana and the main conflicts are between the sheep and cattle ranchers, and with the mining industry represented by Timothy Dalton (in a mustache-twirling role as Donald Whitfield). Jacob Dutton, played by Harrison Ford, is not a strong and silent pioneer hero, but a more ambiguous figure, closer to the patriarch John Dutton (the third?) as portrayed by Kevin Costner. There are also two charming romances happening in two locations, both very watchable (though it starts to become rather noticeable that, in Taylor Sheridan's universe, the only women who settle the West are stunning, ethereal blondes). The tangential story about an indigenous girl who escapes a cruel Catholic boarding school is perhaps even more compelling than the various plots involving the Dutton clan (the actress, Aminah Nieves, is incredible, I hope she finds the kind of success that Lily Gladstone has enjoyed).

Once I finished 1923, I turned with a bit of reluctance to 1883. Not sure why I thought wouldn't like it, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The macho, pioneer spirit bullshit that Taylor Sheridan worships works much better in this historical setting and the genuinely stirring voiceover by Elsa (Isabel May) lands surprisingly well. The casting is pitch perfect and the performances are flawless. The high-powered cameos add a welcome touch of fun. My only complaint is that 1883 is just too damn sad - so many people die, it's kind of exausting. I read some complaints about the historical accuracy, especially regarding the route and the geography of Texas, but those seem like minor complaints when a series is this well done. The story explores grief and love and freedom and loyalty, and asks what we owe each other as human beings. Although there are plenty of strong and (mostly) silent pioneer male heroes to go around, the story is essentially Elsa's - her perspective on the events, and the arc of her growth. The female characters in 1883 and 1923 are more rich, interesting, and fleshed out than anything I saw in the 2 seasons I watched of Yellowstone, so Taylor seems to be maturing... 

I probably should have watched the prequels in chronological order, but no matter - I'll be thrust back into 1923 next year, to find out what happens after the many cliffhangers of the final episode of the first season.

On hazing and grinding

 We've gotten back from this crazy multi-state library tour and we've already had two planning meetings for how to absorb all the info and share it with others in the organization. I have been rather taken aback by how many people have brought up "burn out" in the conversations we are having about this trip and our plans.

I don't understand why someone would position themselves as not wanting to do too much, while we are in discussions about how to improve our organization. I think some of this is generational: Gen X is all about the grind and Gen Z is all about self care. Even so, this seems like weird timing to me. Seems like a person would want their boss to know they are raring to go, rather than emphasizing how they don't want to work too hard at this vital and momentous moment.

I've been thinking a lot about my original graduate school experience in psychology. Maybe things have changed, but that experience was basically an exercise in hazing. You were expected to read hundreds of pages of material for each class, come prepared, generate thoughtful responses during discussions, and, if you couldn't hack it, you were out (not too different from the TV show The Paper Chase, about first year laws students). You were expected to bring your A game every fucking day because you were joining an exclusive club, full of brilliant badasses, and you had to keep up. My professors, and my peers for that matter, treated what we were doing as god damn serious, and you had to prove you had what it takes to be a part of it.

I'm not saying that is an ideal educational situation...I'm just saying I am a product of that system, and I learned to take my work seriously and to respect my obligations to it. I went on to work as a research assistant, associate, coordinator, and manager in a variety of places, including at several universities, with PIs who expected their staff to make a substantial contribution - THAT was the "price of admission."

Again, I'm not saying that's better than the cuddly world of library science...I'm just saying that's the environment I spent about 25 years in, and my current situation is a little puzzling to me.

More AirBnB hassles

 More bullshit from AirBnB. A woman contacted me at 11 pm to say she is leaving Bismarck and will be checking in to my house around 3 am. wtf? I was leaving the next day for this massive library tour, I didn't want someone waking me up at 3 am (I would never be able to get back to sleep with nerves about the trip). 

Now, if you contact a host late at night, you get an automatic message from AirBnB saying that the host may not reply because it is outside reasonable communication hours. Presumably, this woman got this message, but whatever. I was awake, and I saw her request, and I replied, saying I was not the right place for her, and I refused the booking. I am not required to accept every request I get. But it would have been better if I had just ignored her message. I actually have 24 hours to reply to a request, and I could have just replied the next day, long after the request was no longer relevant (that is what I will do next time).

Here's the problem. She said she had a service animal. Tbh, I thought that made her last minute request even more inconsiderate. It also made her middle of the night check-in even more problematic, because it would upset Ramona (and make it even less likely I would get back to sleep).

What I did not know is that the AirBnB policy is that hosts cannot refuse a guest because they have a service animal, cannot charge a fee for a service animal, and (this is the part I think is WHACK), the guest does not have to disclose to the host that they have a service animal. 

She did disclose that she had a service animal. And I included her traveling with an animal in my refusal. So she complained to AirBnB (even though I said the extremely late check-in was the problem). So I got a nasty message from AirBnB, saying I could not refuse her because she had a service animal and I was violating their policy to protect people with disabilities.

So I replied to AirBnB, saying the animal was not the reason I refused, and I should not have included the animal in my message.

And they doubled down, replying with more scolding about violating their policy, and basically saying I had no right to complain about the late night communication as my host settings are not Instant Book (meaning I get to review each request). Yes, I do have my settings on review each request, because I don't want some stranger walking into my house in the middle of the night, with or without a fucking dog (I didn't say that part).

I wrote back that I have a right to feel safe and I have a right to trust my instincts and I am not obligated to accept middle of the night requests. 

I am so disappointed in their customer service - I am again left with the impression that they DGAF about hosts, even though we are the backbone of the whole enterprise and we generate a fuckton of money for the company.