Chinese New Year has been a pair I’ve been trying to score for years. I’m guessing the Pandemic killed the demand so I could swoop in to get these. Not sure how this represents the Year of the Rat but I’ll take these, the design is pretty cool despite a little damage I already inflicted on the right shoe.
The back has these weird symbols which has more in common with my PS4 controller than anything Chinese.
As her name implies, Isis is a mother or she was until we took her to AHS with her children. Then she officially became my cat because AHS said they weren’t going to find her home, just turn her loose to the neighborhood she roamed. Little did they know, my Isis was already a wonderfully domesticated lap kitty. Here’s a list of her kittens, I miss all of them, including the two who disappeared and the nine who were adopted to good, loving homes.
This was the first show I was interested in watching on Apple’s new TV/Movie network and I was also a little apprehensive. Whenever a former Star Trek producer is involved, it’s a warning that the show might be craptacular. Let’s face it, Star Trek from 1987 thru 2004 wasn’t exactly consistent and all four shows could have their multiple seasons winnowed down to 30 good episodes each. Then throw on Mankind being the creation of Ron Moore; his Battlestar Galactica fizzled at the end and was padded with lazy-ass dream sequences.
I can thankfully say I am wrong this time. Mankind is a genuine hit for it has the right amount of Suspense, Drama, Hard Science, some Action and it’s mostly Alternate History. Something to compete with The Man in the High Tower on Amazon and The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.
The main premise is about the American space program not crapping out once Neil Armstrong walks on the moon. Instead, America continues the Apollo missions well past 17 (it’s why TMBG named their 1992 album Apollo 18).
Quick aside:
The ugly truth for the moon landing in our reality? To make sure the Soviet Union couldn’t test nuclear devices on the lunar surface. What a stupid reason given the logistical nightmare it would be to pull off such a asinine thing. If you know the essentials of the Soviet program which continued until the 1991 collapse, they played a long game via their space station Mir, with probable plans to go to Mars. Today, the Russians continue to manufacture and launch rockets and it’s the only way our astronauts can get to the ISS because every administration keeps screwing up the shuttle’s replacement. If you think I’m making this up, read what real Scientists have to say, it’s where I learned this from. My go to’s? Dr. Phil Plait and Dr. Neil deGrasse-Tyson.
Back to the show…
How does the US keep NASA well funded despite the general public being against the Apollo Program throughout the Sixties and Seventies? The pilot answers this as the title gives it away, “Red Moon.” Yup, the Soviet Union beats Apollo 11 by a month, humiliating NASA, Tricky Dick and the nation. Then to add insult to injury. The Soviets land the first woman on their second try. Events cascade on and into other historical events shifting this reality farther away from ours but you need to pay attention since they tend to fly by in the noise of the larger story arcs. I won’t say what they are, they’d be spoilers. I will say Tricky Dick does get fired up over Soviet accomplishments and doubles down on NASA with getting women astronauts in the program and a permanent lunar base once water is discovered (this was proven in our universe too). I’m guessing it lays down the groundwork to beat the Soviets to Mars in the second season.
What I like about Mankind is its attention to detail. The off-the-record conversations you hear from Tricky Dick are spot on. He was a foul-mouthed, paranoid bastard well before Watergate caught up with him. Many characters are also the actual people involved with the program: Buzz Aldrin, Werner von Braun, Michael Collins, etc. I’m bummed how the ladies from Hidden Figures and Margaret Hamilton are missing. There are other elements going on as this is an ensemble show. A young Mexican girl who shows promise as a future physicist/rocket engineer; the push-pull of Congress; a shitty, inept FBI still chasing non-existent Soviet spies when NASA screws up; the personal lives of the many astronauts and how their careers strain their marriages; the Vietnam War; and all the social changes coming in the Seventies, namely gay people becoming more publicly visible, women wanting equal treatment and minorities building upon their successes in the Sixties.
Again, the biggest McGuffin to Moore’s series is NASA overcoming public opinion with its funding, especially with America’s ongoing problems of civil unrest, poverty, the Vietnam War and the Republicans being against anything resembling a Kennedy legacy. Martin Luther King wasn’t a fan of the space program neither and let’s face it, NASA became a major employer in Dixiecrat Texas, only reason why Johnson continued it. Long-term thinking has never been America’s strength too. It’s why the Chinese will get to Mars well before we’re close to testing a rocket powerful enough to get back to the Moon.
If you love Science Fiction, NASA and the History involved, I highly recommend For All Mankind. It’s also just a well-made show not confined to the constraints of network TV when it comes to an episode’s duration and I will never miss commercials. I can’t wait to see what season two brings: will Mars and beyond be achieved; will the show get to the Eighties and/or Nineties; will the US get other nations onboard to achieve these goals, including the Soviets and Chinese? As the placard left behind by Apollo 11 said, we didn’t land on the Moon to promote America being first or number one, we did it for all mankind.
This weekend I continued to push the proverbial envelope in my quest to ride my bike from home to work and back; when I can return to using the gym, I will be reversing journey. Today, I made it from my house to the McDonald’s at McNeil and Parmer, then back, which came out to 11.99 miles round trip.
Phew!
Thanks to today and yesterday (the West entrance/exit to McNeil HS), I pushed my accumulated mileage to 200 miles on a real bike. Not bad for a month.
As for my regular routine, I added a “lap,” to prepare me on the longer treks I take during weekends plus I want to get my red and green rings farther along from the minimal closing accomplishments.
I have a feeling 300 miles will take fewer days in my quest to have a perfect Move month, a first since September 30, 2019.
Given how exhausted I felt after my 11-plus-mile bike ride (almost to the big goal) followed up with showering and errands, I didn’t feel any burst of extra energy, even with a venti latte from Starbucks. The nice two-hour nap I took on the couch made me resemble this silly furball who has the cat talent of falling asleep in any position at any location of the couch or living room. Still beats “being” at work.
The Nazis unconditionally surrendered 75 years ago today. One horror show was ending, another would be done in a few months and then the Cold War, which almost bankrupted the West if the Soviets weren’t so bad at Math.
It’s a bummer this couldn’t be celebrated with the US having a better POTUS and the world being shuttered for the virus he failed to take proper action on. The other disappointment is how the Nazis/Fascists are making a comeback in the West despite all the horrible things the Allies captured and documented about them. One recent study claims that nations most affected by the 1918 Influenza Pandemic were the places where Fascism took root, paving the road to WWII.
Well, let’s still reflect on the Allied victory over Hitler and his thugs. Be grateful the best side won the devastating conflict.
Nothing but the Converse “All * Star” logo all over the place. Hard to believe these were on clearance.
This pair falls under a design group Converse chose to call Animal Prints. As you can see, the shoes are supposed to resemble fish scales but it’s just printed into the canvas. Pretty cool in my opinion.
Spotted this on a Texas-based car which means they know their Canadian comedy.
Really cool illustration incorporating Chuck!
Damned Converse and their 20% Off Sale in April. They knew May was going to be a three-paycheck month. On the upside, the 20% was in addition to shoes already marked on sale or clearance. I ended up making my biggest purchase with them ever, 11 pairs. I know, I know, I have a problem but I always remember a lesson in shopping math from my friend Sonia; I didn’t spend around $400, I saved about $150 otherwise.
This pair I have labelled the Rabid pair because the pink bunny above reminds me of the Rabids from the Rayman games. They were so successful they have their own line of games and I think they had a cartoon on Nickelodeon. If you’ve never seen them, check the Rabids out, they’re pretty funny. Much like LEGO® game people, they communicate through a series of goofy noises like children filled with too much sugar.
Hmm, if I ever feel a biting sensation while wearing this pair, I have a good clue what the source of the pain may be.
Besides being the first movie to use the title Bad Company (the name reappeared in 1995 and 2002, both as modern Action flicks), we can also blame the 1972 period piece for giving the AOR band its name; Paul Rodgers loved the movie. Makes since if you ever listen to the lyrics to Bad Company’s self-named tune.
As for the movie, it was a grittier or more realistic interpretation of what life was like on the American Prairie (Kansas, Nebraska) during the Civil War. The focus is on Drew, a young man from Ohio fleeing military conscription around 1863. His parents don’t want him in the US Army because his older brother died at Chickamauga and they lack the $300 to spare him. So Drew’s father gives him $100 and orders him to flee West, join a wagon train in St. Joseph, MO which will then take him to Nevada to seek his fortune in silver mining.
Drew makes it to St. Joseph without incident but he meets Jake, a young man around his age, who convinces him to join up with his little group of fellow conscription dodgers. Why not the wagon train? Jake claims the waiting list is six months long to get a spot. Before he can verify this, soldiers stationed in the area grow suspicious and it’s likely they will arrest him. So Drew throws his lot in with Jake’s gang to head West.
From there you can see it isn’t days of wine and roses. The weather is terrible for they leave in the late Fall. There are other people roaming the land with guns, out to steal their provisions and money. There are people willing to trade services for money, as in the world’s oldest profession. There are farmers who shoot first, ask questions later. The list of hazards goes on. All through it Drew tries to maintain being the person he was raised to be, a god-fearing, law-abiding Christian despite the others not inhibited by such a moral compass. Huckleberry Finn is a luxury cruise compared to what Drew, Jake and their gang endure in Bad Company.
It’s currently streaming on Hulu if you’re interested in seeing an anti-Western yet I wouldn’t put in that genre. Westerns clearly take place after the Civil War and tend to be set between the mid 1870s to the 1900s. Bad Company is a must for Jeff Bridges’ fans for he plays Jake. He just oozes the charisma of someone who has been shifty all his life and used this talent to escape the Army…if his story checks out. Big Lebowski fans will get a kick out of seeing a minor character/actor/role they’ll instantly recognize too.
One hundred and sixty years ago Garibaldi left Genoa with 1000 volunteers to invade the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In Garibaldi’s defense, the kingdom was an absolute monarchy and its ruler King Francis II, a Bourbon (blech!), wasn’t very well liked as the invaders were often welcomed as liberators. The people were given an opportunity to vote on what they wanted via a plebiscite. They chose to join the larger, newly formed Kingdom of Italy.
Garibaldi’s success as a leader was known throughout the world even before this but after this victory, leading to the inevitable formation of modern Italy by 1870; President Lincoln secretly sent Secretary of State Seward with an offer to have him command the US Army. The Italian firebrand rejected Lincoln’s commission because he felt Lincoln’s stance against slavery wasn’t strong enough. It worked out for the best. Although General Washington had a German officer help him whip the Continental Army into a better fighting force, I’m confident the WASPs in the US officer corps would’ve defected to the Confederacy or resigned before taking orders from a Papist Dago.
Went with a super deep cut from Star Wars history, the show George Lucas always regrets and tried to destroy every copy he could find…The Wookiee Lifeday Holiday Special which I actually watched the only night it appeared. Hey, anything Star Wars I would watch because I was a little addict and I knew there’d be great toy commercials.
When I saw this design on TeePublic, I had to have it. How often do you get to see the hilarious Harvey Korean and Bea Arthur together as residents in this universe?
If you won’t listen to Dr. Fauci, then take the advice of a superhero who’s been fighting crime and other adversaries for 80 years!
