Plus one seems to look human without makeup!
Today was the fifth milestone via in-door bike! It went somewhat faster given this leg being shorter, less illness and the inspiration of divorce. How much shorter? Compared to Honolulu’s 1300-plus miles, Cork was over 800. Next up, the easy 500 miles to Amsterdam.
This was quite a blow to America’s collective ego as the Iranians violated international treaties on embassies to do this. However, all nation-states do these things so to call the Iranians barbarians is hypocrisy, especially given how Kermit Roosevelt overthrew their original, legitimate government.
I was in grade school when it went down, sixth grade exactly. Even for kids, the crap going down in the Middle East was a topic of discussion. I think we were probably frightened of the whole mess escalating into a nuclear war even though the Soviet Union probably just sat back and chuckled at how impotent America looked (St. Reagan would prove this years later with his in meddling in Lebanon’s civil war). The whole debacle definitely ratcheted up a lot of anger across the whole political spectrum.
Although I’m not a huge fan of conspiracies but I will always suspect that St. Reagan and his thugs made sure the situation dragged on throughout the election. He and especially the murderous, lying shitbags William Casey, Don Rumsfeld and Bush the Elder would do to win in 1980. It makes a little sense. After a few months, the Iranian radicals were pretty bored of the situation really and the whole mess had settled into a stalemate. Besides, St. Reagan capitulated to the Iranians by unfreezing a few billions in assets Carter had locked up as soon as the plane was in the air. Another factor? The corrupt administration amazingly had a few contacts in Iran in order to carry out their arms-for-hostages arrangement. This was an impeachable offense too; something Congress failed to do. It tells me the chances of removing another asshole for acting like a tinpot dictator are nil.
One good thing did come from this. ABC’s nightly hostage watch show transformed into Nightline with Ted Koppel for several decades until it was replaced by the underwhelming Jimmy Kimmel show.
I love getting the hour back to sleep while it messes with me staying up too late…or wait, is it the other way around. See how awful this leftover crap from I think WWI is? I think I bitched earlier in the year about how the Europeans are finally ditching this nonsense soon. I think one thing which would work way better here? More time zones so we could have a better sunrise/sunset around Austin. The same for Las Vegas, believe me, it’s not a vacation when the frickin’ sun is poking through the blinds at 530 AM! Then again, Las Vegas really should be on Mountain time permanently as Phoenix does.
Back to Austin-Dallas and may be the middle of Texas, as in vertically, should have an in-between time zone that’s 30 minutes behind Central (or 30 ahead of Mountain) while we ditch DST. It would give us a more consistent sunrise time throughout the year. Trust me, it grows pretty old and to some extent, discouraging, to get my ass out of bed and drive to the gym in the dark. Not so much when the sun is on the verge of rising or in the middle of it. To me, the sun rising while I’m walking in to achieve my daily cardio is…optimistic.
However, I live in America, the land of the dumb 33% who support Orange Foolius and believe their ignorant opinions are equally valid to the expertise of PhDs on the same topics. This has been the key flaw of Jeffersonian Democracy since Andrew Jackson expanded the vote to his redneck base.
OK, I’ll get back to enjoying a nap with less guilt today.
A really funny and cool customized minifig I scored from the UK. I had to get it because Benny was one of the best supporting characters in the LEGO movies. Despite how amusing he can be via Charlie Day, I don’t think he could carry his own series like LEGO Batman or Unikitty.
Yeah, yeah. Still running late on everything due to all the distractions in my life. Many of which are fun but I do hope to have the opportunity to bring more of this site up to speed as Daylight Savings Time ends and a half day on Monday. The latter is a secret! What results in that afternoon will be the ultimate gift to a a great friend.
This month I originally wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Alien. Nope. Contrary my pretty good memory, the groundbreaking Sci-Fi/Horror movie hit theaters over the Summer of 1979. Could’ve sworn it was later. Instead, I chose a more personal favorite that turns 35 instead…Night of the Comet. I wrote about the Shout! Factory Blu-Ray several years ago. Nothing really new say about it other than I completely missed out on getting the special edition vinyl re-issue of the soundtrack. I do want to give credit to the header I scored from this fan site.
Sorry about not really going full steam on what I love regarding October, pizza and Italian history/heritage. I hope the divorce will be finalized later this month as we (Somara and I) enter what should be our only mediation. I’ve been upbeat for days, just not with this given how much money we both stand to lose.
Meanwhile, Apple’s streaming channel (I prefer to call it a network) went online today. I need to clear out the other queues I have (Netflix, Hulu) before I go for it. I sincerely want to see For All Mankind and maybe See, nice to find Jason Momoa starring in something more interesting than the by-the-numbers Aquaman. I would like to get a new portable to go alongside this “legacy” computer I won’t be getting rid of soon for it can run 32-bit applications I paid for.
Welcome to the month which now ushers in the parties, overeating, time off, shopping, travel and stress. I think it’s going to be pretty cool for me despite being “alone.”
I went with Where’s My Pants‽ Guy. Co-Worker/Friend Holly is Elvira. This year’s guests are a couple bootlegs I scored this Summer: Spider-Ham and The Mask. Then there’s a possessed waitress from LEGO’s new The Hidden Side sets and Captain Phasma from Star Wars, sadly, she died in episode eight because the actress isn’t listed in the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker imdb.com page. Boooooo!
…he could always be that short since it’s often the reality with celebrities. Nah, this good-natured little guy humored us grown-ups as the Red Headed Stranger of the Hill Country. The only thing he lacked to be accurate was some weed.
This guy, not Bill Cosby, was one of America’s dads. It’s a role he honed in the Nineties via Friday, The Wayans’ Brothers Show and obviously Boondocks a decade later. John was just a great character guy as he proved in Hollywood Shuffle (the owner of the fast-food place the hero can’t wait to quit), a preacher in I’m Gonna’ Git You Sucka and a crazy local in the very underrated Black Jesus.
I would be negligent to overlook his skill at serious, dramatic appearances in (but not necessarily good) Fatal Instinct, LA Law, Hill Street Blues and Barnaby Jones.
Given his voice, delivery and general funniness, especially as an adult who may be a bit out of the loop yet has a dollop of wisdom, John was a must have in any coming-of-age comedy for any ethnic group, not just the Black shows/films he was often seen in.
Farewell John. You will be sorely missed and I will always hear your voice whenever I read a Boondocks comic and grandad speaks. I think Aaron McGruder had you in mind from day one when he created his strip. Thanks for all you did to make me laugh! Ho Cakes!
I’ve had the Starbucks app on my iPhone for so long, I can’t remember when I even started. Just checked but all I discovered was that I’ve had a physical card since 2010. I know I eventually gave in to the app to save the time and to join the ‘Internet Age.’ Before the app though, the card already had an automatic reload parameter.
I probably shouldn’t have set the card up this way for it was the first sign of trouble and it’s a good thing I always receive an e-mail confirming when the Starbucks virtual card taps my main credit card for funds.
I knew I reloaded over the last weekend but it happened again a day later. I didn’t think it about it immediately yet in the back of my mind I had to schedule more time to investigate. It’s a good thing I did. Some asshole went to town with my account in the Phoenix area. Depleted what was present, waited for more money and then continued. I cut it off as soon as I saw the transactions.
How it happened? No idea. Maybe I lost the original physical card? Maybe Starbucks’ reader(s) got hijacked. It didn’t matter anymore.
The real disappointment was working with Starbucks’ support. Given what a loser Howard Schultz was in his self-ordained run to be POTUS, as if America needs another rich asshole from either party, I shouldn’t have been shocked by the outcome.
I do want to make one thing very, very clear. The staff at my local Starbucks in Pflugerville is FANTASTIC. Plus, I honestly can’t think of any physical store ever being an unpleasant experience around Austin, Las Vegas or any other US city I’ve stopped at.
Short version of my gripe. The rep online couldn’t do diddly squat because the fraud was over $25. Ergo, I would have to call the toll free number to get an actual resolution.
Really?
Admittedly, I work on the other end of the line for a living so I know all too well how the majority of Americans/Canadians don’t have half a day to deal with such a non-trivial matter. It’s why I do all I can to make their experience productive and when I cannot get the matter resolved, they still have recourse and/or they don’t have to start over when they call back. I thought chat support was the workaround? Obviously not.
What’s next? I don’t know. The card is suspended and maybe I’ll just pay via my Apple Card to reap the cash back. Live without the freed drink on my birthday. Again, I shouldn’t be surprised to find Starbucks to be behind the eight ball of tech. They originate from Seattle, home of another company which failed to develop a usable smart-phone OS.
I ran out of true Horror movies to review for this October but given how the last couple years have been a shit show under Orange Foolius, I think this interpretation fits the bill.
In short, I liked it immensely regardless of all the pointless, faux handwringing BS Joker has caused, aka, wasting electrons as America’s pathetic media often does instead of covering actual news.
Although I haven’t been impressed with DC going the dark route with their properties, it was a good direction on this somewhat predictable yet fitting take on Batman’s oldest and most famous nemesis. I may not be a film historian neither but Joker really has more in common with The King of Comedy and NOT Taxi Driver. Don’t let others fool you.
Anyway, Joker focuses on the man or maybe one of many who would become the Clown Prince of Crime. Arthur is just another poor schlub struggling through the late Seventies in Gotham (a surrogate for NYC and America). He’s the child of a single mother. He’s been hospitalized at least once for mental illness. He has trouble with getting gainful employment. He supports his retired mother in a crappy little apartment. He’s awkward. He never knew his father. The list goes on with how many obstacles Arthur must get through on daily basis. Now throw in his residency in Gotham City as it’s in the middle of a garbage collection strike, cutbacks to social services (especially to his therapy and medication), rampant crime and an environment in which everybody is just giving up. Being a Gen Xer, I remember the decline of NYC, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and some other major cities quite well. And much like the real-world response, the city’s elite (aka the rich assholes) had an equally useless response. Put us rich people in charge (aka Gilded Age Republicans who are self-made), we’ll fix it but never mind we’re the same assholes who made it a mess originally.
Arthur’s only escape is his attempts at being a stand-up comedian and his universe’s version of The Tonight Show (with DeNiro in the role Jerry Lewis played 30 some years earlier to his psycho). Through all the circumstances which play out in the movie, Arthur does get to realize his dream to be on the nightly talk show but instead of being funny, he speaks truth to power and all hell breaks loose. It’s a better explanation on how Batman arose from the chaos than the now concluded Gotham.
In addition to the story, Phoenix’s performance is fine. What I enjoyed more was seeing Marc Maron getting a nice little role as “Johnny’s” producer! Gotham City was a great character in how you’re watching the resentment, the seething of its residents (like now), against the asshole caste. It was also refreshing to see Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s father) as another rich douchebag (Michael Bloomberg anyone?) claiming he can solve things because he’s loaded and he loves to call the lesser citizens insulting names, making him a less likable person when he gets his just desserts as per Batman’s origin.
I personally think Joker upset the right people. The people who need to get it through their egos that eventually the masses will revolt and it won’t be pretty. So instead of attending their annual circle jerk in Davos with Bono, they need to start paying their taxes or move to Russia.
Alamo Extras: A boring Rooster Teeth production; black & white movie of a clown doing the Charleston circa the Thirties; Trailers for The King of Comedy, Taxi Driver and The Clown & the Kids starring Emmett Kelly!; department store commercial in Spanish starring a clown; a video essay on the Joker in comic book history; What is he? a Cult Leader?; a quick list of the famous actor portrayals: the overrated Jack Nicholson version from 1989, Mark Hamill as the voice, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto.
…and that’s about it.
Sometimes random pictures from the Seventies just write themselves when it comes to whacky crap that happened! I think the funnier part is how sober Phil looks.
Originally slated for : October 24, 2019 – 8:03 CDT
For my generation, Robert was more of a skit from Mr. Show, a bit by Patton Oswalt and a really funny guest on The Simpsons because the movies he was involved with came out while I was a kid: The Godfather and The Godfather 2 and I think Love Story. Well, those were the big ones I can think of right away on a Saturday. During the Nineties, his tell-all book The Kid Stays in the Picture became the fodder of what Hollywood was like before the corporations gobbled up the studios. His rat-a-tat style of speaking is another reason why Patton and Bob Odenkirk imitated him, telling jokes on par with the outlandishness of his stories from the book. The South Park duo had a short-lived cartoon starring Robert’s voice as well, Kid Notorious, yet it died quickly on the ever brain-dead Comedy Central. Despite there not being much material to work on beyond a couple seasons, I think the executives at the network didn’t get the humor.
Thanks for all your contributions to well-loved movies Robert. I’m sorry your dreams of being an actor didn’t go well but you still got to live your dream as an executive, producer and studio boss.
I couldn’t put off National Pizza Month off entirely once I scored this necklace at Waterloo Records and gave it to my co-worker (maybe even a friend) Holly. More will be explained with this nice person in time. We both love pizza but I’m not a really a jewelry guy. It took me years to get around to wearing a watch. Now that I think of it, I would’ve come around to wearing a pre-Apple Watch if it had a pizza-based face? Nah. Bugs Bunny remains the winning look.
Thirty years ago, the miraculous Texas economy demonstrated its awfulness a generation ago through shoddy safety, terrible zoning and being enabled by the Republicans at the Federal level. Obviously, little has changed.
The short version…
There was a plastics factory run by Phillips Petroleum which subcontracted its safety work to a contractor with a reputation on par with Orange Foolius’ credit score. The person doing the work wasn’t properly trained nor did the place have the proper detection systems to warn anyone that some moron forgot to isolate a line which flooded the area with 85,000 pounds of highly flammable ethylene-isobutane gas. When this ignited, the explosion was equal to 2.5 tons of TNT being detonated.
OSHA investigated afterwards but under the Reagan-Bush Reign of Error, nobody was punished, aka, nobody went to prison which is what happens in the other Western States.
It’s another demonstration of how Kapitalism has killed billions while The Economist defends it while pointing out the mere millions ‘Communism’ killed.
For more details on the event, see here.
Originally slated for : October 23, 2019 – 18:09 CDT
