Good afternoon. I have been diligent lately, trying to get certain ducks in a row and taken care of in case my computer decides to have more problems. I have a new one in the box, and I can get help from paid tech support in setting it up, but it will take a bit of time, so I wanted to get some important things checked off first. Got the bills paid, got groceries ordered. Still need to do: get some questions answered about finding a new Part D plan, get an Amazon order done.
EDIT: I was able to get confirmation that my deadline for picking a new Part D drug plan is not this Sunday; I get until the end of the month because the one I was on was discontinued. I won't take that long, but just knowing it isn't the 7th makes a big difference.
Did a major piece of copyediting yesterday, a complicated article with several last-minute additions. Started late in the day, finished later in the day, but did a pretty good job if I do say so. I'm grateful for a way to keep my cognitive skills up to the mark. When I'm actually doing the work it doesn't feel like a chore; I don't notice the passage of time because I'm focused on something that I know how to do properly and that involves judgment and curiosity so it stays interesting. And I get paid.
Regarding Wicked: I read the book when it first came out, back in the 1990s. It was interesting and demonstrated creative thinking, but overall it was too "dark" for me to want to see the plays, movies, read the sequels, or keep up with celebrity news about the franchise. But if it's up someone else's alley, far be it from me to tell them I object to their taste in literature/entertainment. When I was done with the book, I brought it to an office giveaway, where a co-worker promptly glommed on to it, so I hoped she enjoyed it.
There is a special election today for a Tennessee U.S. House seat in District 7. Per usual, the Nashville TV news broadcasters have not made it clear who can vote – and more importantly, who cannot – in the five House districts within their TV market. Consequently, election officials in counties which are not in District 7 are getting non-stop phone calls and walk-ins by confused voters.
Local TV news is routinely – this is a technical term – crappy. But it was once better than this.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, my county -- which isn't in District 7 -- had 30 phone calls from people raising hell about the polls being closed and 20 people come into the office. But it's early yet.
I lived in Williamson Co, red, TN --- funny thing, I now live in another Williamson Co, red, TX --- funny thing, Wmson Co, red, TN adjoined blue Nashville; funny thing, Wmson Co, TX, red, adjoins blue Austin. And the news is the same. I still receive news emails from NashVillager - most of the time I don't even open 'cause the lead-ins are so lean-in biased; sometimes I open, then delete; a few times I'll reply w/ a link showing their bias. They never respond...
prob is Wmson Co, TX is one of the fastest growing in the US... & where are they coming from? Blue area businesses, bringing many employees, who want to bring their blue politics w/ them. So Wmson Co, TX is trying hard to stay red --- I have a tee-shirt "Don't California my Texas". I do try to be discreet when I wear it. But the little newspaper/email in this County employs biased blue journalists. Are there many of the other kind???
Does that election involve the woman who said she hates downtown Nashville, the pedal bars, the debutants, etc...??? Then she tried to 'clarify' it all...
I read an interesting article some months back on the Californians (and in my case New Yorkers) headed to Texas (and the other red states). As it turns out, a higher proportion are Republicans than Democrats. Thus they're making the red states redder. Or so it said.
Not sure about the female candidate. Not my monkey, not my circus. But they don't either one seem like rocket surgeons.
Are there other kinds of journalists than "biased blue?" I like to think I was one of those once upon a time. But there is a frame of reference thing going on there. It depends on what qualifies as blue to you, I reckon.
🤔 I’ll start at the bottom I guess… no bias? The Nashville one always includes many many links to NPR. The Wmson Co TX links to democrats promos.
I do have to add Austin voted down a huge property tax, after several other hikes in previous yrs, that were going to failed schools (which the teacher’s union faught, then finally lost their battle, to release the scores of the failing schools. Many of these will now be closed.👌), homelesss care which had been the unaccomplished focus for yrs, plus the “outing” of council members’ lavish spending.
My area of predominantly retired elderly —- Yes , mostly Republicans when I moved here in 2015. More are becoming definitely blue & in your face. By this I mean during the last election i was voting independent & had libs tell me if i didn’t vote for Harris I was voting for Hitler. In another conversation, I tried explaining that just because I was a republican did not mean I wasn’t for environmental conservation or equal rights for gays, etc. These people wouldn’t believe me. In my “mixed” book club IMMEDIATELY after Trump was elected, a very opinionated lib said US citizens were being picked up off the streets & sent to Mexico. I said “Prove it”. I made enemies that day- they immediately believed I voted for Trump. They care nothing, to this day, except for their hatred of Trump. That hatred continues to divide our country imo. Well, yes, Trump does his sh!t but he’ll gone, sooner than later, & the D’s don’t have noth’n
This next comment doesn’t have anything to do necessarily with right or left, I’ll let the reader to decide… we have a lot of deer in our area. Every few years and this has been going on for like 20 years the state of Texas as well as our community needs to thin out the deer. If they don’t, the deer die of unnatural causes, one of which is known as the wasting disease. I won’t go into details y’all look it up. If we have too many deer, the coyotes and we even have cougars they come in. hey y’all I’m a cougar. My husband is younger than I am. But that’s a different subject. anyway we have all these newcomers come in and see the nets set out to trap the overpopulation of the deer and they cry. We can’t do that. No no no no no don’t trap & kill deer! and now they’re trying to sue the Texas wildlife Commission and they’re trying to sue our community association for killing these poor helpless deer. meanwhile, the overpopulation of the deer - this is the breeding season. Oh by the way, this so-called lawsuit is a group lawsuit and the name of Jane DOE they refused to be named individually. So we’re wondering if this is a bogus lawsuit. But that’s a separate story. Anyway the deer are going wild and they’re running across the lawns remember it’s rutting time & it’s a sight to see if you’re in your yard but NOT IN YOUR CAR! They’re running across the highways, the busy highways. The bucks are chasing the does and they’re causing all kinds of damage to cars and property, lives, there have been car accidents. These newcomers who have no idea what culling the deer mean or saying oh this is the deer’s home. This was the deer‘s home first. And meanwhile, they’re the ones who are moving in. Hello, go home. Go back to California, New York, Illinois, wherever it was that you’re coming from and you don’t understand anything. And meanwhile, they are feeding the deer. Because they think they’re so cute. Feeding = keeps them close to your home ahhhh how cute my pet deer 🦌. And we also have wild turkeys. They also think the wild turkeys are cute. Well, these wild turkeys become almost domesticated and they want that food that’s coming out of the hand of the human and they start chasing the humans down the sidewalks. Wild turkeys are not friendly if they’re not fed. We have photos of wild turkeys chasing people and chasing cars. And meanwhile, all these newcomers to this area are saying oh it’s so disrespectful and harmful to cull or decrease the population of these wild animals. By the way, the overpopulation of these deer are harvested humanely and sent to feed the homeless. Yep, I got a “bit” off topic & ranted … memo: if you move into an area please do some research before you want to make waves
About 8-10 years ago we did a spring break family trip to Gotham, and as quasi present for our daughter, took her to see Wicked. It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon with several thousand young children, plus those in the audience!
We also saw a remake of King Kong. It was pleasant as well, although by the end I was kinda rooting for the big fella to attack the orchestra, may fall and land on them...
It's a movie made for tweens and teens, so I probably won't be going any time soon. Although if reverse aging ever works, I'll be back someday for sure! That or grandkids.
Sets and costumes and cinematography these days: These elements are so ornately done up and staged. If you enjoy all that visual eye candy, it’s a wonderful time to live.
I think I’ve reached the point of foundering on CGI worlds for the time being. I simply can’t get in the mood for it. I find myself turning away from scifi and fantasy stories altogether, but done as movies or series, there’s just no attraction for me in it—with a couple exceptions where I’d already become invested, like The Foundation on Apple TV.
It’s not the same category as Wicked, but superhero movies have pushed me back to where I was as a teenager who never found comic books appealing. I mean, they all end with the strongest guy in the universe getting into a fist fight with the second-strongest guy in the universe, and they fly around in orbit to give each other punches to the chin at the speed of light. Even as a teen boy, I resented being pandered to like a mere pre-pubescent.
…and herewith concludes Grumpy Gus’s formal review of a dark and rainy Tuesday morning in December.
books are better possibly 'cause you use your own imagination... & as I've mentioned before I like the sociological type scifi, not the war type... altho The Foundation Series was a combo. I read it, didn't watch it. Same w/ Dune.
That’s a “watch on the computer while I’m multitasking” movie. I’m still cropping old marriage announcements for the historical society so that’s when I tend to watch subpar movies, or movies I know the hubs will have zero interest. Is anybody here watching “Pluribus” on Apple+? I’m obsessed.
I’m tentatively enjoying it. Probably it was a contrary reaction to the hype of the time, but I wasn’t a big fan of Breaking Bad. It seemed to me to be an exercise of pushing the anti-hero narrative to its furthest extent and seeing if it worked. For me it didn’t work: The gratuitous cruelty went beyond mere realism and into fantasy to think no one would have caught on to Walter White. Plus, his villainy became cartoonish, too, in that it was convenient for the writers, but that made it all too predictable.
The anti-heroes in The Sopranos and The Wire I could believe. Not the ones in Breaking Bad. (Better Call Saul was much better, but I never saw the last season or two because of shifting media subscriptions.)
I felt the same on all accounts. There was no one to like in Breaking Bad - Walter White was not charming, and had a downward character arc that was disturbing. In Soprano's, Tony was a brutal person, but his charm and humor was still something likable.
Breaking Bad went to far. Vince is doing better with Pluribus. I like his production style. For instance, the drone picking up a garbage bag. I found the entire scene mesmerizing, and funny.
I watched Breaking Bad, & couldn't believe I was watching something dealing w/ such a subject, but did like how the writers wove together ends... Better Call Saul was good, but I also didn't see the last season... thanks for the reminder, I'll see if I can find it if I ever need something to watch.
We are watching Pluribus. Like everyone, we loved Rhea Seahorn in Better Call Saul, and looked forward to a new show with her. She delivers what you expected - but then it gets too much for me. "The most miserable person in the world tries to save the world." She is so angry and aggressive for the first several episodes, I found it to get a little tiresome and monotonous. But I think it's getting somewhere more engaging.
Yeah, the level of sustained anger and being insufferable. Although there’s starting to be some signs of humanity and compassion coming through. I’m hoping they don’t do it in a way where I’m left feeling they’re just teasing with conclusions that are never reached. Series can feel like that sometimes.
eta: btw, I pay a small subscription fee for book notification to eliminate adds. Then for every notation I make, or whatever, I get a double entry into the contest to win that month. So my subscription fee often gets paid for during the year.
so now I have to select something from my long list of books on Amazon - but now that sales are going on I could very easily get 2, maybe 3 books for $25... gosh, to add to my looooooongggg list of books already purchased, still to be read/listened to.............
however, truth be told, I haven't seen Wicked, the first, so will most likely not see this 2nd go round, nor any more of the next go rounds... just say'n. Perhaps, if a grandkid lived nearby???
Good morning. 30 degrees here, probably the high, plus 4 inches of snow that came down overnight. Schools are closed.
The mothership is looking into the allegations that Defense Secretary Hegseth and one of his admirals ordered a second strike to kill survivors of a suspected narco trafficking boat — a textbook war crime. Meanwhile the FP is headlining whether Netanyahu should be pardoned. In addition to the botch that enabled 10/7, he has long been accused of corruption.
I would be happy to see Hegseth do the perp walk. He's a 12 year old mentality in the 2nd or 3rd most important position in American government. All this sheds light on Commander Holsey's resignation; I think he could see what was coming and wanted no part of it.
Hegseth was so obviously unqualified and unfit for the job that it was inevitable that he wouldn’t be long for the job. But I never figured that his downfall would be directing military personnel to commit murder.
This morning, I woke from weird dreams that coalesced into "My son needs to get his act together to keep from getting drafted."
The thing is, I really thought I'd proudly have an "Army Mom" bumper sticker based on his JROTC experience (I think he would make an excellent officer for all the right reasons).
But the fact Hegseth remains in power worries me more than the current president.
"Nessarose the sister and Boq the Munchkin remained underdeveloped characters with shallow motives. “To be fair,” there are all sorts of people in the real world with underdeveloped characters and shallow motives."
I like that.
In my cruising through wads of media, I've brushed up against several reviews of Wicked. The unanimous decision was it stunk, although "stunk" was stretched out into too many sentences so as to appear thoughtful.
We went to see the original production of Wicked some twenty years ago. I didn’t see what the fuss was about. The story wasn’t engaging, and the songs were cliched and mediocre. So I have had no interest in the film versions or the film and stage sequels.
Yet the show has been (to me) surprisingly popular, and a lot of my family are devoted to it. My daughters and granddaughters know and sing the songs. I don’t know what to make of it all.
I'm with you on the first one, and had/have no interest in the 2nd one. Per what to make of it...I'm old, young people like weird stuff. I still rock to Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan is near the top of my list of visionary poets. Per Dylan, wife wonders how anyone could enjoy nasal whining existentialist angst.
Freshman year in high school, one of the English courses offered was "Dylanarchy" - the study of Dylan songs. Hippy teacher of course, and floor cushions instead of desks. I was instead relegated to Fr. Wick as my teacher and "Crime and Punishment" the subject. In truth though, that book blew me away and opened my eyes to literature, so it was worth it.
Speaking of movies, there was an obituary in the NYT yesterday for the authored who wrote the book "Winter's Bone." It was later made into a movie starring a 15-year old Jennifer Lawrence (her first role.) I didn't read the book (Sandra did) but we both saw the movie and it was intense. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. A brief synopsis: "Winter's Bone is a 2010 film about a resilient teenage girl named Ree Dolly in the Ozarks who must find her missing father after he skips bail and threatens her family's home. To do this, she must confront her dangerous, secretive outlaw kin and navigate the harsh wilderness. The story is a drama that deals with themes of family loyalty, poverty, and survival, and is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell."
I think I watched that, but don’t recall it very well. It was in the long phase where I watched something every night for something to do while drinking a bottle of wine to wrap up each day. Making a mental note to keep an eye out for it if it shows up in a streamer I’m already on.
I try to make it a habit to not see sequels. Some of the magic of discovery is gone at that point. They generally disappoint. (Godfather II is supposed to be the exception. I'm not sure I buy that.)
"The Pirates of the Caribbean" was fun. What followed was less so.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" franchise, same.
I could go on. But you see my premise.
I won't even waste my time with super hero movies from the get-go. They're like watching fishing shows on TV -- you know the outcome. As bad as the western movies were, they were probably better written.
What’s a sequel if it’s not a continuation of the story? I think Wicked One is a prequel to Wizard of Oz and Wicked Two is a sequel, or continuation, of Wicked One.
I think there is a need for a term to differentiate between the same characters appearing in a new movie, with minimal ties to the prior one, and movies where the plot is spread across several movies.
The Harry Potter novels was a single story spread across 7 books (although it should have been trimmed back).
Whereas the Muppets movies were just the same characters in a new story line.
FWIW&IMHO I think of the Muppets as sequels, Harry Potter as a series, but I don't know if those are the right words for it.
Ian Fleming's James Bond was mostly sequels, although the last 3-4 books were Bond v. Blofeld, which was a series.
What to do with Star Wars? IMHO it began as a single movie, and was so popular it had to become a sequel. Lucas tried to weave a coherent story line, and I'd probably think it was coherent if I took up smoking pot...
Just now coming around to this & before reading your comment, since I read far more than I watch movies, I thought of Harry Potter. I have to add I didn’t read those - that was early in my introduction to audio & it was fantastic!!! I don’t remember the name of the reader but he was marvelous - the reader can add so much! Anyway, I don’t think I could have read the books - very tedious, but I could listen as I was doing other things, such as knitting, other crafts, yard/house work
Logically, an exception does not prove a rule; it weakens it. If your rule is “All swans are white,” and you find a black swan, that doesn’t prove your rule—it disproves it.
The phrase comes from old legal reasoning where “prove” meant “test” (from Latin probare). So the original meaning was....“The exception TESTS the rule.”
In modern English, “prove” means “show to be true,” not “test.” So the phrase gets misused to defend a generalization even when there are counterexamples—exactly the opposite of what logic dictates.
The saying gets used incorrectly all the time, and generally, is meaningless.
I agree that Godfather II is excellent, one of my fave films of all time.
I used to say that thinking I was clever and winning the point until I had a youngster explain it to me. I wrote down the explanation; I keep it spring loaded to drop into any conversation.
So many good friends that the series meant so much to—and I couldn’t get into it, either. It’s one I’m sure I’ll try again when I’m in the right mood. For whatever reason, it was not a relatable story to previous stages of my life, I suspect.
It’s a thing for me: When in college, I thoroughly got into Dostoyevsky in reading Crime and Punishment. A couple years ago I finally tried The Brothers Karamazov, and found it to be an unbearable slog. I forced my way through it, but ended up annoyed at Dostoyevsky for annoying me with all the dorm room metaphysics. Epic fail, as it were…
Ah! I'm just catching up, and remarked on Crime and Punishment above. Sorry you didn't like The Brothers.. I loved that too. I'm thinking of re-reading it soon and then listening to The Bad Wizards podcast series about it. For me, there is no better novel about how to think about God in a world full of pain.
I'm with you and would name The Godfather, especially 2, as my all time favorite movie. Well, I take that back - it's a tie with Lord Of The Rings.
In the ever present challenge of looking for what to read, I'm going through The Admirals Bookshelf suggestions. He's chosen an eclectic list that includes The Godfather.
"He shows how Don Vito Corleone’s success in The Godfather results from the same skills and priorities that benefited the Department of Defense under Donald Rumsfeld, how The Handmaid’s Tale teaches one to think independently, and how leaders can learn patience from The Odyssey."
After reading your comment I might try to watch Lord of the Rings. I so loved reading that & like all books to me (except The Martian) the movie disappoints so I never bothered to see it. Did you read it? If so, how did it compare?
From the Admiral's list I'm currently about to finish "The Caine Mutiny" - which is far more exciting than I imagined. Then I'll pick up Toni Morrison's "Beloved" - which I never would have selected myself.
Good afternoon. I have been diligent lately, trying to get certain ducks in a row and taken care of in case my computer decides to have more problems. I have a new one in the box, and I can get help from paid tech support in setting it up, but it will take a bit of time, so I wanted to get some important things checked off first. Got the bills paid, got groceries ordered. Still need to do: get some questions answered about finding a new Part D plan, get an Amazon order done.
EDIT: I was able to get confirmation that my deadline for picking a new Part D drug plan is not this Sunday; I get until the end of the month because the one I was on was discontinued. I won't take that long, but just knowing it isn't the 7th makes a big difference.
Did a major piece of copyediting yesterday, a complicated article with several last-minute additions. Started late in the day, finished later in the day, but did a pretty good job if I do say so. I'm grateful for a way to keep my cognitive skills up to the mark. When I'm actually doing the work it doesn't feel like a chore; I don't notice the passage of time because I'm focused on something that I know how to do properly and that involves judgment and curiosity so it stays interesting. And I get paid.
Regarding Wicked: I read the book when it first came out, back in the 1990s. It was interesting and demonstrated creative thinking, but overall it was too "dark" for me to want to see the plays, movies, read the sequels, or keep up with celebrity news about the franchise. But if it's up someone else's alley, far be it from me to tell them I object to their taste in literature/entertainment. When I was done with the book, I brought it to an office giveaway, where a co-worker promptly glommed on to it, so I hoped she enjoyed it.
There is a special election today for a Tennessee U.S. House seat in District 7. Per usual, the Nashville TV news broadcasters have not made it clear who can vote – and more importantly, who cannot – in the five House districts within their TV market. Consequently, election officials in counties which are not in District 7 are getting non-stop phone calls and walk-ins by confused voters.
Local TV news is routinely – this is a technical term – crappy. But it was once better than this.
As of 11 a.m. this morning, my county -- which isn't in District 7 -- had 30 phone calls from people raising hell about the polls being closed and 20 people come into the office. But it's early yet.
I lived in Williamson Co, red, TN --- funny thing, I now live in another Williamson Co, red, TX --- funny thing, Wmson Co, red, TN adjoined blue Nashville; funny thing, Wmson Co, TX, red, adjoins blue Austin. And the news is the same. I still receive news emails from NashVillager - most of the time I don't even open 'cause the lead-ins are so lean-in biased; sometimes I open, then delete; a few times I'll reply w/ a link showing their bias. They never respond...
prob is Wmson Co, TX is one of the fastest growing in the US... & where are they coming from? Blue area businesses, bringing many employees, who want to bring their blue politics w/ them. So Wmson Co, TX is trying hard to stay red --- I have a tee-shirt "Don't California my Texas". I do try to be discreet when I wear it. But the little newspaper/email in this County employs biased blue journalists. Are there many of the other kind???
Does that election involve the woman who said she hates downtown Nashville, the pedal bars, the debutants, etc...??? Then she tried to 'clarify' it all...
I read an interesting article some months back on the Californians (and in my case New Yorkers) headed to Texas (and the other red states). As it turns out, a higher proportion are Republicans than Democrats. Thus they're making the red states redder. Or so it said.
Not sure about the female candidate. Not my monkey, not my circus. But they don't either one seem like rocket surgeons.
It all made me think of this:
https://youtu.be/ICyOR9a55B0?si=aotcJpf3wtsepJ8j
Are there other kinds of journalists than "biased blue?" I like to think I was one of those once upon a time. But there is a frame of reference thing going on there. It depends on what qualifies as blue to you, I reckon.
🤔 I’ll start at the bottom I guess… no bias? The Nashville one always includes many many links to NPR. The Wmson Co TX links to democrats promos.
I do have to add Austin voted down a huge property tax, after several other hikes in previous yrs, that were going to failed schools (which the teacher’s union faught, then finally lost their battle, to release the scores of the failing schools. Many of these will now be closed.👌), homelesss care which had been the unaccomplished focus for yrs, plus the “outing” of council members’ lavish spending.
My area of predominantly retired elderly —- Yes , mostly Republicans when I moved here in 2015. More are becoming definitely blue & in your face. By this I mean during the last election i was voting independent & had libs tell me if i didn’t vote for Harris I was voting for Hitler. In another conversation, I tried explaining that just because I was a republican did not mean I wasn’t for environmental conservation or equal rights for gays, etc. These people wouldn’t believe me. In my “mixed” book club IMMEDIATELY after Trump was elected, a very opinionated lib said US citizens were being picked up off the streets & sent to Mexico. I said “Prove it”. I made enemies that day- they immediately believed I voted for Trump. They care nothing, to this day, except for their hatred of Trump. That hatred continues to divide our country imo. Well, yes, Trump does his sh!t but he’ll gone, sooner than later, & the D’s don’t have noth’n
This next comment doesn’t have anything to do necessarily with right or left, I’ll let the reader to decide… we have a lot of deer in our area. Every few years and this has been going on for like 20 years the state of Texas as well as our community needs to thin out the deer. If they don’t, the deer die of unnatural causes, one of which is known as the wasting disease. I won’t go into details y’all look it up. If we have too many deer, the coyotes and we even have cougars they come in. hey y’all I’m a cougar. My husband is younger than I am. But that’s a different subject. anyway we have all these newcomers come in and see the nets set out to trap the overpopulation of the deer and they cry. We can’t do that. No no no no no don’t trap & kill deer! and now they’re trying to sue the Texas wildlife Commission and they’re trying to sue our community association for killing these poor helpless deer. meanwhile, the overpopulation of the deer - this is the breeding season. Oh by the way, this so-called lawsuit is a group lawsuit and the name of Jane DOE they refused to be named individually. So we’re wondering if this is a bogus lawsuit. But that’s a separate story. Anyway the deer are going wild and they’re running across the lawns remember it’s rutting time & it’s a sight to see if you’re in your yard but NOT IN YOUR CAR! They’re running across the highways, the busy highways. The bucks are chasing the does and they’re causing all kinds of damage to cars and property, lives, there have been car accidents. These newcomers who have no idea what culling the deer mean or saying oh this is the deer’s home. This was the deer‘s home first. And meanwhile, they’re the ones who are moving in. Hello, go home. Go back to California, New York, Illinois, wherever it was that you’re coming from and you don’t understand anything. And meanwhile, they are feeding the deer. Because they think they’re so cute. Feeding = keeps them close to your home ahhhh how cute my pet deer 🦌. And we also have wild turkeys. They also think the wild turkeys are cute. Well, these wild turkeys become almost domesticated and they want that food that’s coming out of the hand of the human and they start chasing the humans down the sidewalks. Wild turkeys are not friendly if they’re not fed. We have photos of wild turkeys chasing people and chasing cars. And meanwhile, all these newcomers to this area are saying oh it’s so disrespectful and harmful to cull or decrease the population of these wild animals. By the way, the overpopulation of these deer are harvested humanely and sent to feed the homeless. Yep, I got a “bit” off topic & ranted … memo: if you move into an area please do some research before you want to make waves
About 8-10 years ago we did a spring break family trip to Gotham, and as quasi present for our daughter, took her to see Wicked. It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon with several thousand young children, plus those in the audience!
We also saw a remake of King Kong. It was pleasant as well, although by the end I was kinda rooting for the big fella to attack the orchestra, may fall and land on them...
It's a movie made for tweens and teens, so I probably won't be going any time soon. Although if reverse aging ever works, I'll be back someday for sure! That or grandkids.
I loved the musical more than expected. The book very creative.
Been afraid to watch the movies, but may do so if Cynthia W review not awful
Sets and costumes and cinematography these days: These elements are so ornately done up and staged. If you enjoy all that visual eye candy, it’s a wonderful time to live.
I think I’ve reached the point of foundering on CGI worlds for the time being. I simply can’t get in the mood for it. I find myself turning away from scifi and fantasy stories altogether, but done as movies or series, there’s just no attraction for me in it—with a couple exceptions where I’d already become invested, like The Foundation on Apple TV.
It’s not the same category as Wicked, but superhero movies have pushed me back to where I was as a teenager who never found comic books appealing. I mean, they all end with the strongest guy in the universe getting into a fist fight with the second-strongest guy in the universe, and they fly around in orbit to give each other punches to the chin at the speed of light. Even as a teen boy, I resented being pandered to like a mere pre-pubescent.
…and herewith concludes Grumpy Gus’s formal review of a dark and rainy Tuesday morning in December.
books are better possibly 'cause you use your own imagination... & as I've mentioned before I like the sociological type scifi, not the war type... altho The Foundation Series was a combo. I read it, didn't watch it. Same w/ Dune.
Good morning. They moved the local Christmas parade to Wednesday because its raining. And cold, feels like January in a non- La Nina year.
Al Gore will be happy
Is Al Gore ever happy? sigh!
That’s a “watch on the computer while I’m multitasking” movie. I’m still cropping old marriage announcements for the historical society so that’s when I tend to watch subpar movies, or movies I know the hubs will have zero interest. Is anybody here watching “Pluribus” on Apple+? I’m obsessed.
I’m tentatively enjoying it. Probably it was a contrary reaction to the hype of the time, but I wasn’t a big fan of Breaking Bad. It seemed to me to be an exercise of pushing the anti-hero narrative to its furthest extent and seeing if it worked. For me it didn’t work: The gratuitous cruelty went beyond mere realism and into fantasy to think no one would have caught on to Walter White. Plus, his villainy became cartoonish, too, in that it was convenient for the writers, but that made it all too predictable.
The anti-heroes in The Sopranos and The Wire I could believe. Not the ones in Breaking Bad. (Better Call Saul was much better, but I never saw the last season or two because of shifting media subscriptions.)
I felt the same on all accounts. There was no one to like in Breaking Bad - Walter White was not charming, and had a downward character arc that was disturbing. In Soprano's, Tony was a brutal person, but his charm and humor was still something likable.
Breaking Bad went to far. Vince is doing better with Pluribus. I like his production style. For instance, the drone picking up a garbage bag. I found the entire scene mesmerizing, and funny.
That *was* good.
I watched Breaking Bad, & couldn't believe I was watching something dealing w/ such a subject, but did like how the writers wove together ends... Better Call Saul was good, but I also didn't see the last season... thanks for the reminder, I'll see if I can find it if I ever need something to watch.
We are watching Pluribus. Like everyone, we loved Rhea Seahorn in Better Call Saul, and looked forward to a new show with her. She delivers what you expected - but then it gets too much for me. "The most miserable person in the world tries to save the world." She is so angry and aggressive for the first several episodes, I found it to get a little tiresome and monotonous. But I think it's getting somewhere more engaging.
C'mon man, you'd be miserable too. I find her character extremely relatable. Maybe it's the difference between being a man and a woman.
Maybe you're on to something. If it was Billy Bob Thornton would I relate better? Or prime Jack Nicholson? Admittedly that might be possible.
Let's go with Steve Buscemi.
Ahhh - that is a better match. And redeems me a bit with the guy / girl thing, because as good as he is, he is just as annoying as Rhea's character.
Yeah, the level of sustained anger and being insufferable. Although there’s starting to be some signs of humanity and compassion coming through. I’m hoping they don’t do it in a way where I’m left feeling they’re just teasing with conclusions that are never reached. Series can feel like that sometimes.
I'm going to be mad if we are left hanging. Sometimes I want a series to be one season, like this one. No need to drag this out.
well, thanks for that!! I just looked it up - 6 seasons! Wow, that will keep me busy. And it sounds like The Borg in Star Trek...???
Not sure if you looked up the right show, this is the first season. There's been 5 episodes released so far.
ooops, my goof. Season 1, 6th episode to be released Dec 5th .... but it's scifi, & sounds like the Borg...
It's getting absolutely rave reviews.
more books in the series... speaking of books, I just won a $25 gift card from:
https://www.BookNotification.com
eta: btw, I pay a small subscription fee for book notification to eliminate adds. Then for every notation I make, or whatever, I get a double entry into the contest to win that month. So my subscription fee often gets paid for during the year.
so now I have to select something from my long list of books on Amazon - but now that sales are going on I could very easily get 2, maybe 3 books for $25... gosh, to add to my looooooongggg list of books already purchased, still to be read/listened to.............
however, truth be told, I haven't seen Wicked, the first, so will most likely not see this 2nd go round, nor any more of the next go rounds... just say'n. Perhaps, if a grandkid lived nearby???
Good morning. 30 degrees here, probably the high, plus 4 inches of snow that came down overnight. Schools are closed.
The mothership is looking into the allegations that Defense Secretary Hegseth and one of his admirals ordered a second strike to kill survivors of a suspected narco trafficking boat — a textbook war crime. Meanwhile the FP is headlining whether Netanyahu should be pardoned. In addition to the botch that enabled 10/7, he has long been accused of corruption.
There's already obvious maneuvering to underbus the admiral.
He may be guilty, but he should not be alone in being held accountable.
I would be happy to see Hegseth do the perp walk. He's a 12 year old mentality in the 2nd or 3rd most important position in American government. All this sheds light on Commander Holsey's resignation; I think he could see what was coming and wanted no part of it.
Hegseth was so obviously unqualified and unfit for the job that it was inevitable that he wouldn’t be long for the job. But I never figured that his downfall would be directing military personnel to commit murder.
Of course Trump would pardon him, if it's in his power. You are right though.
Yep.
This morning, I woke from weird dreams that coalesced into "My son needs to get his act together to keep from getting drafted."
The thing is, I really thought I'd proudly have an "Army Mom" bumper sticker based on his JROTC experience (I think he would make an excellent officer for all the right reasons).
But the fact Hegseth remains in power worries me more than the current president.
I get that. But there are plenty of military career specialties, even for officers, that do not involve carrying out combat orders.
Good to know. Generally, combat orders wouldn't be an issue. But his last year of JROTC soured him, largely due to the slackness of the CO.
He doesn't know what he wants to do but he'll work it out. My comment was rooted more in weird-dream-crazy-president-and-no-coffee fear. I hope.
That's understandable.
"Nessarose the sister and Boq the Munchkin remained underdeveloped characters with shallow motives. “To be fair,” there are all sorts of people in the real world with underdeveloped characters and shallow motives."
I like that.
In my cruising through wads of media, I've brushed up against several reviews of Wicked. The unanimous decision was it stunk, although "stunk" was stretched out into too many sentences so as to appear thoughtful.
We went to see the original production of Wicked some twenty years ago. I didn’t see what the fuss was about. The story wasn’t engaging, and the songs were cliched and mediocre. So I have had no interest in the film versions or the film and stage sequels.
Yet the show has been (to me) surprisingly popular, and a lot of my family are devoted to it. My daughters and granddaughters know and sing the songs. I don’t know what to make of it all.
I'm with you on the first one, and had/have no interest in the 2nd one. Per what to make of it...I'm old, young people like weird stuff. I still rock to Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan is near the top of my list of visionary poets. Per Dylan, wife wonders how anyone could enjoy nasal whining existentialist angst.
Freshman year in high school, one of the English courses offered was "Dylanarchy" - the study of Dylan songs. Hippy teacher of course, and floor cushions instead of desks. I was instead relegated to Fr. Wick as my teacher and "Crime and Punishment" the subject. In truth though, that book blew me away and opened my eyes to literature, so it was worth it.
Oh, for sure. Dylan is overrated. For me, it's about remembrance.
I don't think it "stunk," but it was lacking in a lot of ways, most of them structural rather than performance-related.
I always liked Statler and Waldorf's review of a movie: 'I've seen better film on teeth"!
"Stunk" was my one word summation of 3 or 4 reviews. Let's say they were extremely negative.
Speaking of movies, there was an obituary in the NYT yesterday for the authored who wrote the book "Winter's Bone." It was later made into a movie starring a 15-year old Jennifer Lawrence (her first role.) I didn't read the book (Sandra did) but we both saw the movie and it was intense. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. A brief synopsis: "Winter's Bone is a 2010 film about a resilient teenage girl named Ree Dolly in the Ozarks who must find her missing father after he skips bail and threatens her family's home. To do this, she must confront her dangerous, secretive outlaw kin and navigate the harsh wilderness. The story is a drama that deals with themes of family loyalty, poverty, and survival, and is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell."
I think I watched that, but don’t recall it very well. It was in the long phase where I watched something every night for something to do while drinking a bottle of wine to wrap up each day. Making a mental note to keep an eye out for it if it shows up in a streamer I’m already on.
According to dj, it’s on Netflix
I watched it but have little recollection. I do recall it being her breakout role.
that sounds more like what I'll like - I just checked & it's on Netflix. Thanks
As I said, its intense. Be prepared.
I don't want "intense," thanks.
I have enough intensity right now. Maybe after the holidays.
like I said, sounds more like what I like, altho perhaps 'like' isn't the correct word, but prefer spending time watching.
I usually describe those as "I valued the experience".
I saw it when it first came out and still think about it today.
More books in the series? I think Frank Baum wrote at least a couple dozen Oz books -- the Wicked musical and the movies are based on them, right?
No, the "Wicked" franchise is based on a sort of fan-fiction - anti-fan fiction? - set in the Oz-book universe. At it were.
"Maybe someone in the movie business imagines more movies." Ya think?
Sequels are always the safest bet.
I try to make it a habit to not see sequels. Some of the magic of discovery is gone at that point. They generally disappoint. (Godfather II is supposed to be the exception. I'm not sure I buy that.)
“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” is another exception. It was, kin fact, probably the best of the Star Trek movies.
yes, the Star Trek movies were good - but the shows were best. Each season - jean luc picard - swoon - 😁
Star Wars not. They depended too much on special effects.
You are referring to Star Trek - The Next Generation (TNG), not the original series.
William Shatner was reasonably good looking in his day, before he got old and fat.
A lot of us feel that way
and at 85 yrs old, Patrick Stewart still not bad looking...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMTOrlAybEc/
I lost interest in Star Wars after the 2,187th sequel.
That's probably true. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was a 44-minute plot painfully stretched to 2 hours, 12 minutes.
I didn't see anymore of those after the whale thing. It got tedious. And that's about the time I started developing my theory of sequels.
OK, I'll bite. What's your theory?
They're generally disappointing. Simple as that.
"The Pirates of the Caribbean" was fun. What followed was less so.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" franchise, same.
I could go on. But you see my premise.
I won't even waste my time with super hero movies from the get-go. They're like watching fishing shows on TV -- you know the outcome. As bad as the western movies were, they were probably better written.
But that's just me.
The whale one was fun.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Meh. The premise is a bit preachy.
I wouldn't describe Godfather II as a sequel, not at all. It's a continuation of a story. Godfather III, otoh, was awful, and it too was not a sequel.
What’s a sequel if it’s not a continuation of the story? I think Wicked One is a prequel to Wizard of Oz and Wicked Two is a sequel, or continuation, of Wicked One.
I think there is a need for a term to differentiate between the same characters appearing in a new movie, with minimal ties to the prior one, and movies where the plot is spread across several movies.
The Harry Potter novels was a single story spread across 7 books (although it should have been trimmed back).
Whereas the Muppets movies were just the same characters in a new story line.
FWIW&IMHO I think of the Muppets as sequels, Harry Potter as a series, but I don't know if those are the right words for it.
Ian Fleming's James Bond was mostly sequels, although the last 3-4 books were Bond v. Blofeld, which was a series.
What to do with Star Wars? IMHO it began as a single movie, and was so popular it had to become a sequel. Lucas tried to weave a coherent story line, and I'd probably think it was coherent if I took up smoking pot...
Just now coming around to this & before reading your comment, since I read far more than I watch movies, I thought of Harry Potter. I have to add I didn’t read those - that was early in my introduction to audio & it was fantastic!!! I don’t remember the name of the reader but he was marvelous - the reader can add so much! Anyway, I don’t think I could have read the books - very tedious, but I could listen as I was doing other things, such as knitting, other crafts, yard/house work
I looked it up. I misunderstood the meaning of sequel. It is indeed a continuation of a story.
I forgive you.
I generally agree. But Godfather II was excellent. The exception that proves the rule.
Logically, an exception does not prove a rule; it weakens it. If your rule is “All swans are white,” and you find a black swan, that doesn’t prove your rule—it disproves it.
The phrase comes from old legal reasoning where “prove” meant “test” (from Latin probare). So the original meaning was....“The exception TESTS the rule.”
In modern English, “prove” means “show to be true,” not “test.” So the phrase gets misused to defend a generalization even when there are counterexamples—exactly the opposite of what logic dictates.
The saying gets used incorrectly all the time, and generally, is meaningless.
I agree that Godfather II is excellent, one of my fave films of all time.
Well, I'm chastened and will now go out to shovel snow.
I used to say that thinking I was clever and winning the point until I had a youngster explain it to me. I wrote down the explanation; I keep it spring loaded to drop into any conversation.
I tried to watch The Godfather a couple of times. Never made it very far.
You broke my heart, Fredo!
So many good friends that the series meant so much to—and I couldn’t get into it, either. It’s one I’m sure I’ll try again when I’m in the right mood. For whatever reason, it was not a relatable story to previous stages of my life, I suspect.
It’s a thing for me: When in college, I thoroughly got into Dostoyevsky in reading Crime and Punishment. A couple years ago I finally tried The Brothers Karamazov, and found it to be an unbearable slog. I forced my way through it, but ended up annoyed at Dostoyevsky for annoying me with all the dorm room metaphysics. Epic fail, as it were…
Ah! I'm just catching up, and remarked on Crime and Punishment above. Sorry you didn't like The Brothers.. I loved that too. I'm thinking of re-reading it soon and then listening to The Bad Wizards podcast series about it. For me, there is no better novel about how to think about God in a world full of pain.
Oh my... I forgive you.
I'm with you and would name The Godfather, especially 2, as my all time favorite movie. Well, I take that back - it's a tie with Lord Of The Rings.
In the ever present challenge of looking for what to read, I'm going through The Admirals Bookshelf suggestions. He's chosen an eclectic list that includes The Godfather.
"He shows how Don Vito Corleone’s success in The Godfather results from the same skills and priorities that benefited the Department of Defense under Donald Rumsfeld, how The Handmaid’s Tale teaches one to think independently, and how leaders can learn patience from The Odyssey."
https://a.co/d/4FYgZXq
With apologies to those that hate Rumsfeld.
After reading your comment I might try to watch Lord of the Rings. I so loved reading that & like all books to me (except The Martian) the movie disappoints so I never bothered to see it. Did you read it? If so, how did it compare?
From the Admiral's list I'm currently about to finish "The Caine Mutiny" - which is far more exciting than I imagined. Then I'll pick up Toni Morrison's "Beloved" - which I never would have selected myself.