The Essentials

 Okay, so we ended up with about 4 inches of snow, not a lot, but the temps are so cold it's guaranteed to lay around for a few days, and by cold I mean 11 (F).  Yep, it was that chilly when I got up.  And the outside temps are only predicted to climb to around 28 (F).  Forecasters are predicting a bit more snow tomorrow night into Friday.  Not much, possibly another 3 inches.  I'm fine with that.  This cold, the snow's fine and powdery and easy to shovel.

Speaking of shoveling, I timed myself yesterday and it took me 39 minutes to clear off my sidewalks and around my car.  That's a very good thing, because once I finish this, I'm going to head out to my local Giant Supermarket and pick up some essentials, like dog treats.  There are other essentials include, like laundry detergent, but let's be honest here, the little lady of the house gets special treatment.  Lily has some arthritis in her left hip and these cold temps stiffen it up, and treats keep her happy.

Oscar nominations come out next week, as they do every year, and this year the races are going to be very competitive.  Looking down over the list of possible nominations, I'm reminded of those whiners who claim Hollywood doesn't know how to make original movies.  That's so totally wrong.  This year, for instance, you could go see The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and a host of other original movies.  Unfortunately, as many, many people are, none of the local theater chains want to play original movies, and if they do, those films need to be blockbusters, like Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon.  Poor Things never played here, and The Holdovers was here for a week.  There are so many films that don't play in Harrisburg simply because the AMC theater chain here needs to hit their revenue forecast and that will only happen by showing Aquaman for 5 weeks straight, or the Troll Band movie (which has been playing since Thanksgiving).  Wall Street is ruining the movies, and that's why we rarely get to see original films here in Harrisburg.

So, the Iowa caucus was held on Monday, and while most media outlets are only reporting that Trump won, they're failing to essential information, like only 14% of eligible Republicans attended them, or if you want a head count, around 110,000.  Believe me when I tell you, the MAGA cult showed up in force, which is not really a good thing for Donnie the Orange Anus.  This is bad for him in several respects:  he won by getting 51% of the vote, which means 49% voted for someone else.  Ouch!  There is no landslide when 49% of Republicans vote for someone else because this fracture represents the Republican party.  86% of the voters stayed home, was this because they resigned themselves to the fact that he was going to win, so there was not need to brave the cold?  And if they were this apathetic about the caucuses, will they be any different in November?  I would not be surprised if there was some serious consternation in the Trump Camp, 51% is not a landslide, only 110,000 showed up, and having only 56,000 of those people vote for you is not a landslide.  I find it interesting that the media has not pounced on these essential facts.