On seeing Aquaman

First let's get some stuff out of the way.  Evidently Ryan Zinke is slinking away after doing his best to trash the environment... and getting replaced by a lobbyist.  Qualifications mean nothing to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  We have some douche named Mulvaney who's going to become evidently a Temp Chief of Staff.  Is it just me, or do all the jobs in his administration seem to be manned as Temp Positions.  Any way, back in 2016 this Mulvaney jerk made comments about the Idiot Jerk being a "terrible human being."  So... do you really think he's going to be getting along with the Idiot Jerk in the White House?
And now what some readers have been waiting for.  I went to see "Aquaman" last evening.  I thought I might see some overweight fans dressed up in yellow scales... I didn't.  Most of the audience, which was fairly large looked like your average movie fan.  The movie was scheduled to start at 7 PM and started at 7PM - there were no trailers for coming attractions.
The first thing that surprised me was Nicole Kidman as Atlanta, Arthur's mother.  She does action sequences... well.  Wilhem Dafoe, who does a very good job in a very quiet role.  Of course, every wants to know how Jason did...  Sixpence wants to know if he "pulls it off."  His shirt?  No, it's already off and is for most of the movie.  I was concerned he might be Jason Momoa all through the film... sort of like some Jack Nicholson movies, where he mostly plays himself playing a character.  Well, Jason does at first.  Interestingly enough, he transitions... and by the final action sequences the audience gets to see this as he turns from a beer guzzler who takes selfies with bikers into hero.  By the end of the film he is Aquaman.  The only issue I had was his name.  You see, Aquaman's human name is Arthur Curry, and (mini-spoiler here) when he becomes Aquaman he's called 'King Arthur,' but only once.
Director James Wan has a history of horror and action.  The action sequences are tight, quick camera moves, quick edits.  The horror?  Well, there's a moment high reminiscent of that classic moment in Aliens where Sigorney meets the Alien Queen Mother Bitch.  It was surprising and effective.

What makes a movie good?  Well, if in the end you believe something.  There was a lot of applause from the audience because something clicked, because in the end you really do get to see Aquaman.

Within the Sanctity of MY

Saturday and it's raining here... supposed to continue through the weekend.  That's fine, I work.  Monday's supposed to bring brilliant sunshine which is fine with me.
Oh, and I saw a Texas Federal Judge ruled that Obamacare is Unconstitutional because the Republicans took out the clause about 'financial responsibility.'  The states complaining were Republican.  If you look on a map they are the 'MY' states.  Republicans chose to shit away the 'family value' claim replacing it with the 'MY' moniker.  'MY' is their most favorite pronoun.  If you listen to a Republican, and more importantly, a Social Conservative, they quite frequently punctuate their conversations with 'MY.'  MY money.  MY taxes.  MY religion.  For the Republican, everything revolves around ME.  "I don't want MY money helping to pay for your insurance."  That's MY money.  It belongs to ME.  MY money is more important than your health.  Republicans have this growing disconnect with humanity.  Sort of like Ebenezer Scrooge.  Their focus is totally on the ME and the MY.  They take their cue from the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  They gather round and bless him because he has sanctified their 'MY.'  They believe he is a blessing because he "gives ME what I want most, the absolute authority of 'MY.'
My nephew Adam and his wife are expecting a baby in a month... give or take a couple of days.  She is blond and blue eyed, he is dark complected, brown hair and brown eyes.  I told them, genetically speaking, he's got it in the bag... literally.  Dominant Genetics, you know?  I think the odds are about 80% that baby's going to have brown hair and brown eyes.
And, for those who've forgotten.  Tonight I go see "Aquaman!"  Be jealous... be very, very jealous.

Actually, doesn't he really look like he's just escaped from some 70's Hair Band?

Also, a big Thank You to the 17 people from Tanzania who decided to look at my blog!!

Holy Water

Well, it's Thursday and I'm off work.  Tomorrow, too.  Then I go back to work for 2 days and then off for another 2 days.  It's kind of like a split vacation, isn't it?
I had the Funeral Director mail me my Mom's bill.  $423 for the obituary.  Pricey, eh?  I will pay it sometime this AM in order to get the discount.
There was an email update on my tickets to see Aquaman.  We're being moved to a different theater, from #10 to #12, most likely because they've sold so many tickets.  I've never been to an early show before so this might be... interesting.  In case you didn't know, certain individuals who are really into DC Comics, or Marvel Comics, and who really love a specific Super Hero like to dress up like that Super Hero.  This means there might be Superman, or Batman, or maybe even an Aquaman, or several of each, sitting in the audience with us.  If there's an Aquaman, I hope it's someone who works out.  Can you just imagine?
No, I didn't see any of the George H memorial service yesterday.  I did see a couple of still shots.  I understand the Idiot Jerk shook hands with every living president except Jimmy Carter.  Perhaps he was worried the skin might burn off his hands, or his face, or that his phony crown of fake hair might burst into flames.  Jimmy Carter is a very honorable, very good man.  I understand his touch is worse than Holy Water to an evil the likes of the Idiot Jerk.  Of course, I do believe Jimmy has criticized the Idiot Jerk for being a moral degenerate so the lack of a handshake may actually have been so some sort of snub.

Nah... I think the Idiot Jerk was more afraid of being set on fire.
And, on the financial front, if you're thinking the Wall Street might bounce back today, well... that might not happen.  It seems the Canadians arrested some chick named Meng, who just happens to be the CFO of Huawei, which just happens to be the super duper telecom corporation from China, for the purpose of extraditing her to the US.  China is furious.  Think ripple effect. And I doubt very much if the Canadians said to themselves "hey, let's arrest this chick and ship her off to the US."  Nah.  You can bet there was pressure applied because the Republican party has never been too smart, and with the Idiot Jerk in charge they've been dumber than bricks.  They would see her as a 'bargaining chip."  Wrong.
Jimmy!  Bring out your Holy Water now!

A bit about benefits

Monday!  I'm off.  Originally I had read my schedule wrong and thought I had off 2 days, worked a day, and then had off again.  Turns out I have off a day, work 2 days, and then have off 2 more days.  Does that count as dyslexia?
Maybe that's what's wrong with the Republican party.  Even after a bruising midterms, they continue to go about as though nothing has happened, business as usual.  Do they see going from a majority of 23 to being the minority party by 39 / 40 seats as normal?  Or is there something twisted in their brains which lets them see that loss and still say "hey, we got this!"  I mean, they've always been great on denial and pointing fingers.  Of course, they are terrified to point those fingers at the Idiot Jerk in the White House - that would mean they've made a terrible mistake, that they're completely out of step with a majority of Americans.  Come to think of it, being out of step has never stopped them before.
So, I went on line last evening to order the dogs their Christmas toys.  Well, the first thing I saw at the top of Amazon's home page was an announcement about Aquaman.  Amazon Prime members could actually purchase tickets to see the movie a week before release.  That's right, while the rest of America waits until 12/21, those who have Amazon Prime get the chance to see it early.  So, of course, I bought tickets.  Now, I call that a really nice benefit.

Finally, a bit about Met Life.  If you're my age, or there about, you will remember The Peanuts Gang and Snoopy.  They were unbelievably popular with daily cartoons in the paper and specials on TV.  The specials on TV were almost always sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.  Both of my parents bought Met Life insurance policies - it was the thing to do.  Well, now I'm dealing with Met Life.  They are greedy as hell.  I notified them on 11/16 of my Mom's death.  I was told they would mail me paperwork in 7-10 business days.  I notified them on Friday 11/30 that I still had not received the paperwork.  Their agent reminded me they had 7 - 10 business days "and there have been 2 weekends and a holiday since the 16th."  There agent then went on to tell me that once they receive the paperwork back, with the death certificate, they have another 7 - 10 business days before they have to mail out the check.  This means it could be over a month after I notified them that I receive the insurance check.  When I told her there might be people out there who might be in dire straits and might desperately need these funds, she said, "this is our policy."  In my opinion, this defines failure.  So, if you have annuities or polices with Met Life be forewarned, they will hold onto your funds with their tight little fists as long as possible.  They are not there to provide a benefit.

Flood Warning

Well, here it is Tuesday, I'm off work, and we're under a Flood Warning!
I have about 1 inch of water in my basement.  Not that I'm concerned, I have pumps.  This has happened before.  My parents grew up in a small town called Pine Grove.  It made the news yesterday.  Hershey Park was closed yesterday.  We had flooding like this about 12 years ago and some of their animals drowned.  Now they take extreme precautions.  Right now, we have a steady rain, not heavy, the kind we like to think of as a 'soaking rain.'  That's fine.  My basement floods when we get torrential downpours.
Sticking with that water motif, I'm going to segue into Aquaman.  Cute, huh?  Sounds a bit fishy to me.  Anyway, the trailer for Aquaman was dropped at Comicon.  Looks good, very colorful.  Best line in trailer in decades:  "Redheads, you gotta love 'em."

I'll go see it, not because I'm a big Jason Mamoa fan.  I always thought he came across as a bit too scaly.
Finally, a bit about the economy.  Everybody is smiling.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House smugly gives a thumbs up "see how it's growing under my administration."  For those who don't know, the economy grows when people spend money.  The more they spend, the faster it grows.  True: unemployment is low.  False: people are making more money.  That's where the stink comes in.  Personal debt is growing by leaps and bounds.  Banks don't care.  Retailers don't care.  And sure as hell, the Idiot Jerk in the White House doesn't care.  They don't care if the average person is spending around 26% of his or her paycheck on debt alone.  Their philosophy is:  just give them more credit.  As long as people are spending money like it's going out of style the economy is going to grow.  This is why the Fed increases interest rates, to slow down that growth, to keep it from becoming overwhelming.  Corporate America likes to fluff over interest payments.  They want  Mark and Mary Moron to just get another credit card, or apply for a Home Equity loan in order to go on vacation.  Conservative economics say that if you spend more money, businesses will make more money and they will, as a result give out larger pay increases.  Well that never happens.  Pay increases are bad for the bottom line.  For them the P & L is Holy.  In fact, that's one of the things you hear about this economy.  Where are the pay increases?
So, is the economy great?  Sure, as long as you don't look at personal debt.  High interest payments are at the point of breaching the dikes of our personal savings.  Financially, the country is under a severe flood watch.  The flood warning is just around the corner.

Cait Jenner goes aquatic

Remember back when the news broke about Bruce Jenner?  Everybody jumped on board that bandwagon praising him as he transitioned from Bruce to Cait... well, not everybody.  I didn't.  In fact, I told everybody to take a big breath and wait to see what happens.  Well, so far, in spite of having breast implants and some serious reconstructive surgery, not much.  In fact, when I saw this yesterday in Towleroad I had to laugh.  If Ted Cruz, who Jenner seems to really like, gets elected, Cait wants to be his "Ambassador" to the Transgender people of the United States....  Duhh
Anyway, as I looked at this picture:

I realized she was still in the transition stage.  Look at her cheekbones, and the flattening forehead, and the way her lips seem to be getting... well, larger... and wider... and well, you know what I mean.  I figure Cait's about halfway there, you know?  And, after searching the Internet, I did manage to get a picture of what she's aiming for.  Cait is going aquatic!  Suits her, don't you think?

If you look closely, just below Cait's jawline, you can see the beginning of one of her gills.  This means she's being honest with us when she says she's going to date men.  I'll bet her first is going to be Aqua-man.