The Go-To Whine

 We're getting rain today... well, showers, on and off with not much accumulation.  For some reason, whenever rain, or snow for that matter, people envision torrential downpours.  That is rarely the case.  Even the steady rains we get are slow to accumulate.  Rain is predicted for tomorrow as well.  Altogether we'll probably get about .75 of an inch, not enough to cause flood warnings.  On the temp side, ours will be hovering in the mid 40s (F) all day.  By this evening, most of the snow we received will be gone.

And I do have to briefly mention the Oscar snubs among other notes.  I was surprised Greta Gerwig didn't get one, but but Barbie is a comedy and the directors (directors nominate directors) love them their drama.  On Margot Robbie?  I never thought she'd get a nomination; comedic performance.  On Leonardo DiCaprio?  Never thought he'd get one; he played stupid well, but his character was barely 2 dimensional.

On Oppenheimer's 13 nominations?  They won't win all of them.  Adapted Screenplay is going to Gerwig, and production design is going to Barbie.  Costume design will probably go to Napoleon, the voters love period costumes.

Because Ryan Gosling is nominated, as well as his song, there's a good possibility we'll get to see him cavorting half-dressed across the stage singing "I'm Just Ken."  He'll probably lose to Robert Downey Jr, who's black and white malevolence in Oppenheimer was so well played.  

Anyway, this was a really good year for movies, in fact, I might compare it to 1939 when Gone with the Wind was up against The Wizard of Oz for best picture.  Of course, that was also the year before war broke out across Europe.

I baked some Italian bread yesterday, and then made a BLT for dinner.  Scrumptious.

And, of course, the New Hampshire primaries were yesterday and Trump won, as expected, how ever, he only received 54% of the votes.  Looking at the numbers, the only Republicans voting for him are the hard core conservatives, moderates, centrists, and Independent voters turn away.  He needs the Independents if he thinks he even has a chance to win the election.  He's not going to get them, which means he's going to rally as many losing Republicans around him by shrieking Election Fraud.  For a brief moment that was a rally cry, now, however, more and more people are seeing it as nothing more than a rally whine.  Conservatives will never admit their political views don't jive with a majority of Americans, meaning they will need to blame something else for their loss and election fraud is their main go-to whine.

Are you Kenough?

The rain stayed away yesterday.  We had sunshine and low humidity, the temps never broke above 90 (F) and in case anyone is wondering, these temps are saving me a bunch of $$$ on my electric bill.  Today is supposed to be more of the same - that's fine by me.  Tomorrow, on the the other hand is iffy, there's a 40% chance of rain.  Hopefully it will hold off until I get my lawn mowed.

I did almost 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday, that's the first time I've done anything physical since I did that little twitchy thing to my back with the kettlebell.  By Monday I should be back on my regular regime.  It's all part of my goal to live to be 100.  I told a friend that and he said if I live that long I'll be decrepit, so now I have 2 goals.  He's younger than me, so not only am I going to live to be that old, but I'm going to prove him wrong by still being fit.  Oh, and I'm still going to be doing the kettlebell exercises, however I've learned to do with with a little less oomph.

So, Barbie's grossed over $1.2 billion at the box office and I suppose that overly patriarchal conservatives are on the verge of going in conniptions. Remember, their 1950s based egos are rather fragile.  Anyway, I got a bit laugh this morning when I read in the Washington Post that Ryan Gosling's song "I'm Just Ken" is a surprise hit.   In spite of all the A List musicians who contributed songs to the film, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the one that gets the Oscar nod.  I can easily picture it being performed, live on Oscar night.

And what about those dipshit MAGA cultists publishing the names and addresses of the members of the Atlanta Grand Jury which indicted Trump.  In case you're wondering, this is what hatred looks like.  These nimrods are provoking thoughtless violence.  They simply do not understand that if anything happens to a single one of those jurors they will alienate themselves even more from the rest of America.  But then the cult has never really understood anything, and it is virtually impossible for them to learn.

A recent AP/IPSOS poll shows that Independent voters are moving away from Trump.  Actually, that movement is fairly rapid, increasing by 3%, from 54% to 57% in a little over three months.  This trend is fatal for the GOP since they are the minority party and rely heavily on Independent voters to win elections. 

The big question is will that 36% -37% of voters who believe Trump did nothing wrong show up to vote for him if he gets the nomination?  I don't know, they might... or they might jump ship like the rats they are.

Make Your Own Kind of Music

 Fasten your seatbelts, Central PA, today's going to be a real scorcher... sort of... kind of... well, our temps are predicted to hit 94 (F).  So far, the weather forecasters have been spot on when it comes to their Fahrenheit predictions.  If they continue, tomorrow we'll be back in the upper 80s (F) with showers and storms.  More rain?  Yeah.  It's a good think I mowed my lawn yesterday.

I got a lot done yesterday.  Worked on the big tank, adding 4 more fish and a live plant.  The 3 large angelfish were curious at first, but they're fish, so their curiosity doesn't last long.

There's a woodcarver on Instagram that I follow named Dillon who posts interesting videos on making bowls, and pens, and other objects out of wood.  Yesterday he posted some idiocy on how porn leads to sex trafficking.  He didn't like when I told him that was wrong.  He directed me to some website FTND (Fight the New Drug) which claims porn is the newest drug.  Being me, I sent him several links to very reputable sites which note that porn, itself, has nothing to do with sex trafficking.  He has yet to respond.

Oh, and I went to see Barbie last night.  It was awesome!  Even though the trailers implied the film was going to be silly, it isn't at all.  In a way it's a primer for young girls and women on how to make their way in the real world.  I can understand why a number of conservative men, insecure in their masculinity, might have a problem with it.  There are some very funny scenes, and some very touching scenes... yes, Barbie cries... and so does Ken. There will be Oscar nominations all around for this one.

And, of course, there were no indictments yesterday.  You have to admit, the DOJ really knows how to be a tease.  Instead of indictments, they gave us more charges in the Mar a Lago document case.  That was, perhaps, the reason why Trump's attorneys were at the DC courthouse yesterday.  Can you believe that he actually wanted to destroy security footage?  I guess that's why they drained the pool into the security room, to dry and destroy the servers.  Ouch.  Because of the additional charges, he's knows for certain there is a mole at Mar a Lago.  Isn't it amusing, Barbie is singing a song that is resonating around the world, while Trump is only squawking noses that are discordantly out of tune

Something's Coming

 Well, it's Monday morning and we are sitting under a small thunderstorm, barely a splotch on the map, and the whole thing should be done with in about 20 minutes.  So far, this summer has turned out to be rainier than most.  Rain is not a bad thing, as long as it's not torrential.

Yesterday was very slow at the store.  There was a bit of a customer incident in the grout aisle.  I saw a friend of mine walking towards the flooring desk and as I stood up, he told me a woman needed assistance. The first thing she asked me was "do you have any grout lighter than platinum?"  Our selection of the Simple Grout she was looking at is very limited, so I told her I didn't know.  That was not the right answer.  She told me the other associate was going to get a ladder because she said, "I need 2 of those," pointing to a higher shelf.  Growing impatient, she asked how much grout she needed for coverage with hexagonal tile.  I told her our charts are for square tile, but gave her a guestimate (not what she wanted).  The associate came back and pulled down the box she'd been pointing to, and she scolded him, "not those, those up there," without naming the product.  She wanted 5 gallon buckets of premixed mortar (heavy), so I told her he would need to get an electric ladder.  (Not what she wanted to hear).  While I went to get my store phone to check inventory, she went latched onto an appliance specialist since I wasn't providing her with the service she was demanding.  I ended up selling carpet to another customer while the appliance associate and a plumbing associate filled her order.  I'm not very good with impatient people.

I took a picture of some red raspberries while Lily and I were out on her morning walk the other day.  Behind the berries and hidden beneath the ivy is a concrete staircase leading up the front entrance of a house.  Nice, eh?

So, Barbie smashed box office records yesterday raking in over $155 million in the US alone.  Oppenheimer didn't due to shabbily either, pulling in $80+ million.  The Internet had a big laugh at Bennie Shapiro burning Barbie and Ken dolls dress like Ken.  That's right.  Bennie evidently didn't realize that the black T-shirt and pants he was wearing matched Ken's outfit in the movie... and this is after seeing the movie.  Perhaps his subconscious just need to send a subliminal message to his viewers that deep in his heart he desperately wanted to be just like Ken.

And, of course, social media was abuzz because large media vans and trucks began filling up the parking around the DC Courthouse.  Something is expected to happen there either today or tomorrow (perhaps).  That's right... Something's Coming.

Zoom into This

 Sunday, and here in Central Pa the outside temp is 64 (F).  Nice sleeping weather.  My A/C rarely runs during the day and it's set at 73 (F).  I'm sure the River Birch tree and the Gingko trees help with keeping the inside temps down.  So far the summer has been fine here in Central PA, however we still have all of August and half of September to get through.

I had my Zoom call yesterday, and for the most part it was boring.  Only eight of us participated.  One of the problems is that the the guy who organizes them believes they need to be held on Saturday afternoons as that is the time when most people are available.  That is simply not the case.  We are all retired, or semi-retired and for those with families, weekends are the times when they get together with their kids and grandkids. And so there were excuses from those who didn't attend: one was kayaking with his wife and grandkids, another had chartered a boat to go deep sea fishing, another was visiting a flower show with his wife and daughter, one was on the golf course.  Anyway, here's a pic from it.

And for those who didn't know it, Barbie is smashing box office records, with Oppenheimer distantly on her heels.  Conservatives are flipping out as their carefully curated shrieks of Wokeness are falling on deaf ears all across the country.  While the director, Greta Gerwig, did not openly eviscerate the Cracker Jack Crazy Conservatives, she did jib and jab at them enough for Benny Shapiro to buy Barbie and Ken dolls and set them ablaze.  While I'm sure his followers nearly wet themselves with glee, the rest of America looked at his prank and realized he's as big of a dick as Ronnie DeSantis.

Speaking of Ronnie, he's doubling down on his "slaves benefitted from being slaves" rhetoric.  He is not moving to the far right, he's just becoming more and more extreme about his racism.  You look at his campaign, and at what he's doing to Florida, and you think he can't get any worse and then his administration pulls something like this.  I can't even imagine what world he's living in.

Barbie's Adventure!

 And the weekend is upon us!  I get to work (notice the lack of an exclamation mark).  It does pay for my movie going experience, as well as a lot of other things, so I suppose I really shouldn't complain.  And it's only 3 days a week.

Yesterday was warm, again in the low 90s (F), and there was the threat of a possible thunderstorm, which we got, but while there wasn't a lot of thunder and lightening, when it came to the rain this storm was on steroids.  The warnings went out for small stream flooding because we received 2 inches of rain in 45 minutes.  Yes, it was deluge time in Central PA.  Those raindrops were immense.

I drove over to PetSmart yesterday morning and picked up 3 snails.  Now that there are only angelfish in the big tank, I don't have to worry about them being eaten, and hopefully they'll work on eliminating a lot of the algae.  So far they seem to be quite at home gorging themselves until their little snail bellies are full, then they'll rest a bit, and then gorge some more.

And, of course, there was a major political controversy yesterday: Vietnam banned the Barbie movie! (notice the exclamation point!).  Seeing the potential of another dead horse to kick around, a number of Republicans, Ted Cruz included, jumped aboard the band wagon.  What's the to do all about?  Well, there's this small dotted line off the cost of Asia, notice that on the map is says Asia, not China, and evidently China has used 9 dots to indicate where their territorial waters end.  There are, if you'll count, only 8 dots here but, and I do hate repeating myself, Republicans, including Ted Cruz, need a dead horse to kick.  Isn't it sad how Republicans will do anything to waste America's tax dollars.

Finally, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, gave Trump's legal team until July 13 to get the security clearances in place for his legal team to defend him over his theft of top secret documents.  This will cause delays, of course, all part of the plan, and all the while making it look like she's doing her job.  I can't wait until that Orange Anus is locked up.

Pink

 Hello Monday!  I hope everybody had a good weekend.  The weather here in Enola was warm and dry while severe thunderstorms battered the area around my little suburb.  Because of this, I had to drag out the hose last evening and water my plants.  No rain is scheduled in the foreseeable future.  It's almost as if we're heading into the dog days of summer without the heat.

I did get another measure yesterday while working.  That really puts me up for the week.  My sales were good, too, for a part time associate.  

One of the higher-ups in our region is in a world of shit.  We were told there was an install promotion going on for vinyl and laminate surfaces, and signs were posted.  A number of measures were done before it was discovered our store was not included.  As a result, because people are now buying those installations, our store is having to do some major markdowns.  The kind that curdle the blood of any accountant looking at our books.  This type of mistake brings out the worst in customers.

Here's a bit of hilarity.  Evidently production of the new Barbie movie had some trouble getting enough of the right color pink.  If you've seen the trailer, you will realize how much pink there is in the movie.  If you haven't, well, here it is.  I think this movie is going to be a blast.

And here's a little bit of the NYT:  Ad revenue for Twitter is down 59% from last year.  I don't know about you, but I find that fascinating.  This is how Elon Musk learns how pricey his opinion of what constitutes free speech is going to be.  Oh, and advertisers are not flocking back.  They are taking their revenue elsewhere.  Of course, Elon doesn't understand how far his ego has led him astray.  Instead of changing course, he's going to continue down the same path,  Everyone is learning that even though Elon sold the idea to the world that he's a smart man, in real time it turns out he's dumb as a box of rocks.

Trump's documents Grand Jury reconvenes today.  Prepare yourselves for a stream of rage in all Caps.

Of paint and plastic people

Yesterday was not a banner day for paint sales, not bad, but not great; by 4 PM we were just selling random gallons to random customers.  This doesn't mean we were without incident.  A little after 6 a couple came to the desk.  They had an old can and wanted another one, no problem.  She, however, had a picture of a color she wanted on her phone.  That we can't do.  Of course, she was not happy.  "Other places can scan the phone," she said, pouting her augmented lips.  Oh, yes, she'd had injections, and it was obvious.  I was going to explain to her how you can not scan a phone because the reflection from the screen eliminates the refraction needed to identify colors, but before I could she rolled her eyes and said, heaving her overly large bosoms, "well, I guess I'm not going to be able to finish my project today."  As she sniffed, I noticed that she'd had her nose whittled down until it looked like a tiny, round button.  I apologized and explained in simple terms the problems with cell phone pictures and, once again, the bosoms heaved.  If I was supposed to feel sorry, I didn't... well, in a way, I mean I did feel sorry she had felt it necessary to spend all that money trying to look like Barbie.

When she and her male companion had finally left the desk, one of my female associates turned to me and said, "can you believe how big those fake boobs were?  They were about as attractive as water balloons with cigar butt nipples," (she doesn't mince her words, does she?).  And, of course, I had to agree.  Plastic people, you know?  They will keep working on it until they get it right, unfortunately for them, they don't understand they will never get it right.