View from the Theater

 Good Morning World!  The temperature is 44 (F) here in Central PA, and the forecast is for partly cloudy skies.  We also have wind, briskly blowing breezes is a nice way of describing the wind as the branches on the river birch outside my window dance about.  Yesterday the were whipping wildly as the cold front went through.  We also had a smattering of rain.

Tuesdays, being the first day off after working three, tend to be sort of meh.  Yesterday was not.  Much was accomplished.  My local taxes were the first chore scratched off my list.  Then there was a trip to the bank for a Cashier's Check to pay for my real estate taxes, followed by a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods for white socks.  I hadn't been to Dick's for a while, so it took me a few moments to their generic DSG socks" $17.99 for 6 pair as opposed to $28.99 for 6 pair of Nike.  They also sell Optimum Gold whey there for the same price as GNC.  Believe me when I tell you I would rather wonder around in Dick's than GNC.

The big aquarium was also cleaned.  I got a nice ride in on the bicycle.  All in all, yesterday was a good day.

I also spent as little time as possible looking at the news.

Howie got sick in the middle of the night.  I always try to see what he ate that made him sick, and, no surprise here, I saw about a pound of string from one of his toys, plus chewed up pieces from several others.  This morning I'll be heading over to PetSmart to get him a new toy, as well as his Frontline Flea and Tick med for this summer.

And, since The Body in History is heading into the final stretch before publication, I thought I'd share a pic I took in Delphi.  I took this from the front of the theater looking down on the temple of Apollo.  A fall from here might be fatal... especially if it happened at night.

As I said, I tried to avoid paying attention to the latest shit show revolving around the Orange Anus.  It never ends.  In case you haven't realized it, this is what he lives for, not only the chaos, but the never ending attention.  His ego has a voracious appetite that is never satisfied.  He is an addict and the Main Stream Media is his junkie.  One of the ways you can hurt him is to not click on any link regarding his shit show that comes from the Main Stream Media.  If those clicks and hits dry up, his junkie will have nothing to sell.

One thing I did find amusing was that Anonymous, the hacking group, hacked into 4Chan, a far right racist website and started posting online.  Evidently their main page was shuttered, and the doxing info of all those hatemongers subscribing to it is now available for the world to see.  Someone said that "with 4Chan down, where are Republicans going to go for hate memes?"

Oh, and Marjorie Taylor Greene had a townhall.  Alone, that would have made the news, but what the media is pumping out is the fact that she had the police evict several people, and had them taser a senior citizen as they were taking him out.  That video is truly revolting.  I don't believe her pea brain has any idea how badly that makes not only her, but Republicans, look.

A Rush of Glee

 Thursday is starting off with a slightly overcast sky, that's supposed to change to showery later this afternoon as the temps begin to drop.  Tomorrow, my day off, are temps are predicted to be much cooler with showers.  In fact, that seems to be the forecast for the next week, with very little sunshine.  That's fine.  I don't need to go outside to ride my bicycle.

Yesterday's 5 hours at the store were boring.  At one point I took a walk around the store to count customers and counted 8.  To compensate, they will raise prices and call it inflation.  Associates in the store think American people are growing wise when it comes to retail pricing.  I suspect Wall Street is going to be pissed.  There is this belief that people will automatically pay the higher prices to get what they want.  Sorry, it turns out that many Americans like their money just as much the one percenters, and I suspect Capitalism in general is going to be going through some very painful growth spurts as investors realize a continuous 5% growth rate is impossible to maintain.

The dog sofa is coming apart.  Not knowing exactly how to disassemble a recliner sofa, I wasted an entire hour removing bolts from the end recliner before realizing that the two steel rods on the bottom were holding it all together.  Once I take those off, I will end up with 5 individual pieces which are so much easier to move out onto my porch, and from there to the curb for the garbage men to pick up on Monday.

Oh, and yesterday this happened:  

I was sitting at the Flooring desk when I first watched that little clip and I will admit to feeling a rush of glee.  Yep, I laughed out loud.  True, I was a bit stunned by the volume, that so many Republicans joined the Democrats to vocalize their utter disdain for this blonde bimbo from Georgia.  She did manage to get a little over 40 votes, including the disreputable Scotty Perry from Pennsylvania.  

Personally, I think this is representative of America's view of the far right conservative wing of the Republican party.  They are losing elections.  Their agenda is simple, an authoritarian government that says "shut up, we're in charge," because it's not about governing for them, it's about dictating.  GOP officials already know they're going to lose in November, that's why Trump and his henchies have already begun to say they will not accept the results of the election.  He, and the party he controls, have become a national embarrassment.  This is something they will never be able to understand.

The Temple of Incompetence

 Today might be a record breaker as far as the temps, with forecasted high 80 (F).  Right now it's a moderate 62 (F).  We're also supposed to have lots of sunshine.  I'm up for that.  I prefer sunny to cloudy.  I take more naps when it's cloudy.

This weather will also mean that our garden department is going to be super busy today.  Yesterday, the store was busy up to around 2 pm, then everything began to die down.  I'd say it was the heat, but the temps weren't scorching.  I might think it died out because schools are still in session, and parents wanted to be home when they got home from school, but I doubt very much if that's the case.  As I was leaving, at 6, the store was beginning to fill up again, some single customers, and the couples were sans kids.

Yesterday I also got a bit of a friendly chat from my manager about working to increase my credit card applications.  They want us to calculate out what monthly payments would be if a customer puts it on the store's credit card.  I nodded and smiled, he knows me well enough to understand I will probably not comply.  I have a goal of 7 and I have 3, the one other associate who already does this has the same goal and he has 4, which proves how effective this tactic is for signing up credit cards.  People are getting smart about credit.

I did make a spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) yesterday before I went to work, so I have lunch for the next 5 days.  It's a new recipe and quite tasty, after a few minor changes.  I left out the sugar and the nutmeg and used olive oil instead of butter.  Sugar?  Yeah, the recipe called for a teaspoon of sugar.  Sorry, I don't eat sweet spinach and cheese.

And Trump's election interference trial continues today.  While I'm sure it's getting air time on the nightly news, and from news media outlets, I'm not seeing much on social media.  Perhaps it's too boring, too much of the same old shit, so to speak.  The fact that no one seems to have liked Michael Cohn is amusing.  He must have been very good at fixing things, other wise Trump wouldn't have used him so much.  But then, does anybody really like the fixer?

Oh, and Marjorie Taylor Green is going to push to oust Mikey Johnson, probably today, which means the Republican party is going to continue looking like a bunch of jackasses.  In her tiny, little mind, and it is tiny, this tactic, the same as that of a 12 year-old spoiled brat, is popular.  She believes this makes her look like a positive, authoritarian role model.  In reality, she is an example of high stupidity.  Sadly, she had her own subset of cultists who follow her for the sole purpose of cherishing her droppings.  I do think she should continue, and that her attacks on normalcy should be enshrined in the Temple of Incompetence.

Nature

 The weather forecasters have planned a day of filled with a solid cloud cover.  Not a wink of sunshine shall peep through.  Temps are predicted to be in the low 60s (F).  Not my kind of day, still I do want to get a bike ride in and possibly a bit more.

Yesterday turned out to be busy and tedious.  Meh!

My neighbor and I had our updated signatures validated by a notary public for the will which was changed.  That took about an hour of the morning.  She drove. All backroads.  She doesn't like driving on the highway.  And she talked constantly.  Her favorite phrase is "you know what I mean?" except she never pauses to let you answer.  She's also a smoker and said, "I hope you don't mind," as she lit one up.  Those clothing are waiting to be washed later today.  Don't get me wrong, she's a very nice person, she'll be taking care of my fish when I'm in Greece.  She just has some idiosyncrasies.  

I had lunch with my cousin and her husband and she texted me the wrong time, so I sat around and waited... and waited, for them to pick me up.  And then I ate pasta, and all I wanted to do was sleep the rest of the day.  Those damn carbs!

Here's a picture of the nature trail at Adams - Ricci that I walked the other day.

And because yesterday was such mish - mash of time consumption, I didn't really get the chance to pay attention to what was going on with Trump's Election Interference trial.  More and more people are beginning to call it that, rather the Hush Money trial, since his payment to Stormy Daniels was made to keep her from going public.  Honestly, though, I don't think the cult would have minded that much.  They swallowed so much of his guff without batting an eye.  For all I know, they might have actually found it amusing.  They're weird like that.

Oh, and evidently Fox called MTG and Idiot, not that she cares.  That, in itself, defines her as being an Idiot.  Oh, and her dipshit boyfriend was up in New York City and made the comment that he was surprised.  He'd been expecting the streets to be over run by homeless individuals and violent crime to be rampant.  This was not the case.  Of course, he listens to Marjorie which makes him an Idiot, too. 

Deflated

 Yes, this entry is late, not because I slept over, rather it was that time of year to have my car to have it's state inspection.  And, of course, it passed, but it does take some time,  That means it's also time of my dealer to try and fill my shopping cart, so to speak, because they make their money from all of the goodies they try to get you to buy.  Mine as more expensive than usual, the added expense being the cost to change out the old battery for a new one.  That added $210.00 onto my bill.  Having the tires rotated added another charge, and oh, let's not forget about the rear window wiper.  But, look on the good side, now the battery is good for at least another 5 years, and the tire rotation will ensure the wear on my tires is balanced.

Anyway, it's the day before Thanksgiving.  I'm not working, but then I never work on Wednesdays. I'm also off on Black Friday.  I am now, and will possibly be until my last day with the orange retailer, available to work on any Friday, be it Good, or Black, or what ever.

I did roast a turkey breast yesterday, in fact I just had a turkey sandwich for lunch.  Tasty.

For the 2.5 hours I sat waiting at the dealership for them to do inspect my car and do the required emissions test, I worked on The Body in Motion, writing little notes, and crossing out phrases, and sometimes whole paragraphs got the big question mark as to whether they are essential, or, and even more important, whether they could be improved.  Believe me, there's always room for improvement.  That's a problem with some writers, they sit back and in a very self-presumptuous tone, congratulate themselves on writing a book.  This is why editors and readers are important.  Good ones will be standing at the ready, pin in hand, waiting to deflate.

And, speaking of books, I saw where Marjorie Taylor Green just published one, some sort of lie filled expose' on her life.  I know this because so many people had clipped the page from Amazon showing that her $27 book was garnering quite a number of One Star reviews.  Let's be honest, the idea that someone might be stupid enough to by a copy of her book is frightening.  This might be one of the defining moments for MAGA cultism.

The Unachievable

 Can you believe a another work week has arrived on our doorsteps?  And it's raining... well, that's not quite right, it's drizzling, but that will pass.  We do have a lot of humidity, the spongey kind that makes everything sticky.  I can do without it.  

Sales were down yesterday, but I did get two measures, one of which is a tile floor.  That is odd.  Here in central PA some people will tile the floor in their kitchen, but it's rare to have the entire first floor tiled, mostly because we do experience winter here and the temps can drop below freezing.  That makes for a cold floor that can easily drain your body heat away even through the thickest pair of socks.

One of the things you need to do when you write is create protagonist (s) that are interesting to the reading public.  Some authors do this by giving them little quirks: Hercule Poirot had his moustache, Adam Dahlgliesh wrote esoteric poetry.  My two guys, Eli and Max, like their wine, in fact they are quite often found with glass in hand.  This being said, I thought I'd do a little video about some affordable wines they might drink.  On occasion they ride their bicycles, but mostly they dink their wine.  As a side note, the music playing in the background is a song I wrote and recorded a long time ago.

And, of course, a new week means more political shenanigans by the Republicans.  Over the weekend, just in case some of you missed it, Marjorie Taylor Dumb Ass has now said that the House might want to slow down their impeachment proceedings against Biden even though he has done nothing impeachable.  Remember, their strategy has always been to be on the offense, even if they need to create fictional crimes. the proverbial dead horse.  The truth is that impeaching Biden for nothing would actually help Biden in his re-election campaign, while heaping additional hurt onto the GOP is beyond their ken.  Their sole intention is to try and make Biden look worse than Trump, a completely unachievable goal. Me?  I'm gleefully hoping they proceed.

Hunter's Pics

While most of yesterday was sunny and moderate temps, we did have heavy rain again last night.  I don't know how long it lasted, but the sidewalk out back was still wet this morning when I left Lily out.  Normally, Julys are dry and hot, not so this year.  The heat is staying to our south, or moving quickly past us up north.

Both Texas and Florida appear to be on the broiler.  Ah, well, that's how Climate Change goes.  You never know how the cards are going to go until you get a chance to look at the hand you've been dealt.

Yesterday was a sleepy kind of day.  I ate, and lay around, my normal Tuesday behavior pattern, though I did manage to get a couple hours in writing.  I should probably do a video on my writing techniques in case anybody is interested.

Oh, because of a craving, I did drive down to Dairy Queen and buy myself a Turtle Blizzard.  It's a curse, you know, not the craving of the Turtle Blizzards, but that Dairy Queen is less than 3/4 of a mile away.  Holy Moly, I should have walked, that way I'd have burned off some of the calories I was filling myself up with.\

And I guess everybody knows I was in the Navy and on an Aircraft Carrier. though I don't think many understand the size of the ship involved.  So, this is what the Constellation looked like moored in San Diego harbor.  The pic was supposedly taken in 1974, which would have been the year before we sailed up to Bremerton, WA to go into drydock.

And, of course, yesterday Jimmy Jordan threw a party in the House of Representatives and, as expected, all the Republicans showed up as clowns.  There were whistleblowers who weren't exactly tooting their horns.  Their facts turned out to biased conjecture.  These losers are so desperate to implicate the Bidens in some sort of horrible crime family scheme and the Democrats are quickly pointing out that a Trump appointed Attorney General, as well as a Trump appointed lawyer found no chargeable offenses against either Hunter or Joe Biden.  What they're really trying to do is draw media attention away from the impending indictments of Trump.  And they're getting desperate.  How desperate?  Yesterday Marjorie Taylor (I'm dumber than shit) Green showed Hunter's dick pics on the House floor, and then later when on to email them out to her constituents.  The GOP is so lost.

Stop Dancing

 The weather yesterday was fine.  Warm.  The high hit around 79 (F), though some areas were reporting it to have reached 80 (F).  Today is supposed to be the same, except for extensive cloud cover.  Originally they were predicting rain, now it appears as though it will only be arriving in the area later this afternoon or early evening, and then all day tomorrow.  Since I work tomorrow, I don't really care.

I will need to get out the little lawn mower soon.

And yesterday was really rather quiet here.  I spent a little over 2 hours out in the yard cleaning away leave, moving some branches that had dropped over the winter.  I started cleaning out the area behind the fence leading up to the stone wall.  I'm planning on putting grass in there to give the yard a bit more green.  Oh, and I think I'm going to eradicate the ivy.  I don't know where it came from, but it's desperately trying to take over the neighborhood.  

The angelfish tank's going to get redo today.  Right now I've got Roman ruins in it.  I'm going to take those out.  What will go in next?  I have no idea, maybe just lots of plants... and possibly an erupting volcano.

Of course, Donald (the Orange Anus) Trump was charged with breaking the law 34 times yesterday.  (Stop Dancing!).  The look on his face as he walked into the courtroom has been described as grim.  For possibly the first time in his life he was on a stage that was not of his own design, but one on which he was being displayed like a common criminal.  (Stop Dancing!)  Be honest, wasn't there so much joy in seeing his ego brutalized in such a glorious manner?

And Marjorie (I'm dumber than an inflatable bimbo) T. G. failed horrifically to start a pro-Trump protest.  She did manage to initiate a 2 man chant, that survived for 6 seconds.  There was no one there to support her, but there were thousands literally blowing whistles and shouting her down.  (Stop Dancing!)  She did not look happy heading back to her vehicle.  I think she should be glad no one hit her with a rotten tomato. 

Get another Job

 Good Morning.  While it is still cold outside, the temps are predicted to start climbing.  By Tuesday, we're supposed to be in the upper 50s (F).  That's right, we will be closing in on 60.  I don't mind those temps.  I'm saving money on my natural gas bill.  According to UGI, I used 47% less gas last month then I did in 2022.  I'm fine with that.

The charges from my new electric supplier Clear Sky Energy, will begin on Wednesday.  We shall see how that goes.  One of the reasons I chose that company is that there is no cancellation fee.  If it turns out to not be the deal it's supposed to be, I'll just cancel.

They were working on the house next door most of yesterday, putting in the new windows and door.  I haven't seen the quality of the product they're installing, so I don't know how good it is.  I did see the flooring they purchased and it's mid-range.  It will look good on the floor, but durability has nothing to do with how appearance.  A lot of house flippers do this, put in a lesser value product knowing that brand new it will show well.

I made chicken marsala for dinner last night.  And pasta.  I made enough to take to work today for lunch.

The balloon is down.   The Chinese are upset because they were caught doing something stupid.  The media, conservative, liberal, and everything outlet in between, set this blaze afire.  Rest assured, however, that no matter which way this story drifted, the conservatives were going to fan the flames, anything less would be totally unexpected.

Marjorie Taylor Greene made grew some small headlines when she complained about her salary.  That measly $174,000 is wrecking havoc with her finances.  The old HR rep in me says if you don't like the job, or what it pays, then get another job.  I'm sure she realizes she could probably make a lot more money as a lobbyist, and we all know she's not in Congress to serve her constituents.

Me being Serious

 Rain is in the forecast for today.  The temps are predicted to climb into the mid  to upper 40s (F).  Nice.  You would think that this warm winter would mean I was using less natural gas.  Like my electrical usage, I track how much UGI is saying I use on a monthly basis.   Imagine how surprised I was when I saw I was actually using 30% more this year than last.  How can that be?  The average daily temperature is 2 degrees warmer than last year.  And then it struck me.  The house next door is vacant, and while workmen are rehabbing it, I'm fairly certain they're not cranking the heat up.  I'm using 30% more natural gas because they're leaching off of my heat.  Damn!  Of course, next winter, when there are occupants living next door, I should be using less than this year.

Last night I watched The Pale Blue Eye on Netflix.  Christian Bale stars.  It a meh mystery with an ending that's suppose to be a shocker.  Well, I was surprised.  It's a mystery, so I won't give the ending away should you decide to watch it.  I found most of the film boring.  Bale wants to be an Actor's actor, often choosing parts in films which let his skills shine; the films themselves are not always good.  If you have Netflix, give it a whirl, I'd like to know what others think.

My Christmas Cactus is still blooming.

For those of you who didn't see, nobody's favorite little Margie (taylor green) sponsored a piece of legislation.  That's right.  This horse's ass actually proposed a piece of legislation limiting Biden's ability to sell national oil reserves to China.  She evidently doesn't know that China has a rather lucrative arrangement with the Russians when it comes to importing oil.  Obviously reality has very little influence in her comprehension of the facts.  It never has, it never will.  And Margie's stunning attempt at writing a bill got all of 14 votes.  That means over 200 members of her own party voted against it.  That bit of a loss is beyond humiliation.  In fact, nobody's favorite little Margie has only co-sponsored 4 pieces of legislation that have actually passed.  Not surprising, this bottled bimbolina wants to be Donald Trump's running mate in 2024.  I'm serious.  You can not make this shit up.

Republican Deja Vu

 Sometime last night a dusting of snow fell.  The morning sun is going to melt it away pretty damn fast.  That's fine.  Except for that Cyclone Bomb that froze our tidily winks off back around Christmas, this winter's been more temperate than usual, at least here in Central PA.  Everyone who pays a heating bill appreciates that.

Biggie has evidently decided he's no longer going to be sleeping on the bed.  He's also decided that the new bed I bought him makes a decent pillow.  Go figure.  My biggest challenge is sleeping on more than an eighteen-inch wide strip at the edge of the bed.  I'm making progress.

I baked a peach pie yesterday using some of the peaches I froze.  It's... okay.  I don't remember baking one before, and instead of looking at a recipe I sort of, well, winged it.  It's tasty, but it doesn't really have a peachy flavor.  I did mix in some walnuts because I like nuts.  I think I'll use my remaining peaches to make cobblers, they're easier.

I saw where Maggie Green has suddenly disavowed her Qanon roots in favor of a new hairstyle that no longer has that trailer-trash look.  Worry not, her new appearance belies the fact that she's still the hateful Margaret so many people detest.

And, in case you missed it, the fascists down in Brazil attempted their on January 6 event.  The major differences between Trump's fete du jour and theirs?  they chose coordinating colors, yellow and green, and whereas Trump sent his coup participants home with a blessing, over 400 were arrested down in Brazil.  And where was wannabe dictator Jair Bolsonaro while this was happening?  Why in Florida.  In fact, I do believe he's visiting that other wannabe dictator Donald, the Orange Anus, Trump.  How cozy.

The dysfunctional House of Representatives is set to vote on their rules and regulations today.  They need 218 votes to get them passed.  This is going to be interesting.  They can only lose 7 votes, I believe.  This is how you spell Deja Vu.

Finally, the State of Union is schedule for March 1.  I'm of the opinion the first (notice I say first, here) indictment will fall well before that date.  And the Moral Degenerate, Donald Trump, is not the only one who's going to be charged.  This is why Jimmy Jordan, and the rest of that group who wanted pardons, is desperate to set up a subcommittee to find out where all of the investigations stand, especially those regarding their own traitorous asses.

Stumbling out of the Starting Block

 Well, it's Sunday.  I'm not in a park, nor planning to go to one.  And there is no one around named George.

I did work yesterday.  I was surprised because we were busy.  It was almost to the point of being hectic.  There's nothing wrong with being busy.  Time does fly by.  On days when it's slow, I spend a lot of time looking at my phone.  That didn't happen yesterday. I did work until 5 PM, however, and when I walked out of the store the sun was still above the horizon.  This is a good thing.

Biggie's new bed arrived yesterday.  As you might expect, he didn't sleep on it.  He did walk on it a few times, but that's about it.

Later this morning, I'm going to head to my neighborhood Giant supermarket.  I need olives, as well as a few other sundry items.  There is one large chore planned for today.  I want to wash down the kitchen ceiling.  Prep work prior to painting.  It's going to be the same color as the rest of my ceilings, Garden Rose White.  That's a nice way of saying that it's going to be a shade of white.  Here's a hint for you wannabe ceiling painters:  a touch of tint softens the harshness of pure white.  You want a creamy white.  Pure white is sterile color.  This is what mine looks like.

The headline this morning from the Hill is:  Republicans stumble out of the starting block.  That's rather an understatement.  As someone said a while back, they live in a universe of their own creation creating truths that fit their own selfish needs.  Criticism is being heaped on them from just about every side and they honestly believe that if they say nothing it will go away.  They also desperately believe that if they can create a big enough diversion people will ignore the fact that they are devoid of leadership of governing skills.  Their main goal is to say "shut up, we're in charge."  

Their second goal to so satiate the hunger of their base.  Knowing this, I was not surprised to see that their first piece of major legislation will be to stop the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents.  Their base hates taxes.  They hate the IRS.  This is why the new Speaker of the House, Marjorie Taylor Green, has announced that their first thing this new congress is going to work on is the elimination of those new agents.  The fact that any bill they pass regarding this will be DOA when it gets to the Senate doesn't phase them.  It's not about governing, it's all about shoring up their party for 2024.

Weight and Truth

 Friday has arrived.  This is the last of 6 consecutive days off.  Tomorrow, I go back to work for 3 days.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'm being scheduled 3 days on, and 4 days off.  That's fine with me.  Business is slow, or at least it has been.  Prior to the pandemic, this time of year we would have been busy.  Warm weather translated to higher sales.  Trendy people thought about 'curb appeal,' mostly because HGTV told them this was important.  I've never fallen into that trap.  I don't need my house to look stunningly perfect.  

My trip to the VA went fine.  My bloodwork is in good shape.  I had a substitute doctor; my regular guy was at a funeral.  So instead of chit-chatting, I was shown graphs and told 'this is very good,' several times.  Normally, they give me a print-off.  That didn't happen, so I'll print them off later this morning.

Biggie's bloodwork, like mine, was fine.  They've approved his Carprofen for another 6 months.  His Vet wants him to have bloodwork again in November.  Oh, and they want him to 'fast' before it's drawn.  That will be difficult.

Oh, and I went to the movies last night to see The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Like so many other people, I am not a big Nick Cage fan, so there was trepidation.  Let's be honest, Cage's filmography is filled with titles that continually make you wonder just what the hell was he thinking.  That same thinking also applies to his personal life, but that's a different subject. 

Anyway, the idea of a self-obsessed actor playing a fictional (?) version of himself is... intriguing.  Most of us can only take so much of Nick Cage.  To be perfectly honest, the film succeeds not because of Cage, but because of Pablo Pascal, his co-star.  Javi's entrance flips the movie onto its head, and rather than a film about a fictional Nick Cage and his ego, it spins into a new direction.  Suddenly, it becomes a film about 2 cinephiles writing a movie about their friendship.  The chemistry between Cage and Pascal is very good, their comedic timing is almost impeccable as they play off each other.  They are very, very funny.

Finally, I don't know about you, but I think another really funny thing going on right now is the feud between Marjorie (I hate Catholics) Taylor something or other, and Bill Donohue (sp) is pretty damn hysterical.  He's a self-righteous loser who is in charge of the ultra-conservative Catholic League (sp), and he's pissed because she said Catholics were being run by Satan.  Of course, Billy boy is terribly upset.  He believed Evangelicals saw Catholics as equals.  Wrong.  While Evangelicals will encourage Catholics to vote Republican, they want nothing to do with them.  Your average protestant sees the catholic as a heretic.  Your average evangelical sees them as being damned to Hell.  This is a truth Billy boy will never understand.

Slapped

Wow, I cannot believe my weekend has arrived already.  Seems like only yesterday I went back to work... for a day, and here I am with another 2 days off.  In two weeks, I'm taking more than just a mini vacation, more than just 3 days in a row.  I've taken myself off of the schedule for a full 5 consecutive days.  This semi-retirement thing seems to be working out quite nicely.

And I saw this about the Kardashisluts this morning and thought Bob might find it amusing, I know I did.  It seems like the Kardashisluts are being sued by a former Kardashislut who claims they ruined her career (or something like that).  Jury selection for the trial began yesterday and potential juror, after potential juror, spewed the ugly truth about them.  Evidently many, many people are biased against these whores, and they had to sit in the courtroom and listen to people calling them trash.  Of coure, being publicly slapped by the little people will change nothing. I had a good, hearty laugh out of it.

Something that's been flitting across my brain for the past week or so concerns the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.  Not the fact that it's killing thousands of innocent people, which it is, rather it's the realization that the longer the invasion drags on, the more incompetent it makes Putin look as a leader.  This is especially true when you understand he believed this was only going to take a few days.  The longer this war continues, the more a loser he looks like.  Should he resort to weapons of mass destruction, he will be defined as the ultimate loser.  The world will both hate him, and mock him, as the ultimate failure.  The world will see him as nothing more than a tiny man with a Napoleon Complex desperate to prove he's as tall as... well... as Xi.

Finally, I got another big hoot this morning when I saw that Marjorie Taylor Greene is spitting bullets because the lawsuit to take her off the ballot is proceeding.  I do not doubt for a second that reality is going to slap this bitch multiple times, not that she will ever learn anything.  To do that, she would have to realize she's nothing more than a shit stain of a human being.

Batty to be back

 Well, after two days off, I'm back.  

And what did I do on those two day?  Nothing really.  Put some time in on the treadmill.  Wrote a little.  Talked on the phone with friends.  Mostly, however, I just enjoyed time with the dogs.  Like most of you who have dogs, or cats, I will talk to them.  I learned a long time ago that dogs will sit and listen to your every word.  Cats?  They will give you that bored, 'are you soon finished?' look.

I did go see Morbius last evening.  I liked it, thought with a run time of 100 minutes, I thought it a bit short.  There are a lot of clips on the trailer that didn't make it into the final cut, perhaps they should have since the reviews are... soft.  Of course, what's not to like about Jared Leto spending about half of that run time shirtless, or quasi shirtless?  And for those of you Dr. Who fans, Matt Smith also had screen time buffed and shirtless.  I was expecting it to be darker, and it wasn't.  Since I've never read the comic on which the movie is based, I don't know how it stacks up to what was written.  In case you're wondering, there will be a sequel with Michael Keaton as Vulture.

I read where Amy Cony Boney was out in California an once again said the Supreme Court was not political.  Either this woman is delusional, or she's become a pathological liar like so many Conservatives.  If you repeat a like often enough, people will begin to believe you.  By they way, the Supreme Court just upheld a ruling against the Clean Water Act because it's better for corporations to make money than it is for you to have clean water.

One of the things that is really beginning to grate me in a terribly bad way is the frequency with which fascists, like Marjorie Taylor Failure, label every one who isn't a fascist as a communist.  Honestly, I don't think she knows just what a communist is, simply equates everyone who isn't for conservative, authoritarian as being one.  She is not alone.  The entire far right wing of the GOP labels everyone who isn't rabidly conservative lumps everyone into that category.  For them, there is no such think as a Centrist.  If you're registered as an Independent, they call you a communist.  The only way to shut these people up is to vote them out of office.  When that happens, they will begin to regionalize, moving to the states where their hatred will slowly fester into extinction.   Our most important goal right now is toe ensure these fascists do not take over control of either the House or the Senate.  The only way for America to succeed is for the Centrists to take it back.  

Good movies, Bad politics

 Lucky me, I have a 6 hours work shift today.  We all know how that puts me into a place of overjoyment.  I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to change my availability: no shifts starting before 1100.  In two weeks I have one at 0930...  Since I like to do most of the personal stuff in the morning rather than the evening that simply doesn't fly.

The plants arrived yesterday in questionable state.  They're all in the tanks.  All I can do is wait and see if they're going to survive.  The bananas on one of the banana plants are dark, almost black, so I suspect that one may end up in the compost bin.

My Stryd arrived as well, but late, about fifteen minutes before I left for the movie so it will be set up this morning.  One thing I like already is that the battery gets recharged.  One of the things I didn't like about the Garmin foot pod was having to replace the battery.  I had to order batteries because it takes a size not too common, at least not here in Central PA.

And as for the movie... I went to see Moonfall... and it was good.  Roland Emerich has pumped out a lot 'disaster' films, not all have been to my liking mostly because they're simply disaster flicks:  the earth gets destroyed with only a hand full of survivors.  The science is questionable at best.  Moonfall is actual science fiction with the emphasis on fiction.  One critic said that every fifteen minutes or so Emerich reminds the audience this is a disaster film with a few minutes of destruction.  That's because the emphasis is on the story, rather than constant CGI clips of mass destruction.  There were two guys sitting a few seats to my right and when the movie was over they turned to us and asked "what did you think of it?"  Both of us responded that we liked it, that it was good, and the one guy laughed and said, "Yeah, that was fuckin' good."

And everyone on the internet cackled at Marjorie Taylor Greene's verbal faux pas, you know, gazpacho police?  Social media was ringing with laughter.  This is just another indicator of just how stupid this woman truly is.  

As for that challenge to Madison Cawthorn's eligibility to run for re-election has legs.  North Carolina election officials have said it's legitimate.  Ouch for poor Maddy.  This pretty boy's going to lose all they sympathy voters who felt sorry for his being a paraplegic. 

Finally, Kevin McCarthy kind of flip-flopped on his January 6 statement regarding legitimate political discourse.  I'm thinking old Kevin, in desperation, as did the RNC, jumped the shark on this one.  Millions upon millions of suburbanite voters took a big step back on this one.  This is because the party of "shut up, we're in charge," doesn't understand they are no longer in charge.

The Expanse, and other things

 What can I say about yesterday besides work was slow.  I did have an elderly woman come in to buy carpet, she had purchased carpet and an install from us 9 years ago.  She was a little upset that we no longer carried that style anymore.  In fact, there were a number of things she had issues with including cost.  In 2013 she paid $1.33 a square foot, even back then that was fairly inexpensive carpet, and she was, again, looking at inexpensive carpets.  Since I can see the notes made by the specialists 9 years ago, I knew she had registered complaints about many things in order to drive down the cost.  Not wanting to have to deal with a repeat of these issues, I simply signed out sample boards, deciding I'd let someone else sell her the measure she needed for the install.

Last evening I watched the first 4 episodes of The Expanse.  This is the series last season and will only have 6 episodes.  As such, I was expecting them to be longer, which was not the case.  The longest barely topped 50 minutes.  In a few weeks I'll watch the last 2 episodes.  

I received a Christmas card from a friend yesterday.  It's been years.  Since I stopped buying cards years ago.  My sister, however, gave me some nice stationary a long time ago so I'll jot down my 'thank yous' on some nice note paper and send it off.

Today, since I've planned nothing, I'll probably get around to baking those spice cookies.

Also, if the forecasters are correct, Central PA should be getting 3-6 inches of snow on Friday, another one of my days off.

And I don't know if this is true, but I thought I saw that Facebook has also shut down that bottled blond, Q Quack Pot, Marjorie Taylor something or other.  Good.  I'll bet that put her back on her knees in front of her favorite faux deity, The Orange Anus, praying for... well... something.  He's doing some sort of crazy shit on January 6, so I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up there.

Cover This

 For a Sunday, yesterday business was sporadic, hectic in the morning, which I missed, then slowing down to spurts in the afternoon.  People looking for sales.

I was called over to appliances to help and had to give the sad news to some customers that we don't carry our display appliances in stock.  Nope.  People come in believing that if we have it on display we're going to have a couple in the back room.  We don't.  We do have a bunch of crappy Vissani refrigerators, the low end of the Magic Chef line, which is one of the lower end products owned by Whirlpool.  You get what you pay for.  Cheap is not good.

My schedule is odd this week.  I work 4 days, but odd shifts.  I have a 7 hour day today and Thursday, a six hour day on Saturday, but only 4 hours on Sunday - from 3PM to 7PM.  Our scheduler must think irregularity makes for a better constitution.  After this week, I'll have 3 day work weeks for a while.  That's just fine with me.

They're calling for snow flurries this AM - no accumulation.

I did get the cover art for The Body in Repose and... well... shit... will you look at that.  It's painted backwards.

And what about Marjorie Taylor dumb shit having her personal Twitter account shut down?  Surprisingly enough, this is not what happened.  It was not space lasers that did her account in; rather her constant regurgitation of Covid lies was the cause.  The fact that her very lies are killing off Republican party does not even register in her brain.  If it does, she is probably one of those who qualifies it by saying, "those that die are not really going to be effecting our numbers, besides, when we lose we're always going to claim voter fraud."