Cooking with Blobby

Air frying is cooking, yes?

I heard you all say "yes", so I can proceed.

Early this year, we were the recipients of an air fryer. They are bulky for sure, so no great place to store one, and while I was skeptical of it in the first place, it has come in quite handy.

If for nothing else, it's a great way to heat up pizza And faster.

By many accounts, air frying is "healthier", but I suppose it is all relative. And a testing of a number of them on America's Test Kitchen said they didn't have one that was bad - which is kind of saying something.

The problem with air frying isn't taste, moistness or ease - it's colour. Or lack of. But with simple spices or a sauce, you can usually help fix that problem as well.  Like I do with pork chops.

And it's as simple as can be.

Ingredients

Pork Chops  - 2 2-3" thick chops (bone or not)
Olive Oil - 1-2 T (tops!)
Salt - 1.4 t
Black Pepper - 1.5 t
Ground Mustard - 1 t
Garlic Powder - 1/4 t
Onion Powder - 1/2 t
Paprika  - 1 T
Brown Sugar  - 2 T

Put all spices in a bowl and whisk together

Pat dry chops.  Put a half tablespoon of oil on each side of each chop. 

Cover post sides of the meat with the spice rub.

Place in the air fryer for 12-14 minutes at 400 F, (or until the chop temp at 140F).  Oh - preheat the air fryer for 5-10 minutes at 400 F

Technically, there is no char on these, the colour is from the spices - mostly the paprika and brown sugar.  But the flavours work well together and the pork chop was moist. 

Winner!  Just like me!

Poorman

First of all, I though we were on movie 22, so..........bummer.  I'm not 100% sure we will make it to 24, which was my new, in my head, goal for the year.

I hitched a ride to the funeral I mentioned the other day with two friends. We discussed movies on the three hour round trip. We touched on favourites from this year - and Parasite ranked at, or near, the top for them for the two.  David & James' rating got me thinking if we should indeed see it.

710 and I had seen a preview at some point, but it certainly did not draw me in. The title itself isn't really enticing, is it?

Parasite is a South Korean film, so not knowing the language, I had to read the subtitles. That's two foreign movies in a month if you're paying attention.  Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 99% rating, by critics, 93% by audience.

Speaking of 'audience'.  We had a doozie of one. I'll start with the three women right behind us. Talking the entire time. My turning around, glaring and inevitably saying, "REALLY?" did nothing to deter two of them. I'll give the third one prop for not participating, but she gets negative two for not telling her companions to shut the fuck up. 

I'll get to the rest of the audience in a bit.

I won't spoil a thing - but the basic premise is:  a family of poverty level would-be grifters (Son, Daughter, Father, Mother) finagle their way into the life and home of a well to do Korean couple and their two children. Hilarity ensues?

It is a question. At least for myself. 710 too.

Much of the audience was laughing at how the family - one by one - gets employed by this couple. It's pretty much at the destruction of other people's lives.......so, 'ha ha'?

You could say 'fuck the rich' if the wealthy family was a horrible group, but they are not. So the infiltration into their lives, and then their house didn't have me laughing out loud the way it did a lot of the audience. It was a sense of unease on my part.

The unease was to come.

The story is on of two parts, yet it is not.  There is another that comes after the successful commandeering of the family and their residence. One that I had no idea would be coming, or what it would entail.  You know - me and reviews, or lack of them. But even reading after the fact, nothing really lets you know what is to be.

That's as much of a spoiler as I'll give you.

The laughter that was in the audience, to a degree, remained, but it is now one coming from nerves.

So, the second story is odd, at best. I would bet a kerjillion dollars that no one in our audience recognized the cyclical partial ending to the script.

The ending, to me, wasn't satisfying. I wasn't as on the side of the poorer family from the get-go. So, while they had a certain comeuppance, it wasn't enough for me. But I'm a vengeful sort, so........

That all said, the film was extremely well made - both written and filmed. I never saw the director's Snowpiercer, as the parts people told me about really made me want to stay away. And at the time, I didn't know it was the same director.

Almost every review says 'brilliant' or 'best of the year'.  I might make the top third of my list, but I will go against David and James, as it's not going to make my favourite of 2019.




2019 Movie Count / Goal: 21 of 15



Song by:  Depeche Mode

My Music Monday

I kind of left this one till last minute.

No worries (?), I just did the shuffle thing until the 10th song showed up.

You're getting a solo Bangle: Susanna Hoffs.

The Bangles are still semi-together, though there are only three of them now. That is unfortunate.

While I like Hoffs, solo work is tough.........for the listener. Having 3-4 songs per disk with the band helped all the members. It was harder to get tired of them. I tried to like her non-band stuff, and here and there is ok, but overall is challenging.

That all said, I do like her song, "All I Want" from her second of three solo disks (though she does have two EPs as well).  Is it possible, I like it more because she didn't co-write it?

a Good Idea at the Time

It's tough to believe you are actually thinking about taking advice from John Dean. 

For those of you too young enough to know the man - you'll want to Gooooooogle his history. Still, the man makes a good point.

While it sounds far-fetched, it really isn't.

I do not believe this impeachment process is going to go "our" way. The repercussions and the reenergization of the BLOTUS base is going to come back and bite us in the ass.

Moscow Mitch has already said he's ready to acquit without even letting the Senate take a vote. That sounds democratic and adhering to Senate rules and not at all blurring the separating the branches of government.  {the sarcasm is implied}.

But then you have that nelly queen chiming in:

These motherfuckers aren't even trying to hide behind being pseduo impartiality. I suppose they could say the same thing about the House democrats, though I don't think things are equal that way. At least the House took weeks to examine evidence.

That said, the Democrats are not ballsy enough to do what Dean suggests. They could milk this, but completely on-going could backfire too should it drag on too long.  But they won't.

This one is slipping through our fingers.




Song by: OK Go

Hike

Not that we don't always take Shep out each weekend, but even more so, we've been doing new parks, new hikes, new trails.  We've been blessed with some sunny days. They might be cold ones, but you can tolerate it better when the sun is out.

Shep? He doesn't care either way, as long as it's not raining.

He is a handsome lad, if I say so myself. 

Nice big shiny nose too. 

We went down to some gorge near Akron. Who knew they had them? 

It's was a challenging trail, that led to a cave. 

Said trail. 

A palate cleanser.  

Sophie is angelic when she sleeps. 

Bored with it all. 

Unfortunately, I already forgot his name, but I loved him. 

When I stopped petting him, he whined. So I kept petting him. 

Heartbreaker. 

I told you the other week that 710 makes a chin rest for Shep in the car. I did it on the drive home last Sunday.  He took right to it, and it almost melted my cold heart. 

That's all I got .........for this week.




Song by: Wendy & Lisa

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 116th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Now it's just myself - that I know of.....as it's the only blog post he's still doing......for now.  

04:55.  Full-ish Moon. 

Shep and I were 4 hours and 43 minutes late for the full moon - which happened at, get this, 12:12 a.m. on 12/12.  It was also 16 degrees out when I took this. 

06:35.  No one in the hallway on the way to my main campus office. 

I know it's early, but this is a hospital. There's usually SOME activity. 

06:40.  No one here either.  Eerie. 

09:05.   Creating a flyer for an educational symposium in March. 

09:55.  Washing of the hands. 

After you know, "using the men's room". 

12:00.  Holiday Party. 

Currently I'm a department of one (me!), but my old department was nice enough to invite me to their holiday lunch. Totally not worth the calories, but it was nice to be included. 

13:30.  Sneaking out early.  It's not like I don't have the time. 

14:10.  Retrieving. 

Last week when I took in my donation for the two children I adopted for the holidays, one of the boxes had a gift I had purchased fro 710. They found it and had been holding it for me. I got it back. 

14:30.  Retail stop. 

That's all you need to know before the holidays. 

16:10.  Getting dry cleaning from the front door. 

18:45.  Dinner Prep Time. 

And it involves the entire family!

21:20.  Bed Time. 

Still in the low temps - and I haven't been feeling great last evening. Hoping I'm not getting anything, but I turned on the electric blankey, just so I wouldn't get into a chilly bed. 

Thus concludes another 12 of 12.

Podcast of the Month

I semi-promise I'll get better about these. In four months, I think I've only done two.  Now three.

Office Ladies is kind of what it sounds like: Pam and Angela, from the U.S. version of the Office, chat about, and break down each and every single episode of the show.

This could be good or horribly bad.

This is a big time commitment. Bigger than the West Wing Weekly one I did a few months ago (which I'm not yet done with 7 seasons of that).  The Office had 9 seasons.  Ugh.

This is good and bad.

There are a 188 episodes. Jenna Fischer (Pam) and Angela Kinsey (Angela) are in every single episode. And apparently, they are best friends - something you'd never have guessed from the show itself.

The good news is: the first 7 seasons are pretty spectacular.  Funny and still painfully embarrassing to watch.

The bad news is: the last two. It's too mish-mashy and as I attest in some earlier post: James Spader is just creeeeeeeeepy.  And Ed Helms as he becomes boss (one of many in those last two years) and the show doesn't know how to make him awkward and funny like the did with Steve Carell.  He's just annoying and awkward - but funny ain't it.

Like the West Wing Weekly - they break down each episode week by week........so you'll have them for 188 weeks.  The idea is to give some insight into the show, the background of what happened with writers, directors and cast - good and bad.

Now, this is called Office Ladies.  "Phyllis" was in all 188 shows, and "Meredith" in 187. Why are they not here?  I doubt they have tons going on, but I could be wrong.

The difference between the West Wing and Office podcasts is the former has an outsider - a person never affiliated with the show. They bring the perspective someone associated with the series might not have. The co-host was only on the show for the last four seasons, so could be a little more objective - or at least question some things.

With the Office Ladies, it's all too familiar with Fischer and Kinsey. Cast mates during all 9 seasons and best friends. Now I know how 710 feels when he's with my bestest friends: he knows all the players and kind of the stories, but we can talk in shorthand and leave folks out of the actual joke.

The blather on and on, and not always about the episode, as they stray off-topic, because you know...................they're girls.

Oh - calm down...........it was a joke ?

So, they're still on the first few episodes, so maybe they're still finding their stride. Maybe it will tighten up.

Should it not, then I won't listen to all entries of this podcast. I'll just have to wait for certain episodes:

• Diversity Day (already out) 
• Gay Witch Hunt
• the Job
• Fun Run
• the Dinner Party from Hell
• Promos
• Finale

There are probably others to which I'd like to listen - most anything with Todd Packer. For some of these, I might be waiting a long time!



I'll just leave you with a scene starring William M Buttlicker.

All Things Must Pass

Dr. Spo had a post regarding David C. over at Facing Traffic, and the ending of his life this last Friday.

This was oddly upsetting for me, mostly because I had never actually met David.

David and I were linked - blog-wise - when he was writing Another Mile Marker. It's not linked here, as that blog was removed years ago.

We kind of lost touch when he shut down that blog, and it took me a long time to figure out he started a new one - Facing Traffic (though he stopped that writing that almost two years ago).

David was a blogger whom I wanted to meet, but it never happened. We had made attempts both in Columbus and Pittsburgh, but our schedules never quite met up, or they changed last minute. I would have very much liked to have made that connection.

I actively participated in some of his blog questions / posts. The only one I can find is here.

David was a trades guy, I guess. Bartender. Construction. Landscaper. Creative in work and writing. Our written interactions made him seem very amiable. He's someone I think I would have really liked in real life.

I'm not speaking out of school when I say that he suffered from bipolar depression. He references it in his last Facebook post (don't bother searching it out, you won't be able to see the actual post).

David's final post on FB, and perhaps in life, were unsurprisingly well crafted. I suppose the combo of skill and the medium add to my unsettledness. That and he either posted it before committing suicide or had it scheduled to publish after it happened. He talks about it in the past tense - another unsettling aspect.

Perhaps it should not surprise me that people use social media to convey choosing to end their life - they do it for every little thing. But it did.

In a way, I commend him for being up front about his mental and physical pain. Due to those  circumstance, he did not have the financial means to seek or get adequate physical or mental health care.  ....and then, perhaps that is what is also unsettling me.

While I might have him as a victim to the way the U.S. repeatedly throws up barriers to any kind of treatments, David did not - or at least seem to - take on the role of victim. His writing was very specific and clear - and that upsets me too. All very sound-minded, yet he had logically gotten to this point, one of no return.

2019 has been a harsh year when it comes to death. David's was the second acquaintance I had who committed suicide. Of course, there was my mother's death, and I will be attending a funeral this week for the mother of a close friend of mine.

I won't begin to pretend I understand David's decision, but I don't have to. I am sorry he had, or felt he had, no options. I feel for his friends and family. He knows the pain that would be left behind, but in his writing, he was very comfortable with death.

Most of all, I hope he is at peace.



Song by: George Harrison

When Will I Be Loved?

There are tons of reasons to love Linda Ronstadt.

The music - obiv.

Even if you weren't a fan of one of her genres, she did pretty well commercially, if not critically, at most of them.

To listen to - or read - her, it was only about the music. Not the fame, not the money, not the awards.

She has written, she gave away her Grammy awards. The Presidential Medal of Freedom she received by Barack Obama is under one of her beds somewhere. Not only did she not attend her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - she didn't even watch it, live or after the fact.

In 2004, during the Bush administration, she pulled a Natalie Maines, while giving a concert in Vegas. She promoted Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and allegedly half the audience walked out.  Mind you it was during the encore, so they were probably putting on their jackets anyways. But after her show, she was told to check out immediately and escorted out of the hotel - and then banned for life......oooooooooh.

If you read or listen to Mr. Ronstadt speak, she has always been very vocal about just about any social or political stance. Even when she had lots to lose, she gave zero fucks about what she said and where. In her movie and the interviews that accompany that - she is very vocal about our current immigration policy, including the caging of children.

This is a woman who has Mexican heritage and grew up on the border of Arizona and Mexico.

I stumped me - and yet didn't - when she agreed to attend the Kennedy Center for the Arts, where she is being recognized. She claims she wanted to meet Big Bird, as Sesame Street is also being honored.

I mean, BLOTUS hasn't attended one of these, nor does anyone think he would, as you know - arts. And while it's a wide brushstroke - artists can tend to be liberal.

STILL, you think that the Secretary Department might - just might! - vet who they invite to a dinner the night before the honors. But Ms. Ronstadt was invited and went. It doesn't take a Mensa member to figure out where this is going - yet, somehow Mike Pompeo had as much sight as Louis Braille.

Sunday morning, I woke up to see Linda Ronstadt trending on Twitter.  That's usually never a good thing.  But it was like xmas had come early for soooooo many people.  Except as it turns out, Mike Pompeo.

You might be saying, "Oh no she di-in't", but yes, she did. 

Now, I was skeptical at first, as you know......Twitter. And it took a while to confirm that it did indeed happen. The tweet made it sound real time, but it wasn't quite that. 

Pompeo did lament when would he be loved, but it was in an introduction to her. She waited until she had center stage and a microphone. 

There are various reports on the amount of applause she did or didn't get. One report said little, one said half the room, one said it was a slow build, but most people clapped and gave her a standing ovation. I'm going with the one in the middle. 

Unlike Maines and the Dixie Chicks - Ronstadt has nothing to lose. She's not making records. She cannot tour. What are the MAGAs gonna fucking do - stop sending checks to the Michael J Fox Foundation? 

The joke is: she wouldn't care if she did have something to lose. It's about some time someone said it publicly.  I wish she had been harsher, because honestly, she could have devastated him. But I'll take what I can get. 

Had I not already owned so much of her catalog, I would be on iTunes right now, downloading everything she made. 



Song by: Linda Ronstadt

My Music Monday

I know nothing about One Direction, other than they were a UK boy band - and all the pre-teen and tween girls LOVED them, one of my nieces being one of them.

Gun to my head, I couldn't name or identify a song of theirs.

I will totally admit to not liking them just based on the 'boy band' thing, where merch and style were more important than music. That is kind of unfair, granted, as I had never knowing heard a note of their songs.

And there has been a flurry of activity from this former band - Harry Styles was on SNL in the last few weeks, and according to Billboard, two others have (or are) releasing albums soon. One of them being today's pick.

I know, right!?!

Mind you, I had satellite radio on (I know, right?) in the car earlier this week (710 usually switches to XM instead of my iPhone liberry, and I left it on).  A semi-interesting song came on called "Nic to Meet Ya", and only after looking it up later found out Niall Horan (I'll assume his real name is Neil and he had one too many study halls doodling his new name) was the artist and was a member of One Direction.

It actually doesn't suck.

There are parts that could be arranged a little differently (i.e. better, IMHO) but the song works. He also not hard on the eyes, so I guess I get what 11 yo Missy was probably seeing in him.

I don't know I'd go out and search his other music, but this one for a passing fancy, is not bad.

Baby, I'm a Star

Song by: Prince & the Revolution

Warmth of the Sun

The weather finally got chillier this last week or so. It has not stopped hikes and dog parks. It never does.

Big yawn.  Not a great one of me, but it is of him. 

Sophie will always find a patch of sun. 

Nature hike. 

Shep surveying from high up. 

Urban hike the next day. Steel mills right behind Mr. Shep. 

I love Henry. I love being greeted by him and giving him my attention. 

I don't really want a Golden, but if I did, he'd be THE one. 

Family time. 

She looks absolutely skinny behind an ottoman. 

I believe we have seen him / her before - but I'll show them every single time. 

Song by: the Beach Boys

Ad of the Month

More like........Ad of the Year !!!!


Thank you, Mr. Ricky Martin.

Rules of Travel

It's been like two weeks. I think it time I wrap up my vacation posts. This is the last one, I swear.

We opted for a non-scenic route back to the city. Hello I-101.  Actually, being the geeks we are, we headed first to Cupertino. Blobby and 710 wanted to see Apple's new-ish circular building.  So, we find it (ugly campus btw), and pull into the visitor center. On the roof of the center (which is really just a big ass Apple Store) has a deck that overlooks the new building.

But there's a guy in the lot who axes us if we are there for 'the event'. Clearly not. He tells us the building is closed. But we park anyways and see what is what - which was sort of, kind of, just walking into the building anyways........and maybe getting on the elevator......with a security guard (who never looked down to see we didn't have Apple employee ID badges).....and up on to the roof.

Alas, this is where this part of the tale ends. A very nice lady, who clearly knows every one of the 141,583 Apple employees, immediately comes up to us and says, "ohhhh, sorry........the center is closed today.....".  So off we went.   ........down the street to Gooooooogle.

A slightly nicer campus with drab buildings. And a LOT of campers parked everywhere. Clearly, the Googlers (yes, that the employee name) live in them to avoid paying rent that they can't afford.

I may - or may not - have hopped on a Google bike and rode around.

Then it was up the highway, over The bridge......

.....and off to Muir Woods.

I went eons ago with my friend Jon. It's really a beautiful place - almost a religious experience.

I don't care what Ben Wyatt said on Parks and Rec, this isn't Endor. That was up in the Redwoods, which is closer to the Oregon border.  I'd show more pictures, but as it turns out, there is no way to shoot the scale of this place. Things are far too high and sometimes narrow to get a grasp of how it is.

We hiked some harder trails and barely passed anyone. The ones lower down, had plenty, but not tons, of folks.  710 was just in awe. This totally made his trip.

....well, that and........a night time trip to Twin Peaks.

710 loves loves loves cities and cityscapes, so, it only made sense to trek up there before heading to the airport for our red-eye home.

We really milked it all till the last minute.

I won't belabor the rest of the trip, which was just airport fuck-up-erry.


.....and we got through the trip without a disagreement. That's not nothing, when you spend 24/7 with me. I'm kind of frustrating.     ......no no.......it's true.


So we can drop the curtain on this trip.  You might see a few other pics in my Year in Pictures post, which will be coming up in a few weeks.



Song by: Rosanne Cash

Give

'Tis the season et al.

To quote Pee-Wee's Christmas Special: "Christmas is the time we should be thinking of others....".

Actually, that time is always, but as we know, that's not always the case. If we truly thought of others year-round, there'd be a lot less people hungry or unclothed year-round. Be it as it may, I assume that charity picks up more around the holidays.

I'm not judging anyone, as it can be the case with myself. I mean, you won't see me drop a dime in the Salvation Army kettle, but that has more to do with their politics regarding anti-LGBTQ things.

Yearly - not at the holidays - we give a donation to a few organizations, be it food banks, our LGBT Center, an animal shelter, and a local organization that deals with at risk children.  For the last few years, the latter organization has been sending me information on getting these kids presents for the holidays.

I've always wanted to, and had never gone through with it. It is not for lack of want for which I have failed. It's the overwhelming nature of the prospect.

At this smallish org, there were 473 boys submitting a wish list and 375 girl !! The question is never about getting them something, it becomes how do you choose which one?  I totally shut down when reading list after list. There is no good way to make a selection, I get overwhelmed and paralyzed.

This year, the link came and I started the shut-down process after an hour of perusing lists. In that hour, I barely scratched the surface of the just the boys lists.  So I sent a text message to the organization's executive director in the best way to select.

This was possibly counterproductive.

Jeffrey told me he picks the ones who needs hats, boots and gloves. That was heartbreaking to me.

And while I get it is a basic need, I hope that is some of what I'm providing for in my annual give. This is a time for celebration for them to get something they could never get any other ways. While gloves probably are practical, they don't scream 'joy'.  I did ask Jeff if all kids got something, or did certain ones go without. He assured me with their corporate sponsors, no kid would go without 'something'. I felt a tad bit better.

With my initial look at the list and the follow-up ones, I kept happening upon two boys. Both the same age, both with the same last initial (they only give first name and initial of last name), both asking for the exact same thing. Going by their first names, I am 99.7% sure they are six year old twins. Knowing I couldn't buy for one and not for the other, I selected them both.

As both wanted the same item, I did break with that. No reason to have two of the same gift, when they could share two separate gifts. I hope I didn't fuck that part up.

There was a suggested price point, one I went above. The known gift came in varieties, so I got the best version. So when I selected a second gift, I kept it around the same price point.  I dropped them off yesterday - which happened to be National Giving Tuesday. The date was purely a coincidence.

So yesterday truly was Giving Tuesday for us.  I dropped off the gifts and made a special contribution to the animal rescue place (which doubled any amount given that day). And we wrote a special check for the Center (the gay one) as well.

While the presents in the pic don't look like a lot, Jeff showed me the big room that is filling up with donations.

While there, I took a pic of me with one of my great-grandfather and sent it to the cousins.

Of course, then, I had to explain to the woman at the desk why I was snapping the pic. She was fascinated that I was related - and then I had to explain the picture next to him was my uncle. She was hoping I knew the third guy, Mr. Saltzman, but alas, I know some from that name, but not that guy.

Anyhoo.....I'm not patting myself on the back publicly here about what we have done or do. I do think it's important to bring forth recognition to help out the less fortunate. One can't give to every organization or every cause they want - but it is important to give back or pay forward.

I'm happily not a member of the GOP who probably wouldn't dare give to the social organizations we do. Lord know this administration will take away what they can. If I could afford to fund every needy child's lunch program, I would in a heartbeat.  But I do what I can - and hopefully you do what you can.

Whatever little you give, is still more than they have.



Song by: Tori Amos

Hot Knife

We actually saw Knives Out last Friday. Yeah - I'm just getting around to it now, but that's mostly due to pre-programmed posts.

Of course we were going to see it, I mean, look to your left.

Toni Collette was one of the two reasons I wanted to see it. Jamie Lee Curtis was the second. I mean, JLC just isn't in much that isn't a re-re-reboot of Halloween. Collette, is well, Collette. Never used enough on film.

The previews have been running for months, and they were well edited, so it looked like it would be great.

Turns out, Knives Out wasn't great. Only good. Well........good-ish.

The cast, save one, is great. Daniel Craig is totally miscast. ....and remember, this cast that has Don Johnson in it, and even he's better than Craig.

Let me rephrase: I don't know what compelled the writer / director (Rian Johnson - who did the last, and one of the better, Star Wars movie) the idea to give Craig's character a southern accent. Having him from the south is not crucial to the character or storyline, so why do it?

If you've ever seen the Office (US version), where Michael Scott and team play a murder mystery game and Michael plays a sheriff from Savannah?  Craig's accent is that put on - and totally distracting. Horribly so.

In ways, Knives Out is clever, but not enough so.

There are one or two "plot" holes that I questioned from the word 'go'. The main one being: how / why would local authorities allow a private detective (Craig) to be part of, let alone lead, a murder investigation?

None of the cast are used enough. Craig and Ana de Armas (who is in almost every single scene) are the stars. The casting is well done (I love Michael Shannon, and Chris Evans is good and easy on the eyes), but I think they could have been utilized more......and better. So much potential.

The movie starts strong with the cast, and then they are kind of sidelined. More inclusion of their stories, assumptions and lies could have played into the mystery way more than it did.

The current administration play a not so underlying storyline in the movie as well.

BLOTUS is never mentioned, but alt-right is, as are cages, immigrations policies and red hats. de Armas is a nurse to Christopher Plummer's character, who according to the family is from Ecuador, Brazil or Honduras. They don't know - nor care. Not really. And then not at all, once they try to vilify her.  Deportation is suggested.

It was an engaging two hours (and it's not a 96% either, Rotten Tomatoes! - but Metacritic's 82% is closer to the mark), but make no mistake: it's no Murder by Death. Now that was a murder mystery movie that's hard to beat.


2019 Movie Count / Goal: 20 of 15




Song by: Fiona Apple 

My Music Monday

No theme this month. Just random shit.

While in San Francisco, some restaurant had the HooDoo Gurus playing.  I can honestly say, I've never heard them playing in any establishment that wasn't a campus record store.

The band, while not super famous by any means, has been around since the early 80s - obviously still at least squeaking out a living almost 40 years later. I suppose it's too late for them to get office jobs anywhere - all that lack of experience and such.

Since it was "Come Anytime" we heard in San Francisco, it's the song you're getting today.

Just Another Day

So.......since the first time since 2000, scientists have found a new strain of HIV.

That's a bummer.

As we sit here on the 31st World AIDS Day, it should be noted that current treatments already in existence cover this new strain. The bad news is, identifying the new strain is more complex, making detection harder and treatment, well.........non-existent should the carrier be unable to know it even exists.

Sooo...........that's a setback.

In a way I'm not completely surprised. Who knows how the virus might try to work it's way around barriers such as Truvada.  Since PrEP isn't a cure, it's not necessarily a full deterrent to HIV. I hail the use of PrEP, but it can be a false sense of security - as any infectious disease doc or free clinic will tell you, with the rise of Chlamydia, Syphilis, and Gonorrhea. Viruses have a way of morphing all the time, so it's not impossible for HIV to have done the same.

Of course, my theory is just that. I'm not an epidemiologist.

But 31 years in on World AIDS Day. Add to that another seven years when GRID (then AIDS) was detected in the U.S.  We've come a long way in terms of identification, treatment, education and treating stigma. With or without a new strain, there is still more work to be done - on all those fronts.



Song by: John Mellencamp