1,020 thoughts on “Day Out

  1. Pika, Pika, Pikachuuuuuuu!

    Firsties!!!

    Detective Pikachu was funny, sweet, and full of pokemon! Everyone should have a pokemon buddy!!! Wht a cute movie. Ryan Reynolds can do no wrong. (Although, I never saw Green Latern)

  2. I’ve always disliked golf games since the Leaderboard days.

    So you can knock me over with a feather now I discovered Golf Blitz (available on iOS and Android). Arcade Multiplayer 2D golf game, give it a go!

  3. And, no school for the kids today. Most area school districts have canceled classes due to the heavy rain and flooding going on. Thankfully, we’re still high and dry.

    • :muah:

      What a lovely day it was today, thanks to my favorite man – Mr. Jack Mangan! And to my spunky little fast walker and fast talker – Holly!

  4. I know, as husband and wife, we are suppose to share everything, but I would have been happier if hubby didn’t share his cold with me

  5. Halls have little motivational saying on their lozenges. Personally, the last thing I want to see when I have a cold is “you can do it and you know it”
    *channeling my inner Van*

  6. As our jaws drop every time a record is broken please never forget the true all time list…as ajusted for inflation
    1 Gone with the Wind $1,822,598,200
    2 Star Wars $1,604,857,600
    3 The Sound of Music $1,283,791,309
    4 E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial $1,278,107,600
    5 Titanic $1,221,303,800
    6 The Ten Commandments $1,180,310,000
    7 Jaws $1,153,990,200
    8 Doctor Zhivago $1,118,460,500
    9 The Exorcist $996,498,500
    10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dis. $982,090,000
    11 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $974,117,00

    • That is almost exactly my feelings. I have no problems with Dani turning evil, but considering how long GOT spent on other minor character’s (I’m looking at you King Robert), it is a bit jarring to go full storm of Death, after only so recently defending Winterfell. Pacing and a bit of sloppiness are a bit disappointing for these last few seasons, but the cinematography has been epic. Plus there have been a handful of scenes that are among my favorites of the series. I still find it entertaining.

    • While the compressed schedule these last two seasons has made things feel more rushed, and the long break from season 7 dulled a lot of memories, I’ve seen a number of takes on this episode that callout that Daenary’s instincts have always been toward destruction and it has taken the combined efforts of her advisers over the years to resist them.

      Now, with all of them dead, traitorous, or stupid (looking at you know nothing, Jon Snow) she’s been unleashed to be what she has always been trying to become.

      Though, as a general continuity problem, I would be want to argue that will all the traipsing back and forth along the length of the seven kingdoms, it should be many months between the Battle of Winterfell and the Burning of King’s Landing. But, if that were true, Cercei should have been a lot closer to giving birth than she appeared in this episode. The passage of time on this show has definitely been problematic for a while now.

  7. Ah man … Tim Conway.

    That man brought my family and I so much joy when I was growing up. My father didn’t watch much TV but I can remember watching the Carol Burnett show with him and Tim Conway would leave my dad in tears.

    • Sad news.

      Yeah, it’s easy to forget what a huge deal he was in the 70s. I recall being starstruck by the elementary school janitor because he was Mr. Conway.

      I’m sure the Apple Dumpling Gang are in mourning today. RIP

    • One of the commenters suggested they adapt the original Knights of the Old Republic game story into a movie.

      That would be utterly fantastic. Revan and Bastilla given a proper movie adaption. for D&D, it would have the advantage of the story pretty much laid out for them to follow.

    • Knights could be cool. Wasn’t there a rumor that one of the television shows would be in that era? Don’t know.
      Much like the video game “Tron 2.0” I’ve found the Jedi Knight games and X-Wing / Tie Fighter games with characters and plot structures better than many of the movie sequels. Star Wars is such a rich world, it has a lot of avenues to be explored with characters other than the known ones.

  8. It’s a trainwreck…

    “Another especially weird angle here is that San Jose has been the beneficiary of the biggest questionable calls throughout this postseason, from a phantom major penalty call on Vegas’s Cody Eakin, to an extremely bullshit offside call on Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, to this. There’s no conspiracy—why on earth would there be one, and for the Sharks?—but try telling that to a team that ends up on the wrong side of the latest bad call.”

    https://deadspin.com/the-blues-got-screwed-by-yet-another-officiating-disast-1834807697

      • It’s not because only if you literally threw the puck into the goal could a hand pass be reviewable. That’s what the NHL says. Here’s a great quote from the article pertaining to the “offside” goal review that went against the Avs …

        “This is an unsatisfying explanation given that, just one week ago, the War Room in Toronto was allowed to review and overturn a goal because of something that had absolutely zero to do with the actual play. Meier’s, on the other hand, was a damned secondary assist.”

        There’s gotta be consistency

  9. So there’s a gang going through the area here systematically shoplifting clothing in size order. The police believe they are still at large.

  10. I talked to Brian Tatler of Diamond Head this morning! Super nice British guy. Did not remind me of Van this time.

    In a strange, fun unplanned turn of events, I ran a quick errand afterwards, and Metallica’s “Am I Evil?” came on my playlist.

  11. Just got through the first two episodes of Chernobyl. Superb drama, but brutally depressing to watch it all unfold from the perspective of history.

        • lol. True, I’m just waiting for Rose to let Jack fall into the core and, years later, the diamond is thrown in as well. 😉

          I’m more interested in the book, but I have to admit the series has intrigued me.

  12. RE: Chernobyl

    My Dad was taking the dog out and got caught in the rain, we later learned the fallout from Chernobyl had hit the UK that day and the rain had made the contamination worse.

  13. I have missed you beautiful people. I think I had to take a beat after losing my mom in several facets of my life. The beat ended up lasting 2.5 years in this case!

    I’m not sure how much I’ll be around, but felt compelled to drop in today! Loved reading the GoT discussion above.

    Anybody here watch The 100?

  14. ‘What Remains of Edith Finch’ was one of the ‘free’ games on PS plus this month.

    I’m not a great fan of walking simulator type games (although this does mix it up with some gameplay elements) but I found this one to be great. So good I had to play through it twice in case I missed something.

      • I assume more for the hair than the nose. qqq“““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`

        This last bit was bab’1s contributio`n““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`

  15. The niece watched the baby for us to see John Wick 3. The least of the trilogy, but still a pretty great action flick. Some fun casting choices – – and one meh one.

  16. I just bought 4 tix for two nites of Electric Six shows and spent less than I did for 1 ticket to Ghost. WTF. THIS is why I usually skip big well known shows in favor of those smaller bands and smaller venues that make me happy

    • I don’t have HBO, so if I want to watch live I go over to a friend’s house. His wife is a comically stereotypical person that yells at the screen throughout any show. She was absolutely flipping out upset at the ending. I’m surprised I even heard enough of the dialogue to know what happened. However, I am in agreement with you that I thought it was pretty solid. Looking forward to some spoileriffic discussion. Probably wait another day or two to let others catch up.

    • BTW. I don’t think there is a way to end a series like that without pissing people off. No matter how it ends, there will always be a camp that’s pissed off. How is it that people liked this show for so may years because they couldn’t predict where things were going, and they get mad at the ending because it wasn’t exactly as they predicted.

  17. Temp went up to the mid 80’s … and our HVAC system died.

    Looks like a week before anyone can give us a new unit install.

    Should hit 90°F by mid week
    Sweet.

    Still waiting for the cost bids to come in.

  18. For having a day off, I seem to be doing an awful lot of work. Why can’t you Americans take the same time off as us? Then I wouldn’t be getting phone calls from US vendors.

  19. Crap joke for the day:

    A couple, both age 78, went to the office of a sexual therapist. The doctor asked:
    – what can I do for you?
    The man said:
    – will you see us having sex?
    The doctor looked puzzled but agreed
    When the couple ended, the doctor said:
    – there’s nothing wrong with how you have sex. – and charged them 50 €.
    This happened several weeks in a row The couple was going to an appointment, had sex without problems, paid the doctor, then leave.
    One day the doctor asked:
    – exactly what are you trying to find out?
    – we’re not trying to find anything, – he answered.
    – she’s married and we can’t go to her house. I’m married and we can’t go to my house. Holiday Inn $90. The Hilton Cobra $108 . We do it here for $50 and I still get $43 back from Medicare.

  20. Crap joke for the day:

    Students in an advanced Biology class were taking their mid-term exam. The last question was, ‘Name seven advantages of Mother’s Milk’.

    The question was worth 70 points or none at all. One student, in particular, was hard put to think of seven advantages.

    However, he wrote:

    1) It is perfect formula for the child.
    2) It provides immunity against several diseases.
    3) It is always the right temperature.
    4) It is inexpensive.
    5) It bonds the child to mother, and vice versa.
    6) It is always available as needed.

    And then the student was stuck.

    Finally, in desperation, just before the bell rang indicating the end of the test, he wrote:

    7) It comes in two attractive containers and it’s high enough off the ground where the cat can’t get it.

    He got an A+.

  21. They could have least have ended GOT with ‘Spring is coming’

    I guess the green plant spotted in the icy wilderness is a omen for Spring.

      • Never. Not with Martin. His addressing whether the ending of the book and show will be the same was literally ” yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes.” Jackass.

  22. For those following the Mike Alancourt saga (the crazy-bearded dancing guy who was on Ellen and in the Post Malone video), he now has 116+ Instagram followers and has a commemorative glass candle.

      • As mentioned on FB, the only real downer for me was Will Smith’s singing voice, it sounded much less booming that Robin Williams.

  23. This week I discovered my new router is more leaky than a sieve. Even though it’s a big make it’s unlikely to get fixed and it can’t be flashed with Open source firmware.

    So I’m tempted to get on the WiFi mesh bandwagon, my house ain’t that big, so two units should be more than sufficient, any recommendations?

    Google Wifi is a bit out of my price range.

  24. So I finished Nikki Sixx’s book last night. Not the “The Dirt” that was by someone else about the band – – the book I read was “The Heroin Diaries.” Jeeesh, he was an awful person. All 4 of them were, to some extent.
    I don’t listen to his radio show now, so I’m not sure if he’s grown up to be likable. I didn’t quite get the impression that he realizes setting random hotel room doors on fire was never hilarious.

    I think the point was to show exactly how bad things got while he was messed up, published with the intent of helping others who are struggling, and dissuading those who see some kind of glamor or allure in drugs. . . . If he helps some people in that way, then bravo.

    For me, I loved the first two Motley Crue albums, but this does not make me more of a fan of their overall careers. If anything, it’s has the opposite effect.

    Also: Nikki Sixx is 60 years old.

    • Oddly from the bits I’ve heard of his show, he’s pretty thoughtful and eloquent. Whether that’s actually him now and not just a persona I can’t say.

      Also.. how old does that make Mick Mars!?!??!

      • I’d have liked him to disown his shittiest hurtful antics from the old days, but maybe the point of the book was to just say, “This is what happened when I was an addict.” No judginess about his bad choices or self-destruction. . . I just cringe at the stories of innocent people he abused/terrified/used.
        It was super ballsy to share these awful stories with the world, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

        Also – – he was involved with Vanity for awhile. She was/is a crazy person.

  25. LOL we’re now at the point where the headlines read “Yes, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Box Office Was Massive, But It Fell Short of Expectations” (Indiewire)

    Really? We’re going that route?

  26. So watched the season finale of Barry, enjoyed it (both seasons as well).

    Definitely one to try in my view, it’s in HBO.

  27. One other interesting note: Nikki Sixx says in his book that:
    -“Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits was inspired by Mark Knopfler seeing some blue-collar guys reacting to a Motley Crue video.
    -Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like a Lady” was written about Vince Neil.
    -Bruce Dickinson’s “Tattooed Millionaire” was written about Nikki Sixx.

  28. Finished S1 of the Leftovers. I didn’t know going in that it was based on a Tom Perrotta book, but it has his fingerprints all over it.

    Super fucking gloomy throughout, but I’m curious to learn the mysteries. If this show pulls a Lost. . . . .

    • Just stop now then. You get some answers but you are only told about the big one and can’t be sure if the person is lying.

      • That’s appreciated – – but I’m actually good to go on to the next season. My TV companion is less so. . . I don’t expect or need to learn the major “why” of the whole series.

        My objection to Lost wasn’t that they left some things a mystery, it was how sloppy they were in the handling of those mysteries.

    • It wasn’t Losts fault necessarily. The writers had the story for a tight 5 season run and the network demanded they string 8 seasons out of it once it got popular, hense the sloppy sloppy stuff in the mid bits. Lost wasn’t a perfect show by any means but fsmbif it wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had watching and discussing a show.

      • Yes, I enjoyed the entire ride for Lost. All of the mysteries were a blast. I single out Lost because of those abandoned loose threads that can be pinned to Lindelof.

        The best example of a show where the writers misplaced their marbles bananas is BSG.

    • I admit I didn’t watch the whole vid (TL;DW?), but it was interesting, for sure.

      It brings me back to my first watches, which I wore with pride throughout my middle school years. I know that watches have never gone away for some, but I wonder if they’ll make a vinyl-type retro comeback.

    • The street sucks. I think the vast majority have been timely, extremely current, and spot on. And of course the “street” hates it. It’s very pro-black, pro-woman, and anti-Trump.

      I respect that you don’t like it Van, but I’m hopeful that folks give it a thoughtful look before dismissing it.

  29. After 10 days in 90+ degree heat we gave n yesterday and bought a window AC unit.
    It keeps one room cool and the humidity down in the whole house. It’s tolerable.

    A “1st world problem” but it is what I am conditioned to. I don’t know how you live in the south without AC.

    Our new central system should be installed June 10th.

  30. Tonight’s cult classic was ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’, i’m Not a great fan of film with children but this was rather wonderful.

  31. Not taking hubby’s car in to get a chip fixed. Now I have to make an appointment to replace the entire windshield. *sigh*

    Hubby commuting in to the city everyday has sure been hard on our car budget. They really need to sweep the highway into Calgary.

  32. What is happening in America’s Heartland over the last couple of weeks?!?!

    Man, tornado, tornado, tornado! And BIG ones.

  33. Morning Pan
    Got a lot more done this morning than I expected. I even cleaned my desk. Don’t know how long that will last but still…

  34. So, the guy is (finally) here to fix our dishwasher. I was talking about an event I’m attending inJuly for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing

    OMG! He’s one of those conspiracy theorists who doesn’t believe the moon landing actually happened. I changed the subject rather quickly at this point

    • Yeah, I don’t want a game to be a second job.

      I get that some people love the long-term story arcs of MMORPGs and quest games.

  35. Morning Pan
    It’s already looking to be a very warm day. I think I’ll go for a walk before the weather gets too hot.

  36. Yesterday I spent a butt load of time with the cable company making changes to our account. This morning, in an apparently unrelated reason, the cable went out to our living room tv. I spent an hour talking with Shaw and they have no idea why the cable box quit. I can now only watch tv in the bedroom for the foreseeable future until they can figure out what is wrong. *sigh*

  37. Well, in trying to fix the one cable line, they managed to bring down tv throughout the whole house. I should Have everything fixed in 24 to 48 hours *sigh*

  38. I’m seriously considering ditching fibre broadband and getting broadband delivered via 4G. Save a tenner a month but no idea how well it would work.

    • We’re considering getting rid of DirecTV and going completely internet based. As it is, the majority of television watching we do is Netflix/Amazon and a handful of shows we DVR. But most of the shows we record could be had over the air. Could save more than a tenner.

    • I highly recommend the documentary “Youre Gonna Miss Me”. What a heartbreaking life Roky led, tho I’m not sure he really understood that he did. What a talent.

    • How great is that. . . This version would never be the monster hit that you hear in the supermarket now, but it’s still excellent. A bit unpolished, sure, but all of its charm is there.

      • I dig it a lot. Little lost gems like this really…as Mike Mennennenenen enwnengeh would say…”really trip my trigger”

  39. We watched the “International Assassin” episode of The Leftovers S2 last night, which is excellent, but completely bonkers.

    More symbolism than Prince’s former name.

  40. Ok Pan. It’s that time.
    Today’s movie is Malicious
    The Netflix elevator pitch: it was a gift they should never have opened. Little did they know, unlocking this box would unleash a murderer.

    As I’m sure you figured out, today’s PBP will be upside down and backwards, because it’s just that kind of a day

  41. Ok, enough of that silliness
    Even though it was cliche, I was ok with this movie. Although, the “twist” at the end was about as stupid as you could get

  42. We saw two really enjoyable movies this weekend:

    1) Always Be My Maybe – 4 nipples out of 5. Keanu Reeves playing himself was outstanding in this one
    2) The Deadwood Movie – 5 out of 5 nipples. Wonderful. Shakespearean. I will watch it again.

  43. Just finished Chernobyl on HBO. Wow!

    Absolutely maximum recommendation. And the accompanying podcast adds even more.

  44. It might not be Zapcon , but Game On 2.0 exhibition is the closest i’m Going to get.

    After a pleasant few hours play various machines I conclude:

    I’m still crap at Pinball

    Tempest 2000 and Gauntlet still rock

    I finally got to play Dragon’s Lair 2.

    • San Francisco is my favorite city. . . . but everything great about the culture there has been or is being swallowed up by big money.

      SF isn’t the only place where this kind of thing is happening, btw.

  45. Crap joke for the day:

    Three friends – two straight guys and a gay guy – and their significant others were on a cruise. A tidal wave came up and swamped the ship; they all drowned.They each had to come before St. Peter to be admitted into heaven.First came one of the straight guys and his wife.St. Peter shook his head sadly.”I can’t let you in. You loved money too much.You loved it so much, you even married a woman named Penny.”Then came the second straight guy.”Sorry, can’t let you in, either.” said St. Peter. “You loved food too much. You loved to eat so much, you even married a woman named Candy!”The gay guy turned to his boyfriend and whispered nervously…”It’s not looking good for us Dick.”

  46. Magnificent Mangan Marvel Movie Night Feature was Iron Man 2. Not as bad as I remember, but still pretty poor. A few decent and important scenes, but overall, I have zero desire to rewatch.

    • Teresa and I decided to re-watch all the Marvel movies in order of their release. So far we’ve watched The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Iron Man 2 and Captain America.

      The Incredible Hulk: I find myself liking this one less on the second watch. While I’m a big fan of Norton, I think he was miscast for this part. This is my least favorite of the Marvel films.

      Iron Man: Great as always, no change in opinion.

      Thor: Though uneven, I like this one more than the other times I’ve watched. It is a fun film.

      Iron Man 2: Better than I remember. Again I really like Sam Rockwell as an actor, but his take on Hammer is too much of a caricature. Mickey Rourke is too wooden. But there are a lot of fun scenes that shouldn’t be missed.

      Captain America: Loved it as much as the first time. I love the sepia tones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark feel. There is good character development of Steve Rogers. Overall the film balances the comic book tropes with convincing drama that feels fun.

      Avengers 1 is up next. I’ve probably watched it more than any of the others.

      • We’re kinda doing the same thing, though we’re loosely following release order.

        We have not done Norton Hulk yet; There was some discussion about whether or not we could skip it. I think the only essential piece of that movie is the post-credits scene.

        • There’s some value in the Stan Lee scene drinking a Hulk blood tainted soda. It is also worth noting the presence of General Ross, who also appears in two other Marvel films. In the comics Ross eventually becomes “Red Hulk”, but there is no hint of this during the franchise.

      • 1. I know it’s not an “official MCU” film. and…
        2. I know I’m in the vast minority.

        But, I actually really liked the Ang Lee (2003) Hulk Movie. The special effects were not the best, but I grew up on 80’s crappy horror special effect and those didn’t phase me. I really dug the split panel comic-style presentation of the whole thing.

  47. Saw “Elton” last night.
    Kind of meh.

    While I appreciated getting to learn his backstory and the musical numbers were a lark … over-all, I did not find the movie to be enjoyable. Unlike “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was fun whilst still portraying a tragic characture.

  48. Well the HVAC folks are here bright and early.
    Perhaps I will have cool, low(er) humidity air in my house by this afternoon.

  49. We watched When They See Us yesterday. So incredible, impactful. We were left wondering why the prosecutor and the police involved are not in prison right now.

  50. Desert Pixie and I are still working through the final season of The Leftovers. I still intend to watch Deadwood, CYE, Chernobyl – – and they have Watchmen (a maybe) and Golden Compass coming. . . Dammit, their Game of Thrones snare worked on us.

  51. Leftovers S3E3 led to an interesting conversation about why one character who’d really had horrible things happen to her was less sympathetic than another.

    We’re 5 eps from being done, so we’ll pose the question to Van and anyone else who’s watched after we do the finale.

    • The Leftovers is a fine series, just know that any reasons that Van has for liking it are the opposite of the correct ones. 😉

      • I feel like less of a true Pannite when I say that The Leftovers is just okay.

        I think a lot of it is being edgy just to be edgy.
        I feel like you have to know a fair amount of scripture to understand most of the undertones and the easter eggs in the show.

        I think a lot of these episodes are whack.

        I love the acting.

        Most of these characters are assholes.

        I love me some Justin Theroux

        Let’s see how it all ends. More lions, perhaps?

  52. Ok, what are our lists of celebrities 31 years older than us to challenge to a fight? I’m 48, Chuck Norris is 79… Al Pacino is also 79 … Nancy Pelosi is also 79…

    I can’t beat any of them.

  53. Finally watched all of the Chernobyl TV series.

    It deserved all the praise heaped upon it.

    I know it’s not linked to the tv series but I bought ‘Midnight in Chernobyl ‘ on audible.

  54. After much cursing, I think I have this temporary computer thing worked out.
    But, holy crap is hubby’s computer slow compared to mine. I think someone might need an upgrade

      • Your allies are always here for you. Much love.

        I don’t know all the facts on that bill, but goddamn, I wish I had spare pocket-change to buy and sell government officials to do my bidding.

      • This old white guy voices his solidarity with YOU and all other human beings who just want to live their lives, and love in peace.

        • *hugs* EssBee
          Hubby and I have many friends in the LBGTQ community. Our daughter is bi-sexual and, while in a monogamous hetro-relationship right now, has had some very nice girlfriends prior to that. Our “traditional” marriage hasn’t suffered because of it. We feel that anybody who thinks people in the LBGTQ community either disrupts family values or hetro freedoms and relationships are either talking bullshit, or speaking to their own issues that have nothing to do with anybody else.

    • I listen to a lot of C SPAN during my workday, and happened to be tuned in to this hearing yesterday. I appreciate Stewart’s passion on this topic, and agree with him that Congress is a dumpster fire on a good day. So much time is wasted doing things that do not matter, and there are so many empty chairs at many of these committee hearings.

  55. We made it to the end!

    Lots of thoughts and questions on the Leftovers. Do we need a separate page, or can spoilers chatter go here?

  56. I’ll sometimes took at my Good Reads readings stats and wonder if I spend too much time with my nose buried in a book.
    Then I shake my head and turn to the next page

  57. So early in the week I spent three hours on the ice for skating practice, did fine. . .

    . . . then at home, missed a step and rolled my ankle. No real injury, but – – ouch.

    I am lucky it wasn’t worse.

  58. Ice Show 4 of 4 starting in 4 minutes. My daughter is in 3 numbers plus the Father/daughter skate to “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” The stuff memories are made of.

  59. Happy Father’s Day to all of you fatherly Pannites!

    A huge shout out to my Main Squeeze— Mr. Mangan. You are ze best Dad around and our family is lucky to have you. I love you babe.

    • I scored BIG … got 4 games and kids who want to play them with me!!!
      Bestest ever.

      I don’t know anything about these games… Maybe you guys can recommend which one I should play first?
      We have
      – Seven wonders
      – Ticket to ride – Europe
      – One night ultimate werewolf
      and – Betrayal at house on the hill

      • Werewolf needs at least 3 to play, is best with 4 or more. It’s a blast – – and quick, with lots of repeat play value.

        Ticket to Ride is also a great game – – although we have an unwritten rule to keep it casual. If played cutthroat, it would get vicious.

        Betrayal is great fun too. The horror is sometimes a little creepy. It requires about an hour or more to finish.

        Don’t know 7 Wonders, but I know it’s popular.

        Wil Wheaton has done them all on Tabletop.

      • Ultimate Werewolf is fun with a lot of people.

        I never really understood Ticket to Ride till I was shown how to play it when I visited Canada. I found it great fun and would recommend it.

        • We have all those games and enjoy them all. Of those four, I prefer Seven Wonders, but, as I said, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

  60. HaZaah !
    Werewolf was a hoot once we got into it.

    Taking a break and then we are pulling out an old favorite … Munchkin!

  61. Game day was fun.

    I forgot what a learning curve munchkin had. We hadn’t played it in maybe 4 years or so. For some reason it was kind of a grueling time remembering it all but then it was fun.

    Played one game of “Betrayal”. It was a lot of fun.

    • Boy, that presenter WAS annoying.

      James May did a much better VW Hystory in his documentary “Cars of the people”. If one was interested in knowing more.
      I believe it is available on the YouTube’s
      Even.

  62. CW: 30 Hours with Donald Trump

    Holy crap this guy is in his own fantasy world.

    Kudos to George Stephanopolous for keeping his own shit together and trying to push Drump’s buttons.

    • We will never recover. Though, as has often been said – – he’s a terrible problem, but his insane rise to power just reveals the much larger problem beneath the surface in Western Culture.

      • I agree.
        I suppose when you think about it, maybe with Amerca’s Meteoric rise from colonies to global power … we shouldn’t be surprised that it would become unstable and fall apart just as quickly.

        The Nation itself, just a 20 something with “affluenza”.

  63. In other news … I am currently trying to slow cook, baby back ribs on the grill. This is my first attempt at this exercise.

  64. Sounds good, Justa! The ribs, that is.

    I saw John Wick 3 over the weekend in Phoenix. Just about par for the series for me, but +10 points for Asia Kate Dillon (#2 was +10 points for Ruby Rose)

    My review of Phoenix weather nicked from twitter, @theorygurl:

    this weather? homophobic

    and during pride month smdh

      • if it doesn’t grab you, you don’t have to. For me I was really into the premise of the books, which helped me get through the first volume. But I wasn’t really taken with the story until midway through the second book. From there on out I found it excellent. Of course I really liked Jurassic Park 3 and Event Horizon, so I may be an outlier.

        • Saga is hands-down one of the best comics I’ve ever read, so I’m definitely interested to read more by Brian K. Vaughan.

          I seriously never ever judge people by the art they like or dislike – – except for 2 scenarios:
          – – they’re injecting kind of exterior dogmatic nonsense in where it doesn’t belong (e.g.s: “Star Wars hates men now!” “Life of Brian is blasphemy!”).
          – – they love D’nesh Disouza (IDGAF if I’m misspelling his name) propaganda bullshit.

  65. The joys of getting older, did the upper scope today. The prep was fine. . . . Really, it was just an excuse for a midday nap.

    • “another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable”

      Maybe they should also petition Amazon to cancel Lucifer?

      (side note: Lucifer is a fun show and I’m glad it was picked up after it left mainstream tv)

    • I love that they petitioned the wrong company. We seem to have identified 20k idiots. Which, by the way is a paltry amount for a petition to begin with. Now if we could only get the press to start ignoring stories like this so they don’t get the coverage that they really don’t deserve in the first place. Super small minority group getting far to large of a voice based on their representative numbers.

  66. I wish this were from the Onion. It isn’t. Worse still, the horror from this bunch is coming so fast and frequently now, this is getting barely any coverage. –
    +++++++++
    The Trump administration argued in court Tuesday that the government is not required to give soap or toothbrushes to children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border and can have them sleep on concrete floors in frigid, overcrowded cells.

    ‪www.courthousenews.com/feds-tell-9th-circuit-detained-kids-safe-and-sanitary-without-soap/‬

    • I think that article is stretching here and there to make their overall point – – but I won’t quibble with the premise. John was absolutely a dick.

  67. I’ve been adding Facebook contacts en masse recently, even with some people I don’t really know, based on the numbers of mutual acquaintances.

    A quick recent scroll showed one of those new guys complaining that people were shunning him, because he’d been outed as a Sad Puppy. He expressed his disappointment that people were putting politics over friendship.

    I just wish I could find that post again, so I can unfriend him. To me, that’s a step away from “People who don’t like Jed for being a KKK grandwizard just can’t get over their politics.”

    • Of course, just like with Trump voters or anything along those lines, if someone I knew and liked was outed as a Sad Puppy, I’d want to hear from them their beliefs about that group. I wouldn’t automatically unfriend.

  68. So after listening to a podcast that covers shows that only got one season I’ve started watching Happy Town. It’s delightfully weird and has Amy Acker and Sam Neill in it so I think I will watch all eight episodes.

  69. Crap joke for the evening:

    Mary and Ted got married and had 13 children. Then Ted died of heart disease.

    She married again and she & Bob had 7 more children. Bob was killed in a car accident, 12 years later.

    Again Mary remarried and this time she & John had 5 more children.

    Mary finally died, after having 25 children.

    Standing before her coffin, the preacher prayed for her. He thanked the Lord for this very loving woman and said, “Lord, they are finally together.”

    Ethel leaned over and quietly asked her best friend, “Margaret, do you think he means her 1st, 2nd, or 3rd husband?”

    Margaret replied, “I think he means her legs, Ethel.”

  70. So I’m reading ‘Midnight in Chernobyl’ , which gives a good account of the disaster. But I saw the HBO series first and it’s rather surreal how something that was shown to great dramatic effect in the series (the three engineers opening the valves to drain the water) only gets a few lines in the book.

  71. Finished the Good Omens series on Amazon. Bravo.

    The elder dauther was so inspired by the first few episodes, that she started reading my copy of the book. . . . of which I’m very fond, because a dear friend of mine got it autographed by Neil Gaiman, and accompanied me to get it also signed by Terry Pratchett.

  72. Morning Pan
    Last week of school for hubby before summer break. Kids are getting pretty crazy so he’ll be glad when it’s done

  73. The Misses and I watched the Hulu series “The Act” over the weekend. If you are interested in a good psychological drama with good acting, I would recommend it. Joey King who plays Gypsy Rose was especially good.

  74. Fun to see the “from Texases” photos of their European vacation. I wonder what the chances of Ed visiting Finland are?

  75. Morning Pan
    Been a pretty quiet week here in our little bedroom community.
    Also been a quiet week around the Pan too, I see. Maybe I’ll do a PBP tomorrow.

      • This may be a case of projection but I got the impression David Langford was rather embarrassed about winning best fan writer over such a long period of time.

        • Ok I read it. I’m sure he makes some valid points, but there are a bunch of warning flags too. E.g. his diss of one of the artist winners. Not necessary.

          I don’t know enough about this Hugo history to really comment on it. I’d be curious to see unbiased (so not Scalzi, though I’m also curious to see if he has a retort) takes from others in the know.

    • As a piece of writing I find this pretty ranty, and my brain sort of tunes it out. Aren’t there more pressing concerns we should be focused on?

    • So it was her fault she was shot….

      ….. Incidentally, we’re in Birmingham through the weekend. This city is not on my recommended travel list.

  76. Hubby said both students and staff are mad at him today. Today is the last day so school for students (teaches still have to go in tomorrow). It is also only a half day of school for the kids. Hubby refused to make today a casual day so the kids still had to come in uniform and the teachers had to dress professionally.

  77. Ok Pan, it’s movie time
    In honour of the new movie coming out, I thought I’d watch the last movie in the silly doo series.
    Therefore I present to you, Annabelle Creation
    The Netflix write up: Her fragile porcelain face disguises a demonic talent for conjuring terror and unleashing tragedy

    • I still doubt the original author’s perspicacity, but this blogpost does very little to rally me to Scalzi’s side.

      But really, I just wanted to use the word “perspicacity.”

        • No no, I don’t know enough to comment one way or the other. My hunch is that he didn’t – – but this blog retort failed to overwhelmingly convince me of anything.

  78. Crap joke for the day:

    A young man was staying on a farm with his uncle and aunt for the summer. One morning the aunt and uncle walked in the kitchen and the young man was drinking an extremely large glass of milk. The young man said “I took the liberty of milking your cow this morning!” He then continues and says “it took me a while to get her started up. She must be old and stubbly.” The uncle says with a confused look ” Um son we don’t have a cow…We have a bull!”

    • “it took a clerisy of top-level mathematicians to handle the job”

      Now that is some next-level obscure word usage there.

  79. So saw today I saw the new documentary about Apollo 11, very well done and some of the restored footage looked like it could have been shot yesterday.

  80. I’m pretty done with Birmingham.

    For those keeping score at home, we finished 14th out of 22, but more importantly, skated really well.

  81. Today’s results: 1st place after the first two heats of 12(?) teams. Then the major league teams took the ice… There were some incredible programs. We ended up in 11th. I’ll take it! Super proud skate dad.

  82. “Historical Roasts with Jeff Ross” is without a doubt the most painfully unfunny thing I’ve seen in a long long time.

  83. Crap joke for the day:

    A mother-in-law stopped by unexpectedly the recently married couple’s house. She knocks on the door, then immediately walks in. She is shocked to see her daughter-in-law lying on the couch, totally naked.

    “What are you doing?” she asked.

    “I’m waiting for Jeff to come home from work,” the daughter-in-law answered.

    “But you’re naked!” the mother-in-law exclaimed.

    “This is my love dress,” the daughter-in-law explained.

    “Love dress? But you’re naked!”

    “Jeff loves me to wear this dress! It makes him happy and it makes me happy.”

    The mother-in-law on the way home thought about the love dress. When she got home she got undressed, showered, put on her best perfume and expectantly waited for her husband, lying provocatively on the couch.

    Finally her husband came home. He walked in and saw her naked on the couch.

    “What are you doing?” he asked.

    “This is my love dress,” she replied.

    “Needs ironing,” he says” “What’s for dinner?”

      • No it’s Canada Day here (think you’re 4th of July). Airdrie, where I live only has about 60,000 people so it’s a small parade. While it doesn’t have much for actual floats etc, it makes up for it in enthusiasm. Also, we can arrive 20 minutes before the parade and actually get a spot where you can see what’s happening.

    • What Van said. From a completely impartial, unqualified point of view, I think he’s a decent actor, and looks pretty badass as an elf.

      But I’ve never played the game either, so feel free to strike my comment from the record.

      • An elf? An Elf!! Yup, you can tell you never played the game 😉 . Geralt is not an elf, more like a human genetically modified to fight monsters.

          • In light of my recent carelessly-stated comments, I want to deeply apologize to the Elvish and genetically modified monster-fighting communities. I have the greatest respect for the challenges you face, which I, as an unmodified human, could never truly understand, and would never wish to add to your struggles. I meant no disrespect.

  84. Morning Pan
    Woke up this morning to hear hubby’s dad fell down some stairs and broke a hip and shoulder. We are waiting until it’s a decent time in BC to see if hubby should fly out. I feel he should because they live in a fairly big house and his mom might need some help with upkeep. Me, because of stupid reasons, I will not be able to go with him if he does.

    • Awww. Im sorry to hear of the unsettling news, Bunny.

      Please pass along our well wishes and Nurse Pixie says to make sure FiL gets tested for a urinary tract infection during the workup!

      It will be a long recovery. 🙁

  85. Speaking of documentaries, the doc “Satan and Adam” is on Netflix and it’s fascinating, even if you aren’t necessarily into blues. It does come REEEEALLLL close to showing Adam as the “white savior”, but at least it speaks on that.

    http://satanandadamfilm.com/

  86. So the latest internet ‘outrage’ is that in the Little Mermaid live action remake Aerial will be played by a coloured actress.

    Will the bigotry crap never cease..

    • I still suspect it’s a small but screechy minority who are upset about the “forced diversity blah blah blah” – – and we give them too much attention.

      However, they’re dangerous, and still probably more numerous than we’d like, so we also can’t ignore them completely.

      • I like to think of the internet as having a kind of Mercator projection effect on opinions. Complaining by fringe groups gets inflated in importance by people gawking at it in disbelief the same way that the size of Greenland gets inflated on a flat map. Agreed that we can’t just ignore it and hope it goes away. But we can at least take solace knowing that they are just Greenland after all.

    • Apparently Al Jaffee had one last fold-in picture, which was to be released after his death. With the magazine dying before him, I wonder where that will get published.

  87. Morning Pan
    Daddy in Law had his surgeries yesterday and seems to be recovering well. He’s expected to come home late next week so hubby is going to fly out mid-week.
    This will be the second year in a row hubby and I won’t be sharing cheesecake. I’m not sure I approve of this trend. 😉

  88. This man is running the country. From his totally rad July 4th speech…

    “Our Army manned the air, it rammed (?) the ramparts, it took over airports, it did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, had nothing but victory. When dawn came, the star-spangled banner waved defiant.”

    • In he age of tRump, I see the mockery of his dipshit words and actions before I hear the actual news stories. I saw lots of airport jokes this morning.

  89. Van, I’m in on Golf Blitz as “Panjack”.

    That’s also my name in Star Realms, which is also free land pretty fun. Tony Mast and I have been playing back forth for awhile. There’s a lot of luck, so you wouldn’t have to worry much about us trouncing you with our experience. In short: get Star Realms and play with me and Tony!

  90. As if the past two weeks haven’t already been *super fun,* now we begin the painful process of fighting the local auto shop (Cobblestone Auto Spa Scottsdale, AZ 85260) and getting them to pay for the repairs to my car after it CAUGHT ON FIRE a few days ago while getting maintenance done.

    So far, the local Subaru dealership has been decent enough to loan us a car at no expense to
    us, while the car gets its extensive repairs fixed this week. (The new car is a mammoth) the all- new Subaru Ascent. It hardly fits in the garage.

    Any suggestions on how to deal with Cobblestone?

    • Last three weeks:

      Day job tumult: check
      Big hectic trip, with a murder taking place in the fancy hotel parking lot the day we arrived: check
      Travel sickness for everyone: check
      Needing a doctor visit while waiting for COBRA to kick in: check
      Ear infection: check
      Car catching on fire during a routine oil change: check
      Oil change place refusing to accept responsibility: check
      Power going out, forcing us to spend the night on the other side of town: check
      No sleep, because baby woke up freaked out: check
      Smashed finger in garage door: check
      Baby getting sick again: check

      Getting to hang out with justaJ0e: made it all worth it

      • I swear I didn’t arrange all that just to seem good by comparison!

        I can say though, if you ever get to Host the family Mangan, I highly recommend it. 😀

      • Wow. My normal joke of “Did you offend all the gods?” doesn’t suffice. That is a terrible run of luck. Best wishes and much sympathy. One can only hope that things will improve from there.

        • Hah – – thanks. The day job tumult was basically me getting a better offer elsewhere, and working out the details with my previous company while I was in TN and AL. The end result: I’ve jumped to a new company; I start tomorrow.

          So no more vaccination podcast.

  91. The bad luck must be spreading, broke a toilet seat at the festival and got back to find my microwave oven had went wonky..had to order a new one.

  92. We bought cheesecake. Hubby said, since he won’t be here for my birthday, he wanted to celebrate it now. He got me a new keyboard for my computer.

    My Boo also texted today. She wants to take me axe throwing and wanted to see if I’d be ok with it. Of course I said yes.

  93. Weekend update-
    Did some 3d printing
    Saw new Spider-Man (it was fun)
    Watched women’s soccer
    Drank vodka
    Downloaded Golf Blitz. (I am me)

  94. Morning Pan
    Busy day in the bunny household today.
    Doing some work.
    Headed into the city
    Buying snacks for this afternoon
    Gaming with a friend

  95. Happy anniversary to the woman who’s the Inara to my Mal, the MJ to my Spider-Man, the Jane to my Tarzan, the Janet to my Brad (dammit), the Vanessa to my Kingpin, the Uhura to my Spock (Kelvin timeline), the Bo Peep to my Woody, the Marian to my Robin Hood, the EVA to my WALL-E, the Malla to my Chewbacca, the Jeannie to my Darren, the Daisy Duke to my Enos, the Beauty to my Beast, the Alice to my Sam the Butcher, the Luthien to my Beren, the Rose to my Doctor. . .

    Thanks for all that you do every day to keep the earth spinning for our family.

  96. Baby is still sick, so we had Italian takeout, and after baby bedtime, the final 2 eps of Stranger Things S3.

    Do peeps want a spoilers page for S3 talk?

  97. pull up google, type in “why can’t I” And “where is” and see what you get.

    For me it was:
    Why can’t I make you love me
    Where is Ekun Pathfinder Kingmaker (this is a gaming reference so Google was obviously looking at the last time I actually asked where is..)

  98. I’m expecting a parcel from FedEx today. The tracking website says:
    On FedEx vehicle for delivery
    RED DEER, AB

    Since I don’t live in Red Deer, I wonder if I should be worried.

    • Update: despite FedEx saying my parcel was in a different city, it was just delivered to me. I’m so confused. Happy, but confused

  99. Ed!!

    So – – as a general announcement, I did make that ST3 discussion page, and posted my initial day-after reaction.

    Feel free to chime in, if/when you’ve completed the series!

    • Finished EP 6 yesterday. Likely to finish the season tonight. None spoiler comment, funny that the ice cream serving “nerd” girl is the daughter of Uma Thurman.

    • We got up to Episode 5 tonight. We’ll probably finish it up tomorrow.

      So far, I’m enjoying it better than the previous ones.

  100. So I noticed that when you go into some of the other groups, there is a “Join” button.
    The Deadpan team does not have this button. I also noticed that when you set up a team you can click open or closed. I’m wondering if the Deadpan is set to closed?

    • Isnt this the place where Ted whatever his name is- baseball player who was frozen and his family threw a big legal fit about it and sending his frozen body into space? Er, something….

  101. What it’s like to be British

    • Worrying you’ve accidentally packed 3 kilos of cocaine and a dead goat as you stroll through “Nothing to declare”

    • Being unable to stand and leave without first saying “right”

    • Not hearing someone for the third time, so just laughing and hoping for the best

    • Saying “anywhere here’s fine” when the taxi’s directly outside your front door

    • Being sure to start touching your bag 15 minutes before your station, so the person in the aisle seat is fully prepared for your exit

    • Repeatedly pressing the door button on the train before it’s illuminated, to assure your fellow commuters you have the situation in hand

    • Having someone sit next to you on the train, meaning you’ll have to eat your crisps at home
    • The huge sense of relief after your perfectly valid train ticket is accepted by the inspector

    • The horror of someone you only half know saying: “Oh I’m getting that train too”

    • “Sorry, is anyone sitting here?” – Translation: Unless this is a person who looks remarkably like a bag, I suggest you move it

    • Loudly tapping your fingers at the cashpoint, to assure the queue that you’ve asked for money and the wait is out of your hands

    • Looking away so violently as someone nearby enters their PIN that you accidentally dislocate your neck

    • Waiting for permission to leave after paying for something with the exact change

    • Saying hello to a friend in the supermarket, then creeping around like a burglar to avoid seeing them again

    • Watching with quiet sorrow as you receive a different haircut to the one you requested

    • Being unable to pay for something with the exact change without saying “I think that’s right”

    • Overtaking someone on foot and having to keep up the uncomfortably fast pace until safely over the horizon

    • Being unable to turn and walk in the opposite direction without first taking out your phone and frowning at it

    • Deeming it necessary to do a little jog over zebra crossings, while throwing in an apologetic mini wave

    • Punishing people who don’t say thank you by saying “you’re welcome” as quietly as possible

    • The overwhelming sorrow of finding a cup of tea you forgot about

    • Turning down a cup of tea for no reason and instantly knowing you’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake

    • Suddenly remembering your tea and necking it like a massive, lukewarm shot

    • Realising you’ve got about fifty grand’s worth of plastic bags under your kitchen sink

    • “You’ll have to excuse the mess” – Translation: I’ve spent seven hours tidying in preparation for your visit

    • Indicating that you want the last roast potato by trying to force everyone else to take it

    • “I’m off to bed” – Translation: “I’m off to stare at my phone in another part of the house”

    • Mishearing somebody’s name on the second time of asking, meaning you must now avoid them forever

    • Leaving it too late to correct someone, meaning you must live with your new name forever

    • Running out of ways to say thanks when a succession of doors are held for you, having already deployed ‘cheers’, ‘ta’ and ‘nice one’

    • Changing from ‘kind regards’ to just ‘regards’, to indicate that you’re rapidly reaching the end of your tether

    • Staring at your phone in silent horror until the unknown number stops ringing

    • Hearing a recording of your own voice and deciding it’s perhaps best never to speak again

    • The relief when someone doesn’t answer their phone within three rings and you can hang up

    • Filming an entire fireworks display on your phone, knowing full well you’ll never, ever watch it again

      • Can we agree to not get upset by the inevitable dumb dumb backlash this news will get? Awareness is needed, yes, but don’t be upset by the iditots out there. Let’s celebrate this great step forward.

        By that description, it was cleverly done too.

      • I’m not going to get bent out of shape by it but I am not down with it.

        There is no reason you can’t have a British spy characture in an action adventure movie who ISNT an old white guy … but that’s not James Bond.
        Oh well. What ever.

      • This is welcome news. I’ve always been in the camp that the name “James Bond” is a code name and not a name name. These films have just gotten so fucking stale too. I hope it’s a great film that back the new casting

        • I will add that I AM curious to see if they will have the guts to make her a womanizer. It is canon for the characture and if we are woke enough to have a black female Bond … why can’t she be gay as well?

          • By that article, she’s not going to *be* James Bond, just 007. James Bond will still be there, and maybe still active – – he just won’t be 007 anymore.

          • I still say it’s time for a gay, female 007!
            Maybe her cover is that she plays professional soccer, really, REALLY good!

    • I don’t know the flick or the Heinlein text – – but I’ll check it out.*

      *Which means it gets tossed on the slush pile of stuff to watch.

  102. Huzzah! My phone screamed at me with a tornado warning. Don’t know about that but it is quite rumbly out there and the rain is really coming down

  103. This is how crazy my evenings are when hubby’s not home. I have a small bowl of cherries, a glass of liqueur, and am watching the news.

  104. I had *no idea* that Billy Crystal was in the movie, “This Is Spinal Tap” until I watched the CNN series – Movies – the 80’s

  105. Modern world of 2019: Hey, go to the new pharmacy walk-in clinics when you’re sick. Way more convenient than going to your doctor!

    Counterpoint: I went to one of those fucking clinics for a cold on July 5. They gave me a short round of antibiotics, and 10 days later, I’m still sick. Their fault? Possibly.

      • Well – – the full details – – the minute clinic person said, “Not going to check you for strep, but I think you have an ear infection. Take 5 days worth of antibiotics.”

        I did, now ten days later, I still have scratchy throat and other grossness. I suspect it’s not just a cold, which if it was, I know would have to just run its damn course.

        It may be that I’m frustrated, and unfairly blaming the clinic.

  106. It’s going to be 113F out there today (45C for you ferners) and I’m freezing. The office’s AC must be set to Hoth. I wonder if my light jacket is still in the back of my car.

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