1,020 thoughts on “Scrolling Scrolling Scrolling”

    • Maybe it’s down to not being American, but the George Washington revelations did not induce an extreme emotional reaction.

    • I got a security alert from my Chrome browser and when I logged into the page there was a website asking for log-in information and stating that this website was the future home of something “cool”. Seemed like a hacker was trying to set up a fishing scam. Anyway, a few moments later, no issues at all. My only guess is there was an issue at my end or the web hosting site automatically squashed the intruder. *shrug*

  16. Speaking of which …(?)
    Last night we watched “Escape from LA”

    Amazing how much of it was the SAME exact movie as Escape from NY.
    Except they tried throwing more money at it.
    They needn’t have bothered.

    • There are many, many, many dumb parts of that train wreck of a movie. Most people cite the awful surfing scene, but I think the basketball trial is the worst.

      No context, no explanation; he just magically hits these impossible shots because the plot requires it.

      The most cynical part of me thinks that some film executive noticed that the NBA was trendy in the 90s, so they insisted on this garbage.

    • That is one of those shows that grows into itself. As it went along it seemed to become one of those “we are going to do what we find funny and if you want to come along for the ride, that’s up to you.”
      And personally, I thought it worked.

  19. Neuromancer reread. I can’t even remember how long it’s been since the last reread. . .

    Every page of this book just blows my mind.

        • Her seeing my posts isn’t the problem.

          I talked to hubby last night and he agreed with Jack, So I took the plunge this morning and unfriended her. Let’s see how long it takes her to figure out I’ve done that.
          I just don’t have time for her racist BS.

  23. Well I went and bought Black Mesa to play over the weekend.

    Time to step into Gordon Freeman’s shows one more time.

  25. I had a friend call me yesterday because they just needed a few minutes of sanity.

    Their mother had died a few hours earlier of COVID-19. A few other ladies in the mom’s church circle are sick with it now.

  26. In happier news, we finished season 3 of Mrs Maisel. Very good – – probably the best season yet.

    I’m not sure which show is up next for us. Hearing good things about Dark and also Things We Do in the Shadows.

  27. Hubby and I decided to add an extra half click to our walk and picked up lunch at Subway to take home. We haven’t done that in months.
    I actually feel a little guilty as, since is was a spur of the moment decision, we didn’t have masks on us.

    • This is the kind of thing I think a sane society can ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about.

      You should feel ashamed, though, because there are undoubtedly better sandwich places nearby.

  28. I have finally seen Hamilton.

    Today I learnt Hamilton got shot by Burr.

    I also learnt I know more about WW2 than the War of Independence.

    I blame all that fancy German tech.

  29. Just skip this post and keep scrolling if you’ve already met your daily quotient of COVID-19 dread. Pasted from a local friend:

    After a “brief” visit to a Banner ER last night, I have a diagnosis: early stage Covid-19. My symptoms are bad, bad enough to go to the ER, but not bad enough to be admitted. The magic symptoms for admission are a steady fever of 100+ and or oxygen levels below 92.

    My fever has never gone above 100 and isn’t steady. My oxygen levels vary between 96-99. I have tightness in my chest and lungs that daily asthma meds don’t touch. It feels like I’m wearing close fitting chain mail….tight and heavy but able to still take nearly full breaths. When coughing, which is most of the time, it’s unproductive and painful. My ribs hurt. I have sharp stabbing pains happening from mid to lower ribs / back. My throat is nearly raw from coughing and have almost lost my voice.

    Here’s the thing…..I know I’m in at risk group (before this diagnosis) . I’ve been home quarantining since early March. I wear masks anytime I have to go anywhere. About a month ago, just before AZ started spiking again, [husband] and I went out. We were having a little bit of stir craziness and had a list of places we wanted to go. We wore masks the entire time. We touched only those things we were interested in buying. We washed our hands and masks immediately when we got home. We haven’t been out since. That being said……masks do help! As bad as I feel right now, I am positive that I would be worse if I hadn’t been wearing one. I know that the flu like symptoms (husband) had would be this awful if they had not been wearing one. Now We are home quarantining again, this time with even stricter standards, until all of my symptoms are gone plus 4 days. Because of my diagnosis that may be a couple weeks or months. I may get better. I may stay the same same. I may get worse. The doctor doesn’t know. This is scary.

    Be safe.
    I love you.
    Wear your fucking masks!

    • Sometimes it helps to put it in a personal way to people.
      I did the math and was sharing this with some “It’s just a bad flu” folks-

      Based on our state’s 14 day, new case average and the states overall morbidity rate AND assuming something magical happens and things don’t get worse…
      By the end of August, 1080 of your friends and family who are perfectly fine at this very moment … will be dead. They will not live to see Christmas.
      This doesn’t factor in what will happen when we run out of ICU beds.

      Wear your damn masks.

    • I saw something about “Doctor Aphra” casting news, but it was just for the audiobook. Still cool, but it got my hopes up for a live action series or special.

  31. Just got a message from my sister.
    The husband of a long time friend of hers died from Covid yesterday.
    He was 50-60 years of age and in good physical shape.
    Started showing symptoms about a week ago.
    His test came back positive today. The day after he died.

  39. Watched Train to Busan over the past 2 nights.

    Yes, it’s a zombie flick, but wow – – infuriating and impressive, and it doesn’t go for cheap grossout effects. I can’t say anything more without giving spoilers.

    • I too was caught by surprise with that film.
      I had lowered my expectations because it was a zombie flick but also (I’m ashamed to admit) because who knows anything about the S. Korean film industry.
      I also won’t spoiler but would add that it is just good, solid film making.

      My daughter simultaniously loved and hated it.

  41. Hearing another Covid close to my family.

    Our county finally past a mask ordinance yesterday and for that I applaud them … but for many, I fear it is several weeks too late.

    Back in late March I read an article that quoted one researcher as saying, “It’s not a mater of “if” you will get it but “when”. And that your goal is to do everything you can to put it off long enough for the government to stockpile supplies(he never dreamed our gov would abandon us) and for the Hospitals/science to figure out how to effectively treat you.

    • History will not look kindly on us. It’s not even a lack of compassion – – it’s actually an anti-compassionate culture that’s been fostered. . .

    • Well, I can’t really argue that it would be tough to de-age her for a prequel. Though it might be nice to do a sequel first with Theron, then a prequel with a younger actress.

    • I like the fact that they have a script they really like. I’m a little puzzled why they are hyping to get Daft Punk on board, I mean I like Daft Punk, but the article spends a great deal of time on them. Also, with Legacy being so lackluster, I’m not sure why they are trying to get the old director back as well. As a Disney property, I’d like to see them get Waititi, Favreau, or the Russo’s involved.

    • I’ve heard the grumbling about it, but I think they’re rolling it out in phases. I haven’t been hit yet.

      Facebook presents an interesting challenge for me this summer. I’m going to need Facebook to promote Am I Evil? – – and I like keeping up with friends and playing on a few pages I’m connected to – – but the rest of it is just a toxic tar pit. I need to just get in and get out and avoid the scroll.

  51. I finally watched S2E1 of Legion last night. I recall really enjoying the rampant quirkiness and creativity of S1. This first episode of S2 felt like it was just doubling down on the weirdness, and trying to artificially inject some fun. The “Beat It” style dance battle nearly lost me.

  52. CW: Terminator: Dark Fate

    In 4K!! Which is overkill for my 40inch 4Ktv hard to tell the difference between this and a film in standard HD.

    Still bloody great film and pity it was a bit of a damp squib at the box office.

  55. I did something I rarely do. . . I told someone that their “live in fear…. tinfoil hats… economy…” Ted Nugent quote was irresponsible and stupid, then unfriended them.

    Only 1 of their loony friends came at me with a “fake numbers… you wanna put your head in the sand” response, but the unfriendee liked that response.

    Really, 99 times out of 1000, I unfriend and move on. The original post just caught me in a moment. Obviously, I’m not going to respond any further.

    • Their poor mental health is contagious.
      I mean that with all sincerity.
      If you spend much time in their “shallow end” of the pool it won’t be long before you have a nagging unhappiness.

      Getting clear, is necessary for survival.

  56. Cleaned two washrooms, backed up my computer, have my first of two loads of laundry in the wash, and went for a 5k walk. All in all, a good morning.

  59. Consider me confused.

    I went to the liquor store and 7-11.
    There were three or four people at the liquor store, everybody, including myself, had a mask on.
    There were eight or nine people at 7-11. With the exception of myself and the staff, nobody was wearing a mask. Also, there was a line up of three or four people waiting to use the washroom. Is there something about 7-11 I’m missing?

  60. Hubby’s watching an esport. The commentator said, “she pounced on the opportunity like a shark”
    I think that’s going to be my new saying from now on

  65. Today’s Science tidbits:

    -Scientist in Singapore have developed a small, pocket portable, solar generator that produces power when a shadow is cast across it. It is the differential between the light and dark that generate the current. It allows power production in much lower lighting situations. Enough to power a small electronic device.

    -A certain type of sea worm, when threatened, exudes a blue bioluminescent goo. Lots of things bioluminesce but that takes energy and this stuff is outside the worm so it doesn’t get “power” from the creature and it can continue to flow from 16 to 72 hours. It seems the goo emits ions that cause a blue glow. That glow causes the goo to release even more ions. So it produces more light and the cycle repeats.
    In the food chain of the ocean depths this is a devious defense. If you mess with the worm you are tagged with this glowing goo which leaves you attracting preditors to yourself for hours.

    – Excavations and airborn LIDAR have uncovered the oldest and largest known Mayan structure ever built, at a previously unknown site in Mexico. Built somewhere around 1000 BC. Lots of other stuff about that culture has been genes from this site.

  66. The 2-year-old has a temp today. This kind of thing just happens with 2-year-olds – – and 2-year-olds are generally not being affected by the big evil thing in the same ways – – but I can’t help being terrified.

    This is not the kind of conversation I intend to open up to the FB world. Just had to type it somewhere.

    • If anything, I was probably too restrained about it 🙂

      Though, not nearly as restrained as Favreau and company talking out it.

  75. I’me still moving through Legion, stopped most of the way through episode 3.

    So far, I’m not watching it full episode by full episode, just stopping when I feel the need, like putting a bookmark in a book.

    Some good stuff. I still can’t help but feel like some of the things in the show are weird only for the sake of being weird. Like the android girls with the mustaches and the autotuned voices (maybe they’ll get a better explanation later).

    • I don’t recall them ever getting an explanation. That whole show was definitely a trippy ride. I probably appreciated it more following some of the “making of” type bits that they put out for each episode.

      Man, that reminds me – he was supposed to be putting out a fourth season of Fargo. I need to go see if that ever actually came out.

  76. So…. tonight was our first movie night in awhile. Part 5 in the chronological Star Wars rewatch. Solo. I hadn’t seen it since the theater. Kinda telling that I was struggling to find my enthusiasm.

    Anyway. The first half of the movie is just terrible. Much worse than I remembered. The 2nd half redeems it, though. Mostly. The movie still serves no real purpose. It’s fine.

    Rogue One next!

  78. JW: Greyhound

    Can’t argue about the film being entirely plot driven but I enjoyed it.

    The posh English voices you never got to see were annoying though.

  79. Dammit, COVID – well, at least I haven’t missed Fargo season 4 yet:

    “The upcoming fourth season is set in 1950 in Kansas City, Missouri, and features a cast led by Chris Rock, Jason Schwartzman, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, and Timothy Olyphant. The season was scheduled to premiere on April 19, 2020, but it was delayed indefinitely after production was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

      • I think it has a kooky charm. It’s overproduced, cutesy, and predictable, but stylistically consistent throughout. A film that does it better is “Mom and Dad Save the World.”

    • The book that Cary Elwes put together chronicling the making of The Princess Bride went into pretty extensive detail about how much he and Mandy Patinkin prepared for that fight.

      Along with a lot of other great history – “As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride” is definitely worth checking out.

      He narrates the audiobook version himself.

  83. Watched the first 15 minutes of the Rankin-Bass Hobbit. I’m not sure if I should be concerned that the 2-year-old is insisting that Smaug is a nice dragon.

    • That is a large number of women.
      It seems like a celebrity/groupie situation – – except in this case, the celebrity led each of the groupies to believe there was something like a relationship there. Shitty behavior. . . no doubt, no defense.

      The article covers the whole f-ed up situation with clarity.

  89. Just stumbled across this from a few days ago. Seems to have been announced in a very low key fashion.
    +++++++++++++++
    The World Health Organization has expanded its coronavirus guidance to include the possibility in certain circumstances of airborne transmission, in which the virus could be spread through tiny droplets that linger in the air among people in crowded, indoor settings for prolonged periods of time.
    ++++++++++++

    Sure sounds like they are describing (amount other places) a school setting.

  97. So listening to a podcast about the development of the 8080 and Z80 processor chips and how the Z80 (or clones of it) are still used in embedded controllers to this day.

    Pretty cool for a CPU developed in the 70s.

  98. I finally got around to watching Ghost Rider last night. I remember it getting a lot of bad reviews. It had some wonky special effects here and there, but I don’t get the bad reviews. It was a good popcorn superhero movie.

    • If I’d been a Ghost Rider fan as a kid, I might have checked this one out.

      There are also times when I trust Nick Cage, and times when I don’t. . .

  101. Today’s movie is, The Nun
    In this haunted abbey, the moment you stop praying is the moment you become prey

    Bwa ha ha ha ha

  140. I don’t know if I would be good or bad at these things. I know I certainly wouldn’t walk around a creepy place in the dark

  162. The littlest one’s very first Matchbox “car” arrived yesterday: the Mars Curiosity Rover.
    She was delighted.

    Moment noted for posterity.

  166. CW: The Truman Show

    Just now realising that Truman’s friend is played by the actor who played Stan in The Americans. Also the slobby cop in Brooklyn 99 is one of Shows audience being interviewed.

    • Speaking of tomatoes, there is a world of difference between the store bought ones and garden ripened on the vine variety. The breeding effort to make tomatoes easy to transport has resulted in them tasting like card board.

    • I wouldn’t say “hate” – – but I never eat raw tomatoes, not even on burgers. I do enjoy tomato sauce, ketchup, and I’m a big fan of sundried tomatoes.

  169. Finished the Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin. Only 3 books, but it took me a long time to get through, mainly due to library digital availability (TEB explained it, but I think she’s just in on the big conspiracy).

    So, I get why people rave. . . She is a genius. The world is brilliant, the characterization is brilliant. I didn’t love the 3rd book, but I liked it; it had some great moments.

    I do recommend this series. The 2nd book was the best in the trilogy.

    • I haven’t seen any of the Fletch movies in 20 years. Do they seem dated now? Hard to imagine anyone else besides Chevy Chase as Fletch.

    • My memory of it even after the first viewing was that the film itself was nothing more than a vehicle for Chevy to be Chevy.
      I liked it but can’t imaging how it would be of any value played by someone else.

    • My dad has done some cave mapping for the National Speliological Society and I can tell you it presents some interesting challanges. It turns out to be a real 3 demential problem. Just trying to get a point of reference is difficult. Compasses aren’t always reliable. It’s dark. It’s strenuous. All your gear can get covered in mud.
      The folks that do it seem to love it though.

  173. So watched the last two episodes of Snowpiercer tv series on Netflix.

    I enjoyed the series but it’s not as bonkers as the film and the plot development in the season finale literally comes out of nowhere.

    • The only ones I can think are:

      The one where the two planets are at war but no shots get fired the computers work out casualties and this people must kill themselves.

      Kirk breaks the prime directive and destroys a computer that is keeping a tribe primitive.

      • I think they hope to come out of bankruptcy if the pandemic ever subsides and get their shows back up and running.

        A lot of those Cirque venues in Vegas are pretty specifically design for the show that’s hosted there. I’m betting the hotels are going to want to try to get going with Cirque again rather than try to convert those theaters to some other kind of show.

        But, who can say. While I’m glad we’re not operating in a pure survival/subsistence mode, I think it’s going to be a long time before enough people are comfortable traveling and gathering to make places like Vegas viable.

        Of course, clubs and beaches keep getting packed unless they physically get shut down…which is both a hopeful sign for an eventual recovery….and a grim reminder that we’re a long way from starting that recovery.

  190. I think it is important that everyone is aware what is going on in Portland.
    Heavily armed, unidentified men in military fatigues and un-marked cars started snatching people off the streets 2 days ago.
    One who was released reported it was a secret federal goon squad.
    At first it was denied. Then homeland security said they were federal agents being sent to protect federal property.

    Except this was happening away from federal property.

    HS then changed their answer to just, we answer to the President.

    Now both the Mayor and the Governor have told the White House to remove their secret police from Portland and the response was that not only would they NOT remove their squads … they were going to expand these tactics to other states.

    That is some 3rd world dictator $@&# right there!

    Wanted to know how he was going to stay in power with ratings plummeting?
    Que the voter suppression tactics of secret police squads, answerable to no one but themselves, who can “disappear” you right off a public street.

    • Yeah, rump is going to commit a number of atrocities between now and November.
      And I truly believe that he will get re-elected, in spite of everything.

      Possibly because of tampering and meddling, or possibly just because of social conditioning.

      Can you imagine any other time in history where a president committed so many acts of treason and remained in power? Can you imagine any other president knowingly overlooking an enemy leader putting boutnies out for our troops in the field?

  191. Changing topics completely …
    I watched “The Man Who Fell to Earth” last night.
    I don’t care if it was a book that was written when David Bowie was only 16… I feel certain it is autobiographical of him. 🙂

    REALLY weird film. I think it is a great example of that sort of abstract, disorienting imagery, experimental film making but as a straight up “entertaining film”… maybe not so much.
    I had seen a bit of it back in the day but this was the first time to watch it all the way through.

  192. I just wrapped up a 2-hour(!) recording session with Nutty Nuchtchas and Jason for the Nutty Bites podcast. The topic was anti-heroes and villains we love. Lots of fun!

  194. Introduced the teenager tonight to the original Leeroy Jenkins!!!! video. I was shocked she’d never heard of it.

    Never say I don’t have my education priorities in order.

    • I think it’s pretty much a given now that as the limit of new memes heads toward infinity, the chances of knowing about a given one anymore approach zero, except for the case where the virality of said meme also asymptotically approaches infinity.

  199. So, I’ve never read Elric (yeah, yeah, I know). I know a bit about him (albino, badass sword), but I figured I ought to get familiar.

    So Elric fans, help me out. I’ve heard that “Elric of Melnibone” is the place to start, but that’s not easy to find, so I borrowed “Stealer of Souls” from the library. It contains “Dreaming City,” “While the Gods Laugh,” “Stealer of Souls,” “Kings in Darkness,” and “The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams.” I read the first story over the weekend. Am I getting the right Elric intro?

    (Cue the Moorcock jokes)

    • I must confess, I gave up after the first book, which is “Elric of Melnibone” as I recall. I don’t remember exactly why, but I just didn’t find it very compelling after all the hype.

      That would have been back when I still read physcial books, but I think it was a library checkout, I don’t believe I own a copy.

      • The first few books are good. After that it gets kind of weird with the whole dimension travelling and dealing with nazi-like era

        • The first story was fine. I’m kinda approaching it more as an historical document study than as a read for entertainment.

          The writing style and content really feel like a super-nerd teenager telling me about how his favorite D&D character was the toughest, coolest warrior dude who got all the elf babes. . . etc.. . . But. . . I acknowledge that it’s unfair to make these critiques about a story that was written 60+ years ago.

          I’ve heard that Gygax was more inspired by Moorcock than even Tolkien to create D&D, which so far, makes sense.

        • I’ve found some peace with it. . . I’ve read plenty of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. I just need to look at this from the same perspective, through the same lens.

  201. Told Siri to set timer for one hour. It did what I asked, it also said at the same time, “point two miles, turn left onto main street”

    What’s that about?

  204. Quick Poll-
    I was raised in a house where it was referred to as a “vacuume cleaner” … you vacuumed the carpet.
    I do have relatives from Ohio though, who referred to it as a carpet sweeper.
    I also know someone who always referred to it as hoovering the carpets.

    Question- What do you guys call that chore of using the portable electrical appliance that sucks up dust?

  207. CW: Brave New World E2

    I’ve never read the book (I know, I know) and have vague memories of the 80s mini series which actually had a more diverse cast.

      • I read the book – – but it’s been long enough that I probably wouldn’t be able to cry foul over the differences. And I guarantee there will be many, many changes.

        I do recall that the novel was pretty damn smart, if a bit dated. I sometimes refer to myself as an Epsilon, on my bad days.

      • If I recall, the book was set around the 1970s and the mini-series had a more futuristic setting. I know I skimmed the book, not sure if I read it cover to cover.

  210. Today when I asked Siri to set timer for one hour he said, “at the traffic lights, turn right on North Decatur Boulevard”
    We don’t have one of those here in Airdrie. Where does Siri think I am?

    If he does this again tomorrow, I might start to get a little freaked out.

    • “THE world of quirky indie music was left a little darker this morning with the news that Tim Smith, singer with eternally loved, eternal outsiders the Cardiacs, has died at the age of 59.”

    • Fingers crossed. I don’t buy EA games on day-one anymore, but I’ll keep my eyes out for favorable reviews. If there are good reviews two weeks after release, I’ll pick it up.

  220. The FMV game Erica was one of the games on PS plus this month.

    This genre of games does have not a stellar record for fun games but this one was well done.

    Played through twice to see two different endings, well worth a try if you pay for PS Plus.

  228. We’re playing D & D tomorrow. I told hubby I’m killing off my character. While he’s not happy, at least he understands my reasoning and is going with it.

  231. I’ve decided to work my way through that Netflix list.
    Last night we watched “Murder Mystery”.

    If “Knives Out” was a brilliant study in tightly scripted “who done it”, portrayed by talented actors giving a class in characture development and produced by talented direction and editing … “Murder Mystery” was a high school theater class’ attempt at doing the same.
    That said, I enjoyed it.
    So maybe I was a bit harsh. It is actually a fun bit of fluff with only about 1/3 the number of Adam Sandler “cringeworthy” scenes.
    Honestly, this is the first time I watched something with him in it and thought “Hey…he actually has some range as an actor!”
    Granted, that range goes from playing “Adam Sandler as annoying” to “Adam Sandler as really REALLY annoying” but still, that’s range.
    …but I’m rambling, because I have nothing on my schedule.

    Short (is it too late to be short?): Fun movie. Don’t expect much and you will be pleasantly surprised.

  234. Without having ever watched “The Shining” completely and having a passing familiarity with the story (much of which came from the Deadpan Colorado adventure), we watched “Dr. Sleep” last evening.

    Ewan MacGregor and Rebecca Furgeson were enough of a draw to get me to tune in in spite of knowing little of what I was getting into.

    That said, overall I greatly enjoyed it. Especially the way it overturned the trope of the big bad keeps defeating the hero until the last minute when the hero finds a way to turn the tide. Great performances all around

    • I didn’t recall that you’d never seen The Shining, Ed. I’ve talked to my daughter about that movie. It’s been sooooo widely parodied and referenced across soooo many tv shows – – even kids movies and shows, that the effectively creepy moments won’t have as much power for her, when she eventually does see it.

      I’m a little surprised that Doctor Sleep works as a stand-alone. I have not yet seen it.

      • I’m sure I would have picked up and appreciated more if I had been more familiar with the details of The Shining. However, there are enough flashbacks and references that I think someone who only has the pop culture references (some of which are called back to in this movie) can pick up pretty easily.

    • The Doctor Sleep movie was well done in that it walked a fine line really well. The Shining book and movie ended extremely differently and the Doctor Sleep movie had to combine elements of both to get it to work right. I’m far too familiar with the book and movie versions of the original and sequel to get my head around seeing it as a standalone. I’m glad it can be followed well that way. Also glad that you got out of it a sense that the hero wasn’t always being defeated by the baddie and the baddie wasn’t always in control. It was a great point you made and it was a great aspect of the book and movie.

  237. And the final video of my afternoon linkblast, a video from Ayreon’s upcoming album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeeVX6rbVMc

    It’s a lovely song, featuring narration from Tom Baker (yes, that Tom Baker), and the amazing Cammie Gilbert on vox. She’s a fucking superstar, and she looks and sounds amazing in this video. And seriously, look at those FX and guest stars; someone is putting some money into this.

    And to make it all about me, I got to hang out with Cammie and Dobber and all the guys in Oceans of Slumber a few years back. Awesome people.

  241. Tonights movie from the NetFlix list was “Extraction”.
    Two thumbs up.
    Old school, “roller coaster ride” action adventure but with a little depth.

  242. Lovely day with the family hitting some trails in Sedona, especially as the afternoon more on and cooled down. A nice escape from the heat – – and from the house.

    It was encouraging to see so many masks too.

  243. Morning Pan
    We rewatched the first AVP last night. I was a decent movie. As I recall, 1 and 3 were good, 2 was atrocious.

  249. Annnnnd a bunch of Major League Baseball players and staff have tested positive.

    Sigh. Even if they somehow got everything behind the scenes handled properly, the sports requires contact and interaction. It only takes a few non-compliants to wreck things for everyone.

  253. It’s already quite warm. Hubby and I have agreed to forego our walk this morning. It it’s already warm, it will be too hot to go on a 5k hike in a couple of hours. Instead we will do a workout in the basement where it’s nice and cool.
    (Yes I know this is considered mild in Arizona, I’m a heat weather wimp.)

  257. So I did finish season 2 of Legion. Some bold steps. . . Definitely a lot of style over substance. Eh. It’s never dull, always interesting to look at. I maintain that it’s often weird without justification. I don’t love it, but I’ll watch the 3rd to see how it ends.

    • I agree with all points. It is hard to binge as Teresa gets annoyed with all the psychedelics and continues to ask questions throughout each episode. I’ll probably have to finish it on my own. I too want to find out how it ends.

      • Rhett, it’s the same in my house. We can watch it together. With popcorn… Snuggled next to each other on the couch…

        … or just… you know… separately, on our own…

  266. Tonight’s movie From the Netflix list-
    “Spencer Confidential”
    It was fine.
    “Dirty Cop” genre.
    Could have been a made for TV movie.

    Next

    • 2 thoughts.

      1)Much of the media and the public is focused on the services for John Lewis with featured Speakers Pres. Obama, Bush and Clinton.
      THAT is just not the sort of loss of attention he can tolerate.

      2)” legal experts quoted by NBC said that even if Congress did agree to delay the election, Mr Trump’s own term as president would still expire by 20 January 2021 under the constitution’s 20th Amendment.”
      So Senate Republicans are not likely to support this because election or not, t/p term comes to an absolute end Jan 20 and if there has been no election the office automatically goes to (drum roll) Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi!

      • Number 1 is 100% correct. This is an attempted distraction from many things.

        But.

        We were shocked that Moscow McConnell got away with refusing to vet Obama’s last supreme court nominee. But he did. And trump’s presidency has been a daily succession of “He’ll never get away with that” moments. Checks and balances have not applied to any of these shits for a long time.

        • So the interesting differrence with scenario #2 is –
          At the moment trump does what ever he wants because his party rules the roost and doesn’t care what laws he breaks.
          As of Jan 20th, if there has been no election… the Dems will (with the full weight of the constitution behind them) get to claim that THEY are now in charge. Because the Republicans right now own the rest of the Gov the Dems make a few noises and back off. But if the Dems believe that THEY now hold the reigns of power… I suspect they will fight tooth and nail to keep it.

          • Can say I am more concerned at how trump and Co are actively sabatoging the US Postal Service.
            A clear attempt to suppress votes.

          • I don’t have the same confidence that the Democrats will take any action beyond some strong words.

            One can assume he’s saying these kinds of things to gauge what kind of support he’ll get if he refuses to leave in Nov (if our broken election system doesn’t hand him another suspect win).

            Anyway. I realize that Deadpan is a tucked away pocket of the web, but I’m still done giving him oxygen.

  268. CW: Commando

    An Arnie film I’ve never seen before.

    The seen of Arnie and his ‘daughter’ near the beginning is grade A cringeworthy.

  286. Well that’s one way to rob a store.

    You know I wouldn’t be surprised if a supermarket did stock a rocket launcher in the US.

    • I only caught a bit of his episodes peripherally, while Tiffany was watching, but it seemed like he was having a blast with his character. I do heart me some Bill Paxton. Good for his son stepping into that role. Must have been lots of feels on set.

    • If you read carefully, it’s actually just a guy saying that he’s afraid of what could happen if there are errors in the code for these robots. It hasn’t actually happened. Sad really. I would have liked it if there really were sex robots on the revolt. Imagine the blow to your ego if even a machine programmed to have sex with you thinks so little of you that it would rather get violent.

    • I’ve seen a lot of grumbling about the ceremony and especially about the Retro Hugos this year. Eh, I’ll stay happily on the sidelines.

      • I agree that the CGI Tarkin and Leia were terrible. Interesting now that we’ve been watching Clone Wars to see the little nods. The biggest, of course, being Saw Gerrera.

        There was a shot in the trailer of Jyn high up on the tower catwalk with a TIE fighter in front of her that wasn’t in the final cut of the movie; I do wonder how that would have fit.

    • I am 1000% in agreement on this. It was the first time since Empire Strikes Back that I felt the film wasn’t specifically made for children and I was just along for the ride.

        • Neville is an interesting one. And yes, it’s true that Tarkin is guilty of murdering everyone on Alderaan – – he gave the order, but Vader is at least an accomplice.

          The one I realized I forgot was Brandon Lee’s Eric Draven (The Crow).

  310. I wrote up a commentary last night on what I’ve seen about the Hugo Awards and backlash, but I deleted it. With all of the qualifiers, acknowledgements, explanations, pre-emotive defenses, etc., it got to be novella-length.

    So in short: “White male” should not be used as an epithet.

    • I’ve lost all respect for the surviving old guard of scifi. They just come over as elitist pigs these days

      They are the past and not the future.

      • I won’t speak in generalizations. Some of the elders are truly great people.

        Many have disappointed or been exposed as awful people.

  311. JW: Summerland

    Set in WW2 where a writer has to take in a child who has been evacuated from London and reflects on a lost love. It was all very pleasant and not in a bad way.

      • I didn’t watch it and I do dislike the concept of a movie made over zoom. The whole found footage things gets to me because I can’t stand shaky/vomit cam. I’ve also not been actually scared by a horror movie since I was about 10 years old. So, the modern fad of horror movies like the paranormal activities movies that rely on just trying to scare you don’t really work for me at all. They just seem like a cheap way to use horrible effects to “create a scary ambiance”. Creating a horror movie on Zoom seems to be the ultimate extension of this concept to me. Just creating the atmosphere of horror without any actual horror and with zero budget and special effects. Call it being a teen in the 80s and getting used to slasher type horror movies. But I just don’t see this as anything but a cheap out.

    • Well, that article was a rambling mess.

      That said, Picard was an utter disappointment and Season 3 of Westworld really did waste the potential that it has built up in the first two seasons. It’s hard to believe that the folks that gave us the excellent slow burn of “Person of Interest” are the same ones behind Westworld.

      I’ve not seen, or quite frankly, heard of Devs before this article. Which means Hulu is really bad at pushing its own content since that’s my major cable alternative.

      • Well I enjoyed Picard and S3 of Westworld.

        Devs is slow paced but has a great scifi premise that you don’t really get till the final episode.

    • I thought Picard and the first season of West World were quite good. Seasons 2 and 3 of WW were a bit of a snooze. I haven’t watched Devs.