What I learned in 2016

This new year is just like any other. Nothing is particularly special about it. It could go good or bad. It will be through our own actions and those actions alone that determine if we move along our chosen path and bask in the admiration of others OR sit in the dark mean mugging and feeling like the world has somehow cheated us. The choice is ours.

Now, at this metaphorical beginning point, let's stop and take stock of ourselves. Are you happy with your personal status quo? Have you taken a look at who you are? And not in the superficial way we always do, that I myself am guilty of as well, we but a real in-depth look at who we are, where we are in our life, and why we do those things we do. One those introspective deep dives where you ask yourself THE WHY. Why are we not chasing our dreams? Or why are we still chasing those dreams? Most of us don't do this for various reasons, partially because we're afraid of the answer. But I think most of us should ask ourselves the hard questions at least once a year.   

We hope and pray that the coming of the new year will bring new opportunities and new direction to our lives. In reality the numbering of the year will make no difference if the circumstances we have placed ourselves in do not change. And I say placed ourselves in because I subscribe to the notion that one is usually responsible for their circumstances - well, at least 95% of the time. Some things we can't control - Earthquakes, hurricanes, corporate merger, illness, etc. But those things we can change that we choose not to we are still responsible for. I am of the belief that those circumstances that hold us back that we can change, we should change.

Change. It's a funny idea. In a world where now everything is instant, change came first. Things change in an instant all the time. And yet that same change can take what seems like forever. And both kinds of change  can be both painful or exhilarating. And both kinds happen all the time. I'm guess what I'm just suggesting that by asking the hard questions, we prepare ourselves for change. And that we can be ready for change to happen to us, AND to change those things we can on our schedule.  

I'm not ashamed to admit that last year I was off and on with the struggle to change my own circumstances. Some were successful, some weren't, and some are still in progress. I'm human. I had some up days and down days. But I kept moving. And I think you should too. Maybe your moving is different than mine, in fact, I'm almost certain it is. But being ready, not just going through the motions of life is key.  Because change is coming. So we need to take stock of ourselves, ask the hard questions and figure out how to put the change we control on our schedule where we can.

As part of my process, I gather up those things I've learned, those lessons that I've learned from my previous year. I hope to internalize them. To make myself better. I put the change on my schedule.

What I learned in 2016

I have spent years wondering the answers to questions that I never even asked.

Only being finished is being finished. There is no almost finished.

Good people to have in your life are harder to find than you think. Not because good people are hard to find, it's because everyone has a life.

Extensive preparation doesn't always make you ready. Sometimes you gotta change what you do to make an impact.

I have a tendency to get comfortable with what I have, and that's bad, because I'm capable of so much more.

The theory of nobility is much harder than the practice. 

I may be too nice and have too much patience, if that's possible.

Falling down isn't the end. Not getting back up is.

Bacon is...it just is.

Plan. Then get started. You may not follow the plan after the first few steps but plan. It gets you started and lets you know where the end lies.

Figure out what gets your day started, what gets you rolling and do that everyday. Even weekends.

I don't like calling people if it's not for business reasons. I feel like I'm bothering them.

Exercise your imagination. Daydream, pretend in the mirror, whatever. Because when we stop dreaming we stop trying.

If you're going to love someone, then love them all you can. People you will really love with your soul aren't easy to find. And they need to know you care.

Baking is God teaching you to take your time.

Learn to cultivate yourself. It's impossible for you not to reap what you have sown.

2016 Can Get Gone....

On Christmas day, a bit of sadness passed into our lives when George Micheal died. I didn't realize he was that young, so this struck me as a little crazy. George was part of my maturation, the period where I went from awkward kid to, um...awkward man-child? More than a few of his songs I can still sing from heart even though I know it's been five or ten years since I heard them. He resonated, which is something you don't see much of in this instant gratification entertainment culture we live in today. The man could sing.

Careless whisper, of a good friend...

And just as I get ready to properly eulogize him....

Carrie Fisher dies. I knew about the heart attack, but I just knew she'd pull through. Damn, I'm a middle aged black man, but Carrie Fisher was Princess Leia and as a kid that gold bikini talked to me. As much as people decry that women can't be strong on film, we met Princess Leia on a secret mission where she stared down one of the baddest villains ever created, then minutes after the 'heroes' arrived SHE TOOK CHARGE OF HER OWN DAMN RESCUE. As we say now, she could do both.

Now I think that this would make a fantastic obit - so I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra.”
― Carrie Fisher, Wishful Drinking

Now...

2016 has just been hell on my childhood. Prince, Muhammad Ali, Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Florence Henderson, Arnold Palmer, Gene Wilder, Doris Roberts, Ron Glass, Merle Haggard, John Saunders, Craig Sager, Morley Safer and and Abe Vigoda. It's an eclectic list to be sure, but then I was raised in age before curated entertainment. I like everything because I liked it, not because it was cool.

Is this what being old feels like? Watching your childhood slowly dissolve.

Because this sucks.

I'll be happy this New Year because this damn year is over. 

Just Musings, I guess

Ramblings Post #330
And I wonder in the dark of the night, can you still see the light, can you still be alright, can't you see I don't want to fight, etc and so on. Song lyrics man. That's the lick. That or dog grooming. Or underwater basketweaving, which I understand is big among athletes as a second career. 

I should be working on my album. The working title is 'A Million Years and fifteen minutes in the Making'

I think this is possible because I have the app Garage Band on my pad and I've actually created two or three decent songs. And I'm not talking about using the loops that come with the app and blending them, I mean I've loaded the individual instruments and plucked out the individual notes and added vocals to create actual original music. I'm no Kanye (poor, poor Kanye) but the songs I've done might qualify as jazz fusion eclectic experimental, if of course you have some tequila before you listen. And aren't really paying attention. It could happen.

This comes up because as I keep procrastinating about finishing this book that's almost done, and gearing up for this certification in January (I'm studying more than I'm writing) I keep looking for the right music to listen to while I study....er, write.

Anyway, last night as I flipped through white papers and the study materials I stumbled upon radio.garden, a website that lets you tune into radio stations around the world. And I tooled about listening to stations in Latvia and Rome, popping into London and then down to Marrakesh where it was bumping. I find it interesting just how much American music is listened to around the world, even in countries where the DJs don't speak English. When I look at it like that, I can see how some are terrified of the cultural influence this little piece of North America. But this isn't a political screed, this is just listening to music from Iran, Beijing and Spain and hearing the same songs.

Back to my album, which I'm now inspired to create and put on soundcloud. I'm going to make that my February project, after this certification. And the book.
Now, I guess, it seems more real, because who knows, maybe I'll even hear it on the radio somewhere. Probably not.

Barkeep. I heard about this drink they make in Norway on the radio. You got any Yak milk? You do? Then you'll need a bull horn, some Svedka vodka, a boiled egg....

Yeah, We still Dem Boys..

Ramblings Post #329
I would like to thank the fair weather fans for their brief stay, and wish them well wherever they land. Git, and don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you! And I would like to remind everyone that we've already punched our playoff ticket, and while I'd love home field as long as we get there and win one I'll feel good about this year. 

After an epic run, the Cowboys have finally lost a game. To them damn NY Giants. I would have preferred Minnesota, but you take what you can get. And now you're saying, whut?

Contrary to the hopes of other Cowboy fans, I wasn't hoping for a run of the table and a one loss season heading into the second season. This is a young team, lead by a rookie, playing wide open get at you football. They'd beat the Ravens with the best defense in football and the Steelers with a last second drive. Their only loss was practically a fluke, with it being blamed on a single player trying to do too much. And as good as they've been, these wins haven't been knock you down and walk away laughing wins, but battles in the trenches that only looked easy in retrospect. 

The Cowboys needed a team loss, where they just didn't execute  and played bad before they got into the one and done shoot-out that is the playoffs. The offense has played badly but still found a way to win, so the team needed loss to get their minds right that they aren't invincible, and what is required for the rest of journey is a new level of commitment  that may not have been needed before or could have been excused from time to time.  And I don't mean this just for Dak and Zeke, who seem surprisingly mature for the little bit of time they've been in the league, but also for the coaches who didn't want to stay creative and appeared to only dabble in play design when it was convenient. I put most of this loss on them: the coaches.

What I really don't want is Dak to end up like RGIII, a phenom in his first season who faded as soon as opposing teams figured him out. And while Dak is consistent, the coaches really haven't gotten creative in the play calling for him with rare exception. Which means other teams who previously had no film now can see what he does, and see that he does it all the damn time. Which is bad. 

Are the Cowboys a Superbowl contender this year? Hell yeah. If they stay healthy and get their minds right.  Will be easy? If it was easy it wouldn't be the NFL. The remaining games are winnable, with I think Tampa Bay and Philadelphia being the more likely and Detroit being a struggle. Two of three wins or one win and a loss by the Giants (who also plays Detroit) means a lock for the division and home field. But it's not over yet. There is still a lot of football to play, and the 'boys have had penchant in the past of pulling defeat from the jaws of victory, but this year I think 'we in there'. And all signs point to that being the case for a while. 

So, take the loss as a reality check. Head back to Jerryworld and let's dig down and see what we're made of. Okay?

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Barkeep. Tequila shots for everybody. I got a good feeling about dem Boys!

So, where you been?

Ramblings Post #327
Take a walk. A long slow walk from your home, from your phone, from the world really, the creature comforts and connectivity you know and look at who you really are. Look at yourself, without your friends or family, without your spouse or child, without your job or home. Imagine you're alone in the world and all you have to do is choose. If you don't choose to go back, then you have a problem. If you do choose to go back, then ask yourself what are taking back that is so valuable? When you know, it's time to head back. 

I haven't been updating this recently, much to my personal chagrin, because I got other stuff on my plate so to speak. I've been working, hustling if you will, to actually get some stuff done. Some of it personal, some of it professional, all of it worth my time. Even though the cattle drive I'm on doesn't seem to want to end, that's a good thing, but I'm carving out some time to get myself situated for better things.  

Although I've been writing a book for forever - No, not that one, the other one. No the other other one. Yeah, I know. So, in an effort to better myself I decided to do a kind of writer boot camp, and challenged myself by signing up for National Write a Novel Month. The goal was to write 50,000 words in 30 days, thus producing a short novel. It turns out the Great Gatsby is roughly just that long so idea makes sense, and 50,000 words is just a little less than 1,700 words per day. This should be doable was my thinking. So, I drew up an outline and on November 1st got started. That would be about where I left you with the exception of noting the new national nightmare.

I was good for a while, steadily working at it. Had a few makeup days where I needed 3,000 and 4,000 words, but in the end I did learn some things which were invaluable. And although I had to pull together roughly 8,000 words in those last three days, I made it over 51,000 with about 30 minutes to spare. Which when I looked at it, is about as many words as I've written on my two previous works in the past 18 months! So there's that. I've discovered I need to work faster. This new work isn't quite done yet though, still a few parts to fill in but I'll finally have something I haven't had in a long time: A completed first draft. Then I'll let it sit until after the second thing I've been working on. 

That second thing is a new certification, which sounds weird in my line of work. But I've talked to some colleagues and been to a few seminars, and it looks promising. So, now I'm looking at study material with an arched eyebrow. My current problem with this whole thing is the material looks so...inadequate. I kept thinking that the books I ordered would be larger and more substantial. And the test questions they all have appear to be so ...obvious. 

 

I want to say I already know most of this stuff. And you know what happens when you start thinking things like that? I get to the test and everything will look like it was written in German. Call it paranoia, call it looking for ghosts where there aren't any, but it's that little voice some where saying  DO MORE! So, even though I've got a good nut of material, I'm still seeking out more. 

 

I can't keep doing what was doing and expecting different results. 

New year, new me. 

Barkeep. A sparkling water please. With a bourbon chaser. What? Baby steps.

Well, that happened.

This is a political post. 

I'm stunned. Still. In one swoop of apathy and lack of scope, this happened. Well, damn.
  

First, if you are a pundit, please turn in your press credentials, your notepad and your crystal ball. We thank you for your time and your service but you know nothing. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Because up until last night the conventional wisdom was an openly racist billionaire with multiple bankruptcies and a pending rape case who openly called for violence against his opponents and employed no ground team and no ad buys couldn't win a national election. But this election has proved that conventional wisdom is utter rubbish. Apparently the world is always in flux and all that any of us were ever doing is guessing. 

Eight months ago the big story was the disarray the Republican Party was in, and how it was soon going to be impossible for them to win nationally. In reality, the story should have been the Democratic party and it's less than democratic anointing of a chosen candidate. So pundits, we're done with you. It was a nice run, but we have no more need for this type of "filter bubble" reporting. Here's a lovely gold Casio watch and coupon for extra sprinkles at Dunkin Dounts. 

Because I was actively not paying attention it was only within the past few days, after reading an article I can't find right now, that I realized what central theory Clinton's campaign was organized around. Looking at my own scribblings from just 24 hours ago I can see that I apparently bought into it as well:  "You need surgery. Who do you trust more: A doctor with a malpractice suit against them, or the Manager of your favorite fast food place?" And what strikes me as odd is that it type thinking appears to based on an discredited theory of Ayn Rand, just a tweak away from one formerly embraced by the Republican party elites. This alone should have made it suspect. 

Clinton's campaign, the thrust of it and the memes of it, were based in the idea of meritocracy, the idea that the one who is most meritorious, most educated, best equipped should be the one to lead.  It sounds great on paper, but it's essentially Rand's Rational Choice Theory but with a trail of bona fides as a supplemental. And Rand's theory was hokum because it discounted that emotional tendencies continually bleed through most of our decisions.  

In essence, Clinton felt because she had a fantastic resume, if her interview was just so-so it didn't matter: She was the most qualified candidate. Not the best, the most qualified.  By contrast her opponent had a terrible resume, but his interview was so good the interviewer took him out for a beer afterwards. There is more to leadership and getting elected than merit. Clinton had an inability to invoke deep seated feelings outside the cabal of Democratic elite, who essentially anointed her in 2008 and hung onto that choice into the now. Clinton just didn't excite people, she brought no energy, and much like in 2008 just assumed she was going to win. She presented as the inevitable. It turned out we weren't with her because we wanted to be, but because we had to be. And it showed at the polls. 

*Deep, sad sigh*

With all that said, let's do a quick rundown of where we'll stand in say, a year from now - 

√ The Affordable Healthcare Act will be overturned and replaced by...nothing? Or maybe block grants to the states which in turn won't squander the money because there is like no corruption at the state level. 

√ Corporate taxes are going to be cut to boost job creation and the economy, despite the theory failing to work in Wisconsin and Kentucky. 

√ The military budget is about get a boost. 

√ These will cause the deficit to explode because we'll be taking in less and spending lots more, but because suddenly deficits won't matter anymore, because the Republicans are in charge.

√ The Department of Justice will cease to investigate officer related shootings or even be interested in pursuing them. The SEC, already weak, is about to become completely toothless.

√ The Supreme Court will on it's way to being right-wing conservative to an extreme for the next 30 years or so. Such a lock they might even try to repeal Roe v. Wade.

√ More militarization of the local police. 

√ The Voting Rights act will be completely dismantled if not completely repealed, and emboldened by the success of their previous efforts the prospect of voter registration purges under the guise of protecting the integrity of the vote will become more commonplace. 

√ The Dream Act will be eviscerated 

√ Any type of Affirmative Action may be removed from all aspects of life. Damn a diversity hire.

√ The Post Office may close. All of them. Seriously. 

√ Regulations that protect us from ourselves are about to go the way of the dodo. Because it's not about us its about profit. Profit now rules. 

And finally, and most depressing, the Republican Party is about to go to work overtime to reduce Obama's legacy to that of a political footnote at best, and his memory to that of painting in a museum. The plaque might even just read "This black guy was in charge for a while. Nothing happened." It will be as if the last eight years were but a dream.

But hey, there is work in Arizona! We got a wall to build. 

Damn, damn, damn. 

Is it over? Tomorrow? See ya tomorrow then...

This is a political post. 

I'm not sure what will happen by tomorrow. If the Second Civil war has started, meet me at the spot we talked about that time, and bring some bait. If not, I think the only thing I'll be happy with that the damn ads are over. I was just so damn tired.

If you were hoping for scintillating commentary this time around, I'm sorry. I'm working on a certification,  the "ranch" where I'm working never seems to run out of cattle, and I like to do this little thing called sleep every now and then. And occasionally, from time to time, I even leave the house. But I digress.

This political circus for me was best summed up in one...tweet? Instagram? I don't remember, but it went something like this:

You need surgery. Who do you trust more: A doctor with a malpractice suit against them, or the Manager of your favorite fast food place?

Hillary isn't perfect, but who is? They've been after her for years and haven't been able to catch her, so if nothing else it speaks to her intelligence and craftiness. But her opponent is so unsophisticated and unprepared, that very thing he swears he's an expert at and will get going again, the economy and Wall Street, lurches in fear at the idea of him as the Commander-in-Chief. I know a lot of people think he's the answer, or at least a brick through the window of the people who got us here, but Trump isn't who they envision him to be. He's who he says he is. And who he says he is is a person not really ready to President.

That's all I got this political season. Now I got stuff to do.

Hope the world is still here next week.  

Cubs Win!

Ramblings Post #326
I follow sports. I follow basketball, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, rugby, curling, cycling, NASCAR, surfing, gymnastics, track, bowling, and whatever else ESPN puts on when I'm not paying attention. I can find something about it I like and will watch fascinated. Except hockey. Blue line, five hole, dude, I just get so confused.

I watched WGN as a kid, so I know the Cubs story. But sadly when I was in Chicago I did not visit Wrigley Field. It was the end of the fall heading into winter when I got there, and by the time the season was starting back up again I was already headed back for warmer climes. (Note: Do not move north in the winter, you will get the wrong impression).

I watched parts of the series. Okay, watching a lot of baseball is dull. Playing cool, watching is a study in patience. But finally, the Cubs, after 108 years win it all. But the real reason I'm happy the Cubs won? It made this man happy.

Bill Murray. National Treasure.

Barkeep, One for me, and one for my old pal Mr. Murray.

Where have I been? (Thoretically speaking, ya know)

Ramblings Post #324
It is what it was, because what its gonna be ain't come yet, until you do what you gotta do, and all you got is what you have. So just go get it done already. Damn. 

Until I need it again.

If you read this regularly, (and you probably don't)  you may be asking yourself where is all the witty dialogue and commentary on the modern election? I was so good last time I must be itching to get at the reins again. And this contest is just so rich with things to tear into. Or why not praise MY newly rejuvenated Dallas Cowboys, who are rolling this season with Dak Prescott at the reins? As much as I think of the guy, I think Tony has taken his last snap, at least with a star on his helmet. Or comment on the shows I've been watching, asking questions about the modern mystery sci-fi hybrid Westworld? So many questions, but it's only episode two, so I'll try to be patient. Or my impressions on Issa Rae's HBO debut with Insecure? It's a we'll see for now. Or how Parker messed his big film coming out in Birth of a Nation? We got different rules now bruh, catch up. Or explaining the prep for new project - a novel in thirty days with the National Write A Novel In Thirty Days Event happening in November? Stopping one to write another is bad, but I need to get my daily writing numbers up and this is how I'm going to do it.

No updates on Schmoopy, Spanky, Serve or Sporty. Nothing about my old running Partner's wedding that I attended.  The career direction I've re-oriented myself to as the time passes and it seems I'm not progressing at the speed I had hoped. (For the last one, it's the Sharperson method:  If the game plan isn't working like you expected, you make adjustments - keep a back in to block, slide the linebackers out, change the coverage, do something!) Hurricanes, lunch monotony, college football, Atlanta gentrification, Big Papi's retirement, chicken wings, comic books, Samsung phones, or any of the restaurants I've breezed through as of late.

Why? Am I tired of updating my life to strangers? Or more aptly tired of screaming into the darkness? Or is it that maybe I just have nothing else to say?

None of these are true. I'm just in a different space right now. And now, because I'm doing five or six things at once, things come in bursts. Little mental storms of creativity where things just pour out. Those half finished posts I used to sketch out at lunch no longer get the full treatment. It's weird. I got other stuff I got to get out first.

But this too shall pass. Turn the faucet on full blast for a while. Just not right this minute.

Barkeep. Water. Ice. Lemon. And a quiet song because I got a busy week to go.  

Movie Trailers. Seriously.

Ramblings #321
I am a creative. I write the stories that run through my head, with that neat program on my Ipad I pretend to make music riffs, and I have some canvas and as soon as I remember to buy that paint...and those brushes...and maybe a smock, I'm gonna paint something. Oh, and the movie. But I'm also fairly well versed in business, so I realize it's not JUST the talent, but also packaging and marketing. Which brings me to this....

Seriously, who is responsible for trailers in Hollywood? Which editor? Because I watched the whole of the new Eddie Murphy movie in 2 minutes, and while it looks very good, a little over saturated with emotional  treacle and using what looks like the old Magical Black Person trope, but still good. The trailer however under cut the entire reason for seeing it, because you can practically see the whole thing. A lot of the dramatic tension just gone.

You don't believe me? Here is what I gathered from the TWO minute trailer - A mother is dying, and her ex (or possibly just the daughter's father) arranges for Mr. Church (Murphy) to come and cook for the family. The little girl initially hates him but comes to love him. Mother slowly deteriorates. Daughter gets accepted to college and daughter hates mother for dying too soon. Mother dies. Daughter thinks her life is over as well, but Church gives her the money to go to college. She goes to college, at some point she gets pregnant and comes back to Mr. Church. Something happens, perhaps a complication or an accident, but an older Church comes to the hospital and gets her, giving her a place to stay. She defends her relationship with the older black man, one that is entirely paternalistic, by explaining to some unknown potential antagonist figure that she now knows that after the money her mother had ran out Church for some reason (possibly love) somehow supported them. Mr. Church then helps the daughter raise her own child, for which he is grateful. Mr. Church has some secret he wants no one to know about.

This is two minutes of trailer. Two minutes. See for yourself.

Explain to me why I now still have to go see this movie? I like Eddie Murphy. I've thought of him as a grand untapped dramatic talent after his terrific Oscar nominated turn in Dreamgirls, so I'm happy to see him in something that gives him a chance to stretch. But after the trailer, my entire impetus for maybe seeing this film is over. I know most of the story now, with the only mystery is what the character Church is hiding. I know the mother dies, the girl gets to go to college, she gets pregnant and has a baby, and Church doesn't die .... unless the whole thing is a flashback at Church's funeral. 

Can we please stop this? This give us all the high points deal? Unless the trailers are going have SPOILER ALERT pop up after the first thirty seconds, the idea of giving away the entire film in the trailer just seems silly. Sure, I can watch the same movie over and over, but a film that I'm seeing the first time should still have a little leeway to surprise me, some dramatic tension. I don't know this one will still be able to do that.

I will reiterate an idea I proposed some time ago: A person creating a trailer should only be allowed to use footage from the first thirty minutes of a film, with the exception of a film involving a huge battle finale needed to show scale and scope - BUT the battle footage used cannot contain any named character. If the first half of the film isn't engaging, or can't be cut so that the trailer is engaging, then perhaps the film ought not have been shot in the first place. But that's just my opinion, and I'm not really anybody.

Barkeep. Wine. I feel erudite and critical of minute details and other silly crap like that. Something Scandinavian. Yes, a Scandinavian wine. Or Boone's farm.

Gene Wilder was....

"It's pronounced, Fronk-en-steen."

And it was then I realized that Gene Wilder was just that good. 

Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein

I don't remember the first time I saw Young Frankenstein, but I remember it was funny. Very funny. For a while even among us black college students if someone said "Blucher" someone else was expected to whinny.  Or maybe it was just the group I hung out with. As a child from the seventies and teenager of the eighties, I just missed what might of been the last golden age of comedy. And now, as cable access and later the rise of the  internet has opened up our world, our response our comedy seems to have shrunk itself, catering more and more to a specific audience. Comedy usually comes from shared experience, and what's funny to say, someone from New York, or country fans, or "urban professionals" doesn't resonate with the rest of us like it used to. We've become niche funny in a niche world. 

But in the seventies and eighties, you had to be universally funny. Everyone had to get the joke. And Gene Wilder was genuinely funny. And the funny part of him being funny, the really funny part, is that he wasn't telling jokes. His talent was the reaction to a brilliant setup that left him with that prose taken out of context is just ordinary, but with him made funny. He was the straight man as funny. Wilder was the whole package: the writing, the timing, the looks he would give. We don't see that very much anymore. 

He will forever be remembered as Willy Wonka, that magical man and his factory that still thrills children, and former children, to this day. He was brilliant in Blazing Saddles as the Waco Kid, his turn as the aforementioned Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced Fronk-en-steen) or his turn as the accountant with a dream in The Producers with Zero Mostel. And then there is the stuff of film legend, his classic parings with Richard Pryor in Silver Streak and Stir Crazy. Pure Hollywood magic. Man but they were funny together. I hope they meet up in heaven. Well, I think Richard might be able to get day passes or something. (Richard was the greatest, but let's be real here.)

Mr. Wilder. We couldn't ask for more, and can't thank you enough. 

Five Minutes watching: The Night of...

I used to not watch a lot of movies because I didn't have a lot of time. Now I have time, and a lot of television is horrible, and Turner Classic Movies isn't always on point. So, I watch a movie or two, or five, when I'm not writing, or reading, or playing video games, or sleep. You know, I guess I really don't watch a lot of movies. Go figure. 

This is really more of a critique/recap of the the last few episodes than anything else. Spoilers ahead by the ton, so if you haven't watched the series or the finale, ready the first paragraph comeback later after you're done. If you went into this thinking there would be a definitive ending, that we would find out what happened that night, that you're going to be sorely disappointed. I both like and don't like the ending, in that while there was no "earth shattering kaboom," the story doesn't as much end, as peter out into nothing and much like life, just keeps moving.

John Stone. Attorney. photo from HBO

First, to be honest, I didn't realize it was a ninety minute finale until the first half hour was over, which eased my fear that the show was going to end with the setup of the jury returning and the the setup being a fade to black there or an abrupt cut right after the phrase "We the jury find the accused Nasir Orenthal Khan..." Don't laugh, that's a critical darling dramatic ending, and I really didn't want to see it. What I really hoped to see that was that Naz would have been found not guilty in the first twenty minutes or so, and the rest of the episode focus on the aftermath for all the characters; from the mundane wheels of justice rolling on to Freddy figuring out his next move to Naz trying to figure out what happens from here, his relationship with his family or perhaps an examination of the current culture we live in, where verdicts don't matter just public opinion. But what we got was okay. 

I enjoyed a number of things about the series, and seeing the machinations that happen behind the scenes. What particularly rung true for me in this finale was the Prosecutor's decision to keep the case going even after Det. Box turned up new evidence. This was a perfect example of what happens sometimes, in that the prosecutor isn't interested in guilt or innocence, but only who can be reasonably prosecuted. It's an imperfect system, but it's what we have, and I think seeing it onscreen might give a few people pause after living with the nobility that was Law and Order for so long. I'd like to think that most of the time that once you get the guy with the bloody knife leaving the scene, well, then you've got your guy. But you've still got to do your due diligence, which this episode and Chandra's court room tactics showed the police clearly had not done. Which brings us to Chandra.

 

Poor Chandra. It was fascinating watching Chandra mature, then fall apart as the episodes went on. Pulled from legal obscurity into the courtroom, it looked like she was rising to the task and would end the series a slightly less jaded version of John Stone. So it was shock when she made out with Naz in holding, me screaming loudly at the television "what are you doing!?" And it just went down hill from there. I still can't for the life of me figure out why she decided to put Naz on the stand. That you do not do this is a basic concept of criminal law class, right up there with never ask a question for which you don't already know the answer. And that after she'd made that boneheaded decision, then saw her client was unstable, she KEPT GOING WITH IT, even bringing him the drugs he needed for his fix. This was the part that was beyond belief for me. Maybe she got a little overconfident with the him testifying thing, but for such a relatively naive lawyer to take such risks with her own career is just ....I'm still lost, why exactly I don't know.  

And then, after the disaster that was Naz's testimony, and it was a disaster, Box flipped the apple cart over by using the equivalent of  what is referred to in legal terms as a "noisy exit." By getting up and walking out during Helen's closing statement, loudly and looking disgusted, he may have been communicating with the jury that even he, the detective whom they knew had helmed the case wasn't okay with all this anymore. And it wasn't an accident, because having been on the force as long as he had, Box had to know what he was doing. Subtle beast indeed.  

And then we very neatly find out why John Stone, possessor of such a capable legal mind and wise to ways of the legal jungle relegates himself to the kind of law he practices. Despite his knowledge of what needs to be done, John almost can't do it. Forced to give the closing argument, his previously vanquished eczema returns with a vengeance, brought on by the stress of being responsible for man's life with his words. It was sad to watch in a way, and it explains why he pleads out clients he knows are guilty. It lets him sleep at night. But shrewd mind that he is, he's able to work his circumstance into his closing, sounding like a exhausted warrior at the end of a long battle giving that last rousing speech before he leads those who follow into hell. Which produces the definition of an  ambiguous hung jury. I was pleasantly surprised by Helen's decision not to re-try the case. But then I remembered Helen's uncharacteristically weak close, this after her almost gleeful gutting of the defendant. It was as though both she and Box had lost the heart to finish what they'd started.  

As stark as the case looked, and as disassociated as the characters were, it was nice to see bits of humanity seep through.as these cogs of the system going out on a limb for Naz. I'm sure that's what Chandra thought she was doing (after getting used by her boss for her race), but the real care came from John Stone and oddly, Freddy the prison bully. While John first seemed just interested in Naz as a client, a big payday and perhaps as the case that might change his career trajectory, he later became a shaman of sorts. Freddy I think, actually liked Naz as a person. It was Freddy who gave Naz the shoes for the shower, tried to get him the proper color shirt for trial, the private cell, and forgave him for not snitching. You could tell that even as the big bad, Freddy needed a friend, which is what he was finding in Naz. And then realizing his friend was innocent, made the move that should have gotten  his friend a mistrial save for a persnickety judge. This actual caring made it particularly sad that Freddy couldn't say goodbye to Naz when it was all over. 

Now....

Reading the overnights, I was expecting and found the howls of anguish at how Chandra's character was underdeveloped and wasted, which I read in large part to mean that it's a sexist racist misogynistic travesty that the woman of color didn't emerge the triumphant victor. As much as the parts which baffled me - the kiss, the drugs, the putting him on the stand - seem to come out of nowhere, the idea that she was under written, a plot device or part of the background after all the screen time she had is a hell of a stretch. Yes, she was introduced as a PR prop by a grandstanding attorney, but she turned into an able lawyer learning from an veteran lawyer, felt ashamed for her client's parents whom she tried to console, put together a pretty good case and maybe over identified with the client. Then a little heady from her success in exposing the narrow mindedness of the police investigation, got a little too cocky and went a little too far. It may have been ego which did it, we'll never know, because here is the part I didn't like: that we have no idea what comes next for her like we get for all the other principals. That part I'm angry about.  

 

Was it a good show? Yes, I found it worth the hours invested, and the hours I spent re-watching parts of it. It was well acted, well thought out as to be purposefully muddled, and excellently done from an acting standpoint. I liked it. 

Little Things....

 

■ There were a lot of little moments that became things later on.  I want to go back to the first episode and see if that new suspects photo was in the frame by the bed like I think it was.

■ I don't think they showed the passage of time right. There should have been about a year between the arrest and the court date, but it looks like he got arrested in October, and the trial was in February the following year - as evidenced by the date stamp on the camera that caught Chandra getting Naz his "stuff."- Seemed a little quick, but this is dramatized for your protection.

■ In trying to figure out why Chandra kissed Nas, and I think that the writers tried to setup a rationale but failed. During the lovable scene where Stone reveals the holy grail of jurors - Young urban females - Chandra admits she's depressed because she broke up with boyfriend, and now feels alone. Stone offers some weak sympathy, but we leave it there. Now, the prep for murder trial leaves little room for socializing, so it's possible that Naz and Chandra's shared loneliness caused a lapse in judgment. I realize I'm grasping at straws here, it's not like Chandra had a complete lack of sense. And if you could think of another way to get Stone into the first chair, let me know. 

■ It may have seemed like a tossed off moment, but I think two things spurred Box to try, even at the eleventh hour to go back to see what he missed. First, it was Chandra putting him on the stand to talk about his history, the procedure he'd disregarded and all the suspects he overlooked, and second, it was the overheard conversation in the bar, about the cop who doesn't care. Box realized he was that cop, that he'd become a bored professional, and it irked him.

 

■ John, lose the cat. I'm a dog guy.

Hillary just might be the world's first real Super-villain

This is a political post. Nonetheless...a segue piece. 

I'm pro-Bernie but would vote Hillary as I am a one issue voter, and that issue is not opening the seventh seal and ushering in the apocalypse.
~ Ivan Hernandez 

President Obama is a family man with no scandals  who sounds like the former professor he is and looks like that background character in an action movie who looks middling, but you find out is a little tougher than he first appears a little later on. Even with both of his political hands tied behind his back in the form of a hostile Congress, he proved to be a very effective leader. I had hoped that the first woman president would be much like this; a savvy crusader that was calm in the midst of chaos and inspired you to be better for your country. Instead, we got a political version of Griselda Blanco.

I'm sorry Bernie Bros, and I voted for Bernie, but she got us. Now we have no choice. We HAVE to vote for her. That's right, HAVE TO. No ifs, no buts, no coconuts. The stakes are just a bit too high.

This is does not mean I agree with her tactics or that of the DNC, the bulk of which to me indicate a definite house cleaning is needed, not just the removal of the Debster. New leadership, new staff, new janitors. Everybody.  All this time pundits were talking about how the RNC was going to circumvent the will of the people to keep Trump out, and all the time the DNC was was doing all the real dirty work. Go figure. It's hard to be mad at them, when it turns out we are worse than them. But I digress...

First, to the Hillary supporters who want us to join up and close ranks, I'm going to ask you to be quiet right now, because trust me you are not helping. I've heard the arguments that she had more votes anyway so the shenanigans on the Debster's part don't really matter, and I find them flawed in their conception. Just like you can't use a word to define that word, you can't use the results of the rigged election process as proof of the result. And to the cynics no this isn't the result of SJW fanatics willing to corrupt democracy itself to get a woman to the top of ticket, because Hills has been putting this scheme together long before that movement started. I'm talking about back when she like to use the plural to describe her husband's presidency. (I bet it won't be "we" this time.) No, I need ya'll "Hill's Angel's" to back up. We former Bernie supporters just need a bit of space to process this.

Now, my people, aside from the idea that Jill Stein is a kook with her wishy washy vaccination ideas as well as polling in the teens this close to post time, and as revolutionary as the idea of a write in President might be, both qualify as a long shot options. Like lottery long shot. And while in a lot of instances it might be worth a shot even if it doesn't work, now is not the time to even try it. The price of failure is too high.

The Price? Well, let's get out our omni-political calculators. Ready? Let's start with the basics. A divided Democratic party and as little as 5% shift in some states means that Trump wins the White House. Double bonus, he could potentially be gifted with a fully cooperative Republican House and Senate because we newly minted high minded activists voted Green "just the punish the Democrats in general"'down the ticket for their transgressions. We so smart. 

So Trump's in. Now, given the aging process, and the nomination currently in limbo, the next President could get up to four Supreme Court choices, shaping American life and policy for the next three decades. Which means that Justice Chris Christie, Justice Omorosa Stallworth, Justice Sean Hannity and Justice Melania Trump isn't just potentially morally questionable slash fiction, but also a real possibility. Then, armed with a unassailable conservative majority, I can easily see a possible complete overturn of little things like, say, Roe v. Wade. Maybe a complete disassembly of the Civil Rights Act, the end of Affirmative Action, a repeal of Obamacare and the solidification of the increasingly large amounts of shadow contributions to political parties. And that's just domestic. On the international front, I think that our closest ally doesn't want to allow Trump into the country sounds peachy, his plan for the unwinding of NATO just as Russia surges seems brilliant, I can already see troops overseas somewhere because who doesn't love a war and do we even have to mention the Wall?

And that's just the beginning.

Think of this as your moment of blackness. Much like black people have in most elections, the candidates aren't really what you were hoping for (the Obama Presidency being an exception.) So you go down to the polls and vote for the one who will do the least damage.

For you, that person is Hillary Clinton. And now your moment of blackness is over. And no, this does not grant you any n-word privileges.

A Non-Review: Ghostbuster's 2016

Ramblings Post #317
I had a bad feeling about this. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong but I'll never know, but this will explain why I was all weirded about this. Those special memories I was talking about. Now, I'm fairly certain those who only read the title and the first few lines will be outraged by this. But then those with short attention spans really don't read me anyway. I could post Beyonce's private phone number and nobody would notice. Not that I have it. But I'm just saying, I'm an acquired taste. 

I don't intend to go see Ghostbusters 2016. No interest at all. I'll explain a little later.

First, I don't think this film will be initially rated on it's merits or it's faults. Not for years. The detractors view it as an abomination, a reboot of something that should have been left alone. To them it's like remaking Citizen Kane or Star Wars. To the film's champions it is a glass ceiling breaking and paradigm shifting call of truth to power. It's funny dammit, and you better like it. Maybe ten years from now we'll all be able to watch it after all the attached dross has been shorn away and look at it for what it is...a comedy about people chasing ghosts. It might even be good.

What I have found curious, and more than slightly disturbing, is the glee in which those who champion the film have taken in bashing those who oppose the very idea of the film. Those who disagree with the idea are often categorized as not wanting to give women a chance or clinging to the past (the term man-baby is just weird) and alternatively must just be wildly misogynist. Not a little, a lot. I'm certain their are some small penis jokes floating about too. And maybe some are misogynistic, but I bet most aren't, but the righteousness embodied in some of the insults feels downright Freudian. Damn, tell us how you really feel. I realize that we are in an age where wholly demonizing your opponent is the norm, but this feels more personal, angrier, what should be rational discussions get clouded with belittling terms and ceaseless name calling. From the women. I mean jeez, men have feelings too. 

Now, let me tell you why I'm not going to see Ghostbusters 2016:

When I was growing up, the neighborhood I lived in didn't have many kids in it. Really not any kids. My parents were busy providing us with a living, and this was in the days before play-dates and the internet, so you just sucked it up an watched a lot of television. On the other hand the people I went to school with, in the age of cluster education, all lived together. Like right around the corner, use the backdoor close. So I daily would hear about their after-school adventures, of which I was not a part of for reasons beyond my control. I know, such FUN. I did however, get to go to summer camps. Sleepaway summer camps. At camp I was just one of the guys, I felt like I belonged and wasn't the guy who didn't know what happened that time that so was funny. And it was during one of those summers, where I was just one of the guys, we saw Ghostbusters. That bus ride back to camp where we shouted movie lines at each and laughed....

So, this particular piece of intellectual property holds a special meaning for me. I'd like to keep that great childhood feeling, that memory. I am allowed that, aren't I?

I understand that Hollywood doesn't give a damn about my feelings. To them intellectual property is property, and goodwill is infinitely transferable. With the advent of the internet and alternate access points for entertainment, the slow development of property is a thing of the past - it's a blockbuster or it's garbage. Filmmakers can't afford to experimental, and are reduced to trying to graft the goodwill from the old to the new and double up. Economics, well, the desired economics, cause Hollywood to alternate between being the creators of dreams, tellers of great stories, builders of soul-moving myths, and greedy self-serving assholes.

I want to see women succeed. We need more female heroes. But this particular piece of intellectual property is special, okay? I mean jeez, I can name three or four female oriented pieces of fiction ripe for revival or raising to the next level of public awareness without trying hard. Where is the Honor Harrington movie? Or the re-reboot of Modesty Blaise? Or Dakota North? Someone can go back and try to get Tank Girl to make sense. Or a try a Nightwing Restorations series? There is is the story I read that I thought would have been perfect for a (when they were all alive) Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White reunion that involved a island community in the 40's, a scavenger hunt, motorcycles with sidecars and a bank robbery. If I find that, can we do that now? Where is that Lumberjanes adaptation? Reboot Laura Croft? This list took like 30 seconds.

I know why Hollywood doesn't care, they've imagined themselves as desperate. I didn't expect the same from society. Maybe we need to sit down and talk more than we know. As one of my coworkers put after some conversation about this: There is so much out there that female characters need not usurp the identities of male characters to be validated. They can be their own people. I thought she had a point.

I hope the film does well, and that we can put this all behind us.

Barkeep. A drink for the ladies! What? Buying a woman a drink is sexist? Well, I guess this one worked out for me then....

Some thoughts on Tragedy

This is a political post. 

I'm going to first suggest a simple step, a change of policy.  How about....all media outlets NOT use mugshots to discuss any victims AND stop using Facebook glamour photos to describe any alleged murderers. Let's start there. 

I drove down to visit the folks the the country this week. My father has started wearing shorts, which is monumental if you know him, and my mother is still putting together food for me to take so I don't have to cook when I get back. My younger brother looks good. I bring this up because it on those trips that I try to escape my bubble and see what the rest of the world is thinking. I find those who only want to work in echo chambers unpalatable, no matter what the views are, so I strive not to be one of them whenever possible. So, between my house and my parents, I listen to a variety of local media to see where my thoughts are on the social spectrum. 

I was somewhat taken aback.

On the final leg of the journey back from parents on Sunday, I tuned into a a right wing pundit's radio show.  What at first seemed funny, then a lot less funny, quickly transformed into a defensive screed. Listening to him I got the impression that Libertarians are apparently trying to join Crossfitters and Vegans, in that every one in those groups can't wait to share that fact with you. This radio pundit mentioned he was a Libertarian before nearly every statement he made, as though the term signified his thoughts held more gravity due to his association. After listening for almost a half hour, him working through his always self centered rationalizations as a way of explanations, contradicting himself and failing to see it, and ignoring basic concepts of empathy I'm surprised he's still on the radio. Ah, but it was conservative radio, so my bad.  

He first indicated that he was sure white male privilege was a fraudulent concept. Apparently just designed to annoy him. Then he explained how there was no relationship between the Dallas police department and what happened in Baton Rouge and Minnesota. As though this was a news flash, and we aren't all aware that the irrational people don't think logically. There was a long piece about how terrible hate crime laws are, because people should only be judged on the actions. But he kept repeating the term "in cold blood" to describe the events in Dallas as though simply killing someone wouldn't qualify as heinous enough. He followed that up with the Black Lives Matter Movement conspiracy concept, in the protests that continued despite the shooting were designed to push the events in Dallas off the front page. As though the BLM movement is a vast well organized machine. He finished by to educating his listeners to the dangers of thought police, how he was an enlightened man who knew he was and needed no validation, while carefully treading over some past professional transgressions he was obviously still very bothered about. It would have been funny if he wasn't dead serious.

That he has a radio show, which means people listen to him, is a frightening concept.

It is my opinion that what happened in Dallas was outrageous, there is no reason to shoot police officers at all. Even now, prominent activists have been calling for peaceful protests all weekend, not pushing out calls for a repeat performance. Before this act of senseless violence we saw a model demonstration, where the police and protesters were even taking photos together. Afterwards, we found ourselves again in the cycle of finger pointing, confirmation bias derived anger and the usual conspiracy theories. What could and should have been a starting point for reasonable conversation concerning the deaths of Sterling and Castile, has once again devolved into social and political gamesmanship. Despite what my new favorite radio personality would have you believe, it is possible to both a believer in the ideals of Black Lives Matter and pro-Police. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I'm not sure where we're headed. We live in...in interesting times.

Changes in thinking an attitudes move slowly, but we live in an instant digital world, where we expect change and satisfaction quickly. Where relationships can blossom in 500 words or less. This problem isn't from a digital world, and so we're going to have to go back...to a time of thoughtful conversation and patience...to address it. I hope we're up to it.

This shouldn't be happening.

This is a political post. 

Alton Sterling And Philando Castile.

I shouldn't know these names. I shouldn't have to know about these names. These incidents should not have happened. This shouldn't be the America I live in. I am just so tired of this.

Will these names join the list of names where justice fails. We all know the drill: Death. Suspension of the officer. Blame the victim. No charges filed/No conviction. Repeat. Are we to believe that in every single instance, now numbering in the hundreds, this is always okay? It's like the prosecutors aren't even trying. 

Let's be clear here. Even those considered THUGS have rights. The victim having a police record does not justify a police shooting. And when did we reach the point where compliance gives the officer has the right to shoot?

I just... I tried to let my thoughts settle here, to figure out what to say. But I just can't. Not right now. 

A Quick Restaurant Review - Another Broken Egg Cafe

I don't do these like I used to, because I don't eat out like I used to. Well, I still eat out, but I usually get it to go because I've found that while eating alone is mildly depressing, eating alone in a restaurant just looks bad. It does really, unless you're at the bar, which looks suspect without a drink, but I've cut drinking to practically a standstill, so now I'm at the bar alone with no drink and plate of food. Trust me, my couch is more comfortable, AND I get to control the remote. But I digress. So out of the blue Serve hits me up about brunch at like 3am on the group chat, and because I'm half sleep I say sure and when I wake up I'm doing brunch.

Yay! Brunch.

So we decide to meet up at Another Broken Egg in Vinings. The restaurant is part of chain and has a location in mid-town as well, but since Serve and I both live on the west side, I figured this was an easier drive. And knowing that there would be a wait of possibly a half hour because Atlanta is a brunch town - and that Serve would be late because the last time few times we did brunch she was late - I went prepared. Making sure the iPad was powered and my Kindle app ready I sallied forth.

The cafe is in a one of those developments that has replaced the mall, you know, a little shopping area with a diverse but carefully homogenized store fronts and odd sized parking lots that allow for shade trees and flowing bushes to hide which spots are taken. It's supposed to encourage walking and fresh air. Bleh. I for one miss the malls and the air-conditioning. Inside the spot is nice though, colorful and surprisingly bright with tables and booths in a L-shaped dining area separated by a free standing bar. It even has a nice veranda on the back which I imagines overlooks one of those wonderfully tricky odd sized parking lots.

I get there and check in, and they have this new app you need to download instead of one of the buzzer things. I'm a little skeptical at first, I hate putting unnecessary crap on my phone, but this one seems useful. It's called NoWait, and it keeps track of the wait times at various local restaurants. It doesn't allow you to check in or anything, but if you're trying to pick a spot I could see where knowing it's a thirty minute wait at Chez Chez La Hongree or that it's an hour at Feed Me Grubhouse would be nice information. Modern technology, eh?

I start reading on the verandah-ish patio space. Serve shows up ten minutes later, well before we're seated - surprising - and we catch up. The usual stuff grown people talk about, career, house, career, plans for the rest of the summer, etc. No, no I'm not smuggling Chinese babies, or want to be a fry cook, or moving to Alaska, nothing like that, no earth shattering revelations. It's just catching up, which we haven't done for a minute because of this thing called life...and the reality that she lives just North of West Nowhere.

First tip. Get the benigets! They call them biscuit benigets, but don't be fooled. They're light and airy, coated in powdered sugar and served with this jelly concoction. Serve swore she could eat the whole plate of them if pressed, and after tasting one I couldn't blame her. They're a great starter. My dining companion, who is vegetarian, or pescatarian, or something that makes eating out more difficult than necessary, had the Chez B omelette, but opted for regular mushrooms instead of the portobello on the menu. Now this is where you need to pay attention - they're open to substitutions. This means they actually cook the food in the on site and aren't serving prepackaged stuff. A lot of places don't cook onsite. Serve even got the them to make her hot chocolate with milk instead of water. They are on point. I got a Belgian waffle with a side of bacon and eggs. Now this is where they lost me. The bacon is *gasp* baked. I swear I almost got the sausage instead. But the waitress swore up and down I'd love the bacon. I decided to risk it.

Waffle with Eggs. The green stuff is from the Chez B. We ate all the benigets.

The food was good, but not awe-inspiring. The waffle light, but a little soft without the crisp edge I like. The baked bacon, er..pork meat strips, were good, but not go home and try to make it yourself good. And Serve liked her omelette, but it wasn't I think I would have another one even though I shouldn't good. Good enough to take out of town family good. Which is great, because it's very family oriented - lots of kids and families out. The service was excellent though, can't stress that enough. Substitutions and servers willing to do a little bit extra? I think we left a 25% tip, maybe even a skosh more.

Would I go again? Yes. And that is really all the info you need to know. 

BRexit. Or How to ruin your country in one easy vote.

This is a political post. 

Let me put this in, more or less silly, but still accurate, terms. Britain has decide to break up with it's girlfriend, the European Union. It's tired of having to check in on late nights out or sit through her reality shows and just knows the fun times are around the corner if it just didn't have to put up with her relatives dropping by all the time. Now, after this break up, Britain for some reason thinks it can still get the EU to keep doing the laundry, buying the groceries, and getting frisky on the regular, you know, all the parts that Britain likes. Oh, and if it could not have to move out for while, that would be great too. Britain apparently doesn't listen to many Beyonce songs.  

I hope the stalwart conservatives in this country are watching, because this is the destination of that whole "take back our country movement" that has put reality show TV star and carnival barker billionaire Donald Trump in the driver's seat of one of America's major political parties. Visceral feel good action for a particular segment of the population, damn the actual consequences to everyone else. The BRexit vote was a repudiation of globalization, the process we've been undergoing in various stages for the past three decades now. The problem is that much like social gaming or a vodka with a new horrible flavor, globalization is where we're headed right now. This attempt to slam the brakes on the future in their own little corner of the world is going to hurt a whole lot more than it helps.   

To start with, the political fallout is catastrophic. The Prime Minister resigned so that there would be no one with the power to act on the vote until the next election, with the hopes that by then everyone will have come to their senses. In turn, the conservative government is pretty much taking a powder and this move by the Brits is causing the other members of the Union, a large part of why World War III hasn't started yet, to wonder if they'd be better off on their own (note: They won't). Even Scotland is now trying to get out from England and get back on the EU's good side. Some are wondering if the government that gets elected and sees the writing on the wall will even go so far as to reject the vote, which could put a whole nation right back here six months from now.   

And if the political looks grim, the financial fallout will be worse. Because if the EU survives, the other 27 countries probably won't want to use London as their financial hub like it has been doing for the past two decades. Hello Brussels. In Belgium. I'm not even sure if Belgium is a real country. And the restart of trade restrictions and probably tariffs as well aren't going to do British industry any favors. By closing itself off to easy trade and potentially decimating its financial sector, and doing it in a particularly ugly manner, the idea that the incoming rulers will somehow be able to negotiate a new sweet heart deal to let Britain get all the benefits of the EU membership and none of the issues is highly unlikely. Like winning the lottery unlikely. 

Sadly, the polls show that it was the older people who are trying to turn back the clock edging out those who'll actually have to live in the future. And much like FOX news viewers in America, those old folks drank the Kool-aid and believed the politicians who were spoon feeding what they wanted to hear. They were told that the membership fee for being part of the European Union, a sweet $350 million per week, would go to the National Health Service instead. This sounds great on paper. Yet a week after the vote the promoters of the idea to leave have already scrubbed that idea from the record, glossing over the fact that the original numbers weren't exactly real to begin with.

Immigration fears, seemingly now a world wide constant, were also stoked. The isle had seen a steady rise in immigration as the rest of Europe's economy floundered. Of course THOSE people, as they historically always have been according to every "fill-in-the-blank" supremacist, are responsible for any "fill-in-desired bad situation" here. And the good people bought it. Well, maybe not good people, as I understand a number of people even thought a vote to "Leave" meant foreigners would have to leave Britain. Like now. If that doesn't set off red flags for xenophobia, I don't know what will. I wonder if the British can see the irony in not wanting foreigners in your country? Ironically, the move has Britain's best export - expatriates - scrambling for answers.

And if all this sounds oddly familiar, it's because is. This is the same Leave NAFTA, we'll use your tax dollars better - until we actually get into office song and dance currently masquerading as party movement in America. And while it's practically a used car salesman pitch on a national level, it apparently worked on the sophisticated Brits. They're supposed to be the smart ones!

Britain broke with their girlfriend, and it turns out that it's looking pretty lonely out here. May I suggest some roses, some tears and a little Marvin Gaye?

Ayesha NO!

Ramblings Post #315
I'm not one to to try and go parent anyone, especially not anyone grown. If you're old enough to drink and get a light bill, then you're old enough to realize that actions have consequences. Consequences and Repercussions. A lot of people younger than me want to act like this is no longer true, like the idea of freedom means being free from the results of your actions. It doesn't. You reap what you sow. Unless you're a superstar athlete, in which case I'm sure we can work something out.

I still think the Warriors can win it all in a ONE game Championship.

Somebody get Ayesha's phone right now. Please. She about to eff' up the church money!

Look I'm not saying that some very improbable coincidental coincidences, if you will, appear to have taken place during this year's NBA finals. And I'm not saying that the league has no interest in seeing a seven game series between what is now it's old phenom versus its new phenom. And I'm not saying a little drama isn't good for the series ratings. I'm not saying a lot of things. But I AM saying that her making a statement about a league approved "fix" doesn't really play out well for anyone. Not her, not the hubs, nobody I can get an eye on.

 At the start of the series, Golden State was head and shoulders above the Cavaliers, and a sweep looked highly possible. The two stars were coasting, wait, they weren't even coasting they were on the bench resting, and the Cavs were getting run up and down the floor like the middle school kids playing at the Rucker. Adjustments were made and nothing changed. The Cavs won their home game, but then we kind of expect you win ONE at home. Then it looked like it was over. Only....the Warriors had just come back from three down in the previous series. So it is possible. So, never before, but now twice in one season? That Tyronn Lue, Cleveland's coach puppet, somehow has crafted something magical?

Um...

Look, LeBron is a great basketball player. Physically gifted, good hands, a sweet shot and with an eye and head for the game. But... for the most part when pressed he plays the game in real life like I play on 2K : How many fouls can I get called on the other team so I can play the scrubs? Maybe it's strategic, they used to call it "working the refs," so I understand it. In theory. But if every time LeBron looked over to the ref hoping for a foul, you had to take a shot of vodka, you wouldn't make it past the first quarter. It's become excessive and annoying if not a defining trait. It looks like whining. And it's irritating to watch someone skilled try to manipulate their way to even more of an advantage. Watching the game this less than sporting sportsmanship seems to have infected the rest of his teammates as well. We already don't have hand checking, like damn. I'm not saying that it maybe one of the reasons ratings are down, but then I'm not saying a lot of things.

The Cavs have hung around long enough to get their groove back. They're a good team, no doubt. But they shouldn't have had the opportunity. And now that they're rolling again, it's a one game championship, which is what the league tries avoid by having a series.

And someone tell Ayesha to relax. The Warriors look like the Showtime Lakers out there. Let Bron-Bron get his last little shot at this. The Warriors will be back in this "isht" for seasons to come if nobody gets the big head. 

Barkeep, let me get some beer. No, I'm serious. Just one though. Gotta watch my figure.

Orlando.

This is a political post.

I waited a while to make comments on the tragic events in Orlando. I needed my thoughts to settle, to take some time and get some perspective. Because it's weird waking up in the morning to a world where if things continue on this path we may have to start placing the daily massacre reports like perverse sports scores with a ticker at the bottom of the screen. Far too commonplace. We are living in interesting times.

I'm not sure what it will take for some serious self reflection on our national love affair with guns, but I sincerely doubt we're going to get any new control laws, just so everyone's clear. I don't doubt some well crafted, well thought out and limited legislation will emerge around the country, they should, but with our current Congress I doubt they could get any traction. I mean, we'd barely begun to get in line to donate blood before the anti-gun control advocates started politicizing this horrible tragedy by claiming everyone who hated guns was going to politicize the tragedy. Despite common sense suggestions for something to be done by people as far right as Bill O'Reilly, we are a nation that loves the "lone gunmen against all evil" idea of security.

Now, onto larger issues. It has become clear that in our rush to explain things, to figure out why something happened, the general media concept is to assign blame as quickly as possible. Facts that change things may arrive later, but once that initial thought has been expressed we have a hard time letting it go. I think news organizations ARE be aware of this and the idea that they are not as much reporting the news but guiding the national conversation with their assumptions. I'm certain FOX news is, the rest I'm not so sure. I realize that ratings are important and more eyeballs equals more revenue, thus the faster the news organization in moments like these the better, but the profit motive may be ruining the idea of the impartial news report. NEWS needs to be above the fray. Right now it is not.

The shooter who killed so many people at the LBGT-centric nightclub was an American, of Arab descent. The President, as men in his position are wont to do, gave a empathetic and thoughtful response. Future former presidential candidate Trump renewed his call for a ban on Muslim immigration. This the same ban he claimed was merely a suggestion just last month as he appeared to be attempting to moderate his message for the general election. And then the story changed.

Our immediate assumption? ISIS. The gunman announced it and of course we gobbled it up, hungry for a demon that wasn't us to take responsibility for this horrific act. According to some, ISIS  is apparently responsible for everything bad in the world. Plane down? ISIS. People killed for vague purposes? ISIS. Get robbed? ISIS. Taxes too high? ISIS. Car got towed? It was them. They ran out of your favorite at Ye Old Ice Cream Shoppe? You already know. Damn those lactose hating jihadists!

Here we are days later, and what we were so sure of we're now not so sure of. It seemed odd to me that a terrorist organization would make a strike halfway around the world at some random gay bar, in a just off the radar part of the world. Now we find out that the killer was part of the safe space he attacked so viciously, a semi-regular who was known to the other patrons. Yes, he told the police ISIS was his motivation, but those he admired despised him, and would have executed him for his simple existence. That they want to now claim credit for his actions is....I don't even have a word for it.

And while he may have harbored the idea of ISIS and it's precepts as an ideal to strive for in effort to gain favor with his family, is it possible he was just a man frustrated by the stark contrast between who he was and the religion he followed? I'm not asking for sympathy for him for his actions are beyond the pale. But to get an understanding...that understanding we need so that we can process this and prevent this from re-occurring we can't take the easy solution because we don't want to deal with the complexity of the hard one. Suddenly, there is a lot to unpack here, multiple issues from personal acceptance up to and including our national gun policy. We can't, um, we shouldn't just blame some faceless demon and call it a day.

People died in a senseless tragedy. Are we mature enough in this country to at least have a conversation about it? All of it?

*Sigh*