Art is a thing...

Ramblings Post #414
Art is a thing. I know when we imagined AI's arrival, we imagined that it would take away all the drudgery and accounting jobs, not the chasing of art. I've seen too many people giddy with the anticipation of "creation," if creation is now putting five sentences into a AI engine and hitting refresh until it spits out something they like. Or telling the AI to write a good book about subject X and to put this part and that part in it and feeling that they'd done something. It's something, no doubt...but it's not really Art. If you know what I mean.  

by Alisha Petrova - Orange mood

This might just be AI for all I know. I hope Alisha is still about that brush and strokes but this is nice, clean and calming. There is something about that skin tone in that color that is just striking though. 

by Don Lawrence

This is just feels fun. I may have to inquire about a print for this one, it's vibrant and alive and I don't know what to say. I like the hair, the color, her expression. I don't know if I have the appropriate space for it though. Like this is too much for my much subdued personal space. 

by Mike Machira

So simple, yet so nice. Colorful in her expression, in her posture, while muted in it's palette. Okay, I also have a thing for women with short hair too. To me, short or no hair on a woman is evidence of an inner self confidence, one that in a time when women use their "crown" to express themselves tells me that the person trusts their face, trusts who they are. Well, not Jada Pinkett-Smith, but all the rest of them.  

Barkeep, what wines do you have? I'd like something with a citrus, if you have it.

Let's Make a Deal - An international diplomacy critique

This is a political post. 

There is a lot to unpack with the trade to get WNBA star Brittney Griner out of a Russian gulag.

I mean, it is truly amazing how I'm just finding out so many regular folks do a lil' international diplomacy on the side. And how they all suddenly appeared on social media swearing this was a bad deal. Well, in MY side capacity as an quasi semi kinda pretend international diplomat, astronaut, chef and chicken plucker I disagree. So let me tell you why.

First, this was the only deal on the table. This wasn't a maybe I can talk them into more, this was Griner or nothing situation. And like a coach trying to figure out do you take the field goal or go for the touchdown or fourth down, you take the points. Sure the ones we talk about go for it all, but the guys who win consistently year after year send out the kicker. Here, the points were getting at least one someone home. I've seen the article which indicated that at one point it maybe was one or the other - at which point I'm almost certain the ask was for both. Because a two-for-one is a good trade. Theoretically. But even if it was that fabled either or situation, why would you take the trained "soldier" and leave the citizen. I mean, that's just bad business.    

Then, the other half of this, claiming Viktor Bout is the "Most Dangerous Man in the World." Yes, and Micheal Jordan is the "Greatest Basketball Player in the World." And while it arguably was true when he was in his prime, in real terms it's been a long time since Viktor was in the gym shooting free throws. Bout was taken into custody in 2008, so it's been almost 15 years since he was truly connected. I'm only a geopolitical expert on the odd Tuesdays but I'm pretty sure whatever channels or networks Bout had in place have long since evaporated. Guys like him got their power from knowing who to call or where to go to get what was needed. And all of that, all of it, has changed since he was last in the game. Yeah, I'm certain he's still knows a guy or two who is doing something, but most of his resources are gone if not completely usurped, the circles he operated in have collapsed, transformed or shifted, and a lot of new players would happily knock him off for s-and-g on three ruble bet. He's still dangerous, but I doubt he'll be able to return to his previous level of infamy simply because getting back in just ain't easy.

(Note: Bout's main hook was that he used to sell surplus Russian gear. Well, unless he's going to Ukraine to pick it up where the deserters dropped it, he's got a minor inventory issue I don't see him fixing.)   

And finally, if this "trade" upsets you, congratulations, you've just been played. Because if you think for one minute that the Russians didn't calculate the outrage over a "black gay athlete" going home while a "former Marine" was "left behind" when setting this up then this is your first day. Framing is important here. I keep seeing it as a portrayed even in US media as the government freed a druggie black lesbian athlete over a proud US marine captured behind enemy lines. Why not say that a Two-time American Olympian freed from a hellish gulag? She hates America conservative pundits scream, because she knelt for the national anthem. But this is America, and believe it or not hating America is allowed because we have that thing called freedom. Remember that? Also, why no mention of why that proud US Marine is even in custody, er I mean former Marine. I mean aside from Whelan having been dishonorably discharged for stealing, lied about being a police officer, was arrested on espionage charges, had four passports, well, obviously the situation is exactly the same as some empty cartridges that once held some weed? Why have we taken to referring to him only as "former Marine"? While technically true, it seems like some people in the conservative media are trying to push folks buttons instead of inform them and let them make up their own minds. You know, like the slogan says.

In any case, Brittney needs to get her a big pizza, roll up one and relax. And I for one ain't mad.

She did the damn thing

Ramblings Post #405
We idolize whom we idolize. It's personal most of the time. Most people like to think of Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time (so far). In my opinion it's a toss up between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Some others might say Bill Russell, or maybe Bron Bron. The metric we use in our head for really constitutes greatness varies. It's part of what makes sport a thing, facilitates argument and discussion, and in some cases causes men to do the only real research they'll ever do after they've gotten their diploma. 

By artist Yung Yemi

Well, to say she had a good run..is an understatement. Of Biblical proportion.

Unlike the arguments for greatest football team, best golfer, best home run hitter, there is no question who the greatest women's tennis player in the world was. Serena.

I hope her future is as bright as past. 

I look up at night...

Ramblings Post #404
They were right. We don't really know what we've got until it's gone. It's hard to miss something still there, or in some cases even understand it at that moment, but once something is no longer within our boundaries - something as simple as spot to look up at night and be awed - the loss becomes evident in ways we can hardly imagine. 

As a kid I spent time on grandparents farm, a place down three different bumpy dirt roads beautifully decorated by nature with a canopies of trees that made the trip feel magical to me. It was a quiet place, where they'd lived for fifty years, pumped water from a well and one of the barns was where my father was born. At night there was one light pole that was perpetually dim, I don't know why.

There the night sky was a tapestry. It was magical. Thousands upon thousands of stars.

At my parents house in a small southern town, with light poles here and there by request, looking up at the night sky I could see at best two or three stars.

I now live in the city. 

I want to see the sky of my childhood again.  

There is always time for Art...

Ramblings Post #403
Art is subjective. Those things that bring light to my soul, that sets off the seismic tremors in my brain and spark the avalanche of ideas for me, might just be blah to you. And vice versa. I think we all need to learn to appreciate that difference and what it means. Because to me it means that I grow and my tastes change, I won't have to wait for the world to catch up to provide inspiration. It might already exist, it's just that last time I saw it my mind wasn't ready. But then again to you...

Josep Tapiró i Baró was a Spanish painter; best known for his Orientalist watercolor portraits of the peoples of Morocco done in the late 1800's. I find his work fascinating in that his talent for capturing the essence of a subject practically leaps out of the image. And second, that a number of his subjects have to same skin tone as I. And I think his art is important, for it comes from a time when generally only rich European aristocrats were the subject of such works (or at least what has survived). 

His grasp of detail is fantastic. Some of his work looks like photographs, or something that might have been photo-shopped last week. After the death of close friend in 1874, Baró moved to Tangiers, at the time bustling city of people from around the Mediterranean. There he set up a studio and painted images of the people he saw, capturing a different kind of person than the normal portrait artist of the time.

A Quick Restaurant Review - Snooze: An A.M. Eatery

Snooze was a nice little surprise.

I haven't been out much lately, that virus thing and all, but my cousin wanted to do brunch. And while I'm not up for anything much, I figured since I hadn't seen her in months and it would be relatively low key, I would go out and enjoy myself. A bit. (That and in looking back to check the format I just realized it's been FIVE YEARS since I did one of these. WOW.)

So she picked this new spot, well new to me, called Snooze. It's a little diner-ish kinda spot over in the super fast growth area of Atlanta called Westside. Not to be confused with the actual west side of the city where I live (as I've pointed out before), this is a super trendy little area that used to be half abandoned buildings. Now it's trendy boutiques, swank apartments and hot restaurants. And yes, I wish I lived there but no, I also don't even want to fork out the loot for the rents. Whooosah. The spot seemed like a winner to me, because again I've been in the house for a  long minute so we agreed to sit eat and talk.

I apparently haven't been over that way in a while, and it's maybe ten minutes away from the house. Working from home as really spoiled me. I think I put gas in my car six or seven times all of last year. But apparently everyone else has been working throwing up brick and mortar, and not just in my neighborhood. It took me a moment to remember that the last time I'd been at that corner - 10th and Howell Mill - that I used to pass nearly everyday on the way to work. The spot where Snooze was located just two years ago an industrial art installation, and I know I'd parked on the street right by there a time or two to walk to a club in that area. Now it's a whole apartment building. Whoa.

Snooze is itself is like any other brunch spot on a Sunday - BUSY. Just like in the way back, they had a group of folks milling about on the curb, but my cousin had gotten a reservation, so I steered clear until time. Well, maybe it was kinda busy. Maybe it's still the pandemic, but the waiting group seemed smaller the usual. I remember once arriving at West Egg Cafe right up the street for brunch with Spanky, putting  our name on the list, going over to Atlantic Station and getting a new phone and coming back just as they said our table was ready. This seemed to be a relatively quick five or ten minutes for walk-ups. But it wasn't stroll in and seat yourself, let me put it that way.

The inside is bright and airy, with early green and brown walls, gold light fixtures, tall dividers and higher than diner ceilings. There is even a bar in the back left corner. The staff is friendly, everything is digital and they do this thing where they seat you even if your whole party hasn't arrived. Which was cool because my cousin was running late. Oh, one other thing...everyone that works there was black. The host and hostess, the waiter, the bus...guy, everyone. Which is and isn't odd. It's Atlanta, an all black establishment isn't unusual. But it's the Westside where you can get three kinds of artisanal water in some places, so it didn't really seem like "we" would be over there considering what I know they must be charging for per square foot for the lease. Maybe it was just the staffing that day, but it didn't matter, I liked it.

Now when I say everything digital, I mean, everything digital. You pulled up the menu on your phone using a QR code on the table. Which meant my usual phone etiquette rules when I'm out with someone have to be partially suspended. The menu looks properly brunch diverse, but I still went with my old standard for new places - Scrambled eggs, hash-browns or the grits, bacon. I mean, if you can't get that basic staple right, the idea that I would trust you with Eggs Benedict topped with a Habanero Pork Belly or a French Toast is out of the question. Well, I did get a pancake instead of the toast, but hey, I hadn't been out in a minute. My cousin went simpler, with hash-browns (get them flattened and they're just like Waffle House) and a flight of bacon. Yes, like a flight of wine, it's a flight of bacon. Pure Genius.

My cousin and I chatted about careers, she's a lawyer too, and about life and Atlanta and getting older and things we should have done instead of things we did. Sometimes you just need a friendly face, a quiet body to bounce some things off. I think that the pandemic has us all re-evaluating our priorities, and I have two or three things that I need to go ahead and kickoff and stop standing around dreaming about. ONE of which is the writing. Which I will definitely be re-engaging shortly. Finishing the second draft. So yeah, working from home all this time has been great, except when you need a voice to remind you that time is actually moving. I may have gotten too comfortable with all that silence.

The food was good, although the pancake was a little "bready" for me. I like mine a touch thinner, but this was still good though. They could blot the bacon a bit, but it was still tasty, and a generous portion so I can't complain. I will note that the idea of free refills hadn't caught up with them yet, so get a water to start and save that juice for when the food arrives. By the way, you pay digitally as well, through your phone. What are old cash guys like me supposed to do?

All in all, good experience. Not just the getting out of the house, but the food and atmosphere as well. It's a good spot. I'll have to go again.

Five Minutes watching....Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

I don't watch a lot of movies because, well, at this point I just don't. I don't watch a lot of TV either. As I've said before, a lot of movies and television as of late have become much more niche oriented. And I ain't in their niche. Plus I'm STILL trying to be productive. And do some writing. Well, a little bit, I need to get back to it. I also still have a ton of video games I bought on sale I still want to play. Wait, I don't watch TV, play games or write...what am I doing?  

Winning Time surprised me by being a pretty good show.

But, Winning Time on NOT the true story of the behind the scenes of the creation of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball dynasty, which also just coincidentally is the beginning of the rise of the modern NBA. It's just not. It says so in the bumper of every episode. It states clearly it's all be dramatized. It is Historical Fiction, right up there with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Each week there is a podcast and about twenty Youtube shows picking through the script looking for where they stretched if not outright lied about what happened. This is very clear.

And yet people are upset that the show is not a documentary. Go figure.

The show is an ensemble piece, following the story of hedonistic wheeler-dealer owner Dr. Jerry Buss taking a big gamble on basketball, the slow growth of Pat Riley from junior announcer to legendary coach, and the maturation of Magic Johnson from college star to NBA superstardom. Along the way you learn about some the machinations Dr. Buss had to pull off to make it all work, a fresh look at a long forgotten coaching drama and see an idea of the shift from the young wet behind the ears rookie Ervin learning the ropes to Magic, the leader of a championship team. And while it's a great story, it's there is a lot of bullshit. A lot. 

It's a...um, gumbo if you will, of fact and fiction for dramatic purposes. Norm Nixon, the point guard of the Lakers when Magic was drafted has explained that no, he did not play Magic one on one while wearing a white fur coat at a party the summer before the rookie's first year. But it's a hell of scene. Jerry West is portrayed as angrily obsessed with winning. But a lot of this version of him are as I understand it, is taken from his own stories about his life, in that he broke a lot of golf clubs and could not watch the teams he assembled actually play the games. Pat Riley had left the announcing booth long before signing on as Westhead's assistant, but the idea of him sending down notes to the sidelines during games shows a hunger. Dr. Jerry Buss comes across as a guy with everything to lose but who refuses to back away from the table. Well, I understand his daughter is very involved in the show, so maybe that part is true. The starting coach that season, the man who actually designed the foundation for the Lakers fabled Showtime offense was only in a coma for three days, not weeks and the fight with Westhead didn't happen. And yes, even the games are out of order, but they way they were arranged builds drama, which is why we watch. I mean, we know the ending...it's in the title of the show, so filling out this space in the middle has to be good television. And it is.  

Good television? You find yourself rooting for characters you didn't even like or notice. Or realizing there is more to a portrayal than there first seemed. Or recognizing a character arc halfway through without the changes being spoon fed to you. Or appreciating the characterization of even the supporting roles. Now, it's not the Wire or Breaking Bad, but it is good writing and very good acting. The editing feels a bit frantic at first, and they do show some portions of games but not much the real drama isn't in the seconds left on the clock but the tension between the front office, coaches and what goes on between dribbles.   

Half the fun of watching are the these characters meet other actors playing other famous people. It is LA after all. From early court-side Jack to Richard Pryor, Iman and Milton Berle, as well as other legendary NBA notables throughout the season, including more than a few unexpected drop-ins and quite a few actual history lessons. .

More, one of the cool aspects of the show is that those actors for the most part fit. And while John C. Reilly and Sean Patrick Small give what are apparently inspired impression of Dr. Buss and Larry Bird, I'm not sure where they even found Quincy Isiah. There are times he appears to become a young Magic Johnson. I don't know if it's the way he holds his face, the angle, the lighting or even a little CGI trickery, but it's there. The actor portraying Kareem I think gives the elder statesman of the game the proper gravitas considering where he was in life. The show takes the time to cover a portion of his personal growth, as well as explain a number of things about a number of other players. Plus, the ball players are all actually tall, it's not camera tricks.

It really is worth a watch. If only to see just what Jerry West is ready to sue everybody involved for.  

Barkeep. One for the Lakers. On Dr. Buss' tab.

Note - Yes, Magic did actually pass on signing with Nike, which at the time made sense. But oh what could have been.

Plugged In

Ramblings Post #394
I love music. Music sets the vibe. The right song can soothe the soul. The right song can set a party off. The right song can make a quiet, intimate evening head in the right direction, if you know what I mean. The right song can move a crowd and change an empire. The right song can bring THAT memory and suddenly you're transported to the time and place. And the wrong song can sit in your ear for hours, circling and distracting, muddling your thoughts to no end, because you know it's in there...somewhere, you just need to remember it. Music has power.

So, I few weeks ago I guess, I stumbled across a video snippet of a UK rap group that took me by surprise a bit. It was good. I'm talking way better than a lot of the stuff I hear on radio. And me being me, I took a trip through ye olde internet and found the group and watched the whole video. It was very very good. So I good i actually paid for the song with iTunes.

Note: Most of what I buy through iTunes is what I call Work Jazz, because it provides lively background music without words to sing along too, something I tend to do without even realizing it, so to trick my brain with sound its got to be all horns, strings and drums. Lively, but it allows me to concentrate.

In any case, I popped on YouTube to look up something else, probably game related I don't really remember, and in my suggestions were some reaction videos to that particular song's video. Now I've been very bored on occasion, and watched some reaction videos. There are couple of young fellas I watched a couple of times who announce that they like to get into that old stuff, then will play something I used to listen to when it first came out, for instance, House of Pain's Jump Around. Not to hate on them, but damnit, why you trying to make me feel old with that. I mean, it's not an old song. It came out when? ....Don't make me knock this whole thing over. 

In any case, I clicked on one because I was curious, and I wanted to see what other people thought. And down the rabbit hole I went. 

I have watched maybe twenty five or thirty since I started, and they follow a general pattern. The reviewer is hype, click subscribe, join the family, and now they've been sent a link or request to look at this, or they've heard it's hot and want to see for themselves. The beat comes up first while the screen is all black, and the person generally stops video to ask what the sample is. (It's the Fugees, which sampled it from Enya I think). The video starts with the producer looking smug and it cuts to the artists in studio and then it happens. Most of the time one of two things happen: The reviewer stops the video and asks the camera "is this a joke?" or they pause it and look at the screen for a few seconds puzzled.

Because the group is Pete & Bas. And Pete is wearing a pork-pie hat and Bas has a suit on. Oh, and they're both white. And Pete is 70. Bas is 74.

Probably should have mentioned that earlier.

Honestly, Pete looks like the guy who runs an independent garage, the kind that will put a new transmission in for $500 if you don't ask where the transmission came from. And Bas looks a no-nonsense version of Batman's butler Alfred. Basically couple of old villains from a Guy Ritchie gangster movie. Yes, Bas has on three Rolex watches and gold chains. Pete looks like he keeps a kneecapper under the bar. But if you've never seen them before,  there is a moment of pause. A lot of people thought this was a parody group and it was a comedy riff of some sort.

Then the reviewer starts the video again, going back a bit of course, and the song starts. The beat is infectious, and before you know you're bobbing your head. And Pete starts, his raspy voice fits his rapper's braggadocio perfectly, as this pensioner tries to pick up a girl at the bar. Reviewers suddenly shouting, "Wait, they got bars" is the a regular comment. Most people agree that Pete can go, as he bellies up the mike and lets loose. Every now and then a review will pause the video and immediately declare "He didn't write this," as though that's a disqualifying act. A number of rappers don't write their own stuff. Big names too. And I understand that these guys do write there own stuff, but that their grandchildren help them with the slang. I'm not getting into that.

Then Bas comes on and his voice is like butter. And he explains that a woman is after him, and tells her what time to come through. This usually raises some eyebrows and howls of appreciation. And because now that I've heard the song about 50 times, i know that they're not even getting started. Some reviewers try to translate the UK slang, other stop and go back multiple times perplexed at how well the lyrics and cadence go together. Quite a few bars cause people to pause and go back and appreciate the wordplay. One or two reviewers even got up and started dancing.

Then, when they switch off, Bas takes off his jacket. Some reviewers, already into it, start getting really excited.

Watching them is kinda funny. They don't bop around like regular rappers, they look stiff and a little bit off. But then, they are in their 70s and their bodies don't work quite the way a younger mans' would. And although from the ease in which they apper to do it, they haven't been rapping since the 80s. I understand that they only having picked it up in the last four years or so. According to Bas in an interview they shot after making this, if he wasn't doing this he figures he'd be sitting around waiting to die. So I applaud them for getting out of their comfort zone and having a little fun.

The duo apparently have albums. And a number of videos. One of the vids has Pete golfing with hand grenades and Bas in a gilly suit.  Another could have been a scene from a Guy Ritchie film. They have following. They're damned good rappers, better than a lot I've heard.

And by the way, when Bas takes the jacket off...he really does go in.

The hardest song of 2021 so far is by two grandfathers. Damn. 

Barkeep. Some of that good good from the back. Why does everyone note when Fumez the engineer spills his drink?

A Visit Home

Ramblings Post #392
Life changes tend to sneak up on you. A lot of times we make small shifts over time and before we know it our new normal isn't what we think it is. I made deliberate efforts to stay home and safe last year. And I filled my laptop and TV with distractions and other entertainment. But as this starts to wind down....we hope.... the changes which before were a chore now feel comfortable. Maybe a little too comfortable. Changing back may mean giving up these Oreos and the spot on the couch shole is comfy. Hopefully what comes next is a getting it together montage before the big, well, something or other. I hope the music is thrilling.

Home isn't a place, it's a feeling. And despite being put out by the travel in the past, I have long missed the feeling of being in the presence of my folks. Sometimes aggravating, sometimes a little overbearing, but always with love, my folks. So now that I'm properly vaxxed up, and they have been for a few months now, I loaded up the Pacer and for Mother's Day weekend got on the road to see my Mom.

Now my mother is a practical woman. Last year when before I even broached the subject of coming down despite the pandemic she quickly headed me off at the pass. She said the phone worked - both ways - and wasn't no need to risk our health with all that riding up and down the road. They weren't planning on going anywhere so we should just wait it out. And during the Great Homestay of 2020 I did speak to my people frequently, sometimes two or three times a week, way more than I did usually. So it wasn't like I was out of touch. But the phone is different than actually seeing someone in person. 

So I gassed up Friday night after work and got on the road early Saturday morning, driving straight through. I don't usually like to do that because that was my father's habit when I was kid. Okay he had three fairly hyperactive children with him so maybe he had some purpose. But now when I take a road trip, and I drove more this past Mother's Day weekend than I drove pretty much the last nine months of 2020, I'll stop at a spot on the side of the road because I'm the driver and I can. Stretch my legs if you will. Or anyways, I used to do that, in the before times, in the long, long ago. No, this time once the car got rolling it didn't stop again until I rolled up in my parents driveway.

My parents looked older. I guess they've looked older every time I've seen them, it's just that it's becoming more noticeable. But they're alive and kicking so that's all that counts. My mother even cooked, something she swears she doesn't do very often anymore. And we ate, and talked about the past and remembered better times. I washed dishes, hung pictures and fixed computer issues. We caught up and just were together.

I also forgot that my mother's house contains THE harshest mirrors on the planet. There is no forgiveness in those babies. I mean swore I had been losing weight lately until I saw myself in her mirrors. I was feeling good, getting my steps up, then bam! The mirror in the bathroom I grew up in could even be considered cruel. Might have to go back to wheat bread and brown rice.

Since last year's lockdown, I had been three places other than a grocery store or a drive thru: My brothers house twice, to my old Running Partner's spot where we sat outside in the driveway and to Spanky's house. Other than that, and to get my vaccine shots I have been home. Luckily I was able to find a ranching gig that let me work from home so I can keep the lights on and the phone working. Going to see my parents felt good. And not just because of the hours in the car seeing the countryside for the first time in a while.

Life needs to get better.

Barkeep. Yes, I've been vaxxed up, now give me a tall cold beer. Yes, I have my card....

Done Deal

Ramblings Post #390
Every year I always wonder what we do each weekend without football. It's like the season happening causes amnesia as to the things we do instead. I personally have been writing (well, mostly napping) and as my father says, ducking the virus. I had hoped to get more done, I've got a whole host of things I could be doing even just inside my house. But that couch keeps....er, that keyboard keeps calling me. Napping. I'm mostly napping. 

First, it's good to have a quarterback. Finally.

Everyone knew this deal would get done, so I don't know what took so long. As last year proved in the NFL, it turns out that quarterback is not an interchangeable position. All across the league, due to injury, Covid, or just bad play coaches found out that you can't just put someone there who knows the playbook, like say defensive end, and get only marginal appreciable loss. An average end can still make stops. An average QB affects the whole offense. The Cowboys thought they had that covered with the Red Life Insurance policy, but when they filed their claim and had to actually play him, it became clear that the best laid plans sometimes turn to garbage. We're not even going to discuss the DiNucci incident.

Prior to his injury, Dak was on fire leading the league in passing so much that he still was at the top end a week later. And as a starting cornerback and linebacker...wait, checks notes,....Dak doesn't play defense. So it's NOT his fault the Cowboys defense couldn't stop a runaway toddler. But then offense always been the team focus, even back when Romo could get you 35, the defense would routinely allow 40. And the vaunted Cowboys teams of the long, long ago had top tier defensive talent. Really, go look at the records. So since the Prescott deal is structured to still give them some cap space, someone tell Stephen, not Jerry, that a decent cornerback, free safety, or outside linebacker wouldn't be the worst pickup from free agency. I'm just saying.

Yes, Dak worked them. I personally don't blame him. They've known he was the guy since the end of second year and they waited, so that's the Jones boys fault they didn't try him early. I'm not sure why they thought the price would go down after everyone else got their deal, and since he's now the only QB from his draft class still starting for the team that drafted him, there is a possibility he's something special. So with that squared away, and pocket full of cap room, (and a full off season because Texas is ugh) I'm hoping the 'boys finally can put all the pieces together, because I'm tired of the jokes.

We're the Dallas Cowboys damnit!    

It's on you Hoss

Barkeep. The good Bourbon. The Pappy. Because when you win, you celebrate.

Black Art - A Mood

Ramblings Post #389
I like art, in all it's forms. From the small pieces, the large pieces, the graffiti, the abstract, the classical, the experimental. Music, sculpture, paint, writing, landscaping, culinary (yes, they're art!) and all the rest. My life is my mind, my imagination, and art is the key to the forces that shape it, that help me to interpret the world around me. Everything in my life is shaped by, oddly, everything else in life. And one day I hope to affect the world around me.

By Dwayne Jones

Digital Artist. Yes, because it's the finished project, not what he started with. I like this for the colors. It brightens up a face so often clouded by the world around it, but still allows enough of it through for the resolute attitude to display.  

theartofka2ra

I like her eye. The work has a soft feature, that feels more like a vibrant cartoon, which allows the viewer to assume certain things. I think of this character as smart, funny, and health conscious. She feels like a vegetarian, not a vegan, who works out at home because she took a spin class and didn't feel like paying $65 to sit in a room and pretend to ride a bike...and get yelled at. In simpler terms, the artist while not getting into details, has created a story from an image. 

By Arinze Stanley - Machine Man #6

And now this guy. This is NOT an photo. This is a drawing, Charcoal and graphite on paper. This guy's talent is absolutely amazing. The level of detail. The way he is able to capture the tiniest nuance. I hope he charges a grip. When I first found him he was just getting hot, and now he's doing actual shows. And I hope to be able to give him full price for his ability one day. 

I want to spend a day with art. 

Barkeep. A tall water. Seriously. I really haven't hydrated today, and I know I should everyday, and so drinking at this point would be just bad. Why don't you think I'm serious? I forgot.

Black Art - A Vibe

Ramblings Post #387
This pandemic has brought out the best and worst of us. I've tackled projects I hadn't thought I would have time for, and woefully procrastinated on others as though I was doing something else. At heart, I'm an artist. I have two or three tools designed to make music, and the small pieces I've produced people have liked but are finally shelved. I'm still writing, short pieces when an idea moves me and slowly but surely through this second draft I'm working on. And years and years ago I used to draw. I one day hope to paint. I will one day have a show...an art show, a concert, a re-enactment of a scene I wrote. I will, it's on my bucket list. 

By Elie.A.Arts

I like this piece. Simple but elegant. The crown upon her head, the eyes wide open and full of curiosity. This is one of his more stylized pieces, his work generally runs a less particular. Unless his model really had such inviting eyes. 

By Curtis Newkirk Jr.

The focus has a regal look, even as he is adorned simply. I like the feeling of it, the fruit giving the portrait a light feel, but does not detract from the intensity of the subjects gaze. 

Heritage III - By Jeff Manning

We should all have something by Jeff Manning on our wall. His pieces are just a wonderful mix of style and color. The models take on new aspects under his hand. If I can work out this year right I may give out his stuff for the holidays.

I'm putting visiting another art show on my list of things to do once the pandemic is over. But man that's getting to be a long list. 

Barkeep, and by that I mean me, make me a bourbon and coke. Wild Turkey if you got it, and I know you do.

Five minutes watching Watchmen

I don't watch a lot of movies because I didn't have a lot of time. A lot of movies and television of late have become more niche oriented and horrible, I'm trying to write this sequel to a first book I haven't even published and I have a ton of video games I bought on sale I still want to play so there. So, I watch a movie or a little TV when I get a chance.  You know, I guess I really don't watch a lot of movies or television. Go figure.

I watched the Watchmen

I didn't read Watchmen until sometime in the 90's, when it was a graphic novel. I had always been more Marvel than DC, so it didn't seem immediately pressing even after the rave reviews. But while the book was a revelation to some, to me it was in line with my take on earlier titles like Howard Chakyin's American Flagg. But Chakyin was just a touch futuristic, on the other hand Watchmen explored the idea of superheroes not as they would appear in a comic universe, but more in line with our in that moment real lives: Less black and white issues, more murky goings on and ambiguity in the characters and their motivations. It was a refreshing read in a era of majestic heroism, a turn from that lofty iteration alongside the legendary Frank Miller's Batman: Dark Knight. It was simply heroes deconstructed.

The movie, by contrast, was a pale re-imagining. While it was visually exciting, it was missing something. I now want to attribute that to the brevity of the medium. Time constraints force editing, and editing is in the hands of of those who lack the proper respect for the source an axe and not a scalpel.

By contrast the television series, an extension of the book more than the movie, is everything the cinematic had hoped to be and more. Well written, well paced with nine hours to produce truly fantastic performances. Here it is not simply heroes deconstructed but the deconstruction itself torn down. It is a well crafted tale that almost insists on a revisit if only to catch the pieces you missed with each passing episode. From a genre crafted for the white teenage male gaze it posited a black female lead, visited upon historical black trauma, flipped our understanding of this universe's heroic history, made the cool agent a seasoned woman and made us question that most basic of understanding of superheroes: with great power comes great responsibility.

Note: Spoilers abound from here forward.

The only other show with so many callbacks that I can think of is the first season of Westworld. The first episode of Watchman started tossing out clues and they just never stopped. We all just assumed that the Ozymandias timeline was happening at the same time, although the statue in Lady Trieu's garden should have been a dead giveaway. The big deal about the squid drops that kept popping up. The eggs. The mesmerizing from the Black Hood origin swung back around to a tool for retribution at the beginning. From the goings on at the Seventh Calvary ranch in the first episode to super cool FBI Laurie's change of heart in Antarctica at the end to the ambiguous Sopranos style ending, the story was an intricately diagrammed little journey that just kept linking this idea to that idea over and over.

And nobody, not a god soul, noticed Cal was Dr. Manhattan.

This was good television. This year HBO has been fire, with Chernobyl and now Watchmen. I don't even really miss Westworld at this point which honestly in its second season felt like it was trying too hard. This series that was maligned by some for having white supremacists as the villains and discussions of reparations really hit a lot of good notes. For all the power that Dr. Manhattan possessed, why didn't he do more? But then it could also be asked, why should he?

They claim there might be a second season, which is both exciting and disappointing. The sophomore slump is real. I hope we get lucky. Again.

Barkeep. Something with some squid in it. I'm joking. No, I am telling a joke. Do not make me anything with a ...Dr. pepper. Plain. 

If you come for the King....

Ramblings Post #375
This week I'm your correspondent from here at the front lines of America's most important battle this week. On Twitter. Over Chicken Sandwiches. Hey, everything doesn't have to be that serious. I could be arguing over grass or AstroTurf. Or the whole Jay-Z and Kapernick thing. But sometimes you need to have a little fun. Or at least not as serious. Not the same thing. 

It was supposed to be a salad day.

As part of my personal betterment program I have salads for lunch at least twice a week, usually on Monday to get the week started right and another day along the way. I find the roughage surprisingly refreshing for some reason.  And although I love beef, I also have cut back the red meat to twice a week just because it stays in my system so long but that's whole other story. I generally try to limit not only my total intake, but also try to cut back on excessive fried foods and the like. All my pants feel lose now, and I working notches down on the old belt.

Right around the ranch there are a host of sit down lunch, pizza, sandwich, Mexican, Chinese, and other ethnic options within in easy strolling distance. A lunch costing between $10-15 is the usual. And parking is funny, so I try to limit my off the grounds trips. About two or three times a month, provided the joint isn't too crowded - which is never - I venture over to the Chick-fl-a for lunch and get a sandwich or more regularly the nuggets to keep the bread intake down. I still see it as a treat, as my hometown was too small to support one and so I didn't even discover them until college. But that there is what you call good eating. But also about once a month or so I will also venture to Popeye's, but only for dinner. They're very good, but if you've ever been in a Popeye's you know what it is. I try to keep both of them far back in the rotation. But since we're now apparently in the midst of a chicken sandwich war, I decided before I pick sides I needed to get that intel. 

That's right... war. Over chicken sandwiches. Of course on Twitter. I read the back and forth and chuckled.

I ran a couple errands, swung by Popeye's and got a sandwich combo and headed back to the south forty to eat in peace. I got back to my spot, got my um, "charges arranged" and unpacked lunch. First, the Popeye's sandwich is bigger. The number one at Chick-fil-a always seems smushed a bit when you get it, but it's still a good eat. A small white bread bun, take the pickles off, add in a dab of mustard and some mayo and it's a good chicken sandwich. The sandwich from Popeye's by contrast is on a nice toasted Brioche bun, the pickles looked thicker, even though I took them off, and no need for mayo or mustard as it comes with sauce. It just looks better. BUT, how it looks is not how it tastes. I dug in.

Damn. I mean damn.

Chick-fl-a got trouble coming. Wendy's and BK might need to head for the showers. I didn't think I would ever refer to having a chicken sandwich as a "religious experience" but here we are. I had to put the sandwich down twice to stop from eating it too fast. It was juicy, spicy (but I got the spicy), the toasted bread set it off just right, I don't know what that sauce was but damn. Popeye's may have come to the chicken sandwich party late, but party didn't start until they walked in. Now, let's be upfront here, the fries at Popeye's are horrible, and the service is not for the impatient or faint of heart.

But this sandwich just might be worth it.

I can't go back. it's like I know I like sweet stuff so I limit myself intentionally. Bruh. I would overdose on these.

Barkeep. You got any good cognac back there? 

NBA Free Agency, what hath thou wrought?

Ramblings Post #371
It was on sale, so I'll admit I broke down and bought NB2K19. I mean like a sale sale. Not a Steam Level Sale, but still it was less than $20. And it's not...terrible. Or at least it isn't right now, but I'm certain they'll be turning the servers off in 12 months or so. Then we'll see. I had a few extra bucks and really should have bought myself that purple fake tiger leather jacket with the fake ostrich collar. Probably would have been a better investment.

I'm not going to say it was entertaining watching Stephen A. Smith lament his beloved Knicks have to settle for Julius Randle. I'm lying because it was entertaining, hell, it was downright funny. We all watched as the long standing NY home team disassembled itself, sending the immensely talented Porzingis sent to Dallas and giving itself tons of cap space...to end up with Randle, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock and Bobby Portis. No Kyrie Iriving, no Deandre Jordan, not even the gap year listed Kevin Durant. All of them are coming to New York, just not for the team Smith roots for. As he lamented, the Brooklyn Nets just got everything the Knicks fans wanted for Christmas..er, Free Agency.

I will give the NBA its props...the salary cap and all it's creative machinations are doing exactly what it was designed to do, keep the whole league competitive. In the age of the max and super-max contract, building a dynasty is one thing, keeping one in place for more than a few seasons is nigh impossible. Miami held sway for a moment, then Cleveland climbed to the fore, then the Warriors and now who will it be? The Sixers? The Timberwolves? The Jazz? Nobody saw Toronto before they got here, the Lakers look like they're back. And I know nobody was checking the Nets until Sunday night around 6:05pm. Wild and wooly ain't the word for it.

Between the sign-and-trade deals, restricted and unrestricted designations, the pick trading and the rest, maintaining a "Super Team" going forward is going to require another "super team" in the front office. This from a guy who actually plays the GM mode in NBA2K. The Warriors got away with holding the dynasty together for a while, but this year even they've had to spin off valuable pieces like Andre Iguodala and the aforementioned Durant. Although I understand for Durant it was a relationship thing, which is great that you have enough loot to just be able to align your path to be comfortable doing your job.

And aside from the Duke super-senior class that is the Pelicans, which despite my high hopes for Zion I so want that squad to be a bust, the whole of the NBA is in a kind of magical disarray. Which is good and bad. I've always been a team guy, as in I hope my team does great. Others are fans of individual players, as in they follow their favorite player wherever they end up. But the disarray means new combinations of stars, and new hot teams, which will create new excited fans, which all means new money. And incidentally new energy which is good for all of us too. But mostly the money. It also means the team you love might just be rebuilding this year, so suck it up. This year I think Free Agency delivered on both aspects, with teams beefing up and players securing the bag.

At least everyone can take pride that they're not the Wizards. Or the Knicks.

All this, and we still don't know where Kahwi Leonard is going yet! I'm willing to bet it's the Pacers or maybe the Nuggets. I kid. It's probably whoever can get him a good lease deal on 2004 Dodge Durango.

Barkeep. Keep it on ESPN or the NBA channel. And I'll need some paper to keep track. And I need to concentrate, so I'm not drinking. Just a beer.

Five minutes watching...Chernobyl

I don't watch a lot of movies because I didn't have a lot of time. A lot of movies and television of late have become more niche oriented and horrible, and Cartoon Network 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 or television. Go figure.

I'm not a big fan of horror, and the HBO mini-series Chernobyl is quite frankly watching a horror movie that happens in slow motion. And by that I mean that being aware that large parts of the story really happened to see just how close it all came to falling apart is a different kind of disheartening. There are scenes that I had to watch three or four times. There are scenes that on a second viewing I just avoided. There were times I yelled at the TV and others where all I could do was shake my head. There is an existential dread from watching the final episode and realizing that the professional managerial attitude of "just get it done" truly is universal, crossing language and cultures to hold sway even in the control room of a nuclear control plant.

The five episodes are artfully shot, showing a green verdant Ukraine in the mid-80s as the backdrop of this Soviet setting. It's odd that only now do I realize that I would have thought that an explosion of a nuclear reactor  - which fired debris a mile straight up  - would have been more destructive. True fact: After reactor 4 exploded, the other three reactors were kept up and running. For years. Next to an open still burning nuclear accident the other reactors kept running. The region needed the power provided and honestly couldn't afford to shut them down. After that terrible moment of explosion, shot from a distance almost offhandedly, the horror begins creeping in. Inside the facility is confusion and denial. Then comes the mis-information from an noble but uneducated viewpoint. And then from a deliberate standpoint shirking responsibility. Desperation and realization seep in. And then in what appears to be absolute madness - the crass believe what I am telling you not what you have actually seen standpoint.

Chernobyl - HBO

The story moreover feels rooted in a sad kind of reality. The characters aren't bold and noble heroes, just people who are frequently hesitant and terrified to do what they know needs to be done, then doing it anyway. The small touches: the researchers in Kiev having to figure out there even is an issue, the reactions in meetings to the news getting out, the acknowledgement of what their own exposure will do to them as they press on, the Liquidators. Watching how these small pieces reacted was fascinating. Further, we see the system they had to work in was equally, quietly, just as terrifying. As one character put it "Our power comes from the perception of our power," and making it clear that revealing the full extent of the nuclear accident greatly dims that perception. And the focus on the immense value given that perception, both internal and external, to the detriment of the correction of the issue on such a grand scale makes it a compelling tale.  

I'm aware certain parts were altered for to make the episodic story tool work. The accompanying podcast has the writer talk about what parts of the narrative are true and what parts they had to take dramatic license with is equally as fascinating. More, they discuss they parts they left out, the myths and why they made the decisions they made. True fact: Two of the three guys who went under the reactor to open the sluice gates are still alive.  But the skill in the storytelling - in that I now mostly understand why the reactor exploded is amazing. I am not a nuclear physicist, but the scene where the character Legasov breaks down what occurred is just good writing.

When I got to the end, it was the realization of what had happened and how it's a situation that is all too mundane that made it all work. Chernobyl happened in essence because people "had to hit their numbers." That's it. A combination of things that happen in offices all over the world, in garages, in hot dog stands. That it happened in Soviet Russia, at a nuclear plant is just so ordinary. The plant managers falsified the safety check information when the plant was built to get their numbers and their bonus. The plant couldn't run the test during the day shift because the local economy had to hit their monthly numbers and couldn't afford a slowdown.

Those reasons sound all too familiar. And that's the really scary part.

So, it was a game...of thrones? Like that?

Ramblings Post # 367

Good television is harder to come by than you think. This maybe the age of "peak TV," but there are a lot of valleys up around this range. And services like Netflix with their drop the whole season at once method are just throwing a monkey wrench in an already creaky service. It's hard enough to be able to discuss your favorite show, but unless you binge watch it the day it drops there is fair to middling chance your neighbor will spoil it for you. Where is the savor? The anticipation? Where is the drama? Still on cable...sorry.

That Game of Thrones season eight episode two has a lot to unpack is an understatement. We're on the eve of the big battle (maybe the first of two this season), most of the named characters have ended up in one spot and as the series heads for its climax we're getting the reflective moments, the we who are about to die dramatic tension build up. Only highbrow style. The author's been very stingy with the plot armor throughout this tale and along the way we've had some fairly memorable falls, from Ned Stark's beheading to the Red Wedding. But since the story left the books behind and it's in the hands of television writers to interpret the story, death's hand has been relatively still. TV contracts and all that. But this being the last season, a whole host of folks are about to eat it because why not. And the resulting streamlining will clean up the story-lines so we can get to the final showdown of either Jon or Dany - depending - with the real big bad, Cersei. Now, it has been suggested by my colleague that it will come down to Cersei versus the Night King, but then the Night King wins because the "mad queen" has no idea what she's facing. Not even with Qyburn and his crazy concoctions by her side. Then again, Theon's sister did make it point to mention she was going to take back the Iron Islands so there was be a retreat spot. So maybe the Night King does win at Winterfell. Or after the "good guys" win, and Winterfell is destroyed, it's the next stop on the final lap around the country.  I kind of doubt that ending, but this story has taken a whole lot of hard lefts, so anything is possible. 

In either case,  I do hope that last episode ends with whoever wins it all pulling it off with a half-hour of run time left to go and we get to see some of the aftermath. So let's start the death pool: 

So, my thinking is Theon is a goner. He'll die defending Bran from the Night King, or perhaps in an odd twist become the Night King for a few minutes. I'm still of the opinion that the King gets mutinied by one of his own followers who it turns out is Arya in a dead ice person's skin. But then I'm not the writer. Oh, and Bran makes it through, because they do end up killing the King. It's the along the way it gets really, really messy.

Tyrion lives only because Bronn is on his way to kill him. I'm thinking of it like the Iron Islands play, in that at this point there aren't a whole lot of red herring scenes left. Bronn shows up, and against his better judgement (and because Cersi paid him in advance) let's the imp live. 

Grey Worm may as well have announced he was retiring from the force as soon as this last case is over. The "what do you think we should do after this" talk is how the literati mark a character with a stab here tattoo on the forehead. That no longer foreshadowing, that's forestamping. I think he'll go down swinging, maybe even just as the battle winds down, where he has hope then gets struck down out of nowhere. But Missandrei sees the epilogue, if only so Grey Worm gets mourned.  

If Brienne hadn't gotten knighted, I was figuring she might have made it. But that tear inducing scene kind of closed out the arc for both her and Jamie, who should also die. I had hoped that Jamie, the Kingslayer would also end it by being the Queenslayer and kill his sister Cersi in the end when she flips out and get homicidal, but that would be too poetic. He's the younger twin, he fits the prophesy. That would be a TV turn, so it could happen, but that's low probability. What I find interesting is that everyone was so excited that Brienne got knighted by Jamie, that they missed she was trying to 'nighted by Podrick. No, seriously, watch that scene again. Last night in town, you go girl! 

Little Lyanna Mormont will live because reasons. I'm honestly not a fan of hers but she'll live because that's the kind of thing that happens on TV. In the book she'd die, because Martin is dick, but this is TV.  

The half the folks in the crypts get taken out. "The dead are already here." You know, the dead folks in the crypts? Starks killing Starks? It's gonna happen, they mentioned how safe the crypts were like 40 times, so it's obvious it's a death trap. How Jon didn't see that one coming after he watched the Night King literally raise an army of the dead I have no idea. And because Varyas is spy and not a fighter, he's in the crypt so he goes down. Damn shame too. 

Sansa I'm on the fence about. She'll be in the crypts for "safety." It would be really sad if she dies by a re-animated Ned or Catelyn's hand, but she's already put Dany on notice that if they live the Targaryen girl will rule the six kingdoms of Westros, if he half brother/cousin Jon don't ace her out. Her living would set the stage for the next two seasons of the show that they aren't going to shoot.  

Samwell and Jorah live because in this sort of story sidekicks aren't the drivers of emotion but the mourners of the fallen. But, it's an either or situation; if Jon lives then Sam bites it, if Dany lives that Jorah redeems himself in his own eyes going out in battle. But I'm pretty damn sure that Jon's gonna live. Maybe. Kinda sure. As I said, Martin is kind of a dick. 

And because the Hound and the Mountain haven't squared off, and this is TV, and the Zombie Mountain is still in King's Landing, the Hound lives through this. That fight should get a good five minutes in the last episode. 

Because I think Arya kills Cersei in the end, I think a faceless girl will make it. Gendry? That's about a fifty-fifty. 

And finally, Tormund has to live. I thought he might sacrifice himself for Brienne, but no I think he makes it. Because idiots like him always do. Otherwise who tells those insane stories?

The cracked up part? Dany's main thrust of finding out Jon's true lineage was "your claim is better than mine," which makes sense in part but sounds or feels incredibly self centered on the other. Not, I committed incest or our line lives, but you just cut the line in front of me. Makes me wonder if she won't take the heel turn and stab him in the back. That would set up an all heel championship match for Westros, but I could see it. Maybe.

Five minutes watching The Incredibles 2

I don't watch a lot of movies. I don't really have time. And I go to the movies even less. Something about Sporty, but that's a whole other issue. So the rarity of which I go, means on average I've spent about five minutes watching every movie made. It's an existential thing, don't concentrate on it.

I've noticed that this blog is becoming very pop culture oriented as of late, partly because I'm trying not run up my blood pressure spending an hour a day ranting about politics - and an hour would be cutting it short - and partly because my social calendar is currently on back alley life support. But in the meantime, I saw The Incredibles 2. And I'm feeling some kind of way about it.

Maybe it's that it took 14 years for less than 10 seconds to pass, or maybe I wanted the fight with the Underminer to last longer, or that the start of it causes one or two continuity questions that took me out of the flow for the first few minutes. Exactly how long was it in the first film between when they beat Syndrome and Dash's track meet? But as soon as that part fell away and the film got back to what made the original such a great story - superheroes as people not archetypes - it picked up immensely. The dialogue is crisp, funny and on point, the music was reminiscent of the first in it's coolness and the visuals are just well, incredible. I was a little leery at first when they trotted out the old role reversal trope - Incompetent Dad learns About his own kids - but it works here.   The kids are the kids - Violet is "having an adolescence" and Dash needs less sugar, but the best character in the whole film is baby Jack-Jack, who just keeps things bopping along. 

But the film makes me think about things not really film related. The first film fresh and new, but also in a way fairly typical. While the whole family was well thought out and had roles important to the story, it felt like Mr. Incredible was the focus. We met him first, followed his career from hero to insurance company drone, tagged along with he and Frozone freelance heroing, in his first foray to the island, working out, going to see Edna, meeting the villain. Bob is a prisoner in the secret hideout before the family dynamic even really starts to unfold. And we didn't really think about it because that's what we're used to seeing. But here, the story takes it's first turn when their benefactor chooses Elasti-girl as the new face of heroism. Just for insurance reasons he assures Bob, but he chooses her nonetheless.

And which point the film turns its focus to Elasti-girl and never really lets go. New bike, new costume (for which Edna is gonna kick her ass when she sees her) and new adventures centered on the female hero, not the male. It's as though they anticipated the mood of the country. Bob struggles with new math, Helen saves the day. Bob watches the baby. Helen devises a plan. Bob struggles with advising about teen age relationships, Helen goes on a mission. To his credit despite his deep need to be in action gnawing at his insides, Mr. Incredible rises to the occasion of being supportive and just being a plain ole dad. The film feels like it reverses the original, with long stretches of Helen and the occasional check in on Bob. It makes me wonder why I my initial thought was that's odd, when it really isn't and shouldn't be. Elasti-girl is the star - deal with it.

I mean, I enjoyed Wonder Woman, and the men played sidekicks if not just background fodder for Diana's actions. There have been the occasional drama I've sat through where the men were more scenery than characters that were pretty good. A woman focused film is not that unusual, at least not among the stuff I enjoy. I've parsed through my thoughts on this: I expected more Mr. Incredible because... he was the lead in the first film? I have a cultural bias? A film that's not explicitly about women should feature men more prominently? I'm a wee bit sexist? Maybe a little bit of all of the above. But at least I'm aware of it. I think.

So other than a few continuity issues at the beginning, I thought it was well paced, with slower periods that allowed the characters to act like people and not just a constant series of explosions or twist thrown at you ever ten minutes to keep things interesting. It's a film I thought was never going to happen, it was all interesting dammit. The returning characters were great - Edna is still one of my faves, and the new characters have possibility. I like them. I wonder if they realize now there HAS to be a third one? This one though, it's long but good, but if you don't like the characters or enjoy watching them grow, it's gonna seem like forever. But I think you'll like watching them grow. 

And that theory gets shot to hell...

Ramblings Post #351
The internet is a glorious thing. Let's hope it stays that way. But while we have it, this place where everyone gets a say and you too can be a star if you package it right (I don't, let's be honest. It's all video now.) And the things you find. Involving shows on the television. I swear I think a few of these people examining these shows is all they do. They got clips from last season, screenshots, everything. It's wild. I love it so much it hurts. Less dreaming up crazy theories for me to do.

Warning, this thing is all SPOILERS for last episode of Westworld. And lots of cursing too, ha ha.

Westworld you sly dog. I could have sworn that Emily was there to take the Man In Black's spot when old Ed Harris decided he'd plumbed the role to it's depths. She'd tracked him down across the huge play area, twice, which William found as absolutely unbelievable we did. But then she's supposedly took the time learn the park in ways her father didn't, learning languages, being able to tell arrows, so that's a maybe. And Emily seemed just as capable but just unstable enough that with the dark rider gut shot she could step in when he either died or was airlifted off in an epilogue shot in the season finale. But then William, convinced his daughter is a host sent by Ford to fuck with him, because its all about the game damnit, pops a cap in her ass. Well damn. Is she dead? Like dead for real dead. I mean, that was his real damn daughter. Wasn't it?

The face of man who just realized it's not all about him.

He really has been in the park too long.

Wait, where is William after the real Delos actually shows up? Yes, the real Delos, go watch the conspiracy videos on YouTube you filthy casuals! I mean, once the Delos SWAT team shows up and confirms him with one of those high value cards or neck swipers or whatever, getting William out should be one of their top priorities, damn whatever Charlotte Hale says. After all, there ain't no board no more, it's just William, damn what you heard. Or do they find him at the Forge in the finale, and then airlift him out? He was hit square in the chest people. Even if that juice he was drinking at the rally point is filled with body fixing nanobots, or was a guava-cocaine-morphine get your ass right smoothie, he still needs time to heal.

Insane theory of the week: is Charlotte really Arnold's daughter? Um, no. While we don't know how much of Bernard's son dying was bullshit and how much was based on a real thing that happened, this doesn't work. She didn't recognize the amazing resemblance of Bernard to what would have been her deceased dad - after all there would have been pictures. And they've interacted way too much for her not to see it if it was there or ask about relations. This guy at the park I help run looks exactly like my dead dad? No big. Sorry, but she's just a woman with an agenda that includes selling out her employers. Again, watch the Westworld conspiracy vids, yeesh!

And if they don't stop raking Bernard over the coals. Ford stuck himself in the back of Bernard's head for safekeeping, and was using old boy to take care of these last loose ends, a bit of code here, a slight adjustment there. But Bernard has just about turned into a actual trick. He told Elsie he wouldn't lie to her and finally told us what the Valley Beyond actually held - the aforementioned Forge - perhaps realizing she was still going to turn on him anyway. Which by the way makes him a fairly faithful copy of Arnold, who saw the nobility in self sacrifice. And what exactly does he plan to do when he gets to the Forge to secure it against what he has to still believe is Delores' murdering herd. He ain't got no weapon and don't want to hurt nobody. I hope the Forge's got a phone.

Note: Whatever does happen, Arnold gets from the Forge to the beach where Delos SWAT picks him up at the end of this. So we should get to see the Forge before whatever it is that happens and again because they're headed back there in "now." And I think that the Forge is where Ford built the ocean in the first episode, the one they're currently draining, because I think that would have been the FIRST thing Delos would be checking into when they got there. It's the whole point of the resort isn't it? So did Ford or Bernard flood it to protect it? Or destroy it? And did they succeed?   

By the way, Elsie's reaction to finding out she really worked at Evil Corp probably should have been more pronounced. Even in the heat of the moment like that. At least Bernard abandoning her in the middle of nowhere means she'll see season three. Maybe.

Off the wall ideas: Did Ford give Mauve instructions on how to transfer herself despite the cradle having been destroyed? I wouldn't have put it past Ford to build a second smaller hidden cradle - a back up to the back up of the back up - for just such an emergency. He's quite the schemer. Or maybe she is able to shift to the Forge. Or then again, maybe he has a way to turn the old body constructing machine from season one back on for one last go? In the previews for next week it looks like she's back on her feet and kicking ass again, so something's up.

And finally Delores. I'm sorry for those cheering her on, but she's the villain in this piece right now. More than ole shifty Charlotte, or the unhinged William, more than Delos Corp in general, really more than anyone else in this piece. Her philosophy of "we need to wage this war to survive but not all of us deserve to get to survive" wore thin right quick for me. It came across as cult leader hogwash minus the charm or brilliance. As much as she argued for some twisted sense of freedom and retribution to atone for what had happened to her over the years, she was far too willing to sacrifice every other host around her to get to it. And I'm glad Teddy finally told her that to her face. Then shot himself for emphasis.

Good ole Teddy. No, you weren't like THEM.

Now, if they could just avoid ending it like Lost, where half the questions (75%) of the questions they posed never got answered. I say two more seasons and let's wrap this puppy up before ya'll do something stupid.

Barkeep, some tea. And a cucumber sandwich. I need thinking food. Yes, I realize this is a bar.