Movie Time: How to Murder Your Wife

So here's an idea for a movie.

There's this guy who just loves his 1960's era swinging batchelor life, just flitting from woman to woman like a busy little bee. "The married life is not for me!" 

But then he winds up married to a woman and he just can't stand it! 

But efforts to get the marriage annulled or to get divorced don't work so he's left (HA! HA!) with no choice (HA! HA!) but to murder her! 

(HA! HA!) 

Why are not you laughing yet?

Should you be?

Let's find out together.

It's...MOVIE TIME!

There I am one day watching TCM and it's Jack Lemmon day.

Well, that's cool. I like Jack Lemmon whether it's in comedies like Some Like It Hot or dramatic roles like Days of Wine and Roses.  So I'm probably in for some quality entertainment whether it's Jack in a comedic or dramatic roles.

On the program of films for Jack Lemmon day included this title: How to Murder Your Wife from 1965.

Oh, so this must be Jack Lemmon in a dramatic role as a nefarious scoundrel with a despicable scheme to murder his wife.

No, it's a comedy.

OK, you got my attention. Let's see what the hell this is about!

Stanley Ford is a carefree bachelor who lives a life of fun and luxury in his Manhattan townhouse with his English valet, Charles.

A fancy butler and an upscale Manhattan address? How can Stanley afford such things?

He's a newspaper cartoonist. (So right off the bat, you know we're not going for realism here.)

Stanley is the creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent.  

Stanley's big on authenticity so he draws from real life and will even re-enact Bash's exploits around the city with Charles taking photos for Stanley to use as reference.  

Stanley Ford loves his carefree single life and is absolutely positively against the institution of marriage.  

While he might be against marriage, he's still up for a good time at marriage's expense so he attends a friend's bachelor party where someone bursts out of a cake.  Like this! 

Except instead of Matt Smith, it's a beautiful young blonde Italian woman who comes out of the cake. Like this!

After a night of drunken debauchery, Stanley wakes up to find himself married to the beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

Well, Stanley immediately regrets this and goes to the office of Harold Lampson, his friend and attorney, bringing with him the beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

Now you might wonder why I keep referring to this person as "the beautiful young blonde Italian woman".  Even though it is factually true.  She is 

• beautiful 
• young 
• blonde
• Italian 
• and a woman.

And played by Virna Lisi, a beautiful young blonde Italian woman.

So that is true and all that but does this beautiful young blonde Italian woman not have a name? Let me check.

...

...

...

No, she does not.

OK, she has to have a name but the script does not give her one. 

Because she is married to Stanley Ford, we can call her a) Mrs. Ford (as she is identified in the closing credits) or 2) I keep pasting in "beautiful young blonde Italian woman" through the rest of the post.  

I will for the purpose of this post defer to the movie credits and address her as "Mrs. Ford". But man, that is some top level sexist shit there, even for the 1960's.  

Maybe I should even the playing field and refer to Stanley Ford as "Mr. Ford". If his wife can't have a first name, then neither can he. 

But all my notes refer to this selfish prick as "Stanley" and I'm not committed enough to this cause to re-write all of that.  

Where were we? Oh, yeah, meeting with the attorney.

Harold Lampson tells Stanley that annulment and divorce are not options for some vague reasons of the plot requires it.

I don't think Harold is a very good lawyer. And I think he's a bit resentful of his friend Stanley's swinging bachelor life, just flitting from woman to woman like a busy little bee. 

"The married life is not for me? Well, screw you, Stanley! You're caught now, motherfucker! Just like me!"

Harold is married to Edna, a manipulative, henpecking cliched wife person who happens to speak fluent Italian and is the only one who can communicate with Mrs. Ford. Edna's more than willing to help this young woman getting settled in with Stanley.

Something butler Charles cannot abide. Not willing to give up his quasi gay adjacent life style with his employer and share Stanley with a (gasp!) woman, Charles quits! 

Just who is this "Mrs. Ford" who represents such a loathsome burden to poor Stanley?  Besides being a beautiful young blonde Italian woman, she has a cheerful disposition, she's kind, she's affectionate (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more) and a really good cook. 

Quite frankly, Mr. Ford is lucky to have this woman as "Mrs. Ford".

It is not all wonderful. Mrs. Ford has a little dog who is constantly yapping.  Which is really annoying for me watching the movie so yeah, I get how that might bother someone living with that.

And Mrs. Ford watches a LOT of TV ALL the time, ostensibly to help her learn to speak English. Her English gets better even if most of what she knows is repeating vapid lines from TV commercials. 

Also marriage to Mrs. Ford has affected Stanley's fantasy outlet, his comic strip Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent.  The strip has morphed into The Bannigans, a domestic comedy series which is more popular than before because women are reading it now and getting a kick out of the misadventures of the beautiful young blonde Italian woman and her hapless, idiotic husband.

Stanley Ford wants out! 

Since annulment and divorce aren't options, Stanley must turn to murder. 

To be clear, the murder Stanley is plotting is that of Mrs. Bannigan. 

But in his quest for authenticity in his comic strip, he has to plot it out against Mrs. Ford. Which includes spiking her drink at a party to render her unconscious. 

But the final stage, the actual killing of the spouse, will be carried out using a mannequin.

So the plot is exposed day by day as Bash carries out his plot in the nations' newspapers so he can become once more Bash Bannigan, Secret Agent!

When she sees Stanley is carrying out a plot to murder her fictional counterpart, Mrs. Ford takes her dog and vanishes. 

Since Mrs. Ford is nowhere to be found and Stanley just laid out a plot to kill her for all the nation to read, Stanley is arrested and tried for murdering his wife. 

Since there is no body and only circumstantial evidence, it seems that Stanley's attorney friend Harold Lampson should be able to keep him out of the electric chair.  

But that does seem to be where Stanley is heading because as I said before, I don't think Harold is a very good lawyer.

OK, we're about to head into some messed up misogynistic shit!

So Stanley takes over his own defense, appealing to the ALL MALE jury and their frustrations regarding their own wives and marriages. 

Stanley declares he killed her and what man on that jury wouldn't do the same if they had the chance? 

The ALL MALE jury can't acquit him fast enough as  the men in the courtroom applaud wildly and carry Stanley out on their shoulders.

Seriously, this is a thing that happens in this movie.

A joyful Charles is willing to return as Stanley's valet on the belief Stanley really killed his wife.  He's very disappointed to find out Stanley didn't actually murder anyone other than a mannequin.   

What if Mrs. Ford returns? Charles gleefully advises Stanley he can kill her for real since a jury just acquitted him of murdering her and he can't be charged with the same crime twice. 

A despondent Stanley is hoping she will return.  And when he goes back home, he is pleased to find a certain beautiful young blonde Italian woman naked under the covers in his bedroom.

Hello, Mrs. Ford! 

OK, I need a moment.

_______________________________

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department 

Claire Trevor repeatedly steals the movie as Edna Lampson, the wife of Stanley's attorney.  Claire starred with John Wayne in Stagecoach,  

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California - Irvine was named in her honor.

Terry-Thomas who played Stanley's put upon butler was a unbiquitous presence in 1960's cinema with his ever so proper English accent and a very noticeable gap between his two front teeth.   

Terry-Thomas specialized in characters that were  pretentious, elitist, seedy, sometimes lecherous cads which pretty much describes Charley in How To Murder Your Wife.  Terry-Thomas said this film was his favorite one which doesn't speak well to his good taste. (Yeah, I've got something to say about this movie in a minute.)  

Terry-Thomas also starred in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Jack Albertson who played Dr. Bentley was perhaps best known as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Here's an obsure one: Max Showalter who played Tobey Rawlins was the hotel desk clerk in Move Over, Darling which I  posted about in a Move Time post in August of last year.

I don't know who Khigh Dhiegh is but here's his role as it appears in the credits: "the bald actor playing a thug". 

Hey, I do know who he is: he played the recurring villain Wo Fat on Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980.  

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FUN FACT:  The Bash Bannigan comic strips that appear in the movie were created by professional comic strip creator person Mel Keefer.  

Mel created comic strips based on the TV series Dragnet.

And western actor/singer Gene Autry.

The Bash Bannigan strips have been incorrectly attributed to Alex Toth. Toth did draw one teaser strip that was drawn in Keefer's style to promote the movie but all the other strips were done by Mel Keefer himself.   

ANOTHER FACT THAT IS NOT FUN BUT HERE IT IS: There is a character named Bash Bannigan in the TV series Reprisal which ran for one season on Hulu in 2019.  

______________________________

Okay, back to the movie. 

When I watch a movie, I try to imagine the perspective of the time it was made, if not to justify then to at least mitigate any inadvertant racism or sexism or some other 3rd thing that might be problematic for today's audience.

Hey, it was 1965! It was a different time, right?  

How to Murder Your Wife does not stand up to the kind of leveraged scrutiny.  

Change it to 1935 even and there's some stuff that just ain't good.

Make it a silent film from 1925 and really?

Jack Lemmon does what he can with some great physical comedy and facial expressions to wring laughs from this mess but he's fighting an uphill battle for an irredeemable character. Stanley's change of heart after the murder trial is out of left field due to the mandate that we need a happy ending, dammit! 

The murder trial? Maybe I'm missing some kind of satirical commentary on the victimization of women. But all I'm seeing is a celebration of the victimization of women.  If there is a deeper context there, that's on me for missing it. 

A moment for Mrs. Ford. I can't blame the 1960's for not giving her a first name. In 1988,  Mississippi Burning had a prominent female character known only as Mrs. Pell, no first name.  

And Mrs. Ford is a vibrant character brought wonderfully to life by Virna Lisi whose performance is filled with joy and passion. 

Why she comes back to Stanley, I have no idea. This beautiful young blonde Italian woman deserves better than Stanley Ford.

And she deserves a name! 

Your Friday Video Link: Feeling Groovy

Hello young folk!

What you're shakin'?

I gotta try that scene you're makin'!

This is Dave-El and I am here to show you that I am down with the young people.

I get where you're comin' from, dudes and dudettes!

Your Friday Video Link#1 is... whatever this is.

FUN FACT: Did you know Liberace was gay?

My mom did not know that. 

A lot of mothers and grandmothers were oblivious to this fact.

A lot of them entertained the notion of their daughters marrying a good honest red blooded American man like LIberace. 

Up next for Your Friday Video Link#2,it's... this thing.

FUN FACT:  "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", released in 1967, appeared on Leonard Nimoy's SECOND album. Yep, Mr. Nimoy put out more than one album.

The same guy who (checks notes) "sung" that song about The Hobbit recorded FIVE albums. 

• Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space (1967)
• Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (1968)
• The Way I Feel (1968)
• The Touch of Leonard Nimoy (1969)
• The New World of Leonard Nimoy (1970)

I'm kind of curious about that 4th one. What does it mean to experience "the touch of Leonard Nimoy"? 

Your mind to my mind.

Your thoughts to my thoughts.

Anybody else feeling... tingly? 

OK, this is getting kinda weird, guys!  

Your Friday Video Link#3 is.... some other 3rd thing.  

FUN FACT:  In addition to Petula Clark's 1966 hit "Sign Of the Times", Harry Styles, Prince, The Belle Stars, Slade, Bryan Ferrry and Queensrÿche have all released different songs with that title.  

ANOTHER FUN FACT: Petula Clark, born November 1932, is as of today still alive and still active at 94 years old.   

I hope you've enjoyed today's post. 

I think we've had a laugh or two, experienced a little joy in our hearts and maybe even learned a little something today.

The 1960's were fucking weird, man! 

Dave-El's Spinner Rack: Alfred Is Still Dead (Batman and Justice League)

 Welcome to another edition of the Spinner Rack where I post about new comics I most recently purchased.

OK, not so recently as these were from about 3 weeks ago.

First up is Batman#11 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez.

The Minotaur has brought increased wealth to the crime bosses of Gotham City. But at a brutal price that those criminal kingpins are no longer willing to pay.

The Penguin is particularly chafing under the Minotaur's ruthless and unrelenting grasp on power.  

Meanwhile Batman has his hands full with his ongoing war with Vandal Savage, the mysterious crime network ran by the Minotaur and and an attack by The Ōjō, the fatal female sword wielding assassin who can turn herself into ravens. 

(She was the one who led the attack on Bruce Wayne and Annika Zeller in their date/not a date in Batman#5.)

Poor Bruce Wayne has a lot on his plate and really could use the help of a Pennyworth right now.

Too bad Alfred is dead.

But the last page of Batman#11 offers an alternative.

Enter Verity Pennyworth, here to maintain the family legacy of service to the Wayne family.

Batman#12 will I presume offer more insight into this person but caution, I haven't read this issue yet.

But this brings me to an topic I want to address.

Alfred Pennyworth is still dead.

Alfred was murdered by Bane back in 2019 in a storyline written by Tom King.  Since then, King was followed by Joshua Williamson who was followed by Chip Zdarsky and now Matt Fraction.

And so far, none of these writers have delivered the "mind blowing, unexpected plot twist of the resurrection of Alfred Pennyworth". 

These being comic books, 7 years is a long time for a character to stay dead.  

"Seven years dead? This is coming out of your pay, mister," says a petulant Bruce Wayne.  

A  cover painting by Alex Ross
 of Alfred mourning the death of Bruce Wayne
who did not stay dead.

This is NOT the first time Alfred has been dead.

When Julius Schwartz took over as editor of the Batman titles in 1964, one of his first directives was to remove Alfred the butler who died saving the lives of Batman and Robin.

But then the Batman TV show went into production with Alfed the butler as a principal character so Julie Schwartz had to bring 'im back. 

Over several issues of Batman and Detective Comics, Batman and Robin were bedevilled by a super villian called the Outsider, a villain of remarkable psionic powers and an intimate knowledge of Batman and Robin's secrets. 

In a mind blowing, unexpected plot twist, the Outsider's true identity was revealed to be... (gasp!) Alfred! 

That relevation happens in "Inside Story of the Outsider!"  in Detective Comics #356 in 1966.  So Alfred was dead for 2 years.

His current death has lasted for 7 years.

And with the introduction of a NEW Pennyworth, how much longer can that lazy layabout Alfred continue to just hang out in his grave like he ain't got nothing to do?

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Just a quick note about Justice League Unlimited#20-#21.  I'm still enjoying Mark Waid's exploration of a near limitless playing field of super heroes and villains in a connected universe.

The knock down drag out fight with the Braniac Queen is an epic display of power that it resolved by a clever ruse from Ryan Choi's The Atom and the Red Tornado. 

The Amnesty plan is showing some strain where Lex Luthor refuses to act like a super villain on a short lease parole and insists on taking initiatives like he's Batman's goddam equal. 

It is kind of frustrating that Mark spends a lot of time plugging holes from previous events (Absolute Power and DC K.O.) and setting the table for the next big event.  

OK, that is that for my newest comics.

Next week, it's the Comic Book Retro 50! What comic books did a young Dave-El buy 50 years ago in August 1976? 

Two weeks after that, a look at a facsimile reprint of Batman#156 and the classic "Robin Dies At Dawn". 

Our Time In Exile Part Deux

This post is a follow up to a post from February of this year.

My wife Andrea received an anxious phone call from her brother.  He was very concerned their dad was not being quite himself.  

Sometimes he was very unfocused and even incoherent.

Calls made to him by Andrea and our son Dean had prompted similar concerns.  

Andrea's brother was going to be out of town for a week and wondered if we could stay with their dad at his home for awhile.

We did this following his health issues back in February.  Once more we would need to as we did then to take the measure of his ability to manage himself, to remember on his own to take his medicine in the prescribed amounts and times, stuff like that.

A couple of months ago, Andrea and I took her dad to the hospital after he fell outside, injuring his leg and taking a blow to the head.  

Except for some scrapes and bruises, the hospital cleared him to go back home.  

But that and whatever was going on now only serve to remind us that the status quo for Andrea's dad is not sustainable forever. 

So Andre and I moved in to her dad's home, to make it our home away from home.  

We did have to leave him to return to the Fortress of Ineptitude each day to do our respective jobs.  Her dad seemed to do fine for those hours without us.

Except for the one day we returned and his TV VOLUME WAS TURNED UP REALLY REALLY LOUD!!! 

For reasons I did not comprehend, he chose not to wear his hearing aids that day. 

For the most part, he seemed to do just fine.  His best hours were in the morning. He and I would talk about stuff before Andrea and I left to go to work and he was very clear and coherent.

As the evening wore on each night, he was less easy to understand.  I chalked that up to him being too tired to make sense and me being too tired to understand him. 

I did find it hard to make time for the blog which is why last week's posting was non existent for several days.

He is a very old man who is in remarkably good health for a man of his advanced age and his overall cognitive skills seem mostly unimpaired.  

He hasn't gotten involved in a war for no good reason or sought to upend decades of medical science to mess with vaccines or insist reflecting pools were damaged by vandalism instead of shoddy contractors so he's got that going for him.

Still as I said in February, his self sufficiency is not sustainable forever. 

And that is something we all worry about.  

Tuesday TV Touchbase: The Librarians: The Next Chapter and Batman: Caped Crusader

The Librarians: The Next Chapter is back for a 2nd season and so far, Andrea and I are very much enjoying this new slate of adventures.  

The season starts with 19th century Librarian Vikram, newly appointed Librarians Lyssa and Connor  with guardian Charlie working as a well-oiled machine against a swarm of mummies to recover a lost magical artifact.  

A smiling Charlie charging at the mummy horde, ready to smite them to dust with her sword is so damn awesome. 

But the team's effectiveness at dispatching mystical threats belies their personal struggles with doubt and fear, problems that rise to the forefront when the team investigates magical shenanigans at a high school experiencing explosions of hormonal rage.

From left to right: Bluey Robinson (Connor), Olivia Morris (Lysa), Callum McGowan (Vikram), Jessica Green (Charlie)

The 2nd episode of season 2 is “And the Tethered Wish" which is about a freed genie living his best life and seeding chaos wherever he does, granting random wishes regardless of cost or consequences.

Such as when Vikram in a fit of pique with his less experienced teammates wishes he was bound to a more experienced Librarian.

And ZAP! It's guest Star Christian Kane as Jacob Stone from TOS Librarians.  

Careful what you wish for. Vikram now has a Librarian partner he can't run away from.  

Not for lack of trying. Which gives us a lot of classic physical comedy from Vikram and Jacob as the invisible tether between them keeps yanking them back together. 

It never gets old.

The episode gives us... kind of/sort of... a team up between Librarians: TNC and Librarian: TOS.  Jacob had been yoinked from a mission with the classic team involving a tribe of Amazons. Lyssa, Connor and Charlie fire up the magic door to sub in for Jacob to complete that mission.

Which we do not see.

After the ad break, Lyssa, Connor and Charlie come back through the magic door to report that Jacob's team is fine, a terrible magic artifact has been recovered and Cassandra no longer has to be Queen of the Amazons, much to her disappointment.

Also Ezekiel stole Connor's watch. 

Hey, Dean Devlin, there better be at least some kind of tie in comic book or something to cover that Amazon adventure,OK?

Later this season, Lindy Booth will be back on screen as Cassandra. I'm squeeing like a fan boy for that one!

Speaking of guest stars, Jeremy Swift chews up the scenery as the rogue genie and hey, is that David Tennant's son Ty in an episode?

The TNC gang finds out that Peter Pan and Neverland is real.

And Charlie wears a dress.  

Dominic Monaghan is on hand this season as a recurring big bad, Merlin. This Merlin is charming and manipulative, definitely NOT to be trusted.  

Season 2 of The Librarians: The Next Chapter looks better than the paper thin low budget production that was season 1.

The world of the Librarians deserves to go on and I do hope TNT picks up The Librarians: The Next Chapter for a 3rd season.

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Season 2 of Batman: Caped Crusader dropped on Prime recently.  While the creative minds from Batman: The Animated Series are behind this new series with an aesthetic that recalls the beloved B:TAS, storywise, Batman: Caped Crusader is very much it's own thing.

A film noir take set in the 1940's, B:CC is a more brutally violent, adult oriented version.  Unlike B:TAS which had to mindful of a kid audience, B:CC has no such constraints. People can and do get killed and a bad guys call for the death of "that goddam Batman". 

Batman's classic rogues gallery gets quite there makeover in this series.  The Mad Hatter gets gender switched as Hattie Tetch, a gossip mongering propogandist who tries to sell the public that crime boss Rupert Thorne is an innocent victim of a so-called "justice" system out to to destroy a good and noble citizen of Gotham City.  

Edward Nygma is no snivelling, giggling genius Riddler obsessed with puzzles; instead he is a hair trigger psychopathic punk cast in the mold of the mobster archetype James Cagney got famous for playing in the movies back in the early 20th century.

Then there is the Joker.  It's hard to get too excited over an appearance by the much overused Clown Prince of Crime. But the B:CC version is something unique.  There is the use of the classic Joker toxin that causes his targets to laugh themselves to death, leaving a corpse with a rigor mortis frozen grin. But the Joker himself is no cackling comedian of carnage. Not a lot of laughs or bad jokes, just a quiet, deliberate shadow of death pronouncing a grim judgement on his victims.  

As for the man himself, Batman continues to be a stoic humorless vessel of vengeance as he fights an unyielding battle against those who would harm Gotham. There are some flickers of humanity around the edges but this is a Batman with little or no time for anything beyond his unrelenting mission.

Prime dropped all 10 episodes of season 2 at one time but Andrea and I are taking our time to go through these episode one at a time. 

Batman: Caped Crusader in it's 2nd season continues to be a rather well made new interpretation of the classic Batman mythology.  

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Next time on the Tuesday TV Touchbase:

• Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
• Lanterns

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.  

 

Are You Stupid?

The question of today's post is "Are you stupid?"

We're gonna ask some voters in New Jersey. 

Let's ask Bonnie Chandler, age 64, how she intends to vote in the upcoming midterm election in the face of increasing prices at the gas pump and the grocery store. Mrs. Chandler believes that companies are deliberately keeping prices high to make Donald Trump look bad. 

“I’m going to vote Republican. I’m not a woke person. I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist!"

Sounds like Bonnie's been paying attention to der Führer.

Bonnie Chandler will vote against her own self interests to deter made up threats of wokeness, communism and socialism. 

Bonnie Chandler, are you stupid?

Studio audience, please help her with the answer.

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

OK, when did this blog get a studio audience? 

Lauren DeGirolamo, a 34-year-old Trump voter, says  “I feel grocery prices are pretty much at level with where they were during Biden. I know some of the key things that I look for - eggs - have gone down."

Egg prices were high in the first place due to stresses on supply due to avian bird flu which has since been brought under control. (Although recently a shit ton of eggs were recalled for salmonella so we've got that hell to look forward to.) Other than that....

Grocery prices are NOT level with where they were during Biden but are in fact much higher.  And you may recall the guy you voted for did not promise to keep grocery prices level with Biden but bring them down.  

Ms. DeGirolamo intends to vote Republican this November.

Lauren DeGirolamo, are you stupid?

What say you, studio audience?

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

Seriously, why is there a studio audience? Do I have to pay them? Or feed them?  

Margaret Derkach, age 84, can see clearly what's going on in the economy.   “The cost of living, as far as homes, apartments and food - the necessities - they have gone up. It’s shocking, shocking!"

So there's hope for Mrs. Derkach, right? Well, maybe? As for her intention to vote this November, she is  "undecided".  

She knows that Donald Trump “inherited a mess from Joe Biden."  

Damn it, Margaret! On one hand, I feel you're so close to an epiphany. You can see the Matrix, right? That things suck because stuff costs too much? 

But on the other hand, you are "undecided" how to vote because the economy is something Trump inherited from Biden who has been out of office for nearly 2 years.

OK, weird studio audience that shouldn't be part of a blog, help me out here! What is the answer for Margaret Derkach on the question, "Are you stupid?" 

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

Wow! This studio audience is mean!  And maybe a bit hungry! 

I may need to get some food brought in.

Or reconsider my medication.

To be fair, the name "Donald J. Trump" is not on any ballots this November. But the Republicans who are on the ballots do need to answer for him.  They have capitulated to his every whim and completely abdicated their responsibilities to provide any kind of oversight over his godforsaken, misbegotten reign of chaos, cruelty and goddam fucking incompetence.

The path to why shit costs so much right now does not lead to Joe Biden but to Li'l Donnie Trump. 

1) Tariffs make shit cost more! Trump slaps tariffs on everything in a mistaken belief they're some kind of magic solution to save the economy when all they do is hurt the economy and the Republicans in Congress has done fuck all about that. 

2) The war Donald Trump started makes shit cost more! The war that Trump and his snivelling syncophants have NO idea how to run and NO idea how to end makes shit cost more! And the Republicans in Congress have done fuck all about that too! 

The same Republicans in Congress who are currently running to keep their phony baloney jobs by asking you to vote for them. 

And if you think voting for them is going to make things better when they are the ones complicit in making things worse?

OK, hallucinatory studio audience, say it ONE MORE TIME!

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

While the electorate is displaying extreme levels of stupidity, let's not think those same Republicans in Congress are off the hook for lapses in intelligence.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) recently said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. misled the Senator to get his confirmation vote to be secretary of Health & Human Services.

“There are guarantees that were given to me and guarantees that were supposedly going to be enforced by the White House. Among those were not to affect the (vaccination) schedule.”

So Senator Cassidy took the word of a known vaccine skeptic that the known vaccine skeptic would not fuck with vaccines?

I believe my imaginary studio audience would like a word with you.

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

Speaking of stupid and vaccines....

Li'l Donnie signed an executive order calling for  separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots administered in separate visits.  

While signing this order, Trump made outrageous claims of  vaccines in amounts equal to soda bottles being pumped into little babies' bodies.  He's also still trying vaccines to autism.

der Führer justified his order based on such solid evidentiary basis of "people tell me" and "I believe".  

What do we need to tell Donald Trump?

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

So much stupidity, so little time.  

I think I need to lie down a moment.

Thanks to Nathan Layne of the Reuters news service for the quotes from New Jersey voters. 

Star Trekking In Black & White

 

Much like the mythology of Spider-Man did with Spider-Noir, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ventures forth into a black and white world of light and shadow in "A Case of Chiaoscuro".

I gotta say that Rebecca Romijn certainly brings that film noir femme fatale smolder in classic film black and white.

By the time this posts, I expect I will have actually seen "A Case of Chiaoscuro" to find out what the heck is going on, why is everything in black and white?

Is film noir Pike's hair even taller in black and white?

As I am writing this, I have not seen the episode. Sorry but I'm still in recovery mode from the circumstances that caused this blog to go on a week long hiatus. (I'll cover that ground in a few days.) 

More film noir goodness with Una Chin-Riley, Uhura and M'Benga.

For a splash of color, here is the poster for a film called Femme Fatale (2202) which starred Rebecca Romijn and was by all accounts not very good. 

OK, so sorry for cheating out on the weekly Star Trek post again. 

I hope to get back to regular writing on this fershlugginer blog.

Live long and prosper, y'all!  

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Oh, one more thing. I snapped this photo in a local Wal-Mart parking lot recently,  

An NCC 1701 registery and a Starfleet command sticker? I may be wrong but I think this jeep might belong to a Star Trek fan.

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UPDATE: I have in fact now seen "A Case of Chiaoscuro" and I enjoyed it quite a lot.  

So did Keith DeCandido and you can read about it here.