Tuesday TV Touchbase: CNN, the Olympics and Jeopardy

 Before we get into this week's touchbase, a word on the passing of actor Eric Dane. Dane died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

A lot of the tributes I saw referenced his work on Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria but none noted his appearance on Brilliant Minds. 

I have opined that Brilliant Minds has not gotten the love and respect it deserves but come on! A man has died! And still nothing about the show that gave us Eric Dane's final and perhaps greatest performance as an actor?

Dane's role in Brilliant Minds was not only heartbreaking but heroic. While in the grip of his worsening and debilitating ALS, Eric Dane played a fire fighter struggling with his worsening and debilitating ALS. Dane overcome the restrictive effects of ALS on his speech and movement to give a powerful performance.

Andrea told me she finally saw one story that mentioned Dane's appearance on Brilliant Minds. 

God rest your soul, Eric. I can't say I followed your career all that much but your episode of Brilliant Minds impressed me with your talent and your courage.

Now on with the Touchbase.

Last week, Andrea and I were in exile with her father after his medical episode a couple of weeks ago.

(How that all turned out will be covered in tomorrow's post.)

As an old man of 88 years old, Andrea's dad has a voracious appetite for news.

Despite being an old man of 88 years old, Andrea's dad does NOT feed that appetite with Fox "News".  

He watches CNN.  A lot.  

I watched shows hosted by Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper and Kaitlin Collins who approach their topics of discussion with professionalism, candor and compassion.

(An aside to that goddam jackass Donald Trump, Kaitlin Collins does smile when it's appropriate, you dumb fuck!)

One story that was covered a LOT was the mysterious disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy. I'm writing this post on Sunday and I hope by the time it posts on Tuesday, that mystery will be solved and hopefully with a good outcome.

Nancy Guthrie has been missing for 3 weeks now and a positive outcome seems unlikely but I hope I'm wrong.  

The lack of an answer to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance is not for lack of CNN looking REALLY hard.

I know more about that doorbell ring cam footage than I know what my own wife looks like. 

CNN was interviewing anybody in Nancy's neighborhood including one guy who made it very plain he had nothing to add to this conversation but kept graciously taking CNN's questions. (If something happened to one my neighbors, I would be equally unhelpful.)  

Whenever CNN wasn't scouring the Arizona desert brush looking for Nancy Guthrie, they were covering whatever dumb shit Donald Trump did in the last 5 minutes.

Donnie does a lot of dumb shit.

I watched and barely tolerated some panel shows where conservatives and liberals sat around a table to tell each other what Donald Trump just said or did 5 minutes ago was perfectly reasonable or the worst case of dumb shit ever.

Andrea and I did make efforts to guide her dad away from CNN.

Hey, the Winter Olympics was going on so let's watch some of that.

Which is not always that interesting.

You would think that something called SPEED skating would engage me more but eh, I could barely stay awake despite announcers screaming as the Netherlands zoomed past Lichtenstein or something. 

We did get to witness the amazing skill, talent and artistry of Alysia Lui who won a gold medal for figure skating.

She also deserves a medal for whatever she's doing with her hair.

We also got Andrea's dad to watch Jeopardy and it's Jeopardy Invitational Tournament. Ken Jennings still insists on trying to call it "JIT" but it ain't catching on.

The always affable Andrew He won the tournament for his amazing depth of knowledge, his skills with the buzzer and some daring wagers.

And for whatever he's doing with his hair.

I also made Andrea's dad watch Bob Ross paint stuff. He was impressed by Bob's skill with a paint brush and his calm, friendly delivery of his painting tips.

And for whatever Bob was doing with his hair.

And we traded CNN for ESPN to watch basketball.

Andrea and her dad watched their beloved Carolina Tarheels defeat Syracuse and they even stuck around to join me in pulling Duke past #1 Michigan.  

Now that Andrea and I are done with our exile from the Fortress of Ineptitude, we can get back to scripted television.

Next week, we've got the debut of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins with Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe and the return of Scrubs.

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.   

Supreme Anger

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Donald Trump's temper tantrum tariff policy is not tenable.

Using something called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Trump has been calling everything an "emergency" and taking unilateral action without involving Congress.

Such as placing tariffs on countries around the world all willy-nilly because someone offended him.

Trump cultists will swear that der Führer is pursuing some kind of goddam 4 dimensional economic chess game to (drum roll) Make America Great Again! 

No, he is not.

Using a very loose interpretation of the IEEPA, Trump applies tariffs on a whim to support his delusional ego that tells him that tariffs are a magic panacea that will make everything better, that other countries are paying money to fill out coffers.

Even though that is not how tariffs work.

At least 6 members of the Supreme Court do understand how tariffs work.

Since tariffs are paid by the importers, not the exporters and those costs are passed on to American consumers, tariffs amount to a tax on the America people and guess what the President does NOT have the power to do?

Levy taxes.

And IEEPA does not give him that power. 

At least 3 Supreme Court justices think that Trump should still be allowed to play with his tariff toys anyway.

Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch who voted with the majority wrote about his concerns on rulings being dependent on who happens to be in the White House.

When Biden tried to involve executive powers to execute a policy without consent from Congress (student loan forgiveness), the Supreme Court ruled no he can't do that.

When Trump tried to involve executive powers to execute a policy without consent from Congress (imposing tariffs),why should the Supreme Court provide a different response?

After the Supreme Court handed down their ruling that Donald Trump does NOT have the power he thinks he has to slap tariffs on everybody, Li'l Donnie made his response known.

I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You has exclusive video from the Oval Office of how Trump greeted this news.

OK, my bad. That's a scene from The Untouchables when gang boss Al Capone threatens FBI agent Elliot Ness.  

You know, since Donald Trump talks like a mob boss, my mistake is understandable.

And what Trump did say was not far off from Al Capone's rant. 

To be fair, Presidents in the before times did voice their disagreement and disappointment with rulings by the Supreme Court.

And so Trump too has the right to express that disagreement and disappointment.

But of course, Li'l Donnie couldn't just leave it that.

He got personal. 

He called the justices who voted against his beloved tariffs:

• a disgrace.
• unpatriotic
• fools
• lapdogs
• defying the Constitution
• under the influence of foreign powers
• an embarrassment to their families.

Of the two justices who voted against his tariffs that he appointed, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, Trump expressed his regret that he had ever nominated them in the first place.

Never mind that Gorsuch and Barrett have been part of a solid 6 vote line up that up until now has capitulated to every whim and complaint from Donald Trump.  

Now with this ONE thing, he wants them DEAD, their families DEAD, their houses... whoops, I'm channeling Al Capone again.

An easy mistake to make since Li'l Donnie blusters and bellows like a crime boss.  (Our boy may wish he was from Manhattan but he will never shake that Queens patois.) 

Anyway, so Trump can't issue trariffs under IEEPA? Well fuck that! Another quasi legal maneuver called Section 122 does permit him to assess tariffs.  It's supposed to be a temporary measure with tariffs ending in 150 days unless approved by Congress. 

But who cares? It's still something that Trump can use to slap tariffs on countries and things.  And damn it, he's gonna use it on EVERYBODY! 

Yep, friend and foe alike! And what exactly did EVERYBODY do to deserve being assessed with tariffs? Well, Trump thinks EVERYBODY has been ripping us off for years!

Nah, Li'l Donnie is throwing a temper tantrum because the Supreme Court was a big ol' meanie who took away his toys.

When Trump first announced these section 122 tariffs, he said they were set at 10% across the board.

The next day, der Führer changed it to 15%.

Why?

Because he's still angry.

Which is no goddam way to run any kind of international economic policy.

Which just sort of underscores the Supreme Court's point.

Movie Time: Act Of Violence

 Yesterday's  movie themed post  looked at a fun, provocative 21st century film about being stuck in a time loop and being unable to escape the fate of reliving the same day over and over.

Today's movie themed post goes back to the 1940's and it's a different sort of movie, a film noir about a man threatened by an implacable menace. 

But it does have something in common with Palm Springs, questions about morality and philosophy as well as the overriding notion you just can't beat fate.

It's... Movie Time! 

Directed by Fred Zinnemann, this 1949 film is called Act of Violence and it stars Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor and Phyllis Thaxter.

Uh oh! Robert Ryan is in this thing? Of course, he's gonna be the "implacable menace" with the grudge on that just won't quit.

We begin in Sunny southern California where war veteran Frank Enley has settled down with his wife Edith and infant child. Life is good for Frank with a nice family in a nice house with a good job and the respect of his community.

Joe Parkson has arrived in town to blow all that wide open. 

Joe is a grim sort of guy with a busted leg, lurching about, always scowling. Joy and pleasure are for other people.

(The sort of role that Robert Ryan is especially adept at.) 

Joe spends several days stalking Frank and Edith, waiting for his moment to strike.

Frank is aware Joe is in town stalking him and he's frightened.

And Edith is also frightened.

• Who is that wierd dude lurking outside the house?
• Why is Frank so scared of him?
• What terrible secret is Frank keeping from Edith?

Frank is determined to keep his secrets and avoid whatever fate Joe has planned for him.

But wherever Frank goes, whatever he does, Joe is always right there, always waiting, always watching. 

Finally enough is enough and Edith gets some back story time! 

Joe and Frank were prisoners in a Nazi POW camp.  

Joe and the other prisoners concocted an escape plan that Frank knew was doomed to fail. They were just going to get themselves killed. 

So Frank alerted the SS Nazi camp commander to the prisoners' plan with the proviso that that commander will "go easy" on the men. The commander gives Frank his word that the men will not be harmed.

Yeah, about that...

The prisoners were bayonetted and left to die.

Goddam Nazis! 

Joe survives by playing dead but his leg is badly and permanently damaged. 

Joe is determined to make Frank pay for the betrayal of his friends, their brutal murder by the Nazis and his own constant pain. 

In his efforts to escape from Joe's relentless quest for vengeance, Frank's path crosses with people with mob connections, a prostitute, a shady lawyer and a thug. 

Frank has an "understanding" with his newfound "friends" they will "take care" of his little problem with Joe.

In exchange for maybe Frank helping them with something in the future. (Wink! Wink!) 

Frank goes back home to Edith, secure in the knowledge that he will now be safe from Joe's quest for vengeance.

But Frank is riddled with guilt.

Damn it! He's done it again. He's betrayed Joe to people who are going to kill him.

Frank leaves the house to intervene and save Joe from the hit he has arranged. 

Maybe Frank can save Joe.

But can Frank escape his fate? 

Can he escape answering for his betrayal of his men in the POW camp?

While much of the movie centers around Frank and Joe, Act of Violence does have some strong performances from the female supporting cast.  Janet Leigh was just getting her career started provides a particularly strong perfomance as Edith.

And nearing the end of her career, Mary Astor as Pat the prostitute nearly steals the film (in Mary's own words) "playing a sleazy, aging whore".  Mary was making Act of Violence at the same time she was making Little Women.   The director of the latter film was freaked out when Mary Astor once showed up on set in her "aging whore" make up. Mary appreciated the reaction, validating she was doing something right in her role as Pat.  

While a lot of the shoot for Act of Violence was done on the MGM lot in Culver City, the movie makes extensive use of location filming.  Some of the nighttime city scenes were shot in the slum neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Act of Violence is an extremely powerful film noir, evoking a constant sense of dread and suspense with strong acting performances and beautiful black and white cinematography. 

Movie Time: Palm Springs

Today's movie themed post is about that old sci-fi trope known as a time loop.

It's Movie Time! 

Today's movie themed post is about that old sci-fi trope known as a time loop.

It's Movie Time! 

Today's movie themed post is about that old sci-fi trope known as a time loop.

It's Movie Time! 

Today's movie themed post is about that old sci-fi trope known as a time....

NOW CUT THAT OUT!!!

From 2020, it's Palm Springs.

As we jump into the deets about living the same damn day over and over, there may be comparisons to the film many regard as the master class of living in a time loop, Groundhog Day. 

For a guy who likes movies and has seen a lot of them, I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make: I've never watched Groundhog Day. 

I've seen clips and scenes and what not, enough that I understand what Groundhog Day is about and could fake my way through a conversation about it and appear knowledgeable.

But I've never actually sat down to watch the dang them from beginning to end.

It's not that I don't want to. I would really like to carve out some time to watch Groundhog Day. I think it's something I would enjoy.

I just haven't gotten around to it.

I've had a similar experience with Palm Springs.  

I've seen several clips online with Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti that have piqued by interest to want to watch this movie.

I'm big fans of both Samberg and Milioti.

One recent Saturday morning when I had more important things on my to-do list, I stumbled across this movie on Hulu and said, "Fuck it! I'm gonna finally watch this damn thing!"

So here we go!

• It's November 9th in Palm Springs.
• It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Not so much for Nyles.  

Nyles wakes up dull and miserable and fails to consummate sex with his girlfriend Misty.

He spends the morning idly floating in the pool, drinking beer.

That evening, he wanders around Tala and Abe's wedding reception. 

The only person that seems to pique his interest is Sarah, Tala's depressed half-sister and maid of honor.

Nyles and Sarah leave the party to have sex in the nearby desert. A carnal connection cut short when a mysterious assailant shoots Nyles with arrows.  

Nyles crawls into a cave, warning Sarah not to follow him.

Worried about Nyles, Sarah does follow him into the cave when...

Sarah wakes up.

• It's November 9th in Palm Springs.
• It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Sarah confronts Nyles about what the hell happened to her?

Nyles explains that by following him into the cave, Sarah is now trapped in the same time loop he's been caught in for a very long time.

Every day is November 9th.

No matter what happens, if you fall asleep or even die, time resets and...

It's November 9th in Palm Springs.

It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Sarah is determined not to be trapped in this time loop.

She leaves Palm Springs to travel back to her apartment in Austin TX.  Exhausted, she falls asleep and...

It's November 9th in Palm Springs.

It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Sarah drives her car into an oncoming semi truck.

Nyles explains they cannot die but pain is still a thing. It hurts to die. 

And it doesn't work because...

It's November 9th in Palm Springs.

It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Hey, who is the guy with the arrows?

Nyles explains that's Roy, a guy that Nyles accidentally got stuck in the time loop. Roy periodically makes the trek back from Irvine CA to torture Nyles.  Nyles can't stay dead but again, pain is real and still a thing and no matter what Roy does to Nyles...

It's November 9th in Palm Springs.

It's the big wedding day for Tala and Abe. 

Stuck in the time loop for a long time, Nyles has become complacent and nihilistic, giving up hope of ever getting out.

For a time, Sarah aligns herself with Nyles to enjoy a life free of consequence.  Random acts of drunken vandalism.  A little grand theft auto. (No, not the game. Actually stealing cars.) Telling people what they really think.  Nyles and Sarah actually seem to be having a good time in their eternal November 9th.

When the day resets back to November 9th, Nyles wakes up with a smile, content in the knowledge he's going to spend the day with Sarah. 

After another attack by Roy to make Nyles suffer, Sarah decides it's time once and for all to break the cycle and get the hell out of this time loop.

Sarah retreats from Nyles to spend her repeating November 9th lost in books on quantum physics.  She takes online classes. She debates her professors. 

Sarah is becoming a certified genius in quantum physics.

And damned if she hasn't scienced the shit out of a way out of the time loop.

Sarah share her plan with Nyles who is frightened by the plan.

The plan involves going back into the cave and blowing themselves up with C4 explosives. 

Sarah cannot confirm if the resulting explosion will move them forward in time to November 10th.

Or it just kills them. 

But she knows it will break the time loop.

But it's not just the risk of permanent extinction that Nyles is afraid of.

Nyles is in love with Sarah and whatever this hell is that it's always November 9th is bearable with her.  He'll even cop to being happy. 

Sarah calls bullshit on this. The one woman he's stuck in a time loop with and he's in love with her? 

What happens next? 

Hey, I gotta a leave some surprises.  

Palm Springs is a really good movie and I recommend giving it a watch if you can.  Andy Samberg gives an impressive performance and I have down for almost anything Cristin Milioti is in. How does she do that thing with her eyes? It's like they inflate!

And the time loop shenanigans prompt some rather unexpectedly deep examination of philosophy and morality.

I really enjoyed this movie.   

A sentiment shared by others.  

• At the 78th Golden Globe Awards, Palm Springs earned two nominations: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Samberg. 
• Palm Springs won Best Comedy at the 26th Critics' Choice Awards.
• Palm Springs has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 94%.
• Metacritic gives the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100.  
• Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich gave Palm Springs a grade B+ and praised the film for cleverly reworking the Groundhog Day formula.  
• Peter Debruge of Variety and Vince Mancini of Uproxx gave the film  positive reviews.
• IGN named Palm Springs their Best Movie of the Year 2020.

OK, I'm on the verge of overselling this movie.  

It's not the greatest thing since sliced bread, OK? 

But I think Palm Springs is a very well made and extremely interesting film. 

Your Friday Video Link: It's a Peter Dinklage-a-thon!

The theme for today's edition of Your Friday Video Link is Peter Dinklage.

Why Peter Dinklage? Is it his birthday or something?

I don't know. Let me check.

<PAUSE>

No, it's not. His birthday in June 11, 1969.

Oh my God! He's not dead, is he?

I don't think so. Let me check.

<PAUSE>

Nope, Peter Dinklage is alive and well.

And inexplicably the focus of today's Your Friday Video Link.

Video Link#1: Peter reads some correspondence.... in defense of beavers! 

Video Link #2:  Peter Dinklage having some fun with his time on the TV series Game of Thrones. 

Video Link #3: Peter Dinklage has.... SPACE PANTS!!! 

That is that for this week's Your Friday Video Link.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

And remember that Peter Dinklage is a national treasure. 

We Might Be OK

 Regarding yesterday's post....

OH MY GOD!!! Was that depressing or what?

Is Andrea's dad gonna die?

Oh he's too stubborn for that.

He may well outlive us all.

Concerns about his cognitive decline seem to be a bit overstated.

Or my own cognitive abilities are declining.

He's making sense to me.

So one of us is off their rocker.

It could be him.

It may be me.

I'll have more in a future post.

But for now, in response to yesterday's pervading sense of doom...

I think we might be OK.

The Status Is NOT Quo

 I need to address some personal stuff.

"Routine" is the watch word here at the Fortress of Ineptitude.

Andrea and I get up Monday through Friday, making the long commute up the hallway to our respective places where we work from home.

At the end of the day, we eat dinner, watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and whatever else we have on our "to watch" list and we call it a day.

Other than not actually working at our jobs, weekends are not much different with moderately successful efforts to get things done around ye olde Fortress before collapsing into a mid afternoon nap followed by watching TV. 

Our routine might be boring but when you're as dysfunctional as we are, that routine provides an important anchor to what would otherwise be chaos.

Right now, Andrea and I are a bit gobsmacked that our routine has been significantly altered.

Last week, Andrea's father had to go to the hospital with a rather lengthy list of things that were to put it mildly a cause for concern. 

Her dad is 88 years old and for the most part is healthier than a lot of people half is age.  He has been remarkably self sufficient. And for the most part, he has all his cognitive marbles.

Until last week.  

A disturbing episode where he became lost, confused and incoherent pointed to an inescable fact that time was running out on his status quo.

A sad part of aging is no matter who well you might take care of yourself, there is a point where the human body reaches it's limits of sustaining a healthy existence.

To put it another way: entropy is a bitch.

It comes for everyone and everything.  

It has inevitably come for Andrea's dad.

Wrapped up in the routine of our existence, we did not want to see that coming. 

By the time this posts, our routine will be different, spending more time at her dad's house and less here at the Fortress of Ineptitude.  

Doing whatever it is we need to do to help her dad live his life. We want to help and we will do what we can. 

But we are not prepared for this. I for one am not prepared to deal with my own life let alone be responsible for someone else's.

Like it stays on this blog's banner, I am trapped in a world I am not designed to cope with.  

For the moment, however, my marbles are slightly better organized that my father in law's so I guess it's time to step up.

Meanwhile, Andrea's brother is working on getting their father into assisted living. 

Their dad does not want to go.

Neither did my mom when she was no longer able to live on her own. Her situation was different as she was in the throws of an ever encroaching dementia.  

My father in law is not so far gone but he's wobbly enough that he needs help and guidance, especially from those trained specifically to do that.

Andrea and I will do what we can.

Even at the cost of our routine.

We need to accept that the status is not quo.