Chadwick Boseman

I was getting ready to go to bed Friday night when I made one last check of my phone for any breaking news.

Usually breaking news is along the lines of "Donald Trump does another dumbass and/or illegal thing".  

This time it wasn't and I rather it was. 

"Chadwick Boseman is dead." 

Oh no! This can't be. 

Sadly, it was. 

At the age of 43, Chadwick Boseman was dead after a 4 year battle with colon cancer.  

The man who brought to life Marvel's Black Panther, King T'Challa of Wakanda, was no more. 

A 4 year battle with colon cancer means that most of Chadwick's turn as Marvel's super hero sovereign was made under the shadow of this terrible disease, making Boseman's work as the strong, stoic but still recognizably human T'Challa all the more remarkable. 

As much as my family and I love Marvel movies, Blank Panther is the only one I've paid to see twice in the theater. 

As much as Chadwick Boseman shined in this iconic role, there was more to him than playing a Marvel super hero.

About a year ago, I happen to catch on cable a showing of the 2017 film Marshall, a film about future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall who in 1940 was working as an NAACP lawyer defending people of color wrongly accused of crimes because of racial prejudice. Chadwick Boseman's performance as Marshall is captivating. His confidence in his legal acumen is considerable but his humanity is never far from the his brash facade. Marshall is tired, constantly on the road, alone and miles away from his wife, forced to confront racial injustice both personally and on behalf of his clients on a daily basis. 

I just know Chadwick Boseman from his roles as the Black Panther and as Thurgood Marshall, a slim quantity of experience but I was never less than impressed by Boseman's power and talent as an actor. 

Sadly, I observed online a few months ago Boseman being the object of a racist insult. A photo surfaced of Chadwick Boseman appearing quite gaunt, frail in appearance. Some racist troll decided to attribute this appearance to drug use and calling Boseman the "crack panther". 

The source of that weak and weathered demeanor was the end result of Boseman's debilitating battle with cancer in it's final stages.  Boseman deserved better than the racist snark of online trolls. 

Chadwick Boseman, a man of considerable gifts as an actor, deserved more time on this earth than he got. Seeing not only that he was dead but dead at the age of 43, I could not help but wonder about a universe where the good die and the not so good are still with us. 

Rest in peace, Chadwick Boseman. 

In your memory, "Yibambe!" We must hold fast to stand up against injustice as T'Challa and Thurgood Marshall would do.  

Cinema Sunday: Animal Crackers

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know."

---Groucho Marx 

as Capt. Spaulding 

from Animal Crackers 

A couple a times we've a done some posts on a movies by the a Marx Brothers. You know a Groucho, a Chico, a Harpo and a Zeppo. 

Why is a Zeppo? We do not a know why is a Zeppo. Zeppo is a there, that is all we a know about a Zeppo.  

Anyway, there is always a problem with the title. 

We wrote a post about a Monkey Business. There was a lot of a business with a couple of mob types but there was no a monkey. How can a you have a movie called a Monkey Business with no a monkey? It makes no a sense and I wonder if we should a sue or a something.

Next up was a Horse Feathers which, hey, had a horse which is a good but no feathers. No feathers, that is a no good. Horse? Yes! Good! Feathers? No! No good! Again I wonder if we a should sue a somebody for a something.

Today's a movie is Animal Crackers. Will there be an animal or a crackers? Or even animal crackers? 

Given a how things have a gone so a far with this a Marx Brothers a movies, I wouldn't a hold out to much a hope for a that.  

Coming up, Dave-El and a Cinema Sunday presents Animal Crackers. 


Speaking of a crackers, I'm a hungry. 

On Long Island, upper class high society maven Mrs. Rittenhouse is holding a lavish party at her lavish home. 

You'd think that Mrs. Rittenhouse would be rich enough to afford a party and home that was completely lav but no. It's just lavish. 

The guest of this party is the renowned explorer, just recently returned from the jungles of Africa, Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding. 

Also in attendance is Roscoe W. Chandler, a revered art collector. Is he revered for collecting art or does he only collected revered art? What is revered art? Is it just paintings for Paul Revere? 

Here is my painting of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. 

It's just a black square. 

Shows what you know. It's a black rectangle! 

I can't see anything. 

Of course you can't. It's midnight.  






Mr. Chandler is at the Rittenhouse party to present his recently acquired painting, After The Hunt by a famous  artist named Beaugard.

It is this painting that forms the crux of the plot that only tangentially involves the Marx Brothers.  

Plots are made against the painting. 

Mrs. Rittenhouse's daughter Arabella is attending the party with her fiancé John Parker, who is a struggling painter. Arabella devises a scheme to replace the Beaugard with an almost perfect copy of it John painted in art school. If Chandler can see no differences between the two paintings, he will be convinced that John is a great painter and will commission him to paint. 

Grace Carpenter thinks up the same idea with her friend Mrs. Whitehead, as a means of humiliating Mrs. Rittenhouse. They grab Grace's poorly made copy that she painted in art school and swap it out for the Beaugard. 

So we've got two separate schemes to swap out the Beaugard. The deception is uncovered then all three paintings go missing, the original and the two facsimiles. 

Chaos ensues. 

Grouches slouches around, making snarky remarks.  

Harpos races around, chasing after women. 

Chico says a bunch a nonsense stuff that don't a make no a sense. 

GROUCHO:"You know, I'd buy you a parachute if I knew it wouldn't open." 

CHICO:"Ha! HA! You're a crazy, I got a pair of shoes."

Zeppo is.

Seriously, why is Zeppo? 

OK, Animal Crackers does give Zeppo a great funny moment. 

There's a scene where Groucho dictates a letter to his lawyers in rambling pseudo-legalese. When Groucho asks for the letter to be read back, Zeppo replies, "You said a lot of things I didn't think were very important, so I just omitted them!" 

Zeppo has omitted everything between the salutation and the "sincerely yours". In other words, the whole letter.  

It's a rare gotcha from Zeppo at Groucho's expense.  

Yes, Chico gets some extended time at the piano and Harpo gets a harp solo. 

No there are no animals in Animal Crackers except for those in the "After the Hunt" painting and referenced in Groucho's monologues of his exploration of Africa. As for crackers, well, there is a party with snacks with I assume includes crackers.

Animal Crackers includes a couple of musical numbers that would become firmly associated with Groucho Marx over the years: "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" and "Hello, I Must Be Going". 

Since today's post must be going, let's close out with the lyrics to "Hello, I Must Be Going". 

Take care, be safe and remember to be good to one another. 

Hello, I must be going

I cannot stay

I came to say

I must be going

I'm glad I came

But just the same

I must be going, la-la!

I'll stay a week or two

I'll stay the summer through

But I am telling you

I must be -- going

I'll do anything you say

In fact I'll even stay!

But I must be -- going!

Songs For Saturday: Stupid Stuff

Songs For Saturday with be short and sweet strange this week. 


Up first from the Dordt College Senior Talent Show on May 8, 2008, here is the college Concert Choir with their performance of "Spider Pig".  

This song was composed by Oscar winning film composer Hans Zimmer and is performed over part of the closing credits of The Simpsons Movie. 

When I was a kid, I was a fan of Dr. Demento's radio show which focused on strange, weird novelty records. 

Like this one from Barnes & Barnes called "Fish Heads".  

One half of Barnes & Barnes was Bill Mumy, an actor most famous for his role on the 1960s sci-fi series Lost In Space as Will Robinson. Mumy appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in it's last season.  

Another song I first heard on Dr. Demento's radio show was "Psycho Chicken" by the Fools. 

"Psycho Chicken" was a parody of Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads; click the link to hear that version.   

That's all for today. Things stay weird on the blog thing with Cinema Sunday as we look at another Marx Brothers movie, Animal Crackers.

Until next time, remember to stay safe, be good to one another and to always keep the music alive.  

Life Changes and Changes Back

Ever since Randie went back to college, life here at the Fortress of Ineptitude as settled into a strange but oddly comfortable rhythm for Andrea and myself.

Rosie, our dog, sometimes still scans the rooms of the house, pacing as if searching for the missing person who used to be here. 

Rosie contemplates in her doggie mind, "Hey! I could've sworn there was a third person here some place!"  

But Rosie has adjusted. Instead of flinching or running off when I need to take her outside, she now calmly presents herself when its time for me to take her out for a walk. 

We no longer have to corral or coax her to bed time. Now she patiently waits for Andrea to brush her shiny black coat before bed. 

Rosie clambers up on the sofa to join Andrea and I to watch TV. Rosie has come to accept us so we get to keep living here now. 

We miss our daughter Randie but Andrea and I have developed a pattern of life around the two of us and the dog. And though our hearts ache to not have our daughter around, we have...

WHAT THE FUCK?!? SHE'S BACK?!?!?!   

Universities are learning that trying to return to normal college life with dorm living and in person classes is just not a tenable position in a time when the damn pandemic is not under control. 

My daughter's school was among those that experienced spikes and clusters of the dreaded COVID 19. Which should have come as a surprise to no one. 

But colleges make more money from students living in dorms and eating off of meal plans than just taking classes. Being on campus is where the money is and damn it, colleges were going to give it a go. 

Repeatedly the case is made that in person learning is far more effective than on line learning and that the college experience goes beyond just the education obtained in formal classroom settings but also is developed in the alchemical experience of interacting with one another, developing relationships. 

I concur with that perspective but I also concur with this concept as well: in person learning and the college experience  isn't worth a damn if you're sick or dead. And it isn't worth the price of spreading that sickness and death to others. 

The big push (starting from the top with that damn mother fucker Donald Trump) to declare victory over COVID 19 and resume life as normal is total bullshit if the battle to contain and eradicate the virus at the heart of this pandemic still rages on. 

Anyway, as the date of Randie's departure to go back to college approached, we played a game of chicken with her university. Surely they could see the writing on the wall that this would not end well. 

Nope. The university called our bluff and damn it, our daughter was off to college. 

It took about 2 weeks for her college leadership to come to the conclusion that everyone else with half of a brain saw coming months ago. Spikes and clusters of COVID 19 popped up right on schedule and everything goes to hell. 

So our daughter is back home. 

And Rosie the dog scans the living room and realizes, "Hey, there IS a third person! I knew it!" 

Is Ellen Degeneres a Bitch Or What?

There's a been a lot of controversy surrounding Ellen Degeneres lately. 

I remember Ellen from long ago, long before she became the current queen of daytime TV when she was a stand up comedian plying her trade in front of the ubiquitous brick walls of comedy clubs and on the stage of the Tonight Show.  

Ellen Degeneres would eventually get her own sitcom in the wake of other stand up comedians (Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Roseanne, Drew Carey, etc) getting their own sitcoms. It was on this show that Ellen's character (and Ellen herself) came out as gay in a ground breaking milestone moment in TV history.  

The idea that a out and proud gay woman would get her own daytime talk show and be welcomed into the homes of millions of TV viewers is a very impressive feat. 

In addition to be a role model for gay women, Ellen Degeneres has also set herself up as a proponent of the idea of just being kind to people.  

This appeal to kindness has brought Ellen Degeneres to a rather troubling juncture of her career. 

Which leads us to the question of the moment: Is Ellen Degeneres a Bitch Or What?  

There have been a multitude of testimonials from celebrities, production staff and fans about how Ellen Degeneres is not the nice person her reputation says she is. There have been descriptions of her as brooding and moody, temperamental and for God's sake do not make eye contact. The atmosphere of working on The Ellen Degeneres Show has been described as "toxic" either through Ellen's own actions or the actions of abusive producers that Ellen ultimately failed to rein in.  Verdict: Ellen Degeneres is a bitch. 

There has been an equally large contingent of celebrities, production staff and fans who declare that Ellen Degeneres is indeed the nice person her reputation says she is, kind and generous.  Verdict: Ellen Degeneres is NOT a bitch.  

In the constant volley of "she is" and "she's not" going in Hollywood about the Ellen Degeneres and her reputation, here's something no seems to be considering: what if both versions of Ellen Degeneres are true? 

If there was some reason for a group of people to gather and discuss the topic of me (my funeral for example), what would be the verdict?

"He was a funny guy and friendly. Very nice. He could tell the funniest stories and he seemed to genuinely care about people." 

Or..

"He was a quiet guy and shy. Rather moody. He wouldn't talk much and seem like he could barely tolerate other people." 

OK, which one of these people is telling the truth? 

What if I said both of them. 

The thing is, given the environment, time, location, I can be either of those two people and maybe even a dozen more besides. 

Here's what I'm thinking on the subject of Ellen Degeneres. Her career objective was "professional funny person", not necessarily "professional kind person". That's not to say she isn't a kind person but there is a high standard to meet if one is going to be "professional kind person" and it takes as much work to be that as it is to be a "professional funny person". 

In the movie It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, there's scene with Lloyd, the reporter doing the story about Mr. Rogers, and Joanne Rogers, Fred's wife. Joanne assures Lloyd that Mr. Rogers is a genuinely good and caring person but she also tells him it's something he has worked at.  She confesses Fred can have a bit of a temper but he's learned to work on that and keep it in control. She says Fred writes down the names of people he meets, sends them notes and letters and even prays for them by name.  

Fred Rogers may have gotten into the TV business to be a  "professional TV host person" but recognizes he has become a "professional kind person".  

For Ellen Degeneres, being a "professional funny person" makes allowances for some darkness.  There are few comedians who do not owe at least part of their gift for humor to some dark corner of their personality. Ellen Degeneres would not be the first comedian to "brood moodily" (as more than one observer described) when the camera is not on. 

It's the other part, being a "professional kind person" sadly does not allow for that kind of discretion. Ellen trusted others to look after things when she did not or could not pay attention and was betrayed by those who did not act in her best interests.  

And I think Ellen was betrayed by the idea that being kind is just something you do. If being nice and kind was indeed something should come as second nature,we wouldn't need a "professional kind person" to show us the way. The thing is being a proponent of kindness and being nice to one another takes as much work and training as be a "professional funny person". 

No, I don't think that Ellen Degeneres is a bitch. I think she is a person with a gift for humor who also wants the world to be a better place but she has lost her way. 

It happens to all of us. 

I say be kind and give Ellen a chance to work this out.

Remember to stay safe and to be good to one another.  

Kimberly Guilfoyle: The LEGend Strikes Back

OK, here's the drill. Posts about Kimberly Guilfoyle made to I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You  are among the most frequently viewed posts on this blog.  

Posts about Kimberly Guilfoyle follow a basic pattern: 

1) The text is littered with as many words as I can think of that have "l - e - g" in them. Words such as legacy, legal and legend. 

2) I then proceed to capitlaize "l - e - g" in each word so they appear as LEGacy, LEGal and LEGend. 

3) This text is accompanied by pictures of the many, many times Kimberly Guilfoyle's legs have been prominently displayed during her time at Fox News as demonstrated in this montage. 

I have done 3 of these posts about Kimberly Guilfoyle and at any given time, either 1, 2 or 3 of these posts can be found in the Top 10 viewed posts for I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You. 

I have no data on why these Kimberly Guilfoyle posts remain so popular on this blog. Maybe Kimberly Guilfoyle just has a lot of fans. 

Or these posts are attracting fetishists for legs, nylons, shoes or feet. 

Whatever the reason, posts about Kimberly Guilfoyle attracts eyeballs to this blog. If those eyeballs are lodged in the skulls of perverts, hey, who am I to judge? 

So when Kimberly Guilfoyle was in the news for her speech to the Republican National Convention on Monday, who am I to pass up an opportunity for some attention to this blog and see if the LEGacy of Kimberly Guilfoyle still carries some weight around this blog. 

I'm sure Roger Ailes is looking up from his corner of hell and thinking Kimberly's skirt is not short enough.

But Kimberly Guilfoyle's LEGacy from Monday night is just how damn loud she was. 

It was a performance of almost LEGendary power. 

And volume. It was LEGitimately TOO loud for a speech given to an empty room. 

Kimberly pounded the air with her fists and shouted as if addressing a stadium packed with thousands instead of just a TV camera. 

MOSTLY  KIMBERLY'S SPEECH WAS ABOUT...

Hold on. I need to adjust for a minute. 

OK, where was I?  Oh, yeah. 

Mostly, Kimberly's speech was about how the Democrats were going to drive America into a fiery ruin of death and despair. 

"They want to destroy this country....." 

Hold on. Let me put this back in Kimberly Shout Mode.  

"THEY WANT TO DESTROY THIS COUNTRY AND EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE FOUGHT FOR AND HOLD DEAR. THEY WANT TO STEAL YOUR LIBERTY, YOUR FREEDOM, THEY WANT TO CONTROL WHAT YOU SEE AND THINK AND BELIEVE SO THAT THEY CAN CONTROL HOW YOU LIVE!” 

And more doom and hellfire and death.

Kimberly did talk about her immigrant mother.  

Who immigrated from Puerto Rico.

I'm no LEGal expert but I'm pretty sure you can't call it immigrating to the United States if the place you're coming from is also the United States. 

Then there was even more doom and hellfire and death.

Then Kimberly brought her fiery oratory to a hopeful end.

"Ladies and gentlemen, leaders..." 

Whoops! Let's me switch this back to Kimberly Shout Mode.  

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LEADERS AND FIGHTERS FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" 

The best is yet to come? Well, that makes me feel better. 

...

OK, no it doesn't.  

The images below I found hither and yon on the internet which I think encapsulates Kimberly Guilfoyle's LEGendary performance.  

Ladies and gentlemen, Kimberly Guilfoyle the woman and the LEGend endures.

The LEGacy of Kimberly Guilfoyle lives on.  

Tuesday TV Touchbase: The Neighborhood, Bob 💓 Abishola and All Rise

It's time once again for the Tuesday TV Touchbase where I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You answers the question that grips America every week, "What the hell is Dave-El watching on TV?" 

Mostly here on the Tuesday TV Touchbase, I talk about stuff on TV that I've deliberately set out to watch. 

Today I'm going to touch base on some stuff that I watch with my wife Andrea because, what the hell, the TV is still on and I'm too lazy to change the channel.  

The local TV station that carries Jeopardy is a CBS affiliate. On Monday out of simple inertia, The Neighborhood graces our TV screen.

The Neighborhood is about what happens when the whitest  white Midwestern family ever moves into a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Pasadena, CA. There are culture clashes which leads to "comedy". 

The show is very "artificial", like some kind of retro artifact from the 1970's. Cedric the Entertainer plays Calvin with the all the swagger and bravado of Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson.  Max Greenfield plays Dave as the ultimately nebbish white guy. Dave knows what kale is; the closest Calvin gets to consuming plant matter is the slice pineapple on his glazed ham. Calvin is tough and cynical while Dave is not afraid to express his feelings. And thus the hilarity ensues. 

Culture clashes are apart of the "comedy" on Bob 💓 Abishola. I think Chuck Lorre watched recent Doctor Who and thought Graham and Grace would make a good idea for a sitcom. 

Bob Wheeler (Billy Gardell) is a middle aged, obese, Caucasian, American, nonreligious, wisecracking CEO. 

Abishola Bolatito Doyinsola Oluwatoyin Adebambo (Folake Olowofoyeku) is a young, trim, black, Nigerian, Christian, comically serious nurse. 

Bob has a 💓attack. Abishola is his nurse. Bob takes a liking to Abishola. Aishola likes Bob. 

And thus Bob 💓 Abishola and the hilarity ensues.  

OK, there is some hilarity but mostly from the supporting cast. Me, I'm not feeling it that Bob 💓 Abishola.  

The relationship between Bob and Abishola is mostly an "informed attribute" which is a particular ability or characteristic associated with a character because we're told it is.

Instead of Freddy saying something funny, the author tells us "Freddy was a funny guy."

Click here for the TV Tropes page on this subject. 

Most of what I've seen of Bob 💓 Abishola is that Bob and Abishola have a thing because we're told Bo and Abishola have a thing. Of course Bob and Abishola have a thing. It's right there in the title of the show, for crying out loud: Bob 💓 Abishola. 

Bob acts like he has a thing for Abishola while Abishola spends most episodes irked at some damn thing or another that Bob has said or done. 

The Neighborhood  also suffers from "informed attribute". Calvin and Dave are friends because we're told they are friends.  Dave does seem friendly towards Calvin but then Dave seems to like almost everybody; Calvin can barely contain his seething contempt for this strange white man who has invaded his neighborhood.

Following these two comedies on CBS is All Rise, a courtroom drama but with culture clashes at its core.  Judge Lola Carmichael is a newly appointed Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court who stands out among the other judges by being young, black and female.  She seems to spend a lot of time doing the lawyers' job for them getting principals to talk to each other and finding solutions that don't send people to jail or at least sent to jail for less time than anticipated.  

The first episode that Andrea and I watched was the last one for Season 1. The season finale was produced after the pandemic lockdown with scenes shot in the various actors' home using Zoom and whatever to help keep the wheel of justice turning in Judge Carmichael's courtroom. It was an interesting experiment that worked better than I expected it would. 

Andrea and I have kind of watched other episodes during summer re-runs. I'm starting to learn some character names. For example, I no longer refer to Judge Lola Carmichael as Judge All Rise. 

All Rise does wear its progressive politics on its sleeve which means the show can be a bit preachy.  Still, perhaps these are sermons that need to be preached.  Like the episode where An ICE agent illegally enters Lola's courtroom to arrest a defendant, sparking a confrontation between the courthouse and the federal government over California's status as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. The episode puts a decidedly human face on undocumented immigrants and the crap they put up with. Like the local bodega selling expired food. 

Judge Lola Carmichael is kind of a wonder judge but her talents narrowly escape being an informed ability. Yes, Judge Carmichael does seem to always come up with the right answer to save the day but we do see her putting in the time and the work to arrive at these solutions. 

Recently All Rise made news and not in a good way. It seems a large part of the writing staff (all people of color) have left because showrunner and series creator Greg Spottiswood (who is white) is a total dick to work for. 

Sounds like a sticky situation that only Judge Lola Carmichael can resolve.  

That's all for now. 

Coming up next week, I will offer some thoughts on the new Star Trek animated series, Lower Decks.  

Until next time, stay safe, remember to be good to one another and keep it down, would ya, I'm trying to watch some TV here. 

WORD CRUSHER VICTORIOUS!!!!!

Back on July 20th, I posted about my unhealthy obsession with a word game app called Word Crush.  And I did so again on August 10th.  

I noted my obsession was less about playing the game than winning the weekend Word Crush tournament.  

I have had to settle for my Word Crush avatar, first MasterWyrdByrd and now DoctorWyrdByrd, to come in at best for 2nd place. 

But I was not satisfied with a mere 2nd place. 

NAY! I say thee NAY to a 2nd place finish in the weekend Word Crush tournament!  

NO! I expect, NO, I demand that which will only satisfy that the WyrdByrd would be BEST in ALL the WORLD!!!!

And I have done it! 

Yes, you prattling, mewling mortals, DoctorWyrdByrd stands atop the rankings at the end of 48 hours! DoctorWyrdByrd has taken that which mine by right, by virtue of my superiority of the crushing of many, many words!!!! 

At the end of the the weekend Word Crush tournament effective August 23rd, DoctorWyrdByrd stands in glorious TRIUMPH!!!!

DoctorWyrdByrd stands SUPERIOR to all!!!!

From atop a mountain of the crushed skulls of mine enemies, DoctorWyrdByrd is the WORD CRUSHER VICTORIOUS!!!!!

My name is DoctorWyrdByrd, king of Word Crush:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!!!!!!

As King Arthur claimed divine right to rule all of Great Britain by hoisting aloft Excalibur, I shall claim through this victory in Word Crush  that DoctorWyrdByrd has been granted by GOD sovereignty over all of you!!!!! 

Why yes, I will ACCEPT the Republican nomination for President!!!!!

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!