High Prices

 Saturday, Andrea and I ordered our favorite Chinese food for delivery, a sweet and sour pork combo. 

Which has for years been $9.95.

This Saturday, the price was now $10.95.

AND it only came with one container of sweet and sour sauce for two combos.  

Should I blame Joe Biden?

Some right win yahoos have been affixing stickers to gas pumps that show a grinning Joe Biden pointing at the price with a word balloon that says, "I did that!" 

The price of gas is very high and some of it is due to certain economic pressures caused by Biden's sanctions against Russia for their Ukraine invasion. 

But the reality is that Joe Biden, indeed no American President, has any power to raise or lower gas prices. 

The reason gas prices are so high is that oil companies charge what they think that can get away with. 

In fact, American oil companies are flush with cash and are earning record profits.  Under the pretext of world wide political and economic pressure, they're raising prices at the pump and sending the extra money to shareholders. 

Some people are willing to blame Joe Biden for something he has no control over but perfectly willing to let oil companies slide on by with no scathing commentary. 

Recently, gas prices have shown some modest relief. I noticed a few days ago that some stations that were charging $4.29 a gallon had inched down to $3.95.  

Meanwhile, price crunches continue unabated elsewhere, particularly in the area of food. 

Inflation is a sad fact of life. Everything costs more today than it did yesterday and will cost more tomorrow. 

I think we got caught up in a long cycle of rather moderate pricing with only slight upticks in cost.  

That sweet and sour pork combo has been $9.95 what seems like forever.  

I remember when I was a kid dealing first hand with the perils of inflation.  When I first began reading comic books, the average comic was 20 cents with 20 pages of story and art.

From 1974 to 1979, the price of basic comic rose from 20 cents to 40 cents as the content dropped from 20 pages to 17 pages.

It was a rough time to be a comic book fan. 

By 1980, the price of comics leveled off at 50 cents an issue but at least content pages went up to 25 pages for story and art. 

40 years later, the average comic is $3.99 with a variable content page count of 20 to 22 pages.

My comic books are too expensive. 

Can I blame Joe Biden for that?  

Or my missing sweet and sour sauce?   

Slap Happy!

While Russia continues it's abominable bombardment of Ukraine, the act of violence that captured everyone's attention was Will Smith slapping the shit out of Chris Rock. 

Andrea and I were not actually watching the Oscars when this sudden outburst of anger and violence erupted on stage. 

But we damn sure heard about it within moments as our phones blew up with the news: you will not believe that the fuck Will Smith did to Chris Rock.  

Now I am sure at some point, there have been people who have wanted to slap the shit out of Chris Rock and possibly for good reason. 

Did Will Smith have a good reason to slap the shit out of Chris Rock? And to do some in front of a televised audience of possibly dozens of people?*

*OK, the audience for the Oscars keeps dropping but "dozens"? 

Chris made a crack about Jada Pinkett Smith being in G. I. Jane 2 because of her shaved head.

In case you're wondering "Uh, I don't get it", here's a history lesson.

G.I. Jane is a 1997 film starring Demi Moore who shaved her head to portray the first woman to undergo special operations military training.

And Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife, is bald. 

So connecting the dots, Chris Rock made a very lame job tying Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head to a movie that came out a quarter of a century ago. 

Perhaps a little background on why Jada Pinkett Smith is bald.

Jada has alopecia, a disease that causes among other things hair loss. Basically sometime ago, Jada was all "fuck it" with fighting her shedding hair and went all commando on her skull and shaved it bald. 

Well, good for her. 

Will Smith kind of chuckled at Chris Rock's lame ass quip.

Jada Pinkett Smith looked uncomfortable.

And this is when Will Smith sprung into action, jumped up on stage and slapped the shit out of Chris Rock. 

If you don't believe me...

“Wow, Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” Chris Rock said. 

To which Will Smith shot back, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth!"  

All this over a G. I. Jane joke? 

Or as Chris Rock said, “Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke!" 

So what the fuck was all that about? 

Could this have been some kind of staged stunt?

Mark Evanier doesn't think so noting that "both of them looked like assholes in different ways."

And Mark calls out the same thing that caught my attention as well: "Smith would not have been caught on camera grinning and giggling at the joke before (apparently) deciding that if his wife was upset by it, he was going to respond with a shot of toxic masculinity." 

Here's my take on this: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been tabloid fodder for years that their marriage is far from perfect and on the verge of collapse any day now. Of course they want to present to the world a happy and united image of a devoted and loving married couple. Seeing Jada's discomfort at Chris Rock's lame ass joke gave Will an opening to set up a different headline in the tabloids, of his proud and defiant defense of his wife because they really luuuuuuuuv each other.

Or Will Smith's just a jerk, I don't know. 

Anyway, Will Smith has since apologized to Chris Rock but this water will not completely pass under the bridge until Will and Chris sit down on some big televised event to hug it out. I'm sure Oprah's got her people on this.

How much will this hurt Will Smith? Can I look at Men In Black movies the same way?

The fact that in the same damn evening Will bitch slapped Chris Rock on TV, Will Smith got a standing ovation when he accepted his Best Actor award. 

Look, Will's been working it hard to get taken seriously as a serious ACTOR and his win Sunday night was worth the applause for acknowledging his long journey from Fresh Prince to Oscar winning actor. 

Except he just bitch slapped Chris Rock earlier that evening. 

There's been a lot of statements in the media from various celebrities who have called Will Smith's violent action as wrong and reprehensible.  

But there were voices supporting Smith, "If someone talked smack about my woman, I'd beat his ass so hard!"

OK, here's another thing: should Chris Rock have made any jokes at the expense of Jada's bald head? Yes, she has a disease so maybe not so much. But the decision to go full on bald was Jada's act of bravery and defiance so it is a matter of choice. 

Look, the joke was lame and with no sense of malice or insult to Jada intended. 

Lord knows Ricky Gervais would've been a hell of a lot worse.

And that is more than enough about this.  

OK, one more thing: 

 

Tuesday TV Touchbase: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

 I normally reserve this weekly post for I watch on TV but I guess I should take a moment to comment on something I did not watch on TV.

The Oscars were on Sunday night but Andrea and I had other things to watch. We caught up on last week's Star Trek Picard and decided to watch an episode of Doctor Who ("Fires of Pompeii").

Meanwhile, we were missing Will Smith slapping the shit out of Chris Rock. 

Apparently Chris Rock made some really lame ass joke at the expense of Jada Pinkett's bald head which is not bald for a movie role or a fashion choice but because she has a disease that causes hair loss.  Hubby Will Smith thinks this heresy must be answered and leaps up from his seat, jumps on stage and wallops Chris Rock upside the head with a few choice words that were bleeped for American television. 

Later Will Smith would be back on stage to collect his Oscar for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. 

On one hand, I hate we missed a moment of drama on live TV.

On the other hand, Andrea and I were glomming Star Trek and Doctor Who so I still think we made the right choice.   

A couple of weeks ago, I noted some concerns about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as I navigated my way through the first episodes of season 4. 

Midge's anger at being fired from Shy Baldwin's tour did not seem to reflect just what kind of socially awkward position and mortally dangerous spot she put Shy Baldwin in.  

Well, she has a chance to confront Shy about this... at his wedding.  Seems a new management team is working to keep Shy Baldwin's gay life under wraps behind a sham marriage to a woman. In fact, Midge is distressed to see that no one from Shy's old band is part of his entourage.  The new management has isolated Shy from anyone he ever knew or loved. 

When she confronts Shy alone, yes, she makes it clear she wasn't happy about how she was fired, left abandoned on the airport tarmac with no chance to talk to Shy, to explain what happen and to apologize for it.  She knows the potentially explosive and harmful position her stand up set at the Apollo put Shy Baldwin in and she regrets betraying his trust in such a way. 

I also mentioned before that Midge is still trying to carry on with the lifestyle of up town Manhattan on the income of a down town strip club emcee but she's not feeling the consequences of that disconnect. 

But then she does. The fridge is out and the bills are piling up.  It's bad enough that Midge breaks her "no opening acts" rule to be the warm up comic for the new game show starring her hated nemesis Sophie Lennon.  It's good money and easy money too as Sophie promises to stay out of Midge's way.  A promise that Sophie breaks when she hears Midge's set killing it with Sophie's audience. A battle of egos and escalating insults crashes that opportunity for Midge.   

Midge gets a gig at a political event featuring future first lady Jackie Kennedy where the marvelous Mrs. Maisel totally mis-reads the room with a bit involving cheating husbands that causes Jackie to break down in tears.  

Lenny Bruce is back and after 4 seasons of sexual tension, Lenny and Midge finally sleep together. 

Lenny Bruce is booked for Carnegie Hall which means he can't open for Tony Bennett at the Copa. It's a well paying, high profile, career making gig that Lenny recommends Midge for but she refuses to take it due to her "plan" to not do opening acts and only be the headliner. 

Not doing opening acts and only being a headliner is a goal, not a plan and Lenny rightfully calls Midge out for her stubborn refusal to do what needs to be done to further her career. Take the opening gigs, keep getting fired but every step is one more step towards being a better comic and one step closer to be a headlining comic. 

Susie Myerson who has fought for Midge and believed in her talent when no one else would is over Midge's recalcitrance against taking opening gigs. The Tony Bennett spot was a game changer and would've put the marvelous Mrs. Maisel one major leap closer to her own time in the spotlight of the Carnegie Hall stage. 

With both Susie and Lenny mad at her, Midge ends the season alone on a New York City street in a snow storm.  Words blurred and obscured by the heavy wind driven snow send her a message: Go Forward. 

So all the hard questions that Midge Maisel was avoiding at the start of the season are coming down hard, demanding answers. I'm sure we've got an interminable wait before the 5th and final season delivers those answers.  

Some side notes: 

Luke Kirby is just perfect as Lenny Bruce and there damn well be an Emmy nomination (no, fuck that, an Emmy WIN!) for Luke this year. 

With Mrs. Maisel as the emcee, the Wolford  burlesque club almost becomes a class act with better lighting, set design and costuming. The ladies and their grumpy stage manager Boise become more fully realized characters as the season progresses.  Shame the joint gets raided and shut down by the cops at the end of the season. 

Susie's journey to making "Susie Myerson and Associates" a real thing beyond just representing the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel  becomes more of a reality. Susie even has a receptionist, Dinah, a young woman who is not necessarily very professional (she keeps bringing her kids to work who run around the place like maniacs) but she is surprisingly efficient at making things work. And Susie lands a stage magician and another comic, a young black man. And damn if Susie didn't help Sophie Lennon become a success again.  Her biggest obstacle is getting Midge to stop refusing paying gigs just because they are opening acts. 

And Midge's mother Rose decides to continue her new career as a matchmaker even in the face of threats from the matchmaker mafia.  And yes, that is a thing. 

That's it for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase. Next week, I'll be posting about the season finale of Snowpiercer.   

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. 

This (Non) Sporting Life: Dave-El Vs. The Dramatic Narrative

Welcome to another edition of This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sport from a guy who knows little about sports. 

About 4 weeks ago, Duke met North Carolina in the regular season finale.  Since this season marks the end of Mike Krzyzewski's tenure as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball team, the dramatic narrative demanded a Hollywood ending where the team would deliver a win for their beloved coach and his last ever game on the Blue Devils' home court.  

North Carolina won.   

 About 3 weeks ago, Duke met Virginia Tech for the championship game of the ACC Men's Basketball tournament.  Considering this season marks the end of Coach K's run as head coach, the dramatic narrative demanded a Hollywood ending with the team delivering a championship for their beloved coach in his last ever ACC Tournament.

Virginia Tech won. 

Well, karma can be a cruel mistress and the dramatic narrative can go fuck itself.

Going into the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, I reached the conclusion that just getting into the NCAA tourney was sufficient enough a milestone to mark this last season for Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils.   

I made peace with idea that Coach K simply guiding his team to one last NCAA tournament was accomplishment enough and accepted that a win was not needed for the dramatic narrative arc of Coack K's story.

So once I made up my mind that I didn't need Duke to actually win to meet the parameters of some imagined dramatic story structure, naturally Duke kept winning.  

Duke won their Sweet 16 game against Texas Tech in dramatic fashion, securing Mike Krzyzewski  his 100th NCAA tournament win. 

Duke won their Elite 8 game against Arkansas.

This sends the Blue Devils to the Final Four for the 13th time, giving Mike Krzyzewski a 1 game lead over the record of legendary college basketball coach John Wooten.   

So my stress is not over. 

This weekend, Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils will go to New Orleans. Do I dare hope for victory in this final season with Mike Krzyzewski as coach?

If I'm smart, I will come the conclusion that just getting the Duke Blue Devils to this elevated position of accomplishment satisfies the dramatic arc of  Mike Krzyzewski's career. 

I don't think I can handle the stress otherwise.  

Oh, by the way, North Carolina is still in this thing, winning their Final Four game.

And on Saturday, their semi-final opponent will be...

Duke?

Duke!

Son of a bitch! 

I can't handle this stress!!!

(deep breath)

(sigh) 

It is an honor for Mike Krzyzewski that the Duke Blue Devils have made it this far.

God, I hate sports.   

 

Cinema Sunday: 9 To 5

 

A couple of weeks ago for a movie night here at the Fortress of Ineptitude, it was Andrea's choice which is the topic of today's Cinema Sunday.  It's the 1980 comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton called....

Well, there's some confusion as to what it's called.

Almost every resource I can find calls the movie "9 To 5".

The opening titles calls it "Nine To Five".

Go figure. 

The movie poster is no help. The logo says "9 To 5" but right below that is "Nine To Five".

It's about three working women who dream of getting revenge on their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss and then stuff 'n' junk happen that leads this women to implement a plan to depose their boss once and for all.  

How do we know their boss is a ""sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot"? Well, other than simply acting exactly like a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot", he's also played by Dabney Coleman.  Coleman spent the 1980's playing some form of the "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" in various movies and TV shows.  

A lot of what Dabney Coleman's Frank Hart does to the women in his office borders on an evil caricature but in 1980, it was sadly business as usual. 

Jane Fonda who portrayed former housewife and office newcomer Judy Bernly originally intended to make a film that was more of a serious treatise on the plight of the American working woman.  Instead, a course of using humor as a means to expose the shit women have to put up with in an American office seemed a better way to go. 

Lily Tomlin as Violet Newstead, the long serving and long suffering office professional, is perfectly acerbic and just a bit unhinged as the one that Frank Hart most frequently screws over by denying her promotions and stealing her ideas for his own advancement. 

It is a pleasure watching Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes, a sweet natured Southern gal with a stern and steely edge. Frank keeps trying to cajole or coerce Doralee into an affair but she ain't having any of that shit.  Not that it matters to the rest of the office who thinks Doralee is sleeping with the boss and Frank's perfectly willing to let them think that. 

Eventually Judy, Violet and Doralee bond over their mutual loathing of Frank Hart and the sharing of a joint that Violet got from her son. While very high and very hungry, the three women share fantasy sequences of how to put their "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss in his place including a Disney-esque scene where a Snow White like Violet poisons Frank coffee.

Well, it's all in good fun.

Until Violet accidentally poisons Frank's coffee. 

A comedy of errors leads Violet, Judy and Doralee to think Frank is dead which leads Violet to the perfectly reasonable plan to steal Frank's body. Except Frank isn't dead and that body Violet stuffs in her trunk ain't him so....

Frank finds out about the whole "poison" thing forcing Violet, Judy and Doralee to take the initiative to kidnap Frank and hold him captive, all trussed up, in his own home while the women assemble evidence that Frank has been stealing from the company.

And also run the company in Frank's absence while making changes that improve morale, productivity and profits. 

It all almost works.

Until it doesn't.  

But then it does but not in the way the ladies expected. 

9 To 5 is a basic underdog comes out on top story a lot of laughs and a bit of an edge given that women did (and sadly still do) have to put up with the kind of shit that guys like Frank Hart are more than willing to dish out. 

It is a bit convenient how our women stumble on the fact that Frank in addition to him being a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" is also a crook. I think I would've preferred it if Violet's years of experience had allowed them to crack what illegal shenanigans Frank was up to instead of stumbling across  evidence in a drawer in his home. 

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

I thought Judy's smarmy ex-husband looked familiar. Seeing as he was played by Lawrence Pressman who was in episodes of M*A*S*H and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Gilmore Girls and Law & Order, so yeah, we've met.  

Sterling Hayden is the company's Chairman of the Board whose most famous prior role was  the deranged General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick's  Dr. Strangelove which I need to write about in this space one day.    

9 To 5 is a snap shot of office life in the 1980s. I recall being at the mercy of electric typewriters and massive Xerox machines in my early office work post college. 

And women then having to put up with having all the responsibilities but none of the privileges of the office while still being expected to look good doing everything with print dresses, polyester blouses, sun tan hose and high heels.  

9 To 5 is a sympathetic and insightful look at the shit women have to put up with while bringing this life to light with a sense of humor and avoiding any didactic preachiness. 

And I can't say enough about Dolly Parton's film debut and her natural ease and charm in front of the camera.  

Let's wrap up today's post with Dolly's theme for the movie which she wrote and performed, winning her some Grammy awards along the way. 

Next week, Cinema Sunday  takes a look another movie that was conceived as one kind of movie and became something else. 

Songs For Saturday Classic with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Breeders and Hayley Westenra PLUS: Muppets?!? AND Katy Perry?!?!?

So sorry but still behind the 8-Ball when it comes to new posting so today we go back to Saturday, January 11, 2020 for the 2nd ever Songs For Saturday post featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Breeders and Hayley Westenra PLUS: Muppets?!? AND Katy Perry?!?!?

Hi there! 

Welcome to Songs For Saturday. 

The guiding principle for these posts is there are songs that I (Dave-El) like. It is a collection of music that may give insight to the inner workings of my mind. 

Or not.

They're just cool songs I like. 

Today we have a theme of cover songs.  

So grab your handy-dandy Bat Head Phones. 

Put'em on your head. 

And crank up the volume!  


Let's kick this off with the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering the Ohio Players classic, Love Rollercoaster from the Beavis & Butthead Do America soundtrack.   

Sometimes there are contentious arguments over which is better, the original or the remake. Most musical purists will more than likely default to the original. 

In the case of Love Rollercoaster, I must commit heresy and cite my preference for the Peppers' remake.  The original is a fine song as is and I have no objection to listening to it. But this version by the the Red Hot Chili Peppers has a ragged, rough rock 'n' roll edge that appeals to me more.  

By the way, I have actually seen the movie, Beavis & Butthead Do America. No, not in the theater. I think Andrea and I rented it from Blockbuster.  

Oh God, I'm old!  

Next up is a little ditty called Shocker In Gloomtown by the Breeders. 

When I say "little", it's less than a minute and a half.

.

This is a cover of a song by a group called Guided By Voices. The members of GBV are the dudes lurking about outside in the video. 

I've never heard the GBV version but I really like this take by the Breeders. They rip through this song like they're mad at it, flailing away at their stripped down guitars and that drummer is going to work himself into a stroke if the boy ain't careful. 

In future editions of Songs For Saturday, I hope to present more songs from the Breeders. I am a big fan of their music.

For those who like rock 'n' roll, here's something different.

It's a cover of a classic by Kate Bush. This is Hayley Westenra with "Wuthering Heights".  

In 1978, Kate Bush at age 19 topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks "Wuthering Heights". It was her first single and this accomplishment made her the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song. 

I discovered the music of Kate Bush in the early 1980s while working for my college's radio station. 

A few years ago while randomly surfing through You Tube, I stumbled across the music of Hayley Westenra and specifically this cover of "Wuthering Heights". 

I am a big fan of Hayley Westenra and she will likely be making more appearances here in Songs For Saturday.

To wrap up today's post, here is a cover of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody....

...by the Muppets?


Yeah sure. Why not?  

And while we're being silly, here's another cover involving a puppet. Katy Perry covers her own "Hot N Cold" with....

Elmo from Sesame Street?


OK, fine. Here's Katy Perry and Elmo! 

The segment was shot but never actually broadcast due to complaints about Ms. Perry's attire. 

Ms. Perry looks fine to me.

But we're supposed to be OK with Elmo being naked? 

What would you say if I told you I prefer this version of "Hot N Cold" to the original? 

That's it for today's Songs For Saturday. 

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

And keep the music alive!  

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: The Movie Buff Who Is Also A Bad Speller

For apparently no good reason I can think of, Flashback Friday ventures back in time to Wednesday, February 19, 2014 for...

The Movie Buff Who Is Also A Bad Speller

And now the Movie Buff Who Is Also A Bad Speller looks at movies with the word "brain" in the title. 

The Steve Martin comedy The Man With Two Brians

The 1962 horror classic, The Brian That Wouldn't Die

From 1953: Donovan's Brian

Who could forget this classic film: They Saved Hitler's Brian

Sadly, Natalie Wood's last film appearance was in the 1983 movie, Brianstorm

The Movie Buff Who Is Also A Bad Speller has discovered this 1965 Japanese sci-fi film, The Evil Brian From Outer Space.

Join the Movie Buff Who Is Also A Bad Speller next time as he looks at Brain's Song and Monty Python's The Life of Brain.

_________________________

This is one of those "you had to be there" things to...well, I WAS there and yeah, it's not getting any funnier.

Maybe if I had also tossed in bits about Pinky and the Brian or how zombies in horror films are out to consume human Brians or...

No, wouldn't help.

_________________________


Take care, y'all! And be good to one another. 

Nope, still not funny.

No Blog Post Today?

 Wait! 

No blog post today?!?

That can't be right! 

Surely I have something witty or insightful to write about.

I'm smart!

I'm clever!!

There will be a blog post today!!!

...

...

Any moment now.

...

...

C'mon, Dave-El!

...

...

Blog post...

...

...

NOW! 

....

....

We can...

...

...

not do this.

Fuck it!

No blog post today. 

You Don't Gotta Have Faith, Faith, Faith

"Yes, I gotta have faith

Mm, I gotta have faith

Because I've gotta have faith, faith, faith

I gotta have faith, faith, faith!"

The chorus of song by George Michael 

called (let me check my notes) "Faith"

 

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings are underway in the US Senate and as potentially the first black woman to be seated on the Supreme Court, she should expect to catch shit from a bunch of white men. 

"And that's my cue!" went Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as he decided to question Judge Jackson's faith. 

Here are some questions Graham felt a Supreme Court justice needs to be asked. 

• “What faith are you, by the way?” 
• “Could you fairly judge a Catholic?”
• "How important is your faith to you?”
• “On a scale from 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are, in terms of religion?” 

Jackson reminded Graham “as you know, there’s no religious test in the Constitution under Article 6, and it’s very important to set aside one’s personal views about things in the role of a judge.”

A balanced and well reasoned response that set Graham off as went off on questions regarding the faith of Amy Coney Barrett at her confirmation hearings as Graham complained that Barrett was treated “very, very poorly."

Of course, questions about Barrett's religious beliefs and faith were relevant because she referred to them in her past legal writing.  It's OK to ask her about religion because she brought it up. 

And let's be blunt: no one on the right really gives a single damn about Amy Coney Barrett's legal background when it's her religious beliefs that put her on the list to be nominated in the first damn place.

Graham incessant needling of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson regarding her religious background was designed to play to the base back home, the poorly educated redneck mouth breathers who are apt to think that Democrats are all godless heathens turning the country over to gay abortionists on a fast track to hell. 

As long as there are those with a Bible in their hands who think this country only belongs to them, Graham sadly has a leg to stand on.   

Tuesday TV Touchbase: Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Picard

 

Today's Tuesday TV Touchbase checks in on the world of Star Trek as one series reaches a season finale and another debuts a new season. 

I still can't believe just how much better Star Trek Discovery has gotten since its woebegone launch in 2017. Getting dropped kicked 930 years into the future in season 3 did the show a world of good. 

The story arc for season 4 dealt with a space anomaly of enormous size and power that destroys whole planets in it's wake including the home world of Cleveland "Book" Booker.  Eventually it is determined that the anomaly (dubbed "DMA") is not a natural one but something created by what the Federation calls "Species 10-C" who exists outside the known galaxy and is probably way more powerful than anybody in the Federation.  Species 10-C may be deliberately malevolent or benevolently ignorant or just don't give a damn about their anomaly.  

Which brings us to the main conflict for the Discovery crew.  Book and super smart scientist with no social skills Tarka are hell bent on blowing up the DMA while Capt. Michael Burnham and other Federation persons think it might be better to learn how to talk to Species 10-C first. 

Long story made short, Book and Tarka's efforts to answer the threat of the DMA with force only makes things worse. Now the damn DMA is heading for Earth! 

Meanwhile Burnham and the crew do finally figure out how to talk to the Species 10-C and they answer. 

Through dialogue and understanding, Species 10-C realize their anomaly (which they were using to harvest energy) is dangerous to sentient life and agree to stop using it.

There has been some criticism that Star Trek Discovery is not true Star Trek. But certainly the story line for season 4 undermines that criticism. Force and vengeance yield bad results.  Learning, knowledge, exploring, talking, understanding and peace yield better results. And this is the epitome of Star Trek's best ideals. 

Discovery has evolved past the Michael Burnham centric first season with a fully developed supporting cast like Detmer, Stamets, Culber, Adira and Saru. 

Oh and Saru has a girlfriend, the Vulcan president of Ni'Var. 

And Burnham is a more well rounded individual, emotionally expressive when she needs to be but also adept at putting on her captain hat when she needs to be in charge. 

The season ends with a Federation made stronger for their united efforts to save worlds from the devastation of the DMA and to peacefully negotiate with Specie 10-C.

And Earth (with it's president played by real life political leader Stacey Abrams) rejoins the Federation.  Season 4 of Star Trek Discovery ends on a note of hope as any good Star Trek should.

Hope is in short supply over on Star Trek Picard.

Season 2 picks up 18 months after the events of Season 1. Picard is back in the good graces of Starfleet as an admiral, Raffi is back in Starfleet along with Chris Rios who is the captain of the Stargazer. Seven is using Rios' old ship La Sirena in her work with the Fenris Rangers.  

There's a lot of convolutions to bring the gang from season 1 back together considering that gang was only together for one specific mission. 

Then shit happens! 

The Borg appear! 

Crap! 

The Stargazer blows up real good!

Double crap!!

Jean Luc wakes up at Chateau Picard in France. 

What the hell?!?

And Q shows up!?!

Triple crap!!!!

How do they handle immortal Q being played by a much older John DeLancie? Pretty well, actually.  Q appears to look as he did back in the Next Generation days, sees how much older Picard looks, says "Let me catch up!" and BAM! Goodbye CGI, hello to current John DeLancie. 

In episode 2, we get to hear Picard say something we've been wanting to hear him says for over 30 years: "Q, I've had enough of your bullshit!"  

Picard (and we'll find out later, the rest of his gang) survived the destruction of the Stargazer but he's not back home, not in the truest sense of the world. 

Time has been changed and Earth sits at the center of a fascist Confederation built on the idea that "A safe galaxy is a human galaxy".   

And General Picard made it happen.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........??????

So we spend a 2nd episode getting the gang together as they make a desparate bid to go back in time to the year 2024 where Q tells Picard things first went all to shit.  

Even it means getting help from the Borg Queen.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........??????

The year 2024 is significant in Star Trek lore as it's the year of the Bell Riots occurred as told in the Deep Space Nine two-part "Past Tense". 

There's some concern that the Picard producers will not remember this bit of Star Trek history but I find that a bit surprising since they do remember Deep Space Nine. Some of the skulls in "General Picard's" trophy room belonged to Gul Dukat and General Martok.  

Season 2 of Picard is less introspective and more adventure oriented with each the first three episodes ending on a cliff hanger.  

Structurally, season 2 of Picard is a bit of a mess but there's no denying there is a intriguing mystery to be resolved here and I'm invested enough in Jean Luc Picard as his misfit crew to see how this plays out.

That's it for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase. I think by next week I will have caught up on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel a full 2 to 3 weeks after everyone else.

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. 

Hide Your Rainbow?

This is really a great time for the LGBTQ+  community, isn't it? 

On CNN, their leading and most respected news anchor is Anderson Cooper, a gay man. 

We don't dislike Ellen DeGeneres because she's a lesbian. No, we dislike Ellen because she's a jerk.  

Jeopardy viewers spent several weeks in the company of super champion Amy Schneider, a trans gender woman, who received wide ranging and enthusiastic support during her epic run. 

Speaking of transgender women,  Dr. Rachel Levine serves as assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services and leads a group of 6,000 uniformed public health officers. A trained pediatrician, Dr. Levine  was sworn in as a four-star admiral of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps in October, becoming just the sixth person to receive the honor in the corps’ history and also is the first female and openly transgender four-star admiral to hold that position. 

There are thousands of examples of people in the LGBTQ+  community receiving support, acceptance, acclaim and respect in positions of authority and notoriety.

There's never been a better time to show off those rainbow colors, right?

Or maybe not? 

Republican Texas attorney general Ken Paxton greeted the news of Dr. Rachel Levine's accomplishment by purposely misgendering her, falling in line behind Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Fox News host Tucker Carlson who also misgendered Dr. Levine.   

Paxton's misgendering of Dr. Levine is the least of his transgressions against the trans gender community.  Paxton's been working double time to  classify gender-affirming care for transgender youth as abuse. Paxton made the pitch and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) swung at it, ordering the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to start investigating families of transgender youth to root out stop this "abuse". 

If you think it's too extreme to compare this sort of thing to the Gestapo rounding up Jews in Nazi Germany, well, tell to that to the parents of trans-gender youth who live in fear of the knock on the door. 

Those family had a moment of relief when a judge intervened to put a stop to Abbott's order but Paxton immediately fired back on Twitter with "Nyah! Nyah! Nyah!" and declare that he was appealing the judge's decision which means the investigations would continue.   

Paxton's doing all this for the same reason any conservative politician does anything: it makes the evangelical Christian base happy, happy enough to not notice that Ken Paxton is damaged goods.  

Paxton is under open FBI investigations for securities fraud and a complaint alleging Paxton accepted bribes and tampered with government documents. 

Well, who cares? He's doing the Lord's work! 

Meanwhile in Florida....

When Greg Abbott does crazy shit, Florida governor Ron DeSantis says "Hold my beer" and does crazier shit.

"Hey, Greg! So you going after the 'T' in LGBTQ+? Fuck that! I'm going after the whole alphabet!"

H.B. 1557 is the infamous “don’t say gay” bill. It's Republican sponsors claims they're just thinking of the children  to prevent “groomers”—specifically, gay and trans teachers—from attempting to corrupt and indoctrinate children with explicit classroom materials. 

You just can't make kids 8 years old or younger learn about gay sex and gender transition.  

Except....

The language in H.B. 1557 is very vague, allowing for a mass prohibition ANY speech about LGBTQ+ people, families, and issues—not just sex—in every grade. 

To borrow from the old guy who was a substitute teacher in the episode of The Simpsons when the teachers were on strike:  

"Mention  Anderson Cooper is gay? That's a paddlin'."

"Mention  Amy Schneider is trans gender? That's a paddlin'."

In short, the alleged limited goal ("Let's protect the youngin's from gay sex") is hiding under a broadly worded piece of shit legislation that accomplishes the true broader mission of the conservative right to marginalize and silence the LGBTQ+  community.

And don't think this is limited to Florida and Texas. Virtually every state with a Republican led legislature and/or a Republican governor is at some stage of development of similar laws and regulations. 

So is it really a great time for the LGBTQ+  community? Well, it should be. For those with eyes to see and the wisdom to try to understand, people who are LGBTQ+  are our sons and daughters, our co-workers, our fellow citizens. 

Those who are blind from ignorance and fear are more than willing to use whatever power and authority that is at their disposal to make our sons and daughters, our co-workers, our fellow citizens less than who they are. 

By all means, show off those rainbow colors. But for all the gains in understanding and acceptance made since the days of the the Stonewall uprising in June 1969, it is not safe. 

Be careful. Be vigilant.

But do not surrender to fear. 

Let the truth be seen.  

Truth is the best weapon against the darkness of fear and ignorance.  

Let the rainbow shine.

Art by AMY REEDER

Cinema Sunday: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

As much as my wife Andrea is a fan of movie musicals, I recently discovered there was one that not only she had never seen but in fact had never heard of.

Today Cinema Sunday goes back in time to 1968 for a movie musical  with a most unusual pedigree. Based on a book written by Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, here is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The film features songs by Robert Sherman and Richard Sherman, the song writing brothers who contributed music to many a Disney film including Mary Poppins. 

And speaking of Mary Poppins, the movie stars Dick Van Dyke. The producers were keen on also casting Julie Andrews but politely declined. 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is not a Disney film. It looks and sounds like it almost could be a Disney film but not quite. It's a bit off from the Disney style.

A lot of that off kilter not quite Disney vibe can be attributed to Roald Dahl who co-wrote the screen play. While director Ken Hughes claimed to have re-written the whole thing, there are clear and distinct Roald Dahl touches to anyone familar with Matilda, James & the Giant Peach and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  Odd self absorbed adults with no patience for children and even the good grown ups are not exactly recognizable as mature, responsible adults.   

Which brings us to Dick Van Dyke as inventor Caractacus Potts, the single father of two children, Jeremy and Jemima, who run around the countryside unattended and are fed by their father's Rube Goldberg devices because otherwise, he stays distracted by whatever invention has absorbed his attention for the last five minutes. 

Caractacus is a very clever man but perhaps too clever for his time in the early 20th century, inventing various things that the science and technology of the era has not quite caught up to. 

Caractacus does love his children and when  Jeremy and Jemima plead with him to restore a wrecked car they found in a junkyard, a Grand Prix racing car that crashed and burned in 1909, well, Caractacus feels he owes the kids some attention. And turning a nothing wreck into a something car is a challenge that is hard to refuse.

And turn it into something he does as Caractacus transforms the broken, burned twisted metal wreck into a sleek and functioning car.

It's not without it's quirks as the engine makes peculiar noises like "chitty-chitty" and "bang-bang". 

Hence the refurbished automobile is dubbed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

The kids are more than impressed with this vehicle and it goes a long way to impress the young heiress, Truly Scrumptious.

Yes, you know this was something written by Ian Flemming when the adult female lead is named "Truly Scrumptious".

Earlier in the film, Truly has been a bit  contemptuous of Caractacus Potts,the lack of safety and practicality of his inventions, his lack of focus and his apparent lack of attention to his children.  

Seeing Caractacus actually succeed in building something that really works in the form of a sleek and shiny Grand Prix roadster and spending time with his kids does something for Truly Scrumptious that makes her heart go all "chitty-chitty" and "bang-bang". 

So Caractacus, Jeremy, Jemima and Truly take a drive in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to spend a perfectly glorious day at the beach. It is ever so delightful. 

Seeing a boat on the horizon, the kids ask their dad to tell them a story which Caractacus obligingly does. 

And this movie we've been in so far becomes a different movie.

On that boat is mean, nasty Baron Bomburst, the tyrant of fictional Vulgaria and he wants to steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Oh no! The fiend! 

Well, this mean, nasty baron will not get his paws on this beloved car today as our heroic quartet escapes the baron's boat when Chitty Chitty Bang Bang expands a pontoon boat underneath the car and sails away over the ocean out of the evil car grabber's grasp! 

But  nasty Baron Bomburst will not be denied as he sends pirates onto shore the steal the car on land. 

The pirates succeed only in spiriting away the children's Grandpa, Bungie Potts who the pirates mistake as the inventor of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But our heroes are in pursuit!

But WAIT! Tragedy! That pursuit takes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang over a cliff! 

And we pause for intermission.

Yes, this movie has an intermission.

Let's all go to the lobby!

Let's all go to the lobby!

Let's all go to the lobby!

And get ourselves a treat!

And we're back! 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang goes over a cliff....

And flies!

This fantastic magical car flies Caractacus, Jeremy, Jemima and Truly to Vulgaria where children have been outlawed! 

What a terrible, joyless place! 

So it's up to our heroes to stop mean, nasty Baron Bomburst to save Grandpa Bungie Potts, rescue the exiled children of Vulgaria and protect Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

With the children of Vulgaria free once more and Granda rescued, our intrepid heroes fly off in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...

Back to the beach where Caractacus finishes his story.

Caractacus dismisses any possibility a future together with Truly because he's poor and she's rich which she takes offense at. 

Don't worry about these crazy kids. It all works out in the end as Truly agrees to marry Caractacus as the film ends with the two love birds driving off in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Which takes to the air once more. 

And we've reached... the end.

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Dept.

Benny Hill whose burlesque British comedy show was syndicated to America back in the 1970's appears here as the Toymaker, forced to make toys for the baron since kids are outlawed.  

Desmond Llewelyn who appeared as "Q" in dozens of James Bond films appears as here as Mr. Coggins, the junkyard owner where the rusted burned out wreck of the Grand Prix racer is first seen.  

Also from the Bond films is Gert" Fröbe  as Baron Bomburst. Fröbe was Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger. 

The story behind the story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is that it was a bedtime story that Ian Fleming made up for his kids. While recovering from a heart attack, Fleming turned that story into a book.  He wrote the book in long hand; as he was recovering from a heart attack, he was supposed to be resting and not working so his family took away his typewriter. 

Overall, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a delightful confection of a movie, perfect for children but adults can enjoy it too for Fleming's Bondian influences and Roald Dahl's patented subversions of the tropes of entertainment for children. 

And how can you go wrong with a fantasy musical with Dick Van Dyke in the lead?  

I recall seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I was child and my mom had a record album of music from kid films that included this movie's theme song. We enjoyed listening to that record a lot.

And it was a pleasure to introduce Andrea to this film. It was just the perfect sort of movie for her.