We went to see The Equalizer 2 on an early Saturday evening. It was either this or Mama Mia 2 on a very hot afternoon. The theater was over half full for a 4:30 showing on the movie's opening weekend. A diverse crowd. We enjoyed the movie, so that part is out of the way. This is a kickass movie and Denzel Washington does almost all the ass kicking. The first few minutes establish Denzel as a complete hard ass at least in the past as a government agent. He takes no prisoners and four to one or five to one odds are no problem. You do not want to mess with this dude. Then the movie slows down. Denzel is "retired" and living a quiet life as a Lyft driver. There are a couple of side stories, some of which really contributed little or nothing to the main thread. Those stories needed some development and it took time. It was well into the movie before the main theme began to evolve, slowly. I don't want to do any spoilers. It is basically Denzel's old government team has turned mercenary and needs to be stopped. The last third of the movie depicts how that comes about. Then the tangent stories are also tied up. Maybe happily ever after, maybe not. Denzel survives so there could be an Equalizer 3 in our future. I'd go see it. The acting, particularly Denzel, is better than the story and script. That is not surprising. He is damn good. This movie is worth the two-hour investment. I rate this a solid B.
For anyone who knows me or has read my posts you already know this issue is one of my pet peeves. I don't know if it is because I have always watched the news, read a lot or if it is because of my training, career, and tendency to look at things logically. I find it funny or maybe I should say ironic how we view certain dangers in our society. A friend just posted a heartfelt story on Facebook about a child who fell off a riding lawn mower and had severe damage to his feet when the mower ran over them. I don't want to make light of that danger, although the story seemed manufactured to me, but exactly how many kids are injured each year when they fall off a lawn mower driven by an adult or older teen? People are horrified by this story, quick to blame the adults in the situation and agree that children should never be allowed anywhere near a riding mower let alone on it. Now, these same horrified people have no problem putting those same defenseless kids into their cars and driving 80 mph on the freeway, running a stop sign, failing to have proper child seats or using the ones we have. Let's think for just a minute, how many kids have their feet damaged in lawnmower accidents versus how many are injured or killed in automobile accidents? There are thousands of other examples of this kind of thinking. We are scared of our kids catching Ebola from someone miles away in a different state yet we don't see the danger in failing to immunize those same kids against all the diseases that are now preventable. We skip annual flu shots for them too. We are irate at GM for producing a faulty ignition switch that may have contributed to the deaths of a handful of people yet we will drive while impaired by alcohol, drugs or other conditions. Maybe we'll put off getting those new tires or new brakes. Many parents will blame a school or the authorities when an armed lunatic enters a school but have no problem letting their young kids go home after school to an empty house or apartment. There they are not only susceptible to a stranger walking in but all the other household dangers.
A bicycle rider recently killed a pedestrian in New York's Central Park. There was all kind of indignation in the media including recommending a ban on bike riding in the park. Fact is, this will probably be the only pedestrian killed by a cyclist in NYC in the next few years. Are these same people recommending the banning of cars in the park or the city? Nope, but many will be killed or injured by automobiles. In fact, cyclists in will also be killed in Central Park by automobiles.
People will get all in a huff about GMO foods, because the media told them to, but will eat at McDonald's five times a week. Remember the pink slime uproar? That's a travesty against the population but those McNuggets manufactured from chicken beaks, bones, claws, feathers and probably some rodent waste are delicious. I could go on and on. You probably have your own favorite false scare issues and stories. At one time in our history, these panics came about because of lack of information and lack of education for much of the population. Today we have too much information that is being interpreted and analyzed by too many talking head idiots that have an agenda and a forum. We supposedly have a better-educated populace but stupidity still abounds. I am always amazed that the TV reporter on the scene can find the most stupid, most uninformed person to interview. The media also tend to give as much coverage to the crackpots as to the real experts. I guess human nature will always be touched by the little guy vs the Goliath, the poor against the rich, the underdog vs favorite and the unusual vs the norm. I feel it is our responsibility to be truly informed about the issues that affect us, our families and society. That usually means taking everything you see, hear or read about an issue with a grain, pinch, pound or ton of salt. Find another source or two to verify the facts then form your own opinions. Don't take the interpretation of the so-called experts as gospel. Don't confuse opinion with fact. Try to learn the biases and agenda of the "expert". One of the advantages of being informed is that you can turn on Fox News Channel or MSNBC at almost any time of the day or night and enjoy some very funny unintentional comedy. Fact checking is not those network's strong point.
We've become a society of hype and PR rather than substance. Opinions and prejudices are more important than facts. We get used to certain behavior and events as normal and acceptable. Motor vehicle deaths are OK, plane accidents are not. It makes no difference what the real numbers are. The most annual aviation deaths ever, outside of war years, was 1972 with 2,429 worldwide. In 2010, there were 2,998 traffic deaths in Texas alone, 42% involved alcohol. Even our language evolves to mask the real dangers. We have "plane crashes" but "automobile accidents". A drunk driver speeding in the wrong direction on a freeway is not an accident, but I bet it will be reported as a "traffic accident". I have little hope that any of this will change. The unusual is news, normal stuff is just life. Humans are more apt to react on emotions rather than logic. They aren't willing to make the necessary changes to correct things if it may cause some inconvenience. We could probably drastically reduce traffic deaths by imposing harsh punishments for breaking traffic laws. Things like heavy fines, suspension of licenses, jail time, public service, removing unsafe vehicles, etc. But that would cause inconvenience, so we accept about 30,000 traffic deaths per year. I'm not advocating draconian traffic laws. As a mobile society, we are willing to pay the price for that mobility. Apparently the same is true of gun ownership. We accept approximately 30,000 gun related deaths per year. OK, but don't go crazy when a junior high football player drops dead on the practice field just because the news chooses to show the grieving parents on TV. Don't rally to ban bicycles from Central Park after one pedestrian death unless you also are willing to ban cars, which are far more deadly. TV news is now more show business than news business. They are going to hype stories then analyze them and basically tell us how we should feel and react. I promise you that bicyclists killing pedestrians is not an epidemic. wjh
My legal first name is William. I was never called William except maybe on the first day of school when the teacher was calling the roll or on graduation day. I am also a junior (Jr.) so I couldn't go by the normal nickname Bill without being confused with my dad. For the first 20 years or so of my life, I was known as Billy. Once I got into the business world after college I mostly became Bill. I wasn't in the same town as my father so there was no confusion. For whatever reason, neither dad or I were ever known as Wil or Will or Willie. A couple of dad's old friends referred to him as Billy but most of them called him Ducky. I never did get a good explanation of how that name came about. To the day he died, he was Ducky or Uncle Ducky to a certain portion of those who knew him. He was Bill to most people. Although I became Bill in my business life, most of my old friends from my youth still called me Billy. A few newer friends called me that too for some reason. For most of my adult life, I have answered to both names. I've also answered to a few other less flattering names. I know many people strongly object to the nicknames of their youth. I understand that, especially when it's a somewhat embarrassing name for an adult. I may have had a few years during my life when I didn't want to be called Billy but it was never a big deal. I think I just started going by Bill because I was in the adult business world and Bill seemed like a more adult name. There are many old and dear friends who will always call me Billy. There are others who are equally good friends who will always call me Bill. There are also a very few who have their own nickname for me, but that is none of your business. Names are funny and very personal. Some formal names have many variations. Think about Katherine or Elizabeth. Other legal names sound like nicknames. I always thought Larry was the diminutive of Lawrence but it is, in fact, the real name of many. Some nicknames make no logical sense. How did Dick become a nickname for Richard or Ted (Teddy) for Edward? On the female side, we have Betsy for Elizabeth. We have names that can be either female or male. Then there are those who have names that are spelled differently than the norm. I never know if that was on purpose for some reason or if the parents didn't know the correct spelling. Let's not even talk about parents that saddle their kids with extremely unusual names. We all know people who go by a nickname like Bubba, Buddy, Trey or by their initials and we may never know their real name. Hell, in the South, Bubba may be their legal name.
So as I end this very serious post let me say, you can call me Billy and you can call me Wil or you can call me Will and you can call me Willy or you can call me Bill, but you doesn't have to call me William... Some older readers will get the reference. wjh
How many companies and businesses from your past are no longer around? I'm not talking about the mom and pop store or restaurant down the street but big companies. Many of these companies were huge Fortune 100, S&P 500, Dow Jones, pillars of our country.
I'm talking about corporate giants like Kodak, Polaroid, Bell Telephone, Eastern, TWA, and Pan Am Airlines, Montgomery Wards, Woolworth's, Grant's, Kresge's, and Kress, RCA, and many others. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are still kind of around, but Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Plymouth, DeSoto and Imperial have all disappeared in the last few years. American Motors (AMC) bit the dust a few years earlier. I spent my entire career after college in the Information Technology profession. It was called Data Processing or the Computer Department when I started. I have worked on a large variety of computers made by several large companies and using many different programming languages. IBM was the equipment I started out on. That company is still around, but hardware is not their big money maker anymore. Burroughs, Digital Equipment, NCR, Amdahl, Sun, Mohawk, Compaq and others are all companies that no longer exist or are unrecognizable in their current form. Several other technology companies are completely different than they were a few years ago. Some just went out of business, others merged or were bought out by others. I also spent the vast majority of my career with two companies. They are both gone now. I started with First National Bank of Atlanta, which at one time was the largest bank in the southeast. I spent almost 15 years there. Not too long after I left they were bought by Wachovia Bank which itself was later bought by Bank of America and finally Wells Fargo. My small First Atlanta retirement pension/annuity comes from Wells Fargo. I spent most of the second half of my career with GTE. That was another 15 years. Before I left GTE it was already known that they would merge with Bell Atlantic to form what is now Verizon. I left just before that happened. One stop between First Atlanta
and GTE was American Heritage Insurance. which was a locally owned company in Jacksonville, Florida. It is now a division of Allstate. I also did some contract work and consulting for several banks in the southeast. There was Barnett, Sun Bank and a few others I can't remember. Speaking of banks, while working for First Atlanta one of my jobs was running a data center that did check processing and other services for 13 independent banks in south Georgia and north Florida. I don't think any of those banks are still around as independent entities. There are now about five very large national banking companies. Too bad, those local banks really did serve their communities. If I didn't know better I might think that I was a jinx. Several companies I worked for or with are gone. Hell, maybe it was my fault. We are now used to companies, especially tech companies, popping up then disappearing or being bought out and absorbed. That wasn't always the case. Companies used to be around for decades and bragged about their longevity. First Atlanta could trace its roots back to 1865 and lasted until the Wachovia merger/takeover in 1985. Other companies remained the largest in their field and the field remained the same for many years.
Many more companies are around in name only and are only a shell holding company that licenses the name. One example is Pabst beer. Beer occupies a special place in my heart, also in my mouth and stomach. That name is owned by Pabst Brewing Company that also owns the rights to about 25 beer brands including Schlitz, Stroh's, Old Style, Lone Star, Schaefer, and others. This company does not own any breweries. They contract out the brewing and distribution. Here locally in D/FW, Pabst and Schlitz are brewed at the MillerCoors (another merged company) Brewery in south Fort Worth. At one time, Pabst and Schlitz were in the top five of the largest US beer companies. Kodak and Polaroid are now mostly licensing and patent shells. I'm not complaining about most of this. Companies, like people, need to keep up with the times and adjust as time passes. I had to go through several technology changes to stay employable and relevant. Many of the defunct companies got fat and lazy. Some had terrible management. Others had their products become obsolete. Some were in industries that have been completely eliminated. The biggest problem with the decline and/or disappearance of these once huge and iconic companies has been the reduction or elimination of the retirement pensions for their workers. It can be devastating to those who have already retired or are too old to establish a new retirement nest egg. Amazingly the big shots who ran these companies, often into the ground, never seemed to suffer those financial setbacks. Time marches on and companies will continue to come and go. Apple and Google won't be on top forever, just ask Microsoft. There will be huge companies in a few years that haven't even been formed yet. Who had heard of Facebook a few years ago? Maybe I'll go to Woolworth's tomorrow for lunch and a few sundries. Is the lunch counter desegregated yet? wjh
I'm pretty sure that we have mentioned Turning Point's Ebony & Ebony beer before. I'm also pretty sure that we have not officially reviewed it on the "Two Old Guys Drinking Beer" podcast. So I'm here to rectify that situation. Turning Point is a local Bedford, TX brewery. They brew a ton of different beers. Most very good, some not to my taste. They have a large taproom that is open Tuesday through Sunday 4:00 to 9:00. They always have several beers on tap and a few available in cans/four packs. On occasion, they have a food truck there. You can also bring your own food or snacks. They have trivia contests and other special events. Check their Facebook page for details.
So, on to Ebony & Ebony. This is a robust stout in the tradition of Guinness Stout. It is smooth and delicious. I like it. This beer is stout in more ways than one. It is a very stout 10.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) so be careful. The IBU (international bitterness units) is listed at 55 but it does not seem that bitter to me. So far it is the second best beer from Turning Point. My favorite is Oatipus Complex. It is similar to E&E but smoother. It is also a little less potent at 7.5% ABV. While I rate both beers a 4 out of 5, given the choice, I would pick Oatipus. Creamy, full-bodied. Some people don't like Guinness because it has a little rusty nail hint. No such problem with Oatipus, although Ebony & Ebony does have a hint of iron flavor. Both are very good, Ebony and Oatipus. These are destination beers, meant to be savored and/or consumed with a rich meal. They are definitely not what is called a sessionable beer. My partner in crime on the podcast, Dennis, and I both like stouts. Dark, robust, flavorful beer is good. Many lagers and ales are fine. Light/Lite beer is bad. Fruit infused beer is very bad. Sour or Gose beer is undrinkable. So keep that in mind when reading my beer reviews.
We have tasted several other Turning Point brews. Lots are cloudy IPAs. Some have fruity additives. Several of the IPAs were indistinguishable from each other to my untrained palate. I would encourage you to stop by Turning Point Brewery if you are in the neighborhood. Try a flight of beers. The staff will be more than happy to explain the various beer choices. They have a style or flavor for just about everyone's taste. Support your local brewer. Cheers!
wjh Update - I drank my last Ebony & Ebony about a month or so after we purchased them. This time I poured it into a traditional pint glass. Disappointing, while the beer was a rich dark brown, there was hardly any head. Is this on purpose or did the beer deteriorate in a month? Still delicious, but a decent head is important.
There is a new TV program on PBS. It is titled Firing Line with Margaret Hoover. It is supposed to be a reboot of the old William F. Buckley show. I saw Hoover on some show last week plugging the new program. She said it would be true to the original, a half hour broadcast with only one guest. Hoover is a conservative and hinted that the guests would primarily be from the left or at least a moderate. She would then debate them over the issues of the day like Buckley did starting in the 1960's and running until 1999. Well, that is not exactly what I saw on her first show. Her guest was Gretchen Carlson, the ex-Fox News anchor and now chairwoman of the Miss America board. Carlson and Hoover are longtime friends and it showed. This was not a debate, but rather two old friends supporting each other. It was nowhere near a debate as promised. Both women are conservatives and in lockstep. It turned out to be a mutual admiration society.
There were some women's rights issues discussed and they showed short clips from the old Buckley program. Nothing very stimulating or informative. Certainly no confrontation between the host and guest. Cordial, non-confrontational, self-promoting shows have their place. The Talk, The Tonight Show, Ellen, and others do this. My objection is that the new Firing Line has been promoted as a reboot of the old Firing Line. I used to watch that program to hear debates about the issues and probably learn a new word or two. Margaret Hoover is no William Buckley and her new show is not anything like its namesake. A little bait and switch. Just like New Coke was not really Coca-Cola, this show is not really Firing Line. I'll probably give Hoover one more view to see if this first episode was the norm or an aberration. So far, not so good. Nationally it is broadcast on PBS on Friday evenings. Here in DFW it is aired on Sunday evenings on KERA (13). wjh
Will imported aluminum beer cans, the full ones, be subject to the new tariffs?
Do they know something I don't? Got an invite for a free meal and seminar from a funeral home. Is it really a good idea to accept a meal from mortuary?
The World Cup actually determines the football (soccer) champion of the world. The World Series determines the best baseball team between the USA and one Canadian team. Not quite the world.
June is graduation and fathers day month. That means the cologne advertisements are all over TV. Do any of them make any sense? Does anybody older than a teenager still buy cologne? I haven't.
Looking up a song or performance on YouTube often turns into a very long event. I keep seeing other stuff I want to see and/or listen too.
How come almost all men's clothing sizes are in even numbers? Waist, belts, and inseam sizes 30,32,34,36... Suite sizes 38, 40, 42, 44... Some of us have odd number body part sizes.
Will Trump's new Space Force use army/air force ranks or navy ranks? A whole new set of generals or admirals? Maybe Trump will make up a whole new set of ranks.
Watching recorded TV shows outside their normal time can really screw up your sense of what time it is.
Twist ties are made to be twisted, not knotted.
Seems that surveyors are not interested in my opinion once they learn my age. Guess I'm too young.
There is a difference between being mistaken and lying.
