Very Random Thoughts - February 2019

• No one is truly self-made. Certainly not people like Donald Trump. 
• When did the response to "Thank You" become "Thank You"? I always thought it was "You're Welcome".
• Oh wait, sometimes the thank you response is now "no problem" which I find obnoxious. 
• Just in case I may have forgotten, the flu reminded me this month that it sux. Old and flu are a bad combination. 
• Remember when some places offered a discount if you paid with cash? Now some stores are trying to go completely cashless. 
• Why are weather people called meteorologists? They rarely if ever give us any information about meteors. 
• Whatever happened to Sarah Palin? 
• The latest BS marketing term is "tactical". We have tactical shirts, pants, belts, sunglasses, flashlights, etc. 
• Jeff Foxworthy has a furniture line. If you buy any pieces, you might be a redneck. 
• I'm noticing a new category of drugs being advertised on TV. These drugs don't actually cure or fix anything, they just make the numerous drugs you are already taking work better (allegedly). Drugs to help your drugs. Do we really need to be taking more drugs? 
• Stupid and ignorant are not the same thing. Many smart people are ignorant. 
• The new product called Sheex is marketed as performance sheets. That leaves room for various interpretations. Are these sheets an alternative to Viagra? How do they work?

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - January 2019

• Do GM workers get mad when the company offers the employee discount on their cars to the public?
• Speaking of cars, who would buy a used car from one of those internet sites that deliver them to your door. Don't you want to kick the tires before the purchase?
• Hasn't the Gatorade dousing of the winning football coach just about run its course?
• On January 1st, all those last chance year-end sales become last chance New Year's sales. 
• Common sense is not evenly distributed. 
• Personal injury lawyers (ambulance chasers) have some of the worst and most stupid TV commercials. I can't imagine choosing one of these clowns to represent me. 
• When did we need to have a slash on sevens? 
  
• Back in the old days when I had to send programming sheets to the keypunch department, we had to slash zeros (0) to distinguish from alpha O's. Believe me, computers really cared whether it was a 0 or O. When I looked back, I realized that was backward. There were far more zeros than O's in the programs source code.
  
• Have you noticed that junk food is way more often on sale or has coupons than the healthy stuff? Keep America fat.
• I have noticed a large increase in the number of memes and comments by the Trumpers that are derogatory toward Democrats since the midterms. They even dust off old Obama and Clinton slurs. Facts be damned. 
• Often times free stuff is way overpriced.
• Do the 800K federal employees who are either furloughed or working without pay count as employed in the Labor Department jobs statistics?
• Oxymoron: premium economy airline seating.
• It always seems strange to me when I see an advertisement for one TV channel like TBS or FX on another network like NBC or CBS. 
• The Texas Roadhouse steakhouse chain was founded in Indiana and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. False advertising. 
• The University of Oklahoma goes by the initials OU. Apparently, dyslexia is very common in amohalkO. 
• A local TV commercial for an eye surgeon starts out with the doctor saying "If you have cataracts, you are lucky". He then says something about many options. Really, you are lucky? I feel very unlucky that I don't have cataracts so I can have surgery and pay large medical bills. 
• If the #TrumpShutdown causes the IRS to delay tax refunds, can we also delay tax payments if we owe money? I'm guessing NO.
• Sometimes it is almost impossible to tell the fake from the real commercials on Saturday Night Live. A sad commentary on the real ones.
• Why do TV sports programs have aerial coverage of indoor events?
• It's amazing how prices and salaries have changed over the years. Some of the dollar figures spouted on old TV shows are really low. $50K was a fortune. 

wjh

The Kominsky Method

The Kominsky Method is a comedy/drama on Netflix. It stars Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as two longtime friends who are going through life in their golden years. These two have a very loving relationship but are constantly needling each other. The difference between you and me and our best friends is these guys have some very funny writers coming up with their put-downs. 

Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas) is a somewhat famous acting coach. He runs an acting school with his daughter. Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin) is a very successful agent who owns his own agency. He has represented Sandy for years although he has been semi-retired for a few years. 

The other regulars are Mindy (Sarah Baker), Sandy's daughter and Lisa (Nancy Travis), a student at Sandy's acting school and his new love interest. 

There are several recurring roles including the students in the acting class. Some of the more famous recurring character actors are Danny DeVito as the guys' urologist, Ann-Margaret as a friend of Norman with ulterior motives, Lisa Edelstein as Norman's drug-addicted daughter, and Susan Sullivan as Norman's dead wife who still appears to him. All are good in their roles. 

There are also several well-known guest stars, many who play themselves. These include Patti LaBelle, Jay Leno, Elliot Gould, Corbin Bernsen, and Eddie Money. 

Sandy has had three failed marriages and Norman's wife of 40+ years dies at the end of the first episode. The second episode funeral is great. So now the two old friends need each other more than ever. Let the hijinx begin. Michael and Alan have a very good rapport as do Michael and Judy Travis. All seasoned actors who know what they are doing. The funny lines seem natural, not forced. Another bonus is that there is no laugh track. You get to decide which lines are funny. I hate laugh tracks, especially the overactive ones. 

The circumstances depicted seem mostly real too. Maybe that is because I am about the age of the principal characters. The fact that a urologist is a recurring character will give you a hint. 

I'm not sure if young folks will find the show as funny as I did, but since most of my friends are of a certain age, I have no hesitation in enthusiastically recommending The Kaminsky Method. It is funny and at times poignant. The episodes are 30 minutes so you can fit them in easily. There are eight episodes in the first season so it's only a four-hour investment. The good news is that the series has been renewed for a second season.

I rate this a solid A. Give it a try. 

wjh

Ben Is Back

This is not a comedy. The very serious, emotional Ben Is Back is about the 24-hour visit Ben (Lucas Hedges) makes back home for Christmas. Home consists of mom (Julia Roberts), sister, stepfather, and two young half-siblings. Ben is a drug addict currently in a rehab center. Let the fun begin. 

Ben is welcomed with open arms by Holly, his mom, and young half sister and half brother. Not so much by his sister and stepfather, who don't believe Ben has kicked the addiction or the bad behavior associated with it. More details of Ben's past life are revealed during the movie. It's not pretty. Mom is just happy to have her son and first born home for the holiday. His sister has lived through his addiction and lies. The little kids haven't seen Ben as an addict and his relapses. His stepfather doesn't trust Ben and is tired of the drama and probably the rehab expenses.

The family members come to an agreement that Ben can stay for Christmas but then must go back to the rehab center. The rule is he can not be out of his mother's sight for the duration. 

As you may guess, there are complications. Mostly minor at first but it spirals into more and more serious circumstances. It winds up with Ben and Holly on a dangerous chase to find the family's kidnapped dog. The kidnapping a result of Ben's past life.

By the end of the movie, I think Holly is just as sick as Ben. His past addicted life has taken just as big a toll on her as it has on him. Crazy behavior on both parts. 

The story did not play out as I first expected. It ends with no real resolution. Not an uplifting film.

This is definitely a two person movie. Julia and Lucas dominate the story and the screen time. They both do an outstanding job. The rest of the cast is barely needed although they do a fine job. 

This was not my favorite movie. If you are a Julia Roberts fan, you will get to see a lot of her doing a very intense part. Lucas again plays a troubled youth as he did in Manchester by the Sea.

I'm going to rate this a B-. Good acting, Not an enjoyable story. 

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - December 2018

• Spring forward, fall back. Changing the clocks used to be a big pain in the ass twice a year. Not so much anymore. I only have one or two clocks that I use that don't adjust automatically. 
• Is it icing or frosting?
• Who decided that the football player who gets the hike and runs the team should be called QUARTERback? That makes him sound like the least important back.
• If Trump wants to start another branch of the armed forces, it seems to me our tax dollars would be better spent on a Cyber Force rather than a Space Force. 
• It appears that Beto O'Rourke might be on the national political scene for the next couple of years. Maybe as a presidential candidate. So, I think we should all pronounce his name correctly. It is not Bait-O, it is Bet-O, short E and long O, as in place a bet or you bet your life. Clear?
• If you think Google search is prejudiced against your political leanings or party, there is an easy solution. There are several other search engines. Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Dogpile, WebCrawler, etc. Just do a Google search for search engines.
• How come people get to use their temporary government titles for the rest of their life? I'm talking about governor, ambassador, secretary, senator, etc. Once the gig is over you're just a regular Ms. or Mr. again.
• The entertainment industry awards aren't until next year but the promos for the shows are already airing. Unfortunately, I can't set my DVR for February. I may miss the Oscars. 
• The English language is dead. I was watching a late night talk show. One of the guests managed to say LIKE at least twice per sentence, often more. My ears caught fire and I had to mute the interview. 
• Have you ever noticed that in movies or on TV, when someone is looking for something they always initially look in the wrong direction when they enter a room? Then they can do a dramatic take or comedic doubletake when they look in the right direction. 
• Here's a variation on the old oxymoron jumbo shrimp. We now have jumbo popcorn shrimp. What is jumbo popcorn?
• Were parents able to navigate Christmas shopping without Toys "R" Us? 
• I like it when drug TV commercials say during the long disclaimers, "Do not take wonder drug if you are allergic to wonder drug." How would you know if you are allergic to a drug before it is prescribed and you take it? On the other hand, why would anyone take a drug they know they are allergic to? 
• How come men have to wear black, navy blue, or charcoal gray suits but women can wear almost any color. Seems unfair. 
• It's a little hard to digest, but if I say "back when I was growing up", that was about 60 or more years ago. 
• I have no recollection of whether I have ever had a white Christmas. Maybe when I was really young in New Jersey. 
• DVRs and TV remotes spoil us for movies at an actual theater. I sometimes want to rewind a few frames to hear what was said. Worst case is a desire for a pause button when nature calls. 
• I learned recently that mixed up phrases, such as boldface lie instead of the correct bald-faced lie, are called eggcorns. Relatively useless information that will not often be needed. 
• The good news for the lazy is that Nike will be drastically reducing the price of their $720 self-lacing shoes. The bad news is they still will cost $350. Think I'll continue to tie my own laces manually.
• How much do you think the big stars get paid for those hokey infomercials? Tom Selleck does reverse mortgages, Alex Trebek does $9.95 life insurance, William Shatner will sell anything. Besides, how believable are actors? They pretend for a living.
• There should be a law against TV reality shows using the words celebrity or star in the title unless there are actually famous people on the program. Dancing With the Stars, really. Celebrity Big Brother, not quite.
• A person and a people are two different things. One is an individual the other is a group. Don't judge the person by what people they belong to. 
• So what's your New Year's food? Black eye peas, tamales, pickled herring, greens, Hoppin' John?  

wjh

Star in the Dust

I watched another old movie on Encore Westerns the other night. Seems that they have added a new bunch of old movies recently. They have added some Hopalong Cassidy classics. Those are pretty bad movies but still fun to watch. This movie, Star in the Dust, from 1956 caught my eye because it starred Richard Boone and a young Mamie Van Doren.  

The story was a gunman hired by the cattlemen had been convicted of killing a farmer. The cattlemen wanted to bust him out of jail and the farmers wanted to lynch him. The old sodbusters vs the cattlemen story. The local sheriff was hellbent on carrying out the sentence exactly according to the law. Not a minute early.

Richard Boone was the bad guy which was pretty much his movie career. He spent almost all of the movie in a jail cell and still managed to overact. John Agar was the moral law abiding sheriff. Mamie was the sheriff's love interest but her father was the rich banker on the side of the cattle interests. That caused conflicts and mistrust in the relationship. 

It's not much of a movie and to be honest, I didn't pay very close attention to the plot twists and the character relationships. 

There were no outstanding acting performances and the plot was one that was recycled many times. They even had a town minstrel who told the story with a song, a pretty bad song. Coleen Gray did the heavy lifting for the female part. Mamie wasn't called on to do much acting, she was there for her other assets. John Agar, who played the sheriff, was adequate as the star. He is more famous for being married to Shirley Temple. 

What I did notice is that several future TV stars were in the movie. Of course, Richard Boone was a big star for several seasons when he played Paladin on Have Gun Will Travel. Mamie's father/banker was played by Leif Erickson who went on to star in High Chaparral. Harry Morgan was a leader of the cattlemen. He achieved TV fame as Col. Sherman Potter in M*A*S*H. Paul Fix played one of the deputies. He later became Marshal Micah Torrance on The Rifleman.  

As usual with these movies, good triumphed over evil. The real bad guys, Boone and Erickson, wound up dead. The good farmers got justice over the evil cattlemen. The good sheriff, Agar, got the girl, Van Doren. The minstrel closed the movie with the ending verse to his song. 

Most old western movies are pretty corny and predictable but still fun to watch. You get to see many future stars when they were young and not necessarily very good. 

wjh

The Mule

We went to see this movie on a late Tuesday afternoon. We had the auditorium almost to ourselves. The Mule is a movie based on a true story of an old WW II veteran. It was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood. He is also the star, his first acting gig since 2012. Bradley Cooper co-stars as a DEA agent and Laurence Fishbourne as his DEA boss. Andy Garcia is the drug cartel kingpin. 

Eastwood plays Earl, a 90-year-old Korean War veteran. The backstory is that he is a somewhat famous horticulturist who specializes in daylilies. His flower and bulb business is ruined by the internet and his house and farm are foreclosed on. By this point, he is long estranged from his family. During his business days, he drove all over the country and compiled a perfect driving record. Through a friend of his granddaughter, he is recruited to be a mule for a drug cartel. Old white guy, no traffic violations, perfect mule. The plan is to make one run so he can at least help pay for his granddaughter's wedding. The run goes smoothly, the money is terrific so Earl decides to make another run. He keeps finding uses for this newfound money which requires more runs. He becomes a big man again because he helps others. Even some of his family starts to come around. 

He becomes a star mule and reaps the rewards of that. Then Andy Garcia gets killed and a new drug boss takes over. Also, the DEA  is closing in and there are family issues to deal with. I won't spoil the last part of the movie.

As usual, Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper are excellent. The other actors are fine but none of them have really large parts or stood out to me. There is some violence in the movie but this is not a big shoot-em-up. There are no big car chases although there is a kind of Smokey and the Bandit scene near the end. There are a few funny lines, some tense scenes, and some poignant scenes. There is also a lot of time spent in the pick-up truck driving across America. 

Eastwood plays a convincing old fart. Not much of a stretch since he is now 88 and pretty much looks it. There aren't any real highs or lows in the story. Few if any surprises either. It's a solid story about an old guy with many regrets and a few triumphs in the end. 

I think the movie is worth your time especially if you are an Eastwood fan. Not necessarily the Dirty Harry Eastwood but the Eastwood of the past couple of decades. I would rate it a solid B. Not great, not bad. 

wjh