The Cheese Stands Alone

Mo 12/31/18- New Year's Eve ********************* And, on the last day of the year.... I'm down about a hundred and fifty thousand from the peak this summer. $1,400,000  to $1,253,000 ********************* Up 715am; heavy rain through late morning; upper 30's. Watched 'SNOWDEN' (Amazon Prime) Oliver Stone's examination of CIA contractor, Edward Stone. This film clearly portrays him as an heroic whistleblower, but many feel he is a traitor. To me it shows that although Snowden may be guilty of a crime, the crimes and illegalities of the American government are far more horrendous. Then 'FITS AND STARTS' (Amazon Prime) Wyatt Cenac and Greta Lee play a married couple. They're both writers, but she's more successful, and a wacky 'salon party' in Greenwich, CT proves to be a tipping point in their marriage; witty and clever. 2pm-To Planet Fitness. 45" Walk (The Melvins). 45" Recumbent Bike (read THE LAST TESTAMENT OF T...

Su 12/30/18 Up 635am; mostly sunny, to low 40's. Wrote up 'FORTUNE'S ROCKS' for the blog. Watched 'SET IT UP' (Netflix) A thoroughly enjoyable, well-written rom-com with lots of small comedic performances; Titus Burgess as 'Creepy Tim' is fantastic, right down to his 'Errol Flynn' mustache! The film is set in the 'Plantation Culture' of contemporary work assistants who spend their professional lives kowtowing to the wealthy and powerful. Two such New York city assistants conspire to have their respective bosses hook-up in hopes of making their working lives a little bit easier. In the process, they fall in love; Sweet and Romantic. Put the new batteries in the door bells, and they work! Not so lucky with the smoke detector. It seemed to work last night, but now I can't get anything when I push 'Test'. The 'WHEN ANGELS SLEEP' (Netflix) While driving late one night, a man hits a young woman walking down a deser...

Sa 12/29/18 Up 620am;  cloudy, cold- temps only in the 20's. While updating the blog I watched a bunch of videos of Ellie Kemper on The Late Show With Craig Ferguson. I started to play the Netflix disc about the beginnings of Facebook, but the disc was cracked. I switched to the other Netflix disc, 'THE WAY HE LOOKS'. Set in San Paulo, Brazil the film concerns a blind high school student and his awakening gay sensuality. He finds himself attracted to the new boy in school, and his best friend, who's a girl, feels abandoned; Not bad and well worth a look. Featured songs: "too much love"- belle and sebastian, "start a war"- the national. Then 'MAPS TO THE STARS' (Netflix) Julianne Moore/ John Cusack/ Mia Wasikowska; Directed by David Lynch. Too intentionally odd to be an ordinary drama, and too melodramatic to be a spoof or a satire, but most definitely has the 'other-worldly strangeness' of a classic David Lynch film. A minis...

Fr 12/28/18 Up 645am; gray, cloudy, windy, to mid 30's. Watched 'LANG TONG' (Netflix) This was a controversial film from Singapore, and the title translates to 'Good Soup'. The film is the story of a heartless womanizer who meets his match in a pair of beautiful sisters. Steamy sex and a twisted plot makes this film very enjoyable. Then 'LEAVES OF GRASS' (Amazon Prime) Edward Norton in a double role- a hillbilly pot farmer from Dixie City, Oklahoma, and his twin brother who just happens to be a Harvard professor of Philosophy; with Steve Earle, Richard Dreyfuss, and many other great character actors- Lots of Little Feat and Townes Van Zandt on the soundtrack. 115pm- to the 'Y'. Stopped to fill-up the tank at the station on Durkin/ Old Jacks; $2.07 per gallon. 45" Walk (Reality Real Cops All Workout). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. 45" Bike. 30" Cross. Home to soak and read more of 'FORTUNE'S ROCKS' a...

Th 12/27/18 On Xmas Eve the stock market dropped almost 700 points. Yesterday it bounced back, recouping almost all the loss. Early today and for most of the afternoon it dropped six hundred and then closed up by almost three hundred. All of this is because of our 'Commander in Thief'! Up 645am; windy; gusts over 30mph, rainy (0.40 in. expected)- temps to the low fifties. Watched 'LETTERS TO JULIET' (Amazon Prime) A very sweet and romantic 'road picture' set in the wine county of north central Italy-  with Vanessa Redgrave and some 'pretty people'. A young NYC journalist assists the women of Verona who answer 'Love Letters To Juliet' in Verona, Italy (Based on the true story of 'The Secretaries of Juliet'). She locates a letter that had been undetected for fifty years, and she manages to reunite these two star-crossed lovers, and then manages to fall in love with the old woman's grandson. Not as gooey as it sounds, but close. I ...

We 12/26/18 Trash pickup delayed until tomorrow. Up 7am; partly cloudy, breezy, to upper 40's. Watched 'KLUTE' (Amazon Prime) Brilliant performances by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland; with Roy Scheider and Jean Stapleton. Then 'THE FOURTH KIND' (Milla Javovich/ Will Patton/ Elias Koteas). The film was made to seem as a re-creation of actual events, but it was complete fiction. The premise is that people have been abducted by aliens (or possibly beings or spirits from other dimensions) in Nome, Alaska and authorities have been covering it up. In this case, a therapist and several of her patients have been visited by a terrifying owl, and mayhem ensues. Not as nutty as it sounds. Filled out the form for Your Spending Account; $30 for dentist, and $45 for urologist. 230pm to Wabash PO to mail the claim (cost seventy cents; too bulky!) and then Planet Fitness. 45" Walk (TIDELANDERS). 45" Recumbent Bike (read FORTUNE'S ROCKS/ Red Hot Chilli ...

Tu 12/25/18- Xmas Day- 710am; mostly sunny to upper 40's NIGHT MOVES Arthur Penn/ James Woods/ Melanie Griffith/ Gene Hackman. Perfect Detective Noir and Melanie Griffith played a sixteen year old and she looked about twelve. NETWORK Sidney Lumet William Holden/ Fay Dunaway/ Peter Finch/ Ned Beatty. Lots of 'speechifying' but it was masterfully done. Great film. FAIL STATE- doc. Watched most of a documentary about 'For Profit Education'- 'FAIL STATE' (Xfinity). Walk 230pm; Up the street and over east on Parkview/ thru the park to MacArthur/ then back thru the park/ Parkview- almost exactly One Hour. Wrapped the gifts and shaved; no shower. On the road to The Brandenburgs at 430pm. All were present and they were opening gifts. Joe was suffering from a urinary infection. A lot of that going around these days.  Had a chicken wing/ a couple of meat balls/ and some quiche....not much. I received a Brandenburg Calendar, but I forgot it and I'll g...

Mo 12/24/18 Up 7am; cold and bright with temps to mid 40's. Made some notes for the blog on 'A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES'. Watched 'MENORCA' (Netflix) Soccer Mom wants a break from her family, although she loves her seven year old son, George, her husband is filed under, 'Fuckhead' on her phone. Steals a car/ picks up a hitchhiker for sex/ he steals the car/ and she becomes a stripper in a place heavily inspired by David Lynch; Spanish island/ David Lynch/ Manitoba 930am- to Planet Fitness. 45" Walk (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIMENT). 45" Recumbent Bike (read, 'FORTUNE'S ROCKS'). 45" Cross (TIDELANDERS). 45" Bike (TIDELANDERS). 30" Cross (UNBREAKABLE). Finished the second season of THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE- like nothing else! 1115am I got a call from Dr. Ellison's office asking me why I cancelled with the eye doctor. What the fuck! I get a call on Xmas Eve about a cancellation from two weeks ago. I told the clerk...

Su 12/23/18 Up 715am; Had a sandwich after only one bowl of 'casserole' last night- Awoke in the chair...."It's the same old song, with a ...." Partly cloudy, temps to the high 30's. Watched 'JEREMIAH JOHNSON' (Amazon Prime). 1972- Sydney Pollack (dir.)/ John Milius (writer). A Classic American film- Mythic, Moving, Melancholy; very little dialog! Watched a five minute interview with Sydney Pollack about the movie on YouTube, and part of another YouTube interview with Robert Redford. 1115am- computer on 'Sleep'/ reading 'A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES'/ later Weekly cleanup and LA Fitness. 2pm on the machines at LA Fitness. 45" Walk. (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). 45" Recumbent Bike (read/ Live Graham Parker and the Episodes). 45" Cross (TIDELANDERS). 45" Bike (TIDELANDERS/ and finished 'A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES'- an excellent Mathew Scudder novel). 30" (UNBREAKABLE). $52 groceries/ Fairhills ...

Sa 12/22/18 Up 515am and read 'A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES' for about an hour. Up 715am. Sunny, to mid 40's. Made a call from the living room PC to my phone to make sure that I get calls. Went through and activated my ringtone. Watched 'CLEAN, SHAVEN' (Lodge Kerrigan (dir.)/ Peter Greene. A schizophrenic man is released (escapes?) from a mental institution and travels to Canada to find his daughter. The interesting sub-plot is the question of whether or not he has murdered a young girl on his journey. The crime is purposely left ambiguous and you can make the case for either scenario. The commentary is a conversation between Lodge Kerrigan and Steven Soderbergh while watching the movie; a very fine film- The Criterion Collection. Watched 'THE COVER UP' (Amazon Prime). Marshalltown, IA police department cover up the murder of a young man detained for drunk driving. They say he died while trying to jump twelve feet across an alley to an adjacent buil...

Fr 12/21/18 Up 715am; cloudy, breezy, to mid 30's. When I powered up the living room PC it took several extra minutes to 'configure' the 15 updates installed yesterday. Last night those 'pending' updates on the downstairs PC must have been installed sometime during the day. Watched 'CHINATOWN' (Amazon Prime) Jack Nicholson/ Faye Dunaway/ John Huston; Roman Polanski (dir.); Robert Townes (writer). Absolutely spell binding! Soon I'll watch the next installment (Nicholson directs!) on Amazon Prime- 'THE TWO JAKES'. Then two episodes of the English comedy series on Netflix called, 'CUCKOO', and then an episode (penultimate) of 'HAPPY!'. 2pm- To the bank for six twenties and six fives- XMAS MONEY FOR THE BRANDENBURGS, then on the machines at the 'Y' by 230pm. 45" Walk (Reality TV all workout). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. 45" Bike. 30" Cross. On the way home, at Koke/ Old Jacks, I made t...

Th 12/20/18- Power Outage/ Computer Problems LR PC Overcast, mist and drizzle early, mid 40's rain predicted for late this afternoon and through the night. Up 630am; At 645am there was a power outage (only about ten seconds) and I think that it fried the living room computer. I was in the process of doing a 'Microsoft Security Essentials' scan when the power went off. Now, it's trying a Restart and trapped in a loop for over 30". Finally, the message read the Microsoft could not restart this computer. Looks like last night, upstairs was the last time that computer will be used. Luckily, the router was unaffected. BLH Computers- (217) 585-1580 *****I thought for sure that the living room computer had bitten the dust, but I shut down completely. The last couple of shutdowns I only partially closed out, but when I completely shut it down and restarted everything worked just fine. I AM SO GLAD!!! I had gone downstairs and started that computer and was watch...

We 12/19/18- Contemporary Book Club Up 715am; Mostly sunny, to low 50's. Watched 'THE KING OF COMEDY' (Amazon Prime). Frustrating film about a nerdy man who fantasizes about appearing on The Jerry Langford (Johnny Carson) Show. His obsession leads to kidnapping, but he gets his wish, and somehow (somewhat?) succeeds; Robert De Niro/ Sandra Bernhard, Martin Scorsese (dir.). 1030am- on the Internet prepping for book club meeting tonight. Skimmed the book, and typed the notes into the 'Books Recently Read' blog. On the machines at FitClub West by 130pm. 45" Octane (EXILE ON MAIN STREET). 45" Walk (Reality TV all workout). 45" Bike. 45" Cross. 15" Old Style Cross; 3hr 15". Whirlpool. Talked with Amie before the meeting; not on 3r floor, but on the 2nd. Anne is using a walker.  Nice meeting, not everyone finished the book, but the reactions were very positive. Upstairs tonight. Watched 'DIVORCING JACK' (Amazon Prime). S...

Tu 12/18/18 Up 715am; Sunny and bright- to 50. Watched Netflix disc, 'FULL METAL JACKET'. Terrific beginning about life in Marine Boot Camp during the Vietnam War, and then to the war itself. Not jungle fighting, but sniper attacks in a destroyed cityscape . Another Five Star Film for Stanley Kubrick. Ordered 'A SILENT COMPANION' from Barnes & Noble; $9.59- March, 2018 selection Contemporary Book Club. Then, another 2 episodes of 'HAPPY!'. 2pm on the machines at Planet Fitness. When I logged to the Internet I noticed that I was getting an error message that 'the mobile service was unavailable'. This made it impossible to make or receive phone or text messages. I 'Stopped/ Started', put it in and out of Airplane Mode, but nothing worked. Xfinity is open till 8pm, so I hit it after the workout. 45" Walk (AN INNOCENT MAN). 45" Recumbent Bike (AN INNOCENT MAN). 45" Cross (INNOCENT). 45" Bike (INNOCENT). 30" Cro...

Mo 12/17/18 Up 640am; sunny, mid 40's. Watched 'MEAN STREETS' (Amazon Prime). Harvey Keitel/ Robert De Niro. Guys acting like kids against the backdrop of the very dangerous New York Italian Mafia of the 70's; (dir.) Martin Scorsese and an arresting soundtrack. Then 'JIGSAW' (Amazon Prime). The real Jigsaw is dead but a forensic pathologist carries on his diabolical games; a nasty bit of work. Listened to 'Revisionist History' while writing the Chat Wrap. 145pm- to the 'Y' and later the grocery shopping after the workout. 45" Walk (All 'TEEN MOMS-OG'). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. 15" Walk. 30" Recumbent Bike. 30" Cross. To County Market/ Fairhills. $57. Then home to soak/ listen to HELMET/ read more of Scout's Adventures in the American South of the 1950's. A couple of episodes of 'HAPPY!' (Netflix), and then part of,  'LOCKUP- RAW (Netflix).

Su 12/16/18 Up 720am; sunny, to upper 40's. Wrote up 'ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE' for the blog. Watched 'THE SUN CHASER' (Netflix) Woody Harrelson. An uptight LA oncologist is taken hostage by a Mexican/ Navajo hoodlum and forced to drive to a sacred Indian lake in central Arizona- mayhem ensues, yet a 'bromance' develops. A ridiculous script, but the film is almost vindicated by the beautiful desert/ mountain scenery; Michael Cimino (HEAVEN'S GATE) dir. Then the first episode of an eight part Australian series on Netflix called, 'TIDELANDS'. A strange mixture of dark secrets, family intrigue, drug trafficking, and.....mermaids! 1pm- the weekly cleanup. 2pm- to LA Fitness later, and before I left I hung the tinsel on the front railing and light post. On the machines at LA Fitness-230pm. 45" Walk (John Grisham's 'AN INNOCENT MAN' (Netflix Series). 45" Recumbent Bike (read Harper Lee and listened to ST. VINCENT from Hoop...

Sa 12/15/18 Up 830am; I guess I was tired! Sunny, breezy, to upper 40's. Watched 'DRESSED TO KILL' (Amazon Prime). Another film by Brian DePalma and the precision camera work and shrewd story line make this an undeniable Thriller Classic; Michael Caine/ Angie Dickinson/ Nancy Allen. Then THE SECRET WORLD OF LEWIS CARROLL (Amazon Prime). Lewis Carroll, a 19th century math professor at Christ Church,Oxford, is attracted to three young sisters that live on his courtyard- Alice Little being his favorite. Was Carroll a pedophile or was he just a bachelor who had many friends that were children? The documentary addresses the larger issue which is can we judge historical figures by 21st century social values and standards? Why was Carroll banished from contact with the Little family? 110pm- will complete ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE and then hit the 'Y'. Will return the shirts to Walmart after the workout. Only a few pages till the end, and on the machines at the 'Y...

Fr 12/14/18 Up 745am; cloudy, misty, dreary; significant fog after 5pm- 40's and breezy. Watched Netflix disc, 'FLIGHT 7500'. "A haunted house on a plane". On a flight from LAX to Japan, a strange demonic man dies, and the passengers 'speechify' about Death and Dying; Not Bad. Then 'CRUEL INTENTIONS' (Amazon Prime).'DANGEROUS LIAISONS' for teens. A step-brother and step-sister "weaponize" 'Love and Sex' in the 'High Society World of NYC and The Hampton's' during the late nineties; Not Bad. 145pm- to Planet Fitness and the Wabash PO, and on the machines by 2pm. 45" Walk (BAD BLOOD). 45" Recumbent Bike (read ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE). 45" Cross (BAD BLOOD. 2 episodes and completed the series. Montreal mob chieftain is taken down by his closest, non-family lieutenant with a poisoned bottle of wine. Not a bad series, and surprising to learn that Montreal was the biggest drug port on the coast of...

Th 12/13/19 Up 7am; cloudy, misty drizzle, threat of rain for the next day or so; 40's. Decided to take back two of the three shirts that I got yesterday- need an 'X-Large'. Watched Netflix disc, 'DON'T BREATHE'. Very scary thriller about a blind vet who lives alone in a desolate section of suburban Detroit and is robbed by three punks. Everyone gets way more than they bargained for. Watched 'WAH WAH' (Amazon Prime) Richard E. Grant's autobiographical film about his disastrous family life in Swaziland during the late sixties; Gabriel Byrne/ Miranda Richardson/ Emily Watson. 1245pm- Reading 'THE ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE'. 2pm on the road to Planet Fitness/ Wabash PO. 45" Walk (BAD BLOOD). 45" Recumbent (read MIRACLE). 45" Cross (BAD BLOOD). 45" Bike (read). 30" Cross (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). Home to soak/ listen to Live Dead/ more MIRACLE- this is really getting good! Most of the last episode of the pr...

We 12/12/18 Up 730am; sunny and to about 40. Wrote up 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' by James Frey for the blog. Watched 'SNAKE EYES' (Amazon Prime) Nicholas Cage/ Gary Sinise; dir. Brian DePalma. A 'Fight Film' where you only see the championship bout in replay because the conspiracy/ murder plot is the major theme. Then the final episode of 'DAMNATION' (Netflix) "Who needs Jesus Christ when you have Henry Ford"? Then two more episodes of 'THE ORIGINAL O.G.' 130pm- On the road to Walmart, gas, then the 'Y'. Got three insulated long sleeved T's/ a beautiful red checked bathrobe; my first in probably sixty years/ and a wonderful cat bed for Buddy; $60. And, the gas was only just a few pennies over two bucks a gallon!.  230pm on the machines at the 'Y'. 45" Walk (Reality TV all day). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. 45" Bike. 30" Cross. Home to soak/ listen to a compilation tape from t...

Tu 12/11/18 Up 720am; sunny and to low 40's. Watched 'THE BABADOOK' (My film from Chris's collection). This will stand with the greats of the Horror Genre-  A woman and her six year old son battle madness, a monster, and most of all, despair over the loss of a husband and father. 11am- finished 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES', and on the machines at Planet Fitness by 2pm. 45" Walk (Episode #1 of 'BAD BLOOD'- The Montreal Mafia starring Anthony Lapaglia and Paul Sorvino; dropped that Polish/ Soviet series- too dull). 45" Recumbent Bike (read THE ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE). 45" Cross (BAD BLOOD- 2 episodes today). 45" Bike (read). 30" Cross (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). Home to soak and read more 'Miracle' and listened to a tape of live Roxy Music. The two episodes of the new Netflix series, 'THE LAST O.G.'; with Tracy Morgan, and then skipped around and awoke in the chair.

Mo 12/10/18 Up 715am; single digits, sunny, to just about freezing later. But, no melting by the end of the day. Watched 'DUMPLIN' (Netflix) A small Texas town features the, 'Miss Blue Bonnet Teenage Pageant', and an over-sized girl enters and tries to make a statement- inspired by the songs and philosophy of Dolly Parton; with Jennifer Aniston. The next episode of 'DAMNATION', only one more to go, and then I wrote this week's CHAT WRAP. To FitClub West and on the machines by 1pm. 45" Octane' (John Mellencamp/ The Melvins. 45" Walk  (Reality TV all workout; the young guy with the laptop asked me if I liked 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' and we talked about the book. Apparently this kid has had some experience with AA). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. The three leg exercises. 30" Cross. To the County Market at Fairhills-$50, and then I stopped at the Dollar Store for vitamins and an iron supplement- six bucks. Home t...

Su 12/9/18 Up 730am; bright and sunny with temps to just above freezing. Listening to Ari Shaffir/ Dave Smith, then watched a Brian DePalma film, 'PASSION' (Amazon Prime). The film is an elegant psychological thriller set in the high-flying European advertising world. A ruthless female manager grabs power not from a man, but but from another woman executive within the organization- an interesting slant. Then watched 'AN INSPECTOR CALLS' (Amazon Prime). Set in England in 1912, 'a police inspector' visits the home of a wealthy factory owner during his daughter's engagement celebration. He tells the family that a young woman has committed suicide and during the course of his interaction with them,  reveals how they all played a part in her death. The film (based on a play by J.B. Priestly) employs a kind of 'time shift theme' as the suicide hasn't occurred until the inspector leaves the dinner party. The story ends when the family receives a c...

Sa 12/8/18 Up 530am; teens to slightly below freezing; mostly sunny. Wrote up 'FEAR'- Bob Woodward. Jotted some notes on the PC last night before the movie. Watched Netflix disc, 'A HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT'. This was not the movie version, but kind of a docudrama about the 'real' event. During the winter of 1986 a family move into a rental house in Southington, CT. because their eldest son is suffering from cancer and they need to be closer to his hospital. They soon realize that their house had once been a funeral home and bad things had happened there. Fairly good film, and fun with Google Maps checking out the actual scene of events. More 'GETTING DOUG WITH HIGH', then 'THE LAST MOVIE STAR' (Burt Reynolds- Amazon Prime) Much better than expected. Burt Reynolds plays a version of himself, an elderly star who is invited to accept a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at a very low-end film festival in Nashville. He and his female punk/ ...

Fr 12/7/18 Up 7am; frigid, bright- teens to about 30' Watched Netflix disc, 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE'. A fantastic film and as good, and got better with age; Alex 655321. Then watched the commentary with Malcolm McDowell while I bought the Xmas gifts for The Brandenburgs. Best Xmas shopping experience ever! Sixty bucks plus $150 for the parents. Then the next episode of 'ORPHEUS BLACK' (Amazon Prime). And a Natasha Leggero YouTube video. 115p to FitClub West and dropped the disc in the box on the way. 45" Octane (DISRAELI GEARS). 45" Walk (Reality TV all workout). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. A couple of the leg machines. 30" Old Style Cross. Hung the Xmas wreath on the front door on the way in. Home to soak and listen to a Live Dead Tape from Chris and finished 'FEAR'- Woodward. The last episode of 'GET SHORTY', then 30" of Russell Brand's special on Netflix.

Th 12/6/18 Up 620am; cloudy, snow showers expected this morning (an inch or two by the end of the day)- to low 30's. Watched Kelly Carlin and Paul Provenza on 'GETTING DOUG'. Then, 'IF' (Amazon Prime) Better than I remembered. Although it was released in 1968, the film might resonate even better with The Punks of 1978- 'Anarchy In The UK' indeed!! Then watched the last hour of the C&W Outlaw Cowboy documentary, 'HEART-WORN HIGHWAYS'. Aside from some excellent country western music, the film provides a near perfect time capsule of the world of 1976; with Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young, and David Allan Coe. Then the next episode of 'ORPHAN BLACK' (Amazon Prime) Joined 'QUORA'  Gmail/westview1 Reading 1pm; Snowing and we've gotten about an inch. Will wait till it ends before going to Planet Fitness at 2pm. 45" Walk (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). 45" Recumbent Bike (read 'FEAR...

We 12/5/18 Up 625am; partly sunny, a very light dusting of snow last night. The streets and driveways are very slick; to 30's. Watched '21' (Amazon Prime) Kevin Spacey/ Kate Bosworth. A group of MIT students learn the art of card counting and take millions from Vegas casinos; based on the true memoir, 'BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE'. Then, the first two episodes of, 'Bridget & Eamon' (Amazon Prime). Dark satire of condoms (1) and marriage and divorce (2) in Ireland of the 80's; childish and profane, but very funny. Then, a few 'REPUBLIC OF TELLY' videos on Youtube. The next episode of 'DAMNATION' (Netflix). Reading 1215pm; 130pm to FitClub South, and on the way stopped at County Market/ Sixth St; $49. 45" Precor (THE MELVINS). 45" Recumbent Bike (read 'FEAR'- B. Woodward). 45" Walk (first episode of '1983'- a Polish political drama on Netflix). 45" Bike ('1983'/ read). 30" Precor ...

Tu 12/4/18 Up 515am- I guess I was asleep early last night. Cold and cloudy; barely to freezing. Watched 'THE INCREDIBLE JESSIE JAMES' Chris O'Dowd and Jessica Williams are probably the two most likable people on the planet- A thoughtful and funny love story. Then, 'MR. NICE' (Amazon Prime) Based on the true story of Welsh marijuana smuggler, Howard Marks; Rhys Ifans/ Chloe Sevigny/ David Thewlis/ Crispin Glover. Downloaded from the library the Donald Trump book, 'FEAR' and added to the phone an album by 'White Reaper' from Hoopla. 1115am: Reading about Trump; 'FEAR'- Bob Woodward. 130pm to LA Fitness. 45" Walk (HANNIBAL). 45" Recumbent Bike (read 'FEAR'/ listened to 'White Reaper'). 45" Cross (HANNIBAL). 45" Bike (read/ music). 30" Cross (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). Whirlpool/ 10" Sauna- nice and warm. Home to watch THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX (Netflix). A corny 'Hi-Tech Space Opera...

Mo 12/3/18 Up 7am; raw, cold, intermittent snow showers- to mid 30's. I was getting a red 'X' on the 'Sound' icon on the living room PC. Sound worked just fine and I learned that if I adjusted the 'sound mixer' the 'X' went away. Disaster avoided. Watched an episode of 'GETTING DOUG WITH HIGH' where Kevin Smith bailed and he spent the show with Gabe The Magician. Then, 'CAPE FEAR' (Netflix) A fantastic classic; written by John D. McDonald and directed by Martin Scorsese; with Nick Nolte/ Jessica Lang/ Juliette Lewis. Sent an email to Emily about the pecan pie to the Brandenburgs. Then wrote the Chat Wrap while listening to another, GETTING DOUG WITH HIGH. Then another episode of,  'DAMNATION'. 2PM On the road to the 'Y'. 45" Walk (Reality TV all day; mostly YOUNG TEEN MOMS). 45" Recumbent Bike. 45" Cross. 15" Bike. ********POWER OUTAGE**** The power went out at the 'Y' just a...

Su 12/2/18 Up 630am; raw and cloudy to about 40 with a chance of rain all day. Watched 'LIFE ON THE LINE' (AMazon Prime)- John Travolta with Sharon Stone in a kind of cameo. An ode to linemen and slightly on the corny side, but still worth a look. Set in Texas and based on an actual event, but filmed near Vancouver, CA.  Then watched 'LANDLINE' (Amazon Prime) I had seen this one not too long ago, and it didn't make much of an impression, but this time I kind of liked it. How do you make amends after you cheat on the one that you love? Set in the NYC of 1995. Watched Todd Glass and Sarah Silverman on GETTING DOUG WITH HIGH, and then a few guys chugging 40 oz and eating burgers. 1pm- the weekly cleaning then at 215pm I headed to FitClub West. 45" Precor (STICKY FINGERS on Amazon Music). 45" Walk (Reality TV all workout; mostly 'Real Housewives Reunion- Orange County). 50" Cross (Larry Pemberton strolled in and talked to me on the machine....

Sa 12/1/18 Up 7am; periods of rain all day, but mostly partly sunny, until late afternoon. Tornadoes  in the area, but they hit mostly west and north. When I came home from Planet Fitness about 6pm parts of Chatham Rd. were flooded in the low spots. Temps almost to 550's all day. Wrote up 'LET IT BLEED'- Ian Rankin for the blog. Watched Netflix disc, 'THE BIG SICK'. A strange and beautiful love story, and apparently based on truth. A Pakistani stand up comedian falls in love with an American girl and his family is aghast. The couple  breakup because the girl can't accept the fact that if they stay together his family will renounce him. The girl falls deathly ill and the guy finds that he can't live without her, and when she comes out of the coma, they reaffirm their love. *****Around 830am I noticed that Buddy started acting just like he did when he had the urinary infection. The big tip-off was when I spotted him squatting in the sink. I ca...