The Cheese Stands Alone

 Mo 11/30/20- Buddy's Comeback!! I awoke just before 7am and with great trepidation, I went into the living room. I was honestly afraid that he might have died in my chair during the night, but he was awake and alert. I gave him some Frisky canned food and he ate it all. I guess the thyroid medicine has finally cleared his system and we will be able to have some more time together. I am tentatively ecstatic! Winter is here! Brisk north winds, mostly cloudy with temps only to about freezing.  Then I watched 'THE INVISIBLE MAN' (HBO-Xfinity). A terrific remake of a moldy classic and the film can be seen as a textbook demonstration of the meaning of 'gaslighting'. Elisabeth Moss turns in another stunning performance, but not quite as unhinged or as extraordinary as 'HER SMELL'.  I did THREE MILES ON THE TREADMILL and finished WHITNEY CUMMINGS/ SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO. 3PM: Phone call from Dr. Kirk at Brewer. I'm to call him back on Wednesday to find out if I s...

 Su 11/29/20 Up 8am: Partly cloudy with temps to about 50. ***Buddy ate just a bit of canned food, but not even close to his usual intensity. Disheartening. Watched Netflix disc 'FIVE EASY PIECES'. Definitely a signature film of the sixties as it beautifully highlights the changing values of those times and also demonstrates how far (or how little) we've come today. The film casts aspersions on Feminism and the female sex in general, yet the lead character of Robert Duprea is clearly portrayed as a 'damaged' male and almost cowardly; with Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, and Sally Struthers. I watched The Bonus Features and was amazed by the superior 70's films out of Bob Rafelson's production company.  110pm: A walk to mail back the disc. Up to Monroe and across and down to the PO box at Walgreens, over to Washington and east to Lincoln, and south to Wash. Pk., Across and down the southside, up the hill, Parkview, Fairway and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30".....

 Sa 11/28/20 Up 830am: Bright and sunny with temps to the lower 50's. Buddy had thrown up during the night and he couldn't keep down the little bit of food I gave him this morning. I spent a long time writing an email about Buddy's condition to Janny. I've written the note but apprehensive about sending it because it is most unsettling news. Once I hit 'send', there's no turning back and I didn't send it until several hours later. It seems so final, but I guess that's what it is- 'finality'. And, Buddy has been quiet and not his usual self. He hasn't kept down any food.  I watched the last three hours of 'THE VOW'.  I did nine hours of this in 2 days.  My email to Janny about Buddy: "Yesterday I had to take Buddy back to the vet. He was throwing up and I thought that the 'ear/thyroid' medicine did not agree with him. The vet said that the medicine was not working because his hyperthyroidism is too far advanced. She su...

 Fr 11/27/20 Up 625am: Partly sunny with temps to mid 40's. To Fairhills by 715am and home by 8am. $90 at County Market. Then I watched three one hour episodes of 'THE VOW' (HBO-Xfinity). Now we're learning about the sex trafficking's angle. Members who share 'The Vow' are a select and secret group of young women in NXIVM who brand Keith Raniere's initials on their pubic region as a sign of complete devotion to their master.   ***Buddy has been acting very lethargic the last couple of days. This is very out of character. An hour ago he threw up everything that he'd eaten today. I called Brewer and he'll go in this afternoon at 430pm. 1240pm: A walk to clear my head.  Parkview, Wash. Pk., north side, Park south to Outer Park, west to Wiggins back to Wash. Pk., up the hill, Parkview, Fairway and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS... Mp3... 91.9FM. ***I got to Brewer at 420pm and she said that it was probably the thyroid medicine, but since it wasn...

 Th 11/26/20- COVID Thanksgiving Day Up 720am: Overcast to partly cloudy- to 50. Buddy threw up last night, but he's kept down the dry food breakfast. I gave him his 'ear medicine' at 810am. 'NIGHT SINS' by Tami Hoag is the novel before 'GUILTY AS SIN' - the novel that I started a few days ago. Watched 'DEATH AND THE MAIDEN' (Kanopy). Set in an unnamed South American country (probably Chile) after a dictator has been ousted. A man is stranded on a remote stretch of highway and is driven back to his secluded home by a passing motorist. When the two men enter the house, his wife recognizes the strange man as a doctor who tortured and raped her during the facist regime. She convinces her husband to force the doctor to confess his crimes on video tape. Directed by Roman Polanski; with Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, and Stuart Wilson. The piece originated as a play.  Then I watched the first two episodes of Season #2 'VICE PRINCIPALS' (Free HBO o...

 We 11/25/20 Up 740am: Mist and rain with the possibility of rain all day- lower 50's. ***Wasted time watching "D'Amelio" videos. This family of clowns is trying to become the Kardashians of the Internet. I did locate a YouTube video detailing the procedure to use the Twist-A-Dose medical applicator. It's not too difficult, but why the ear? Watched 'Hillbilly Elegy' (Netflix). I loved the book and I liked the movie. Glenn Close was first rate and Amy Adams performance was both terrifying and pitiful. It got universal bad reviews, but it's more that the film deals with a very difficult subject; 'Family' as the most basic block of 'Tribalism'. "Freedom to be a knucklehead if I so choose"!! Directed by Ron Howard.  On the treadmill for FOUR MILES...Watched Joe Rogan's interview with TOM GREEN. On the show (which was taped two days ago) he said he was going to a Texas ghost town after Joe's interview. I found the new clip ...

 Tu 11/24/20- Buddy To Vet Up 645am to the phone alarm. I got him there by 745am and home by 8am. Watched the Netflix disc 'MY FAVORITE SEASON'. (The post office damaged the package, but the disc played fine. I'm going to tape it up and send it back. Even a postal moron should be able to see that it clearly is a Netflix disc even if the return address is illegible). A family drama about an estranged middle-aged brother and sister who must place their mother in a nursing home, but she wants her independence. Or maybe she just wants one of them to take care of her like she took care of them; Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, and Carmen Chaplin, the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin.  ***Carol has finished trimming the hedge at the abandoned house so I can head out and mail the mangled disc package back to Netflix.  Up Westview and over to Monroe, dropped the disc at the Walgreens box, then down to Kenyon, and up and down to 940. 30 MINS...Mp3-91.9FM. When I got back I calle...

 Mo 11/23/20 Up 725am: Partly sunny, calm with temps to mid 40's. Watched '6 UNDERGROUND' (Netflix). A billionaire funds, organizes, and is part of an elite strike force that he uses to combat evil on planet Earth. Idiotic premise, but an excellent excuse for wicked car chases, parkour, savage gunfights, and over-the-top mayhem. Lots of 'Boom-Boom' with; Ryan Reynolds, Melanie Laurent, and Dave Franco.  1215pm: An early walk. Wash. Pk., northside and south on Park to Outer Park. West to Wiggins and north through the park, up the hill, Fairway and down to 940. ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...NPR-91.9... Wrote The Wrap and sent it off. Watched episode #9 of 'BRIDGE'. Boiled The Bong- Clean As A Whistle. I tried to watch the final episode on the treadmill, but started OK, but cut out. I finished the ROGAN chat with DAVE CHAPPELLE and D. Rawlings.  In the tub with KOONTZ and listening to THEE OH SEES, a fantastic 'Psychedelic/Free Jazz/Singer-Songwriter' ensemble...

 Su 11/22/20 Up 730am: Overcast with temps to mid 70's. ***Ordered 2 eighths of 'CRESCO SLURRICRASHER- 3.5G'. Pickup at 920-940am. The pot shop has changed hands and now is 'Ascend Cannabis Dispensary'. Left for the pot shop at 905am. The girl that sold the pot told me that a friend of hers got this strain and said it was so good that he couldn't share it with her. Went to Ace on Walnut and got two replacement bulbs for the lights above the stove. Then to The Dollar Store at Fairhills and got a plastic storage container for the pot, a new kitchen mat, two scented candles, vitamins, and a new red cutting board. Stopped at the gas station on Durkin for another 30 pk. of Keystone Ice. Smoked a bong and watched 'DUNSMORE' (Amazon Prime). In the opening scenes of the film, a man is gunned down outside of a small southern bar. The story backtracks to reveal, 'The How, Who, And Why'. He was hated by everyone in town for his arrogance and cruelty, but wh...

 Sa 11/21/20 Up 745am: Overcast with a chance of rain all day- mid 50's. Watched Netflix disc 'TOE TO TOE'. The film is a very soapy, 'After School Special' that features high school girls lacrosse, lots of illicit teenage sex, the 'Go Go Music' scene from Washington, DC., and the nuttiest 'Black Bitch' ending imaginable. 1205pm: PC on 'Sleep' and out for an early walk...Westview to Monroe and down to the PO box at Walgreens to mail back the disc, behind McD's and over to Washington, Washington east to Lincoln and south through the middle of Washington Park, back the southside of park, up the hill, Parkview, Greenview, and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...Mp3- 91.9FM- Moth Radio Hour, 'A TRIBUTE TO JACK JOHNSON'- Miles Davis.  A few more hits and the next two episodes of 'BRIDGE' (Hoopla). 420pm: Reading in the living room and listening to Amazon Music on the Altec. Around 5pm TWO MILES TREADMILL...TODD GLASS ON ROGAN.  ...

 Fr 11/20/20 Up 815am: Partly sunny with temps to mid 60's. What I'm smoking these days: SKUNK SUPER HERO (Flower) HIGH SUPPLY HYBRID (Shake). Watched 'JULIA' (Kanopy). Tilda Swinton plays an unhinged alcoholic who becomes involved in one of the most off-the-wall ransom/extortion/ kidnapping plots ever conceived. Some of it is hilarious and I believe that many twisted capers are attempted by people just this willfully ignorant or deranged. I had seen this before, but well worth a second viewing; with Tilda Swinton, Saul Rubinek, and Kate del Castillo. Runtime: 144 min. 30pm: Parkview, Wash. Pk., northside Williams Blvd., Walnut, Leland, Wiggins, back to the park and up the hill, Parkview, Fairway, and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...Mp3...JOHN MAYER TRIO, BLACKBERRY SMOKE (two records that I put on the player this morning).  ***Bob and Carol were working on the front lawn of the house next door. I told them $250 and I hope they only give me half of fifty. I watched e...

 Th 11/19/20 Up 830am: Partly sunny, but very windy with temps almost to 70. ***945am: And I intended to watch 'OCEAN'S ELEVEN' (Netflix)....But the lawn guys arrived just as I was walking upstairs from a session with the bong. Reasonably ripped and I couldn't figure out what the noise was. I thought the furnace was making the racket, but it was the lawn blowers from Mitch Trees Lawn Service. I wasn't expecting them for at least a week. This is the first time that I've talked with anyone and being that ripped in probably fifty years. I pulled it off admirably and only a low level of easily controllable High Anxiety, but no 'Green Panic', but mostly goofy fun. What I'm smoking these days: SKUNK SUPER HERO (Flower) HIGH SUPPLY HYBRID (Shake) ***$250- $150 for 940 and $100 for next door. I will tell Bob and Carol it was fifty for the neighbor's front yard.  Watching The Joe Rogan Experience with Whitney Cummings. By 11am I went back to Netflix...Sti...

 We 11/18/20 Up 810am: Breezy and mostly sunny with temps to mid 50's. Watched two episodes of 'THE BRIDGE' (Hoopla). Problems getting into Hoopla, but I cleared the History and ran CCleaner and got in. I watched the next two episodes with no problems. ***A person from Dr. Ellison's office called to ask if I could reschedule the Wellness Exam for March 18th at 1pm due to the pandemic. I said of course. ***I paid the Springfield Clinic the last payment for the laser procedure.   120pm: Parkview, Wash. Pk., Wiggins, Leland, Walnut, Williams Blvd. northside of park, up the hill, Parkview, Fairway, and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...Mp3- NPR-91.9FM. Watched 'CANDY' (Amazon Prime). A junkie romance that's a definite cut above the pack. Heath Leger and Abbie Cornish had real chemistry as the addicted lovers and Geoffrey Rush stole scenes as their rich, gay enabler. The film won 6 international awards and was nominated for 17 others.  530pm: On the treadmill......

 Tu 11/17/20 Up 8am: Partly cloudy with temps only in the mid 40's. Watched episode #1 and #2 of 'BRIDGE' (Hoopla). The ten episodes are offered without 'charge' at Hoopla till the end of the month. The series was re-done for English speaking audiences and changed the location from 'Sweden/Denmark' to 'US/Mexico'; Diane Kruger starred in the remake. ***A woman from the post office called about my complaint about the Netflix discs. Nothing is happening on their end. No new practices have been implemented and I told her that I called to find out if others were having the same problem. Apparently I'm the only one. 1215pm: PC is 'Off' and I'll read for a while and then hit the sidewalks.  135pm: Parkview, Wash. Pk., northside along Williams Blvd to Walnut, south to Leland, west to Wiggins, and north into Wash. Pk. Up the hill, Parkview, Fairway, and up to 940...ONE HOUR 30 MINS...NPR-91,9FM. A small bowl and watched 'UNIFORM' (Ama...

 Mo 11/16/20 Up 740am: Bright, breezy, and sunny with temps in the upper 50's. I wrote up 'BETWEEN TWO RIVERS' by Nicholas Rinaldi for the blog. Watched 'THE TOWN' (Netflix). A crew from South Boston robs a downtown bank and one of the robbers develops a relationship with their hostage. The coup de grace is the rip-off of Fenway Stadium. Ben Affleck, stars, directs, and co-wrote; with Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, and Chris Cooper. 1150am: Called Mitch's Lawn Service and they'll be out within the next two weeks: $200 tops for my leaves and the neighbor's front lawn.   1220pm: An early walk...Parkview, Oakmont, Country Club, Laurel east to Lincoln, then north to north side of Wash. Pk., Williams Blvd and up the hill, Parkview and down to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...Mp3...'Beggars Banquet'- THE STONES, ;Surfer Rosa'- THE PIXIES, THE GRIFTERS.   Watched 'KID CANNABIS' (Amazon Pri...

 Su 11/15/20 Up 8am: Overcast, windy with temps to upper 40's. Watched Netflix disc 'SOMETHING IN THE AIR'. This is a film that addresses the conflicting feelings of temerity and apprehension that existed within the mindset of French student radicals of the late sixties. In France (and probably all over the world) the height of 'The Movement' was achieved in 1968, and the film takes place in 1971 and by then, these same youth begin to drift away from the rigid ideology of radical agendas. How many of these French idealists went on to believe that 'Greed Is Good' and 'Whoever Ends Up With The Most Toys Wins'? The film won 5 international awards and was nominated for 4 others. Then I rewatched most of the Netflix disc 'TROPIC THUNDER' with the commentary; Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black.  230pm: Put the screws back in the lawn light, and then a walk to mail back the discs.  245pm...Fairway, Monroe, PO box at Walgreens, then east ...

 Sa 11/14/20- Bulb In Lawn Light Up 830am: Rain all day with temps to mid 50's. ***Last night the light on the front lawn lamp post went out. It was flickering and when I flipped the switch 'off' and 'on', it went out for good. I remembered that I don't remember how to get into the bulb housing. Watched Netflix disc 'THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN'. The story of a young woman who falsely claims that an Algerian gang on a Parisian train attacked and assaulted her because she was Jewish. However, the movie is more of a character study of this sexy prevaricator and the world she lives in. Friends, family, and her lover know she's not telling the truth, but everyone has their reasons for accepting her reality...or not. A very absorbing film; with Emilie Dequenne, Michel Blanc, and Catherine Deneuve. 1250pm: Checked the lawn light. It took me less than five minutes to get the top off and to remove the bulb. It was so easy and all the anxiety for nada. 1pm: Downsta...

 Fr 11/13/20 Up 750am: Bright and sunny with temps only to mid 40's. Watched 'THE OATH' (Netflix). Set in contemporary Reykjavik, Iceland it's the story of a heart surgeon who is losing his daughter to her drug dealing boyfriend. He kidnaps the young man, wounds him with a blast from a shotgun full of nail heads, and later the man dies from his injuries. The surgeon is able to keep the whole caper secret and the police don't have enough evidence to prosecute. It's hard to believe that the doctor could balance his job and the kidnapping without anyone knowing, but it was an edgy and compelling film.  230pm: Parkview, Wash. Pk. on Williams Blvd and up the panhandle, Walnut, Leland west to Wiggins, back through the park and up the hill, Parkview, Fairway and up to 940...ONE HOUR AND 30 MINS...Mp3...NPR-91.9FM. Watched the next episode of 'THE MISSING' (Amazon Prime). Filmed in Belgium.  530pm On the treadmill- 3 MILES... TONY HINCHCLIFFE on THE JOE ROGAN EX...

 Th 11/12/20 Up 8am: Mostly sunny with temps to mid 50's. I turned the living room PC on early and downloaded the new updates. I'm 'Up To Date' on the living room computer, but downstairs I have one that is pending. It only took a few minutes and also the new mouse is working well. ***YouTube really was down last night. It was a nationwide outage. Watched 'THE TRAP' (Hoopla). Set in contemporary Belgrade, Serbia it's the story of a man who agrees to murder someone he has never met in exchange for medical expenses to pay for an operation for his dying son. Then he learns that his victim's daughter is a friend of his son and her mother is an acquaintance of his. Reluctantly he does the crime, but he gets no money. Later he tells the whole sad tale to the wife of his victim. She tells a family member and 'the shooter gets shot'. Not a bad noir film.  Watched the next episode of 'TRIAL 4'.  An undercover cop is shot five times in the face out...

  We 11/11/20 Up 715am: Bright, calm, and chilly- temps barely to 50. Watched 'THE 12TH MAN' (Netflix). In Nazi occupied Norway during WWII twelve Allied commandos are attacked while trying to enter the country. All are killed and one man escapes the Nazi dragnet. It takes a couple of months, but he makes it to Sweden. A realistic portrayal of extreme heroism and national spirit; with Thomas Gullestad and Johnathan Rhys Meyers. The real 'Jan Baalsrud' died over 40 years later and asked to be buried near the town of the Norwegian patriots who saved his life during the Spring of 1941. A wild scene where shepherds harness reindeer and are pulled along on skis.  ***I bought eight dollars worth of incense from Amazon.  1225pm: An early walk to the park. Parkview, Wash. Pk., Wiggins, Leland across McArthur to 1315 Walnut, Panhandle northside Williams Blvd., up the hill, Parkview, Greenview, and up to 940. ONE HOUR AND TWENTY FIVE MINUTES....Mp3...'Midnight Vultures'- ...

 Tu 11/10/20 Up 7am: Overcast and becoming very windy around noon with winds gusting to over 40 mph. Unseasonably warm with temps to mid 70's and rain beginning this afternoon. Watched 'A PERFECT GETAWAY' (Hoopla). While on their honeymoon in Hawaii the newly weds learn that another young couple is spreading murder and mayhem on the islands. Who are the homicidal honeymooners? They are. Beautifully photographed, lots of 'red snappers' (a character confuses 'red herring' with 'red snapper'), and very well-written; with Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Marley Shelton, and Chris Hemsworth. 11am: FOUR MILES ON THE TREADMILL. Finished Rogan's interview with HENRY ROLLINS ('Protein' music is bands or music that he feels he needs to know, and 'Carbohydrate' music is bands that he knows and loves, "I thought you liked me, why are you calling me"?)and began Joe Rogan's conversation with BILL BURR. ...

 Mo 11/9/20 Up 745am: Partly sunny, breezy with temps to the mid 70's. I watched 'THE PERSONALS' (Amazon Prime). Set in Taiwan and concerns a female ophthalmologist who uses a dating app to find a husband. She meets lots of odd characters and she is dating because she fell in love with a married man, he has apparently abandoned her,  and she aborted their child. She frequently calls this man, but her messages are left unanswered. In the final scenes she speaks with her lover's wife and this woman tells her that he was killed in a plane crash. The wife is thankful to her and she feels no ill will. A very touching film and reveals a lot about the cultural differences between Taiwan and the US; winner of 5 international awards and nominated for 10 others. Then I watched episode 1 of 'MISSING' (Amazon Prime). I had seen this series before, but I had forgotten how good it was. While vacationing in France a couple's eight year old son is kidnapped. Six years later...

 Su 11/8/20 Up 715: Partly sunny, breezy with temps to mid 70's. Watched 'THE INCOHERENTS' (Kanopy). When top tier rock acts reform after a hiatus of many years it is reasonably understandable, but when middle aged men try it again after never even achieving cult status, it is more of a mystery. It seems that they're only trying to recapture their lost youth and have little chance of making an impact on today's music. Don't quit your day job.  The final episode of 'CARMEL- Who Killed Maria Marta' (Netflix). All of the people convicted of the cover-up have been acquitted and no one has been charged with the killing. A new trial of a locally convicted burglar and two Carmel ex-security guards for the murder sounds like they might be responsible. 1230pm: Did a little raking on the front lawn {5 bags worth} and in the middle of the job I drove to County Market for leaf bags and learned that the Tamsulosin wasn't called in because I made the request for c...

 Sa 11/7/20- Biden Is President! Up 7am: More sun with temps to low 70's. ***Presidential election is still stalled at 264 for Biden and 214 for Trump. Trump is demanding recounts and Scott Walker, ex-governor of Wisconsin, said that the last recount only 'found' hundreds of votes that were discarded. It doesn't look as if Trump has a chance...thank Christ! Watched 'MIDNIGHT SPECIAL' (Netflix). An eight year old boy is thought to be the messiah by a religious cult and a weapon and a threat to the US government. His father, mother, and a family friend try to save the boy from the cult and the federal authorities and allow the boy to return to his parallel universe. I had seen this before and the first part of the movie is very mysterious and details are sparse, but in the last reel it degenerates into a mediocre chase film; with Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, and Adam Driver. ***845am: The nurse from Brewer Animal Hospital called to enquire about ...

 Fr 11/6/20 Up 7am: Another Indian Summer day with plenty of sun and temps to low 70's. The presidential race is still at 264 for Biden and 214 for Trump. Trump is blasting the race as rigged and fraught with illegal votes. All of these claims are completely without proof. Although the mail-in ballots that elected Republicans to the House of Representatives were all OK, the mail-in votes for Biden were all illegal. Trump is now and always was a national embarrassment. Watched 'KISS KISS BANG BANG' (Hoopla). I had forgotten how funny and smart this movie was. A clever spoof on the Hard Boiled Detective Genre that never hesitates to 'break the fourth wall' and also skewers the institution of acting itself; with Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monaghan. The film won 5 international awards and was nominated for 16. Then the next episode of 'CARMEL- Who Killed Maria Marta' (Netflix). Many theories evolve as to how the victim sustained numerous bullet ...

 Th 11/5/20 Election still not resolved: Biden 264 and Trump 214. 270 is needed to win. If Biden pulls it out, 'Moscow Mitch' is back in control of the senate and will nix every bill pushed by President Biden. This was not the 'Blue Wave' that was expected. Mostly sunny with temps to low 70's. ***I gave Buddy his dry food and while he was eating, I 'spiked' a portion of Frisky with his medicine. He ate it all without any problems. He seems his normal self. Watched 'CALM AT SEA' (Kanopy). A kind of morality play set in France during the Nazi occupation. A German officer was shot in the streets and Berlin demands that fifty imprisoned French Communists are to be executed as reprisal. At the time only 1,000 German officers were trying to rule France and this act just might inflame the resistance movement and the entire political stability of the German occupation. "One murder leads to reprisals, and the reprisals lead to more murders". Deeply ...

 We 11/4/20 Presidential election results are still not in. At 810am Biden has 238 in the electoral college and Trump has 213. Up 710am: Mostly sunny and breezy with temps to low 70's. Buddy seems to be his normal self, but the litter box is dry of urine. Since the vet mentioned that he's lost some weight I decided to add the medicine to his Frisky canned food. He ate the drops and the food with no problem. I'll give him another quarter of Frisky over the next hour or so.  ***Late this afternoon, feed Buddy the rest of the Frisky portion. I watched 'INVISIBLE LIFE' (Amazon Prime). Set in 1950's Rio de Janeiro where two sisters are forever separated because one got pregnant and their father threw her out and the other fled the country to be with a Greek sailor. Their father prevented all communication between the sisters and for the rest of their lives they wondered what it would have been like had they remained close. It's a compelling romantic melodrama. Th...

 Tu 11/3/20- Election Day/Vet Visit With Buddy!  Read from 6-7am and then napped till 8am. I finished 'THE HANDS OF A STRANGER' by Robert Daley. Bright and sunny with temps to 70. Wrote up 'THE HANDS OF A STRANGER' for the blog. Then I watched 'A YELLOW BIRD' (Netflix). Set in the extreme poverty of Singapore, Malaysia an ex-convict on parole tries to locate his family. He lives with his resentful mother and is employed as a paid mourner in Japanese funerals and for a time works as a bodyguard for a street prostitute (she works from a tent adjacent to a highway overpass). Not much of a storyline, but beautifully shot and acutely distressing. The director's mother believed that seeing a yellow bird brought good luck. Hence the title.  1215pm: 4 MILES on the treadmill. More of the wacky conversation with Kanye West, part of the live BLACK CROWES concert from 1992, and I finished Rogan's discussion with Tristan Harris. I then watched 'THE SOCIAL DILEMMA...

 Mo 11/2/20- Dr. Kwedar- 1115am. Up 7am: Frosty morning to mostly sunny with temps to mid 50's. Watched 'STILL HERE' (Hoopla). Set in contemporary Brooklyn and the film concerns a young black girl who went missing. The police do little, but a newspaper reporter writes a story that inspires new interest in the case. The cops interrogate an innocent suspect and he commits suicide and the reporter continues to dig and finds the perp and the missing girl. An odd tone, yet a compelling story if a bit hard to accept. Since the missing girl is found in the end it is almost as if the serious moral and ethical inadequacies of law enforcement are glossed over. No Star cast and directed by Romanian film maker, Vlad Feier. Watched a thirteen minute Skype interview with the director on YouTube.  135am: To the doctor's appointment and spent far too much time trying to set the clock in the Elantra using the instruction manual. It's not really addressed in the book, but it is very ...

 Su 11/1/20 ***The Casio wristwatch advanced to 'Nov 1'. Tomorrow I'll have to change the clock in the Elantra. I can't even remember where the clock is located on the dash  Up 645am (new time): Sunny and windy with temps to mid 40's. Watched 'A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE' (Hoopla). A man goes undercover from a mob family back east and establishes a new identity as an honorable husband and father who owns a diner in a small town. Years later he is located by the mob and he eradicates the 'negative influence'. David Cronenberg directs a treatise on the nature of violence . From 'TIME'... "Does gun diplomacy make sense only in movies? Or do Americans want it to play out in real life?"; with Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt. ***Made an appointment with the Pot Shop to pick up an eighth of 'Ascend Face Mints' and an eighth of 'Cresco LA Wedding Pop': $157.47 but I'm sure it will be cheaper at checko...