The Cheese Stands Alone

 Fr 5/30/25- Brandenburgs: 6pm- 'Schlitz Park'/ Grocery Shopping 715am (1-LB: Guavadew). 8am (1 hit-B: Purple Punch). 955am (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 12pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 830pm (1-LB: Purple Punch). Scoured the bong....920am (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 615am: Mostly sunny & breezy with temps to about 80. Watched 'THE LOOK OF SILENCE' (Netflix). In 1965 there was a military coup in Indonesia and one million 'suspected communists' were killed. The army made it appear that it was 'a people's uprising', but it was really just state sanctioned genocide implemented by the army... "It was the Americans who taught us to hate the communists and to love democracy". The documentary is about an optometrist who visits local villages and quizzes the elderly about their thoughts and observations about  'the revolution'. His brother was killed and the optometrist wants to know what made neighbors turn so vicious. The executioners believed that if...

Th 5/29/25- Gummy  735am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 825am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 955am (a couple of hits-LB: Guavadew). 1205pm [I took 1/3 100 mg 'DIET SMOKE': 33 mg total]. 1205pm (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 145pm (a couple of hits-LB: Purple Punch).  435pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 540pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 810pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  Up 635am {well rested} Light showers through early afternoon, then cloudy with temps to upper 60's. Wrote up 'SPY HOOK' by Len Deighton for the blog.   Watched 'THE ROOM NEXT DOOR' (Netflix). A renowned female war photographer is dying of pancreatic cancer and enlists her successful writer friend to help her end her life. They rent a cabin in upper New York state where the deed is done. It was to be a kind of an idyllic 'calm before the storm'. Cops try to nab the woman for 'assissted suicide' and that direction might have made for an even better film; with Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro. Directed by Pedro Almodovar; 15...

 We 5/28/25 655am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 755am (1-LB: Guavadew). 930am (1 hit-B: Purple Punch). 1pm (1-LB: Purple Punch). 235pm (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 435pm (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 530pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 810pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 550am: Light morning showers, then cloudy with temps to low 70's.  Watched 'EAT THE NIGHT' (Kanopy). From 'AI Overview': "The film explores the interplay between the real world and a virtual world called "Darknoon," using these locations to reflect the duality of the story." It's the story of a sister and brother in Le Havre, France who live on the fringe. He's a low level drug dealer who meets a man and they become lovers (some hard 'R-rated' gay sex scenes). They make their own pills and another drug outfit tries to shut them down and a subplot is that the siblings' favorite online game is ending. It's a very difficult subject to convey in a film, but the movie basically succeeds in blen...

 Tu 5/27/25 655am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 730am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 1005am (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 1220pm (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 210pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 815pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 545am: A bit of morning mist & drizzle, then cloudy with temps to about 72. Wrote up 'MEDIEVAL IN LA' by Jim Paul for the blog. Watched 'AMERICAN SNIPER' (Netflix- leaving soon). It's a biopic of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who was the deadliest sniper in US history. Four tours in 'The War On Terror' and his mind was shot until he learned to help traumatized soldiers to readjust to civilian life. He was killed by one of the guys he was trying to help. I didn't know this was a true story, but I was not surprised that Clint Eastwood was the director; with Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller. Won 1 Oscar; 24 wins & 43 nominations. "73" Metascore and that's about where I'd put it. From 'The Guardian'- "...gripping, incurious film ...

 Mo 5/26/25- Gummy 630am {I took 1/3 of a 'DIET SMOKE' (Blue) 100 mg: 33 mg total}. 735am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 730am (1 hit-B: Guavadew). 930am (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 1140am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 105pm (1-LB: Purple Punch). 540pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 815pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  Up 530am: Partly cloudy & breezy with temps to low 70's. Watched 'FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER' (Netflix). The film is set during the initial stages of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia after the Americans pulled out of Vietnam. It's a harrowing tale of an urban, middle class family who are driven out of their apartment and forcibly relocated to various workcamps in the country. It's all seen through the eyes of the seven year old daughter. The film is a stark and powerful anti-war statement. Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award; 9 wins &29 nominations. "72" Metascore and I would go to "80". Angelina Jolie wrote the screenplay and directed the film.  More 'YOUNG WA...

 Su 5/25/25 710am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 755am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 935am (1-LB: Guavadew). 1240pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 810pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 530am: Predicted light showers early {not a drop}, then cloudy with temps to upper 60's. Weekly Cleaning Watched 'THE PRIVILEGE' (Netflix). A somewhat less than satisfactory blend of the major themes of 'ROSEMARY'S BABY' and 'THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS'.  A high school student is undergoing therapy because he witnessed the bizarre suicide of his sister. Mom and dad seem to have some connection to 'the black arts' and he learns that they are marketing a new drug which produces a fungus ( 'normally found on dead bodies') which becomes a conduit for demons to enter the world. A very average 'Teen Scream' genre film from Germany.  Finished 'ETERNAUT' (Netflix).  The series is based on a graphic novel written in 1957. Two decades later the author ...

Sa 5/24/25- Gummy: 25 mg 710am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 710am {I took 1/4 of a 'DIET SMOKE' (Blue) 100 mg: 25 total}.  8am (1 hit-B: Guavadew). 1250pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 555pm (1-LB:Guavadew). 815pm (1-LB: a mix).   Up 6am: Partly cloudy with temps to low 70's.  Watched 'HELL DOGS: In The House of Bamboo' (Netflix). PREMISE: Eleven years ago a Japanese supermarket was robbed and the clerks were murdered. An ex-cop compensates the victims' families with envelopes of cash and spends his life locating and killing the perps.  Confusing Thread: Because the supermarket heist was mob related the authorities are using vengeful ex-cop to infiltrate the Yakuza. I had seen this movie before and gave it 'two thumbs', but this time I dropped it to a single 'thumb'- About a "73" Metascore. There was a nice extended fight with shotguns that was about the only redeeming feature in the film. {The mob boss tips his personal bodyguards (nicknamed The Hell Do...

 Fr 5/23/25- Fireworks 645am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 740am (1 hit-B: Guavadew). 915am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 1205pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 435pm (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 535pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 810pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  Up 545am: Partly cloudy with temps to just over 70. Watched 'PAST LIVES' (Netflix). It's a powerful story of thwarted love about a Korean couple who were close childhood friends who reconnect after many years. She has a successful life in NYC and he has a career as an engineer in Seoul. When they were twelve, she immigrated to America with her family and they didn't physically meet again for two decades. When they finally meet in NYC she is married and they are torn between the 'siren song' of their early teens and accepting the life that Fate has determined for them. The surprise is that they take the mature road and sidestep a more romantic ending. But, it was the kind of movie where you wonder if maybe they might meet again and things could go a differen...

 Th 5/22/25- Mowed Lawn  645am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 8am (1 hit-B: a mix). 935am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 1245pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  340pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 810pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 540am: Partly sunny & breezy with temps only to lower 60's.  Watched 'MACHUCA' (Kanopy). In 1973 a headmaster of a Catholic school in Santiago, Chile decided to allow disadvantaged boys a shot at a free education. A rich kid and a poor kid become friends as civil war looms and larger political and societal pressures drive them apart. Many parents felt that it was pointless to give to the poor because they were lazy and government handouts just encouraged their slothfulness... "Commies get out! We believe in Freedom".  According to Google AI the film is based on a real experiment carried out during the socialist government of Salvador Allende at Saint George's College. This was a sweet 'coming of age' tale and too bad that it ended on such a low...

 We 5/21/25 650am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 735am (2 hits-B: Guavadew). 950am (1-LB: Guavadew). 1155am (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 540pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 815pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 530am: Cloudy & windy with temps only to lower 60's. Wrote up 'DOORWAYS IN THE SAND' by Roger Zelazny for the blog. Watched 'I'M STILL HERE' (Netflix). A terrific story of an ex-Brazillian congressman who is 'forcibly detained' by military authorities. His wife can't even get proof of his arrest or where he was taken. It's a compelling examination of how his family dealt with this 'new reality' that occurred during Brazil's military dictatorship. His wife would never let the authorities forget her husband's 'disappearance',  although they were absolutely uncooperative. It took decades before the government released any details of what happened to the congressman and thousands of other victims of state sponsored terrorism. This was an engrossing...

 Tu 5/20/25- Sirens 715am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 915am (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 1205pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 2pm (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 440pm (1/2-LB: Purple Punch). 535pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 820pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 610am: cloudy and thunderstorms possible late this morning with temps to mid 70's.{Little actual rain, but lots of drama}  Watched 'ARCADIAN' (Hoopla). A man and his two teenage sons (fraternal twins?) fight alien zombies at a remote homestead after the sun goes down. There is not much of a plot, but the eccentric domestic drama between 'father & sons' at the end of the world keeps it compelling. Filmed in Ireland. "57" Metascore and I would boost that to "77" Metascore.  Watched 'THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH' (Amazon Prime). An American author down on his luck travels to Paris to see his young daughter and estranged ex-wife. The writer is robbed while asleep on a bus and finds a room in a bad part of town. The racketeer who ...

  Mo 5/19/25 645am (2-LB: Purple Punch!). 735am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 955am (1-LB: Guavadew).  1245pm (Guavadew). 225pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 440pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB: Purple Punch). 810pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).   Up 545am: Random showers through early this afternoon, then cloudy with temps to about 70. Will binge (2' 20") through to the end of 'IF I HADN'T MET YOU' (Netflix). What an intriguing series!  The major plot point was that Eduard was trying to change reality to prevent the car accident that caused the deaths of his wife and kids. Actually Eliza was trying to change reality to avoid the fact that she caused the death of her husband, Eduard and their two kids. Eliza went to a party to celebrate her Nobel prize in physics instead of leaving with her husband and two kids. As they drove away,  her family was destroyed in a natural gas explosion. The series was 'very good', but with some fine tuning, it could have been ...

Su 5/18/25- Gummy 655am (1-LB: Purple Punch). 7am (I took 1/4 of a 'DIET SMOKE' Blue 100 mg: 25 mg total). 8am (1-LB: Guavadew). 945am (1-LB: Guavadew). 12pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 435pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 815pm (1-LB: Purple Punch).  Up 530am: Bright & sunny with temps to about 80. Weekly Cleaning Watched 'THE DIPLOMAT' (Netflix). An Indian woman is tricked into going to Pakistan with her fiance. Although he did marry her, he was basically a 'white slaver' and later she sought sanctuary at the Indian embassy in Islamabad. It became an international incident and her husband's defense was that 'they were married and she was his property'. His family resorted to violence to get her back. Her dowry was one million Indian rupees and that's about $11,600 usd. Although this was an Indian film, it was more 'Drama' than 'Bollywood'.   More 'IF I HADN'T MET YOU' (Netflix). I shut it down 23 minut...

 Sa 5/17/25- Library Book Sale 650am (1-LB: Guavadew). 735am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 1045am (1-LB: Guavadew). 1145am (1/2-LB: Guavadew). 540pm (1-LB: Purple Punch). 815pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  Up 535am: Breezy with a mix of sun & clouds with temps to low 70's.  Yesterday afternoon a tornado rocked the Central West End in St. Louis and thousands are without power today. It happened about 2pm and at 330pm we got mothball sized hail on Westview.   I got a prompt to 'update' and it only took a couple of minutes. What gives? Yesterday it wouldn't work, and today 'no problem'.  Watched 'BLACK COAL, THIN ICE' (Kanopy).  A wild ride of a film and I had seen it before and I loved it. Two Crimes:  1) A serial killer is dropping body parts from an overpass onto coal freight cars.  Various parts wind up all over the country and the chances are slim that they would even be found or identified. 2) A woman who works in a dry cleaners murders a man because she ...

 Fr 5/16/25- Hailstorm 645am (1-LB: Permanent Marker). 720am (1/2-LB: Permanent Marker). 9am (1/2-LB: the end of the Permanent Marker).  1230pm (2-LB:  Purple Punch). 435pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 535pm (1-LB:  Purple Punch). 810pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  Up 530am: A mix of sun & clouds with temps to high 80's with gusty winds. {Heavy storms predicted between 3pm-4pm} Wrote up 'DIE WITH ZERO' by Bill Perkins for the blog. Watched 'IHOSTAGE' (Netflix). A man enters an Apple Store with an automatic weapon and demands that the authorities give him $200 million in Bitcoin.  He manages to take one hostage while some of the terrified shoppers fled upstairs and four hid in a closet off the main lobby. The situation ends when the hostage runs out of the store and the kidnapper follows. Within seconds the hostage taker is run down by a SWAT team vehicle. The film ends with the hostage laying on his bed in the hostel, crying about his recent experience. Filmed in ...

 Th 5/15/25 725am (1-LB: Panama Punch). 830am (1/2-LB: Panama Punch). 1205pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 445pm (1-LB: Permanent Marker). 545pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 815pm (1-LB: Permanent Marker).  Up 630am {well rested}. A mix of sun & clouds with temps to about 90 with strong winds later. Watched 'FURIOSA' (Netflix). I gave this one 'two thumbs up' when I first saw it although I didn't remember a single scene.  It concerns football hooligans from Gdansk who devolve from ardent supporters of their team into rich drug traffickers. Police turned one of the leaders and this guy became a snitch because he wanted out of the violence to continue his career as a doctor. Many brawls are featured, but the film is not classy or distinct enough to differentiate it from a slew of better films in that crowded genre. 'Furiosa' means 'furious' in Spanish. Filmed in Gdynia and Gdansk, Poland and they are port cities on the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. Wat...

 We 5/14/25 650am (1-LB: Guavadeu). 735am (1 hit-B: Guavadeu). 915am (1-LB: Panama Punch).  1155am (1-LB: Panama Punch). 12pm [I took 1/4 'DAY DRIFT' Blue: 25 mg total].  205pm (1/2-LB: Panama Punch). 435pm (1-LB: Guavadew). 535pm (1-LB: Guavadew).  815pm (1-LB: Panama Punch).  Up 545am: Partly cloudy with temps to mid 80's.  Watched 'THE MATCH' (Netflix). The film concerns the 2,500 year old game of 'Go', but really it was a tale (based on actual events) of the relationship between a 'Go' Master and his pupil. It's what happens when the student becomes more proficient than the teacher. And you didn't need to know how to play 'Go' or understand any of the rules of the game. A 'Chess' board has 64 squares and a 'Go' board has 324 squares. The 'Go' stones don't sit inside the squares, but they are placed on the intersection of the lines. Finished 'TELL ME YOUR SECRETS' (Amazon Prime). It ended with a ...

 Tu 5/13/25 655am (1-LB: Guavadeu). 745am (1 hit-B: Guavadeu). 920am (1-LB: Panama Punch). 1220pm (1-LB:  Panama Punch). 535pm (1-LB: Panama Punch). 815pm (1-LB: Guavadeu).  Up 545am: {restless night}. Partly cloudy with temps to 80. Wrote up 'THE CONFESSION' by John Grisham for the blog. Paid Visa: $650! included Roto-Rooter  Watched 'HOLD ME TIGHT' (Hoopla). The film is dreamlike and demonstrates exacting editing to tell a rather difficult story. A woman leaves her husband and two children. No explanation or reason is given. At some point, the two kids and hubby die in an accident in the mountains. When the bodies are located she sells the family home and begins life anew. The film recreates  powerful moments within her recent life as a mother and wife as she deals with her tragic loss. It's quality arthouse fare, and asks a lot of the viewer. I liked it; with Vicky Krieps & directed by Mathiew Amalric. "82" Metascore and that's about where I...

 Mo 5/12/25- Gummy  7am (1-LB: Sativa Shake). 745am (1/4-LB: Last of the Sativa Shake). 945am (1 hit-B; Permanent Marker). 1pm [I took 1/4 of a 'DIET SMOKE' Sativa gummy: 25 total]. 1pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 235pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 435pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 535pm (1-LB:  Guavadew). 815pm (1-LB: Panama Punch).  Up 6am: Cloudy with a chance of rain this afternoon with temps to the lower 70's. ***Ordered more incense from Amazon: $9. Watched 'GLADIATOR' (Hoopla).  Ridley Scott directed the film and it's chock full of visual excitement, but it's really a story of 'Fathers & Sons'. The emperor picks a general over his own son as the heir to the empire and this causes societal mayhem; with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi. Won 5 Oscars; 60 wins & 104 nominations. "67" Metascore and I would go to at least "81".   More of 'TELL ME YOUR SECRETS' (...

 Su 5/11/25 640am (1-LB: Sativa Shake). 735am (1-LB: Permanent Marker). 930am (1-LB: Permanent Marker). 2pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 205pm (1 hit-B: Sativa Shake). 535pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker). 810pm (1-LB: Permanent Marker).  Up 530am: Mostly sunny with temps just over 80. Watched 'THE UNIVERSAL THEORY' (Kanopy). The film is seriously indebted to the works of PK Dick in that the film is a showcase for different versions of reality that seem to overlap and cross influence physical existence. In 1962 a young doctoral candidate was invited to a physics conference in Switzerland. His thesis is scorned, but he seems to have stumbled upon a new 'space/time continuum' and also meets a strange woman who seems to know all about him. Who is Karin? He writes a novel that incorporates his radical thesis and hopes that his work will reach a wider audience. A 'fun film', although difficult if you are only looking for a plausible storyline.  I watched an eight minute You...

 Sa 5/10/25- Roto-Rooter: 8am-10am/ Gummy: 50 mg total 710am (1-LB: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 1055am (1/2-LB: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 115pm (1-LB:  Panama Punch & Sativa Shake). 115pm [I took 1/4 'DIET SMOKE' -Sativa gummy:  25 mg / and I took 25 mg with me for later]. 315pm {I took the other 1/4 'DIET SMOKE'- Sativa gummy: 50 mg total today);  540pm (1-LB:  Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 815pm (1-LB: Permanent Marker).  Up 615am: Bright & sunny with temps to just over 80. Today is the 'Oaks Weekend Yard Sale' and there are ten times as many cars on Westview Drive as on a normal Saturday.  Began 'TELL ME YOUR SECRETS' (Amazon Prime). A piping hot melodrama from Amazon Prime. I don't know why I started it, but I'm in for the duration.  ***Shortly before 8am I got a text saying that a Roto-Rooter tech (Sean) was on the way. OK. One hour later I called the office and learned that the guy was leaving Granite C...

 Fr 5/9/25 655am (1-LB: Panama Punch & Sativa Shake). 735am (1 hit-B: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 1015am (1-LB: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 1215pm (1-LB: Panama Punch & Sativa Shake). 2pm (1/2-LB:  Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 425pm (1/2-LB: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake). 535pm (1-LB:  Panama Punch & Sativa Shake). 810pm (1-LB: Permanent Marker & Sativa Shake).  Up 6am: Mostly sunny with temps to low 70's. Watched 'DEVA' (Netflix). A police detective from Mumbai, India is injured in a motorcycle accident and loses his memory. He was just about to report the identity of a mole within the department who killed his best friend. It turns out that he was the mole and the murderer. He did it because he was protecting a gangster that was kind to him as a child and he used a sophisticated timer attached to a sniper rifle to kill his friend. The film was pure Bollywood, and included dance, drama, comedy, and action. You need...