The Cheese Stands Alone

 Th 7/30/26 655am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 740am (LB: 5/ Durban Poison). 920am (GB: 4/ Red Congolese). 1135am (GB: Durban Poison). 115pm (5-B: Red Congolese).  430pm (GB : 5/ Red Congolese). 535pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 820pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 6am: Sunny to partly cloudy with temps to mid 80's.  For the past several days there's been activity in the house next door. The AC is sometimes running and there is a light in the basement late at night. I can hear sawing and tool noise during the day. I don't recognize either of the two guys that seem to be working. It seems they begin very early; 7am.  Is someone living in the house?  Watched 'THE HOUSEMAID' (Kanopy). A naive young woman becomes a nanny for a rich family. She has an affair with the husband, becomes pregnant, and his wife and mother in law force her to have an abortion. The young woman hangs herself from a chandelier and then she bursts into flames. I didn't get the film and will watch at ...

 We 7/29/26 8am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 840am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 1020am (4-GB: Red Congolese). 115pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 335pm (4-B: Red Congolese). 545pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 825pm (LB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 710am {well rested}. Bright & sunny with temps to about 84. Opened the windows until 1145am.  Watched 'THE WITCH' (Hoopla- last pick of the month). Although the film is deliberately paced and feels a lot like a play, the script is pitch perfect and sounds absolutely authentic to the era. It's a Horror genre film that eloquently demonstrates the danger of religious fanaticism. Before the end credits we learn that the dialogue was taken from actual 17th century court records, journals, and witch trials. Directed by Robert Eggers; with Anya Taylor-Joy (THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT). 43 wins & 72 nominations. "84" Metascore & it got three scores of "100" and nothing below "70". I'd go to "94". Watched 'PAID...

 Tu 7/28/26 655am (4-B: Durban Poison). 830am (4-B: Durban Poison). 955am (4-B: Red Congolese). 1230pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 535pm (5-B: Durban Poison). 830pm (GB: 6/Red Congolese).  Up 610am: Very humid with a mix of sun & clouds with temps almost to 90.  Finished 'SUMMER '36' (Netflix). The final episode ties up all the loose ends, but I don't believe that the writers even knew how or why the crimes occurred. There were too many characters and too many motives. The series is ideal for anyone who enjoys Agatha Christie, and everyone else should steer clear.   805am- 820am:  Called Janny and she sounded better, but (as she was told) the radiation treatments will be tiring {Last Friday, this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday}. She said that the treatments might increase the pain, but reduce the pain later. Mornings are a better time to call and I said I would come out maybe on Friday.   Watched 'ELIZE: SHADOWS OF A WOMAN' (Netflix). A very...

 Mo 7/27/26- Juror Registration 7am {1/2 'Extreme Chill' 150 mg: 75 mg total}. 705am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 735am (6-B: Red Congolese). 940am (5-B: Red Congolese). 1235pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 355pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 535pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 825pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese).  Up 6am: Extreme heat & humidity with a chance of heavy storms this afternoon (only a trace) with temps to mid 90's and an 'Excessive Heat Warning' through this evening.  Last night I took two 'blue' laxatives and relief came at 3am & 630am. Watched 'ONE NATION ONE KING' (Kanopy). The POV is most definitely on the side of the 'revolutionaries', but their opponents' get a chance to present their side of the political argument. Big Decision: What to do with The King? The film tries to present 'the feel' of the era, so it's fairly subjective and characters are not fully developed. It could have been so much better, but still worth a look. Th...

 Su 7/26/26- Groceries 8am (GB: 5/ Durban Poison). 840am (5-B: Red Congolese). 1235pm (GB: 5/ Durban Poison). 535pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 835pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 630am: A slight chance of a morning shower {nada}, then Hot & Nasty; 'Excessive Heat Warning' begins at noon. Today was the most humid day that I've ever experienced. It was literally (exactly) like walking inside a very large steam room.  Weekly Cleaning Watched 'REGRESSION' (Hoopla). It's a difficult subject because the film attempts to demonstrate how reasonable people can become ensnared in their own thoughts. The police, therapists, and 'common sense individuals' all accepted the unprovable fact that satanic cults were creating evil throughout the world. You can accuse anyone of anything, and if they say they didn't do it, you just say that they don't remember. Without a shred of tangible evidence people accept this because they can rationalize that 'they are so ...

 Sa 7/25/26- Received Juror Questionnaire 655am (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 7am {1/2 VIIA 'Day Drift' Sativa}. 740am (4-B: Red Congolese).  10am (GB: Red Congolese). 1220pm (5-B: Durban Poison). 405pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 535pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 830pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese).  Up 6am: Light showers early then cloudy with temps to mid 80's.  Watched 'DEAD TO RIGHTS' (Kanopy). This is a big budget contemporary Chinese film about 'NANJING MASSACRE' which began on December 13, 1937 and lasted about six weeks. 100,000 to 300,000 killed; widespread sexual violence- twenty to eighty thousand; burned down 1/3 of the city. This is heartfelt, pro-Chinese propaganda, but well shot and very interesting. Plot: A Chinese postman must develop negatives for the Japanese. Many civilians are hiding in the shop and they manage to secure photographic evidence of the atrocities.   945am: The PC is 'Off' and I'm going for a walk in the park. It's going to get ...

 Fr 7/24/26  710am (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 715am {1/2 'Extreme Chill' 150 mg: 75 mg total}. 750am (5-B: New Strain...Durban Poison). 10am (4-B: Red Congolese). 1pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 230pm (5-LB: [The old 'LB' still packs a wallop] 5/ Durban Poison). 455(GB: 4/ Red Congolese). 545pm (GB: 6/ Durban Poison). 825pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese).  Up 620am: Cloudy with temps to upper 70's and a possible shower this afternoon.  I noticed that the red light on the wifi unit is back 'On'. No discernible difference, as usual. Why? Watched 'THE TRUTHERS' (Netflix). A Spanish woman leaves her career in Germany and returns to her family's home when she learns that her mother has died in a fall. Her father is a conspiracy nut and soon she fears he might be somehow connected to her mother's death. Then, you begin to suspect her because she is as obsessive as her dad. The film really worked by exploring the connection between mental illness and wild conspira...

 Th 7/23/26- Mowed Lawn  7am (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 735am (4-B: Red Congolese). 915am (4-B: Red Congolese). 150pm (4-B: Red Congolese). 4pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 535pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 830pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 6am: Mostly sunny with temps only to upper 70's yet 'Heat Warnings' are forecast for early next week.  Watched 'PEACOCK' (Kanopy). It's a very strange & darkly satirical German Art Film. THE PREMISE: 'Impersonation For Hire'- A man runs a company that provides 'actors' to fill in for real situations in your life. Ex- 'Bring Dad To School Day':  Parents have hired a man to 'play' dad as an airplane pilot; A woman hires a person to 'practice arguing'. Her husband never listens, so she learns to assert herself (and gets a separation); Go on a 'spa date' with someone who wants to experience it with a partner.  One of the reviews said that there are real companies in Japan that provide these kinds of servi...

 We 7/22/26- Eye appointment: 1145am, west campus 6th St. 740am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 830am (4-B: Cat Piss).  110pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 535pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 830pm (GB: Red Congolese).  Up 635am: Partly cloudy and much cooler with temps only to mid 70's. The windows are open! 9am: Next door a black pickup with a trailer pulled into the driveway at the abandoned house. When I looked again, ten minutes later, it was gone. I don't even know if they were picking up or dropping off. {Late I noticed that they left the trailer back by the garage}. Watched 'SHE SAID' (Netflix). It's about the Harvey Weinstein affair and concerns the two New York Times reporters who broke the story. This kicked off the 'Me Too Movement', but that phrase is never mentioned. The story has nothing to do with a 'sex island' or 'wild parties', but examines how the corporation allowed (encouraged?) Weinstein's assaults by essentially just buying off anyone...

 Tu 7/21/26 750am (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 9am (4-B: Cat Piss). 1020am (4-B: Cat Piss). 1235pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 540pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 830pm (GB: 5/ Cat Piss).  Up 7am: A mix of sun & clouds, breezy with temps to mid 80's. When I came back from the 1st GB of the day, I noticed a prompt to 'restart'. It only took a couple of minutes, but I am tired of the anxiety and why so many requests? Is it something in my system or is it a Windows problem with the 'Drop Windows 10' in October or is it the update itself? Watched 'THE WOMEN IN THE LINE' (Netflix). It's a tale of a 'Mother's Love On Steroids'. One day police raid a middle class Argentinian home and a young man is taken into custody and immediately sent to a federal prison. Not once does mom wonder what he did or whether he was guilty. She foolishly insists that her 'perfect' boy is somehow above the law because she is his mother. The film's primary  focus is on the di...

 Mo 7/20/26- Insurance Worksheet 655am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 740am (6-B: Cat Piss). 905am (6-B: Cat Piss). 1235pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 435pm (GB: 5/ Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 835pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 6am: Cloudy with a pronounced haze from the wildfires out west and temps to upper 80's.  I noticed that the 'red' light on the wifi unit at the upstairs PC has changed to 'green'. Did we have a power outage or is it that I opened NIGHTHAWK from my phone last night?  Watched 'THE DRAW' (Hoopla). It's more clever than entertaining, and a little too top heavy with ideas. In the near future the EyeLight Corporation has developed an eyepiece that shapes and reorganizes the wearer's reality. Soon the law requires that you must be connected with your EyeLight device 24/7. Odd Theme: The British prime minister is rationalizing a national game show called 'The Draw'. People compete to 'kill' a person who has been chosen as ...

 Su 7/19/26 730am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 815am (6-B: Cat Piss). 10am (6-B: a mix of Red & Cat). 1210pm (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 540pm (GB: 5/ Cat Piss). 830pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 6am: partly cloudy (and lots of haze from the western wildfires) with temps to upper 80's. Weekly Cleaning Watched 'MEMENTO' (Hoopla). 'Sammy Jankis' (character from Leonard's defensive imagination) also had complete short term memory loss, but it was really Leonard who accidently killed his wife with an insulin overdose. The cop ('J.G.') has been using Leonard as a killer. Just tell Lenny that the guy he's after is 'the guy that raped and killed his wife' with the initials 'J.G'; with Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior. "83" Metascore and I would go to "86".  Basic themes from AI Mode: 1) "Self-Deception: The film challenges the idea that "facts" are objective. Leonard uses his condition a...

 Sa 7/18/26 725am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 730am {1/2 VIIA 'Day Drift' Sativa 100 mg: 50 mg total}. 810am (3-B: Cat Piss). 935am (GB: 6/ Red Congolese). 1145am (5-B: Cat Piss). 435pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: 5/ Red Congolese). 840pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 6am: Partly cloudy with temps to 92 and a chance for afternoon showers. {A big downpour just after 7pm} Watched 'TORNADO' (Kanopy). A very classy film. In 1790 a 'samurai/ puppeteer' and his daughter crossed paths with a gang of murderous scoundrels in the wilds of Scotland. Homicidal villains and righteous warriors tangled over two bags of gold; with Tim Roth, Koki (she's a Japanese model/songwriter). Filmed in Pentland Hills, Scotland- about 15 miles south of Edinburgh. 930am: The PC is 'Off' and will get in a walk before it gets too sweltering. 945am- 1110am: Washington Park...Fairway, Greenview, Parkview, Wash. Pk. southside, Wiggins, Laurel, Lincoln, Leland, Douglas, Wash. Pk. southside, Ma...

 Fr 7/17/26 715am (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 745am (6-B: Cat Piss). 1215pm (GB: 6/Green Crack). 225pm (5-B: Cat Piss). 430pm (6-B: Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: NEW STRAIN- Red Congolese). 830pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). Up 610am: A mix of sun & clouds with a 40% chance of rain this afternoon & temps to about 90. [No Rain] A couple of restart requests and it looks like I am up to date. I hate Windows Updates! Watched 'THE PHYSICIAN' (Kanopy). It's a highly romanticized & sentimental look at the state of medicine in The High Middle Ages (c. 1000 through 1300 AD).  The theme is that religious fanatics (regardless of their faith) believe that only God can heal, and if a human tries it, he's working for the devil. Plot Flaw: The Barbers and Hakims must have had some knowledge of organs and how they were positioned within the human body. Even 11th century medics would have dealt with the shattered bodies of sword victims and must have witnessed the placement of the organs; with Tom ...

 Th 7/16/26 815am (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 855am (4-B: Cat Piss). 1240pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 535pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 835pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 720am: {well rested...again}. Partly sunny with the threat of storms this afternoon and temps to 90 and Heat Index to 100.  Watched 'MY SISTER'S BONES' (Hoopla). I didn't realize the extreme irony of the film's title until I was part way into the film. It's a complex tale of a dysfunctional family. A female war correspondent in her forties becomes attached to an orphan boy in war torn Iraq. The kid is imaginary and was brought on by trauma caused when as an eight year old she let her little brother drown at the beach. A lot of family drama is uncovered, and, much later, we learn that her brother in law was keeping his step daughter and child in an underground bunker on the property. I was into the film and it's one of the few times I think that a film would have worked better if it was longer. Filmed in Kent, En...

 We 7/15/26- Missed Eye Exam 805am {1/2 'Extreme Chill' 150 mg: 75 mg total}. 810am (GB: 5/ a mix of Cat & Green). 10am (GB: 6/Cat Piss). 105pm (GB: 5/ Cat Piss). 210pm (3-B: Cat Piss). 410pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 835pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 715am{well rested}. Sunny to partly cloudy with temps to low 90's and Heat Index over 100. ***The massive update earlier in the week on the upstairs PC did not help the 'mini-blackouts'. Actually, it's worse, but no interruption after it connects. There is no problem with the downstairs PC. I thought they were internally the same. Watched 'COUNTER INVESTIGATION' (Amazon Prime- from the novel 'Like A Bone In The Throat' by Lawrence Block). I found this title on Hoopla and realized it was streaming at Amazon Prime. A French detective's nine year old daughter is raped and murdered. The killer is arrested and sentenced. The killer contacts the detective and convinces him that he ...

 Tu 7/14/26 655am (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 745am (3-B: Cat Piss). 915am (4-B: Cat Piss). 1130am (GB: 5/ Green Crack). 540pm (4-B: Green Crack). 830pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack).  Up 555am: Sunny and hot with temps just over 90. Last night I was expecting a big update from Windows like the living room PC, but nothing.  I trimmed back some of the taller flowers (weeds?) so it looks more uniform along the front walk (5").  Watched 'HUNTING EMMA' (Hoopla- when I connected it said 'resume' but I didn't remember a single solitary scene). It's a 'B-Movie' that's borderline 'torture porn' although it doesn't take itself too seriously. A young scantily clad woman in a desolate area of South Africa is harassed and chased by six criminals. In the end, she kills them all. 'Violence is more effective than Pacifism' & 'Might Make Right '.  From the girl's drivers license: she lived in Paradyskloof which is an upscale suburb of Klein...

 Mo 7/13/26- Cannabis Order: DiamondCBD 720am (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 1005am (4-B: Cat Piss). 1230pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 240pm (6-B/  Cat Piss). 435pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 835pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). Up 610am: Sunny & hot with temps to about 90. Request for a restart and I hope it solves the 'mini-blackouts' when connecting to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. It's a major update and took a few minutes and was 100% complete. Watched 'HIJACKED' (Kanopy). Based on the true story of Vietnamese Flight 501. On June 28, 1978 there occurred a violent 52- minute skyjacking that proved to be the bloodiest hijackings in Vietnamese aviation history. The movie was basically a collection of intense & bloody fistfights over handguns slippery with bodily fluids. Barely worth a look and I don't think that seeing this in the IMAX format would have helped. Filmed in Ho Chi Minh City. First Vietnamese action feature on IMAX. Finished 'BLOOD SISTERS...

 Su 7/12/26 645am {1/2 VIIA 'Day Drift' Sativa: 50 mg total}. 730am (GB: 5/ Green Crack). 810am (4-B: Cat Piss).1140am (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 415pm (GB: 4.B: Cat Piss). 530pm (GB: 5/ Green Crack). 840pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 610am: Sunny to partly cloudy with temps to the upper 80's. Weekly Cleaning Watched 'CRISIS' (Netflix). "Oh, The Horror of Drug Addiction!" This was far too melodramatic and tried to show the most extreme anti-drug portrayal possible and then balanced that view with a sympathetic attitude towards the police in that there are just not enough laws to solve the problem. THE PREMISE: A super-pill that relieves pain 100% and has zero possibility of addiction. Who would be the first to see what the 'super-pill' would feel like if you took it without pain? "41" Metascore and I would boost that to "75"; with Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Lily-Rose Depp (Johnny's daughter; a striking ...

 Sa 7/11/26 745am (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 855am (GB:4- Green Crack). 1205pm (GB: 6/ Green Crack). 535pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss). 835pm (GB: 6/ Cat Piss).  Up 645am: Cloudy with a chance for showers and temps to low 80's. We got just over three inches of rain last night according to my rain gauges.  Entered 'ROUGH MIX' by Jimmy Bowen in 'BOOKS RECENTLY READ' blog. Scoured the GB Watched 'EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE' (Kanopy). It's wildly imaginative and borderline psychedelic. The title might be the theme of the film and suggests a valid way of seeing reality. Billions of unfiltered clusters of data hit us every second and decisions must be made, but most times your choices are not quite right. It's going to take many, many attempts to arrive at the perfect 'You'.  I had seen this before, but it was well worth a second look; with Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis. "81" Metascore and I would go to "84". ...