The Cheese Stands Alone

Th 10/31/19- First Snow Of The Season! Up 820am: About a half inch of wet snow fell last night and it continued through the morning, and we probably got a little over an inch total and nothing has melted by late afternoon. Not cold enough to stick on the streets- temps only to just above freezing and pretty windy. Watched 'THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY' (Amazon Prime) The award winning film based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith about the sociopathic killer-chameleon, Tom Ripley; with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Philip Baker Hall... A classic, intricately plotted crime thriller! Watched a few minutes of a YouTube video about Morrissey, but I did add several albums to my Amazon Prime. Then, 'INSIDE MAN: MOST WANTED' (Netflix) An elaborate bank heist film in which the New York branch of the Federal Reserve is targeted. The stolen gold is melted down into fake brass rods, and the clean-up crew (actually the robbers...

We 10/30/19 Up 615am: Cold, rain and drizzle all day with temps only to 40. Watched, 'SKIN' (Amazon Prime) The film earnestly documents the life of a young man who was an ardent member of a white supremacist group who painfully grows to accept the evil of his ways. When he falls in love and marries a woman with three young girls, he finally is able cut ties with his old 'family'. His face is covered in racist tattoos and the movie is framed around the removal of this hateful art; with Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, and Vera Farmiga. Based on actual events, and a very powerful film. Then, ten minutes of '200th Episode/ COMEDY BANG BANG' (YouTube) with Scott Aukerman and Jason Mantzoukas. Not too funny, then a couple of songs about 'Truck Birthday' and 'Truck Skin Baby' that were funny. Then, 'THE ENGLISH TEACHER' (Amazon Prime) A repressed high school English teacher becomes obsessed with with a former student who has written a pla...

Tu 10/29/19 Up 8am: Cloudy with temps only to mid 40's. A 'wintry mix' is even predicted for late Wednesday and into Halloween. Watched 'OUTRAGE CODA' (Hoopla--last rental of the month) A Korean gangster roughs up a couple of hookers during an S&M encounter and offends a branch of the Japanese Yakuza. Mayhem ensues. My biggest 'take-away' was how similar the Asian crime organizations were to the corporate structure of big business. For both, it's all about the bottom line and that is profit; with Beat Takeshi. Then, 'SALAD DAYS: A DECADE OF PUNK IN WASHINGTON' (Amazon Prime) An in depth examination of the Washington DC punk scene from the late seventies thru the mid 80's. It makes the case that Punk did not originate in the American Northwest, but only evolved from the DC scene. I got a bunch of new music to put on my Amazon Prime. Wrote a reply to Janny's invitation to see Erik Dylan's live show on November 8th at Boondoc...

Mo 10/28/19 Up 720am: Cloudy to mid 50's. Watched, 'DOELMITE IS MY NAME' (Netflix). Eddie Murphy stars as real-life comedian and Blaxploitation film-maker, Rudy Ray Moore. Overall, only mildly entertaining, but showcases just about all of the black comedians on the scene today (I wonder how come Dave Chappelle didn't make the cut?); with Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Snoop Dogg, Wesley Snipes, and Chris Rock. Then watched, 'ECHO IN THE CANYON' (Netflix). Jakob Dylan hosts a documentary about the creative music of Laurel Canyon from about 1964 to 1968. It's a comprehensive examination of all of the bands that created that scene; with Tom Petty, Lou Adler, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Beck, Michelle Phillips, Cat Power, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, John Sebastian. I called Ameriprise Insurance and it won't be worth it to drop State Farm. Ameriprise is twenty dollars more on the car insurance. And then cal...

Su 10/27/19 Up 645am: Partly sunny with temps to low 60's. Wrote up 'CAMINO ISLAND' by John Grisham for the blog. Watched Netflix disc, 'PLEASE GIVE'.  A great ensemble film about a family that lives in Manhattan. They own an upper-end used furniture store and their apartment is next door to a ninety-one year old woman. And, the two grand-daughters take care of the old woman and befriend the family; with Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, and Catherine Keener. Then, 'HOT SUMMER NIGHTS' (Amazon Prime) Overall, an engaging film, but maybe a bit too ambitious and covers too much ground. Set on Cape Cod in the late eighties on the eve of a massive hurricane, it comes off as a frenetic clash of 'coming of age', 'teen drug dealing', and 'first love'. However, some good performances by young actors; with Timothee Chalamet, Maika Monroe, Alex Roe. 1245pm: Doing the weekly cleaning, then to FitClub West for the workout and drop...

Sa 10/26/19 Up 640am: Cloudy, drizzle and light to heavy rain all day- to 50. Watched Netflix disc, 'THE DOUBLE'. Taken from a novella by Dostoevsky and concerns a shy, young office worker who meets his doppelganger who is brash, bold, and a 'disrupter', yet no one notices; with Jesse, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, and Cathy Moriarty. A strange, somber film with a very dark, yet quirky tone. Then, 'RATTLESNAKE' (Netflix). A mother and her five year old daughter are driving across Texas and get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. While changing the flat, her daughter is bitten by a rattlesnake, but it's some kind of 'bargain with the devil'. Although the daughter is apparently alive, she will die unless mom can find a soul to trade. Not very well written, and could have been an episode of 'BLACK MIRROR' if the script was tightened up. 1145am: Reading 'CAMINO ISLAND' and gave the new 'Big Brother Boom Box' it's fi...

Fr 10/25/19 Up 711am: Cloudy- to mid 50's. Watched, 'LOVE AND A .45' (Amazon Prime) Obviously an homage to Tarantino, but still worth a look in a cartoonish way. Two star crossed-lovers from rural Texas get caught up in a series of  murders and must flee to the Mexican border; with Gill Bellows, Renee Zellweger, Peter Fonda, and music by Tom Verlaine. Then watched, 'GREEN ROOM' (Netflix) A pleasant surprise. 'Teen Scream Formula' about a punk band who play a Nazi nightclub, stumble upon a murder, and get imprisoned in the room that entertainers wait to perform, hence the title; with Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, and Imogen Poots. 130pm: To the motor vehicles office on Pine to renew the license. I couldn't just do it with the clerk, but I had to wait. My number was 61, and they were on 19. I just walked out, and I'll send the damn thing in. I thought that it would make it easier and cheaper. Then to the boot store at Cook and Dirksen. I got a...