The Cheese Stands Alone

Tu 6/30/2020 Up 640am: Overcast and threatening. Rain began about 720am and rain predicted all day with strong storms beginning about 11am- to low 80's. The rain was not as big a factor as predicted.  Watched 'GUNS AKIMBO' (Amazon Prime). A video game designer is forced to become part of a 'Fight To The Death' online video stream. Two automatic handguns are bolted to his hands. A dizzying array of gun fights and car chases, but the film doesn't take itself too seriously. "Never bring a spork to a gun fight". ; with Samara Weaving (Hugo Weaving is her uncle) and Daniel Radcliffe. Shot in Auckland, New Zealand and Munich, Germany. Then I re-watched episode 1 of Season 6 'BOSCH', then episode 2. 130pm: Uncertain if I will check out Planet Fitness or not... NOT... Managed a dry walk.  ***Left 940 at 210pm. Parkview, Wash. Pk. Southside. Around the panhandle to Walnut. Back Northside, up Parkview to Lynn haven, Kenyon, down Fairway up to 940. Just a...

Mo 5/29/20 Up 730am: Muggy and hot- to low 90's. Watched, 'THE HELP' (Netflix). A profile of Jim Crow in Mississippi, 1963 that's equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking; with Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Cicely Tyson, Sissy Spacek, and Allison Janney. Had a fleeting thought of mowing the lawn, but came to my senses. Too hot and it's supposed to rain hard tonight and tomorrow, but the next several days will be blistering. I'm already dreading the possibility of water downstairs because flood watches have been issued.  ***Noticed that Amazon Prime has introduced 'WATCH PARTY' for PC users only. Watched 'ZAMA' (Amazon Prime). I watched the entire film in a sleepy daze. A cinematic collection of arresting images and unworldly locations, but lacked a compelling story-line...But I might have missed something.  245pm: Tired, but will hit the streets to avoid pop-up showers.  310pm. Lawrence to Edwards east to Spring. Sout...

Su 6/28/20 Up 7am: Cloudy, muggy with temps to 90. Shut the windows and AC is 'On'. Watched a documentary from Hoopla, 'SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME'. From the book's page at Amazon: "A Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the “Age of Neoslavery,” the American period following the Emancipation Proclamation in which convicts, mostly black men, were “leased” through forced labor camps operated by state and federal governments. In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Douglas A. Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns moving, sobering, and sh...

Sa 6/27/20 Up 7am: Overcast and humid with showers beginning by mid morning and rain possible all day- low 80's. Wrote up, 'STRAIGHT WHISKY' for the blog. Watched Netflix disc, 'PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE'. Beautifully shot on the coast of Brittany and the film attempts to answer the question of how do you shoot Love and succeeds brilliantly. I watched the Interviews and Bonus Features and will watch more from this director. Then watched, 'DUCH- MASTER OF THE FORGES OF HELL' (Kanopy). An astounding monologue from one of the chief torturers of the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia. My post of the film at Kanopy: "Why all the documentation and photographs? Such unspeakable horror, yet they leave a detailed record of their crimes? The Nazis did the same thing. This doesn't have anything to do with Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, or any political system, but it's much more of a manifestation of Pure Evil. Duch thinks only in terms of 'Us' and...

Fr 6/26/20   Up 7am: Partly cloudy and hot; to low 90's. The  AC is on with the ceiling fan in the living room 'On'. Added LITTLE JOHNNY TAYLOR to Mp3. Tried to determine why Google Play was not uploading music. This has happened before, and I can't transfer Google Play to YouTube 'at the present time' (it says). Watched Netflix disc, 'THE EDGE OF HEAVEN'. From Roger Ebert's review of the film, "...we are so accustomed to all the stories converging at the end of a hyperlink film. Not this time. The characters are related in theme, but not in plot." An old man pays a prostitute to live with him. It works for a while, but they get into a fight, he hits her, she falls and dies. The old man goes to prison, but his son goes to Turkey to find the woman's daughter to pay for her schooling. This young woman has had no contact with her mother for many years and has become involved in a movement to overthrow the government. In a demonstration she...

Th 6/25/20- Dentist: 2pm Up 645am: Sunny with temps to upper 80's. Dentist appointment at 2pm. Watched, 'THE NOVEMBER MAN' (Hoopla). A foolish stew of tough-guy cliches where any situation or circumstance can be addressed with extreme violence; with Pierce Brosnan and a more-or-less international cast. Then I watched, 'OBSESSED' a 27" YouTube video about addiction to prescription pain medication. Corny nonsense- Drugs Bad, Sobriety Good.  Then another YouTube video called, 'WHAT THE 1% DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW' (30"). This is a little outdated as it was made before Trump's election, but it's only more important and relevant than ever. America is an oligarchy and has been one for decades.  Noon: PC is 'Off' and will read for a while before I take the Elantra to the dentist.  ****Arrived about 140 pm and tried to call, but no answer. Went to the door and was met by Taylor (I think). She let me in after a temp check and I went back t...

We 6/24/20 Up 7am: sunny to about 80. Beautiful! Wrote up, 'WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT'- Sarah Winman for the blog. Also, added 'New Miserable Experience'- THE GIN BLOSSOMS to the Mp3. Then I watched, 'STRANGERLAND' (Kanopy).  My post at Kanopy: "In a small Australian town at the edge of the desert, a fifteen year old girl and her brother go missing one night. It would seem that the film would evolve into a 'search and rescue' film, but it does not. The film is merely a vehicle to highlight the shattered and neurotic relationship of the parents. There's lots of high drama, but in the end it's just much ado about nothing and nothing is resolved; with Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, and Hugo Weaving.. "  Then I watched, 'INTERVIEW'. A jaded reporter interviews a flighty soap opera star. The film is the snide and malicious discourse between the two in her NYC loft apartment and secrets are revealed; Steve Buscemi and Sienna Miller. This ...