All gave some; some gave all.
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Help! I Can’t Shop and Need a Coat #shopping
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Inept, single guy alert! Inept, single guy alert!
The last time I had to buy a coat was 1999, and I don’t know what to do. I was living in Chicago, and some woman (it’s always a woman that makes me do stupid things that turn out to be brilliant) convinced me to go all in on two coats from Bloomingdales. I bought a casual, brown, leather coat ($600) and a long, black, Matrix-like coat that I can wear over a suit ($500). The black coat is still going strong after 21 years, and to be honest, the brown coat still works. It’s just that after 21 years, it’s finally beginning to look bad, and that’s despite never having taken it somewhere to get cleaned. Think about that. I did the typical “single guy” thing, yet one coat is only now “looking bad,” and the other is doing quite well.
But that shouldn’t be your first thought. It should be, “WTF?! You spent over $1,000 on coats!” Well, yeah, but they lasted over 20 years, and as I said, I don’t strictly need to buy new ones yet. If I button the brown coat in a Chicago winter, I sweat. I’ve never experienced such wonderful insulation, not even from a house. You get what you pay for. This raises a rather significant social issue about how it costs a lot of money to be poor. Not everyone can drop $1,100 on coats even though, in the long run, it makes sense. I’ve absolutely been there in my life, so I sympathize, but I don’t get into heavy-handed discussions on this blog, so I’m not going there.
The question on the table for this inept, single guy living in the DC area is this: Where should I go to buy a casual coat? I’m once again fortunate enough that, if necessary, I can favor substance over cost, and I need to buy only one coat. I want it to last. If I’m successful, I won’t have to buy another coat again (I’m old). So, where should I go?
Once I’m there, the salesperson can take care of me.
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Good Watch: The Mandalorian, Season 2 @themandalorian @starwars @disneyplus #GoodWatch
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Yeah, I know. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
The Mandalorian is back! But why is Tatooine? I get it. Tatooine and a few of its inhabitants hold a special place in the hearts of all who watch Star Wars, but the whole premise of the planet is that it’s an obscure place where nothing interesting happens, making it the perfect hiding place for a young Luke Skywalker. Yet here it is. Again. The center of a Star Wars story.
But let’s move past that. Jon Favreau should be handed the reins to Star Wars. He knows not only how to tell a story, but also specifically a Star Wars story. Two episodes in, and this looks to be as good as season one was. I still love the sign language of the Sand People. Nice touch. Though I’m not sure everyone else is happy with the structure, I also like when a TV series is episodic (original Star Trek for the win!) with a larger story subservient to that.
I also hope their paths cross again.
Rodians cook their meat well done.
No universal translator? Star Trek >> Star Wars.
Someone needs to stat out that Krayt dragon for D&D.
Boba Fett must have been the runt of the Mandalorian litter. He was a wimp. As always. YMMV.
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Cat (People) >> Dog (People) #caturday #rovember #cat #dog
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Sundays are now lazy days for me. Going forward, I’m just going to re-post other people’s work or just do something silly. Today it’s just a ridiculous observation.
How is “rovember” not a thing among dog lovers? The only two references I can find are 1) some video game shit I couldn’t decipher; and 2) a lawn mower company in Australia that makes “rovers.” Even Range Rovers don’t seem to take advantage of the obvious hashtag. Cat people are smart enough to take over a whole day of the week with Caturday.
Someone should hire me.
Cats win again!
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I’m a Terrible Driver, and So Are You #car #drive #singularity #AI
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Returning now to my recent car purchase, I’ve learned just how bad of a driver I am. I always knew how bad a parker I was, but now I realize that my cruising practices are pretty bad too. The car is fully loaded, which includes all the safety features: blind side detection, intelligent cruise control, lane assist, auto-break, etc. Every time I do something stupid, the car lowers the volume on my music and beeps at me. For the first couple of weeks, that happened a lot. It’s not happening nearly as much now, but damn if the car hasn’t taught me to drive. I still can’t park, but it’s okay, because my self-awareness on that had me heavily relying on the parking features from the moment I bought the car.
I also know that you suck too. That’s right; all of you. My experiences have made me far more aware of my surroundings even when they don’t impact me directly, and it seems like everyone weaves over the lines as they drive. I can tell when other cars have intelligent cruise control because they maintain the same two-second rule. What happened to the three-second rule? That’s for silly humans. When the car is driving, it needs only two seconds. It’s better than you.
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The singularity is here, and it’s a good thing.
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Great Watch: The Man in the High Castle @alexaKdavalos @CHTOfficial @rupert_evans @FredrikSewell @lukekleintank @joeldelafuente @TheOnlyDJQualls
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For the past few weeks — perhaps months – I’ve had terrible luck with shows I’ve watched that should be right up my alley. I was worried that I was becoming Stan Marsh. Fortunately, I found the Man in the High Castle. There’s hope for me yet.
I love historical “what if” dramatizations regardless of how much of my disbelief I must spend to buy into it. But hell, if I can watch a superhero movie, I can watch this. TMitHC is set in an alternate reality in which the Nazis developed the atomic bomb and thus won World War 2. The eastern part of what should be the United States is run by Germany, and the Western part is run by Japan. The central states are a neutral territory. I’m no expert on history, but I don’t see how either country could have taken over so much of the United States even if they defeated us. That’s a lot of ground to cover by such small, foreign populations, especially as well armed as our citizenry is.
So, forgetting that aspect of it, much of the show seems plausible to me, especially the relationship between the Germany and Japan. Whether it is realistic (not and expert, remember?) is another matter. It’s clearly enjoyable, though.
I’m just starting season 2. I was warned that the series ends in a disappointing way, but I’m enjoying the story and actors so much, I remain undeterred!
I think Hellboy must have had something to do with the story. As always, YMMV.
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Good Watch: Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb @Netflix #Saqqara #archaeology
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Netflix suggested Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb to me. Based on the tagline, it seemed like a documentary, but with all the science fiction Netflix has been sending my way, I assumed it was a supernatural thriller. Either way, I was interested. I’m a sucker for ancient mythology and the cultures that create it, so I’ll legitimately enjoy movies of that sort even if the rest of you don’t. But this is a documentary about a real find. Archaeologists found the tomb of Wahtye, an official of the 5th century Egyptian dynasty.
Clocking in at two hours, it deals with both the real world (e.g., archaeology, budget constraints) and the mythological world (i.e., they find a temple to Bastet/Sekhmet). I don’t think it’s for everyone, but it was right up my alley.
It still could have used an animated mummy. As always, YMMV.
Election Day! @BethDamis @SRMacFarland @Erik_Nowak @wavester71 #politics #election
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Two relevant things to know about me: 1) I grew up in a political-focused family and for a small time worked in politics professionally (big fish in a small pond); and 2) I rarely drink.
For me, Election Night is as exciting as the Super Bowl, so I bought a bottle of wine and have settled in to watch the excitement. No movies, no sports, no Man in the High Castle season 2; just the election. Last night was exciting despite a lack of resolution due to the absentee and mail-in ballots. I know that’s not how most of you think because of the consequences, but that added dimension is a lot of fun for me. Even better, I wound up on a couple of Zoom calls with some friends I haven’t see in a while.
I estimate I got about 2 hours of sleep, but I was still energized for the day. It didn’t slow me down at all.
Best. Election Night. Ever.
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Just Say No #election #politics
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I have a strict no politics rule on this blog. However, it’s Election Day, so I can’t help but violate that rule today. This cause is just too important.
Of course, this comes from a member of the Nihilism Party.
Do the right thing, people!
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Terrible Watch: Undone @PrimeVideo
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I watched this show because someone suggested it, and at four hours of content, I knew I could bang it out quickly. Now I want to commit a homicide. (Not really; he’s great.)
The first thing that bugs me is that it seems a lot of shows are trying to one up the last show on time travel, multiverses, etc., but each of them fails to do anything I haven’t seen before. Moreover, the main character, Alma, at one point says, “I don’t have time for this!” We’re talking about time travel. She literally has all the time in existence for “this.” Do you know a single third grader that wouldn’t be able to understand that? When a plot depends on stupidity to create tension or move the story along, the writing sucks (see, e.g., the horror genre).
The second thing that bugs me are the characters. There isn’t a single one I liked. The show centers on, among other things, a car crash and time travel. Once that becomes obvious, I find myself hoping that Alma will bring all the characters through time, place them (and herself) in the car, and they’ll all just die. Problem solved, and it would have taken 2 minutes to watch. Then I could have gone on with my life.
Then Alma pissed me off by stealing a line I’ve used for decades (something to the effect of “of course you love me; I’m just so damn loveable”). Where are my royalties?
Okay, ignore that one.
Alma is played by Rosa Salazar, but she’s partially obscured by animation, so she looked a little like Aubrey Plaza. Imagine being expected to root for Aubrey Plaza when she’s constantly being obnoxious but not trying to be funny. That’s Alma.
Based on the ending, all of this was almost explainable, but only in a Wizard of Oz sort of way, but if I’m supposed to treat this as the Wizard of Oz, then the ending can’t be reconciled with the knowledge Alma had. Besides, it was too little, too late for me. I can’t care about the story if I hate all of the characters, and no ending can possibly justify 4 hours of that. I have no idea what you all saw in it.
As always, YMMV.
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Play What You Want 