Tag: Entertainment

Posted on

Here’s an Interesting Stat

I just cancelled Amazon Prime.

I was paying 12.99 per month since about mid 2019.

In that time I’ve had four packages delivered and watched 25 movies.

For ballpark comparison, let’s just call it 380.00 over the time I’ve had the service. None of the packages arrived via anything except the free UPS delivery. Apparently the stuff that I wanted from Amazon was not available to ship via Prime.

As to the movies…

Well 380.00 / 25 = 15.58 Per Movie. I know that more than a few of those movies were 3.99 rentals.

As a point of comparison, I won’t pay 14.99 for movies on Apple TV. I’ll wait till a movie I want is on sale for some price below 10.00. And I have the rights to view that movie as many times as I want.

Yes, there were some movies that were available on Amazon Prime and nowhere else. But those movies have become fewer and some of them are no longer available in the Amazon catalog.

I’m not saying that Prime is a bad deal for everyone. But it was a bad deal for me. It duplicated what I already had as far as music went. I use Apple Music. The video quality of some of the movies was poor and I, as a rule hate commercials before actually getting to the movie. I hate commercials on paid services in general. Amazon wasn’t as bad as Hulu has become it was just more expensive. Hulu is next on the agenda, I’m not watching much on their service either.

I had maintained Amazon Prime for the series, The Expanse. Funny thing about it was that with the character Alex being killed off at the end of last season, I couldn’t muster enough interest in watching this season to actually sit down and watch it. The actor that played Alex was accused of sexual harassment and was therefore immediately removed.

Having been sexually harassed by women, I take claims of harassment seriously. I also believe in due process, and let’s face it men don’t get due process ever. Even if the charges are completely dismissed, the accusation lingers, forever coloring everything they do and profoundly affecting their careers. Accusations of sexual harassment leveled against women on the other hand, are largely ignored. They are just as damaging to male victims but nobody cares.

I don’t know if Cas Anvar was actually guilty. The accusation alone is enough to destroy a male actor these days. In the series of books, Alex wasn’t killed off.

The whole cast is great, I’ve enjoyed their performances. But for some reason, I just completely lost interest in the story. Perhaps it was end of series malaise, perhaps it was something more. I own the first four seasons, I don’t know if I’ll spend the bucks to add season 5 and 6 to the collection or not.

I find that my interest in movies, TV, and even music is declining. I suppose it’s just that I’m not in any mood to sit down for two or three hours of haranguing about social justice, the end of the world, or whatever the cause de jour may be. Give me a good book instead and I’ll be happy.

In any case, I just cut 155.88 per year out of my budget. I guess I can apply that toward my gas or grocery bills.

I’d say, for everyone to take a look at parasitic monthly billing. It’s really easy for that stuff to accumulate and be forgotten about. It’s probably not going to put a lot of money back in your monthly budget, but these days every little bit helps.

Posted on

A Rasmussen Poll has found that 63% of Democrats support voter ID.

There’s an article from Breitbart here The original Rasmussen Report is here.

I personally think that voter ID is a good thing and support it.

But as I was thinking about the way things get done in this country. Perhaps it’s time for a little reverse psychology.

If members of the other voting blocks (ie Non-Democrats) were to simply make it known that they thought “Fair is Fair”, and that in the next election and specifically in the 2024 election they were going to resort to dirty tricks to win the election…

You know, things like abusing mail in ballots. Voting in multiple districts where they do not reside. Buying homeless folks a meal in exchange for them voting “correctly”. “Helping”people fill out their ballots. Offering iPads to deep Blue lower economic districts, etc.

I guarantee that voter ID would be enacted inside a year. Racism and voter suppression, be damned. Of course we’d have to have the representatives of the other voting blocks in congress and at the state level screaming bloody murder about the unfair exclusion that such laws create.

Even if voter ID laws didn’t make it onto the books, if the other voter blocks were to actually follow through with all of the above shenanigans the court cases could fowl up the elections for months. It would no-doubt result in Vote ID laws being implemented.

My Mother says, “Two Wrongs don’t make a right,” maybe in this case she’s incorrect.

My Mother is also adamantly against voter ID laws. Her reasoning for this would be sound if there were a lot more people 90 years and older who hadn’t ever worked, or driven, or had a bank account, or utilities, or gone to the doctor, or written a check at a grocery store, or gotten a payday loan, or received a western union moneygram, or, or, or, or, or.

If there were hundreds of thousands of people like that who were citizens of this country then I’d agree with her. But there aren’t. The number of people who would be excluded from voting on those grounds is vanishingly small.

The number of illegal immigrants, or unvetted immigrants from the Middle East and elsewhere, who are not citizens and therefore shouldn’t be voting, on the other hand is rather substantial.

Given the implementation of RealID where the holder of the ID is designated as having met the RealID requirements and is either a citizen of non-citizen. It seems to me that all the bullshit about voter id has no legs to stand on.

If one were required to produce a passport to vote. I’d be against that. Passports are expensive and that expense would place an undue burden a large percentage of citizens who are eligible to vote.

That being said, If someone asked me personally to produce ID to vote, I’d happily hand them my driver’s license and my passport.

In state like California where there is no voter ID requirement. The polling people get pissy if you hand them your ID with your ballot. I had a lady in San Diego practically throw my driver’s license back at me.

I was dropping off my mail in ballot from another district at a polling place. I thought at least due to the irregularity of that circumstance that someone would check the name and address on the ballot against the name and address on my ID.

Nope! the lady very testily told me to put my ballot in the box marked “mail in”.

This was in the 2016 election and at the time I thought, “Wow, it would be really easy to stuff the ballot box.”

As a law abiding citizen, I’d never do such a thing, but I was surprised at the lax security. In that election, I’d voted for neither of the presidential candidates. I had however voted for a number of measures and local candidates that were important in my community.

At the time, I remember wondering if there was some way I should make the Presidential candidate section so that it was clear I had meant not to cast a vote for any of the candidates. I’ve still never gotten a good answer about that one.

The Rasmussen poll is interesting.

If 63% of the Democrats polled and 88% of the Republicans polled, and 74% of the Unaffiliated voters polled all are in favor of voter ID, why hasn’t it been implemented? Those percentages are better than the last presidential election. Obviously a large percentage of voters agree on something.

I wonder if Voter ID could be put to the people in the next California election?

I’d make a drink, and popcorn every night listening to the media lose their minds over a ballot measure like that.

Talk about an entertaining reality TV show…

Posted on

In honor of Thanksgiving…

I’m watching Addam’s Family Values.

It’s a fun romp.

I may revert to the annual tradition of the Alien Movies, or perhaps the 1950 and 1960 movies about invasions or space travel.

The movie selection is confusing I know…

The tradition of watching Alien on Thanksgiving dates back many years to happy Turkey Meals, good drinks, and Black Friday shopping with one of my oldest and dearest friends. (Let me tell you… HE’S OLD!)

It wasn’t intentional, it just so happened that we’d put on a movie from the Alien franchise drink, eat chips and dip and wait for the Turkey to be ready. As the Alien Franchise expanded we simply started with Alien earlier in the day. And so a tradition was born.

This year I need a little humor.

Addams Family Values has a great scene depicting a play about the First Thanksgiving. In the scene, a pretty rich girl is pitted against Wednesday Addams. Hilarity ensues from there.

I think that we all could use a large dose irreverent humor these days.

I know I’m already looking forward to having a drink, and watching all the familiar tropes of Summer Camp, Political Correctness, rich versus poor, and inclusion being put through a blender.

What comes out is just good fun.

Especially when you consider that the Addams Family wealth eclipses all of the nouveau rich depicted in the film. Then consider that Wednesday, comes down on the side of the outcasts and leads them to a “win” in a signature Addams Family way.

I personally find the camp scene more satisfying than The scene in Logans Run where Farrah Fawcet has her face blown off by the automated surgery robot.

Don’t get me wrong, I had nothing against Farrah, she was beautiful.

But there’s just something about her getting what’s coming to her after betraying Logan that is viscerally satisfying. I suppose that satisfaction is due in part to the fact that all too often those who really deserve a bit of Karma don’t get it.

I hope you all have a great Turkey Day and take some time to just take a breath, relax and enjoy something completely escapist.

Posted on

I have good news and bad news…

The fanfuckingtastic news is that Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted on all charges!

I’m over the moon… Provided I can find it tonight, (Ahem)

The bad news is that since it’s Friday, and the BLM/ANTIFI fucks have had a whole week to gear up and mobilize, this weekend is probably gonna be a corker!

I’m sure that the “Peaceful Protests” will begin shortly based on some of the comments from The Main Stream Media jackasses.

Honestly, some of the comparisons so called educated talking heads are making seem designed to incite riots. (Thus far they’re hitting all the Democratic Dog Whistles) Racist, White Supremacy, unequal justice, blah blah blah.

I do wish I was watching Joy Reid as she was handed the news… I’d have loved to watch her head explode, just before having to go on air with some semblance of calm. Ohh I wonder what Rachel Maddow will sound like?

They’re even Conflating St Travon of the Hoodie with the “victims” shot in Kenosha. On that particular count, they may not be too far off. The Kenosha men were generally violent criminals and St Travon may have been too. The other similarity is they’re all dead.

The survivor of the Kenosha riots will never be able to jerk off with his left hand again, so there is some justice. I’m betting that he’ll find it harder to be a domestic abuser with only one working arm. He’s also unlikely to join the inevitable riots starting at sundown tonight.

Old one armed Gaige will forever be a cautionary example of FAFO.

There’s also been a funny thread among comments in the various reports of the verdict. Seems a lot of people as asking if Twitter & Facebook will continue to censor accounts for writing, “Kyle Rittenhouse did nothing wrong.“

There also seems to be a large number of people calling for Rittenhouse to sue the shit out of the media and even President Biden for defamation. The general consensus is to hire Attorney Lin Wood to get massive settlements for Kyle similar to the settlements in the Nick Sandmann cases.

I’m right there with those folks. Kyle should have his whole college tuition to say Harvard or Yale paid for in full from President Biden’s Personal holdings.

Sadly Kyle won’t be able to attend either of those schools because doing so would put his life in continuous danger. We all know how Woke some colleges are!

Perhaps Biden should cough up enough cash to pay for Kyle to go to to university in Europe. Including paying for Kyle’s housing, food, entertainment, and personal security.

Thinking about it… Those costs might be lower than paying for Hunter’s maintenance. Huh, go figure.

And Finally another part of what makes this a good day, is this… Anti-Rittenhouse Protestors Arrested

They were arrested outside the courthouse (At least they won’t have far to travel for their arraignments and trials!) Oh and even better, one of the persons arrested is a BLM Leader who, get this… “Crossed States Lines to protest.”

Wasn’t that one of the things that the Left and the prosecution in the Rittenhouse trial kept banging on about? Of course Kyle’s Dad lives in Kenosha. I wonder if Shaquita Lashia Cornelious has relatives in the area? Only her trial will answer that question.

Maybe this time around, BLM / ANTIFA will literally get their asses handed to them. Maybe by both the police and the super pissed off citizens of places that have been destroyed time and again by the so called, “Mostly Peaceful Protests”

I think I’m gonna make myself some popcorn and a drink and turn on the news.

Nero fiddled while Rome Burned, certainly I can sit back and watch a Live Action version of The Purge.

The New Founders of America invite you to celebrate your annual right to Purge.
The Purge: Anarchy?, the sequel to summer 2013?s sleeper hit that opened to No. 1 at the box-office, sees the return of writer/director James DeMonaco to craft the next terrifying chapter of dutiful citizens preparing for their country?s yearly 12 hours of anarchy.

I had to come back to add that the NAACP has come out strongly against the Jury’s verdict. I forgot the actual wording of their statement and haven’t found it in print… Yet.

But I have to ask this simple question.

When the hell has the NAACP ever given a single runny shit about white people killing other white people? Haven’t several of their members and the members of BLM or followers of CRT actually called for the extermination of white people in the past year?

Talk about an about face!

Does this mean that suddenly ALL LIVES MATTER?

I didn’t think so.

When I can find the NAACPs actual press release I’ll post it as an update to this post and if they were misquoted, I’ll apologize.

In other news, President Biden is apparently Angry and concerned about the verdict. Okay I could see that he’d be concerned since he damned Kyle Rittenhouse as a white supremacist without evidence.

So he should be concerned because when the Rittenhouse attorneys file a law suit against a sitting president it should be most interesting.

BUT Biden doubled down. As a sitting President he called for peaceful protests.

Biden clarified that he meant If people protest as is their right. Those protests should be conducted peacefully.

How about instead The sitting President remind citizens that we should all abide by the verdict and respect the rule of law.

Posted on

I caught a deal…

I was wandering through the Apple TV Movies and noticed that Good Night and Good Luck was not only available, but on sale!

For those of you that may not know this movie, it’s a dramatization of Edward R. Murrow taking on Senator Joseph McCarthy while Murrow was working at CBS.

The movie was released in 2005 and I’d purchased a copy of it on DVD, but never replaced that copy once it was lost.

The movie has an all star cast, including amazing performances by Jazz singer Dianne Reeves.

Edward R Murrow

The subject matter of the movie is timely. It could be argued that Murrow was among the first victims of cancel culture.

He called out Joseph McCarthy at the height of the McCarthy hearings and essentially said what you’re doing is wrong and un-American.

For those who don’t know who Joseph McCarthy was, here’s a brief synopsis of what I remember from history.

McCarthy in the late 1940s and early 1950s chaired a house subcommittee that was supposed to root out communists that McCarthy said had infiltrated the State Department. You need to remember that the cold war was raging and America was just out of World War II.

McCarthy subsequently targeted LGBT people as easily compromised. His lasting legacy was that gay people were considered a security risk well into the 1980s.

Joseph McCarthy

McCarthy terrorized Hollywood, created black lists of suspected communists and through these black lists ended the careers of many average people, and writers, actors, producers, and journalists.

The movie mentions one journalist killing himself over the accusation that he was affiliated with communist subversives.

There’s a great deal more negative that the McCarthy hearings did. Look it up for yourself.

Although, in the context of today’s events, I do sometimes find myself wondering if McCarthy might have been right. Perhaps he was just 50 years ahead of his time…

I hadn’t seen the movie in many years, but remembered the jazz. So I bought it last night and sat back to be entertained. There was an irony in the movie because as I watched, I was struck by how the names, causes, and political party has changed but the persecution today is much the same. McCarthy was a Republican, but could as easily have been one of todays politicians of either party.

Edward Murrow, effectively won. But winning cost him his prime time Tuesday evening show. He went on to produce numerous shows until about 1960, and died in 1965.

I remember his voice from my early childhood. I don’t remember the context in which I heard his voice, only that it was distinctive. He was a true journalist, based on what I recall from some of the things I recall reading about him.

I ran across some of his writing at the UK library when I lived in KY. His words were clear and what he said was said plainly and directly. I don’t recall him being apologetic in his writing. What I think I remember most was his somewhat terse style and his eloquent use of English. I learned some new words reading him. (no, they weren’t dirty words.)

He seems to have stood by his words believing in presenting the truth of a situation as he saw it, but assumed that the audience was intelligent enough to draw their own conclusions.

I recall reading an apology to a viewer where he said something to the effect; “Reading your letter, I have rethought my position and you may be right. I apologize for any harm my words may have caused you.” That’s not an exact quote but I remember that it struck me how this fairly powerful journalist saw fit to actually put in writing that he’d reevaluated his position and told a viewer so.

After watching the movie, I still appreciated the vocals of Dianne Reeves. As I watched the credits roll I thought, “We need journalists like Murrow again.”

As is pointed out in one scene, Murrow tried to behave as if he was above editorializing, but he did editorialize to some extent. I thought it was interesting that he was portrayed as accepting the criticism and the consequences as part of doing business.

I thought about that, and have concluded we’re all human, we all editorialize, but a journalist is supposed to keep that natural tendency in check. They’re supposed to present the facts as dispassionately as they possibly can.

One line in the movie is, “We report the news, we don’t make it.” If only journalists still operated on that premise, we’d all be better informed and perhaps less prone to passionate outbursts based on half the information and our emotional response to it.

If you get a chance, check out the movie it’s 94 minutes of your life well spent. Especially if it makes you stop reacting and start thinking.

Oh, if you play the movie, your TV isn’t broken… The whole thing is shot in period correct Black & White.