13JAN2019 – Photo of the Day
Month: January 2019
The Twilight Zone – Complete Series Review – Season 1 Episode 2 – One for the Angels
A sidewalk pitchman (the guy with the foldable suitcase/table full of cheap junk) named Lou Bookman (Ed Wynn) is visited by Death. Not wanting to die he negotiates a delay until he can “Make a Pitch for the Angels.” Death agrees to this but once the agreement is made Bookman gloats that he’ll stop making pitches forever. But the consequences involve the death in his place of a small child that Bookman knows. The little girl is struck by a truck and will die at midnight when Bookman was scheduled to die. Bookman awaits Death and delays him by distracting him with his most persuasive sales pitch and succeeds in saving the girl’s life. And of course, that pitch was the “One for the Angels.” And at that point Mr. Bookman is ready for his journey with Death who really isn’t a bad guy.
Wynn was a comic actor of the vaudeville era. My only other memory of him was a small part in the original Mary Poppins movie from the 1960s. The whole teleplay is highly sentimental and affected but it works. It’s a gentle fantasy that tugs at the heartstrings and appeals to our sympathy for the little guy who also happens to be a nice guy. For myself, being a rank sentimentalist, it appeals to my childhood view of how the world should be. So, it feels comfortably familiar. In other words, it’s nostalgic escapism and sometimes that’s exactly what I want. You have to decide for yourself if this type of story is acceptable entertainment for you.
The Twilight Zone – Complete Series Review – Season 1 Episode 1 – Where is Everybody?
I am embarking on a long voyage of discovery. And like most long voyages it will be a combination of rare moments of pleasure immersed in long stretches of boredom. That’s right, I intend to review the whole Twilight Zone series in its original order. You will benefit from my suffering and will thereby know which episodes to skip, which to give a chance and which to view without fear of boredom. Greater love hath no blogger than this, that he lay down his sanity for his readers.
Season 1
Episode 1 – Where is Everybody?
Earl Holliman (the guy who played the cook on Forbidden Planet) is a man wandering around a town that seems to have had people in it immediately before but now is completely empty. He finds fresh coffee, lit cigarettes and running machines but no people. I guess it’s supposed to be mysterious and claustrophobic but mostly it’s just boring and annoying. At the end we find out he’s an astronaut in an isolation chamber hallucinating. This is preparation for a future moon mission. Granted this was made in 1959 and Sputnik launched in 1957. That means the Space Race was all the rage. So maybe this seemed more interesting back then. But honestly, it’s really dull. This was the first episode of the whole series. The fact that they would lead with this should have been a warning to viewers of what was to come. Not a very auspicious beginning.
12JAN2019 – Quote of the Day
“But we are living in a skeptical, and, if I may use the phrase, a thought-tormented age: and sometimes I fear that this new generation, educated or hyper-educated as it is, will lack those qualities of humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day.”
James Joyce
12JAN2019 – Photo of the Day
11JAN2019 – Quote of the Day
“Every physical quality admired by men in women is in direct connection with the manifold functions of women for the propagation of the species.”
James Joyce
Media Acknowledging Justice Bader-Ginsberg May Not Remain on Supreme Court Much Longer
News sites on both sides of the political divide had articles today acknowledging that Justice Bader-Ginsberg may not necessarily still be around in five years as she plans. What that tells me is that both sides are preparing their members for the eventuality of another extremely heated, partisan battle over the nominee to replace her on the bench.
When news of her cancer surgery made the news, I stated the opinion that she would not stay on the bench past President Trump’s first term. I guess that I’m not alone in that opinion. One of the articles made a point of the fact that on multiple occasions Justice Bader-Ginsberg stated that she wouldn’t continue serving past the point where she can’t “do the job full steam.” The implication being since right now she is at least partially incapacitated her retirement may be imminent. In my opinion her retirement in the next few weeks is highly unlikely. I’m sure the Justice will hold on as long as she has any hope of recovering from this episode. And I fully expect she will recover from it. She has shown resiliency through her two previous bouts with cancer. But the fact that she will not be receiving chemotherapy makes me think that the metastatic nature of her cancer is assumed and that unfortunately she will soon be diagnosed with at least one other new tumor. If she has a life outside of the Law, I would hope at that point that she would resign to enjoy her remaining time with her loved ones. If she does not then perhaps, she intends to cling to the job to till the bitter end. But honestly, I don’t imagine she will last two years. That is a long time.
If I am correct, then President Trump will be able to appoint at least one more Supreme Court Justice. Even assuming Chief Justice Robert’s lapses into left-leaning decisions it would seem that a solid 6-3 conservative majority will begin to make some significant changes in the way Americans live. Another shot at the LGBTQ penchant for persecuting Christian business people may be the first significant loss for the Social Justice Warriors in their war against normalcy. Another useful front would be slapping down some of the overreach that liberal states have been legislating against gun ownership. One of my friends was complaining how Massachusetts can basically call anything they want an assault rifle and then retroactively make it illegal to own. Another was saying that one state has made liability insurance mandatory for gun owners and the insurance is very expensive. That definitely should be checked for constitutionality.
Both because of the strength of a 6-3 ratio and the emotional response of Justice Bader-Ginsberg’s replacement I assume we can expect that the nomination approval process will be even worse than Kavanaugh’s was. They’ll pull out all the stops and attack with every trick and scream from every media megaphone at their disposal. Good. With the enhanced Senate majority, it should be easier this time to get the approval than it was with Kavanaugh. Well, here we go again.
11JAN2019 – Photo of the Day
Will Trump Make his Stand?
Vanity Fair says they are quoting a former White House insider that says that President Trump won’t back down from the Wall controversy. They said that he believes he either builds the wall or fails to be re-elected. I won’t link to Vanity fair because they suck and don’t deserve any clicks. But it’s an interesting question. Will Donald Trump tough it out? And will the Republicans in Congress back him up or fold like the cheap suits they wear? I think that second question is easy. Of course they’ll fold. They are the hollowest of hollow men. They can’t even spell integrity no less have any.
Can Trump take on the Democrats, the Republicans, the Courts, the Media, the Bureaucrats in the Justice Department and all the other Swamp Dwellers in DC? Without a doubt I’m behind him 100%. I would trade ten years of salary to see him shut down illegal immigration. But I won’t lie, I think he has his work cut out for him. He is surrounded by a endless ocean of vampires who live off the blood they suck out of this country. They’ll fight to the death to hold onto their latch on our jugular. But just imagine if he wins. Think of the adrenaline rush to know that the beast can be tamed, that the enemy was made to blink. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. If he could accomplish that then who knows what else he might do. Maybe he could start pressuring the companies currently employing illegal aliens to stop. That would be truly worthwhile.
So we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out. I’m guessing there are several more weeks that will play out before anyone can detect a pain point for one side or the other. Will the Democrats scream first or will it be the spineless Republicans. And will Trump have the backbone to ignore both sides? Will the Dems begin impeachment to back up their threat and if so will the Senate Republicans stand up to them or fold?
Any way it goes it will be the biggest story of the year I think and we’ll learn a lot about all the cast of characters that inhabit this drama. My sense is that Vanity Fair’s source is right. Trump will go the limit to build the wall. My guess is that the screaming from the Democrat constituencies when the shutdown pain starts biting will get chuck and Nancy to say uncle. They’ll put some kind of brave face on it but they’ll cave. My only hope is that he doesn’t throw them some kind of DACA deal. That would actually be a net loss. At worst he should give them some kind of soft soap about humane conditions for asylum seekers and other distressed individuals. But hopefully no more than that.
So how much time should this take? I say the maximum is two months. Let’s call it St. Patrick’s Day. What do you folks think?
09JAN2019 – OCF Update
Looking ahead this week I’m rereading Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option” to see if there are any insights to help me with my investigation into founding a new fraternal organization. I remember he had information on structuring family, school and community activities around a religious life. I don’t remember too much about fraternal organizations but maybe there are some general principles about setting up groups that I can ferret out.
I’ve been waiting for the next installment of Galaxy’s Edge to show up but I’m getting impatient and will look around for something else to review.
I may have a post on the land rush by the major (and minor) camera makers to join the full-frame mirrorless market. Sony, Nikon, Canon, and now Olympus and possibly Panasonic and Fuji. I guess sony wasn’t crazy after all.
And finally we all want to know who will blink first Trump or the Swamp. Stay tuned American patriots.