How strange it is too live in a combination of 1984 and Idiocracy.

With so many contenders for the top prize (Leavitt; McMahon; Hegseth; Bondi; Miller; Vance and Trump himself, to name just a handful), it's hard to choose the winner, but Noem has to be at or close to at the top of most appalling, ridiculous and despicable creatures to ever walk the Earth. Being an animal abusing cretin says it all, but her phony appearance, pathetic costumes and Nazi rhetoric reveal a core that's more depraved than Dorian Gray. Ugh. Makes me want to puke. What a loser.

 Hahaha. It's the Picture of Dorian Gray! Wait a few years to see more decay.

Life in the Idiocracy + Back to the Future II dystopia is more alarming by the day. The "Big Bullshit Bill" passed the House...please let it fail in the Senate. In more personal news, the guys are here hooking up the new boiler. The Kitty is terrified. The Beagles are okay with it. I can't wait to take a shower.

I've been doing some thinking about whether writing publicly (as in a blog or on social media) is empowering or stifling. This is a question I remember being extensively discussed on blogs 20+ years ago. I could argue "empowering" because I have managed to keep this e-journal for over 22 years -- something I was never able to do in the days of handwritten or typed "private" journals (scare quotes because sometimes it was an assignment, read by a teacher or professor). I could also argue "stifling," because I absolutely self-censor, even though I have never tried to promote this blog and so the audience is small.

On social media, Bob has decided to be brave and make some political posts about Kennedy. I think it is admirable, even though I cannot do much more than click "like." I have PTSD from my days on the village board. People were so rude. To maintain peace, I can't engage in a lot of discourse. His shares have resulted in the blue-no-matter-who crowd commenting, in what I perceive as an effort to get him to delete posts and shut up.

An outrage on the news is the daily coverage of Belmont -- the race is being held at Saratoga this year, due to construction. It was bad enough that Saratoga has added race days in recent years. Now we have to hear the constant media gushing even earlier this summer over what amounts to animal abuse, due to Belmont.

We saw the last of the ten movies that were nominated for best picture: the Killing of the Flower Moon. It was good, although a difficult story. I can now say with assurance that "Poor Things" was the worst of the ten -- in fact it was much worse than that, and no way should best actress or anything else have gone to it. It was nothing more than a creepy celebration of abuse, and that simple fact renders good performances or make up or whatever meaningless.

Bob and I have been watching all the Academy Award nominated movies - a bigger task now that they have increased Best Picture to ten. We have two left in that category. On Saturday during the snowstorm, we watched Poor Things. Neither of us was very impressed by it. I'll say that about the first 3/4 held my attention (then it seemed too long to me; Bob felt it "jumped the shard" when she went from naive to calculating). What irritated me was that it felt like an effort to normalize abuse. Abuse is not funny or cute. Hollywood usually is a proponent of cancel culture. The acting was fine, but about Bext Actress, ten minutes into the movie, all I could think of was this non-PC but apt scene.

 Classes start this week. My first class is Thursday. Boo hoo. Winter break over. Not that it was much of a break, but not teaching for a few weeks is good, and I did get to do a few thing, such as read. Unfortunatly, I have gradually returned to my preferred mode of staying up late and sleeping in, so now I have to mend my ways.

We watched another hyped movie on Saturday: Maestro. Neither of us liked this one much either! Again, acting was fine, but it felt too long, confusing, difficult to hear, with a story line that focused too much on his sex life and too little on other more interesting aspects of his biography. Recently friends have been recommending "Killers of the Flower Moon," but after Oppenheimer and Maestro, I'm reluctant to invest over three hours...

I joined No Labels. Wonky snarky self-important pundits who diss the idea can go F themselves.

 I have a few things to write. First, Merry Christmas! Bob put up a tree about ten days ago. It's the first tree we've had since 2019. We couldn't get a fresh cut one because the tree farm we always patronize closed on December 10 for the season. It's a fundraiser for the boy scouts and I hypothesize that there were not enough kids willing to spend their free time at the tree farm. The tree he bought is nice, but I can tell that it is already becoming crispy. That's an exaggeration, but it's clear it won't last like a fresh cut one does. 

Next, I had a dream with Donna in it a few nights ago. That's strange because in th 8.5 years since she died, I can't remember ever dreaming of her. The dream seemed to take place in the elevator lobby of a dorm, high rise apartment complex, office building, hospital or some other institutional setting. There were festivities of some kind going on. Donna wasn't drinking and I was apprehensive because Bob was having wine.

Finally, we watched Oppenheimer. We were both disappointed. We'd seem a documentary on the subject months ago, and I think if I had not seen that first, I would have been completely confused by the movie. The only praise I have is that the acting was good and I expect it will win some acting awards. The movie itself was too long, the sound was a struggle, and the timeline seemed inappropriate for non-fiction. Then, there was so much of that tedious subject Hollywood loves...McCarthyism. We were both happy we had not gone to a theatre for this movie.

I am "stealing time" from my to do list because this post is so overdue! First, on Monday, I hit the first social security eligibility age: 62. I am not retiring right now, and probably won't for quite a while, but at least it's nice to know that I am "old enough" for the sh*ttiest payout. 

On my birthday, when I made my daily call to my mother, it rang several times (seven, I think) and then her answering machine picked up. This is strange, because since she switched to cable phone, it usually just rings and rings, regardless of whether she is not answering, she's on the phone, or it's out of order. My father's voice came on, with his wonderful message. It took me by surprise, and brought tears to my eyes. How wonderful it was to hear from him on my birthday!

This brings me to my dreams. One was about a co-worker from 25 years ago (who became a friend) and I working in some kind of office with lots of desks but few other people. There were a bunch of groundhogs living in the desk drawers and we were very protective of them when others came around complaining. I had another with my mother-in-law in it, involving our current cat. She was trying to put him out for the night (he is 100% indoor cat). Then I had two (maybe three?) of my father. In the first, he was watching television or a movie on a flash drive. I know screens are tiny now, but this was something that has not been invented yet. Maybe it exists in heaven! In another, he was in a facility of some sort, cheerfully bossing everyone around.

I mentioned movies, so I'll share that we watched The Wife, She Said, and You are so not coming to my bat mitzvah. All were excellent in different ways. The Wife would have been a lot less good, but was made better due to quality acting. We watched the limited series Surviving Death which was also excellent, and are currently enjoying the show Three Pines. I almost can't handle suspense any more, but so far, I'm managing (I used to love both true crime and suspense but that's less true in recent years).

Finally, Saratoga. Thank God another season is over. This year's death toll IIRC was 14, two in one day and one of those on national television. It always sparks investigations that lead to nothing and ridiculous platitudes about the health and safety of horses being of utmost importance. Bullsh*t. While 14 is outrageous, it is not atypical.

Three weeks of semester done already. So many things I want to write...but no time! Three dreams. Two movies. Saratoga. Hopefully tomorrow I can tackle.

I wanted to post at least once before the end of March, and I had plenty of things to write, but my time evaporated. I barely have time for all the things I must do - writing here is not a "must," sadly.

So I am snatching a moment to share this graphic I made last night (it's been forever since I did anything like this). We have an evil creep in the Village who should be shunned but instead the current regime lacks a moral compass and kisses his a*s.

We watched two more movies from this year's Oscars: The Fabelmans (which was awesome) and Elvis (which was a little hard to follow in the beginning, and also it was sad (of course) - but very good overall). Maybe I'll have time to write more after the semester ends.

Finally - I had another dream last week that included my father. There was much more than him in the dream - and I mostly don't remember it - but his presence is still clear. He was in some sort of sales contest that involved a costume. He won (of course). His costume had "May" emblazoned on it. It was referring to the month. What could that mean?

So happy to not be in Florida - or Tennessee!

 We watched "The Whale" earlier this week. I wanted to watch it even before the best actor win. I have no comparison (because I have seen none of the other nominees), so I don't know whether the award was deserved, but it was a good performance in a difficult role. The movie, though, was so dark and disturbing. There was some Hollywood typical POV (anti-religion) and some aspects that were totally ridiculous (to name just two, no way could someone that fat stand in a bathtub to shower; the daughter was a bully, and was not made into a good person by a four day relationship with dad).

I finished grades today. Yay! 

We put this on my father's grave on Saturday.

The a-hole Florida governor is going to try to get a grand jury to investigate the vaccine? He must have watched that recent "documentary" (Died Suddenly). LOL. I found it on some sketchy app and we watched it. I oppose censorship and don't see a problem with it being easily available on "respectable" platforms. (The best way to fight conspiracy theorist, unsubstantiated, nutjob speech is intelligent speech, not censorship.) What an unethical, conceited moron the FL guy is. I think he would do anything -- like declare he's God (he already did) or sell his kids -- to court the ignorant vote.

This was posted on a community page in Facebook because she lived in Olivebridge. I'm going to make an assumption she was a weekend resident, or perhaps she became year-round once the pandemic hit and remote work became common. I didn't know her, and I say RIP, but I did see the movie, which I absolutely despised. I love Meryl Streep, and her part was slightly more palatable, but I wouldn't call it her finest role. Otherwise, the story was dreadful, the main character was annoying and not a bit likeable, and I remember wishing I'd stopped watching after ten minutes rather than suffering through it. After I read the linked story, it reminded me of something I hated about the film: the usual fawning glorification of privileged people and their self-indulgent problems by Hollywood and publications such as the NYT and New Yorker, while simultaneously phony hand-wringing over social justice, equity, poverty, etc. Makes me want to puke.

 First classes yesterday were pretty good, except during my afternoon class (on Zoom), my cell phone rang (which I keep nearby to watch the time) and I turned it off. I noticed quickly that the number was 845 area code and I thought I'd call them back after class. Moments later, my house phone started ringing. A couple months ago, we had to upgrade to Verizon home phone, and now a computer voice says the number (and if it is spam, which is awesome). The voice said "845-657 (rest of number)." In my distracted state, I thought I heard a familiar number that I HAD to answer. 

 I apologized to the students, turned off the mic, answered the phone, and the caller wasn't who I expected. It was someone getting out the vote with a number very similar to a family member's. The caller must have phoned the Samsonville house, gotten my Castleton number and my cell phone number (which are on the message) -- and proceeded to call both! Problem is, I am not registered to vote in Olive, but what irritated me (besides the interruption) was that the person got huffy and argued with me about whose number it was (I have had the Samsonville number for over 20 years) and where I live! When I got back on Zoom, I was not focused. Thankfully class was almost over. 

I shared this on Facebook, and the response was all about robo-calls. I get too many of those too, and it is an outrage. But that wasn't what this was -- this was a persistent very rude real person with a number almost like my brother's. I didn't want to put that on Facebook because I think I know who the woman is and some of my HS friends would know as well.

Two nights ago I had two dreams. The first featured my in-laws. I didn't see my father-in-law, but knew he was there. My mother-in-law was a stronger presence, and she was laughing, which is appropriate, because she always did. They were sitting on a couch somewhere, watching television. Bob was going in and out of the room. The program they were watching was a documentary we'd watched the night before, "My name is Lopez."

The second dream took place outside, with a large field on one side, and on the other, down a small steep hill, an open space surrounded by evergreen trees. My father and some others were there, although I'm not completely sure who the others were; they could have been my brothers, but as with my FIL, it wasn't a strong impression. There was light, patchy snow on the ground, and my father was dressed for winter. The group was looking at a utility truck, something like a delivery truck such as the Kwik Kanteen. My father was talking, loudly, strong voice. He turned and walked up the little hill, and I thought, does he need help? Should I get a cane? But he didn't seem to need it.

 One more class next week and the semester is over. Grades are due May 15.

I had a wonderful night of sleep two nights ago. It was cold and that helped. I had a dream with my father in it again. It was two glimpses, just brief snippets. In the second snippet we were watching some Chevy Chase or Bill Murray comedy -- can't remember which -- also not an actual movie, an imaginary one. He was enjoying it, but after a while he stood up and said "I'm going to bed." I responded "it isn't even up to the good part yet" but it didn't make any difference.

Last night was cold again, and I slept horribly. So much for the temperature theory! My mother got a second stent today and it was on my mind. It went fine and she's already home.

Gary would be 59 tomorrow.

 We watched two movies recently, one on Netflix and one on Amazon prime. The Netflix movie was "Don't Look Up," and it probably was not the best choice for Christmas Eve viewing. The cast was stellar, but it was a very dark comedy that spoke many painful truths, and it left disturbing thoughts that linger. Allegedly it was intended to be a wake-up call on climate change, but I think it could be equally applied to the anti-vax, anti-mask, pandemic deniers, or to anti-intellectual ignorance and shallow aspects of our culture generally. The Amazon movie was "Being the Ricardos." Unlike so many biopics, it did not bash the main characters much, but then it was not exclusively a biopic. Overall it was good, although it focused partially on a tiresome subject that Hollywood loves (the 1950s communist witch hunt).  

Alex Jones is a dangerous nut. Just sayin'. And Fauci gently suggests a vaccine mandate on domestic planes would be good, and the media goes crazy. I say, grow a pair Dr. and tell the airlines, the administration and all the ignorant to get over it.

Today I cancelled my digital subscription to the Albany Times Union and un-followed them on Facebook (I haven't gotten the paper version in years). You have to do it on the phone, and the very nice customer service person asked why? So I told her that I have no choice, it's self preservation. I can't take it any more. I'm tired of all the articles grousing about restrictions, then today the final straw was when writer Chris Churchill called the governor out for allowing the Bills to have fans at their playoff game. I told her I've already stopped following CBS-6 WRGB for all their snark on pandemic issues. She laughed and thanked me for my honesty and said she found it refreshing, that she completely understood being offended by the hypocrisy. I also told her I hope the cancellation doesn't result in me getting nonstop hot room calls hawking subscriptions to the TU, as always happened in the past, and she laughed at that too. I forgot to add (but never fear, I'll have the opportunity when I get future sales pitches), that the comments on their Facebook posts are appalling and the toxic forum they encourage is a disincentive to following the newspaper.

PS Bob's birthday. He's 61. GrubHub & Amazon movie. Life during the virus!

I am feeling annoyed and disgusted that the university that employees me (and awarded me two graduate degrees and a teaching award) adopted a new logo for sports without consulting faculty or staff - a fierce-looking Great Dane with cropped ears. I am so pissed that they are promoting barbaric animal cruelty. The old logo had cropped ears too - but the new look is more realistic and severe and vicious - and this was an opportunity to embrace humane cultural change! Most of Europe, the AVMA, and enlightened vets in the USA do not condone the practice, and even the old fashioned, elitist AKC no longer prevents natural dogs from being registered or participating in events. Sign a petition opposing the abusive logo.

I am also pissed about the idiots in other states, and the dopes in my own, who refuse to wear masks. The big social gatherings alarm me too. Jerks. I have always known a large number of people celebrate ignorance and resent smart people. Unfortunately it is so in-my-face right now. Idiocracy = accurate.

Happy New Year! Didn't want to let January slide by without making a post. I've had several thoughts about things to write since my last post, but then never actually logged on and composed. The one that comes to mind right now: we watched two movies within the past few weeks. First, was Eat, Pray, Love. I can't believe we'd never seen it before. It is new to Netflix (I think) and it caught my attention in an email. It was entertaining (I guess) but also annoying. Why do we celebrate shallow things and act as if they are actually deep? The second is a fairly new movie, The Mule. Also entertaining, but seriously? Clint Eastwood is the star and yay to him still working, but why - even when a senior actress is cast in the role of his ex-wife - is there still a ridiculous gap in age - and she is the sickly, dying character?

Bob turned 60 a couple weeks ago. We always go to the movies for his birthday, because he likes going to a movie theatre. In the age of streaming I could skip it. Anyway, we couldn't make going to the theatre work for various reasons, so bought the Eastwood movie streaming on Amazon instead. I promised a rain check!