Heartbreaking

BREAKING: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott identifies TX school shooter as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old who lived in Uvalde, which is about 90 minutes from San Antonio. He reportedly first shot and killed his grandmother, then went to Robb Elementary School, where the governor says Ramos "horrifically, incomprehensibly" shot and killed 14 students and a teacher. Ramos killed by responding officers who were hurt in an exchange of gunfire. Those officers are expected to be OK. ABC News

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Lu and I took advantage of $5 Tuesdays to check out Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 

I don't know how I feel about it. The visuals were impressive, and there were some great fight scenes and genuine horror - that scene with Black Bolt? Whoa.

But all in all I thought it was chaotic and pointless, like Marvel ordered "a Doctor Strange sequel with a side of Boo!" and they went with whatever storyline they could hang that description on. 

I don't think its a spoiler to mention that the Scarlet Witch is the main villain here, which is my main cry of bulls**t with the film. It isn't, as some writers have said, because it's a "sexist trope" to have a woman go mad with loss. Last time I checked, if that's a trope and not just a genuine human reaction, it's universal to characters of both sexes - see the Punisher, Death Wish, tons of westerns. 

No, my beef is that I thought we settled this dang issue at the end of WandaVision. Bringing her back to regurgitate the same reaction to loss seems . . . stupid. And a waste of a great character. Not to mention it renders the TV series pointless.

 I give this one a C.

Your Eyes Deceive

The late Louis L'amour was/is one of my favorite authors, and I found his son Beau's insight into the story behind this cover photo fascinating. Even when you eyes say something is so, you better double check your sources.

 

Beau notes that Louis barely knew how to drive, never had a license, and never owned a car. Friends or relatives drove him whenever he could talk them into it, other times, he rode the bus or train or walked. On this trip he traveled with a friend, Ed Ross. After Louis died of lung cancer we got a lot of mail from fans about his having been a smoker. It was all because of this picture, which was reproduced on the back cover of his novel "COMSTOCK LODE." Louis never smoked, but the slip of paper that is laying on the counter inside the Post Office was mistaken for a cigarette being held between the fingers of his right hand.

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone by Ethel Waters

I used Shazam to discover Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone by Ethel Waters. 

Years we've been together 

Seems we can't get along,

No matter what I do

I don't appeal to you 

Makes no difference whether

I am right or wrong

If we can't be sweethearts 

This much you can do 

 Oh, Honey, though our friendship ceases from now on 

And listen, if you can't say anything real nice 

t's better not to talk at all, that's my advice 

We're parting, you go your way, I'll go mine 

It's best that we do 

Here's a kiss, I hope that this brings lots of luck to you 

Makes no difference how I carry on

 Just remember Please don't talk about me when I'm gone.

Writer(s): Sidney Clare, Bee Palmer, Sammy H. Stept Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com

Been There, Done That

The family down the block is screaming and slamming things and making a spectacle in the street. Good to see others following our example.

Budget Cuts close Cool Waters

This is horrible news. 

Our family has had great times at that county-run water park - you can find birthday parties there posted here, on Slapinions, if you look hard enough. First it closed for Covid, now for budget cuts. 

 I hope they open it up for 2023. Summer isn't the same without it.

HOF Baseball Writer Roger Angell, age 101, has passed away

Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you have to do is succeed utterly; keep hitting, keep the rally alive, and you have defeated time. You remain forever young." 

Goodnight Roger Angell. RIP

A Statement from YaYa

Long, emotional post because I can:

For the past three years I’ve been struggling to feel content or productive within my major of study @ UWM. I’ve had to really reflect on my academics and why I’ve been struggling to progress in a field of study that I’m clearly very passionate about. 

Theatre has been my life for a long time. I can’t remember my life without it and I can’t see my future without it, either. Studying theatre every day since 2015 (thanks, public arts-centric education) has been amazing and I’ve learned enough to feel concrete in my love for the art form. I feel so strongly towards theatre education and the benefits that youth receive from it, but the program at UWM just wasn’t enough for me. 

Intimate class sizes (usually about 4-12 students) seemed so ideal in the beginning but I’d come to dread seeing the same people in each class every day. And not because I don’t like the other theatre ed students - but because it felt very repetitive and stagnant. 

Because of the pandemic, my experience shifted and I was involuntarily removed from tech crews, the campus dorms, and more. It felt like everything I knew was uprooted in a matter of weeks- and though I had hoped I would regain my footing and drive, it never happened. Between the lack of accessible online courses in the theatre ed program and the lack of variety, it just wasn’t working for me.

It took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I love theatre education, period. I’ve been hurting because it stings to accept that I’m moving on. 

But I think it’s for the better.

Today I’ve officially declared a new major of study, Community Engagement & Education. I think this will be a great fit for me and I’m excited to see where it takes me. My path towards higher education hasn’t been linear and it’s been difficult to acknowledge at times. But when I get that degree- and I WILL get there, a few years later- I’ll feel proud. 

As (Doctor) Taylor Swift said: “Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.”

Why?

i will never forget being told this by someone who had two cents to their name - LuLu

RIP Nipper

This morning Lisa and I drove my mother-in-law to put her cat Nipper, age 16, who was sick with heart disease and fluid on her lungs, to sleep. 

Tears were shed,  but Nipper's pain is gone. She will be missed

Nipper

RIP Nipper, say hi to Grandpa Jaspare - Grandma Jeanne

Old Time Radio

I've been a lifelong fan of old time radio - comedies, drama, scifi, western - whatever it is, I want to hear it.

As a kid I used to order cassette tapes from a catalog and listen to the Bickersons, Burns and Allen, Orson Welle's famous War of the Worlds broadcast, and the like. I learned what I liked, like Jack Benny and The Shadow, and what I didn't, like Abbott and Costello and Duffy's Tavern (not that there aren't good and bad episodes of each.) 

A few years back I had Sirius XM radio, and binged on old radio on their dedicated station. Alas, that car has come and gone, and it was only recently that I found a good substitute: ABN, the Antioch Broadcasting Network, an all-old time radio internet station I listen to through my Radio Garden app. I listen to my comedy on the way to work, drama on the way home, western and sci-fi when available.

Here's something very neat: the owner tries to schedule shows to play on the anniversary of their original airing. More than once I've heard a Jack Benny show from 75 or 80 years ago on the nose, and brother, unlike some other shows that date themselves, Jack is just as funny in 2022 as he was in 1942, which, he would say, isn't much of a compliment.  :)

The site exists largely through donations alone, and I gladly coughed up a little out of last paycheck to support the endeavor.

Check it out!

* * * * * 

If you want to explore the golden era of radio more deeply, I recommend visiting another site, Old Time Radio Researchers. They have more than 60,000 - yes, 60,000 - radio episodes available for free download. 

Fiery Hot Cheese Curls

These are the hot chips that people have been craving, right? The Dollar Tree has them.  -  YaYa

Fetus Core

Here's a neat design Smiley created and silk-screened on a t-shirt at school.

ISO

80s day coming at work..iso banana clip, jelly bracelets, charm necklace, scrunch socks, acid wash in 2/3x ..u know the look! Just to loan..thanks! - Lisa

Farewell George Perez

The great George Perez, a comic book writer and artist best known for his work on the New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman - but beloved by me for All-Star Squadron - has died at age 67. RIP

Fred Ward

The great character actor Fred Ward has died at age 79.

RIP Remo Williams, RIP.

Madison culture is going to the docks to vibe and finding someone fishing at 2 am - LuLu

Smiley's Senior Prom

 I think the pictures speak for themselves! Smiley was decked out in a well tailored blue suit, white shirt, pale green tie, and brown shoes. He looked great. 

He graciously stopped and posed for pictures, even though he's usually quite ornery about spending time in front of a camera. 

He's a great kid and I hope he has a blast!

RIP

About the beautiful young woman found in St Francis: I hope the person or persons responsible for taking away a 15 month old baby's mother away from them forever are swiftly brought to justice and forever haunted. RIP mama.  - Lisa

May the Fourth

May the 4th be with you? I prefer the 3rd or the 10th, but OK.

20 years of tragic uncertainty

I can't believe it's been 20 years since she disappeared. I pray that one day her family has closure, or better yet she returns alive. 

On this day in 1791

On this day in 1791 Poland established Europe's first national constitution - only the second such document in the world (after our own). Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja

 

Roe v Wade Overturned?

Yes, this was just a leaked news story that may or may not be true; moreover, it was allegedly a preliminary vote, and not a "done" deal.

But my first, surprising reaction? Dismay over the division and civic unrest that would surely follow in its wake. 

Yes, Roe was a poorly reasoned case that seems to have survived mainly because of what it represents, not the strength of its logic, but as of this moment abortion has been the law of the land for nearly half a century. Without double-checking my demographics, I'd say the majority of Americans are too young to remember a world without it; I certainly don't. 

Roe no longer represents only the legality of abortion: in the minds of friends and foe alike, it involves gender, religion, morality, generational differences, political affiliation, Constitutional interpretation - it's a litmus test, and a catch-all of the American psyche. And if the summer of 2020 showed you anything, the American psyche can be a messy and violent place.

I don't have much else to say right now. Not until the veracity of this news "scoop" is proven. 

 But I'm worried.

A Morning Traffic Jam

Left at 7:15AM...was supposed to start at 8. Here we are..almost 8:30...still haven't passed the accident? Just past Moreland on west....any news? - Lisa