Way to Go Pick n Save!

Our local Kroger grocery store (Pick 'n Save) has begun packaging and selling bags of bruised and less than prefect vegetables - for 99 cents per bag!

Not only is it economical,  especially with today's food prices,  it's reducing waste and helping feed the community.

Well done Kroger!

This depresses me

Originality is growing more antiquated by the year.  

Blech. 

Monolith

Monolith is the story of an disgraced journalist - we never learn her name - who out of desperation takes a job on a podcast that explores conspiracy theories and unsolved mysteries. She receives an anonymous tip about a mysterious black brick, no larger than a bar of gold, that influenced the life of a maid many years ago. Soon, others come forward with their own stories about receiving similar bricks, and as her involvement with the case deepens, the interviewer's heath begins to decline. Are the bricks real, or an elaborate plan to discredit her further and end her career? 

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this movie. 

It is not horror, or sci-fi, or a psychological thriller, but it is a chimera of all three. Only the unnamed interviewer is seen by the camera, and only in her empty home. It is essentially a one woman film, and so straight through the audience is trapped with her; trapped in the isolated, empty house, trapped in the depths of the mystery of the bricks, trapped in the guilt and professional humiliation that has brought her to this point. 

The ending is perfection. I will not spoil it there, although I will mention that one article I read that purported to "explain" the ending missed the point entirely. Listen to the last words of the film's dialogue, think of the two very distinct meaning behind those words, and think of who is saying them. Which way you interpret that line, and there is no right answer, changes the thrust of the film entirely. 

Watch it on Amazon Prime. 

Grade: A+

The Paris Olympics

Why has this Olympics been the best ever? Anyone have a theory? I'm not even into sports,  but such awesome moments, so many fun ppl. Just extraordinary ordinary ppl living their best life. - Lisa

Abigail

So I finally got around to watching this recently, and about a third of the way through I was NOT impressed. I thought the kidnapping (no spoiler here, it's right at the start) was a cliched mess right out of a middle schooler's creative writing assignment, and the whole group of criminals gave off the vibe of a low grade Reservoir Dogs ripoff. 

So I stopped watching. 

Then I read some reviews that claimed the movie was great and unique and blah blah and I thought "Either I'm missing something or those reviews were bought and paid for by the studio" 

So I resumed watching. 

I still don't think it was unique or anywhere close to great BUT the last two thirds were a significant improvement. They we fun  horror-movie gory, and downright entertaining. So yes, I'm glad I went back to finish it. 

Did I like it enough to recommend it or revisit it in the future? No, not really. 

Grade: C+

End the Honeymoon

 It's been twelve days since Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 election, and about 11.75 days since Kamala Harris was anointed the Democratic nominee..

I'm not saying she wouldn't have been the pick if Joe had withdrawn sooner: she's the sitting VP, she checks all  the right age/sex/race boxes, etc. 

I'm also not saying she shouldn't be the pick. 

But . . 

More than sixty years ago the parties stopped deciding Presidential candidates internally - supposedly - and turned to the primaries to give the voters a nominal voice in the process. 

Nominal, because the primaries are rigged for one or two favorites each cycle, and the nominee is all but chosen by the time some states have their primary. 

But my goodness, what have we done in 2024? We've - well, the DNC - has crowned a candidate without input from a single primary. They've even done it while skirting the traditional nomination process at the convention. Apparently, not only the public is excluded from deciding, but so are the delegates at the convention. 

In those 12 days Harris has given zero press conferences, and has been exposed to no serious journalistic questions. The media has gone mum on all of their criticism of her, which, while benign, existed prior to a few weeks ago. 

Again, this isn't an anti-Harris post. It isn't the person that bothers me, it's the sleight of hand behind the scenes. 

This is the same media that denied up and down that Joe Biden was physically unfit for office, that covered it up for months at the risk of an election loss, or worse. Then, when it was on display for the world at the debate, and they couldn't pull off the lie, they turned on him like a pack of wolves.

Now, 100% of coverage is about Kamala Harris, and how wonderful she is. No discussion. No questioning. No dissension.

I am not a conspiracy guy. I don't think humans are dependable enough to keep mum and pull off a national or international scam. But by all I hold dear, the belief in my head that this republic can't be bought outright . . well, it's fading fast. 

The media should not crown a King, or a Queen. Neither should a party chairman and high dollar donors.

 So far, all 3 have tried their best to do so in 2024, and I think they'll succeed. 

Trap

Continuing our tradition of seeing M Night Shyamalan movies on opening night,  Lisa and I went to see Trap. 

The police have learned that The Butcher, a serial killer with 12 victims to his name, will be attending a Lady Raven pop concert in Philadelphia.  They lock the facility down,  refusing to let any man out without first questioning him.  Bad news for our guy Cooper, aka The Butcher, who is attending the show with his daughter.  Will he escape the elaborate trap?  Or have the police finally got their man?

OK, first of all, Shyamalan haters, there is no wild twist at the end,  so relax. Second,  it was grand seeing Haley Mills up on the silver screen. 

There's no twist,  but there's also not a whole lot of tension in my opinion, and I'm not sure why the "trap" worries the guy so much.  The cops don't have an ID, a description, or even a race to compare him against. Answer their questions and go home. 

Also, not a fan of the conversation in the arena that leads to a car ride. I won't give up the spoiler, but suspension of disbelief, if it wasn't a thing before, would have been invented after that scene. 

The last 15 minutes tho - oh those did the trick.  He ended the movie well. 

BTW, Shyamalan's daughter plays Lady Raven, and does a great job singing.  Acting,  not so much.  And the plot armor her character wears is awfully thick. 

Grade: B