The End

That was a listless,  lousy way to end an emotional roller coaster of a season. 

Sigh. 

Fashion

The latest fashion design by Dem,  our exchange student. 

Adam Rich

Adam Rich, best known for playing Nicholas on my Mom's favorite Eight is Enough,  died yesterday at age 54.

RIP

A Potential TV Appearance for the DanDan

This morning interviewed by WTMJ TV 4, donating our  Christmas tree at a neighborhood event that will use it to mulch the community gardens. I said on-air that Lisa gave me the idea,  and better yet I twice mentioned that it was a 9.5 footer lol

Kahuna on the Landing

 

OMG Girl

These are the messages Junie sent midday Wednesday. Excuse her language, which I would yell about - if I wasn't too busy laughing LOL 

I’m going to kms deodorant flung on my pants earlier and it dried and it deadass looks like either bleach or cum stains all over my pants

Omfg I just licked my finger to try to get it off and instead it rubbed hot Cheeto dust on it

It’s red

I’m actually gonna leave

I got some of it off by hand sanitizer

.

White Noise

 White Noise is the Netflix adaptation of the postmodern, US National Book Award winning novel of the same name by Don DeLillo.  Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, and Don Cheadle share top billing.

Now, with a pedigree like that, you expect a movie to be a little stiffer than the norm, and less concerned with entertainment than with making a point about the human condition. Weekend at Bernie's this ain't. 

That said, I think it still made a good effort to keep the viewer, if not happy, than at least willing to stick around for the ride. 

Jack and Babette are a married couple in charge of a large blended family - he is on his 5th marriage, and she is not far behind - and while they are madly in love, both with each other and their children, death is constantly on their minds. They worry about it. They fear it. They talk about it.  They avoid talking about it. And so on. 

When a train accident creates an "airborne toxic event" in their sleepy little college town, the family hits the road to flee, and begin to confront their fears, not altogether successfully. 

The movie is told in three narrative blocks: the lead up to the train accident, the escape from the "event", and a 3rd block devoted to a jarring departure from the first 3/4ths of the movie. 

The acting was top notch, right down to the child actors playing the kids. I enjoyed the movie (my last of 2022) but it is, undoubtedly, an acquired taste and not for everyone.  I'd grade it a C+.

* * * 

In closing I pause to express an irrational complaint I have about the film:

It is set in the mid-1980's a fact that is contextually established by the clothing, music, cars, and product packaging. Maybe it won't be enough to identify the era if you're watching it from the year 2345, but it should be more than enough clues for decades to come. 

Yet, for a film that tries to immerse itself in the subtlety of human thoughts and fears, they hammer the setting home with an  obvious, out of sync bit of dialogue that was jarringly out of the blue [my apologies if this isn't verbatim]:

"I can't believe how long its been. I started the program in 1968, and here it is, sixteen years later!"

Groan. 

THE Doggos

50 Years Ago Today

50 year years ago today, for a whopping $8.8 million dollar investment, George Steinbrenner bought my beloved Yankees. 3 years later he returned them to the World Series; a year later they notched the first of *SEVEN*World Series Championships under his watch (to go along with 2 Stanley Cup's as owner of the NJ Devils). I don't believe even a fraction of that success would have come without the chaotic mess that so often defined Steinbrenner's reign. 

Say what you want - the man knew how to win. 

Happy Purchase Day!

A Horrible Event on Monday Night Football

I returned from my night with YaYa in time to watch some Monday Night Football. To my horror, this is the sight that graced the television: Bills safety Damar Hamlin's heart stopped on the field. When I tuned in, he was still on the field but being readied to be transferred to a hospital. 

What an awful thing to happen in a sporting event. 

He was definitely in our prayers. 

 

Prayers needed for Damar Hamlin

The NFL has temporarily suspended the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football game after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after what looked like a routine tackle .CPR was administered on the field and Hamlin was transported to the hospital.

 I can't imagine the game resuming tonight. 

Please offer your prayers for Hamlin and his family. 

She would have been 100 today

My late Busia/Little Grandma, Clara Zolinski, would have turned 100 years old today. 

It's been 16 years and I still miss you Grandma. I love you. 

RIP.

Round 1

With her boyfriend out of town I spent the evening with YaYa, first getting an oil change in his car 

 

Then stopping by an Aldi for some groceries before going to the Round 1 arcade inside Southridge Mall, where we had a blast playing games, including a very respectable effort on my part on the "Groove Coaster."

NYE Traditions

Watched a video of a friend's nye celebration and there were balloons they stepped on at the stroke of midnight. Unlocked a childhood memory. Forgot we used to do that. We should do it again.

- Lisa

2022 Highlight

my singular highlight of 2022 was seeing Jeff Goldblum perform in Vegas - YaYa

Roberto Clemente - Gone 50 Years

50 years ago today, on New Years Eve 1972, Pittsburgh Pirates legend, rightfielder Roberto Clemente, was in Nicaragua, attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to earthquake victims.

The plane loaded with supplies crashed into the ocean at takeoff,  killing everyone on board.  His body was never found.

After his death MLB honored his greatness - as a man,  as a devout Catholic, as a pioneering Latin player,  as a superb outfielder - by waiving the waiting period for the Hall of Fame. He joined the heroes of Cooperstown in 1973.

Continue to RIP Roberto.  You made a difference in this world. 

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, a stalwart theologian and defender of the faith, has died at age 95.

RIP

 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. 

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in Peace. 

 

Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters, as close to an actual broadcasting legend as we'll ever know,  has passed away at 93.

RIP

Facts

The Wednesday Addams dance is cringe. You can say otherwise. But you'd be a liar.

An improvised Zuppa Toscana

So last night, in an effort to make meals with what we have on hand, I decided to make soup. 

 I took this potato soup mix as a base, added a cup of milk, three cans of sliced potatoes, and chopped and browned the last of the breakfast sausage in the fridge. I also cooked down an entire bag of spinach and some onion, and tossed it all in. 

The result? A creamier version of my famous zuppa toscana. 

And it was darn good lol 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

 

Glass Onion,  the second film in the Benoit Blanc "Knives Out" series,  is a destination mystery set on an island paradise during the pandemic. 

If you're watching it for the mystery, while it is well done, there are better tales out there to discover. But as a ensemble mystery/thriller with comedic undertones and, this one was a hoot. I greatly enjoyed it, and I eagerly await the next entry in the series. 

More Gunfire on the Freeway

I got to work almost 90 minutes later than normal this morning,  after the Sheriff's department closed 94W due to a suspected shooting. Alas, I was already on my way when the order came down. 

Why anyone would shoot a gun on the freeway, and why this has recently become the fad du jour, escapes the reasoning skills of my feeble little brain. 

Question

would you be upset seeing me as your funeral director 🧍🏻‍♀️ would my piercings bother you? 

yes or no - LuLu

Hot Chocolate ala Danny

I made a slow cooker of homemade hot chocolate this afternoon. 6 cups of whole milk, a can of sweetened condensed milk, a bag of chocolate chips,  vanilla extract,  and (in lieu of heavy cream) two scoops of natural vanilla ice cream. Heat for 2 hours,  stirring frequently. 

Yum!

WTH

Facebook just removed a post of mine from 2016, with the bots calling it "dangerous" and against community standards. What was it? A review of a (then- new) 1034 page academic history of Hitler's rise to power.