November 30, 2019

Credit: Disney / LucasFilm

The Mandalorian Episode IV, channels more Akira Kurosawa than Sergio Leone. Of course, Baby Yoda rules.



The Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from The Union Square Cafe was delicious.



A Hard Day's Night was a fun romp. Wilfrid Brambell steals the show. He was Albert Steptoe of the show Steptoe and Son, which was the inspiration for Sanford and Son.



Continuing my "I am..." exploration.

VIOLA

No, my profound heart: and yet, by the very fangs
of malice I swear, I am not that I play. Are you
the lady of the house?

Twelfth Night , ACT I, SCENE V

VIOLA

Then think you right: I am not what I am.

Twelfth Night , ACT III, SCENE I



Jack Hawkins and Claude Rains are so good .



Sort of risqué scene where Capt. Patrick Hendry is tied up by Nikki Nicholson. I liked John Carpenter's version better.

November 29, 2019

My usual display after carving.



Nice selections.

November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving!



Mimosas!



The Irishman was fantastic. Joe Pesci is amazing.

November 26, 2019

The Mandalorian is cool. A spaghetti western in space. Baby Yoda is adorable.

November 25, 2019

Seeing Much Ado About Nothing on PBS cued me in on Don John:

The "canker in the hedge" line predates Paradise Lost's "reign in hell" speech.

DON JOHN:I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in
his grace, and it better fits my blood to be
disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob
love from any: in this, though I cannot be said to
be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied
but I am a plain-dealing villain. I am trusted with
a muzzle and enfranchised with a clog; therefore I
have decreed not to sing in my cage. If I had my
mouth, I would bite; if I had my liberty, I would do
my liking: in the meantime let me be that I am and
seek not to alter me.

Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 1

Contrast:

Iago's: "I am not what I am."

Popeye's: "I yam what I yam, and that's all what I yam"

Exodus 3:14 King James Version (KJV)

14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.


Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed,
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost which is so deemed
Not by our feeling but by others’ seeing.
For why should others’ false adulterate eyes
Give salutation to my sportive blood?
Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,
Which in their wills count bad what I think good?
No, I am that I am, and they that level
At my abuses reckon up their own;
I may be straight, they they themselves be bevel.
By their rank thoughts my deeds must not be shown,
Unless this general evil they maintain:
All men are bad, and in their badness reign.

Sonnet 121

November 24, 2019

Standard procedural. Chadwick Boseman and Sienna Miller are good. J.K. Simmons is excellent.

The 21 bridges:

Here are the 21 bridges of Manhattan:

Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (Manhattan and Queens)
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (Manhattan and Queens)
Willis Avenue Bridge (Manhattan and the Bronx)
Third Avenue Bridge (Manhattan and the Bronx)
Harlem River Lift Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx, trains)
Madison Avenue Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
145th Street Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Macombs Dam Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
The High Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Alexander Hamilton Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Washington Heights Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
University Heights Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Broadway Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Henry Hudson Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
Spuyten Duyvil Bridge (Manhattan and Bronx)
George Washington Bridge (Manhattan and New Jersey)
Brooklyn Bridge (Manhattan and Brooklyn)
Manhattan Bridge (Manhattan and Brooklyn)
Williamsburg Bridge (Manhattan and Brooklyn)
Roosevelt Island Bridge (Roosevelt Island and Queens)
Hell Gate Bridge (Randalls Island and Queens)



Lost Cities with Albert Lin featured Wat'a. Amazing stuff. A precursor to Machu Pichu.



Another Lost Cities with Albert Lin featured Stonehenge and Blick Mead. Great intel on hunter-gatherer society.



$30 win!

November 23, 2019

RIP Gahan Wilson.


By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5762244

Some people love it, others hate it. It is now a Christmas song staple. I like it.

• McCartney earns approximately $400,000-$600,000 per year in royalties because of the song.



Brussels Sprouts in season.



Christmas at the Greenmarket. Holiday Village opened November 21st.



The Last Picture Show was on TCM On-Demand. Real good, Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman certainly deserved their Oscars.

November 22, 2019

Wow, a big hot mess. Veronica Lake sings well. Alan Ladd is terrific. The plot....well, it moves, but huh? Robert Preston is top-billed(why?) and Laird Cregar is quite good.

November 19, 2019

Great article about Paradise Lost by John Milton.

"Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce

To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n"

November 18, 2019

Perfect score!



John von Neumann!



Thanksgiving is late this year. So what does that bring? TV commercials and stores hitting all of us earlier with Black Friday and Christmas ads. They used to wait but this year they have one less week because of the late Thanksgiving.



Siriousxm Christmas Channels.

November 17, 2019

I am a huge Survivor fan. Last Wednesday's hour long episode was wild and thought-provoking.



8 1/2, TCM on Demand. Quite good.

November 16, 2019

OmmeGang Witte with a Lagunita behind it.

Ommegang or Ommeganck (Dutch: "walk around" (the church, village or city), Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɔməˌɣɑŋ]) is the generic name for various medieval pageants celebrated in the Low Countries, what is now Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France.



I now have Disney+. Mandalorian is the only reason. If you are a Star Wars fan,you must order it.



Astoria.

November 13, 2019

Lagunitas - Doggone good.

November 11, 2019

Veteran's Day!

11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.



Falstaff!

"If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I
would teach them should be, to forswear thin
potations and to addict themselves to sack."

Henry IV, part 2 | Act 4, Scene 3



Funny!



Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration! by Emily Bazelon.

Thought-provoking!



Saw Harriet. Good movie, remarkable woman.

November 10, 2019

"This town needs an enema!"

I just watched the 1989 Batman. Jack Nicholson was a great Joker. But, in the battle of "best joker," Heath Ledger wins.

November 9, 2019

I like November. Three days off from work including Thanksgiving. I have to remind myself of all the things to be thankful for in my life.



Morton's Surf and Turf. Spinach and Mushrooms were also excellent.

November 5, 2019

Kyma Flatiron does a mean Octopus dish. Their pan-fried Branzino is also quite good.



Tried the famous Popeye's Chicken sandwich. It is only $3.99. It is also big and good. My line was only 20 minutes.