Monday, July 1, 2019

Idle Thoughts: Only One Item on the Ballot

Tweets from June, 2019:
  • 2019-06-03: There is only one item on the ballot and there is no line. It shouldn't take a half hour to vote. But then you might not know who I went to vote with.
  • 2019-06-06: Rocketman (2019): Less a concert movie than a study in the personal demons that drove Elton John to rehab. A couple of big Broadway song and dance numbers adds to the patchwork quality. Would have preferred more concert footage. A good behind-the-scenes look at a genius. B+
  • 2019-06-07: Ma (2019): Psychological thriller with Octavia Spencer as the psychopath. Builds slowly to a climax that borders on torture porn. Spencer's performance should make a big impression on a younger generation of movie-goers, who might learn to be nicer to their classmates. C+

After the jump, more idle thoughts.



  • 2019-06-10: To its credit, the City's own Richardson Today Facebook page posted weather warnings and followups all afternoon yesterday and this morning. And its website has storm updates on its home page. Individual council members, on the other hand, need better communications.
  • 2019-06-12: Dead To Me (TV 2019): Woman whose husband is killed in a hit and run accident makes a friend in a grief counseling group. Gradually through the season both women's secrets are revealed. A murder mystery. An odd couple buddy movie. Bits of dark humor. Nailed the ending. B+
  • 2019-06-13: Beto is flailing.
  • 2019-06-13: "Hope" and prayers are no more effective stopping hostile foreign powers, Senator Collins, than stopping gun violence in our schools and churches.
  • 2019-06-14: Good Omens (TV 2019): Angel and demon, on Earth since the Garden of Eden, team up to prevent Armageddon. Zany, irreverent, fast-paced, stuffed with special effects. The two leads are fun to watch but other scenes in this one-note satire can get tedious. Daring choice for VBS? C+
  • 2019-06-15: RT @JohnCornyn: "There they go, again: Russia Sought to Use Social Media to Influence E.U. Vote, Report Finds."
    Why tell us? Tell your party's leader and President. Then do something to stop him from telling Russians to do it again.
  • 2019-06-15: Night Court theme song isn't even the best Harry Anderson TV theme song. That would be Dave's World.
  • 2019-06-18: Always Be My Maybe (2019): Rom-com with more rom than com. Childhood sweethearts grow up only to meet again in adulthood with predictable results. Keanu Reeves steals the movie with a zany scene as the rival love interest. Do I still need to say it has an Asian-American cast? C+
  • 2019-06-21: Exhalation: Stories: Nine sci-fi stories (many published before). Good scientific concepts (AI, entropy, alternate universes, creationism, SETI, etc.), good treatment of the science, but not very compelling fiction. C+
  • 2019-06-25: Late Night (2019): Dramedy packed with workplace topics, maybe too many: diversity hiring, being the new hire, sexism, growing old, #MeToo, all centered on a talk show's writers' room. Mindy Kaling brings her deft touch to a straightforward story. Emma Thompson is great. B-
  • 2019-06-28: MIB International (2019): There's no reason to make this sequel but if you liked the first three, you might like this one. Tessa Thompson (best) plays a spirited new hire to MIB. Chris Hemsworth (worst) plays a goof-off. Kumail Nanjiani (cute, fun) is here mainly to sell toys. C+
  • 2019-06-28: @RepLanceGooden wants us to think it's the Republicans who are the humanitarians here? Really?!? Do we even know if Trump will use the new money the way it's been allocated, or will he redirect it to build his wall? He's done this before with military allocations.
  • 2019-06-28: Time to re-up this tweet: Beto is flailing.
  • 2019-06-28: Re: Legalization of hemp in Texas. "The law's hasty drafting and the fact that it took effect immediately means other misdemeanor marijuana cases may be jeopardized. Wilson announced this week that her office had dropped about 235 cases filed since the new law took effect."
    Isn't that a feature not a bug?

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