Saturday, March 09, 2024

Scarlett Johansson at 2:20 as Katie Britt

 


I didn't initially get the "My Tea Is Ready" meme. Apparently it's a reference to "Get Out" (the best movie of 2017).  Welcome to the Sunken Place!



The horror genre has long claimed the trappings of normalcy as its natural playground. The family home is one of those places. The GOP hasn’t quite realized that yet, but everyone else has. When Katie Britt introduced her kitchen, my thought was, “Oh no, not the kitchen!”

Katie Britt's Central Lie

This is very interesting, and yet completely expected. Katie Britt lied when she told the story about the mattress in the shoebox room. There was just too much emotional investment in the story for it to be anything but a lie:

Friday, March 08, 2024

Katie Britt's State-of-the-Union Response

Somewhere beyond Stepford comes the GQP response. It’s brilliant. The emotional seesaw. The sternness. The lurid mattress story. I also love how the ads are strategically placed in the video - brilliant editing. Not necessarily convincing, of course. AI can only do so much, and pod people have their limitations. At least no six fingers. Bless her heart!

 


People will have fun with this for days.
@stellamagz Replying to @user4840663161667 BUCK COYOTE why wait till Saturday?? Its FRIDAY AFTERNOON LIVE with Stella Magz 💙💙💙 #sotu #stateoftheunion #rebuttal #katiebritt #politics #political #alabama #comedy #fypシ #fyp #fy #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #fypシ゚viral #foryoupage #foryourpage #stellamagz ♬ original sound - Stella 🧿💙
@jojofromjerz #MAGA #stateoftheunion #katiebritt #BidenHarris #2024 #republicans ♬ original sound - JoJoFromJerz
@colormeloverly I’m still recovering from her rebuttal sorry!! #parody ♬ original sound - Clara
@atlantis99_ #katie #soto #politics #humortiktok ♬ original sound - TJ
@dallassheraton A lighthearted parody of #katiebritt and her response to Joe Biden’s #sotu #comedy #parody #politicalsatire ♬ original sound - MakeoverMike
@lacceeyy This is probably the most terrifying thing Ive seen air on television. Watching Serena Joy come to life in a united states senator. Like June Osborn says- we need to open our eyes. #thehandmaidstale #serenajoywaterford #offred #serenajoy #juneosborne #commandorwaterford #serenaandfredwaterford #handmaid #martha #hulu #margaretthatcher #booktok #tvshows #unitedstatessenate #katiebritt #senatorbritt #senate #womensrights ♬ A lonely, sad, crying piano solo(955976) - Hoshijima Satohide
@bmotheprince The Katie Britt Republican Response #comedy ♬ original sound - Brian Moller | B Mo the Prince
@deesknots Closer to God #katiebritt #sotu #fundy #babyvoice #sisterwives #rebuttal #staysweet #trad #churchlady #demoCrAZY #politicaltheater #hairspray #christiannationalism #parody #funny ♬ Boundless Worship - Josué Novais Piano Worship

The Elephant in the Room

Me In The Morning

Monday, March 04, 2024

Greta Gerwig's Growing Pains

I went to Gunther's Ice Cream Parlor (an iconic Sacramento landmark) and saw a colorful flyer for this documentary. Ah, a guerilla advertising strategy, cleverly-placed at one of Greta's favorite places! (Maybe too much advertising for my taste, but it is interesting.)

 

Sunday, March 03, 2024

Dune 2

Saw Dune 2 last night. I liked it - it was good. Somehow different than my memory of when I read the book back in school days, circa 1970. Can't recreate those memories, I suppose!

My Doctor Cousin's Gloom

When I was in Albuquerque, I gave my doctor cousin a telephone call. She was in a glum, depressed mood about her work. She reports a wave of death in her hospital, making a mockery of her efforts. She's taken to haunting the death statistics office at the hospital, trying to assess just how bad the situation is. 

The deaths result from either: 
  • people showing up at the hospital with undiagnosed stage four cancers, and thus already beyond help, or; 
  • people suffering weird infections that even amputation can't solve, and that require massive doses of antibiotics just to survive.  

My doctor cousin speculates that people are not getting the health care they need in a timely way, and we discussed that possibility.

My doctor cousin also worries about the growing use of nurse-practitioners instead of doctors.  Doctors can be sued; nurse-practitioners can't be sued, and so there is great interest in the hospitals for using nurse-practitioners whenever possible.  Nurse-practitioners miss diagnoses though.  They don't have the proper training.  My doctor cousin recently berated a nurse-practitioner for missing a cancer diagnosis, which resulted in an unnecessary early death.

My doctor cousin's report contradicts another report that New Mexico has the lowest average annual new cancer rate in the country.  A Facebook friend speculates that maybe untreated New Mexico people are dying of cancer too fast to get reported in new-cancer statistics. The rapid deaths clean up the pool of ill people before it gets sampled for cancer incidence.  Maybe that's it.

And I learned another friend of mine has been battling a dangerous infection for a long time, which worsened last September, and has improved only lately, after massive doses of antibiotics.  I'm worried about her future. 

A Cute Video of Rare Pine Martens Playing

At this post.

Watching The Blizzard From Afar

It's been impressive watching from afar as the recent blizzard crushed the Sierras. 

On March 2nd, the storm set up a conveyor belt of moisture just south and east of Sacramento. It did rain in Sacramento - about 2/3 of an inch of rain, which would translate to about 6 inches of snow - but given the orographic lift of the mountains and the conveyor belt of moisture, something like 5 feet of snow fell in the Lake Tahoe area in the same period - a full order of magnitude difference! 

Sometimes its nice to live in the flat.
The blizzard dumped 5 to 7 feet of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada over the weekend. The National Weather Service in Sacramento said a rare blizzard warning would remain in effect until midnight Sunday for areas above 6,500 feet elevation, while other parts of the Sierra Nevada were under a winter storm warning.
...Just west of Echo Summit on Highway 50, a few vehicles were temporarily stuck in several feet of snow that slid off the mountainside onto the road, said Steve Nelson, a spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation. He said a crew pulled the vehicles out, and no one was injured.

 On the north side of Lake Tahoe, Interstate 80 remained closed due to snow for a third day.

...And in the Eastern Sierra, U.S. Highway 395 was closed in Mono County, where Caltrans crews were working to clear the snow.
Even as the blizzard conditions began to ease, the National Weather Service urged people to avoid driving in the mountains. 
“Winds can get up to 45 miles an hour at those higher elevations, and with snow still falling, that causes really dangerous travel conditions,” said Sara Purdue, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. “We’re highly discouraging travel to the mountain areas still.”

Just Listened To The "Say My Name" Musical Soundtrack

I had trouble with my CD player recently, so I was unable to immediately listen to Rob Gathercole and company's "Say My Name" musical soundtrack (a Christmas gift from the UK from Rachel, via Dave Layman). I had to switch out the CD player, but having done so, I have to say I like it a lot! Very clever! Here is one of the songs:

 

Thursday, February 29, 2024

A Hopi Inspiration for “Breaking Bad”

Here is the extended version of my talk given to the 45th annual Southwest Popular/American Cultural Association on February 21, 2024. Of all the talks I've given, I'm proudest of this talk!

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Flight From Albuquerque to San Diego - Feb. 24, 2024


Takeoff from Albuquerque - heading east.

Surprisingly, the plane breaks right - south - and heads over Sandia Base, which would have been anathema during the Cold War.

The multi-million dollar Trestle facility, used, among other things, to subject B-52s to EMP pulses, just for grins.

Looking west.

More Sandia Base.

Arroyo

The plane pivots at the Meadowview subdivision, east of Los Lunas, and begins heading westward.

West end of Meadowview and east side of Los Lunas, with the Sandia Mountains in the distance.

Los Lunas, NM, looking north along the Rio Grande River.

Los Lunas, NM, looking north along the Rio Grande River.

Interesting solar panels, or something, south of the volcano that's west of Los Lunas.

Rio Puerco River, with the ruin known as Pottery Mound in the foreground.

Valencia County landfill is down here.

Cloud layers make themselves known.

Just north of the Sunrise Skiing Resort in eastern Arizona.

Imperial Valley.

Where the desert meets the agricultural land on the west side of the Imperial Valley.

Colorado Desert west of the Imperial Valley.

Wind farm east of San Diego.

Mt. Laguna and Interstate 8.

Skyview Road area east of San Diego.

The landmark San Miguel Mountain, where aircraft gather before filing one-by-one to Lindbergh Field in San Diego.

Sweetwater Reservoir, east of San Diego.

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Balboa Park and the Naval Medical Center.

San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Interstate 5.

Landing at Lindbergh Field.

Looking Forward to Dune II

The better part is coming up:
What’s most impressive about Parts One and Two alike might be Villeneuve’s ability to make all of this comprehensible to a lay audience that hasn’t read the book and doesn’t have access to its lengthy glossary. He has a remarkable sense of what does and what does not need to be explained, how to make exposition seem organic to the story, and how to balance this onslaught of information against the need to develop distinctive characters and advance the plot. He makes all of that look much easier than it actually is. Fans of the book can recognize all the subtle nods—for instance, how closely the emperor’s temporary headquarters on Arrakis resembles its description in the novel: “A single metal hutment, many stories tall, reached out in a thousand-meter circle from the base of the lighter—a tent composed of interlocking metal leaves.” Newcomers don’t need to know how accurately the film realizes that image to appreciate how cool it looks on screen. They may, however, understand some of the plotting and character motivations better than first-time readers of the novel do, because Villeneuve is frankly better than Herbert at establishing those in plain English and in logical sequence.

Interesting Case Coming Up in Albuquerque

Calvary is the biggest megachurch in Albuquerque (my sister and my cousin are both members), yet someone saw fit to murder the security guard for doing his job:
Prosecutors allege that Marc Ward, 36, used his father’s Ford F150 to hit 61-year-old Daniel Bourne as he approached the truck in the church parking lot in Northeast Albuquerque.
Ward is charged with first-degree murder in Bourne’s killing. The 2nd Judicial District Court trial is expected to continue through March 6 before Judge David Murphy.
Skip Heitzig, Calvary’s senior pastor, and about two dozen other church members, filled the gallery of the courtroom Tuesday when attorneys made opening statements.
Ward’s attorney told jurors that prosecutors lack security video or eyewitness testimony to prove that Ward intentionally killed the security guard.
Calvary Church, one of New Mexico’s largest churches, has a 25-acre, seven-building campus on Osuna NE, just west of Jefferson, Calvary’s director of security, Vincent Harrison, testified Tuesday. The church has a membership of 10,000 to 12,000, he estimated.
Bourne was wrapping up his security shift at about 9:15 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2022, when he noticed a blue pickup at the north end of the church parking lot.
“This case is about Daniel Bourne’s last moments,” Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch said in opening statements. “Marc Ward violently struck Dan once, probably twice, murdering him with his father’s F150 in the parking lot of Calvary Church.”
Ward then dragged Bourne’s body to an arroyo at the north end of the church property, “disposing of it like it was nothing,” she told jurors.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Nostalgic Lurking on the UNM Campus


Did some nostalgic lurking on the UNM campus yesterday evening (Feb. 21st). Here is the dorm room where I spent my 1978-1980 school years. It was an excellent dorm room (but I had better stop lurking lest the current inhabitants become alarmed).











On the green, I noticed a motley group of students with an assortment of shields. Two students were fencing with epees. One student was loudly chastising his mates for failing to grasp some subtle medieval concept he had probably only just read about that afternoon. We didn’t do this when I was younger, but probably should have. In those days, Dungeons and Dragons was still new and the cinematic rattle of coconut shells slapping together was still fresh. Epees weren’t in our budget.

Downmarket Lourdes by the Railroad

Albuquerque is so - inexplicable, really. 

I was driving up Mountain Rd. and stopped for a traffic light at First St. Waiting there for the bus was a young man with just one foot (and a carefully bandaged stump) who hopped around and hurled a crutch like a javelin over a chain link fence. 

A miracle? Maybe just a mystery. I could see he still had two crutches. All I could think was that he had found some better crutches at the bus stop, but that begs more questions about where those might have come from. Maybe a downmarket Lourdes over by the railroad? It’s New Mexico. Stranger things have happened. I don’t understand it. Makes my head hurt.

A Pile of Albuquerque Graffiti


Pedestrian crossing over I-25 at Bear Arroyo (west side).

Bear Arroyo.

Graffiti.

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At Marra and Ken's House


My sisters Michelle and Marra, and I.

My brother-in-law Ken, and my sister Marra.

Marra and Ken's back yard.

Marra and Ken's back yard.

Marra and Ken's back yard.

Marra and Ken's front yard.

A Variety of Filming Location Pictures


Library in Hotel Andaluz (BCS 509, "Bad Choice Road").

Library in Hotel Andaluz (BCS 509, "Bad Choice Road").

Hotel Andaluz Lobby (BCS 510, "Something Unforgivable").

Wash Tub Laundry, which burned down on February 18, 2024.

Nail Salon in "Better Call Saul"; now closed.

Hinkle Family Fun Center - west building (BrBa 503, "Hazard Pay").

Car Rental Center bus in Albuquerque (BCS 612, "Waterworks").

Car Rental Center.

Occidental Building in Albuquerque (BrBa 105, "Gray Matter).

Building across the street from the Occidental Building (BrBa 105, "Gray Matter).

Albuquerque Plaza Building and the Sunrise Building.

Mural on outside of Loyola's Restaurant.

Roadrunner light at Loyola's.

Booths at Loyola's where so much happened in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."

Crazy crescents at Loyola's (BCS 101, "Uno").

Where Jimmy tried to get Kim interested in a law office (BCS 107, "Bingo").

Garduno's Restaurant (BrBa 511,  "Confessions").

Where 14-year-old Kim waited with her cello for her mom (BCS 506, "Wexler v. McGill").

The Grove Restaurant (BrBa 508, "Gliding Over All"; BrBa 515, "Granite State"; BrBa 516 "Felina").

The Grove Restaurant (BrBa 508, "Gliding Over All"; BrBa 515, "Granite State"; BrBa 516 "Felina").

Days Inn, where I was staying, across the street from The Grove.

Hotel Andaluz (formerly the Hilton Hotel).

First Plaza Galeria.

Southwestern interior side of First Plaza Galeria.

Looking out the window on the 3rd floor (400 level) - Mr. Farnsworth's Office, which, strangely enough, was in the elevator lobby rather than in a separate office ("The Man Who Fell To Earth").

Looking out the window on the 3rd floor (400 level) - Mr. Farnsworth's Office, which, strangely enough, was in the elevator lobby rather than in a separate office ("The Man Who Fell To Earth").

Hotel Andaluz (formerly the Hilton Hotel).

Looking out from the fifth level of the Copper Parking Garage (BrBa 413, "Face Off").

Artwork on the fifth level of the Copper Parking Garage (BrBa 413, "Face Off").

Hotel Andaluz Lobby (BCS 510, "Something Unforgivable"; "The Man Who Fell To Earth").

Wash Tub Laundry, which burned down on February 18, 2024.

Wash Tub Laundry, which burned down on February 18, 2024.

Saul's Lady Justice statuette, as seen at the "Breaking Bad Store" museum in Old Town.

My sister's "Breaking Bad" Descanso at the "Breaking Bad Store" museum in Old Town. 

Lobby of the Special Collections Library in Albuquerque, which was the Albuquerque Public Library when I was a kid - Davis and Main (BCS 201, "Switch").

Lobby of the Special Collections Library in Albuquerque, which was the Albuquerque Public Library when I was a kid - Davis and Main (BCS 201, "Switch").

Lavender Lace home ("Sunshine Cleaning," 2009).

"The Wave" (2019).

"The Wave" (2019).

"The Wave" (2019).

Modern Home for sale (BCS 502, "50% Off").

Desert Ridge Middle School ("Cents," 2014).

"War on Everyone," (2014).

"The Au Pair Nightmare"

Sandia MINI, Sandia BMW, "The Au Pair Nightmare"