 |
Your comment has been approved!Thank you for sharing your thoughts with The New York Times community.
If you're having trouble viewing your comment, please copy and paste this link in your browser:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/
|
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
"Your Comment on 'Trump Administration Hardens Its Attack on Climate Science' has been Posted in the New York Times."
Christ is rest.
Christ is rest.
When my sluggish body can go no
further,
I will take one more step
to find rest.
When my sagging spirit is drained
dry,
I will squeeze out one more
drop of serenity.
And when my heart can beat
no more,
I must will it to stroke
one more time
to rest in Christ.
Monday, May 27, 2019
Another One of My Poems Posted in the New York Times -- This one about UFOs
|
Netflix Reviews. The Order. A Tale of Two Kitchens. Revisions. The Society.
Remember when everybody was complaining about how every other show on TV was a western? Probably not -- I'm talking forty plus years ago. I keep forgetting the world grows younger while I grow snarkier. Anywho, today it seems that every other streaming venue is a black magic/zombie show. Americans used to dote on shotting indians and rustling cattle; nowadays we pine for love philters and H.P. Lovecraft bugaboos. O tempora or mores.
Since beginning my career as a savvy reviewer of Netflix drek, I have formulated several rules in order to safeguard my sanity. One of them is that if a Netflix Original has more than one F-bomb in the first five minutes, I move along to bigger and better things.
I counted six F-bombs in the first five minutes of The Order.
So, I have no idea if this series about magic and werewolves and talking magpies (or is that Heckle & Jeckle I'm thinking of?) is any good. I am too old and set in my ways to start listening to F-bombs while I sip my Metamucil.
A TALE OF TWO KITCHENS
This foodie show ends with the stark announcement: "Dedicated to the Latino men & women who grow and cook the food that feeds America."
I watched all of it, licking my chops at several of the dishes that were briefly displayed. But this is really not a cooking show. It's some kind of feel-good about diversity thingy that just happens to take place in two restaurants -- one in Mexico City and the other in San Francisco. There's a lot of good vibes going on in Mexico City, I remember from my several visits there over the years. And San Francisco -- well, that place seceded from the Union a long time ago. You can't get a straight answer from anybody who lives there too long. But the seafood is good. Especially the red snapper.
So if you have a half hour to kill, go ahead and watch this. You won't feel guilty afterwards.
REVISIONS
Anime. Japanese High School kids. They wear uniforms. Those big Margaret Keane eyes. Japanese artists sure are good at backgrounds.
"What exactly is happening?" says one of the characters halfway through the first episode. My question exactly.
But I didn't fall asleep in my recliner during the first episode, so for the sake of untold numbers of Netflix customers everywhere I am steeling myself to watch the second episode.
I just need someone to tell me who the heck "The Oral Cigarettes" are during the credits.
After watching the second episode I've come to the conclusion that I need a bowl of ramen noodles with a wiener sliced up in it and a bit of sauerkraut.
As for Revisions, you could do worse.
THE SOCIETY
Whoever does the programming at Netflix (and I am imagining a cabal of pinheads, with a sprinkling of those nebulous people who are described as 'coming out of the woodwork' during fateful moments) seems bound and determined to make everyone a teenager, or to make them act like a teenager. This is pure Ageism, with a capital A which rhymes with Pay -- and why should I pay 12 bucks a month for this youth-obsessed tripe? Luckily, my daughter lets me use her account for free.
This specimen panders to us with a sex scene during the first five minutes, so I say "Adios muchachos" and ride my prudish steed into the sunset to find something a little less lubricious.
My Comment on the European Union is Posted in the New York Times -- Now My Bucket List is Complete
|
Your comment has been approved!Thank you for sharing your thoughts with The New York Times community.
If you're having trouble viewing your comment, please copy and paste this link in your browser:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/
|
Shine from within
The closer you draw to our Heavenly Father, the more His light and joy will shine from within you.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
Inside me lays a dormant lamp
that ought to shine but seems too damp;
too timid, tired, proud, and weak --
and yet belongs on mountain peak.
My testimony I must bear
no matter what the scorn or care.
Oh may I draw so nigh to Thee
my joy and light all men can see!
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Review of Netflix Shows: RIm of the World. Lucifer. What/If. The Umbrella Academy. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Wanda Sykes Not Normal. Dead to Me.
I finally got me a big screen TV, so now even the most egregious streaming drivel appears like a big budget movie in my living room. As a public service, I am screening as many different shows on Netflix as I can, and giving you, dear reader, the benefit of my incisive critique. So go get yerself a bowl of popcorn, sit back, and relax -- your old Uncle Tim is gonna let you know about the good stuff. And the bad.
I actually watched the whole shebang. It moves along briskly after the obligatory intro of the four main kiddy characters. But this ain't Disney, folks. Lots of swearing and sexual innuendo. The film has a warning about 'violent alien activities' at the very beginning, but anyone who's ever trimmed fat off a steak has seen worse.
It's not a family movie, for the reasons cited above. So I suppose it's for adults in their second childhood. Like me.
Oh, and the plot? Aliens attack the world and four brave kids manage to turn things around after the usual angst and lame potty jokes.
LUCIFER
The devil's got an English accent, just like James Bond the First. Kinda looks and acts like him too. I always figured that Mr. Scratch would sound more like John DiMaggio, who voices King Zog on Disenchantment.
This particular devil owns and runs a bar. Just like dozens of other TV characters throughout the seeming centuries of cliched television script writing -- beginning with radio's Duffy's Tavern (which, to tell the truth and shame the devil, I have enjoyed listening to more than watching this current Netflix hodge-podge.)
This show follows the adventures and follies of half a dozen metrosexuals who interact with the devil. For an intelligent older adult (which I often impersonate) this show is a no-show, a definite yawner, and so weak on theology that even Jesuits and Pharisees will find it snooze-worthy.
WHAT/IF
Two things I abominate are lengthy exposition, and young professionals on the make. And by long exposition I mean more than two minutes to get up to speed. And by young professionals on the make I mean handsome young men and beautiful young women. I gave the first episode of this show ten minutes, then exlaimed "Pfui!" and checked my email. It's a promotion from Hilton Hotels. And still more compelling than What/If.
Wanna know the plot? Watch the darn thing for yourself -- I'm not sure there is one until season two.
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
Now this show started off with a bang, so I settled back to see if it could take me somewhere.
Then it got slow and introspective just because an eccentric millionaire died. It's always the eccentric millionaire that gums up the works. Eccentric millionaires should be banned from entertainment media; they give regular normal millionaires a bad name.
But then came the talking chimpanzee factotum and I was hooked.
Then it turned into a murder mystery. Kinda. And a flashback, sort of. Then I had to go to the bathroom and look for a snack, but didn't find anything appealing. That's what I get for not stocking up on potato chips before the Social Security runs out towards the end of the month.
In for a penny, in for a pound -- and so there had to be time travel involved. And there is.
But the talking chimp is sorely neglected. You can't have too many talking apes when it comes to a Netflix -- but wait a minute! Chatty chimp is back, speaking at the graveside.
Ultimately, the show left me wanting a cruller from Griddy's Donuts. And if that sounds cryptic, it's no more veiled than this show's plot line.
Oh, and the world ends in eight days. So will I watch the next episode? Not unless I get some fresh pastry or a fresh bag of Cheetos.
THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
First Lucifer as saloon keeper; now a fetching teenage girl signs the Black Book in return for an acne-free eternity. Plenty of night fog and intimations of creepiness. I'm not into adolescents, even under supernatural conditions. In my book they all turn into warlocks and witches anyways, so a show about just that doesn't keep me on the edge of my seat. So I'll sit back in my recliner and see what happens . . .
Okay, so now they're undressing, taking their pants down and jumping on each other. Feh! I think there may be some chips stashed away behind the ramen noodles . . .
I recommend this show for undiscriminating moon-calves.
WANDA SYKES NOT NORMAL
So she doesn't like Trump, and has to swear about it like a truck driver on parole. Okay, I'll give the girl ten minutes to see if she can kick the obsession for easy laughs . . .
Okay, Wanda. Time's up. I guess nobody can talk about Trump anymore without being rude and crude. Next time get indignant about global warming, will ya? There's a possibility we can DO something about that . . .
DEAD TO ME
A rollicking comedy about a grieving widow. Husband dead from a hit-and-run driver. California rich. Just the thing a 65 year old Caucasian Male eking out a meager existence on Social Security is dying (pardon the pun) to watch. Please pass the brie and Kangen water.
It's getting late, so I think I'll find a Netflix animal documentary narrated by David Attenborough and let it lull me into a gentle coma for the night . . .
Forgive to be Forgiven
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
New Testament. Matthew 6:14-15.
Why is it easier for me
to forgive a stranger
than one I love?
How can I let malice
stain my heart towards
those who come closest?
When will I learn
to live
the Savior's great command?
What keeps me shackled
to the past,
reliving intimate sorrows?
Forgiveness, sweet forgiveness
can only free me --
Lord, help me find it
and give it!
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Border-Wall Schemes
A federal judge late Friday dealt a blow to the White House’s plans to build a wall along the southern U.S. border, blocking Trump administration officials from moving forward on construction projects with funds that Congress hadn’t approved.
NYT
The judge, he rapped his gavel twice
and said to border walls "no dice"
when they are wrongly funded so --
it's Congress must cough up the dough.
The President, he has no cause
to execute a specious clause
to gouge the money for his fence
from any place but Congress hence.
The people, I am glad to note,
are not about to blindly vote
their president more power yet
to put us deeper into debt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)