The Friday Link for 2/25/22

An easy choice this week as one of the funniest videos of the year is released, the Bad Lip Reading of the NFL stars. Who could ever forget the phenomenal season of 'Jarsh.' And the usually bad lip reading of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, in all of it's glory, is there too! 

If you missed John Oliver's visit with Stephen Colbert last week, it was quite exceptional. He agreed to do an extra internet bit for The Late Show, Food Court.  His discussion of British foods is funny, and pretty spot on. 

And for the record sticky toffee pudding is fantastic!

 

Finally tonight, I REALLY wish the Doctor Who folks would have given Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor at least one more season with Bill and Nardole.  They worked SO well together. Alas, we only got one season.

I post this not as a swipe against Jodie Whittaker's fatanstic Thirteenth Doctor, but rather as a wishlist of more stories from a great team up.  Most Doctors NEVER get companions who match up with them as well as Bill and the 12th did. 

From his final story, where he ran into the First Doctor, who I loved them portraying as a grumpy old man from the 1960's, here is just a taste of how well they worked together. 

Have a great weekend.

Please get vaccinated and although the requirements have been lifted in many places, I still recommend wearing a mask.  I do.

The Friday Link for 2/18/22

This week we look back on the last few weeks of sports.  Now I won't post anything from the Super Bowl itself, although it was an entertaining game, and a win for the LA Rams.

Nope the first clip this week is the best ad of the Super Bowl season.  I say "Super Bowl season" because there are a lot of ads with big stars and big special effects which are released around the time of the Super Bowl but don't air during the Super Bowl.  Considering the price per ad just to air in the game, who blames them.

Not airing in this year's Super Bowl would be the case for the best commercial of the Super Bowl season, the Jason Bateman Hyundai ad.  I'm a huge fan of Bateman's comedy and delivery, and he delivers here.  The subscribe plea at the end is a hoot too.

Next up are some of the better moments from this year's Winter Olympic games.  The US has had a bit of a down games this year.  There are a lot of great world athletes, so I'm not saying they didn't deserve their medals, but the US is definitely going home with less medals than normal.  A lot of it has to do with the less than stellar performances from some of our extreme sport winter athletes.  I wish if they really didn't care about being at the Olympics to represent the USA, they would just stay home and allow a person who does to take their position. 

The best moment of the games, in my opinion, is the gold medal moment for the US in snowboard cross. Lindsey Jacobellis fell a few meters before the finish line in 2006.  It cost her the gold medal.  She finally got her redemption.  Her story is wonderful and I am so proud for her.  Check out her gold medal run here. 

By the way, NBC sports demands you watch this on YouTube, so click through to enjoy.

She also got a second gold.  So proud of her! 

Nathan Chen eventually won gold, but what set it up for him was his World Record short program skate. This was a close to perfect as you can get.

Once again, click through please! 

Lastly this week is the gold medal for the US in Mixed Team aerials. This sport is nuts, and it is proof that some of the extreme sport athletes in China for the US are really trying to win.  These are fantastic jumps.

Click through!

Have a great weekend.  Please get vaccinated and wear a mask.

The Friday Link for 2/11/22

A beaut of a Friday Link lined up for you! 

First up is possibly the greatest TV show opening credit sequence ever, well at least since the mid-1980's.  Television intros used to be fantastic, with catching songs and inviting images which drew you into the show.  There were gold.  Many times the TV theme songs would become hits themselves. 

Then came the 1990's and intros where stripped down to an image with a musical stinger.  Sure a few of them were good, like Friends, but even by the end of that shows run they were doing a toned down version of the Rembrandts hit.  

Peacemaker is a TV show on HBO Max.  It's based on a DC comics character which first came to the screen in the second Suicide Squad movie.  That movie wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. 

HBO decided to make a series based on John Cena's villain/hero Peacemaker, a hyper aggressive somewhat delusional version of Captain America, and the show, although quite violent, is pretty good, worth a watch.  The opening sequence itself is epic.  I have no idea how they ever convinced all the stars from the show to do it, but it's beautiful!  Watch for yourself.

Speaking of 1980's television, let's talk Intellivision! In case you are unaware, Intellivision was one of the first home video game systems, the first main competition for Atari.  I had one.  It had a complicated control, like a phone with a joystick and side buttons, side buttons which would get stuck and wear out.  The games were better than Ataris original games, but when the other home video game companies got better, Intellivision didn't.  Eventually they ended up on the junk pile of technology.  Take that Intelligent Television!

I can't imagine the advertising helped either. When you are looking to get young kids fired up about a video game system, nothing brings in the younger demographic like...(checks notes)...George Plimpton!  I know they were going for a Carl Sagan vibe, but watching these today is hilarious. 

Finally tonight, David Letterman was on Late Night with Seth Meyers and reminisced about his first TV hosting job; NOT The Late Show With David Letterman, but rather a daytime show called The David Letterman Show.  It was freaking hilarious, but it was so out of place in daytime TV.  I watched it when it was originally on and I loved it, but I was a weird kid.

It lasted a few weeks, and was cancelled.  When he showed up again on late night TV my dad wouldn't let me stay up to watch it.  Watching highlights from the daytime show today you realize it was a mistake to put him into the daytime time slot.  He always was meant for late night.  Here are some clips from 1980.

Have a great weekend! 

Get vaccinated, wear a mask and social distance.  Thanks!

Ranking the Marvel Movies

When I had my hip replacement surgery in October and was somewhat immobile, I decided to watch all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in timeline order, watching them in the order they would've fallen on their chronological timeline.  This means the first movie I watched was the WWII based Captain America, the First Avenger, followed by the 1990's based Captain Marvel and so on and so on, until Spider-Man: No Way Home, which I finally watched on Sunday. 

One side note, the first third of the Eternals clearly would take place before the first Captain America movie, but I started watching these before Eternals was even released into theaters, and I wasn't about to start watching one third of a movie here, and 10 minutes of a movie there.

Yes it took me three months to finish watching all these movies, but unlike many people today, I can't sit for 15 hours in a single day, even with hip replacement surgery, and just watch a screen.  I love Doctor Who, the science fiction TV series, but I can only watch about 3 hours of that before I need a break. 

Also I watched Eternals about a month before I watched the final Spider-Man movie because I wanted to wait for the theater crowds to dwindle in the age of Omicron. There were like 20 total people in the movie theater last Sunday.  Perfect! 

After reading a few lists which ranked the Marvel Cinematic Universe from worst to best, and disagreeing with those lists on certain levels, I decided to do my own ranking and put forward my worst to best list of the 27 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, a movie series which has forever changed movies as a whole.

I will not rank the Disney + series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Not saying they're bad.  Quite the contrary, I'd probably rank the Hawkeye series in the top five on this list.  It's just not fair to the movies or the TV series to merge them.  Most of these series are 6 to 7 hours long, meaning 3 movies.  Of course their stories would be better flushed out.  Making this only theatrical releases keeps it simple.  I do HIGHLY recommend watching Hawkeye, WandaVision and Loki on Disney +, even if you are not a Marvel fan.  Falcon and the Winter Soldier is good too, but a step below the others, and What If...? is really for the comic book nerd who loves these movies. 

Without any further delay, let's get to the Countdown! 

#27 - Thor: The Dark World

This movie is a mess.  Going back and watching it again after having not seen it in 10 years makes me wonder if Marvel adopted some quality control measures to prevent a clunker like this from ever being released again.  It's light years away from the complete stories you get in the more recent Marvel movies.  It did give us the reality stone but very little else.  Even Loki is dull.  And I'm saying this as a person who freely admits Thor is my favorite Marvel character!  It's just not good, but Marvel is not shying away from it. They've multiple times referred back to this movie throughout the timeline.

#26 - Iron Man 2

The worst in this franchise feels like quickly produced drivel.  It gave us Black Window and War Machine, but it also gave us the lesson that you do not just grab a few pages from a few different beloved comic book story lines and try to paste them together without continuity. 

#25 - Incredible Hulk

This is actually a good popcorn movie because it gives us the first real glimmers of what the Hulk, and the full cinematic universe, would become.  It's one thing to have Iron Man and Obediah Stain to have a fight, but when Hulk and Abomination duke it out in Harlem...WOW! The beginning is fun, the ending is great, but the middle is not good.

#24 - Guardians of the Galaxy #2

I know the low ranking for this movie will get some people upset, but having gone back and watched it again this movie just doesn't have the quality story line, continuity, acting and overall completeness of the first Guardians.  And as opposed to the first movie where them being brought together as a "family" worked, in the second movie, the often referenced "family" came off WAY TOO MUCH like Fast and Furious in space. In the first movie, the family bond was real, like Encanto.  In the second, it was a cliche to get you to the next plot point.

#23 - Iron Man 3 - A better movie than its predecessor, but still far from the original.  Tony's anxiety and manic nature works better than his blood poisoning/alcoholism from 2, but the movie does feel contrived at points.  Feels like there are about 4 different plots going on at the same time, with none of them getting the time they deserve.  Not bad, but unfulfilling. 

#22 - Ant Man and the Wasp

For the record, Evangeline Lilly being an anti-vaxxer does diminish my respect for her greatly!  You have the right to your own opinion on things, but I have the right to think you're a freaking idiot for ignoring science, choosing selfishness over the betterment of humanity.

That being said, I saw this before her anti-vaxxer status became widely known and it still has more misses than hits.  Paul Rudd is fantastic in this film, having grown into his Ant Man character, but the rest of the main cast feels like they are mailing it in for a paycheck.  Ghost wasn't really a great villain, and I spent most of the movie hoping to see Goliath come to the screen.  He didn't.  It's a crime there isn't a Disney + series being made about Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, and T.I.'s characters.  They're some of the best in the entire Marvel universe.

#21 - Captain America: The First Avenger

From this point forward, every movie on this list I'd recommend, even for the non comic book fan. They are all good stories and very approachable.

Marvel's first look at Captain America gets a lot of things right.  The back story of a weakling from Brooklyn becoming the USA's biggest weapon in World War 2 is just fun. It works as a comic book movie and a war movie, plus the romantic connection between Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell is the best in the entire movie franchise.  And the ending of this movie is great, with Cap waking up into a new world. 

#20 - Spider-Man: Far From Home

I like Tom Holland's Spider-Man (more on that in a bit), but this movie has two things which are just hard to believe. Although they do a phenomenal job at bringing the classic villain Mysterio to the big screen, the concepts of these 'bad guys' as illusions is a REALLY grandiose overreach.  It works FAR better when he is just going after Spider-Man by himself as opposed to a large metro scale crisis.  Plus with most of this movie in Europe, how is it everyone in the tour group doesn't realize one of them has to be Spider Man?  Especially after the events of the first movie in Washington DC!  You're requiring a large portion of your cast to be a father figure in a Disney Channel sitcom; criminally stupid.

#19 - Captain Marvel

This was the movie where I realized what a juggernaut the Marvel Cinematic Universe had become.  Captain Marvel is a secondary character in Marvel comics; a good character but one where most of her best stories are when she is part of a team.  They made a movie only about her and it has become the top grossing female super hero movie ever, beating the DC Movie Universe's Wonder Woman,  the most famous female comic book hero of all time, by 14 million at the box office.  

The movie itself is formulaic but enjoyable.  A person with tremendous power, who has been downplayed and dismissed, discovers her real powers and redeems herself.  Brie Larson is very likable and the 1990's locale/music pays off perfectly. 

#18 - Ant Man

As a comic book fan, I was somewhat bothered Ant Man and Wasp were not included in the original movie's Avengers cast, but I understand why they went with the six characters they did.  At the end of the Marvel Cinematic Phase 2, right after Avengers: Age of Ultron, they released the Paul Rudd movie and it worked. It helps they got away from the super serious Hank Pym version (even too serious in the comics) and went with Rudd's Scott Lang.  The special effects of shrinking and enlarging worked great, they had a really good villain in Yellowjacket, and (once again) Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, and T.I.'s characters somewhat steal the show.

#17 - Thor

This was actually the toughest character to bring to the screen in Marvel Phase one.  Even though Iron Man, Captain America and Hulk are super heroes, they are humans who either built themselves their powers, were the subject of a successful experiment, or the subject of an unsuccessful one (in the Hulk movie, the origin moved away from a Gamma Bomb blast to a failed attempt to replicate the super soldier serum which gave Steve Rodgers his powers). 

Hemsworth, who at the time Thor came out was best known for being Kirk's dad in the Star Trek reboot, filled the role great.  It is a little ludicrous to hear some of the explanations of his existence, trying to call science and magic the same thing, but I give it leeway because this is supposedly a 'God' walking on the Earth.  And there is some nice light comedy in there too. 

#16 - Black Widow 

Poor Scarlett Johansson. Without a doubt I think she would have the highest grossing female comic book movie of all time, but COVID came and threw the movie industry into a mess.  Still Black Widow finished as the 4th biggest movie of 2021. The story actually takes place after Captain America Civil War, and follows Black Widow on her quest to deal with the Red Room, the spy group which recruited her and is still in operation.  Her association with the Black Widows still haunts her.  Great to see Marvel bring in some of the Russian heroes, but hands down, Florence Pugh's Yelena, the younger sister of Natasha, steals the show and is EASILY the best new Marvel character introduced since Endgame.

#15 - Doctor Strange

Casting in Marvel movies is amazing, and Benedict Cumberbatch is the second best casting in Marvel history behind Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Cumberbatch IS Doctor Strange, catching all his quirks and ticks, a perfect combination of bizarre world seriousness and dry humor.  Add in a very enjoyable Benedict Wong and Mads Mikkelsen as the villain Kaecilius and it brings the 'difficult to understand' mystic concepts cleanly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

#14 - Eternals

This is another movie that when I heard Marvel was going to adopt it for the screen, I said "how?"  Well they did it and it was really good (regardless of what critics said).  Celestials, insanely large alien beings, show up and deliver to Earth the Eternals, a super hero team which is supposed to protect the emerging population from The Deviants, a species which seems intent on wiping out the human race. There is a little bit of 'Yada, yada, yada' in regards to where exactly the Eternals were during Thanos, and a bit of a predictable twist, but overall the studio boiled down a thick, complicated history and presented it cleanly.  We also get the first look at the eventual Black Knight, the popular Avenger. 

#13 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

From this point up on this list, every movie is not only a good movie, but fun.

Ultron comes in as the lowest ranked Avenger movie for reasons which are not really their fault.  After the first Avengers film, there was going to be a need to branch out into the other superheroes fans wanted to see. Between the origin story of the Avengers and the Battle Royals which are Infinity War and Endgame, this movie had to branch out into other Avengers.  Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision and War Machine all make their first Avenger's appearances, but to do so they had to drastically alter the backstories of many of the characters.  Doesn't mean the movie isn't fun.  It's 1000 pounds of fun, with Iron Man taking on Hulk and Captain America fighting Ultron in South Korea. 

It's just not as clean as the other movies with a finale which got hurt by the need to get so much character development wrapped up. 

#12 - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The martial arts comics of the 70's were a bit racist, but they did bring super cool Asian culture to America. Every kid when I was growing up wanted to do karate or kung-fu, and these comic books (and Bruce Lee) were the reason.  

The 1970's racism is why altering the origin story from the original, in this case, was the right thing to do, and perfect.  Simu Liu is fantastic as the title character, and the fight scenes are insanely good.  I like how they bring the movie into the Marvel Universe via a similar mysticism of Doctor Strange (with some cool cameos) and Awkwafina is a freaking national treasure! 

#11 - Iron Man

The movie which finally made Hollywood step back and ask "why have we long ignored the Avengers?" The Avengers for many years were considered to be garbage properties from Marvel, with Spider Man and the X-Men viewed as far more developmental.  Iron Man changed everything.  A monster hit with the absolute perfect casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The rest of the cast is top notch. The development of the character does not lack any holes, and Pepper Potts is addictive.  Still a long way from what the movie franchise would eventually become, it paved the way from what (at that point) was an insane concept for a movie franchise (more on that to come).

#10 - Spider-Man: Homecoming

I went back and forth on which Spider-Man movie to rank higher.  Homecoming, Tom Holland's first movie in the title role (after a memorable appearance in Captain America: Civil War) is just a great film, putting Peter Parker in high school, still trying to figure out how not to be the nerd with his insane powers, and fighting another classic villain, Michael Keaton's The Vulture.  Heck this movie even made The Shocker cool!  In the end it's a great story of proving yourself, not just relying on accessories to dictate who you are.  Comparing the WOW factor, I did  rank it behind...

#9 - Spider-Man: No Way Home

Movie schools for the next 100 yeas should teach this movie for how to bring in a ton of characters into a film without diluting the film too much (part of the problem with Ultron).  I don't want to say too much about this film because it's still in the theaters and a lot of people still want to see it.  Doctor Strange shows up and the movie gives us our first real look (well outside of the Loki and What if...? TV series) of what is going to be a driving element of the next Marvel movies, the multiverse.  This movie completely resets the franchise but in a way which is so gratifying for Marvel's biggest fans.  Go see it.

#8 - Captain America: Civil War

This is another movie which can be taught to show people how to introduce a lot of characters without diluting the film too much.  In the aftermath of Age of Ultron, and after a terrible accident while on a mission in Africa, the Avengers are being brought under control.  It's a simple concept: 1) understand your powers are too much to be trusted for you to make the call on when to use them, or 2) insist the best people to decide how and when to use your powers are the people with the powers.  This is a Pollyanna-ish view on this issue (Amazon's TV series The Boys takes a different angle, asking "why aren't more people reigning these corrupt super heroes in?"), but the end result is some very entertaining fights, first at an airport in Germany and then in an abandoned Russian base.  It's a classic comic book come to life. 

And although it is a team movie, with the major introductions of Black Panther and Spider-Man, it's still a Captain American movie, where we dive deeper into his friendship with Bucky, the Winter Soldier.

#7 - Avengers: Endgame

This movie is just plain fun, the blockbuster to hold all other blockbusters up to, in order to weigh their entertainment value.  The time heist plot and final extended battle scene are insanely good. I will never forget the sound of the audience when Captain America picked up Thor's hammer and started to beat Thanos with it, or the the loud cheers from the crowd when he utters the iconic "Avengers, Assemble!"

Why does it come below Avengers: Infinity War.  I thought about this for awhile. I think it's because they end up leaning on three fringe characters (Nebula, Rocket and War Machine) too much.  That and the Thor gag ended up becoming annoying, until the final battle.  Plus how many endings did that movie really end up having?

#6 - Guardians of the Galaxy 

When they announced this movie, I thought Marvel was over reaching.  This was a fringe hero group from their own archives, based in space, and with more bad story lines than good (just being honest).  What ended up on the screen was a freaking treat.  Visually stunning, packed with character development, a top notch script, and special effects which make you want to go to space.  They hit it out of the park!  When this movie became a hit it made me realize Marvel had come across a formula where they could feasibly turn any fringe characters from the comic book pages into their own movie series, something they've now done repeatedly.

#5 - The Avengers

I remember going into the movie theater with my son to go watch this movie.  It blew my mind what Marvel had done up until that point.  They launched four movie franchises just to get to this one movie.  And it worked!  Six characters who all had their individual personalities origins and storylines come together to form a pretty unstoppable team.  Although a lot can be said about the fight between Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, as well as the final battle for Manhattan, it was the fight between Hulk and Thor on the flight deck of the helicarrier which had every comic book fan staring wide eyed at the screen like a ten year old.  

#4 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I'm stunned this movie places so low on many other lists. I think this is one of the best spy movies I've ever seen.  Captain America trying to restart his life stumbles upon major corruption within SHEILD itself, and in the process discovers his long lost buddy from 70 years earlier.  The fight scenes are very well staged, the plot is tight and paced very well, and FREAKING ROBERT REDFORD!  This movie is one of my favorites.

#3 - Avengers: Infinity War

I'm not going to be the contrarian, the guy who screams "this is better than Endgame because of the tragic ending."  This movie is incredibly well paced considering the scope of all they are trying to bring together. Every battle scene is well coordinated, the plot is relatively complete, and the passion comes through in this movie.  Infinity War was crafted by people who loved comic books and wanted this to be an homage to everything great about them.  And yes, sometimes you lose.  I particularly LOVE the fight scene on Titan with Iron Man, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and the remains of the Guardians of the Galaxy verses Thanos.  They actually won that fight!  Thor needs to stop beating himself up in Endgame because it really was Starlord who cost the universe everything!

#2 - Black Panther

This movie is just amazing from top to bottom. Chadwick Boseman is the perfect hero the world needs, Michael B. Jordon is the best villain since Loki, and the story is remarkably relevant today.  If you have a gift to share with the world, do you share it or do you force it on others?  Is the villain really wrong for wanting to avenge centuries of mistreatment by the rest of the world?  How do you make a film which does not ignore historic injustice while focusing on the brighter future we can all have together?  I'm a white guy.  I think it's irresponsible for me to talk authoritatively about the clear cultural relevance of this film to the Black community.  What I'll say is Black Panther completely destroyed the idea films with a majority black cast could not be massive blockbusters, and Black Panther is one of my favorite heroes.

#1 - Thor: Ragnarok

Yes I end this list as I began it, with Thor, but this movie if FAR more than just him. When they announced Ragnarok was coming to the big screen, I let out a huge ho-hum.  I remembered how disappointed I was in the last Thor film.  When saw Taika Waititi was picked to direct I said "well I guess no one else wanted to do it." Man was I wrong.

This movie is perfect.  From the beginning where he battles lava demons and a dragon to the sounds of Led Zeppelin, to the meeting with Doctor Strange, to meeting his sister (a stellar Cate Blanchett as Hela), to being cast out to the brightly colored garbage world of Sakar to meet Jeff FREAKING Goldblum (in top Goldblum form), to the arena battle with the Hulk, to forming the Revengers with Loki, and finally the battle on the Rainbow Bridge with Led Zeppelin back.  Unbelievable!  There isn't a wasted scene, line or cast member.  It's so visually pleasing it's hard to understand why it didn't win a lot of awards.  The Hulk/Thor arena fight is the battle we all wanted to see, and will go down as (in my opinion) the best action scene in all of Marvel.  This movie was so unexpected and fulfilling.  I still get shivers watching it today, for about the 40th time.  With this movie, Marvel could allow Iron Man and Captain America to leave, placing the future leadership of the Avengers onto Thor's capable shoulders.  Can't wait for Love and Thunder.

There you go!

Disagree if you like.  I'm not a know it all movie guy, just a fan.  You can watch most of these movies and have a good time.  Enjoy.

The Friday Link for 2/4/22

Howdy all!  This week I've been working on a really long post where I rank the movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I jokingly thought I'd have that done on Tuesday after starting it Sunday night.  HA!

Some familiar faces in this week's Friday Link.

As much as Trump fans want to condemn the 2020 election as fraudulent, it wasn't.  Joe Biden won fair and square.  He did.  There have been over 80 lawsuits claiming fraud, but when it came time to produce the evidence, none of the Trump supporters had any.  Their argument was basically "give us the ballots and some privacy and we'll eventually find the corruption!"  Judges were not amused.  

For real fraud, not much tops the election of 1876.  That was a mess, and through the cheating, lies and backstabbing which eventually produced President Rutherford B. Hayes, the real victims were black southerners, who freedoms had become a lobbying chip for the two candidates who wanted to win. The History Guy has more.

Also tonight, let's check in with ZeFrank and his True Facts: Macaques!

I'm going to go watch the Olympics.  I promise the Marvel movie post tomorrow...maybe...

Get vaccinated, wear a mask, and social distance.  Thanks!

The Friday Link for 1/28/22

Boy do I have a lot for you this week on the Friday Link.

Let's start with one I've been waiting to post.  Cinema Sins, the guys behind the "Everything Wrong With..." YouTube page, have had a long history of poking relentless fun at the Fast and The Furious movie franchise, with good reason.

Now a fan of the franchise might ask "what's the big deal?  So they are not the best movies but they're fun." Fair to a point, but this time around Cinema Sins makes the best observation about these movies.  After swinging in a car on a cable and crashing into a mountain, AND SURVIVING in a ridiculously unbelievable stunt, the host makes the point [paraphrasing]: These people never have any consequences for anything.  They don't die, they don't get seriously hurt, and their survival becomes more and more ridiculous with every stunt.  At least James Bond films usually have a much better plot and script, and the unbelievable stunts in Bond films are limited to one or two a movie, NOT EVERY FIVE FREAKING SECONDS!  There is nothing exciting about watching a movie with absolutely zero consequences.  Agreed!

I HIGHLY encourage you to watch all the Fast and Furious takedowns from Cinema Sins, but to start us this week is Everything Wrong With F9.  Warning, some salty language.

I also wanted to post some videos from Encanto.  The latest Disney movie is sensational, but after spending the last 20 years watching the Disney films with my kids, it's not a surprise.  There are numerous Disney films on my list of best films of the last 20 years. 

My kids now are starting to age out of Disney films, at least going to see them in theaters with their parents.  I didn't see Encanto when it came out, but I noticed it now on Disney Plus and decided to watch it last weekend.  It's fantastic.  

The story is about a magical Columbian family, but that is all I'm going to say.  Go see it.  To tempt you a little, here are some of the songs from the movie.  To begin let's get introduced to the Family Madrigal.

The character Luisa is a great one.  Here is a song where she talks her issues with her sister Maribel. 

And finally, We don't talk about Bruno. The song is the highest charting Disney song since 1995, beating everything from Frozen.  It's catchy.

The entire movie is catchy!  I'm a big old Minnesotan with Scottish heritage, but maybe I have a little Columbian in me! 

Have a great weekend.  Stay safe.  Get vaccinated, wear a mask and social distance.

Preventing mild inconvenience should never justify ignoring unnecessary suffering.  

The Friday Link for 1/21/22

I have recovered from the COVID and I have a humdinger of a Friday Link.  First this warning!

The second and third clip tonight are adult themed and there is some raunchy language. Seriously!

To start you off with a clean slate, let's get the opening musical number from the musical Six.  The original cast presents Ex-Wives. 

It's a fun light musical. I really have enjoyed the songs, and not the worst history lesson either.  Think of it like a Spotify version of a British Hamilton. 

Now, once again, we are about to take a turn into Adult town. Viewer be warned.

The show Letterkenney is hilarious. The story is about rural Canadians and their lives, but it's the writing and delivery which sets this show apart.  The rapid fire dialogue is hilarious and so fast you need to watch it twice to get all of the jokes. 

Here are two of the better bits. 

But once again, these are quite adult! 

Time for a Hick Off!

And (you can already see where this one is going) let's meet their neighbors, the Dycks!

I know, I know.  Childish and immature. But they made me laugh.  I thought Canadians were so reserved.

Please get vaccinates and be safe.

The Path to Victory

Most midterm elections, the party of the incumbent president usually has a rough go at it.  It's often that the US House and Senate will see changes in leadership and this trickles down to state elections.

2022 might be different.  There are a few things playing against the Republicans, in regards to over taking the Democrats in the House and Senate.  The main one is the Senate where the Democratic races are mostly safe, but Republicans are looking at uphill climbs in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania (and depending on the candidate, Missouri too). And while Georgia and Arizona might look like harder seats to hold for the Dems, the truth is the candidates running for the GOP in those states are likely going to be hampered by their allegiance to the far right lunacy of the post-Trump era.

The House is the same way.  If the Republican candidates for the US House represent the party of anti-vaccines, 'Trump won in 2020,' and 'the 1/6 Insurrection was an inspiration,' they're in trouble. Taking Minnesota for example; the GOP will easily hold MN 06 and MN 07, but MN 01, 02 and 08 become much easier for the Democrats to control.

Then again, Democrats can screw this up EASILY!  I have seen election after election where the GOP was doomed, but here comes the Democrats bumbling the easy layup, missing the backboard completely and somehow breaking their leg in the process.

Democrats, forget the 80 page strongly worded memo most Democrats could care less about.  Forget the fringe policy you have convinced yourself will win you the day.  Forget banking on the 21 and under crowd you keep expecting to show up but who never do.  Forget trying to win over 20 Republicans by sacrificing 90% of the Democrats platform to do so.  Forget trying to convert the Democrats into the new Socialist Democratic Party.  NONE of those strategies will win 2022.  Instead focus on these four things, and you will destroy the Republicans.

#1 - Religion

This is the hardest one to convince Democrats to embrace, so it's why I'm starting off with it. Democrats have always been the party of Freedom of Religion.  It's not that most of them are not Christian (which they are) it's just they seem to understand religion is their personal choice and everyone else is entitled to make their own choices on how their worship, IF they choose to do so.

Republicans are the opposite. They are Christianity centric, and while they begrudgingly acknowledge there is a Freedom of Religion in the US, their ranks have become more and more infiltrated with Christians who are less and less tolerant; ones who say "you can be any religion you like, as long as there's a Bible, a Christmas Tree and Easter eggs."

Republicans started down this path in the post Nixon era where they desperately needed a plan of attack.  They proudly became the party of anti-abortion, bringing in Christian chants as their rallying cry.  It was wildly successful, so much so modern right wing Christian churches have reverted to preaching a very stripped down version of the Bible, one that's solely about validating Republican politics, forsaking about 90% of Jesus' teachings.

This is where Democrats now have a chance at striking back with the Christians.  The modern Conservative Christians hate when you remind them of the Gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke.  Let me back up. The reason Christians are Christians is Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus was God on Earth and his resurrection was the beginning of the Christian faith.  In the New Testament of the Bible, there are four Gospels, Matthew Mark, Luke and John.  This four books of the Bible are where you hear the story of Jesus.  They're full of direct commands from Jesus and...most Republicans avoid them like the plague.  Sure they like the Christmas and Easter stories, but most of the rest of the Gospels is a liberal paradise; feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, taking care of the sick, welcoming in strangers from strange lands, anti-war, anti-weapon, and (particularly in Luke) condemnation of wealth worshipping and obscene wealth.  IT'S TRUE! 

Republicans will always refer to the Democrats as sinners, using Democrat's pro-choice stance against them.  They accuse them for violating one of the 10 Commandments 'Thou shall not Kill!'  Putting aside their hypocrisy on this one Commandment (the original text means the death penalty is a big no-no too) this is always the ONE COMMANDMENT they use to bash Democrats on abortion.  And frankly, Democrats allow them!

Christianity is not like The Lord Of the Rings, where 'one sin shall rule them all.'  Republicans don't even want to look at the rest of the Ten Commandments which Trump and their party violate fairly consistently (like 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10, especially 7!).  Republicans have erased most of the Bible to make this one sin paramount, and it's time the Democrats remind them of that. 

This is not about converting anyone to Christianity, OR making this a Christian country, and you can begin your rebuttal with that exact statement, but you can quickly fire back "does your Bible have the Gospel of Matthew and Luke, direct teachings of Jesus, because your politics likes to tramples those teachings."  They will get outraged, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT!  They do ignore a large portion of the Bible!  Throw that in their faces with as much vigor and energy as they throw their fake piety into everyone else's.  

Encourage Christian Republicans to sit down and read the rest of the Bible they've forsaken.  If you can make even 2% of the Christians Republicans stop and say "Hey, there are a lot direct teaching of Jesus the Republicans eagerly violate. Maybe I shouldn't so blindly vote Republican," you'll put a pretty good dent into their loyal voting block.  At the very least you dismantle the false notion that Christians need to be Republicans.

I know a lot of Democrat get uneasy about challenging Republican Christian lies.  Fine, but you have no excuses for not attacking them in the following three categories.

#2 - Healthcare and Vaccines

The Democrats had a lot of success with healthcare during the pre-COVID 2018 election cycle so I'm surprised they did not hammer this home far harder in 2020.  If they had, they probably would've won much larger majorities in the House and Senate.

Republicans have really screwed up by leaving this issue on the table.  The far right has made a party tentpole out anti-vaccine rhetoric and conspiracy theories.  Somewhere along the line these fools became convinced that people not wanting them sick or dead were actually part of some liberal plot, so they've vilified everything associated with trying to stop this pandemic; medicine, nurses, doctors, face masks, social distancing, vaccinations, established and respected medical institutions.  They feel as if being safe from COVID is being 'owned by the Libs!'  But when one of these zealots or they family members gets sick, suddenly they're born again believers in medical science.  

I wish it didn't take such drastic consequences for them to wake up.  It's mind numbing some still believe the lies even after a family member dies. 

Simply looking at the numbers, anti-vaccines and anti-social safety measures are a losing platform. So far over 3.5 million Minnesotans are vaccinated, in a state of 5.6 million. That's 68.2% of the entire population age 5 and older vaccinated.  If the Republicans are going to continue to label anyone getting vaccinated as a loser, lemming, idiot, or misguided, they're knowingly preaching to a shrinking minority.

Even if the Republicans today, in unison, all became the biggest supporters of vaccines (something I imagine they'll try to portray once the general election campaigns begin) we still have HOURS of videos of them scoffing at basic medicine, and spewing insane conspiracies.  There are also numerous Republican families who will be willing to be in ad campaigns which the following script: "My family trusted (Republican Politician) when they told us the vaccines, face masks and social distancing were a liberal conspiracy and not necessary.  But now, we know they weren't being honest.  Their INTENTIONAL deceptions cost us family members and have left us in crippling medical debt.  I'll never trust the Republicans on health care issues EVER again."  DAMN!  That ad should be running statewide. 

One last thing.  It wouldn't hurt to revert back to 2018 and remind everyone Democrats are the party for a more comprehensive, less expensive health care system.  With so many people in serious financial debt due to medical bills, the cost of medical care is a winning issue. 

#3 - Day Care Costs

This is an issue which is affecting almost every parent in the state.  The cost of daycare was atrocious pre-COVID, but today it's out of control.  One of the main reasons people are leaving their jobs and the workforce is because it's less expensive for them to quit and stay home with their kids than it is to work a job just to sign over a paycheck to a day care provider. 

Republicans are sure not about to try to make day care cheaper, and they won't offer a state funded no cost version.  Their solution will likely be to offer a tax break, but only for people whose kids go to the most expensive daycares.  Everyone else will get nothing.

Daycare is a tricky issue, but Democrats, don't tell us what you can't do. Tell us what you are going to do to fix this!  You got a budget surplus.  Use it!  Send parents with young kids a $200 monthly check to help offset the costs.  Explore the state contracting with a private day care provider to offer low income families a cheap (or maybe even free) option.  Give targeted tax breaks to new daycare providers opening their doors, but only if they promise to keep costs affordable.  And offer a tax break to ALL families with day care costs. Make their costs 100% tax deductible.  The Republicans would NEVER go along with that.

This issue is a text book example of low hanging fruit.  Don't be afraid to pick it!

#4 - Many of the most visible and loudest Republicans today are 100% Loonballs! 

Whether it's vaccines magnetize you!  Whether it's Democrats eat babies in the basement of pizza parlors!  Whether it's insisting Trump was the real winner in 2020!  Whether it's validating the 1/6 Insurrectionists as harmless protestors, then arguing they're all violent Antifa members!  Whether it's the gun worshipping!  Whether it's insisting there's no climate change!  Whether it's insisting Trump was the greatest president ever!  Whether it's insisting there's no Corona Virus, and then arguing the non-existent virus really was from Dr. Fauci's clone in China!  Whether it's racist stereotypes and tropes agains minorities!  Whether it's people waiting in Deely Plaza for weeks as they insist JFK Jr. is alive and will show himself to take a stand with Trump! 

These people are nuts, and THESE are the lunatics who choose the Republican candidates.  Republican politicians can't outright dismiss these drivels of insanity. 

MAKE THEM PAY FOR IT!  Find any video footage you can of these candidates embracing the lunatic fringe and destroy them with it.  You probably can find the most damning evidence ON THEIR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA SITES!  Make sure the voters see this true insanity.  The voters will not vote for candidates who've embraced the Jim Jones Kool Aid as a refreshing drink.

Don't over think this.  This is once again low hanging fruit.  Bury them with their own actions.

The Republican's plan of attack for 2022 falls into two categories:  1) discourage Democrats by making them think Biden and all Democrats have failed, and 2) crime (which is really Republican code for 'Black people need to be reined in!').  

Democratic leaders should be giving motivational speeches every single day until the election, talking about how they are on the right side of history.  Praise their victories while also reminding the voters they could do so much more if they had a larger majority in the House and Senate. Every Single Day!

As far as crime, a strong Democratic crime bill which deals with car jackings would go a long way to offset the Republican narrative (and let's be honest, should a 14 year old who is a five time car thief get a 6th chance before we charge them as an adult?  No.).  If the DFL doesn't put forward a crime bill, they are punting that issue to the Republicans.

It doesn't mean all is lost, it just means every Democratic candidate needs to be experts at switching the topic off of car jackings and crime in the Twin Cities and pushing the spotlight back on the issues I posted above. 

Republicans are all far right. You can't believe them when they insist they're a moderate who'll work with the other side. Remind voters of the new Republican Virginia Governor, a man who ran as a "uniter" and "a moderate," who immediately went far right on his first day in office.  Republicans will say whatever they have to to get into office, but remind everyone if they vote Republican they're voting for a far right extremist agenda.

I have zero doubt most Democrats will ignore my advice.  Maybe they'll come up with a different winning strategy.  Maybe they'll get their pants handed to them in November.  I'm posting this out of hope they'll realize I'm trying to help them.  I'm just getting tired of seeing Democrats clear path to victory getting ignored, as they wander into the wilderness with a machete, usually ending up tragically and comically lost.

The Friday Link for 1/14/22

The Friday Link this week is a bevy of various favorites.  I have to admit I'm kind of punting this week as I have the COVID.

Up first is a sensational piece from Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show as he commemorates the anniversary of the 1/6 Insurrection. I will post his original INSANE video from 1/6 last year after this year's anniversary piece (video which clearly shows who riled the crowd up and what their intent was), but this look at the anniversary has a few solid gold gems in it.  

An all time great moment is when Jordan Klepper confronts Rep. Matt Gaetz, YES THAT MATT GAETZ, and absolutely levels him with three questions. 

Watch for yourself. 

Here he is the actual 1/6 Insurrection piece from a year ago.  This is simply some of the best unintentional journalism ever. 

Also up today is a little recipe from Tasting History with Max Miller.  As I am trying to heal right now, I was searching for possible recipes to make me feel better. His tales of ancient Rome and their love of cabbage intrigued me, so I took his advice.  I did not make the recipe from this episode, but I did make a pho with both baby boy choy and cabbage (thanks for the cleaning tip heads up Max!). 

I'd be lying if I didn't say I feel better, but I was asymptomatic so...

Finally this week is a new song from my current favorite band right now, Durry!  Hey, I'm a Big Boy too!  I also love eating at Big Boy, when you can find one.  Durry (AND Big Boy) make me happy when the day is long. 

Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe!  Get vaccinated, wear a mask and social distance.  Thanks!

I Got The COVID

I've been careful.  I'm vaccinated and boosted (thank you Veteran's Administration!), and I wear masks whenever I'm out, only taking them off if it's safe to do so.  I also try my hardest to social distance.  My daughter's boyfriend had come down with COVID and so she wanted to get tested.  I decided to go get tested with her.

My daughter was negative.  I was positive. 

I was stunned, not only because I was asymptomatic, with only a little bit of congestion, but the question of 'how' crossed my mind.  I go to the radio station to do the show but for the most part I'm separated from everyone else, and I've been wearing a mask.  I go to the grocery store, but I rarely get close to anyone at 8 AM on a Thursday morning.  My wife and I had walked a few parks but outside of jeopardizing her (she gets tested tomorrow) there are very few other people out.

The most likely place would then fall to the Ridgedale YMCA.  I wear a mask whenever I work out and I social distance the best I can, but (since Ridgedale Y doesn't require masks) it's inevitable maskless people will saunter on by, many of them elderly (YIKES!).  Even though the amount of people I could've been exposed too is limited, it was most likely I got it at the Y. 

Then again, Omicron is a beast.  This latest variant of the Corona Virus is not to be messed with.  It doesn't seem as lethal or as ventilator-inducing as Delta was, but it sure seems to be able to spread wicked fast, like 'just walking past a person in an airport, store or restaurant' fast.  It was clear where things were headed when you'd watch pictures of NFL and College Football bowl games, seeing packed stadiums, pretty much no one wearing a mask, let alone social distancing.  I don't think we're anywhere near the Omicron peak.  This latest surge could eventually break our hospitals. 

I've had the expected far right loon balls chime in.  So far three have hoped for me to die (SO CHRISTIAN!), while multiple others cackle with glee at the thought of me being sick.  They come at me with the tone "I bet you regret getting vaccinated now!" 

Please!  I'm glad I was vaccinated and boosted, and if they tell me to get another booster, I'll get it in a heart beat.  In case you missed it, I'm asymptomatic.  Twenty four hours after my test I still have no symptoms and as a matter of fact just got done helping to shovel the driveway.  So far, I'm not having trouble breathing, I'm not headed to a hospital, I'm not having to think about my family after I'm gone.  God willing it will stay that way.

I have crashed in my son's room, who is off at college.  I have pretty much only been in there, mask on, with my handy can of Lysol spray at the ready.  So far I watched The Eternals (I really liked it), Matrix Resurrection (also very good) and Chris Pratt's The Tomorrow War (not so much).  I have played my word games, and I'm reading M, King's Bodyguard from Niall Leonard, Baseball in Minnesota from Stew Thornly and Confluence from Hampton Smith.  I'm also getting some sleep (Yes I did go out and shovel snow, but it is Minnesota in January and I'm a Minnesotan).

I will quarantine until I have a negative test from a testing center (I know of one where they test you out in your car).  I'll be safe because I'm not only looking out for myself, but my family, my kids, my friends, my co-workers and everyone else in society.  I do not want you sick, I do not want you dead, and I do not want you broke for the next 20 years of your life with crippling medical debt.  Me being careful is the the least I can do for society.  I'm not a selfish jackass, following political decisions I'm trying to mask with my Bible or screams of "Freedom!"

Please, get vaccinated, wear a mask, and social distance. 

The Friday Link for 1/7/22

Oh my! It's a Friday Link on a Friday! 

Okay, I take the holiday card and play it. By the way, this week's Friday Link is going to have a sports theme!

This week, we look back in time to when the Minnesota Vikings were good, and at times, scary good!  This year's team is a freaking mess.  I know there is a lot of debate out there but I think Rick Spielman, the Vikings General Manager, is the main problem.  He knows talent, but he needs to learn he's not the coach. 

Next up on the problem brigade is Kirk Cousins, our quarterback.  He's had a decent year, but he still doesn't know how to win close games late.  And then there's the COVID debacle.  The Vikings were the worst team in the NFL for common sense vaccinations against COVID, and it seems Kirk led the charge against vaccination.  I made the point in August; 'God help you if you end up sick and it costs the team a playoff spot.'

Cousins came down with COVID last week and so the Vikings went into a must win game at Green Bay with our highly inferior backup QB. After we lost and were eliminated from the playoffs, Cousins came back, cleared to play this last inconsequential game, and tried to smooth things over with Vikings fans by saying he wants to spend the rest of his career in Minnesota.  Thanks, but no thanks.

Last one up is Coach Mike Zimmer.  I like Zimmer, although I can't stand when the team calls for a 2 year pass when it's 3rd and 8.  If your game plan for a first down includes the defense blowing coverage or someone missing a tackle, it's a bad plan.  

Zimmer is stuck between two obnoxious forces in Spielman and Cousins, and I frankly think he did the best he could with what he had, and with the limitations thrust upon him.  If I were the Vikings, I'd get rid of Spielman and Cousins and keep Zimmer, but watch them do the exact opposite. Then next year we can be eliminated from playoff contention early to beat the holiday rush!

Also, for the record, stadiums CLEARLY don't get you championships.  I think we can put that lie to bed.

This week let's look back on the past and find truly great Vikings games of yore!  One side note, the games will have to be viewed on You Tube due to the videos containing content from the NFL.  First up we go back to a Monday Night matchup (Hank Williams Jr.? YIKES!) when Monday night's game was THE game. The Vikings went into Green Bay and introduced the world to Randy Moss. 

Next up is the dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys from the Playoffs in 2009!

The game where Randy Moss mooned the Packer fans in Green Bay is up next. Although everyone remembers that game for that one gesture, that was a REALLY good game for the Vikings in Green Bay.

And of course this would not be complete without the Vikings miracle win verses the Saints. I loved watching this happen to Sean Payton, the head coach of the Saints. He is REALLY a horrible coach. 

Don't be like Kirk Cousins.  Get vaccinated.  Wear a mask.  Social Distance. 

Be safe.

The Friday Link (on a Saturday) for 1/1/22

Howdy all! Back on a New Year's Day after skipping Christmas Eve Friday (although I'm a day late). I realized that Friday Links and Christmas Eve are not really compatible in my house, so I decided to skip. Even last night, my priorities were in the right place, so here we are a day late.

First up tonight is a series of clips featuring interaction between the new Hawkeye Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld) and Black Widow's younger sister Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh). 

I loved the Hawkeye series, especially Jeremy Renner's portrayal of an aging Hawkeye in a post Thanos world, but it was the incredibly fun to watch interaction and banter between Steinfeld and Pugh which stole the show.  I highly recommend watching the series (on Disney Plus), but enjoy the back and forth here. 

Next up is a tribute to Betty White, who died yesterday at 99.  She was wonderful, having emerged as everyone's fun and pleasant grandmother.  She is a true legend, and although I could post most of her Saturday Night Live show from 2010, here is one skit which sticks out for me, the Scared Straight bit she did with Kenan Thompson. Goodbye Betty.  You will be missed. 

Finally, since it is the end of 2021, let's go back and look at all the segments from the best unintentional journalist in America today, Jordan Klepper.  His segments on The Daily Show are legendary, and frankly are the news journalism we need.  When someone says something bone crunchingly stupid, a sane person should call them on it.  As most media today does not have the guts to do so.  Klepper does.  There is a lot here, but it's worth it! 

Be safe! Get Vaccinated! Get Boosted! Wear a mask! Social Distance! 

I don't want you sick, dead or bankrupt with medical bills. PLEASE! 

This is Who They Really Are

Okay, first things first.  Yes there was no Friday Link last week, but it was Christmas Eve.  I've been busy.

This morning I was scrolling trough social media and I came across an outstanding video clip from TikTok user @isabelleleeanne.  It begins with some piece of bigot, racist, white trash, wannabe Conservative Christian social media thing (@riannasun) saying if you are upset about cultural appropriation, then you can't celebrate Christmas unless you're Christian or Catholic (or?!?).  What takes place in the next few minutes is a history lesson (courtesy of Izzy) on how pretty much every major modern Christmas tradition, from the date itself, to the decorations, to Santa, are all things which have been culturally appropriated by the Christians from Pagans and Druids (TRUE!!!).  

Watch the take down here: https://www.tiktok.com/@isabelleleeanne/video/7038700379315375365

In standard Conservative fashion, once she had multiple people point out how dumb she was (you really have to be brick stupid to make such a post without doing basic research on the point your making), the fool deleted the post and then went on the Right Wing's standard "I'm the real victim/You people are obsessed with MEEEEE(!)" stand. You can't fix this idiot.  And frankly, her being called out will likely lead to her getting more media opportunities from far right media who specialize in narrative validation.

But one thing she did which is truly horrible is how she threw the Christian faith under the bus in order to validate her feelings towards minorities who are rightly upset about their culture being misappropriated.  Setting aside churches are currently desperate to get anyone in their doors, so putting up barriers is something any sane religion would be against, the fact she so quickly used her religion, Christianity, a religion based on love, welcoming, compassion and empathy, as a weapon against her perceived enemies is REALLY horrible.  It takes a pretty special kind of jackass to do that.  Jesus would not be on your side.

This trend, to say Jesus and the Bible are on the side of your modern day far right politics, bigotry and racism, is becoming a common trope in Conservative circles.  Earlier this year I was in the hospital and had a staff member come in who knew what I do for a living, liberal radio talk show host.  He said he had a bone to pick with me about politics.  I said sure, but I did give my usually warning: "I do this for a living.  I'm not a rank amateur.  I've been doing radio for 30 years.  I know my facts and my points.  We can talk about anything else.  Are you sure you want to do this?"

He implied I was afraid to debate him (HA!) so I said fine.  He tried to go for a kill shot on the first point, abortion.  He accused me (and any Christian who is pro-choice) of being a 'cafeteria Catholic,' only following the Bible when it was convenient.  I started to laugh.  I asked him when did he throw the Gospel of Matthew out of his Bible.  That's the Gospel which talks about feeding the hungry, taking care of the sick and welcoming in strangers from strange lands (and so much LIBERAL more!!!).  He then tried to imply the Gospel of Matthew gave outs if your political beliefs differed from it (?!?).  I asked him to tell me what Bible passage that was.  He said he'd have to get back to me and QUICKLY left the room.  The next day, he came back into the room and insisted he was really busy so he didn't have time to chit chat.  I said fine, but as he left, I asked him what Bible passage allowed people to ignore Jesus' teachings if they went against their political beliefs.  He said he'd stop by and tell me later.

I never saw him again.

Republicans have become something truly ugly.  The only thing that mattes to them is their politics, and nothing else!  They'll trample their religion, their families, their healthcare, their community, their schools, their own financial wellbeing; NOTHING matters to them more than validating their political point of view.  They'll use anything to feel like they've won their grunting contests.  Religion doesn't matter to these people, and it hasn't for a long time (and I 100% stand by that statement).  Many on the right have evolved into truly horrible people, but over the last few weeks, we gotten a look at how degraded the Republican mind has become. 

Republicans have giddily embraced the chant "Let's go Brandon." The term comes from a NASCAR broadcast where some drunken idiots in the crowd were chanting "f*ck Joe Biden" and the announcer, trying to clean up the broadcast, said it sounded like the crowd was chanting "Let's go Brandon." Considering Republicans have the mindset of an 8 year old, and it allowed them to 'swear' in public without really swearing, they embraced it as the chant they hum as they self gratify.  Doesn't bother them that 'Brandon' kicked Trump's ass, but whatever.

There used to be a filter on Republicans, where the childish stupid things like "Let's Go Brandon" would be left at home in certain circumstances, but not any longer.  President Biden was touring tornado damage in Kentucky when a local screamed "let's go Brandon." President Biden was there to help these people and it's incredibly likely the idiot righto who screamed it has lost everything to the storms.  It didn't matter.  Any benevolence or charity from Biden was shouted down by a fool who didn't even see the forest for the trees; their life having been destroyed, and Joe Biden as the man there to try to help rebuild it.

Then on Christmas Eve...let me repeat that; THEN ON CHRISTMAS EVE, when the Biden's were taking calls from families getting ready for Santa, some moron from Oregon decided to yell "Let's Go Brandon."  Once again, ON CHRISTMAS.  Christmas didn't matter to this jackass, only getting his swipe in on Biden. The idiot Oregonian first tried to imply there was a secondary unknown meaning to "Let's go Brandon" that wasn't an insult, but after he stumbled to explain it, then took the "I'm the REAL victim" stance, insisting his freedom of speech was violated.  Dude, you said what you said so your Freedom of Speech is fine.  You don't have "Freedom from Criticism."  You're not a victim, you're an a$$h*le.

And it goes beyond 'Hate Jesus' and "Let's Go Brandon." Republicans today are fanboy-ing Kyle Rittenhouse, the kid who shot and killed two people in cold blood, and, after the most fixed trial I've ever seen, was found not guilty.  Seriously, that is one of the all time worst miscarriages of justice!  Yet, because a bias judge helped Kyle walk, he's a rock star for far rightos who feel Kyle has just taken the next natural step in far right policy; inserting yourself into a situation you had no right to be in and legally shooting people you politically disagree with.

Rittenhouse, knowing he has a target on his back for the rest of his life, seems to be trying (somewhat) to stop this hero worship.  Granted it's because he knows his family will lose everything in the civil trial and still have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life, but he does seem bothered by the thought of people turning his actions into something righteous and noble.  Regardless, Republicans are already trying to figure out a way to erect a statue in this monster's honor.

Compare that to the Right's reaction to the outcome in the Kim Potter trial, the former Brooklyn Center Minnesota police officer who confused her gun and her stun gun and ended up killing Daunte Wright.  The defense in the trial tried their hardest to paint Potter as having committed an 'honest mistake,' but then also argued she did the right thing by murdering Wright because [paraphrasing] 'if he would've done a string of things HE DID NOT DO, he would've then been a credible threat.'  These two polar opposite arguments are constantly echoed by Republicans since the verdict came down.  They're so infuriated by the 'Guilty' verdicts they've dropped all of the smoke screens and are saying the quiet part out loud: "So I guess you can no longer even accidentally shoot a black man!" WOW! 

Trump has validated this ugliness, insisting it's a virtue.  He kept screaming "It's not you being a 20 time failure, a racist, unlovable loser.  It's them!"  They've been told they're the victims because they can't yell their hate, their racism and their ignorance into people's faces.  They've been convinced by a mad fool (Trump) their mad babblings are coherent political dialog.  Trump needed ignorant hate filled morons as his 'base,' and now he's convinced them they were right all along, needing to force their opinion onto others.  And when their ignorance get's so obscene and out line they themselves can't deny they've crossed the line, they hide behind the "I'm the REAL victim" argument to prevent from admitting they're just anger filled douchebags.  These people hate most minorities and non-Christians, but their most vile hatred is now reserved for Democrats, Liberals and Progressives, the ones who constantly remind them of their racism, ignorance and hate. 

There is no point in trying to discuss reality with them.  They don't care.  The modern Republican is so unable to face reality, they're willing to fight to the death to defend the fake world they believe in. History are full of these people, and this SAME EXACT SITUATION!  Trump's not Hitler, but he sure follows Hitler's playbook.  The Beer Hall Putsch was Hitler looking at German drunks and losers and convincing them to rise up under his banner.  Evil dictators always find some group (racists, the ignorant, the gullible poor, the desperate) to be their foot soldiers in their coup attempts.  1/6 was the same thing!  These were Trump loyalists who were trying to overthrow the US Government.  The fatal flaw for them were they were idiots being led by idiots.  Their lack of brains was one of the reasons the country didn't fall on 1/6.

How do you fix these clearly broken people?  No idea. They've created a bubble universe where their insanity is validated, and their enemies deserve torture before death.  You can try to shutter their social media accounts, but they find new platforms with 200 more fans than before, more fools who are just like them in their bigotry and hatred.  They're unapologetic in their stupidity, and refuse to budge.

One bit of warning. I mentioned the Beer Hall Putsch from 1923 for a reason.  It failed, but in the aftermath, because the German government did not deal with those traitors appropriately, Hitler was just getting started.  You have to figure out how to get Trump's worms back in the can, because if you don't, we are going to be dealing with attempted government overthrows for the next 30 years, and maybe one of them (GOD FORBID!) actually succeeds.

The Friday Link for 12/17/21

This week a little holiday and a lot of other things.

First up is one of my favorite things every year, The Late Show's Santa story.  This year it's a take off on the 1/6 Insurrection and it's nearly perfect. The fact the audience happily applauds the un-sleighing of Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Green should tell you what most people think of them. 

Next up is the trailer for the Lost City, a movie coming out next year.  I'm so glad Sandra Bullock is doing more comedy, because she is an absolute treasure. 

I am very concerned this trailer has every good bit from the movie in it.  I HATE when they do that. On the other side Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe seem pretty good with their roles, so I have hope. Channing Tatum embraces the dimwit role well (Jamba Juice?!? HA!) The surprise at the end is a freaking riot.

Finally tonight is the story of the USS Minneapolis. 

Recently a local high school somehow got into possession of naval artifacts, the bell from the USS Minneapolis and the wheel from the battleship USS Minnesota. I find it appalling that some people ransacked a military memorial and STOLE MILITARY ARTIFACTS, and no one went to jail. One story says they felt it would be cool for the high school to have them, another was that the people responsible for stealing them didn't like "certain people" (aka minorities) being near them so they moved them without permission. Whomever thought a sweaty high school kid smacking the bell when they maxed out on a new record bench press was 'honoring the troops' was an idiot.  Those fools should've been arrested.

The good news is the bell and wheel have been returned to the city of Minneapolis.  The final video tonight is a history of a more modern version of the USS Minneapolis, the one from World War II, courtesy of The History Guy. Although not the greatest victory, the story of this boat should point out there are no easy missions in war, and that all troops should be honored; not in a high school gym, but rather out where the public can admire their brave sacrifice. 

Be safe.  Please get vaccinated, and wear a mask.

Thank you.

The Friday Link for 12/10/21

I had a friend this week ask what was my favorite modern day Christmas movie.  I asked over how many years, and they said 30. Easy!

Polar Express.  This is such an exceptional movie and Tom Hanks is so good in the many roles he portrays.  My kids always love this one, and we always had to watch it.  Since then, it's become probably my second favorite Christmas movie next to 'It's a Wonderful Life.'

Enjoy the original 10 minute preview they put out for the movie.

Also tonight, three exceptional short pieces from BBC Earth Lab about the solar system.  The graphics on these are amazing and it's always nice to have Zachary Quinto narrate.  We'll start with how Saturn got it's rings, discover the lost waterfall of Mars, and then have a long talk about Uranus...(hehehe)...

Have a great weekend.  PLEASE get vaccinated! PLEASE wear a mask!