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Leftovers & links & reviews without spoilers

♦ I didn't know there was a guidebook for making bad movies.

♦ Sam Neill as James Bond.

♦ O brave new world, that has such marvels in it: Ads and screens on grocery refrigerator doors, instead of glass you can look through. I haven’t seen this tech yet in real life, but I sent an email to the store where I always shop: “Please never never never install these.”

Angel on My Shoulder (1946) — I’ve always disliked Paul Muni, and he’s reliably annoying in this movie, overacting and slathering on an over-the-top tough guy accent. Luckily, his character dies almost immediate, but then tragically, he’s sent to Hell and Satan gives him a second chance on Earth. Claude Rains has fun as Satan, and judging from the other performers and the jaunty music, this is supposed to be a light comedy, but Muni is not in on the joke and I’d had enough halfway through.

♦ Talking to people is something I generally don't do, and I especially hate talking to people on the phone. I would pee on Alexander Graham Bell's grave. 

There’s never a cell phone in my pocket, because I don't want to be easily reachable anytime anywhere, whenever anyone on Earth dials my digits. I understand, vaguely, that you can tweet or shop or watch movies on your phone, but for me, that’s not enough to overcome the intrusion of a phone ringing on my body, even if it rings the 1812 Overture.

At home there’s a landline, but I abhor it and ignore it as much as feasible. Outgoing calls? Maybe once a month. Incoming calls? Basically, no. The phone is unplugged. It's only for emergencies — 9-1-1, or pizza. If you call, you'll hear it ring until you hang up, but I won't hear it at all. No, you can't leave a message, because then you'd expect me to call you back, and that ain't happening.

Yesterday, though, I was expecting a call. It couldn't be avoided, so the phone was plugged in, and I experienced a few hours of 'normal'. It was awful. The phone rang and rang all morning — first a prerecorded sales pitch, then a wrong number, then some political campaign, then ‘Judy’ from ‘the car service center’, and then, finally, the phone call I'd needed to receive.

After hanging up, I stupidly forgot to immediately unplug the phone, and my cousin called a few minutes later. I was still sitting in the same chair at the same desk, and from a lifetime of stupid indoctrination, I stupidly picked it up and said "Hello?" What a damned fool thing to do. I regretted it, soon, and for the rest of my life.

It was my cousin. Sigh. Love the guy, but he's the exact opposite of my stoic self, always eager to talk until Tuesday about absolutely nothing. It was one minute of Good to hear from you followed by twenty-two minutes of Is it over yet? before I found my testicles and said, "B-bye," and unplugged the phone, half an hour too late.

It amazes me that people willingly stop whatever they're doing, and talk to anyone who calls. They'll obediently get out of a comfortable chair to answer these 'phone' things. Why?

♦ Here’s an interesting article about a 1940s exorcism conducted by Jesuit priests in St Louis, where one of the priest kept detailed notes that William Peter Blatty later built his novel The Exorcist around. 

Jane Russell sketching a portrait of Marilyn Monroe on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). 

Double Exposure (1944)  — This is a comedy/murder mystery about a gossip magazine run by a health-nut, and a new photographer they’ve hired to get the juiciest pictures. Some of the comedy is funny, but most falls flat, and then the photographer pre-Photoshop-fakes a picture, which lands her in jail. Implausible, uninteresting.

Star Trek’s first gay couple that wasn’t

♦  This trekkie has put together a montage of the title animations from all the Star Trek movies, that made me remember when I cared about Star Trek, which was less and less as the list goes on.

They Made Me A Criminal (1939) — Nice guy boxer wins the lightweight title, then gets fooled into thinking he's killed someone in the drunken party after the fight. The movie gets stupid quickly, as several characters make stupid decisions, and the boxer follows some of the dumbest legal advice ever filmed.

Claude Rains is a forensics cop with something to prove, though, and you can’t go wrong with Rains, so I wanted to stick with it to the stupid end.

But then the Dead End Kids showed up — they were a phenomenon I’ve never understood, where a bunch of white adolescent thugs appeared in random late-1930s movies as if that was a good thing. Usually they’re in New York City, but this time they’re picking fruit in Arizona. And I am outta here.

(click to enlarge)
♦ Got cubed?

♦ This might be Christopher Nolan’s best movie

♦ The evolution of the scrollbar.

♦  Mystery links — like life itself, there’s no knowing where you’re going:

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You’re invited to add anything below, on any topic.
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 7/20/2021

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12 comments:

  1. Captain HampocketsJuly 20, 2021 at 6:06 AM

    Wow. Sam Neill could have killed it as Bond, based on that screen test.

    Re the screens on cooler doors, I feel like I want to go in with a tiny hammer. Open a door, bend over and look at the bottom rows, and fucking crack the door with my tiny hammer. They'll never catch me, and maybe they'll get the message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I heard back from the store. "We have no plans to install such equipment." Not quite as definitive as I'd hoped, but better than nothing.

      Delete
  2. Captain HampocketsJuly 20, 2021 at 6:13 AM

    Last Star Trek I saw was First Contact, with you in the theater. Decent movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that was the last Star Trek movie I genuine liked.

      Delete
  3. Captain HampocketsJuly 20, 2021 at 6:20 AM

    Last one - your corn dog mystery link reminded me. Go to reddit - I don't know if this works on new Reddit, I fucking can't stand new Reddit. Type

    up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right b, a, enter

    For the directions, use the arrow keys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I ... do not understand this, dude.

      Delete
    2. Captain HampocketsJuly 21, 2021 at 6:22 PM

      So, if you do the instructions I said - hit up up down down left right left right, then the letters b and a, then enter, you should see a slab of bacon cross the screen.


      I tested it on old Reddit, and it works.

      Delete
    3. I was sure you were setting me up for a Nelson laugh, but when I followed your instructions, damn if I didn't get flying bacon.

      Delete
  4. I like the leftovers when you do them, but where do you find the movies and don't you ever watch any movies made this century?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen a few 21st century movies. I liked A Quiet Place ...

      Delete
  5. Bezos in space! Wouldn't it be fantastic if his rocket blew up!

    ReplyDelete

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