Holidaze

US news is a dumpster fire lately, and it depresses me. But at least there's some good news in France, because Gisele Pelicot's husband (and her other rapists) were found guilty. This horrific case hasn't been reported in America at all, but Gisele Pelicot waived her right to anonymity to make the trial more public and shame the rapists. I hope more women in the world get more wins, even though America's women are in dire straits now.

Meanwhile, Amazon union workers are on strike. Good luck to them!

In lighter news, I've been finding out about various Sherlock Holmes stuff since I've been on Bluesky. There's a new holiday play called "A Sherlock Carol" which melds Holmes with Dicken's Christmas Carol. I'd like to see it, but it appears to be playing in London and some other places in the US, but not near me in DFW. Maybe in the future it will come to Dallas.

Also there's a weekly podcast called "Sherlock & Co" which seems to be a modern-day adaptation of Watson's stories. I don't normally listen to podcasts, but I did like Bert Coules's BBC radio dramas of Holmes. I'll have to see if I can find time to download and listen to the podcasts. I hope they do Speckled Band.

I've been thinking of watching the Wicked movie since so many people like the songs, but then I think, why is everyone praising Glinda when she's bad and on the opposite side of her friend? I don't get the love for a "friendship" that sounds so toxic. More like frenemies.

Ugliness of War

The second episode of Holmes vs Doyle covered The Hound of the Baskervilles and the George Edalji case. Also, in discussing the Boer War, Lucy Worsley correctly pointed out that Doyle is pro-imperialism, and that he blamed the war crimes on the Boers' guerilla warfare, thereby "forcing" the British to go scorched-earth in retaliation. It's exactly how Israel justifies genocide because of October 7th, nevermind that most people suffering are innocent Gazans, not terrorists.

But back to Doyle. Worsley did finally surprise me with the details about Doyle getting into the fitness regimen of body builder Eugene Sandow. The Sandow expert also explained that British people were race-panicking about how white people need to become strong perfect specimens so that the dark people in their colonies wouldn't overpower them. You'd think that the Brits would at least idolize a fellow Brit, rather than a German just because he was white. Shades of eugenics and white supremacy I guess.

I am glad that Worsley doesn't romanticise Doyle too much. I think I made that mistake when I was a young Sherlockian teen, but now I can see the darkness in Doyle clearly. Yet Worsley is right that Doyle is complicated and contradictory, able to see that Edalji was a victim of racist policing, yet able to write racist characters in his books. Able to write the sympathetic mixed race child in the "Yellow Face" story, yet at the same time writing Steve Dixie in "The Three Gables." Sometimes on the right side of history and sometimes on the wrong side. That's Doyle all right.

Quiz Lady

Recently, Disney+ began giving access to select Hulu shows and movies; I'm not signed up for any bundle with Hulu. So I was able to watch the Awkafina/Sandra Oh movie Quiz Lady that came out last year. It's a funny but also touching tale about two sisters needing cash to save their kidnapped dog Mr. Linguini. The dog was kidnapped because their gambling addict mother owed $80,000 to a loan shark. So the timid Anne needs to go on the Quiz show to win the money. From the trailer, I was expecting that the free spirit sister Jenny would be lazy, selfish, and callous toward her straight-laced sister Anne, but it wasn't like that at all. She genuinely cares about Anne, and when the dog is kidnapped, her first instinct is outrage at their mother for running off, and Jenny calls their mother trying to demand payment of the ransom. "I'm not going to let her ruin your life," she says. So that was a pleasant surprise even if Jenny does manipulate her sister regarding the Quiz show, because she wants to be a life coach.

There are also cute surprises, like Tony Hale as a Ben Franklin impersonator, and the loan shark loving dogs. Holland Taylor plays a cranky neighbor, but isn't used very well in the plot, in my opinion. Will Ferrell as the game show host was sincere, not annoying or over the top. It was enjoyable fun.

I also watched the first episode of Reservation Dogs on Disney+ (it was originally an FX show I think), but I'm not sure I want to see more of the gang warfare plot. I don't know why they named one character after Elora Danon on Willow, either.

Holmes Vs Doyle

I love Lucy Worsley, so I've been looking forward to her 3-part series on Sherlock Holmes and Doyle ever since they announced it a year ago. It apparently was called Killing Sherlock in the UK and already aired there months ago. PBS is just now airing the show in December. The first episode was okay, but so far I haven't seen Worsley reveal any secret or new discovery that I didn't already know. I suppose people who are more casual Holmes fans, who never read a biography of ACD or a Sherlockian book, would be more easy to impress with these facts. I know I was surprised last year when Worsley's series on Agatha Christie talked about her childhood fears.

I was hoping that my PBS Passport would allow me to watch all 3 episodes at once, (because they've allowed that with other shows on their streaming platform), but nope, it's just 1 episode at a time, along with a few preview clips from the later episodes. I did like seeing the Reichenbach Falls and some of the experts that she consults about the stories. I wonder how Worsley will cover Doyle's courtship of Jean Leckie and whether she'll be skeptical about Doyle being faithful to his first wife Touie while she was alive. Many Sherlockians in the early days were willing to believe Doyle and take him at his word. I know she'll probably cover Doyle's Spiritualism and his friendship with Harry Houdini, but I wonder if she'll also cover the Cottlingley Fairies too. We'll see.

Brisk

Wow, Syria collapsed pretty quickly, and Assad fled to Russia. I'm happy for the people who are being freed from prisons, and I hope the new regime will keep promises to be a fair government. Unfortunately Israel is taking advantage by expanding their war(s) again. Fuck Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, on youtube, I found the Season 7 episode of Fake or Fortune, a BBC art investigation show. The "Double Whodunit" episode investigates the famous Dido Belle painting, and an equally arresting painting of two Black girls from 1831. They discover the artists behind the paintings as well as discuss the history of Black Britons and the abolition movement. I believe if you're in the UK, you can also watch the episode on the BBC's official Iplayer, but I can't access that in the US. I've mentioned Dido Belle before here, and I've seen the movie based on her life. It's not perfect, but an interesting glimpse into British history. The director is interviewed in that Fake or Fortune episode.

Meanwhile, I'm enduring winter weather in Texas now. It hasn't hit freezing yet, but it's certainly chilly out.

Mediterranean recipe

I made a pastilla last night, because I needed to use up a bunch of phyllo dough, and I found a local grocery store that actually had the Ras El Hanout spice. My pie is not as pretty as this one, and I used a glass dish instead of a cast iron skillet. I also replaced the dates and almonds with mushrooms and thyme. My chicken and mushroom filling came out pretty nice, but the darn phyllo dough was so fragile it constantly tore, so I could not make neat folds. I'm lucky that enough held together to lay in the pie dish and fold over the filling. No more of this phyllo dough. Need to use puff pastry or the like.

Also I've watched the new trailer for CBS's Watson, and it really does look like a rehash of House M.D. It's created by Craig Sweeny of Elementary, and the Wiki at least shows some character names from Doyle's books. I'll have to see if I like the show or if he'll do a shitty turn like making Irene Adler into Moriarty again. I do like Morris Chestnut though, and the show may surprise like Kathy Bates's Matlock. We'll see in January I guess.

Oh I also found a useful app for shopping called Goods Unite Us. It tells you the political contributions of various brands/companies, so you can see percentages of whether they contribute to Democrats or Republicans, or even neither. It helps me choose who I'm boycotting, though I also have other issues like boycotting Israel and palm oil. This is super helpful.

Post-Thanksgiving

Now it's finally December, and Texas has been having chilly weather lately, getting near freezing at night. At least it's sunny with no snow or ice. Most of this weekend I've been eating chicken tamales, as well as a pumpkin pie, a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal to say the least. I've also been eating out at Asian restaurants with my sisters.

Meanwhile I found a Sherlockian Starter Pack on Bluesky to follow. I recognize some of the names of the Sherlockians who were on Hounds of the Internet in the old days, but there are some new names since I moved on to other fandoms. I do occasionally look back at my old Holmes fanfic but have not had time for much writing in any fandom lately. Real life is so stressful.

I barely have time to read. I even lost my Nook Glowlight Plus somewhere and finally had to get it remotely wiped so that nobody can extract my payment method off that device. It was nearly 10 years old, so I guess it's high time to buy a new one. But when I went to the store, the current devices looked so small. There was also a rumor that a color e-ink Nook would come out, but I guess it was wrong. I'm not sure I can afford to buy a new one right now; I can't even upgrade my iPhone at present either. I do have other Nook tablets I can use, but they aren't e-ink, so are harder on the eyes.

Holidays Begin

Happy Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate it. Some Native Americans observe it as a day of mourning, while some ignore that to feast with family. I've seen posts on Bluesky even calling today another "Indigenous People's Day" as well. There was a lovely poem by Weyodi Oldbear saying "today is about the pie." I like this thread too from Willie Jack's Favorite Uncle. This year, Molly of Denali's Thanks-For-Giving episode had Grandpa Nat teach Molly about Thanksgiving as a day of mourning. I'm confused about this being Trini's first Alaskan Thanksgiving, though. Maybe that means that on the previous years, her family traveled back to Texas to celebrate with relatives there.

I have this weekend off and will spend it with family starting tomorrow, but today I'll spend on my own. I once again have to get caught up on my continuing education credits and do chores like laundry.

Yes I heard about Israel's ceasefire with Hezbollah, but what's the point of that if they're still attacking Lebanon? Fuck Netanyahu, and I hope he does get arrested for war crimes. Biden, stop putting out statements condemning the ICC arrest warrants. You know, you can just choose to stay silent, instead of backing up Israel's war?

I'm thankful at least that Derek Tran won his election in Orange County California, so our House numbers are a little better. Orange County is also the setting of Arrested Development, so it's nice to see it's not totally Republican anymore.

Xmas time is here

Christmas music has begun, both on the local radio station and some stores and malls. So annoying that they don't even wait for Thanksgiving.

Anyway, I got my new fridge installed yesterday. It's making a lot of noise while trying to make ice. I hope it'll settle down soon. The installers gave me a packet of documents, but it had the short version of the user manual, with installation instructions that are useless to me, the owner. I had to use my Centriq app to get the full manual with instructions on priming the water line and waiting 24 hours for the icemaker. Because of this major appliance purchase I'll have to put off getting a new phone. Maybe those prices will come down after Black Friday.

Meanwhile in Barbie news, I tried to do a leg swap on my Aztec princess Atotoztli so she wouldn't have high heels anymore. I was going to give her the leftover legs from my beach feet Barbies because they're a close color match. But this swap is not as easy as the previous leg swap I did.

First, the fabric shoes aren't big enough for flat feet, so I can't reuse the shoes unless I undo the seams and resew them with extra fabric. However the gold cuffs can be removed from the shoes, so theoretically she could just wear those cuffs as anklets and go barefoot.

Second, the legs are on strange hip joints not typical of other Barbie legs. Anybody know what part # 50-9199 is? I keep searching online but not coming up with anything.

Maybe if I heat the legs up, the vinyl will stretch enough to come off, but there is no guarantee that the new legs will be able to fit over the weird joints. If I can get the legs off, I could probably use scissors to cut the weird joints to normal shape, though.

Look ahead

After the election and for about a week after, I had a cold. The first 3 days were worst of all, with a fever and nausea. I tested for COVID, in case that came back, but I was negative. Then I just was sniffly with a runny nose and sore throat for a few more days. I hate colds in general, but on top of the disappointing election, it made the mourning more sucky.

Still, we have to pick ourselves up and continue as we did in 2016. Maybe make the most of life before January comes. We can fight on, but maybe have a little rest and break to restore our energy. Why wallow in following news about his garbage cabinet picks when we have four years to deal with that chaos? Enjoy Thankgsiving and Christmas before he ruins our economy with tariffs. Celebrate the wins we did get like new Black senators and abortion rights legislation. Even in Texas, it appears we defeated a horrid ordinance in Lubbock to ban travel for abortion. 

And celebrate the mass exodus from Twitter to Bluesky. I even got an account too, though I haven't posted anything yet. I'm still sporadic on my Substack.

In other news, my refrigerator is really dying now, not like last time. It started with the freezer not working and all my ice cream melting. I suppose there could be a repair option, but the fridge itself is many years old and it's not worth keeping. I had hoped it would survive longer, but I guess it's close enough to Black Friday sales. I'm having a new one installed on Monday.

God Damn

Can't sleep. Apparently American voters love fascism. The only bright spot locally was that our Democratic Congresspeople such as Jasmine Crockett and Marc Veasey got reelected. Other states may have some bright spots too, but nationally, such a disaster.

Fuck Ted Cruz.

Election Day

I have jitters but I also have a bunch of work to catch up on so I don't get obsessed with election watching and reading political sites all day. If you haven't already voted, please vote today.

It's been cold and rainy the last few days in Texas, with clouds blocking the sun all day. Time to get out my fall/winter gear I guess.

I did finish Agatha All Along, and was mostly satisfied with the ending, except that we got no backstory about Agatha and Rio's first meeting. I also didn't like Agatha's line about Nicky's death, saying she lets people lie about Nicky "Because the truth is too awful." That misled us to think that the truth was worse than the evil rumors that Agatha traded her son for the Darkhold. Instead we find out that the boy lived on stolen time for six years and then died peacefully in his sleep. Nicky's death may have been emotionally awful for his mother, but how is it "too awful"? Awful enough for her to ignore people spreading lies that she killed her baby or traded him for power? What mother would let people spread such dark lies instead of saying, "I loved that boy! I hated losing him!" But I guess she never got close to other people over the years, basically killing all covens that she tricked with the ballad, so there was no friend to share the truth with. Maybe it was easier to let the lies increase her villainous reputation. Well, I hope we'll see Billy reunite with Tommy soon, maybe in Visionquest starring the white Vision.

Speaking of Vision, Paul Bettany is in Tom Hank's new movie Here. I saw it last week and mostly enjoyed it. It's apparently based on a comic, where individual panels on the screen show glimpses of the same location, but in different time periods. The movie uses this technique to let us view multiple storylines in the same space. Paul Bettany is Al Young, the father of Tom Hank's character Richard. Their family are the main characters, though we get scenes of other people in the same space, such as a Native American couple, Benjamin Franklin's estranged family, an inventor and his girlfriend, and a Black family with a housekeeper who dies during the pandemic. Normally I don't like nonlinear storytelling, but this was well done with interesting juxtapositions between events in different timelines.

Al Young is a WWII veteran buying the house on the GI Bill in 1945. He and Rose are initially a happy couple, but due to PTSD and job disappointments, Al becomes more angry and drunk through the years. He doesn't become physically abusive that we can see, but the marriage becomes strained and he's been unfaithful offscreen. (At one point he does reveal to his son that Rose left him for a short while to go to New York and live life before she came back, presumably for the kids.) Al at least is devoted enough to Rose that he throws out his alcohol after she suffers a stroke, and he mourns her after she dies. Richard meanwhile also has career disappointments, having to give up art to become a salesman and support his family. His wife Margaret also gave up a career and hates having to live in his parents' house, and feels trapped there. Watching these couples age over the years and go through hardships was touching to me. I wish the movie was doing better, but I think it was released too close to Halloween rather than family moviegoing time closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the other hand, if you want to get away from election coverage, Here is a nice movie to while away some time.

Age of Elon

I tried out a new recipe for Chicken A La King and the cream sauce actually held together well despite me missing some ingredients. I also used soy milk instead of whole milk, and it worked great.

Anyway, as I've been watching Agatha All Along I've also been rewatching some WandaVision episodes too. So then I got interested in Wanda's past, and some movies I skipped in the MCU with her and Vision. I even went back to Avengers: Age of Ultron, and I remembered why I hated that movie the first time and still hate it today. Tony Stark is such an arrogant egocentric asshole, and he convinces Bruce Banner to go mad scientist with him TWICE, making both Ultron and then later Vision. I mean, eventually we find out that Vision's a good guy and he's essential to Wanda's story, but why the fuck would anyone trust Tony Stark to keep going rogue? And he arrogantly talks about how he saved the world from a nuke as Iron Man, so that means he should get a free pass to do whatever he wants now without consulting the team. It's so fucking white male privilege and it reeks of the insanity that Elon Musk has revealed in recent years. Tony even openly cheats in trying to lift Thor's hammer by grabbing an Iron Man arm and having Rhodey help too. Plus, Tony's throwaway "joke" about reinstating "prima nocte" is so godawful. It reminds me of the stupid lewd remarks Tony made about Black Widow in Iron Man 2 when he thought she was just an eyecandy secretary. We let these sexist jokes pass and let Tony still be considered a hero because he's a tech genius. Fuck him and the writers thinking that shit was no big deal!

Plus the movie overall was depressing and weird what with Thor's dark visions of the future, and the endless scenes at Clint Barton's farm, and Ultron being over-the-top evil, and Captain America suddenly deciding/accepting that the Maximoff twins are good guys now just because they helped him during a bus battle against Ultron. He didn't stop to think, "Are you sure this isn't a mindtrick or a trap? Why did they betray Ultron?" He doesn't ask them for any explanation. There were more questions about whether Vision was evil or not, than about the twins changing sides. Not to mention the baffling Natasha and Bruce storyline where he just leaves her and the team without a goodbye. Just the whole movie is a piece of shit. The only good part of it was Wanda and Hawkeye having a moment in Sokovia in which he gives her a choice to hide or to come outside and be an Avenger. I'm never watching that film again even if it is the origin story of both Wanda and Vision. So glad they grew as characters beyond this stinker of a movie.

Voting in Texas

I voted today. I normally always vote early, since I cannot guarantee that my work schedule will let me vote on Election Day. I usually go during the daytime when there's no line. Today I arrived minutes after opening time and there were already 20+ people in line ahead of me. I hope that's good news that so many people were prepared and ready to go. There were a lot of local judges on the ballot, and many had Democrats running, but about a dozen were unopposed Republicans. Disappointing. I hope we can do better in future.

Anyway I read that Kamala is coming to Texas on Friday. She'll have a rally in Houston, but of course I can't go as I have to work and Houston's too far from DFW. It's very exciting, though the naysayers at Daily Kos say she's neglecting the "blue wall" and this is a sign of desperation. Hey, she and Tim Walz have been to the battleground states over a dozen times during this campaign. Why the fuck can't Texas get one visit? They're so greedy and full of doom & gloom over the polls. This is why I don't ever join Daily Kos. They're so hysterical and constantly fighting over there.

Yes I get worried too, but bringing other people down is not how to motivate them to vote. I am seeing some political ads lately, including Colin Allred's, but there have been a bunch of anonymous attack ads against "liberal judges who are soft on crime" and fearmongering about "open borders" while ignoring that the Republicans were the ones to kill the immigration bill. I find the radio ads more annoying than the TV ads, since with TV ads I can at least fast forward and see when the ad is over. I'll be glad when this is over.

Brrr!

Chilly fall temperatures have arrived in Texas. The cold woke me up at 5:30 AM.

I didn't realize that Colin Allred debated Ted Cruz last night, but he seems to have done good. I hope it makes difference in the election. Also Jasmine Crockett was on Colbert's show, and Kamala Harris just did an interview on Fox News tonight. I'm not sure I want to watch that one. I already saw her on 60 Minutes, with the interviewer framing everything in rightwing talking points.

On Disney+ I've been watching Agatha All Along but have looked away sometimes when it went too horror creepy for me. It's entertaining, though I really hated Alice dying only one episode after she conquered her family's curse. Hope things will be good now that we got Billy revealed. I miss Wanda.

Happy Indigenous People's Day

I almost forgot and thought this day was closer to Thanksgiving. I'll be working today, so it's not really a holiday for me.

Early voting in Texas starts next week, so I'll go then. This election is so nerve wracking, and I've no idea if the states wrecked by Helene and Milton will recover, especially given threats to FEMA.

Meanwhile it looks like The Wild Robot is getting a sequel due to its success.

Speaking of movies, I forgot to mention Rob Peace, the last movie I saw in August before my cruise. I think you can buy it on Youtube now, but I don't know if it will reach a streaming service in the future. Maybe it'll go to Paramount+? The film stars Jay Will, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mary J. Blige as Rob's separated parents.

The movie is based on a true story about a brilliant Black kid who had a bright future in biochemistry, but he got caught up in illegal schemes trying to help his imprisoned father. It's about obligation and tragedy, and it's based on a biography that his college friend wrote about him, but it goes into his childhood and the New Jersey neighborhood he grew up in. I hope more people find out about it.

Missed again

Apparently I missed the northern lights again. I don't know if it came down to Texas, but I did see people posting aurora pictures from Kansas, so that's pretty far south. I envy them, because I didn't see any aurora when I was in Alaska in August. Oh well.

Meanwhile I got out my wok again to deep fry the rest of the lumpia I had in my freezer. The first batch turned golden easily but after I took them out of the oil to cool on a rack, they looked more burnt and overdone. The second batch stubbornly looked undercooked and pale, but once I pulled them out they turned more golden and cooked. So I guess the trick is that I should deep fry them, but pull them out while they still look pale. Then while they rest on the rack, they'll finish cooking from the leftover heat.

Anyway, I guess I'll go out to the movies tonight. I did recently see the Super/Man Christopher Reeve movie, which was interesting, as I never knew about his blended family before. Apparently he was close friends with Robin Williams too.

Crossed Fingers

I'm glad that the dockworker's strike was resolved so quickly. After getting a better contract offer, the workers agreed to suspend the strike until January, while they negotiate the rest of the details. This is good for getting supplies to the regions devastated by Hurrican Helene, so they can recover. I hope that the new Milton storm won't bring further destruction.

Last week I saw a really stupid car festooned with flags and banners saying "Repent" , "Jesus Saves" and that he's coming soon, like maybe during the election. I know there are evangelical Christians around Texas but this was crazy. Apparently while I was at lunch, they even put up some "Jesus Saves" signs on a nearby fence. Wackos.

Meanwhile I've been having computer issues lately even though I upgraded the memory on my laptop. I kept getting 100% disk usage slowing everything down, but I think I finally found the Windows settings to make it work normally. Apparently next time I get a new computer I'll have to make sure I get SSD.

Autumn Already

Happy 100th birthday to Jimmy Carter! He said before that he wants to live long enough to vote this November, and I hope he does.

Wow, it's October already. Temperatures are still in the 90s in Texas though. The government is offering free Covid test kits again, so I signed up.

I went to see the movie The Wild Robot, which is very heart felt and beautifully animated. It seems to be doing good at the box office, so they may make a sequel. It's based on a book series I guess, so there should be good material. Reminds me a little of The Iron Giant, except that it's focused on animals, with no human characters on the island. The robot-building corporation is the villain, but nature itself also provides harsh conditions for survival. The film does acknowlege that death occurs but alludes to it gently so parents can deal with kids' questions rather than with their trauma.

I haven't been able to see other smaller movies that were too limited in release, like Tokyo Cowboy and Empire Waist, so I'll have to look on streaming for those. Unfortunately, with October, there's bound to be a bunch of horror movies out; there seems to be horror films year round now, but especially in October. I hate most horror, unless it's light and comic like Hocus Pocus. But I do have some Scooby-Doo DVDs to watch instead.

Devastating

Wow. The news says that over a hundred people died due to Hurricane Helene and hundreds are missing. Plus millions of people continue to be without power, and could be without for a week. I hope that federal disaster relief can reach everybody soon. I certainly don't want people to be facing chillier fall or winter temperatures without heat or clean water.

Meanwhile Israel continues its devastating war on the whole region, and the US does nothing to stop its killing spree. Fuck. We couldn't have arrested Netanyahu for war crimes while he was at the UN? Fuck.

Self Defense

Fuckin' Israel. Expanding their war wider and wider. Using terror tactics like exploding pagers all at the same time, regardless of where the people might be and what civilians might become "collateral damage." Is no one able to reign them in?

I know, I know. They always say they're negotiating something behind the scenes. That it has to be secret, not in public. But fuck Netanyahu, who doesn't care about publicly giving speeches in the US and interfering in our politics. Fuck him for rejecting all ceasefire proposals.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israel-bloodbath-lebanon-hezbollah

The Pentagon announced on Monday that the U.S. is deploying an unspecified number of American troops in addition to the 40,000 troops already in the region. In the readout of a call with Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated the U.S.’s standard posture that Israel is acting in self-defense. “The Secretary expressed his support for Israel's right to defend itself as Hizballah extends its attacks deeper into Israel, and stressed the importance of finding a path to a diplomatic solution that will allow residents on both sides of the border to return to their homes as quickly and safely as possible,” it stated.

Fuck. This is self defense? And the UN can do nothing as long as US has veto power and sides with Israel.

Delightful Drama

To my surprise, Stage West's version of The Importance of Being Earnest was not set in Victorian times. As soon as I saw the set, I realized it was a modern adaptation, and the program confirmed that this was the director's choice. If Shakespeare can be staged in any time period, then why not Wilde? So Oscar's classic farce became an absurd 1980s soap opera. It was wonderfully funny. Here's a professional review with photos.

I still wonder, though, why the ads and logo for the show still featured two Victorian gentlemen in top hats. I guess the marketing designer didn't find out about the modern setting in time. I suppose Stage West also didn't want to repeat themselves too much, as they had the Sherlock Holmes play earlier this season. And yes I realize that I'm old if I consider the 1980s modern times, when that is over 40 years ago. So it's still technically a period setting.

Happy Festival

Well this weekend is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and our local Asian mall was overflowing when I drove by last night. People were parking in lots across the street then trying to cross the highway at crosswalks. So I didn't bother stopping there and went shopping at a different place.

Tonight I'm going to go see Importance of Being Earnest at Stage West. This is a favorite play of mine and I've seen it staged before at another place years ago. I hope the costumes will be great. I tested negative for covid on Friday, but I will still wear a mask just in case.

There's no movies I want to see now, and it's clear I shan't be able to squeeze into whatever entertainment they have at the Asian mall. Hopefully after this weekend it will go back to normal. I got to make the most of my time since I have to work the next 2 weekends in a row.

Happy Labor Day

I'm still at home trying to clear out all the emails I missed on vacation. On the cruise ship, not even Wifi internet would work for more than a few seconds on my phone. Of course there were a ton of emails concerning the DNC, and also for the end of the month fundraising. I missed half of the DNC, so I have to catch up on videos and references.

It looks like Kamala's campaign still has a lot of momentum going ahead, with so many new voter registrations. I checked my voter registration too because I heard Texas was purging voters again. I'm okay, so I guess they are still targeting Black and Latino voters. A lot of Texans were featured at the DNC, including Jasmine Crockett, who has been made a national co-chair of the Harris/Walz campaign. Good for her! She is such a star.

Also, I came home to a letter saying that my city wants to rezone a commercial lot to allow "light manufacturing" very close to my neighborhood. I'm trying to get info on how exactly they define "light manufacturing" and how dangerous that might be due to a bunch of natural gas pipelines near me. I can just imagine some horrific explosion or other industrial accident due to Texas's lax laws about worker safety and their zoning allowing factories to be too close to residential houses. Fuck.

Living Dangerously

Well that's what I get for living dangerously. I went on a cruise to Alaska and got Covid. I had intended to wear a mask at least on the plane, but then I forgot to grab it with my suitcases. Most of the cruise I was fine, if cold, but then I got a scratchy throat and fever one night. But the next morning the fever was gone, so I figured it was only a mild cold. But eventually it came back harder with chills, hacking coughs, and a runny nose. I've never sneezed so suddenly and violently either. When I got home, a test confirmed it was Covid. So I guess I should have been more careful.

But I did like seeing Alaska, visiting some real life places I'd seen on Molly of Denali such as Sitka, Glacier Bay, and Juneau. We remained in the southeastern "Inside Passage" region, so too far south to see any Northern Lights or Denali itself. On one excursion to Icy Strait Point (near Hoonah) I watched a tribal show featuring 4 or 5 creation myths about Raven. One older man played the drum and narrated, while the younger guy wore a mask and cape to act out Raven stealing the sun, moon, and stars to light the world. He did a very good Raven caw, and multiple costume changes. After the show the young man explained that they were trying to raise money to go to Celebration in Juneau, which they hadn't been to since Covid hit. They must have already missed the one in June this year, so they must be fundraising for 2026. As I left the theatre, I happened to look up and see two ravens perched on the roof of a building opposite. I tried to get a picture, but my phone's camera couldn't zoom enough to distinguish the two ravens, so they blended together.

This was the best I could do at zooming in and photo editing afterward. See the 2nd beak, and how fat the bird is? That's because it's two different birds perched close together.

Oh, and the tribal show mentioned that the trickster Raven used to be white, until he got stuck in a smoke hole and turned black from the soot. At the time I thought this white color to be purely mystical symbolism, but now I've read that white ravens do indeed exist, and Anchorage has one. I hope that this is a good omen for the world. Thank you to all the indigenous peoples who took care of the world for so long, and are continuing to care for it when governments don't impede them. Let's hope the rest of us start to be good stewards in time to save the world.

Feeling Hopeful

I had trouble getting online this week because Firefox wouldn't load. Finally got in today. I was more apprehensive about the election on Monday because I feared it would be a chaotic free-for-all, but instead I'm seeing mostly unity for Kamala, and great enthusiasm. The Lotus for Potus meme was cute too. It seems we're still in the honeymoon period before the press gets out their knives. Democrats might see another bump once Kamala picks her VP and goes to the convention.

Meanwhile Netanyahu came to give a speech, but fuck him for trying to influence our election. I consider him a war criminal, but stupid Republicans buy his smear that any criticism of Israel is antisemiticism. Governments can be corrupt and evil, even when the citizens are innocent and suffering. Just ask Texas Democrats under Abbott, Patrick, Cruz. Fuck them all too.

I don't care about the Olympics starting tonight, and the latest MCU movie appears to be another damn multiverse story. When will they get off that stupid train? I guess I'll stay home and read. I've also got some furniture to put together, but I work this weekend so it might take a while to finish.

Anyway, I hope Houston doesn't get flooded with more rain and that the power's restored.

Fight Like Hell

I'm shocked and disgusted that they forced Joe Biden to drop out of the race. The media pushed this narrative for weeks after the debate, ignoring the shitshow of Trump and his Republican convention. I guess when Joe got Covid he decided not to risk more headlines about Democrats defecting. Well I fully support Kamala Harris, and so far people are endorsing her too. I'm not sure who'll she pick as Vice President, and I don't trust the media not to trash her too. Meanwhile I hope Joe recovers soon. If he has no fucks to give now about re-election chances, could he rethink some policies about Israel? Well, I can always hope.

Man, all the major deaths keep happening too. This is a crazy year.

Shocking

Wow I took a break from news to go shopping and then in the afternoon saw the news about the shooting at Trump's Pennsylvania rally. He was just grazed on his ear apparently. I'm sorry about the bystander who died and anyone injured or otherwise terrorized. Violence doesn't help anything, and we need gun control. If he became a martyr that wouldn't help anything either. Anyway, I hear the Republican convention starts on Monday. I don't know if he'll announce a VP at that point, but he's sure to give another crazy rambling speech like always.

Meanwhile Richard Simmons died and so did Shannon Doherty. Rest in peace to both of them. I hope there's no more terrible news. but it's early in the day. Oh I also forgot that Dr Ruth died earlier in the week. So much stuff happening!

Hot

I'm sorry to hear that much of Houston is still without power and apparently will continue to be without for maybe another week. The Texas summer heat is already stifling, and I well remember last year when my AC was broken for days.

I was hoping that Collin Allred could make some points about both Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott being out of the state during Hurricane Beryl, but the news is primarily talking about Dan Patrick fighting with Biden about getting the emergency declaration to provide federal aid. Stupid GOP grandstanding, helping nobody.

The Biden administration made some announcement about a ceasefire agreement, but I don't see how that's different from the previous agreements to the ceasefire "framework" that we already had. And Israel continues to bomb Gaza and destroy schools, refugee camps, etc. So I don't feel that we're anywhere near peace.

Anyway, I got to put up some new shelves this weekend. Took forever to deliver.

Summer Rain

God, the hysteria from the media has been awful. They didn't react much to the horrible Supreme Court rulings but they kept drumbeating that Biden should step down just because of the debate, which is old news. Fuck them. I had to quit a couple of news sites because they wouldn't stop with the screaming headlines the whole week. It was all manufactured online. People in real life were just having July 4th parties and talking about summer vacations. Voters don't pay attention until fall.

At least the French and UK elections went well.

Meanwhile, my fridge survives and has quietened down a lot once I replaced the water filter. That gives me more time to look for a good deal. I was going to buy an open box fridge at the Best Buy outlet until I realized that you have to pick it up yourself. They won't deliver that, and my car is way too small to transport a fridge.

I also bought a couple of new Barbies because I just couldn't resist the face on the Aztec Princess of Ancient Mexico doll from 2004. Mine doesn't have a crown, and also doesn't look white. She's tan and lovely, with almond eyes. I mostly like her outfit though her feet are weird. They should have made her with flat feet if the shoes were going to be fabric like that. I haven't decided on a name for her yet, but I might go with Atotoztli who may have been a regent of Tenochtitlan, according to Wikipedia. It says she was the daughter of Moctezuma I and mother of three emperors.

I also got a My Fair Lady doll of Eliza the flower girl, before her transformation to lady. I prefer that version of her dress to the fancy gowns of the movie. Still have to take Eliza out of the box.

Anyway, we finally got some rain this week to cool us down. I guess it was the remnants of Hurricane Beryl moving north.

Worries

Well I managed to find parking outside the closed streets yesterday and walked the rest of the way to Light Up Arlington. Once I oriented myself on the major streets, I just had to follow various food trucks and vendor booths to all the activities. It was indeed hot but I found plenty of shade and breezes that made the 90 degree weather feel nice; I wasn't sweating through my clothes at least. There were outdoor toilets, but the local library was open for kids activities, so I could actually use an indoor toilet before moving on to some outdoor concerts. I spent way too much money and drank too many sugary sodas and sno-cones, so I started to feel sleepy at the end. There were plenty of benches and other public seats by City Hall, but I should have brought my handfan and maybe a beach towel so I could sit on the grass. I'll have to remember that for next time. The fireworks were supposed to be set to music with a radio station, but I didn't have a radio with me; it was just the bombs with no soundtrack. The explosions were very loud and some little kids screamed out of fear I think, not joy. I worried about the various dogs that I'd seen walking around earlier that day. I hope their owners took precautions with thundershirts or something.

I had to wait for traffic to clear out before I could leave. The SUV next to my car had its trunk open for no discernible reason; didn't they fear someone stealing their car while they weren't there? Anyway, I got home very late and couldn't really sleep. My fridge woke me up in the middle of the night with very loud noises, making me fear that it was dying and I'd need a replacement that I can't afford right now. I need it to hold on until payday next week. I'm trying to look into July 4th appliance sales, but I have to factor in the cost of delivery and installation too.

Meanwhile, France is having its elections, with worrying results so far. Not that I understand Parliamentary government, really. More confusing negotiations over ceasefire in Gaza. It's still opaque over whether anything will change.

Moving Forward

I didn't watch the debate on the Thursday, and I hear it didn't go well. Too bad. I had hoped that the mic cutoff would make a difference to stopping Trump's firehose of lies. But lots of people panicked over it. It was just one bad night, and Joe was great at a rally the next day. Steady on. If you panic this much over a bad debate, how are you gonna handle more shitty Supreme Court decisions?

Frankly I'm more shocked and sad about Martin Mull passing away. He was a comedy legend, with so many memorable roles that sometimes I would confuse his character names with his real name. I'm surprised to read in the obituaries that he was a musician and painter too. So talented. What a great loss. Bill Cobb was a great character actor too.

Meanwhile there's going to be an early fireworks show and street festival today in Arlington. I'll try to go if can just figure out the road closures and parking situation. I've tried going to their Juneteenth before only to find they closed parking lots down as early as 3pm.

Oh I almost forgot to mention that I saw the Thelma movie with June Squibb and Richard Roundtree this week. Pretty funny and enjoyable for a smaller movie. When summer gets hot I try to cool off in theaters, and if the movie selection is terrible I'll have to opt for one of the stupid blockbusters I was avoiding.

New Sherlock

Guy Ritchie is apparently creating a Young Sherlock TV series for PrimeVideo instead of doing a third Sherlock Holmes movie. It's not based on the 1985 film starring Nicholas Rowe, but on a book series about a 19-year old Sherlock at Oxford. The description sounded okay until they got to the "globe-trotting conspiracy" part. I hate conspiracy mysteries. They're so lazy and vague, and I bet it will involve Moriarty. Why can't it just be a regular murder mystery or robbery or college cheating scandal, etc? Some of the best Holmes stories like "Speckled Band", "Hound of the Baskervilles" and "Red-Headed League" were just local villainy, not far-reaching conspiracies.

Still holding out hope that the new Watson show on CBS won't be conspiracy-minded. I guess we'll see.

Nothing happened

I just don't understand Israel. Biden announced that ceasefire deal weeks ago, Hamas accepted, and someone said that Israel's war cabinet accepted it too. But nothing happened. Even the UN voted on it, and it passed. But nothing happened. The deal apparently included language that the US would "guarantee" that Israel would abide the deal, but nothing happened. Wasn't the deal in phases? Phase 1, immediate cease fire and freeing hostages, then phase 2 negotiations for post-war, etc? But nobody's enacted phase 1 yet. They talk like they won't do phase 1 until after they've done phase 2 negotiations. But that's backward. It might as well not be a deal at all.

Then later Israel starting claiming, "If Hamas accepts, then maybe we'll..." But they already accepted didn't they? Are they fucking gaslighting us? Trying to make us have amnesia? And the entire news media goes along, never challenging their narrative with the facts? And Benny Gantz quit the war cabinet, so the press started suggesting that the government would fall and there'd be new elections. But nothing happened. Every time I think something's going to change, nothing happens. Fucking hopeless. Back in the 1980s it seemed like the Irish Troubles were bloody hopeless too, but then they made peace. The fact that Israel continues this insanity decades after the end of the Irish Troubles shows how fucked up they are.

Now Netanyahu is doing doublespeak about how he's commited to the ceasefire, even though he hasn't fucking implemented Phase 1. And Israel talks about going after Hezbollah now. What the fuck is going on? Fucking neverending war.

Dolls Do Matter

Netflix released their Black Barbie documentary on Juneteenth, but I could not watch because I quit Netflix long ago over their anti-trans comedians. So I'm envious of those viewers who have seen it. Debbie has some reviews and links to clips here. I don't know. Maybe I'll rejoin Netflix yet again to watch, but I'd rather wait until the 3rd Knives Out movie comes out, in case I miss a theatrical release.

However, as much as Black Barbie was an important milestone for girls, more than "Black Francie" or Christie was, there were competitors filling that niche before 1980. I recently learned about Shindana Toys, founded by Operation Bootstrap in 1968. This was a community effort to rebuild and create Black businesses after the Watts riots in Los Angeles in 1965. They actually had some funding and training from Mattel to get started, but they succeeded on their own and revolutionized the toy industry. Shindana Toys made Black dolls and games from 1968 to 1983. Their first hit was a Baby Nancy doll, and they did Black celebrity dolls too, but eventually they created a fashion doll named Wanda who sported empowering careers like Barbie did. The local PBS did a documentary about their cultural impact that's available on Youtube. Shindana dolls are extremely rare and expensive on ebay, so I won't be able to buy any.

After Shindana shut down, Olmec Toys arose, at first making Black superhero dolls, then later Imani fashion dolls. They lasted until 1997, and some of their dolls are available on ebay for reasonable prices. I'm glad they're not as rare. In 2022, Mattel decided to license the Sun Man characters and release them with the He-Man Masters of the Universe brand. As I've said, I've seen newer Black fashion dolls like Fresh Dolls and Naturalistas in stores, so Black businesses are still making dolls.

Also there have been many Mattel competitors making so called Barbie clones over the years. So many brands like Candi dolls and Shillman dolls and more. DeeBeeGee has collected several Black clones here. I've come across Asian fashion dolls too such as the Chinese Yue-Sai WaWa dolls. I do own one of those in purple, because it was the closest thing to a doll wearing a Vietnamese ao dai that I could find. Traditional Vietnamese dolls always come mounted to a wooden stand, and the clothes are sewn on, so you can't undress them and play like with Barbies. Mattel tried doing Japanese Barbie dolls with Takara, but they had to be changed quite a lot to succeed, and they eventually became the 10.5" kid-like Jenny dolls which resemble anime characters.

Comstock Laws

Well I finished reading that long biography of Madame Restell by Jennifer Wright. Though the subtitle on the book cover calls her "fearless" and "fabulous," the book is not a hagiography of the abortionist. She's a complicated person like all real people. The truest adjective for her is "infamous" because everyone in New York knew her profession and yet she lived a wealthy comfortable life for decades before Comstock arrested her during his puritanical moral crusade. I would say she was more of a pragmatic businesswoman who could be ruthless when she had to be. I applaud the book for giving lots of details so I could see the full woman, warts and all. She was frequently unapologetic about her job, arguing that limiting family size was moral and good to save women's lives and keep people from having more children than they could afford.

Originally born Ann Trow in England, she started out as a maid before marrying a tailor and immigrating with him and their daughter to New York. Unfortunately, she soon became a widow, and she could not make good money as a seamstress. Nobody could in the Gilded Age. That's when she met a neighboring patent medicine guy making pills to sell. She learned how to make pills too, particularly for birth control and abortion, then eventually started performing surgical abortions since her pills weren't foolproof. She was a self-taught surgeon, but then again, many midwives didn't have degrees, and she performed the abortions so successfully that the women survived and could become repeat customers. By contrast, other abortionists could kill their patients. In later chapters, Wright points out that even formally trained male doctors in America didn't have experience practicing on female patients before they got their degrees; they weren't so much better than midwives, especially since many doctors didn't believe in germ theory and were resistant to washing their hands. In Victorian times, newspapers claimed that Ann's second husband Charles Lohman pressured her into becoming Madame Restell, but Wright makes clear that Ann did this herself, and that if anything, Charles gave up his career as a printer in order to help Ann's career. He adopted a fake doctor persona too and opened a branch office selling the pills. Ann also recruited her brother to help the family business.

New Dolls

I decided to buy a couple of new Barbie dolls recently. I found some ebay auctions for an Allan doll, and after making sure that he had straight legs and not the yucky bendable legs, I bid and finally won. It's not in perfect condition, of course, and he doesn't have his iconic rainbow shirt. For those, the cost would be way too much. But I have some extra Ken clothes and Allan's charming face is great.

In looking for more Asian Barbie dolls I came across the 2002 Star Skater Barbie based on Michelle Kwan at the Winter Olympics. At least this Asian doll resembles her namesake, and she's articulated so she can do spins and such. Her Twist N Turn body is very similar to a 1996 Olympic Gymnast Barbie I already have, with articulated joints and flat feet. That's the way that Mattel did articulation back before the Made to Move dolls. When I received the delivery, I saw that the Michelle Kwan doll has green eyes. It's very cute. Also her blue skirt is partly painted on her butt, and it's supposed to meet up with her blue panties. In practice, though, the panties keep falling down as they're connected to her pantyhose. I may have to add a real fabric skirt to make up for the disconnect between torso and legs. The ribbon fringe skirt doesn't cover enough.

The doll is missing her orange ice skates, but I have some other boots that work. They're sky blue ice skates from the 1997 Olympic Skater Barbie, which open on a hinge and then snap shut over the foot. I recently bought extra blue ice skates on Ebay along with the pink ice skates from the 1998 Ice Capades Barbie. The pink skates are the same size and design as the blue skates, but for some reason the metal blades are too loose and keep falling out the bottom. I may have to glue them in, but I'm worried it will interfere with the opening and closing of the skates. And I might want to use the pink skates without the blades as boots for any other flat-footed Barbies I have. It's very hard to find cowboy boots in this size.

Sherlock Holmes and the Elusive Ear

I saw the Holmes play at Stage West and it was excellent. I was a little concerned that the use of famous Victorians as characters would be too gimmicky, but it was fun, and they actually pronounced Vincent Van Gogh's name in the Dutch way, like "Hogh" instead of the American or British way. Also fascinating is that Irene Adler is merged with Mrs. Hudson; apparently Watson made up the fictitious persona to cover up the scandalous amorous relationship. The playwright is clearly a Sherlockian, sprinkling in lovely details like the V.R. in bullet holes and the tin dispatch box at the bank. He also writes women in a feminist way and understands that Irene Adler is not a villain; she blackmailed one bastard ex who wronged her. She was not a career criminal gleefully destroying people for profit; she was an opera singer. In the play, she has also become a partner in Holmes's detective work while pretending to be the mere landlady to clients.

The play takes place post-Reichenbach, but also needs to take place in December 1888 to coincide with Vincent Van Gogh's ear trauma after a fight with Paul Gauguin. But movie timelines for Holmes have long been wonky, such as the Rathbone movies and Without a Clue, so I can go with it. Oscar Wilde also makes reference to his Portrait of Dorian Gray novel, still in progress along with Watson's (Doyle's) The Sign of Four novel. There's a couple of clever Princess Bride references, with spectacular fencing duels. Van Gogh also takes Watson's portrait of "Chinese Gordon" and paints over it while drunk on absinthe. Very funny and delightful. I loved the costumes and wish I could have taken pictures of them, but of course that's a no no during live theatre. Definitely looking forward to the sequel next season.

Edited to add:

Hooray, I found a  publicity photo from Stage West with the characters in costume. Isn't that blue dress beautiful? I also uploaded some pictures of the set to my Substack Notes. If you zoom in to the wall behind the chaise lounge, there's the V.R. in bullets on the wall.

Happy Pride Month

Well I'm happy that Trump is now a convicted felon, even if the GOP wrongly think that the trial was rigged. Ken Paxton and other blowhards are vowing revenge on Democrats and fantasizing about reversing the conviction somehow. Fuck them.

If only the other trials weren't delayed. I also read on Daily Kos something about Biden announcing a ceasefire deal on Friday, maybe to pressure Israel? I don't know. We'll see.

Meanwhile the thunderstorms have continued this week. I also found that PBS Passport has the 1970s show The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, which is an anthology of various Victorian detectives. The show is mostly okay, but some episodes are more suspenseful adventures than actual mysteries to be solved. Robert Stephens even plays a blind detective similar to how he played Holmes in the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes movie. I'm still in season 1, but I think Douglas Wilmer, another Holmes actor, will be in season 2. As I mentioned before, I'll be watching a live Sherlock play at Stage West this month. I hope it will be good. Movies don't look very interesting this summer.

Delivery blues

I was going to post more on Memorial Day weekend, but I was working, then I got busy unpacking and setting up my new mattress. I bought it before the Memorial Day sales, so I lost out on a 60% discount. So I had to settle for a 40% discount instead. Oh well. The purchase was fine, but the Fedex delivery was terrible. They emailed me that my package was delayed a day, then minutes later said it was on time, but it was going to Pflugerville Texas instead, which is hundreds of miles away. I tried both the website and their phone number for an hour but all I got were automated robots who refused to transfer me to a human being. Eventually I did an internet search which revealed that Pflugerville is some kind of distribution center that some packages have to go through even if it means leaving Dallas only to come right back a day later. If a customer service rep had just answered the phone and explained that to me, then I would've calmed down and not fucking cursed out their robot multiple times for saying "we have no more information for you." Fuck you, Fedex. The bed is nice and firm at least.

Due to the hail and thunderstorms on Tuesday, my internet went out and stayed out for over 14 hours, with only one "outage" message from my internet provider. I guess I should just be thankful that I still had power and that my home wasn't damaged, unlike so many other people in DFW.

I managed to read a book and do a few loads of laundry before the sun came out and there were no more flash flood warnings. I decided to go shopping and run errands, hoping that the internet would be restored by the time I came back. I stayed out 3 hours, but when I got back the internet was still out and stayed that way for hours more. So it's been a day.

Ramblings

That's it. I'm done with brown rice. I made it again with less water, and it still boiled over in the rice cooker. Back to white rice that tastes better and is more predictable. No point in ruining my new rice cooker for an allegedly healthier brown rice.

Meanwhile, the local Asian mall had a weekend celebration for AAPI heritage month, so I went on Sunday. They had various vendor booths, and a stage for performers. I saw a really fun performance by a K-pop dance troupe. I don't normally listen to that music, but the diverse dancers were really talented and their enthusiasm was infectious. They also seemed like local kids, not like a touring professional act imported into town. It made me feel hopeful for young people today, joyfully celebrating regardless of race or gender. Don't I sound old now?

I was sad to hear about the sudden tornados in Houston. The storms killed people and knocked out power. Storms are getting weirder and stronger all the time due to climate change.

Meanwhile I've started reading a biography on Madame Restell aka Ann Lohman, a major abortionist in Victorian-era New York. I first heard about her on Wonkette. It's expensive for an ebook, but at least it's 400+ pages to justify the price.

Disappointments

It's been too cloudy and rainy the past couple of nights for me to see any aurora from the big solar event. I didn't even try to look on Friday night because I thought the forecasts said it wouldn't be visible in Texas. Then I woke up the next day to see reports of aurora as far south as Florida! 😞 Oh well. There's a bright street light near my house anyway, so I probably wouldn't have been able to see an Aurora I guess.

Meanwhile I recently made brown rice in my new rice cooker, and it nearly boiled over. I didn't realize that cooking brown rice would be so different from white rice. Apparently you don't need to rinse it like white rice, and I guess I have to use less water in the cooker.

I saw The Fall Guy for Ryan Gosling, but the movie was less of a mystery than I expected, and less funny than Barbie. There were some good songs and action scenes though; I liked a cartoony one in a club when Ryan's character was drugged and hallucinating unicorns. Stephanie Hsu has an extremely small part that I wish was bigger. There's not much else I want to see this month. Though I liked Godzilla Minus One, I didn't bother to see the Godzilla x Kong movie, and though I loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I soured on the rest of the franchise, so I don't think I'll watch the new Kingdom movie, which doesn't even have Caesar. I'm tired of the typical blockbuster films in general, and have been looking for smaller films. I saw ads for a kids' mystery called Thabo and the Rhino Case, but it was limited release, and never available anytime that I wasn't at work. Now it's completely gone from theaters with no word about a streaming release. Come on, don't have such a limited release, especially for something that's supposed to benefit wildlife charities!

Lackluster TV

CBS apparently announced its fall schedule early. I thought they usually waited until the end of May to do their press tour thing at the upfronts. Are all the networks going to do this early? I'm sad for the cancellation of So Help Me Todd, but it was uneven at times. I liked the light comedy/mystery, but I didn't care for the corporate intrigue at the law firm. Now CBS is all excited about their new Elsbeth, which is a quirky mystery show sort of like Columbo and sort of like Peacock's Poker Face. It's okay, but I don't care for the police corruption storyline.

Meanwhile I'm starting to sour on the US Ghosts. This past season has been so disappointing, ever since they copped out of Flower disappearing, made Carol die, and became predictable. After all that buildup, I hated the botched wedding. Other CBS sitcoms like Bob Hearts Abishola and The Neighborhood have been bafflingly wrongheaded too. They have totally lost their way and would rather write people selling their family businesses and betraying their core principles. It was particularly disgusting for Douglas to say "most CEOs get prison; you get rich." Excuse me?!! When has any CEO gone to prison? All I ever see are CEOs getting golden parachutes after dismembering a company and ruining their employees' lives. I wish some CEOs went to prison; then there might be justice in the world. Fuck whichever writer wrote that line for Douglas. Has the Boeing CEO been fired yet, let alone been arrested? Seriously, fuck you.

Plus they ignored Abishola's medical school acceptance all season, only to shove it into the time-jump finale where she's already a doctor. So they just skip the question of whether she was going to move from Detroit and/or if Bob would join her. Instead of addressing the major issues during the season, they just gloss over it and then do wacko things like Kemi's food truck for their "happy ending." What a cop-out. They wasted the whole final season. Good riddance.

Campus Protests

As I said before I'm no longer in college but I remember those idealistic days. I understand why the college students are holding pro-Palestinian protests, and I'm happy to see many Jewish students there, showing that Israel does not represent all Jews. Unfortunately the media is portraying the protests as anti-semitic, and colleges are calling the cops to crackdown on protesters. Like they learned nothing from the antiwar protests during Vietnam. I read many skeptics online saying scornfully, "what do they expect the colleges to do"? Well, the students have specific demands, such as divestment from Israel. They aren't expecting a magic end to the war; they have rational, concrete goals. I've personally been boycotting Israel for years. And I remember that college students protested against apartheid in South Africa and demanded divestment then. This is all within their 1st amendment rights, yet the world treats it as dangerous and violent and antisemitic; as if they were mindlessly rioting. It's sad that so few colleges are acting like Brown University, negotiating in good faith to de-escalate the tension. At least Biden said he would not deploy the National Guard to put down the protests.

Anyway, I heard that the ceasefire talks failed and Israel is threatening once more to invade Rafah. But the US put an ammunition shipment on hold, and Blinken says that the US will publicly oppose the invasion. Plus the US was supposed to start humanitarian aid using the new temporary pier this weekend. I hope these are good signs that maybe we'll withhold weapons too. We can't keep letting Israel commit war crimes with our help.

Barbies and bras

So Mattel has a new Kristi Yamaguchi Barbie, but it looks nothing like her. She looks like a white girl with a mole. Just like the Anna May Wong Barbie, they can't seem to get the eyes right. Why is it so hard for them? Also, why do they insist on making Asian people with a pale skin color, when lots of Asians are tan or darker? Well, at least they're actually selling the Olympics doll this time. They never sold the Chloe Kim Barbie even though that one actually looked Asian and looked like her namesake. Who designed that doll, and why the fuck can't they do all the other Asian dolls? Sigh.

Meanwhile I learned that bra sizing is different in the US vs UK. This is why some websites tell you to measure your ribcage for your bandsize, but some websites say to measure the ribcage plus add 4-5 inches to get band size. It makes a huge difference to know which system you're using; otherwise you mess up calculating your cup size. No wonder I had so much trouble figuring out my bra size! Ironically I found this out on a webpage about underwire sizing. I typically hate underwires and avoid buying those bras because they always pinch and squeeze me. But according to Erin's website, it's probably because the underwires are for a round breast shape, when I'm actually a "wide oval" breast shape. I'm going to try to see if these underwires fit me better.

I have some Jockey Realfit bras that I've removed the underwire from; maybe I can put some of Erin's France underwires in them to make them follow my curves better. I'll see when I get my delivery. I'm not good enough at sewing to make an entire bra from scratch. I've made do with wireless bras, but typically I have to go up in "sister sizes" because they make the bands too freaking short. I've found that the 34 or 36 bands do not actually measure their stated size; the manufacturers claim that it's because the bra elastics are supposed to stretch to that 34 or 36 inches. Why make it so complicated? Just make them the fucking size that you label them!

More Cooking

So the House finally approved the foreign aid bills they've been stalling for so long. I don't approve of more funds for Israel's war, but it also has aid for Gaza, so that's a wash I guess. Hopefully Biden will keep pressuring Netanyahu to stop killing civilians. And maybe the Israelis can protest too until the government changes. I'm discouraged though that some California university canceled their valedictorian's graduation speech just because she's pro-Palestinian. Fucking "safety concerns" to hide their censorship.

Meanwhile, in Texas, early voting starts tomorrow for the May municipal elections. But I heard that there are additional elections later due to the property tax law they passed. Such a nuisance; why couldn't they combine the elections?

Anyway I successfully cooked some fried tofu with tomatoes today. Until I found the recipe I totally forgot that my mom used to make this all the time when I was kid. Didn't realize how much I missed it. That'll save me some money to go meatless more often, and the Asian grocery always sells fried tofu, making it even easier.

The Long Game

I saw the golf movie The Long Game starring Jay Hernandez of Magnum P.I. It's about some Mexican-American students in 1950s Del Rio, Texas who form a golf team and compete in a tournament while overcoming prejudice from white country clubs. Jay plays JB Pena, the school superintendent and head coach of the team. He also is a war veteran who is aware that his military service doesn't translate into respect. Dennis Quaid and Cheech Marin also have small roles in the film. I liked it overall, though I did find the ending weird, because JB had to go to jail for a thing, but then suddenly the issue didn't matter anymore. Maybe that part was fictional. But I wish Hollywood would make more small films like this, instead of all the horror films and the blockbuster franchises. Little stories like this are interesting and help to un-whitewash history.

Meanwhile, I forgot to comment before on the news about The CW ordering a Sherlock & Daughter show. Amelia is apparently American and the premise seems mysterious/ambiguous about whether Holmes really is her father. I'll see if it's any good, but I wonder if Watson will feature at all. Also CBS has cast Morris Chestnut as Watson in their medical procedural. I hope neither show gets too lost in tangled Moriarty conspiracies.

Sherlock Melodrama

I saw a fantastic farce called Sherlock Holmes the Melodrama at the Pocket Sandwich Theatre. It's a dinner-theatre in Carrollton that encourages audience participation--including singing, cheering, booing, and popcorn-throwing. The show is very funny and outlandish, featuring Watson delivering dad-jokes and frequent puns on "elementary." Apparently following the example of the Enola Holmes movie sequel, Moriarty is a Black woman, but she keeps her status as a professor, and at least she's a separate character from Irene Adler. I hate shows that conflate the two, or that make Irene evil rather than merely ethically gray. (This Irene at least is canon-appropriate, a widow of Godfrey Norton who is out for revenge against the King who sent his agents to murder Godfrey. Thank god for writers who remember the admirable, wronged woman who is sympathetic and even fun.) Meanwhile, Mary Watson is also a Black woman here, and very charming. It's interesting how theatre is quick to accept new innovations in the Sherlock Holmes genre.

This melodrama is actually a revival of a 2010 play by the now-deceased founder of the Pocket Sandwich Theatre, so it has some local history. The spoof is set in 1892, but alludes to Reichenbach Falls being in the future, so it's kind of nebulous time-wise like Without a Clue. But it is certainly full of references to Sherlockian lore and deep cut characters like Kitty Winter and Lord Holdhurst. There's also anachronistic dress, such as Mrs. Hudson dressing like an medieval tavern wench, and the prime minister wearing a powdered wig and tricorne hat. Also Inspector Lestrade dresses like a lowly police constable with a helmet. These things may be deliberate to increase the broadness of the stereotypes and the fun. When Holmes disguises himself as Kitty Winter, the actual actress appears. The whole thing's delightful and runs through May 11th, so see it if you can.

Meanwhile, in June, Stage West will put on a Sherlock Holmes adventure of their own.

Awesome

The eclipse was great. There were a lot of clouds in DFW, but they moved enough in the afternoon that we could see it happen. I didn't try to get any photos. Just enjoyed the experience.

Meanwhile, I saw Wicked Little Letters this past weekend. It's a funny British film based on a true story about poison pen letters in the 1920s. They do take some dramatic license, omitting any involvement of Scotland Yard, changing Edith Swan's age, and tweaking some details about Edith's and Rose's family members. Also "woman police officer" Gladys Moss gets her own feminist arc investigating the crime while her male colleagues dismiss her. (Surely her title should have been WPC, woman police constable, like in See How They Run.) The movie features colorblind casting, and I recognized one of the actresses as Kitty from the original Ghosts show in the UK. It's less a whodunit than a delightfully quirky bit of British coziness.

Cooking Adventures

I got a new rice cooker, though I haven't tried using the included vegetable steamer yet. It seems okay, though the handles don't have holes like my previous rice cooker. That's where I used to store the rice spoon; now I don't have anywhere to put it. Meanwhile, I also tried deep frying in my wok, based on a youtube video which said it was better than frying in a dutch oven. The oil did come out fairly clean afterward, though I need more mason jars to store the cooled oil I guess. My cooking thermometer helped.

I was deep frying lumpia, which I discovered is a Filipino food similar to egg rolls. My local Asian market sells frozen lumpia much cheaper than they sell frozen Vietnamese egg rolls; it may be because the lumpia is smaller. Since the lumpia were frozen, I needed an icepick to separate the lumpia enough so I could put them in the fryer. It's hard to make the lumpia brown on all sides, though, because when I flipped them over, they just flipped back on the same side again.

Anyway I'm looking forward to the solar eclipse on April 8th. My workplace is having a party and I'm considering whether to bring some lumpia to the party or even bring some mooncake. Those are traditional Asian treats for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they sell them at other times too. They're super dense and rich, like a fruitcake, and even though it's small, it's hard to eat a whole cake by yourself. You're supposed to share it with friends and family over tea.

A Play and Movies

I recently saw a very funny play called POTUS by Selina Fellinger. It's a political farce that's very feminist and very sweary, but entertaining. The women are various family members and White House aides of the unseen President; they are all trying to keep a reporter from finding out about his various scandals (e.g. the President just insulted his wife as "cunty," and his secret mistress is pregnant.) The crisis builds, and many of the women display such brains and skills that some ask "why isn't she the President?" Even the chief of staff Harriet starts to wonder why she should be so loyal to the President and shield his ego, instead of looking out for the country. I loved it. Stage West is extending the run, so see it if you can.

Also I found another foreign-language mystery show called The Three Detectives on Disney+. It's about three teen girls starting a detective club, and it's in German. I've only seen one episode so far because it's hard for me to watch this and Astrid on PBS unless I can pay 100% attention to the subtitles. This isn't something I can watch while looking away and crocheting.

Meanwhile I did see some movies too, such as Kung Fu Panda 4. I didn't like that they wrote out the Furious Five, just to focus on Po and the new character Zhen. If Po needs a successor, then why can't it be Tigress? Other than that, it was ok for a kids movie. On Saturday I saw One Life, the movie about Nicolas Winton saving children from the Nazis just before World War II. He didn't do it alone, getting help from volunteers in Czechoslovakia, while he returned to London to raise funds and get visas for all the children. His mother even helped with the organization of the operation. Unfortunately, then Hitler invaded and stopped the last train of children from escaping. What a tragedy. Also a tragedy that many nations refused Jewish refugees who could have been saved from the Holocaust. Apparently Hinton could only get Brits to accept the children, even if they wouldn't take the entire families.

It's sad that anti-immigrant Americans won't take refugees from the Mexican border now, pretending that we're being invaded by a crime-ridden horde seeking to "poison our blood." These immigrants are just seeking asylum, which is perfectly legal. Would they rant the same way about the Vietnamese refugees who came here after the war? It's crazy that any court is entertaining the xenophobia and racism of the Texas border law; even aside from the "invasion" absurdity, the law is clearly unconstitutional as well.

Spring Showers

I saw an ugly Tesla cybertruck on the highway yesterday. Why on earth would anyone buy that? Tesla makes normal looking electric cars, you know. I've no idea if Elon will try to bail out Trump. Doesn't he have enough problems of his own with Twitter?

Anyway, we've had rain lately, and it always wakes me up in the middle of the night. Hard to get back to sleep again. Also my computer keeps acting up. My internet speed seems okay, yet it takes me up to 30 minutes to get my computer started and my browser working in the morning. Really annoying.

Hard to keep up with all the stupid government shutdowns and the chaotic court rulings about the Texas border law. Then ISIS attacked Moscow in revenge for something Russia did in the Middle East? I'm not sure of the exact history. But it's not Ukraine that did it, no matter what Putin says.

The Ides of March

Amazing that Chuck Shumer called for new elections in Israel. Finally saying that Netanyahu needs to be ousted as Prime Minister. This is a major development that I hope means that Biden's administration will defy Israel more. Is this really the moment that Democrats are no longer scared of AIPAC, and are willing to pressure Israel in public instead of behind the scenes? I can only hope so.

Airdrops are starting now, but much more needs to be done. They keep talking about ceasefire, but it looks like Israel is rejecting it and starting to invade Rafah, in open defiance. Beware the Ides of March. This cannot last forever. Already 8 senators are asking to cut military aid to Israel. The dam seems to be breaking finally. Israel cannot get away with war crimes forever.

Cabrini

I had no idea this movie was made by the same director and same studio as Sound of Freedom. I only realized it when most of the trailers were for Angel Studios films. Apparently it's a "family friendly" studio and streaming service that makes a lot of faith-based movies and TV shows. (However, this article claims it was already made before Angel Studios bought the film.) I didn't realize that the movie had a religious angle either (Francesca Cabrini was made a saint in the Catholic Church). My main takeaway from the movie description was that it was a biopic about an important historical woman, and that she fought against poverty in 1880-1890s New York; that subject interests me because of my unfinished Sherlock Holmes novel, where I want to have Helen Stoner involved in charities in New York.

So anyway I went to see the Cabrini movie, and it was actually good. The movie had a feminist, pro-immigrant tone, and it pointed out how each wave of European immigrants, including Irish, Polish, and Italians, had been met with racism and discrimination from nativist New Yorkers. (There was no commentary on non-European immigrants, and no we don't see Chinatown.) The religious angle isn't pushed so much as a general humanitarian tone. John Lithgow even appears as a Mayor of New York, who keeps trying to sabotage Cabrini and drive her back to Italy. We also learn that Cabrini is chronically ill, due to her almost drowning as a child; but she refuses to be held back, pushing always against men who underestimate her.

Cheers for Progress

Well Super Tuesday happened, and Kyrsten Sinema announced that she won't run for re-election. It's surprising that she caused so much damage in one term. Good riddance to that Benedict Arnold.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Biden finally decided to start airdropping humanitarian aid to Gaza, bypassing Israel's restrictions on aid trucks. Thank goodness. He finally caved to public pressure. Plus Daily Kos said something about Kamala Harris meeting with Benny Gantz as a way to piss of Netanyahu. So it seems they finally see that Israel's government is part of the problem. That's why I'm still voting for Biden this November. Because although he says things like he's a "Zionist" and he was slow to act against Israel, he can be moved to finally change policy. We've finally found his red line.

Maybe we can push him further to hold Israel accountable for war crimes, or to push to oust Netanyahu. Progress can be made with this administration. If he makes more progress, he can possibly win back the voters that he's alienated with this war.

Ranting

Fucking Israel attacking civilians waiting for food in Gaza. So much for ceasefire hopes. Why can't Biden do something? Would America tolerate this kind of behavior if we were helping fund any other nation's war? Like if Ukraine was committing war crimes, we'd just shrug and say that's their choice to defend themselves that way? Everyone keeps saying that Biden has to delicately negotiate behind the scenes and not inflame Netanyahu by publicly criticizing Israel. But don't all negotiations involve carrot and stick, both reward and punishment? I haven't seen any stick used whatsoever against Israel. Where are your fucking red lines?

In other news, apparently I missed Biden coming to the border in Texas and the news of wildfires out in the panhandle. I've stopped watching TV news as the morning shows devolve into pure entertainment fluff and advertisements disguised as news. I did see Biden on Seth Meyers, but was discouraged by him saying, with no prompting, that he's a Zionist. What the hell? Talk about a 2-state solution, but don't toady to Israel about their so-called divine right to the land. I thought you were trying to appeal to Arab Americans what with the protest in Michigan? Yet you use that loaded word "Zionist". Fuck.

But yeah, Republicans suck too. Governor Abbott ought to be working on the emergency wildfires instead of toadying up to Trump at the border. After all, a federal judge just blocked the Texas deportation law SB4 by pointing out there's no invasion. Who knows how the conservative appeals court will rule, though.

Meanwhile blogs like Daily Kos will scream about 1 news story--the Supreme Court taking the Trump immunity case--for dozens of diaries/posts for days, crowding out any other important news story. I don't need that many hot takes from different people on the same topic.

Primary Protest

Michigan had their primary last night and it looks like over 100,000 Democrats voted "uncommitted." They have a large Arab-American population and were trying to send a protest message to Biden about the Israeli war in Gaza. There are actually Democrats all over America, such as me in Texas, who want Biden to change policy on that war. It's just that Michigan has a significant concentration of such Democrats. It's certainly their right to protest that way. When I voted, I don't think there was an equivalent "uncommitted" option on my ballot, just 10 or so stupid candidates running against Biden. And it's not like any of them have better policies.

A lot of times on Daily Kos or on Wonkette, I see commenters acting like pro-Palestinian protesters are whiny babies or silly idiots demanding a pony, but that's not true at all. We want Biden to do concrete things like withhold funding and/or weapons from Israel, stop vetoing resolutions against Israel in the UN, and push for more humanitarian aid/access in Gaza. I am aware that Biden is still negotiating for a ceasefire in Gaza, and he promises that something will happen soon in March, but I'm skeptical since I heard that Israel rejected the previous ceasefire attempt, AND they are moving forward with more settlers in occupied territory. If anybody's being a whiny baby having a tantrum, it's been Israel.

There's a stereotype that the pro-Palestinian voters in America are ignorant college kids who know no history; that this is their anti-authoritarian fad to feel cool and important. But were the anti-Vietnam protesters in the 1960s a mere fad? They weren't principled in their anti-war stance? How can the anti-protest Democrats think that this is not about justice and humanitarianism? I'm not a college kid anymore, though college was where I read more about Israel's history and no longer liked it. (In middle school I liked Golda Meir and played her in a school project.) I'm not Muslim either. I'm Vietnamese, and was raised Buddhist, but I didn't understand a word of it in temple, so officially I'm unreligious and agnostic at best. Also I do believe that there is a large faction of Black Americans who sympathize with Palestinians and don't like Biden's Israel policies either. So apparently it's a coalition of lots of different people. It's not just Michigan Arab American voters who feel this way. Democrats shouldn't dismiss it as a tiny faction of spoilers like the No Labels people or the deluded Dean Philips. And Nancy Pelosi suggesting that we're Russian plants is even more insulting, saying that there aren't genuine reasons for real Americans to care about Israel decimating Gaza.

But I will state again that I will vote for Biden in November, as the alternative is unthinkable. I don't know if all the other pro-Palestinian people will, though, so maybe Biden can do something please? Hold Israel accountable instead of treating it like innocent Ukraine, merely "defending itself."