happy tunesday! up all night

 

Last night Wilko spent most of the night meowing very loudly. She went into Sharon's room, jumped on the bed and kept nudging Sharon and meowing.

We didn't get much sleep

wilko, continued

A few weeks ago I wrote about my new used cat, Wilko. I figure we're due for an update.

Wilko still needs more time to fully integrate herself into the family, but she's making progress. To put things in context, I picked her up from her prior home on May 5, and posted about it on May 6.

In the few weeks since, we've spent a lot of energy trying to get her comfortable. She quickly found the basement, and for the longest time she didn't want to leave it. She spent most of her time hiding behind the boiler. It became clear that wants attention but is scared. Sharon could coax her out for pats, and she would occasionally relax enough to truly play. She would also let Blair pet her, but not as much. She was much slower to warm up to me, though I could coax her out with Friskies Party Mix. But with all of us, any sudden move would startle her back into hiding.

By now, she will sometimes come out of the basement to explore or to watch us, but she's still very cautious, and ready to run away if anything startles her. And she startles easily.

On the plus side, she's not hurting anybody or urinating anywhere inappropriate. Her fear is only hurting her. So I guess we can deal with it as she slowly warms up to us. I just with she would warm up faster.

love, worms and game theory

 A bit of game theory this morning...

Sharon asked me if I would still love Blair even if she turned into an earthworm. Of course I would, I told her, before asking where that question came from. Not that I should have asked -- I tend to come up with stupid questions like that a lot. But apparently this was some kind of internet thingy where people answer that question about their spouses.

She wasn't sure about my confident response. How can I be so sure that I would love Blair-as-earthworm?

But I explained that answering the question properly is really an exercise in game theory. Promising to love Blair even if she becomes an earthworm makes Blair happy* and therefore makes me happy. And there's really no downside to the answer.

"But," Sharon followed up, "if she does turn into a worm, you're stuck with that promise."

It's true, I admitted, that the downside is pretty bad. But there's a very low probability -- I would venture to say nearly 0% -- of such a terrible eventuality. So, weighing the outcomes by their likelihoods, I think I gave the right answer.

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*Truth be told, Blair is very unromantic, and is not into grand gestures such as this. Since she considers it very unlikely that she'll turn into a worm, she doesn't spend time worrying about whether I'd still love her. But for the sake of this blogpost let's assume that she cared very deeply about my response.

cinema history class: 2019 after the fall of new york

   

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: It's Dystopia, Mom! (Week 4)
Movie: 2019 After the Fall of New York (1984)
Directed by Sergio Martino

Plot:

Twenty years after a nuclear war, Parsifal must sneak into New York and escape with the world's last fertile female. So he can accompany her on a trip to Alpha Centauri and revive the human race. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

2019 certainly throws a lot at you. There are obvious similarities to 1981's Escape from New York, but it also displays influences of many other popular action/adventure movies, including Mad Max, Planet of the Apes and The Warriors. It was actually very ambitious for something that should have been a shitty little low budget romp. But it manages to do everything so well. It's fun, it's exciting, it's action-packed. Even if it is a bit silly at times.

If I were to rate this movie solely on how good a time I had watching it, it would get a 10 for sure. But I just can't justify saying that this is a 10 -- a rating reserved for masterpieces. 2019 is certainly a lot of fun, and it does deliver what it is intended to. Which is why I gave it as high a rating as I did.

Ratings

Me: 7

Bob-O: 7

Dave: 8.5

Ethan: 7

Cats: Rats and horses, but no cats

cinema history class: the people who own the dark (1976)

   

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: It's Dystopia, Mom! (Week 3)
Movie: The People Who Own the Dark (1976)
Directed by Leon Klimovsky

Plot:

Attendees at a weekend orgy survive a nuclear holocaust because of the remote location of the shenangans. But can they survive the army of blind war victims? Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Well, the ending was done really well. And the fact is that the second half of the film was exciting. But it was very slow to start, and by the time it got interesting I had mentally checked out. So even the great ending wasn't enough to save it.

But, damn, that was a great ending.

Ratings

Me: 5

Bob-O: 8.4

Dave: 9

Ethan: 8.5

Joe: 10

Cats: There was kind of a cat for a second.

happy tunesday! "(theme from) bionic joe"

Did you ever make a joke and then continue it because...well because it was too amusing to end? I remember I did that in college when I joked that I was twins -- Marc Whinston and Moshe Whinston. Most people knew I was kidding, but one fellow student believed it, and had a strong preference for Moshe over Marc.

But I digress.

There's a guy I know on Facebook named Joe Discenza. We were grad students together. We lost touch. Then one of us reached out to the other on FB. We've been FB friends since. Anway, Joe was doing lots of bicycling. Then he posted something about joint replacement surgery. Someone (maybe it was me?) Made a comment about "Bionic Joe." I immediately wrote a verse for a theme song for a TV show about "Bionic Joe," who cycles around doing good.

Yeah, it was kind of stupid. But I got a kick out of it. And it was too good to drop. I figured the song should have Joe voicing a tagline for the character. So this spring, when Joe and his wife were in New York anyway, they came over and Joe recorded catchphrases so I could have Toby stick them into the recording. It was the first time I'd seen Joe in over 30 years, which was cool too.

Now all I need is for some TV executive to take up the idea.

cinema history class: (panic in the year zero)

  

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: It's Dystopia, Mom! (Week 2)
Movie: The Last Man On Earth (1962)
Directed by Ray Milland

Plot:

After nuclear war turns society into chaos, there's one order for the day: survive. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

The important thing to keep in mind about Panic in the Year Zero! is that it was timely. It came out in 1962, when fears of an impending nuclear war were palpable. Students across the US were taught to duck and cover so that, in the event of a nuclear war, they would be protected by their schooldesks. And bomb shelters were a popular feature of home construction. I vividly recall the bomb shelter (by that point turned into a storage room) in my grandparents' house in Pennsylvania when I was growing up. And, in a sense, it's timely now; with the war in Ukraine, there has been various talk about nuclear weapons.

Of course, maybe that kind of talk is game-playing. I remember a bunch of nuclear-war-themed movies from the 1980s, and a very short-lived sit-com called Woops! from 1992 that was a sort of post-nuclear war variation of Gilligan's Island.

At any rate, fact is that Panic isn't really a movie about nuclear war. It's a movie about a family trying to survive after society has broken down. The nuclear war angle was really just the mechanism to create the situation.

And the movie does a good job of imaginatively coming up with all sorts of situations that would arise. And Ray Milland does a really good job as the father, trying to protect his family, even at the cost of letting others die, while also struggling to make sure they maintain their humanity.  A lot of what happened felt oddly sanitized, but it's important to remember that in 1962 the code was still in effect and limiting what could be done in movies.

One interesting consequence of that is that the implied rape was protrayed in a way that reminded me of the adage that "less is more."

Panic was a very well-done solid low budget flick.

Ratings

Me: 9

Bob-O: 9.9

Christina: 9.4

Dave: 9.5

Ethan: 8

Joe: 10

Cats: No cat or dog. Much sad.

video review -- watermelon phocus

 Tomorrow, May 16, Phocus is releasing its newest flavor, watermelon. Even though its official release isn't until tomorrow, it was possible to buy it in advance and feel special if you were willing to give Phocus your email address. So, since I'm getting in on this at a time before zero, I figure I may as well do a video review. The same thing happened with strawberry kiwi, which was the prior newest flavor. Except I didn't get around to doing a tasting/review video before the release. so I never posted one. 

By way of background, Phocus is caffeinated flavored seltzer. Each can has 75 mg of caffeine, which I am told is the equivalent of a cup of coffee. As a flavored seltzer, it is unsweetened. So no sugar and no artificial sweeteners.

Looking at Phocus' website, it appears that this is the thirteenth flavor, though I recall there being a "plain" flavor, which I don't see now.

Anyway my thoughts on the new watermelon flavor are above in the video. For the record, it is my new favorite. Below are quick comments about each of the others: I used a random number generator to decide what order to list them in. That seemed fair enough to me.

• Cherry Cola
  Sharon's favorite. Eminently drinkable. Almost tastes sweet
• Strawberry Kiwi
  Pretty good, though the strawberryness is somewhat artificial-tasting
• Yuzu & Lime
  Until watermelon came out, this was my favorite. I guess it still is until tomorrow
• Cola
  Meh. Tastes sort of like watered down cola. It's drinkable, but not much more
• Cucumber
  Yuck. This is by far the worst. I will not drink it under any reasonably-foreseeable circumstances
• Root Beer
  Sort of like cola, only root beer
• Crisp Apple
  Very apple-tasting. I don't really care for it, but I'll drink it in a caffeine emergency
• Mint
  More refreshing than I expected it to be. Not my favorite, but it's pretty good
• Peach
  I don't like peach-flavored things, except those peach gummies. This isn't those, so it's undrinkable. Unless you like peach
• Grapefruit
  I would have thought I'd like this more than I do. It's OK, I guess
• Blood Orange
  Smack dab between Grapefruit and Yuzu & Lime is Blood Orange. It's drinkable, but not a favorite
• Mixed Berry
  It tastes like it should be sweet, even though it isn't.

Anyway, enjoy. Or don't. I won't know. It's kosher, if that matters to you. Actually, it's kosher even if that doesn't matter to you.

wilko

When your wife says "I probably shouldn't show you this," you know it's something you want to see. In this case it was a social media post from CoonAlley, a cat breeder in southern New Jersey. She had two retired female Maine Coons that she was looking to rehome.

Ever since Wiglaf disappeared some years (six?) ago, I've wanted another cat. One of my own. Each of the kids has a cat.* But I haven't had my own since Wiggy.

Ethan has taken every opportunity to push me to get a cat. When Sharon's classmate enlisted her to help rehome a stray, Ethan wanted me to adopt it. When our breeder told Sharon there was a litter she could pick from, Ethan urged me to ask about getting one of them for myself. Though I have been repeatedly tempted, I have resisted the urge.

But this time it just seemed right. Or not. I didn't really want to get another cat right now. But I had to look. And, damn, those two cats were beautiful. One in particular, a four-year-old named Fancy, caught my attention.

Some text messages followed. And a phone call. I told CoonAlley that the breeder at The Brewery (another Cattery in New Jersey) would vouch for me. And so, I spent Thursday taking a six hour round trip drive to pick up a used cat.

I need to admit that I wasn't crazy about the name Fancy, so I had to rename her. I gave plenty of consideration to lots of candidates. These included such possibilities as Brilleaux, 20% Zdarma, Lotsalegs, Fek'lhr and Brisket. But somehow Wilko** just seemed right.

Right now, Wilko is not a happy girl. Pulled from her home and the people and cats she has known, she was taken to a new house with people and cats she doesn't know. We've been trying to give her space, but slowly ease her into the family.

When we got her home she didn't want to leave the carrier. So she spent most of last night in the back of the carrier, in my bedroom. By this morning she had moved, and had positioned herself in a corner, under an armoir. She spent most of the day in the office near me, but cowering under the desk. She's a little more relaxed by now, but still not happy. She seems to like getting stroked under the chin, she let me pull the gunk out of the corners of her eyes and sometimes as I brush her she looks up with an almost-not-unhappy look in her eye. It'll take some more time, but I think she'll get used to us.

In the meantime, world, say hello to Wilko.

_______________________________

*Technically, Sharon doesn't; her cat, Cream, died last year. But we've been in touch with a breeder and Sharon will be brining home her next cat, Copic, next month.

**After Wilko Johnson, the original guitarist for one of my all-time favorite bands, Dr. Feelgood.

cinema history class: the last man on earth (1964)

 

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Session: It's Dystopia, Mom! (Week 1)
Movie: The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Directed by Ubaldo Ragona

Plot:

After a pandemic has devastated the world, one man tries to put everything back together. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

Early on, I mentioned to Keith that this bore some similarities to The Omega Man, which starred Charlton Heston. Keith pointed out that that later film was based on the same short story. I probably should have been aware.

So, that said, I may as well start by comparing the two. Last Man is a much more somber movie than Omega Man, which plays like an action flick. Charlton Heston's character seemed to almost have fun in Omega. In Last Man, Vincent Price's Dr. Morgan is just weary. Weary enough that I kept asking why he didn't just kill himself and end the whole ordeal.

In some ways this felt like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone -- especially when Ruth showed up. That part particularly reminded me of the TZ episode, "Two," which starred Elizabeth Montgomery and Charles Bronson.

I particularly enjoyed the early narration, which serves as a method to deliver the necessary exposition. As I noted above, Vincent price seems weary.

It was also particularly interesting to see the similarities between this and Night of the Living Dead, which we saw in class some years ago. It did almost seem as if George Romero (who would direct the latter film) had been watching Last Man and taking notes.

Of course, it also didn't escape notice that we were watching this post-pandemic movie just as the world is trying to put COVID behind us. Not that that really affected the grade I gave it, but still.

I wouldn;t really call this a great film, but it was near-great.

Ratings

Me: 9

Bob-O: 9.7

Christina: 9.8

Dave: 9.8

Ethan: 9

Joe: 10

Sharon's reaction to the trailer: "But he's not the last man!"

Cats: No cat, dog. Poor doggie.

happy tunesday! jackpot

 

Some months ago I commissioned Toby Wilson to record "Jackpot" for me and my album project. I liked his arrangement, but thought his vocal lacked...something. So here is an improved version, with Tim Patterson's vocal.

Enjoy