The Classics

Watching a movie from 1944, The Conspirators. Some scenes have a vaguely familiar, "I've watched this before" feel where other scenes are mostly unfamiliar. I must have been drifting in and out of a state of sleep when viewed previously. One of those, sleazy nazi's spies are pretty much all-knowing and hiding in the shadows everywhere, genre of movies, made while the war was still going on. A theme of great interest.

Followed up with Background To Danger, from 1943. Another in keeping with the spy theme. I have a fascination with how people living through World War II times, viewed the current events taking place in their world.

Random Notes

• I really hate the words, "Assembly Required." But I do have to admit to a certain macho satisfaction once the assembly is completed. Even if I happen to have a few unused parts left over. Why can't I just take the floor model?
• Now I know what it must have been like for my parents to walk into a record store around 1968. So many titles these days that I've never heard of. I feel out-of-touch looking at much of the new vinyl out there. Someone needs to create a device that has every recording ever produced, loaded on it and that can be sampled by entering the CD or vinyl album's bar code number ..... and that automatically updates itself wirelessly (and through no effort of my own), each new release Tuesday. Oh and a it would be nice if said device would play wireless full stereo sound  in my ears, (and that only the device owner could hear), minus the use of ear buds or headphones.
• Seems like even if you were engaging in nepotism, you'd hope for and expect a little bit of positive production from the favored person.
• 75 is the new 105!! Degrees that is. Anything over 70 feels too warm for me. And anything under 60, too cold!!
• After a week and at least a half dozen bouts with Adam and Eve type temptation, I can decidedly say that I'm committed to keeping my latest mid-year resolution ..... Not to eat in the car!! 
• An example of poor planning by a local merchant ..... A used book store with very few used books. Add the lack of available seating for customers. People don't want to stand and read, at least not for long. Seating says, "Come on in. Enjoy yourself. Stay awhile."

Stranded!!

Not sure what it all means about me as a person but for some odd reason, I love movies where a small group of people (3-10) are stranded in the wilderness, in the desert, on the ocean, on the moon, etc..  I even find the thought to be a sleep aide ..... I'll close my eyes and visualize myself as part of such a situation. Setting up a camp, improvising with what nature provides, keeping a watch for outlaws, bears, poisonous snakes, Amazonian men-hating women and other assorted dangers. Usually I'm asleep before my mind wanders too far. I draw the line though when it comes to films depicting the eating of your deceased group members. Just can't see myself partaking.

Examples of movies I enjoy ...... Lifeboat, Flight of the Phoenix, Last of The Comanches, Back From Eternity .... to name a few.

Not too fond though of the solo individual stranded in the wild, type of film. Being locked out of an apartment late at night in 30 degree weather also falls into this category, seeing as that plot line actually happened to me before. Just not as romantic. I need to see people working together, even if they are not co-existing together all that effectively.

Examples ..... Man In the Wilderness, Jeremiah Johnson.

By Any Other Name

I think that if I was a Brazilian soccer star and was going to be one of those guys that went by their first name only, I would most likely embellish "Fred" a little. Maybe Frederico? Even Freddie would sound better. I'm sorry but "Fred" just doesn't reek of fear and respect. Maybe the thought process is to lull the other team into a state of relaxation before "Fred" suddenly emerges with a shot on goal ..... Instead though I'm visualizing Fred Flintstone. Maybe that cartoon was never televised in Brazil?

Voices Beyond Annoying

I guess it's true ..... I truly am getting old. I get increasingly irritated these days by just about every voice and talking head on television and radio. News shows, shopping channels, opinion programs. Liberal or conservative, loud mouths or calm voices, it makes no difference. I hear how they all put their personal slant on this. How they generate angles that are missing an element of truth or reality. And I just can't let it slide. I have to change the channel and mute what's annoying. The list of irritants seems to be suddenly multiplying in the last month or two.

Maybe if Gregory Peck did the news .... that could be tolerated. Craig Ferguson I can listen to. Or Mike Van Gundy talking basketball. It must be his mix of humor and knowledge. Other than that?

Futbol Daze

Soccer .... World Cup variety. Guess I'm lacking in sophistication. Tough to watch most of it. There ought to be a no flopping rule.  Players shouldn't act as if they've been shot each time they hit the ground. And news flash for soccer players .... If you insert your head in the same space already occupied by another players head, you're probably not going to get to the ball and you're likely to come away with a major headache. I previously thought that basketball players were the worst at arguing with officials but soccer players make it no contest.

Yankee Time

Trying to explain to a person, who just doesn't understand such things, how you can be such a loyal fan to a baseball team since age eight, which now that I do the math  ..... is half a century, a New York Yankees fan. And I thought for just a brief moment that I had her on the path to acceptance and conversion when I spoke of taking the train to Seattle to watch my Yankees in action ..... but I think she was more interested in the train. Or Seattle perhaps. Or just getting away for a few hours, from what's dragging her down.

She shouldn't have asked what I was going to do after getting home from work. "Well watch the Yankee game that I recorded" of course!! What else would any normal, sane person be looking forward to doing late Wednesday night after working half the afternoon and all evening?

The Dirty "R" Word

Never thought this would happen but I've reached the point where I understand that people eventually just get tired with their daily routines and begin to ponder retirement. Hopefully it's just a temporary condition but I've just had these days lately where every exertion and effort, sometimes every step feels like a major energy expenditure and I begin to wonder if it's a sign .....

Reboot Planet Earth

I wish that I had an answer for all the school and other public place shootings taking place lately. Sometimes I think that the only solution is to wipe away humanity and start again from scratch hoping for a different path taken.You'd think people would be getting outraged to the point of addressing the problem but it seems like instead, they are getting numb to it. I read one thing that caused me to stop and wonder if that just might get some attention and action .... That parents should just keep their kids home from school when it starts back up after summer vacation.

I don't pretend to know what the root cause of the problem is ..... guns, violent television and video games, mental illness? I have an opinion but no clue if I'm right. But I do worry that it's beyond control, beyond fixing without a totally different mindset being put in place.

Those Seasonal Allergy Bebop Blues

You know it's a bad allergy day when you're in the used cd/record store and you spot a great old Jazz album (Lee Morgan's, Cornbread) on vinyl and appearing to be in great shape and at a very record collecting friendly price ..... and you hurriedly walk away without the record because you just gotta get out of anywhere where other people are present, so you can sniffle, snort, sneeze and suffer in blessed private.

It's funny how that when you are 58, 40 sounds like the new 17.

Changes

Am I at the magic age? I can identify myself changing in numerous ways over the past year. Not just physically but also in outlooks and attitudes. It's not something that I knowingly pondered and considered, it just happened. Still to be decided if these "changes" .... any or all is for the better. You see, I'm not sure where it's all headed and the last thing that I've ever wanted was to become a bitter old man.