Today’s domestic project was to flush out the water heater. Until a year ago I didn’t know this was something I was supposed to do, but our plumber set us straight and now it’s on the annual to-do list. Why is it important? Because sediment from hard water builds up inside, makes it inefficient, and eventually contributes to its rotting away. I’m feeling all handy and proud now that it’s done, and that alone makes it worth doing.
With regard to George Zimmerman, it’s tempting to say “I told you so” … and I would, too, if only I had. Seriously, who among us failed to take the man’s measure the first time we read the words “unofficial neighborhood watch volunteer”?
My daughter’s motorcycle battery is failing, or perhaps has failed. She says it’ll hold a recharge for a few hours, then need another. I’m sure that’s because we’ve recharged it so many times. Polly’s out of work again, and broke, so I suppose it falls to me to buy her a new battery. If I were a Republican, of course, I’d tell her she’s experiencing a teachable moment (and then cut off her unemployment check and food stamps). I have to be honest, though, and admit there’s a little bit of Republican in me: the part of me that wants her to get a job, even if it’s a crappy one.
One hates to depend on other people, but that’s where I’m at with my upcoming F-15 presentation at the air museum. I have to use the museum’s laptop, projector, and sound system, and that’s the problem. I’ve been down five times now trying to get the soundtrack of an embedded video to play, and so far no luck. My slides look great, the auditorium where I’ll be speaking is first-rate, but darn it, the video is the highlight of the presentation.
The volunteer coordinator I’ve been working with tells me “maintenance” is in charge of the sound system, and of course “maintenance” is nowhere to be found. I’m going down again tomorrow morning to give it one more try … I won’t be able to sleep until I know everything’s going to work the way it should. As any speaker who has to depend on other people for audiovisual support can tell you, no one gives a shit about your presentation but you. Should I go all prima donna and tell the museum I’m canceling if they don’t show up tomorrow to fix the sound system?
I don’t follow him, but there’s this guy on Twitter who, for the past couple of years, has been putting on an Andy Kaufman act, posing as an appallingly nasty misogynist, racist, and homophobe. He posted tweets like this: “In The Passion Of The Christ 2, Jesus gets raped by a pack of niggers. It’s his own fault for dressing like a whore though.” And this: “Men have made the world such a safe and comfortable place that women now have the time to bitch about not being considered our equals.”
A few days ago an online magazine outed him and the twitterverse turned against him. That’s not all: he was fired from his job. Looking at his tweets, it’s clear to me his shtick was just that: he wasn’t speaking for himself but was instead lampooning the trolls … misogynist, racist, and homophobic … who infest the online community. The Jesus tweet, I swear, is the most sublime Mel Gibson sendup I’ve ever read.
What’s obvious to me is apparently not so to humorless lefties. I’m a bit embarrassed by my conformist, party-line tribe today. And I’m also thinking of pulling links to my bawdy songbook from my Hash House Harrier blog. My god, if they think this guy’s tweets are worse than Hitler, what’ll they think when they read the lyrics to Sally in the Alley and Napalm Sticks to Kids?
Speaking of tweets, here’s a good one:
I haven’t posted any movie reviews lately, and probably won’t be posting any more. For years I reviewed every movie DVD I rented from Netflix, plus the occasional new movie I’d see in theaters. But then I canceled my Netflix DVD plan in favor of Netflix streaming TV, where most of the movies are older ones, and it just doesn’t seem important to me to comment on them any more.
So I’ll leave you with a final movie review. I just finished reading World War Z, and that reminded me that I went to the cineplex two months ago and watched the movie, which isn’t like the book at all. I’ll include a review of the book in an upcoming book review post, but for now, here’s my short take on the movie:
For a movie that has three strikes against it right off the bat (it copies shamelessly from 28 Days Later and Contagion, it relies on CGI, it’s a star vehicle for a famous pretty boy actor), WWZ is surprisingly good. The CGI special effects are realistic, the zombies believable, and the backstory about Brad Pitt’s family makes it more than a mere action spectacle. But golly, even if all you want is action and could give a shit for the niceties, WWZ delivers. I guess I must have a soft spot for zombies … if this had been a Transformers movie (which it greatly resembles) I would have hated it.