Sunday, June 10, 2018

Some Saturday Stuff

I went to the movies today.  That shouldn't be unusual.  Until recently I went to the movies often.  Frequently.  The only time of year where my moviegoing would be reduced was during tax season.  Fatigue often kept me home on days off where I might have otherwise seen a film.

How long had it been since I went to the movies?  May 1st.  Over a month.  I have gotten out of bed many mornings since that date, planning to go to the theater.  But I've let my emotions and my fatigue combine to keep me from something I love.  I love going to the movies.

Was it tiring?  Yes.  Seeing two films in a multiplex on different levels meant a lot of walking.  As I sit here on Saturday night writing this blog, I'm a bit more tired than I have been at this hour over the past weeks.  What did I see today?  A double-bill of Hotel Artemis and Deadpool 2.  I'm working on my reviews of those films in another window.  I considered going to more films on Sunday but decided to rest until Monday.  I intend to get out that door to my right on Monday and see at least one movie.

I've written more words about depression this week in this space than I ever have.  That is okay.  We need to talk about this silent killer as much as we need to talk about heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and the rest.

I also wrote this week about how the Trump administration is trying to eliminate restrictions on health insurers from imposing limits on/excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions.  I'm fortunate in that no health insurer can use my social media posts to deny me coverage for my depression.  But others are not.  Be careful.  Social media could be used to deny you coverage for conditions you post that you are afflicted with.

A reminder.  We cannot rely on those who are suffering to reach out for help.  When loved ones who use social media regularly suddenly disappear, check in on them.  If a friend looks troubled, ask if they are okay.  If they say no, ask if they'd like to talk about it.

Friendship means being there, not just when it is easy.  It means being there is the darkest moments.

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I was going to rant about how the #MoronInChief reinforced his images as a petulant five-year old emotionally (apologies to the mature five year-olds who might feel slighted by the odious comparison).

I'll leave that for another day.  I am wondering though if the Secret Service is going to be visiting the nearly McDonald's in Singapore to get food for the #FoolInChief.

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You probably wouldn't recognize the name Eunice Gayson.  She just died at the age of 90.  She was an actress with 53 movie and TV credits between 1948 and 1972.  She was also the very first Bond Girl.


This photo of Ms Gayson and Sean Connery is from Dr. No, the very first Bond film.  Her character, "Sylvia Trench" appears again in the next Bond pic, From Russia With Love.

RIP

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Sticking with film, there was a movie a little over 15 years ago titled Juwanna Mann.  It was the story of an NBA star with stellar skills on the court, but was such a bad boy on the court that he was banned from the league.  So he dressed in drag and joined the WNBA.  It was a weak comedy.

Someone riffed on it with this tweet today:


I don't see that happening, it was just a joke.  But it is an excellent lead-in to look at where he will land next year.  It is highly unlikely he will re-sign with Cleveland.  There is a great deal of speculation that he might come to the Lakers.  He owns a home in the L.A. area.  He and his wife took a tour of one of the exclusive private high schools in Los Angeles last September.

I think what will drive his decision on where he goes next season will be driven by thoughts of his legacy.  He wants a chance to win more NBA titles.  He wants to make it to the NBA finals every season.  That road is tougher if he plays for any team in the Western Conference other than the Golden State Warriors.

The NBA salary cap is complicated.  For the 2018-19 season, it is set at $101 million.  Basketball Reference Dot Com tells us that the Warriors have eight players under contract for next season with a combined payroll of $128.3 million.  That may or may not put them over the cap, but they don't have a lot of room for a big salary of the size LeBron James will command.

Why would he want to make it tougher to get to the Finals by choosing a team that must get past the Warriors next season?  I don't think he will.  I think he'll sign with someone else in the Eastern Conference.  Maybe Philadelphia.

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Factoids

Russia is not the world's 8th largest economy.  It is currently ranked 12th.
The G-7 is made up of the nations with the largest economies.

C.M. Punk, the former WWE superstar is now 0-2 in the Octagon.

The hairstyle and wardrobe of Meaghan Markle gets more press coverage than the suffering of the residents of Puerto Rico, more than 8 months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

Ponderings

At least C.M. Punk didn't get knocked out rapidly this time out.

I did not need to know what Anthony Bourdain used to hang himself.

I am not surprised to read that a North Korean defector says that the people of that country are not aware of how wide the gap is between the prosperity of other nations and their own.

One potential roadblock in rebooting Roseanne on ABC without the titular star is that she has an ownership interest in the show.  If she were smart, given that her income stream is badly damaged by the removal of reruns of her original show everywhere, she would allow the No-Roseanna Roseanne reboot to go forward.  That's why I think she won't do it.

I wish people would click on the links in a social media post before responding to the post.  It would save time, since they often make claims that are debunked by the link's content.

The finishing kick from USC anchor runner Kendall Ellis in the women's 4 x 400 relay at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field meet is amazing.  In enabled the USC women to win the team title.  If you want to skip ahead, go to 2:59 in this clip:



I'm not sure the fact that the Pride Festival in West Hollywood had never sold out before excuses the mistakes made on Saturday.  They hit capacity while people who had already paid for tickets were admitted.  Those folks were unable to attend.  Offering them admission for Sunday with their Saturday ticket is a nice gesture.  I hope they plan better next year.

Wonder if anyone remembers exactly what Julia Ioffe tweeted in 2016 that led to her firing from Politico.