Movie Theater Geography and other Sunday Stuff
How many movie theaters are there within five miles of where you live? For me, the answer is 16. Many of them are multiplexes with large numbers of movies showing on any day of the week, so I didn't bother to count the number of screens involved. Since I live in the Southern California area, the concentration of movie theaters shouldn't be a surprise.
Good thing for me that I don't reside in Goodlow, TX. The closest movie theater is a six screen multiplex located roughly 15 miles away. Drive another eight miles and there is a 4 screen theater. Drive another four miles and there is a drive-in theater where movies are shown once daily, at 9 pm. After that, it's an 80 mile round trip to go to the movies. And if you live in Goodlow and you want to see an indie film, you'll drive over 100 miles to do so. The reason for this is obvious. Goodlow is a rural city with a population of less than 300.
The film Straight out of Compton didn't play in the city of Compton. There are no theaters there. There are four movie theaters within five miles though. If a resident of Selma, AL had wanted to see the brilliant film Selma, the closest movie theater is over 35 miles distant. The population of Compton is 33% African-American. The population of Selma is over 80% African-American. See a pattern?
Jackson is the capital city of Mississippi. It has over 170,000 residents. So why doesn't it have a movie theater within the city limits? Why are there only three movie theaters within a ten mile radius of a state's capital city? Conversely, Vermont's capital city of Montpelier has a population of less than 8,000. It doesn't have a McDonald's restaurant within the city limits, but there are two movie theaters there. Could the discrepancy have something to do with the fact that nearly 80% of the residents of Jackson, MS are African-American? I think it does. Would the fact that the population of Montpelier is nearly 94% Caucasian help in demonstrating this?
Jackson, MS hasn't had a movie theater within the city limits since the late 1990s. Jerry Dallas, Professor Emeritus of history at Delta State University wrote a paper on the subject titled "Movie Theaters in Twentieth-Century Jackson. It is an interesting read. One wonders why someone doesn't open a theater there and take advantage of what would appear to be a market with great potential.
* * *
As today is July 1st, it is time once again for the New York Mets to write a big check to someone who hasn't played in the majors since 2001. Bobby Bonilla was under contract to the Mets in 2000 and they wanted to release him. But doing so would have obligated them to pay him $5.9 million under his contract. The team's owner Fred Wilpon had invested a large amount of money with Bernie Madoff and as a result he struck a deal with the agent for Bonilla. Instead of paying him the $5.9 million then, he would not pay him at all until 2011. But the payments that would begin in 2011 would continue until the year 2035. He will wind up collecting nearly $30 million under this deal.
Happy Bobby Bonilla payday!
* * *
A tale of two tweets:
That tweet is from June 30th. Turns out never must mean AFTER June 27th.
Does he even remember what he tweeted from one day to the next?
* * *
Tulsi Gabbard is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii. She was elected in 2012. In her campaigns for reelection in 2014, 2016 and thus far in 2018, she has refused to debate her primary challengers. Her office is claiming that the reason she is refusing numerous requests to debate her primary challengers this time is that there are other issues that are higher priorities during her limited time back at home.
The Democratic primary IS the election in her district, as the seat has been held by a Democrat since its creation in the early 1970s. Ms Gabbard has won her three previous general elections with an average of more than 80% of the vote.
In her first campaign, to replace Mazie Hirono (she resigned to run for the U.S. Senate), Ms Gabbard was trailing badly in the primary race to then-Mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannerman. Her performance in a primary debate, along with her smartly-run grass-roots campaign brought her an improbably win.
Incumbents usually duck debates. They favor the challengers. The problem is that Ms Gabbard resigned as a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee when the DNC failed to heed her call for more debates during the 2016 presidential primary campaign.
Sauce for the goose?
* * *
Whether or not a Supreme Court decision is "right" in our eyes is a matter of opinion. As a matter of law, their decision are right because the Constitution gives them the right to be the ultimate decision-maker in interpreting the law.
There is a doctrine in law known as stare decisis. It means the court must give weight to previous decisions. That in and of itself doesn't mean the Supreme Court decisions in Roe v Wade or in declaring the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional cannot be overturned by the court in the future.
I take a lot more comfort in the words of Senator Susan Collins when she says she will not vote to confirm a justice who is opposed to Roe v Wade than I do in relying on stare decisis.
* * *
Random ponderings:
How is it possible that reports that LeBron James has signed a four year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers is not trending in Los Angeles as I write this? Edit: Now it is the hottest trending topic an hour later.
Six years of age might be a bit young for all kids to start learning archery, but individually it is a parent's judgment to decide that for themselves. If Donald Trump, Jr. thinks his kid is old enough at 6 to learn the sport, that's his business. But if people want to judge and offer opinions on someone's Instagram posts, that's their right.
I don't believe Leslie Van Houten is a threat to anyone. That being said, I see no reason to give her parole. When you commit murder, life without parole is a proper sentence.
Good thing for me that I don't reside in Goodlow, TX. The closest movie theater is a six screen multiplex located roughly 15 miles away. Drive another eight miles and there is a 4 screen theater. Drive another four miles and there is a drive-in theater where movies are shown once daily, at 9 pm. After that, it's an 80 mile round trip to go to the movies. And if you live in Goodlow and you want to see an indie film, you'll drive over 100 miles to do so. The reason for this is obvious. Goodlow is a rural city with a population of less than 300.
The film Straight out of Compton didn't play in the city of Compton. There are no theaters there. There are four movie theaters within five miles though. If a resident of Selma, AL had wanted to see the brilliant film Selma, the closest movie theater is over 35 miles distant. The population of Compton is 33% African-American. The population of Selma is over 80% African-American. See a pattern?
Jackson is the capital city of Mississippi. It has over 170,000 residents. So why doesn't it have a movie theater within the city limits? Why are there only three movie theaters within a ten mile radius of a state's capital city? Conversely, Vermont's capital city of Montpelier has a population of less than 8,000. It doesn't have a McDonald's restaurant within the city limits, but there are two movie theaters there. Could the discrepancy have something to do with the fact that nearly 80% of the residents of Jackson, MS are African-American? I think it does. Would the fact that the population of Montpelier is nearly 94% Caucasian help in demonstrating this?
Jackson, MS hasn't had a movie theater within the city limits since the late 1990s. Jerry Dallas, Professor Emeritus of history at Delta State University wrote a paper on the subject titled "Movie Theaters in Twentieth-Century Jackson. It is an interesting read. One wonders why someone doesn't open a theater there and take advantage of what would appear to be a market with great potential.
* * *
As today is July 1st, it is time once again for the New York Mets to write a big check to someone who hasn't played in the majors since 2001. Bobby Bonilla was under contract to the Mets in 2000 and they wanted to release him. But doing so would have obligated them to pay him $5.9 million under his contract. The team's owner Fred Wilpon had invested a large amount of money with Bernie Madoff and as a result he struck a deal with the agent for Bonilla. Instead of paying him the $5.9 million then, he would not pay him at all until 2011. But the payments that would begin in 2011 would continue until the year 2035. He will wind up collecting nearly $30 million under this deal.
Happy Bobby Bonilla payday!
* * *
A tale of two tweets:
I never pushed the Republicans in the House to vote for the Immigration Bill, either GOODLATTE 1 or 2, because it could never have gotten enough Democrats as long as there is the 60 vote threshold. I released many prior to the vote knowing we need more Republicans to win in Nov.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2018
That tweet is from June 30th. Turns out never must mean AFTER June 27th.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II, IN THEIR AFTERNOON VOTE TODAY, EVEN THOUGH THE DEMS WON’T LET IT PASS IN THE SENATE. PASSAGE WILL SHOW THAT WE WANT STRONG BORDERS & SECURITY WHILE THE DEMS WANT OPEN BORDERS = CRIME. WIN!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018
Does he even remember what he tweeted from one day to the next?
* * *
Tulsi Gabbard is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii. She was elected in 2012. In her campaigns for reelection in 2014, 2016 and thus far in 2018, she has refused to debate her primary challengers. Her office is claiming that the reason she is refusing numerous requests to debate her primary challengers this time is that there are other issues that are higher priorities during her limited time back at home.
The Democratic primary IS the election in her district, as the seat has been held by a Democrat since its creation in the early 1970s. Ms Gabbard has won her three previous general elections with an average of more than 80% of the vote.
In her first campaign, to replace Mazie Hirono (she resigned to run for the U.S. Senate), Ms Gabbard was trailing badly in the primary race to then-Mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannerman. Her performance in a primary debate, along with her smartly-run grass-roots campaign brought her an improbably win.
Incumbents usually duck debates. They favor the challengers. The problem is that Ms Gabbard resigned as a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee when the DNC failed to heed her call for more debates during the 2016 presidential primary campaign.
Sauce for the goose?
* * *
I read a FB post earlier this week about how the Supreme Court doesn't always get their decisions right, but they get to act last. There is some logic to that. Slavery was legal. Jim Crow was legal. The decision in Korematsu v US was legal at the time.
Whether or not a Supreme Court decision is "right" in our eyes is a matter of opinion. As a matter of law, their decision are right because the Constitution gives them the right to be the ultimate decision-maker in interpreting the law.
There is a doctrine in law known as stare decisis. It means the court must give weight to previous decisions. That in and of itself doesn't mean the Supreme Court decisions in Roe v Wade or in declaring the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional cannot be overturned by the court in the future.
I take a lot more comfort in the words of Senator Susan Collins when she says she will not vote to confirm a justice who is opposed to Roe v Wade than I do in relying on stare decisis.
* * *
Random ponderings:
How is it possible that reports that LeBron James has signed a four year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers is not trending in Los Angeles as I write this? Edit: Now it is the hottest trending topic an hour later.
Six years of age might be a bit young for all kids to start learning archery, but individually it is a parent's judgment to decide that for themselves. If Donald Trump, Jr. thinks his kid is old enough at 6 to learn the sport, that's his business. But if people want to judge and offer opinions on someone's Instagram posts, that's their right.
I don't believe Leslie Van Houten is a threat to anyone. That being said, I see no reason to give her parole. When you commit murder, life without parole is a proper sentence.
posted by me at 6:59 AM
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