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Post by The Captain on Feb 4, 2020 10:46:39 GMT -5
Hold up. Did people who actually followed the farce that was the impeachment situation think that it made the Democrats look bad? I'm speechless. In a way, yes. They rushed the timeline, for whatever reason, to get the House portion done before the end of the year, forgoing using the courts to fight the WH on refusing to let Bolton, Mulvaney, etc., testify. The Dems knew the Republicans weren't going to allow witnesses, so the Senate portion was a foregone conclusion. They should have played the long game, working the courts and keeping Trump off his game and unfocused throughout this entire year, but instead they handed him a quick victory and the opportunity to smear Joe Biden ahead of the Iowa caucus with zero repercussions. As such, it was incumbent on them to get as much information out into the open before letting Human Turtle Mitch McConnell and Professional Flip-Flopper Lindsay Graham shut it all down. The Republicans look bad as well, but everyone knows they only care about winning and serving their orange master, not doing what is right for the country as a whole, so their behavior wasn't unexpected or shocking even.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 4, 2020 9:58:08 GMT -5
Hello from Iowa ! *** groan *** Caucused last night as I have ever since high school, and it's still a wonderful experience, though it sounds like the lack of results as I type this early the next morning puts Iowa-as-first-in-the-nation status effectively a thing of the past. What a mess, a disappointment and an embarrassment ! My precinct, in the booming suburb of Ankeny (the 10th fastest growing micro city in the US), had Buttigieg with the most backers, followed by Sanders, Warren and Biden in that order. The first round showed Biden not being viable, with less than 15 % of caucus-goers initially supporting him. Klobuchar and Yang both had impressive showings initially. Neither were viable, so the caucus-goers had to determine what candidate, if any, they would support. Klobuchar's supporters mostly split equally to Biden and Buttigieg, saving Biden. The Yang Gang mostly went to Buttigieg but Warren and Sanders both picked up some supporters, with more going to Sanders. My brother had a different caucus precinct in Ankeny. Haven't heard yet from him how that one went. Haven't heard yet from my mom in Denison (rural west central Iowa 70 miles NE of Omaha) and only heard from my brother in Harlan (30 miles south of Denison) that he was the solitary Steyer supporter. My location also only had one Steyer supporter. He's sure been good for the advertising industry though ! Lots of tv ads, tons of mailers. No supporters at my precinct for Bloomberg. You Iowans had ONE job, and you botched it completely. After the impeachment debacle, the Democrats needed a strong showing to rebuild public confidence in them, and instead we get a bomb bigger than "Cats". Who won? Who knows, but everyone has already moved onto New Hampshire, another small, largely homogenous (read: white) population that has a ton of influence on the Democrats' process even though it, like Iowa, doesn't look a thing like the Democrat Party base at large. Even worse is that the Trump campaign has already seized on the failure of the caucus as a talking point, asking if America can trust the Democrats with health care and the environment and the economy when they couldn't even get their signature event right after having months to prepare for it. They also are claiming it's because the results weren't what the Dems wanted, so they're manipulating the results in favor of an establishment (read; Joe Biden) candidate. Not a good thing to give the Republicans even a tiny crack to get their tendrils into, becaise they will keep pulling at it until they tear it apart completely.
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Post by The Captain on Feb 1, 2020 16:38:16 GMT -5
Quick list off the top of my head:
- Owned an American car - Smoked a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, or used smokeless tobacco - Used an illegal substance in any way, shape, or form - Fired a real gun (I have shot BB guns at summer camp and at a carnival, but no actual firearms) - Been south of the Equator - Been on the mainland of Europe (hoping to fix this one in the next few years) - Seen a single film in either The Fast and the Furious or Transformers franchises - Been to an NBA/WNBA game (been to the other three major NA sports, many college football and basketball games, and an English League Cup match in Wales)
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Post by The Captain on Jan 31, 2020 21:28:02 GMT -5
It's official: my new apartment will be ready on the 8th (though I probably won't move in til the following weekend as my sister can't possibly get everything ready to go in a week). Cei-U! I'm so excited!!! Super happy for you, my friend! Your living situation has just been crazy the past few years, so I'm glad you're getting rewarded after all of the trials amd tribulations you've been through.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 31, 2020 16:20:43 GMT -5
Thanks all for your kind words and support.
I had a sit-down with my parents this afternoon and we discussed giving me Power of Attorney. My dad, who I thought would completely reject the idea, was actually receptive to it, so I am going to contact the lawyer they used when my dad got PoA for his mother when she was in decline. Hopefully can get this in place in the near future and can then move forward with taking care of all of their various issues.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 31, 2020 12:05:27 GMT -5
Unlikely to get any more books read this month, so I end January at an even 100, with 92 of them falling into the "Classic" category.
Best stuff read this month: Warren Ellis' run on Hellblazer Worst stuff read this month: Silver Age Wonder Woman issues written by Robert Kanigher (although Iron Man issues from #25 - 38 weren't a great deal better. Too much turnover on the title in the creative team led to some pretty shoddy stories).
Swim meet tomorrow afternoon, so I will keep plowing ahead when my older daughter isn't in the pool (2.5 hour-long meet, and she is in the pool for less than 6 minutes total over five events. It makes for a long day, but she's my baby, so I support her 100% in everything she does #GirlDad)
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Post by The Captain on Jan 31, 2020 9:15:17 GMT -5
Been dealing recently with the reality that my parents are old and that I probably don't have much time left with them.
My mom, who has always been the model of health (she once went, rightly or stubbornly, 16 years at work without taking a sick day), started feeling "off" shortly before Christmas. In the subsequent weeks, she's been experiencing some cognitive gaps, forgetting common things in her life, misplacing items, and not being able to keep train of thought in conversations. My sister, who is a doctor (albeit an ob/gyn, so her area of expertise is not exactly applicable to a 75-year-old), has spoken with some of her colleagues who believe this is likely early-onset dementia. We're getting tests run and trying to get answers, with no luck yet, but it's heartbreaking for us to see this pillar of strength for our entire lives being diminished like this so quickly.
Our father has been a hard-smoking, sedentary, hardcore alcoholic for 50+ years, so we've always known what his future and end would be like. His decline isn't as rough on us, as neither of us has much of a relationship with him (mine is extremely strained, my sister's is non-existent), but the toll his issues are having on our mother isn't helping her mental state any.
No idea how things are going to turn out or when, but I'm anticipating being down at least one, if not, both parents within the next two years, which just puts my own mortality on display. My wife and I were a little older when we met and didn't have our girls until we were in our mid-30s, and I fear they will have to deal with this same thing with us, possibly sooner than I am.
Not sure where I'm going with this. Just something I needed to get off my mind and heart, I guess.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 31, 2020 9:00:07 GMT -5
I'm surprised that with all this talk of all-time best TV theme songs, no one has mentioned the theme from "Cheers" yet. That song encapsulated what the entire show was about perfectly.
Personal favorites of mine include the themes for "The Greatest American Hero", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", her spin-off "Angel", "Firefly", and "The X-Files".
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Post by The Captain on Jan 29, 2020 21:31:24 GMT -5
Although I have primarily been reading early Iron Man issues lately, I took a break tonight to read some of the Showcase Presents: Wonder Woman, volume 2 that I picked up a couple of weeks ago for $5. This collection starts with issue #118 (November 1960), and so far, I have read the first six issues, all of them written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Ross Andru, with inks by Mike Esposito. I can honestly say these are some of the worst stories I have ever read, as they are the very epitome of what I cannot stand about Silver Age DC books. Nonsensical sci-fi plots, the same dialogue used and points made issue after issue, Etta Candy (go Wooo! Wooo! yourself) and the Holiday Girls, boring as cold outmeal Steve Trevor (dude, she doesn't want to marry you, so take the hint and move on), Mer-Boy doing stupid stuff issue after issue to impress Wonder Girl (dude, she isn't into fish sticks, so go hook up with a hot mermaid), and the absolute worst of them all - Wonder Tot. On the positive side, I do like Ross Andru's art, particularly how he draws the faces of the mermaids and Queen Hippolyta, which are quite lovely. Kanigher's contempt for both the character and her readers is manifest on every page. Wonder Woman is easily the worst book DC was producing in the early '60s, or would be if not for the saving grace of Andru's artwork. So, of course I have all four Showcase Presents volumes.
Cei-U! I summon the masochistic streak!
Does it ever get any better? I also picked up Wonder Woman: Diana Prince, volume 3 at the same time as the Showcase Presents, and that book reprints issues #190 - 198. They are mostly written by Mike Sekowsky, except for one issue that is written by Denny O'Neil (#197), so I have higher hopes for it than the schlock that Kanigher was producing.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 29, 2020 20:48:52 GMT -5
Although I have primarily been reading early Iron Man issues lately, I took a break tonight to read some of the Showcase Presents: Wonder Woman, volume 2 that I picked up a couple of weeks ago for $5. This collection starts with issue #118 (November 1960), and so far, I have read the first six issues, all of them written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Ross Andru, with inks by Mike Esposito.
I can honestly say these are some of the worst stories I have ever read, as they are the very epitome of what I cannot stand about Silver Age DC books. Nonsensical sci-fi plots, the same dialogue used and points made issue after issue, Etta Candy (go Wooo! Wooo! yourself) and the Holiday Girls, boring as cold outmeal Steve Trevor (dude, she doesn't want to marry you, so take the hint and move on), Mer-Boy doing stupid stuff issue after issue to impress Wonder Girl (dude, she isn't into fish sticks, so go hook up with a hot mermaid), and the absolute worst of them all - Wonder Tot.
On the positive side, I do like Ross Andru's art, particularly how he draws the faces of the mermaids and Queen Hippolyta, which are quite lovely.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 29, 2020 18:09:20 GMT -5
Started reading Y the Last Man and only made it through issue #10. Bored the crap out of me.
Have read both Sandman and Fables all the way through. Enjoyed them both immensely, but one of them is an incredible, once in a lifetime piece of storytelling that transcends the medium, and the other is Fables. There is no rational argument that can be made to insist Fables is the superior book.
Lastly, I found out today that I DON'T own a copy of Iron Man #39, as Iron Man Masterworks volume 7 ends at issue #38 and the next floppie I have is #40. Looks like I'm back on the hunt for a book after not having one since last year's search for Daredevil #65. I'm hating the oversight on my part, but I'm loving feeling reinvigorated by the mistake.
There. I said it.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 29, 2020 9:09:58 GMT -5
Season 3 was released on Netflix last Friday. I've only been able to watch the first episode due to other commitments, but it definitely kept my interest and I will be checking out the rest of the season as I am able.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 28, 2020 6:36:22 GMT -5
I'm getting near the end of my third or fourth rewatching of new Who up through Eleven. Still loving it. Stephen Moffat turned in so many memorable episodes. Tennant is great. The Donna season is classic. The first two Amy Pond seasons work so well together as a unit, incorporating threads begun seasons previously. It's not as ambitious a long-term story as Babylon 5 but still great. You like the Donna season? It takes all types, I guess. Out of the first four "New Who" seasons, the only one I like is the Martha season, primarily because I could not stand either Rose or Donna. I loved the episode that introduced the Weeping Angels, and the two-parter written by Paul Cornell, with the Family of Blood, was simply brilliant. Loved the Amy/Rory eps (Karen Gillen is my celeb crush), didn't mind the Clara with Matt Smith eps, kind of liked the 12th Doctor seasons (although I wasn't a big fan of the Doctor himself, the supporting cast, especially Nardole and Missy, elevated them). Haven't seen any of the 13th Doctor eps yet, since we don't have cable any longer and they aren't free as part of Amazon Prime as the others are.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 26, 2020 16:46:07 GMT -5
Never been an NBA fan, so Kobe's passing doesn't hit me on that emotional level, but having two daughters on either side of age of his daughter Gianna, I cannot imagine passing in an accident with one of them at my side.
So tragic. Far too young, far too much life left unlived. He was a voice and advocate for the players silenced too soon. Rest in Peace, Kobe.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 24, 2020 13:22:14 GMT -5
Ha. From The 126-502 run , I am missing 22 issues. It helps that I’m not a snob about getting the lower grades. PM me and let me know which ones you have left to get. I have some random issues between 130 and 200 that I also have in Masterworks, and if there is something there that you need, I can ship it up to you.
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