windjammer99 comments

Barbie for me was simply a bad movie. The writing was bad, the pacing was bad, the dialogue was bad, and the plot of a fictional character coming to the real world was unoriginal. My hat is off to the marketing team that convinced so many people that not only isn’t it a bad movie but also that it is an ‘important’ movie.

Whenever I see a headline this my hope is it wasn’t an American. Dodged tweet his one and quite a few similar stories. We’re better behaved than our reputation indicates!

If all we’re down to for me finally visit Japan again is that I have wear a mask while I am passing through a lobby, then no problem. Let’s get going on that so I can go to a Harbs Cafe. That being said one thing the science has finally determined is that regular masks along with lockdowns are ineffective in preventing the spread of Covid. I’ll even wear an N95 mask that does provide some limited protection. Let’s get going though on reopening.

I have a hotel reservation for the end of October booked and the flight I want to take just waiting for me to purchase on Expedia. I'm just waiting on the government to say I can visit that way and I'll be there. (Otherwise I'll just cancel my hotel reservation in early October and go somewhere else.) Fingers crossed.

Congratulations! A lot of work went into that award. I remember some years ago the Japanese team won the pizza world championships in Italy. Among the things I enjoy about Japan is that it is a country of foodies the appreciates and focuses on good food. The best French food I’ve had is in Tokyo. Same for the best Italian.

If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. It should be relatively straightforward and easy for them to prove if they are innocent. If they are guilty they should face the consequences in Japan.

I remember back in the 1980s they tried reimagining the movie ‘Casablanca’ as a weekly tv series starring one of the actors for. Starsky & Hutch. It lasted a few episodes. I predict this will be on that level of a mistake.

Did someone forget to tell John Boyega that he wasn't the main character?  The focus was on Rey and Kylo.  Everyone else was just a supporting character.  As an aside, I haven't seen a movie he has been in where my thought wasn't that another actor in the role (like a Michal B. Jordan) would have improved things. 

On top of that the writing was simply bad.  If you want to improve The Last Jedi for example, simply cut out the part of the movie where he and the others went searching for 'the ultimate hacker'.  It added nothing to the plot ('subverting my expectations' that it would lead somewhere) and made the movie feel long.  There isn't anything racist about bad writing and acting.

The most recent trilogy was woke and preachy to the detriment of the stories.  They made a point of including a diverse cast.  That the complaint now is that it wasn't woke enough is amusing.

Just enjoy the moment,

If I couldn't pay the tax to leave, would they let me stay indefinitely?  I would be ok with that.

My issue with Streep's speech is that the outrage is selective. She's outraged by what Trump might do, but she was silent when the Obama administration wiretapped the Associated Press. She was silent when the Obama administration wiretapped James Rosen and his family. She was silent when the Obama administration hacked into Sharyl Attkisson's computer and pressured CBS News to shut down her reporting. She was silent when the Obama administration got the court to rule that it could force a journalist to testify against a source (Jeffrey Sterling). She was silent when Obama made it black letter law that he could jail someone indefinitely without charging them if he suspected complicity with terrorists (the NDAA). For that last one journalists challenged that in court arguing that it could be interpreted to allow the jailing of reporters simply for interviewing a terrorist like Mike Wallace did with bin Laden. The journalists lost. I have little use for uninformed demagogues - whether they're being sworn in as president or accepting awards for acting.

I always try to go to the Meij Shrine when I am in town because the grounds are so beautiful. If I'm very lucky, I get to see a wedding procession too. They have such great weddings there. Best wishes to the bride and groom.