Monday, December 31, 2018

House of Flowers

Since I used my last post to bitch about Will and Grace, I'm using this one to praise the series House of Flowers. I've been watching episodes on Netflix during time off from my day job (thanks, Datalounge!) and I've thoroughly enjoyed the series. It's very much in the vein of movies from Pedro Almodovar and if you like his stuff, you'll probably enjoy the series. I do recommend watching it in Spanish with English subtitles if you don't speak the language (and I don't). Don't watch the English dubbed version. The show revolves around a high-income Mexican family and issues involving their children. I've got about four or five episodes to go and I intend to knock those out over the next two days. All I can say is "run, Diego, run from this hot mess!"

Happy New Year's Eve!

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Will and Grace

When I moved a few months ago, I decided against paying for cable on multiple TVs, so I only have it on the one in my living room. That means I'm stuck watching whatever channels I can pick up on my antenna in my bedroom. One of the free stations I get is Cozi and at night they show reruns of Will and Grace. (The old seasons, not the newer ones.) I never really watched Will and Grace when it ran (surprising, I know, given the kind of books I write). I'd seen a few episodes, but I didn't watch with any regularity, but watching the few reruns that I've seen over the past few months, I see why I wasn't a regular watcher. On an episode I watched last night that (thankfully) featured Bobby Cannavale as Will's boyfriend, the main story line revolved around Grace interfering in Will's relationship with his boyfriend. Grace's cockblocking was played for laughs, but I didn't find that tomfoolery funny at all. On top of that, you throw in a heap of nastiness from Jack and Karen and you've got a stew of ugliness. Why was this show a hit? Because it featured gay men in prime time? One who's neutered beyond belief and another who's a stereotypical nasty queen? Please. And don't get me started on how the Latina maid is treated. I can't believe Harry Connick, Jr. starred in several episodes of this hot mess of a show. The same can be said for Bobby Cannavale. I don't know if the newer episodes are any better, but I doubt I'll hunt those down to watch. I've had enough with the reruns. Thankfully Cozi will be changing its nightly lineup in the new year and start showing reruns of the American version of The Office. I doubt I'll watch that either. I remember watching the British series on DVD when my former supervisor loaned them to me. She loved the show, but I just found it depressing. Ricky Gervais was just awful and, for someone who's worked in an office for most of her life, I just found the series depressing. Once again, the "comedy" wasn't funny. Lest you think I'm a stick in the mud, I'm not. I'll laugh at anything, but watching people sling insults for laughs just doesn't work for me. Different strokes.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Post-Christmas Greetings

I hope everyone had a great Christmas or, if you don't celebrate, I hope you enjoyed your day off. I certainly appreciated having some time to relax over the holidays. During this time, I finished two great books: A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne and Tin Man by Sarah Winman. I highly recommend them both. I'd been familiar with Boyne's writing, but not Winman's. I stumbled onto her book just through a random library search and I'm glad I did. It's very good. Whenever I read a really good book, I like to spread the word. Yes, I do my Goodreads reviews and Amazon (if I bought a Kindle book there), but I also like to blog about great books as an extra way to get the goods news out.

As 2018 winds down, I certainly hope 2019 brings me more hope and less pessimism. This year wasn't terrible for me, but it was mentally taxing. Too much stress and too much disappointment over things out of my control. But I'm going into 2019 trying to be hopeful. That's all I can do right now.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Christmas Break

I'm glad to have a few days off from my day job for the Christmas holiday. Most of us need a break and I am no exception. My sister and I did some Christmas cookie decorating yesterday at Chicago's City Winery and had a great time. Wine and cookies? That's a winning combination.




Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Hooray for Nunchucks (in NY)

I read today that a federal court ruled that a ban on nunchucks in New York from the 1970's was unconstitutional. I had no idea there WAS a ban on nunchucks in New York. (Not that I had nunchucks when I lived in NY, but it would have been good to know this if I'd had nunchucks.) As a fan of martial arts movies, I'm glad to hear the ban was overturned. I just wonder why it took so long. This law has been on the books since 1974, I read, and during that time I understand that law enforcement didn't want people copying karate moves they saw by Bruce Lee on their fellow citizens. However, Bruce Lee has been dead for a long time and I'm sure nunchucks haven't been the weapon of choice for some time now. Why did it take so long to get this law overturned?? Also, the guy who brought the suit was arrested in 2000 for possession of nunchucks, not 1977, not 1980, not even 1990...in 2000. Crazy! Aside from not breaking nunchucks out in public, you could be arrested for having nunchucks in the privacy of your own home, as the guy who brought the lawsuit was. Can you imagine going to Rikers for possession of nunchucks?
"What are you in for?"
"Possession of nunchucks."
"Seriously?"
Yeah, seriously. I wonder if brass knuckles are banned. A while back, I looked into whether you can buy brass knuckles from Amazon and the selection wasn't even worth the search. I guess I'll have to go old school if I ever want some by putting some rolls of quarters in a sock to use to smack someone with a la Charles Bronson in Death Wish.

Friday, December 14, 2018

RIP Nancy Wilson

I just saw today that jazz singer Nancy Wilson died. My late mother was a serious Nancy Wilson fan and my sister and I grew up listening to her music. She was a great singer and her loss is our loss. It's funny how the music your parents listened to can often influence your own listening habits. (Sometimes, but not always. I also grew up watching Hee Haw and listening to country music via that show because of my father, but I'm not a fan of that genre today!)

Sunday, December 9, 2018

This Is Why Donny Is POTUS

As much as I'd like to believe that the country will heal itself from the current state of affairs, I'm constantly let down by humanity when I read about bad decisions made by my fellow countrymen and women. The latest disappointment is with the folks in North Carolina who just gave their absentee ballots for the midterm election to a woman who showed up their front doors asking for them. Since when do election ballots get picked up at your door??? Uh...never? But the folks who handed their ballots over without ever questioning the woman who came to collect them are just another reason why Donny is POTUS. People aren't thinking about the decisions they're making, they're not educating themselves on how government works, or they're just plain apathetic. Why should I take my ballot to the mailbox or post office when there's a nice white woman here to collect it for me? It really is sad. There's such a wealth of information out there now, definitely more available to people via the Internet than we had access to when I was younger, yet people seem to be dumber than ever. The terrible writing skills that I read on a daily basis when people tweet or comment online are enough to make me shake my head in pity. Yes, I'm being harsh, but a little harshness is needed right now. We can't crawl out of the hole we've created for ourselves until we understand the problems at hand and work to rectify those problems. Believe what you want, but understand why you believe what you do and educate yourself on how the world works.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Widows

I saw the film Widows over the weekend and enjoyed it mainly for the backstory involving Chicago corruption. (The widows were good also and a shout out to Viola Davis's canine companion, Olivia, the Westie that stole every scene she was in, but I digress.) Although I'm not a native of the Chicago area, I've lived here for five years now after leaving Brooklyn and I've grown to understand more and more how the Chicago machine works. There's corruption and then there's Chicago-style corruption. There are too many people vying for power in this city. The whole story line in Widows that involved the white alderman going against a black candidate for control of a ward was good stuff to watch on screen and had more than a ring of truth to it. I remember during the primaries when I got a text from some Democratic organization asking if I'd support JB Pritzker for governor. I promptly texted back that I wouldn't because JB was part of the "machine" along with Rahm, Blago, and others. Not surprisingly, I didn't get a text back. I didn't vote for JB in the primary, but he ended up being the Democratic nominee anyway. (Enough already with the millionaire candidates.)


Sunday, November 25, 2018

Post-Thanksgiving Greetings

I returned to my hometown of Detroit over the Thanksgiving holiday and had a nice time visiting family and eating my way through the Motor City. One thing I was glad to see during my visit was work being done on the streets in my old neighborhood. It's good to see tax dollars at work paving streets that are in dire need of repair. Good things are happening in Detroit, albeit slowly. Still, any progress is a step in the right direction.

In other news, I saw two movies recently, one via Netflix and the other at the actual movie theater.

Can You Ever Forgive Me is the true story of a writer who started forging letters by famous people in order to sell them for cash. It's a great movie starring Melissa McCarthy as writer Lea Israel. McCarthy is wonderfully terrible in the film and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I told my sister that the moral of the story was that New York real estate will drive you to a life of crime! When you need to make the rent and you're short on funds, desperation sets in. Take it from someone who lived there. The rent is no joke in New York. Oy!

The second movie I saw was The Greatest Showman. I only really wanted to see this to watch the always attractive Zac Efron, but I was left disappointed by the film. There was too much bearded lady and not enough Zac. Plus, Zac got beat up near the end and his lovely face was injured. He should have yelled "not the face" when the mob came after him. Aside from Zac being beaten, the music wasn't great either. It was far too "Disney-esque" for me. There wasn't one song I liked or even remembered when the movie ended. Well, they can't all be winners, can they? I'd like to see Zac go against the grain and do something dark and gritty. Maybe in his later years he'll do that. One can hope.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve and Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone since I doubt I'll post tomorrow. Enjoy the holiday. Hopefully you'll spend the holiday with people you enjoy and/or doing something you enjoy. If you enjoy sleeping and eating and have a day off (as I do), then good for you. I had a stressful beginning of the week (I really need to think about getting a new day job...but that's another story for another time), but I fully intend to shake that drama off and enjoy my time off from work. I also plan to get some writing done. The book I've been working on has been sorely neglected and there's only one person to blame for that: ME. But that also is another story for another time. For now, I'm going to enjoy being thankful, relax, try not to think about annoying things like Donny T., and try to enjoy a little down time.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Cashless

I read an article today on NY Magazine's site about restaurants that don't accept cash. These businesses are card-only. I recently went to a restaurant that also only accepted credit and debit cards: Dos Toros! (Tasty tacos folks! If you're in downtown Chicago and you like hearty tacos, check them out!) I'm not someone who likes the idea of a restaurant or any business refusing to accept cash. As someone who's old enough to remember when debit cards didn't exist and credit cards were used for large purchases like appliances and furniture, I still feel weird about using a card for a purchase that's under $20. I really don't like to use a card for lunch. I do it on occasion (and at Dos Toros!), but I feel that small purchases (like a burger and fries, a sandwich, or a latte) should be paid for with cash. Not a card. Not Apple Pay. Cash. How can businesses legally refuse to accept legal tender? Apparently they can, but I don't get it. The NY Magazine article touched on the fact that some people don't have debit and/or credit cards or Apple Pay because, for whatever reason, they're unbanked. Yes, now you can go and buy yourself a pre-paid credit card at Walgreens or CVS, but those cards usually come with a fee. The card costs money. I recently purchased a $25 Visa gift card for someone and ended up paying nearly $30 for it. So imagine someone who lives primarily on cash and probably doesn't have much of it on hand to pony up an additional fee just to get a pre-paid credit card. The article made a point that many of the places seem to be putting forth the idea that not everyone should have access to their goods. Cashless places aren't for the unbanked. They're for people who have credit and debit cards and Apple Pay.

Call me old-fashioned (I don't care), but I like paying cash for some things and now, with all of the skimming devices, I'm back to paying cash primarily for gas. Forget that pay at the pump stuff. I got skimmed at a gas station in Michigan a few years ago and someone made a replica of my credit card. If I had just paid cash for gas during my Thanksgiving trip that year, this wouldn't have happened. I'll be heading back to Michigan for the holidays and, once again, I'll be paying cash for gas. (Yes, I could still get ripped off in some other way, but it won't be for gas!)

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

One of the good things that came out of Tuesday's election was that Kentucky Kim Davis wasn't reelected to discriminate against same sex marriage seekers in the state. I can't even express how happy I was to read that news. This woman who, unfortunately, shares a name with me, should have stepped down or been booted from her position a long time ago but there's sweet justice in seeing her voted out of office. Good riddance to bad rubbish and let's hope Kentucky Kim fades into obscurity and stops defaming my name.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Vote!

Are you ready for election day next Tuesday, November 6? I know I am! I'm just ready for the campaign commercials to stop airing. Oy! I can't even watch the news without being inundated with political ads. But, in spite of the annoying ads, we all must do our part and vote. I voted a week ago via early voting in my city, but if you can't vote early, then definitely get out and vote on election day. Send a message! Have your voice heard! I can be overly cynical about a lot of things, but I'm not cynical when it comes to voting. It's a right and a privilege. Do you know how many people live in places where they can't vote? No politician is perfect and no government can do all things for all people, but we have a system of government here in the United States that's a lot better than it is in a lot of other places. We're very fortunate to live in a democracy. (I almost typed democrazy and I know it feels like Crazytown around here a lot of the time lately especially with Donny T. at the helm, but I digress.) Get out and vote on Tuesday!

Sunday, October 28, 2018

A Star Is Born...A Bath Is Needed

I saw the latest version of A Star is Born yesterday starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and really enjoyed it. The film was a little too long, but the performances were great. The main crux of the film, in my opinion, was how Gaga's character dealt with loving an alcoholic. She knew from the jump that he was an alcoholic, yet she hung with him because she loved him and he was the one who helped her become a success. Would she have excelled as a songwriter and performer if he hadn't taken her under his wing? Maybe, but I doubt it. I've been reading critical observations about the film and one thing I read discussed how she needed emotional support also when she was spending so much of her time and herself being there for him and that's true. Where was her shoulder to cry on? She did have a supportive father (an unrecognizable Andrew Dice Clay) and their relationship was nice to see, but she was largely left to her own devices to try and navigate a career and an alcoholic spouse. The helpers need help too, people!

Aside from my notes above, I left the film with a few observations:

1. Lady Gaga looks so much better to me when she's not dolled up as Lady Gaga.
2. "Always Remember Us This Way" is a great song.
3. Bradley Cooper's Eddie Vedder imitation only went so far with me. Don't give up your day job, dude.
4. Why did Bradley Cooper look like he needed a bath in every shot of the movie? There's a scene when he's actually IN a bathtub in the movie and he STILL looked like he needed a scrub down. Seriously, he looked consistently greasy, sweaty, and nasty. I know he was supposed to be an alcoholic and pill addict but he never could seem to clean up. Even in rehab when he was free of substances, he still didn't look sufficiently clean.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Surprised? Not Really.

Was anyone truly surprised when a Florida man (aka the MAGA bomber) was arrested yesterday? When I read about the guy and saw pictures of him and his "decorative" van online, I wasn't surprised at all. He fit the profile and, given his crude construction and amateur letter-mailing skills, I knew it was just a matter of time before the cops got him. This was no sophisticated operation. I also wasn't surprised that he has a criminal record or that he'd worked on various strip clubs or that he sometimes lived in his van or that he was from Florida. The whole #Floridaman thing is no joke! I hadn't heard about the analogy until it was mentioned on an episode of Atlanta.

In other not-surprising news, Megyn Kelly is out of a job. While I have absolutely no sympathy for her, I also don't have any for NBC. They hired her knowing what she was like and now they'll have to pay millions of dollars just to get her out. They get what they deserve. Seriously, you hire someone who has, in the past, proudly displayed racist tendencies and then, when she says something racist on TV, you act surprised? Please. Once again, there are no winners here. The amount of money that TV people like Kelly are paid is ridiculous. These folks are given millions of dollars to basically read from a teleprompter. What a waste of money.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Playing Nice

I attended an alumni thing over the weekend for my graduate school university and the woman who arranged the gathering asked me about a professor I'd had in graduate school. I think she was expecting me to sing this woman's praises, but instead she got my unvarnished opinion of the woman. This professor, I thought, was nuts. She'd come to class and complain about her neighbors, their dogs, their wind chimes, how she thought they were in Mafia, how they were stalking her, etc. Now I don't know if any of the stuff she said was true but, considering the fact that (A) she was/is nuts and (B) she was/is a fiction writer, I tended to believe she was bullshitting about most of the stuff she said. It's a sad thing to be held captive by a crazy professor. You can't just get up and leave when the craziness starts. Well, I guess you can, but your grade will surely suffer. Back then, I just took it because I needed to get through the classes and graduate. I played nice, kept calm and carried on. Now, at my age, I'd probably be more tempted to speak up and say something like, "I'm not paying tuition to hear this shit! Tell it to your therapist!"

Sunday, October 14, 2018

The Lifespan of a Fact

I had a brief trip (as they usually are) to New York for my day job last week and had the chance to see the play The Lifespan of a Fact at Studio 54 Thursday night. The play was really great and the three actors (Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, and Daniel Radcliffe) were all great in it. The play is about an intern (Radcliffe) hired to fact check an article written by Cannavale and Jones is the publisher who puts the two men together. It's a fascinating look at how poetic license in non-fiction writing is becoming extinct. You can't say "On the night of September 9, 2018, a light rain was falling over Montgomery, Alabama" if that wasn't really the case. With the Internet now, anyone can fact check you and find out if skies were indeed clear the night of September 8, 2018, in Montgomery, Alabama. Then, suddenly, everything else written comes into question. I went to the play mainly to see Bobby Cannavale. He's a great actor and terribly underrated (in my opinion). I suspect most people came out to see the Harry Potter wizard boy (I know he's a grown man now) and he was great also, but I hope Cannavale and Jones get their props too. If you're in NYC during this run, try to check out the play. It's very good and I'm glad I got the chance to see it.


Monday, October 8, 2018

DIY

I'm not a "do it yourself" person mainly because I'm not particularly handy. But, after being in desperate need of a little side table and a new desk, I went to Ikea over the weekend and bought both items and embarked on two DIY projects. The little table I'm using as a desk didn't require more than screwing the legs on, but the little side table took considerably more time and instruction. However, in the end, I put that sucker together and it seems to be holding up fine. I hope it doesn't collapse in a few days. The next time I get some furniture, no matter how small the piece, I'm buying it already assembled.


Thursday, October 4, 2018

The Move Is Over!

I've spent most of this week moving and, finally, the move is over. I bought a small place (small being the operative word) and now, after months of stress and a lot of money, I'm a homeowner (well, a co-op owner). My advice to anyone considering buying a co-op? Don't! Too much paperwork, too much bullshit. However, if you're willing to put up with all of that, go for it. I did but I'd be hesitant to do it again. I think I'd go condo if given the choice.

In other news, I read at The Red Cat restaurant in New York is closing. I went to The Red Cat a few years ago with friends and really enjoyed it. I'm sorry to see that it's closing, but changes come for all of us and I read the owner was just ready to move on with something else in his life. I understand.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Not That Guy

I watched a lot of the Kavanaugh hearings today in between trying to work and found it all interesting. I didn't make it through all of Ford or Kavanaugh's testimonies, but I saw a lot of both. I have no dog in this fight, but I found Ford credible. Kavanaugh just strikes me as the kind of guy who was a douchebag in high school and college. The kind of guy who was accustomed to getting what he wanted and being treated like a master of the universe. So to see him broken down and crying as he moaned about how unfairly he'd been treated was somewhat refreshing because you know he just wasn't accustomed to being treated like the "other." Here's a guy who you know had never been treated so harshly in his life and suddenly he's branded as a sexual predator and a drunk. The golden boy was now the predator. Kavanaugh tried to convince everyone that he's not that guy, but I think maybe he IS that guy or he was that guy. My question is do we really need another Clarence Thomas on the court? Thomas never got over the Anita Hill accusations. He's still bitter about that and about a whole host of other things in his life. Despite being given many opportunities in life for a poor black boy from the South, he excelled yet he can't appreciate it. At least that's my take on him after reading both his autobiography and another book written about him by two journalists. Bitter is the only word I can use to describe the man. I suspect Kavanaugh, if allowed to be on the Supreme Court, will end up the same way and that's not the kind of person we need making decisions about our laws.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Three Cakes

My new short story, Three Cakes, is available now at JMS Books (http://www.jms-books.com/) and elsewhere.


When Chicago ophthalmologist Patrick Holt meets transplanted Southerner Clayton Teal at a dinner party, the attraction is immediate and mutual and the two men bond over Patrick’s love of food and Clay’s love of cooking. But Patrick and Clay soon realize that tasty dinners and delicious desserts sometimes aren’t enough to make a relationship work. Three Cakes is a story about food, sex, and trust.




Friday, September 21, 2018

Wow

I heard today that a former co-worker had passed away back in July. He was only in his early 50's, so the news was surprising. I don't know if he had been ill and I couldn't find any information in the obits I found for him online. I didn't know him very well and only worked with him for probably a year or so before he changed jobs, but I thought he was a nice guy and he told great stories, often funny ones. I remember him talking about how he and his sister bought their mother a sweater from Lane Bryant for Christmas or her birthday and his mom was upset when she saw the gift. To her, a gift from Lane Bryant meant she was fat and the gift made her burst into tears. My co-worker and his sister felt terrible afterwards. They hadn't meant to upset their mother. They just found a sweater they thought she would like and bought it for her. My condolences certainly go out to my co-worker's family and friends.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Ugh

Why did my air conditioning go out and it's burning up outside? Had it gone out when the temps were cool, I wouldn't care, but tonight I'll be sweating it out until my down-on-the-job landlord gets around to fixing things. Which brings me to another point. I'll soon not have to deal with having a landlord. The time is coming (soon) when I'll be in my own place that I own. I can't wait. In the meanwhile, I'm left waiting for someone else to take care of business. Ugh.

In other news, I was talking with one of my co-workers about books and she made a comment that I read a lot of books about gay men. I told her, why, yes, I do because I find many of the stories interesting. My co-worker made her statement with disdain which kind of surprised me because she never struck me as a homophobe, but you never really know people, do you? Ugh again. I read what I like and I don't GAF about someone else's view of my reading habits. Thankfully, my co-worker will be retiring soon so the countdown is on until she's on her way out of the office.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Single Author Sale Day

All of my titles published by JMS Books are on sale today so if you haven't read my work, now's your chance! See details at: http://www.jms-books.com/




Speaking of books, I am working on something new. It's been a slow go, but I hope to have it finished this year. My short story Three Cakes comes out September 22. More details later!


Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Anonymous

With all of the White House intrigue as people wonder who the anonymous NY Times op-ed writer is, I have a theory that falls in line with the plot of Murder on the Orient Express. (If you haven't seen either movie version or read the book and don't want any spoilers, read no further.) In Murder on the Orient Express, there isn't one killer, there are several. Many people kill the murder victim. The line up and stab the guy one by one (at least in the movie versions I've seen). So my theory about the anonymous op-ed writer is similar: it wasn't written by one person but by several individuals. The VEEP provided a few lines, Kush a few more, Kelly, and the list goes on. That way it doesn't have the nuances of just one person, but the nuances of many to throw everyone off the trail.

In other news featuring anonymous writers, I saw the movie Love, Simon over the weekend. This rather wholesome coming-of age/coming-out film was interesting to me. Are kids today really nostalgic about the 1980s? The kid, Simon, in the movie dresses up like John Lennon circa 1980 (or late 70s), he sings a Violent Femmes song during karaoke at a party, and there's a whole dance sequence featuring Whitney Houston's song "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (that was actually one of the highlights of the film for me). Also, while I commend the filmmakers for including a diverse group of students as Simon's friends, I did notice that they all seemed to be mixed race kids. I doubt any of the biracial kids had any problems passing the paper bag test. I guess that made them more appealing to the audience the filmmakers were trying to reach (i.e. white suburban kids). I was also surprised when Simon's anonymous love interest was revealed. I didn't see that one coming so good job, filmmakers!

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Surprising and Not Surprising News

I was surprised to hear that Rahm Emanuel won't be running for a third term as Mayor of Chicago. I thought for sure he'd go for another term. When Rahm ran for and became Mayor, I always thought he was trying to be Chicago's version of Mike Bloomberg. I figured he saw himself as Bloomberg's Midwestern doppelganger and that he'd be praised in the same way Bloomy was as a transformative big-city mayor. But that didn't happen. With the constant drumbeat of violence in Chicago along with a host of other problems (school closings, police shootings, etc.), there wasn't much to praise him for. Whenever people compare New York and Chicago in my presence, I'm always quick to note that the situations in both cities are very different. New York is largely gentrified and it has a great economic base unlike Chicago. Yes, New York has violence, but it's a lot more concentrated than what you see in Chicago. Businesses and people want to move to New York. Chicago, not so much. You can't attract people and businesses to Chicago when double-digit numbers of people are being shot on any given weekend. The gun violence has to get under control before the city can move forward. Maybe the next mayor will be able to get things under control and start to get Chicago back on the road to prosperity.

In non-surprising news, how many more books do we need to read to understand that Donny T. is a dope. How many times do we need to hear the same adjectives used to describe Donny? Idiot, moron, imbecile, stupid, petty, unhinged, dumb...and the list goes on. Every time a new book publishes with "insider" information that tells most of us what we already know (that Donny is a dope), the denials start up again. This person didn't say that. This person was misquoted. This book isn't true. It's a work of fiction by people out to get Donny. Blah, blah, blah. All of these books have a common theme: again, that Donny is a dope. They're written by different people, but they all say the same thing. And they're all wrong??? I don't think so.



Thursday, August 30, 2018

Is the Weekend Here Yet?

Oy, returning to work after having a week off almost seems more painful than foregoing a vacation entirely. Almost. Everyone needs a break and I am no exception. But, I've been digging out from work on my day job all week. At least we've got a three-day holiday weekend coming up. Labor Day indeed! Fall and winter will be here before we know it, so I'm going to try to enjoy the remaining days of summer.


Friday, August 24, 2018

Toronto

I took a much-needed vacation this week to Toronto. I had been to Toronto many years ago, but only didn't have fond memories of the place because I food poisoning most of my time there and spent two days barfing. But that was then and this is now. I had a great time the second time around and managed to spend a few days in the city without barfing. While in Toronto, I noticed a few things.First, Toronto is very diverse in terms of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. It's the kind of place that a supporter of Donny T. would hate. Second, Toronto is very expensive. Even with the conversion rate between US and Canadian dollars, I still found Toronto expensive. The tax I was charged for a purchase somewhere was 13%. That's high. Everything was expensive: food, housing, clothing. It's a wonder the working classes can afford to live in the place. Of course, I was downtown and not outside of that area, so I assume there are more affordable places to live and eat outside of the city's center. Third, there's a lot to see and do in Toronto. I went to the Toronto islands, Casa Loma, the shoe museum, and St. Lawrence market and enjoyed them all. I finally put my selfie stick to work here! Fourth, the people of Toronto are quite friendly. Pretty much everyone I encountered in the city was friendly and helpful and I appreciated that.


Thursday, August 16, 2018

RIP, Aretha

When I heard about Aretha Franklin's passing this morning, I was saddened by her death but hearing about it also made me think about my own mother's passing more than twenty years ago. My mother was an Aretha fan and we grew up listening to her Amazing Grace album (on vinyl). I remember that album cover with Aretha dressed in African garb and particularly loved her rendition of "Mary, Don't You Weep." When I'd heard earlier this week that Aretha was in hospice care, I knew her time on earth was limited. When the hospice folks are called in, you know what's coming next. The same happened with my own mother. But Aretha's music will live on even after her passing. Many years ago, I went to see Steely Dan perform at Pine Knob outside of Detroit and when they did "Hey Nineteen" the lyrics changed from "Hey nineteen, that's Aretha Franklin. She don't remember the Queen of Soul" to "Hey nineteen, that's Otis Redding. she don't remember the King of Soul." I figured Donald Fagen had to change the lyric because, even back then, nineteen-year-olds knew who Aretha Franklin was. (Otis Redding, maybe not so much.) One of my favorite Aretha songs is "Spanish Harlem" and it's been on my mind since I read about her death.

RIP, Aretha. Queen of Soul, proud Detroiter, legend.

Monday, August 13, 2018

Garbage In, Garbage Out

In the latest trials and tribulations of Donny T. and the Funky Bunch, a member of the bunch was expelled. That member then retaliated by writing a tell-all book. Donny called the expelled member a "lowlife." I guess it takes one to know one, right, Donny? This administration is filled with lowlifes including the lowest of the low sitting in the Oval Office. When you are garbage and you hire garbage, don't be surprised when that garbage turns out to be, well, garbage. All of these people sold their souls to the devil for a taste of power and I have no sympathy for any of them. There are no winners here, just one loser after another.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Polo, Anyone?

While parts of Chicago spent the weekend dodging gunfire and attending Lollapalooza, I spent part of my Sunday afternoon attending a polo match. Since I'd never attended a polo match before, I found it interesting. The divot stomping was the highlight for me. We all had an opportunity to get involved! And who knew a chukka was more than a kind of boot? I sure didn't! You really get to see how the other half lives at a polo match. The only reason I was able to attend was because my sister's boss was playing and he invited the staff to come and enjoy the festivities. I appreciated the invitation because, God knows, I'd probably never have had the opportunity to attend a polo match at a country club.


Saturday, August 4, 2018

Back on the Train

Since my day job moved from the suburbs to the city in the past month, I've been able to get back onto public transit to travel to and from work. No more driving out to No Man's Land and dealing with traffic on the tollway. Now I can sit and read like I used to when I lived in Brooklyn. Public transit does have its drawbacks, mainly from having to deal with other people, but I still believe the benefits outweigh the problems. I'm a strong advocate for public transit. Having affordable, reliable public transit helps us all. It reduces the amount of cars on the road, it enables people who don't have access to cars to travel, and it's a way to bring people who might otherwise be siloed into a space with people they might not normally have any interaction with. On the flip side, I do hate that the L line I ride has fabric-covered seats. Whose bright idea was that? (Someone who DOESN'T take public transit regularly, I'm sure.) Fabric can absorb all kinds of nasty stuff (bed bugs, lice, moisture). Plastic benches are the way to go for public transit. At least then you can see if the seat is wet. The CTA really needs to get on the stick and remove all of the fabric seats from the trains. They're just gross.

Friday, July 27, 2018

Bebel Gilberto

After a really busy and stressful week, I was glad to sit down and enjoy a performance by Bebel Gilberto last night at Space in Evanston. I'd had tickets to see Bebel a year or so ago, but her travel to Chicago was delayed and, hence, the show was delayed and I didn't get to see her. Thankfully, her travel wasn't deterred this time around. The show was excellent and just the soothing music I needed to finish off a week filled with a lot of running around and personal disappointments. If you like Brazilian music and Bebel comes to your town, do yourself a favor and see her.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Rat Capital?

I saw an article (and heard on the news) that Chicago is now the nation's rat capital. How is this possible? Does Chicago have more of a rat problem than New York? Not bloody likely. Now there are a lot of things to criticize Chicago for: an awful mayor, high crime, ridiculous taxes, etc., but I find it hard to believe that the Windy City has more rats than New York. Every time I'm in New York and ride the subway (which I do pretty much every time I'm there for a visit), I see rats on the tracks. Granted, Chicago's L system is largely elevated, so I doubt rats are climbing the rails in the city and I only recently started working downtown in the city, so maybe the rats are there and I just haven't seen them in full force yet. Still, given the populations and the housing in New York versus Chicago, I still believe the Big Apple is chock-full of rodents. I read a book years ago called Rats and it was about the rat epidemic in New York and I also recently saw a documentary about rats in New York and both the book and the documentary were fascinating. You learn the habits of the rats and come to understand why they do what they do. In the book, the author wrote about an Irish pub somewhere in New York and how the rats seemed to know when it was pot pie night because they showed up in droves to get to the garbage the put out that night. Gross.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Collusion Has Two L's, Donny

As the author of a book titled Collusion, I think I know how to spell the word properly. Sadly, Donny T. does not. If you look at his handwritten note on his "sorry, not sorry" speech today, you'll see, in big black bold print that collusion is spelled with one L. But he's a stable genius, right? Too bad he can't write or spell or lead or govern or care about anything or anyone other than himself. When will the nightmare end???? I'm beyond being ashamed. I'm beyond being surprised. Now I'm in the stage where I just recognize and accept the stupidity before me.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Yes, Sir. May I Have Another?

Is anyone really surprised by Donny T's ass kissing today? I wasn't. What were people expecting him to do ? Call Vlad out for being the real-life Bond villain that he is? Dream on, dreamers because that was never going to happen. If Vlad doesn't have something on Donny, then Donny is dumber than I thought. What person would just roll over,  discredit his own government intelligence agencies, and suck up to a foreign leader (again, against his own government)? And, given Donny's huge ego, seeing him fawn over someone like Vlad is so out of the norm that you know there's something else going on here. All signs point to extortion. Remember, folks, Donny would never even have passed the highest level of the government's security clearance had he not been elected POTUS. Hell, I doubt he could have gotten a job in a government mail room let alone in the White House with all of his conflicts and shady real estate deals. I'm surprised Vlad didn't tell him to go get his shine box during the press conference today. If he had, I'm sure Donny would have run and gotten it too.

Friday, July 13, 2018

The Roommate

It's been a long week filled with a new work schedule and a new commute and I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend to, hopefully, do some writing. Last weekend, I did see the play The Roommate at the Steppenwolf Theatre and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it. The play was about two middle-aged women who ended up sharing a house together. One was a divorcee who lived in Iowa and the other was a lesbian from New York. The New Yorker had secrets about her past that eventually came out as the two women grew closer. The women's roles also reversed as the play went on. I won't spoil any of the details, but I left the performance wondering what the takeaway was supposed to be here. That people who live together eventually morph into each other? I don't know. Great performances by the actors though.


Saturday, July 7, 2018

Music

When I traveled recently, I realized just how sick I was of the music I currently have loaded on my cell phone. I was stuck listening to the same music I'd been listening to for far too long during my flight. So when I got home, I added some new music to my rotation. I heard "One Fine Thing" by Harry Connick, Jr. on the radio and wondered, Why don't I have this? Well, I have it now. It's a great song. I also recently downloaded some songs by Weezer, OMD, the Bee Gees, and Beck. If you read my blog with any frequency, you'll know that I'm a fan of older music. Speaking of Weezer, their version of Toto's "Africa" is great.

In other music news, I argued with a rep from Sirius earlier this week. Their customer service is truly awful. I complained, but I doubt anything comes from it.

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

The Green Bay Tree and Beach Rats

First and foremost, Happy Independence Day to those of us here in the States. Independence seems pretty fragile right now with Donny T. and his minions at the helm, but I'm trying to focus on the freedoms we have rather than dwell on the awfulness of the government right now.

In other news, I saw a performance of The Green Bay Tree recently and found it...interesting. The play is about an older man who has a younger man as his ward and he raises the younger man from, I believe, around age 11. When the younger man is an adult, he meets a woman he wants to marry, but the older man convinces him not to marry because doing so would cause his ward to give up the comforts of the luxurious life the older man has given him. Although it's never stated, the implication is that the older and younger man have a relationship beyond that of a guardian and his ward. And the jealousy shown by the older man towards the woman the younger man plans to marry furthers that assumption. The play takes place in the 1930's, but the theme could still be relevant today. Would you be willing to give up a life of luxury for love? If you've grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle with a person who took care of you, would you chuck all of that to live a life of near poverty with someone else?

I also saw the film Beach Rats last weekend and an entirely different side of male relationships was explored there. The main character was a working class white guy in Brooklyn who, basically, did nothing but smoke weed and go to the beach with his equally useless friends while living at home with his mother and younger sister. (His father dies early on in the film.) But the guy has a secret life as a hustler who meets up with men (usually older men) online. Even though the guy has a girlfriend and seems like a heterosexual guy, he hooks up with men on the side. I couldn't figure out if he was gay for pay or really gay and the main character seemed confused as well about his own sexuality. The film provided an interesting take on male sexuality.

Have a great Fourth of July holiday!




Thursday, June 28, 2018

Post-NY

I returned from a quick trip to New York a day ago and, while I enjoy visiting New York, I also enjoy leaving. It's a lot to take. A lot of people, a lot of everything. As I blogged about earlier, being in the thick of the Pride Parade crowds was a treat even though I didn't make it to the parade itself. The people-watching was great. Lots of interesting outfits in the crowd. The two guys I saw wearing see-through mesh shorts (one with a red thong underneath and the other with silver bikini briefs) were certainly a highlight. And both guys had the kind of young, hot bodies to carry these looks off! I feel so old when I go to New York now. It's like a new crop of young people have taken over. I don't know where they get the funds to live there. Maybe they're not actually living in the city or they have five roommates. I would encourage any young people who want to have a New York experience to go for it, but to make sure they have a job and housing lined up.


Sunday, June 24, 2018

Happy Pride Month

I’m in New York for my day job and I came to town on the day of the Pride Parade. Thankfully there was good weather for the festivities. Huge crowds aren’t really my thing so I didn’t go but I hope the folks who did turn out had a great time. I was glad to see so many people of color out here in full force for the parade. That’s great. Since I had time to kill before I could get into my hotel room, I spent some time reading and people watching in Central Park. Happy Pride Month to everyone!

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Government We Deserve

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We get the government we deserve. I don't understand all of the shock and awe over Donny T.'s latest publicity stunt to separate and cage immigrant children. Did people not pay attention to what Donny said on the campaign trail? Did they think he was bullshitting? What you saw on the trail is what you get in the White House. I shake my head at people who thought Donny would change after becoming POTUS. Seventy-something year old people don't change, not like that. By this time in their lives, their views are largely set in stone. So enough of the pearl clutching and gasps of shock and claims of "I can't believe he's doing this" because he IS doing it. The question now is what's going to be done about it?

Watching all of this news about the Mexican border has made me think about the time I went on a tour to Tijuana years ago during a trip to San Diego. We went by bus and had a few hours to explore Tijuana. I spent the majority of my time in the station waiting for the bus to take me back to San Diego. Tijuana, for me, was no bueno. (I did have a nice lunch there and got a nice brown suede purse.) But the most fascinating thing for me was seeing the chaos at the border.  (This was before 9-11 when you could go to Mexico on a driver's license and a passport wasn't required for US citizens.) It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Thankfully, our group was able to have expedited service and avoid the long lines that Mexican folks had to endure who crossed the border for work or whatever. The border then was a hot mess and I can't even imagine what it's like now.

Saturday, June 16, 2018

(Don't) Step Into My Life

I have a stepmother and step-siblings. My father and stepmother have been married longer than my father and mother were married and they seem to be in it for the long haul. I have no issues real issues with my stepmother. She's not overbearing or awful like stereotypical stepmothers are. Her kids, however, are another issue. I'm just not a fan of the bulk of them. They were raised in a different way than my sister and I were raised and I find myself just not on the same page with them a lot of the time. One of my stepsisters is a holy roller, another one just seems like she'd beat you down if given the opportunity. (The kids of the holy roller seem like they'd all beat you down too! I keep my distance!) My stepbrothers are a little more chill but even they seem slightly odd to me. Thankfully, I don't see them much since we all live in different states, so I don't have to spend a lot of time with them. One thing that bothers me about one of my stepsisters is that she seems to have co-opted my father in place of her own. I thought her real father was dead because none of the kids ever said a thing about him and I finally asked my stepmother last summer if he was deceased. She said he's alive and well in Michigan. The kids, however, don't seem to have any kind of relationship with him. I don't know what the backstory is on that and it's none of my business. Maybe that's why they cling to my father so much. Maybe he's the father they never had. I'm glad they enjoy my father so much, but I'm kind of annoyed that they call my father "Daddy." When my father married my stepmother, we were all adults. No one was a child who grew up with these two folks or lived under the same roof with them. I can't even see myself calling my stepmother "Mommy" or any variation of the word "Mother." My mother died more than twenty years ago and she's the only mother I had. My stepmother is not a replacement nor does she wish to be. She's my father's wife. Period. And her kids are just that...her kids.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Hereditary

I like a good scary movie and it's been a long time since I've seen one that really scared me. So I went to see Hereditary with high hopes for horror. It got good reviews, it has good actors (Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne), so I figured it'd be a slam dunk, right? Wrong! For a movie that started great, it sure went off the rails, mainly in the last fifteen minutes. People being decapitated, setting others on fire, decomposing bodies, an overabundance of flies (Amityville?) all got a seat at the table in Hereditary. Are we still doing devil cult movies? Didn't that trend end in the 70's with Rosemary's Baby, the Wicker Man, etc.? Apparently not. When a modern movie throws in a devil/cult story line, I feel like that's just lazy writing. I watched a movie on TV not long ago from the 70's called (no surprise) Race with the Devil with Peter Fonda and Loretta Swit. The plot of that film was that two couples stumbled across a devil worship ceremony while they were driving across the country in an RV. Then the cult tries to kill them. I thought about that movie while I was watching Hereditary because, once again, devil worshipers were back on the big screen reeking havoc. I also thought at a movie from a few years ago called The Witch. Another horror movie that had good reviews but was a disappointment to me. (Spoiler alert: the goat did it!) Come on, Hollywood. You can do better!

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Eat This Cake

So bakers can legally refuse to bake a cake for someone based on religious differences now? I'm waiting for the next case involving someone who refuses to bake a cake for someone who's of a different faith or someone whose skin color is different than their own because they believe that person is "cursed" via the bible or something. Ridiculous, but ridiculousness seems to be the law of the land these days. (Thanks for nothing, Donny aka Worst POTUS Ever!) Between the on-going reality show in Washington, the frenzied media flapping their gums non-stop about everything and nothing, and just the general feeling that something isn't right in the world these days, it's hard to stay positive, but we must push on. Keep calm and carry on, eat cake (but not the cake of the bigoted baker), block the noise, and try to survive.

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Problem Solving?

I've been reading about the whole Starbucks employee training and the company's so-called resolution which is to allow anyone to use a Starbucks location for the toilets, wifi, and seating regardless of whether a purchase is made from the store. That sounds crazy to me. You'll have entire stores full of the homeless, loiterers, and anyone else who just wants to hang out. As someone who is not a frequent Starbucks customer, their new policy won't affect me personally, but I just think the management of that company could use some training themselves so they'll stop coming up with idiotic policies like this. Here's my hot take: if you want to use the Starbucks bathroom or partake of their wifi, then you (or at least someone in your party) needs to make a purchase at said Starbucks. Otherwise, adios, amigos! And that goes for everyone, regardless of race, creed, skin color, hair color, religion, whatever. This is a business. It's not the public library. If paying customers go into a Starbucks and see that it's filled with the homeless, they'll stop going to that Starbucks. And maybe that's a good thing. Maybe those customers will give their business to another franchise or an independent coffee house.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Quick Trip

I took a quick trip to Detroit this weekend to see family and the weather was great. Lots of sunshine and warm temperatures (along with very little construction on I-94) made the drive really good. While I was in my hometown, I went to the Detroit Institute of Arts and saw the Star Wars costume exhibit. I am not a Star Wars fan by any means, but my sister thought it would be interesting so I followed her lead on this and the exhibit was interesting. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.


Monday, May 21, 2018

Snapped!

I snapped at a woman at my day job today because every time I see her, she asks me the same question (and it's not "how are you?" or something like that). Finally, today, I snapped on her and told her, "Every time I see you, you ask me the same question." It's already been asked and answered before, so why she feels the need to keep asking it is beyond me. She seemed taken aback when I responded the way I did today, but I'm hoping she'll stop asking her repeated question now. In fact, I wish she'd stop talking to me all together. That's anti-social behavior, I realize, but whatever. I told my sister I promise I'll be nicer on my next job because I just can't do it with my current one anymore. There seem to be a lot of what I call nervous housewives at my current day job location and the question repeater is a member of that group. I don't have much to say to them and they don't have much to say to me. I just assume (and maybe I'm wrong about this) that these women and I don't have anything in common and, therefore, won't have anything to talk about. They're also weird. They go to the bathroom together and can't seem to talk about anything other than their husbands, kids, dogs, or work. I also assume (and, again, maybe I'm wrong about this) that the bulk of them are Donny T. supporters. Hard pass for me.




Friday, May 18, 2018

You in Danger, Girl!

I was emailing with some of my NY coworkers today about tomorrow's royal wedding and I told them I felt bad that Meghan Markle didn't have a male relative or friend of the family who could walk her down the aisle in place of her father. So now the poor thing is stuck with Prince Charles to do the job. I truly do hope Meghan and Harry are happy and have a blissful marriage, but I just don't see how an American who's accustomed to living her own life could basically give up her life to live within the confines of the royal family. My advice to her would be, "Don't do it! You in danger, girl!" I don't get the appeal. There's not enough love in the world for me to give up the freedoms I enjoy, but that's just me. Everyone's different.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Summer Soft

I was listening to some music by Stevie Wonder on You Tube earlier this week and heard his song "Summer Soft" from the album Songs in the Key of Life. I have a CD collection of Stevie's music, but "Summer Soft" wasn't included. Grrr! It's such a great song and I know every "ultimate" collection from an artist like Stevie who has several decades of music can't include every single track, but I still think "Summer Soft" should have been included. I'm sure I've blogged before about Stevie, but he really is a visionary. The progression of his music from the early songs like "Uptight" and "Fingertips" to songs like "Golden Lady" and "Living for the City" is something to marvel. Even Stevie's schlocky songs like "I Just Called to Say I Love You" are better than a lot of the music out today.

I remember a while back some people on TMZ were joking about Stevie being able to see and faking his blindness. I believe Stevie became blind as a child, but he wasn't always blind. (I don't know if that's an urban legend, but that's what I heard.) So, if he was able to see early in life, I wouldn't be surprised if he's not 100% blind. Maybe he can see shadows or light or something, but is still legally blind. I highly doubt Stevie's been faking as a blind man for most of his life.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Movies

I saw two movies over the past few weeks that were both interesting in their own way.

First: A Quiet Place. The premise of A Quiet Place is intriguing. The remaining survivors on earth who are left after an alien attack must remain quiet in order to avoid detection by said aliens. While I had many questions after seeing this movie such as why the family couldn't wear soft-soled shoes or slippers or socks or something rather than just walking around barefoot which could (and did) cause problems. Wouldn't a soft-soled slipper be as quiet as a bare foot (and more sanitary)? Did the government just give up trying to defeat the aliens and just tell people to be quiet? Why have a baby when you know how loud babies are? If you're stealing medication from the abandoned pharmacy, why not pick up some birth control also? So many questions, but I was glad to see a movie that put some thought into the plot instead of just relying on the same old alien invasion story.

Second: Rogers Park. I saw this independent movie last night. It revolves around the lives of two interracial couples living in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. I enjoyed the movie because it focused on real problems people face on a daily basis: financial problems, relationship problems, family problems. I thought the screenwriter took the easy way out by totally avoiding any issues that dealt with race, but I was kind of glad the movie didn't let racial issues overtake the central themes of the movie. Rogers Park is such a quirky part of Chicago and I'm often in the area since I live very close to the area. If I had to pick a part of Chicago to live in, I'd seriously consider Rogers Park. I think it has a diversity of people and I was glad to see the film capitalize on that diversity. I also enjoyed seeing shots of the movie that were filmed in my hometown of Evanston.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Trying

I really am trying to get some writing done in between being killed by my day job. Normally, I write on the weekends, but I can't even do that lately because my day job has taken over my weekends. It's frustrating, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel and, hopefully, by June I'll be freed up to get back to my normal routine. I am working on a short story that I hope to submit for publication and it's almost done. (Really.) No, there shouldn't be any excuses for not writing, but I have excuses! Once I actually sit down and write, I feel good about it. The problem is just making the time to actually write without distractions (like the Internet and sleep). I've found that it's better for me to go to the library and write because I don't get on the WiFi there and I can just put my headphones on and type away. I used to be able to pound out a lot more stuff than I'm pounding out now. I've got to get back to that. I will get back to that...eventually.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

RIP Bob Dorough

I read this afternoon that Bob Dorough, a musician famous mainly for creating Schoolhouse Rock hits like "Conjunction Junction," had died at the age of 94. As someone who grew up with Schoolhouse Rock tunes in the 1970's and 80's, I was sad to hear about Dorough's death. He was truly a talented man to come up with those songs that helped kids learn through music. Those songs certainly helped me and, even now, I can quickly distinguish between a adverb, a conjunction, and other types of words thanks to Schoolhouse Rock. But "Conjunction Junction" has got to be my favorite song from the many offered during the early Schoolhouse Rock days. It's so great in many ways. Catchy, great lyrics, hobos, a rail yard, spoken word parts throughout, ducks and drakes! NY Magazine actually ranked "Conjunction Junction" as Bob Dorough's SECOND best Schoolhouse Rock song behind "Three Is a Magic Number." Jen Chaney, the author of that NY Mag list, is crazy if she thinks any Schoolhouse Rock song, particularly the lame "Three Is a Magic Number" should come before "Conjunction Junction." RIP, Bob Dorough.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Equal Treatment

Like a lot of people, I've been reading about the case of the two black guys who were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks store because they asked to use the bathroom at the store even though they hadn't bought anything and then refused to leave the store. I was very near this particular Starbucks store when I visited Philly last summer and met some friends for lunch at a restaurant near Rittenhouse Square. I'm not surprised the cops were called on these two guys especially given the location. That's a high-rent area of Philly and there aren't a lot of non-white folks living around there. (There are non-white folks working in the area though.) I have no problem with a store enforcing a policy that allows paying customers to use their bathroom facilities. I also have no problem with a store asking people to leave if they're loitering for a long amount of time (even though the Philly guys were only in the store for less than 15 minutes). No one should go to Starbucks or any other coffee shop and just take up space for paying customers. However, if you're going to have a policy like that, then enforce it against everyone, not just black folks. Kick out the white women, Asian men, Latinas, red-headed stepchildren, whoever if those people aren't paying customers. If two white dudes were hanging out in a Starbucks and wanted to use the bathroom but didn't buy anything, call the cops on them too. Equal treatment!

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Yea!

I read today that Andrew Sean Greer's book Less won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Yea! Good for him. I blogged about Less after I read it and it's a great book. I highly recommend it. I've been reading Greer's work since The Story of a Marriage years ago and, hopefully, with the Pulitzer win, he'll start getting the kudos he deserves.


Friday, April 13, 2018

Yuck

In a week of more shenanigans from Donny T. bitching about the Feds coming down on his crooked attorney (Note to Donny: It's not a break-in when the law enforcement people have warrants), I read that Taylor Swift has remade Earth, Wind & Fire's great song "September." As the late, great Amy Winehouse asked, "What kind of fuckery is this?" Taylor and EW & F shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. I listened to about three seconds of Swifty's version and shut that shit down. Yuck. Everyone can't sing every song. For example, I love Harry Connick, Jr., but his version of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" is pure garbage. He should have left it alone. The same goes for his version of "Danny Boy." Terrible. But I can forgive Harry for those minor mistakes because he has so many other great songs and he's a talented guy. If you ever get the chance to see him in concert, do it.

In other music-related news, I heard Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer" on the way home from work today and, while I love the song, I grew tired of hearing it in the 1980's when it was a hit. I can listen to it now, but for years. When I look back at performers from the 80's like Phil Collins and Eddie Money, I think these folks would never have made it in today's music business. They don't have a "look" that can be marketed no matter how talented they are. The music industry didn't used to be so concerned about marketing a person based on their level of attractiveness. The industry was more concerned about the talent of the performer and/or musician. I wish that were still the case. There are so many people in the music industry today with little to no talent who are marketed to be successful because they have a look people like. Plus, with Auto Tunes, no one even needs to know how to sing anymore.


Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Alienist

I've been watching The Alienist series via On Demand and I've got one more episode to go. A co-worker suggested I check it out even though she and I have different tastes in movies and shows in general, but after watching the first episode, I found it interesting enough to ride it through. What's particularly fascinating to me is the whole immigrant/turn of the century/New York experience. I'm not crazy about the main story line of poor, immigrant children being murdered by a serial killer, but seeing how the alienist and his team track the killer is interesting. I hope if there's a second season that the plot changes and that Dakota Fanning is replaced. She's a terrible actress. She overacts in every single scene she's in. (Sorry, but it's true!) In the final few episodes, I feel like the writers went overboard a little with the alienist falling for his housekeeper (who, I believe, was supposed to be of Native American descent) and then flipping out after she's killed by a crooked Irish cop. The kindly white doctor falls for the woman of color who not only cleans his house and cooks his meals but also doesn't speak (yeah, okay) and then she's killed by an Irish drunkard. Plus, to add a little more spice to this diversity stew, let's throw in a black handyman and some Jewish detectives just to round out the cast. Oy!

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Cry Me a River

I did a blog post last week about how extra security at schools is fairly common in urban areas, yet when it's suggested at suburban schools, all hell breaks loose. I read an article today about some of the kids at the Parkland school in Florida complaining about the clear backpacks they have to carry now and how their school is a prison now. Cry me a river, kids. These techniques are being implemented to try and keep kids safe. As I said in my earlier blog post, I went to a public high school in Detroit in the 1980's and we had to walk through metal detectors to get to class each day. But I guess that's supposed to be expected for an "urban" school, right? Suburban  (i.e. white) schools aren't supposed to have those kinds of things, right? Give me a break. There are bad people everywhere, in the cities, suburbs, rural areas, wherever.

Friday, March 30, 2018

Educational Prison

The news these days seems to be saturated with headlines about the Parkland school kids and the social movement they've engineered against gun violence. While politicians try to figure out how to keep kids safe in school, I've been reminded of my own school days in Detroit. I remember when metal detectors were installed at my high school in the 1980's. You had to go through a metal detector in order to get into the school. There were also buckets where you could dump anything that might get you flagged (like a knife) before you entered so the powers that be gave you a chance to get rid of any contraband. I don't recall there being any guns dumped in these buckets. In the mid to late 80's when I was in high school, guns weren't a huge problem at school even in Detroit. (Well, they weren't a problem at the high school I went to.) Making students go through metal detectors might seem harsh to people who didn't grow up in a city like Detroit, but I didn't have a problem with it. You do what you have to do to keep violence at bay and maybe that's what needs to be done at these suburban schools like Parkland. No one wants to feel like they're going to school in a prison, but if that's the only way to keep guns out of schools, then maybe metal detectors are the way to go.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Fellow Travelers

I went to see a performance of the opera Fellow Travelers presented by Chicago's Lyric Opera this afternoon and really enjoyed the show. I am not an opera person at all, but I read Thomas Mallon's book Fellow Travelers that the opera was based on and really liked it so I was anxious to see the novel presented as an opera. Fellow Travelers is the story of a young, naive recent college graduate named Timothy Laughlin who falls head over hills for a dashing older man named Hawkins Fuller in Washington, DC during the 1950's. Because of the times and the on-going fear from the McCarthyism was running rampant in the country, Tim and Hawk are forced to keep their relationship under cover and the strain of it all causes heartbreak for them both.

The opera was great because the performers were great. The men who played the roles of Tim (Jonas Hacker) and Hawk (Joseph Lattanzi) were excellent and had wonderful chemistry. When I saw the actors on the Lyric's website before the performance, I worried that the singer playing Hawk was too young for the role (and he was), but he was such a delight in the role that I overlooked that minor issue during the actual performance. He's also very good looking and there were a surprisingly plentiful number of scenes where he appeared shirtless or in various states of undress during the show which wasn't a bad thing.

If Fellow Travelers comes to your town, I highly recommend checking it out. I also recommend the book if the opera is or isn't your thing.


Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The Machine Grinds On

So the Illinois primaries are over and I, for one, am glad I won't have to watch anymore ads for the candidates running for various offices in the state. (Well, not until the November elections anyway.) Sadly, the machine candidate won the democratic spot for governor and now we'll have to millionaires running for office.

In other political news, I'm not sure why actress Cynthia Nixon feels she's qualified to run to be the next governor of New York. I could see her getting involved in politics by starting at the local level and maybe running for a city council position or something. But governor? Really? Don't we have enough celebrity politicians already? (Yes, I know she's not Donny T., but still.)

It really is a shame that normal, regular folks who aren't millionaires or celebrities or people backed  by some political machine don't get the encouragement to run for office.

And, finally, after reading about all of the data mining going on with Facebook, I'm happier than ever that I shut my account down in 2010 and never looked back. I think I missed it for a week or two and then forgot about it. Then again, I'm not exactly a person who lives or dies by social media, so shutting my Facebook account down wasn't really a huge sacrifice. I'm also paranoid about putting too much of my business out in the universe.

Friday, March 16, 2018

The Machine

I got a text a week or two ago asking if I was going to support JB Pritzker for Governor of Illinois. I texted back: I don't think so. JB is part of the Illinois Machine with Rahm, Blago, and others. I received no response. The Illinois political machine is alive and well and I will do what I can to avoid voting more people into office who help run that machine. Corruption runs long and deep in Illinois politics and it's high time the tide turned. We really have to stop electing people who aren't interested in serving our  communities and their citizens. We can't keep electing the same people and expecting different results. We also can't elect new people who we know are awful just because they've got money or name recognition or run a ton of commercials on television. It's a shame that so many people who may truly be interested in serving their community are scared off by the ugliness and divisiveness of politics today. People used to run for office because they were truly interested in solving problems and helping people. Nowadays it seems like people run for office because they're ultra wealthy and want the power that comes with a political position. Sad.

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

Once again, our current POTUS has been out doing what he does best: acting like a spoiled child. He calls adults by stupid nicknames, he Tweets garbage, he has constant diarrhea of the mouth, he watches TV and complains about it, blah, blah, blah. And, while doing all of this, one wonders when does he actually do any real work??? Uh...he doesn't. What sense does it make to hire "the best people" (which he doesn't do anyway, but let's, for the sake of argument say he does) only to dismiss the advice they give and go for what you think (what your fat gut) tells you is right? Why would anyone with half a brain even put up with a boss like that? How many times do you have to hit your head against the wall before you realize your efforts are ultimately fruitless and you might as well throw in the towel, resign, and try to move on with your life? This freak show is mentally exhausting. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does!

In non-Donny-related news, I went downtown yesterday and had a nice dinner out. I was surprised to see that the Chicago tourism folks are offering boat tours at this time of the year. It's freezing outside, yet some brave souls were out riding on the open-air boats that float down the Chicago River. More power to them.


Thursday, March 8, 2018

Post-Oscar Thoughts

I'm a little late with my post-Oscar thoughts and I'm sure everyone has moved on from Sunday's Academy Awards by now, but there weren't any surprises for me. As I predicted, there was no way Timothee Chalamet was going to beat actors like Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Lewis and he didn't. I watched most of the show and found it to be a little dry. Kimmel did a good job, but I didn't care for the long movie montages or the musical performances. Ratings for the show were down this year and I wasn't surprised by that either. People just aren't interested in awards shows like they used to be in the past. Why sit through three hours of a show when you can just catch the highlights online the next day? It's not like the old days when you had to watch something or you missed it entirely. Also, the attention span of a lot of people is just reduced now. Sitting through a three-plus-hour show on TV just isn't happening for many folks these days, especially those in the treasured demographic of young people.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Pre-Oscar Thoughts

I'm planning to watch at least some of the Oscars tonight mainly because I actually saw a lot of the movies nominated. Normally I skip the show because I haven't seen a lot of the movies/performances up for awards, but not this year. While I did see Lady Bird, Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, Phantom Thread, and All the Money in the World, I didn't see Dunkirk, The Darkest Hour, Three Billboards, The Post, or The Shape of Water (and had no desire to see them). I enjoyed all of the movies listed that I saw, but do I think they're all Academy Award winning? No. For example, Lady Bird was a good movie with great performances, but do I think the movie and those performances were the best of the best? No. The same goes for Call Me by Your Name. As lovely as the movie was, Chalamet made that film for me. He was great and deserves all of the kudos he received for his performance. But will he win the best actor award over Gary Oldman or Daniel Day Lewis? Not bloody likely! Plus, I think if he did win, he'd fall under the Oscars curse and end up fading into obscurity and he deserves better than that.

I remember a time when I used to go the movies pretty regularly, but those times have changed. It takes a lot for me to go to theater now and see a movie. If I only kind of want to see a movie, I'll wait for it to come on Netflix. Plus, a lot of the movie trailers I see are for films I have no interest in seeing. Rarely these days do I see a trailer and think, I've got to see that when it comes out! Hollywood needs to do a better job of putting out films that aren't revisions of movies that were already made or movies about superheroes. Seriously.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Sacrifices!

I gave up sweets for Lent, not for religious reasons, but because I need to cut back and drop a few pounds. (Well, more than a few.) I gave up cookies, pies, cakes, donuts, and other assorted goodies. I have allowed myself to have a trail mix that has a few pieces of chocolate in it because I'm not insane, but that's it. So far, so good. With each day, I feel like I'm making progress. I've also signed up to do a Couch to 5K in the spring. Now I'm not a runner, but I'm hoping I'll be able to do a light jog to fulfill the requirements and, again, drop some poundage. The older you get, the harder it becomes to lose weight. You could eat the same stuff you ate 10 years ago and your body just reacts to it in a totally different way. The struggle is real, folks.

In other news, I wish folks I know would stop bugging me about my decision to skip Black Panther. No offense to the movie or any of its stars, but I just don't do superhero movies. The last Batman movie I saw had Michael Keaton in it. Yeah. Michael Keaton with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. I did see one of the X-Men movies on TV also, but only watched it because it was on. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't something I'd see at the theater. Superhero movies are just not my bag, baby. I'm glad Black Panther is out there making mucho dinero and getting rave reviews, but I'm skipping it. Even when I saw the preview for it, I thought, Thanks, but no thanks.

Friday, February 23, 2018

Abracadabra...I Don't Want to Reach Out and Grab Ya!

I was listening to the Steve Miller Band's song "Abracadabra" this morning on the way to work and wondered why this great tune isn't on the Greatest Hits CD that I have. Why, Steve Miller Band, why???? The greatest hits CD has hits like "The Joker" and "Jet Airplane" but no "Abracadabra." Frustrating! Who put these greatest hits together?? I was forced to pay for and download something I should have already had. Moving on. I also heard a song I didn't realize I like so much called "Feel It Still" by some dude/band (?) named Portugal.The Man. Band or man, that song is great and yet another tune I can add to my YMCA workout playlist. I know the song is old, but it's new to me. I'm behind the times when it comes to popular music and if you read my blog with any regularity, you already know this.

Earlier this week, I heard "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo and that song has been stuck in my head pretty much all week. Did Wall of Voodoo ever have any other hits? I can't recall any, but "Mexican Radio" is one of those songs you hear once and you keep hearing until it's replaced by some other song that takes up space in your brain and slowly drives you crazy.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Presidents' Day

Even though we don't currently have a POTUS worthy of praise this Presidents' Day, I'm willing to overlook that sad fact and think about the good things the previous presidents have done for the country. I'm also glad I had a break from my day job to do some writing. (Yes, I really am writing and working on something.) It's always nice to have a three-day weekend before you go back to the grind. Unfortunately, now the company-sponsored holidays are over until Memorial Day in May. That's too long of a stretch for me to go without a day (or two) off, so I might have to take a few days to do something with myself.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Get Yer Harvest Box!

I read this week that Donny T.'s administration wants to give the poor food boxes ("harvest boxes" as they're called) in place of food stamps. Each harvest box would come with pre-selected foods (selected by whom, I'm not sure but I doubt anyone who's ever received food stamps). The idea was to give the poor a Blue-Apron-like food service. Aside from being a totally ridiculous idea, I don't understand the logistics of how it would work. Would these harvest boxes be shipped in the mail each month or would people have to go to a harvest box distribution center to pick up said box? Does each household get the same food? What if you're allergic to some of the foods in the box? Can you substitute some items for others? Does the size of the box vary depending on the number of people in the household? If you have two kids do you get less goods in your harvest box than someone who has four kids to feed? What if you get your harvest box and the food is spoiled? Can you return your harvest box and get another one? If your harvest box is sent by mail, what if it doesn't come or is stolen? What then?

I'm old enough to remember the days of government cheese. Does the government today really want to return to the days when people lined up for free government food? Yeah, I'm sure that's a picture Donny T. wants the world to see. Try again, idiots. Try again.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Crazy in Walgreens

In today's adventures in Crazytown, I ended up arguing with a woman in Walgreens who couldn't decide if she was in the line or out of it. What is wrong with people? Get in line and stay in line. Is that so hard to do? If you need to leave the line to grab an item then, as a courtesy, tell the person in line behind you that you'll be right back. But when you have language issues on top of general attitude problems, you end up arguing because people can't read your crazed mind. I swear, people are becoming more and more unruly. Normally, I keep my mouth shut, but sometimes I can't. And lately it seems to be older women (who should know better) who are ready to pick a fight. Sad. The woman I got into it with at Walgreens had her kid with her. If she had been alone, I probably wouldn't have shown the amount of restraint that I did. I really thought she didn't speak English and asking her if she did was, clearly, the wrong question to ask because it just set her off. She told me she was born here. Doubtful, but okay. "Great," I told her. "Good for you." I should have added that Donny T. won't be able to throw her out back to whatever third-world shithole (his words, not mine) she came from then. Restraint, Kim. Restraint. I have to admit when I saw the woman and her daughter leaving in their beaten, hub-cap-missing Nissan, I felt a little better. The car totally went with her fake eyelashes, tilted wig, and dusty clothing. That's mean, I know, but you can't be nice all the time.

Friday, February 9, 2018

This Week

A few things have been on my mind as this week draws to a close.

First, Illinois gubernatorial candidate JB Pritzker is part of the Illinois machine. Hearing those tapes with him and Blagojevich (and Blago by himself talking about JB) just confirms that JB is just another cog in the awful wheel of Illinois politics. Ugh. We can and should do better with our elected officials.

Second, beaters and cheaters are, apparently, welcome at Donny T.'s White House. How many lowlifes can you fit into one administration? Once one hits the bricks, there's another one waiting in the wings to take his/her place. No person with any kind of ethics or self-respect would work with Donny and his minions, so I'm really not surprised he's scraped the bottom of the barrel to fill his staff vacancies. And, given how he behaves himself, I'm sure the beaters and cheaters feel right at home there. Ugh again.

Third, today's hefty snowfall in the Chicago area left me stranded at home, but that was fine with me. There was no way I was getting out on the roads to try and make it to the office this morning. Thankfully, I can work my day job remotely, so I took full advantage of that. I feel for folks who don't have that option and were forced out onto the streets today. Stay strong, folks. Stay strong.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Only the Best People, People!

Current POTUS Donny T. claimed to hire only the best people for his administration, but let's take a look at some of his hires. White supremacists, reality TV stars (like Donny himself), a former caddie, and now a wife beater. Great. Only the best, right? Maybe in Donny's world these jackholes are the creme de la creme. I guess it takes a  jackhole to know a jackhole.

In other news, it looks like Chicago is finally in the midst of a real winter this year. After a few years of barely any snowfall, we seem to be getting hit with the white stuff weekly this month. We really can't complain. We've had it good for the past few years and we all knew that great weather couldn't last forever.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Not a Football Fan, But...

As someone who is not into football at all, I usually just ignore Superbowl Sunday and this year is no exception. However, I will say, given the choice between the Patriots and the Eagles, I'm going with the birds. I used to live in Philadelphia, so that's why I'm rooting for the Eagles to win. Philly could use a boost. It's always been the red-headed stepchild of the Northeast Corridor, stuck between New York and DC. Also, I'm rooting for the Eagles because I'm tired of the Patriots and their white savior, Tom Brady. Ugh. He looks like the guy who asks if you need any help when you're at Home Depot. It amazes me how many plain, ordinary-looking folks like Brady, Taylor Swift, etc. become superstars these days and are lauded for their looks. I remember when superstars looked...well...super. I guess those days are over.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Haters, Stop Hating on Bruno Mars

I'll be the first to admit that I'm late to the Bruno Mars party, but now that I'm here, I'm glad I joined. I watched his Apollo special over the holidays via On Demand (and again when it aired on CBS last Friday night) and really enjoyed it. That kid (I know he's in his 30's, but I'm still going with kid) is talented and deserves all the success and Grammy awards he can carry. During trying times like this, it's nice to have some music that isn't depressing or autotuned to hell and back. I wasn't crazy about Bruno's previous hit "Uptown Funk." In fact, I really didn't care for it all. But the stuff on his 24K Magic album is great. The title track has the groove that makes me want to move. Bruno is an entertainer and that's something that's clearly lacking in a lot of performers today. He puts on a show and the haters need to fall back. While Bruno is out there grinding, the haters are hating. As he would say himself, "Why you mad? Fix your face." Seriously. Those who can do. Those who can't hate. Play on, player!

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Skeleton Crew

I went to see the play Skeleton Crew last night at the Northlight Theatre and largely enjoyed it. The play focuses on factory workers in Detroit who are facing unemployment because their factory is slated to close at the end of the year. The play was written by Detroiter Dominique Morrisseau and I commend her for writing about black factory workers in the Motor City. If you're from Detroit, as I am, you know that the auto industry was, for many years, the main economic thread for the city. Most people were connected somehow with the auto industry either directly or indirectly and, if they didn't, they certainly knew someone who did. My own father was an auto worker, so the play really hit home with me. A central theme in the play dealt with people whose lives are tied to their jobs. So many of us depend on our jobs for a lot and fear of losing that job can cause all kinds of stress. But when a corporate decision is made to eliminate jobs and/or close a workplace, there's not much the workers can do about it. The corporate overlords will do what they want and we'll just have to live with the consequences.


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Slippery When Wet

My drive in to work this morning started out normally and then descended into chaos. Icy roads in the southern part of the Chicagoland area caused major accidents and I soon found myself stuck on the freeway. A normal one hour commute took nearly two this morning. I saw the aftermath of many multi-vehicle accidents involving cars and semis. What a mess. I'm glad that the roads had been salted and the police were out in force by the time I made it to the accident area. Had I known the roads were going to be like that, I would have worked from home. I heard about accidents on the news before I left work, but I didn't hear about any the part of the freeway that I take to work, so I figured I'd be okay. I figured wrong.

Monday, January 22, 2018

First Wave and Open for Business

I've been blogging a lot about the music I've been hearing via Sirius and, as much as I love the First Wave station, I feel like they play too much music by The Pretenders and Elvis Costello, neither of whom I'd consider to be New Wave artists. The only song I've ever really liked by The Pretenders is "Middle of the Road" and, as for Costello, I don't care for his music at all. His voice did nothing for me in the 80's and does nothing for me now. He's one of the artists I can't wait to change the station from. It's not that he's a terrible singer or anything, but his music just doesn't work for me. I don't understand how he has the following that he does but, clearly, someone likes him.

In other non-music-related news, our government will, apparently, be open for business as usual again tomorrow. I really feel like the shutdown was a mistake on the part of the Democrats. Shutting down the government to get a deal for DACA kids just seemed like a losing proposition when proposed. A lot of people who may hate Donny T. do agree with him when it comes to immigration-related matters. My main issue was the hold-up of the CHIP program that provides health insurance for low-income kids. These kids need health insurance and their fate shouldn't hang in the balance waiting for an immigration overhaul that may never come to pass. How long has the government been arguing about immigration? For many, many years and I fully doubt a bi-partisan solution is coming from the current crop of congress members and senators. I remember when people went into politics because they wanted to help their communities. Now I feel like the majority of politicians are in it for themselves. They don't care about their constituents. And now any sane person who would truly like to go into politics for the right reasons is discouraged because of all of the infighting and harassment (both online and in person).

Monday, January 15, 2018

Phantom Thread

I saw Phantom Thread with my sister over the weekend and enjoyed it. I was surprised at how funny it was in some parts. I wasn't expecting that. Paul Thomas Anderson's mind goes in some weird directions. I joked to my sister that the alternate title for the movie should have been It's Mushroom Time! (You'll get that if you see the movie. No spoilers!)

On this snowy MLK holiday, I'm enjoying having time off from my day job to do some cleaning, reading, and writing. Even though I'm from Michigan, I'm not big on traveling through the snow. It's days like today when I wish I lived somewhere warm.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Dumb Donny Strikes Again

Clutch the pearls, Dumb Donny has caught another case of diarrhea of the mouth. What amazes me is that the folks filling the cable news airwaves seemed shocked (shocked, I tell you!) by Donny T's recent comments on immigration. Donny has been exhibiting racist behavior against black since he and his father were sued for housing discrimination in the 1970's, so no one should be shocked by his comments this week about immigrants from black and brown countries. The thing that should be shocking is his blatant call for more immigrants (i.e. white) from countries like Norway. As I heard a professor say on NPR, there's no law against being racist, but when your racism interferes with government policy, then you're got a problem. If Donny's racist views are going to give preference to immigrants from European countries based on race, then there's a problem and that's what people should be concerned about. I heard Congressional Rep Luis Gutierrez on MSNBC say that "the varnish is off!" in response to Donny's shithole comments this week. Dude, the varnish was never on! Donny is the same loudmouth bigot today that he's always been. Rather than being outraged over Donny's latest tweets or ridiculous statements, how about working to throw this bum out of office. How about working to shut his bullshit policies down. How about that?

And one more thing. Every Negro who stood behind Donny during his Martin Luther King, Jr. photo op yesterday ought to be ashamed of him/herself. Seriously. Dr. King is probably turning in his grave.