Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Post Office...Again

I hate going to the post office for anything. The service is usually slow and poor and I frequently leave thinking No wonder this place is getting its ass kicked by companies like Fed Ex and UPS. I went to the post office today to mail a small, postage-paid package. The package couldn't fit in a mail slot designated for letters, so I planned to drop it in one of the larger slots reserved for packages. Unfortunately, all of the larger slots at my local post office were sealed shut. Why, I don't know. Maybe it's a security issue. Finally, a postal employee told me to just leave my package at one of the unmanned windows. I left the package with a stack of others and I hope it makes it to its final destination, but I worried that anyone could have picked any of those packages up and just walked out the door. No one was manning the window where the packages were stacked. I went home and complained about this poor service and a postal employee left a message for me and suggested that I stand in line and see a teller at the window if I want to drop off a package that won't fit in the mail slot. Say what now? Why should I stand in a long-assed post office line to drop off a package that already has a postage sticker affixed to it? What sense does that make? It would make sense if the post office had more than one or two windows open at a given time. (My local post office does not.) Inefficiency, thy name is the United States Postal Service. I have several family members who are either current postal employees or retired postal employees and I know a postal job is a good one that has served my family well. But the service at many locations is just a mess so much of the time. I wish I didn't have to deal with them at all, but I do from time to time.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Movies

Over the holiday weekend, I saw two movies that couldn't have been more different.

I saw Arrival on Thanksgiving and hated it. I nodded off several times during the movie and woke up to find out that not much had happened while I was asleep. Aside from being incredibly boring, I found a lot of the movie's plot points to be just ridiculous and unbelievable. For example, would the US government really allow a linguist to go unaccompanied into an alien craft? Would that linguist be able to get a telephone in order to call the head of the Chinese government (and actually speak with the man)? If anyone went onto an alien craft, wouldn't that person have to go for a full Silkwood decontamination treatment each time the person returned to the military base? Wouldn't that person also have to endure a period of time (and I don't just mean a day or two) of quarantine before being allowed to rejoin the civilian population? The aliens in the movie reminded me of Kang and Kodos, the aliens from The Simpsons (without the huge eye in the middle of their bodies). Aside from the first half hour of the movie that seemed interesting and believable, the majority of this film just didn't work for me. Also, why does Hollywood keep trying to make Jeremy Remmer happen? He's not attractive and his acting is nothing special, yet he keeps getting parts in big movies like this. When he and Amy Adams were in scenes together, you could tell he was way out of his league. Thumbs down all around here.

The second movie I saw via On Demand was better. I'd seen an ad for King Cobra that piqued my interest when I saw a French movie at the IFC Theater last month in New York. King Cobra is based on a book by a guy who was a gay porno star who got mixed up with some other unsavory guys in the business and two of those guys killed the King Cobra character (played by Christian Slater) to try and steal his star money maker for themselves. I largely enjoyed the movie and I thought the acting by Christian Slater, Molly Ringwald, James Franco, and the rest of the cast was pretty good. Now I kind of want to read the book the movie was based on. Yes, a lot of this movie is sleazy and low-down (and how can you not be given the subject matter), but it moves pretty well and it certainly held my interest. Thumbs up!

RIP, Ron Glass.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Turkey Day Travels

I'm back from a brief visit to my hometown of Detroit for the Thanksgiving holiday and I had a great time seeing family in and around the city. Once I left Michigan (presumably for good) back in 2002, I said I wouldn't go back there to live again. However, the last two times I've been there this year, I've started to think that maybe I could go back if the right opportunity presented itself. I hate my current home state of Illinois. I like Evanston, where I live, but I hate the state of Illinois and its janky government members who can't seem to pass a state budget. This is the most dysfunctional state I've ever lived in. Between the corruption, the growing Chicago murder rate, and the general failure of the state legislature and the governor, I'm just about ready to throw in the towel here. Maybe a return to Michigan is the way to go. I'm seriously thinking about it. The housing would certainly be cheaper. On the other hand, I've been there and done that with metro Detroit. Maybe Michigan is better being a place that I enjoy visiting, but can't see myself living in again (like New York). As Lou Rawls said, "You can't go home no more."


Thursday, November 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving that's filled with good food, pleasant company, and love. We could all use a little happiness and a break from the seemingly never-ending negativity out there right now.


Monday, November 21, 2016

Yeah!

With all of the gloom and doom following the election, I've been trying to find some good news in the middle of all of the chaos and I have managed to find some. I watched the BET program "Love and Happiness, an Obama Celebration" over the weekend and enjoyed the show. It was nice to see Obama's presidency celebrated rather than criticized, as it so often is. I didn't always agree with everything Obama did while in office, but I do think he did a good job overall. The highlight of the BET show for me was Usher's rendition of "Yeah!" I thought it was great. I like that song anyway, but I thought he did an excellent job with it on the Obama Celebration. I like Usher (in spite of his hand in making Justin Bieber a household name). His song "No Limit" is currently in heavy rotation on my iPhone along with "Walk on By" by Isaac Hayes (the version from the film Dead Presidents). You haven't heard "Walk on By" until you've heard it performed by Isaac Hayes. It puts all other versions to shame.


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Weekly Wrap-Up

I read this morning that Sharon Jones died. This year certainly has been terrible for a variety of reasons (cough, Trump, cough), but it's been particularly awful when you look at the number of people who have died too early (Prince, Gwen Ifill, Gene Wilder, just to name a few).

I saw Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings perform in Prospect Park back in the days when I was living in Brooklyn. I walked over from my apartment to see the show and enjoyed it. I was also surprised to see so many white folks in the audience (although I shouldn't have been). Sharon had a huge white following and it's a shame more black folks didn't embrace her because she performed straight-up soul music. Anyway, I knew she'd been ill, but it was still a shock to read this morning that she'd passed away. RIP, Sharon.

In other news, I read that Mike Pence went to see Hamilton on Broadway last night and the audience booed him. Ha! I hope he wasn't expecting to be received with open arms. Pence, a guy who encouraged Indiana businesses to be allowed to openly discriminate against gay folks in Indiana and who favors gay conversion therapy actually had the gall to go to a Broadway show filled with gay folks and people of color and sit his bigoted behind in a seat. Ugh. I'm glad he got booed.

Temps dropped dramatically here in the Chicago area overnight and we went from having temperatures in the 60s and 70s a few days ago to waking up this morning to see snow flurries flying through the air. Winter is coming, my friends. Winter is coming.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Victory Lap

I read today that our new President-elect is planning to do a victory tour to visit states that supported him during the election. Say what now? Does the President of the United States really need to do a victory lap? Apparently this one thinks he does. This guy just can't stay away from the adulation and the roar of the crowd. When I heard him brag about gaining 100,000 new Twitter followers after he won the election, I wondered if he thought he was filming a reality show or something. Who cares about Twitter followers when you're about to be President? Uh, this guy, apparently. Does he realize this is real life and not the freaking Apprentice? I wonder if he's truly detached from reality. And don't get me started on his merry band of brownnosers whose mouths probably taste like ass from kissing so much of it in order to show how loyal they are to their new overlord. So who do we have in this basket of deplorables? An old (seemingly senile) former NY mayor, a racist (who looks like he would benefit from enrollment a 12-step program), a VP who believes in gay conversion, a fawning son-in-law, a spokeswoman who often looks like she's sustaining herself on coffee and coke, and an assortment of other bottom feeders. Sad. I said last week that this is what democracy looks like. It's a shame the view now makes me want to turn away.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Supermoon

I went outside to check out the supermoon last night and it did not disappoint. Thankfully, the skies were clear enough here to see the moon. While I was out of town a few weeks ago on the Gulf, I heard and read a lot about the sea turtles that live along the beaches there. According to what I was told, there are sea turtle volunteers who come out during the hatching season to protect the baby turtles as they make their way from the nest to the water. This sounds like the kind of job I'd enjoy doing as a retiree (if I ever retire). I'd like to be a turtle protector!


RIP, Gwen Ifill. Lord, is 2016 over with yet? What a shitty year overall.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

You're Joking, Right?

Dave Chappelle did a great job on last night's Saturday Night Live. His opening monologue was on point. If you didn't catch it live, watch it online. Good stuff. In other news, I read today that Rudy "9/11" Guiliani wants President Obama to quell the anti-Trump protests around the country. You're joking, right, because that's hilarious. Oh, my sides! Given all of the nasty things both Trump and Guiliani have said about Obama, why should he lift a finger to quell any anti-Trump protesters? How long ago was it that Trump was asking for Obama's birth certificate and calling him the worst president ever? Yet now, when he's facing backlash, he wants Obama's help? Don the Con and his minions can go pound sand for all I care. Even though I feel like these protests are useless, they're certainly allowed in a democratic society. People have to right to protest in our country. If you don't like it, move to China or Saudi Arabia or some other country where protests are not allowed.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Is This Week Over Yet?

As this tumultuous week winds down, I'm working to remain optimistic about the incoming president. Yes, it's hard to do, but I'm trying. I'm also going to enjoy the remaining weeks of the current president's term. I certainly hope this holiday season isn't dampened by the current state of national affairs. I think we need a little holiday cheer to boost our morale.

In other news, I'm plugging away trying to finish the book I've been working on. This one has been a struggle for me, but I'm trying to get it done by the end of the year. I had another book that was pretty far along and then I abandoned that one because I just couldn't seem to get it together and moved on to the current one I'm working on. I really have to start making daily writing a priority and that's something I haven't been doing lately.

RIP, Leonard Cohen and Robert Vaughn.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

This Is What Democracy Looks Like, Folks

Are you all cried out over the presidential election results? Have you gone through the various stages of grief? Have you reached the acceptance stage yet or do you need more time? Whether we like it or not, this is what democracy looks like, folks. Sometimes your candidate wins, and sometimes your candidate loses. What I can't understand are the huge numbers of people protesting. What, exactly, do they want to happen? Do they expect Trump to step down? Dream on, dreamers! When I was at my swimming lesson (again) Tuesday night, one of the instructors (a young white guy) told me and my instructor that he was scared about the election. Scared? Don the Grabber doesn't scare me (although creepy preacher Pence does). We can't curl into a fetal position and cry ourselves to sleep each night over the election results. We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get back to work fighting the good fight. But, hey, I'm a minority. I'm accustomed to dealing with disappointments in life.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Wednesday Morning Quarterbacking

Before I called it a night last night, I saw that Trump was ahead and I told my sister, "It doesn't look good for Clinton." When I got up this morning and saw that Trump had won the presidential election, I was disappointed but not surprised. I was surprised that Clinton didn't speak to her supporters last night. What was that about?

Now that this nasty race is over, everyone (myself included) will try to figure out what happened here. There are a lot of reasons why Trump came out on top: (1) Clinton was a flawed candidate. Let's face it, Hillary was beatable and she had a lot of baggage. (2) There are a lot of angry people out there who wanted a president (a white male president) who wasn't part of the Washington "establishment" and that person was Trump. (3) The pollsters were full of it. How many polls predicted Clinton as the winner? Many of them, which makes me wonder who, exactly, these folks were polling.

So, what do we do now? We keep on keeping on.


Monday, November 7, 2016

Moonlight and, Hey, I Voted!

I saw the really compelling movie Moonlight over the weekend. It's a hard film to watch mainly because of the sheer suffering the main character, Chiron, goes through, but it does seem to end on a positive note. It's so refreshing to see a film that goes outside of the box on black people. Dealing with homosexuality alone in the black community is something you don't see often on film, particularly a big-studio independent film. It's a quiet movie, but it says a lot with its silences. There's a scene near the end of the film where the song "Hello, Stranger" is played and I felt verklempt while I watched it. Oy! See it if you haven't already.

In other news, I also voted over the weekend. One of the few good things Illinois has going for it is early voting, so I took advantage this year to avoid the long lines tomorrow. I've done my civic duty. Get out and vote, folks! This is democracy in action!


Sunday, November 6, 2016

Dance Cuba

I went to see the Litz Alfonso Dance Cuba group at the Auditorium Theatre last night and enjoyed the performance. Some buzzkill seniors across the aisle from me didn't like the show and sat there stone-faced through the first act but, thankfully, they left at intermission. I don't know what they were expecting to see and hear during a Cuban dance performance. Anyway, the music was great, the costumes were colorful, and the band was on point. I highly recommend checking this group out if they come to your town.


Thursday, November 3, 2016

The Goat is Gone!

I am not a sports fan, but I do congratulate the Chicago Cubs for their World Series win. Good for them and good for Chicago, a city that could use some good news right now. The World Series served as a great diversion from the on-going presidential election/Dumpster fire. I'd rather watch Cubs coverage here in Chicago than hear that 15+ people were shot over the weekend or Clinton and Trump's latest campaign BS. So now that the Cubs have won, can the whole curse of the billy goat be put to rest for good? (Fun fact: I Googled the whole goat curse thing a few weeks ago because I had no idea what it was about. I'm not from Chicago!)

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Magic Play

I went to see a performance of The Magic Play at the Goodman Theatre this past Sunday and while I largely enjoyed the story of a gay magician who can't seem to get over his last boyfriend (who dumped him) and his father's abandonment during his childhood, I felt that the gay couple didn't have any chemistry. The guy who played the magician's former boyfriend (referred to only as "the diver" because he was supposed to be an Olympic-level diver) was a great actor, but totally wrong from the guy playing the magician. I have no issue with color-blind casting, but I thought having a black guy as an Olympic diver was a stretch here. I just didn't buy it. Not that black folks aren't divers and swimmers, but the role was clearly written for a white guy and probably should have been cast that way. I'm just saying; no disrespect. I did enjoy seeing a gay relationship worked out on stage. Watching the characters meet for the first time, start dating, and eventually break up was great. Many of the magic tricks performed were also good, but the final trick was a bit of a letdown. Oh well. They can't all be winners.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Stank on Ya!

When will people learn that when you collude with powerful forces, sometimes their smell of sulfur rubs off on you. Donna Brazile found out the hard way that being unethical in an effort to help the Clintons will only lead to problems for you in the end. Loretta Lynch has hopefully realized this also and maybe Huma Abedin will see the light once she's been thrown under the bus by Bill and Hill. (And, I believe, that time is coming.) When will people learn that the Clintons are all about the Clintons? I guess people who go to the mat for them figure they'll be rewarded in the end, but if trouble comes on the scene, don't expect these two to come to your rescue. I hate to see women, and women of color in particular, putting themselves on the line for the Clintons. If you're going to go down in flames, at least go down for a family member or a true friend. Don't fall on the sword for a politician.

I cannot wait for this hot mess of an election to come to an end. I'm sick of the political commercials, the never-ending bad news, and just the overall nastiness of both campaigns. One week from today, it'll be over...well at least the election will be over. A new madness will replace the old one, but at least the commercials will stop.