My Sick Mind

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Since most of you are snowed-in or forced to deal with the Super Bowl, I'll offer up a few capsule movie reviews and recommendations. My taste in entertainment is a bit obscure, so maybe some of these films will be new to you: North Country - Charlize Theron plays Tomboy as Josey Aimes, one of the only women working the iron mines in Minnesota in the 1970s. She leads a group of similarly abused women in standing up against the oppression of their bosses. Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson put in yeoman's work. Recommended. The Man Who Wasn't There - A Coen Brothers film noir starring Billy Bob Thornton as the almost comatose co-owner of a barbershop who gets caught up in a ponsey scheme to open up, of all things, a chain of dry cleaners. He tries to blackmail his wife's lover, but the scheme has unwanted consequences for all concerned. Frances McDormand again is stellar. Recommended, but don't watch it if you're sleepy. Burn After Reading - Another...

In the midst of what most people refer to as "this economy," I saw the news today that Eastman-Kodak, Boeing and Starbucks were letting thousands of people go. In Kodak's case, they're the victim of the digital age, and it's been a struggle for them over the past 10 years, but times change and if companies don't change, bad things happen. In the case of Starbucks, they're closing 600 shops - which should drop them down to about 15,500. According to their web site, "The stores identified for closure are spread across all major U.S. markets with approximately 70 percent of them opened since the beginning of fiscal 2006." The people running Starbucks are supposed to be a lot smarter than you or I (at least I) and I'd assume that they've heard all the jokes about a Starbucks being across the street from another Starbucks. I'm sure they have because they embrace the policy, saying that their customers prefer "same side of the stree...

SEE PHOTO AT RIGHT: As a frame of reference, this is how much snow it takes to close schools in Southern New Jersey. That's the view from my front porch at precisely 7:01am today. (Breathtaking, ain't it?) You can't tell, but the overnight snow had already changed over to rain and the schools had been closed for a few hours already - much to the glee of parents everywhere, who are now either stuck at home with their rotten kids or forced to find a place to store them so they can go to work. You're right if you think it's about an inch of snow. It was enough to send people into a mild panic and cause drivers of 4-wheel drive vehicles to drive slower than people in regular automobiles - like me. You're right if you're asking yourself why they bothered to buy the damned thing if they're going to drive it 15 miles per hour in an inch of snow. I yell at them through my windshield. It rained the rest of the day and it's raining a little even now, at...

So, this is how the blog looks on a keen 20" wide screen Dell LCD monitor? We got a bunch of these at work, and I was so impressed that I had to get one for myself. Mostly, I was impressed because they're kind of inexpensive and partly because I felt so "behind the curve" with my old 17" monitor. It's so 20th Century, but then, so am I. Meanwhile, a snowstorm of epic proportions is coming to New Jersey tonight. We might get 2 inches before it changes to rain and becomes a regular storm. I'm guessing that the grocery stores are jammed and all those shoppers with the giant SUVs are in a panic-stricken "must buy food" mode because they fear being snowed-in, making their expensive purchase useful. I've been wondering what I should buy to commemorate that great day last Tuesday, when Barack Obama became the 44th president. There's a lot of junk available, as you'd figure. Tonight, while mailing a package to a loved one, I spied this l...

I found myself watching the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night. Actually, I fell asleep in front of the TV and when I woke up, the show was on. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’m not big on awards shows anymore. I used to enjoy them, then this cynicism kicked in and I find them to be ostentatious. This one especially. It’s actors giving awards to other actors. As though the $5 million they made on the movie wasn’t enough, “Here’s a nice statue, too.” That ought to do it. Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cast … it’s almost endless. Each one standing up and thanking the rest of them for saying they’re great. We already know. It was only a few years ago that they stopped saying “The winner is” when they give out an award. Now, it’s politically correct to say “the Oscar goes to” or “the Actor goes to,” which is what the SAG presenters say. That’s so the losers aren’t offended because, as we know, it’s an honor just to be nominated. I think it’s mostly because a...

That is obviously an old photo of my furry friend. The trees aren't as green now, the skies are grey and I find myself yearning for baseball season. It's my favorite of him, since it has those "Thousand words" all over it that photos are supposed to have. He sits at my feet as I do these posts - almost every time - and I'm never sure whether he sits here because he loves me so much or because eventually I'll open a can of Fancy Feast for him. Maybe it's a little of both? It's not like he's my muse or anything, but he does offer that comfort that living alone sometimes lacks. I find myself thinking about the other living creature here besides myself and it's a little odd sometimes. He depends on me more than any human would, for obvious reasons (opposable thumbs being one and lack of a valid drivers' license the other) but it's nice to be able to have a creature here that I know I'll have to feed, clean up after and pay attentio...