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movies, books, tv, music reviews

Concerts this year

I got Covid, and it was nice this summer, so I was able to go see some shows in that short period of immunity without fear of long-term illness or sweating my ass off. The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein, The Greek. All the hits plus some tracks off their banger upcoming Laugh […]

Airplane movie reviews September 2023

Wherein I review movies that I’ll watch on an international flight that I would be unlikely watch at home [1]:     Renfield: The perfect role for Nic Cage’s hammy overacting. Maybe this is all of his recent ones. Dunno, generally have a very low tolerance for NC, but a friend recommended. It was okay. […]

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Apple Watch Ultra update

So, after using it for about a month: I like it as a daily wearable. It apples better than Garmin. As a workout watch, it’s miles worse than Garmin. It only connects to two external devices, though it’s relatively easy to pair and unpair, and that only through an third-party app, not the Apple Workout […]

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Apple Ultra watch review

Though I’m a gadget freak [1] and somewhat of an Apple fanboy, I’ve been holding off on the Apple watch. First I said I would get one when they figured out an always-on display, then when they improved the GNSS to be better than my old Forerunner 305 [2], then when they added buttons, then […]

Cancel culture

I’ve had noise cancelling headphones for years now, mainly for use when flying [1]. I don’t particularly like in-ear buds though, as I have what are called ‘convoluted’ ear canals; in-ear buds tend to be painful after a while. And I also like to be able to hear a car about to run me down […]

Suspension of suspension of belief

Is it too old-man-yelling-at-clouds to point out that just obvious stupid errors completely pull me out of the movie you are trying to get me to watch? Maybe Netflix doesn’t care, because it happens 15 minutes in, so it’s already counted as a view for their made-up numbers. To wit:   “Outside the Wire”: “How […]

Things that are better part II

Adding to list: Airpods. Didn’t think it would work. BT is a POS. But they Just Work. I carry them, and use them, everywhere. No more tangled cords. Wireless charging. Wasteful. Unnecessary. But just dropping the phone on a flat surface is pretty nice. GPS watches. Instant on is great, compared to the old Forerunner […]

Molly’s Game movie review

First, 140 minutes. Two hours 20 minutes. Tighten it up, Aaron. Sheesh. Thirty-eight minutes longer than Casablanca. Twenty-one minutes longer than Citizen Kane. A long time to sit even in a relatively comfortable seat. I like Sorkin [1]. Sue me. I like Mamet. I have no problem with their respective distinctive dialogs. Like Shakespeare [2], […]

Airplane movie reviews August/September 2017 United/Swiss

I watched Season 1 of Billions because I’m a sucker for Damien Lewis and Paul Giamatti. Why am I rooting for the financialist? Because the alternative is to root for the prosecutor? Anyway, I enjoyed it, but have no desire to seek out S02. Like eating too much chocolate. On the return, I watched all […]

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Blade Runner 2049 two-line review

    At the end of the first Blade Runner, I had questions.   At the end of the second, none.  

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Blade Runner 2049 one-line review

    At least they didn’t kill the dog.

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Things I don’t like about the 2017 MBP

See previous, and previous, for other thoughts. It’s not an overall out-of-the-park win. Or maybe a win at all. On the whole, meh. No better than the old one. You might think that’s ok then, but up until now, every new version of the MBP that I’ve had has been a solid joy over the […]

Airplane movie reviews March 2017 Lufthansa

Arrival: Interesting enough movie based on a short story I would have thought unfilmable. Not that I generally think in those terms, but when I first read it years ago, I didn’t think “that’s shooting for a screenplay and an ‘adapted-by’”. Good cast – I always like watching Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams. Why is […]

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Piling on

Warning: spoiler. Matt Damon doesn’t die. My small contribution to the scientific errors of The Martian that took me out of the movie: duct tape just doesn’t work in those temps. Unless there’s some special NASA-grade low temperature duct tape that isn’t available in the 171 stockroom [1]. There is tape that’s good to -4 […]

Of the year 2014

For me, 2014 was the year of the Mountain Goats. It’s what I’ve been listening to, and was the best concert of the year for me. I did one Mexico trip (also one the fall before) and two Maple trips, spring and fall. Also the Cathedral near St. George. Locally, I spent most of the […]

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