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Film: Red Dawn (original, of course)

Things I didn't pick up on or remember while watching as a teen: 

Lea Thompson's character was anally raped by Russian troops before the film. 

China was our ally and had gotten nuked or something because 40% of their population was gone.

Other survivors around Colorado had resorted to cannibalism to survive.

Dark stuff. 

I'm Pretty Sure This Is True

Iran was close to making a nuke. Which is why many folks against the bombings and war take their position. They secretly want Iran to have a nuke to fulfill their own dark imaginings. 

250

One way liberals could demonstrate they love America would be to apolitically celebrate her 250th birthday, but apparently that is too much to ask. 

Mountain Lion

Roams Santa Monica. 

AI - The Economy

When you outsource to AI, the money spent on it goes into investment. When you spend the money on human workers, it goes into consumption. I prefer a world with good restaurants, buildings, parks, etc. that can be used by human beings, than a world of dirt and shit with really high account balances on computer screens and bitcoin.

Hmmmm....

IRGC Navy carries out attack without IRGC coordination. Maybe there is a way to ally with elements within the IRGC to fight other elements of the IRGC. Just thinking out loud here.

Logging

Novel: Smonk by Tom Franklin

This a sick, disgusting novel written by a sick, disgusting man, and I quite liked it.

TV: Devil in Disguise

Proof the serial killer drama never gets old...if they won't make another season on Mindhunter, this will need to do. But one strange storytelling element - what's with the flashbacks to the victims? How is this going to pay off or come together? Will it? I'm very worried it won't. It reminds me of something I read once that all Wes Anderson films should be more Wes Anderson, but all non-Wes Anderson films should be less Wes Anderson. In the same way, all procedurals should be more procedural, that is to say, I never met a procedural that was too much procedural. 

Nothing More Depressing

Than getting auto birthday wishes from my insurance company, employer, and google. Please stop. I'm begging you guys. Leave me alone. I value the space in my inbox too much.

This Is...Something

Rep. Thomas Massie is vacationing with Marjorie Taylor Greene in Costa Rica.

Bezos is Wrong

The lower 50% should pay taxes so they can bitch and moan and feel prideful about being a fucking taxpayer. And I'm not joking here. 

Would You?

Use AI to help you decorate your room or choose an outfit? I wouldn't.

I wouldn't even use it to help me draft a fantasy sports team. 

If Someone Said...

...here's my fill-in-the-blank (script, book, essay) and AI helped me write it. Does that make you want to read it more or less? 

Has Anyone...

...ever been having a good time and thought to themself - you what would make this better? ChatGPT. 

AI

If you're tempted to us AI to write something, that's a strong indicator not to write the thing.

WWTLD

What would Tywin Lannister do if he were a NATO strategist? I imagine soon he might start writing letters to Russian elites and offering them the world if they are the ones to stick a knife into Putin...  

I Was Gonna Say

A lot of trees all over the world are older than the countries they are in.  I say bring on the AI, it's smarter than most of these idiots out there.

Imagine Being...

Someone who would actually hold up a Karen Bass sign in public. That is a rare species of human that needs to be captured and studied.  

Bad Vibes

Let's be honest, would anyone be totally surprised if Sam Altman had bodies buried beneath one of his houses? 

All These Cameras Are Bad, But...

Every now again they capture something worthwhile: brawl at kindergarten graduation. 

The Homeless in LA

Are overwhelmingly not from LA. We attract them via policy and weather. We can fix one, not the other.

Just A Sense

Ferrari releases a 600K electric car to mockery. 

My basic sense is that new companies built around electric vehicles are at a significant advantage in this arena - Tesla, Rivian, etc. Older companies like Toyota, Ferrari, etc., will do better in certain niches - for instance, I think Toyota hybrids are a smart compromise. However, down the road, infrastructure could become an issue. Interesting to see what will become of BMW because they are trying to do both gas and electric on the same platforms. 

UPDATE: Former Ferrari chairman, "at least the Chinese won't copy that car."

Imagine

If an Obama supporter were murdered in their house. 

The Left are everything they accused the right of being: domestic terrorists.

Logging

Film: Gone with the Wind

First half terrific. Second half, less so.  

Film: The Spy Who Loved Me

James Bond films are for the moments and the set pieces. The stories are secondary. Driving the car out of the water onto the beach, the ski jump off the cliff to the British flag parachute, Jaws killing the shark - chef's kiss moments.

One of the reasons Bond is such a sustainable character is that the man is patriotic. Screenwriting lesson.

Also, Roger Moore most underrated Bond.

Pratt Summer

When I hear critics of Pratt's homeless plans, etc., they all center around: it's more complicated than he makes it sound, he won't be able to fix it, etc. So the argument seems to be: homelessness is too complicated to fix. Alright fine. Then step out of the way. Admit what's the case: you and your ideology cannot fix the problem. So why are you even here? Why are you involved in politics?  If your politics is that nothing can be fixed, then go away and let others cook. 

Random Ideas

Maybe AI will make 20-hour-a-week jobs where people can earn 80k to live and spend the rest of their time competing in a winner-take-all type business environment on their passion projects. 

Went to a neighborhood park in Studio City the other day, surrounded by single-family homes with two baseball fields, workout equipment, tennis courts, and got to thinking - why isn't 50% of LA just like this? Seriously, every block or two in residential areas should have little parks with a baseball hoop, maybe a pool, a few have baseball diamonds, some playground structures. Maybe all houses in this area pay like an HOA-park fee or something for maintenance? Homeowners work with police, etc., to keep homeless from taking over. Maybe a secret is that they don't have public bathrooms? I mean, this would save on backyards for people - they wouldn't need one! Kids just walk right over to the park and just play with whoever is around.