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Film: Double Indemnity

10x better than Maltese Falcon. Gold standard of early Hollywood noir. Claustrophobic, tense, really exceptional storytelling. And Edward G. Robinson, gotta be one of the best and most versatile actors of all time.

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Film: The Maltese Falcon

Worse and more convoluted than I remember it. Maybe it was edgy at the time? With Bogart sleeping with his partner's wife. I found it quite boring.

Film:  LA Confidential

In contrast, LA Confidential was better than I remember it. From a purely formal construction standpoint, an impressive movie...I mean, I'd probably pay $100 to see a drama of LA Confidential quality in the theater tomorrow. It won't happen for myriad of reasons.

Graphic Novel: Watchmen

Still brilliant.

Film: Watchmen (Zac Snyder)

Better than the tv show, and that's saying something. The opening credits are a stunning work of art.

A New Hong Kong in Ireland

If I could find a good job there, I'd consider moving.

Kirkland Brand

How Costco gets the best brands to make theirs.

I love their toilet paper, paper towels, olive oil, and whiskey.

I skip their coffee (they are basically Starbucks). And the wine is okay, but K&L has better bang for buck.

Lost Jobs

Did baristas lose jobs because they tried to unionize. My money on yes.

About 80 regulars lined up outside the beloved Inland Empire mini-chain, which had meticulously built its reputation as a neighborhood hub through delicious drinks and woke politics.  

College students and county workers, cyclists in their spandex finest and flâneurs waited patiently for cold-brewed coffee, vegan cupcakes and breakfast tacos while chatting up their favorite baristas. All the hubbub happened outside, though. Augie’s was closed — perhaps permanently.  

On July 4, the company announced the immediate shutdown of its five locations and laid off 54 employees, just a week after workers announced they planned to become one of the few unionized coffee shops in the U.S. Father-and-son owners Andy and Austin Amento blamed the demise of their business on the economic and health ravages of the coronavirus.

When organizations, governments, and corporations start speaking WOKE, it's a pretty good indication that they're:

1) Underpaying and possibly even exploiting workers.
2) Not doing their stated purpose (say, for instance, protecting the citizens from the corona virus -- I'm looking at you LA city officials)
3) Have no confidence in their artistic abilities

Nailed It

Ross Douthat on meritocracy and its discontents.

Imagine yourself as a relatively privileged white person exhausted by meritocracy — an overworked student or a fretful parent or a school administrator constantly besieged by both. (Given the demographics of this paper’s readership, this may not require much imagination.)  

Wouldn’t it come as a relief, in some way, if it turned out that the whole “exhausting ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Red Queen Race of full-time meritocratic achievement,” in the words of a pseudonymous critic, was nothing more than a manifestation of the very white supremacy that you, as a good liberal, are obliged to dismantle and oppose? If all the testing, all the “delayed gratification” and “perfectionism,” was, after all, just itself a form of racism, and in easing up, chilling out, just relaxing a little bit, you can improve your life and your kid’s life and, happily, strike an anti-racist blow as well?

Ouch.

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Film: The Shining

I might've preferred a version starring Robin Williams, who was supposedly up for the role.

Book: Watchmen

An exciting re-read.

My Mission

Over the next couple days, is to see Neowise.

BLM

Shootings spike and police not doing their job.

I wonder why.

Morons all around.

Falling Asleep in Anti Racism Meeting

Students calling on a professor to be fired for falling asleep in an anti-racism meeting.

It's more like a sign she might actually be a good teacher.

Ouch

A critique of Fauci.

Maybe a different way to think about it - what has he been right about?

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Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street

The scary set pieces are impressive and very little else.

Bari Weiss Resigns

She has something most public personas don't these days: a spine.

There are some good ones left.

White Folks Can't Get Hired in Hollywood

It's the logical consequence of "diversity." No one has the right to complain. They made their bed. Now sleep in it.

NOTE: Everyone wants diversity when it costs them nothing. Notice the studios executives are firing the craft services and on set producers and actors. I don't see any studio exe giving up their jobs due to their race. Someone make an argument against firing every white studio executive in town if you subscribe to the religion of systemic racism. I'm not joking. You can't argue it's a bad idea.

Redskins

No, I do not favor changing the name. Why?

1) At best, it is cosmetic only.

2) It is not really about the Redskins at all. It is more about an ongoing struggle session the Woke are conducting against all of American society. Next will be the Chiefs, the Braves, the Seminoles, and every single high school across the entire nation. But it isn't even about that. Because after all those names are gone, it will immediately become something else TBD.

3) Nike and other major corporations support this move which suggests it is about something more than feelings. That in fact, it is mostly marketing.

So... NO.

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Films: Forbidden Planet and War of the Worlds (1953)

I'd seen Forbidden Planet before and didn't quite appreciate it enough. Incredible story. A touchstone of so much sci fi and fantasy we've taken in since.

Whitlock

Is my favorite sports writer since Bill Simmons no longer writes. This article nails everything.

Coronavirus Heist

PPP loans rife with fraud.

Cowardice at the Highest Level

Jason Whitlock calls out the NFL and NBA on their support of BLM.

China

In the LA Times, "China forces birth control on Uighurs to suppress Muslim population."

Meanwhile, Adam Silver on China: foster a culture of "mutual respect."

Just remember about all these business/corporate types - you cannot mistake any of their words regarding social causes for moral positions - they are marketing and marketing only.

Which is fine by BLM.