I have started watching the first seven episodes of the final season of Ozark, and all I can say is … “Hello, Alfonso Herrera!!!”
Ozark [Eye Candy Edition]
FWP [Monday Edition]
Criterion is shipping out a replacement disc for the Citizen Kane 4K and standard Blu-ray sets due to an encode issue. I got a shipping notification on January 7 and this is what the tracking still says 17 days later.
I am not sure if this is a Criterion issue or a USPS issue … but this frustrates me endlessly. And, yes … I know this is totally a privileged, first-world problem thing.
Meanwhile … the sunrise (as seen from the Walmart parking lot) yesterday morning was quite pretty.
Mid-Winter Blahs
Yeah. I am officially stuck with a case of the mid-winter blahs. The weather has been too cold to get out and do anything outdoorsy and I am tired of being stuck inside. The weekly Saturday Firepit sessions with Shortlegs and Co. are currently on hold because the weather has been too cold, rainy, or snowy for us to gather. It’s my sanity break for the week and I miss it terribly. C’mon, spring!
Speaking of snow … we ended up getting about 9″ last Sunday! It’s about time we got some of the fringe benefits of winter.
A few weeks ago, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my trusty iPhone X to a spankingly new iPhone 13 Pro. I am now in debt on the damn thing for 2-12 years! Sheesh. It’s almost like having a car payment. I initially had buyer’s remorse but eventually got over that. The camera alone was worth the upgrade. *drools*
I was reshelving some movies last week and made a fun discovery. I managed to buy TWO copies of the Criterion Collection edition of Alan J. Pakula‘s The Parallax View. I had bought a copy at the B&N Sale in November but had (apparently) forgotten that fact. When I rewatched Klute one day, I thought about how I needed a copy of The Parallax View for my collection and ordered a copy off Amazon. Talk about feeling stupid when I realized what had happened. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign that senility is setting in.
We did get out earlier this week and caught the new Scream film. I really dug it! It had chills and thrills and even made me cry at one point. Out of all the horror franchises out there, I think the Scream franchise is my favorite one. Get thee to the theater to see it!
Work has been horrifyingly slow the past few weeks. I hope in the long term it doesn’t mean that I am about to be unemployed. In the short term what it means is that the workdays feel long and the work weeks feel even longer. Ugh.
And, finally … There’s lots of good music on the way this spring with new albums from Ghost, Midlake, and Daniel Rossen (of Grizzly Bear fame) on the horizon.
Lazy Posting [Meme Edition]
C – You are really silly
H – You are quirky
A – Easy to fall in love with
R – Fucking nuts
L – Unbelievably great in bed
E – Great in bed
S – You are sexy
Doubly great in bed and fucking nuts. Win, win!
Crushin’
Life continues to be a bit of a slog. The workweeks just seem to drag on FOREVER.
Well … at least Christmas is over! There is one more weekend of holiday shenanigans (wherein we will hopefully not get Omincron-laced COVID) and then we are into the doldrums of winter. Yay.
We did attend a big Christmas party at the beginning of the month and I went to a short family gathering on Christmas Eve and a rather lengthy Christmas Day dinner at a friend’s house (10 people were in attendance).
This might be me tipsy and in a Santa hat after too many vodka tonics before dinner. I guess there are worse ways to spend the evening.
It’s hard not to feel paranoid about social interaction these days and I must confess to being jealous of those people who can put the worry of potential illness aside. The slightest headache or sniffle sends me into a fit of worry about whether I have COVID or not.
And, yeah. The beard is in serious need of a trim.
I got some cool presents (movies and books and such) this year … and I also received some end-of-the-year cash from the bosses. Whoo! So, while we were in Asheville last night, we stopped into my favorite movie store. I had been in last week and had found used copies of Wong Kar-Wai’s Fallen Angels and Happy Together on the shelf. These are the Kino Lorber releases that are seriously OOP. I have been pretty keen on locating copies of these after the revisionist debacle that World of Wong Kar-Wai ended up being. I didn’t buy them last week, so I was pretty excited to see that they were still on the shelf last night. $50 total for both movies! I have yet to see these listed for under $80 each on eBay or the Amazon marketplace. And somebody has this exact set listed for $280 on eBay. I am guessing the movie store didn’t quite know what they had on their hands. Ha, ha. Christmas Cash FTW!
We’ve been going to this movie store for a while, and I had started to develop a crush on one of the employees. He’s punkish. He has tattoos. He’s a film nerd. A trifecta of awesomeness! When we walked in last week, Siouxise and the Banshee’s Juju was playing through the store’s sound system. Then it switched to Siouxise and the Banshee’s Tinderbox (my most favorite album of all time). Then it switched to a few songs by The Cure. Then is switched to the Cocteau Twins’ first album, Garlands (arguably the least liked by most fans … though I think it’s totally aces!). Guess who was behind the counter controlling the tunes. My Film Nerd Crush! So, now my wee “in-store” crush has blossomed into a full-blown “I want to watch movies and listen to records with you” crush. Oh, well.
Ah, life. It’s been a while since I have totally crushed on a store employee (remember the Cute Bookseller?).
Next stop … 2022 and hopefully a new iPhone 13 Pro (which will take years to pay for).
Fri-YAY!
Jesus. This has been the LONGEST WEEK EVER!
Nothing terribly exciting to report from here. It’s been the same old “wake, treadmill, eat, struggle through the work day, eat, sleep” routine. I guess old fart status has really been attained since I am in bed by 9:00 every night. Sheesh. I am still struggling with my mood too. It’s in full on yo-yo mode. Yay. That also makes the days fun and probably contributes to wanting to be in bed early.
Months ago, I signed up for OnlyFans and have a page there complete with semi-anonymous name (though my scowling mug can be seen clearly). For some reason (probably the desperate need for validation), I keep circling back to the idea of posting some content there. But, would anyone want to subscribe for free, let alone pay for content (which would be the ultimate goal)? More importantly, do I have the time to self-promote and talent to make anything hot enough to get said subscribers and cash?
Ah, well.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t resist buying this film nerdy shirt. Paul Verhoeven doesn’t get enough credit for the years of awesome movies he has given us. Seriously!
Plus, it’s been pretty exciting to find out that The Fixx have released a new single and will have a new album out next year. Give the new single a listen. I command it!
What Sadness Is
Sadness is discovering a hole in the black jockstrap you have only worn about five times. Dammit.
[Insert Multiple Sad Face Emoticons Here]
Flashback Friday [Logo Edition]
Earlier this year, I ran across a social media post (probably on Facebook) that was talking about Kids Place (an organization that helps abused children) a few towns over. The photo attached to the post immediately caught my attention. Something on the printed brochures in the picture looked really familiar.
30 years ago when I was in school for graphic design, the class would occasionally be assigned projects to design brochures, letterheads, business cards, logos, etc. for local organizations. Kids Place was one such organization. Everybody in the class was tasked with designing a 2-color logo for them. The winner would then use their logo and design up letterhead and business cards. Well, I was the winner. I designed up the requested materials and received printed samples which I then mounted on mat board to put in my portfolio. And that was the last I thought of Kids Place and the work I did for them because it was a class project.
So, imagine my surprise when I ran across the above photo and the logo on those brochures looked VERY familiar. I even checked to see if the logo was on their website and it was. Needing answers, I dug my old portfolio out of the closet and confirmed my suspicion. They ARE still using that logo I did all those years ago when I was 19 or 20 and everything had to be done by hand. This was just before computers and Aldus Pagemaker (this was before Adobe purchased the program from Aldus) made things so much easier.
Honestly, I find this logo to be pretty cringe-worthy now. But, I guess we all think that about things we did many years ago when we were young and inexperienced. I am totally surprised (and maybe even a little flattered) that they are still using it after all these years. Crazy how some things come back at you years and years later.
19 Years
And just like like that, this blog is now 19 years old. How the hell did that happen?
I’ll bet you thought this site was a goner over the past few months. But, it’s not. I have been going through a major slog of shit (both actual and mental) and posting here about the random crap that amuses me has taken a backseat. And, it shouldn’t. I should post more to have *something* to focus on other than staring at the walls and feeling depressed, upset, and useless.
The plan, for now, is to soldier on and bring you more mindless content about movies and Blu-rays and books and records and LEGO’s and hikes and jockstraps and stuff.
Onward and upward!
Rockin’ the “D”
Wow. Life and my brain chemistry sure are trying their best to knock me down. But, I am still here. Sorta.
We braved the COVID infected crowds and went to Gatlinburg for the day this past Saturday. It had been well over a year since we had been … and the lure of moonshine and getting the fuck out of the house proved to be too great to resist. We sampled moonshine and hard cider, plus had a disappointing lunch at our favorite place to eat.
Sweet, sweet ‘shine! (And yeah … I need a beard trim.)
Besides the disappointing lunch, the worst part of the day was that the Mysterious Mansion didn’t open until 5:00 pm. This picture was taken at 2:00 pm. There were a fuck ton of people on the street and in stores with absolutely NO safety precautions in mind. So, we didn’t want to hang around and kill three hours until they opened. Maybe next time, Mysterious Mansion!
And now there will be 10-14 days of paranoia about whether we both got infected while in Gatlinburg. Was it worth going? I guess time will tell.
Meanwhile …
I am one week away from hitting the big 5-0! On Sunday, my friends threw a fun little surprise party. It was really great to see the selection of friends that showed up. It feels like it’s been ages since I have seen that many people I know in one place at one time. Food. Fun. Fellowship. It was a really nice afternoon.
Honestly, it feels like the slide started years ago.
And, this is what it looks like when you open a box and there are books that you wanted inside. Books make the best presents! Well … books and Blu-rays and records and CD’s. Ha, ha.
And, what do you do when you are nearing 50? Why, you pre-order an insanely expensive, oversized, limited edition coffee table about the making of one of your favorite films. To be honest, it’s not the book that’s insanely expensive … it’s the shipping from the UK that is. #25 Trainspotting looks like it’s going to be really awesome! The same author and company are working on a book about Taxi Driver which I am fairly certain I will end up ordering as well. Yay, books about movies!
New PTA!
Squee!
Commando
I have not worn underwear for two weeks (or so). So, I guess jockstraps are out for the time being and freeballin’ is in.
I just know this is the information you were dying for on this sunny and cool early autumn day. Ha, ha.
In News Unrelated to My Underwear Status:
John Kenneth Muir’s Horror Films of the 2000s has finally been announced for release in January of 2022. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited this makes me.
Christmas in October!
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love The Guest. So, when Second Sight Films in the UK announced in August that a fancy, limited edition 4K UHD set, I knew I would be ordering this. Dang. This set looks amazing! And, yeah … I spent too much money on it and I don’t care.
Special Features
- Limited Edition of 5,000
- 4K / Blu-ray dual format release
- Brand new grade for both formats supervised by Director Adam Wingard
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New commentary by Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett
- Archive commentary by Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
- The Uninvited Guest: a new interview with Actor Dan Stevens
- A Perfect Stranger: a new interview with Actor Maika Monroe
- By Invitation Only: a new interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett
- Producing The Guest: a new interview with Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder
- Light and Fog: a new interview with Director of Photography Robby Baumgartner
- Lightning Strikes: a new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock
- The Sounds of The Guest: a new interview with Composer Steve Moore
- Deleted / Alternate Scenes, Outtake Gag with optional Director commentary
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Adam Stothard
- Various Artists Soundtrack CD
- 160 page book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Zena Dixon, Craig Ian Mann and Zoë Rose Smith; Script-to-Screen featuring storyboards and script extracts, Behind-the-Scenes photos and Adam Wingard soundtrack notes
- 6 collectors’ art cards
Exclusive to Second Sight orders
- 3 art card reproductions of the on-set Halloween Dance posters
