from my phone, yo

Well, this is different. I'm blogging this from my phone, because it's late and I'm tired, and it's something I can do. I don't necessarily have anything of interest to say about it, but it's a first for me. Tomorrow is halloween. Kinda crazy that we're at that point in the year already. And a week from today is (finally) election day.  I truly hope for a better result than the last one.
(I am honestly unsure of what tuesdays outcome will be. 16 seemed like a sure thing, after all. This year ive been trying to keep my expectations low. Guess well find out in a weeks time.) Anyway, blogging has now officially been done, which means I can try to get some rest now. . Haven't been sleeping well lately. I blame the news, mostly. And getting older, maybe. And the seasons. And our 13 year old mattress. Sheesh, I am totally turning into an old man who just complains about everything. ..

obligation complete

I'm too tired to do much more than that, sorry.

company loves misery

I mean, it's a small comfort, but at least I'm not the only employee that is feeling absolutely overwhelmed, overworked, overpressured and overstressed due to political season.

It's a testament to ...well, I guess to needing to pay bills and eat, that more of us haven't just said screw this and walked off the job. Because, hoo boy, if that were an option...

On the bright side, we did make 3rd quarter's budget, so there's a bonus coming at the end of the year for that. AND. There are only 20-something more days until the freaking midterms and then things will normalize for a bit. Hopefully.

delay tactics!

Yay, I have inspiration for a story!

Now comes the part where I decide to focus on research and tinkering with the plot in my mind instead of actually writing it.

Chick-fil-lame

Went and had Chick-fil-a for the first time in, like two decades (probably closer to three, to be honest),  and... it did not live up to the hype that I had in my mind/memory. So few things really do. But, that just makes it that much easier to never need to eat there again. (I know, the politics of the owners should be enough, but I remembered the food as being SO good. Turns out, nope.)

100 days left

Random entry time!

Today is Stephen King's 71st birthday.

Relatedly, I recently finished watching season 1 of Mr. Mercedes (the streaming series from ...AT&T?? Man, does EVERYONE have a streaming service now?) Anyway, I picked up the DVD from the library (aka, sticking it to The Man) and watched the 10 episode season. Overall, I felt it was a pretty strong bit of television, and improved a lot on the novel. (I felt that the novel was standard King. I liked it a lot, but it wasn't one of his best.) ANyway, the series was immensly watchable, with a few things that didn't work. Oddly, there is a scene in the novel that was supremely disturbing that ...didn't work as well on screen. (Without getting spoilery, I'll just say Brady's younger brother.) And dream scenes bug me a lot lately, and there were a few of those that i felt were somewhat just padding. So, maybe if the series had been 8 episodes it would have been stronger? I mean, 10 didn't really wear out its welcome or anything, but it still could have been tightened up somewhat.
The music selection was top notch.  And I adored Fred and was always happy to see him in the credits. The casting of Brady, Hodges, and Jerome were all perfecto. And while my feelings toward book-Holly are ambivalent, tv series-Holly went a long way toward improving my outlook on the character.
Speaking of characters and improvment - Brady. Oh man, King tries (too hard, maybe?) in the novel to have you HATE him. And, yes, he's vile and murderous and so on, but ... the series just makes it so much better. Because while he's frightening and hateful, he's also ...more human? Like, there are moments where you can actually feel sympathy for him, and where he has glimpses of actual humanity that make him all the more complex. (Plus, he did murder a homophobic white supremacist, so he's not all bad, I guess...)
I read that a lot of people didn't like book-Hodges because he's selfish and puts others in danger at the cost of his obsession with Brady. Series-Hodges is unlikable for other reasons (he can be off-putting) but I think they toned down the "putting other people in danger" aspect to a more realistic degree.
Wow, I rambled about that a lot more than I had intended to. Suffice to say that I enjoyed the show, and once season 2 gets out on DVD, I'll check that out, too. (I wonder if they will stick to the Mr Mercedes trilogy...and if that means that there will be anything past a season 3. Book 2 didn't really focus on Brady much, actually so I'm guessing season 2 will follow more of book 3.... I dunno.

ANYWAY.

What else?

Silas is playing the Legend of Zelda (original flavor) and .... Link was kind of fat back in the day. Not body shaming, just observing.

Speaking of body shaming and Nintendo.
Actually, no. Not even gonna go there. (apologies for even approaching it, as I'm sure if you're aware of it, it's now (back) in your mind now...)

Tangentially related to THAT, though - overheard some people at work the other day discussing Brett Kavanaugh. More accurately, they were discussing the allegations against him. The gist of the conversation was that it was "a long time ago" when they were both in high school, and, bringing things up NOW was unfair and "back when I was in high school there were  boys who would try to sneak into women's bathrooms" and  blah blah blah, because people suck.  (Somewhat interestingly, we had a person who worked at the station with the same name as the current SC nominee, although his last name was spelled with a C instead of a K. Based on the little I know of both Bretts, I would prefer that *our* Brett was the one who would be deciding court cases.)

November cant' get here soon enough. I am SO freaking tired of political season.

I have watched about the first third of Avengers Infinity War so far, and so forgive me if this is answered later - but...why not use the Reality Stone to, um, make it so you have the others?

There's a new show starting on NBC on MOnday called Manifest, which looks a bit like a Lost-reboot, but I've watched the first segment (it's been posted up on YouTube) and ...eh. It looks like it's going to focus more on the relationships than on the actual mystery of what happened, and I'm just not there for it. (Although I'm curious if Trump will get mentioned in the show at all. I mean, if you had disappeared in 2013, and then just arrived in 2018, THAT would certainly be a shock to discover. Hell, living through it has been a bit of  one. Also, if it did happen in real life, you know he'd take credit for the plane returning/blame Obama somehow.)

There are only 100 days left in 2018. Not sure how many of them will be blogging days, but I guess we'll see. And then after that.... I've been thinking about possibly not blogging anymore. I don't (typically) have a lot to talk about, and I don't know if anyone is even still reading. But, then, I've felt that way before, and have somehow always come back around, so who even knows.

so August was pretty quiet

Not that September is shaping up to be anything yet, either. I guess it's still too early to tell.

Anyway.

Anything interesting lately? Erm... I shaved my head yesterday, so... that has taken some time to adjust to. (Tomorrow I get to see all the reactions from coworkers. Oh, goody.)

Harper's car is in need of repairs of ...some magnitude, although exactly how much/what is still trying to be determined. Here's hoping that the universe is feeling kind.

I've been super uninspired when it comes to writing, and have been thinking that since normally all my story ideas are of the fantastical/sci-fi/not really realistic type... that maybe I should take a crack at writing something a little more ...grounded. It hasn't happened yet, but I have been thinking about it. I don't even know if that is possible for me - to write something that is about actual people having actual lives that could actually happen? Well, the idea is simmering in my head, we'll see if anything results from it.

like rats off a sinking whatever

a LOT of people have been leaving/are leaving work lately/soon. It seems to happen like this every so often - there will be a rash of multiple folks all find other work (or get fired) all around the same time.
it doesn't really bother me - just makes me a little sad, is all. Most of these folks are good people (I'm sure they all are, but I don't KNOW all of them). Plus, since one of them is from my department, and another is someone that I work pretty closely with, MY workday is being impacted, which I'm not a fan of. And, sadly, I know that both of these coworkers would probably stay with the company, if they were being paid what they're actually worth. Stupid cheapskate corporation.

top 100 scifi movies of all time

Oh, random articles on the internet...

So, just like how a few weeks ago I listed the top 100 horror movies (of all time!), now I've got the top 100 science fiction flicks, courtesy of this article at buisnessinsider.com. And, again, these are based off of scores from critics. And, again, bolding the ones I've seen.

100. Movement and Location (2015)
99.  Serenity (2005)
98.  Inception (2010)
97.  Twelve Monkeys (1996)
96.  Thelma (2017)
95.  Okja (2017)
94.  X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
93.  Captain America: Civil War (2016)
92.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
91.  Attack the Block (2011)
90.  THX 1138 (1971)
89.  Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
88.  Repo Man (1984)
87.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
86.  Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (2017)
85.  Ghost in the Shell (1996)
84.  10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
83.  Wonder Woman (2017)
82.  World on a Wire (1973)
81.  Midnight Special (2016)
80.  Escape From New York (1981)
79.  Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
78.  Logan (2017)
77.  Westworld (1973)
76.  Evolution (2016)
75.  Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982)
74.  WarGames (1983)
73.  Sleeper (1973)
72.  2046 (2005)
71.  Ex Machina (2015)
70.  A Clockwork Orange (1971)
69.  Under the Skin (2014)
68.  Godzilla (1954)
67.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
66.  Iron Man (2008)
65.  Jodorowsky's Dune (2014)
64.  Annihilation (2018)
63.  The Fly (1986)
62.  Planet of the Apes (1968)
61.  Time Bandits (1981)
60.  Minority Report (2002)
59.  The Survivalist (2017)
58.  The Endless (2018)
57.  Incredibles 2 (2018)
56.  Melancholia (2011)
55.  Superman (1978)
54.  The Martian (2015)
53.  Sorry to Bother You (2018)
52.  Paprika (2007)
51.  District 9 (2009)
50.  Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
49.  The World's End (2013)
48.  Battle Royale (2000)
47.  Upstream Color (2013)
46.  Little Shop of Horror (1986)
45.  The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
44.  Arrival (2016)
43.  Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
42.  Isle of Dogs (2018)
41.  Marjorie Prime (2017)
40.  A Quiet Place (2018)
39.  Star Trek (2009)
38.  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
37.  The Lobster (2016)
36.  Face/Off (1997)
35.  Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
34.  War For the Planet of the Apes (2017)
33.  Alien (1979)
32.  Spider-Man 2 (2004)
31.  Avatar (2009)
30.  Snowpiercer (2014)
29.  The Terminator (1984)
28.  Looper (2012)
27.  Aliens (1986)
26.  Children of Men (2006)
25.  Holy Motors (2012)
24.  The Iron Giant (1999)
23.  The Host (2007)
22.  Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
21.  Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1985)
20.  Back to the Future (1985)
19.  Superman II (1981)
18.  Black Panther (2018)
17.  Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (2014)
16.  Brazil (1985)
15.  Blade Runner (1982)
14.  Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
13.  Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
12.  Hard to Be a God (2015)
11.  King Kong (1933)
10.  It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
9.   Solaris (1972)
8.   Her (2013)
7.   Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
6.   E.T. The Extra-Terrstrial (1982)
5.   Werkmeister Harmonies (2001)
4.   Threads (1984)
3.   WALL-E (2008)
2.   Gravity (2013)
1.   Metropolis (1927)

Doctor Doctor give me the news

the rest of that lyric doesn't apply to this, but whatevs. It's only slightly better than the first "doctor" related song that came to mind, which was Dr Feelgood.

Anyway, had a physical (sort of) today - basically it was the results from the last time I had a real physical (which was back in January).

Everything came back mostly normal. However...

I'm 161 lbs now. I don't have a scale, so I don't often get a chance to weigh myself, but i've been under 150 for ...well, for all my life, really, so that number came as a little bit of a surprise. Of course, I had on my shoes... and it's been a while since I've had a haircut. So.

Bloodwork results...

My glucose levels were near the high end of the normal range. So, the doc suggested cutting back on sugary drinks and snacks. Grumble.

And I had high ...liver something or other? Which came as a big shock, considering I don't drink alcohol at all.

And my 'bad' cholesterol levels were really excessive. So, I was told to avoid greasy/fatty foods to help bring that down.

I am supposed to go back in 3 months for a follow up, and if the cholesterol isn't improved, then I'll have to go on medication for it. Harumph.

Guess we'll see how things really are three months from now...

un-check-up

ugh. i still need to call and make an appointment for my yearly physical. SO don't want to. And it's not even that I hate the doctorbs office (although, sure, that plays a role) it's just the inconvenience and being pressured/blackmailed into doing it.
my work offers a 'discount' on the insurance. if you get a yearly physical - and have your doctorb sign a sheet saying you did it - then your rates are 50 bucks less than if you forego having the physical. This seems suspicious to me, and every year i fantasize about lawsuits to end the practice,, but, every year i just end up getting the physical to get the lower cost. I'm sure i'll do the same thing this year too. Just need to get it done before the end of September. blah.

Just discovered Jessica Jones on Netflix.

We're not normally "binge" watchers - if we find a show we like, we'll typically watch an episode - or maybe two - a night.

We just finished episode 5.

The show is good, ya'll.

an old song turned 23

The following songs have been played recently on the *ahem*, "Classic Rock" station:

"In Bloom" by Nirvana
"You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
"December" by Collective Soul

Now, In Bloom, having been released in 1991, is 27 years old.... But the other two songs came out in '95, making them only 23... um.

Still. Hearing songs that were popular in my 20s being played on the classic rock station just feels fundamentally... wrong, somehow.

[dislike]

so, i haven't logged into my facebook account in, easily, 5 years. (More, maybe?) I don't know that i could get in, even if I wanted to, because I certainly don't remember my password.
Anyway.
Despite that, I still get the occasional email from FB telling me updates that others have made. But.
The frustrating thing is that the emails show me only the first few words of the post.
So, I see things from Saren that say, "u can only pick one: Jeff Bezos"

...and then i have no idea what else was said! (Unless I log in. which aint gonna happen. Or I could go ask, in person. Which is more likely.)
But what about OTHER people who post things? I have no way of knowing their complete thoughts.
Sigh.
just another reason to dislike the book of face.

wii u woes

Our Wii U gamepad no longer functions. For  while, it was workng, but only if it was near th Wii U itself. And now... completely kaput.
That's been the case for a while now. It's (at least) 100 dollars to have it sent to Nintendo to get repaired, and we don't have the extra cash to get that done. (And when we do get money, there are numerous other items that tke precedent.)

I just was reminded, though, of all the games we haaave on our Wii U that we can't play. Super Mario Maker, Captain Toad, Mario Kart 8... well, some day.

that'll do

Had a dream last night that Key and Peele were in a third Babe movie.
In the dream, they were transporting Babe ...somewhere, and they had to travel by hot air balloon. There may have been a joke about pigs flying involved.

I don't remember much else from the dream, but now that I've thrown this idea out there, Hollywood, ya'll need to run with it.

top 100 horror movies of all time

What? No Maximum Overdrive? Who made who, indeed.

Anyway. Remember when lists were a thing people did? Good times.

So. Here's a list of the top 100 horror movies - OF ALL TIME. (Oddly, no horror movies appear to be made after 2017. Guess real life is scary enough at that point.)
Also, this list was compiled by critics, so, you know, it's not necessarily ...accurate.

I'm bolding the ones I've seen.

Here's the list:
100. Willow Creek (2014)
99.   Split (2017)
98.   Santa Sangre (1989)
97.   The Others (2001)
96.   The Conjuring 2 (2016)
95.   Dressed to Kill (1984)
94.   Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2003)
93.   Save the Green Planet (2004)
92.   The House of the Devil (2009)
91.   We Are What We Are (2013)
90.   The Thing (1982)
89.   Paranormal Activity (2009)
88.   Backcountry (2015)
87.   Gremlins (1984)
86.   The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
85.   Spring (2015)
84.   Altered States (1980)
83.   A Field in England (2014)
82.   Ginger Snaps (2001)
81.   Slither (2006)
80.   The Omen (1976)
79.   The Descent (2006)
78.   Goodnight Mommy (Ich seh, Ich seh) (2015)
77.   Chronicle (2012)
76.   The Devil's Candy (2017)
75.   This Is The End (2013)
74.   Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (2004)
73.   Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
72.   Poltergeist (1982)
71.   An American Werewolf in London (1981)
70.   Near Dark (1987)
69.   28 Days Later (2003)
68.   The Orphanage (2007)
67.   Bone Tomahawk (2015)
66.   Gerald's Game (2017)
65.   Cronos (1994)
64.   The Shining (1980)
63.   Misery (1990)
62.   The Dead Zone (1983)
61.   The Conjuring (2013)
60.   The Exorcist (1973)
59.   The Blair Witch Project (1999)
58.   Frankenweenie (2012)
57.   Let Me In (2010)
56.   The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
55.   Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
54.   The Wicker Man (1973)
53.   Don't Breathe (2016)
52.   We Are Still Here (2015)
51.   Phantom of the Opera (1925)
50.   Dawn of the Dead (1979)
49.   The Fly (1986)
48.   Eraserhead (1977)
47.   Suspiria (1977)
46.   What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
45.   It Comes at Night (2017)
44.   Dracula (1931)
43.   Zombieland (2009)
42.   Shaun of the Dead (2004)
41.   The Host (2007)
40.   A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
39.   Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) (2016)
38.   Re-Animator (1985)
37.   Room 237
36.   The Love Witch (2016)
35.   Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (Nosferatu the Vampyre) (1979)
34.   Halloween (1978)
33.   Young Frankenstein (1974)
32.   The Loved Ones (2012)
31.   The Evil Dead (1981)
30.   Carrie (1976)
29.   Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
28.   Drag Me To Hell (2009)
27.   A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)
26.   The Innocents (1961)
25.   The Vanishing (Spoorloos) (1981)
24.   Don't Look Now (1973)
23.   The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
22.   The Birds (1963)
21.   Gojira (1956)
20.   The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
19.   Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
18.   The Witch (2016)
17.   Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
16.   Eyes Without a Face (1962)
15.   Night of the Living Dead (1968)
14.   Freaks (1932)
13.   Aliens (1986)
12.   Let the Right One In (2008)
11.   It Follows (2015)
10.   Frankenstein (1931)
9.     Rosemary's Baby (1968)
8.     The Babadook (2014)
7.     The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
6.     Repulsion (1965)
5.     King Kong (1933)
4.     Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (Nosferatu the Vampire) (1922)
3.     Psycho (1960)
2.     The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) (1920)
1.     Get Out (2017)

Hm. Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. 

twe eig te

2018 is half way over.

I had thought about making a post about ICE, and how, while it's great that the idea of abolishing it has started to gain momentum, I'd prefer that the idea of "prosecute ICE" would grab hold. I guess maybe one step at a time. But,  I shouldn't hold my breath. Heaven forbid that anyone with power actually face any consequences for their abuses.

Anyway, I guess I *did* make that post, since, really, that's all it was going to say. Heh.

you know what, never mind. Contour, what's this song

ugh. SUCH a horribly delivered commercial. The content itself is meh, but the people reading the lines should be ...well, they shouldn't have been compensated for it, let's put it that way.

Anywhat, today was somehow even longer than the longest day of the year, but if there's anything the past two years have taught us, it's that this timeline will constatnly find new ways to surprise you with what you thought wasn't possible.

Speaking of! I totally want a Melania jacket. It would come in handy SO often.
Eh. I guess I don't really care that much. (I do expect that it will make appearances come Halloween time, though. Although the distance between now and end of October is pretty wide, and people's memories are short.... guess it depends on what ELSE happens between now and then. Maybe she'll have other messages on other jackets.)

There was something else on my mind to blog about while I was driving home, and, now, as is typical, I can't remember what it was. Ah well.

"Well what do ya know."

it's been a long day

Man, sometimes - not often enough, lately, but sometimes - I am really funny.

Anyway, yes. Long, hot day. One could say it's been the longest. And the hottest. And you'd be correct on both counts.

It's all downhill from here. (Well, until it starts being uphill again. Oh, earth, with your rotational movements. Never change.)