Wicked vs. the last movie I saw in a Theater - Megalopolis

 We just saw Wicked the movie yesterday. It was fine.

The problem is that it lacked the punch and fun of the play. If you didn't see the play, then the fun and punch of the music. If you never seen or heard of it, it was good. The two leads had ssort-of chemistry as rivals turned into friends. And they both had good voices, used well, mainly. But the banter of the show wasn't great. And there were almost no moments of abandon. Okay, Fiyero singing in the library was great, but that was almost it for unexpected fun. The sets and costumes were great. But after a while, the overwhelming color scheme and underwhelming acting became monotonous.

The bright spot.

Which brings me to Megalopolis. As you may remember (here is the link), I thought it was a beautiful mess. Looking back on my take, I am pleased that I thought it was a good 5 or 6 movies fighting it out with no winner. But compared to Wicked it was surprisingly gorgeous and wonderfully challenging. 

Megalopolis was a corrupted Shakespearean take on architecture, truth, beauty, and angst. It didn't entirely work. On the other hand, Wicked is a somewhat predictable take on adolescence and the realization that heroes aren't what they seem. It worked as it was meant to. It is a disarming fantasy, wrapped up and tied off nicely with a bow.

And yet...

I return to Megalopolis, seeing deeper, albeit sometimes ridiculous, meanings and lessons.  It is surprising and thoughtful in a way Wicked is not, nor is it meant to be.

I think I will be watching Megalopolis streaming a lot when it comes to the TV, while pondering the meaning of life. I will have Wicked on the TV as I vacuum - no brain cells necessary.

The Line that Gets an Opinion Writer through the day.

 In 1981, political scientist Samuel Huntington wrote a book called “American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony." In it, he wrote of a recurring problem that arises in American politics in waves. He calls it Creedal Passion. That is why our passion for the American dream and our failure to live up to it gives rise to political confrontations and polarization. He calls out the times of Andrew Jackson's reactionary presidency as one, the Civil War as one, and the protests about the Vietnamese war as another. 

So he (Huntington) looks at the Jacksonian area. He looks at the 1960s. He looks at various moments in American life. And he says, in these moments, here’s what happens: Authority and expertise are questioned. Polarization is high. Protest is high. Intense hostility toward power and wealth. You get new social movements surrounding criminal justice, surrounding women’s rights. And you see new media emerging devoted to advocacy and adversarial journalism. And he wrote this in 1981.

There may be more, but that is the gist of it. I vaguely remember the book and lecture circuit on it now and how we were due for another phase of anger in the second or third decade of the 21st century. We seem to be in the grip of it now. Neither Democrats nor Republicans, urban or rural dwellers, traditionalist or progressive groups believe we are living up to the idea of "America" now. We all disagree on why or how, but agreement that one or the other is letting American down occupies our thoughts.

This was written up in the NY Times again today. One of the authors quotes a line or two in the book that bring him hope. It helped me today.

(Huntington) has this line at the end that I just always think about: “Critics say that America is a lie because its reality falls so short of its ideals. They are wrong. America is not a lie. It is a disappointment. But it can only be a disappointment because it is also a hope.” That is something that I think about and kind of rely on all the time as I’m thinking about not just what I write about or what I do as a journalist but just as a citizen. It kind of gets me by.

I like it. 

Color of the Year: Baby Sh*t Brown

 You can call it "mocha" all you want. I've changed enough diapers to know better.

Murdering a CEO is wrong

First and foremost, let me say that murdering the CEO of a Healthcare company, or any company, is wrong. Full stop.

However...

Healthcare companies have done some shaded things they should have known would upset people. Actually, they did know, but they didn't care. Healthcare insurance is a business; like all businesses, it maximizes profits. The way to do that in America is to deny insurance claims or at least fight them to deny people reimbursement or preapproval for as long as possible. And they have lawyers to fight. And agreements you must sign in order to get insurance requires you to go to their arbitrators.

In fact, Anthem Healthcare just updated their policies so that they will pay for an anesthesiologist ONLY AS LONG AS THE OPERATION IS SUPPOSED TO LAST. This means that if you are in an operation where something goes wrong, and you still want anesthesia, you have to pay for it. Say you are having a baby, and you have a breach birth. Well, the birth didn't require anesthesia, so if you want it when they have to cut your abdomen to save the child, no anesthesia for you. Unless you pay for it yourself.

It shouldn't have taken this action, but the murder of Blue Cross' CEO did lead the company to reverse itself after this.

 Tens of millions of Americans have had coverage denied or delayed simply because more profits mean more CEO compensation. Mr. Thompson made $10.2 million dollars last year, and over $9 million in each of the two years before that. $30 Million would pay for a lot of anesthesia. 

The response of the Healthcare companies is to take the CEO's name off the web. Not to address underlying problems but to remove any prospect of accountability.

Sometimes I despair at age. But this gives me hope.

 I mean, I don't want a child, but I think she is older than Tony Randel. Unlike Tony, she pushed this out!

Starter Villain - and the book club

He wasn't actually a cat.
He was a man with a talking cat sidekick.

I have always wanted to be in a book club. However, the truth is that I have always been afraid of not being smart enough to find all the analogies and looking superficial.

I need not have worried. We have a book club I joined here at the community. It turns out that I am not too superficial for this group. Perhaps too serious instead. I'll get a handle on it from here on.

We read "Starter Villain" this week. The club is two hours long.

6:30 - 6:50: Hellos and set up for dinner / buffet

6:50 - 7:30: Eating and shooting the shit

7:30 - 8:30: This is spread out through the hour extra:

• 15 minutes: Views of the book
• loved the talking cat spys
• loved the Dolphins going on strike more...
• loved the comment, "Dogs cannot be spies because they will betray you for a treat and a pat on the head.
• Me: I found the idea that a villainous uncle leaves you an empire and secret base in the Caribbean goofy. But the overall idea is that the rich control the world, and you can't get into the club. It resonated with me.
• -silence-
• -beat-
• "I lived in Grenada once, and there really are islands that people own privately."
• Followed by a long discussion of the pros and cons of living in the Caribbean
• 15 minutes: Discussing why people cannot be at the next meeting:
• Going on vacation to Laos, Thailand, and South Vietnam. "Hope the martial law is done by then."
• The South Vietnam reference was made three times for effect to 3 different groups before someone said it was South KOREA where the problem was, and there was no South Vietnam anymore.
• This was news to him, even though there hasn't been a South Vietnam since 1975
• Going to Seattle for family - my daughter is flying me up as she is finishing college.
• Would love to go, but I have tickets from Broadway that week.. "darn"
• "Well, I'll be from New Year's Skiing by then.
•  PS - Very sad no one followed up on the details of the skiing venue - but this was cut short by yet another reference to South Vietnam
• 10 minutes on next month's book. It has already been decided.
• Two comments that "dang, they were going to pick that book next time"
• 10 minutes: on jobs they retired from:
• Astrophysicist (said with appropriate humbleness)
• Account Manager for Xerox for multiple large companies in LA 
• PS this was NOT me
• Husband is a doctor that is semi-retired but just can't stop helping people.
• Book publisher (okay - that tracks)
• Multiple retirees who now work in art galleries "just for fun"
• 10 minutes: Rambling story from Astrophysicist  on how she was a young mother (at 23) and her child was so smart and well read that when he was 6 years old she had him read the dictionary to see the difference between a Democracy and Dictatorship. And her house was a dictatorship - ha ha.
• Much of that time was spent by people figuring out her age (23 when the kid as born, he is 45 now...)
• Several minutes waiting for someone to ask her about her astrophysics background - spent in vain
• 5 minutes listening to aliments and if urgent care at Eisenhower Medical Center was worth it
• They let anyone into urgent care, but at least they took me right in because I was a HMO member there.
• 10 minutes talking about Trump. Actually, 2 minutes of talking about the future and 13 minutes of bitching about Trump. Hell, I was about to defend him - that's how bad it was.
• 5 minutes of good-byes at 8:35.
• I believe the goodbyes went on; I beat a retreat early - which was 5 minutes late.

Couchie, Couchie, Couchie

 She's alive and playing in the Desert next month.

By the way, this is Charo on the Carol Burnett Show in 1973. 51 years ago! And she didn't show much of her face then.

Carol played Charo's mom - this would not fly today.

Couchie, couchie!

It's Penguin Time in the City...

Ding-a-ling, ring-a-ding, soon it will be Penguin Day!

He lowers into the box and then rises. By the way, it is a Jack in the Box, not some awful satire of how "He has risen" as one offended resident put it.

Visiting the Family for Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, we visited Ed's mom, brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew in Phoenix. Even though Ed's mom has had a house in Phoenix for over a decade, we have never been. We had a lovely time.

She is very settled into the place now, especially since her piano arrived and was set up. I will say that the name "Phoenix" is pulling a lot of weight in that sentence. Ed's mom lives outside of Phoenix on the east side. A friend we stopped out with on the way home lives in the far northwest. It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get through the middle of the city on a holiday. I cannot imagine traffic normally.

Well, I can. Think of LA in the 1980s.

The view from patio is lovely.

I have been derelict in my posting

 I will say that I have been derelict in posting because of a Thanksgiving Trip and a general malaise about the political scene. But, I am trying to ignore it.

So here, as a warm-up, is a picture of my dog I used to walk, Juni.

Juni is patiently waiting for yams and chicken.

Saying Good-Bye to Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper is on her (first) farewell tour. We went to see it because:

1. We love her songs and voice and her in general

2. She may not be Cher. This might be her only farewell tour. I have seen on 2 of her many, many farewell tours. In fact, the first time I saw Cher's Farewell tour, Cyndi was the opening act.

It was an entertaining show. Although she's getting older, and some notes don't quite hit right, her slow songs, Sally's Pigeons, Time after Time, and True Colors, hit just like before.

The arena (there is one picture of that) is an intimate venue of about 11,000 built for hockey games. And, yes, the desert has a hockey team. The Coachella Valley Firebirds - a feeder team for the Seattle Kraken.