The Odyssey

 Well, we saw The Odyssey yesterday in IMAX.

It was fine. Which is sad; it might have been amazballs.

Here are my positive criticisms:

1. It was pretty
2. It told the story in an interesting way
3. Robert Paterson was enjoyably over-the-top but in character
4. It was a decent retelling of an ancient story

Here are my negative criticisms:

1. This isn't ONLY tied to the Odyssey, but it painfully obvious here - American (and now British) movies are so much happier showing gore and blood over sex. All the sex in the movie has been restoryed: Circe is now a hag witch, not a beautiful witch Odysseus shags. They have desexed Calliope - and wasted Charlize Theron as a new-age healer instead of the sex demanding lover she was. But the fighting, the stabbing, the blood, it goes on and in great detail. I think it is some bizarre fetish that encompasses all but a few movies and TV shows.
2. There is almost no mention of the Greek Gods and how they use humans to fight their grievances by proxy. Athena haunts Odysseus like depression in a Valtrex commercial. Annoying and ethereal.
3. Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway are both excellent, but both are too big for their roles. You always see Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, not Odysseus and Penelope. The desexing of their characters gives them nothing to play with except stoicism. Wane, brooding, boring, stoicism.

Here is a comment:

1. I think, with only a bit of pot, you could make this a great Rocky Horror type of call and response show. Every island they go to, the crew has to turn and run back to the ship. Odysseus usually yells, "Back to the Ship!", but all I heard was Monty Python screaming, "Run away! Run Away!"
1. I think you take a shot every time someone talks about "Zeus' Rule of Hosting". Guaranteed fun.
2. Lesson for the ship's crew: If you see a 7-foot baby screaming in the woods, do not run after it.
3. Lesson for the ship's crew: Don't enter random caves.
4. Lesson for the ship's crew: You walk past wild animals like lions, ligers, and cheetahs that only stare at you as you walk towards a pile of rubble - maybe stop and think, "humm, is something wrong here?"
5. Lesson for us all: Don't piss off Poseidon.

The School At Taliesin

 So I shoved the images of Frank Lloyd Wright's home at Taliesin, but there was also a school and it was pretty cool.

It was started in the 1920s, and was added to and changed up through the end of his life in the 1980s. It was still used as a school until the 1990s.

The drafting room, looking from the front to the south.

Same room, but now looking north. You can see all the north face skylights to let in indirrect light.

Ok, I loved the statues

Looking down into the dining room

I do love the final iteration of these lights in the dining room.

The Theater

The theater

A Visit to Taliesin

 When we were in Madison, we took a day trip out to Taliesin. This was Frank Lloyd Wright's home and where he founded his first school. It was a nice trip. Here are some pictures.

This is the house from just below. He built it on a slope of land, not at the very top, but high enough to have great views.

As you enter the house from the vehicle gate, you pass through an interior space that functions as a entry way.

Another view of the entry way outdoor room. The house entrance is behind me in this picture. The building to the right was Wright's studio and later home office to meet with clients.

The interior of his office, where he would meet with clients.

This is a seating area in his office. The lamp in the right forground is stunning.

This is the living/gathering room in the main house. There is built in seating around the perimeter with side tables, where students and visitors could eat.

A different view of the main room. Here, the built-in item is designed to hold music for a quartet. It is lovely, but apparently a pain in the behind to use. 

A view from inside the front room looking across the valley. All the windows mean that it was cold in the winter, and the family was often in Arizona during that season.

Wright's wife's bedroom, looking out.

A converted house entrance was turned into a study, with this alcove that was designed to showcase some of his shells that provide inspiration. They look back at the entrance outdoor room.

I have a new post up on my substack: Intersection of Geography and Economics.

 I wrote a new post on my Substack. It is a fascinating look at a letter from a family of Germans in Hitler's Germany to a family here before WWII. No points for guessing which family. POST

The 4H crowd showing the swine

The kids showing pigs were told to keep eye contact on the judge.  They scared me.

 

 

 

The Dane County Fair

We went to the Dane county fair.

Our sister-in-law’s niece competed.

 

Michela.  Our sister-in-law’s niece.

Fwd: Witches Gulch

Great walk today in the Wisconsin Dells

 

 

 

In Wisconsin for a while

Staying in lovely Madison

A creek right outside of our dinner spot last night

Sent from my iPad

This is why Montanans Kind of Despise Rich West and East Coasters

Home prices in Montana have gone through the roof. It is a combination of people needing to get out of COVID and the beauty of Montana as defined through Yellowstone (the TV Show).

I've visited my mom there a lot over the years and the prices are nuts.

Gregor Dimitrov

 35 is not old.

Unless... you are a tennis player and your highest ranking was over 9 years ago. But Gregor Dimitrov is on a run. He has always been a nice guy and fun player. And this year he is doing very well. He is old, but seems to be injury-free lately.

He is playing well, it is good to see.

His next game is against young Arthur Fery, a Brit who is playing way over his head.

Either winner will be well deserved, and either loser will be a heartbreaker.

Their match should be great. Or at least, kind of even. They both won in epic 5 setters, the type that drain you for the next match. So they should be well matched, or both dead tired. Either way - fun.

FFSake

 Goodness, gracious. Some people are way too much. I think someone was never told "no" growing up.

Dear Care and Feeding,

Ever since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to have twins.

I’d always pretend my dolls were twins. My mom even noticed and one birthday I got two Samantha dolls so they could be twins, too. When I was dating my now-husband, I told him that my biggest wish was to have twins. He said he hoped he could make it happen for me one day. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

Well, now we are married and we have two kids, both singles. I love them both, of course, but I’m ready for my twins! I told my husband it’s time for us to do IVF so we can get our twins. Now he’s saying that it’s too expensive and he doesn’t think we can afford it. To me, this is unacceptable! He knew that this would be a part of our family story. Yes, obviously, it would have been better if it had just happened, but it didn’t. How can I convince him that he needs to make this dream come true for me?

—Want My Twins

 At least the advice columnist is on our planet.

Dear Want My Twins,

I know what it feels like to hold on to a dream since childhood: I planned my life around marrying a certain 90s rapper from when I was 8 years old (despite the fact that he was then already a full-grown man) I got a lot closer than you may suspect! However, sometimes our real adult lives do not line up with what we dreamed of.

Your husband never promised you twins, he said he hoped to be able to make it happen for you; he got you pregnant at least twice, I’d say both of you put forth a great effort. I don’t know your financial situation, but the average family cannot afford to comfortably support four children, and it seems your husband feels that is the case for the two of you. You didn’t refute his claim, which means either you know he’s correct or worse, you don’t know your financials—which is reason enough NOT to double the number of children you have. If your husband doesn’t want or can’t afford two more kids, then this is not a debate for you to try and win. I’m so sorry things didn’t shake out the way you wanted, but I also want you to remember that IVF cannot guarantee you a healthy pregnancy nor two healthy babies. Twin pregnancies carry a higher risk than single ones. I suggest you speak to a therapist to help you make peace with the beautiful family of four you already have.

—Jamilah

Personally, I hear twins and see this:

Top Dogs of the Week

 .. and no, you don't have to have or run TikTok to see this.

@weratedogs Top 5 Dogs of the Week! @texaspommysquad 5. @Maren & the bundle of bullies 4. @Jessicakoselke 3. @DrunkenGolden 2. @Alex Pupdate: IG: bestboyking & @Louisiana SPCA 1. FB: ale.mz01 #weratedogs ♬ original sound - weratedogs

Happy 4th of July

It's almost the 4th of July. The 4th is when we celebrate the American Ideal.

This 4th of July is the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (from England). It is dedicated to the best of us. It is the American Ideal of All Men Are Created Equal. It is the American Ideal of ... Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

It is the IDEAL of America, one which we have been trying to live up to for 250 years. It is silly to say we are there and even sillier to say we haven't advanced towards this ideal.

We include MAGA loyalists, Democratic Socialists, and everything in between. It is important to remember our original national motto in these times, E Pluribus Unum.

Out of many, one. We are a hodgepodge of people, races, backgrounds, and beliefs. But we are all Americans. We forget that too often.

Happy Fourth to us all.

My Eddie a few years before I meet him

 I have aged him.

This was taken for his "employee of the month" win.

Concluding our round up of shows: The Outsiders

 The final show we saw in New York was "The Outsiders".

I was not exposed to this book in High School. Ed and Lori had both read it for school, and apparently it is required reading at many schools. Which means I didn't know the story going in. A bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks falls for a good girl from the right side of the tracks and vice versa. And, although it is a tragedy, it still has a lower body count than the story based on.

Think about it. In Romeo and Juliet, both lovers had to die. In West Side Story, only 1 lover dies. In The Outsiders, only lover-adjacent best friend dies.

Anyway, the singing was good, but the songs told the story, and there was no toe-tappy "the church is burning" kind of tune. The dancing and stage fighting were great. I thought some voices were wonderful, but - again - not toe-tappy. The sets and lighting went for mood over substance, leaving much of the scenes in a grey, drab, dark mess. Good online rain, though.

So, it was cool to see, but not the best show.

I was also a little unsettled by the fact that Ponyboy looked like a cute lesbian from our seats. And when he had to die his hair, like a not-so-cute lesbian.

Great Picture from a Australian Competition

 This is very fun.

Titaníque was Trés Fabulous

 I saw Titaníque in New York last week. It was great and funny as hell.

It is, of course, a parody of Titanic. In this telling, Celine Dion explains what happened during the voyage. 

The woman that plays Celine has spent years getting her Celine down perfectly. She has a great voice, but also all the mannerisms and silly accents that Celine has.

The cast is hilarious. Jim Parsons plays Ruth - Rose's mother, trying to marry Rose off to a rich husband. It is a hilarious take on the role.

The show is full of jokes, at the expense of Broadway, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, reality TV, gay pride, Kathy Bates, and more. Hilarious.

There is quite the kerfuffle right now about Democratic Socialists

 There is quite the gnashing of teeth right now regarding the primary wins of the "Democratic Socialists" wing of the Democratic Party.

These officials are quite often pro-Gaza and anti-police. Even if they are not pro-Gaza, they are definitely open to or advocate for the ending of funds going to Israel. Since Israel is a rich nation that doesn't need our help, I get that.

Although, to be honest, our monetary support of Israel's defense budget is normally directed right back to US Defense contractors - but I digress.

Anyway, there is quite a lament about these Democrats' elections and where it will "pull" the party.

I am not here to argue their policies*, but I am here to note that we have all been here before. While this sounds like a complete change and betrayal of where Democrats were before, it is probably more a pull of younger voters' desires. 

We saw this same turmoil around 1968 - 1974 regarding the Vietnam War. Younger voters were vehemently opposed to the war. And many older Democrats thought this spelled the party's doom. The party did not fall apart. It tore itself apart for a convention and a few years, but it worked itself back together with a new mandate.

We are probably going through something like that.

*I will note that Bill Maher's promise to vote for Republicans if Democrats turn down extra aid to Israel is kind of rich. Let's think about that statement. Bill Maher would rather destroy our democracy (which he says the Republicans are doing) than end foreign aid to Israel.