What's the Deal? and Other Stuff That's Been Rattling Around in My Brain for a While

Maybe I don't get enough Spam. Or trolls. Maybe I'm too lax with my security. But I just don't understand the blogowners who feel they have to have word verification AND comment modification.
Having had one episode of spam, in Portugese, and a couple of trolls, even with my low numbers, I understand using one or the other. But c'mon y'all! Your "Control Freak slip" is showin' when you feel the need to use both.
Personally, I think word verification is a giant Pain and I don't put my readers through that b/c at this time I don't have a need to keep out the 'bots. I don't use comment modification, since I failed miserably with it during a brief trial period way back at the beginning of the blog.

If I should become some mega "[w]hit whore" like a certain Ambulance Driver who shall remain nameless, or a troll magnet who likes to sit on her Porch and enjoy the View while writing snark about the idiocracy around her, then I might have to use WV. But if they go to the belt and suspenders method of security, I may just read weekly instead of daily and forego the comments.

In fact, I already find myself doing that on a lot of word verification sites. Even with my progressive lens specs, I can't see the dahm letters if I get one of the sequences where they're all smushed up together in Times New Roman 10pt font. ARGHHH! I hate that.

This weekend, and early next week, I'm working on a couple, maybe three new articles for publication. One is almost done. It's about how Shooting is the best stress reliever. I'm writing it in a serious tone, but I doubt it will get chosen for publication. The publisher is one of those semi-New Age, live your passion kind of 'zines. Well, shooting is my passion. Maybe, if they don't buy it, I'll post it under the "Humor" category and get some traffic that way. Or go peddle it to a gun mag.

The other title I'll be working on is a variation on a theme suggested by Bayou Renaissance Man. We were talkin' about some "shoe" titles I was considering writing. One was "Can a Woman Have Too Many Shoes?" Which of course begs the question in our household, as I told BRM, Can a Man Have Too Many Guns? Well, being the imp he sometimes is, BRM suggested I write, "Which Gun Goes with Which Shoes. " What I'm actually going to write about is that it's possible, with many leather shops catering to women now, to have holsters and carry purses made to match your entire shoe wardrobe. And why this is important.

I'll post links to these articles so y'all can read them once I get them posted somewhere.

I watched "The Kingdom" this week. Gawd, I do love Netfilx. What an AMAZING film. It even grabbed the Dearly Beloved's attention. Riveting performances from the American and Arab stars. I am more and more impressed with Jamie Foxx. Liked him in Jarhead, loved his performance in this. Jennifer Garner was impressive. Jeremy Piven is at his smarmy, manic best. And Chris Cooper, whom I have adored since Lone Star, shines as a veteran FBI bomb expert. He's grizzled, he's curmudgeonly, he's cynical, he's a smartass, and he's a great shot.
There's a lot of lessons to be learned from this movie and very little moralizing, until the last frame. All in all, I'd say rent it.

We also finally saw Beowulf on big screen before it left town. I'm secure enough in my intelligence and education to admit there are gaps. Beowulf was one of them. I had never read it. I had heard the story, in bits and pieces, but I'd never read it. [I took a course in High School that had a different selection of lit, so while y'all were reading Beowulf, I was reading Dostoevsky, Kafka, Dante and Vonnegut, frankly,I'd rather have had Beowulf than Crime and Punishment] Anyhoo, if you have a chance to see it, GO, get thee there straight away. It is visually stunning. And the story ain't half bad either. Took me a while to recognize Brendan Gleeson, though. Sir Anthony was recognizable as soon as the cartoon bit wore off. The cartoonization, or whatever that visual effect with the real people is called, was a bit off-putting at first, but then either I got used to it, or it lessened. It was one of those movies where there was a total suspension of disbelief.


!!!!!!Spoilers for Fracture below!!!! Read further at your own risk!!!!!!


Speaking of Anthony Hopkins, Fracture turned up on HBO this week. Watching him work is just delightful. His character doesn't have the depth of Hannibal. Let's face it, those characters come along once in a career. But this husband is coolly clever. It's a morality play in a lot of ways, the cheating wife is punished, her lover is tortured. The arrogant young prosecutor, played by Ryan Gosling, must travel through his own valley of doubt and humiliation before realizing his true calling lies not in corporate greed, but in serving the public trust. My long-time lust object David Strathairn plays the D.A./mentor/stern, but proud uncle figure. Ultimately, of course, the force of truth and justice MUST triumph over the force of righteous marital anger and jealousy.

So, who voted early, here in Texas, besides LawDog? Dearly Beloved and I vote yesterday. On principle, I don't vote in the uncontested races. Why should I boost their egos anymore? I voted in the Republican primary and supported all the refendums on the ballot. I don't feel the need to violate the privacy of the voting booth in regards to the winner of my vote for President. Suffice it to say I dint waste my vote by casting it for a candidate who has dropped out of the race and disappointed alot of folks I know. I doubt the man I voted for will get the nomination. BUT, this is politics. Frontrunning candidates have been known to step on their Johnsons at critical junctures in campaigns before. With the assistance of the vulturine press corps, the rest, as they say, is history. So let's all pray, chant, meditate, wish, cross our fingers, make virgin sacrifices or do whatever it is you do in times of great need for a Dark Horse candidate to appear on the horizon with a plan to solve our trade deficit, dependence on foreign oil, immigration problems...you know a leader who can UNITE the country, not polarize it. Of course this would require some Congressional Representatives willing to be more concerned with the good of this country than with staying in office. But, maybe I'm wrong.

And, last but not least... NEW L&O:Criminal Intent this week, finally!