In the book series A Song of Ice and Fire and its televised adaptation HBO's "Game of Thrones" The King of the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon, has a fatal hunting accident which is rather ineptly arranged by his disloyal and adulterous wife Cersei Lannister.
Cersei grew tired of the marriage and wanted to pass on formal rule to her son (though not her husband's). Cersei also needed to get rid of the hopelessly honest Prime Minister who made the mistake of informing her he intended to tell the King of her adultery and incest.
Although in the long run things didn't work out for Cersei and her family, in the short run they do. No one is ever punished for the hunting accident; Cersei and company jack the throne and keep it for most of the story.
In real life, hunting accidents during the Middle Ages were one of the normal explanations used to cover up rather obvious assassinations. William Rufus, King of England from 1087-1100, was the third son of William the Conqueror. So he wasn't expected to inherit very much. But life has a funny way of unfolding. Richard, one of William's elder brothers, died in what was evidently a legitimate hunting accident.
Shortly after that William Rufus and his younger brother Henry decided it would be amusing to play a joke on their oldest brother Robert, who was William the Conqueror's presumptive heir. The two young men emptied a full chamberpot on Robert's head.
The thing about most criminals is that they are cowards. They pick on people whom, in the criminal's estimation, can't or won't fight back.
They attack people when they think they outnumber their would be prey.
But of course law abiding people, who don't make their living kicking in people's doors and then raping, robbing or killing other people, get tired of being potential or actual victims. Some of them take steps to ensure that criminals will learn, the hard way, if need be, that criminal behavior is not a cost free activity.
Although I don't think this incident was funny per se, I did find it grimly appropriate that the Big Bad Wolf turned Little Bo Peep once confronted with equivalent or superior firepower.
As I've mentioned before I do not doubt that some of this criminal behavior is driven by fatherless homes, self-hate and lack of respect for others caused by internalized racism, short time perspectives, greed, over investment in material acquisition, lack of economic opportunity and so on. I think that a civilized society must do its best to address those issues before they erupt in violence.
I remember that when I first heard about the coronavirus, I was vaguely distressed and irritated that yet another disease had arisen in China and started to spread. But I believed and hoped it wouldn't impact my life all that much.
Now, just a little over a month or two later I've seen my governor place the entire state under a lockdown that seems unlikely to end anytime soon.
She also closed the schools. Coronavirus has grown to at least a million cases worldwide and over 50,000 deaths.
Two beloved relatives have tested positive for Coronavirus. I can't say what the future holds for either of them. I have good friends and very close relatives who are in the American pandemic epicenter, NYC. How much longer will they stay safe? My home town, Detroit, is looking as if it will catch up to NYC soon. Bus drivers are getting infected and dying.
People who attended my high school have died from coronavirus. I am reduced to hoping that either I already had coronavirus (I had an extended nasty bout of what I thought was flu in February) or that as with some bugs that the spring's increasing heat and humidity will slow transmission. When I go out now I am always wearing gloves and/or a mask.
International Falls
directed by Amber McGinnis
This is an indie film directed by first time director Amber McGinnis. It's based on a two person play but McGinnis transcends those limitations. It doesn't feel like a play at all even though the two leads dominate the screen time.
It's by far the best movie I've seen in 2020. International Falls carries a message and tells a story with which people are probably very familiar but all the same the director puts her own twist and interpretation on it. She mixes drama and absurd comedy in a way that is very realistic and often poignant.
In the hands of a lesser director or more intrusive studio this film would have found the time to grind various ideological axes or go for the grossout humor. McGinnis, thankfully didn't make any concessions to people looking for that sort of thing. This is a generally unsparing look at how people deal with life when things aren't quite going their way. The casting of the two leads is spot on. I simply can't imagine any other actors/actresses providing this sort of performance.
The film is occasionally silly but I wouldn't describe this as a knockout laugher. This is not a farce, full of slapstick and physical humor. This is not a movie for kids, not because of the adult themes, of which there are plenty, but because this film will appeal most to people who have lived long enough to have regrets and recognize mistakes but aren't too old to change their future.
Thinner
directed by Tom Holland
Although many of the films adapted from Stephen King's works have not worked out that well, until recently anyway, this film, adapted from the short story of the same name, was always something I liked.
Although it has a definite eighties movie vibe, it, like the similar film Graveyard Shift, was a nineties movie. It is a definite skill set to make a film look cheap but in a cool Saturday afternoon sort of way.
This film stuck closely to the source material. And I think it was the better for that. As several movies inspired from King's work did, this one featured the author himself in a small cameo. I don't know why but I always forget that King is such a tall man, standing about about 6'4".
Although I suppose this is a body horror film, what with many characters undergoing some unpleasant and dangerous physical changes, it's more than that. It's really a film about the wages of sin being visited upon the rich, powerful and prejudiced for their crimes against the poor and ethnic outcasts. Although the underdogs here are not really nice people they don't bother anyone who doesn't bother them first. The same can't be said of the protagonists.
Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) is a genial, morbidly obese upper class lawyer. If there's anything remotely starchy, fatty, or sweet within 20 yards of Billy, he's going to eat it. In part because of his non-threatening demeanor and boyish name, (not William or Bill but Billy) most people who know Billy like him.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes not. People act like they can't simultaneously hold two true ideas in their head.
This latest coronavirus apparently began in China thanks in part to the Chinese habit of housing, slaughtering and consuming exotic wildlife in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
The virus spread quickly across the world because that's what happens on a planet with mass travel and far flung supply chains. What impacts one group soon impacts everyone.
It's not "racist" to say that the virus began in China. It is racist to make the logical jump that therefore Chinese are "less than".
China needs to (literally) clean up its act. Some Chinese state officials, citizens, or US citizens with that ancestry really don't like hearing that. I understand. But everybody plays the fool sometimes.
If West Africans and Central Africans could be questioned about the links between Ebola and consumption of bush meat, if New Guineans could be criticized over the links between Kuru and cannibalism, if Europeans and European-Americans can be mocked over the links between dog kissing/licks and Sepsis, then certainly Chinese can take some much deserved critique over some of their food consumption and food safety habits.
"Last of all Bernie stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Clinton until it withered, and each time that he slew Bernie yelled: ‘Medicare for All!! Power to the People!!!’ Seventy times he uttered that cry, but they took him at last alive, by the command of Biden, for the Democrats grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Clinton bound him and dragged him to MSNBC headquarters with mockery."
-Apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien
Senator Bernie Sanders was defeated convincingly in most states, including my own, this past Tuesday, March 10. Although Sanders is down, he's not yet mathematically eliminated. Sanders still has a most unlikely path to victory. Sanders must win the remaining races with about 60% of the vote. Sanders is making some reconciliation sounds to Biden voters while still planning to debate Biden Sunday night.
Compared to four or certainly eight years ago, Biden is having more challenges getting the right words to come out of his mouth. He's forgetting more. Is it dementia? It may happen to us all if we live long enough. Sanders is apparently hoping that when he gets Biden one-on-one he can press Biden on issues, evoke some gaffes, and put a verbal beatdown on Biden so that Biden "ain't pretty no more".
