And now, a break from my usual rants for Flag Day

 

Rufus T. Firefly.  It's one of Groucho's characters that will always strike a chord with me. In art, it's because Groucho trashed pomposity, politics and war in a single film.  In only 69 minutes, the 3 Marxes do to society what we should be doing now - refusing to show any respect to our president and the corrupt people who keep him in power.  I can only imagine what Groucho would be saying if he could see the idiocy going on in Washington, DC right now.

Today's post is a break from my normal routine where the day's events in my life are posted roughly 2 weeks after they have occurred.  Normally, Flag Day would be a day where we celebrate the meaning of America's flag and all the symbolism around it.  On a typical Flag Day that falls on a weekend, we might hear strains of Sousa marches playing as fireworks are shot off nearby.  However, this year is different.  The Orange Snowflake wants a military parade in Washington, DC to celebrate his 80th (?) birthday.  This disgusts me to say the least.

I'm not a person who gives much of a damn about holidays, especially one for which the banks do not close.  But now, the "taste" of Flag Days because the snowflake tried to make the holiday all about him. If I want to watch a "Clown Show" about a country going off to war, I won't have to watch the news.  Instead, I can enjoy myself and watch "Duck Soup", an infinitely more enjoyable way to spend 69 minutes.  I know that Rufus T. Firefly wins his war against the very pomposity that the snowflake loves.  So, I'll close out today's post with....

Hail, Hail Freedonia, land of the free and brave!

It's so easy to be depressed these days

 

There's a certain emptiness that I've been feeling as of late.  Social tensions around the world are propelling those in the developed world, left behind by social and economic change, to attempt to turn the clock back to a time where their privileges put them in a more comfortable place.  (Whew.  That was a lot to say in one sentence!)  In short, the "former haves" in the developed world want to go back to the 1950's where Gays/Lesbians were in the closet, Latinos hid their identity, and Blacks "knew their place".  The only transgender person that people knew about was Christine Jorgensen, and she didn't elicit the fear in some people that an out-of-the-closet transgender person does today, 

It is easy to want to retreat into a fantasy world.  But many of us are unable to do so for the next 3 ⅔ years.  They have either socially and/or medically transitioned long ago, and their legal/social identities differ from those assigned at birth.  Over time, many of us will gradually lose the ability to get passport renewals due to the Orange Snowflake's hatred of transgender people.  But what can we do to keep sane in a crazy world?

First, we have to partially disconnect from social media, as well as excessively biased news media.  Social media platforms, such as Facebook, are geared to keep us clicking on the latest "news" whenever we hear our cell phones beep.  So, find ways to turn the beep off if possible, and then skim the platform on a device other than a cell phone.  Staying informed of the news while disconnecting will be harder.  We have to choose local (if possible) stations that focus on community news, and not propaganda being poured down our throats.  (I'm reminded here of one TV station holding corporation whose "newscasts" I'd avoid, as they require all of their newscasters to present a propaganda segment as if it were local news.) 

Second, defend critical thought.  The snowflake is attacking Harvard University because it rejected his son.  Good riddance!  The snowflake is vengefully punishing Harvard for this rejection.  Now is the time to support institutions such as Harvard for standing their ground and maintaining their values.  Why, you might ask, is this important?  Every time that the snowflake causes us to give up a piece of our humanity, we give up parts of our freedoms.  At first, we might limit what we can say in public.  Next, it might be who we do business with. And then, we could be wrongfully putting people into prison camps - or worse.  It happened once in Central Europe, and could happen here now.  People are weak, and they would rather live in fear than to take the risks which would set them free.  So, stand your ground whenever possible. 

Finally, the Orange Snowflake is a bully.  Bullies tend to be weaklings who have mastered an art of projecting power.  Don't be afraid to challenge a bully if you have the power to fight back.  If the law is on your side, use the court system to stop him and his minions.  If public opinion is on your side, use it to attack him.  And, if there is any form of resistance you can offer, no matter how insignificant it may seem, then offer it.  The most important thing one can do to a bully is to show how weak s/he really is.  Resistance and always being aware does just that.

It's so easy to be depressed.  But don't be.  We live in challenging times, and we overcome.  It will take time, effort, and money.  And we have the lessons of the past, from prior civil rights movements showing us the way.  So keep calm and carry on.

 

Even with better editing and film reconstruction, Caligula is still a Turkey.

 

Before anyone starts to make noises about Caligula, the Ultimate Cut, one must know the history of the film and of this version of the film.  When Caligula was filmed in the 1970's, Bob Guccione's edit was so pornographic that many of the principals wanted their names removed from the film's credits.  This film took only unused film shot by the film's original director, and was assembled to follow the original screenwriter's script as much as possible.  And yet, there is not much that could be done with this film due to the nature of its subject - the Emperor Caligula.

The 1979 version of the film is purely pornographic, and a total waste of time and money.  But, how do you deal with a subject like Caligula?  He had an incestuous relationship with his sister, he raped both women and men, he participated in orgies, he turned the wives of Roman Senators into Prostitutes and more.  With a cast that includes Malcolm McDowell, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren, the film had a chance of being a must-watch.  It would be impossible to deal with the subject of Caligula without watering down the story to where it has no meaning.  Instead, Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse Magazine decided to film extra pornographic scenes, and this film became a guilty pleasure for many.

The 2023 version of this film is infinitely more watchable, but it is still hard to watch. None of the original film appears in this cut, as it has been reconstructed only from footage shot by the original film crew.  Bob Guccione had nothing to do with this edit. Yet, it would be hard to avoid the extreme excesses that define Caligula's life.  For example, an early scene is an orgiastic sequence where the emperor Tiberius shows Caligula the facts of an emperor's life. Information given in this early sequence is mentioned towards the end of the film, letting the audience in on the assassination yet to come.  There is virtually no way to tame down Caligula to make any film about this man more palatable to modern audiences.

So, was it worth the $13 (senior rate) I spent to see this film?  Probably not.  But do I regret seeing this film?   No. 

Forgetfulness and old age

Like many old folk, I notice that my memory isn't as quick or as sharp as it once was.  I can remember the days when I could work on a computer program 500 pages long and remember the exact page and "paragraph" a section of code could be found.  Now days, it takes me longer to remember things, as well as having only a vague idea where that memory comes from.

Today, I got dressed in one of the 2 dresses I received from Universal Standard this weekend while RQS packed to go home.  Having dropped RQS off at Croton-Harmon around 1:45, I proceeded to take a short drive and then have lunch.  Just as I was ready to take a long bio-break (my GI Tract was acting up again), RQS called me - she couldn't find the medicine she was supposed to being home.  AARGH!  I looked around the apartment and found nothing.  Although I'd look into the back of my car when I went out to the movies, I told her what I didn't find.  (Last week she left the medicine in the ice box.  Now, she left it where it can't be found.)

Luckily, she is going to the doctor's office tomorrow, and hopefully, she can get an early refill of the prescription.  If not, we'll deal with things then.  Getting old is a bitch, but it's better than the alternative. 

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Postscript:

RQS Called both her pharmacy and her insurance company.  All she needs is a new prescription from the doctor she will see in the morning.  This will allow her to get her drugs without having to pay an exorbitant fee for them.

Setting up a new blog for the co-op

 

 

Years ago, I decided to set up a blog for my co-op.  I maintained it for a while, and then let it go fallow.  Covid had gotten in the way of things, and then we had no one interested in showing up for our annual meetings.  Realizing that no one cared that much about communications with our shareholders, so I dropped work on the bog.

Recently, my co-op got into a financial bind due to no fault of our own (I can't go into details here), and we've had a minor shareholder revolt caused by a maintenance increase and an assessment to pay for some bank imposed costs.  One shareholder (the apartment below me) is demanding to see all of our co-op's records to determine whether some fraud is occurring (it is not).  Another shareholder sent a letter to all residents - but did not pay postage, as s/he either paid off the postman to insert these letters into our mailboxes, or had an illegal copy of the postbox key.  But I digress....

One of the good things that has come of this is a recognition from our co-op president that we need better communications with our shareholders.  So, I dusted off the blog I let go fallow and brought it up to date.  I'll admit that I back filled some entries, but I made no effort to do a detailed back fill which would take a lot of effort.  I figured that I might need to delete most of the prior posts, so it wasn't worth it so say much other than to mention that shareholder meetings were held, quorums were not achieved, and the prior board remained in power, because not enough people were interested in participating in the election.

To safeguard things, I have decided to make the co-op blog an invite-only blog, so that only shareholders have access to it.  When the board gives its OK, I will begin the process of getting a domain name fr the co-op, and attaching the blog to it.  Eventually, I will flesh things out a little more and have something which will be useful to our co-op's shareholders.  Until then, I will work on convincing the board that we need to communicate better, and that this blog will be one of the tools we will use to do so.

A trip for lobster ended in Fettucine Alfredo (a short post)

 

RQS came up this past Thursday, and we knew we were going to do a few things over the long weekend. But, for the most part, we would relax and chill out.

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We woke up on Friday, and relaxed most of the day (as usual).  Around midday, we got showered and dressed, then went out for a couple of errands.  First, we drove down to Yonkers to return her old phone (she traded it in last week for her new phone) to the cell phone store.  My plan was to NOT pick up lobsters until the drive home, as we would not have refrigeration, and I didn't want them to go bad before getting home.  So, when we drove back home, we stopped into the local Shoprite - and....  NO LOBSTER! The crustaceans were sold out for the day.

What could we do?  I had some leftover rotisserie chicken in the refrigerator, and we decided to make some Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. So, we changed our plans.  Today, we'd eat pasta. And tomorrow, we'd eat lobster. So, we picked up some pasta and some cheese for grating, then home we went.

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RQS has gotten used to seeing me in dresses, and this weekend would be no different - my nails were polished, and there was no way Mario would appear until the polish was removed.  If we woke up, got dressed, and got out early enough, we might take a long drive and go to a museum.  However, I knew we wouldn't be doing this.  When was the last time either of us woke up early?  And for this weekend, when would it be warm enough for me to enjoy wearing a dress (sans leggings) outside?

There's a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza, a hole....

 

In a little over a year, my co-op has gone from a place where I'd be glad to own an apartment to one where I wish I could sell the place and be done with it.  Being on the board of directors, I am not able to talk about any of the details why I feel this way.  But I can say that I (and other shareholders) have received letters from one outraged shareholder complaining about how things have been managed.

Why is this an issue?

Being on the board puts me at financial risk if we were held liable for the problems the co-op is facing.  Right now, I think we'd win our case if ever brought to court.  But I'm very concerned about my financial future, given that I'd have an extremely hard time recovering (if possible) from any judgements.  Luckily, our lawyer is on the case, and we are taking proactive steps to resolve our issues.

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Our problem is one that I can see us finding a way to resolve.  But there are many other condos and co-ops in this country which have problems worse than ours.  For example, the collapse of an apartment tower in Florida caused the state to enact legislation to deal with Home Owner Associations (HOAs) who have kicked the can down the road, deferring essential maintenance that would keep their buildings safe for residency.  Due to this law, many condos in Florida are effectively worthless, given the rise of HOA fees and assessments needed to bring their properties up to snuff.  (My co-op has continually maintained our property, and was in excellent shape until the beginning of 2024.)

Right now, I am very concerned that things will keep getting worse all over.  Last night (as I write this), one of the ladies in our zoom meeting mentioned that her firm just laid off a significant number of employees.  Given her skill set, she feels safe.  But in her shoes, I'd still keep my resume updated and my fingers tightly crossed.

We're starting to see the effects of the Orange Snowflake's trade war.  He's pissed off our friends, only to get an occasional "win" he can brag about in his propaganda.  Canada has sworn off US goods, and largely avoided the US for its "Snowbird" vacations.  I'm not sure that there's anything that can be done to win back Canadian business until the Snowflake is long gone from office - and that will take years, at best.

So what does this all mean?

I feel that on a macro level, America is heading towards a depression.  Both our short-term and long-term policies have been geared to dealing with today's issues instead of heading off those that will happen tomorrow.  In Florida, inadequate regulation has destroyed the value of a large sector of its real estate market.  In the US, ballooning federal debt will destroy the value of the US Dollar as well as our economy.  Hopefully, we will be able to ride out the troubles I expect to see and come out relatively whole 4 years from now.