#FPQ 214: Movies…

Fandango asks a question today about AMPAS’s decision to award the Best Picture Oscar only to a production that meets certain quotas with respect to the cast and crew, starting with the 2024 awards. His question:

Do you think that the metrics the Academy Awards will start applying in 2024 regarding composition of at least 30% of the cast and crew by under-represented groups in order for a film to even qualify for a Best Picture Oscar nomination is appropriate? Or, do you share Richard Dreyfuss’ opinion that because filmmaking is an art form, imposing such criteria in order for a film to even be considered for an Oscar is inappropriate?

The truth is, I don’t really care. The motion picture industry’s target audience is the 18-35 crowd, so anything I might have to say about it would be ignored, anyway. I’m simply returning the favor. I haven’t been to an actual theater in over ten years. It’s too expensive, I have trouble getting in and out of the seats, and they haven’t made a film that I would consider worth the money and aggravation. We don’t watch movies at home, either on the channels we can receive over-the-air or Hulu (I have a subscription to Hulu as part of Spotify, and have for a couple of years, but still haven’t used it). We don’t do Netflix, period.

As for Richard Dreyfuss, I thought he was hilarious in The Crew, the logline for which reads "Four retired mobsters plan one last crime to save their retirement home."

Now, that was a good movie.

#FPQ 211: Thank You For Your Service, Now Get Out

Normally, I don’t get involved in Fandango’s political discussions here at The Sound of One Hand Typing, but this was too good to pass up.

Do you believe that Joe Biden, at 82 shortly after Election Day 2024, is too old to seek that office. What about Donald Trump at 77? Most important, do you think there should be a maximum age set for an individual to run for President of the United States?

I believe that Joe Biden, at 78 shortly after Election Day 2020, was too old to seek that office. For that matter, I believe that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were both too old to seek the office of President in 2016, that John McCain was too old when he sought the office in 2008. I don’t think anyone over the age of 70 should consider being President of the United States.

For that matter, I don’t think anyone over 70 should run for Congress, either the House or the Senate. I don’t care how much experience he or she has. In fact, the "amount of experience they have" usually indicates how good he or she is at stuffing their own pockets at the expense of the taxpayers.

Supreme Court justices? Same thing. Go be a respected jurist at the retirement home.

And as long as I’m at it, there should be a 20-year limit on Federal employment, including the military. Go get a real job after that. And if you leave before your 20 years are up, there’s no coming back. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

The problem with government in the US is that there’s too damn much of it, and it’s always the same damn people hanging around like a fart in an elevator.

I feel a whole lot better now.

Catching Up…

I have several daily writing challenges that I’ve been putting off while I try and catch up with some of the other writing I’ve needed to do. I’m feeling good having done all that, so let’s get started …

First, this week’s Share Your World:

Do you celebrate the Easter holiday and if not, do you have an alternative? I’d say we observe it more than celebrate it. We don’t have the traditional ham or leg o’ lamb, or the lamb cake, and we don’t color hardboiled eggs or buy chocolate bunnies or jelly beans. This year we didn’t even get any Marshmallow Peeps…

Do you exchange gifts or have a traditional meal? No to both. We had lasagna for dinner.

How many Easter Eggs (or alternative) did your receive/give? zero.

Was Easter a Bank Holiday in your country or did you have to work this weekend? Some companies give their employees Easter Monday off, or will offer a choice between Martin Luther King’s birthday and Good Friday as a day off. I had all of them off because I’m retired…

On to Truthful Tuesday…

Do you think Easter, like Christmas, is too commercialised and goods available too early in respect of the holiday?

Compared to other holidays (religious and otherwise), Easter is very low-key. There isn’t the amount of stuff associated with it as with Christmas or Halloween. It’s not really a present-giving holiday, generally speaking. There are Easter baskets for the kids, which generally have things like chocolate bunnies, Marshmallow Peeps, various egg-shaped chocolates, jelly beans, and maybe a small gift like a Matchbox car or gift card, but it isn’t like Christmas. Then again, it’s been years since I’ve had to deal with that stuff, so it might be different now. Still, I think it’s pretty low-key.

On to FPQ…

What’s your claim to fame?

Tell me if any of these fit the bill:

in 8th grade, I took 2nd place in a math contest and got a big ol’ trophy.
I was a member of a blues duet in college, C. C. John and Mojo. I was the latter.
I was capable of leading more training classes than any other instructor in the practice for about five years.

No? I didn’t think so.

#FPQ 208: Well, Have You Got An Hour?

Kind of a nice question this week: How are you doing? Thanks for asking, Fandango…

Didn’t sleep well last night: we had Sloppy Joes for dinner last night, and they attacked at 1 this morning. I haven’t had reflux like that in a while. Mary used a different sauce, a packet she mixed with tomato sauce because she didn’t have any Manwich. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted really good, but I wasn’t ready for the gastrointestinal distress that followed.

Another part of the problem was that we ate a lot later than we usually do. We had kind of a late lunch, so she held off cooking until after 6, meaning we ate at about 6:30. I’m learning why senior specials at restaurants run from 4 to 7. All’s well now; I just have a lot of writing to catch up on…

#FPQ 205: Participation from A to Z

A very interesting and provocative question from Fandango this week:

Are you planning to formally and officially register for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge, pick a theme, and participate? Why or why not? Or, are you planning to informally and unofficially participate in this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge on an ad hoc basis? Or, are you going to skip the A to Z Challenge altogether?

As one of the people who helps put on the A to Z Challenge every year, of course I’ll be registering, choosing a theme, and participating. I have every year since 2012, and still consider it the highlight of my blogging year. At the same time, I can understand why there are those who want to participate on a less-formal basis, and that’s fine, too. I’ll try to keep up with y’all as well as those who sign up formally. (which, by the way, happens starting on March 26, a week from this coming Sunday. Right now, we’re doing the Theme Reveal, for those who have a theme. The Theme Reveal runs through this Saturday.)