Bourdain Biopic

I’m not sure how I feel about this trailer. It might be okay. The film, that is.

I enjoyed the Road Runner documentary, which I feel did a nice job of giving the viewer a sense of who he was—warts and all.

The end of that film is tough for a fan to watch. He tragically became romantically involved with actress Asia Argento. My sense is she manipulated him quite badly. She knew very well the feelings he had for her and was quite negligent—sadistic?—about how she behaved. I’ll keep my opinions and impressions of her to myself. They are not positive.

She also had an effect on his behavior. He began making decisions on his show that he would never have made. It was a mess.

And then the suicide. Many people responded how folks respond when a suicide occurs: one brainless, self-congratulatory, insulting thing after another. I have written about suicide on this blog a couple times. As a culture, we do not understand suicide. And future generations will absolutely be repulsed by how we discuss suicide. Because it’s repulsive.

I did not know Anthony Bourdain. But I did love his shows and his books. He was as flawed as they come, and I am confident he was not always pleasant. But in some weird way, I’m protective of him, and want any cinematic treatment of him to stand up. I feel his memory deserves that.

Episode 19: Islam

Well, cripes, that took a while. I recorded this months ago! The Inquiry got put on the back burner for a minute. But we’re back.

This episode turned out pretty well. After I recorded it, I feared it was rubbish. But it turned out, as the idiom goes, not half bad.

A lot of editing. Thanks, Logan.

https://youtu.be/EsxcoUgiFrA?si=_haR25vuiOZKIBNW&t=1

Kamala Harris

I know polls do not predict the future, especially this far out. And I also know that Kamala Harris is not this country’s dream come true. She is a 1970s Republican—like Biden, the Clintons, and Obama—and that is all she will ever be. However, we could do a lot worse. Actually, we have already done precisely worse.

So, maybe start giving this some thought.

She smiles. Her politics aren’t the worst I’ve seen. She’s only worth a handful of millions, which by recent standards is quaint. And seeing as though I would be happy with a sock puppet as president at this point, I think Harris could do the job.

After eight years of Harris, let’s party and put AOC on Pennsylvania Ave. What do you say, ladies? There’s nothing 74.3 million of you and I can’t do.

https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-surges-in-new-2028-poll-1188940

Islamophobia

A Brief Word about Misogyny

It was lightly speculated if maybe I didn’t think too highly of women. I would just like to say a few words on the subject.

My two recent blog posts focused on the fact that women do not seem too fussy about voting in favor of their interests. This is certainly not peculiar to women. Americans in general vote against their interests all the time. If they did not, Bernie or Elizabeth Warren would be in the White House—for a start.

“Bernie is a socialist!!!,” some will passionately caution their listeners. No, he is not. Bernie likes to call himself a socialist. I can call myself a forklift mechanic; but that doesn’t necessarily make me one. Bernie is a 1940s Democrat and nothing else.

However, let’s say he is a hair-on-fire, foaming-at-the-mouth socialist. So what? What do you care? Would universal healthcare, universal basic income, and the eradication of poverty be so bad? And this could all be accomplished within the capitalist framework.

Americans love their capitalism. They have no idea what it is, but they certainly love it. Just a quick fun fact: making a thing then selling that thing for a profit has nothing to do with capitalism.

So, women. Yes, they vote poorly—like everyone else. But I am advocating for women taking over the country. I do not expect men to support women. (Why would I expect them to do that??) But I do expect women to support women.

As I mentioned, why they do not is another matter. It’s a deeply sexist society. Women have a list of things to think about that I do not. Women might find it easier to just vote like their husbands and fathers. Maybe they have been beaten down—sometimes literally—into thinking like this. I don’t know what the reason is. I’m sure it’s bad. But they could take over the country.

Let’s say 74.3 million women said, “We want Vicky here to be president.” The rest of the country might ask, “Who the hell is Vicky?”

74.3 million women: “Well, Vicky here is a 53-year-old Latina, works a register at Meijer, has two kids, her husband left her, and she’s drowning in medical debt.”

“What does she know about foreign policy, economics, or governance?”

74.3 million women: “As much as the sexual predator who insults people with disabilities currently occupying the White House.”

“ … “ [dead silence]

And you know what? Vicky would also have my vote. So, at the very least, the people voting for Vicky would be: 74.3 million women + Greg.

Ladies, please take over the country. When you enter the polling booth, you’re by yourself. Just lie to your husband. I am exhausted living in a broken country. And I am begging American women to fix it. They could, y’know.

Brent Crude

 

Women II