“No desk, no dinner… Land of Opportunity my ass!”

broderic on September 29, 2024

Going back to my favorite topic, Nogizaka46. Here we got one of their videos on their YouTube channel — the one that shows members checking out their past costumes from their daily uniforms to their concert costumes and everything in between. It’s a nostalgia tour.

What did you find interesting? Do you want me to point out my favorites? Too bad, I’ll do so any way. Nanmin’s gold track suit. The 14th single uniform. Any uniform with a jacket. These are ones I like. In the future there will be many more.

“Eww. Has anyone ever actually eaten one of those dried-up, old leathery specimens?”

broderic on September 27, 2024

As we exit September (News Radio Quote Month!) and enter October, the month of spooks, let’s celebrate with Nogizaka46 back when they had Halloween Concerts… ENJOY!

From 2015 and right around the time I was beginning my Nogizaka46 fan journey. This is the 13th single senbatsu which in the end is my classic lineup. None of these members are here today, and I still love the group. Lately, there music hasn’t been my favorite, so watching this really reminds me that their music always was first with me (Popipapapa aside).

“You’ve gotten soft. You’re like one of those police dogs who’s released into the wild and gets eaten by a deer or something.”

broderic on September 22, 2024

Pixar is in trouble with sequelitis and Inside Out 2 is another example of that terribleness. It lacks the emotion of its predecessor. Funny, that, considering that there were additional emotions added to the four from the first film. Every new one was funnier than the new emotional antagonist. Ennui and embarrassment were fun. Anxiety not so much. The additions were not enough to make me like the film.

2 of 5 stars.

“Bill, we are not in New York.” “We’re not? Gee, and here I am mistaking the Museum of Yarn for the Guggenheim.”

broderic on September 13, 2024

Link of the Day [9.13.24]

I go to the bookstore almost every weekend. The same one I’ve been telling you about for the past 20 years. So I’ve accumulated a lot of books, and, confession time, I have maybe only read a tenth of what I’ve bought.

Sad. I know. It’s a sickness, but I can’t be helped. There’s a lot of things that look interesting to read, but not interesting enough to be read.

But that’s just not my problem only. Lots of people do the same. Ain’t that the joke — having books you haven’t read? Yup. So, there’s even a word for it in Japanese… let’s all learn it today!

https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/tsundoku/

“That I haven’t written a word. That my life couldn’t fill a haiku, let alone a whole book.”

broderic on September 13, 2024

Why did they ever make a sequel to Beetlejuice? Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a mess. It had five or more plot lines. If one or two were focused on, then it would’ve made a better movie. There was the mother-daughter reconciliation plot, the daughter evil boyfriend plot, the father funeral plot, the “Ghost House” plot, the wedding plot, the other wedding plot, and then we get to Beetlejuice. So many things going on. They all made no sense mashed into one film.

I guess nostalgia has kicked in for me is why I watched the movie. It wasn’t good. It was disappointing. Never trust nostalgia.

2 of 5 stars.

“Why does a radio station have a sheriff?”

broderic on September 30, 2023

A Haunting in Venice is an Agatha Christie mystery story as filmed by Kenneth Branagh as part of his Poirot Cinematic Universe. It is a Scooby Doo film. Yes, you heard that right. It had a supernatural twist behind it but the motivations was really human. I was expecting the culprit to have said that they would’ve gotten away with it except for those damn, meddling kids.

The story is about the death of girl in Venice. She threw herself into the canals. It was rumored that her death was caused mainly by the curse surrounding the family’s history and the ghosts in their villa. Now, that is a good setup for a mystery.

Except, it was all quite easy to see where it was going. If you’ve watched enough movies, you know really quickly who was the culprit. I don’t think I am spoiling it if I say that it wasn’t ghosts that did it. The ghosts weren’t spooky enough, and typically the scariest thing in this were the humans. So, if you read the books or know your films, there wasn’t quite a mystery there. And since it was really humans, the fright wasn’t there either.

3 of 5 stars.

“Beautiful day out there. Perfect cane weather.”

broderic on September 26, 2023

1975 Topps Brooks Robinson baseball card

Wasn’t just a few posts ago where I reminisced about “Thanks Brooks Day” and my favorite Orioles? It’s with sadness I post about the passing of Brooks Robinson, my favorite Oriole. Like I said, we’re connected just because of “Thanks Brooks Day” back in 1977 which we attended, and it was like my birthday present. It’s just this little bit of connection upon which he became my favorite player. And I had not really seen him play considering he retired just as I became cognizant of sports.

RIP Brooksie. Let’s go, O’s!

“Lisa Miller-Johnson walking through the woods. Is there a snowflake? Wet.”

broderic on September 24, 2023

I find the Conjuring Universe to be a favorite. I hate scary movies, but I love getting scared. I love goosebumps, and I love being creeped out at night. The Conjuring Universe is a fine source for these scares. The first Conjuring was pretty good. Everything else not so, but it still is full of scares. And now it has some gore.

The Nun II continues the story from the the first one. It follows Sister Irene and her new sidekick, Sister Debra as they try to stop the demon, Valek’s rampage across the French countryside. At first, the film starts out as horror, but with Sister Irene and Sister Debra it became a mystery. They must pick up the demon’s trail from Romania into France as it leaves a bloody trail of bodies looking for a holy relic.

I really didn’t see any of the scares as I hid behind closed eyes. So I missed most of the deaths. Yet, I still loved it. It took me two nights to not be worried about what lurks in the dark in my room. Thanks, Nun!

3 of 5 stars.