BSR

I know this thread is supposed to be for good movies/series on Netflix, but hopefully no one minds if I post a public service announcement: avoid Strange Way of Life like a broken petri dish of Ebola! I get the temptation: a short film by legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, two great veterans Ethan Hawke & Pedro Pascal, a gay storyline, and an appearance by Élite heartthrob Manu Rios (he only sings the theme song, doesn't play a role). But eek! it's awful!! Clunky, awkward dialogue that sounds like it was written by an unprecocious high school student, a plot that never develops (even a 30-minute short can portray a full plot), it all feels like a golden opportunity that was foolishly squandered. Maybe it was the challenge of doing an English-language project, but another negative for Almodóvar fans is the short sorely lacks the director's signature style. No dark comedy, no oddball characters, no irreverence, this short might as well have been directed by ChatGPT. Do yourself a huge favor and stay the hell away.

This guy is actually one of the escorts discussed in The Deli (thank you, @ProjectX). I liked his legs so much I had to re-post the pic here.

A friend of a friend made adobo (kind of a stew w/garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, bit of brown sugar -- unofficial national dish of the Philippines) that was the best I ever had (trust me, I've had a lot of adobo in my life). When I begged her for the recipe, she said she couldn't give me one because she just eyeballs everything. I'm sure I could figure out a good recipe for adobo on my own by starting off with a YouTube recipe video and then finessing it. The problem is that because adobo really stinks up the house, I don't want to make it on the regular. Too bad because it's a simple recipe, pretty much the Filipino can't-fail dish.

If the bike lane was barely used, then the college students who fought so hard for its installation didn't actually bother using it. Note that the students didn't bear the negative economic impact, the business owners did. I hope the local government increased the 3 nearby universities' property taxes to pay for the bike lane boondoggle, but I have my doubts. The whole fiasco ended up as just a very expensive exercise in virtue-signaling. If the 3 universities had sent out a letter to all the student activists that their tuition would go up $300 to pay for the bike lane, I wonder how many would still have favored it. Life is so damn easy when you don't have to pay for the consequences of your actions.

The FBI has opened up a criminal probe into the cargo ship's "malfunction" that caused it to crash into the bridge. Who knows what will come out of the criminal investigation, but in civil court lawyers aplenty are pursuing compensation both for repair costs, which will obviously be substantial, as well as for the deaths of the 6 workers.

Ben Shelton became the highest-ranked American male this week after Taylor Fritz lost in the 1st round of Monte Carlo. Shelton is currently #14, Fritz #15. I knew Shelton would end up being the top American, just didn't think it would happen quite this fast. Congrats to Ben and his coach (and dad) Bryan!

The wrestler's hot, but I think the coach (or whoever that is) standing behind him is even hotter 😍

King's got good taste; the boyfriend's hot.

True, the pretrial and trial were a total shitshow. The one good thing that came out of the monstrous injustice of the OJ verdict is that the State of California cleaned up all the bungling incompetence in police departments and DA offices. The new professionalism is credited for getting a conviction in the Scott Peterson trial and others which were thought to be much more difficult cases to prove guilt.

In a recent interview with one of the OJ jurors, she admitted that 90% of the jurors knew OJ murdered Ron & Nicole but voted to acquit out of revenge for what happened to Rodney King. In other words, the Cult of Victimhood let a vicious murderer walk scot free. Just the thought of that makes me sick.

Love the grocery cart joke 😆 Everyone assumed that the Fed would drop its rate this year, but I grow more doubtful by the day. If you look at rates over the past 50 years, today's rate isn't particularly high. Is another 0.25% increase or two all that outrageous a proposition? Inflation has been way too high for way too long. We need it to drop below 2%. I'd like to see it below 1%, but that's way too wishful thinking.

So no big whoop? I strongly disagree. Somw context, from the Peterson Foundation: What is more, spending on interest will surpass federal outlays on major budget categories over the next few years: In fiscal year 2024, the federal government will spend more on interest than on defense. In fiscal years 2024 through 2026, interest payments will exceed the amount that the federal government spends on Medicare (net of offsetting receipts). Net Medicare spending will overtake interest payments in the following years, except for 2029. In fiscal year 2025, the federal government will spend more on interest than on non-defense discretionary, which includes funding for transportation, veterans, education, health, international affairs, natural resources and environment, general science and technology, general government, and more.

We are adding $1 trillion in debt to the federal deficit every 100 days. Not if, but when the gigatons of caca hit the fan, it's gonna be ugly.

Boring as hell because it's fake as hell, i.e., about as "real" as reality TV. And yes, I found the persona he affects for his YT channel super-annoying, like watching someone's perpetual adolescence. If his parents are subsidizing this self-indulgence, then they're doing him a real disservice.

From the deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, I'm pretty sure he had never gotten any pushback on the all-importance of diversity, whether at a poker table or any other setting. In any case, I wouldn't hire this abject dumbsh*t to sharpen pencils, nor should anyone else.

Maybe so, but I think the percentage of brainwashed parrots has metastasized in the last decade or so. At the poker tables recently, a young college graduate kept talking about diversity, how great it is, how important it is, etc. But when I asked him why diversity mattered so much, he had no response. Lacking any semblance of a cogent argument, he defended his position by acting offended that I could question something as "crucial" as diversity. No one had ever challenged this kid, nor had he ever questioned a single thing taught to him. Sadly, he's just one of millions.

I think it all boils down to whether you learn critical thinking in college, or not. Kids who learn what to think are useless. But kids who learn how to think will be able to adapt their critical thinking skills to many fields and many different career paths. Unfortunately, universities today are churning out way too many of the former and precious few of the latter.

How do you know that "fast track physicians" end up being mental and social morons? What magical things happen in that extra 2 years of university that so transforms students?

Don't get me wrong ... a dear aunt lived in Queens for years, and I grew to appreciate how much the borough has to offer. But if you're paying $11,200/mo in rent to live there, you need your head examined.

Of course, doctors need university education. Writers, entrepreneurs, computer programmers can be self-taught. But a surgeon? Eek! My micro-rant about educating physicians is that we should do away with the traditional model of 4 years undergrad + 4 years medical school and switch over to the European model of a straight shot in 6 years. That way kids save 2 years of pricey tuition (even state universities can be hella expensive nowadays) plus room/board/etc. while gaining 2 years of earning an income + being a productive member of society. Dental schools, optometry, and law schools should also switch over to the 6-year model. True, kids run the risk of realizing that their chosen field isn't right for them, but that's a risk they run with the 4+4 model as well. Another argument against is that kids won't get a well-rounded undergrad education, but guess what? If you teach kids how to think instead of what to think, they can study Heigel and read Camus on their own. Why tack on 2 extra but in the end unnecessary years of university? Just so that doctors can wax poetic about that Shakespeare class in undergrad?? F*ok that! By saving aspiring doctors/dentists/optometrists 2 years of staggering loans (just 1 year for lawyers, but still a savings), the vast majority of them will end up far better off </endmicrorant>

I looked up the address on Google Maps -- the house is right on the line next to Great Neck, the thinly disguised "West Egg" in The Great Gatsby. But yeah, it's still QUEENS!