Guilty!

 Well, the son of a bitch finally won a popular vote. Unfortunately for Trump, it was a jury of 12 that won him that vote, unanimously I might add. How many electoral votes is that worth?

As the media hovered over the courthouse and the media back at the studio breathlessly speculated that every little thing like jury instructions and jury questions and the time they deliberated meant a hung jury, or an acquittal, or that Trump would flee to Russia, the only thing you can conclude is nobody knows nuthin about juries. What a waste of time the 24/7 news is. They fill the 24 hours with talking heads and people who know nothing more than anybody else does yet pretend they do. 

When the verdict came in, the Trump sycophants and toadies went to social media to express their outrage over something they have no idea about. All they know is their Dear Leader has been held accountable for his criminality and though many of them hope privately that the fuckin anchor around their neck goes away for life, they must support Kim Jong Trump or the base of angry white trash may turn on them too. The death threats and swatting and the temper tantrums scare many politicians into blind fealty to this felon. Thus, I laugh at most of them as they flail for relevance and votes.

Trump is guilty, 34 times. The legal system did what it was supposed to do, just as it did when that slimy punk Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted by a jury of 12. But the MAGAts don't like the legal system when it does something they don't like. Its "corrupt" or "rigged" or "biased" against rich white men. The judiciary was made to do its job, independently, by those guys that MAGA claims to worship, the Founding Fathers. It did its fucking job today just like it was set up to do.

Donald J Trump, convicted felon. Thats a fact. No pardon is coming even if he wins. It's a state charge and it will remain a state conviction. There's nothing the lickspittles in Congress can do about it.

After 70 years of being a complete narcissistic, soulless scumbag, Donnie has been held accountable. It's about time. 

Trump Trial!

 Well, its over. The trial of Sleepy Donald Trump took 6 weeks to finish, had a slew of shady witnesses, just the kind of people Trump has surrounded himself with for 50 years. And now the chickens have come home to roost.

Trump didn't testify after promising to for weeks but who really expected him to get on the stand and commit perjury. Nobody with a sense of reality. Trump lies constantly with no consequences but fortunately he may have lied one too many times and will be a fucking convict by weeks end. 

This trial has gone on for so long we actually were there almost a month ago. As stated, the MAGA presence was minimal despite the Defendant crowing that thousands of MAGAts were being kept from being there by police or imaginary feds. Once again, we literally saw 3 people with Trump signs, none of whom spoke English. Can you say minimum wage? 

I won't pretend to be a lawyer and yap about intent and the constitution and other legal issues I know little about. I don't know if Trump will be convicted or not. I just hope so and if it's because I hate the motherfuckers guts, so be it. It's like Trumps hero, the man he keeps referring to as his role model, Al Capone. Everybody knew Capone was a murderous thug, but the way to get him was not paying taxes on his ill gotten gains. Same with Trump. Everybody knows he's a scumbag lying mob boss, but if the way to get him is his balance sheet and fraudulent entries, so be it again.

Trump is a danger to democracy. If he wins, he will take his revenge and this country will turn into what the right has wanted for 50 years. A right-wing dictatorship that will make white men supreme again. This is the goal and Trump is their puppet. The fact he is so close makes one wonder about Americans. The dumber we get; the danger becomes more relevant. 

The jury can do America a favor by convicting this son of a bitch and Judge Merchan can do the country a favor by jailing the thuggish blowhard. The evidence be damned. Save America!

Moulin Rouge!

When the 2023-2024 Broadway touring season was announced, and I saw Moulin Rouge was the season closer I was excited. I like Baz Luhrman movies but never remembered a damn thing about the 2001 movie other than the Patti LaBelle song Lady Marmalade being in it. I was looking forward to this one.

When you enter the theater you see a giant bright red sign that glows Moulin Rouge while actors walk around smoking and pacing behind the sign like caged tigers. The set is impressive. Perhaps the best I've ever seen. And then.......

The show begins with a chorus line of dancers singing Lady Marmalade and we are introduced to the emcee, Harold Zidler (Robert Petkoff) giving us the rundown on the Paris nightclub. We see Christian (Christian Douglas) arrive in Paris from Ohio, meet the two bohemians, Toulouse-Lautrec and Santiago who are writing a musical and helping them with lyrics. Then we see Satine (Gabrielle McClinton), the star of the Moulin Rouge, promised to the Duke of Monroth (Andrew Brewer) but wacky confusion arrives as Satine thinks the Ohio rube, Christian, is the Duke. They fall in love within 5 minutes, the Duke takes over the club and possesses Satine, love falters, Satine coughs, which of course means she's dying, and she dies breaking Christian's heart. 

I didn't care about any of the characters. Everything was so rushed. There are what seemed like a million different pop and rock songs sung for less than 10 seconds before moving onto another song for 10 seconds and on and on and on. It drove me batty. It was so utterly frustrating to hear the opening notes of a song only for it to be cut short with yet another song. It's like a goddamned night watching Name That Tune. The entire first act was like this including a weird ass version of Katy Perry's Firecracker. It annoyed the hell out of me. I wanted to leave. Act 1 was a freakin mess.

The came Act 2 opening with an entire song. Lady Gaga's Bad Romance was the highlight of the show at that point. After that came more songs with longer snippets that were tolerable and even enjoyable. Act 2 was definitely better than that mish mosh of a first act.

Is it a jukebox musical? Not really, it's more like a crazy person hitting shuffle every 10 seconds on Spotify. Somebody does that in a car and you gently throw them out at the next rest stop. They do it on a stage and people go nuts applauding. I didn't get it.

The performances are fantastic. Nick Rashad Burroughs as Toulouse was especially on target. He was impossible to take your eyes off when he was onstage. Robert Petkoff as the emcee Harold Zidler was also on top of his game. The main characters, Christian and Satine, were great singers but their "love story" was a snooze. Andrew Brewer's Duke tried to be an evil presence but I didn't particularly see it. 

Anyway, the touring Moulin Rouge is in Omaha all week. You may like it if you're into hearing recognizable songs for 10 seconds or so then moving on. It's definitely a show for the attention span challenged.

Bill Walton!

 There is no basketball player that I loved more than Bill Walton. Even when he was playing for the hated Boston Celtics. I couldn't help but hope he did well on those terrible feet, but that Kareem kicked the Celtics ass. I mean was there a better center in basketball history than Walton? Wilt, Kareem and Shaq were great centers, but Walton played the position unlike anybody. He was built for the position and was sneaky tough. He wasn't an imposing physical specimen like Wilt, or as smooth as Kareem, but he was a player that never pretended to be anything but a center both at UCLA and in the NBA. In my opinion he was one of the 6 best players of all time along with Jordan, Kareem, Wilt, Bird and Magic. 

Bill Walton was a man of the 60's. He protested the war, went to Dead shows, grew his hair long and had that red beard, and had a constant big smile on his face enjoying his life and enjoying yours also. Bill Walton was one of those guys who actually listened to people. He heard what the average person had to say and commented back in that oh so weird way. I loved the man. I once drove my VW Bug to Kansas City to see the KC Kings play the San Diego Clippers just to see him play. Alas, he was hurt, not even in the arena and I guess Tom Chambers would have to do (at least once I saw the Warriors play in Denver and Steph Curry sat the game out but was on the bench in street clothes) .

When Walton had enough of basketball due to his chronic health problems, he turned to broadcasting. Cmon man, was there ever a better analyst than Bill Walton? The guy was a human LSD experiment. You never knew what he would say. He had an interest in so many things that when whatever it was entered his mind as the game became tedious, he said it out loud (Have you ever been to a volcano) I would stay up late at night to watch PAC 12 basketball. I didn't give a damn if Oregon would hold off USC, I cared about what Bill Walton might say. 

When he did a White Sox game in full ty dye and claimed he had never ever been to a baseball game before he summed up baseball summed up baseball as "the offense doesn't have the ball, the defense touches the ball and there is no time limit, I love timeless things like Dead shows, this is gonna be great".

The man had a teepee in his back yard for self-reflection and meditation. I've loved that fact about him for years and want a teepee of my own. Not kidding,

Bill Walton died of cancer at age 71. Fuck cancer again. 

The world is a less fun place right now. I hope there's a Dead show in the sky he can attend perpetually.

Rock on dude, wherever you are. That place became even more fun with your arrival. 

Billy Idol!

 Billy Idol is one of those not quite great rockers that I don't understand why isn't considered great. Idol has been rocking so long and has so many hits and deep cuts that it was a shock to me that at 68 years old he's older than me. In your face, Idol! 

Idol and his band rocked the Pinewood Bowl in Lincoln Thursday night for a solid 90 minutes that got the overwhelmingly over 50 crowd home early. Just as we olds have learned to love.

Opening act, The Effect, obviously a new band, played only 4 original songs and got off stage within 30 minutes. The band has one helluva pedigree with band members including Nic Collins, son of some drummer from England and Trev Lukather, son of some guitar player from LA. No seriously, this is the kind of breeding that would make this band a favorite in any horse race. They are good.

Billy Idol took stage at around 8 pm and launched immediately into hits Dancing with Myself and Cradle of Love, my personal favorite Idol tune. We were off to the races. Idol and his guitarist Steve Stevens obviously have a chemistry from the decades of working together. Idol lets Stevens shred the guitar so often it's like getting two concerts at once. The hits were there, Mony Mony, Eyes Without a Face, and the show closer Rebel Yell. Other songs played included newer songs like Cage and the haunting Running From the Ghost, a ballad/rocker Idol wrote about his heroin addiction. 

The encore included the mandatory White Wedding which is a song not dated whatsoever.  People all on their feet singing along as Idol allowed the crowd to sing the chorus. So much fun and then at 9:30 pm he and his band were gone and we all high tailed to the car.

My only problem was we didn't hear Don't Need a Gun, my second fave Idol tune. But if that is all I can complain about, I had a great time.

Bill Idol at 68 can still get it done. Yeah, his voice isn't as strong as it was in 1986 and he can't hit certain notes but he allows the crowd to fill in the blanks and lets Stevens take control when necessary. And he can still "owwww" with the best of them.

If you get a chance, the answer is yes yes yes to see what I consider a great rock n roller. He delivers.

Nebraska Primary Day!

 It's primary day here in the "heartland", ya know where "real Americans" live and have kept the same shitty slogan for 50 years "The Good Life".  Nebraska is flyover country, for good reason, but if you live here, you can make sense of it and then leave if you can. If you're stuck here, well make the best of it, which is my choice. If you want to know what it's like to live here, watch the Alexander Payne movie, Nebraska. Thats a brilliant study of the rural parts of this state while Election may be a better study of Omaha or Lincoln. Anyway, don't worry yourself. you'll never live here.

The Nebraska primary is really nothing more than a repeat of the middle of the country as a whole. You have Republicans with a sense of delusions that MAGA is THE way and anybody with a working mind or a sense of compromise is a cuck who deserves nothing but hate. 

Earlier this year the Nebraska Republican Party, taken over in 2023 by a band of book banning fascists, decided to put out their endorsements of Nebraska's five incumbent congressional candidates, who are all Republicans.

Don Bacon is a Republican who claims to be a commonsense conservative. He's not but because he doesn't throw shit all over the Capitol walls and act like a fucking drunk baboon, he's considered a "moderate".  He is the incumbent Republican House Rep for Nebraska District 2. And because he is the incumbent with a pretty good chance of being re-elected, of course the Nebraska GOP endorsed a guy name Dan Frei, a MAGA freak who thinks Bacon is a Bolshevik and would not hesitate to shut down the gubmint. Frei isn't going to win because he's already saying he will join the kooky Freedom caucus and start sucking up to Large Marge Greene and this district voted for Biden by 6 points while crossing over to put Bacon back into that snake pit, The House.

In the 3rd district, Nebraska's permanent Republican playhouse, where men are men and women are stuck in shitty marriages to these men, the NE GOP has endorsed a dude named John Walz. Now the district hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress since the Dust Bowl, and has an incumbent, Adrian Smith, who is as vanilla as they come just like the district itself. But the Ne GOP wants Walz because Smith isn't Nazi enough. Walz answered a question on why he wants to run this way:

"In high school, my involvement with the John Birch Society spurred my fascination with America’s founding. I took great interest in the Revolutionary War, our Christian heritage, where our rights come from, and the role of governments."

What? John Birch Society? That still exists? A high school nerd Bircher? Damn I haven't seen Birch shit since my childhood dentist left the Birch pamphlets out on the waiting room table and pissed off my mother. Ok then....

The 1st district has an utter mediocrity named Mike Flood as its congressman. Flood is a former speaker of the Nebraska Unicameral and won a special election when former rep Jeff  "Googly Eyes" Fartenberry    Fortenberry was convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions and then lying to the FBI about it. But then that was a California jury and not a Nebraska jury where he thought he could bamboozle hicks into acquitting him. He's now been re-indicted by a DC prosecutor. The Nebraska GOP made no endorsement in this race. I guess Flood is too much of a gentleman to endorse.

Senator Pete Ricketts was appointed by his bribe taker, Gov Jim Pillen, to the US Senate when previous Senator and Runza salesman Ben Sasse ran off to serve Rhonda Santis in Florida. Ricketts is a trust fund baby who buys anything he wants. He personally paid for an effort to bring back the death penalty after it was repealed by the legislature (a million or so) just so he could attempt to buy illegal drugs so he could kill a guy. Now Ricketts is bankrolling ($500k) an anti-abortion petition drive to put the ban on abortion in the state constitution, a real shitshow of a document. But the Nebraska GOP endorsed his opponent, John Glen Weaver, an Air Force Lt Colonel (retired). The guy is similar to Walz. A bomb thrower who wants to shut down government and cut social security (he says he won't cut it BUT get rid of the bureaucrats there so yeah, he wants to cut SS). He's one of those guys pushing forth the "UniParty" bullshit. Ricketts is as bad a Senator as can be imagined but for some reason (cuz he opposed Trumps choice for Governor?) the Ne GOP says nope, we need the nuttier one. 

Deb Fischer is the other Senator running for re-election. Shes as worthless as the fact you've never heard of her is. A total yes woman who does what she's told by the crazies. She's a loyal Trumper but again she may have pissed the NE GOP for some reason. Maybe she didn't show quite enough fascism for them. She has no primary opponent other than a perennial loser candidate who gets into races because he's got nothing else to do. They neglected to endorse her.

Now the Nebraska Democrats. Hoo boy, where to start. Thet didn't even put up a candidate to run against Fischer instead opting to endorse and independent, Dan Osborn. They do have Tony Vargas, a state senator who came within 3 points of ousting Bacon last time. And they have Carol Blood, another state senator with a good record. but without the chops to overcome the gerrymandered district. But at least they have a candidate.  If you are a long-suffering Nebraska Democrat, like me, you are used to this incompetency. Hell, it wasn't that long ago when this state had a Democratic Governor and two Democratic Senators. But those days went bye bye when the black man won the Presidency and scared the shit out of "real Americans" aka white Americans. Nebraska Democrats need a Fetterman, a Democrat who can relate to rural people. We have none.

The Nebraska Gop, one of those state Republican parties that have actual white supremacists onboard, would rather lose than win because it gives them the opportunity to bitch. Oh, the Republicans won't lose here, but the Nebraska Republican Party will try. It's just a shame the Nebraska Democratic Party will try and lose even harder. 

 

Final Thoughts on Boston!

 Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston thus they are the 3rd city to claim him. The statue is so cool. Per the trolley driver, Poe hated Boston. 

The first thing we saw after getting to the hotel in Boston was two cab drivers hollering at each other over a stolen fare. It was the most impolite moment we encountered. But it was glorious to see.

Amtrak is the way to go. I'm sure it's different during the week from NYC to Boston but our experience was perfect in the so called "Quiet car" where you cannot use your phone or talk. Perfecto!

Fenway Park, so cool. has a garden on the roof where veggies and the like are grown and served in the ballpark. Since Vegetables and me don't really click at ball games, all I had was something grown on a pig farm and swept up off the floor at a slaughterhouse, aka Fenway Frank.

In the right field bleachers there is a seat painted red. Thats where Ted Williams 500 foot plus home run landed. Nobody has ever hit one as far. The seat is in high demand apparently.

The Red Sox logo from 1950-59 displayed in the concourse is rather strange but then the 50's were rather strange..

Boston is compact. You can walk the entire city if you're in shape and young. If you're old and decrepit, take the subway or the trolley.

I 🤟Boston

Final Ramblings on New York !

Just some thoughts on New York's unimportant stuff.

Flying into New York can be impressive as you take pictures of everything you will not see when there. La Guardia airport is much bigger than I remembered. 

Times Square is a zoo of mental illness. So many weird things happened there. The Comedy Central hustler trying to get us to go to a "comedy show" then when I said no yelled that now he knew we wouldn't have helped Jews in the Holocaust. Whaaaaaa? The "comedian" who hit me up for $20 for his comedy "download". I gave him $10 cuz I felt generous which only led to other "comedians" descend on me when they saw a $10 bill. By the way the guy "autographed" the QR code so I couldnt download it anyway. I'm sure we missed nothing. The kid who asked us to buy him ice cream. I wasnt feeling generous then and told him to get lost. When he came back after failing to get another sucker to buy him ice cream he pointed at us and said "Thats the guy who wouldn't buy me ice cream" to which my reaction was "get your own ice cream" cuz I have no filter and puts forward my theory I will die in a shooting because I mouthed off to the wrong person. Yet many people commented on my beard and my Mets hat, all positive. The red bleachers which used to be easy to get pics on is now full of tourists and virtually impossible to climb on. They never leave.

The line at the half price TKTS booth has gone from walk up and buy line like in 2015 to hours long wait snakey line up and down that we bailed on and bought full price tickets to Suffs. It was worth the extra $20 or so.

Hotels that put this in your room and then dare you to pay $12 for a Reeses or $10 for a Pringles are the worst. Don't they make enough money off their outrageous rates AND "resort fees"? My advice is to not even look at it as there might be a $5 look at fee.

The incessant honking by NYC drivers is just mind blowing. It just never stops. On the Brooklyn Bridge sitting in traffic behind a truck going nowhere, some guy laid on his horn so long we yelled hey it's not doing you any good. Go early to the Brooklyn Bridge to avoid the crowds. It's mainly just joggers from Brooklyn and older people like us avoiding crowds.

The courthouse is cool seeing the very steps Jack McCoy and the gang of Law & Order people walked down after winning their latest impossible case. The federal courthouse is so closed off it's not worth it, unless you want to see the 4-5 pro Trump sign holders who speak no English and realize what a fraud he is.

Get a hot dog from a street vendor. It's kind of a performance art. And the hot dog is damn good. But he had no relish.

The delis seem to have caught on that everybody wants hot pastrami when in NYC. I did, until I saw it was $25, $10 more than anything else and got a lesser Pesto sandwich. It was great too.

The souvenir shops are reasonably priced by have too much Pro-Trump shit in them. I realize MAGA is so griftable thus making the selling of Trump bobble heads and t shirts with his mug shot on them is profitable. But some of us don't wanna see that and it makes us leave.

Feed the pigeons, even the fat ones. It keeps you humanized.

Go there for 5 days. Plenty of time to do all you want plus see some kick ass Broadway shows.

Don't pay $25 to sit on the beam at the Top of the Rock. It does go up but it never gets close to the edge, so you are never in danger. You can get a picture on a beam that doesn't move. Get TV studio tour tickets before you go. They sell out fast.

Finally, despite the scare tactics of the GOP and the fear mongering by the "liberal" media

Total number of crimes we saw-- Zero

Total number of migrants living on the street we saw--- Zero

We 💖New York.

Boston Day 3!

Fenway Park. I don't really have bucket lists because I'm not a planner. But Fenway Park was definitely on the list, if I had one. We had tickets for the game that night but decided to ride the T down to Fenway for a tour. A lil tip, get off on Kenmore and not Fenway. No idea why Kenmore is closer to Fenway than the stop called Fenway but it is. The Boston subway is fast and efficient but still has those confounded steps crawling back to the streets.

The Fenway tour is a must. Our guide was full of information and told it in a fun way. We went to the stands, found the seat with a pole right in front of it, and then climbed more steps to the Green Monstah where we could look over the baseball cathedral. Then to the press box and the suites. and finally, to the right field stands where the red seat is (Ted Williams 520-foot home run landed there). It lasted about an hour and was loads of fun. The museum contains all the Red Sox memorabilia you would want to see.

Johnny Pesky's zippo to light up heaters in the dugout. Old timey gloves that quite honestly were worthless. 

Back on the subway to hit the Freedom Trail before going back down to the ballgame. The Freedom Trail is up hill. Ugh. But we managed to get to Faneuil Hall and the Quincy Market where the food court is full of every possible combo you want. More chowda, more cannoli's and more souvenirs. Then back to Boston Commons via the subway.

Then the game at Fenway vs the Giants.

Back on the subway to Fenway with the masses of people. Got lost again and probably circled the entire stadium to find our gate. Entering the stadium and going up the ramp reminded me of the first time I ever did that, at Wrigley Field when I was a kid. I still remember the green field and this view was just as fine. Tickets just to the 3rd base side of home plate, a row of 4 seats and full of Giants fans. The Red Sox dominated the game so us Giants fans simply could take in the Fenway experience. Take me out to the ball game, the 8th inning Sweet Caroline, and the vendors including an actual chowder vendor. I was chowdered out, so we stuck to Fenway dogs, beer and pretzels. 

I cant emphasize how much fun that was for this old baseball fanatic to finally see Fenway. I almost wished for the old 3 1/ 2 hour games just to be there longer (no not really). The game ended at 9:45 and we got on the subway and were back at the hotel at 10:15pm. 

It was over. Day 3 done. Back to Omaha tomorrow. There's just not enough time. 

I want to go back already.

Boston Day Two!

 

Day 2 begins with a daily trip to Boston's finest restaurant, Dunkin, of which there is one every two blocks. Then it's off to find the Edgar Allen Poe Statue to pick up the Old Tyme Trolley to tour Beantown. We had purchased this day pass from a broker at the hotel. Don't do that, just book it online and you will save some money.

The Old Tyme Trolley is just that. A trolley with comfortable seats. The driver, Townie, was a real Bawston guy. He had the accent; he had the temperament, and he had the ability to entertain. He started busting my chops as we waited for the 9 am departure time. I guess wearing a Red Sox hat and a Seattle Supersonics t shirt might confuse people. We only went a couple of stops before hopping off at the Boston Tea Party ships. Yeah, its touristy, but it was fun to listen and participate in a rabble-rousing speech from actors playing colonial roles. You then tour the ship, go into the bowels and back up where you get to throw "tea" into the Boston Harbor. Suck it King George! You can then tour the museum with interactive films and are released thru the Abigails Tea Room where for 5 bucks you can have as much tea as you wish including the 5 teas popular in 1775. 3 of the 5 are hideous. 

Back on the trolley and we were let off near the Old North Church and the North End. A walk uphill will do ya in. Then another walk down a hill past a cemetery full of colonials. There's the Old North Church which is closed on Mondays. There's Paul Revere's house, a tiny little thing that housed 16 people. Then there's the food of the North End. Mikes Pastry has cannolis and Boston Creme Pie to die for.  Across the street is Galleria Umberto, a pizza place where you can get two slices and a pop for less than 10 bucks. The pizza is pan style and wonderful. 

Back to the trolley for the rest of the trip. Bunker Hill, Old Ironsides, Faneuil Hall, the Gahhhhden, Cheers, all the while with stories from Townie that were both informative and funny as hell.

Back to the hotel where I can tell a story in 3 pictures.

There was a Robert F Kennedy Junior fundraiser at the hotel and there were actually people going to it. The lone demonstrator across the street got a big thumbs up from us. The guy is a nut. Period.

Day 2 in the books. 

Boston Day One!

Up early for a short taxi ride to the Daniel P Moynihan Train Station for a 3-hour trek via Amtrak to Boston. I love the train. Always have. Off we went on the Northeast Express with plenty of leg room and seats in the "quiet car" which means shut the hell up. Thru Connecticut and Rhode Island and all I have to say is Amtrak tracks must go through the shitty neighborhoods in New Haven and Providence cuz woooo...it looked bleak.

Arriving in Boston and getting an Uber to the Hilton Park Plaza was easy. Unfortunately we arrived 3 hours early and to avoid a $75 check in early fee we began to walk. Now when I get stressed, I sweat and when I sweat excessively and feel like I'm going to pass out. A short stop at a cafe and some water and protein sent me to normal from I'm dying here.

The Boston Commons was right near our hotel. It was full of people laying on the grass, listening to a one-man band changing Dylan lyrics from the times they are a changin to the climate is changing. He was a trip, kind of a Wavy Gravy vibe to him. People feeding the ducks, riding the swan boats and sleeping outside, a bustle of activity. Seems like a cool place to chill.

The permeating of Cubs fans was in force. Cubs fans walking all over the place waiting for that night's game, which they lost thank goodness.

That evening a short trip to what turned out to be the hotel bar, M J O'Connors, a pub with food at 8 pm. The Sox game was on and a pint of Guinness and a cup of clam chowda was a must. 

And with that, Day one was done.

Appropriate!

 The usher led us to our seat with a "welcome to Appropriate". The poor bastard was a fill in usher, and I heard two different pedantic theater snobs correct him and say "its pronounced Appropri-ATE" to which he said I was instructed to say Appropriate. Bless their hearts.

Appropri-ATE is the story of a dysfunctional family coming together to bury their father. They must take care of the money and the dilapidated southern plantation. But what happens is anything but. 

What happens is the inevitable fights between family members with years and years of unloaded tension and grudges.

Sarah Paulson is the star playing a rather bitter toxic person Toni, without a good thing to say about anyone. Corey Stoll is her rather timid brother , Bo, a rich New Yorker without the ability to stand up to her. Michael Esper plays the addict brother Franz, a man with a 22-year-old hippie gal pal and a past of ignoring all of them. Natalie Gold (Kendall Roy's ex-wife on Succession) plays Corey Stoll's wife, Rachel, the only one willing to take on the bitter Toni.

These are great performances. Lots of dark humor cuts thru the tension and it's a welcome relief. 

The secrets of the father's life come to the forefront; he was a racist, which Toni refuses to believe. There is a tense scene where Toni calls Rachel a slur for Jewish people (the K word) that drew gasps. At the end of the first act, Bo and Rachel's little son comes downstairs in a costume he found that proves Daddy's racism. As if the pictures of lynchings Daddy left behind didn't prove that. The second act flew by and it was damn near 11 when we got out of there. It's so intense you won't notice the time.

One thing you will notice about the Music Box Theater is that the traffic sounds will permeate the inside. Honks, sirens, loud engines, more honking you will hear and not be sure at first if it's part of the play. Its not and it sometimes takes away from hearing a character's lines.

Is it Appropriate for everybody? Well no. If you want happy, go see Lion King. If you want reality, see Appropri-ATE 

New York Day 3!

 Well well well...Day 3 begins with a trip to Times Square to find the hop on hop off bus. The street hustlers descend on you like bees to the queen. Once you admit you are interested in the bus the negotiations begin. $75 each? Nah thanks I can book online for $62 ok then $62? Nah thanks I can do that online. Ok $58....sold sir.

The bus goes downtown basically past the parts of the city in lower Manhattan we've already seen. The Bridge, Wall Street, the charging bull...So we get off on the Battery Park stop and head for the best free tour ever. The Staten Island Ferry. Hustlers outside the terminal trying to sell you a ticket on the free  Ferry. This despite the signs saying don't buy a ticket from these con artists. We saw people stopping.

The Staten Island Ferry. which I'd never been on instead opting to spend hundreds on river cruises to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is free. Have I mentioned that? You pile on like a Greyhound Bus and swiftly go up top to claim your spot (right side on the trip to SI and left for the trip back. Really, the trip is just as good as paying to see the Statue if you have no interest in getting off. Once you get to Staten Island, the masses tend to get off and get back in line to go back because nobody really wants to be where all the racists live in NYC. A man with headphones and an enthusiasm for what he was listening to with a WOO HOO every 30 seconds seemed to be mental but he also conversed with people with a huge smile so he was probably more normal than us.

Back on the bus at Battery Park for the ride back uptown. Past Union Square where a man advertised he was eating an entire container of cheeseballs. 300 people showed up. Love New York.

NYU students had a tent city set up so as to not miss out on the cause of the day. 

Pizza stop at a NY style pizza place with pictures of famous people posing with the owner including criminals like Donald Trump. Also Obama and Hillary so at least the guys an equal opportunity poser. The NY style pizza was heaven.

So off we go to the upper east side where we will find 30 Rock. Top of the Rock is $35 each to go up. A studio tour was sold out (been there done that but MM had not). Up to the top we went, posed on the beam, looked out over the city, dodged the tourists and had a great time. 

Back down and out into the streets. Walking down the block to St Patrick's Cathedral. Again, the tourists have clogged up the entrance and as we enter notice there is a wedding going on. A small wedding with maybe two pews of guests....and thousands of gawkers. Love to see those pics. The bride and groom can claim that thousands attended and they wouldn't be lying. Lit a couple of candles for deceased parents and exited. It really is a beautiful place, believer or not. I find churches peaceful and a place to gather your thoughts even if the reason for their existence is making money for the cults. 

 Down the street is the palace of evil called Trump Tower. Yeah, its right there and flipping it off is a must do for any tourist. Fuck that evil prick and his entire family. Show your disgust. We did.

Catch the subway at Central Park for the short trip back to the Square to get ready for tonight's Broadway play entitled Appropriate or as we found out....Appropri-ATE.

Suffs!

 Suffs is a rather new musical premiering on Broadway about the suffragette movement of the early 20th century. Featuring an entire female cast, the musical gets going with the first of many catchy tunes "Let Mother Vote" sung by veteran stage singers portraying the older women of the movement pushing for gradual change. In come the youngs, not nearly as patient as the olds, egos clash and hilarity ensues.

The musical covers everything, from the resistance of women born in the 1800's who have spent 40 years accomplishing nothing, to the young white folks led by Alice Paul who want change now, and the black women who want a voice in two things, voting and civil rights.

The musical has a Hamilton vibe to it. You are learning a lot about history while at the same time enjoying the songs. 

Broadway is a bit different from the touring shows we get in Omaha. While the touring shows are great with tremendous talent, Broadway has zero weak spots in the cast. They all have earned their way to the stage in New York and blow you away. We had the understudy for Alice Paul that night and she was absolutely fantastic. Veteran Broadway actors and singers like Jenn Collela as Carrie Chapman Catt and Nikki M James as Ida B Wells, the back journalist shine. James belting out the tune "Wait My Turn" is especially moving.

The plays main message, to me anyway, is that no matter if its 1919 or 2024, humans will clash even those with a common goal will butt heads. It's apparent that though getting women the vote is the goal, sometimes this results in various factions brawling with each other. Those with political goals, those with personal goals and those with a burn it all down mentality will always fight with each other while the powers that be just sit back and chuckle.

The actors will make some sort of statement about an obscure event, turn to the audience and say "look it up". It really is a learning experience as well as a fun time.

Suffs tells you to "Keep Marching". It may just march into Tony awards.

New York Day Two!

 Day 2 begins on a subway ride down to City Hall. The NYC subway, just as you get used to it you have to leave. Its $2.90 or $11 for a day pass. Or you can put your credit card on the reader and get in that way. Except for me. So, I had to buy an antiquated paper Metro Pass. You ride the subway and can't help but wonder of the genius of it. HOW did they build this thing? Max's Mom just wanted stations with elevators cuz there are lots of steps getting back to the street from the bowels of hell. 

Wandering around the City Hall, there are tons of NYPD officers hanging around. Hmm wonder why? We find the Brooklyn Bridge just to walk across early because its not that crowded. Off we go. The Bridge is really no longer than the Bob we have in Omaha but because we are olds we need stop, allegedly to take in the view but in reality, its cuz we are old. Walk walk walk into the borough of Brooklyn where we get lost immediately. Google Maps is the devil. And I will insist 100% of arguments start over this piece of technology. But we find our way thru Brooklyn to the NYC Ferry ($4) which will take you across the Hudson or the East River to Wall Street.

More indecisions due to Google Maps so we get bagels and croissants from a street vendor and sit. The charging bull is our goal. We find the bull surrounded by tourists, mostly of the Asian persuasion and everybody wants pics so its kill or be killed. Just go up there and take your pic. Back uptown we go.

What are we looking for? Well, it's the Law & Order courthouse steps of course and the federal courthouse next to it where a certain former President is finally be held accountable for his criminal activity. Oh that is why NYPD is all over. (3 NYPD officers walk towards us, a kind of 2024 Mod Squad, one Asian officer one black officer and a woman officer, and all I hear is the Asian cop say in a perfect Noo Yawk accent "I said to da guy what da fuck are you doing man"). I'd have followed them to get the whole story, but I don't need to get arrested for stalking.

The Federal Courthouse is closed off. There is a corrections bus ready to take the Defendant to Rikers and I so hope it happens. The media is all over the street. Most of whom you recognize if you pay attention to the news. And then across the street is the pen of demonstrators kept in the park by barricades. There are 4 pro Trump demonstrators with signs, none of whom speak English which makes me wonder if they aren't paid to be there. It's really a joke that the pathological liar on trial thinks there "thousands of people" out there supporting him. We have no arguments because again they don't speak English.

The spot where the mentally ill man set himself on fire has been sandblasted but still visible. We get our jollies being there and head back to subway to get back to the hotel.

It's out first Broadway show of the trip.....Suffs.............Hey its the Jerry Orbach theater. Here's to you Lenny Briscoe!

New York Day One!

 Riding to Eppley for a long-anticipated anniversary trip with Max's Mom to New York and Boston, the Uber driver had a tiny support dog in the console and a route to the airport that contradicted google maps. This was a sign of things to come.

Onboard the Delta airplane riding in two seat Comfort Plus (I may never fly SW again) we masked up and took off for La Guardia, New York's airport for us poors. Getting into New York about 6 pm I had delusions of grandeur of perhaps getting into the hotel at Times Square before the last Broadway show began at 8 and getting tickets.

Oh yeah, that isnt happening. New York Traffic is a bitch. The taxi driver, a nice man, did his best to get us to the hotel but ran into traffic and closed off streets which added to the time and the fare. I noticed the fare counter when it was at $60, quietly thought this is gonna cost $65, then $70 then $75 then $80, holy shit just let us out and we'll walk the .01 miles it's been on my trusty google map for about 10 minutes. The fare ended up at $90 what with tip became $117. We are here and its 8:15 too late for any kind of show other than the kooks on Times Square.

We walked Times Square (is it even nuttier than 2015?) for a while encountering the Elmos and the Sponge Bobs and the Batmans. The hustlers, the con artists, the drunks and the rube tourists, Thats us!

Finding the Times Square Diner seemed like a decent place to eat. The place was heavy on the Greek and the languages we heard in there were plentiful. A family of Italians were hand talking to each other, the waiters were speaking animated Greek and a couple of English-speaking hicks were eating French toast and a beef gyro in a diner in New York while a mere 7 hours prior we were in Omaha.

This will be an experience.

Columbia!

I was in New York within the last few days while these protests up at Columbia were happening. There was a tent city set up at NYU also. It brought to mind the difference and similarities between these protests and the protests at the same school, Columbia, in 1968.

The similarities are as follows...they were both protesting wars, one directly involving the United States and one on which the United States funds a 3rd party to conduct war. Thats about it.

The differences are many. In 1968 the students at Columbia were protesting the latest illegal immoral war conducted by this nation. Kids were being drafted, enslaved if you will by a military draft that singled out the poor without the resources to go to college. The Vietnam War was lost in 1965 but as usual with politicians, they refused to be on watch when America lost its second war (1812 not a win). This infuriated a lot of America, including my WW2 veteran father and my Republican mother. So, the students took to the streets. Hell, even here in Middle America, the students at the University of Nebraska, not exactly a bastion of liberalism, took over the ROTC building. 

But here, in 2024, the "students" are not really the ones leading this sudden outburst of moral clarity. They cover their faces with masks and keffiyehs because I guess they look cool to entitled rich white kids. Look at the 1968 picture. Those young people didn't give a shit if the cops and administrators saw their faces. They were badasses.  Then look at the 2024 Hinds Hall picture. Hiding their identities why? Maybe because they aren't students? Maybe because entitled white kids don't want to be arrested and infuriating Daddy? I have no idea.

Look I get it. I am a child of the 60's. I believe in peaceful protest. I believe in the energy of youth and the influence that quick talking leaders have on that youth. I believe that the police overreact and take joy in cracking heads and discharging weapons and gassing kids. I mean come on now, the cops are not exactly the good guys here. They never are when it comes to demonstrations, unless of course its them beating on DC cops and Capitol Police and furthering the mission of a fascist. But a lot of this pro-Palestinian feeling is the cause of the day. It's the chance to be on the right side of history like their grandparents were on Vietnam, or their parents were on South Africa. Sorry kiddos, there is no right side here. The only side to be on is both sides.

Fuck Netanyahu and Fuck Hamas are compatible.

Free Palestine and Never Again are also compatible.

It's not that hard to recognize evil.

Kristi Noem!

If two assholes ever belonged together it's these two. Both hate animals, both are phony pandering shitheels and both are MAGA faves.

As we all know, Kristi Noem (Asshole-SD) decided to write a book showing her bold new initiatives and what a strong woman she is. Making the tough decisions nobody else but her will make. Well, that didn't work out for the toothy extensions enthusiast. The book tells tales of Gov Noem, at one time an actual Congresswoman, of her meeting Kim Jong Un and standing up French President Macron. Both of which didn't happen per uhhhhh everybody.

But the real shitstorm occurred when it was revealed that a portion of Noem's future bargain bin resident book is dedicated to another "tough decision". The day when she decided the best way to handle a 14-month-old pup named Cricket, who didn't fit her hunting needs, was to shove the poor dog in a gravel pit and shoot it dead. Ya know, like the Nazis did. But instead of cutting her losses, she doubled down with yet another story of a goat she shoved into the gravel pit and blasted but didn't quite kill it so she ran back to her truck to reload...as the goat suffered Noem pointed her weapon at it again and wasted it, farm style. And a construction crew working at the time witnessed it all, snuck away and left the premises before Buffalo Bill Noem decided humans were next.

Look, I've despised Kristi Noem for years. She comes across as an eye batting seductress with a knife in her hand waiting to kill you. She does infomercials for Texas dentistry places that she got free teeth from. She changed her face, she put in extensions to accentuate her rather dull actual hair, and she is banned from Indigenous reservations because well, she's a racist.

All this was out there. But the dog story has done her in. Hey, I'm ok with that. Better late than never. She's a cooze with "family values" and "faith in God" who has allegedly participated in an affair with Trump goon Corey Lewandowski. Noem is the exact kind of Republican that gets MAGA men all excited. She's purty, speaks softly and think maybe they have a shot.

Noem's book is a trashy disaster for her. But like the man she is auditioning for, an apology or a Mea culpa is not possible. To apologize is weakness. So, Noem, like her hero, doubled down. The story got worse not better. Cricket went from untrainable to vicious to the second coming of Cujo. The goat went from mean to a rabid beast. And Noem revealed her true colors. A narcissistic dog hating asshole.

Turns out the book wasn't so much a voice to the future, but the end of the line. Cuz her name is not Trump, she won't get away with it. Even the cult like dogs. 

The book was written not for the masses but for one man. Her fellow dog hating asshole. But Kristi. he cant read.