We Got Him!!?

 The government shutdown is over due to the cowardice of 8 Democratic Senators. None of whom are up for re-election in 2026. This is so smelly from a political view that you can't help but think the feckless Chuck Schumer sold out behind the scenes in exchange for cover. Fuck Chuck Schumer and the rest of the pussy Democrats who kowtowed to a monster and his goons like Grindr Mike Johnson. I am fed up with comfortable people folding and then claiming they care about you. Spoiler alert. They don't.

Then came the emails. The Epstein emails. 3 days after the Democrats surrendered, the emails come out. They say the following in a nutshell.

1) Trump was fucking young girls

2) Trump was compromised on Russia

3) Trump is an incompetent boob

4) Trump is going to tank the world economy

5) Epstein had the goods on Trump and a sick fuck like Epstein thought Trump was dirty

6) 2 months after Epstein said he had the ability to "take him down" he was dead

Do we have him? So many things would have taken down ANYBODY else that's it's hard to believe this piece of shit will ever go away until the Grim Reaper comes and sends his ass to hell. But this?

Despite Lyin Karolyn Leavitt and her constant defense of a guy who would molest her child given the chance, the defense put forward by the X ho, Megyn Kelly that 15-year-olds aren't children and thus could be banged by a 79-year-old man without consequences I guess, and the Jesse Watters Greg Gutfeld team of dunces stating it's all a hoax parroting their master, this fucking pig Trump is definitely in danger. Once Tiny Mike swore in Adelita Grijalva, the winner of an Arizona special election, there were 218 votes to release the Epstein files.

The Pervert in Chief sprang into action. Calling in Colorado rep and hand job artiste', Lauren Boebert to a meeting in the White House situation room along with crooked Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI grifter Kash Patel and shyster lawyer Todd Blanche, he put the screws to Boebert. Don't give Thomas Massie a win he pleaded, be my friend and I'll pardon your rotten kid, and as long as you're here. give me a handie. All of that was possible said. But as far as I know, the dope Boebert held steady. Meanwhile, Nutty Nancy Mace failed to pick up her phone, perhaps the smartest thing she's ever done. So as of this moment it appears the Rapist in chief may be cooked.

However, I do know that the GOP led Senate would probably kill the bill, but I just wanna see Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer (our esteemed toadies) vote to protect a pedophile. That would be epic to know that Nebraska's elected Senators are a pederast's pet rocks. We know they already are but that would be proof.

Other scenarios involve a resignation, and then a JD Vance pardon. Or perhaps because Americans are notoriously dense, it all blows over.

But my favorite scenario involves a bunker and a smoking gun,

California Day 5! Mazel Tov Beach!

 The final day. The beach at Santa Monica. The Annenberg house (former home of Marion Davies, a real stretch of a relative) and the beach. The ocean is not something us flatlanders see often. Today at the beach, I discovered the power of mother nature as I stood in the ocean too far out, and damn near got knocked down by the waves and tide. I knew after that, had I decided to swim in the ocean, I'd be dead in 2 minutes. Either from the tide or the bacteria as this particular beach is close to the Santa Monica sewer runoff. JFC I hope I had cuts on my feet. 

People sit on the beach and contemplate life. Another place I could sit for hours thinking about shit. Or at least until the fog lifts and the sun begins to kill me.

All of a sudden, a gaggle of high school and younger kids were all over. And they all had yarmulkes, school uniforms, and slices of kosher pizza in their hands. It was a "just because" day for the local Hebrew school. They had boxes of pizza, boxes of snacks and chaperones making sure they were behaving and probably safe. They were all well behaved, commenting on Max's brother's Halloween orange hair and Max's Dad's Hassidic like side curls. Shalom.

The Warner Brothers Studio tour was next. We went on the TCM classic movies tour. This involved a tour of the back lots, lots of cool stories, a knowledgeable guide and a walk thru of the props department. You saw props on hold for future TV shows and movies. Chandeliers, pianos, clothes, you name it they had it. 

Houses made famous in various movies, the New York street you've seen many times and for moderns, the actual school used in Abbott Elementary. The Friends fountain, the houses and storefronts used in so many different films. It really was a movie geeks heaven.

The museum had the Central Perks set from Friends, the Big Bang Theory set, the DC universe and Harry Potter Experience. Lots of Batmans and Supermans, lots of Harry Potter and the actual trench coat from Casablanca along with the suit worn by Ingrid Bergman. For the moderns, the uniform worn by Chadwick Boseman in 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic. The suit worn by Lex Luthor in the latest Superman movie, the Christopher Reeve Superman suit, the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman suit. It was glorious.

Finally a meal at a restaurant called Portos which had some of the tastiest looking desserts I've ever seen. And then it was over.

I was exhausted.

California Day 4!

The thing about November is despite being autumn and damn near winter in the Midwest (it was 34 in Omaha) the desert still exists. Palm Springs is the desert and its freakin hot.

Palm Springs Pride Parade wasn't really any different than the Pride Parade in Omaha. Lots of love, lots of allies, lots of drag and lots of horses. Lots of doggos, lots of stories and lots of older men and women who remember when a parade such as this would have been impossible without cops breaking it up and arresting everybody. It was long and featured so many talented dancers, bands and regular folks and businesses who wanted the LGBTQ community as customers. In this day and age of fascism and MAGA it's really phenomenal to watch. It was fun to watch until the heat and sun would drive you into the shade.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was next. Taking you on a tram packed with people from 85 degrees to the top of a mountain and 58 degrees was such a relief. I hate heat, sun and sweating. I love cool temps and scenery. This was a revelation of beauty. The view from the top is breathtaking. I could stand there for hours taking in the beauty. I may be one of the few people who think beaches and heat pale in comparison to a mountain and the cold. But that is what I feel.

The traffic in So Cal is just awful. Sunday night with everyone coming back from whatever the hell they did during the weekend was bumper to bumper. On a freakin Sunday night. But Max's brother, a wily veteran of So Cal traffic, knows what he's doing. I would have been still stuck there saying bad words to this day.

I was exhausted again.

California Day 3! The Rose Bowl!

 The Huskers in the Rose Bowl. Well actually it's UCLA's home field so it's inevitable Nebraska plays there.

But first we go to San Bernadino to see the world's first McDonalds. Well, its a museum so no Big Macs were for sale. It's got it all. Ronald McDonald, the arches, the Scooby Doo bus, wait what? Seems the owner collects anything he can get his hands on. You have statues of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, the Hamburglar, you loved it as a kid? It is here. The museum is full of  old McDonalds uniforms , matches, ash trays, 1984 Olympic contest tabs, the cast of the Founder, a movie that proved Roy Kroc as a moral challenged vulture capitalist. It was well worth it but don't touch anything outside or you'll leave skin as a souvenir (its fucking hot).

The Rose Bowl is in Pasadena. Being from Nebraska I have no idea where that is. So we took the Matro Rail, LA's version of the Chicago L or the NYC subway system. It's a train (sort of) that moves quickly through the shitty neighborhoods a lot of cities. After 45 minutes or so you get off at Memorial Park in Pasadena. You follow the crowd about a half mile to the shuttle buses which will take you to the Rose Bowl, another couple miles or so. You get off and the Rose Bowl looks tiny. Max informed us it's built into the ground. Max knows it all.

The staff at the Rose Bowl was so damn nice. It put Nebraska Nice to shame and since Minnesota Nice doesn't exist (see previous post), it was pleasant surprise to hear "Welcome to the Rose Bowl" numerous times. Being in Max's 15 jersey, I was subjected to a good natured "Hey Raiola you'd better get out there" instead of the ""Hey Raiola, how many tampons you got in" after Minnesota kicked our ass.

The Bowl itself is older than dirt. The steps up are HUGE (thank gawd its in the ground so to get to row 61 was only 20 or so rows) and the climb is exhausting for decrepit old Nebraskans. But we made it and again once I reached our seats I wasn't moving.

The spectacle at the Rose Bowl was great. The sight of the mountains in the background was every bit as great as described. The place is gargantuan, but they tarp off the end zones to make it look less empty. There were 20,000 Nebraskans there making it a faux home game. The UCLA fans live in Los Angeles where there's stuff to do so when they lost it was like, hey great game huh? Had Nebraska lost it would have been the walking dead back to the train.

The train. Oh that train. It didn't work. So we sat there for a good 45 minutes waiting for something that wasn't coming. Being entertained by a rich looking nice man who wouldn't shut up about how fucked up Los Angeles government was, along with San Francisco and New York. His "Ya know Trump is right" lost me and Max as Max's Mom continued to listen. Thank goodness we found a bus to go to the next station, or the guy might have started in why Social Security was communism or something. The bus took us to the Lake Street station, located outside between the freeways so you had to watch LA traffic wizz by on both sides while freezing your ass off,

But the train came and we rode back with Husker fans and the homeless to Pomona.

I was exhausted.

California Day 2!

 The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is someplace in Los Angeles. I have no idea where because once there I can't tell what's west east north or south so it could have been in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for all I know.

The museum is a movie nerd's wet dream. And to boot, the Jaws 50th anniversary exhibition is currently showing. Along the way is the famous Brady Bunch house which to me is iconic. But, in all reality, it's just a house. And unlike the crazy person who owns Walter White's house in the ABQ, who put up a fence, a monitoring system AND stands outside videoing you  looking at it, this is really just a house. I was actually more fascinated by the television set of some HBO show filming in the neighborhood called I Love LA. I have no idea what that is, but it said it on the equipment. 

The museum is multiple floors and even with the Jaws exhibition, it had a tribute to women in the movies. Called from Anna Karenina to Barbie, it featured a Barbie car which you could pose in, driving it like Fred Flintstone. Though it was fascinating, what I remember is that I need to see Anna Karenina.

The Jaws exhibition is the greatest. If you idolize that movie like I do, to see the Orca (or what's left of it), the pictures of the stars, the backstage stories, the actual set where the USS Indianapolis story was told (yes Robert Shaw was shitfaced) , the barrels, the ability to do your own zoom in shot like when Roy Scheider saw the blood in the water, the actual buoy that Chrissie grabbed onto before being devoured, and the only remaining Bruce the shark hanging from the ceiling. Just epic!

Theres also the actual office desk from the Godfather, which you can sit behind trying to look like Marlon Brando (no cat provided). The Godfather AND Jaws in one place? I could barely stop from screeching in delight.

You have lots of other stuff in there also. Captain America's shield, the Donnie Darko rabbit, a C3PO, and a history of why Jewish folks started movie studios. How did they transform Dr Jekyll into Mr. Hyde in 1931? They will show you. And the actual piano used in Casablanca.

OK, Jaws, The Godfather AND Casablanca.....Now I'm screeching!

Finally, a nighttime trip through LA. The El Coyote featured in Once About a Time in Hollywood and then the Grove mall. The classic Dupars restaurant where a stack of pancakes will keep you full for a week. 

I was exhausted yet again.

California Day One! The Price Is Right!

 Being in southern California to watch the Huskers at the Rose Bowl is the goal. But what to do in the meantime? Go to a TV show! A game show! The Price is Right!

First of all, tickets are easy to get. You sign up online and you get a ticket. That's it. They were taping multiple shows on Thursday. We arrived at 10am after a harrowing ride thru LA traffic (my brother drives like a psycho because in LA you have to or you get killed). Parking is easy. You show them your ticket, and they check you in, give you a number to put on your shirt. Then you go and sit in folding chairs in rows with your number before they call you up, row by row, to fill out the standard forms saying you wont sue if some lunatic mows you over coming on down. And trust me there are loony birds galore sitting with you in their custom t shirts and crazy clothing just about ready to explode. 

Off you go to the "studio" which is nothing more than a Korean church leased to the Price is Right. They check your ID, then take your picture without glasses I assume to do facial rec to keep the violent crazies out. You sit in a conference room watching the current taping and participating with the people trying really hard to get on the show by acting up and yelling at the screen like you are there. Some lady in pink made us do the wave which we did. At some point you and your row are taken into a room where producer Jason will interview you and that's when the lunacy starts. People screeching and answering his questions with vigor and insanity. I simply told Jason I did as little as possible for a living and since he was wearing a NY Yankees cap, I spent the rest of my time hating the Yankees. The loonies laughed and he said he had no idea what the Yankees hat meant, he just liked New York. Ok then. my chances were blown (as if I had a chance anyway).

Eventually you make a long walk outside, in numerical order, to the studio, where they take your phone, your watch and your dignity. You are seated by a stagehand, I assume to put the unwashed in places they cannot be seen. That's us. Or so I thought. The studio is pretty big, bigger than I thought. You sit there as a gaggle of stagehands get you all hyped up constantly, Yeah, I got into it to the amazement of the family. Whooping and screaming. Look there was no chance I got picked. Zero. Zilch. But theres always a chance they want a 69-year-old fat guy with crazy hair and a Letterman beard to come on down. I had a routine in my head. It involved a fake cartwheel and a crazy haired reaction. Alas. 

The show began. Drew Carey came out to thunderous applause and bantered with the crowd. The announcer (I have no idea what his name is cuz I don't watch) got everybody piped up ,the stagehands threw their arms in the air and the show begam with 4 come on downs. Not us. The blonde gals we talked with from Texas and the most Texas looking blonde gals ever, had one picked, some older black dude, a black gal with a tiara and someone else I can't remember. They bid on something, and the black gal won. Dancing onstage playing the role expertly. She won her prize, and they sat her down in a row two up from us, where they forced her to sign her life away, I think. Meanwhile the audience screams and stands and tries to get noticed. Hey folks, they've known for two hours prior who they were picking. 

The rest of the show was nuts. They picked a fat 30 something guy so I was out. I fatty per show I assume. They picked a lady two rows in front of us and a woman behind us. They picked a guy literally right in front of us me. They picked a flight attendant we had spoken with earlier. Hey, I felt like we knew them and rooted for them sincerely.

During commercial breaks Drew would banter with the crowd, mostly the front row. How long ya been married, where ya from that sort of thing. He seemed like a very nice man. There were Husker fans there but because of the timing please don't mention you were there for a football game on November 8.

They fucked up. They reshot. They had technical glitches. But it's such a polished product it was great to see the imperfections.

Once the show part, the bids and the contest to win further prizes like higher and lower and guess the price were finished, they did the spin the wheel twice. The first three spun and the fat guy won. He seemed like a very nice guy, so I'll call him the big guy. Then the next three spun and Andy, the guy right in front of me won. I'm right behind his wife so look for the other fat guy, err big guy behind him.

They set up the showcases and here we go. Big guy passed his to Andy. Andy made a bid way too low in my opinion, Then the big dude bid, way too low in my opinion (two cars and he went with $35K).  Andy, my bud, was $7 something thousand low. I thought he won. Then the big dude was $7 thousand short also but less than Andy. The big dude won with much celebrating. Andy's wife was crushed because part of his showcase was a boat, which they have apparently. 

They asked us to stay because the next taping wasn't full. I was exhausted physically and especially mentally. My energy to act like a nutcase was done for. I am not like that at all, but I was acting like it there. Everybody had a blast. They do give you your phones, watches and self-esteem back and you go bye bye.

Notes:

The studio is right next to the Let's Make a Deal studio where the certifiably insane dressed like the Statue of Liberty go. 

The studio is cold.

The tickets are easy to get, Just go there and they'd probably let you in.

Often when the 3 doors are used the prizes are shown behind you for trips to Seoul and Cape Cod so you have to turn around to see the models.

Yes, the announcer said hi to his mommy and revealed he door dashed her breakfast everyday. 

The contestants who do not get onstage each receive $300. 

After the show they do one more come on down for a random number from the start who gets $100. They chose 78, we were 69 70 71 and 72, Oh Kevin was so close. 

It's a fun time I must admit. We were so glad we went. We got tickets literally the day before taping so go for it.

Our show airs 3/23/26. Whaaaaaaaaaat?

Sandwich Guy!

 

In one of the most idiotic trials ever, the sammy guy was acquitted of assault on a federal officer for making him smell onions and getting mustard on his vest.

Simply another distraction from the sight of Trump taking rights away and acting like a mob boss. 

Dude's a hero.