Thoughts!

 Jesus Christ, now they're arresting judges, deporting America citizens, raiding night clubs, sticking mug shots on the White House lawn while a 34 times convicted felon runs the show, and inviting paid Russian propagandists to the White House press pool. Trumps ICE is a rogue police force that has no rules. Per AG and bribe taker, Pam Bondi, no warrant is needed to bust into houses. If they look thru your garbage and find taco seasoning, I guess that's "probable cause" to these goons. It's madness. And it must be stopped. I guess if regulation of guns is a non-issue, let's let that 2nd Amendment fly its freak flag high. Reminder here, liberals own guns too. Tread lightly.

The Pope's funeral was Saturday and world leaders from all over were there to pay their respects. Our illustrious dementia stricken POTUS, The Felon, was there in his blue suit so he could stand out among the rest of the world who followed protocol and wore black. Trumpski sat there, next to Melania (I think it was her) and fell asleep, No he wasn't fucking praying Magats. That heathen has never prayed in his entire miserable life. Unless it was for underaged girls to shut up. After Zelensky received a round of applause, and Macron ignored his handshake and other world leaders shunned him for being the peasant he is, he pouted and immediately left so he could play golf with a sellout named Saquon Barkley. The dumb is astounding.

Pete Hegseth, drunk, is still there. Despite opening his war plans to any idiot on the internet because he's too lazy to go thru proper channels, or too loaded. This because nobody in this putrid regime accepts responsibility for anything. It's Bidens fault, or the borders' fault or the liberal media or blah blah. Kristi Noem had her fucking passport and $3K in cash stolen. Of course, it was an illegal. Yeah sure it was wink wink. This cabinet is full of liars, cheats, drunks and divas. 

Finally, Trumps approval rating are in the toilet. 39% after 99 days of chaos. Who the hell are these 39%? It is amazing that 10 years ago only 25% of anything was fucking nuts. Now its 39%. But Trump knows all bad news is fake. All facts are lies. All science is junk. All elections are rigged (unless they win). All morals are suggestions. All immigrants are illegal. All brown people are illegal. All black people are cheats. All women are deranged. All Asians are sneaky. It's like Archie Fucking Bunker got elected. Remember him? We used to laught at his antics and racism. Apparently, too many people thought it was a documentary on "America Foist". 

Geez.

Bill Maher!

 Look, I used to watch Bill Maher on Politically Incorrect way back and I didn't care for the guy then. Not that he didn't make me think, he did, but he came across as an arrogant prick. Then he got cancelled, which I think affected him far more than he let on. So, he went to HBO and started a show called Real Time on Friday nights. His monologue is trash. He so obviously imitates Johnny Carson right down to the sideways glances and audience scolding. Then he talks to a news maker one on one which can be interesting, but Bill makes it all about him. Then the panel and depending on the week, it also can be interesting. He regularly invites conservatives and liberals and then came 2016. The panel began to contain nutjobs like Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon types. These people are bomb throwers, not conservatives, thus you get nothing out of it. Then came 2020. Biden won, and Maher went all I gotta hate whatever is in power. He slammed liberals. some of it justified, but some of it was pure hey look at me, I'm a free spirit. I am so fair. You're out of touch not me. His happiest day may have been when Kamala lost. Even though he had predicted her to win, he couldn't wait for the I told you so. It's almost like never mind what I said then, what I say now is all that counts. I am never wrong, just flexible. WHO does that sound like?

Bill Maher spoke to Kid Rock on his show and Bob invited him to the White House for Dinner With Donald. Maher, ever the publicity hound, said sure. We just HAVE to talk with the other side. Bill is so fair. Then he went to dinner with 4 meatheads. Trump, UFC lunkhead Dana White, the aforementioned Kid Rock, fave of rockin meth heads everywhere and Trump himself, the ultimate lame brain. Bill posed for pictures, bragged that he wore a suit, and clinked wine glasses with the Bonehead Brain Trust.

Bill came home, kept the trip details under wraps, and then spilled the beans on his show. Trump laughed, he was cordial, he listened, he was funny and nice, and it all went well. Then Bill shrugged and said in his oh so typical smarmy way, Hey he was nice to me so therefore he must be an ok guy.

The reaction is furious. He is being slammed by not only libs, but by normal Republicans not under the spell. He got called out by a panelist for allowing himself to be used as a prop and the thin skinned Maher got personal, because, like Trump, he is never ever wrong. Maher doubled down and insisted Trump was personable, at least to me. And it continues. Maher will not back down with the Trump's a nice guy shit. He's killing himself and I've got popcorn.

Larry David hit the kill shot on Maher over the weekend. An opinion piece in the New York Times titled My Dinner With Adolf. A fictional meeting with Hitler in 1939, in which Larry met Hitler, who was personable and funny and made jokes about Goering. A real cool guy that Hitler. And then Larry left and fired off the Nazi salute he was so taken with Adolf. 

Larry David is everyman. He is self-deprecating and not afraid to make himself the bad guy, and Curb was perhaps the funniest show ever, But Maher just keeps up the arrogance and the condescending attitude and the I'm better than you persona.

Larry lives in the real world. Maher lives in a world in which he is King of Comedy. He sits on an imaginary throne and he aint gettin off.

So, Maher and Trump are the same guy. Thin skinned, never wrong, thinks he knows best and fuck you if you disagree.

The problem is Trump was elected by 77 million idiots. Maher is elected by nobody and is subject to ratings. I have a feeling those ratings are about to go the way of the Dow Jones. Crash and burn.

The Pope!

 I retired from Catholicism years ago. Probably around 1968 or so I stopped paying attention, stopped going to communion, stopped going to confession and stopped going to Mass, at least mentally. The whole thing seemed cult like with costumed humans pretending to know the answers (tho whenever I asked a question the answer was shut up). I suffered thru Catholic school for 12 years and once out I vowed to never return. I have returned for funerals and weddings but that was for the people involved. But being a "cultural Catholic" will never leave me. Living in the Midwest, Catholicism is often just an extension of conservative politics. It is foreign to me. The teachings of Jesus are ignored in order to preserve the white privilege and to whip yourself into a frenzy over somebody else's choice you don't like. The poor are there by choice, the homeless are also, racism is bad but what can I do about it, sexual abuse in the church is to be ignored and the American hierarchy must be MAGA.

But this Pope. This guy, Pope Francis, made me more of a cultural Catholic than ever before. The Pope was a positive force in the world. He didn't condemn anyone. He preached love and fairness and climate change and welcoming immigrants and just be kind. For that, we have resistance from conservative Catholics (an oxymoron if there ever was one) and online today pieces of shit like Marjorie Taylor Greene openly celebrating the demise of "evil". 

I loved the Pope. He was exactly what I always believed what a Pope should be. A decent man doing the Lord's work. Rich people don't need a Pope sticking up for them. The poor and the sick do need a voice. Pope Francis was that voice. 

Now let's just hope the Conclave doesn't screw this up and install a "Tedesco" to the seat. In this day and age of asshole, fascist leadership all over the world, a Pope should be the one fighting them. 

So long Jorge Mario Bergoglio. You were the best.

The picture is to remind us that Popes have senses of humor as do Presidents. Senses of humor that do not involve punching down as we have become.

The world is a less kind place today.

50501 Rallies!

 Did it make me feel better? Yep! Did I feel I accomplished anything? Probably not but everything starts somewhere and I will be in on the ground floor of a revolution that topples fascism. Or I'm heading for the gulag. Whatever. Living in this country, at this time, with the cruelty and the lies and the number of total assholes who crawled out of the swamp doesn't really make me feel safe any longer. Oh, not from the so-called rampant crime and all those "illegals" that are murdering white women thousands of times a day, but from suit and tie wearing Nazis working hard to Make America White Again. This administration is unlike anything I've ever seen, and I am old. I've been thru Nixon and Reagan and the  Bush boys and as bad as that seemed, this is beyond belief. A reality show host, embraced by losers who need to place to blame on their loser status by blaming anyone unlike them. Immigrants, women, gays, trans, liberals, minorities or the intelligentsia. Whatever I don't like, is keeping me down. It's sad.

Yesterday all over the nation, people of all stripes, all ages, all genders, all believing that fascism, Naziism, revenge, and lack of due process are wrong, came out to wave signs and be together to not feel so alone. Red states, blue states, cities, rural towns (special shoutout to Rushville, Nebraska, as ruby red of an area as there is in this nation had 43 brave souls line the street to express themselves) all stood together for a couple of hours or so and said no more. Will it work? Again, everything starts somewhere.

Look, I am not afraid to live in a state that has elected some of the stupidest people on Earth year after year because despite 30 some years of GOP rule, the majority of the state is unwilling to change. Vote R no matter what. They raise your property taxes to outrageous levels, raise income taxes rates on everyday people while granting virtually any business tax breaks, and ban abortion, fuck around with this idiot bathroom shit, ban transgender treatment, and vote to give everybody breathing a fucking gun but you still vote for them. Political fear is not a reaction, its cowardice.

I got in trouble in high school for advocating the end of a war in Vietnam. Take off that black armband they said. Stop rabble rousing they said. We will make your life miserable unless you fall into line and stop with this anti Nixon shit. Let me put it this way, they succeeded in making my high school experience a miserable slog of daily abuse. I hate the place to this day.

I've stepped up against Reagan, against the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War, Trumps first fiasco and now, at my advanced age, against this current band of authoritarian pricks. I am too old to stop now.

So, did yesterday make me feel better? Fuck yeah it did. And if you think that this does no good, well you're just an apathetic dope, probably either a fascist yourself, rich enough to withstand economic collapse or so cynical you are beyond help, sitting in the easy chair cutting down anything you feel too beaten down to understand. Chrissakes, the rally in Omaha featured a long rambling speech by some local self-proclaimed "communist "who bathes in the limelight of pissing into the tent by hammering "white liberals" as worse than the KKK. So far off the edge, he's just another fascist.

In conclusion, I am selfish enough to enjoy feeling better and thinking it's good for MY mental health. If you don't, well continue to do nothing. And when they finally come for you, broke and mentally exhausted, there will be nobody to stand up for you.

Special shoutout yesterday to the assholes gunning their Harleys and disrupting speeches, flipping us off, and riding around without helmets (Cmon organ donors!). You clowns give the bike riding community a bad name. It was so precious to watch the little boys having fun.

Foxtrot Delta Tango my friends. Forever.

100 Days?

 I thought I'd give him 100 days to fuck everything up and then comment. But he's much better at fucking shit up than even I thought. Ugh. 

Some Like It Hot!

 You've seen the movie, right? That 1959 Billy Wilder classic was bold for its time with the cross dressing and mature themes but basically, it's a farce, slapstick type of film.

The musical based on the movie opened in Omaha last night to a pretty packed house. It's a bit updated to go even further than the movie in its themes but forget all that, It's 2025 and gay, transgender and drag are in the mainstream despite what the MAGAts and its rather vocal minority are trying to do.

The story is as follows. Two song and dance men in 1933, Joe and Jerry, are hustling for gigs and stumble upon a mob murder. They need to go on the run to avoid being killed. They come up with the idea to join an all-girl jazz band by dressing as dames and touring the country until they reach San Diego where they will cross the border. Will Spats, the mob boss, find them before that? Will Joe continue to Gilligan every situation? Will Jerry ever get tired of being a woman?

This musical has some great songs. It is also without a doubt the wildest musical I have ever seen. There are so many things going on at once onstage it's sometimes hard to keep track of. But this crazy old-fashioned type of musical (despite the updated views on many themes) is just such a throwback to what entertained people for centuries. You cannot not like actors who can sing and dance and create such a frenzy onstage that it exhausts you too. The last 10 minutes of this nuttiness is absolutely brilliant. There is a chase scene involving a kind of musical doors atmosphere in which the actors are going in and out of doors, singing, dancing and making the crowd laugh while at the same time being amazed at the energy. Yeah, as I said, it exhausted me too. It was wild to see this slapstick/tap dancing/singing craziness going on all at once. The rehearsal involved must be flawless and it paid off onstage.

Now the performers. Matt Loehr is Joe, a combination sax player and con artist. Loehr is fantastic. Once he becomes "Josephine" in women's clothing he also becomes Dana Carvey as church lady. I challenge anyone to not be waiting for him to exclaim "well isn't that special".

Tavis Kordell is Jerry the bass player. He's kind of a follower who lets Joe get them in trouble time after time. But once he becomes Daphne, the tall drink of water, he becomes the leader. Realizing who he really is, this character is truly the interesting one as he becomes himself. Kordell is just a force onstage with his dancing and singing. He will be one to watch for. Also think of Mrs. Howard on Abbott Elementary.

Leandra Ellis-Gaston is Sugar, the singer in the band, She is bound and determined to become a star. Joe falls in love (as Josephine) with her and has to keep up the charade of being Josephine and Kip, the German "screenwriter" who will take her to the top. Gaston is good but for some reason she didn't connect with me as a character. But this woman can sing!

Now for Tarra Connor Jones as Sweet Sue, the leader of the band. Sweet Sue is a bad ass. Sue cannot believe what is happening to her band. Jones can act with her face. Keeping an eye on her for her priceless facial reactions is comedy gold. Plus, she gets lots of sassy lines and had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

Some Like It Hot is wild. It's maybe the best show of the 2024-2025 season. Boredom will not be a problem as there really are no speed bumps. 

Obviously. I recommend this musical highly. It's not heavy at all. It's comedy at its core and it succeeds.

Bravo!  

Hadestown!

 The first time we saw Hadestown from up in the rafters, I was blown away by the story, the music, and the performances. It was so New Orleans, it was so Greek tragedy, and it was so damned good.

Hadestown came back last night and this time we were on the floor which makes it even better to actually see the performers faces and the knowing glances between characters. 

Hadestown is about well, Hades. Sell your soul to the devil and suffer the consequences. Hades is played by the deep bass voice of Nickolaus Colon, who really doesn't enter the play until the end of Act 1 but once he does its game on. His wife, Persephone, played by an understudy Miriam Naverette, spends 6 months in the overworld and 6 months in the underworld. Eurydice, a homeless poverty-stricken woman who is duped into entering hell. Played by a wonderful Megan Colton, Eurydice has a hero up above in Orpheus, a songwriter in love with her attempting to finish a song that will free her from Hades clutches. Orpheus, played by a great singer, Bryan Munar, walks to the underground and thru the wall to free Eurydice. Will he succeed? Well, it's a tragedy so you guess. He succeeds yes, but he also fails.

The narrator of this play is Hermes, played by Jaylon Crump, and he is the glue. From the opening where he plays with the crowd, the other performers and the musicians onstage, Crump is a joy to watch. He belts out the Road To Hell and gets this thing rolling and it just keeps rolling towards its inevitable tragic end. Crump is a force onstage. And he's a helluva singer, actor and dancer.

I loved this version. Hadestown is in my Top 5 musicals of all time. The song that ends Act 1 is a dirge called Why We Build The Wall, and is so relevant to today's atmosphere its uncanny for a musical written in 2006. It's as if the writers anticipated the arrival of MAGA.

If you get a chance, see Hadestown. It's one helluva ride.,