Miscalc

It was an interesting weekend to watch the events in Russia, for everyone except the residents of the Kremlin. One of Putin’s most devoted henchmen, Yevgeny Prigozhin, turned on him and started an armed march towards Moscow. The march was more of a publicity stunt than an armed insurrection but I was stunned by how far he got on the road to Moscow. He was able to seize the Russian logistics hub in Rostov and then got within 150 miles of the Russian capital. He also shot down a number of Russian aircraft sent against him while meeting no significant resistance. The stunning part was seeing the news reports of the reception his forces received during the march.

Putin asserts absolute control over the Russian media but we caught a glimpse of fragile that can be when a people have memories of a free press because there was definite discontent with the war in Ukraine and more chilling for Putin, an impression the Russian people were ecstatic that someone was standing up to the dictator. I know the images we saw were carefully broadcast by Prigozhin but it was telling. It’s all very Russian. I put the over/under on Prigozhin’s lifespan at three months. Putin continued miscalculations that began with the invasion of Ukraine continued with placing so much trust in his former hot dog vendor. The only problem being his only exit is to continue to feed young Russians into the Ukrainian meatgrinder hoping to eventually wear the Ukrainians down.

Happier Times for the "Buddies"

In entirely more mundane news, my Favorite Panamanian has latched onto another project for her husband to undertake. The innocent stairs from the garage into the house are the unwitting victims of her latest focus. She decided the stairs, currently unpainted, needed some sprucing up (because, why not?). My dithering campaign failed miserably in the face of her focus and I spent some time at the Home Depot this morning acquiring some gray paint. The stairs are our main entrance to the house as well as where we keep the recycling bins so they needed the spruce up but that also meant I had to clean them before I start applying the paint. That formed the latter part of my day as I taped off the surrounding area as well. Tomorrow the paint will fly, hopefully on target.

Target Area

My Favorite Panamanian and I knocked out a couple movies this week. Kandahar has Gerard Butler running around with lots of explosions going on around him, again.  I hadn’t heard much about this but it’s a pretty taut action flick. Butler plays a CIA contractor in Iran helping take down an Iranian nuclear facility. The Iranians are not pleased and take exception to his efforts, especially after they learn his identity from a newspaper writer and that he’s hanging out in nearby Afghanistan. The bulk of the movie has Butler and his Afghani translator making their away across Taliban controlled Afghanistan with everybody, and I mean everybody, trying to kill them. It’s a very engaging story with some real humanity between the two. Butler does so well in these type roles and he delivers again.

No Hard Feelings is an absolute riot of a raunchy comedy. Jennifer Lawrence can do anything and proves she has incredible comedy timing along with her other, obvious capabilities. She plays a down and out, incredibly immature, but hot, 32-year-old hired by some helicopter parents to “school” their Princeton bound son. You have to suspend a lot of disbelief to buy the concept but Lawrence and the young actor make it work. The success of any comedy depends on the supporting cast and the couple playing Lawrence’s friends are hilarious. It was nice to finally see another R-rated comedy come out since it seems Hollywood has been trying not to offend anyone which is basically impossible and a comedy is guaranteed to offend some overly sensitive group. This was a great watch.

Three movies fell in my A-Z watch, all keepers, out of alphabetical order, some new arrivals to the library: Wrath of Man, Jason Statham in a serious PO’d mood; and, since the final Indiana Jones debuts next week, I’ve started new 4K versions, Raiders of the Lost Ark, first five minutes some of the best cinema ever and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, with Capshaw's incredibly annoying screaming ruining it to a certain extent.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course