No Lives Left

This is how the decade ends This is how the decade ends This is how the decade ends Not with a bang, But with a meow… Cats (2019) is an abomination. I don't know where to begin or how. I'll try, but just know that I'm not entirely sure what I just saw or how to digest what happened (mentally and physically). What can be said of Cats is that it is an experience like no other. It's a trip through a surrealistic wonderland where cats are a magical cult that believe in Samsara. Except, instead of focusing on meditation and giving up worldly desires, these cats just need to sing about how great (or crappy?) their lives are, and hope Judy Dench cat, the cat that controls the ascension to rebirth, likes them. (Note: I refuse to refer to any characters by their name in the movie and will only refer to them by their stage name. The cats’ names in the movie are dumb and the movie is dumb, so there) ( Also note: I will not be posting any screens from the m...

I work in manufacturing. Every week is a challenge and some days it can feel like everything is going wrong all at once. A lot of times problem-solving doesn’t happen so easily. Issues can have a multitude of variables and have multiple ways of existing. It could be that a process wasn’t designed well but got rushed into production. And then the operators weren’t trained well on the process and were incorrectly executing on a bad process. The problem could also be exacerbated by the fact that the materials the operators used never went through adequate quality control and get impacted by the bad process that is being used.  It can take days to weeks or months to identify the problem and then another few more months to confirm that your solution will work. Other times it just takes time to figure out where to start. On those days that spiral out of control I tend to have mini meltdowns and panic attacks. It's because the situation can feel oppressive and having them ...

“Honk!” exclaimed the Goose as it lurked behind the park bench. The soccer ball dropped as the kid threw his hands up in fear.  Where was that horrendous noise coming from? And whatever is making it- is it coming for me?  The boy slowly turned around and… “Honk!” “Honk!” The goose popped out from behind the wall flapping its wings wildly. The crazed look in its eye signaled to the boy that this goose was out for blood-at least that’s what the boy thought. F orget the ball, forget the toy plane! I gotta run! I gotta get away from this goose!  With his hands still flailing around, the boy ran to the nearest place that could offer isolation. He needed to be somewhere… anywhere …besides out here with the goose. The honking was growing louder, and he knew he couldn’t outlast the goose’s rapid pace. He thought he could hide in the car by the curb, but he didn’t have the keys to get in. There might have been shelter in the TV boutique shop, but the lady behind the coun...

I ended up watching Aquaman a few weeks ago. Let me start out by saying that the one thing I can unequivocally say is that it is a extremely pretty movie. Though the CG can be hit or miss, the art direction is phenomenal. The four kingdoms of the ocean (including Atlantis) all have their own distinct styles. It also helps that Aquaman doesn't have to follow any type of thematic formula from the past DCEU movies. While some part of the movie are dark and dreary, most of the movie is set in either the psychedelic and phosphorescent city of Atlantis (seriously, it's like Futurama under water) or in some part of the world that's sunny and cheery. While Batman v. Superman and Justice League tried to keep the tone dark and dreary as much as possible (to a fault), Aquaman decides to just mix it up all over the place. The main plot is typical of the hero's journey: The main protagonist is not fit to take on the position he was destined for, so he then goes on a jou...