March Words of Wisdom

The wisdom, its numbers are dwindling... 

 

But oh my, this is a noisy world. (Mr. Fred Rogers) 

 

We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think. (Rod Serling)

 

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. (Aldous Huxley) 

 

Common sense is not a gift, it's a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn't have it. (George Bernard Shaw) 

NOTE: I love this one because my Dad once told me some of the best advice he'd ever been given (by a teacher) was that, "You'd be surprise how uncommon common sense is." Yup.

 

Ask me to show you poetry in motion and I will show you a horse. (Unknown)  

 

Even Hollywood is abandoning Hollywood

Hollywood is following the exodus out of Hollywood, although they aren't going as far as others: The Oscars are leaving the Dolby Theatre for the Peacock Theater.

 

What this means is that the Academy Awards will depart its Hollywood Boulevard location of over twenty years for the L.A. Live complex in Downtown L.A. This will put them near the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center).

 

The problem with this, in my opinion, is two-fold. All of Los Angeles has gone downhill in the past 5-10 years, overrun with drug-addled homeless, increasing crime, and rising cost of living that hugely outpaces the rest of the country (in fact, this pretty much applies to all if not most of California). So Hollywood the town loses one of the few things left that gives it shine and prestige, but the event moves to an area (DTLA) that has even worse problems than Hollywood. I haven't been to DTLA in years, not even to see a Kings game, partly because I no longer feel safe on Metro or the area, and only partly due to the team's lackluster play. So neither location is particularly desirable, but at least Hollywood Boulevard put the ceremony in the heart where it all started for Tinseltown.

 

I lived in Hollywood for fifteen years (1997-2012) and watched it bloom after years of deterioration with the addition of the Kodak Theatre, the return of the Oscars, and the installation of the Red Line subway. You couldn't pay me to live there now. And I remember when the Oscars moved to the Kodak/Dolby - after years at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in DTLA - bringing the ceremony to the industry's namesake town was presented as a big, meaningful deal. I think it's a real hit for Hollywood and Hollywood Boulevard as a destination (albeit one that needs to be cleaned up big time).

 

And it's not just Hollywood the town that's lost much of its luster - the film industry has been dying, especially in the past few years after the 2023 writers and actors strikes. Viewership for the Oscars has plummeted over the years. It's no longer appointment television. What was once a yearly event now barely registers with a huge portion of the public.

 

This isn't the only recent move made by the Academy. They recently announced the broadcast was leaving its long-time home on ABC to YouTube. While this may be a statement about the power of tech over broadcast television, I think it also says something about the drop in viewership. This may make it easier for more people to watch, giving them a chance to claim increased interest and restored importance. Both moves take effect with the 2029 ceremony.

 

Updated 4/3/26: The exodus continues to hollow out the home of the entertainment industry: J.J. Abrams is closing the Los Angeles location of Bad Robot, his production company. 

 

Recent reading: "Mrs. McGinty's Dead"

Mrs. McGinty's Dead: A Hercule Poirot Mystery

by Agatha Christie

 

I'm behind on reading, as usual. This was actually the February book for #ReadChristie2026 and due to being uprooted by a temporary move, I just finally got to this one. And it was a good one.

 

After a wonderful dinner at a French restaurant, Hercule Poirot's gastronomic reveries go by the wayside when he returns home and finds Superintendent Spence of the Kilchester Police waiting for him. They once worked a case together and Spence has a favor to ask. It concerns the murder of a widowed charwoman whose supposed killer has just been convicted and will be hung. The problem is that even Spence, an experienced investigator, doesn't think they have the right man, although the evidence - collected by Spence himself - resulted in a quick conviction. Intrigued, Poirot agrees to take the case.

 

He heads to Broadhinny to round up the usual suspects, and as is usual in Christie's works, there is a large and colorful cast of characters/suspects. The convicted man himself is the most colorless, the type of person my Dad euphemistically referred to as "not one of life's winners." James Bentley was Mrs. McGinty's lodger, had lost his job and was two months behind in paying for his room. In addition to being murdered Mrs. McGinty's room had been ransacked and money taken and stashed in the yard. Bentley had no alibi other than he had been out walking on his own, nothing pointed to anyone else, and the jury was presented with what appeared to be an open and shut case. Bentley is also not very helpful, having resigned himself to his fate, but fortunately for him Poirot is determined to find Mrs. McGinty's real killer.

 

It turns out Mrs. McGinty wasn't killed for money, but for having discovered a dark secret about one of Broadhinny's residents. How Poirot, who himself feels frustrated during most of the investigation, determines the actual guilty party was a lot of fun. I got through it in just a couple of sittings. Definitely better than January's experience.

 

One of the many things I really loved about this story was Poirot's musings on his love of good food and how he and Superintendent Spence celebrated solving the mystery with dinner back at the French restaurant from the beginning of the story.

 

The theme for Read Christie this year is Biggest, Best, Beloved, and Mrs. McGinty's Dead was picked for Beloved Character(s). Next month: Murder on the Orient Express. It's supposed to represent "Biggest Impact on You As A Young Reader" but believe it or not, I've never read it. I didn't really read mysteries as a young reader, I was buried in horse books. But it's a Poirot and I can't imagine not loving it, although I do already know the twist in its ending. But it's Poirot, and I do love him, so I'm looking forward to it.

 

Submitted for your approval...

The Twilight Zone ("It's a Good Life") meets Calvin and Hobbes.

 

Love it. Snicked from Rod Serling Memorial Foundation on FB.

 

Memorieeeeeeesss

L.A. Kings Captain Anze Kopitar announced at the beginning of the season that this would be his final year. Last night the Kings played (and beat) the Rangers in New York and after the game the Rags formed a handshake line to show their respect to the Kings' future Hall of Famer and two-time Stanley Cup champion. Pure class shown by both the Rangers and their fans.

And guess who was at the end of the line - Kopi's Stanley Cup teammate and goalie god Jonathan Quick.

I could watch this forever: 

Kopitar's retirement means Drew Doughty will be the last remaining King from our 2012 and 2014 Cup winning teams. The years, they just go by too fast. I miss Quick terribly and losing Kopi is going to leave such a hole in this team. Wish I could have watched that 2012 lineup forever.

 

The McDonald's CEO/Big Arch fiasco

So this has been all over the internets lately, popping up repeatedly on my social media and I finally have to offer up my two cents.

 

First up let me say that I don't know who in the CEO's office or Golden Arches marketing watched this video and thought it would be a good idea to send it out into the world, but they did and the backlash has been pretty much universal. Some of the observations I keep seeing (and agree with): 1) The guy doesn't look like he's eaten red meat in his life, 2) He takes the tiniest bite ever, and that plus his unconvincing enthusiasm gives the impression that he can't stomach the burger, 3) He refers to it as a "product" instead of food. Overall, it's a disaster.

 

 

 

A few more of my own observations:

• The burger looks like it's been roughed up. It's lopsided and flat. How do you as a McDonald's employee serve this sorry-looking thing to your CEO? And how, as CEO, do you put in on camera? I know that's probably how it would realistically look by the time you get it home from the drive-thru, but you'd think for this video they would make sure it looked pristine. I mean, check out how they present it on the website - quite a difference:

Now THAT'S a big burger!

• How to "attack" it? It doesn't appear to be any bigger than a Big Mac, which has been around for decades. Plus, they already sell a double-quarter pounder, so having two of those patties isn't anything new. If they're trying to pass this off as massive compared to those two, it isn't working, especially when you compare the burger in the video to the image from the website. And him saying he took a big bite when he barely made a dent in it is just too obviously false.
• The fry carton is only partially filled. Again, is this what we can expect our large fry order to look like when we get home? Staging, people.
• Overall, he does a terrible job of describing what's on the burger that makes it unique, like he's seeing it for the first time. The Big Mac was famously launched with an ad campaign jingle that was simply a list of it's unique ingredients, so earwormy that people of a certain age (me) can to this day tell you exactly what makes up the Big Mac: 🎵 Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun 🎵 Couldn't they have just given him the list from the website?

The guy is just not persuasive in terms of selling the Big Arch as a heavenly burger experience. He may be good behind a desk, but not on camera. I don't for one minute believe this guy enthusiastically tucks into McDonald's food on a regular basis. Like many other people who watched this video, I don't think he eats this stuff at all. He honestly looks repulsed at having to consume his "product". 

 

I also notice they're promoting it as a limited time item, but given this anemic launch (more attention being paid to the flawed video than the burger itself) I don't think this is going to be the next McRib. I also wonder why it's limited time. Do they not have enough faith in it to launch it simply as a new addition to the menu? Is it a ploy to cover their butts if it's not successful and has to go away without admitting it flopped? Sure seems that way. 

 

Bottom line, I have more questions than appetite about this launch, which is the exact opposite of the effect it should have on me, the consumer.

 

Eight years. I'm boggled by this.

Lost in all the drama with the Kona house yesterday was the eighth anniversary of my Mom's passing. In May it will be fifteen years for my Dad. I still can't get over how fast the years go by. It doesn't seem that long at all for either of them. I also don't think they'd like the changes made to the Kona house. I know I still don't understand the tan walls. It's just so blah.

 

It really is a beautiful, peaceful place.

So I just found out my Dad's Hawaii house is back on the market AGAIN

I don't know what's going on here, but after my Dad's old house in Kailua-Kona sold for $1.3 million in August of 2024 (after being listed for nearly $1.6 million), last night I discovered that it went back on the market in December for just under $1.5 million. 

 

2024's drama:

 

 Surprise! It's baaaaack!

 

A couple weeks ago they reduced the price to $1.45 million, which means even if they get that, they make $150k profit? Is it worth flipping a house like this for that amount of money? It doesn't seem like it. And that doesn't take into consideration what they spent on it since August of 2024.

 

I had no idea it was purchased as a flip, but that's what it looks like. From the pictures, they made two major changes: they removed the carpet and replaced it with wood floors, and painted the interior a very blah shade of tan. I don't know who thought that was a good idea - if I bought the house, the first thing I'd do is paint the walls white again. This does the exact opposite of brightening the place up. I think the place looked a lot better when my Dad had it.

 

 

Bleah. Now to see what they manage to get for it. Kona House Watch 2026, baby!

 

Update 3/21/26: It's under contract (as opposed to sold). I wonder what the offer is. I also bet the neighbors are getting sick of the constant turnover. And I still can't get over how crappy the beigey floors and ceiling are. Someone actually thought that was a good idea. Ick.

 

Updated 5/6/26: Sold. $1,400,000. They made $100,000 after all the "upgrades" and a year and nine months of paying for it. Hope it was worth it. Hope it finally has owners who want to live in it, love it, and not flip it in another year and a half. Aloha.

 

That's so Kings

 

The Los Angeles Kings have been flailing and the fans have been begging for a coaching change for most of the season (and even last season). Last night the Kings smacked the Calgary Flames 2-0 for their first win since before the Olympics and what does the team do? They fire head coach Jim Hiller. After they finally won a game, in a shutout no less.

 

I know nothing about interim coach D.J. Smith other than he was previously bounced out of Ottawa and what little I've seen online this morning Sens fans have nothing good to say about him. But at this point the team had to do something, anything, and they finally did it. They're three points out of a playoff spot and even if they do squeak in, we're probably looking at yet another first round exit. Hopefully there will be at least one competent coach available this summer who can turn this team around.

 

The Kings have other issues. There's injuries (including the loss of Kevin Fiala, who suffered a season-ending injury in the Olympics) and next season they will be without retiring captain Anze Kopitar for the first time in twenty years. They did pull off a good move acquiring Artemi Panarin a few weeks ago, so at least we've got that going for us. But I have a feeling we're looking at a long rebuilding unless they find a head coach who can really light a fire under these guys.