Hiking With My Son On a Beautiful Early Autumn Day

A great hike on an idyllic, crisp early autumn afternoon. That was what my son and I were privileged enough to enjoy yesterday afternoon.

After all of the rain that we had gotten in the previous four or so days, I figured that the waterfall would be strong, and would look spectacular. So I suggested to my son that we go for a hike to the waterfall, and he agreed. It did not disappoint. 

This waterfall is one which I have been going to for many years now. Indeed, it might even be decades that I have been coming here. It is an idyllic, picturesque respite. But I have never seen it look as powerful and majestic as it did yesterday, when we went and saw it seemingly at full strength.

So obviously, I snapped some pictures. Some of them came out very well, if I say so myself. They seemed worth sharing here, in any case.

Enjoy!

I advised my son not to take any unnecessary risks. With words, he agreed. In terms of action, it was a different story:

NFL 2023 Week 4 Thursday Night Football Preview: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers

   

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Detroit Lions (2-1) at Green Bay Packers (2-1)

This is an interesting, early season battle. It is an important game, too, because it could go a fairly long way to giving one team the momentum needed to take a lead in the division race for the NFC North.

Here's the thing: these two teams sure appear to be the top two teams in the NFC North division. The Bears look like they are literally the worst team in the league, which is what they were last year as well. And the Vikings, who ran away with this division last season, are experiencing serious problems, having stumbled off to a dismal 0-3 start to the season. They don't look as bad as the Bears, but they also don't look good.

So that leaves these two teams. The Green Bay Packers, who are the usual suspects in thsi division in recent decades. And the Detroit Lions, who are the upstarts.

Yet, there is reason to be hopeful in Detroit. After all, not only have the Lions won 9 of their last 12 games, dating back to last season, but one of those wins was an important showdown at Lambeau Field in the season ender last season. The Pack needed that win to qualify for the playoffs, and the Lions handed them a humbling loss to eliminate them. If they could do that then, they might be able to pull off this win now. 

And that was with Aaron Rodgers. Jordan Love looked good in the final quarter last weekend against New Orleans. But remember, prior to that, the Packers were having a miserable game, and that was at Lambeau Field. They pulled off an almost miraculous comeback, and still needed the Saints to miss a chip shot field goal in order to win that game. In other words, they got lucky. Otherwise, they might be teetering and standing at 1-2 at this point.

Meanwhile, the Lions have lost only one game, a back and forth affair against Seattle that, ultimately, was decided in overtime. They have played well in all three games, and returned to winning ways last weekend. This would likely be the biggest win for this franchise in a number of years. Should they win, they likely would be in the driver's seat not only for the playoffs, but likely for the division title, which is a rarity up in Detroit. So this game is absolutely huge for them. 

I believe that the Packers can be tough, especially at home. However, the Lions just look like the better team right now. They have some momentum, dating back to last season. They have a rare opportunity to win a game that would go far in establishing them as the favorites to win the division, and to be among the relative elites in the NFC, a rarity for this franchise. 

In short, this is a very important game for them. And I suspect that the Lions will respond. It will not be easy for them, to be sure. Still, they should emerge with a win, which should boost their confidence and help them to fulfill the tremendous promise that this season seems to hold for them.

My pick: Detroit

Donald Trump Legally Liable For Fraud in New York Civil Case As Judge Finds Evidence Against Him Overwhelming

I don't want to talk about Trump, and have been trying to make a point of not talking about him.

However, it seems that more than anybody else in recent history, he dominates the headlines of newspapers and evening news literally every day. I've never seen a president, or now an ex-president, so apparently easily or effortlessly garner all sorts of attention. Some people  - and it seems that the media is the most 

So for those reasons, I have been trying specifically not to talk about King Con Don.

However, there was a very interesting development yesterday. Justice Arthur Engoron of New York state court, the judge in Trump's fraud case in New York, felt that there was just such overwhelming evidence of fraud, that there was no actual trial needed. Attorney General Letitia James will now establish the damages, which will be due on Monday, October 2nd.

Of course, Trump and his family are crying foul Always the victims, Trump is alleging that his civil rights are being abused.

Here's the thing: we all know that he is guilty. I suspect that even his most loyal supporters know, deep down, that he is guilty. In fact, I believe that is part of the attraction for them, that he keeps getting away with it. In fact, my suspicion is that the more bad behavior he gets away with, the worse his behavior gets, and the more his supporters love him. This seems to be evidence to them of him "owning the libs." And the lesson that Trump - living proof that wisdom does not necessarily come with age if ever I saw an example - clearly gets in all of this is to try and push the envelope. Thus, his obnoxious and overly entitled behavior is never curbed, since there are no ramifications. 

Like, ever. 

Until recently, anyway. 

Now, I still am both amazed and, frankly, greatly dismayed by how much this pathetic, astonishingly needy man gets away with. And my suspicions are that he will continue to get away with his criminal conduct. The very fact that his survival instincts never allow him to express any remorse for what he has done, that he has no shame, and that in fact, he always proclaims himself to be the victim when he has obviously lived a very privileged, entitled life, will help him to get away with it. I don't believe that he actually is a "very stable genius," yet I have to admit that he does have a certain shrewd genius when it comes not only to self-preservation, but also self-promotion. Whatever happens, he uses it for his own advantage. Already, he is using this latest legal development to bolster his case that he is America's savior, the one and only person who can save this country, and that the evil forces trying to undermine this country are all obviously out to get him. Is there anyone who even doubts that his supporters will eat this up, and ask for more afterwards? And are the concerns that such things might lead to violence, possibly even a second civil war?

Perhaps. Still, this is a country of laws. And it seems obvious - beyond obvious for anyone with any measure of objectivity - that Trump has broken the law both legally and in terms of the spirit of the laws that are supposed to reign people like him in, time and time again. So with that in mind, he should be held accountable, at least if we want to still believe that those laws literally mean anything. Indeed, he is guilty, and should be held accountable.

On some level, I am rejoicing. But this was the least serious of the trials which he is facing. His role during the January 6th insurrection, as well as his election tampering case in Georgia, are to me far more serious. Those are the ones which, I personally feel, he should be hammered with and, frankly, it would be nice to see him rot in jail for the rest of his life. Who cares if he is a former president, which was an argument that some Republicans claimed regarding Bill Clinton when the question was raised as to whether or not he should go to jail? 

Yes, Trump is a criminal, who happened, tragically, to have been elected President of the United States. To me, that is all the more reason why he should now serve as an example that nobody - absolutely no one individual - is above the law. Hopefully, when the time comes, let him rot in jail for the rest of his days. 

Donald Trump found liable for fraud in New York civil case By Jonathan Stempel and Karen Freifeld September 27, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/legal/judge-finds-trump-liable-fraud-new-york-civil-case-2023-09-26/

Martin Scorsese Sounds Off Against Comic Book Culture

When some superhero movies began to be released as blockbuster movies, it seemed like a good idea to me at the time. 

Why wouldn't they do it? The question seemed to me at the time was why hadn't they already started this trend earlier? 

Specifically, the first real blockbuster superhero movie that I can remember was "Batman," which was released in 1989, if memory serves correctly.

Of course, there had been some superhero movies before then, most notably the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves. Also, the Incredible Hulk, with Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby. Surely, some others that I am not remembering, or perhaps even aware of.

The Spiderman movies of the 2000's still felt welcome to me, and I pretty much enjoyed them.

However, superhero movies began to take a darker turn after the release of Ironman in 2007. At that point, it seemed that they just started to take over. Before long, other movies simply could not compete with the big money making monsters that the superhero movies had become. 

By the mid-2010's, they began to feel overwhelming. It seemed like there were new superhero movies coming out every few months at most. And they were crowding out other, potentially very good movie ideas which did not happen to have any associations with superheroes.

This became glaringly obvious with the release of one of the best superhero movies (actually, kind of an anti-superhero movie) in 2019, with "The Joker." It was actually more of an artsy, intellectual film, only disguised with superhero associations. But the guy who made it did so because he felt that he could not get any support for a movie that did not feature some kind of superhero or, in this case, a supervillain for superheroes to fight. 

At a job some years ago, I knew a guy who was a few years older than me, and who had no tolerance for any movies that were not action-packed, with some kind of explosions and other great special effects seemingly every minute. One movie franchise that he seemed to think was great was the Transformers, which I thought were among the worst movies that I had seen. It felt that there was almost no storyline, and that what passes for a storyline was merely a means of getting to the real draw, which were the seemingly endless amounts of CGI explosive special effects, one after another. That a grown man - again, he was older than me, by then in his mid-forties or so - would almost proudly proclaim that he could not bear to watch a movie that was not filled with such mindless violence and special effects, lest his attention waver for the briefest moment, was a major turnoff. That was about the time when I began to make a conscious effort to limit the number of comic book movies that my son and I went to.

It actually reminded me a bit of when I began to go see some sports games, particularly NFL football, when in my twenties. I had wanted to "make up" for lost time, when going to a game felt like an almost inaccessible privilege. Once I started going and seeing how many - probably even most - of the fans were, it dawned on me that this was not the way that I wanted to be, not how I wanted to live my life. Seeing this guy - and other similar guys who might not have expressed it as outright as this, but who also filled their lives with tons of similarly mindless action movies and video games, which similarly have taken over as a frankly immature form of entertainment, particularly for relatively young men, and especially for those often described these days as "incels" - was an eye opener. It feels like all of these things, far from the lively and, on the surface, engaging stories that they are advertised as, actually has the opposite effect, and lulls the minds of the viewers (or gamers, when it comes to video game culture) to sleep. Indeed, I know some people - I'm talking about grown men here in their thirties and forties - who have literally almost no tolerance for real world things. They want to get back to the escapism of comic book movies and/or video games as quickly as they can. In some cases, they recognize that there lives feel unsatisfying and dull. Yet, the addiction of returning to these things is so strong, that they don't recognize that, indeed, these very things which seem to make them happy, or at least keep them distracted, might actually be preventing them from obtaining more out of life.

Nowadays, the release of yet another superhero movie generally is met by a certain indifference by me. There are some which I enjoy and still might look to see. But generally speaking, with my son now pretty much almost a grown man, the days of us going to a new Marvel or DC movie that he highly anticipated are done. I will try not to go to the theaters to see any more superhero movies.

As a society, it seems to me that Martin Scorsese is right. Enough is enough with the comic book movies. Let's bring movies that can add beauty and which might actually require a little thought back into cinemas. 

Martin Scorsese: “I Have To Find Out Who The Hell I Am.” Now 80, the legendary director is on one of the most creative runs of his career— and consumed by the challenges (and opportunities) of all that he has left to do. By Zach Baron   September 25, 2023:

https://www.gq.com/story/martin-scorsese-profile?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_social-type=owned&utm_brand=gq&mbid=social_facebook&fbclid=IwAR1HCWqgCyUALKIhT2uFQkOx2v6aqzc_v0RJuCE6neeO1ZN1kWKGMUPnryI

Martin Scorsese: Filmmakers Like Christopher Nolan And The Safdie Brothers Are Leading The “Fight Back” Against Comic Book Movie Culture By Zac Ntim, September 25, 2023:

https://deadline.com/2023/09/martin-scorsese-christopher-nolan-safdie-brothers-comic-book-marvel-1235555382/

Martin Scorsese Urges Audiences To "Fight Back" Against Comic Book Films “We’ve got to save cinema.” by Joyce Li  Sept 26, 2023: 

“We’ve got to save cinema.”

https://hypebeast.com/2023/9/martin-scorsese-urge-audiences-fight-back-agaisnt-comic-book-films?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=facebook_post&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1NE5IeHl16UmgMUzDgBJZ65Hs7u6-u3Y9es0eeSTBNnmjppqyro-K8gpg#Echobox=1695714287

September 20th Pictures

Took these pictures a little less than a week ago, but then promptly forgot about them.

Shame on me. But that is being reminded now, right? Better late than never.

First was a beautiful sunrise reflected on a lake (actually a reservoir) in the early morning. Then, my son climbing a rock while hiking. 

Finally, a huge spider that we encountered during the hike, which I felt I had to take a picture of.

Enjoy!

NFL Week 3 Review: Dolphins Score Stunning 70 Points & Other Records

                

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Records galore this weekend, which somehow felt reminiscent to me of the 1980's. I believe that the 80's and 90's (particularly the early part of the decade) were the golden age of NFL football. What specifically reminded me of those times? Well, the Dolphins have the most potent, dangerous offense in the entire league, clearly. And the Giants and 49ers locked up on a nationally televised night game, which also was reminiscent of the 80's and early 90's. Buffalo is rolling and once again look like a powerhouse, which feels particularly reminiscent of the late 80's and especially the early 90's, when they went to four straight Super Bowls.

Let's take a look at the games coming up for Week 3:

 

LA Chargers 28, Minnesota 24 - Two 0-2 teams battling it out. I felt suspect of the Vikings, and they showed why. That said, why in the hell would the Chargers go for the fourth down conversion, deep in their own territory when clinging to a narrow lead? Yes, Minnesota turned the ball over, but seriously! That could have lost them the game, and they would have deserved to lose. It feels like both of these teams have significant problems at the moment. My pick: Accurate

Houston 37, Jacksonville 17 - This one I didn't see coming. Yes, on any given Sunday, anything can happen. But the Texans going on the road and dominating the Jaguars, ultimately blowing them out? Nope, can't say that I saw that coming. . My pick: Inaccurate

Detroit 20, Atlanta 6 - The Lions once again looked like the team that could win the division and make some noise in the playoffs. They dominated the previously unbeaten Falcons, and looked very good doing it. The offense was efficient when it needed to be, and the defense postiviely shut Atlanta down. Impressive win.. My pick:  Accurate

Green Bay 18, New Orleans 17 - When you are a 2-0 tea and possess an 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, it suggests that you are good enough to hang onto that lead and reach a 3-0 mark. But the Pack suddenly roared to life, and the Saints, who to be fair, had their starting QB injured during the game, suddenly looked lifeless and did not know how to stop the momentum. Yet, they still had a chance to steal the win with a relatively short field goal attempt in the end, but it was a miss. Now, everyone is questioning just how serious the Saints actually are, and with good reason. My pick: Accurate, But Just Barely

Cleveland 27, Tennessee 3 - I started off my preview by suggesting that these were two tough teams to make predictions for. Despite Cleveland's solid, dominant win, I stand by that. It's really hard to tell at the moment when either of these teams will be running on all cylinders, or will sputter to an embarrassing, lopsided defeat.. . My pick: Inaccurate

Miami 70, Miami 20 - The Broncos defense seemed to simply give up in this one. But you have to give the Dolphins offense tremendous credit for making Denver reach that point. The Dolphins put up te most amount of points that I have ever seen. Indeed, nobody has seen any NFL team put up this many points since 1966, when Washington beat the Giants, 72-41. Indeed, this marked only the fourth time in NFL history that a team has managed to score 70 points, and Miami evidently likely could have scored a field goal right at the end to tie the all-time record of points scored inn a single game, which was set by the Chicago Bears against Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship, which they won, 73-0. Otherwise, the only other time that a team scored 70 points was when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Baltimore Colts 70-27 in 1950. The Dolphins set numerous records with this game. They set a franchise record for most points scored, and produced 726 total yards, the second most in any NFL game ever. They also became the first team to earn five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. They became the first team in NFL history to produce both 70 points and 700 yards of offense in the same game. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is earning serious MVP discussion early in the season, particularly with this performance. He completed his first 17 passes and ended with 23 of 26 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns overall. Those are near perfect numbers, and he finished with a 155.8 passer rating. Just an awesome display! This is one of the things that felt reminiscent of the NFL of the 1980's, back when the Miami Dolphins always seemed to have the most explosive offense in the league. Wow! Just...wow!  My pick: Accurate

Dolphins SCORE 70 POINTS In Blowout Win Over Broncos I CBS Sports

Buffalo 37, Washington 3 - The Bills were my pick in this one. But I did not think that they would win it so easily! Washington looked overwhelmed, almost as if they were a joke. For one weekend, at least, it seems that Buffalo turned them into one. Wow! My pick: Accurate

New England 15, NY Jets 10 - This game felt like a cure to insomnia. Seriously, it was an ugly game. Even, aesthetically, it was a gray, rainy, soggy game. And the Jets played very sloppily, particularly quarterback Zach Wilson, who seems to have absolutely no confidence anymore. It seems clear that he is not the man to lead the Jets. Apparently, even Joe Namath called him out publicly and said as much, which is saying something! For the Jets, this marks a 15th straight loss to the Patriots, and it is also their second straight loss, with the Kansas City Chiefs now coming up. So it does not look like it will get much prettier for Gang Green.   My pick: Accurate 

Indianapolis 22, Baltimore 19 (OT) - The Colts eared a bizarre win, although it feels like the Ravens kind of blew this one, as well. Not the result I expected. But the Colts are apparently better than expected this season, while the Ravens, who's unbeaten start felt a bit suspect, are not yet ready to dominate this division, or anyone, really.. My pick: Inaccurate

Seattle 37, Carolina 27 - The Panthers roared to life early, and their offense looked good under Andy Dalton. However, the Seahawks proved tough enough to come back. They are always tough at home, and proved it in this one with an impressive win. My pick: Accurate

Arizona 28, Dallas 16- Speaking of unexpected results...what the hell? The Cardinals pretty much seemed to dominate the Cowboys, and were leading almost from the get go. Dallas looked nothing like the team that had raised eyebrows with dominant wins over the two New York franchises to open the season. A letdown for Dallas, and an impressive win for the scrappy Cards.. My pick: Inaccurate

Kansas City 41, Chicago 10 - The defending Super Bowl champs looked sharp and on point right from the beginning. And the Chicago Bears looked...well, frankly, like the worst team in the league at the moment. This game went predictably like we all figured it would. KC might have made it uglier, since they had a 34-0 lead by halftime. But they mostly seemed to take it easy on Chicago in the second half.. My pick: Accurate

Sunday Night Football - Pittsburgh 23, Las Vegas 18 - The Steelers won this one the way that you would expect. The Raiders suffered another disappointing loss, and just do not look good enough to warrant serious consideration as a playoff caliber team.  My pick: Accurate

Monday Night Football Game 1 - Philadelphia 25, Tampa Bay 11 - The Eagles took care of business. The Bucs were able to make a bit of a game of it late. But Philly, who have not been nearly as explosive as they looked last year at this point, still handled it like an experienced championship team and shut the door on them. A solid win for the Eagles, who remain one of three undefeated teams left in the NFL. My pick: Accurate

Monday Night Football Game 2 - Cincinnati 19, LA Rams 16  - The rematch of Super Bowl LVI was a tight contest, just like the Super Bowl meeting was. But the Bengals pulled it off this time, just when they needed a win the most. The Rams have looked improved form their disastrous title defense season a year ago. But even if they are keeping games against contenders like San Fran and Cincy close, they are still losing. As for the Bengals, they finally earned their first win, which is good. But they still have some difficult games coming up, so let's see what happens. . My pick: Accurate

New Movie "Killers of the Flower Moon" Set For October Release Looks Good

My girlfriend and I were thinking about seeing this movie, which is coming out later next month.

These days, good movies appear to be a relative rarity. But this one has a pretty impressive cast, and of course, s being directed by Martin Scorsese.

Looks good. Figured that it would be worth sharing the trailer here. Also, there is an article related to the release of this upcoming movie.

Enjoy!

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Final Trailer – Martin Scorsese Returns to the Big Screen on October 20th by John Squires, September 13, 2023:

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3779041/killers-of-the-flower-moon-final-trailer-martin-scorsese-returns-to-the-big-screen-on-october-20th/?fbclid=IwAR0ZmeE3gAxXU75Nr_viZk4u67-zg0RI63RQb5pk86tUoDIpIok-Kg4UIVY

Killers of the Flower Moon — Official Trailer