Shopping Mall Dream

 

I wanted a big pillow and my wife told me about this really good deal at a big department store at the mall. She was even able to give me specific directions to the particular spot in the store, something about where the big chute dropped stuff from the upper floors. So I knew what I wanted, and I knew where it was, all I had to do was get there.
    When I got to the mall entrance I noticed a small door off to the side. It was about half the height of a normal door. I wondered what it was for. It was ajar, so I pulled it open and looked in and saw a wide, painted wood floor, like you might see in the shipping department of an old business. The floor was empty, but just past it I could see people doing something.
    I went in the entrance and I see an opening to another area I hadn't noticed before, so I take a look. It's a largish room, maybe 40 feet square and there are a bunch of people working on shoes. One of them looks at up and tells me that this is the shoe factory. Okay then.
   I go on my way and I expect to be passing through a hobby shop, because that's how I remember the mall being laid out, but no, it's some kind of restaurant. Apparently they specialize in big hamburger steaks, like one pound. There are platters of them here and there, some with ketchup, some without. The place is dark, kind of reminds me of Limehouse's backwoods barbeque joint on the TV series Justified. As I am leaving I notice that they also specialize in fruit pies.
    I wander vaguely through the mall for a bit trying to find the pillow, but no luck. I eventually find myself going through another restaurant on my way out the door. My memory is fading on this one, but it had some kind of folksy, country theme to it.
    I have left the building and I encounter a woman wearing a wireless headset who asks me what I thought of the restaurant and I told her I hadn't eaten there, whereupon she starts telling me about how great it is and how I ought to try it, but I am not interested and keep walking.

Beware the Hygienist

Merrily the dental hygienist prepped for battle with the evil tooth tartars. The two big dark circular things are magnifying lenses.

Dr. Parent and MariLee have both added lights to their armament. Dr. Parent doesn't seem too sure about hers, you have to learn a completely new way to move your head to keep the light shining where you want it and not in the patient's eyes. Mary Lee (no, I don't know how she spells it) likes her light, you don't get as many shadows when you have two lights.

Christmas in Vineland

Wine bottle Christmas tree at Cinetopia in Beaverton.

Pic of the Day

IL-76 somewhere in the North.

Blue-Dzheens

California Bob expands into international markets:

I'm selling a pair of Levi's on eBay, which has led to an exchange with a potential buyer in Moscow.  Shipping to Russia adds about $25 to pair of jeans.  I asked why he's wiling to pay the premium -- don't they sell Levi's in Russia?
His latest response:

"Thanks" Putin the pair of brand new Levis 501 costs in Moscow about $150!!
Can you imagine?!
I buy two brand new pairs of Levis from Ebay + cost of shipment and total price costs less than to buy one pair in Moscow!!!
And they want to stop the possibility for russian people to buy abroad.
Putin drives us back to soviet times...
We all scare((
Best regards,
[name redacted to protect my contact]

When I visited the USSR back in 1987, the big items for trade were cigarettes and "blue-dzheens" -- and even then blue jeans were losing their novelty, with khakis and the like becoming the in-demand trousers. This is either an example of "plus ca change," or some hacker is using my naivete to siphon my bank accounts. PS: if you don't hear from me again I've been deemed a security risk and have been taken out by a drone.

Near as I can tell naivete is pronounced nie-eve-i-tai.

Advanced droplifting

Recent dialog:

“It’s windy today. Maybe I’ll go release that thank-you balloon I got a few weeks ago.”
“Is anyone going to want it when they find it?”
“Can’t imagine who would…”
“Then it’s littering.”

I had to admit the justice of the point. I would never just open the door on a windy day and toss out a wad of torn gift wrap, but somehow it seems different with a balloon. Maybe since it goes up instead of down it’s not a nuisance, but festive.
Do those mylar balloons conduct electricity, or reflect radar? Couldn’t releasing one then be a science experiment? Or what if I attached an addressed post card? Maybe it would fly to Nigeria, and someone would find it and reply (“I have the courage to Crave indulgence for this important business…”) Then it would be in the cause of World Peace.
The sky’s the limit Musing along, I thought about putting my neighbor’s name on the balloon, or anyone’s name; and not just on the balloon, but on anything. An advanced form of droplifting could involve writing other people’s names on the old stuff I leave around the office. (“Who is Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and why is his busted coffee maker in the break room?”) It’s anonymous gift-giving, really. The gift is not presented in person, and the recipient isn’t informed. Maybe there are co-workers, senior managers, or famous people you admire, but you’re too shy to present them with the entirely serviceable coffee mug you’re no longer using. Just scratch their name on the bottom and leave it on the file cabinet.

Stolen entire from Monday Evening because it was the best thing that happened to me this weekend.

American Hustle

Saw this at Cinetopia last night in the small theater: 18 seats. This image was on a huge screen maybe twelve feet from our seats. We got there early because we wanted to get some dinner before the show started, so I had plenty of time to study it and I noticed a couple of things. One is that names at the top are not in the same order as the people in the picture. Christian Bale is in the center, Bradley Cooper is on the right, Jeremy Renner is on the left, Amy Adams is between Jeremy and Christian and Jennifer Lawerence is the blond on the right.
    The second is that everyone except Christian seems to looking right at you, but Christian is looking over the tops of our heads into the distance. I had a hard time recognizing Christian Bale. The role that sticks in my mind is the anorexic lead in The Machinist. Here he is overweight and bald with a hairpiece and an absurd comb-over.  He's really unattractive. I don't understand how he can apparently gain and lose weight at will.
    This movie was a little odd. There was nothing enjoyable about it but I loved it anyway. The characters are all pretty horrible, you wouldn't want to have anything to do with any of them unless they were your friends. You might have some friends like these guys.
    I had a similar feeling about the soundtrack. It was a little odd as well. The songs are all from the 70's and 80's, and they were all recognizable, but there weren't any hard rock hits, it was other stuff. Some of it was okay, but there wasn't much in there that was really my style. I looked at some of theYouTube music videos for some of these songs and I was surprised that no one had done anything with the songs from ELO (Electric Light Orchestra). The only ones I saw had static images. There might be some of live concerts, but that doesn't interest me.
     The movie is loosely based on the real events of the ‘Abscam’ plot by the FBI to take down the corrupt members of congress in the 70′s. I remember hearing about it, I think it got more press than the moon landing, but I didn't pay too much attention. Some members of congress corrupt? That's not news. Show me some members of Congress who aren't corrupt, that would be newsworthy. 'Course you can't prove a negative.
    What makes this movie special is the way the relationships between the people are portrayed, especially the attraction between Irving (Christian Bale) and Lady Edith (Amy Adams). There are all kinds of little bits in there that are just weird, and several lines that will stick in your head. It's just amazing.