Hoarder Vehicles

I’m sure we’ve all seen this; A vehicle packed with not just some belongings upon being kicked out of a home or something, but sedimentary junk, trash. I stopped watching the Hoarder shows on television because they are so depressing. There’s nothing about that that is safe, whether it’s a house or a vehicle. How does one have passengers, especially in an emergency? What happens if one had a near-accident, the g-forces would be an enormous hazard; it’s bad enough in a normal car to have a few things flying around much less the volume these vehicles have. There are so many questions, but in the end it’s just sad that anybody is at this state-of-mind, it’s obvious not a good thing.

020621 • Thrift Store Finds

Bitter Ocean: The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945: I read a lot about the Atlantic War last year, so this was an easy decision. At first glance, the word count doesn’t seem to be too high, it’s generously-spaced and larger type. Not used to that!

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: I bought the movie last year, and have had my eye out for this. Didn’t know it was a fifty-year-old book, though.

Vince Flynn: Lethal Agent: Okay, this is weird. This is the third week in a row that I’ve found one of the four Vince Flynn/Brad Thor books I’ve needed to be up-to-date… this means the final book, the 2017 Brad Thor should be waiting for me to buy next week!

Jurassic Park & Jurassic Park: The Lost World: These movies are a lot of fun. I re-watched them all last year on DVD, and to complete the Blu-ray set I only need III and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Yuri Bashmet: Schubert, Schumann, Bruch and Enesco: I have nothing by this violinist, so this was a nice find.

Mitsuko Uchida / Jeffrey Tate: Mozart Piano Concertos: Uchida is one of those pianists that I have a lot of but never listen to because there are so many great pianists to listen to. Couldn’t pass it up for a buck-fifty, though.

Patrick Gallois / Orpheus Chamber Orchestra: Vivaldi: Six Flute Concertos: I used to pass on flute works until I heard John Williams’ theme for Rey in The Force Awakens. That changed everything. Too bad that new trilogy wasn’t worthy of his efforts.

Neville Marriner / The Academy of St. Martin-In-The-Fields: Vivaldi Concertos: “Vivaldi” and “Concerto” was all I needed. Have been listening to Neville Marriner and The Academy since the 1980s.

Pinchas Zukerman: Haydn Violin Concertos: I cross-checked this quite a bit before purchasing as the cover is so similar to other albums I’ve got. Looks like the risk was worth it!

Musica Amphion: Corelli: Concerti Grossi: Have never failed to enjoy Corelli’s works.

And finally, something that always irks me; why do people leave big thumb-prints on the reading side of a disc? There’s no good reason to and it’s totally not in one’s self-interest to do so! This print, I don’t know what is so special about it, but it’s just the outline of the thumb, and it doesn’t come out! Neanderthals!

Gladiator

December 31, 2017

There’s literally nothing wrong with Gladiator; especially when it’s understood that it is not an action movie with some drama, but rather a drama with great action sequences. It’s a Ridley Scott film; the acting, music, sets, stunts, props, and costumes are perfect, with a truly satisfying story.


I find that with movies like this, the first viewing is just introductory; its the repeated viewings where things really come together and the movie achieves it’s potential. With the sea of junk that spews forth from the entertainment industry, it’s nice to know that every once in a while, we get something worth watching over and over again. Especially with a clear-cut good guy and bad guy.


On the television side: Justified.


A U.S. Marshal dealing with criminals in the backwoods of Kentucky. Nowhere else on television are there characters and dialogue like this. I watch this once a year and it just keeps getting better.

JUSTIFIED — “Fugitive Numer One” — Episode 611 (Airs Tuesday, March 31, 10:00 pm e/p) — Pictured: Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens — CR: Prashant Gupta/FX

013021 • Thrift Store Finds

Napoleon: The Last Campaigns: I buy Napoleon books as it is interesting, although I haven’t fully committed to reading one yet.

The Great War: A newer book in perfect shape, and very readable.

Vince Flynn: Total Power: After reading all thirteen of his books in (apoximately) 2013, I plan on reading them all again soon, and then continuing with the five or so he’s published since then, of which this is the latest, from 2020. I only need one more book to have all of them. This copy is something I haven’t seen in a thrift, so it was a great buy even at full-price at four bucks!

Clear and Present Danger: I must have missed this one last week, all of the Jack Ryan movies were there at Arvada ARC.

Edward Sissorhands: It has been decades since I’ve seen this, so it will get watched soon.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith: A silly, but fun movie. Pitt and Jolie are great in it, and this copy was still shrink-wrapped!

The Sentinel: I usually pass on this one as I didn’t have a strong feeling about it when I saw it in the theatre years ago. I’d gone to see it because Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland and David Rasche were in it, along with Kim Bassinger. Not bad, but not much of an impact on me at the time. Sutherland was barely in it, and because I’d just been introduced to 24, I didn’t like that he wasn’t in it much. But I really like Michael Douglas, and one has to understand that it’s a Michael Douglas movie. It’s basically The Fugitive, and Air Force One combined, which is good.

Boardwalk Empire: Season 4: I have season 1 already, but I think it’ll be a while before I actually run across seasons 2-3. I like this time period and it was a decent show.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Season 1: I really liked this and John Krasinski was of course great in it. Surprised I found it at an ARC, and for only a buck-and-a-half!