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"Whether fool or hypocrite, idiot or traitor, he has proved himself equally unworthy of the important functions that had been delegated to him."

—Thomas Paine, 1791

Yeah, I'm ranking art.

Just getting my brain going.  I saw Ant-Man and the Wasp the other day, and I enjoyed it.

I've marveled (heh heh heh) at the rate with which Marvel puts out enjoyable movies.  Twenty flicks in to this cinematic universe, and I can say I truly enjoy 19...maybe 18... of them.

I re-watched Age of Ultron recently.  And my opinion of it keeps going down.  That whole Black Window speech about being made a monster really gets in my craw.  And I still feel like the whole destruction of Ultron's engine in Slovenia was a missed opportunity for Hulk...have Thor's hammer hurl him all the way to Sakaar rather than having the Quinjet take him there.  (How did the Quinjet get to Sakaar?)

I've ranked Iron Man 3 lower than I have in the past.  Not because it's not good...it really, really is, much to the chagrin of many Marvel Zombies.  But it just seems so out of synch with the rest of the Universe.  And, in truth, it kinda bugs me that the end result of Iron Man 3 is "I'm blowing up all the Iron Man suits, and getting the shrapnel removed" and then Avengers 2 shows up and Tony's EVEN MORE Iron Man.  It does fit with his personality, though, and I dig how his staying Iron Man stays in the background of his and Pepper's relationship, which falls apart, which was the impetus for Civil War....

I enjoy these flicks.  Very much.  More than a 41-year-old man probably should.  Anyway, just getting my brain moving this morning.....

1.  Captain America: the Winter Soldier
2.  Black Panther
3.  Guardians of the Galaxy
4.  Iron Man
5.  The Avengers
6.  Thor: Ragnarok
7.  Captain America: the First Avenger
8.  Spider-Man: Homecoming
9.   Guardians of the Galaxy, volume 2
10.  Avengers: Infinity War
11.   Iron Man 3
12.  Captain America: Civil War
13.  Thor
14.  Ant-Man and the Wasp
15.  Incredible Hulk
16.  Ant-Man
17.  Doctor Strange
18.  Iron Man 2
19.  Avengers: Age of Ultron
20.  Thor: The Dark World

Lost World: Jurassic Park

I hadn't seen Lost World: Jurassic Park since its release in theaters way back in 1997.

I hated it.

I disliked the book.  Thought it was a weak money grab.

Then I saw the movie.

Last year, I listened to Jurassic Park again.  Helluva fun book.  Turned into a great movie.

Tonight, we thought we'd give it another try.

Like I said, I hadn't seen it in 21 years.

Now, understand this:  I forgive a lot in movies.  I generally just roll with it. 

What a horrible flick.

Just horrible.

From the trailer sequence to the maddening trek across the island.  It gets only worse when they get to San Diego, though the bit with the doghouse hanging out of the Tyrannosaur's mouth hanging by the dog's chain is a bit a genius and even in my aggravation, I had to give a nod of respect to.  That was pretty funny.

Still.  Horrible.

The Friday

I was supposed to be off today.  My boss is on vacation, and we've got an auditor in the area, so I went in.  Just for a couple hours.  Still, aggravating to have to get up at 5:20 on what was supposed to be a day off, even to work for just a couple hours.  I mean, I have to put on pants, you know?

Got off around ten.  Came home.  Decided to go see Ant-Man and the Wasp at the local theater.  

I dug it, though it felt a little busy and didn't really seem to crack any new ground for anybody.  It was competent, but after the home runs that where Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther, and the gigantor roller coaster that was Infinity War, it felt a little humdrum.  Still, it manages to push most of the right buttons.

Afterward, I caught sight of this gentleman, who impressed me by going to Little Caesar's on his riding lawnmower to pick up a couple pizzas...

A Read

My friend Steve has started a New Blog.  His third.

The impetus for the new blog was not a good one.  Steve has been diagnosed with ALS.

I was floored by today's news.

I invite to you read his new site, here.  I think, if ever I've recommended anything, this is more worth your while than any of that.

Steve is my friend.  He's my kind of weird.