Colors of a Broken Crayon (Sunday, August 7, 2022)

 

 

Quote of the Day:

When nothing’s going right, it’s time to turn left.

 

My random thoughts this Sunday morning, August 7, 2022.

Still Locked in Facebook Jail

“Elon Musk is an attention whore.”

Those six simple words got me whacked with a 60-day Facebook suspension, what’s commonly referred to as “Facebook jail time.” I posted that comment on someone’s thread back in June about Musk and his Twitter rug-pull “look at me” mirror-love faux fiasco.

Oh, and I’m 100 percent correct. Elon Musk is an attention whore (good thing I probably won’t get into trouble with the proprietors of this website).

Still, I got reported.  Obviously, by a troll.

I do get reported a lot for being frequently outspoken, though — aside from some profanity — most of my infractions are benign. I’ve even received a death sentence from Twitter, which banned me permanently two years ago. Given the law of large numbers and my lengthy “criminal record” with Facebook, the powers that be must have finally reached their breaking point. So, as of today, I’ve still got 18 more days to serve. That means I can’t post on Facebook until August 25th.  I look forward to returning then.

Meanwhile, let me get this out of my system: “Elon Musk is an attention whore.” “Elon Musk is an attention whore.” “Elon Musk is an attention whore.”

Any questions?

 

Death Becomes Us

Woody Allen once said, “I am not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

I lost my best friend about a month ago when Rich Korbin died unexpectedly. His passing hit me harder than most. In fact, not an hour of any day goes by without some reminder or memory of Rich popping into my head. And that’s such a good thing. No, it’s a great thing, I’m glad to have so many memories, all of them fond, of someone.

One of the downsides of getting older is seeing people around you die. But, it sure beats the alternative of not being on the top side of the earth’s soil.

 

Krispy Creme Donuts are Shit

No, I didn’t say “the shit.”

I wrote — “shit.”

There’s a difference.

Someone nice dropped off a dozen Krispy Cremes at my front door last night, and while the gesture is very much appreciated, there’s no way I’d ever wolf down a full box of donuts. Again.

The box dared me to open it, and I did, and well, it won the battle, but the war isn’t over. There’s no worse feeling than devouring bad food just because it’s there like a sultry temptress, then suffering the consequences the next morning.

Which brings me to the question of the day: Why doesn’t Las Vegas have any great 24-hour donut shops?

 

Biden’s Best Week Yet

It’s been a rocky 19 months for President Joe Biden.  Poor guy. He inherited a real shit show, yet his shovel hasn’t seemed nearly big enough to dig out of the mess.

Nonetheless, Biden has enjoyed an astoundingly successful week. Undoubtedly, this was the best week of his presidency, so far, and nobody saw this coming. Certainly, not me.

First, Biden can take some credit for the belated revenge of 9/11 terrorist mastermind bad-guy Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed. Second, gasoline prices continue to drop and the national average is below $4 a gallon (I know, gas prices have nothing whatsoever to do with who occupies the White House, but since everyone hammered Biden for months, he can finally spike the ball). Third, the national jobs report for the last quarter was phenomenal — as the U.S. currently has the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years. Fourth, the Biden Administration orchestrated a surprise compromise on a package that’s great for American consumers and contains initiatives like Medicare drug-price negotiation, pro-green energy initiatives, and other progressive ideas we were promised. Fifth, after more than a week in isolation, Biden tested negative for COVID.

I don’t want Biden to run for re-election in 2024. More about the reasons why — later. But I’m really glad to see the Administration’s bleeding stop and hopefully heal some wounds that have been festering for a long time.

 

Franco Goes Castro

Actor James Franco reportedly will play Fidel Castro in the upcoming bio-epic of the late Cuban revolutionary leader’s life.

I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for Hollywood to do a movie on Castro, who — like him or loathe him — lived an extraordinary 90 years and should be a cinematic treasure chest. Perhaps corporate studios were/are scared off by all the crazed Cuban-American fanatics, sure to toss coconuts into the gears if Castro gets any kind of favorable portrayal onscreen.

But the real controversy about the pending Castro movie is the eyebrow-raising choice of James Franco in the lead, once Hollywood’s up-and-coming next Orson Wells, but since disgraced by sexual assault charges (which were settled out of court a few years ago). This would be Franco’s “comeback,” per se.

I have mixed feelings about this entire thing. Franco is perfect for the part — both physically and age-wise. He also wields the pedigree of an experienced actor who can pull off a challenging role. Although I’ve never liked Franco, especially since he bombed as co-host of the Oscars a decade ago (what an embarrassment), this will certainly be interesting to watch — and I’m not just talking about the final movie cut once it’s released.

Expect lots of fireworks on this project from all fronts.

 

Streaking in Sportsbetting

I’ve experienced a wild 40 days in sports betting, with some massive swings. This tends to be the slowest time of year in North American sports with only Major League Baseball going on (and the CFL, if you’re into that). Nonetheless, some of us do concentrate heavier on the limited sporting menu since there aren’t as many distractions with other sports.

Anyway, I started July by winning the first day, then losing 7 straight bets. Ouch!  So, I was 1-7, and nearly 6 units in the hole. Yuck.

Then, I rattled off 8 wins in a row. Back in the black.

In mid-July, I went south again, suffering a 5-game losing streak. One day, I bet two doubleheaders and lost all four bets (I bet all four dogs). Then, I won the last 5 bets of the month and basically broke even for July. After a 1-7 start in the first week, I was never happier to break even for the month.

Okay, that’s when the real fun began.

I just completed my best winning streak in quite a while, hitting 10 straight wins to start August. I don’t recall picking 10 games in a row correctly in a very long time. I can’t even remember the last time that happened. Better yet, some of those plays were underdogs, so getting plus money made those picks extra sweet.

But nothing lasts.

On Saturday early, I bet Liverpool in the English Premier League laying -340, thinking this was the easiest “free money” on the planet.  Make money in your sleep!  Oops!  Final Score: Fulham-2, Liverpool-2. The draw won. Then, I bet the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon against the lowly Texas Rangers. Final Score: Texas-8, Chicago-0 (a two-hitter).

Man, this sucks.

I’m cold again, losing two straight. It might be time to fade my picks, that is–until I start winning again.

 

A Trophy Soaked in Blood

Finally, did anyone else see the ghastly trophy won by the scumbag “champion” at last week’s disgusting Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament?

Watched by almost no one, this utterly meaningless moneygrubbing PR-flack fuck show linked to one of the world’s most horribly genocidal regimes, an event held at the disgraced ex-President’s golf course atop the dead corpse of one of his former wives (buried days earlier), the winner posed with the trophy which looks eerily similar to the smoldering rubble of the fallen World Trade Center towers, which were destroyed by 19 Saudi-citizen terrorists.

How the hell did not one LIV golf rep catch the glaring similarity of this ugly trophy with the terrible aftermath of 9/11?

Hey, you LIV golf bloodsuckers — why not just make a trophy and put Jamal Khashoggi’s head on a pike?

Shitbags.

 

Good time to stop.  So, until next time, remember that broken crayons never lose their color.