REVIEWS ARE WORTHLESS; ONLY YOUR OPINION COUNTS, SO HERE’S MINE, UH, REVIEW. SO THERE.

If you have nothing to do and personality problems that hinder you’re finding stuff to do, you could read this or these depending on your point of view. Let’s look at an ex-Japanese prostitute and an emerging Korean gangster – Go Netflix, go.
The ex-sex worker Chihiro shows up at a small Japanese Bento stand in a small seaside Japanese town. We know where that’s going. She begins to interact with the town populace and stand by Richard Gere. We know where this is going, but it don’t; go there. Really it don’t. Call me Chihiro meanders from one lovely scene, an almost complete small film on its own, scene to another and builds a portrait of people in everyday life; you know when it will zig then zag, but it never does as writer/director Rikiya Imaizumi lets it be. It takes a lot of guts to do that. Kasumi Arimura, as Chihiro, holds it together as the centerpiece. Still, as the movie wanders along, you’ll see that everyone becomes a centerpiece, like the character “old man” who never speaks. Anyway, it’s not for everyone, nothing happens, or does it, if you watch, mysteries will be revealed about…., you figure it out.
Call Me Chihiro is based on a manga, graphic novel, published in 2017 called Chihirosan.

So, Brian, what else? Well, how about a frustrated, almost college professor finds some money in a car and a couple of bodies – so instead of leaving the gun and taking the cannolis, he takes the money and the bodies. The bodies wind up under his lawn, and the money, well, there’s the rub, winds up in his garage while he decides what to do with it. Well, somehow, the bad guys, whose money it be, a conflicted bunch if there ever was one, a conflicted bunch of gangsters, looking for said money, are on the hunt for it. They think it’s the marijuana grower next door; then somehow they start to believe it’s the almost professor who needs the money to help save his son, his fractured and bitter wife, his angst-ridden daughter, and his finances (look to son). Anyway, a melancholy detective with her issues starts piecing things together as she tracks the almost professor” serpentine travels in which he meets an orphaned gangster, cartel leaders, underground massage parlors/nightclubs, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but wait, there’s more. Watch this very unusual Korean series where there’s more to it than you may think; look to the title and expand it. A Model Family –

STOP PUTTING UP WITH THIS

If you have any type of service, be it phone or Internet, etc. This has happened to you. Stop putting up with it.

T-Mobile charged me some amount not connected to me. I called. I got a foreign representative who was worthless, not a clue. I continued to call in hopes of getting a T-Mobile expert assigned to me in either Georgia or Texas, as promised. Finally, Mark answered. He said he was from Houston; he sounded a bit suspicious. I asked him who won the World Series last year. He didn’t know. I wondered if he lived near Westheimer, and he didn’t know. I asked him if he liked Katz’s Deli near the airport, but he wanted to avoid Katz’s Deli near the airport. I asked him if he liked the other Katz’s Deli on Houston Street. He said yes. I hung up.

Since 7:26 EST, I have called T-Mobile and have gotten a foreign representative – 20 times in a row. That is not a lie. My team of experts stateside must all be out having a latte. My last call a few minutes ago got me a woman who told me a transfer to a U.S. rep would take 72 hours. So I am on hold and will keep my place by keeping this phone on for 72 hours. They are trying to get me off now. Although they keep calling me by my name, they ask my name. Currently, Janelle, from Los Angeles, who goes to the beach in Santa Fe and lives in Studio City but can’t name a street or a freeway, is trying to get me off the phone and wants me to give my name so a rep can call back in 48 hours; I’ve told her I’m happy with waiting online for 72 hours as agreed. I am now being spoken to by another guy trying to get me off the phone. His name is Ryan, and he lives in Georgia but doesn’t like sports, so he couldn’t tell me if the University of Georgia has a good football team and believes that the university is in Rome rather than Athens.

Although Comcast is a horrible company, I did get a U.S. representative after about 1/2 hour, in fact, two, and they were helpful and kind and resolved my problem. The transactions took about three minutes. As I spoke to the lovely women, I asked why there were so few U.S. representatives, and both said one word, “money.” Realize this, skilled workers are being let go because they are skilled and have been paid for their skills. They are being replaced by people who work for contractors and not the companies themselves. I’m assuming they are not being paid a decent wage, and they are inept.

I can write pages on this one incident and make it hysterical. Yes, I’m so funny that I can take this tragedy and make it humorous, but on thinking about it, this is a huge problem. We pay these people money, T-Mobile, Verizon, Wells Fargo, Comcast, and who else. We want some value for the money we spend, and we get nothing but impediments to service and a host of people who don’t have anything to do with the companies we pay.

Well, T Mobile hung up, and I continued to call. So, I’m now at 26 calls and not a U.S.-based representative. Not funny.

Update: I hung up again at 9:26 AM EST. It is now 2 hours, and I am still out $226. 00. I called Wells Fargo, a California company. An offshore representative answered my call.

Right now, I have been on hold. I have moved all my banking and finances to USAA.

I will only buy entertainment products from Crutchfield and no longer shop online. I go to stores, and I keep receipts. If I have a problem, I go back to the store.

STOP PUTTING UP WITH THIS, NOT FUNNY

If you have any type of service, be it phone or Internet, etc. This has happened to you. Stop putting up with it.

T-Mobile charged me some amount not connected to me. I called. I got a foreign representative who was worthless, not a clue. I continued to call in hopes of getting a T-Mobile expert assigned to me in either Georgia or Texas, as promised. Finally, Mark answered. He said he was from Houston; he sounded a bit suspicious. I asked him who won the World Series last year. He didn’t know. I wondered if he lived near Westheimer, and he didn’t know. I asked him if he liked Katz’s Deli near the airport, but he wanted to avoid Katz’s Deli near the airport. I asked him if he liked the other Katz’s Deli on Houston Stree. He said yes. I hung up.

Since 7:26 EST, I have called T-Mobile and have gotten a foreign representative – 20 times in a row. That is not a lie. My team of experts stateside must all be out having a latte. My last call a few minutes ago got me a woman who told me a transfer to a U.S. rep would take 72 hours. So I am on hold and will keep my place by keeping this phone on for 72 hours. They are trying to get me off now. Although they keep calling me by my name, they ask my name. Currently, Janelle, from Los Angeles, who goes to the beach in Santa Fe and lives in Studio City but can’t name a street or a freeway, is trying to get me off the phone and wants me to give my name so a rep can call back in 48 hours; I’ve told her I’m happy with waiting on line for 72 hours as agreed. I am now being spoken to by another guy trying to get me off the phone. His name is Ryan, and he lives in Georgia but doesn’t like sports, so he couldn’t tell me if the University of Georgia has a good football team and believes that the university is in Rome rather than Athens.

Although Comcast is a horrible company, I did get a U.S. representative after about 1/2 hour, in fact, two, and they were helpful and kind and resolved my problem. The transactions took about three minutes. As I spoke to the lovely women, I asked why there were so few U.S. representatives, and both said one word, “money.”

Well, T Mobile hung up, and I continued to call. So I’m now at 26 calls and not a U.S.-based representative. Not funny.

Update: I hung up on again at 9:26 AM EST. It is now 2 hours, and I am still out $226. 00. I called Wells Fargo, a California company. An offshore representative answered my call.

Right now, ad I have been on hold, I have moved all my banking and anything financial to USAA.

I will only buy entertainment products from Crutchfield and no longer shop online. I go to stores, and I keep receipts. If I have a problem, I go back to the store.

CITY ON THE MOVE:

BALTIMORE does it again with a sweeping and unenforceable ban on squeegee kids, which will cause even more work for the overworked police, who already have too much overtime and not enough support. So, while the city has an awful education system and roads that are an embarrassment – Squeegee kids (most of whom I enjoy – when visiting) will be warned. Data will be taken, whereupon THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE ENGAGEMENT (I would like to say I made that name up, but I would have to become more removed and stupider than I am now) will be able to access the data and reach out to the individual. THE LOOPHOLE – I am not an African American Male – I have organized many white male retirees and a posse of transgender and gender-fluid folk to take over the prime corners that will be vacated by the banned squeegee kids. I have also started a fund to educate these AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES on identifying as 35-year-old white hedge fund managers. A significant step forward for Charred, I mean Charm City. HEY BALTIMORE CITY, HIRE ME, LEAVE ME ALONE, AND I’LL FIX THIS IN A YEAR

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-squeegee-enforcement-tuesday-baltimore-20230109-mlyw6aaqwnbbrcjbq2bhulorbe-story.html.

There are no Kiosks in Bagels. There is no such thing as a bagelry

Getting a freaking bagel should be fun, not an exercise in more mindless technology. It’s a bagel. Order it. Walk out onto 7th Avenue, take it out of the perfect brown bag, and eat it on the train. That’s all there is.

I like Essa Bagel – I usually go to the store near Penn Station (NYC). I go in and ask for bagels; they hand me bagels – the best in the world. So, I went into a place in Baltimore – Towson Hot Bagel. I couldn’t ask for a bagel and have someone hand me a bagel. – I had to use a computer kiosk to order bagels, then I waited in line behind people ordering victuals that would handle a small cargo ship. Although people stand behind the bagel counter, they won’t let you order a bagel or hand you a bagel; although it’s a bagel store, they’re standing next to and behind bagels. My guess is there are a few million people around Essa Bagel. Everyone gets handed a bagel from them behind the bagel counter, where they stand behind millions of bagels. The lines move well—one line for bagels and one for other foods. I guess there are some hipsters near this THB place, but no one has to catch a train, just Instagram influencers in pajamas. You can’t get handed a bagel from someone behind the bagel counter – probably the algorithm, and this is why the world is failing; people can’t figure out that if you’re behind a bagel counter, give someone a damn bagel or dozen. Bollocks to Towson Hot Bagel – couldn’t order on the phone either, online-only, and their people are boobs. Who needs to order a bagel online from a place that calls itself a bagelry What is a bagelry? Where do you find this word bagelry, morons?

Essa Bagel has no kiosks. They have real service and real bagels. They are hot too. Essa Bagel knows; there are no kiosks in bagels. Essa Bagel, long may you run. Sod off Towson Hot Bagel.

Brian’s Life Hack

Sometimes during this incredible life, I lead I’m chosen to fill out a form. I don’t mind at all. So, I was filling out a form, and I got to a question about my sex; they wanted to know what I was.
I wanted to be helpful, but nothing on this list seemed to fit.

1. Male
2. Female
3. Transgender man
4. Transgender woman
5. Genderqueer/non-binary
6. Agender
7. Different identity
8. Questioning
9. Identification

So, being thorough, I read the definition on the Internet; we all so enjoy how to define sex. I found this helpful. At birth, a midwife, nurse, or physician examines your external genitalia and then gives you sex. Now, my mom was a nurse and my dad a doctor, but there was never any mention of the external genitalia or my sex in the house. But I figured it would be easy to figure out. Back to the Internet for help, and I found more definitions and another list of about six sexes and 60 or so other choices for gender. So, I got bored because I didn’t want to be any of them BUT, like a Phoenix, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and invented this new term, Agenda Fluid, which COVERS EVERYTHING and is perfect for everyone, especially if you’re like me and highly unskilled with a big mouth. Agenda Fluid means that whenever you’re pressed with a problem, just identify with one that gets you out of trouble with the least path of resistance. Just the other night, while having a lovely Chardonnay at my local gastro pub, I encountered members of the Aryan Brotherhood at a nearby table who were going to kill me because I looked like a native Manhattanite. I quickly employed Agenda Fluid, and I identified as a Right-Wing Extremist. Next thing you know, we were doing Crystal Meth and exploring the desert for arrowheads. I’ve also identified as a Democrat when confronted by whining people wanting to cancel me and a Republican when I want to overthrow a government and not be arrested. And speaking of genitalia, I identified as a rapper after being caught and recorded screaming the (lots of genitalia in that one) at someone in traffic. My rant is now number 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and I think I’m now married to one of those Kardashians. So, you see Agenda Fluid.

ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS SIT ON YOUR BIG FAT ASS AND GET YOUR FOOD DELIVERED, NOT WITH GRUB HUB YOU AIN’T

Hello delivery service users, before you offer up your credit card, you’ll assume that the numbers won’t go directly to some ridiculous offshore company contracted only by the company you think you engaged. Well, as you know, that’s not happening. I know you do that, so let’s look at the idiots at Grub Hub; yes, #GrubHub. GrubHub, #GrubHubSucks, took my order and texted that my order was delivered at the same time the #horribleGRUBHUBDELIVERYPERSON did. No one rang my buzzer; I went to the door, no food to the right of me, no food to the left of me, no food in front of me, So I did not Storm at #GrubHubstinks with shot and shell, READ ON

I merely boldly rode the phone I know so well and called #GrubHubpoorservice and immediately felt as if I lept

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell

as I’m sure, many more than six hundred rode as well

The driver Flashed his sabres bare and insisted the delivered food was there and flashed. As he turned the digital air and said, yes, there were copious amounts of food right there, and I was merely a scammer where. I was stealing food and firing lies into the air.

I’m Stuck in the valley of the digital world where customers, even the bold, are left with stories to be told.

All the world wonders so

Honour the charge I made

Honour me, Light Brigade,

Boldly ride and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell

And tell your ass of a driver to ring the bell

Noble six hundred million

If you don’t get reasonable service, make it freaking hard for idiot companies like Grub Hub and the rest to abuse you. Speak up. And can you believe the moron driver who couldn’t ring a bell accused me of scamming food?

Thank my pal Al Tennyson for a few ideas.

I asked for an apology from the driver and supplied his phone number to #GrubHubistheworst, and nothing.

What’s the theme fun review time

I declare Monday theme day – So what’s the theme, sleuths? Answer at the end.

“Who’s peekin’ out from under a stairway

Callin’ a name that’s lighter than air?

Who’s bendin’ down to give me a rainbow?

Everyone knows it’s Windy.”

Dead Wind

If you like melancholy Fragile Finnish detectives and murder most foul with a Noirish bent, you’ll love Dead Wind (three seasons on Netflix). It Stars Pihala Vitala as a recently widowed detective (who is good in almost all she does) and her partner and eager detective. They just transferred from financial crimes Lauri Tilkanen. They, and the rest of the cast, have great chemistry as they plod through the minutiae that are murder while you get engrossed in their personal lives; these are just two of the strengths of this well-written, beautifully shot, and designed series that keep you paying attention.

Subtitles and Netflix. Director Rike Jokela

Wild is the wind

Okay, Netflix is rising with a great South African film and two guys who should be movie stars – Mothusi Magano and Frank Rautenbach (Bang Bang Club – I loved it) as detectives investigating the murder of an Afrikaner girl. Are they corrupt, and who is Mongo, the Russian? What’s the butcher and his wife plotting? What’s going on with the farm and Sonny Boy? There is plenty of plot, a whole bunch of prejudice, maybe a Nazi or two, and perhaps a serial killer. It’s not difficult to follow, and it’s a seamless and organic plot that should play well in the states. It’s in English, Afrikaans (similar to Dutch, the first language I ever spoke, and a million other South African languages – Lots of English and some subtitles. Again, tremendous and believable cast chemistry and the two leads are fabulous. If you don’t have massive personality problems, you should like it. It’s also in the theaters. Netflix is the distributor. Cool tracks by Chris Chameleon and directed by Fabian Medea

Wind River

I’ve proposed Wind River a few times, so watch it on Amazon, Tubi, Apple TV, etc.

Wind River is a 2017 Wyoming wild excellent crime film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. It stars Elizabeth Olsen as U.S agents trying to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation. It also stars (We Own this City) Jon Bernthal and the always great Graham Greene. Like Wild is the wind, it looks at prejudice and racism along with the rape and murder of indigenous women. It’s a great story with a natural side trip toward social justice. Wind River was released in 2017 and ironically presented by the Weinstein Company (who removed Harvey’s name from the credits). A good story that would make a great pairing with Wind River for a double feature – Look up Thunderheart yourself.

What’s the theme, huh? Big shots.

Get more of me and validation.

Many thousands of followers have been enjoying my free content for years; that is still the same. However, due to the high demand for my pointed observations and an almost understandable thought process, I will now require you to be verified. The cost is minimal at only $12 per month and is a continued gateway to all the voices in my head. Again, there is no charge, but if you’re not verified, you only get one of my many personalities. If you don’t want to leave your credit card numbers, your social security number is OK – If you do business with the fine companies (below), don’t worry; I probably have your information already.
Take advantage of my Platinum Membership and get the complete list of what I have on you.

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and, of course (the Evergreen) Wells Fargo

Making Money Selling Vinyl.

  I was going through my record collection today with the idea of getting rid of some of them (selling them, as I don’t listen) when I happened by Florence and the Machine – Between Two Lungs, I looked it up, and I found I could sell it at around $15 for it. Why? Because this 2009 beauty has never been opened and is an original pressing. So, I said, rain dollars down on my “Oh Lord.” I pulled it off the shelf and went looking for more doubles and worthless flotsam that years of collecting (since I was 15) has brought me. I found five copies of The Beau Brummels (averaging $15) first album, Six copies of (the most excellent cover ever) of Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey (priced from $5 – $150). Wow, I found Anette Funicello’s records (I think I got them because the cover had her in a two-piece). Multiple copies of a Byrds bootleg live (1970) performance (all in shrink wrap, except one) $140-$200), four copies of The Byrds Pre Flyte $200), and all kinds of stuff. I buy new properties too, like the Mavericks, 21 pilots, Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Black Keys, Lil Nas, and the first (not Lil Nas) the real Nas album, Mountain Goats, Steven (Steve) Earle, The Pistol Annies, Kacey Musgrave, Kanye, Dua Lipa, Amy Winehouse, Kenny Garret, and more. They’re new. I can’t sell them. I found multiple copies of Suzie Quatro, Simple Minds, Nelly Furtado, and Kaja Goo Goo. I’m sorry for those tragedies, and I have no Adele records, as I can’t carry that empty feeling of regret again. I have no shame for my purchase of Big Country ( I love their track on Big Country called Big Country) or Crowded House, Def Leppard, Billy Ocean, Michael Jackson, Grandmaster Flash, The Cure, The Smiths, etc. I have new stuff, too, along with a whole bunch of jazz that I started buying when I started collecting. Jazz includes all kinds of things from CTI artists, including George Benson, Ron Carter, Eumir Deodato, Astrud Gilberto, Freddie Hubbard, Bob James, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hubert Laws, Stanley Turrentine, and more. Creed Taylor started CTI around 67; when he tried to make jazz mainstream, I love the stuff, and they go for a reasonable price as they average approximately $15 (I bought them at $2.86), and again, most are in shrink wrap or sleeves. The album art direction is “boss.” Anyway, I kept adding up the cash, which was substantial, so I almost sold an Enja album for $12 and one of my six copies of The Köln Concert – Keith Jarret. And that’s how you get and keep around six thousand records (not counting multiple copies in the sale pile, which I’ll probably sell one, one day.