From the Desk of…
Alright. Let’s head this off with the Speaker race. Jim Jordan spent the week losing votes and waffling on if he should keep trying. He eventually decided to not. This then immediately created a power vacuum, which a whole mess of people got sucked up in. Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota looked to be the pick, but then a former president (don’t remember which) Truthed a Truth on Truth Social to call him a “Globalist RINO.” He then immediately dropped out, knowing he didn’t have the votes. We’re now at Mike Johnson (R-LA). Turns out that it’s hard to make democracy function when a good chunk of your party thinks it shouldn’t.
Voted yet? I’ll ask again later. Rural areas are outpacing urban cores for this upcoming election, and that doesn’t bode well for Issues 1 and 2. Remember: there’s only one poll that matters, and they’ll take it on 11/7. I take no solace in the uptick of absentee requests. People don’t turn those in. That said, the pro-Issue 1 folks may be planning a late knock-out punch by flooding the airwaves immediately prior to the election. Who knows.
More turmoil in the Department of Education this week as Reading Recovery Council files suit to stop the state from implementing science of reading mandates. Here’s a decent primer on the issue, and here’s a decent primer on three-cueing, the reading education model that many Ohio schools currently use. Without tipping my hand here, I don’t think pedagogical methods should be politicized, and… well, frankly, the science supports getting the kids hooked on phonics more than relying heavily on context and syntax. I’ve always advocated for strong phonics-based instruction at home to supplement what kids are getting in the classroom, and that’s only in part because I think we should encourage kids to learn and grow and read. Just my thoughts!
Many of you probably saw this article already floating around, but if you haven’t: dozens of parking lots have opened across the U.S. for working people who earn too little to afford rent but too much to receive government assistance and have turned their cars into a form of affordable housing. Capitalism win!
Speaking of capitalism, if you really loved me, you’d buy me the 157-piece Le Creuset set for Christmas. It’s only $4500. I could definitely store this somewhere. I just need that crepe pan scraper.
The Brain Dump
few things were as scary to 1930s Americans as a Hungarian accent
i hate meeting with horses, they're such naysayers
I regret to inform everyone that after the first round of voting, I have not been elected speaker. Deep state very likely involved.
one week to halloween and i got the house opened up because it's 70 degrees and getting dark out, this is cheeks
mixing a Bay Breeze and settling in to watch that there Skinamarink
Probably been watching too many movies to have many coherent thoughts. Speaking of…
At the Movies
There’s a couple out that I want to see, but will I have the courage to do it?
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), dir. Martin Scorsese ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤️
Martin Scorsese's The Wife Guys
I can't believe I watched a 3.5-hour movie to get jumpscared by Larry Fessenden in the last moments
good flick tho, hope watching Bobby D spank Leo doesn't awaken anything in me
Poltergeist (1982), dir. Tobe Hooper ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤️
when someone says they're spiritual but not religious, i imagine they lived through a Poltergeist-type situation
a smart world would've franchised the Zelda Rubinstein character into unrelated supernatural movies and situations. Tangina vs. Freddy. if you gave me a pencil and paper i could probably write down most of her dialogue from memory. if you let me watch the movie on mute i could probably type the screenplay as it happens. man. and i haven't even talked about Beatrice Straight here
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995), dir. Kim Henkel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I actually think there's quite a lot to like about this one. Comes real close to accidental brilliance with its weird subplot about Vilmer's bosses. Ends up being a Cabin in the Woods spin-off instead. Lot of people got mad about Leatherface wearing make-up but that's literally in the origins of the character, and Henkel knows this. Where Henkel falters is not having a delineation between the personae that the makeup signifies. Regrettably, it's just a little too rough and doesn't quite make it to the finish line that would have really made it special.
Soon these reviews will be flooded with holiday programming of a different sort.
One Picture
Be on the lookout.
In closing,
The nights grow long, and the veil grows thin. The next one of these will be in November. Have you made a plan to vote yet? Until next time, ward your home and spirit from ghosts and goblins in whatever way you see fit.