game of trans
President Fuckwit continues to sink ever lower, declaring a ban on transgender people in the military, reversing an Obama Administration policy change. Nothing surprises me with this vile excuse for a human being, but sometimes something he does is still a punch in the gut, something that hits home, and creates a renewed level of sadness.
It's because of things like this that I donate monthly to both Planned Parenthood and the ACLU -- $20 each, which is not a huge amount, but it adds up, and it especially does so if enough other people do the same. The more people donate or help in some way, the less each person has to contribute in order to make a difference. And actually, it was the unabated racial unrest in this country -- and specifically the unending murder of unarmed people of color by police officers who consistently face nothing worse than severance packages as "punishment" -- that first prompted my decision to support the ACLU specifically. But they defend LGBT people as well. And this is one area in which they are promising to step up the fight. Banning people who actually want to defend a country that increasingly turns its back on them is illogical at best, inhumane at worst. But so it goes with President Fuckwit's presidency.
I posted about this this morning, and got this comment on Facebook:
I wrote in my vote for Blade (Wesley Snipes). He's black and half Vampire, so I'm pretty sure he'd have no issue with transgender folks.
I suppose I was supposed to find that amusing? Heartening in some way? Instead my reaction was more along the lines of Are you fucking kidding me?
This comment was posted by someone I like, the boyfriend of a good friend, and I debated just ignoring it. But considering the insane narrative of equating Hillary Clinton with who is now President Fuckwit before the election and how it contributed to baffling actions like this, I just could not let it go. I can't let a comment like that slide. So, I responded:
With all due respect, voting for anyone besides Hillary in November (if not necessarily in the primaries) is precisely why we're in this mess.
Voting for people you think are better in the primaries is one thing. But in November, it was never not a showdown between two people and two people only. The idea that Hillary Clinton could even possibly be as bad for our country as President Fuckwit is objectively preposterous, especially from a liberal or progressive viewpoint. I just can't with these people.
I left work ten minutes early yesterday to give a few extra minutes at home and eat the grilled cheese sandwich Shobhit had waiting for me, and then walk back downtown again with him to see Dunkirk -- which was fine, as I stated at the beginning of my review, but the universal acclaim mystifies me. A "Great Movie," this was not. It was just . . . fine. As I said to Shobhit when it ended, "That was not as good as I expected or wanted it to be." I wouldn't even put it close to my favorite Christopher Nolan films.
To my genuine shock, for a showtime published as 5:20, we walked in at 5:29 and the movie itself was already underway. We couldn't possibly have missed more than five minutes, tops, but even there they couldn't have played any more than one or two trailers beforehand. Usually the trailers go on so long I practically forget what movie I came to see. It must have to do with scheduling and how quick the turnaround time is before the next screening.
Shobhit wanted to bus back up the hill. We saved probably ten minutes by doing that.
Last night was Ivan's first day off since Saturday (when he called in sick, actually), and I had waited to watch Game of Thrones so we could all watch together this evening. Shobhit and I got home right around 7:30 so I told Ivan I should be ready at about 8:30 because I needed about an hour. I was actually done writing the review in closer to 45 minutes. I knocked on Ivan's bedroom door and told him I was ready when he was; he said he'd be out in a few minutes.
When he did come out, he told me he'd just read my review. Really? He consistently surprises me with stuff I post that he shows any interest in. I already knew he wasn't interested in this movie; why in the world did he bother reading the review? To feel justified in being uninterested, I guess? He said he doesn't like war movies. I said that, as with any type of movie, it depends on the movie. I don't care what the genre is so long as it's a well-made film. The only reason I often say I don't like horror movies is because the vast majority of them are pieces of shit. Occasionally one will transcend the genre, though. The Exorcist is perhaps the best example, but there have been others.
I had figured Shobhit would come see Dunkirk with me largely on the strength of the expectation that it would be #1 at the box office this week, and I was right. Honestly I figured Valerian would be #2, and am surprised to see it come in at #5. I still want to see it, just because it looks similar enough to The Fifth Element, a movie I always loved -- but then, Luc Besson has also made a lot of shit in the meantime.
So anyway, Ivan came out and we all watched Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones, which surpassed the quality of Dunkirk in every way, comparing apples to oranges notwithstanding. That battle sequence at the end of the episode was pretty great.
Ivan chatted with us for a couple brief minutes after the show was over, then went out while Shobhit and I worked on the New York Times crossword puzzle and then I went to bed.
Kibby was surprised at work this morning, to commemorate her 15th work anniversary. This was interesting to me because she and I started at PCC the same year, and as I recall, she started in May. Why they took two months to acknowledge her, I don't know. It effectively surprised her, though.
The thing is, my actual 15th anniversary date is coming up really soon -- August 5. Scott has already scheduled for himself and Noah to take me out to lunch on Friday next week (actually the 4th), at "a place of my choice." I had yet to choose a place, though, and this morning Scott said, "I know what place you're going to choose." When I asked which place, he said, "Little Thai" -- the place in the U District we used to go to a lot before the office move. I had told him recently how one of the very few disappointing things about this new location is the lack of any Thai places nearby; the U District has so many that in one case there's two on the very same block. None of us miss the old building, but it will be nice to eat again at Little Thai, just like old times. I told him I loved that idea.
