Johnnie To

I was wasting time, surfin' the 'net and stumbled across an article about my favorite movie director's latest release.

Inventing new ways to maim, kill, or double-cross: It's a responsibility that has long vexed 58-year-old director and producer Johnnie To. On the surface, his movies are consistent with the tradition that produced him. Like all the rest, they are stories of loyalty and brotherhood featuring obsessive, hunch-driven cops and swaggering triad gang members and always ending with bodies scattered everywhere, perforated with bullet holes.

 -Grantland (article is mediocre)

Except for "Heroic Trio,"  I recommend watching everything from Johnnie To.

Don't watch any movie from China, or Hong Kong, dubbed.  They are all terrible dubbed, watch them subtitled.

Fulltime Killer (full movie):

from the linked article:

In 2015, To plans to release the third installment of Election, his classic meditation on triad bureaucracy.

Sweet.

---

My favorite movies:

• The Good, The Bad, The Weird
• Exiled (from Johnnie To)
• Cowboy Bebop
• Once Upon A Time in the West

Anti-Libertarian Fallacies

here

Quality

A few days ago I lamented the lack of quality apparent in our culture today.

Recently my dad had a flat tire where the sidewall blew out.  He's suspicious the guys at the oil change place overinflated the tire.  (He did say that the cop, who waited in his car, was nice enough to illuminate the place where he was changing his tire with his headlights.)

My deer skin got back from the butcher shop recently.  I am 100% sure it is not the skin from the buck I killed.  This skin has a tag with my name on it punched through an ear, even though I kept the whole head when I left the deer at the shop. 

It seems to me that I'll need to be doing all my oil changes and deer processing myself.  It seems that these are two more cases of things where I am better off doing them myself.

We could add public safety to that list too.  What I've learned about police this month is that they won't help changing tires, they are of no use when we are robbed, and they are of no value in finding those responsible for hit and run damage.  Not to mention, just for starters that cops are apparently trained how to minimize their chances at being punished for murdering people.

What good are police?

One more thing that I've noticed about quality comes from my part time job at a sporting goods retailer.  Shoppers looking at binoculars are often disappointed when they learn that companies like Leupold, Vortex, and Zeiss have their stuff made in China.  These shoppers are invariably the ones that want to buy the cheapest stuff.

You can't complain that binoculars aren't made in America anymore, and simultaneously buy the cheapest stuff available.

Either pay more for your stuff, or stop complaining that in order for their to be cheap stuff available it needs to be made overseas.  The reason everything is made overseas is because you are all too cheap to pay for stuff that is made here.

All this leaves me with two questions:

1. How do I keep from smelling like oil all day after changing mine?
2. What do I do with the old oil once its out of the car?

Regular posting at Shoot Deer

Now that my book is out, and one with pictures and better editing is coming soon.  And now that the Wisconsin deer season is nearly over.  I have more time for posting at my blog

shootdeer.wordpress.com

I do have internet connectivity issues, though so my total blog output may not be as much as I would like.

Societal News

It seems that some guy on some tv show said something that offended somebody.  (Hell of a fad; that show.)

Even when a few of the blogs that I regularly read post about this sort of thing, I can't bring myself to care.

It seems like there have been lots of news stories where everyone gets all excited...and I can't seem to care.  (I can't recall any other examples of this either.)

On a related note: it occurred to me recently that I have no idea who any of the current starlets are.  If I've heard of some model or actress, then she's past her prime already.  (They probably have a short shelf life.)

Wasn't [insert young starlet name here] hot in movie x?

Beats me.  The last movie I watched was this one.  It was good.

Not watching tv or new movies has its perks.  (If Johnnie To's new movies were released here, I could be persuaded to attend one.)

 Also:

"I’d love to meet the market executive who thought the one thing keeping Obamacare from being popular was lack of smug hipsters." -FrankJ

 That reminds me, what the hell is a "hipster" and why should I care?

A Lack of Quality

I wonder about the lack of quality in many things today.
I wonder why unemployed men during the Great Depression dress better than most do today (including me).

I wonder why people want things that "on sale" more than the things that aren't.

I wonder why I made my book available as an eBook before getting someone else to proofread it (that's being done now).

Why does everyone buy cheap junk over good stuff?

And so on.

It strikes me that everyone's desire for a "deal" and everyone's desire for more has come at the expense of quality.  How many times have you bought a cheap object and then ended up buying the more expensive better one later?

I can understand the desire to have more, and bigger, and better things, but when you buy cheap junk you're still left with junk.

I'm struck by the fact that even though I would like to buy certain things of quality (even if I need to pay more) I am having a difficult time in finding them.

I would like to buy a good pair of alligator/ crocodile/ ostrich shoes.  I have no idea where I need to go in order to do so.  Might a trip to Chicago be necessary in order to find them?  Where would I look once I'm there?

The fact that everybody seems to want only the cheapest or "on sale" items means that the places that sell stuff often don't bother with the things of quality.  Why sell what no one is willing to pay for?

Because almost everyone buys the cheapest stuff that they think they can get away with, the makers of quality products must be being driven out of business.  Why should I begin a career of fine furniture building if you're going to buy some plywood furniture anyway?

Isn't having one item of quality better than having lots of junk?

This isn't much of a post, but I'd appreciate it if next time you consider buying something that you buy what you think is of the best quality rather than buying the cheapest.  Support the people and businesses who create high quality products, and leave the junk peddlers to rot.

On the plus side; its quite easy to do things like dress better than others in many places because of the low standards set by everyone else.

Confessions of an Online Hustler

Matt Forney's book: Confessions of an Online Hustler: How to Make Money and Become an Internet Superstar is an informative book on how to make a living through the internet.

It seems that Matt has spent years trying to make a living through the internet by various means.  His listing, and descriptions, of the various things that he's tried, was interesting as a study of what's out there, and was also interesting as to some things to avoid.

The guides and specifics of what to do in order to be as successful as possible are very informative and could help reduce much of the trial and error you upcoming internet hustlers need to do in order to be successful.  Not only does he go over to main points to hit (start blog, identify what of your writing is most read, start new blog on this subject, write book, add advertisements, etc.) he even covers things such as the arrangement of your blog!

He specifies exactly why you should do everything how he suggests with all of the examinations of all the experience he has gained in online hustling.  Including: blog hosts, blog arrangement, driving traffic, etc.

His details are specific, his experience is genuine, and his writing is always interesting, and never boring.

Celebrity

Althouse linked to a story about a NFL player doing something (I didn't actually look to find out what) for a heart transplant recipient.

While I'm sure whatever it was was nice enough, I wonder how many celebrities get letters, fan mail, etc. and expect some sort of reply.  If they respond to everything, then they'll have time for little else.  And if they don't respond to heart transplant patients, then they're jerks.

Seems to be a no-win situation for the celebrities.

Evil

I've missed a lot since deer season began; one thing I noticed was a discovery of absolute evil.

Detroit's War on Small Business

Amidst a bankruptcy and a fast-dwindling population and tax base, the city has prioritized the task of ensuring that all businesses are in compliance with its codes and permitting. To accomplish this, Mayor David Bing announced in January that he'd assembled a task force to execute Operation Compliance.

Operation Compliance began with the stated goal of shutting down 20 businesses a week. Since its inception, Operation Compliance has resulted in the closure of 383 small businesses, with another 536 in the "process of compliance," according to figures provided to Reason TV by city officials.

How can that be any good for anything at all?

Is it not just blatant destruction of society?

Shoot Deer

My new book is out, and after a day, I've sold 0.  I don't expect to sell a pile of them, but I even more appreciate why people feel the need to lie and exaggerate in order to promote their stuff.

Now that deer season is mostly over here in Wisconsin, I'll be able to return to somewhat regular blogging.  Ironically, if I had wanted to maximize my sales of a book about hunting, I would have missed many days of hunting in order to write about it, and promote it. (Matt has a book on how to do this.  I read the book a while ago, but have been so busy, I have not reviewed it here.)

I doubt that getting your hobbies and work combined is a good idea; every guy I know who wanted to get a job in fishing needed to specifically give up fishing time in order to work, and yet was expected to still catch more and bigger fish.

The Kindle Version is Done: Shoot Deer

My new book "Shoot Deer: A Beginner's Guide to Hunting Whitetails" is now available for ebooks from amazon.com, for $7.99.

203 pages of information covering all whitetail deer hunting topics from: which guns to buy, bows to buy, how to shoot them, where to hunt, how to improve your property, how to hang treestands, how to score deer, many mistakes to avoid, and more.

Any Amazon reviews are much appreciated.

 If you're a blogger and want to get a free version, let me know at eltim164 at gmail.com; I'll take all the promotion that I can get.  (Matt and Free Northerner can expect whatever they call the promo ones this evening after I'm done with work.)

Ask Vic

I stopped watching tv in November of 2011.  This includes my no longer watching football, the only sport I ever cared to watch.  I do, however, still read the "Ask Vic" section of packers.com.

Today Vic, the packers.com editor answered a question that I think more people should read:

Hippolyte from boat on Lake Geneva

Vic, I go to school to Switzerland from France by boat. Boat rides can be boring, but you’re here to entertain them for me. I read your “Ask Vic” column on the way back from school and I read “Ask Vic Extra” on my way to school.

Vic

Hippo, put down the column and look around. Find a young woman from France with whom you might enjoy the view. “Ask Vic” is not meant for people like you. It’s meant for people who aren’t sure if the Packers should play the 3-4 or the 4-3.

I may no longer visit packers.com, because of that comment (read the whole of the day's questions for full effect).  But Vic is usually right (except about the Oxford comma), and reasonably amusing, so I think that someone should replace me as a regular reader.

If you are interested in the NFL, I suggest you read "Ask Vic" regularly.