Red Sea Diving Resort

Film Review Red Sea Diving Resort Run time 2 hours 10 minutes. This is one of the many Netflix produced films. The cast is well known actors, Michael K Williams (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire), Chris Evans (Captain America / Avengers), Ben Kingsley (Sneakers / House of Sand and Fog, Gandhi). This is based on a true operation supported by the Israeli Government to rescue Jewish refugees in Muslim controlled Sudan. I first learned about this from a podcast interview with one of the main agents from the operation, then accidentally saw the film trailer months later. What I liked about this film was that it is bringing to light the true story of doing the right thing not because it is profitable but rather it was the humane and right thing to do regardless the cost. What I did not like about this film, is that it never really explained the purpose of the mission and why it was important. All of this is there in the subtext of the film. What ever the reason for downplaying the risk that these Jewish refugees were facing the film suffered for it because I never had the sense that the mission would fail or that the lives of people were truly at risk. Michael K Williams delivers a solid performance as the contact in Africa who is moving the refugees to meet up with the Mossad agents. I think there is a deeper story of struggle than in the rescue operation. Chris Evans either has trouble shaking his Captain America vibe, which may be more due to script and wanting to make a successful movie than a failure of his acting abilities. The supporting cast does a good job of creating the atmosphere of the film but it does fall short of creating a sense of impending peril for the characters. Overall, it was a good film and worth watching but I did not learn anything more about this event than I already knew from listening to the interview with the agent.

Be Heard

I voted early yesterday, and it did not take very, long. They did not have a sticker, which sort of bummed me out but that is not why I was there; to get a sticker take a picture to post on FG, insta, or Snapchat. I was there to cast a ballot for the people and ideas I think are most like my own values and beliefs. I have voted in person most of the time, but I have also voted by mail / absentee while I was in the US Air Force. Way back when I was in basic training, before I left, my mother’s father, took me down to the local registrar office so I could receive my absentee ballot while I was in basic training. This was weeks, maybe even few months before I ever left for basic training. I promptly forgot that I had done this, just as any 19-year-old is likely to have done. Later, about this same time of year, I was in basic training. We, the basic training flight, were gathered for mail call and a general daily briefing from the drill instructor. At the beginning of this briefing / mail call the Sergeant was holding an official looking envelope and started giving a talk about duty, values, and citizenship. The talk was about personal responsibility, and to protect the rights of the people and the protect our own voices in government by voting. During the talk, the Sergeant grew very, disappointed in our training class as this was the first and would be the only absentee ballot that came to our training class. There were 52 people in that training class and the ballot in the DI’s hands was the only one that came in that year. My name was called, I was given the envelope, and I was told to go into the DI’s office and vote, while the rest of the training class remained in mail call and the daily briefing. The Sergeant had the very same resolute look on his face that my grandfather had when he insisted that I get my absentee ballot. I have always been mixed in my feelings about that day. I was glad I was voting but I was also upset with myself for getting the people in my training flight a dressing down. Especially since it was not even my own idea to get the ballot sent. However, that day has stuck with me. Two men, one family by blood, the other family by service instilled a sense of responsibility and the importance of voting. The rights we have are talked about in schools, with families and with friends but often it is not talked about in resolute terms. It should be and more should be done so that every citizen can vote and have their voices heard. I do not know what the rest of the people I was in basic training with, did after that or if they voted in any elections after that year or got absentee ballots after that or not. I have voted in elections every year and I hope they have as well. Statistics show that half of people eligible to vote go to vote. Do not sit on your rights, if you do not vote, decisions will be made regardless. Time waits for no one. Silence is consent, your vote is your voice. Be heard. My beliefs are my own, I am not a republican nor a democrat. I am not affiliated with any other party. I vote because I have the right to do it and try to vote for the candidate that most often represents my own values. I hope that everyone else who votes does the same and I leave it at that. I am a citizen and I vote. Please vote. Well, that is all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

He mumbles in his coffee...

There is a saying that the more things change the more they remain the same. Well it is not said much anymore but trust me it is or was a saying. Which is not surprising. No one with any “power” wants you thinking for yourself anyway and they certainly do not want you doing anything that is truly in yourself interest. As Alanis mused, ‘isn’t it ironic’, inaccurately but that is a peeve for another time, “life” has a way of leading us away from the things that will truly benefit us. Us as a collective, not as a you or I, now don’t go getting your panties in a wad over the word collective, or at least just not yet. There will be time for that later. What I mean is that society is not structured for a larger percentage of the people to have real success. In fact, it is better that we only have an appearance that we are getting ahead. When the reality is that we are just running in place and not making any progress at all. Sure, you can disagree all you like and that is fine, it will not change the reality that all of us are stuck. Just like Bob mused when singing about Billy looking up from his coffee and suddenly roared, ‘It’s a rattrap Judy, and we’ve been caught.’ People are too much like water in that we seek to find the path of least resistance. Which is good in the sense that we find ways to do things smarter but in many ways most of us end up more ignorant. Which given that we are in the information age is a feat. To be fair, there is so much information out there and most of it is garbage or at least distraction. And there is garbage specifically designed for you or to your refinement. We are caught in a labyrinth and weighted down stumbling without even knowing that there is a maze let alone that we are struggling. There is a lie about frogs staying in a pot that is slowly turned up to a boil and the frog will stay there unmoving until it is cooked. It is a lie because the frogs had been lobotomized prior to the test so they did not really know what was happening. If you thought that was a true story, then is serves well to prove the point about there being a lot of garbage information out there and it is truly, difficult to find useful or beneficial information. Most of it is just there to be a distraction, but other information is intentionally designed and distributed to mislead you and keep you uninformed or informed in such a way that is beneficial to the structure of things. That being you on the bottom and someone else on top. However, things have gotten to a point that everything is a point of contention. Which should be a red flag but largely it is ignored. Again, to be fair a contending point of view hits differently when it starts to tear down the normalcy of our understanding of the shape of things. Our nature is to defend what gives us ‘protection’ or ‘comfort’. Putting those in quotes not because they are not real, but they are very board terms which are adaptive to facets of life and to each person. Next time you feel that twinge really ask, why does this bother me, and try to see the opposing point. We do not do this enough. Look around, most of what you will find is division, divisiveness, derision and deceit. Some of it is just life being different however a larger part of is purposeful. Designed to keep all of us sectioned off into our own little parts of the maze and making sure, that most of us spend our lives wandering without knowing we are lost or weighted down. The truly, ironic thing is that we can walk away from all of it at any point, but just like those lobotomized frogs in a pot that is slowing killing us, we chose to stay in the cycle. It is easy to be weighted down and find yourself just sitting there because it is the path of least resistance. Most of us don’t even think to ask, is it getting hot in here? It is. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Today’s title: Lyrics from Boomtown Rats, ‘Rat Trap’ Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Light in a basket

I am not sure when I began to believe in the power of words. As long as I can remember I have loved books and stories, hearing a well-crafted turn of phrase, or even witty banter. Words have always held a kind of magic for me and for most of us. We are swayed by the words of others at one point or another in our lives. Most of it is just noise out there cluttering up the landscape but some of it truly wonderous and magical. Single words are ingredients for potions and phrases are spells if you will. Come up with the right combination of words and a host of things might be opened to you; power, money, fame, love and companionship. Our dreams could come true if only we knew the right words. Reading back over the opening of this I am not as certain of my faith in words anymore, or at least in my own voice as I was once. My love of words began with books and then later I fell in love with writing. Some of my earliest memories were thumbing through books and feeling empathy for the characters and their struggles, long before I knew the meaning of empathy. From their I started to write things for myself. I shared some stuff and it was ridiculed which didn’t help to inspire sharing the things I wrote again. I used to write things then burn them. Now in the computer age I can write and delete and save the trees and pens. Over the years I have kept written journals, tried to write poetry, some stories and even a book here and there. Most people who know me don’t really know this because I never or rarely tell anyone of my love for writing. If you are reading this and knew, congratulations and if you didn’t know… surprise. I don’t really share my writing, which makes it very odd that I have a blog. One which has for the most part been censored, but not the kind of censorship because the content was offending but a self-imposed censoring or exiling my writing to the modern-day pyre. I write and delete, rewrite and delete and toss out, stare at the blank page, write and delete. The silence roars at my soul. A few people in my life have mentored my writing but only briefly, more because I never shared with them my desire to do more with words, than it being their lack of ability to guide me. I remember one mentor saying that the ancient Greeks believed that the muses would inspire those with whom they saw talent, but if that person did not use idea, the muses would give the idea to someone else. Phobos and Deimos have laid siege to my voice, and I have failed to wage against them. Mostly still I just write and delete, but I am trying to be bolder and rediscover my voice. What I write may not matter to many, maybe it matters to one person or perhaps just to me. Back before I adopted the name invisible don as my nom de plume it was a nickname given to me by a friend who was struggling with personal issues and her own fears of coming out to her family. I don’t know what I ever said that made any difference but to her it did. She started calling me, invisible don, because I was an unseen friend who would listen and offered advice sparingly. The nickname was because we both loved Kevin Smith movies and as an homage to his character of Silent Bob, if you don’t know, is a character that doesn’t say much but when it matters says something important or at least is something that needs to be said. So where as Silent Bob was not heard much, I was not seen and not heard much. The name also resonated with me for varied personal reasons. At some point after that I started writing on the internet sometimes. It wasn’t until recently that any of this was known. The blog or notes are just random thoughts. Some have known about the online writing for a while and some people don’t. It isn’t anything particularly inspiring but I enjoyed writing it. Writing the blog allowed me to begin to re-explore my love of writing and some stories and some poetry has been written. I don’t share them and while I was going to say I don’t know why, I do know. Fear. The siege is still there, so while I will post notes and blog posts, I don’t really share the things I do write and largely have stopped writing but not completely. The little that does get written has been lost in a few hard drive crashes and what is printed is in some boxes tucked away from any eyes. I try not to delete as much, but full disclosure, I deleted some lines of this because I don’t know if I am ready to say them at least not here and even if I am ready, I fear that they will not be the right words. Maybe someday, I will find the right words and not feel the sway of Phobos and Deimos but I will use what the muses leave for me when they choose. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Read at your own risk

Land of the free? The last two decades or so politically have been interesting, to say the least. There has also been a lot of clamoring about how the U.S. is this thing or that thing. Depending on where you stand in the political arena that thing is not generally the same. One sameness that seems to come up, regardless where you are politically is freedom. Freedom, we are all supposed to be granted, not by the governing body but, by a higher power. That we are innately supposed to be free as part of the natural order of things, or at least that is what is on the bill. Just so it’s clear the discussion isn’t about free from cost, because ain’t nothing free here. The economic woes of the nation are not the subject, just the concept of being and living freely. The very concept of this nation was founded in freedom. Freedom from oppression, freedom from tyranny, freedom to be independent. We all seem to agree the U.S. is a nation of freedoms. That is unless you are on the wrong side of the equation. As much as we claim to be a beacon of freedom, we are also a nation which marginalizes and disenfranchises so many of our people. From the very beginning, only land owners and most typically only males were truly considered citizens and protected fully by the laws, everyone else was literally chattel; the property of someone. Some more literally than others. Slowly, and at nearly glacial speed, rights and “freedoms” have been expanded to include more and more people but not everyone. Nearly two and half centuries have past and we are still marginalizing whole groups of people. This is not talking about immigration or how we treat people in other countries. This is right in every town, burg, borough, village and city. These are our citizens, these are “WE THE PEOPLE” being treated unfairly and unjustly. Take some time and think about our history, with the presumption there is some uniformity in how our nation has risen and how those living here have been treated. Every decade and generation there are groups or people who should be protected under the law and have freedoms, but they are denied those rights and freedoms, with vigor. The native peoples of this land can certainly site so many infringements on their rights and freedoms, up to and including this last half decade. We ignore the treaties, marginalize their culture, and we are still usurping their lands. No, we don’t send the cavalry raiding into their settlements any longer…well we still sort of do that, but we only fire rubber bullets and tear gas now. The racial problems in this country have improved considerably but racism is alive and well in the land of the free. If you are not a white Christian, in most of this nation, you have known bigotry, hate, belittling, cruelty and injustice as some point in your lifetime. It may even be going on right now. Brown v. Board of Education should have seen the end of segregation, but it still exists. The Civil Rights movement should have ended disparity in the public entities, however systemic racism is built in to the culture, we do not even recognize the advantages of not being black, brown, etc. Deny it all you want. We are not a harmonious society to non-white people. Depending on when your people came here only certain white people were acceptable, but those were largely based in religious reason, Catholics and Jewish people need not apply. In 2020 women will have been allowed to vote for 100 years, but there are still patriarchal limits on how much freedom women should have in this nation. Yes, we are light years ahead of other places in the world and where we were. Yet women are denied fair treatment daily. Just read the news of the day. How does some doctor abuse young girls on the US Gymnastics Team for decades, unless there is a culture in place that women are considered to be lesser in our society. How is it in the nation that is supposed to be the land of the free that so much oppression is still going on. There is no apology from me for saying what I have said, or any room for debate. We are not the nation we pretend to be. Yes, we are better than so many other places but being better isn’t enough if we are going to beat our chests and stomp our feet and say we are free, shouldn’t all of us be free. Shouldn’t we strive to be the model for the rest of the world to follow. Yet we still see race, religion, gender, sexual identity and so many other things as disqualifiers to rights and freedom not to outsiders but with our citizens. Our Independence Day is coming up. A day we choose to celebrate the grandness of our experiment in a fair and representative governance of the people, by the people. This year think about how much work we still have left to do before we really have a nation which is free. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Unpopular Opinion: Star Wars films aren't really that good

Unpopular Opinion: Star Wars films aren’t really all that good. Love it, hate it, or somewhere in between, there is no denying Star Wars is a part of the popular culture. The films are at the very least entertaining, but they aren’t really good stories. There is an argument to be made because the films have stirred the imagination of thousands of people, who have created an extended universe but that doesn’t make the films good stories. Good things were inspired by the films, yes but not so much with the story in the films. Telling a good story makes you care about what happens to the characters and/or their cause but I don’t get that sense with Star Wars. I don’t know enough about any of the characters to care about them or what they are trying to accomplish. Watching the story there is never the sense that the characters are in any real danger, ever and part of that is because the story is out of order. You know if someone is in a film later in the time line they will live, no drama. Telling a story out of order is fine and it works sometimes but other times it doesn’t. It seems to be working in West World and it worked in Pulp Fiction, but with Star Wars it seems to be missing beats. Star Wars is 4, 5, 6, then 1, 2, 3, then 7, then Rouge One happens just before 4, then 8, and now with Solo probably before 1, but maybe not, certainly before 2. If you add in all the animated series stuff going on between the end of 1 and the start of 3 there is a lot of Star Wars on film. Before I go further, I will say I enjoy seeing the Star Wars films, they are entertaining but that is really about all. They serve their purpose as entertainment. As I said before I don’t know enough to care for any of the characters or their causes. The film stories aren’t really particularly compelling, they start out suddenly in the lives of characters and you are expected to bond with them instantly and care if something happens but it isn’t there. Star Wars started this, meh people die attitude in the first movie. Obi Wan is vaporized I guess by Darth Vader chopping him in half. This seems to really befuddle the great dark force user. He is all WTF that hasn’t ever happened before tapping his foot on the cloak like are you dead or what. Other than Luke screaming No, everyone just is like meh. Vader is supposed to be the most feared, ruthless person in the galaxy but you never really get that sense about him, except once in Rogue One. Vader is a BAMF in that last scene, otherwise he is dark and raspy but not menacing, sure he choked that one dude from a few feet away but you never get the sense that he killed a bunch of little kids. Which, he totally did. It’s the same with all the bad guys they just aren’t threatening. Which is a fault of the entire franchise, I never had any feelings good or bad about any of the characters. There is no real sense they may not succeed. Everyone who dies is either, a Wilhelm Scream death in the back ground or it’s a main character dying in an expected way. Even when they are about to die it is so telegraphed I’m surprised there isn’t a western union fee attached to the ticket cost. If you didn’t see Han dying in 7, were you even watching the film. The stories are so recycled within the franchise. Seriously if there is another planet killer base in the series…I don’t know … What they holy fuck, the empire can take over a whole star system but can’t seem to come up with a better way to spend their military resources. 4 is really the only good film and Lucas recut it so much afterward it is a mess as well. I don’t really get why people are so bent out of shape and ranting stuff like; Disney is ruining Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy is the worst person in the world, that Rian guy sucks and J. J. Abrams is a hack. I agree they haven’t made the franchise any better but relax it was always mediocre at best, these people haven’t really made it any worse. It’s just a movie people or it is just a bunch of movies it’s entertainment be entertained. Solo at least settles the who shot first argument. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Don't dream it, be it

Seeing beyond our own circle, our own struggle, our own circumstances takes effort. Effort most of us are not willing to give, because even when you make the effort to see beyond our own day in and day out, it does not last because our default is what about me, what about mine. That does not make any of us bad, unmindful, selfish or cruel. It does make us human though. The effort to see is hard and that is only one thing, you have, to hear the real problems and do the right thing to fix the problems. We look but not for very long and then our own issues need tending. Even well-meaning people only see there is a problem, and mostly we assume because we don’t have that, fill in the blank, problem we think we know how to fix that problem. Our most common answers are to throw money at the problem or to blame the person with the problem for their condition. Now we can look away again, or into our own circumstances with some satisfaction that we care, or it is not our problem. We don’t even look at our own problems how we should, we shift blame or site this set of circumstances or bad luck as the cause but never own our actions. We bemoan It’s not fair. This is true even god will tell you, it is not fair that is the default for life. The world does not care if you live or die from the poorest of the poor to the wealthiest of the wealthy. The world will shrug off your passing like the dust on the wind. For any of us to have any amount of success we have, to work together. If we all were just out for ourselves there would be anarchy and chaos. History is filled to the choking point with the stories of those who are able, taking what they want from those who can not defend themselves. Most of us end up on the losing end of that scenario. No matter how bad ass you think you are. Many of the solutions we put in place to off set the things we see, don’t address the problems because we don’t listen. We think we know better because it isn’t our problem. When the solution fails we can blame those who have the problem for it and move on satisfied in the idea that we have done something. Hunger and Famine in parts of the world most of us will never go, we can see the problems because some person went and filmed it, overlaid sad music and then told you for just a few cents a day you can make this person’s life better not just that one person their whole family. Buy this pair of shoes and we will send some shoeless kiddo a pair for free. Back to your regularly scheduled drama, guilt free because we “did” something about it. We know we haven’t done anything meaningful, but we can fool ourselves into thinking because we have done something effortless the problem is solved. Out of sight out of mind. It isn’t our fault that there is hunger or famine in the world. There are many reasons why that happens. It isn’t our fault any number of things happen in the world. Life isn’t fair. Even if we try to make it fairer, Life is still not fair. Little children will die, faithful spouses will be cheated on, one person will take advantage of another and the litany of sins cascades like a river swollen after a storm. We are human, and life isn’t fair. Just because life is not fair and we are not without transgressions does not mean we should not try, to not only see but to hear and to do something more than just throw money or blame all the ills of the world on those who live in them. We can do so much more than we do if we only dare enough to dream it and then commit to making it happen. John F. Kennedy said, “I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule or managed our resources and our time so as to insure their fulfillment. “These words were spoken about the race to space and the moon. These same words can be set to any problem we face; the opioid crisis, poverty, healthcare, education, guns, immigration, terrorism, racism, and the list can go on. The facts of the matter are that we are too much focused on our own side of the equation for me and mine not for you and yours. Our leaders focus too much on dividing us rather than bringing us together and too much on short sighted bandages rather than long term solutions. History shows us again and again and again. Those at the top can only keep the people at the bottom fighting each other for so long before the sparks set fire to the world. The only question is do we want a violent revolution or do we want a revolution which leads us to a new height for humankind. Dare to dream we are better and then be brave enough to make it real. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards