Funny Little Plans

Note to self - if you're thinking about driving out to East/Central Washington, and you want to leave really early to (a) avoid the hottest temperatures and (b) avoid some serious backups due to freeway closures then don't fall asleep on the sofa and end up going to bed about 3 am the night before.  Nope it wasn't to be today.  I think maybe if I want to go out that way, I should stay the night there - otherwise it involves an awful lot of driving.    

Lies

"President Trump remains in excellent health ... He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State".

Come on now.  Everyone should know by now that you cannot trust anything that comes out of the White House nowadays, but this takes the biscuit.

First Light

Look what I got today:

Yes, the new official James Bond video game.  And the reviews have been pretty good, so I'm looking forward to playing it.  But I don't know when that will be.  I fear this type of game will quickly consume my time and challenge my poor video game skills.  So I will need to show some self-control, some self-moderation, and some patience - none of which I'm traditionally good at (case in point, how quickly I consume all the snacks I bring back with me from the UK!).

Palace 1-0 Rayo

European champions!  Holy sh*t!  Three major trophies in one year, after 119 years without one.  Amazing.  Well, I guess technically European "Conference League" champions - whatever.  I blew off some meetings to watch this game - and it was totally worth it.  Not exactly a great game, but we were definitely the better team.  When we turned it up a couple of notches at the start of the second half, that showed how good we could be.  We only got one goal, but should have got more.  And then we were able to comfortably see out the rest of the game and raise the trophy.  A fitting way to end the reign of what has arguably been our best manager - certainly our most successful.  I don't know what that means for the future - I fear once again not capitalizing on our success and instead struggling to hold onto our best players.  But at least we're in the Europa League next year - which we were unfairly disqualified from this year.  I think this result more than makes up for our embarrassing FA Cup defense.

Sinners

I finished watching Sinners this evening.  A film that had 16 Oscar nominations (it won 4) and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97% - so I had high expectations.  And I came away... underwhelmed.  A good, watchable film - but nowhere near the masterpiece that the critical acclaim would suggest.  Did I miss something?  It's essentially a horror film, though mixing a variety of themes, with a fairly simplistic plot.  I hate to use this word, but is this a woke film?  Yes, it is predominantly a black cast with a story told from a black perspective.  Nothing wrong with that.  But it feels like that has been celebrated over the merits or not of the actual film.  I don't know, maybe I'm just not the right demographic for this film.  3 stars.   

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!  As I was channel surfing this evening, I could have watched Flags of Our Fathers (followed by Letters from Iwo Jima) or Saving Private Ryan.  But nope, there was only one correct choice - Band of Brothers.  I had forgotten how good it is.  That really deserves a proper rewatch.  Another one to add to the list.  When I watch an intense show like Band of Brothers, I really feel thankful and blessed that I have never had to fight a war in my lifetime.  And I can't help but wonder what kind of soldier I might have been.  Not a good one I suspect.  I would have been more of the pencil pusher type a long way away from the action. 

End of Season

Well, a 15th place finish is extremely disappointing for Palace.  But considering the mid-season turmoil, I guess we should just be happy that we were never part of the relegation battle (even if we finished just above it).  But our season will be entirely dictated by how we do in the Conference League final on Wednesday.  A win, another trophy and qualification for Europe next season would be massive.  And perhaps we can attract a better manager.  A loss, and this season will have been a big disappointment - a failure to capitalize on last season's progress, and the loss of our manager and our best players.  And we will be serious relegation candidates next season.

Otherwise, I've found the Premier League to be a bit disappointing this season.  Disappointed that Arsenal won, and disappointed that Spurs didn't go down.  And generally I've been a lot less invested in the ups and downs of the league.  I haven't watched many games live, preferring to stick to highlights.   And this is despite going to Selhurst Park for the first time ever and catching a game in person for the first time in absolutely ages.  Perhaps I've just grown a bit tired of the sport in general.  I'm not at all excited by the upcoming World Cup, which I feel is going to drag on with slow and boring games.  I don't have any opinions on the England squad selection, because I don't really care.  And England will probably have a spectacularly underwhelming showing, which is my early World Cup prediction.