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Politics

 

I’m tired of complaining about politics. Complaining about politics seems pointless.

Most of our institutions and so-called elites are corrupt.

We are all being forced to join one side or the other, or a “team.”

If I like what your team plans to do, and not just complain about, I will consider joining your team.

Until then, I will continue to watch Netflix — even though Netflix is, apparently, on a bad team.

 

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Last week (I think it was last week; am much too lazy to check), I said I was watching Wednesday and that I wanted more Uncle Fester and less Thing. That was before I saw the actor playing Uncle Fester.

I take back my complaint. The Fester actor is much too low-energy, as is the actor playing Gomez. Thing has more personality than the two of them together.

And why do I care about the actors in a mildly amusing show like Wednesday? I do not. I just need something to complain about that isn’t politics-related.

 

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It’s getting harder and harder to tell if a photo is real or a “deep fake.” That’s our excuse for working on a new post (maybe, possibly coming next week) featuring the ever-popular Minnesota Hmong girl (above).  We know she has great tits, but are they the real deal on popular Web sites or are they fake?

 

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“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

— proverb of unknown origin

 

Here’s a little quiz:

 

  • Do you believe that all people, including homosexual, non-binary, and transexual persons, should be treated fairly and respectfully based on character and not on sexual preferences?
  • Do you believe that people less fortunate than you, persons persecuted and/or poverty-stricken in their home countries, should be given the opportunity for a new life in America?
  • Do you believe that people of color, historically discriminated against in America, should be afforded the same opportunities for economic prosperity as everyone else?
  • Do you believe that the world should be protected from damaging, man-made pollutants?

 

That’s just a partial list, but I’m guessing that, unless you have no conscience, you answered “yes” to all the questions.

That’s the Democrats’ weapon, and that’s why we have Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Washington.

Problem is … see the quote at top.

It’s not the ends, which all seem so admirable, it’s the means that are tearing the country apart. Nearly every policy that Biden and Company introduce has damaging side effects.

Free speech is a casualty. The rule of law is ignored. The Middle Class gets the bill for reform while the “elites” skate. The country is split. All of this happens in the name of “progress.” 

The real question is, is it worth it?

 

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Kanye “Ye” West might be a musical genius. I don’t know because I’m not into his style of music. He might or might not be a business genius.

But after listening to him in interviews with Tucker Carlson and Tim Pool (above), it seems clear that as a public speaker and would-be politician, Ye’s just stupid.

Being successful in one or two fields of human endeavor does not mean you are good at everything.

Period.

 

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I am watching Wednesday on Netflix. (Don’t ask why; I grew exasperated with 1899 and needed something new to watch.)

The show is confusing my Hollywood “woke” detector. At times, it seems to embrace wokeness. In one scene, for no apparent reason important to plot, we briefly meet a student’s parents who are, it turns out, a lesbian couple. There is also a short speech about the evil patriarchy, and America’s early colonists are taken to task.

But in other scenes, characters seem to be poking fun at wokeness.

Whatever. Jenna Ortega (above) is very good in the titular role, but I want more Uncle Fester, and less Thing.

 

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As a straight male, and despite society’s constant “you go girl!” feminist refrain, I don’t often find myself envious of the “fairer sex.”

But there’s one area where so-called chick flicks top most so-called buddy comedies, and that’s in the depiction of same-sex friendship.

I can’t think of a better example of this than Netflix’s Dead to Me, which just wrapped its third and final season.

In real life, I have absolutely zilch in common with the show’s two protagonists, played to perfection by Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. They are rich chicks living the life in Southern California, much focused on relationships and family. I, on the other hand, am much focused on what’s for dinner and who’s playing in Sunday’s football games.

But I’m not ashamed to say that the bittersweet conclusion of Dead to Me nearly brought me to tears, and I’m going to miss these two broads — especially Applegate, who is a comic delight as foul-mouthed Jen Harding.

 

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So far, so good on Elon Musk’s Twitter. I no longer live in fear of permanent banishment for violating whatever random protocol is established by some spoiled Gen Xer on the West Coast.

The last time I got banned (it’s happened three or four times; getting back on the site isn’t all that difficult – even without Kathy Griffin’s dead mother), it was for paying someone a compliment. What was my offense? I told South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem that she has “nice tits.”

 

I stand by my Tweet.

 

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Trump or DeSantis? I’m not sure. I’m glad I don’t have to decide today.

 

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I See You

 

Helen Hunt and Jon Tenney play a married couple whose family of three is on the brink due to her infidelity. Meanwhile, the cop-husband is assigned a child kidnapping case, and someone — or something — seems to be haunting their suburban house.

Here’s the thing: I am burning out on “supernatural thrillers,” in which any kind of plot snag can be explained away by magical hocus-pocus of the screenwriter’s choosing. So it was a relief to me when, at the midpoint of this well-shot movie, it became less Poltergeist and more, oh, The Silence of the Lambs, I guess. There is a major plot development that changes everything, and mysterious events are (mostly) satisfactorily explained.

But not everything is satisfying. The script is simply too clever by half, with too many coincidences and “yeah, right” moments for my taste. Release: 2019  Grade: B

 

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Don’t Worry Darling

 

Florence Pugh and Harry Styles are living the life in an experimental town on the West Coast. But lurking beneath the village’s 1950s, Ozzie-and-Harriet facade, something’s rotten in the state of California.

Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling is thought-provoking, well-made, and well-acted. It was considered a disappointment upon release earlier this year. Why is that?

I suspect it’s a matter of bad timing. Darling’s none-too-subtle message — The patriarchy is bad! Women are victims! — is propaganda we’ve been bludgeoned with for years now (thanks, The Handmaid’s Tale), and half the country isn’t having it. We’ve seen enough of Hillary and Nancy and Maxine to know that our problems aren’t strictly gender-related; they are power- and corruption-related. Laying responsibility solely on one sex doesn’t cut it.

But Wilde has made an entertaining movie and deserves kudos for that. I deduct points only for the plot’s lack of originality (The Stepford Wives, anyone?) — and for the politics of bad timing. Release: 2022  Grade: B+

 

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Smile

 

Here’s an example of the triumph of marketing over substance. In the trailers for Smile, we learn that people inexplicably develop an evil smile right before something dreadful happens. We also see a clip of a truly frightening scene in which a woman runs up to the window of a waiting car and …

Little did I know, when I watched the ads, that those rictus-grins and the car scene are the only high points of this derivative, ponderous movie. We follow a nervous wreck of a mental-health therapist (Sosie Bacon) as she navigates a series of deaths involving the smilers — and a barrage of annoying “jump scares” that do little to disguise how lame the story is.

I suppose if I were 12 and Smile was my first horror movie, I might enjoy it. But I am not, and I didn’t. Release: 2022  Grade: C-

 

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Nope

 

Filmmaker Jordan Peele’s career path is beginning to resemble that of M. Night Shyamalan — not necessarily a good thing. Both directors had early success (The Sixth Sense; Get Out), followed up with decent, if not spectacular, outings (Unbreakable; Us), and then chose a UFO/alien theme for movie number three (Signs; Nope).

Peele and Shyamalan, with their heavy reliance on twists, were both hailed as the second coming of Rod Serling. Peele, of course, injects social commentary into his films; Shyamalan, not so much.

Nope starts out well enough, with a suspenseful buildup as we learn that something scary is in the sky out west. But the second half of the film is a mess. It’s all nonsensical behavior and so-so special effects as brother-and-sister horse trainers (Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer) do battle with … something.

Shyamalan’s Signs wins the battle of the alien movies, hands down. Release: 2022   Grade: C

 

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

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Ouch!

It took two and a half years to find us, but the Wuhan Flu finally did so and is currently biting us in the ass.

And so, until (hopefully) next week, please enjoy this picture of a goat.

 

 

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by Emile Gaboriau

 

I can hear it now: Monsieur Who?

Edgar Allan Poe is often cited as the father of the modern detective novel, and everyone is familiar with Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes. But I’m guessing that few readers are aware of the link between Poe and Doyle: French author Emile Gaboriau, who penned detective novels clearly influenced by Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin and in turn a major inspiration for Doyle’s Holmes.

I suspect Gaboriau’s novels have slipped into relative obscurity because they lack Poe’s mastery of mood and Doyle’s strong characterizations. Monsieur Lecoq, a young, ambitious policeman whose chief attributes seem to be self-doubt and confusion, isn’t particularly memorable, and Gaboriau’s prose can be a bit wordy and dense.

Still, if you’re a fan of 19th-century crime fiction, Lecoq’s investigation of an enigmatic man accused of a triple murder is an entertaining read.

 

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Looks like The Fourth Turning was correct: Clearly, we are amid some kind of new-age civil war.

It doesn’t matter how awful or hypocritical your candidate is; it doesn’t matter how many laws my candidate breaks. You are on your team, and I am on my team.

The midterms simply cemented our views. Red and blue. It’s depressing and exhausting.

For now, I don’t want to discuss politics. Instead, how about some TV Tidbits?

 

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TV Tidbits

 

 

I’m watching Annika on PBS. It’s a pretty good cop show, mostly because it stars Nicola Walker (above), who has done this kind of role many times, but in Annika shows off more of her comedic side. However

In the past few years, I’ve noticed a disturbing (to me) trend in a lot of European cop shows. They open with a theme song featuring a female wailer who wails slowly, sadly, and annoyingly. These singers bring to mind Sarah McLachlan in those omnipresent commercials about abused pets.

Also annoying: Annika’s co-worker is a lesbian. OK. Also, Annika’s teen daughter is a budding lesbian.

That’s not “woke” enough for me. Let’s make the entire cast lesbian.

 

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The Crown season five on Netflix: The production values are still there, and for the most part the cast is fine. However

Sure, Dominic West is a fine actor. But playing Charles? Give me a break.

Also, it seems like some of the show’s old magic is gone, possibly because so far (through three episodes) there doesn’t seem to be any character to root for. It feels like creator/writer Peter Morgan has decided that yes, the monarchy is outdated and it’s 2022 and everything in the past sucks and we’ve all had enough of these pampered Brits.

 

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Banned, reviled, and worshipped Milo Yiannopoulos was on Tim Pool’s podcast. (This is a “TV Tidbit” because I watch YouTube on my TV, so shut up.)

Yiannopoulos is one of those raconteurs who can mesmerize you with his words. For two hours, he mesmerized the other blabbermouths on Pool’s show. And that’s no easy feat.

He’s an intellectual who is quite convincing while you listen to him, but of whom, in retrospect following the show, you suspect might be full of shit.

Maybe it’s his British accent.

 

 

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The time for private bitching is over. It’s time to make your voice heard.

If you detest globalists, elites, and insufferable culture warriors, it’s time to push back against their “(not-so) great reset.”

 

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Yes, a lot of the Republican candidates suck (looking at you, Herschel and Oz). But again, see above.

 

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A few weeks ago, I reviewed a book called Ten Dead Comedians. I arrived at the conclusion that if you are going to hang out with a professional comedian, you want him or her on a stage, and not in your living room.

That’s also how I feel about The Surreal Life, which has been resurrected on VH1 after a 16-year hiatus. Lord forgive me, I am watching the show again. The eight celebs — half of whom are new names to me — are generally messed up. But the drama in the house (in Mexico City, for some reason) is addicting.

Drunken, often-naked Dennis Rodman, spirit-channeling Stormy Daniels, and some female wrestler named CJ Perry (below) in a thong — what more do you need? It will take your mind off politics. Maybe.

 

 

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Let the spoiled children learn to code.

 

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The Grouchy Editor used to have a regular feature called “Asshole of the Week” (or month, or whatever). We stopped running it because, frankly, there were simply too many candidates.

But to celebrate Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, today we feel obliged to honor the  

 

ASSHOLES OF THE MILLENNIUM!

 

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Ousted Twitter assholes Parag Agrawal (left) and Vijaya Gadde

 

Infuriatingly, these two enemies of free speech, fired by Musk, will nevertheless enjoy golden parachutes to soften the blow. But should they feel the need to work again, we sincerely hope that they can both learn how to code.

 

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Why It Sucks to Be a Little Guy on Twitter

 

If you think of a joke and post it at the same time that some blue-check clown thinks of it and posts it and … he gets 26,000 likes while you get, well ….

 

 

The timing of Elder’s Tweet triggered our suspicions. Assuming he posted from his home in California using his “preferred time zone,” and knowing that The Grouch posted from the Central time zone, we did the math and, well, you be the judge.

 

 

Who posted first? The Grouch posted at 3:23 Central time, which is 1:23 Elder time. Elder likely posted at 2:38 Pacific time, which is 4:38 Grouch time.

Yes, we are very bitter and have too much time on our hands. But Larry Elder is clearly stealing our jokes.

 

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Thanks to the Paul Pelosi attack, there are calls for taxpayers to pick up the tab for additional security for congresspeople. Wealthy politicians like Nancy Pelosi, who enrich themselves at the public’s expense, at the very least should pay for their own damn security.

Also, do Democrats still think it’s a great idea to replace police with social workers for “mental health” incidents like this one?

 

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Joe Biden paused before answering a question about his wife’s feelings concerning Biden running for re-election, and the conservative media went wild:  Biden zoned out! Blatant senility!

Listen, I detest Biden and believe he belongs behind bars. But I have to defend this pause. To me, he was simply considering how to answer the question. No big deal.

But Tucker Carlson, Jesse Watters and conservative colleagues seemed to think Biden’s pause was bombshell news.

Nah, it was just a pause to reflect.

 

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Looking for a good scary movie? Something that’s not supernatural? Something that’s not stupid?

I recommend The Good Nurse (above) because it’s based on a true story and is pretty damn frightening. It’s about a serial killer of whom, unlike Dahmer and Bundy and the rest of them, you might not know very much. But you should know his name because his victim tally is likely the highest of them all. (Here is our review of the book the film is based on.)

Charles Cullen never explained why he killed so many hospital patients — possibly because he doesn’t know, himself. And what could be scarier than that?

 

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Speaking of The Good Nurse, a secondary villain is played by actress Kim Dickens (above), as an insurance baddie hoping to thwart the cops. I thought that, for a 57-year-old actress, Dickens was, well, hot as the dickens.

She also looked hot in this scene from Sons of Anarchy, filmed when she was a mere child of 48:

 

OK, her butt cheeks are a bit chunky and chubby — but that’s how some of us like them.

 

 

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Scary Movie Recommendation Number Two

 

If you’re seeking something scary but a bit less realistic and more “fun” than The Good Nurse, we recommend Beast. The Idris Elba flick has a ridiculous climax, but until that point it’s a real nail-biter.

Oh, yeah. This is the one in which Idris wrestles a lion. Literally. Sort of.

 

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Now that we’ve degenerated into rank misogyny, if you’d like to drool over pretty Priya’s private parts, check out either her (defunct) Just For Fans page or her current Babepedia page.

 

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While we are busy being sexist …

 

 

Mr. Skin features Deborah Voorhees’s breasts a lot. Can’t blame him. But he never got to ride an elevator to work with her every day, like we did. Take that, Mr. Skin.

 

 

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American Horror Show

 

 

With the big elections just a couple of weeks away, there is likely nothing more my humble self can say that might dissuade you from voting for the monsters (Democrats) — if you are hell-bent on doing so.

I might as well just sit back and watch the horror show, if that’s what it turns out to be.

In the spirit of Halloween, here is what you can expect if you vote blue:

 

“Son of Fester and Lurch”

 

Above, Morticia and Lurch Jr. greet the monster-in-chief.

 

“The Man Who Laughs”

 

If everything goes to hell, it’s your fault, not his.

 

“Quasimodo”

 

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Male Quasimodo’s unsightly hump is in the back; female Quasimodo’s unsightly humps are in the front. 

 

“Bride of Dracula”

 

 

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The Curse of Ryan Murphy

 

Ryan Murphy has a long history of creating shows with great premises but which, sooner or later, go off the rails. His openings almost always intrigue, but then it’s just a question of time before the show turns into a parody of itself. It’s as if Murphy loses interest in his own story, and then doesn’t care how it ends.

Sometimes a Murphy show takes years to go bonkers (Nip/Tuck 2003-10), sometimes it happens near the end of season one (The Watcher), but usually it goes haywire somewhere in the middle of a season’s run (American Horror Story).

Murphy should just write a story outline and then let someone else fill in the rest.

 

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I used to be fond of Mike Lindell because, back when the left was trying to get advertisers to boycott Tucker Carlson’s show, Lindell and his pillows stuck with Carlson.

But good lord, with Lindell’s omnipresent, annoying TV commercials, in which he doesn’t so much pitch his product as make my walls shake due to his shouting, it feels like he’s moved into my living room.

I want to stuff His Pillows up His Ass.

 

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The girl from Minnesota with the “fuck me” fanny continues to generate hits for our site. Certainly nothing monstrous about her.

 

 

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