Month: January 2021

Turns Out, the Folding Aspect of My Tern Bike is Very Helpful

I initially dismissed that the handlebar stem on my new bike folded down, though I did like that it could balance independently in an upright position. Those two things came together in a big win that means that I can store my bike in our locked shed!

It wouldn’t fit if the handlebars were sticking out, but folded flat, I’ve got a very secure area for my bike.

This is great news, as I was thinking about storing this bike on the back porch where my old bike had been hanging, but wasn’t feeling great about the level of security.

Thanks, Tern. You were looking out for me and I didn’t even know it!

SKS Postcard: Anna Oneglia, Like a Garden

Sara sends me greetings as I wrap up two jobs and start another.

Not pictured here because I just noticed it, is the place for the stamp. Sara has cleverly placed the official stamp to the left of the usual place for the stamp so I can see that artist included another woodcut that says “The days are long, but the years are short” Very fun! And a good way for me to show off fun stamp areas that I come across.

The Bike Trade-In

Having procured an ebike, it is now time to send my trusty blue bike to a new home. I called my local bike shop, Kenton Cycle Repair, and the following conversation ensued:

  • Me: Hi, this is Patricia Collins and I’m wondering if I can bring my bike in to see what needs to be done and also get an estimate of what I could sell it for?
  • Rich: Are you the owner of that really great GT step-through mountain bike?
  • Me: That’s the one!
  • Rich: Well, I’m sorry to hear you are selling it, but yes bring it in and we will take a look.

Color me amused that my local bike shop owner has matched my bike to my name. I explained why I was selling it and made plans to bring it in.

Here’s this winner, one last time.

When I got there Rich said it was in great shape, which wasn’t a surprise since I had it tuned up in February 2020 and then was laid off, so bike commuting went out the window. He then told me I could probably sell it for more than he was offering but offered me a chunk of store credit that was $25.00 less than I was hoping to sell it for.

I left the bike with Rich, confident he would find it a good home. When I asked him why he liked that bike so much he said that they just don’t build them like this anymore.

It’s been a good decade-plus with the blue bike. We’ve had some solid adventures and I hope the new owner also loves its many charms.

First Day as a Copy Editor

Hey look! I’m a full-time copy editor with benefits and everything! Today is my first day working for MFA. Maul, Foster & Alongi, Inc., provides environmental consulting and a whole host of other things. I’m looking forward to learning the ropes. That’s my new, company-issued laptop behind me. I’ve got a lot of other new things too. There’s going to have to be a room reorganization.

Tern: My New Ride

After years with my fun step-through mountain bike, I have find a new bicycle companion. This is my Tern GSD S10 ebike!

I’m super excited to supplement my bike riding with some pedal assist. While I think the bike itself is kind of ugly, I love how much cargo capacity it has, and that it folds down to be a bit more compact, and can stand upright on its own.

This bike cost me as much as some people pay for a used car, but I hope to use it for years to come.

Like Ike Barinholtz’s Chris, Swear off The Oath.

Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish in The Oath.

The Oath

★Directed by Ike Barinholtz★
★Written by Ike Barinholtz★

The review:

I forgot to write a review for this movie and now it’s more than three months later and things are hazy, but I can tell you that there are some funny parts of this, but also that tonally it’s off.* It may that it’s a Too Soon! movie** or that Barinholtz just wants to push buttons that I wasn’t in the mood to have pushed, but I could see people putting in their best effort, but it just didn’t come together. It was interesting to see Haddish play the straight man, so there was that.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Monthly Disney+/Hulu charge ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Like it’s a dark comedy, but I think a little too dark?
**We did watch it three days after the storming of the capital by domestic terrorists.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite kind of movie for Tiffany Haddish to star in?
  • Would you take the oath?

Other reviews of The Oath:

Orange background with a white frame. If it wasn't for people like me, people like you would be slaves to people like me.—The Oath. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

I Grew This Squash

Thanks to never getting around to getting the soaker hose set up, my one Oregon Sweet Meat squash was very small comparatively. I’d say it is half the size of my 2016 harvest. It was very flavorful, though. That’s the advantage of not watering. If things grow, their flavor tends to be more concentrated than very well watered vegetables.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always: Dangers Abound

Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Directed by Eliza Hittman
Written by Eliza Hittman

The review:

Eliza Hittman takes us on a journey worthy of an epic poem* so a young woman can get a procedure that should be available to her in her own small town. On the way, we see how rules to “protect”** women actually end up putting them in more danger, the things women sacrifice for other women, and a quiet, perfect performance by Sidney Flanigan. By the time you get to the scene where the phrase “never, rarely, sometimes, always” is used, you will never forget the order of the words in this very wordy title.

The verdict: Recommended.

Cost: HBOMax monthly fee of ($12.99) (Still living off the WW84 purchase)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It’s interesting to see how little of Flanigan’s life we learn about before the journey begins in earnest and how the sparse details we do find paint a vivid picture.
**But we know why those rules are passed and it has nothing to do with protection and everything to do with control.

Questions:

  • What moment of this film will be seared on your heart forever?
  • How many ways (big and small) were Autumn & Skyler violated in this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Prior to this film, Sidney Flanigan worked as a janitor.

Other reviews of Never Rarely Sometimes Always:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Don't you ever just wish you were a dude?—Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Radha Blank is a Star in the Forty-Year-Old Version

Radha Blank in the Forty-Year-Old Version

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Directed by Radha Blank
Written by Radha Blank

The review:

Despite decades of “girl power” and versions of “leaning in” there are still a lot of spaces that aren’t available to women.* Radha Blank explores a couple of them** in this film that is both humorous*** and can really kick you in the solar plexus. Having Radha Blank on screen would probably be enough of a win,**** but she delivers a story that a lot of people would be better off having taken the time to watch.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*There are the obvious ones, like pro baseball and pro football, and the less obvious ones like film criticism and, hey, the music industry, where talented women have to trade on something other than just their talent to achieve fame (and even then the gatekeeping is fierce.) I’m thinking of 20 Feet From Stardom, where there already was an Aretha, so there was no need to promote other talented Black female singers. I’m thinking of all the women singers who had the voice, but their looks were deemed to be not good enough by the men who control the recording companies. How many Taylor Swifts do we not hear from because they aren’t as attractive as she is?
**Hip hop music, where she reinvents herself as RadhaMUSPRime, and theater, where her play is finally being produced by a major (read: white) theater.
***Some of her rhymes are giggle inducing.
****She does not fall into gatekeepers’ standards of beauty.

Questions:

  • What do you make of Radha and D’s relationship?
  • Do you think the film’s title (so similar to a famous Judd Apatow film) helps or hurts?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Cinematographer Eric Branco explained that he actually showed up to the interview with a bag full of street photography books (Bruce Davidson, Matt Weber, Saul Leiter, Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson) for the director. From the beginning, Radha wanted the footage to be shot on black and white 35mm film.

Other reviews of The Forty-Year-Old Version:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: The good news is, I still need a writer for my Harriet Tubman musical. —The Forty-Year-Old Version. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com