The Queens Gambit

 It’s probably been a year since the Queens Gambit became the biggest film on Netflix. Not much has changed except that the pandemic has passed… taking a million lives, needlessly with it and Netflix, once the hottest stock in FAANG recently took a 30% nose dive. Meanwhile The Queens Gambit is still probably one of the greatest films or rather film series of our time. I’m watching it now for the third time. When something is bad, it’s not worth watching at all but when something is good it’s worth watching over and over again. Queens Gambit is one of those. 

 Set in the early 50’s it follows the story of a poor little orphan child from obscurity to fame under the spotlight of international chess. I found myself falling in paternal love with this girl in the first episode and  becoming more deeply intrigued but always protective with each episode. Elizabeth survives her mother’s fatal car crash. An accident that was suicidal. Her mom tells Beth that

  “The strongest person is the person who isn’t scared to be alone.” 

 

Google review - Odies Oil

 

Pete

5.0 out of 5 stars Penetrating Oil that protects your deck

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2022

Verified Purchase

 Penetrating Oil that protects your deck for a year or two. 

Deck stains, fade, flake and wear out. It is very expensive 

to get it professionally refinished. I paid $1500. 

And some painters simply wouldn’t take the job. 

So when I got it done by a company that specializes 

in doing log homes, the craftsman told me about Odies Oil. 

When the wood is sanded the Odies soaks into the wood. 

It provides a natural sheen and the wood grain is enhanced. 

Water beads up immediately and very impressively. 

I bought a professional quality floor buffer to do this 

job on my own. I use a series of pads to spread and 

push the oil into the wood. I then finish with a buffing pad. 

The end result is beautiful. It’s beautiful but this is 

almost an annual maintenance job. You might go 

two or three years or more based on weather and wood 

type but this is not a stain or a paint. I does not flake or 

blister so you never need to sand the wood down to 

bare again but I would plan to think of this as an annual 

treatment plan rather than a paint job.

As they made us

 This film brings us smack dab into the middle of one family’s life experience and helps us identify with and feel each members role within the family system during the loss of their father, played by Dustin Hoffman. We remember Dustin as the young Graduate. We counted cards with him as Rain Man and now we nurse him through his final days as the aging patriarch, father and husband Eugene. Each member of the family struggles to cope with this phase in his life with current roles enriched with flashbacks that provide some insights into how and why things are today. This is a quality film with adult themes, not sexual, actual grown up adult themes. There is no gratuitous violence or sex but there are moments in family history that are harsh. It is a quality film that is well worth your time especially if you have dealt with the loss of a parent or spouse. This is not a light hearted rom-com nor is it a documentary although it’s a bit of both. It’s a fictional reality show that pulls you into the most intimate moments of complex relationships. 

Loneliness

 Loneliness 

Feeling lonely is probably the worst feeling in the world. Loneliness is probably the most driving force in the array of human emotions. It is at the core of most love songs. It is what we want to avoid or escape from. It is the foundation of a broken heart. It is the opposite of being in love. People want to fall in love but they more so want to not be lonely. I think this is why there are so many bad or painful relationships. Women are abused by men. Why do they suffer the abuse? Because it is better than being alone. Why do Men act out in jealous revenge? They fear being alone. But being alone is not the same as being lonely. On a personal level, I do not like being lonely but I often don’t mind being alone. I enjoy being alone. It’s a luxury of not being lonely. Before I got married I wanted to be married. I felt lonely even while in a relationship. I knew something was missing. I wanted a better relationship. I had a birth family that loved me. My Mom, my Dad, my Sister. I was never alone in that regard but still there were times when I felt very lonely. I had very good and close friends. I was never alone in that regard either but still there were times when I felt lonely. I remember soon after I was married that I felt lonely. I had friends, family, a loving wife and yet I felt lonely. I even remember saying that to my new wife. And why would I say that, why would I feel that? I think it was because it came as a surprise. I mean essentially I now had Everything I ever wanted. Everything that would make my life complete but… even still, that haunting sense of loneliness.

When we moved to Hendersonville I felt lonely but soon we made friends. I made a friend. I didn’t feel lonely, I felt like I knew somebody in a new town. I lost my father while in my 50’s and the busiest time of my life. I had been trying to rebuild our relationship for years and show him somehow that I had become a man learning the things he taught me. I lost my mother. I lost my son. In each case I felt a different level of all consuming loss. I felt like this is the worst I could ever feel but there was also a sense of feeling like please take away everything else now. Now when I can’t feel any worse loss or pain. I mean, is there a limit to the pain one feels in loss and loneliness. Is there actually a rock bottom?

I started writing this post this morning. I’ve been up most of the night but I did get a few hours of sleep and I felt great about that. Then I got up for coffee and I love the flavor and feeling of coffee. I’ve been in a lot of physical pain for this past month. It is very debilitating and all consuming. It is a kind of parallel to emotional pain. It’s the same but different. I’m taking medication to try to dull the physical pain. Then I realize that people take medication to dull emotional pain. This condition has given me some degree of empathy. I see others and realize, my God, is this the kind of pain they are feeling. I never want to take the absence of pain for granted again. I’ve also had time to think about loss. What if I loose Tess? What if she was not here, not part of my everyday life? We just watched a movie about that, How they made us. We both cried. We both know on a certain level that this is about us. That one of us will have to go on without the other. In the current school shooting news, a father had a heart attack after burying his daughter who was shot down in a mass murder. They are calling it dying by a broken heart. I believe it completely. Some people are energized to take action. Some are paralyzed with grief. Others die. They quit. They’ve had enough. These are people with feelings. Like the Tin man said, I know I have a heart because I feel it breaking. 

I feel like I’m embracing aloneness. I feel like I have everything I could ever want. Everything I ever wanted. The female companion love of my life, Tess. I feel like we are loving each other now on a deeper level than our honeymoon. But we also had our honeymoon of love and lust and now our love has been the most complete and beautiful of my life. We also had our baby. Lauren. When Lauren was born her presence completely redefined love for me. When I met her eyes looking at me from across the hospital room in the hours after she was just born everything stopped. Everything was suddenly new and different. This was the birth of Love. Love for a little person that was completely different than anything else I had ever known or would ever know.

As I was saying, I’m embracing aloneness. I know it will happen. I need to be prepared. I need to live knowing that I’ve had every gift of the human experience and I need to know that I don’t need any more and don’t need to want any more. I simply need to know what I have and what we had and be happy and content in that.

  Tyshaun McPhatter didn’t know how to put on a tie. 

john.cox@washpost.com

 https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?trackId=5ec7bc41ae7e8a4360a88af4&s=62921bf2956121755a964dd0&linknum=5&linktot=119



Dear John,

Thank you for being there and writing such a heartfelt and compelling story. As I sit in my bed, sipping my morning coffee and surrounded by the comforts of home I feel… what do I feel? Fortunate, lucky, happy? Yes. But beyond that I feel guilty, sad, frightened and horrified at what I see happening in and too America. It is happening in America because these are our own people that have fallen into and energized by the Right Wing rhetoric. We have watched its development since the early days of Fox News. Slogans and memes like Fair and Balanced and We Report, You Decide have groomed people into the delusion that Fox is speaking to and for them. Somehow defending their values in the “Culture Wars”, the wars that they create and fuel for their own selfish profits. Among those memes now is the Second Amendment. How many advocates have actually read it? It’s only one sentence… but what does it say?

Second Amendment — Right to Bear Arms Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. 

The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Nowhere in that amendment did the Constitution attempt to protect the average citizen’s right to terrorize and murder fellow citizens. That the right To bear arms would evolve over 230 years to include assault weapons in the hands of one individual mad man that would out power the entire police force of any given small city.

https://www.insider.com/number-of-mass-shootingsin-america-this-year-2022-5

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US, there have been 214 mass shootings in 2022 alone.

To invoke the Second Amendment in the face of these atrocities is pure insanity. To those politicians who do so, they are guilty of murder as accessory before and after the fact just an accomplice would be in any other murder scenario. But are they? No, to the contrary they hold their convention only days later and flaunt their treason against humanity.  Here I’ll your quote of the child who bravely, innocently and honestly said, 

“ Whoever invented guns needs to stop,” 

Such truth, such wisdom and so simple. STOP MAKING ASSAULT WEAPONS! The category of control is in the name; ASSAULT WEAPONS

This is not an infringement on second amendment rights to protect oneself or one’s family. This is the right of the millions of innocent men, women and children to protect themselves from these murderous rampages. 

I’ve got to stop or I’ll go on forever. I just want you to know that I, we, read you. We appreciate you, your honesty, integrity and your courage to report to us the truth. And in essence I just want to say again, Thank You!

Pete Tintle

Pete and Tess

Jesus has failed to save us from ourselves

Is that a controversial statement? For an insignificant little pip-squeak like me to say that Jesus Failed? That would no doubt bring wrath down upon me from some Christian devotes but if I phrased it like this… We the people, have failed Jesus. That might be more acceptable… spell check offered accurate. But this is why I pose the question. 19 children were mowed down in cold blooded murder, yesterday? Was it only yesterday or the day before but last week it was 10 black customers in a grocery store. That murderer was about to kill himself but the cops stopped him. He set out to kill black people. He is a devote racist murdering human being. He is human. We can’t, although I wish I could, deny him that space. He is a human being who decided to ascribe to a theory being promoted by other humans called the Great Replacement. Somehow we, white people are being replaced by other races. So by this theory they justify an advance revenge attack to what, prevent this from happening? Now my guess is and I could be desperately wrong, but my guess is that some of these hateful, spiteful, murdering people consider themselves good Christians. Now in what universe can they claim that?

Jesus, the Son of God, came into our world to show us the light and the way. He said by your works you will be recognized. Jesus gave his life so that we may live. He forgives us our sins. At no time did Jesus say, imply or demonstrate by example that hate and hateful acts were to be given a free pass. He didn’t say well here are a few ideas that if and when you’re in a pinch just call out my name and I’ll free you of any responsibility or accountability and yet here we are 2000 years later. Christians carrying banners of hate. Hate of the Jews, the very race of their Lord. Hate of Blacks, of immigrants or gays or even now possibly Liberals. Christians that are outraged about abortion to where they might criminalize the woman or the doctors who serve her. And Christians who would rather defend the second amendment than the very children they say they are so concerned with. So there are people speaking up and speaking out. President Biden for one saying where is our backbone? I will add, where is our soul?

It is time we stop offering our thoughts and prayers and simply Do what Jesus told us to do. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This one Golden Rule that he placed above all others.

Jesus abhorred hypocrisy. He pointed out the hypocrite. He asked that true believers be humble. That they do their good deeds in private. 

And so my answer:

Jesus did not fail us but we fail Jesus every day. Jesus was and is the truth, the light and the way. His words, his deeds, his life and his ministry are all recorded in the New Testament to read and review. Sadly this is not what shapes and leads us. Instead self serving politicians are shaping our policies and holding us captive. They claim to be Christians without any allegiance to Gods teachings. At times they claim to be Christian without even pretending to acknowledge let alone adhere to His teachings. After 19 children were murdered they proudly talk about arming teachers and hardening our schools.

NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre called for more funding for police departments, better school security and a better mental-health system, and said the group remains at odds with President Biden over the Second Amendment.

“Restricting the fundamental human right of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves is not the answer. It never has been,” Mr. LaPierre said.

Defend themselves against who?

Murder is not a fundamental right of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.

Fwd: 'Go in there!' Texas cops dithered during killer's rampage, onlookers say

The Huffington Post issues a series of headline articles every day. This is a very trusted news source to me. It has been branded as “Liberal”. It feels as though Liberal is now the term that the right wing uses to denigrate the truth. After 19 people were mowed down by a crazed kid with an assault weapon, Ted Cruz is blaming lack of school security and Tucker Carlson is blaming COVID prevention restrictions. I am lying here in bed in pain from a bike ride but the degree of pain and the length of time it's taking doesn't make sense. I am trying to get better with rest and medical help. But as I lay in my bed at age 74  I feel like I am watching our country,  The United States of America, The greatest country in the world and by shear luck, My Country… I'm watching my country being destroyed by our own right wing. The aggressive nature of these people tend to make the rest of us simply shut up. We don't want to cause trouble. It won't do any good. People aren't going to change. And so we are basically silent and we watch.  We watch while guns and lies destroy our lives. While our constitution with its protection of legitimate, truthful and responsible free speech is attacked, suppressed and dismantled by an aggressive pack of hateful people who have no concern or respect for the truth and want to rule our country by force. We, I, acquiesce. I withdraw. I inhibit myself from speaking up except to very trusted friends. I'm afraid to alienate my daughter, my son, my mother and father in law or even the guy in the grocery store. I stay quiet while they speak out. Criticizing Biden. A bag of rocks said the grocery guy to a woman shopper. They speak out. They intimidate us. We shutter down in place. We feel fear. We feel sadness in seeing our country suffering it's loss of humanity and yet we don't want to rock the boat so we go about our business in silence. We don't wave the flag or the Bible and yet we hope and pray that somehow God will save us.I thank God for Joe Biden and others like him. He is 79 years old. He is a good and honest and hard working, well meaning man. He is trying to save the souls of America. Can he? Will he? Or will Barabbas rise again?

I'm reminded suddenly of the words in John Lennon's song. 

Hey, you've got to hide your love away

  

Pete and Tess

Begin forwarded message:

From: HuffPost Morning Email <info@mail.huffpost.com>
Date: May 26, 2022 at 6:54:31 AM EDT
To: peteandtess@gmail.com
Subject: 'Go in there!' Texas cops dithered during killer's rampage, onlookers say
Reply-To: dailybrief@huffpost.com



Trump supported "hang Mike Pence" chant on Jan. 6.

By Marita Vlachou Thursday, May 26 TEXAS SHOOTING ONLOOKERS SAY 'UNPREPARED' POLICE FAILED TO GO INTO SCHOOL Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a mass shooter's rampage killed 19 children and two teachers. Investigators worked to piece together a timeline of the massacre that lasted upward of 40 minutes. "Go in there! Go in there!" nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began. [AP]   ANOTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MASSACRE NOT ENOUGH FOR GOP TO RECONSIDER GUN CONTROL The second-deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school wasn't enough to shock GOP lawmakers into dropping their objections to gun control. "We've had guns forever and we're gonna continue to have guns," Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told reporters. The Senate likely won't immediately take up gun legislation, said Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and the scheduled two-week recess will go ahead. Meanwhile, gun-friendly Republicans, including Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, are sticking with plans to speak at an NRA convention in Houston Friday. [HuffPost]   TRUMP EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR JAN. 6 'HANG MIKE PENCE' CHANT Trump expressed approval of rioters chanting "hang Mike Pence," witnesses told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Trump has said that his vice president, as president of the Senate, should have refused to certify the electoral votes. [HuffPost]   THE MOST EXTREME ABORTION BAN IN THE COUNTRY WAS JUST SIGNED INTO LAW Oklahoma is now the state with the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country, after Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a total abortion ban, effectively outlawing the procedure at fertilization. [HuffPost] Long COVID can hit vaccinated people, with older adults at increased risk. How to cope with the latest school shooting if you're a parent. The mental health toll of active shooter drills in schools. The worst thing you can do at work after another mass shooting is nothing. Get the latest coronavirus updates on our dedicated page. JURY FINDS 'HOW TO MURDER YOUR HUSBAND' AUTHOR GUILTY OF MURDERING HUSBAND An Oregon writer who wrote a 2011 blog post titled "How to Murder Your Husband" was found guilty of murdering her husband of 26 years. [HuffPost]   BETO O' ROURKE ESCORTED OUT OF UVALDE NEWS CONFERENCE AFTER CONFRONTING GOV. GREG ABBOTT Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) confronted Gov. Greg Abbott over gun control policy at a news conference where officials were giving updates on the mass shooting. "You're doing nothing. You're all doing nothing," O'Rourke told the officials assembled on the stage before being removed by law enforcement. [HuffPost]   RIGHT-WINGERS ACCUSE TRANS WOMAN OF BEING THE TEXAS SHOOTER TO DEFLECT BLAME There is zero evidence the 18-year-old responsible for the Texas school shooting was a transgender woman, an undocumented immigrant or a Democrat. But that hasn't stopped the churning of a massive disinformation campaign in right-wing media falsely claiming all of these things to deflect blame. [HuffPost]   FEDERAL WORKERS UNIONIZE IN WAKE OF TRUMP-ERA UPHEAVAL Federal workers who help oversee hundreds of millions of acres of federal land have formed a union. Headquarters employees of the Bureau of Land Management voted in favor of joining the National Treasury Employees Union. The new union would include roughly 200 workers based in Washington and regional offices around the country. [HuffPost]   POLICE SUSPECT ARSON IN ABORTION CLINIC FIRE An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming, as only the second place in the state to offer abortions, was damaged in a fire that police believe was deliberately set. [AP] Every time there's a mass shooting, the Onion writes the same story. Today, it featured all 21. Here's how much it'll cost to rebuild Ukraine — and who will pay. Menstrual leave: Why some companies are offering time off for periods. Cannes at 75: Standout looks from the red carpet. "Saban is a narcissist": Why two star college football coaches are at war. Conditions at the Abbott baby formula factory at the center of the shortage were "shocking" and sickening, safety official says. Critic's notebook: Big "Saturday Night Live" departures will test the show's depth. Kellyanne Conway's trip to "The View" was a train wreck. 10-year-old tried to call 911 during Texas shooting before being killed. CNN host asks GOP Rep why Texas can act fast to protect embryos but not children. Twitter shareholders meet amid Elon Musk's takeover drama. Jimmy Kimmel calls out "cowardly" Republicans by name in scathing opener. Fox News offers 50 solutions to stop school shootings and none are gun control. As an Asian American woman, this is the dating app red flag I don't talk about. Everything you need to throw your dog an epic birthday party. How to professionally say "I don't have time for this" at work. Whoopi Goldberg ready to "punch somebody" over GOP's empty "thoughts and prayers." Julia Roberts says her new rom-com with George Clooney is jinxed. Austin Butler was "rushed to hospital" day after finishing "Elvis" biopic. Kate Moss denies ex Johnny Depp pushed her down the stairs. Quinta Brunson disturbed by calls for school shooting episode of "Abbott Elementary." Ex-reality star Josh Duggar gets 12 years prison in child porn charges. Jen Psaki says everyone has the power to respond to Texas school massacre. 26 stylish items from Amazon for people who absolutely hate the heat. Florida student finds clever way to shred "Don't Say Gay" law in graduation speech. The 20 funniest tweets from women this week. This perfect homemade burger recipe doesn't require a grill. Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? — Subscribe here!   © HuffPost BuzzFeed, Inc 111 E 18th St, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost   Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe

Second Amendment — Right to Bear Arms

Second Amendment — Right to Bear Arms Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. 

The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Just as the Bible has been reduced, so too the Constitution of the United States of America, the greatest comprehensive document of Democracy, has been reduced to a crib notes version where the second amendment trumps all other elements. Does the second amendment give citizens the right to collect war level weapons and use them to inflict murder on fellow citizens and terror on the general population? Hell, Hell, Hell No!!!

We have gone insane and we are paying a mighty price. We are being ruled by the violent prone insecure.

CBS News

At least 19 children and two adults were killed when a gunman opened fire Tuesday at an elementary school in Texas, authorities said. Officials said the shooter was killed on the scene by law enforcement officials. 

After barricading himself inside a classroom, the gunman "started shooting children and teachers inside the classroom, having no regard for human life," Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CBS News on Wednesday.

"Just a complete tragedy. An evil person going into the school and killing children for no reason whatsoever," he said.

Authorities said the shooter entered Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, at approximately 11:32 a.m. local time, after shooting his grandmother and crashing his vehicle near the school. An official from the Texas Department of Public Safety said that upon entering the school, the shooter fired at "children, teachers, whoever was in his way."

"He was shooting everybody," the official said.  

UVALDE, Texas -- The rifle used in the Texas elementary school shooting is known as a “DDM4 Rifle.” It's modeled after the M4 carbine, the U.S. military’s go-to rifle, according to a blog post by the gun’s maker, Daniel Defense. 

The second amendment protects our right to carry guns

Not Machine Guns