Galdikas was the last of the 'trimates' - her passing is preceded by Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. All three women were associated with Louis Leakey and each chose a different primate - Goodall: chimps; Fossey: great apes; Galdikas: orangutans. 

When we took our epic backpack across Asia trip in '97, we were scheduled to stay at Galdikas' research facility in Borneo. We gave a donation which granted us access, and we were to support the research team somehow. The info was intense. Apparently women on their periods would be picked up and raped by the orangs so it was advised to stay in the complex if that was happening. There were all these protocols for safety because we'd be out there in the jungle with the orangs, not to mention the headhunter tribes of Borneo. But as fate would have it, there was a major wildfire in Indonesia and Borneo was downwind, so the research center was closed to visitors. We had to change our plans and ended up in Bali instead, which is a whole other tale. What an adventure working with Galdikas would've been.

One half of Seals & Crofts, probably the only Baha'i rock stars. Surprisingly he was 87. Giving respect for Diamond Girl and Summer Breeze, two great 70s classics. And he played electric mandolin, which is kind of cool.

Is this thing on?

Bradley Cooper directs and co-stars in this film about Will Arnett doing stand-up one night rather than paying the cover at the comedy club. This starts him on the road to being a stand-up comic. Hilarity ensues. Or not. Arnett is struggling with his marriage to Laura Dern and most of his sets talk about his struggles. The movie charts his journey from doing open mic nights to finally getting a guest spot. 

The film would be a whole lot better if some of Arnett's comedy was actually funny. But it's not. It's all kind of sad, especially one night after a particularly egregious fight with his wife he just goes on stage and rants. The movie is based on a true story and Cooper is trying to say something about marriage, I guess. But I don't know what that is.

No sword fights.

(02-26-2026, 12:30 AM)Drunk Monk Wrote: Pretty Lethal

I liked it. It covered quite a lot of ground, was a nice tribute to Hillel, touching, sad. 

TIL: He played on the demo, but Hillel didn't play on the first RHCP album (which I thought was their best, but I learned from the doc, it has only Flea and Anthony on it). 

Recommended if you like music documentaries...

--tg

I was randomly surfing YouTube like I do and this popped up. It stars Philip Ng, who I know personally, and Yuen Qiu, who you may remember as the Landlady in Kung Fu Hustle, or the Karate girl in You Only Live Twice, or as I think of her, one of the seven Little Fortunes alongside with Jackie Chan, Sammy Hung, etc. 

Phil plays a gangster who quickly rises up in the ranks, but then is double crossed at a party where he is blinded. Yep, another blind master. Yuen Qiu is a Kung Fu master/Chinese doctor, who kills a gang boss that set up her cop husband, and gets set to jail. She quickly takes out the jail shot caller, who dominates the toilet paper market, and has a baby, who gets taken away by her jailers. That's all in flashback. Enter Phil, years later, who is tasked to impersonate her long lost son, in a long game revenge play, but then a genuine bond develops. Oh, and she has Alzheimers. 

It play snout like a Kung Fu dramedy, with some crazy juggling fight scenes and amusing over-the-top assassins (a villainess with switchblade-spiked high heels is particularly entertaining). I am biased, of course, because I always enjoy seeing Phil on screen. He gets few emotional scenes too and it's good to see his range. Yuen Qiu seems typecast now as landlady types, older women with fantastic Kung Fu, and that works. It's good to see an older women kick a lotta ass. She still moves very well. 

Mildly D00M recommended. 

Seen here on YouTube:

Hail Mary!

That was a bit of alright. I read the book. And it was the usual Andy Wier competency porn. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller pare it way down but still keep the heart of a really good hard sci-fi movie. 

Grace is a scientist tasked with flying to Tau-Ceti in the hopes of finding out why this astrophage that is eating our sun is not destroying Tau-Ceti. Gosling does a really good job of playing astronaut grace bumbling towards the answer. There are numerous funny bits. There are numerous really tense action bits. And there are really sad bits. Even knowing a bunch of the twists going in did not lessen the impact of the movie. Sandra Hüller who plays Ezra Stratt as the no fucks to give head of the Hail Mary project does an astounding job.

Will see this again. Did I mention wears a 49er jersey?

(02-05-2025, 10:36 AM)Greg Wrote: Jurassic World: Rebirth. July

This franchise isn't tired at all.

Hail, the Jurassic Christ. Let us prey.

Happy Raptor Day!