Stan & Ollie

I have a lot of night meetings, so my work day is often two hours in the morning, one or two hour break, three hours in the afternoon, one or two hour break, and two hours in late evening. So my days are mostly about working and walking Paddy.

Tuesday night I had no meeting so went to see Stan & Ollie. I think Steve Coogan is an interesting guy. He's either totally unlikable or very courageous in playing such unlikable characters (The Trip, Alan Partridge). It was an interesting film and part of what interested me was the theatres packed full of people laughing uproariously at Stan & Ollie's innocent japes. In less than 70 years, what passes for entertainment has changed in ways that defy understanding. I wonder what Darwin would make of it.

While I'm on this topic, I'll note a news item I heard the other day. The city of Birmingham (the one in England) was shut down due to a visit by a celebrity. Thousands of people came to town, causing roads to get so jammed people abandoned their cars after sitting in them for hours. Who was the draw? George Clooney? Princess Meghan (or whatever she's called)? No, it was a You Tube make up artist. Wha? Yes, a young man who teaches people how to put make up on. For me, this is one of the signs of the apocalypse I keep seeing--a measure of how far we've fallen as a species. How can we protect our dying planet if we are in the thrall of someone who tells people how to spend hours painting their faces?

Jan. 28-30