Michael Hopcroft

I had been planing to move this week to a downstairs apartment in my building. There's no elevator here, and my balance issues make carrying things downstairs difficult. So as an ADA accomodation 'm being moved to a ground-level unit. Or so I thought. It turns out that the higher-ups in the agency that owns my complex did not send anyone out to "flip" that unit to make it ready for me to occupy it. So I have to wait another 2-3 weeks for it to be ready, while my current apartment is full of boxes, boxes, boxes.

Bump

"Tulip, the monster that terrorizes my people lives across the river. Alas, I cannot reach him, for the water is two feet deep, and I would surely drown. I want to enlist your help in hunting down the creature and saving my people." "Uhhh... Well, you know, I wanna help, but numbers on hands don't really have any connection to shadow monsters and I'm not really a saving kind of person, I'm more of a... self-looking-ish person. Self... ish? Hm... huh, that is not the word I wanna use."

Since I'm moving, and my apartment was striped nearly to the bare walls only to discover the new apartment wouldn't be available for another 2-3 weeks, I warmed up my Netflix and watched the first episode of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo is a Japanese decluttering expert and consultant, a stern taskmaster, and possibly the cutest adult on the planet. Not in the sexual way -- just mind-meltingly cute. The series will apparently involve her (and her interpreter -- Ms. Kondo does not speak English) intervening in the lives of families displaying the methodology she uses to help people simplify their lives by "seeking joy" and shedding those parts of their lives (particularly possessions) that do not meet that criteria. The idea is that if you don't keep stuff that doesn't make you happy, you'll live a better life. I'm tempted to take the opportunity of the move to go through a process like that, but then again if I shed everything that does not bring me joy I'd have nothing at all.

Q: We haven't heard from The Rock lately. What's going on? A: He believes he is the most intelligent being in the Universe. He is mistaken.

Q: How do you determine which one of these guys is Batman and which one is the Joker? A: Hey! Don't take ALL the indigestible plastic waste! Leave some for the rest of us, you sloppy pig!

"I am ready to receive instruction from the realm of creation above me for the sandwich I am about to conceive. I am open. Use me."

Q: Tony, is the Arc reactor supposed to be emitting a purple glow? A: Of course it's radioactive. It's meant to be radioactive.

This couldn't possibly be a genuine work, could it? I mean, not even Bosch could be that incomprehensible -- to the point that the reason for putting it to paper is in itself doubtful. I imagine this is the result of some medievalism scholar in the early 20th century staging an elaborate hoax to get people all excited about a forged manuscript of random nonsense. Which is probably what they said about the Necronomicon in the Mythos universe.

Her famous frown was the result of a facial deformity, and she also had dwarfism. These had no relation to the urinary-tract disease that led to her being euthanized, but she was apparently never the healthiest of felines. Despite that, she was apparently a very sweet and friendly cat who was able to roll with all the bizarre public appearances she needed to do -- which made a fortune for her owners.

Ting

Dat

bump

Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey I ache in the places where I used to play And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on I'm just paying my rent every day In the Tower of Song I said to Hank Williams, ''How lonely does it get?'' Hank Williams hasn't answered yet But I hear him coughing all night long Oh, a hundred floors above me In the Tower of Song I was born like this, I had no choice I was born with the gift of a golden voice And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond They tied me to this table right here In the Tower of Song So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all I'm standing by the window Where the light is strong Ah they don't let a woman kill you Not in the Tower of Song Now you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor And there's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong You see, you hear these funny voices In the Tower of Song I see you standing on the other side I don't know how the river got so wide I loved you baby, way back when And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed But I feel so close to everything that we lost We'll never, we'll never have to lose it again Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back There moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone I'll be speaking to you sweetly From a window In the Tower of Song

If the Blazers end up getting swept or winning only one game (and they're being cut to ribbons in game 1) all I can do is tip my cap to the Warriors, one of the four or five greatest dynasties in the history of the NBA with perhaps the greatest pure shooter ever to lace them up. The question is whether this run sets Portland up well for the next few years, to be competitive for a championship as the Warriors age and lose components to free agency. There's only so much you can do, though, against a team like this. We in Portland are seeing the Warriors machine up close. By the end of the WCF we will have a really good idea of how they do it. Incidentally, the Draft Lottery was won by New Orleans. How it will affect whatever the Pelicans can get for AD in trade, knowing they will likely have Zion Williamson to build around for the next few years? Then again, I see the looming shadow of Greg Oden in this draft because young big men are so vulnerable in this league. Ja Morant of Murray State has incredibly high upside as a creative point guard who makes his own shot while making everyone around him better -- think of getting what the lakers were supposed to get with Lonzo Ball only without the baggage and with a better work ethic. He'll probably go #2 to Memphis according to the Bleacher Report mock draft.

Backwards

Mob

Torch

"My positronic brain has several layers of shielding to protect me from power surges. It would be possible for you to remove my cranial unit and take it with you." "Let me get this straight--you want me to take off your head?" "Yes, sir."

I understand computer editing has been used to excise it from the repeats and streams.

There was an incident in Game 6 in Portland that has gotten attention in Portland and nowhere else. No question the game was chippy, but it also extended to the broadcasters. Denver's radio analyst got tired ot Nurcik on the Blazers bench and said: "Kick him in the shin!" -- the shin he shattered right at the end of the regular season that is likely to have him out for most of 2019-20. Now I'm really hoping the Blazers knock them out of the playoffs tomorrow, even if it means we have to defy the odds against one of the most dominant franchises in all of Pro Sports.

Q: Name three people whose offer to play baccarat with you should be respectfully declined. A: You told me this is a brilliant idea. It is not. This is an awful idea!

I used to be sick, sick and tired Delirious, Dizzy, Terrified But I'm suddenly up and out of bed You'll never believe I was almost -- Why can't you see me?! Why can't you see me?! I think I might be A g-g-g-ghost Ohhhhh Can't you see that I exist And I don't need an exorcist to let me out Look at me and I'll appear Why can't you see that I'm right here, that I'm right here Why can't you see me?! Why can't you see me?! I think I might be A g-g-g-ghost I'm calling you from the other side...

Q: Is this software store selling something that only a spider would actually pay for? A: He has returned his ticket to Heaven.

There is talk they could move to Africa, which is not sitting well with the Africans who have understandable hatred for the British monarchy.