Welcome to another Odds and Ends. Yet another week has gone by without my working on this at all.

The problem is that I’m busy. I try to watch one to two films per day. That may sound like entertainment, but I assure you, it isn’t.

Like yesterday, I watched the John Wayne film Brannigan. It’s a pretty good film. I am a fan of the director, Douglas Hickox. And it’s filled with a lot of good British actors. The problem is Wayne. I’m planning to write a whole article about it soon. So let me leave it at this: he reminds me of Bruce Willis at his worst. It isn’t acting; it’s more like guest-hosting on SNL.

Anyway, it’s time for a couple Odds and Ends.

Democratic National Convention

This week was the DNC. I didn’t watch it. I find political conventions hard enough under the best of circumstances. The idea of a Zoom convention is terrifying.

I did, however, watch the main speeches on C-SPAN and I thought I would share the better ones.

Bernie Sanders

I’ve come to see Sanders and Warren as the dad and mom of leftist politics in this country. And Sanders presented a much-needed indictment of the Trump administration. And he weaved that together with the policy positions we know him for.

Michelle Obama

Watching Michelle Obama was cathartic. She seemed to be channeling my own anger. And it’s mixed with frustration. So many days, my overall feeling is, “Really?! This is what we are now?” I also like that she clarified that “going high” does not mean rolling over. We have to fight.

Trump attacked Michelle Obama for having a pre-recorded segment because she mentioned that there were “over 150,000” COVID-19 deaths. Jonathan Chait noted that this was probably not as good an argument as Trump thinks.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

AOC gave a short speech. I’m only highlighting it because many tried to say it was an attack on the Democratic Party because she nominated Bernie Sanders for president. This was a convention necessity and nothing more. She is very good, though! And it’s constantly amusing that conservatives ignorantly claim she’s stupid. She understands economics better than any major figure on the right. Belittle her if you want. I suspect one day she will be Speaker of the House.

Jill Biden

Jill Biden was great. But what I really want to talk about is the opening tracking shot as she walks into the classroom and then completes the whole speech with a single camera. Very cool! And that hokey ending was sweet too.

Barack Obama

Obama’s speech was spectacular. I think it was the high point of the convention. He was angry. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a former president speak about a sitting president in this way. And rightly so! Of course, after Trump is out of office, he’s going to talk about the sitting president the way he currently talks about all former presidents. If you only watch one speech, this is the one to watch.

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris was more on in her speech than I ever saw her during the primary. One thing that has been much on my mind recently is the way that many on the left have attacked her as a “cop” and a centrist Democrat. It isn’t just the mainstream press that grabs onto convenient narratives as this proves. Because other than Warren, Harris is the most liberal Democrat in the Senate. How does that happen? We on the left need to do better.

Joe Biden

It is hilarious that it has become an article of faith that Joe Biden is a decrepit old man who is suffering from dementia. This narrative would anger me if I didn’t know it is going to crash down on conservatives when the debates come.

Congratulations America!

I understand that a lot of people are disappointed that Joe Biden ended up as our nominee instead of Bernie Sanders or another candidate. I share that disappointment, to some extent. But I think leftists need to appreciate what has been accomplished over the last 5 years.

The Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ticket is the most liberal ticket that the Democratic Party has ever run. And frankly, I’m kind of tried hearing leftists-come-lately bitch and whine about a ticket and a party they would have been thrill about just four years ago.

Who are these people who thought a political revolution was just one election cycle away? Too many of the disgruntled leftists remind me of Carey Wedler, the young woman her burned her Obama shirt in 2014 because she was disappointed in him. “But, like a lot of Obama supporters, I sat back for the next couple of years and figured I’d let you handle all that change, because you were the one that was selling it anyway.”

That’s what I saw from a lot of Sanders supporters and I had this vision of him becoming president and then sitting on their asses for six years and then burning his shirt. That’s not acceptable.

The current situation is that the Democratic Party is about 30 percent leftist. The rest are liberals and centrists. What we on the left need to do is change that. We need to convince some of the others that we are right on policy (because we mostly are). And we need to get other people involved.

This is what we need to talk about. All this nonsense about the DNC conspiring to stop us is just nonsense. If we get the numbers, they will join us in an instant.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has nominated an exciting presidential ticket. This is a good day for the party. And it’s a good day for America. And I will continue contributing both my time and my money to help us take over Washington.

Pamala Harris

My father really likes Kamala Harris. But he’s old and hard of hearing. So he always calls her “Pamela Harris.” But he pronounces it with a soft-a, so he clearly hears the way it is pronounced. He just can’t hear that K. It’s one of the most charming things about my father.

William reminded me of this SNL skit that sums up the issue nicely. If you have an elderly parent, you probably interact with them very much as the Amazon Echo Silver does.

The Jim Jefferies Show

In preparation for when it is reported that Jim Jefferies really has been doing the bad thing that everyone pretty much knows he must be doing because, hey, Louis CK, I feel I must put down a marker and admit that I love Jim Jefferies.

He’s makes me laugh in a way that other people I like never do. Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert? I like their work but Jim Jefferies is the only one I consistently find funny.

Politically, I disagree with him about a number of things. But if the world were filled with people like him, it would be a thousand percent better. And I like his straightforward, populist take on the world — even when I disagree.

Here’s a playlist of 11 videos. And if Jim Jefferies ever does turn out to have been like Louis CK, well, it won’t make him any less right about all this.

Valley of the Zombies

Valley of the Zombies is a classic B-feature. What that means is that it was made to be the minor film in a double feature. And as such, it has something that we just don’t see much of these days: a short running time!

It’s just 55 minutes long. And what’s great about this is that there’s no padding. Most films these days are so long because the second acts are extended. And that’s really bad because most second acts are a muddle anyway. So it’s just a bunch more scenes to sit through before the film finally gets around to resolving itself.

That’s not always the case, however. John Woo is famous for third acts that go on and on. But that’s the same thing. The best third acts and quickest third acts. A 45 minute third act is just a short film shoehorned into another film.

Valley of the Zombies isn’t much of a horror film. In fact, much of it is quite funny. And it’s overall effective. Also: it treats cops with the disdain that they deserve.

Valley of the Zombies is playing over at Psychotronic Review. Watch it now!

Until Next Time

I won’t even promise anything for next week. I’m a very busy man!