Tag: reblog

Memorable Monday [Morning] Movie Review: The Empire Strikes Back [(1980)]

The Portly Politico1 Comment

Back in late 2022 and early 2023, Ponty and I did a series of posts about our favorite films. I ranked 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back as my number one pick. If we redid the lists, I doubt it would rank that high, but it would certainly be in the top five.

At the time, I noted that Empire was the first film I ever reviewed for what would become Monday Morning Movie Reviews. At the time, I just called it Monday Movie Review, perhaps knowing there’d be days I’d miss the “morning” deadline. Regardless, the review of that film marked something of a turning point for The Portly Politico, moving away from primarily political topics and moving more decisively towards cultural ones.

With that, here is 28 September 2020’s “Monday Movie Review: The Empire Strikes Back“:

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TBT: Interminable Heat

The Portly Politico2 Comments

It’s another insanely hot summer here in South Carolina, and we had a long drought in June with nary a drop of rain. It makes me wonder how people in pre-modernity survived droughts and famines that lasted for years.

The rains have come, but the days are still quite intense with heat. The afternoon showers are not as routine as I’d like, but they are at least bringing some reprieve in the evenings. Our upstairs unit runs nonstop on sunny days, regardless of where we set the thermostat; one day it was 85 degrees Fahrenheit up there! Our downstairs, thankfully, maintains a reasonable frostiness, even in the heat.

The koi and the minnows seem to be holding up well, however. The minnows don’t seem to mind at all! I’ve noticed, though, that even they stay a bit below the surface on the hottest days. The koi, who usually eat more when it’s hot out, have been eating less than usual; I think they’re enjoying the cooler temperatures a bit further down.

Dr. Wife and I are taking a cruise next week, and its a tour of the Western Caribbean: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and another stop in Mexico on the way back to Tampa. It’s going to be brutal in the tropics, but at this point, how can it get much worse (perhaps I just jinxed it). One day we’re going to see a Mayan temple, so maybe yours portly will end up roasted on a spit above a pagan altar. Gulp!

With that, here is 23 July 2025’s “Interminable Heat“:

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Lazy Sunday CCCXCV: America 250

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Dr. Wife and I enjoyed a productive and delicious Independence Day yesterday. We both slept in fairly late, then she made us a delicious breakfast for lunch. We continued the Sisyphean task of unpacking, until Dr. Wife started getting stir-crazy, so we took some loads to Goodwill and grabbed a couple of ice cream cones at Chick-Fil-A. Dr. Wife made us an incredible dinner of hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and watermelon, and after our evening walk, she made strawberry shortcakes, which she presented with sparklers!

We didn’t get to see any fireworks—apparently, the big local fireworks displays happened a few days ago—but we heard plenty of them. The dogs don’t get riled up by them, which is a blessing. I imagine we’ll continue to hear fireworks for another evening or two as folks use up the last of their Fourth of July stash.

As such, here are some recent posts about Independence Day:

God Bless America!

—TPP

TBT^340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456: Happy Birthday, America!

The Portly Politico2 Comments

I’ve finally reblogged a single post enough that the “TBT^x^2” broke Windows’s calculator program, so I had to use calculator.net‘s Big Number Calculator to solve 18,446,744,073,709,551,616^2. I have no idea how one would even enunciate 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 aloud.

The United States is celebrating another big number in two days, it’s 250th birthday! With the move Dr. Wife and I have failed to put patriotic bunting and miniature American flags, and I’m woefully unprepared in the borderline illegal fireworks department, but we’re looking forward to a relaxed day celebrating our nation with hot dogs (and our normal dogs, Murphy and Nugget).

I don’t have quite the same unbridled optimism that I did a year ago, but I think the debacle in Iran has had the positive side effect of waking up our president to the pernicious influence of the foreign policy hawks around him. It will also hopefully result in the United States playing a more muted role in the Middle East, leaving Israel to tend to its backyard without us stepping in, golem-like, every time an Arab sneezes in the direction of Tel Aviv. That whole exploding pagers things suggests the Israelis have the tech and ingenuity to handle things on their own.

Regardless, I’m feeling the Spirit of ’76. God Bless America!

With that, here is 3 July 2025’s “TBT^18,446,744,073,709,551,616: Happy Birthday America!“:

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Lazy Sunday CCCXCIV: WordPress Posts

The Portly Politico12 Comments

Note: the following post contains affiliate links.  I receive a portion of any purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you.  —TPP

Over the course of June I’ve written four posts about WordPress.com and its various features. It’s been a pretty intensive overview of a service I’ve used for years, and I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.

Now that the series is complete (for now?), here are the entries I penned over the course of June 2026:

What do you think of WordPress.com? If you were to start blogging (if you weren’t already), would you use it, or opt for one of its competitors? Would you use multiple platforms? If you already use WordPress.com, what made you pick it over competitors? Have you ever considered jumping ship to another platform? Do you cross-post across multiple platforms?

Let me know! I’m curious.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

TBT^4: A Discourse on Disclaimers

The Portly Politico1 Comment

In surveying the vast expansion of the much-discussed Overton Window last year, it seemed like things couldn’t get any better. After a decade of oppressive wokery, people were suddenly letting it all out in a cathartic moment that felt incredible.

A year on, it seems to be getting even better. Maybe that’s because I’m using Substack more, which basically takes all the hot takes of X and transforms them into pseudo-intellectual essays (the writing on Substack is really good, by the way). People on there have zero qualms about saying anything, which makes it a pretty exciting intellectual environment. When no idea—even the bad ones—are off-limits, everything gets discussed—and exposed.

It’s refreshing. I remember how bad things got in 2015-2016, when even here in super conservative South Carolina you couldn’t audibly espouse support for Trump in mixed company, and certainly not in a professional setting. Now people are like, “Trump hasn’t gone far enough.” I mean, look, I agree; it’s just wild how we can say it out loud now.

So, no more equivocating, folks, no more disclaimers. Let it all out in a flurry of free speech!

With that, here is 26 June 2025’s “TBT^2: A Discourse on Disclaimers“:

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Lazy Sunday CCCXCIII: Saxamophone! Recordings

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Want to play sax like me? Check out my updated guide on getting started with a budget sax!

Yours portly has been noodling away on his alto saxophone and putting together some experimental recordings, which I’ll eventually compile and release as Säx II: Noodling. These aren’t great masterworks, but I’ve enjoyed putting them together, especially taking a more DIY and improvisational approach to composing and creating music.

Of course, in case you missed it a few Sundays back, here’s what I’m referencing in the the title for today’s post:

With that silliness out of the way, here’s three posts about recent sax recordings:

  • “New Music Tuesday XIV: ‘Sumatran Snake Charmer’” – I really love this piece; it’s my favorite of the three I’ve done so far. The scuttling of Nugget’s feet and the chirping of birds bleeding into the drum part really lends it that mystical, Far Eastern quality (along with the slithery sax part).
  • “New Music Tuesday XV: ‘Groovable’” – This piece is fun and upbeat—and uses a mixing bowl for the drums!
  • “New Music Tuesday XVI: ‘Old Boy’” – Such a weird piece (and accompanying video); I really love how strange this one is, and it’s based off a “vocal stim” I sometimes chant/mutter/recite around the house, ha!

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

TBT^16: Touring the Solar System in Rural Maine

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Dr. Wife will finish residency officially in eight days, and she’s excited to be here at our new home all the time. We have a good bit of unpacking to do since the multiple moves over the past few months, but it will be so much more enjoyable to do it together.

We’re also looking forward to doing some traveling in the future. We have an excursion planned for mid-July, before she starts her “big girl job,” as I call it, as a rural family medicine doctor. Beyond that, it will probably be a bit before we hit the road again, as she’ll settle into her new schedule and I’ll get settled into my new quasi-freelancer life.

One trip, however, that I hope we can take one day is up to Maine for this tour of the The Maine Solar System Model. It might be awhile before we are able to take the time to do it, but I’m thinking summer will be a great time to cruise across the Solar System—so we can escape the South Carolina heat!

With that, here is 12 June 2025’s “TBT^4: Touring the Solar System in the Rural Maine“:

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Lazy Sunday CCCXCII: Coffee

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Looking back at the my oeuvre, I’ve written precious little about my favorite breakfast beverage, coffee. However, I’ve done just enough to phone in this smooth and nutty edition of Lazy Sunday:

Happy Sunday—and Happy Brewing!

—TPP

TBT: The Joy of Coffee

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Blogger Esoterica over at Existential Ergonomics has once against inspiration for today’s post. She posed a fun question to readers in her post “Q&A: Are you a tea or a coffee person?“

It’s a smart title because it’s dripping (no pun intended) with engagement potential. Naturally, the comments section was poppin’—and yours portly was not shy about discussing coffee (and tea) with the other readers, especially after purchasing a new coffee grinder (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you):

That got me thinking about a post I wrote way back in 2021. I looked it up, and was shocked to find that I’d never featured it in a TBT. Well, it’s time to change that and look back at a post about my favorite breakfast beverage.

With that, here is 24 March 2021’s “The Joy of Coffee“:

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