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Bikes and braking

This is *sort* of a companion piece to my entry on driving stick, utilizing the clutch, etc. This one was sparked by an online discussion about old bikes, and the generation shift from the old backward-foot pedal braking system, compared with the change to hand brakes.

Once again, I’m somewhat the odd man out in that I still prefer the old foot brakes. Mind you, I also prefer the old style bikes, period. The last bike I ever had was old school until it rusted away.

Maybe the big ten speed craze back in the day was what prompted the brake reconfiguration. Never cared for ten speeds. Everything about them seemed unnecessarily overcomplicated. Having ten speeds for one. Get on your bike, pedal, go faster. The harder you pedal, the faster you go. I really didn’t see the need for elaborate gear changes, etc. I guess people just ate up the high tech bike appeal.

It just occurs to me this instant–there was no *style* with ten speeds. They were all just thin. Thin tires, thin body, thin seat. Oh, maybe the handle bars might differentiate here and there but they looked generic to me. Kind of like cars in general these days compared to 60 years ago. The biggest design attribute in cars now is to minimize wind resistance, aid fuel economy. So mostly, you’re looking at sleek metal projectiles that are fairly similar to each other.

Although to be fair, in the last decade or so, it *seems* as though auto makers have attempted to distinguish their models more, with some added design flair.

But back to bikes.

The hand brakes simply make no sense to me. Hell, I was 17 when hand brakes (mixed with my stupidity) almost killed me in Hawaii, while on a moped, simply because I’d never encountered them before. (Of course this was covered in my Hawaii series this past spring)

But aside from that, the back pedal braking system seems more solid. If you have to brake hard, I’ll always feel more confident employing the strength of my legs and feet stopping the bike. Far more so than with hand grips.

One of the guys I was talking to today related a time he hit the hand brakes and got flung over the handlebars. To me, it feels like foot braking from that lower point of gravity would be preferable.

I *guess* it’s possible that the powers that be initiated the whole hand brake thing simply because those wispy little ten speed tires seem to need extra front and back brakes to try and properly grip the things at the enhanced speeds, in an equal, simultaneous pressure. Then they just stopped bothering with foot braking all together, thinking everybody loves hand brakes.

And maybe because motorcycles, scooters, etc. all have hand brakes, they just fell in line. Eh, the point is moot for me, as I’m probably not going to be investing in a new bike anytime soon, if ever, now.

But if I ever do, it’ll be vintage, with the foot brakes. Just sayin’.

Clutch, Brake, Accelerator

Back in the day, all cars had clutches for shifting gears. When shifting from gear to gear, your feet–both of them– were very busy working the pedals. The left foot was on the clutch for every shift. The right, working the brake and accelerator back and forth. It was how things were done.

Eventually, most cars became automatic, eliminating the need to shift manually, so no more stick or clutch pedal. But tons of drivers, after making the change from manual to automatic, out of habit, just kept using their right foot on both remaining pedals, while the left foot did nothing. And the prevailing thought was “This Is The Way” for all time. This mantra is especially embraced by those today who ever drove a stick in the past, including some friends of mine, and my wife.

I think I’ve got a lot of friends who know how to drive stick. I am not one of them.

No, when I was 16 back in driver’s ed, the cars I learned to drive in were automatic. And in doing so, I knew nothing about the Ways of The Clutch.

So, when in the car, I had the brake on the left, the accelerator on the right. Two pedals, two feet. Seemed to balance out just fine. Remember, I was not haunted by knowledge of The Old Ways. Even though my instructor told me that the accepted method was using just the right foot, I found it awkward to switch back and forth.

I found that having the left foot poised to step on the brake gave me much better reaction time than having to take the right foot off one and move it to the other.

The Clutch Folk can’t wrap their minds around it, thinking it’s crazy, but I think the reverse. They just can’t get out of the clutch mode. I suppose it’s for the best for them, in case they ever find themselves in a situation where they end up driving a stick again.

Now, I’ve tried to drive stick in the past. In my 20’s, one friend took me out to try to teach me. I could not get the hang of it. I was working on the K-mart loading dock at the time and I even attempted driving the forklift. Oh, that was a mess. I just absolutely could not get that timing down. Probably because I already had a few years with my own pedal system– I guess I was already set in my ways. I could not make the unfamiliar adjustment.

Popular, or textbook mandatory thinking is that it’s less efficient to use both feet in an automatic as I do. Well, I disagree. For a person who’s never known the complications of stick, two feet, two pedals, seems the most logical and efficient. Especially more so than having to have the right foot do all the work. If it was a matter of having to brake fast in a situation, I stand by my poised left foot to hit that brake, rather than wait for the right to come off the accelerator, shift over to the brake and depress it.

It’s worked for me for 40 years.

Probably because I’ve never been in the Shadow of The Stick.

So to recap, I’ve never been comfortable with the clutch,

But I’m very good in the clutch.

Because the Thing IS.

Am I Burnt Out on the MCU?

Or am I just enjoying the break in the action?

2020, for all it’s bad and bad, it’s downs and downs, it coincided with a lull in the MCU slate of movies.

All we were supposed to get this year was Black Widow and The Eternals. Now, it sucks that circumstances didn’t allow us to see BW. A huge shame, because Nat should have had her movie years ago.

But for some reason, this movie being a flashback, kind of made it easier to wait for it. Mind you, I have no idea if the new May ’21 release will hold up or not, depending on where the pandemic is then. Make no mistake, I will not be in the theater to see it *whenever* it hits. I haven’t been a fan of the movie going experience for years, mostly because of people’s standard stupidity and cell phones. Add a pandemic to the mix and screw it, I’m done. I’ll wait for the blu-ray thanks.

As for The Eternals, it has a large cast and….I could not possibly care less about the property. The Eternals excite me even less than the Inhumans. Hey, it might turn out to be one of the best movies in the MCU, I don’t know, we’ll see. But from what I’ve read of the comic source material, well, the MCU films have excelled at enhancing and improving on the source material, usually elevating it in the films. Let’s hope they do that again. In the meantime, I’m in no hurry.

Ever since Endgame, it seems like the pressure’s off.

If I’m honest, nearing the end of Phase 3, things were getting a bit loose. Kevin Fiege was letting directors have more free reign and not keeping things to a certain path–at least not as rigorously as before. I can see the upside to letting the creators be creative, but I wasn’t as enamored of the results. For instance.

Black Panther. Love Chadwick Bozeman. As T’Challa, he was AWESOME in Civil War. I was very much looking forward to the BP movie. Ryan Coogler did an excellent job on Creed, so alright, let’s go!

And Black Panther was predictable, cliche ridden and not that great. Please don’t get me wrong– the villains, Killmonger and Klaw were great. The personal flashback stuff with a young Killmonger and his father in the apartment was phenomenal. In fact, any of the street level, ordinary human stuff was excellent. THAT’S the type of film Coogler excels at.

Unfortunately, Coogler doesn’t know how to do a superhero film. It’s not in his wheel house. The mandate was to mix James Bond with superheroics, due to the high tech world of Wakanda. What followed, in all superhero scenes was a rather uninspired, Bond by rote pastiche. It was also glaringly obvious every time the Panther was completely CGI in action.

I wanted to like the film. I got it on DVD to give it another try. It’s okay, but it’s at the bottom of my MCU list.

Captain Marvel. Although it was interesting to see young Fury and Coulson, and an expansion of the whole Kree/Skrull story, this one really didn’t do much for me either. I watched it again on either Netflix or Disney +. I hate to go this route but I’ll confess, I find Brie Larsen to be about as exciting and engaging as half baked bread. I found her dull and bland. I don’t find her to be interesting, or even that good of an actor. She is kind of the exact opposite of ScarJo. I’m still trying to figure out who, how and why they cast her. I was equally unimpressed with her in Endgame. I have no interest in the sequel.

Ragnarok. I DID like this movie, as the Kirby designs and the epic, alien scale, the Hulk and Thor, it was a lot of fun, with some excellent music tracks. In this particular case, Taiki Watiti (sp) was allowed the freedom to load up some incredibly stupid humor, especially near the beginning. So much so, that in the first 15 minutes, I seriously started to wonder if we had another Batman & Robin on our hands. Things settled down a bit though and as the stakes rose, so did the quality.

Spider-man Far From Home. As much as I love Tom Holland’s Spider-man, and especially loved Homecoming, FFH was decent, but didn’t quite grab me. I have yet to even rewatch it. Too long? Too much Stark baggage? I’m not sure, maybe it was Endgame hangover, I don’t know.

If this seems like I’m tearing down the entire MCU, I’m not. I’m just saying that of the quality films they’ve put out, some are much better than others. It happens.

The big sticking point for the MCU now is the pandemic delay. Especially since we have no idea what will happen in ’21.

I would think at *some* point, Disney will have to reassess the theater situation. If the vaccine isn’t already distributed by next May and no one’s going to the theaters, they can’t keep just pushing films back again. At some point, they’re going to have to double down and put something on Disney+ as well as the theaters.

Frankly, imo, the smart thing next May would be to do just that–simultaneous Disney+ and theater release for Black Widow. And on Disney+, hell, make it an extra charge of $30 over the subscription. Or an extra $50 that includes permanent streaming and a blu-ray when it comes out.

Think about it. If you take the family to the theater, you’re dropping a $100 in tickets and snacks anyway. With the streaming option, that’s either $30 for The whole family, or $50 for the whole family and they send you a blu-ray later. And you’ll still have people going to see it in the theaters anyway.

That’s my take. Am I burnt out on the MCU? Probably not, but at the same time, aside from Black Widow, I’m not getting too excited yet.

That could all change with a trailer though…

Speaking of previews, as I write this, Disney/Marvel released the updated timeline on their movie slate (pandemic allowing)

2021

BLACK WIDOW (May 7) –looking forward to it!

SHANG-CHI (July 9) –no idea what to expect

ETERNALS (November 5) –ditto

SPIDER-MAN “Threequel” (December 17) –looking forward to it

2022

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (March 22) –excited

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (May 6) –looking forward to it

BLACK PANTHER 2 (July 8) — eh, I’m not sure if they even know what they’re doing

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 (November 11) –don’t care

2023

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA– very excited

FANTASTIC FOUR — very very VERY excited

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 3 — ditto

The only really new BIG info added to this line up is that Ant-man and the Wasp: QUANTUMANIA looks to turn a rather huge page in the MCU. First, Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie looks to be ready to suit up and potentially be part of a new Avengers. Second, new big bad Kang the Conquerer will be introduced, and third, it’s likely that the FF will also be introduced, as their movie follows this one.

Jon Watts has the director chair for the Fantastic Four. He’s directed the MCU Tom Holland Spider-man series.

Honestly, while I do worry if Watts can handle the FF–it’s a very different property than Spider-man–I must content myself with the knowledge that of all the attempts on the FF in the past, this has best shot at getting it right.

I seem to be very interested in a lot of this.

Hmmm. I guess I’m not burnt out on the MCU.

Adios, Espanol

Well, I had a good run. I went about 194 straight days on Spanish. According to my stats, learned over 9,000 words and was in the top 1% of students.

But a couple things happened. First, COVID started to slow me down. I wasn’t bad yet but the morning Spanish sessions were getting more laborious.

On one Sunday, I thought I’d had enough points to keep me in the vaunted Diamond League once again. I miscalculated and got bumped by a fraction of a point.

Worse, how they let you know you got demoted, with a snarky animated shot of your Diamond plaque falling on the floor. It irritated me.

Admittedly, I was already feeling off, and really wasn’t in the mood for the Duolingo attitude machine. With which they try and apply more guilt than the Catholic Church. Next, I realized that I’d have to spend that much more time to try and get a ton more points in the following week to achieve Diamond again.

No. It was a lot easier to maintain Diamond than try and scale the mountain again, so I just stopped, cold turkey.

I needed a break anyway, and unfortunately, soon, I really getting worse. And I would have had to stop anyway when I went into hospital. So it is what it is.

Then of course, I eventually got an email from Duolingo saying “I made Duo sad”. Duo is their owl mascot, through which they often deliver their guilt. Crying Duo, pestering Duo, reminder Duo, etc.

Yeah, well for once I responded to the email. I’d just about had it with the Duo guilt. Sure, it’s their schtick, how they keep you on track blah blah blah.

I was really not in the mood. I won’t go into exact wording but yes, I totally overreacted.

Although bonus– no more guilt reminders or emails from Duo!

Now I know what it takes.

Will I ever go back?

No yo se.

Sales calls

Years ago, 20 or more, we used to get at least a sales call every hour. Irritating as hell. Then I heard about the Do Not Call registry, and listed my numbers. This actually helped, cutting out the majority of sales calls.

There was a couple features you could add to your phone as well, I forget what it was called, maybe privacy manager. There, if the number wasn’t registered, in essence, a sales call, it would get blocked. This worked too good though, as certain doctors would call about this or that or test results and doctors have unlisted numbers, so there’s a problem.

These days, the Do Not Call registry may no longer be of much use–although I may go and re-enter my numbers for the heck of it. But the sales companies have gotten that much more crafty.

I’m sure you’ve probably run afoul of this. The phone rings, and it’s your area code and the caller ID gives someone’s name. You pick it up and of course, it’s a sales call that’s piggybacked on someone’s personal phone number to deliver a stealth sales call.

Slimy as hell.

One time, I called the person in question back to let them know someone stole their number for sales call purposes. They were not happy. I don’t blame them.

One time, someone in the neighborhood here called me to ask what I wanted. Evidently, they saw my number, no one was on the phone, so they called me. I had to explain what happened. They were not happy. Neither was I. It’s annoying as hell.

I *don’t* know of any way to stop it. We might get a couple calls a day. Usually, if I don’t recognize the number, or there’s no name, I just pick up and hang up to stop the ringing. If it was someone I know, or something important, they’ll call back.

ONE time, I actually got a phone call from me. Yes, my house was calling my house.

I suspect it wasn’t really me at all.

Yeah, I’ve gotta refresh things on the Do Not Call list.

I thought I heard you’ve got to re-enter your numbers every five years for some reason.

I’m way behind.

Maybe I’ll call myself with a reminder.

Update; My number is already listed in the registry and it does not expire. That just means there’s nothing I can do. Sigh.

Pizza Rollette

For time immemorial, whenever you’re feeling adventurous at meal time, there is a game. Yes, there could be danger. You may very well get burnt.

The game is a variation on Russian Roulette. Only this version, you eat. Pizza rolls.

Totino’s Pizza Rolls.

They come frozen, in one inch long, fried, sealed packets, filled with pizza sauce, cheese, and bits of …. stuff.

You spread however many you want on a paper plate and nuke ’em. You’re supposed to individually flip them over halfway through the process.

The point is, when microwaving these packets, even adhering to the instructions, it’s anyone’s guess how deeply cooked they end up getting. The interior conditions regarding the fillings is anyone’s guess.

And I’m talking the right side of the plate versus just the left side of the plate.

For the last 45 years, I’ve purchased these things off and on, and these pizza rolls have never cooked evenly.

I know.

So when you sit down with say, a dozen cooked pizza rolls in front you, the most dangerous game begins.

First, you attempt to determine the temperature of a roll by touch. There may be one two that are cool or cold to the touch. Safe enough to bite, but if the interior is cold, well, it’s not as tasty.

There may be one or two that are scalding to the touch, and even has the filling leaking out. Brilliant, you know to let them cool.

But it’s the mid range rolls where the game begins.

The remainder of these cooked packets seem warm enough to the touch but don’t really give an accurate representation of what lies within. It’s up to you.

You could fully bite into one and it might be just right. Or cold.

Or you could chomp into a roll of scalding lava that will not only shoot it’s napalm into your mouth, but also out and down your cheeks, pouring pain on your face, as well as your tongue and roof of your mouth.

This is Pizza Rollette.

Do you dare?

HMMMMMMMMMMM??????

YOU, ME & the VACCINE

At some point here, someone may get offended. Just an FYI.

It’s December now, and the vaccine hopefully will be hitting the streets soon. No idea how smooth or disastrous the roll out will be.

When it does though, I, of course, will be getting it. Why wouldn’t I?

Having developed no antibodies from getting it the first time, I’m wide open to further infection from anybody and everybody.

So far, everything about the vaccine’s reputation is coming up roses. I have yet to hear anyone speak a negative word about it from the scientific community.

As this drops, the FDA is about to approve it. (Unless of course this is all too good to be true)

The science says it’s safe.

It’s been said to be 95% effective.

Fauci’s on board.

So yeah, I’m on board too. I’ll be first in line as soon as I’m eligible.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, even with the vaccine, I’ll still have to take precautions. Probably wear a mask in certain scenarios.

Why? Just in case the dose I get isn’t exactly 95% effective. I’ll feel much more comfortable, but again, being wide open, that remaining 5-ish percent is there. So, my credo of “better safe than sorry” stands.

But taking the vaccine is my choice.

You also have a choice. You could take the vaccine, thus protecting not only yourself, but everyone else, including your loved ones. *Seems* like the smart thing to do. Some people aren’t on board with some vaccinations. I totally get the refusal of people to take the flu shot every year, but that and this are very different.

There are people of all ages spread across the country now who are still refusing to wear masks, because they’re “protecting their rights”. Of course in taking this stand, they run the risk of not only them getting sick, but making their possibly vulnerable friends and family sick. And there are those who also are steadfastly refusing the vaccine when it comes out for a crazy variety of reasons. Evidently, that’s roughly half of America. It’s still their choice.

Again, it seems stupid to me but there’s a whole bunch of stupid out there.

For instance, even with the very clear knowledge of what he stands for, 74 million people voted to re-elect Trump. But again, this is what’s left of America, and it was their choice.

When it comes to the vaccine, I hope you make the right one, for your loved ones, if not yourself. My point in this entry is not to lecture. My point is that I sincerely hope that if you’re someone *I* know, or a relative, that you take the vaccine. Again, it is your choice.

I’m saying right now though, that if you’re someone I know and choose *not* to take the vaccine, (I don’t care why–“government conspiracy”, your rights are being violated, it’s a political trick!, you’re suspicious, you’ve run out of tin foil to line your hat with)…well…

Hopefully you’ll understand when I say I can no longer afford to have anything to do with you in person. I guess at least until Covid’s totally eradicated. (?)

Understand— I SERIOUSLY can’t take the chance.

If you think I’m being paranoid, or too cautious, well, I’ll go out on a limb and pretty easily assume that you haven’t been through what I have over the past two years. If you had, I think you’d back me 1,000%.

I’ve had too many nightmare scenarios to add another.

So, I guess for those who know me, fair warning.

Please pass the info along to anyone who may not easily come across this. FB and my blog is the best I can do in spreading the word.

This is my choice.

Thanks.

P.S. You DO know why we don’t all have Polio now….. right? (Look it up, kids)

Ear Plugs are my friends

It took several instances of large, family weekend retreats, comic book convention meet ups with room sharing, and just our family on trips sharing a hotel room… but I finally learned.

In these scenarios, there will always be snoring or some other crazy sounds at night. Packing ear plugs– several of them– is one of the first things you should pack on any journey.

I’ve got several extended family members who can saw logs like nobody’s business. There was one time at mom and Vic’s lake house in either Indiana or Michigan. It’s ages since they had it, but a load of family was sacked out all over the place raising a ruckus. Me being a very light sleeper, I just stared at the ceiling in horror, trying to think of where I could actually go to to get away from the 3.4 on the Richter scale snore fest. I needed ear plugs.

Friends of mine and myself used to gather each September in Baltimore for a comics convention. In an effort to save money, depending on the year’s attendance, either 3, 6, 9 or as many as a dozen of us would share the room. There was much drinking, and in the end, you’d better hope you were in a coma sleep, so you weren’t capable of hearing the constant sound of a riding mower in the room.

One weekend, I was horribly sober by the time we went to bed– a bad miscalculation on my part. In an effort to pace myself, throughout the day, I alternated beers and energy drinks. THIS WAS A MISTAKE, as it was the last time in some 30 years where I actually hugged the porcelain god. The worst part was that I was sharing a bed with a big guy who could shake the rafters effortlessly with his endless night serenade. It was so bad, that’s what finally turned the tide. I always brought ear plugs after that. In any and all overnight situations.

At our biggest ever gathering in 2013, one poor, wide awake soul, described the snoring surrounding him akin to a T-Rex getting slaughtered in a lumber yard.

My own little nuclear family has snorers, me included. In any hotel room, the following morning, a lot of blame gets thrown around, usually at me, until I mention that when I was awake, I heard it too.

My recent hospital stay was another good example. Linda had to grab things I’d need while there. Ear plugs were at the top of the list. And thank god. It greatly muffled or shut out a steady flow of beeps, chirps, alarms, you name it. They were especially helpful when the nurses would burst in at 11pm, 2am and 5am to take vitals, draw blood, etc. Lessened the shock.

Even now, back home, I’m residing in Theresa’s old room, which is directly under Matthew’s current room. In his room, he stays up until 3-ish each night, either online with friends or writing. All this taking place on a hardwood floor, I hear the exclamations and chatter early, then after he quiets down, considering hour, I hear the rolling of his chair, the pacing back and forth as he writes and thinks.

But again…ear plugs are my eternal friends. Totally takes me out.

I can not recommend it highly enough.

Theaters, Studios, and Movies, Oh My!

Thanks to our old pal COVID, the movie industry–like many others– has been crippled. The studios, who foot the bill for the movies, are feverishly trying to recoup their losses on movies that attempted to go through theaters, only to end up box office disappointments.

Warner put out Chris Nolan’s Tenet a few months ago, presumably as a guinea pig, to see how it might do. Nolan’s impressive track record aside, the film got middling reviews and yes, disappointing box office. But it being released in August, when they gambled that COVID cases might be waning, didn’t work out.

A LOT of people want nothing to do with a possibly crowded movie theater, and who can blame them? Think about it.

Even if they only allowed in a third of a crowd for social distancing, I’m not even sure how they’d get past people having to pass in front of others in the aisle.

Even then, you’re in an enclosed space with others for three hours.

Then, snacks. Masks are off to drink and eat.

This is a huge point.

A theater doesn’t make its money on the movies it shows. It makes its money on the concessions. I have no idea what percentage will forego snacks to keep the masks on. They could just as easily bring something from home, to not risk further contact with concession people. I just don’t know.

What I do know is that right now, no one’s getting hurt more than the theaters.

Meanwhile, the new tactic Warner has employed, most notably with Wonder Woman 1984, has been releasing the film in theaters (those that are still open) on Christmas Day, while simultaneously, releasing it on HBO MAX, currently referred to as a “faulty” and “struggling” streaming service owned by AT&T-Warner.

Strategically, this is maybe the best way to release a movie in a COVID covered America right now.

Side note: WW84 was originally slated to be released in Nov. 2019, well before the pandemic. But Warner decided to go for the brass ring and push it back to summer of ’20. WHOOPS!

Interestingly, a couple things just happened. For whatever reason, maybe to address some contractual element, Warner paid Gal Gadot and WW84 director Patty Jenkins another 10 mil each. This of course sent ripples through the industry because of course all the other directors and stars heard about that too.

The other thing that just happened is that in the deep dark of night, Warner took their entire slate of planned 2021 movies and committed them to be released on HBO MAX, as well as theaters.

Larger ripples now, as the clandestine move came off like Warner trying to build up it’s troubled streaming service. So let the mountain of lawsuits begin.

Chris Nolan’s already publicly stated that in making that move, Warners has gone from one of the most popular studios in the eyes of directors, to the bottom of the list. Who wants to create their film with the end goal being it getting dumped on a streaming service? He says directors want the prestige of the theater.

Well, maybe Nolan needs to wake up.

First, maybe he should give Scorsese a call. Marty couldn’t even get a solid theater deal, and the Irishman premiered on Netflix. Could be you in ten years, Chris.

Also, know your world, your audience and all its current limitations! Pandemic!

Only a fraction of the people are even going to movie theaters, those that are still open.

I’d ask Nolan and his friends this. What’s more important, getting your film in front of a small percentage of people in The Theater, or combining that with just as many if not more eyeballs via something like HBO MAX? Is the *setting* the most important bit, or is it GETTING THE FILM SEEN?

As for the 2021 Warner film slate, they’d already shifted stuff like The Batman around to 2022, so some have referred to what’s left as “light”.

So if, by the end of 2021, everyone gets the vaccine*, maybe some semblance of normalcy might come back to the entire movie industry, and maybe a lot of different entities might bury hatchets and people can resume going to the theaters.

*Sadly, that’s that “Perfect, Unicorn-World” thinking there. Because about half the country will refuse to take the vaccine, thus ensuring that this goes well past 2021.

The Mandalorian Season 1 – (Spoilers)

When it comes to Star Wars movies, I think the hardcore, yet reasonable fans will tell you that it all maybe should have ended after Return of the Jedi. The prequels and sequels are maybe more trouble than they’re worth, on several levels.

Maybe the best thing about the prequels is that it spurred on the various animated series that by and large, was of a much higher quality than the prequels.

This is because George Lucas has some good over all ideas and concepts that were applied to the animated series. Most importantly, that’s where George stepped away, letting *others* write and produce stories. If he’d taken that approach with the prequels, well, things might be very different.

But as time has gone by, there have been attempts to load up the audience with more Star Wars than ever, to diminishing returns.

But then came The Mandalorian, by Jon Favreau. I think it’s a safe bet to say The Mandalorian is maybe over all the best Star Wars we’ve gotten in decades. A) because it’s a low bar to step over and B) it doesn’t quite rely on as many hoary old Star Wars cliches. It’s more or less a back to basics space western, with Mando as the bounty hunter.

The twist comes when the big bad bounty hunter has to take charge of an infant, the same species as Yoda. A Star Wars take on the old manga “Lone Wolf and Cub.”

The little blend of CGI and puppet is cute as a button and has GOT to be the biggest selling toy in SW history. Everything this kid does is cute. Ambling around, eating horrific things if they don’t eat him, etc. Lucas WISHES he could have come with a character half this cute. Unlike the Ewoks, this character works. Oh, and the Force is strong within this 50 year old (!) infant.

Through the eight eps which comprise the first season, we see Mando start to get attached to the kid, while they navigate through adventures, picking up allies.

The acting is alright for the most part, but there is still the modern day bad habit to squeeze celebrity cameos into each and every episode. Frankly, maybe it’s time to stop that. When celebrities pop in all the time, so they can say “Hey, I was in Star Wars!”, it can kind of take you out of the story. Unless they’re under heavy make up or a Stormtrooper mask. Ignorance can be bliss. Really, Bill Burr is not as amazing an actor as some think. But hey, he got to be in Star Wars! Woo!

Hey, you know what happens when every single celebrity in Hollywood all get to be in Star Wars? It’s no longer really that special if it’s on *everybody’s* resume.

Focusing on the Mandalorian section of the SW universe is a good strategy and pretty refreshing. We learn about The Way of Things and how they operate–at least what few we actually come into contact with. The big thing about the Mandalorian is that they never take their helmets off in front of everyone. So we go through the first season never seeing the star. I liked this, as it adds an air of mystery to the proceedings. Which brings me to my big criticism.

By the first season finale, Mando has changed a bit, grown. He alters his thinking on certain things including trusting androids. When his wound must be treated, an android convinces him to take off his helmet, citing that since he’s not alive, he wouldn’t be breaking the code. All that is well and good. But this is the mistake, off comes the helmet and we see doughy, sweaty Pedro Pescal laying there. Pedro might have put it in his contract, but frankly, all I could see was A) just some guy, and B) the idiot from Game of Thrones who didn’t confirm his kill before getting his head popped.

No, no, no. Favreau screwed the pooch. Everything in that scene could have played through even more powerfully if the camera went over the shoulder behind Pescal. The android would see him, tend to his wound, we’d see that he’d learned to trust, let his guard down, but the mystery would still be there as far as the audience not seeing his face. The second we saw his face, he was just “some guy”. So long, air of mystery.

Poorly played, Jon.

Still, over all, I think the show’s a triumph though as far as bringing fresh, new Star Wars to the fans.

I’ll touch base at some point on season two before the end of the month.