WHY so much poverty in the USA?

On By Rick McIn bad news, books, economics, ethics, GOP USA, government, human rightsLeave a comment

I feel the GOP USA has only one overriding goal ➙ make the rich, richer.

To that end they don’t want to improve education, health care, nor raise the minimum wage.

Greedy Americans are why there’s so much poverty in the most affluent nation of the world.

Green River, Utah

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of Evicted, Matthew Desmond, reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.

The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy.

Why?

Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? …

Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Planning for Summer 2023

On By Rick McIn cycling, travel1 Comment

Though I claim to dislike Europe, my current plan for summer is mostly Europe.

“Summer” starts end of March 2023 in Utah. Hiking. Cycling.

Vegas

Calgary

Vancouver Island

For years I’ve been trying to get to the Tuscany Trail, the world’s largest bikepacking event.

That starts June 1-2 out of Pisa, Italy. With my personal bicycle.

If time allows, I’d love to head back to the nearby Dolomites for hiking, cycling and via ferrata,

Italy

With stops in Switzerland, from Italy I’d want to make my way very north to Tromso, Norway.

Cycle south along Norway’s west coast to Denmark.

Ferry over to the Faroe Islands. And on to Iceland in August.

That was my plan from summer 2022 … that never happened when Scandinavian Airlines lost my bike.

Norway ➙ Denmark ➙ Faroe Islands ➙ Iceland

Will any of this happen?

I’d wager a 50% chance of any of those destinations actually coming to fruition. 😀

Old Yiddish proverb:

“Man Plans, and God Laughs.” 

Lisa’s Birthday Adventure Week – Moab, Utah

On By Rick McIn cycling, food, friends, hiking, travel1 Comment

I had a GREAT time with Dave and Lisa Adlard in one of my top 10 hiking towns of the world – Moab.

End of March should be ideal weather for outdoor activity. BUT 2023 was colder than usual.

Lisa rented a huge house. We had 19 people.

AND another 10+ over at other rental properties.

Click PLAY or watch a HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO on YouTube.

The birthday girl and friends enjoyed a SPA session.

That same day we were at a Climbing Club in Salt Lake City.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Rapel at William’s Bottom was a highlight.

I was video guy for this one. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I skipped the Side-by-side Quad adventuring. Jason only rolled his quad once. And only a quarter turn into sand. No injuries.

We had 2 dirt motor bikes, as well.

Corona Arch was the hike where most of our group got together for sunset.

Arches National Park was cold and windy when we were there. A fantastic place.

Dead Horse Point is wonderful. We had one group hike. And one group cycle.

Click PLAY or see Deadhorse on YouTube.

We ate most of our meals at the house. One restaurant blowout was hosted at Zac’s.

The infamous mountain bike circuit is called Slickrock Trail. I survived it in 2007 and did NOT want to risk a second time. BUT some of our group cycled it safely. Jeni and I hiked Slickrock.

A wonderful adventure vacation. It reminded me of a similar trip with Adlards to the Oregon Coast in 2021.

The Leftovers – season 1

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

The Leftovers is a supernatural drama TV series that aired 2014 – 2017. …

… begins three years after the “Sudden Departure”, a global event that resulted in 2% of the world’s population disappearing. …

Despite receiving average Nielsen ratings throughout its run, the series has developed a cult following. …

Following the event, mainstream religions declined, and a number of cults emerged, most notably the Guilty Remnant, a group of white-clothed, chain-smoking nihilists, …

This show is skillfully done. It’s surprising. Never cliche.

That said, there was not one character I could cheer for.

Not Justin Theroux as Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s troubled chief of police. Theroux is just as unlikeable in a later series – The Mosquito Coast, based on the novel by his uncle Paul Theroux.

Ann Dowd is excellent, as always. A role something similar to how she played Aunt Lydia Clements in Handmaid’s Tale. Not likeable.

Liv Tyler as Megan “Meg” Abbott is beautiful. But I did not like her.

Paterson Joseph as Henry “Holy Wayne” Gilchrest is somewhat interesting as the charismatic leader of another cult. Ultimately a bad guy.

Perhaps the one character I partly related to was Christopher Eccleston as Matt Jamison, a Reverend.

I’ll probably continue with the next 2 seasons as they are considered better. In fact, Leftovers was  the highest ranked show of the 2010s by Metacritic’s aggregate.

The Simple Truth by David Baldacci

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

The Simple Truth (1999) by David Baldacci is quite good.

The plot sounded more Grisham — a murderer in prison for life wants to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Suddenly everyone who has anything to do with the possible case is at risk of being killed.

This one is definitely above average for Baldacci. I recommend it.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

Excellent. Literary students should be studying this book.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a novel by Gabrielle Zevin. 

Amazon named it the best book of 2022.

I’d heard the hype — but didn’t rush to get a copy. The plot didn’t sound all that intriguing.

Over the course of three decades, the relationship between two friends, Sadie Green and Sam Masur, changes as they develop video games.

But it is fantastic. A modern classic.

Delightful. Original. Charming.

All true.

Modern and philosophical.

How many novels feature a love story where the couple are not sexually involved?

All that said, I found the second half of the book not nearly as good as the beginning. Anticipating a poor ending — I am pleased to say the wrap-up is very well done.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment purchased the film rights for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for $2 million.

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

The Broken Window (2008) is the 8th book in the Lincoln Rhyme series.

As always, Deaver backs up his entertaining stories with great research.

Though the book was published 2008, it parallels what could happen in 2023 as hackers are winning the war against privacy.

…  a killer has access to the world’s greatest data miner called Strategic Systems Datacorp. He is using detailed information to commit crimes and blame them on innocents.

Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs, and characters from the previous books, team up to stop the criminal.

DJI OM 6 (Osmo Mobile) Gimbal – my review

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, videoLeave a comment

I liked the OM 4 — but lost the best piece, the magnetic clamp.

SO … purchased the OM 5. Much better. … But it broke for no reason, within a year.

I tried to send it in on warranty, but somehow DJI bungled my request.

In any case, the OM 6 looked yet another big improvement. So I bought it on Amazon for CAD $215.00.

Most importantly, ACTIVE TRACK actually works all the time on the 6. That wasn’t the case for the 4 or 5.

If you take a lot of video on phone, I recommend it. Personally, I like smooth video, not handheld shake.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Battery life is up to 6 hours. You can recharge in the wild with an external, portable battery.

I haven’t tried the Osmo Mobile SE. Cheaper with fewer features.

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Anthony Horowitz is an excellent murder mystery writer.

This one from 2016 is a bit of a sequel to the very popular The Magpie Murders.

Moonflower Murders (2020) finds Susan Ryeland broke, running a small hotel in Crete.

For ￡10,000 she’s convinced to fly home to England to investigate the disappearance of a woman from another hotel.

Why?

Because there are parallels between how Cecily disappeared and another novel that Ryeland had edited in the past.

It’s a story within a story.

In fact, if you read this book ➙ you read 2 books. The one based on the other.

The second is called …

Atticus Pünd Takes the Case

In the novel Pünd and his new secretary are hired to investigate the murder of Melissa James, a former actress turned wife and hotel owner. As with the case of Frank Parris, there are many potential killers who could have murdered Melissa such as her husband …

Magpie murders was adapted for TV. It must have been successful as now Moonflower Murders will be coming to the small screen in 2023.