Tag: Suckage

Things that totally suck

Still Not In

Bad News

…as the actress said to the bishop.

Well, our furniture and most of our stuff is back in the apartment.  Have we been able to do anything with it?

Nooooooooo because the place is still not habitable (minor construction yet to be done, drywalling, electricity etc., no fridge and most importantly, no working toilets or indeed water from the faucets).  So as I write this, we’re still stuck in the Fleabagge Inn, now living out of suitcases and moving boxes (because we packed them, expecting to have moved by now).  Oh, and our “temporary housing” allowance from the insurance company has ended, so it’s all been out of pocket since just before the beginning of the month.

All this, plus the theft of the guns and the resulting cancellation of the Boomershoot trip has given me an attack of the gloomies.

The only good thing that’s happened to us is that thanks to the generosity of her family, New Wife is heading back to Seffrica early next month to visit with  friends and family, and most especially, to meet the brand-new granddaughter.  I, however, will be staying behind (because a. I can’t afford to go and b. I really don’t feel a desire to go back there).  But we will be apart, the first time since we got married, and for two weeks withal.

Please bear with me as I pull the covers over my head and growl miserably.

Kim’s Hell

Architecture, Modernism

This is what happens when I get curious about stuff and set out to explore.

Last week, I read that former Spain- and Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas (one of the best goalies ever, btw) has divorced his journototty wife Sara:

…and moved to a “Japanese-style” penthouse in La Finca.

Where dat?

Not being familiar with Spain, I eventually found out that it’s a swanky suburb of Madrid.  (I should also mention that I caught the giggles because I first read “Finca” as “Fica” — the Italian slang for “pussy” — but I recovered and went on.)

I should have stopped upon learning that La Finca was a Madrid suburb.  But noooo, I had to see what it looks like.  Casilla’s penthouse apartment (see here) should have given me a clue, but when I DuckDucked it, I saw stuff like this… endless examples of foul glass and concrete boxes modernity:

       

I could go on, but I think you get the drift.  (If you want to see bigger pictures — gawd help you — just DuckDuck “La Finca Madrid”.)

As a rule, I quite like traditional Spanish architecture — especially the Catalonian style:

 

…and as for apartments and public buildings:

 

Compared to those, La Finca Horrible doesn’t even come close:

I think I need to look at something beautiful, just to recover from that hideousness.  Here’s Paz Vega:

Now that’s some classic Spanish architecture for you.

Raving Beauty

Beauty, Gratuitous Chick Pics

Whereas Sabine Schmitz was taken from us at age 51, Jessica Walter — one of my favorite character actresses of all time — held out till 80.

Here we go:

In later years, she just aged like the finest wine:

And now [sigh]  I’ll just have to take Malory Archer off Ye Olde Buckette Lyst:

R.I.P. Jessica.  You were always one of the best, and one of my favorites.

Shelter

Architecture, Real Estate

And then we have this plaudit, following the Chinkvirus lockdown(s):

Shelter in place has us focused on the characteristics of a home that makes us happy. What makes us happy in a home has not changed, but since we are spending more time in a home than ever, we are focused on what makes us happy in a home. Neighborhoods become more important during shelter in place. Here is a home that exudes the elements of a home we enjoy when we shelter in place. Architect Max Levy designed this home that is immersed in nature, enjoys the shared greenways of the neighborhood, and is surrounded by vibrancy.

And this “immersion in nature” looks like this:

You know where this is going, right?  Let’s look at the interior:

It would not surprise me if the cushion coverings were hiding concrete blocks.

This excrescence is part of a series of five houses which inspire us to shelter in place, and only one of the five does not inspire me to load up the Molotov cocktails and go for a little drive down some “shared greenways”.  Here it is:

…and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, this house was designed IN 1939.

All the above are located in Dallas (not renowned for anything classical, architecture least of all), but I do know the real estate market around here quite well, and I can truthfully say that the only houses I’d consider buying in the city would be the few still standing which were built before WWII.

All the rest are either foul beyond words (“mid-century modern” aaargh ) or else ultra-modern carbuncles like the ones above.  The newly-built ones, by the way, all look like they’re owned by Russian oil oligarchs, retired Cowboys footballers, Arab oil sheiks or Colombian druglords.  (And that’s not just my opinion, by the way:  Mr. Free Market, who has been on several tours of the area conducted by Yours Truly, has even worse things to say.)

Here’s one in Plano which exemplifies the type:

At least it looks like something a little classical.  But the supercars parked oh-so casually in the driveway give the game away.

It makes me not want to buy lottery tickets, if that’s all that obscene amounts of money could buy me.

Predator

Crime

Here we go again:

A Sarpy County jury on Wednesday found a 38-year-old woman guilty of 11 felony counts in connection with child sexual assault and abuse that occurred at alcohol-fueled sleepovers with pre- and young teens.

It gets better:

Authorities said Greer provided alcohol and marijuana-infused gummy bears to her 11-year-old daughter and her friends at weekend sleepovers in 2017 and 2018.

Wouldn’t be a crime if it was Oregon or California, but it’s Nebraska:

Greer faces a maximum sentence of life in prison next month when she is set to be sentenced.

That said, I’m offering odds on her getting a suspended sentence Because She’s A Woman So Shut Up.