April 17, 2020
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“Slippin’ Jimmy” says to Tom Clancy …
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No one said this current Signature Episode in American History was going to be easy. “Signature Episodes” rarely are (easy).
Many among us have enough difficulty navigating in calm seas with favorable winds. Stir the waters even a bit – and first thing ya know The Hippos are dancing on Glenwood Avenue AGAIN.
To quote a classic BobLeeSays commentary on what can happen when The Monsters Arrive on America’s Maple Street to paraphrase Rod Sterling’s prophetic prediction from 50+ years ago.
Discussing our 2019 Tax Returns, our accountant asked me “How are y’all doin’?”
NOTE: The Dark Side of Prosperity – making more $$$ leads to paying more taxes – is a reality than Blondie does not handle well. Who does?
In the category with Mother Nature’s Grand Plan for cross-pollenization. Blondie is convinced Mother Nature could figure out a better way to produce pretty flowers than yucky yellow powder crap on everything for two weeks every Spring.
I remind her that pollen is not a problem in Antarctica… but there are no azaleas in Antarctica.
I told Carrie The Accountant that I have prepared for “social distancing” most of my life. I am a Doomsday Prepper as far as standing patiently 6′ behind a brain dead yahoo at Brueggars asking “So, whats the difference between a bagel and a doughnut…?”. … That 99% of such brain dead yahoos have multiple HateTrump stickers on their Priuses is “just a coincidence”.
Even BobLee has daily conflicts. My Daily Quandary is:
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How to (A) Listen to a really good Audiobook while (B) Binge-watching a compelling Netflix series?
Using one earphone to “A” and one earphone to “B” does Not Work.
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This week it’s been 27 hours of Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse which introduces one of Clancy’s most memorable characters – “Mr Clark” – versus – Slippin’ Jimmy, Kim, Mike, Quite Insane Brother Chuck and The Cartels of Albuquerque in the 40 hours / four seasons of Better Call Saul.
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Next week it will be Clancy’s epic 36 hours of Rainbow Six (also with “Mr Clark”) – versus – a TBD Netflix/Prime series. There is no end in sight to my daily dilemmas… WOE is BobLee.
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I almost quit on Slippin’ Jimmy & Friends in Better Call Saul after the first three episodes. But a valued member of BobLee’s Blue Ribbon Ad Hoc Advisory Council intervened to INSIST I persist.
Her husband knows “the guy in Albuquerque” – Ron Bell – who is the real life inspiration for Slippin’ Jimmy. With such a Kevin Bacon connection I had no choice but to carry-on.
For Prince Albert and ever how many of the rest of you have never met “Slippin’ Jimmy McGill and Friends from Better Call Saul … I won’t bother to explain the whole premise of the highly popular Netflix series.
“Jimmy McGill” is a well-intentioned Everyman who personifies “… is his own worst enemy”. There is probably an unflattering term in Yiddish that best describes “Jimmy”.
Better Call Saul evolved from Breaking Bad which I have never seen but kinda know what its about. It takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico which is to Wolfpack fans what Bethlehem is to Christians. Lorenzo Charles … Phi Slamma Jamma … “looking for someone to hug” … et al.
Other than that bright shining moment in 1983 – a hot air balloon festival – and being really hard to spell … there is not a lot to motivate one to make a pilgrimage to “Mecca”.
In reading up on Better Call Saul / Breaking Bad, there are fans who travel to Albuquerque to see locations from the shows. The Law Offices of HHM … the Diner … “Chuck’s House” with the mailbox out front … The Pollo Hermosa chicken franchise … Don Hector’s Mexican restaurant … etc etc.
Other than HHM’s lavish HQ… most of what viewers see of Albuquerque is not a Chamber of Commerce Tourism video.
Similar to Ozark… Better Call Saul is not a reaffirmation that Life Is Grand. It’s “gritty”. A world you may be familiar with – but hopefully don’t live-in. Characters that remind you of folks you have encountered along your Life’s Journey.
In ensemble shows like WKRP and Mary Tyler Moore and The Office and even Seinfeld … you likely “knew someone like _____”. Not sure thats the case with Better Call Saul….
Are there “Jimmys” in Raleigh? Is there a “Mr Fring” where you live? … Is there an HHM Law Firm? … a Mesa Verde Bank?Is there such a thing as Electro-Magnetic Hyper Sensitivity?
Of the eccentric characters who populate Jimmy’s World – Kim, Chuck, Howard, Mike, Nacho … “Mike” is my favorite. You never know what “Mike” is up to. Mike doesn’t say much. His trick with the tennis shoes over the wire was “inventive”.
“Mike” is played by veteran character actor Jonathan Banks. You’ve seen him in a bunch of roles. Other than Michael McKean who plays “Chuck” you probably won’t recognize any other actors in the series. Like Ozark with Jason Bateman. I did not “like Chuck”. I don’t think I was suppose to.
The characters are not particularly “likable”. Better Call Saul is “gritty”. My biggest issue with the series is Too Many Toothbrushing Scenes. I know that seems petty. But thats how I feel.
It’s R-Rated… rough language and violence. I prefer Ozark but I’m glad I watched Better Call Saul. Thanks to MPW.
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ALERT: BOSCH Season 6 is Now Available on Amazon Prime. ***
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In the 70s-80s… did a commercial airplane ever take-off without at least one Tom Clancy book on board. During my 25+ years “travel for business” career there were a dozen or so omnipresent fiction authors – Clancy – Sidney Sheldon – Jackie Collins – Clive Cussler – John Grisham – James Patterson – Scott Turow – Stephen King – et al.
I sampled them all… except Stephen King. I don’t care for scary horror stories.
Clancy books were the first to prove that Big Thick Books could be a commercial success. Now – of course – with the Miracle of Audiobooks – “Big Thick” is not an issue.
I read 9-10 Clancy books. My two favorite Clancy’s were Without Remorse and Rainbow Six. I don’t recall the details of the plots, just that I liked them. Now I’m listening to the 27 hours of Without Remorse to be followed by the 36 hours of Rainbow Six. … while binging 30 hours of Ozark and 40 hours of Better Call Saul. Which When ?
My favorite Tom Clancy anecdote… in one of the earlier Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classics, Tom Clancy was the A-list “celebrity”. So he was paired with The Emperor of Cary / SAS Mega-mogul Dr. Jim Goodnight.
Somewhere on the back nine, I chanced to ask Dr Goodnight how he liked Tom. “He’s a bit of an odd duck” was Dr Goodnight’s reply. A bazillionaire eccentric tech-recluse thinks Tom Clancy is “a bit of an odd duck” ? YIKES!
I never had the opportunity to ask Tom what he thought of Dr. Goodnight. Tom Clancy died in 2013. We’ll never know.
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I do hope you are all “getting along” as well as you deserve for the effort you are putting forth to get along.
America IS A Battleground now…. – (1) – against a virus; and – (2) – between two halves of the country who REALLY dislike each other a lot. … more so by the day. IMO, we will resolve the former many years before we resolve the latter
… if we ever do. … and so it goes.
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A big BobLee “Stay Safe” High-Five across cyber-space… especially for you Old Coots.
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A VERY SPECIAL TREAT ….. BobLee’s Favorite Movies – CLICK HERE
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More BobLeeSays – HERE!
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