A few days ago I (finally) connected the Blu-Ray player to the TV in the den/exercise room. Only one DVD could have been chosen to be the first one played in the Goose Bumps House: Good Will Hunting.
No other movie ever affected me as much the first time I saw it. Yes, in my past I would watch the same movie multiple times, often to see if I had missed important bits of dialogue. Now, I very seldom have the patience to watch any movie. I also haven’t been in a movie theater in at least 15 years.
“Hollywood” does not care about my demographic. I do not want to watch Fast and Furious Part 26, movies about zombies and certainly not movies about comic book characters. Something I believe about Good Will Hunting is that it is actually more like a European film than an American one. In the US, movies are about plots, “We have to kill the villain before he blows up the city.” European movies are about people and how they interact with other people, their situation and, perhaps, how they change.
Anyway, in the wake of watching Good Will Hunting again, I decided I had to buy the closing song, Miss Misery by the ill-fated Elliott Smith. A couple of days later I purchased the entire soundtrack, which does not include Smith’s song. Of course, I can now hear Miss Misery in my head.

On the left is Matt Damon, who starred in the title role and co-wrote the screenplay with long-time friend Ben Affleck. On the right, of course, is the late Robin Williams, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in this film. Damon and Affleck also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
By the way, I do NOT see myself in Will Hunting or in the character of the professor who keeps Will out of jail, Gerald Lambeau (played by Stellan Skarsgard). I have been accused of that by some people. I recognize that some people have/had intellectual ability way beyond mine and, in addition, that’s OK.
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<Rant Of Sorts> Blog readership has declined markedly in May. I know many blogs just run their course, which is why I am trying to keep this one from becoming too derivative of itself. Yes, I originally started blogging for myself, but once the blog developed a decent-sized following, it is difficult to watch that following slip away. People often judge events based on their relationship to the immediate status quo and not against a priori expectations. <End Rant Of Sorts>
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I recently subscribed to The Free Press. As such, I receive email notifications about published articles. Here are links to four pieces, which I think you can read without subscribing.
How Therapists Became Social Justice Warriors
Miracles and Madness: Israel at 75
The FBI Didn’t Persecute Hillary. It Protected Her.
TGIF: The Suburbs Are Back!
As has been my recent custom when posting links to Why Evolution Is True (WEIT), I will publish the links without comment. Speaking of WEIT:
Vanderbilt’s Chancellor sticks up for institutional neutrality
I have to comment about this piece in general terms. I strongly believe that institutions of “higher learning” should not adopt official positions on public policy as that has a chilling effect on free speech at those institutions. Of course, individuals have the right to say, pretty much, what they want.
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Yes, Disaffected Musings has changed to a blog with much less automotive content. For the nth time, I do not care about EVs, SUVs, pickup trucks, motorcycles, etc. As such, I have a difficult time thinking of new automotive content. I also have a difficult time doing what I used to enjoy: watching car auctions on TV.
Currently, Mecum Auctions is in Indianapolis for its huge annual spring auction. Wouldn’t you know that the first vehicle I saw after turning on the TV yesterday was a resto-mod pickup truck that hammered for $220,000. Sorry, I wouldn’t pay 22 cents for that vehicle.
The auction did redeem itself with a collection of cars all from 1956 and all cars, no pickup trucks. Included in this group was a 1956 Packard Caribbean convertible, a member of my Ultimate Garage 2.0. (It’s been FOUR years since I published that Ultimate Garage!)

This car (well, not this specific car) hammered for $140,000. All of the cars were convertibles and many of them hammered for a six-figure price. A 1956 Corvette hammered for $207,500.
John Kraman was quick to point out that most of the cars in this collection, all offered at No Reserve, sold for far more than the pre-auction estimates published in the catalog. That is a rarity, however.
Sadly, it has also become a rarity that I watch any automotive related programming. Shows like Texas Metal and Roadkill have absolutely no appeal to me, but that’s the direction in which the programming has moved. Just like Hollywood doesn’t care about my demographic, neither does Motor Trend, apparently. I will almost certainly not renew my subscription to Motor Trend+.
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