Maryland Diners: Mountain View Diner, Frederick Maryland

One thing I'll always miss about living in Bellingham was the abundance of diners in and around the area.  Hell, I reviewed every single one of them!  For whatever reason diner culture isn't nearly as strong here in lovely Frederick, Maryland, but I am going to do my best to cover what's available.

Behold!  The Mountain View Diner!  1300 W Patrick Street, Frederick!

It was a snowy Saturday, and I got there right after the lunch rush started to die down.  The staff were exhausted, and I don't blame them.  And rather than my traditional Eggs Benny, I was hankering for something different -- my other diner go-to, the club sandwich. The club sandwich being among other things, the Exhibitionist of All Sandwiches.

And it was delicious!  Let's break down this little slice of 50's rock and roll nostalgia!

The Zone of Interest: Wut I Thunk Of It (Minor Spoilers)

I'd heard enough about this film to know that the less you knew going in, the better.  I was surprised to find out that the big reveal actually happens in the second scene, about five minutes in.

I feel like it paints itself into a corner, so to speak.  The first half is gripping, but then struggles to come to a satisfying conclusion beyond the fact that the father and the mother are monsters.

I'm guessing it will win the Oscar for sound design, deservedly so.

It's a film that deserves credit for taking chances, but comes to an unsatisfying conclusion.

Games People (And Cats) Play

 

Chingu and Mandu are living their best life.  Chingu, on the left, the brassier and more wild of the two, has a new game called "tip over the water dish."  It's a metal water dish designed for dogs, with a rubber ring around the bottom.

I thought cats hated water.

Anyhow, I'll root for San Francisco this weekend but I think the Chiefs could actually win by two touchdowns or more.

This is why I don't bet on sports, or anything else for that matter.

Deep Catological Questions

What happens when your two kitties have been sent to the doghouse?

The Birds Have Been Bought

 

The Orioles have new owners.

They're coming off a pretty miraculous regular season, then couldn't win a single game in the playoffs.

Change is good.  But they're still the Orioles until they make some substantial progress in the playoffs.

Interesting to watch at least.

Magnificent Mandu

 

Meet Mandu, AKA Mandurita, Little Hunter, Little Tiger, Princess Mandu.

A few nights ago I went to my back patio to lift up some furniture that had blown down during a pretty heavy wind / snow storm.  Mandu and her brother are indoor cats, so going outside for them is a big no-no.  So I closed the patio door behind me and picked the furniture up all in about 45 seconds.  As I returned to the door and tried to re-open it I realized it wouldn't budge.  This furball had managed to lean on the locking door handle and pushed it "down" into the lock position.

I was locked out.  In the snow.  With no shoes.

I managed to get back in after actually going to a very friendly neighbor and calling a locksmith.  In the end I managed to get back inside my house without the locksmith's help, but it was all a saga nonetheless.

Mandu has always been pretty well behaved compared to her brother Chingu, but lessons have been learned.

Cute kitties are dangerous.

For The Dogs

South Korea has banned the consumption of dog meat, and it's welcome news:

"Despite the horrors highlighted by campaigners, few politicians appeared willing to act. Consumption has been in decline for decades and is now largely confined to older South Koreans who want a fix of culinary nostalgia. But the industry is no financial minnow. There are about 1,150 farms, while 1,600 restaurants sell dog meat dishes, according to the agriculture ministry. Activists say as many as 1 million dogs a year are slaughtered."

No doubt an underground trade will remain, but it took South Korean activists to accomplish this locally and organically.

Good news!

"curled zinc sheets with their puddles of rainwater"

"There is a time of day immediately before dusk when the outlie of every object becomes sharply delineated.  It was just that moment.  The lacerated edges of wooden beams in the wreckage, the freshness of the rents in the shredded trees, and the curled zinc sheets with their puddles of rainwater -- everything appeared almost unpleasantly vivid.  In the extreme west only a horizontal line of scarlet was to be seen in the sky between two or three towering black burned-out buildings.  Flecks of scarlet were also visible through the windows of the ruined structures.  It was as if someone had turned on a red light in a deserted and uninhabited house."

Yuko Mishima, The Temple of Dawn

"Erasing every mark you make"

 

Fugazi, "Guilford Fall"

For no particular reason I listened to Fugazi's End Hits all the way through for the first time in about 20 years.  I remember being disappointed at the time with a few great songs, but also some experimental stuff that just didn't work for me.  I wouldn't say it's grown on me, but it holds together as an album better than it used to.  I can't tell if the band was running out of ideas or had too many of them.

So, a good album but I'm glad it was their second-to-last and not their last one.

Belated New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all!  This blog remains slower than it should, but things are warming up.  Days are getting longer.  Still no snow in Maryland, but fingers crossed.

I've been going to the movies a lot, obviously, and that's not the worst way to enjoy 2024 so far.

The Iron Claw: Wut I Thunk Of It (Minor Spoilers)

Greek Tragedy by was of wrestlin' and rural Texas.  It works.  It's actually kind of incredible.

I did double-takes throughout seeing Zac Efron at 250 pounds of muscle, and a seriously wizened face.  A cruel but sometimes likeable Dad, a helpless but strangely empowered mom.  Professional wrestling as fake and so real at the same time.

Definitely worth seeing.