Car Commercials, why?

There is something that has been bothering me for some time now. Why do car commercials always have these beautiful, natural landscapes as backdrops? I mean seriously it is so annoying. Moving forward, they should all be filmed in concrete, drab parking lots. EVs excluded, obvs!

WTF...what now?

What a crazy time we live in right now, right? Pandemics, civil unrest, a divided country, and melting permafrost...seriously what a quagmire. So I been hearing a lot about the protests and having some heated debates with friends and loved ones regarding the protesters and their intent. How they are being labeled as Antifa domestic terrorists and opportunistic scabs.




https://theintercept.com/2020/06/04/white-house-forced-retract-claim-viral-videos-prove-antifa-plotting-violence/

Mr. Robot! YES! I just finished the finale. This is how you end a great show. I love it!

https://www.usanetwork.com/mrrobot

WOW!

This show is fantastic. Watch it, seriously.

How do we win?

how do we win...

Do we push do we tear down do we move back and think or do we tear down and rip apart what we know...

how do we win?

is it left to others...is it left to the few or is it the many that change the way we view..

HOW DO WE WIN?

the hate and angry the small mindedness the rhetoric that makes us not think. I am not sore and I am not envious, I am sorrowful for what we don’t think...

How do we win,

A World torn so apart so different, I am not scared nor am i innocent, but...

HOW DO WE WIN, and make this world...

I would watch this guy and dream about having his job, and what a job it was! It was what I would have considered a DREAM job, but then he goes and ends his life. Puts things in perspective. Just because you have a great career and you are endowed with genius doesn’t mean you are happy. The dark cloud of uncertainty and sorrow isn’t supplanted by the tangibility of success.

https://people.com/food/anthony-bourdain-obituary/amp/

I have had no real formal training as an artist. I took, perhaps, 3-4 courses at a junior college in Florida (SPJC). As far as I am concerned I just do art...I am an outsider artist! I do great work... hold your breath because I have a muse.

So I am super confused...where was all this anti-Trump and low opinion rating when this ass clown was running for president. Did everyone get "Trumped"? Is this a reality TV show playing out with tax dollars in the White House? I mean seriously, this guy sleazed, stepped over and destroyed things to make his way, and are those the qualities that make of great leaders? And now his ratings are in the tank, and most of his nominees are either being investigated or not accepting the appointments, or have recused themselves from investigating impropriates. WOW! A captain of industry a good leader doesn’t make. I finish by saying I am not upset with those who voted for Trump; I am just asking that you reflect and be objective. Like wiser men than me have said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin and "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." - Oscar Wilde.

My answer to the reality of ignorance…

 I am fairly certain since 9/11 we have been monitoring and vetting quite regularly. We also have a no fly list and we have frozen many assets of suspected terrorists and terrorist groups and organizations linked to terrorism or the sponsoring of said groups. And again, we have radical groups already in this country that are homegrown and that put some hate on quite well. As for any building plans for the wall...Trumps whole persona is a man of action and that he walks the walk vs talking the talk, so I am fairly confident, short of seeing any blueprints, that he actually means to build a wall. Also, I am not very familiar with Mexico's illegal immigration laws, but I am pretty confident when an illegal entering America does get stopped at the border they aren't offering them Link cards, food stamps, or shelter. As far assimilation, I agree. When in Rome do as the Romans, but definitely keep cultural roots, because that in the end is what has made America great right? Inclusion not exclusion right? We should be judged by our understanding of humanity and our acceptance not by our suspicion and intolerance. Benjamin Franklin said: he who would trade liberty for some temporary security deserves neither liberty nor security. I really like old Franklin, good thinker there. Always good food for thought. Remember that those that seek power and seek to yield it to their own purpose will always pray on the fears of those to whom they are meant to serve. Take head that those same impulses that drive our suspicions and fears now could just as easily be used to ban any immigrant from any country for any reason...crazier shit has happened in history. Ok I am done for the night. Goodnight.

Why as the strongest nation on earth do we just watch, lest we become the problem? Children being killed in Syria, you think we would learn from Rwanda, Serbia, and Darfur. Yes there are countless children starving in America, but they don’t have to worry about being sniped, blown up, or crushed to death from debris on a day to day, hour to our basis. Something needs to be done. Please check out these sites: 
http://www.unicef.org/
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.7998857/k.D075/Syria.htm

Art Work

Art Work

It has been a long time now since I did any writing on this blog: however, I am currently doing my best to revise that spirit of controversy and systematic cynicism. I sincerely apologize that I have not been more prolific in my writings these fondly past years, but I assure you that I will attend to this mater ASAP....meaning I will do my best lol

New TV Series Review: Hell on Wheels

Hell on Wheels (created by Joe and Tony Gayton) is a gritty series (in its second season) that portrays the malevolent and corrupt nature that engulfed America’s early railroad development.  The story’s main protagonist is rough-neck former Confederate soldier named Cullen Bohannan, played by Anson Mount, whose family was murdered by union solders. This event sets him on a mission of violent revenge that subsequently leads him to the further reaches of the great frontier, and, ultimately, into the employment of a powerful railroad baron named Thomas ‘Doc’ Durant, played by one of my favorite actors Colm Meaney. The story line seems simple enough at first: man seeks revenge for slain family, but as the plot unfolds what begins to develop is a dynamic story of many different characters attempting to survive long enough to stake their claim of the great undeveloped west. This mobile tent town that spearheads the train track construction is laden with lawless men running from their pasts, voluptuous women working the world’s oldest trade, recently freed slaves, and hardworking immigrants. However, this combustible melting pot lives under constant fear of attacks from the Native Americans, and it is this aspect of the show I find the most compelling. I personally was drawn to the stark contrast developed between the industrial “white man’s world” and the natural world of the Native Americans. This struggle is best exemplified in the season 1, episode 6 where a sit down is arranged to discuss a peaceful resolution to the tumultuous relationship between Chief Many Horses of the Cheyenne, played by the ubiquitous Wes Studi, and the railroad conglomerate, e.g., Durant, Senator Jordan Crane (James D. Hopkin), and the town reverend Cole (Tom Noonan). It is within this exchange that the underlying issue of this series presents itself; the struggle between industrialization and nature, colonization and independence, and, ultimately, genocide. The railroad barons argue that the land they need to develop does not actually belong to the Indians but actually to the government. They assure the Chief that he and his people would have a better way of life if they were to move to a reservation. Needless to say, the Chief disagrees and the parties leave in a hot huffy. I vehemently recommend this show. It is an excellent rendition of the bloody turmoil that surrounded the development of the Wild West.

Big Lou gives this series 3.5 Shamrocks! 

http://www.amctv.com/shows/hell-on-wheels

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Engagement website

The Engagement website is coming along lovely.  We now have video...AWESOME!
Louis and Iwona Mulvihill

The Engagement!

The Engagement!

To Kill an Irishman (2011)

      Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, To Kill an Irishman is a dramatic film depicting the live and times of the bushwhacking, fierce, Celtic warrior Danny Greene. This film is based on a book, sharing the same title, written by Rick Porrello. It is uncommon for me to fully appreciate a film rendered from a book, because so often, the film will hype up scenes for cinematic ‘enjoyment’ or add superfluous endings. But this film is the exception to the cause. The director and writers were able to highlight Danny Greene’s most famous and infamous exploits as he fought, tooth and nail, against the more powerful and rich Cleveland La Costa Nostra (that means Italian Mafia for those who of you are less informed). The cast is a well-balanced list of seasoned actors that included:  Ray Stevenson (Danny Greene), Vincent D'Onofrio (John Nardi), Christopher Walken (Shonod Birns) and Val Kilmer  (Joe Manditski, based on the real life Cleveland Detective Ed Kovacic). The film follows Greene as he fights to protect his family and underlings all the while seeking to cut out a piece of the lucrative Cleveland rackets for himself.                

      In this film as well as the book, Greene is a throwback to the larger than life Chicago gangster, Dion O’Bannon, whom was the dread and nemesis of Al Capone, and like O’Bannon, Greene is portrayed as financially supporting many impoverished Irish families by supplying turkeys on Christmas and Thanksgiving and paying much of these families bills, which included send their children, as well as orphans to private schools. There are many scenes that emphasis the bravado, fearlessness and slight insanity of Greene, because let’s be honest, to take on the Mafia, or an organization that powerful, one would have to be a little of kilter, right? Nevertheless, his persistent mocking and antagonizing nature regarding the Mafia is quite entertaining. For instance, there is one scene where he is being interviewed without a shirt, arms interlocked, and bearing only his gold Celtic cross. Anther scene shows Greene dealing with some rowdy Hell’s Angels that have been terrorizing his neighborhood. He stands toe-to-toe with the gang’s leader and recites his catch phrase “want to dance with me”. The movie is fast paced and the characters’ are well developed. The story line is very close to the book and pretty much faithful to Greene’s exploits. I highly recommend this film, if you like a gangster film that is. I give it 3 ½ shamrocks.

This work by BigLouKnows is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

It is over, but it has also just started!

Well folks this is it...I graduate in 4 days; it feels so surreal. Now I most get a grownup job. But I am excited and relived that the journey is now coming to an end, for now I will have more time for reviews and blogs. So look forward to so tough criticisms in the next few months ha-ha.

Art Work!

I opened a gallery featuring my work through this online 3D gallery, and it is quite interactive and user friendly. Check it out whenever you get a chance. However, it will not open if you use Chrome as a browser but Firefox works fine.
http://www.3dvas.com/galleries/profile/artists/artistProfile.php?username=rlouism

New reviews coming very soon, hold your breath.

I will be reviweing two new shows:
1. The Walking Dead- AMC,
2. Modern Family- ABC

I will also be reviewing two books I just finished, but I will not disclose those as of now. However, I will offer a teaser....one of them covers Carters excavation of King Tut's grave and the theories of his death at such a young age.

Second TV review: "Sons of Anarchy"

This fast hitting show is one of FX’s most riveting series to date. The show is a Pandora’s Box of loyalty, love, betrayal, survival, honor, and greed all set in a small California town ironically named Charming. It is the story of an outlaw biker gang fighting and scheming to defend the small area of the world they claim as theirs, from the onslaught of other biker gangs, white supremacists, corrupt politicians, and the long-arm-of-the-law. However, the meat of the show is the eternal struggle between good and evil, the old vs. new, and the inevitability of change. These concepts are embodied in the dangerous power struggle between the M.C’s young V.P Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charles Matthew "Charlie" Hunnam) and Clarence "Clay" Morrow (Ron Perlman), his stepfather and the incumbent old-warhorse club president. In the onset of season one, Jax inadvertently stumbles upon his deceased father’s mission statement/manuscript which outlines a cleaner and more honest direction for the club. And with this opus, from his father, and his own personal moral tug of war, he soon finds himself on a deadly collision course with his stepfather. The story line is gritty and invoking, with all the characters well defined and developed. Of course with such a talented cast, full of such diversity and intensity, like Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal who plays Jax’s mother Gemma Teller Morrow, or Tommy Flanagan who plays Filip "Chibs" Telford, the club’s Scottish powerhouse and connection to the IRA gun running, to only name a few, it would be near impossible to have a weak story line. I look forward to the third season, which is to air in early September. 


Big Lou's Rating:

 

 

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1st TV review: 'Lie To Me'

I have chosen a TV series which I feel really encapsulates all the good entertainment that make shows great. It is dramatic, well written, and casted with some outstanding actors such as the abrasive-unconventional but brilliant protagonist Dr. Cal Lightman, which is played be the classically trained and talented actor Tim Roth. The next big star featured is Mekhi Phifer; he plays the no nonsense-hard-ass F.B.I agent Ben Reynolds. Together, with the additional cast members which include the lovely co-stars Kelli Williams (Dr. Gillain Foster), Monica Raymond (Ria Torres), Heyley McFarland (Emily Lightman), and the arrogant but smart Brendan Hines (Eli Loker), work on contacted cases of deception and intrigue. All these characters are employed by the Lightman group, which is headed by Dr. Lightman, the world’s leading expert in deception. Through his extensive studies he has developed a scientific method that enables him to read the micro expressions on people’s faces and the movements of their bodies. With this remarkable skill-set he is able to detect lies, evasions, angry, contempt, and just about any human emotional response. Watching how Dr. Lightman (Tim Roth) erratically moves around is adversary making drastic hand gestures coupled with stark facial expressions leave his opponents stammering and wiggling wildly-uncomfortably in their chairs; I just love Tim Roth’s over-the-top antics that just leave me wanting to watch more of this edgy show. Incidentally, the soundtrack is also quite brilliant, with well written songs, including the main theme. The show is just wrapping up its second season, and I look forward to a third and some.

BigLou's rating:                           

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