Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Netflix Recommendations

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No, this isn’t some fancy-pants options trading suggestion about NFLX. It’s actually about a couple of items on Netflix, the video streaming service, which I’d like to recommend.

I’m a big cinema and documentary buff, and both of these items are documentaries about filmmaking – – so, a double win. The first is called They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, It’s about the creation of Orson Welles’ last unreleased movie, The Other Side of the Wind. I must say, the movie itself looks absolutely dreadful (Netflix did its best to complete the production of the film and has simultaneously released the movie itself), but the documentary about its creation is absolutely engaging. It seems like one of those self-indulgent vanity projects that only already-successful creative types can get away with, and I suspect Citizen Kane’s place on the mantle is quite secure.

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To Boldly Go…..

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There is no product of media that has had more influence in my life than the original Star Trek series. I watched the show incessantly as a child via reruns, but it has been a long time since I’ve really spent time watching the episodes in detail. Having done so recently, the experience is naturally an enormous contrast with what I experienced as a kid.

The special effects are obviously quite primitive, the technology references are woefully outdated, and the writing is uneven, varying from superb to absolutely awful.

The biggest shock for me, however, was the sex. It’s EVERYWHERE in the show. Easily one-third of the episodes are almost entirely driven by some kind of love interest, and it isn’t just Kirk. Most of the male crew members have got it goin’ on at some point or another with human women, alien women, green-skinned women, and even robots (that look like women).

I’m sure I spent far more time om this than I should have, but………….. (more…)

Milquetoast Goofus

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Since everyone in the country is watching Dr. Ford, I’ve put together a just-for-fun post. I also want to encourage you to check out Slope this afternoon, because I have created Yet Another Awesome Feature in SlopeCharts that you should know about.

As a little kid, one of my simple pleasures was Highlights magazine. Most of you probably remember this, since it was a staple at most pediatric and dental offices. The part I liked the most, of course, was Goofus and Gallant. I was a really good kid, but I guess I had a prurient curiosity about what a nasty kid like Goofus would be up to. Whether he is demanding to be fed….….

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Cramer’s Most Idiotic Idea Ever

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Someone brought to my attention that none other than Jim Cramer – – who, inexplicably, is considered some kind of stock market god – – strongly suggested everyone buy Sears back in 2007, calling it “the next Berkshire Hathaway”. It looks like he made this urgent “buy” suggestion at pretty much the millisecond the stock peaked. It is down over 99% now. I wonder if they ever mention this on CNBC?

cramer

My New Favorite Thing

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Oh. My. God. How did I not know about this until now? Mesmerizing! The music. The soundtrack. The lighting. The laugh track. The applause. There is far too much to like here. We are blessed to live in the time of David Lynch. Slope Cinema is proud to present: Rabbits