Former  Vice President Mike Pence, rather summarily, indicated that he cannot endorse Donald Trump for president .  No surprise, for he previously said: I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again . Outlier?  Nope.  So many others:  Attorney General Bill Barr, first Defense Secretary James Mattis, second Defense Secretary Mark Esper, chairman of joint chiefs of staff Gen. Mark Miley, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his first ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, presidential transition vice-chairman Chris Christie, second national security advisor HR McMaster, third national security advisor John Bolton, second chief of staff John Kelly and  so many others .  This list was dated October 2023.  The  Bush family never endorsed him . There is something about religion, paranormal phenomena like flying saucers, f

In my youth, the Woody Woodpecker Club had Saturday morning shows in the Kewalo Theater of Kakaako in Honolulu.  Then again, my mind is faulty, could have been a matinee.  It started with previews, a newsreel, cartoons, a serial (around 15 chapters, one per week), then a war, Tarzen or cowboy film.  Sometimes two.  Somewhere during that period there were audience participation contests.  Cost?  I think 12 cents.  A drink and popcorn cost an extra 15 cents or so.  Today, a typical movie outing would set you back $20/person, and more. I particularly remember cowboy chapters that captured our attention and kept us hanging to the next week.  Remember Donald Barry de Acosta.?  Of course not, because he was Red Ryder.  Or Charles Starrett Better (Durango Kid), William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Harold Smith (who became Jay Silverheels, who played Tonto), Renaldo Duncan (Cisco Kid, left)...Jack Moore (The Lone Ranger)? So tried to find a list of best actors in westerns, and found one by  Slash

  The Age of Samurai:  Battle for Japan , a 2021 Netflix docu-drama, is one of those  Rotten Tomatoes  scores with divergent results:  100% by reviewers and 54% by the audience.  I found it rewarding for one simple reason.  All my life I've watched samurai films, and had no idea how they fit into the history of Japan.  Now, I have a good sense and can reflect back on where certain warriors fit. The production, in six episodes, begins in 1551 with the death of feudal lord Oda Nobuhide, and rise of his son Oda Nobunaga, transition to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who united the country, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who brought stability for more than a quarter millennium, 1603 to 1868 ( called the Edo Period ), the final conclusion of Japan's isolation, when Commodore Matthew Perry began to open up the country to the West in 1854 during the  Meiji Restoration .  The  Tokugawa shoguns  had banned all foreigners. A samurai ( around  8%  of the community were in this class ) held a venerated position