MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Dozens are expected to gather this weekend in remembrance  of the late Trayvon Martin whose death sparked a national debate over the controversial Stand Your Ground law.
Martin, 17, was killed in Sanford, in February 2012. George Zimmerman was acquitted in his shooting death in July 2013.
Locals, family and friends of the Florida teen are expected to join in the events planned through the weekend.

via Dozens Set To Attend Trayvon Martin Remembrance Events « CBS Miami.

This is a card that I found at a gas station a couple of days before the event, the same way they try to buy junk cars or the local whiz kids swears he can fix your computer.

Trayvon is/was an event outside his Miami Garden Neighborhood and pretty much Florida followed suit.  There was never a parade of friends, teachers, relatives, etc that came out to say how good a kid he was or how good he did a school. That vacuum of endorsements was always suspicious, but the Media and the Politicians ignored it.

Other than his immediate family, pretty much nobody cared for the guy. he was only a prop against Stand Your Ground and that failed miserably. He will be brought out from time to time like one of those cheesy ornaments you see in houses that celebrate any half-assed holiday just to try to rile up the “true believers” but other than that, his name has acquired the relevance of a plastic pink flamingo.

I shot the 500 S&W exactly three times, two-handed and fully expecting a nasty recoil. I did not lost control of the gun but my Fun Meter pegged to death and my right hand took a 30 minute nap.

Not a gun a top of my list to buy.

In just two months, “American Sniper” has become the first movie in ages to rise to the level of cultural phenomenon — in part because its success caught everybody by surprise……

…..This parochialism is a form of willing blindness about what America wants to watch. That’s why it keeps coming as a total shock when works of popular culture that celebrate the military rather than pretend it doesn’t exist blow away shows about narcissists picking lint hair out of their belly buttons and whining about their careers

via ‘Sniper’ and ‘NCIS’ success shows how out of touch media is | New York Post.

The Movie industry appears to have failed on the number one dictum for any business: Sell a product people want. Act of Valor was a little movie filmed with mostly love and a budget go $12 million, a pittance that would not cover catering for most Hollywood super projects. It ended up grossing $70 million domestic according to IMDB and that gents is 5.8 times the investment which any Hollywood mogul would sacrifice the very rare virgin to obtain.

I remember the JAG episode where the people from NCIS first appeared. It was possibly the best episode of a show who was already declining (No matter what, a series seems to start dying after 5 years) and warned SWMBO that we may had a new show that we may coming. Apparently that episode fared so good that NCIS went into full development and it is the success we have nowadays.

There is a market for Good Over Evil stuff. The problem is that most writers do not know how to write about it and end up doing a parody of something they loath assuring its failure. I for one am amazed that Gotham has me hooked with 4/5th of the characters being criminals, but it is Jim Gordon that holds the show: The Lone Voice in the wilderness that stands up and even makes others do their best even when doing nothing would make their lives easier.

Do we like bad guys? Oh yes, no doubt there. Red Reddington is the poster child for the end justify the means, but he is classy as hell and has panache flowing by the gallons, but he is the exception rather than the rule.

Now brace yourselves for the inevitable flood of cheap copies that are sure to come out trying to cash on American Sniper, the Hollywood version of Chinese knock-offs.

In every case, the victim failed to acknowledge the reality of the situation.  In every case, failing to acknowledge reality led to negative consequences for the victim.

via A Failure to Acknowledge Reality | Active Response Training.

I am enjoying the heck out of Greg Ellifritz’s posts. I find myself saying way too often “That is exactly what I mean!” making me realize I need more practice on this writing thing.  Make sure you follow him.

Rarely Indie movies make up the expectations. Most of them suffer the maladies of the corporate ones: making up the deficiencies of a lousy script with outrageous crap instead of good writing and acting.

I took the chance to see the movie just on the fact that Jon Favreau was on it (loved the guy since PCU) The trailer does not make it justice to a feel-good-without-being-mushy film. It is funny, it is “educational” and it will leave you hungry. I was also amazed at the presence of big-ticket stars doing small roles which tells you more about Favreau’s as a person that as a Hollywood power player.

The movie is available in Netflix and in Amazon Instant Video ($2.99 rental and worth it.) No idea if other sites have it.

Please, do not see this movie if you have not eaten. The recipes are available online.

And if you excuse me, I am gonna make me a grilled cheese sandwich now.

PS: I forgot to mention the music…. outstanding.