Fury

The setting is Germany, April of 1945, the final closing weeks of WWII.  S/Sgt "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) leads his tank crew on the final push toward Berlin. Having just lost their  driver to a sniper, another soldier (Norman Ellison) is assigned to the crew.

He's green, a fresh arrival who hasn't seen the inside of a tank before... nor a single combat action. Plus/and... he doesn't know how to fire a machine gun, or anything else he's going to be expected to do at this point. He is certainly not prepared to kill.

Needless to say, he's having a bad day and getting badly treated by his new comrades, who do not trust him because they know they cannot rely on him.
He will eventually prove his worth to this unfeeling, battle-calloused group of men who fight and bicker constantly amongst themselves.

Much has already been said about this film: It's dirty, gritty and grimy. The violence and battle sequences are extreme (and extremely personal). It makes too much note of American atrocities. Yadda, yadda, yadda... go ahead and 'Wiki' the title of the film. It's there.
No, seriously...  Do it, then come back to me... I'll wait.

Yes, I caught on to the brutality, the soulessness, the lack of virtue among the American fighting man when placed in the most uncivilized of circumstances while charged with a fucked up list of shit to live through.
Short story:
-War sucks. We been told that already through lot's of other movies.
-Americans were the good guys. Yeah, same thing... we know that already... (next!)
It's refreshing (dare I say 'Brilliant') for somebody to make a war movie that doesn't ground itself to either of those topics?

As one reviewer put it: ""Fury" is a brutal film that too easily celebrates rage and bloodshed to no clear end beyond ugly spectacle."

He is wrong, just as wrong as everybody else.
All of it, the 'celebration of rage and bloodshed for ugly spectacle' was leading up the true depth of meaning of a man's love and desire for his own center (the meaning of life, as you will),  fully showcased in the intro to, and within, the final battle scene...

Sent on a mission to defend a vital crossing, and losing 75% of their combat strength along the way,  the crew of Fury (the name of their tank) finds itself stranded at that very crossing due to a land mine.
With 300 SS infantry approaching, Wardaddy advises his men to escape, hide in the distant tree line until the enemy passes,...
and then begins to get back into the tank himself, claiming 'This is my home'.
He can't bring himself leave his tank to save his own ass, and prepares an ambush for the approaching Nazi's.
The other four refuse to leave.
Unspoken, yet upon their faces, they feel it too...
and stay to fight it out...
as a family...

a family of demonically possessed animals, for sure, but they are a family, all that bitching and bickering aside...
Fury is their home, too.

Called out from the only homes they knew (as young men, teenagers actually), required to expend their lives for a cause not of their choosing (or may not have understood), while held to a code with more grey lines than black and white ones... they found their own tangible sense of purpose, a home, the center of their being, in the best way they could (maybe the only way offered/allowed?)
Everything they are: what they've become, and all they can hope to be, is right there, within and through, that tank.
It's some seriously sacramental shit:
 -They are One with Fury.
 -Without Fury, they are none.
They are home.
Fighting savagely, they demonstrate their nobility; their purpose; they kill; they survive; they kill some more; they survive some more;  they are who they are; they kill and survive for Fury; they kill and survive as Fury...
they kill and survive because they are one...
One with Fury...
All sins to be redeemed through their passionate commitment for the one thing that unites them, bestowing  them with purpose, identity... and Life.
Dare anybody judge them now?

This is what I saw.
Everything, the entire film, all of it, was building to this moment.
Everybody else missed it.
Yet, it's right there, on the freakin poster, for Christ's sake!!!!
Even in the title, yo!
How much of a freakin clue do you need?
All the artistic license, the extreme depictions, the larger-than-life assholeness of the characters had a reason, ok?
This film is not a lesson in history about the good guys on the righteous side of a horrible war, so put that 'Saving Private Ryan', 'Band Of Brothers' and 'Sands Of Iwo Jima' stuff on a shelf for a while and see this for what it is.
This is a tale of purpose and redemption that just so happens to be set in a time of war.
In addition...
This IS a good, epic war flick, if not like the others.
It belongs with the rest of them, on the same shelf, maybe next to 'Kelly's Heroes"?

Purpose and Redemption. How did all these reviewers not see it?

Shaving Win

I'm not a fan of these multi-bladed razors The Suits keep selling us.
Most of my life I've been skeptical of their claims, but for the past several year I've been convinced for that all we need is one blade to shave with and that all these extra blades are just gimmick: offering  nothing of value to a closer shave, and serve more as a  hinderance to what should be  personal grooming ruled through practicality and simplicity.

After all, we are men. It's in our nature to keep grooming simple and easy. So, why all these blades? and why do we keep buying them (why? I'll tell you why... because it's all they sell, dammit!)

I'm happy to see that there is a movement to get back to the simple one-bladed shave, like my father and grandfather before me, but you gotta get your gear through the mail. Gillette and The Boys have too much cash at stake in the status quo.

That being said...
I've never enjoyed keeping myself freshly groomed in the facial department, therefore, I've spent most of my adult life sporting a two to four day stubble (by day five, its itchy and annoying, so I gotta fix it...)

I was blessed with a thick beard growth, much in keeping with the Mediterranean blood line I've inherited from my father.
Unlike my mom's side of the family, shaving is not child's play for me. Some razors work well, other designs just didn't cut it.
There was one cheap disposable style (single-blade) that worked really well that hasn't been on the shelves for 20 yrs. (gee, I wonder why?)
You can still find them (what stock is left of them) on Ebay, and they are expensive.

Here's a link to that!

Further compounding my shaving woes are the results of several surgeries that have rendered the landscape of my neck a less than desirable place to drag a blade.
It's not just the visible crevices from outward scars, either.
There is also scar tissue below the surface. An attempt to pull the skin tight/smooth resembles the feel of a lumpy mattress: It looks fine, til you put some pressure on it... or a blade.
Getting a clean and even shave on the right side (the surgery side) is a chore, a difficult one, requiring several passes at several angles and two (or three) changes in blade style.

Then, along comes the Gillette Flexball, or as it's properly known the Gillette Fusion ProGlide with Flexball Handle...
I decided to give this new thing a try.

It's been three weeks now...
I must say that I am quite pleased.
I use one razor, and get everything I need to get on the first pass... no going over, no missed spots, no more getting a different style cartridge for a different angle.

Despite what it claims far as being a closer shave and what not, I suspect the opposite is true. I receive little to nothing in the way of small cuts and nicks that were usually par for a typical shave. Maybe this blade cuts  whiskers microscopically less-close than the competition, and that is why. I don't know. Don't much care when I can get the job done as comfortably as this device allows.

Consider this my full endorsement of this product.

???

Is this really a Thing? Seriously?

A Time For War

So, what this I'm hearing about now?
We are not sending troops to fight ISIL, but we really are, maybe... with a coalition that hasn't coalesced yet.. or something like that?

Just leave these people alone to be dealt with by their own, and let's stop playing their videos and maybe they'll stop beheading people and go back to gassing children in Syria, instead... See? That way nobody gets worked up over the latest recasting of the World's longest running theater act.

In Defense Of Ray Rice

We all saw the video of Ray Rice knocking out his lady and dragging her out of the elevator. That wasn't a very nice thing to see.
What we did not see was what occurred up to that point that led to this, but we do have a clue that his lady was already in shrew mode by the way she turned on him in the elevator, where he responded with a sharp strike of the hand. A single strike. Not a beating. What Chris Brown did to Rihanna was a beating.

No, I'm not going to defend a man striking his lady,...  yet at the same time we need to call a lady out when she's in full psycho-mode and 'pushing all the buttons'.
Can we all agree that both participants are wrong here?  Both are being disrespectful and abusive of their domestic partner.

So, yeah... In this situation, it's politically incorrect to say that she's 'asking for it'... so I'll just go ahead and say that she is definitely inviting a harsh reaction from a man she's is treating harshly.

There are abusive men out there, truly abusive men (and women), but I'm not seeing that here. I'm seeing a young couple who have communication issues and need to do better with conflict resolution.

To call Ray Rice a domestic abuser/wife beater is to downplay the really abusive assholes, who use violence (or threat of) to control their relationship. I've known a few women who were beaten because dinner wasn't tasty enough, the house wasn't clean enough, or the laundry not ironed properly.

I want to know how many NFL owners, ESPN writers, or TMZ reporters have ever reacted harshly to harsh treatment by their lady, and those that have, and I KNOW some indeed have, by what right do you continue to earn a living in your profession while Ray Rice is denied his?

The pontificating, hypocritical double standard is appalling, if you ask me...

Fantasy

Do any of you play Fantasy Football? This is my third year doing it and it's been a lot of fun. The league I'm in is pretty deep compared to other leagues I've seen, with 14 teams this year.
(Hat Tip: the league is managed by the  longtime commenter to this page, Robert. I don't think Robert blogs anymore.)

Due to it's depth, I think it pays to think outside the box to find talent at depth. There are only so many studs to go around at any position, after all.

Some different thinking that I've done:

The (Non) Receiver: Last year, I drafted Devin Hester at WR. I knew he wasn't going to catch any balls and was worthless as a receiver when all he did was return kicks... but return yards score the same as receiving yards. Hester was only played on 1% of the leagues last year (according to Yahoo), but he returned 1700 yards for me in fantasy, plus a TD. He produced better points than most top tier WRs.

Running Backs: There are only a few good, reliable, stud RB's in the top tier. After AP, Forte, Charles, McCoy and Lynch are off the boards, it doesn't really matter too much any more because whoever you choose is gonna get hurt anyway (Eddie Lacy!! LOL, who wasted a first round pick on that? see? now you know what I'm talking about...)
Better off finding that ace WR, or a second one, before pulling the lever on Lacy, or anybody else that was left. After the studs, the rest of the featured RBs are basically interchangeable in my opinion. Fill up your WR corps, or one of the less than six receiving TEs before going for your first RB (who you will have to replace due to injury anyway).

Defense/ST: I took one in the mid-rounds, locking up Seattle (guaranteed fantasy points every week), while others were looking for the next WR remnant that was going to suck anyway.

Kicker: I only carry one. On the bye week I'll plug the hole with a free agent. Same thing with D/ST.

Probably makes no sense, but I took a chance with Robert Woods. A WR with the Bills. He didn't land on anybody's radar and sits on less than 1% of the leagues (according to Yahoo). His rookie year caught for 500 yards or so, but he moves up the depth chart this season to be the #1 WR option for the Bills.
I'm thinkin he might be that 1000 yard/100 catch WR that nobody saw coming, and might provide some depth in case one of my leaders goes down in the stretch.
That... and he's from Gardena, CA.
A Homie!!!
Born and raised there, graduated from the very small (400 student) Catholic high school located in my old neighborhood, that my brother attended.
Gotta go with the homie, ya know?
Gotta go with the homie.

Are You Ready For Some Football???

Kyle Orton is.

Orton Sticks It To The Man

Kyle Orton beats the NFL system

IRVING, Texas – Kyle Orton has done something few players in the NFL get to do: beat the system.

The Cowboys cut Orton on July 15 not long after the veteran backup quarterback told the Cowboys he would be coming to training camp. On Friday, Orton agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN’s James Walker.
Orton spent most of the offseason hoping to retire, except the Cowboys would have come after $3.4 million in signing-bonus money he received in 2012 and ’13 had he decided to give up the game. He skipped the voluntary offseason program, skipped a physical before the mandatory minicamp and failed to report to the minicamp altogether. The moves would have cost Orton roughly $150,000 in fines form the Cowboys if he returned.
When he was facing fines of $30,000 a day if he skipped training camp, Orton told the Cowboys he would be in Oxnard, California. And then the Cowboys cut him, giving the backup job to Brandon Weeden.
Now he is with the Buffalo Bills and will start the season as E.J. Manuel's backup. Perhaps he starts if Manuel struggles. And he did not have to go through a day of training camp.
There is nothing the Cowboys can do to recoup Orton’s bonus money since they cut him. They decided they did not want a player who was not fully committed around the team and didn’t want risk him getting hurt after not doing a thing in the offseason.
My belief was that Orton wanted to retire. From all accounts, he was doing next to nothing to get ready for the season.
Be mad at Orton all you want, but teams rarely, if ever, show loyalty to players. Remember, we did see DeMarcus Ware at AT&T Stadium the other night in a Denver Broncos uniform. Players don’t need to be loyal to anybody but themselves.
In the stalemate between Jerry Jones and Orton, Orton won.

I've been watching this dance over the past six months because I've always liked Kyle Orton.
He wasn't the flashiest Quarterback and he didn't have one of the larger arms, but he knew how to play tough football, and he played it well. ( I think he beat the Packers every time he met them while in a Bears uniform).

Good to see one of the working men of the NFL shove it up his owner's ass for a change.

Hey!

Yeah, still here. I guess it's this ISIS thing. I feel compelled to write about it, but I really don't want to, so I stare at the screen, type a few characters, and walk away...

Instead, I'm choosing to walk away from the ISIS topic. We pay other people to think about them so I don't have to.
Now, where do I go to get last month back?

Mojado Nation Pt Tres

There really is no point in debating it anymore. None of these Mojado kids are going back, and more will keep coming. These are not my father's migrant generation. It's different now.
Now, they come here illegally, expect food stamps, housing assistance, free legal, everything in their language and publically demand the rights of citizenship, expecting their desires will be delivered to them.
And it will be delivered.

Maybe real soon...  when POTUS delivers a blanket amnesty by Executive Order.

Its not our country anymore. The country belongs to the 51% who don't pay the freight because we have reached that tipping point. Like I've said before, we've hit the iceberg. It's over.

I almost feel sorry for the border kids, coming here thinking they going to get an education and live a good life if they work hard...
Guess what, kids!!???
You're being hosed, too.

Some of you are going to college and get that liberal arts degree to a big payday, like your professors said it would. Hahahahaha...
Instead, you'll end up with $500,000 in student debt working as a bank teller (if that job still exists in 10yrs), looking for your promised American dream...

Sure, some of you will become losers, and learn how to milk the system to get in with that 51%... making you the real winners after all... but don't expect those checks to be worth as much as they are now. Atlas is shrugging. It won't last much longer.

Damn, That Hurt!

Well, that was not near as much fun as I was expecting.
Doctor told me it would hurt. Told me to take my meds soon as I got home, before the numbing wore off. Told me to take even  more meds before the previous dose wore off. It's gonna hurt....

She was not overstating the situation.

I was twilighted for surgery, not truly asleep, but was informed I wouldn't remember anything.
I remember waking up during, saying something like 'Hey, gimmee more juice, it hurts'.
She did, or somebody did....

The deed was done, and I was sent home to recover.
72 hrs of throbbing pain later, I started feeling some relief...

I can sit in front of the computer now, if only for a brief time. Gotta keep the foot elevated.
After about 5 minutes of nonelevation, it reminds me, in case I forgot.

No bathing or getting the foot wet for about 5-6 weeks. I got wires holding things together and I cant get them wet.
This discomfort will take a while, I guess. Oh well, it's all for the better.

But damn.... I had no idea such a simple procedure could hurt so damn much.
Wow.

From Top To Bottom

Going into surgery in a few more hours.
Nothing as serious as it is painful and inconvenient: Something about slicing a foot bone and screwing it back together into a different shape. (the 4th metatarsal on the right foot, I think...)

This should solve a bunyun-ish  problem I keep having... So bad that it's left me all but crippled at times.

I'll be laying around with my foot in the air and booted for a couple weeks, but after that, it's gonna be mostly an easy ride while I heal for two to three months on disability (longer, if I can help it.)

On the positive, they intend to leave my head and neck out of scalpel range for a change. I'm happy about that.

Mojado Nation (Part Dos)

--Last word I hear is that the Feds have stopped trying to bus Mojaditos to Murrieta. I guess the public uproar was just too much. They're bringing them in through the back door, though, with several local Inland Empire churches already taking possession of several hundred individuals.
This is the type of charity that churches should be doing and I got no issue with that.

--The issue is do have with the churches (my own parish is complicit, as well) is their intent to spread the charity to the unwilling. Jesus taught that we must be charitable, individually. He never taught us to take our alms from another to credit ourselves.
But that's what the churches are doing. Helping the migrants navigate the with housing applications, food stamps, and medical care, free school lunches... all provided by taxpayers.
It's not charity when somebody is paying for your donation.

--In Mass this weekend the priest offered up a prayer 'for migrants, that they may find the peace and security they seek'. No mention of the 'the taxpayers, that they may find justice in a system stacked against them'. This is part of the problem within the Catholic Church and why so many are leaving the Faith. Those who pay the freight are expected to continue while all the spiritual services go to those who dont pay anything. Care for the underprivilaged is a good thing, but when it becomes a self serving fetish, things change.
We get lectured to become more accepting of those 'not like us', but those 'not like us' are not lectured toward their responsibilities toward us: like, volunteering for the church, learning the local language and ways, not trying to turn the congregation into another Mexican church where we feel like foriegners in our own parish. Demanding respect for your culture while dissing ours is no way to make friends.


--Having had to spend some time in one of the regions few emergency rooms, things are going to get a lot rougher around these parts with hundreds of free riders being added to the mix.

--the same goes for everything else relating to public services. This region is primarily a commuting population. It was hit hard in the recession and hasnt bounced back yet, with unemployment in the double digits (for those that are still in the workforce. Many of our residents are fixed-income retired, this region serving as the retirement zone for much of Los Angeles and Orange County.) 

--I don't have a problem with any one of the migrants on a personal level. If I was living in a mud hut and somebody was offering a free chance at something better for my kids, I'd take it too.

FIFA Update.

 This hot Belgian babe caught the eye of the marketing folks  at L'Oreal...










They offered her a covergirl gig... and celebrated on her facebook page.


















On the day her country was scheduled to play the USA, she encouraged her team to victory by posting this to her facebook page...




 Soon after, L'Oreal dumped her citing cruelty to animals.
(Rumor has it the real reason was finding someone who could  pronounce 'Despiegelaere')

See?
Soccer isn't boring at all!.

Mojado Nation

Since so much is happening in my neighborhood, I'll just go ahead and post some thoughts and ramblings, in an order as coherent as US immigration policy:

--It was broadcast early today that the Feds had given up on delivering any more bus loads of migrants to the Murrieta facility, after two previous loads had been turned back. The authorities has gone through the process of removing barricades and opening streets... 'Hey, it's all good, you win... Sorry bout the drama. No hard feelings, ok?'
Driving in to work at the moment,
and I'm thinking: it's a trick.
Nobody backs down Federal authorities and gets away with it. NOBODY! There will be buses, today, if not tomorrow, but they are coming...
hehehe...
and YES, they did...
and were turned back, for a third time, by an angry crowd.
These protester folks are good.
Sure, they left the impression of being off-guard, but they must have everybody on speed dial or something... with spotters far enough ahead to give advance notice to those on-site or near-site.

--The anti-migrant protestors seem like an honest bunch to me. I went there twice over the weekend... to check things out... get a vibe for the scene in person. While I was there, a dude bout my age walked up and offered to bring sodas, bottled water, some sandwiches... "whatever you need". He spoke in a clear, proper English with an obvious Spanish accent (Think Ricardo Montalban from Fantasy Island). I struck up some convo with him.
He's a migrant from Argentina, many decades ago... (paraphrasing) "who did it 'the right way, when nobody gave me anything'.  He stressed: I'm not anti-immigrant. I'm not anti-Latino. I am both, and pro both. My children are Latinos and Americans... And I'm an American, by choice. First and always. My choice. They need to do it the right way, with the right heart. This country gave me a chance when my old country never did. Have to respect that."

--the real reason I made two trips to the protest-vigil:
make personal contacts and hand out my business card.
It looked to me like things may get 'ramped up' and some folks would be needing bail... I wanted a piece of that action if I could get it.
Poltics, Shmolitics... I want your money,... whatever side you're on... I'm here, and I'm here for you.

--there were some arrests last Friday.
Backstory: La Raza showed up and began making their presence known, trying really really hard to piss people off and get both sides riled up. Prior to... things were boisterous and loud, but both sides were intent on keeping their own crew 'in check'. Police lines were respected, threats not tolerated... it was a peaceful demonstration and counter-demonstration.
It was La Raza that broke this code and tried to get the violence started.
And it was the La Raza peeps that got arrested. Six of them.








to be continued...

Can We Lose What We Never Had?

You know all about it now: Iraq is beginning to fall into the hands of an al Qaeda offshoot, while neocons are up in arms over the policies of the Obama administration for 'losing Iraq'.

I don't accept the notion that 60% of Iraqis who are Shia will tolerate being ruled over by an extreme Sunni movement, and this bloodshed is only beginning. ISIS may stretch to Baghdad, but it will be stopped there.

What ISIS needs to worry about is the legacy of Saddam Hussein and the policies/ideologies of the Baathist party that ruled Iraq for decades. One thing can be said about Iraq is that it does have an educated population. This is not a collection of goat herds living with 15th century ideas. These are modern thinking folks that won't be easily subdued into a medieval dictatorship.
The mainstream Sunnis themselves will bring about the end of ISIS as soon as they are able to gather up their head of steam, while Iran will not tolerate Shias being subjugated by an extreme brand of Sunnism.

Speaking of Iran, they are the big gorilla in the room. This is a perfect time for them to strike and claim a form of dominion over south Iraq, maybe set  up their own client state.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think a divided Iraq into three parts is the best way to go and will finally give the Kurds the nation state in the north they've been fighting for and deserve to have.

One thing for sure...
It looks to me like the political map of the Middle East will be changing.

Bowe Bergdahl

I figure I may as well weigh-in on the Bowe Bergdahl thing, just I'll just post some thoughts on the matter:

For starters, I don't have much faith in the media to tell the whole story. No matter what I'm hearing, either from CNN, MSNBC, FNC or AJA (al jezera america, yes, i watch it...) I can't help but assume that I'm being spun and the truth is somewhere in the details that aren't spoken.

As for things unspoken... according to my brother, the word-rumor mill around the army is that he was not just a deserter, but also a collaborator. This has been floating among the soldiers themselves for several years, despite gag orders.

That stupidly stupid Rose Garden ceremony that POTUS staged for his parents is likely much warmer than any reception Sgt Bergdahl himself will ever receive from anybody.

Five high ranking Taliban in exchange for one dopey ass soldier seems like a fairly steep price.

POTUS, as Commander-In-Chief, has the authority to release anybody from military custody that he desires. All this about him 'breaking the law' means nothing when the law itself is illegal. That's just my take.

Wouldn't be awesome if POTUS really wanted to bring him home so as to subject him to the military justice system (who won't be wishy washy with him) while planting micro chips on the five Taliban leaders so as to track them for droning at a future date?

The Retrieval

The year is 1864.
In the dead of night, a young Black teen, apparently a runaway slave, knocks on the door of a farmhouse and is met by a white lady with a shotgun who leads him to the barn. Cannons boom in the distance. Once inside, he settles down among a few other Blacks for the night.

It's not what it seems...
While the others sleep, the young teen slips out and reports to a group of  bounty hunters who descend upon the homestead, torch the barn and lead the human contents away in chains.

In the next scene, we see the boy Will (Ashton Sanders) and his 'uncle' Marcus (Keston John) receiving a few coins for their work and then being sent northward to lure in another subject to the bounty hunters, a Freeman named Nate (Tishuan Scott).
If they succeed they will be rewarded with a huge sum, enough for them to go far away and begin a  new life. Refuse, or fail, and they will be hunted down and killed.

It's a beautifully filmed piece of work, properly spaced so that the story moves along freely without getting bogged down. My biggest beef is with whoever was in charge of make up.
Shot in digital, a benefit when it comes to scenic beauty, is not a good thing when filming facial close ups. This is a slave population we are dealing with here and facial complexions should not be this clean and smooth. And who the hell thought the freshly bic'd head and pierced ear of Keston John (who looked like he could have just walked of the streets of West Los Angeles with his posture and delivery) fit the period? Or the finely manicured eyebrows of a runaway slave woman?

Two real highlights belong to Sanders and Scott.
Sanders' 'Will' looked natural as a young, confused, daring and scared teen, the weight of his fucked up life heavy on his shoulders. He's been beaten down so hard he doesn't even notice it, just plodding on, taking it as it comes, trying to get to the next day. I couldn't help but feel affection for the kid, despite the evils he was willingly pressed into.
Scott's 'Nate' carries himself with an air of well placed confidence. A man who's survived his share of struggles yet never lets his guard down. He lives a life of fear, too, but won't let that stop him, having earned his place on this earth.

Though set in the Civil War and involving slaves, this story is not about either topic. It's a tale of hard choices during times of confusion and chaos, where right and wrong may not be a choices at all when the compass never points to True North.

If you're looking for a feel good movie, this is not it. If you want a good movie with feeling, go for it.

Coming Soon

to this page: More Posting. Got a few items in my head and starting to flex the fingers again.
Stay tuned.

Let's See If This Thing Still Works...

Testing... one, two, three...