Why, it's either too loud or not loud enough

Apparently, I'm not the only person annoyed by the sound quality of current movies. I'll turn it up to understand what the actors are saying and then turn it down when the music starts blaring or the explosions start exploding.

Mangini says that in the old days, "you could count on an actor's theatricality to deliver a line to the back seats." But acting styles have changed so dramatically over the years that it has become much more difficult to capture great sound on the set. When actors adopt that more naturalistic style, "it's even harder for the production sound mixer to capture really quality sound. Now we get those compromised microphone positions here in post-production, reaching for a dialogue line that is barely intelligible or maybe even mumbled because it's an acting style, and already, we're behind the 8-ball in trying to figure out a way to make all of those words intelligible."

slashfilm.com: here's why movie dialogue is difficult to understand

More on the Ohio Senate Race

 I live in Tim Ryan's district and I was just out driving around and didn't see any yard signs for him (I saw one for J.D. Vance). Normally the Democrats would have them out by this time so I take that lack of signs as a sign of low enthusiasm. Of course, they may just be worried about their semi-fascist friends and relatives (when I first heard Joe Biden use the term I thought it applied to those 18-wheelers that pass you on the interstate when the snow is deep -- you know, semi-fascist. Come to find out he was talking about me).

Ohio Senate Race

I mentioned here a few months back that Tim Ryan sounded like Trump while J.D. Vance sounded like he might miss out on a dinner invitation if he sounded like Trump. Then the polls came in and J.D. had to kiss Trump's behind (according to Trump) to get the Donald to rally support for him in Youngstown (Ryan's district -- traditionally a heavily Democrat district which Trump carried). It took about two minutes for Trump to eviscerate Ryan (politically, not actually -- in case a never-Trumper should read this).

Wow, "Operation Flee" was an almost Victory!

Last Wednesday, August 25, I checked the MSN newsfeed before bedtime. The headline made it sound like the Afghan evacuation was now an ongoing success. This was based on the number of people flown out of the country. Apparently, they decided that by turning it into a pure numbers game, they can make "operation flee" sound like a triumph: it does not matter who the evacuees are, just crowd them on planes, fly them out, and pump up the numbers. Then on Thursday the terror attack happened. I figured this would be a three day set-back for their propaganda counter offensive. So Biden's speech the other night (where he basically said "never have so many, owed so much, to so few White House Staff") came as no surprise.

Not to say that damaged controlled stopped in the immediate aftermath of the suicide bombing. On Thursday, I was listening to CBS Radio news and their "correspondent" informed me that President Biden had been warning Americans to leave the country "for a long time." So I waited for an example of this warning. The correspondent told me that on Tuesday the President told Americans to leave. Wait. From Tuesday to Thursday is a long time? Well, if you are surrounded by people who want to kill you, it must seem that way. Of course, two days before the Taliban entered Kabul (with the administration's approval, if you believe the Washington Post -- which does feel awkward, I'll admit) the administration made it sound like potential evacuees had plenty of time to pack. Is there ever an appropriate time to panic? Apparently not.