Outcry grows over ‘clown car’ cabinet but no sign Trump ready for shakeup Antics of RFK Jr, Kristi Noem and others prompt derision – could their erratic behaviour prove president’s undoing? David Smith in Washington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/01/trump-cabinet-rfjk-jr
The Blood Countess review – Isabelle Huppert reigns supreme in a surreal vampire fantasia Vienna turns into a playground of camp, cruelty and aristocratic disdain in a blackly comic take on the Báthory legend – with Huppert gloriously suited to the title role Peter Bradshaw https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/16/blood-countess-film-review-isabelle-huppert
TurboTax & Me I owe! I owe! I owe! Less than my first rough through, but more than I wish. My hope that the solar panel installation credit would cover my last estimated tax payment fell foul to a large unexpected capital gains tax hit. The host of medical bills I’d expected never materialized.
Theophylline & Me Ive taken theophylline, an ancient and now little-prescribed drug from a tree in India, since before the dinosaurs vanished. Over the years, cost and sense never went together. Various weight pills of the drug varied wildly and were not related to the dose. A 200 MG pill might cost 30 times as much as a 600 MG pill. Right now, it has just vanished. CVS just fails to fill it. Walgreens and Amazon think they can provide it. Amazon claimed they can get 200 MG pills with a 3-month supply for only $1,028 and change. My BC & BS insurance formulary doesn’t cover the 200 MG dose, and they denied my first request for a waiver. I reapplied, and they approved it. The Amazon price dropped to only $450! A Canadian pharmacy can provide it for $177.40 ($23.03 to Herr Trump’s tariffs). Cost Plus, which ustta not have much, has 300 MG for $15.12 for 90 pills. Of course, this is three prescriptions I’ve not filled, and I don’t have a paper prescription for that dose. (A downside to theophylline is you need blood tests for aminophylline levels to determine if you’re taking enough to be effective and too little to be toxic. A couple of years ago, I went too high in the range, which I can’t recommend.)
Happy Lunar New Year! It’s the year of the horse, and given I am not chemically compatible with horses, who knows what the year holds? Sure hard to beat the last one though.
Ramadan Starting today or tomorrow as determined by a moon-sighting committee.
Pluribus: Carol Sturka is the flawed lesbian hero America needs Opinion: The creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is back with a lesbian-led new show that just might save (or destroy!) the world. By Mey Rude https://www.out.com/voices/pluribus-lesbian-hero-carol
It’s Estimated Tax Day, well, almost. Due Tomorrow.
Last night the valet at Orchestra Hall could drive a stick and was excited at the chance. There went my private parking! They tried to pawn off a new car on me when I went to pick it up, but I resisted.
OMG! OMG! OMG! I gotta letter from the MN Dept of Revenue! They’re gonna refund my 2017 Underpayment of Estimated Income Tax penalty! I don’t gotta do nothing! They’re gonna mail me a check or directly deposit it in ma bank! Now, for the important stuff: where am I gonna spend that $5?
