Movie review: The Sheep Detectives

crimessolvers

My daughter and I saw a Wednesday matinee of the film The Sheep Detectives at the Spectrum Theatre in late May. Initially, we were the only people in the theater, but eventually two groups of three joined us.

One of the television ads featured a pull quote calling the movie a cross between Babe and Knives Out. That was a useful observation, as it let me know that we would have a bunch of talking animals. 

“George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers.”

Of course, it is easier to solve a book crime than an actual one, as sheep Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the others (voiced by, among others, Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, and Regina Hall) soon discover. And then, how do they convey the information to Officer Tim, the only cop in town?    

There are a half dozen suspects: a couple of competing farmers, the shopkeeper who steals something from the letter carrier, maybe even the minister. How about that young woman new to town? Is the lawyer (Emma Thompson) on the up-and -up? 

Big thumbs up

I adored this movie. It was smart and compassionate. The description one sheep made to others about the nature of God and the church was LOL funny to me. Those sheep had their own myth about death, which is no weirder than the one people you know have. The sheep have to get out of their comfort zones, physically and otherwise.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it received 95% positive reviews from critics and 96% from audiences. Recommended for someone 8 to 80. Warning: you may get a little teary-eyed. 

2026 NYS Primary voting

Also: June 21 talk about the impact of SCOTUS’s latest decisions on voting by Mark Mishler

voting.womanThe 2026 NYS Primary voting has already started! Early voting continues now through Sunday, June 21. Primary election day is Tuesday, June 23, at the general election polling places, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. As a polling place employee back in 2021 (or 2022?), I know it’s going to be a slow day in some parts of the state.

I will admit that, when I don’t have enough information for a race, I rely on trusted sources. In previous elections, I have even used specific neighbors’ lawn signs as a gauge.

As an Albany Democrat, I only have two races to consider. (Other Albanians have hyperlocal additional choices.) Absent other reliable sources, I’ve opted to repost here the Facebook comments of Mark Mishler, whom I’ve only known for about four decades and who has the bona fides (see below) for me to look to his opinions. I’ve not always gone with his picks, but I’m doing so here.

NYS COMPTROLLER – DREW WARSHAW.
“The long-term incumbent, Tom DiNapoli, has to go. There are multiple reasons, including his intentional use of NYS pension funds to support the government of Israel. He has purchased Israel Bonds (which provide the Israeli government with unrestricted resources to continue the brutal genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.) DiNapoli supports the Israeli government unequivocally.
“DREW WARSHAW has relevant experience; he has a progressive vision for the office that is focused on human needs and sound investment strategies; and he will end the use of NY’s pension fund to support foreign governments, including the government of Israel.
“There’s another candidate in the primary, Raj Goyle, who also opposes the purchase of Israel Bonds. I strongly believe DREW WARSHAW is the best of the two challengers and urge people to vote for him. “
I’ve only received info from DiNapoli, both mailer and on Facebook.
Here Comes The Judge
The only other race I have to consider is ALBANY COUNTY COURT JUDGE:
Mishler: “I strongly support TINA SODHI in this three-way primary. She would bring 20 years of experience representing low-income people facing criminal charges. She also would bring to the bench her experience as a woman of color and as an immigrant.
“I have practiced in this court for many years. There is a long and shameful tradition of Albany County being one of the harshest sentencing counties in all of NY State, with a consistently high rate of long state prison sentences, a burden disproportionately experienced by the Black community in Albany County. A fresh perspective is sorely needed. https://tinaforcountycourt.com/“
I’ve received literature from Tina K. Sodhi and from John M. Czajka, but not, to date,  from  Joseph J. Meany.
As I often say, yet possibly not enough, I ALWAYS vote.
Disenfranchisement
The Anti-Racism Committee of 1st Presbyterian Church, Albany, 362 State Street, has invited Attorney Mark Mishler to join us after Sunday worship on June 21 to speak about the impact of the Supreme Court’s latest decisions on voting.

While this decision especially impacts minorities whose representatives in Congress are being “redistricted” out, it will have an enormous effect on the entire country. Will our votes count? Will our voices be heard?

Please join us to learn about how this decision affects YOU and US. We will meet from 10:45 AM to noon. A light brunch will be served. This is important, so spread the word.

* Mark Mishler has practiced civil rights (police misconduct, employment discrimination, and housing discrimination) and criminal defense law in the capital region since 1981. He has served on the Executive Board of the Albany NAACP, was Co-President of the Albany City-Wide PTA, and has served on the steering committees of the Capital District Coalition Against Apartheid and Racism, Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration, and Jewish Voice for Peace, Albany.

Mark developed and taught courses on the law of mass incarceration at Albany Law School and at the UAlbany School of Criminal Justice. Mark has also, since 2019, served as Counsel to NYS Senator Julia Salazar, who chairs the NYS Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime & Correction, and, in that capacity, has been involved in statewide criminal legal system reform and corrections policy, among other areas. He has written about the Supreme Court’s efforts to dismantle the Voting Rights Act.

June rambling: Pride Now

Amy Grant?

All Americans Need Pride Now

In 1776, Angry New Yorkers Tore Down a Statue of George III With a Revolutionary Fervor. A New Exhibition Lets You Do It, Too

James Madison Speech in the House of Representatives, 8 June 1789, promoting amendments to the Constitution

The Interview: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ’60 Minutes.’ Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim are staying.

DOD Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military’s Recognized Religion List

Higher Education Must Not Become a Research Arm of Militarized Power

‘It debases the democratic process’: Sotomayor slams Supreme Court’s Alabama ruling, and it marks brazen reversal of its previous stance

A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans

Only 50% of the public said they now trust health recommendations from the CDC, down from 77% in spring 2025, according to a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation’s Public Health Listening Lab

US Turnaround on International Vaccines Comes Too Late for Hundreds of Thousands. The State Department finally overruled RFK Jr.’s defunding of a group that vaccinates 60 percent of children globally.

The DOJ came after Daily Kos. Here’s the full story.

EFF Has Just Testified Before Congress on AI

Claustrophobia

Naomi Kritzer’s Obstetrix is a new, tense thriller in the mode of Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and Alderman’s The Power; it’s a beautifully turned, claustrophobic horror novel about an obstetrician who’s been kidnapped by a Christian cult obsessed with fertility.

Researching Juneteenth Celebrations at The New York Public Library

Knicks celebrate NBA victory back in New York City. The team was 4-0 in the finals when he wasn’t there. I still think of that 1973 championship team.  

New College of Florida and UK & Makerfield Election: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Fact-checking the interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’  – Digging into some of his claims about the Iran war, the Jan. 6 riots, California’s primary elections and more.

FOTUS Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11

The Art of the Deal — The Art of BS

Everything You NEED To Know About Saturday Night Live, Season 26 (2000-2001)

The Desert’s Night Lights and The Boy and the Blue Cup and How to Steal a House? and A Planely Obvious Punishment 

MUSIC

As – Stevie Wonder

The 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm) – Amy Grant

Fanfare for the Common Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer

How Do We Get There from Here – Amy Grant featuring Ruby Amanfu.

Memphis Soul Stew – King Curtis

Life On Mars? – David Bowie

John Barleycorn Must Die – Traffic

Bad Time  – Grand Funk

Mr. Brightside – The Killers

Somebody To Love -Jefferson Airplane

I Knew It, I Knew You – Taylor Swift from Toy Story 5 

That’s The Way Of The World – Earth, Wind, and Fire

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #6: Yusef Lateef and #7: The Velvet Underground

Ally the Piper does NOT need your misogyny

J. Eric Smith’s Best Albums of 2026 (First Half)

Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

The Dark Side of Paul McCartney

Feeding the cat

humidifier

Feeding the cat is usually my responsibility. The morning feeding is accompanied by bleating, as though Stormy has never, ever been fed ever in her whole life. I’ve been trying to feed her at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. in Daylight Time (7:30 Standard Time). The transition to DST is tricky for her because she sees her humans consuming nourishment.  The evening meal is similar.

In one of those email factoids, I recently read: “In October 2022, researchers from France published results from an experiment examining the relationship cats have with their owners’ voices. In the study, cats responded more positively to a familiar human voice (swishing tails, pivoting ears, pausing grooming) than when they heard the voice of a stranger.”

Our usual dinnertime ritual involves the feline sitting on the sofa or the cushy chair near me. I say, “Should I feed the CAT?” Her ears perk up, especially when I say “cat.” I stand up and go to the kitchen. She races me there; she always wins.

Mighty hunter

One of her odder traits is that, when my wife fills the humidifier in the dining room with water – we uncharacteristically experienced a lot of static electricity in the winter and early spring – Stormy will run to the open contraption and drink the water there.

I take it to mean that Stormy would rather “hunt” for her water, even though there is sufficient clean water in a bowl next to her food.

Sometimes, she’ll eat something she ought not. We actively keep plants away from her, but sometimes she’ll run up to the attic, where she’s not allowed, and nibble on something verboten. She’ll also chew on plastic – the bags the newspaper comes in, e.g.  In either case, she’ll eventually vomit out the food. We’ve TOLD her not to do that, but she doesn’t listen.

Anyway, we love our tween cat, now a teenager.  

Such a weird man, at 80

“The fake images and the false boast are not separate stories.”

Sure, I LOATH his politics. But, beyond that, he’s a weird man. I saw someone complain on their Substack, “Why does the media ignore his madness?” Lately, it’s been too difficult to avoid.

Why did he explain executions to kids? Was the lesson for children “to fear difference, obey power, and treat vulnerable people as threats”?

From April 13: His Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate. As he “threatens to wipe out Iran and attacks the pope, even some former allies and advisers are questioning whether he has grown increasingly unbalanced, describing him as ‘lunatic’ and ‘clearly insane.'”

Thomas Meisenhelder complained in Common Sense that the man “isn’t mentally ill; he’s evil.” Moreover,  “repeating time and time again that [he] is crazy not only negatively affects the mentally ill but also seriously misunderstands the man and his policies.” Yeah, I get it. But isn’t it possible that he’s BOTH crazy and evil?

NOT a genius

I’ve been reading the Facebook feed, It’s a Lovely Life by Heather Delaney Reese. Here’s just a part of her June 1 feed:

“In the middle of the night, while most Americans were fast asleep, [he] was awake inside the White House. Unable to get any much-needed rest, he opened Truth Social and shared a post that had the complete opposite effect he hoped it would.
“And at exactly 12:35 this morning, [he] decided it was the perfect time to announce to the world that a cognitive screening exam, the kind doctors use to help identify signs of cognitive impairment and dementia, proved he possessed what he called ‘extreme intelligence…’
“But what he either doesn’t understand, or what nobody told him, is that these tests are not designed to measure genius. They’re not IQ tests, and they’re not difficult for those without impairments to pass. They are screening tools used by doctors to determine whether someone may be showing signs of significant cognitive decline. Healthy adults are expected to perform well on them. The goal isn’t to identify extraordinary intelligence. It’s to identify potential impairment.
This “makes [his] insistence that this was a ‘high difficulty’ test proving his ‘extreme intelligence’ far more revealing than the score itself…
“During a seven-hour posting spree on [May 30] alone, he shared more than fifty posts, including fake images of himself standing beside George Washington, multiple depictions of himself carved into Mount Rushmore, and jealousy that China has a ballroom and he doesn’t. And later, he even posted a bizarre power-fantasy image of Air Force One surrounded by a military escort…
Falsehoods galore
“The fake images and the false boast are not separate stories. They are the same story. Both are attempts to manufacture a version of himself that reality will not provide. He cannot place himself alongside anyone alive today who is of historical significance these days, so he commands others to create fake images of himself with George Washington. He cannot point to actual evidence of extraordinary intelligence, so he points to a test that was never designed to measure it. The medium changes, but the impulse remains the same. Image by image. Post by post. Claim by claim. He is constructing a version of himself that the facts cannot sustain…
“That is why we should expect more chaos, more spectacle, and more manufactured crises. We need to prepare now for more attempts to make us exhausted, divided, frightened, and distracted because they know the clock is ticking.”
Another Heather
Here’s Heather Cox Richardson on June 2: “His posts seemed designed primarily to reassure himself. By Saturday, so many of the musical acts his team had lined up to play at his Freedom 250 “Great American State Fair” from late June through the beginning of July had bailed that he posted that he was ‘thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History…’

“A series of AI images in the style of the 1950s Dick and Jane readers show a town parade festooned with flags and patriotic bunting, little girls laughing together at an old-fashioned town fair, and little boys in a suburb playing ball. All of the images read: ‘AMERICA IS BACK!’ And in them, all of the people are white.

“He posted an image of a white family from that era standing beside a Cadillac Coupe DeVille parked on a suburban street, with the caption: ‘BILLIONS WERE SPENT TO CONVINCE YOU THIS IS EVIL.’

djt is 80 and appears to be utterly daft. Kim Wehle, opinion contributor for The Hill, says he’s “losing it and must be removed.”  
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