With my last “Random Friday Thoughts”, I was done writing for a while to prepare for the upcoming move.
However, I just had a duck drama that I have to share and a Facebook post would be too long.
As I await the heavy rains from Subtropical Storm Alberto to keep me inside the rest of the afternoon, I was out getting my 25,000 steps in this morning.
Walking across the complex, I saw a mama duck and an hawk fighting in the middle of the parking lot.
Obviously, the hawk swooped down to grab a baby for lunch. I scared the hawk off and the mother and the babies scurried away.
Well, one baby had fallen over onto its back and I flipped it over. It starts to head off with the mommy.
She jumps up on an embankment to go into the pond and the babies cannot figure out how to jump up there.
This same baby that I flipped over rolls over onto its back again and I went to help it again.
However, this time, the mother ticked off because of the hawk comes charging at me!
I swatted her with my magazine and it doesn’t hold her back. She was still charging toward my face!
Luckily, I was carrying a book, too, and I swung at her and three feathers went flying into the air as she flies away.
But, as that’s happening, I fall backwards onto the pavement landing on both hands and my left butt cheek.
My biggest fear was that I was going to fall backwards and hit my head on the pavement! I didn’t!
Now, where is TMZ and its cameras when you need this crazy video!?!?
So, now I’m walking off a very sore ass and two wrists just two days before I have to load a truck by moving everything down a flight of stairs and drive across the country!
This is the fourth duck drama that I’ve had since I moved here! I’m too much of a treehugger wanting to help!!!
Hopefully you’re laughing along with me, even though I’m the one in pain!
Aren’t you glad that I only shared the photos of my wrist and the ducks? 😁
May is almost over and it’s Memorial Day weekend, which is the “unofficial” start to the summer season.
After today’s blog, I’ll be going on “hiatus” to get moved to Duluth, Minnesota.
When I make new friends up north, I hope that some of them grill out!
In addition to missing companionship, my friends and family, and my koi pond, grilling out is another thing I’ve really missed since leaving the Quad Cities!
How are you doing on those “New Year’s Resolutions”?
I’m sure many are history and some of you are still paying for those unused gym memberships! 🙂
I decided to look back at my first two blogs of the year, “2018: Looking Ahead, Not Back” and “Random Friday (2018) Thoughts”, to see how I’m doing on my resolutions and predictions.
If you want to see the pictures, videos, and read the complete blogs, both links are here and they’ll open in a new window, so you won’t lose your place in today’s blog.
In the January 1st blog, I wrote, “The highlight of my Christmas season was the 90-minutes-plus I spent in Mariah Carey’s Christmas wonderland for her “All I Want For Christmas” show in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.”
It’s now almost summer and that night still crosses my mind. It was truly magical!
I also talked about battling bulimia and how I used to be so spontaneous.
While visiting Chicago over Memorial Day weekend in 1994, I had a “Come to Jesus” moment. A little over a month later, I left Kentucky and moved to third largest city in the U.S.!
But, that was then, this is now. Somewhere along the way, I became a “planner” and lost my spontaneity and I want to find it again!
As last year ended and 2018 began, I needed change and the words of my favorite song of 2017, “Silence” by Marshmello featuring Khalid, hit me hard while I was reflecting on my life:
“I’m in need of a savior, but I’m not asking for favors/My whole life, I’ve felt like a burden/I THINK TOO MUCH, I HATE IT/I’m so used to being in the wrong, I’m tired of caring/Loving never gave me a home, so I’ll sit here in the silence”
I do think too much.
I wrote that it was time to “shake it off” and leave Panama City if I wasn’t happy, “I have four cities in mind for a fresh start. Two of them, I’d move to with or without a television job…”
The two I would have moved to without a television job were Palm Springs, California, and Las Vegas.
Well, it’s funny how you make plans and set a timeline and then God sits back and laughs.
I said if I didn’t have a television job by Halloween 2018, I’d be out of here anyways.
Well, I’m leaving Florida next week and I’ll be moving into my new apartment in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 2nd, to call the “Northland” home!
I’m so thrilled to not only start the next chapter in my life, but to start living again! Cheers!
In “Random Friday (2018) Thoughts”, (posted 1/5/18), I stated that after seeing five concerts in Las Vegas in 2017 (The Australian Bee Gees, Britney Spears, Tanya Tucker, Lionel Richie, and Mariah Carey), I’d like to see Rod Stewart, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez this year.
Those shows aren’t going to happen for me now, but I’m still holding out that if I only see one concert this year that it’s Kylie Minogue.
Come on Kylie, add Saint Paul, Minnesota, to your North American tour dates when you announce the “Golden Tour”.
As for movies, I’ve already seen the first two on my list, “Call Me By Your Name” and “Love, Simon”.
I can forget “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” (7/20) now — unless I find out for sure that Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) is alive in more than a couple of scenes!
I’ve replaced it “Crazy Rich Asians”, which could be the new “Pretty Woman” — well, without Julia Roberts and turning tricks in Los Angeles.
Also, I’m excited about “Halloween” (10/19) with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Laurie Strode.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” about Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury has been moved up to November 2nd from Christmas Day 2018. It stars the incredible Rami Malek of “Mr. Robot”.
Here’s the new trailer!
And, finally, on Christmas Day 2018, there’s Emily Blunt and Ben Whishaw in “Mary Poppins Returns” (12/25).
So, it looks like I’m doing okay on my resolutions and my prospects of being a happy person again!
And, I’m looking forward to snow and a “White Christmas” again!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Okay, the headline might be a little misleading and be construed by some as “fake news”! 🙂
Let me clarify that the words of Celine Dion in the hardback version, “Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream”, saved two little ducks!
While I have many of Celine’s CDs and I’ve had this 2000 autobiography forever, I just now got around to reading it and it’s a good thing I was reading it on a recent walk.
As I was making my way around the pond, I heard a commotion.
A mama duck chased one of those creepy turtles (them again) into the water.
As she flew away, it came charging back out of the water at two small ducks.
I raced down the embankment and the turtle didn’t slow down even with me approaching it. Finally, I swatted at it with the Celine book!!!
Here’s the dirt and mud to prove it. 🙂
The ticked off turtle went back into the water and I got the ducklings back with the mother.
So, thank you Celine for being there! 🙂
I really enjoyed reading about Celine’s life story and I don’t want to give too much away in case you want to read it.
I was surprised to hear that she’s the youngest of fourteen (yes 14!) children!
I became aware of Celine in the early-1990s at the same time as most Americans. We also learned around that time that she was in a relationship with her manager and future husband, Rene Angelil. (They married December 17, 1994 in Montreal, Quebec.)
It was still a little weird reading about the love affair — with the 26-year age difference. She was the one that fell in love first and pursued him! But, knowing that the love was real made me smile. We all want that!
I love how Celine was upfront and honest about the nastiness of the press about things such as her love life and her weight (calling her anorexic). Being a recovering food addict, I feel for her having endured that.
While Celine has been a multi-millionaire for much of career (after hitting it big worldwide), I’m glad she didn’t sugarcoat her love of spending money. She earned it!
She talked about building and furnishing her dream home (the Jupiter, Florida, estate sold for $28 million last year), her lavish wedding to Angelil, and the renewal of her vows in a January 2000 ceremony at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The couple’s son René-Charles is now 17-years-old and fraternal twins, Eddy and Nelson, were born in October 2010.
Sadly, Rene passed away from throat cancer in January 2016 at the age of 73. Two days later, Celine suffered another heartbreak when her brother Daniel died, also of cancer. He was 59.
Celine is definitely a survivor and one of the greatest entertainers of all time! Definitely check out “Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream”!
Now, let’s talk about her music.
Celine released her first single in 1981 at the age of 13.
While many of her singles throughout the 1980s charted well in Quebec, it wouldn’t be until 1989 before she would see her name on the mainstream Canadian charts. (There was an exception — a Top 5 hit in France in 1982.)
Celine’s American debut came in early 1990 with the “Unison” album and her breakthrough American single, “(If There Was) Any Other Way”, which reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, she’s had 18 hits with 11 reaching the Top 10, and 4 topping the charts.
She’s also won five Grammy Awards.
Celine has released over 150 singles worldwide and I’m going to share my 10 favorite songs of her.
Since five is her lucky number, I was going to choose five. But, she’s had so many amazing songs, I’m going with ten, which is five times two! 🙂
However, I’m only going to choose from the songs that have charted in the U.S.!
“THAT’S THE WAY IT IS” (1999)
“MY HEART WILL GO ON” (1997)
“I DROVE ALL NIGHT” (2003)
“THE POWER OF LOVE” (1993)
“ALL BY MYSELF” (1996)
“IF YOU ASKED ME TO” (1992)
“IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW” (1996)
“LOVE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS” (1992)
“WHERE DOES MY HEART BEAT NOW” (1990)
Since this one didn’t chart (why, I don’t know?), it’s still one of my favorites, so it’s a bonus!
“HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)” (2013)
“BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME” (1996)
Here’s hoping that I finally get to see Celine’s Las Vegas show!
It’s past the middle of May now and the unofficial start to the summer season is getting closer — Memorial Day!
Have a great weekend and thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts.
REPUBLICAN HATE & JOHN McCAIN
I voted against Senator John McCain when he ran for president in 2008 and there are many things that he says and does that I disagree with.
However, I appreciate all that he did for the United States as a veteran and a former Prisoner of War.
It saddens me that he’s battling brain cancer. What makes me equally sad (and mad) is the total lack of respect he’s getting from the Republican Party.
Recently, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch stated that he wants McCain to reconsider not wanting Donald Trump at his funeral.
With all of the mockery and the snide comments #45 made about McCain, I wouldn’t want him at my funeral either! When that time comes, I hope that his family forbids Trump from attending.
And, then late last week, White House aide Kelly Sadler said in meeting, “It doesn’t matter, he’s dying anyway.”
Seriously, if there’s a time and place to use a derogatory term for a woman (Sadler), it’d be now!
And, recently on Fox News, retired Air Force General Tom McInerney called McCain “songbird John” for allegedly providing information to the North Vietnamese while he was a POW!
DECENCY HITS “ROCK BOTTOM”
Here’s what former Vice President Joe Biden had to say the day after Sadler’s comment.
BANNING THE MEDIA
I’ve made it a point to mention #45 as little as possible over the past eighteen months.
I know it’s denial. If I don’t talk about it, maybe I’ll wake up and realize it was all a bad dream. Wait, that was on “Dallas”! 🙂
Last week, he tweeted (shock!) about taking away press credentials.
He’s sounding more and more like #37, Richard Nixon. We all know how that one ended!
In case you don’t — resignation from office in disgrace!
ENOUGH ABOUT THEM
SOMETHING ABOUT THE ROYAL FAMILY!
There’s a big Royal wedding this weekend and I’m sure there’ll be cake.
This is what I wrote in December 2012, “Sir Paul McCartney orders a fruitcake from cake designer Fiona Cairns each Christmas and, in early 2011, Cairns was tapped to make the royal wedding cake for Prince William and his future bride, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.”
THIS SHOULD MAKE YOUR SMILE
This video still rocks my world and makes me smile! 🙂
Why? Because (1) “It’s Britney, Bitch” and (2) I still find actor Aaron Milo drop dead gorgeous!
I’ve featured “Eating Out: Drama Camp” and “Eating Out: The Open Weekend” actors Aaron Milo (from Rockford, Illinois) and Daniel Skelton’s fun video to Britney’s “Big Fat Bass” three times over the years of my blog.
So, why not a fourth time?
If you’ve never watched it, treat yourself now! 🙂
CREEPY CRUSHING
Okay, it’s a little creepy because, sadly, (1) he’s dead and (2) if he were still alive, he’d be turning 93-years-old this November.
So, it’s not a real crush. But, look at how sexy Bobby Kennedy was in his 30s and, even at 42, when he was gunned down in June 1968.
Kennedy was the father of eleven and his widow, Miss Ethel, just turned 90-years-old in April.
“BOBBY KENNEDY FOR PRESIDENT”
When I saw that Netflix debuted this documentary, I thought it’d be an hour or two. But, it’s four one-hour episodes and it’s incredible!
It covers Bobby’s life campaigning for his brother, John F. Kennedy, the nation’s 35th president, and becoming his attorney general.
After JFK’s death, Bobby had to decide whether to become President Johnson’s vice president in Johnson’s 1964 presidential run or venture out on his own.
He chose the latter.
When the documentary gets to Bobby’s assassination inside the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in June 1968 after winning the California Democratic Primary, it gave me chills and goosebumps.
We’ve all seen the Dallas footage of JFK’s assassination, but it’s in black and white and from a distance.
But, when Bobby raises his hand and his head is cradled, the blood and the blood red color of television is chilling!
Watching this documentary, I was thinking of what a great president Bobby Kennedy would have been if not for his senseless murder.
And, could you imagine Richard Nixon going over the deep end if he had lost to two Kennedys in his bid to be president?
I guess it would have kept him from resigning in shame in 1974 after the Watergate scandal!
GRADE: A
ANOTHER CRUSH AND IT’S NOT JUST ME
Actor Josh Brolin who plays the villain Cable in the upcoming “Deadpool 2” movie out May 18th tells “Entertainment Weekly” of a crush he developed after seeing 2009’s “The Proposal” many times.
Brolin says, “I told Ryan [Reynolds]. I was like, ‘I don’t know why this is, and I don’t know what this means psychologically, behaviorally, emotionally, but I have kind of a crush on you.'”
Brolin, get in line!
“TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE”
I just finished reading my 17th book of 2018, Mitch Albom’s 1997 debut bestselling novel, “Tuesdays with Morrie”.
It’s a beautiful, life-affirming, platonic love story between two men — an aging, dying college professor and one of his former students.
Sixteen years passed from college graduation to when sports writer Albom found out his sociology professor, 78-year-old Morrie Schwatrz, was dying from ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease).
It’s a beautiful book that needs to be read. It’ll give you a more positive look at life.
Here are a couple of my favorite words of wisdom from Morrie:
“Dying is only one thing to be sad over, Mitch. Living unhappy is something else.”
“If you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too — even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling.”
Mitch learned the most valuable lesson of all from Morrie, “there is no such thing as ‘too late’ in life”!
Years ago, I read Albom’s second novel, 2003’s “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. I highly recommend both books!
“THE POST”
This Steven Spielberg-directed film starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks is based on the true story of the Washington Post’s fight with President Nixon in early-1970s over publishing the “Pentagon Papers”.
It got two Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress (Streep) and six Golden Globe Award nominations.
Streep plays Katharine Graham, the heiress of the Washington Post and the company’s television stations after the death of her father and her husband. Hanks plays Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee.
It’s a great historical movie with superb acting! However, I hated seeing Sarah Paulson in a throwaway role as Bradlee’s wife!
The last moments of the movie before the credits (two phone calls is all I’ll say so there are no spoilers) gave me goosebumps. I was screaming, “Yes”!
If “The Post” was your typical “summer popcorn movie”, that final scene screamed “SEQUEL”. But, if you know history, you know what happened next! 🙂 You could also say that the “sequel” came out in 1976! 🙂
GRADE: B+
“PETER RABBIT”
This live action-computer-animated comedy starring James Corden (“Into The Woods”) and Rose Byrne (“Neighbors”) was very successful.
The $50 million movie brought in an incredible $320 million worldwide.
However, it did come with controversy. The movie was accused of “allergy bullying”.
In one scene, a bad person (Domhnall Gleeson) is trying to kill Peter Rabbit and his family. The rabbits learn that the person has an allergy and they use this allergen as a weapon in war.
I know allergies are serious, but if someone is trying to kill me, all is fair in love and war!
But, I know the movie is directed at kids and it may give them bad ideas! Wait, does that mean no more movies, television, music, books, video games, or internet for them, too? 🙂
I loved the movie and highly recommend it.
GRADE: B+
HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY!
This month, 20 years ago, Madonna entered the Billboard Hot 100 with her 37th Top 40 hit with the second single and title track from the “Ray of Light” album.
It also became her 21st chart topper on the Billboard Dance Club songs chart. (She now leads all artists on that chart — a record-extending 46 #1 songs!)
“Ray of Light” won two Grammy Awards and five MTV Video Music Awards.
It was also voted one of the best songs of the 1990s!
BREAKING NEWS: It seems that a new Madonna single is coming soon and her 14th studio album is finished!!!!!!!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
I always appreciate you taking the time to check out my thoughts and I want to hear your thoughts, too!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY
To all my female friends and any dads that fulfilled both roles as a parent, I hope you have a special weekend!
While it would be easy just to forget Mother’s Day altogether since my Mom has been gone for almost 28 years, I’m remembering her today.
There have also been other “Moms” in my life that deserve a special mention today: Betty, Donna, D’nell, and Linda.
But, I really want to say Happy Mother’s Day to a special person in my life that never gets the love, respect, and appreciation that she deserves on this day and every day — my sister.
Tammy, I’m so impressed with all that you’ve accomplished in life, especially the past seven years.
While you’re not alone in dealing with setbacks (we all have those), I want you to always appreciate all that you’ve done, all that you’ll do, and look for the silver lining in life and don’t focus on the clouds.
Happy Mother’s Day!
KANYE WEST’S EGOTISM
I’ve never been a fan of Kanye West and I don’t put him in the musical genius category as many do.
Also, I could care less if he’s a fan of Donald Trump and why.
In the same token, there are people that say the same thing about me being on Team Hillary!
However, when West basically says that 400 years of slavery was “a choice”, he went too far for publicity. And, I’m not alone in my disappointment over that comment.
I’m not going overboard in bashing him over it because I don’t know if he’s saying all these things to bring attention to himself to drop new music or if he’s suffering another mental breakdown or exhaustion like back in 2016.
MICHELLE WOLF’S ROAST
The hoopla over comedian Michelle Wolf’s hosting the White House Correspondent’s Dinner is beginning to calm down.
Some thought she was too abrasive to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
I think her bit on abortion was a little harsh, but the final punchline was spot on about powerful people getting abortions for their mistresses!
And, life Wolf said, I think it was a little soon for the Southwest Airlines joke.
But, the comments about Sanders were well within the safe zone. Look at the some of the comments #45 and his supporters have made over the past few years (and still make)!
Bitch about it and move on!
WAS IT BULLYING?
A friend and loyal reader of my blog posed these questions to me, “Is roasting another form if [sic] bullying? Where does the line get drawn before roasting becomes rude and distasteful? Should the press hold itself to a higher standard? Would love to read your thoughts.”
Some could say that roasting is a form of bullying. However, roasts have been going on for generations and we know what to expect from them.
We’ve become such a divisive nation that being mean or hateful is just common. With social media, it’s even easier and more instantaneous to be nasty.
As for where to draw the line and was it crossed, it really depends on which side you’re on. I thought many of Wolf’s jokes were funny and a couple were too strong. (I mentioned them above.)
But, when it comes to comedians, when do they play it safe?
As for Sanders, before she agreed to attend in the place of #45 who was afraid to attend last year and this year, did she really think it would be warm and cuddly?
“THE TERROR”
The latest AMC series, “The Terror”, is very enjoyable.
It’s based on a true story (with creative dramatic liberties taken) about two navigation ships exploring the Arctic Circle in the 1840s. The ships get stuck in the ice for several years.
The crews not only face “cabin fever” and starvation, but also a mysterious illness and a beast (imagined or real) that’s stalking the ships.
While the first episode starts out slow and talky, it definitely develops into a great and creepy series!
And, it does feature a very cruel and graphic flogging scene!
From an acting standpoint, thank you Adam Nagaitis, as Cornelius Hickey, for sharing your talents and assets! Yikes!
Another thing that creeps me out is that the surgical procedures are conducted without gloves (it’s the 1840s) — all that blood and disease!
Nagaitis is sexy (especially without all the welts and blood), but he isn’t the only sexy standout in “The Terror”.
There’s also Ronan Raftery and Liam Garrigan!
REMEMBERING TAMMY WYNETTE
Last month marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Miss Tammy Wynette, the “Queen of Country Music”.
If you’re not a country music fan, you probably don’t know that she had 44 solo hits on the Billboard Country charts with 31 of them reaching the Top Ten. Seventeen topped the chart!
And, with former husband George Jones, she scored 13 more hits with eight of them making the Top Ten and three reaching #1.
However, she also hit #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Dance chart in 1991 with the British duo, the KLF on “Justified and Ancient”.
How many of you remember this one?
The song also reached #1 in Austria, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Sweden, and make it all the way to #2 in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K.
“CRAZY RICH ASIANS”
I’ve now seen the first trailer for “Crazy Rich Asians”, which I first talked about last November, and I’m so excited to see the movie.
Back then, I wrote, “You may not know the name ‘Henry Golding’ now. But, you will when ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ hits theaters August 17, 2018! Golding is a 30-year-old British-Malaysian actor and he got married a year ago in August! 🙂 😦”
I think “Crazy Rich Asians” could be the new “Pretty Woman”! Well, without Julia Roberts and turning tricks in Los Angeles!
I’m so excited to see MUCH MORE of Henry Golding and the chemistry between his character, Nick Young and Rachel (Constance Wu).
Also, I hear that Goh Peik Lin (played by Awkwafina), Rachel’s Singaporean college best friend, is hilarious.
“Crazy Rich Asians” opens Friday, August 17th.
LIES LIES LIES
I just finished my 16th book, “Lies: And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them” by LIBERAL former U.S. Minnesota Senator (2009 to 2018) and “Saturday Night Live” comedian.
He resigned earlier this year after several women accused him of sexual misconduct.
In this funny and factual book, he takes on right-wing lunatics Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity.
But, he also expresses his dislike for former President George W. Bush and his cronies, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condoleezza Rice, mainly over the lies told about the “weapons of mass destruction” that led us into the Iraqi War in 2003.
While he’s also tough on Colin Powell, he shows that he has more respect for him than the others.
There is a humorous quote from Franken (especially in the wake of #MeToo and the allegations against him) when trying to expose the fake Bob Jones University in South Carolina, when he says, “I never lie. That is, unless it’s absolutely necessary”.
I’d advise Republicans that toe the party line to skip the book because many of the FACTS will startle you. Or, as Coulter, O’Reilly, or Hannity would call them, “Lies”.
REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The English trio The Thompson Twins first hit the American Top 40 in the spring of 1983 with “Lies”.
That song would peak at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it topped the Billboard Dance charts.
They went on to score seven Top 40 hits in America with three of them reaching the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100: “Hold Me Now” (#3, 1984), “Lay Your Hands on Me” (#6, 1985), and “King for a Day” (#8, 1985).
“Doctor! Doctor!” just missed out on the Top Ten peaking at #11 in 1984.
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
I hope you have a great weekend! It’s Kentucky Derby weekend and there’s also Cinco de Mayo! I’ll be making guacamole!
Thank you for checking out my Random Friday Thoughts!
E-COLI & ROMAINE LETTUCE
At least 121 people have become ill across 25 states with E-coli bacteria linked to romaine lettuce from Yuma, Arizona.
There is now one death in California linked to the tainted lettuce.
And, just today, Friday, May 4th, there’s a ground beef recall from possible plastic in the product that was sold at Kroger stores!
It seems like we’re always hearing about tainted produce, meat, and other edibles that you “should throw away” or “return to the store for a refund” from various bacteria and viruses (listeria, salmonella, E coli), seafood and nut contaminants, or physical hazards (glass, metal, etc.).
While the U.S. has strict food processing guidelines, I think it should be much tougher.
If food-producing companies faced even higher penalties, I think shortcuts would be a thing of the past and consumer safety would be the top priority — not profit.
There’s too many hungry people in the U.S. (and the world) and there’s already too much food waste to just throw more away because of lazy production standards!
NEW OREO FLAVORS
There are three new limited edition Oreos on the shelves: Cherry Cola, Kettle Corn, and Piña Colada.
Let me know if you try them and what you think of them.
The only problem I have with these limited edition Oreos is that they trick you with a smaller package without a smaller price!!! 🙂
DON’T SNAP AT ME!
My good deeds and my quest to save a duck took a scary turn last weekend.
I heard a baby duck frantically chirping and saw the mother staring down at it stuck in mud and muck. She flew away and I found a long stick to try to lift the baby out to safety.
It didn’t work, so I took my shoes and socks off and slowly trudged through the muck to get close enough to pull it out without sinking.
As I reached down to pull it out, it was still stuck. I figured it was caught under dead cattail roots. I reached down further to get a better grip.
Up came the duck — in the mouth of a creepy, long-necked turtle!!! I had my freaking hand on the duck and the turtle that looked just like this one! (It could have been this one!!!)
My snap decision was to save the duck and I got it out of the turtle’s mouth before I was attacked!
Once the adrenaline rush passed, I was very creeped out to have been that close to the ugly turtle!
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM!
So, Monday morning I’m getting dressed for work and I hear a mosquito buzzing around my head.
Instinctively, I swat at my head and ear to kill it.
Ummm, that hurts when you forget that you have a Q-tip in your ear. Oops and ouch!
KENT STATE SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY
It’s hard to believe it’s now been 48 years ago that four students were killed by the Ohio National Guard on the campus of Kent State University in northeast Ohio, on May 4, 1970.
Protests were expanding across the country on college campuses over America’s involvement in Vietnam.
As a reporter in Mansfield, Ohio, in 2000, I got to cover the 30th anniversary of the Kent State shootings.
Three decades later, it was still chilling to be there and the mood on campus was somber.
Here’s the story I filed for WMFD-68.*
*Ignore the shakiness because I recorded it with my phone from a VHS tape playing on television! 🙂
CINCO DE MAYO WEEKEND
Since it’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, would you be down to trying Chocolate-covered peanut butter filled jalapenos?
I’d definitely be willing to try one!
“TALKING BACK”
I just finished reading my 15th book of the year, Andrea Mitchell’s “Talking Back… To Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels.”
Mitchell is a correspondent and anchor for NBC News. She started at the network in the early-1970s after a stint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This was a very enjoyable look behind the glamour of television news.
She shared how rough it can be for a correspondent jetting from one continent to another without the luxuries of life, including sleep.
She talked poignantly about covering her first big story for NBC News — Jim Jones and the Jonestown, Guyana, mass Kool-Aid murder-suicide.
I was very impressed that of all of the news books I’ve this year (Cronkite, Koppel, Wallace, Schieffer, Stahl, etc.), Mitchell’s book was the first to take President Ronald Reagan to task for his gross mishandling of the AIDS crisis.
As you know from my years of writing about it, this was one of the main reasons I didn’t care for Ronald Reagan — even hating him for many years.
“Gay cancer” was first reported in the summer of 1981, even before it had a name, AIDS. It wasn’t until early 1987 that Reagan made his first public comments about it. By that time, 20,000+ Americans had already died.
Mitchell’s scoundrels include Syria’s Hafez al-Assad, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and many more.
Excellent read!
TOM BROKAW ALLEGATIONS
Former “NBC Nightly News” and “Today” anchor and news icon Tom Brokaw is the latest to face sexual misconduct charges.
Last week, former NBC correspondent and anchor Linda Vester says Brokaw, on several occasions in the 1990s, tried to physically force himself on her.
She says he tried to kiss her two times and that he groped her in a NBC conference room.
Brokaw denies Vester’s accusations. He admits to meeting with her briefly and “the meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate”.
Two other women have since come forward making accusations against Brokaw. The latest said the unwanted advances took place 50 years ago!
#METOO, BUT SUPPORT FOR BROKAW
After Vester’s accusations, many influential women in the news business, that currently work with and have worked with Brokaw, defended his character.
More than 60 women, including Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, signed a letter that called Brokaw, “a man of tremendous decency and integrity”.
“DIETLAND”
The first trailer for AMC’s “Dietland” is out.
The series is based on Sarai Walker’s incredible debut novel.
It about Plum, a reclusive 300-pound-plus woman from California, now living in New York City and working for a fashion magazine catering to women.
Actually, her job, that allows her to work at home or from the cafe she frequents, is to answer emails from young women that think they’re writing to the editor of the magazine, Kitty, for advice.
Here’s the blog I posted about Walker’s excellent “Dietland” novel in January 2016.
I can play Solitaire, Uno, Phase 10, and Old Maid, but that’s about the extent of my experience with card games.
So, while watching “Molly’s Game”, a true story about a competitive skier with Olympic aspirations who becomes rich by running underground Poker tournaments, I was lost for a bit.
But, I was mesmerized, as always, by Jessica Chastain and her acting!
Once the story became more of a drama than “Card Sharks”, I was all in.
GRADE: B
REMEMBER THIS?
Were you part of the techno music scene back in the early-1990s? I admit that I was into techno and dance music big time!
L.A. Style, a Dutch duo, hit the Top 5 in American dance clubs and #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “James Brown is Dead”. (He wasn’t at the time, but is now.)
It topped the charts in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain in 1991 and 1992.
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 