September is coming to a close and it’s time to get those pumpkins and think about carving jack-o-lanterns.
As always, I appreciate you taking the time to check out my random thoughts. I’ll start off on a happy note, vent a little, and then share more positive things. 🙂
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT CARTER
It’s a few days early, but I’d like to wish a “Happy Birthday” to my idol, President Jimmy Carter!
On October 1st, our nation’s 39th president turns 94!
This makes him the second longest-lived president and the president that’s lived the longest after leaving office (almost 37 years and 8 months and counting)!
What’s amazing about this wonderful man is that he and his incredible wife, Rosalynn, are still both very active writing, touring, and building houses for Habitat for Humanity.
Since leaving office in 1981, with The Carter Center, he’s done more for world peace and a healthy planet than any U.S. president — living or dead!
Here’s to many more happy, loving years, President Carter!
A QUICK MOMENT TO VENT
Full disclosure here: I think 45 is a joke, I hope America votes him out of office in 2020, and I can’t understand why people still support him — even if they voted for him.
Facebook is a wonderful thing (?) because some “friends” on there make strange bedfellows.
The other day, I defended “that man” (45) for drinking Diet Coke from a wine glass and then I made a critical comment about him. Well, it was a meme.
Of course, one of his supporters came to his defense. That’s fine, if you can coherently debate the topic and defend the man.
However, when she posted this comment, it crossed the line with me: “but you supported a [sic] anti American Muslim who wanted to take America down?”
At this point, I jumped into melee with this post:
“Christine, I’m really glad that Neil blocked you. Why? Your comment on his thread about the American Muslim that tried to take down America! Let me clarify something with you as diplomatically as I can. The Muslims that tried to bring America down on 9/11 were Islamic extremists! They killed thousands, but they failed miserably when you look at the big picture. Whether you’re an American Muslim, a Middle Eastern Muslim, or wherever you’re from, it doesn’t mean you’re a terrorist. The Islamic faith is not based on those extreme actions from the extremists! Look at all the white terrorists that have made it their ill-fated mission with the killing sprees here in the U.S. I know your life will go on and mine will, too, if I chose to delete you, too. It’s one thing to support that man and his beliefs, but when you demean the #MeToo movement and make sexual misconduct jokes (yes, I looked at your page), I really don’t know what we even have in common and why we’re “friends”!”
People (who really test my tolerance)!
“RBG”
Documentaries are usually not known for being big money makers in theaters. But, this year alone, “Won’t You Be My Friend” ($22.6 million) and”RBG” ($14 million) changed that!
This superb 97-minute feature directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen documents the career of 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
She started her trailblazing from just being a woman and using her voice when women didn’t really have a place or a voice in the world of law.
What an amazing woman!
GRADE: A
MORE GINSBURG
Earlier this summer, Ginsburg announced that she has no plans to give up her seat anytime soon, “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.”
“ON THE BASIS OF SEX”
And, if you can’t get enough of Ginsburg, you’ll get another chance in select theaters on Christmas Day with “On The Basis of Sex”.
Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) plays Ginsburg and Golden Globe Award nominee Armie Hammer (“Call Me By Your Name”) plays her husband Martin.
THEY SAID WHAT???
CHER (on “Ellen” when asked what three celebrities she’d like to record a duet with): “Oh, Adele, Pink, and, uh, um, not Madonna!”
JACQUELINE KENNEDY (born and raised Republican, in 1960, the year her Democratic husband would be elected the 35th president of the U.S.: “But you have to be a Republican to realize how nice it is to be a Democrat.”
“HOUSE OF CARDS”
The final season (eight episodes) of House of Cards” with Robin Wright as President Claire Underwood debuts on Netflix November 2nd!
A new revealing trailer came out this week and “the reign of the middle-aged white man” is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UNDERWEAR
Why not take a few minutes for something sexy and lighter?
Here’s a look at the the changes in men’s underwear over the past century!
“YOU”
I shamelessly (sorry, not sorry) admit two things — occasionally watching “Lifetime” and actually enjoying the creepy stalker series, “You”.
It’s based on Caroline Kepnes’ novel about a bookstore owner, Joe (Penn Badgley) who becomes obsessed with a college graduate student, Beck (Elizabeth Lail), who comes into the store.
I know many of us has had psychotic exes or stalkers, but what’s more disturbing is that even though you know that what Joe is doing is bad, bad, bad, you still feel for him. He does have a thin thread of humanity in him!
I guess I’m not alone. Before the first episode aired, Lifetime renewed it for a second season.
“THE PURGE” TELEVISION SERIES
I love “The Purge” movie series and I thought I’d give the USA Network’s 10-episode television event a chance.
After four episodes, I’m still with it. However, I don’t know if it’ll hold my interest to see it through to the end.
There are some exciting things in the series and some lame filler, too.
GRADE: B-
One last note: The latest movie in the series, “The First Purge”, came out in theaters this summer and made $135.6 million.
I can’t wait to see it when it arrives on DVD October 2nd!
“AMERICAN HORROR STORY: APOCALYPSE”
As I approach my birthday and since I’m in my 50s, I had to laugh out loud at one of Joan Collins’ line from the second episode of “Apocalypse”.
By the way, Collins is 85.
Another “Apocalypse” note: Very little on television or in movies shocks me (language, violence, or sex), but I have to say there was a very graphic sex scene in the second episode that probably made conservatives choke — if they watch “American Horror Story”.
It made Joan Collins’s character blush and run away! 🙂
“BLOODLINE”
This three-season, 33-episode Netflix series aired from 2015-2017.
The drama is about the Rayburn family who own a beach side inn, the Rayburn House, in the Florida Keys.
Three of the Rayburn children still live in Monroe County. John is a detective for the Sheriff’s Office, Meg is a lawyer, and hot-headed Kevin is a mechanic.
The drama comes in when the black sheep of the family, Danny, returns home.
Kyle Chandler plays John and I had the biggest crush on him back in the late-1990s when he starred on the CBS series “Early Edition”.
My recommendation is to watch season one and the last five episodes of season two. Just read the episode summary for the first five episodes of season two online and skip season three altogether!
I had a major crush on Enrique Murciano, who played John’s work partner, Marco Diaz, who also dated Meg.
The series also stars Sissy Spacek and Sam Shephard.
Season 1 GRADE: B+
Season 2 (FIRST FIVE EPISODES) GRADE: D+
Season 2 (SECOND FIVE EPISODES) GRADE: A-
Season 3 GRADE: D+
SISSY SPACEK
One of the great pleasures of watching “Bloodline” was seeing Sissy Spacek.
I remember seeing her as a teenager as Carrie White in 1976’s “Carrie” (which earned Spacek an Oscar nomination) and as Loretta Lynn in 1980’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, for which Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
What did surprise me is that the Texas-born actress, who’ll turn 69 on Christmas Day, has been nominated for an Oscar four other times!
The other Best Actress nominations were for “Missing” (1982), “The River ” (1984), “Crimes of the Heart” (1986), and “In The Bedroom” (2001)!
Spacek has upcoming roles in the movie “The Old Man & the Gun” with Robert Redford and in Amazon’s “Homecoming” (November 2, 2018) starring Julia Roberts and directed and executive produced by Sam Esmail (“Mr. Robot”).
“BREAKING IN”
This movie will likely have a mention in my year end blog of my 20 favorites movies of the year.
But, it’ll be on a different list — the worst movies of the year!
It’s basically the story of four bad guys who take a woman’s two children hostage inside her father’s fortified home. She has to break into the house to save her children.
The $6 million movie brought in almost $51 million at the box office, but it’s terrible. I couldn’t wait for it to be over because it was so unrealistic!
However, Gabrielle Union is a fine actress and I also enjoyed seeing Billy Burke (“Zoo”) as a bad guy.
It was also great to see Richard Cabral again. He was phenomenal in seasons one and three of ABC’s “American Crime”.
GRADE: D+
SPEAKING OF THOSE 20 FAVORITES MOVIES OF THE YEAR…
Now that I’ve seen more than 30 movies in 2017, here are the ones that I liked, but have been pushed out of my Top 20 list for this year (the “honorable mentions”):
“The Star”, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”, “Molly’s Game”, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”, “It”, “The Mountain Between Us”, “All the Money in the World”, “Darkest Hour”, “Marshall”, “Chappaquiddick”.
“My Friend Dahmer” almost made the list of the three worst movies I saw in 2017, but there were three other stinkers!
“SAY YOU REALLY WANT ME”
English singer Kim Wilde first hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 with “Kids in America”. Even though it only reached #25, it’s still one of my favorites.
Her biggest hit in the U.S. was a remake of The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. It reached #1 in 1987.
The follow-up was “Say You Really Want Me”, a very sultry song that barely missed the Top 40 on the Hot 100, but I still love it to this day!
Sexy!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 