The weekend is almost here and I hope you have fun plans or, at least, be able to chill out and relax.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts. If we disagree, that’s fine. Just do it diplomatically!
RUSSIA: CANCELLED!
As the conflict and tragedy rages on in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia, the world continues to speak out and governments are waging their disapproval toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Economic sanctions are in place and they should be. Anything that may hurt the aggressive Russian behavior should be mounted by world leaders.
However, with a country as vast as Russia, it won’t do much to quickly end the conflict. History proves that. It’s the people of the country that suffer more from them and the Russian people are already suffering.
In Russia, 13% of the population lives in poverty (which is similar to the U.S.). However, in Russia, the top 1% controls about 70% of the nation’s wealth. In the U.S., the top 1% have about 32% of the wealth.
I can guarantee that Putin is still living on caviar, champagne, and all of the exotic riches that money can buy.
But, businesses across the world and here in the U.S. are cancelling Russia.
Gate 1 Travel, a company that I love and have used many times, has cancelled all tours and cruises to Russia in 2022.
And, some stores are pulling Russian vodka from its shelves and some restaurants and bars are pouring out their vodkas made in Russia.
Stoli is the leading Russian vodka.
While it won’t make much difference in the scheme of things, it’s the principle behind it.
Less than 1% of vodka consumed in the U.S. is from Russia. More than half of all vodka drank in the U.S. is made here! (CNN)
Go Tito’s and Smirnoff! This one is my favorite!
The Distilled Spirits Council reports that Russian-made vodka only makes up a very small percentage of the roughly $7 billion in annual vodka sales.
NO TREATS FOR YOU, RUSSIA (FOR NOW)!
This week, Coke, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, and Starbucks announced it will temporarily suspend sales of their products in Russia during Putin’s aggression toward Ukraine.
CNN reports that at the end of 2021, there were 847 McDonald’s in Russia (108 more in Ukraine) and 84% are operated by the company. The others are run by franchise owners.
Starbucks says it’s not selling any of its products to Russia and has almost 2,000 employees in the country.
PepsiCo will stop selling sodas in Russia, but will continue selling its baby food, baby formula, milk, and other dairy options.
Russia makes up about 4% of Pepsi’s annual revenue compared to 1%-2% for Coke.
Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are making similar decisions.
PEACE!
EXCITED ABOUT THIS MINISERIES
Since I don’t have Showtime, I won’t see it for a while, but I’m very excited about the series, “The First Lady”.
It’s so incredible that two of my favorite actresses, Gillian Anderson and Viola Davis, are in the series and I love Michelle Pfeiffer, too!
Gillian plays Eleanor Roosevelt, Viola portrays Michelle Obama, and Michelle is Betty Ford!
“The First Lady” will premiere on Showtime on April 17, 2022.
“BETTY FORD: CANDOR AND COURAGE IN THE WHITE HOUSE”
John Robert Greene’s 2004 book in the “Modern First Ladies” series was a fascinating read. I just love reading book after book about this fascinating woman!
Here are some of the takeaways from this book:
Her mother, Hortense Bloomer, was very strict. When Betty was a child, like most kids, she loved to snack between meals. Her mother hung a “Please Do Not Feed This Child” sign on her daughter!
When President Richard Nixon offered Gerald Ford the vice presidency, Ford told him that didn’t want to be the Republican nominee for President in 1976 because he had told Betty he would retire from politics in 1977. Nixon replied, “Well, that’s good, because John Connally is my choice for 1976.”
One thing I learned from the book was that Martin Luther King Jr.’s mother, Alberta Williams King, was shot and killed inside the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta by 23-year-old Marcus Wayne Chenault, a Black Hebrew Israelite, in June 1974 — just six years after her son was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. Georgia Governor and future President Jimmy Carter made the arrangements for Betty Ford to attend the funeral!
About her recovery from alcohol abuse, Betty Ford wanted people to know it’d always be a struggle. She said, “the disease is alcoholISm, not alcoholWASism.” (Notice IS and WAS!)
“KING RICHARD”
This movie, about how Richard Williams shaped the careers of his two daughters, Venus and Serena, to become two of the best tennis players ever, was compelling.
It’s nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Will Smith), and Best Supporting Actress (Aunjanue Ellis).
Smith has already won the honor from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild and he deserved it!
GRADE: A-
“THE LOST DAUGHTER”
Oscar and Emmy Award winner Olivia Colman leads a stellar cast in this Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed drama.
While on holiday in Greece, Leda (Colman) has to come to terms with her earlier life and how she raised her two daughters after befriending a young mother (Dakota Johnson), who’s struggling to raise her own little girl.
The movie definitely turns edgy and very psychological when uneasiness creeps in from a taunting group of young men.
This was my 5th favorite movie I saw in 2021.
GRADE: A
“SPENCER”
This movie is about one particular period of the late Princess Diana’s life. It’s Christmas 1991 and Diana is torn over wanting to divorce Prince Charles and leave the royal family.
The movie was enjoyable, but the best part is the performance of Kristen Stewart as Diana.
The role earned her a Best Actress Oscar and Critics’ Choice Movie Award nomination, which are both still pending. She also got a Golden Globe nomination and she won the Hollywood Critics Association Award.
It was my 6th favorite movie of 2021.
GRADE: A-
“PIG”
Never in a million years did I think I’d outright love a Nicolas Cage movie. Okay, even WATCH a Nicolas Cage movie!
But, this one caught my attention and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Cage plays Robin Feld, a haggard man living in the woods, who earns money foraging and harvesting expensive truffles. When he’s beaten and has his pig kidnapped, Feld goes all “John Wick” to find the pig.
That’s when you learn his backstory.
The movie made my Top 20 list of favorite movies I saw in 2021 (#19)! And, Cage is nominated in the Best Actor category for a Critics’ Choice Movie Award!
GRADE:B
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Here are some interesting things I learned about our first President George Washington from authors James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn’s 2004 book in the “The American Presidents” series:
Incredibly, Washington would trade some of his slaves for rum, molasses, and limes. WOW! Seriously, a man’s worth to him was nothing more than a little food and drink???
And, he supplied his slaves with little: “scant clothing, few blankets, perfunctory medical care”.
Even as he was winning the Revolutionary War as commander in chief, he was still a rude and condescending man. He confided to his friends that the army was comprised of “an exceedingly dirty and nasty people”.
In his second term as president, in the summer of 1796, at the age of 64, Washington decided he would not seek a third term that fall. He was already losing his sight and his hearing and was showing signs of major memory loss.
While he never spoke out against slavery in public since his slaves were instrumental in making him a very wealthy man, he left instructions to free his slaves upon his death or the death of his wife, Martha, if she outlived him.
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Happy Friday, it’s March and spring is inching closer.
While I’ve shared four blogs with you over the past three months (my Christmas letter, my thoughts for the new year, my favorite movies I saw in 2021, and two secrets about life changes, so far, in 2022), I haven’t shared any “Random Friday Thoughts” since November 2021!
Well, let’s change that. Feel free to comment on any of my thoughts and if you disagree, that’s fine, just do it diplomatically.
MASK MANDATE CHANGES
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on with hospitalizations and deaths, the infection positivity rates are falling across the U.S. and mask mandates are being dropped or changed.
While I know we need to move forward WITH CAUTION, I’m still going to wear my mask in stores and in places where I’ll be in close proximity with others.
I know this may sound crass, but if I wouldn’t have sex with you without protection, I don’t want you up in my stuff (my face) breathing or coughing on me without me wearing a mask!
Before 2020, I wouldn’t even have that about this, but life as we know it has changed.
LIFE CHANGES ALREADY IN 2022
Earlier, I talked about two life changes I’ve already made in 2022.
If you didn’t see the blog where I made the announcements, here’s the link (it should open in a new window):
In a few weeks, I’ll be jetting off for solitude in a part of the world I’ve never visited.
But, it’s still not one of three continents I’ve yet to visit — Antarctica, Australia, and South America.
I’m also ready to re-book the Cancun trip for me and my sister from last December that we had to cancel with her hospitalization.
And, finally, I booked one more trip for later in the year that just might be the last one before my passport expires in the spring of 2023!!!
“OZARK”
Don’t expect to make any plans with me the last weekend of April!
The incredible series “Ozark” concludes its four season run with what will surely be seven deadly, bloody episodes on April 29th!
While this is not really a “SPOILER ALERT” since none of us really know the answer, but who do you think is going to die? Who’s going to survive?
My guess is Wendy, played by one of my favorite actresses, Laura Linney, will bite the bullet!
I’d venture to say Ruth, too.
Okay, for those that are not caught up on “Ozark”, please don’t mention the name(s) of anyone that died in the first seven episodes of season 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“ALL OF US ARE DEAD”
Zombies are not for everyone.
I absolutely loved the first few seasons of “The Walking Dead”. I was totally over it by season nine. Once Andrew Lincoln “left” the series, I was done!
I really enjoyed the South Korean-coming of age zombie series, “All of Us Are Dead”, on Netflix.
Did it really need to be twelve episodes? Probably not, but I did enjoy the character development that the 12 hours allowed it.
I didn’t choose the option, but it played in English-dubbed dialogue and they did a great job with it.
GRADE: A
A THOUGHT ON MOVIES…
Why does it seem that most movies that used to run 90 minute to two hours are now closer to 2.5 hours long? The last three I watched were all that long!
Although I haven’t been to a theater to see a movie in two years, I definitely don’t want to sit for over two hours knowing that I’d have to nurse my Coke Zero because there’s no way I’m getting up to go to the bathroom and miss something!
And, what’s worse, I watch these long movies and think more about the “filler” that could have ended up on the cutting-room floor!
“HOUSE OF GUCCI”
I really enjoyed this Ridley Scott-directed crime thriller.
While snubbed for an Oscar nomination, Lady Gaga made the movie! (She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Award for best actress, even though I didn’t think she would/should won!)
She played Patricia Martinelli, a woman that married into the Gucci family. Gaga was an excellent villain, who became a jilted wife and then convicted criminal. You may already know what she did, but, if not, I won’t spoil it.
Adam Driver and Jeremy Irons were great in the movie, but Jared Leto’s character felt very comical and that has nothing to do with the crazy physical transformation he went through for the part.
GRADE: B+
LAS VEGAS
In 1905, Downtown and Fremont became the first mecca of Las Vegas. Highway 91 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, officially outside the city limits, became known as the “Las Vegas Strip” (Las Vegas Boulevard).
Before the pandemic, Las Vegas buffets — by the numbers….
GEORGE WASHINGTON
From their book on George Washington in “The American Presidents” series (2004), authors James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn: as a young man in his teens and 20s, the future first president was obsessed with fashion and designed his cavalry’s jackets. He often frowned upon the poor!
He was elected to the House of Burgesses, the lower house of the colonial Virginia legislature, in 1759, at the age of 27. His party on Election Day for his 390 voters consisted of 160 gallons of rum, wine, beer, and punch.
By the mid-1770s, after he married Martha, a wealthy young widow, and acquired Mount Vernon, his half brother, Lawrence’s estate in Virginia, they owned almost 200 slaves.
Next time, some even more startling revelations about Washington!
“LAST NIGHT IN SOHO”
I really enjoyed this Edgar Rice (“Baby Driver”) psychological thriller set in 1960s London.
The soundtrack, the fashion, and the bizarre storyline was great.
Anya Taylor-Joy was captivating and now I want to watch “The Queen’s Gambit” just to see more of her.
GRADE: B+
“NIGHTMARE ALLEY”
This is another one of those long movies I recently watched and after the first hour, I was thinking, “when will this become thrilling?”
That happened when Cate Blanchett arrived in the movie. (Now, the early scene with Bradley Cooper and Toni Collette definitely captured my attention, but it was for a reason unrelated to the movie. Let’s just say that it was a dime well spent!) 🙂
The last half of the movie redeemed the first half.
GRADE: C+
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
As winter slowly morphs into spring, there are a couple of things going on that I’ve keep close to my chest and I’m now ready to share with you.
April 1, 2022, will mark my two-year anniversary in Decatur, located in Central Illinois. It’s basically two hours east of St. Louis and three hours from the Quad Cities and three hours from Chicago.
With that being said, last month, I signed on to stay at WAND as the morning meteorologist for several more years!
I absolutely love my morning crew and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them!
After making that decision, I had the opportunity to move into a more modernized, updated apartment and I took it.
In the past, I’ve had good luck moving into new places sight unseen, but that wasn’t the case with my apartment here.
While it was in a great location on Lake Decatur, it was old and run down — basically, a dump. So much so that I didn’t invite people over for dinner other than my sister. (The pandemic helped with that, too.)
While I’ll no longer have a view of Lake Decatur out my bedroom window, I still have woods to look at instead of a parking lot!
And, I can still do my four-mile walk around the Lake a couple of times a day, weather-permitting.
When I loaded my U-Haul in Duluth, Minnesota, in late March 2020, to move to Decatur, six inches of new snow greeted me that morning, but my move-in day in Illinois was perfect.
For this move, 11.5″ of snow fell a few days before I started moving things into the apartment, but the melting snow posed no problems!
At this point, my new apartment is my favorite since Panama City, Florida, in 2017. While I hated my time there, I loved that apartment which was destroyed by Hurricane Michael less than five months after I left!
After more than a week of unpacking this mess and having fun decorating, it’s time to share my new place with you. I’m very excited about it!
First up, my living room.
Two more notes about my living room entertainment center area.
One day, I was visiting my sister, Tammy, and I commented on the lamps on her desk. And, just like the person that’d give you the shirt off their back, she made me take them!
I didn’t protest much and now they’re two of my most prized possessions!
And, of course, since I’m still waiting to see Kylie Minogue in concert, I’ll just have to enjoy the “Golden Tour” in the luxury of my living room!
You know I love wine and champagne (and vodka), I still absolutely love the wine rack I bought back in 2004 and the “art” work above it.
I took these photos while visiting the Sonoma Valley wine region in California years ago and I found the vintage metal “wine” sign at a yard sale for a dollar!
Cheers to getting wasted, classy people! 🍷
While I learned from my last apartment that not all come with lights in the living room and bedroom. I can understand that.
But, what I was shocked to learn about my new place — no light or light fixture in the dining room! What is this, the 1800s?
Should I have just saved money and invested in a couple of lanterns and candles for entertaining? Or, just dine in the dark? 🙂
Well, I chose the more updated approach and treated myself to a couple of new lamps to accentuate my dining room!
Now, I can’t wait to have more dinner guests and small Christmas parties!
I love my bedroom with the tulips prints and framed personal photos of my 50th birthday celebration (champagne at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, a view of Tel Aviv from Old Jaffa, and my favorite meal ever at Benny the Fisherman on the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv).
Also, photos of meeting my idols, President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, and Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton.
And, of course, there’s my beautiful Reba “Read My Mind” album cover painting that my friend, David Krumwiede (Fifi DePraved) made for me when I left Chicago in 1996 to begin my television career!
And, I love this cool print, too, and the view out my bedroom window!
Also, the plants make the room feel so warm and inviting.
And, finally, the hallway from the living room and the dining room to the bedrooms is now the koi walls.
I picked this one (and the green ceramic tile one in the next photo) up when I visited China in 2016.
And, this beautiful one means the most to me. It was painted by my dear artistic friend, Katie, as a going away present when I left Duluth!
She knows how much I miss my koi pond from my former life and how I hope to have a pond again one day.
Oh, this one which I’ll likely have re-framed in black, I picked up at second hand art store in Urbana, Illinois, a few months ago, for only $4.
Another year is behind us and it’s another year that I didn’t see a movie in a theater with my large popcorn and Coke Zero (and my complimentary refills)!
Maybe this year! The movies I’m most excited to see are “Halloween Ends” (October 14, 2022) and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (December 23, 2022). Yes, it’s about Whitney Houston with Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis!
Before I kick off the countdown of my 20 favorite movies I watched in 2021, a little explanation is needed.
My top movies are not necessarily the “best” movies of the year or the highly coveted awards-worthy movies.
A movie gets a higher ranking on my list if I’d want to watch it again and again. Some of the movies I saw in 2021 were fantastic, but I have no need or desire to watch them again, so they can’t be a “favorite”!
Let’s begin the countdown with the movies that I saw that missed out on the Top 20! (And, when you’re done, let me know which ones YOU saw and YOUR favorites of 2021!
My least favorite movie of the year was “False Positive” and I saw some of “Antebellum”, but I gave up on it about 15 minutes into it!
Just missing out: #41 “Pieces of a Woman”; #40 “Another Round”; #39 “The Harder They Fall”; #38 “Don’t Look Up”; #37 “Breaking News In Yuba County”; #36 “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”; #35 “Judas and the Black Messiah”; #34 “The Father”; #33 “Candyman”; #32 “The Hand of God”; #31 “A Quiet Place Part II”, #30 “Peter Rabbit 2”; #29 “Tick! Tick! Boom!”; #28 “Christmas in Tune”; #27 “Da 5 Bloods”; #26 “I Care A Lot”; #25 “Halloween Kills”; #24 “In The Heights”; #23 “Army of the Dead”; #22 “Cruella”; and #21 “The Forever Purge”.
“THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW”
“PIG”
“SUPERNOVA”
“THE UNITED STATES vs BILLIE HOLIDAY”
“NOMADLAND”
“SINGLE ALL THE WAY”
“ARMY OF THIEVES”
“THE UNFORGIVABLE”
“DEAR EVAN HANSEN”
“THE DONUT KING”
“DUNE”
“THE POWER OF THE DOG”
“FRENCH EXIT”
“BLUE BAYOU”
“SPENCER”
“THE LOST DAUGHTER”
“THE MAURITANIAN”
“THE WHITE TIGER”
Before I reveal my two favorites movies I saw in 2021, here are my favorite movies over the past five years. How many of these did you see?
“PARASITE“
“THE FAREWELL”
“CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”
“LION”
“GOODNIGHT MOMMY”
Now, back to my favorite movies I saw in 2021.
“MINARI”
“PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN”
Thank you for checking out my favorites. As always, I welcome your comments. 🙂
2022 is underway and I can’t believe we’re already two weeks into the new year. I hope it’s off to a great start for you. At least, a good start!
With my annual Christmas letter, I revisit and recap the previous year as we move into the holiday season. And, each January, I share some things I’m looking forward to in the new year. So, here goes…
2020, PART THREE
While I’m not looking forward to it, sadly, we’re entering the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With new and emerging strains, the infection and death rates continue to soar after some improvement last spring and early summer with available vaccinations.
Being vaccinated and boosted, I hope to stay safe and I hope the same for you.
SPENDING MORE TIME WITH MY BFF
The holiday season wasn’t the best for my sister. Tammy spent a week in the hospital before Thanksgiving and almost two more weeks beginning on the day after Christmas.
While the befuddled doctors tried to figure out what exactly was going on and what needed to be done, I spent a lot of afternoons with her since I could just imagine how boring the stay was!
She’s feeling better, but the mystery surrounding the water retention and the incredible weight gain remains. It’s likely tied to congestive heart failure.
They also discovered that the two stents from the 2011 heart attack have closed and the heart is very weak.
We’ll be making a trip to St. Louis very soon to have a more advanced team give her options that may correct the problem and restore a quality of life again!
SOME PEOPLE JUST SUCK
Sadly, during those three weeks in the hospital, her youngest son didn’t even have the decency to even visit. (He was also blew off seeing her on Christmas Eve after they planned it!)
This isn’t disappointing to me because that would imply surprise. I’m thoroughly disgusted!
Meanwhile, her other son and her boyfriend only visited once! Good thing her daughter-in-law and a co-worker came by to see her several times!
It goes back to the old saying that you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.
Well, luckily we CAN choose a new “family”. That’s a good thing because some in people’s real family just suck!
Oh wait, was I supposed to sugarcoat that? Too bad!
CANCUN
Before that first hospitalization, my sister and I were booked to spend the first week of December 2021 in Cancun, Mexico.
Our plans of sipping frozen Miami Vices and other potent potables and eating unlimited food while soaking in the sun and listening to the waves (and staring at sexy men) were postponed.
Shots, shots, shots in this spring 2018 Cancun flashback!
Oh, hey Erik!
Wait, these shots are a different color!
Um, Tammy, how many did we have? Oh, who’s really counting at a time like this? 🙂
Hopefully, she’ll feel well enough soon (again, I’m saying “well enough”) to re-schedule that trip!
ANOTHER TRIP
Meanwhile, I have another solo trip coming up in late March! I’m ready to enjoy the solitude in a part of the world I’ve never been.
But, it’s still not one of three continents I’ve yet to visit — Antarctica, Australia, and South America.
PASSPORT RENEWAL
My passport expires in the spring of 2023 and while I’m still debating, I’m leaning toward letting it expire.
While I’d still love to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the islands of Greece (along with Denmark, Morocco, and Israel again), it just might not be in the cards.
TWO CONCERTSIN 2022?
Seeing Kylie Minogue in concert is still on my bucket list.
If it happens in a festive foreign city, it’d be even more incredible!
If you’re not familiar with Kylie or if you just want to have a smile on your face for the rest of the day after just three minutes of bliss, watch this!
Also, I want to see the oh-so talented and sexy Ben Platt.
If that happens, it’ll be in March in St. Louis!
TWO MOVIES
At this point, there are just two movies that I want to see in theaters in 2022. It’s been two years since I saw a movie in a theater!
I’m so ready for my large popcorn and large Coke Zero and free refills!
“Halloween Ends” arrives on October 14, 2022 and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”, which hits theaters December 23, 2022. Yes, it’s about Whitney Houston with Stanley Tucci as Clive Davis!
#PUG2022
And, if I don’t make it to theaters to see those two movies, I’ll see them at home with #Pug2022 and I might even share my popcorn!
Speaking of #Pug2022, I could’ve become a pug owner earlier this month. There was one left in a litter locally.
However, there were two problems: it was a boy and the timing wasn’t right. There are some things going on that would prevent my becoming a “dog dad” until the second half of the year!
Timing is everything! I still have to use my passport a few more times this year!
“Xanadu” – ♪ “a place where nobody dared to go” where “a million lights are dancing and there you are – a shooting star” ♪!
Since we’re friends, you know I’ve already been listening to holiday music for weeks now and, for the first time ever, I put my two Christmas trees up on Halloween since it was on the weekend (I usually decorate November 1st).
And, I even made the wine rack festive this season!
I hope this finds you happy and healthy after another year of the pandemic.
From a professional and personal perspective, all is still the same as last year and that’s not a bad thing. I’m still the morning meteorologist for the NBC affiliate in Decatur, which covers all of Central Illinois. I’ve been here about 21 months now.
And, more and more people in Decatur know me as “the man that walks around the Lake reading”! I’ve been in the newspaper twice for it and I now do a twice monthly radio feature about what I’m reading! 🙂
I’m still single and the dating life is, wait, what dating life? Good thing I enjoy my own company! 🙂
It’s nice having my sister Tammy here — we cook dinner for each other, go out to eat, and celebrate holidays without having to travel.
With vaccines available and about half of America doing its part to fight the pandemic, travel became a reality again in 2021 and I took advantage of it. At first, I headed out to Vegas a couple of times this summer.
I enjoyed people watching and the great food.
I also boosted the economy. Well, the bottom line for the casinos!
In October, to celebrate my birthday, I took my first real holiday since Bangkok, Thailand, in early 2019!
I flew to Greece and visited Athens, Olympia, and Delphi.
The stunning views of Athens and the Aegean Sea were majestic.
The many archeological sites that unearthed thousands of years of history and the museums were captivating.
And, then the trip up the mountains to Delphi along the gorgeous Corinthian Bay was breathtaking.
And, the food was amazing, especially the Mediterranean breakfasts!
It was a pleasure to meet some wonderful people that I’ll be keeping in touch with for years to come.
There was Matt, Marcellus, and Cortney…
… and Cheryl and Jennifer.
Now that 2021 is almost behind us and we look forward to 2022, I’m still holding out for some things I’ve been waiting years for.
I still want to see Kylie Minogue in concert and if that happens in a festive foreign city, it’d be even more incredible!
Maybe it’ll be in “Xanadu” – ♪ “a place where nobody dared to go” where “a million lights are dancing and there you are – a shooting star” ♪!
And, #Pug2022 might one day become a reality!
My friends, here’s to a new year filled with happiness, excitement, goodwill, and peace.
By the way, this is one of my favorite ornaments. Peace has been broken, as in real life, but it’s been glued together and still makes me smile!
“May hope and faith conquer fear and hate this Christmas”!
Even though I’ve already decorated for Christmas (I did it on Halloween this year since it was on a weekend), I’m so ready for the turkey feast with my sister, Tammy.
So, here are some Thanksgiving funnies before I share a few random thoughts.
This is still one of my favorites!
And, as a meteorologist, this will totally be me on Wednesday for the morning and noon shows!
WORLD AIDS DAY
Although World AIDS Day isn’t until December 1st, I’m talking about it today since this will be my only random thoughts this month.
“World AIDS Day” originated in 1988 to raise awareness to the spread of HIV and AIDS.
We now live in an age where, with proper medication and taking it as prescribed, HIV is a treatable disease and those that are HIV-positive can live with “undetectable” viral loads, which mean they CANNOT spread the virus.
Still, in 2019, almost 35-thousand people in the U.S. and six dependent areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Palau, and the US Virgin Islands) became HIV-positive.
And HIV isn’t the only thing sexually active people have to worry about.
STIs are on the rise! In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the highest number of STIs EVER in the U.S. — for the sixth consecutive year!!!
People, have all the sex you want. But, use condoms!!!
“ALL THE YOUNG MEN”
This 2020 memoir by Ruth Coker Burks is subtitled, “How One Woman Risked It All To Care For The Dying” is an incredible and heart-tugging book.
Burks was a single mom of a little girl in small town Arkansas (Hot Springs) back in the mid-1980s when the AIDS epidemic was sweeping the nation and the death toll of mostly gay men was skyrocketing.
She was at the hospital visiting a friend when she heard moaning coming from a room down the hall. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the door painted red and the room cordoned off with caution tape. Inside, a young man was dying, totally ignored by the nurses and hospital staff.
Against the advice of the close-minded and ignorant nurses, Ruth went inside and comforted the man as he died. It started a quest of making the last months of life more livable for the men that searched her out for comfort and compassion.
While shunned by those in town for her fight for those that most of America would rather forget, Ruth befriended a gay bar manager and his drag queen partner and realized that your chosen family can bring you as much love and comfort as a given family.
“All The Young Men” is a must read!
Ruth and I follow each other on Twitter and have corresponded. I’m honored to be in the same company as this treasure to the LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS community!
FINAL THOUGHTS ON HIV
If you don’t know your status, get tested!!!
It’s painless and knowing one way or the other is the first step to healthy or healthier living!!!
“YOU” (SEASON 3)
On a lighter note — stalkers and murderers looking for love. 🙂
Back in September, after reading the latest book from Caroline Kepnes, “You Love Me” (2021), I wrote “there was very little I enjoyed about [it]!”
That was being diplomatic. I hated it!
After enjoying the first two books in the series, “You” (2014) and “Hidden Bodies” (2016), “You Love Me” left me dreading the third season of “You”.
I wrote, “I hope the new season deviates greatly from the book. Also, I hope Kepnes expands her writing resume and leaves the ‘You’ series behind!!!”
It’s now with glee when I mention season three of the Netflix hit, “You”!
As it turns out, the book wasn’t ready when the new season was being prepped and that makes us all winners!
Season 3 was the best season yet and Netflix has renewed “You” for a fourth season.
GRADE: A-
“ARMY OF THIEVES”
The Netflix prequel to the summer hit, “Army of the Dead”, Zack Synder’s zombie apocalypse in Las Vegas, was the #1 movie or show on the streaming service in its opening weekend.
It takes place just as the zombies are taking over Vegas and before Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) is recruited to crack a safe there and tries to avoid being eaten by the undead on the Strip.
“Thieves” was much more cohesive and entertaining than “Dead”. However, that’s sort of like comparing apples to oranges because “Thieves” is more of a suspenseful heist movie and “Dead” is more of a zombie flick with a heist.
Ludwig was my favorite character in “Dead”, so it was nice to see a movie focused around him. And, Schweighöfer also directed “Thieves”.
GRADE: A-
“ARMY OF THE DEAD”
It’s that “G–damned zombie tiger”!
After watching “Army of the Dead” in May 2021, this is what I had to say:
“I’ve been so excited ever since I heard about it. It’s a heist movie featuring two things I love — Las Vegas and zombies. Maybe I was too excited for it!”
“While enjoyable, I was a little surprised with its 2.5 hour running time. It was definitely over the top with violence (great for a zombie movie), but there were several parts that could have been cut. A two-hour running time would have worked better.”
I went on to say, “Would I watch it again? Maybe. I definitely recommend it, but Snyder’s 2004 remake of “Dawn of the Dead” was better!”
GRADE: B
MY NEXT VEGAS CONCERT
While I don’t have a Las Vegas trip planned, I already know what my next show there will be.
I’ll be seeing Whitney Houston in concert!!!! Confused?
The show, “An Evening with Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Concert”, is a new residency at Harrah’s.
While Whitney is a hologram, “she’ll” be performing with real dancers and musicians!
So, with this hologram experience, it’d be interesting to see where you’d have to sit in the showroom to have the most real visual experience!
The show is scheduled through at least the spring of 2022.
WHITNEY’S RADIO RESURGENCE
Whitney Houston last hit at Top 40 radio was in 2000 with “Could I Have This Kiss Forever”, a duet with Enrique Iglesias.
The song reached #34 on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay charts, yet failed to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard 100.
After scoring a hit with Kygo in 2019 (more on that shortly), Whitney is once again on the radio with the English band, Clean Bandit.
In early 1986, Whitney hit #1 with “How Will I Know”. Now, in 2021, the song is once again racing up the Hot Adult Contemporary airplay chart and the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
In 2019-2020, Norwegian DJ Kygo took Whitney’s vocals of Steve Winwood and Chaka Khan’s #1 1986 hit, “Higher Love” and remixed the song.
It topped the dance chart in the U.S. and was a hit at Top 40 radio. It reached the Top Five in many countries around the world.
“AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT”
The third installment of the F/X series just wrapped up and good riddance.
While I voted for Bill and Hillary Clinton in every presidential election, this was my least favorite of the “American Crime Story” series.
2016’s “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” and 2018’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” were phenomenal.
No, that’s not an asinine photo, it’s just random and it’s Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan in “Versace”. 🙂
Focus Anthony! Back to “Impeachment”…
I expect Emmy nominations for Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp and maybe one for Clive Owen, who was spot on as Bill Clinton. I could also see Beanie Feldstein getting a nom for playing Monica Lewinsky and there’s buzz for Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones.
The series was very skewed toward making Lewinsky look as good as possible (she was a consultant) and Tripp come across as truly evil (and she probably was).
I’m now going to read Tripp’s 2020 book, “A Basket of Deplorables: What I Saw Inside the Clinton White House”, which was released eight months after she died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70.
The one true “Impeachment” about the series was Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton. Lame!
I know Falco is a four-time Emmy Award winner (I plan on watching “Nurse Jackie), but she just phoned in this performance and didn’t even try to become Hillary Clinton. It takes more than a few wigs!!!
GRADE:C+
LAST “AMERICAN CRIME STORY” THOUGHTS
At one time, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was going to become a season of “American Crime Story”, but it was scrapped. I was looking forward to that!
Rumor has it the next season will focus on Studio 54, the iconic New York City disco.
That should be fun and scandalous!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
The way I trick or treat continues to change. Yes, I’ll still take Snickers, Baby Ruth, Milky Way, Almond Joy, and Twizzlers if you offer.
But, this is more my way of thinking now!
I’ve only posted two new features over the past six weeks.
The first was about the biggest events and my 100 favorite songs of the second era of my life from 1999-2021 (since I did one last year for my first 35 years).
I supplied the links if you didn’t get a chance to read them the first time or if you want to re-visit them.
While I’m not ready to start back my weekly “Random Friday Thoughts”, I want to share some with you this week just for the fun of it.
Happy Halloween! Be safe and beware of psychos!
I don’t mean the ones that are intentionally scary because of Hollywood and Halloween! 🙂
A “HAPPY HALLOWEEN” MEMORY!
Ten years ago, my golden retriever, ABBA, went trick-or-treating for the last time.
Here she is during “surgery”!
She went as a lobotomized dog with a rubber brain under the bandage. However, as you can see, she decided that part wasn’t for her when the trick-or-treating started! 🙂
ABBA was such a trooper and she got her own fun-size “3 Musketeer” bar and loved eating it!
Yes, I took it out of the paper! 🙂
At the bottom of today’s blog, another fun and very scandalous Halloween flashback of me partying in Houston in 1992!
“HALLOWEEN KILLS”
After a year delay because of the pandemic, I was excited to see “Halloween Kills”. After seeing it, I’m glad I watched it for free on Peacock instead of paying to see it in the theater.
First I’ll share what I liked about the movie: I loved that some of the actors from 1978’s “Halloween” returned. Some may be in 2022’s “Halloween Ends” and a few won’t!
The movie also filled in some of the blanks from what happened in 1963 when Michael Myers first killed to his 1978 killing spree in the original movie that kicked off the franchise.
To add to some of those tidbits, a new actor played Dr. Sam Loomis and the resemblance was startling! (Donald Pleasence died in 1995 after starring in five of the franchise’s first six movies. “Halloween Kills” is the 12th installment!)
The next to the last kill in the movie was phenomenal and the moment of death is classic. Also, the final kill was surprising and shocking!
Now what I didn’t like about it!
For starters, the lack of a storyline for Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode! After seeing this movie, I get it that they’re saving her for the “finale” (yeah, right) of the franchise.
The whole mob scene at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital went on way too long. The mentality of the mob was eerily similar to the real-life deadly events at the Capitol in January 2021 in Washington D.C. And, to think that the fictional mob scene in “Halloween Kills” was shot in the fall of 2019!
While I enjoyed the movie as a whole, I’ll never watch it again!
This movie’s predecessor, 2018’s “Halloween” made $255.6 million worldwide. “Halloween Kills” is a box office smash at $93.8 million worldwide against a $20 million budget.
Final thoughts: The trailer is better than the movie, you see many of the kills, you saved money by not going to see it, and you didn’t waste almost two hours!
GRADE: C
P.S. ONE MORE “HALLOWEEN KILLS” THOUGHT
Watch the 2018 “Halloween” movie instead. It’s much better.
Here’s what I said back then and I gave it a “B”:
“It was very entertaining and I loved the winks back to all of the other movies in the franchise that this one pretended didn’t exist.
Iloved that the movie was very violent (Michael Myers as a practicing dentist!). It could be because he’s psychotic and has been locked up and drugged for 40 years!
While the movie was great, it didn’t scare me since nothing can compare to the 1978 original!”
“CRUELLA”
If horror isn’t your thing and that brand of “Halloween” violence may be too much for you, another fun Halloween-ish movie to check out is “Cruella”. (“Halloween-ish” because Cruella likes to dress up!)
While it came out in May, I just saw it on my flight back from Greece and it was very enjoyable.
This movie introduces us to Estella Miller, who as an adult becomes Cruella de Vil. Oscar winner Emma Stone (“La La Land”) is incredible.
But, my favorite character was Baroness von Hellman played by two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson (one of those Academy Awards was for acting and the other was for writing.)
GRADE: B
HOLD UP, ONE MORE “CRUELLA” THOUGHT
While Stone was incredible as a young Cruella and will be returning in the sequel, she’s no Glenn Close from 1996’s “101 Dalmatians” and 2000’s “102 Dalmatians”.
But, then again, Emma Stone has an Oscar and Close is, sadly, an eight-time Academy Award nominee without a win! Sacrilegious.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Who doesn’t love donuts (or doughnuts)? I know they are so, so unhealthy, but yum.
“THE DONUT KING”
I just watched the informative and entertaining 2020 documentary, “The Donut King”.
It tells the story of Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy, who came to United States in the 1970s, and built a multi-million dollar empire by baking donuts.
I was blown away by the fact that almost all of the privately owned donut shops in California at one time were owned by Cambodians!
This is a great rags to riches story! But, there’s a twist — how he ends up losing his fortune!
GRADE: B+
ANOTHER NIGHT AT THE “DISCO”
If you regularly read my blog, you know that I was absolutely enthralled by Kylie Minogue’s critically acclaimed, “Disco” album last November. It brought fun and optimism to a pandemic world!
And, I almost lost it in the fall of 2020 when Kylie commented on my tweet!
Now, I’m so excited that Kylie is ready for another round of late night partying, escapism, and disco beats with “Disco: Guest List Edition”!
It features duets and remixes with Dua Lipa, Jessie Ware, Gloria Gaynor, and Years & Years (Olly Alexander).
While that would be exciting enough, there’s also going to be a deluxe version, which features five discs (the original “Disco” deluxe album, the new Guest List Edition of duets and remixes, the Live Infinite Disco Livestream concert DVD, and a CD disc of the music from that virtual concert, plus a BluRay of the concert!)
I’m in heaven!!! I’m also captivated by the new video from Kylie and Years & Years “A Second To Midnight”, the album’s first release.
I keep watching it over and over! Is it November 12th yet? I want my new “Disco”!
AND, ONE MORE KYLIE NOTE!!!
The Queen liked a second tweet of mine this summer with three blue hearts! 💙💙💙
Now, if only there could be a “Disco 2022 Tour”, I’d never have to see another another concert after that!
“PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY”
My final movie thought is about “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”. While it was entertaining, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original.
Back in the spring of 2018, I highly recommended “Peter Rabbit” and gave it a “B+”!
GRADE: C+
“AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DOUBLE FEATURE”
The latest season of “American Horror Story” just wrapped and it couldn’t end soon enough.
It was divided into two parts (six episodes of “Red Tide” and four episodes of “Death Valley”).
While I enjoyed some of it, it was the worst season of “American Horror Story” and there have been some stinkers!
I definitely didn’t enjoy most of the season, yet I kept watching!
GRADE: D
Now that this season is over (and the series has been renewed for three more seasons!), how do the ten seasons rank in my opinion?
#10 “Double Feature” (season ten, 2021)
#9 “Freak Show” (season four, 2014) — The highlight!
#8 “Hotel” (season five, 2015)
#7 “Roanoke” (season six, 2016)
#6 “Apocalypse” (season eight, 2018)
#5 “Coven” (season three, 2013)
#4 “1984” (season nine, 2019)
#3 “Murder House” (season one, 2011)
#2 “Cult” (season seven, 2017)
#1 “Asylum” (season two, 2012)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Houston 1992
And, then there’s this one from 2010. I think I made a great Lady Gaga!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
It’s often said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I don’t plan on writing a thousand words, but I want to share some stories behind the photos I posted from my recent visit to Greece. (P.S. I lied, before I wrote this additional line, it ended up being 1,761 words!) 🙂
I always say that “it’s nice to get away, but it’s also nice to come home”. Well, I didn’t say that when I visited Morocco in the fall of 2018 or when I was ready to leave Greece last Sunday.
I wish I could have stayed longer and island hop along the Mediterranean. Hopefully, I’ll do that with my sister, Tammy — sooner rather than later!
From the time I left for the airport in Bloomington, Illinois, for my three flights to the time I arrived at the hotel in Athens, Greece, it took about 25 hours (not counting the time change).
The return home took three hours longer — an early wake-up call, the drive to to the airport, three flights, two delays, sit time before the first flight and between flights, and an hour drive home.
But, it was all worth it!
Back to my arrival at the hotel in Greece. The room was great and the rooftop view of the city was incredible!
I could see the Acropolis and I was mesmerized by the houses and buildings as far as the eye could see. About half of Greece’s 11 million people live in Athens.
After getting settled into the hotel, I took a walk to see what was nearby and I got lost! As it neared the time to meet my tour group for the introduction, I freaked out a little, but I found my way back.
The Greece trip was the fifth excursion I’ve taken with Gate 1 Travel — Danube River cruise (2013), Scandinavia (2017) , Morocco (2018), and Bangkok, Thailand (2019). My trip to China was through another company and my 50th birthday excursion to Paris, France, and Tel Aviv, Israel was a trip I planned on my own.
The nice thing about these tours is that you normally gravitate toward a few people that you spend more time with touring the sites, eating meals, and sharing laughs and life stories. And, you usually keep in touch with them years after the trip is over!
For me, my Peeps on this trip were (from left to right), Matt, Marcellus, and Cortney.
We talked a lot about relationships and travel.
Well, there was one other topic that became a running joke (or was it a joke?) — certain museum statues and some souvenir options kept that topic alive. 🙂
As the trip progressed, I bonded with Jessica and her mother, Cheryl, from Iowa.
It should come as no surprise that there’s so much history in Greece — from the start of the Olympics (in Olympia), attacks from foreign empires, and the discovery of many of the ruins after earthquakes and mud from floods buried many of the sites for more than a thousand years!
Some of them were only discovered in the late-1800s and entire towns were moved for the excavation. Hello Delphi!
While visiting the Acropolis, it was so relaxing to look out across Athens and seeing the Aegean Sea was so peaceful. This is one of my favorite photos I took on holiday.
After visiting the Acropolis and its museum, our fantastic tour guide, Elena, treated us to baklava and Greek coffee. I love desserts and the one piece of baklava I had was divine.
Okay, here’s a funny story. I actually had two pieces!
Two people from our tour group were off on their own shopping or spending more time at the museum and there was an open seat next to me at our table. That piece of baklava was just staring at me saying, “eat me”.
As we were ready to leave, I gave up on them coming back and their friend said “eat it”. It was my birthday, so I didn’t need to be told again. Midway through that second piece, they walked in!
Oh well! 🙂
By the way, I didn’t care for the Greek coffee. When I get to the bottom of my coffee, I don’t want muck in my cup! Muck = Yuck!
That visit was earlier in the day. For dinner that night, I tried Ouzo for the first time.
OPA!
For scientific reasons, I added ice cubes to the Ouzo because the chemical reaction makes it “cloudy”.
And, in full disclosure, there was Ouzo left on the table, so I had a second one at the end of the meal!
OPA!
While I had some amazing food (eggplant in tomato sauce topped with feta, Greek salad, and a pork gyro to name a few), my absolute favorite meals were the breakfasts.
There’s just something about Mediterranean breakfast that I love (I still salivate thinking of my Israeli breakfasts in Tel Aviv).
However, both mornings in Athens, I finished my two plates of breakfast with a large bowl of Greek yogurt with honey, nuts, dried fruit, and even a candied fig! And, a few pastries!
Yes, I love plating food for photos and I don’t waste. I take bites of many things and only what I’ll eat!
Oh, by the way, a true Greek salad doesn’t include lettuce — just tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, peppers, olives, olive oil, feta cheese, and seasoning.
The fresh veggies, the olives, and feta in Greece are amazing!
One thing I didn’t eat on the entire trip was a fish dish. I was told by my dear Greek friend, John, in the Quad Cities, that fish is more popular on the Greek islands!
The most scenic part of the trip was the drive from Olympia to Delphi, up in the mountains, along the breathtaking Corinthian Bay.
My favorite hotel views were in Olympia (second floor balcony with a grove of pomegranate, orange, and olive trees below)…
and this Delphi hotel balcony view (also from the second floor).
These three photos were some of my favorites I took on the trip.
Those two are from Nafpaktos, where we stopped for herbal tea and honey, which was refreshingly tasty.
This next one was from a surprise lunch complete with a cooking demonstration, in which some in our group made our three appetizers, and a Greek dancing lesson with participation!
Thank you Lillian for the photo! It was nice hanging out with you, too!
And, see the whole religious correlation — wine, water, and bread! 🙂
As my trip to Greece was coming to an end, we were back in Athens for a farewell evening organized by our knowledgeable, personable, and amazing guide (and historian) Elena.
On the rooftop of our hotel, The Stanley, many of us pulled together tables with the expansive view of Athens and the Acropolis all aglow surrounding us as we enjoyed appetizers and several bottles of Greek wine!
Along with the great company and laughs, I loved the dessert — a chocolate mousse atop chocolate crumbles, and a very tasty violet! I love how the floral flavor just popped as you chewed it.
Of the many countries I’ve visited, I’d go back to Morocco and Copenhagen, Denmark, in a heartbeat.
Greece is another one.
There’s still so much in Athens I didn’t see and I want to have my “Mamma Mia” experience in the Greek Islands (Mykonos, Santorini, and Paros, for starters) — the beauty, the food, and maybe even the “dot dot dot”! 🙂
A cruise on the Aegean Sea would also be amazing!
Three of my big international trips were to celebrate my birthday. There was Paris, France, complete with a dinner cruise on the Seine River, a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and sitting at the stage of the historic Moulin Rouge sipping champagne as I turned 50!
And, my 54th in Marrakesh, Morocco. Turning 57 in Athens was also memorable.
As you read this you may have wondered about the closeness of my new friends in some of the pictures. A co-worker asked what it was like with COVID-19 over there.
Well, most of the museums required proof of vaccination, we needed a negative COVID test coming into the country, and upon arrival at the airport, you could have been randomly chosen to take a test.
We were required to wear masks at all times on the bus, at the hotels, museums, and restaurants (when not eating and drinking), and on the flights.
Here’s one last funny story to share.
Those of us leaving Greece Sunday had to meet before breakfast in Olympia Friday for our COVID test to return to the United States.
While we were all negative coming into Greece and we expected the tests to come back negative, it was still a little stressful.
We took the tests and had breakfast. Then we were off to see the home of the first Olympics and settle in for a three-hour ride to Delphi.
As we neared the town, I laughed because my phone was down to 15% and thought my sister would be proud of me. I never let my phone drain that low. It then hit me!
I recalled unplugging my charger and cord (black) that morning after the test, but I didn’t remember taking my power adapter/converter (ivory) out of the wall! Guess what, I didn’t and I still had two more nights in Greece without an adapter!
Well, my new buddy, Marcellus saved the day and loaned me his converter that night and the next night in Athens before the farewell party.
My phone was now at 80% and that would be enough to get me onto the plane for the flight back to the U.S. where I could fully charge it.
That’s when I saw our flight out the next morning was delayed an hour and then I started thinking too much and couldn’t fall asleep.
So, I watched “Coyote Ugly” dubbed in Greek!
So that’s a recap of my birthday/holiday trip to Greece!
Now that I’m back, I keep telling myself, “Must not book new trip, must not book new trip, must not book new trip…”
OH WAIT!
One last funny story — when we arrive in Delphi on the next to last night, they met us with a tray of refreshing drinks. It was a beautiful, colorful “wine”.
I took a sip and it was so tasty. I took a second sip and it was gone!!! I thought, I can’t believe I gulped that down in just two sips. I seriously thought I might have to visit Betty Ford!
It wasn’t until breakfast the next morning when I realized it was CHERRY JUICE! Whew! 🙂
If you’re a regular reader of my random thoughts, you know I love making lists and countdowns.
On September 11, 2020, I posted a blog of the 13 biggest events of my first 35 years. (13 because I was born on the 13th and it’s my favorite number).
Along with that, I intended to share my 35 favorite songs of those first 35 years. Well, the initial list ended up with 236 songs, so I decided to be like the Billboard Hot 100 and share my top 100 songs of that era of my life.
In case you didn’t see it last year or last week when I posted it again, here it is:
Well, it was well-received, so why not be like Hollywood and make a sequel???
So, here are the top eight events that shaped the next era of my life (1999-2021) along with not my just my 22 favorite songs of the past 22 years, but my 100 favorites of that era!
EVENTS THATSHAPED MY LAST 22 YEARS
MEETING REBA McENTIRE (APRIL 2005)
While Reba McEntire became a powerhouse superstar in the mid-1980s, I was all about dance and pop music in my 20s during her rise to super stardom.
However, I discovered her at Sidetrack, in Chicago, on country night in 1990. That voice singing “Rumor Has It” blew me away and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.
Regardless of what was happening in my life, good or bad, when Reba released a new album, there were songs I felt she recorded just for me.
I’ve now seen Reba in concert thirteen (13) times and I got to meet her in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 2005.
MOVING BACK TO CHICAGO (JUNE 2002)
After my mother died in November 1990 and my grandmother, Helen, passed away in November 1993, I felt it was time to leave Kentucky and I moved to Chicago the following summer.
I stayed for two years before kicking off my television news career in the summer of 1996 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. After jobs in Lubbock, Texas, and Mansfield, Columbus, and Youngstown, Ohio, working for a homophobic, racist, and sexist news director, I felt it was time to take a break from television.
So, Miss ABBA, my golden retriever, and my ex, Christopher, headed back to Chicago, where we had met in early 1995. (Look at how youthful we were 26 years ago!)
It was a very enjoyable return to the “windy city”.
I had a great time at Roscoe’s Tavern (a very popular gay bar on Halsted), worked as a freelance writer for the morning show at Fox News Chicago, and went back to school to earn my meteorology certification.
By the way, I don’t make it a point to lie, but I saw that sticker and it was just too much fun not to stick it on my shirt for a photo op! 🙂
In the summer of 2004, Christopher and I realized our nine-year relationship had run its course, so I took a job in Salisbury, Maryland, and Miss ABBA and I moved to Delmarva for a year-and-a half before returning to the Midwest in November 2005.
When I started putting together the recap of my second era (1999-2021), I thought about the events that shaped the past 22 years of my life and I started thinking of my favorite songs of the past two decades-plus.
That list started with 221 songs and after the first cut, it was still at 155. After thinking long and hard, I narrowed it down to one hundred, just like the Billboard Hot 100!
Here’s to you, Casey Kasem! (Hint, the other 60 are at the bottom of this blog, along with some surprises!)
#40 “LOVE YOURSELF” (JUSTIN BIEBER) (2015)
#39 “I’LL BE” (REBA McENTIRE) (2000)
#38 “WOMANIZER” (BRITNEY SPEARS) (2008)
#37 “FADED” (ALAN WALKER) (2015)
#36 “THE EDGE OF GLORY” (LADY GAGA) (2011)
While that’s the official version of “The Edge of Glory”, here’s the version I love more. And, I “borrowed” the sparklers idea for my wedding reception!
#35 “WHO WOULDN’T WANNA BE ME” (KEITH URBAN) (2003)
#34 “CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD” (KYLIE MINOGUE) (2001)
NOW, BACK TO MY LIFE EVENTS….
LIVING NEAR MY SISTER AGAIN (AUGUST 2011)
Other than my years of living on campus at Murray State University in the 1980s, less than a half hour from where I was born and raised, I never lived apart from my sister, Tammy, until I moved to Chicago in 1994 and she moved away, too.
My career took me all over the country and my sister made Clarksville, Tennessee, home. After her marriage with her L-O-S-E-R husband ended and life dealt her several bad hands, I convinced her to move to the Quad Cities (Moline, Illinois) in 2011.
While she wasn’t thrilled to have to make her home there and deal with more snow than she was used to, it was nice to be in the same city again. We could now see each other whenever we wanted and we’d spend holidays together again.
After I moved away for 3.5 years, she joined me in Decatur, Illinois. It’s nice to have my best friend around again!
Love you Tammy!
MY 50TH BIRTHDAY TRIP TO PARIS & TEL AVIV (OCTOBER 2014)
While I don’t remember my first birthday, you see from the picture above that it happened and it was celebrated.
Other birthdays that stand out for me are my 30th, in Chicago, when I met a very attractive man that ended up being a psycho that try to kill me (stalker much?), my 48th, in Las Vegas, in 2012, seeing Elton John the night before and Madonna on the big day…
… and my 54th on an incredible solo trip to Morocco with a surprise birthday cake from my tour group!
However, it’s going to be really hard to top my 50th birthday!
In 2013, I took my first “real” international trip (officially, Cancun was the first in the early-1990s, but North America doesn’t really count any more!).
For my ex’s 50th, he chose a Danube River cruise of Europe. The following year, for my 50th, I chose to celebrate the milestone birthday with a trip to Europe (Paris, France) and the Middle East (Tel Aviv, Israel).
While the trip was incredible and I paid my own way, my actual birthday present was like a fairy tale. (He did well!)
I was treated to a dinner cruise on the Seine River, followed by a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night to see the sprawled out city of Paris twinkling in the distance.
And, the night didn’t end there.
It was then off to the historic Moulin Rouge for a show and champagne.
At midnight, I turned 50 during the show sitting right at the stage staring at boobies, acrobatic routines, and a woman in a water tank with snakes!
For the record, years later, in the spring of 2019, I’d have my own encounter with a beautiful albino python in Bangkok, Thailand. I called it my Britney Spears moment! Britney is now free!
Then it was off to Tel Aviv for three days. From the hotel room, you could see the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean Sea!
Each morning, I looked forward to the Israeli breakfasts, which are world-renowned and very tasty and filling!
However, my favorite meal was at בני-הדייג, which translates to Benny The Fisherman, right on the Sea.
That was just the salads and “starters” that they brought out. Yes, fifteen of them, including the bread basket!
Sadly, I didn’t get a stamp on my passport from Israel.
This was during the 2014 Ebola scare and the customs agent was so flustered from ranting at a woman in front of us for sticking her passport in her mouth that he forgot. He refused to let her go through his line because he wasn’t going to touch her passport. And, I really don’t blame him. However, his approach was a little abrasive.
On the return flight home, the snow-covered Alps were beautiful!
This crazy song went viral in 2013 and ended up being my third favorite song of that year. It didn’t make the Top 100 on this countdown, but it was on the initial list. So, it’s a bonus. 🙂
Now, back to the countdown of my favorite songs of the past 22 years!
#33 “LOOKIN’ FOR A GOOD TIME” (LADY A) (2008)
#32 “TURN ON THE RADIO” (REBA McENTIRE) (2010)
#31 “I KNEW I LOVED YOU” (SAVAGE GARDEN) (1999)
#30 “TOXIC” (BRITNEY SPEARS) (2004)
#29 “YOU BELONG WITH ME” (TAYLOR SWIFT) (2009)
And, of course, there’s a cute and sexy alternative version of the Taylor teen love story!
#28 “IF I DIE YOUNG” (THE BAND PERRY) (2010)
#27 “MUSIC” (MADONNA) (2000)
#26 “LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT” (KYLIE MINOGUE) (2002)
#25 “LIFE GOES ON” (LEANN RIMES) (2002)
#24 “BECAUSE OF YOU” (REBA McENTIRE & KELLY CLARKSON) (2007)
#23 “IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS” (MICHAEL BUBLE) (2011)
What! A Christmas song made it onto the countdown!!! Don’t be shocked!
My fourth favorite song of my first 35 years was Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”!
NOW BACK TO MY LIFE EVENTS OF THE PAST 22 YEARS!
MEETING PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER & ROSALYNN CARTER (JULY 2017) …
In September 2016, I got to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
However, it would take a major change in my life and relocation to meet my childhood idols, President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter.
In the summer of 2017, I was living in Panama City, Florida, and I drove 180 miles (3.5 hours) through the backwoods of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia in the darkness of night to fulfill that life-long dream.
Once I arrived in Plains, Georgia, at the Maranatha Baptist Church, I was one of the last people to make it in to hear a Sunday school lesson from President Carter.
After his lesson and the Sunday service from the pastor, I got to meet the man and woman that I helped put in the White House in the 1976 presidential election.
For the record, I was just a 12-year-old boy, but I got to go into the voting booth with my grandmother Helen back in Mayfield, Kentucky. She let me choose her candidate and, of course, it was Jimmy Carter.
My vote four years later didn’t keep the Carters in Washington D.C. and they headed back to Plains.
You might notice that the photo is autographed! I sent a copy of the photo inside of an anniversary card to the lovely couple and they signed it and sent it back!!!!!!!!!!
… AND HILLARY CLINTON (JANUARY 2016)
I’ve admired Hillary Clinton since she became the First Lady of the United States in January 1993.
There is no politician that hasn’t been raked over the coals in their career. And, now with 24-hour news channels and less objectivity in their reporting for higher ratings, it’s easy to vilify people, especially if it’s a strong woman — like Hillary.
I went to hear Hillary speak on a cold winter’s day in Davenport, Iowa, in January 2016.
When she finished, I politely edged my way through the crowd toward the roped off area in front of the stage. I lucked out and we talked a little – we exchanged hellos and I wished her success.
“Politely edged” sounds nicer than “aggressively made” my way through the crowd! 🙂
Now, my 22 favorite songs of the past 22 years!
#22 “I WANNA GO (BRITNEY SPEARS) (2011)
#21 “CAN’T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT” (LEANN RIMES) (2000)
#20 “SURRENDER” (LAURA PAUSINI) (2002)
#19 “IF I FALL YOU’RE GOING DOWN WITH ME” (THE CHICKS) (2001)
I’ve never met Natalie Maines of The Chicks and it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.
When I took my second television job in Lubbock, Texas, (Natalie’s hometown), in 1997, as a reporter and Saturday anchor at the CBS affiliate, her sister, Kim, was the 10 p.m. weekday producer. What a sweetheart!
1997 was also the year that Natalie and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison exploded onto the country music scene with “I Can Love You Better”, which went on to reach #7 on the Billboard Country chart.
I had a chance to see them and meet the unknown band and real life prevented me from going! Bummer!
#18 “MY BOYFRIEND IS GAY” (HAILEY ROWE) (2013)
#17 “SOMEBODY LIKE YOU” (KEITH URBAN) (2002)
#16 “YOUTH” (TROYE SIVAN) (2015)
#15 “WE’RE SO GOOD TOGETHER” (REBA McENTIRE) (2000)
#14 “SOME DAYS YOU GOTTA DANCE” (THE CHICKS) (2001)
#13 “SILENCE” (MARSHMELLO & KHALID) (2017)
#12 “YOU’LL THINK OF ME” (KEITH URBAN) (2004)
NOW, BACK TO MY BIGGEST LIFE EVENTS OF THE PAST 22 YEARS!
MEET, FALL IN LOVE, GET MARRIED, AND THEN DIVORCE (2009-2017)
We’ve all been there (well, at least half of us).
You meet someone that’s an Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to your Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) — with or with sex work involved!
You fall in love and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
I got to have a wedding, a beautiful reception, and a gorgeous cake!
And, I was a “like a dad” and I got to experience helping to raise a child. I loved and was loved in return, we traveled the world — Europe, Israel, China, and Scandinavia — and my golden retriever, ABBA, had two more people to shower her with love, and I got to foster 60 koi and goldfish!
While things didn’t work out, I’m glad that I got to experience the good before the bad.
There are many things I miss about those days and there are things I don’t miss. The serenity of the koi pond is definitely high on the list of things I miss!
This is a feeding frenzy in the summer of 2016!
Oh, if you were hoping for sordid details, there were several circumstances leading to the demise of the relationship. Those are being saved for the book (which is being written)!
WE NEED A BREATHER!
Now, back to my favorite songs of the past 22 years!
#11 “SOMETHING” (LASGO) (2001)
#10 “TILL THE WORLD ENDS” (BRITNEY SPEARS) (2011)
#9 “BAD ROMANCE” (LADY GAGA) (2009)
#8 “BLANK SPACE” (TAYLOR SWIFT) (2014)
#7 “EVERYTIME WE TOUCH” (CASCADA) (2005)
#6 “EVERYTIME” (BRITNEY SPEARS) (2004)
NOW BACK TO THE BIGGEST EVENTS OF MY PAST 22 YEARS
MISS ABBA (MAY 2000-FEBRUARY 2012)
My golden retriever, ABBA, and I traveled down many roads together.
From the llama farm in Ohio where I picked her up in July 2000 to swimming in Lake Michigan when we lived in Chicago to the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and then back to the cold, snowy Midwestern winters in the Quad Cities, Miss ABBA loved it all and she loved life!
She didn’t mind doggie sitting (or walking) her blind Shar Pei friend, Panda, and she loved road trips so much that you had to spell out R-I-D-E. She loved her fast food hamburgers and she loved treats and cakes!
And, she was the perfect drinking buddy!
From that first ride from the Ohio llama farm to her new life away from Dolly and Fletcher (her mom and dad) and her siblings to the last fateful ride, she enjoyed life so much and never met a stranger.
I wish we were more like ABBA!
As I was lying on the bed comforting ABBA on those final two days in early 2012, these words just came to me and I put them on paper.
While I’m not a poet, I still love this — my goodbye to Miss ABBA!
If you can’t read my writing through the tears:
The fog hangs in the air shrouding the light, not only in the sky, but in your eyes
You look lost and just want to sleep with me close by your side
I listen to you breathe and each breath sounds deeper
Is it the end or just a peaceful sleep
As I caress your neck and shoulder blades,
You snore even louder as I try harder to hold back the tears
I don’t want you to hear me cry,
I want you to let go and not fight for me
You’ve been there for me all your life
And I want to be there for you now, my love.
My best friend — ABBA (May 22, 2000-February 3, 2012)
This is one of my favorite pictures taken of Miss ABBA in her last month with us…
The song in the video tribute below is “Over My Shoulder” by one of my favorite singers, Patty Loveless, from her 1994 album, “When Fallen Angels Fly”.
Okay, this silly photo will take the sadness away…
FINAL BONUS TRACK!
When I put together a recap of my first 35 years and my 100 favorite songs of that era of my life (1964-1999), Olivia Newton-John placed four songs on the countdown: #3 “Xanadu”, #47 “Let Me Be There”, #50 “If You Love Me (Let Me Know)”, and #68 “Magic”.
I finally got to see her in concert at The Flamingo in Las Vegas in May 2014.
As a bonus, I’m featuring two of my favorites in one video — Olivia and Las Vegas.
In 2015, DJ Dave Aude re-worked Olivia’s hit “Magic” and “You Have To Believe” became a #1 dance song for Olivia and her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.
And, one final fun fact, Olivia met her future husband and Chloe’s dad, Matt Lattanzi, on the set of the movie, “Xanadu”!
Just a random thought, since you know me for random thoughts, I think #Pug2020, which became #Pug2021, and then #Pug20-something, needs to become a reality in 2022!!!
I need a new drinking partner or, at least, a movie and television binge-watching partner!
When I was in Bangkok, Thailand, in the spring of 2019, I saw this in the taxi and I know it was a sign!
NOW BACK TO THE COUNTDOWN OF MY FIVE FAVORITE SONGS OF THE PAST 22 YEARS!
#5 “SOMEBODY” (REBA McENTIRE) (2004)
#4 “NOT READY TO MAKE NICE” (THE CHICKS) (2006)
#3 “CONSIDER ME GONE” (REBA McENTIRE) (2009)
Before I reveal my two favorite songs of the past 22 years, how about another bonus track!
This one didn’t make the list of my Top 100 favorites, but it was one of the 221 on the initial list and was my 13th favorite song of 2014! 🙂
As I reveal my two favorites from 1999-2021, both are two of the most underrated songs that radio should have sent to the top of every chart!
#2 “ALL THE LOVERS” (KYLIE MINOGUE) (2010)
This one did top the airplay chart in Poland and it reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club songs chart!
And. it’s so naughty and scandalous! 🙂
#1 “DANCING ON MY OWN” (ROBYN) (2010)
This one only topped the chart in Robyn’s native Sweden!
NOW, THE BIGGEST EVENT OF MY PAST 22 YEARS…
THE DEPLORABLE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION! (NOVEMBER 8, 2016)
While this could be a divisive discussion starter, that is not the purpose.
We know “what happened”, since there’s a book about this with that title. It’s been five years now — almost half of the country was on the winning side, but a majority of us were on the losing end.
That statement, “a majority of us were on the losing end”, doesn’t just mean the almost 66 million people that voted for Hillary Clinton.
I’m talking about America’s reputation on the world stage and the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first months — a major misstep that had now resulted in more than 700,000 deaths since early 2020 in the United States.
DISCLAIMER: If Hillary Clinton had been elected president, we would still likely have seen a significant death toll from Coronavirus. However, I believe with all my heart and intelligence, it wouldn’t be at 709K and counting…
But, is that why the 2016 U.S. presidential election is the biggest event of my past 22 years? In part, yes. However, it ranks above ABBA’s death and the failure of my relationship because it’s partly to blame for the separation and divorce.
That loss affected me greatly as 2016 turned to 2017. In the five years since, I’ve accepted it and moved on. Does it still bother me? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it? No.
Michelle Obama, in her 2018 autobiography, “Becoming”, sums it up best the day after that shocking loss: “And I will always wonder about what led so many women, in particular, to reject an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their president. But the result was now ours to live with.”
If you want to share comments about how/if that win or loss affected you, feel free. Do it diplomatically with respect to me and my friends.
The point was not to discuss politics, I’m just sharing my life — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Thank you for taking the time to travel down the road of the second era of my life!
Before you leave, if you’re not interested in #41 to #100, scroll down a little for some of my favorite photos of the past 22 years!!!
Will I write a third? Probably not. Do you know how old I’d be by then! 🙂
However, if I had two front-runners for favorite songs for my final chapter of life — the new Kylie Minogue and Elton John songs rock my world and are on repeat!
Now, that’s it…. except for some of my favorite photos of the past 22 years!
Wait, my friends, let’s keep going. They haven’t made “last call”!
You know I love lists and I’ve mentioned 100 favorites songs several time in this life recap even though the countdown started at #40 like “American Top 40”.
Scroll down and see which songs just missed out.
You might find one of your favorites on here, you might discover several songs you’re not familiar with, and some that might make you say, “Anthony has some very interesting tastes”, or “No <musical act> on the countdown?”
#41 “MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE” (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (1999)
#42 “NEED YOU NOW” (LADY A) (2009)
#43 “THAT’S THE KIND OF MOOD I’M IN” (PATTY LOVELESS) (2000)
#44 “MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR” (SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR) (2001)
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 