Random Friday Thoughts — March 2, 2018

I know February is a short month, but it’s hard to believe that the first two months of 2018 are already behind us.

I hope you have a great weekend and thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts!

VACATIONS

It’s no secret that I love taking vacations.  I’ve often joked that I work for two reasons — to pay the bills and to travel.  Actually, it’s no joke!

Last year, my big trip was to Scandinavia — Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

However, some Americans are afraid to take their earned time off.

One poll shows that 22% skip vacations because they don’t want to be seen as replaceable and 28% want to show dedication to work by not taking vacations.

F(orget) that!!!!!!!!!!  If I don’t prove myself when I’m on the clock, I’m not going to worry about it when it comes to taking time off!

Finally, here are a couple of interesting facts:  In 2013, the average number of unused vacation days was 4.9.

Also, in the early-1980s, the average number of paid vacation days was around 21.  By, 2014, that number had dropped to 16 days!

RONALD REAGAN & THE QUAD CITIES  

In his book, “An American Life”, President Ronald Reagan talked about landing his first radio job at WOC in Davenport, Iowa.

After an interview in Chicago, with no radio experience, he was told to try a smaller market.

Reagan wrote, “the suggestion from the woman at NBC that I try for a job in the sticks”.

He went on to write, “Radio was so new that many Midwestern towns still didn’t have a commercial station, but I only knew of two or three in the tri-cities area of Davenport, Moline, and Rock Island along the Illinois-Iowa border.”

Sorry, Bettendorf!  You’ll have to let it slide this time since it was the early-1930s.

But, it still cracks me up to think of the Quad Cities as “the sticks” back in the day!

QUICK OSCAR NOTES

The Oscars are Sunday night on ABC.

Here are the nominees for Best Actor and I’ve seen four of the performances.

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

I think that Gary Oldman will win the Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”.  He was great and so was the make-up.

However, I think that Timothee Chalamet acted more and with more heart and truly deserves to win “Best Actor”.

I even enjoyed Denzel Washington’s performance more than Oldman’s!

I haven’t seen Daniel Day-Lewis in “Phantom Thread”.

Final Oscar tidbits:  I’ve seen four of the nine “Best Picture” nominees and it’s the first four in alphabetical order. 🙂

Best Picture:

“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

And, strangely enough, I haven’t seen any of the five Best Actress performances, yet I’m picking Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) to win.

I’m also picking that movie to win “Best Picture”.

“A REPORTER’S LIFE”

The fourth book I read in 2018 was Walter Cronkite’s “A Reporter’s Life.

Although the book did drag a bit after he talked about his childhood and before he talked more about being on the cutting edge of television news, it was a decent book.

He was definitely a liberal and that’s a good thing. 🙂

“NIGHTLINE”

I also just finished my fifth book — “Nightline” by Ted Koppel and Kyle Anderson.

Excellent read!

It’s about the ABC late night news show that’s still on the air.  Koppel anchored it from 1980 until he retired in 2005.

The book provided incredible insight on some of the biggest stories of the past three decades without a lot of rambling.

Koppel and Anderson touch on AIDS, Russia, South African Apartheid, and the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China, along with the television news business.

Interesting tidbit:  The show started as a continuation of “America Held Hostage” — about the American hostages held in Iran for 444 days from late 1979 until January 1981.

MORE ON TIANANMEN SQUARE

Tiananmen Square was one of the stops on my visit to China in the spring of 2016.

What was very interesting is that our tour guide referred to the Tiananmen Square massacre that killed hundreds to thousands (China disputes that number) as an “incident”.

He was also very uncomfortable even talking about it (and I don’t blame him — China eavesdrops!).

While there, I noticed fire extinguishers located around the square.  We were told that people occasionally bring gasoline to the Square and set themselves on fire in protest!

GUESS WHO???  

“This woman is a political force of enormous ambitions.  I believe she is a menace, unscrupulous as to the truth, vain, and cynical — all with a pretense of exaggerated kindness and human feeling which deceives millions of gullible persons.” 

Answer at the bottom!

“WONDER”

It’s always great to see Julia Roberts in a movie.

And, in “Wonder”, Jacob Tremblay (“Room”) is great as Auggie, a fifth grader with a rare medical facial deformity.

Tremblay definitely has a great future in Hollywood.  He was fantastic in 2015’s “Room”, that earned Brie Larson a Best Actress Oscar.

GRADE:  A-

“ROMAN J. ISREAL, ESQ.”

This crime thriller is a very slow burn for the first hour, but the second hour redeems the slow start.

Washington earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

GRADE: B

“HAPPY DEATH DAY”

“The Snowman” is no longer my least favorite movie I’ve seen in 2018.

This horror movie is atrocious!  It’s definitely geared to a younger demographic.

Sadly, for me, this horror movie made a lot of money and there’s talk of a sequel!

GRADE: D

STRONG WOMEN SCARE PEOPLE

“This woman is a political force of enormous ambitions.  I believe she is a menace, unscrupulous as to the truth, vain, and cynical — all with a pretense of exaggerated kindness and human feeling which deceives millions of gullible persons.” 

This was written by columnist Westbrook Pegler in the 1950s about Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt!

Sounds like something some have been said over recent years about another incredibly strong former First Lady!

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — February 23, 2018

The shortest month of the year is coming to a close and spring arrives next month.

Here in the Florida Panhandle, summer has already arrived with more than a week of highs in the 70s and 80s!

I’m ready to return to the Midwest with four distinct seasons — and snow. 🙂

Have a great weekend and thank you for checking out my thoughts.

SADLY, JUST THE ONE BEFORE THE NEXT ONE

Last week, a lone gunman opened fire in a Parkland, Florida high school killing 17 people and injuring 15 others.

It was the deadliest school shootings since Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, where 27 died at the school (the shooter’s mother was killed at home, making it 28 dead).

This was also the deadliest mass shooting since another man killed 59 people (including himself) in Las Vegas, last October.

The most recent shooting at the Florida high school was done with a legally obtained AR-15 style rifle.

Just in those shootings above, 209 people died and about 611 others were hurt by gunfire (hundreds more were injured during and after the gunfire)!

SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS 

I’m all for the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for “the right of the people to keep and bear arms”.

However, these AR-15-style weapons were designed for the military, not the public!

So, prayers alone are not the answer to all of these shootings.  God doesn’t have the money or the power over politicians like the National Rifle Association does!

STUPID KIDS

Sadly, four Florida Panhandle students are in trouble for making threats to shoot up their schools in just one day this week!

A couple of those students said it was “a joke”.

I’m sorry, but in today’s climate, what kind of stupid kid would think it’s “a joke”?

Throw the book at them!

“AN AMERICAN LIFE”

I just finished Ronald Reagan’s 1990 autobiography, “An American Life”, which wasn’t a short read at 723 pages!

I wasn’t a fan and I voted against him twice even though I wasn’t old enough to vote (I accompanied my grandmother inside the voting booth and I chose Jimmy Carter each time).  However, I like to give people a chance and expand my mind.

It seems he was a likable guy and I hope one day to find a romance like the one he and Nancy shared.

I’m happy that Reagan gave President Carter the due credit Carter deserved for getting the American hostages released from Iran after more than a year of captivity.  (Ironically, the Iranians boarded the hostages on a plane and held them on the tarmac until Reagan was officially sworn in as President.  Carter heard that they were out of Iran on his flight home to Plains, Georgia!)

It was interesting to read how hard and how long Reagan worked with the Russians to reduce the threat of nuclear war.

However, he did a poor job of convincing me (as he did the public) on his role (or lack thereof) in the Iran-Contra affair controversy.

Reagan only wrote two lines about his nine-year marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

Sadly, that was two lines more than he dedicated to his failures as president of getting out ahead of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

AIDS (“gay cancer”) first appeared in the summer of 1981, but it wasn’t until early 1987 that Reagan mentioned the disease publicly for the first time!

I hated him for this for decades and “hate” is not a word I use too often…

RONALD REAGAN, I NO LONGER HATE YOU

which leads me to this — my original Ronald Reagan blog from the summer of 2012.  Click on the link below and it’ll open in a new window.

https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/president-reagan-i-no-longer-hate-you/

THEY SAID WHAT???

SHONDA RHIMES (ABC “TGIT” MEGA-PRODUCER)

“Getting on a plane and discovering that your seat belt won’t fit around you was a moment of extreme horror.  It was hard to ignore.”

MORE SHONDA RHIMES

“Accepting that losing weight was always going to suck:  I was always going to be hungry.  I was always going to want to eat fried chicken.  We work so hard in all areas of life to succeed, I don’t understand why we think this should be easy.”

SCANDALOUS “SCANDAL” QUOTES

While the men are sexy,

the women of “Scandal” are strong.

I love Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), Sally Langston (Kate Burton), Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young), and Abby “Red” Whelen (Darby Stanchfield).

Here are some of my favorite quotes through the first episode of season five.

First up… right-wing religious fanatic Republican Vice President Sally Langston

First Lady Mellie Grant to Olivia Pope, who is the president’s mistress!

Also, there’s Olivia and Queen Isabel of Caledonia…

And, we can’t forget Gladiator Abby, who’s now the President’s Press Secretary.

Remember, I’m just starting season five, so I know some of the descriptions of the characters change in upcoming seasons. 🙂

“A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS”

So, it’s ten months before Christmas or two months past last Christmas and I just watched this holiday movie since it’s new to DVD.

It was a smash bringing in $130.6 million on a $28 million budget.

Christine Baranski was my favorite of the three older moms (the mothers of the moms from the original 2016 “Bad Moms” movie).

I love her character’s idea of the perfect Christmas party (with the exception of Kenny G)!

Susan Sarandon and Cheryl Hines play the other two moms.

Kathyrn Hahn (“Transparent”) was my favorite of the three younger moms and I loved her foul mouth and thought process. 🙂

GRADE:  B

“MARSHALL”

This movie is the story of Thurgood Marshall, the country’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice years before he was appointed to that position.

At that time, Marshall was going around the country fighting for people of color in court cases they would have lost otherwise because of the racist views stacked against them.

Great acting, but it felt like a made-for-television movie rather than a big screen motion picture.

GRADE: B

REAGAN & GORBACHEV’S EFFECT ON ’80S POP

The threat of nuclear war made its way into the music world in the early-1980s.

“Two Tribes” was the follow-up to the international smash “Relax” by the English group Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

While the song hit #1 in seven countries and the Top Ten in many more, it only reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

Maybe radio was afraid to play it since America was having a love fest with Ronald Reagan in 1984!

This song (and the English version, “99 Red Balloons”) by the German band Nena hit #1 in more than a dozen countries in 1983 and 1984.

In the U.S., it hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — February 16, 2018

We’re midway through February now and for my snow-weary Midwest friends, spring is getting closer.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my “Random Friday Thoughts”.

“REAL LIFE” TIME JUMP

When I was a kid, I was always looking forward to something and counting down to it (some things never change)!  My grandmother would wisely tell me that I was “wishing my life away”.

In the middle of the season of a television show I’m binge-watching now, it jumped ahead ten months from one episode to the next — usually that happens from one season to the next.

While I’d be wishing my life away, I so wish I could have a “real life” time jump and not be “wishing my life away”.  Except for the trips I’ve taken since moving to Florida, I haven’t been “living”, just surviving.

But, by the summer of 2019, I’ll be living again — somewhere other than Florida!

I just need to find distractions until then.  For now, it’s reading and walking and binge watching television and movies.

BLOWING OFF THE VICE PRESIDENT

There’s been plenty of talk lately about 2018 Winter Olympics bronze medalist gay figure skater Adam Rippon and Vice President Mike Pence.

It all stems from Pence’s horrid LGBT track record.

Okay, just because Pence is the vice president doesn’t mean you must meet with him!  We’re still “free” to choose, right?

If it was me and Pence just wanted a photo op and I was appalled by his anti-LGBT policies (and I am), no way.

However, if it was going to be a conversation or a dialogue, I’d meet with him in a heartbeat to express to him man-to-man my displeasure with his ignorant and hateful policies of the past and the current administration that he’s a part of.

BEST SERIES FINALE

While it’s on its seventh and final season on ABC, I just started binge-watching “Scandal” and I’m almost done with season four.

I want to be Olivia Pope!  Kerry Washington is amazing!

She loves wine and popcorn (like me), but I’ve never had them together.

Unlike me, she has two hot men fighting for her.

There’s Jake Ballard (the very sensual Scott Foley)…

and President Fitzgerald Grant III (the very sexy Tony Goldwyn).

So, how do I know that “Scandal” isn’t real and it’s just part of Shondaland?  The picture below is why! 🙂

RANKING THE SERIES I’VE WATCHED

When I started “Scandal”, I was thinking back to the five series I’ve watched from beginning to end and only two finales were truly fulfilling.

Since “House of Cards” is returning for the final season this year, it’s not included, yet I’m including “The X-Files” because it was done after nine seasons.

However, in television, I guess nothing is dead.

A six-episode tenth season aired in 2016.  We’re currently in a ten-episode run for the eleventh and final season since Gillian Anderson says she won’t return and creator Chris Carter says there’s no more “The X-Files” without Dana Scully!

5th place: “The X-Files”  — that whole bomb blast that killed (?)/disfigured the “Cigarette-Smoking Man”!  Really?

4th place: “Dexter” — Amazing series and I absolutely love (and crush on) Michael C. Hall and the twisted Dexter Morgan.

But, a dead sister, a boat explosion, and becoming a logger?  As Debra would say, “Jesus F**k Dexter!”

3rd place: “Fringe”

2nd place:  “Six Feet Under” — the flash forward to the character’s deaths was awesome.

Best series finale: “Breaking Bad”

TELEVISION PRE-EMPTIONS

Since many of your favorite shows are being pre-empted because of the Winter Olympics, this is your chance to binge watch and catch up on something new.

If you’re not watching “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” on FX, do so.

The last three episodes dealt with Andrew Cunanan’s first three victims and those were even more powerful than the earlier ones dealing with Versace.

Judith Light was incredible as the grieving Marilyn Miglin.

Also, the two episodes dealing with Cunanan’s first murders — his old friend Jeffrey Trail and his boyfriend David Madson were sexy and disturbing!

Darren Criss is amazing as Cunanan.

And, there’s “The Alienist”, also on TNT — creepy and powerful!

THEY SAID WHAT?

Former First Lady Barbara Bush — 1990 — Wellesley College commencement speech:

“Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president’s spouse.  I wish him well!”

Comedian Chris Rock (on President Barack Obama five years into his presidency – after the eight years of George W. Bush): “I think he’s done well – but it’s like, I don’t know who Tina Turner’s second husband was, but he was better than Ike.  Right?  Maybe he had faults, maybe he lost his job or whatever, but he was better than Ike.”

RuPaul (on Donald Trump): “it’s not that the openness and forward thinking has diminished – actually, the forward thinking is bigger than ever.  It’s that the other side feels more threatened than ever before, so they’ve rallied around this fool and this concept of trying to turn the clock back, which has never worked.  It feels like the stakes are higher for both sides.”

“VICTORIA & ABDUL”

If you love Netflix’s “The Crown” and are going through withdrawals waiting for the third season, check out this gem.

It’s the story of Queen Victoria (Judi Dench), ruler of England and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1876, and her Indian Muslim servant, Abdul (Ali Fazal).

The movie is a dramedy and it’ll make you laugh and cry.  The bond between the aging queen and the charming, attractive young Indian man is touching.

GRADE: A-

“EASTSIDERS”

I’ve written about this LGBT series before.  It was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards in 2016.

The third season is now on Netflix and it was the best season yet.  It spends a lot of time on relationships and how much work goes into them.

One interesting plot line featured real life porn star Colby Keller, who was a Donald Trump supporter in the last presidential election.

I was curious how this would go over in a gay series.

In this particular scene, Cal (show creator, writer, director, and star Kit Williamson) and Thom (the beautiful Van Hansis) pick up Keller’s drifter character for a threesome and are discussing “Thelma & Louise”.

It’s basically, “I’m the Thelma… Geena Davis.  I loved ‘A League of Their Own’.  So that means you’re the Louise, Susan Sarandon, right?”

“I did love ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ as a kid, but I voted for Hillary Clinton.”

So, that’s how it was handled in the series. 🙂

Warning:  Trailer contains adult subject matter and language!

GRADE (season three): A-

“THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER”

This is a very bizarre movie starring my “girl crush” Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell.  Both are incredible.

However, the supernatural-psychological drama makes you feel very awkward and uneasy from the beginning all the way to the end.

The standout, other than Kidman and Farrell, is Irish actor Barry Keoghan (“Dunkirk”), who plays psycho well!

While I’m glad I watched it, I’ll never have to see it again.

GRADE: B

PICK HIT

For singles this weekend after Valentine’s Day, we should just buy some half-price boxes of chocolate, have some champagne or wine, and go out with the girls.

As Kesha says in her latest Top 40 hit, “Woman”, the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated, “Praying”,“I buy my own things/ I pay my own bills” and “I don’t need a man to be holding me too tight.”

Warning:  Language!

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — February 9, 2018

It’s time for another one of my “Random Friday Thoughts”.

I want to thank all of you for the beautiful words about Miss ABBA and Mr. Panda last  week on the anniversaries of their crossing over the “Rainbow Bridge”.

I’ll tell you that the first few days of February have not been kind to me over the years with the passing of ABBA, Panda, the end of my relationship, and the death of Karen Carpenter.

However, I promise you, my friends, at this time next year, I’ll still remember those beautiful pets, but I’ll have an exit plan in place for getting out of this misery I’m in and God-willing, I’ll have an exit date!

With that in mind, here’s what I’m thinking this week!

CHILD VACCINATIONS

While not totally related, this year’s high rate of the flu has me thinking about vaccinations, specifically childhood vaccinations.

I know there are parents out there that don’t vaccinate their children for religious reasons and some because they fear that childhood shots may cause autism.

I’m one of those that firmly believes that every child in school should have all of the doctor-recommended shots.

Children are susceptible to so many viruses and diseases anyways, why not give them every chance to be as healthy as possible?

Your thoughts on mandatory childhood vaccinations?

RICKY MARTIN IS NOW A MARRIED MAN

Ricky Martin is off the market, guys (and gals).

The sexy Latin pop star and star of the current FX series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” married his Syrian-Swedish painter boyfriend of three years, Jwan Yosef.

Martin, the father of two, wants people to see him, Jwan, and the kids as normal.

He tells “Out” magazine, “I want people to look at me and see a family and say, ‘There’s nothing wrong with that.’ It’s part of my mission.  It’s part of my kids’ mission as well.  My kids ask me about having two daddies and I tell them we are a part of a modern family.  This is a beautiful sense of freedom.”

After reading Martin’s autobiography, “Me”, here’s what I had to say if you want to learn more about him.

https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/me-personifies-ricky-martins-compassionate-life/

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Donut Mania, a specialty shop, in Las Vegas is offering the ultimate dessert through Valentine’s Day — gold-decorated donuts.

The treats are made with edible 24-karat gold leaf and dust.  If that wasn’t decadent enough, the fabulosity factor goes higher since the deep-fried dough is infused with sparkling Perrier-Jouët Champagne!

If you’re heading to Vegas soon, these shiny donuts will set you back $15 each and they have to be pre-ordered.

Too extravagant for you?  They have countless others available, too!

FINISHED READING BOOKS 1 & 2

As I blogged before, now that I’m finished with boxes of old “Rolling Stone” and “Time” magazines, I read “Front Row At The White House” by UPI news correspondent Helen Thomas.

It was a great read with her stories of the eight presidents (and First Ladies) she covered through 1999 from John & Jacqueline Kennedy to Bill & Hillary Clinton.

I also read “Christmas In Plains” by my idol, Former President Jimmy Carter.  I read this small, but inspiring book every holiday season.

LAUGHTER TO KEEP FROM CRYING (OR CUSSING)

Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, I was pretty vocal about the candidates and since that fateful night, I’ve worked very hard to say as little as possible about “that man”.  It is what it is and what can I do until the mid-term elections in 2018 and the next election in 2020.

But, with the amazing Oscar-nominated Jessica Chastain as Vernoica Elders, I’m still laughing and watching this “Saturday Night Live” skit again and again.

Really, “What Even Matters Anymore!”  While sad that this is true, Chastain is freaking funny!

ENTERTAINMENT TAKES ON 45

Many television shows are taking on Donald Trump.

There’s the incredible third season of USA’s “Mr. Robot” where this interaction played out…

Zhang (who’s also “Whiterose”), China’s Minster of State Security, tells the right wing TV host Frank Cody: “I may have a potential candidate for president I want you to back.” (with “that man” on the television).

Cody:  <nervous laugh> “Look, the country’s desperate right now, but you can’t be serious.  I mean the guy’s a buffoon.  He’s completely divorced from reality.  How would you even control him?” 

Zhang (Whiterose):  “If you pull the right strings, a puppet will dance anyway you desire!”

And, then there’s “The X-Files”.

In the eleventh season, actions and comments of #45 have been mentioned (without calling him by name) several times, especially “fake news”.

In a recent comical episode, Mulder meets with the mysterious “Dr. They”, who tells the FBI agent that his time has passed.  He adds that these days, we don’t even know what the truth means and that no one really cares if it gets out.

A more potent, yet much less subtle, bash is when a spaceship landed and the alien leader told Mulder and Scully that they were cutting ties with Earth.

They were going to build a wall around the solar system because our race is made up of liars and we accuse them of bringing in drugs and crime.  But, the alien did say that not all of us are bad!

And, #45, every time you bring up the expression “Crooked Hillary”, think of this:

That replaced “The Truth Is Out There” opening earlier this season.

ANOTHER MR. ROBOT THOUGHT

After the season three finale, I got a tweet back from the show’s mastermind and creator Sam Esmail.

ELTON IS READY TO SAY GOODBYE

The “Rocket Man” Elton John is saying “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, but not before sharing the love with his fans one last time.

A couple of weeks ago, the 70-year-old music icon announced his massive farewell tour — 300 cities over three years!

Elton promises an over-the-top production with dates in the U.S., Europe (May 2019), South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Comically, he added that when he’s done, he’s done, “I’m not Cher, even though I like wearing her clothes — this is the end.”

I saw him in Las Vegas on my birthday weekend in 2012 and he was incredible.

OH, KEN, YOU SCARE ME!

34-year-old Rodrigo Alves is a Brazilian born social media celebrity.  However, he’s known as the “Human Ken Doll”.

Holy hell, I don’t think so!

I had many fantasies as a kid of a human version of the Mattel “Ken” doll, but he didn’t look like that.

He looked more like this!

Okay, back to Alves.  He finally found a doctor to reduce his waistline from 26″ to 20″ by removing four “floating ribs”!

This is a creepy and shocking television interview with him.

Okay, I’m not a mental health expert.   But, when it comes to finding plastic surgeons to perform these elaborate works of human body massacre, how does he pass psychological evaluations or do they even do them?

As a recovery food addict, I fought body image issues for much of my 20s.  However, I never once thought of doing anything like this!

No wonder Barbie is more independent!

SPEAKING OF BARBIE…

1959 — Barbie hit stores and pundits said the toy would fail.  Mattel sold 300,000 of the $3 dolls within a year.

1963 — The Barbie Baby-Sits debuted with a book titled “How to Lose Weight”.  It recommended, “Don’t eat.”  Nice going, Mattel!

1970 — National Organization for Women stage the “Women’s Strike for Equality” with signs reading, “I Am Not a Barbie Doll”.

1980 — Multi-cultural versions of Barbie are introduced, but critics blasted them because their features were Caucasian.

1992 — A new talking Barbie declares “Math class is tough!”.  This didn’t go over well.

2004 — Barbie and Ken break-up.  They had been companions since 1961.  However, they reunited seven years later.

“BARBIE GIRL”

In 1997, if you listened to pop radio, you couldn’t escape “Barbie Girl” by the Danish group Aqua.

The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it topped the charts in more than a dozen countries.

With lyrics like “I’m a blond bimbo girl, in a fantasy world” and “Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please/I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees”, Mattel wasn’t pleased.  It unsuccessfully sued the group.

PICK HIT

Troye Sivan is racing up the chart with his latest hit, “My My My”, the first single from his new album.  The name of the disc and the release date are still unknown.

Two years ago, Sivan had my #2 song of 2016 with “Youth” and last year, he made my year-end Top 20 list with Martin Garrix on “There For You”.

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

Snow Is On The Way Quad Cities

UPDATED POST: Saturday, February 10, 2018, 6:50 a.m.

SNOW TOTALS:

Another 1.2″ of snow has fallen in Moline through 6 a.m. Saturday morning.  This brings the storm total to 5.6″.

Davenport picked up another 1.9″ since midnight and the storm total there is 5.5″.

MORE SNOW TOTALS:

9.0″ Colona (IL); 8.0″ Freeport (IL); 7.2″ Chadwick (IL); 7.0″ Hampton (IL); 7.0″ Kewanee (IL); 6.0″ Princeton (IL); 6.0″ Lanark (IL); 5.6″ Moline (IL); 5.5″ Davenport (IA);  5.4″ Dubuque (IA);  5.0″ Geneseo (IL); 5.0″ Rock Falls (IL); 4.5″ Sterling (IL); 4.4″ Elizabeth (IL); 4.0″ Morrison (IL); 4.0″ Galena (IL); and 3.0″ Cordova (IL).

UPDATED POST: Friday, February 9, 2018, 5:04 a.m.

If you were wishing that the snow coming in wouldn’t be so bad, it’s coming true for many of you.

Here’s a newer “Winter Storm Warning” and “Winter Weather Advisory” map.

Although this map that I borrowed doesn’t show it, except for Knox and Stark counties, the southern tier of counties have been dropped from the “Winter Weather Advisory”.

Additionally, the “Winter Storm Warning” for the metro area is now a “Winter Weather Advisory”!

Snowfall amounts this morning will be around 1″-3″ and another system could bring another 1″-3″ later tonight into Saturday morning.

Anthony

UPDATED POST:  Thursday, February 8, 2018, 4:25 p.m.

ROUND #1

The southern counties that were not under a “Winter Weather Advisory” this morning are now.  This includes Fairfield and Burlington in Iowa and Galesburg and Monmouth in Illinois.

I still think the snowfall totals I shared this morning look realistic:

Under the “Winter Storm Warning” — 4-8″ with isolated higher totals.

For the “Winter Weather Advisory” — 2-4″ with isolated higher totals. (This now includes Fairfield, Burlington, Galesburg, and Monmouth.)

That’s for the snow through Friday evening.

ROUND #2

Now, remember earlier I said more light snow is possible later this weekend?

From Friday night through Sunday morning, another system will bring an additional 1-3″ of snow along and north of Interstate 80.

The lower end of that range will fall across the far north and the higher end will be around the Quad Cities.

However, 3-5″ seems possible south of Interstate 80!

Anthony

ORIGINAL POST:  Thursday, February 8, 2018, 5:45 a.m.

Another big snow is on the way to eastern Iowa and northern Illinois later today into Friday night!

A “Winter Storm Warning” goes into effect at 6 p.m. Thursday and runs through 6 p.m. Friday along Interstate 80 and to the north.

Let’s keep this simple… find where you are this map and read below. 🙂

ACCUMULATIONS:

If you live in one of the pink-colored counties on this map, you could easily see 4-8″ of snow with isolated higher totals.

To the south of this “Warning”, there’s a “Winter Weather Advisory”.  In the “Advisory” area, 2-4″ of snow could accumulate with isolated higher totals.

Now, you’ll notice that Galesburg, Monmouth, Burlington, and more southern hometowns are not under a “Warning” or “Advisory”, but you’ll still get snow.

Accumulations in those southern hometowns could pick up 1-3″ of snow.  Of course, there could be some isolated higher totals there, too. 

TIMING:

The snow should begin across Iowa and spread across the state Thursday afternoon with the heaviest snow into tonight north of Interstate 80.

The heavier snow band will move southward early Friday morning through Friday evening for the rest of the area.

The good news is that won’t be a lot of wind with this winter storm!

FOR THE WINTER

Officially, 5″ of snow is still on the ground in the Quad Cities.

The snowstorm earlier this week generally dropped 2″-6″, but several locations had 7″-10″.  However, the big winner was Grandview, Iowa, in Louisa County — 10.5″!

For the winter of 2017-2018 right now, the Quad Cities are running below average on snow.

18.3″ of snow has fallen, which is almost four inches below where it should be.  However, this is ahead of last winter at this time!

By the way,  more light snow is possible this weekend.

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — February 2, 2018

In life, we’re lucky if we’re blessed with good health, prosperity, happiness, and love.

As we go through “real life”, some or all of those things are taken away.

In my random thoughts today, I honor my one true unconditional love — the one that brought me so much joy and happiness.

STILL MISS MY SWEET GIRL

This week marks six years now that my golden retriever, Miss ABBA, crossed over the rainbow bridge.  She was a few months shy of turning 12.

We traveled down many roads together.  From the llama farm in Ohio where she was born 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!

This is her contribution to storm clean up after a derecho (a fast-moving, widespread, intense line of wind) moved through Iowa and Illinois in 2008.  In Moline, Illinois, 94 mph winds brought destruction and power outages for days.

This is Miss ABBA enjoying her last snow just days before that fateful day in 2012.

This was part of a calendar in her memory — “Miss ABBA’s 12 Christmases”.

As I was lying on the bed comforting ABBA on those final two days, 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!

 

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…

… and this one was one of the funniest back in the day! 🙂

Reading that poem brought tears to my eyes again, but seeing this goofy picture is making me smile. 🙂

Miss ABBA, thank you for the memories!

ALSO, MR. PANDA

Mr. Panda, our blind shar-pei buddy that we housed for periods of times over the past years, crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” one year ago this week, too.

The beautiful and strong little guy was almost 14!

As you may recall, he lived in Chicago, was a rescue, and lost his eyesight many years ago to glaucoma. Even though he spent the last half of his life sightless, he was still a happy, loving, crazy little critter!

WINTER OLYMPICS — GO GUS!!!!!!

Okay, if that last picture of Miss ABBA didn’t make you smile, this might.

This month, when our athletes go to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, we should all support them.

I’m totally “behind” 26-year-old British born-American silver medalist (2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy! 🙂

Now, who’s complaining about winter and snow??? 🙂

I hope he wins more medals this year.  Even if he doesn’t, he flies the rainbow flag proudly for the LGBT community!

Okay, can you tell I’m crushing on him? It’s all innocent because he has a boyfriend — actor Matt Wilkas (“Gayby”) !

THIS MAKES ME SMILE, TOO!

The new country-tinged dance hit, “Dancing”, from Kylie Minogue came out Wednesday and I can’t stop watching it!

She looks so glamorous in her sequins!

The new album, “Golden” arrives April 6, 2018!

REMEMBERING KAREN CARPENTER

It was 35 years ago this weekend that superstar Karen Carpenter died of heart failure brought on from years of battling the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa.

It was a sad day and it still is because I idolized The Carpenters as a kid and I still love their music.

While eating disorders mainly affect girls and women, I’ve been very open and vocal about my battle with bulimia.

With all the images we see in the entertainment world of size zero women and men with their washboard abs, we need to be honest that those are unrealistic goals for most people.

On the Billboard Hot 100, The Carpenters scored 20 hits with 11 of them reaching the Top 5, including three #1s:  “(They Long To Be) Close To You” (1970, four weeks), “Top of the World” (1973, two weeks), and “Please Mr. Postman” (1975).

However, Karen and Richard were even bigger on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.  They scored 32 hits.  Of those, 15 topped the charts and three more reached #2!

In honor of The Carpenters, I’m sharing my five favorite songs.

#5 “RAINY DAYS & MONDAYS”

#4 “WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN”

#2 “MERRY CHRISTMAS, DARLING”

“THE ALIENIST”

You know I love “The X-Files”.  However, “The Alienist” is not about those “aliens”.

An “alienist” is someone who works with those with mental illness, those that have been “alienated” from society.

Caleb Carr’s book, “The Alienist”, came out in 1994 and I’ve owned the book for many years, yet I haven’t read it.

Now it’s an 10-episode TNT series that debuted last week and the production values are first rate.  TNT is spent a reported $5 million on each episode — that’s as much as some movies.  And, trust me, each episode looks like a mini-movie.

After seeing the first two episodes, let me say that it’s an incredibly acted series, but definitely not for the faint-hearted.

“The Alienist” is a psychological thriller.  It’s 1896 in New York City and a serial killer is on the loose.  The victims are boy prostitutes, some dressed as girls.

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl), a criminal psychologist, John Moore (Luke Evans), a newspaper artist, and Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), a secretary at the police headquarters under newly appointed police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt, are investigating the gruesome murders since “criminal psychology” isn’t a thing yet.

GRADE:  A

OTHER PHENOMENAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM “THE ALIENIST” DIRECTOR

“The Alienist” is directed by sexy Belgian Jakob Verbruggen.

He’s also directed three of my favorite shows:  “The Fall” (with Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan),  “House of Cards”, and “London Spy” (with Ben Whishaw).

If you’ve never seen the fantastic and creepy “The Fall” (three seasons — 17 episodes)…

or the incredible and heartbreaking “London Spy” (5 episodes), do so now!

“THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE:  AMERICAN CRIME STORY”

If you’re not watching this, start!

I’m beginning my thoughts with Wednesday night’s stunning third episode and working backwards.

The most recent episode was about Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin’s murder, Andrew Cunanan’s third victim.

Judith Light plays Miglin’s wife, Marilyn, the owner of a cosmetics and perfume company and a star on the Home Shopping Network.

When Emmy nominations are announced later this year, I can see Light getting a nomination along with Darren Criss (more on him later).

Lee Miglin was played by Mike Farrell of television’s “M*A*S*H” fame!

After I watched this episode, I didn’t even delete it because it was so powerful that I might watch it again!!!

EPISODE THREE GRADE:  A+

The latest FX series from Ryan Murphy, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” is now three episodes into its nine-episode run.

It focuses on the murder of fashion designer Versace, how his family reacted to the senseless killing, and the manhunt for the shooter.

However, it drives home how homophobia in the police investigation let Andrew Cunanan’s killing spree go on long enough for Versace to become the most famous victim. After all, it was mostly just “gay people” being killed!

“Glee” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” star Darren Criss is incredible as Cunanan.  This role is giving him a great opportunity to go the dark side!

GRADE:  B+

INTERESTING TIDBITS

The Versace family is calling the series “a work of fiction”.

Yet, Ryan Murphy and FX are standing behind its accuracy and the validity of Maureen Orth’s 1999 book, “Vulgar Favors:  Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History”, which it’s based.  The Versace family was against the book, too, when it came out.

In Italy, where the Versace family lives, the series is so popular, its ratings are higher than “Game of Thrones”!

RYAN MURPHY ON THE SHOW’S TIMING

Ryan Murphy tells “Entertainment Weekly” that after the 2016 presidential election, there couldn’t be a better time for this series to air.

Murphy:  “I think it’s the perfect timing based on this president we have.  I felt there was so much progress in terms of gay rights and rights for any marginalized groups of people [under Obama] .  Suddenly it felt like Trump is inaugurated and the door closed and there’s fear again and they’re trying to take away everything we fought for.  This a bracing cold slap against the policies that the current government has.”

#Resistance

ANTHONY AS CUNANAN — BY ACCIDENT

I had my own small brush with Cunanan notoriety working as the weekend news anchor in Lubbock, Texas, in 1997.

The search for Cunanan was one of the biggest stories that summer.

Without thinking about it, the newscast was produced with me reading the story of Miami’s search for the suspected spree killer since I had a phone interview with a friend that lived in the city.

We used an “OTS” (over the shoulder) of Cunanan and then we started getting phone calls about the eerie similarities.  See for yourself! 🙂

“IT”

While I never saw the original television version of “It” with Tim Curry, I finally got around to seeing 2017’s movie version that’s made $700 million worldwide!

It was enjoyable and creepy.

While I expected the paper sailboat scene to end badly, how it went down surprised me and set the mood for the movie.

On a lighter note, the cussing teenagers and all the New Kids on the Block references cracked me up!

GRADE: B+

A sequel “It: Chapter Two” is scheduled to hit theaters in September 2019!

ALTERNATIVE “IT”

And, for a scarier (humorous) look at “It” and “Kellywise”.

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

We All Deserve An Elio Moment

While my thoughts today are inspired by the Oscar-nominated motion picture, “Call Me By Your Name”, it’s not a review of the movie.

About that, I’ve written that the movie “is stunning, sensual, and heartbreaking” and 22-year-old Best Actor nominee Timothee Chalamet “deserves the Oscar nomination and I could definitely see him as a front-runner”.

In “Call Me By Your Name”, it’s 1983 in northern Italy and Elio’s summer takes a tender turn when the 17-year-old meets and falls in love with a visiting 24-year-old American graduate student, Oliver, who’s there for six weeks working with his father.

It’s a friendship and romance that’s both approved and encouraged by Elio’s loving parents.  Remember, this is Italy and the ages the story presents are more acceptable in Europe than it would be here in the United States — in the 1980s or today!

I’ve always been an out gay man even when it wasn’t popular as a high school and college student in small town Kentucky in Ronald Reagan’s conservative, “Christian Right” America.

For teenagers today, it’s much different than it was in the early-1980s navigating between being gay and living an open honest life when America and the world didn’t want us to be out of the closet.

My mother knew I was gay, but she still couldn’t always hide her concern with how life would be for me or with some of my decision making.

I remember one summer weekend before I started my sophomore year of college.  We lived about 25 miles from my university and an older college student, who lived near campus, invited me there for the night.   My mother was more concerned that I was spending the night with a guy than the fact that I might be taking part in underage drinking.

That first year of college living away from the watchful eyes of my parents was exciting for me as a teenager.

Decades later, I still fondly remember the butterflies I felt staring across the college dorm television room and locking eyes with the mustachioed student that came over and started talking to me.  And, still vivid are the memories of meeting and spending the night with the divorced dad in my neighborhood that was ten years older than me when I was 19.

Those three encounters happened in a one-year time span.

While I’ve gone on to fulfilling and loving relationships in my adult life, they could never compete with the excitement and the loss of innocence for a naive kid experiencing the physical sensations of becoming a young man.

Watching innocent teenager Elio in “Call Me By Your Name”, in 2018, brought back the rush I felt on those exciting nights in 1983 and 1984.  Now, as an older man, I felt a sense of happiness that those nights were definitely worth it.

Luckily, for all of us, things are changing.

In the age of social media, which pretty much covers the last decade of my career as a television meteorologist, and with my personal blog, my “private” life is played out in public.

That’s given me a forum to educate people on what it’s like to be part of the LGBT community.   It shows people that we’re just like them — we work, we pay taxes, we cook dinner, we watch Netflix and movies, and so on.

It’s been very rewarding having mothers, grandmothers, and aunts reach out to me about how to handle their child or loved one’s “coming out” or being gay.

It’s better now because of the resources available online and in person for LGBT youth (and adults) questioning their sexuality or for parents and friends needing answers with PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

While acceptance is higher these days, there’s also the backlash that comes with that increased visibility.

The same freedom, strides, and public acceptance that LGBT people fought for and earned (some with their lives) are being stripped away with that hateful man sitting in the White House.

The venom Donald Trump spouted in the 2016 presidential campaign and in his first year in office has given some of his followers, that already had poisoned minds, the power to openly attack (verbally and physically) others based on their sexuality (real or perceived), race, religion, gender, and the list goes on.

Sadly, our transgender friends are the ones feeling the brunt of that hate.

I know that most of the people that read what I write access it through Facebook.  And, according the site’s analytics, 72% of my Facebook followers are women and the ones that correspond and comment the most are straight.

While I want this to touch them, I really hope that this moves beyond my usual circle of readers because they are the ones that need to see it more.  We all know someone that is LGBT and it’s likely that some of them may be questioning their life and future.

In today’s political climate, this is the perfect time for “Call Me By Your Name”.

I hope that any scared, alone, or questioning teenager or adult from any small town in America — whether it’s the backwoods of Alabama and Mississippi, the “Bible Belt” South, the wilderness of the Mountainous West, or the barren tundra of Alaska — can see “Call Me By Your Name” and know that it’s okay to have their own Elio moment, they’re not sick, and they deserve to find love and happiness!

Anthony

P.S.  Now that you finished my thoughts, I’m sharing the Oscar-nominated song from “Call Me By Your Name”, “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens.

Also, here are three inspiring songs that got me through those days and nights in the 1980s.

“Never Surrender” — Corey Hart

“People are People” — Depeche Mode

“I Want Your Sex” — George Michael  (Even in this risque song, George was singing about wanting to be “out and proud”!)

“There’s things that you guess/And things that you know/
There’s boys you can trust/And girls that you don’t/
There’s little things you hide/And little things that you show”

 

 

Random Friday Thoughts — January 26, 2018

The weekend is here and can you believe that January is almost over!  I hope you have a great weekend and thank you for checking out my random thoughts.

SPANKING YOUR KIDS

Pop singer Kelly Clarkson went on the defensive after saying she’s “not above” spanking her kids.

Clarkson says, “My parents spanked me and I did fine in life. I feel fine about it, and I do that as well.”

However, the American Academy of Pediatrics discourages spanking and “other physical punishments”.

A recent survey showed that 78% of people believe spanking is okay “sometimes”, while 20% said “never”.

I’m fully on Clarkson’s side.  This whole “time out” or putting a child in the corner is silly to me.   I’ve been around children that could have used a few spankings in their lives.

I had my fair share as a youngster and I deserved every one them.  But, I also had a few beatings from my father that easily went over that threshold of spanking.  A beating and a spanking are much different!

Your thoughts on spanking?  Did you spank your children and how were you disciplined as a kid?

#TIMESUP MEGAN!

Who needs men to set women back 100 years when you have Megyn Kelly of “Megyn Kelly Today”?

Yes, I defended her against the attacks from “that man”.

But, to go after 80-year-old actress Jane Fonda about plastic surgery and then drag up a mistake she made during the Vietnam War!  Tacky!

When you want to use “Hanoi Jane” against her, Megyn and Fonda-haters, think of how welcoming America was to Vietnam War veterans when they returned home.  Even today, Vietnam War veterans get little respect!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Companies are always trying to come up with new variations on classics to increase their revenue.  Some work and some don’t.  Would you try these?

A couple of years ago, McDonald’s in Japan marketed McChoco Potato.  It’s basically chocolate drizzle over their fries.  (YES, just to try it!)

Around that same time, Kellogg Company offered hot dog-flavored Pringles. (Again, yes, just to try it.)

And, in late 2014, PepsiCo tested a Doritos Nacho Cheese-flavored Mountain Dew with college students!  (NO THANK YOU!)

FINALLY SAW “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”!

Earlier this week, “Call Me By Your Name” was nominated for four Oscars — Best Picture, Best Actor (Timothee Chalamet), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song (“Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens).

It was a year ago this week that the movie debuted at the Sundance film festival and it’s been gaining immense buzz ever since then.  The movie has been in limited release, but is now going wide.

I finally got to see it this week and it’s fantastic. 22-year-old Chalamet deserves the Oscar nomination and I could definitely see him as a front-runner for Best Actor.

It’s not only a coming-of-age love story between Elio (Chalamet) and a slightly older American graduate student Oliver (Armie Hammer) visiting northern Italy, but it’s a beautiful bond of love between a teenager and his parents.

“Call Me By Your Name” is stunning, sensual, and heartbreaking!

GRADE:  A

By the way, there’s talk that director Luca Guadagnino is working on a sequel and both Charlamet and Hammer have expressed interest in continuing the story of Elio and Oliver.

“THE SNOWMAN” (DISASTER)

After reading Jo Nesbo’s incredible Norwegian crime thriller, “The Snowman”, I was so excited to hear it was being made into a movie starring sexy Michael Fassbender!

Well, when it arrived in the fall of 2017, critics hated it, the movie only made $6.7 million in the U.S. ($43 million worldwide), and “Entertainment Weekly” named it as one of the five worst movies of the year.

However, movie critics are known to be wrong.  But, not this time!

I watched the movie and it was the most disjointed thing I’ve seen in a long time.  It was like they had a script and threw out pages here and there and just pieced it together.  (The director said they did run of time shooting the movie!)

I visited Norway late last summer.  You know the movie is bad when you spend most of it picking out all of locales that you saw while there: the Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo City Hall, the gorgeous Holmenkollen Hotel and Jump Tower, the amazing city of Bergen, and the view from Floyen Mountain — all covered in snow in “The Snowman”.

The only real highlight of the movie was a gratuitous, but pointless to the plot, shot of Fassbender standing by the window in tight blue briefs!

Read the amazing book instead!

GRADE:  D+

READING MILESTONE

Back in the Quad Cities, I read many books while walking on the treadmill.  Since moving to Panama City, I do all my walking outside (only twice have I walked on the treadmill).

It’s given me a chance to read through the two boxes of “Rolling Stone” and “Time” magazines that I brought with me dating back to 2014.

With those now finished, I’ll read my “Entertainment Weekly”, “Out”, and “The Advocate” magazines when they arrive and start clearing out books from my bookshelf and visit the library!

I’m currently reading “Front Row At The White House” by the late United Press International journalist Helen Thomas.

“THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US”

Oscar winner Kate Winslet and Golden Globe winner Idris Elba star in this movie from last fall that made $61.1 million at the box office.

Both stars give excellent performances in a very predictable movie.

GRADE:  B

PICK HIT

The amazing and incredible Kylie Minogue is back with new music following “Kylie Christmas” in 2016.

While the new single, “Dancing”, may have been recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, it’s definitely got the Kylie dance groove going on after the acoustic-sounding start!

The new album, “Golden”, arrives in April 2018.

And, since I’m excited about new Kylie music and I’m honoring the Queen, I had to share this hilarious commercial, which features Kylie!

It’s too funny!

REMEMBERING LARI WHITE

Country singer Lari White died earlier this week after a short battle with cancer.

She was moved to a Nashville hospice last week after being diagnosed with advanced peritoneal cancer in September 2017.

Lari hit it big in 1994 and 1995 with her phenomenal gold album “Wishes”.

It produced three Top Ten country hits:  “That’s My Baby” (#10), “Now I Know” (#5), and “That’s How You Know (You’re In Love)” (#10).

On “That’s My Baby”, she channeled her best Pam Tillis.

Lari leaves behind a husband and three children.  She was 52.

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony

 

My Oscar Nominations – Final Predictions

Oscar nominations for the 90th Annual Academy Awards will be announced tomorrow (January 23), so I’m making my predictions on the movies and actors that’ll be preparing speeches for Oscar night.

The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 4, 2018, and will air on ABC!

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, “Molly’s Game”

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Meryl Streep “The Post”

Who I think will win:

Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

BEST ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis “Phantom Thread”

James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Who I think will win:

Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” 

Who I want to win:

Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”

Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Michelle Williams, “All The Money In The World”

Who I think will win:

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All The Money In The World”

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Who I think will win:

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” 

BEST PICTURE

“The Big Sick”

“Call Me By Your Name”

“Darkest Hour”

“Dunkirk”

“Get Out”

“Lady Bird”

“The Post”

“The Shape of Water”

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Who I think will win:

“Dunkirk”, “The Shape of Water”, or “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — January 19, 2018

I hope you’ve had a good week.

I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to read my three blogs I’ve shared in 2018.  I’ve expressed many times that I love writing and it’s like therapy for me — it gives me an avenue vent about things and share thoughts.

So, as long as a certain number of people click on and read my blogs (yes, I get the stats and I have a threshold I want to reach), I’ll keep sharing.

Have a great weekend and read on…

 

F.B.I. THOUGHTS

Thanks to James Comey and many failures on behalf of the F.B.I. (Federal Bureau of Investigations), these days I’m only liking fictional FBI agents like Fox Mulder and Dana Scully…

Clarice Starling…

and Holden Ford on Netflix’s “Mindhunter”, played the adorable and sexy Jonathan Groff!

GOVERNMENT, OBSTRUCTIONISTS, AND CULTS

I believe that the U.S. government, for all the good it does for the American people, is corrupt and harbors many secrets — secrets that started way before Roswell and Area 51.

It also scares me when groups of people, in the name of God and religion, put their faith in people claiming to be prophets that speak for the Lord.

Yes, those two meet in this thought today.

Recently, I watched the excellent recent ABC special, “Truth and Lies: Waco” about the early 1993, 51-day standoff between Branch Davidians cult leader David Koresh and the FBI and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).

It all started on February 28, 1993, when the U.S. government stormed the compound.  On that day, 4 government agents and 6 Branch Davidians died.

Talks between Koresh (who told negotiators that his last name meant “death”) and hostage negotiators went on for weeks.

And, then after 51 days, on April 19, 1993, the government told Koresh that they were not going to fire weapons on the compound, but they were going to flood the buildings with tear gas.

On that windy day, a fire almost certainly started by Koresh (which is disputed), quickly spread killing a total of 76 Branch Davidians, including the cult leader.

The bottom line is that the Waco siege was a complete failure by the U.S. Government, under the watch of Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton.

But, when you have a doomsday cult preparing for the end of the world with a stockpile of weapons and a leader with a propensity for child molestation and many wives, you have to draw the line somewhere.

One person who saw the government as the evil villain at Waco was Timothy McVeigh.

Two years to the day of the Branch Davidian fire, he blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killing 168 people and hurting more than 600 others.

He’s definitely not alone.  I spent almost a year in Lubbock, Texas, in the late-1990s, and I remember covering a meeting at a local restaurant. It was an anti-government group that wanted Texas to secede from the United States. The story never made air.

RELIOUS CULTS

While I pray every night and I have since I was a child, I don’t believe in organized religion.

With that being said, I sure as hell cannot wrap my head around people giving up their lives and their freedom to follow cult leader like Koresh and Jim Jones.

In November 1978, Jones convinced over 900 followers in his Peoples Temple (many were American and 304 were children) to kill themselves in a mass murder-suicide by drinking poisoned Grape Kool-Aid in Jonestown, Guyana.

Ironically, early on in my time in Lubbock, I also covered the local angle of the “Heaven’s Gate” cult.

On March 26, 1997, police in California found the bodies of 39 cult members that had killed themselves thinking they were going to reach an extraterrestrial spaceship following Comet Hale-Bop!

FAKE NEWS?  IT’S FROM THE AP!

OPRAH FOR PRESIDENT

As much as I like Oprah Winfrey and as much as I dislike “that man”, a 2020 presidential run for the former media mogul and news anchor is not something I’m behind.

(*Oh Lord, did I have to say the word “behind”, it made me think of the picture posted above!*)

Could she do the job much better than the <insert your own term here> in the White House now?  Without a doubt and with much more integrity and with much less effort.

However, politics is such a farce now that I wouldn’t want her to get into that fray!

“9-1-1”

The dynamic producing-directing-writing team of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk is back with a new hit, “9-1-1”, and it’s incredible.

As you likely know, they’re behind the critical hits, “Nip/Tuck”, “Glee”, “American Horror Story”, and “American Crime Story”, and the one miss, “Scream Queens”.

When I first saw the trailers for “9-1-1”, now on its third episode on Fox, it looked promising.

However, I thought it’d be very easy for all the calls that Los Angeles first responders (9-1-1 operators, cops, firefighters, and paramedics) navigate to become tiresome very quickly.

The reason that didn’t happen is that while the show does show how each situation is handled, the calls (and tragedies) are not drawn out for the entire hour!

The show focuses on the personal lives of those putting their lives on the line (mentally and physically).

Connie Britton is Abby, the 9-1-1 operator, Peter Krause is a fire department Captain, and Angela Bassett is a tough as nails patrol Sargent.

Earlier this week, Fox renewed “9-1-1” for a second season — after just airing two episodes!

And, while I think Krause is SAF, the entire cast is hot!

NBC’s “The Brave”, you have sexy competition!

“BATTLE OF THE SEXES”

When watching movies like Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit”, my #4 movie of 2017, about police brutality by white cops toward the black community and “Battle of the Sexes”, about sexism and unequal pay between men and women in the same profession, I’m glad those things from the 1960s and 1970s don’t exist today!

Oscar winner Emma Stone and Academy Award nominee Steve Carrell star as tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in this drama about the 1973 televised tennis match between the sexes.

Tennis is played in the movie and, of course, we see that infamous match play out on ABC.  However, the movie is more about King and her relationship with her husband and her hairdresser and Riggs and his family and his gambling problem.

It also handles sexism and pay inequality well, along with Australian champion Margaret Court’s blatant homophobic attitude toward King in the 1970s.  Well, as an old coot down under today, that hate is still very much alive since she says “tennis is full of lesbians”!

GRADE:  A-

EMMA STONE AND BILLIE JEAN KING

In “Out” magazine in August 2017, Stone talked about where King and women were in the 1970s and where we are today “with a narcissistic, self-focused, constantly-stirring-the-pot kind of guy — again this incredible, qualified woman, and at the same time be playing Billie Jean King…”

Stone adds, “Obviously the way this has all panned out has been fascinating and horrifying, and it still feels like we’re in a bad dream, but those parallels make sense to me — the equal-pay issue makes a lot of sense to me.  At our best right now we’re making 80 cents to the dollar.”

“PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM”

“Philadelphia Freedom” became Elton John’s  11th Top Ten hit and fourth #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975.

While it’s not a “tennis” song, its title honors Elton’s friend Billie Jean King and her tennis team, the “Philadelphia Freedoms”.

PICK HIT

My future ex-boyfriend (I hope Anna doesn’t mind), Enrique Iglesias is back with new music.

I like the song and he still looks amazing.

I can’t wait for the follow-up to “Sex+Love”, my #1 album of 2014.

By the way, I saw Enrique in concert and he was incredible.

2020 DEMOCRATIC TICKET

Since a potential Oprah run for the White House is making its round in the 24-hour news cycle, I’m throwing this out.

While it won’t happen, they have a year to make nice and find common ground.

Here is the ticket I’d like to see to take on the 2020 Republican nominee for president.

I don’t care which one leads the ticket!

THAT’S IT

With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!

Anthony