Two weeks in a row with random thoughts!
I appreciate those of you that took time to read last week’s thoughts and especially those that commented. I always love hearing what you have to say.
Have a great weekend!
STILL GETTING SETTLED IN
While Miss Xanadu and I have been in our apartment for over a month now, we’ll still acclimating to the new place.
Check out my beautiful housewarming gifts my sister, Tammy, made us — a decorative pug plaque and two Black pug wine glasses! 
And, she wasn’t going to drink the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Apple whiskeys, so I took them off her hands. 
Does that make her a bootlegger? Kidding ATF!!! 
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER — ABOUT A MONTH AWAY
As I age, my favorite season has changed from winter to fall.
I still love snow, but I’m no longer a fan of the bitter cold.
I wonder if living in Chicago and the Midwest for more than two decades and two years in Duluth, Minnesota, has something to do with that?
But, summer is still my least favorite season. However, one thing excites me about the hot months ahead.
McCormick spices things up with five new flavors for the grilling season and the Watermelon Lime definitely has me intrigued.
Of course, it’s the one that is sold out.
One of the others I’d love to try is the Smoky Garlic & Rosemary.
ROCKY SALAD!
While I want my salad crisp and crunchy and I love “Rock”(y) Road ice cream, I don’t care for rocks in my salad.
About two weeks ago, I was having dinner and luckily, I was chewing my salad in the back of my mouth when I bit down on this rock! It was either in the Romaine mix or the second bag I mixed in with it.
I won’t mention the company because they’ve been very proactive and professional with customer service and trying to locate the source of the problem.
However, I believe it was a fluke. It’s never happened before and I hope it doesn’t happen again.
For my troubles, they sent me a $20 gift certificate to Kroger.
Also, I’ll be more alert when making my salad and be on the lookout for any additional foreign objects (or even domestic ones — LOL)!
“THE RESIDENCE”
Shonda Rhimes scores another major hit with the Neflix series “The Residence”.
Over the years, I’ve invested 17 seasons in Shondaland with “Scandal”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, “Bridgerton”, and “Queen Charlotte”!
Her latest success is this eight-episode murder mystery-comedy. A state dinner for the Australian Prime Minister is derailed when the Chief Usher (Giancarlo Esposito) is found murdered.
It’s up to three-time Emmy Award winner Uzo Aduba’s detective Cordelia Cupp to find the killer.
And, Kylie Minogue plays an exaggerated version of — Kylie Minogue.
GRADE: A-
“THE RESIDENCE” BOOK
I also read the very informative 2015 book “The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” that the series is based on by Kate Andersen Brower.
It’s a real historical account of working inside the White House or the “Executive Mansion” as it’s more commonly referred to.
In the book, no one was murdered in the White House and Kylie Minogue did not perform “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” “seven f**cking times” at a state dinner. 🙂
However, I came across three real-life events that made it into the series as “fiction”: two gatecrashers at a President Obama state dinner; “Residence” staff (domestics) smuggling bourbon in for Lillian Carter in real life — it’s vodka for the mother of the First Gentleman, played by Jane Curtin, here; and a shower-obsessed president (Lyndon B. Johnson in real life).
LOVE AT FIRST SIP
Let’s continue the Kylie theme since you know I’m a little (A LOT) obsessed.
I finally have her Prosecco Rose in a gorgeous heart-themed bottle — not to drink, but as décor.
One of her signature hits is “Love At First Sight” (#10 U.S. pop airplay, #1 Dance — 2002).
She uses the phrase “Love At First Sip” to promote her wine and the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, made a cocktail for her show there a few weeks ago and it sounds delicious.
This is also my second favorite Kylie song!
1968 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Now, let’s continue with the presidential theme…
Last week, I talked about how writing has changed over the decades and some things in Theodore H. White’s 1969 book, “The Making of the President: 1968”, wouldn’t be written the same way today.
Now I want to share something interesting about President Richard Nixon. In the book, he had just started his first term way before Watergate would end his presidency.
White shared this quote from Nixon’s confidant, Robert Finch, the man he wanted to be his vice president: “He doesn’t want love… he wants respect… he offers the potential of being a great leader. But that’s a judgement that history will have to write…”
In the next paragraph, White wrote, “Whatever judgement history will make on Richard Nixon must wait for years, and will rest on his record in the White House; that judgement must concern itself with the drama of government and policy.”
Not necessarily — one word: Watergate. But, he called it with “drama”!
One interesting thing I learned is that during his eight years as President Eisenhower’s vice president, Nixon was never in the East Room for a grand ceremony or more shockingly, had never been invited upstairs to the living quarters on the third floor.
I knew that Eisenhower and Nixon had a frosty relationship, but wow…
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER…
Back in February, I wrote about White’s “The Making of the President: 1960”.
It was a great book and one thing I found very interesting since it was released in 1961, two years before President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, it didn’t analyze his place in history and whether he’s viewed more positively because of his premature death.
Near the end of the book, White wrote that Kennedy went to bed on election night because the race hadn’t yet been called. Two security details were ready — one in California (for Nixon) and the other Hyannisport, Massachusetts, (for Kennedy) to protect the eventual President-Elect.
Once TV networks awarded Michigan’s 20 electoral votes to Kennedy pushing his over the 269 needed to win, security moved into place to protect Kennedy.
White writes, “by seven in the morning, security had been established and the President-elect was walled off, as he would be for four or eight years to come, from all other citizens and ordinary mortals.”
Sadly, it ended up being less than three years.
MY FAVORITE SONGS NOW (PART TWO)
Last week, I shared two of my favorite songs right now that you won’t hear on the radio!
I told the story about getting Sirius XM with my new car last fall and how much I miss my CD player. My favorite station is BPM (dance) and here are two more of my two favorite songs right now.
“I’M GOING OUT”
Chic’s Nile Rodgers is joined by an all-star cast including international DJ and producers Steve Aoki, Sam Feldt, XANDRA, and Zak Abel.
“LAST NIGHT I DREAMT I FELL IN LOVE”
In her latest collaboration and a song she performs with zest on the “Tension Tour”, Kylie Minogue teams up with Brazilian DJ and musician Alok on this fun little, very short love anthem!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 