Happy Friday and for you summer lovers, enjoy it for me.
Now that it’s officially summer, fall is just 92 days away.
Thank you for taking time to check out my random thoughts.
SUBMERSIVE SAGA
This past week, crews were searching the North Atlantic near the site of the “Titanic” wreckage for a submersible called the “Titan” with five men inside. They’re likely dead.
U.S. and Canadian ships and aircrafts intensified the search about 900 miles east of Cape Cod and about 13,000 feet below sea level.
While it’s a tragic end to the story, you’d never have seen me on that regardless of the cost! No thank you!
I’m claustrophobic enough that I don’t even want to sit in the middle seat on a plane!
If I want to see the “Titanic”, I’ll watch Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as Rose and Jack!
A TRUE TRAGEDY OFF GREECE & SPAIN
At the end of May, I talked about people willing to die for a chance of freedom and a new life.
It was mainly about how many migrants die while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy.
Earlier this week, a migrant boat sank near Spain’s Canary Islands and dozens are feared drowned.
On Thursday, Spanish government maritime services rescued 227 other migrants from four boats off Morocco’s west coast.
And, just last week, more than 300 Pakistani nationals died off the coast of Greece when the overcrowded fishing boat they were on capsized. About 750 men, women, and children were on board.
The refugee crises involves tens of thousands seeking sanctuary from poverty, persecution, and war.
How sad!
BOYCOTTING — WHAT’S DIFFERENT
I know you haven’t lost any sleep over it, but I was thinking about the difference between the Bud Light boycott and me not spending my money (basically boycotting) at Chick-fil-A!
I’m not hypocritical by shaking my head at those avoiding Bud Light beer because it featured a trans woman in a promotion.
Clearly, the people mad at Anheuser-Busch are transphobic, even if they don’t know what that means.
I loathe the chicken chain because of its blatant antigay stance and its funding of antigay agendas!
By the way, I’d love to try its peach shake, but I sure the hate would make it tasty less peachy!
So, I’ll just watch Elio enjoy his peach in “Call Me By Your Name!” 🙂
WHAT PRIDE IS & ISN’T
A WORK OF FICTION!
Typically, I read biographies, autobiographies, and books about real life events.
For years, I’ve been moving a box of old “Time” magazines (2017-2019) from place to place and I finally read them. While doing so, I jotted down some fiction book titles that sounded interesting and read them.
I’d highly recommend three of them, I’m indifferent about one, and would skip the last one.
“THE CARE AND FEEDING OF RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY GIRLS” by Anissa Gray (2019)
I highly recommend this book.
It’s about a family coming together after the oldest sister goes to jail. It’s then up to her siblings to raise her two children. This is a very touching book about family dealing with the past while trying to figure out the future.
Additionally, the book really touched me because I can truly relate to one of the characters — she’s gay and she has an eating disorder.
GRADE: A-
“THE OTHER AMERICANS” by Laila Lalami (2019)
A Moroccan immigrant living with his wife outside of Palm Springs, California, is killed by a hit and run driver.
His grown daughter, Nora, a musician living in San Francisco, comes home for the funeral and butts heads with her mother and sister.
While home, she meets up with an old high school friend, Jeremy, who helps her cope with her dad’s death while battling his own demons.
He also helps her with the investigation into her father’s death.
GRADE: B+
“99 NIGHTS IN LOGAR” by Jamil Jan Kochai (2019)
This is a riveting coming-of-age story about a boy living in the United States making a journey home to modern-day Afghanistan.
While there, 12-year-old Marwand, one of his brothers, and his young cousins go on a 99-night search across Logar for the family guard dog, Budabash, after it bites Marwand’s finger off and escapes.
We learn more about the dog and its relationship with the boy when he visited six years ago.
It was also very enlightening about their culture.
GRADE: B
“DRIVING YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD” by Olga Tokarczuk (2019)
This book was originally published in Polish in 2009 and translated in 2019. I absolutely love the title!
It’s the dead of a European winter out in the middle of nowhere Poland.
Janine prefers animals to people, so she’s not too upset when her neighbor she wasn’t friendly with ends up dead. His death is followed by other deaths with strange circumstances.
Janine becomes an eccentric sleuth trying to find the killer using astrology and the police aren’t impressed with her nosiness and methods.
GRADE: B–
“MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER: A NOVEL” by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018)
This book is about a Nigerian health care worker helping her sister cover up the death of her boyfriend that she claims threatened her life.
However, it seems her beautiful, younger sister has bad luck with guys because another boyfriend ends up dead and, again, involves her sister in getting rid of the body.
But, the older sister draws the line with her “serial killer” sister when the younger one starts dating a co-worker she’s crushing on.
Much of the book was entertaining, but the ending was unfulfilling!
GRADE: C
“I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY” (THE MOVIE)
I finally got around to seeing the $45 million Whitney Houston biopic, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” that made almost $60 million in theaters last winter.
Naomi Ackie was great as the iconic singer and I enjoyed Stanley Tucci as music mogul Clive Davis.
I’m still grossed out by the real and movie version of Bobby Brown!
GRADE: B
“I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY” (THE SONG)
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” was released as the first single from Houston’s second studio album.
It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #38 on May 16, 1987. It reached #1 six weeks later on June 27, 1987, the same day her album “Whitney” debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 (known then as “Top Pop Albums”). That was the first time ever for a woman!
The song also won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) is my favorite Whitney Houston song.
At #2 is “So Emotional” (1987)
At #3 “How Will I Know” (1985)
and at 4, “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” (1999)
MY LIFE: THE FIRST 35 YEARS
In the summer of 2020, with the pandemic raging, I started thinking about the events and the songs that influenced me most in life.
On September 11, 2020, I counted down my 35 favorite songs of my first 35 years (1964-1999). However, because I had so much fun with it, I decided to countdown my 101 favorites (there were 101 Dalmatians)!
I also counted down the 13 biggest events, personal or worldwide, that affected me the most.
If you’d like to have some fun and enjoy the soundtrack of my first 35 years of life, click here and take a walk down memory lane with me:
https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/my-life-the-first-35-years/
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony