Random Friday Thoughts — October 14, 2022

Halloween is about two weeks away.

If you’re going to a party, have fun and be safe. If you hand out candy, save me a Snickers or Baby Ruth!

And, if you’re trick-or-drinking, I’m coming to your house!

Have a fantastic weekend. I’ll be watching “Halloween Ends” on Peacock!

A LOW-KEY BIRTHDAY

I just celebrated another birthday — at home and working. I know how to live it up! 🙂

In the past, I’ve been fortunate to celebrate some incredible birthdays —  Athens, Greece (2021), Morocco (2018), Paris, France (2014), and in Las Vegas (2012) with Madonna and Elton John (the night before) on stage, of course.

Cheers from Athens last year with my first tasty and potent Ouzo…

… and outside the Moulin Rouge in 2014 before sipping champagne stage-side at midnight as I turned 50!

If I’m not traveling, I don’t even think of partying when another birthday arrives.

I think of how many more years until I turn 67 and I can retire.

It’s a good thing I love what I do. It sure makes the passing years more enjoyable!

COUSINS

Although I’m in good physical shape and in decent health as far I know, I find myself thinking more and more about mortality.

Last weekend, my sister and I ventured back to Kentucky to spend the afternoon with our cousins on my mother’s side. We haven’t been together with many of them in almost 30 years!

Here are the cousins (with Uncle Romey, at 85, on the far right)!

On our next trip to Kentucky, Tammy and I want to have lunch with our two cousins on our father’s side.

1985 CALLED AND WANTS ITS FASHION & HAIRSTYLES BACK!!!

While at the reunion, many old pictures were shared including this one at my cousin’s wedding in January 1985. I never saw this photo before and I absolutely love it!

Can you believe that’s a barely 20-year-old me on the left with my sweet cousin Cindy? (On the right is my best childhood friend and cousin, Steve).

When this photo was brought to my attention, it blew me away!!! Without sounding vain, I didn’t realize I was such a sexy young man then!

Boy, if I had the confidence then that I have now, I would’ve gotten into so much (MORE) trouble! 🙂

“SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES”

It gets a little dark now!

Since I talked about Halloween and mortality, I’ll use that as a segue to a dark, yet hilariously written book about the funeral industry and what happens when we die.

Caitlin Doughty’s 2014 memoir, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory”, was very informative, eye-opening, and creepy. And, she knew just when to throw in a little humor to make the book less dark!

Okay, before you think I’m strange (well, we all are to a certain extent), this book was a New York Times bestseller!

I was astounded and shocked by the embalming process.

I know the procedure is being performed on a body, but still it’s a very brutal event even to a non-living person.

It definitely made me regret having my mother’s body prepared for an open-casket funeral!

So, is it just a Southern thing to take photos of bodies in caskets? Why did we do this in 1990 when my mother, Dessie, passed away?

A final note about death, I had already decided to be cremated long before I read Doughty’s book and I’m glad I did!

CHILDHOOD NEWS EVENTS

In September 2020, I posted a blog called “My Life: The First 35 Years”. In it, I shared the 13 biggest events of my first 35 years and I counted down my 101 favorite songs of that era of my life. I had so much fun with it.

As a child and teenager in the 1970s, the news stories that vividly affected me were Jimmy Carter’s election as president in 1976, John Wayne Gacy’s arrest in 1978 after his serial killing of boys and young men in Chicago, and the Kent State Massacre in Ohio in May 1970.

If you’d like to see the biggest event that shaped my first 35 years or find out if “Macarena” was my favorite song of that era (it definitely wasn’t!), here’s that link:

https://anthonypeoples.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/my-life-the-first-35-years/

But, as an adult, the three stories from that decade that I’m so fascinated about and have read so much on is President Richard Nixon, the Shah of Iran, and the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana in November 1978.

And, right or wrong, I’ve used the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid”!

“THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN: JIM JONES AND PEOPLES TEMPLE”

Jeff Guinn’s 2017 book was a concise and compelling read.

Here are some things Guinn shared that you might not remember or have known:

Jones moved from Indiana to California (Redwood Valley in Mendocino County and was associated with churches in Los Angeles and San Francisco) before heading to the jungles of Guyana in South America to a community he named after himself, Jonestown.

Even as early as 1975, Jones preached “I love socialism, and I’d die to bring it about. But, if I did, I’d take a thousand with me.”

On several occasions, Jones told his followers about Masada, an Israeli fortress in the mountains “where almost one thousand Jewish revolutionaries, women, and children committed suicide rather than surrender to a Roman army about to breach the walls.”

Jones’s personal physician and Jonestown’s doctor Larry Schacht had been working to perfect a cocktail of Flavor Aid, tranquilizers, and potassium cyanide to make it taste less bitter.

In “The Poisoner’s Handbook”, Deborah Blum writes, “The last minutes of a cyanide death are brutal, marked by convulsions, a desperate gasping for air, a rising bloody froth of vomit and saliva, and finally a blessed release into unconsciousness.”

This all led to the Jonestown tragedy where more than 900 of his followers were poisoned with that cyanide-laced Flavor Aid drink. (One-third were children that were killed first and found at the bottom of the mass of people.) 

The bisexual Jones believed that everyone, women and men, desired him. One follower in his close knit managerial team was not afraid to stand up to him. Harriet Tropp told him that she didn’t desire him because “You are 47 and fat”, but she added, “I don’t have romantic illusions. They say the greatest orgasm is death, so I hope we have the great pleasure of dying together.”

PARTING THOUGHTS

Even today, people don’t recall any of the good that Jim Jones did before he became a delusional, drug addict.

What people remember is jokes about “not drinking the Kool-Aid” when it comes to religious leaders and institutions and their fanatical views. Politicians, too.

Sadly, it wasn’t even “Kool-Aid”. It was the cheap imitation, “Flavor-Aid” — just like Jim Jones was a cheap imitation knockoff of God!

“JONESTOWN:  TERROR IN THE JUNGLE”

If you don’t have time to read Guinn’s book, this SundanceTV documentary following Jones’ life was incredible!

This November will mark the 44th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre — some call it “mass murder” and others, a “mass suicide”.

I’m in the “mass murder” camp, since the Jones was deranged and pretty much forced those people to drink the cyanide-laced concoction at gunpoint.

I saw it in the fall of 2018 and gave it an “A”!

STORIES FROM JONESTOWN

Another book I read recently was 2013’s “Stories From Jonestown” by Leigh Fondakowski.

She and her team talked to survivors that were in Jonestown and Guyana at the time and to those working back in the states for Jim Jones.

Their stories are incredible and sad!

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — May 14, 2021

It’s already the middle of May and before you know, Memorial Day and the “unofficial” start of summer will be upon us.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts.

PANDEMIC PETS

I saw a sad story that a large number of pets bought or adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic are ending up in shelters now that people are heading back to work!

I’ve heard this about rabbits at Easter and Santa bringing pets to family that underestimate the amount of love and attention it needs.

How sad and tragic! 😦

#PUG20-SOMEDAY

As you know, #Pug2020 was pushed back to #Pug2021 with the pandemic. Since it’s already May, it’s looking more likely that it’ll be #Pug20-SOMEDAY.

Since I’m waiting to move into a more modernized apartment in my complex, the pug is on hold.

Plus, now that I’m vaccinated, I want to travel some when more of the world is vaccinated!

SO, TO HONOR PUGS (& THE CARPENTERS…

AND, MY FAVORITE THE CARPENTERS SONG

VACCINATION RATES

Here in the U.S., we’re doing great. 35.8% of Americans are fully vaccinated and 46.9% have at least one shot.

In Illinois, 35.3% are fully vaccinated and 49.7% have one shot down!

However, worldwide vaccination rates pale in comparison. Only 4.3% are fully vaccinated and 8.7% are halfway there. 😦

MORE TRAGEDY IN INDIA

Earlier this week, dozens of bodies were found floating down the Ganges River in eastern India as the country battles a heartbreaking surge in coronavirus infections.

While authorities don’t know the cause of death, 71 bodies were retrieved from the river Monday night alone!

A local official, Surinder, in Ghazipur says, “Due to the shortage of wood, the dead are being buried in the water. Bodies from around 12-13 villages have been buried in the water.”

Overall, India has had the second highest number of confirmed cases with over 24 million and over 262,000 deaths. Experts say the real figures are likely much higher!

The United States still leads the world in cases (32.8 million) and deaths (584,000+)!

ON A BRIGHTER NOTE… “SCHITT’S CREEK “

I was late to the party, but I finally got around to binge watching “Schitt^$ Creek”. OMG, it was too funny!

Every cast member is excellent, but my favorites were Catherine O’Hara (Moira Rose), Annie Murphy (Alexis Rose), and Emily Hampshire (Stevie Budd). Okay, I absolutely loved Alexis!

This was my favorite, favorite, favorite Alexis moment. I won’t say what happened just before this to illicit this response, but I watched it time and time again. LOL

Of course, the comedic timing of the Levy family: Dan (David Rose), Eugene (Johnny Rose), and Sarah (Twyla Sands) was vital to the show’s success.

And, the addition of Noah Reid (Patrick) and his romance with David made the shows even sweeter. I absolutely loved when David performed Tina Turner’s “Simply The Best” for Patrick. (This’ll have to do since YouTube doesn’t have the video!)

And, then Dustin Milligan (Ted Mullens)

and Steve Lund (Jake) made the Schitt’s Creek experience even sexier! Oh, you just gotta love humor and eye candy!

One of my favorite Moira lines: “David, your inability to retain information that doesn’t directly pertain to you might actually require medical attention!”

Speaking of David, we have things in common.

My two favorite are Mariah Carey and our love of eating!!! And, we could have a third if any of you know a “Patrick” in his 40s or 50s in Central Illinois! 🙂

The six-season series is on Netflix.

RIP NICK KAMEN

Unless you spent time in dance clubs in 1986, most of you probably haven’t heard of Nick Kamen.

The English singer and model died last week at the age of 59 of bone marrow cancer.

His only hit in the U.S. was in 1987 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart when “Each Time You Break My Heart” made it to number five.

He had his friend Madonna to thank for that.

She recorded a demo of the song, but passed it on to Nick.

“Each Time” also reached the Top Five in the U.K. and to the Top Ten in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. 

However, here’s how many of you that were obsessed with MTV back in the 1980s knew Nick — from his modeling days with this Levi’s 501 commercial.

Last week, Madonna remembered her friend with this tweet:

“THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT”

I mostly read biographies, autobiographies, and books on real events. However, I deviate into fiction sometimes.

And, I normally like to see a television or movie version based on a fiction book first. (Reading “Hannibal Rising” before seeing the movie spoiled that for me. Or, maybe the movie version of “Hannibal Rising” was just bad!)

Yet, I just read Chris Bohjalian’s 2018 book, “The Flight Attendant”, and it’s incredible.

An alcoholic flight attendant wakes up in Dubai after hooking up with a hot man in first class on her flight.

The one night stand or doing the walk of shame would be the least of her problems. She wakes up and the bed is covered in blood! His throat has been slashed and she can’t remember what happened!

Did she do it????

It’s now a HBO Max series that was renewed for a second season (expected in late 2022).

Since I don’t have HBO Max, I haven’t seen it. But, read the book.

“THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN: JIM JONES AND PEOPLES TEMPLE”

Jeff Guinn’s 2017 book was a concise and compelling read.

Here are some final things Guinn shared that you might not remember or have known:

Jones’s personal physician and Jonestown’s doctor Larry Schacht had been working to perfect a cocktail of Flavor Aid, tranquilizers, and potassium cyanide to make it taste less bitter.

When Jones asked one of his girlfriends in his inner circle, Maria Katsaris, if it was quick, she said yes and then lied, saying “it’s not supposed to be painful at all.”

Yet, in “The Poisoner’s Handbook”, Deborah Blum writes, “The last minutes of a cyanide death are brutal, marked by convulsions, a desperate gasping for air, a rising bloody froth of vomit and saliva, and finally a blessed release into unconsciousness.”

This all led to the Jonestown tragedy where more than 900 of his followers were poisoned with that cyanide-laced Flavor Aid drink. (One-third were children that were killed first and found at the bottom of the mass of people.) 😦

PARTING THOUGHTS

Even today, people don’t recall any of the good that Jim Jones did before he became delusional and a drug addict.

What people remember is “not drinking the Kool-Aid” when it comes to religious leaders and institutions and politicians and their fanatical views.

Sadly, it wasn’t even “Kool-Aid”. It was the cheap imitation, “Flavor-Aid” — just like Jim Jones was a cheap imitation knockoff of God!

ANOTHER NICK KAMEN FAVORITE

“I Promised Myself” from 1990 was another one of my favorite Nick Kamen songs.

It reached #1 in Austria and Sweden and the Top Five in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — May 7, 2021

Happy Mother’s Day weekend!

I’ll take a moment to remember my mother, Dessie, and be thankful that I still have my sister, Tammy, in my life.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts!

STICKS & STONE MAY BREAK MY BONES…

…but words shall never hurt me!

As kids, we’ve all heard that saying (or something like it). And, I believe, for the most part, it’s true.

I know that when you’re young and impressionable or if you’re a grown-up with insecurities (who doesn’t have some), hurtful words from parents, friends, lovers, or spouses can hurt. Actually, words said in anger do have a lasting impact.

However, being called a “f***ing fa**ot” by a speeding car driving by definitely doesn’t hurt my feelings. It just pisses me off.

This happened last Friday afternoon on one of my many daily walks around Lake Decatur.

It was from a group of youngsters and the man/boy in the back seat yelled it out the window. This person had no clue who was on the other side of busy U.S. 36. He was just being juvenile and ignorant.

I’m sure if it was a woman walking, he’d yell something sexist and stupid.

I was a teenager and young adult in the conservative dark Reagan-era years when homophobia was rampant and the world was scared of gay people and AIDS. (It didn’t help that it took President Reagan almost six years to mention it publicly!)

So, “f***ing fa**ot” is something that most LGBTQ people have heard before. However, it was scarier back then (in the 1980s and 1990s) because those people threatened us with baseball bats!

I’m a very secure person and my immediate reaction last Friday was to go back to reading my book and enjoying my day, while the thought bubble above my head said, “f***ing idiot”!

This is a perfect time for Heather Mooney! 🙂

Before I move on, I just hope that it made his day a little better to yell that out the window at a stranger. And, I hope he becomes more educated before he spawns a child and projects his ignorance onto another generation!

While I know there are others here (and in the U.S. and across the world) that share that narrow-minded mentality, Decatur and Central Illinois, I’ve met so many of you and I know there are so many more loving, caring, and beautiful people that make the world a better place!

Let’s carry on…

GOODBYE OLYMPIA DUKAKIS

Academy Award and Golden Globe winner (“Moonstruck”) Olympia Dukakis passed away last weekend at the age of 89.

In her almost 60 year career, she acted in more than 130 stage productions, over 60 movies, and in 50 television series!

I remember her most fondly as Anna Madrigal, the transgender “mother” of the tenants at 28 Barbary Lane in the “Tales of the City” series.

I always wanted to move into an apartment complex like 28 Barbary Lane and have Mrs. Madrigal as my landlady!

Armistead Maupin’s book series is my favorite and I’ve read it many times over the years. It was made into four continuing series (1993, 1998, 2001, and the most recent on Netflix in 2019).

And, as a gay man, I must mention her role as Clairee Belcher in 1989’s classic, “Steel Magnolias”!

Come on, you know the rest of it!!! All together now…

“…come sit by me.”

And, if you want to watch the entire 30-second scene…

DID YOU KNOW?

• The 2020 U.S. presidential election is estimated to have cost $14 billion dollars, that’s with a “B”!

• Gay and bisexual men are seven times more likely to report binge-eating than straight men and 12 times more likely to binge and purge. (National Eating Disorders Association)

• Kenta Seki is a Los Angeles-based fitness guru? Neither did I, but I do now! 🙂

“THE MEANING OF MARIAH CAREY”

As you know, I love Mariah Carey. I’ve been a huge Mariah Carey fan since the spring of 1990 when I first heard “Vision of Love”.

I’ve seen her go through the highs with international success and we’ve see her hit the lows — the ice cream cart ordeal on MTV.

So, when Mariah’s biography, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” came out in the fall of 2020, I didn’t know what to expect.

Once I read it, I love Mariah even more — if that was even possible.

I knew her life and career was a rags to riches story, but I never realized just how hard she had as a child.

Not only was her family poor, but she also had a very difficult time of being biracial — she wasn’t Black enough for some family members and too white for others.

I was astounded at some of the things her sister made her do as a teenager and some of the things she did to Mariah! And, once Mariah became an international superstar with money flowing in, I was saddened to hear how her family tried to siphon that money away.

And then, there’s the whole creepiness of her first husband (and manager), Tommy Mottola!

Here’s a review of the book I read and it sums it up perfectly: “improbable and inspiring journey of survival and resilience as she struggles through complex issues of race, identity, class, childhood, and family trauma during her meteoric rise to music superstardom.”

“The Meaning of Mariah Carey” is an excellent book! Read it now!

Here are a few things I learned:

Since I now live in Central Illinois, it’s interesting that Mariah’s mother was born in Illinois’ capital of Springfield and grew up there in the 1940s and 1950s, which Mariah describes as “a center of insidious institutional racism”.

After years of racially-motivated crimes in the early 1900s in Springfield, the city had a strong Ku Klux Klan presence in the 1920, which Mariah summed up this way, “Springfield was a city openly cloaked in hate.”

On a happier note, I loved the wine quote about working with David Morales. “I’d have a couple splashes of wine, and we would just go wherever the spirit took us — which were almost always high-energy dance tracks with big, brand-new vocals.”

A couple splashes! What a cool description! 🙂

And, it was interesting to read who the song “My All” was written about!

I finally got to see Mariah in concert in December 2017 with her “All I Want For Christmas: A Night of Joy and Festivity” show in Las Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Mariah was phenomenal, beautiful, and she sounded flawless and the sets were incredible!!!!!!!

After my separation and eventual divorce, that show lifted my spirits and it would be the most magical 90 minutes I’ve enjoyed in the past few years!

FINAL NOTES ABOUT MARIAH & CHRISTMAS

About “All I Want For Christmas”, that she wrote in her early-20s for her fourth album, 1994’s “Merry Christmas”: “I wanted to write a song that would make me happy and make me feel like a loved, carefree young girl at Christmas.

Mariah added, “I wanted to sing it in a way that would capture joy for everyone and crystallize it forever. Yes, I was going for vintage Christmas happiness!”

HOW DID I MISS THIS???

I’m usually on top of pop culture, but I totally missed this bus on this!

Recently, I was catching up on magazines and I was shocked to learn that Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy died a year ago this weekend (May 8, 2020) of COVID-19! He was 75.

The famed Las Vegas entertainer’s publicist announced on April 28, 2020, that Horn tested positive for the virus and was responding well to treatment.

I also didn’t know that Siegfried (Fischbacher) announced on January 11, 2021, that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and died two days later in Las Vegas at the age of 81!

As you recall, Roy (on the left in the photo) was the one that was attacked at the Mirage on October 3, 2003, by a seven-year-old white tiger named Mantecore. It was on his 59th birthday!

As the story goes, Horn held his microphone to Mantecore’s mouth and told him to say “hello”. The tiger bit Horn’s sleeve. Horn swatted the tiger and barked “release!”.

Horn, became dizzy, tripped, and fell onto his back. (He ended up having a stroke.)

Mantecore moved to stand over him and then bit into Horn’s neck and dragged him offstage!

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO MANTECORE?

Horn asked that nothing happen to the tiger and it was re-integrated back into the duo’s pack of cats.

Mantecore died more than a decade later, in March 2014, at Fischbacher and Horn’s Little Bavaria estate in Las Vegas at the age of 17!

“THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN: JIM JONES AND PEOPLES TEMPLE”

Last week, I talked about Jim Jones and shared some interesting things from Jeff Guinn’s compelling 2017 book.

Here are a few more tidbits from that great book.

The bisexual Jones believed that everyone, women and men, desired him. One follower in his close knit managerial team was not afraid to stand up to him. Harriet Tropp told him that she didn’t desire him because “You are 47 and fat”, but she added, “I don’t have romantic illusions. They say the greatest orgasm is death, so I hope we have the great pleasure of dying together.”

Once in Jonestown, the cost to feed almost a thousand people was extravagant and they began to see less meat and more watered down rice dishes and beverages, like water and cheap Flavor Aid.

As Jonestown began to fall apart in the fall of 1977, Jones and his inner circle were already thinking of how to conduct a mass suicide. Some suggested people being shot, but Jones preferred poison.

In early August 1978, Jones told his followers that he had terminal lung cancer. However, there was no evidence of this — yet another deceit by Jones to his cult.

“JONESTOWN:  TERROR IN THE JUNGLE”

If you don’t have time to read Guinn’s book, this SundanceTV documentary following Jones’ life was incredible!

I saw it in the fall of 2018 and gave it an “A”!

“DA 5 BLOODS”

The latest Spike Lee movie garnered mix reviews.

If you know what to expect from one of his movies, you’ll enjoy it. After the compelling opening montage, the first hour dragged a bit. However, the second hour was riveting.

It’s about four older Black American vets returning to Vietnam to search for the remains of their fallen squad leader and buried treasure.

Delroy Lindo’s performance as Paul was insane! He deserved an Oscar nomination.

Now there was talk that Chadwick Boseman might get an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in the movie, but that didn’t happen.

GRADE: B-

FAVORITE MARIAH CAREY SONGS

Before I share my five favorite Mariah Carey songs, let me tell you how difficult this was to narrow down.

Here’s how much of a superstar she is:

She’s had 36 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1990. Of those, 28 reached the Top Ten and 27 made the Top 5!!!

And, 19 went on to top the Hot 100 and she’s had two different runs of five or more consecutive #1 songs!

Mariah also had at least one #1 song on the Hot 100 for eleven straight years (1990-2000) and she’s had the most #1 singles on the Hot 100 than any other solo artist!

If that’s not impressive enough, Mariah has sold more than 200 million records worldwide and is the biggest selling certified female artist in the United States.

“DREAMLOVER”

“VISION OF LOVE”

“MAKE IT HAPPEN”

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU”

“EMOTIONS”

What’s your favorite Mariah Carey song?

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony

P.S. My full Mariah Carey blog is here:

The Meaning of Family & “The Meaning of Mariah Carey”

Random Friday Thoughts — April 30, 2021

I find it hard to believe that the first four months of 2021 are now behind us. I’m hoping the next eight brings us happiness and joy.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my thoughts this weekend!

PEOPLE, PLEASE GO BACK!!!

As with any situation in life, one death is one death too many!

With that being said, I’m dismayed to hear that about 8% of Americans are reportedly not going back to get their second COVID-19 shot! (That translates into millions of people!)

I know people are concerned about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a few deaths were reported from the millions of shots administered.

Also, I know people are a little freaked out when they hear how some are feeling after their second Moderna and Pfizer shot.

I had no side effects from either my first or second shot! And, I’m almost through with the two-week waiting period after my second shot.

With that being said, people please go back and get your second shot!!!

I want America vaccinated and safe, so we can turn the corner on this pandemic and start the “new normal” way of life!

(RELIGIOUS) CULTS

If you regularly read my blog, you’ve probably realized I’m truly intrigued by serial killers and cults (and many other less creepy things)!

Now, let’s talk cults. Oh, hello Scientology!

You’re not alone when it comes to religious institutions (for legal purposes, I’ll add a word) ALLEGEDLY brain-washing people under the guise of Godliness. While there are many, today I’m talking about Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple.

As a child in 1940s small town Indiana, Jones idolized Adolf Hitler! (If this wasn’t a red flag, I don’t know what is!)

While Jones would eventually convince (and force) 900-plus people to gruesomely commit suicide by poison, he, like his coward idol Hitler, died of a gunshot wound to the head — most likely, self-inflicted!

“THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN: JIM JONES AND PEOPLES TEMPLE”

Jeff Guinn’s 2017 book was a concise and compelling read.

Here are some things Guinn shared that you might not remember or have known:

Jones moved from Indiana to California (Redwood Valley in Mendocino County and was associated with churches in Los Angeles and San Francisco) before heading to the jungles of Guyana in South America to a community he named after himself, Jonestown.

Even as early as 1975, Jones preached “I love socialism, and I’d die to bring it about. But, if I did, I’d take a thousand with me.”

On several occasions, Jones told his followers about Masada, an Israeli fortress in the mountains “where almost one thousand Jewish revolutionaries, women, and children committed suicide rather than surrender to a Roman army about to breach the walls.”

On Memorial Day 1977, before abruptly leaving San Francisco for Guyana, Jones took part in an anti-suicide rally at the Golden Gate Bridge, where he stated to the audience that for the first time in his life, he was suicidal.

ON A MUCH LIGHTER & TASTIER NOTE

Lately, I’ve been craving a donut shop that isn’t a chain store.

I haven’t found one in Decatur, but check this out — exclusively at Sam’s Club, there’s Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnut Smartfood Popcorn!

From now until the end of May, you can get an 18-ounce bag with the retail price of $4.96.

Well, I’d never pay $5 for almost a pound of popcorn, but it sounds delicious! (Okay, I would pay that for a large popcorn at the movie theater and get my free refill!)

Also, at Sam’s Club, there’s Popcornopolis’ Fried Pickle and Ranch (same price for just 12 ounces) and Herr’s Fire-Roasted Sweet Corn Popcorn (about $4 for an 11-ounce bag)!

“THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE”

I totally enjoyed reading Clive Davis’ 2013 autobiography, “The Soundtrack Of My Life” and I can’t believe it took me almost a decade to get around to it!

What a walk down memory lane!

I loved reading how he brought Columbia Records out of the easy listening days of Andy Williams and Barbra Streisand in the 1950s and 1960s into the world of rock & roll with Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen.

His next major chapter in music was founding Arista Records and launching the careers of Barry Manilow in the 1970s and Whitney Houston in the 1980s.

While at Arista, he also revived the careers of Santana, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin.

While there, he was instrumental in expanding pop music at Arista to launch Laface Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface and Bad Boy Records with Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/P.Diddy/Puffy/Piddy (or whatever the hell he wants to be call on a given day!)

I also loved hearing his story about how he clashed with certain artists — Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Dayne, Melissa Manchester, and Manilow to name a few.

And, after Arista, he started J Records and brought the world Alicia Keys.

What an incredible book to read about his almost 60-year career in the music business. This spring, the legendary Clive Davis turned 89!

I also learned that “How Will I Know”, which Whitney Houston took to #1 in 1986 was originally written for Janet Jackson.

And, my favorite Taylor Dayne song, “I’ll Be Your Shelter”, her #1 song from 1990, was pitched to and rejected by Tina Turner.

DOCUMENTARY — “THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES”

I highly recommend the 608 page book!

But, if that’s not your thing, there’s an amazing music-filled documentary about Clive Davis and the book on Netflix!

NEW REBA MUSIC

Just last week, I hinted at new Reba McEntire music.

Her video, “Somehow You Do”, a ballad written by 12-time Oscar nominee and two-time Golden Globe winner Diane Warren, dropped last Friday. (She’s also won a Grammy Award!)

It’s from new Glenn Close and Mila Kunis movie, “Four Good Days”, out now.

Warren also wrote Reba’s “What If” Red Cross charity single, from 1997, that went on to reach #23 on the country chart and her #4 country hit “I’ll Be” in 2000 from the “So Good Together” album.

A LITTLE WEEKEND HUMOR

“MADAM SECRETARY”

Back in March, I shared some interesting tidbits from reading former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s autobiography, “Madam Secretary”.

I also shared the story of interviewing her in Youngstown, Ohio, back in 1999.

Here are a few parting notes from that great book:

Once Bill Clinton offered Albright “Secretary of State, upon Hillary’s recommendation, making her the first woman “Secretary of State”, she called every one of her predecessors in the position.

Henry Kissinger congratulated her and teased her that she took one of the interesting things about him away — his foreign birth. (He was born in Germany and Albright in Czechoslovakia.)

Albright wrote: “I chided him back by saying he would still be the only secretary who spoke with an accent.”

After Albright, two other women became Secretary of State — Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

Obviously we know Hillary’s connection to Albright (Bill Clinton). Rice has a connection to Albright, too. While a student of the University of Denver in the 1970s, Rice was mentored by Albright’s father, Josef Korbel!

And, in honor of one of my favorite shots (when I do them), Madeleine Albright’s nickname is “Fireball”!

Cheers!

THAT’S IT

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

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