It’s crazy to believe that we’re already heading into May! Here’s to a great weekend and thank you for taking the time to check out my “Random Friday Thoughts”.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
While a sad occasion, Barbara Bush’s funeral last weekend brought out the best of both sides.
Sadly, President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn were unable to attend.
The Carter Center announced that the former president was “on a private trip overseas, and although she is recovering, Mrs. Carter is not yet able to travel following her recent intestinal surgery.”
THAT DON’T IMPRESS ME MUCH!
Canadian country and pop superstar Shania Twain was at the center of a social media storm last weekend.
I admit that I, too, was flabbergasted when she said she would have voted for Donald Trump in 2016!
Twain told “The Guardian”, “I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest. Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn’t be able to have both. If I were voting, I just don’t want bullshit. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?”
Okay, everyone has a right to their opinion. But, just because you’re “honest” doesn’t mean your views are on the right side of history! And, it doesn’t mean you’re qualified!
Well, needless to say, there was an internet uproar that ranged from “No”, “she’s a has been”, “who”, and this popular meme.
By Sunday afternoon, Twain was in damage control posting four messages on her Twitter page.
My last thoughts on the matter is that new stars get media training to know how and what to say and what not to say. She’s not a newcomer, so if that question was awkward, she could have danced around it.
Finally, I still love her music, I’m glad I saw her in concert, and that she was my first awkward attempt at a selfie.
It helped me be more experienced for the selfie that truly mattered. 🙂
AVICII — DEAD AT 28
Last Friday, I was shocked to learn of the sudden death of Swedish electronic music DJ Avicii in Muscat, Oman.
At the time, the family said, “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii… The family is devastated…”
While not publicly announced, sources close to family now says Avicii died from an apparent suicide.
“Entertainment Weekly” obtained this statement, “Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions… When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most – music. He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.”
I know he had experienced health issues and anxiety in the past that prompted him to give up touring in 2016. But, this is still a shock.
Avicii worked with artists as diverse as Madonna, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and Coldplay.
His debut album, “True”, was my #11 album of the 2013 and “Wake Me Up” was the biggest hit of his career.
BONUS — AVICII + MADONNA (“GIRL GONE WILD”)
So young and so sad!
SHOCKING PRESIDENTIAL BEHAVIOR (PART 2)
In her “Reporting Live” autobiography, CBS News and “60 Minutes” reporter Lesley Stahl, talks about the time George H. W. Bush, after a contentious interview with Dan Rather, made a rather rude comment comparing her to Rather.
While the microphone was still open, Bush said, “The bastard didn’t lay a glove on me”, adding that Rather made “Leslie Stahl look like a pussy.” (Normally, I’d not spell that word out, but Stahl was brave enough to do it in her book.)
Bush’s camp told Stahl that he meant to say “pussycat”.
However, Bush’s public apology only made matters worse. He said, “If I had known the microphone was on, I wouldn’t have done it at all.”
What? He only apologized because the microphone was still on and not for his juvenile vulgarity?
“LOOKING”
Last week, Comcast gave its customers free access to HBO and other networks. The last time they did this, I caught the first season of “The Leftovers”. I still need to see seasons two and three.
This time, I binge-watched seasons one and two (18 30-minute episodes) of the LGBT series, “Looking”, and “Looking: The Movie”, which wrapped up the cancelled-too-soon series.
It’s the story of three friends, Patrick (Jonathan Groff), Agustin (Frankie J. Alvarez), and Dom (Murray Bartlett) as they navigate life in San Francisco’s Castro District.
The supporting cast was amazing, too.
Doris (Lauren Weedman), Dom’s roommate and best friend from childhood, was too funny, and Patrick’s boyfriends (over the two seasons), Richie (Raul Castillo) and Kevin (Russell Tovey) were too sexy.
While the eighteen regular episodes were entertaining and funny, “The Movie” was incredible.
Spoiler alert: This “movie” trailer might give something away that happened in seasons one and two!
It brought back a lot of memories of me and my party days of my 20s and 30s.
It made me miss one of my friends that’s a space cadet and was never good at keeping in touch and my former “best friend” that chooses not to stay in touch. Bummer!
“THE SHAPE OF WATER” WORDS OF WISDOM
“Never trust a man even if he looks flat down there!”
FINAL “SCANDAL” THOUGHTS
Here’s another funny quote between President Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) and her former Chief of Staff Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi).
Mellie: “You don’t like me!”
Liz: “I don’t like people!”
I never bought into mild-mannered Gladiator Quinn Perkins becoming a B-613 killing machine.
When Huck, Charlie, and Quinn would torture and/or kill “bad” people or people they needed information from, the whole wrapping them in saran wrap was either paying homage to or ripping off “Dexter”!
Which brings me around to sharing this one again — after all Christmas is about eight months away! 🙂
BOOKS #12, #13, & #14
After giving up on “The Walking Dead” following the season eight finale, I just finished reading my twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth books of the year.
This is a technicality — I just finished “The Walking Dead” Compendium One, Two, and Three that I got for Christmas two years ago.
The mammoth books, literally weighing in at around five pounds each, cover the graphics novels from issues 1 through 144.
It was interesting to read them since some characters on the TV series are still alive and they are dead in the books and vice versa. Also, there are some characters in the TV show that are not in the books.
Toward the end of the third book, we’re introduced to “The Whisperers”, which was an interesting twist.
However, it’s not enough to bring me back for season nine of the AMC series!
“AUTOMATIC” “LOOKING” BONUS
The Pointer Sisters took “Automatic” to the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 (#2 Dance).
The song, by Ultra Nate, appeared in a nightclub scene in the “Looking” movie (2016). However, her version topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart in 2007.
It’s just one of her 20 Top Ten Billboard Dance hits! (Seven have reached #1!)
And, check out this hot video.
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony
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