I hope you enjoyed the week and are ready for the weekend.
It’s been an interesting week since my last “Random Friday Thoughts” — Valentine’s Day, a snowstorm for Iowa and Illinois, the return of “The Walking Dead”, and warmer temperatures!
Have a fun weekend and thank you for checking out my thoughts today.
YOUR COMPASSION IS HEARTWARMING
Last Friday, I shared with you a vile response to a blog I posted on why I support Hillary Clinton for president. It was one of my most viewed blogs on the day it was posted since I started writing my blog four years ago.
The feedback and compassion you extended to me was incredible and greatly appreciated. I know there are so many more great people in this world than the jerks — they just spew their hate openly and loudly.
As I told many of you in my responses, rude comments like that tick me off. However, it doesn’t hurt my feelings because being in the public eye, I’ve developed a tough skin.
Something it proves is that as much progress as we’ve made in this country, there’s still so much more work to be done before we reach equality — not just for the LGBT community, but for women, race, pay, and the list goes on and on.
Again, thank you!
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DEAD
Speaking of equality, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a man that made a career of voting against it, died at a Texas resort last weekend at the age of 79.
Since I was just talking about compassion, I’ll just say that I feel for his wife and their nine children.
Since the word “hate” is such a vile word, I didn’t “hate” Scalia, but I disliked him with strong convictions because of his long history of being anti-gay in his court decisions.
NATALIE COLE’S FAMILY UPSET ABOUT THE GRAMMYS
The family of singer Natalie Cole, who died on December 31, 2015, at the age of 65, is upset with the “shameless” tribute she received at Monday night’s Grammys compared to other musicians that were memorialized.
Cole’s son, Robert Adam Yancy told “Entertainment Weekly”, “Here is a woman who has been in the business for four decades, had 21 Grammy nominations and won nine Grammys. She deserves more than a minute-and-a-half tribute.”
Cole was remembered in a photo montage, while Lady Gaga performed a seven-minute musical tribute to David Bowie, who won two Grammys in his career. (I’m torn writing this because Gaga was incredible. It’s the principle I’m addressing here!)
There were also tributes to Maurice White (of Earth, Wind, & Fire), winner of seven Grammys, Glenn Frey of the Eagles (six Grammys) and Lemmy Kilmister (of Motorhead) with only one Grammy win.
One one other music tribute was to a musician who won more Grammys than Cole, B. B. King (15 Grammys).
So, there’s my tribute video to Cole and not the others!
OKAY, I COULDN’T RESIST
Here’s Lady Gaga’s amazing tribute to David Bowie from the Grammys.
STARS READING “MEAN TWEETS”
These always crack me up because the entertainers make the best of a bad situation. On the other hand, mean people really do suck!
What troopers — to read what idiots say about them!
“THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON”
We all know the story — a savage double murder in the posh Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1994 involving the wife of a famed football star.
A botched (?) criminal case that allowed a murderer (?) to walk free!
Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (“American Horror Story”) are behind the new Fox series “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” (notice the similar title).
This 10-episode series event is going behind the story to share details that we may not remember from the headlines or the circus that was the murder trail against Simpson.
After watching the first two episodes, I’m intrigued with the detailed story telling and the acting of Sarah Paulson (Marcia Clark), John Travolta (Robert Shapiro), and Courtney B. Vance (Johnnie Cochran).
However, Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. as O.J. Simpson is a hard sell for me. One, Gooding doesn’t remind me that much of Simpson and, two, the constant whining and ranting is annoying. I’m totally not buying him as O.J.!
Overall, a great show and it hasn’t even gotten to the trail yet!
YES, BEYONCE IS BLACK!
I’m sure you already know that Beyonce is black. If not, she is! And, remember that expression from the 1960s that “Black is Beautiful” and Bey is definitely beautiful.
The most recent controversy with Beyonce started on February 6th when she released the “Formation” video, which features references to New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina black culture, racism, and police.
She performed the song the next day at “Super Bowl 50” and more controversy ensued from conservatives thinking she was promoting too much black — power, the Black Panthers, and Black Lives Matter.
Former New York City Major Rudy Giuliani vented, “This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive.”
While “Formation” won’t have the same radio success as “Crazy in Love”, “Irreplaceable”, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, pop and R&B/Hip Hop stations are already playing it!
For the record, Beyonce has had huge success on the pop chart (Billboard Hot 100) with 26 hits, fifteen of which hit the Top Ten, and five of those went all the way to #1.
However, she’s had more success on the R&B/Hip Hop charts — 38 hits, 23 of which made the Top Ten, and 8 topped the chart.
And, this is not even counting her hits with Destiny’s Child!
“SNL” NAILS IT AGAIN!
“ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY” IS BECOMING GREEDY
I’m a huge fan of “Entertainment Weekly” and I look forward to my magazine each week even though I can find much of the same information online from their website and tweets.
It used to be that they’d have a feature series with several cover photos and present them all in the issue. You’d just flip the cover and there’d be the next one.
That would have been perfect for this week’s “The Walking Dead” feature with six different collector edition covers. However, they randomly picked which cover you’d get. But, you could purchase the other five covers!
Seriously?
While I wanted Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), I got Daryl Dixon. As much as I love the show, there’s no way I’d buy the other five!
Greedy!
29 AND ANCHORING IN NEW YORK CITY? NO WAY!
If you’re familiar with how the television news business works, you know you start out at small market stations and work there for a couple of years before moving on to a larger market.
You work there for a couple of years and then move on again. You continue this process until you get to the big markets (New York City is the largest TV market followed by Los Angeles and Chicago).
If you’re very talented and you luck out, you might skip one of these ladder jumping moves. Or, maybe there’s other factors.
I’m not saying that 29-year-old Stefan Holt, the son of “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt, isn’t talented, but…
The younger Holt graduated college and interned at KABC in Los Angeles and with NBC News in London before joining the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a reporter and fill-in anchor. This is market #38 out of 210 (the smallest). It’s unusual to get your first job in a market that size.
After just two years there, he moved on to NBC5 in Chicago (market #3) as a reporter and weekend morning anchor. Holt was promoted to weekday mornings just months later where he worked for five years.
Again, 29 and anchoring in the biggest television market in the country! What’s next? Filling in for his dad on “NBC Nightly News”?
JUSTIN BIEBER
Okay, first things first about Justin Bieber.
I bought his “Purpose” album last fall and it’s a great album and has already produced four huge hits, including three #1s, “What Do You Mean”, “Sorry”, and “Love Yourself”, and my favorite 2015 Bieber hit, the Grammy Award-winning “Where Are U Now” with Skrillex and Diplo.
And, if you haven’t noticed, Justin is gorgeous and I feel more comfortable saying that now that he’s a man — over 18 years old!
However, I was a little freaked out by music executive and producer L.A.Reid’s description of Bieber in his new book, “Sing To Me”.
Reid says, “this kid was beautiful, like a woman can be beautiful and men rarely are, and he turned it on as soon as he stepped into the room.”.
This one sounds more innocent and I totally agree, “Justin was simply beautiful. His superpower was his face.”
PICK HIT
Zayn Malik, another sexy and beautiful man, who left the boy band One Direction for a solo career, is off to a great start.
“Pillowtalk” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and is burning up the radio airwaves. It’s already on the short list of my favorite songs of 2016. I know, it’s only February!
The video is pretty erotic and steamy, too!
Malik’s debut album, “Mind of Mine”, comes out March 25, 2016.
“THE MARTIAN”
I finally got around to see this $614.2 million dollar blockbuster that’s nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor for star, Matt Damon.
Everyone (and their mother) has already seen this, so I won’t write a long review. I loved this movie much better than “Gravity”, which I didn’t like, and I haven’t seen “Interstellar”.
Damon does a great job in the role, but Oscar winning-worthy? No.
My biggest complaint — the 2 hour, 21 minute running time was excessive and I think the movie could have been just as entertaining 30 minutes shorter.
GRADE: A-
“THE OVERNIGHT”
In stark contrast to “The Martian” in running time, “The Overnight” is one hour, 18 minutes long and it works in a lot in that short time.
A couple with a small son move from Seattle to Los Angeles where they meet another father and son playing in the park one day. Since they don’t know anyone and the boys get along, they’re invited to a pizza party.
At the party, after much alcohol and the boys go to bed, the foursome talk about everything, including sex. Inhibitions are lowered and tempers flare when insecurities surface.
The question becomes will they or won’t they and how will that change the course of the relationships — between each couple and the two couples’ friendship.
GRADE: B
“FREEHELD”
This movie is an expansion of the Oscar-winning “Best Short Documentary” in 2007 with the same name.
This 2015 film stars Oscar winner Julianne Moore as Laurel Hester, a 23-year veteran of the police force in Orange County, New Jersey.
She sues after finding out she has lung cancer and her request to have her domestic partner receive her benefits is denied. Oscar nominee Ellen Page (“Juno”) plays her love interest, Stacie.
The acting is superb not only from the female leads, but also from Michael Shannon, Hester’s partner on the police force, and Luke Grimes, a closeted police colleague.
However, watching the movie, it did feel like a Lifetime movie. And, that’s not a bad thing.
This is based on a true story.
GRADE: B
“TRUTH”
This movie focuses on the authenticity of documents reported by “60 Minutes” on CBS from iconic news anchor Dan Rather during George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential re-election campaign.
The controversy called into question if Bush received preferential treatment while he served in the Texas Air National Guard in the early-1970s.
Robert Redford stars as Rather in the last days of his career at CBS, but the focus of the movie is on Mary Mapes, Rather’s producer on the investigative piece.
Mapes is played by two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett. As expected, she is flawless. Yet, even she couldn’t save this movie and make it a thriller.
GRADE: C
THAT’S IT
I think that’s enough thoughts for one week. As always, thank you for taking the time to check out my randomness! Feel free to share your thoughts with me — as long as you’re diplomatic.
Have a great weekend!
Anthony
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 