Holiday Season 2023 — My Year & My Wishes For You

“It’s the holiday season, so hoop-de-do and dickory dock”.

Good Lord, song lyrics were so lame in 1963!

Now you know why Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is already a classic and a perennial chart-topper! (These photos are from the amazing Christmas concert I saw in Las Vegas in December 2017.)

So, let’s start again. It’s the holiday season!

To me, this means putting up my Christmas tree and decorations for three months, while many are getting their Halloween on!

I hope this finds you happy and healthy! Some of us keep in touch year around through social media and some of us only once a year with Christmas cards. And, I love and appreciate each and every one of them!

I’m very grateful for all I’m blessed with in life.

I’m still the morning meteorologist at the NBC affiliate in Decatur, Illinois. I’ve been here almost four years and I have another year left on my contract!

My dear sister, Tammy, had another health scare this summer. She had a stroke and a risky, emergency surgery and is in physical therapy now. Once again, she was told she definitely has to stop smoking, exercise, and eat right. Sadly, she hears “blah, blah, blah”!

She also spent another week in the hospital before Thanksgiving and it’s been a struggle bouncing back. She told me she hasn’t smoked since getting out this time!

Since my cards go out Thanksgiving week, let’s start where I left off last year.

Last December, Tammy and I visited one of my favorite cities, Palm Springs, California. I hadn’t been there since the late-1990s. (And, I started a mustache and kept it through Labor Day weekend!)

I love the Marilyn Monroe statue!

And, it was great seeing my friend, Robert, again. We met through our dearly departed friend (and “Mom”) D’nell over 30 years ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Thank you again for lunch, Robert! I loved my turkey burger at Billy Reed’s.

And, in October, we took a road trip to Branson, Missouri, to chill out.

I cooked a couple of our meals and we ate out a few times.

Tammy chose Lambert’s (the home of the Throwed Rolls) and we also had a seafood buffet and a nice Sunday brunch.

I splurged with dessert — half blackberry cobbler and half peach cobbler with ice cream, caramel topping, chocolate chips, and chopped nuts.

We took several photos around Branson on the Strip. I absolutely loved the gorgeous octopus outside the Aquarium.

And, the parking lot of Ripley’s was fun!

While we were there before fall foliage was in full color, our balcony view of Table Rock Lake was stunning.

So, why didn’t I travel internationally in 2023 after visiting Greece in 2021 and Costa Rica, Cancun, and Turkey in 2022?

It’s all thanks to a little four-pound bundle of energy coming into my life in late February!

That was February 25, 2023, when I picked Xanadu up in Taylorville, Illinois!

So, my hints over the past few Christmases, “maybe it’ll be in ‘Xanadu’ – ♪♪♪ “a place where nobody dared to go” where “a million lights are dancing and there you are – a shooting star” ♪♪♪!”, were to let you know something about “Xanadu” was in the cards!

Yes, I finally got my pug, so #Pug20-something became a reality!

It’s been an interesting nine months!

Xanadu is absolutely adorable and she has the most expressive little face.

However, she’s a total nightmare. I described her on-air one day as “17 pounds of mischievous”.

She has no boundaries and I now know why pugs are described as little “dictators”! But, look at this little face! 🙂

As I look to the future, I hope to calm Miss Xanadu down some and to be a great dog dad.

My next birthday is a milestone one and I hope to be spending it in Las Vegas seeing Kylie Minogue in concert.

While she started her Vegas residency in early November, I was unable to snag a ticket!

My friends, I wish you love, peace, health, and happiness in 2024!

“May hope and faith conquer fear and hate this Christmas”

Anthony & Xanadu

Random Friday Thoughts — September 8, 2023

Happy Friday!

Cooler weather is on tap this weekend for many across the country after our latest heat wave.

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

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST POLLUTERS

China leads the world in air pollution.

This was when I arrived in Beijing in April 2016 and it worsened that afternoon. It got so bad, it looked like it nightfall!

Also, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan are in the top five (in order) doing the most damage to the Earth and creating our current climate crisis.

Temperatures are increasing, oceans are rising, the weather is changing, and ice caps are melting.

While we’re making progress, change is slow due to bureaucracy and the cost!

SO BLAME MARTHA STEWART!

Recently, the style icon was on a cruise around the fjords of Greenland.

She posted a photo of her enjoying a cocktail with the caption, “We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight”.

And, then the haters gonna hate!

One Instagram follower wrote, “Martha the ice caps are melting don’t put them in your drink.” and another said, “I generally love Martha and the excesses of her life because she’s about beautiful gardens, homes, and food, but wealthy white people drinking their iceberg cocktails while the planet is in flames is a bit tone deaf.”

Okay, both are correct about the ice caps.

However, I don’t think Martha and her fellow cruisers were pulling a Yukon Cornelius and chipping away the icebergs for an Instagram photo.

And, if they did that, what bitches! (That’s sarcasm!)

Look at this way, they were recycling!

TASTY NEW COFFEE CREAMER

I drink coffee in the mornings at work, but I don’t love coffee unless (1) it’s iced coffee and (2) it has several artificial sweeteners and fun-flavored coffee creamer.

A new one is on the way this fall that’ll take you back to your childhood — peanut butter and jelly. The new “DUO” will feature strawberry jelly.

PRIDE MONTH (AND THE RAINY SEASON) MAY BE OVER

However, this photo of Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias from June’s Chicago gay pride parade was just brought to my attention!

How did I possibly not know about this?

I saw him at the 2010 Chicago Gay Pride Parade when he was running for Senate and I’m still crushing on him!

STILL DISAPPOINTED WEEKS LATER

I was so excited when Kylie Minogue confirmed her first Las Vegas residency at the Venetian Resort’s new venue, Voltaire.

20,000 seats and I couldn’t snag one standing room only ticket ($250). I still have faith that more shows will be added and I’ll see Kylie later this year (or in 2024)!

BUT, I’M VERY EXCITED FOR “TENSION”

While I won’t be fulfilling my bucket list and seeing Kylie in Las Vegas, the “Tension” album release is just two weeks away.

That excites me and makes me smile.

Just last week, Kylie released the second single, the title track, and the video is so much fun. And, the song’s lyrics are hot and steamy!

Which is your favorite Kylie? I love them all!

Meanwhile, the first release from the album, “Padam Padam”, is an international hit (#1 in Israel and the U.K.) and it’s still climbing the charts here in the U.S.

It’s actually being played at Top 40 radio and is at #31.

“WHO IS ERIN CARTER?”

I hadn’t heard anything about this new Netflix series, so I took a chance on it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Erin Carter, a substitute school teacher, and her daughter are in a grocery store when a robbery goes down. When her daughter is threatened, Erin reacts in a way that makes you realize she’s more than a mother protecting her child.

As of now, it hasn’t been renewed for a second season. However, I’d watch a second season!

Evin Ahmad as Erin Carter is sexy and a badass and her husband Jordi (Sean Teale) is absolutely gorgeous.

GRADE: A-

“GOLDA: THE LIFE OF ISRAEL’S PRIME MINISTER”

Last week I shared a few things from Peggy Mann’s 1971 biography of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.

Here are a few more interesting tidbits from the book:

The Arab nations’ banned Elizabeth Taylor’s movies because she married Eddie Fisher and adopted his religion and became a Jew.

Her political adviser Simcha Dinitz summed up her leadership when she was appointed Prime Minister (the previous leader died in early 1969 and the leaders didn’t want to appoint one of the frontrunners for the top job before the October 1969 election): “She has the best qualities of a woman — intuition, insight, sensitivity, compassion — plus the best qualities of a man — strength, determination, practicality, purposefulness. So we’re lucky. We have double qualities — in one person.”

Meir was very honest and clever with her remarks. In New York City, in the fall of 1969, at an elaborate event in the Grand Hall of the Brooklyn Museum with ancient Egyptian antiques and paintings in the background, Meir told the museum curator, “I promise not to stand in front of any work of art in case I get shot.”

In October 1970, addressing a celebration of the United Nations’ 25th anniversary, Meir told the crowd, “All of those around us, as well as Israel, have paid the terrible price of endless warfare. Billions of dollars have been spent on armaments instead of on war against poverty, disease, and ignorance. There are now deserts of death where there could be blooming fields. I say this today not in rancor but in sorrow.”

REMEMBERING GARY WRIGHT

Last Friday, iconic singer Jimmy Buffett died at the age of 76. When a huge star dies, lesser stars that die the same day or close to it are overlooked.

Singer Gary Wright died on Labor Day at the age of 80.

Wright only charted with three Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, but the first two were huge. “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive” both peaked at #2 in 1976.

“Dream Weaver” is one of my favorite songs from my childhood.

“SUNSET BOULEVARD”

I decided now that I’m heading into my sunset years, I’m going to watch a few classics — movies older than me and some that may be more recent, but I never saw. I kicked it off with “Dog Day Afternoon” and I enjoyed it.

I just watched the 1950 classic, “Sunset Boulevard”, which was nominated for eleven Oscars (four in the acting categories).

It tells the story of a younger man, Joe Gillis, (William Holden), a struggling Hollywood writer, going to work for Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an aging movie star trying to hold on to her fame and looks.

I liked the movie, but I would’ve much rather have seen it on stage with the amazing Patti Lupone as Desmond!

One final comment, after seeing some of Swanson’s facial expression, I know where Faye Dunaway may have gotten the inspiration for some of her crazed Joan Crawford expressions in “Mommie Dearest”!

“And now, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”

GRADE: B

AND, SPEAKING OF GLORIA SWANSON

The Hollywood star had a not too secret affair in the late-1920s with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., the father of President John F. Kennedy!

At the time, he and his wife, Rose, had been married for over a decade and had eight children! Their last child, Ted, was born after the Swanson affair cooled.

Later, Swanson would say of Kennedy’s wife Rose that she was either “a fool or a saint”.

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony

Random Friday Thoughts — August 4, 2023

August is here and that means fall is just around the corner. Oh wait, decorations are already in stores, so I must be right.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my thoughts. You can definitely disagree, just do it diplomatically.

RETIRE NOW & LIVE YOUR LIVE!

I’m a realist! I’m no longer a “spring chicken” and for the first time in my life, I’m starting to think about retirement. (It’s still years away!)

While I love being a television meteorologist, I also think about what life will be like to enjoy not working and having fewer responsibilities!

With that in mind, I want to talk about politicians not knowing when to leave the party before death takes them out of the game and I’m being non-partisan here.

With recent meltdowns of 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 90-year-old U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California making news, it’s time for them to retire and spend time with their families.

Seriously, these are people making laws that affect all of us and they need to be mentally competent!

And, it doesn’t stop there. Both front runners for the next presidential race will be 81 (President Joe Biden) and 78 (Donald Trump) on Election Day 2024!

WORST KEPT SECRET EVER & I’M VERY HAPPY

Rumors have been swirling since last November that iconic superstar Kylie Minogue would be doing a Las Vegas residency.

In May, Kylie announced her new album “Tension” would arrive in September. It features “Padam Padam”, her first hit in America in almost 20 years.

One song stood out when the track listing of the new album was revealed. The song “Vegas High” confirmed to me she’d be doing a Vegas residency.

Late last week, the worst kept secret became official. Kylie announced her residency at the Venetian Resort as the Voltaire nightclub’s first act.

It’s being billed as “More Than Just A Residency” with Kylie performing most weekends in November, December, and January!

“VEGAS HIGH” — I’M READY!

In that announcement, we got a first listen to “Vegas High”. For years now, I’ve been wanting to see Kylie — it’s the last concert on my bucket list!

I’m so ready to buy my ticket and head to Vegas.

The last time I was there was in September 2021. I went twice that summer once the pandemic eased a bit when vaccines became available. (I didn’t visit Vegas in 2022 because I made the mistake of visiting Atlantic City, New Jersey instead!).

Anyways, back to Vegas. Seeing Kylie would be my first concert since the pandemic.

In December 2019, I saw Paula Abdul and it was a great time. It was also during that visit that I last ate at the Wicked Spoon, my favorite dining experience in Vegas.

So, I’ve already got my trip planned, I just don’t know the dates yet — win big on the slots, bottomless mimosa brunch at the Wicked Spoon, see Kylie and maybe another show, and come home to my crazy pug, Xanadu!

JACKIE KENNEDY & CLINT HILL

Secret Service agent Clint Hill was on First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s detail on that fateful day in November 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

He worked for five presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gerald Ford.

Once he retired from the Secret Service in the mid-1970s, he kept his silence about the Kennedy assassination.

However, he started writing books with Lisa McCubbin (now his wife) in 2012. He’s now written four books.

I went on a Clint Hill reading spree, but I didn’t read them in order. I’d highly recommend them all. They’re very informative and easy to read. If you want gossip and dirt, you won’t find it.

I read them in this order: “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford” (2016); Five Days in November (2013); “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” (2012), and “My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy” (2022).

Some stories overlap, but you still learn new things.

“THE DIPLOMAT”

Now that Hollywood writers and actors are on strike, we have the chance to binge watch shows we’ve been wanting to check out.

I just finished the first season of “The Diplomat” on Netflix with Keri Russell (“The Americans”). She picked up an Emmy nomination in the Best Actress Drama category.

Kate Wyler (Russell) and her husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell) are both career diplomats. She is sent to U.K. to smooth over an international crises –a British aircraft carrier was bombed in the Persian Gulf killing 41 service members. Iran is the main suspect.

What she doesn’t know is that she was chosen instead of her husband because the American president is wanting Kate’s profile raised because he’s going to replace his vice-president with her.

And, I absolutely loved every scene with the very stunning and sexy Austin Dennison, the U.K. Foreign Secretary (David Gyasi) and his sister, Cecilia (T’Nia Miller).

Oh, by the way, who tailors his suits? Peachy! 🙂

“The Diplomat” was renewed for a second season.

GRADE: B

“THE NIGHT AGENT”

This was a very enjoyable and action-packed political thriller.

Sexy Gabriel Basso was easy to watch over the ten episodes and the show has a great creative force behind it, Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”).

Basso plays Peter Sutherland, Jr., an FBI agent working at the White House as a Night Action telephone operator. He answers the phone for “Night Agents” — undercover agents and spies for the government.

One night a call comes in that exposes a major conspiracy inside the White House.

“The Night Agent” was renewed for a second season.

GRADE: B+

“NOT THAT FANCY”

Just in time for my birthday in early October, Reba McEntire will be releasing her new book, “Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots” (October 6th). An album will accompany that book.

The album will be acoustic versions of some Reba’s biggest hits.

It’ll also feature 3 new classic stripped-down songs that have never been released. It’ll also feature a brand new song, “Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

Since I didn’t buy Reba’s 2021 triple CD “Revived Remixed Revisited”, maybe I’ll get this one.

I really wish Reba would release a new CD of all new music.

However, after country radio totally ignored her incredible Grammy Award-nominated, “Stronger Than The Truth” album in 2019, why would she put out another album of new material — except for fans!

“THE HAMMER”

I should have seen the red flags flying when “A Lifetime Original Movie” popped up on the screen.

While I enjoyed Reba on season three of ABC’s “Big Sky” as Sunny Barnes, this one is worth skipping — unless you just want to see Reba and Melissa Peterman (Barbara Jean on the “Reba” TV series).

GRADE: C

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony