Random Friday Thoughts — August 18, 2023

It’s still summer, but I’m definitely ready for the shorter days, longer nights, and cooler weather.

Oh, I’m really craving an apple cider doughnut, too! Extra cinnamon sugar, please!

SPEAKING OF APPLE CIDER

On my first trip back to Las Vegas in June 2021 once vaccinations made travel possible again, I met someone for a drink at the Salt & Ivy Patio at the ARIA.

I had a drink called “Everything That Glitters Is…”. It was ginger vodka, apple cider  , cinnamon syrup, and lemon  juice. While pricey ($17, it’s Vegas baby!), it was so delicious!

Thank you for checking out my random thoughts this week!

ANOTHER MISS XANADU UPDATE

While spaying is a major abdominal surgery for girl puppies, it’s a common procedure.

Leave it to my problem child to have an allergic reaction to the stitches and develop an infection! We’re definitely on the mend now with the antibiotics kicking in.

Stitches were taken out earlier this week, but it’ll take another week or two for the wound to totally heal.

The cone I bought from the vet was a total waste of $11 since she ripped it off each time in less than a minute.

The onesie from Amazon worked better. However, sizing in China (where it was made) is much different than in the U.S. “Medium” is a tight fit for the pug.

I can’t wait for her to be totally healthy again, but she’s already back to full pug craziness!

SUMMERTIME TREAT

Last week, my boss, Clay, brought an ice cream truck to the station and treated us to tasty treats.

It definitely wasn’t our childhood ice cream truck with pre-packaged sandwiches, Push-ups, and popsicles.

I ordered a peanut butter-banana milkshake to share with Xanadu and my sister, Tammy, and I shared a banana split.

It was so delicious. I haven’t had a banana split since I lived in Mayfield, Kentucky, almost 30 years ago!

ANOTHER SWEET TREAT

Rumor has it that the Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry is now at McDonald’s!

It’s a combination of vanilla soft serve ice cream with crispy cereal mix and chocolate peanut butter cookie pieces.

“THE CELEBRATION TOUR” RESCHEDULED

Earlier this week, Madonna celebrated her 65th birthday.

She also posted the new dates for the North American leg of “The Celebration Tour” that was postponed from July after her emergency stay in the hospital.

You know I love Madonna. I’ve seen her in concert four times and I’d love to see this show.

So, I’m saying this with love and not out of spite.

I really hope she revamps the show and lets her dancers do the grueling work. Otherwise, there’ll be many cancellations or postponed shows if she goes all out like a typical Madonna show. This happened with injuries on her “Madame X Tour”.

And, it’s already going to be taxing on her body since the U.S. shows start just a week after 27 concerts in the U.K. and Europe from October through December!

There are 51 scheduled dates in North America from December 2023 through April 2024.

“BOSTON STRANGLER”

If you’re a fan of true crime stories, you likely know the story of Albert DeSalvo, the man notoriously called the “Boston Strangler”. He’s suspected of killing 13 women in the early-1960s.

However, this 2023 Hulu movie, focuses on Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a lifestyles feature reporter for the “Boston Record-American” newspaper and how she broke the story of the Boston Strangler.

Carrie Coon played Jean Cole, another reporter that worked on the Strangler series with McLaughlin.

It was a solid movie that focused more on the reporting and investigation of the crimes and how the two women were constantly disrespected by the Boston Police Commissioner and male reporters.

GRADE: B

CAROL BURNETT

Recently, I spent some time with comedy legend Carol Burnett by reading her 2010 biography “This Time Together” and the 2016 follow-up, “In Such Good Company”.

The 90-year-old comedienne has won six Primetime Emmys, a Grammy, and a Tony.

I remember watching “The Carol Burnett Show” as a kid and I just saw her as a funny woman. I didn’t realize just how beautiful she was out of character.

She shared many funny stories in the two books.

The funniest involved her great friend, Julie Andrews in Washington D.C., in the 1960s. Let’s just say she met First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson in a hilarious way!

Burnett is the mother of three daughters. Her oldest, Carrie, died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 38.

ERIN HAMILTON

Burnett’s youngest, Erin Hamilton, turned 55 earlier this week.

In 1999, she released a dance-oriented album “One World”. I loved it!

It produced two Top 20 Dance hits — remakes of Gary Wright’s #2 1976 hit “Dream Weaver” and Cheap Trick’s 1988 #1 smash “The Flame”.

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 11, 2023

August is moving along and that means we’re one day closer to fall.

There are rumors that Wendy’s may be introducing a new Frosty flavor this autumn — pumpkin spice.

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s, created a “light chocolate” Frosty as one of the five original items in 1969.

In 2006, a vanilla flavor was introduced and the chain can only have two flavors at a time.

In the summer of 2022, strawberry replaced the vanilla, and last fall, peppermint replaced vanilla. I’ve only had chocolate, but would try the pumpkin spice.

Thank you for checking out my random thoughts.

XANADU’S RECOVERY

Last Friday, Miss Xanadu went through a puppy “rite of passage” and was spayed.

All went well and the little critter was so pathetic when I picked her up.

While she’s feeling well, she developed an infection, an adverse reaction to the stitches, and is now on antibiotics. Also, once it got infected, she discovered the surgical spot on her tummy, and started licking it.

She’s now white-trash bandaged and will wear the “cone of shame” while in the crate when she’s unattended. This is not going to be pretty!

Before the infection, she did experience her first rainbow last Sunday.

She has a lot in common with my sister — not following medical advice. She still wants to jump and run.

TAMMY’S RECOVERY, TOO!

Speaking of my sister, Tammy had a stroke about two weeks ago and finally went to the emergency room days later because her arm was still numb (she thought she slept on it the wrong way).

Tests showed one carotid artery was 99% closed up, which caused the stroke.

A risky surgery (with her history of heart attacks and COPD) was performed and the surgeon cleaned it out. She’s feeling better now.

The aftermath of the surgery makes her look like a hapless survivor of Michael Myers in a “Halloween” movie.

Like every time before when a major medical crisis occurs, she was told she has to stop smoking, eat healthier, and exercise.

I desperately want my BFF to prove me wrong and do it this time. Otherwise, like every time in the past, it’s “blah blah blah”!

ONE YEAR ALREADY

I can’t believe it’s already been a year since Olivia Newton-John passed away after a long battle with breast cancer.

I was fortunate enough to see her in concert in Las Vegas in 2014.

“CALL ME CRAZY”

It was also one year ago today that actress Anne Heche died six days after a horrific car accident and fire in Los Angeles.

This 2001 memoir came out after her high-profile relationship and break-up with talk show host/comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and her psychotic break with reality in Fresno, California.

After reading about her childhood and her Emmy-winning years on a soap opera, I can definitely understand her mental breakdown especially after the way the press badgered her and Ellen after their coming out as the most famous gay entertainment couple and their breakup.

I’ll also be reading her 2023 follow-up “Call Me Anne”.

“ON NIXON’S MADNESS: AN EMOTIONAL HISTORY”

I just finished this new book from Zachary Jonathan Jacobson.

It was informative, but, overall, not a fun read because it came across as too clinical.

Here are some of the interesting takeaways:

In his first debate in the 1960 presidential race against John F. Kennedy, seeing Nixon’s flop sweat and his shifty and darkened eyes and cheeks, his mother thought him “sickly” and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley exclaimed, “My God, they’ve embalmed him before he even died!”

Former President Harry Truman called Nixon a “shifty-eyed, goddamn liar” and a “son of a bitch”.

In 2014, Bob Woodward, who helped bring Nixon down as a reporter for the Washington Post said, it “was a White House full of lies, chaos, distrust, speculation, self-protection, maneuver, and counter maneuver”. He added Nixon’s regime had “a crookedness that makes Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’ look unsophisticated.”

Near the end of a television news conference in the fall of 1973, after a nuclear scare in the Middle East, Nixon was getting agitated and he was asked about his “rumored disturbed temperament” and the president replied, “Don’t get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects.”

“9-1-1: LONE STAR” & “9-1-1”

I finally got around to watching the fourth season of “9-1-1: Lone Star” and the second half of the sixth season of “9-1-1”.

While I enjoy both of them, “Lone Star” is my favorite. A lot of it has to do with the diversity of the cast and the character’s lives.

And, I just can’t get enough of T.K. and Carlos!

And, getting back to the second half of the last season of “9-1-1”, I just didn’t care about the characters any more!

Do you watch the two series? If so, which is your favorite?

“DOG DAY AFTERNOON”

I decided I’m going to start checking out some classics, so I started with the Oscar-winning 1975 movie, “Dog Day Afternoon”.

Academy Award-nominee Al Pacino plays Sonny, an amateur bank robber trying to steal enough money for his “wife”, Leon, to have a sex change operation.

Leon was played by Oscar nominee Chris Sarandon (former husband of Susan).

The movie definitely captured the grittiness and dirtiness of 1970s New York City and 34-year-old Pacino was smoking hot!

While entertaining, the outcome was too predictable — especially with who lived and died!

GRADE: B

THAT’S IT

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

Anthony