Fall officially begins this weekend (Saturday at 1:50 a.m. Central Time). I’m already decorated, so get busy!
My two goals for October: eat apple cider donuts and make a cocktail or two with apple cider.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my random thoughts this week.
THE WEATHER IS TO BLAME FOR THIS SHORTAGE
Extremely dry weather in the Mediterranean and the third hottest summer on record in Spain is driving up the price of olive oil!
Spain is the world’s largest producer and exporter of olive oil and the average price has now more than doubled since this time last year (up 130%).
The global prices for olive oil surged to $8,900 per ton in September and American experts say it’s showing “no sign of easing”.
“LIQUID GOLD”
Now that the price is skyrocketing, thieves are raking in the money by stealing it.
NBC reports about 50,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil were stolen from an oil mill in Spain in late August. It was valued at about $450,000!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMY!
My little sister, Tammy, celebrates her birthday this weekend.
I’m baking one of her favorite desserts — Sawdust Pie, a very popular pie at Patti’s 1880’s in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
HOPING AND PRAYING FOR CHANGE
Thankfully, my sister and I have both outlived the years our parents did (47 and 55). And, since I’ve being honest, I’m very surprised about Tammy. She’s like a cat with nine lives.
She’s already had heart attacks and strokes and she’s been told many times that she has to change her ways (stop smoking, eat healthier, and exercise).
In early 2021, we seriously thought she was dying and we were already making arrangements, but she rebounded. She had another setback this summer with a stroke and it was another dire situation.
And, since then — still smoking, not eating right, and no exercise!
Tammy, my dear sister, I’m being greedy now. Make those changes for us if you won’t do it for yourself!
“RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE” (THE MOVIE)
It’s been some time since I watched a LGBTQ movie that really touched me and made me want to fall in love again.
Recently, I checked out “Red, White & Royal Blue” on Amazon Prime and it was touching.
Both leads, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, were sexy and charming and Perez has a beautiful butt! (Okay, he did!)
The movie starts at a royal wedding and a scandal ensues when the $75,000 wedding cake crashes to the ground after a shoving match between Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the U.S. president, and England’s Prince Henry.
So, they’re called in to do “damage control” and prove to the world that they’re friends and not enemies.
Well, one thing leads to another and since it’s a love story…
GRADE: A
“RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE” (THE BOOK)
After watching the Amazon Prime movie, I decided to read the 2019 book by Casey McQuiston.
I read the 2022 collector’s edition that featured a new chapter written from Prince Henry’s perspective.
There were definitely some funny lines and scenes in the book that didn’t make the movie and there were some funnier lines in the movie compared to the same scene in the book.
I love that the book goes into much more detail than the movie, some details graphic. While the movie was sexy, the book was more erotic.
One more thought about the movie after reading the book — if you’re making a movie that’s going to tick some people off anyways, cater to the ones that want to see it. Go all out!
MY FAVORITE GO-TO MOVIES
While I’ve watched “Red, White & Royal Blue” twice already, my two favorites that I’ve watched many, many times that still give me hope for love are “Latter Days” (2003) and “Shelter” (2007).
And, I absolutely loved 2017’s coming-of-age “Best Picture” Oscar-nominated “Call Me By Your Name”, although it was more of a one sided-love affair. (I saw it in early 2018 and it was my favorite movie that year!)
DON’T BOTHER ME THIS WEEKEND!
Why? Because I’ll be dancing around with pug Xanadu to the new Kylie Minogue album, “Tension”.
The album’s first single, “Padam Padam”, was a huge hit worldwide and it was her first radio hit in America in almost two decades!
The follow-up, the title track, “Tension”, is racing up the charts around the world.
MY THOUGHTS ON HENRY KISSINGER
Former President Richard Nixon’s Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger was a very interesting man.
I just invested two weeks reading Walter Isaacson’s 1992, 767-page biography and I’m really torn about the man, who is now 100-years-old!
There’s no denying Kissinger was a genius and very intelligent. However, while he was a world-class diplomat, he was rude, insecure, and duplicitous. After learning more about him, I’ve concluded I don’t like him.
Yes, he made life safer for Americans and people around the world, but he also has a lot of blood on his hands.
He and Nixon could have ended the Vietnam War earlier than they did, so people continued to die. And, then there was the India-Pakistan War in the early-1970s. Those details are below.
“KISSINGER: A BIOGRAPHY”
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Kissinger was well researched and thorough.
I felt like I was auditing a course in Kissinger and the first 100 pages or so were painfully boring.
After that, getting caught up in his brilliance and sneaky duplicity was captivating. It’s mind-blowing how someone could have a larger than life ego and be so insecure!
Here are a couple more things I learned:
In the India-Pakistan War in December 1971, Kissinger’s approach was costly, especially in lives lost since the U.S. chose the side of the morally wrong Pakistan, which massacred hundreds of thousands of its own people.
“Within three days, some ten thousand people were killed; by the end of the year, the death toll would be more than half a million.” Additionally, 10 million refugees began to flee into India. (This likely led to President Gerald Ford’s loss in the 1976 presidential race since he was attacked in the race for the Republican nomination by Ronald Reagan and in the primary by the eventual winner, Jimmy Carter.)
According to Nixon’s Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, one reason the taping system that brought Nixon down was installed was to get Kissinger on tape advising Nixon (especially after the 1971 Cambodian invasion), since his views often changed without notice.
Kissinger later noted, “It was a high price to pay for insurance.”
ON A BRIGHTER SIDE — KISSINGER’S WIT & HUMOR
Isaacson shared several examples of Kissinger’s humor. Here’s one:
In late 1973 when he was brokering a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt after the Yom Kippur War that fall, a reporter asked Egyptian President Anwar Sadat if the U.S. would be cutting back on airlifting weapons to Israel. Sadat said we should ask this question of Dr. Kissinger.
Kissinger replied, “Luckily, I didn’t hear the question.” The reporter said, “I’d be happy to repeat the question.” and Kissinger said, “And I’d be happy to rephrase my answer.”
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Anthony
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 