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Friday, November 29, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "And The Emmy Goes To..."


NaBloPoMo Month - "And The Emmy Goes To..."
Entry #29 - 11/29/2013

Well color me jealous...Ismael "Smiley" Cekic an actor and singer from Bensonhurst found an Emmy in a garbage can near his home...and he's looking for the actor or actress it belongs too.


Cekic told local reporters that he found the Emmy award on September 20th near his house on 28th Avenue between Cropsey and Harway when he went through a box of trophies left for the garbage man! It wasn't until days later that the actor/singer first learned what and who the winged statuette was - while watching the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards.

The funny, and perhaps unbelievable part of this story is that Cekic went on to tell the writer of the article that as an actor he had watched the Emmys before...but didn't know that he had found one by go through someone's trash!

The award is believed to be from the 1950s and Cekic has made plans to find it's rightful owner earlier this month...which is more than I would do. I'm sorry...you throw it away and I find it...that's mine!

Plus, it's always been a lifelong dream of mine to have an Emmy award!

Until Next Time...I'll Keep Going Through the Trash...Ciao Bella!

Photo by Elizabeth Graham

Thursday, November 28, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Today I Am Thankful..."


NaBloPoMo Month - "Today I Am Thankful..."
Entry #28 - 11/28/2013


"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

Today I am thankful for the special people in my life...

1. My Grandmother - I have been very fortunate in my life to have such a woman that loves me and does as much for me as my beautiful grandmother does. This year she has proven once again how invaluable she can be and how lost I would be without her help. From my surgery in the early mornings of January to helping me find an apartment in Stillwater in May!

2. My Friends - I couldn't possible list everyone here...from wonderful acquaintances to tried and true friends, I'd have the rest of the list filled up. However, I have always said that in adulthood making friends is difficult! I have been so blessed this year to have surrounded myself with people that I truly love and those that truly love me. I won't name them here...but they know who they are...across the miles or right in my own backyard I am very blessed to have known them...learned from them...and continue to grow my relationship with them!

3. Mentors - Professionally I have been fortunate to have some people who good or bad made a difference in how I do business and conduct myself in a professional setting. This year I was reminded of just how important it is to surround yourself with people you now only consider a friend, but that can teach you, train you, provide you with guidance and on occasion vent as needed! This year was a big year for that...I won't name names again, as I didn't in number 2...but those people know who they are!

Today I am thankful for good luck, blessings and...

4. The Ability to Take a Leap of Faith - From finally going through with my weight loss surgery to making the decision to travel down a road once traveled before...I am thankful that I have been of the sound mind to take a leap of faith and see it through. I've done this by surrounding myself with good friends and family!

5. Good Renters - Having two good renters living in my rental homes should be a blessing that I thank the high heavens for everyday. I never want to take it for granted and I don't take it for granted. I am thankful that they pay the rent and help make my life just a little bit easier month over month!

6. Job - I am thankful that I was able to find a job that I enjoy...that was able to bring me back to Oklahoma so I can be near my family. I am thankful that I get the opportunity to continue growing and learning.

Today I am thankful for the small things in life...

7. Hulu / Netflix - It allows me the opportunity to find TV shows that I should have been watching all along...prime examples include: Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy!

8. The Rain - Not the crazy crap like tornadoes by any means...but the fact that I am able to lie in bed and listen to the rain hit against the house and rustle the trees. I love to hear the thunder...because I went so long without hearing it!

9. Text Messages - I am thankful for text messages...more specifically I am thankful for iMessages because it allows me the opportunity to keep in touch with two people who mean so much to me and I don't think that was a luxury that I could have been afforded ten-fifteen years ago.

Today I am thankful for...

10. The Memories Not Yet Made & The People Not Yet Met - I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new memories and seeing how those two things change my life all for the better!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

NaBloPo Month - "You're Alive...Phone Home"


NaBloPoMo Month - "You're Alive...Phone Home"
Entry #27 - 11/27/2013

Ya'll know that I love my stories! I grew up watching the CBS soap operas - "The Young and The Restless" and "The Bold and The Beautiful" and "As The World Turns" and "Guiding Light" but in the last ten years there have been several soap operas that have went to that great dramatic heaven in the sky...

Which has led to my new found love and appreciation of the ABC's lone soap opera "General Hospital" which tells the story of the citizens of Port Charles! Part of the reason I have turned my love and attention to GH in the last two years was in part to the placement of Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati as the Executive Producer and Head Writer, respectively. Frank and Ron's past credits include helming the ship of the now canceled "One Life to Live."

One thing I can appreciate about soaps is the over the top drama that it produces...with the recent storyline of Dr. Robin Scorpio Drake's return from the dead story as evidence. Granted fans of the soap opera and the character will appreciate the return of the character who longtime fans have watched grow up on the show. But one thing that just made me laugh and as normal...got me to thinking was a scene between Duke Lavery (Robin's former step-father who also returned from the dead recently) and Robin herself...when the aforementioned Duke urged Robin to let her late husband Dr. Patrick Drake know that she was alive before he married Ugly Betty, correction, Nurse Sabrina!

Got all that?


Duke encouraged Robin...upon finding out that Patrick was to marry another woman that she should call Patrick...and luckily he had a cell phone on him to provide her the opportunity!

I am sorry! I am sorry! If anyone that I knows that has died and returned from the great beyond...they had better damn well think twice before they dial me to let me know, "Hey Boo! I'm alive!"

Just an FYI in case any of my friends or the not yet found love of my life ever does die and return from the grave!

Until Next Time...Ciao Bella!



 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Simply Irresistible"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Simply Irresistible"
Entry #26 - 11/26/2013

I've decided to go with today's writing prompt that came in my email this morning as I have been super busy today...taking Cabot to his groomer's appointment and picking up the house in anticipation and preparation for "The Diva's" arrival tomorrow. For those of you who aren't aware...I often times refer to my grandmother Betty as "The Diva" she doesn't know why, but I think it's because she's pretty fabulously wonderful!
 
The prompt: Tell us about the favorite dish or food that you simply cannot turn down.
 
 
As I usually do with these prompts, I'm going to put my own unique spin on it, because for me it's never been about my favorite dish or food that I simply could not turn down...it was turning down any food.
 
I have a friend in Las Vegas who told me a few years ago that he had never been to a funeral. Never been to a funeral home and never had to experience death. That concept baffled me...literally I was confused on how someone who was at the time nearly 30 had never, not once in his life had to experience death and the loss of someone he loved. I write about this story, because for me death is where my addiction to food came from.
 
In April 1995, I was ten years old...just a few months shy of my 11th birthday when my great-grandmother Bertha died. She was Southern Baptist and what Southern Baptists in my community did was either send flowers or send food - in some instances they did both. I quickly sought refuge and comfort in a piece of chocolate cake...a slice of apple pie...a cookie here and there. My addiction to food only continue to grow worse as time would go by...in 1996 my step-grandfather died of lung cancer...in 1998 my father died...that was the hardest moment of my life...or so I thought...in 2005 my mother died. I lived in a world that had shown me that everyone leaves me and that the only true constant in my life was food and that was because I could control the very nature of it. I made the decision of when it came into my life...I made the decision of when I wanted to stop eating and I made the decision of what I wanted to eat.
 
For me it has never been turning down that one piece of chocolate cake because I indulged every great once in a while...up until earlier this year I was never going to turn down the one piece of chocolate cake...because I wanted that one piece and the whole damn cake too!
 
This year has been hard...because there have been times I have wanted to turn to food to give me comfort and peace of mind but I haven't been able to, because I want my willpower to be stronger than my need for the food. There have been times I've failed, but I have just picked myself up from the kitchen floor and progressed forward as best as I know how...and that's not very well.
 
Until Next Time...Ciao Bella!


Monday, November 25, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "RIP Brian..."


NaBloPoMo Month - "RIP Brian..."
Entry #25 - 11/25/2013

Lost and Grey’s Anatomy have made the killing of a major character an art form on their respective shows, but it was Family Guy who broke our hearts last night and killed man’s (and Stewie’s) best friend.
Not to be outdone by its fellow cartoon-comedy The Simpsons, who announced last month that they would kill a character voiced by an Emmy award winner in Season 25 or Season 26, Family Guy with much less fanfare killed Brian “The Dog” Griffin, an original character on the animated series.
  
 
The storyline saw Stewie destroying his time machine and while at the local dump Brian found a soccer goalie that he took home to play with in the street, no less...only further proving that Family Guy is not Sesame Street. In a scene very familiar of when Andrew Van de Camp ran down Momma Solis on Desperate Housewives a mad driver came and ran down Brian. He later died at the vets office while a chicken with it's head cut off waited to be helped!
 
By the end of the episode the Griffin's had welcomed a new dog into their home and into their lives named Vinnie - who bonded with Stewie and slept by his bed.

I was introduced to first introduced to Family Guy shortly after I started working at IGT in 2008...and immediately fell in love with the Griffins...with Stewie and of course Brian. My own personal favorite Brian moment...

 
Sadly though, Brian’s death was overshadowed by a suicide of sorts…the suicide of Katie Couric’s career as a network broadcast journalist…as confirmation came today that she was in fact leaving ABC News for a job as a Global Anchor…whatever that means!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "GQ's 25 Least Influential People of 2013"


NaBloPoMo Month - "GQ's 25 Least Influential People of 2013"
Entry #24 - 11/24/2013
 

For the third straight year GQ has compiled and released a list of the 25 Least Influential People in 2013. According to the website it is a collection of individuals who have overstayed their welcome in the spotlight and used their fame for not a good goddamn thing.

 
In order to appreciate this years list...let us recap with the Top 3 Least Influential People of 2012...
 
 
1. Mitt Romney (2012 Republican Presidential Candidate)
2. Amanda Bynes (Former Child Star / Train Wreck)
3. Madonna (Pop Singer Icon)
 
Now with no further ado this year's 25 Least Influential People as ranked by GQ magazine!
 
 
25. Jodi Arias (Convicted Murdered and HLN's Breakout Television Star)
 
24. Dr. Cornel West (American philosopher and prominent member of the Democratic Socialist of America...who is also from Tulsa...)
 
23. Howard Kurtz (American journalist who was mean to the gay basketball player after he came out of the closet earlier this year and now works at Fox News...) - TIE
 
23. John King (American journalist at CNN who couldn't get any of the facts straight during the Boston Bombing event earlier this year...) - TIE
 
22. Edward Snowden (Former CIA employee and former NSA contractor who disclosed 200K classified documents to the press...CNN probably still reported at least 100K of them inaccurately...)
 
21. Lennay Kekua (Manti Te'o Fake Girlfriend...Enough Said...)
 
 
20. Zack Synder (American Sci-Fi movie film director who I think is responsible for the Ben Affleck as Batman crap this year...I was more interested to learn his current wife's name is Denise, while his ex-wife's name is Deborah...are they sisters...does he mistakenly call Denise, Deborah from time to time...)

19. Mike Jeffries (Chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch...also hates ugly people or maybe it's ugly sweaters...)

18. Ryan Reynolds (American Movie Star...Former People magazine Sexiest Man Alive who hasn't made a hit movie since The Proposal...)

17. President Barack Obama (If you don't know who he is...go read a book dumbass)

16. The Cicadas (Which is not a person, rather a bug that is big, dumb, smells and flies into trees...)


15. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball player who does drugs...)

14. Jann Wenner (Co-Founder and Publisher of Rolling Stone and current owner of Men's Health and US Weekly...who put the Boston Bomber terrorist on the cover of Rolling Stone this year...sadly John King reported the Boston Bomber terrorist was on the cover Ladies Home Journal...he later retracted that statement...)

13. Chris Culliver (Cornerback for the 49ers who was mean to the gay boys in pro-sports and as such lost the big game...)

12. Tim Tebow (A football player?)

11. Lady Gaga (Drag Queen...)

  
10. Will Smith & Family (American actor and his wife and his kids...apparently the little girl whips her weave or something like that I'm to understand...)

9. Angela Corey (State's attorney in Florida who was in charge of prosecuting George Zimmerman...)

8. Prince George (Really refer back to #17, but instead of book, read one of #14's magazines...)

7. Aaron Hernandez (Former Football player? Arrested for killing someone? Hopefully not in #9's jurisdiction...)

6. Miley Cyrus (Really now refer back to #8)


5. Pope Benedict XVI (Resigned his position as Pope...said he's not waiting for God to call him home...he's ready to retire NOW boo...)

4. Justin Bieber (Fizzling pop star who lost his monkey to the Germans...)

3. Anthony Wiener (Showed his wiener...multiple times...and thought he was going to be elected to Mayor of NYC...)

2. Paula Deen (Racist...)

1. Dennis Rodman (Crazy...)

Check out GQ's 25 Least Influential People of 2013 list here with their commentary.

Illustration by Steve Brodner
List Compiled by Drew Magary

Until Next Time...Ciao Bella...

Saturday, November 23, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen"
Entry #23 - 11/23/2013
 
I was never a fan of Katie Couric's when she was on the "Today" show, however when she moved to CBS in 2006 to take over the anchor chair from Dan Rather I found the historic move to be interesting and learned to like her as a journalist. Couric did in 2006 what no other woman had done - anchored an evening news broadcast of a major network solo. Sure there had been Barbara Walters and Connie Chung to help break down that wall, but it was Couric who broke it down and entered into broadcast history. Sadly, though her five years at CBS was considered a failure...and Diane Sawyer proved to ABC and the rest of the world that she had what Couric didn't, by going from primetime news magazine to morning show anchor to solo anchor of the ABC World News Tonight.
 
 
After her CBS contract was up, ABC News swooped up the journalist with a lucrative and wide-ranging deal that included primetime specials, guest hosting "Good Morning America" and a talk show that reportedly cost somewhere in the ballpark of $80 million dollars to produce. Couric and her self titled talk show, that many consider not only a rating and financial failure, will most assuredly conclude in May 2014 after two seasons.
 
However, The Hollywood Reporter reported yesterday that Couric is negotiating an exit package that will allow her to leave ABC news and shockingly the journalist is close to finalizing a deal with Internet giant Yahoo! The article from THR says that Couric was wooed personally by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer who is looking to boost the Internet giant's media presence. Couric is anticipated to host a newsmaker interview program that would be featured on the site's highly trafficked home page.
 
But is this a step up or down for Couric, who at one time was considered the reigning queen of morning television? Since then beloved Robin Roberts has taken over that title at ABC's GMA. Couric's career included covering 9/11, elections, interviewing presidents and all the major news stories since 1991 when she started anchoring at Today. I can conceded that the future of news and broadcast could go the way of Internet and yes it would be good for someone of Couric's stature to help take us there - but is she really prepared...is she really the right choice...because it appears that in the last few endeavors that she's undertaken at CBS and now at ABC she has failed.
 
I guess Couric didn't think she should take my advice and head over to enjoy the view!

Friday, November 22, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "A Bird! A Plane! You!"


NaBloPoMo Month - "A Bird! A Plane! You!"
Entry #22 - 11/22/2013
 
This morning the writing challenge in my daily email was as follows:
 
You get to choose one superpower. Pick one of these, and explain your choice:
  • the ability to speak and understand any language (Boring! It's called Rosetta Stone)
  • the ability to make any two people agree with each other (Boring! It's called learning to listen and agree to disagree)
  • the ability to travel through time (BINGO!)
 
One of my favorite books of all time and movies too was Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife" and I love it because of the stories. Plus I'm a child of the 1980s...hello "Back to the Future" - The main reason that I selected time traveling would be so that I could go back and do things differently in my life...obviously.
 
I'm not saying that I would want to go back and prevent things from happening, because if that were an option I don't know the type of person that I might be today. I used to hate the saying that everything happens for a reason, because usually when someone is telling you that something pretty shitty is happening! But when you're able to remove the aforementioned "shitty" event I can truly see that statement to be true. I firmly believe that there is a master plan for all us in life - just like there was a master plan for the crash victims of Oceanic Flight 815 (BTW - That's a "Lost" reference...) and that the things that have happened in the past not only determine who we are today, but made us who we are today.
 
If I had the ability to go back in time, I wouldn't change the past...I would only change how I acted in those moments and if how I acted in those moments changed the future then all the better!
 
Today's blog is short...because I have a lot to do today...perhaps I would go back in time and tell 13 year old Josh to calm the F$!# down...adulthood boo, boo is not all that it's cracked up to be!
 
Until Next Time...Ciao Bella!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "A Whole New View?"


NaBloPoMo Month - "A Whole New View?"
Entry #21 - 11/21/2013


Earlier this week "Radar Online" reported "The View" co-host Sherri Shepherd could be following in the footsteps of Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters (in 2014) and leaving the talk show that helped to re-establish her as a household name and bonafide star!
 
According to the "Radar Online" article, a well placed source revealed to them that Ms. Shepherd is worried about her job as Mother Barbara prepares to take her leave from talkfest she created in 1997. This comes after rumors that Mother Barbara is not happy with the ratings and the focus group data that has shown Jenny McCarthy is a failure on the morning talkshow - in fact another "Radar Online" article says that McCarthy is even less popular that staunch Republican Hasselbeck who know calls Fox News her morning home away from home!
 
Sherri Shepherd has been a "View" staple since the 2007 season when she famously sat at the table for the Rosie vs. Elisabeth bitchfest in the spring of 2007, before joining the panel fulltime later that year!
 
It's funny, because I used to blog on MySpace around that same time and I had an idea that I still stand by that could shake up "The View" once and for all...considering that Sherri does leave the show...that Jenny finally keeps her mouth shut long enough to bring in the VIEWers...that Barbara finally offers Meghan McCain that job she should have offered her when Elisabeth first left and that ABC Disney acknowledges what a failure Katie Couric's talk show was...
 

Ya'll don't even need to lie...you know I was going there! And the fact is your would pay M-O-N-E-Y to see it! I already have the marketing campaign and theme song all planned out...I'm just waiting on a phone call from ABC Daytime!!
 
"It's a brand new day...a whole new view...this September on the Emmy Award Winning The View..."

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Pig Cruelty in Okfuskee County"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Pig Cruelty in Okfuskee County"
Entry #20 - 11/20/2013


Tonight I was doing what I normally do after I come home from work...let Cabot out to go potty...find something to eat...scroll through Facebook when I came across a news story that was posted by NewsChannel 4 out of Oklahoma City - Pig Cruelty Video Prompts Company to Drop Ties...
 
I was warned at the beginning of the report that the video was graphic and upon watching...in utter disgust and horror I have to agree.
 
The animal group Mercy For Animals began video taping West Coast Farms, which is near Henryetta in September and what they caught on film is down right disturbing, disgust and just cruel. Employees of the farm can be seen spiking piglets like footballs, cutting tails off pigs, ripping out productive organs, eyes being gouged and a bowling ball being thrown at the pigs! Sitting here just typing the words brings tears to my eyes.
 
I grew up in rural Oklahoma...on four acres and I still remember the very first time that I told Mamma I wanted a pig! I didn't think she was ever going to stop laughing and to this day she loves to tell the story of when the pig got lose in the pasture and my friend Hannah and I had to chase it all over! My first pig was a black Hampshire that was given to me by Hannah's parents...for to have an animal that I was going to raise...that I was going to work with and show was so far out of my comfort zone...to think back on the situation now it's quite comical. But nevertheless I took that pig and I raised it...worked with and showed it. To be honest looking back on it almost fourteen years it was one of the best experiences of my life. It breaks my heart to see people doing to animals what those assholes in the video are doing.
 
It serves no purpose to be cruel to something or someone who is unable to defend themselves. What joy or gratification can one get from doing what these creeps have done!? It makes me so mad. And I think what makes it even worse is that it was done in the backyard of where I grew up in Henryetta!
 
"Pigs are every bit as capable of suffering and feeling pain as our beloved dogs and cats at home and they deserve the same type of protection from needless cruelty and violence," Matt Rice Director of Investigations. And I could not agree more! The Okfuskee County District Attorney has been requested by Mercy for Animals to prosecute this case and I say that the DA should without hesitation because this time of violence should not be tolerated and it should not go unpunished.
 
Tyson Foods told NBC News that they are ending their contract with West Coast Farm after learning of the video and I applaud Tyson Foods for doing so. When I see such violence against animals, especially pigs, I think back to the days of early morning feedings, livestock shows and trips in the Ag truck from a time of days gone by...it helps to remember the fun times when trying to understand all of the bad!
 

My first pig that I ever had - his name was Buzz. Circa 2000
 
 
Me at the Muskogee County Livestock Show - Circa September 2000 
 
Until Next Time...Ciao Bella...

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E"


NaBloPoMo Month - "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E"
Entry #19 - 11/19/2013

In keeping with the belated edition of the blog tonight, thanks in part to the stupid computer and stupid Blogger app on my iPad last night, I thought it would be fun to wish a happy belated birthday to Mickey Mouse who according to news reports turned 85 yesterday.
 
And also in keeping with the theme of identifying the key moments of my twenties, before I turn the big 3-0 II thought a photographic look back at my first trip to Disneyland in 2011 would be fun. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Disneyland because an IGT Advantage Upgrade placed my team only a few hours from the magical land. I was even more fortunate to have went with not only a Disney tourist expert, but also my former co-worker, teammate and friend - one Ms. Karen Surber! We had so much fun that day and it truly was one of the better IGT related experiences!!
 



 

NaBloPoMo Month - "Dallas!"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Dallas!"
Belated - Entry #18 - 11/18/2013


Do you remember where you were on Friday, May 3, 1991? Do you remember what you were watching? Twenty-two years after the fact I still remember where I was and what I wanted to be watching - Boy Scouts meeting and the "Dallas" series finale!

When it comes to television shows I have often arrived late to the party...case in point: "The West Wing" or "The Closer" or "Six Feet Under" - but when it comes to the primetime soap opera that not only evented the cliffhanger, but perfected it - I not only showed up to the party with bells on...I joined the fan club by sending in a postcard with a twenty-nine cent stamp! I still remember coming home from middle school in the late 90s and watching "Dallas" reruns on VHS that Mamma had taped for me or making sure that during our summer vacations the hotel had TNN, which used to air the Dallas reruns!
"Dallas" has always...always...been my favorite television series. Maybe it was the overdramatic storylines or that it was set in Texas or that you could visit the ranch it made famous in Parker, Texas...

Some of my numerous visits to Southfork Ranch
I just truly loved the show!
So you can only imagine my thrill when in July 2011 I first learned that the cable network TNT would be revisiting Southfork Ranch and rebooting my beloved "Dallas." I knew that at least three things had to happen in order for new show to be successful:
  1. Southfork Ranch & Dallas - The show had to not only embrace Southfork but also embrace Dallas.
  2. JR / Sue Ellen / Bobby - I've always known Victoria Principal (ex-Pamela Barnes Ewing)would never return to the show, even before she publicly announced she wouldn't, but I knew that Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy would need to return to make the show work.
  3. Continuation - It had to be a continuation of the story and not a whole new story a'la the 2008 reboot of "Beverly Hills, 90210."
These were three of the biggest elements that I knew it had to have to be successful...and boy oh boy did TNT and Cynthia Cidre deliver!
Over the last two seasons Ms. Cidre has delivered a reboot that any "Dallas" fan should be proud of. She utilized the foundation of the series which was oil, sought out ways to bring the city of Dallas and Southfork into the story by using it as the ultimate backdrop, sprinkled in classic characters (Ray, Lucy, Mandy "the tramp" Winger) and of course earlier this year masterfully dealt with the death of Larry Hagman's iconic JR.
In fact one of my favorite scenes of both the original and rebooted series supports why my #2 point from above was necessary with TNT's version. It was of Sue Ellen grieving at JR's funeral...
But the nuDallas has not been without faults or missed opportunities. Sure they hit the ball out of Ranger Ballpark with oil driven storylines...casting Josh Henderson as John Ross Ewing III...and providing fans with the another Pamela Barnes Ewing, literally in the form of the original character's niece...but there is always something that fans like me think they could have done better. So, because it was announced today that the third season of the TNT drama, the first sans the Devil of Dallas - JR Ewing, I thought it would be fun to list a few things that the show could have done better, how they can fix something that's been semi-broken and what could be done to shake up Southfork and the Ewing family in 2014.
It's in the Past...
 

A true "Dallas" fan will tell anyone who is brave enough to ask in a post-reboot world that the name of the Southfork maid who served Miss Ellie iced tea and answered that rotary style phone every time that it rang was THERESA - not Carmen! Do not get me wrong here...the story of the maid's daughter falling in love with the rich boy is a classic soap opera staple and the fact that Carmen Ramos' daughter Elena was hot in the ass for TWO, yes count them, TWO Ewing boys proved to be not only a great launching point for nuDallas, but was also pretty smart! The problem lies in the name though. Was it necessary to change the backstory that was established during the original run of the series? Miss Ellie never asked Carmen what time dinner was to be served or ordered Carmen to hide the booze from that lush Sue Ellen! No sir, no ma'am...she made THERESA do that. It would have been so easy...so simple for the writers to have just named that damn maid Theresa and called it a day. Then perhaps we would have cared a little more about Elena. Although, the writers did have Elena's stupid brother (a wasted character and boring story on its own merit) call her Ellie and no matter what your momma's name was...that put a stop to my Elena love, although there never was much Elena love to begin with! The writers of nuDallas need to take notice - there is only one Miss Eleanor Southwork Ewing Farlow AKA Miss Ellie...regardless of what Donna Reed would like us to believe!

There's Still Time...
Cynthia Cidre has went on the record in the past by saying that the CBS Dallas movies that aired in 1996 (Dallas: JR Returns) and 1998 (Dallas: War of the Ewings) never happened in the universe that TNT's Dallas currently lives in. So that means fans doesn't know what brought one of my all-time favorite characters...Sue Ellen Shepard Ewing Lockwood back to Dallas and back to Southfork.

 
Because it was never addressed fans are left wondering...what happened when Sue Ellen left Dallas in 1989 with her movie producer lover...what brought her back to Dallas...where did she make all this money...how did she become so powerful that she was able to run for Governor? Cidre and her team have so many unanswered questions in regards to Sue Ellen, that I think Season 3 should focus on answering some of them! It's been established that she is friends with Bobby's new wife Ann Ryland Ewing...but where did they meet...how did they meet...can Sue Ellen bang her friend's ex-husband Harrison Ryland!? So many questions...it's time to give us some backstory on one of the baddest bitches in all of Texas!
 
Daddy, Oh Daddy...
John Ross and Christopher are not the only sons of their respective fathers JR and Bobby! Not by a long shot. Both Ewing brother have sons with their first loves - JR with Vanessa (Son: James) and Bobby with Jenna Wade Krebbs (Son: Lucas), while JR has third son with his last ex-wife Callie Harper Ewing that he presumably never met.
 
And since JR has went to the great beyond...heaven or hell you can decide where...I think it's only fitting that we focus on Bobby's off-spring Lucas. The product of a romance with Jenna Wade, who went on to marry Bobby's half-brother Ray, who also raise the boy as his own.
 
 
Lucas Krebbs would be twenty-five according to an article posted on KSITETV regarding the long lost, never mentioned, but according to Cidre thought of Lucas Krebbs, James Beaumont and Callie Harper Ewing's bastard son with JR.
 
In the article, the writer stated: "We do think about that all the time. We really do," Cidre confirms. "We have it up on the wall. Every character who is still alive from the original incarnation of the show, and all of their offspring."
 
The return of Lucas Krebbs, with his mother Priscilla Presley would be quite welcome in Season 3 of the show. With John Ross screwing both his new wife Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing and Ann Ryland Ewing's little girl it would make for the perfect time for cousin Lucas to arrive and shake up Christopher, John Ross and daddy Bobby's world!


Sunday, November 17, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "August, Osage County"


NaBloPoMo Month - "August, Osage County"
Entry #17 - 11/17/2013

 
2008 - "Bedtime Stories"
2009 - "Sherlock Holmes"
2010 - "Gulliver's Travels"
2011 - "War Horse"
2012 - "Les Miserables"
 
The point of this list is that I have never really been that excited about movies that premiere on the silver screen on Christmas Day. Yet it has become an apparent tradition for many, in the last few years to attend a movie viewing after opening all the Christmas gifts and eating the leftover cookies from Santa's visit.
 
Never have I partaken in this event and never have I wanted to partake in this event - until this year...in August 2012 I came home to deal with some rental house drama that had ensued and during my month long visit there were auditions being held at one of the malls in Tulsa for a movie that was slated to start taping starring Meryl Streep and July Roberts...the movie..."August, Osage County" and now that movie is finally slated to premiere in a little over a month!
 
 
The film is adaptation of Tracy Letts award winning dark comedy play of the same name. Mr. Letts is no stranger to great dramatic fiction and Oklahoma - his mother is novelist, educator and movie maker - Billie Letts who wrote the 1995 novel "Where the Heart Is" which was also made into a 2000.
 
The play made its Broadway debut on December 4, 2007 and ended its run on June 28, 2009 after 648 performances. It received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play, Best Leading Actress in Play, Best Featured Actress in Play, Best Direction in a Play and Best Scenic Design in a Play - now the undeniable hit Broadway play is coming to the big screen with just as equally big name stars attached - the likes of Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts!
 
Filmed on location in Bartlesville and Pawhuska, the story of "August, Osage County" is a dark comedy that tells the story of Violet (Streep) and her daughters following the suicide death of the family matriarch and that drama that ensues in the following days!
 
"I'm just truth telling. Some people are antagonized by the truth."
 
I for one cannot wait to see more of Streep's portrayal of an Oklahoma matriarch - because if her former body of work and the previews are any indication it's going to be one hell of a ride from start to finish with the actress who is likely to score another Oscar nomination and hopefully win for her portrayal of Violet Weston.

FAMILY HOLDS US UP
FAMILY KNOCKS US DOWN

The tagline from one of the previews and it's oh so very true. Many of you know that one of my top three favorite movies of all time in the 1980s drama-comedy hit "Steel Magnolias" which also starred Julia Roberts - if this movie lives up to the hype and delivers on what I think it can deliver upon...it may very well become one of my favorite movies too.

And there is something that tells me...and while I can't put my finger on it exactly at the moment...that Margo Martindale who plays Aunt Mattie Fae...is going to continue to be the breakout star that I already know her to be!

Check back on Christmas to get me review of "August: Osage County."

Until then...Ciao Bella...

Saturday, November 16, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Restaurant Hate"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Restaurant Hate"
Entry #16 - 11/16/2013
 
It happened last month in Kansas and it appears to have happened once again this month in New Jersey - could this be the start of a coast-to-coast display of hate? Let's all hold our breath for a moment and hope not!
 
In October and now this month customers at two separate restaurant chains have left their waiter and waitress, as the case maybe, without so much as a $1 tip - all because these customers perceived their waiter/waitress to be gay or lesbian. The October asshole, rather customer I suppose, wrote on the receipt, "Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle in an affront to God," the not went on to use three homophobic slurs, all the while using the front of God to hide behind. Here's my issue with this jerks in Kansas - if you don't want to tip because you think someone is gay...then do not tip, but also do not for one second continue to set there and use them for your own personal gain! People have been hiding their hate behind the cross for years and it really pisses me off. Hiding behind the "God" complex is such bullshit to me! If you don't like me for whatever reason, come right out. Because hiding behind Jesus to promote hate amongst one another is not right and I'm pretty sure Jesus would agree.
 
Courtesy of Dayna Morales
The latest tip scandal occurred this month in New Jersey and involved Dayna Morales. Instead of a tip for a nearly $100 table Ms. Morales received this note, "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and the way you live your life." The waitress said that there was no mention of her sexual orientation to the customers that she interacted with and treated the table as normal. So how does one know you're gay? For years now, people have looked for ways to get out of leaving a tip because let's face their cheap bastards! But for someone to get out of it by using Jesus Christ and the fact that you could be gay is outrageous. If you don't want to tip, don't tip! But to call someone out for being who they are and trying to make a living is not the acceptable way to do that. If you want to be an asshole who doesn't provide a tip, for what you believed to have been good service, then be an asshole and don't provide a tip - stop spreading hate and trying to justify it with Jesus and your own cheap ass ways!
 
Morales found the note of course, after the customers had already left the restaurant, because hate is a cowards game! The former U.S. Marine Corps, was compensated for her tip by the restaurant management and posted the receipt on Facebook with the following message...of course it's the last sentence in her post that makes this display of hate all so much worse.
 
 
"I'm a server at Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, NJ and THIS is what happened to me today," she wrote, alongside the photo. "NEVER in a million years did I think this would happen...I am THOROUGHLY offended mad pissed off and hurt that THIS is what her kids will grow up learning and that I served in the Marines to keep ignorant people like them free."

Friday, November 15, 2013

NaBloPoMo Month - "Inside the Actor Studio Questions"


NaBloPoMo Month - "Inside the Actor Studio Questions"
Entry #15 - 11/15/2013

On Bravo's interview show "Inside the Actors' Studio" the host James Lipton asks each of his guests the same ten questions...
 
 
1. What is your favorite word?
Tomfoolery - It's such a fun word to say that describes something silly or foolish when you don't want to use the actual words of silly or foolish. Saying tomfoolery in a conversation is bound to make someone smile when you say it - regardless of the conversation. Go ahead and try it today!
 
2. What is your least favorite word?
I'll have to admit that I have two...Faggot and Fat - I went through schoolyard bullying before anyone ever knew that it was an issue. I was being poked fun of, teased and tormented when Daddy Bush was in The White House. At a young age it was just the fat jokes...but as time progressed it became faggot jokes and then some ignorant twit that I went to school with finally grew a pea sized brain and combined the two. Those are two of the most hurtful words that I can think off and I absolutely without a doubt hate them!
 
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Creatively - A good dramatic television show will get my creative juices pumping and make me think I can do anything, write anything or be anything.
Spiritually - Someone with intellect and ability to have a good conversation encourages me and makes my spirit happy.
Emotionally - Honesty. Humor. Integrity. Compassion.  
 
4. What turns you off?
Ignorance. Stupidity. The inability to see past the exterior and refusal to try and look into someone's soul to see the type of person that they are and that they can be.
 
5. What is your favorite curse word?
Really bitch? Really!?
The word bitch can mean so much just simply how it is said and to whom. It can be meant as a compliment, an insult or a joke. But it can also stand for something as Latrice Royal shared with the world on Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race...BEING IN TOTAL CONTROL of HERSELF/HIMSELF...
 
6. What sound or noise do you love?
I don't like children...but there is nothing more wonderful in this entire world than hearing the laughter of the three children that I love more than anything in this world...my two nephews and niece. To hear their giggles and laughter is the most precious and wonderful noise than I can imagine. In fact, I want a soundtrack of their laughter to have with me for the rest of my life!
 
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
This one I'm going to keep pretty simple - nails on a chalkboard creep me out like no other! 
 
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Writing a scripted television soap opera. The Young and the Restless or The Bold and the Beautiful would be my top two choices. I would love to have the opportunity to have a canvas of characters and create their lives for them day after day, month after month, year after year.  
 
9. What profession would you not like to do?
President of the United States. There is far to much stress in that job and it's such a thankless position - really! Now I could get down being the First Gentlemen.  
 
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"There's someone here who's been waiting a very long time to see you...to hug you...to kiss you...and to tell you no matter what you've done...she's always loved you...and she's proud of you...and that she accepts you..." and of course he means this beautiful woman right here...my Granny...