Yo Ray - Drives Me Mad - 32 Years

Happy Anniversary Ray.   32 years you have put up with ME.    And I can post this meme because you get the reference.   There's no way I could go digging for some young buck. It would be far too annoying to have to explain super good music, movies, and old TV shows from back when you only watched stuff weekly and then chatted at the water cooler. 

We have SO much fun and we love the State Fair of Texas.   Here we are on the huge Ferris Wheel. It costs a million dollars to ride but it's Tickets - that's like monopoly money. Once you buy tickets, who cares what the value adds up to in dollars. 

He's so cute and will put up with my history excursions.  An old fort, house, museum - heck yeah!!!

And I do sports well.  Cowboys could be stinky, but I'll wear the shirt and sorta cheer (Um, Iggles....maybe)     I can absolutely say Go Stars (ice hockey)   And I can annoy Ray with enough sport references. 

And now we enjoy Ted Lasso on Apple +  yeah for soccer. 

He's my honey bunch.   Happy Anniversary.  Here's to many more..........  Love ya

❤  Let's keep laughing.........!!!!
 

Movie Review Madness - Reminiscence

 Watched Reminiscence on HBO Max, not in a theater.  I paused it maybe three times to get a snack, take a break, check on Ray.  Home movie watching is silly - I am easily distracted.  If I had paid money and seen it in the theater I would have watched and enjoyed without getting up and wandering around.  And that's my plug for in-theater viewing. 

Anyway - I enjoyed this movie. It was clever enough and actually did keep my interest in the plot. 

It's Miami in the future and it's under water.  Daytime is too hot to do anything. Folks sleep, etc. Night is when folks come alive and the whole underbelly of life emerges.  Hugh Jackman (Nick) runs a business involving memories - you submerge in a water tank and a disc is played that relives your best moments in your memory.  That's what people are into now while their lives are moments of desperation. 

Hugh is also a detective along with Thandie Newton (great actress). They are trying  to solve a missing girl's case, a mobster involved situation, and Hugh's obsessed with Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). 

Lots of intrigue, mixed up crap, and I can't give more detail. Reminiscence was a good flick, thanks to Hugh and cast. It had me guessing and was interesting future concept.  Thumbs up with a B+. 

Book Review - Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

 I wrote a month ago about a  virtual author talk with Cheryl Strayed. She is such a nice personality, writer, and person. I just finished her latest book collection Tiny Beautiful Things and it was an eye-opening look into the struggles of people. Her reflections and responses were thought-provoking. 

back cover blurb -   Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can't pay the bills.  And it can be great: you've had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar - the once anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed - is the person thousands turned to for advice. 

In these columns, Sugar answers with humor, insight, compassion, and honesty. She truly put a lot of thought into answering people's questions. She calls them Sweet Pea and you can feel a verbal hug attached.  Oh, she's tough with some folks - she just doesn't want them to continue a failure path. Or, in her words, you can feel her tears and heartbreak for some folks and their impossible tasks ahead. 

inside  cover quotes: 

We are here to build the house.    

Acceptance is a small quiet room

Be brave enough to break your own heart

The only way out of a hole is to climb out

Every last one of us can do better than give up

Common sense?  Sure.  But reassuring and interesting as a great read. Absolutely - I know I walked away from Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed a better person.   

Book Review - Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

 Books set in WWII Germany tend to fascinate me. That whole time period and the challenges for folks are beyond my imagination.  This book, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, does an excellent job of going back and forth in time to study two women whose lives were greatly affected by the war. 

back blurb - For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer. Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life. 

The twists and turns in Those Who Save Us are profound.  Anna's strength and survival instincts are unearthly. She did anything and everything to keep her daughter safe and alive. And she kept her daughter's official paternity a secret - something that was tough to swallow but necessary in a crazy world gone mad. 

This was a solid read with strong characters and narrative. What can one endure to survive?

Movie Review Madness - RESPECT

 Aretha Franklin anointed Jennifer Hudson to play Ms. Franklin in her life movie. The late Aretha Franklin has to be singing in the rafters of heaven as she looks down on happy movie goers - delighted with the movie RESPECT. 

Jennifer Hudson can SING - blues, gospel, soul, pop. She hits the notes with all of the emotion needed for Respect,  Think, You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman), Amazing Grace, and more.  Jennifer Hudson can ACT. Her range covers the life force that is Aretha Franklin. 

The woman lived quite a life and the movie is very serious. Her forceful preacher father (Forest Whitaker) was a tough man to say no to. She was abused by a family friend, had kids at a very young age, married an abusive man (Marlon Wayans) who managed her. She dealt with the Civil Rights issues of the day and was active, singing in gatherings with Martin Luther King, Jr.  She wrote songs and re-arranged others to suit her talents. She always missed her mother (Audra McDonald) who left her and her siblings and did die young. 

RESPECT is a solid serious musical movie based on the life of the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin. I think it does her justice and gives a greater appreciation for her life work. It makes you Think...

Finally Friday

Another August Friday. I can promise you it is hot.  Kids are already back to school in this silly state. This is prime pool and beach time. It's lazy, sorta bored time of summer. I believe in education - but after Labor Day

And my new life shall begin in 2022 - I announced my retirement for end of this year. Gave them a ton of notice to figure out a plan and get someone new aboard the crazy train.  I am excited, scared, and ready to annoy the heck out of Ray (he's got his retirement routine down pat)

Friday frivolity

 Ray's fun afternoon at the new Globe Life Field with Rangers baseball. We enjoyed the 72 degree air conditioning. Whew - that is glorious in Texas. Great seats and a rare Rangers win. 

Have a good weekend everyone.

Movie Review - Black Widow

 Marvel's latest in theaters - Black Widow is just flat out fun.  We needed this back story. It does make sense. It's filled with plenty of action, tons of humor, and hey - Scarlett Johansson is just flat out HOT. 

Throw in Florence Pugh as her sister - huge bonus. She's funny and a perfect match. Their comments are hysterical. 

Rachel Weisz and David Harbour as the parents are really good.  They are "family" again.  OMG - truly, this is a great storyline. 

Ray and I both enjoyed this action packed adventure and it was awesome on the big screen. 

Thumbs up for popcorn entertainment on a hot summer day.