Lunchtime Share

My sweet little Inky

Before I jump into Di’s Share Your World questions, I want to acknowledge that it’s Black Cat Appreciation Day. I love my little Inkerbelle! 

1. What was your favorite TV show as a kid?

When very young, I loved Pink Panther, Speed Racer, Roadrunner, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Let’s Make a Deal. Later on, all the game shows became favorites, especially Match Game and Hollywood Squares. As a teenager, my sitcom faves were I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, One Day at a Time, the Brady Bunch, and Eight is Enough. I also enjoyed detective shows like Columbo, Hart to Hart, and McMillan & Wife. I’m sure there are lots more that I am forgetting!

2. Do you have a favorite “tipple” (alcoholic drink or something when you are out for a meal, etc.)?

I love alcoholic drinks, but they don’t love me, and the older I get the worse it is. Fancy cocktails are so much fun. I used to love margaritas, mojitos, mai tais, pina coladas, Irish Coffee with tons of whipped cream, etc. ~ all those sugary, girly drinks, particularly if they came with tiny umbrellas. I went through a Bailey’s Irish Cream phase (that lasted 40 years), an amaretto phase, and a cinnamon whiskey phase. Yum! Now all of that makes me barf. 

Nowadays, I can have a glass (or two) of red wine or champagne, which may or may not give me a migraine, though since I get migraines frequently regardless, I occasionally decide that it’s worth the extra risk. If I remember to drink water afterwards, it often helps me to avoid a headache. That’s it though. No more mixed drinks or sweet liquor for me. Wah.

The vast majority of time, I order iced tea or Diet Coke.

3. Is there a movie you can watch again and again and still enjoy?

Yes, indeed. In fact, this weekend I rewatched both Mamma Mia movies while I worked on my puzzle (ironically, a pic of fancy cocktails ~ see my IG), and I enjoyed them immensely. Somewhat less frequently, I rewatch Walking on Sunshine, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Saturday Night Fever, and other musicals, and romcoms such as You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, 27 Dresses, The Hating Game, etc. And of course Young Frankenstein! I generally do not rewatch serious movies. 

4. Did you have a favorite toy as a child? Or perhaps one you wanted and never got?

I loved my Barbies, but this was back when you had a few dolls and bought outfits and accessories for them. Nowadays, you buy a whole new doll in a themed pack instead of changing their clothes. While I appreciate themes, it was a lot of fun to mix and match outfits and browse the Barbie catalog for new ones. I also loved my Super Spirograph set and spent many hours creating cool designs ~ and redoing them obsessively until they were perfect. I don’t remember if there was anything I wanted and didn’t get, except a sister.

Gratitude: I am grateful that FedEx delivered all my stuff and that I managed to connect the new Spectrum equipment without any glitches (except for my Roku being slower). My daughter asked if you only had to plug it in. WELL YES, but I am extremely talented at messing up the simplest things. She should know that!

Bear Market

Two cute brown bears shaking paws

“We’ve got a very hairy situation here, Tanya!” Brandy roared.

Tanya nodded. “I agree. It’s becoming unbearable. Just yesterday one of your cubs literally grabbed a fish out of little Goldie’s paws.”

“Marcus can be aggressive,” Brandy admitted. “He gets it from his father, who by the way isn’t helping us at all now. But you have to admit that Goldie shouldn’t be fishing from our side of the falls, especially these days when none of us have enough.”

“I don’t have to admit anything!” Tanya growled. “That fish was on our side initially. Goldie simply followed it across as is her clawful right. And her dad was gone when I woke up in April, so I have my own tail of woe.”

Brandy considered this for a moment. “I’m sorry about that. These irresponsible dads make me furrious. But Goldie bit Marcus’ nose!”

“I’ll talk to her,” Tanya said. “She’s going through a phase. How’s the nose now?”

“Healing. But he’s a bit traumatized.” Brandy smiled. “It would help if Goldie invited him to share some of that honeycomb she found.”

Tanya rolled her eyes. “Well played, Brandy. I didn’t expect it to remain a secret for long. Bear hug?”

“Let’s just shake on it.”

~*~

Written for Christine’s Simply Six Minutes.

Viking Kittens

Colorful music notes from Pixabay

I’m participating in Jim’s Song Lyric Sunday again this week, and he asks for something from an artist born in August. Robert Anthony Plant was born on August 20, 1948, and he is approaching his 78th birthday. From 1968 to 1980, he was the lead singer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Perhaps you've heard of them? Plant had a successful solo career as well. Despite his advanced age, Plant is still touring, as are a lot of 70-something rockers, and he has a bunch of concerts scheduled here in California at the end of September/ early October. His new album is called Saving Grace, but I confess I haven't heard any tracks from it because I prefer to go straight back to old Led Zep tunes.

There are a ton of songs I love from the band, and I'm going to share one of my favorites today. Now, it's almost always the case that I choose favorites because of the quality of the lyrics, but in this case the lyrics are secondary to... the video. Yep. I think you can guess from the title of this post that I'm talking about the "Immigrant Song."

We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

The hammer of the gods

Will drive our ships to new lands

To fight the horde, sing and cry

Valhalla, I am coming

Plant allegedly wrote this 1970 hit as a joke while traveling to Iceland and fantasizing about the Viking conquest. It makes sense that he was riffing when you examine the lyrics. (Jimmy Page is also credited as a writer on the song.)

We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow

How soft your fields so green

Can whisper tales of gore

Of how we calmed the tides of war

We are your overlords

Given that, it follows that the video I'm sharing is a joke too, and who better to be cute and funny than kitties?! Usually, I don't embed videos, but I am making an exception for this one. Enjoy!

Two for Tuesday: Movies Again

 

Two ducks in Los Angeles (my photo)

1. Two if By Sea (1996). This romcom stars Sandra Bullock (Roz), one of my favorite actors, and Denis Leary (Frank). Yaphet Kotto (RIP) plays a detective (O'Malley), and you might remember him in the dual roles of Dr. Kanaga and Mr. Big from Live and Let Die, as well as many other roles over the years, Bill Bennett directs. Frank is a small-time Boston thief who steals a $4M painting he plans to hand over to "Phill the Shill," a big-time criminal who is presumed dead by most in law enforcement, except for O'Malley (who has a personal vendetta against Phill). Roz is a bookstore clerk and Frank's long-suffering girlfriend, who wants Frank to give up his criminal ways and become a legit citizen/ husband/ father, but in the meantime she helps him because she's a lot smarter than he is.

Frank decides to make a long weekend out of the art thievery escapade, so he and Roz end up crashing at an unoccupied house in a ritzy area, where Roz meets a wealthy, handsome neighbor who falls in love with her, and she considers dumping Frank. There are some funny side characters, including Michael Badalucco, who has been in a zillion movies. I wouldn't say this is great romcom, but there are some laughs, and Sandra is always enjoyable. I watched this on Netflix over the July 4th weekend.

2. Ladies First (2026). This movie would have been hilarious on July 4, 1986, but it felt dated as a new movie. It stars Sasha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, and it's directed by Thea Sharrock. Charles Dance costars, and you may remember him as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones. I certainly do! The acting is top notch, but the premise that a misogynistic bully male boss hits his head and is magically transported to a parallel world where women are in charge feels a bit "been there done that" to me. There are many funny moments at first, but they soon grow repetitive and stale. We get it, OK: everyone wants to be respected, yada yada. The idea that a man would feel bad about being treated like a sex object by women doesn't really work because I don't think most men would feel bad! The movie should have focused more on gender-based pay disparities, which isn't dated because it's still happening, but I guess that's not as funny as penile implants. 

Usually, I don't bother reviewing movies I don't like, but I did watch Ladies First to the end and figured it deserved a bit of a write-up since it's new and being hyped on Netflix.

Disguise in Love

 

Lovers in masks image from Pixabay

For this week's Song Lyric Sunday, Jim (via Nancy) asks us to use a song from the Great American Songbook (GAS). I refuse to use Wikipedia any longer because reasons, though it is convenient, so I am relying on other searches and sources (including AI), which may be hypocritical because they probably grab their information from Wikipedia. Anyway, it appears that the song "This Guy's in Love with You" is in the GAS, and that's the one I want to use since it is personally meaningful. I am copying the lyrics and info from Musixmatch.

You see this guy
This guy's in love with you
Yes, I'm in love
Who looks at you the way I do?
When you smile, I can tell
We know each other very well
How can I show you?
I'm glad I got to know you, 'cause...

I have always thought that this song was super romantic. Not sure when I first heard it, but probably as a teen or even younger, as it's been around since the 1960s. Musixmatch says it was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Many singers have covered it, including Burt, though Google says that Herb Alpert first recorded this particular version in 1968, and it is the best known one. I haven't heard any of the versions with alternate lyrics about infidelity, though I have heard Dionne Warwick's "This Girl's in Love with You," which is also beautiful. When I was with my ex-husband on a business trip to San Francisco in the late ‘80s, the waiter told us that the lounge piano player was taking requests, so I asked for this song.

I've heard some talk

They say you think I'm fine

Yes, I'm in love

And what I'd do to make you mine

Tell me now, is it so?

Don't let me be the last to know

My hands are shaking

Don't let my heart keep breaking, 'cause...

The request got transposed from the table to the piano to "Disguise in Love," which the piano player had never heard of. As the evening wore on, I wondered why he'd never played the song. Finally, he came over to our table to say hello, and I mentioned that I'd requested a song. He apologized that he didn't know it. Didn't know "This Guy's in Love with You?!" When we realized what had happened, we all had a good laugh ~ and then he played the song.

I would like to say that this song became "our song" in a romantic sense and that we danced to it, but that would be a lie. My ex never danced with me, not even at our wedding. He simply refused to ever dance, and I don't know why (there was nothing physically wrong with him). "Disguise" did become a bit of a running joke between us though, which was better than nothing. We never really understood each other, even after 20 years, though we sometimes shared a weird sense of humor. We divorced in 2011, and he passed at the end of June, a little over a week ago.

I need your love

I want your love

Say you're in love

In love with this guy

If not, I'll just die

Tell me now, is it so?

Don't let me be the last to know

My hands are shaking

Don't let my heart keep breaking, 'cause...

Eating the Evidence (flash fiction)

Meta AI generated image of flowers and candy

Detective Nicki Finn gazed around the lobby, noting the security guards posted at each door and the ceiling cameras positioned every few feet. 

“I don’t understand why you can’t catch this guy,” the hotel manager fumed as the evidence tech bagged the candy.

Once again, the thief had left behind his usual calling card—a box of chocolates. And not just any chocolate either; this was the finest imported delicacy, direct from Belgium.

“Thank you, Angela,” Nicki said to the tech. “I’ll ride back to the station with you.”

“Our conference bookings are way off,” the manager complained. “No one wants to stay here with a thief on the loose.”

“We are making every effort,” Nicki said. “Thanks for getting the guest list to us so quickly. Please don’t speak to the media, especially about you know what.”

The manager rolled his eyes. “The chocolate, right. It’s our secret. Ours and every other hotel he’s hit.”

Angela drove the van to their usual spot. “Ready?” she asked Nicki, taking the box of candy out of the bag.

“Yes, but this is the last time,” Nicki vowed as she hovered over the selections. “Oh God, this one looks like a creme brûlée!”

“Mmm.” Angela bit into a chocolate. “Tiramisu! The question is: who knows about our addiction? We’ve kept it on the down low.”

Nicki grabbed a second piece. “Gotta be Brian K. We both dated him. He knows.”

Angela nodded, her mouth full of candy. “Brian. Next time we won’t eat the evidence.”

“Next time,” Nicki agreed, eying the half-empty box. “But for now… dibs on the macaroon!”

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter #250.

A Coke and Burger Cost You Thirty Cents

Image generated by Meta AI

I'm participating in Jim Adams' Song Lyric Sunday again today, and this week he asks for a song about grass, cows, beef, condiments, fries, or fast food. I figured that a lot of folks would do Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (which I love), so I wanted something else. I remembered that Johnny Cash mentions a burger in his fun song "On the Night Hank Williams Came to Town," and I am going with it. 

What I really like about this song is how it tells a story. I'm referring to the narrator as "Johnny," and he gives us some background:

Harry Truman was our president
A coke and burger cost you thirty cents
I was still in love with Mavis Brown
On the night Hank Williams came to town

Next we find out that the whole town is going to the Hank Williams' show, and it's a really special night. I Love Lucy debuted on TV, and they all missed it to go to the concert, which makes the date October 15, 1951. Johnny's mom irons his shirt, and his daddy lets him take the truck. I guess mom and dad are not going to see Hank. After picking up Mavis, Johnny hits the county line for one quick round, so that must mean the county Johnny and Mavis live in is "dry" (no alcohol). There isn't a chorus in this song; Johnny simply repeats the line "on the night Hank Williams came to town" at the end of each verse (sometimes he changes a word or two).

On and on he sang into the night

'Jambalaya', 'Cheatin' heart', 'I saw the light'

How'd they get Miss Audrey in that gown

On the night Hank Williams came to town

It's so meta, right? He's talking about songs in his song! (Miss Audrey was Hank Williams' first wife, the mother of Hank Williams Jr., and an accomplished businesswoman.) 

Mavis had her picture made with Hank outside his car

She said he sure is humble for a Grand Old Opry Star

Mavis said why don't we hang around

It ain't often that Hank Williams comes to town

Johnny finishes up by telling us that Mavis "got acquainted" with the Driftin' Cowboys Band, and the effect on all their lives was quite profound. We can read what we want to into those last lines.

To listen to the whole song, go here. 

(Songwriters: Bobby Braddock / Charlie Williams)

Thanks for a great theme, Jim!

The Celebrity’s Prayer

 

Image generated by Meta AI

Let them adore me;

Let them worship from afar;

Let them flood me with money;

After all, I’m a big star.

Let me alone now;

Let me have some privacy;

Let me be free from critique;

I will call security!

Anticipating a sold-out show…

Hey hey hey where’d everybody go?

~*~

Written for the dVerse prompt of “Let Them” hosted by Mish. I was inspired by celebs who insist that attention be paid to them on their terms only. 

Sweet Potato Hodgepodge

Baked sweet potato with broccoli and sunflower seeds

I’m participating in the Wednesday Hodgepodge again this week, which is hosted by Joyce @ from this side of the pond. 

1. What do you make more complicated than it needs to be? 

Hmm, pretty much everything including this question. The older I get, the fuzzier things appear (cleans glasses), and further possibilities sprout up like little forest mushrooms after a rain. I'm not talking about math, normal daily routines, or other things with clear answers (although the higher up you go in math, the fuzzier that gets too), but complex questions and new issues that require new decisions. Take Social Security, the supplement, and a drug plan, all of which I signed up for this year. OMG, how I agonized over all that! In general, I'm happy to take the advice of other people, especially my daughters, most of whom know more than I do, and ~ more importantly ~ seem confident in what they're doing.

2. What impresses you? 

Confidence, hah. Creativity, humor, kindness, empathy. 

3. On a scale of 1-10 how picky of an eater are you?  (1=extremely and 10=not at all) If you had to eat a meal made entirely of one color what color would you choose? 

This is a complicated question because on the one hand, I stick with the same basic meals and do not require nor generally desire anything fancy, but on the other hand, when I'm confronted with a list of foods many people hate, I'm fine with most of them, even if I usually don't eat them. For example, I love coconut, sushi, shrimp, oysters, mushrooms, olives, beets, eggplant, tofu, blue cheese, etc., but I don't usually eat any of that because I generally have the same boring salads and sandwiches and fruit. As I age, out of necessity I avoid a lot of fried food and other things that give me indigestion, so maybe overall I'm a 7.

I guess I would choose orange for my single-color meal because I could have cantaloupe to start, then a baked sweet potato, and uh... pumpkin pie for dessert!

4. What does balance in life mean to you? Does your life currently feel 'balanced'? 

To me, balance means that I work normal business hours, chat with my family most days (texting), hang out with friends on the weekend (a few times a month), and still have enough time for reading, writing, chores/ errands, puzzles, and loads of kitty snuggles. I am lucky in that my life feels balanced currently, though sometimes at the end of the month I have to work overtime.

5. If you could travel the world for a year what would be your first destination? 

I absolutely would not want to do this, no matter how much money I had. I would miss my family too much and also Inky! How could I leave Inky? I don't even like to be gone for one night.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Websites lately are so irritating, though I still find Blogger vastly preferable to WordPress (and I'm never going back). Whether it's an online store or a news site, you're bombarded with pop-ups and ads, and it's hard to even read an article anymore without being harassed. For example, I used to read People magazine to get the dish on celebs, but it's so obnoxious that I can no longer deal with it. Articles hang up before they finish loading because the ads are taking too long. On the other hand, sometimes an Instagram ad looks interesting, so I think OK let's see what this is all about. Nope. I can't even view whatever thing it is because the company would rather pester me to sign up for emails and deals than let me view the product in peace. You know what this reminds me of? In the olden days, we used to browse in meatspace stores (how quaint!), and salespeople were constantly pestering us with small talk and asking what we're looking for. We hated that then, and we hate it online!

Triggers (a list poem)

Glass of red "Cupcake" wine photo by me

Alcohol, caffeine,

Too little sleep,

Chocolate, concerts,

Old moldy cheese;

Flashing lights,

Spousal fights,

Any kind of stress;

Hammers pounding,

Drugs rebounding,

Kids who make a mess;

Hot dogs, MSG,

Artificial sweets,

Nitrates, HRT,

All the histamines;

Smoke alarms,

Stinky farms,

Too much exercise;

Beeping trucks,

Quacking ducks,

Films that make me cry;

Jet lag, perfume,

The smell of gasoline,

Screen time, sunshine,

Changes to routine;

Pressure drops,

Sudden stops,

Increased humidity;

Dehydration,

Celebrations,

Don’t forget to breathe!

~*~

I saw list poetry on some blogs this week, which inspired me to do my own with common migraine triggers (it's been a bad migraine week). 

Underdog (April A2Z ~ Misty Memories)

 

Me in Buffalo, NY, around 1964

Welcome to my April A2Z posts! This time, I am officially signed up on the challenge sheet and will be visiting other bloggers on the list. My theme is "misty memories," which will include a bunch of rambling about old stuff in my life, and hopefully some of it will be accurate, but if not, there's no one around to contradict me. Today we continue with U for Underdog.

When I was little, I loved TV, cartoons especially. I vaguely remember watching cartoons when we lived in Buffalo; I definitely remember Saturday morning cartoons when we moved to Tarrytown. Even as I grew up, I still loved them: Underdog, Rocky & Bullwinkle (and Boris & Natasha), Yogi Bear (and all his Jellystone Park friends), Tennessee Tuxedo, the Pink Panther, Magilla Gorilla, the Roadrunner (meep! meep!), the Flintstones, etc. As I mentioned before, I enjoyed the Brady Bunch... also the Partridge Family, the Munsters, the Addams Family, a Family Affair, the Courtship of Eddie's Father, and of course I Dream of Jeannie, That Girl, and Bewitched. Together with my mom, I liked to watch Star Trek, Dallas, and "Creature Feature" scary movies. Am I mixing these shows up chronologically? That's how misty memories are... like a pile of photos in a box you pull out randomly.

As a teen, I regularly tuned into Eight is Enough, One Day at a Time, Happy Days, Gilligan's Island, All in the Family and all the spinoffs, and the game shows. I don't think there was any game show I passed up ~ if it was on, I watched it. My favorites were Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Family Feud, the Price is Right, and Let's Make a Deal. Detective shows were high on my list as well: Columbo, Hart to Hart, McMillian and Wife, Magnum P.I., the Rockford Files, etc. Variety shows! Carol Burnett, Sonny & Cher, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Hee-Haw, Laugh-In (which my dad loved too). Love American Style! What a fun show that was. I didn't care much for ongoing dramas at this time; I preferred for a storyline to be complete when the show was over (with a few exceptions).

After we moved to California in 1983, I immediately became addicted to MTV. We didn't have it back in Chicago at that point due to some political shenanigans or whatever (I don't remember why). For hours I would be mesmerized by all the music videos ~ it was the greatest thing ever. Until I got bored and never watched MTV again, but that took a while. Now, in my later 20s/30s, I began to enjoy the dramas. LA Law was one of my favorites. When my girls were little, I didn't watch much TV of my own choosing; I watched the fun/ educational children's shows with them, and my ex and I rented movies for the evening. Then came the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and of course the greatest show of all time, Breaking Bad.

I've lost my taste for "TV" though, whatever that means these days. Most movies and series are completely boring or stupid, and I can't bear watching them. The few that I love, I rewatch repeatedly, such as the Mamma Mia movies, Walking on Sunshine, the Hating Game, 27 Dresses, You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, Grease, Miss Congeniality, Young Frankenstein, Chicago, etc. Some may argue that the movies on my love-list are stupid, and to that I say... pffft. The heart wants what the heart wants. I would rather read most of the time anyway than stare at some dumb new romcom or mystery miniseries. That said, around the holidays, I like to watch the most sugary, predictable Christmas romances. Why? I don't know. They usually involve baking.

Sorry for not italicizing titles. There are just too many of them here.

My Anti-Bucket List

Barbara posted an interesting “anti-bucket” list, and I thought I would write one of my own, which seems like a good idea as 2025 winds down and we begin thinking about those dreaded New Year’s resolutions. Actually, mine will be in two parts: things I have done and never will do again and things I haven’t done and will never do. I may ramble on about some of the items, as is my way.

Never again will I…

1. Join a dating site. I think this one doesn’t need much explanation, given the horrible experiences I’ve regaled you with over the years. 

2. Get married or have a serious romantic relationship. It’s just too much work, and I am super set in my own ways now. I don’t want to compromise on anything.

3. Try to write a novel in a month. I need my sleep!

4. Wear high heels. My aching back has announced that those days are over. And when I say “high,” I mean any over two inches.

5. Go ice or roller skating. I’m way too clumsy and prone to falling. This old lady body does not like crashing to the ground.

6. Become involved in online drama of any kind. Just nope. There are actually plenty of ways to avoid this if you really want to. For example, I deactivated Bluesky instead of arguing with people there. Voila!

I never have and never will…

7. Go skydiving, bungee jumping, zip-lining, skiing (snow or water), hang gliding, surfing, scuba diving, mountain climbing, motorcycling, camping, or any other similar activity because I dislike broken bones, drowning, and being mauled by bears.

8. Take an overnight or longer cruise. Whale-watching for an afternoon is fine, but I am not going to sleep over on one of those dysentery ships.

9. Have a bird as a pet. They’re much too poopy and screechy.

10. Watch Titanic. I like being the only person in the world who hasn’t seen it.

11. Travel outside North America. It’s too expensive, plus long plane trips don’t agree with my migraines. (Note: I probably won’t be traveling much within North America either.)

12. Attend any kind of political rally or march. It’s just not my thing to get out there in rowdy crowds. I give a few bucks as the mood moves me.

There you have it. Please keep all this stuff trapped in a bucket far, far away from me.

Some Stuff I Watched

I guess I am out of my paranoid mood and ready to fling opinions into public again like birdseed in the desert. It’s amusing to me how I used to say so much without giving a fig for privacy. My own, that is. But you can’t always be totally open about yourself without involving others, since most of our stories aren’t solo experiences. Luckily, I haven’t had drama of that type for many years, but I constantly see drama unfold on social media from the casual expression of opinion on whatever topic, so that sometimes gives me pause.

I finally watched Somewhere in Time (1980), which was sad and romantic, but the time travel “science” was so ridiculous that I couldn’t take it seriously. In a way, it reminded me of Blake Crouch’s novel Recursion, in which the “science” was infinitely more complex but also ultimately absurd. Both stories set up a loop of impossible events repeating without resolution. I also had a hard time believing that a successful writer would throw his current life away on a whim to find a woman in an old photo. Jane Seymour was incredibly beautiful though, so perhaps that was enough motivation. Christopher Reeve’s appearance struck me as fake, as if his face had been molded from plastic like a Ken doll. I know that isn’t true, but there was something very odd about him, and I had trouble getting into the story because of that as well. I watched it on Prime.

I also watched Death Becomes Her (1992), starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. This had a crazy plot, centered around vain celebs and an anti-aging potion, along with bizarre special effects, like something out of a campy horror film. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I saw; I generally enjoy both actresses and was disappointed overall in the movie, despite a few funny moments. This was on Netflix.

Nobody Saw Us Leave is a new Netflix limited series (only five episodes) based upon a true story about two wealthy Jewish families in 1960s Mexico. The families are friends because of mutual business interests, and one of their sons marries another one’s daughter. It’s not quite an arranged marriage per se, but it’s clear the couple is not in love. After having two children, the wife begins an affair, and the man she falls in love with is her brother-in-law (her husband’s sister’s husband). After her husband discovers the affair, he informs his sister, and both are more humiliated than heartbroken. They probably would have done nothing more than sulk about this, but their father decides that his son must abduct his own children and leave the country. It’s not entirely clear why the father insists upon this, even as the situation becomes more complicated when the other family hires an ex Mossad agent to successfully track them down, but the story is compelling regardless. I probably missed some nuances because the dialogue was translated and dubbed, and some scenes were out of chronological order, but still I recommend it. The book (written by the daughter who was kidnapped) hasn’t been translated ~ if it ever is, I would read it. 

Nobody Wants This (rabbi and non-religious woman, both with cuckoo families, especially hers, fall in love) has returned for its second season on Netflix, and I binge-watched the entire season this weekend. It isn’t as crazy as it sounds because each episode is sitcom length and dissolves quickly in my mind like cotton candy. I find the whole show to be basically sans substance even though it’s purportedly about major life issues. Then again, so is The Connors (also a show I’ve been watching on Netflix, though not bingeing), which has received less attention but is much better. I find Kristen Bell pleasant to look at, but her character Joanne is unbearably stupid (until maybe the last couple episodes of S2, where she finally displays some insight). Also, I get annoyed with shows that portray a Jewish mother as pushy and obnoxious, but to be fair a lot of on-screen moms are portrayed this way because Hollywood writers find this tired old trope to be endlessly hilarious, apparently. The scenes with Seth Rogen as an unconventional rabbi were the funniest overall. 

There’s one thread I pulled out of the show that I both relate to and find interesting: the idea that we have in our minds of not necessarily the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend, but the concept of ourselves in a relationship. So, we repeat behaviors because we see ourselves as a person who does such and such thing without regard to the actual unique human being we are supposed to be getting to know. For example, a man always buys roses for his girlfriend’s birthday, oblivious to the fact that his new one is allergic, even though she has mentioned it. A woman always bakes cookies for her boyfriends, but her new guy is diabetic. These are extreme examples, but you see what I mean. People get stuck on a path of actions that don’t mesh with their current situation, yet they have trouble adapting to their new reality.

Anyway. I am looking forward to seeing the new biopic of Bruce Springsteen, which has just hit the theaters.

Books That Could Have Been a Text

I read a lot. I mean a lot. For example, it’s now October 7 (very sad anniversary of the attack on Israel, but also Prime Day, yay), and I have already finished four books this month (OK, one was a novella). Some people don’t read four books in a year! I know, because I am friends with them. Smart people, great at games, but reading isn’t their thing. Anyway, for a while now, I have been pretty jaded about plots. It’s been said that there are no new storylines, but only new ways of retelling the same old ones, and I concur. Hence, this post: book types that could have been a text question to AI.

1. Haunted House 

Q: I have inherited an old house from my weird uncle, and it’s full of strange symbols, shadowy figures in the mirrors, and scary thumps and moans during the night. What should I do?

A: Run away right now and don’t go back!

2. Devil’s Spawn

Q: I am six weeks pregnant and have undeniable proof that the father is a demon who will use this child to unleash chaos and terror upon the world. How should I proceed?

A: Get an abortion! (And quit having sex with demons.)

3. Forbidden Room

Q: I am governess to the mad duke’s daughter, and he said that I must never go into the attic, but the upstairs maid told me there’s a trunk in there containing the duchess’s diary which will prove that the duchess ran off with the coachman and wasn’t murdered by the duke. Should I retrieve the diary so the duke will love me?

A: No. Stay the hell out of there and make friends with the new coachman. I hear he is cute (and also not mad).

4. Grumpy x Sunshine

Q: My new billionaire boss is incredibly mean and horrible, though he is very handsome and did I mention a billionaire? Should I put up with his verbal abuse for 300 pages until he sees me in a bikini at the company retreat and falls in love with me?

A: No. He will always be a jerk. Find a new job.

5. Friends to Lovers

Q: I just had an epiphany that I am in love with my childhood best friend, but he hasn’t ever indicated he feels the same except that one time when he was really drunk, which I don’t count. Should I despair over this for 300 pages while we try to make a go of romances with others or take a job I don’t want in a faraway state to get away from this mess?

A: Neither. Just tell him you love him right now.

6. Fake Dating

Q: I hired an actor to pretend to be my boyfriend at my cousin’s wedding so my family would stop bugging me about being single, but we got drunk and slept together. Now I am in love with him, but if I tell him, I won’t be able to figure out if what he says back is real or acting. For how many pages should I agonize over this?

A: Zero. Tell him immediately.

7. Fantasy Quest

Q: So like you know I found a map to the lair of the ancient monster dragon who guards the sparkly thing that will save the universe from destruction. Should I skip my midterms and go get it right away before the witch grabs it for evil purposes?

A: No. Study for your tests, eat your vegetables, and quit peering through game portals.

8. Amateur Detective

Q: I don’t think the police did a thorough investigation into the cookie dough murder, and since I have retired from the library I have time to help. Should I take my poodle Mr. Noodles to the bakery cafe and try to get more information from the shady new waiter?

A: Mind your own business and leave solving crimes to the cops.

9. Family Feud

Q: Should I let the misunderstanding with my sister fester for another 50 years until one of us is dying, or have a difficult conversation with her before the next round of holidays?

A: /eye-roll/

10. True Story

Q: Hey, do you think people would enjoy reading about my transformative journey from—

A: No.

The end.

You Can't Step in the Same River Twice

The title refers to a concept from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, alluding to the fact that reality is in a constant state of flux. When you revisit the river, the water temp won't be exactly the same, there will be new critters, plants will have died/ others grown, etc. The water molecules themselves will not be the same ones as before. More significantly for the context of this post, you will have changed, especially if a chunk of time has passed; your memories, thoughts, ideas, expectations, dreams, etc., will not identically match the ones you had the last time you stepped in the river. Even if the river is close to being what it was, you will experience it differently. I find this to be true in particular for old TV shows I begin to rewatch.

One of my top favorite shows as a teenager was I Dream of Jeannie. Barbara Eden starred in this show, and she is still around in her 90s! I bought the complete series in a box set and couldn't even make it halfway through all the episodes. My god, this show was dumb. The dialog was occasionally amusing, especially when there was an excellent guest star, such as Paul Lynde, but ugh the repetitive plots and resolutions, usually in the form of Dr. Bellows (Hayden Rourke) complaining that Major Nelson (Larry Hagman) "did it to him again" when Jeannie magically blinks away whatever problem she had created. Jeannie nonstop harps on the idea of wanting to marry Nelson, but why? She can already manipulate him to do almost everything she wants, so it makes no sense that this supernatural creature needs the silly human bonds of matrimony to feel fulfilled. (The male writers naturally couldn't conceive of any world where every woman didn't want a ring on her finger.) Maybe we were supposed to assume that because Nelson was so virtuous he wouldn't have sex with Jeannie outside of marriage, and she was very attracted to him and wanted to sleep with him. This could not be explicitly stated of course because TV had to be "wholesome" back then. 

Another favorite that didn't stand up to a rewatch was That Girl. It's supposed to be about independent Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas), who moves to the big city to stand on her own two feet, except she never does. She immediately acquires a lawyer boyfriend Don Hollinger (Ted Bessell) who is always around to help her out of a jam, and she also relies on her daddy Lou Marie (Lew Parker) at every twist and turn. Yes, Marie is actually the family's surname for some unfathomable reason. It's really sickening to watch Ann giggle and act like a little girl throughout these episodes. The best ep (not that I was able to stomach too many of them before giving up) was one that guest-starred Rich Little as her date (when she was mad at Don). Another weird thing is how "whitewashed" NYC was: not only were the streets abnormally clean, but everyone on the show was literally white.

The same goes for One Day at a Time, which wasn't nearly as cute as I remembered it, and instead it was mostly annoying. The main character, newly divorced Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin), drove me nuts with her mannerisms, especially when she would put her hand on her forehead and say "Ahhhhhhhhh, [character's name who was upsetting her, usually a daughter's]." Dwayne Snyder (Pat Harrington), the building manager/ handyman was not funny, and in fact on a rewatch struck me as rather creepy. Why did he constantly barge into their apartment? Valerie Bertinelli was adorable, of course, and I still can enjoy some of the romcoms she starred in afterwards. I haven't watched any of her newer sitcoms ~ newer meaning anything after 1980. I know there's a redo of ODAAT with a contemporary family, but I have no interest in checking it out. 

When I was in high school, I would flip on Match Game every afternoon. I thought Gene Rayburn and the guests were the funniest people ever. (I found out later that there was a lot of drinking going on, which makes sense as these folks were very uninhibited and always laughing.) Anyway, I saw it was being re-streamed on one of my channels, so I began watching. Yuck! The entire thing was beyond cringe. I guess my tastes have changed in the last 50 years? One would hope so. I discovered the other day via a friend that there's a new Match Game with Martin Short hosting. I watched it last night and was unimpressed. Short is funny enough, but the guests were not funny, and the questions were stupid, precluding obvious or even clever answers most of the time. Hulu conked out on me before the end, and I am not motivated to finish up the episode or watch any other ones. Oh well.

Shows that have stood the test of time:

1. Columbo

That's all for now. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

My Grandson Turns Five

Remember that George Carlin routine about how we are "going on" the next number ("I am sixteen going on seventeen?") until we become twenty-one? And we don't use months or half-numbers after that. Hey, I am almost 64.25! It was impossible to find the routine on YouTube, but I did stumble onto a transcription. He was truly hilarious. Anyway, my older grandson had his space-themed birthday party yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. He is now five going on six.

Speaking of five, I gave five stars to The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel. Wow, what an intense read! I highly recommend this taut mystery novel. It's on the shorter side at under 300 pages, but man it packs a punch. TW: it begins with the gruesome death of two children. It's not one of those stories that focuses on gore though; it's more about family bonds and feeling trapped in small town life.

The Conjuror's Wife by Sarah Penner was a gripping little fantasy/ historical fiction short story. I loved the twist at the end and gave the book four stars.

I was disappointed in the latest Freida McFadden thriller I read: Do Not Disturb. The twists were often predictable, and there was very little motivation given for the characters' actions. Also, and maybe this is not fair to the book, but I am really tired of the abused wife who can't leave until it's too late motif, especially when there aren't even children involved. This type of story usually features a protagonist with whom we are supposed to sympathize while she keeps doing stupid things, the dumbest one of course being falling for the "too good to be true" man. Meh. Two stars.

I read The Changeling by Philippa Carr (aka Victoria Holt), which was another romance/ mystery novel in the Daughters of England series. I found it enjoyable but not as good as some of the others, so I gave it three stars. The title basically gives away the main twist of the story. 

Via a friend's recommendation, I have started the Netflix show Dept. Q, and so far I am intrigued. It's a detective mini-series set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the acting is top-notch.

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!

Finding a Kitty vs Finding a Man

I thought that I would break routine and do a whimsical post. Please note that I am not returning to posting pics, songs, or garbage flash fiction. I do reserve the right to occasionally post a poem however if the stars align. Without further ado, here is my comparison between finding a kitty and finding a man…

Visit a website full of cute photos and bios:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Feel overwhelmed at all the possibilities and try not to create a “shopping list,” but create one anyway in order to narrow down the options:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Focus on one particular possibility and obsess to the point that I run out and spend a whole bunch of money on litterbox/ lingerie/ bed/ toys/ special food, etc., since this is definitely The One:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

That possibility disappears from my life, and I decide the whole thing is pointless and why bother at all?

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Then I think no I really need someone but the heck with the websites… let’s go find someone in meatspace!

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Stumble upon a meatspace potential and immediately become emotionally invested, but it crumbles into a super weird sketchy situation:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Return to the online world older and wiser, maybe a bit jaded, but still holding on to my optimism that The One is out there:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

One of the rejected possibles begins harassing me via text, telling me I am too old and didn’t bake cookies, or asking for money:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

One of the rejected possibles threatens to take me to small claims court:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Many of the rejected possibles turn out to already have their One and were just trolling online for kicks:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

After spending quality time with a possible, he ghosts me even if chip him and lock all the doors:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

He’s happy to cuddle with me on the sofa and rewatch the Mamma Mia movies every weekend:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

He constantly complains about the meals I serve (or don’t serve):

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

He wakes me up in the middle of the night to yell about some random thing:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅

Messes up all my stuff and doesn’t help clean the house:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ✅ 

Tells me how to invest my money/ do my taxes / fix my car, etc., because obviously I haven’t been handling all these things just fine for years:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Doesn’t care if I come home smelling like I’ve been with someone else:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

Doesn’t mind if I talk about him behind his back and post his pic on FB/ Instagram:

Kitty ✅ 

Man ❌

Embarrasses me when my friends visit:

Kitty ❌

Man ✅

Is totally loyal to me and won’t eat my face if I die in my sleep before I fix his breakfast:

Kitty ❌

Man ❌

Is OK with another one of his kind coming to live with us:

Kitty ⚠️

Man ⚠️