DramatistDreamer

Wow, R.I.P. to Frankie Beverly the cashmere voiced who was the highlight of many of summer cookout and inspired many cover versions and samples.

As someone who was living and going to university in Manhattan in 2001, I know full well what a day like today September 11th is about. I really don’t wish, nor do I need to see any documentaries on the subject because I clearly remember the smell of burning jet fuel and burning flesh pervading the air. I remember the plumes of smoke in the distance and feeling marooned from the rest of the world as phone lines and most communication was cut. The sounds of fighter jets patrolling the skies, especially at night. And every year, I revisit that trauma, which has been getting less and less every few years. A couple years ago, I finally decided to wean myself off watching hours and hours of the reading of the names of the people killed on that day. The days, weeks and months riding the subway wondering if something tragic could happen while feeling sorry for any woman wearing a hijab, man in a takiyah or any Brown person who might immediately be marked as a threat with one glance. Lower Manhattan has never been the same place in my eyes, no matter how much work has gone into a makeover. Might I suggest we be sensitive to the possibility that not everyone has the same experience of that day and it may not be edifying or healthy to watch curated documentaries of it? It may be a must watch for some but it won’t be for me.

In the back of my mind, I knew VP Harris would handle business during the debate but I don’t like to get ahead of myself (at least not out loud). He was muttering and sputtering. He had absolutely nothing new to offer, the same worn out attack lines that have been weakened considerably by time and halfway decent fact-checking. And TFG revealed publicly what most of us pretty much already knew- he has no meaningful conversations with his running mate. Have he and Vance ever actually campaigned together on the same stages?

I saw a clip of Venus on The View, she looked and sounded great. I will try to check out the others this week. 🤗 There has been talk of the ATP and WTA joining forces. Not on the pay issue, interestingly enough, but I hope they will negotiate better streaming and broadcast deals because for the past several years ESPN has effectively been ruining tennis. Just today, I was thinking about how it was being introduced to tennis by just seeing it on network television and a “basic” cable package. If things had been the way they are now back then, I probably wouldn’t have become a fan. While I was thinking of this, it made me sad. Who’s doing a worse job of promoting their product…the daytime soaps or tennis? I will say this for the USTA, they have readily leaned into the “booze cruise” aesthetic. A lot of half-drunk influencers taking selfies, looking like they are living their best lives for the “Gram”. Taylor Fritz’ girlfriend had her own crew, oddly enough, they were at the Dimitrov-Tiafoe match watching lol.

Did those shows archive his appearances on their shows? ATWT and GL are the two shows I am more familiar with which is why I cited them. My point though is that soaps were terrible about preservation. Even in the early 70s when even the lowest budget theater in the park had presence of mine to preserve performances. P&G’s efforts were particularly dire.

Thank you for posting this link. Years ago, I remember reading that James Earl Jones portrayed a doctor and I couldn’t remember whether it was GL or ATWT. Turns out it was both. And different characters too. On ATWT, Jones portrayed Dr. Jerry Turner. Too bad P&G wasn’t really into preserving their soaps. That really could have been something had they had episodes with James Earl Jones to show. I am glad that theatre producers like Joseph Papp had to good sense to film and archive Jones’ theatrical work. It’s illuminating to be able to see Jones’ onstage work, especially the earlier works.

I wonder if there will be any Asian characters. The current ones and their precursors all did a relatively terrible job at giving Asian characters agency and fully executed characterizations. It would be nice to see them The Gates steer their stories in a truly different direction.

An example of how mesmerizing James Earl Jones was as a performer. Sorry but there are certain things you can do only on a stage.

Hopefully people remember that James Earl Jones won two Tony awards out of four nominations. August Wilson who was one of America’s best playwrights had James Earl Jones as the original Troy Maxon in the iconic play Fences. Maybe it’s the nature of the business nowadays but it feels like with James Earl Jones passing away, the list of actors who excel in every media and has a legacy of moving performances across decades is suddenly very very short. R.I.P. Sir. https://variety.com/2024/film/news/james-earl-jones-dead-darth-vader-lion-king-1236138656/

This is kind of hilarious. Not even Del Potro could be bothered with the tennis this year. 🤭 A Buzzy U.S. Open Got an After-Party to Match the Vibe

By Friday, I knew that neither he nor Pegula were winning their final matches. The entitlement, particularly with Fritz is grating. Jim Courier mentioned something in commentary last week and he said of the American players in the SF, only Tiafoe wasn’t a child of wealth and privilege. Fritz’ family is rich and Navarro and Pegula are billionaire heiresses. It really doesn’t say much for the illusion of opportunity that the USTA is always trying to create. I think this is part of the reason why tennis now bores me in a way it never has before in all my decades of following the sport. I get that tennis has roots in the aristocracy but for the better part of two decades, all of the major tennis bodies have been trying to convince us that tennis was a sport that espoused egalitarian values and that it was a sport of opportunity to all comers. Well, for awhile it seemed so. Not really, not anymore. Tennis Channel (certain figures anyway) must think that Fritz is the second coming of Pete Sampras the way they talk about him sometimes. I see very little resemblance between the two. The both had dark hair (when Pete had hair) and they both grew up in California. That’s all I got. That’s it.

Dang @Errol I didn’t know you have been dealing with this! This goes beyond simple trolling, this is sick. Offensive doesn’t begin to describe it.

I have had these types of instructors and yeah, I never showed up to class unprepared lol.

Maybe it’s just me but I have no interest in watching Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner play in the Men’s final tomorrow. Although I always found Darren Cahill to be a relatively affable guy, I am finding it one hell of a coincidence that he has connections to three tennis players who have failed drug tests.

Are folks actually going to suggest that Joe Rogan’s platform is a viable one for a serious candidate?! He makes Charlamagne tha god look like Walter Kronkite! And honestly, I wouldn’t waste my time with Charlemagne on a normal day.

People are leaving out the role of Comey, the FBI and the e-mail server faux-scandal in the demise of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. I am not saying not to be cautious but there are some stark differences between 2016 and now. It’s going to be interesting to watch this upcoming debate. Irrespective of who the moderator is and to mute or not to mute mics, I seriously doubt that VP Harris will allow Trump to stalk her on the stage like he did Hillary.

Wow, long COVID. R.I.P. to a giant of music.

Guys please don’t misunderstand me. I am no not saying that Capitol was the inspiration in any way shape or form. I am saying that perhaps perhaps the possibility that there are soap fans who are open to characters involved the profession of public service (aka politics) within the framework of a daytime drama might have encouraged someone to go on ahead and pursue that story thread (out of many other threads that they had been developing). Yeesh, it’s not that serious, it was a thought.

Even when he has guests I am excited about seeing, I have to be honest, because of his manner of conducting these discussions, I lose interest pretty quickly unless the guests take over the conversation and relegate him to the sidelines. It’s a struggle for me to watch his videos. I still have not watched the recent video featuring Melanie’s interview. And the clips he uses are in a total state of deterioration.

Count me in the minority who loved OG Craig and Sierra (*shrugs*). I missed the Locher Room stream. Did you catch it @Soapsuds? Just saw the stream count…yikes! Alan’s channel is definitely losing steam, he’s getting so little engagement.

Julianne Moore was the onscreen pairing but Weber was also once married to actress Finn Carter who portrayed Sierra Esteban Montgomery. Tonya Pinkins, who played Heather Dalton also mentioned their friendship and her brief crush turning into some kind of weird energy between them when Weber and Carter became a couple and how Pinkins felt somewhat hurt by it, although I can understand how a married couple could become protective of their relationship to the point of exclusion when their job requires them to be romantically intimate with actors who are not their irl partners. They were all relatively young and there were probably misunderstandings at work.

In the Olympic Games thread, you can find the original story of what happened to Rebecca Cheptegei as she was still clinging to life but tragically, she has now succumbed to her injuries due to a violent attack by her partner. As much as people assume that DV is discussed, there hasn’t been nearly enough discussion of this issue in a comprehensive way. UGANDAN OLYMPIC MARATHONER REBECCA CHEPTEGEI DIES AFTER FIRE ATTACK

Sadly, I saw this breaking news on BBC World News this morning. May she rest in peace.

Revisiting this thread to see that the previous two threads concerning mass shootings have taken place in the same state. Awful and unfortunate coincidence.

Hmm, I am thinking of the actresses connected to Weber during that time, both onscreen and off…that would be too much to ask for lol. I am really really going to try to catch this live.