DramatistDreamer

Speaking of things not being real.

In 2016, when Trump was actively seeking the presidency, he applied for a loan and was rejected Deutche Bank. Northam wasn't the only candidate that clearly wasn't properly vetted.

In 1984 at 9 years old with immigrant parents even I knew it was incredibly disrespectful and offensive. I can't envision any scenario in which a man in medical school wouldn't know that. Putting aside for a moment, the frightening reality that a medical school thought these images were fit to publish in a yearbook, The longer this continues with Northam holding on to the governor's office, the dumber the VA Democrats look at this point. Back to the medical school's poor judgement. By now, it is (or should be) well known that Black women and Black mothers, have some of the worst medical outcomes and high numbers are often ignored and/or diminished when they try to relay their health concerns to doctors. This lack of sensitivity and yes, racist stance by the medical school, needs to be looked into. I mean, how was this acceptable... 1984? Not 1884, mind you, but 1984?!

I find this article very interesting, if only because it gives a window into the ways in which influence peddling firms like Cornerstone use an often unwitting media to push their agenda. Cornerstone very much reminds me of Cambridge Analytica in their use of tactics. Many have complained that the integrity of the BBC has been diminished over the years. I wonder what they are thinking of Cornerstone using their platform as a means of planting "seeds" in a proxy war between U.A.E. and Qatar? Ahead of Qatar World Cup, a Gulf Feud Plays Out in the Shadows Although there are some valid concerns, such as the use of migrant labor and the abuses of migrants in construction but Qatar has plenty of company in this regard. And the irony of Saudi Arabia leveling accusations of abuse at anyone is...certainly something.

Lately, I've been imagining how I would write a rebooted ATWT, how I would re-imagine certain storylines and what characters would be included and one aspect that crossed my mind was the question of Daniel and would I even acknowledge that entire storyline or would I simply pretend that it didn't exist and keep things moving? I guess reboots have been on my mind because we're in a world of Reboots right now.

What the what??

No no, you're right Mark was Iva's therapist. The confusion was in how the relationship was portrayed on screen. Their get-togethers seemed to consist mostly of lunches in the hospital cafeteria where they both worked, and their conversations seemed to look more like extended therapy sessions. What I couldn't figure out was why give us glimpses of what Iva and Mark could've been and not pursue it? Why not explore the ethical ramifications of a doctor becoming attracted to his patient and vice versa? That would've been good drama considering how talented Lisa Brown is. I'm just saying, had I been writing it, I'd have really had Iva break out of that role that she'd been foisted into and pursue her desires. For once, not for the good of someone else but because she wanted it.

Wow! You've got to hear the audio and watch the video. Seeing is definitely believing!

At the time, I didn't take it as Iva dating her therapist. I should probably watch the episode(s) again but I remember seeing it as the fact that they both worked at the hospital, so on occasion, they would encounter each other in the hospital cafeteria and eat lunch together. And their conversations often seemed more like extended therapy sessions to me. Perhaps there were times when they saw each other outside of the hospital and I'm just not remembering? I think she may have invited him to the farm once but Iva had a tendency to invite everyone to the farm. Then again, I don't remember Lynn Michaels or Dr. Audrey Samuels having lunch with their patients. Lisa Brown and the actor who played her therapist clearly had onscreen chemistry-- I wonder why they didn't pursue it? Maybe have Mark decide that he can no longer be an effective therapist because he's attracted to her? Too bad Iva seemed to be typecast as "the heavy" by then. Ellie was seen as the whimsical, impetuous sister. I would have loved for Iva to, for once, decide that she's going to go for what makes her happy-- date Mark, see Dr. Michaels as a therapist and then decide that she can't just let Ellie have Kirk and stop that wedding (that wedding was tacky as hell anyway!) There were times when I questioned how Melanie Smith's Emily would fare in a pairing with Hal or Tom and at first, I had trouble picturing her Emily with BH's Hal together, until I remember that she once played George Constanza's girlfriend in Seinfeld. Then, it seemed a little less impossible to imagine. Oddly enough, I have as much, or more trouble picturing MS' Emily having an affair with Scott Holmes' Tom. With Greg Marx's Tom, hell yes!

That was pretty darn funny and cute! If ATWT had allowed more fan engagement, maybe they'd have...nevermind. Someday we're going to have to make a list of all the entanglements among the actors IRL on the show because honestly, I think it's got to be the highest number in all of daytime history.

In the episode, Marisa had one ancestor whose parents were literally unknown, as the child was abandoned (brought to a Sicilian church and left there, likely because the parent(s) were so poor). The last name of that ancestor D'Ignoti literally meant "from the unknown" in Italian. Perhaps that ancestor had one parent that links to Julianne's ancestry.

Marisa Tomei (Marcy Thompson, ATWT) appeared on this week's PBS Finding Your Roots, where there was a big surprise at the end. Tomei discovered that she is cousins with another Oscar winning ATWT alum. Hint: they played close friends when they were both on the show. If you still haven't figured it out, the answer is in the As The World Turns thread under Cancelled Soaps. The connections on this show are absolutely crazy!

@Khan Had they both stayed on at the same time long enough, Frannie and Marcy may eventually have gotten that storyline! Seriously, add this to the list of reasons why ATWT is my favorite daytime soap! They truly are close. This was taken a few years ago.

Especially considering the fact that their characters were so close, this is awesome!

Oh wow! That next meeting between Pica and Sloane should be very interesting! Still, I wonder if the setup will include Kamau traveling or will it be mostly the hitting partner and the trainer on the road and Murray at the big events? Nevertheless, that's a good move by Pica. The intrigue on the WTA side never stops, boy!

Are we sure that Murray is Monica's official coach? Or has she been working out at his tennis training facility with him advising her while she's there? When I see him sitting at one of her actual matches, I'll believe it. It'd be cool by me, if it were to really happen...Kamau is a talented coach. He worked with with Taylor Townsend (who honestly, should have stuck with him a bit longer) and we all know what he did for Sloane Stephens... Not to sound like a wet blanket but I'm not sure whether Murray wants to travel right now as he seems pretty engaged with taking his tennis facility to the next level.

Netflix got loads of criticism when they reduced their catalog of classic films. I think it's probably easier to direct people to other streaming platforms rather than to argue or defend their programming choices. Netflix won't be competing with Criterion in any way since they stripped their catalog of classic films. Killing Eve is a really good show though.

Oh how hilarious that Gail had her own promo! Especially considering that she spent less time in Oakdale than Laura, Beau's unstable sister who the writers couldn't wait to shove off. From that promo, one would think that she was going to be around for a long time. I think 1990 might have been the end result of a lot of upheaval in the previous two years. Lot of popular characters (and their equally popular portrayers) leaving and the search for more characters that can become staple characters. From that promo, it almost seems as though Gail was supposed to fit the mold of mid-1980s vixen, Barbara Ryan. Even though I haven't watched the above episode in a long time, @DRW50 I seem to remember that Matt might have been Iva's therapist. The last time I watched, I couldn't help but ask "Why didn't they try to carve out a romantic interest been this guy and Iva?!" Even the first actor who played Jason Benedict, at least seemed closer to Iva's age and closer to the mold of Kirk Anderson (arrogant, sure of himself, etc.) but with the exception of Craig and Kirk, they always insisted on pairing Iva with older men. The 2nd incarnation of Jason Benedict, came off as more 'sad sack' than sharp, go-getter, like the 1st.

Those looks that Xisca was giving Rafa during that trophy ceremony was pretty telling. Can I say I'm not surprised? Congratulations to them.

I stopped using Google's search engine (although, unfortunately, I still use Gmail) over a year ago because I think many of Google's methods of tracking users are so distasteful and unethical. Also, regarding Buzzfeed-- I'm surprised that they are making the same mistakes that many tech companies made during the 'dotcom' boom and bust era. I guess, in a way, I'm not truly surprised but it is perplexing to watch supposedly genius people make the same mistakes over and over, seemingly not learning from other industries' mistakes and outcomes (or even a previous iteration of their same industry). I posted this article in the R. Kelly thread but it is worth reading in the context of journalism's strengths (e.g. a dogged investigative reporter) vs. media's failures (dropping/ignoring an important story because it features marginalized groups of people or challenges an entire power structure). This quote from the article truly struck me because I have felt it keenly throughout moments of my life. “Black women have had a steady drumbeat around R. Kelly, even when it wasn’t a huge story,” Ms. Solomon said. “But part of the reason why nobody has listened is about how black girls are devalued and the labor of black women journalists is devalued as well.”

"Mr. DeRogatis veers from expletive-laden indignation to choked-back tears when describing the effects of Mr. Kelly’s alleged behavior with what he estimates to be at least 48 women. But he has a special frustration with the rest of the news media, which, he says, failed to follow The Sun-Times’s investigative lead, and for years made light of the charges or ignored them altogether." Dream Hampton has had to post a guard outside her home and Mr. DeRogatis has had someone fire gunshots into his home. That perpetrator has never been caught.

Oh my goodness, you know when I read about the use of the song on the Wikipedia website yesterday, an image of Paul and Andy giving chase immediately sprang to mind? I think you could be right! I was like nine back then so I have very vague recollections of storylines and episodes of Y&R from the early to mid 80s. And it doesn't help matters that characters like Amy and Andy have been all but completely forgotten. Too bad, the daytime soap industry is so resistant to making their old catalogs available to be viewed online, although music rights could complicate a matter like this. I remember when Whitney Houston died, the soap blog We Love Soaps posted clips of her appearance with Jermaine Jackson on As The World Turns in 1984.