DramatistDreamer

I suggest someone keep probing this story as surely there must be more to be unearthed here.

How interesting that Flavia wants their son to play tennis but Fabio does not.

I can't figure out why E! is going through such lengths to keep Seacrest on when he seemingly lends nothing to the show. He's got the personality of wallpaper paste.

As soon as I read about the Communist party's changes to China's constitution to make it possible for Xi's indefinite rule, I knew ole Orange-faced fascist would say something about it. He's just in love with autocrats, despots and dictators. And no, the irony is certainly not lost on me that right-wingnuts railed on and on about how Obama was supposed to be the West's version of an African dictator yet are close-lipped about Trump's autocratic inclinations.

Is Mary Ellen Stuart retired from acting? I realize that haven't seen her in anything in a long time!

ATWT was not Moore's first acting job. She had been on EON previously. Also, when Moore first arrived in 1985, her first year, I actually thought the character had a dour, melancholy undertone. Grown-up Frannie was clearly hiding the effects of a breakup from a tumultous relationship when she arrived in Oakdale. If you remember, she and Barbara had a mild falling out because Frannie didn't show up for her fittings for Kim's bridal party and was cut out of taking a vital role in Bob and Kim's wedding. In terms of why Sabrina might have stayed around so long (she outlasted JM's run, by the way), Marland likely saw Moore's work on EON and somehow thought she had a facility for accents, since the character she had played on EON had one. I don't understand the reasoning but he may have thought that it was a nifty skill to have somehow. In a way, he wasn't that far off-base, by the time she did A Single Man with Colin Firth her British accent had improved to a level of authenticity. I once saw her on a TV show look at a clip of herself as Frannie and Sabrina and she cringed at it and I do think it much to do with the accent. She also joked about the fact that her aunt had married her father and her twin was actually her cousin and laughed and said "The Hughes were the nicest people but...I know...that's so disgusting, right?". I do think that by the time MES had gotten into the role, the writing for Frannie was a little more nuanced and the stories less bizarre, probably because Frannie was an older, more mature character than she had been when Moore portrayed her. The other aspect is that we mainly only heard about Sabrina and didn't really have to physically see her onscreen during MES' tenure. A huge difference in the load that the actress has to carry.

Frontline did a piece on Weinstein.

Who the hell starts a trade war with Canada?? One has to be a special kind of imbecile to risk that relationship. Electrolux, the maker of appliances, puts its planned $250 million investment in Tennessee on hold due to...you guessed it, the tariffs on steel and aluminum. Electrolux puts $250 million U.S. investment on hold over Trump tariff hike

Consequently, by the time I went to bed last night, I had noticed that Asian markets were down.

And just this morning I read a headline where supposedly Duterte said he wishes to retire. I guess all that killing drained his enthusiasm for the job of being a despot. Speaking of being tired of despotic behavior.

Speaking of China, the Communist government is in the process of changing its constitution to remove term limits for the presidency so that Xi Jinping can stay in the office indefinitely. Except, the employee who was demoted for pointing out the ethics breach is now suing the department.

Hm.

I was reading about these special elections and the CT one may not seem like all that much on its face, but considering that the seat had been solidly Republican for at least 40 years and has now flipped to Democrats, this is kind of big news that has implications for the entire state legislature!

Don't forget about sleepy, or (is that now greedy?), Ben Carson.

I'm just so sick of all of these damn people in this lousy administration.

LOL. Soap fans will chuckle at this one.

When the lying gets to be too much, I guess.

Too bad that approval ratings drop didn't happen in 2016 when Rubio was up for re-election. I don't know why folks keep electing him. SMH. Trump's being asked about this? Won't he just lie like he always does? I guess they gotta get the lie on record anyway.

Bryton has shown he has the chops to be an adult character. Although his character has a bit more agency now, Devon could have so many more aspects to who he is. The same could be said for the Hilary character. Y&R holds back with them and it's very unfortunate, especially in an age where Black Panther and Get Out have proven that you can have Black characters driving story and people will gravitate toward it, if the writing is good. I don't know if soaps will ever figure this out.

I was trying to be generous in my assessment of today's remaining daytime soaps but you're right. The stories are borderline superficial and lack depth. ATWT once explored the effects of a police shooting of a Black man by examining its aftermath on the relationships in his family. Thirty years later, there is no story like this. In the time of BLM, none of today's writers could be entrusted with writing a story that even mildly touches on a relevant issue. One of today's remaining soaps has a Black billionaire character who was known to drive a fancy sports-car but never got stopped once by the police or the highway patrol? In the Midwest? Whet??!

Hope Hicks is likely lying about the degree of lies that she tells for the Liar-In-Chief. Speaking of lies that conservatives tell--

A year or so ago, someone posted an episode from the 70s featuring Susan and Dan Stewart and it was pretty progressive as it seemed to highlight a discussion between the couple concerning whether to have an 'open marriage'. You don't even see such a thoughtful examination about a taboo topic being done with today's daytime soaps.