DramatistDreamer

It's funny how over the past decade, it's either about Millennials or the Baby Boomers but last year I read a study that said that Generation X-ers often did the most volunteer work and were the most generous to charity compared to all groups. Yet, Generation X-ers also seem to have the hardest time financially overall, in terms of debt, primarily from higher education and jobs that have not matched our skills. Nobody seems to pay attention to us. I don't know why.

Sorry. Broken chain message, that I had to remove.

@marceline That's so typical! It reminds me of all the complaining that some voters did during the Democratic primary that they weren't allowed to vote in closed primaries because they weren't registered Democrats! Did they not take the time to check their state's Registrar of Voters to check what the guidelines/requirements to vote? Some of these folks act so brand new.

I think Kasi Lemmons was Nella #3. Victoria Rowell was #2 and Tiffany Caesar was the original Nella Franklin. Yeah, I didn't like the way Pam and Beau's stories ended, neither as individual characters, nor as a couple. It all seemed so rushed! I hated how Nella's storyline and characterization ended, it was obvious once Roy was dispatched, Marland didn't see a need for Nella. I guess you can call it the first interracial relationship but it sort of seemed as if Beau was pursuing his career and Nella was pursuing Beau, despite the fact that they both claimed that were going as friends. Nella was written as likely wanting something more but being satisfied with whatever type of relationship she could have with Beau, while Beau seemed comfortable with having someone who was willing to pick up and move with him wherever his career would take him, and be his support system. It really did not seem to be some great romance. In a way, it was an interesting ending that Marland decided against a happy ending for Pam and Beau-- Beau went on to L.A. as the character originally claimed when he met Pam in the E.R. the night he got hurt chasing his old sister Laura and Pam pursued nursing back in her home state of New Jersey as she always intended. Only Nella seemed as rudderless as she was before she joined the nursing program years ago- it was as if she had regressed emotionally. It seemed obvious that these characters were all getting the heave-ho.

I have friends and associates who still live in NYC and they are complaining about the disruption that so much security and helicopters are causing. Usually this type of madness is reserved for the annual convening of the U.N. in September. I have seen on the regional news (as I'm technically still in the NYC tri-state area) that residents and business owners located near Trump buildings are complaining about the total disruption to their way of life and that it is expected to last until January and possibly beyond that. Some merchants are complaining about a loss of business as their establishments have now become harder to get to.

Trump Transition in Chaos was the headline I saw when I tuned into CBS This Morning. Already a steaming sh*tshow. Great job, America! @Juliajms Yeah, I read some time ago that President Obama will be working with former Attorney General Eric H. Holder on redistricting issues- something that badly needs to be tackled as Republicans have been 'running the table' and manipulating gerrymandering to scoop up seats for the GOP during midterm elections-- now using that same tactic in the general (along with flat-out voter suppression). I want Obama as far away from as Trump and his cabal as possible. Obama now has to soothe skeptical Europeans around the globe about the USA being a reliable diplomatic partner but even he had to admit that they have to guard against a "crude" sort of nationalism based on ethnicism, tribalism. Shame that Obama had to begin his administration trying to rebuild trust around the world after the Bush years, now he has to calm and soothe nerves about what's to come with a Trump administration. And 6 Southern states are having wildfires which made me think of James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time.

So Marland created Laura Simmons and Beau as well? The Beau character stayed around for awhile after Marland returned, right? I mean Marland didn't dump him immediately after returning.

We probably discussed this before but was it the scab writers of '88 who wrote Margo discovering that she was pregnant by Hal, not Tom? Or was that a Marland idea before the strike? And what about all those months Margo ran to Greece? Whose idea was that, the scabs or Marland? Just curious about how many of Marland's story ideas were carried out during his absence in '88 and how many storylines were totally created totally from the scab writers?

Yeah, I read about her in the previous article when the petition to remove the Trump name was written before the election. I did Google her and she seems like she would be an interesting person to interview/talk to.

According to Andrea Mitchell, the Trump team has requested for Trump's son in law Jared Kushner to have top secret clearance. Mitchell also noted that there was no precedent for this. I think I'm done. I cannot take any more of this. This is crazy and I need to preserve my mental health.

The narrative just keeps changing.

The ITF/ATP/WTA don't want to do anything about this. The court surfaces are all too similar in terms of speed, it discourages diversity of playing styles and technique, rewards 'same-ness'. Some claim that not having too much difference in surface may protect the players' bodies but most of the tournaments are either indoor or outdoor hardcourts, which are the toughest on the body. Clay is more forgiving but with the long-grinding points that are played, it can also be a grind on the body. Grass, I guess is too temperamental, very few know how to maintain it and you can't do it year round but even during the summer there are very few grass-court tournaments on the calendar. And to think, 3 out of 4 of the Majors used to be played on Grass! Tennis needs to do something and these players need to have a little bit more self-believe when they face Andy and Novak. Novak can be beaten (Stan doesn't have a problem doing it consistently) and Murray's second serve percentages often lag some of the top female tennis players. Why must we always wait on Stan to be the one breakthough?! He's not even that reliable!

I never read Jack's Twitter, I've only recently started to hear disturbing, unsavory things about his personal/political views. As for he and Sloane, it was a few years ago and perhaps Sloane, like some women, think they can change a man before coming to the realization that this is who he truly is and that it's time to dump 'em. I just have this feeling that it's going to be yet another Novak/Murray finals. Oh joy!

Yeah, they once dated a couple years back but it seems like forever ago now. Both Novak and Milos are taking turns barking at their boxes. It's hilarious! Not sure where it comes from but it might be a Baltic thing. I sometimes get the impression that Raonic is the younger tennis brother that Novak never wanted.

Rafa's hair apparently. Everyone seems to have an opinion about his new haircut. These folks who are complaining-- what did they expect him to do, wear a bad comb over and a bandana forever? I think Sock as well as CoCo Vandeweghe are also Trumpers. I'm not a big Sloane Stephens fan but I'm glad she dumped Jack's ass. I thought Milos and Novak were friendly. Why are they both being so testy in this match??

Monfils admitted that he tried a different tactic and it only worked for awhile and not overall. Personally, I think people made a big fuss over it for nothing. Arthur Ashe junkballed Jimmy Connors and won Wimbledon. Ashe admitted that it wasn't his normal game but he had to do something new that would bother Connors. He and friends sat down the night before the match and discussed strategy. It may not have seemed like it but Monfils also talked to his coaches about strategy--probably to rattle Nolé was at the top of the list. Had Monfils won, people might have thought differently, as it was he only one a set. Whatever, when asked what player he enjoys watching the most and what player he'd like to coach if her weren't playing himself, Novak immediately said Gael Monfils. I really couldn't stand John McEnroe calling Monfils unprofessional. McEnroe, a man who smoked weed and snorted coke during his career, got defaulted for verbal and racquet abuse then proceeded to turn over a TV camera in retaliation and was defaulted from the Australian Open had the temerity to call anyone unprofessional. Just. stop. Isner and Harrison are Trump acololytes, I cannot abide either one of them. I'm hoping that the younger generation of ATP American tennis players brush them both aside like dust. I hope Isner and Harrison get beaten consistently by everyone, TBH. Looks like Milos is going away in this match. Same old dynamic as always when he plays Novak. ETA. If Milos is going to make a stand, he needs to just go on ahead and do it and stop messing around. Is this actually making news in Spain??

I just clicked onto the livestream in time to see Djokovic yelling and then reaching out for a towel. It's happening again. My friend who went to London like Thiem but is a huge Monfils and Federer fan. I don't think she's going to have the best time as a fan this year though. This tie-break has become a bit more interesting. Wonder how long that will last. Well, at least there's no John Isner. Damn, Milos, that was brutal.

I wonder if Djokovic is going to yell at some ball kids today? Kidding. Some fans have joked that without having Roger or Rafa to beat, tennis is no fun for him. I think after he won the French, he had a letdown. He expected some big coronation and it didn't happen. Fans and non-fans pretty much view him in the light they viewed him before he won the French, not much changed. I know someone who is attending this years WTF and she had tickets for the evening session but made a trade so that she could watch Monfils and Thiem in the afternoon session. Can't blame her. Djoker vs. Raonic would not be a 'must see' match for me either.

@Soapsuds I think most people noticed that Rafa was losing his hair for quite some time, it was highly noticeable but the question was what, if anything, would he do about it? A friend of mine joked (at least, I think he was joking) that Rafa needed to go out and buy some Rogaine but I reminded him that Rogaine probably had some type of HGH that would set off WADA's testing and cause a positive test, so I didn't see Rafa taking that route. It was traveling all through social media that he had gotten some type of 'hair plugs' and wore a series of hats to protect his scalp and the new growth. A few days ago, though, I saw a picture of him without the hat. His hair was definite short though. The lighting was too dark to see many details. I clicked on the livestream to see some of the Thiem/Monfils match and knew it was going to be rough when I saw Monfils limping around- he's still injured. My guess was, it was the first time he qualified and he wasn't going to miss it. Still, it was a three set match, so the crowd got their money's worth, I think. Thiem claims he's going to play the same type of heavy schedule next season and insists that his body is getting used to it, even though he went away for part of the year. A few tennis fans are shaking their heads at this. So I guess, Thiem will play Raonic next? Supposedly Raonic might be injured but so far, he doesn't appear to be playing like it. We'll see...

I'm actually one of those people who usually trains my eyes on the extras and the people in the background, lol. I have missed a lot of Y&R over the last 6-7 years though.

Welp, little discussed but here's another view on why HRC may have lost.