DramatistDreamer

Bernardo Arévalo, of the very young Movimiento Semilla political party, won the election in Guatemala. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/guatemalans-vote-president-many-hope-renewal-democracy-2023-08-20/

Days ago, I heard that Musk was removing the block feature. Now, I am hearing that he’s blocked a number of people. The mess over in those Twitter streets has me hollering.

She’ll probably tell them to talk to Devon, does he still wear a cochlear implant? Devon will probably reassure them that even if the baby ends up hearing impaired they’ll live a full rich life. The story will be over in two weeks.

“The answer to What happened to Rudy Giuliani? is Nothing happened. He is the same man he’s always been.” Thank you! This is what some of us have already known for decades! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/opinion/rudy-giuliani-trump-authoritarianism.html

This is the first time I’ve heard of livestream shopping (other than HSN and QVC, which I am not entirely sure is always live- I suspect some portions are recorded) but this sounds insane. Though this may only work for well-known celebrities. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/17/china/james-harden-nba-china-livestream-wine-intl-hnk/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_content=2023-08-18T09%3A00%3A15&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNN

People have complained repeatedly about the casting of the character but at a certain point people should have been questioning the depiction of the character through the writing, direction, etc., to me, those are the common factors. Noah has been written and depicted very poorly— he hasn’t been written reasonably well since the character was a teenager.

Apparently Twitter, X or whatever Musk calls it today, has chased off some more brands that have chosen to suspend advertising on the platform after their ads were placed next to pro-Nazi content. Why does any brand still run ads on that platform? https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/tech/x-ads-pro-nazi-account-brand-safety/index.html

It seems like the same issues that eventually cropped up with cable in recent years, are now happening with streaming services. https://www.theverge.com/23831904/streaming-wars-price-hikes-disney-plus-hbo-max-hulu

This sounds like a type of recasting of the Jill Foster story, albeit a story where we encounter the person as already having attained a foothold in the corporate world, unlike Jill whose climb into the corporate sphere took place onscreen for viewers to watch. And of course, the aspect of ethnicity and race could lurk in the background (Y&R would never write a story where these issues are prominent, and they don’t have the capability to write such a story anyway). From what I managed to see of Audra, it seemed like the show seemed content to keep the character as a “side piece”, a calculating and charismatic one, but a side piece, nonetheless. Can ZS break out of that mold that has been cast for her character, the way that MM managed to, for a period of time? Who knows, but even in MM’s case, the actress can do only so much, without the writing to back her up.

Good for Eric Braeden indeed for going into remission for such an insidious disease. Hopefully he will return to full strength soon. Also, I wish great things for Loren Lott, not a vixen either but talented, not to mention hella photogenic.

D.A. Willis: R-r-Rico…

R.I.P. Clarence Avant https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/other/clarence-avant-saluted-by-the-clintons-questlove-skillful-savvy-warm-and-wise/ar-AA1fgrgJ

I never did see this movie. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/14/michael-oher-the-blind-side-allegations-tuohy-family

Sadly, I heard this news over the weekend. What a time that was for music in the late 1990s with Timbaland, Magoo, Missy Elliot and Aaliyah. R.I.P.

Don’t forget Mia and Juliet. Think about what all these wasted characters have in common. MM was strategic enough to parlay her role into an Emmy award.

Man, if I had a child in school, I’d be livid. Corporations like JP Morgan Chase are securing the best air filtration systems for their offices, while paying far less than what schools are paying and some schools are buying ultra expensive systems that are potentially introducing ozone and other dangerous particulates into the air. Someone should really be studying possible connections between air quality, test scores, migraines, asthma (which lead to student absences) and behavioral problems. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/opinion/air-filter-covid-smoke-schools.html#:~:text=One reason the government took,in poorly ventilated indoor spaces.&text=There now need to be scientific standards on indoor air quality.

Please let there be an end to this ever rising death toll in Maui. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/maui-like-a-war-zone-as-death-toll-from-wildfires-reaches-93/ar-AA1fdTIH

I just finished Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and A Call For Change In Hollywood. It was proved to be prescient concerning recent events. There was also food for thought in that the author contends that while studios tend to rationalize keeping problematic people (studio executives, producers, directors, showrunners, etc) by saying that they have the skills and expertise to keep these shows running in an efficient manner while keeping costs down, there are equally talented, non-problematic people who have the exact same sets of skills and expertise, with equal ability to keep shows running efficiently and lower costs. This made me think about the scandal at Days Of Our Lives and the rationale that has surely been given for holding on to Alarr, likely the same rationalizations for keeping many problematic producers, executives, etc., on daytime soaps over decades. This makes me wonder had these studios made different decisions with producers, directors, even some showrunners, might they have saved more money and made even better shows for a longer period of time, buying more time for many of these beloved shows? It’s an interesting hypothesis,which the author seems to believe and I also believe.

The same group that went after Affirmative Action is now coming for a venture fund geared toward Black women and marginalized groups. The amount are modest by venture capital standards yet here we are. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/fearless-fund-ceo-on-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-brought-by-conservative-activist/ PBS has its definite blind spots but it is a sure sight better than the news and information presented on traditional network television. One last postscript on the conservative group’s lawsuit against the Fearless Fund, I knew they wouldn’t stop at Affirmative Action, they’re already gnawing at workplace hiring protections, so of course they want to restrict all perceived pathways to success to historically well connected groups.

That Doctor Who-like music at the very beginning took me out!🤭

After I made my post earlier, I started to think about Olivia and what it meant to both not have her around, even for brief periods of time, and then to have Nate no longer be connected to the medical field. To me, it felt as if they were disconnecting Nate from his past, disconnecting Nate from Olivia. It felt sad to me. I definitely agree with those who have said that Nate lacks an identity and just seems to be there. From what I saw, it seemed like he was there simply to service Victoria and the Newmans.

Honestly, I don’t know what the heck that was about!

Speaking of sets, I understand budgets dictating what sets are constructed, maintained and showed and it obviously dictates storylines and how they play out, but I found it odd how the show wants to do a story like the one that led to Sally’s stillbirth without a decent hospital set. They had her in a clinic that looked like it belonged in a rural area, rather than the cosmopolitan city that Genoa City was supposedly known to be. As unlikely as this will sound, maybe they shouldn’t do any stories that involve hospital scenes unless they have an appropriate set? The other thing that my sense of logic just struggles to comprehend is Nate’s foray into business. If he was going into business, I would have thought that biotech would have appealed to writers as a way to connect Nate to the business world without completely divorcing him from the profession that he obviously spent so much of his life dedicated to. It would have been better had Newman acquired a biotech division, as many conglomerates have biotech divisions . Nate could still have been shuffling papers like he does at Newman media, etc and maybe the the tension would come in if/when Nick suspected that Nate wanted to extend his reach into Nick’s territory and was angling for an executive position in the main office then Victoria’s decision to temporarily remove Nick just adds fuel to the fire. Maybe things have changed since I last watch- I stopped watching again awhile ago but I still find it sad that they completely disconnected Nate from his medical background in favor of a fairly generic career path.

Oh I understand, but I feel like I noticed she was pregnant months ago. I don’t know why but I just knew and assumed that some announcement had been made several weeks ago, if not earlier. I’m trying to figure it because I figured she was pregnant way before the official announcement. I am laughing because I honestly hardly watch this show and somehow saw that she was pregnant for some time.

Oh how the mighty have fallen! 😂🙃 Remember when soaps would actually use real roller coasters?