j swift

In similar news, McClatchy Media Company are shuttering and laying off their entire staffs. In Touch, Life & Style, Closer and First for Women are ceasing operation by the end of June, the parent company informed staffers Friday. -- per The Wrap

Hopefully, she didn't make the same promise in 2023 😎🥸

You don't find the hair distracting? It is two-tone, brown on top, gray underneath. Also, good to see some characters never change, Eric is never too busy at work to drop everything (although it is interesting how much more accessible he is in Paris, than when he lived on the African continent). Am I being too greedy in wishing that the flashbacks were a bit longer? I like variety, and the trip through time, but I need more than a line or two of dialogue.

The other reason I enjoy Belle and EJ is that it has really lit a spark in Martha Madison. MM's Belle was always such a sad imitation of the delightful way she was played by KS. But, I feel like she's come alive with this new pairing. She's aware, she's astute, and she is being totally logical about an illogical attraction. I can honestly say this is the only time that I have enjoyed this iteration of Belle (and Philip). Nu Rachel continues to show promise. I liked the depth of nonverbal stuff with Johnny. Her mother (and the costume dept) aren't doing her any favors in the popularity department by dressing her like a Madame Alexander doll. Also, glad that went to see to John. Will ripped my guts out. The actor's emotion expressions are perfect for soaps. I understand the common criticisms of his limits, and I wouldn't want to see every day, but he was perfect for these scenes. He and Carrie honestly look like family that has come to say goodbye. Glad for the mention of Sonny, but it never really makes any sense why certain characters get too swamped with work to be present in a crisis. Also, Ari just left Will yesterday, so I understand why he wouldn't go see her first, but I'd still be annoyed if Gabi didn't text to say she lost her Ari last night. Two weeks later, did anyone say goodbye to Rex? At least call to see how he's healing from his accident? Should I be suspecting Rex?😉

I would argue that the EJ/Belle pairing has been well explained. Shawn left Belle feeling vulnerable, and unloved, because she has a savior complex and he is healing his addiction on his own. EJ makes her feel needed, he appreciates her legal mind, and they have good physical chemistry. To me, the scene that solidified the relationship was when she tried to break up with him, and he said that he refused to absolve of her guilt. It really explained all that we needed to know about that dynamic. And, despite my frequent pokes at Belle, it showed that she has gone into this relationship with her eyes wide open. She is not being conned, nor is she using him as a rebound. She is genuinely attracted to him, and she can't shake the feeling. And, TBH, you don't want soaps to go back to being morality plays, where the audience is treated as if they only understand moral absolutism, and can't appreciate shade of gray.

I don't buy it (forgive the pun). I think all that was true before Xander left the mansion, but now she has a motive to raise the money, and I think she still owns plenty that could be leveraged. I'm really trying to point out, that it seems silly that it is a two-man race, when there are plenty of other rich people in town. Who was worth more, Stefano or Victor? I would argue the problem with being Stefano's heir is that the estate was divided nine different ways. Whereas, Victor's fortune was virtually split in half.

Here's a question for the ages. After they defeated the mob, together, as a team, why the Quartermaines offer Luke an executive job, and Laura was a receptionist?

The Miracle of Versavix causes me to break my promise not to talk about it… Today, we learned that Versavix doesn’t just treat sepsis—it reverses organ damage. Remarkable. Somewhere, fake-Dr. Joe Scanlon from Port Charles is owed a Nobel Prize. And meanwhile, Brady continues to fumble the bag, somehow failing to recognize the enormous financial and medical potential of a drug being administered to his own uncle. Classic Brady. Consistency has been off recently I blame my confusion on their taping out of order. Jada has seen Shawn today. In the square, they saw each other in an epsisode last week, and spoke about Bo. So, why is she asking Belle if he is sick? Much like when Marlena made peace with EJ last Tuesday, and then snarled at him on Friday. Meanwhile… There’s a Meth Lab on the Docks? The ongoing fixation on Philip’s recent scuffle—an incident that poses no broader public danger—is bizarre when you consider there's an actual meth lab operating on the docks. You’d think that would be the more pressing law enforcement priority. But this is Salem. Nu-Rachel: A Star is Scheming I have to admit, I like nu-Rachel. The previous actress skewed a bit too Wednesday Addams—brooding, but not calculating. This Rachel is clearly playing the long con. During a tea party, she casually dropped the Johnny adoption bombshell, and now she’s planting seeds of doubt about his character. She’s manipulating Kristen with finesse, all while hiding behind her frilly dresses and conveniently timed tummy aches. It's not easy for a young actor to play a convincing liar, but this one is pulling it off. That said, after mentioning John just yesterday, it’s strange that Kristen hasn’t visited him—especially considering the hospital is within walking distance. I suspect this has less to do with realism and more with the show avoiding flashbacks of John and Kristen. Corporate Confusion: Salem-Style Speaking of odd choices, why is Alex operating out of an actual office while Xander, the CEO, runs his empire from a barstool with a cell phone? Salem business logic strikes again. Julie, Maggie, and the Case of the Vanishing Money It is nice to see Julie back doing hospital board work. That tracks, especially given her long history with the hospital, dating back to when Vivian Alamain first made a sizable donation upon arriving in Salem. But are we really pretending Maggie doesn’t have the means to buy the hospital outright? Between the Kiriakis fortune and her own assets—not to mention the mansion she could easily leverage—Maggie could outbid just about anyone in town. Let’s not forget: she married Victor, a man who funded an entire wing.

Bo has a bad history with kids named Zach. (too soon?)

I am blown away that Christie Clark is 51, and she debuted 39 years ago. They gave her a lovely script today. But, I could not think of any other examples in culture of someone able to jump right back into the skin of a character, after virtually retiring from acting years ago. I was trying to recall if Carrie left for a bit with Anna after Roman died (because she wasn't at Bo & Hope's wedding), and then returned as a pre-teen Christie? Or if she was just SORASed off-screen? But, whenever I see the character I am reminded how much more trauma she's endured than Sami, and yet she remains such a nice person.

Let's also recall the context that this report has been released during network upfront season while Peacock is trying to sell ad space. This news is a clear attempt to distract from their quarterly average loss of 372 Million Dollars, aka 100 million dollars lost per month. AKA, 1.2 Billion lost in 2024. AKA, a loss equal to the Gross National Product (GNP) of Mexico, India, or Indonesia. AKA, a loss comparable to the total estimated worth of companies like: Canva, SHEIN, and ByteDance. AKA, shame on an unnamed content-stealing-countess for contributing to the losses which will doom this show, AKA at least have the decorum not to crow about it. So, it is not likely Peacock would emphasize how their core audience of 70-year-old retirees is having trouble using their streaming service. They choose the stat that looks best when you don't spend too long considering other data.

Do yourself a favor, don't google her blog.

One day, we'll have to do a census of the number of times the last few characters created by a former writer survived a significant amount of time under new writers. Last one in/First one out...

In my fanfic reboot, this would've all foreshadowed Viki finding her daughter Megan. They could've saved money on all that Eterna mishegoss. And, given justice to Cathy Craig for being gaslighted by Tony and Joe. She wasn't always unstable, but the guys she liked always lied to her as if she couldn't cope with the slightest bit of stress. Meanwhile, she was probably a much more talented writer than Joe.😉 Side note: It is ironic that Dr. Danny and Megan Gordon were on screen at the same time. He dated, her lover's younger sister. But, if she was born when Viki was 17, and Danny was born in 1971, she would've been at least five to ten years older than him.

I got a new Robo-mop/vac today and I named it Dustin' Kiriakis. And, it is connected through my home network, ISA Headquarters. The episode felt like treading water. Not much happened. But, it confirmed @carolineg's time/space theory, that sometimes when characters aren't on screen time stops for them, and we go back in time to catch up with them. Other times, they have been living the boring parts of their lives, and we catch them as they are at the moment. For example, Johnny, Tate, and Ari are all stuck back in the morning after John's accident. But, Marlena, and John's kids are already in the afternoon of the same day. Also, I'm not janea4old, or Jason47, in that I can't tell when this episode was filmed. But, I know airplanes were grounded in Italy on July 5, 2024, due to ashes from Mount Etna. Ron retired immediately, starting 7/19/24. So, it lines up with the new writers.

I was watching the 28:44 edit of All the Tour Llandview Openings from 1984-1991 (which I assume is most of the Rauch era). Any way, I could name 95% of the characters (or I knew what story they were a part of). But, who's this? I attached the link, but be warned, that theme song is an earworm (🎼here's where ya go when it looks like the rain won't🎶).

First random thought of the day: Maggie could easily replace Victor's portrait. Office Depot can make an oil painting from an 8×10 photo in under a day. Second, I was really thinking about the Xander/Philip fight today. I like that they didn't use a gun. We know Philip will survive, and there's more moral ambiguity in a fight. For example, why didn't Philip fight back? He is a military-trained combatant. And he seems a few years younger than Xander. So, there were several factors on his side. On the other hand, I know people have forgotten Philip only has one leg (and Johnny lost an eye), but it is interesting that Belle isn't thinking of charging this as a hate crime against a disabled veteran. (also, nobody thanked Philip for his service today on Memorial Day). I don't care for the choice flashbacks so far. As always, they feel too chopped and short. Not everything needs to be a montage, they could just remember whole scenes from their meeting. Also, if we have to have not-John (which I would argue has been unnecessary), I wish he didn't have that one throat burn scar. It is distracting, poorly applied, and it looks like it creases unnaturally. Meanwhile, I would generally trust Belle, over any of her siblings, with my medical proxy. But, if we lived in a soap universe, and she brought it up like a cliffhanger, only to be resolved after the break, I'd be perturbed.

Forgive me because this stretches the topic a bit, but I cannot stop thinking about this line in Barbara Rush's (aka AMC Tad's doppelgänger's Ted's mother Nola Orsini & Flamingo Road's Eudora Weldon) wiki bio. The quote comes from an article about Rush's daughter Claudia Cowen who is a reporter for Fox News. Rush's ex-husband was one of the biggest publicists in Hollywood. And, she had a famous house in Bel Air. But, I want to know how at 70 years old, she wound up at the Lloyd Estate, which is huge, and had been owned by Ron Burkle and Ted Field. The house was worth 60 million dollars in 2001. But, I cannot find the story of why/when/how she lived there, because whenever she gets asked about it, she always says that she was “staying” there, not that she bought it. BTW, for those that may not know. Her ex-husband, Warren Cowen, wound up marrying the mother of Sarah Gilbert (Roseanne & The Talk), as well as her half-siblings Melisa and Jonathan Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie). So, Ms. Rush did not get her money from him, because she got remarried to a sculptor of minimal reknown, and they divorced in 1973. Ms. Rush died last year with dementia.

Cliff was Logan's protégé, from the time he was a legal clerk up and until he became ADA. I think you have to have seen Deborah's father for that relationship to make sense, it is very Oedipal. Mr. Saxon was a charming mobster and was briefly involved romantically with Geraldine.

If the actors in question had studied Agnes Nixon's character naming conventions, they could've saved themselves a lot of disappointment. In Pine Valley, there's no way that Wally is going to win in a romantic entanglement with Sean. Just as Dan Kennicott was never going to be as intriguing as Benny Sago. She was more subtle than Bill Bell, and I can't be certain she even personally named all of these men. But there is a pattern to be studied. Cliff Warner wasn't as emotionally driven as his name would suggest, but we knew Sean and Linda meant trouble before they even appeared on-screen.

Ah, gotcha Ciara with an I not Ceara with an E. Also, according to the shopping site, Sami's outfit was pricey because it was the jacket from one suit, and the pants from another. Can you imagine anyone wearing that awful green tweed from head to toe? This is one time that costuming did a character a solid and broke up that pattern.

Also, just checked, Hope was wearing Alice + Olivia ($595) and Sami wore a more shocking green, and it was by Aqua (price not indicated)

Also, I'm giving Hope's Chanel jacket and Ceara's leather pants a pass, because I don't think they knew that they would wind up in Salem today when they got dressed. So, there's been no time/opportunity to change outfits. Although 😉 it reminded me that Sami and Hope seemed to have both shopped at a Chanel-knockoff outlet recently. And if Hope, Ceara, and Bo suddenly have a change of clothes next week, I'm gonna need a throwaway line about how Hope raided Aunt Maggie's closet because of all that shopping she's been doing with Julie. Yep, it must be why they so rarely show flashbacks of the whole wedding party. Caroline looks like Kate 1.0

The third man is Howie Hofstetter, Bo's friend who helped Hope get out of marrying Larry Welch. 🎼I'm holding out for a hero… I'll let someone else tell you who the other two are, because it will blow your mind. Poor Bo & Hope had a free destination wedding in England, at a castle, and only the "B" team of Salem was available to attend! Also, (to paraphrase an old song) tonight we're celebratin' the love of Hope's scullcap at her English wedding. A lot has happened in between. But, it was still an amazing headpiece. That deserves recognition for not only how long KA kept it pinned to her head, but then she loved it so, she wore it at her real wedding.

Here's the question, let's say you're Melissa, -- Would you be forgiven for not posting about Bo & Hope's anniversary today on social media because you didn't include the number of years that either of them were assumed dead in the last 40 years?😎😉 Is it rude to Billie and Carly, if the Brady's ignore the time Bo was with them?