Turkey Trip

I am back from my Thanksgiving holiday trip to my hometown of Detroit. Thankfully the weather was pretty good so there weren't any travel delays. Going back to Detroit is always bittersweet for me because it's my hometown and I love it, but it's been so beaten down over the years that some parts of the city are just so sad to look at. My old neighborhood looked okay, but my grandmother's block  wasn't in good shape at all. Downtown looked great though. During a visit to the Renaissance Center yesterday, I got a nice shot of Windsor.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I hate a hypocrite. If you talk the talk, you should walk the walk, right? Two recent bits of news I read on my gossip sites are perfect examples of the kind of hypocrisy I despise.


First, the British Royal Family has a dress code for journalists to follow when interviewing any member of their clan. The media is all a flutter about William and Kate coming to the United States next year for a visit so these dress codes have been in the news. The Royals request that no one (including technicians) wear "trainers" (that's gymshoes/sneakers for us in the US). Let me see if I understand this correctly. Duchess Kate can't even bother to put on drawers half the time she's out and about, yet journalists and their staff can't wear gymshoes??? Right. I understand a journalist dressing appropriately to interview anyone, but should a cameraman have to adhere to these same standards? I don't think so. If Kate can run around flashing her behind to the public whenever a stiff breeze blows her skirt, then I think a technician interviewing her should be allowed to wear what he or she feels comfortable in.


Second, I read about Halle Berry taking her first baby's daddy to court over straightening and dyeing their daughter's hair in an effort, she claimed, to make the child look "white." That little girl doesn't look white no matter what you do to her hair, but I digress. People choosing to straighten their child's hair (whether chemically or through some other process) is their business, but Halle is a hypocrite. Does she not straighten and dye her own hair??? I'm sure she does. So that's okay for her, but not for her child by the child's own father? Whatever. 

Foxcatcher

I saw Foxcatcher today and walked out of the theater feeling annoyed because (A) the movie was too long and (B) this couple seated behind me in the theater kept whispering to each other throughout the movie. The acting in the film was very good. Steve Carrell was certainly creepy and effective as John du Pont, but I just didn't understand why the movie needed to go on for more than two hours. How many wrestling matches did we need to see? Oy! Aside from being annoyed, I was also interested in reading more about du Pont. I'm surprised the du Pont family didn't sue to keep this movie off the big screen, but maybe they figured it wasn't worth the time or money. And, speaking of money, the film does do a good job of showing the amount of control someone with money can have over those who don't.

Christmas Music

I love Christmas music and I'm not ashamed to admit it. So I was quite glad to hear that one if the radio stations here switched to an all Christmas all the time format last Friday. Yea! In addition to the radio music, I've been listening to my assortment of Christmas music CDs by Josh Grobin, Michael Buble, and Luther Vandross. I cannot, however, put my hands on my beloved Celine Dion Christmas CD. When I opened the jewel case today, it was empty! I have no idea where the disc is. I'm hoping I can find it. If you've heard Celine's versions of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Ave Maria" you'd understand how distraught I am over this missing CD. (And I'm not ashamed of liking Celine Dion either! I hate I never got the chance to see her in Vegas!)

Morning TV

I've been reading about all of the infighting at the Today Show. I don't watch any of the morning shows (except for a little Morning Joe before I leave for work...when I can stand it), but I don't need to watch them to know that the real problem at Today is Matt Lauer. That dude needs to go quickly and take Al Roker with him. They both are played out and their game is tired. And, speaking of Roker, let's take a look at his Weather Channel buddy Sam "Daddy" Champion. Since Daddy flew the coop from Good Morning America to the Weather Channel, he's been doing nothing but bad-mouthing the had the fed him. He made fun of the Weather Channels' made up winter storm names and now he endorses them. "Storm Hercules is roaring through the Midwest bringing twenty feet of snow!" Sam criticized the morning shows, clearly forgetting that without GMA, he wouldn't be where he is today. What a hypocrite. (I still like you, Daddy!)

A Push and a Shove

When I read a great book, I give it a good review on Goodreads (and Amazon if I bought it there), but some books deserve a little extra attention and A Push and a Shove by Christopher Kelly is one of those books. I just finished this book today and I'm still thinking about it. It's the story of a gay man, Ben, who was bullied during junior and high school by a guy named Terrence. Ben tracks Terrence down as an adult and the two men start to become friends. What's so fascinating about this book is Ben's desire for Terrence as a teenager and as an adult. After Terrence torments him day in and day out while they're kids and then pushes him down a flight of stairs causing him to have a concussion, Ben still longs to be with him. Oy! I highly recommend giving this book a read if you can get your hands on a copy. (It's out of print because the publisher went under and it doesn't seem to be available as an ebook either. I got my copy from the library but I also was able to buy a copy online because I really wanted to have my own book.)


While I was reading A Push and a Shove, I kept thinking about incidents of bullying that occurred while I was in middle school during the 1980s. I remember a girl I went to middle school with named Tameka. She was a small girl, but her size didn't matter because she'd just threaten to get her older, bigger sisters to beat other kids down on her behalf. (Thankfully, I was not one of the kids she set her sights on.) One day, one girl she picked on relentlessly just got fed up with it and cut her with a knife, slashing her forehead and leaving her permanently disfigured. You would think that this incident would have made her stop bullying other kids, but it didn't! She continued her reign of terror. I heard a few years ago that Tameka suffered a terrible loss in her family. Her son and some other family members were killed in a terrible automobile accident. As awful as this tragedy must have been for Tameka and her family, I couldn't help but wonder if her years of abuse inflicted upon others were coming back to haunt her.

Dead Skunk

Today was just one of those days that started on a bad note and never improved. We all have those days when it seems like everyone and everything is working against you and trying your nerves in the process. When I finally left my day job (good riddance), I had to drive over a dead skunk in the road to get to the freeway. Gross, yet strangely appropriate for the day I had.

New Ownership

Land that had been in my family since the early 1900s is now under new ownership because my father sold it. He wasn't planning to move onto the land in rural Alabama and none of his siblings expressed any interest, so he finally sold it. Even though I know it's a relief to my father to have the land off his hands, it's kind of sad to see it go to someone who isn't part of the Davis family. I'm glad I got the chance to see it one last time while he still owned it when I in Alabama a few weeks ago. Nothing lasts forever, I guess.

Done!

I finally finished the last book I was working on and it's a relief to have that hurdle jumped. I had a really hard time with it, but the struggle was worth it in the end. Hopefully, readers will enjoy it. It's an interracial gay relationship novel with a bit of mystery involved. More info to come.

Oversharing

I've been reading about Lena Dunham's latest scandal involving text in her book where she experimented sexually with her sister when they were both children. She refers to herself (jokingly, she says) as a sexual predator, then, when she's criticized for her behavior, she blows a gasket and says she's being attacked unfairly. If I had an opportunity to speak with Ms. Dunham, I would say, "Girl, stop oversharing! No one would know about your childhood weirdness if you didn't share every aspect of your freaking life with the public!" Oy! I can roll my eyes at Dunham, but I really want to know what editor allowed her to publish this stuff? Did no one proof her book? Did no one advise her that maybe she was making a mistake in discussing these matters publicly? Maybe someone did and she pushed back, but the publisher usually has the final right to make editorial decisions so I can't imagine a publisher couldn't have prevented this story from being published. Also, I'm no fan of Dunham or the right-wing publication that criticized her behavior (I vote for Team No One in this case), but I do wonder why no other critics who reviewed her book didn't bring this issue to the forefront? Was the entire episode just glossed over or not deemed worthy of discussion?