Tina Turner, R.I.P.

Tina Turner aka Anna Mae Bullock and the Queen of Rock and Roll had died 2 days ago at the age of 83 years old. She was a powerhouse of talent and energy.

On the personal side, she was assertive enough to remove herself from the shackles of domestic abuse from her now ex-husband and fellow singer Ike Turner. She had found new love with her current husband Erwin Bach.

She had a lengthy repertoire of musical hits which made her a multiawarded entertainer. And to top it all, she was inducted a few years ago into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame..

My favorite song from her playlist is What’s Love Got to Do With It.

Long live the Queen! I can see her now in the heavens entertaining everyone with her music.

To paraphrase a line from 1 song of hers, she is simply the best!

Josie

Lisa Marie Presley(1968-2023)

Lisa Marie Presley, the only offspring of the late Elvis Presley , the King of Rock and Roll and Priscilla Presley has died yesterday after experiencing earlier of a sudden cardiac arrest.

In spite of resuscitation and eventual hospitalization, she eventually died.

Ever since her father died, she has constantly lived under his shadow but she made sure that his legacy goes on. She even made a career as a rock singer. She had her share of troubled marriages but out of them ,she had 4 offsprings, 1 of which unfortunately died from a gunshot wound in 2020—her only son Benjamin Keough–27 years old . She had reportedly not gotten over that. She had bouts of drug addiction in the past as well. I presume it was her way of coping through most of her life trials.

She was considered the Princess of Graceland.

I see her now reunited with her son and father in the great beyond.

My thoughts and prayers to her mother Priscilla and her 3 surviving daughters.

I find this moment so surreal since this past week, she was celebrating her father’s heavenly birthday and even attended the Golden Globes where her father’s biopic movie “Elvis” was up for numerous nominations.

At least she got to see Austin Butler win Best Actor for depicting her late father in the movie.

Lisa Marie, we will always remember you like how we did with your father.

Shalom!

Josie

Bob McGrath of Sesame Street (1932-2022)

Bob McGrath was a common fixture of the decades long-running children’s TV show— Sesame Street.

He had evoked kindness, friendliness and empathy toward the Sesame Street cast ,children on-set as well as his TV fans, not only of children but everyone who had outgrown their childhood years.

I among others had learned a lot from watching Sesame Street . It was a virtual TV school.

Bob as he was known on the show will be missed.

Godspeed, Bob!

Josie

Angela Lansbury, R.I.P.

Today, I heard the sad news that 96 year old Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury had died in her sleep early this morning in California.

She had a long and multi-awarded entertainment career which spanned several years (75 years)consisting of theater, television and movies.

My absolute favorite was her portrayal of Jessica Fletcher in the long-running TV series “Murder She Wrote”. I always look forward when I have the time to watch an episode and try to figure out which was the overlooked clue and who was the probable murder suspect. It was a great guessing game.

Dame Angela, your TV detective character was the North American version of Agatha Christie’s character in her tome Miss Marples.

Thank you so much for entertaining us all these years!

Your legacy lives on.

You are one classy lady. Adieu!

Josie

My Letter to Queen Elizabeth II

Dear Majesty,

I heard the sad news of your passing today. Though the news have constantly mentioned your health issues from time to time, your passing today felt sudden to me.

I have only known you as the English monarch ever since I was a little girl. You have been our Canadian head of state for 70 years, a feat non parallel.

I guess change is never easy and me and the rest of your subjects will have to adapt accordingly.

You accepted the monarchy job, took it head-on and never looked back. You performed the job as Queen seriously and exuded class and respect, not only in the United Kingdom but also to the rest of the world.

I am sure that wherever you are now with your late husband Prince Phillip, that you will be humbly surprised by all the platitudes that are now poring in for you.

You deserve it, Your Majesty!

Thank you for your service and Godspeed!

Respectfully,

Josie

My Ode to Olivia Newton John

I just received news of your passing, Ms. Olivia Newton John and my thoughts and prayers go to your family in this very difficult time.

I will always remember you as the girl next door type– pretty, blond. blue-eyed and with a cheerful personality. No diva mentality. Very friendly and down-to-earth. You carried that kind of persona as you had bravely fought cancer all these years.

I grew up with your music as I go through some of life’s routines.

Whether trying to stay healthy through the songs “Let’s Get Physical” /”You Are The One That I Want”(Grease)as I do my constant workouts or relaxing through the songs “Magic” or “Suddenly”, you had been part of my life.

As you finally are heading to the afterlife to a place that you call your own Xanadu, just know that me and your legion of fans will always be Hopelessly Devoted To You!

Your enduring legacy is not only your music but your advocacy in fighting cancer through research and animal protection.

Shalom!

Josie

The Elvis Movie–2022

I recently watched the movie titled “Elvis” and after which it left me with the ff. impressions:

The movie depicts the personal struggles and triumphs of Elvis Presley as he eventually becomes an overnight sensation— an American icon with the title of the King of Rock and Roll as well as a worldwide phenomenon. The movie was narrated through the eyes of his former manager , the late Col. Tom Parker as played by actor Tom Hanks. Elvis’ personal relationships with Col Parker and his ex-wife Priscilla Presley as played by actress Olivia De Jonge as well as with his parents were complicated but which defined his persona as a man striving for the Great American Dream as well as who he is as an individual to all of them. Overall, the movie also shows him being a regular man and with human limitations. The historical details regarding the assassinations of both MLK and RFK have also brought out in Elvis his spirit of activism and the desire for change which would hopefully lead to a peaceful world. His song If I Can Dream says it all. As he said, if it was too dangerous to speak, just sing.

Regarding his talent as a singer and eventually, also as an actor, he appeared versatile and can tackle any genre given to him. Being able to sing as well as dance with his hips and legs was no mean feat. It would take a lot of attention and concentration to be able to pull it off successfully.

In my own personal opinion, Elvis is the total entertainer, the complete package— handsome, relatable to his audience ,talented and versatile in all musical genres, also partly influenced by his love of African-American music and his soulful rendition of every song sung which is partly influenced by his love for Gospel music.

The young actor Austin Butler did a fantastic job delivering the Elvis persona. He may not look like Elvis and definitely, he is no Elvis impersonator either. He did capture the essence of Elvis to the point that he made me believe that he IS Elvis Presley. Now that is good acting, deserving of a Best Actor Award. Even the Presley family were impressed and felt that the movie actually depicted Elvis as who he really was.

I have always loved Elvis Presley and his music/movies. There will never be another one like him—ever.

His greatest fear was that he will be forgotten once he is gone and all his music will disappear for nothing.

The big irony is that he is still remembered up to now with his music still being played all over the world and he is still considered the greatest singing icon of all time, even in death.

To paraphrase some of his songs—He did things his way {My Way), he is a sight to behold(The Wonder of You) and he is unforgettable(I’ll Remember You).

Take a bow, Mr. Presley! Wherever you are now, I am quite sure that you are very happy to know that your legacy will live on !!!

Josie

The Overturning of Roe vs. Wade

On June 24,2022, the Unites States Supreme Court by a majority vote had overturned the ruling on Roe vs. Wade (1973) regarding legalization of abortion.

Reactions were fast and furious among pro -choice, pro-abortion and anti-abortion activists. We will be hearing more from them in the coming days and I would not be surprised that it would become a US election wedge issue.

Consequences will arise from this.

Which US state will still allow abortions? Will this mean that 1 woman will have to cross statelines to have the procedure done without the risk of being arrested? Would she come up north here in Canada where abortion is still legal?

What about those women who need therapeutic abortions(still birth, massive uterine bleeding, victims of rape and incest?)Would they be punished as well just because they need the procedure for both physical and mental survival?

Would religious beliefs clash now with government rulings? The premise of the separation of church and state comes into play as well. Cultural beliefs and customs will be in conflict as well.

I pray that further clarification on all sides be made swiftly so that further strife can be prevented.

Josie

Dear Mr. Bruce Willis( aka Mr. John McClane)

Dear Mr. Bruce Willis,

Once I heard about your recent retirement from showbiz due to medical reasons ( aphasia), I could not help but think that you have to deal with this head-on .

I had watched all your Die Hard movies and your main character alter-ego John McClane had to be the lone wolf battling all those evil forces, the David vs. Goliath scenarios, the everyday Joe put into the wrong place, wrong time situations but with spunk, wit and determination, would always come out to save the day.

The only difference this time is that you will be not alone in your dealing with aphasia. You have the love and support of your family and especially your friends and fans , all rooting for you to come out of this a much stronger person. Like your main character, you will do your darn best to make this happen.

Lifting out some of your best John McClane quotes—

Contrary to 1 quote that you said that you gained nothing from being a hero, you had earned our love and respect as you dealt with the bad guys on the big screen as well as offscreen.

If we ever find you on the beach coastline, we can possibly drop by, say hello and have a few laughs.

And finally, as you face this latest medical scenario, we all together with you will voice out your famous trademark battlecry– Yippee-ki-yay!

Sincerely,

Josie

The Oscar Slap Heard Around The World–My Take On It

After 2 years of Hollywood dealing with COVID-19 as well as virtual and pandemic- restricted Oscar presentations, last Sunday(March 27,2022) was the first time that a live audience will be delivered with a Red Carpet for the movie fans to see as well.

The desire to boost TV ratings on the Oscars(aka Academy Awards) got an unexpected boost from an unfortunate moment during the show—the Will Smith slap on Chris Rock. And to think that the Academy for Film and Motion Pictures is regarded as an esteemed institution highly intolerant of any misbehaviors.

No need for me to go into explicit detail as to what happened. The press, Youtube,TikTok,etc.has taken cared of that.

What I want to discuss are the numerous dynamics that came into play to this unfortunate event.

Chris Rock–He had already joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith in the past. Was he right in joking about her hairstyle as a result of her medical condition(alopecia areata)? Was it politically correct to begin with? Jada has always made it public about her condition. Does this mean that all comedians now must be very careful lest they will suffer a copycat response during ther own comedy gigs? It was noble of him to decline pressing charges at this time. I bet that he must have given a lot of thought that he should not have gone there especially since that joke was not even in the script.

Will Smith— Initially, he took it in stride but after seeing his wife cringing from Chris’ joke, he got very emotional and reacted by going upstage and slapped Chris because he wanted to vindicate his wife out of love. For one moment, he must have forgotten that being in an Oscars show, he has to show a certain degree of decorum and being up for a possible Best Actor Award, he has to show himself as being a good role model since a lot of folks look up to him as well. His fellow actor Denzel Washington said it best that the devil will come after us at our highest life points and being cautious about this is imperative.

Taking into account what I witnessed on the TV screen, what happens now? What will the Academy do? They obviously do not want a sequel to this event for next year. I hate to think that some trolls will tune in next year to hopefully witness Part 2. That would be an artificial boost of ratings in my opinion.

It would be nice if there would be a public joining of forces with these 2 gentlemen,making amends and going forward with a much better perspective. Perhaps, both of them together on stage being presenters irregardless of which type of awards show, as a sign of solidarity.

This is indeed a teachable moment for everyone concerned.