#bill / will rocky / ricky

[idolswrestlingadventure]

Royal Rumble (1998)

Here we are, brand new year and what will become a recurring set of events to play through the year. Until we get the one per month era of modern times. More wrestling, in your face! But first, historical context, what happened in 1988? Personally, I was 4 years old, so not a lot for me to recall aside from trains and mushy food.

The 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Alberta, Canada.

The 1988 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul, South Korea.

The Soviet Union begins to collapse with the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian movements.

First McDonalds opens up in Yugoslavia.

The space shuttle Discovery launches, the first after the challenger disaster.

Netherlands wins the Euro’s 88 hosted in Germany.

The first WORM virus is distributed by the internet.

George HW Bush is elected President of America.

Notable Births: Skrillex, Jessie J, Jesse Plemons, Haley Joel Osment, Vanessa Kirby, Lizzo, Ana de Armas, Adele, Awkwafina, Conor McGregor, Tyson Fury, Melissa Benoist, Alicia Vikander, ASAP Rocky, Emma Stone, Zoe Kravitz and current member of Damage Control, Dakota Kai

Notable Movies: Die Hard, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coming To America, Rambo III, Rain Man, A Fish Called Wanda

Notable TV Shows Launched: Roseanne, Red Dwarf, The Wonder Years, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Rab C. Nesbitt, Who’s Line Is It Anyway, Family Fued, Wheel Of Fortune, Stoppit and Tidyup, Home and Away

Well, we’ve got 5 PPVs for 1988 starting with this Royal Rumble, so let’s get going! 

This episode of Magnum P.I. is a bit different than usual...

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat V “Ravishing” Rick Rude - A comment given to me by a friend is that modern PPVs tend to be two contestants who swap between aggressor and victim every 5 minutes, and this match seemed to be some of this at the start. Ricky absolutely had the upper hand for the majority of the match and glad to see the tradition of cheating whilst the referee is knocked out never goes out of style. Good match, Ricky continuing to be one of my favourites from this era -Tier 3-

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...shut the fuck up

Now for some reason, we get a benchlift record attempt by Pino Bravo. Who, for some reason, and I can’t work out if this is a bit or not, constantly keeps shouting at the crowd to be quiet. His weirdly French manager also insists upon this, often going into fits of verbal dementia at what is happening whilst Jesse Ventura insists the record attempt is valid, almost too much. It’s weird how much screen time this is getting, but if it’s about macho steroid injected men doing manly things, then I suppose it fits the bill. Just very, very strange to watch.

Somewhere the creator of the Human Centipede is looking on...

The Jumping Bomb Angels V The Glamour Girls - Jimmy Hart is back, I kinda am tired of seeing him everywhere. His only gimmick is being incredibly annoying and giving the crowd something to cheer for when he’s knocked out. Luckily however this match is actually pretty good. The Bomb Angels showing some amazing agility and bringing a lot of energy that The Glamour Girls seem to miss. The Bomb Angels grab the win in a surprisingly good womens match for the era! -Tier 2-

The look the couple across the bar give you...

Side note: Jesse and Vince McMahon are being weird commentating on this match, they argue all the time and it doesn’t sound like a bit, either that or I’m getting worked somehow. Just sounds like Vince is being petty with Jesse’s usual bullshit. Bring back Gorilla Monsoon…

"One million dollars or I'll host Deal Or No Deal"

Storyline Update: The Million Dollar Man offers…a million dollars for Hogan’s belt. When Hogan refuses to surrender it, he decides to offer it to Andre The Giant to take the belt from Hogan. We don’t see the match on this occasion, but we do see the contract signing. Where a nervous Hogan gets a table thrown at him by a weirdly irate Andre. Seeing as Hogan stays the champion for a billion years, I don’t think anything gets resolved here.

Turns out squeezing the turnbuckle meant something else here...

The Royal Rumble 1988 - So at first I thought, hey Royal Rumble sounds fun. No holds barred ensemble of the greatest wrestlers in WWF at the time, all in the ring with fun knockouts. But sadly it’s just a cluster-fuck of men pretending to struggle with a set of ropes. A few fun moments and appearances from notable faces, but overall a middling event with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan taking the win -Tier 7-

Another side note: Jesse Ventura still being the strangest commentators ever, talking about how Vince is a pussy and would rather be reading Poetry and drinking Wine than watching wrestling…

Putting their heads together literally...

The Islanders V The Young Stallions - Never mind the Stallions, check out the Islanders! There’s some WWF history right there. Father of Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga, Sam Fatu being Rikishi’s brother and Jacob Fatu’s father. The Samoan heritage runs strong in wrestling! The Stallions showing their supreme art of steroid use and I’m pretty sure neither of them can lower their arms to their sides. This was a pretty standard match, nothing exciting sadly, even the crowd seemed somewhat checked out. -Tier 6-

Notable Dialogue:

Vince: "Did you his [a samoan] toes, looks like he could hang upside down on the ropes" 

Jesse: "That's a bit racist Vince"

Verdict: 5 Samoan Forefathers Out Of 10

[dogsstew]

Whats your favorite characters and whats there actors or favorite actors in general (ik this might be dumb bc you post a lot about characters you like)

Not dumb at all! I watch a shit ton of movies so I like a shit ton of people.

So here’s a list!

Michael J. Fox (any character he plays he’s always been my favorite person. Yes even Stuart little)

Kyle MacLachlan

•Dale Cooper - Twin Peaks

(And Michael Ontkean Hi Harry)

•Jeffery Beaumont - Blue Velvet

Jean Reno

•Leon- Leon the Professional (comfort movie somehow)

Jack Nance

•Pete Martell - Twin Peaks

All of Moomin and the critters in the Valley.

Jeffery Combs

•Herbert West -Reanimator

•Dr. Crawford - From Beyond

Spock and Kirk and Bones <3

Virgina Madsen

•Helen Lyle - Candy Man

Sissy Spaeck

•Carrie my Beloved my Baby

Marilyn Burns

•Sally Hardesty -Texas Chainsaw (74)

Pete Brouwer made me gay as a kid

Steve Christy - Friday The 13th as the sexy camp counselor dude

The Adventures of TinTin! Him as a character and also the 3D movie is near and dear to me.

Bill and Ted OF COURSE

Alex Winter

•Ricky Coogan - Freaked

•Marco - The Lost Boys (I need to become him)

Everyone In Rocky Horror they’re all brilliant

Shelly Duvall

•Wendy Torrance -The Shining

•Olive - Popeye (also made me gay)

Used to be Obsessed with Fix it Felix Wreck it Ralph…. For some reason

Good Omens

•Aziraphale- Michael Sheen

•A. J. Crowley- David Tennent

Including Dr. Who…

Weird Science

•Gary- Anthony Michael Hall <3

•Wyatt - Ian Mitchall-Smith <3

•Lisa - Kelly LeBrock

Jodie Foster

Clarice - Silence of the Lambs <3

It’s a lot of Science Fiction characters from the 80’s. Dumb and Stupid and Lame loser characters that act like they’re not is my favoriteeeee. But I could go on and on and on I’m so fr I love movies. But these are the ones off the top of my head. A lot of these actors I’ve seen every single thing they’ve made too so! Not really in any order or particular.

uh sorry for the ramble!

[ulkaralakbarova]

Emma Woodhouse is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people’s affairs. She is perpetually trying to unite men and women who are utterly wrong for each other. Despite her interest in romance, Emma is clueless about her own feelings, and her relationship with gentle Mr. Knightly. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Emma Woodhouse: Gwyneth Paltrow Harriet Smith: Toni Collette Mr. Elton: Alan Cumming Frank Churchill: Ewan McGregor Mr. Knightley: Jeremy Northam Mrs. Weston: Greta Scacchi Mrs. Elton: Juliet Stevenson Jane Fairfax: Polly Walker Miss Bates: Sophie Thompson Mr. Woodhouse: Denys Hawthorne Mr. Weston: James Cosmo Mrs. Bates: Phyllida Law Mrs. Goddard: Kathleen Byron Robert Martin: Edward Woodall John Knightley: Brian Capron Isabella: Karen Westwood Miss Martin: Rebecca Craig Mrs. Cole: Angela Down Mr. Cole: John Franklyn-Robbins Bates’ Maid: Ruth Jones Dancer (uncredited): Lee Boardman Film Crew: Set Decoration: Totty Whately Producer: Patrick Cassavetti Production Design: Michael Howells Director of Photography: Ian Wilson Casting: Mary Selway Novel: Jane Austen Screenplay: Douglas McGrath Casting: Sarah Trevis Art Direction: Joshua Meath-Baker Costume Design: Ruth Myers Editor: Lesley Walker Executive Producer: Bob Weinstein Executive Producer: Harvey Weinstein Producer: Steven Haft Executive Producer: Donna Gigliotti Art Direction: Sam Riley Thanks: Giorgio Armani Script Supervisor: Jean Bourne Makeup Department Head: Tina Earnshaw Assistant Costume Designer: Morgan Elliott Original Music Composer: Rachel Portman Hair Department Head: Simon Thompson Makeup Department Head: Susie Adams Property Master: Danny Euston Unit Publicist: Sara Keene Associate Producer: Donna Grey Sound Mixer: Chris Munro Still Photographer: David Appleby Production Coordinator: Fran Triefus Assistant Costume Designer: Sharon Long Dialogue Editor: Derek Holding Gaffer: Norman Smith Supervising Sound Editor: Colin Miller Location Manager: Bill Darby Assistant Editor: Jeremy Hume Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Paul Carr Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Robert Farr Choreographer: Sue Lefton Grip: Richard Broome Assistant Hairstylist: Kay Georgiou Assistant Makeup Artist: Sian Grigg Second Assistant Director: Alison Begg Third Assistant Director: Russell Channon Third Assistant Director: Caleb Menges First Assistant Director: Davina Nicholson Construction Manager: Andrew Golding Scenic Artist: Jason Line Scenic Artist: Stephen Scott Assistant Sound Editor: Geoff R. Brown Foley Artist: Lionel Selwyn Foley Artist: Jason Swanscott Clapper Loader: James Bloom Electrician: David Bruce Electrician: Mark ‘Rocky’ Evans Electrician: Wayne Leach Focus Puller: Roz Naylor Electrician: Ricky Pattenden Wardrobe Supervisor: Michael O’Connor Negative Cutter: Sylvia Wheeler Production Accountant: Kevin Trehy Movie Reviews: Peter McGinn: This is a fine production of the Jane Austen novel, though it is not among my top two favorite adaptations. Not for any serious problems, but rather due to minor decisions that were made in the script. I expected to see more of Emma’s visit to Miss Bates, for example, after she is shamed into repenting her treatment of the silly woman. Other than that I enjoyed the movie well enough. The acting and the script were consistently good except for those moments I mentioned, and I would probably be willing to watch it again someday. Filipe Manuel Neto: **A futile and silly Emma to be taken seriously, but entertaining and has some good moments.** Jane Austen is one of the great writers in the English language and her work has been fertile ground for adaptations and reinterpretations in theatre, television and cinema. From trash to luxury, there’s no shortage of options, and each one stands out for one reason or another. This film was inspired by one of the author’s novels about a charismatic and dreamy young woman who takes pleasure in gathering acquaintances and friends, and playing matchmaker. The problem is that, deep down, she herself feels lonely and doesn’t really see a man capable of making h...

[wrestlingisfake]

AEW Fake Rankings, 4/30/2024

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so helpful reminder: This is nothing like AEW's official rankings, based on actual stats. I just go by which wrestlers a) are pushed/protected by the promotion, and/or b) get over with the audience. It's an inexact science, but that's only because it's not real.

Men's singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley (IWGP world heavyweight champion)

Swerve Strickland (AEW men's world champion)

Adam Copeland (AEW TNT champion)

Will Ospreay

Eddie Kingston (STRONG men's champion)

Claudio Castagnoli

Orange Cassidy

Mark Briscoe (ROH men's world champion)

Kyle O'Reilly

PAC

Men's singles division - heels

Samoa Joe

Kazuchika Okada (AEW continental champion)

Roderick Strong (AEW international champion)

Konosuke Takeshita

Chris Jericho (FTW champion)

Rush

Kyle Fletcher (ROH men's television champion)

Trent Beretta

Big Bill

Zak Knight*

Unranked: Alex Reynolds, Angelico, Angelo Parker, Anthony Ogogo, Billy Gunn, Bryan Keith, Christopher Daniels, Chuck Taylor, Daniel Garcia, Dustin Rhodes, Isiah Kassidy, Jay Lethal, Katsuyori Shibata, Komander (AAA cruiserweight champion), Lee Johnson, Matt Cardona*, Matt Sydal, Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, Ricky Starks, Rob Van Dam*, Rocky Romero*, The Beast Mortos*, The Butcher

Jobbers: Christiano Argento*, CJ Esparza*, Encore Moore*, JD Drake*, London Lightning*, Martin Stone*, Trevor Blackwell*

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

These (fake!) rankings seem to go along with the old adage that "the championship doesn't make the wrestler, the wrestler makes the championship." I'm confident Swerve Strickland will become a great world champion, but for now he's clearly still standing in the shadow of AEW's top act, Jon Moxley. "MMA math" would tell you that Mark Briscoe should outrank the man he just beat for the ROH title, but Eddie Kingston is clearly a hotter name and a bigger draw. Semantics suggest that the international title is more prestigious than the continental title, but that won't fool anyone into thinking Roderick Strong is a bigger deal than Kazuchika Okada.

The heel side is so weak that, after I heard Powerhouse Hobbs is injured, I had to stick Zak Knight in there to come up with ten. That will probably change as AEW regroups for the storylines heading into Double or Nothing. Strickland in particular needs a solid lineup of heels to beat over the next six months. So maybe it's just as well that Don Callis and Chris Jericho are recruiting...

Men's tag team division - babyfaces

FTR - Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

The Acclaimed - Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

Men's tag team division - heels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW tag team champions)

Matt Taven & Mike Bennett (ROH tag team champions)

Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty

Grizzled Young Vets - James Drake* & Zack Gibson*

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

It's wild to me that the list above is so sparse when AEW just finished a 10-team tournament for the AEW tag title. Some of those teams shifted into ROH or the trios division, others had one man go MIA, and some appear to be split up for good. I assume the plan for Double or Nothing is for the Acclaimed to refocus on two-on-two action and chase the Young Bucks, mostly because I don't see any other challengers on the horizon.

Men's trios division - babyfaces

Dante Martin & Darius Martin & Action Andretti

Men's trios division - heels

Jay White & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn (AEW/ROH trios champions)

Malakai Black & Brody King & Buddy Matthews

Lance Archer & Vincent Marseglia & Bobby Dutch

The trios division really fell off during the whole "Bang Bang Scissor Gang" saga, when the Acclaimed & Billy Gunn and Bullet Club Gold were squashing every other trio until they met in a unification match. Now White's team has more belts than contenders, and the Acclaimed look to be moving on from the division. You'd think this would lead to a push for the only babyface trio left--Andretti & Top Flight--but I've been expecting that for months with nothing to show for it.

Women's singles division - babyfaces

Willow Nightingale (AEW TBS champion)

Thunder Rosa

Mina Shirakawa*

Leyla Hirsch

AZM*

Yuka Sakazaki

Trish Adora

Red Velvet

Lady Frost*

Women's singles division - heels

Toni Storm (AEW women's world champion)

Athena (ROH women's world champion)

Serena Deeb

Deonna Purrazzo

Mariah May

Skye Blue

Anna Jay

Emi Sakura

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage

I'm still not satisfied with the amount of coverage AEW television gives to the women, but I have to give them credit for keeping so many of them on TV at once. In the past month we've seen: 1) Willow, Kris Statlander, Julia Hart, Mercedes Mone, and Skye Blue feuding over the TBS title; 2) the Storm/May/Shirakawa love triangle; 3) the rising tensions between Rosa and Purrazzo; 4) Deeb finally going after the world title. Not to mention 5) the endless Ruby Soho/Saraya feud, which is apparently called on account of pregnancy but still counts! If you also include everything the women are doing in ROH, things are pretty lively, especially when you consider how much smaller the women's locker room is than the men's.

No televised AEW matches since March 30: Aaron Solo, Abadon, AR Fox, Ari Daivari, Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage, Diamante, Evil Uno, Griff Garrison, Hikaru Shida, Johnny TV, John Silver, Josh Woods, Kiera Hogan, Leila Grey, Mercedes Martinez, Nick Comoroto, Nyla Rose, Serpentico, Shawn Dean, Taya Valkyrie, Toa Liona, Tony Nese

Most of these wrestlers seem to be earmarked for Ring of Honor for the long term, forming the backbone of the brand. The ROH weekly shows are fine, and I can more or less squint and pretend it's a continuation of the old ROH. But realistically, it's just AEW Dark with a fresh coat of paint and a $9.99/month subscription fee.

No televised AEW or ROH matches since March 30: Brandon Cutler, Christian Cage, Colt Cabana, Danhausen, Jake Hager, Jeff Jarrett, Killswitch, Kip Sabian, Kris Statlander, Marq Quen, Nick Wayne, Preston Vance, Riho, Saraya, Satnam Singh

The big story here is the Patriarchy (Christian, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne). Cage has been off TV since Adam Copeland, uh, hit him in the nuts with a board covered in nails. Under the circumstances, it makes perfect sense that he'd stay home a good long time to sell the effects of that! Since the rest of the group is defined by their blind obedience to him, it figures that they're benched for as long as he is.

I'm more surprised that Jeff Jarrett's crew has laid low for a long time, but I'm not complaining. (Hope I haven't jinxed it!)

Danhausen's presence on AEW/ROH programming has been almost nonexistant for months, and I wish I knew why. I'm glad he's got the freedom to work indy shows while he's not being used, but that doesn't address why he's not being used in the first place. I have to figure one side or the other isn't happy and is just waiting for his contract to expire.

No televised AEW or ROH matches in 2024: Dralistico, Ethan Page, Harley Cameron, Jack Perry, Luther, Madison Rayne, Marina Shafir, Mark Sterling, Mercedes Mone, Michael Nakazawa, Mother Wayne, Paige Vanzant, Paul Wight, Penelope Ford, Peter Avalon, Prince Nana, Sonjay Dutt, Stokely Hathaway

I'm genuinely not even sure that Cameron, Luther, Rayne, Sterling, Nakazawa, Wight, Nana, Dutt, or Hathaway are supposed to be categorized as full-time active wrestlers. I'm very sure Mother Wayne isn't a wrestler at all, and Vanzant hasn't been around in years. Whoever maintains AEW's website should come up with a better way to organize this information.

Inactive

Adam Cole (left leg - ankle fracture)

Adam Page (personal leave)

Angel Ortiz (right shoulder - pectoralis tear)

Bandido (left arm - wrist fracture)

Britt Baker (unspecified injury)

Bryan Danielson (storyline - head/neck trauma)

Darby Allin (right foot/nose - fractures)

HOOK (storyline - hit in face with baseball bat)

Jamie Hayter (right shoulder - unspecified injury)

Julia Hart (unspecified injury)

Jeff Hardy (nose - fracture)

Juice Robinson (back - unspecified injury)

Keith Lee (unspecified injury)

Kenny Omega (diverticulitis)

Kota Ibushi (right ankle - multiple ligament tears)

Mark Davis (left arm - wrist fracture)

Miro (unspecified injury)

MJF* (left shoulder - labrum tear)

Powerhouse Hobbs (right knee - unspecified injury)

Ruby Soho (pregnancy)

Sammy Guevara (suspension)

Scorpio Sky (unspecified injury)

Tay Melo (maternity leave)

The Blade (back - herniated lumbar discs)

Wheeler Yuta (ROH pure champion; unspecified injury)

* - Not listed on AEW's roster webpage, but dude, c'mon

I think this is the longest list of inactive wrestlers I've ever compiled for one roster. Of course, Adam Cole has all but said he's medically cleared, and Danielson and Hook are working angles. Even so, there's a lot of injured wrestlers on that list.

This serves the talking point that AEW has an injury problem. But since we don't know the nature of many of these injuries, it's hard to say all of them are due to any particular behavior or recklessness in the ring that AEW can curtail. Some of these wrestlers are simply dealing with back problems that are slow to heal after years of trying to gut through it. Others are no doubt in situations where they'd like to avoid surgery, only to find out that it's unavoidable, so they've only prolonged their downtime.

To me this is why AEW's massive roster is a good thing. Although it works against talent that never seems to get room in the spotlight, it also means there are plenty of wrestlers available to fill spots when big names go down. I'm not saying I don't miss Britt Baker or Miro--I do--but I also never feel like their divisions are dead without them around to prop them up.

[blowflyfag]

Pro Wrestling Illustrated: March 2024

IN DEFENSE OF TAG TEAMS

BY DAVID LaGRECA

WHEN I STARTED to fall in love with pro wrestling, tag teams were held in high regard. I grew up in the era of the Road Warriors, the Midnight Express, and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Those guys traveled together, had chemistry in the ring, and knew each other very, very well. TO me, those kinds of teams are automatically going to have an advantage over the other teams that are thrown together–even if they’re main-event talent.

Then, you have October 7, 2023. You have Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso, who have never tagged together, other than an eight-man match on Smackdown. Each man doesn’t know what the other is going to do in the ring, unlike two tag partners who are traveling together on a daily and nightly basis. And yet, they were able to beat Damian Priest & Finn Balor, who have been working together all year. Ricky Starks & Big Bill were also a brand-new team, and they were able to defeat one of the most seasoned duos in the game in FTR. On a psychological level–and on a work level–I feel that should never, ever be the case. 

Yes, two main-eventers should be able to beat tag guys in one-on-one singles matches. But, when it comes down to it, they should never be able to beat an established tag team. Ever.

At WWE Fastlane, you have Uso & Rhodes beating The Judgement Day; you have LA Knight& John Cena, teaming together for the first time, beating The Bloodline, one of the most dominant factions and families in wrestling. That same day on AEW Collision, Ricky Starks & Big Bill beat probably the best team in the business–especially now that The Usos have broken up.

The one thing I will say about FTR is they were injured. They were able to talk about their injuries and how they were going into the match less than 100%. But even then, a novice team like Starks & Bill should not beat FTR. Based on their chemistry and experience alone, Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood should overcome their injuries and win. Between that and the events of Fastlane, it was a bad weekend for tag team wrestling. 

AEW, despite having a strong tag division, has on occasion showcased makeshift teams over the more experienced ones. Over the last 10 to 12 years, WWE has probably been more guilty than any promotion of not highlighting its tag teams, even when it had groups as stellar as the New Day and The Usos. WWE had great teams that it never did enough with … until the last year or so.

The last 12 or 13 months saw WWE do some wonderful things, with The Usos main-eventing night one of WrestleMania 39 against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. Then, the jJudgment Day pursued (and eventually won) the WWE Unified tag team championship. Reverting the championship to two singles guys felt like a step backward. 

In the case of Owens & Zayn, we again have two wrestlers who were chasing singles gold, who then came together to become tag team champions. These guys were hardly new to one another, though. They’re best friends. While they’ve had a rocky relationship, we’ve seen on TV that they know each other very well. Before WWE, they won tag titles in Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. And they lost to Cody and Jey on Monday Night Raw.

[David LaGreca is the host of Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM, a lifelong wrestling enthusiast, and a longtime reader of PWI.]

C’mon! If Cody is wrestling Sami Zayn one-on-one, I expect Cody to win. If Jey is wrestling Kevin Owens … hey, I don’t know if i can pick a winner. It’s going to be close. If Jey Uso can eke out a win over Kevin Owens, I understand. Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes together? If they’ve been teaming for six months or a year, I’ll be able to buy it. But, being thrown together like that? It’s hard for me to swallow, even with a team like Owens & Zayn.

To me, it’s about logic. We’ve seen that in singles competition, members of an established tag team will often lose. That’s not their forte. They’re part of a tag team. That’s what they specialize in.

I’m a big Cody Rhodes fan. What we want to see is the finish of his story. Michael Cole even alluded to that in an in-ring interview with Cody on Monday Night Raw. “Is this the end of the story? Are you still trying to finish the story?” Because it’s all about him getting back into the ring with Roman Reigns.

Sure enough, the title reign didn’t last long. On the October 16 edition of Raw, Rhodes & Uso lost the belts back to the Judgement Day. This begs the question: What;s next? Is Jey going to turn on Cody? Is this part of the Bloodline story? It’s almost like it's a chapter in that story instead of a real tag team championship reign.

On the Ring of Honor side, at least we’ve seen Adam Cole & MJF working as a team. But do they need to be ROH tag champions? Do they really need the belts to tell the story of them being a true team? No, probably not. And now, it’s even worse. Because Cole is hurt and you're seeing MJF in handicap matches, beating established tag teams on his own.

Over in AEW, what are Ricky Starks & Big Bill going to do as tag team champions? Maybe they do great things and this column is moot … I just don’t know if that’s going to happen.

I grew up on wrestling in the late-’70s, early-’80s. Where–and I apologize–it was real. It was real. And, in that same spirit, I look at wrestling as more of a form of entertainment than an actual sport. 

The storytelling is more important than championship titles, especially in the WWE. And we’re seeing one of the best stories ever in the Bloodline saga. Maybe all that trumps the point I’m trying to make. We will find out soon enough.

[wweallresultspage]

Results AEW Rampage (2/2/2024).

* Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) (w/ Action Andretti) defeat Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen).

- During an interview with Renee Paquette, Sammy Guevara challenged Powerhouse Hobbs to a match.

- Jay Lethal hosted a workout routine with Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt & Karen Jarrett. Everyone refused to work out before Jeff Jarrett said that the problem was that Lethal was too nice and he needed to be more ruthless.

* AEW World Tag Team Titles - Eliminator Match: Big Bill & Ricky Starks (c) defeat Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) (w/ Evil Uno).

- Powerhouse Hobbs & Don Callis were interviewed by Renee Paquette, where Callis said that he was sick and tired of hearing of Guevara's family and that Hobbs was hunting Guevara. Hobbs said that he also has a family that depends on their daddy and told him he better hope he did not see him first.

* Willow Nightingale (w/ Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway) defeats Queen Aminata.

- CHAOS (Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor, Rocky Romero & Orange Cassidy) were interviewed backstage before they were interrupted by The Undisputed Kingdom. CHAOS challenged the Kingdom to a match for next week, which they accepted.

- Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway were interviewed backstage, but they were interrupted by The Outcasts (Harley Cameron, Ruby Soho & Saraya). They argued until Cameron challenged Statlander & Nightingale to a match for next week, which bamboozled Saraya & Soho.

* Mistico, Volador Jr, Mascara Dorada & Hechicero defeat Matt Sydal, Christopher Daniels & 2point0 (Matt Menard & Angelo Parker).

[snowlessknitter]

The Masked Singer: S9 E7 (‘80s Night) Commentary

I’m watching and posting on a bit of a delay tonight because I needed to eat something before watching. (TL;DR version: The last day or so has been absolute hell on me mentally because my dog wasn’t doing too good. However, her condition has been improving, and it was likely due to a possible ear infection affecting her balance. She’s not completely in the clear yet, but her eyes have finally stabilized and she’s starting to get her sparkle back in her eyes. I was incredibly stressed out for much of yesterday and have barely eaten, so this pre-viewing meal was definitely needed.)

The final group of the season begins competing tonight, and the judges have one more save in play before the Quarterfinals begin. Whoever they save will compete against Medusa 🐍 and Gargoyle 🪨 🦇 for a spot in the Quarterfinals.

Doll 👧: Looks about Nick’s height when you don’t take the mask into account. So, the disguised speaking voice kind of sounds male, and they referenced Rocky. They say they feel “right at home” at ‘80s Night, which makes me think they first rose to fame or had their biggest fame then. We see a dollhouse filled with toy animals: a chicken, a goat or sheep, and a cow. Called themselves a “weirdo”. Was part of a group or crew with “other misfit weirdos”. One of Doll’s mates is holding a play bill reading Guys as Doll. We see a can of hairspray labeled “Hairspray”, which could be a reference to either the Hairspray movie or the musical adapted from it. (Definitely not Ricki Lake, though, she was a contestant on Season 1.) I’m going to guess that this is either Harvey Fierstein or Bruce Vilanch, who both played Edna Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray. The bonus clue reads “Ghostwriter”. Samuel L. Jackson was in the pilot for the PBS series Ghostwriter, but I don’t think it’s him. I’m probably way off on this one. But we know it’s definitely not Donnie Wahlberg (not only because he was Cluedle-Doo 🐓 in a past season, but also because his wife Jenny McCarthy pointed out he was in the audience 😂).

Scorpio ♏️: Seems to be female. We see a sign for Claw Street (a take on the ‘80s film Wall Street), with businesspeople and a cubicle with sports balls in it: football 🏈, soccer ⚽️, basketball 🏀, tennis 🎾. A crumpled up dollar bill. May have pursued a career in entertainment but ended up becoming famous for being herself, so probably a reality TV star. A picture of a house with a red door, and a mannequin with a red jumpsuit. I’m not getting much from her singing voice. The bonus clue: a dance called “The Sprinkler”. She seems to be on a Real Housewives-type show. My best guesses are either Lisa Rinna (who was on a Real Housewives show) or Denise Richards (who used to be married to Charlie Sheen, who was in, I think, one or both of the Wall Street movies). Leaning more towards Lisa Rinna, though.

Moose 🦌: Singing his own theme song. I saw him wearing a patch that says “I ❤️ 🌲”. Might have a famous wife. And there were also hot dogs with green ketchup on them. Probably on the older side, he isn’t moving a bunch and sitting on the set piece. My guess is that he’s probably a comedian or sitcom star. The bonus clue is: an acceptance speech, which he apparently hasn’t made a lot of. So perhaps he’s been nominated for an Emmy, but never won. There may have been references to Cheers, and hot dogs instead of burgers? The voice also sounds like it could be John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff Clavin on Cheers. I’m sticking with him.

[tfc2211]

70 tracks curated by Tarantino and used within his work

01-Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) 02-Harry Nilsson - Coconut 03-Issac Hayes - Run Fay Run 04-Luis Bacalov, Rocky Roberts - Django 05-Luis Bacalov, Edda dell'Orso - Lo Chiamavano King (His Name Is King) 06-Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man 07-Luis Bacalov - Summertime Killer - Ricatto Alla Malla 08-Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russell, Samuel L Jackson - "Major Warren Meet Daisy Domergue" 09-Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell 10-Bernard Herrman - Twisted Nerve 11-Randy Crawford - Street Life 12-The Tornadoes - Bustin' Surfboards 13-Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 14-T. Rex - Jeepster 15-Al Hirt - Green Hornet 16-Charlie Feather - Can't Hardly Stand It 17-Chris Isaak - Two Hearts 18-The Statler Brothers - Flowers On The wall 19-David Hess - Now You're All Alone 20-The Delfonics - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) 21-The Mavericks - Foolish Heart 22-Peggy Simms - Spooky 23-George Baker Selection - Little Green bag 24-Joe Tex - I Gotcha 25-Soundgarden - Outshined 26-Jerome Patrick Hoban - Jack Rabbit Slims Twist Contest 27-Johnny Cash - Tennessee Stud 28-Ennio Morricone - Overture (From The Hateful Eight) 29-Johnny Cash - Satisfied Mind 30-Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Hold Tight 31-The Lively Ones - Surf Rider 32-Buddy Guy - Mary Had A little Lamb 33-Tomoyasu Hotei – Battle Without Honor Or Humanity 34-ZZ Top - She's Just Killing Me 35-Dick Dale & His Del-Tones - Misirlou 36-Al Green - Let's Stay Together 37-The Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 38-Joe Tex - The Love You Save (May Be Your Own) 39-Meiko Kaji - The Flower Of Carnage 40-Kim Circle – I Put A Spell On You 41-Malcolm McLaren - About Her 42-Roy Orbison, Alex Orbison, Chuck Turner  - There Won't Be Many Coming Home 43-Elisa - Ancora Qui 44-Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town 45-Ennio Morricone - The Surrender (La Resa) 46-Shivaree - Goodnight Moon 47-Urge Overkill – Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon 48-Ann O'Day - Fever 49-David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire) 50-Smith - Baby It's You 51-The Robins - Since I First Met You 52-Jim Croce - I Got A Name 53-The Marketts - Out Of Limits 54-The White Stripes - Apple Blossom 55-Bill Whiters - Who Is He (And What Is He To You) 56-The Blasters - Dark Night 57-James Russo - Winged 58-Charlie Feathers - That Certain Female 59-The 5.6.7.8's - Woo Hoo 60-James Brown, 2Pac - Unchained (The Payback/Untouchable) 61-Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You 62-Lole Y Manuel - Tu Mira (Edit) 63-Bloodstone - Natural High 64-Brother Dege - Too Old To Die Young 65-Nymphomania - I Want Your Body 66-Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street 67-Howard Blake - Veins Mallika Sous Le Dome Edais From Lakem 68-Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie 69-Robert Palmer - (Love Is) The Tender Trap 70-Pacific Gas & Electric - Staggolee

[distraughtdenbrough]

Ricky: “Yeah, we’re best friends, but I’d fuck you if you asked.”

Will: “What?”

Ricky: “What?”

Rocky: [Without looking up from her book] “He said he’d fuck you if you asked.”

[beyondd-dazedd]

bren’s thoughts from this past episode because i’ve seen it so many times now and i’ve got a lot of thoughts so here’s season 2 episode 7 of hsmtmts (a rant):

portwell morning announcements?? ICONIC whether you’re vibing with a romantic or platonic endgame the fondness and their chemistry is amazing. (sofia wylie and matt cornett better be sending their hospital bill to disney because they are literally carrying season 2 on their backs and i said what i said.)

the rini drama?? feels bad. like the way they built up the end of season 1 with them to have it come crashing down feels like drama just for the sake of drama and honestly it’s a little boring to me which is unfortunate because i really did like them season 1.

ricky my sweet baby ricky. you need therapy. but also he was right about the rose song and i stand by that. it doesn’t fit the show and i think he has a right to try to explain his feelings without nini shutting him down. i am all for nini focusing on her own music and thriving through that but don’t shut him down sis that ain’t it

the costume reveal scene was so funny from the DEH thing to carlos popping off on kourt to seb mediating to EJ and kourt’s convo about the costume i thought it was all really funny. also carlos totally had the right to snap at kourt because wtf kourt. HOWEVER i loved seeing her all giggly and excited. it’s a side of her character we haven’t really seen yet and i think dara completely embodied that high school first real relationship giddiness. also loved miss jenn saying don’t dance with the enemy and all of them IMMEDIATELY ignoring her and going to north high followed by her also ignoring her own advice and going as well.

all of them joining together to sneaky steal the mask back?? iconic. peak friendship vibes. carlos being the leader of the group in a sense this season is something i’m LIVING for. also Gina 1.0 to 2.0 is a spiritual journey and i’m so proud of her. Ash dressing up for the mission?? that’s so her (she’s undercover let her live wildcats). the disappointment in carlos’s face when they all finished the wildcat cheer?? that got me. frankie does so well with carlos’s facial acting and i love it.

also gina baby you got all these boys vying for your attention why are you wasting your time on ricky?? ricky baby i love you but you’re being an asshat about that whole thing. the way ricky hasn’t really taken into consideration gina’s feelings is not it. he really is just kind of trapped in his own world and refuses to see anything from someone else’s perspective. i saw someone talk about how ricky is the beast in this season. like yes he’s playing the beast but he’s also metaphorically taken on that role. he’s lashing out at people who don’t deserve it, he feels misunderstood, he’s struggling, etc.

ANYWAYS that’s my thoughts of rina right now so back to the episode. EJ coming in to help get gina out of the situation with the guy was fake dating excellence truly. there’s no way he heard what was being said since you can’t see him in the background at all so either he’s picked up on gina’s reactions so well that he could tell she was uncomfortable or he had a lil jealous moment. either way i’m here for it. and again whether you like them platonically together or romantically together that portwell scene was adorable as hell. the teasing ?? the fondness?? both sofia and matt’s acting is incredible. also a GREAT parallel to the homecoming episode to show just how far their relationship has come.

the rini drama plus kourt being giddy again. portwell standing next to each other?? antoine’s use of the word fugly really shows how unhinged this show is. lily proposing a dance off and everyone being like ??? no that’s fucking weird was hilarious. gina standing up for her sister ashlynn like that was gold.

man you may hate her (i do too) but lily is damn good at stirring the pot. i almost admire her complete understanding of the drama going on in everyone’s lives. she knows exactly what she’s doing when she says particular things.

the scene with antoine and ashlynn was so hilarious. joshua bassett seriously does not get a break from this damn show comparing him to people that are way more famous than him lol. also red hitting himself in the face was adorable and no i won’t take criticisms on that. also antoine is BOLD bold.

EJ cheering while everyone is upset that it was the mob song?? big golden retriever energy. i love him.

i don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but i actually really liked this version of the mob song. they really leaned into the whole stupidity of the dance off idea and i think it actually works out well. plus there’s a ton of talented people on that track which makes it so much better. (also thought east high should have won on vocals alone. no their dancing wasn’t better but they had that really nice blend on their vocals and they all seemed a lot less frantic than north did.) also if they had let sofia just be sofia and dance. east high wouldve won on that alone.

i liked the song with miss jenn and zack. the choreo was beautiful but god i hate zacky roy. and that’s all i’ll say on that. (miss jenn i know that’s derek hough but you got two other very nice gentlemen who want you. don’t go for the low hanging fruit sis)

what was the point of lily telling them they would be disqualified if they used the rose song?? the only thing i can think of is she wants it to be a fair fight. which is noble i guess?? i don’t have time to psychoanalyze lily and no one wants that.

EJ’s face when they all turned to him for the sports metaphor had me sCREAMING and all of them being disappointed and talking over one another was very funny.

nini joining up with the group at the last minute seems to be her thing lately huh? i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again ricky was right about the song.

the couples walking out together. ft. nini and ricky fighting (again). PORTWELL EXCELLENCE (and huge dorks. i love them). red and ashlynn getting a bit rocky which at first i was like why is red jealous but then i remembered its high school. seb, carlos and kourt is an iconic trio. seb and carlos running off to avoid the drama is the gay agenda but also being in on the drama is the gay agenda. you feel??

HOWIE?!! why am i gasping i knew that? the fact that some of y’all really thought they would cast roman banks on this show and let howie go free without any drama?? nah man he had to be the beast for north fOR THE DRAMA. my baby kourt looked so hurt im so sorry beautiful. howie looking so guilty and upset?? heart breaking.

all in all i really loved this episode. i thought it was well done and set up a lot of plot lines. i don’t love how much some of the stuff feels like drama for the sake of drama but we’ll see. i’m sorta over rini this season as of this point. rina is in shambles because wtf ricky. portwell is alive and thriving as they should. seblos is beautiful and wonderful as always (i think the sassy verging on mean and the literal ball of sunshine is always a great pairing) redlynn is a little rocky but they’re both so empathetic and sweet that i think it’ll work out alright. kourt and howie (kowie?? hourtney??) is not doing too hot but i LOVE them together so they better gets their shit together.

[misfitwashere]

51 Facts about Arlo Guthrie and Alice’s Restaurant

By Doug Most, Boston Globe Staff

The song is 18 minutes 34 seconds long, give or take a minute depending on his pace.

The length of the song is the exact same length as the gap in the Nixon Watergate tapes, and Guthrie has often quipped that the song may explain that silence in the infamous tapes.

The song was too long to be released on one side of a 45 rpm single.

Guthrie had just started classes at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., in September 1965 when the incident happened over Thanksgiving break.

He planned on studying forestry, but never finished his first year.

He was born in Coney Island, N.Y., in 1947.

He is one of four children born to Marjorie (Greenblatt) Mazia and folk legend Woody Guthrie.

He was 13 when he gave his first public performance.

In Boston, he was a regular performer at Club 47 in Harvard Square along with Joan Baez.

Today Club 47 is Club Passim.

In 1991, Guthrie purchased the Stockbridge Trinity Church where Alice and Ray Brock lived and where many of the events that inspired “Alice’s Restaurant” took place.

Guthrie and his friend Ricky Robbins dumped the trash on that fateful day in Stockbridge because the Great Barrington dump was closed for the holiday.

They were fined. And ordered to pick up their trash. The exact amount of the fine has varied in stories over the years from $20 to $25 to $50.

The church is now The Guthrie Center, a nonprofit devoted to helping people with HIV and other afflictions, including Huntington’s disease, the illness that most contributed to Woody Guthrie’s death.

One of Arlo Guthrie’s first lessons on the harmonica came from Bob Dylan, who visited his house looking for Woody.

In the 1969 movie, “Alice’s Restaurant,” the cop is played by the real Officer Obie, William Obanhein, from the story.

The blind judge in the movie “Alice’s Restaurant” is played by the real-life blind judge in Guthrie’s case, James Hannon.

One of his inspirations for believing that such a long story could succeed as a song was Bill Cosby, whom he had seen tell long rambling tales on stage that kept audiences riveted.

He has to relearn the song anytime he’s going to perform it. “It’s not like riding a bike,” he told Rolling Stone magazine.

Guthrie’s biggest hit was “City of New Orleans.” “Alice’s Restaurant” never cracked the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at 17.

Theresa’s Stockbridge Café is now in the space where Alice and Ray ran their restaurant.

Alice and Ray Brock are divorced.

Alice Brock owns an art studio in Provincetown, where she paints.

Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, once wrote Alice Brock, she has said, asking if her restaurant would consider selling the choker necklaces he was making in prison. She declined.

A version called “Alice’s Rock & Roll Restaurant” he released in 1969 lasts 4 minutes long and reached 97 on the Billboard singles chart.

He does not listen to “Alice’s Restaurant” when it’s on the radio during Thanksgiving. And neither does his family.

All of his children play instruments and sing, and some of his grandkids, too.

Guthrie first performed live on a New York radio station in 1967.

He rides a 2001 Indian motorcycle.

The original lyrics contain a slur against homosexuals that today might bring a fine from the FCC to any radio station that plays a song containing it. But the song is played uncut and no fines are incurred.

“Music will be your best friend.” This was a line his father told him when he was very young.

One of Guthrie’s daughters, Sarah Lee Guthrie, is married to Johnny Irion, whose great uncle is John Steinbeck.

His son, Abe, will play the keyboards on the upcoming tour with him.

More than 75,000 photographs from Guthrie’s life have been collected for the tour and many of them will be projected on a screen throughout his concerts.

When Guthrie was 18, he did his first concert with Pete Seeger at Carnegie Hall, a tradition they continued almost every year until Seeger died in 2014.

One of Guthrie’s sisters, Cathy, died in a home fire when she was 4.

The red VW microbus Guthrie talks about in “Alice’s Restaurant” has officially been “relegated to history,” according to a post on his Facebook page this summer.

Woody Guthrie died in October 1967, only one month before his son released the song that would make him famous.

His song “Massachusetts” was adopted by the state Legislature in 1981 as the state’s official folk song.

The inscription on the guitar of Woody Guthrie, a notorious peace activist, read: “This Machine Kills Fascists.”

Arlo Guthrie’s music lineage goes beyond his father Woody. His grandfather Charlie was a court clerk in Oklahoma, a painter and a singer.

Around 2005, Guthrie became a registered Republican voter. He told The New York Times, “to have a successful democracy you have to have at least two parties, and one of them was failing miserably. We had enough good Democrats. We needed a few more good Republicans. We needed a loyal opposition.”

In that same Times interview, he said: “I thought I would be governor of Massachusetts. I stood on a pile of my old albums and said, I’m the only one with a record to stand on.”He says it took him about a year to write “Alice’s Restaurant” because he had to live through the experiences “one at a time and add them to the little song.”

His mother was a dance teacher at Indian Hill camp in Stockbridge.

His father was Protestant, his mother was Jewish, and he was raised Orthodox. In 1977 he converted to Catholicism.

His grandmother was a Yiddish poet named Aliza Greenblatt.

He was taught Hebrew for his bar mitzvah by Meir Kahane, the controversial American-Israeli rabbi who later founded the Jewish Defense League and was assassinated in New York City in 1990.

His full name has an unusual story. His mother read to him from a series of children’s books called “Arlo Books” about a Swiss boy named Arlo. But because she and Woody were concerned their son would hate the strange name growing up, they tacked on the middle name Davy, in case he preferred to use that. Davy was a nod to Davy Crockett.

When he was in sixth grade, he walked into school and heard kids singing his father’s hit, “This Land Is Your Land,” and he realized he didn’t know the words. He quickly learned them.

When he was asked about the divisive 2016 election year, he responded: “There’s certainly a wide variety of opinions out there, but I think the overwhelming feeling is that as a nation we have moved from a government of, for and by the people to one that is of, for and by outside interests. People react differently to that common feeling in all the ways we see reflected in the opinions expressed. My own feeling is, we will get our country back, but it’s going to take a little longer than one election cycle.”

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, January 11

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Why JFK destroyed the Rat Pack 

Page 2: The Sky Was Their Limit -- beloved celebs who lost their lives in air crashes -- Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Rocky Marciano, Kobe Bryant, John Denver, Carole Lombard 

Page 3: Ricky Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Glenn Miller, Will Rogers, Audie Murphy, Buddy Holly, Lt. Thomas E. Selfride 

Page 4: Cher and her fashion in her movies 

Page 6: Albert Bouria the CEO of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer says he hasn’t taken his company’s shot yet because he doesn’t want people to think he can jump the line 

Page 7: The kids of The Waltons are all grown up and share some fond memories -- Michael Learned (Olivia), Richard Thomas (John-Boy), Kami Cotler (Elizabeth), David W. Harper (Jim-Bob), Mary Elizabeth McDonough (Erin), Judy Norton (Mary Ellen), Eric Scott (Ben) 

Page 8: Avoid these common laundry mistakes 

Page 9: Michael J. Fox: How I survived the darkest days -- Parkinson’s has not destroyed his hope and faith 

Page 10: For the second year in a row Florida businessman Michael Esmond has paid the utility bills of families at risk of having them turned off 

Page 11: Your Health -- watch for unhealthy buildup of anxiety 

* Pantry/Fridge/Countertop -- where to store your food 

Page 12: What do you get for a monarch like Queen Elizabeth who has everything including the crown jewels? Why, gag gifts, of course 

Page 14: Dear Tony -- past lives you’ve both led have led to the Blame Game, Tony predicts many women worldwide will wear white this winter and he predicts there will be a lot more road rage 

Page 15: For more than 15 years Carrie Fisher and her mom Debbie Reynolds lived next door to each other in Beverly Hills -- now Carrie’s only child Billie Lourd is combining the two homes into an estate where she’ll live with fiance Austen Rydell and their newborn son Kingston 

Page 16: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John grew close while co-starring in the hit 1978 musical Grease and that bond has supported them through thick and thin for four decades 

Page 18: An Ohio man who lost his high school ring while washing his car in 1967 was reunited with it thanks to a good-hearted guy with a metal detector 

Page 19: A whole community in upstate New York had been looking for a lost dog for ten days when a man with a drone stepped in and saved the day 

Page 20: Cover Story -- John F. Kennedy and Frank Sinatra, along with the legendary Rat Pack, were the best of friends until JFK was elected president and then he and his powerful clan crushed them -- in early 1960 then-Sen. Kennedy was running for president and associating with the Rat Pack which consisted of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. made him look cool and it also helped fund his campaign -- JFK won the presidency and a thrilled Sinatra built an elaborate communications system and a helipad at his Palm Springs home in expectation of a visit but after the election Sinatra found himself outside the inner circle because Jackie Kennedy despised the singer and didn’t want him anywhere near the White House and Sinatra flaunted his friendships with crime bosses and JFK’s brother Robert Kennedy was the attorney general

Page 22: It’s been a little over a year since Felicity Huffman was released from prison after serving time for her role in the college admissions scandal but she’s starting to get her life and career back on track -- initially Felicity was nervous about working again given the controversy and everything that went down but she shouldn’t have worried so much -- she has landed a part in an upcoming pilot in which she’ll play a widowed owner of a Triple-A baseball team -- Hollywood has a short memory and people have been very forgiving towards her 

Page 24: A church in Iowa bought and forgave a staggering $5 million in medical debt for people across the state 

Page 25: Myths about digestion revealed 

Page 26: 100 ways to 100 years -- you can live longer by following these simple suggestions 

Page 32: Star Dreams -- what celebs wanted to be when they grew up -- Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, James Earl Jones, Matthew McConaughey, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Tony Danza, Goldie Hawn 

Page 35: Winter Beauty Tips -- stay soft and smooth during the cold months 

Page 40: Happy birthday to legendary singer Dionne Warwick who turned 80 years old on December 12 and couldn’t be happier 

Page 42: Tony’s Mystic World -- the power of people 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Jerry O’Connell with his dog outside his home in L.A. (picture), Gordon Ramsay (picture), when model Lauren Hutton was first starting out she was told to fix her teeth so instead she used a type of wax called mortician’s wax and stuck it between her two front teeth, Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin engaged, two days after the birth of his son Luca Patrick singer Robin Thicke paid tribute to his late dad Alan Thicke, production on Ted Danson’s latest Tinseltown project Mr. Mayor has been disrupted by COVID-19

Page 45: Chrissy Metz singing on the Hallmark Channel (picture), Christopher Walken says he’s never owned a computer or a mobile phone, country icons sing praises of Charley Pride 

Page 46: A man in Maine met his biological dad for the first time at 43 years old and decided to recreate the scene from Elf 

Page 47: Collect Them All -- weird wonderful passions of the stars -- Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Janet Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Hanks, Claudia Schiffer, Demi Moore

[http-tigerteef]

I heard bill hader tried to bulk up for Barry but isn’t able to really build muscle,, so have this reddie headcanon drabble :>>>

• Richie -while having risen to fame as a witty, smart mouthed, comedian- is still overcompensating. Years of repressed feelings made him much more self aware and thus much more self critical.

• Richie is set to go on tour in a few months and his manager mentions flippantly that he might wanna consider getting a physical trainer so he can look his best for the tour,,

• He feels like he //has// to now that apparently other people can see that he’s as “unfit” as he sees himself, so he calls a highly recommended personal trainer by the name of “Edward Kaspbrak”. He meets Edward the next week and he’s nervous, he’d seen pictures of him online (most of them sweaty and shirtless) and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t the most attractive man he’d ever seen

• “right, so you must be Ricky Tozier?” “Yeah, Eduardo right?” Surprisingly they hit it off, despite what seemed like it might be a rocky start,, they fell into a casual banter, it felt natural “so you want to lose some weight?” “Yeah pretty much” “you aren’t exactly overweight though...” “well I’m not exactly //you// now am I?” They spend the rest of the day working on a regimen and a meal plan that works for Richie the best.

• Over the course of two weeks they refined the goal to bulking up a bit and instead working towards more muscle. It was going alright this far but the progress started to slow down and Richie started to get frustrated, “Listen Rich, it’s not always gonna be easy. The results you’re looking for don’t just appear out of nowhere” “... ok boomer” “Richie we’re the same age I swear to god-“

• Bill and Stan ask Richie out to lunch one weekend and he’s actually really excited, he hadn’t hung out with his best friends in a while what with their busy lifestyles and all. They laugh and catch up and Richie is kinda jealous of their relationship, bill and Stan have always been so smitten with each other and Richie’d always hoped for a love like theirs -not that he’d ever disclose such information. “So, I heard you’re gonna go on this big ass tour soon” “oh yeah, I had to go out and get a personal trainer to get fit and shit” “no way! Richie “trashmouth” Tozier lifting weights and shit? When do you start that?” “What do you mean?! I’ve been doing it for three months asshole!” “Oh shit sorry rich, you look good!” “Shut the fuck up stan”

• Richie comes in the next day to work with Eddie and he’s working himself a little too hard, “dude, you’re gonna kill yourself if you try and lift that many pounds” “I can fucking do it Eds” “okay first of all, don’t fucking call me that. second, I think I’d know how many pounds is too many seeing as it’s my fucking job asshole”,,, Eddie finally pries enough to irritate Richie into a confession, “what’s the problem man, you’re acting crazy right now” “I’m just really horny thinking about your mom right now” “Richie,, I’m serious” *sigh* “I’m just tired of looking fat” “rich, you’re not fucking fat” “I know ur not but what am I?” “Richie I swear to-“ “okay okay, calm down Eds”

(1/?) I’ll keep u posted on pt.2 but here’s this mess

EDIT: rest of the parts under “Elijah txt.” tag

[wrestlingisfake]

AEW Fake Rankings, 6/17/2023

Let's take one last look at the lay of the land in AEW before the new Collision show shakes everything up.

Men's singles division - babyfaces

Kenny Omega (IWGP United States champion)

Adam Cole

Orange Cassidy (AEW international champion)

Wardlow (AEW TNT champion)

Ricky Starks

El Hijo del Vikingo* (AAA mega champion)

Roderick Strong

Mark Briscoe

Bandido

Komander

Men's singles division - heels

MJF (AEW men's world champion)

Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho

Konosuke Takeshita

Sammy Guevara

Christian Cage

Daniel Garcia

Swerve Strickland

Powerhouse Hobbs

Kyle Fletcher

Unranked: Action Andretti, Ethan Page, Jake Hager

Jobbers: Caleb Crush*, Damon Ace*, Exodus Prime*, Frescomatic*, Jeaux Braxton*, Watson*

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

Aside from interpromotional matches being set up for Forbidden Door, the biggest storyline right now is the Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson, and Adam Page) versus the Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta). Konosuke Takeshita and Eddie Kingston are clearly going to be involved in that somehow, and the big dream scenario is for Omega to get backup from his old friend Kota Ibushi. There's no telling when this saga is going to end; the feud could easily run through the end of 2023. Anyone hoping that the returning CM Punk will do an angle with the Elite is going to wait for this to run its course first.

Other key programs brewing right now are: MJF vs. Adam Cole, Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara, Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus, Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia. I'm not sure if Ricky Starks will continue feuding with Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and Juice Robinson), but for his sake I think he needs to get a little payback before they move on.

Collision promises to bring back a slew of absent talent, which should push a lot of these guys out of the (fake) rankings. That's probably not good news for guys like Roderick Strong or Swerve Strickland, who are just kinda there right now. Christian Cage's run as a top singles contender has run its course so if anyone's going to take a step down, it should be him. Briscoe, Bandido, Vikingo, and Komander are already more prominent on Ring of Honor than AEW as it stands, so pushing them further out of the AEW spotlight wouldn't hurt them at all.

Men's tag team division - babyfaces

FTR - Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (AEW tag team champions)

Darby Allin & Sting

Lucha Bros. - Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo (ROH tag team champions)

The Hardys - Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy

JungleHOOK - Jack Perry & HOOK (FTW champion)

Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee

Men's tag team division - heels

Bullet Club Gold - Jay White & Juice Robinson

The Gunns - Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn

Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett

Big Bill & Lee Moriarty

The babyface side is stacked and the heel side is a awfully weak. Bullet Club Gold is mainly a tag team because there's just two of them; once they expand I'm sure White and Robinson will go back to singles pursuits. I like the Gunns but they haven't earned the confidence of the fans as credible threats. Lethal and Jarrett have "they don't deserve to be booked this strong" heat, and they've come up empty on a zillion tag title shots. Bill and Moriarty have a cool dynamic as a team, but I think they're more likely to turn face than be pushed as top heel contenders.

I'll go ahead and predict it now--they randomly reunited the one-off Perry/HOOK team because Perry is totally going to turn on HOOK. Meanwhile, the Hardys have forced Ethan Page to be their butler or whatever, which will probably lead to more wacky undercard trios matches (like when Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy were Ethan's butlers). So overall there's no sense of direction in the division--no clear sense of who is going to step up and make a run for the tag title.

Men's trios division - babyfaces

Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson & Adam Page

Max Caster & Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn

Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero*

AR Fox & Blake Christian* & Metalik*

Men's trios division - heels

Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli (ROH men's world champion) & Wheeler Yuta

Malakai Black & Brody King & Buddy Matthews (AEW trios champions)

Brian Cage & Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona (ROH trios champions)

Rush & Preston Vance & Dralistico*

Kip Sabian & The Butcher & The Blade

Varsity Athletes - Ari Daivari & Tony Nese & Josh Woods

Spanish Announce Project - Serpentico & Angelico & Luther

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

The trios division has the opposite problem, with plenty of heel acts and not enough face teams. I think the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn will keep chasing the House of Black for the belts. But I'm not convinced the other babyface trios will stick together--any of them might see two guys shift to standard tag team wrestling. Luckily AEW/ROH has enough talent to quickly repackage any three guys into a new trio. I mean, not enough to justify having two sets of trios belts. But it's still perhaps the strongest trios division I've ever seen in pro wrestling.

Women's singles division - babyfaces

Britt Baker

Kris Statlander (AEW TBS champion)

Willow Nightingale (NJPW STRONG women's champion)

Hikaru Shida

Skye Blue

Taya Valkyrie

Mercedes Martinez

Trish Adora*

Women's singles division - heels

Toni Storm (AEW women's world champion)

Jade Cargill

Saraya

Ruby Soho

Nyla Rose

Anna Jay

Marina Shafir

Emi Sakura

Lady Frost*

Jobbers: Danni Bee*, Genesis*

*Not listed on AEW's official roster

The feud between the Outcasts (Saraya, Storm, and Soho) against Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and various other faces has helped to get a lot more women on TV in the past couple of months. Statlander's shock win over Cargill is a shot in the arm too. (I hope Cargill pivots to new business soon; having Statlander feud with Valkyrie while Jade clobbers somebody else would further deepen the division.) Willow's unexpected STRONG title win is a surprise bonus; now they kinda have to push her whether they meant to or not.

New Japan Pro Wrestling personnel: Jeff Cobb, Katsuyori Shibata (ROH pure champion), Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW World television champion)

Most of these guys are just dropping in for the build to Forbidden Door. Shibata is the head coach for New Japan's LA Dojo, though, so he's more of a semi-regular; he's sure to defend his belt at the next ROH pay-per-view in July. I get a strong feeling Nigel McGuinness will come out of retirement to chase Shibata all the way to Wembley Stadium in August, but time will tell.

No televised AEW matches in over 30 days: Alex Reynolds, Athena (ROH women's world champion), Christopher Daniels, Darius Martin, Diamante, Evil Uno, Griff Garrison, John Silver, Kiera Hogan, Matt Sydal, Nick Comoroto, Peter Avalon, Samoa Joe (ROH television champion), Shawn Dean, Sonny Kiss, Stu Grayson, Zack Clayton

Everyone here has been primarily wrestling for the ROH brand ever since Honor Club relaunched and Dark and Elevation ended. Joe is slated to be a key player on Collision, and I'm certain Athena will return to AEW television one of these days. As for the rest, it'll probably do them some good to be treated like big fish in a small pond for a while.

No televised AEW or ROH matches in over 30 days: Aaron Solo, Abadon, Andrade El Idolo, Angelo Parker, Anthony Ogogo, Brandon Cutler, Brian Pillman Jr., Brock Anderson, CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Eddie Kingston, Fuego del Sol, Harley Cameron, Julia Hart, Lance Archer, Lee Johnson, Leyla Hirsch, Luchasaurus, Madison Rayne, Matt Menard, Michael Nakazawa, Miro, Ortiz, PAC, Penelope Ford, QT Marshall, Rebel, Red Velvet, Riho, Satnam Singh, Scorpio Sky, Serena Deeb, Shawn Spears, Sonjay Dutt, Yuka Sakazaki

To the best of my knowledge, all of these performers are medically cleared and just waiting to be booked in matches. We already know a number of these names are set to return on Collision--notably Punk, Miro, Andrade, and Scorpio. It wouldn't surprise me at all if PAC, Archer, Ortiz, and Hirsch were included in that group, but there's no way to know. As for the rest, it'll be interesting to come back in a few months and see which of them are still on the bench.

Inactive

Danhausen (right shoulder - pectoralis tear)

Dante Martin (left leg - unspecified injury)

Isiah Kassidy (neck - unspecified injury)

Jamie Hayter (right shoulder - unspecified injury)

Kyle O'Reilly (neck - herniated disc)

Mark Davis (knee - meniscus tear)

Marq Quen (unspecified injury)

Parker Bordreaux (unspecified injury)

Santana (left knee - ACL tear)

Tay Melo (pregnancy)

The Bunny (head - unspecified injury)

Thunder Rosa (back - unspecified injury)

Trench (unspecified injury)

It's increasingly difficult to find injury updates on major league pro wrestlers unless they tweet about getting surgery. In many of these cases the performer could just be out for a few weeks or they might need a year to recover...or the injury could be a work while they simply take time off. Rosa could be back in the ring tonight on Collision or she could still be facing months of physical therapy. Santana has been posting videos hyping his return, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen soon. As usual, we'll just have to wait and see.

[losille2000]

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0EnpbnkPuDglMJ7nc3jC4x?si=m9XAKvyjRA63VQbs_IAhNA)

This is the Mister America “soundtrack.” It has some general songs about America, but each state has at least 1 song related to it. 

For a full tracklist and to see which songs go to what state, see below the cut.

Songs about America:

“The Star Spangled Banner” National Anthem (F. Scott Key/Whitney Houston)

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (Traditional/United States Army Band and Chorus)

“America the Beautiful” (Ray Charles)

“Captain America March” (Hollywood Movie Theme Orchestra)

“Star Spangled Man” (The Star Spangled Singers/Captain America)

“Captain America” (Alan Silvestri) 

“American Patrol” (Glenn Miller/United States Air Force Band)

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” (John Philip Sousa/United States Marine Band)

“America” (Neil Diamond)

“Born in the U.S.A” (Bruce Springsteen)

“Hail to the Chief” (James Sanderson, composer/US Marine Band)

State Songs:

Alabama - “Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Alaska - “North to Alaska” (Johnny Horton)

Alaska - “The Alaska Song” (Lacy J. Dalton)

Arizona - “Take It Easy” (Eagles)

Arkansas - “Arkansas Traveler” (Harry Glenshaw)

Arkansas - “Arkansas Farmboy” (Glen Campbell)

California - “California Love” (2Pac, Roger, Dr. Dre)

California - “California Girls” (Beach Boys)

Colorado - “Rocky Mountain High” (John Denver)

Connecticut - “Yankee Doodle” (Traditional)

Connecticut - “Connecticut’s For Fucking” (Jesus H Christ and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)

Delaware - “Delaware Slide” (George Thorogood & the Destroyers)

Delaware - “Delaware” (Perry Como)

Florida - “The Florida Song” (Ricky Sylvia)

Florida - “Miami” (Will Smith)

Georgia - “Midnight Train to Georgia” (Gladys Knight & the Pips)

Georgia - “Georgia on My Mind” (Michael Buble)

Hawaii - “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” (from Lilo and Stitch)

Hawaii - “Ke Kali Nei Au/Hawaiian Wedding Song” (Makaha Sons & Friends)

Hawaii - “Over the Rainbow” (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole)

Hawaii - “What a Wonderful World” (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole)

Idaho - “Idaho” (Benny Goodman)

Illinois - “Sweet Home Chicago” (The Blues Brothers)

Indiana - “Going Back to Indiana” (The Jackson 5)

Iowa - “Iowa Stubborn” (from The Music Man)

Kansas - “Home on the Range” (Gene Autry)

Kentucky - “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys)

Louisiana - “Born on the Bayou” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Louisiana - “House of the Rising Sun” (The Animals)

Maine - “Portland, Maine” (Tim McGraw)

Maryland - “Good Morning Baltimore” (from Hairspray)

Massachusetts - “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” (Dropkick Murphys)

Massachusetts - “The Devil Came Up to Boston” (Adam Ezra Group)

Michigan - “Detroit Rock City” (KISS)

Minnesota - “Rock n Roll is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis” (Prince)

Mississippi - “Mississippi Queen” (Mountain)

Missouri - “Missouri Waltz” (Glenn Miller)

Montana - “Montana Lullaby” (Ken Overcast)

Nebraska - “Omaha” (Counting Crows)

Nevada - “Waking Up In Vegas” (Katy Perry)

Nevada - “Viva Las Vegas” (Elvis Presley)

New Hampshire - “New Hampshire” (Town Meeting)

New Jersey - “Jersey Girl” (Bruce Springsteen)

New Mexico - “Santa Fe” (from RENT)

New Mexico - “Taos, New Mexico” (Waylon Jennings)

New York - “Theme from New York, New York” (Frank Sinatra)

New York - “New York State of Mind” (Billy Joel)

North Carolina - “Wagon Wheel” (Old Crow Medicine Show)

North Dakota - “North Dakota” (Lyle Lovett)

Ohio - “Ohio” (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)

Oklahoma - “Oklahoma!” (from Oklahoma!)

Oklahoma - “Oklahoma Sky” (Miranda Lambert)

Oregon - “Eugene Oregon” (Dolly Parton)

Pennsylvania - “Allentown” (Billy Joel)

Rhode Island - “Rhode Island is Famous for You” (Blossom Dearie)

South Carolina - “Just A Little Bit South of North Carolina” (Dean Martin)

South Carolina - “Hickory Wind” (The Byrds)

South Dakota - “South Dakota Morning” (Bee Gees)

South Dakota - “Big Foot” (Johnny Cash)

Tennessee- “Tennessee Whiskey” (Chris Stapleton)

Texas  - “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (Traditional/Mitch Miller)

Texas - “All my Ex’s Live In Texas” (George Strait)

Texas - “La Grange” (ZZ Top)

Utah - “Utah” (The Osmonds)

Vermont - “Moonlight in Vermont” (Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstong)

Virgina - “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” (from Hamilton)

Washington - “Come As You Are” (Nirvana)

West Virginia - “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (John Denver)

Wisconsin - “Green Bay, Wisconsin” (The Might Mighty Bosstones)

Wyoming - “Wyoming Wind” (Caitlin Canty)

Wyoming - “Cheyenne” (Cale Moon)

[marypickfords]

Uh was that last ask sarcastic? Calling Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who skins women in the Silence of the Lambs- transgender, is a bizarre take. Do they consider Ed Gein, the real life serial killer and inspiration for the character, who dug up women's corpses to also be transgender? Wack

anon, there are trans ppl who like the movie and some who dont, the movie was heavily protested against when it was made and released. there are tons of links on both sides you can read but of course your opinion is your own. from the very link i posted on that ask:

“WM: The last thing I want to bring up before we close, if you have nothing else you want to talk about, is public perception. When the movie came out it was picketed by LGBT activists for being offensive to the community and there was a boycott of the oscars of that year by LGBT activists. Demme in response said that it was a moment where these voices were finally able to speak up about cinema and speak their displeasure. Which is what the two of us are essentially doing with this book. It’s almost like a call to arms. Demme would go on to make Philadelphia in response, which now seems like a futile gesture, but his heart was in the right place. My stance on whether or not the movie is transphobic is complicated. Within the text itself I don’t think the film is transphobic, but the public opinion and the collective gaze of cisgender audience members turned Gumb into a caricature and stripped him of anything resembling humanity. Culturally the character is now nothing more than a tuck scene and Rocky Horror lipstick. Which is a shame, because the film itself isn’t malicious to the character. I think it’s a failure of a mass audience that has made the film a question of transphobia moreso than what the filmmakers and crew presented. Which does in a way make the film transphobic. And I do want to state that I don’t speak for everyone when I say that I don’t think the movie is vile. There are trans people who hate this film and I understand their hatred for it, but I think an argument could be made through formal analysis that The Silence of the Lambs is a lot more complicated than blanket statements, good and evil, and transphobic or not.

CG: The public perception to these instances of backlash and representation is interesting. With minority groups, visibility and how they present themselves change over time.I remember reading controversies about this film being deemed ‘anti-gay’, in that transgender was seen as so miniscule while gay voices were so dominant in queer communities that ‘gay community’ was the default blanket term. Demme himself did do an apologia with Philadelphia as his follow-up to The Silence of The Lambs which, as you noted, is issue movie 101 that is a sanitized version of dying queer suffering (but also makes me cry like a baby). I think over time Demme more than proved his heart was in the right place and was always open to sharing his film as spaces for people, whether it was casting trans woman and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Carmen Carrera in Ricki & The Flash or having non-binary, queer people in his frames, always feeling of place in his world. The question is how to reclaim the cisgender gaze off of a character that is associated with one of the enduring Hollywood films of the last thirty years. I am sure Jame Gumb was the first time many cis people even came across the notion of being transgender and well, yeah, that is problematic (and to think we were going to go this whole conversation without deeming something problematic!). So its legacy is going to be a transphobic one that if not giving transphobics a charge will cause open-minded people to be judgmental about how the movie handles the subject matter. Gumb is othered and is a monstrosity, but I still would not think of him a figure to cast aside for being a character that gave our community a lot of grief. As you noted, there is split reaction in the trans community about this film and about this character. Laura Jane Grace’s band Against Me! repurposed the imagery the ‘Goodbye Horses’ scene for an LP cover and on merchandise, a trans performer reclaiming a popular, more common imagery of many cis people’s shorthand for trans people. I like that and I think that reflects an age group of trans people who, like you and I, grew up with the images of this movie and have identified with it while also grappling with how this film on transgender people and on Jame Gumb comes across to others. I think there is a fairytale quality to this movie and in some fairytales, I find the heroes to be bland and the monsters to be far more interesting. Here, I love the hero but I feel for the villain, the monster, which I think is a credit to Levine and Demme. It is a complicated relationship that I have with this film in that I did connect with the monster in a way that I am not even sure Demme intended or felt he could ask of his audience. But that is the film for me.”

i dont have strong feelings about the movie besides clarice and it’s not my place to say if gumb is good rep or not lol also not my place to say a trans woman shouldnt watch the movie. do what you want. and i’m not continuing this conversation, sorry.