#listen if meryl was a man everyone would be all over the ship

[writterings]

im not even done with the first trigun series (havent even read the manga or watched the other series) but meryl x vash is yaoi. TO ME. it's also yuri. but at the same time it's still a het ship.

[inloveandwords]

BLACK LIVES MATTER. Visit this link for ways you can help.

*= I am trying to make a more conscious effort to read books by authors of color. I know many others are as well. Moving forward, I will be annotating books by authors of color with an asterisk. Please let me know if I missed one or mislabeled one.

Stats

Total: 28 DNF: 3 Rereads: 0 Ebooks: 7 Physical Books: 2 Audiobooks: 19 1-Stars: 0 2-Stars: 0 3-Stars: 8 4-Stars: 8 5-Stars: 12

DNF

*Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson I received this as an eARC from Netgalley. This is a contemporary romance about a woman whose mother-figure has passed away, leaving behind her 4 adoptive sons. Some of them want to close her knitting store, but one wants to keep it open and enlists the help of our heroine. The author, Kwana Jackson, also goes by KM Jackson, is a Black author. She has a big backlist of contemporary romance novels under the KM Jackson pen name that I definitely want to check out.

I think this book was just a case of bad timing and burn out for me. I found myself skimming pretty early on in this book because it felt like the story wasn’t moving forward at all. Scenes were lasting too long to keep my attention. It was actually pretty disappointing because I was really excited about this book! I don’t knit, but I crochet, and I liked hearing about yarn and knitting in Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series, however, I had to put this one down. Amazon

Becoming Mrs. Lockwood by LI Lynn I talk more about this in my 7yo Picks my TBR video, but this was a book that Roree picked out for me. I think I heard this is a Twilight fanfiction, but it’s another one that reads like fanfiction, however, is extremely different than the original. It’s about a girl who is on vacation with her mom in Las Vegas, but hasn’t been able to see any sights since her mom is gambling all day and night. Since she is underage, she can’t go with her. All of that felt like a stretch to begin with, but then this super hot guy spots her from across the room and immediately is in love with her and takes her out to see Las Vegas. There is also an age gap in this, but it isn’t a good one. She’s a very immature 18 year old who is still in high school. This is mentioned when they first meet, yet he still pursues her. It just… rubbed me the wrong way. Like, how can this be instalove and still be a 500+ page contemporary romance. I DON’T UNDERSTAND! Amazon

Taming Her Mountain Man (Bear’s Tooth Mountain Man #1) by Cameron Hart I read this for the Weekend Contemporaryathon, so I talk more about that in my Contemporaryathon Vlog. It’s about an adoptive girl that is running away from her shady adoptive parents to her estranged grandmother’s cabin in the mountains where she meets this older, loner mountain man who is running away from his past. This is a novella, so it’s obviously very instalovey. What put me off of it was the main character and the instalove wasn’t done well. She’s another one who is SO immature that I was weirded out by the age gap. I think I’ve found that I don’t mind age gaps as long as there isn’t a big difference in maturity levels. Amazon

  3 Stars

  Remind Me (Magnolia Sound #1) by Samantha Chase This was a book I just randomly listened to off of Hoopla before I realized I have a limit on how many books I can read on that app. My library just got Hoopla, so I’m still learning. To be completely honest, I remember next to nothing about this book and the next one on this list.

If I remember correctly, it is a second chance romance about a girl who has moved away from a small town in North Carolina. She had a summer fling with her grandfather’s neighbor, but she moves away to NY to be a successful woman in tech (as they do in these types of romances). A hurricane is threatening the town and they are being asked to evacuate, but her grandfather is refusing to leave, so the hero stays with him.

I want to take a moment here to talk about this. I live in FL and have lived through many hurricanes. Some that were scary (Irma), some that fizzled out to be nothing but some wind and rain. Either way, living here my whole life has taught me that when there is a mandatory evacuation, you GTFO ASAP. Hurricanes can and have flattened entire communities.

Anyway, this book was just meh. I didn’t really care about the characters. There wasn’t a lot of chemistry. It was just ok. Amazon

The Royal Treatment (Alaskin Royal Family #1) by MaryJanice Davidson I recently did a video talking about the books that got me through my Twilight hangover back in the day, and Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead series was on this list. When I came across this book on Audible Escape, I was curious to see how her contemporary romances would be.

And it was as I expected. Just meh. This is an alternative/futuristic reality in which Alaska is it’s own country or something weird like that. Anyway, they have a king there who is looking for a wife who would make a good princess for his son. He ends up setting up our main character with his son.

A couple of things were weird about this. First, the who Alaska thing seemed unnecessary, like, just make up a country like everyone else does. Second, she didn’t really do anything that I saw for the King to think she was so amazing. Something I did find interesting, was this was almost opposite of instalove. Both of them seemed pretty neutral about each other aside from sexual chemistry until the very end. I actually really appreciated that.

Also, the synopsis calls this book erotic. It’s not. If I did steam fans like Steph, I’d give this one 3 steam fans. Amazon

PS It’s Always Been You Part 1 by Lauren Blakely I read this one for the Weekend Contemporaryathon and talk about it in that vlog. Let’s be real, I read this for Scott Eastwood’s narration… and it was pretty disappointing. The book and his narrating. He had a lot of awkward pauses. Anyway, the time it’s going to take me to tell you what this book is about is pretty much as long as it took me to listen to this audiobook. It’s about this daredevil, reality TV show guy who once hooked up with this girl who is some sort of historian, but ends up ditching her for his career, until one day they end up having to work together. And that’s it. That’s the whole story. The End. Amazon

Abducting Abby (Dragon Lords of Valdier #1) by SE Smith I 100% do not remember reading this book at all. This is what happens when I go crazy adding audiobooks to my favorites in Hoopla (which I use as my TBR) because I got over-excited about having a new service.

This is a short, smutty, sci-fi romance that I picked up because… dragons. Abby creates and sells luxury artwork from her cabin in the mountains when one day an alien space ship crash lands in the woods near her and she ends up saving the guy inside not realizing that he’s a dragon shifter.

Now that I’m remembering the story, I did enjoy reading this one, it just wasn’t anything particularly special. I think I may actually move on in the series, though. If you like the whole fated mates thing, you’ll like this one. It’s no IPB, but it’s good for IPB hangovers. Averie – you should totes give this one a try! Amazon

Fire in His Blood (Fireblood Dragon #1) by Ruby Dixon Ruby Dixon is the author of IPB, and I was super interested to see how her other books are. This series is a fated mates dragon shifter post-apocolyptic romance. It’s pretty long, I was expecting it to be short like IPB, but it’s not. And I feel like I would’ve liked it better if it was. It just got a little repetitive. I did like when there is a communication barrier between the hero and heroine in these types of books. Especially when the hero recognizes that she’s his mate, but she’s like WTF, dude, back off. And I especially, especially like when they respect consent despite the communication difference. I’m over here like, “IF AN ALIEN DRAGON SHIFTER WHO HAS INVADED OUR PLANET CAN UNDERSTAND CONSENT, WHY CAN’T YOU, BROCK?” Amazon

Racked and Stacked (Blacktop Cowboys #9) by Lorelei James I read this for a secret TBR that I’m in the middle of right now because when I do secret TBRs it takes me years, so I’m not going to talk about this one too much. Just know it’s a cowboy romcom, enemies to lovers. Amazon

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner This was an ARC I received from Netgalley. It’s Berkely’s first F/F published romance, which is awesome for the author. And I think this is OWN voices, but I’m not sure. I had super high expectations going into this one – I didn’t realize how high until the book didn’t meet them. It’s about a woman who works in the entertainment industry, I think she’s a director or producer, and her assistant. The media thinks that they are dating because of something that happens while paparazzi were around. This is a SUPER CRAZY INSANE slow burn. Like… the first kiss doesn’t even happen until 75% into this book. Don’t get me wrong, I adore slow burn. Mariana Zapata is my favorite contemporary romance author, but the burn was so slow in this one, it affected how I felt about the relationship. I started not caring after awhile whether they got together or not.

I can see how some of the scenes were supposed to be super full of tension, but I think because it took so long for the relationship to develop, I just wasn’t as invested. Amazon

Shy Girls Write It Better (Some Girls Do It #1) by May Sage I read this one for Contemporaryathon and talk about it in the vlog. It’s about a woman who writes erotic romance and accidentally gives her hot boss a copy of one of her manuscripts instead of a report and instead of getting mad, he wants to give her real life BDSM experience because she writes it so badly.

Overall, this was pretty good for a short, smutty read. I don’t love the overly innocent, inexperienced heroine to begin with, so that definitely affected my rating. Also the fact that she’s supposed to be a super successful romance author and she knows she sucks at writing BDSM, but yet she continues to do it? I don’t know, something about that entire aspect of the premise was off to me and I think this book would’ve been better without it.

I did really like that the hero wasn’t your stereotypical alpha, though. That was refreshing. Amazon

4 Stars

Point of Retreat (Slammed #2) by Colleen Hoover I read this book for Contemporaryathon. It’s the sequel to Slammed which is Colleen Hoover’s debut novel, a contemporary romance involving slam poets. Obviously it’s so much more than that, I mean, it’s Colleen Hoover. At first I wasn’t sure if this book was necessary before reading it, but Layken and Will’s story definitely wasn’t done. Amazon

*Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1) by Renee Ahdieh Renee Ahdieh is a Korean-American author and this book was a unique twist on Mulan. This book was as beautiful and badass as the cover.

I’ve always been partial to the story of Mulan, but I love how much more intricate this story was in comparison.

Our main character doesn’t magically have all sorts of powers and though she is a badass, it’s because of her quick-thinking bravery, and resilience, not any magical skill.

The writing was also one of my favorite things about this book. It was beautiful and fit so well with the story itself. I felt like I was experiencing everything our main character did, right beside her. Amazon

*The Marriage Game by Sara Desai I received this ARC from Netgalley. I believe this is an OWN voices novel. It’s a fun enemies to lovers romance where our main character, Layla, moves home with her big family after a humiliating break up that essentially lost her her job. Her father sets her up, not only with the office above his restaurant, but also with some arranged marriage prospects (without her knowledge). Little does she know, he also rented out the space to Sam, CEO of a corporate downsizing company. Read my review here. Amazon

*The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements #2) by Brittainy C Cherry My monthly Brittainy C Cherry novel. If you don’t know, I discovered BCC this year and fell in love with her books. I’ve been reading at least one of her backlist titles per month. She is a Black author, by the way.

This is a sunshine and grumpy, friends-to-lovers romance about two teenagers who have very rough home lives. Our hero’s mother is struggling with bad addiction which has trickled down to him and has been affecting him since he was a young child. Our heroine’s mother, though successful, is cold and disinterested. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, there is a lot they have in common that bring them together and they become really good friends.

This wasn’t my favorite BCC. That being said, It was still a really good, emotional story that I’ve come to expect from her. I think the main reason why I couldn’t give this 5 stars as I have literally every other BCC I’ve read, is because there is a lot of drug use and addiction in this novel and it’s just not my favorite thing to read about. Amazon

Mind Reader by Kirsty McManus I read this book for Contemporaryathon and talk about it in my vlog as well. This is one of those novellas that I found for free on Kindle and downloaded because it sounded fun. The hero can see other people’s soul mates and knows when they will meet. Until he meets our heroine, a woman who works in the STEM field who thinks it’s all BS. Their paths cross and sparks fly.

This book is perfect for those who prefer a lot less steam. It’s very fade-to-black.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I had a lot of expectations going into this book, and I expected it to be pretty predictable, but it surprised me a few times. Though the beginning as a little rough, it starts from the hero’s POV and he was kind of douchey, but the book ended up being super sweet. Amazon

*The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa I believe this is OWN voices for the latinx rep. It’s a romantic comedy between a woman who has been left at the alter and the groom’s best man and brother. Because of this, it is a hate-to-love, but it’s so much more. The hero is dealing with issues of his own self worth in comparison to his brother (the ex-groom). The heroine is dealing with prejudice in the workplace.

I feel like this book is a little underrated. It’s not my favorite enemies to lovers, but I think it is a lot better than many of the reviews I’ve read for it were. There are a lot of complaints about the male narrator in the audiobooks and I agree, but it didn’t completely put me off of the book because of it.

I thought that the humor was really good, it was awkward in some areas, and the issues both of the characters were dealing with played out really well. Amazon

*Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2) by Alisha Rai Alisha Rai is a South Asian American writer. This was a refreshingly diverse bodyguard romance with fantastic panic disorder rep. Katrina is an ex-model and divorcee to a very wealthy man, she also suffers from debilitating panic attacks, so when a couple in a coffee bar live tweet an interaction between herself and a man who approached her and it goes viral, she’s not only in danger, but it also triggers her anxiety. Her long-time bodyguard whisks her away from the spotlight and sparks fly.

I almost didn’t read this, but I’m so glad I didn’t listen to some of the sub-par reviews, because I really enjoyed this book. First of all, it’s a bodyguard romance and he’s been pining after her for a long time. There is also great anxiety rep.

I had to take away a star only because I felt like the build up of tension between these two characters was so good, but when they finally got together, I was a little let down and I couldn’t put my finger on why exactly. Amazon

*Desolate (Grace #1) by Autumn Grey Autumn Grey has officially been added to my list of authors I need to read their entire backlists alongside Brittainy C Cherry, Mia Sheridan, and Sarina Bowen. Autumn doesn’t have as many books in her backlist as the others, so I’m going to have to pace myself.

I didn’t know what this book was about going into it for Contemporaryathon. I just saw the author’s name and picked it up. Autumn is a Black author, by the way. I recently read Fall Back Skyward by her after buying it from her at Shameless Book Con last year, and I fell in love with it.

This book is a forbidden new adult romance between a man who is planning on becoming a priest and a woman who is wrongfully considered the town whore. As soon as I realized the premise in this book, I was hooked. And the characters, oh my goodness, the characters and their chemistry were so potent. From the moment they met and how fascinated our hero is with the heroine, despite his dedication to God. How he can’t seem to tear himself away from her.

I will say, my only complaint is that this is a cliff hanger. It is part of a trilogy which is complete and I will be reading on in it. That and the hero started driving me crazy at the end because he wouldn’t make a freaking decision, but like I said, I loved this book. Amazon

5 Stars

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz I need to preface this by saying that I know Hannah Moskowitz has said some problematic things on Twitter recently. I haven’t seen them myself, I’ve only seen references, but I do want everyone to know that going into this novel.

With that being said, this book was such a great and refreshing representation of chronic illness in YA. I have Multiple Sclerosis and though none of the characters in this book have that exact illness, they do have their own and they do have similar experiences and thoughts.

The two meet at, I believe, an infusion center. Some place that many with chronic illnesses are very familiar with. And there is great chemistry and bonding and banter from the beginning. There were so many moments where I found myself nodding vigerously as they talked about healthy people vs. people with chronic illnesses. What it’s like to be surrounded by healthy people when you are not. Being limited and defined by your illness. Big topics that were well portrayed.

I definitely felt seen. Amazon

Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2) by Penny Reid I’m slowly but surely making my way through this series and so far I’ve been loving every second of it. Normally I’m not a big fan of the fame element in a romance novel, but it was a little easier to swallow with this book because it was the heroine who is famous. Our heroine is a comedic actress who gets rescued by our hero, a park ranger, in a small town where she is filming her upcoming movie.

Fame plays a big part in this, which I normally don’t like, but there was something about the dynamic between her outgoing, charisma mixed with his southern charm that I loved. Amazon

Beard Science (Winston Brothers #3) by Penny Reid So far the first book is still my favorite, but this comes in close second. This is Cletus’s story, and he’s such a big weirdo I was wondering who he was going to end up with. It was NOT the heroine. Where Cletus is super smart and manipulative and quirky, our heroine is very polished and put together and naive. She has lived under her mother’s thumb working at a very successful bakery.

Nobody in town takes her seriously, especially Cletus, until she blackmails him and they are forced together. Soon, he realizes there is a lot more to this seemingly shallow woman.

I loved this book so much more than I thought I would, given the main character. I thought, when we were first introduced to her that she was going to get on my nerves, but honestly, her character growth and unexpected depth made me change my mind entirely.

And I’m such a fan of quirky heroes, so I loved Cletus, too. Amazon

Powertools: Collection 1 (Powertools 1 & 2) by Jayne Rylon You guys. I never would’ve expected a super steamy reverse harem novel would be so high on my list, but here we are.

I talk a lot more about this book in my Contemporaryathon vlog, but in short, I loved this book because though it was ridiculous, there was a strong romance in both of the two short stories. I also was totally into the whole summer vibe of the first book and the immersive autumn vibes of the second book. Also, the hero in the second book is so swoony and I fell so hard for him. Amazon

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Mackenzies & McBrides #1) by Jennifer Ashley Yay! A historical romance I LOVED! I knew it was only a matter of time until I found one that hit the spot for me and it was absolutely this one.

This was a rec from a comment on one of my videos and they freaking nailed it.

This is a historical romance between a widow and a man with autism. Of course, back then, they just thought he was mad and threw him and everyone treated him so horribly because of it. Seriously, my heart absolutely broke. However, our heroine is the only one who truly understood him, or at least didn’t look down on him. I also absolutely loved her. Because she has her husband’s fortune, she doesn’t need to marry. In fact, men are lining up for her. She also isn’t a naive, innocent virgin. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. She’s smart and witty.

This was everything I am realizing I love in a romance novel. Amazon

*Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda This freaking book.

So, I haven’t seen this musical yet, but I am such a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda and the music – especially Jonathan Groff’s song, though, I’m biased because I’m obsessed with him. I’ve watched performances and interviews and I’m so excited about finally getting to see this on Disney Plus on July 3. I can’t contain myself.

I actually downloaded this audiobook when it went on sale a while ago, but I picked it up on a whim last week and finished it in a day because I became obsessed.

I loved seeing how this musical became the phenomenon it is. I loved hearing Lin’s thought process behind creating it. How he wanted to depict these historical figures in a modern, much more diverse way, using a genre of music that was not associated with Broadway at all. From the choreography to the costumes – it was absolutely fascinating.

I just… I need July 3 to be now. Amazon

Lover Her or Lose Her (Hot & Hammered #2) by Tessa Bailey I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one. So many people complained about how the hero was way to alpha for them and I kept thinking, “Well, jeez, if he’s too alpha for them, he’ll definitely be too alpha for me.” But, honestly? He wasn’t.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely alpha, but I adored his reasoning for it.

Anyway, this is a second chance romance between a married couple who have a ton of chemistry in bed, but have lost touch of each other in every other way. So, when our heroine has had enough, she decides to leave her husband.

But he is not having it. To him, she is his everything. It’s kind of the opposite of The Bromance Bookclub because he thinks everything is fine since the sex is still really good, but that’s not the case. I loved how this book really dove into love languages and how both people must understand the other’s language and support it.

And there was so much longing, it made my heart hurt. Yes, he was very alpha. He very much wanted to be the one who provided for his wife, however, I wasn’t bothered by it AT ALL. Amaz

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune OMG this book was so sweet, I couldn’t handle it. It’s a whimsical fantasy that, if I had to explain it in one word, it would be charming.

It’s about a man in his forty’s who has led a very mediocre life thus far. He lives for his job, which is to evaluate orphanages for extraordinary children for a very corporate overlord of a company. He’s sent on a highly classified job to check out this orphanage for especially gifted, some think dangerous, children.

It’s very elementary school x-men.

And oh my goodness, the character growth and the relationships that are built, both familial, romantic, and platonic are all so strong and vibrant. This book absolutely lives up to the hype. Amazon

Beach Read by Emily Henry This is another book that absolutely lived up to the hype. Though the title might lead you to believe that this is going to be a fun, light read, it’s really not. There is a lot of substance behind this book that the title and cover do not allude to.

Aside from a swoony romance and hilarious banter and writing, we are dealing with grief, with loss, with resentment … a lot of heavy topics woven between this romcom story about two writers who have challenged themselves to write each other’s genre, one literary fiction, one women’s fiction/romance. Amazon

The Edge #0.5-2 by CD Reiss These are all short, but super intense military suspense romance novels. I feel that the prequel is required reading for this series because it sets up the relationship so solidly, that despite the craziness that this couple goes through in later books, you root hard for them. The couple meet in a war zone, one a surgeon who works for 8 days straight saving lives and one a psychiatrist who is trying to keep him standing and sane – along with all the other medics and soldiers. I felt like this book was so well researched and gorgeously written. CD Reiss is called the Shakespeare of Smut for a reason. The steamy scenes were just as intense as the rest of the book.

I absolutely plan on reading the rest of this series! Amazon

May 2020 Wrap Up BLACK LIVES MATTER. Visit this link for ways you can help. *= I am trying to make a more conscious effort to read books by authors of color.

[newagesispage]

                                                                          February 2017

 PAGE RIB

*****Dale Jr. married Amy Reimann on New Year’s Eve and Delta lost his luggage. Jr. does not seem too happy about the Muslim ban. He tweeted that his family immigrated from Germany in the 1700’s to escape religious prosecution. America is created by immigrants.

*****I know of a local church who is trying to get some of their mission workers back to their families because they are stranded in other countries.

*****Did Lance Armstrong or other racers use motors on their bikes?

*****The Michigan department of natural resources is offering a million bucks if you can keep the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

*****Oprah is joining 60 minutes.

*****Caterpillar is moving senior executives and about 300 employees to Chicago. Their earnings have dropped more each year since 2012.

***** Megyn Kelly is out at Fox and in at NBC. Greta Van Sustern is now on MSNBC. George Will has been let go. Is Fox falling apart?

*****A New York man started a fight in an eatery with Jamie Foxx and his friends.

*****Janet Jackson had a baby with Wissam Alman that they named Eissa.

*****Four days after the inauguration, Israel approved the construction of 2,500 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West bank.

*****Hooray for the NHL and its 100 years!!

*****Ray Davies received a knighthood.

*****TNT’s Major Crime is back on Feb.22.

*****An updated ‘Archie’ called Riverdale is back and his parents are played by Molly Ringwald and Luke Perry.

*****There are reports that Trump will cancel funding for the National endowment for the arts and privatize the corporation for Public Broadcasting.

*****Dylan Roof was sentenced to death for the Charleston massacre.

*****The North Dakota legislature has introduced house bill 1203 aimed at protesters. It states that if a driver runs over someone on the highway and it wasn’t “on purpose” that they won’t be held accountable. The language does not specify protesters, it could apply to a child running across the street. It gives a pass to careless drivers and hot heads. The DAPL protesters are outraged.

*****Glad to see Norm back on The Middle. Also.. his book, Based on a true story, is one of the best I have read. Thanks Norm!!

*****The Baseball hall of fame announced the 2017 inductees: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines Sr.. Ivan Rodriguez, Bud Selig and John Schuerholz.

*****Thought it would be Green Bay and Pittsburgh but it looks like the Super bowl will be Atlanta vs. New England.

*****Saw an interview with La. senator Bill Cassidy.  He did not make a lot of sense, I wonder if he is ok? I mean, I wonder if he is mentally stable? Of course I say the same thing about our new President. Anybody else and their family would be checking him in for a mental evaluation.

*****Days alert: We have a new actress for the role of Jade.  Glad Eric and Anna are back. Carrie and Austin still seem like the perfect couple. More Abe!! I miss Phillip!!

*****Thanks for the giggle by turning Hollywood into Hollyweed.

*****A new BBC documentary brings us evidence that a coal fire on the Titanic may have helped the ship go down even faster. A 30 year researcher tells us a fire in the boiler room damaged the hull long before it hit the iceberg.  So the real culprits could be Fire and ice and criminal negligence. This had been reported at the time but has resurfaced because a collection of photographs. They were found in an attic by a descendent of a director of the Belfast based company, Harland and Wolff. There was a 30 foot long diagonal black mark on the hulls front starboard side near where the ice hit in a photo taken before the Titanic ever left the shipyard. Some seem to think this isn’t important but others think the mark was caused by fire and is a revelation.

*****The Coywolf is gaining ground in your cities. I think I saw one the other day too.

*****SNL suspended writer Katie Rich for tweeting a tasteless joke about Barron Trump.

*****Look for Ted Levine as the preacher in the thriller, Bottom of the world with Jena Malone.

*****Check out learn the address.org. Listen to some great speakers or leave your mark.

*****Tim Kaine told Capitol Hill about what it was like to be part of the fake news. He commented that a 4th grader would have trouble believing the stories so how can a possible National Security advisor?

*****Usain Bolt was stripped of a gold medal.

*****The Wall Street Journal tells us more than 150 financial institutions hold IOU’s from Donald Trump.

*****Gospel singer and radio show host of Bridging the gap, Kim Burrell , has been taken off the air in Houston. She was to perform on Ellen but due to anti -gay comments she made, her performance was cancelled. She was to perform with Pharrell who still appeared but distanced himself saying, ”I love her but there is no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017.”

*****C’mon while they still can.. could we have a Walton’s or Dr. Quinn movie? This country needs some good old fashioned family love. Dolly can’t do it alone.

*****Assange = Putin puppet

*****Who the fuck is Bo Bice?

*****Charles Manson was rushed to the hospital at the beginning of January. Some reports said that the 82 year old was to undergo surgery for serious gastrointestinal bleeding but officials would not comment.

*****There are only 7000 cheetahs left.

*****Illinois still has no budget.

*****Wow! So scientists now say that we have an organ, the mesentery, that they previously thought ‘a group of structures connecting the intestine to the abdomen.’

*****The Golden Globes started off with a teleprompter malfunction for Jimmy Fallon.  We did not see much of him after that. The highlight of the evening had to be Meryl Streep and her fabulous speech about the election. People often poo poo the liberal Hollywood agenda when receiving awards but this was the first time all night that the crowd was silent and really listened. The ladies in the room looked so proud as she made her way to the stage for her Cecil B. DeMille award. She made such a perfect point about Trump and about supporting good journalism. We are gonna need that! Go Meryl! ***Other highlights were Donald Glover who got best actor and best show, Atlanta awards. He so deserves them. I was jumping up and down! Glover has also signed a new deal with FX to develop new projects. Atlanta won’t be back until 2018! I was so hopeful for Bob Odenkirk or Matthew Rhees to win but Billy Bob Thornton nabbed it. At least he mentioned Mr. O and Thornton pretended a funny feud.  It was a win for Sarah Paulson and Casey Affleck!  It seems that Julia Louis and her winning days may finally be over. Viola Davis won!! Gosling (who gave a great speech too) and Stone and La La Land won big, breaking records. *** There seemed to be some controversy about Fences and Hidden Figures with Jenna Bush.***While presenting for animated film, Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell  took their banter all the way until the room was silence. Beautiful! Best dressed were Kerry Washington, Mandy Moore, Sofia Vergara, Janelle Monae, Questlove, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Kristen Bell , Ruth Nega and Laura Dern. Worst dresses for me were Felicity Jones and Zoe Saldano, Riley keiou, Nicole Kidman and Carrie Underwood. It seemed a surprise to see Brad Pitt and Leo Dicaprio.  Why was this Chrisley dude on the after show?? Did he dis Nancy Grace?***The stranger things kids seemed to be the belles of the ball. They seemed to have fun meeting everyone they came to see when the commercials were on.

*****The Jeff Macdonald case is back in the spotlight. The Green Beret officer is still trying to get out.

*****It looks again, like the left has been pussies to the republican bullies. During the election, Obama and his team wondered if lashing out about the Russian cyber problem would be adding to the chaos. We always worry about how it looks and we try to bend over backwards to do the right thing. While we are doing that, they just bulldoze over everything and everyone and people applaud it. We were looking for Putin to interfere in the actual votes but he was more interested in psychological warfare.  Voters seemed to be looking for any reason to not vote for Hillary while Russia and the Trump lies kept coming. It is not surprising that Comey was so against not releasing this Russian interference. He turns right around and keeps bringing up the’ damn e mails.’ Funny he said nothing about the file that Russia had on Trump. Why does this guy have a job? He is always in the middle of some dirty business. We now know that Trump and his team were already talking to Russia during the election.  BTW.. Is it worrisome that Trump was given a brief about this file but did not seem to know of it for days because he did not read it??

*****Is the new President doing some advertising for L.L. Bean?

*****Trump waited longer than any other president elect to hold an official press conference. It happened right when all his nominees were getting questioned. It took the spotlight off the bizarro world picks he made. Didn’t he always moan about Obama not holding press conferences? The crowd was filled with his own people to applaud his words.  Trump and his family looked a bit queasy on Jan. 11, 2017. His announcer is spouting about lies before the racist even takes the podium. They had piles of files to make a point. If we read them what would they really say? There was a lot of venom (like the first 20 minutes) spewed at reporters. They built a whole campaign on fake news but now they seem to be against it. He calls CNN “fake news” and then the BBC, ”that’s another beauty.” Hmm. Jake Tapper hit back that CNN did not report any uncorroborated news. And Trump is still talking smack about Hil and now about how wonderful and elegant inauguration day will be, anything to keep from the real issues. We now know the inauguration was not all he built it up to be. He tells us that reporters are the only ones that want to see his tax returns. WRONG!!  The bulk of this press conference was his lawyer telling us about his business affairs. He is going to give money made from foreign dignitaries at his hotels to the U. S. treasury. Ok. What about all the rest of it? You still have your name on buildings and you own the shit. There is still no resolution to various conflicts and his business ethics. Since then lawsuits have been brought by ethics lawyers against Trump. The press conference ended with the lovely thought that if his sons do a bad job running his biz, he will say “you’re fired.” What??

*****Ivanka is going to be a “modern day first daughter” who will be an integral part of the administration.

*****Seeing Laurence Fishburne on The Daily show call Trump ‘45’ gave me great inspiration. I have noticed that Joy Behar, Triumph the insult comic dog, myself and most everyone I know has so much trouble even saying ‘President Trump’. So I think in my next columns I will start to call him scary clown 45. To me it sums him up pretty good. I want to laugh, to cry and I’m downright scared for our country.

*****Shulkin , the current under secretary, has been picked to run the Veteran’s affairs department.

*****It was wonderful to see Joe Biden get the Presidental Medal of Freedom with distinction.

*****The bees have been added to the endangered species list.

*****The White house remembered Holocaust day without mentioning the Jewish people. Standard holocaust deniers in the White House, I guess. Reince Priebus who made the rounds at the Sunday morning shows this weekend made no apologies. He did agree that many Jews suffered . I think it is their mantra to never apologize.

*****Diane Sawyer takes on the ‘new reality’ on 20/20. She follows Americans who work 2 or 3 jobs with no safety nets or savings accountants. There is a boom in third shift child care. I am a little shocked that so many people are just waking up to this. It is business as usual for a big chunk of society, Most of the people I have known in my life have always lived this way. This really shows just how little people look to their fellow man to help or inquire of their plight. Oh, people are out there that have always had big hearts. But it seems like these ‘forgotten ‘ Americans ��� don’t realize that a lot of us were always ‘forgotten’. It will never get better as long as people keep worrying about their own wallets. We need to work together. I do not understand what they mean when they want to make America great again. With some simple research we can see that unemployment is down, homelessness is down, wages are up, emergency room visits are down and crime is down. There is bad, always will be but America is pretty great. Until the top of the food chains spread it around, we are doomed to repeat things that forget some of us. Unfortunately, those very souls are in charge for now.

*****In the confirmation hearings of the rich, old Trump picks, it was great to see Diane Feinstein hit them hard right out f the box. She immediately asks about human trafficking and abortion. Jeff sessions tells us that Roe v. wade “one of the worst, most erroneous decisions made by the supreme court ever.” Al Franken seemed to really get under his skin. Do they not see that abortion rates are the lowest they have been since ’73? With better health care and access to better reproductive education we have gotten better and more widespread use of birth control. The Pope is trying to do his part by letting Catholic charities give out condoms despite many upset that it goes against religious teachings. Sessions was confirmed.  **Rex Tillerson says the climate change studies are inconclusive. Elizabeth Warren was grilling Tom Price since he just kept going round and round and never really answering the questions.**Scott Pruitt is nominated for the EPA. He always sides with the corporate polluters, always working against the EPA.

*****They say the Wall will be a minimum of 15 to 25 billion to construct. The border is 3000 Km. long. This does not even take into account future maintenance and employees. The border towns do not seem too happy. Making it harder for people to legally cross the border is not the answer. They rely on customers that cross the border to buy their goods. Mexico is the 3rd largest trade partner of the U.S. and according to NAFTA and the WHO, Mexico can retaliate. After 9-11, the auto industry supply flow through North America from Canada to Mexico was disrupted. Do we remember the chaos that ensued?  Sanctuary cities (except Miami) are not happy but should not be threatened with funding yanked. Former Mexican President Vincente Fox says he agrees that they should withdraw from NAFTA if this happens. 20% tariffs will cause prices to go up. Current President Nieto, though not terribly popular says they will not pay for this fucking wall. Lindsey Graham is pushing back to make sure we have Corona and tequila at a decent price.

*****The SAG awards went out just before January was over. There were many shout outs to Trump and speeches about acceptance. Julia Louis was the first to win and talked of her Father, an immigrant. Sarah Paulson asked for donations to the ACLU. The most emotional speech came from Mahershala Ali who talked about being at odds with his Mother about faith but that they worked it out. Other winners included Orange is the new black, William H. Macy, Viola Davis, Bryan Cranston, John Lithgow, Denzel Washington, Emma Stone, Hidden Figures and the cast of Stranger things which seemed to be the favorite. Dolly Parton was there to give Lily Tomlin the lifetime achievement award. Jane Fonda was supposed to be there but had taken ill. The Lily montage really showed an array of so many characters that is rare even for an actor’s montage. I thought the worst dressed were Nicole Kidman, Julie Bowen, Salma Hayek and Michelle Dockery. Best dressed were Michelle Williams, Emma Stone, Sofia Vergara, Gina Rodriguez, Taraji P. Henson, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monet.

*****Meet the Press is 70 years old. Tom Brokaw has been with NBC for 50 years.

*****We have a newly discovered primate species called the Skywalker hoolock gibbon.

*****Sky arts cancelled the urban myths show about the Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando drive.

*****Criminal Minds won a People’s choice award and Jane Lynch is back this month!!

*****Marshawn Lynch made a great cameo on Brooklyn 99.

*****Scientists now believe the appendix does have a purpose. It may protect beneficial bacteria living in the gut.

*****Thank you EW for your awesome cover story on Sarandon and Lange as Davis and Crawford. The first television ad left much to be desired but Ryan Murphy has to shock I suppose. I could not believe that set designers even recovered the bedroom furniture and the piano from the original  ‘Baby Jane’ production Anyway, so excited about FEUD! Can’t wait!

*****The Tick is back.

*****Go Portland!! They have America’s first non- profit pub. You order a drink, a meal and which charity you want to support. I want to go to there. We need more of this. Those involved in the highlighted charities each month come a few times to work and tell the customers about their charity. One of those was the wayfinding Academy, a new Portland college. Exnovo Brewery is another non profit on the same wavelength.  We must have more of this in Trump’s America.

*****A new book out by Brad Meltzer called I am Jim Henson looks great.

*****Hey Rev. Pat Conroy: Isn’t the notion of opening a house session with a prayer outdated?

*****I am loving The Young Pope on HBO with Jude Law, James Cromwell and Diane Keaton. I like the contrast between the large, empty Vatican rooms and the long dialogue .

*****HBO is bringing us Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon.

*****People are alive because of the affordable care act. If the republicans wouldn’t have eliminated the risk corridor, insurance companies would not have dropped out.

*****Weird Al is coming out with a boxed set of his best.

*****Excited about the film ‘Newness’ with Danny Huston and Matthew Gray Gubler.

*****Richard Carpenter has sued Universal music for 2 million because he feels that he and his sister Karen’s estate are owed royalties.

*****Ok.. so I never really see Dateline but do appreciate Keith Morrison’s voice and the sly little things he says.  I caught a good one. They told us that the victim was pretty and there were always men around. Keith’s response: “But now she’s dead!” He was also quite wide eyed with the discussion about autoerotic asphyxiation.

*****Tom Hanks was hosting on NPR for Pete Sagal on Wait Wait don’t tell me!

*****Charmed is coming back with a prequel.

*****Biloxi, Mississippi does not celebrate MLK day.

*****Steve Harvey is a HUD consultant?

*****Georgia’s John Lewis does not recognize Trump as a legitimate President. He and many other Dem’s avoided the inauguration. The only real downside is that Russia is getting what they want. They love us squabbling amongst ourselves. It is a lot of ‘look over here while we are busy fucking you over here’. Trump is using the same play book. He is freaking about the size of the crowds at the inauguration. He puts the White House press secretary Sean Spicer out there on his first day to lie about the crowd size. CNN did not put this out live. They wanted to see what he said first , very shrewd. This might be the new normal. The press keeps asking Ms. Conway about it while we should be talking more about the women marching for their rights. I mean, talk about crowds, the women’s march had unprecedented crowds. My favorite shirt was the monster face of Trump with the American horror story logo on it. I think we need some of those knock down –blow up clowns that we played with as children only with Trumps face on them. They hit back with ‘oh they thought it would rain’ or ‘the Nielsen ratings were good.’ It is a tricky biz: Do we call him out on his ridiculous lies and blathering ? To ignore him could be dangerous but we will never get straight, coherent answers from these people. We have to put them at the bottom of the news but keep a close eye on what they are doing. Will the press be kicked out of the White House? Should they opt out on their own if they are only going to be told lies? Perhaps the Trump team just wants us to change the channel when Ms. Conway is being ridiculous so nobody is watching real news. It isn’t even spin or political speak any more, it is psychotic, blatant lies. Integrity matters.

*****Trump won’t have a lot of D.C. friends.. The map around Washington gets bluer and bluer every election cycle. The oval office is a bit frightening when you see Andrew Jackson looking on.

*****The right wants us to move on from this election. Everybody did give him a chance and every time he lets us down again. Did they let go of the birther movement? Should we forget the hateful things Trump says and continues to say? Should we thank him when we can no longer go to the doctor? He is trying to get the EPA to shut up, to keep them away from the press or social media.

*****It’s always sunny in Philadelphia and wolf cola are back! But are they trying to get taken off the air. They have always been so clever but they have been relying a bit too much on gross this season.

*****The constitution states that it is illegal for a President to not give up ownership of his business.

*****The Ringling Brothers circus is over after 146 years.

*****Liz Cheney is on board with Trump in supporting ‘enhanced interrogation.’

*****Independent lens on PBS did another riveting episode. They did a wonderful job of following Bill Genovese as he re discovers his sister, Kitty’ murder. I remember the case often in the news as I was growing up. It seemed that every other detective show did their interpretation. The murder of Kitty Genovese became a national talking point after a NY times article proclaimed that 38 onlookers did nothing. The truth had never really been known and we discover that much of what we thought we knew was wrong. After 50 years we will probably never know the whole story but the case still fascinates.

*****Seth Meyers and Mike O’Brien are working on a pilot for NBC called Deadline Reports about a high school biology teacher.

*****Stephen Colbert will host the 2017 Emmy’s. Do they even look anywhere but late night tv for hosts anymore?

*****Michael Moore is proposing a Taxes March on April 15. Yes.. Let’s see those fucking taxes.

*****The Oscar noms came out for the broadcast on Feb. 26. Wow.. nothing for Annette Benning!? But hooray for Viggo Mortenson and Michael Shannon. Hail, Caesar got a production design nod. Hmmm.

*****This Cobi fella seems pretty talented.

*****1984 from George Orwell is the top seller on Amazon.

*****So good to see Brendan Fraser making the rounds again. He is in the Affair. I think he will age like Chris Walken: a little nerdy, a little quirky, a great actor.

*****Aaron Rodgers Father is talking. He says “fame can change things.’ It seems the family does not attend Packer games.

*****Is Elizabeth Warren already looking into impeachment?

*****The inauguration: There was a lot of flap beforehand about performers. Ambassadorships were being offered to agents to get big names. Jennifer Holiday had not even agreed to be there. She had performed for 4 other Presidents. When it was announced that she would play for Trump’s inauguration, she did not quite seem to get it but that is no excuse for bullying.** All the Trump wives were there. **Ron Reagan Jr. reported that the 16 minute American carnage speech was a ‘Steve Bannon production’. It was full of darkness and bullying. **The crowd was still yelling “lock her up.” Climate change and healthcare is off the White House website. ** A couple hundred people were arrested. ** An executive order was signed to ease the burden as they repeal Obamacare? ** They filed a motion in Texas to postpone the voter ID case that has been shameful in its discrimination. They released no announcement about it, of course. It is only the beginning.**John Gore was named to head the civil rights division. He is the lawyer who defended the anti trans bathroom law and he is big on redistricting. ** Hillary Clinton was there, talk about the bigger man.**There was controversy about the inaugural cake because someone from the Trump staff ordered a replica of Obama’s cake that had been made by Duff. The cake shop used this time was asked to make a Styrofoam cake with 1 real piece for cutting. The owner said they do not refuse service to anyone because of their sexual orientation or political leanings so they did it. She and her employees decided to donate the money to charity. They gave it to the Human rights campaign who believe that Trump is unfit for the presidency.

*****Lisa Madigan is fighting against the shady practices of student loans.

*****Why are there missile launchers at the DAPL?

*****IT is the Year of the Rooster!!

*****Howard Dean is calling out the democratic leaders to do more.

*****Trump reorganized the National Security council. He stuck Steve Bannon in there and put the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on sort of a need to know basis. These are person who should be indispensable.

*****Trump may be letting go of the torture bone with some convincing by Gen. Mattis. Perhaps this will be one that he finally lets go of.

*****Rutland Vermont has hundreds of jobs available and are welcoming refugees. Well, they were until our fearless leader decided to ban people from 7 Muslim countries from coming into this country. And why would Iraq even be in this lineup? As of this writing, I am looking at CNN and watching the protests that are happening at JFK and all over the country. There was a stay put in place by a judge but Priebus later said they apologize for nothing and that there was no chaos. How do they say things with a straight face? Why are they so fucking scared of people that don’t look like them? They should be scared of themselves, most serial killers are white men! Should we ship them out?? Justin Trudeau says Canada will welcome those fleeing prosecution. CEO’s are weighing in from ETSY to Box on how despicable this all is. Even Dick Cheney stated that this is “against everything we stand for.” With all the protests and anger that is flaring, I would think that police and employees at airports etc. are going to be sick of all the extra stress and angst that Trump is causing them. All I can figure is that the President, his cohorts and supporters are terribly miserable folks. They seem to want to make the rest us unhappy as well. This administration seems to want to pull big government into everything. I was under the impression that they were against that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the law seems to be on Trumps side. Precedent gives the President sweeping power as to whom he lets in this country because of national security. Giuliani told a reporter that Trump asked him how he could do a legal Muslim ban and I guess this is what they came up with. Congressman Seth Moulton said in a statement that the ban made him “ashamed Trump is our President. His policies literally put our troops’ lives at risk. There is nothing in his executive order that improves the vetting process.”

*****San Francisco is suing Trump over his executive order about sanctuary cities.

*****ISIS is already using this ban against us.

*****The New Orleans Jazz fest welcomes Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty, Alabama Shakes, Snoop Dogg and The Roots to name a few.

*****Bounce tv hosted the Trumpet awards.

*****Aimee Mann has a new LP, ‘Mental Illness”. She will be touring America to promote her very acoustic new music inspired by folk rock of the 60’s and 70’s.

****Trump has nominated Judge Neal M. Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. His mother, Anne was part of the Reagan administration.

*****Al Franken in 2020!

*****RIP William Peter Blatty, the Ft. Lauderdale victims, Kevin Holt, Yanni “John” Alexis Mardas, Tommy Allsup, Miguel Ferrer , Geoff Nicholls,  Barbara Hale, John Hurt, Mary Tyler Moore and Margaret Jean Lipinski