Kentucky's Ex-GOP Governor's Adopted Ethiopian Son, Abandoned in Jamaica, Needs Our Help

The Lexington Herald-Leader front-page story is about Jonah Bevin, the adopted son of GOP Ex-Governor, Matt Bevin -  whom the Bevins abandoned at a youth facility in Jamaica - now shut down due to discovered physical abuse.

For those unaware of the backstory, former Kentucky Governor, Matt Bevin (R) and his wife, Glenna - who are white - adopted Jonah from Ethiopia. (He is the taller child on the left in the center of the photograph.)

However, a couple of years ago, they clandestinely sent him off to a youth facility called "Atlantis" for troubled children in Jamaica,  where he was beaten regularly and never heard from the Bevins.

In fact, it wasn't until Paris Hilton - yes, that Paris Hilton - caught wind of the abuse and stepped in with her  11:11 Media Impact, a charity organization, chronicled in the London Sunday Times, that things improved for Jonah. 

Her organization was started after her own first-hand experience of herself being sent to one of these youth camps and being abused and witnessing abuse, which for "troubled teens" only makes things worse.

The center was shut down after the organization and authorities found evidence of abuse.

However, Jonah had nowhere to go - the Bevins had abandoned him.

In fact, he hadn't heard from his family since the day they dropped him off a few years ago.

Thus, Paris Hilton's organization stepped up again and settled him back in the U.S. in Utah, where after just now turning 18, he works as he can in construction, and the Themis Youth Law Advocacy has set up the GoFundMe page for Jonah.

Jonah hadn't heard from his adoptive father since he dropped him off a few years ago, until a few weeks ago, after Louisville press caught wind of Jonah's story, and when he DID call him - he offered to send him back to Ethiopia!?!

You heard me right, folks - the only time Jonah heard from his adoptive father (Matt Bevin) was just a few weeks ago - after Louisville press caught wind of his story  -  to offer to literally ship him back to Africa!

In case you thought Jonah is making this up, the Themis Law has confirmed this happened and that at first, poor Jonah thought this was a good thing - he thought it meant his mother was still alive - until the law center explained that it wasn't.

This is ... absolutely disgusting.

This story just goes to show you that just because white people adopt children of color doesn't mean they're not racist.

In fact, it often means they're trying to teach people of color to behave white and become frustrated if they don't or won't.

They are also unprepared for the trauma issues that come with adopting children from impoverished or war-torn countries. tack on being totally unprepared culture shock/culture clash confusion.

Then tack onto that the racism their children will face, especially in today's political climate, particularly if their adopted by a conservative politician that denies racism even exists!

And so you have to wonder - would they have abandoned a white adopted child in Jamaica or offered to send them back if they were troubled?

Likely not. 

And can you imagine if you were one of the other 3 children of color adopted by the Bevins, how terrified you would be now to ever step out of line, the pressure they're under?

"I don't want what happened to Jonah to happen to me," right?

Especially now that the Bevins are divorcing - and in fact, Matt has been barred by a judge from their home due to harassment charges fieled by Glenna.

And in case there was any doubt - yes -  Matt Bevin was, and still is, a die-hard Trumper.

In fact, Bevin previously made headlines just before leaving office for pardoning any criminal that supported him or whose family supported him, including child rapists and convicted murderers, a few of whom went on to commit crimes.

Trump, however, apparently thought rewarding loyal supporters with a pardon, despite being violent criminals, was a great idea and decided to follow suit by pardoning even violent offenders in the the J6 crowd?

And just like in the cases Bevin pardoned, a few of them have already gotten themselves in trouble with the law again, even violent crimes again, since their release, including one J6 man in Indiana who was fatally shot by a Sheriff's deputy, after he attacked the deputy during a traffic stop)

Regardless, I know things are tough economically for everybody, right now, myself included, but if you can imagine how much worse it is for Jonah, who never asked to come here and then was abandoned by a high-profile politician, his only offer being to send him back to Africa?

But if you can afford to shed just a little light in Jonah's life and help him rebuild his future, once again, Jonah's GoFundMe page is HERE. 

I didn't have much to donate, but I did - because this story absolutely broke my heart today.  💔

I mean, there's a lot of horrible news we've become desensitized to lately, but this one literally made my cry; in fact, I can't stop thinking about it.

This is one story you do NOT just gloss over and add it to the building pile of horror, right?

This story is one to share - and a story that you, personally, can actually do something about!

Jonah, 

I'm SO sorry the Bevins failed you and aren't being held accountable for the adoption-abandonment - which apparently the law is still unclear on -  which means WE failed you.

Not everybody in Kentucky and America is this shallow, this heartless, this merciless, this impatient with your trauma history from both Ethiopia and here, or frankly, this racist.

Here's to hoping you now experience at least some of these better Kentuckians and better Americans now   💓

Project 2025 Goal Completion Tracker Website

 

Though Trump distanced himself from the Project 2025 movement, the organization was created in anticipation of Trump winning the election.

You may read the official Project 2025 agenda HERE. 

Though there are literally hundreds of goals, their main goal is to defund/dismantle/strip power from the federal government - to eventually include the legislative (congress) and judicial branches of federal government -  but  increase funding/power to the executive branch, the president, thus giving the POTUS literal dictator  or king-like authority.

Additionally, their website expressly states that a weakened judicial branch means "politically-motivated" investigations and prosecutions will end.

Note they neglect to mention who gets to decide what investigations/prosecutions are politically motivated versus legitimate, the implication being that since legislative and judicial branches are weakened, it is the POTUS himself gets to decide.

In other words, as critics have said, Project 2025 is a thinly-veiled  attempt to turn the country into a dictator-led, White Christian Nationalist country, and to weaken the judicial system to prevent prosecutions for violating the constitution, corruption, and/or other crime..

And if you read at Project 2025's own website, you will see for yourself that the critics aren't wrong.

In fact, look for yourself to see how many Project 2025 goals have already been accomplished since Trump took office - it's frightening.

But in case you have trouble navigating Project 2025's multipoint plan, someone created this P2025 goal tracker to our local Reddit thread, which tracks each goal and how many goals have already been implemented since Trump took office.

I don't know who the author is, so I can't vouch for legitimacy, but it does contain direct quotes from Project 2025's own website and you are welcome to compare it to their website and see for yourself.

I forewarn you - the number of their goals already accomplished in one month is astonishing.

Now, if you're a conservative, initially all this anti-DEI and "waste-cutting" language may sound good to you - until you realize what it actually means.

You may not even realize it until you lose your job, your child's education, or even your home, because you never realized just how many things the federal government at least partially subsidizes - if not the funding for your job or your child's school directly, then the loans you received for your education  or even for your home loan.

And in fact, the price of goods hasn't gone down at all as a result, like you hoped, under Trump, has it? 

In fact, they've actually gone up another 3% this month - and they will continue to, due to tariffs and because there's no longer any federal checkpoints in place, especially since Trump rolled back consumer protection laws with EOs and is returning tax shelters for corporations and the wealthy at the same rate as when he was in office before, which was the highest level of all time!

So if you personally haven't felt "buyer's remorse" with Trump yet, give it time - you soon will. 

In fact, it's already happening to a certain degree in our state of Kentucky - stories are trickling in from all parts of the state about the Trump-voting farmers who were just screwed by Trump, as well as Trump voters working for state and local offices for Social Security, IRS, and the FBI in Kentucky, who lost their jobs, thinking Trump's promised federal-level cuts would never affect their jobs, stating they "feel betrayed."

In fact, there have been so many reports coming in that this was an email from the Lexington Herald-Leader, this morning ...

 

Now look - I'm sorry that you all allowed yourselves to be so distracted with fear-mongering about immigrants and abortion and LGBTQ, DEI - things that really don't affect you/are none of your business, if you're honest - such that you didn't realize this was going to happen - but we told you so.

In fact, not only did we Dems tell you so, but Trump said so himself.

However, maybe you weren't aware, since the only news you read/watch is right-wing press, who either didn't tell you these other things he said or lightly touched on them, then moved on to fear-mongering you about abortion and LBGTQ and immigrants, which frankly isn't your business or doesn't affect you anyway.

In which case, it's still your fault for not listening to anything but right-wing sleight-of-hand press!

Now - there's no need for panic yet, and I'm really not trying to fear-monger myself.

(Though I admit, I did get a cold chill myself, when I saw how many of their goals had already been completed since Trump took office.)

What I AM trying to do is wake you up, give you a final warning bell - because it's still not too late to stop it.

However, the only way to stop it now is the legislative branch, the U.S. Congress, before they are stripped in power under the guises of "cutting federal waste" too.

Call your US Congress people, support your US Congress people - before they don't have the power anymore to stop it. 

Time to wake up and get real, Trumpers - though thus far, you have treated this like a fun basketball game you're watching, it's not and never has been - this is going to affect you more than immigration, abortion, LGBTQ, DEI or any other nothing-burger issue the GOP  ever came up with as a distraction tactic ever could, if it hasn't already.

You've always said you feared "the enemy within" tearing down our country.

Do you not realize that's exactly what's happening now - and that you voted for it yourselves?

RIP Gene Hackman

 

If you want to make it in Hollywood, but you're not the most attractive guy in the room, then you'd better be good at what you do - not just good, but the best - that was Gene Hackman. 🥲

Interestingly, he also didn't hit it big until he was 40 years old - and then he was everywhere!

Though most often he played villains later in his career, he also could play it tender, which people often forget due to his later films.

In fact, his death just reminded me of a conversation I had with my estranged older sister in the 90s, when she pronounced Gene Hackman as "evil" 😂

 

I even remember where we had this conversation, for some reason - it was at a Buona Beef restaurant in Chicago.

So I laughed and said "Hahaha, WHAT?  How do YOU know Gene Hackman is evil, do you know him personally? I think you're confusing some of the roles he plays with the man?"

She said "He looks like Dad and he always plays evil characters."

???

I was like "Yeah, um ... that's acting?  That's why he's won two Academy Awards.  They typically don't give those out for just playing yourself on screen, Jack Nicholson perhaps being the only exception."

Okay, it's true that as my dad aged, he did look a bit like Gene Hackman, but the poor man can't help he looked like my Dad!?! 😂

And just because he looks like him doesn't mean he behaves like him?

And Gene does have an intensity in certain roles much like that of Adam Driver, but again, that's good acting?

But I guess she hadn't seen him in The Poseidon Adventure, where he played a Reverend who led everybody out to safety and sacrificed himself for their survival.

Or even Carrie Fisher's Postcards from the Edge,  starring Meryl Streep (an underrated film, IMO), where he played the fatherly director, who has to fire her for inability to perform due to cocaine abuse and then rehires her after rehab to do the looping because he still believes in her.

She apologizes to him profusely for "ruining his film" and he says "Don't be sorry, just fix it," then wraps his arms around her and says "Look at that screen. Look at what you can do and you were barely conscious. Imagine what you can do sober" - and the movie ends with him directing her in a new film.

But then that's my older sister, snap-judging people based on how things hit her emotionally, with flawed logic, pronouncing everyone else "evil" so she can feel morally superior, a list which includes even babies and toddlers (she has no children); in fact, this is one of many reasons why we're estranged, but that's another story. 😂

But we continued the discussion about villains actually being more fun to play, which she didn't get at all. 

I said

"Because it's a challenge, especially if you're actually a good person." 

"Because that's what acting actually is, playing somebody completely different from who you really are. Otherwise, you're just playing another version of yourself, which isn't acting at all."

"And let's be honest, if you had the choice between  playing Snow White or the Wicked Witch, which is more fun to play?"

"It doesn't mean you ARE a witch in real life, or even that you admire or want to BE one, it's just a more challenging, interesting role to play."

"And if you're really good at it, people who confuse fantasy and reality -  or their own skewed perception of the world versus objective reality -  will believe you really ARE a Wicked Witch!" 

"That's Gene Hackman. In fact, he'd probably take it as a huge compliment that you really believe he's evil 😂"

"And some people who always played white-hatted good cowboys were actually real-life a-holes, like John Wayne" 

My sister said "John Wayne was an a-hole?"

*Sigh*

Oh, girl ... snap out of it.

But my brother-in-law totally got that and said "I get it. For men, it'd be like if you had the choice between playing Bob the Knight or the  tyrant King?" 😂

My sister shot him daggers for a look and he stop talking, of course, and ended up agreeing with her. 😏

And I'm sure she twisted that convo later and used it as some kind of warped, effed up that evidence I belonged on her evil list, too - which again, also included even babies and toddlers - but most people that live in actual reality know what I meant, especially people in the field or artistic, creative people.

Regardless, we don't know Gene Hackman personally and he was famously private and protective, especially with his kids. We also know that he retired from Hollywood in 2004 and left all of that life behind. We've also never heard any behind-the-scenes horror stories, but who knows?  

Maybe we'll find out more now that he's gone . Maybe he was a jerk. Maybe he was good man. Maybe he was somewhere in between like most people. 

The truth is, we really don't know who Gene Hackman was at all- we only know that he was one hell of an actor and made us believe he was who he was playing!

My favorite film of his was The French Connection, actually, in which he plays a cop trying to track down a wealthy French heroin dealer, for which he won his first Oscar.  I haven't seen it in years, but I'll watch it again this weekend in his honor. 

Or Mississippi Burning, where he played an FBI agent devoted to getting to the bottom of 3 missing civil rights workers, where he displayed both toughness and tenderness?

I also absolutely loved him in The Birdcage, where he played a Republican Senator from Ohio, whose daughter was marrying the son of two gay men from Miami, which was at first hidden from him, and then he had to escape the press by dressing in drag when he left!

And in The Unforgiven, though he played an overly letter-of-the-law sheriff, Little Bill, he was also kind of hilarious, exposing the truth to the biographer of a British "outlaw," who had coined himself "The Duke of Death" that though the British outlaw was present, he was actually coward who never shot anybody, and thus, Little Bill calls him instead the "Duck of Death."  😂

As for his death, along with his wife and dog, the only situations I can think of where that could happen and not be foul play is either suicide pact or carbon monoxide poisoning?

I'm gonna go with the latter because who would include their dog in the former?

Either way, super sad - RIP Gene Hackman

____________________________

PS 

Okay, so I had assumed carbon-monoxide poisoning, but this story is getting weirder.

Not like foul-play weird, still likely accidental weird - but WTH?

So it's being reported that cops said carbon-monoxide levels were not high and that there were no gas leaks.

They also reported that it looked like they fell while standing up - as if they literally "dropped dead" in separate rooms?

Also, the one dog died just a few feet from her, but the other two were alive?

There were apparently scattered pills in the bathroom where she was found, and though they didn't say what the pills were, but it appeared  like she dropped them when she fell? 

So ... dropping dead while standing up isn't really typical or consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning?

I mean, of course, I don't know for sure, but typically, people who have carbon-monoxide poisoning get super sleepy and then lie down, and when they go to sleep, that's it. 

(Not always, I'm sure, but people who have survived it have said this.)

So unless the report of no gas leaks and low carbon-monoxide levels  is false or was performed improperly, my next guess would be accidental overdose of something - but the argument against that is the dog's death, especially one dog out of the three?

So then my last guess would be they accidentally ingested something poisonous - perhaps even unknowingly fed it as a treat to the one dog versus the others - accidental poisoning?

The latter would explain why she was in the bathroom trying to self-medicate her symptoms, right?

Beyond that, I have no clue.

I'm not saying this is foul play, in fact, I don't think so - it really sounds accidental - but I guess ya never know. 

Super weird, we shall see. 

Hilarious Parallel Universe Dream?

 

So because I have PTSD, I don't often have great dreams, but that has gotten better with time.  About a month ago, however, during a "trigger" event, I instead had good dreams, comforting dreams for like 5 nights in a row, which was, ya know, weird ... not typical.

When I woke up, I told Mark about this dream for a laugh, which has come to be known as the "parallel universe" dream. 

I thought I'd post it here so my in-laws could get a kick out of it, too. 😊

Keep in mind that I had no idea that Kristen Bell was hosting the SAG awards this year until this past week, or that she had ever hosted them before, I swear to God.  In fact, I didn't watch them, last night. 

(I do have a SAG membership, though, from something I did as a child, but that's another story.)

So in real, waking life - in this universe - one of my brothers-in-law is an executive for NBC/Universal Studios in LA.

(No, really - he really is!)

However, in the dream, we had moved to LA for some reason, as had my sister-in-law and her husband. 

I don't know what we were doing for a living, but I think sister-in-law's husband was doing something in sports and entertainment now, with brother-in-law's support?

(Just to keep people straight, LA-brother-in-law and sister-in-law are twins.  Sister-in-law and her husband actually moved recently from Connecticut, just outside NYC, to Tampa). 

Sister-in-law was hosting an afterparty for an awards ceremony, like the Oscars, Emmys, SAG, or Golden Globes.  

(That would be very her to do, by the way, and it would likely be glorious!)

I want to say it must've been the Emmys or Golden Globes or SAG, because it was mostly TV people.

Anyway, because she was new in town and she had competition for afterparties, she was worried people would go to another party.

And of course, once the party was started, some business crisis did happen, so my brother-in-law exec had to go handle it immediately upstairs.  

Whatever the crisis was, my sister-in-law's husband was also involved and was also upstairs and my sister in law had to help and run back and forth from party to "crisis" center. 

Anyway, Mark and I decided to run interference and play party hosts, having no idea how to host a Hollywood business party. 

Mark talked mostly to the sports people present, that being more his forte, so I talked to the artsy people/musicians present and we both talked to the execs. Many exec people that I don't recognize in waking life, but whose faces I still remember from the dream, as apparently I did know them somehow in the dream?

So then of course the DJ and band don't show up.  

However, The Roots and Questlove graciously and heroically stepped in to do live-band karaoke!

Whatever business "crisis" or rumor was happening, it was affecting people showing up for the party and my sister-in-law was losing it.

I was at the door as people came in, greeting them very genuinely rather than formally, like I do - not much of a gameplayer. 

It was pretty clear that many people were just "house-hopping" for parties, literally walking down the street to decide which party to go on.

So the guys from "Queer Eye" showed up, phones in hand.

Right as they got to the door, Jonathan Van Ness looked at his phone and said ...

JVN:  "Oh my God, we can't come in. I just remembered we all have lice, sorry" - and started to walk away. 😂

Me:  (Laughing out loud):  "OMG, me too!  Wow, you're a hairstylist and just remembered you have lice.   Did your agent just tell you not to come to this party and go to another after party instead?"  

 

JVN: "Guilty. Until this is sorted out, we were advised to stay away from this brand. It's probably a competitor making up stuff, but until then ... "

 

Me: "Oh, eff your agent, nothing could sink you guys anyway. Plus unlike other afterparties, no press, paparazzi, or phone for pics - what happens in this house, stays in this house, no  paparazzi or pictures - NOT because we're having a freak-off, but because the band didn't show up, so  Quest Love and Roots stepped in and we're doing live-band karaoke." 

"We could use your help. Better hurry, Ted Danson just got up onstage to do "Push It" and nobody is drunk enough yet for that. Phones in the bag, though, please, thank you!" 😂

So after everyone who was going to come in was in, karaoke and drinks and hors d'oeuvres ensued and it turned into a less formal funfest. After a while, we just let people just walk in the kitchen and get whatever they want, as if they were house guests staying with us rather than party guests.

Then I decided to turn the karaoke over to the hardworking staff rather than trained performers for a minute, which included my other brother-in-law, B who was bartending, the caterer's team, and then I decided to give it a try. 

(I can't remember what B sang because I was busy subhosting, but I want to say it was either a Jimmy Buffet Song or Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" or maybe even Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds (Don't Worry)?  😂

I want to say it was the latter 😊

Then I belted out Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker," hitting all the high notes.  I could literally feel myself getting the breath to hit them and smiled when I did, a surprise even to myself.

I just remember Kristen Bell and Dax Sheppard being right in front of me, rocking out and cheering me on.

Afterwards, in fact, I hung out with them - they were so genuine and fun!

Like me, they didn't care about the hobnobbing, they kept it real.

Kristen said I had a Broadway-style voice and should've been a singer.

I told her I used to sing, but I've smoked way too much for that. 😂

People came up and congratulated me, both for that impromptu performance and for managing the party as best I could, despite  whatever was going on.

Aaron Boone, the manager for the New York Yankees (and former Cincinnati Reds player) was there and put a Yankees hat on my head? 😂

Then in the wee hours of the morning, my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and her husband came down and said the crisis was averted, damage control was done, but I was never clued in as to what it was, only that it was handled.

All's well that ends well?  😂

After what I did to earn that SAG membership at age 12, I never really wanted to be an actress.  I didn't like being the center of attention, actually, I'd rather be behind the camera, like a screenwriter - a support person.  

In fact, I got along better with the crew than I did the "talent" at that time anyway.  In fact, that is the one time in my life that I felt like I found "my people," that I belonged.

Nevertheless, it was a great dream during a rough time rather than a nightmare, and gave me a smile, right?  😊

King Thutmose II's Tomb Found - And It Wasn't in the Valley of the Kings

Announced by press release yesterday was the most significant archaeological find since Tutankhamun a century ago   - King Thutmose II's tomb was discovered 2 km west of the Valley of the Kings.

He looks pretty good, for being almost 3,000 years old, right?  

Remarkably well preserved, in fact.  

Now, here's what's interesting ...

So  instead of being discovered in the Valley of the Kings, his tomb was instead found near - but not in - the burial tombs for royal women.

The official explanation thus far is that there is evidence the tomb was moved, likely due to flooding - but it's still near the royal women's burial tombs instead of the Valley of the Kings?

So this is especially interesting because his wife was none other than the famous/infamous Hatshepsut - is the "female pharaoh," who many believed actually ruled or co-ruled during his reign, and later  fully donned both the pharaoh headdress and fake beard after his death.

Though officially, she was only coregent with her stepson, Thutmose III, he was only 2 years old at his father's death; thus, she became coregent until he was old enough to rule, but by the 7th year of her reign, elevated herself to pharaoh.

Thutmose III, of course, had her name literally erased/removed from nearly all Egyptian monuments and records - HOWEVER -  some history of her reign remained on the walls of tombs of those buried during her reign, as well as chronicles exist from other cultures with whom she had established vast trade routes - the largest ever seen in the "world," at that time.

In fact, since her reign was a peaceful and prosperous one, it has been postulated that the reason was her preference for diplomacy and trade versus war campaigns as a method to obtain resources.

However, others say though she did establish the most widespread trade routes in history, at that time, she simply benefitted from those before her as far as peace.

Of course "they" would say that - "they" always say that 😂 

However, one argument against the latter would be that we have  since learned that trade is the best way to obtain resources, and if both parties aren't happy with this trade, this often leads to war. but it didn't.

The second argument against the "inherited peace/prosperity" theory  VS earned peace/prosperity is that war returned when her stepson, Thutmose III, came to power that Egypt.

In fact, he was known as an expert military strategist and returned Egypt to military war "campaigns" as a means of gaining resources (and territory) rather than diplomacy and trade.

Thus, he is called "Thutmose the Great" as a result of his war-like antics. 

Don't know if that's so "great," though - considering during his stepmom's reign it was a peaceful, prosperous time, but he returned Egypt to invasion and bloodshed again as a means of obtaining new resources.

But allllrighty - guess it depends on your definition of "great."

Regardless, my question is this ... 

Okay, so his tomb was moved to water damage - but why was it moved close to the women's section rather than somewhere Valley of the Kings?

To hide it from thieves, being that this was late dynasty?

Was it because they ran out of space in the VOTK?

Was it an insult for letting Hatshepsut co-rule/have more power even before his death, during his own reign?

Was it because he was considered weak or effeminate or going way out on a limb with this question, dare I say, possibly even LGBTQ?

Perhaps we will learn more as time goes by.  Or not, considering Thutmose "The Great" the III may have been a great war-mongerer, but he a complete idiot for erasing everything during that time so that we may never know, out of his own vainglory. 😏

And in fact, 2,600 years later, that's what he's most remembered for - not for expanding Egypt territory or military strategy, but for trying in vain to erase his stepmother's legacy out of his own apparent insecurity, misogyny, and need for vainglory.

"Let's just erase her as if she didn't exist."

However, despite his best efforts, how many of us recognize the name Hatshepsut more than we recognize the name Thutmose III? 😊

This is because he was just more of the same-ole, same-ole. 

She, on the other hand, was incredibly interesting and way ahead of her time.

Also, this find is especially interesting during a time when our own world leaders - particularly ours here in the U.S. - have devolved back to an aggressive "world-dominance" mentality as a means of gaining resources - aggressive trade "wars" that insulting and aren't mutually beneficial, even invasion of territory and war? 

From wherever they are in their Egyptian afterlife, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II give the world a quiet sigh?  😊

Elon Musk's Son, "X"

 

Okay, so I've heard all takes what others think Elon Musk's son, "X" said at the White House Press Conference now.

As much as I would LOVE it to be true that X parroted his Dad saying those things directly to Trump -  I also like to be fair and honest, even when the person(s) we're talking about can't be. 

(And in another why, I wouldn't love it - because no 5-year-old should be talking to anyone that way, parroting parents or not -  plus it would be confirmation that the child has overheard the sort of scary stuff that we all suspect are Elon's motives anyway.)

So being that I've been a medical transcriptionist for 27 years - my job being to figure out what doctors/providers are dictating on audio while they whisper, dictate in the middle of the ICU or ER with beeping and God knows what going on, eat sandwiches, burp, yawn,  fart, flush toilets, flirt with nurses and/or put their mouths directly on the receiver when dictating - I thought I'd take a crack at it myself, with my headphones on.

IMO, here's what Little X said: 

At 1:58: "[Unintelligible] President, which means go away."

at 19:07: "[Unitelligible], right now.  I want you to shush ... your mouth."

HOWEVER - I'm not convinced he's talking directly to Trump.

In fact, if you watch the video, he appears to be looking past Trump, at someone else to the right of Trump - possibly press?

Also Trump isn't even speaking then - X's father, Elon is.

Thus, it at least appears to me that he's shushing someone else in the room who's talking while his Dad and the president speak?

Again - as much as some would like to believe X said at 1:58 "You're not really the president, which means to go away" - I think it's not clear, so people are filling in with their minds with what they want to hear. 

As for X saying "I want you to shush your mouth" at 19:07 -  X absolutely IS saying that one, without a shadow of a doubt.

HOWEVER, again, on video, he appears to be looking at someone to the right of Trump.

Perhaps if we could get a wider shot or a different angle?

As for why Elon - OR his 5-year-old son - are allowed to just take over the room and order anyone around is another issue.

X is clearly mimicking his father throughout the video, yes -  but it's not okay to talk to anyone like that at 5 years old!

Regardless, my opinion is - X wasn't talking to Trump anyway.

Also, IMO, I think the best part of the video is Trump lauding the kid beforehand by saying "He's a high-IQ-ed individual" about a 5-year-old child - who then proceeds to pick his nose on camera in the White House!  😂

What's more disturbing is what X said while sitting on his Dad's knee during the Tucker Carlson interview a few months ago.

Though I can't find the full interview with his son in it, only shorts - with Tucker Carlson having edited out this part on his own channel - here is what X said:  

It's not entirely clear, even nonsensical (likely because he's parroting "someone" and has no idea what he's actually saying):  

"Before in Space X ... and then quietly just do ... whatever we want"  Hehehehahaha!

Holy Mother of God, did anyone else get a chill hearing that sinister laugh out of a 5-year-old? 😂

Ha ha, yeah ...  *nervous laugh* ... quietly just do whatever you want, sure ... *Gulp.*

Of course, that's NOT really his laugh, nor his own thoughts - he's parroting "someone," that's why it's jumbled it.

Gosh, I wonder who?

Pretty sure it's not his mom, who has denounced Elon putting her son in the public eye like that.

People forget, the saying actually goes "Out of the mouths of babes come things we shouldn't have said."

For an extra nervous laugh, remember that I've jokingly compared Elon Musk to Dr. Evil before.

In the full clip - which I can't find but shorts of - he literally calls X, "Mini Me!" and then the kid laughs that sinister, Dr. Evil laugh, like his father!  😂😂😂

Great sociopath training, Elon - allowing your son to order people around rudely and do "whatever he wants!"

Oh, Lord help us all, and I mean that!

The Top 5 Reasons Gladiator II (Harry Potter and the Mad Twin Emperors?) Was So Disappointing

Yesterday was Mark's birthday, so because the weather is crap, I cooked him a pancake breakfast and a spaghetti and meatballs dinner because it's his favorite (homemade sauce), opened gifts, ate cake and ice cream, and spent most of the day watching his choice of movies, which of course included zombies, military stuff, and action movies 😂

That isn't as horrible and macho as it sounds, actually - with the exception of Geostorm, which was highly predictable, highly implausible, and had no one endearing in it except for Andy Garcia as POTUS.

Speaking of no one endearing, as our finale, we watched Gladiator II.

Now before I start counting the many ways in which this film was a disappointment, in my view, remember that there are only 2 things I'm snobby about - film and architecture.

Again, not only because I once aspired to be a screenwriter, but also because if you have THAT kind of money to create either, don't be putting lipsticks on pigs and selling them to us for double the price, please 😂

Plus with Gladiator, you're talking about one of my favorite movies of all time!

In fact, I had held off on watching this one because nothing can top the first one - even IF Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington are in it!

Although Denzel Washington was the most interesting character in the entire film (but for the wrong reasons - plus his American accent didn't gel well), as were the robes he wore.

Never fully Roman, never fully West/North-African Dashiki, never fully Egyptian, they were a mixture of all of the above, like Macrinus himself; in fact, as I said, they were their own character.

Let's face it/be honest - colorful regal robes and gold jewelry do look better on darker skin.

And nobody rocks a robe and makes robes on men look sexy quite like Denzel!

But he was not endearing - far from it.

In fact, no one was as endearing in this sequel at all, with the exception of Pedro Pascal as General Acacius (because it's Pedro) and Ravi (Alexander Hakim) who almost endeared us, but didn't have enough screen time, as well as returning characters Connie Nielson as Queen Lucilla and Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus.

I don't know what has happened to Ridley Scott, but his movies feel rushed, poorly edited and thus incohesive, lacking completely in warmth or warm moments or clever dialog, but long on battles and special effects, like he's Michael Bay instead of Ridley Scott, but most importantly, everything is dumbed down, as if you didn't catch it the first 5 times it was pointed out to you.

Maybe that's just what sells, these days, but ... yeah.

*SPOILER ALERTS*

In other words, here's what was the first film had that the second film lacked/was completely devoid of:

1)        The Gladiator depicted as quiet thinker/strategist, but simultaneously a commanding-presence -  engaging in battle not because he wanted to, but because he had to.

 

Maximus preferred to be a farmer, but was forced, out of military obligation, survival, and/or loyalty to a friend and his country -  or at most, when already forced into these positions, to avenge the rape/murder of his family  - because he was good at it.

He knew when to be tough and when to be tender - when to be relentless and when to show mercy -  which is what endeared him to us (especially the ladies)!

In fact, talking to female friends at the time, we considered the character of Maximus to be the perfect man. 😍

The only character like that in the film was NOT Paul Mescal as Maximus's son, Lucius, but Pedro Pascal as Acacius - but Ridley didn't allow Pedro enough screen time to seal that! 

(Again, see my poor editing point below.)

This is why he was likely chosen for this role and why we ladies love him - his balance of tough and tender/warmth - and had he been 10-15 years younger, he would've made an excellent Lucius.

But instead, we see little of him at all, perhaps not to overshadow Lucius, but this strategy is an epic fail.

(Also Alexander Hakim did a good job of this, in a different way, but more on him below.)

Nothing against Paul Mescal as an actor overall, but I this wasn't his best role. He reminded me of it would've been like if Daniel Radcliffe/Harry Potter played Lucius! 

In fact, sometimes I felt like I was watching a Harry Potter movie - "Harry Potter and the Mad Twin Emperors"😂

Unlike Maximus, he was a bit whiny, a bit too screamy?

He also appeared to enjoy battle and the kill, too much, and even when he was showing mercy, I felt like he didn't mean it. 

At other times, I felt like he was impersonating Russell Crowe rather than channeling him, rather than feeling it?

I just didn't buy it.  Instead of seeing similarity, I saw parody!

Plus when he laughed, it was sinister, almost crazy, or like he was some sort of tweaker/meth-head!

I often wondered if he could've better played one of the crazy-ass twin-brother emperors instead!

Also, I didn't get why the rage and need for revenge over his wife's death surpassed Maximus's rage.

Hanno/Lucius's wife was a military archer in battle and chose to be there.  

Maximus's wife in Spain, raising their son and horses on a farm, far from the battlefield, but his enemies sought them out, and she and her son were both raped and burned, so-?

I mean, I get grief, I get Lucious feeling abandoned by his mother (who sent him off for his own safety), I get his hatred of the Roman Empire as it was by then, but I don't get why his rage and need for revenge actually surpassed his father's, who experienced even greater losses, to include his non-military family, far from the battlefield?

And when he gave a speech to the crowd, he did just that - gave a speech, instead of delivering a speech. 

 He sort of screamed it, like he was angrily shouting at the refs at a basketball game, meant to incite the crowd, instead of delivering a thought-provoking oration for them to mull over before his next move.

But maybe that's the fault of the screenwriters - which brings me to #2.

2)     The dialog.

Most of the time, instead of creating new lines for us to still quote, 25 years later, they kept repeating lines from the first one, and with less flare.

I mean, how many times have I thought or even said out loud "The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end" when watching something Trump or Elon just said/did?

In fact, even when they said these great lines from the first film, they said them like we, the audience does, to each other, 25 years later.

In fact, I can't think of a single line I'd remember except perhaps Macrinus, repeating Marcus Aurelius's words "The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed your injury."


Unfortunately, a screenwriter didn't write that one, though - Marcus Aurelius really did.

However, Michelle Obama delivered the modern version "When they go low, we go high" 😊

(Speaking of which, where were Lucilla's brief-but-great speeches attempting to stop the madness of warmongering men?)

And though Marcinus lived by it, he missed the point completely - Marcus Aurelius meant not to stoop to the level of your enemy - not become even less merciless, greedy, and power-hungry!

And Lucius is Lucilla and Maximus's son, we get it already, most of us figured that out in the first 10 minutes, so how dumb do you think we are?

Well, half of this country did for Trump and have the attention span of gnats, so never mind.

3)     A linear story with smooth transitions, rather than huge gaps due to poor editing or Ridley feeling these elements weren't important to the story, but they actually were, to help us understand how we got here?

Not to mention, the "downtime" scenes, the behind-the-action scenes between the the characters is what endears the characters to us. There weren't enough of those; thus, we didn't especially care what happened to whom, except the existing characters in the first one, and that was mostly based on pure memory (Lucilla, Grachhus).

4)    Lack of its own composed score, or any composed score at all?

Gladiator had a magnificent composed score, but this had a couple of moments of just piping out the first one for a few moments.

Those are missing today in general, great music scores. We see them with TV shows like Yellowstone, Game of Thrones, Evil, etc, but not in movies anymore.

Great scores/soundtracks were part of the grandeur of "going to the movies" - are they gone?

I hope not!

5) Believable special effects.

I could see the CGI very clearly in this film, done poorly. 

Dang, why didn't you use the CGI-makers for Game of Thrones, since this was a partially British production anyway?

Ancient Rome looked like a drawing - and the baboons, what the ??

I understand not fighting real baboons, but what the hell kinda baboons were these supposed to be?

And they don't look remotely like a real creature, they look like cartoons.

Or more accurately, like cartoon versions of the giant hairless flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz!

And the sharks in the colosseum, what the BLEEP?

Though the colosseum was flooded with water to re-enact naval battles called naumachia, there were no sharks!

(There may have been some crocodiles at one point, but no sharks.)

Also, these were originally re-enactments of military battle with military soldiers, orchestrated so that the Romans would always win.

Later, the surviving gladiators of the prior events' games were included, but they often refused to participate after surviving, so the emperors would send down centurions to add bloodshed. 

But no - no sharks, CGI or not, no winning Persians or Greeks in these mock battles - sorry.

Now, let's talk about what was good.

Hmm, let's see. 

1)  The twin Emperor brothers, Geta and Caracalla.

Both Joseph Quinn and Fred Herschinger did an excellent job of playing spoiled, hedonistic, sociopathic, crazy asses in ghoulish Greek-tragedy makeup.

(Ya know, think the Trump family.)

This is the shameful truth when you let blood line and a life of privilege continue in power - their  highly educated, military grandfather was probably rolling in his grave over his grandsons, neither highly educated nor military trained themselves, drinking and drugging all day, behaving as if all of this was some sort of game, making decisions based on whimsy rather than informed rationale, strategy, or  even with a basis in reality. 

Doing an especially good job with just how crazy the emperors became was Fred Herschinger as Caracalla, whom ever time on camera, had a goofy, not-so-bright grin on his face: 

Hahaha, so deranged, we almost feel sorry for him.

Okay, so they could've suspended our disbelief far enough to buy the implausible concept of this film - and in fact, many of us wondered what would become of Lucius and whether or not he was actually Maximus's son in the first one - but they didn't. 

2)  As already mentioned, Pedro Pascal as Acacius (though as stated, we could've seen more of him).  

3)  Denzel Washington as the scheming weasel that is Macrinus (minus the American accent) - and his robes! 

4)  Alexander Hakim as Ravi. 

In fact, he was the character with the most soul and compassion, and was actually the best representative of Marcus Aurelius's words - he put down his sword as a forced gladiator and became a doctor, helping to heal men instead of kill them.

Now, Paul Mescal CAN act, he's sold other roles, he just doesn't sell it this film and that was, above all, mandatory.

So who else could've done this? 

Not too many under 40 that could pull this off, but must-haves?

-  An ability to convey quiet intensity and intelligence.

-  Carries some physical attributes that at least remotely remind us of his parents, Maximus and Lucilla. 

-  Attractive, but not a "pretty" boy.

-  A strong build, but not Arnie built.

-  An ability to switch from aggressive to tender at the drop of a hat, particularly towards women and children.

-  Ability to tone down aggression in the heat of battle to show mercy.

So other possible options for this role might have been ... 

Liam Hemsworth?

I mean, he looks like a cross between Russell Crowe and Connie Nielson, he's played both military soldier and tender love interest before, and he even has that Australian accent accidentally creeping through now and then, like Russell? 😂

Austin Butler?

Hell, even Tom Holland could've pulled it off, despite his height?

(If Tom Cruise at the same height of 5'6" can pull of making us believe he was a towering Vampire Lestat, so can Tom Holland, with the same quality.)

Regardless, sorry to say, super disappointed. 

In fact, I'm going to pretend this movie didn't happen, preferring the first one ending the way it did. 

_____________________________

PS - BTW, though there were some historical inaccuracies, one thing they got right was the Roman "hail."

As I said previously, it was more to the side than the front and with relaxed open fingers. 

Though the Nazi salute is based on the Roman hail, it is emphatic, tight-armed, fingers closed, and most often, directly in front, often beating the chest first. 

Sorry, Elon - your little "hail" at Trump's inauguration was thus NOT Roman, it was, in fact, Nazi.

Either way,  it is a hail of a singular dictator rather than a democracy - and that's okay with Trumpers?