Why Wasn't This Episode More Impacting?????????????????

                                   "A Time To Hate," one of the early "Cold Case" episodes I had not yet seen, opens with the classic Betty Everett song, "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)," and closes with The Byrds' "Turn, Turn, Turn."  It is not afraid to tackle its subject, which is gay bashing.  But even though this story had some originality, while the other iconic gay episode, "Forever Blue," was such a retelling of "Brokeback Mountain," it should have been called "Brokeback Precinct," the latter episode is better than this one, and I cannot figure out why.

                                     Back in September, 1964, a young,  up and coming U Of Pennsylvania  student named Daniel Holtz, superbly played by Patrick McManus, is found murdered outside a gay bar.  Everyone, including his parents thought it was a robbery, because, of course, Daniel played baseball, and so he could not have been gay, yet what was he doing even near a gay bar????????

                                      Four decades later, his mother, superbly played by Kathleen Lloyd, has not much time to live.  To her credit, she recognizes that the world has changed, and so has she.  She readily accepts her son was gay, and now wants to know what really happened.  So, she calls on Lily and Scotty.

                                     The mother recollects a time when she and her husband visited their son at college.  They seemed to have interrupted a visit he had with a friend, Hank Phillips, whom now the mother realizes was more than just a friend, and which Lily discovers from the present day Hank, now a successful lawyer.  He speaks of how things had to be covert back then, because if a man was found to be gay, he could not practice law, on grounds of moral turpitude.  Can you imagine, darlings????????

                                      Lily tells him Daniel's mother wants to see him.  She has been hospitalized, and, in the segment's most touching scene, both mother and partner grieve, reconcile, and recognize in the other the love they had for Daniel.

                                       The bar, which was then called The Hush Room, and is now some sort of junk facility, was run by a homophobic bar tender, who talked to Daniel, because he played baseball, and could talk about it, so how could he be gay????????  Duh?????????  He runs the junk joint in the present day, but says, how, back then, they had an informant, a rookie named Nelson, who would warn them about cop raids, and so, when one was imminent, a red light warning was posted, so couples (lesbians frequented here, too) could arrange themselves into boy-girl combos, by the time the police arrived.  This sequence is the best piece of choreographic execution, since the opening of the "Dance At The Gym," in "West Side Story," and was probably influenced by it.

                                        There was also a group of neighborhood kids, near the bar, whose leader was named Timmy O'Brien.  They would harass the gays coming outside, but nothing more insidious than dumping Chinese food all over their clean clothes.

                                          One night, things went too far.  A raid happened with no warning, and Timmy and his gang trapped Daniel in an alley.  As Hank said, Daniel was confrontational, proud of who he was--good for him!!!!!!!!--so he faced his accusers, swinging his baseball bat. Unfortunately, it got seized from him, and he was beaten to death with it, while two cops, looked on from a distance, one who wanted the help, the other who told him to stay.  The one who wanted to help was rookie Paul Nelson, the raid informant, who had been set up that night.

                                          Lily tracks Nelson down, who reveals a lifetime of guilt and regret over not saving Daniel.  He confronts Tim O'Brien, who is brought to justice, with the rest of his cronies who were there that night, and Mrs. Holtz has her justice.

                                            But not before Daniel's ghost is seen by Lily and his mother.

                                          Like I said, this episode was deeply moving, but did not have the impact it should havehad.  Maybe because one could not feel hate for Nelson, who knew the right thing then, but was trapped by the times.  And who does come forward, when summoned by Lily.  Timmy and his pals are the real victimizers, and I bet Daniel was not their last.  And. yes, the world has changed, but things still happen.

                                           Maybe because I wanted to see more change here.  Times do change, but human nature does not.

What A Nasty Piece Of Work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Ever since Gillian Flynn broke through with "Gone Girl," so many authors out there have been trying to outdo, or at least equal her.  Paula Hawkins came closest with her success, "The Girl On The Train."  The operative word in the cases of both these novels was originality.  Each had something of their own authors' stamp on them.

                                          Too bad the same cannot be said of Matt Marinovich's "The Winter Girl," which starts out with promise, but degenerates into a sludge of despicability with each character more dislikable than the other, so that there is no hope.  Yes, I can see the comparison to "Rear Window," and the bleak nihilism of Patricia Highsmith, especially, but Highsmith had her own imprimatur.  Marinovich, probably cut from the same cloth as the characters, offers up a tale of Yuppie scum who deserve everything they get.  Elise is Miss Entitlement Bitch, hubby Scott is Useless Straight Man, and don't get me started on her father and brother, named Ryder.  By the climax of the novel, I had not only figured out what was going on, but who was coming to shoot Scott.  So much for surprises.

                                            If Marinovich had submitted this in some writing class, it might have passed muster.  That it got published is incredible.  Should he write another book, there had better be improvement, or Marinovich will not see the literary light of day.

                                            Think about it, Matt, tomorrow, on Super Bowl Sunday, as you and your cronies jerk off, in front of the TV, with your tube socks, as you drink beer, and yell  like apes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                               No disrespect to apes, dears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Blythe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      How does Blythe Danner do it, darlings?  It takes me at least 45 minutes to emerge from the bathroom looking a fraction this good, and she just seems to arise, run her hands through her hair, and off she goes.

                                       Actually, I have been trying to find out for years where she gets her hair done, because maybe they can work miracles on me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         But then, again, who can outdo Blythe?  Beauty, brains, graciousness, and acting brilliance.  She and MERYL rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Today, Blythe turns 74!!!!!!!!  May we all look this good!

                                           Tea at the St. Regis would be simply divine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Ground Hog Saw Its Shadow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               I have so many comments this year about how fast Groundhog Day has come around.  Maybe Trump's  presidency is aging us, faster than I thought!

                               Anyway, the official word from Pennsylvania--home state of the nation's most famous ground hog, Punxsutawney Phil, in the Pennsylvania town of the same name--is that we will have six more weeks of Winter, as he did not see his shadow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                He's so cute, and the tradition is so fun, who cares if it is true?

                                So far, we have had a pretty mild Winter.  Famous last words, of course, because before March 21, we are liable to get a sizable snow storm!  The possibility cannot be ruled out, darlings!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Nevertheless, the Keystone State's most famous rodent has spoken!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Tomorrow, you will hear about the state's most fabulous and glamorous export--Blythe Danner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  The Ground Hog and Blythe!!!!!!!!!!!  What a combination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Mother Was No "Anna Karenina!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She Should Have Been!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Aberrant subway stories are so common in New York, you don't think of them happening anyplace else.  Those, such as I, who are so New York City-centric forget other cities actually do have subway systems.

                             Which is why Valentina Belousov, the winner of this week's Raving Queen Bitch Of the Week Award, is Russian.  The incident earning her this honor occurred in the Leninsky area near Yekaterinburg, which borders Europe and Asia, and is the Soviet's fourth largest city.

                                What matters is what this 29-year-old bitch did.  While in a heated argument with her child's father, on the subway platform--NOT a good idea, arguing on a subway platform, with the baby--the enraged shrew pushed the baby carriage, child inside, toward the train tracks, to hurt the father! 

                                   Holy "Potemkin!!!!!!!!!!"  This is one baby that could have been killed!!!!!!!!!

                                   Not only was the tram pushed, the two month old boy's parents were so busy arguing, they did nothing to stop it.

                                     Quick police action saved the day.  Amazingly, even though the carriage fell onto the tracks, the child was not harmed.

                                        The father is just stupid; he did not push the vehicle.  The mother did, which is why she is Bitch Of The Week.

                                         Even though the child was, mercifully unharmed, both are also contenders, if there such a prize, for the Susan Smith-Casey Anthony Worst Parent Of the Year Award!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          And it is only February, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Rarity--A Book That Lives Up To The Hype!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Sometimes, the truth really is out there, dolls!

                                I had read Colson Whitehead's first two novels, "The Intuitionist," and John Henry Days," and was less than impressed.  So I stayed away, for awhile.  When his latest, "The Underground Railroad," started getting all this attention, I was a bit skeptical.  Critics went crazy over it; so did some of my friends.  Once it made The Times Ten Best List, I knew it could not be ignored.  So, when I picked it up recently, it was with a skeptical outlook.

                                But something had changed in the intervening years.  Either Whitehead's writing improved, or my tastes did.  Probably a bit of both!!!!!!!!!!  Because I found this novel mesmerizing; I absorbed it into my bloodstream, so memorable were its characters and narrative.  Within the pantheon of this type of literature, I would put this novel beside two others covering similar issues--"Beloved," by Toni Morrison, and "The Confessions Of Nat Turner," by William Styron.  Yep, that is how good I thought "The Underground Railroad" was.  Cora and her story is one of the most moving in recent memory, and Whitehead's prose style is quick and compelling, and mercifully, devoid of the pretension that characterized his earlier books.

                                To think I considered passing on this one. Had I, a great reading experience would have been missed.  You just never know, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Except with Danielle Steel.  There, you get what you are guaranteed!!!!!!!!

Happy Candlemass Eve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              Yes, girls, it is February 1, and that means Candlemass Eve--the night the witches mock the rituals of the Church, and, at midnight, sacrifice a virgin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                What is any self-respecting witch, supposed to di, in this age?  You don't have to have seen the movie "Spotlight" to grasp the Church is doing a pretty good job of mocking itself, and, as for a virgin, with so much demand, and so low supply, even I fear this day, because who knows who the witches will go after?  Anyone they can get!  Remember, in "Rosemary's Baby," even the Castevets started with Terry, who was hardly a blushing bride!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    So, lock your doors, and watch out for dead birds and wolf bane.  It is a new month, but this is a day you don't go out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Happy February, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!