Michael's Musings

#TBT: Take A Bow
Michael Shinafelt

Today is the last day of the first month of 2019 - if this is any indicator of how the rest of the year is going to play out, damn slow the F#ck down! I need to take some time to smell the napalm in the morning. Or at the very least how fresh my clothes smell after I wash them, that's the practical choice. Fresh clothes smell for the win Alex.

Time to dive in...

Hello January 31st 2019!

We all know now what many have suspected, Tori Spelling is a Unicorn

The Superbowl is this Sunday, so there's that

When people tell me to go to Hell, Uh, I can't. Satan has a restraining order against me

Make out naked

If life knocks you down, get back up and tell it "You hit like a bitch"

Tomorrow is another day. The more you know.

Your legs are like jam, you can't spread them just a little

Jussie Smollett

Sending positive energy Jussie Smollett's way 

MAGA my ass!

Celine Dion, worth it, or not? Discuss...

It only takes two, but wait till you try three 

Maroon 5 declined to do a press conference regarding the Superbowl in case you care

Apparently you can now sue people for accidentally colliding with you on the ski slope, things that make me go yawn

Wake up with a dose of me at:

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt   

Hump Day & Chill

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Just Because...Gaga & Martin

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin

Just Because she's a Lady, Just Because he's Livin La Vida Loca & Just Because they are together on the red carpet, look boys & girls it's Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin!

Awards Shows, in this case the SAG Awards, can make for some strange yet wonderful bedfellows. I mean seriously never did I ever entertain the thought that I would see Gaga & Martin together. It was the image no one knew they needed until they were captured together forever in this photo op.

Photo ops are good for that sort of thing. 

I wonder if perhaps we could expect some sort of collaboration from these two in the near future? If so, one wonders if it would be of the music or acting variety. Give it time I am sure it will go down, so to speak.

Now get out there and make Daddy proud...

Mic Drop! 

Gaga on the Gram -
https://www.instagram.com/ladygaga/?hl=en

Ricky on the Gram - 
https://www.instagram.com/ricky_martin/?hl=en

"Homewrecker"

Filmmaker and horror fan Robert Hensley has made a delectable short film in the genre with the title Homewrecker - let me give my opinion on it before Robert explains it all to you.

I really love that he has gotten to the root of horror films from my youth, yeah they weren't all slasher films and bloodbaths, stuff like that. They had character, and played upon our inner anxiety and fears. 

Robert's short which won the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival is well deserved. It does  a quite modern take on an old tale La Llorona and it works like a charm. I have actually watched it a few times, it's that good. I felt the best way to convey the cool factor of it to all of you minions was this statement from the man behind it all Robert Hensley!!! 

"When did horror films become a vehicle for grotesque gore and franchisable maniacs with the weakest of plots barely gluing it all together? Thankfully, filmmakers such as James Wan are producing films which throw back to a more story and character-rich horror genre. This, too, is where I found the inspiration for HOMEWRECKER.

Rona

A huge fan of Hitchcock and Carpenter, I set out to create a short horror film which built up a sense of anticipation. The audience knows something is going on, something is coming, and it all leads up to that reveal. Blood and guts were incidental to the story as a whole.

I was inspired by the traditional fable of “La Llorona,” also known as the Wailing Woman or Woman in White. There are several variations of the tale, all featuring a beautiful woman who married for money, and kills herself in despair when her husband leaves her for another woman. In one version, she kills her children in a rage and then takes her own life when she realizes what she’s done. In all the various tellings, she comes back and walks the riverside where she drowned and wails for the loss of her children or her marriage. Whoever hears her scream is cursed to die.

For HOMEWRECKER, I focused on a failing marriage and a philandering husband. This was the catalyst for Rona to take her own life and her transformation into a vengeful spirit. While “La Llorona” is always connected to water: a stream, a river, or a lake, I chose to consider more domestic uses for water such as bathing, showering, and laundry. 

C&C (Chests & Crack)

The first horror film I actually had permission to watch was “My Bloody Valentine,” which has an infamous laundromat scene. Being a child of the eighties, the horror films I grew up with were R-rated, T&A, boy’s club franchises. I also wanted to pay tribute to these movies in some way. Getting permission to film a scene in a laundromat was a start!

Nudity was another. However, I made the decision to keep my female talent clothed, and undress the men, turning T&A into C&C (chests and crack). I cast actors who were not afraid to disrobe and appear nude on camera for a vigorous sex scene, which builds along with the drama happening with Rona at home.
​
Finally, the colors, saturation, and tones in the finished film find comparisons to the horror films of the 70’s and 80’s. Jason Lange, our cinematographer, who lit and shot HOMEWRECKER by himself, created a beautiful visual tribute to the films which inspired me."

Become a Homewrecker at:

https://homewreckerfilm.weebly.com/  

Sunday Funday -

Betty White

Today is Sunday, that means it's supposed to a Funday. Today I am feeling dorky, thus I am bequeathing my peeps with a gallery of celebrities making silly faces. "Yes" this is the Sunday Funday gift you never knew you needed until now. You're welcome...

Katy Perry

Daniel Radcliffe

Britney Spears

James Dean   

Smack Down!

Sealed With A Kiss
Sarah Paulson & Billy Eichner

Here I sit surfing the WWW imbibing in my raspberry smoothie when I come across an image of Sarah Paulson & Billy Eichner having a smack down on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live. 

The American Horror Story co-stars are reunited and it feels so good...

Say what?! You are thinking. It's not a smack down of the WWE variety, it's of the kissing kind. "Yes" Sarah is going in for Billy's cheek with her puckered red lips like a football player heading for a touchdown!

Do you think she scored? Hey it's a sure thing.

Mic Drop!

Watch What Happens Live on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/bravowwhl/?hl=en

T.G.I.F! Retail Therapy

Shopping From A-Z
Sharon Stone

It's the last Friday of the first month of 2019, digest that minions, we are almost on the second one. If this causes you some pause then perhaps you need something to let out that anxiety, like a little Retail Therapy maybe?

Join wild and untamed thing Sharon Stone on the set of her latest flick Beverly Hills Shopper, OK, kidding about the movie part but behold Sharon in Beverly Hills, shopping. "Yes" dive into the retail pool with her. Me? I will not be joining you in this activity anytime soon, because I loathe shopping.

Well I perhaps fudged that one a little, let's say I loathe shopping retail. Now when it comes to grocery shopping that's another story all together. I enjoy buying food, I think it has something to do with control, ya know, taking charge of what you put in your body and picking out things that satisfy you, yet are healthy. Yeah, that's it. But make no mistake I have a good idea of what I want upon entering said grocery store and pretty much stick to the script. There is very little browsing or impulse buying. Yet I enjoy this activity.

Retail sucks because you have to try on certain things. It is a tedious affair, and honestly while I am stylish on an as needed basis I prefer casual wear or just plain being naked, "Yep" I'm a Basic Bitch.

T.G.I.F. indeed...

Retail Therapy on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_therapy  

Michael's Musings

#TBT: Want My Pearl Necklace???
Michael Shinafelt

"There is only one thing worse in life than being talked about, and that is not being talked about" - Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde has been my spirit animal of late. He is quite astute, read up on some of his quotes they were of their time, and also ahead of their time. Many of them reflect our current state of the union. I once portrayed a hustler named Freddy Wood in a play about Oscar, who had a hand, mouth, dick & booty in Mr. Wilde's downfall. There, I just gave you something to talk about, here's more...

The heart of a hero, the vagina of a virgin

Yogurt is not a murder weapon

My hope, Lady Gaga & Glenn Close tie for the Best Actress Academy Award

Botched is so annoying

"Every Saint has a past, every Sinner has a future" - Oscar Wilde. I could not tout his writing prowess and use only one quote from him now could I?

Graffiti Warnings, discuss

For 2019 I wanted mass quantities of two for $5 Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's, I got abs instead. Winning!!!

Tell me again how you you've fallen and you can't get up

A girl with unusual powers escapes from a mental asylum and tried to make it on her own. The more you know.

Miley Cyrus got P@ssy tattooed on the outside of her left ankle - I'm now inspired to get a fourth tattoo.

Tattoo Life
Michael Shinafelt

BTW Here's my tattoo on the outside of my right ankle - I know you wanted to see it.

Byline of the week: "We Finally Know What Anna Wintour Thought Of Meghan Markle's Wedding Dress." Apparently she approved. I couldn't care less, but I'm sure someone does.

Take this Kale and shove it!

Who's looking forward to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills premiere on February 12th? Me! Me! Me!

Want more to talk about? Follow me at:
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/MShinafelt  

Hump Day & Chill

Sugar & Spice
Jon

"I want muscles, All, all over his body
(Make him strong enough from his head down to his toes)
I want muscles, All, all over his body(Make him strong enough from his head down to his toes)" - Muscles, Diana Ross

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No it's a hot ginger! That's right peeps today's Hump Day & Chill is all about a hot muscled ginger named Jon.

Just sit right back and Jon will tell you the tale of getting naked for the camera via Tye Briggs Favorite Hunks & Other Things. The operative word here being hunk.

"No" I would never order my minions to Hump & Chill to someone I wouldn't.

That being stated I feel an uncontrollable urge coming on right here, right now.

Join me in a group activity at the NSFW link below, do it and do it now!!!

Soap Drop!

https://favoritehunks.blogspot.com/2015/12/martha-stewart-with-muscles-jon-by.html

Just Because...Women's March 2019

You'd Better March!
Lance Bass & Laverne Cox

"In 2018, the March became the focus of controversy following reports that three of the four lead organizers had attended events hosted by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made remarks widely regarded as antisemitic. Perceptions that the group's leaders had failed to condemn the rhetoric and subsequent accusations of antisemitism within the organization itself led to former co-founder Teresa Shook to call for their resignations and were followed by the disassociation of numerous state chapters. By December 2018, The New York Times reported that "charges of anti-Semitism are now roiling the movement and overshadowing plans for more marches."

News reports from across North America noted that turnout for the 2019 Women's March were lower compared to previous years, with potential reasons being poor weather, a decline in interest and controversy over protest organization in the United States." - Wikipedia

While this happened and the turn out was the lowest it has ever been this year. The Women's March still went on and is an important part of the fabric of our society. Personally I wished I had attended this year's March. But I was otherwise committed.

That being said, this image of Lance Bass & Laverne Cox attending the Los Angeles March this past Saturday gave me the feels today and compelled me to put the spotlight back where it should be regarding the event - Unity & Human Rights for all.

Smiles, everyone, smile!

Women's March on the WWW:

https://www.womensmarch.com/

Monday Motivation

Ride Me!
Gerard Butler

"Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle, I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycleI want to ride it where I like" - Queen, Bicycle Race

Monday Motivation can take on many forms such as a song by Queen or humpy stud Gerard Butler. "Yes" both involve bicycles thus I hereby decree this Monday January 21st the Motivation is get on your bike and ride damn it!

This is exactly what I am going to do. I haven't taken mine out for a ride in quite a long time. How much time is a long time? So long that I need to get the tires filled with air, that's how long.

Now if only I could Gerard Butler to ride me, I mean with me. While Bicycle Race by Queen booms in the background. That's my fantasy, what's yours?

Get out and get rode...hard! Happy Monday Minions!!!

Bicycle on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle 

Here We Go Again

Dig In The Dancing Queen
Cher

It's Sunday Funday, and what could be more fun than Cher kicking off her Here We Go Again tour at the Germain Arena is Estero, Florida? I ask you, "yes" I am asking you, gimme gimme an answer before midnight please. That like Cher's tour is an ABBA reference.

As you might recall Cher made quite the splash in the sequel to Mama Mia! this past summer in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again. It was a smash resulting in her topping the charts with an album of ABBA covers called, what else? Dancing Queen!!!

Of course a tour of her singing those covers amongst other hits was inevitable, thus Here We Go Again. Which is also quite cheeky considering how many times Cher went on something known as "The Farewell Tour"...Here we go again, indeed!

Bend it like Cher today and truly make your Sunday a Fun Day!!!

Cher on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/cher/?hl=en  

Love Is Another Country

Coin & Ghost in Association with Vs. Theatre Company Present 

The World Premiere of Lisa Marie Rollins’
Love Is Another Country

Sophocles’ Classic Antigone, Black Women's Bodies & Incarceration
At Vs. Theatre in Los Angeles
February 1 – March 2, 2019

Coin & Ghost in association with Vs. Theatre Company present the World premiere of Love Is Another Country, a radical reimagining of Sophocles’s Antigone at Vs. Theatre in Los Angeles from Friday, February 1 through Saturday, March 2, 2019. The third production of Coin & Ghost’s inaugural season, Love Is Another Country is a new play written by the prolific Bay Area theatre artist Lisa Marie Rollinsand her first full-length work to be produced in Los Angeles. Directed by Kendall Johnson, the production brings together the ancient tale of Antigone Vswith the deaths of innumerable black men and women at the hands of police. Part ritual, part rage, part collective ask to the audience, the play follows three women of the Chapman family as they navigate living as black women in a country that claims to love them. For more information, please visit https://coinandghost.org/liac.

Dee Dee Stephens
Photo:
Zachary Reeve Davidson 

Love Is Another Country opens on Friday, February 1^st and runs throughout Black History Month for five weekends with the last performance on Saturday, March 2, 2019. There will usually* be three or four performances depending on the weekend. For the first three weekends (2/1 – 2/17), shows will run most Fridays* and all three Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:30pm. For the last two weekends (2/21 – 3/2), performances will also happen on Thursday nights at 8:00pm. For the final weekend (2/28 – 3/2) there is no Sunday matinee. Vs. Theatre is located at 5453 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 (323-739-4411). There are three tiers of ticket prices: VIP tickets at $30 (first three rows; includes a drink), $25 for general admission and Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) for the back row. As with all Coin & Ghost (C&G) productions, opening weekend will be entirely PWYC.

* The theater will be dark on Friday 2/15 due to two of the producers getting married! Everyone involved will be attending :-).

The play, written in collaboration with Coin & Ghost, emerged as a radical re-imagining of Sophocles’ Antigone, in response to two cultural stimuli: the systemic deaths of black people as a result of police terror, and the generational impact of incarceration on black women. In Love Is Another Country, a cast of four explores these themes unflinchingly and without apology. Crafted through devised theatre techniques drawn from the lived experiences of the cast, as well as those of Rollins herself, it features an ensemble cast of diasporic black women who bring to life this vital storytelling and hold the space for collective healing for the community. The cast includes Amaka Izuchi (Jordan), Celia Mandela (Nene), Tyree Marshall (Ethel May), and Dee Dee Stephens (Gonee)

Love Is Another Country https://coinandghost.org/liac

Film Buff Friday: Band vs Brand

The state of the union address for the music industry -

BAND VS BRAND

 coming to DVD and Digital Formats on February 12th

A documentary examining the current state of the music business and on how "the brand" of a rock group has more power than the band members

World premiere on Wednesday, January 23rd at the Marriott Delta Garden Grove just prior to the the annual The Hall of Heavy Metal History Gala

BAND VS BRAND, a feature-length documentary film directed by Bob Nalbandian (Director of the Inside Metal series), focuses on the current state of the music business and on how "the brand" of a rock group these days has more power than the band members themselves. It features interviews from several top industry executives and musicians of today, including David Ellefson of the Grammy Award-winning band Megadeth, Jack Russell from Jack Russell's Great White, Nik Turner and Nicky Garrett from Nik Turner's Hawkwind, Dave Lombardo from Suicidal Tendencies and formerly with Slayer, Marc Ferrari from Keel, Frank DiMino from Angel, Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, Pat Gesualdo from The Hall of Heavy Metal History, manager Adam Parsons (Uriah Heep, Saxon, Europe, Thin Lizzy/BSR), guitarist/songwriter Jean Beauvoir (Plasmatics, Little Steven) and many others. 

The film will make its screening premiere on Wednesday, January 23rd at the Marriott Delta Garden Grove just prior to the the annual The Hall of Heavy Metal History Gala. Tickets for the awards gala are $30 each with the movie premiere open to the general public, free of charge.  For advance tickets or information on the Awards Gala, please visit: www.thehallofheavymetalhistory.org 

Official trailer: https://youtu.be/CAHI7PKAF5o

Pre-order DVD: https://mvdshop.com/products/band-vs-brand-dvd

Michael's Musings

#TBT: I Wanna Be A Cowboy
Michael Shinafelt

That time I had a fantasy about being a member of the Village People. Want me to ride you like a cowboy? After all isn't the Wild, Wild, West the state of the union???

Buckle up it's going to be a humpy ride!

When your special guy says he has Beyonce's booty, what do you do???.

I do what my Bluetooth tells me

This is my life, this is my jam

Had a delightful time with Quinn Robinson @ Akbar last night. What happens there, is like a unicorn

Andy Samberg reacts to being called a sex symbol - well here's mine: Someone actually said that?! If that person is you, seek help!

FYI - I was on Brooklyn 99 once

Total Bellas = Total Entertain Me 

R.I.P. Carol Channing aka "Dolly"

Someday I'm gonna wish your ass into the corn field

A Haiku - I'll leave you empty/Spent, and aching. All your glorious evidence/Held safely behind/The vault of my lips/And aren't you happy 

Suddenly I have an uncontrollable urge to - "Yes" it's time to play Name That Urge 

Name it after me, I'm sure you already have. If not let's talk

Royal Baby Buggy Bumpers

Blah, Blah, Blah

Things that are best raw 

On that provocative note, you know where to find me at:

https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/MShinafelt

Hump Day & Chill

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I Can't Stand The Rain

Let's Get Soaken Wet! Not!
Anne Hathaway

"I feel it, It's coming, Rain" - Madonna

Well the rainy season in Los Angeles is here and frankly as my byline states - "I can't stand the rain"

As a Washington State native it rained quite a lot, but that was common and it was manageable. Not so much when you live in Los Angeles. Even the littlest amount of the wet stuff can wreak havoc. People slip and slide in their cars, mudslides occur from the fires of the summer and boy do the drainage systems suck here. Thus the water gets quite saturated and streets and sidewalks are freakishly populated with mini lakes and rivers.

Bear witness to Anne Hathaway keeping it dry and real out and about in LA, yet somehow, unlike most individuals I know, she manages to look quite chic. I guess that's why she's a star and we aren't, or something like that.

The moral of today's post? Never make fun of Angelenos when they complain about the rain. Honestly it's the equivalent of a snow storm here. 

I can't wait for this sh!t to end!

Got rain? Oh yes you do, here it is on Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain  

Monday Motivation

Just Be
Jon Hamm

Yesterday I did something that I haven't in a long time,meditate. With a little bit of a cough and the sniffles I decided it was OK to take some down time and do the minimal things that I needed to without being anxious. "Yes" I cleared my head of all thoughts of what I "should be" doing and just was.

It was one of the best days ever! When you feel anxious, stuck in a rut or just plain over things, take a mental vacation. It takes strong discipline to do it, but if everyday could be like, not to mention feel like yesterday I would be on cloud nine, ten, eleven...

Thus meditation is Monday Motivation - I leave you with this now iconic image of Jon Hamm doing just that in the series finale of one of my favorite shows ever Mad Men. If you recall Hamm's character, Don Draper came up with the iconic Coke jingle during this zen moment....I'd like to teach the world to sing, indeed....

Now get to it, meditate peeps, Namaste!

Meditation on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation  

Sunday Sinema: Waterworld

I actually went to the premiere of this at The Chinese Theater in Hollywood...

The most expensive film ever made at the time of its release, Waterworld has thrilled audiences through the years with its awe-inspiring action scenes, gargantuan maritime sets and ground-breaking special effects. A definitive post-apocalypse blockbuster, Waterworld stars Kevin Costner (The Untouchables) as The Mariner - a mutant trader, adrift in a dystopian future where Earth is submerged under water and humankind struggles to survive on boats and in ramshackle floating cities. The Mariner becomes embroiled with the Smokers, a gang of pirates who, led by villainous leader Deacon (Dennis Hopper, Blue Velvet), are seeking Enola (Tina Majorino, Napoleon Dynamite), a girl with a map to the mythical realm of "Dryland" tattooed on her back. Famous for both its epic scale and the controversy that swirled around its production, Waterworld is a key cult film of the 1990s, and an essential entry into the subgenre of ecologically-minded blockbusters. Presented here in an exclusive new restoration, in three different cuts, and with a wealth of extra material, this high-water mark of high-concept Hollywood can now be enjoyed as never before.

Bonus Materials

• New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative by Arrow Films, presenting the film in three cuts
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 stereo audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Six collector's postcards
• Double-sided fold-out poster
• Limited edition 60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by David J. Moore and Daniel Griffith, archival articles and original reviews
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the original theatrical cut
• Maelstrom: The Odyssey of Waterworld, an all-new, feature-length making-of documentary including extensive cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage
• Original archival featurette capturing the film's production
• Global Warnings, film critic Glenn Kenny explores the subgenre of ecologically aware Hollywood blockbusters
• Production and promotional stills gallery
• Visual effects stills gallery
• Original trailers and TV spots
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended US TV cut, which runs over 40 minutes longer than the theatrical cut
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the extended European 'Ulysses' cut, which includes censored shots and dialogue

Press Quotes

To say that this is a massive Blu-ray release, one that will surely give long-time fans reason to celebrate, is an understatement if ever there was one. Arrow Video's presentation exceeds all of my expectations and blows any home video release of the film completely out of the water. Highly recommended!

     —The Digital Bits

Order Here - https://mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/AV181