What George Takei says.
The more you know...
George on IG -
Monday, August 11, 2025
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Belinda Carlisle Is The "One"
Photo by: Albert Sanchez - Design by: John Stapleton
Belinda Carlisle, beloved solo artist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and voice of the Go-Go’s, returns to her roots with the release of a new studio album Once Upon a Time in California, slated for release on 29 August 2025 by the Demon Music label.
Featuring ten new studio tracks including her cover of the Harry Nilsson classic, “One” HERE which premiered today, were recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Gabe Lopez, who worked with Belinda on her 2017 studio album Wilder Shores. Belinda shares – “It was fun covering this song that I always loved. I listened to different versions and we decided to go for more of a jazzy approach which fit with the video concept which is a nod to Bob Fosse. I've never done anything like this before, so I think it might be a surprise for some of my fans.”
The first single from the forthcoming album,“The Air That I Breathe” HERE was released in June with Belinda stating - “This song has always been one of my very favorites growing up. I love the lyrics and the complicated melody. This was on the list I originally made of songs that I wanted to sing if I ever did a cover album. During the pandemic I started performing karaoke style on my Instagram every Saturday and called it “Saturday Serenades.” This one got such a good response that I thought 'This definitely should be a contender for the album'. I'm so happy with the way it turned out and I absolutely love the video as it sort of harkens back to my early solo albums and videos.” In addition, Belinda released her version of The Youngbloods’ “Get Together” HERE and the music video HERE stating “Get Together” was relevant when it was released during the Vietnam war and it’s relevant today with all of the craziness going on in our world. I recorded it firstly because I love it and secondly because I think it is perfect for this time.”
Once Upon a Time in California will be available on CD, vinyl and digital formats and available for pre-order HERE
Following the success of Belinda’s 2023 EP Kismet, Once Upon a Time in California sees Belinda Carlisle take a deeply personal journey through the golden sounds of her youth with this ten-track collection. Steeped in the spirit of her Californian upbringing, the album is a heartfelt tribute to the vintage pop culture that shaped her musical identity.
What sets this album apart is that it’s a celebration of Californian culture that stretches its canvas beyond the familiar evocation of the Laurel Canyon sound. It’s a carefully curated and beautifully realised salute to Belinda’s personal education in pop music, and the magical sounds that arrived in her life from near and far, on the radio and on cherished 45s.
With the assured and distinctive vocal delivery of someone who herself has become one of the Golden State’s greatest exports - initially as frontwoman for the Go-Go’s, who enjoyed Top 10 hits with Our Lips Are Sealed, Vacation and We Got The Beat and as a solo performer with a multitude of hits including Mad About You, Heaven Is A Place on Earth, Circle In the Sand and I Get Weak amongst others, Belinda Carlisle completes this sentimental journey back to her youth with timeless style.
Once Upon a Time in California opens with a stirring remake of the Burt Bacharach & Hal David gem written for Dionne Warwick, Anyone Who Had A Heart. Belinda then pays her respects to such timeless artists as the Carpenters (Superstar), Gordon Lightfoot (If You Could Read My Mind) and Jim Croce (Time In A Bottle) and to songs for the ages including The Air That I Breathe (The Hollies), Everybody’s Talking (Harry Nilsson) and Reflections Of My Life (Marmalade). The result is an entirely different kind of Californian dreaming for a new generation. Although this marks the first time all ten tracks have been available on one album, three of them – Superstar, If You Could Read My Mind and Get Together have been available on previous Belinda Carlisle collections.
Commenting on the album Belinda says, “I was born and raised in California at a time when music was an important part of Californian culture. I lived and breathed music, it was my great escape - a refuge of fantasy and imagination. Every day after school and when it was summer vacation, I would listen and sing along to the music on the radio for the entire day. Always fantasizing about being a singer myself, one day.
This collection of songs is the best representation of what I loved back then that I could think of - listening to it brings back so many memories of a time and a California that doesn't really exist anymore. That’s not meant to sound like a bad thing, it's just different - there was an innocence and energy back then that was unique and magical. Things I doubt will ever be felt in quite the same way again. Here's to the California of my dreams.”
With Once Upon a Time in California, Belinda Carlisle invites fans old and new to join her on a journey through the melodies that defined a generation.
FOLLOW BELINDA CARLISLE
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Saturday, August 9, 2025
"Curiouser And Curiouser"
"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then," - Alice, Alice in Wonderland
Today is National Book Lovers Day!
Here is the concept behind it:
"A day for all those who love to read, National Book Lovers Day encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away."
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books for a plethora of reasons. One is it's insightful observations about the human condition. While using a fantasy world to convey it's thoughts and ideas.
I haven't read it in quite some time and I need to do so again as I am sure adult me would get more out of it than I did when I was younger.
See you down the rabbit hole today...
Things are going to get "Curiouser and curiouser"
National Book Lovers Day on the WWW -
https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-book-lovers-day-august-9
Friday, August 8, 2025
Cine Pride Film Festival
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CinePride Film Festival is proud to announce the 31 films officially selected for its highly anticipated inaugural edition, taking place in Los Angeles from September 11–14. The four-day celebration of queer cinema will make its debut at Landmark Theatres Sunset in Los Angeles, presenting a powerful lineup that reflects the richness, resilience, and diversity of the global LGBTQIA+ community.
This year’s official selection features a dynamic mix of feature-length narratives, documentaries, and shorts spanning a wide range of genres, including drama, comedy, romance, thriller, and experimental film. Six films will make their world premieres at CinePride, with an additional four celebrating their U.S. or North American debuts. Ten more will be screened for the first time on the West Coast. Showcasing both international voices and emerging homegrown talent, CinePride 2025 provides a bold and inclusive platform for queer storytellers to share their visions on the big screen.
“We are thrilled at the response of the global LGBTQIA+ community of film makers who submitted for CinePride's inaugural edition,” says Cecilio Asuncion, Executive Director of CinePride Film Festival. “Thisyear's selections are excellent and is a strong testament that LGBTQIA+ voices and stories from around the world will not be erased! We can't wait to welcome audiences to celebrate these incredible stories with us in LA this September.”
Highlights from the 2025 official selection include:
- Queer Bait – A precocious classics student is invited to dinner after he piques the interest of a tenured professor. But when his teacher's mentorship starts to push boundaries, he's forced to make a choice: protect his academic future, or preserve his dignity? The tense drama executive produced by Cate Blanchett makes its film festival debut at CinePride.
- Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero Рan animated musical fantasy featuring the voices of Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCr̬me, Heide N Closet, Mon̩t X Change and Ros̩. When drag queens start disappearing, a shy young barista must summon his inner super-shero to rescue them from an ambitious evil drag queen bent on harvesting their magical anti-aging tears. CinePride marks the first time this fun animated feature will be screened theatrically in Los Angeles
- A Life Inside Me – Set in rural South Asia, this captivating drama tells the story of a terminally ill father who wishes to live his final days as his true self — a woman — and his daughter who is trapped in an abusive marriage. The U.S. premiere of this groundbreaking Indian film will happen at CinePride.
- And You Are…? – Jane Seymour stars in And You Are...?, a most unlikely of buddy films that follows Lynn, a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's who only has the past to prove she exists. Her grandson Max, desperately wants to erase his past as it never proved his true existence. Already winning acclaim on the international festival circuit, the film makes it Hollywood premiere at CinePride!
- Lip Sync Assassin - Sampaguita, a fabulous drag queen moonlights as a hired killer to earn extra money and provide a good life for her talented daughter and sickly mother. Just when she thought she could handle any contract killing mission, her new target tests how far she can go to support her loved ones. The thrilling Filipino short film makes its World Premiere at CinePride!
Screenings will be enhanced by workshops, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, and a Director’s Brunch. Additionally, CinePride Film Festival will present awards in categories including Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Lead Performance, Best Director, and the Trailblazer Award. The coveted Audience Choice Award will be decided by festival goers.
“CinePride isn’t just a film festival; it’s a movement that belongs in Los Angeles, the epicenter of the film industry,” declares Programming Director Miguel Santos. “It’s about creating space for globally resonant queer stories that challenge conventions, defy genre, and deserve to be seen in theaters. We’re setting the stage for the next generation of storytellers who will redefine what’s possible in film.”
For the full list of films selected for CinePride Film Festival 2025, go to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZqWrp15eM6nRH9yDXN6PI9btloAmDr3WfJe0yo04N-8/edit?tab=t.0
For more information, visit CinePride.org and follow @CinePrideFilmFest on social media.
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Michael's Musings
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| "While cruisin' through the ionosphere, I saw these alien beings" Michael Shinafelt |
"I was havin' this out-of-body experience
Saw these cosmic beingsEverywhere I went up there, they were shakin' their cosmic thingsLike someone gave you a wild gooseOr a freight train with a loose caboose
You better shake your honeybuns, shake your honeybunsShake it 'til the butter melts, shake it 'til the butter meltsShake that cosmic thing, shake that thing, shake it (oh)" - Cosmic Thing, The B-52's
Someday is not a day of the week. LET'S GO!!!
Breast Milk Ice Cream "Just Like Mom Used To Make" - discuss...
In case you haven't hear Sydney Sweeny's jeans/genes are blue, the more you know
Did you know August is National Dog Month? Now you do...Arf!
A Great White Shark was spotted 50 yards off of Santa Monica Beach, there's that
It was a place to go for 44 minutes a week, a windowless room filled with nitrous oxide, that's all
BTW a little she-bopping is good for the soul, right here, right now
Tuna shaming is the worst kind of shaming
Woman Crush of the Week - Kesha, because everyone likes a good comeback. Keep on slaying!
Republicans complain about Texas Democrats "fleeing" - Yet just days ago, they themselves fled DC to avoid voting on the Epstein files. Think about it, but not too much.
Let Love Rule: Spread cheeks, not hate
Freakier Friday opens tomorrow, can't wait to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan together again at the movies!!!
Don't be the bigger person today. Be the person that helps them understand that sometimes when you F#ck around you find out.
My morning ritual is drinking lemon water, what's yours?
Tell me here -
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Hump Day & Chill
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| Wednesday Addams |
Today is Wednesday and not quite so wickedly coincidental it is also the premiere of Season 2 of Wednesday on Netflix.
What does it all mean?! It means we are going to have a Hump Day & Chill Wednesday, to, well, Wednesday...nevermore...
Here's hoping that this season is better than the last. Which, whilst entertaining enough was a tad on the tepid side for this viewer. Translation: it played it a little too safe and did not go out on a limb as far as it should have, and I personally could have done without the romance angle. So there!
One sure thing we can count on is Jenna Ortega playing the title character pitch black perfect, yet again.
Thus let's raise a glass of Wolfsbane and give a Hump Day & Chill toast to Wednesday, Wednesday on Netflix.
"I don't believe in Heaven or Hell. But I do believe in revenge"
I'll drink to that!
Wednesday on the WWW -
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
"Lost In Space"
On September 2, the science fiction adventure Lost In Space makes its global 4K UHD debut. A surprise hit upon its 1998 release—famously topping Titanic at the box office for a brief moment—Lost In Space returns in a definitive 4K restoration from the original camera negative, approved by director Stephen Hopkins. The Limited Edition set is packed with hours of special features, collectible packaging, and newly commissioned extras.
The Earth is close to being uninhabitable in 2058. Mankind's only hope for survival is to send Professor John Robinson (William Hurt, Avengers: Infinity War), his wife Maureen (Mimi Rogers, Bosch), son Will (Jack Johnson, Love Affair), and daughters Judy (Heather Graham, Boogie Nights) and Penny (Lacey Chabert, Black Christmas), along with pilot Major Don West (Matt LeBlanc, Friends), to the planet Alpha Prime to create a transporter gate. This device will allow Earthlings to flee to a new world. There are people who don’t want the Robinsons’ mission to succeed, including the treacherous Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman, The Dark Knight). The family’s physician sneaks onto Jupiter II to sabotage The Robot (Dick Tufeld, the voice of The Robot from the TV series). The mechanical mayhem leads to the spaceship becoming lost in space. Can the Robinsons regain their bearings and reach Alpha Prime? The movie features cameos by Mark Goddard, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, and Angela Cartwright from the original TV series.
Special features include archive audio commentaries; newly filmed interviews; a brand new video essay; deleted scenes; archival featurettes; a Q&A with the original cast of the TV series; bloopers; an Illustrated collector’s booklet; articles from American Cinematographer; and an excerpt from the original production notes.
Watch the trailer for Lost In Space here:
Order Here:
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