Revealed In Time: June 2021

Monday, June 28, 2021

The Mummy (1999)

The Mummy is one of those film franchises I had always heard of, but never showed any interest in seeing. Primarily because I thought they were horror. Dear God was I wrong! These movies (well, I've only seen the first two, known as the Rachel Weisz films), are so delightfully stupid and crazy, that they are an absolute comfort watch. I mean Brendan Fraser alone playing a hybrid mix of Allan Quatermain and Indiana Jones is reason enough to watch, plus our lone heroine is...A LIBRARIAN! *Movie joke* Movie comedies nowadays are so cringey and stupid that they're just unbearable. However, The Mummy manages to balance just enough modern day camp, with the treasure seeking adventure, the Ancient Egyptian history, and the obvious eventual romance between Rick and Evie, that you can just see them as fun.

Happy 10 Years!

I can't believe it!

10 years online! This site has been an absolute sanctuary and safe-hold for me during both good times and bad. So much inspiration, creativity, fangirling, reviews, commentaries, politics, pop culture and whatever else came to mind at the moment!

However, I wouldn't have gotten far if not for the people who have befriended, followed and supported me for so long.

This post is for all of you!!

Defending Daughters Pt. 2

I'm venting because I'm so over this sexist bullshit

I wrote about this last year. It's a proven fact that boys are the preferred gender in America:

When People Just Need to Stop Talking

I can't begin to tell you how often I get remarks like this from people. And I am over it.

It's bad enough I have to wake up in the middle of the night to prepare for work. Then people who come in (that I get up so early in the morning for, so that they can access to the facility and all their needs are accommodated) have the alright audacity to complain about my exhausted appearance. I have told members over and over again that I'm not a morning person, however, that doesn't seem to sit well with them.

Goodreads Reviews: Mollie's War

Mollie's War: The Letters of a World War II WAC in Europe by Mollie Weinstein Schaffer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had wanted to find some good reading material about the women who served in WWII. The fascination of the women who worked as codebreakers and spies has captured the world's attention; the proof being found in the numerous amount of inspired fiction that has been written in the last several years. And of course, the indispensable duty as nurses who went across seas and faced just as much danger as the men they cared for. However, I was interested in the actual military volunteer services for the Army as WACs (Women's Auxiliary Corps), the Navy as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and the Air Force as WASPs (Women Air Force Service Pilots).

I was shocked at little I was able to find about the women's military services, but Mollie's War was exactly the historical reading I've been wanting. Mollie Weinstein, a medical stenographer from Detroit Michigan, volunteered for the WACs in October of 1943. Through her carefully preserved letters to her family and friends, Mollie documents her entire war experience from basic training in Daytona Beach Florida to assisting in allied occupied Germany at the end of the war.

Journals were forbidden in the military so it was imperative that all letters sent back home were to be kept. It was the only way that the men and women overseas were able to chronicle their time in war. Mollie always desired to be a writer and she hoped that one day her letters would make an intriguing biography. While Mollie never actually finds herself in any danger, her life overseas, the people she met and history she witnessed made her time in the military remarkable.

Most of Mollie's time when she wasn't working was spent going on dates with numerous and eager soldiers. Fraternization was highly encouraged for the women in the military and some of these women were dating two to three men at a time. This was certainly the case for Mollie, who eventually finds herself caught in a fragile love triangle.

Mollie was oftentimes a prime point of contact to find family members whether in former Nazi occupied countries or who were also in the military. She never wasted any time to help anyone who needed her and she was an invaluable service to the people back at home who were desperate to know the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Mollie's War is exactly the book one may want to read if they have any interest in the life of WACs and their war service. Mollie's letters are lively, candid and always full of history that's waiting to be revealed. To see the war from a woman's POV was a eye-opening experience. Mollie may never have faced shell fire, but she saw the same destruction and depravity of Hitler's regime (this is especially personal because she's Jewish). Reading her memories that are fresh and full of life made WWII in Europe so much more real and personal.

Loki Premiere

So the show is as bizarre and as crazy as I thought it would be

and of course, Tom Hiddleston is back in his element.

That SOB was breaking my heart before the end credits.

This confession is less than a minute and yet, Loki is the most honest and raw and real he has ever been.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Edward Nygma - Gotham's Darkest Riddle

When I'm not rooting for Det. Jim Gordan, I'm usually swooning over
this sad future villain.

I'm halfway through season 3 of Gotham and as someone who normally doesn't go for the bad guys, much less the slowly descending, physco-murder types, Gotham City's former GCPD coroner, Edward "Ed" Nygma is AMAZING!

Goodreads Reviews: Shifty's War

Shifty's War: The Authorized Biography of Sergeant Darrell "Shifty" Powers, the Legendary Sharpshooter from the Band of Brothers by Marcus Brotherton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not many people would believe that a soft spoken country boy from the tiny mining town of Clinchco, Virginia would have had the skills to kill eight men before his twenty-second birthday. But that was Darrell "Shifty" Powers, an expert marksman who only desired a quite country life. His upbringing in the woods and hunting with his father gave him the training he would need to hear, smell and even feel the approaching enemy. His sniper skills earned him a coveted marksmanship designation and the loyalty of his friends and respect from his commanding officers allowed him to go home early. However, after four years in war, Shifty almost didn't make it out of Germany.

Shifty's early life is similar to many of the Southerners who joined the war effort. Poor, growing up on farms and in mining towns, some of these boys dropped out of school as early as eleven years old to help support their families. Shifty's family life was warm and safe. He was an average teenager who enjoyed a little trouble every now and then, but really focus on finding a solid career as soon as possible.

After joining the paratroopers, Shifty was trained in Taccoa along with Popeye Winn (who he knew before the war) Dick Winters, Skip Muck, Joe Toye, George Luz and others. Shifty was well liked by everyone who knew him and he gives nothing but praise and warm memories to his old war friends. Shifty's war record starts on D-Day and fighting in every consecutive battle that Easy Company was sent into. Although quiet by nature, Shifty was a deadly sniper and he skills saved the lives of many of his friends. He was one of the few men that was never wounded, a remarkable feat in itself.

While on his way back home, Shifty was in a life threatening car accident. The irony being that he survived the entire war without a scratch, but almost dies getting hit by a truck. Shifty did eventually get back home and was able to return to living the life he wanted. He married, had two children and lived a relatively quiet life, until the Band of Brothers mini-series.

In spite of the simplicity of Shifty's story, his service during the war was remarkable. In many ways, Shifty certainly didn't want to be there, but he have the drive and stamina to survive. His devotion to his friends and the fact that he was responsible for their lives was unmatched. Shifty didn't set out to be a hero and even later on in life he never considered his marksmanship skills to be anything amazing. He was a young man knew he could contribute something to his country and the war effort and just maybe survive to go back home.

Goodreads Reviews: Call of Duty

Call of Duty: My Life Before, During and After the Band of Brothers by Lynn Compton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unlike most men from Easy Company who came from quiet backgrounds in the country or the noisy streets of the inner-cities, Buck Compton grew up in the shadow of glamorous Las Angeles. At an early age he was doing bit parts in films to help his family. The stories he had to tell about the celebrities he met as a child are priceless. However, his family life was far from happy. When Buck was a teenager, his father, worn down from the Great Depression committed suicide. This brought Buck's mother into a withdrawn state and from there, Buck was left on his own. Even a soldier then, Buck carried on.

In high school he excelled at baseball and football which earned him a scholarship at UCLA. Most of Buck's memories in college are either about sports or his time in his fraternity (of which haven't changed at all). Then the war came and like the rest of America, Buck's life in college and his future dreams were put on hold to fight.

Buck signed up for the 101st Airborne and was sent to Easy Company. As an officer, Buck was encouraged not to fraternize with the enlisted men, but Buck Compton did what he wanted. He enjoyed the company of the NCOs over that of the other high and mighty officers who tended to look down on the lower ranks. Buck's closest friends were Don Malarkey, Skip Muck and Bill Guarnere. They all served together in France, the Netherlands and Bastogne. And it was in Bastogne where they all parted.

Like it did with so many men, the Battle of the Bulge did irreparable damage to the hearts and minds of the soldiers who fought and either died or survived. Buck's service to his country ended in Bastogne when he succumbed to shock and was unable to function afterwards. While that may have been the end to his military career, Buck would spend the rest of his life in duty to his country.

From the LAPD to the Supreme court (where he was involved in the case of Bobby Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan), Buck's post-war life was fascinating and left no room for a dull moment. An ardent patriot and American, Buck embodied the WWII spirit of Easy Company. His duty didn't end in Bastogne, it only opened the doors to a fulfilling life as a detective, a prosecutor, a family man, a war hero and a living legend.

Anne With An "E"

🍎+🌼

After finally viewing all 3 seasons of this somewhat controversial show, I've come to the conclusion that as a whole, Anne With An "E" is very well done. If you divorce yourself from the original novel and rather view it as a 'retelling' of Anne of Green Gables, then you have some noteworthy content. Some changes were interesting and others were unnecessary. However, you may view it, Anne With An "E" was written and produced to be a social commentary. There was a great deal I enjoyed about the show, primarily the characters, but there was a lot that I did not enjoy either.