Stuff I'm Pondering

Andrew Morton has written an unauthorized biography about Tom Cruise this time. Since many of his assertions (not all) about Princess Diana, in the unauthorized biography he wrote about her, turned out to be true it does have one wondering about those he's made about Tom. As a Catholic I've had plenty of opportunity to see zealotry and reactions to religion that border, in my opinion, on idolatry rather than faith. There's some weird voo-doo done in the name of God/faith. Scary stuff.

Do you believe Dr. Phil is an opportunist in the Britney Spears situation? Was he really called in by the family or did HE call them and offer to help thereby garnering attention for himself? What a sad and sorry situation. I agree with the consensus that Britney has to decide to get herself well at this point. No intervention, celebrity therapist, or family member can help or save her if she doesn't want to be helped or saved. The TMZ article I've linked to speculates she may be bi-polar. That makes as much sense as anything at this point.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated a week and a half ago and there are really no signs of things settling down in Pakistan any time soon. I was sort of astonished and impressed that President Mussaref called in Scotland Yard to help with the investigation. After doing a bit of research and reading I'm more startled by the courage and grit of this woman. Her father was assassinated. She'd been exiled for close to 8 years in London. Her entire life was filled with unrest and violence in her country yet she was able to articulate change, moderation and speak out against Islamic extremist violence.

How does one wake up in the morning go about in an open air car and bravely speak out against known violent enemies? I'd be cringing under my blankets. I'm in awe. Truly.

I rarely dabble in politics because everybody has an opinion and we are all about peace, love and joy here at NOBODY ASKED ME. Yeah, you didn't ask but I've been doing a lot of pondering about Barack Obama. Is it too soon to be hopeful? Oprah's endorsement aside, and it was HUGE, can such a voice of reason be heard over the mud slinging and be elected president? After reading about the hope and resistance of Benazir Bhutto, I have to be hopeful about Obama. Bill Bradley, former Rhodes scholar and NBA star, now a Senator, as of today endorses Obama. GG, a devout republican, is a Bradley fan because Bill Bradley has so much integrity. So this was big news, at least in our household.

I'm finished with SHADES OF TWILIGHT by Linda Howard. I never tire of that book. It's been a few years since I've read it and there are certainly some things that aren't politically correct in it. Didn't stop me an iota from enjoying the heck out of the reading experience though. I'm sort of stymied what to read next because I'm on my SOT high. I bought the Joanna Bourne book SPYMASTER'S LADY based on a few reviews I've read about it. I also picked up MOVING TARGET by Cheyenne McCray. Don't ask. Ms. McCray is hit or miss with me and I browsed and picked this up.

M:I:3

Imagine my surprise when I found myself hopelessly attracted to the the trailers of the latest Mission Impossible movie. Especially if one factors in how often over the last couple of years I've wanted to hit Tom Cruise with a mallet and yell, "Snap out of it!" TC aside I can honestly say alot of my interest in the flick was due to Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'm a great fan of his. Check him out in FLAWLESS. Wow!

Ummm...where was I...oh yeah M:i:3. So I was genuinely surprised at my interest in seeing the movie. OTOH, the testosterone brigade I live with had no hesitation or issues with Mr. Cruise and were hell bent on checking out the movie. So off we went on a Saturday night family outing to the movies.

The first thing to remember when I'm reviewing any sort of action, adventure or scary movie is that my preferred reading material are romances with HEAs. So keeping that in mind when I go to a movie I don't generally like being on the edge of my seat, scared or inundated with violence.

From the opening scenes the viewer is asking questions. Why is this happening? Who is that girl? WHAT is going on?!! The movie sort of takes off from there. M:i:3 has enough script to give it legs between action sequences. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a deliciously despicable bad guy. There are new IMF team members and Laurence Fishburne makes an interesting appearance as IMF Director. Ving Rhames returns to reprise his previous role in the franchise. All in all I have to say M:i:3 was like a good roller coaster ride. You never know what's around the next corner and some moments leave you breathless. In what I assure you is an unlikely and unusual occurence, all four of the members of my family really liked the movie.

So if you aren't too put off by Tom's obnoxious, sanctimonious, priggish, superior persona in real life and you like a good action flick, go see M:i:3. Philip Seymour Hoffman alone makes is worth the ticket price.

Suri??? What kind of name is Suri?

So I recently read an AOL entertainment article from the NY Times you can check out yourself here. This article discusses the escalating trend for well known and (in)famous people to pick out weirder and weirder names for their kids in an effort to be singular and unique.

Am I the only person on the planet who isn't shocked to find that the rich and famous want to draw attention to themselves and their children with these names?

Gee, even us mere mortals want names we feel are special for our children. Is it such a hard stretch to believe that someone who has already achieved a certain amount of celebrity and notoriety wants that to extend to their children? What other possible explanation could there be for someone to name their child Moon Unit, Apple or Suri? My personal favorite for the "What were you thinking?" award goes to Penn Gillette, one half of the magician team Penn & Teller. Daddy Gillette named his daughter Moxie CrimeFighter Gillette. Yeah, there's a fun name to bubble in for tests. Thanks Mom...thanks Dad.

Of course, a couple of the quoted stars say that people they know who have unusual names love them. Really? Like maybe other celebrities? C'mon do you really believe all these children are going to thank their parents for these names? Personally, I'm betting the best seller list some 15 or more years from now will include some tell-all book about how difficult it was to grow up with a name like Lourdes.

When we took parenting classes which were required as part of the adoption process, one of the recurring points hammered home was to note that as much as kids rebel or even want to be thought of as unique, what most kids want is to feel like they belong and are a part of the family, school, team, etc. The feeling of belonging, and being loved makes a child (person) feel safe, secure and validated. I'm sure little Moxie CrimeFighter will feel those things every day as she manuevers the roller coaster ride called high school.

Today I read another article in AOL entertainment news from April 21st that noted many people have blogged and made comment about baby Cruise's name Suri. Apparently Cruise/Holmes publicists had released the information that the name was chosen partly because Suri means "princess" in Hebrew. According to this article, that is not true. Hebrew language experts were contacted and they are quoted as saying Suri is not close to any deritive of princess that they know of. The admiring throngs have come up with another theory. It seems the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was born in Surrey England. So Surrey became Suri to honor the father of Scientology. The adage "Truth is stranger than fiction" might apply here. Suri...really?

Poor little baby girl. Don't think she won't have a few trips to the therapist office. Oops! Wait, I forgot. Can't do that 'cause her Daddy doesn't believe we need medical/psychological intervention. No wonder little baby Suri Cruise has already made the "Sucks to be You" list and she's not even a week old yet!

By the way, while I think Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple has an unusual name, I don't understand why the article discusses her new son's name, Moses, as being "different". Huh? Moses has been around along time. A very long time...remember the guy on the mountain with the stone tablet?

Tom Cruise and Aaron

Now I just have to ask you...who's cuter? My niece's boyfriend Aaron or Tom Cruise?

Mr. Cruise just made a pit stop at our small local airport and Aaron was there manning the fire station. I guess Tom was extremely friendly and nice enough to pose for the picture. Pretty cool, huh?

TOM AND KATIE ARE PREGNANT!

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes arrive at the premiere of
"War of the Worlds" in New York.
(AP photo)Jun. 23, 2005












Okay, shock is too strong a word, but surprised isn't. Seeing THIS LINK on my aol welcome screen took me by surprise. Why no babies with Nicole after 10 years and within 6 months a baby with a woman who was a baby when he last got married? Makes you say hmmmmm.....doesn't it?