Sir Anthony Hopkins, 45 years sober

Sir Anthony Hopkins, aged 82, an actor, and composer, of worldwide renown, whose talents, gifts, and skills on the silver screen, stage and recently, as orchestral composer, is celebrating 45 years of sobriety today, Tuesday, 29 December 2020, and tweeted about it.

With gratitude, I celebrate 45 years of sobriety. pic.twitter.com/fxzMRGlI4m

— Anthony Hopkins (@AnthonyHopkins) December 29, 2020

Hello everyone. Good morning!

Sir Anthony Hopkins, age 82 tweets video encouragement as he celebrates 45 years sobriety on 29 December 2020, an upcoming birthday on 12-31, and happy upcoming New Year.

Well, a new year’s coming. It’s been a tough year, full of grief and sadness for many, many, many people.

But 45 years ago, today, I had a wake up call: I was headed for disaster. I was drinking myself to death – I’m not preachy – but, ah… I got a message, a little thought, that said ‘do you want to live, or die?’

And I said ‘I want to live.’ And suddenly, the relief came, and my life has been amazing.

And ah… I may have off days and

Historical Audio: Reagan supported increased wages & labor protection

Seems as if everything old is news again.

Of course, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

—

GOP Panics As Audio Emerges Proving Their Hero Reagan Would Oppose Current GOP Policies

Author: Rika Christensen April 9, 2014 6:49 pm

A 1948 audio recording of Ronald Reagan shows that he would have opposed the GOP’s policies today. In fact, if the GOP actually knew anything about Reagan’s history, they’d wonder how he even ended up in the party to begin with. The right-wing lunatic fringe runs today’s GOP. Back when this recording was made, Ronald Reagan sounded far more like one of today’s liberal Democrats than a Republican. The difference is astonishing.

Ronald Reagan on the 1946 GOP’s plan to increase people’s real incomes:

“The profits of corporations have doubled, while workers’ wages have increased by only one quarter. In other words, profits have gone up four times as much as wages. And the small increase workers did receive was eaten up by rising prices, which also bored into their savings.”

Gee, that sounds an awful lot like what’s happening now. Soaring corporate profits should mean that workers’ wages go up, also. Instead, more people than ever live paycheck to paycheck, and fewer have any savings to speak of, let alone enough to pay six months of living expenses in case of an emergency. But the stock market has reached record highs several times. So everything’s cool, at least as far as the GOP is concerned.

Ronald Reagan on the “free market” and rising prices:

“High prices have not been caused by higher wages, but by bigger and bigger profits. The Republican promises sounded pretty good in 1946. But what has happened since then? Since the 80^th Congress took over? Prices have climbed to the highest level in history, although the death of the OPA was supposed to bring prices down through ‘the natural process of free competition.’”

So, even back then, the Republican ideal of the free market didn’t work the way they insisted, and Ronald Reagan could see that. These days, they still want the government to stay out. They want competition to work for lowering prices and creating jobs. However, the so-called “free market” that they want tends toward monopolies and/or price collusion, which both drive prices up. These two situations prevent new businesses from entering the market to compete, and hurt consumers and workers, while driving profits sky-high.

Ronald Reagan on working Americans:

Clint Eastwood talks about “Invisible Obama” meme

What an idiot.

Utter idiot.

Didn’t even prepare for his performance… and it was painfully evident.

Idiot.

—

Clint Eastwood speaks to Carmel Pine Cone about invisible Obama

By Jen Chaney Posted at 03:16 PM ET, 09/07/2012

Eastwood and his now famous empty chair. (Charles Dharapak – AP)

Clint Eastwood has finally explained why he decided to address an empty chair during his speech at last week’s Republican National Convention. As further proof that the “Million Dollar Baby” director does things in his own unique way, he chose to comment on this much-debated matter exclusively to the Carmel Pine Cone, a weekly newspaper in Monterey County with a print circulation of 19,000. While that media-strategy decision may sound odd, it’s not quite as weird or unprecedented as it sounds. (More on that in a minute.) It also allows him to weigh in on this matter on his own terms before he begins doing media for his next movie, the baseball dramedy “Trouble With the Curve.”

Now, let’s get to Eastwood’s account of what happened before he spoke in Tampa and inspired a generation to create a tidalwave of memes.

Compelled to speak because he feels “President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” and also to demonstrate that Hollywood is not populated solely by lefties, Eastwood said he agreed to appear at the convention after Mitt Romney extended a personal invitation

Romney’s aides, naturally, wanted to know what Eastwood planned to say, to which the film icon responded, “You can’t do that with me, because I don’t know what I’m going to say.” Apparently Romney’s staff was fine with that because

Rest In… Pieces of A Man, Gil Scott-Heron

The world learned of musician poet/author Gil Scott-Heron‘s death via Twittter from his manager Jamie Byng.

His voice was one that demonstrated a strong sense of outrage over social injustice, and will be sorely missed.

Early in his life, his parents divorced where they lived in Chicago, and his mother moved him to Jackson, Tennessee where he was raised by his grandmother Lillie Scott.

He first came to public renown through his recording “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” which was a semi-prophetic commentary upon the times in which we now find ourselves.

Known for

Another perspective on “Ching Chong, Ching Chong Cha”: 名嘴嘲諷中文 華裔領袖促道歉_星島日報_加拿大多倫多中文新聞網。 Canada Toronto Chinese newspaper

名嘴嘲諷中文 華裔領袖促道歉_星島日報_加拿大多倫多中文新聞網。 Canada Toronto Chinese newspaper.

[2011-01-21] Share

本報記者任薇薇三藩市灣區報道
電台名嘴在節目中搞怪模倣胡錦濤發言和嘲諷中文語言，華裔國會議員紛紛譴責林堡（Rush Limbaugh）種族主義的言論，加州眾議員方文忠將提請州眾議院亞太裔立法黨團促林堡向華裔道歉。
聯邦眾議員趙美心(Judy Chu)稱林堡的言論令她感到「震驚和恐懼」。她發表聲明指出，「謾罵華人和嘲諷中文語言是幼稚和冒犯性的伎倆。不認同和批評一個國家的政策是一回事，妖魔化其人民是另一回事。

Comedy is a “two way street.” That is, it conveys a message, and the message is about us, our circumstances and situations. What makes comedy funny, first of all, is that it MUST address reality – the known. We cannot discuss something that cannot be known, for as the byline to this blog reads, “… there is no such thing as nothing.”

Delving into the philosophical, we understand comedy also on two levels, again, both which are firmly rooted in reality.

Now, having addressed that element, it is proper and fitting to address the other, or obverse element – that is, the opposite element – which element is not humor.

The man Rush Limbaugh has never

Tigers eat Dirty Dawgs: QB Aaron Murray nominated for Academy Award & Oscar

Wow!

Saturday, November 13th 2010’s 114th annual NCAA SEC Division I football match-up between Auburn University v University of Georgia was fraught with problems, particularly in the last two minutes of regulation play! Auburn’s 49-31 victory was made sweeter by Georgia’s sour grapes behavior.

Of special interest were concerns about Auburn’s Defensive Tackle, #90, Nick Fairley, whose 6-5, 298 pound Junior frame hailing from Mobile, AL was penalized for a personal foul against 6-foot-1, 209 pound, #11, Freshman Georgia Quarterback Aaron Murray, when he hit Murray in the back with his helmet, after Murray had released the ball. He was immediately penalized for a personal foul, with an automatic first down for the now 5-6, 3-5 SEC Georgia.

Afterward, Fairley, described by some as

Goodfellas: Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Hugo Black, Joe Pesci, Mama, Daddy, Jesus

Though it was nominated for several categories, only One Oscar emerged from the 1990 Martin Scorsese-directed film Goodfellas, which is the internal award those in the film and motion picture production industry give themselves. Joe Pesci, playing the character Tommy DeVito, won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Goodfellas.

Robert DeNiro, whom played the Irish character James “Jimmy” Conway, and Ray Liotta, whom played Irish-Italian protagonist Henry Hill, and Paul Sorvino, whom played the character of the local Lucchese family mob boss Paul Cicero, neither won any such acclaim or coveted award.

Based on the book and screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi, the story circulates around the fictitious character Henry Hill, whom as a 1955 youth began his life of crime, first with skipping school to park cars for nefarious Lucchese mob family members in his Brooklyn, New York City neighborhood, and gradually progressing into a full-fledged mobster.

Desiring a life of crime, Henry Hill understands becoming a “made man,” is a difficult obstacle he must overcome to become a full-fledged member of the Lucchese crime family. Yet his criminal mentor Jimmy Conway, whom is Paul Cicero’s close associate, can neither become a “made man,” because of his Irish heritage.

With Paul Cicero’s blessing, Jimmy Conway puts Henry Hill and Tommy DeVito together, and they become fast friends, and criminal compatriots.

As the story develops the characters, Henry meets and falls in love with Karen Friedman, described as a “no-nonsense Jewish girl,” and they eventually marry and have children.

Throughout the film, the strength and close-knit nature of the criminal companions and their families is demonstrated. The men work their various criminal enterprises together, their wives shop together, their children attend school and play with each other, and their families visit, dine and vacation together. The men are in constant contact with each other, and so are their wives and children. The strength of their bond is observed as a natural by-product of their consistent fellowship.

Eventually, Henry Hill cultivates a mistress named