Happy Wednesday!!!! It is so hot here. And our basement got a wee bit of sewage backup, and the upstairs people are painting their bathroom, and everything is just topsy turvy.
I’ll start!
Reading: Anne of Ingleside! I am all about Montgomery all the time. Mixing in the Anne books with Gift of Wings.
Watching: I finished Star Trek TNG! Time to move on to Enterprise. Or is there another Star Trek thing I should move on to?
Thinking: This weekend, everything will be fine again! Basement will be cleaned out, heat wave over, painting done, I just gotta crawl through to then.
Listening: Thank you Emily for reminding me of this song! It works for Malayalis, and it works for any diaspora person, and it works for a general sort of voyaging traveling kind of people.
Okay, now question for you! What is your favorite summer heat wave song?
Yesterday when it was super hot, I retreated to “Gerua”
dontcallitbollywood 
I watched Jayeshbhai Jordaar. DO NOT WATCH IT!!!!!! The ending is infuriating. As someone said, the only appropriate ending for this movie would have been death or destruction to all the horrible horrible men and Ratna in this movie. But obviously since it’s a Hindi movie that does not happen and their actions are just NOT forgivable. Also Ratna in this movie might be tied with her role in Kapoor and Sons for the WORST MOTHER EVER!
I also watched Heropanti 2 on the plane and maybe because JJ was so awful, terrible, I didn’t mind Heropanti 2. It was really dumb. The plot made no sense. Like how how Khan go from threatening him that he can throw him in jail to then just letting them continue to fraud people without being able to do anything about it?!?!? I could tell it was trying to be a bit of a Jackie Chang like movie and I did find all the dialogue’s around Tiger’s name pretty funny. You already ranted about Tara Sutaria so I don’t have to but it made me miss Kriti SOOO MUCH. I loved seeing her in the last song with Tiger.
On a separate note, I got the CUTEST books for husband for his first father’s day and they will not be here in time so I am highly annoyed. They were little custom books that feature Baby SRK and husband and one is all about how much they love each other and one is about how to say thank you and be grateful. I am expecting some serious tears from the husband will be very disappointed if I don’t get some.
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Best gift I ever gave my father for father’s day: A Hallmark card with a Batman cartoon on it that plays the Batman TV show theme song. I got him this two years ago, according ot my mother he plays it every morning first thing. WHY?? Out of all the presents I have given, why this????
On Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 12:04 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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That is so cute! I love it.
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So I was right about Jayeshbhai Jordaar. I saw somebody telling it was funny and I doubted my own opinion for a moment. Please spoil it for me. I want to know what happens and Wikipedia has almost no information.
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Spoilers: There really isn’t much of a story. The entire movie is about Ranveer, Shalini, and this older daughter (her character’s name was Siddhi), being on the run while Booman and his goons continue to chase them. Ranveer has put a plan in place to eventually get them all to a town in Haryana where similarly all the women children were killed for generations, so now it is a town just filled with men and the men now understand the importance of women. HUGE EYEROLL! Initially, Ranveer is helping Shanili and Siddhi escape while pretending to be on Booman’s side so that he can continue to thwart Booman’s plans. Eventually, Ranveer gets caught and beat up trying to protect the heavily pregnant Shalini from getting killed. Along the way, all the men, including Shalini’s father and a person they take refuge with continue to betray them and the women including Ranveer’s sister and the refuge man’s wife help them out.
At the end, Booman and Ratna catch up with Ranveer and he is being forced him to marry another women who can bear him sons. On his wedding day, Ratna finally has a change of heart and allows Ranveer to go to the hospital where Shalini is having the baby. The men of Haryana get to the hospital and stop Booman and his goons. The women finally, kind of rebel. They want to go Haryana to be with the men from that town since they respect women. BUT… Ranveer disagrees gives this whole speech about how violence or leaving the horrible horrible men who abuse and want to kill them isn’t the solution, and the women should kiss the men and that will help them change their horrible horrible ways. The end! In case you can’t tell, I HATED everything about the ending of the movie!!!
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Leaving the man who wants to kill you is not a solution? I knew this movie will be trash but I didn’t expect it to be that stupid . Never been happier that a movie bombed.
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EXACTLY!!! These men were ready to hit their wives and kill Shalini until the second to last scene and Ranveer’s solution in the last scene to it is kiss and make up?!?!?! UGHHHHH!!! It was infuriating!
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All my favourite heat wave songs are ones where Govinda gets soaked. I’m a simple soul.
I don’t know if you’ve ever read Seven Keys to Baldpate, but I’m finishing it and having to admit to myself I haven’t liked it at all. I’m waiting for the real twist ending, maybe that will save it.
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I have read it! I went through a big Earl Derr Biggers phase. As with all mystery serieses, the first one is kind of an odd duck because he didn’t realize yet that Charlie Chan was going to be the break out lead and spent way too much time with Boring Young Hero. I think I liked Black Camel best. I should reread those! Maybe a new DCIB series after we finish the Anne books?
On Wed, Jun 15, 2022 at 3:18 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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Charlie Chan is in it??? Well, that’s a twist for sure.
Ugh the Boring Young Hero is the absolute worst, I need him to die in a fire.
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I can’t tell if you are sarcastic or not! Yes, this is the first Charlie Chan book. It’s one of those things that, for me, is super racist and stuff FROM TODAY but is just insanely progressive and healthy and radical and world changing for back then. Charlie Chan is a smart man, a nice man, a professional man, and an American. Also a family man who is permanently settled in America. And who everyone treats with respect as an intelligent professional person. In 1920s America! That’s crazy! Sure he talks unusual and things, but that’s the least of it in an era when Asians aren’t even legally allowed to immigrate to America, and “yellow terror” is being blasted in every newspaper.
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 1:21 AM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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Wait, never mind, just looked it up, The House Without a Key is the first charlie Chan book. I had the right author, and I knew it was a “key” book! Anyway, after you finish this one, read the Biggers Chan series, so much fun.
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Haha, well it would have livened it up for sure. I’ve seen some Charlie Chan movies and haven’t really been into them but I could give the books a go I guess. Though this book hasn’t really sold me on Biggers I have to say.
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The movies are totally different, all yellow face and over the top. The books are just solid mystery novels of the early 1900s.
On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 9:13 AM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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Reading: Finally started ‘the miniaturist’ seems boring but I keep on waking up in my sleep as I’m too active so I need something to calm me down. I have just progressed 10 pages so I hope it’ll get better later on.
Watching: I am watching a Kdrama called Kiss Sixth Sense and it is pretty good. I have read the original web toon which has a much younger cast, annoying main character who is incompetent at everything and a male lead who’s too good for her. The drama is much better as the characters are aged up to their 30’s, the female lead is good at her job and the main couple balance each other out. The writers of the drama also add more thought behind her actions which makes it so much more charming.
Listening: I am listening to the Aaja Nachle soundtrack for the umpteenth time and I have to say my favorite is O Re Piya. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice is always so enchanting even in Afreen Afreen he makes it blend so well with the otherwise soft song.
Thinking: On how to make my house cooler as it is a furnace currently. I am just hoping I get through summer without fainting.
My favorite summer heat wave song is this:
Truly a masterpiece which shows my most ardent wish this summer.
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I’m anticipating waking up tonight, because sooooooooooooo hot, in which case I will be trying to finish Anne of Ingleside. That feels like more of a cozy sleepy book, but also more likely to keep me awake to see how it ends.
Ugh, I hate an incompetent female character! There’s a fine line between people nicely helping people, and just making her totally useless.
So far, knock on wood, my apartment has been okay despite the freakish heat this week. I’ve got all the shades down and doors closed to barricade off cool zones. I mean, I also need a/c, but I don’t think it would be enough without the fans and shades and etc.
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Summer heat wave songs –
Saathiya
Kyon Hawa
I associate summer with vacations to mountains with cool breezes and waterfalls, open meadows. The lyrics and scenery in these songs somehow combine to evoke those feelings.
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crap I have no plan for fathers day. What do I do for my husband? I bought, transported, and stacked wood for my dad, technically for fathers day, but that was last week. He’ll want something. Why doesn’t creativity strike on demand?!
I’ve been into fairies lately. 7-year-old and neighbors put together a fairy garden in his yard and I try and move the fairy sometimes at night to make it look like it is alive. Also, while looking for books by Ukrainian authors I discovered this book written by a Ukrainian woman that discusses humans from a fairy’s persepective. I quite like it. In fact I have neglected Anne to focus on fairies, but somehow it seems like the kind of thing Anne would do.
I tried to get my family to watch RRR and totally failed – except for the 7 year old, he’s seen the whole thing with me. I did, however, get them to watch Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel in Overboard – not as amazing as RRR, but a lot shorter and (dare I say it) even better chemistry.
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I love the Russell-Hawn Overboard!!!! And it’s the only non-creepy version of that story that I’ve seen, because Kurt thinks it’s her husband’s money not hers, and he knows her family didn’t pick her up from the hospital, so he’s taking care of her as much as holding her hostage.
On Fri, Jun 17, 2022 at 7:24 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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He did walk out of the house in one scene laughing to himself about how he got himself a slave. So it is problematic, but I still like the movie anyway.
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Reading: The Bromance Book Club, which is about a group of “alpha macho men”, mostly major league baseball players, who read romance novels to try to improve their relationships with their wives/girlfriends. It’s the start of a series, and this one is about a baseball player whose wife is threatening divorce and so he reads a Regency novel to try and win her back. It’s fun. The guy has messed up in his romantic executions, but I’m about halfway through the book and I think he’s finally turning around. Would be a fun movie.
Watching: I saw Lightyear with my family and it was fun. Super meta, since it’s the movie the Buzz Lightyear toy in Toy Story was based on. It’s very cheesy, but the animation is great. It’s exactly the kind of movie a 10 year old boy would love, so whoever here has young kids (Genevieve I think?) probably would be a winner.
Thinking: SUMMER VACATION!! Finally, she has arrived! And I have been so social. Went to the post graduation party with my coworkers and got drunk, went to a Pride parade with my roommate, did Father’s Day and birthday things with my dad (my dad’s birthday is the day after Father’s Day this year), and now I am going out to dinner with other teacher friends and will probably drink some more. A little bummed because my local pool doesn’t open until the weekend, and I somehow misplaced half my bathing suits so I have to get more, but I am living large right now.
Listening: The JJJ singles being put out are not good, yet somehow they all get stuck in my head. I don’t get it. Really hope the movie is good.
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Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, Summer! It’s taken years and years and years for me to get past the “it’s summer vacation” feel from school days. And I miss it! Now I have more of a “summer, hot, so much to do” feeling. I’m jealous!
I love the idea of the Bromance Book Club, and we should absolutely make a Hindi version of it, right? Same idea, but they watch KKHH and DDLJ and stuff. And we can cast all our favorite middle-aged couples! Imagine Anil romancing Juhi?
On Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 1:59 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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A recast would be so fun! Not sure how close you want to stick to the book, but the main guys in this book are all professional athletes, which would probably put them in their mid 30s. Plus, the lead couple has preschool aged twin girls. But Anil and Juhi actually would really work for the main couple. The hero is overcoming a stutter, constantly overdoing his flirting and wooing and saying the wrong thing and feeling guilty about it, and thinks his wife is the most gorgeous human to walk the earth. Heroine married him after a few months because she got pregnant, had a rough upbringing because her parents split and she was neglected by both of them, and wants to finish her degree to become an artist. I can definitely see Anil and Juhi. But obviously you can take some liberties if you actually do a whole recast post 😉 I can come back with an entire plot summary when I’m done with the book if you want.
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I watched Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, the Netflix documentary about Warren Jeffs, and it was stupid. The topic was very interesting but I think that the makers were sure everybody knows this case and concentrated only on the begginings of the story and ended it in the most interesting moment. I knew nothing about this church and abuses, and had to watch 4 long repetitive episodes (it was basically “the men can have many wifes, and the girls have nothing to say” repeated 50 times) and then in the end they were like: and so we arrested him and he is in prison now. I wanted to know more about what was happening in this church, about the arrest and the court case and there was nothing.
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I can tell you EVERYTHING!!!! Yes, it has been covered over and over and over again, and I have watched many many documentaries. You have questions? Lay it on me!
On Wed, Jun 22, 2022 at 3:18 PM dontcallitbollywood < comment-reply@wordpress.com> wrote:
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The most interesting part was that the other wifes helped with the abuses. I know they were brainwashed, but still how it’s possible to be that brainwashed? And on the one hand the wifes were all modest and pure and on the other there were orgies. I mean how the women explained that to themselves? Has any of them talked with the press?
And what Warren did when he was hiding? The documentary briefly mentioned he was in Disneyland and watched porn with wifes in Las Vegas. How did we know that?
I read about his trial and man, it would make great Law and Order episode, but the documentary didn’t even mention his shenanigans in the court room.
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Oooo! There was a documentary recently that interviewed the wife Warren took with him on the run! So I can answer all those questions! I hope.
The biggest thing I consistently hear about the LFDS is that they have learned how to hold people hostage with their families. If you leave, you will never see your children again. If you disobey, you will never see your children again. The freest time is before you have children, thus all these girls getting married and pregnant super young. Babies are chains. I saw an interview with one of Warren’s many teenage brides where she talks about marrying him very young, being so happy with her children, and then having her children taken away from her and kept from her entirely (she didn’t even know where they were) for YEARS. They were just babies, 4 and 2. She did everything she could think of to “please” Warren so he would send for her and bring her to her kids. Finally she managed to lose a ton of weight and get so skinny she looked like a teenage girl again, and then he sent for her and she could see her children. And that is when he started bringing her into sexual orgies. She eventually managed to get herself and her kids out and gain custody, but you can imagine in that situation why she would do anything she was asked no matter what in order not to lose her kids again.
It’s not just teenage girls either! Any man who speaks up against Warren will be excommunicated, banished, and the LFDS will help his wives keep custody of his children. That’s happened enough times that man are afraid to speak out too, because they also love their children. And from the other side, any time a teenager gets “uppity”, they are sent away and their parents are forbidden from talking to him with the threat of being sent away themselves and losing their other kids.
Oh, and Warren kept photos of his lovely superfun travels through America while on the run, and his wife/companion at he time also kept records and talked to the investigators.
Since Warren is in jail, new twist, he has forbidden anyone to marry, and any physical affection at all between anyone including siblings or parent and child. It’s a transparently because in jail he is forbidden contact visits and he wants everyone to be as miserable and lonely as he is. So now people are leaving because it is just such a MISERABLE way to live. The pedofilia and rape is less, but families are more tortured and divided than ever.
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