Mar 20, 2025
super weird how they kept playing Don and Bobby's love song in the movie I was watching tonight
super weird how they kept playing Don and Bobby's love song in the movie I was watching tonight
Seth MacFarlane - Blue Skies / Songs From Home Seth Macfarlane is what I’d consider a Renaissance man; he’s an actor, singer, writer, animator, director, producer, and probably a lot more things that I can’t think of at the moment, but he can do it all. Most famously known as the creator and star of Family Guy, the animated sitcom that’s been notorious for being canceled twice (but still steadily on the air for the last 17 years, give or take), as well as American Dad, he’s also the director of Ted and its sequel, as well as the creator of The Orville, a Star Trek-inspired show that’s on its third season at the moment. One thing that a lot of people may not know is that he releases music, too, and he has since 2011. MacFarlane is a big fan of jazz music, especially Frank Sinatra, so he’s been putting out jazz cover albums over the last decade, and his newest LP, Blue Skies, is no exception. Honestly, there’s not a whole lot that I have to say about this record, because if you know going into it that it’s a jazz record, and it covers a lot of famous jazz standards (and I believe there’s an original song or two), that pretty much sounds like Frank Sinatra, you’ll have an idea of what to expect here. Personally, I really love this album, and that’s the main reason why I wanted to briefly talk about it. Blue Skies might honestly be one of my favorite albums of this year, but not because it’s super unique, innovative, weird, or anything like that. Instead it’s a catchy, fun, swinging, and well put together jazz record that I just can’t stop listening to. I’ve listened to this album a lot for the last few weeks ever since I found it, but I really love it. There’s not a lot here, as it’s just MacFarlane singing jazz covers, but on songs like “No Moon At All,” “It’s You Or No One,” the title track, “That Old Feeling,” “You’ll Get Yours,” “If I Were A Bell,” and a few other cuts, he sounds great. It’s a very straightforward album, but sometimes that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when this type of music is very niche nowadays. Back in the 1940s, it was very popular, but now, you barely hear it, minus a few very important and older artists. MacFarlane is bringing it back, and I really enjoy it. He also put out a record last year with former Victorious star Liz Gillies entitled Songs From Home, and I wanted to briefly touch on that, too, because it has some great duets, such as “It’s A Good Day,” “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “Calcutta,” “Come To The Mardi Gras,” and “Peachtree Street.” Those are all great, too, and they showcase both singers very well, but they’re just jazz / standards covers, there’s nothing really too much to it. If that’s something you’re into, or you want to hear some very catchy and fun music, you might enjoy both of these records, I’d totally check them out. I love Blue Skies a lot in particular, and it’s definitely going to be on my album of the year list, that’s for sure. I’ll definitely be talking about it in some way, but I can’t get enough of this record in the best ways possible. There’s nothing wrong with a record that doesn’t have a whole lot to offer, especially when that sound is very niche and/or they execute in a very good way. MacFarlane has a killer voice, and he uses it very well here.
Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane have put together quite possibly the strangest musical duo, giving us a throwback right to the swinging fifties with their newest single: Ain’t We Got Fun. MacFarlane has already established himself as a strong and ...
Liz Gillies and Seth MacFarlane have put together quite possibly the strangest musical duo, giving us a throwback right to the swinging fifties with their newest single: Ain’t We Got Fun. MacFarlane has already established himself as a strong and ...
AIN’T WE GOT FUN
This is the ST. JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES series; Part Eight. For all other parts and additional IkeSen works by me, see here.
There was something they’d missed, and Mitsunari knew it.
He combed back through as much as he could find on Kennyo, but that was precious little. There was seven a time where he wasn’t in the state, which confused him. What was he doing in those years? It felt unlikely that Kennyo had returned to Japan and he couldn’t fathom what he might do elsewhere. Was he practicing his faith actively elsewhere?
For her part, the Princess was slowly selecting newspaper after newspaper from the massive bin he had of them, folding through the first few pages and then settling them back into careful order. If she was looking for something, he had no idea what. He removed his glasses and folded his hands under his chin, watching her as if divine inspiration might strike.
Her knuckles shone in the faint light above as she fingered through paper after paper. Maybe it was the stress of the last few days catching up with him at last, but he realized dimly that he’d never thought of skin as shiny before, not the way that she glowed, at least. Perhaps he’d never noticed. Still, it was hard, so hard to think of anything at all when he watched her move, watched the faint roll of her wrists on top of the files.
“Ah.” She sighed, slipping a few out and shutting the drawer with her hip again. “I’m going to have to get my shoes resoled.”
“Mm?” Mitsunari wasn’t sure where her comment came from, but he listened regardless. “Something wrong with yours?”
“I think my little stunt in Kennyo’s apartment peeled off some of the rubber.” She explained lightly, settling in across from him. “So now one is a little higher than the other.”
Mitsunari couldn’t help but smile at her. “Well, he can have that nice little rubber smear to remember us by.”
She laughed right back. “I guess so! I’m sure he’ll be pleased to have that in his hallway. Those skid marks never come out.”
He was going to follow up with another joke, but her eyes went glassy and distant, jaw slacking. Mitsunari leaned forward with worry. “Princess?”
She held a finger aloft. “Did Kennyo’s cane have a rubber stopper?”
“What?”
“A rubber stopper. You know. That thing on the bottom.”
Mitsunari’s mind wheeled and finally settled on where she was going. As one, they lurched up from the table.
“Would that have washed away in the storm?” She asked breathlessly, dashing to the door.
“I hope not!” He answered, following shortly behind her. They bumped past Hideyoshi in their mad rush, the man’s shout of Stop running in the hallways! lost to them. Thumping down the stairways, they burst out the back door to the alleyway at last, hunting madly through the alleyway, and--
“Here!” Mitsunari gasped in breathless wonder, stopping at the curve of the alley just where McDiehl’s body had been. There, scraped in smooth lines across the pavement, was the ruined scraping of rubber.
“Oh my god.” She punched a fist into the air. “Yes. Yes!”
“That’s got to be in the photos.” Mitsunari patted himself for them, realized they were upstairs, and nodded frantically to himself. “We have it. Now we just have to get a motive.”
“Ugh.” All their elation vanished as cool reality washed over them like an ocean wave. The Princess dragged her hands across her face, groaning. “Right.”
“But--” He caught her hand in his and kissed it, smiling hard at her. “But this was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. You’ve taken us so, so close now.”
She beamed at him. “Well, couldn’t do it on my own.”
More long hours of searching later, and Mitsunari was startled from his study of a war record with the victorious slap of a newspaper article in front of him.
“You saw this one, right?”
He glanced down at the paper: the same one covering the shut down of The Hollywood. “Mhmm.”
“With the case of the Monongahela Rye in front of it, right?”
“Yes.” He blinked and looked up at her. “Yes?”
“Put on your glasses, dollface. Take a look at the people in it.”
He obeyed, peering intently at the grainy black and white photo. ProHi agents stood around the caskets in tandem with local law enforcement. Most of the faces were unclear, turned toward each other in silent conference, but one--
He followed the tap of her finger and gazed a little closer into the photo.
It was difficult to see, for certain. It was no wonder he’d missed it. It was more of a wonder that she’d seen it at all. He squinted and turned his head, and--no, it wasn’t a trick of the light, but the one face turned toward the camera, face ever so slightly framed with the cast of light from a lamppost, had a long, savage scar running over his nose.
“Oh my god,” Mitsunari muttered. “Kennyo is ProHi.”
“Exactly.”
“Kennyo is ProHi.” He wrenched off his glasses, shooting to his feet again. “So he would have had access to the Monongahela Rye Whiskey.”
“Rumors started that McDiehl was talking to ProHi, because he was,” the Princess added excitedly. “He was talking to Kennyo. And Kennyo’s whole job at ProHi is to shut down speakeasies, which nests with his hatred of Nobunaga. Of course he wanted Azuchi shut down, but no one was going to touch it unless the situation escalated to something local law enforcement would get involved in.”
"And when last they talked, Kennyo probably broached the idea to McDiehl.” Mitsunari practically vibrated with excitement. “And McDiehl got the whiskey from Kennyo, using it as proof to talk to Nobunaga and warn him. But Kennyo got to him first.”
“But the murder weapon?” The Princess paused. “Do you think he intentionally used a blade to try and stage it like it was one of the Oda?”
“I have no doubt. But where would it be?”
They both fell silent, contemplating the possibilities. Well. Mitsunari combed through his mind, and suddenly...
“Oliver Saxon,” he gasped.
The Princess flinched, no doubt at the memory. “What about him?”
“He said ‘it’s inside’. It’s inside. The murder weapon. It’s in the cane.”
And the Princess’ eyes blew wide open. “The blood drips stopped at the opening of the alleyway because he sheathed it.”
“And even if he washed it,” Mitsunari added, his words stumbling all over each other, “Blood would still gather in the bottom of the cane from where he sheathed it, and good luck getting that out.”
“Holy hell.” The Princess smiled with barely-contained elation. “Oh my god.”
“That’s it!” Mitsunari lunged forward and grabbed her around her waist, lifting and spinning her through the air. She gasped and giggled, her laughter music to his ears. “You’re brilliant!”
“As if you weren’t the one coming up with the cane, you brilliant man.”
“As if you weren’t the one who thought to double check my work.” He hiked her hips up around his waist to hold her better, hands linked tight on her back. “You’re quite the impressive investigator, Princess.”
She flushed soft and pink. “So what now?”
“Now?” He thought about that, ignoring the throb of his hand. Ah, rain soon. “Now we report back to the police, and with any luck, they’ll take the evidence.”
“Yeaaah, this isn’t enough.”
“How is it not enough?” The Princess asked, indignant as Lt. Pierson combed through their notes. “We exonerated almost all of the people that would be looked at for questioning, located you a new suspect, provided you a motive and outlined key evidence that you could find with a warrant. What part of that isn’t enough?”
The officer dropped the file on his desk and rapped his fingers impatiently. “Look. Want me to shoot straight with you?”
“Please,” Mitsunari answered.
“You’re accusing a ProHi Agent of murder. Murder outside a speakeasy, and a second murder as a cover up. You’ve got some good stuff, but if you want the local boys to get on a Fed, you’ve got to give me something better.” He threw his hands in the air. “I dunno, something like a confession. I can’t just go to my boss and get him to take out a warrant on a federal officer. It doesn’t work like that.”
The three fell silent in the office. Outside, thunder rumbled once more.
“How long do we have?” The Princess’ voice was tense.
“Open of work tomorrow, I’ve got to file this.”
She chewed on her lip and considered Mitsunari carefully. “How bad do you think he’ll want to cover this up?”
“Kennyo?” Mitsunari asked. “Enough to kill two people.”
The Princess’ eyes were wild. “Think he’d be desperate enough to kill three? There’s still a witness out there: me.”
Jessica Jones
Season 2, “AKA Ain't We Got Fun“
Director: Zetna Fuentes
DoP: Manuel Billeter
Thoughts on, “AKA Ain’t We Got Fun” (Jessica Jones)
Yep. This show keeps delivering awesomeness!! I’ve heard some people complain about the side stories. I love every single story! This season has been great!!
1. I really enjoyed the mom daughter conversation this episode. It def proved that this is for sure Jess’ mom. I kinda wish she would have let her mom get arrested and I understand her struggle. Its her mom! Clearly this will be the central focus of the rest of the season.
2. Malcolm calling out Trish on drugs was great! He is completely in the right. I loved how she said all the things its not, like not being addictive, when she has zero idea what’s in it and is very clearly addicted to it. If its just like drinking espresso Trish, you wouldn’t be lying about it!! This is such a great, painful story. And it was so awesome when she saved Malcolm at the end, but then his instant reaction to the drug was priceless. This is shit she should not be doing and this might be a wake up call for her.
3. The Jeri/Inez stuff this episode was really interesting. They’ve really changed their relationship. And their last scene together was so damn powerful! I could feel it when Jeri kissed Inez’s scares. They are emotionally painful to her and to have someone affectionately touch them lifts a weight off of her soul. Its so beautiful to witness. I am incredibly happy that Inez got to experience that. She completely deserved that moment.
4. I really loved how Malcolm was doing the investigation against the partners. Tricking them to go against each other. That’s so smart. He’s turning a little evil. But like, a good kind of evil? IDK how to describe it. I dig it though.
This show is just too damn good!!
-Chuck
Flashback F R I D A Y
I love and miss his little voice so much!!!! Why do kids have to grow up so quickly? I guess that’s just life. But... In the meantime, in between time, ain’t we got fun?