RIP Richard Belzer

When an actor is hired to play a role that is iconic, they have the acting jackpot. When that character is extended to multiple IPs, they have reached a pinnacle that many can only dream of getting close to.

The actor and comedian Richard Belzer passed away on Sunday. Born to a Jewish family in Connecticut, he is best known for playing Detective John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street (1993 to 1999) and in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (1999 to Present).

Munch is a skeptic and sarcastic. He doesn’t quite fall into the category of 100% believing conspiracy theories. But, he does ask questions, even if they sound a little farfetched. He also had a heart and put everything he could into solving the case.

He will be missed, as an actor and a human being. May his memory be a blessing. Z”l.

P.S. His comedy is pure genius.

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Alex Jones Got What Was Coming to Him

Freedom of speech is important in any living democracy. But even that has its limits.

On Wednesday, a Connecticut jury decided that Alex Jones should pay nearly $1 Billion dollars to eight families of Sandy Hook victims and one first responder.

Jones got what was coming to him. What these people deserve (and absolutely need) is our empathy and support. Telling lies about the loss of their loved ones to sell whatever he was selling is cruel and inhuman.

Of course, he will refute the verdict and continue to spread his version of the truth.

It goes without saying that the funds cannot bring the dead or undo the ten years of grief that those left behind live with on a daily basis. But it can send a message that there are consequences for one’s actions.

Only time will tell if Alex Jones and his ilk will stay with us or fade into memory. I would love to be optimistic, but considering our current political climate, I cannot be anything but pessimistic.

Laura & Emma Book Review

The relationship between a mother and daughter can be both complicated and interesting.

Laura & Emma, by Kate Greathead, was published in 2019.

In the early 1980s in New York City, Laura has just entered her 30s without much of a plan. The daughter of an old-money, blue blood family, she has a one-night stand. The man whom she slept with has vanished and has left Laura with a parting gift: a child. Instead of ending the pregnancy or giving the baby up for adoption, she decides to raise her daughter as a single parent.

Taking place over a period of 15 years, the book explores the changing dynamic between the characters as they both age and deal with what life throws at them.

The best way to describe the book is a sort of Gilmore Girls-ish narrative that is set in NYC instead of small-town Connecticut. The best part of the story was the relationship between the main characters. I was able to feel the feels between Laura and Emma.

Overall, it was an ok read. I wasn’t completely underwhelmed, but I came pretty close. What got me was the ending. I did not understand it at all.

Do I recommend it? Maybe

Laura & Emma are available wherever books are sold.

Of Blessed Memory

Today is the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. One year ago today, twenty children and the six adults who bravely attempted to protect their students were taken from us.

I have no personal connection to anyone connected to the shooting, but my heart bleeds just the same.

We need to make changes in this country.  I am all for protecting the rights of my fellow citizens, as well as protecting the constitution, but our guns laws must change. How many times in the news have we seen stories about innocents being murdered? How many times must we bury our loved ones? How many children will be taken before their time before things change?

The murders, in addition to putting a large and glaring spotlight on the severely needed change in gun laws, also questions how we deal with those with mental health issues. Perhaps this tragedy might had been averted had he received the necessary medical treatments.

Hindsight is always 20/20. We can always ask, what if. What if we had done something different? What if this tragedy could have been prevented?

Unfortunately, there is  no way to go back, undo what has been done. We can only remember them, of blessed memory and work to hopefully prevent another tragedy like Sandy Hook.

On a personal note, one of the teachers killed, Mary Joy Greene Sherlach, attended the same college as I did. It’s an honor to be an alumni of the same school. RIP.