Left to my own devices

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss took office September 6th of this year, and to say it's been a bumpy ride would be an understatement. With the death of Queen Elizabeth II just two days after Truss took the reins, the new PM had a bit of breathing space to put things together for her new premiership, with most of the country (and the world) paying attention to the pomp and circumstance of what happens upon the death of a monarch who'd reigned for seventy years. Alas, that extra time didn't seem to matter much.

For the uninitiated, I've been keeping a ranked, running tally of the concerts I've been to over the years. The most recent one was from May and, during the intervening months, I've gone to three more live music events (plus, Ashley reminded me after reading the last published list that'd completely forgotten the Culture Club/B-52s/Thompson Twins concert we went to in 2018, so that's thrown in here, too). With that, here is the newest edition of Matt Ranks the Concerts He's Been To .

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU, for short), which used to primarily consist of motion pictures, but now includes television shows (most of them on the Disney+ streaming platform), has announced that it is pushing back the release dates for several of its upcoming projects. Rescheduling for a film or TV show isn't anything new in the entertainment world. Marvel has done it before. But this recent move seems to stem from the decision to put their Blade reboot on hold . They announced the project (starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) years ago and, by all reports, the script still isn't good enough, and the director has left the project. These bumps in the road for Marvel are becoming more common, and are perhaps a sign of the studio trying to do too much, too quickly. For example: Phase 1 of the MCU lasted four years(!), and consisted of six films. Now we're nearing the end of Phase 4, which will close out with the release next month of Black Panther: Wakan

I don't remember the date (Wikipedia says it was September 30, 1984), but I certainly remember the occasion. It was a Sunday evening --  Murder, She Wrote always aired on Sunday evenings (except for its twelfth, and final, season). Mom, dad and I were gathered around the television, ready to watch a brand new mystery show. The first episode was two hours long, and titled The Murder of Sherlock Holmes . It had a bevy of guest stars, many of whom I recognized. And, of course, there was the star of the show, Angela Lansbury. Murder, She Wrote would become appointment television in my household over the next few years. We always watched it together. When my parents divorced in late-summer of 1988, it was just me who carried on watching the show. Mom was busy going back to school, working part-time, and starting a new relationship. I tried calling dad during the commercial breaks, partly as a way of discussing that week's episode, but also to try and bond over something we both e

The rom-com Bros debuted in theaters over the weekend. It was projected to open with $8.8 million at the North American box office. Instead, it stumbled with $4.8 million. The movie's co-star and co-writer, Billy Eichner, has made headlines after tweeting about the film's lackluster opening. He seems to blame homophobia for the poor showing for the movie about two gay men who attempt to navigate their attraction toward one another. Maybe he's right? Maybe not? Full disclosure: I haven't seen Bros yet. Not sure if I will. I didn't find the trailer to be all that amusing. And, for the record, I've gone to see a lot of movies featuring gay characters over the years. This one just didn't grab me. Maybe it didn't entice others to go, either? Gay or straight. I'm not the only who thinks there may have been other reasons why folks didn't go see it.