Left to my own devices

My father has had three funerals. The third (though perhaps not final) one, was last night. In reality, Lewis died in 1997. Cancer. Aged 52. He had a real funeral. I was there. The next two funerals occurred only in my dreams, yet they seemed real at the time, and their impact during the waking hours was keenly felt. You see, during the intervening nineteen years, Lewis has come back to life in my dreams, many times. It is more than simply having a dream about him. During these nighttime images, it is noted that Lewis shouldn't be there, that he died of cancer and is resting six feet under. How, then, could he be alive and, seemingly, healthy?

Our latest Pic of the Week is none other than actor Ryan McCartan, who portrayed Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show remake that aired last night on FOX. He was the highlight of the program!

Regular readers of this blog will know my predilection for making lists. Often about movies, this time it's about television shows. This is prompted by, originally, a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine wherein they presented what was, to their minds, the top 100 tv shows ever. My online friend Terence Towles Canote sought to provide a better list on his blog. He succeeded, however, as many of you know, the only way to see the complete truth is to have Matty-Matt present it to you. Without further adieu, here then is a definitive list (not ranked, however, but in alphabetical order) of the 100 greatest television programs of all-time....

Before I get started on the ruminations of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, I'll begin by saying I really have no clue as to who our next president will be. I've always fretted over the outcome of elections, regardless of the polls, and this year is no different. Especially this year. A good case can be made as to why Hillary Clinton will become our 45th president. All one has to do is look at the polls. Clinton has a comfortable lead in many states, enough to make one think that she will win handily on November 8th. Of course, polls can be wrong. 538 gives Clinton's changes of winning in the low-mid 80 percent range. Several polls would seem to agree. Many Republicans are jumping ship from Trump. The race looks over. But of course, humanity isn't as easily predictable as polling would have us believe. Things happen. People can surprise us. And, for better or worse, I think that Donald Trump may very well become our next president.

Our latest Pic of the Week is Lucky Blue Smith, model and recent guest judge on Project Runway . Enjoy!

Ok, we're now 3/4 of the way done with 2016, so I thought I'd round-up the Top 10 movies of the year so far. Here they are.... 1. Swiss Army Man 2. Hello, My Name is Doris 3. Hell or High Water 4. Sing Street 5. Eye In the Sky 6. Dead-pool 7. The Conjuring 2 8. 10 Cloverfield Lane 9. Don't Breathe 10. A Hologram for the King It will be interesting to see what the last three months of the year brings us in cinema!

Over the weekend I attended an event titled Women Making Waves . It is an annual breakfast/conference/meet & greet, arranged by IL State Representative Carol Ammons, and shines a spotlight on elected women at the state and local level. Along with the all-female panel discussion, there were also tables featuring women entrepreneurs selling their wares. This was the second annual event and, as with last year, I found it inspiring. One of the questions posed to the panel was along the lines of who initially inspired them. Of course, most of those on the panel answered with a nod to their mothers. The question made me stop and wonder, who had inspired me? I'm not a woman, obviously, but we all have someone who has, for whatever reason, inspired us or at the very least captured our imagination enough to help propel us to better ourselves. After some thought, the personal answer to the question crystallized with two answers: my mom and Joan Severns, Champaign's first fema...