Summer Sizzle Grab Bag: My DEI version! Wild Wimbledon, Giants All-Stars, Valkyries. Reviews of Sinners, IronHeart, SandMan, Downton Abbey. Oh, and Cow-cuddling!

Hello readers! Hope your summer is going well. With what's happening in the US political climate, I decided this post, especially the Culture Club, was going to be a very DEI positive in my choice of stuff I reviewed. And btw, who in these troubling times, need to step away and get into some cow-cuddling? :)

Wimbledon: This years Grand Slam was record-setting with over 40 upsets of ranked players, and that upset trend continued into the semi-finals, with #1 ranked Aryna Sabalenka being knocked out of the tourney by 15th ranked American Amanda Anismova. Anismova would face off against 8th ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland for the Women's Championship.

Your Wimbledon 2025 Women's Singles Champion is Iga Swiatek, who just demolished Anismova, 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes! It is the first time ever in Grand Slam women's singles history that a player won every single game! Congrats, Iga!

On the Men's side, two Americans made it to the final 8, but 10th ranked Ben Sheldon was defeated by #1 ranked Italian Jannik Sinner. Fifth ranked American Taylor Fritz made it to the Semis (final 4), and played some of his best ever tennis, but the 3rd ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, also upped his game, and defeated Fritzie in four sets. Who would Carlos be facing in the men's final: Jannik or #2 ranked Novak Djokovic? Turns out "Joker" was struggling with some sort of leg injury, and so Sinner took advantage and defeated Novak in straight sets. So our Wimbledon Men's final is a REMATCH between Jannik and Carlos, with Carlos going for his third Wimbledon trophy in a row, while Jannik is now only the fifth player in men's tennis history to appear in ALL Grand Slam Finals throughout Sinner's career. I wonder if David or Grant can name the other four? <grin> Drop your guesses in the comments! :)

On a lovely, if warm summer London day, Sinner and Alcaraz took to the court, and Carlos took the first set, 6-4. The rest of the match was very sold tennis playing, but it was Jannik who had less unforced errors, and a stronger service game, as he went on to win the final three sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to become the 2025 Wimbledon Men's Champion. Both players only had their serve broken once, in the four sets, but it was Jannik's three service breaks to Carlos one (in the first set), that proved to be the difference. Congrats, Jannik!

Now on to the final Slam of 2025, the US Open, in September!

Golden State Valkyries: The Vals went on a five-game road trip, playing some of the best teams in the WNBA, and at the end went 1-4, they did defeat the Indiana Fever, AGAIN,

to salvage one win. This could have easily been a 0-5 trip for our rookie Valkyries, I was hoping for 1-2 wins, (and almost did against Atlanta and Las Vegas, but came up just short). On a positive note, Kayla Thornton will be repping the Valkyries in the WNBA All-Star game! Congrats Kayla!

San Francisco Giants: Winners of six of their last eight games as the Dodgers come to Oracle this weekend (as I write this on 7/11), the Giants are 5 games back of LA. One of the highlights of the YEAR though will be the absolutely cray-cray come from behind inside-the-park home run walk-off win that Giants catcher Patrick Bailey hit to win a game that looked like a certain defeat! Here is the video if you haven't seen it, and for those who have seen it, to relive it again! :)

Oh, and three SF Giants were named to this years All-Star Game later this month in Atlanta! Starting pitchers Robbie Ray and Logan Webb were joined by reliever Rich Rodriguez. Ray though will not be joining his teammates, as he pitches on the last day before the All-Star Break, and it's a MLB no-no for pitcher to pitch in the All Star game if they have pitched on the last day before the All-Star break. (I feel so much redundancy here! ).

Friday's game was a game of the big inning for both teams, in the end, the Giants and starter Logan Webb beat LA, 8-7. Saturday's game the Giants offense again went MIA against a sub-par staring pitcher for the Dodgers, managing only 3 hits in a 2-1 loss. Sunday's finale with Ray pitching for the Giants also had an offensive blackout for most of the game, until Luis Matos hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 2-2. sadly, the Dodgers ended up winning in 11 innings, 5-2. The Giants are now six games back of the first-place Dodgers. Oh, the National League beat the American League in the MLB All-Star Game, which I did not watch.

Formula One (F1): Wait, what is F1 stuff being written here and not in the Zoom Zoom blog? Well, because A) There is no F1 racing till end of month, and, B) A F1 earthquake rattled fans and the racing world down to their front wings! Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has been FIRED from that position! For over 10 years, Horner has led Red Bull to great successes, but with some controversies surrounding him (poor Geri!), and the dismal (by Red Bull standards) year the team is having, Horner is out as team Principal. (buzz is that he will stay on at Red Bull in some other capacity- hope to have more on that and the tea for end of month Zoom blog post!). Horner will be replaced by the Team Principal of Sugar-Free RB, the junior Red Bull team, Laurent Melkies, who was doing a really good job at Sugar-Free RB with Liam and Issak; lets see if he can help his former junior driver Yuki, out of his funk at Red Bull.

Oh, I could not get this into the last British GP Zoom post, so I'll add it here. In the pouring rain at Silverstone, Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman decided to audition for synchronized pairs figure skating-on wheels!

Readers/Judges, put up your scores on this move in the comments below! (I'm slightly biased, so 10's from me!) Very short video....like 15 seconds.....:)

Culture Club: Movie and TV show reviews!

Sinners: I have seen this film three times, once in the theaters, and now streaming on HBO, as it was causing my writing block fits on how to express WHY this is one of the best films of the year! I was so vexed trying to find the words to write (and post a review earlier) that I broke down, and used A.I. for a good purpose- so lets break this review down to sections: Synopsis: Set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as criminal twin brothers who return to their hometown to start again where they are confronted by a supernatural evil. My notes: The movie takes place over the course of one day/night, as the brothers look to gather customers to attend the opening of their juke joint that evening. From all the promos of the movie, that evening turns out be vampires are going to crash the party. Director Ryan Coogler sticks to some of the vampire tropes, which include garlic, holy water, and most importantly, a vampire still needs to be invited in by someone.

Plot: "Sinners," directed by Ryan Coogler, is a critically acclaimed, genre-bending vampire film set in the Jim Crow South. It's praised for its lush visuals, strong performances (especially by Michael B. Jordan), and its unique blend of horror, social commentary, and musical elements. The film explores themes of love, history, and the duality of American culture through the lens of a vampire narrative. 

Now for an in-depth breakdown that Wikipedia AI really helped me with! I've slipped in some of my own words on these points. Cultural Appropriation and Vampirism:

The vampires in "Sinners" aren't just blood-sucking monsters; they represent those who exploit and transform the culture of others, particularly Black culture, for their own benefit. They steal memories, stories, and even musical styles, ultimately stripping individuals of their unique identities. My notes: This helped me understand more clearly WHY our protagonists rejected what I thought at the time of my first two viewings a key scene in the movie of the pitch the lead vamp proposed to our protagonists that they would be so much better off if they gave in and accepted the vampire lifestyle, as they would never have to deal with the racism and have more power over a racist society then they do now. I felt that was a compelling pitch, until I did some more researching and discovered the exploitation angle.

• The Power of Black Music:

  The film highlights the profound spiritual and cultural significance of Black music, particularly the blues. It's portrayed as a powerful force that can connect people across generations and even transcend time and space. My notes: Music plays a HUGE part in this film, specifically in the middle of the movie, at the opening of the juke joint- that music sequence felt like a fever dream to me and my viewing partner-it's also quite visually stunning as well!

• Faith vs. Personal Expression:

  Sammie's journey reflects the struggle between religious dogma and the pursuit of personal passions. His father, a preacher, condemns the blues as sinful, creating a conflict between faith and the expression of his true self through music. 

• Finding Freedom in Authenticity:

  "Sinners" ultimately suggests that true freedom comes from embracing one's own culture and heritage, rather than assimilating into a dominant culture that seeks to erase or transform it. Ding! Ding!

• The Scars of History:

  The film emphasizes the lasting impact of historical trauma, particularly the violence and oppression experienced by Black communities. The scars on Sammie, both physical and emotional, serve as a reminder of the pain and struggle that informs their culture. 

  My notes: I LOVED the first hour of the film, before the vamping begins, as Michael B. Jordan, who plays both brothers, revisits the town they grew up in to recruit patrons for their Juke joint opening night. Both brothers, Smoke and Stack, have to confront emotions of the past with various characters, ranging from happy reunions to hard truths. By the time the movie gets to the juke joint, I personally felt I was already living in this town, and the authenticity of the supporting cast and the brothers made for a excellent setup for what was to come next...the horror part.

  In closing, easily one of the best movies of 2025, and if ya can't tell by now, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this film, now showing on HBO!

  
  

Oh! there IS one post-credits scene, that director Ryan Coogler says, " The key to the entire movie.". He explains why in the interview I've linked below, so if you have seen the film, click away; if you haven't, watch the movie first! https://ew.com/sinners-post-credits-scene-explained-ryan-coogler-buddy-guy-key-entire-movie-11717005

IronHeart: For starters, it should be known that WandaVision was and is still my number one Marvel television show, after that, there were some very good shows that are vying for 2nd place. Well, IronHeart absolutely locks up that spot! Based off the character of genius robotics inventor Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, who we were introduced to in Wakanda Forever, gets her own six episode MCU-TV series streaming on Disney Plus.

IronHeart shows us Riri's journey from MIT to back home in Chicago, where she ends up working for a high-stakes heist gang led by a character referred to as "The Hood" (probably due to the hooded cape he wears!), portrayed by Anthony Ramos. Lyric Ross plays Riri's bestie, Natalie, and I really can't say much more about this character without major spoiling, suffice to say, Lyric almost steals this series, in the best way. All the acting in this series is on point, and I loved the members of Hood's gang, one of those being RuPaul's Drag Race star (she is a star to me , at least!) Shea Culee, playing a very smart hacker. The action/thefts are good and creative, especially episode two, which I told a friend I LOVED EVERYTHING that was done in that episode. It's also the episode I spotted an easter egg about a big reveal in the finale ( I finally got one!). What worked for me with this series was its authenticity, genuine emotions, and the difficult moral and ethical dilemmas Riri faces (hello A.I.!). Halfway thru the series, we get a callback surprise to the very first IronMan, and this surprise character will be part of the MCU. The final episode brings all the story threads together, and reveals a MAJOR MCU villain (the one I guessed in EP 2!) that shooketh the MCU fanbase! Decisions are made, that will affect characters in different ways (kinda vague, huh?).

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IronHeart with all my....wait for it....heart!

Sandman: Oh how I love the visual effects of this fantasy drama, and the story of the Endless (Immortals), led by Sandman, our dour, pasty white dream-maker and nightmare creator. The first five episodes have dropped on Netflix, and well, it was a bit of a slog to get thru them, I'm sorry to write. Sluggish in the pacing was my biggest problem, which this show did not have that problem before. There are some great moments to call out, such as the family meeting amongst the Endless: Sandman, Destiny, Death, Despair, Desire (that minx!), and a new one for Season 2, Delirium (she was a delight, as was Death- when my time is up, I want this Death to take me to the other side- she is so cool!), and Lucifer has quit Hell, so there is a job opening in the Underworld! Oh, and a trans storyline as well! I am hoping for more excitement, and a faster pace for the final five episodes of this series that comes out end of July. If you are a Sandman or fantasy genre fan, yes, I do recommend, just lower the expectations somewhat.

Downton Abbey Movies: The third and last Downton Abbey movie comes out in September, and also thanks to creator Julian Fellows latest project, The Gilded Age (to be reviewed soon!), I had to play catch-up with the two movies. I can summarize both pretty quickly: I LOVED the first flick- it was like revisiting old friends and familiar territory as the main story is Downton preparing for a Royal visit. I loved how the house staff took back THEIR house from the Royal staff; fun and delightful. The second flick, subtitled A New Era, had two storylines, one taking place in France, and one at Downton where a movie is being filmed. While not as "perfect" as the first movie was, there are some charming and interesting subplots running thru this flick. It is also the last film Dame Maggie Smith filmed before her passing.

One note I HAVE to make is as I was watching both films, it occurred to me how much the SCORE of the film (and series) is just so perfect for this show/time period. I found myself enjoying more the scenes I was watching because the score was so enthralling! A definite recommend to purchase the soundtrack and for both films.

Odd Stuff: Cow Cuddling: Apparently this is a "thing". And as most trends and "things" go, I actually like this one....just make sure the cuddling is consensual! https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/uk-farm-swaps-milk-cow-cuddles-floods-food-prices-take-their-toll-2025-06-19/

That's it for now, some of you told me you liked the addition of a music video to end the post, so let's go with that Downton Abbey Main Theme (there were so many to choose from off that soundtrack- figured lets start from the beginning!)....a nice soothing way to end your day or evening! :)

During my research on Sinners, the ethereal talent of Nina Simone kept popping up, even though her music is not in the movie soundtrack, these two songs were in MY soundtrack while researching and writing, so I thought I would share them with you here.

Hope you enjoyed the read, the videos, and the music! i'm taking a mini-break from writing, so see ya when life settles down a bit on my end! (For Zoomies- Spa F1 in Belgium!).