Sunday, February 21, 2021

Sunday Musings: Is Austin Nichols Riding Off Into the Sunset Already?

 

 

Hear ye, hear ye!! 

Yes, it was official!

 

 

YEE HAW!!  Look at that.  Confirmation of the *hint* that Austin's bro-in-law Rowdy Stovall threw out on his Instagram back in January - that our guy had been cast in Walker.  And indeed he was, as the character Clint West.  Important note:  this author is not going to pretend she has watched the season thus far or used to watch the original with Chuck Norris.  It's not selective - just that my TV seems to usually be stuck on DIY or GAC, lol.  😬

BUT this guest appearance by Austin will be was MUST SEE television! We know that Austin appeared in episode 5 (entitled "Duke"), but not 100% sure if that's his only appearance or if there will be more.  Crossing our fingers!

Meanwhile....back at the ol' homestead, or allegedly away from the ol' homestead as it were...

Jake and his team pretended to still be filming Ambulance.  I think Mr. Tech got the upper half right, but I don't know about the other half, hehehe...

 

Hmmm.  Well...while many of Just Jared's photos in their Ambulance filming post were rather scrutiny and eyebrow-raising, there doesn't seem to be much doubt this film was filmed at some time.  

Narnia is familiar with how these two men's work MO has been in the past and seems that Jake was likely freed up in time to help with the family while Austin work(ed)s.  

In the meantime, there is no need for pride as this author secretly begs and wishes for social media interaction between Jared Padalecki and his ATX counterpart, Austin.  

 








Uh......no.

And while we have had no social media interaction, we did receive Austin and Jared in the same picture via an Instagram story, albeit they are both serving as book-ends!  😭😭  This was not quite what Narnia had in mind, but...we'll take it!

Austin, Jared and Walker co-stars from Episode 5

And do we have another picture?  Looks like we do!  Uh...not quite what we were hoping for either... πŸ˜•

That's Austin in the middle and Jared on the far left!

 

And lookee here!  Now this is what I'm talking about.  You know this wasn't Austin's first rodeo.  πŸ˜‰

 


There he was! And PG missed it.  It was a huge blunder to have missed the episode.  Without On Demand available, I will have to wait for a rerun. But could this have been a one-and-out for Austin?

Cornered by the Texas Rangers and FBI, gang leader Clint West went out guns blazing against the law while his mortally wounded girlfriend Crystal hid the stolen $300,000 in a karaoke bar's jukebox. - cbr.com Walker season 1, episode 5

 

I don't know, but "went out guns blazing" = 😰 seems to me, lol.  Perhaps Management figured there were only so many pictures they could post of Austin "babysitting" his nephew and nieces instead of his own kids.  Placing Austin in ATX with work to do, even for just one episode, provided a bit of smoke and mirror cover.  And you could understand Austin and Jake wanting to get the children out of the state of California when COVID-19 was infecting 1 out of 3 residents.  Meanwhile, we'll see if Clint West really is one and done.


• Narnia is still kind of wincing from that gargantuan, er big loss on Super Bowl Sunday night.  Before we delve into that, we would like to express our sorrow at the situation regarding a vehicular crash which occurred involving a now-former member of the Chiefs team's coaching staff and forever impacted the lives of the three parties involved.  The latest update, while uplifted by the victim's awakened state, remains tragic as it appears she has a long, long road ahead of recovery.  There has been a tremendous outpouring of donations to the victim's gofundme page where the author (aunt) has provided several updates.  We continue to be hopeful for a full recovery and know that so many others do the same.

As far as the game goes - there were many trouble spots to look at which contributed to such a garish loss, all of which proved to be too much to overcome.  No doubt, the emotional effects of the vehicular incident which happened the evening of Thursday, Feb 4, had to have weighed on the entire organization.  I know that no one likes to use outside reasons, but anyone who has had personal life struggles knows that it can distract you while you are at work.

There were also some key offensive line missing pieces and this also created some folks playing out of normal position which hurt.  Lack of play calling adjustment could also be mentioned and well, the entire night was a horror show which, unfortunately, was on the biggest world stage ever.  😱  LOL!  Ugh.

BUT,  we do acknowledge that our Chiefs did indeed have a triumphant regular season and despite the trials of a challenging pandemic season, made it to the Super Bowl rather handily.  Only two teams make it to the Big Show and we're thankful to have seen them make it.  Also, we'd like to bring to attention the great success that #87 tight end Travis Kelce produced.  Nothing can take away from that nor his nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.  He did not end up winning the grand prize, but Travis broke the 1 million fan vote level and it was so uplifting to see the entire Chiefs Kingdom voting their hearts out.  It was fun to participate in.

There were numerous inspiring plays by members of the defense, one which seems under-rated and the play of both Darrel Williams and Clyde Edwards-Helaire helped to blend the offense in the Big Game.  We look forward to continued improvement in the running back department.

There cannot be a doubt on #15 QB Patrick Mahomes' grit and heart.   Narnia wishes him a healing off-season, although one which unfortunately promises to only involve more tabloidish Just Jared and TMZ posts.  Even in a devastating loss such as the Super Bowl, members of his family made headlines due to their whining about the referees.   

Certainly the only saving grace of losing the game was that it thwarted the plan for marketer Jacquelyn Dahl to capitalize on a second Super Bowl win and fool the public into believing a full gestation period had passed in time for the Mahomes offspring arrival to coincide with what would be a high-profile opportunity for "spreading the word" via a major sporting event victory. 

Never fear though.  Both Kayla Nicole (Travis Kelce's sidekick) and two members of the Mahomes party, namely Brittany Matthews and matriarch Randi, knowing they had lost their opportunity to be seen on social media and television celebrating a win, decided to whine about the referee'ing and/or Tom Brady instead.  As usual, they all used Twitter to do so and drew many negative reactions due to the sour nature of their claims.  

At what level of athletics is this a good look?  




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What agent wants their star athlete to look like their bleacher stands parent is trying to jump on to the field, so to speak?  It is a very perplexing marketing strategy. 

  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😬


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the "fiance":


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family members' negative social media presence understandably draws a lot of backlash and ridicule from other fans and makes the team and organization in turn ripe as targets for chagrin and dislike.  Again - a totally perplexing marketing strategy by who?  Patrick's marketer Jacquelyn Dahl?  But is Dahl only carrying out what Patrick's agency wants?  Who's pulling the chains here which call for this repetitive pattern of both women whining and complaining on social media?  The irritating Tik Toks and videos during games?   Leigh Steinberg and Chris Cabott?  A puzzle for sure.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"slams ESPN".  "tweeting and tagging mess" "lose with dignity"


 

 

 

 

 

 

This was merely the tip of the iceberg.  There were numerous tweets from fans asking the mother to lose with dignity and why couldn't she be more like her son Patrick, who normally exhibits respect and professionalism.

And so without a Super Bowl victory to piggyback ride upon for baby promo, this recent tweet by Matthews played for public sympathy by posting an outlandish "baby coming" professional photo which seemed to purposely gaslight because of the garb, the backdrop and the pose.

 

Mahomes and Matthews running JoAnn Fabrics out of stock

 

It gets worse on her Instagram account, but Narnia has our limitations.  So of course, the showy display invited negative comments, which prompted this interesting take - to blame the female population on being "hateful to other women":


Sound familiar?


It's called turning the tables and Management teams will find a way to always turn them against fans and make negativity their fault.  So Matthews (already not popular with many NFL fans) wears an attention-drawing dress against a lavish backdrop with Patrick in an awkward pose (although you always have to love the obligatory hand against the "bump" so that people can't miss the "I did this!" message πŸ˜‰), and don't expect any negative reaction?  It's free-rein Instagram and Twitter, after all.  And predictably, as seen above, the sympathy card is then played and "all's well that ends well", don't you feel bad now?  *eyeroll*

Unfortunately with the predominance of social media and a pandemic which still restricts celebrities, these types of strategic games are a go-to for publicity teams, who have had to get creative in keeping their clients' names relevant and in the news.  Negative publicity seems to be better than no publicity.

And as for that epedited "gestation" period for Ms. Matthews, well, perhaps we'll save that for another time...  

 

• Well, while we wait to see if Austin will re-appear on Walker Texas Ranger anymore or if any of the One Direction Four (Zayn, Niall, Louis or Liam) will be allowed to be seen in real time while "Holivia" carries on, let's look at this fun interview that someone posted on Twitter and is quite entertaining because there seem to be a couple of conversations going on at once.  

  

 

Fun stuff!  And here's to pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training in baseball, seed packets appearing in the garden nurseries, and warmer temperatures hopefully on the horizon for everyone.  

 


 

pic sources:  pinterest

our playlist:  Walk in the Sun - Bruce Hornsby

                      Cowboy Take Me Away - The Chicks 

                      Walk Like a Man - Frankie Vali and the Four Seasons

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Pandemic Panic and Profiteering off of Harry Styles' Closet...Again

Let's begin by cleansing our collective palates before we wade into the malodorous muck and money grubbing mendacity that was so abruptly thrust upon the Twitter world yesterday afternoon by Olivia Wilde. Without a doubt, the contrived "trending" sequence of events, was accompanied by carefully crafted spoonfed messages. Each posting designed for public consumption, stood in stark contrast to a devoted fandom reliving Sunday's effortless expression of spontaneity and shared contentment between two young men who simply found each other over a decade ago. Back then each one was merely pursuing their dreams while embracing love along the way. No ulterior motives. No shortcuts. No gimmicks.

 

What coming home actually looks like. 



Valentine's Day, Paris 2012            

 

 

 

Interviewer:  And, what kind of boyfriend is Louis Tomlinson?πŸ’™πŸ’š

"He's caring. He treats me really well."  ~Harry Styles

Now, that's some solid content. A real moment in time. Something that does not insult a sentient being's intelligence. Something that brings a smile to the face of any viewer who has ever experienced love. 

Fast forward to Monday afternoon, where one of the more despicable, shameless players in Hollywood gleefully ramped up a PR stunt to help sell a film. An individual arrogant enough to think that by wrapping herself in the invincibility cloak of faux "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" Sisterhood rants, she will somehow be protected from charges of hypocrisy and double-dealing. In fact, to ensure we don't forget, Olivia Wilde has spent practically all of 2021, grabbing headlines and the spotlight by selling a sham sexual relationship with her closeted male co-star; showing "private," ad  naseum moments and set footage of this same man, rather than her female co-stars. Wilde obviously having no problems with viral stories popping up on the usual suspects like Just Jared, PageSix, People, TMZ, HarpersBizarre, Cosmopolitan, et al. with slimy rumors about a nanny supposedly exposing how much she loves to "go down" on her "new love".  And then, on the last day of filming (or what PR teams want us to believe was the last day), she's suddenly all about the feminist message of her movie and creating a groundbreaking project by women, for women; a trailblazer all about supporting her gender. Sell your fake feminism somewhere else, sistah.

"Really?" you say. But, I thought she was a serious and respected woke artist. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but let's just take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? Refresh some memories about who Olivia Wilde actually is before she began to rehabilitate her image with a seven-year engagement (LOL!) to Jason Sudeikis, and began to curate a prim and proper motherhood/businesswoman persona. We'll give you the abridged version to save time.

Filing for divorce from Tao Ruspoli after eight years of marriage (or, at least that's the official narrative the public has been sold) in March 2011, Olivia Wilde's career advancement was all about selling relationships with actors, surrounded by gay rumors. Just like today, the tabloid fodder was hardly subtle and comically serial in nature. "Relationships" coyly provocative, but met to boost her het cred by capitalizing on the Hollywood closet. Sound familiar?

March 2011

New Couple Alert: Ryan Gosling and Olivia Wilde?

After separating from her husband has the House star moved on?

By Ted Casablanca, Taryn Ryder Mar 01, 2011

 

Inside Olivia Wilde’s Secret Date With Ryan Gosling!

By People Staff Updated June 28, 2011

 

Olivia Wilde dating Jake Gyllenhaal?

 

Whew! That got her through March - November 2011 when she finally decided to go the family route to advance her film career. Did we mention the interesting timing of how after hooking up with his new "partner," Jason Sudeikis left Saturday Night Live  (2012-13 season) to pursue his own film and television career.  Ah, the tangible benefits of a straight image.


New York, NY - Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis took their cute baby Otis, along with the family pooch, for an afternoon stroll in NYC. Olivia and actor Jason, 38, have been together since November 2011 and got engaged in January 2013) AKM-GSI pic May 24, 2014

Hmm, AKM-GSI, the same photo agency that was involved with Louis Tomlinson's Babygate. What a coincidence. Remember this gem?

AKM-GSI eOnline
                                                                                          

And don't think that Olivia tapped down on the high profile hetero cred stuff just because she decided to stick with the Sudeikis stunt, ahem, relationship. Not a chance.

From one of our favorite, "I've got a vagina and know how to use it repeatedly" articles.

 

Olivia Wilde Said a Great Many Things About Her Vagina Last Night - Vulture

And because this article is so illustrative of Wilde's desperate approach to her career, we think it deserves a bit more detail. Pull up a chair and stay awhile,

  • "Olivia Wilde told the audience, which included her boyfriend, Jason Sudeikis, about the end of her first marriage. “I felt like my vagina died,” she said. “Turned off. Lights out …" 
  • "What followed her divorce was a man-eating sex bender that ultimately left her feeling so lonely she considered “a soft kind of lesbian relationship, just gentle kissing and scissoring.”
  • That is, until she met someone — hi, Jason! —and fell “blissfully, hopefully, wildly in love.” Wilde said she was happy in her new relationship, except for the nagging worry that the hot monogamy (“We have sex like Kenyan marathon runners”)  might not last.
In Olivia Land, relationships can legally only last seven years, without an option to renew.... In Olivia Land, all the kids go to boarding school at seven. It’s like in Harry Potter!     
 
Alrighty then. Sounds like a loving partner and mother, don't you think? And please don't make the mistake in believing that she is the only one taking advantage of Harry's closet. Remember this pic from the Don't Worry Darling set with Florence Pugh? The one with the actress' back strategically turned to the camera to properly capture the logo?
 
Azoff Sugar High
 
 
Hmm. Apple Pan. Apple Pan. Now where has Narnia seen that name before?
 
EATER, Los Angeles

Oh, that's right. Shelli and Irving Azoff bought that restaurant back in February 2019. Guess the pandemic must have "eaten" into their multi-million dollar assets a bit, and they needed some free advertisement to market curbside services *wink*πŸ”. How sad. Looks like it certainly pays to have a son who exploits manages Harry Styles.
 
By the way did we also mention the contract Olivia signed with New Line, which included a lucrative backend deal in need of a devoted female fandom to prey upon? Enter Harry Styles. A ready made cash cow she could tap into to supply a guaranteed interest with a massive audience more than willing to open up their pocketbooks to support Harry in everything he does. Become his fake "one and only" and the odds of succeeding are advanced exponentially. Predatory capitalism at its finest.
 
Sources say that the filmmakers and producers stand to get 50 percent in the profit participation, which kicks in when the film breaks even. The Hollywood Reporter, August 12, 2019.
 
In closing, a few more observations about why this unbelievably heavy-handed and embarrassing stunt should have been expected given the way in which both he and Louis invariably seem to always be running "from the bullets" when it comes to the institutionalized impositions of the closet. Back on September 11, 2020, when Harry was first announced to have a role in, Don't Worry Darling, Narnia was apprehensive primarily because of the involvement of Olivia Wilde and knowing, much like Taylor Swift, how much she enjoys the added agency and fringe benefits she receives by aligning herself with closeted performers.  But, just a week later, when the following teaser was revealed for yet another film, Harry's fate was all but sealed. In other words, this "relationship" serves a career and monetary purpose for Wilde while coinciding with Sony's rock n' roll, Harry dates women, but only seeks emotionally unattached, one-night-stand-pleasure with men, for physical gratification. What a cool guy, right?
 

So yes. Harry will be allowed to do a queer love story. But, no way will his team tolerate any ambiguous, "Is he, or isn't he?" chatter going on behind the scenes while filming. Much better to have mean-spirited allegations like this one surrounding his attachment to the project.


Brilliant, Jeff. Let's separate Harry from his community even further.
 
Moreover, in November when Harry was nominated for his first Grammy Awards for his outstanding work on "Fine Line," the double whammy of needing to be portrayed as straight and as edgy as possible if he wanted to be competitive as a Grammy-nominated artist looms even larger. The "dirty boy" image being elevated, once again, the one that Simon Cowell began to forge as early as December 2010 when a 16 year-old Harry was "accidentally" caught on mic whispering into Matt Cardle's ear about how he now was assured of getting lots of p*ssy after the solo singer finished in First Place on the X-Factor Finale. Surely, an unscripted moment with no hidden agenda. *sarcasm intended*
 
In short, from the very beginning of his show business career, Harry Styles™ was always about over the top womanizing stunts. Never mind the obvious fact that he can't be seen working in England on the same soil as Louis William Tomlinson without him being publicly "known" to be in a high profile hetero relationship (hence the ridiculous moving in together, with Wilde, and even wanting to have kids rumors). No doubt, she'll be following him overseas to London. Right, Sony?
 
Who knows? Perhaps this may even help to explain why Harry did not even thank the Recording Academy, or his fans, for his nominations. For someone as grateful and gracious as Harry, his silence on the matter indeed spoke volumes. Even in the 21st century, The Closet (albeit with a more complex, and layered approach) is still "The Sign of The Times". And until the industry and audiences stop supporting and reflexively reinforcing this kind of oppression, nothing will change for those performers/artists who truly want to be free and continue to communicate that desire and pride in a thousand different ways.

Detail from Louis Tomlinson's music video, "Miss You"
    
                               

                              
 

 
 

 
Ahhhh. Much better.
 
 
Our pic sources: eOnline; Tumblr; Twitter; Instagram; Collider; Music Video - "Miss You"; AKM-GSI
 
                         

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day from Narnia - Red Is For Love, Pink is For Kindness

 

Happy Valentine's Day from Narnia Dispatches to all of you and to those whom we write about or may perturb sometimes.  πŸ˜‰ We're about the love in this post.  And the color of love?  Is red, is it not?  So, here are Narnia's faves all decked in their red AND pink to inspire the radiance, the courage, the strength, the warmth, the fire of spirit and the love.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, okay!  Let's have Nialler start us off and here he is in not only a red jacket, but the guitar is blazing red as well.  Wow! πŸ”₯

 

And Josh Duhamel to switch it up in pastel pink,


 

Adam Lambert in a flaming, feather-armed coat,


Louis T with the dazzling smile to go with the red sweater!




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jared Padalecki in a fashionable look accented with the scarf.  We would bet money that Jensen is behind the positioning of that scarf.  πŸ˜‰

 


And as is customary, one J must follow the other.  Jensen's a perfect match, as always.

 

And here's a double bonus - not only do we have former Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer in Chiefs red, but that's newly retired left fielder Alex Gordon to his left.  Boom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Zayn Malik looks resplendent in any color, but this cable knit sweater with the thumbs up is knocking us out.  What a beautiful soul Zaynie is. πŸ’–

 

Patrick Mahomes, who is recovering from toe surgery. We wish him all the best and thank him for giving his all in the Super Bowl and entire season.  This quilted red plaid jacket has always been a favorite.  Where did he get this?!!












 

 

Harry Styles, another one who looks great in just about any color. but this light pink is mood-setting.  I think one can just about feel the tension leaving your body.   Narnia wants to add - Harry, you keep being you, keep doing you.  You were the Original and only Harry can do Harry.




And what about Kevin McHale?  Kevin is a stunner.  The choices were difficult at best, but here he is bringing the red in a soft hoodie and with his dog Soph (Sophie?).  He seems to call her Soph, anyway.


 



And his partner Austin P. McKenzie.  Welllllll...this time around, it's Austin who has been influenced by Blake and Austin Nichols.  There was no pink or red to be had.  Anywhere.  lol. He seems to be partial to neutral colors.   I could be wrong, but don't think it would be wise to bet on this one. πŸ’°  So.  This just provides us the opportunity to share a picture from his austineyes instagram from February last year.  Sounds like he had a lovely time singing.

 

And what about Travis?!  We cannot forget about Travis, #87.  Check it OUT.  Travis.  Red.  Velour.  And no hoist-up was needed, not for this guy - get yer hands down.   Travis Kelce Rules!!!  The world is his oyster and he's packing all the love vibes.

 

And THEN...there's Austin. And I figured Austy was going to be his usual non-conformist, but huzzah!!!  We not only had Austin in pink, but this is better, just because Austin is normally low-key with regard to his clothing and choice of colors.  Here's an oldie of Austin surfing (in Indonesia) back in 2016.  And he is in stand-out red!  Go get it, Austin.

I have to look closer to make sure it's him.  πŸ”Ž  This author is taken aback with this one; definitely an unexpected pleasure.  πŸ‘

Someone's missing... Aw, you know we're not going to miss Jakers.  Jake is going to bring it, you know he is.  The choices, the choices...

Truth of the matter is, Jake has posed nude so many times, he could have been our Cupid.  LOL! 


  
 

Just kidding! πŸ˜€  But everyone deserves to see Jake in the hue of Valentine's, right?  Absolutely.  And here he is, going back to an old classic.  He's got a streak of the devil in him right here, I think. πŸ˜‰

 

And we're getting closer to wrapping this up!  But we've got a knock on the door and guess who it is.  It's Blake Shelton, who normally is our other non-conformist, along with Austin Nichols.  But this time, since it's Valentine's, Blake says he's on board.  And how appropriate is this?  It's from Blake's "Sexiest Man Alive" People cover, channeling the redneck lumberjack plaid.  It doesn't get any more πŸ”₯ tho, right Adam?  πŸ˜‰


 

 

Aaaah yes.  Very nice!

We're going to crescendo with Mr. Liam James Payne.  Liam the Lion Heart and he was proudly rocking the red suit and striking triangle necklace at the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin, Germany.  We miss Liam, but he is always never far from our hearts and thoughts.  We know that he will be back and in the meantime, we send all our love and care - we'll be waiting for his return.  Check Mr. Liam out.

 


 
 

And because this is Valentine's Day, Narnia salutes a few of our OTP couples who thrive and survive in the tough entertainment industry.


Kevin and Austin:











 

 

 

Jake and Austin:










 

Liam and Zayn:












 

Jared and Jensen:









 

IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN ALL OF THESE BEAUTIFUL SOULS, EVERYONE.

And we'll close with our last stunning couple - Louis and Harry.  Love you guys!  Happy Valentine's to our pairs and to all of our readers.



our pic sources:  rebloggy, I Heart Jake, People.com, giphy, gifmania

                           alltheloveitshs tumblr, USA Today

 

our playlist:   When Love Takes Over - David Guetta feat. Kelly

                                                               Rowland

                      You Can't Change That - Raydio

                      Sunny and 75 - Joe Nichols

                      My Baby - The Pretenders