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So Yummy Chocolate Cake Decorating Tutorials 😍 Best Satisfying Cake Decorating Recipes 💓 So Tasty

C Reid

October 29, 2021

ABC TV Shows: 2021-22 Viewer Votes – canceled + renewed TV shows

C Reid

October 29, 2021

Published: October 28, 2021

2021-22 ABC TV shows Viewer Votes - Which shows would the viewers cancel or renew?

(Image: ABC, DepositPhotos)

Every year, the ABC television network airs new and continuing TV series. Many are cancelled and many are renewed by the season’s end. Although everyone understands that Nielsen ratings usually play a big role in TV cancellations and renewals, most fans do not get to participate in that system. So, we are offering you the chance to rate ABC TV shows here, instead.

ABC TV series that have aired (so far) during the 2021-22 television season: America’s Funniest Home Videos, Big Sky, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, The Conners, Dancing with the Stars, The Goldbergs, The Good Doctor, Grey’s Anatomy, Home Economics, A Million Little Things, The Rookie, Shark Tank, Station 19, Supermarket Sweep, and The Wonder Years.

Here’s a ranking of how the ABC TV shows from the 2021-22 season (roughly September 2021-August 2022) stack up with our readers. Rate the TV series you watch via the “Vote Now” links, below. (You can see how all of the 2021-22 network shows rank here.)

What do you think? Which ABC TV series do you rate as wonderful, terrible, or somewhere between? If it were left up to you, which ABC TV shows would be cancelled or renewed for another season? Don’t forget to vote, and please share your thoughts, below.

The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore Captures Their Thrilling Camaraderie

C Reid

October 29, 2021

The War on Drugs’ latest album opens with somewhat of a feint. Littered with sparse piano and soft guitar, “Living Proof” is among the quietest songs in the Philadelphia band’s expansive catalog. 2014’s Lost in the Dream opened with the resplendent “Under the Pressure,” and 2017’s A Deeper Understanding had the immediacy of “Up All Night.” The heartland rockers’ fifth record, however, introduces itself gently, opting for restraint rather than full-blown grandeur. Toward its end, “Living Proof” recedes into itself, like a gravitational pull into the distant horizon. Then, the locomotive pace of “Harmonia’s Dream” kicks in. This is all an exercise in tension and release, and the rest of that record is the release that “Living Proof” leaves you yearning for.

Produced by frontman Adam Granduciel and Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, Perfume Genius), I Don’t Live Here Anymore is The War on Drugs’ poppiest, most bombastic work yet. It’s laden with enormous synth hooks and bona fide stadium rockers that evoke Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. era. It stands in stark contrast to the band’s earlier work, such as Wagonwheel Blues and Slave Ambient. For the most part, it’s a continuation of the path they paved on their last LP, A Deeper Understanding. But the songs aim for higher heights that directly invite you into their orbit. I Don’t Live Here Anymore captures The War on Drugs’ thrilling camaraderie at its apogee.

Granduciel’s lyricism is more pointed this time around, and his major motifs often revolve around defying insurmountable odds and forging meaningful companionships. “I’ve been running from the white light / Just trying to get to you / Tell me everything that you need,” he sings on “Change,” holding out the final syllable to reflect his strife. On the title track, he nearly chants alongside Lucius’ backing vocals, “I wanna find out everything I need to know / I’m gonna say everything I need to say.” Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick provides a triumphant, percussive backbone with the band’s own Charlie Hall, and Robbie Bennett’s synth and guitar performances complement Granduciel’s arena-sized hook. It makes for one of the band’s best songs to date.

In the same song, Granduciel draws an allusion to Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row,” a shrewd acknowledgment of how The War on Drugs draws from the rock canon while firmly cementing themselves within it. He contributed to The Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup reissue, and he even named his son Bruce after you-know-who. Though Granduciel seldom references his own fatherhood, he occasionally ruminates on his childhood and his father. “Working my whole life to follow my father’s dream,” he mutters on “Old Skin.” “Rings around my father’s eyes / Light above the morning sea / Fill the crater of the sun / Feel the wings across your arms,” Granduciel sings on the acoustic ballad “Rings Around My Father’s Eyes.”

Though this band generally refines upon the sound they’ve already built, they sometimes delve into untrodden territory. “Victim” is built almost entirely on synthesizers and drum machines, an unusual endeavor for a band so heavily associated with ripping guitar solos. Still, it works on all levels; it’s a track that gradually adds layer upon layer until it overwhelms itself, dissolving into the cosmos.

Another shift that longtime fans may notice is the pure absence of interludes. Lost in the Dream sprinkled them throughout the tracklist, and A Deeper Understanding often incorporated them into the songs themselves. I Don’t Live Here Anymore, on the other hand, dispenses with them completely. It’s a welcome change that makes the record more succinct. Although it was enjoyable to hear The War on Drugs meander into a sonic rabbit hole every now and then, the songs on I Don’t Live Here Anymore never feel superfluous; it’s a record that very much serves the songs at hand, and they benefit from this increased focus.

Throughout I Don’t Live Here Anymore, Granduciel utters the phrase, “I don’t wanna change.” It’s a recurring leitmotif that underlies the album, and though the heartland rocker is so apprehensive of becoming someone he’s not, The War on Drugs proves that they’re the band they’ve always been. But, this time around, they distill these songs down to their purest essence, and it’s the perfect showcase for why people have been enamored with this band since Wagonwheel Blues. As Granduciel says himself on “Harmonia’s Dream,” “sometimes forwards is the only way back.”

El DeBarge gets emotional on stage 4 brother Bobby DeBarge of SWITCH + "I Call Your Name" LIVE 1996

C Reid

October 29, 2021

A yesteryear flashback to El DeBarge in rare form like you never seen before. On August 16, 1995 we lost Bobby DeBarge original lead singer on the R&B group Switch. This interview was done about a year and a half after Bobby had passed. El was living out that troubled artist when this was filmed. We recorded this interview at the Holiday Inn bar in Emeryville near Oakland, California.

Eldra Patrick “El” DeBarge (June 4, 1961) singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include “Time Will Reveal”, “Stay with Me”, “All This Love”, and “Rhythm of the Night”. As a solo artist, he is best known for his unique high tenor register, strong falsetto and hits like “Who’s Johnny” and “Love Always”. He’s also collaborated with artists such as Dionne Warwick, Al Green, Lalah Hathaway, Babyface, Faith Evans, Quincy Jones, Fourplay, and DJ Quik. DeBarge is a five time Grammy Award nominee.

El admitted that Gaye was a huge influence on his musical style and once commented that he had initially written “All This Love” as a song he imagined Gaye doing; he even imitated Gaye’s ad-libs during his “I Want You” era near the end. That same year, El had chart success on the R&B charts with a collaboration with Fourplay on their version of Gaye’s “After the Dance”. DeBarge’s next album, 1994’s Heart, Mind and Soul, co-produced with Babyface, yielded modest charted singles such as “Slide” and “Where is My Love” (which featured Babyface on duet vocals).

A native of Detroit, Michigan, El was the sixth of 10 children born to Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932-2009) and Etterlene (née Abney) DeBarge. DeBarge sang in his local church choir and played piano as a child. Later, after his family moved to Grand Rapids, he and the rest of his family began performing at their uncle’s Pentecostal church. When El was 13, his parents divorced after a difficult and stormy marriage. El is of African American, Native American, English, and French descent. Growing up, he was closest to his eldest brother Bobby and began imitating his brother’s vocal styling.

For several years, El spent time in private study with music educator Ricky Callier. By 1975, El had begun to express a desire to become a performer. He became a father for the first time at 16 and eventually fathered 11 more children. In 1977, he dropped out of high school and began performing with his elder brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan. By 1979, Bernd Lichters was able to secure a deal with Source Records/MCA to release the Pall Mall Groove – Hot Ice album as SMASH for the USA/Canada market and moved El from Michigan to Los Angeles, to have him, his brothers Mark and Randy DeBarge, in addition to their cousin Andre Abney, Elliot Townsend, and Stanley Hood, to back up the release as the SMASH band. His eldest sister Bunny joined her brothers in California as well. In 1980, because of the success of their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge with the hit group Switch, El was able to perform live at the piano and sing in front of Motown CEO Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the group, then known as The DeBarges, to the label.

Motown mentored them, and members later worked with and contributed songwriting, arrangements, and production to the recordings of Switch, including the 1980 albums “This Is My Dream” and “Reaching for Tomorrow.” El’s first professional recording was as background vocalist to Switch’s 1979 hit “I Call Your Name”. He later helped to arrange music for several Switch songs including “Love Over and Over Again” and “My Friend in the Sky,” which he, Bunny, and Bobby wrote. This song would later be sampled by the likes of Queen Pen and Raheem DeVaughn.

In 2010, he finally emerged from a 16-year delay with the appropriately titled Second Chance, released after a series of comeback performances and appearances, including a well received performance at the 2010 BET Awards. The album yielded two singles, “Second Chance” and the Faith Evans duet “Lay With You”, and later resulted in three Grammy Award nominations: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album. El remains the only member of the DeBarges to have Grammy nominations both outside of the group and in the family.

While DeBarge continued to collaborate with his brother Chico and rapper DJ Quik (with whom El collaborated on Quik’s hit “Hand in Hand.”

Year Title Peak chart positions Album

US US R&B US Dan CAN UK
1978 “There’ll Never Be” 36 6 — 60 — Switch
1979 “I Wanna Be Closer” — 22 — — —
“Best Beat in Town” 69 16 65 — — Switch II
“I Call Your Name” 83 8

Lisa Stansfield – Make Love To Ya – Live at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club – HD

C Reid

October 28, 2021

Lisa Stansfield (born 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and actress.

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club is a prominent jazz club which has operated in London, England since 1959.

I do not own any rights to this video or audio.
“MAKE LOVE TO YA”, musical composition administered by:
UMPG Publishing

Lyrics:

“Make Love To Ya”

I’ve got to say it now
And I’ll explain somehow
The way I feel about the way we are
I know no other way that just to say it straight
I want to shout it from the rooftops

‘Cos you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
You fill me up and cheer me up
I wanna tell you time after time

Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there’s no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya

You’ve put a spell on me
And baby hopefully you’ll never break the spell I’m under
Whatever this shall be
I know you’ve made me see a feeling louder than the thunder

‘Cos you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
You fill me up and cheer me up
I wanna tell you time after time

Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there’s no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya

I’ve got to say it now
But I’ll explain somehow
The way I feel about the way we are
I know no other way than just to sat it straight
I want to shout it from the rooftops

‘Cos you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
You fill me up and cheer me up
I wanna tell you time after time

Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there’s no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya

Why It’s Time for NYC Restaurants to Return to Paper Menus

C Reid

October 28, 2021

You can’t do this with a QR code.
Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images

Walking into a recent dinner in Greenpoint, everything seemed exceedingly lovely: The lighting cast a cozy glow. Wineglasses clinked. Silverware dinked. The calming aroma of wood smoke wafted from the kitchen. The restaurant had old-world charm to spare, a fastidiously manicured vibe that I could have lived in. And it was undone, more or less entirely, when it was time to check out the menu.

There were no sheets of neatly printed paper, or even chalkboards. Instead, there was a QR code, antiseptically taped to the table. I wanted to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday, but the first ten minutes of our meal was instead filled with silence as we tapped around on our phones, attempting to navigate the hopelessly clunky point-of-sale system just to see what, exactly, we could order. The dishes had quirky names but no descriptions and because of the endless submenus, It was impossible to see everything at once. I struggled to find the “back” button. “This POS,” I thought, “is a piece of shit.”

The experience was hardly unusual. Restaurants around the city resorted to QR-code digital menus when COVID-19 made the idea of shared surfaces unimaginably terrifying, and at the time, phone menus were a clever and necessary solution that arrived in the middle of an unsolvable crisis. But as the months have gone on, the novelty has worn off, and I find myself sighing every time I cross paths with one. I understand the appeal for owners: Digital menus are more sanitary, are more economical, eliminate the need for printing anything, and allow for immediate updates. They are also cold, ugly, and strangely unpleasant.

This is not to say ordering via phone needs to go away completely. At a fast-food counter, or an airport, I’d happily tap in my order for the sake of expediency. At a sports bar, I’d much rather order on my phone than elbow my way through sweaty soccer fans. It is arguably the pinnacle of human technological achievement that I can order some Shake Shack crinkle fries while I walk there, and have them waiting for me when I arrive. But at the kinds of restaurants with candles and wine lists and servers who earnestly ask, “Is this your first time dining with us?”, the practical benefits of QR menus need to be weighed against the aesthetic and experiential drawbacks. With transmission rates dropping and vaccines mandated inside restaurants, it feels like the scales have tipped back in favor of good old-fashioned paper.

Physical menus are one of the first ways that a restaurant can say, This is what we’re about. As a diner, you connect with the owners’ ideas and the chefs’ points of view. At the dim little wine bar near my apartment, the menu — a tiny, unadorned piece of paper — confers a sense of intimacy that extends through the night. At a diner, a sprawling, multipage laminated tome tells you that this kitchen will make you anything you want, no matter what that is. (Even if it’s the broiled fish.) When the menu at the hip Japanese place in a Greenpoint warehouse lands, you notice the intricate graphic design, and casual sections like “larger” or “smaller,” and you know instantly that this is a restaurant that wants its customers to have fun. That’s all lost when you’re trying to tap through dish descriptions on a generic third-party platform while your phone’s notifications ding with tomorrow’s calendar reminders and an urgent TikTok alert that the pug with no bones posted a new video.

About a year and a half ago, this very site wondered whether it was time to get rid of paper menus for good. At the time, I found myself agreeing with many of that story’s points, but — crucially — I also had no way of knowing then how much I would end up missing all the little experiences that only paper menus can provide. In that last year and a half, my entire personal and professional life has been lived in Zoom calls, Slack messages, and group chats. What I want, now that my friends and I can meet up with a reasonable degree of safety and comfort, is to throw my phone into the East River and never hear it chime again. At the very least, I’d love to be given space where I can totally ignore it for a few hours.

The most enjoyable restaurants shelter you from the rest of the real world and compel you to linger. You want to order dessert, or a coffee, or maybe some after-dinner drinks. You shouldn’t need your phone for that.

Jon Moore Events – Hottest Hollywood Nightlife – Promo Reel

C Reid

October 28, 2021

Jon Moore Events – Hottest Hollywood Nightlife – Promo Reel

Jon Moore Events – Hottest Hollywood Nightlife – Winter 2012 Promo Reel
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Eve Reveals The Moment She Found Out She Was Pregnant | News

C Reid

October 28, 2021

Rapper and actress Eve recently announced that she’s expecting her first child with husband Maximillion Cooper. Now, while promoting her new ABC series Queens, which follows four R&B/hip hop divas from the 1990s on a reunion tour, the former talk show host told the crew at The Breakfast Club that she found out right before taking on the Verzuz battle against fellow rapper Trina back on June 16. The Philly-born rapper performed in London, now her homebase where she lives with her husband and four step-children while Trina remained in Miami.

Eve said, “What’s crazy is, that’s when I just found out I was pregnant. I, literally, was newly pregnant and I was stressed the f**k out because my stylist didn’t bring me no clothes. The whole day I had a meltdown right before we went on.”
Nonetheless, the 42-year-old still had a great time celebrating her iconic career with the Diamond Princess, “I loved it because it was Trina and thank God it was Swizz [Beatz] and he took care of me. Swizz knew, which is why I didn’t fly to Miami.”

Swizz Beatz, along with Timbaland, is one of the trailblazing founders of Verzuz.

RELATED: Baby Blessings!: Charmaine Bey’s Hair And Skin Glows In A New Baby Bump Photo
This being her first child, Eve also joked she was worried that performing in the way she has in past could have impacted her pregnancy. “Am I screaming too much? Can you rap when you pregnant?” she asked.

See more details from the interview with The Breakfast Club, below:

LATEST BOOK NEWS — October 28, 2021 — Aestas Book Blog

C Reid

October 28, 2021

BOOKWORM NEWS:

Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry is now live!! — “Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn’t earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor. According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town’s founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. In her defense, it was her first night in town and she didn’t realize that the rugged and charming man who wooed her into bed was Quincy royalty. Sleeping with Griffin Eden was a huge mistake, one she’s trying to forget. He’s insufferable, arrogant and keeps reminding everyone that she’s an outsider. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths. As clues to the murderer lead to one of Quincy’s own, Griffin realizes Winslow is more than he gave her credit for. Beautiful and intelligent, she proves hard to resist. For him. And the killer.”

Riggs by Sawyer Bennett is now live!! — “As a professional hockey player, people think I live a charmed life. On the surface, I do. But they don’t know the horrors of my childhood, or the real reason that I have custody of my seventeen-year-old sister, Janelle. And that’s exactly the way I like it. They may think I’m a prick because I don’t like to share, but that’s fine. They don’t know me, and they don’t need to. In an effort to help Janelle get settled in Phoenix and stay out of trouble at school, I set her up with a job at Clarke’s Corner, the local bookstore owned by the girlfriend of a teammate. It’s there that she makes friends with Veronica Woodley, the extremely annoying, arrogant, money-hungry divorcee who I don’t want anywhere near my sister. Janelle insists I’m completely wrong about Veronica, but I refuse to accept that. I have to keep reminding myself that that the gorgeous blond with legs for days is off limits. Through a series of events, I start to see Veronica for what she really is—an amazing woman who has survived her own hell to come out even stronger. I have to admit, we’re more alike than not…”

Until April by Aurora Rose Reynolds is now live!! — “With happily ever after being something that happens to other people, April Mayson has decided to put all her energy into her career and living her best life, and things are better than ever. Little does she know that her world is about to be turned upside down when she’s asked to help out a family friend, Maxim Kauwe. Now, she’s dealing with a man unlike any she’s ever met before, her ex—a famous musician who’s decided he wants her back—and a possible serial killer. With all the drama suddenly swirling around her, she will have to figure out if she is brave enough to trust Maxim with her heart and maybe even her life.”

Rebel North by JB Salsbury is now live!! — “In a city where image is everything, Gabriella turns heads for all the wrong reasons. The marks that slash across her neck and face turn people away. But I see the beauty that lies beneath, feel a kinship to her pain. I regret the way she found me—mugged and left for dead. I should walk away, follow the rules, but I can’t. I want to see her again. There’s only one problem. My brother convinced her I’m gay. I use that lie to my advantage, persuade her to be my pretend girlfriend, to help protect my fake-sexual identity from my judgmental family. But what starts as a shameless excuse to be near her leads to crossed lines and midnight confessions. I’m not who I led her to believe. I’m sin wrapped in silk. Betrayal masked by beauty. And she’s not the only one with scars…”

Inked Devotion by Carrie Ann Ryan is now live!! — “Brenna Garrett watched her best friend fall in love with another woman all the while keeping his darkest secrets from her. Now she’ll have to figure out who she is without him while not letting the rest of the Montgomerys see her break. When her family forces her on a road trip, she finds herself bringing Benjamin Montgomery with her. The problem? He’s her best friend’s twin, so there’s no escaping that familiar face. Benjamin didn’t want to leave his family in a lurch, but Brenna isn’t the only one who needs a break. Only a drunken mistake leads to a night of passion with unintended consequences. When it turns out they can’t walk away, they’ll have to make a choice: remain just friends or start something new and possibly risk everything. Including themselves.”

Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard is now live!! — “Born to a life of privilege, Lady Ravenna Huntley rues the day that she must marry. She’s refused dozens of suitors and cried off multiple betrothals, but running away—even if brash and foolhardy—is the only option left to secure her independence. Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashvale, was driven from England at the behest of his cruel stepmother. Scorned and shunned, he swore never to return to the land of his birth. But when a twist of bad luck throws a rebellious heiress into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he’s the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to massive scandal. Both are quick to deny it, but a wedding might be the only way out for both of them. And the attraction that burns between them makes Ravenna and Courtland wonder if it’ll truly only be a marriage of convenience after all…”

Man For Me by Laurelin Paige is now live!! — “Brett Sebastian is the very best kind of friend. Who else would get me a job at one of the biggest corporations in America? And hook me up with his uber-rich cousin to boot? And let me cry on his shoulder every time said cousin blows me off? Okay, it’s pretty obvious that Brett cares about me in a different way than I do for him, but he seems fine with how things are, and our friendship works. Until one fateful night when I’m mooning over his cousin, and Brett utters four words that should make me happy for him, should make me relieved, should balance out our uneven relationship: “I met a girl.” Suddenly my world is crashing down around me, and I’m forced to ask myself—am I only interested in Brett now that he’s taken? Or have I been looking at the wrong man all along?”

Moonstone by Helen Hardt is now live!! — “As Moonstone, she was held captive. Now Katelyn Brooks is starting fresh and is determined to reclaim her life. With the help of the Wolfe family, she’s working toward healing…which doesn’t necessarily include falling for a gorgeous waiter. Luke Johnson is a recovering alcoholic who just wants to fly under the radar. He’s not looking for love, but when Katelyn walks through the doors of the restaurant where he works, he’s struck by her beauty and her meekness. Circumstances throw them together, and neither is able to resist the attraction that sparks between them. But Luke has a secret—a big one—that could spell danger for both of them.”

Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter series) is now live!! — “Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium. As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.”

Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant is now live!! — “Tis the season—for everyone except Emmy Garrett. She’s on the run after witnessing a crime. But when it becomes clear that trouble will continue following her, the US Marshal in charge takes her somewhere no one will think to look–Montana. Not only is Emmy in a new place for her protection, but now, she’s stuck with a handsome cowboy as her bodyguard…and she wants to do more than kiss him under the mistletoe. Dwight Reynolds left behind his old career, but it’s still in his blood. When an old friend calls in a favor, Dwight opens his home to a woman on the run. He tries to keep his distance, but there’s something about Emmy he can’t resist. She stokes his passion and turns his cold nights into warm ones. When danger shows up looking for Emmy, Dwight risks everything to keep her safe.”

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan is now live!! — “Laid off from her department store job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life does not appeal. Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job. Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping?”

One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson is now live!! — “Vaughn Miller’s Wall Street career was abruptly ended by a wrongful conviction and two years in prison. Since then, he’s returned to his hometown, kept his head down and forged a way forward. When he is exonerated and his name cleared, he feels he can hold his head up once again, maybe even talk to the beautiful café owner who sets his blood to simmering. Sierra Crane escaped a disastrous marriage—barely. She and her six-year-old goddaughter have returned to the only place that feels like home. Determined to make it on her own, Sierra opens a soup café. Complication is the last thing she needs, but the moment Vaughn walks into her café, she can’t keep her eyes off the smoldering loner.”

WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP

Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry (small town enemies to lovers romance, The Edens series)
Riggs by Sawyer Bennett (hockey romance, standalone in Arizona Vengeance series)
Until April by Aurora Rose Reynolds (contemp romance, standalone in Until Him/Her series)
Rebel North by JB Salsbury (NA romance, standalone in The North Brothers series)
Inked Devotion by Carrie Ann Ryan (roadtrip romance, standalone in Montgomery Ink series)
Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard (historical romance standalone)
Man For Me by Laurelin Paige (friends to lovers, standalone novella in Man in Charge series)
Moonstone by Helen Hardt (love after hardship, new series)
Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh (paranormal romance, Guild Hunter series)
Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant (holiday romance, standalone)
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (heartwarming holiday novel, standalone)
One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson (small town holiday romance, Catalina Cove series)

WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

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Robbie Daymond & Ryan Colt Levy Talk Film

C Reid

October 28, 2021

The latest film in the My Hero Academia franchise hits theaters on October 29, 2021. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission features a familiar cast dealing with a new crisis and going up against the evil Flect Turn.

RELATED: My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission Movie Debuts New Character Rody Soul

“U.A. High School students Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, and Katsuki Bakugo face the greatest crisis in My Hero Academia history, with only two hours to save the world!” says the official synopsis. “During their internship with the number one Pro Hero Endeavor Agency, Deku and his new friend Rody find themselves wanted nationwide for a crime they didn’t commit. Can Deku and his friends stop Humarise’s global plans of eliminating all Quirks?”

ComingSoon’s Hayes Madsen spoke with My Hero Academia newcomers Robbie Daymond (Flect Turn) and Ryan Colt Levy (Rody Soul) about joining the franchise in World Heroes’ Mission and what their respective characters add to the film.

Hayes Madsen: So to start off with, Robbie, traditionally you’ve played more hero roles in a lot of anime.

Robbie Daymond: Ohh I don’t know about that, you’ve gotta check your IMDb I’ve got a few bad boys here and there (laughs). You’re right, it’s definitely across the spectrum, yeah.

When you’re playing villains how does your performance change in comparison to when you play a more heroic character?

Robbie: Not at all. I like to approach them just the same, as people. Some people have good motives and bad, some people have good backstories and bad. And some people’s life just hands them what they get. Depending on their moral compass they do what they do, so fundamentally I don’t think I would play it any different from an acting standpoint. What I enjoy the most is watching those repercussions of what they do echo out into the world. For someone like this for My Hero, he’s got a fun complicated backstory that I won’t blow, but I think it makes him a really scary villain.

Was there anything in particular, any specific personality traits that you tried to inject into Flect Turn with the performance?

Robbie: I went back and I binge-watched all the original Smurfs, and I was like what do these guys (laughs) no just kidding. I got the script and I went over it, and I looked at this guy and said “what is driving him to do these horrible horrible things, and can we make him bad and sympathetic all at the same time.” I think that’s a good villain, you know, nobody wants a “twiddle your mustache” bad guy.

Ryan Colt Levy: Though he has a great mustache

Robbie: He does have a great mustache

For Ryan, Rody is kind of the new addition to this movie. What do you think makes him a unique character, and what does he bring to this film that makes it different from the last two?

Robbie: We’re both unique, right Ryan? Is this the character’s first appearance in this film?

Ryan: Yeah for both of us I believe.

Robbie: The crazy part is that’s a tough question for both of us. I’m just jumping in on his answer here, I’m breaking all the interview rules.

Ryan: That’s alright, bring it on. This is such a villain move.

Robbie: I know, isn’t it? Mwahaha. We’re kind of on separate trajectories that don’t coincide until the middle, so I don’t know much about Ryan’s character and I don’t know how much he knows about mine.

Ryan: I think Rody brings a really cool human element that is not normally injected into My Hero Academia on the regular. As much as it is grounded in its bigness, you know, he’s very much got this grey area kind of mentality, and I think his motivations are not necessarily what you get from these kinds of characters. His impact that he will have on Midoriya is one that I don’t think has come from relationships prior. When you get to see the film there’s a unique relationship there that I’m glad we’re getting to explore, because I think it’s something that on a world scale people watching this show should experience.

One of the more interesting things about him is that in terms of the actual series he’s one of the first non-Japanese characters that we’ve ever met. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Ryan: Yeah, I just think it’s interesting that we’re getting to explore the world in this film. I think that’s such a cool unique thing for My Hero Academia to do, because we don’t often in these shows get to kind of go that far out of the universe that they’re immediately in. Even though I’ve loved the show forever, being an outsider playing an outsider really helps kind of imbue the performance. There’s this kind of ease and freedom that comes with that in this really fun way, that I don’t know I would have had if it was someone kind of already injected in there.

Going back to Robbie. Without spoiling anything, is there any kind of defining moment in this film for Flect? Any one particular moment that’s his big time?

Robbie: Oh yeah. The climax is classic and we find a lot of things out about his character. That’s good because we’ve got this mysterious new villain that is introduced into this film. Off the top, his goals might seem cliche, broad. He’s a terrorist, he’s a cult leader, he’s this big bad guy. Why does anyone do that and what leads him to that path. Rest assured that in this film you’ll find out the answer to that, but not until the end.

My Hero Academia is one of the biggest anime series in the world at the moment. Is there any kind of pressure that you feel joining that series, and playing these characters for the first time?

Ryan: I wouldn’t say pressure so much, I mean to some degree pressure, but I think it was more of a sense of responsibility because of how much of an impact the show does have on people, especially young people. What its message has always been, which I think is important especially to share with people now, is unity, and responsibility, and compassion, and the fact that anyone can be a hero regardless of the scale that you do heroic on. So I felt a responsibility to bring as much heart as ever, and really do right by not just the series but the fans, and everyone that will continue to experience this.

Robbie: My wife said she’d divorce me if I did a bad job on this movie, so I’m terrified and I love her very much. No, Ryan knocked it out of the park, not pressure so much. The great part is the hardest stuff is done. The writing’s done, the film’s done, all we have to do is come in and be true to the source material and be honest and relatable in the moment, and give our very best performance. Then our little puzzle piece of what makes this series and film so great clicks into place, and hopefully everyone’s happy.

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