Content warning: this post contains references to stalking and murder.
- Inhaler entered the UK album chart at #1 last week with their debut album, It Won’t Always Be Like This. I’ll admit I clicked skeptically when I learned that Inhaler’s lead singer is Elijah Hewson, offspring of Bono (nepotism has no place in music), but these lads are going to be my next obsession. Inhaler is a mix of power pop and dreamy psychedelia, with pounding bass lines and a dash of early 80s synth-pop.
Inhaler – Josh Jenkinson, Ryan McMahon, Elijah Hewson, Robert Keating
- A Quiet Place Part II is now available for streaming on Paramount+. Hubby and I had intended to make it the first movie we saw in the theater since January 2020, but decided to save the money and watch it at home. Anyway, spoiler alert, it was awesome. Millicent Simmonds’ Regan takes center stage and Simmonds makes the most of the opportunity. Cillian Murphy is fantastic as Emmett, a friend of the Abbott family from the before times.
- The first two episodes of Making the Cut season 2 are now available on Amazon Prime. Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn are an iconic pair, and I’m really enjoying the addition of Jeremy Scott and Winnie Harlow to the judging panel. The designers this season are (for the most part) a diverse and interesting group. Gary’s my favorite so far, based on his look from episode 1.
- Happy birthday, Margo Martindale! One of the finest character actors of the 21st century (or ever, for that matter), Martindale is equally comfortable in comedy or drama. A Tony nominee for a 2004 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Martindale won Emmy awards for her performances in Justified and The Americans. She also had a prominent role on one of my all-time favorite shows, Dexter.
Dexter 
The Millers, with Will Arnett
Justified 
A fictionalized Martindale in Bojack Horseman 
The Americans
- Rebecca Schaeffer – model, actress and co-star of the CBS comedy My Sister Sam – was murdered on this day in 1989. Robert John Bardo had already been stalking Schaeffer for a few years, and had even attempted (unsuccessfully) to gain access to the My Sister Sam set, when he saw Schaeffer’s sex scene in the 1989 Paul Bartel film, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills. Feeling jealous and rageful, and inspired by Arthur Jackson (would-be assassin of actress Theresa Saldana back in 1982), Bardo showed up at Schaeffer’s home (he’d hired a PI, who’d found her address through the DMV) with a card he’d sent her and her photo. When Schaeffer brushed him off with a “Please take care”, Bardo came back an hour later with a gun, and when Schaeffer opened the door this time, Bardo shot her in the heart. Schaeffer, just 21 years old, was set to audition for a role in The Godfather III the day she died (she was waiting for the script to arrive, and was undoubtedly hoping that’s who was at her door). Bardo received the maximum sentence for his crime – life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the aftermath of Schaeffer’s murder, a federal law was passed to prevent the public from accessing DMV records. In 1990, California became the first state to enact an anti-stalking law. In the intervening years, celebrities such as Madonna and David Letterman have made use of the anti-stalking law to protect themselves and their families.
Rebecca Schaeffer with her My Sister Sam co-star, Pam Dawber
Peanut Butter and Julie 