Happy Friday!

I hope that you had a great week. Gotta tell you that my blood pressure was through the roof yesterday watching the Kavanaugh hearings. Anybody who wasn't moved by Dr. Ford's bravery has ice water running through their veins. It felt like 1991 and the Clarence Thomas hearings all over again. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Here's what else I was up to this week.

WATCHING

Speaking of 1991, I watched the pilot episode of the reboot of MURPHY BROWN last night. I wasn't a huge fan of the original series. I didn't dislike it. I just didn't regularly watch it. I did always enjoy the show when I caught it. The reboot is in the same vein as the original with the surviving cast members from the first show.

This time around, Murphy is retired from television journalism and she's apoplectic over Trump's election and subsequent administration. She's tired of yelling at the TV and decides to be the one yelling in the TV so she puts the gang back together and starts a new gig on cable news. Her son Avery (the baby that made Dan Quayle so crazy in 1992) is now a television journalist hosting a show on the conservative “Wolf Network” directly opposite her program. And hijinks ensue.

I had a few gut laughs last night. The only problem is that it's at times a little too “preachy teachy.” If you're a Republican, your head is going to explode. Not the show for you. Liberals will love it if you can get past how brazenly it attacks the right. Politics aside, I love Candace Bergan in everything she's done going back to CARNAL KNOWLEDGE. I set a series record on my DVR. WATCH (but beware if you're a Trump supporter).

READING

THE PERFECT DAY FORMULA by Craig Ballentyne

This book changed my life, so I'm rereading it. Craig's book teaches you how to be more productive and achieve more of the things you want in life by controlling your mornings. If you can arrange to get up a little earlier than usual (even 15 minutes works) and focus that “magic time” on your most important tasks before the craziness and unpredictability of the day begins, it's positively amazing what you can accomplish. I have doubled my productivity in both my creative work and business because of what I learned from this book. Read it!

SAW

Saw Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish's latest NIGHT SCHOOL last night. Almost an Adam Sandler-like setup; Hart needs to get his GED and goes to night school where Haddish is the no-nonsense teacher. It's not a masterpiece but, I was entertained. Some jokes are hysterical. Others fall flat. Even when it doesn't work, you can't help but love the cast (including my old pal Al Madrigal) and the chemistry between Hart and Haddish. I hope they do more work together. MAYBE.

THEATER

I didn't get to any shows this week, so I'll tell you more about the festival at the San Francisco at the Marsh I mentioned last week. Several of you either wrote me or approached me in person expressing an interest in what we're doing. It's called TIMES UNSEEN and it features several solo performers doing new “mini-plays” of 15-20 minutes on how the Trump presidency has affected them personally. I finished writing the latest draft of my piece, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE AIR. It's about how to deal when you loathe Trump and somebody you love supports him. The festival is October 19 and 20 at the Marsh in San Francisco. For tickets and information, visit themarsh.org.

PODCASTS

AWARDS CHATTER is a wonderful podcast by the Hollywood Reporter featuring in depth interviews with the stars of stage, film and television. It's one of my favorite listens.

EATS

Got to give a shout out to DOUG'S PLACE in Castro Valley, California. I've been going there for breakfast since high school and it's as good now as it was then. Omelets are their specialty. Be sure to get the breakfast potatoes over the hashbrowns. They're awesome!

If you know of any Bay Area eateries you want me to try, email me at copie@briancopeland.com.

THE NOISY AMERICAN

By popular demand, for the last eight weeks, I've been doing daily livestreams on Facebook Live. I call the commentaries THE NOISY AMERICAN because some on the right have said that critics of this administration need to “sit down and shut up.” As Americans, I think it's just the opposite. We need to be LOUD. Weekdays, I spend a few minutes commenting on the news and politics of the day then we discuss and debate through Facebook posts. What started as a lark is really growing into something. We're prepping two YouTube channels, THE NOISY AMERICAN CHANNEL and CopieTV, that we'll launch soon. We've also just launched a website. Check it out at TheNoisyAmerican.com. Check out my daily videos and follow me on Facebook where I'm briancopie1.

Have a wonderful week!

Copie

FOLLOW BRIAN:

Twitter: Twitter.com/briancopie
Facebook: facebook.com/briancopie1
BrianCopeland.com