Remembering Nicholas Brody and His Muslim Faith

“You live in despair for eight years; you can turn to religion, too. And, the King James Bible was not available.” – Nicholas Brody

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

I was born and raised in a secular family in Turkey, a country that is predominantly Muslim. That is, even though I am not religious myself, I am very familiar with the Islamic traditions, rituals and norms. I am obviously coming out of the culture and have been shaped by it in ways that I am probably not aware of 🙂 Thus, I thought it would be neat to talk about Nicholas Brody, my most favorite fictional character ever on small screen, as a Muslim character in celebration of Ramadan!

Now, I am not an expert, not even close, about Muslim characters on TV shows; however, even if there had been a popular Muslim character on TV before Brody came along, I just don’t think there is any way she or he could beat him on any popularity scale. Continue reading “Remembering Nicholas Brody and His Muslim Faith”

Bobby Axelrod: The Boy Whose Dad
Never Came Back, Part IV

It is no secret I am fascinated by Bobby Axelrod’s backstory in Billions, in particular his family background. And the few glimpses we had into the life of young Bobby in Season 1 tempted me to think hard and deep about this man, who grew up in a broken home, and kick off the series “Bobby Axelrod: The Boy Whose Dad Never Came Back.” This series takes a close look at Bobby Axelrod’s human side mostly as a husband, a father, and a son. You can see the first three installments here, here, and here.

Bobby Axelrod is not someone I would hang out with in real life. He terrifies me exactly like he terrifies the actor who brings him to life on screen, yet I have come to sympathize with his story and loved some of his qualities over the first two seasons: He grew up in Yonkers in a working class family. His dad left home when Bobby was 12. Bobby had  to work as a paper boy and a golf caddy to make pocket money, played cards in friends’ basements and discovered betting at the racetrack. While he is now a self-made billionaire, Bobby did not forget where he came from. He is loyal to his past, his old friends, and Bruno, the only father figure in his life. Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod: The Boy Whose Dad
Never Came Back, Part IV”

Happy Birthday, Helen McCrory! TOP DOZEN Reasons to Love Her

“Actually, I’m looking forward to being 50, because to me that’s when a woman is at the pinnacle of her femininity and her womanhood.” —Helen McCrory in an interview with The Independent

helenbirthdaycard

It’s Big 5-0 for Helen today. Happy Birthday, Helen!

Here is our collective effort in throwing a birthday party for Helen on the blog. Enjoy!

It’s quite easy to figure out why Damian fell in love with his better half: Beauty, talent and brains, a rare combination, seem to have come together and stolen our guy’s heart. The couple has been together for more than a decade, married for eleven years and going as strong as ever. We wished them a Happy Anniversary more than a month ago here. Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Helen McCrory! TOP DOZEN Reasons to Love Her”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis as Gear Head on Top Gear

Damian Lewis, Top Gear
source: BBC

As folks are vacationing on all sides of the pond, let’s take a look back at summer 2016 when Damian made an appearance on Top Gear. Enjoy!

Boys and their cars. And girls too, for that matter. There’s something about being behind the wheel of a nice automobile, pressing the gas, shooting ahead with the force of however many horses, and letting a machine take you where your feet can’t. Damian made his second appearance on Top Gear in June 2016 and got to drive around a bit: recklessly, dangerously, at the sort of speeds humans probably weren’t ever designed to go, at least not unaided. Yes, no doubt, there’s a rush there, the burst of power and the addictive lurching feeling of hairpin turns at top speed, the balance between control and utter abandon. One small explosion in a combustion chamber to get things moving, then the lingering burn of the fuel made from our fossils, and we’re off to the races, quite literally. And for those few seconds of sheer joy, you sorta want to forget that these are the very machines that have summarily sent our planet on a not-so-slow burn. Alas, let’s keep this post about joy, and the joy of watching Damian play with cars. Read on!

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis as Gear Head on Top Gear”

Catching up with Bobby Axelrod:
Billions Comes to the Upper West Side!

While Billions Season 4 shoot starts in New York in the first week of September, we still have so much to talk about Season 3 and have expectations, hopes and fantasies for Season 4. So please stay tuned for our Billions posts, from thematic to personal to speculative, in the coming weeks and months as we follow the new season shoot as closely as possible!

As I mentioned a billion times before, Billions is my dream show! And not only because my favorite actor is in it, but also New York, from its landmarks to city parks to its distinct neighborhoods, appears as a cast member! As someone who feels the only home she has in the world is the city that never sleeps, I love it that the show is taking over New York, the big film studio that it is, and shooting all over the place, from Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to The Bronx to Long Island and to northern suburbs. I cannot thank enough to the show creators and show runners Brian Koppelman and David Levien for giving us a love letter to the city in Billions.

That said, one little problem I had until last October was, while they shot Billions all over Manhattan, they did not shoot a scene showcasing not only my but also Mr. Koppelman’s neighborhood, the Upper West Side, or as Lewisto and I love to call it, the Upper Best Side 😀 Continue reading “Catching up with Bobby Axelrod: Billions Comes to the Upper West Side!”

Desert Island Discs with NotLinda

Welcome to my island! We haven’t got much but what we have is the best! I’ve always loved music so for my Desert Island I’ll have to have

  1. Bad to the Bone – George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. Straight on Rock-n-Roll. I saw him everywhere I could in the SF Bay Area back in the day. Loong, crazy shows! Do you have to Axe which of Damian’s roles he brings to mind? “Leave this one alone! I can tell by lookin’ he’s bad to the bone!”

Continue reading “Desert Island Discs with NotLinda”