Throwback Thursday! The Rolling Stones Are Liars: My 2013 High School Reunion

Posted on July 27, 2023 | 3 comments

I’m posting this today because this weekend is ten years since that 2013 high school reunion, and I’m going to another high school reunion this weekend.

(07/27/13)  Of course the old people joke above doesn’t apply to me and all my classmates who are attending our reunion this weekend.  The high school reunion; that American institution where we renew friendships, reminisce, and catch up. We remember who we were and we talk about who we’ve become. Last night I had a very nice time talking with many, many old friends.

Back to my title. The Rolling Stones are big fat liars. Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie. Every one a liar. Pants on fire. The whole nine yards. What did they lie about? They lied about time. Time is SO not on our side. Judging from how haggard The Rolling Stones look, time isn’t on their side either. Especially Keith.

I know where you think I’m going with this, but you’re wrong. Yeah, sorry about that. I’m not going to bemoan how the years have changed my classmates and I. If anything, I was pleasantly surprised by how good everyone looked. My old friends are happy and healthy and doing well. At least the ones that attended our reunion.

reunion

In addition to attending reunion activities I also went back to the neighborhood of my childhood. I’ve only been there a few times in the last twenty years. Everywhere I looked there were ghosts.

If I looked at a street corner I could see the younger versions of my friends and I goofing around and I could hear the echoes of thirty year old conversations about inane topics. Walking by house after house, memories of adventures came to life in my minds eye as if not a day had passed.

The most startling revelation however is that apparently since I grew up I’ve become a giant. The parents of my childhood friends are smaller and shorter than I remember them. As my friend and I walked the streets it was amazing how much the houses had shrunk and now look old and run down a bit.  The walk around the block which seemed so long as kids is now barely long enough to be considered much of a walk at all.

Street Sign

I know that all these things are illusions. People age and the neighborhood that was the whole world to us as kids suddenly appears small and old when I return to it from the larger world I’ve explored since I left home.

Damn it Mick Jagger, you promised that time was on my side. I blinked and suddenly that naïve, wide eyed boy from a small town turned into an adult with a mortgage and acid reflux.

I guess more appropriately, this weekend illustrated to me the truth in the title of that Thomas Wolfe novel; You Can’t Go Home Again. I tried and although my home and neighborhood are not what they once were, I enjoyed meeting with high school friends again who all seem to be better versions of the kids I knew. Here’s to old friends!

As always, if you like what you read at #ThePhilFactor please hit the Facebook share button, especially my high school friends that might be reading this. It was great to see you all again. And thank you to Cindy for all the pictures you’ve posted to Facebook. I’m sorry I couldn’t include pictures of everyone that was there. Have a great Thursday, and I’ll see you all tomorrow! ~Phil

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Throwback Wednesday? 6 Questions with TMNT/Brady Bunch Star Robbie Rist!

Posted on July 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

With the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  movie coming out this weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time to bring back my 2015 interview with one of the OG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

For my readers who don’t know Robbie’s name off the top of your head, you no doubt have seen or heard him in something. Over the last forty years Robbie has been quietly woven into the fabric of American pop culture like few others. If you haven’t seen him in a movie or TV show, you’ve probably heard his voice as a cartoon character dating back to his work as Michelangelo for the 80’s cartoon and 1990 movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or the Final Fantasy X video game or more recently as Stuffy for the Disney channel’s Doc McStuffins.  He’s also appeared in too many shows and movies for me to list here.  Including 2021’s Blending Christmas.  Better though is that he has an awesome rock band, The Ballzy Tommorow! What gave me the idea to contact him for the interview was when it occurred to me recently that he has been part of two of the most iconic pop culture phenomena of my lifetime, The Brady Bunch, and Sharknado.

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Phil: Robbie, welcome to The Phil Factor and thank you for taking a few minutes for my readers. When you got the part as the bus driver in Sharknado, what did you expect would be the public reaction to the movie?
Robbie: Well, I had heard about the poster for the movie from a friend who had gone to the American Film Market here in Santa Monica (The AFM is like a micro Cannes. People try to sell films there) and both of us being genre fans, we kinda lost our minds at the thought of it. I have said that the title of Sharknado says more in three syllables than A Trip To Bountiful does in 6. Then I found out my friend Anthony C. Ferrante was offered it. Anthony and I were working on music for another of his films when he told me he was offered it and I told him, “I don’t know why or how, but I really think you should do this movie. Something about it feels…….like something….”. So, I guess I thought the response would be pretty great, considering the way people reacted to the name. I wasn’t expecting Twitter to explode over it…..

sharknado

Phil: You obviously were absolutely right. The name caught my eye and ear and I decided, good or bad, I had to see it. Doing music for movie soundtracks isn’t your only musical outlet. Could you tell us about your band? What kind of music do you play? What has been your best gig?

Robbie: Well, we have gone through a name change after losing an original member (Pandora’s bassist/drummer Karen Basset) so now we call ourselves Ballzy Tomorrow! As far as style, I have pretty much been doing the same kind of pop/country/psych thing for decades. It’s that kind of power pop music no one likes but I get a kick out of it. Best gig ever was playing The Rally in The Alley in Buffalo NY in the 80s. It was, like 20,000 people. Played with Spirit. Fun day.

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Phil: Aww,  it’s too bad I didn’t know about it. At the time I lived about ninety miles east of Buffalo and could have come out to see your band. If Ballzy Tomorrow, The Mockers, or the band you produce ever come out East, let me know. Robbie, You’ve had a very diverse career. What’s your favorite thing you’ve done?

Robbie: Tough to say. I just like to make stuff. I mean, I am super proud to have been a part of so many things that hit the zeitgeist super hard like The Brady Bunch and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But I think I am most proud of Doc McStuffins. Apparently it is set to cause a spike in the amount of young women (specifically African American young women) who go into studying the sciences, especially medicine. Considering that almost every cartoon on the planet, McStuffins included, is in existence to primarily sell toys, I would call this a solid fight from the inside victory.

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Phil: When Sharknado just blew up and became this huge thing, did anything changed for you?

Robbie: Well, not as far as my bank account goes, but some really great stuff happened like…..I had never had one of my songs re-mixed before.

Also, some young people did a vocalese version of the theme (which I couldn’t find). So, did I get more work out of it? Not really. But sometimes art is its own reward. Some people really reacted favorably to it.

Phil: The Brady Bunch and Cousin Oliver. How do you feel about people bringing that up constantly?

Robbie: Great! Hey. It’s on the resume. I respect the right of somebody to not want to be bothered but I don’t get that considering most people become performers to get attention.

Robbierist

Phil: We know what you’ve done and what you’re doing. What’s coming up for you in television or movies? Where and when is your band playing next?

Robbie: The band is actually two bands. We do songs that we write but we also do a weekly half 70’s tribute band/ half live band karaoke thing at a restaurant out in Moorpark California called Red Ball’s Rock and Roll Pizza. Happens every Friday. It’s pretty out of control. The original band plays a once a month residency at Canter’s Kibitz Room in Los Angeles.

I just finished three songs for the Sharknado 3 soundtrack!

Phil: Yes, you heard him right folks, if you haven’t followed my Twitter or Instagram, there will be a Sharknado 3 this summer! So, besides creating awesome music for awesome movies, what else?

Robbie: I have also been doing some comedy writing and performing with an artist out here named Lisa Orkin. She has a website called HonestlyLisa.com that is a comedic relationship thing. Every week we do these little minute long audio bits based on her real dating life. She’s pretty much a genius.

I also have a (what we hope is) comedic talk podcast called The Spoon which can be found at www.thespoonradio.com.

I’m gonna be producing a band from Barcelona in a couple of months called Suzy & Los Quattro. This will be my third go around with them. I’m also gonna be on an acoustic tour of Spain in October with my friend Seth Gordon from The Mockers

(Hey folks, don’t worry, The Mockers and Suzy & Los Quattro will be my next two Music Monday features ~Phil)

Robbie: As far as the acting side, I just won the gig as Mondo Gecko in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Doc McStuffins is going into its last year so…….I have no idea what is gonna come next. It seems to always be something…..I guess I can always go back to college…….

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Phil: Awesome! Congrats on the Mondo Gecko role and congrats on the continued success of all your music ventures. Thank you again for taking the time you did. In the future, anything you’re working on has a home on #ThePhilFactor. If you want to follow Robbie on social media you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also you can support Robbie by watching Sharknado 3 on  Wed. July 22 on the SyFy network and by downloading the Sharknado soundtrack.

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Barbenheimer! What Other Classic Movies Would Be Great Combos?

Posted on July 25, 2023 | Leave a comment

Pic credit to RockandPop.cl

Has this ever happened before? Has there ever been a weekend when two such diametrically different movies opened at the same time?

To be honest, I was kind of rooting for there to be fights breaking out in theaters between the Barbie people and the Oppenheimer people. My money is on the Oppenheimer people.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I’m not rooting for personal harm to anyone, but some cotton candy, popcorn, and soft drinks in everyone’s hair might have been fun. I’m not sure what the atomic bomb of theater snacks is, but you know the Oppenheimer fans would release that immediately.

What also might be fun is considering some other movie release combos that might be ridiculous:

1990: Pretty Woman and Edward Scissorhands: What if the plucky hooker with a heart fell in love with the eccentric Scissorhands? Instead of snapping shut a jewelry box, he might accidentally snap off her fingers with his razor sharp scissors. That would give the movie a whole different tone.

1994: Forrest Gump and Speed: What if Forrest had to keep running from a bus that couldn’t stop?

2009: Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen: What if the only thing standing between the human race and hellish robots from outer space was Paul Blart, mall cop?

2022: Top Gun: Maverick and Thor: Love and Thunder This one kind of makes sense because Thor is kind of the Maverick of the superhero community. But what would happen if Thor and Maverick were fighting for the same girl? Maverick is an over-confident dick and Thor would mop the floor with him.

I knew a guy in college whose last name was Oppenheimer. I really hope he went to see Barbie.

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you have a great day, and thanks for reading! What are your ideas for the best movie mash-ups?

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Please Let It Be Haunted…

Posted on July 16, 2023 | 12 comments

Amityville Horror House

You may be asking yourself, what do I want haunted and why? First of all, why are you asking yourself that? You don’t know! I do and I’m going to tell you.

For the fifth time since The Phil Factor began in 2005, I’m moving to a new residence. Other questions you might be asking yourself are as follows:

1. Why does Phil move so much? 

2. Could he be trying to stay one step ahead of the law?

3. Could he possibly be a secret agent for the FBI, CIA, or MI5?

Was that a poltergeist, or just really kick-ass hi-def tv?

Never mind those questions. They are irrelevant. I’m moving again, and I’m hoping for a haunted house. I’m not hoping for just any run of the mill ghosts who make little noises at night. I want the full on Amityville Horror haunting. I want poltergeists out the ying-yang!

My last home, before the one I’m in now, was lightly haunted and it was enjoyable. I don’t want lightly haunted. This time I want the full on Stranger Things “my son is in the upside-down” kind of haunting. I want to see my dog walking on the ceiling and not knowing why. I’ll be running around the house with my cell phone recording myself Blair Witch Project style, only to find myself in the closet facing the wall.

Is this bad mojo to put this idea out into the universe? Probably. Will I regret it? Also probably. But, imagine how great all my paranormal blog posts will be when I’m reporting from my own home! I’ll have video and audio, and I promise I won’t be shouting about orbs. Zak Bagans is a clown. After about ten years he suddenly needs gigantic glasses? Did he go blind because he got an orb in his eye? SMH.

For cripes sake Zak. If you’d stop yelling all the time we might be able to hear the ghost talk in those crappy, static recordings. Every week you act like you’ve never seen a ghost before. And if you want to fight me Zak, I invite you to have your say on my blog and if you’ll invite me to follow you on one of your “investigations”, I’ll write about it. Sounds fair, right?

So here’s my question for you my readers: Answer in the comments, would you live in a haunted house, maybe if it was only lightly haunted?

Have a great Sunday and thanks for reading! ~Phil

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STOP THROWING THINGS AT PERFORMERS!

Posted on July 11, 2023 | 4 comments

Just the other day Harry Styles, a supremely talented performer, was hit by an object thrown by a fan. What is wrong with you people? I’d like to say this didn’t happen back in my day, but it did happen then as well. (Meat Loaf) As I was researching for this post, incident after incident came up.

People who want to be part of the show are the dumbest people I’ve ever seen. I’ve easily been to over 100 concerts and I don’t think that any concert ever has been made better by an audience member who thinks that because you paid for a ticket you have a right to insert yourself into the performance. Whether it’s a comedian or a musician, inserting yourself into a performance never makes you look good in anyone’s eyes. Dudes, seriously, your dumb ass buddies may laugh at your little prank until the cops take you away, but more importantly, the ladies are not impressed by stupidity.

Singer Bebe Rexha. Pic from Latestly

Yes, I know I sound like a crotchety old man, but inserting yourself by heckling a singer or comedian is idiotic. You are impressing exactly no one. Trying to agitate a comedian is ridiculously stupid. Don’t you realize that they have been on stage for years and are ten times as quick witted as you are dumb.

And why are you idiots throwing your cell phones? They only cost you about a thousand dollars/900 Euros. The celebrities are definitely not going to call you. You just gave them your phone! How smart is that? Now that security has your phone, they can track you down and arrest you. If you want to throw away a thousand bucks, just look up my email in the contact info and send it to me.

Eventually there will be consequences. The ticket prices will rise to weed out the riff-raff. (Yes, sadly I just said riff-raff. I’m getting super old) There will also be barriers. If objects continue to be thrown, they will put up plexiglass barriers between the performers and the audience. How fun will that be?

Remember how during COVID we would get our foreheads scanned when we entered some offices or businesses? If only they could do that but to weed out the dumb asses before they get into concerts.

Any way, that’s my rant for today. If only one of these dumb asses read my blog and learned, I might have made the world marginally better. Sadly, I’m pretty sure the dumb-asses aren’t big on reading. If you dolts want to heckle someone, come here and do it in the comments!

Have a great Tuesday! ~Phil

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Are Psychics Real? Uri Geller and I Think So!

Posted on July 8, 2023 | 1 comment

Yes, I will continue to use this picture that I created in 2017. See? I knew what you were thinking, because I’m a psychic.

Are psychics real? That’s a big question isn’t it? Many people go to see psychics in a variety of venues for a variety of reasons and a lot of those people report their psychics as being knowledgeable and helpful.

Hmm… I wonder if Uri Geller psychically knows that I’m using his name to attract readers? Probably. Uri, if you’re reading this, I’d love to interview you.

Many “psychics” have made lucrative careers on stage and TV, as well as your local psychic who charges $100/hour for a tarot reading. The question is, do these psychics truly have the ability to read minds, see the past and future, and bend spoons? And, are these psychics qualified to give you advice on important life issues?

I do believe that some people do have legitimate psychic abilities, but that’s probably a much smaller number than the number of people who call themselves psychics.

Picture Courtesy Parade.com

The one group that most people are familiar with is tarot card readers. A person can give a great tarot card reading without being a psychic. Some tarot readers are actually very skilled therapists in how they work with a client through a reading. Some tarot readers are psychic and some are not, but either can be very helpful.

The pictures on the tarot cards are intended to project a general theme that either you or the tarot reader can interpret and expand upon, relating that theme to things in your life. As the tarot reader reveals each card it adds another layer of depth or nuance to the original theme that you or they attached to the first card. Tarot readers are one kind of psychic. There are many others.

Psychic Uri Geller

Another kind of psychic is the reality show/Las Vegas psychic. These type of psychics always make me a little uneasy. Not because I think they are all fakes, but because I think some of them are fakes. The guy in the picture above is psychic Uri Geller, who is best known for bending spoons with his mind. Yes, I believe that he really did that and I really believe that he is a psychic. Why do I believe that? I’m reading a book on his life and he has done so much more than just spoon bending. His life has been so unbelievably crazy that it deserves it’s own post, coming soon after this one. 

Btw Uri, if you’re reading this and know I want to interview you, just send me the answers. I’m sure you already know my questions. 

In addition to tarot card readings and putting on entertaining stage shows where they channel the spirit and voice of your late Aunt Audrey, psychics have a lot of different ways that their abilities are manifested.

Some can hold an object and tell the history of that particular object. Others have claimed to have the ability to leave their bodies and travel to and observe others. There is what’s called remote viewing, where psychics are able to mentally see what’s going on somewhere else far away. Telepathy, precognition, and telekinesis are some of the topics I’ll be exploring in my next few posts. If there are any other types of psychic phenomena that you’d like to hear more about, just give me a shout in the comments. 

Thanks for reading (my mind) Especially you Uri! ~Phil

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How Do You Feel About “Threads”?

Posted on July 6, 2023 | Leave a comment

Pic from CNN.com

This week Meta/Zuckerberg have launched a social media app that is pretty much the same as Twitter. And it’s clearly no coincidence that he launched it the day after Twitter limited the number of tweets that people could view each day.

Paraphrasing what someone said on Threads today, “Now we have to decide which terrible nerdy billionaire that we hate the least?”  

Pic from The Scotsman

Look at those smug bastards! They’re trying to control our perception of the world and trying to shape that perception to their own personal ideals. Mark my words, it’s only a matter of time until one of them runs for President.

What I find alarming is that with this latest move, Zuckerberg is trying to consolidate all major social media under his Meta umbrella. He has Facebook, Instagram, and now Threads. If Threads truly pulls people away from Twitter, Zuckerberg and his minions will have significant control over a large portion of the worlds populations perception of things.

Also, he’ll be data mining the eff out of us and using that information for anything he and his company want. That’s a worst case scenario.

It’s also possible that this move by Zuckerberg may fracture and divide social media even further. Maybe it’s an opportunity for everyone to find their tribe in different places.  That would be a best case scenario.

What do you think? Have you or will you join Threads?

Happy Friday! ~Phil

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Interview: An Evening at Macri Park with Sean Barna

Posted on June 29, 2023 | 2 comments

I travel for work. Back in March, after a long day of driving, I was in Erie, Pennsylvania. I got to my hotel room, dropped my stuff and headed to the hotel restaurant for a beer and dinner. I sat at the bar so that I wouldn’t be taking up a table all by myself.

As I was finishing up my dinner, two guys came in and sat down at the corner of the bar. They talked loudly, laughed and bantered with the bartender. I had spent my work day having had about six 5-minute conversations. That was it for my socialization for the entire day. So, I picked up my beer, moved down the bar and inserted myself into their conversation.

If I was a musician, my album would be An Evening at The Hampton Inn. Doesn’t have the same ring as “Macri Park” does it? That’s how I met Sean Barna and his music producer Dave. A little over two months later Sean released a new album, so I thought I’d ask him a few questions about it.

TPF: Sean, your album “An Evening at Macri Park,”  is named after a bar in Brooklyn. How did that particular bar earn the honor?

Sean: There are, as you can imagine plenty of queer bars in NYC. Brooklyn nightlight and queer culture has historically been a bit more underground and a bit more envelope-pushing than what you will find in Hell’s Kitchen or Greenwich Village (I mean, of course, in the modern era of queer culture and art — not 1969).

Macri Park, at the time I was a regular, embodied this spirit more completely than some of the other spaces, in my opinion. I was a regular at a Monday night drag show, “Mondays on Mondays (on Tuesday Morning),” where I met such an eclectic and fabulous group of creatures and characters. The third set, which usually happened around 3am, featured an “open stage”… any drag queen could perform. This was beautiful in a way: a more well-known queen might stop by after their gig and give a show, and then some queen trying it for the first time might go on. Really a cool, welcoming place.
TPF: You have a unique voice and your music has a unique sound. Who were some of your influences?  Is there an artist that you grew up trying to emulate?
Sean: The only time I tried to emulate anyone was as a drummer, especially in high school and early in college. I was and remain, first and foremost, a drummer. I did not write any complete songs until I was 25 years old. This is relevant because I think emulation is more of a young person’s thing — I have no interest in sounding like anyone, at least on purpose. That being said, I started writing songs because I saw Counting Crows on August 18th, 2007. By this, I mean I started writing words down and exploring the possibility of vulnerability. Adam Duritz has since changed my life many more times — singing on my first album, CISSY and now on An Evening at Macri Park, as well as bringing me on tour as his direct support for two months.
TPF: Your identity as a member of the LGBTQ community is a big part of who you are and how you market yourself.  How did that evolve for you?
Sean: I am a musician, first and foremost. I resented having to “announce” queerness. I resent that society has created this situation where this has to be a main subject. Of course I understand why you are asking, but is me being queer anymore who I am as being straight is for a straight person? Sexually, no. But culturally, queer people are forced to announce it. And so, yes, of course it is relevant.
THIS ALL BEING SAID, every statistic that illuminates an ill of society is worse for queer people, but it becomes worse still for queer people of color, and much, much worse for trans people of color. I am one of the least vulnerable queer people on the planet. White, straight-passing if I want, masculine, from the United States.  All of this is to say, if I had a microphone and chose not not speak up, how dare I? That would make me a joke.
TPF: On your album you have two songs with Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. How did that partnership happen, and will there be more in the future?
Sean: Actually, he is on six songs. He sings lead vocals on two: Sparkle When You Speak has a chorus that just sounds better in his range, and let’s me do Madonna improvisations over the top. Be a Man, which I wrote on his piano while I was cat sitting, is my song, but I asked him to write his own verse. He sings background vocals on a few others.

Sean and Adam

ANYWAY, he hosts and is lead-organizer of a festival called Underwater Sunshine Festival (previously Outlaw Roadshow). Basically, he gets bands he and his friends like together for a weekend of music and laughs and beer. I played one of them because one of the organizers let me play. He saw me play my song, “Cutter Street“, and he and I have been in touch ever since. Now, however, he is one of my best friends and I would do anything for that man.
TPF: You’re signed with the Kill Rock Stars (https://killrockstars.com) label. You had to be super stoked to be working with them. Were you aware of their legacy going back to the 90’s?
Sean: I was vaguely aware. In the 90’s I was listening to classic rock. In the 2000’s, I was listening to classic rock and jazz, and eventually classical. I do not focus on legacy and I am not sure they do either. I told Slim, the owner, that I wanted to make a “fucked up bluegrass record” and he was stoked. So, I found my family pretty quick. Nowhere I would rather be.

Sean and his music producer Dave Drago of 1809 Studios

 TPF: You’ve been a musician your whole life. What is the best “rock and roll” moment you’ve ever had? 
Sean: Anytime you can headline a sold out show, regardless of the venue size, and get assholes kicked out for yelling over the band or being dicks in some other way… that’s a good day. Most rock and roll however would have to be when three guys wanted to take me home on the same night after a show and I went with the guy who would let my band come too so they had somewhere to stay. I refer to this briefly in my song, “Naked Heart.”
TPF: So apparently groupies is still a thing. And for my readers under 18, The Phil Factor is not encouraging wanton sexual behavior, but hey, if you’re over 18, have at it!
Thanks again to you Sean. I’m honored to have met you and more so that you took the time for this interview. For my audience, you can find Sean’s album anywhere you buy or stream music. You can follow Sean through his website and he’s a great follow on IG as SeanBarna.

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A Great New Book From Author Ritu Bhathal !

Posted on June 26, 2023 | Leave a comment

TPF: I am happy to host author Ritu Bhathal on my blog for the first time. We’ve known each other through our blogs for the last ten years. Hi, Ritu, and thank you for joining me on The Phil Factor to talk about your books. Your current book, Straight as a Jalebi, is the second in the Rishtay series. Could you tell us a little about Marriage Unarranged, book 1 in the series?

Ritu: Hi Phil! Thank you for inviting me over!  Yes, so Marriage Unarranged started out as a stand-alone novel over 20 years ago. It was the novel I felt was that one book they say is within each and every one of us. I love writing about my culture and topics close to my heart. It just happened that when I began it, I was planning my own wedding, so a story based loosely around marriage felt apt. In the book, which bears no resemblance to my own experiences – you’d be surprised how many people ask me if it is based on reality – Aashi, the main character, is getting ready for her dream wedding to Ravi. But she discovers he has been cheating on her, and this sparks a chain of events that leads to her discovering more about herself on a trip to India, with her two brothers and best friend. Aashi grows as a person, and we learn more about her brothers and best friend, and another person who becomes a part of their travelling group while out there. He may or may not allow her to believe in relationships again.

TPF: Your second book in the series, Straight as a Jalebi, focuses on a character struggling with the possibility of a non-traditional relationship that his very traditional British-Asian family may not understand. In both of your books, your characters struggle with the challenge of facing stigmas from family and friends. Are those feelings and fears something that would be very real in England today? 

Ritu: It does, indeed. As I mentioned before, this was never a planned series. In fact, I totally pantsed the plot of the first book, so when I finished, the other characters kept on talking to me. They wanted more of their stories to be explored, and the seed of a storyline had planted itself in Marriage Unarranged, which was natural to explore further.
This time the story centers around Sunny, Aashi’s older brother, and him dealing with alien feelings for someone he shouldn’t be thinking of in that manner. The story is set in the early 2000s, so there was even less acceptance and openness regarding sexuality.
I never set out to write moral-challenging books, but as I wrote, these issues that are so common in my culture cropped up and I decided it would be good to write more openly about them.
Much thinking has changed over the years with the younger generations but there are still stigmas in the older generations regarding so much, like broken engagements, children out of wedlock, sexuality and much more. They are felt in India and England, absolutely.
TPF: As an aside, if you don’t know what jalebi is, which I didn’t until I looked it up, it is a popular sweet snack popular in India, south and west Asia, Africa, and Mauritius. And this is what it looks like:
TPF: Your books have had nothing but great reviews. Have you faced any negative feedback related to the somewhat controversial subjects?
Ritu: Thank you for saying that, Phil! I have been thrilled with the feedback so far. You give so much of yourself when you write, so the reviews are the icing on the cake. The only mildly negative reviews I had with Marriage Unarranged were from Indian Nationals who hadn’t read the book description properly and thought I was writing about modern-day India, not the early 2000s. There has been much progression there, which many know, but back then, things were much like what I wrote about. I visited India in those years, so the descriptions I wrote about attitudes, and the areas the scenes are set, were true to that time. Some I was able to explain. Some I didn’t bother with!
TPF: Your current day job is as a teacher. Do your students know that you’re a famous author?
Ritu: I do love my students! They are very young, so the books I write wouldn’t register with them. However, my colleagues know and some parents who have even read the books are extremely supportive!
TPF: Your Rishtay series has been very well received. Is there a book 3 in the works?
Ritu: There is, indeed! It will have Bali, Aashis younger brother and best friend at the forefront. and, yes, there is another stigma surrounding the issue at the forefront! This time I will be exploring infertility. and who knows… there may be more. There is plenty to keep writing about!

TPF: Ritu, thank you for visiting The Phil Factor and congratulations on the success of your new book. For all my readers who are interested in learning more about Ritu and her books, you can find her at:

Ritu Bhathal – Author, Poet, Storyteller

 And you should definitely follow her blog which is linked to at her website!
Thanks for reading, and Happy Monday! ~Phil

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My Favorite Paranormal Podcast

Posted on June 24, 2023 | 1 comment

To be clear, the podcast is not paranormal. No one is sending it to me psychically. The podcast in question is Greg & Dana’s Haunted Objects Podcast. Over the last several months I have tried several paranormal podcasts. Some are of the “tin hat” type of crowd and others are very knowledgeable and experienced, but the paranormal investigators are not always great broadcasters. Greg, Dana, Connor, and Keelin are anything but boring.

The name of the podcast is misleading. It is about so much more than haunted objects. Greg and Dana are a couple. She’s a self-proclaimed witch and paranormal investigator. He is a paranormal investigator and multi-media producer. Together with their fun loving crew they are producers of some of the most interesting and entertaining paranormal content online, in podcasts, and on TV.

Greg and Dana are also the curators of The Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult. They have an advisory board that includes many of the most experienced and erudite paranormal minds in the business.

On their podcast, they essentially do what I did over the past six weeks with my blog posts, introducing a wide variety of paranormal subjects and exploring the history and science of each different type of paranormal phenomena. They intersperse funny stories from their travels and investigations, and sometimes do experiments to prove or disprove certain phenomena.

The time they went Bigfoot hunting with Jeff Goldblum

Above is a picture from Season 2, episode 5 of Jeff Goldblum’s show The World According to Jeff. That’s the only litmus test that I need. If Jeff Goldblum likes them, then I’m all on board.

If you have a sense of humor, like podcasts and the paranormal, then you need to listen to Greg & Dana’s Haunted Objects podcast.

Also, I would highly recommend that you check out Hellier,  a docuseries on Amazon Prime,  that they produced a few years ago. It follows their several years long paranormal investigation that has some truly bizarre turns. It is so much more fun than those ghost shows.

Also keep your eyes open later this summer for The Unbinding, which chronicles their harrowing experience with a haunted/cursed relic that they discovered in the Catskill region of New York.

 

Hey Greg and Dana, if you ever see this blog post, I’d love to interview you for my blog! Email me Authorphiltaylor@gmail.com or on Twitter @ThePhilFactor

Have a great weekend! ~Phil

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