Month: May 2024

“From the Trader’s Desk”:
Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED FOR SEASON 7*

In each season of Billions, at least one episode has featured a song and t-shirt of a metal band that are Axe’s favorites. (Even an Axe-less Season 6 featured Mötley Crüe’s “Wild Side“.)

The writers of Billions make purposeful choices with music placement, so we know that these decisions are made to tell a story, shine a light on who the character is, or to set a tone. Gingersnap and I were holding out Season 7 will finally be the year of Iron Maiden but it was not to be. However, I do believe that somewhere out in the multiverse Bobby Axelrod is rocking a “Number of the Beast” t-shirt while listening to “Hallowed Be Thy Name” right before pulling the trigger on a billion dollar deal.

Now that the series in over,  let’s take a look back at a man and his music.

Continue reading ““From the Trader’s Desk”: Bobby Axelrod – a Man and his Music *UPDATED FOR SEASON 7*”

Let’s Salute Major Winters – the Rank and the Man – on Memorial Day

damianlewisdickwinters2
source: People Magazine

Today is Memorial Day – a day of remembrance honoring all men and women that died in active military service. And it gives us a great opportunity to salute all war heroes, and in particular Major Dick Winters and Easy Company.

I know a thing or two about war. My day job is to study and understand war. I have written academic articles on war, I have taught on war… and even though I can write about war for pages and talk about it for hours as a scholar, the human cost of war is still incomprehensible to me.

Let me take a moment and look at my own family. My maternal grandmother never knew her father because he was a soldier in WWI in the Eastern Front in Turkey, and he literally froze because of the cold as he fought against the Russians. My paternal grandmother never knew her father, either; because he was also a soldier in WWI and was killed by a shrapnel in Gallipoli as he fought against the Anzacs. Continue reading “Let’s Salute Major Winters – the Rank and the Man – on Memorial Day”

NotLinda Interviews Damianista about Fan Fun with Damian Lewis

Dear Damianista!

Thanks so much for the gift of Damian! I enjoyed your interview with him and that gave me a fun idea for Fan Fun! I’ve composed interview questions for YOU!

I’m certain we fans are also curious about the woman who curates the website.

So here is my interview “Fan Fun With Damianista.”

Hello Damianista, thank you for sitting down with us for a few questions. First I must point out that I was positively prescient when I described you years ago as a “pal” to Damian, over your objections!  “Of course I’m right, Bahar.”

Shall we?

Continue reading “NotLinda Interviews Damianista about Fan Fun with Damian Lewis”

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at Time Out London Spy Weekend

We all know Damian Lewis is not a stranger to spy stories. He played Hector Meredith, an MI5 agent, in John le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor on big screen. Our beloved Nicholas Brody was a double agent in Homeland. Damian narrated real-life spy stories in the docu-drama Spy Wars with Damian Lewis. And we have now seen him as cold war era MI6 agent Nicholas Elliott in the fantastic  mini-series A Spy Among Friends. And today I will take you all back to “Time Out London Spy Weekend” in 2016 where Damian read from le Carre’s memoir The Pigeon Tunnel.

ENJOY!

One of my best friends from high school, who lives in Istanbul, and I, who live in the US, make a decision to meet somewhere in between and choose London as sort of a mid-point. We buy our tickets in February for our very anticipated London trip in May. And now that I am back from the trip, I just can’t help congratulate myself for randomly choosing the BEST week in May to be in London! Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at Time Out London Spy Weekend”

In Memory of Alice Munro: A Country Doctor – Damianista’s Dream Role for Damian Lewis

Damianista’s note: I wrote the following post a few years ago as part of our “Dream Role for Damian Lewis” project. My dream role for Damian is based on a short story by Alice Munro, a Nobel Laurate and one of my favorite writers. Munro passed away yesterday and I would love to share my  dream role for Damian in her memory. Rest in peace, Ms. Munro.

I was very lucky to meet Damian Lewis in person for the first time at Cheltenham Literature Festival in October 2014. I probably stood out as the crazy fan at their book signing after his and Helen’s brilliant performance of reading love poems to each other from Allie Esiri’s The Love Book compilation. The Brits are proper. They do not ask for photos. I think I was the only one in that long queue who asked for a photo but also for a bit of his time citing that I came all the way from North Carolina (his state of residence for six months every year between 2011-2013 thanks to Homeland) to meet him! Continue reading “In Memory of Alice Munro: A Country Doctor – Damianista’s Dream Role for Damian Lewis”