The girl was really getting the hang of the whole childhood thing. Oh, sure, the move to San Francisco had rocked her world for a while (as chronicled in 2015’s Inside Out). But she’d settled in just fine (eventually). She was excelling in school. She was tearing up the ice. She had a couple of fantastic friends, Grace and Bree. What more could a girl want?

Yep, all of Riley’s emotions would agree that their now 13-year-old girl was turning out just great. And those emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust—rarely agree on anything.

Then, wouldn’t you know it, puberty had to come in and wreck everything.

Wreck is the operational word here, at least as far as Riley’s emotions are concerned. One minute, the puberty alarm on Riley’s emotional control bank is blaring. The next, a team of blue construction workers storms headquarters, saws and crowbars in hand, and completely decimates the control room. The workers say that it’s all to make room for the others.

And then those others start showing up.

Anxiety arrives first, all teeth and eyes and frazzled hair. Envy shows up and fawns over the control board. Embarrassment, a big galloot of an emotion, tries to hide in his hoodie. And Ennui lounges on a couch—oh so over everything—and fiddles with her phone.

No problem, right? I mean, it’s not like this is Joy’s first rodeo with meddlesome emotions. They’re all part of the team! And as long as Joy’s in control, everything will be fine. Just fine.

But when Riley goes to an important three-day hockey camp and (at Joy’s urging) goofs off with her friends, the hockey coach makes it clear that unbridled joy in this setting is not fine. It’s not fine at all. If Riley wants to be a top hockey player—perhaps even one that makes the high school team as a freshman—she’ll need to work. She’ll need to focus. There’s a time and place for joy, but this camp ain’t it.

Anxiety gently nudges Joy aside and takes the controls. If Riley hopes to succeed in this unfamiliar world, the girl could use a little anxiety. She could use a little motivational stress. Riley’s a teenager now, after all. Time to put away those childish things and grow up. Grow into an entirely different person who can cope with all of life’s present stresses and future uncertainties.

“This is not Riley!” Joy protests.

“I know!” Anxiety tells her. “It’s a better Riley!”

But is it?

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And of course, it did.

Her dad got lost before their flight even lifted off in New York. Ruth ended up flying without him and having to wait around an extra day just for him to finally arrive. And then when he did get to Warsaw, he wouldn’t board the train—tickets she’d already purchased. Then he started harping on her about her divorce, her empty life, her eating habits. Argh!

What she really wanted was something simple: to go back to where her parents were both raised. She wanted to see their hometown; get a sense of what their world might have looked like. She wanted to understand what it must have been like to be a Jew during World War II and to be shipped off to Auschwitz like her father and his family had been.  

Most of all, she wanted to see how she fit into all that twisted history, that misery. How is she connected? Her father, ever large and jovial, never talks about it. Yes, he’ll give her a squeeze and call her Pumpkin, but he never seems to ever tell her how he actually feels about anything.

So here they are wasting the train tickets she already purchased, taking silly side trips to places she didn’t want to go, and arguing about her failed marriage.

Oh, and the cherry on top of it all: She can’t speak Polish. So her father has to talk for them wherever they go!

What a trip.

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“It’s a total pop-culture fantasy. But because hitmen have been a staple of books, movies and TV for the last 50 years, good luck getting anyone to believe their existence is all a myth.”

In truth, Gary’s part-time work for the New Orleans Police Department as an undercover hitman in murder-for-hire cases couldn’t be further from the truth of who he is. You see, the real Gary is a college psych and philosophy professor. He likes birding and electronics. He lives alone with two cats.

But when he enters the field, he plays an entirely different role. For one meeting, Gary adopts a Russian accent and wig. For another, he takes on the role of a skeet-shooting redneck. Each character he plays is a disguise donned to cater to the fantasy of what those looking for hitmen believe such a man looks like. And when the target confesses to wanting someone murdered and hands over the cash for payment, that’s when the police swoop in with enough evidence to put the person in jail.

At least, that’s how it usually works.

But that was before Gary (or, this time, the suave Rob) sat down with Madison. She’d contacted him in the hope that he might eliminate her abusive and controlling husband. And “Rob” senses that she’s not a killer at heart. So instead, he tells her to take her money and use it to start a new life—and if she needs someone to talk to, she can text him.

Well, Madison does walk away. And she does text him. Madison and “Rob” hit it off. And soon, Gary finds himself pretending to be Rob the hitman more often than he’s Gary.

And soon, all that faking just may come back to bite him.

The post Hit Man appeared first on Plugged In.

Those states of being aren’t, frankly, things that we often dwell on.

I mean, sure, everyone is aware of the fact that we’ll all die someday. But it’s the someday part of the equation that helps us focus on other things. And that’s particularly true for Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett.

These two cops have been partners and putting their lives on the line for decades now. And focusing on the fact that they may get hit with a stray bullet or a speeding vehicle at any moment will only make them hesitate, potentially at the wrong time.

But both of these guys are still thinking pretty hard about life and death these days.

Mike just got married, for instance. And having a loved one he could lose or leave behind if he makes the wrong choice has left him unsure of himself. He’s even had stressful moments lately that amount to a panic attack in the heat of gunfire.

Marcus, on the other hand, is thinking about life and death from a totally different perspective. While celebrating at Mike’s wedding, Marcus had a heart attack and died. He was literally dead and gone for a while there.

And in that space of time—while the paramedics were shocking him with a defibrillator and hustling his body to the hospital—Marcus saw visions. He saw his life (and past lives) flash before his eyes, and he met with Capt. Howard, a beloved officer who was recently murdered. 

Marcus came back from that experience with a new zeal for life. Not only did the good captain encourage Marcus to relish the family and loved ones he has, but he assured him that he couldn’t be killed. It wasn’t yet his “time.”

So while Mike is becoming overly cautious, Marcus is ready to charge into gunfire with no fear at all. As you might expect, that isn’t a good balance for cops facing danger. And the fact is, Marcus and Mike need all the balance they can get right now.

You see, someone is setting up the deceased Capt. Howard as a corrupt cop. There’s incriminating evidence spilling out and Mexican drug cartel money in the mix. The bad boy cops are the captain’s only defenders. And before you can sing, “Whatcha gonna do?” Mike and Marcus are being stitched into the frame up, too.

The FBI is after them. Their own police force has them on its radar. And there’s a gangland bounty on their heads. Who’s behind all this? And why is it happening now? 

Mike and Marcus haven’t got a clue, but they’ve got to lay low, dig in and find out what they can.

After all, this has now become a matter of life and death.

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Colt Seavers used to fall for a living.

Sure, it wasn’t all falling. Sometimes he’d just dangle off a helicopter. Or throw himself against a rock. Or maybe light himself on fire.

All in a day’s work for a Hollywood stuntman.

Not that Colt complained about all the falls and jumps and flames. As the go-to body double for the Tom Ryder, one of the top action stars on the planet, work was fun. The pay was decent. And more often than not, he worked side-by-side with his camera-operating girlfriend, Jody Moreno.

But all that was before Colt had an uncomfortable reunion with gravity: A fall went wrong, and the accident broke his back, his spirit and his relationship. And while he physically recovered, Colt abandoned his career and Jody both. He works as a valet now: The closest he gets to stunt work is parallel parking.

Or it was—until Gail called.

That’d be Executive Producer Gail. Hollywood Mogul Gail. Tom Ryder’s Favorite Film Exec Gail. Seems that Tom’s working on another huge movie in Australia—something called Metalstorm. Gail wants Colt to get back in the game and be the film’s primary stuntman.

Oh, and did Gail mention that Jody—Colt’s still-beloved ex-girlfriend—is the film’s director? And that she asked for Colt specifically?

That’s all Colt needs to hear. He hops on the first flight to Australia, arrives on set and discovers that Jody … said no such thing. In fact, she’d be quite happy if Colt took the first flight home.

Executive producers have never been known for their honesty.

But soon, Gail tells Colt why she really flew him all the way to Australia: Tom is missing. He hasn’t been seen for days. Gail knows that Tom and Colt have a long history: If anyone can find the movie star, sober him up and get him back on set, it’s Colt.

But finding Tom won’t be so easy.

For years, Colt used to fall for a living. But this time he’s working without a harness—and he just might be falling into more than he can handle.

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You’ve got Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Rowlf and, of course, Kermit the Frog. They, alongside plenty of others, are famous names in households all across the world.

But every story has its beginning. And Kermit is ready to share it: the story of how the Muppets—approximately—got started.

You see, Kermit wasn’t always the green movie star you know him as today. At one point, he was content simply to play his banjo in his Floridian swamp. But when he hears about an offer of fame in Hollywood that’d give him the opportunity to make millions of people happy, well, he’s as tickled pink as any green frog could be.

Along the way, he meets many others looking to find fame in Hollywood, too, including plenty of the aforementioned names so familiar with us all.

But he also meets a dastardly villain, too: Doc Hopper, a Col. Sanders-like man who’d like Kermit to be the spokesman for his fried frog legs restaurant chain. And let’s just say that he’s got the deep fryers already sizzling in the event that Kermit declines the offer.

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No one is more excited than Hinata, a Karasuno player who’s been dying to have a real match against his friend Kenma, who plays for Nekoma. And though the reserved Kenma won’t admit it to anyone else, he’s excited to play, too.

The match is set to be a good one—even other teams at nationals are pausing to watch this fierce rivalry between two skilled teams. In fact, they’re calling it the “Dumpster Battle,” because the teams’ respective mascots, a crow and a cat, are animals that frequently pick food out of the trash.

People gather because they know it’ll be a close match. Karasuno’s offensive power is evenly matched by Nekoma’s defense—making every point a war of attrition. But someone must eventually come out on top.

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Take Ezra, a joke-cracking, Dostoyevsky-loving, hug-hating kid on the cusp of puberty. Oh, he’s autistic, too. His dad, Max, will be happy to tell you all about it during his comedy sets.

“He didn’t speak for years,” Max says as his audience sips their drinks. But then, “when he started speaking, he wouldn’t shut up.”

Funny? Sure, autism can be funny—just like Max’s own myriad dysfunctions can be, assuming they don’t land him in prison or the hospital. (And even then, they might supply some pretty great material.) But even as Max mines Ezra’s condition for laughs, he knows those yucks come with tears, too. And worry. And issues.

Oh, so many issues.

Take today, for instance. In school, something set Ezra off. He stormed out of his class and into the street—taking most of his classmates along with him.

Ezra’s a great kid, and a smart one, too. But that little stunt earned him three Ds: a dangerous, disrespectful disturbance. Even though Ezra has done reasonably well in a normal-school setting, his teachers say there’ve been just too many disturbances. They tell Max and his ex-wife, Jenna, that it’s not fair to the other students. It’s not fair to Ezra. He needs to go to a specialized school.

Jenna gets it. Ezra’s special needs require special care. “A school built for him, how he needs to learn,” she tells Max. “No bullies. Kids just like him.”

“I’m a kid like him!” Max says. “And kids like us? We need to be with all kinds of kids!”

But when Ezra runs into the street again—this time at home, in the dead of night—Jenna and Max lose the ability to choose. The legal system takes over and forces both medication and a special school on Ezra. And when Max tries to punch the doctor prescribing the meds—well, he lands in the system’s jaws, too. With Max deemed a bad influence on his son, the court slaps Dad with a restraining order: no contact with Ezra for three months.

Max isn’t having it. His boy doesn’t need drugs. He needs a dad who’ll stand up for him. Who’ll do what needs to be done.

So late one night, Max leaves a critical comedy set early, sneaks Ezra out of Jenna’s house and packs him into the car.

Nothing wrong with Ezra that a secret, illegal, multistate road trip can’t cure, right?

The post Ezra appeared first on Plugged In.

They worked together, laughed together. And even though they were so very different, they became the best of friends. Through thick and thin they were held together by Ginny’s strong and persuasive personality. For years, these girls would endure a boring year just waiting for summer and another exhilarating summer camp together. 

Five or six decades later, though, their BFF “exhilaration” has, well, waned.

Mary is now an ER nurse who has a rather unhappy marriage. Nora is a widowed workaholic CEO of a chemical company. And Ginny? Ginny Moon is a Dr. Phil-like famous personality known far and wide for her catchphrase: “Get your sh-t together!”

Ginny is also a force of nature. So when she decides that it’s high time to gather the girls together for a summer camp reunion, it will happen. She spares no expense or effort to rent out Camp Pinnacle and to create a massive reunion for all the many campers from years ago.

And the three besties? Well they get nothing short of a decked-out, three-person cabin, redecorated and stocked by Martha Stewart herself.

Hey, even way-back-when camp crushes Tommy and Stevie D show up, much to Mary and Nora’s delight. Ginny, you see, has plans to not only rekindle the flames of friendship with her girls but maybe to spice up her friend’s lives with a little shoehorned-in-place romance as well.

I mean that’s what a relationship guru does, right?

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So God checks in and finds out that Hoprah is planning to step down from her media empire. And she wants Him to find a suitable successor to empower women everywhere. God has just the person in mind: a rich lawyer, doctor and part-time deliveryman named Taylor Pherry (the “p” is silent). This guy can do anything.

But you don’t just slip into Hoprah’s shoes. No, no, you’ve got to make a splash. So, God visits Pherry (the “p” is silent) and tells him to write a movie. Of course, Pherry (don’t forget the “p” thing) doesn’t know the first thing about screenwriting. But he does have a large family that’s packed with drama, so maybe he can write something about them.

There’s his grand-aunt, Madude, for instance. Some people think this hulking, whirlwind of a woman is actually a man in a dress, but no one would ever say that to her face. In fact, Pherry’s (the “p”—ah, let’s just call him Taylor), Taylor’s dad, Moe, is likely the only one to say nasty things to Madude. The two live together and constantly bicker profanely—like back-alley cats in a bag.

Then there’s Taylor’s cousin, Bethany, who’s divorcing her cheating husband and having rough sex with a moving-truck driver who draws abs on his stomach. His other cousin, Monte Carlo, is divorced and dealing with three young daughters whom he isn’t sure are even his.

The list of family members and whacky antics stretches on and on.

Their stories will probably make for a movie, Taylor figures. Maybe it’ll make for a hit. Maybe it’ll make the name Taylor Pherry (and his silent “p”) a household name.

Oh, but I forgot to say that the Devil has gotten word about God’s and Taylor’s plans, too. And he’s determined to do everything he can to make sure that the movie in question is an utter disaster. A trainwreck. He’ll make sure that no one will ever want to see this piece of dreck. And he’ll unleash all his hellish powers in his wicked quest.

But the dirty little secret is this: The Devil needn’t bother with that diabolical plot. Taylor will handle all of that on his own.

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