Wicked Witch – Looking to God

Anniversary Week—Part II (2014)

Posted on December 31, 2014January 2, 2015 by Jack Flacco

December 17th was the two-year anniversary when Jack Flacco: The Official Site went live. In celebration of this milestone, I will be presenting the Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts of 2014.

First, I would like to thank all the folks who took the opportunity to visit my site this year. I have to say, you’ve flattered me by all the attention you’ve shown me. If you’re interested to see how much attention this site received, check out this week’s Monday Mayhem post for the 2014 stats of views and visitors.

Moving along. When choosing the Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts, I first wanted to present them based on amount of views. The more I thought of it though, more it didn’t make sense. For instance, a visitor may pop into the site and hit the same post several times within the day. I didn’t think it fair, considering there could have only been two visitors for that day and a hundred views.

Next, I thought I’d use comments as the benchmark. You know, the more comments a post has, the more popular it is. Again, I didn’t think it represented a good way to measure popularity given I can comment on my own post a dozen times and push it ahead on the popularity scale.

No, what I used is the number of “likes” a post has garnered throughout the year. It will not only present a fair representation of popularity for a post but also prevents users from gaming the system with multiple “likes”.

Okay, let’s get to list.

The Top 5 Most Popular Women Who Wow Wednesday posts of 2014 (including the three-way tie for second):

Allison & Claire

The Breakfast Chicks—“Saturday, March 24, 1984, Shermer High School—It begins at 7:00 A.M. with five students serving detention. Each one coming from a different background. Each one has a reason for being there. ‘… And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They’re quite aware of what…” ~48 likes
The Wicked Witch of the West

The Wicked Witch of the West—“No one can deny after seeing The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is a frightening gal. The first time I saw her on TV was when I was four. If you want to cite childhood memories that may have traumatized a growing young lad, this was it. What would the end of…” ~44 likes

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster

Clarice Starling—“Nailed to a tree as five separate signs, the message to everyone who dares venture into the FBI training ground is clear: Hurt. Agony. Pain. Love—it. Pride. With those words, the chilling movie The Silence of the Lambs begins. As Women Who Wow Wednesday continues its month-long tribute to women who rock Horror, which began…” ~44 likes

Amy Adams is Giselle in Enchanted

Giselle—“Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom known as Andalasia, lived a maiden with whom the prince would share true love’s kiss. Her name was Giselle, and she dreamed of holding hands and dancing with her one true love. How many of you think this is Sleeping Beauty? Show of hands, c’mon. How about…” ~44 likes
The Book of Eli’s Solara

Solara—“When is it right to kill. When is it right to eat of the earth that which it provides as food? The death of an animal may prove fatal for the animal, but for a human it becomes food. So begins the film The Book of Eli, in ash-filled woods with a cat chewing on…” ~43 likes
Kate Winslet as Clementine

Clementine—“Few women in life are memorable. Fewer women in film are so. Joel (Jim Carrey) doesn’t remember ripping the pages from his journal. Apparently, it’s been two years since his last entry. Taking a day off work in February, walking the beach in Montauk seems to ease his preoccupation with the guy who had hit…” ~40 likes
Frozen’s Anna and Elsa

Anna and Elsa—“If you haven’t seen the movie Frozen and want to see it, don’t read this post. I will spoil it for you. Jump to the last paragraph. If you have seen it, then you will know why I chose both Anna and Elsa as this week’s Women Who Wow Wednesday feature. I couldn’t choose one…” ~37 likes

Come back Friday when I reveal the Top 5 Most Popular Freedom Friday posts of 2014. Don’t miss it!

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Do you have a favorite Women Who Wow Wednesday post you’d recommend to your friends?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Meadow Soprano

Posted on November 12, 2014November 14, 2014 by Jack Flacco

If you’ve ever seen The Sopranos then you’ll know Meadow Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is Tony Soprano’s daughter. Some may think she’s an unlikely candidate for a Women Who Wow Wednesday tribute. I beg to differ. As you’ll see, Meadow is a lot smarter than the average young woman and a heck of a verbal fighter. There’s nothing in her vocabulary that would compel anyone to call her a doormat.

[Author’s note: For those who have been following my Women Who Wow Wednesday series since its inception in December of 2012, I write these posts in honor of female fictional characters who show more than an interest in being good role models for women everywhere. Yes, I write about darker characters, too (i.e. The Wicked Witch of the West, Kathryn Merteuil from the movie Cruel Intentions, etc.), but only in the context of them possessing the ability to lead. Other than that, I do not enjoy watching female characters in film act as doormats when I know they could do better. The same goes for real life.]

In Meadow’s case, she’s a mob boss’ daughter, an honor student and will eventually end up working in law under the auspices of social reform and aid for the less fortunate. If anyone deserves a U.N. honorary role for human rights, it’s Meadow Soprano. She never agrees with government policy that works against poverty. Not only is she a social issues maverick but also a leader.

How did she get this way? Having Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as a father helps, since just when he thinks he has the upper hand, she knows how to play him perfectly. For instance, one evening she uses her grandmother’s house for a late-night party, but gets off with minimal punishment from her parents. This is after her friends had trashed the place, leaving behind broken windows, soiled walls, and vomit on the floor. The next morning, she apologizes and, as a preemptive strike, suggests her parents take away her Discovery card for three weeks. They cede thinking it’s a great idea. She walks away with a smile on her face.

The other instance where she shows her metal is when she is dating Jackie Aprile Jr., the son of the late mob boss of the Soprano family. She suspects him cheating on her, but it isn’t until she chases after him that she discovers the truth. In the throes of a massive head cold, she catches him with another woman and dumps him right on the spot that evening. She never returns, which shows her resolve as someone who thinks better of herself than stay with someone who lies and is an abusive mate.

Meadow Soprano is more than a young woman on the road to discovery. She grows to become an advocate for the poor, a loving daughter, and a close friend to those who need a friend. She’s a wonderful role model for women looking for an alternative lifestyle without all the drama associated with personal relationships.

In other words, Meadow is someone who would make a good friend for life.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

Have you seen The Sopranos? What are your feelings toward the character Meadow Soprano?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

The Wicked Witch of the West

Posted on October 29, 2014October 31, 2014 by Jack Flacco

No one can deny after seeing The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is a frightening gal. The first time I saw her on TV was when I was four. If you want to cite childhood memories that may have traumatized a growing young lad, this was it.

What would the end of Women Who Wow Wednesday‘s Horror month be without The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West? I dare you to count the number of w’s in that sentence.

There’s a whole history behind the green-skinned lady, but this post won’t contain any of that. In fact, I’m not even going to include how her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, died. Well, we know a house fell on her. That’s about it. Has anyone else ever asked what that woman was doing there in the first place? Was she just standing around waiting for it or was she flying on her broomstick when the house slammed into her? Okay, so maybe I have included a little history with this post.

The other thing I remember about the Wicked Witch was her cackle. Oh, such a dastardly laugh it was. That line where she says, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!” It still sends chills up my spine. Is it me or does she get meaner as the years go on? Maybe it’s just me. She certainly knows how to scare the pants off a grownup.

Since I’m quoting lines from the movie, here are a few more that make me want to run away and lock myself in my room with the covers over my head:

“Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents, too!”

“How about a little fire, Scarecrow?”

“Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Come back! I’ll give you Auntie Em, my pretty! Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!”

“Going so soon? I wouldn’t hear of it. Why my little party’s just beginning.”

“What a nice little dog. And you, my dear, what an unexpected pleasure. It’s so kind of you to want to visit me in my loneliness.”

“The last to go will see the first three go before her. And her mangy little dog too.”

“You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I’m going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!”

Tell me you don’t hear her voice when you’re reading those lines to yourself. I still can hear it and I’m not even trying.

Yes, the Wicked Witch belongs in an asylum, but you can’t tell me she doesn’t wow. As bad as she is, she is a character everyone recognizes. For this reason, her image has remained with me since a child. Maybe one day, I can watch The Wizard of Oz without that scary feeling I get in the pit of my stomach reminding me of the first time.

Until then, I’ll watch her again and again covering my eyes as if I were on a roller coaster. It’s the only way to survive a scary ride.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.

What do you remember of the first time you saw The Wizard of Oz? Were you as frightened to see her the first time I was?

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