A Couple Notes

Just a few random thoughts at the end of kinda weird, sometimes crazy, week.

* The ex and I saw "Lincoln" last last night. We both loved it which was no great surprise -- we're both history buffs and fans of Steven Spielberg. (we raised two more so I'm guessing that our kids won't miss it either). Daniel Day Lewis), Tommy Lee Jones, and Sally Field were outstanding (gross understatement) in their roles as President Lincoln,Thaddeus Stevens, and Mary Todd Lincoln respectively and Spielberg's production appeared to be right on -- I especially liked the antique feeling of the film and there was a surprise ending -- which was a surprise in itself. It was a kick to see Lincoln wandering around D.C. without a cadre of Secret Service guys! What bothers me most is that we're still fighting over the same damn stuff. Sigh. Here's the trailer:



* I was appalled at the nastiness that went on here and elsewhere over my Rubio post and I finally deleted/refused a lot of them. I don't have a blog to have my character maligned, my intelligence insulted, and my life torn to shreds and if you came to my home and behaved that way, I'd throw you out post haste. I'm a pretty tough old broad but there's line that decent people shouldn't cross. Thanks to all of you who supported me -- especially Cop Car who ran excellent defense. Those Kansas women are tough and smart!!!

* Speaking of YouTube, in my wanderings there I tripped a pair of delightful, creative young Croatian men who have been taking the music world by storm. They call themselves TwoCellos and are classically trained. Before y'all start yawning, picture cellos hooked to amps and play good old Rock and Roll!!! I just love them -- as I do any artist who really love what they're doing. I don't want to say that they're good but Sir Elton John has become one of their biggest fans. Here's some short video . . . AC/DC and Vivaldi, too. Did you ever think you'd see teens screaming over Vivaldi? They do. Here two videos that show their versatility and talent . . .







Hope y'all are having a great day!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!

Kay

TGIF

I'm glad it's Friday!  It's been a convoluted week on so many levels and that I'm not feeling all that well didn't help much. One of these days I'll feel really good and I won't know what to do with myself.

Dan was here almost all day and installed some plumbing. Good stuff!!!  He'd been down here three or four times in the past month and finally decided that new equipment was the only solution. Hallelujah! We get along okay and joke a lot and trade stories.  Another reason why I stay here.  And then I got to clean up the mess -- no fun but worth it.

A bit later I saw Bryce sitting on their steps looking woebegone and I said, "What's the matter, Punkin?"
and came over to tell me that he and his girlfriend broke up (which makes all of us grownups glad). So I gave him a hug and we talked about it and I got him to laugh.  He also had good news --  he's made the freshman football team and a very big deal because his high school is nationally known for its program. I promised that I would go to his games and holler for him and he grinned.   When Michelle came home, we talked about his day and offered assistance.  One of the things I do best is attend high school sports.  The Dynamic Duo were both athletes and I spent countless hours traveling to watch them play soccer, softball, basketball, volleyball and water polo as well as swimming and track,  Swimming was my favorite because it meant I had both kids in the same place at the same time -- until college. Sigh.



I just watched another truly excellent documentary.  This one was from PBS' American Masters series:  Alfred Stieglitz:  The Eloquent Eye.  Stieglitz was a pioneer in photography as art and became a  mentor of many of our greatest artists and photographers and was the first to show Pablo Picasso's paintings in this country.  I didn't know much about him until I saw the excellent film "Georgia O'Keefe" with whom he had a long relationship and marriage and this documentary filled in some blanks. It also included clips of of an interview with Ms. O'Keefe, whose work I love, at age eighty-one talking about him and his work. Both are available from Netflix and well worth your time if y'all enjoy the arts as much as I do. 

I'm hoping to take a field trip this weekend -- maybe down to Amish country -- but today is errand day so I'll be off and running.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Kay

Soul Searching in the Wee Hours

Y'all know that I'm a Netflix junkie. The range of material in its library never fails to surprise me. Lately, I've been on a history/documentary jag and they offer a lot of excellent material. I particularly enjoy PBS' American Experience Series which delves into the people and events that shaped our country -- from Dolly Madison to Roberto Clemente.

Last night I watched its tribute to Eugene O'Neill -- arguably the greatest of American playwrights with four Pulitzer Prizes and the Nobel Prize to his credit -- and my favorite playwright. I'm not certain why it practically tore my guts out but it did, so here I am writing this in the wee hours. Like most writers, O'Neill draws from his life experience -- and what a painful experience it was for him. The late sportswriter, Red Smith, said: "Writing is easy... just open a vein and bleed . . ." and if any of you have ever read O'Neill's autobiography-based "Long Day's Journey into Night", it will not surprise you that he was completely drained by the time he finished the book.

Why am I boring you with this? Because watching that documentary set off a bout of enlightenment and pain for me. It explained why I can't finish a lot of my writing projects or even talk about others. Will this epiphany make me face my demons? I don't know. What I do know is that knowing they are there is an excellent start.

Happy Blogging!!!!!

Kay

Tuesday Feels-Like-Monday Thoughts

Long holiday weekends mess  up my sense of time -- it doesn't matter that I rarely do anything worthy of note; they still leave me vaguely out of kilter.  I decided that instead of of just dismissing the antidepressant the doc gave out of hand, given my past experience, that I would be a  good little old gal and give 'em the old school try.  So I took the required dose before I went to bed and slept 9 hours straight -- which for me is rather long. Bet y'all are thinkin' 'Great!  She finally got some good sleep!' and y'all would be wrong.  I was groggy and disoriented alllllllllllll day.  I felt bad about it, too, 'cause Bryce and Gracie came over and I really didn't feel well and was teetering on the edge of an anxiety attack most of the day.  I was truly frightened.

Needless to say, I  didn't take it again last night and was just fine today and even did a few errands and cheered Gracie on as she rode her bike for me.  I swear that 60%  of the women I know over 50 are taking anti-depressants and about half of the prolly don't need them.  I don't need them either with the reactions I get from most of them.  And no, I'm not wildly thrilled  with my life but I just have to find something that will keep me busy and engaged on a limited income -- and that's a challenge since I'm pretty burnt out on volunteer work right now and would rather take a step back and recharge for the 2012 elections which makes sense to me. It's just a matter of finding the right thing. I'll be on the phone to the doc bright and early.  And no, I don't want another damn scrip, I'm just letting her know how it worked.

And oh yeah, I have another petition for y'all to sign here and pass it on, Justice Clarence Thomas is heinously violating 'conflict of interest' rules and accepting money from the wrong people. (Can you day 'Koch'? I knew you could.)   

Glad y'all enjoyed Jimmy Cagney -- he's an all-time favorite of mine, too!  Here's four minutes of fun with  Jimmy and  one of the best choreographed videos I've ever seen! It's a guaranteed grin!



The fireworks that have been exploding for the past few hours seem to be over so I can watch my Steve McQueen film festival in peace -- God knows "Bullitt" and "Papillon" require quiet to savor their artistry -- right?   LOL

Hope y'all had a great holiday!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!

Kay

Tuesday Ramblings

The sturm und drang of politics that has been driving me nuts can only be superseded by bureaucratic paperwork (one of my favorite things -- not!) and I just spent this morning dealing with that. What part of I'm old, I'm poor and nothing changes in Kay's world don't these people understand?
I'm waiting for a call back as I type here. Another call came in and I've some other things to consider which in turn gave me a mental hot foot that I need to make up my mind and do some exploration of some things that I've been considering but that has to be on hold until the weather breaks.

I've been waiting for Sarah Palin to self-destruct and I think it's finally happening. Her behavior in the aftermath of the Tuscon tragedy is an embarrassment even to the Tea Party. The word from my favorite Alaskan blogger is that the denouement will be coming in a month or so and that it's a mind bender. Trust me in that when I know, y'all will know.

A quote from Julius Caesar that I memorized as a high school sophomore (Remember when kids had to memorize stuff?) sprung to mind yesterday as I was reading my blogs the past week and seeing so many people asking 'why?': "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings." -- Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141). I think we have to look at ourselves and the people we have elected to lead us either by intent or by neglect. (And yeah, I can still recite most of Marc Antony's funeral oration and The Gettysburg Address -- but I can't remember what I did last week. Sigh.)

I went out on Sunday and spent money. The good news is that I had it. I avoid the Evil Empire (Wal-Mart) like the plague but there are a few things that I can't get other places so I had to go there. I also went to the fancy grocery store out near the mall district for a change -- it's my regular locally owned grocer but it's near an affluent suburb and carries things that my close store doesn't and I picked up some things I like and can't usually get. I also finally went to the crafts/art supply store. Parapluie is a wonderful artist and has been encouraging me to try to do some drawing and/or painting so I finally went and got some materials. Who knows? I might do something that I like well enough to share but not until I finish getting caught up on some housework.

Y'all know I'm a movie buff and an avid Netflix aficionado. Y'all also know that I only write about films that I really like and deem worthy -- otherwise Netflix would have to put me on payroll. I'm not big on war movies but the other night I watched "Glory" starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. It's based on the true story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which was one of the first units composed of African Americans in the Civil War. It was a beautiful film and a beautiful story that touched me because so little attention to the role of African American participation in that war. Here's the trailer:



Well, I'm about rambled out for today so I'll just close and say:

Hope y'all are having a great day!!!!!

Kay

Sunny Sunday Random Thoughts

It's a nice day here in the "Heart of it all", as the Dept. of Tourism called our state a few years ago and I suppose that is so because if you look at Ohio on a map it sorta looks like a heart -- albeit one that's been abused terribly. And yes, it has been. I have often thought about leaving here and did so once but I am not certain I'd fit in any better anywhere else.



Jeff and a crabby Shaughnessy got home yesterday afternoon. Poor puppy was more delighted than usual to see me because 'someone' forgot to get doggie treats and didn't stop to buy more. I sent Jeff to take a nap and took Shaughnessy for a much needed walk punctuated with cookies. Both are spoiled brats.

* His partner and his wife had a barbecue/cocktail thing for us last night and it was really nice. Today we're just chilling out and I'm actually cooking! I hope I remember how. Tommorrow it's back to reality and there's a lot we have to do this week.

* Ta-da!!!! The Groaner of the Week will be return tomorrow (Monday). Contributions may be sent to the address in the sidebar.

* If y'all haven't seen it, we highly recommend and really love "Crazy Heart". Jeff Bridges' Oscar for it was well-deserved in this beautiful film.



* Stop by The Old Hippie's Groovy Blog for an eye-opener. It really is as bad as -- if not worse than -- we thought.

* Sarah Palin's new ad about Mama Grizzlies falls flat when a body takes a look at what she really thinks of them.

Hope y'all are having a great day!!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

Kay

Couch Potato Thoughts

I feel a bit better today but not great so I'm more or less a couch potato. I did, however, drag myself out to go to mass with Jeff because its intention was for his beloved mom who passed away last year about this time. I had arranged it because I really loved the Fair Bridget and am glad Jeff was here to attend with me. I wear one of her Claddagh rings that Big Alex gave in her memory so I think of her every day. She was a grand lady. As the Irish say, "God be good to her and He'd better!"

Thanks to all y'all for all the nice comments yesterday some of which left me laughing hysterically. It's nice to get Red Carpet treatment now and again and I do appreciate it.

Last night was movie night and we watched two of my favorites. "The Russia House" with Sean Connery which is probably my favorite of his films. I really think he's a better actor now that he's older. I was never a great fan of the Bond films but will argue any day that he really is the only Bond. Fortunately, Jeff agrees. We followed it with "In the Electric Mist" starring Tommy Lee Jones. Based on a novel by one of my favorite writers, James Lee Burke, they did an excellent job of adapting it to film. I usually don't watch such films because they usually ruin a perfectly good story. Despite Jones being one of my favorite actors, I wasn't certain that he was right for the hero's role but he did a wonderful job and John Goodman played the villain extremely well. Jeff hadn't seen the latter film and loved it and borrowed my copy of the book. Like me, he is always up for Connery but his favorite is "Finding Forrester" which I also love.

I hope that tomorrow I feel better and can get something accomplished. I have to do battle with bureaucracy again and don't relish the challenge. And yeah, I'm still thinking. Fortunately, Jeff is patient. He just brought lunch from Papa Gyros -- Greek salads and Pastisio! Serious yum!!!!!

Hope y'all are having a great day!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

Kay

Update

I don't know when I'll get to post again so I'm taking the time for a quick post before I have hit the shower and try to make myself look human.

Jeff is taking me to dinner later and we're going to have the "We have to talk" talk. And yeah, I'm scared. I asked him where were going and he said "It's a surprise." so I asked, "Okay, how do I dress? Are you was hauling out the tux?" And he said to wear something classy. That's easy -- it's my favorite, too: black, elegant and makes me look anorexic -- very "Breakfast at Tiffany's"! My only regret is that I've searched high and low for the right jewelry for it at the right price to no avail. I've plenty of jewelry that looks fine with it but you ladies know how that can be. Oh well. I just wonder where we're going and what we're talking about.

The jewelry "crisis" is solved. Richard was just here to check on me so I handed him my jewelry boxes and told him to decide for me. Richard should have been a designer or stylist so I'm more than happy to let him choose and he simply delights in doing it! Good deal, huh? I think I'm also take his last bit of advice and have a glass of wine after I get dressed because, as he put it, "Girl!!! You're a nervous wreck!!!

Here's a great, fun video from the days when glamour was 'in' and movies were classy!



Hope y'all are enjoying your Saturday!!!!!


Happy Blogging!!!!!

Kay

This and That and Then Some

I was up too late watching "African Queen" and "Notorious" last night. They don't make movies or actors like that anymore. I didn't need Cary and Ingrid to take off their clothes to know what was in their hearts -- old Hitch made it very clear. And Bogart and Miss Katherine weathered their perilous trip with nary a cuss word. Amazing. As a result of this frivolity, I awakened to the phone ringing and answered to hear, "Hey!!!! Shaughnessy and I just passed the Dover exit and will be at your place in twenty-five minutes!!!" Yikes!!!! I took a quick shower and got dressed even quicker and was waiting as he and Shaughn arrived. One of these days that dog is going to flatten me when he greets me. I'm the only one he jumps on. Sigh. Jeff announced that we were going to drop Shaughn off at his house, check things and go to lunch at Bender's -- so much for my plans to get this post up sooner. He says I'm not spontaneous enough. I said, "So sue me!" but postponed a couple errands until later. Lunch/dinner/whatever at Bender's is a dining delight.

* I had to go to the Deputy Registar's office this afternoon to renew my driver's license. I was pleasantly surprised to be served almost immediately because it's always a busy busy place. I was delighted that I passed the eye test without glasses and that the photo was okay (and doesn't look like it belongs on the Post Office wall) and I realized, as I was signing and dating the form, that it was Tax Day and commented that was why they weren't busy. The young lady laughed and agreed. As I paid the $26.50, I mentioned that my first license only cost $3.00. She laughed again.

* One of the newest additions to my blogroll is Russ' Filtered News. It's really excellent blog and always well-documented and speaks to all of who feel vaguely uncomfortable with politics today. This post recalls a time when the Republican Party had honor and integrity. I remember those days. I will add that the Democrats aren't what they used to be either. I think y'all will find it interesting. Sigh.

* Tuesday was Dr. Maria and it was an okay visit. She rearranged my meds and told me to give another med a tryout. She sorta looked askance that I've lost weight and wants me back in two months. Sigh. (Jeff commented on my weight, too, today -- like I don't notice that my jeans are looser.)

* Keith Olbermann exposes some disturbing info re: The Tea Party Express:



Well the phone just rang and Jeff is heading in my direction in a half hour so we can go get a sandwich and a brew. God knows where he'll drag me tomorrow. Sigh.

Hope y'all are having a great day!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!

Kay

This and That

It was a weird day what with the computer problems that plagued me. Call me obsessive-compulsive but there was no way in hell I was going to be able to sleep until I got it fixed so I didn't. Here are the highlights of a surreal day.

* I finally got my computer working about 10 AM. Then I had to get caught up on y'all which took until noon and apologies if I gave any of you short shrift when I commented or -- God forbid -- missed someone!

* I wanted to put a post on my Blogher blog but I'm still not comfortable there and have no idea what to write. Maybe I was just too tired to think.

* I finally put my self to bed at noon for a couple hours. I was awakened by a lot of hollering and the smell of melted plastic emanating from upstairs. Obviously my neighbor was "off the hook" again as the kids say. Was I upset? Damn right! However, I really didn't want to sleep too long so I could get back on a decent sleep schedule.

* I went to 4 o'clock Mass despite my feelings about the current news from Rome which has left all of us in shock. I've always been a questioner. I was the kid in parochial school who got in trouble for raising my hand and saying, "But Sister, that doesn't make sense!!!! Nothing has ever changed. Right now I am ashamed of and and confused with my church and my faith and need to work it all out.

* I had some wonderful broccoli-cheese soup for supper and tomorrow I plan to cook.
I'm going to make my infamous enchilada casserole. It's a serious yum!

* I just watched (while making lists) Last Vacation with Queen Latifah. It was a 'feel good' movie and just what I needed. She is a pretty good actress. Y'all can see/hear her talk about it here.

* Bill Maher 'New Rules' was wayyy crude this week but, as usual, has more than a few grains of truth in it. In essence, what he said to the Democrats was "To hell with bi-partisan -- y'all did fine on your own! Keep it up!" And of course the GOP got kicked to the curb. It's not for the faint of heart or easily offended.

* Thanks to all y'all for your wonderful comments!!!!!

I'm off to bed -- hopefully to get a start on a decent sleep schedule. See y'all tomorrow!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!!

Kay

What Happened to Dancing Cheek to Cheek?

I was writing a post for today and the blog monster irretrievably ate it. Since it's one o'clock in the morning and I need to be at the beauty school at ten, I'm just going to cop out and post a video.

The music du jour was a classic -- one of my favorites with Fred and Ginger. And just remember, when someone tells you that Astaire was the greatest dancer in film, that Ginger did everything he did -- backwards and in high heels!!!!!!!!

Golly gee whiz!!!!! Does anynody dance anymore?



Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kay

Random Thoughts for Sunday

Had busy days the past few days. I think I might be in over my head and am trying to do too much. Oh well -- as long as I'm on the road on the proper day, I'm good to go. And if it all doesn't get done, it will be here when I get back. Through all this, I've been thinking again.

* No more Margaret and Helen for me. I don't attack other people's religion and I don't suffer attacks on mine. I don't care if you worship Yahweh, Mohammed, Buddha or the Great Wazoo, as long as you leave my brand of Christianity alone, we're okay. Besides, that blog has tended to nag at me more and more -- something about it isn't quite right. Maybe it's that I don't use the F-word. I have to get really seriously angry before that word comes out of my mouth. I don't remember the last time I used it and you will never ever see it here. Even my sailor dad never used that word.

* The Cavaliers lost tonight. I'm disappointed as is everyone else here. A championship would have given this depressed area we call home and y'all call NE Ohio something to feel good about so of course it didn't happen. I'm still proud of them. They had a great regular season and fought valiantly to the end. I won't be watching the next round. I have neither interest nor use for the Magic or the Lakers.

* I really loved your responses to yesterday's post. It was interesting and fun to see who y'all would like to star in your movie.




* AND if y'all thought that was fun, y'all can go to MyHeritage.com which is a really interesting site to begin with and use their face recognition software here to see what celebrities y'all look like. According to it, I look 72% like Diane Keaton. That made me laugh because after my daughter saw The First Wives' Club she told me I was Diane's character and even looked like her (My hair was streaked in those days). It also said that to lesser degrees I resemble Susan Sarandon, Jacqueline Bisset and Raquel Welch but no Lauren Bacall. Try it! It's fun! You can even create a collage of you and your lookalikes!

I know this is short but I'm going to go fall asleep while I watch Bacall in "The Mirror Has Two Faces" -- it's a favorite of mine. I always cry at the end!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Kay

Who's Starring in Your Movie?

Since Thursday, when I wrote the post on the film version of Patricia Cornwell's "Scarpetta" and criticized the casting of Angelina Jolie in the title role, I've given a lot of thought to who I'd want to play me in the story of my life.

I'd love to say Meryl Streep but alas! I really don't think that would work. I've been told for years that I look like Lauren Bacall. (What do you think?) The photo of her was taken in the 90s when she was in her 70s. My photo was taken a year ago.





Sigh. I wish. She's probably my favorite actress (in a tie so close with Katharine Hepburn I couldn't tell you which is really #1!) so I guess I'd go with that. Besides, she does both drama and comedy well and my life has been a tragi-comedy. However, I don't think it could/would happen. So far my life hasn't had the happy endings Hollywood requires. LOL

Okay. Here's your challenge: Who do you think should have the title role in your life story and why? You don't have to do anything fancy unless you wish to do so -- just leave a note in comments.

Have fun!!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

Kay

Yikes!!!!!! A Major Motion Picture!!!!

One of my favorite mystery writers is Patricia Cornwell. Her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series is a really excellent!! I've read all sixteen books in the series. I received her newsletter in my email a few days ago and it brought the news that the latest book, "Scarpetta" is being made into a major motion picture. The website has the info in detail.

Sigh. Yawn. Now I don't know about y'all, but more often than not, I find that when books I've read are made into movies, 99.9% of the time I'm disappointed. Now I'm intelligent enough to understand that a lot of revision has to be done to condense a book to the length required for the silver screen and that some screen writers do better than others at understanding what's essential to the plot and characters.

What's got me frosted is casting. They are casting Angelina Jolie in the title role. After reading the entire series -- all sixteen books -- I think I ban say that there is no way in hell I can see her in that role and I'm sure other Scarpetta fans agree. Somehow I simply don't see what the producers were thinking as she really isn't the right 'type' to play Kay Scarpetta. (Nor is she the right type to play Kay Dennison. lol) I have not been impressed with Ms. Jolie and have decided that I will not see this film as the writing will probably as bad as the casting. I try to avoid getting annoyed when possible so I doubt that I will see this film.

It's been my experience that anytime Hollywood gets hold of a mystery series detective, they botch it. They did it to Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder and John D. McDonald's Travis McGee (although the latter said he never let them do it again). They've done it time and again -- botching plots and casting badly. Adapting is one thing; changing stories completely is another. I'd like to think Ms. Cornwell is maintaining a certain amount of creative control but with the choice for the title role, I think not.

I rarely like movies made from books. They have to cut too much from the story so my feeling this way is no great surprise. And yeah, as far as I'm concerned, the only Bond ever worth a damn was Sean Connery so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

The reason I wrote this is that I wondered if any of y'all are fans of this series and want to know what you think.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!!

Kay

A Tale of Two Memes --Yikes!!!!!

My friend Marc Aurel is an ambitious soul who has two blogs: as if c'est what and Aural's Laurels and has memes posted at both, He tagged me with a meme at the former. He didn't tag anyone at the latter but I liked both so I'm gonna do both and tag all y'all to do the one you like best if you're so inclined. Have fun!!!!!!! I did!!!!!!!!
The first is a real bona fide meme -- it's all about y'all!!!
1. What is your current obsession?

Organizing my books.

2. Which item of clothing do you wear often?

My black leather jacket. (All I need is a motorcycle.)

3. What's for dinner?

Frozen dinner with Rocky Road for dessert.

4. What are you listening to?

Ray Charles -- Greatest Hits

5. Say something to the one that tagged you.

Marc, I'm glad you're over the 'bug' or whatever you had and feeling better!

6. Favorite vacation spot?

St. John, V.I.

7. What I'm reading right now:

John LeCarre's Absolute Friends

8. Four words to describe myself.

Friendly; crazy; stubborn; dreamer

9. Guilty pleasure

Heggy's Chocolates

10. First Spring thing?

Neighborhood clean-up

11. What do you look forward to?

Any time I can spend with the people I love.

12. What is your most prized possession?

My friends.

13. Add one question: What historical figure would you like to have a beer (or whatever) with?

Thomas Jefferson

Okay, that's one meme down; one to go.

This one is Ten Favorite Movie Characters. I am a serious film buff and there are dozens of movies that I love so I chose the first ten that came to mind as I checked my video collection. I tried for chronological but the uploading didn't go as planned!

I loved Basil Rathbone in the old Sherlock Holmes movies.


Frankly, Scarlet . . .

Bogie and Bergman

Charlie and Rosie: "I now pronounce you man and wife -- procede with the execution."

Holly Golightly at Tiffany's

Atticus Finch (Greg Peck at his finest)

Paul Newman (Luke) on the chain gang.

George C. Scott's best role.

Harry made Clint's career.

Bette and Barbara made me cry.

Morgan Freeman in excellent form -- It was tossup between this and "Miss Daisy"

A new fav movie: TLJ was excellent.

I want to tell y'all it was hard to decide what I wanted to post and even harder to get everything loaded here. Blogger can be soooooo uncooperative, dontcha know?

If either meme sounds like your cuppa -- have at it and let me know!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Thoughts

It's Sunday morning and I'm thinking back on the week and looking ahead to a new week. On the whole it wasn't a bad week but it wasn't a stellar one either. I'm okay with that. Next week I see Doc Smith my thyroid guy and hopefully, some decisions can be made and I can stop feeling so damned tired. I also have a round with bureaucracy scheduled which is never any fun. (I have to remember to take my panic attack meds before I begin to talk to them.)

* My paychecks from the Census Bureau are still screwed up. I know it will be straightened out eventually but in the meantime, I'm a bit short and determined not to take a nickel out of my savings. Have you ever noticed how easy it is for money to come out of your savings and how hard it is to put money into your savings? It's one of those cruel jokes of life.

* I bank online and was surprised to see a deposit for $125 credited to my checking account yesterday. I can't figure out where it's from so I tried the 800 number and got confused with all the you-know-what they wanted me to punch in so I guess I'll wait until Monday and call my branch and talk to a live person.

* Isaac was by last week and I guess he is doing okay. I miss him being around the 'hood. He told me he owes me some help around the house because he swears I overpaid him last time he helped me. What a kid!

* I actually started denting the disorder I call home. It's a miracle!!!! And I hope I can keep up the good work.

* Friday night Marcia and I went to the Cultural Center. We finally got to see the magnificent exhibit at the Art Museum. It's called "Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota" and it is absolutely breathtaking. It's truly an honor for our little city to have it here because the only other time Kubota's work has been to the U.S. was in 1995 at The Smithsonian. What's interesting is that he uses silk kimonos as his canvas and his techniques is absolutely fascinating. I'm going back to see it again when I've more time. You can see and learn more here. Taking photos is not permitted. After we got done seeing the exhibit, we went over to the theater to see a play inspired by the exhibit. It was written, produced, and directed by Marcia's cousin who I call "the queen of local theater" as she has been involved in and promoting theater in our county seemingly forever. It was a pretty good play and we enjoyed it very much. Afterwards, we were starving -- neither of us had had dinner -- and decided to treat ourselves to good stuff. I had really wonderful crab cakes -- yum!!!!!

* Saturday night was symphony night and, as usual, it was excellent. The theme was Wagner's influences on the French composers. So the programme included Debussy, Chausson, and several others and the Overture and Venusberg music from Wagner's Tannhauser. It was a truly splendid performance. Afterward the concert, I was starving --again!-- and headed to my version of "Cheers" (everybody knows my name -- and I know theirs) for a sandwich and a beer. My friends Tim and Joe were there so I grabbed a stool by them and ordered and wound up staying a while. The conversation was, as usual, about guns but it turned to movies and comedians and actors. And a friendly argument broke out over Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" and I was charged with finding out who was right (Joe) since neither of the guys has a computer. Our discussions are always interesting because Joe is pushing eighty, I'm in my 60s, and Tim is in his 50s so we each represent a different point of view. The good news is we respect each other's opinions so it never gets nasty and it's always fun.

* Today I'm going over to Lynda's to drop off some stuff and get caught up on things about the neighborhood association after I run a couple errands. I'll probably wind up staying for dinner. One of these days I have to get it together and have them here because they're always feeding me.

Hope y'all have a great week ahead!!!!!!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Random Sunday Thoughts

It's been quite a week. Still trying to get things organized on every level. And the damned thyroid keeps slowing me down. Oh well. I thought about writing about politics but decided that I'm grumpy enough so I took pity on my blood pressure and canned that idea.

Judy over at Imagine . . . got me thinking about Irving Berlin's wonderful music -- his musicals in particular -- and I had a wonderful time at YouTube watching and listening to video clips. Here's a favorite of mine from the movie version of Annie Get Your Gun with Betty Hutton and Howard Keel. If it doesn't set y'all a-smilin', you're grumpier than me!!!! Enjoy!!!!!



Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!

Kay's Latest Film Festival

I promised to tell y'all about my trip to the movies a week or so ago but life intrudes and causes delays. Sigh. I saw three films at our local multiplex theater all in one day. It was nice -- no one could call or bug me and frankly, I think I need to escape like this more often.

The first film I saw was Frost/Nixon. Ron Howard has scored yet another triumph with this interesting story of David Frost's interviews with former President Richard M. Nixon three years after his resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Frank Langella was outstanding in the role of Nixon and, not surprisingly to me, has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the only president ever to resign. I hope that Langella, a favorite of mine, wins.

Michael Sheen played the debonair Frost to the hilt as he wheeled and dealed to garner financial support for the interviews. And Kevin Bacon as reporter James Reston, Jr., who had covered the Watergate scandal, gave stunning performance. Actually, the entire cast was excellent. I got a big charge when I realized that the actress who portrayed Pat Nixon was child star Patty McCormack. It was an excellent film that's been deservedly nominated for many awards and I highly recommend it if y'all haven't seen it. There's a trailer to whet your enthusiasm at the link.

Next on my list was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- another film with many award nominations. Based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it chronicles the bizarre life of one Benjamin Button who, by some quirk of fate, is born old and ages backward. Now I'm not a big fan of Brad Pitt but I was impressed with the versatility he demonstrated in this role. Cate Blanchett, his co-star, was also excellent as the little girl who ages normally and grows up to fall in love with Benjamin and has his child. Director David Fincher did a wonderful job managing the many locations and strange timeline. It's an elegant film with lush costumes and locations around the world. I enjoyed it immensely.

The last -- but certainly not least -- of the films I saw was Gran Torino -- produced, directed, and starring Clint Eastwood. I have been an Eastwood fan since his days as Rowdy Yates in the television series, "Rawhide". This film is excellent as he plays a crabby, prejudiced old Korean War veteran/retired auto worker who winds up befriending one of the Hmong families who have moved into his neighborhood. It's typically Eastwood with lots of action and Clint playing an unlikely hero. I like it and I think the mostly elder audience agreed with me. It hasn't been nominated for any awards but for plain old fun and action at the movies, it hard to beat an Eastwood flick!!!!!

And it was the perfect end to a great day!!! I gotta do this again sometime!!!! And oh yeah, just click on the links to see trailers for each film. They might just whet your appetite to go see one or all three!

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, Sunday Random Thoughts

It's been a tough couple weeks with all the upheaval with my job, the medical tests and assorted other nonsense. I think the operative phrase is above. I have been sleeping a lot and really on a downer. The list of those who have managed to annoy me is too lengthy to list and would bore y'all anyway so I'll spare you that and just share a couple things that have caught my attention.

* It's sunny and in the 40s in Ohio!!!! The ice on which I've damn near killed myself is gone and I'm going to give a big fat raspberry to our city's street department for their horrible disregard for our 'hood. I'm thinking I'm going to be at city council Monday night to kvetch. And Miss Ruby is going to get a much-needed bath!

* Speaking of city council, I'm dropping some research off for my councilman. Our idiot mayor (who proves The Peter Principle) wants to install those traffic cameras from Redflex. Y'all might be familiar with them. If you go through a light on the yellow, a month later you might get a $100 traffic ticket in the mail AND if you elect to question it, they slap and extra $20 on it. A right-thinking supreme court judge in Minnesota declared these cameras unconstitutional and now the city of Minneapolis has to cough up 2.6 million bucks to the 14,000 drivers who were fleeced by this scam. Whatta guy! I don't want "Big Brother" watching me and I suspect they can use these for purposes more nefarious as well. Do you have or did you have these in your town? I have visions of a rash of rear end collisions because people don't want a ticket. Sigh.

* I'm going to physical therapy twice a week. It makes my arm feel better but I'll be damned if I think it's solving anything. I keep forgetting to do my exercises so I'm not helping things much.

* I got the DVD of a film called "Mozartballs" which features two of my good blogging buddies, Steph of Incurable Insomniac and Lynette of Shades of Life in F Major. I really loved it. And I still haven't figured out why it struck a chord (no pun intended) in my soul. I need to watch it again. The website is really well done and I recommend you take a look.

* I went to our monthly First Friday event this past Friday night. I didn't have fun. Marcia invited a friend to join us who really didn't seem to like the arts so we wound up drinking. Argh! Now I'm not averse to quaffing a brew or two when I go there but I am there to see what's going on at the various events that are featured. If I had met them instead of riding with Marcia, I could have done my usual thing and gone a-wandering. Let's just say that I learned a lesson.

* Word is that I won't be working after June. Sigh. I did, however, have an epiphany while talking with a prospective employer on the phone the other day. I realized that I will be able to manage. I have survived on less than I'll have so I just crossed that off my worry list. I felt better with that realization. If I can get a couple days a week somewhere, I'll be delighted. If I don't I'll have more time for other projects that are languishing -- or find some new ways to waste time.

* Yesterday (Saturday) was my dad's birthday. Had he lived he would have been eighty-four. He's been gone for twenty-four years. I called my stepmom as I knew he would be very much on her mind. She was delighted and we had a nice talk about him. Both of us swear he's watching us. It's really weird.

* Just a caveat: please don't put groaners in comments. If you wish to have a groaner here, please send it to the email addy in the side bar. I'm trying to keep this feature afloat for y'all and it detracts from those who make the effort to support it. Thank you!

Well, enough kvetching for today. I'm off to get the Sunday paper and see if Lynda and Mike are around. AND I'm going to try to get around to see y'all when I get back. I do apologize but I've been exhausted and have to force myself to do anything.

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!

Some Things Always Bring a Smile

There really are things in this world that a body never gets tired of and always makes one smile. For me, this film is one of them. I checked the newspaper last night and was delighted to find that The Wizard of Oz was on television! It ranks in the top 10 of of my favorite movies and I never miss it if life doesn't intrude. I'd had a pretty dull day and feeling kind down but watching this never fails to brighten my outlook.

The sheer joy and enthusiasm of Judy Garland and friends as they navigate the Yellow Brick Road is a great buzz! That I don't have it in my vast video collection is amazing but probably because it never appears in the bargain bin or really cheap on eBay. Frugality rules at my house.

Here's a trailer courtesy of YouTube in case you missed it! Enjoy!!!!!!!!!



What movies always make y'all grin?

Happy Blogging!!!!!!!!!!!

Kay