Farewell To February!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Don't you just love the Victorian wallpaper, darlings?????????????????

                                 The shortest month of the year has ticked away.  Today is my sister's birthday; she is now 86!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hope we all make it!  Shelley Plimpton's birthday was yesterday, my nephew Matthew on the 24th, my friend Joe on the 17th, our friend Ellen on the 6th (to be celebrated shortly) and my friend Tom's partner Austin on the 9th.

                                 The highlight of the month was The Heights Players superbly executed production of Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," which we saw with our friends Dan and Norma.

                                   And we also saw Uncle Ernest!!!!!!!!!!!!  He is going to make the century mark, now that he is 95.

                                 Most important of all, the 11th was the 158th anniversary of the Apparition Of Our Lady Of Lourdes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

                                    Two things took up the rest of the month--winter storms and my rereading "Anna Karenina."  I have 60 some pages to go, so I am coming down the home stretch.  No, Anna has not taken that dive yet, but she is making the decision.

                                         Hope all your decisions went well this month, and that you will be the right ones in March.

                                           Soon, we will thaw out, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

             

Have You Heard The Latest About Jonathan Groff, Darlings?????????????????????

                              I know, girls, he is just SO good looking!  What visual perfection!!!!!!!!!!

                              Jonathan is currently wrapping up his iconic run in the Bobby Darin musical, "Just In Time."  Straight women and gay men still throw their panties at him nightly, but on his next outing, it might be Jonathan who is throwing his panties at the audience.  And wouldn't we want to catch those?????????????

                               But in order to do so, we will have to fly across the Pond, because Jonathan this Fall, will be working with the RSC--yes, dears, the Royal Shakespeare Company--in its all-male production of "As You Like It," in which he is playing Rosalind.  You heard me!!!!!!!!!!!!  Don't we all want to be there to catch his panties?????????????

                                London is a fabulous city, and sometimes its theater scene outdoes NYC.  I know Jonathan is going to love it there, and, if we are lucky, maybe this production will come over here, so those who cannot go may catch a glimpse of Jonathan and his panties.

                                    Isn't he just dreamy, darlings?  I would love to have tea with him at Brown's.

                                    How about it, Jonathan????????????????

Girls, Join Us Tonight at 8PM, As "Svengoolie" Ends The Month With 1953's "The War Of The Worlds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                  This is an acceptable adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel, but what is really ironic is that in the same year another film was made that outdid this one and has been elevated to iconic status. That film was 1953's "Invaders From Mars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                     So, darlings, don't try to compare this to that.  Really, the only thing this film has going for it is that George Pal produced it, which meant the special effects and visuals were of the highest quality.  It has a cast of actors who went nowhere, so the visuals and special effects are the only things worth watching.

                                        My only hope is in addition to the above, we get to see Nostalgiaferatoo.  He livens things up.

                                         I have only seen this film once, on TV, and that was when I was a child.  That I recall nothing of it tells of the impression it made on me.

                                          So, join us--David, Baby Gojira, Little Pippin, Cucumbo, and me for another look at this 1953 film.   Maybe we will be surprised.  Hope does spring eternal, darlings.

                                             And tomorrow we enter a new month!  Who knows what surprises await us?????????????

Oh, My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Girls, Do You Know Who This Woman Is????????????????????????

                           For months, I have been seeing her on Clear Captions phone commercials, feeling she looked so familiar.  I first mistook her for one of my mother's friends who is no longer here, and when she spoke it was with the type of voice having had acting experience.

                             Darlings, the woman here is Kathy Garver, who recently turned 80!!!!!!!!!!!    Yes, the same Kathy Garver who played the role of Cissy on "Family Affair," and was the nosy little girl intercepted by Shelley Fabares during the picnic scene in the 1956 film, "The Bad Seed."

                                 Trust your instinct, girls.  If someone looks familiar, then you are right.

                                 Now that I know, just finding out several minutes ago, I can see it right away.

                                   Let's hope we all look as good as Kathy at 80!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Scene In "Rodan" Is Always Forgotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Yesterday I stumbled onto a YouTube program called "The Brutality Of 'Rodan'."  It was narrated by the exact type of guy I thought--an overeager overeater, living with his parents, having no life but this, and probably a serial killer or one on the make.  Not only, he forgot the most important and terrifying part of the movie.

                                 I was lucky to find this picture.  Some of what he says is true--"Rodan" is laced with tension and suspense and is somewhat scary.  I cannot watch the ending; it is too sad for me.

                                  Everyone who writes about "Rodan" always forgets this scene, which to this day still terrifies me.  It begins with a young couple driving up into a smoking mountain volcano to take some pictures. Note the pink dress and high heeled shoes she is dressed in.  They say goodbye to their families, expecting to be home that night.  But they are not.  Because, while the man backs away to take her picture, the wind picks up, and things blow everywhere.   An eerie sound is heard.   Tho woman looks up and sees something unbelievably terrifying. The viewer does not see it.  They are shown holding hands and running in fear, while something seems to scoop them up and carry them off, leaving behind only his camera and one of her pink shoes.  One of those shoes is later seen in a scene where aerial searches are on for Rodan, and one of them pops a head out of a mountain crevice, surrounded by human bones, and a pink shoe.  Aha!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Just this scene is enough to scare one, and I wish more people would pay attention to it.

                                     Good as "Rodan" is, it is not the artistic masterpiece the 1954 "Gojira" is.

                                      Right, darlings???????????????????????

Happy Birthday To Shelley Plimpton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Just thinking I am in my early Seventies, darlings, makes me feel old.  Today, Shelley Plimpton turns 79, which means next year she will be 80.

                                             But to those of a certain age and generation, she will always be known as "Crissy" who introduced the beloved song, "Frank Mills" in the 1968 Broadway musical "HAIR."  No one has ever done it as well as she, The closest coming to it was Allison Case in the 2009 revival.

                                               She is also known as the mother of gifted actress Martha Plimpton.  Who is not awed by Martha's talent, but this is Shelley's special day, and we salute her, a genuine Legend Of The Musical Stage.  How I wish I had seen her in "HAIR."

                                                    So, Shelley here's to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  May you have many more!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       Never want the two dollars back.  Just him.

                                      Here is Shelley singing the classic she immortalized.  Just listen, and discover why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You Must Remember This............................"

                          Girls isn't this shot of Ingrid Bergman, from "Casablanca" incredible?  I think it is her most photogenic image, and she was a beauty, as well as one hell of an actress.

                            Many pick "Casablanca" as their favorite movie.  I can see why, but, for me, of course, I was riled it beat out "The Song Of Bernadette" for Best Picture.  Ingrid Bergman was nominated for her performance as Maria in "For Whom The Bell Tolls."  She lost out to Jennifer Jones, no surprise there.  But as "Casablanca" piled up awards, Bergman mused, "Maybe I was nominated for the wrong movie!"

                              The film would not be iconic without the classic song "As Time Goes By."  That song brings tears to my eyes.  I sing it to myself, and I just remembered today that my father used to sing this song a lot.  He could carry a tune, but he wasn't Garland, like me, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                So, I know when I next see "Casablanca" I will sob profusely, as it will remind me of my father!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    As I have said, girls, grief gets you in ways never known!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!