Happy Birthday, Blythe Danner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               Graciousness, elegance, breeding, class--where have they gone?

                                Fortunately, there is still one person emblematic of all these qualities--Blythe Danner!

                                 And today is her birthday!   Happy Birthday, Blythe!  Girls, can you believe she is now 83?  I should look this good now.  If only I could find out where Blythe gets her hair done.  That would be a step in the right direction.

                                 Many of us are concerned about her.  Not only has she not acted recently, but she waged a yearlong battle with oral cancer, and I hope she is in remission.  No word from Gwyneth about her mother, so my hope is things are OK.

                                  So, Blythe, celebrate any way you please.  Cipriani's is nice.  They have this ice cream desert that is scrumptious.

                                   However you choose to celebrate, we wish Blythe Danner the best for the following year.

                                   And hopefully act in something soon.  How about Hannah in "The Night Of The Iguana?." 

                                  Even iguanas are excited to be working with Blythe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     

Reading Nancy Drew As An Adult Can Help Develop One's Understanding Of Lesbianism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Who knew, when we were children, that Nancy Drew books were burgeoning homosexual texts?  I discovered this in fifth grade, when I would always get a warm feeling every time I read about Nancy's father, "handsome lawyer Carson Drew." Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!  I knew I wanted Carson Drew!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But I did not yet know what that meant!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            As for girls and lesbians, they had it better.  Did Nancy have a boyfriend?  I was never sure.  But she always showed up to luncheon in her white gloves, and she referred to her two best friends as "chums."  They were Bess and George, and were always labeled that way, so I am taking that to mean they were lesbians and were role models for girls facing that line crossing.

                              You can be sure Bess and George, and maybe even Nancy, if only to understand her "chums," had all read "The Well Of Loneliness," by Radclyffe Hall.  Oh, honey, what discoveries there are with that book!  Is it still taken seriously, or is it camp??????  Either way it is a great read.

                                  It is also a sure thing that in 1952, when Patricia Highsmith published "The Price Of Salt," which later became Tod Haynes' 2015 film, "Carol," that Nancy and chums would order Creamed Spinach and Poached Egg On Toast, with a Martini, the standard set by Highsmith's novel and Haynes' film.  Oh, girls, I am telling you, it is still done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Now, Nancy Drew offered hope and inspiration for the lipstick lesbians.

                                   Who might it have been for those who were beans n' franks?????????????

                                   Maybe Pat on "Saturday Night Live?"  Or Fran Lebowitz?????????????

                            

Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Six More Weeks Of Winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           Today is Groundhog Day, girls, so I want first to wish everyone a happy one!

                            The bad news is that the official Groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow, so that means we get six more weeks of Winter!

                             I was so hoping for an early Spring.  I mean, the swallows coming back from Capistrano, April in Paris, outdoor dining, and Spring wardrobes It all sounds like it is out of "Gigi," and I wish it were, because, with this wretched Winter, that is what I so desperately need!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              I have said it before and will say it now.  Snow may be beautiful, but the only time I want to see it is when I am watching "Doctor Zhivago."  During the rare times when Julie Christie is off camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               We all want to look like Julie, I am sure, but isn't Punxsutawney Phil cute?  Too bad his prediction was a negative one.

                                Six more weeks of Winter gives me more time to curl up and read!  And I am thankful for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Candlemass Eve, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Girls, how could I forget?  Tonight is Candlemass Eve.  The night the witches mock the rituals of the church and.........sacrifice a VIRGIN????????????????

                                   A WHAT??????????  A virgin????????????  What the hell is that????????????

                                  I know, I know, it seems there aren't many around anymore.  I mean, even one's old maid aunt may have had some experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     And if there are any on here reading this, consider the possibility you may not be old enough for this blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    You have to feel for the witches.  All they want is one virgin, and each year it gets difficult to find one.  Certainly not in a women's prison!  And do convents still exist?????????????

                                   Candlemass Eve will continue.  But it may come down to sacrificing a virgin effigy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       For so many reasons, purity and virtue need to return, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  

Come On, Donna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It Has Been Thirteen Years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                It is said author Donna Tartt, whom we all love, darlings, averages a new book every ten years.  And when that book comes out, it is an event.

                                 Well, would you believe it has been 13 years since "The Goldfinch" was published?

                                  Get a grip, Donna.  I know you write slowly, and read all those New York Review Books Classics, but readers are clamoring for another work.

                                     The Fiction market is practically going down the toilet!  We readers need a jolt of excitement to justify our passion for fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!  To hell with "Game Of Thrones!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                       Donna, I am not placing it all on your shoulders, but surely, they deserve a nudge.  When can we hope to see the next Tartt opus?   And will we???????????????

                                         Or will we just have to depend on rereads of "The Secret History??????????"

Is This The Future Of The American Beauty Parlor??????????????????

                           Oh, girls, I hope so!  And Sally, think about renovation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           Imagine walking from the drab outside into a Melies replicated world where one can wait in satin gowns on flying moons, and planets, while intergalactic stylists greet you to do your hair.

                            I am telling you, I would just LOVE it!  It would make getting one's hair done easy, and not the trip of anxiety it often can be.

                            I am ready right now, girls!  Sign me up for an appointment pronto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           But make sure you still serve coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, February Is The Month Of Romance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                  

                            I am talking about the "Moonstruck" kind, not that of "Fatal Attraction!"  Actually, the Cher movie would be perfect to watch on Valentine's Day.

                            But, in the words of Stephen Sondheim, whose "FOLLIES" is a masterpiece, this is the month we all go to Loveland, where "everybody lives to love, and loves to live."  Girls I am telling you, if I had one of those gorgeous costumes--hell, if I could even fit into one--I would be in Loveland this very minute.

                             Make sure you are at your romantic best this month, dears.

                             And never go traveling without a chaperone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!