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Wednesday, June 30, 2021

How Did We Get Here, Girls??????????? Halfway Through 2021, Already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                It seems like yesterday since  the year kicked off, and after the previous  year we all faced, none  of could  have predicted what we would  have been in for.


                                                  And now, here we are!


                                                 June was a good month.  It bought us fun, mirth, dining outdoors, cool drinks, cool nights, "Svengoolie," and some anxiety--three weeks today being  my colonoscopy, and our friend,  Auntie Alvin,  hospitalized,  but now  in  rehab,  after suffering a heart attack and stroke, at 81.  Pray for  him, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                     So, June was pretty good.   I am  very apprehensive about July, but you will hear more about that, as  the month progresses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                         So long, June!


                                                           See you next month, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once We Can All Eat Indoors Comfortably, I Have GOT To Dine At "BALTHAZAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                     The one thing I  miss about our city, as a result of Covid, is being seen.  I mean,  for 37 years,  I was on the scene, darlings, and once I began writing this blog, people knew  it.  The theater,  opera, ballet, concerts , museums, restaurants--I covered them all, becoming something of a fixture about town.  Now, like Baby Jane, I live on those memories.


                                        But things are slowly returning, and if they continue to,  there may be  a  time when David  and  myself are comfortable, eating inside.  And when  that  happens, one place I have GOT to dine  at is "BALTHAZAR," down on  Spring Street.  I mean, this  is a place where I have GOT  to be seen!!!!!!!!!!! You know  who has been  seen  there?  ANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That's right!    So,  I  cannot  miss my chance!


                                          I have been seen at  The Pierre, La Grenouille, and Cipriani's in pre-Covid times.  How I long to return to those days again.


                                             But I am  sticking  with Dr. Fauci, and Dr. David Chokshi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                             Maybe they call all  join us,  when the time comes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Have A Proposition For You All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                       This all started,  darlings, with  me exploring  the character of  Mama Rose  in "GYPSY," a role  I have wanted to do, since I  was 12 years old.  I have the chops, and I am  confident I have the stamina  to  do it.


                                         Of course, a lot of  Patti  LuPone went into this exploration.  On one video, she was questioned by fans, and one asked, "What is  it  like  to be Patti LuPone?"  Her answer was something like she does not  know what it is like not to be Patti LuPone,  as she has never been anything else.  That set my mind going.


                                            People often ask me what it is like to be me?  What is it like to be The Raving Queen?


                                            All that I can come up with,  is, let me tell you, it is a  24/7 job, and I know  no  other!


                                             However--


                                             IF you want  to know  more what it's  like,  or  more about me,  then  I am proposing the  73 Questions  Challenge.  Each reader,  whomever wants  to, will ask  one question of me,  and I  will  answer  it as a blog post.  Once the  total reaches  73, I will publish the whole thing as a mammoth post--just like  the  book list  I posted last year, and will again, at year's end!


                                              So,  get  those cylinders thinking. I will  answer on  spec--pretty much the way I write!  So,  who  knows what either of us is in  for,  girls???????????????????


                                                  Ask away, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, I Need Someone To Show Me How To Do This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         I am sure you all remember what I  call the "Miranda Montage," in "The Devil Wears Prada."  It begins when Emily receives word Miranda is arriving at the office that morning, earlier  than planned.  Everyone scrambles  to clear an organized path for  her, and  the girl pictured does two  things--slips out of casual shoes into  heels.  I mean,  of course!  But she also does her make-up on  a computer mirror.  This was in 2006, before ZOOM.  How the hell was/is this  done?  Also, who is this girl, who is a minor  fashion icon, simply for having  been featured in this sequence?  My readers and I would love to hear from her!


                                        Sometimes, I am writing on this computer, and someone will knock  on the door. I have  to  be ready at all  times,  darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!   So,  this  is a  skill  I need  to  learn!  And fast!


                                          I mean, suppose  I  have to face ANNA????????????????????????????


                                           Help  me, girls!   Kisses for  all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Let's Talk About Summer Fashions, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                        How about that coffee mug, girls; isn't it simply fabulous?  Imagine going to Paris, or Fashion Week in  NYC, while  holding it, meeting all  the coutures, and designers!!!!!!!!!  Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                            I have three favorite designers--Cecil Beaton, whom I favor for Winter and Fall,  and Elsa Schiaparelli, whom I favor for Spring.  What about Summer?  There is only one answer, girls--Balenciaga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                                                     


                                                                                   
Here are the creations  I  like!  Which do  you think  I would look best  in?

Or yourselves, girls???????????????????




 

Girls, This Just MAY Be The Book Of The Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                               I could simply not move, darlings, while devouring Caitlin Wahrer's debut novel, "The Damage."  I came to it expecting a male-centric "Promising Young Woman," which might have been interesting enough.  But it turned out to be much more. And nothing is as it seems.


                                                 The premise is simple.  In a podunk Maine town, even there is gay action.  Nick Hall, a 22-year-old college junior, meets "Josh" one night in a not quite gay bar--remember, it is Maine, so what choices are there?--and they hit it off.  They head to where businessman "Josh" is staying--a sleazy motel--and have action. Except Nick maintains he was blacked out  by a blow  to the back of  the head, only to awaken next morning, naked, clothes strewn, and bleeding  both on his face, and out his rectum.  He cries "rape;" "Josh" cries consensual.


                                                    What  follows is a  roller  coaster  rides of twists and turns that even  I could not  hazard, though one of my suspicions turns out to be correct.  I will not tell  you anymore, dolls, because I don't wish to rob anyone of the visceral pleasure this novel gave me.  Or how it will leave readers thinking, at  the end.


                                                        The title's meaning is questionable.  Who,  if anyone, does it refer to?


                                                        Don't  miss  this one, hons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Want To Be Emily Charlton, In "The Devil Wears Prada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                        With the  movie  having now  been  around  for  fifteen  years, and the novel even more, whether  you are a woman, gay man, fashionista, some, or  all, of the above,  "The Devil Wears Prada" lives in your bloodstream--it certainly does, in mine!!!!!!!!!!--and there are times when  it occasionally pops out!  And, right now, I  think  I  am going through one  of those times.


                                          Even back in 2006, I knew more  than Andrea Sachs.  I knew who Miranda Priestley was a stand-in for, as well as the character of  Nigel,  played by Stanley Tucci.  I certainly had a sense of fashion, because I certainly was the best dressed male at my work place,  save one other.  Besides  the two of  us,  oh my God, the results were positively awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't even talk about it.


                                            I also knew how to spell Gabbana, as in "Dolce And Gabbana," and,  if I did not,  would have had sense enough to look it up on the computer.  I know that when asked to go to a designer, it is the showroom, not the residence.  So, I think, in context  of the movie, I would have beaten Andrea out for the job.


                                            Which is my way of saying, "Hey, Miranda! (wink! wink!) why not hire a gay man as your assistant,  or second????????????"   Is this turning into some  sort of cover letter?  Who knows?  Maybe.  Let me put it this way--if offered an interview, I would do it in a heartbeat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                               Now, as great as everyone is in the movie--and they ALL are--I must  confess that when I first  came  to "The Devil Wears  Prada," the character I most  identified with was Emily Charlton.    Actually, when I was flourishing for more years than not, at my former workplace, in a way I was Emily--answering phones, multi-tasking, dealing with wack  jobs.  I also got  the chance to "be Emily Charlton" during  my stage management period--dealing with directors who were so off the actors came  to me for performance suggestions, keeping a  production flowing, going up on time, and,  like the "RUNWAY" book  in  the  movie,  knowing  every content item  in  my production  prompt book.  So, I have had a taste of "being Emily."   And  I loved  it.  And I confess I miss it.


                                                  I know I need  a  make-over, like Emily Blunt,  pictured above.  Of  course, there might have to be adjustments, as my coloring is  considerably lighter than hers,  which means outfit tones might have  to  vary,  in  accordance with my pastel orientation.  I am sure if I could get into a place like where Nigel takes Andy, it would be like turning me loose in a book shop, or theater--I would  know right where to go, and what to  pick out,  for myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                   However, I do have some  questions, which I would prefer answered by some  "Emilys" out there.  Or anyone, for that matter.   For instance--


                                                                     When Andy's alarm goes off at 6:15AM, with Emily calling her  to get  to the  office  instantly, because of some emergency, Emily is  already there in full regalia. What the hell  time  must Emily have had to get up,  to put  herself together, and  get to  the  office,  so  she is already going  full  force,  at that extremely early hour?   Or does she  just spend the night there?


                                                                          Why the hell doesn't Andy dump  Nate for Christian?  He can do more  for her than Nate, who  only offers coarse, callous,  impassive sexuality.  How can a girl from Andrea's background be even SEEN with someone, like that?   I wouldn't be caught on the same street corner, near him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                                             So, enlighten me, girls!  Yes, I have a purpose with this blog, but maybe I need a challenge beyond trying to read 100 books  a year.


                                                                               Or maybe I need to prove my former workplace wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




                                                                              Whatever, "The Devil Wears Prada" is on my mind.  And I think  I know why.


                                                                                You see, dears,  Miranda (wink!  wink!) may be the THRONE, but Emily is  the  POWER behind the throne, the one who keeps the machinery running.  I would  much rather be the POWER  than the THRONE.  I am comfortable  at  it.


                                                                                  Now--


                                                                                  




                                           Which Emily outfit do you think would best suit me?


                                            Oh, and by the way, I need a red colored Schwimmer Eye Pencil!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can You Believe It, Girls????????? Time To Welcome Yet Another Reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                           I should have written this post, yesterday, once I discovered the follower indicator was at 117.  Again, I cannot ascertain the name  of our latest reader,  dolls, but I can officially welcome them to this site,  and wish them full enjoyment from it, which I do.


                                            Recently, I have developed an interesting theory about how people find their way here, and while I  may not be able to prove this, I believe I am on to something.


                                             Certainly, many gay men--and perhaps some straight--do read this.  However, I think most of my readership is made up of women--and that  is just fine, with me.  BUT, the reason that got them here was their disgust over that thing  by that Paltrow creature called GOOP.  I don't care if she makes  money hand over fist, just the name is  disgusting.   Better  to  stick  to  that Slime Toy children play with, today.  What can be gotten from GOOP?  Whereas I can  give info., fun,  humor,  insight, bitch and book recommendations, fashion and  more.  All one  gets from  GOOP is scammed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                  As I said before, poor Blythe Danner.  Sigh.  What is the poor woman  to do?


                                                  Forget the GOOP, and  get the scoop on things here, darlings!  On behalf of  all my girls, and myself, I bid  you a gracious  welcome.


                                                    Which,, of course, is  never complete, without this blog's unofficial welcoming theme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                      Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, June 27, 2021

"Oh, God, Help Me! GOD HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                 I am facing a colonoscopy on  the 21st of July, darlings, and am as hysterical as Nancy Kelly,  here in "The Bad Seed," just seconds after she has grasped the chair with both hands, twirled, and uttered the line, posted above.


                                  The whole thing terrifies me, prep to results.  And I have to go alone!!!!!!!!!!!  David will, of course, be picking me up, and I get it, but I am not happy about it.  


                                     So, like Nancy, I will be going through a series of hysterical scenes.  Some people think a colonoscopy is no big deal, but I do!   It is an invasive procedure, which I do not like, yet I know it HAS to be done.


                                       Watch out for more Nancy Postings!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope I can find the one where she drops the glass, on cue, after hearing about the drowning at the Fern School picnic.


                                           I might drop a glass,  myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What Have I Read Recently??????????????????????


                                      The last book I wrote about on here was "Yes, Daddy," by Jonathan Parks-Ramage, which still earns my vote as Worst Book Of The Year.  Since my David works from home, I don't have as much time to write, meaning  I cannot write the kind of in-depth book reviews I have, in  the past.


                                                     So, what I have to decided to try out--and we will have to see how it goes, is examining what I have read since "Yes, Daddy"--a lot, actually, since my numbered list is already in the sixties, and the year is not quite halfway done.  So I  will post the book, and  say a bit about each.


                                                       Here goes--


                                                       


                                       "The Paris Wife," by Paula McLain--There was a time, years back, when  it seems  I saw everyone on the subway--women, especially--reading this. It was high time I  got to it, and while it was a satisfying experience,  I have to be honest, the road was rocky.  It  took  me some  time  to get into the author's rhythm of language, to figure out if  she was on her own, or trying to duplicate Hemingway, whom, I must confess I despise, as a writer!  Eventually I caught on, and her evocation of the glam life in Paris  of  this period,  the characters--like Gertrude and Alice--encountered were fascinating and detailed.  Rewarding?  Yes, but be prepared, the reader has to get a bit into  the book,  before fully appreciating it.


                                                                                

                               

                                            "Light Perpetual," by Francis Spufford--I absolutely loved his previous novel, "Golden Hill," so when  my book  supplier, Miriam, told  me  this was coming out, I was ready and waiting.  I was also delightfully surprised; second novels often experience Sophomore Slump, but this one  did not.  While some compared it to Kate Atkinson's "Life After Life," and I could see that, I found myself  recalling more David Mitchell's "Utopia Avenue."  Actually, if Spufford's name had not  been on the jacket,  I might have assumed Mitchell wrote it.  The premise made me apprehensive--in 1944 London, a group of children standing by a Woolworth's  store that gets bombed, are transported into other time  periods, and  their experiences are recounted.  Now, before stopping here, let me say the mystical is not emphasized; character and narration  take precedence here,  and  Spufford delivers a beautifully cohesive and meaningful read; one of the best I have had recently!  Could it be a contender?  We  shall see, at year's end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                             "Antiquities," by Cynthia Ozick--The trouble with Cynthia Ozick is that, because of her last name, I confuse her with Joyce Carol Oates, whose work I admire, but, let's face it, darlings, the woman has never met a word  she didn't like,  or never  used.  Ozick is sparse and structural, and this works to her advantage here, in what otherwise could have been a 500-700 page epic novel.  Yet, despite its scope, "Antiquities" manages to cover the memoir of Lloyd Wilkinson Petrie, a remaining trustee of the now shut down Temple Academy For Boys.  Having a famous archaeologist cousin, a Jewish friend name Ben-Zion Elefantin, gives  a chance for the novel to shed light on issues like anti-Semitism, and homosexuality.  There is almost a tender,  poetic texture to Ozick's prose, which makes even the heavier parts  less heavy going.  Some might call  this  a novella; she simply calls it "A Story."  Whatever, I recommend  it  to all, and, yes,  this could be another contender!

                                "Of Women And Salt," by Gabriela Garcia--A novel panoramic in scope, rather than length,  detailing an addict Jeanette, and her mother, Carmen, both Cuban immigrants, and a depiction of 19th Century Cuba, when cigar factories ruled, as did the patriarchy, and how the movement  of  immigration and  detention  camps  evolved, and continue today.  Sad, insightful, but with Jeanette and Carmon as strong female characters, it makes a convincing  plea for immigration status, and is well worth reading.
                                            

                                                  "Milk,  Blood,  Heat," by Dantiel W. Moniz--I confess,  I am not big on short story collections--never have been-but when one comes along that blows me  away, I let folks  know.  And this is one.   It may even be a  contender.  But be prepared; the material is dark  and disturbing; the title story shocked me as no other has since the  first time I read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," back in high school.  Every story in here will haunt the reader in some way.  While I highly recommend it, be advised it is not for the faint of heart,  or one who is not in a good place,  emotionally.

                                       "City Of Gates," by Rebecca Sacks--A  debut novel that I hesitated on, due to its subject.  Not another novel about the  Israeli-Palestinian conflict!  But Sacks covers both sides with unflinching objectivity, never breathing a hint  of whom  she may or not advocate.  The reader inhabits each character's views and actions,  both tragic and horrible, and the full impact of warring factions is brought home.  I found this a compelling read, one I heard little about, but, as one who  enjoys reading novels about other cultures,  found this a welcome surprise.  I would keep an eye on Rebecca  Sacks, from now  on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                          "When The Stars Go Dark," by Paula McLain--Back we are, with Paula, again.  Having some ambivalence about "The Paris Wife," I wondered, could she really handle the suspense genre?  Well, hons, I have to tell you, it surpasses her previous work,  and  I hope she writes more, along these lines.  Her  heroine, Anna Hart, a  one-time detective,  returns to her home  town of Mendocino, CA to investigate the mysteries of two missing girls--Cameron Curtis, in  the present, and Jenny Ford, a girl  who  went  missing while Hart was growing up there, having known the family.  She  also gets into  the real  life  case of Polly Klaas, a California  girl, abducted and murdered, back in 1993, and whose killer aided in the search party.  Creepy, but laced with an authenticity the book might not otherwise  have had.  The killer stumped me,  though it made sense, when revealed, and some  readers found the revelation too easy.  Not me.  I  could not stop reading this book, until  I reached the end.  When I did,  I wanted more.  I hope McLain gives it.  The procedural and  poetic aspects make for an entertaining  blend.  This may not be THE Summer read, but I insist it  is ONE of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                 Let's start with this--FORGET IT!  If this turns out to be a contender or even a Most Notable book, I will rip up the paper, like Patti as Mama Rose, at the conclusion of Act  One of "GYPSY," when she sings "Everything's Coming Up Roses," which I will do, too.  The funny thing is, I cannot recall what compelled me to read this.  I thought it was a 'Times' review, but after  finishing this tome, I read Dwight Garner's review,  and one thing he said was that it was "long and draggy," which it is.  When a reader has to keep looking at the page number, to determine  how much farther to go, there is trouble.  This should have been  written  as two novels.  It goes back in time,  and between characters, a slacker  from Jersey, named Tiller, who lives in a  town called Dunbar,  which, as a raised Jerseyan,  I wondered if it  stood in  for Dunellen, a real  nowhere place.  In between recounting his titular year with  Pong, a middle-aged business man, Tiller gets  mixed up with a  woman, Vera, and her son Victor,  Jr., from a previous marriage.  Are you with me, so far?  Vera betrayed her father's business dealings, to the point where she and her son had to  go into  the Witness Protection Program, and I guess Tiller, as well.  Not to mention Victor,  Jr, becoming a cooking prodigy, Pong turning out to be impersonating some one else, a la  "Persona," and all  in  477 pages, which seems twice that.  Rae Lee is obviously trying to  become  the  new Murakami, but doesn't stand a chance, because he is starting on the  level of that author's worst, rather than best.  I have heard praise for Rae  Lee's novel, "Native Speaker," and while it could be wonderful, after this,  I cannot bring myself to read it.  Skip this one, darlings, at all cost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                   So,  that  is  what I have been reading, recently, girls!   I promise the next post  will not be  as long; I will try!   Hope this helps, and Happy Reading everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                      May all your reading experiences be enjoyable!  So many books,  so  little time!

                                     

Guess What, Girls? We Have A New Reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         The follower indicator reads 116, so I want to welcome whomever that is to the blog.  I hope the rest of it lives up to what caused you to discover it, in  the first  place.


                                          The blog has been affected by Covid.  No more "Bitch Of The Week," or  true crime, though I  hope to return  to  both,  at  some point.  And the  book  reviews.  I intend  to  do  something today, however minimal.


                                               Nevertheless, I hope you find fun, knowledge, and enjoyment from  this blog.  On behalf of us all, welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                          And now,  for this blog's unofficial welcoming song!


                                          Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Girls, Join Us All Saturday Night, As Svengoolie Presents "Time Walker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Let's Pray I Have The Right Movie, This Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                             Ever since Ridley Scott's "Alien" was the hit of 1979, filmmakers in the years following tried to  duplicate its success. One of these was 1982's "Time Walker," which I never heard of, and  I have a feeling why.  And not just because it is showing up on  "Svengoolie."


                                              The summary for this says something about an alien escaping from King Tut's tomb, then menacing a college campus.  Teens, terror, and  college--sounds like a hoot!  But how the hell does King Tut's tomb connect with a college campus?


                                                I guess we will have to wait till Saturday, when we watch with Svengoolie, and his lovable chicken friend, Kerwyn,  who always livens things up.


                                                 So, I  hope you all tune in with us, Saturday night!


                                                  Meanwhile,  I have to continue my exploration of  the character of Mama Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Happy Birthday To The Divine MERYL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         Yes, darlings, it is Meryl Streep's birthday.  She is 73 this year, and nothing is  going to  stop her.  After all, she is a force of  nature we have admired for decades,  and will  in decades  to  come.


                                           Have a great time on your birthday, Meryl.  You have earned  it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                            And  how  do you look  so well, at  your age????????????????????


                                           I  can  only  hope, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today Is The Longest Day Of The Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                 It is evening, as I write this,  so let me say, first, it did  not seem that long.  Some say this day was June 20, but I was always taught the 22nd,  and  so there you are.  It is also the fifty second anniversary of the death  of Judy Garland.


                                 As  for the shortest night,  wouldn't that have been  last  night? Again, it sure did not seem  that way, to me.


                                 Now, the days get shorter.  Not  noticeable till around September, but now that we have built toward, it is time to build  back.


                                   Hope we all fare well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, June 21, 2021

"Summer Fun! Something's Begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                     Well, here we  are, dolls, the most outdoorsy,  joyous time  of year.  And we are doing even better than last year, though we aren't out of  the woods,  yet.


                                        Today marks Proserpina's halfway point,  in  being up here!  Get it while  you  can, Proserpina!  Time has a  way of moving  on!


                                           But I wouldn't want to  ruin anyone's Summer, especially the  kids.  Summers  are best when you are a  kid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                              Even if  that  lasts  more  than twenty years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                               Have a fun  Summer,  everyone, and  here is  this  blog's official Summer song!

The season's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Darlings, I Am So, SO Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                               Until we sat down, this past Saturday night, and watched "Svengoolie," I had no  idea  I had  written about the  wrong  movie. It was "Curse Of The Undead," not "Curse Of The Living Dead."  I have the feeling,  having seen the above,  that the 1974 technicolor venture into French faux horror, may have been  better than this clunker.


                                                  Universal  was the  Studio Of  Monsters, throughout the  Thirties, Forties,  and Fifties, but this  1959 Vampire Western, with  no discernible actors who  went anywhere--except for Helen Kleeb, who played  housekeeper Dora, and went on to play Miss Mamie Baldwin in "The Waltons," in the 1970's--is, quite possibly, the worst effort they ever turned out, and it should have been  permanently shelved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Ronald Reagan and  Donald O' Connor may have been  down on their luck when  they did  the "Bonzo" and  "Francis" movies, but, next to  this, those seem like  artistic  masterpieces.


                                                  The only  points it gets  is for  some  shots  of  such visual  atmosphere, I am  convinced  someone on the  production staff had seen some  advance footage of Mario Bava's "Black Sunday," and was trying  to imitate that.


                                                    The  idea for  this  film  started out as a gag.  Had that been stuck with, and shot like  a Warner Bros. cartoon, it might have worked.


                                                     Instead, the film is all  over  the  place,  playing fast and loose with  the vampire mythos.  You know Drake Robie, (what a name!!) played by Michael Pate, is the  vampire, right away,  as he  is  the only one  in the  film, dressed  in black.  There is  a sexually graphic nature to the shots of  him  draining blood from  his  victims that  makes me wonder how they got this by the censors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    As for the victims,  they jettison  quickly from  young girls--makes sense!--to men involved  in a land dispute?   WTH?????????????????????????????


                                                     Hell could be watching this movie!  Thank God,  for  Svengoolie and  Kerwyn, to liven things up.


                                                      But, most of  all, girls,  forgive me!   I promise never to do  this again!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 18, 2021

Do You Know What This Is, Darlings??????????????????????????????

                                        Note I said "what," and  not "who."  I would expect every reader on here to know who that is--Marilyn Monroe.  But what is she wearing? And where was this  taken?


                                         Let me tell you, I only discovered this shot yesterday, even though it must have been taken in the Fifties.  Are  you ready, girls?  Here, goes.


                                         Marilyn is seated on the  20th Century-Fox lot, on what was the village set of  Lourdes, in "The Song Of  Bernadette!"  Even more remarkable,  she is wearing the costume Jennifer Jones wore in the role that won her an  Oscar!


                                           Whose idea this  was  to  do this,  I have  no  idea.  It certainly shows a different, darker side, to Monroe.   As for the  costume, I  cannot  be certain it was the exact one worn  by Jones, or  a  knock-off. Let's face  it, Monroe was more buxom  than Jones, so, if this was her actual costume, both parts would have had to been let out.


                                              But, leave it to me, dolls, to latch on to  a new factual facet for one of  my favorite  films.  As for Monroe, I  don't  think she  would ever have been quite right for  Bernadette, but those looking at this for the first time, will  be  seeing a different  side  of  her.


                                                 Wonder if Jennifer Jones knew about this, and how she felt?


Thursday, June 17, 2021

Darlings, I Have Simply GOT To Have This Dress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                              Back in the day, around 1980, when Deborah Harry's song, "The Tide Is High" was topping the charts, there was this moment when I SO wanted to be her.  That's right, dolls!  Me!!!!!!!!!!!   I can thankfully say that NEVER,  not even for a minute, did I want to be Madonna!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                  Now, forty one years later, this dress makes me want to be Deborah again.  It is not just the red, thought that certainly is part of it. Look at it, closely.  Outlined within the red fabric, is  the black-and-white image of  Janet Leigh, screaming, in the shower scene from  "Psycho!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                                     This has become known as the "Psycho" dress.  Girls,  dolls, someone,  find me the designer, or someone skilled  enough  to  knock  this  off,  for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                        I mean, when  I  eventually start re-entering the social  scene, what a spectacular entry outfit this would  make!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                        Help me, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                         Deborah,  call me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Separated At Birth--Mike Lindell, And Adolf Hitler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                      Girls, I am telling you, the resemblance is uncanny.


                                      Though I have always hated his faux cheeriness on his My Pillow commercials, after seeing him emerge, last year,  from a secret door entrance, housing our former President, I knew he was no good!  Hell, I knew it, before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                        But I have never seen him display the anger I know lurks beneath, and when  I did, as seen above, I could not help noticing the resemblance to Hitler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         I mean, if some filmmaker wants to make a film within a film, about how  Leni Riefenstahl made her 1935 film, "Triumph Of The Will," he would be a great choice to play Hitler!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But who would play Reni??????????????????????????


                                           Truly, Lindell is disgusting, and ever two gents deserved each other, it is  Lindell and Hitler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                              He even seems to  be going,  "Heil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Forget The French, Darlings; It Will Probably Be Dubbed! Join Us All, This Saturday Eve, As Svengoolie Presents "Curse Of The Living Dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


                                               I have never seen this one, either, girls, so I  am just as lost as you.  A French horror film??????????  The French are not known for this genre; an exception being the brilliant  1960 film, "Les Yeux Sans Visage!"


                                                Though made in '74, I am not sure what time period it is in.  The plot touches on  vampires, two  girls who were raped by pirates, and trapped on an  island--seems  like everything is being thrown in the pot!


                                                 Judging from the poster above, there might be a heaving bosom, or two, but don't  go by my word.


                                                   Just go on a delightful, potentially camp  journey on Saturday, with yours truly, David,  Baby Gojira, and Kerwyn! Plus we now have a coffined Svengoolie and a Baby Kerwyn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                      Certain to be the highlight of  our week.  Allow it to be yours!


                                                      Share the  fun with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                Girls,  girls, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

So, Girls, What Did We Learn From "How To Make A Monster???????????????????????"


                                         We learned two things, darlings.  First, that it actually is possible to humanize camp, and that Michael Landon was already too big  for his britches, as he did not return to his original  role of Teenage Werewolf.  AIP had no trouble getting Gary Conway to  recreate his original Teenage Frankenstein.


                                          The film's premise is human and simple, and, up to a point, one can sympathize with Pete Dumond,  played by Robert H. Harris, who, noted earlier, as I said,  played Henry Bellamy, in the 1967 classic of every gay's youth, "Valley Of The Dolls."  And I am still Neely, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!         "NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELYYYYYYYYYYYYYY  O"HARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"


                                             Pete is in a position all too many of us have faced, and still do.  He has been his studio's top make-up artist, for twenty-five years.  He is especially adept at monsters.   He is clearly gay, but I question his relationship with his assistant,  Rivero, played by Paul Brinegar.   I don't think there is  any kind of sex thing between them,  just some good,  old fashioned, symbiotic domination.


                                                A new regime comes in, and Pete is given a pink slip.  As Mama Rose said, "Thanks a lot, and out with the garbage!"  One instantly feels sorry for Pete.  But then he takes some extreme measures.  Retirement turns him into a serial killer.  Because he goes after, not only the  two moguls who canned him--and they deserved it, for saying monster films are out, but beach party musicals  are in!!!!!!!!!!!--but even a cop on the lot, who is closing in.  Hey, the two genres have always co-existed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                This is where suspension of disbelief comes in.  Because, by means of some chemical make-up base, that has a  hypnotic  component, he transforms the  Teenage Frankenstein and Werewolf actors into acolytes, willing to do his bidding; that is, kill.  Trouble begins when, in Teenage Caveman make-up,  Dumond has to kill  a cop on the  lot,  and, eventually, his assistant  Rivero.  I really hated him, at this point.


                                                  The tragic truth is revealed, at the end.  If you have not seen it, please stop reading here.  When the story moves to Dumond's home, it is clear he is beyond spinsterhood, if not sanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Frames of all his creations, (actually those of actual AIP makeup artist,  Phillip Scheer!) including everyone's favorite, Cucumbo, adorn his walls, now in  glorious technicolor, a  la "The Wizard OF  Oz"-- in what looks less like a  residence, and more a Movieland Wax  Museum.  And he calls his creations "My children!"  When they and  Pete are  destroyed by fire, you have to feel sorry.


                                                    This actually had  some thought to  it.  The  title was  multi-meaning--Pete's termination deranged him, and turned him into a monster, the young actors are playing monsters,  and  we see how the make-up job is done.  Quite ingenious,  in its own, quiet way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                       But the best reason to see this is for that technicolor glimpse of Cucumbo, on  the  wall!  If only more had  been done,  with  him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                          See Cucumbo,  in  the background???????????????????????

Happy Birthday, Faith Domergue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                             Can you believe it, girls?????????  Just eight days ago, I was talking about how great she was in 1955's "Cult Of The Cobra," as the Snake Goddess, and today, besides being Bloomsday, and my niece's birthday, turns out would have been Faith Domergue's 97th birthday.  Alas, she died, back on April 4, 1999, at the age of  74!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                                I know what you are thinking.  The resemblance to Hedy Lamarr is stunning!   Faith was quite a looker, New Orleans born, discovered at 16, whisked away by Howard Hughes, and best known for her role as Professor Lesley Joyce, in  the 1955 film, "It Came From Beneath The Sea."  You know, where the giant octopus/squid (?) destroys San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.   Too bad it did not lay eyes on Faith!  It would have  flipped.


                                                                   1955 was her big year,  what with 'Sea,' 'Cobra,' and "This Island Earth."  She never achieved "A" status, but, then, did she really need to?  She was married  three times, and had two children.


                                                                      AND--she was a practicing Catholic.  No Bernadette, but no slattern, either!!!!!!!!!!!  How could she be, with a name like  Faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                                        Happy Birthday, Faith Domergue!  Let's hear it, from all  her fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 

"Stately, Plump Buck Mulligan..........."


                                      Yes, darlings, it is again Bloomsday.  And no, for all my literary erudition, I  have not read "Ulysses," though it has been on my shelf for years.  I still promise myself I  will, but, at almost 67, who knows?  Well, hope springs eternal, doesn't it, darlings????????????????


                                        For those uninitiated, this day has two meanings.  It is the exact date, back in  1904, that Joyce's classic novel takes place.  Which has always made me wonder why he chose that date,  and when he actually began to write "Ulysses."


                                          The second meaning is this was the date on which Joyce met Nora, the woman who would become his wife.  Her maiden name was--now, get this!--Barnacle!!!!!!!!!!!  How apt for a man destined to become a world, not just Irish, literary icon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                              I questioned myself today, standing in the living room at mid-afternoon.   Should I get the book and read "Molly Bloom's Soliloquy" out loud?  I thought about it.  But, then, so many better than I have.  I would love to hear MERYL or Blythe do  it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                               So, Happy Bloomsday, however you celebrate it!  Even with Irish tea,  and cakes and dainties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                     Here is  Angeline Ball, reciting the last fifty lines of  "Molly Bloom's Soliloquy!"


                                     "Yes, I said,  Yes, I will,  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"--                                                                                       the final lines of  "Molly Bloom's Soliloquy."

 

Time To Welcome A New Reader, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         I saw last night the follower indicator was now at 115, meaning we have a new  reader to welcome to the wacky and wonderful world of this blog.  And just when it seems--mind you,  I  am only saying seems--things appear to be returning to--oh, think  of it!--normal!


                                         As for who this reader may be, I cannot be sure, but I have an idea.  So, to that  person,  I say welcome;  I hope what follows lives up to what brought you here.  Lord know,  I do my best, in these trying  times.

                                           My God, sometimes I find myself writhing and suffering, in bed, like  Jennifer Jones, here next to Ermadean Walters, in the opening of  "The Song Of Bernadette."  Those initial, gasping, asthmatic breaths, and head turning, were the beginning of Jones' road to the 1943 Best Actress Oscar she most deservedly won.


                                            But I am no saint, or Oscar winner, just a blogger out to  please my readers.


                                             So, newcomer, welcome to this blog!   May it turn  out to be all you expected.


                                              Of course, I cannot welcome you, without the blog's unofficial theme song.  Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         

                                                             Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!