March Marches Out, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Spring came, and so did a potential slugfest at the Oscars, and with everyone talking about "March Madness," I want to say this was one of the maddest in my memory.

                                         Forget the Lion-Lamb rubric.  Every day was different weather, a different season.  Yeah, sure, Spring is here, but who would know it?

                                           Still life went on--books got read, doctors visited, and now we wait the coming of April.  But remember, darlings, "April showers bring May flowers."  It could be a soaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             But Mad March--don't forget the swallows--is behind us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              On to a new month, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  See you, then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Four More Days Till Beanie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            A warning to the cast and crew of "Funny Girl--"The Raving Queen is coming for the Saturday matinee, and everyone, by then should have their act together.  I am especially worried, based on footage of what I have seen and heard, and the word on the street is not good.

                                             I am as willing as anyone to give it a chance.  But so far, Beanie's vocals have been sub-par.  And no, it is not about her not being BARBRA, it is about her not having a voice rich and strong enough to handle the demands of the score.  Mike her to the max, maybe?  There is always hope for improvement, but if Beanie continues the way she has, I fear her voice will burn out, as did Madeline Kahn's in "On  The Twentieth Century."  When Bernadette Peters did "Gypsy," back in 2003--my God, 19 years???????-- I feared for her, as in the belting numbers she was just making the notes.  But she survived.  After all, she had more experience.

                                                Not so Beanie.  But I have already heard about vocal problems, so while I am holding out as much hope as anyone till Saturday, my tongue is placed firmly in cheek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                  As the song says,"there's whiskey, there's gambling, each one is a curse!"

                                                  But Beanie is up against "a devil that's worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Darlings, I Just LOVED "The Tragedy Of Macbeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                        Girls, this is something you have just GOT to see!  The first thing it proves is that shooting a film in black and white is not gone forever.  Though I am sure some heavy condensations have been made, this 'Macbeth' was fast moving, yet extracted all the dramatic juices that I love so much from it.

                                            Denzel and Company spoke the verse so well, it made me want to go back to Shakespearean acting, which I did much of, in my youth.  Even the servants are well spoken, here, which is more than can be said for whom one hires today!  

                                              Four people walk off with this film.  Kathryn Hunter, playing all three of the Witches, or as called here, "the Weird Sisters," livens up the film with her make-up and vocal delivery.  Frances McDormand gives an understated, yet chilling portrayal, of one of literature's all-time bitches, which is why I love the character, and how the actress plays her.  Too bad her death takes place off screen.  It is never known how she was killed--stabbed or pushed?  And no blood?  Is that poetic license of some kind?

                                                    The cinematography and art direction also walk off with this film, giving it a grotesque, Gothic, and at times Bergmanesque quality, making this probably the best 'Macbeth' captured on film.

                                                        How I would love to see this on a big screen, sometime!  And how upsetting this was not nominated for more Oscars.  I had thought it was nominated for Best Picture, for which it should have won, but not so.  Nor Kathryn or Frances, either, who should have won!  How upsetting to see art denigrated!

                                                        "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!"

                                                           Heh!  Heh!  Heh!

                                                           Girls, it is a hoot, but it is brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                March has been one of the maddest of Marchs--lion to lamb and back in barely a span of a day!  Who knows if what we know as Spring will actually arrive??????????

                                                  Today, there is something wonderful to celebrate.  The birthday of the beloved--to everyone on here, darlings! --Amy Sedaris!!!!!!!!!!   Amy is 61 today, and doesn't she look lovely?  Her brother, David is SO right, when he says Amy is the most attractive of the Sedaris siblings!

                                                    So, a happy birthday to Amy--how I would love to see her multi-colored decorated apartment!!!!!!!!!!--and how much I, and so many, miss her on television.  Come back to us, Amy.  Your special brand of cheery humor, not to mention Patty Hogg, Lesbo, Nutmeg, and Chassie Tucker, is so missed; please come back to TV, Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    But, meantime, congratulations, and have a fabulous birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why Wasn't Blake Lively, In Her Rainbow Versace Dress ,(Which I Would Just LOVE To Wear!) Not At The Oscars, Last Night? She Should Have Been!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Absolutely no question her presence would have helped, as there was demonstrably little class to the program.  Let me say that right before tuning in, I had just viewed "The Tragedy Of Macbeth,"(Oh, my God, girls, you HAVE to see it!) mistakenly thinking it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress--Frances McDormand. Both of whom should have won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           What class there was consisted of Anthony Hopkins, Lady Gaga, and Liza Minnelli.  Now, no one expected Liza to stand on a chair, singing "Bye, Bye, Mein Liebe Herr," but couldn't "Cabaret," with Liza, been given as much honor time as the overrated, "The Godfather?"  And what was up with poor Liza?  Lawdy, Lawdy!  Did she know what was going on?  Where she was?  What was up?  The poor thing!  Lady Gaga pulled it off with class.

                                        But I know what you want to hear about--the slap seen 'round the world!  I say to Will Smith, You go, Girl Bitch!  Slap that Chris Rock across the face!  He should have knocked him flat across the stage!  As for Will, he had no idea he was going to win an Oscar.  I have to say that was quite a surprise.  I was expecting Benedict Cumberbatch!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Now Jada Pickett, Will's wife, has alopecia, and has spoken candidly about it.  Chris needs to keep his mouth shut, dissing people's personal afflictions, especially with millions plus witnessing this.  Poor Jada!  Between that and the slap, that couple must have either had a quiet ride home, or a heatedly discussed one.

                                             That this would happen proves the Oscars is going down the tubes.

                                               And no doubt--it will be spoofed next year, or maybe earlier, on SNL!!!!!!!

                                              Blake, where were you, when needed?????????????????????????

Well, It Was Better Than "The Beast With A Million Eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                     This film was ground out by AIP in 1955.  Roger Corman had a lot to do with it.  The most interesting thing about this film was the title.  As you can see, this creature barely has two eyes, much less a million.  The title was its best feature.

                                                         It was about a dysfunctional California family running a date farm, who are menaced by an alien from space.  Kid of "John Steinbeck Meets 'Alien.'"

                                                          All of which is to let you know that Svengoolie's screening of "The Beast With Five Fingers," while not quite the camp Gothic Warner Bros. had hoped for, was at least better than the above 1955 film.  Warner Bros. achieved camp Gothic success two years later, in 1948, with its adaptation of the Wilkie Collins classic, "The Woman In White.."  It starred Alexis Smith and Eleanor Parker, but they were upstaged by Sidney Greenstreet at his campiest.  I am telling you, girls, you have got to see him, in this.  He is a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                             As for 'Five Fingers,' all I will say is the moment he came on screen, I knew something was wrong with Peter Lorre, who gives a wonderfully understated performance.  What else would one expect from Peter Lorre?  I never thought things would turn out the way they did, darlings, because everyone was upstaged by a menacing, disembodied hand, who, more than twenty years later, went on to play Thing on the TV series "The Addams Family."  It is hard for disembodied organ parts to find work, in Hollywood!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                               If you watched it, you know what I am talking about.  If you missed, I am sure it will turn up again, somewhere.  It is worth catching.

                                                                When Peter Lorre died, on March 23, 1964, the editor of "Famous Monsters Of Filmland," Forrest J. Ackerman, paid tribute to him in a subsequent issue, which I had, that said, in part, "With weird wide eyes, and strange voiced lips./His unique face launched a thousand grips."

                                                                    Get a grip yourselves, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                 

Good For The Broadway League!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                               I do not like our Mayor, Eric Adams.  I did not like when he was running, I did not like having to vote for him, but then, what choice did I have?

                                                The mayor has further disenchanted me with his deification of sports figures, an overly overt practice in our country.  Actors were included here--so the message is the more famous you are, the more one gets away with.  Should I be surprised?  No!

                                                 But what about the opera?  The ballet?  The NY Philharmonic?

                                                  The problem is with more unvaccinated people running around, the populace is not safe. Adams is a narcissistic opportunist, with no political panache, and should not even be Mayor.  He espouses concern for safety, but not really if he is allowing this slide.  Which could lead to another surge, and possibly another quantitively huge loss of people, resulting in another city shut down.  Oh, well.  As long as sports go on.

                                                    So much for Adams. I want, however, to praise The Broadway League for taking a stand against this, making sure both actors and audiences are safe.  With strong minded people like Patti LuPone in the biz, there is no way they will allow this to fly.

                                                      It is sad that those benefiting from Adams' edict have no conscience, uncaring what they are inflicting not only on each other, but themselves.  If they get hurt, hey, they brought it on themselves, but if the innocent are damaged, there is no excuse.

                                                       Eric Adams preached, and still does, he is all about community representation.  Fine.  But not if the only communities benefitted are those above commonality and yourself.

                                                          Get with the program, Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    
       

Bringing You Some Spring Cheer, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Some of you, upon listening, may recall this being used as a commercial theme for "British Airways," several years back.  Delibes knew what he was doing.  When I need comfort via music, this is one of the pieces I turn to.  The sound is simply beautiful, and, as I listen, I become one of the flowers.

                                          I mean, as a belated Flower Child, why not?

                                     Here is the piece, done by Dame Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne.  Listen, and take a deep, contented breath, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, Join Us All Tomorrow Evening, As Svengoolie Presents "The Beast With Five Fingers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                       Let me tell you, girls, in another time of life, I knew plenty of beasts with five fingers, and they were all over me.  I had to smack them off.

                                        But this 1946 Peter Lorre movie, which I have heard of since I was a kid, I know little about.  Would you believe David has seen this film, and I have not?  And I am the horror maven, here!

                                         So, there is much excitement in this house over tomorrow night's screening.  How scary will it be?  Let's find out, together!  And Svengoolie and Company will be on hand to make it fun.

                                           Whether it's popcorn or champagne, gather with us tomorrow as we watch this well-known horror film from the 1940's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                A decade when people dressed better than they do today!
 

All The Books I Read In 2021!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        I know you have been waiting for this for a long time, darlings, but it may take longer.  I made an all-time record--124 titles--that I expect never to match again so there will be a long interval between composing and posting.  Let's get started.

                                                      

                                               1.  "Great Expectations," by Charles Dickens

                                                                                

                                                 2.  "Convenience Store Woman," by Sayaka Murata

                                                                                  

                                                   3.  "Rabbits For Food," by Binnie Kirshenbaum

                                                                                

                                                     4.  "This Tender Land," by William Kent Krueger

                                                                                  

                                                  5.  "The Guest List," by Lucy Foley

                                                                                   

                                                   6.  "The Juniper Tree," by Barbara Comyns

                                                                                  

                                                     7.  "Nothing Can Hurt You," by Nicola Maye Goldberg

                                                                                      

                                                   8.  "Ducks, Newburyport," by Lucy Ellmann

                                                                                     

                                                     9.  "The Wrong Family," by Tarryn Fisher

                                                                                

                                                    10.  "Pew," by Catherine Lacey

                                                                               

                                                   11.  "Transcendent Kingdom," by Yaa Gyasi

                                                                                   

                                                    12.  "Shelter In Place," by David Leavitt

                                                                                

                                                   13.  "The American Fiancée," by Eric Dupont

                                                                                    

                                                      14.  "Weather," by Jenny Offill

                                                                                   

                                                      15.  "The Golden Son," by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

                                                                                    

                                                    16.  "The Murder Room," by P.D. James

                                                                                  

                                                           17.  "The Shame," by Makenna Goodman

                                                                                      

                                                 18.  "Perestroika In Paris," by Jane Smiley

                                                                                 

                                                     19.  "The Push," by Ashley Audrain

                                                                                   

                                                     20.  "The Boy In The Field," by Margot Livesey

                                                                                      

                                                     21.  "Sisters," by Daisy Johnson

                                                                               

                                                     22.  "Greenwood," by Michael Christie

                                                                                     

                                                    23.  "Girl, Woman, Other," by Bernardine Evaristo

                                                                                     

                                                        24.  "The Nickel Boys," by Colson Whitehead

                                                                                     

                                                   25.  "The Madwoman Upstairs," by Catherine Lowell

                                                                                   

                                                    26.  "Wuthering Heights," by Emily Bronte

                                                                                    

                                                   27.  "Cleanness," by Garth Greenwell

                                                                                 

                                                    28.  "Luster," by Raven Leilani

                                                                              

                                                    29.  "The House On Vesper Sands," by Paraic O'Donnell

                                                                                     

                                                   30.  "These Violent Delights," by Michael Nemerever

                                                                                    

                                                    31.  "The Cold Millions," by Jess Walter

                                                                              

                                                    32.  "Anxious People," by Fredrik Backman

                                                                                  

                                                    33.  "A Thousand Acres," by Jane Smiley

                                                                                   

                                                    34.  "The Invisible Man," by H. G. Wells

                                                                                      

                                                    35.  "A Beautiful Crime," by Christopher Bollen

                                                                                 

                                                     36.  "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow And Other Stories," by                                                                                         Washington Irving

                                                                                     

                                                  37.  "The Sanatorium," by Sarah Pearse

                                                                               

                                                     38.  "Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead," by Olga                                                                                Tokarczuk

                                                                                   

                                                    39.  "That Old Country Music," by Kevin Barry

                                                                                    

                                                    40.  "We Begin At The End," by Chris Whitaker

                                                                                    

                                                  41.  "Summerwater," by Sarah Moss

                                                                                    

                                                     42.  "Milk Fed," by Melissa Broder

                                                                                

                                                    43.  "How Beautiful We Were," by Imbolo Mbue

                                                                                      

                                                     44.  "The City We Became," by N. K. Jemisin

                                                                                   

                                                   45.  "Gold Diggers," by Sanjena Sathian

                                                                                  

                                                    46.  "Black Buck," by Mateo Askaripour

                                                                                   

                                                         47.  "Lake Success," by Gary Shteyngart

                                                                                         

                                                    48.  "The Astonishing Life Of August March," by Aaron Jackson

                                                                                         

                                                   49.  "The Girl With The Louding Voice," by Abi Dare

                                                                                   

                                                  50.  "The Murmur Of Bees," by Sofia Segovia

                                                                                   

                                                     51.  "The Silent Patient," by Alex Michaelides

                                                                               

                                                  52.  "You Should Have Known," by Jean Hanf Korelitz

                                                                                       

                                                     53.  "The Midnight Library," by Matt Haig

                                                                                  

                                                    54.  "The Orchard," by David Hopen

                                                                                    

                                                  55.  "Yes, Daddy," by Jonathan Parks Ramage

                                                                                   

                                                    56.  "The Paris Wife," by Paula Mclain

                                                                                    

                                                   57.  "Light Perpetual," by Francis Spufford

                                                                                       

                                                                                     

                                                   58.  "Antiquities," by Cynthia Ozick

                                                                               

                                                    59.  "Of Women And Salt," by Garbriela Garcia

                                                                                   

                                                  60.  "Milk Blood Heat," by Dantiel W. Moniz

                                                                              

                                                     61.  "City Of A Thousand Gates," by Rebecca Sacks

                                                                                 

                                                  62.  "When The Stars Go Dark," by Paula McClain

                                                                                     

                                                 63.  My Year Abroad," by Chang-Rae Lee

                                                                                    

                                                    64.  "The Damage," by Caitlin Wahrer

                                                                                  

                                                   65.  "Moonflower Murders," by Anthony Horowitz

                                                                                   

                                                 66.  "Good Company," by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

                                                                                       

                                                    67.  "Paradise, Nevada," by Dario Diofebi

                                                                                     

                                                  68.  "Olympus, Texas," by Stacey Swann

                                                                                    

                                                  69.  "Falling," by T. J. Newman

                                                                                

                                                    70.  "The Plot," by Jean Hanff Korelitz

                                                                               

                                                     71.  "Detransition, Baby," by Torrey Peters

                                                                                   

                                                    72.  "Actress," by Anne Enright

                                                                              

                                                     73.   "The Song Of Achilles," by Madeline Miller

                                                                                

                                                     74.  "Later," by Stephen King

                                                                              

                                                     75.  "Open Water," by Caleb Azumah Nelson

                                                                                  

                                                 76.  "The First Day Of Spring," by Nancy Tucker

                                                                                  

                                                    77.  "The Other Black Girl," by Zakiya Dalila Harris

                                                                                   

                                                    78.  "Mayflies," by Andrew O'Hagan

                                                                                

                                                79.  "Not A Happy Family," by Shari Lapena

                                                                                 

                                                    80.  "We Are The Brennans," by Tracy Lange

                                                                                 

  81.  "Ethel Rosenberg--An American Tragedy," by Anne Sebba

                                                  82.  "Great Circle," by Maggie Shipstead

                                                                                   

                                                 83.  "The Child," by Fiona Barton

                                                                                 

                                                      84.  "Foregone," by Russell Banks

                                                                               

                                                  85.  "Patsy," by Nicole Dennis-Benn

                                                                            

                                                     86.  "Hour Of The Witch," by Chris Bohjalian

                                                                                  

                                                    87.  "The Prophets," by Robert Jones, Jr.

                                                                                  

                                                         88.  "The Lightning Keeper," by Starling Lawrence

                                                                                         

                                                       89.  "Beautiful World, Where Are You?" by Sally Rooney

                                                                                           

                                                  90.  "Matrix," by Lauren Groff

                                                                            

                                                    91.  "The Magician," by Colm  Toibin

                                                                                    

                                                    92.  "Damnation Spring," by Ash Davidson

                                                                                     

                                                   93.  "Harlem Shuffle," by Colson Whitehead

                                                                                      

                                                         94.  I, The King," by Frances Parkinson Keyes

                                                                                       

                                                    95.  "Cloud Cuckoo Land," by Anthony Doerr

                                                                                    

                                                     96.  "Everyone Knows How Much I Love You," by Kyle McCarthy

                                                                                          

                                                    97.  "The Lincoln Highway," by Amor Towles

                                                                                     

                                                98.  "Peyton Place," by Grace Metalious

                                                                              

                                                     99.  "Crossroads," by Jonathan Franzen

                                                                               

                                                     100.  "Happy All The Time, by Laurie Colwin

                                                                                       

                                                  101.  "The Shadow King," by Maaza Mengiste

                                                                                      

                                                102.  "Cobble Hill," by Cecily Von Ziegesar

                                                                                  

                                                  103.  "I'm Thinking Of Ending Things," by Iain Reid

                                                                                  

                                                   104.  "Florida," by Lauren Groff

                                                                              

                                               105.  "The Woman From Uruguay," by Pedro Marial

                                                                                

                                                 106.  "Intimacies," by Kate Kitamura

                                                                                

                                               107.  "Afterparties," by Anthony Veasana So

                                                                                 

                                                108.  "Agatha Of Little Neon," by Claire Luchette

                                                                                   

                                                   109.  "Mrs. March," by Virginia Feito

                                                                                     

                                                     110.  "The Souvenir Museum," by Elizabeth McCracken

                                                                                     

                                                111.  "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and "Thorough The Looking                                                                        Glass," by Lewis Carroll

                                                                                 

                                                112.  "The Maidens," by Alex Michaelides

                                                                                 

                                                      113.  "The Secret History," by Donna Tartt

                                                                                   

                                                    114.  "Five Tuesdays In Winter," by Lily King

                                                                                      

                                                    115.   "Razorblade Tears," by S. A. Crosby 

                                                                                  

                                                    116.  "Our Country Friends," by Gary Shteyngart

                                                                                   

                                                   117.  "A Calling For Charlie Barnes," by Joshua Ferris

                                                                                    

                                                  118.  "The Sentence," by Louise Erdrich

                                                                                    

                                                119.  "Jane Eyre," by "Charlotte Bronte

                                                                              

                                                 120.  "When We Were Young," by Richard Roper

                                                                                    

                                                    121.  "A Line To Kill," by Anthony Horowitz

                                                                                     

                                                  122.  "The Power Of The Dog," by Thomas Savage

                                                                                     

                                                    123.  "The People We Keep," by Allison Lauren

                                                                                  

                                           124.  "David Copperfield," by Charles Dickens

                                          There you have it, darlings--all the books I read in 2021.  I began and ended the year with Dickens; that was not planned.  Every year I aim for 100, as I am doing this year, but this is my all-time record, so far, and I do not expect to surpass it.  But who knows?  Let it be my literary legacy.

                                           This took me over two months to post.   So, take a look, and pick and choose.

Let me know what you like or dislike.

                                           Happy Reading, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!