And Now, Girls, A Word From Patti Lu Pone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    No, dolls, I did not speak with Patti personally--can you imagine?-- but I did hear some very practical information from her, the other day, on YouTube,

                                      Patti is feeling the pandemic, too.  She should be performing "COMPANY" right now, and David and I should either have seen it by now, or purchased tickets for that.

                                       Forget it!

                                        PATTI is Broadway, not BARBRA!

                                        BARBRA, if you had followed a stage trajectory, rather than writing it off, after "Funny Girl, you might have become Broadway!

                                          Patti never wrote anything off.  She did stage, TV, movies, concerts, and don't forget Fantine in London.

                                            So, Patti knows her stuff.  If anyone in the biz does, it is she.

                                            She was asked by a reporter when she thought Broadway would come back.  She said not until sometime in 2021.

                                            I have to agree with her.  I mean, be realistic, with everyone crammed in to a sold-out engagement???????  She also said that places like concert halls and arena sports stadiums, would come back last.  I think she is right.  And I think it will be more the end of that year, than the beginning.  I mean, look where we are now?

                                             So, girls, listen to Patti!  She knows!

                                             But Patti, how I would have loved to see you live on stage in "COMPANY!"

Bitches Come From All Time Periods, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        According to the photo, these women are from the World War II era, but they look more turn of the century to me.  Those dresses!  My God, where is Frances Bavier????????????

                                          Before social entertainments, people made their own.  Among woman, knitting clubs were popular, (my mother, during my Sixties childhood, was one of the last of her generation to belong to one, with her friends from nursing school) but what they were really known as were Stitch N' Bitch Clubs, because there was as much gossip as knitting!  Sometimes even more!

                                            So, these S N' B'ers (I wonder if any are still alive?) are this week's winners of The Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award.  They are probably the most harmless of the lot I have ever posted on here, but, on the other hand, one does not know whose lives they ruined in their own neighborhoods!

                                               Honestly, why can't gay men catch on to the same idea?

                                               But then, to quote Henry Higgins from "My Fair Lady," "Straightening up their hair is all they ever do....why don't they straighten up the mess that's inside?"

                                                Oh, girls, does this apply to gay men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Playbill Ran A Quiz On What Musical Theater Character One Is Turning Into, During The Pandemic? I Took The Quiz, And Came Out as Belle, In "Beauty And The Beast!" But I Think What I Am Becoming Is "Do I Actually Want To Leave 'Grey Gardens'?"

                                    Yes, darlings, though I am not dealing with rats or feeding racoons, as our place is spotless.  But I feel safer and safer in my reclusive environment, and the world out there seems frightening.  So, maybe I am becoming a bit of Little Edie!  I know, I still would want to do a night club act.

                                       While I relate to the whole "Grey Gardens" thing, I am not ready for the decay and destruction.  Sort of like Miss Havisham, at Satis House, with the rats running all over
her wedding cake!

                                         Never!  I am getting used to, and almost like the seclusion, but that is as far as it goes!

                                           Stay well, darlings, no matter what character you become!

Social Distancing Is Very Important, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!! But What About Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee????????????????

                                   Next to Tenniel, they were best represented, as shown here, by the Disney artists in my favorite of his cartoons, the 1951 "Alice In Wonderland?"

                                     But how would they deal with what is going on today?  I mean, were they like Siamese Twins?  I can not remember.  But they always struck me as joined at the hip--literally--so social distancing enforcers would have a time with them.

                                       On the other hand, maybe the pandemic did not hit Wonderland!

                                        Get me there at once!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"See Funny Sally Ride Her Tricycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                               Actually, Sally is not riding a tricycle.  She is trying to pull the umbrella over her head, because the poor thing is intoxicated from just one Margarita she had to celebrate today, which is Cinco De Mayo!

                                               Happy Cinco De Mayo, darlings!

                                                See Dick and Jane get mad at Sally, because she did not let them have any!

                                                  Smart kid, that Sally!

                                                   Dick and Jane were the ones who were dumb!

If "The Monster Of Piedras Blancas" Means "The Monster Of White Stone," Why Didn't They Just Shoot This Cheesy Thing In Whitestone, Queens???????????????????

 

I mean, it deserves it, after all.

During my Sixties childhood, the big deal on Saturday nights was "Chiller Theatre" on Channel 11, in New York City.  They ran the trashiest stuff from 7:30 PM to 9PM.  It was a red letter week, when they were showing "She Demons," or "Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman," as these were two of my favorites.  I also loved "Daughter Of Dr. Jekyll."

But when "The Monster Of Piedras Blancas" was shown, after the first time I was scared to watch it. And that was because of the head shot, above.  To me, then, it seemed so real, and if this image were followed, the crustacean crawls right over the person's face!  Grossness plus!  It just freaked me out, darlings!

Actually, the film could have benefitted from Whitestone, Queens.  The beach and the light house, where this was shot, in California, looks identical to the one Bert I. Gordon would later use in "Tormented."

Actually, just look at this shot!  Imagine encountering this thing on the steps of a light house.  The rubber costume is so obvious, and so is the design, a knock off of "The Creature From The Black Lagoon."  But I guess Allied Artists did not have the budget, they were a cheap company, and this is the best they could do.  It might have hiked the ratings on "Chiller Theatre, but it did not bring dollars into the box-office.  I bet it was on the lower half of a double bill.

And, on the credits, no one is listed as playing the title character. As the cast list appears, it ends with "And The Monster Of Piedras Blancas."  My guess is whatever guy got into this suit, for the money--and what other reason would he?--he did not want people to know his true identity.  And can you blame him?

But it was all in good fun.  I can see that now.

Here is the original program opening.  This is what those of us who toiled through elementary school waited for avidly on Saturday night.  And get a load of the hysterical nurse!  What a performance!

She'd be even more terrified today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This May Help Explain Why I Do Not Read Much Non-Fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Now, I do read it, once in awhile.  Especially if it is something I am especially interested in.  Or, as in the case here, so many recommend the book to me.

                                            "The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks" is well written, and impeccably researched.  It is also a hard read, because the suffering, with cancer, that Henrietta goes through, which is chronicled in all its detail, is something no one deserves.  And how this came to influence her children and further relations.  The money spent, the money lost.  The good her cells did.  The thanks hardly any of the Lackses got.

                                              Also, not having a science background, I found those sections of the book dense.  If I had studied more science, or if Skloot could have made those sections more accessible to the general reader, it could have made a difference.  It also would have made the book longer,.and reading what was written was hard enough.

                                                 I can't not recommend this book; it is too good.

                                                 But I can issue a warning.

                                                 When you pick it up, darlings, be sure you know what you are in for!