Two Selfish Bitches, Who Wanted To Keep Everything They Had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Recently, I had a chance to watch the classic 1991 "Law And Order" episode "In Memory Of."  This was based on the George Franklin case, involving repressed memory.  In real life, George's grown daughter said she recalled her father raping and murdering her playmate, Susan Nason, while she was nearby.  Franklin was convicted and imprisoned, but the whole repressed memory thing was overturned, and he was released.  Personally, I think he did it, and if her is out there, he does not deserve to walk the streets.

                         The "Law And Order" episode begins with construction workers, demolishing an abandoned apartment building.  Within the walls of the basement, where the laundry was, are found the skeletal remains of a young boy.  The remains turn out to be Tommy Keegan, who went missing, three decades before, in 1962.  The detectives talk to surviving residents of that building back then, whom they track down.  One of them turns out to be Julie Atkinson, a flower shop owner, and veteran of bad relationships, so traumatized by her parents, Thaddeus and Catherine Messimer (played by Michael Higgins and  Rosemary Murphy) she has disowned them.  Julie is played by Mary Joan Negro; what ever happened to her, she was a good actress!!!!!!!!!  As she is questioned, she recalls walking home from school with Tommy (with whom she was friends) that day.  Her mother went to a meeting of some sort, her father was home, and when she woke up to use the bathroom,she saw him covered in blood, washing a blue sweater.  He gave her a monstrous look.  When Mrs. Keegan finds out, she realizes Thaddeus, who mentored Tommy, must have killed him.  Especially when a former coworker of his tells a story of their communting back to the city from the suburbs. Thad goes to use the men's room, but does not come out.  The coworker walks in, and finds a cop ready to charge Thad with child molestation, but the worker talks him out of it. But there is a boy nearby, in the bathroom. Julie testifies, Thad admits to the crime, and is put away.  But I maintain his wife, Catherine, should have been charged, and put away. That bitch knew exactly what her husband was, and when Tommy went missing, I bet she knew he did it, and all she thought about was not poor Tommy, or her daughter, Julie, or Mrs.Keegan (who was widowed; hence Thad mentoring Tommy), bu  that they would be found out.  I have no doubt she knew just what her husband was.  Which makes Catherine Messimer the first winner of this week's Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award

                         Seeing this episode brought back memories of the 2007 "Cold Case" episode, "Offender."
In that one, Clayton Hathaway, the six-year-old son of Mitch and Tara Hathaway, goes missing one Sunday.  back in 1987.  His body is found at Mitch's construction site, raped and murdered.  Mitch is the obvious suspect, he goes to prison, and his wife Tara (played by Jordan Baker) left him, calling him a monster.  In the present, Mitch is released on a technicality, with a vigilante's determination to kill every sex offender in the area, until he finds his son's killer. Lily and Company happen upon this, just as Mitch has done away with several pedophiles.  They elnist the aid of ex-wife, Tara, to stop him.  Tara recalls their friends, Clifford and Linda Burrell,  back then, living nearby.  Cliff and Linda helped search for Clay, and were very supportive.  But Tara recalls finding discarded pictures of a sleeping Johnny Burrell, in a bathroom cabinet.  She thought Mitch had taken these, but , when the detectives talk to the now grown Johnny, he reveals his dad, Cliff, took them.  All roads are leading to Cliff, as the killer of Clayton.  The child was bullied by another child, that day, and when Burrell went to help, he lured him into the garage, closed the door, where he raped and murdered Clay.  Mitch gets hold of Cliff on a rooftop, determined to avenge his son's killer, and then end his life.  Tara apologizes, and asks Mitch to forgive her for not believing him, saying they can start again,.Mitch backs off, he and Cliff are hauled off, and Clayton's ghost smiles, at seeing his parents reunited.

                        But, in a funeral; scene, set in the past, at the time of Clayton's death, the way Stephanie Manglaras, as Linda Burrell, played that scene, suggested to me, she not only knew what her husband was, but that the boy whose funeral service they were at had been killed by him.  Which is why Linda should have been hauled away with Cliff, making her the second winner of the Raving Queen Bitch Of The Week Award.

                        Both situations are fictional.  But there are real life versions of these bitches, hiding behind their cloaks of respectability, just to keep their ill gotten gains.  I hope Time catches up to you losers, because if it doesn't, I will look you in the eyes, walking down the street, and smack you across the face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         What else can I do, darlings???????????????????????????????

Happy Bastille Day, Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Does anyone know what Bastille Day is, anymore?  Was it only coincidence, or something subconscious, that chose me to pick it as one of my vacation days??????????

                             Yes, darlings, here I sit, on my own time, writing away, a steaming cup of coffee, next to me.  Life, as it should be.  But I have so much to do today--errands, the bookstore to get something to read fitting in with my system (which will eventually be explained!!!!!!!) and other things at hand.  Maybe a movie.

                                We really don't have any Bastille Day plans!  I just like taking a break in mid-July!  Before I break, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  So. to any out there, who truly do celebrate Bastille Day, I wish you the happiest of days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, This Will Outdo "Springtime For Hitler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                             Now, darlings, I am hardly one to make light of the Holocaust.  But the other night, a friend mentioned someone they knew acquainted with a woman named Ilsa.  I have not heard that name in ages, and it brought back to me thoughts of this film, "Ilsa, She Wolf Of The S S," which I have not seen in twenty years, and is more than forty years old.  It was first shown in 1975.  Imagine that. How did I miss it?

                                               Well, for starters, it is high camp, tinged with porn. Straight porn, that is.  Can one go too far in the areas of camp and porn????  Well, among gay men, there is "Centurions Of Rome."  I don't have to say any more. On the distaff side, the 'Ilsa' films (this one was so successful a whole series emerged) made a strong argument for that case.

                                                  Lesbians and straight men with dominatrix fantasies will just love Ilsa, who beats, whips, urinates, orally rapes and degrades hers to command with such abandon those under her command love it.  Actually, it is one of the funniest films I have ever seen.  Not that I would watch it a second time, but it should be experienced once.  (Gay men will have a time laughing at how these straight guys get off!  What ever happened to K-Y???????????)

                                                   Having done that, like me, one will never think of the name Ilsa in the same way, should it be heard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The World, According To Mary-Louise Parker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           And what a world it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           When Miss Parker walked into my life, as I watched her running to catch a bus in Manhattan, yelling, "Hooooold it!!!!!!," I instantly saw her as someone I could relate to, as I had been there, myself. In every thing I have seen her in, there is always some moment, where something her characters do connect with me.  Like when she admits she wrote the equation in "Proof;"I thought of how many times I had done things but wasn't able to explain how I did them.  I just knew how. Or I visualized.

                                              So, when the book appeared, I thought, "Oh, now she is writing a book. Really."  But once the word started pouring in, and with all the focus on the "Cabdriver Chapter," I
thought, if I admire Miss Parker as much as I say I do, I ought to read her book.

                                               Before going on, let me say, that during my early days of discovery, I would wonder if she was related to Sarah Jessica Parker, or the heiress to the Parker Bros. game company, or to the Jane Parker, cake and bread and rolls company of the 1950's.  Well, the book makes clear she is none of these.

                                                She is complex and indomitable.  Let me say that while I knew all about the "Cabdriver Chapter," before I read it, and it did take me to a time in my life, when I was trying to cab it back to my apartment in Woodside, and the cabdriver did not know where we were going, with both of us becoming more hysterical, to the point of me accusing him of kidnapping, and he wanting to drop me off at a police station!  I kid you not; I was hysterical. Somehow--and I do NOT know how--I did make it home, that night.

                                                    What was fresh and engaging to me was, brilliant as she is, Mary-Louise has her own way of doing things, which resulted her getting probation her first semester, at the University Of North Carolina School Of The Arts, where is she now is their most distinguished graduate.  "A Chorus Line" was right.  We all, no matter how brilliant, have our own Mr. Karp.
More interesting than the "Cabdriver Chapter," was the way on Cerberus. I want to know who this was--one guy, or three different guys, or a guy with three distinct personalities.

                                                       Both Mary-Louise and I are youngest children, which means we have standards, darling, and they had better damn well be met.

                                                        Let me add, her writing is as lyrical and incisive as her acting. Over the years, rumors have surfaced about her wanting to give up acting, which I hope she does not do, but I also hope she writes more, because I want to read what she has to say.

                                                           I have never read a more moving chronicle of adult children facing the passing of a parent--their father--than the way Miss Parker writes.  It took me back to that time when my mother was lost to us, 37 years before.

                                                            Which is to say this is not some celebrity tell-all. This is a woman revealing herself as another human being among so many of us.  She just happens to write and act brilliantly.

                                                                Thanks for sharing, Mary-Louise.  I look forward to more!!!!!!!!!!
                                         

Now, I Am Beginning To Think Lin Manuel Miranda Is A Media Whore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       When no one knew who the guy was, darlings, I started out liking him.  I loved "In The Heights."  Then along came this precedent setting piece called "Hamilton," which I have not seen yet, but I promise I will. Something about me has resisted it. It cannot be THAT good.

                                           Most girls on here knew that Saturday night was Miranda's last performance in the role he not only performed, but created.  Thirty years ago, I might have crashed my way into the show, and stood on line outside to see him. But, at this stage of my life, I feel people should pay to look at me, and wait for me  outside!!!!!!!!!  You hear that????????  I have to hand it to Lin, and I do.  But, do you know what happened after the show??????????/

                                              He marched off stage, after the final bow, and got rid of his "Hamilton" locks, appearing at the back stage door, shorn.  How egotistical!  And then posting the cut hair on social media?  I mean. it is disgusting? Suppose it has lice?

                                                  Did Donna McKechnie post her Cassie skirt online, after finishing that role in "A Chorus Line."  Would she have, had it been possible?????????  Of course not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    Not even those with great hair, like Meryl Streep, Blythe Danner or Mary-Louise Parker would do such a thing.

                                                      Which just shows what a cash cow Miranda is!  A big old media whore, who will probably donate it to the highest bidder.  Who will get it?  Harvard?  Boston?  Any archives I might know?  Who the hell would want it!

                                                          Lin Manuel has gotten too big for his own good.  He should take a lesson from Julie Taymor.

                                                          If he does not mind his P's and Q's, he will end up on the Island Of Lost Directors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Parents, Make Up Your Minds, Do You Want Children??????????????"

                        When I heard ENCORES Off-Center would be doing "Runaways," I had several reactions. Part of me wanted to audition, just to sing that score, even though I am one of those who saw the Original production, back in 1978.  The second was nervousness; could a different generation perform this piece, would it hold up, or would it fall apart?  But once I heard that original cast member Trini Alvarado's daughter was in the production, I said I HAD to see this.  And so my beloved--who had never seen it, but is fond of the Original Cast CD, which we listen to a lot, and I had memorized ever since it was on vinyl--and I went.  We were glad we did.

                          The setting is a place for the discarded. Into this arena come discarded youth, done in by their parents or society.  A plaintive young voice explains how she just ran away, another chimes in how they had no choice; they HAD to go.  Suddenly, hordes of kids begin taking the stage, running furiously in place, and before one knows it, the audience is immersed in Elizabeth Swados' words and visions, intoned by the cast, as they go into the show's opening mantra, "Where Do People Go?"

                            And I went wild.  I daresay I was not the only one.

                             I wondered if the show would be trimmed. Because it is filled with so many Seventies references that might not be relevant. Or may have other meanings today, as when the name "O.J. Simpson" was mentioned, there was cynical laughter among the crowd.

                              The audience, I imagine, consisted of those such as I who had seen it originally, those coming to it for the first time, and the friends and classmates of the cast members.  Done for the first time without an Intermission, and at a breakneck pace, this "Runaways" was pretty much intact. The only noticeable song missing was "Minnesota Strip," though its  refrain, "Stay away, Stay away" was used.

                               I had been afraid songs like "Find Me A Hero," "The Undiscovered Son," and "The Basketball Song" might have been cut. But there they were, with all the familiar favorites.  And, of course, there were some standouts.

                                 The girl who performed "Song Of A Child Prostitute" was as haunting and shocking, tinged with innocence, as when Diane Lane did it, back in 1978.  I swear, the girl who sang "Lullaby From Baby To Baby," was channeling Trini, with a voice both innocent and sultry--just like she, back in '78.

                                    Whoever did "Sometime" and "To The Dead Of Family Wars" deserves special kudos for tremendously effective renderings of two very difficult pieces.

                                       The curtain call was extremely moving. After the bows were taken, sheets of paper appeared among the cast, who held each one up to spell, "Thank you, Liz!"  I cried real tears!!!!!!!!

                                       My only caveat was with one of my favorites, "No Lullabies For Luis."  Maybe the girl singer needed more amping on the mike, because, while she sang it well, it did not have the compelling urgency or vocal strength or authority of its originator, Josie De Guzman.  Josie will always own the number.

                                         I hated when the show ended. I wanted it to go on.  I would like to see it move somewhere, so this most talented ensemble--the best all Summer--can hone their craft.   Still, I am glad I followed my impulse in seeing "Runaways."  I have no regrets, but I feel sorry for those who did not get to see it!

                                           Will another 38 years have to pass before it is noticed again?????

                               

Girls, I Cannot Wait To Make The Linguine Alla Cecca!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               I mean, darlings, who would think a book dealing with marital breakup would cover this?  Basically it is simple--cut up some fresh tomato and garlic, put them in a pan containing olive oil, and cook lightly, set aide, boil some linguine, then pour some uncooked sauce and the mixture over the pasta, and mix together.  Who would have thought?  It' so simple, I might surprise my beloved with a home cooked meal this week.

                               As for the marital breakup, well, you know, girls, Nora Ephron, was married, for a time to Carl Bernstein.  Yes, THAT Carl Bernstein.  Here, Nora becomes Rachel, and Carl is Mark Felt.  Basically he feels too much, regarding women, which is his problem, but then becomes Rachel's.  But Nora steps back and manages to view things with an acerbic objectivity that is refreshing.  We are deep in Joan Didion territory, but a style radically different from, and infinitely more readable, than Didion.

                                 Can you believe I have never seen the movie with Meryl Streep?  I know that is hard to believe for some of you on here, and it is something I need to correct as soon as possible.

                                   I have to wonder what took me so long to read "Heartburn?"  It has been around, and I loved what Nora did with "Julie And Julia."

                                     But this "Heartburn" is not contagious. The only thing the reader will catch is delight, both in the recipes, and in raking the soon-to-be ex-husband over the coals.

                                       And, of course, I would love to know whom Thelma Rice was based on!
What a tramp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!