Could The Corpse Flower Actually Be The Mariphasa???????????????????

                            When I started hearing about this plant thing, darling, the first thing to cross my mind was a film I had not seen in years--"Werewolf Of London."  The real villain of that film was not Henry Hull as Dr. Glendon, but Warner Oland as Dr. Yogami.  The two were searching for the Mariphasa, believed to cure lycanthropy--at least when used--and Yogami, as a werewolf, fought Glendon for it, biting him in the process, afflicting him with the same curse, with tragic results.

                            This is the first time a werewolf is seen in the film.  But it is not Henry Hull.  It is Warner Oland in the film's only shot of him as a werewolf.

                              The Corpse Flower--my God, you'd think people were waiting for some miracle, like Lo

urdes, when all it is going to do is emit a foul odor??????????  What good is that?????????  And who wants to smell it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                But, what scientific properties does it contain?  Could it be helpful.  I can see budding Dr. Glendons and Yogamis fighting over this one.

                                 If only I had taken Advanced Placement Biology!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And They Are Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       "This wheel's on fire,
                                                         Rolling down the road.
                                                         Best notify my next of kin,
                                                         This wheel shall explode."
                                                           --The "Absolutely Fabulous" Theme


                                              This is a film, darlings, where you check your brain in at the door, and have the time of your life.  They all look great. To think, Joanna Lumley is seventy!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, there were some surprises along the way.

                                               Julia Sawalha  looks great as Saffy. But when did she get married, and divorced?  Have I missed something?  Or forgotten?  Is Lola her daughter, or adopted?  Was Saffy married to a Black man?  Because, I am telling you, Lola is destined to follow in the footsteps of her Auntie Edina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              Now, you know how much I love Edina!  Sweeties, I AM Edina!  So, for us Edie fans, there are any number of pratfalls by Jennifer Saunders, including one where she tumbles out of a car.  I mean, it would not 'AbFab' without it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                               I did not expect to see Jane Horrocks or June Whitfield on hand!  Hell, I wasn't sure if Whitfield was still alive!  They are just as brilliant as ever!

                                                 Darlings--the fashion world, Lulu, Kate Moss, Mo Gaffney, Dame Edna--it adds up to a cackling cacophony of comedy that I needed desperately.  Not to mention how great it was to see this talented ensemble gathered again, and still at the top of their game.

                                                   The theme song is not sung, until the end.  Imagine my surprise--I have been watching this for twenty five years, but it was not till researching this post, that I discovered it was a Bob Dylan song!!!!!!!!!!!  Imagine that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Sweeties, you simply HAVE to see it!  Sneak some champagne into the theater, watch it, and get ripped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, I Am Telling You, The South Is Just As Bad In The Twentieth Century, As It Was In The Nineteenth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    This novel has been called by some the most daring of the year.  I am not so sure about that, but it is one of the most compelling and readable.  "The Sport Of Kings" takes place during the mid-part of the Twentieth Century--when integration and civil rights were starting to rear their heads as social issues--but, I am telling you, this novel has everything--father and son hatred, a nympho maniacal mother who carries on with Mandingo black bucks, (as does her daughter, who follows her) a horse breeding plantation in Kentucky, a Mandingo who is murdered, another who burns down the plantation, while the daughter who carries on with him also has an incestuous relationship with her father, and is punished for her sins!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     What I am describing may sound like the campiest thing since "Hurry, Sundown;" a grandiose amalgamation of Tennessee Williams at his most Gothic, but, believe me, it's not.  There is quite a bit of carefully researched scientific facts about raising and breeding horses, descriptions of birthings, geldings, and the reality of the horse world beyond Elizabeth Taylor in "National Velvet."

                                     "The Sport Of Kings" is a family saga, the kind that completely engrosses the reader, and one where the author's writing style is so serious, clear, and literate it transcends any potential campiness or excess.

                                        Its breadth and scope took my breath away.  I relished every page, and could see it ending up on my Ten Best list.  Read it, girl, and it may end up on yours.

                                        "'Jes' a few mo' days, for to tote duh weary load,
                                          No more, t'will never be light."

A Belated Birthday Wish To Mary-Louise Parker!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  This past Tuesday, August 2, was Mary-Louise Parker's birthday.  I wish I had looked this great when I was 52.  I hope she had a celebration so spectacular it is still going on, even as I write this.

                                     Everyone associated with me--my beloved, Cujo, Chloe, Bacci, Gojira and Baby Gojira--wish her a happy birthday, and cannot wait to see her on Broadway in September.

                                       Cheers, Mary-Louise, and have another Bellini!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, We Said Good-Bye To A Beloved Friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          It seems like I had not seen any of my neighborhood friends--Joan, Chloe, Missy, Teresa, and, of course, Cujo, for a long stretch.

                            So, imagine my surprise, when we got to 76th Street, and there, sitting waiting for me, was Missy. Today, Missy is leaving Bay Ridge, to begin a new life elsewhere, and she wanted to say goodbye. She is so sweet.  I hugged her, and she hugged me, and said how much I loved having had her in our neighborhood, and that she will be missed.  I have no doubt that Missy will be fine. She is a tough cookie!!!!!!!!!!

                             As if they sensed my sorrow, Bacci, and Cujo were out.  Bacci preened her feathers for me, while I clucked affectionately, and a happier looking Cujo than last week was waiting to cheer me up, because he knew I was upset at Missy's parting.

                              So, farewell, and God Bless, Missy.  You leave me in good hands, with Cujo, Chloe and Bacci!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking Of Prostitutes, Girls, Do You Really Want One As Your First Lady???????????????????????

                             On a recent "Law and Order" episode, from an earlier era, Sam Waterson, as Jack McCoy, and Jill Hennessy as Claire Kincaid, had an argument about what he termed her "latent feminism," countering that women thought all men are pigs, and should go to Hell.

                               He was clearly exaggerating, though I always questioned Jack's priorities; he slept with more than several of his female assistant ADA's, and there is no doubt Claire was one of them. I always felt, had Jill not been killed, and written out, Claire would have become Mrs. McCoy.

                                 Alas.

                                If you want to talk about men being pigs, though, one cannot ask for a better example than Donald Trump. What does he know about women?  What respect does he have for them?  All he cares about is tits and pussy, and getting meals served for his fatness to expand.

                                 That Melania!  She is some tramp, not Trump!  At least, Ivana had class; I don't know her back story, but she made some effort, a la Eva Person, and had she been in the First Lady candidate position now, I would not mind. But that Melania!  What does she know about taste? Or decorating? Or fashion? She knows about giving head, and shooting lesbian porn, but is this what we want for our country? The nation will into one Heterosexist Massage Parlor.

                                  So, let's call Melania by her real name--not Melania Trump, but Melania Tramp!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome, August!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Isn't his the month of Caesar, darlings???????????   Wasn't this month named for Augustus Caesar????????

                               In any case, this is the eighth month of the year.  Already!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I have always had an ambivalent relationship with it from when I was  a child, and it meant the next month was September, and Back To School.

                               August still gives me a creepy feeling.  Its end signals Summer winding down, which is depressing enough, and the coming darkness of Winter.  It is a little bit depressing.

                                 But just live in the here and now, girls, with this month bringing all kinds of fun, thrills excitement, and  literature!  Not to mention the 47th Anniversary of Woodstock!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                 Have fun in August, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!