Gojira Wishes Everyone A Merry Christmas And Joyous Holiday Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           As we prepare to light the Hanukah candles tonight, and put up the Christmas decorations on Friday, Gojira wants to take time out from resting on the laurels of his latest film, and wish everyone on here a joyous Holiday season, no matter the feast celebrated..

                             The lovable reptilian movie star is ready to share gifts with us all, and as Santa's best assistant, next to Rudolph, he is so happy to bring happiness to others.

                               Which is what this season is all about.  So, let us follow Gojira's example!

                                Happy Holidays, everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gojira Gives An Award Calibre Performance In "Godzilla Minus One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

                                                                                  

                           Make no mistake about it, girls, the best performance by a male actor in a leading role should go to Gojira.  Already there is Oscar buzz for him to get a nomination in his latest film; the first non-human to do so.

                            Audiences love him, and the box-office shows it.  And the Japanese--this is in Japanese language, with English subtitles--know the difference, and show him respect.  When they say his name you can hear, "Gojira!"

                              This film plays around with different tropes--the damage done to postwar Japan by the atomic bomb, the faults of the Japanese government, and now Gojira--something else to deal with.

                                Gojira gives a performance of great emotionality in an interpretation that is extremely Shakespearean.  Not only is he King Of The Monsters, but he is also King Lear.  Never forget, Gojira was a victim of the atomic bomb, too.  He did not ask to be summoned to Earth.  No wonder he is angry and frustrated.  He also recognizes the need for urban renewal and does his share toward those efforts.  When he is on the screen, viewers cannot take their eyes off him; he is the true star.  Gojira is real for me, but I wish he was actually real.  I think there are a few world problems Gojira could solve.  The film is very careful not to show him harming women or children; that is not his way.  But when he lets use with his fury and his signature roar, it is breathtaking, and, again, Shakespearean.

                                  I urge everyone to go and see this production.  But don't make the mistake David and I did.  We never heard of 4DK, which we saw all over the walls of the theater.  It is a technical gimmick that gives the viewer the Gojira Experience.  When he stomps his feet, one feels it.  When he emerges from the water, one is squirted.  And when he knocks over a gigantic ship, the seat rocks with the viewer, making one feel...well, I came out with motion sickness.

                                  Some screening rooms show it minus the 4DK.  This is recommended, for those who just want to enjoy a star turn.  Not only is Gojira the star performance of the year, the movie could very well be judged as one of the year's best.

                                     We on here love you, Gojira!  See you at the Academy Awards!

                                       Baby Gojira and Little Pippin are so excited, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                

Girls, The Actress Playing Mother Nature In This Cold Medicine Commercial Reminds Me So Much Of Tilda Swinton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               This ad used to get aired a lot, then went away, and now it has come back. I bet it is because of the actress portraying Mother Nature, who makes me think of Tilda Swinton in "Orlando!"

                               Wonder if they wanted to get Tilda in the first place?  They probably could not meet her price.

                              Or maybe they decided, with this actress, to go for the Tilda look.  In any case, I love this commercial, and I wish the actress in it more work.  She is deserving, based on her performance here.

                             And if anyone out there can tell me who she is, let me know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, Join Us Tonight At 8PM, As "Svengoolie" Kicks Off December With A Real Gem--1933's "The Mystery Of The Wax Museum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                  Just wait till you see the early Thirties chrome Technicolor, darlings!  Simply stunning for its time!

                                   If the plot sounds familiar, don't be surprised.  This was remade twenty years later, in 1953, as "House Of Wax," with Vincent Price, and a scene-stealing Carolyn Jones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    I once took out a DVD from my library that had both films on one disc.  At the time I had never seen the 1933 version, so I watched "House Of Wax" first, and then the earlier version to compare.  No surprise that the 1933 film is better, and Lionel Atwill goes for pathos rather than camp in this production.  This was Fay Wray's big year--she made "King Kong" around the same time, and her screams are put to good use.  But the lavish sets and period look--and the laboratory--made me wonder how RKO could have spent so much.  But they did, and it was worth it.

                                       Little Pippin has never seen it, so he is genuinely excited about tonight's showing.

                                         This is a wax museum you will never forget.  Be careful with those Christmas candles, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Christmas Tree Of All--The One At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        Next weekend, girls, the Christmas decorations go up in or house, so the weekend after that--December 16--we are planning a visit to this most beautiful of all Christmas trees.

                        Every time I have stood before it, I feel as though I am in some spiritual place, like Lourdes.  The baby Jesus is right up there, stage center, rather than being put out at midnight on Christmas Eve, which is traditional among many Catholics.  And often they pipe in lovely Christmas music to create a wonderful mood.  Escape from your cares and get a divine experience by visiting this tree.

                        Sure, Rockefeller Center has it in size, but for sheer beauty you cannot beat the Christmas tree at The MET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         See you there, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

40 Years Ago Today, Girls, I Moved To New York!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        That is right, darlings, I have been a New Yorker for 40 years.  Back in 1983, I was a fresh-faced ingenue; you know, like Barbara Cook, and I was hoping to hit similar heights as she did.  I hit some things, let me tell you, but what I have learned most is that the Kander and Ebb song is wrong.  Oh, it is a great song, but it is not true that "If I can make it there,I'll make it anywhere."  New York City is actually for those who feel they cannot make it anywhere else.  Those who flee their suburban enclaves to meet people with like-minded tastes and interests.  For those like me, the whole small-town scene, lovely as it was, just did not cut it.

                                         When I moved into my apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, back in 1983, I thought I would stay there for 50 years, and then end up in a nursing home.  I only stayed in Bay Ridge then for fourteen years, due to a slatternly landlady whom I refused to tolerate.  I was so terrified of her owning any other building I might move to in Bay Ridge that I ditched the place I loved and spent the next 15 years in Woodside, Queens.  I did all right there, but I never stopped pining for Bay Ridge.  Thirteen years later, I met David, in 2010, and we moved back to our current Bay Ridge residence, only eight blocks from where I originally lived!  But a much better experience, especially with David.

                                            What will the next 40 years bring?  I don't think I will become BARBRA, but if I get to do one more show anywhere, I will be satisfied.  

                                              One thing I cannot forget.  My first night alone in that apartment, I was watching, on network television, "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," and, of course, I cried REAL tears.  What I did not realize, till much later, was that my father, alone in the HP apartment, we lived in before he moved to Florida after me, was that he was shedding tears also, because, much as he wanted me to get on my own, it meant I was finally gone.  How poignant.

                                                    Wish he were here today, to see things, now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    Here's to another 40, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            

This Will Be A Very Different December, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         Welcome, girls, to the final month of 2023.   Where has the time gone?

                          This year, instead of themes, I have decided to let the month takes me to wherever it does.  Oh, to be sure, there will be plenty of Holiday cheer, and honor to the Baby Jesus, but I thought I would start the month off in a Musical Theater way.

                           For those unfamiliar with the above photo, this is the human Christmas tree from the original 1959 production of "Gypsy."  No other production since has ever included this, and it is a shame.  If I were ever to stage "Gypsy," not only would I use the tree, but I would also adhere, while telling the story, to Jerome Robbins' notion of making this a concept musical celebrating the American variety stage.

                            Still, it is holiday appropriate, colorful, spectacular, and not a bit risqué. So let me begin this December by wishing you a very happy holiday season.  Let's celebrate, darlings!  Dance to the music!

                            And here is another Musical Theater bon bon--the original 1966 production of  "MAME," and its classic opening, "St. Bridget."  The reason I included it is according to the liner notes, the opening takes place on December 1, 1928, with Patrick Dennis and Agnes Gooch having just arrived in New York City, seeing his Auntie MAME.  Cherish the voices, and the memories.

                             So, that is how I am starting December, darlings!  Oh, one more thing--

                          Sweets to the sweet, girls!  May this be a happy December, for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         Baby Jesus wants it that way!