Yeah, I know

Of the three versions of Little Women (1933, 1949 and 1994), this one is the weakest. I agree with the experts that the problem is June Alyson as Jo. I understand that she doesn't have Katharine Hepburn's incomparable spirit in the 1933 version, or Winona Ryder's soulfulness in the 1994 version.

And yet this one is my favorite. Probably because it's the first one I saw. Maybe because it's shot in bright color on great MGM sound stages, giving it a comfortable, familiar look. Or maybe it's because Elizabeth Taylor in a blonde wig is so much fun.

But this is my favorite. And it's Christmastime and I love it.

Christmas Meme #6

As found at Ms. Kwizgiver's.

Christmas At My House…(one or the other)

1. Tree is fake/real? fake

2. Tree is under/above 4'? Mine is about 4'. The one at my mom's house is taller.


3. Open presents Christmas Eve/Day? Eve

4. House/entire yard is decorated? I don't have a yard. My mom has a little holiday flag on her lawn.

5. Amount of presents under the tree? I feel guilty about this. I have lots of presents under the tree. And scraps of paper and tape and gift bags and tags ... all waiting for me to be buckle down and get to work.

6. Snowman is a male/female? male

7. Go for Santa/Jesus? There's plenty of room for both in my heart.

8. Homemade/delivered/takeout Christmas dinner? Homemade on Christmas Eve this year. My two sisters are handling it. On Christmas Day I'm on my own.

9. Bedtime is before/after midnight? After. The candlelight service begins at 11:00 and ends at midnight when we sing "Silent Night."

10. Wake-up is before/after 7am? whenever

11. Go/don’t go to church on Christmas? Christmas falls on Sunday, so I may go. But I definitely go on Christmas Eve. See #9. It's very important to me.

12. Do shopping before/after Thanksgiving? I shop all year around

13. Low-key/over the top decorations (inside and out)? Low key. I did a little decorating at the office. At home there's my adorable little tree and I got this truly terrific wreath for my front door at Trader Joe's. Just $5! Makes me happy every time I see it.

Still worried

So my best friend had her date with Archie Bunker. She thinks it went really well. He was funny and told her she has pretty hair and he regaled her with tales of the sports legends (Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Howard Cosell) that he interviewed in his heyday. And he spends his Mondays refurbishing wheel chairs for those in need. All that's good, right?

So why do I want him to dump her ... pronto ... before she gets too attached?

Because I hate his Facebook postings.

I always assume that one's FB is an idealized version of life. It puts your best foot forward. After all, it has none of the anonymity I enjoy with this here blog.

Yesterday, Archie took off after the Westfield Century City shopping center, asking them, "Why do you let over aggressive 'salespeople' harass women at your center?"

Followed by, "When those annoying people at kiosks try to get u to buy something, go to mall management and complain these are trained scammers." To which his son (30, or so, holding two little kids in his lap) replied, "Or walk by them and ignore them and don't waste your limited time on Earth worrying about these things!!!!!! Love you Dad!!!!"

Now this leads me to believe that old Archie has been picking fights with complete strangers for all of his son's life. 


Then Archie posted a photo of the Grinch and said "Nuff said."


My friend's son can be very abusive with her. Yelling at her, destroying things. He is 21 and simply cannot control his rage. Nor will he leave her tiny apartment.


This man, who is perpetually mad -- at Obama, and OWS, and coddled athletes, and (my favorite) angry people -- is certain to upset her when she needs serenity.


I know, I know. All I can do is warn her and worry. It's her life. She has to learn these lessons on her own, no matter how much it hurts to watch.

Baracking the Christmas Tree

Behold my two new ornaments. That handsome Santa is from my best friend, and the shiny green ball is from Obama for America 2012.*

I love my tree. I only spend a few minutes with it each day (it's locked in the den, away from Reynaldo) but that's where I intend to do my orgy of wrapping and I'll gaze upon it a lot next Sunday. I'm really glad I put it up.


*If you're looking for campaign pins, etc., this is a good resource.