It never quite goes away. It's always there.

Years ago, decades ago, when I was in high school, one of my relatives -- a pillar of his church, a respected family patriarch -- molested me. He has never apologized for what he did because he's not sorry. In fact, he revels in it. As recently as the last time we were together for any length of time (a little over a decade ago), he behaved inappropriately, whispering questions about my rate of intercourse and whether I masturbate. The occasion that brought us together was my mom's 60th birthday, and he enjoyed watching me squirm as I tried to maintain the "one big happy family" facade even as felt his breath on my skin. I was so upset that afterward I announced to my mother and sisters that I was never, ever going to be in the same room with him again. I can't bear it. And, as an adult, I have the power to make that decision, and to protect myself from humiliation and hurt.

It isn't that my mother and kid sister don't believe what happened to me back in the 1970s. It's more that they wish I could just "get past it" for the sake of peace in the family. He has since remarried and his new wife must wonder why I am so distant. (I wonder which of her daughters he played "funny uncle" with, because sex offenses are serial behavior, but you can imagine how well that went over.) The cousins in Michigan and Florida adore him and would be shattered if they knew what he did. I have stood my ground, though. I refused to attend my niece's baptism because he was invited (I couldn't bear dealing with that at a church function). I left a family visitation through the side door when he came in the front.

I know that it isn't very Christian of me, but I can't stand that this 80+ year old pervert is still alive, throwing wrenches in the works. My life would be so much easier if he were dead. (There, I said it.) What happens if my mom needs help when she gets out of the hospital? If I'm staying at her house, I may have to play hostess to the creep when he comes to call. He'll do it because it's expected of him, my mom being so sick so close to Easter and all, and it will burnish his reputation with the relatives that don't know any better. I'll do it because it will be what my mother will want me to do, and her needs supersede mine at this point. Protecting his skinny old ass and his pious reputation are paramount.

Oh well, she's not even out of the hospital yet. It could be that her condition will be so improved by tomorrow or Tuesday that she won't need me to live in. I could be worrying about a situation that will never come to pass.

I long to quit protecting him. HE, after all, is at fault. If his reputation were tarnished, it would be no less than he deserves. After all, some people get arrested for what he did in that upstairs bedroom way back when. But I realize that in order to keep the family facade as smooth as glass, I'll have to keep preserving his "good name" for as long as he lives.

It means a lot to my mother. I wish it didn't, but it does, so I'll have to suck it up, even if it means hurt and humiliation.

Feeling inspired

I joined a health club here in my neighborhood and did 35 minutes of cardio, 16 reps on one of the arm machines and some leg lifts. The club is new-ish (about two years old) and has far more equipment than the Bally's club I go to downtown. It's also open almost 24 hours a day, so it gives me fewer excuses for blowing off my workouts.

Spending days being buffed and scrubbed and massaged and exfoliated made me think a bit differently about my body. I used to be in shape. I used to feel better and was proud of my endurance. Now I'm a fatty who is out of breath racing to the el platform. The only one between me and a little self improvement is me. I won't look as good as I did at 25, but I can look and feel better. I just need to focus.

Look who represents us!

I'm watching the "week in review" coverage of the President's European trip and his speech in Prague today, and I'm so proud. And relieved.

My job looks OK through the summer, but that's as far into the future as it goes. And that's just the regular baseball season. (Of course, as a Cub fan, I'm dreaming of a post-season ... as an employee, I'd like one, too.) It's not like I'm comfortable enough to develop a 1-year personal financial plan, much less a 5-year plan.

The world is a scarier place than I can fathom. Pakistan and Afghanistan are a mess. Israel has brought back Netanyahu, never exactly open to playing well with others. Look! Up in the sky! Is that a ballistic missile sent up by Korea?

It's the nation and the world George W. Bush helped in no small way to shape. I'm just glad he's not out there making it all worse, either by his his arrogance or neglect.

Instead we're represented by a man who relishes diversity and espouses hope and change at a time when the world seems thirsty for it. And, of course, Michelle. Jackie for a new generation.

I realize that this trip may have been a triumph of style over substance. But that's OK. For the "wanted, dead or alive" cowboy image we had abroad was toxic. The crowds in Prague to hear the President speak about a safer future warmed my heart.

53¢ and a flag of New Zealand

My 16-year-old niece is a slob. Even more than me, and that's saying something. Her parents decided her room was sliding from "messy" into "fire hazard," and decreed that she must clean it up (or is it "out"?) this weekend.

She recruited her 9-year-old brother to help. He was thrilled because he is seldom even allowed in her sanctuary, much less invited into it. They worked together for hours and reportedly came up with bags of things to be discarded. When I spoke to him last night, he breathlessly told me how he had been paid: he could rescue any one thing he wanted from her castoffs, he could keep any money he found on the floor, and he could have 30 minutes of her evening Internet time.

"I got 53¢ and a flag of New Zealand!" he exclaimed. His joy was infectious.

A very vivid, rather wacky dream

Last night I dreamt that I'm trying to get to my new doctor's office for an appointment. The night is very rainy, and I'm trying to find an address in a neighborhood I'm unfamiliar with. I trip and drop my purse in a puddle (and I love my purses).

According to the folks at dreammoods.com, I have issues.

To dream that I am seeing the doctor indicates my need for emotional and spiritual healing. That it takes place at night indicates issues in my life that I am facing, but that aren't too clear. The storm represents unexpressed fears or emotions. The puddle is feelings that have been downplayed and overlooked. My purse represents secrets, desires and thoughts which are being closely held and guarded.

I think it means I'm having a hard time dealing with my mom's illness … and her mortality. She's over 70 and this is her second hospitalization in two years. It's scary and I don't like it. While I'm certain that she will come home and resume her normal life next week, I can't ignore that my previously healthy mother suffers from emphysema, COPD, and a propensity for pneumonia. It's sad and leaves me feeling helpless and unhappy.

Not today, not tomorrow

My mom didn't want to come home today, and she's not. She had hoped be released tomorrow, and that isn't happening, either. She's starting to get bored and to hate the food -- while I'm sorry for her, it makes me happy because it means she's feeling stronger.

The darker side of luxury

The resort has 14 guest suites at the spa. Only two were occupied -- one by me. There's also an inn, which is a more conventional hotel with 275 rooms. There was a hotel/motel convention being held there, so many of those rooms were filled. In addition to conventioneers there were couples vacationing who were as interested in golf or wine tasting as the spa, and they moved from the spa to the winery to the course. So I can't know for sure that things are slower and less lucrative than during my visit last year.

But I saw signs. For example, the gift shops were all closed. Of course you could buy things, but folks were doing double duty. At the winery, it was the restaurant maitre d' who also handled the register, at the spa it's the woman's locker room attendant, at the inn it was the concierge. So that's three jobs gone from last year.

The exercise classes at the spa were all held before noon, as opposed to all day long last year. I assume it's so they only have to pay the trainer for half days.

I realize that as we all look for places to cut, a spa stay is probably one of the first things to go. After all, as much as I loved, LOVED my vacation, I know it's not a necessity. But it makes me sad for the personal trainers whose workload is cut in half, or the three retail clerks who lost their jobs altogether.

In Review

My favorite spa treatment was the Mud Body Massage. First I was covered in crushed grape seeds (high in Vitamin E and C) and then clay was massaged all over my body. It drew the toxins from deep within my skin, then the mixture was rinsed away in a Vichy shower (shown above). The final step was a massage with moisturizer. My skin felt soooooo soft. I loved it!

The hot stone massage, the facial and the hand/foot reflexology treatment were yummy, too.

I also enjoyed the mimosas with lunch. The robe and slippers I never had to change out of it I didn't feel like it. The chocolates on my pillow every night. The courtesy car that was always available to take me anywhere on the grounds. The free room service and the meals included in the spa package. Drinking wine with dinner that was made right there on site. The quiet time that got me through 21 chapters of the book I'm reading. And what's not to love about sipping champagne during a pedi? I think living in such luxury might get boring after a while, but I'd be willing to perform an experiment to see how long it would take. (All in the name of science and research to better my fellow man, of course.)

Even though I have spoken to my mom everyday, and she sounds better and more positive with each call, I still slept fitfully. The wackiest dream from the last few days involves my uncle. He was married to Rue McClanahan, Blanche of The Golden Girls, and they were both furious about something I tweeted on Twitter. I have no idea what it's symbolic of, and I don't care. It's just too odd.

I'm in a bathrobe, Mom's in a hospital gown

Well, I got on the plane yesterday confident that my mom was feeling better. And she was. But that doesn't mean she wasn't still sick. She went to the doctor at about 4:30 in the afternoon and he admitted her into the hosptial with pneumonia.

I found out about it this afternoon when, after a massage and a pedi and a makeup lesson and some champagne, I went back to my gorgeous suite and checked my voicemail at home.

She sounds good. Eager to hear all about my vacation and tell me how "cheap" Holly Madison looked on Dancing with the Stars. She can't wait to tell the nurse all about my spa holiday and she's already bragged about the thermos of broccoli and cheese my niece sent her (my niece most emphatically does not approve of hospital food) and the plush toys my nephew brought to keep her company. So she is much better than she was last year. But the doctor is being cautious because he wants to treat this rapidly and correctly and get her home by Friday.

So, in all, I'm glad I came. In reality, there's little I could do for her at home that isn't being done, and I think she'd feel worse if she felt I cancelled this because of her. Still, it's hard for me to adjust to the idea of my mom being sick.

So thanks for the good wishes, everyone! Now I must get dressed for dinner in the Versailles Room. Since you are living through me, I feel it's my duty to do right by all of you.

Spa! Ah!

I'm here! Slept like a baby during the flight (not gin and tonic, Kwiz, but a few grams of Xanax). Spoke to my mom before I boarded and she's feeling much better, and breathing much better today. I'll check in with her again tomorrow, as I can sense she thinks I'm being "bossy." (Moi?)

The suite is more sumptuous than I'd imagined. The staff is generous and friendly (and my favorite waitress remembered me from last year). I am now prepared to pig out on healthy spa food, watch Idol, and prepare for a day of being buffed and massaged and exfoliated.

Thanks for thinking of me, Kwiz and Vivian and Sparkela. It's so nice to be so honest on this blog and get such support in return. I appreciate your kindnesses more than you know.

"Today I settled all family business"

"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
"Take the gun. Leave the cannoli."
"I don't want my brother coming out of that toilet with just his dick in his hands, alright?
"Look how they massacred my boy!"
"But then your daughter would lose a father, instead of gaining a husband."
"I always thought that when it was your time that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone. Governor Corleone ..."
"You have to answer for Santino."
"Tell Mike it was only business, I always liked him."
"That's your husband! That's your husband!"
"This one time I'll let you ask me about my affairs."

Whenever I watch The Godfather, it's interactive. There are few movies I've seen as often or know so well that I can recite so much of the dialog. I love being able to lose myself in a movie like this. Distracts me from my worries. Too much reality can make a Gal crazy.

Why does this happen before I go away?

Talked to my mom today. Her voice doesn't sound as raspy and her cough is over, but she has trouble catching her breath. She DID call the doctor (good girl!) and he prescribed antibiotics and painkillers for her. She has an appointment with him late tomorrow afternoon. He's been her doctor ever since she went into the hospital last year, so I trust that if it was life threatening, he would insist she go back to the hospital. Still, I am nervous about leaving her.

I am not happy about the smell in my bathroom. You would think that after all the bleach and scrubbing it would smell as antiseptically clean as an operating room. But it's got a faint musty smell, so I worry about those ancient pipes in the wall.

Naturally I'm going away tomorrow for relaxation and pampering and alone time. While battling not to worry about what I've left behind.

Geez, Gal! It's a spa, with champagne and caviar and massages and luxury skin care. It's NOT a punishment! I must calm down and get my mind right.

I really hate traveling anyway. I like vacationing, of course, it's getting from hither to yon that upsets me. This isn't helping.

She's making me very nervous

My mom, that is. She swears that all she has is a cold. Yet last night she had the chills so bad that she slept wearing her winter coat under the covers. Her cough has left her voice raspy and she's weak. Yet she never took her own temperature and may, or may not, call the her doctor tomorrow.

She's over 70 and it was almost a year ago that she was sick enough with similar symptoms (cough, fatigue) that she ended up hospitalized with emphysema and pneumonia.

I will check on her again tomorrow, even though I can tell she's getting pissed at me for being so "bossy." ("Go to the doctor" … "Take your temperature" … "Can you take aspirin or Advil?") I don't want to go away on vacation at all if it appears she's going back into the hospital again.

This mother/daughter role reversal is a bitch.

I love my Sonic Scrubber

I've been scrubbing the grout between my bathroom tiles for two hours! I am a woman possessed by the smell of bleach and the hum of my Sonic Scrubber.

I know -- it's kind of at odds with the luxury of my upcoming spa visit.* But I like looking at the tiles, seeing them all white and clean, and saying, "I did that!"

*I'm leaving Tuesday AM.

This is what vacation mode looks like

Here's a photo of the very slippers I am wearing as I post this. Restoration Hardware refers to them as "a toasty treat for the feet." And so they are.

I've been up more than 2 hours and haven't really done a damn thing. Haven't even showered or fed the cats! (They have pretty much given up on me -- only Rey continues to remind me that we have a schedule around here and I'm not adhering to it.) Out the window all I see is wet and cold and snow, and it occurs to me that if I don't want to go outside today, I don't have to.

Vacation mode is a wicked and seductive beast!

The Men of Law & Order

Hasn't Dick Wolf, producer of the Law & Order franchise, performed a valuable public service by bringing these gentlemen into our living rooms?

"Made it."

One of the shortest, yet most welcome emails I've ever received. My best friend and his family are finally home, safe and sound. Being snowed in at a lodge in the mountains -- it's been a spring break holiday his daughters will remember fondly forever. He was no doubt worried about unexpectedly missing three days of work, and I was frightened for his safety. But kids love snow!

The Gal at The Movies

Went to the movies today and saw Duplicity. Now I'm watching Annie Hall again for the first time in years. To borrow from Woody Allen as Alvy, "Boy, if life were only like this."

Duplicity was fun. Julia Roberts was effectively and surprisingly edgy and Clive Owen is complex and oh so attractive. There's something wonderful about watching gorgeous people fall in love. The magic of movies. "Boy, if life were only like this."

I can't believe Annie Hall is more than 30 years old. It holds up very well and is as heart-tugging as it is funny. Poignant about love, and poignant to watch because it was Woody-before-Soon-Yi. Perhaps I should do a post about separating the artist from his art but not this evening. I'm too happy watching Annie and Alvy attempt to cook a lobster.

Saturday 9 -- Inside the Actor's Studio

The host of the famous Bravo series, actor, professor and host James Lipton asks actors these 9 questions (among many others). Today we will ask you those questions!

1. What is your favorite word? "Deuteronomy." It's fun to say. (Go ahead. You know you want to.)

2. What is your least favorite word? "Affect." Or maybe it's "effect." You see the problem. That's why, in writing, I try to use "impact" instead.

3. What turns you on, creatively, spiritually, or emotionally? Water. Showers, baths, swimming pools, the sea ... I love them all.

4. What turns you off? Bullies. I hate bullies. Pick on somebody your own size, why don'tcha!

5. What is your favorite curse word? "Fuck." Really, it's all purpose and universally understood.

6. What sound or noise do you love? A cat's purr.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? Eww! The noise you hear when you're unfolding a new, flat moving box and the cardboard scrapes against itself as you insert tab "A" into tab "B." Ick! I've got goose bumps right now, just thinking of it. I may never move out of this condo, just to avoid that noise.

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Pet sitter. I like critters.

9. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome, my child!

To play along yourself, visit Saturday 9: Inside the Actors Studio.

Yup. I believe this is true.

Even though I seldom, if ever, check my Facebook account.

You Are Facebook

You are social, outgoing, and excited to connect to your friends. You are interested in your friends' lives, and you enjoy adding your opinion to the mix. While you enjoy sharing online, you don't want everyone to know your business. You value your privacy. Your life is an open book to those you know but not to strangers.

Are You Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter?

Dear John Update

Last month my dear old buddy, John, was embarking on an almost-romance that had DISASTER written all over it.

I won't go into the entire complicated mess again (since you can read the whole thing here), but I've been worried about him. For some reason, it's always been easier for John and me to make bad decisions when it comes to amour. That's why I was so happy to receive this email today, in response to my tentative question about him and the much-younger (and sleazier) Robbie:

"I haven't talked to him in several weeks. Perhaps he took my advice to go back to St. Louis and regroup. If he's gotten a job, he's not told me. Every time I think I'll call him I just ask myself, why?"

Atta boy!

More about "The Bradford Curse"

Even more trouble for the already-suffering-from-more-than-their-fair-share Bradfords of TV's Eight is Enough.

'Charles in Charge' Star Willie Aames Holds Garage Sale After Bankruptcy, Suicide Attempt

Friday, March 27, 2009

Following a dramatic suicide attempt last Thanksgiving, cash-strapped former "Eight is Enough" and "Charles in Charge" star Willie Aames is selling off his belongings in suburban Kansas City.

Dozens showed up Thursday at a garage sale at his Olathe home, where Aames made deals with bargain-hunters and signed autographs.

A production crew filmed the sale for a TV show.

Items on sale included antiques, artwork, a piano, deer head mounts and TV and movie memorabilia.

The 48-year-old Aames has fallen upon hard times. After he declared bankruptcy and had his car reposessed, he says his wife of 22 years left him.

Willie then moved out of their Kansas home and rented a room in Los Angeles. On Thanksgiving, overwhelmed by the losses, he tried to take his own life.

"I stole a bottle of Jack Daniel's from the guy I was renting the room from," Willie tells the magazine. "I'd been sober for 20 years when I took that first drink... It got so bad, I put a knife to my throat and cut myself in six places."

Vacationing with Geek Gal

Last year, when I went to the very spa I'm visiting next week, I brought a book about the Lincoln assassination. It was the book I happened to be reading and it didn't occur to me that it was at odds with my restive and rejuvenating surroundings until I got there.

This year, here's what's atop my TBR list:

Oxygen -- a novel about an anesthesiologist who makes an error during a routine surgery and "must explain the nightmarish operating room disaster and face the resulting malpractice suit." (A friend survived a harrowing anesthesia incident almost a year ago.)

Clara's War -- "The heart-stopping story of a young girl hiding from the Nazis ... from her years in an underground bunker with 17 other people." Could anything be further away from the luxury of a spa?

And I'm still reading The Kennedy Legacy. JFK is still in the White House, Bobby is Attorney General and Ted is preparing to run for Senate. Everything is rosey now, but in the remaining 200 pages I have two assassinations, Chappaquiddick, divorce, miscarriages, plane crashes and brain cancer to look forward to. Good times!

I'm really phenomenally geeky, aren't I? I'll have to bring Glamour and Allure with me, too. Just to make sure leaven the heavy subject matter with skincare and fashion advice.

About that movie quote

I mentioned in my TT that there's a movie I like to quote in meetings when I can't make up my mind. It's Chinatown. Evelyn Mulwray was Faye Dunaway and Jake Gittes was Jack Nicholson.


Evelyn: She's my daughter.
[Gittes slaps Evelyn]
Evelyn: She's my sister.
[slap]
Evelyn: She's my daughter.
[slap]
Evelyn: My sister, my daughter.
[More slaps]
Gittes: I want the truth!
Evelyn: She's my sister AND my daughter!

Please take care of him and his family

"Hi. I am stuck in the mountains. It has snowed 4 days straight. Hope we can drive back tomorrow."

So read the message I received from my best friend this afternoon. I thought he was in his home office, snowed in under a pile of work. Instead he was still in the mountains, where he and his wife and kids had been spending a long weekend with his parents and siblings. He was supposed to be back home yesterday afternoon and at his desk today. Didn't happen. Couldn't happen. Roads are closed and blizzard conditions are predicted to continue until tomorrow morning.

I bet his daughters are loving the adventure while their father is climbing the walls, wondering if there are ramifications to unexpectedly missing two extra days of work when things are so sensitive on his accounts.

I'm glad he's up there with his whole family. He's less likely to try anything reckless like driving impassable roads if he knows knowing he's responsible for his wife and daughters, and besides, his father would try to dissuade him.

My best friend is very important to me.

Thursday Thirteen #102 -- The Never Before Revealed Edition

THIRTEEN THINGS
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TOLD
ABOUT THE GAL HERSELF

Lisa, aka Snarky Pants, often credits me for helping her with her blog content. Today she is returning the favor. When you have posted as long, and as often, as I have, coming up with things you haven't already revealed about yourself can be a challenge. In my attempt to come up with 13 new Gal facts, I used her 100 Things About Me as my template. (Thanks, Snarkela.)

1. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Jack. Had my older sister been a boy, her name would have been Jack. If my baby sister had been a boy, she would have been named Jack. My dad really like the name Jack but alas, never got to use it on a son of his own.

2. I didn’t plan to be a writer. I was a secretary at Sears Corporate Headquarters and one of the established women executives (and there weren't many in those days) took me under her wing. "Doesn't it bother you that you're smarter than your boss?" She convinced me to take the catalog copywriter test, and I was on my way. I Googled her, and she's 83 now and lives in Boca Raton. That makes me happy.

3. The first boy I was going to marry was named Tommy. We were both in Kindergarten and watched Lassie together on Sunday evenings. We were going to have a big back yard and lots of dogs, all of whom would be kept on leashes so they wouldn’t face the dangers Lassie did each week. I was sad and confused when his family suddenly moved away, no notice, no forwarding address. It turns out his dad was arrested for dealing drugs, in cahoots with the local pharmacist, and Tommy and his mom went to live with her parents. In the dull, boring, white-bread suburb I grew up in, it was a major scandal. My mom didn’t tell me the truth about this until I was almost 30.

4. My uncle was in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1966. I was very worried about him when he was over there, because I watched the news coverage every evening. When he got home, safe and sound, I brought him to school for show and tell. I love him extra for that.

5. I thought my Kindergarten teacher was the most beautiful woman in the world. She kept her blonde hair in a knot atop her head and always wore lipstick.

6. My favorite color is blue. Paul McCartney’s favorite color is blue, too. Coincidence?

7. My favorite movie quote to work into conversation is, “My sister. My daughter. She's my sister and my daughter.” I even slap my own face from side to side as I use it to illustrate that I can't make up my mind. I enjoy seeing if anyone in the room gets it.

8. When I was little, my "babies" were plush toys. Dearest were my Lassie dog and a musical duck named Charlotte.

9. The best boss I ever had is now my theater buddy. I’m glad Barb is still in my life. She was, and remains, my biggest professional influence.

10. I wish I could whistle.

11. I sleep with the TV on.

12. I read William Goldman’s book Magic in one sitting. It's funnier and more shocking than the movie.

13. I wish I looked like Mariska Hargitay. (I don’t.)

To participate yourself,
or to look up more TT participants,
visit the new hub (thursday-13.com).

Find the writer

I actually enjoy being swamped this week. After all, I was so worried about being OUT of work that being HARD AT work is a relief. Plus it's fun to feel it pumping on all cylinders. And I'm off to my spa retreat next week, so it's not like I can get seriously burnt out.

Tuesday Tunes #16

It's time for recents ...


Name your most recent:

concert: Paul McCartney, his "Chaos & Creation" tour (2005)

song you listened to: "I Can Help" by Billy Swan. I was listening to the 70s playlist on my iPod. I'm glad it wasn't something more embarrassing, like Helen Reddy or Barry Manilow (shudder).

album you bought: Working on a Dream (Brooooooce)

artist you discovered: Marcia Ball (Love that bluesy piano)

song you downloaded: "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" by Johnny Rivers. My 70s playlist again.

To play along, click here.

Yahoo's 100 Movies ...

Here's the list of 100 Movies that Yahoo! says we should see before we die (in alphabetical order). Have you seen them?

Put the ones you've seen in bold, the ones you liked in italics and √ the ones you didn't like. Add one movie that's not on the list. Tag your friends!

If you participate, please let me know so I can come check our your list.


0-9
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) √
400 Blows (1959)
8 1/2 (1963)
A
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979) √
B
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
C
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
D
Die Hard (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
F
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
G
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
H
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
I
In the Mood For Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
J
Jaws (1975)
K
King Kong (1933)
L
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Lord of the Rings (2001)
M
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999) √
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
N
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
O
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
P
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
R
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
S
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
T
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
U
The Usual Suspects (1995)
V
Vertigo (1958)
W
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women On the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)

ENDOMENTAL'S ADD: The Philadelphia Story (1940)
THE GAL HERSELF'S ADD: The Way We Were (1973)