THURSDAY THIRTEEN #209

THIRTEEN FACTS ABOUT CRUISE VACATIONS

My aunt just returned from a cruise to the Bahamas. She regularly takes off for the high seas and loves it. Her enthusiasm for this form of travel is so infectious that she inspired my TT.

According to the travel site Expedia, here are 13 things you should know about vacationing on a cruise ship.

1) "The best value in travel." It's easy to budget for a cruise because meals and shipboard entertainment is included in the price. Beware, though: the price of soft drinks, specialty coffees and booze will come out of your pocket.

2) Stay local or see the world. Cruises offer you the opportunity to travel up and down the east coast -- from New York to Halifax with ports of call in Bar Harbor, Boston and Newport -- or go as far away as Africa and Antarctica. The most popular cruise destination is the Bahamas.

3) You can swim while on the sea. Most ships have multiple pools and water slides.

4) Sail away in a spa. Full-service spas are cruise staples.

5) Get healthy. Weight training, acupuncture, pilates ...  most cruises offer several fitness classes.

6) Casinos. Cruises that take you to international waters can provide slot machines and table games.

7) Get educated. Specialty cruises offer courses in everything from finance to film appreciation to wine tasting.

8) A variety of cabin choices. The size of your perfect cabin depends on how much time you plan to spend there, and how much you wish to spend.
• If you're taking a short cruise and/or you're looking forward to spending a lot of time on deck, an affordable inside cabin makes sense. 
• Balcony cabins cost more but give you a better view and offer you the option of room service on your own private veranda.
• Suites are the luxury option, giving you at least 350 sq. ft (sometimes up to 2,500 sq. ft) and high end amenities like a private whirlpool.

9) 24/7 dining. A cruise is not the place to diet! Food is readily available, and most of it is included in the price of your trip. In addition to formal dining and room service, most ships have poolside grills, ondeck coffee bars and casual buffets.

10) A chance to "put on the ritz." While there are usually informal jeans/t-shirt options available, most ships have elegant dining rooms where formal attire is appropriate. Photographers are available to capture you at your glam best.

11) You can bring the kids. Most ships allow children as young as 3 years old. Babysitting is available, either in your cabin or in a group setting.

12) On-ship health and safety. Every ship has a doctor and a small medical center in case of emergency or minor problems (usually sea sickness). For more complicated issues, there's always a plan for getting patients to a nearby port of call.

13) Stay connected. It's easy to make cabin-to-cabin calls and most ships have internet cafes with wi-fi. You can often enjoy good cell phone reception on board, but beware of the roaming charges from your carrier.

For more about the Thursday 13, or to play along yourself, click here.

Next Stop: Geek City

I love hearing about the First Ladies! It's such a fascinating position, a historical Rorschach Test. Because the role is undefined, the way each lady performs it says a lot about her, and the times.

Everybody has an opinion about everything she does. People with way too much time on their hands actually organized and sent combs to Jackie Kennedy because they didn't like her "French" hairstyles. Nancy Reagan spent too much on china. And I remember being in a sandwich shop in downstate Bloomington, IL. Fox News was on and they were castigating Michelle Obama because she said parents shouldn't have to take the subway or a bus, just to buy fresh fruit for their families. "Why shouldn't they?" the commentators were demanding. As if helping parents provide good nutrition for children is somehow controversial. Sheesh!

And yet even while we're relentlessly picking on these women, we're also so proud of them. JBKO is credited with pioneering today's "soft" diplomacy -- while her husband and DeGaulle were going at it tooth and nail about arms and aid, she willfully and single handedly convinced the French Minister of Cultural Affairs to bring the Mona Lisa to America. That breathy-voiced girl not only enabled millions of American school children see a classic work of art, she helped lower the temperature of the negotiations between two countries. I still recall what a big deal it was when Pat Nixon bravely toured a combat zone. And, speaking of courage, who can forget Hilary Clinton speaking out for Chinese women -- in China?

And there are the fascinating ladies who served before my time. Abigail Adams wrote the most fabulous letters, not only to the husband she referred to as "dear friend" (I think that's so romantic) but to Thomas Jefferson and other influential men of the time. I love how they admired her intellect. And my poor homegirl, Mary Lincoln. Treated cruelly first by fate, then by family and finally by history.

Because I love learning about them, I'm thrilled about the series CSpan is debuting on President's Day. I'm anticipating this with the same excitement other (less geeky) folks reserve for The Super Bowl.

Regarding Jen Lancaster: The Artist vs. Her Art (II)

I wrote about Mel Gibson in December -- how I'm sorry I know as much about him as I do because it makes it impossible for me to enjoy his movies.

I feel that way about author Jen Lancaster, too. Here's her page on Amazon. Her books have made me laugh, and one (Pretty in Plaid) included a touching and memorable passage about what fun it is, how exhilarating it is, for small town girls, like she and I once were, to come into Chicago to make our fortunes. It was a lovely piece of writing.

But there's an intolerant undertone to her work. Cringe-worthy, really. Like referring to Rachel Maddow as "he." Really? That's funny in the new millennium? Or sharing how riotously funny Ann Coulter is, and how wise and witty she finds Rush Limbaugh. Or closing one of her books with a tale about verbally dressing down the homeless person who had the temerity to stop her en route to the swimming pool. That passage made me want to put the book down and take a Silkwood shower.

Because she's such an animal lover (someone who loves cats and rescues pitbulls couldn't possibly be as intolerant as she sounds, right?) and so gifted, I used to assume much of what she was wrote was for comic effect. But then a funny thing happened ...

The six degrees of separation between us shrunk. A friend of hers is in a book club with a friend of mine. They read My Fair Lazy, a Lancaster book I enjoyed so much I actually bought a second copy and gave it to my niece for Buy a Friend a Book Week. Celeste* didn't like the book -- she thought the tone too sarcastic and the content more than a little silly -- but was reluctant to say it because she totally respected how fond and proud Ms. Lancaster's friend was. It got progressively more uncomfortable for Celeste when Jen Lancaster spoke to their book group. I was excited to hear all about it.

Celeste reported it was awkward, saying, "It was like 'O Come, All Ye Faithful.' Jen Lancaster was all, 'Oh, come let us adore me.'" Celeste said that all she and one of the other bookclub members talked about during the ride home was how uncomfortable it was to have that "loud woman brag about her accomplishments" in their friend's living room. An influential woman in Chicago marketing circles, Celeste had recently spent time with former President George W. Bush and Maria Shriver and observed that when it came to ego, they had nothing on Jen Lancaster.

Because of the intimate way Jen writes in her memoirs, I felt like I knew her. So I told myself the author behaved that way because she was nervous and tried so hard to be a good reflection on her friend, their hostess, that it backfired.

Around this time I made the mistake of following Jen Lancaster on Facebook and Twitter. For one as sarcastic and critical as she is, she's awfully thin skinned. When Andrew Breitbart died, she was surprised and hurt that Tweeters mocked her sorrow. Breitbart was a writer she admired and he was dead! I couldn't help but sniff. I mean, one of Andrew Breitbart's last big stories was about Barack Obama's relationship with Professor Derrick Bell. Bell died in 2011, before Breitbart called him racially divisive, before Breitbart made it seem like somehow Barack Obama shouldn't have associated with the scholar who was the first African American to earn tenure at Harvard law. A lot us admired Bell, and how he stood up for women and minorities. It's OK to slag Bell posthumously but not Breitbart? Got it.

Or when she incited her Facebook "fans" (not "friends"; she refers to us as "fans") to call and email a suburban car dealership she believed cheated her husband. There were even derogatory reviews on Yelp! posted by people who never set foot on the dealership's showroom floor. It was a creepy display of bullying, and yet Lancaster was so amused by and proud of herself that she recounted the tale in an interview with Jenny Lawson on Amazon.

Or most recently, she used Facebook to plead for people to not be hostile and intolerant regarding the election. She did this just days after Ann Coulter, the woman she finds so funny, called the President of the United States "a retard." I responded to Jen Lancaster that I agreed with her whole heartedly, and that perhaps she could call upon Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to ratchet down the rhetoric a bit, too. And then I "unliked" her page.

Without social media, would I ever have discovered the author I once enjoyed is self-involved without redeeming self-awareness? Probably not. Should I view her published work as if I hadn't read her tweets and interviews and posts? I don't see how I can.

The lady herself recently said, “No one’s going to be won over by my spouting dogma in my books because that’s not why people buy my stuff. I don’t write essays on why liberalism doesn’t work or why Obama’s taking us down a slippery slope. People read my books to laugh, so that’s my goal. But if my goofy little stories just happen to emphasize conservative values like morality, self-determination, and liberty, well… let’s just say that’s not unintentional.”

Her message may not be unintentional but it's still offensive. "Morality" is a "conservative value?" That would be news to my minister. "Self-determination?" To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr., it's hard to pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you don't have boots ... and not everyone has the advantages of the Purdue degree it took her many, many years to earn (oh, her patient parents!) and the gainfully employed spouse Lancaster has written extensively about herself. Her "goofy little stories" now strike me as more hostile than amusing and I'm not spending my money on them anymore.

What about you? Do you have a Mel Gibson or Jen Lancaster? Is there an artist or performer you wish you still appreciated, but can't?

*Not her real name.

Paperwork update

Issues related to my mother's final affairs are slowly grinding to resolution. I transferred the gas out of my name to that of the reverse mortgage company. If they don't want to pay it, that's their business. I'm done. As of February 1, I have ceased footing the bill for snow removal at my mother's home, as well.

The electricity is a bit more complicated, because my mother never switched that account from my dad (who died in 1991) to her. Commonwealth Edison wants proof that he's dead. I don't have his death certificate and I'm not going to incur the expense of getting another one. After all, since my mother had a reverse mortgage, her home was never legally my responsibility. I have just been paying the utilities so my kid sister would be comfortable as she went about the painful business of disposing of our mother's belongings. Now that is done, and so is my largess. So I told the customer service rep that I would send them a letter from the cemetery, listing my dad's plot number and the date of his burial. After all, we wouldn't bury him if he wasn't dead, would we? Well, the ComEd rep said he wasn't sure they could accept that as documentation. "So what then?" I asked. The rep responded that since I am not -- nor have I ever been -- responsible for the property, I should just ignore any bills I continue to receive. "Eventually," he said, "the power will be turned off one way or the other." Seems incredibly wasteful, doesn't it?

Then there's the reverse mortgage itself. Early last month, my lawyer notified the reverse mortgage company that we wanted to do a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" and that as of February 1, I would not longer care for the house in any way. It took them forever and ever to get back to us, but finally they have -- with a list of 8 demands. My lawyer told them that four were unacceptable to us, since we were never the homeowners and we never entered into any agreement with them. He told the company what they already knew -- that the "deed in lieu" not only gives us a sense of closure, it saves them much of legwork and expense that accompanies a typical foreclosure. Their rep said while that may be true, their inviolate procedure demands we sign the letter with 8 terms that she sent us. And so we are, with 4 of the 8 crossed out and our initials beside the big old X's.

By "us," "we," and "our," I refer to my kid sister and I. It remains to be seen if my older sister will get on board with us. I don't know what I'll do if she refuses. Or if the reverse mortgage company refuses to accept our revised letter of intention.

Drink and cry, probably.

Hurts so good

"You have a computer back," the massage therapist said, leaning with her elbow into the knot in my shoulder. It hurt, yes it did. But it also felt soooooo good. I admit I'm still a little sore. It was the first massage I've had since late summer and I was a lumpy, bumpy mess.

31 Days of Oscar Blogathon: Spotlight on Anne & Kate

I think I love Oscar so much because awards season hits when I'm jonesing the hardest for baseball,* and like the MLB, the AMPAS is all about stats. Which Best Picture won the most Oscars ... which made the most money (adjusted for inflation)... which director has the most Oscars ... Oscar aficionados can answer to all those questions and more.†

While looking through Oscar trivia, I found an interesting factoid:

With her unprecedented four Best Actress Oscars and eight additional nominations 

in the lead category, Katharine Hepburn is the Queen of the Spring Classic. 

And there's only one actress who both beat and lost to The Great Kate at Oscar time.  

That lady is the estimable Anne Bancroft.

Anne Bancroft had five Best Actress nominations in all, including:
•  1964 for The Pumpkin Eater
•  1977 for The Turning Point
•  1985 for Agnes of God

But for this post, we're concentrating on the two other years ...

1962. The thirty-fifth Oscar ceremony was held April 8, 1963, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Five actresses were nominated for Best Actress that night -- including Bette Davis, Geraldine Page and Lee Remick -- but neither of the two we're focused on were in attendance. Anne Bancroft was in New York, performing onstage in Mother Courage. And Hepburn, well, she wasn't there because, as she frequently said, awards shows gave her "dyspepsia."

Born Anna Italiano in the Bronx, Anne Bancroft always retained deep roots in New York. She loved Broadway, originating the role of Gittel in Two for the Seasaw (to be replaced by Shirley MacLaine in the movie). She was an early choice to play Fanny Brice onstage in Funny Girl (I think you know who ultimately won that role). And, most famously, she played the role of Helen Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, performing it for over a year at The Playhouse Theater.

Both Broadway's Annie and Helen (Patty Duke) made their way to the big screen and the results are breathtaking. Viewed today, even half a century later, their performances remain fresh and moving. The Miracle Worker cemented Anne Bancroft's status in the public's mind as a dramatic actress, but over her long career she proved herself deft at comedy, too. No surprise, when you consider she was married to and appeared with Mel Brooks.

Then there was Kate, with her 9th nomination for Long Day's Journey into Night. She was Mary, one of O'Neill's "haunted Tyrones." As the drug addled matriarch, she struggled with her past-his-prime husband and a pair of talented yet tormented sons (the tubucular writer and the alcoholic actor), and gave one of her own favorite performances. In her memoirs, Hepburn wrote that she was pleased the film stayed so close to the original text because, "I felt entirely supported by the words. What an experience! I'll never forget it."

When Oscar night rolled around, Ms. Bancroft unwittingly played a role in one of Hollywood's great feuds. Anne let the Academy know very early on that she wouldn't be able to attend the ceremony because of her Broadway commitment. Joan Crawford offered to accept on her behalf, and Bancroft agreed. Why not? After all, she was a relative newcomer and Crawford was a screen legend. What she didn't know was how upset Crawford was about not being nominated for that year's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, or how much Bette Davis was reveling in the fact that she was nominated when Crawford wasn't. It gave Crawford tremendous pleasure that it was she -- not Davis -- who got to breeze onto the stage, looking every inch the glamorous star, and accept the The Best Actress Award on behalf of ABD (Anyone But Davis).

1967. The fortieth Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 10, 1968. It had been postponed that year out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, who had been laid to rest just the day before.

The film that brought Kate to Oscar's attention yet again was a highly personal one, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. She envisioned it as a launching vehicle for her niece, Katherine Houghton (her onscreen daughter), and an opportunity to get her long-time lover, Spencer Tracy, before the cameras one more time. The studio initially balked at the casting of the sickly Mr. Tracy because they were afraid he wouldn't be able to complete the picture. But Hepburn was not to be denied. Both she and producer/director Stanley Kramer agreed to put their salaries in escrow for Columbia if the movie had to be shelved.

Tracy did a fine job in his last role, and the scene where his Matt Drayton describes his memories of love and passion for Hepburn's teary-eyed Christina gets me every time. Naturally Hepburn wasn't in attendance on Oscar night, but when notified of her win she said she liked to think the Academy had awarded it to "both of us."

Anne Bancroft was nominated for the role that made her a pop culture icon, Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. It was a part she wanted badly. She was a big fan of director Mike Nichols and told Roger Ebert that Mrs. Robinson was the most interesting character in the piece. Still, it was a daring career choice for her to make. Hollywood is not always kind to aging actresses, here she was, pleading to play "the older woman" to Dustin Hoffman, an actor just six years her junior in real life.

1967 is remembered as the year that New Hollywood burst forth. Many pundits thought performances like Bancroft's and Faye Dunaway's (nominated for Bonnie and Clyde) made older, established Hollywood types uncomfortable, thereby opening the door for Kate to win her second Oscar.

Also nominated that year were Dame Edith Evans for The Whisperers, that other Hepburn, Audrey, in Wait Until Dark.

PS Yes, Meryl Streep has more nominations than Hepburn, but two of them (Kramer vs. Kramer and The Deer Hunter) were in the Best Supporting Category. Kate still dominates in the lead category. And they were nominated together once: 1981. Streep was nominated for The French Lieutenant's Woman and Hepburn won for On Golden Pond.



About the Blogathon:
"Aurora of Once Upon a Screen, Paula of Paula's Cinema Club and Kellee  of Outspoken and Freckled are hosting a new, mammoth blogathon event that coincides with Turner Classic Movies’ 31 Days of Oscar, February 1 to March 3, 2013. It’ll be a month filled with fabulous tales and screen wonders." I encourage you to check out other entries.


*Rabid Cub fan here

†SPOILER: Remember, other Blogathon participants may be tackling these topics ... Most Oscars: Three-way tie (Ben Hur, Titanic, LOTR); Biggest Box Office: adjusted for inflation, it's still GWTW; John Ford has three Oscars

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Basically Obscure Meme 

1: Do you notice a persons eye color? Oh, yes. To borrow from Chuck Berry, like a lot of good women, I'd shed a tear for a brown-eyed handsome man.

2: White, milk, or dark chocolate mocha? I have no idea what this question means but I suspect it's coffee related and I don't drink coffee.

3: If you could get a  tattoo free, would you do it? what would it be? I wouldn't

4: Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it? Small town outside a major city. Hated it. It's where I left.
 
5: Your favorite adult as a child? (and not your parents, if they were your favorite) Either my uncle or my grandpa. My grandpa was just unconditional love, and my uncle brought fun and magic with him.

6: What kind of smoothie sounds really good right now? Strawberry banana

7: Most embarrassing moment from your elementary school years? Being one of three classmates to not make the school choir in seventh grade
 
8: Most embarrassing moment from your middle school years? See above. We went K-8 and 9-12, so I didn't attend a specific middle school.

9: Most embarrassing moment from your high school years? Getting caught in a lie told to save my hide. It was awful.

10: Have you ever fired anyone? Yes. More than once, and it's always been awful.
 
11: Have you ever climbed a tree more than twenty feet off the ground? I used to be an artful climber, but I don't recall the specific height of any of the trees.

12: Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing set? Oh yes, and yes.

13: If you could have any pet in the world, illegal or not, what would you get? I'd like a pet goat, if I had the real estate. And any of you assholes who chose exotic pets, shame on you. They are illegal for a reason. A staggering number of them live uncomfortable and unnatural lives and end up getting euthanized.

14: What's your favorite place to relax? Right here on the sofa.

15: What's your most favorite part of your personality? I am generally optimistic.

16: Madonna or Lady Gaga? Neither? Both? Who cares? Gaga by default. Madonna has always struck me as more marketer/less artist.

17: Have you ever watched the Superbowl all the way through? Good question! And the answer is probably not. I've been in the room when it's been on, partying, several times, but I seldom care that much about the game itself.

18: Have you ever watched any major sporting event live? Oh, yes! I was right there, within the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, the night in 2004 when my beloved future Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux, got his 3000th strikeout! He's one of only ten pitchers in the entire history of the game to achieve that, you know. My all-time favorite Cub!
 
19: What's the most delicious food you've ever eaten in your life? Last year, in the Regency Room in Colonial Williamsburg, I had a memorable meal. Everything about it was terrific, but especially the main course -- scallops wrapped in bacon.

20: Margarine or butter? Which did you grow up with? Grew up on butter, now I like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter because it comes in a spray.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Aida

1) Have you ever been to the opera?  No. My best friend is a fan and when he used to come to Chicago he always "threatened" to make me go to see our world famous Lyric Opera. Now that he no longer comes to town, I regret how firmly I dug my heels in. He would have enjoyed it so much.

 
2) Maria Callas was often called a "diva." Is that a compliment or a criticism? I think it's a compliment. The meaning has changed over the decades, but to me, it means the gal has guts or balls (or should I say "ova?).

3) Aida was composed by famous Italian Giusseppe Verdi. In addition to opera, what else can the world thank Italy for? Some of the most beautiful brown eyes the world has ever seen!

 
4) Verdi was Italian and Callas was Greek. Would you rather vacation in Italy or Greece? Oh, they both appeal to me! I guess Italy ultimately wins because I have fantasies about Capri.

 
5) The Marx Bros. starred in A Night at the Opera. What's the funniest movie you have ever seen? Toga! Toga! Yes, I'm a big fan of  Animal House.

6) What's for dinner tonight? I don't know. It feels like a lifetime away right now.

7) Are you wearing any jewelry right now? Nope. When I'm done blogging I'm getting right into the shower.


8) Sam Winters has a scratchy throat and watery eyes. How do you treat the common cold? Not effectively. I've had a cold that's been lingering for a month!
 
9) Do you need your glasses (or contacts) when you drive? Yes.

Liebster Blog Award

Thank you so much to Erika of Endomental gifting me with the Liebster Blog Award!

“The Liebster Award” is given to up and coming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. The word "Liebster" comes from German and can mean the sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, most beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”

Here are the Rules for this Award:

Thank the person who nominated you. When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you. Pass the award onto 6 other blogs (while making sure you notify the blogger that you nominated them!) You write up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.

You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated your own blog!

11 Random Facts 

1. I'm so very grateful to my readers -- like Erika who singled me out with such kind words. Their support means more to me than anticipated when I began this blog. Because I just started blogging to create an online diary and to give myself a creative outlet. I never expected it to be read. The kindness and supportive wishes I've received from people "out there" is wonderful and more than a little humbling.

2. I'm working on my temper because I let stupid things get to me too much, too often. Like the checker at Walgreen's who never says "thank you." Why does that bother me so much? Life is too short.

3. I'm a loyal Democrat -- a Kennedy Girl through and through -- who wants the GOP to get it together. I'm a big believer in the two-party system and we're stronger when we have two credible national parties.

4. If I ever move, I'd like a yard -- even a tiny shared one -- so I could have a dog. I'd really love to rescue a mutt with expressive brown eyes.

5. But there's little more in life I hate more than moving.

6. As soon as my officemates leave the room, I scratch my back with either a pen or my ruler.

7. On the train ride home, I eavesdrop on other people's phone calls to hear what they're going to have for dinner. Chicken seems very popular in this neighborhood.

8. I think my favorite individual scene in all of moviedom is the climax of The Miracle Worker, when Helen understands that "w-a-t-e-r" means "water." Because Annie has so much heart and refused to give up. Because language opened Helen's world.





9. I can never remember: is President's Day to honor all 44 of them? Or just George and Abe? Every year someone explains it to me and I mean to retain the information but ...

10. I always like looking at the sky. Every color it's got pleases me. Even the inky dark at night and the ominous gray that comes with storms. My favorite is when the sky looks like the blue of my beloved Cubs' uniforms.

11. I find most award shows irresistible.


Endomental's 11 questions:

1. What book do you really not want to read, but you feel like you "should?" Any of the classics, like Anna Karenina.

2. Quick, no peeking! List the vegetables in your fridge. A half can of Green Giant corn.

3. Check your fridge. Were you right? Yes.

4. What's your favorite comfort food? Anything gooey and cheesey, like mac and cheese.

5. When you were twelve, what job did you think you'd have/want to have? Teacher or nurse.

6. Have you ever met any of your bloggy-buddies in person? Snowbird, Bookmama and the two oldest Book Kids. It was fun. (If you're reading this, Ladies, imagine me waving at you.)

7. Do you have a silly word that you use instead of swear words when swear words are inappropriate? If so, what is it? "Good goobies."

8. Describe the perfect cup of coffee. Shudder. I hate coffee.

9. Do any common grammatical errors make you crazy? Which ones? When people say, "you and I" when it should be, "you and me."

10. Do you use movie quotes as part of conversation? Yes. And, to quote Alvy in Annie Hall, "You say that like it's a negative thing."

11. If you had to double for a celebrity, who would it be? Marlo Thomas when she's appearing as that former judge on Law & Order: SVU. Because her part is always small but kick-ass, so I wouldn't have to work very hard but it would be interesting. And I could tell her how much That Girl meant to me while I was growing up.

My questions. I'm not specifically tagging anyone but hope everyone plays along.

1. Do you ever wish you had an identical twin? Why or why not?
2. If you had to travel back in time, when do you think you'd fit in best?
3. How are you on the sleep thing? Do you get 8 straight hours? Or are you plagued by fitful sleep or insomnia or ...
4. Would you rather be rich or famous?
5. Which of your physical features would you NOT change?
6. Do you shop off a grocery list, or do you wing it as you walk through the aisles?
7. What's your least favorite household chore?
8. I recently read a report that said people either LOVE or HATE the character of "Flo" on the Progressive insurance commercials. Which camp are you in?
9. Are you good at word games?
10. How many times have you been in love?
11. Share a memory from Kindergarten.

Remember, if you choose to play along, let me know so I can check out your answers!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #208

THIRTEEN VILLAINS
VANQUISHED
BY BATMAN

Let me state it plainly -- In this Gal's world, there is only one real Batman: Adam West. From 1966 to 1968, he fought crime in our living rooms. Every week. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.

Here are 13 of the evil masterminds that he faced, and faced down, leaving Gotham City safe for good citizens.

1) The Riddler. (Frank Gorshin) The first heinous criminal Batman brought down. Joyously, dementedly evil, he always got such a kick out of crime. John Astin donned the green tights festooned with question marks once, but Gorshin played the part more often and more memorably.

2) The Penguin. (Burgess Meredith) The villain who vexed the Dynamic Duo most often. He had his fans, obviously because he appeared on the show more than 20 times, but The Penguin was my least favorite. I think it was all the cigarette smoke that turned me off.

3) The Joker. (Cesar Romero) I've always found him to be their most worthy adversary. He was very creative, a snappy dresser, and had his own theme music. I love how, if you look close, you can see his mustache under the white makeup. I know the clip below bounces around a lot, but I think it shows The Joker to his best advantage and plays his signature tune several times. Plus, I love it when the drunk looks up, sees The Joker on TV and says, "That's my mother in law."





4) Catwoman. (Julie Newmar) Didn't you love the chemistry she had with Batman? Lee Meriweather played the famous cat burglar in the Batman movie, and Eartha Kitt took over in a couple later episodes of the show, but they didn't generate the same heat with The Caped Crusader.

5) Mr. Freeze. (George Sanders) He was a tragic man, really. During a battle, Batman spilled a jar of Instant Freeze on him and now he must wear a special refrigerated suit. Without it, he'll perish! No wonder he's always so pissed at The Dynamic Duo.

6) Egghead. (Vincent Price) I found his puns were eggs-cruciating. But that could be because, unlike Egghead, I have a normal sized brain. He had a huge, egg-shaped cranium to hold his superior, oversized brain. Yet with all his intelligence, he couldn't defeat Batman and Robin because they had right on their side.

7) Chandell. (Liberace) Chandell didn't start out as a villain. In fact, he was a gentle soul and a great pianist. But he went astray one day when he got lazy and, during a command performance at the White House, he used a player piano. His jealous twin brother Harry (also played by Liberace) blackmailed Chandell so he was forced to turn to crime. Chandell is memorable because he was Aunt Harriett's only love interest.

8) Shame. (Cliff Robertson) A very bad cowboy. Not only villainous but also none-too-bright. Still, I loved his episodes. Especially when the Caped Crusaders feed Shame's kerchief into the Bat Stain Analyzer and find he spilled a combination of avocado and jalapeno on it. Hearing the results, Robin exclaimed, "Holy Guacamole, Batman!"

9) The Bookworm. (Roddy McDowell) As well read as Shame is ignorant, The Bookworm even had a booklight in his fedora. He also had his very own tricked out vehicle, The Bookmobile.

10) King Tut. (Victor Buono) What a 60s relic this plot is! King Tut was a brilliant professor of Egyptology who gets hit on the head by "hippies" during a campus riot and comes to as an evil genius compelled to steal.

11) The Siren. (Joan Collins) Popular singer and harpist Lorelei Circe had a second personality -- arch criminal The Siren. She could put any mortal man under her spell by hitting a note three octaves above a high C. She even mesmerized Chief O'Hara!

12) Ma Parker. (Shelley Winters) She called herself "the greatest mother of them all." Certainly she could count on her three sons, who made up her "gang." She seemed to regret her life of crime, because she never stopped trying to discourage her only daughter, "Legs," from taking part in their illegal activities.

13) Minerva. (Zsa Zsa Gabor) The last criminal mastermind of the TV series, Minerva seemed to be an upstanding and glamorous Gotham City entrepreneur. She ran a luxury spa, frequented by all the local millionaires and millionairesses. But her signature scalp treatment was really The Deep Secret Extractor, and it enabled her to learn the location of all her clients' valuables ... and steal them!

For more about the Thursday 13,

or to play along yourself, click here.

31 Days of Oscar Blogathon: 1960 Best Supporting Actress

It's The Battle of the Blondes, 
or Girls Gone Wild!

The thirty-third Oscar ceremony was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in April, 1961. Much of the drama that year was provided by Elizabeth Taylor. Understandably so. In the space of little more than 12 months, LaLiz married Eddie Fisher, made Butterfield 8 almost against her will and yet still gave a magnetic performance, negotiated the (then unheard of) salary of $1 million to do Cleopatra, traveled to Europe to play the Queen of the Nile, contracted pneumonia and nearly died, saved by a tracheotomy that left a visible scar on her throat. Shirley MacLaine, nominated alongside Taylor for Best Actress that year, joked that she didn't lose to Taylor's onscreen performance as Gloria, but instead to her tracheotomy.

But the more interesting category was Best Supporting Actress, 

which saw two sunny blondes play against type and 

get rewarded with Oscar nominations

Shirley Jones was 26 years old and already a showbiz veteran. A beauty queen ("Miss Pittsburgh of 1952") with a voice like an angel, Shirley became the first and only singer under contract to Rodgers and Hammerstein. She made her movie debut in Oklahoma! and went on star in Carousel and April Love. In 1956 she married actor/singer Jack Cassidy and by Oscar night in 1961 she was mother to toddler (and future teen idol) Shaun Cassidy and preparing to start on The Music Man.

Amid the musicals and family fare, she made Elmer Gantry, a widely-anticipated, big budget project with impressive literary cred. Burt Lancaster had the title role as the charismatic evangelist who sold religion as if it was laundry detergent. Jean Simmons was prim Sister Sharon, a true believer who lacks Gantry's charm and oratory skills. And, cast completely against type, Shirley was prostitute Lulu Baines. While showing off curves no one dreamed she had, Shirley also exposed Lulu's dark side -- revealing her disillusionment and cynicism, her appetite for revenge and then finally, her remorse. It's a gritty performance, made all the more jarring because this is the girl we saw warbling alongside Gordon MacRae in the surrey with the fringe on top.

By Oscar night, 34-year-old Janet Leigh was also an established fan favorite. Her career had a fairy tale beginning. College student Jeannette Morrison was on a school break, visiting her parents at the ski resort where Dad worked the front desk and Mom was on the cleaning staff. She was discovered by vacationing movie queen Norma Shearer, who helped Jeannette get an MGM screen test and a new name. As Janet Leigh, she made her debut alongside Van Johnson in 1947's The Romance of Rosey Ridge. Her fresh-faced prettiness and natural screen presence won her roles in Little Women, Holiday Affair and My Sister Eileen. Orson Welles saw her potential as a serious actress and cast her as Charlton Heston's wife in Touch of Evil.

Like Shirley Jones, Janet Leigh had a husband "in the business." Tony Curtis was a major star and he and Janet had two young girls. Like Shirley Jones' son, Shaun Cassidy, Janet's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis also became a successful second-generation performer.

The similarities end there, because the movie that brought Janet to the Academy Awards was very different from the prestigious, studio-backed Elmer Gantry. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was a small budget, black and white horror flick loosely based on the lurid tale of serial killer Ed Gein. While Elmer Gantry was set against a backdrop of religion, Psycho was immersed in matricide and confused sexuality. The subject matter was considered so offensive that the studio nearly didn't distribute it. (Ironically, Universal suggested Shirley Jones for Psycho but, as legend has it, Hitchcock was dismissive of the notion.)

Today, Psycho is unarguably the more influential film, and Janet Leigh's Marion Crane is one of cinema's iconic roles. Marion is involved with a married man. This was a change of pace for Janet, who was more likely cast as wife than mistress. Leigh successfully captures Marion's ennui. We understand that she's tired of waiting for Sam (John Gavin) to leave his wife, tired of her boring office job, tired of being dutiful. She sees an opportunity to get her hands on $40,000 -- money that could mean freedom for her and Sam -- and she grabs it. On her way out of town, she gets caught in a blinding rainstorm and stops at the Bates Motel. After sharing a lonely sandwich supper with inn keeper Norman (Anthony Perkins), she has a change of heart and decides to go back home in the morning and ask forgiveness. She celebrates with a cleansing shower. And the rest, as they say, is history. Well before the movie is half over, her role is complete. But the memory is indelible. That famous shower sequence is horrifying because of Hitchcock's peerless direction and scoring, and because Janet Leigh's Marion is so vulnerable and relateable that we can imagine ourselves in that bathroom.

And the Oscar went to ... Shirley Jones. Let's not forget that three other (blonde) actresses were also nominated for Best Supporting Actress of 1960: Glynnis Johns for The Sundowners, Shirley Knight in Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and Mary Ure for Sons and Lovers.

About the Blogathon:
"Aurora of Once Upon a Screen, Paula of Paula's Cinema Club and Kellee  of Outspoken and Freckled are hosting a new, mammoth blogathon event that coincides with Turner Classic Movies’ 31 Days of Oscar, February 1 to March 3, 2013. It’ll be a month filled with fabulous tales and screen wonders." I encourage you to check out other entries.


 

Is it OK if I find this funny?

Apparently someone has hacked into the Facebook account of my oh-so image conscious older sister. Or perhaps she's gone super freaky. At any rate, after a long absence from the site, two items attributed to her appeared in my feed. The first was that she gave a "like" to "Big Booty." The second referenced her husband's email and includes a link to a porn site.

Upon reflection I realize it doesn't matter if someone's hacked into her account, or if she thinks she's privately sending erotica to her balding, 68-year-old husband to get the home fires burning. Either way it's pretty fucking funny.

At the movies

Just as the swallows return to Capistrano, I return to the movie theater when the Oscar nominations are announced. I'd already seen (and enjoyed) Lincoln and Argo. Now I have played catchup and seen Les Mierables and Silver Linings Playbook.

I finally saw Les Miz on stage a little over a year ago and it rocked my world. Especially Eponine. The movie was a little less awe-inspiring and more grueling. My mind wandered at times (like what an ordeal the filming must have been for Hugh Jackman -- he earns the title "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" -- and why didn't The Boy from Oz ever play Chicago?). But Jackman and Russell Crowe were fascinating rivals and Samantha Banks was a heartbreaking Eponine. Anne Hathaway was wonderful, too, but I'd seen the clip of Fantine singing, "I Dreamed a Dream" so many times that it wasn't a surprise. Amanda Seyfried's Cosette kind of annoyed me. But then I'm so totally Team Eponine I may not be objective. The boys who play the rebels were all so achingly young -- like all frontline soldiers, I suppose -- that their inevitable slaughter hurts. So while this movie has much to recommend it, I just wish it was more deft, moved faster and had a bit more wonder to it.

If Les Miserables was something of a letdown, Silver Linings was a delightful surprise. I knew Bradley Cooper was a hunk, I just didn't know he could be such an affecting actor. Jennifer Lawrence was great in a difficult, edgy part. Robert DeNiro -- who has been such a hamhock in recent movies -- was vulnerable and real. Jacky Weaver embodied moms. The script was knowing and funny and original. In short, I looooved it.

So if I was in charge of the Oscars,* here is how I'd rank these 4:

Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Argo
Les Miserables

I missed Life of Pi, but I wasn't that enthusiastic about that one anyway. Ang Lee is not one of my favorite directors. On the subject of directors, I have no intention of seeing Django Unchained. Tarentino and I broke up after Inglorious Basterds.  

I likely won't see Zero Dark Thirty, either. While I understand the necessity of Bin Laden's murder, it did not fill me with joy. I cannot celebrate the death of any human being (ah, those pesky Sunday School teachings stuck after all). And I have always been disturbed by the specter of my country using torture, as I believe we're better than that. So no matter how wonderful the film may be, I think I'll pass.

*And wouldn't the world be a better place if I was?

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Meme From Suburbia

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? I was worried about layoffs at work, just like now. Although the circumstances were very different then. Ten years ago, I was Big Boss Lady and I was fighting to save the jobs of my staff (instead of my own). And then the impetus for the layoffs wasn't that we didn't have enough work (like now). Back then, the agency I worked for went from being owned and run by one (very wonderful) man to being just a small part of a multinational network that needed to let people go to improve their North American bottom line.

2. By this time next year, I ... would like to be healthier.

3. Do you think the United States will elect a female President in your lifetime? Do you think this would be a good thing? Whether it's good or bad depends on the woman. For example, there's a world of difference in terns of brain power and qualifications between Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. And yes, I think it's inevitable.

 
4. Which fictional, TV show character you would shag anytime? Leroy Jethro Gibbs of NCIS

5. Who is your greatest enemy? Me
 
6. Tell me about your most recent trip of more than 100 miles? I went to Key West for New Year's. I have very dear friends down there in the southernmost tip of the contiguous United States. 
 
7. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? Dictionary

8. Do you have a nickname? What is it? Not really anymore. My dad had quite a few pet names for me when I was a little girl -- my favorite was "Andy Panda." Remembering that just now made me smile.

9. What are you dreading at the moment? Dealing with my older sister regarding our mother's "estate." The quotes are because all my mother really left us is bills and we're working toward breaking even. I have borne the financial responsibility virtually by myself, while our kid sister has had to deal with the emotional ordeal of disposing of our mother's personal belongings. And yet my older sister chooses to sit on the sidelines, kibitizing and making demands. At times I am glad that my mom can't see what a most emphatically not nice woman her eldest has turned out to be.

10. Do you worry that others will judge you from reading some of your answers? Not really. That's one of the benefits of keeping my cyber and real lives very separate.

11. If you find an outfit you love, but the size on the label is larger than you want, do you buy the outfit? Why or why not? With the big butt I'm hauling around these days, it's hard to imagine a label larger than I need. I suppose it's possible, though, since numbers go up to infinity.

12. Even the biggest slackers are anal-retentive about something? What are you anal-retentive about? My towels have to match. I absolutely hate it when they don't.

13. Out of all the books you read as a child, which one had the biggest influence on how you are today? Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire. It fascinated me to imagine my homestate of Illinois as it was back in the 19th century and ignited a lifelong love of presidential biographies. It's a Caldecot Medal Winner, beautifully illustrated. If you have a young child in your life, I can't recommend this book more highly.
 
14. Which Golden Girl would you want to spend a night on the town with? Rose, because she kinda reminds me of my oldest friend and we always have a good time together.
 
15. What is the one product you would never buy in its generic form even if the generic is half the price? Paper towels. When you live among pets like I do, it's not worth it to have paper towels that come apart when faced with really icky tasks. I'm a Viva or Bounty Girl, all the way.

16. How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa? What are you saying? NO!!! I don't believe you!

17. What is the one smell that turns your stomach without fail? Coffee. Blech! There used to a commercial where the woman takes a can of Folger's and presses it to her face as though she were a horse and it was a feedbag, presumably so she can savor the scent. I learned to look away. 
 
18. If someone holds out a carton of milk to you and asks you to sniff it to see if its spoiled, do you? Say, "Fuck no. If you're worried, throw it out, you moron." Why ingest something you suspect may be sour?
 
19. You have a completely free day and $2000.00, What are you doing? Taking off to find the perfect replacement for my pathetic sofa.

20. What is the most used item in your home? The aforementioned pathetic sofa.

 

It's sinking in

The sky today was such a beautiful, clear blue. It made me sad to think my mother didn't get to see it.

A freight train rolled by carrying John Deere tractors. My late uncle was so loyal to that brand and seeing the logo go by again and again and again made me miss him.

I don't like being sad. Perhaps that's the function of dealing with shit like funerals and wills and estate sales -- it occupies the mind until the heart is ready to absorb the pain of the inevitable.

Trifecta

 

This weekend's challenge: Give us a 33-word example of personification.

I live across from the tracks and recognize the sound of train cars coupling. They can be quite amorous and let out a satisfied metallic purr at the conclusion of the mating ritual.

About the photo: Life Magazine makes a library of their archive images available for free to use for “non-commercial personal purposes."

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Stormy Weather

1) Do noisy storms scare you? No.

2) Mother Winters tells us Lena Horne was considered one of the great beauties of the 1940s. Whom do you consider one of today's most beautiful women? Right now I'm watching Erin Burnett on CNN. I'd trade faces with her.

3) Crazy Sam admits it -- there's a big bag of recycling she really should take out to the bin. Yet she's composing this meme. What should you be doing, instead of answering her questions? My laundry is sorted. I just haven't made my way down to the washer and dryer yet. It's such a drag. I mean, didn't I just do this last week?

4) Sam may be crazy, but she's not stupid and will never waste her money on Cialis, no matter how many unsolicited emails she receives! What's the most recent addition to your spam folder? Something about a lichi superfruit diet.

5) What was the last thing you cooked? I had chilled shrimp and a side dish of fruit for dinner last night, and neither required cooking. So I guess it would be Thursday night's hamburger.

6) Do you remember the lyrics to your either your high school or college fight song? If so, please share a bit. "Always cheering for the blue and white. Fight! Fight! Fight!"

7) "Samantha" is the feminine of "Samuel" and means "Listener." What's the derivation of your first name? Since my name is The Gal Herself, my first name is "The" -- an article that precedes a noun to indicate the type of noun.

8) Are you following the NBA or NHL this year? If so, which team are you rooting for? I'm an obsessive Cub fan, and since an obsession crowds everything else out, I'm afraid I simply don't have bandwidth for other teams.

9) Gloves, umbrellas, sunglasses, keys -- which of these do you misplace most often? Umbrellas, which makes me sad because good ones are so expensive.