July 15th, 2007
I’m not a conservative, more of libertarian, who happens to have a few conservative viewpoints. And get this. I used to be much further to the left than most liberals! In recent years I began to see things differently and realize that having more liberal/democrat ideals, wasn’t for me.
Anyway, here is my whole take on the Rosie O’Donnell Vs. Elizabeth Hasselbeck deal…
Someone recently told me that they tought Elizabeth was a horse’s ass for trying to twist around something Rosie allegedly said about U.S. soldiers being terrorists, back in May, on ABC’s The View. See video below for a more detailed look at what happened back then.
Rosie vs. Elizabeth on The View
« Click to view video
I don’t think Elizabeth is a horse’s ass for saying what she believes, Rosie, after all got to do that much more than Elizabeth ever does… and in fact I applaud Elizabeth for finally standing up to that clod, Rosie. Unfortunately, Elizabeth stands alone in her viewpoints on The View’s panel, which is bad because the rest of the women seem to have usually sided with RO. Is that fair and balanced? Hell, no.
And it’s not over yet…
Now, just this week, reports say that while Rosie goes on her gay cruise she apparently hasn’t lived this all down yet, and has even resorted to stooping to her lowest by bashing Elizabeth when she isn’t around to defend herself. Rosie is reported to have trotted out a large poster of Elizabeth, defaced with childish devil horns, goatee and tail, done in a very childish manner with a black marker, and says to the crowd of people, “Her only effing credit was Survivor! Come on!”
The Defamer has the scoop on just who has been doing the photo defacing… turns out it was one of Rosie’s writers! According to Page Six of the NY Times…
“Yesterday, Rose’s chief writer, Janette Barber, was allegedly escorted from the [ABC studios] building after she was caught drawing moustaches on photographs of Hasselbeck that hang in the “View” studios.”
But I digress…
Rosie was on her way out, anyway. More than a significant portion of America does not like her and had shut off The View as soon as she came on to it. Now, I agree that while Star Jones was quite the bitch, she did behave herself (IMHO) much better than Rosie ever could, and her background in law provided a very interesting viewpoint along with the others. I don’t miss Star Jones. She was starting to get on my nerves. But the show was on a slippery slope anyway, once Merideth Viera left. Now there’s a woman with class, and a sense of respect and manners! I really enjoyed the show when it was Lisa Ling, Star Jones, Meredith Viera, Joy Behar and Barbara Walters. To me THAT was a more diverse panel.
I don’t disageree that Rosie ought to be able to have a viewpoint, and kudos to her for having the cajones to stand up for what she believes, but the way she does it is impolite and rude, her approach is often, “This is what everyone should think” and rarely, “This is just what I think, my opinion”.
Honey goes a much longer way than vinegar ever will. Lack of respect is what I sum up when I think of Rosie O’Donnell, as she is today. Don’t forget I did used to be a fan of hers back in her early stand up days and film career. Now just because I prefer a female role model who embodies class, ettiquette and respect does not mean I think women ought to stay at home and knit and bake all day and keep their mouths shut, and I don’t agree that Rosie isn’t a smart woman who has spent a lot of time speaking for women. But because of her swaggering, overbearing, very disrespectful and abrasive manner, combined with her lack of tact, she does give many women including me, a bad taste in our mouths and I personally don’t want her speaking for the female race if she must do it in such a way that turns people off. I’m positive many women agree.
She has failed miserably on many, many attempts to have a career in the media. Her talk show bombed, her magazine went tits up not long after it was started, and her career on The View only lasted 9 months. Not even a year! To me, all these things combined means that America does not like you, so STFD and STFU. I think she ought to stay home raising her children and being with Kelli. Or try another venue for her nonsense, such as the GLBT cable channel where she actually has an audience that would appreciate her.
May 1st, 2007
I live in a tiny, cramped 2nd floor apartment on Rice street above some offices. I have all my 9 windows on one side and guess what, it’s the West side! So in the summer it’s scorching and in the winter it’s scorching. I almost never have to turn the radiators on in the winter during the day, at least not if it’s sunny. If it’s cloudy, then maybe. Once the sun goes down, between October and March, it’s #*$)(@# frreeeezing in here. Thank God I have a decent digital a/c for summer. Else I’d go berzerk.
My neighborhood is scary. The SuperAmerica has been closed since December. Everyone I’ve talked to (business owners and residents) all say it is because of too much theft. When it was open, they had permanent red plates screwed to all the gas pumps that it was pre-pay for gas purchase. The store had 2 cm-thick, clear plexiglass guard all around the counter between you and the cashier. You had to talk through a little hole in the clear window, and hold up your bread or whatever you were buying to the glass so they could scan it. There was a cop in the store after 6 at night. When there wasn’t one (which was often), the plexi-guard would go down around the counter.
I once got my purse and notebook ripped off of me while walking down the street just after it got dark out, last October.
The building I live in is for sh**.
Until the owners of the building put a lock on the outside door leading to the lobby where the mailboxes and door buzzers were, there was constantly graffiti and trash (we’re not talking the occasional paper or candy wrapper here–try chicken bones, marijuana refuse, someone chucking their half empty can of Colt 45 on the floor) all over the common areas, and someone or something was always peeing in a corner of the elevator.
People would walk in off the street, and buzz all the apartments, feigning the ‘I left my keys upstairs’ excuse. When, for the most part, they turned out to be just coming upstairs to bother tenants and/or just get in from the cold so they could smoke weed or have sex in the laundry room and basically trash the building.
Some of the people in the building are loud and obnoxious. One of my neighbors used to have loud parties at all hours, even during the week, and she was 19 and had 40 and 50 year old men hanging around. It had to be drugs or booze. 50 and 19 year olds dont have that much in common! She had a 3 year old kid out of wedlock, the product of her being raped by a man who was then her mother’s boyfriend. In the summer she would hang out her window and yell at strange men outside to come see her. She finally got evicted but there are still some characters in the building.
Once there was no washers or dryers working for 2 weeks because some dolt decided to try to crowbar-open the money receptacles of the machines to get the quarters out, thus making the machines inoperable.
I don’t know if the neighborhood is getting better, but I will move soon in any case. I just hate moving. I don’t drive and that keeps me from being as flexible as I would like. I’m considering moving back to South St. Paul because it was quiet and about $100 cheaper rent. I have terrible credit after spending years trying to get my business off the ground, so my options are limited.
This is no home. I wouldn’t put my worst enemy up in this joint. But it’s where I hang my hat for now. Until things get better for me.
April 24th, 2007 February 28th, 2007
Seems that, for a long time, my life has been a cycle of being in and out, of a complete, chaotic, mess. Money’s been too tight (and since November, practically non-existent), and I’m stressing out because I either have too much to do or not enough to do.
It’s my own damned fault, I suppose. I could be getting more work. Or more money, somehow. A little back-story…for those who don’t already know… I run my own business from home, which can be scary sometimes if you don’t plan things well.
But it’s hard to be out and about trying to get contracts and meet people all day long and then go home and work for 12 hours more.
I suppose I could get a part time job, but then when would I sleep? I’m the only person working here, so it’s not like I could just delegate some tasks to a staff member!
If I continue this cycle of neglecting my own self-care, rest, and health, and spending 12-16 hours working every day, soon I will be dead. When I’m working, I neglect myself. My hair won’t get washed every day, I won’t take care to eat the right things, and I smoke too much. I love my job…but it’s ruining my health.
So I’m trying some new things…like not working one day a week and just spending that day doing meetings or marketing/making calls. Then I will spend the rest of that day not doing a damned thing but having “me” time.
I will give it the ol’ college try and post how it goes.
~TTFN
February 19th, 2007
Today I think I’m at the bottom of the bottom. There’s the earth’s surface, then 50 feet of crap, then there’s me.
I got turned down again for yet another contract job, and then I got a knock on the door and was handed a notice of eviction action…a summons…not an official “eviction notice”.
Roughly translated, if I don’t go to court next week and pay 2 months rent, I could be forced to move within 24 hours afterward.
Long story short, the last couple of months haven’t been very prosperous, as far as getting work goes.
I’m actually thinking back now…there were only really 2 paid projects I took on since just before Christmas…and they didn’t pay well.
So.
It’s no wonder I’m flat broke.
Guess I’ll go sell fruit on the corner.
February 17th, 2007
I have been visiting www.youtube.com for some time now, and I know the original intent was to allow individuals to upload their own videos and allow “the people” to have freedom of expression in the form of online video.
However, as most of the people who visit this site are aware, YouTube has also been a way for visitors to view videos that are copyright protected, such as interviews from tv shows, commercials, music videos by popular artists, and clips from tv shows…even whole tv shows being broken into parts.
I’ll admit to having been addicted to YouTube for the latter reason. I find it very gratifying and fun to be able to go lookup a clip online to see something I may have missed on TV which has people buzzing, such as the recent ‘feud’ between Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump, or to view the commercials that aired during the Superbowl XLI.
The way YouTube works is this: You post a video that you recorded and people can rate your video, add it to their list of favorite videos, subscribe to your videos (meaning they can get alerted whenever you post new videos), and of course, reply to your video in one of two ways; by posting a text comment, or by uploading a video of your own, in response to the original video.
Then you have the people who respond to a video in the form of a video response, vs. simply replying in the text comment boxes. Some of these people, I find to be funny and/or entertaining, while others seem to me, to be using the platform as a means to trying to become famous. Good for them! Lots of these people who post videos and video responses and use YouTube for the main intent, seem to have the most subscribers to their profiles, if their videos are especially humorous, entertaining or original. These people tend to garner a ‘celebrity’ status at YouTube and are the most active participants, once they realize how powerful their contributions have become.
I found though, that the ‘celebrities’ of YouTube seem to be the people that use the site for its original intent, and although many of the videos they post are entertaining, some even informative, I have this theory…
I believe, that the most popular YouTube users are either a) trying to get jobs/be famous for video production and editing and/or acting/journalism/tv personality, or b) just really not talented in writing or typing anything with substance or intelligence.
So there you have it. I think YouTube for the most part, is a way for people to ‘blog’ by video because they are too daft to write and/or type.
Say what you like about me. That’s just my $.02.
February 9th, 2007
I was reading the entries for the Wife in The Fast Lane contest, which is being run by a woman who wrote (and is promoting) a book about busy career moms/superwomen/etc. and was laughing at some of them (they are funny) and happened to visit the blog of the author. I was reading a post in January’s archives and saw a photo belonging to someone I thought was at least 18. There was more cleavage than anything else. The text below said the picture was of a 15 year old. I can’t believe this woman lets her 15 year old daughter dress like that! There was no way to comment on the site and EVEN if there were, I felt it would be rude to speak my mind there (not to mention none of my beeswax, I suppose–she’s not my kid after all), so I put it here.
Since it’s my blog, I guess I can.
*sticks tongue out*
And that’s all I have to say about that.
February 3rd, 2007
OK. I like to have the radio on during the day while I work. It kinda makes my day go by a bit faster, and it’s nice to have it on in the background.
When the radio’s on, I normally listen to the classic rock station here in Minneapolis. And I luuurve classic rock. In my book, there’s nothing better than hearing some old Rick Deringer, Steve Miller Band, Rolling Stones and Heart! But for some reason, ever since winter came, my reception has been a bit wonky. I think it has something to do with the position of the radio (on a windowsill in my kitchen) and the fact that the sun is in a different place? Sounds weird, I know.
Anyway, the reception was really OFF one day, so I got up and started dialing around on the FM bar the other day and decided to tune into the local “lite rock” slash “easy listening” station. Because sometimes I have a hankering for some Barbara Streisand Evergreen, or old Lionel Ritchie, Kenny Loggins, and Seals & Crofts. Nice.
But after awhile, the muzak started to grate on me. Although there are moments to enjoy, when they throw on some old George Benson, 80’s Whitney Houston, and James Taylor, I have to leave the room when James Blunt comes over the airwaves with his squeaky voice.
They play way too much contemporary ‘emo’ music for me, and too much of the crap boy band songs that try so hard to be r&b but really don’t satisfy (i.e. stuff by Back Street Boys, All4One). Then they also throw in lots of generous splashes of whiny songs by Faith Hill, and I want to bring out the Tylenol, not to mention when they play cover songs by new country artists.
Then there’s Green Day’s Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) which seems to be played a lot whenever I go to a wedding, a party, a reunion, etc., and seems to have taken over the as a Big Part of The Soundtrack of (most) of My Generation. Since I cringe everytime I hear it in those situations, I get the urge to make a run for my bed and hide under the covers whenever it comes on over the friggin’ radio airwaves.
So I’ve decided that since the station has its moments (during the Flashback Lunch hour, that’s when they play the good ol’ Barry Manilow and Gladys Knight), I will continue to listen during those times.
But I would be happier if LITE-102.9 FM would cease and desist with all the “You’re Beautiful / She WEEEEEL be loooved / Ya had a bad daaay / Tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet”-laden crap their playlist seems chock full of. Because if I have to hear Counting Crows cover of Big Yellow Taxi Train’s Drops of Jupiter, or anything by Uncle Cracker again, I will bang my head on the wall!
PS – yes I kinow, I have cheesy taste in music. But that great elevator type stuff is the best to work to!
[/rant]
February 2nd, 2007
Editor’s note: Actually the ad might be for toothpaste, but we’ll never know, because they don’t say what it’s for!
Does anyone find this to be really awful, besides me?
Rembrandt recently launched a new ad campaign which I do not care for and find to be very distasteful.
The commercial I saw for this was disgusting to me, and quite sexual. The campaign is called “The Brilliant Mouth”, and features a man and woman, kissing each other in a way that made me hope that he at least bought her dinner first.
The campaign was launched recently and the first commercial aired during Sunday Night’s recent episode of Desperate Housewives according to AdRant.com
When I saw it, it was tonight (2/1/07) during the commercial break for The Office. It was practically softcore porn 
Yeah, I know The Office isn’t exactly “ma, pa, sis and junior gathered ’round the television set after dinner”-style entertainment, either.
But still.
It was kinda racy.
Though I’m 33 DEFINITELY a member of their target audience, I felt as though I was peering in on someone’s bedroom activities, and kinda feel sick about it now. I am not one to pass judgement on anyone who wants to do the nasty, heck I even have those thoughts, feelings, etc. and DO things about them…*ahem*
But come ON. I have some dignity and a door I can close to the world, during such activities. I’m certain there were people out there who had the urge to light up a cig after seeing that ad.
Then I thought of the people who felt like me and just kinda got mad about it.
So I went to their website to air my thoughts about this (pretty much the same things you see written here) and they have MORE of TEH SEX all over the front page of their site. Very disappointing. I’m sure the company’s namesake is rolling in his almost 340-year old grave. On top of all this disgusting-ness, the company posts “12 Days ‘Til Valentine’s Day” on the home page…so? And your point is…?
News flash: You’re not Hallmark. Cut it out.
But I digress.
Perhaps their main target consumer is into that sort of thing but it wasn’t even 9 p.m. when I saw this! I realize also that Desperate Housewives is an entirely different audience than those watching NBC at 7 p.m., but I found the entire ad to be in poor taste. What happened to just a good clean ’smile’ shot between the two people and then a simple kiss without all of the implied foreplay?
I guess my main issue with it is this. I thought the whole ‘feel’ of the ad was unreasonably titilating. With a capital T.
Can’t they sell oral care products without being THAT overtly sexual? I realize smiles, lips, teeth, etc. can all be sexy and ’sexy’ does sell products, but how about a nice NON-PORN-ish kiss on your commercials?
I guess I am naive–and sort of hope–that perhaps American consumers and marketers might have a shred of modesty and decency in them.
Oh, wait…a few years go we just endured the fact that our Commander-in-Chief had some taxpayer-sponsored lip-service (pun intended) on his ‘lil Commander. And hey, how about trying to turn the TV on just about any ol’ time of day, and not see a Girls Gone Wild DVD for sale, or big jiggly boobies pimping GoDaddy services!
So I guess by many standards, America and its media, are pretty sexed-up. And have been, for some time now.
But has it gone too far? And do we have to sit here and take it?
I’m gonna have to say a big NO to that.
Eh. You can call me a prude if you want to. I don’t care. I’m sticking to my guns on this one.
January 15th, 2007
Was Paula Abdul under some sort of influence during a series of interviews broadcast last week? Or not? FoxLife says maybe…
But Ms. Abdul’s publicist, Jeff Ballard says otherwise, denying that she slurred her speech, and chalked it up to technical issues on the part of the TV network…saying that she was simply reacting to the interview room’s bad acoustics, voices being shouted to her microphone and other stuff. Full article here
Below are links to 3 different interviews showing a different story, in which Paula does slur her words during throughout almost the entire segments of the interview, and is spinning in her swivel chair so much that she almost is out of the camera’s view, and in some cases, out of her chair!
Decide for yourself… HEY KIDS, COLLECT ALL 3!!
Interview 1 – Video
Interview 2 – Video
Interview 3 – Video
(links open in new windows)
January 1st, 2007
Sorry I think this story is hilarious…
1. Man hears school board wants to consider renaming Winter and Spring holiday breaks for school to “Christmas” and “Easter”, and heartily opposes.
2. Man wants to make the ultimate sacrifice to stand up for his beliefs
3. Man prepares to die in a burst of flames
4. The long arm of the law come to save man with fire estinguisher
5. Man lives and now suffers from burns on his body
6. School board makes decision to use the words “Christmas” and “Easter” for holiday breaks anyway.
7. I read the story and laugh my ass off.
December 25th, 2006
Yep.
It’s been between 35-55 degrees this past week leading to Christmas and the ground has been dry and clear of any snow whatsoever.
On Thursday, we got snow. It melted away by Saturday though. That was it, since Winter started, Dec. 21st.
I’m totally MIFFED that my Christmas was not white.
It felt weird to be sitting inside celebrating with my family, and looking outside to see a clear blue sky and sun everywhere on dry ground.
Eww! Not right at all.
I do NOT understand people who are happy about this. They are not true Minnesotans. They are traitors. Heathens!
December 18th, 2006
Yesterday I went to SuperTarget and they had Ben & Jerry’s pints for 2 for $4 (normally almost $4/each). So I picked up a couple. Or six. Yeah, so I’m post-menstrual. I need ice cream now and then. Deal.
I was a bit upset that they didn’t have one of my faves–Chunky Monkey. Something about banana ice cream is so fantasically refreshing to me!
So instead I got these…
Vermonty Python – Haven’t tried it yet, but the carton says “Chocolate-liqueor-flavored ice cream with cookie crumb swirl and milk chocolate cows.” I guess the cows are to represent the flying cows on the Monty Python’s Flying Circus show.
Mint Chocolate Cookie – This is mint chocolate ice cream with chunks of Oreo-style chocolate sandwich cookies (not Oreos but close). Sounds delish. I love mint ice cream, Oreo Cookie ice cream, and chocolate, so I hope it does not disappoint.
Black & Tan – this is meant to be similar to the drink by the same name–a tall frothy glass of Irish stout beer. If you like a cool pint of Guinness now and then, you might like the half inch or so of creamy (albiet sweet) stout-flavored ice cream on the top of this concoction. But if you are not a chocoholic, you might not like the rest. It is dark (almost black) chocolate ice cream with hint of chocolate liqueor taste to it. Even I didn’t care too much for this dark layer, and I love chocoloate. This part of the ice cream was very chalky to me, and had a strange sort of choclate taste, but not chocolatey-ice cream taste.
American Pie – Apple pie-flavored ice cream with chunks of cinnamon-y apple and pie crust. Very different. Tasted exactly like apple pie ala mode! Not a favorite though. Ben & Jerry’s fares better with their chocolate ice creams, in my opinion.
Marsha, Marsha, Marshmallow! – This is my ALL TIME FAVE Ben & Jerry’s flavor! It’s not marshmallow ice cream, so beware marshmallow lovers–if that’s what you expect, you will be sorry. It’s rich and dense chocolate ice cream, hunks of fudge chips (the the same ones found in the New York Super Fudge Chunk flavor), swirls of toasted marshmallow goo (this part strangely looks like deli mustard…but tastes great–best eaten in the dark livingroom in front of the glow of your fave DVD), and hunks of gritty, salty graham cracker crust-type stuff. This ice cream is rich, sweet and salty all at once. A lot of fun textures combined to make an interesting treat.
December 18th, 2006
I cannot understand Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I can however, completely agree that it’s a disorder. If you let the weather affect you THAT much, something is definitely wrong with you.
Perhaps there is something wrong with me, too. I must be one of the oddball freaks of nature, who react ENTIRELY the opposite way to gloomy weather.
If you’re suffering from SAD, go live in Arizona between November and March.
I HATE having this bullshit straight MONTH of sunny upper 30-50 degree (mostly) days in DECEMBER. It needs to be snowing and cloudy, dammit.
I hate that we only have a couple (at best) brisk days in the fall and the rest of September and October is bloody 60-70 degrees out, and BLASTED HOT, and sunny. We get like, what–5 days of colored trees then bam, the leaves all fall to the ground.
I cringe when people (especially the WEATHER PEOPLE ON TV) complain in the first week of MAY that it’s raining outside and only 60. It’s only SPRING PEOPLE, we’ve only JUST completed the winter meltdown a week ago and there was hardly any rain in April.
Then, spring only lasts about a week and BAM. It’s only May 10th and it’s 80 out. WHAT THE HELL????!!!!!
I can’t stand it when people live in Minnesota complain about winter. Go fvcking live in Florida, you asses.
We don’t get enough of the spring and fall that I really love. You know, about 40-55 out, light jacket weather. Perfect for walks and backyard fires and camping.
Sunny days make me sleepy and want to not do anything. I love crisp, overcast and yes, rainy days.
I should be a perfect candidate to live in London.
December 17th, 2006
Sean Connery…
raising brows for years
One of my classmates, Shane K. could do this all the time. He would do it when someone said something stupid. When something someone said was supposed to funny but he didn’t get it (which I thought was sooo clever instead of just saying, “I don’t get it”). The eyebrow that he gave to people was something he was soooo good at that it made you feel silly when he did it to you. It was like he was able to say a thousand things without speaking a word. I was determined to learn how right away!
The first time I tried to do it, holding down one eyebrow (like I’ve heard some have tried to do) wasn’t enough. I would spend HOURS trying to lift that one muscle in an attempt to be as clever and intimidating as Shane.
What worked for me was, sort of lowering my right eyebrow to kind of make my left one SEEM higher, though what ended up happening was that my right eyebrow was WAY down there and I just looked mad.
If found that if I kept trying the combination movement of simultaneously LIFTING my left eyebrow muscle while forcing my right eyebrow down. It worked. I took a lot of time practicing but I’ve been successfully raising my left eyebrow at people since about the 5th or 6th grade.
I’m just now commenting on this because I cannot believe someone actually put this as a goal on 43things.com:)
Who is this chick?
I like many things and wrinkle my nose at most. Yes I said fairly happy-go-lucky, but that refers to my own personal life. When it comes to how I view the world and others in it, cynical seems to be the type of mindset I’ve been in since about 1999, which is when I started this ca-razy blog thing. Yes, boys and girls, you are looking at a dinosaur in the blogosphere. The day I started it was practically just before blogging had even started to become a big trend on the internet. In fact, October 1999 is right about the same time as Blogger had started, but I didn’t know about it. Back then I had called this thing an online journal, Lord knows I kept it up much better than I do now.I enjoy reading and music, I guess I would put those two things as my upper-most favorite pasttimes. I used to be more active and atheletic than I am nowadays, but when I was I enjoyed hiking, swimming, volleyball, camping and floor hockey (I can’t skate on ice to save my life). I used to collect movies but my collection got to be so large I had to find something else to do. It started out with me setting my VCR to tape all the new cable tv releases while I was out all week at work, and coming home to view them was a harmless way to pass the weekend. It got to where I had too many movies on tape that I really didn’t care that much about, and had to start giving them away! Now I only buy DVDs that I know I will watch over and over again.
Cut to New York city, where Buddy runs into all kinds of people, does weird things in public, although typical of elfs but not normal for humans, providing for lots of laughs and eventually find his father, a children’s book publisher played wonderfully by James Caan, for whom the role is a bit of a stretch, considering he’s usually typecast as the mob guy or the bad casino dude (Honeymoon in Vegas).
Chevy Chase will forever be Clark Griswold, the self-assured, well-intended but always failing jackass family man. And Randy Quaid will always be his stinky, broke, half-witted cousin Eddie. “The shitter’s full!”. Add to that the in-laws, (played brilliantly by Diane Ladd, John Randolph, and Doris Roberts of “Everybody Loves Raymond”-fame), for a rollicking good time.
The usual stresses and frustrations of family at Christmas, make for very funny stuff. The miserable in-laws who complain about their health, and incessantly nag “When I was your age, blah blah blah”, the 80 year old aunt who royally screws up saying grace at dinner, and who wraps up random crap from around her house and brings it as gifts (including her own pet cat), and of course the cherry on top, which is Cousin Eddie’s wackjob family from down South dropping in for a surprise appearance (in their chugging and wheezing, greasy, barely-held-together-wreck of an RV which takes up the whole driveway and is a huge eyesore), all make for a recipe for holiday disaster.
Clark decorating the outside of the house with so many lights that he shorts out the neighborhood, the two teenage kids bickering and the crazy sledding scene are all kinds of funny, laugh after laugh. I SWEAR this movie will have you rolling. Adults may like it better than the little ones, for some of the more grown up humor but it does have many of its moments for the whole family to enjoy.
Peter Billingsley
The movie’s screenplay is well done by Jean Sheppard and is voice-over narrated entirely by Daniel M. Pinkwater, and he does a fabulous job. Ralphie (played by Peter Billingsley) tries to convince everyone that he should get a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas but instead gets a crazy bunny outfit from a long-distance Aunt who has never met him, and somehow thinks he is a girl. With Christmas still approaching, Ralphie is still determined with his sights on the BB gun, but his family and teachers all tell him that he shouldn’t have a gun because “You’ll shoot your eye out!”.
The whole movie centers around the little boy’s fantasies about how he will successfully get the gun for Christmas. All kinds of other hilarity ensues. A must-watch, and kid-friendly! The parts where Mom punishes Ralphie for saying a bad word and where Dad chases the neighor’s dogs are also almost-pee-your-pants funny.
Danny Kaye goes beyond his traditional comic roles to play Hans Christian Andersen. I love this movie because it is very old, very much a fantasy and musical and I love the whole musicals and ballets of “Thumbelina”, and “The Ugly Duckling” in it.
Set at a farm in Connecticut, with singing and dancing numbers galore. This is the film that introduced America to the song “White Christmas”, which almost cut from the final scene.
Created by Alexander Salkind of the Superman movies-fame, it’s set in the mid-80’s. A fabulous movie for kids and adults alike, where the legend of how Santa Claus came to be is shown. Dudley Moore plays head Elf at the North Pole, and is FABULOUS at it. The first part of the movie takes place hundreds of years ago where a jolly old man and his wife make toys for the children in their village each winter.
Then one dark and blustery night, while on a sleigh ride trip back home after visiting with the children to whom they gave toys, they get stuck and experience being magically transported by an old elf, to the North Pole to become Santa Claus, who never ages, and eats only sweets. Actual reindeer and hundreds and hundreds of people big and small are elves at the very large and fanciful toy empire in the North Pole, where Santa and his wife become accustomed to their new lives over the centuries.
Despite the fact that this was not a huge box office draw in its day, it was made well before the heavy commercialism and over-hyping of movies we experience today, and it’s one of the best Christmas movies I know about. The special effects (which are all done the old fashioned way) are amazing, and were considered the most elaborate ever seen on film up to that point, and possibly ever, and the lack of computer-animation as we are so used to today, is never missed. The costumes and elaborate sets are also a wonderful eye candy treat. If you rent or buy the DVD, make sure to get the widescreen edition because the sleigh flying and other magic scenes in the sky are not as fabulous in the regular panning of the screen on the fullscreen edition.
Now, I’m not going to come over and ask to borrow a cup of sugar, or anything creepy like that. But chances are high that I will not only read your blog, and maybe even write something linking to you.