Quote of the Week

I've had this movie in my head since I was 6, not as a story but as an idea. When I saw the creature swimming under Julie Adams [in 1954's "The Creature from the Black Lagoon"], I thought three things: I thought, "Hubba-hubba." I thought, "This is the most poetic thing I'll ever see." I was overwhelmed by the beauty. And the third thing I thought is, "I hope they end up together."
--Guillermo del Toro, "Guillermo del Toro's highly personal monster film 'The Shape of Water' speaks to 'what I feel as an immigrant'", Los Angeles Times, September 5, 2017

My comment:

That wasn't exactly my reaction to my first viewing of Creature from the Black Lagoon. But then I saw it before I hit puberty.

Even when I saw it afterward that, I don't remember having any poetic thoughts about Julie Adams and the Creature though if I saw it for the first time today, there's a chance that I might. Then again when I was a young teen, I remember being far more obsessed with where the shrunken people in Dr. Cyclops got their clothes...

Pop Song of the Week: "(I'm in Love with) the Creature from the Black Lagoon"

I'm sorry, Mr. del Toro, but apparently there really isn't anything new under the sun...

Though it is nice to see that actress Alice Pearce was notable for something other than playing Gladys Kravitz on the TV show Bewitched.

Movie Song of the Week: "Theme from Creature from the Black Lagoon

In honor of the recent Oscar nominations, I present the theme music from one of director Guillermo del Toro's favorite movies.

The Winter of My Discontent

It seems as if I'm finally caught up with my medical bills but I still have this year's taxes to sort out. And though I'm not really sick, I seem to feel the cold more and more as I grow older -- a feeling I find especially embarrassing since I used to not only live up north but often had occasion while up there to walk to work while snow was on the ground.

On the bright side, I still had use of all four limbs and though my right hand is not as flexible as it used to be, my left hand still performs quite adequately. There was a brief time during my medical leave last year when I wondered if I would ever be able to walk long distances again without the aid of a walker but fortunately, that worry has long since bit the dust. I worry about my middle brother though. He is even more impatient than me when it comes to dealing with doctors and pharmacists and he's getting to the age when he can no longer afford to be that way.

My mother is in semi-good health though her neck still hurts from time to time and she has to stay away from solid food this week because of a dental implant. However, considering the crises my family has had to deal with in the recent past, we seem to be doing okay. However, I'm keeping my fingers crossed just the same.

Quote of the Week

The most important part was that I was hanging out in Toni’s Forum when I noticed someone with the name Correia. Being not at all chauvinistic about my origins, I asked “Portuguese?” Larry said, “My dad is.” I said. “Oh, cool, there’s two of us now, we’ve got them surrounded.”
--Sarah A. Hoyt, Monster Hunter Nation, August 7, 2017

R.I.P. Janet Waldo

American voice actress Janet Waldo -- best known for being the voice for such cartoon characters as Judy Jetson and Penelope Pitstop -- gave her last performance on June 12, 2016, at age 96.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Prince

African-American singer and songwriter Prince -- best known for such songs as "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" -- wrote his last song lyric on April 21, 2016, at age 57.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Merle Haggard

American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard -- best known for such songs as "Okie from Muskogee" and "The Fighting Side of Me" -- sang his last note on April 6, 2016, at age 79.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Patty Duke

American actress Patty Duke -- best known for playing twin characters in the 1960s TV series The Patty Duke Show as well as for her role as Helen Keller in the 1962 movie version of The Miracle Worker -- walked off the set for the last time on March 29, 2016, at age 69.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Ken Howard

American actor Ken Howard -- best known for his title role in the 1970s TV series The White Shadow -- left the gym for the last time on March 23, 2016, at age 71.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Joe Santos

Italian-American actor Joe Santos -- best known for playing Sgt. Dennis Becker on the TV series The Rockford Files -- turned in his badge on March 18, 2016, at age 84.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Nancy Reagan

Actress Nancy Reagan -- best known for such films as Hellcats of the Navy and Donovan's Brain as well as for being the wife of President Ronald Reagan and for leading the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign -- took her last bow on March 6, 2016, at age 94.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. George Kennedy



American actor George Kennedy -- best known for his roles in such movies as Airport and Cool Hand Luke -- swallowed his last egg on February 28, 2016, at age 91.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Harper Lee

American author Harper Lee -- best known for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird -- finished the last chapter of her autobiography on Feb 19, 2016, at age 89.

She will be missed.

R.I.P. Umberto Eco

Italian author Umberto Eco -- best known for his 1980 novel The Name of the Rose -- penned his final chapter on February 19, 2016, at age 84.

He will be missed.

¡Feliz Día de Martin Luther King, Jr.!

A lot of things look easy once somebody else has done them.
--David Drake, The Military Dimension: Mark II

If that above quote doesn't sum up my view of the various attempts made by revisionists this past decade to dismiss King as a grandstander whose protests were unnecessary because an end to segregation would have eventually come anyway, I don't know what does.

I hope you all have a good holiday despite the existence of such foolish people.

Pop Song of the Week: "No Roots"

Alice Merton is the type of gal who will never settle down.

Movie Song of the Week: "Hooked on Classics Parts 1 & 2"

From the soundtrack of the 2017 Tom Cruise movie American Made comes one of the weirdest Top Forty songs of the early 1980s.

Pensamientos Acerca de Televisión

The Simpsons: "The Kid Is All Right"

Wait a minute!

The writers of The Simpsons never even tried to introduce Lisa Simpson to a Hispanic friend until the show's 25th season and they have the nerve to kvetch about conservatives?

Trailer of the Week: Frankenstein (1931)

In honor of Frankenstein's 200th anniversary, I present the trailer for its most famous movie version.

¡Feliz 200 Aniversario, Frankenstein!

According to Mira of the For the Gothic Heroine site, this year is the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the Mary Shelley novel Frankenstein. Not all writers from that long ago are fortunate to have had such influence upon the cultural world as Ms. Shelley's book. Indeed, many such writers are lucky if their words are still remembered.

Quote of the Week

So here I am, bringing my own viewpoints to a genre I love, which doesn’t always love me back. I can’t change the books already written, but I can have hope that future writers will bring their own changes.
--Mira, "The Gothic Novel and Antisemitism," For the Gothic Heroine, December 28, 2017

My comment:

Hey, I resemble that remark...

But seriously, folks.

I suspect every non-Aryan like myself has a similar love-hate relationship with Western literature. As well as with Western movies, Western music, Western TV shows, etc. And like Mira, I would like to hope that future writers will bring their own changes to the genre. And I don't just say that because I hope to be one of those future writers...

¡Bienvenidos, 2018!

It's about time you got here.

Hopefully all my readers will have a much more pleasant year ahead than poor Peter Finch. In any case, I wish you all a happy New Year.