"Niagara" (1953)

I'm going to Niagra Falls in a few weeks, so I was intrigued to see this movie made sixty years ago. Watching it surprised and impressed me. I've never seen a movie starring Marilyn Monroe that I liked; this was the first.

The film itself is entertaining and suspenseful. Two couples meet in Niagra Falls. Someone dies. Lives hang by a thread. The roiling turmoil of the Falls is a metaphor for the visitors' plight.

Marilyn's acting in this is good! I was stunned; I've never seen her perform this well. Plus, she wears some of the most beautiful outfits I've seen in a movie. Gorgeous clothes. And her makeup is done to perfection. My only quibble is when she's shown coming out of a shower wearing bright red lipstick. Who wears lipstick in the shower?!

The movie also stars Joseph Cotton and Jean Peters. After a short career in Hollywood, Jean Peters became a recluse when she married Howard Hughes. They lived in wealthy obscurity for over a decade. She never spoke of her time with him after he died.

If you want to see Marilyn Monroe act well, or just admire her beauty and clothes, check out "Niagra."

All The Young Dudes

Have you ever had a string of coincidences so persistent that it feels like there's an external force messing with your head? I'm wondering right now if I'm the test-subject for aliens floating in a spaceship above my house.

Forty years ago, I was a teenager immersed in rock music. One of my favorite songs was a classic -- "All The Young Dudes" -- sung by an English group named Mott the Hoople. Until recently, I didn't know that David Bowie wrote the song and gave it as a gift to the group's lead singer. I also didn't know the names of the group's members despite owning several of their albums.

Last Friday, I went to a concert by another group from my youth that is still kicking around (J. Geils Band). They were okay. Before they came on, there was a warm-up act. An old white-haired guy comes out, wearing sunglasses and looking as cool as a big rock-star despite being 76 years old. I didn't recognize his name (Ian Hunter).

Hunter rocked. Hard. And his songs sounded vaguely familiar. Then he vigorously launched into "All The Young Dudes" and I instantly knew who he is -- the lead singer from Mott the Hoople. There's no mistaking his vocal inflections. He is a voice from my past. If I'd had any doubt, the roar of the (better informed) crowd would have set me straight.

Since then, I'm being followed around by this song. I heard it on the car-radio. Then, out of nowhere, my blogger-friend Sara writes these words on Facebook -- "All The Young Dudes." No context, no explanation -- and she's in her thirties, too young to remember the song when it was a big hit.

This morning I put on the soundtrack to the movie "Juno" which I'd seen several times. Suddenly, on comes "All The Young Dudes," sung by Ian. I don't remember that being in the movie, but apparently it was.

Rather than fight this message from the Universe, I'm embracing it. I figure if unknown forces want me to focus on a British rock classic, I may as well look the part. Isn't the above outfit perfectly suited to this serendipitous situation?

As Summer Ends...

I spotted these flowers and their colors amaze me. The hues are really beautiful, slightly different from what we expect. Aren't they pretty?

 

 

 

Halloween

I was shocked yesterday when I realized September is already here. But one good thing about Fall's arrival is the opportunity to start pondering what to be for Halloween this year. Hmm...

I love Halloween. I dress up every year and like to get creative. Some of my past costumes are pictured below.

Do you dress up? What was your favorite costume? Do you have any fun ideas for me?

Caroline, Waitress

From TV Show "2 Broke Girls"



Sydney Bristow, Female Secret Agent

From TV Show "Alias" (2001-2006)

(Portrayed by Jennifer Garner)

 

 

 

Alice Kramden, Housewife

From TV Show "The Honeymooners"

 

 

 

Pastry Chef

 

 



Zombie Royals Fan

(Just after they lost the World Series)

Repeat Offender

Why would a woman marry a man who's been married eight times before? How could she possibly believe that -- this time -- he will act differently?

Larry King was a talk-show host on CNN for several decades. The network pushed him out the door in 2010. Addicted to the camera's red-light, King is still doing a talk-show, only now it's online and nobody is watching.

The New York Times did an interesting profile on King last Sunday. They mention that he's been married eight times. To seven women. (He married one woman twice.) Only one of his marriages (the current one) lasted more than ten years. And even that one almost blew up when he tried to cheat on her with her sister. She forgave him 'cause he had prostate cancer.

King's ex-wives, who could fill up a living room, all say the same thing about him -- he's selfish, immature, a liar and unfaithful. In his defense, King says that he relishes the pursuit of women but gets bored once he's captured his prey. The ex-wives admit King was charming during their courtship but later lost interest.

If this situation isn't damning enough, King has the poor judgment to joke about it. King is 81 years old and obsessing over death, so the interviewer asked what King believed his funeral would be like. This is what he said: "I would like the ceremony to begin, 'Today we are honoring a 160-year-old man who was caught in bed by an irate husband. And the funeral is late because it took six days to wipe the smile off his face."

So let me pose the question again -- Why would a woman marry a man who's been married eight times before? If you were dating and a guy had been married (and divorced) five or six times, wouldn't that give you pause?

Smithtown Bull

The village next to mine is named Smithtown. It contains a big statue of a bull. Why a bull? Because the town has a creation-myth.

The town was settled in 1665. Legend says that after rescuing an Indian chief's daughter, the town's founder Richard Smith was given a reward -- the chief granted him title to all land Smith could encircle in one day while riding a bull. Richard Smith rode the bull on the Summer solstice (which is the longest day of the year) to have the longest ride. The land he acquired is the current town's location -- all 54 square miles of it.

The bull statue is fiercer than most, don't you think?

 

 

 

Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks died today. He was a famous doctor who wrote numerous books and articles. His specialty was neuroscience; he focused on the brain and its workings.

I mention Sacks because you might have seen a 1990 movie about him. His book "Awakenings" was made into a movie starring Robin Williams (playing Sacks) and Robert DeNiro (a patient). It described Sacks's effort to get patients who were thought to be brain-dead back to normal life. The book was based on Sacks's true experiences at a hospital in the Bronx (NY).

I read many of Sacks's newspaper articles over the years. He was an excellent writer who engaged your interest and explained things you wouldn't ordinarily care about. He was as good a writer as he was a physician.

In February, I read an article by Sacks in The New York Times where he revealed that he was in the final stages of terminal cancer. He wrote at the time:

"It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me. I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers."

In his personal life, Sacks was a shy person who didn't reveal that he was gay until this year. It wasn't until he was 82 years old that he came out of the closet. That's profoundly sad, but I understand it. He grew up in my parents' generation when homosexuality was considered deviant and even a crime. It's hard to adjust and accept that society's attitude has changed when most of your life you're taught that you'll be punished for revealing yourself. That's not an unusual perspective to have.