Thursday Film Picks- Summer …Almost Over…School Begins

 

This week, even after all these years, makes me break out in a cold sweat because I hear all those Back to School ads. I never liked school and couldn’t wait until I was finally over with it. It made me think of my last week before school, my fun time at Crystal Beach, a great old amusement park and the bullies…ughh. You know, I bet, if I spoke to the kids today, not much has changed. Funny, the CNE, the Canadian National Exhibition, has been on for 2 weeks and ends on Labour Day, is an institution for over 100 years. So here are my 3 film picks…

1. AMERICAN GRAFFITI-1973

To say this is an iconic film detailing the last night of high school grads before they embark on a new life outside of High School, is an understatement. It is an ensemble cast with Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfus, Paul LeMat and Charles Martin Smith as 4 grads who have different events happen to them during this fun night before they go off to school. Good ole Ronnie tells his steady girlfriend, played by Cindy Williams, that it should be ok to see other people while away at college. Another falls for a Blonde in a neat ole car..well, ole for us. We have a great drag race and all other forms of shenanigans including a young Harrison Ford. This film is considered one of the best films of the 70s and, simply, one of the best films. It’s well acted, directed and love the look of it.

2. MY BODYGUARD-1980

I saw this in the theatre and loved it because I could relate to it so well. This kid is bullied on a regular basis and decides to hire a bodyguard…the meanest, loner kid of the school. Over time, the 2 develop a real friendship while learning about life from the kid’s grandmother, played to wonderful delight by Ruth Gordon. She is one of my favourite character actresses who knows more than anyone realizes. I love this film which touched my heart, not just because of the bullying but about love and friendship.

3. THE LOST BOYS-1987

This is a fun vampire film starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Jamie Gertz, and Diane Wiest as the mom to 2 boys who brings her boys to her hometown after her divorce. They go live with her dad and, it’s summer time so where does one hang out? The local fair grounds is the centre of fun…and the centre of vampires. The oldest falls for this Gypsy type girl but she belongs to a young Kiefer Sutherland. Well, Kiefer and his band of 80’s hairstyle misfits invite Jason to have some fun like hanging off the train trestle bridge and seeing how long they can hold on while the train goes by. The next morning, a young Jim Morrison..um… Jason Patric is all moody and now, can’t stand the sun. The vampires have been bad boys…what can one do. This is a fun cult movie that is quite hilarious at times and I love the old coot who plays Diane Wiest’s dad. There are some cool sets like the old hotel and special effects which are also really quite good. 

What movies make you think of school, your summer vacation or the last week before school started?

Childhood Favourites or Back To School

 

I hated school…not just disliked, but hated. There were some good moments but, overall, hated it. Being mercilessly bullied, spat upon, told daily I'm ugly, wishing I would kill myself because everyone would be better off, my life being threatened and going for X-rays every year on my hands because they tried to break my fingers, did not make high school fun. I thought grade school was bad but this was worse and I started my years of hell when I turned 14 in 1978. By the time I was 16, I was terrified and believed what the bullies said. Around this time, I met this girl, from another high school, named Tracy, who was a force and didn’t think twice about being my friend. She told me to loosen up when I danced and taught me to feel the music and just go with it. Well, you couldn’t hold me or us back when it came to dancing and having tons of fun. We ended up going to this Disco called Charlie Chan’s that was in the basement of this plaza ( Fire code anyone) which we could go to on Sundays when it was open for people under age. No alcohol was served but we could get pop and enjoy dancing. Monday Music Moves Me has school on their mind for the theme and I went for music that was fun when I was a teen. These are 3 songs we often danced to. 

1. PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT BY MEATLOAF-1977

I loved the whole album, "Bat Our Of Hell" by Meatloaf and, I think, this is a great album.  I was so naive that I didn't get the meaning but it didn't matter as I just danced. At the time I didn't know that Meatloaf looked like a meatloaf or that the excellent female singer, Ellen Foley, looked like a skunk  all I knew was that this was a great song  fun anecdote that, I know, my brother knows...the announcer on this song is spoken by New York Yankees shortstop, Phil Rizzuto  who became a famous announcer.

2. ROCK LOBSTER BY THE B- 52'S-1978

This band is one strange, weird band that I enjoy listening to. This song could be long but I wentbwith the shorter version. How we danced like crazy loons only to slowly fall down, down, down finally ending up on our backs kicking our feet and arms up in the air behaving like dead flies. Everyone on the dance floor knew this is what had to ve done, damn the dirty floor only to jump up and start flaying about once again. Today, I would be staying on the floor and crawling off.

3. LE FREAK BY CHIC-1978

Now, how Disco can one go than with this song that we often hear in movies or stations centering on 70s music. Actually, the 70s had all kinds of music from Disco Sucks music to great Rock bands like Pink Floyd to ABBA.  I think I did "The Robot" dance to this song. 

What school songs do you remember fondly? 

Our Lexi was spayed last Wednesday and has to wear this onesie for 2 weeks and she can't be her nutty self for another week still but she is healing well. 

Cowboys and Indian

 

I love a good ole western and I have a theme within a theme because the 3 I chose stars John Wayne and they are all directed by grumpy John Ford. John Wayne has truly fallen from favour in the past few years and not without some merit but I believe he is not a simple a- hole like many say. Now, I never met the man but I've read quite a few books and articles including the Playboy one. He actually reminds me of my dad. My dad was an old timer who said some wrong things but his actions spoke differently. When Satcheen Littlefeather declined the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando because of the plight of the American Indian, I remembered my daddy saying, " God dammed son of a bitch, someone take her off the stage." If my dad was there, he probably would have been held back, like Wayne, but not to abuse her but to go to the microphone and say that there is a time and a place. Remember, every woman who worked with Wayne always said that he was never mean but gentlemanly to them even when he took Maureen O'Hara through the country on her keester. My dad could be ornery and sometimes unfair but he was very loving, would stand up when he saw injustice, loved Christmas and, when he died, there were people who stood outside to pay their respects. If my dad was famous, he would be looked at in a more negative light rather than the complicated person he was. Old timers could be very wrong but we can’t make them just two dimensional.

1. STAGECOACH-1939

This film brought back the classic western, made John Wayne a star and made Monument Valley a star as well. John Ford created the classic story we now see in movies, TV and everything in between, where a group of travellers all with a story board a stagecoach. We have the genteel southern, pregnant lady, a card shark, a hooker with the heart of gold, a corrupt banker, an alcoholic doctor and so forth. Along the way they meet up with the Cisco Kid, played by John Wayne, who hooks a ride with the stagecoach much to the travellers’ chagrin since he is a wanted man. Throughout their travels, they deal with each other, a birth, prejudice, the great valley and, of course, Indians. Along with the Indians, we have the Calvary come in to save the day before Cisco decides to deal with some bad, bad men.  This is an excellent film that Orson Welles watched 40 times before making Citizen Kane. It’s where we have great cinematography showcasing that great valley and excellent stunt work made famous by Yakima Canutt. A must see, in my humble opinion.

2. FORT APACHE-1948

This is another  excellent film directed by John Ford that not only stars Wayne but also Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple plus his staple of Ford players like Ward Bond. Fonda plays a by the book, snot nosed commander of this outpost with Wayne as second in command who has a much better understanding of the Native American than Fonda. Shirley Temple plays Fonda’s daughter who falls in love with one of the soldiers played by her real life husband at the time, John Agar. This is a good character study and a good action film where the Navajos played Apaches and were always thankful to Ford for providing jobs to their reservation helping them financially. Poor John Agar took the brunt of Ford’s nastiness but John Wayne took him under his wing helping him through this film and always grateful to The Duke. Henry Fonda had issues with Ford, on the set, and their friendship broke as a result. Maybe Fonda’s Democratic leanings didn’t jive with Ford’s right wing thinking..maybe but Ford could be a real nasty asshole and would pick on a person like Agar( Wayne got smacked down in Stagecoach). Who knew the very young Shirley Temple was pregnant during the making of this film.

3. THE SEARCHERS-1956

“That’ll be the day”..a quip Wayne says, as Ethan Edwards, throughout the film and one that a young Buddy Holly was inspired to write a song around that quip, after seeing the film. You have Monument Valley, Ford’s stock company, John Wayne, Indians and the Cavalry along with Olive Borden and Harry Carey Jr as a tribute to the silent Western star Harry Carey who was married to Olive and HarryJr was..his son. This is arguably, considered the best western ever made and I love it. John Wayne loved this film and named his youngest son, Ethan. He plays a man who visits his brother, sister in law and their kids. You can see that Ethan and his brother’s wife have an unrequited love shown only by subtle gestures. Unfortunately, Comanches come and kill most of the family taking the 2 daughters. Ethan, now, full of vengeance, is on a quest to get the girls back but he is saddled with their adopted son who is part Indian. Wayne’s character can’t stand the young man because of his skin colour but, over 5 years, they grow to understand one another. Natalie Wood plays the younger niece taken in by the Comanches and is a wife to Scar, a murderous man full of hate just like Ethan. You have no idea what Ethan will do once he “saves”  her from the Natives he despises. Vera Miles, who is still alive, and will be 95 on Friday, is the love interest to Jeffrey Hunter, who plays the adopted son of  Ethan’s brother. 2 anecdotes…when a young Indian girl became very sick with the flu and had a very high temperature, JohnWayne got his own plane to bring her to the hospital and paid for her care. The young Comanche woman  who becomes the wife of the young lad was quite upset and Wayne asked her what was wrong. She asked the big wigs to be allowed to go to her son’s wedding but was denied. She only wanted 3 days but the executroids said no until Wayne stepped in and said he is going to be gone for the exact same days. He made sure she could get to her son’s wedding and be back without any problem. 

What cowboy and Indian movies can you think of? 

So, yesterday I had my which song won the Oscar yadda, yadda… Sooner or Later, Dick Tracy, won the Oscar, the John Williams song from Home Alone was nominated and Mo’ Better Blues from the film of the same name got nuttin’!

Oscar Songs-1990

 

It’s freebie week over at Monday Music Moves Me which you can see at Curious As A Cathy. It’s time to figure out which song won the Oscar, which one was nominated and which got nadda for the year 1990. I will try to remember to post which is which on my Thursday film list. So here we go, let’s see if you get it right…

1. SOMEWHERE IN MY MEMORY BY JOHN WILLIAMS AND CONDUCTOR 

This Famous piece is played everywhere and comes from the original “Home Alone” film. We know the story where the kid is left behind and the family doesn’t realize it until mom is on the plane. I am not a fan of Macaulay Caulkin but the brat is good in this but I love Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the comedic, inept robbers who remind me of something out of a Warner Bros. Cartoon. This music is from a prettier side of the film which takes place during Christmas and is justly famous. 

2. MO’ BETTER BLUES BY BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET WITH DENZEL WASHINGTON & WESLEY SNIPES

This song is from the film of the same name that stars Denzel and Wesley and…who knew they were this talented!? Actually, Denzel does not play the actual trumpet..sorry. This song was written by Lee III and the soundtrack is quite good and the film stars and is directed by Spike Lee who needs to take a chip off his shoulder but that’s for another day.

3. SOONER OR LATER SUNG BY MADONNA

This song, by Stephen Sondheim, came from that flick, “Dick Tracy” that stars Warren Beatty as the square-jarred detective who tries to keep crime at bay. The many criminals are a Who’s who of actors and the moll is played by Madonna at the height of her Marilyn Monroe phase. During the making of this, those 2 libidos on 2 legs got it on while making the film. Sadly, good ole’ Madonna had a hard time with the song and wondered who would write this crappy song. Yeah, classy.

So….who won, who was nominated and who came out empty-handed?

Thursday Film Picks: August Movies from Special Years

 

I was thinking of the movies that came out in August and then, I thought, what came out on my birth year, my brother’s and my hubby’s so I checked it out and came up with these 3… yeah, I’m a bit late, I have been working long past my quitting time and getting home late. You’d think I would write this way ahead of time but…nooooo, that would be too organized.

1. MARY POPPINS-1964

Oh we all know this film which was a huge hit the year I was born. I can’t believe this film is 60 years old nor that I’m 60 but, I digress. This Disney film concerns a family where the children seems to be ignored because the dad is very busy with work and the mom is very busy with her suffragette movement. In come Mary Poppins, with her trusty umbrella,  who becomes the nanny and helps teach the kids and the adults with the aide of the trusty chimney sweep Dick Van Dyke ( who’s real name was Penis Van Lesbian before his agent change his name). It’s a very sweet, fun and engaging film with many famous moments from that Super…..ousuos song, the Chimney Sweep song, a spoonful of sugar, the animated sequence( where many boys today emulate the penguin look with their pants hanging way past their skinny butts) and, my favourite, Let’s go Fly a Kite. Kids, today, know this film which says something.

2. COME SEPTEMBER-1961

This is quite funny and sweet romantic comedy that stars Rock Hudson as a rich businessman who travels to his villa in Italy every summer but, this time, he goes early and finds out his major duomo( like a head butler who oversees the entire villa) has converted Rock’s villa into a hotel. Rock is not happy that young kids, with high hormones, are having a great time and Rock doesn’t like any of this. His gal, Gina Lollobrigida, arrives from Rome and they start having a row. Rock becomes chaperone to the kids and Gina looks great. It’s not a grand film but it is fun, with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin as the young leads. These 2 met on the set and married shortly after filming ended. Oh, my brother was born this year!

3. GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CARROL-1957

There are many versions of this famous true story about the Brothers Earp who fought the Clanton gang with the infamous gunfight at the corral. Doc Holliday, played by Kirk Douglas, becomes friends with Wyatt, played by Burt Lancaster and helps try to keep order in the town. This film is very…very loosely based on the real adventure with many inaccuracies but all is forgiven because it’s an engaging film with the 2 leads having great chemistry. In fact, Burt and Kirk were friends off screen and had great camaraderie. Just sit back, enjoy the film that came out the year my hubby was born.

What big film came out the year you were born?

Songs That Make Me Think of Nature/Outdoors

 

We are all about nature and the great outdoors or, at least, what makes one think about nature. You might find my picks weird but, that’s ok. You should head over to Curious As A Cathy for the Monday Music Moves Me challenge. Here are the songs that make me think about  being in nature.

1. THE WAYWARD WIND SUNG BY GOGI GRANT-1956

I love this song that makes me think of travelling but in the wind. To be honest, I like a nice wind, not a tornado or hurricane, but a good ole fashioned wind which is when I like to walk. This is such a beautiful song that was written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman(lyrics).

2. QUE SERA, SERA SUNG BY DORIS DAY-1956

Why this song? Well, when I was going through some tough times, I was taking a lot of nature walks with my dog, Katie, and this song always went through my head every single time. I would end up singing it and, thankfully, no one was around or their eardrums would have burst. It’s amazing how much this song helped me while I walked in nature even though it made its debut in a Hitchcock movie, “The man Who Knew Too Much.”

3. RIDERS OF THE STORM SUNG BY THE DOORS-1971

I love this song…and the Doors and this song is a great one that makes me always want to walk in the rain. I actually like walking in the rain, when properly attired and this song goes through my head. Now, for some of you, you have had enough rain but I thought of this song and thought it worked.

And one more for the road and it’s a biggie…

4. THE 6TH SYMPHONY OR THE PASTORAL BY BEETHOVEN-1965

This is my favourite symphony by Beethoven who completed this symphony in 1808 when he was deaf. He could hear very loud bangs but he really couldn’t hear a thing and yet, he composed this great work of art plus all the other great masterpieces when he couldn’t hear what they were playing. Beethoven loved nature and took many long walks in nature so this whole symphony is based on nature from the sunny meadows, rolling hills to a very dark thunderstorm before the sun comes out again in all its glory. It can’t be beat and, I thought, Bernstein gave it justice.

What songs makes you think of the outdoors and nature?

Hot And Cold

 

Inkspirational-mood board  

Addicted To Stamps- Any Occasion 

I was thinking of my friend, VJ, who, in a few short months, will be basking on a beach somewhere in Indonesia. I took bold colours for the background and sponged them on. I took the individual stamps and coloured up the birds. I stamped the flowers in pink and purple dye ink and heat embossed them all 4 times to get the glossy look. I fussy cut them out and glued them on with pop up dots. It's kind of a simple card but it's fun.

Christmas Card Throwdown- colors Kraft, Blue and White-52cct24-30

I took glitter stickers , coloured a piece of white scrap paper in blue and placed the bell sticker on the paper. I fussy cut them out along with the snowflakes which I, also, coloured in blue. I placed them on the Kraft background. I have this nifty plastic in iridescent blue which I cut down to size and placed it in my snowflake folder. I ran it through my cuddlebug and then, took a light sandpaper  to it to lighten the raised images. I glued all the pieces together and I have another Christmas Card. 

Hope you are having a nice week ahead.

Best Supporting Actress 1952- Who Should Have Won

 

1952 was a stellar year with many great films like “The Quiet Man”, “High Noon” and “Singing in The Rain” but I kept thinking of the actors and went to Best Supporting Actress because, to me, there was one actress who should have won the Oscar and I still feel she was robbed. I will let you know from the get go who won, who should have won, in my humble opinion, and who was not even nominated and should have been.

1.  JEAN HAGAN IN SINGING IN THE RAIN

This is the gal who should have won the Oscar for her tour de force performance as a silent screen star with a less than stellar voice or personality. Jean plays Lina Lamont a famous actress and famous partner to Don Lockwood, played by Gene Kelly. They are making their umpteenth swashbuckler movie when everything is halted due to the big blockbuster of “The Jazz Singer”, a talking picture.  The studio shuts down to make it ready for sound and that’s when real hilarity ensues because they are now curtailed by the ever present Mike. We can laugh but everything shown on screen is pretty close to what really happened. Jean shines as the guttersnipe actress who is as stupid as she is conniving. A fun anecdote is that when you hear Debbie Reynolds character  dub Lina’s voice with her own, it’s actually Jean Hagen’s voice that you hear.

2. KATY JURADO IN HIGH NOON

This Mexican actress really made a name for herself when she made this film that starred Gary Cooper and a young Grace Kelly. Gary Cooper has just married the sweet blonde Quaker girl when he finds out this old gang is coming to town to kill the sheriff, namely Cooper. Everyone tells him to take off with his new wife but he turns the buggy around to face his foes much to Grace’s chagrin. While Coop tried to find people to support him, we meet his old  girlfriend, Katy who still loves Cooper and is not too happy that he got married nor happy how his new wife does not seem to support him. Katy shone in her role but she was not even nominated which is a crime.

3.  GLORIA GRAHAME IN THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL 

I couldn’t find a scene with just Gloria Grahame so I chose the film trailer and , yup, Gloria won the Oscar for a role that, if you blink, you missed it. Ok, she’s on a bit longer than Beatrice Straight was ( for her role in Network) but I just don’t get why Gloria was even nominated never mind winning for this role as the wife of writer Dick Powell. She plays a slutty wife who wants all the Hollywood glitz so her hubby capitulates and goes to Hollywood to write a script for scumbag producer, Kirk Douglas. Gloria is a very good actress and deserved Oscar nominations and maybe even a win for another year but not this year. The film is excellent showcasing how the producer helps the writer, an actress and a director make it big but for a price. It’s a good film but she didn’t deserve this.

Can you think of someone else who should have won this year’s best supporting actress Oscar?

Riding on Fun in the Sun

 

It’s still hotter than Hades which I don’t like unless I’m by a pool sipping some nice drink. I decided to continue with tropical heat and take a fun approach where I danced to these songs more than once. I’m joining over at Monday Music Moves Me but on Wednesday.

1. LAMBADA BY KAOMA-1989

So, this is one I didn’t really dance to because I could not dance the sexy Samba or Lambada but I watched how some got down and dirty and loved it!

2. WALKING ON SUNSHINE BY KATRINA AND THE WAVES-1983

I love this song and dance to it whenever I hear it, even when I’m in the car. Yup, I’m one of those nuts you see moving and grooving to the music. This came out the year I was starting university and  the start of many a weekend partying it up and loving it. 

3. FEELING HOT, HOT, HOT BY THE MERRYMEN- 1988

I like this song which came out a year after I graduated from  University but still took a couple of classes so I could  continue to have fun at our local bar called Alphie’s Trough. I danced quite a few times to this  fun diddy but I have a great friend who despises this song. He works at a big travel agency (CAA) and this song was played at every conference and weekend festival they had to promote the latest all inclusive resorts and cruises they were showcasing. To this day, he still can’t listen to it..of course I love to have fun with him. 

What fun hot songs do you think of and love to dance to?

August Star Of The Month- Colleen Moore

 

COLLEEN MOORE

BIRTH: August 19, 1899 ( some say 1900 or 1902 but, I believe it is 1899)

DEATH: January 25, 1988

AGED: 88 yrs old

DIED FROM: Cancer

REAL NAME: Kathleen Morrison

MARRIED: 4 times. The 2nd 2 were stockbrokers. Her 2nd marriage seems to have been the happiest lasting until his death in 1964. She did marry a 4th time when she was 81!

CHILDREN: No children but she raised her 2nd husband’s 2 kids with him and they loved her very much.

AFFAIRS: King Vidor started an affair in the early 1920s but ended it only to fall right back into it some 40 yrs later when they were investigating the murder of William Desmond Taylor ( Major Hollywood Director at that time).

TALENT: knew how to make money and keep it! Wrote a book about it. 

KNOWN FOR: Her incredible fantasy doll house now in Chicago museum of Science and Industry. She had one green eye and one blue eye. Her extensive travelling, often to China. Her many charitable donations.

I thought of the great Myrna Loy, Ingrid Bergman etc, but my brain kept going back to the lovely Colleen Moore who is hardly remembered now but was a huge name back in the Roaring Twenties. Due to her film, “Flaming Youth” now lost and would be considered a huge, huge find if ever a copy survives ( probably in Romania in some guy’s barn attic), the term Flapper was coined. She played a wild and free gal who has lots of fun, hence the term, Flapper. Even though she did not originate that famous haircut ( Louise Brooks had a haircut like this since she was a kid), she made it world famous and is still replicated today. If Colleen used perfume, women would go out and buy that perfume in droves so, to say she was a big star, would be an understatement. She always maintained that she came from a loving home where both her parents loved each other and had a good childhood. Her Uncle was an editor for the Chicago Tribune and was the basis for one of the main reporters in the films, “The Front Page” and “His Girl Friday”. Her Uncle knew the famous director, D. W. Griffith, and got the teenage Colleen a screen test. From there, she rose in the film industry and after getting her famous haircut, known as “The Bob”  her star rose and rose. When some haughty exec looked at the tiny actress in 1928, and sarcastically said, “ I bet you probably make something like $10,000 per week”. She said, she meekly answered, “No,…I make $12,500.”  She retired in 1934, because her sound films were not making money despite  that she had a fine voice, she just had her day, as it were but she never lost money, in fact, she knew how to invest very wisely and made a few million. She helped her, old director and lover, King Vidor “solve” the murder of William Desmond Taylor although it is still considered unsolved but when he was on a mission to look into this old case ( he wanted to make a movie about it), he sought the help of Colleen which reignited their affair but, with her help, it seems the …well, you have to read the book:). 

The other big feat Colleen created is this amazing doll house that is at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry that attracts over 1.5 million visitors each year. I love miniatures and didn’t know about this amazing doll house that was inspired by her dad. She got set designers involved and was in on the process every step of the way with its creation. It has famous books written by famous authors with one signed by the author. She has a miniature Gutenberg Bible, a tiny sliver from the true cross ( they are everywhere) which was given to her by the pope. She has some very old relics from ancient Egypt and China and suits of Armour that Rudolph Valentino had. I have the link to view it here.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “I was the spark that lit up the flaming youth, and Colleen Moore was the torch. What little things we are to have caused all that trouble.” Although, I have to say Colleen Moore remembered it as “ caused all that conflagration.”

I will be honest, I still have not seen any of her movies since almost all of her Silent films are lost including the famous “Flaming Youth” which she had a copy of and donated it to a museum but, since silent films were not highly thought of, it decayed. 

FILMS

1. Flaming Youth-1923

2. So Big-1924

3. Flirting With Love-1924

4. The Desert Flower-1925

5. Sally-1925

6. Irene-1926

7. Ella Cinders-1926

8. Lilac Time-1928

9. The Power and The Glory-1933

10. The Scarlet Letter

Cards Galore

 

Color Throwdown- use colors Red, Purple and Yellow

Crafty Animals- Anything Goes 

I'm under the wire for the Color Throwdown.  I had a scrap piece of paper with a butterfly already cut out for a previous card. I liked the sprays I used which work perfectly with this week’s challenge. I took my distress inks and sponged on some more Color and glued it to gold paper. I cut out the butterfly with my sizzex machine as well as the underling panel that I coloured in the same colors and glued it in place. I added the ribbon, stamped the saying which I embossed in psychedelic glitter, and added the crystals. Before I go on. I am going to add this to their Color throwdown.

Christmas Card Throwdown- Sketch 

Dream Valley- Christmas in July 

Little Red Wagon- Christmas in July 

Simon Says- Anything Goes 

I haven’t made a Christmas card in a while and had fun. I stamped Santa and had fun colouring him in using my tombow markers but with water. I cut it out with my die cut in my Sizzex machine and cut the red glitter card in those triangle look. I placed it in an embossing folder and rolled it through my cuddlebug machine. I took my green dye ink and lightly rubbed it on to bring out the design. I glued it  all together but used pop up dots on Santa. 

The Flower Challenge- Inspired by colour 

Alphabet Challenge- Colour Inspired 

Addicted to Stamps and More- Any Occasion 

Ok, I think the first 2 challenges talk to each other…lol. The colours are quite similar and I used a dusty rose, light green, olive type green, light and dark pink and even a peach. I bought a 3D embossing folder and rolled it through my Sizzex. I coloured it with gelatos with my watercolour brush. I adhered it to the dusty rose  card and then the white card. I glued on the pearl string to complete this. This is for a friend of mine who just lost her mom to dementia, probably pneumonia, but no matter what…it’s tough and now their dad is in his own and he is one lost puppy. Hope you had a good weekend. We had a long weekend due to Civic Holiday..very happy until I am back to work tomorrow. 

Thursday Film Picks- Let’s Go Tropical

 

We just came back, Monday, from vacation in Quebec. We made our Neal visit to visit hubby’s Aunt and Uncle who live right on the Richelieu River about 20 min. from the Vermont border. They do have a little bit of heaven where they live with a nice breeze, hummingbirds, and very large boats driving past their home. We had one day where it was quite windy and cool but, otherwise, it  quite humid and now, here at home it’s downright tropical which I hate unless I’m by a pool sipping a pina colada. Since the Monday music was about the tropics, I thought I would continue with films set in the tropics.  Here are my picks…

1. DOWN ARGENTINE WAY-1940

This film made a star out of Betty Grable who became the It gal of the cinemas and the GI Joes of WW2. Her very shapely legs were insured for 1 million and she starred in many musicals, often taking place somewhere hot. Starring with her is Don Ameche, an amiable film star who often did co-star with her. In this film, he is the son of a wealthy Argentinian man who owns horses and instructs his son to go to New York and sell some horses but make sure never to deal with a family who took his money from long ago. Of course, Don meets Betty who is from this family and he decides against selling a horse to her. He goes back home but she follows bent on finding out what happened. Of course, they fall in love, dance, sing, meet Carmen Miranda and watch the Nicholas Brothers dance like no one ever could ever do. It’s a fun movie that heralded the many movies that were to take place in South America and Mexico. Argentina did not like this film because just about everything was wrong about their country but, even with glaring errors, it’s a fun movie that introduced Carmen and The Nicholas Brothers to a larger audience.

2. THE ROAD TO SINGAPORE-1940

This is the very first of the Road pictures that Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made together with the very lovely, “Sarong” gal, Dorothy Lamour. Dorothy was already known to audiences as the beautiful “native” gal from some South Seas island but I have yet to see some including “Hurricane”. This film has the 2 as best friends on a ship where they have been working and end up in New York where they find out they are to be married off which is the last thing they want. They take off and end up on some Island near Bali where they meet Dorothy Lamour who is being abused by her dance partner, Anthony Quinn. They save her from the lout and end upon the run. Bing’s dad is rich and he has tracked him down along with Bing’s fiancé creating further hijinks. I do love these road pictures that really went with the strengths of Crosby and Hope’s amiable quality they had on screen along with their ad-libs especially from Hope. Lamour knew how to deal with the 2 and still hold her own. It’s funny  and enjoyable.

3. SOUTH PACIFIC-1955

This is one of my favourite Rogers and Hammerstein musicals that not only has some great music, but takes place during World War 2 and deals with racism. You have the spunky Mitzi Gaynor ( who is still with us at 92 years young) as a nurse on an island with a bunch of navy men bored but still able to have fun. She meets French plantation owner, played by Rossano Brazzi and is very much attracted to him even if she wants to wash that man right out of her hair. On a subplot, you have John Kerr meet Bloody Mary’s daughter, played by the beautiful France Nuyen and they, immediately, (of course) fall in love but he can’t marry her because of his wealthy family’s prejudice as well as his own. Nellie ( played by Mitzi) finds out that her Plantation guy was with a woman before who passed away but they had 2 children and she was Polynesian. Nellie realizes she, too, has issues with her own racist beliefs. This is all set against the idyllic backdrop of these wondrous islands soon to turn ugly by war. It’s well acted including a funny part of a sailor with a tattoo of a ship on his stomach played so well by Ray Walston. 

So what tropical movies can you think of?