July is already here...crazy! I’m going to get right into this challenge created by Jingle, Jangle, Jungle. Just so everyone knows, I always mean to reply to your comments but I lose time (no, I have not been taken by aliens). I do listen to all your musical choices and love many..except for heavy metal (sorry Alex🥰) but I do listen to the end. I will try to be better in the future..I always strive to be better. Here are the three themes for this week:
A SONG WITH A COUNTRY IN THE TITLE
A SONG WITH A COLOUR IN THE TITLE
A SONG ABOUT A PROFESSION
1. DON’T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA SUNG BY PATTI LUPONE-1978
This song, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice came out on an LP sing by Julie Covington back in 1976 but became famous when it became a musical, "Evita" in 1978. In England , it became famous with Elaine Page as Evita but when it came to the States, Patti Lupone made this role her own. One day I would like to see this in the theatre. This show was made into a movie with Madonna as the star and she did this role quite well. Madonna never looked so good during this period.
2. BLUE SKIES SUNG BY DORIS DAY ORIGINAL SONG FROM 1926
Ok I almost went with Bing Crosby who sang this in the film “Blue Skies” in 1946 and White Christmas (with Danny Kaye) in 1954 but I went with good ole Doris this time. The song originated from a musical called “Betsy” not a very good musical by Rodgers and Hart. This song was a last minute substitute written by Irving Berlin, sung by Belle Baker and it received 24 curtain calls! It is quite an uplifting song and has been sung by many greats from Fred Astaire to Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.
3. THE LOG DRIVER'S WALTZ SUNG BY THE MOUNTAIN CITY FOUR- 1979
This song was was composed by Wade Hemsworth around 1956/57, who is a noted Canadian folk singer. He would watch the French log rollers on the river and thought they looked like dancers as they balanced on the logs as it went down the river.. My dad worked in Algonquin Park back in the 1930s in a lumber camp. He would, occasionally, be on the river but didn’t like it at all. He once saw a fellow worker slip on the very slippery logs and fall between the logs. It closed up right and the man drowned. It was a very dangerous job and he said the Frenchmen were the best at it. Anyway, I always think of my mom and dad when I watch this very famous short film from the National Film Board of Canada. The 2 sisters, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, made this version of the song famous in Canada. It’s famous even if it is not well known and was featured on our Canadian stamps (The Film Board Vignette series).
I used alcohol inks for the background and was trying something new but it looked mottled and icky. So, I took distress inks and, using a sponge, rubbed these rich colours on white paper. I stamped the paper with 3 different flower images and then fussy cut them out. I took a purple mirror card and green glitter card and cut them down to size...dont worry, they shed no tears. I glued them in place for the layer look and then took different flowers and either glued them in place or used pop up dots to create the secret garden. I used my sizzex to cut out the butterfly with my die cut and glued the glittering butterfly in place, adding crystals and stickles for more sparkle.
Speaking of secret garden, this is my garden that my hubby created.
It's another double hitter and it is all about the ooohs and aaahhhs. We could be somewhat bored with a film but love the way it was "photographed" and/or the special effects. I am becoming bored with all the CGI nowadays because, I think, it is relied on too heavily. One of the Avenger flicks starts off with all of them either running or driving through the woods to get to the bad guys. I seriously thought the film hadn't started yet and was watching a promo for a videogame. It just looked so fake. When it is done well, I am impressed but it gets pretty ridiculous now. OK enough rant. Here are my picks for each category and, after commenting, head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen.
Best Cinematography...
1. BLACK NARCISSUS(COLOUR)-1947
OK, I know I spoke about this sensuous, beautiful film before and I was thinking, "I should choose something else," but I kept coming back to this amazing film by Powell & Pressburger, noted for their very colourful imagery, like "The Red Shoes". Jack Cardiff, a great Cinematographer, won the Oscar for this film that takes place near the Himalayas. A beautiful nun, played by Deborah Kerr is to head a nunnery high up, near the Himalayas, in an old palace for the King's harem, that, in parts, are filled with decadent paintings of court life. To bring her to the old palace, is a devil may care agent for the owner of the palace who is very handsome and questions everything. There is an attraction between these 2 and we can feel it ooze out of the film along with the erotic images. The nuns try to run a school and hospital for the natives in the area where we see the virtues of some students vie with the eroticism of others especially played by the young Jean Simmons. Throw in the winds, primitive drums, colours and a crazy ass nun and we have a great film.
2. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (COLOUR)-1951
This is a great musical, not as good as some others but still great, in my humble opinion starring Gene Kelly as the American Ex-Pat trying to make it as a painter in Gay Paris! His friend is the lovable(lovable??) Oscar Levant who is actually an excellent pianist in his own right, trying to make a go as a, well, pianist. They have a mutual friend (Georges Guetary) who is big in the Follies Bergere, who has a girlfriend he adores. Well, this gal, played by newcomer, Leslie Caron, meets up with Kelly and they fall in love. The finale, has 20 minutes of just pure dance with colours, costumes and sets created against the greatest Impressionist artists from Van Gogh, Rousseau, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. It's a pretty basic story but the dancing and cinematography are anything but. Alfred Gilks & John Alton were the cinematographers for this and they truly captured many great scenes that exuded the feel of this film from that great 20 minute balletic type scene to Levant's daydream, the Stairway to Paradise number and the love scene along the Seine.
3. BEN-HUR (COLOUR)-1959
Forget the remake(blecchh), this still stands the test of time just like Hestie's chiselled face. Yes, This was done before CGI and it is impressive isn't it? You have Charles as Ben Hur taken away to become a slave on a Roman battle ship. All he has is vengeance on his mind for how his former friend, Messala, played by Stephen Boyd, back-stabbed him and his family. When the leader of the Roman Battleship is saved by Heston after the ships are sunk, Heston is given his freedom and is taken under the wing by this Roman head. Charlie heads back to his homeland and finally decides to drive his new friend's beautiful white horses in the famous chariot race. You also realize his mom and sister are lepers but not all is lost especially when he offers Jesus a drink of water, something Jesus did many years ago for him when he needed it. This film has beautiful shots, not only of the famous chariot scene but also the scenes on the boats and in the desert plus many others. Robert Surtees is the cinematographer and he created a great piece considering how colossal this picture was.
Just so you know...for many years 2 Oscars were given for Cinematography-one for Colour and the other for Black and White films.
Special Effects...
1. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD-1940
When I finally saw this film, I was enchanted at how great the special effects were back in 1940 from the Genie to the magic carpet and the beautiful horse. The colours, sets and costumes were also great and it starred one of the earliest known Indian film stars made famous in Hollywood, Sabu(who was also in Black Narcissus). He is the young lad, a thief, who somehow becomes centre stage between a young man, a prince, imprisoned by the evil Jaffar (the wonderful Conrad Veidt) and a beautiful princess whom Jaffar covets for his own. Through their adventures, we meet the genie, a daffy old prince (the princess's dad) who loves toys and the many "toys" Jaffer creates for the old guy. It is one of the best versions ever made of this classic fairy tale. Lawrence Butler and Jack Whitney were the collaborators creating the Genie and the wondrous toys. They truly deserved to win the Oscar that year.
2. STAR WARS-1977
Yup, I am assuming this will be a popular one this week but for good reason since it created a whole new way to do special effects and started the Industrial Light & Magic that every man, still living with his mom in the basement of his childhood home, dreams about visiting. It's hard now not to find the new and improved versions of the first, er, I mean middle, I mean, well, the first ones to be shown in the theatre. John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune and Robert Blalack(ughh, that's a lot of guys) were the reason for the special effects that blew my ex-husband away when he first saw this. He always remembers the beginning scene of the spaceships going through space only for this much bigger ship to appear, blowing my ex's mind away. We know the story, young man wants to see space and feels he is held back. His Uncle buys 2 droids and while fixing them, the kid comes across a message from a princess looking for Obi-Wan. Anyway, Obi Wan finds them and they go on a quest to find a fast spaceship. Enter Chewie and Han Solo, hired to bring them to the dark side where evil Darth Vader is as well as the princess. Chaos ensues. I saw this back in 1977 and remember feeling underwhelmed because I thought the story was simplistic, not really caring about the special effects. Oh well....
3. JURASSIC PARK-1993
I saw this in the theatre as well and was properly impressed with these dinosaurs that scared the living bejeebies out of me! Again, the story is a bit simple; an old coot, played by Richard Attenborough, invites 2 palaeontologists to his island to see what he has accomplished. Also along for the ride is a lawyer and Jeff Goldblum who irritates the old coot to no end. There are the old coot's 2 grandkids here, as well, ready to see the wonders of what this nutbar created from the DNA extracted from really old mosquitoes. I had to laugh when the Sam Neill character tells the kids that these huge brontosaurus are safe just like cows (really??). When the T-Rex is introduced, I was scared as it was done so very well. It's a fun flick which has now spanned many sequels with CGI taking over and you can see the difference...not to the better. Oh yeah...here are the winners for this Special Effects Oscar this year-Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippitt & Michael Lantieri-all greats in their field.
So there is my lengthy post, which 3 would you choose?
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle went patriotic this week since your holiday lands on a Sunday but ours is tomorrow. So here are the themes for this week and i didn't choose any classical or Broadway..wow!
A SONG WITH "RED" IN THE TITLE
A SONG WITH "WHITE" IN THE TITLE
A SONG WITH "BLUE" IN THE TITLE
1. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD BY SAM SHAM & THE PHARAOHS-1966
Believe it or not, this was the song that came into my head and I have no idea why because, immediately after, my mind went to Red, Red Wine. I love wolves so this might be why...maybe. Oh well, this is obviously about the big bad wolf-a man, who is ready to pluck little Miss Red off the steady path of goodness and, well, you get the picture. I had no idea who created this song until I looked for it so it's pretty cool that it came out when I was a mere 2 yrs old.
2. NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN BY THE MOODY BLUES-1967
I love The Moody Blues as much as I love ABBA and they are simply amazing to create such beautiful works, this one being their most famous and with good reason. It is so haunting, sad, mournful and exquisite. I had no idea that Justin Hayward was only 19 yrs old when he created this gem. When I was 19, I thought it was a great idea to have a shot of cognac every time I got an answer wrong in Trivial Pursuit but we shall not go there. I also just love the poetry before and after which I memorized years ago. I was so happy to have seen them when they were still all together before Ray Thomas had to retire due to health reasons and passed away in 2018, sadly.
3. DEVIL WITH A BLUE DRESS ON SUNG BY MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS-1966
I always thought Little Richard did this song but, that tells you how daft I am when it comes to music. I also thought the title was Devil In a Blue Dress but, I guess, the above title is more accurate. Devil in a Blue Dress is a movie with Denzel Washington and a good one too. This is such a great dance song, to me anyhoo, and can really get you pumping. I had no clue that this was originally written by Shorty Long & William "Mickey" Stevenson and performed by Long in 1964 but in a more Blues style and slower tempo. Of course, the gal is a bad apple ready to seduce the poor guy to get what she can from him. Oh well, thems the breaks:)
I love fairies, always have and wished they were real. It would be so cool to see such pretty beings flying around the flowers. So I had this spare piece of paper that I used to wipe up some extra distress inks I had spritzed with water to use for another card. This scrap was laying around forever when I decided to play and see how my fairy diecut would look like. I was quite pleased that it turned out better than I thought. I sprinkled her wings in blue and the butterfly in purple sparkle before I tried a stencil to create a border using my sparkle paste that I coloured with some blue powder. Well, it looks like a long gob of goo...blue goo. Since I am not a perfectionist, I just kept it rather than destroy it nor did I want to cut that part off oddly enough. I stamped and embossed the sentiment in purple with purple sparkle. To add more bling, I took my double sided tape for the border and tried out some new stuff I bought. It is very, very, very flyaway and stuck to my clothing but I love the look.
I have been wanting to create something, every month, for Animal Friends and, before I knew what was happening, the month was over. This time I made it under the wire and created this tropical card which was nice and simple. I stamped each letter in black except for the "i" which is stamped in pink. I wanted it funky so the letters are a bit off, just like me. I stamped the flamingos in pink except for one which is in the rainbow colours of green, blue and purple.... it is the rainbow month after all and I applaud all the people in the LGBTQ Community. I added the pineapple, leaves and flowers below to lend that tropical flair. I used pop up dots to raise the saying up, added pink stickles for the border and the flower centres and finished it off with some crystals. It has been pretty tropical here...disgusting actually, but I hope we get a bit of a break by Thursday.
Wandering Through The Shelves actually picked a goody because, once my brain kicked into gear, I could think of many that fit this bill. I am choosing one I have talked about many times before but I just love the show plus 2 others most of you will probably not know, but that I liked. Here we go...
1.BEWITCHED-1964-1972
I love this show about a mixed marriage...a human and a witch. Of course, she tells him on their Honeymoon night which freaks him out but he loves her too much to leave. That being said, Old fashioned fart requests she stop using her powers as he does not want any help and wants to be the provider and expects her to be a good housewife. It is the 60s after all and this idea was still very prevalent but he always gets help from his beautiful wife despite the meddling mom in law who would love to turn him into a 180lb artichoke. Samantha can't help using her powers which is often seen by her nosy neighbour, Mrs. Kravitz. The later episodes with the new Darrin (Dick Sargeant since Dick York had to leave due to his health), just seemed to not capture the same romance as the earlier episodes. They also replaced Mrs. Kravitz with Sandra Gould when Alice Pierce died of cancer. Alice was perfect as this nosy neighbour because you still cared for her whereas Sandra Gould played her meaner and nastier I think. Anyway, I still love the show and would do anything to have those powers and my hubby wouldn't mind a bit!
2. THE FANTASTIC JOURNEY-1977
I fell in love with this show and the dreamie star, Jared Martin, when it came on as a mid season replacement but, alas, it didn't last long. It is about a small boat, in the Bermuda triangle who see some sort of greenish glow and, before anyone knows it, they end up on some island( no, Gilligan and the Skipper are not anywhere in sight). There they encounter Varian (Jared) who is from way in the future and who helps these stranded people understand where the F*&^ they are. As I remember, 2 of the people from the boat find their way back to their time but the brainiac kid (Ike Eisemann) and a doctor remain. Soon, a untrustworthy character, played by Roddy McDowell and a beautiful girl who is half alien and half gal from Atlantis(not related to Patrick Duffy) all team up. You see, they find different portals of time and can go back or forward in time. I think that premise is so cool where, in fact, I had a very vivid dream about this back in the 80s. My dream was trying to find the portal but I was with a bunch of dwarves from Time Bandits moving through time. The gateways emanated from Leonardo Da Vinci's studio. We could look at every window of his and see a different time. Anyway, back to TV...I would love to see these episodes again just to see if I think they are still great or really, really bad...you never know.
3. NORTHERN EXPOSURE-1990-1995
Now here is another show I would love to watch because it is such a quirky but endearing show. You have a nerdy doctor from the big city of New York City who must go to Alaska to be a doctor for 4 yrs as part of his student loan agreement. He must deal with snow, cold and a cast of weird characters who call their small town home. We have Maggie, a bush pilot who always argues with but falls for the nerdy dr. A very rich former astronaut who owns the radio station and newspaper and gets under people's skin. The owners of the local pub, a married couple with a 40 yr age difference, the "chill out dude" who is the DJ and offers his own comments about life in between songs, The older lady who runs the store and is one tough cookie. The Native American who works for the rich guy but dreams of becoming a film director and worships Orson Welles and the Dr's Native American receptionist who sits at her desk, rarely talks but when she does, offers some keen insight. This is a great show that made a moose famous as well as the small Washington town of Roslyn where the moose roams free during the opening credits.
Jingle, Jangle Jungle has another week of fun song themes and one is about summer....I just bitched..er...talked about the heat in my movie picks from last week. By the way, It's her birthday today so wish Mary a very Happy Birthday!
A SONG WITH SUMMER IN THE TITLE
A SONG THAT DAVE GROHL PLAYED ON
A SONG WITH MARY IN THE TITLE(IT'S HER BIRTHDAY TODAY)
1. SUMMERTIME SUNG BY KATHLEEN BATTLE-GEORGE GERSHWIN-1934
This song, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward (not his brother Ira surprisingly), is from the opera Porgy & Bess which I would love to see one day...you have your concerts and I have mine:). I think this is simply one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Kathleen Battle does a great job (duh!) and is one of the leading sopranos in the whole world, unfortunately she is a true DIVA!! Her meanness, ego-driven, narcissistic manner was so bad that she was actually fired from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Everyone clapped when she was told to leave. You know she must be one mean MF when an opera diva is kicked out. Regardless, she does have a beautiful voice.
2. LEARN TO FLY INCLUDING A DUEL WITH ANIMAL FROM THE MUPPETS-2015
I had no clue who Dave Gruhl is but he is from The Foo Fighters. I heard of this band and probably know their songs but, anyway, I thought i would be cool to show him up against one of my favs-Animal from The Muppets. The Muppets came back, only for one season, where Kermit is the host of a late night talk show host. I remember many of you hated the show but I loved it. My favs were the rats and the Mexican shrimp. I think Animal beat Dave's ass but you be the judge.
3. MARY'S A GRANDE OLD NAME SUNG BY-1906 BUT SUNG BY IRENE MANNING
I hope you don't mind that I took a very old song but sung with such love in the film Yankee, Doodle Dandy with James Cagney as the showman George M. Cohan who wrote the song. Even though this is a hit on your head patriotic American film, I love it because of James Cagney. I think The lovely Irene Manning did a great job with the song.
Happy Birthday Mary! It must be great to be 29 again...just like me :)
