Thursday Movie Picks: TV Edition-TV Score or Theme Song

 

I think we did this before but, that's ok because there are so many that need recognition. Wandering Through The Shelves showcases themes each week with the last Thursday dedicated to TV. You get to choose 3 films or tv shows(for the last Thursday of the month) that fit the theme and here are my 3...

1. SECRET AGENT MAN-1960-1962 & THEN 1964-1968

Patrick McGoohan stars as Drake...John Drake, the spy who gets in from the cold and saves the day without dipping his tongue down some girl's..er...throat(I am nasty) or rarely using a gun. He uses his intelligence and wits to get through each episode. It was called Danger Man in Britain (where it began) and had a first run in the early 60s only to come back in the mid 60s becoming a hit. This song is just perfect for a spy show that became a hit on the dance floor too. Patrick McGoohan also starred in "The Prisoner", an excellent Science Fiction show where former spies are sent to the village and cannot escape or the big white balloon will come after you. Anyway, Secret Agent Man is a really good series and Mr. McGoohan was happily married who did not believe in kissing other women so he made sure nothing like that was ever in the scripts.

2. HAWAII FIVE-O-1968-1980

Yes, there is a successful remake(I think it was recently cancelled) but my heart belongs to the original with the squared-jawed Jack Lord as McGarrett who leads a team of police officers, Danno, Chin Ho and streetwise Kono to stop all sorts of crime on the islands. This show dealt mainly with how they were catching the criminal with little emphasis on their private lives which I like. I don't need to see who is kissing who and bedding who all the time. Anyway, this theme is so popular, they kept the original for the reboot of the series. Why mess with perfection?

3. CHEERS-1982-1993

I love this show which was a staple on Thursday nights and created some memorable characters, the most famous being Frazier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammar, who got his own spin-off in the 1990s. Actually, this famous show was almost dead last in the Nielsen Ratings but the famous Brandon Tartikoff, believed in the show and made sure it could keep going. Thankfully, the audience found this gem and it became a #1 show for many years. Sam Malone (Ted Danson) an alcoholic former baseball player owns a bar who hired his old coach as a fellow bartender (who suffered too many balls to the head). Carla is the acerbic tiny waitress you never want on your bad side; Norm, the man who lives at the bar and has put a serious dent in the floor and beer and then there's Cliff.....Cliff, a postal worker who seems to be an expert on everything and knows nothing. Enter Diane, a haughty snob chick who is hired by Sam to waitress, horribly so. By the time the romantic twirling of Sam & Diane take off so did the ratings. This song became a staple and a hit for a short while. Hey, I visited the bar in Boston(the outside is famous but the inside was nothing like the show...it was small, cramped stuffy and packed.

So, which 3 come to your mind?

Weekly Song Challenge

 

The final week of April...wild! What’s new from last year? There are vaccines which, I hope, people are getting, slowly but shirley. Aside from that, I bet we love taking advantage of some excitement by going to the grocery store...ooohhhh. Ok, enough of that, it is another week for music over at Jingle, Jangle, Jungle and these are her 3 themes:

Song About An Ex

A Song Beginning With The Letter X

A Song By XTC

1. YOU'RE SO VAIN- CARLY SIMON- 1972

This is a very famous song sung by a vixenish gal named Carly Simon who has been playing it coy for decades about who this song is about. She has said it is not about her husband James Taylor but kept it coy forever. Now, part of the song is about Warren Beatty but she claims only a sentence or 2 where he claimed it is the whole song(kind of proves her point doesn't it). The other men, well, we just don't know and that's OK because we have all been with someone where this song fits like a glove and, I think, it doesn't really matter if it is a man or a woman. I always liked this song...

2. XANADU-SUNG BY OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN WITH ELO-1980

I love ELO and they penned the music to this flick, Xanadu, with the title song being the same word. I actually went to see this Disco inferno, in all the wrong places, back in 1980, not because of Olivia or Disco but it co-starred the great Gene Kelly. The movie is now a cult favourite and I will watch it again but I know it's not a good flick by any means. When I was watching this up on the big screen I wondered what kind of Kool-Aid Gene Kelly was drinking when he signed on to be in this film. This movie uses the same character name as he was called in Covergirl, a far superior film.  Anyways, the song is catchy in that Disco sucks kind of way:)

3. MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL BY XTC-1979

When I saw the band's name, I thought Who?? I had to look this one up to just figure out if I even knew their songs but when I saw the title of this song, I knew I had heard it. It is an odd ditty that I really like listening to. I am certain some of you can tell me more about this band and I will look forward to listening to what everyone else chooses. 

Have a fab day!!

Not Talking about the Oscars but am talking cards

 

Twofer Card Challenge-Leaves-I am too late! Hahahaa

Of course, I am late because that's who I am but I am showcasing the 2 together anyways. I had some fun on the weekend despite feeling a little icky from the Astra Zenica shot. I had the shot on Friday and felt stoned when I left. I would not have been able to drive so I am so thankful hubby drove me. I felt tired on the weekend but I felt more icky yesterday but nothing major to be honest. I still did a walk and made some cards plus tried to watch some shorts on youtube for the Oscars.

Color Throwdown-Deeper yellow, orange, red and kraft

Addicted to Stamps-Birthdays

I stamped my leaves on basic white cardstock and coloured them in with prisma colour pencils before adding the gamsol alcohol to smooth the colour out.I took Kraft cardstock and embossed it for the background. I stamped the sentiment and embossed it in orange and red before adhering everything together. To give a finishing touch, I coloured the border stickers in red and orange and placed them on the card. 

The Fairy & The Unicorn-Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations- Fantasy & Magical

Inspiration Station-

Don't these 2 lovebirds look so happy!? They are in nature and just seem to dance to their own tune with no one else around. I was going to add red but, to be honest, I forgot. I still think love is magical especially in the early days before we let it all hang out, burp, fart and scratch while sitting on the couch. Anyway, let's get back to fantasy where I took this  cardstock and sprinkled these new color bursts that are glittery. I add water to the card and watch the color  just come alive. Once dry, I started stamping trying to make a wooded scene where the fairies are dancing in joyous rapture. I coloured the berries in sparkle blue and some of the leaves in green. I added stickles to their wings and berries. The leaves stamp is the same one i used in the above card.

CHNC-Anything Christmas

Christmas Card Throwdown-Stamping

I was playing with my distress sprays as well and had bought a new one-Robin's Egg blue which I wanted to try. I sprayed it with grey and another blue to achieve this effect. I thought it looked perfect for an angel in the sky so I stamped my angel in a blue and embossed it in a dark blue and a sparkly silver. I did the same with the sentiment and the snowflakes before gluing it to the glitter base card. This was a lot of fun and not too taxing. 

Today I am feeling better. I enjoyed watching the Oscars including the dresses where Regina King looked stunning but Laura Dern looked like she left her nest of eggs to come to this event. I do wish Boseman would have won...that was a big upset. 

Thursday Movie Picks-Psychological Thriller

 

There are many films that fit this theme and yet, I felt  like I wanted to find films similar to Gaslight which is a brilliant film but one I have picked more than once. I think I was overthinking this theme to be honest so I just went with it and once again, chose 2 Hitchcock films because Hitchcock is brilliant. I will be interested what everyone else will choose over at Wandering Through The Shelves so best head over there and see what everyone else has chosen. Here are my 3...

1. REBECCA-1940

I really fell in lust for Lawrence Olivier when I saw this film( watching Wuthering Heights cinched the deal) playing the brooding Maxim De Winter who meets a mousy gal, played by Joan Fontaine, and marries her and whisks her back to his home of Manderley. This home is one I would have loved to have lived in, if it actually existed, with its huge fireplaces and is full of Gothic drama. Here, the young wife meets the staff including Mrs. Danvers who is the head housekeeper of the place and still drools over the late Rebecca, Maxim’s dead wife. Quickly, mousy Joan seems to be doing everything wrong and feels she is slowly going insane with Mrs. Danvers helping her to that ledge of insanity. Good ole Max doesn’t help things at all and is actually a bit of a dick becoming moody and nasty to his wife.  This is a very atmospheric, gothic thriller with Dame Judith Anderson stealing the picture as lesbo Mrs. Danvers. You know there was more going on between Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers(or it could have been one-sided) even though the Hays Office didn’t want any reference to an affair between Danvers and Rebecca. This just shows how great Miss. Anderson is in her acting to infer this.

2. SHADOW OF A DOUBT-1943

I love this film and it is one of my favourite Hitchcock films starring Joseph Cotton as a serial killer  who must leave the city since the cops are close to catching him. He decides to go visit his sister and her family. The sister is so happy to have her younger brother with her and her daughter, played by Teresa Wright, is ecstatic to see her Uncle Charlie whom she loves but soon she starts seeing cracks in his white armour. When a police detective comes calling and informs her of what they suspect, she, at first doesn’t believe it, but soon changes her mind. Soon, it becomes a cat and mouse game Charlie against Charlie and the rest of the family are completely unaware of what is going on. Well acted and tense, the film gives an early insight into the mind of a serial killer before that term was coined.

3. THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE-1946

This is another one of my favourite films  that starts off with the murder of a disabled young woman  and the town is reeling from it. We see a young, pretty woman getting back to a large home where she is the companion to a bedridden old lady who is disagreeable with most everyone else. The one problem this girl has is she can’t talk due to some mental trauma from years back. In the home we meet the cook who likes to have a few drinks, a very pretty young lady who is the secretary to the head of the household, played by George Brent. He is kindly and takes care of the home and his mom. In comes the jerk brother who has been away from the town and the house for quite a while and proceeds to play havoc with his older brother. We also meet the kindly doctor who has his heart go pitter patter for the mute girl. Of course, a storm is approaching and everyone must batten down the hatches but not before realizing the killer is somewhere in their home. The one the killer sets his sights on is the mute girl because he sees her without a mouth.  Atmospheric, with a few twists and turns, it’s quite a good thriller that makes you think twice who it might be. It is a real gem of a film.

So which 3 films would you choose?

Tomorrow afternoon, I am going for my Astra Zeneca shot and hope I don’t feel sick after. Wish me luck!

Weekly Song Challange-Week 15

 

Another fun week over at Jingle, Jangle, Jungle who came up with another great set of themes this week. She is also contributing to the A To Z Challenge with her 80s hits and I am thoroughly enjoying listening to all these songs which I know so well having danced to many of them in my 20s....and 30s..well, even now. You should check it out and enjoy some fun tunes but, just so you know, here are her 3 themes for this week. 

A SONG WITH "RADIO" IN THE TITLE

A SONG WITH "RAIN" IN THE TITLE

A SONG WITH "RUN" IN THE TITLE

1. VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR-THE BUGGLES-1979

I had no clue this song came out back in 1979 when I was still in High School, Grade 10 to be exact. I just remember dancing to this tune in many disco dance clubs back in the 1980s. There was a big concern that the video would kill music as we know it. Some musicians wanted to have no video and just let us envision what we think the music is about, not be told. Funny, I always hated this group's name because it reminds me of the word buggery....yuck.

2. HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN-THE EURYTHMICS-RELEASED 1983

Yes, "Singing In The Rain" was the very first song that came into my head but I have spoken about the film so often I went with my next choice which is from this group headed by the very weird Dave Stewart and the equally strange Annie Lennox. Annie Lennox has an amazing voice, so unique and versatile who exploded onto the music scene with her androgynous look and orange hair. There is so much more to this fine lady and this band had many hits. 

3. RUNAWAY-DEL SHANNON- 1961

I am certain many of you can tell me the history of this song and I know it is considered a true classic. I recall going to a great bar, in Kitchener, Ontario, called Lulu's. Back in the day it laid claim to being the biggest gin joint in the world and the actual longest bar in the world as well. I have no idea, all I know is I enjoyed drinking many zombies there before I actually became one and tried to walk across the dance floor. My best friend and I would spend money on balloons that carried different meanings of which we always chose purple (never white..please I'm as pure as the driven slush) before heading out onto the dance floor. We saw The Byrds(I think there may have been 1 or 2 original band members there) but we also saw Del Shannon, I think, 2 or 3 times. He always played this song and we always danced to it. We would wave to him, if we saw him with our booze-soddened eyes and kept dancing. When we found out he committed suicide, we were very upset and saddened by this and so we would play this song as we had a couple (or more) drinks in his honour.

What can you think up?

Sunshine

 

Simon Says- Clean & Simple

Retro Rubber- Pastels rrcb156

Color Throwdown- yellow, Blue, grass green, White-ctd638

We Love Chocolate Baroque- Springtime 

Flower Challenge- Pretty Pastels

I wanted to use my pastel chalk and colour with them. It's spring, so tulips are in order. I had this stamp for 8 years or so and like using it just like all the rest of my stamps but this one has not come out to play in a while. I stamped and embossed the tulips in gold and then I had some fun colouring in my tulips with my pastel chalks. I use cotton swabs to colour with my pastels and find they work quite well. I edged and highlighted the tulips in blue before stamping and embossing the sentiment in blue. I used my cotton swab that already had yellow on it to just colour around the saying. For some sparkle, I used my stickles on my tulips.

Crafty Creations-Anything Goes

 

I have a ton of calendar pages that, no, I can't throw out. I spent a few months going through all of them and cutting them out including even the back, with the small pictures, that I can use on cards. I received, a few years back, a Victorian calendar which was quite romantic and, while it is not completely my taste, I did save and cut out some images that I thought were nice including this one. Now, this could be for Easter but I was thinking of Alice in Wonderland. I actually love this one Crafting Blog Challenge called the Library Challenge but she is taking a hiatus. I hope she does come back because I enjoy this blog. I love the blue background since blue is my favourite colour, it's glittery and it matches Alice's dress. I have 2 sizes flower punch which I used to make the flowers, glued them in place and added the gold crystal in the middle. I took letter stickers which asks, "Do you have the time?" You know the rabbit is asking Alice since she did just take a hit of acid. For a finishing touch I added the heart. 

Wishing everyone a great week ahead.

Thursday Movie Picks: Female Cinematographers

 

This is suggested by Brittani Burnham over at Rambling Film who really knows her movies. She gave me a run for my money because, as in many areas, the cinematography field sorely lacks a ton of women recognized for their work.  I had to look up the women who specialize in this field but I think I did ok. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to find out who the other great women in this field  have created. Here are my 3...

1.  CAKE-2014-RACHEL MORRISON

This lady is more famously known as the cinematographer for Black Panther but I wanted to choose this movie starring Jennifer Aniston as a woman suffering from chronic pain. At first I was not sure I would like this film because the heroine is quite caustic, a truly mean bitch who has just about drove every person away.  You realize, through peeling away the layers, why she is the way she is. It is well acted by Aniston, surprisingly, well directed and I liked the look of the film which felt heavy looking and dark but you see cracks of light here and there and I think Ms. Morrison  helped capture the the weight of this character and what many people, including me, must deal with when dealing with chronic pain. It is truly worth a look.

2. HIDDEN FIGURES-2016- Mandy Walker

This Australian is, again, more famous for the live action Mulan (which I want to see) but I have chosen this gem of a film about 3 African-American women, geniuses really, who worked for NASA during the space program. All 3 actresses, Viola Davis, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer are superlative as these 3 women who had to undergo, well, crap because of the colour of their skin.  They had to walk almost a bloody mile to use a washroom even though they were helping NASA get ahead in the space race. The rich colours and look of the early 1950s really brought it that feel of many films from that time period. If anyone watched a Douglas Sirk film or others from the late 50s and early 60s, one can see how Ms. Walker used those films to create the look of this one.

3.  LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE-2019-NANCY SCHERIBER

Nancy was a co-cinematographer with Ian Coed on the brilliant documentary of the great Linda Ronstadt. If you don’t know who Linda is, go to YouTube and check out all the great songs she sang. She started out in Rock but she did Country, Gilbert & Sullivan, opera and folk songs from her country, Mexico. I have her album that is dedicated to her dad.  It details her life with archival film when she first started, all the way until she had to retire. The filming is done with love. The look of this film seems matter of fact but there is a sense of honour when they speak with her as she discusses her work and the disease(Progressive Supranuclear Palsy or PSP) that has robbed her voice and will take her mind and her life. It is joyous yet so sad but never do you sense anything but respect. It really is worth watching. 

Can you think of 3 movies with female cinematographers? It's a toughie as I googled it.