MOVIE WEEKEND: THE FAVOURITE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

It's been quite a while since I reviewed a mouvie for you. I'm glad that I can recoummend The Favourite (2018, Rated R, Available on DVD, On Demand, or to rent from Amazon Prime), although you might nout like it unless your sense of humour is as dark as mine.

The Favourite is weirdly wonderful. It has three women playing the leads, although it was Olivia Colman as Queen Anne who won the Best Actress Academy Award, along with a number of other awards. Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah and Emma Stone as Abigail were nominated for supporting actress Oscars. I don't know how one would decide that one of these actresses alone was worthy of Best Actress consideration, but I also don't know how they managed to say some of their whip-shot wicked lines without falling down laughing:

Harley: Might I remind you, you are not the queen.

Lady Sarah: She has sent me to speak for her. She is unwell.

Godolphin: What says she?

Lady Sarah: That Harley is a fop and a prat and smells like a ninety six year old French whore's vajuju.

This historical dramedy is set during the reign of Queen Anne (early 18th century). Anne is not the brightest crayon in the box. She has experienced many tragedies. Foremost among them is her 17 pregnancies that ended in miscarriages, still births, and dead children.

Because Anne is not exactly interested in the affairs of state and does not care to learn, Lady Sarah runs the country for her. Anne and Sarah have been friends since childhood. Only Sarah can get away with telling Anne the truth, such as "Sometimes, you look like a badger."

But then Sarah's cousin Abigail, whose family has fallen on hard times, arrives at Anne's palace to ask for a job. Sarah favors Abigail with work, very hard and ugly work, but Abigail seeks ways to ingratiate herself with Anne.

Who will end up as Queen Anne's favourite? And is it worth the cost?

I wish I knew about camera lenses and angles so I could understand how this movie was shot. The Director of Photography manages to exaggerate the size of their surroundings so that the characters look very small, which they are––at heart. The cameras also show the characters moving in curved spaces. Like the ducks they race, they move through the maze of the palace without ever reaching a worthwhile destination.

The class system is very important in this movie, whether it's Queen Anne over Lady Sarah and Lady Sarah over Abigail, or Abigail as a servant being shat upon by the more experienced servants.

I don't want to reveal the conclusion, but I read a review that said the final sequence was an arresting image and what did it mean? I think it indicates that the favourite, whoever she may be, is trapped and held tightly by Queen Anne in her whirling, selfish world.

I know some of you are already dealing with the terrible blizzard that's cutting across the United States. I hope your electricity stays on. I watched The Favourite on a DVD sent to me by my friends at Netflix, but if you're able to go out, you should be able to get the DVD from one of those Redbox kiosk thingies. You can also order it On Demand or through Amazon Prime streaming.

If The Favourite doesn't interest you or if you need more than one movie, which you probably do during a blizzard, I recommend BlacKkKlansman; Juliet, Naked; and Operation Finale. I adore A Star Is Born and sobbed over it as if I were a two year old whose ice cream fell off the cone and landed in the dirt. I watched Green Book, too, and wasn't wild about it, but a lot of people seem to like it.

These movies are NOT for children. As always, I suggest watching the movie yourself before you decide if it's okay for your teenager to watch.

Please stay safe and stay warm.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

PENELOPE SPEAKS: IT'S ABOUT TIME

Hello. It is I, Penelope. Mom Mom has been so selfish with the computer that I've never gotten to write about my Christmas presents.

Mom Mom is lazy, too. She claims she's been sick. She doesn't do a thing unless I arrange it. I get in the bed and roll around to leave my fur on the sheets to force her to put on clean sheets. I even have to leave little puddles around the house to make her clean the floors. What an embarrassment!

My work is never done.

Thank heavens I didn't have to rely on Mom Mom for my Christmas gifts. Santa Paws was good to me because I am a good girl.

Here is my very best gift:

 

I have my own couch. It is in our office, where I work on the computer when I can get it away from Mom Mom.

My couch is soft and cozy, especially on chilly days. I love curling up on it.

Santa Paws also brought me new clothes to keep me warm:

This is my fuzzy red robe. I am beautiful in it––even more beautiful than usual. Red looks nice with my black-and-white fur.

I wear my robe when Mom Mom wears her red robe and her jammies. I don't have jammies. Maybe Santa Paws will bring me jammies next Christmas. It pleases me that Mom Mom and I have matching robes.  If Mom Mom has something, then I should have the same thing.

Santa Paws also gave me a denim jacket. It pleases me because Mom Mom has a denim jacket.

My jacket says "I Believe" and it has thread pieces that look like a piece of candy and a snowflake. Mom Mom does not have such nice pictures on her denim jacket.

I will not wear my clothes much longer. Soon it will be warm enough that I will be fine with just my fur.

I certainly hope Mom Mom continues to wear her clothes. She does not have lovely fur. She looks kind of strange and pink under her clothes.

Perhaps you remember that my brother Franklin got a big bed from Santa Paws. He still calls it the not-a-doughnut and won't sleep on it.

What an idiot.

That is all. Goodbye.

I, MARY BY LINDA KAY CHRISTENSEN

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Linda Kay Christensen has a new book out, and I absolutely love it (I also edited it).

I, Mary can be a quick read, but you might want to linger over its warmth and beauty as Mary tells her story in the first person. It's the simple tale of a teenage girl who must suddenly deal with the unexpected news that she will give birth to the Savior.

Linda has outdone herself this time. I'm glad I, Mary is available in time for Lent. It will make a great Easter gift, and be sure to get a copy for yourself.

I, Mary is available on Amazon at https://goo.gl/DbLd7S. Congratulations on your excellent work, Linda Kay.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED NOT LONG AGO

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Sixty years ago on this date, a small airplane took off from Mason City Municipal Airport (Iowa). About five miles away from the airport, it hit the ground at full speed near Clear Lake, Iowa, in a cornfield.

The pilot, Roger Peterson, and his three passengers––Charles Holley*, Richard Valenzuela, and J.P. Richardson––were all killed on impact.

Buddy Holly, died at age 22

Ritchie Valens, died at age 17

The Big Bopper, died at age 28

The three musicians were on a tour across the Midwest called the Winter Dance Party. They finished their show in Clear Lake at about midnight. Their flight took off around 1 a.m.

Holly chartered the plane because the troupe's two tour buses were unheated and kept breaking down. His drummer had to be hospitalized because of severe frostbite. He was tired, no one had been paid, and he wanted to get to the next venue in Minnesota ahead of time so he could get some rest and do his laundry.

He planned on taking the two remaining members of his band with him, but his guitarist, Tommy Allsup, agreed to flip a coin with Ritchie Valens for a seat on the plane. Valens "won" the toss.  Waylon Jennings, who played bass for Holly, gave up his seat to Richardson because The Big Bopper had the flu.

Don McLean wrote and recorded a hit song, American Pie, that led to the tragedy being memorialized as "the day the music died." However, McLean has said that the song is about more than the deaths of the three performers; it's about the loss of America's innocence (something we supposedly lose on a regular basis with each new tragedy).

And of course, the music most certainly did not die because of the influence the musicians had––especially Buddy Holly.

The Big Bopper was primarily a radio disc jockey who had a hit with the novelty song Chantilly Lace. He also wrote some successful songs recorded by other artists. He left behind a wife, a daughter, and a son who was born two months after he died.

Valens had a brief career. He had recently dropped out of high school because of his newfound success. He's considered to have started Chicano and Latino rock. He influenced Los Lobos and Carlos Santana. He left behind his mother, several siblings, and a girlfriend named Donna, about whom he had written a hit song. Among his effects was a silver bracelet with her name attached.

And then there was Buddy Holly, known as a rock and roll pioneer. A certain band called The Beatles chose their name because Buddy Holly's band was called The Crickets. Paul McCartney owns Buddy Holly's song catalog. Two nights before Holly died, a young Bob Dylan saw Holly perform in Duluth, Minnesota, and has cited Holly as an important influence in his development as a musician. Mick Jagger also saw Holly perform, albeit not in Minnesota but in England. Other performers who name Holly as an influence include Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, and The Clash.

Holly was already such a prolific songwriter and had recorded so many songs that his record label was able to release "new" Buddy Holly music for 10 years after his death. He left behind his parents, three siblings, and a pregnant widow, Maria Elena Santiago-Holly. Her miscarriage the day after learning of his death by hearing it announced on television is allegedly the reason that deaths are no longer broadcast until family has been informed.

Buddy also left behind his trademark horn-rimmed glasses. The farmer who owned the field found them after the snow melted. He gave them to the authorities, who stored them in a courthouse for years before realizing what they had and returning them to his wife.

They're on display at The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Today is the day that three musicians died in a plane crash, but they didn't take the music with them. Sing us out, please, Buddy.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug





*The correct spelling of the musician's name is Holley. A recording contract misspelled his name as Holly. That's the spelling he used for the rest of his life, but the marker at his grave uses the correct spelling. His nickname had been Buddy since childhood.

Feature films have been made about Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Both are filled with inaccuracies, but are entertaining.

SORRY WE'RE AWOL

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I'm sorry we've been absent from the blogosphere. We didn't have internet for a week or so. I thought I'd die without something that didn't exist when I was young.

My modem was old and needed to be replaced. I actually hooked up the new one without breaking anything.

I'm also not feeling my best. I enjoyed work over the holidays. It was pretty quiet, which made for a nice change.

We were closed on New Year's Day and then I had the next two days off. I got a migraine and started sleeping for hours and hours. I built my way up to staying asleep for 20 hours a day. Franklin and Penelope would wake me up in the wee-wee hours of the morning to let them out and back in so we could return to the cocoon.

I called a wellness program that my employer provides and told an adviser about my predicament. She said, I think this is a medical problem. Your doctor should check your thyroid.

That's how I found out that I have hypothyroidism. I started taking medication for it, but I continue to fight to stay awake. My doctor says it will take a while for the meds to build up in my system.

I'm also having frequent migraines. I've had migraines for years, but never so often and for extended periods of time (two or three days of migraine, a little time off, and then another migraine).

I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow so we can talk about the migraines. Her nurse actually volunteered to call me tomorrow to make sure I wake up for the appointment. How nice and helpful is that?

The following is something one of my sisters posted on Facebook. She asked other people to copy it and put in their own answers. So I did.

Now I share it with you, and I hope you'll copy it and enter your information. I'm curious about you. You can share in your comment on my blog, or on your blog, or on Facebook.

Or you can comment about how weird I am now that you know more about me.

How old are you: 59
Surgeries: 3
Tattoos: 0
Shot a gun: No
Quit a job: Yes
Ever been on TV: No.
What do you drive: Nissan
Hit A Deer: No, but a deer hit me.
Ridden in an ambulance: Yes
Sang karaoke: No
Ice skated: Yes
Rode on a motorcycle: Yes
Stayed in hospital: Yes
Favorite fruit: Banana
Favorite smell: Peppermint

Skipped school: Lots
Dogs or cats: Dogs
Last phone call: Robot
Last text from: Domino's Pizza
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Watch someone die: Yes
Pepsi or Coke: Diet Pepsi
Favorite pie: Chocolate
Favorite season: Autumn
Sunrise or sunset: Sunset

Penelope is distraught because she hasn't gotten to tell you about her Kissmas gifts. Her post will happen as soon as we can manage it. 

For those of you who wonder about Franklin and the not-a-doughnut, he still won't do anything other than step on it very, very carefully to retrieve his bedtime treat. When I feel better, I'll lie down on the not-a-doughtnut. My presence will make him more interested in it. 

Or he'll take my place in the bed.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

FRANKLIN FRIDAY FINALLY ON FRIDAY: I'M NOT SURE WHAT SANTA PAWS GAVE TO ME

Hi! Hi, Every Buddy! HI HI HI! It's me, me me me memememememe, Franklin the Bordernese and I don't charge a fee to love me.

Kissmas was really great even though Mom went to werk. That werk stuff is dumb.

She had treats for us, though, and Santa Paws left gifts.

I don't know understand what my gift is. At first I thought it was a big, chocolate doughnut, but it doesn't have a hole in the middle. Don't tell Mom I tasted it a little bit and it is definitely not a doughnut. Here's what it looks like:

Don't you think it kinda looks like a chocolate doughnut?

Mom keeps patting the not-a-doughnut and saying, It's soft, Franklin. You will like sleeping on it. You are getting kind of old to sleep on the floor. I think you will be comfortable if you use it as your bed.

The not-a-doughnut is in the bedroom, but that doesn't make it a bed. THIS is a bed:

It's the bed that Mom and Penlapee sleep in. I been invited to join them, but Mom snores so I prefer to sleep on the red rug in the bedroom and I am not too old to sleep there.

Maybe someday I will figure out what the not-a-doughnut is. 

I'll tell you when I know.

Next week, Penlapee will show you her presents.

Okay I love you bye-bye.

I am way too dognified to sleep on a thing
that looks like a doughnut.

FRANKLIN FRIDAY ON MONDAY: WE BEEN SAD

Hi. I know I said I would come back soon to tell you about our Kissmas presents, but we haven't done any blogging around here because Mom goes to that stupid werk and because we are sad. Our good friend Mrs. Ducky, who leaves nice comments on our blog and sends Mom funny grammar cartoons, lost her Bud. Mom says Bud was Mrs. Ducky's hubsend and they were married for a long, long time.

this is me being sad

this is Penlapee being sad

I promise we will start to get over our sad and show you soon what Santa Paws brought for us.

Mrs. Ducky is so brave that she is blogging at fishducky, finally! and sending out funny emails to her friends. If she isn't your friend yet, all you have to do is visit her blog and behave yourself, doing stuff like sit and shake, and she will be your friend. That's the kind of person she is. 

Mrs. Ducky is helping us feel better at our house (we are also missing Favorite Young Man right now, but he'll be back).  She sent an email to Mom that said her Bud would have liked Mom because *snicker snort* Mom is bat-shit crazy. *snicker snort*

It's true. Mom is *snicker snort* bat-shit crazy.

Okay I love you bye-bye.

We love you, Mrs. Ducky.