dual personalities

Tag: birthdays

April 14, 2016

Happy birthday, Susiebelle

by chuckofish

Darling daughter #2 turns 26 today! I will toast her tonight and miss her all day, but we’ll celebrate together next week when she comes home to celebrate my birthday. My cup runneth over with love.

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“She was beautiful, but not like those girls in the magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn’t beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She is beautiful.”

–F. Scott Fitzgerald

And a birthday shout-out to Sarah Michelle Gellar, who turns 39 (!) today. Some birthday Buffy might be in order…

3 Comments
April 12, 2016

“I am not a pest,” Ramona Quimby told her big sister Beezus.” *

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of Beverly Atlee Bunn Cleary, better known as best-selling author Beverly Cleary.

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You go, girl!

Cleary was born on April 12, 1916, in McMinnville, Oregon, the only child of a teacher and a farmer.

She became a children’s librarian. How could she not? (See picture above.) According to Wikipedia, Cleary empathized with her young patrons who had difficulty finding books with characters they could identify with. So she decided to start writing children’s books about characters to whom young readers could relate. The rest is history.

Cleary’s first book, Henry Huggins (1950)  was the first in a series of fictional chapter books about Henry, his dog Ribsy, his neighborhood friend Beezus and her little sister Ramona, whom Nicholas Kristof calls “one of the great characters of children’s literature.”  I’m pretty sure I read some of these books, but I do not remember them well. Maybe this one:

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And here’s a fun fact: She also published three softcover novels based on the TV series Leave It to Beaver—Leave It to Beaver (1960), Here’s Beaver! (1961), and Beaver and Wally (1961).

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Her publisher HarperCollins recognizes her birthday, April 12, as National Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R.), in promotion of silent reading. I would like to celebrate this day–how about you? I mean aren’t you happy to be reminded of chapter books and silent reading? These were an important part of my elementary years at school.

Still in print and in a boxed set!

Still in print and in a boxed set! Ninety-one million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950!

So a well-deserved toast to Ms. Cleary, who is still kicking it at age 100. Long may she run.

*Ramona the Pest

4 Comments
April 6, 2016

“Speak, thou vast and venerable head”*

by chuckofish

I wrote myself a note last week about April 5th being Gregory Peck’s 100th birthday–blogpost idea!–but, of course, I got sidetracked. Anyway, April 6th is as good a day as any to toast the divine GP.

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I mean really, he was just the best. Not only was he one of the handsomest actors of all time, he had one of the all-time great voices.

He was in some of my favorite movies: Twelve O’Clock High (1949) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and How the West Was Won (1962) foremost among them. And he was also great in Roman Holiday (1953), On the Beach (1959), The Big Country (1958), and as Ahab in Moby Dick (1956). He made some pretty bad movies watchable, such as Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) and Duel in the Sun (1946).

He was on the UC Berkeley crew team in 1936-38. Again awesome.

I DVR’d On the Beach yesterday, so I am going to watch it.

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So a toast to Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003). Why not treat yourself to one of the above films? You deserve it.

And as this is Wednesday and time for a mid-week pep talk, I leave you with this:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

–Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

*Ahab in Moby Dick

6 Comments
February 5, 2016

“I am a ham! And the ham in an actor is what makes him interesting.”*

by chuckofish

I have posted a lot about movies recently, so you will probably be all, oh, another blogpost about old movies.

But today happens to be the birthday of the great character actor and Episcopalian John Carradine (February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988), so how could I not?

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Hatfield in Stagecoach (1939)

He had one of those truly amazing careers spanning 60 years (1930-1990) where he made literally hundreds of movies–by some counts over 300. He was in some of the best movies ever made in Hollywood (Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath)

As Casey in The Grapes of Wrath

As Casy in The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

and some of the worst (too many to count involving mummies, zombies and even sex kittens).

Dracula in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula

Dracula in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966)

Well, he was a real working actor, and he had quite a range. He was even the voice of the Great Owl in The Secret of NIMH (1982)!

But he never was even nominated for an Oscar. They threw him a bone with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sigh.

In honor of his birthday, I suggest we watch one of his good movies–

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Caldwell in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) or The Proud Rebel (1958) or The Shootist (1976) or even Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), a movie I like a lot.

His funeral was held at St. Thomas the Apostle in Hollywood. His ashes were scattered at sea.

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And, yes, I will be watching at least part of Super Bowl 50–I can’t miss my Peytie Pie!

Dec 14, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) and quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Enjoy the weekend!

*John Carradine

4 Comments
February 2, 2016

“I hope you have the pleasure of buying me a drink on your next payday.”

by chuckofish

Yesterday was the birthday of the great director John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973). In fact, he is probably the greatest of all film directors. Even Bergman and Kurosawa looked up to him.

"Stagecoach" 1939

“Stagecoach” 1939

When I was watching Red River (1948) the other day, which is directed by the great Howard Hawks, I kept thinking, “This is good, but it would have looked so much better had John Ford directed.” There are some good shots in this movie–notably of the swarming cattle herd–but he never gets the huge vistas that Ford would have had. You never get the sense of the size of Texas or the sky in Kansas. Most of it looks like it was filmed on a soundstage with bad lighting. John Ford would have opened it up.

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The iconic approaching storm scene in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” 1949

"The Searchers" 1956

“The Searchers” 1956

A lot of Ford’s success is due to his close association with two great cinematographers, with whom he worked on many of his greatest films: Winton C. Hoch (3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), and The Searchers (1956); and Bert Glennon: Stagecoach (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950), Sergeant Rutledge (1960).

He knew how to pick ’em. And he knew how to cast. His ensemble casts are second to none.

"The Long Voyage Home" 1940

“The Long Voyage Home” 1940

He won four Best Director Oscars–for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1942), and The Quiet Man (1952).

"How Green Was My Valley" 1940

“How Green Was My Valley” 1942

He won two more  Academy Awards for best Documentary–The Battle of Midway (1942) and December 7th (1943). Of course, not one of them was for a western. There are so many for which he should have at least been nominated–The Searchers (1956) and My Darling Clementine (1946) chief among them.

I’m  not saying that all his films are great. In fact, they are quite inconsistent. He can succumb to a weepy Irish sentimentality which is unfortunate and can be embarrassing. Any movie involving James Cagney, Tyrone Power, Grace Kelly, Spencer Tracy, and/or English history (yes, I’m thinking Mary of Scotland) should be avoided. But even these can be entertaining and worth watching.

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John Wayne and Henry Fonda were never better than under the direction of John Ford. And John Ford had the good sense to use them often. He famously cast the relatively unknown John Wayne in Stagecoach when the producer wanted Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich. The result using the big stars would have been a good movie, but Marlene would have taken over and Gary would have been all aw shucks and adorable–standard fare.

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Directors who copied his style have made a lot of standard movies. His never were.

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John Wayne gave the eulogy at his funeral.

So a toast tonight to the great John Ford!

Sgt. Beaufort in Fort Apache (1948)

5 Comments
January 19, 2016

Happy Birthday, Mary, Dolly and Buffy

by chuckofish

Susanne and Mary

Our mother and her older sister Susanne, circa 1930

Ah, it is January 19th once again. My mother would be turning 90! Dolly Parton is turning 70! And Buffy Summers remains a youthful fictional character.

In the above picture our Aunt Susanne is two years older (and so much taller!) than our mother. She has a hankie and bracelets. Mary looks as if she has just been told to “Quit it!” by Susanne who probably squeezed her hand in a mean way. Susanne looks tense and my mother looks a little sad.

Growing up, we heard a lot of stories about our  mother’s perfect older sister.  Although poised and beautiful, she was also very shy. Once when she left her umbrella on the bus, she made Mary go and stand at the bus stop and ask every bus driver on every bus that stopped if they had found Susanne’s umbrella. She was too shy to do it herself and too afraid to tell her mother she had lost it. We always were amazed that she could make our mother do something like that. But she could. She probably threatened to tell on her or something. Or maybe Mary was just used to doing things for her older sister.

Not to give you the wrong idea. My mother was devoted to Susanne and loved her very much. When she visited her in the summer of 1984, they would stay up until four in the morning talking. I think she was a little shocked by her older sister’s lifestyle. She had been divorced for ten years by then and had a boyfriend. She drank Scotch and stayed up late talking. She did what she damn well pleased.

When my mother was dying, it was Susanne she liked to talk to best. “She understood,” she said.

Sisters. There is no friend like a sister, right?

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And there is no one like Dolly. Of course, I’ll be toasting my dear mother tonight, along with wonderful Dolly and Buffy. And while I’m at it, I’ll toast Susanne and sisters everywhere.

5 Comments
January 8, 2016

Friday forecast

by chuckofish

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Well, here we go…and since I have no big plans for the weekend, that’s okay with me. It may be a good time to hunker down and resurrect a needlepoint project. Or clean out the “craft closet.”

I will find something to do.

Tonight I will definitely toast Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) on his birthday

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and perhaps watch one of his movies.

Okay, it’s settled. Have a great weekend!

3 Comments
December 18, 2015

“A flock of blessings light upon thy back.”*

by chuckofish

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Today is the birthday of my dear dual personality! I wish her peace on earth, good health and tickets to the Star Wars movie!

Ha ha.

They say the movie is worth seeing, but I say ho hum.

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I can wait. A long time.

Anyway, to get back to my sister’s birthday, we are having a little party tonight for some of daughter #2’s friends who are in town for a wedding. But I will be thinking of my dual personality and wishing she were here laughing it up with me.

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Dual personalities festively attired in red and green circa 1983

I’ll be toasting her and sending my love.

mary and santa

In other news: daughter #1 arrives on Saturday! Hope she bundles up for the trip home!

*Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

3 Comments
November 27, 2015

Omnes grandinem puer!*

by chuckofish

Tomorrow is the boy’s birthday.

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The boy with the OM in their denim phase

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The boy in overalls and camo boots with his uncle and sister

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The boy wearing badges

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The boy’s the one on the right.

It may be true that “Most young men are such bores. They haven’t lived long enough to learn that they are not the wonders to the world they are to their mothers.” (L.M. Montgomery)

Well,Screen Shot 2015-11-25 at 4.42.43 PMI still think you’re pretty cool.

Have a great birthday and here’s mud in your eye!

*All hail the boy!

7 Comments
November 24, 2015

How to win friends and influence people

by chuckofish

Dale Harbison Carnegie (originally Carnagey) (November 24, 1888 – November 1, 1955) was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. He was the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), a bestseller that remains popular today.

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You knew that, but did you now that he was born and raised in Missouri? Well, he was born in Maryville, Missouri, the son of a farmer. His family moved to Belton, Missouri (also the hometown of Harry Truman) when he was a small child. He graduated from the State Teacher’s College in Warrensburg, worked as a salesman, and moved to New York City. After failing as an actor (!), he taught a public speaking class at the YMCA. In his first session, he ran out of material. Improvising, he suggested that students speak about “something that made them angry” and discovered that the technique made speakers unafraid to address a public audience. From this 1912 début, the Dale Carnegie Course evolved.

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Most of what he said is just common sense.

“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”

“Success is getting what you want..Happiness is wanting what you get.”

“When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness.”

“Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.”

“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the loss of sleep.”

But that doesn’t make what he said any less true.

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Eminem who was born in nearby St. Joseph, MO, reading words of wisdom from his homeboy.

One more fun fact about Dale Carnegie: He worked as assistant to Lowell Thomas in his famous travelogue “With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia”. He managed and delivered the travelogue in Canada.

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Well, son of a gun. A toast to Dale Carnegie on his birthday and to T.E. Lawrence any old day!

6 Comments