(Trust me. I tried. I’m not above scampering around on the sidewalk like an excited eight-year-old when I spot one of these glittery things. New Yorkers, skinks are fast. They’re the little blue-tailed cheetahs of the lizard world.)
Pictured is one flippin’ AWESOME 40th birthday present!! (And thank you again to the amazing pal who got it for me.) To quote Guy Gardner, “I could kick ol’ Goldface’s butt with this!” (C’mon … you all know I am Hal Jordan guy and not a … Guy guy.” Even if that Ice was always a lot cuter than Carol Ferris.)
46th. It was my 46th birthday. No matter how many times I type that, I’ll never get used to it.
This will probably be a pretty obscure Throwback Thursday post, but the segment below should be recognized by people who grew up in the New York metropolitan area in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. It’s none other than the intro for WOR-TV Channel 9’s “Million Dollar Movie.” (That music you hear is a particularly brassy rendition of Max Steiner’s “Tara’s Theme” from 1939’s “Gone With the Wind.”)
If you were in the New York area at that time, it ought to bring back memories of the old days of broadcast television. (It’s actually surprising how much nostalgia people online report at seeing this 44-second clip. And it’s amazing what you can find on the Internet.) A few commenters note sardonically that the clip makes Manhattan look like a nighttime paradise — while The Big Apple in the 1970’s was not always an easy place to be. (The city if far cleaner and safer today.)
Some of the comments I read were befuddling. There is one blogger who wrote that he remembers this intro from as far back as the 1950’s. (Had they really used it for more than two decades?) And a populous minority of commenters remember being unsettled by the clip. (They describe it as ominous, and the music as creepy, which mystifies the rest of us who remember “Million Dollar Movie.”)
This intro had an indelible effect on me. While it recalls monster movies like “King Kong” (1939) and “Godzilla” (1954) for a lot of others, it will always remind me of my father watching war films and cowboy movies on his days off — along with the occasional Charles Bronson flick. “The Great Escape” (1963), “A Bridge Too Far” (1977) and “Shane” (1953) all spring to mind.
When I was in the first or second grade, I habitually enhanced my Dad’s enjoyment of the “Million Dollar Movie” by peppering him endlessly with questions about whatever was playing — even if I had only wandered into the room for a few minutes. “Why did they call it ‘a bridge too far?'” “Why did they fight World War II?” “The British and French were good guys in the war, right?” “Why did the cowboy drop his gun on purpose?” “Why did the guy fake his death?” (Bear in mind, folks, this was broadcast television — long before the days of Netflix and DVD’s.)
If any kid did that to me when I was watching my favorite movies, I’d go nuts — even if I had a pause button. My father was a saint.
“Barack Obama your an Ass clown. Sit down and shut up!! You [expletive] traitor!!!” — seen on a Trump supporter’s wall.
I have four thoughts:
1) He may be an ass clown, but I’ll bet he knows the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
2) You can tell he’s a traitor because he uses full sentences. THAT’S THE CODE THAT THE LIBERAL INTELLECTUALS USE.
3) Snowflake.
4) Wouldn’t it be amazing if he could run against Trump in 2020 and defeat him? (Yes, I realize the Constitution prohibits it.) Imagine the mileage we could get out of the inevitable “Black is the new orange” joke.
There’s a pretty cool article over at Signature about commonly misused words.
I refuse to believe that I (and countless others) have been misusing the expression “the prodigal son” for my entire life. Yeah, I get that its Biblical significance is that this was a dude who went out and lived a decadent life, but was received lavishly and thankfully by his father when he returned. When the good son sort of objects, their father explains along the lines that “someone who was lost has been returned to us.”
But I thought that the term’s popular modern usage was different — and that it denoted someone who was extremely successful (even if that contradicts its Biblical meaning).
It’s also a key metaphor and a key line at the climax of the greatest science fiction film of all time — “Blade Runner.”
TYRELL: The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very very brightly, Roy. Look at you. You’re the prodigal son. You’re quite a prize!
ROY: I’ve done questionable things.
TYRELL: Also extraordinary things. Revel in your time!
The photo below ought to give pause to anyone who went to Mary Washington College when I did in the early 1990’s. That is indeed Campus Walk back when it was Campus Drive, a legitimate roadway for the Town of Fredericksburg.
I have no idea when it was closed to automobile traffic and the walkway was created. The photo dates from 1981. (I am using it here with permission from UMW Special Collections; it comes from the Simpson Library’s Centennial photo database.)
It’s weird though. Campus Walk was a focal point of college life, especially its social aspects. It was where you said hello to a lot of your friends and exchanged news and plans, in the days before the internet and cell phones. And it gave the small campus an isolated feel that was kind of cool.
I’d heard about it being a road when I was a student, though. I worked at The Rising Sun Tavern museum downtown, and a couple of the other tour guides were women who had graduated from Mary Wash in the 1980’s. They had some vivid memories of young men from town (and Marines from Quantico) hollering at them as they drove through. I can see how that might have occasionally gotten awkward.
I’m quite happy to share here today that a poem of mine will be featured in the Peeking Cat Anthology 2018. Its title is “school shooter,” and it appeared here at the blog back in May. This will be the fifth time my creative work has been published in an anthology.
Thank you, Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine Editor Sam Rose, for selecting the piece for inclusion. The Peeking Cat Anthologies are always beautifully put together, and I’m honored to see my work appear alongside so many talented contributors from around the world.
The anthology is scheduled for release in October. I’ll post ordering information when it becomes available.
I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend!
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 