Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

So I finally managed to watch the only 2 existing seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  It's a super cute show....very charming.....very late 50's/early 60's vibe.  The fashions and environments are gorgeous and had me missing Mad Men.  The acting is fun and awesome by everyone involved, and the story is definitely fresh.  I don't remember this particular plot ever being covered before. I particularly loved the set of episodes set in the Catskills.....so very Dirty Dancing.  And I hope everyone else caught the gentle nod to the father/daughter crisis going on in the 1986 movie and this oh-so-new show here. Also, I LOVE at the Jewishness.  Love it. The only thing I don't like is that her kids are rarely seen.  I think the fact that she spends so little time with them and has so many other folks taking care of them is harder to believe than a woman doing stand-up in 1959.  Not hatin…..just sayin......

(Re-post from 2010 that is sadly still relevant and ongoing.  Sigh.) Today I went and read a blog of an old friend of mine. This is something I haven't done in some months because it always upset me so much to see how much she hated me and still carried a huge hurt due to things that happened between us. I was glad to see as I read that she seems to have healed....or at least for as much as she is comfortable sharing. I was glad to see that. I have come to terms with the loss of friends that I will never get back after my divorce. The divorce wasn't the reason, at least I don't think it was, it was the catalyst. Well, it was the spotlight on things they, and I, didn't want to see. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. I know that I will forever miss those girls and will always wish them the best in my heart. If I hear good things about them, their kids, their lives.....I will be glad. But I won't seek out to find it. I don't know when or if I'll...

I'm coming into my very busy time of year again.  Y'all act right out there.  Be back soonish…..

A few notes on Indie films in case you missed it: ~being weird doesn't make a good film ~being independent doesn't guarantee a good film ~even a stellar cast can still star in a bad film ~critics calling something "art" doesn't make it "art" ~even Michael Cera and Nia Long have bad days every now and then This film is honestly awful.  And I love indie-off-the-beaten-path films.  If I could change my title to "Un-Picks" I just might do it. 

(A re-post from 2010.  Just to show how far we've come.) (In the spirit of the out-dated and out-of-touch comic strip "Family Circus" I am allowing Little Boy to write the blog post today. And as autism does limit his communication abilities, both written and verbal, he will allow me to interpret his thoughts. So with that, Little Boy and Mommy bring you the tradition of The Christmas Newsletter......) Another year gone? Wow? A lot happened to me in 2010! Obviously, I know a lot of you are thinking about the Big D. Yes, my mommy and daddy got divorced. I have really been okay with it. I spend time at mommy's and I spend time at daddy's. I have my own room and my own toys at both. I love my mommy and my daddy. They seem happy to me. They both play with me and take me fun places. Both of them have new people in their lives. My daddy is even getting married again next year! I like his girlfriend. She is nice. I also likes my mommy's boyfriend...

If you know me you know I love a few historical moments, places and times: ~the European Middle Ages ~the Italian Renaissance ~the Great War and everything that surrounds it So if you're talking about The Great War then you're also talking about Women's Suffrage, the Roaring 20's, F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1918 flu pandemic, the Russian Revolution and of course, Prohibition. And I thought I knew a good bit about Prohibition .....until I watched this awesome doc by Ken Burns on PBS .  I'm beginning to think I'd like to have my life narrated by Peter Coyote someday, btw.  And also, is there any topic Ken Burns can't make interesting and vital to our current times?  I don't think so! Anyhoots, give it a look on PBS or Netflix and then go and pour yourself a tall one and be grateful that history hasn't repeated itself.....yet. 

I so enjoyed this  biopic about Lee Israel except it reminded me so much of a person in my life who basically acts exactly like Lee Israel.....and not in a good way! The cast is what makes this film.  Jane Curtin is fantastic.  Her scathing criticism and advice to Lee are perfect: "You can be an asshole when you're famous. Right now stop being such a bitch."  Yes, sister. And I have loved Richard E. Grant ever since his roles in "Age of Innocence" and "Gosford Park".  This movie honestly wouldn't have been as good without his insolent boyishness. Melissa McCarthy is really great in a serious role.  She really embodies it in such a way that you can really love and hate her all at once.  In real life she seems to sweet and down-to-earth.  I hope I never find out that's not true. I agreed with Lee's not really contrite mea culpa when she was in court.  She said she really didn't regret what she did and felt it was some of her b...

I picked this book up from the public library because I thought I would enjoy making fun my brief time pledging back in the day.  But I was thrilled to discover that this novel had much more heart and depth than I was expecting.  Hell, if my sorority sisters had been half as interesting I probably would have stayed in! The story is a little hard to follow at times since it is told from the different perspectives of several different sisters and even from different time periods, but woven together as a whole it is truly masterful.  Kind of like a game of Clue with coke rails! The origin story of the founding of the sorority is worth reading all on it's own though. The memories it conjured and the things it made me not miss were boundless: the gross frat boys, the gross parties, the grueling schedule of classes that only I seemed to have, the feckless stupidity of the younger girls and the hateful judgement of the older ones.  Nope......Greek Life was not for ...