Let's continue

I'm feeling a lot better about everything, so let's continue.
Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Oy, I don't really know. There isn't really a quote that defines my life or anything. I guess pretty much anything John Waters says is pretty accurately my favorite quote. He heard another woman say this on the street:
She's needy, she's nasty, she's a bitch. But that's who she is!
I like it quite a lot.

Just a thought...

You guys may be "Gingerologists", but I'm a GINGINEER!

hiatus

Sorry, but I've got to take a viref hiatus. I came down with a stomach bug today, and in a very (pardon my french) bullshit move, I was consequently fired from my job. I need a few days to figure out what I'm going to do for the next three weeks.

-Maggie

Day 4: Your favorite book

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

This will probably shock you guys, but once again, I will be giving you multiple answers.

Fiction: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The best book I read in high school, and the only one which I actually completely read (I definitely sparknoted Crime and Punishment, Jane Eyre, Madame Bovary, and Invisible Man). It is awesome, funny, and scarily relevant, given the fact that it was written in the 20s, yet a disturbing amount of technology mentioned in the book is at least partially developed. To reduce it to one word: Clever.

Autobiography: Of course, Ginger: My Story. Chock-full of detail you don't see in other bios or autobios, especially compared to Katharine Hepburn. I recommend reading it and listening to the (abridged) audiobook read by Ginger. It feels like she's really talking to you.

I also really enjoyed Born Standing Up by Steve Martin, one of my favorite comedians. I chose the audiobook route on this one, because Steve Martin has that uncanny ability to capture tone so perfectly that you can be simultaneously laughing your ass off and crying your eyes out.

Reference: The RKO Story by Rick Jewell. Duh, it covers all of the A-Budget pictures made by RKO with a nice but not overbearing amount of detail. It stays on my coffee..ottoman (it's not exactly a table) always.

Day 3: Your favorite television program

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

My favorite TV show is, without a doubt, 30 Rock on NBC. It tells the story of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), her boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), and the cast of TGS with Tracy Jordan. The show was originally based on Tina Fey's experience as head writer of SNL, but it has since grown into its own entity, and it's sublime. In fact, I can attribute some of my stress-related acne in the past month to the fact that new episodes of 30 Rock have been sporadic. What I love the most about this show is the resemblance between Liz Lemon and myself. I think Tina Fey has installed surveillance in my apartment or something. She must have seen me drinking white wine straight out of the 3-liter jugs I buy it in.

(Did you catch the To Kill a Mockingbird reference in that one?)

You can watch 30 Rock Thursday nights on NBC at 9:30 Eastern, right after The Office. You can also watch the first 3 seasons on Netflix, and get caught up on most of this season on Hulu. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Day 2-your favorite movie

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Asking Maggie what her favorite movie is is like asking a parent which is her favorite child. Here are a few of my favorites, but it really depends on my mood.

1. Stage Door. I think it will always be my all-time favorite.

2. The Awful Truth. Probably the best comedy ever made. Irene's giggle is so infectious!

3. The Philadelphia Story. Seamless plot, hilarious, wonderful job by all of the actors, and the perfect ending. That's what I like about all three of these movies. They're seamless: not a slow second, they flow perfectly. Perhaps it's because all three came from the stage.
There are no good embeddable videos for this movie, so you'll just have to go and watch it all. There.

A few things

First, I wanted to let you guys know that you should check out your local library for star biographis on tape. The autobiographies are often read by the actor, and they're great. I'm listening to Katharine Hepburn's "Me" (what else?) right now, and it's fascinating. I don't think she's actually reading anything (I haven't read the book in about a year), it just sounds like a one-sided conversation (which is probably the most you could ever get out of Kate). Anyway, it's a great thing if you do a lot of driving, it takes me 2 or 3 days to finish each book.

Also, I've decided to copy Kate Gabrielle and do this 30-day daily post/quiz thing. I've been really bad about blogging regularly, and hopefully this will get me back on track. So here goes:

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fiction book
Day 15 — A collection
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

My favorite song. That's a tough one. I think I'm going to present my favorite songs within a few genres, because I can't compare classical to jazz or rock.

1. Rhapsody in Blue: I can, and often do, listen to this piece multiple times a day. This piece gives me goosebumps, even on the hottest Oklahoma summer days. Here is Gershwin playing it the piano solo. My favorite version is the Chicago Symphony with James Levine, but Gershwin's playing is sentimental.

When my Uncle heard that I love Rhapsody so much, he gave me a CD with this piece. The Cuban Overture premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in 1936. I also visualize Fred and Ginger dancing to it when I hear it, and I often find myself dancing to it as well. I always see complete stories in Gershwin's compositions. They almost always involve someone arriving in a place, being enveloped in the culture, missing home, then reveling in the location once more . You can even hear a transposed reference to Rhapsody in Blue in the middle of An American in Paris, which describes how much he misses New York.

Here's a much more modern song by Husband-and-wife band Mates of State. I love them. I saw them last summer in Tulsa, and I hope they come back this year. I can't get enough!

Finally, another Gershwin song, probably my favorite standard. Without the intro, it's a great song. With the intro (which you will hear in this version), it tears your heart out and stomps all over it, but in a good way.

Fred Astaire - They Can't Take That Away From Me
Uploaded by beautifulcynic.

Le Tour de Ginger

On the Thursday of my week in LA, I was fortunate enough to have Lauren accompany on an adventure I christened "Le Tour de Ginger". We began the trip with a long drive up to 1605 Gilcrest Drive...aka la casa Rogers:

What they don't tell you is that it's on the side of a MOUNTAIN! We went up several switchback roadsd to get there, and they are very narrow and sharp. I can see why she didn't serve alcohol at her parties. Her house is the second to last on the road, so the view is great. Ginger said in her autobiography that on a clear day you could see Catalina Island.
There's about a 5-foot white picket fence around the property now, so this is really the best view of the front. It was really bright that day (as I assume it is every day in LA), and I forgot to fiddle with the settings on my camera. Being in such a daze as I was, I didn't even think to look at how the came out.

The driveway and side entrance.

Front gate. It's where the top bush is in the first picture.


This may look like the worst photo ever taken, but if you've ever seen a picture of Ginger playing tennis, then you might be more excited:

See the gate right behind her left elbow? That's the gate in the picture! The gate around the tennis court is still up, even though (in my humble opinion) it's about the ugliest thing ever. Pretty much every picture you will see of Ginger playing tennis has this gate in it somewhere:

I peeked through that large crack in the fence on the right of my picture, and I could see everything! The pool is still sparkling with blue tile, the tennis court is no longer clay, but what can you do, and the pool house still has all of its crazy decorations:

Lauren and I almost summoned up the courage to knock on the door. Almost. Maybe next time.

After we slid back down the mountain, we got on the highway, destined for Chatsworth, which is Northeast of LA. Here is what we saw:


What no one ever told me, is that Walter (Lela's dad) is buried just above them. Here is a picture of Walter, Lela, and Ginger on the set of the Major and the Minor (so cute!):

That's all for know. I'll post some pictures of me at the grave tomorrow. Ta Ta!

Major Breakthrough: or the new meaning of my life.

First of all, I am so sorry for not blogging for the past couple of weeks. I haven't even had the opportunity to tell you guys stories about my trip. I was planning on doing that today, until I came across this photograph:

You're thinking "wait a second, that's the I Used to Be Color Blind dress. Why is she standing next to giant mushrooms? What the hell is going on? This doesn't happen in Carefree!" Well, leave it to your super sleuth friend Maggie to explain everything.

Here is a scene written on the 24th of June, 1938:

Amanda is still asleep. Her bedroom has been turned in to a MACABRE FOREST, the flowers, mushrooms, etc. of which are gigantic.

The crying of a hoot-owl awakens her. As she gets to her feet and walks away wonderingly, we see the FULL SIZE FOREST. The thunderous breaking of a twig stops her. She looks off-to see Dr. Flagg, who comes toward her. He is a giant of a man, but normal in proportion to the rest of the Forest. He looks like a typical, crazy scientist; there is a mad light in his eyes. In one hand he carries a large magnifying glass. Around his neck is a stethoscope and, under his other arm, he carries a large velvet box.

His eyes open with interest, and he utters a menacing sound as he clumps his way toward Amanda.

Amanda, frightened, runs from him, until she is finally forced to stop by the edge of a black abyss.

Dr. Flagg grins horribly as he picks her up in his hand. He opens the velvet case, and we see a number of girls, pinned like butterflies, squirming in the box.

From his coat lapel he removes a large pin, and is about to make a specimen of Amanda when she leaps off the palm of his hand, swings from the stethoscope which hangs round his neck and, like a trapeze artiste, lands on his shoulder-to deliver a violent kick at Dr. Flagg’s chin.

When he turns to her, she kisses him on the lips; then jumps on to a giant mushroom, to laugh up at him.

A peculiar look comes into Dr. Flagg’s eyes: it’s love-in a gigantic way-and, as the result of the kiss-which makes all things equal-he becomes her size.

Now, hand in hand, they wander through the Forest until they come to the gorgeous romantic castle, surrounded by lily-pads the size of dance floors and, in the distance, a rainbow-

Whereupon Dr. Flagg sings “Color Blind”, at the conclusion of which they do their dance, utilizing slow motion, and the Dunning process. The dance concludes with Dr. Flagg kissing Amanda. The scene dissolves back into

Amanda’s Bedroom-as she embraces her pillow.

First of all: Yes, it's really weird. I literally laughed as I was looking at this in the reading room at UCLA. According to the budget and production notes, there were women hired for the dream sequence, and costumes were budgeted. I figured it had been scrapped before filming, because it would have been quite a technical feat, especially if they were still considering Technicolor for the dream sequence (unfortunately, I still don't know when that idea was abandoned).

This picture confirms that the set was constructed, and at least part of this scene must have been filmed. If a final shooting script existed (or survived-the last complete script at UCLA is from January of 38), then maybe I could figure out how much of it they shot based on Argyle Nelson's daily reports. Unfortunately, that part will remain a mystery, unless I can get my hands on that missing footage. This is what I'm going to focus on until I find it, or find documentation that it was destroyed. It's got to be somewhere. If anyone has any ideas of where to look, please share. I'm planning on contacting Ginger's assistant Roberta, perhaps Fred's daughter, and maybe even the Sandrich family. I have a feeling Turner will not be any help, even though it could very well be in his hands.

We'll see, and I will keep you updated!