Why isn't there anything remotely cool like this anymore? Yes, I know, I know, there have been many blockbuster films with the caped crusader since 1968, but doggonit nothing as cool as the kitschy original series. Adam West's, Bruce Wayne, was so dorky, and so unbelievably HOT at the same time, and there wasn't anything like it on TV! Plus, the attention to comic page graphics just sold the whole thing, didn't it? It was TV perfection when I was a kid, along with Star Trek, The Monkees and Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.
Things are now bigger, and louder, and feature superstars and it's also so much darker, and depressing at times. Why can't there just be some fun. Now, I will admit that I was thrilled with Michael Keaton's turn as Batman, and I loved Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, even Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was awesome, but the cynicism takes hold is too much for my liking. Oh well, maybe I am just old, and spending too much time back in the, I remember in my time, nonsense, but to ask an honest question, couldn't we use some superhero fun, that doesn't remind you of the we live every day now? And wouldn't it be great if the bad guy got his, in under 23 minutes... or 90 days as of today?
90 days to go until the midterm election.
Batman do you see the signal?
"Holy atomic pile, Batman"
~Robin ( Burt Ward )
Note: This clip runs in a 12 minute loop, but it's the best audio version of this Batman commercial on YouTube.
"Remembrance of things past, are not necessarily remembrance as things were."
~Marcel Proust
I found the black and white picture on BlueSky this past weekend, and the memories of one of my visits to Los Angeles when I was a kid, popped into my head as if I had just lived through it just a day ago! I am sure you remember me sharing about my sister, sister-in-law and I driving down the Sunset strip one night in 1970, and being amazed at all the neon lights and the glamourous people walking about. One of the neon lights I remember was from the Whisky A- Go-Go. First of all, I loved the name, and second all those cool kids standing around were, well, cool! I was around 7 years old, or so, and I had spent half my life wanting to be a hippy flower child! An idea my mother was never to keen on, but even less so after the Manson murders! LOL.
You know how it is, moms are overprotective. But somehow, she was sure Manson himself was going to escape, comeback to the Bay Area, find my sister and I and that would be it... we'd be dead. Eventually Dad convinced her that Manson would not be heading our way, and a trip to L.A. to Disneyland would be good for my sister and I. So, down HWY 5 we went. A mere 7 hours later we hit Los Angeles! We checked into the Disneyland Hotel, grabbed a quick meal, and hit the strip as the kids called it. I have no idea who was booked at the Whisky a Go-Go that night, but I love Johnny Rivers, and I found him singing one of my favorite songs on the Ed Sullivan show, so I hope you enjoy this post. It's meant to make you smile, and enjoy a look back, before we have to go forward with another week, and another month!
"We do not need to merely see beauty... we want something else which can be hardly be put into words... to be untied with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves."
~C.S. Lewis
Okay, I get it, some folks find the Elf on the Shelf a bit odd... maybe even off putting, but look at those adorable little faces, and they are distinctly mid-century, which makes them wonderful in my Christmassy mind. I miss all the decorations and ornaments I grew up with, and yes, even the big bulky lights our parents used to put on our Christmas trees. You know, the ones who occasionally set the trees ablaze? Happily these little elves have been very well behaved, watching over our trees, since 1990, when my mother-in-law gifted them to me, from the set she bought in 1962, for each her three sons and one day, daughter-in-laws. I melted when I saw them. My mother-in-law passed away earlier this year from Alzheimer's disease, just like my own mother did in 2005, so I feel even more sentimental then ever about them. The new Elf on the Shelf looks completely different now, much more updated, less like an elf and more like a child in an elf costume. Sigh. I guess folks find the new ones less off putting, but give me old school! These guys are 63 years old, and I love them, so there! Elf on the Shelf dates back to the 1940's, but this version came along in the early 60's, just like hubby and I did.
'Look, I'm Coraline. Okay?' 'Cats don't have names,' it said. 'No?' said Coraline. 'No,'
said the cat. 'Now you people have names. That's because you don't know
who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names.”
All my cats came with their names. Elvis was Elvis... right from the start. Not only did he bear a strange resemblance to Elvis Presley, but women swooned over that cat, every single time. He dripped charm! Hendrix was a cool, velvet cat, and he loved music. Mostly Steppenwolf, but mostly anything from the 1960's. He has been comfortable in his own skin, asserting himself as the alpha of the house, without being cruel about it. He is a chill 1960's kinda child. Dylan likes to sing loud, whining every morning at dawn. Every. Single. Morning! I love the little guy, and I wouldn't change him for the world, but I am usually just going to sleep at dawn! Finally, my pal Joey... my love bug. He is also just himself. He presented his name to us, the day we picked him up. He is our Joey Ramon. Cool. Quirky. Full of life and the zoomies. If you are a fan of the Ramones, you know they were quite manic when they were at their most entertaining. My Joe is a little foodie. He loves pizza and Italian food in general, but like he came from Queens, New York! It's very strange, and a lot of fun to watch him go crazy over pizza. We only give him a small taste, and never, ever pork products, but he will sit in your lap the whole time you eat the cheese and sauce. When he doesn't get more than the taste, he will stare at you eye to eye, which is an odd thing to do. Most cats try to not look you in the eye. It's instinctual. So you see, cats do actually come with names. And nicknames too for that matter, just like my boys.
Elvis... Mr. Man
Hendrix... Bubba
Dylan... Dillybean
Joey... Joey The Pez
Mostly we just call them our little babies. I know I have done a similar post like this before, but every so often they just fill my heart so completely that I have to brag on just how awesome my cats are!
"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering." ~Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World While the leaves have mostly withered and died, there is a strange beauty in it somehow. I know, I know, I hold onto autumn for dear life, even in it's passing, but what can I say, when most of the trees in my favorite park have turned to stick figures, it excites me to see even the deep earth tones.
If it's going to be in the 60's outside, in winter, how about some appropriate music?
"Brain cells create ideas. Stress kills brain cells. Stress is a bad idea."
-Fred Saunders
Hi everyone. :) Thanks so much for the comments and emails of support. :) It means a lot. Ok, yeah, I certainly did have my pout on yesterday, didn't I? Well, I am better today. I am getting used to the thought of having the surgery, and how much better I will feel when I have recovered. My first thought when things go wacky, is that I am not sure I will be able to make it through it. Those thoughts come from growing up in a family who fully embraced the negative in life. I have learned to retrain the thoughts, and for the most part I am a positive person, but some times I get overwhelmed, especially if a difficult situation comes at me out of the blue. That's what happened when I found out about the possibility of surgery... it was out of the blue. It usually only takes me 24 hours or so to work it through in my thoughts, and I begin to see things in a new, and sometimes, brighter light. It does help a lot to have your comments and feedback. While I don't usually like to bring my negative moods to Ellipsis, it helps more than I can say to let myself share moments when I am hurting or frightened. You remind me I am not alone.
In a complete change of subject. I am absolutely exhausted. Last night, Alan and I came across several LARGE infestations of ants throughout the house. I don't understand it, they came up so quickly, and there was a ton of them. I was sitting on the bed playing with Elvis at 8:00 PM, we spent about 30 minutes playing, and then I got up to watch a program on TV, when I went back into the bedroom, to change for bed, I saw that the entire top of the bed was covered with ants. Just an hour earlier, there wasn't even one. It was a miserable night trying to get rid of them. Just as we got one area taken care of, we would find a cluster somewhere else. Alan and I finally gave up, and went for a ride very late last night, just to get away from the smell of ant spray. This seems like a new type of ant, it is very aggressive, and they are really fast movers. Stupid bugs. After we got home, Alan and I fell into bed, and got a nice, long, delicious sleep in, only to wake up to several more clusters. We fought them pretty hard yesterday, then sat down to a nice meal of Chinese take out. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... comfort food for the weary soul! :)
As stressful as the ant situation was, Alan and I kept each other laughing. We do that. When we are stressed, we tend to bring the humor out in each other. We laughed all day, as we engaged in battle with the enemy. At one point, we were laughing so hard, we were both holding our sides in pain. Doesn't that just make your day? Getting a good solid, punchy humor going? :) I have no idea what made me think about it, but for some reason, that old kid's game, "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots," came to mind. When I was a little girl, I had a best friend Mike, and he had a set of the robots. Mike was great fun. I miss him a lot, even to this day, but it is a fun memory I have of he and I occasionally playing "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots." Gosh the toy market has changed since I was a little girl. Everything now is so high tech. It's a shame really, because those silly little toys from when I was a child, were wonderful. Toys from back then, were not nearly as sophisticated as they are now, but there was a charm to them that you really don't see very often anymore. Sigh. Mike and I used to laugh and laugh at that game. Even as a little girl, I knew the importance of humor. :) I found the retromercial for them on YouTube, and it really made me laugh, and it was good to remember Mike. It was like having him here with me. :) I feel better now. :)
