The Third Man

 

Image from Amazon.com

 Many critics have called this one of the greatest movies of the 20th century. After viewing this film, I would definitely agree. It features Joseph Cotton, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles in a film noir /mystery set in post war Vienna. The acting and scenery/filming is superb. It won an Oscar (1949) for Best Cinematography. It’s a very thoughtful film, perhaps a drawback for those used to in-your-face action flicks. A must-see classic.  

The Super Bowl

Marty here. As countless others have done -probably millions, I have adopted the Saints as my team for today. Now I’m trying to convince myself that they’re going to win –it’s not easy. The Colts have had it pretty easy the last several weeks and did not have to run through the gauntlet of the Steelers, Chargers or my Patriots in order to arrive at the Super Bowl. The Jets and Ravens are good teams, but they’re young and their best years are ahead of them. Turnovers.....the Saints must make turnovers and not turn the ball over themselves. They must speed up Peyton without shooting the house and leaving themselves exposed. The Saints’ special teams must outperform the Colts’. Reggie Bush needs to show up. My prediction? My brain says the Colts, my heart tells me the Saints….I’ll always go with my heart – Saints 37, Colts 31. Go New Orleans!!!!

Busy Week

We've been kind of neglecting the blog here lately. When you don't have a defined work schedule it can be hard knowing when enough is enough. At least we have been watching our old movies most every night, once we're too tired to work anymore. That's what I'm off to do soon.

Ground Hog Day

There's a great movie Bill Murray did years ago called Ground Hog Day about a schmuck of a guy who has to relive the same day (Ground Hog Day) over and over until he learns to act decent. If your teenager's acting up, not being particularly sweet shall we say, it's a fun movie to watch with them.

Who owns Who Dat?

"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Who dat?" ~ New Orleans Saints' Fans

I'm gonna shoot my mouth off here for a little bit. The NFL is claiming ownership of the "who dat?" chant and the fleur-de-lis logo of the New Orleans Saints? I first saw this on Facebook today and find it so ridiculous. I just don't understand how anyone can claim "ownership" of an expression or a symbol that's been around for longer than anyone alive can probably remember. It's as foreign to me as the concept of land ownership was to the American Indian. And then I have to ask, "Does the NFL own New Orleans? I mean, did they single-handedly invest in the rebuilding of that city after Katrina?" I know individual players have contributed tremendously to the city but the NFL entity itself?  Somehow I don't think so.


** I didn't dare upload the "official" fleur de lis of the "NFL's" Saints but plenty of organizations use the symbol including many scouting organizations. Um, including France, I believe.

Twentieth Century

     Marty here. John Barrymore was one of the greatest American actors, having started out on stage, then moving on to silent movies. He then made a seamless transition to sound movies. Last night Patricia and I watched “Twentieth Century” a comedy from 1934 starring Barrymore and Carole Lombard. The movie is named for the train of that era, New York Central’s Twentieth Century Limited. It’s a must-see movie and you really get to see what made Barrymore such a great actor, despite it being late in his career (he was around 50 when he made this).
    As Patricia has said many times before here, your local library is such a good and cost-effective resource for all kinds of media. Patricia orders our DVD’s on-line from the library system here on Cape Cod and we just pick them up at our local branch. It’s amazing what they have for movies, from very recent releases to old silent movies -all free of charge (just get them back within their time frame).

Nutella

I've heard about Nutella for years, seen it around shops and so on but have always avoided it -- not sure why. I mean if you like chocolate and you like hazelnuts (which I do), and you're an adventurous eater, why not try it? Even my very picky food eater chocolate infatuated daughter eats it (she's who finally inspired me to buy some to try) -- her college friends turned her on to it. I almost wish I'd never succumbed -- because now I can't get enough of it. Who knew? It's like frosting only better (and good for you too, maybe that's a stretch but it's a stretch I'm going for). I have it on bread, graham crackers, vanilla wafers, a spoon, haven't tried it with pretzels yet but that's next on my list. Yum! If you've never tried nutella, go out and get yourself some. Heck I love it so much I even checked out the website and ended up signing up for their monthly sweepstakes to win a case of Nutella. Thankfully, we sell great girdles and shapewear (Rago's a favorite and they are so gorgeously retro) .
**image from Mamrie's blog