Tag: Betty White

Seven Things I Love (1-10-2022)

Hi guys, I think that I have finally figured out most if not all of the email issues so fingers crossed!

1. This ‘Lesson of Worth’ Video from L’Oreal – YES! Viola Davis, I believe you.
I have worth. Honestly, Viola Davis is one of those people who could read the phone book and I’d find it inspiring.

2. This Photo of the All-Black 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps – There is so much that is amazing about this photo. The fact that there was an all-black military unit in 1869 (a rarity to be sure), the fact that there was a “Bicycle Corps” (the bicycles back then were not nearly as easy to maneuver as the bicycles of today), and the fact that they chose to shoot the photograph in a place where the men clearly couldn’t ride their bicycles (at least I don’t think they could – actually, maybe they could!) It makes me want to know more about the Corps. Fortunately, Montana PBS created an hour-long documentary, and the full thing is available on YouTube.

“Formed in 1869, the 25th Infantry was one of four African-American military units posted west of the Mississippi, serving as protectors and peacekeepers.” [From ‘U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps: Wheels of War‘ on. HistoryNet.com]

“Bicyclists’ group on Minerva Terrace. [Lt. James A. Moss’s company of 25th Infantry, U. S. Army Bicycle Corps, from Fort Missoula, Montana.] YNP.” October 7, 1896

[Found by KK, thanks so much!]

3. This Betty White Sitcom, ‘Life with Elizabeth’ – Losing Betty White on December 31st was a great loss for the world. There are few people who have brought as much joy to so many for so many decades.

Betty White is most well known for playing Sue Ann Nivens on Mary Tyler Moore and Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls but she had many recurring roles over the years:

Elka Ostrovsky on Hot in Cleveland (2010-2015)
Agatha McLeish on Pound Pupplies (2010-2013, animated)
Ann Douglas on The Bold & The Beautiful (2006-2009)
Catherine Piper on Boston Legal (2005-2008)
Mitzi Stiles on Ladies Man (1999-2001)
Shirley Wallace on Maybe This Time (1995-1996)
Sylvia Schmidt on Bob (1996)
Rose Nylund on The Golden Palace (1992-1993)
Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985-1992)
Ellen Harper Jackson on Mama’s Family (1983-1986)
Joyce Whitman on The Betty White Show (1977-1978)
Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1973-1977)
Vickie Angel / Honey on Date With the Angels (1957-1958)
Elizabeth on Life with Elizabeth (1952-1955)

This doesn’t include her film roles and guest appearances!

Other than an uncredited role as an extra in a short film called Time to Kill (1945) and a role as a “Phone Girl” on a TV series called Hollywood on Television, Betty’s very first role was as Elizabeth opposite Del Moore on Life with Elizabeth. Each episode consisted of three unrelated skits which told the story of everyday life for a typical married couple. What made the show unique is that sometimes the characters would break the imaginary fourth wall and talk to the audience.

You can watch the first episode here.

4. These Earrings (and barrettes and pins oh my…) from Get Made in LA – I am in BIG TROUBLE! Mid-Century designs in my favorite colors in super lightweight acrylic. I mean, look at how great they look with my hair! They have every color so as long as you like the style you’ll find something you’ll love.

5. This Company That Makes Replacement Straps – Recently I bought a cross-body bag that was exactly what I wanted but for one problem – the strap was too short. The fact is, as a plus-sized woman, most cross-body bag straps are too short for me. Most cross-body bags hit me right below my boobs. I had been searching and searching for cross-body bags for plus-sized people and then it dawned on me, could I buy a longer strap?

The answer is YES!

I found Mautto via an online search and I’m very happy wth the strap I received. The color doesn’t exactly match. I may order another in the darker shade of red and use this first one with my iPad bag – It’s a much better quality strap. AND they are manufactured in the US!

6. This Book of Poetry by Amanda Gorman – I’m not that much into reading poetry, mostly because it usually goes right over my head, but I’ve been reading a poem a day from ‘Call Us What We Carry‘, and not only do I get it (well, most of it) but it makes me feel hopeful – which is pretty much the point.

7. This Movie – I knew that I had to see Encanto the minute I heard that Lin-Manuel Miranda was involved with the project. The cast is super talented – Stephanie Beatriz (Bob’s Burgers), María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo (he plays Bruno, we don’t talk about Bruno) , Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow (she voices my favorite character, Luisa), Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show and NCIS.) The music is next level for a Disney film. And the story is something that many people can relate to – well, I know that I did. (As the eldest child, only daughter and only unmarried person in a family of four I have felt invisible for most of my life.) Available on Disney+ [TRAILER]

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Seven Things I Love (3-22-21)

  1. 1. This VACCINATED Menopausal Broad – pardon my hair, I forgot to fix it before the photo. You can’t see it but I’m both a little teary-eyed and overjoyed.

Not surprisingly, I’ve been reading everything I can on the vaccines and post-vaccine life and I found this excellent article in the Washington Post. WashPo has a paywall, so you may not be able to read it but here’s my favorite part, where the authors, Emily Heil and Tim Carman, talk about keeping a coronavirus budget. I think it’s a brilliant idea:

“There’s no such thing as zero risk, and nothing is 100 percent risky,” says Leana Wen, a visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and contributing columnist at The Washington Post. “It’s a spectrum.” She has long urged people to think about their risks as expenditures from a “coronavirus budget,” and says the budgets of those who have been vaccinated just went way up. “You still have to think about how to spend it, and if your priority is seeing grandchildren and going to church, then maybe you’re not going to restaurants all that often.”

With encouraging headlines, springlike temperatures and our collective covid fatigue at an all-time high, it might be tempting to throw caution — and another round of takeout — to the wind. But experts agree that now is not the time to lower your guard, but instead to maintain your vigilance so we can return to something like normal by the fall.

From: ‘As vaccinations increase, you may want to dine indoors again. Here’s what to consider.‘ by Emily Heil and Tim Carman; Washington Post, Mar. 19, 2021
  1. 2. This Photograph of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs – I became obsessed with the Crystal Palace dinosaurs after reading the children’s book ‘The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins‘ by Barbara Kerley (illustrated by Brian Selznick). The book won a Caldecott Honor Medal in 2002 . I was still a Children’s Librarian at that time. It has everything I loved – London, the Victorian Era, paleontology/innovation/science and the illustrations are fantastic. Here’s a video of a reading of the book that is charming.

I thought – it would have been amazing to be there then and see the dinosaurs in person. Honestly, I didn’t realize they still existed until a couple years ago. I learned many moons ago the Crystal Palace had burned down, twice I believe, so I assumed that nothing had survived. But the dinosaurs did and I got to see them in May of 2019! Here are a few of my photos… (the guy in the photo is my London pal Rob.)

2. This Story about the Golden Tickets in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryCharlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was my all-time favorite book as a kid. I’m not sure if I’ve already told this story but one year, I think around when I was in second or third grade, I got a hold of a copy of the book. I read it and loved it so much that I re-read it over and over and over again. Around the twelve time my Mom started getting a little concerned that I was so obsessed with just one book so she bribed me with my first Nancy Drew book. That wasn’t such a bad thing, it led to a whole new world of my favorite teenage sleuth, but I always loved Charlie and his family and Mr. Willy Wonka.

I also loved the movie with Gene Wilder. To me he will always be the one and only Willy Wonka. I was actually excited when I first heard that Tim Burton was going to give the book a try and that Johnny Depp was slated to play Wonka, but I think I’ve spent to many years visualizing the candy maker as Gene Wilder.

I stumbled across this story while searching for something else and thought it was very interesting. For fans of the story, it’s not a major thing but curious nonetheless.

For some reason the book originally had it say on the golden ticket that the visit was to in February but in the first movie they changed it to October. Here is a brief post on Roald Dahl Fans.com where the person who runs the blog received an email with a question about this difference.

Here is what it says in the book:

“And now, here are your instructions: The day I have chosen for the visit is the first day in the month of February…”

“The first day of February!” cried Mrs. Bucket. “But that’s tomorrow! Today is the last day of January, I know it is!

The person who runs the Roald Dahl Fans blog has one theory that I think is most likely/logical and that is that the filming schedule was from August to November and so it simply didn’t look like February outdoors (and it would have been too expensive to make it look like February back then.) I think that this is the most likely explanation but one has to wonder if there might be some other reason like, is October 1st someone’s birthday or anniversary?

3. This Instagram Post by 99 year-old Betty White – how is it that I have only just thought to follow Betty White now???? So many shows like this that I would love to watch – thank goodness they aren’t available to stream because I don’t have enough time in the day! (If you haven’t watched the Betty White documentary on Netflix yet I highly recommend it. Ill be posting my ‘Menopausal Broad’s Guide to Netflix’ soon, hopefully within the next week.)

4. This Number from the 1957 Movie, Funny Face – Pink has always been my favorite color. I’d like to think it would have been even if I wasn’t born a girl, but in the 60s in Iowa there were only two options – girl or boy – and it wasn’t kosher for boys to like pink. Having said that, you just know that at least half of the guys in those white painter jumpsuits wish their suits were pink too. But they still look like they’re having fun! Aren’t the clothes fabulous?

5. This 360 Degree Van Gogh Painting – you may want to actually visit it on Facebook to so you can make it bigger.

6. This Website that Lets You Create Your Own Bayeux TapestryThe Bayeux Tapestry is made up of seventy-five scenes depicting events leading up to the Norman Conquest in 1066. It has a very distinct style and has been studied in depth (in fact they even know that there are 93 penises, not all belonging to men, included in the art piece.)

Here’s my first attempt…

And here is an artist named Andrew Swainson’s clever version of the Bayeux Tapestry in a tribute to Monty Python…

Andrew Swainson’s Pythonesque take on the Bayeux Tapestry
Photograph: Andrew Swainson/Monty Python

7. These “Personless Protests” in Myanmar – human ingenuity knows no bounds.

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