Ramblings of a Menopausal Broad

Tag: Wes Anderson

Seven Things That I Love (5-17-2021)

May 18, 2021 / / 0 Comments
  1. 1. These New Quarters – Can you believe that these are the first U.S. coins with women on them? Now I know what you’re going to say, you’re going to say, but wait, there was the Susan B. Anthony silver dollar but come on, that wasn’t really a serious coin. How many people use silver dollars? They just did that to placate us.
Coins celebrating the writer and poet Maya Angelou, left, and the astronaut Sally Ride will be issued next year as part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program. Credit: United States Mint

2. This Documentary about Rita Moreno – I’ve always loved Rita Moreno. She reminds me a lot of my Mom’s best friends but I also think her time on The Electric Company, well, she’s one of those celebrities who you feel like is part of your family, do you know what I mean?

I watched this as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival (you could still buy a ticket, it’s virtual and goes until May 20th). There will be several options for you to see it in the future:

  1. On June 19th the film is going to be shown in theaters nationally
  2. PBS is going to be airing it as part of its current (35th) season of American Masters (probably in the fall or early next year)
  3. And it will be available to stream on the PBS app once it airs (the PBS app is free)

So, depending upon how badly you want to see it (and whether you are already vaccinated) you can seen it next month or you will have to wait a little bit but either way I highly recommend seeing it.

3. This Rental Property – It’s the home of The Royal Tenenbaums! One of the best of Wes Anderson’s films. $20,000/month is a lot of money but there are six bedrooms so if you got five of your friends to join in, $3333/month for a place like this in NYC would actually be kind of a bargain.

As found on Curbed:

Set on the fictional Archer Avenue (real address: 339 Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights), the 1899-built Flemish-meets-Romanesque-Revival house was built by Jacob D. Butler (who’s also behind the Neo-Romanesque Lincoln Building in Union Square). It’s roughly 100 feet wide (on the side facing West 144th Street), with large bay windows on one end and a turret on the other. Inside: 6,000 square feet cover five levels (the bottom three of which have elevator access), with six bedrooms, six gas fireplaces, and over 50 windows. Plus an inordinate amount of original character: antechambers, stained-glass transoms, closets with skylights, and ornate mantelpieces carved with urns and flowers. It’s renting furnished for $20,000 a month.

4. This Video for the Song ‘Pretty’ by Ingrid Michaelson – Michaelson is a big fan of the show ‘Stranger Things’ and each of the songs on her album ‘Stranger Songs’ is inspired by something from the show. I think this is (IMHO) the best song and I love the video – so empowering.

5. This Anti-Smoking Sign from 100 years ago – Sadly it shows how difficult it is to fight against major companies who have access to politicians. Think about the fact that there actually were people 100 years ago who knew that tobacco was bad for us (not that you needed a rocket scientist to figure it out) and the tobacco industry and even members of the medical profession would promote smoking as being safe. The first warning labels didn’t show up on cigarettes until 1965 with the “The Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965.”

100 Years Ago Today (May 16, 1921) Anti-smoking sign outside of Zion, Illinois – at a time when smoking was generally considered healthy. from interestingasfuck

6. This Instagram – Illustrator Mauro Gatti believes that positive attitudes are the key to reducing anxiety and good mental health. After the year that we all want to forget he started “The Happy Broadcast.” In addition to his Instagram he has a website and a podcast. Check it out for a daily dose of positivity!

[Found via The Modern Met]

7. This AMAZING Video of a Gorilla Mama Watching a Human Mama Holding Her Baby – I LOVE THIS!!! (The ongoing commentary is both entertaining and annoying… LOL.)

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

Seven Things I Love (10-5-2020)

October 7, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I started to put together my post for the week and there ended up being way too many things, and curiously a huge number of them were food-related. So I’ve decided to post two blogs this week. Don’t worry, I don’t expect this to become a regular thing. (And I also forgot to actually POST them. ARGH! It’s an insane time right now.)

1. These “Iconic Pop Culture Homes Reimagined as Polly Pockets” – you can see more at this link including The Simpsons, The Lord of the Rings, The Shining and Friends. The details are fabulous!

The Royal Tenenbaums – Polly Pockets
Stranger Things – Polly Pockets

2. This Instagram account, Accidentally Wes Anderson – which was brought to my attention by my friend Ann and was recently written about in the NY Times. There’s a gorgeous new book being released this month. It includes some of the account’s best photos (I’m definitely going to ask for it for Christmas). Publication date is October 20th. For someone who has mild OCD, is a travel junkie, loves nostalgia and beautiful things there is nothing better than Wes Anderson.

3. This Kayaker, Lori Nickel – I love the way she writes, it makes me feel like I was there with her. And, since right now I’m doing a lot of armchair traveling and sports and theatre and, well, everything, this sort of article is most appreciated. I also love her attitude and the final little snippet of wisdom at the end, “And be grateful, because any race and any fun outside with friends and family – any sense of community in 2020, while we all deal with this Covid19 pandemic – is a gift. Especially when you can walk away from it.”

Unfortunately, Lori Nickel’s kayak took on water throughout the race and sank. Photo by Lori Nickel

4. This Woman doing a voiceover of a cooking show – she is the female Morgan Freeman for christ’s sakes. (Thanks Stasie.)

https://twitter.com/rahm3sh/status/1308212832396365825?s=20

5. This movie on Netflix, Enola Holmes, which became the number one ranked movie on the streaming network in its first week. It is perfection – it’s funny, intelligent, diverting, cinemagraphic, action-packed, and has a soupcon of romance (which is all I need nowadays.) Plus the costumes are fabulous! And as a HUGE added bonus, Henry Cavill as Sherlock (rawrrr.)

6. This stylebook – the AP Stylebook has always been my favorite and now this cinches it. They took the time to identify the usage of the terms “riot” vs “unrest” and the potential motivations beneath unrest caused by protests vs riots caused by mobs. Incredible really. More history. When apolitical institutions that are decades old start making political stands, there is something wrong.

7. This color – Pantone has declared a new color called Period to help remove the stigma with menstruation. (seen on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

I’ve decided to include a new feature in my weekly post. One of the things that I LOVE is language so each week I’m going to include a fun new word, not necessarily English, that I’ve stumbled across.

Word of the Week

It’s a little on the nose but schadenfreude has always been one of my top ten favorite words. I also wanted to include the interesting fact that Merriam-Webster saw an increase of 30,500% in searches for the word on October 2nd. Language is extraordinary.

Have a FABULOUS week!
Be safe, wear a mask,
stay home if you can.

Five Things I Love (5/18/2020)

May 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments
  1. This article that compares people who refuse to wear masks to men who refuse to wear condoms. It’s freaking brilliant. Here’s the beginning of the article:

Am I the only woman who finds a suspicious similarity between the excuses made by people who refuse to wear masks in public and men who refuse to put on a condom in the bedroom?

“I don’t like the way it feels!”

“I don’t like the way it looks.”

“I’m safe — trust me!”

Uh — no.

You’re not safe, dude. You’re just selfish.

Photo by Josiah Lewis on Unsplash

2. ADRIAN MONK (and friends) is back! And I couldn’t be happier. Absolute perfection.

3. The Wes Anderson Guide to Surviving a Global Pandemic – the woman who put this together needs to be hired immediately by Mr. Anderson. (I wish there wasn’t the microphone issue – still, you can obviously overlook that one thing.)

https://twitter.com/atticshape/status/1260255491751542786?s=20

4. ZOOM, and I don’t mean the video conferencing …. All my fellow GenXers will appreciate this fabulous New Yorker article about the best kid’s show from the 70s. If you’re like me every time you hear someone refer to a Zoom call you say to yourself “Come on and Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-a-Zoom…” And I am happy they did the reboot (1999 to 2005) but sadly it never captured the magic of the original show.

Some original cast members of “Zoom,” including Bernadette Yao, emerged as national celebrities during their abbreviated tenure on TV.
Photograph Courtesy WGBH

5. #ReadALetter campaign – Last month Benedict Cumberbatch announced the details of the campaign, asking for videos of people* reading letters, either ones they have written themselves or written by someone else. Below are two of my favorites so far.

*He clarified that if you’re camera shy, you may point your phone at something else while you read: the letter itself, the view from your window, your adorable dog.

I plan on giving this a try myself. I have a letter in mind that I would like to read.

A friend of mine gave me this Barbie a few years ago for my birthday. I recently moved her so she is sitting next to me in the living room, where I am spending the majority of my time. Seeing her every day is bringing me much joy so I thought I’d share her with you all today. This morning she’s reminding us to stay hydrated while isolating!

Five Things I Love (4/27/2020)

April 27, 2020 / / 0 Comments
  1. 1. Stanley Tucci making a Negroni – if you haven’t seen this video yet, you have to watch it. It’s true, I could watch Stanley Tucci reading a phone book (there’s a handful of actors that I can say this about and he’s one of them,) but this is entrancing.

2. The Film Short made while isolating by one of my favorite history buff/film makers. I love her sense of humor.

3. Children’s Book Emoji Pictionary – how many can you figure out? I managed to get 15 out of 15 (yes I’m bragging, but full disclosure I was a Children’s Librarian for 12 years before becoming a library director so I have a bit of an advantage.) I’ll put the answers at the bottom of the post.

4. Gabe Kaplan beating the pants off of Robert Conrad in a race from the Battle of the Network Stars. Raise your hand if you remember this show! I do, I do!!!

https://twitter.com/super70ssports/status/1222315769981218819?lang=en

5. This video of Mr. Rogers & Julia Child cooking together. I would have given anything to meet Mr. Rogers but I can say I got to meet Julia Child back when I worked at Schwartz Bookshop in Milwaukee during her ‘The Way to Cook’ book tour. She’s as fabulous as you would hope she’d be and so wonderfully tall. As a tall person myself I was overjoyed about that.

6. This article on ‘5 Reasons to Bake Pretzels with Walter the Baker‘ – yesterday was National Pretzel Day and when I think of pretzels I can’t help but think of the book Walter the Baker. For those of you who haven’t read the book, here is a lovely video story time. Walter the Baker is one of my favorite Eric Carle books. It may be because it’s about pretzels. It may be because it has a Duke & Duchess in the story, (good or bad I’m partial to stories that include royalty.) It may be because I love all Carle’s books.

Anyway, being in isolation, pretzels are the perfect thing to make at home, assuming you have flour – I hear it can be difficult to find in some areas. How yummy!

7. Last but definitely not least, these Coloring Sheets inspired by WES ANDERSONS & HAYAO MIYAZAKI films. O……M…..G, I’m in heaven!!!

And the answers to the Children’s Book Emoji Pictionary are:

  1. Green Eggs & Ham
  2. Charlotte’s Web
  3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  4. Good Night Moon
  5. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
  6. Cat in the Hat
  7. Rainbow Fish
  8. Stone Soup
  9. Three Little Pigs
  10. Alice in Wonderland
  11. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
  12. If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
  13. Goldilocks & the Three Bears
  14. The Giving Tree
  15. Where the Wild Things Are

How’d ya do?

Five Things I Love (4-7-2020)

April 7, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Whoops, I missed a week. But I had some other things I had to blog about. I’m sure that it’s not the end of the world. I’ll have a doubly long list this week.

1. SomeGoodNews – John Krasinski (“The Office,” “A Quiet Place,” and “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”) has begun a YouTube channel/”network” dedicated to reporting ONLY good news. It’s absolutely wonderful. This is the first show. You’re going to want to subscribe! (And wait until you see who shows up for episode two!!!)

2. Have you seen this Monty Python COVID-19 gif yet?

2. Sir Patrick – those who know me know I have had a lifelong love affair with Patrick Stewart. There are so many things to love about this man. His voice. His intelligence. His generous spirit. His sense of humor. I could go on and on. If you already aren’t aware of this, Sir Patrick has been reading a sonnet a day on his twitter feed and I tell you, there is nothing more calming. You need to check it out.

3. Fragrant Isle Lavender and Chamomile Dusting Powder – I’ve been obsessed with this stuff for a while. I realize dusting powder is an old fashioned term. The thing is, people really shouldn’t be using talcum powder anymore. I only buy dusting/baby powder that is made from corn starch. This fits that bill AND as an added bonus it reminds me of my Gramps, who used to smell of lavender dusting powder, pipe tobacco, and in the winter, wool.

4. This video compilation – Wes Anderson’s Social Distancing (though I still prefer the term physical distancing)

5. Alireza Pakdel –

From ‘My Modern Met’:

As people around the globe stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, health care professionals continue to work at the forefront to serve the community. Iranian artist Alireza Pakdel captures the surreal state of the world in his series of emotional illustrations featuring brave doctors and nurses fighting the virus in both realistic and imaginative scenarios.

Pakdel uses reoccurring imagery of giant green germs to convey the fear of an unseeable enemy, while also casting medical staff as the true heroes that they are, tirelessly keeping the threat at bay. Mask-wearing characters save people from the virus in a multitude of metaphorical scenes where COVID-19 presents itself as a visible enemy. For example, Pakdel portrays the disease as handcuffs that doctors must break apart, as well as a maze that medics must pass through, and even as an enormous bear trap that threatens a car driving towards it. This type of ever-changing enemy is emblematic of the incredible challenge it poses to doctors on the front lines.

‘Illustrations Highlight Bravery of Healthcare Professionals During Coronavirus Pandemic’
By Margherita Cole on April 7, 2020

6. Every Hotel Ever – this video is HILARIOUS – it truly is EVERY hotel you’ve ever stayed in.

7. Blueberry Baked Oatmeal – I’ve been trying to cook/bake more while at home and I’ve been doing a halfway decent job of it. One of my favorite things to make is this recipe: Cookie and Kate’s Blueberry Baked Oatmeal. You could use other berries instead of blueberries. There are so many great things about this dish – it works with frozen fruit, it allows for all sorts of variations, it’s healthy, it’s really filling. Most importantly though, it’s delicious! It’s definitely on my comfort food list. I only use 1-1/2 tablespoons of butter (instead of the full 3) because I don’t save aside half to drizzle over the bake when it’s finished. Instead, when I am ready to eat a piece, I warm it up then I warm up a wee bit of milk as well and pour that over the top. Yum!

The photo on the Cookie & Kate site is much nicer than mine but my Bake looks very much the same as theirs. I didn’t split up the blueberries quite evenly enough between the top and the bottom though. There is going to be a lot of deliciousness on the bottom!

8. I texted a friend to check on her the other day and ‘Salright popped into my head. For those of you who remember Señor Wences. Are you ‘salright? I’m ‘salright.

9.

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