Traditional Mother's Day Quote from Joan Crawford

Since Joan Crawford, a famous actress from the '30s and '40s, was the subject of the tell-all biopic melodrama "Mommie Dearest," which was released four years after the diva's death in 1981, we thought we'd quote Crawford here today as we have for virtually every Mother's Day. Baltimore's cult film director John Waters is a major fan of "Mommie Dearest."

Here is the quip from Crawford:

"It has been said that on screen, I personified the American woman."

http://www.joancrawfordbest.com

http://www.legendaryjoancrawford.com

Teaser: Bach @ The Beach: A Myrtle Beach Diary

Though we didn't actually read "The Other Boleyn Girl," which was made into a movie with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, which we saw at an outdoor cinema in Buyukada (Istanbul), Turkey, while visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we thought that it does seem like the ideal book to bring to a beach, of course, then again, so would "50 Shades of Grey"!

"Bach at the Beach" sort of just came to us from the sky like the Hindu love god Shiva, but as it turns out there is an orchestra at Myrtle Beach?! They are called Long Bay Symphony, and, of course, we found out about them after the fact.

Stay tuned for our look at a long Mother's Day weekend trip to Myrtle Beach, SC, within the next few days.

http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com

http://www.jsbach.org

http://www.longbaysymphony.com

Happy Mother's Day from Bette Davis

We  have a feeling that when young people hear the early '80s smash hit "Bette Davis Eyes" by pop rock singer Kim Carnes, they have no idea that she was an iconic actress of the '30s and '40s.

Top Ten Things To Do List

Let's get started right away:

1. Don't fight with Armenians

2. Don't fight with (other) Turks

3. Get mom flowers for Mother's Day

4. Make Mother's Day restaurant reservation

5. Don't argue with Republicans

6. Change cat liter

7. take photos (when it stops raining)

8. Go to a minor league baseball game

9. Work-out: Body Flow

10. refill Xanax (not actually a drug that we are taking)

Happy Mother's Day from Godzilla

Today, we celebrate Mother's Day, which is reportedly even celebrated in rural Turkmenistan, with a special salute to Godzilla for anyone who might have a domineering mother in their life (eyes rolling).

In January, the Criterion Collection released a duel disc with both the original Ishiro Honda Japanese version of "Godzilla" (1954) and its American alteration, which most of us saw on tv as kids.

There is also the satirical short cartoon "Bambi Meets Godzilla" (1969) and a Godzilla cartoon series which ran from 1978-81 on NBC in the United States.

Lastly, there is the retro web site Barry's Temple of Godzilla, which first 'came out of the water' in 1996. Though Barry ceased adding new entries in 2005, the web site is still up for those who are Godzilla fans:

http://www.godzillatemple.com

Happy Mother's Day in Advance from Joan Crawford

Much to our shock and amazement, we found out that the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, which is one of the most famous cinemas in America, is presented a special 30th anniversary screening of "Mommie Dearest." The 1981 film starring Faye Dunaway about allegations that legendary actress Joan Crawford (1905-1977) will be shown at 7:00 p.m. A local transvestite named Peaches Christ, who is apparently popular in the communtiy, will present the film. Ticket prices are (and, we are not making this up) from $20-40.....wow, an opera in Roanoke, Va., might actually be cheaper.

Crawford won an Oscar for "Mildred Pierce" (1945) and her last screen appearance was in the horror film "Trog" (1970). Her daughter Christina Crawford wrote the 1978 memoir "Mommie Dearest" which became the basis for the film version which was badly recieved, yet it did become a camp film with a large cult following; John Waters even provides commentary on the dvd of the film though he had nothing to do with its production.

Dunaway has publicly stated that she disdains the film, and we assume she will not be in San Francisco for the screening on Saturday night (that might actually be worth the price of admission!).

Ironically, both Christina Crawford, now 71, and Dunaway, now 70, are close to the age that Joan Crawford was when she died which was 72.

SIDEBAR: We forgot to mention my fellow Turkish-American Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz) in our last entry. Your mom might like his book "You: Being Beatiful" over his other book "You:On a Diet," which might be an even bigger mistake than buying a Syrian friend a weiner from Trolley Stop Hot Dogs in Boone, NC (a real place).

And, of course, since we have a strong center-left bias, we have to poke fun of our far-right friends. The right-wing blog "I Hate the Media" which is criticizing us liberals for making Barack Obama out to be The Mighty Thor for his killing of Osama bin Laden reported earlier in the week that the San Diego Padres were giving free admission to veterans, past and present; the team also wore camoflage. Since my stepfather the late Donald Sullivan was a WW-2 vet, we think that is very noble of the Padres. Though, the camoflage seems a wee bit over-the-top.

So, we wanted to inform the folks at "I Hate the Media" that the Padres were also the first team to play in Mexico when they faced the New York Mets for three games between Aug. 16-18, 1996. I'm they 'appreciate' us digging up that fact for them.

Happy Joan Crawford Day (In Advance)

Cult film director John Waters ("Pink Flamingos") who directed the film "Serial Mom" about a mother (played by Kathleen Turner) who turns out to be a serial killer in suburban Maryland is a huge fan of "Mommie Dearest," the 1980 film based on the memoir of Christine Crawford about the alleged abuses of her famous movie star mom Joan Crawford (1906-1977).

The movie is perhaps best known for the line: "No more wire hangers ever!"

Faye Dunaway played Crawford in the film, and she has openly ciriticized it. The IMDB says that Dunaway despises the film (image shown here) so much that she actually lists it as a topic that is taboo for reporters to bring up during interviews!

Dunaway is also known for her outstanding performances in films like "Bonnie and Clyde," "Chinatown" and "Network."

Just found out this week, that Dunaway's "Bonnie and Clyde" co-star Warren Beatty was romantically involved with Crawford. I had to pause for a moment and ask "Do they mean Joan Collins?," since the former "Dynasty" star is much closer in age to Crawford who was 29 years older than Beatty.

We traditionally quote Crawford on both of our blogs for Mother's Day Weekend, but this year, we though we'd use a quip from Dunaway:

"Years are not important my dear."

We couldn't agree more!

Special Quote of the Day from Joan Crawford

Well, it is Mother's Day weekend, so we are posting our annual tribute to Joan Crawford with one of her quotes.

There is another quote from Crawford at our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" which you can access through our links.

"Mommie Dearest" will be showing at the Bow Tie Cinemas Movieland in Schenectady, NY, tonight. Yopu can also visit the web site joancrawfordbest.com for more info about her.


Here is today's quip:

"It has been said that on screen I personified the American woman."