Last 10 Films I've Seen (as of Dec. 1st): Sex Kittens Go to College is NOT an Adult Film

A cult film made in 1960 with a 2.6 IMDB rating starring Mamie van Doren, who hails from South Dakota, and Tuesday Weld with a cameo from a then unknown country singer named Conway Twitty (too bad he's no longer alive as it would be fun to follow Twitty on Twitter). We are, of course, referring to "Sex Kittens Go To College." It aired late at night on TCM in June, and we finally got around to watching it.

Of course, as always, we like to mention that we ripped off this idea from "Film Comment" magazine. But, in all seriousness, Gavin Smith, Amy Taubin, et al, always make a compelling film journal. And, I imagine neither of them has seen "Sex Kittens Go To College")!

Here is the list:

1. Sex Kittens Go To College (1960. Albert Zugsmith)

2. Alphabte City (1985. Amos Poe)

3. The Italian (Russia. 2005. Andrey Krovchuk)

4. Night of the Creeps (1986. Fred Dekker)

5. Kapo (Italy. 1960. Gillo Pontecorvo)

6. Thief of Paris (France. 1967. Louis Malle)

7. V/H/S (2012. Many directors)*

8. Dallas Buyers Club (2013. Jean-Marc Vallee)

9. The Telephone Book (1971. Nelson Lyon)

10. 12 Years A Slave (2013. Steve McQueen)**


*-It's a terrible film, but it is as a gruesome as advertised

**-Named film of the year by Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone"


http://www.tcm.com


http://www.filmcomment.com

http://www.rollingstone.com

Virtual Postcard of Colorado- The Wonder Tower

 

Today, we wrap up our series on Virtual Postcards with an image of the Wonder View Tower in the eastern hamlet of Genoa, Colo., where one can reportedly see up to eight states, including a very far away South Dakota. We imagine that must be on a very clear day.

We are not actually in Colo., and us much as we enjoyed the trip (well, there were some mishaps and fiascos along the day---to put it mildly), it's good to be home, Toto.....not that we are dog people!

Bonus Road Trip (4 of 10)_ The Prarie States

Today, we continue our Bonus Road Trips series as we look at the distances between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These are the two largest cities in their respective states. Cheyenne is also Wyoming's state capital and home to the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo that will next take place between July 20-29, 2012.

Pierre is actually the state capital of South Dakota, and with a small population of 13,646 people, it is second smallest state capital behind Montpelier, Vermont.

For this series, we are looking at the distances between Latitude 44 in Sioux Falls and the Outlaw Saloon in Cheyenne.

So, the answer is:

A) 9 hours, 15 minutes
B) 9 hours, 30 minutes
C) 9 hours, 45 minutes
D) 10 hours, 15 minutes

Silly Picture to Fill Space- George McGovern T-Shirt

Today we are featuring items from our Christmas Wish List, posted here last week.

For those of who weren't around in 1972 (well, I was only two years old myself), George McGovern ran an unsuccesful presidential campaign against Richard Nixon. Though McGovern, who was a senator from South Dakota, only won Massachuessetts, Nixon went on to become an infamous, though very unique, president (Nixon is my favorite Republican president; of course, I am a fairly partisan Democrat!).

McGovern, who is considered the most liberal presidential candidate in modern times, is still alive at age 88 and according to Wikipedia, he still resides in Mitchell, S.Dak. McGovern was also known for his vehement opposition to the Vietnam War.

We learned while researching this that Sargent Shriver, Ahnuld's father-in-law, was actually McGovern's running mate; he replaced Thomas Eagleton after it was revealed that he had suffered mental illness. Of course, nowadays, we have Zoloft, so things like this would not be political liabilities (eyes rolling).

The McGovern '72 t-shirt is available from retrocampaigns.com

They also offer t-shirts from winning campaigns and from Republican (as well as other Democratic) presidential losers, like Barry Goldwater '64. But, we didn't see any t-shirts with Bob Dole or John McCain on their web site! Perhaps, that is not retro enough....?!

Thing We Learned on Twitter Today- Pot Plants Found in NC

Today, WXII (News 12) in Winston-Salem, NC, tweeted that police in rural Stokes County, NC, due north of Winston-Salem near the Virginia border, found a substantial number of pot plants just over the county line.

Stokes County Sheriff Mike Joyce told the news outlet that the plants were as tall as 12-feet high, and the estimated street value of the marijuana seized is $600,000.

"Drug dealers don't stop at county lines or city limits and this is an example of everyone working together," Jouyce told WXII.

Stokes County made national news some three years ago when two boys from the jurisdiction drowned in a river. There was a substantial manhunt for several days which lead to the eventual bodies' discoveries.

SIDEBAR: Our unofficial 'High School of the Week' for this week is Washington High School all the way out in Sioux Falls, S.Dak., where the principal is James Nold and the school nickname is The Warriors.

The school has won 35 state championships in athletics, which is more than any other school in the United States.

We could find any famous alumni from the school on the Internet, but famous people from South Dakota include former news anchor Tom Brokaw and former "Charlie's Angels" (the original '70s tv sereis) star Cheryl Ladd.

Of course, we sincerely hope that young people in South Dakota and elsewhere avoid illegal drugs. You can, after all, drink Red Bull now!

PSA- Don't Go Deer-Huntin' While Intoxicated

I don't imagine these deer hunters in South Dakota thought that they would end up on a left-of-center blog (relax guys- I'm not into Che Guevarra t-shirts or Birkenstocks).

But, since we pass through Boones Mill, Va., which is in Franklin County (moonshine country) quite often, that we would most this PSA for folks who may combine things which shouldn't be---and we aren't refering to cocaine and Zoloft (you may have to see a certain Ben Stiller movie to get that joke).

And, our PSA is:

"Don't hunt Bambis if you've had too many Budweisers."

Well, the library is about to close. Save some venison for me, boys!