Blergh

I got to admit I never thought all that re the 1930's movie based on Mary Shelley's work but you're right! Also, it appears Mr. Branaugh did at least acknowledged the MO of reviving folks due to the protagonist's mother's death in childbirth which the original author herself DID feel a literal lifetime of guilt over do to her own mother the pioneering feminist Mary Woolstonecraft Godwin losing her own life to give the authoress life. It sounds more compelling that just Dr. Frankenstein becoming a kook for no good reason.

Now that he's no longer afflicted by Alzheimer's at such a relatively young age, we can hope HE is being taken care! As for the former Countess Spencer, if nothing else she did her best to help the late Princess of Wales's ailing father regain as much health and mobility as possible after his stroke so, despite her disputes with his children, she DID do something good and I think she needs to be honored for that.

I wonder how Jane Fonda will react to her onetime husband Tom Hayden's passing or will she make any comment whatsoever? If nothing else, they had a son together. I hope the family can focus on the good times regardless. https://www.yahoo.com/news/hayden-symbol-youth-took-history-own-hands-071127918.html

atomationage, Considering that Mr. Moore put $200,000 of his monies to defend Julian Assange against rape charges, if he truly wants Mr. Trump to lose and Mrs. Clinton to win, the BEST thing he can do is to KEEP QUIET! Sorry, but I haven't liked Mr. Moore in quite some time.

To each their own re whether one's pets are therapeutic or not. However; am I alone to consider it a bit much to call oneself a 'pet parent'? Yes, I perfectly understand the concept of pets being part of one's family but all pets already have their own parents even if some of them need humans in their lives (if not vice versa).

Chaos Theory, Not a bad hypothesis yet I seriously doubt that Miss Barr or Mr. Arnold would EVER retrospectively consider the positive aspects of their relationship which ended quite toxically . They been by no means Lucy/ Desi in that capacity.

Kromm, I don't disagree with you re the current Mrs. Trump's current clout. However; ask yourself which of these claims to fame (and clout) would be more impressive and lasting: 1. 3rd and current wife of Mr. Trump 2. Mother of Barron Trump 3. First Lady of the United States of America (and only the 2nd foreign-born one in history -the first being John Quincy Adam's wife Louisa). In answering that query, I think one can get a good idea of a possible MO re her stances here. Even if they split the day after he was to leave office, nothing could take that title away from her- if she had previously obtained it.

Re the current Mrs. Trump: The thing we need to keep in mind here is that ever since she got married she likely has been compared to Ivana ( the heir appearant's mother) as well as Marla Maples ( the trophy wife from the US). Therefore, I think it's quite likely that the title of First Lady is something she'd want badly enough that would definitely (at least in her mind) would overshadow the first two Mrs. Trumps forever after. Hence; IMO nothing anyone says or anything that candidate does will make any difference to her as long as she can get that title. Now, how long the union will last if the election doesn't go his way is anyone's guess.

Even though it's since come to light that virtually all of Julia was a wish-fulfillment deal of the later Miss Lillian Hellman and virtually none of it actually occurred, it still was a phenomenal movie with shining performances by Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave. Anyway, for me, my favorite part of the movie is the train ride in which all three train compartment riders make small talk whilst dancing around their real parts in the dangerous mission and the best scene in that is when the 'student' abruptly offers Lillian's gifted chocolate to the inspector to distract him from attempting to feel the fur hat. No more dialogue is said between any of the three train companions but the looks they exchange say volumes . Moreover, even though the other companions have turned out to be fictional characters, I can't help but wonder how much of the mission they knew and what their 'fates' were.

JT Mac, Thanks for clarifying (and sorry for not responding here sooner). I'm glad that you seem to have made quite a few steps of the thousand-mile journey already but I just hope that you come to realize that being in a good relationship is one of life's luxuries not necessities. Better to be alone than to wish one was, IMO.

atomationage, Two things re the Delta Burke deal I'd like to put out. While I do believe that Mr. McRaney's urging her to somehow get more than her previous share of billing and/or monies was a contributing factor to the dispute, IMO Miss Burke was a grown person who ultimately was the one responsible for how she herself interacted with her employers and colleagues. 2ndly, Miss Burke and the producers WERE able to at least learn to be civil to each other a few years later when they all made the short-lived spin-off Women of the House based around Suzanne's character. Not that it was very good nor was I surprised to see it sputter out almost as soon as it came on. However; the fact that these three DID put forth the effort to at least to not let their differences sink the possibility of them working together again was a good thing. Oh, and as long as we're talking backstage re Designing Women, if it's true that none of them saw Alice Ghostley after the show nor attended her funeral, that would be most infuriating because often the late Miss Ghostley's flaky but likable character alone kept the show from becoming too depressing or upsetting to watch. Regardless, I'm glad that (thanks to this show) there's a generation of folks who will remember the iconic performer more for her Designing Women role than her cringing role of Esmeralda in the latter-day Bewitched.

I agree- and I'd like to add that I'm annoyed by the trend of having as many folks as possible getting pigeonholed into having 'disorders' that somehow must be medicated and monitored or else rather than accepting the possibility that some folks simply have quirks that generations of humans have lived with just fine for millenia before any kind of 'medication' was invented. JTMac, Not that its my biz but perhaps it may be a worthy goal to try to figure out how to move forward in your life entirely on your own then seeing if you'd prefer to remain on your own before seeking out any new companions.

Considering ALL the behind-the-scenes conflicts re Roseanne and/or Roseanne Barr that DID get blanketed all over the media during the show's tenure, I think it's just as well Miss Barr and Miss West actually managed to keep whatever may have happened between them to themselves. In fact, I think it's a bit of a relief that there's the possibility that ONE piece of dirty laundry managed to get quietly taken care of without the rest of the world having to see it re that show. This somewhat reminds me of when Polly Holliday exited Alice. Despite the efforts of the media to goad Miss Holliday and Linda Lavin to talk trash re each other, Miss Holiday was able to simply make her short-lived spin off of Flo then keep having the rest of her career unimpeded by any lingering drama.

roseha, That's an interesting coincidence. Mr. Keaton not only was one of the most creative film makers of the silent film era (e.g. having multiple images of himself simultaneously via multiple exposures of the film itself) but he also took incredible physical risks to make these movies. The list of injuries he incurred down the years is downright appalling but at one point he literally broke his neck when a train engine watering tank's output knocked him off the top of the train in Sherlock, Jr. and onto the rail itself him hitting in with his neck. Amazingly, he kept pushing himself and it wouldn't be until years later when neck problems surfaced that prompted him to have x-rays done which showed the true impact. And we need to keep in mind that for most of the silent era, he himself produced and directed his movies so it wasn't a case of anyone else forcing him to do these stunts. To keep everyone else's eyes from glazing over, he does have another interesting connection besides Bogie. In the latter years when, due to alcohol and bankruptcy issues, his star had waned by the Depression and by WWII he had become a bit player. He still had his admirers, though, and amongst them was Lucille Ball herself whom he taught a great deal re physical comedy and reactions at her pleading. Sadly, they'd only perform on film together once when they did a silent pantomime comedic routine in 1965 during a tribute to the recently deceased Stan Laurel only months before Mr. Keaton's own death.

I don't mind folks idling in their own driveways so much as folks who idle in parking spaces whilst others are I am in urgent need of a parking spot and there's no other spot for blocks around. It's one thing to waste one's money and gas in one's own actual driveway but IMO, it's extremely selfish and inconsiderate to do so when others are in need.

With all these news re a certain Presidential candidate's talking trash about so many women, I'd like to say that I've NEVER liked Howard Stern and would like to know WHY he's been given a free pass all these years to say the most vile stuff on the air. Yeah, yeah, I know all about the free speech deal and I don't dispute his technical right here. However; why is that, instead of turning it off and urging his showbiz cronies not to have him on their shows, so many folks kept just tuning into the trainwreck and shrugging off all the tasteless stuff he said and others, including celebs, participated in? Why has it been considered by so many worse to be tagged a prude than to say ' He's gone too far. I'm not going to watch/ listen to him anymore.' ? For the record, as soon as I first heard his 'show', I got revolted, turned it off and never regretted missing it but it seems others kept this afloat.

Actually, I liked Mr. Cage in the FIRST " National Treasure " movie (but thought the 2nd was a good case of 'if it ain't broke, fix it'). However; I thought "Raising Arizona" was an unpleasant experience all around -and downright condescending to not only folks of the financially challenged set but also those on seemingly easy street. Not to mention that it did Miss Holly Hunter no favor and even John Goodman's innate likability wasn't enough to salvage his character much less the rest of the movie.

Princess Sparkle, As long as you've brought up the late Robin Williams, Marlo Thomas shared this amazing story (and I don't see why she'd have made it up). Not only was he very generous with the fundraising and making commercials for St. Jude's but he was so invested in helping those cancer-fighting children that Mr. Williams actually gave one child his OWN personal childhood collection of toy soldiers. Yes, he could have easily just had his receptionist go online and/or call Toys R Us then had them just ship the child a collection of toy soldiers (and, no doubt, that child would have been quite touched by even that gesture). However; according to Miss Thomas, Mr. Williams (who'd been an only child and himself had offspring) actually gave something he truly loved to a child who needed all the encouragement possible. I have no idea the ultimate fates of either that child or the collection but I hope that this is something that folks think about even having to consider Mr. Williams's problems and the tragic end to his own life. Oh, and I'd like to imagine that somehow Christopher Reeve is flying around the cosmos with his cape trailing behind carrying Mr. Williams in his favorite car on his back whilst Mr. Williams is shouting 'Nanu! Nanu!' at the top of his lungs!

King Bhumidol (Rama IX) of Thailand has died at age 88 after a 70-year reign(!). He was born December 5,1927 in (of all places) Cambridge, Massachusetts, thanks to his father studying medicine abroad at the time making him the only monarch to be born in the US. He succeeded his older brother at age 18 after his brother's sudden violent death. He was a descendant of the king believed to be the basis for the play and movie "The King and I" which was banned in Thailand for many years. With his own death, Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning living monarch. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/world/asia/thai-king-bhumibol-adulyadej-dies.html?_r=0

I'm grateful for having gotten the credit card paid off AND my flu shot done today before work. Two less worries to deal with is always a good thing.

Sad to say, considering how incredibly self-destructive Miss Phillips was for decades (even more so than the late Dana Plato yet Miss Phillips somehow survived) AND the fact that she said, whilst he was living, that he had taught her how to shoot herself up with heroin when she was TEN, (with her upbringing making "Lord of the Flies" look like "Sesame Street"), that was NOT a shocker to me! Anyway, considering how Miss Phillips has in recent years helped others try to overcome their own self-destructive issues, I thought some positive trivia re her ancestry would be worth sharing.

Here's a shocker: Mackenzie Phillips ( formerly of "One Day at a Time" and "So Weird" ) in addition to having been in a latter-day revival of the Mamas and Papas has ALSO claimed to be a direct descendant of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams via her mother's side.

IMO, it somewhat helped make the what-does-he-see-in-her plot more credible. That said, my UO is that I never liked the book or movie mainly because there wasn't a single tolerable character (or if they existed they were so muted and poo-poohed that they ultimately made zero plot contributions). IOW, not unlike Dr. Zhivago ,and Gatsby didn't even have any epic train rides or frost palaces to make it visually intriguing.

I don't know exactly why but it just isn't Thanksgiving for me unless I hear the sound of that cranberry gel glob from the can onto the dish and can see the can's impressions and grooves when I'm eating it.

Shapeshifter, Utterly inexusable on that other shopper's part (and I'm trying to keep things clean by not calling her other names). Someone needs to ask her if she'd like it if someone treated her elderly mother or grandmother like that or even her elderly self in X number of years because, whilst there's no guarantees for ANY of us ,eventually age and/or health setbacks could cause her to ALSO have to walk very slowly if being able to walk at all. Oh and I say this as someone who's always walked FAR faster than most folks almost as soon as I learned to walk .