Mr. Wow Blog
Mr. WoW at 60. Really?!!!
8:45 pm | January 17, 2013

Author: Mr. Wow | Category: Point of View | Comments: 117

Mr. Wow—Enlightened at 60?  Ehhhhhh…Not So Much.  But There’s Always 61. 

 

On January 7th Mr. Wow turned 60.  My birthday is always the traditional conclusion of “my” holiday season.  For more years than I care to relate, the holidays have been less than holly-jolly, tho I have to admit, putting the tree up and sharing it with you guys has become quite a lot of fun. 

 60thportraitWow

However, this year I was struck with a cold that turned into a flu that turned into pneumonia.  I was literally unable to move, no less lug a great big tree three blocks, set it up and spend hours decorating.  The absence of the tree seemed to be symbolic of a fairly traumatic year.  It began with being laid off from my job of many years and ended in an emergency room.  I felt gloomier than usual (I know—hard to believe!) 

 

But so much else was happening, especially the horrible massacre at Sandy Hook–I sure as hell didn’t want to write anything about my holiday blues.  And then all the gun nuts came out to play, and Lance Armstrong wanted to finally confess—to Oprah of all people– and on and on.  I felt silence was the merciful tactic.  After all, a lot you have issues too.  And when I am in a vaguely normal state, I am still aware that I’m luckier, healthier and could be happier than most people in this old world.  (The “happier” part would actually involve my getting off my ass, metaphorically, and making myself happy.  But God forbid I should strain myself.) 

 

So, the big 6-OH was staggering.  Not since I turned 20 had I been so affected by a birthday. (20 was a shock because I wasn’t a teenager anymore, and being a teenager was my bread and butter so to speak.)  30 was great.  40 was even better.  50 was not so hot, but that was because I’d begun my drift into what appears to be a permanently depressed state.  Still, friends threw me a party and I mustered up my public face—a person who you’d never think had a depressed thought in his life. 

 

But come on—60?!  It had to be some cruel joke. Did I look 60?  No, not really.  Not at all, when I was healthy.

    Did I feel 60?  No, not at all, when I was healthy.  But being flat on my back–hacking away, feverish and achy–poured gasoline on the fire of my self-pity and inevitable fears of death.

     B. did his best throughout all this. And he has been a brick in general.  But that’s not enough.  I recall retching when I heard the phrase “you complete me” in the movie “Jerry Maguire.”   Sorry, one person cannot “complete” another.  You have to complete yourself. 

     I depend on B. for—well, almost everything.  I remind myself of the great story about Tallulah Bankhead’s general helplessness—“She dropped an egg, and stood aside.”   Well, I’ve dropped a lot of eggs in my time, and B. has been there to clean up the mess.   But has he “completed” me?  No.  He has comforted, loved and protected me.  And he’d complete me if he could.  But that job belongs to me.  I realize we are never finished in life until life is finished with us.  But there has to be a point where you accept some aspects of yourself without immediately going into an orgy of self-criticism.

    And after a while, the people around you begin to agree with your harsh assessments of yourself. Especially if—as in my case—one is persistent and eloquent in self-flagellation. Or, they feel pretty bad about themselves.  It’s no fun for B. to hear me and see me dissatisfied constantly.  What does that say about him, I’m sure he must wonder at times.  “What’s the matter with me that I can’t make him happy?”  (Honey, there’s nothing the matter with you, in case you have ever wondered.)

 

Because movie references jump to my head easiest, I am reminded of Elizabeth Taylor’s magnificent scene by the screen door in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”   She says she cannot accept the fact that George, her husband, looked at her with love and thought, “Yes, this will do.”   And that’s all I want.  I want to be able to look in the mirror of my mind and say, “Yes, this will do.”  That’s all.  Of course I’d probably die of a stroke if I ever achieved that level of self-acceptance.

 

Soooo…during all these happy thoughts, while I lay on the couch in my room, cuddling with our purriest, most affectionate cat, Doll, I happened up an HBO series I’d never heard of or paid attention to.  It’s called “Enlightened” and stars Laura Dern as a woman who freaks out at work, goes off to some sort therapeutic spa, and comes back, well—enlightened.  Or so she imagines. I watched one episode and then got hooked into watching the whole season. (It was a marathon, leading up to the second season premier the next day.)  

 

Dern’s character has to be the most wildly frustrating on television these days.  She makes Claire Danes’ bipolar looniness on “Homeland” look like an eternal serenity vacation.    The woman Dern plays has a fantastic feeling of entitlement, and an almost total lack of control in how she expresses herself.  She is selfish and manipulative, though she doesn’t see herself this way at all.  She thinks she’s always doing the right thing.  Sometimes she even is.  But inevitably she sabotages herself.  And just when you think she has worked your last nerve, she expresses her deep feelings of loneliness, emptiness, self-loathing.  She does see the other side of her actions, but she is incapable of staying on track.  It was in these moments of  Dern’s self-revelation that I was continually moved to tears. (Much as I was during so many seasons of “Six Feet Under.”)  “Don’t you want to live?” she says to another character.  “Aren’t you tired of dying?  I’m so tired of dying.”    Me too. 

   I don’t relate to the part of this character to wants so desperately to be recognized as a “somebody.”  Maybe I’m simply reluctant to face that part of my personality.  I’ve always felt I’d be an insufferable well-known person and/or a horrible boss.   But I freely gave away my thoughts, ideas, talent (such as it is) because I was always afraid to stand on my own.  I’m still not sure that wasn’t the correct thing to do.  Being a background person probably gave me more of a “foreground” than I might have enjoyed on my own. 

  

I want to be “enlightened.”  I’m 60.  It’s time.  And time is so short.

    I won’t lie and say I am moved to crying and caring deeply about the concerns of the world.  I’m too selfish.  I am aware they exist, and I am balanced by the knowledge that my problems don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. (As Bogie said to Bergman.)    Sometimes I’ve even been motivated to send a donation or spend a New Year’s day or Christmas day helping at a shelter.  But if I was honest, those were deeds done to make me feel better about myself.  Still, I guess that’s better than not thinking or doing at all. 

 

I want B. not to worry about me.  I want him to feel he can depend on me, as I have depended on him. 

 

Recently, somebody asked me, “Well, what do you want to accomplish in life?”

 

I replied:  “I want to accomplish life.”  

 

It’s not too late.  61 could be the best birthday ever. 

 

Love, and thank you for your indulgence.  And mine.

 

Mr. Wow.

 

P.S.

 

Watched  Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in “An Affair to Remember” recently.  Wept throughout.  Because it is so bad.  Honest.  This is a romantic classic?   I much prefer Miss Kerr as the gorgeous, sexually frustrated nun in “Black Narcissus.” 

 

 

Watched a British gangster movie titled “Layer Cake” with Daniel Craig (just prior to his 007 days.)  I will have to watch it again to actually know what the hell it was about, but, damn Daniel Craig is one fine specimen. 

 

Watched the Golden Globes.  Three cheers for Jodie Foster’s intimate, human and obviously not rehearsed remarks. 

 

 

I am always scouring the Internet for new, rare, pics of Marilyn and Liz. (My childish infatuations will not abate!)   Since Miss Taylor’s death, people are obviously clearing out their collections, so some nifty stuff pops up almost everyday.  Fell on the floor finding a shot of ET circa 1980 with Rolling Stone Keith Richards.  Keith is slugging Jack Daniels straight from the bottle.  Miss T. wears an expression that says, “How dare you be so crude” or (much more likely) “Save some for me, asshole.” 

 LIZKeithx_

And then there is Marilyn.  One hundred years from now, people will still be unearthing new shots of this woman.  Came across a pic taken just three weeks before her death.  She is on the beach, the sun is setting.  She’s wearing a bulky sweater to keep out the chill.  Her stiff coiffure has been beaten up by the wind, blowing wild.  The makeup has been smudged and washed away.   She stands with one hand to her hair, trying to control it.  And her left leg is prettily posed, relaxed, with a heartbreaking delicacy to the turn of that ankle.  Fresh, vibrant, ready for the 1960s.   Oh, well. 

 

Listen, fan as I am, if Marilyn hadn’t died when she did, how she did, we sure wouldn’t be obsessed with her today.  (I do hope for an afterlife in which Miss M. can appreciate how appreciated she is now.)

 

MRW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments:
  • maryburdt

    I want so badly to give you a big hug, because I think you need to know, on some level, that your friends here on this blog are in your corner, no matter what is happening in your life.  We just want you to live in the moment, not in the past and not in the future.  Only now, because that is all we have.  Happy 60th, Mr. Wow.  May it be the best year ever.  Mary

    9:28 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mary…I must admit, I feel “enlightened” by this contact, this forum.  I wish I was more regular about it.  I try to live in the now, but I’ve found it my most difficult endeavor.    You can regret or romanticize the past and hope sometimes pointlessly for the future but the NOW is where you have to be.  Nothing else matters,  I do know that,  To practice it…an effort. 

      9:56 pm | January 17, 2013
      • ???  Mr. Wow… the NOW is the only place any of us CAN be.  It’s just a question of how we spend our NOW.

        12:28 am | January 18, 2013
        • I like spending some of my NOW here.  No better crowd to be found anywhere.

          12:58 am | January 18, 2013
  • mimi

    Happy 60th dear friend. As one who turned 64 in December I can tell you that it’s not a horrible thing. Living in the now (happily) is hard, but much easier than living in the past is for me. The only time I struggled with depression was shortly after I got divorced and it was awful. I cried constantly. I no longer do that – I don’t have someone that loves me like B loves you. It’s the one thing I wish I had had in life – someone to love me best. Please take whatever medicine you need to make you healthy in body and hopefully in spirit as well. Our little corner of the internet is a safe place to vent and to laugh and cry. I look forward to doing much of that over the next few days reading everyone’s comments.

    10:18 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mimi…

      Thank you, and by the same token, 64 is not horrible either.  Still young. Love is still very much a possibility.  Especially now that you’ve stopped crying.

       

      XXXMrW

      8:21 am | January 18, 2013
  • mimi

    By the way, that’s a great picture. I love your smile.

    10:19 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mimi—thanks for the encouragement, and the compliment.  B, took the pic tonight, the 17th.  I was brave and eschewed any retouching.  Not even the neck.  What the hell.  If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.

      10:27 pm | January 17, 2013
  • TheRudeDog

    {Sigh}  Mr. RDog just gave me the thumbs-up when I told him I think I have a crush on a gay man.  So everything’s in order on this end … 🙂   

    10:36 pm | January 17, 2013
    • maryburdt

      Rude Dog–Where have you been?  I miss your delightful words on this blog.  I hpe all is OK with you.  Fill us in on what is happening with you.
      We probably are going on another virtual trip soon, so get ready.  A trip without you would be so disappointing.  Mary

      10:49 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Rude.  Mr R. is awfully open-minded.

      Let’s check him out. 

       

      D

      10:50 pm | January 17, 2013
      • TheRudeDog

        He’s a Blues guitarist…open-mindedness comes with the territory.  Wouldn’t’ve married him otherwise!

        Mary:  I’ve been sort of around.  I got into such a snit about The Gun-Control issue that I had to take a breather.  I’m all in for another virtual trip, as long as Lulu’s Lap is still available!

        11:41 pm | January 17, 2013
        • lulu

          My lap is always available and I’ll bring an assortment of ‘doggie’ slidders so you’ll never be hungry

          6:29 pm | January 21, 2013
  • Once again, Happy B’Day, Mr. Wow.  Awesome pic.  Very like a younger, cuter Peter O’Toole.  Much better smile, though!

    10:53 pm | January 17, 2013
    • maryburdt

      You hit it on the nose, Lila.  Mr Wow is a young Peter O’Toole.  Why didn’t I see that?

      11:05 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Lila–Peter O’Toole?  I’ll take that!  And how well I remember being draped in bedsheets, pretending I was Lawrence of Arabia.  (More distress for my mother, who said, wearily, “Please don’t do that outside!”)

      4:35 am | January 18, 2013
  • BabySnooks

    Ol’ Blue Eyes is back! 

    11:10 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Baby…more gray than blue, which annoyed me as  a kid.  I wanted blue-blue eyes.  Then I decided gray was more interesting.  That’s what people said, anyway, and I was so easily influenced.

      How’ve you been?

      4:53 am | January 18, 2013
      • BabySnooks

        Well they look blue-blue in the photo. And you do look like Peter O’Toole. So maybe the camera caught you in a Peter O’Toole moment. On second look I can see the gray. Which adds to the blue. The way the violet added to someone’s blue. I forget her name. Oh, the one salivating over the bottle of Jack Daniels that Keith Richards was chugging. Elizabeth Taylor. Who probably was thinking “Save some for me, asshole.”  And probably said it…

         

        I seem to be doing better. So say the doctors. What the body says, well, I’m headed for 60 in March and I guess reality is maybe Jack LaLanne and Raquel Welch were bouncing around with no problem at 60. Must be genes. That I don’t have. They did take me off the antibiotics.  So I was able to have my “sipping drink” of Jack Daniels and a splash of Coke on Christmas Day. And I thought of Elizabeth Taylor.  And Washington. And of many things and many times with Jack Daniels. And I do miss her.  I guess everyone who ever had the pleasure does.  And it was a pleasure, wasn’t it? Ove the holidays I was bored and did the google thing. Found a photo of Chen Sam circa 1980.  I had forgotten how stunning she was. I often wondered if Burton was ever tempted. I suspect he knew that if Elizabeth had to choose between him and her best friend he would be out the door. They really were the best of friends.  It is hard to turn 60. You wonder where it all went. Well, I lived my life. As did you. Few do, really. So keep that in mind when it gets depressing to look back at it all. At least you have a lot to look back on. And to look forward to!

        10:05 am | January 18, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Dear Baby…I’ve got to post that picture!  You’ll get a big laugh out of it.  It was a feww months before “The Little Foxes”    ETs “producer” Zev Buffman is lurking in the background.  (They parted bitterly two years later, after the debacle of “Private Lives.”  He lives in Florida now, but had nothing to say upon the occasion of Miss Taylor’s passing.  As I said–bitter.)


          Glad you are well.  And yes, I sure do miss those good old days.  (I think Burton might have been tempted by Chen, but Miss T. put the kibosh on that.)
          10:40 am | January 18, 2013
          • BabySnooks

            Many who did well by her didn’t have much to say. Some used her. She was no dummy. And used them back.  I suspected at the time that Zev was an attempt to “rekindle” the marrriage to Warner. But also to provide an “exit door” if that play ended so to speak.  She was a survivor in every sense of the word. In the end she was like the rest of us. Just trying to stay ahead in the game.  She managed it better than the rest of us.  But she learned earlier than the rest of us. “Life is fair. Unfortunately it’s filled with schmucks.” A sage on top of everything else.  I suspect she taught her children well. No interviews, no magazine pieces, no tell-all books. And not because she made sure they didn’t need the money. Because they saw first-hand what the schmucks do to you. Which I suspect made them love her all the more. 

            I would love to see the photo.  Not the best period in her life.  But she made the best of it.  She really made the best of all the “not the best” periods.

            11:13 am | January 18, 2013
          • Mr. Wow

            Dear Baby…

            The Liz/Keith pic is up!  Scroll up a bit to find it.

            XXXMr. Wow

             

             

            11:34 am | January 20, 2013
          • BabySnooks

            I love the photo. I think she’s thinking “another one I bet I can drink under the table..”

            4:50 pm | January 20, 2013
  • Deirdre Cerasa

    Happy Birthday! Love your sweet and smiling face. I have missed hearing from you and am thrilled you wrote tonight. Take care dear man, we really need you. You make this virtual club one of the best places around. xo

    11:49 pm | January 17, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Deirdre…Thank you honey.  I’m glad I wrote tonight too.  I felt I didn’t have much to say, but I better do something or lose the will. 

      I still find it very difficult technically to move the document to a post–so many steps!  And then adding the picture.  B. walked me through most of it, after I kept missing a step here or there.  I’m sure its really easy once I get the hang of it.  Of course it  took me two years (no kidding) to learn how to do a simple cut and paste on Word. 

       

      5:11 am | January 18, 2013
  • Susan

    I’ve said it before and I will say it again….

    You are a lovely man Mr WOW!
    Happy Birthday and I wish you many more.

    8:57 am | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Susan–Thank you.  I don’t know about the “lovely” part.   But that’s lovely to hear, anyway.

      11:47 am | January 20, 2013
  • Sherry

    A most Happy Birthday to you Mr. W!!!!  I was so happy to see your post because I, as many others probably have been, wondering how you were feeling.  You are looking wonderful and I hope that this New Year brings you much happiness.  ♥

    10:57 am | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Sherry–being a pessimist by nature, I’m not ready to declare myself ready to take on 2013 and make it better.   I hope, however, to be pleasantly surprised that it does work out.

      11:50 am | January 20, 2013
  • KE MH

    Happy Birthday, Mr. Wow!!
    You *are* a handsome man…quite a looker…

    11:12 am | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear KE…thank you.  Now, the goal is accept myself as a man, and behave as such.  The eternal boy thing is only good for vampires or Dorian Gray.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

      11:55 am | January 20, 2013
      • And don’t forget, it worked for Dick Clark too.

        9:16 pm | January 20, 2013
  • Haunted Lady

    Happy birthday, you sweet young thing. You look very good. With that wonderful, beautiful smile you will always look good. Besides wanting to give you a hug, I would love to sit down with you over a pot of tea or coffee or something and have a good natter. In spite of what you think about yourself, I’ve no doubt you are great fun to chat with. I have to excuse myself now as I’m in the midst of a book called Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses. It’s delicious and I must get back to it.

    11:26 am | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Haunted One…I am a very good natterer, over tea or coffee or perhaps something a bit stronger. (“On festive occasions” as Auntie Mame said.)

      “The Sex Lives of Hollywood Goddesses?”  I bet the reality is considerably less entertaining than the legends accepted as truth.  Not that I don’t appreciate the legends, but…it’s sex.  Often messy, boring, disappointing and “is that all there is?”  Even for the goddesses.   However, they had more opportunities to get it right, let’s face it.  On the other hand, imagine the stress of being with a new man.  The clothes come off, and there it is–usually a normal body with normal functions.   And who are they sleeping with, who excites them?  The flesh and blood woman or the legend?

       As Marilyn said, just weeks before her death:  “My men expect so much of me, because of the image they’ve  made of me, and I have made of myself.  But I am just an ordinary woman.  My anatomy is no different.”

      And of course Rita Hayworth–“All my men have gone to bed with ‘Gilda’ and awakened with me.”

      12:36 pm | January 20, 2013
      • Haunted Lady

        It was a good salacious read but with questionable accuracy. When the author noted something about the death of Cary Grant’s third wife Dyan Cannon, my confidence took a nose dive. Most of the women in the book seemed more tragic than glamorous which, I suppose, is an occupational hazard.

        If you ever wend your way to the Midwest, let me know and I’ll put a pot of coffee on. With added kick as needed.

        1:23 pm | January 21, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          DEAR HAUNTED—DYAN CANNON’S DEATH?!  QUESTONABLE INDEED.   (PLEASE FORGIVE THE SCREAMING CAPS HERE. TECH PROBLEM.  I DON’T CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT MISS CANNON.  THO SHE IS A LOVELY WOMAN.)

          1:34 pm | January 21, 2013
  • Rho

    Happy Birthday, glad to see your handsome face.

    11:52 am | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Rho….thanks.  How have you been?

      11:56 am | January 20, 2013
      • Rho

        I am fine, thanks for asking.

        4:34 pm | January 20, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Rho….you seem a little reticent.  Are you really okay?

          4:10 pm | January 21, 2013
  • bigred52

    Happy Birthday, Mr. Wow. We are the same age now, at least until February 21st.   Welcome back to the world of the living – so to speak.   We are all glad to hear you’re ‘back in the saddle again’.  Hugs, Bigred.

    2:25 pm | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear BigRed…thanks and happy birthday in advance!

      11:57 am | January 20, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    “When I die I want it to be on my 120th birthday, at my beach house in Malibu and I want my boyfriend to be so upset he has to drop out of college.”
    -Anonymous

    6:43 pm | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Dr. Sugar…I want mine to drop out of high school. 

      “Ah think he recognized some of the…boys.”

      12:00 pm | January 20, 2013
  • Jonny T

    I’m always happy to see my e-mail alerting me to a new blog post.  But a picture?  Totally unexpected yet pleasant surprise. 🙂 From everything you’ve posted, it sounds like you continue to accomplish life.  Happy birthday, and here’s to more life.   

    11:27 pm | January 18, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Jonny…Thanks.  As for Jodie, who didn’t know and who cared?  I’m happy for her, personally, that she reached this point.  But I am bored by gay people who seem to find their validation in others coming out.  Deal with your own life and leave other gays to their own choices. 

      Not all of us want to adopt Korean babies either.  Some of us are content with cats.

      11:45 am | January 20, 2013
  • Jonny T

    Oh, and I also loved Jodie Foster’s speech.  For all the flak she gets for not coming out sooner, I thought she explained her reasoning very well.  Much as I understand the value in celebrities coming out, there’s no law that says everyone has to publicly declare their major.  

    11:29 pm | January 18, 2013
  • Andrea

    Welcome back Mr Wow.  So good that you’re feeling better now…or at least as well as you’ll admit to.  And finally, a picture!   
    Happy Birthday, Mr Wow……may you continue to be happy and all your dreams come true.  
    When I turned 60, for some reason, it didn’t bother me…..now, 65 was bad.   65 felt older than dirt.  My youngest daughter got tired of me pissing and moaning about being so old and hustled me out to final,y get that tattoo I’d always spoken of.   I went to Little Vinnies and saw Beth, who. At first was a little scary.  Goth, tattooed and pierced and then……she smiled and I saw the most delightful dimples.  She almost ruined it when she told me I was her oldest person that she’s tattooed, but we recovered.  
    So, though you’ve done a lot of interesting things, lived, at least in recent years on your win terms, I recommend doing something you’ve always wanted to do.    Something unexpected.  Enjoy your birthday!   

    9:23 am | January 19, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Andrea…a tattoo….hmmmm.  Almost got one back in the day when I was in L.A. so much.  Went with a friend of mind to a place on the Strip.  She had one of those lower back tats (essentially on the crack of your ass.)  She drank shots to dull the pain, and I drank shots because…I wanted to.  The tattoo artist was kinda mesmerizing–great arms and incredible blue eyes–and he kept saying to me, “I bet you want one too…”   I was just about to agree, when my friend Donna realized we were running late for whatever event we were out there for–maybe the Golden Globes.    So we hustled off and God knows how either of us got through the rest on the night.  And I had to concentrate and file a column. 

      I was going to have B.’s name on my shoulder.   He said he was  glad I didn’t.  But I think he would have gotten used to it.   

      11:41 am | January 20, 2013
  • mimi

    Andrea, you celebrated 65 by getting a tattoo? I’m impressed. My aunt celebrated turning 50 by buying herself a Corvette convertible. I haven’t done anything unexpected yet. Maybe this year. I’ll be 65 in December.

    10:24 am | January 19, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    “Your Cousin Sebastian, was he entertained by this concert?”

    4:58 pm | January 20, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      “And he ran and he ran…and he never ran…”

      10:26 pm | January 20, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    “They had devoured parts of him.”

    2:09 am | January 21, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    Dear Dr. Sugar…

    “It. Looked. As. If. They. Had. Devoured Him!” 

    I think Mr. Mankiewicz could have pulled her back a bit from that final shrieking wallow.   
    However, this was the man who allowed her, as Cleopatra, to bellow “Annnnthonnnyyyy!!!”  when she discovered he’d married another.  Apparently, Mank liked her out of control and out of tone.  Well, we did too.  But we knew it was all wrong.  
    “I asked it of Julius Caesar. I  demand it of you!”
    4:07 pm | January 21, 2013
  • lulu

    Happy Belated Birthday!!!  Great picture!!!  Thank goodness B knows how to help you post.  I have a friend who when her daughter told her “mom just cut and paste” she went and got the scissors and glue. 

    The diversity of everyone on your blog makes us a most ‘unusual family’ which is held together by your posts.  For that reason alone, you are living!!!!

     

     

     

     

    6:26 pm | January 21, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Lulu…I am trying so hard to do this all by myself.  But….so many steps!   It should be easier. Yeah.  Like everything. 

       

         Okay–the scissors and glue thing?  Even I knew better. 

      7:25 pm | January 21, 2013
      • maryburdt

        I was so proud today to be an American.  I hope all of you got to hear and see the Inauguration. It gave me hope for the future because our President, I believe, will do whatever he can to move us in the right direction.  Did you get a look at the Republican’s faces—doom and gloom. Oh, how they hate this man.  Too bad, they need to be part of this process.  We must work together to accomplish great things.  And Obama is up for the job.  Join him.
        I loved Michelle’s outfit and also her new haircut.  She looks 10 years younger.  I can’t wait to see the gown she picks for tonight.

        7:48 pm | January 21, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Dear Mary…and unfortunately “hate” is the mildest word to use, in regard to how the other side feel about the president.  It still frightens and depresses me, tho he has won a second term.   They won’t work him, they just won’t.  I hope he accomplishes what wants and needs to do, but it will be uphill all the way. 

          And of course now Michelle has to deal with her “epic eye roll” at some function, seated between her husband and Mr Boehner.   Watching the video, no such thing occurs but…she is equally detested, and even so-called “friendly” media now has nothing better to do but sensationalize or trivialize every gesture and expression.

          And CNN disgraced itself with it fatuous, fey, endless coverage of her gowns.  I thought I’d fallen into the E! channel.

          7:44 am | January 22, 2013
          • maryburdt

            Dear Mr. Wow–The President does have an up-hill battle on his hands, but what else is new?  He won the election, so now is his time to put forth an agenda that serves the majority of the American people.  I love the republicans today saying Obama’s speech was too liberal and divisive–oh, come on.  He is a liberal and that is why he won. 
            As for all the commentary about Michelle’s gown.  CNN did get carried away, but nothing can take away the gorgeousness of that red dress…awesome. 
            You must be feeling better because you seem to be your old feisty self–Yeah!  I love you Mr. Wow.  Hang in there.
            Hi to B.

            11:28 am | January 22, 2013
  • rick gould

    Mr. W!I totally get how wearying it can be to try to articulate how you feel or what you’ve been experiencing…but when you do share it with us readers, it feels honest and hopefully it’s a bit carthartic for you.
    If nothing else, jot us some of your movie and book picks, we always love your take on things relating to pop culture.

    Movie Moment with Rick: My sis had never seen “BUtterfield 8” and she is the classic everyperson with blunt opinions. “Why is that guy (Laurence Harvey) being such a jerk to Liz?” or “This is the role Lindsay should have played!” In the middle of all this, my Mom calls to tell me “Moonstruck” is on, with my OTHER favorite diva. Ah, small town life in Upper MI ; )

    Remember, WoW=NoW! Big hug, Rick

    10:42 am | January 22, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Rick….thanks, honey.

       

      You want blunt opinion?   The first time I saw “Butterfield 8” I  fell down gasping when our girl said:  “I model dresses like this for a living!”   Really?  What kind of a job is that?  You model dresses in nightclubs while you drink and carry on?  Also, for whom would Gloria Wandrous do this modeling–the Stylish Stout section of Lane Bryant?    Miss Taylor was lovely, but ripe to the point of bursting.   (I like the opening sequence, in the slip. obviously filmed over a period of days–weeks?  Her body changes from room to room.) 

       

      As for “Moonstruck”–after I saw it at an advance screening, I cried and turned to a friend, “This is the first time in years I’ve gone to a movie and been proud to be Italian.”   Cher’s performance wasn’t exactly Oscar-worthy, but it was her “moment” and the entire film was divine.    It holds up beautifully. 

       

      6:41 pm | January 22, 2013
      • rick gould

        Mr. W–That’s the other thing my blunt sistah commented on. When Liz furiously scrawls “No Sale!” in lipstick on the mirror (I’ve always wanted to do that!)…my sister said, “What’s her problem…I thought she was a whore…or is she just a slut?” Answer: Muddy MGM morality circa 1960! 
        Still Liz is pretty kicky trying to breathe some life into a tawdry tale she was forced to do. I always love the little show down at the bar, when Liz zings, “I’m not like anyone…I’m me!” Was ET writing her own dialogue? And the stiletto to Larry Harvey’s instep as he’s wringing her arm would have me putting my money on Liz in real life! What can I say? “BUtterfield 8” is like buttah in the guilty pleasure dept! 

        And “Moonstruck” is still a perfect romantic comedy. Have you ever noticed that most of Cher’s movies have been ensemble pieces, not vanity star vehicles?

        Good to hear from you, Mr. W! I love hearing from everyone on here, actually ; )

        8:16 pm | January 22, 2013
      • BabySnooks

        You are so bad. And so funny. And when you get to heaven she and Chen Sam are going to make you pay! But it is true. I would have hated to be the “continuity” person on her films.  “Well, she wore the size 4 yesterday, what gives?” She liked to eat as well as drink. And like all Pisceans added 10 pounds overnight. 

        8:45 pm | January 22, 2013
        • rick gould

          Baby-I recall a story famed designer Edith Head once told about all the films she designed Elvis’ costumes for: Presley would diet down for a film, but once shooting commenced, he would start eating again. So, Head came up with the proactive idea of designing duplicate outfits, both slim size and plus size! Hmmm…Edith probably should have been employed on more Liz films!

          10:46 pm | January 22, 2013
          • BabySnooks

            I suspect Edith Head learned early on to leave enough material to “take in, let out” on all of Elizabeth Taylor’s costumes. As did everyone else. But honestly every once inawhile she would appear in something that oversqueezed it all so to speak and you wondered if she gained 10 pounds between the final fitting at noon and the apperance at 6.  I met her during one of the “Fat Periods” and she seemed fine with it. She would venture out so to speak and found the perfect disguise. No one who saw her believed it was her. That woman who made the comment “All our lives we wanted to look like Elizabeth Taylor and now we do” wasn’t kidding. She would pop up at things with Warner and people would wonder who he was with. 

            10:30 am | January 29, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Baby….the wardrobe girl who worked on “Raintree County” said–“She could gain or lose more weight between a Friday and a Monday than anybody I ever knew!”

          7:41 am | January 23, 2013
  • Delusional

    Yea, being sixty sucks. But that’s no reason to sound like an old geezer. Had the Romney’s been in the room instead of the elite Bi-racial, the CNNs & MSNBC & Yahoos & ABCs & CBSs would have peed on themselves and everything being televised yesterday. A vat of liberal hatred so pure would have gone on without censor. Mr.. President can trot to church for all the see and dance to an old Al Green standby (not using the earthy, aged Mr. Green himself, but the slimmed skeletonized Jennifer Hudson instead) till the cows come home. Obviously you have not been anywhere near Black poverty or you would be shocked even as a sixty year old that this farce of a black president is persisting into a second term.

    11:43 am | January 22, 2013
    • TheRudeDog

      Hey, Delusional, you clever imp:  I’ve been overtaken with this impossible-to-shake need to congratulate you on your User Name, which is what you must be to think that your comment would make any kind of an impact here.  Your description of “…this farce of a black president…” elicits, I promise you, the same response it has on every other site where you’ve posted save for Rush Limbaugh’s.  I didn’t think it possible, but you’re more boring than Boehner. 

       

      6:06 pm | January 22, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Delusional..   actually I have been near black poverty.  And white poverty–I lived it.   Not quite sure what you are intending to convey. Tho I am stressed about being 60, and perhaps come off like a geezer.  But that’s okay (by me)   I want to embrace my geezer-dom.

      You don’t care for Mr. Obama–well, four years goes pretty fast and maybe the next prez will be a Republican.   You’ll be happier then, and I’ll really be a geezer!

       

      Best to you, MrW

      6:29 pm | January 22, 2013
  • BabySnooks

    Liz is on Facebook. And really did out you this time. Of course she will probably say I did first so. Left a note for you on her page. I outed myself.  Turnaround and all that.  And in a delirious mood today for some reason.  I love it when people make assumptions.  And some did about me.  But hurry. I may change my mind and delete it.   

    1:15 pm | January 22, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Baby…I will never answer to anything other than “Mr. Wow.”  At least for the time being.   When I wrote to you a while back and said, “I have never known Denis Ferrara,” I was being honest.  Oblique, obtuse, but honest.  


      All is well-ish with me and my boss.  Thirty years is too long a time to forget the all good parts and what my job brought me.  And also–as I always point out in all matters Mr. W—I made my choices.  Maybe out of fear or insecurity, but they were mine.  I blame nobody for my various dissatisfactions. 

      Please remain delirious.  Such a wonderful state to be in.  
      2:05 pm | January 22, 2013
  • BabySnooks

    Well we’re both out now even though we don’t know the person others think we are. In my case, well, very true as well! 

    2:32 pm | January 22, 2013
  • mimi

    Mr. Wow, I was very glad to see your response here. In both cases when Liz “outed” you, I thought – how rude! But at least after Sandy it seemed that she was concerned. This time it just looked self-serving. Nice to see that you will always be Mr W to all of us. You’ve built quite a lovely family here and I’m happy and proud to be part of it. By the way, I thought Michelle’s red dress was stunning and the bangs looked good. The eye roll I missed, but I guess there is some dissension about whether or not it took place, so I guess I didn’t miss much there. 

    3:32 pm | January 22, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Mimi—I will always be Mr. Wow.   I love my family here. 

       

      Liked Michelle’s bangs and her dress.  I also enjoyed  that she ate heartily while her husband and his mortal enemy pretended to like each other.  Elbows on the table–enough of this phony shit–I’m hungry!

      6:47 pm | January 22, 2013
      • BabySnooks

        I liked the fact that instead of turning to Boehner and telling him to go f**k himself she just rolled her eyes. So far the Looney Tooney Republicans haven’t gone there. Maybe they’re afraid to.  She should run for president. I would vote for her just for that. He didn’t see her. Until it began hitting the internet last night. I wonder if he cried?

        8:41 pm | January 22, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Loretta Castorini: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last confession. 
    Priest: What sins have you to confess? 
    Loretta Castorini: Twice I took the name of the Lord in vain, once I slept with the brother of my fiancee, and once I bounced a check at the liquor store, but that was really an accident. 
    Priest: Then it’s not a sin. But… what was that second thing you said, Loretta? 

    7:29 pm | January 22, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    “Loretta, in time you’re gonna thank me for this.”

     

    “In time you’re gonna drop dead and I’ll go to your funeral in a red dress!”

    7:43 pm | January 22, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Rose: Do you love him, Loretta? 
    Loretta Castorini: Aw, ma, I love him awful. 
    Rose: Oh, God, that’s too bad. 

    8:25 pm | January 22, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    OH, Good Grief!–Can the media just back off on whether of not Beyonce sang the “Star Spangled Banner” live or if she lip-synced?  First of all, it was a terrific rendition, which is all that should matter.

    Second–it’s a a damn difficult song to sing, and those chosen want to do it proud.  (Except if you are Roseanne.)

    Third, and to me the most important thing in this not-terribly-important “scandal”–everybody continues to point to Whitney Houston’s immortal 1990 version as the peak rendition, adding, “and she sang it live!”  Uh, as  a matter of fact, she didn’t.  Whitney recorded that magnificent version of “The Star Spangled Banner” the previous day.  She wanted to get it right.  She did sing, but it was her pre-recorded version that the vast stadium audience (and millions watching on TV) heard.

    It is almost impossible to be heard properly in those stadium conditions anyway, without massive (and often distorting) amplification or at least some lip-sync.  Cher performed  an awfully powerful “Star Spangled Banner” some years ago, and did the same thing–sang over the recording she’d made the day before. 

    I don’t want to sound like that famously weeping/screaming Britney Spears fan, whose wildly emotional defense of Spears went viral online a few years back, but–Leave Beyonce Alone!!!”

    P.S.  I’m not even into Beyonce, in case you’re wondering.  The whole thing is just so silly. 

     

    1:24 pm | January 23, 2013
    • Star Spangled Banner trivia:  the tune is that of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” the official song of an 18th-c. amateur musicians’ society, the Anacreontic Society.  It’s a little drinky… have a listen…

      4:25 pm | January 23, 2013
  • lulu

    I so totally agree with you Mr. Wow!!!  There are so many more important issues that every American should be discussing other than Beyonce, Mrs. Obama’s supposed rolling of the eyes, or ………

     

    1:58 pm | January 23, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Lulu–like the Republicans trying to kill Hillary today.  Seems she’s holding up pretty well.

      2:01 pm | January 23, 2013
      • maryburdt

        Go Hillary!  I am sitting here watching this pounding by the Repubs but Hillary will make us proud today.  Mark my words..this is one tough lady.

        2:26 pm | January 23, 2013
      • She’s already being pounded on Twitter and in the press for “what difference does it make?”  But you know… that is EXACTLY right.  When things are happening on the ground, motivation is irrelevant.  All that is relevant is – someone is using a weapon against you.  Whether the shooters were just protesters in the crowd, or militants using the crowd as cover… the effect is exactly the same.  The motivation is a finer detail that these armchair-security-experts will seize upon as being incredibly important.  From a security standpoint, it is not.

        The Libyan govt. already apologized to the US for failing to provide their part of the embassy security.  As for our end of it – there’s only so much a handful of Marines can do, but that’s exactly what most embassies have.  This is why host-nation security is so important, yet conveniently, those who like to cast blame are ignoring that part of things.

        5:03 pm | January 23, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Lila…with Obama back in the White, Hillary–despite her protestations–is now looked at as the big problem for Republicans in 2016.  They’ve got to try and destroy her over this. 

          Good luck on that–she’s survived worse.   I thought she handled herself very well.  And no lip-syncing, either!

          11:23 pm | January 23, 2013
  • mimi

    Good grief! I’m watching the news. They gave just a few minutes to Hillary and quite a few more to Beyonce. Get real folks.

    7:05 pm | January 23, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Wait, it was lip-synced? Great! Another illusion shattered. ( If Latifah’s not a real queen, I don’t want to know.)

    7:50 pm | January 23, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Oh, Dr. Sugar…after all I told you about Sebastian, you still have illusions? 

      11:25 pm | January 23, 2013
  • Delusional

    Actually, Wow-wow, Beyonce’s performance, or non-performance, does matter. It has been a contentious issue for some time. Entire concerts have been done this way; all those stupid boy groups, the lesbian Justine Bieber, the certifiably insane Britney, booty roll Beyonce herself, are each sticking a big one to the gullible public. Can one imagine Bruce Springstein pumping out a big fake one?  Pulling a “Lipsinka” is not to be confused with the way, say, your La Liz gives us her skills.  But I forget: we reward frauds.  

    9:16 pm | January 23, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Delusional…actually, I don’t believe the public tends to be “gullible” at all.  In terms of celebrities (or politicians) I think the public is unforgivingly cynical.  And nobody is forcing anyone to pay big bucks to see singers who don’t really sing.   Or who don’t sing that well without back-up and auto-tune.  They are there to see the “show” or that particular artist in “the flesh.”   They’ve made their choice.

      I don’t consider that Beyonce–or Whitney Houston, for heaven’s sake!–are “frauds” because they wanted their renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner” to be perfect.   But the great thing is, you’ll never have to see Beyonce in concert or ever listen to her CDs.   You made a choice. 

      But yes, you are correct–sometimes frauds are rewarded.  George W. Bush was given eight years in the White House. 

       

      11:17 pm | January 23, 2013
  • Haunted Lady

    Sorry to get off topic here but I’m interested in knowing if you and B have pretty well recovered from Sandy? I think we tend to forget that clean-up and recovery from something like that can take quite a while. I’m hoping all is going along well for you and for Hoboken and the East Coast in general.

    12:20 pm | January 24, 2013
  • mimi

    Haunted Lady, Wondering the same thing. And, Delusional, we don’t all agree on this site, but we are respectful of each other. I welcome all the comments including yours, but I don’t like the tone of them. You remind me of the relative (in our little internet family) that I, personally, would love not to know except that I am related to him.

    1:41 pm | January 24, 2013
  • Rho

    I am interested too, parts of my area in Queens still have nothing.  Stores haven’t opened as yet and people lost their homes. 

    6:02 pm | January 24, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Haunted, Mimi and Rho….

       

      We are okay.  As you might have read in “Sandy Visits Mr. Wow”  (or whatever the hell I called that piece) we  had no damage.  The rushing water came right up to the vestibule of the house (I stepped into ankle-deep sludge)   But it came no further.  Other people on my block–and for blocks around us–were devastated.

       

      Lucky, as usual. 

      8:32 pm | January 24, 2013
  • Rho

    I just posted something, where did it go?  I was talking about Sandy.

     

    6:04 pm | January 24, 2013
  • Rho

    oops, there it is, lol

     

    6:05 pm | January 24, 2013
  • Haunted Lady

    Glad to hear you’re functioning OK. I hope things get back to normal soon for everyone back there. I’ve looked up some pictures of Hoboken and it looks like a very nice place.

    12:59 pm | January 25, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    Bouncing between “Downton Abbey” and the SAG Awards.  Oy, Anne Hathaway. Cry me a river of terrible music, honey.   Alec Baldwin?!! Come on.  Enough.  After a few wins for the same role, excuse yourself. 

     

    Julianne Moore–lovely woman and actress.  Can never get her clothes right.  Bradley Cooper totally shaved.  Totally hot.

    Tina Fey.  Thank God, that show is going off the air.  

    8:28 pm | January 27, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    Noah Wyle–aging remarkably well.  Can’t tell what’s happening with the mummy standing with him.

    8:32 pm | January 27, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    Despite her hideous frock, so glad Julianne won.  She is a very under-rewarded actress.

    8:44 pm | January 27, 2013
  • Mr. Wow

    Although not nearly as jaunty as the Golden Globes, the SAG awards do move at a mercifully quick clip. 

    Hmmmm…that little bit Anne Hathaway and Hugh just did was more entertaining than all four hours of “Les Miserables.”  (okay–three.  Long. Hours.)

     

    Alec Baldwin’s hair.  He looks great on his diet, but enough with the brunette swirls on top.

    9:00 pm | January 27, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Hollywood actors’ faces are pulled so tight it seems ironic to call it the sag awards.

    10:15 pm | January 27, 2013
  • mimi

    I can’t believe I missed it. I’ll start looking at the pictures now to see if I agree.

    8:58 am | January 28, 2013
  • Haunted Lady

    Agree about Alec Baldwin. He and Tina Fey, both of whom keep getting awards for doing the same thing over and over, can give up the phony surprised look. As award-winning actors, they should either do a better job of faking it or just don’t bother.

    Les Mis is one I have no desire to see. It’s a dismal story and the music doesn’t enthrall me enough to sit through the rest. I’m dying to see Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook, though. Has anyone here seen either of those?

    11:53 am | January 28, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      I love “Silver Linings Playbook.”    Less enamored of “Lincoln.”  Much less.


      “Argo” is great.  
      2:17 pm | January 28, 2013
      • BabySnooks

        Ben Affleck should be ashamed of attaching his name to a film that is simplistic and propagandistic. You walk away believing that the Iranian people rose up because the Empress, she prefers just plain old Farah not that anyone cares including Ben Affleck, spent billions in oil revenue on milk baths. I have about as much inclination at this point to watch a Ben Affleck film as I do a Woody Allen film. 

        And don’t get me started on “Django.” We have added gratuitous racism to the gratuitious sex and violence. Give me a good tear jerker like “Imitation of Life” over this crap that Hollywood keeps producing. 

        10:23 am | January 29, 2013
        • Mr. Wow

          Lana Turner:  “It never occured to me you had friends.  You never have anyone over.

          Juanita Moore:  “Oh, I have lots of friends.  I belong to the Baptist church and to several lodges.”
          Lana:  “I never knew”
          Juanita:  “Miss Laura, you never asked.”

          OMG–“Imitation of Life”   You are made of stone of you don’t unravel at the final scene between Juantia and Susan Kohner (as her tormented daughter trying to pass as white)   “My baby, my beautiful baby.  Nothing you do ever will stop me from loving you.”   And let’s not even go into the funeral, with Mahalia Jackson wailing out “Trouble In This World.”
          4:23 pm | January 29, 2013
  • Rho

    Hi all, I forgot it was on, watched something else.

    2:52 pm | January 28, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Rho…well, I was channel surfing so much!  Sunday is a big TV night for me.  But I managed to get everything in I wanted to see.  Thank goodness for immediate re-runs.

      7:15 pm | January 28, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Loved “Argo”; most exciting movie I’ve seen in years.
    (No matter what the academy says, Ben was the best director this year.)

    3:05 pm | January 28, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Dr. Sugar…I agree.  But I wouldn’t count out “Argo” as best film. 

      7:44 am | January 29, 2013
  • lulu

    Movies that I have seen and see most due to connections in LaLaLand that I would recommend

    Life of PI – Amour – Quartet

    My favorite so far has been Silver Lining Playbook –

    I wasn’t fond of Lincoln or Les Miserable –

    Some of the movies and series on HBO are superior in my mind to a great deal of the movies being made for the big screen these days

     

    10:37 am | January 29, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    Here’s the press release:

    BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Two-time Academy Award® winner Barbra Streisand, who has sung on the Oscars only once before, will perform on the upcoming Oscar® telecast on February 24. Streisand last sang the love theme from “A Star Is Born” on the March 28, 1977 show, winning the Best Original Song Oscar for “Evergreen” that same night.

    10:53 am | January 30, 2013
    • Mr. Wow

      Dear Dr. Sugar….Streisand performing at the Oscars? Please prepare the lobotomy.  

      12:00 pm | January 30, 2013
  • Delusional

    Could someone tell me what the *@*!! happened to Michael York’s face? Unrecognizable. Age? Abuse? Surgery? All of the aforementioned?  On Today Show this a.m.–whoa!

    12:32 pm | January 30, 2013
  • Daniel Sugar

    (It’s not the Oscars any more, it’s the Streisand show.)

    1:08 pm | January 30, 2013
  • Rho

    Why don’t you like Barbra?  She is one of the best female singers of all time.  Besides, she comes from Brooklyn, NY like I do. She went to Eramus High School, I went to Thomas Jefferson High School.

    1:53 pm | January 30, 2013
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