Author Archives: louisprofphillips

TV LISTING FOR SUEZ IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (1986)Suez••• (1938) – Tyrone Power, Loretta Young. Story based on the monumental effort to build the Panama Canal.end of column item in The New Yorker (November 3, 1986)**WATCHING PATRICIA NEAL GRIN”Watching Patricia Neal grin is like tasting ice cream forthe veryv first time.”Rex Reed in ConversationsContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #26”

THE IDES OF MARCH” March 15 is too important a day to ignore. As the man who taught me to use a chainsaw said, it is immortalized by Shakespeare’s famous warning: “Cedar! Beware the adze of March.”HEATHER COX RICHARDSONMAR 16,2024****WALTER MATTHAU AT AGE 7 ” He became a voracious reader, and when he was youngContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: SHAKESPEARE”

ABOUT THE MOVIE ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD (1951)For the top of the 9th inning, the Pirates are shown taking the field but without wearing baseball gloves/mitts. It was common practice until the mid-1950s for major league baseball players to leave their baseball gloves on the field at the end of a half inning instead ofContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: BASEBALL #4”

DEMOCRAT IN KENTUCKYDemocrat is an unincorporated community in Letcher County, in the U.S. state of Kentucky.Democrat remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1985.[2] The community was so named because the postmaster, Isom Sergent, was politically a Democrat. “In Democrat, KY, the postmistress totted up , announced that Republicans outnumbered Democrats — 50 toContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: AMERICANA”

“At Joe Allen, a restaurant on Forty-sixth Street where denizens of the theatre world have been convening for nearly six decades, the walls are lined with posters of Broadway’s legendary duds. In the early days, for a show to make the display, it had to close in less than a week. Qualifying flops included suchContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: THEATER”

A popular joke of the 1920s was “Don’t step on it; it might be Lon Chaney!”iMDb trivia-Lon Chaney**The Oldest Recorded JokeThe oldest joke on record dates back to 1900 BCE in ancient Sumer, the earliest known civilization in Mesopotamia. Rather than a conventional setup and punchline structure, the joke is more of an observation: “Something which hasContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: COMEDY”

ANIMALS IN THE MOVIES (1938)”While Bringing Up Baby was being filmed much was heard about the leopard and the way the whole cast had to be sprayed with perfume to keep him in a good temper. The filming of Marco Polo revealed that elephants rent for $50 a day, camels for $25.”Margaret Farrand Thorp. AmericanContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #25”

Poetry is a way of living, I think.It’s a human activity like baking bread or playing basketball. At least I think it should be. . It ought to have that quality. What ought to distinguished it in that way is craftsmanship which is not distancing, though it does throw your attention off yourself and ontoContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: POETS & POETRY”

“Why use words? You know why? To communicate with somebody else,you see. The real life, the real reality…It’s not on earth. It’s what we cannot explain with words.” George BalanchineJennifer Homans. Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century(New York: Random House, 2022)**FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GREAT DETECTIVES Detectives investigate. What does it mean to investigate?Continue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: WORDS,WORDS, WORDS”

NOTES ON THE IT GIRL CLARA BOW1928: She became the highest paid movie star, receiving $35,000 per week.• Prince refers to her in his song “Condition of the Heart”. The line goes, “There was a woman from the ghetto who made funny faces just like Clara Bow”.from iMDb Trivia**CLARK GABLE LOOKS LIKE AN APE”His earsContinue reading “BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE: FILM #24”