HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022!

 

The Fabulous Grim Reaper Chair!

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST!

 Here is an array of Christmas themed cartoons I've posted before over the years, now coming back for seconds!

"'Twas Christmas Day in the Poorhouse,

and the boys were feeling blue!

The boys in grey were fightin',

A Merry Christmas to you!"

"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Coming through the rye!

I wish you a Merry Christmas, 

Even as you and I!"

"Merry Christmas, mother,

Merry Christmas, mom!

Hi, mommy, mommy,

And a hot cha-cha!"

My Annual Christmas Wish List!

I've been wishing for Raquel Welch since way back in the 1960s...and still no dice. Of course, I mean the REAL Raquel Welch and not the pin-up posters Santa keeps delivering every year! 

Is my wish too far-fetched and ridiculous?  You be the judge!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas is just around the corner but I don't want to miss the opportunity to wish all my family and friends a great Yuletide and happy New Year in advance!

 

My Elf On The Shelf and the Squid Game

 

Apparently, my ELF ON THE SHELF has been watching a lot of the Squid Game. 

His pranks this year were a little bit extreme.

The Christmas Dancing Dog!

 

                   I don't own a dog but I'm sure all mutts would enjoy this little ditty from the 50s...                                               

MY COVID BOOSTER!

Got my COVID-19 Booster Shot Today!

And I'm now ready for all the ones that follow!

Our Winter Apparel.

 

You know the Christmas Season has begun when...

Everywhere you go, you find thousands of Xmas related merchandise...with ridiculous price tags!

WHEN YOU READ SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS PASSED ON...

 

The Last Time We Saw Every 007...

Best Bond farewell? Sean Connery, without a doubt!

HOW OLD AM I?

I remember those went out of style when mini-skirts became the new fad! 

 

LORENZO'S 7th BIRTHDAY!

Another great occasion to celebrate!

THE AFTERMATH OF THANKSGIVING!

Two days after the delicious Thanksgiving turkey dinner, there are still some goodies leftover if you just look around!

 

THANKSGIVING DAY, 2021!

There are some advantages of living next door to a farm... 

...as long as you don't get caught in the act!

MY LIFE IN BOXES

Last August, I moved into a new apartment in another town, but I'm still putting off the enormous chore of unpacking some of my boxes! What to do?

The Weight of Your Own Thoughts

 MORE LESSONS IN LIFE 

DAY OF THE DEAD

 CONGRATULATIONS to all you Dead People!

(You know who you are!)

HALLOWEEN 2021

When you're getting on in years, there's one knock on the door you don't want to answer!

 

MY WORST HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE!

 

Yes! It is no secret! I hate Brussels Sprouts!

REBECCA!

And the birthdays keep coming!

My little dear granddaughter REBECCA is 7 years old today, so...

 

MY FAVORITE CARY GRANT

 Cary Grant made 73 films from 1932 to 1966. His thematic range went from high adventure, action thrillers, and screwball comedies, to romance and drama. He is chiefly remembered for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on four of his best films: SUSPICION, NOTORIOUS, TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and also from his screwball comedies of the late thirties and early forties. Some of his best works combined romance, drama and comedy, such as HIS GIRL FRIDAY, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, GUNGA DIN, PENNY SERENADE and CHARADE and in all of them, the unmistakable Cary Grant persona and sophisticated charm always came through.

Out of his enormous output, I have chosen these 30 films, which are the ones I revisit and enjoy over and over again.

MY FAVORITE CARY GRANT list on IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls557970806/

THE JAMES BOND FILMS: My Personal Ranking.

 

I went to see my first Jame Bond movie on the big screen around 1964. It was GOLDFINGER, and later I had the chance to see the first other two on a double feature at a local second run theater. I saw THUNDERBALL early in 1966 at the height of the spy craze. The movies and TV shows at the time, were full of secret agents and cloak-and-dagger themes. I loved the Bond films and all its imitations, including OUR MAN FLINT, MATT HELM, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., I SPY, GET SMART, MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, and all the rest of the lesser known spin-offs. 

The spy craze faded as the 70s began but 007 held its ground and became one of the movies' longest running and most successful franchises.  James Bond himself went into several transformations, as different actors succeeded Sean Connery in the role.  When Roger Moore bid farewell to the role, back in 1985, James Bond entered into a very different path, as actors like Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan struggled to make Bond up to date and more palatable to modern audiences.  Daniel Craig entered the scene when the world was changing radically as the 21st century began to see a major turn in morals, attitudes and popular culture. 

The Bond of old suddenly seemed out of place in the era of #MeToo and PC bylaws. Craig and the producers of the James Bond franchise made the necessary adjustments to place 007 in a contemporary setting without disturbing the prevailing status quo. Bond became an angry man, often going rogue and ditching his job with Her Majesty's Secret Service.  His personal life and background began to take precedence in the stories and he stopped being the dashing, womanizing, elegant debonair spy with a license to kill.  He was now made more human, more sentimental, more caring, more down to earth and less elegant. He became a mixture of Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt and Peter Parker. 

Frankly, that's not the Bond I knew nor the Bond I want to see on the screen. My Bond is an entirely larger than life, fictitious character,  mysterious, enigmatic, easy-going, hard-hitting but classy and elegant with knowledge of the better things in life and somehow, kind of a superhuman. His past is sketchy and not too clear. That is the James Bond we all wanted to be back in the 60s. However, we now live in  a different era. The Bond of old has vanished and the franchise producers are taking a different path to accommodate this day and age's tastes.  So now, sadly, it's farewell to the old James Bond we knew back in 1962, when it all started...

This is my personal ranking of the James Bond films. I love them all but I do play favorites. Not an official list but as far as I know none of them are, as this is purely a matter of taste and done just for fun, which means that no other criteria applies. You may certainly disagree with the ranking positions but again, this is just a very personal choice.

My James Bond rankings on IMDb:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls011236085/