In the Craft, we have a specific ancestor. Some call Gerald Gardner the founder of modern Wicca, some call him a reviver or modernizer or publicizer. But we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his part in the movement that would amaze him today.
A friend traveled to Tunisia and photographed his grave:
I saw a really violent movie the other night, so I dunno, it warped my brain.
This is an open-ended quiz. I will accept any movies that correctly answer the questions:
1. Name 3 movies with someone being killed by sword.
Solved by Randal Graves (comment #3).
2. Name 1 movie with someone being killed by an ordinary pen.
Solved by TehipiteTom (comment #6).
3. Name 4 movies with people surviving gunshot wounds.
Solved by Melville (comment #4).
4. Name 3 movies in which there is a violent showdown between romantic partners.
Solved by Melville (comment #1).
5. Name 1 movie in which someone is killed by being run over by a dune-buggy.
Solved by George (comment #21).
6. Name 2 movies with decapitations.
Solved by TehipiteTom (comment #7).
7. Name 4 movies with strangulations.
Solved by Melville (comment #12).
So, I was on Coast to Coast AM radio for three hours this morning. PHEW.
The show was absolutely fantastic. Rollye James was a terrific host to work with, she asked smart, complex questions and really listened to the answers. You’d think that’s a given, but I’ve done a lot of radio and it definitely isn’t always the case.
The listeners who called in were fantastic too. I was expecting to get slammed, just because I figure that when the phone lines are open, that’s who’s going to call, but that didn’t happen at all. I spoke to several Wiccans, some people dealing with psychic phenomena, and everyone was warm and engaging. The whole experience was excellent.
The down side? It was from 2 am to 5 am, my time. And somehow the communication lines got messed up in setting up the show, so I thought it was one hour, not three. I’d have taken a better afternoon nap if I’d known.
I’ve gotten thousands of hits on this little blog since the Coast to Coast schedule went up announcing my appearance, all referred through Coast to Coast. So hi to all my new visitors!
I don’t know if my Monday Movie Review will go up. I did manage to watch a movie last night but I didn’t write a review yet, and I suspect I may get punchy today.
Last night, the ancestors crowded our circle. Their presence crowded our space, the boundaries of the circle swelled with the fullness of spirit within.
We chanted the names of our beloved; departed family members, friends, honored predecessors like Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente, pets, and others. As we chanted and later as we ate and drank with them, memories flooded us. My mind couldn’t hold all the names and faces and moments that were rushing to me.
I was particularly moved to know how my family has worked to retain the family connection that let me honor my dead. I know people who really have no idea who their relatives are or were. Who maybe know names but don’t know the people in any kind of real way.
I know these people. I remember these people. I honor these people:
My mother’s parents, Murray and Ann.
Ann’s mother Mollie.
Ann’s sisters Avis and Francis, and her brother Sam.
My father’s parents, Sunny and Jean.
Sunny’s brother Leo.
Jean’s mother Rose.
Jean’s sister Milly (Mimi) and Mimi’s husband Irving, and Jean’s brother Alex.
My step-father Harvey.
Harvey’s brother Kenny and their aunt Evy.
To my honored ancestors: I remember you.
I am really too tired to mess with finding photos and cropping them and all that, so here’s a reprise of one of my very favorite kittenblogging entries:
Tuesday night’s House had a guest star that looked very familiar to me, so this morning I looked her up. It’s Azura Skye.
On House, Skye played a young woman who believed she could talk to the dead. On Buffy, Skye played a young woman who could see the future, and knew the date of her own death. She then came back as a ghost (except it wasn’t really her, it was the First).
Psychic Dead Girl. I’m thinking that’s the most specific typecasting in television history.
I watched about ten minutes of Viva Laughlin, which was notable for being the most horrifically bad television to have ever assaulted my eyeballs. And ears. Cuz it’s a musical. It’s already been canceled.
I have to say that, having read the blurb that the show was going to be on, I was both interested enough to make note of the date of the premiere, and certain it would be cancelled. It’s a musical. About a casino owner. Except it’s also a drama. Y’know, like Cop Rock. So you had to kind of guess. Except it was, in every way, more awful than you could picture. Okay, let me put it this way: The stars lip-synched to well-known songs. I mean it. “Viva Las Vegas” and “Sympathy for the Devil” with very bad choreography while walking through plot points with jazz hands. Oh. My. Gods.
Moonlight may have made it all the way to the half-hour mark. Except, y’know, one hour show. The lead actor is a screaming nightmare of bland. The plot unfolds like an amalgam of every other plot you’ve heard of. And in that style of pretty people on pretty TV, everyone looks alike. Awful.
K-ville fared better. One might legitimately like this show. “One” meaning not me. The acting was excellent and the cast has chops. The cinematography (can you say that about TV?) was wonderful, gritty and appealing. But the relationships felt very forced and the plot was very cliched. It was all just-another-cop-show except for the cut-above quality. Can’t be bothered to come back to this one.
My one true pleasure of the fall season is Life. I am loving every minute of this. Damien Lewis is fascinating, I just want to watch and watch and watch him. Adam Arkin is, of course, welcome on any show I’m watching. In fact, maybe he should do a guest spot on all of them. And Christina Hendricks has a recurring role.
The show is doing a good job of blending back story, character development, and murder-of-the-week. The only thing wrong that I see is two of the three primary female characters are that bland-pretty-we-all-look-alike type. Why can’t I see more interesting women, dammit?
The premise is that police officer Charlie Crews was convicted of murder and spent twelve years in jail. Freed because of DNA evidence and the work of his devoted lawyer, he’s been paid a large settlement and his badge has been restored. Now Charlie is trying to solve the crime he was convicted of, trying to adjust to life on the outside, solving crimes, and having a personal life. It’s all rather intricate and usually handled with some delicacy.
Other than that, there’s nothing much going on. Grey’s Anatomy is not quite as bad as the latter half of last season, but the magic is gone. ER is actually better than last season, and in many ways has a lot of juice. In other ways, it’s a lot like, am I still watching this thing? But yes, I am.
A little harder this week, but you did it!
So continue to be trivial.
