RuPaul, Florida, Maude, & More

Good Golly.

A friend of mine posted this, which is good enough by itself.



That however led me on a 20 minute hunt for the Me & My Shadow routine - which sure isn't labeled very well. Fanboys! Work on your metadata! This, my friends, is genius. And even includes a Hitchcock reference!



(Start the proceedings at the 11 minute mark or just click here to skip all the preceding skits)

In conclusion, a lovely Wednesday night was had by all.

Dance Of The Seven Rues

Yesterday was a bit stinkypants at work, and the worst of it is I didn't really give Rue McClanahan a proper send-off.

You can click around the interwebs to find Golden Girls highlights. Now for something completely different.

God Bless, B movies. And Doolittle.

Summer of Death, Part 2 - we're ready for you.

Betty White Victorious

She shall be missed. I saw Rue once, hosting F@ggot Feud at Barracuda, sometime in the late 90s when the $5 cover made me think twice.

Ebony, Ivory, Gold

Well, how could I go wrong with this one?


About a month ago I just started getting New York Magazine. To whomever my mysterious benefactor is, I thank you.

Anyway, this week's issue came and it has Miss Betty White and Mr. Tracy Jordan Morgan on the cover - I mean, two great tastes that go great together.



The fact that there's an article about them? Even better. And best of all? Behind the scenes film of the cover shoot?



Lay me down now Lord, it's a good day.

Three Good Things!

One:

Remember this baby? I honest-to-God was one of those kids who returned my Christmas present of Michael Jackson's Dangerous CD for Nevermind at my local Strawberry's Records & Tapes.

Flash forward nineteen years:

Two:

If you want to know where I'll be Saturday night at 11:30pm, it'll be watching Betty White on SNL. Here's her last night, re-challenging Jimmy Fallon in Beer Pong.



Three:
Drew Barrymoore's tell-all coloring book hits shelves.

God Bless, America.

You Say Pi-CASS-o, I Say Pi-CAH-sso

Congrats to the anonymous bidder who won "Nude, Green Leaves, And Bust" at auction last night for $106.5 million. This 1932 beaut was last sold in the early 50s, for just under $20k. If I can get that kind of return on my house in 5, 6 years, I'll be in clover.Speaking of houses, while this painting is sure pretty, it's not my favorite by Pablo. That would be this buddy from the Art Institute of Chicago, which has made its entire collection online and available for viewing, a lovely thing.

This is "Villa in Vallauris," painted in 1951, the year before "Nude, Green Leaves" was sold for $19k.
I'm not sure why I this one so much, but bully for me that I do. I was in Chicago for a book fair maybe ten years ago, and on a free day toured the museum. There's something so calming (despite the cubism) of this house.

It's what I picture my second home in the Hudson Valley looking like, and it's the reason I keep socking money into that HSBC "High Interest" earning account, with its 0.75% annual rate. Every day I get a little closer chums, then you're all invited for cocktails on the lanai.

A True, Great, White

Recently, someone said to me "So why do the kids like Betty White so much these days?" I assume this question was meant as, why is it that all of a sudden her star is shining so bright, rather than 'what is there to like about her?'

I first met Ms. White back in my early childhood, when I would go and stay with my Nana and Papa. The Mary Tyler Moore show was in reruns, and Nana and I would enjoy that together. Her Sue Ann Nivens was brilliant. White herself credits this improv bit with the kick to the oven as one of the ways in which she turned this one-time guest spot into a recurring role.

As they were creating the part of Sue Ann Nivens, Mary Tyler Moore said "we need someone who on air is sickeningly sweet, a real Betty White type." Zing! It sounds rather apocraphyl now, since I've heard that story before (in casting Dorothy Szbornak, they supposedly said "We need a real Bea Arthur type," but we'll get to the Golden Girls in a moment).

Where'd she get this reputation for niceness? Well, she started in television in the late 1940s, when most of our parents were just being borned. I like watching Life With Elizabeth, in which she plays a loveable housewife in a show that sometimes is a bit on the mysogenistic side, but often funny (who says we can't have both?).

Here's a clip from that:

Sometimes she'd even sing!

Anyway, of course we all remember her from The Golden Girls. From 1985-1992, every Saturday night I would babysit for my little sister while my parents went out. I would drink root beer from a wine glass, eat a whole bag of Doritos, and watch Golden Girls.

But then? That program eventually went off the air. White was busy with lots of guest appeareances, including this amusing one from The John Larroquette Show:



I think one of the things that kick-started her 'comeback' was her dirty-mouthed role in Lake Placid in 1999:

People liked that, and then she was on Boston Legal with William Shatner, and THEN she had that dirty mouthed bit on Bill Shatner's roast, which I blogged about at the time (it keeps getting taken down).

This lead to the bit in the Proposal, the superbowl ad, and all the other things I've blogged about.




Here's a lovely little clip that sorta sums it all up:

Anyway, that's my story of Betty White and I'm sticking to it. God Bless, Betty, White.

iBetty

I mean, this is almost a week old, but it's been a while since we've seen Betty White. And now, shilling for Apple!

"If You Can Escape From The Nazis..."

Wow Betty White. This program looks horrible. On the plus side, it's nice to see you again.

A Meme, Or 3, A Day

I mean, there's this:

Or this:

Or really, this:

Some people have TIME!

Also? Golden Bells!

I mean, if there's a Golden Girl on Late Night TV, I gotta feeling I have to post it here.



Hey, Betty White's gotta eat!

These Old Cats Have TEETH

Is it Genius? Nope. Is it funny enough? Heck yes.

I'll Show You Cranky!

So first thing this morning a foreign colleague told my boss I was "cranky" and "unhelpful."

The most helpful thing I could think of to do was not respond and instead check out some Bea Arthur on youtube.



Happy Wednesday, Finks.

Oh, Betty!

Dolls Parts

Wow. If you know anything about me, you know I have a fear of dolls.

Part of it definitely stems from that episode of Webster where there was the creepy doll on the little rocker upstairs in their new house...after their old house burned down because of his memento box, another terrifying ep.

Anyway, this inventive person has created some pretty amazing replicas, which I can't tear my eyes away from, like those car crash pervs in a J.G. Ballard story, or a Grace Jones / Roxy Music song.

I'm glad I finally get to see Bette Davis in her red dress for the Olympus Ball...in color!

Speaking of Little Miss BD, these are the most horrifying things I have ever seen.

Oh wait, here's something just as scary - and what a treat to see old chum Agnes Moorehead in doll form! Watch where you stand, buddies!

I love Rosemary's Baby, and not just because the movie theatre in my home town was named after Ruth Gordon.

This one cheers me up. Kinda.

Barbara, God Bless you.

Amber's favorite, Miss Carmen Miranda. I don't understand the technology involved in the "real" Carmen Miranda, I definitely don't understand it here.

Anyway, that's all I got for now. Be sure to visit the website to order your copies today!

Old Broads, New Tricks

One thing I always like to do on Sundays is catch up with my Golden Girls and Mary Tyler Moore alumni.


First, I read the "Night Out With" column in the Times with Betty - she had a nice zinger about Bob Redford.

“Is there anything left that you would really like to do?”

“Robert Redford,” Ms. White answered instantaneously.

Then I read a bit with her old pal & costar Cloris Leachman in New York Magazine. She didn't have all the one-liners that Betty did, but I enjoyed the bit anyway. More than I enjoyed her memoir, frankly.

Anyway, here's Betty White on Chelsea Handler.



Oh, and here she is playing beer pong with Mr. Jimmy Fallon, if that's not enough BW for you.



Let's see if that's enough to get us through Monday.

Bea In The Middle

So as some of you may have heard, Dame Bea Arthur put on her golden wings and went up to Heaven a few weeks back.

In honor of her passing, Amber and I dutifully downloaded her guest-starring role on Malcolm In The Middle and watched it on that Traffic Cone Application on the laptop.

Turns out we could have just taken advantage of the work this buddy did - herewith the highlights.



I'm surprised by how sweet it is, particular the Abba bit at the end. Thanks, Bea!

Threepenny Arthur

Really? What can I say?

This year on Thanksgiving I will give thanks that Tyler stole this poster from a gay disco. And I will give thanks that I have the soundtrack to a certain someone's one man show, a MacBook, and time on my hands.



With apologies to Lotte Lenya, this is pretty good stuff.

Off-White

Without any ado at all, here's yet another Golden Girl talking dirty.

Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds: Behind the Scenes of The Proposal from Betty White

Personally, I can't get enough of this stuff.

Bea, Pee, & Me

So I am packing up, optimistic that I will be moving in the next few weeks. As I busily fill up Amber's Fresh Direct boxes with 34 years' worth of Miscellany, I'm enjoying the things I find.

Today I found this newspaper clipping that Andy sent to me, apparently in August of 1998 as he road-tripped through Arizona on his way to Texas (the Family Circus Route, apparently).

Rest in Peace, Bea. You're still in our thoughts.