Saturday Afternoon At The Movies

This idea came from a Facebook meme:

Over 10 days, post your 10 all time favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only, I'll be doing this over the next 10 Saturdays . First up:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlow

If you haven't seen the movie, you can watch it for free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INwC0Pfe5G4

Specs

Got me new specs on Friday, and they are awesome in their blueness. A bit Poindexter in looks, but they are blue.  Because my prescription can drain the bank what with the no-line bifocals, the prisms, and anti-glare coatings, a pair of prescription sunglasses is out of the question. I had been getting magnetic frames which came with a sunglass clip. They were ok, not a lot of choice as to style and colors. The eyeglass shop solved that problem with being able to embed small magnets in the lenses and then getting a sunglass clip that would fit the frame. Any frame! And I could also  have a mirror finish put on the sunglass lenses. I'm prone to migraine and light is one of my triggers. Bright sunlight, sunlight reflecting off of pavement, snow. The magnetic frame eyeglass clips were never quite dark enough. The new clip is polarized and has a silver mirror. And the mirrors give me a  Gort-esque look. Wicked!

If you wear glasses do you also get sunglasses in your prescription?

The Friday Five

Every once in a blue moon, I like to take a look at my blog statistics. I don't put a lot of stock in them, but find them amusing to look at. This week, I decided to see how people found my blog. The top five search choices for the month:

1. 100 foods to eat (before you die). Not many answers to the blog post, but people were hugely interested in this topic.

2. Gort. As in Gort, the robot, from The Day the Earth Stood Still. Since this is my favorite movie off all time, and I've blogged about the movie about a 100 times, searchers are led here. This search terms has been consistently in the top five on my blog. I love it!

3. Bus going left or right. Again a fun topic about a simple drawing and the logic preschoolers used to determine the direction of the bus.

4. Alice in Wonderland watch. I've used a White Rabbit graphic from time to time. One of my favorite images.

5. People seem to search for a 55 speed limit sign. I used a 55 speed limit sign as my Wordless Wed. topic in 2010 to celebrate my birthday.

Do you check your blog statistics?

The Friday Five

Five movies I watched this week.

1. My First Mister, a coming of age story for a Goth girl

2. National Velvet The Young One and I shared a nostalgic moment.

3. Tron inside workings of the computer and computer programs. Blast from the past memories of tape drives and 15 lb. disk packs. As the Young One observed "You worked with refrigerators."

4. Attack of the 50 ft. Woman (1958), don't tick her off! I wish I looked that good at 5 feet something wrapped in a sheet.

5. The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) I still love the original but the remake is growing on me.  I thought the acronym for Gort , genetically organized robotic technology, was clever. Gort was cool though I wondered why he needed prominent collar bones. Probably for the same reasons the original Gort needed metal under-roos.

What movies did you watch this week?

Monday Night at the Movies - A to Z

This week my all time favorite movie, the 1951 sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still directed by Robert Wise, starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal and Gort. If I was stranded on a deserted island and could only have one DVD to watch on my coconut driven DVD player, this would be the one movie. The special effects may seem a bit cheesy compared to movies today, but the storyline holds up well. The music and lighting more than make up for the low tech special effects, and Gort is just wicked. This movie can be watched in so many ways: as an entertaining sci-fi movie, wondering how Patricia Neal was able to walk down the steep ramp while wearing high heels, social commentary on the nuclear arms race, and as an apocalypse.

Broaden my horizons. What's your favorite movie that starts with the letter D?

Sketchbook Exercise

I needed something to do where I didn't have to have a high degree of concentration. I came across this little exercise. Begin with a line drawing. Don't think about the line or where it's going. Just move your drawing tool across your page.  When you're done with the line drawing, look at the drawing at what you "see", similar to looking for objects in clouds.

I used a black Sharpie marker to make the line drawing. Then the fun part, looking for things and coloring them in with Sharpie markers. You can use whatever media you like to add color: watercolor pencils, colored pencils, water colors, markers, crayons... I like the vibrant colors of the Sharpie markers.


For those of you who read the Highlights magazine as a kid, this exercise reminded me of trying to find the hidden objects.

I don't know whether to be amused or frightened that these things live inside my head. Some of the things I saw were influenced by what was going on the day I did the drawing.

Can you find the:

Manicured hand with the tarty red nail polish - Facebook friends were talking about having manicures and pedicures

the sock - I did a load of laundry

the swan - Didn't see any on the frozen lake as I took The Eldest to work. There are dozens of swans and they must be hibernating.


the bunny

Gort's head (the robot from the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still - AMC ran the movie Friday night in honor of the 60th anniversary of the movie.)

the flamingo

the Punch and Judy looking witch with a green wart on the end of her nose

the shy girl

the skull

the leg with the fishnet stocking

the mermaid (I have a mermaid mural over the sink in the bathroom so I see this image countless times during the day)

the guitar

the fish

the smiling whale (though The Young One thought it was a smiling tube sock. Everyone's a critic)

Ink, my black cat though not rendered true to life or we'd never see his muzzle

the mouse - living in the woods, a little visitor or two has been known to come in and sometimes falls down a lally column in the basement. Usually the little critter doesn't make it out. I usually hear scratching coming from the column and Ink usually sits beside the column if there's a guest (or snack) No noises and Ink hasn't been standing guard duty.

the dog - a new friend adopted my friend, Iowa

the maraschino cherry

the bird

the hedgehog

the angry plesiosaur or dinosaur - I got some news I was not happy about

the fish - The Eldest has a betta fish and I'm wondering about its transport back to college on Monday

Did you like finding the hidden objects game when you were a kid? Do you see any other objects I might have missed?

Seven

This week, The Young One introduced me to a new channel in our cable lineup. It's called Retroplex. Old movies, uncut, no commercials. Perfect. I love moves. Old movies especially. There are some movies I can watch over and over and over again and never get sick of watching them. The list is real long, but I'll confine myself to seven movies I can watch over and over again.

1. The Day the Earth Stoood Still. The real one. The one made in 1951 with Michael Rennie. I love Gort. I want a Gort.

2. To Kill A Mockingbird. The Young One and I watched this movie together this week. I used to wish my dad would be as calm as Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) when I did stupid kid things.

3. The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are coming. A Soviet submarine runs aground in a small New England town harbor. Missing sailors, young love, chicken littles, and detente. If you haven't seen this film, you're missing a real gem.

4. The Quiet Man. John Wayne and his wet, silk arrow shirt at his finest.

5. The Long Ships. Richard Widmark, Vikings, Sidney Poitier as a Moorish lord and the quest to find "The Mother of Voices" a great bell made of solid gold.

6. Wizard of Oz. I love the Scarecrow.

7. The Hunt for Red October. Next time, Jack, send a memo. One of my favorite lines.

What about you? Any movies you can watch a million times and never get sick of seeing?