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SANTA BLOGS XLIV

Dear Santa Blogs: I have a niece who sends me entertaining emails and who really deserves to get a present this year in exchange for all the gloomy Goth humor she sends my way. But I’ve never shopped for a Goth before and, anyway, I don’t have any idea what kids want for ChristmasContinue reading “SANTA BLOGS XLIV”

SANTA BLOGS XLIII

Dear Santa Blogs: What are you doing this year to provide us with a really good Christmas cong controversy? I rely on this every year as a chaser for all the good will and cheer being tossed at me, and so far, I haven’t heard a peep from you about it. Grumpy InContinue reading “SANTA BLOGS XLIII”

SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 4

Much as the previous silent Scrooges interested me, I am fascinated by the 1914 version. It runs to 22 minutes (some cuts are abrupt enough to suggest something is missing) and although Charles Rock makes a lively Scrooge, this is decidedly a Cratchit movie. We open with Bob Cratchit putting up holiday greeneryContinue reading “SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 4”

FICTION FRIDAY: No Cellar Door

“Welcome, oh seeker of knowledge, to the serene sanctuary of Madame Silsallabeth, whose eye sees all and whose mind…oh wow!” “Yeah, I’m back.” “Is that Patty?” “The last time I was here I was Lucid Student Patricia.” “The last time you were here you had two ears.” “And tenContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: No Cellar Door”

Fishing for a Laugh

Last week we went through a quick update on the large number of postcards new to my inventory concerned with dogs and their bladder relief. Today we will revisit another topic we have considered before: the ever-popular fishing postcard. Sending a postcard JUST because you are on vacation is a phenomenon f onlyContinue reading “Fishing for a Laugh”

SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 3

“Scrooge”, rereleased later as “Old Scrooge” for no apparent reason, appeared in 1913 and was the longest (known) version of the story up to that time, clocking in at some forty minutes. It opens with a little pseudo-documentary beginning with shots of Charles Dickens’s birthplace (with people pointing at it in part so weContinue reading “SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 3”

FICTION FRIDAY: Knit Wit

“Who goes there?” “A friend. Winky sent me.” “What’s the password?” “More is more.” “Enter, friend. But remember, no telling people….” “Oh, jingles! Owwwww!” “Winky should’ve warned you to put these dark glasses on.” “The colors! The…. Thank you, that’s better.” “Yes, we wear ‘em allContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Knit Wit”

GOING TO THE DOGS (or vice versa)

) Among the highlights of a recent influx of postcards into my inventory is a healthy assortment of dogs. Now, as we have mentioned hereintofore, the number one activity of dogs on postcards is, well, Number One. Note this card, for example, in which the puppy’s name, Pee Wee, is pretty much a safetyContinue reading “GOING TO THE DOGS (or vice versa)”

SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 2

This is a supplement to the comparison of film versions of A Christmas Carol, taking a look at the surviving silent versions. We considered the earliest surviving version, from 1901, last week. After a lost version of A Christmas Carol made in Chicago in 1908, the next, and first American, Christmas Carol was releasedContinue reading “SCREEN SCROOGES: Silent Supplement 2”

FICTION FRIDAY: Grading on the Curve

“We’re glad to see you again. What have you learned?” “Well, it isn’t just folklore: your Dead Man’s Curve has indeed been the site of a strange series of fatalities.” “That’s what we assumed.” “In 1915, a Mercer Raceabout was the first car to crash, killing its driver. But the car was salvaged and, twoContinue reading “FICTION FRIDAY: Grading on the Curve”