Waldina

Today is the 457th birthday of William Shakespeare. Did you know he is thought to be responsible for the quote All that glitters is not gold? I didn’t until I was reading up on him. The volume of his work is impressive, the conspiracy around it 400+ years after his death is impressive. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loos that he has left.

Fifty-nine years ago today, production started on the film Something’s Got To Give, but was never completed. It was to be a remake of the Irene Dunne Cary Grant screwball comedy My Favorite Wife (1940), staring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. It was Monroe’s last work, but from the beginning its production was disrupted by her personal troubles, and after her death on August 4, 1962, the film was abandoned. Most of its completed footage remained unseen for many years.

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If you Google “Earth Day Quiz” the first result is a quiz to find out what animal you are. I was a giant squid because I can achieve anything to which you put your mind and/or my massive tentacles.

This episode is also available as a blog post.

Today is the 98th birthday of Bettie Page.  Finding a G-rated photograph of her is more difficult than I had originally thought, so I decided to post some of the amazing Bettie Page inspired art that is out there.  The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Today is the 85th birthday of the country singer Glen Campbell. I remember seeing him on a lot of variety shows in the 70s and he was on The Muppets Country album. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Today is the 75th birthday of The Pope of Trash John Waters. I had a poster for his film Polyester on my wall in high school, and rented Pink Flamingos, Mondo Trasho, and Female Trouble from the local video store. They were messy stories told and performed by misfits and I was an immediate fan. His films introduced me to Divine, so The world is a better place because he was in it.

Eighty-two years ago today, the film Dark Victory premiered. 1939 is wildly agreed as one of the very best years of film. For example, it was up against Academy Awards with Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Bette Davis is spectacular. You have to see this film.

Today is the 115th birthday of the socialite, bon vivant, and literary muse Stephen Tennant. The characters Cedric Hampton in Love in a Cold Climate, Miles Malpractice in Vile Bodies, and Lord Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited are based on him. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Today is the 128th birthday of the artist Joan Miro.  I was first introduced to his work in the college library.  I did take Art History classes, so it could have actually been course-related, instead of my usual library extra curricular “studying.”  I was drawn to his vibrant colors and primitive and almost abstract characters.  His work has influenced generations of artist and empowered them to depict the world a bit differently.  The world is a better off place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.