Monday, November 4, 2024
#MicroblogMondays: One day more...
Friday, November 1, 2024
"Phantom" turns 50?!!
Not THAT Phantom (of the Opera, the hit Broadway musical from the late 1980s -- which is getting to be almost 40 years ago itself...!)(gulp!).
I'm talking about Brian De Palma's 1974 movie, "Phantom of the Paradise." I was reminded of "Phantom" -- and the fact that it is turning 50 (!!!) years old -- when I saw an event flagged in one of my Manitoba friends' Facebook feeds -- a 50th anniversary celebration at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg on Nov. 2nd (tomorrow night, and there's a related event on tonight too). (The American online magazine Mental Floss has taken note!)
"Phantom of the Paradise" was a flop everywhere when it was released (appropriately, on Halloween). EXCEPT in Winnipeg (and, by extension, southern Manitoba), where it debuted on Dec. 26, 1974, and developed a huge cult following that has flourished for 50 (!!) years now. (And also, apparently, Paris, France!) Apparently there's even a 2019 documentary about the city's devotion to the movie, called "Phantom of Winnipeg" (lol).
I was 13 years old in the fall of 1974 (and turned 14 in January 1975), in Grade 8 at a new school. We'd recently moved to a new town, about an hour outside of Winnipeg. "Phantom of the Paradise" was HUGE that year. HUGE. It's hard to explain to people who weren't there, who didn't grow up in Manitoba during that pre-online, pre-cable TV era, just how huge it was. (I think we got something like 5 or 6 channels with the rotary antenna on the rooftop -- and not that many more when we got cable! -- and that was it -- which was still a lot more than we'd ever had to that point in the other places we'd lived -- i.e., ONE -- the CBC...) Today we'd probably say the movie went viral.
I didn't own a copy of the soundtrack album (a bestseller in Winnipeg, of course...), but thanks to other kids at school who did, plus heavy advertising of the movie on TV, I knew just about every song on it before I ever actually got to see the movie, I think! ("We'll remember you foreeeeeeever, Eddie...")
The movie ran for 18 weeks straight at the Garrick Theatre in Winnipeg (and then on & off at other theatres in the city, well into 1976 = about two years). It's "a weird blend of horror, comedy and rock music, inspired by sources like Phantom of the Opera and the legend of Faust." (Tagline: "He sold his soul for rock 'n roll.") You can still sometimes find it, late at night on TV -- often around Halloween (along with another beloved cult classic of the era, the better-known "Rocky Horror Picture Show," which came out a few years later). (I imagine you can find it streaming on some service or other too!)
I posted about this on Facebook, and my fellow Manitobans of a certain vintage were all responding "I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!" Others, of course, had never heard of it, lol.
Have you ever seen "Phantom of the Paradise"?
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Related links:
- "Fans of Phantom find paradise" (Winnipeg Free Press)
- "Why Winnipeg?" (about how the Phantom conquered the Peg, in 4 parts)
- "Go on. Ask. Everyone does."
- "An overnight sensation."
- "Paul Williams: Beatle"
- "Dream it Never Ends"
- "This Cult Musical Film Was 'Rocky Horror' Before 'Rocky Horror'"
- "Did Phantom of the Paradise Walk So That The Rocky Horror Picture Show Could Run?"
Right now
Right now...*
*(an occasional (mostly monthly) meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"). (Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first "The Current" post, here.)
October was a pretty good month overall (as I noted in a recent post!). The weather was decent, more days than not (we actually had the balcony door wide open both yesterday & the day before!); the fall colours took their time to pop out, but they were worth the wait; we got to see the nephews & great-niblings a couple of times; we had a nice Thanksgiving with family. Lots to enjoy!
- (I) Spent four Thursday evenings taking part in a Zoom webinar series sponsored by the Ontario Genealogical Society (also known as Ontario Ancestors), exploring various aspects of writing about your family history.
- Spent a morning at the mall (Oct. 1st), walking, shopping and having lunch. Bought a few things for the great-niblings :) as well as for myself (see "Buying," below!).
- Returned to the mall for more of the same, Oct. 22nd... :)
- ...and again on Oct. 30th, except this time, we had lunch later at home. :)
- Dh had a guys' dinner out at a nearby Italian restaurant with his brother and two of their cousins on Oct. 3rd -- and brought me home a large (and very boozy) takeout slice of tiramisu. :) (I think I'll keep him. ;) (It was a huge portion, and I shared it with him!)
- Spent the afternoon/early evening of Saturday, Oct. 5th, at BIL's. Older Nephew & his wife were at her friend's wedding (she was a bridesmaid), and so Little Great-Nephew was staying with his grandparents for the day. We took him to the nearby park for a while (which I don't think we've had the chance to do so far this year!). Later in the afternoon, Younger Nephew, his wife and Little Great-Niece came, and we all stayed for dinner (BBQ hamburgers & hot dogs). It was a perfect fall day -- clear, sunny, not too hot, not too cold, just a touch of autumn crispness in the air. A good time was had by all. :)
- Walked over to the nearby local lab on Oct. 9th, where we had blood drawn for bloodwork, in advance of our annual physicals.
- Browsed at the recently renovated mega-bookstore and then shopped for Halloween treats for the great-niblings at the drugstore (Oct. 10th).
- Returned to the bookstore for a browse on Oct. 24th. Still getting used to the new layout!
- Celebrated (Canadian) Thanksgiving on Sunday, Oct. 13th, with BIL, SIL, the nephews and their families (including Older Nephew's dog). They ordered dinner from a caterer (it was good!) and stuffed ourselves and generally had a good time. :)
- Headed back to our old community for covid & flu shots at our family doctor's office on Sunday, Oct. 20th (see "Pandemic diary/update," above).
- Back again on Wednesday, Oct. 23rd for our annual physicals. Discussed our bloodwork results -- which showed elevated levels of cholesterol for both me & dh (erk). He doesn't want to put us on meds just yet -- so we're going to repeat the bloodwork in January and try to watch our diet, lose some weight, and get more active again in the meantime. (Sigh.)
- Went with dh to a local supermarket on Oct. 24th to buy a grocery gift card for Older Nephew & his wife, to help them out while she's off work and on unemployment benefits, waiting for the baby to arrive. (We did the same thing when Older Nephew was off work for several months last year, after donating part of his liver to save his dad's life in a transplant operation.)
- Delivered the gift card when we drove with BIL & SIL up to Older Nephew's on Oct. 27th. He was home with Little Great-Nephew; his wife/LGN's mom was at a shower. A nice visit. :)
- Went grocery shopping with dh on Oct. 28th.
- Visited the nearby art gallery where I have a membership with dh... and a gazillion schoolkids, lol. We'd decided masks weren't necessary, based on the mostly empty parking lot -- so that was a surprise! (I guess the school buses dropped the kids off and then left! lol) It was a gloomy, rainy day, so we couldn't walk around the property and enjoy the dwindling fall colours, as we'd hoped. Nevertheless, we enjoyed touring the galleries (as usual -- I think our last visit was in January for my birthday, so there were lots of new exhibits to look at!) and then lunch in the cafe.
- Celebrated my 17th (!!) blogoversary!! (Oct. 31st)
- "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (October book for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club) (also a Barren Bitches Book Tour selection from October 2008, the early days of this blog! -- discussed here; related post here). (My review.)
- Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson, in advance of my DES fan group's read, which began on Oct. 7th -- noted below under "Current reads." (We'll finish in mid-December, and I'll count this as a re-read then!)(Original 2015 review here; most recent review here.)
- "Persuasion" by Jane Austen (the November pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club). (My review.)
- "The Marlow Murder Club" by Robert Thorogood. (My review.)(See also "Watching," below!)
- "Miss Buncle’s Book" by D.E. Stevenson, for my DES fan group. We began reading this together on Oct. 7th, and will finish in mid-December. I'll count this as a re-read then. (Original 2015 review here; most recent review here.)
- "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day. I'm once again taking part in a chapter-by-chapter group read of this CNBC classic! The most recent meeting covered Chapter 3. This is the 5th (!) time I've read this book, or the earlier version of it ("Rocking the Life Unexpected"). (Most recent review, with links to earlier reviews, here.)
- "The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel (book #3 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy) -- part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents. We started during the week of July 21st. I chose to focus on some of my other books over the past couple of weeks, and as a result, I'm currently about 9 weeks behind the reading schedule (! -- gulp...), at about 34% read -- hoping to catch up, eventually...! We will finish the group read at the end of December.
- Simon will be repeating the Cromwell Trilogy slow readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers. I highly recommend the experience! Details here!
- FYI -- participants have dubbed this one "Wolf Crawl," lol. :)
- "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (!). As I wrote here, I need another book club/readalong obligation like a hole in the head ;) but nevertheless, I'm taking part in a year-long readalong of this book, hosted by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents -- a chapter a day for a full year, which began Jan. 1, 2024. (And I'm really enjoying it!) Currently at about 86% read.
- If you've always thought about reading W&P, Simon will be repeating the readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers -- and I highly recommend the experience! Details here!
- "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...!
- My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group will be reading assorted short stories by the author over the next few months, before beginning a new book in January (to be announced). (I love LMM, and her books are usually fast, easy reads -- but I have to admit, it's nice to have a bit of a break to catch up on other reading!)
- For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club:
- "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman (read earlier this year and reviewed here). (December)
- "The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett (read in 2021 & reviewed here). (January).
- "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang (February).
- For my D.E. Stevenson group: This list of upcoming books should keep us busy through 2025 or even into early 2026! (A couple of the books are ones we covered shortly after I first joined the group back in 2014 -- you know you've been around for a while when....!)
- Peter West (likely start January 2025)
- Miss Buncle Married (original 2015 review here).
- The Two Mrs. Abbotts (original 2015 review here).
- Crooked Adam
- The Four Graces (original 2015 review here).
- For the Notes from Three Pines (Louise Penny mysteries) Substack Readalong: The last discussion was for book #3, "The Cruellest Month," posted in June 2023 (no further posts/books since then). I've continued dipping into the series on my own, between other book club obligations. Book #6, "Bury Your Dead," is the next one on my to-read list!
- Other books on my priority list:
- "We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman. (Because, obviously...)
- "What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust" by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce #11).
- "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver.
- "The Friday Afternoon Club" by Griffin Dunne
- "Sandwich" by Catherine Newman
- "Rift" by Cait West
- "The Prince" by Stephen Maher
- "Network of Lies" by Brian Stelter
- "Apprentice in Wonderland" by Ramin Setoodeh
- "Connie" by Connie Chung
- "Moonflower Murders" on PBS, the adaptation of the Anthony Horowitz novel, which I finished reading just as the series started. I enjoyed both book & TV versions hugely. :)
- "The Marlow Murder Club" on PBS, adapted in four parts from the Robert Thorogood novel, which I started reading before the first episode, and finished just after it aired (see "Reading," above).
- I thought "What a pretty little town, I wonder where it was filmed?" Believe it or not, there is actually a town in England called Marlow, and the TV series was filmed there!
- "Wolf Hall" on PBS, based on the books "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel, both of which I read earlier this year (click on links for my reviews). An adaptation of "The Mirror and the Light," the final book in the Cromwell Trilogy (which I'm reading right now -- see "Reading," above) will begin airing in March 2025.
- Too much American/election news (CNN). :p :(
- Heardle Decades: Stats as of Sept. 30th:
- Heardle 60s: 76.6% (573/748, 227 on first guess), up 0.1% from last month. Max. streak was 15.
- Heardle 70s: 79.1% (385/487, 214 on first guess), down 0.6% from last month. Max. streak: 18.
- Heardle 80s: 40.9% (147/359, 56 on first guess), down 0.2% from last month. Max. streak: 4.
- Heardle 90s: 26.6% (123/463, 25 on first guess), up 0.2% from last month. Max. streak: 4.
- NYT Connections:
- At the end of September, I'd completed 64 games and won 77% of them, including 33 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors (i.e., more than 50%!) and a maximum winning streak of 13 (and counting...!). :)
- By Oct. 31st, I'd completed 95 games and won 78% of them, including 46 "perfect puzzles" and a maximum winning streak of 15. :)
- Takeout: The usual soup & pizza slices from the supermarket, once a week or so; wood oven pizza, California Sandwiches (veal for dh, chicken for me) and Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken (with a baked potato).
- For (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner: BIL & SIL ordered from the catering department of a local supermarket, and it was very good! The package (for up to 10 people) included two turnkey breast rolls, mashed potatos, mixed root veggies, a Caesar salad, buns, gravy, cranberry sauce and about two dozen? mini-cannolis. :) SIL added stuffing (from a mix), sauteed rapini and a green salad, and the nephews bought some pies (apple, pumpkin & pecan). We all took home leftovers. :)
- Had lunch with dh at the cafe at the art gallery where I have a membership (which includes a 10% discount on food there), on Oct. 29th. It's a very limited (and pricey) menu, and I opted for a Caesar salad, which I'd had when I was there for lunch with some former coworkers a couple of years ago (pre-pandemic). (With my tomato allergy, a Caesar salad is a "safe" choice for me.)
- It was all right -- but nothing spectacular, and certainly not worth the $18 (Canadian) it cost!! and it was NOT the same salad I remembered either. Then I remembered that they changed food service providers recently. Oh well. Next time, we'll probably just have coffee/tea & pastries...!
- More beans and lentils, more fresh fruits & veggies, fewer cookies, since getting my cholesterol readings...! I'm not cutting out sweets entirely, but definitely cutting down/back!
- New clothes for Little Great-Nephew & Little Great-Niece, including both Halloween and Christmas-themed PJs! (Presents for Halloween, Christmas, LGNephew's upcoming birthday, and "just because.")
- A couple of Henley lightweight sweatshirts (or should that be heavy T-shirts??) from Old Navy for dh.
- Some new long-sleeved ribbed Henley T-shirts from Gap Factory Outlet, for myself.
- A couple of soft, cuddly, baggy Henley sweaters at American Eagle. (They call them "plush T-shirts"! -- why not call them what they are -- sweaters?!)
- Candy cane flavoured lip balm by La Neige from Sephora. (I have tons of lip balm, but I like peppermint, and I couldn't resist scooping up a seasonal special...!)
- Plane tickets to visit my family at Christmastime. :) (At almost double the price we paid to go there in the summertime...! :p )(That WAS a good deal! -- still...!)