Thursday Thirteen: Of My Favorite Quotes From My Favorite Movies

1. Ada Doom: I saw something nasty in the woodshed.

Earl P. Neck: Sure you did, but did it see you baby?  -- COLD COMFORT FARM

2.  Cousin Angus: There's NO butter in hell! -- COLD COMFORT FARM

3. Noah Praetorius: The woman has yet to be born who doesn't in her heart believe that she'll make her husband a much better wife than he has any possible right to expect. -- PEOPLE WILL TALK

5. Professor Barker: What a bloody mess. 

Noah Praetorius: And who's fault is it, my fine atomic friend? You can't go around smashing everything you see, you know. Everything isn't atoms. 

Professor Barker: Yes it is. 

Noah Praetorious: Not for smashing it isn't. Not in my house and not my train. Debra, get out of the way before Professor Barker smashes you. He's on a smashing bend. -- PEOPLE WILL TALK

6.  Debra Praetorius: It's just that I love you so much. And I went and put all those candles on that cake when you're really only nine years old. -- PEOPLE WILL TALK

7. Gilbert: Come on, sit down, take it easy. What's the trouble? 

Iris Henderson: If you must know, something fell on my head. 

Gilbert: When, infancy? -- THE LADY VANISHES

8.  Gilbert: Can I help? 

Iris Henderson: Only by going away. 

Gilbert: No, no, no, no. My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother. -- THE LADY VANISHES

9. One of the best 'Thanks, but no thanks" lines ever.

Reggie Lambert: I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else.

and then...

10. Peter Joshua: Well if anyone goes on the critical list let me know.

Reggie Lambert: Quitter.

Peter Joshua: What's that?

Reggie Lambert: You give up awfully easy don't you? -- CHARADE

11. Ned Seton: You know most people, including Johnny and yourself, make a big mistake about Julia: They're taken in by her looks. At bottom she's a very dull girl and the life she pictures for herself is the  life she belongs in. -- HOLIDAY

12. Linda Seton: You wouldn't care to step into a waltz as the old year dies, would you Mr. Case? -- HOLIDAY

13. Flora Poste: Highly sexed young men living on farms are always called Seth or Reuben. -- COLD COMFORT FARM
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Thursday Thirteen: Things: What I'm Grateful For This Week

1. Dark Chocolate...'nuff said.

2. Buying books. Adding to my collection for pretty, pretty bookshelves is such a joy.

3. New Kitty, of course; and the cat condo a friend gave me.

4. The gorgeous, beautiful whether we're having. Maximum awe, minimum heat.

5. My antique pieces. I don't have a lot of antiques (don't want a lot of antiques, a preponderance of which I find slightly creepy) it's a lovely feeling to use a jewelry box or table or lamp which has a long history.

6. Poetry. Specifically that of Edna St Vincent Millay. She speaks to a wordless part of me, in the same way as music.

7.  Essential oil candles. Yumm.

8. Wasabi Almonds

9. Seeing Abbott and Costello's WHO'S ON FIRST for the first time in over a decade.

10. The Sartorialist. Fashion. Heaven.

11. The addition of BABYLON 5 to Netflix Instant Watching. My heart pitter-pats, yay.

12. New friends.

13. Old friends.

Tags: thursday thirteen, wasabi almonds, dark chocolate, babylon 5, sartorialist, friendship






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Thursday Thirteen: What I've Learned So Far

On Becoming Film Producer

1.  Failure is your friend. I could trot out the expected cliche, 'Failure is a great teacher'. It's true, but not my point today. Each failure adds value to the next attempt. 

2.  Never take no for an answer. Sooo obvious, right? But it's a miracle how many times we chicken out when someone puts an obstacle before us. I grow feathers far more often than I'd like to admit. 

3.  Be humble! If we were Spielberg, we wouldn't be talking to the assistants.

4.  Assistants are your friends.

5.  Don't be seduced by the glamour. Say this to yourself whenever your ego starts resembling that of a mini-mogul; "It's about the work." 

6.   It's the screenplay, stupid. If the story sucks, don't bother.

7.   Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Sometimes we must compromise in order to win the bigger battle. So what if this film is going straight to video? You're building a reputation. Which brings us back to...

8.   Reputation is everything. The movie business, probably more most, is a relationship business. Don't be a jerk and don't lie; unless you want to be known as a jerk and a liar.

9.   Learn from everyone. 

10.  Help others wherever possible, you never know how that might come back to you in the future.

11.  Don't give up.

12.  Don't give up.

13.  Don't give up.

These are some of the things people have taught me matter so far. It's mostly common sense stuff. But you'll be amazed how quickly sense flies out the window when getting started in the biz of Dream Making. Yes, I'm still uncredited...for the moment. However, this is still good advice and your mileage may differ.






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Thursday Thirteen: Reasons I Love/Hate British/American TV

1. Pro-Am: Long seasons. There's nothing like the wondrous 25 weeks of new eps of my favorite show. This is the main inspiration for my Fall Happy Dance.
2. Pro-Brit: Short seasons. It took me a looooong time to come around to this way of thinking. But short seasons keep everyone fresh. Mamet once said that writing for TV is like running as fast as you can until you die. That can't be good. Plus, it's cool to see your fave actors in different roles throughout the year.
3. Anti-Am: Too, too shiny. Everyone and everything is just too slick and pretty.  I find it hard to empathize with the plastic-ness of it all.
4. Anti Brit: For pity's sake break a window!  I swear, if I see one more action sequence with someone trapped inside a many-windowed house banging on the FLIPPIN' GLASS -- I'm gonna have a heart attack and die.
5. Pro-Am: The adrenalin-laced, testosterone-driven glee with which action guys break stuff: glass, limbs, automobiles, spaceships (Enterprise shout-out)...oh yes and entire buildings. Sooooooohohohoo much fun.
6. Pro-Brit: The actors, the actors, the actors....omigosh, the actors. The care, feeding and education of actors in the UK has created a pool containing the best actors in the world. And the killer thing is you're just as likely to see them playing a minor role on TV as you are to see them playing a big role on film.
7. Anti-Am: The actors, the actors, the actors...omigosh, the actors.We live in a world where character actor means: 'good actor, but not pretty'. Too many of our actors look as if they've never had a real emotion in their lives and wouldn't know how to express one if they did. 
8. Pro-Am: Shows that are so much better than they have any right to be. My favorite trend right now is the hour show which takes the formula and stands it on it's head. From the description, you think you know what you're getting into (or avoiding), and then blammo, you're hit with something very, very cool. Fave examples; Invasion, In Plain Sight, Life, Life Unexpected and Veronica Mars.
9. Pro-Brit: I dunno, maybe it's the short seasons or theater-centric creative culture; but I love the varied genres in UK TV land. A lot of their best programming would be absolute non-starters in the States. Can you imagine trying to pitch Lark Rise to Candleford in Hollywood?
10. Anti-Am: Encroaching commercialism. Ten years ago, the television hour ran about 47 minutes, now it's down to 41 or 42. Seriously? Seriously? Advertising suits have the nerve to complain because TiVo'ers avoid the mulchfest of cranky, crass and crude; which now makes up nearly 1/3 of a viewer's hour? Cry me a river.
11. Pro-Brit: Doctor Who. Need I say more? Probably, not but I will. I'm not sure about the new guy...he's all wrong. His name is Matt Smith for pity's sake and he's like, 12. His main problem, though? He's not Eccleston. Eccleston's my Doctor. I had the same issue with Tennant...right up until I didn't.
12. Pro-Brit: Cast musical chairs. At first I hated it, but now I love it. Perfect (though perhaps not the best) example of how cast musical chairs keeps a show fresh; MI-5, or Spooks as it's known everywhere but here. There's a dimension of suspense added to a thriller when you know that no cast member is safe. 
13. Pro-Am: Comfort of the franchise. We have a lot of franchises here in the States. And we love our genre-rated TV. I love (or am in at least strong like with) all the Law & Orders. I love court shows and medical dramas. I like other things too, and it's good Hollywood is picking up on the developing appetite for more variety, cause I like a lot of the new stuff too. We do good TV pretty darn well. But I'm not always in the mood for good or thought-provoking. A lot of times I'm just looking for a show to hit all it's marks and give me a satisfactory ending. We do that, spectacularly.

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Tags: thursday thirteen, meme, television, british TV, American TV, lark rise to candleford, veronica mars, life, life unexpected, doctor who, matt smith

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Things I Wish I Hadn't Never

1. Said nice things about Mimmo. When that guy asked me to tell him what I thought of Mimmo in Italian, my response should have been two words; "Troppo giovane".

2. Started pretending I can add and subtract. I. Cannot. Balance a checkbook. It's online banking for me, baby!

3. Told a certain person he could come see me. We weren't just on different continents, we were on different planes of existence.

4. Started Tweeting. 'Cause now, even though I rarely tweet; I still think about tweeting when I'm not tweeting.

5. Finished my screenplay. Um...'cause I don't exactly know what to do with myself...hence, the blog.

6. Left when the vet told me I shouldn't stay while he put down my cat. I promised her I'd be with her. There will always be a blank space where I should find the end of our lives together.

7.  Had root canal. Whoof!

8. Started watching The Bachelor again. They pullllled me back in.

9. Been at my brother's funeral. It was a circus.

10. Let my mother co-opt my relationship with my niece. I was very ill at the time, but I should have fought harder to have her brought to see me.

11. Heard the song, 'I Shot The Sheriff'. The version which continues to play in my head is a really bad rendition by an American Idol hopeful. Yikes.

12. Tried sushi. I had no idea how much I'd love it; or how much I'd miss it now that I have nooo money.

13. Been exposed to the Thursday Thirteen. Now I'm completely hooked.

Tags: thursday thirteen, meme, death, siblings, italy, cfs, cfids, regret




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Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Things I Would Never Leave Behind

Thirteen Things I Would Never Leave Behind. In no particular order. Oh, and books will probably be heavily represented. 1. A 1935 edition of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand 2. The story of my life.  An old boss and dear friend gave me a journal from Rag and Bone Bindery just before  I left them to make my first trip to Europe. They're quite lovely, handmade, acid-free paper and bound in natural materials like cork and silk.  2. A paperback copy of Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. There's an interesting reference in it about the dangers of thoughtless people (as in, 'she's not cruel, merely thoughtless') and it's quite a nice read. But it's special to me because I picked it up at a bookstore in Venice. The first book I'd seen that was writen in English for many weeks. 3.  My ring, which for the moment is lost. Ever have one of those items you feel some deep connection to; that no matter how many times or how far away you misplace it, it always comes back to you? I bought this silver ring from a sales rep of the now defunct Mineralore. It's silver with a gold starburst and a blue tourmaline set in the center. It was the first piece of real jewelry I ever bought. 4. My love bag. I've kept every congratulatory or loving letter or card ever sent me.  And sometimes, when times get ruff, I find comfort in reading them to remember I am loved. 5.  My notebooks. They contain my ideas and some of the best writing I've ever done.  6. My laptop. It contains my ideas and some of the best writing I've ever done. 7. A passel of silk handkerchiefs. I love them and yes I have actually used them to blow my nose. There is no graceful way of blowing the schnoz, and I'm not a cute crier; a fluttery hanky adds a dash of drama. But mostly they're used to clean my glasses. 8. My cashmere sweater. I read somewhere that every woman should have at least one cashmere sweater and I couldn't agree more. Mine came dirt cheap from Ebay but it's so pretty and soft. It's a reminder of and hope for prettier and softer times.   9. An antique art deco tea set from Czechoslovakia. This was also an Ebay find. When it arrived there was actually a card which said whose anniversary it was for and the year 1935. A card which I have most foolishly lost. 10. This wonderful soft knit cardigan I call my Holland sweater. I bought it as (what I thought of at the time of purchase) an inadequate replacement for one stolen by an old roommate. But it's grown on me tree-mendously since then. 12. A paperback copy of Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay. She is one of the most undersung poets of the 20th century and her work connects very deeply. This book has all of my notes and markings, including those written while reading Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay the intimate biography written by Nancy Milford. 13. Pinkerton the feline.  Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I¿ll add you here!)

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Tags: thursday thirteen, books, meme, stories