Vamps Aren't Just for Show

Comedy isn't my favorite genre of book or movie. 

But I do love the madcap silent films like the Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. Silly mix-ups, running into walls, tripping over rugs, slipping on banana peels; these are the things that make me laugh. 

I watched Madame Mystery because it is:

1. Theda's last film appearance  

2. one of only six complete surviving films out of the 40+ she was in

When you think Theda Bara, you don't think comedy. She was the first "sex symbol," the first "celebrity."

She played vamps, orphans and power-hungry women (she did have a couple comedic roles but American audiences shunned them).

In color by dontforgetfrank on Deviant Art

 In 1926 she starred as a secret agent in the comedy Madame Mystery. Some say it was an attempt to revive her film career that she left behind in 1919. I'd like to think she just wanted to have some fun mocking the vamp roles she had been so famous for. 

Theda's performance was basically panned by reviewers, but I thought she was great. She was the perfect straight (wo)man (hopefully I'm using that term correctly) to Tyler Brooke and James Finlayson. If you don't recognize Finlayson's name, you might at least know his face. He has the most lovably, comic face. 

Finlayson and Theda make the movie what it is (though Oliver Hardy makes an appearance as the bungling  steamship captain). Finlayson starts the movie out in a flouncy dress and every scene he is in just gets funnier from there.

For a detailed run-down of the film go to  The World's Funniest Dissertation

You can watch the film on YouTube here. Unfortunately, it is truly silent, meaning there is no accompanying music. When it was first shown in theaters there would have been a pianist, or even a small orchestra playing along to enhance the experience (a great future blog post topic!). Half the silent films I come across online have music that someone has kindly played over it, and half do not. 

Many local theaters will have a silent film series now and then and they often have live music accompanying. I highly recommend going at least once. If you live in the Columbus area, CAPA has a summer classic movie series and they include one silent film each year. This year they are showing The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Lon Chaney ("the man of a thousand faces") and Patsy Ruth Miller, accompanied by an organist on The Ohio Theater's original, antique organ "Mighty Morton." It's a fun experience--try it!

For a more recent comedy that made me laugh out loud, try Palm Springs with Adam Sandberg. 

Writing Woes and Writing Wows

I've been on a steady writing diet lately. It feels good. 

Writing begets writing. 

The well remains full.

But, there are days where I feel like everything I write is dribble, utter nonsense. There are days when I feel like an impostor. Who am I to call myself a writer? 

I was feeling quite down about my writing, (and lack thereof) when I suddenly had a string of successes: I won a monthly writing contest in my writing group, a local suburban arts council writing contest, and an Ohio women writers' scholarship. 

This should have boosted my morale, validated my writing skill. But at first these wins made me feel like a guilty impostor. It took me weeks to "own" it, albeit still sheepishly.

After my initial feelings of "winners guilt," each of these accomplishments encouraged me, and helped my writing craft. I learn plenty from my failures, but in the writer's world, you can learn just as much from the                                                             successes.

I am so grateful to Kezia Carpenter and the Sandra Carpenter Memorial Fund for the amazing, enriching experience of virtually attending the Stockholm Writers Festival. I was lucky enough to have an intensive manuscript editing, a session with an agent, and the chance to participate in Pitchapalooza with the amazing Book Doctors. 

I was asked by SCMF to write up my top ten takeaways from the conference and I've included them in this post (see below, if interested).

Also, I made it into the main city newspaper! I'm not going to lie, that was special.  I don't currently subscribe to the paper, but The Dispatch had long been part of my life since I was a kid. I was a delivery girl for the Dispatch for I-don't-know-how-long. My mother got the Sunday paper (and still does) so that we could clip coupons and shop from the sales flyers. For a little more, you could get the Thursday paper too which had The Weekender full of movie reviews and events going on that weekend. We'd plan the movies we could see, and dream of the musicals and ballets that we could not.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/westerville/2021/05/11/westerville-writing-contest-2021-category-adults/4927964001/

My Top Ten Takeaways From the Stockholm                                                            Writers Festival

1. 1. There is an international community of writers out there to explore and connect with. 

   
   

   2. Put yourself (and your work) out there even if you’re bashful or don’t feel worthy/qualified (book people are kind people:)

   
   

   3. Think about the author’s promise as you read, look for your author’s promise as you write. What kind of expectations are you setting up for your reader?

   
   

   4. Don’t worry if you don’t know everything about your story or your characters throughout your first draft. (Sarah Waters starts with plot, and throughout subsequent drafts, creates characters who fit into it.)

   
   

   5. When pitching to an agent don’t use the entire time talking about your story. Leave time for the agent to get to know you, and why you are the best person to write that story.

   
   

   6. Time, in story, has an effect on the reader’s emotions; time directs the reader’s attention.

   7. Use games with prizes to encourage word-count when writing with a group. For example, whoever gets to 1,000 words first gets a latte from the group, whoever reaches 500 words first gets a cookie, bookmark, new pen (office supplies)

   
   

   8. Create a competitive environment for your book; when querying, reach out to agents you’ve queried with every response of interest from another.

   
   

   9.  When pitching, let agents hear your writing style in the pitch.

   
   

   10.  You can feel connected and “find your tribe” virtually (and it’s not as intimidating to talk in front of fifty people virtually as it would be in person!).

   
   

Thanks to my writing group,  my friends, and my family for all the support💜

In an Eggshell: Everything You Always Wondered About the Eggs You Eat

The cicadas are coming and I can't wait. It's such a magical event. 

But, I've been thinking about something else just as magical lately, something we take for granted: EGGS 

I've been getting fresh eggs from my very generous friend, and co-worker, who has chickens. We've had lots of interesting conversation about chickens, and eggs, and farm vs. store-bought. 

Not surprisingly, I have more questions, and want more details than one person can answer. 

You know the saying that if I'm thinking it, probably others are too (I'll just assume:)

So here are the answers to all my questions (looked up and cross-referenced on more than one site, all cited within).

Development: 

How long can you wait to get the egg from the nest before an embryo begins to form (in a fertilized egg)?

It's best to get it within a day, two at most. 

(Source: The Hip Chick.com)

What is the red dot you sometimes see in the yolk?

It's a blood vessel that ruptured during the formation of the egg, in a fertilized or unfertilized egg.

What are the tiny white blobs in the yolk?

Source: Community Chickens.com

The tiny white blobs are blastodiscs. Every egg has one, which includes the hen's genetic material. When an egg is fertilized, thousands of cells begin to develop even as it travels down the oviduct, and contains genetic material from the hen and the rooster. 

How long is incubation?

21 days to hatching, under the proper conditions.

If you want to see amazing (yet graphic) pictures of the development, visit: The Chicken Chick.com

How beautiful is this diagram?? It goes from looking like a shrimp (primeval!), to an alien, to a bird.

Egg production and consumption:

How long does it take from the chicken to the store?

Farmers have 30 days from laying to carton. Stores are allowed to sell eggs up to 30 days after being put in the carton. So your eggs could be up to 2 months old by the time you buy them. (Source:https://www.farmersalmanac.com/how-fresh-are-supermarket-eggs-25832)

Business Insider Tip: On each egg carton, there’s a number printed, from 1 to 365. That number represents the day of the year the carton was filled: 1 being January 1st and 365 being December 31st. Using the code, you can at least tell when the eggs were put in the carton.

How long can eggs be stored in the fridge?

About 50 days. (But remember, it takes a good while for them to go from the farm to the store.)

Why do some cultures not refrigerate eggs? 

In France, Italy, and England, I have found the eggs, not in the refrigerated aisle, but on the regular shelves. This is because, in Europe, it's illegal to wash eggs (therefore, the protective cuticle remains) and instead, farms vaccinate chickens against salmonella.

How long do they last "on the shelf"?

You can leave out fresh, unwashed eggs for a few weeks before they need to be refrigerated. 

If the bloom (that cuticle) protects a chick from bacteria for at least 21 days before it hatches, it’s safe to assume the bloom protects the inside of an egg for at least that long. I've written briefly about eggs before, and how unwashed eggs have a natural cuticle around them that protects bacteria from getting in. 

How are eggs pasteurized without getting cooked?

They are rapidly heated in a water bath at a minimum required temperature for a specified time. (Source with not many details: USDA.gov)

How safe are unpasteurized eggs?

Relatively safe, but it's important to handle fresh laid eggs with care and store them properly immediately. 

Nature is amazing!!

Lighter Book Club Reads for an Unmasked Summer

My book club has challenged me to choose a funny, light-hearted read for our June meeting.

Let me preface this with: These ladies are all amazing, intelligent women, who do a lot for their families and their their community, as well as each other. 
We refer to our book club as "book club," because the book is way down the list of reasons to get together, but having a "book club" meeting sounds official, to ourselves, as busy women with hectic lives, as well as to our families, who are stymied half the time when we leave them.
So the choice of book is something most of them would rather not think about, and they are happy to leave that job to me, since I love nothing more than thinking about books.

I love and read most genres. But light and funny is not really my cup of tea. 

I do try to read one a year. 
I think I should read more light and funny, rather than being so serious all the time, and looking for meaning in everything. It does the soul good, I'm sure. 

So, here is the list I presented to my book club (which they subsequently asked me to narrow down to ONE 🤣

This is a funny read about an anxious woman in her early fifties, whose husband has just left her, and how she finds herself again (I think there is overseas travel in this one!).

    

A funny, witty Indian family drama by Balli Kaur Jaswal. 

Three sisters come together to fulfill their mother's dying wish.
   

I read I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Waxman, and liked it well enough, so I'm ready to give this novel a try. It seems to be about an introverted woman who finds out about a father she never knew existed and what she does with that information.

  This has been on my list for awhile. A psychotherapist and columnist gives a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a therapist and her patients looking for answers.

And, because I can't help myself, I suggested this not-necessarily -funny-but-not-depressing multi-generational novel by Connie Schultz (who is the wife of our fine senator, Sherrod Brown):                                                          

Some other light reads I could have chosen:

A woman with a perfect life begins to have recurring dreams about a man, not her husband.

An Indian-American college professor is accused by his colleagues of being a reverse racist.

 

From Canada to Australia on a whim, a homesick wife must find a way to adjust to her new country.

*All photos and links attributed to goodreads.com

Salomé and Sunday Laundry

I do laundry one day a week, usually Sunday. Laundry time is my time to watch the TV I want to watch. If the kids come in they know I'll put them to work, so they tend to stay away. If they're still not deterred, putting a silent film on usually clears the room. 

My youngest is curious though. She will hang around and watch for a few minutes here and there. When she came in this past Sunday and saw what I was watching, she stayed longer than usual. My heart swelled with hope that maybe she was interested in watching something more cultural and historical. 

https://martinturnbull.com/

"Why does she have lights in her hair?" my daughter asked. "This music is creepy. Is this supposed to be a scary movie?"

It's not supposed to be a scary movie, but she was on to something. Salomé (1923) is one of the the most bizarre movies I've ever seen, up there with Eraserhead (1977), Naked Lunch (1991), and Santa Sangre (1989). 

In its review, at the time, Photoplay Magazine said, “A hothouse orchid of decadent passion . . . You have your warning: this is bizarre stuff.” (Turnbull) 

The movie is a cinematic adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play of the same name.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alla_Nazimova

The movie stars Alla Nazimova, a Russian immigrant to the U.S., who, for some time, was one of the most famous, highest-paid actresses in the film industry.  She went a bit off the rails with Salomé though. She produced the film, and likely had a hand in every part of its creation. 

If Salomé had been made today, she would have found an audience for it. She would have been lauded as an avant-garde filmmaker. 

Part of the problem in 1923 was that Nazimova was one of “the most notorious Hollywood lesbian actress[es] of all” (White 1999) and she ran with almost every prominent lesbian in Hollywood, as well as connecting with gay male cultural icons such as Oscar Wilde and Rudolph Valentino. Not only that, she had begun to "embody a gay sensibility" that crept into every aspect of her work, which proved to be beyond the taste of her mainstream audience (Horne 2013). 

The minimalist set design and costumes were created by Natacha Rambova (another Russian emigré, and Alla's "good friend"). The Art Nouveau style of artist Aubrey Beardsley was not what audiences expected either (especially of a biblical epic). 

IMBD.com

  The costumes were most bizarre, starting with     Nazimova's wig of lighted, bobbling baubles. 

There were enormous headdresses, some worn by child-actors who were treated as pets in the film, stiff dresses with elongated shoulder pads, bare chests with nipple stickers, and men in drag. 

I couldn't stop watching it. 

https://fromthebygone.wordpress.com/

It is mesmerizing and disturbing at the same time. The actors move like dancers. The music is eerie, a discordant arrangement of notes that accentuate the hedonistic, macabre scenes. The cinematography and lighting are deliberate and haunting. And then of course there are all those costumes, weird peripheral characters (including those little pet children), and the salacious gaze of Herod and some of his cronies who are clearly shocked at the events and trying not to get excited. 

The film flopped badly, and sadly, Nazimova could not recover from the losses. She made a couple more movies after that, but was unable to recover financially. She ended up leaving the movie industry and returning to the theater. 

https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-alla-nazimova/

I folded clothes very slowly that Sunday, transfixed by Alla Nazimova's movements and expressions, and everything about Salomé. 

My daughter, however, didn't last long. "OK, I'm out of here," she said as she hopped off the bed. "This is the weirdest one yet." 

Sources:

On Netflix, episode 11 of Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers:

Salomé. Prod.: Alla Nazimova, dir.: Charles Bryant, sc.: Alla Nazimova as Peter M. Winters, ard/cos. : Natacha Rambova (Nazimova Productions. US 1923)

Horne, Jennifer. "Alla Nazimova." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013.  <https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-ws0b-qz98>

Turnbull, Martin. "Salomé." Library of Congress,   https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/salome.pdf

White, Patricia. “Nazimova's Veils: Salome at the Intersection of Film Histories.” In  A Feminist Reader in Early Cinema. Eds. Jennifer Bean and Diane Negri. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002: 60-87.

Weeding Norman Rockwell

We weeded thousands of books from the middle school library where I work. Throughout the process teachers and staff glared at us. Some confronted us; How can you get rid of all these books? As a/n <insert subject> teacher, it would kill me to get rid of all these books.

As if I am a secret book burner who would love to have a book bonfire in the middle of the library if  allowed! 

The thought of weeding books is much worse than the act itself though. Once I got close to those books, and held each one in my hand, it was not so difficult to decide if it stayed or went. There were books with yellowing pages, disconnected covers, books that hadn't been checked out in a decade-or at all, ever. We had multiple copies of outdated books, nonfiction books on technology published in 2001, huge encyclopedias of American culture that had three pictures of Black people, showing only enslavement, not their contributions to art or entrepreneurism. Asians in those books were ignored entirely. We also had books that aren't interesting to a middle schooler of this day and age (or ever), like the fifteen books on gardening.  

Weeding books in a collection makes the books you keep more visible, and those books look better for it. Weeding also makes room for new books-yay!  

I did have quite a stack of nonfiction books that I found harder to get rid of: subjects of curiosity, books with beautiful pictures, or ones I felt were important for some reason or other. There was a psychedelic-covered biography of Frank L. Baum, a book called From Cakewalks to Concert Halls on the early history of jazz and popular music created by Black musicians, a tiny coffee table book of Norman Rockwell and his art.                          

  I picked up the book on Rockwell because I thought about how I'd taken him for granted as a great American artist and never paid much attention to his work. After reading about him, I can't help but like him. He suffered from the creatives angst, and probably depression. He was the type who always wanted to do right by others. He was a good person. He tried to make the world a better place through his art, he tried to bring attention to inequity and captured pivotal moments in American history. His artwork is stark reality tinged with nostalgia, even in the time of its creation. He painted scenes of everyday American life, capturing moments of frustration, pride, sadness, embarrassment, and elation.

Most of his paintings/illustrations were the covers of The Saturday Evening Post. He has many iconic illustrations; one could argue that all of his images are. His painting of Rosie the Riveter, is one of them. In Rockwell's painting she looks decidedly more masculine than she has been depicted in later years: 

image @https://learnodo-newtonic.com

I have many favorites now: 

"Girl at Mirror" seems to depict a young girl studying and comparing herself to Jane Russell, a sex symbol of the 40s and 50s. image @ https://learnodo-newtonic.com

"Shiner" was ahead of its time in depicting a girl as the proud combatant in a schoolyard scuffle. image @https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/

"Election Day" Dewey V. Truman image @https://totallyhistory.com

And of course, The Problem We All Live With that hangs in The White House:

We had about five books on Rockwell's art. We kept the two best in our collection and sent two to "the warehouse." The tiny book came home with me.

Do you have a favorite Norman Rockwell painting?

New Fiction to See You Into Spring

Just Out, and Most Talked About:

Goodreads says this is "A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared."                                         

  This is a thriller that takes place in the English countryside in a village that has a past to protect...

This sounds like a fun, yet bittersweet novel in the vein of A Man Called Ove and Where You'd Go Bernadette?

The Latest in Historical Fiction:

An expedition of women trek through the Arctic to find a lost team of explorers in 1853--and then, there's a murder trial.                                                                                                      

A mail-order bride arrives in San Francisco to a mystery, a developing relationship and the 1906 earthquake that devastated the city.

It's Kristin Hannah. Set during the Great Depression. No need to know more.

Author of The Aviator's Wife and The Chaperone. Set in 1888 during the freak blizzard that struck the Great Plains.

Get a Little Cultured: 

Goodreads says: Part puzzle, part revenge tale, part ghost story, this kaleidoscopic novel set in Vietnam spins half a century of history and folklore into the story of a missing woman.

I haven't read this yet, but from what I've heard, it sounds like a cross between the movie It's a Beautiful Life and The Kite Runner.

   A new marriage, a crumbling mansion, and a dead aunty that can't let things go.

Currently Reading:

I've been so surprised by this book. I was prepared for this to be historical fiction chick lit fluff, but it is actually so rich and complex, with just the right grounding in the time period.

Author, Radha Vatsal 

On My Nightstand:

            

Watch for This:

Coming in April, a fast-paced survival story where three strangers are thrown together after a devastating earthquake hits L.A.  (sounds very like The Nature of Fragile Things (above)...

It would be interesting to read them back-to-back.)

Let me know if you read any of these. I'd love to know your thoughts!