Happy 89th to the great Nichelle Nichols. Trailblazer, sci-fi hero, performer and all around favorite.
Film. Comics. Sci-Fi. Superheroes. Pulp. Noir. History. Superman. 20th Century Archaeology.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Monday, December 27, 2021
Archbishop Desmond Tutu Merges With The Infinite
We talk a lot about movies and cultural artifacts around here, but the world has genuine heroes. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has passed.
The Archbishop's efforts in the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa and his role as ambassador to the world were instrumental in the disintegration of the old government in his homeland. And then he kept working.
We will see his like again, and it's important to know these lights when we see them. What a gift he was to the world.
From the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa:
A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the worldIf you subscribe to the NYT, this is worth a read. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/26/world/africa/tutu-death.html
Christmas Day Night Watch: House/ Hausu (1977)
Watched: 12/25/2021
Format: HBOmax
Viewing: Second
Decade: 1970's
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
K was visiting for Christmas and she's wanted to watch this movie forever, so we did. Least Christmassy programming possible, but it's a fun movie.
Forgot to Mention it Watch: Crazy For Christmas (2005)
Watched: 12/17/2021
Format: Amazon
Viewing: Second
Decade: 2000's
Director: Eleanore Lindo
For me, this film is ground zero for what has become what I oversimplify and refer to as my Hallmark Christmas Movie fascination. I'm not sure I even watched Crazy for Christmas (2005) on Hallmark the first time. It could have been Lifetime or some other network. But I think I watched it Christmas 2005 when it first aired. I know I watched it in Phoenix, and by 2006, I was in Austin.
What I mostly remember was that it starred Howard Hesseman of WKRP in Cincinnati fame, which was how I wound up checking it out. "Oh, yeah, that person" quickly became what brought me back to these movies as I checked in on the Tiffani Amber Theissens and others who were happy to pick up a check and turn in a performance in a movie that would get eyeballs and not embarrass anyone became a thing.
This movie co-stars Hesseman, but really hinges on Andrea Roth, who has an imbd page as long as your arm, as a single mom struggling to finish school and raise a kid. She works as a limo driver to pay the bills. On Christmas Eve, a local eccentric millionaire requests her, specifically, to drive him around for the day. She has a kid and doesn't want to do it, but the money is too good.
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Post-Christmas Check-In and Andre
Hi all!
I hope your Christmas went well.
We had a good few days of festivities. Thursday was Santa With Muscles Day, which... really, should never be repeated.
After much COVID testing, we were able to host Christmas Eve for my parents and cousin, Jamie's Dad and brother (The Dug) and his wife, K. Unfortunately we were in a gray area with my brother's family until Christmas Day, so we missed them on Christmas Eve.
Cocktails, too much food, some jolly music and cheer was had by all. It's also my cousin's birthday, so it's always a one-two punch of festivities on Christmas Eve. As always, after parents left, we checked in with The Pope, watched some Hallmark, watched some Christmas specials, etc... it was lovely.
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, y'all.
May your day be a good one. May you spend time today talking to those you love, in person or in any of the myriad ways we now can reach out.
I'll be spending time with family. After the past few years, that's the best gift I can ask for.
I'm so, so lucky. I hope you are, too.
If you need a Christmas hello, don't be shy about asking. That's what this day is for.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Merry Christmas Eve, Every Buddy
As we do each Christmas Eve, we're giving Darlene Love a spin. If you've never listened to Ms. Love, give it a shot - see why she's so great live.
It's been an... interesting year here at League HQ, genuinely filled with love and loss and ups and downs. It's been a year of instability and amazing support. And even this Christmas Eve is filled with questions.
But all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. And that's true in the better years, too.
On this night of anticipation, I hope you are either spending the holidays as you wish or have plans for a good night in the coming days. All I know is that we get another year coming up as this rock hasn't flown away from the nuclear ball anchoring our planets here, or been consumed by it yet.
We've got another chance. Let's all do better. Let's all try to remember that we're all we've got.
While Darlene Love is the patron saint of Christmas here at The Signal Watch, there's always room under the tree for more voices. And where would we have been in 2021 if not for Ms. Hannah Waddingham?
PodCast 176: "Santa With Muscles" (1996) - Daydrinking the Movies Christmas 2021 w/ Jamie, Dug, K and Ryan
Format: BluRay
Viewing: Second
Decade: 1990's
Director: John Murlowski
Well. We rounded up Jamie's brother and sister-in-law, got into the booze cabinet and watched a truly, truly horrible movie. And with tape rolling, we thereby talked about The Meaning of Christmas, magic crystals, soft-racism in unrelated movies and a wide, wide host of topics.
Have a cocktail or three and catch-up. We're talking a garbage movie.
Music:
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Michael Buble
 |
| hypnogram interprets "Santa With Muscles" |
Christmas 2021 Playlist
Holiday Noir Watch: "Lady in the Lake" (1947)
Format: Amazon
Viewing: Unknown
Decade: 1940's
Director: Robert Montgomery
Well, this is officially my own personal Christmas movie tradition now, I guess.
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Holiday Watch: "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944)
Format: TCM
Viewing: Second
Decade: 1940's
Director: Vincente Minnelli
My allergies were destroying me, so we agreed to just put on something light and simple. I didn't realize Jamie had never seen this one, so maybe it was a good choice? She never said much about what she thought about it.
Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) is only barely a Christmas film. It follows about a year with a family in St. Louis over 1903-04, in a world just around the corner from that which inspired Walt Disney's Main Street USA in the Disney Parks. That's not an exaggeration - Disney did base Main Street on the small town of Marceline, Missouri, where he would have lived about 4 years after the events of the film as a young child (Disney born 1901).
The film boasts a name cast, headlined by Judy Garland, and as a product of wartime filmmaking, the cast skews female-centric and features non-draft eligible gentlemen in support roles. Mary Astor seems cast too-young as the patient matriarch, paired with Leon Ames as the father. Lucille Bremer appears in her first (of like 10) role, Margaret O'Brien as arguably the #2 lead in the film at 7 years old, Harry Davenport as "Grandpa". Joan Caroll, who plays Patsy in Bells of St. Mary's is another sister.
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