A is for Arsenic

A to Z Challenge 2023

A Month At The Movies

Hello and welcome to A Month at the Movies,  my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.

This year I am copying from a myriad of other a to z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter.  You can skip over this part if you want to.  I love movies and have decided to share with you a movie each day that I have enjoyed to one degree or another.  With each entry, I'll give a brief synopsis of the film, share a positive and negative review from Rotten Tomatoes ( a website, I didn't use much at all until preparing for the challenge), discuss its resiliency (the theme of the A to Z challenge this year), and other tidbits like whether the film may appear in my top 100 film list, which I have been revamping this year. I think that's enough in the way of introduction, considering you'll be reading it (hopefully) 25 more times this month. 

Film: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Director: Frank Capra

By Photographer not credited - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/stream/cinemundial28unse#page/156/mode/1up">Cine Mundial, April 1943</a>, Public Domain, Link

Arsenic and Old Lace premiered on September 23rd, 1944.  This was exactly 20 years before I premiered.  It's a funny story actually, my Dad and my 9 months pregnant Mom were at an Arsenic and Old Lace 20th anniversary party when ... No, Just kidding.  

 Cary Grant stars in this dark comedy/ screwball comedy that was the first Frank Capra film I ever watched.  The basic gist of the film is that Mortimer Brewster (played by Grant) is a theatre critic and avowed bachelor who at the beginning of the film marries the girl next door to his boyhood home in Brooklyn.  

"The Fun" begins when Grant discovers his beloved salt of the earth aunts are actually serial murderers and is then also reunited with a few other of his sanity-challenged relatives. 

Positive Tomato: It's not mere hyperbole to state that Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace ranks as one of the funniest films ever made. Matt Brunson - Film Frenzy 

Negative Tomato: Not one of Capra's best. Grant is too hammy and out of control, and without Boris Karloff as Jonathan Brewster, the joke is lost. Bob Bloom - Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana)

I really enjoyed this movie watching it on T.V. as a kid.  In recent viewing, I found it a little long and a little uneven but still enjoyed it and would probably watch it again, especially with folks who have not seen it before.  

Resiliency: Mortimer Brewster shows a lot of resiliency throughout the film trying to figure out how to best deal with his family situation since he literally knows where the bodies are buried.  

Top 100: I don't think this will make my top 100 list. I'm a Big Frank Capra fan and while it's not one of my favorite Capra films, I do think that maybe it would make its way onto the bottom 100 of my top 200 film list.  

For more A to Z Challenge click here. 

Next Time: B is for Bike Movie

A to Z Themes for Blogs on My Blogroll

 

2512477 © Marek Zuraw | Dreamstime.com

Over the past few weeks I've posted about my A to Z Theme reveal for the upcoming A to Z challenge and I've posted a little about blogs that appear on my various blogrolls on my home page.  I'd like to combine those today and tell you about blogs I have on my blogrolls that are participating in this year's challenge and tell you about their themes.

One of my favorite blogs is Sue's Trifles.  Her theme this year is revisiting her theme from 2013 where she combined alliteration with content to help people learn more about Christ and Christianity.  I am really looking forward to her posts this year.  

When Sue isn't doing the A to Z challenge she mostly posts book reviews which is why Sue's Trifles can be found in my Writing, Poetry, Publishing, and Book blogs blogroll.

The next blog has recently moved from my Bloggy Blogs (more on that soon) blogroll to my Writing, Poetry, Publishing and Book Blogs blogroll where it fits the category much better.  hdhstory.net is using the theme of an adventure at the Kingdom of Selat.  I am looking forward to the "tales" that  will be found there.

Janet's Smiles is another blog I follow.  Her theme this year is the Illuminate SF - Festival of Light. I have Janet's Smiles in my Bloggy Blogs blogroll.  A bloggy blog is a blog that kind of sprays to all fields.  

I got the inspiration for the title bloggy blogs from a friend of my son when they were in high school together.  She and her family attend a local megachurch which doesn't really look like a church at all.  I was driving my son and his friends to an outing and we passed a local church that looked like your typical steeple and triangular roof church.  She wasn't looking at it at first and then when she saw it, she said "Look! A churchy church." 

John Holton who is a member of the A to Z team hosts a blog called TheSound of One Hand Typing. He can also be found on my Bloggy Blogs blogroll. His theme this year is really jazzy.  It makes my heart jingle and my mouth ajar in contemplation. He is going to juxtapose the letter j in each of the 26 words he's choosing for the challenge.  Well, that's what he said, hopefully, he didn't perjure himself.

The 5th and (so far) final of my blogroll blogs participating in the challenge this year is Wolf of Words.  This is the 4th time the wolf is using the theme of fan fiction.  I am especially looking forward to the Scooby Doo/Dr. Who Mash-up.

The A to Z Challenge starts this Saturday!

5499560 © Heysues23 | Dreamstime.com

A Fitting End for the Oscars

 

Photo Credit: Landon Nordeman A-Frame

For More Wordless Wednesdays Click here.  

Happy Birthday Randy Stonehill! A 71 song salute.

On this Day March 12th, 1951 fellow baby boomer and my favorite singer   Randy Stonehill was born in California. He turns 71 today and to celebrate I will link 71 of my favorite songs (and yes, I have that many)  of his here on this very happy birthday post.  Many of these songs can be found on Spotify.  All of these songs are available for purchase at Bandcamp. Note: Songs are listed from the album they originally appeared. The song is not always being played from that album.

1. Never Can Repay - Born Twice

 

 2. Faithful - Until We Have Wings 

   

 3. Get Me Out of Hollywood- Get me Out of Hollywood

4. Starlings - Return To Paradise 5. Christmas Song For All Year 'Round - Welcome To Paradise  

 6. I Love You - Born Twice  

 7. Norman's Kitchen - Born Twice

8. Bad Fruit -The Sky Is Falling

   

 9. Still Small Voice - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

 10. Christine - Between The Glory And The Flame

 

 11. Can Hell Burn Hot Enough - Until We Have Wings

   

 12. Light Of The World - Equator

   

13. First Prayer - Welcome To Paradise

14. Keep Me Runnin' - Welcome To Paradise

 

15. Stop The World - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

  16. Sunday's Child - Mystery Highway

17. Love Beyond Reason - Love Beyond Reason 18. Ramada Inn (Live) - Until We Have Wings 19. Everything But Love - Stonehill 20. Didn't It Rain - Until We Have Wings 21. One True Love - The Sky Is Falling 22. Until Your Love Broke Through- Love Beyond Reason 23. Celebrate This Heartbeat - Celebrate This Heartbeat 24. The Hope of Glory - The Wild Frontier 25. Modern Myth - Celebrate This Heartbeat 26. Can't Buy A Miracle - Can't Buy A Miracle 27. Leonard Has A Toaster - Lost Art Of Listening 28. Glory And The Flame - Between The Glory And The Flame  

 29. Stand Like Steel - Return To Paradise 30. Hand of God - Thirst

   

 31. Barbie Nation - Wonderama

32. Old Clothes - Until We Have Wings

33. Charlie The Weatherman - Stories 

34. Try Havin' Some Faith - Spirit Walk

35. Turning Thirty - Equator

36. Lazarus Heart - Lazarus Heart

37. This Old Face - Lost Art Of Listening

38. Baby Hates Clowns - Thirst

39. Strong Hand Of Love - Welcome To Paradise

40. Curious - Uncle Stonehill's Hat

41. Die Young - Between The Glory And The Flame

42. Who Will Save The Children - Celebrate This Heartbeat  

43. We Were All So Young - Edge Of The World

44. King Of Hearts

45. That's The Way It Goes (Live) - Edge Of The World

46. Shut De Do (Live) - Equator

 

47. Jesus - Breath Of God  

48. Big Ideas (In The Shrinking World) 49. The Gods Of Men - Love Beyond Reason

50. Broken Places - Spirit Walk 51. Hymn - Love Beyond Reason

52. Billy Frank - The Lost Art Of Listening

 

53. Venezuela - The Sky Is Falling 

54. What Do You Want From Life? - The Wild Frontier

55.Brighter Day - Can't Buy A Miracle 56. Get Together - The Wild Frontier

57. Ready To Go - Welcome To Paradise

58. Sing In Portugese - Wonderama

59.In Jesus Name - Lazarus Heart 60.Last Time I Saw Eden - Spirit Walk 61. Everything You Know (Is Incorrect) - Thirst

62.I've Got News For You (Paradise Sky Version) Welcome To Paradise -

63. Awfully Loud World - Can't Buy A Miracle 

64.When I Look To The Mountains - Celebrate This Heartbeat

65.Mercy In The Shadow Land - Lost Art Of Listening

66. Backwards On Her Bike - Mystery Highway 67.Cosmetic Fixation - Equator

68.A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept - Lazarus Heart

69. The Keeper Of The Bear - Thirst

 

70. I Don't Ever Want To Live Without You - Return To Paradise

71. Finish Well - Spirit Walk

Happy Birthday Randy! I encourage anyone who spends time listening to these songs to buy some or all of them on Bandy Camp and give Randy a gift for the wonderful music he's been giving to us for a half-century.

Yo Yo Man

First, the good news.  I have lost 20.2 lbs this year, 7 lbs this week alone.  The bad news in addition to losing 20.2 lbs this year, I have also gained 13.2 lbs.  In other words, the 7 lbs. I lost this week is the only weight I truly lost all year.  And since I tend to gain back all the weight I lose, we really can't be certain that those 7lbs we'll stay gone.

At the end of last year, I weighed myself as I do every Saturday and I weighed 259.6 lbs.  I estimated by losing 1 lb a week for 10 weeks I could be below 250 by Saturday, March 11th. Today is March 11th and I now weigh 252.6 pounds.  During those 10 weeks, I lost weight 6 different times and I gained weight 4 times. 

Perhaps a little historical perspective would be helpful here.  I weighed 174 lbs when I was a Freshman in high school. When I graduated high school I weighed 174 lbs.  During high school, I could eat all the time and never gain weight which is exactly what I did.  Between 18 and 33 the year I got married my weight went up gradually to somewhere between 200 and 220.  In the first 16 or so years of my marriage it continued to go up until about 8 years ago I weighed myself and saw that I was 285 lbs.  

In the past 8 years is when the yo-yo-ing began.  Yo-yo-ing is only marginally better than unchecked gradual increases.  Since June of  2021, I've gone from 262 pounds in June to 227.6 on Christmas Day 2021 but was back up to 263 by January of this year. That's a year 1/2 long yo-yo. 

I've been wanting to post about my weight loss/weight gain struggles here for a while.  I feel a little like Piglet in the opening of Winnie The Pooh and The Blustery day. He's raking leaves and generally gets blown around by the wind when he says I don't mind the leaves that are leaving, But I don't like the ones that are coming.  I don't mind losing 20 lbs in 2.5 months. I just hope the next time I say that I weigh 20.5 lbs less than I did 2.5 months before not just 7.