My, how my readership has jumped!

A few days ago I was complaining that only 3 people read this blog, but things have changed. Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder? It’s hard to say. The wonderblog is almost entirely a one-way communication. Very few readers leave comments.

But if my musings and little family updates are helpful, I’m glad. It helps me not to feel so alone.

why we became fat

Okay…I’ve been watching the show Mad Men. I’m loving how carefully they recreate the attitude of the early 60s.

And the clothes! Oh my gosh.

I love those clothes the ladies used to wear. They were so fitted and constructed.

There was a lot of architecture that went into a simple wool suit. And the underclothing they used to wear!

it was not comfortable, though. I mean, there was a reason that women burned their bras a few years later.

But it wasn’t just bras. We still wear bras now.

But we don’t wear the slips and camisoles and garters that were the uniform then.

and don’t forget:

the GIRDLE

I have never worn a girdle. I don’t think I’ve even ever SEEN a girdle. But I have heard stories.

These massively tight full-bum tourniquets that melded two cheeks into one derriere unit–those were worn every single day by women young and old.

thank god we are free from these.

But then I started thinking…America has recently been complaining about the obesity epidemic.

We were not so fat in the 60s.

I bet when we lost the girdle, we lost a bit of internal restraint.

When you’re wearing very tight elastic panties..WITH LEGS..you probably notice a lot sooner if you’ve gained a pound.

Who needs a scale if all day, every day, you are feeling the red welts of a too-tight girdle reminding you not to have a second bon-bon?

there is a connection…

TV Review: _The Red Green Show_:the last season

My friend described this show to me long before I actually got to see it.

“There is this guy, Red Green, and he’s part of the Possum Lodge. He’s hilarious. He has all these friends and his nephew Harold…. Every episode at the end, they say the man’s prayer: I’m a man…and I can change…if I have to…I guess…”

I honestly couldn’t picture it, but he was so excited. I finally got a chance to see it for myself this last year. I have not been this into a Canadian PBS show since Degrassi!

The show is only on certain PBS stations. So, it’s hard to see. Second, 2006 marks the 15th and final year of The Red Green Show.
Thank God for reruns. I’ll be watching this–waiting for all the episodes I’ve missed. They also made a movie Duct Tape Forever! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.

It’s so silly, and very refreshing. It’s a nice change to have a truly entertaining show that’s utterly clean. Comedy that’s not shocking? That takes talent.

Of course, Red Green (actor Steve Smith) is part of every show. He also has a rotating cast of regulars who come through. There is Dalton Humphrey, the proprietor of the Everything Store, and Winston Rothschild III of Rothchild’s Septic Sucking Services, just to name a few. My favorite, of course, is Red Green’s nephew Harold, played by Patrick McKenna. Harold has a lot of trouble with the ladies, and everything his Uncle Red has to say he takes with a grain of salt. Red has no respect for Harold’s opinions either, though, so it works out.

Duct tape, backyard projects, practical jokes and misadventures take up their time. Flannel shirts are the fashion.

The show has virtually no women, although the personalities of the lodge members’ wives dominate the background. They are frequently referenced while the guys are considering their plans. Of course, Red Green has this advice: “Remember, if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”

Each episode makes the grade by following their formula, but still being totally unexpected.

And any TV show ever that makes it through to 15 seasons is remarkable. It is hard to convey the genius of this show; you just have to see it.

You really have to see it.

“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare

I saw this performed by the local high school. They set it in the wild west, which allowed Kate to actually shoot at her suitors.

I love Shakespeare. I love that the high school does a play by the bard every year. I wish, of course, that they also learned to slow down and enunciate their words, but what can I expect for 7 dollars?

…But this play turned my stomach. What starts out as a strong woman, someone I could cheer for, turns into a broken women bleating the message.

Petruchio ‘tames’ Katherine buy torturing her with lack of food and sleep deprivation. By the end, she will do whatever her husband Petruchio says–and eloquently defends her ‘choice’ to do so. It’s horrifying.

Yes, it’s a comedy, and it is a successful one. There are a lot of funny moments. But the scene where Kate begs the servant for food did not make me laugh.

It was a different time, I tell myself at my desk as I look at the framed poster of Rosie the Riveter. It was a different time.

Dr. Laura would say that it makes sense, what Kate says at the end:
“Thy husband is …one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks and true obedience;
Too little payment for so great a debt.”

Dr. Laura posits that men love their women and will do all kinds of heavy lifting if their ladies are sweet to them and show appreciation.

To a large degree, I concur. I think that women need to recognize and appreciate the good stuff men do for them and not sweat the small stuff.

So what if he is lounging around in his ratty sweats? Don’t nag him to throw them away. Sit down next to him and he’s more than likely going to put his arm around you and give you a kiss.

So, if that is the message to take away from TOTS, it’s not a bad one.

It was a different time, right? Then, women were utterly dependent on their men to make money and provide food and a place to sleep.

I was talking to my co-worker, a man born in Costa Rica, about my impressions of the play.

“It’s still that way in some places,” he said.

We’ve got a long way to go, baby.

_Once Upon a Mattress_

It’s a musical that started out Off-Broadway, then moved onto Broadway, and now has been on TV and will very soon be for sale on a DVD near you.

I saw it this weekend on the “Wonderful World of Disney”. Carol Burnett, who starred as the princess in the orignal off broadway performance, got to be the evil mother in the TV version.

It’s a fairy tale story, the one about the Princess and the Pea. Tracy Ullman was the princess and the Pea played itself.

I really liked this production. It has music, it has dancing. It has Carol Burnett and Tracy Ullman! I mean, really!

It’s a great DVD to get if you have kids. It’s the kind of story that works great for kids and has enough intelligence to play well for the adults who have to watch along.

I don’t know if I’d buy the DVD, but then again I don’t have kids. If I did, I would get it for sure.

Dragonwyck

Caught this one while flipping chanels and I couldn’t stop watching it. It reminded me of Rebecca, in that it was a dark black-and-white romantic melodrama with hints that something creepy and occult going on. The heroine Miranda (Gene Tierney) is stunningly beautiful. I did not recognize the chisel-faced Nicholas Van Ryn at all, but IMDB told me he was Vincent Price. He was incredible.

Dragonwyck, in which no dragon appears, is the name of the Van Ryn ancestral home. But suprise! The regency romance is actually set in America. New York started out as New Amsterdam, remember? and the Van Ryn empire is a full-on castle with Peasants and Nicholas is the Dutch nobleman, called ‘Patroon’.

That woud be totally weird, except that the movie takes it head on, with the American farmers revolting against their fuedal situation. Slavery in the south is well-known, but I didn’t know that New York had this going on as recently as 1840.

I expected this movie melodrama to be a straight up romantic drama, but the political story was really intriguing. The status awareness of Nicholas Van Ryn creates the structure and motivations for the characters.

It has a lot of unexpected twists and tons of suspense. It has all the wonderful guilty pleasure of an overblown romance, but surprised me by keeping a pretty realistic hold on human behavior. I think I may have to get this movie.

Too bad for me, Amazon doesn’t have it. They have the book, which I think I’ll read. I’ll let you know how that is

the closer

During the TV summer dry spell, TNT has come up with “The Closer” to catch out interest. Kyra Sedgewick plays this Deputy Chief of police in Los Angeles who solves crimes.

Love the cops shows. And I love “The Closer.” First of all, the show is about the deputy chief, rather than the beat cops. It’s a new take on police work. But in addition to the “dead bodies” we all love, the cool crimes and detective work, the Closer is character-driven.

We now pause this blogpost to give this emergency message:
WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME. Have you even noticed how ignored we chicks are? I know how rough it’s been for me. And when I noticed a few weeks ago that even ivillage.com has taken down their ‘careers’ section, I felt so discouraged.

But as for “the Closer”…
This woman, a little southern-drawling slip of a thing, has to come in and command the respect of the hardened crew she’s been given. Brenda, played by Sedgewick, was brought over by a former boss and lover to come work in L.A., leaving behind a murky scandal in her previous job. She is in a career that is so harsh, but she is totally feminine. I love her!

She is on top of her game, totally a woman with foibles and weaknesses and awkward moments, but she rocks. I love love this show.

I had the opportunity to actually shake hands with Kyra Sedgewick when I saw her at a local watering hole. I told her I loved her show and that she was living my life exactly as Brenda. She was very gracious and thanked me for watching.

You all should watch it to; you won’t regret it.