Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 09:41 AM PST

After reading the notes, I have but one thing to say...

eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!

That is all.

Posted by Lulu @ 09/14/2003 09:47 AM PST

The luminescent der Brucer and I had an interesting experience over the weekend. The lights went out.

It wasn't the entire house that was affected, just the living room, dining room, and my own room (which shares a wall with the living room). One minute the power was on, and the next minute the power was off.

This being very late at night, I gathered up the flashlight and went outside to check the circuit box. Everything was fine there. But there was no explanation as to why the lights in the front rooms were out. Der Brucer also went outside to the circuit box, and could find nothing wrong. We finally decided to wait until morning, when there would be enough natural light to inspect the problem properly.

That's not how things worked out, however. At about 4:30 in the morning, the lights that had been out suddenly came on again. It was as if nothing strange had happened at all, which of course made things even stranger than the spelling of the word "circuit." There has been absolutely no explanation of the events since the lights came on again.

I don't know why, BK, but your story about the strange smells and the dead flies made me want to tell this story.

Posted by S. Woody White @ 09/14/2003 09:58 AM PST

I didn't know they served lovely waiters at Islands. I'll have to check it out.

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 10:06 AM PST

I'm working hard putting an eight act structure together, so this will be brief. (BTW - Should eight act structures not be against the law? Life happens in three acts and anything else is unnatural. That's all I have to say on the matter.)Back to my point -- I visited with Miss Doris Dowling yesterday. She is, unfortunately, quite frail and seems like a different woman from the one I last saw a mere four years ago. As Bette Davis once remarked, "Old age ain't for sissies."
I told Miss Dowling about the best site on the Internet where she has many devoted fans. She was very pleased to hear this and smiled radiantly at the news. At one point during the visit we sat in a room filled with photos from her films - one particulary poignant one of her as Gloria in THE LOST WEEKEND. I commented that she was a strikingly beautiful woman. For a moment she was the old Doris as she responded in her best film noir voice, "Yes, I WAS beautiful. And I knew it. And I used it."

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 10:21 AM PST

Morning, all! Well, afternoon, I suppose... :-\ I slept in again today and I'm actually feeling quite well with the exception of the feeling that my entire left vocal cord is swollen. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, but this happens from time to time and eventually it goes away. I know its not strep--I've had strep. I don't think its tonsilitis--they're not swollen or red and my throat isn't sore. Its most likely a collection of sticky mucus that gathered on the sides of my throat as I was sleeping. A lot of that drainage has started settling in my chest, causing me to have a bit of a cough, but I'm taking expectorant to try to get it all out. I have to get rid of this by Thursday, so I'm taking very good care of myself. I probably should see a doctor, but when you have no health insurance, that's not really an option. Oh, well...I'll be fine.

I need to do laundry today. I haven't done it since I got back from the Poke-Oh-No's and there is a PLETHORA of things to be washed, including all the stuff that was 'clean' when I came home. It may have been washed, but it still smells musty, so I'm going to re-wash all of that mess. I hate doing laundry on Sundays...its always a zoo. And I can almost guarantee that a certain Hispanic lady will be there with her 40 loads of laundry. She's the lady in the laundromat that everyone despises, even though I'm sure she's a lovely person, because she puts four items in a dryer at a time, so there are never any free machines. She also tends to leave her things in the dryers while she's folding, so there you have several machines that have stopped spinning, but she doesn't take her stuff out of them! If she's there today I may just have to bitch-slap her and tell her to KISS MY ASS!

Anywho...I should get going. It may be several hours before I finish this laundry if Senorita Lavadora is there. Wish me luck and pray that my throat fixes itself!!

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 10:23 AM PST

I am so lucky to have a laundry room in my very own house! I remember the days of the laundromat...I usually liked to go about 3 am...so it was more of a Fellini experience than anything.

DORIS DOWLING....DR Panni...although I remember her for many things...two performances stand out to me...as Mrs. Morrison, Alan Ladd's wife in THE BLUE DAHLIA...and as Mrs. Webster...Mark Damon's mother in THE PARTY CRASHERS (costarring Bobby Driscoll and Miss Frances Farmer). Yes - beautiful and talented and yes she has many fans, I am glad you were able to remind her!

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 10:51 AM PST

I don't understand people my age. My college friends have witnessed or engaged in the practice of partying and getting drunk. My two closest girl friends don't drink, and one's "boyfriend" apparently got plastered last night. She is so upset, as I am about one friend whose antics surprise me. Earlier we were questioning the reason why a person would get drunk, do stupid things, wake up sick and regretting the things he/she did, and then choose to do it all again. It baffles me, as well as my friend and Sarah, with whom I had a similar conversation last night. It's so disappointing when people in whom you have faith and for whom you have respect decide to do something so inane.

Any advice or answers to the things my friends and I don't understand? Please?

Posted by Laura II @ 09/14/2003 11:06 AM PST

Oh and Jason, I'll be praying for you and your throat! I absolutely cannot stand when my throat hurts--it gets me so worried--so i understand. Take care!

Posted by Laura II @ 09/14/2003 11:09 AM PST

Laura II: Boys that age are stupid. I hate to be that blunt, but it is true. You would have liked Benjamin Kritzer, who was not stupid at that age, at least not in that way. Unfortunately, Benjamin Kritzer only exists in books. I hated kids who got drunk - they were sloppy, ugly, mean and disgusting, and I chose not to be around them.

Posted by bk @ 09/14/2003 11:17 AM PST

Jason--feel better soon! I just got over a sore throat myself...I hope that if you are sick, it's no more than just a little cold that will go away in the morning.

Teen alcoholism is such a problem in our country (and I imagine elsewhere). Yes, I drink now and then at parties but I don't believe it's completely a bad thing if kept very moderate in both frequency and the amount consumed. I have one friend who I fear is becoming an alcoholic already, and she's only a month older than I am. I can totally understand where you're coming from, Laura. I understand why teens and college kids feel the need to drink--we face many pressures and stresses, the need for social belonging and acceptance, the fleeting pleasure of a buzz. But I simply don't understand why so many young people drink so much when they know what a serious health risk it is. They just don't care and I find that very sad.

Posted by Maya @ 09/14/2003 11:30 AM PST

We're dealing with the task of contacting the people who didn't respond to our invitations. The "reply by" date was the 10th, and the big show is four weeks from today. (I still have a couple of songs to write.) A late post yesterday concerned how weddings have changed. Our Wedding - The Musical is, of course, totally different from any wedding anyone's ever seen before. Our rehearsal dinner comes at the end of a full day of rehearsing. I'm the only man invited to my bachelor party. My ushers actually take tickets and show people to their theatre seats, like good ushers should. There's nothing borrowed, nothing blue, nothing old and all the songs are new. There's no bouquet or wedding cake. Actually, we heard so many complaints about the lack of wedding cake, that the bride yesterday went to many of Manhattan's better bakeries in search of cupcakes. Excitement is mounting...

Posted by Noel @ 09/14/2003 11:39 AM PST

Noel wrote:

I'm the only man invited to my bachelor party.

Okay I'm confused. Then who is invited. I've never heard of a bachelor party without any men.

There's no bouquet or wedding cake.

And how come no bouquet and no wedding cake?

Also, you mentioned the other day that the people in the wedding party would be singing. Does that mean that they are all singers?

And is this a completely sung through musical?

jennifer

Posted by Jennifer @ 09/14/2003 11:49 AM PST

As a person who enjoys a drink here and there (now and again too), but who has NEVER been drunk, I can understand your puzzlement Laura II at why anyone would willingly put themselves through it.

My response: the unknown. In societies where children and teens have access to lightly alcoholic beverages on a regular basis and get to see adults imbibing in these drinks responsibly the rate of teen alcholism is greatly reduced.

In the States - and parts of the Canada I admit - the legal drinking age is something ridiculous like 19 or 21. Alcohol is seen as something "special" that only adults can do and enjoy. No wonder that when teens get access to the stuff, they go slightly off the deep end.

Looking at countries like Denmark where elementary students in public schools all receive a daily ration of beer (watered down nonetheless) with their lunches, alcoholism is greatly reduced. Not to mention heart disease - which small amounts of the tanin found in wine and other spirits have been known to reduce.

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 11:49 AM PST

Laura II, I think if one were to be video taped while drunk, they just might not do it again. On the other hand, if getting very ill doesn't stop them, why would a video do so. I have often asked myself the same question you ask. Young people especially don't realize the risks they are taking or think that bad things will happen to them. Knowing when to stop while drinking, before the no return mark, can also be difficult and is more likely to come with time. Advise would be, if someone insists on drinking, then help them know at what point they must stop. Experience tells me you aren't likely to convince anyone of this. It's tough when you are more mature than your peers.

Posted by Jane @ 09/14/2003 12:00 PM PST

I wonder where the fly came from.

Posted by Vincent Price @ 09/14/2003 12:03 PM PST

Don't look at me.

Posted by David Heddison @ 09/14/2003 12:04 PM PST

It's a dull, dreary day in NYC.

Not much is new but I just wanted to check in. We've been watching some comedy shows from the 50s (Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Ozzie & Harriet and Red Skelton so far with things like Topper (I hope it's a Sondheim episode), I Married Joan and Our Miss Brooks coming up). Why can't the television shows of today be as funny as these shows. We actually laughed out loud a number of times, something that rarely happens with the shows of today.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/14/2003 12:08 PM PST

I spent a busy morning at church/work, and in a few minutes I'll be off to a (probably) four-hour long board meeting.

Here's my topic for Free-For-All Day: What did you have for lunch? I had a honeymoon salad.

Posted by Old Laura @ 09/14/2003 12:25 PM PST

Laura II - I don't know why kids drink, so I can't help you out there. It seems to have very little to do with environment or upbringing. My daughter had a friend in high school who was the child of alcoholics and this girl did not touch a drop. She had another friend who was the child of Dana Carvey's Church Lady and husband, and she (and her sister) got falling down drunk on a regular basis.
Where I might be able to give you some useful advice, however, is in the matter of getting them to stop or keeping them from starting. My late mother was a very broad minded woman. The one thing she had absolutely NO tolerance for was drunkeness. Why? Because as a child in Budapest she was walking down the street with her governess one sunny afternoon when a drunk coming toward them stopped right in front of her --- and vomitted all over her pretty shoes. There's your answer, Laura II: get a drunk to vomit on your friends and there's a good chance they'll never drink again. (And if that doesn't work, get new friends.)

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 12:25 PM PST

Speaking of fly problems... I killed a fly a little while ago. Actually, I think it committed suicide. I was passing by the dining room of the house where I'm staying and saw The Fly sitting on the edge of a chair. This was, I'm sure, the same fly which flew into a yummy bowl of granolla (mixed with honey nut Cheerios) I was eating last night, thereby ruining my meal. It was payback time, but I had doubts about being able to hit the creature. I walked into the dining room, took off my shoe, aimed -- all this time it could've moved, but didn't. THWANG! It was on the floor. Way too easy. I actually felt guilty.

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 12:37 PM PST

Laura 1, I looked up Honeymoon salad and found more than one recipe. So what did you have? This vegetarian had chicken soup for her cold.

Panni, you gave me my laugh for the day. It reminds me of a party my husband and I had years ago, in our early twenties. A "friend" at the party got drunk, threw up all over our bathroom, then climbed out of the bathroom window in shame and went home. Once you have cleaned up after another drunk, you certainly would not want to be the drunk getting sick.

Posted by Jane @ 09/14/2003 12:47 PM PST

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed that fly.
Perhaps she'll die.

Posted by An Old Man @ 09/14/2003 12:52 PM PST

Just got back from yet another babysitting job. I made a grand total of $170 this weekend. That's pretty good, I'm proud.

As Laura mentioned, we had a long discussion about the behaviors of drunk people last night. My older brother, during his 10th and 11th grade years, did quite a bit of drinking and drugs, and was even taken out of school and put into a rehabilitation center for 40 days. I remember asking him a few months ago what the appeal of drinking was. He said to me "Don't you want to look cool?" and I replied "Oh, yeah, since everyone's mission in life is to act like a frickin' moron who chokes on their own vomit and cant string together a complete and eloquent sentence in under five minutes." He just shook his head and walked away. You'd think that having no one trust or repspect you would have somewhat of a positive effect, but not for him. I try every day to become less and less like him.

Oh, and the couple who came home drunk last night and couldn't pay me came over today, and much to my (hidden inner) delight, said that their 3 year old decided to wake them up at 6 to play dolls. They need to learn...

Posted by Sarah @ 09/14/2003 01:25 PM PST

I did it! I beat Senorita Lavadora at her own game! I got there half an hour before she did, so I got the pick of the dryers. That didn't stop her from removing my clothes from the dryer when they were done. I hate when strangers handle my laundry. Anyway, I've totally figured her out. She's one of those "hey, look at me, I'm a professional laundryperson" kinda girls. She had (I'm not lying) five different kinds of laundry detergent, all in Poland Springs water bottles. Then there was the bleach, the fabric softener, the dryer sheets (which she had an entire ROLL of), and the Woolite. She even has a special way of rolling the laundry cart under the table and being on the other side to catch it. Oh, she's so slick, Senorita of the Laundry. Well, who is laughing now, chica?! I'm home and you're still folding one of your ten sets of bedsheets! HA!

Laura II...I have wondered that same thing my whole life. Why would people deliberately lose control of themselves? There again, I'm a control freak. This past summer was an eye-opening experience for me re. drugs and alcohol. I still don't understand it, but it certainly revealed things to me that I hadn't known before. For example, I never knew what marijuana smelled like until this summer. I never care to smell it again, but that's beside the point. I think that, as much as everyone says its just fun...it helps them relax...that drinking binges and drug use stem from a huge self-esteem deficit. I've never in my life seen so many people who were unhappy with who they were as I did while doing this past job, and, rather than examining what it was about their lives that they disliked and why, they chose to get high and drunk quite literally every night. I think there's a GIGANTIC problem with making the statement, "We should count the beers before we leave for the show tonight so that we'll know how many to pick up on our way home." People spent a whole week planning a day-of-drinking, which culminated with them hitting every Happy Hour bar in New Hope, starting at 4:30 in the afternoon. Of course, they had already downed a case of beer by the time they left for the bars, and then came home and downed a few bottles of wine. And if you think I'm making this up, I'm not.

The thing that blows my mind and breaks my heart is that they all thought that they were making life-long friends through these social bonding moments. What escaped them was that everybody was using everybody else to get their hands on some more pot or booze...they didn't give a rat's ass about the person, just the payoff. And their excuses? Well, I'm fat, so I might as well get fatter. Well, I'm in college...that's what you do when you're my age. Well, I can't deal with my parents. Well, I'm tired of the show. Well, well, well... Well, guess what? I'm not skinny, I didn't behave that way in college, I couldn't deal with my parents very well when I was living at home, and I was tired of the show, too, but you never EVER saw me doing the crap that those kids did. Not even kids...there were 35-year old persons behaving that way--and kids who were 19 and 20 years old.

I don't expect to keep in touch with many, if any, of the people who were involved in the craziness of this summer. I don't hate them, but I certainly hated their actions, and I hated that they tried to make me feel badly for not participating. Someone suggested showing them a video of their behavior. Well, someone did that and they all thought it was hilarious and suggested that they should do it again the next night. It hurt my heart to see them doing that to themselves.

Anyway, enough of that. DR Craig and I might be off to sup together this evening at Ollie's Noodle Shop. It is my favorite Chinese place in New York. I'll have to put it on my credit card, but I don't care! Its OLLIE'S!

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 01:29 PM PST

Sarah: I think a lot of it is the fact that many kids that age have never been taught by their parents to think and make decisions and value judgments on their own. Their parents have made all the decisions for them - "Don't do this," "you're not allowed to watch that because it might give you ideas," "XXX is not a suitable friend," etc. Rather than modeling acceptable behavior and attitudes for their children, explaining what their values are and why they hold those values, they instead just issue forth with a constant litany of "no, no, and no." The kids reach 15 or 16, are away from their parents, and they are completely unequipped to deal with making decisions and judgments on their own.

So they go nuts.

Even worse than the drinkin' and druggin' thing, for me, was knowing personally girls in high school who slept with guys without using any sort of protection and wound up having either abortions or babies at 16. VERY smart. The assumption was that if teens were educated about how NOT to get pregnant, they would take preventative steps. But so many didn't. I could never understand that one...so senseless.

Posted by Lulu @ 09/14/2003 01:37 PM PST

Laura I: For lunch I had homemade (by me) pizza, with turkey pepperoni, pineapple chunks and black olives. Mmmmmmmmm.

Posted by Lulu @ 09/14/2003 01:37 PM PST

For lunch I had a bowl of Chicken and Rice soup and an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat toast. Yummy and I'm still full. I'm seeing a show tonight at Playwrights Horizons in NYC. It's a show dealing with the events of 9/11 called Recent Tragic Events. It takes place in Minneapolis and a woman is going through with her blind date on September 12, 2001. Haven't heard much in the gossip line so I'm going with an open mind (I usually go with an open mind anyway). Slow day at HHW.

Posted by Ben @ 09/14/2003 01:46 PM PST

For lunch I had a chicken and cheese sandwich and a slice of pizza which has burned my tongue.

DR Lulu: I understnad completely what you're saying, which is why it was a shock when my brother got into that mess. I think it was because my parents trusted him a lot. He was always a good, well-rounded kid, he got good grades, played sports, was in the top band, had a lot of great friends, etc. My parents never had to deal with any of the typical early teenager problems, because he was, in comparison to most kids, an angel. I think that when he realized he had their trust and they never suspected anything, he took advantage, began sneaking out in the middle of the night, meeting up with college aged kids, etc. He did this for about 3 years, until he was ultimately caught, and punished. He still acts like a moron and gets in trouble constantly, and obviously hasn't learned his lesson at all.

The worst thing about it is that my parents have lowered their standards of what their kids should be. They're constantly suspicious of me, even though I NEVER do anything, and recognition is hard to get, becuase they think I'm hiding something. I have to work incredibly hard at making them happy, but once I "achieve" it, I'm on a high for days.

Posted by Sarah @ 09/14/2003 02:02 PM PST

Well "My Dinner With Jason" is confirmed and we shall be supping at Ollies...I suspect Jason will be having the Chicken Fried Rice. I don't know what I am having yet..

Oh the mystery!

Much like the latest radio show.. where is it Donald - we are all chomping at the bit (and bytes)

Posted by Craig @ 09/14/2003 02:54 PM PST

I was definitely odd man out way back in high school. Hated the taste of all alcohol, so there I was drinking Coke when everyone else was falling down drunk. I'll never forget the all night party we had the night after the senior class play. I was the only sober guy there at the end of the party (which was actually around 8 a.m. the next morning). Didn't make me popular but I felt fine about myself.

Posted by Matt H. @ 09/14/2003 02:54 PM PST

Oh, you...you can always get a reservation, Craig!

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 02:56 PM PST

Thank you to all of you dear readers for your advice. I especially enjoyed Panni's comment about having a drunk person vomit on those people I know who drink. I'm pretty sure that would cure them.

So what is everyone up to now? I'm making a scrapbook! I love pictures!

Posted by Laura II @ 09/14/2003 02:59 PM PST

My favourite dishes to get at chinese restaurants:

1) shrimp in black bean sauce
2) salt and pepper squid
4) (okay okay *3*) deep fried tofu with hot pepper sauce

Jason as a food texture junkie, don'tcha just LOVE the unique slimeyness of silken tofu? I could eat it all day! :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 03:04 PM PST

Emily...as a texture-food junkie, I'm horrified that you would even suggest eating tofu! ;-) I think its so gross! Like you said, its slimy. That, in my book, is enough to keep me from eating it. And now...off to Ollie's!!

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 03:14 PM PST

Um..make that food texture, not texture food. :-P

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 03:15 PM PST

By being a texture-junkie I insinuated that I like lots of different types of textures in foods.

Slimey-ness being just one of many.

Mmmmm.... tofu...

(Jason I am sorry if you are gagging as you read this)

:)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 03:28 PM PST

Gotta concur about the sliminess of tofu being off-putting. I wish I liked it, as it's supposedly really good for you...but I don't. :(

Posted by Lulu @ 09/14/2003 03:31 PM PST

Oh no, the big question is: as a good Southern boy, does Jason eat okra? Does anyone eat okra?

Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/14/2003 03:35 PM PST

Well, with all this talk about the horrors of drinking, I think I should chime in, being perhaps the only falling-down drunk among us. Make that former falling-down drunk. Or as we say in the program, recovering falling-down drunk.

My name is wfo, and I am an alcoholic. As for the why, I wish I could shed some light on it, but all of y'all have hit on most of it. Myself, I came from a teetotaling family. My mother has one glass of wine on her wedding anniversary every year, but she never took more than one sip. Communion wine--well, that was sort of required. My dad would drink maybe two beers while he watched a baseball game, but only rarely.

When I got to college, it was a new world and all the old controls were lifted. Still, it took me to the middle of my sophomore year to have my first "fatal glass of beer" (oh, a W.C. Fields reference!). I thought it tasted like equine urine. They told me, "The second one tastes better." It did not. They told me, "The third one tastes better." And I was off and running.

A lot of gay people will tell you that they drink/drank because of that. I'm sure a lot of straight people have other reasons. The bottom line is that it is a self-feeding destructive behaviour, and very few people can get out of it alone. Alcoholics Anonymous and Teenanon have marvelous success, but they never publish statistics or trumpet their "successes". They simply put all their resources into trying to help.

My Joe was also a heavy drinker, but he didn't have the problem with it that I did. In fact, my major reason for getting into a program was a literal swift kick in the cojones delivered by my one and only, for which I am eternally grateful.

I have been alcohol-free for 18 years now, and I am as mystified as all of you about why people do that to themselves.

As for Joe, when he got EMS he just lost his taste for alcohol. Other EMS sufferers say the same think; drinking just ceased to appeal to them. If only that symptom of the disease could be isolated, someone would make a fortune.

If someone close to you is going through this problem, I urge you to seek out a local AlAnon, which is for friends and families of alcoholics and will teach you how to deal with it and how to help them without just driving them further into the bottle.

This has been a public service message. We now return you to our regular frivolous and joyful programming.

Posted by William F. Orr @ 09/14/2003 04:04 PM PST

WFO: That was truly inspiring! I'm very proud of you for having the courage to kick the habit, and HUGE kudos to your Joe for helping you along the way. It's interesting that you yourself don't even see the appeal of it. I guess it's an eternal mystery.

BTW, as a good Southern girl, I eat okra. :)

Posted by Sarah @ 09/14/2003 04:27 PM PST

WFO - I eat okra. It's yummerlicious! My dad's obsessed with southern style cooking, so I get to eat a lot of it! Gumbo... mmm....

There's only one thing better than Gumbo with okra, and that's Gumbo with okra and tofu! :)

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm sure it isn't easy to have to relive that period of your life. I am happy knowing that you are now so happy and healthy! :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 04:29 PM PST

I think I may be the official HHW culinary black sheep.

I seem to love the foods that everyone hates!

:)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 04:30 PM PST

WFO--I also eat okra on occasion. On a different note, thank you for sharing your story. I'm very glad to hear that you are doing well.

Posted by Laura II @ 09/14/2003 04:34 PM PST

The new Broadway Radio Show is now up and running and this week Bruce joins me as we listen to tracks from JEEPERS CREEPERS

Enjoy!

Posted by Donald Feltham @ 09/14/2003 04:38 PM PST

WFO - There's always room for a wonderful PSA during the frivolity. ALANON is a terrific organization that many people don't realize exists. I did research on it some years ago for a script and got quite an education. Jack Humphrey, a producer/mentor I worked with when I first started to write (and for five years after that) had been a "falling down drunk" until he found AA. During the time I knew him, he had been sober for years and was the funniest and most sober person I'd ever met. He was totally devoted to AA. No matter how important a meeting we were having, no matter how maby of us were around the table trying to figure out how to save the show we were shooting the next day, if one of his AA people called for support, he'd leave and talk to him/her sometimes for hours. Jack died much too young and his funeral was attended by the most glorious mixture of network executives, street people, recovering and not yet recovering alcoholics I had ever seen. The difference that one man can make in the world was truly demonstrated that sad day.

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 04:47 PM PST

My mother is German and she loves okra. I don't care for it.

I don't like the taste of alcohol so I don't drink at all. I've had sips and have actually been drunk once. I really don't understand the desire for it. Give me a diet Pepsi and I'm very happy.

I have to house sit for my sister who is vacationing with her daughter and boyfriend (they go on trips together all the time and they NEVER ask me to go along...maybe because they need me to house sit). They won't be back until Thursday, so I won't be able to chat tomorrow night. I'll definitely read HHW and try to post during the day.

Posted by George @ 09/14/2003 04:49 PM PST

Help! I've been writing for eight hours and I'm going blind. Which would be no problem as I can touch-type. - The problem is that my mind has stopped functioning. (Which reminds me of a tuly horrific affliciton for a writer - but maybe not. A writer friend of mine - an excellent writer - had a stroke which left him able to write, but unable to read.)

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 04:52 PM PST

Help! I've been writing for eight hours and I'm going blind. Which would be no problem as I can touch-type. - The problem is that my mind has stopped functioning. (Which reminds me of a tuly horrific affliciton for a writer - but maybe not. A writer friend of mine - an excellent writer - had a stroke which left him able to write, but unable to read.)

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 04:52 PM PST

I told you I had no mind left. I posted that twice. Sorry.

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 04:53 PM PST

WEL: You have started us nostalging about "Our Miss Brooks". I remember Gale Gordon's role in the show but who played Mr Boyington and was Hans Conried part of the cast? (Maybe he was in Dobie Gillis or something else as a teacher)

WFO: I grew up living opposite a "pub" where I was so used to seeing the inebriated that I had no desire to bother with the demon drink. My parents allowed me to taste their drinks when I was a youngster so I did not have the lure of the forbidden. I drink alcohol at times - rarely beer or spirits. I can't sing either! Fortunately I found alternatives to Wine, Women & Song. More fortunately my youth was far off in safer days!
I Guess my only addiction was buying 45rpm pop records.
The cloud over the enjoyment of my last decade of teaching was seeing so many teenagers addicted to "binge" drinking at weekends and the use of that weed that destroys motivation.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 04:59 PM PST

Listening to the JEEPERS CREEPERS radio show!

HEY....did we on the board ever discover if there was a source for a video copy of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode - The [An) Unlocked Window? Would love to show it as a surprise on our family Halloween movie night...during which of course JEEPERS CREEPERS will be played loudly!!!!

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 05:00 PM PST

Tom - Mr Boynton was played by Robert Rockwell.

Hans Conried was Uncle Tanoose in MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, but I don't remember him dallying with Miss Brooks.

William Schallert and Jean Byron (who later played Patty Duke's tv parents) were college professors when Dobie, Chatsworth, and even Maynard went off to college.

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 05:05 PM PST

I have just consulted my dictionary. Had no idea what Okra was! I am still not much wiser. I'll stick to vegemite. (that was a Jose reference in case he manages to "log" in).
I did have the suspician that okra was somehow related to orca. Glad I was wrong!
I had a whale of a time watching "Finding Nemo" a few weeks back. I think Ellen deserves an oscar as best actress. The whale dialogue was the funniest scene in a movie for many years.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 05:06 PM PST

Logged onto the radio show, and if the question hasn't been already answered, DENNIS WEAVER was Debbie and Shelley's co-star in WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?

Posted by td @ 09/14/2003 05:07 PM PST

. . . and of course, yours truly reviewed the dvd for a certain magazine which has strong connections to JEEPERS CREEPERS. . .

Posted by td @ 09/14/2003 05:09 PM PST

Just put on the Broadway Radio Show too! Hugely enjoying it!

Panni--I love to write myself, and am no stranger to writer's block. I've personally found that there's not much you can do about it other than relax, clear your mind and THEN sit back down at the computer. Good luck!

WFO--thank you for your story, and how great that you were able to overcome your addiction! As for okra, never had it. I'm not sure I even know what it looks like. Is it green?

Ya know, if anything...next time I'm at a party or sleepover, I'm not all that sure I'm going to drink anything.

Posted by Maya @ 09/14/2003 05:09 PM PST

Thanks "Jack". I can still see Hans as a teacher somewhere."Make Room For Daddy" was never on TV here.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 05:09 PM PST

Tom - wonder if you are thinking of THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T?

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 05:11 PM PST

I've never understood why anybody gets drunk. It often starts with people who are feeling bad and ends with them feeling worse. One of the mysteries of human nature, I guess.

Two dozen of my bestest and most talented female friends have been invited to my bachelor party. I've been a guest at bachelor parties before, and find them utterly repulsive. Why do grooms want to get turned on by strange women in front of their closest male friends? Another mystery of human nature. So I'm having a night out with the girls (Ooh, a Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich reference.)

Yes, Jennifer, you could call it sung-through. Very little is spoken.

Laundered some towels today, then, as they were drying, stood for 30 minutes to buy one small basting brush at the brand new supermarket. Please, Mr. D'Agostino, please: open up an express line!

Posted by Noel @ 09/14/2003 05:15 PM PST

Maya - You misunderstand. I haven't got writers' block! No, no, PLEASE don't even put those words in writing, lest you put a curse on me. It's the exact opposite. I've been writing too much and my brain is fried.

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 05:20 PM PST

Panni--sorry for misinterpreting and I certainly don't want to put a curse on you! I guess I've never written for 8 hours straight! Anyway, same remedy! Girl, take a break! ;)

I completely have "Who Killed Teddy Bear?" stuck in my head now!

Posted by Maya @ 09/14/2003 05:24 PM PST

I just reread my post to see why Maya thought I had writers' block and noticed I wrote about an "affliciton"... If anyone is wondering, that's an affliction suffered by Zorro.

Posted by Panni @ 09/14/2003 05:25 PM PST

Oh goody. A slimy food conversation. In addition to tofu and okra, I suppose we need to add tripe to the list. Any other favorite (or deplored) slimy foods you can name?

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 05:29 PM PST

Tapioca pudding!

It's one of the few foods that will slide off the spoon and down your throat all by itself... :)

(Jason is going to be more than gagging this evening when he comes back from dinner)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 05:42 PM PST

Tripe is rather tasty! I even happen to have a can of menudo in my cupboard!

How about boiled chickens feet. I had that once at a Chinese place in Portland last year. I really was not bad...but difficult to eat.

Posted by MBarnum @ 09/14/2003 05:44 PM PST

Stop it...stop it right now!

Or talk about tasty foods. Eating chicken feet just ain't right.

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 05:46 PM PST

Thanks again but have not seen any of those fingers!
I think Hans worked with a blackboard in "70 Girls 70" but I have never seen a production of that either. Memory plays such tricks.(That could be a "Happy Time" reference but my memory does play tricks).

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 05:50 PM PST

Hans Conreid played a teacher in an I LOVE LUCY episode. He was on radio's MY FRIEND IRMA as a professor but I don't know if he was on the tv version.

Robert Rockwell was the only cast change from radio to television for OUR MISS BROOKS. On radio the role was played by Jeff Chandler before he became a film star. According to Esther Williams, Chandler was a transvestite which made the radio episode where he tried on a dress more interesting. In addition to Eve Arden as Miss Brooks and Gale Gordon as Mr. Conklin (the role that caused him to have to turn down the role of Fred Mertz when offered to him) the cast on radio and television also featured Richard Crenna as student Walter Denton, Gloria McMillen as Harriet Conklin (Walter's girlfriend and Principal Conklin's daughter) and Jane Morgan - not the same Jane Morgan who sang "Fascination" - as Mrs. Davis, Miss Brooks's landlady. I have no idea who played Minerva the cat. The television series failed when the whole cast was fired except Arden and Gordon and Miss Brooks and Mr. Conklin took new jobs at a boy's boarding school.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/14/2003 05:51 PM PST

Great radio show....and great tracks from JEEPERS CREEPERS...can't wait to get my pre-ordered copy!!!

Like all of them but one....and well....who cares? LOL...everybody listen!

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 05:51 PM PST

I've had chicken feet before while dim-summing.

They were tasty - if I closed my eyes (ooh... a RENT reference).

It was something about seeing the chickens' claws still attached that made them something less than edible. :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 05:56 PM PST

A word of advice: always eat dim sum only in the presence of someone who speaks Mandarin or Cantonese.

I went with my friend John who is fluent in Mandarin and ate absolutely wonderful food.

I went back myself and resorted to pointing at dishes.

Needless to say, it was on this second visit that I ended up with chicken feet. :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 05:58 PM PST

A word of advice: always eat dim sum only in the presence of someone who speaks Mandarin or Cantonese.

I went with my friend John who is fluent in Mandarin and ate absolutely wonderful food.

I went back myself and resorted to pointing at dishes.

Needless to say, it was on this second visit that I ended up with chicken feet. :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 05:58 PM PST

Mr BK says some nice things about us and HHW on the radio show....listen!

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/14/2003 06:03 PM PST

Two foods that bother me are hotdogs and oatmeal. I have to eat them very quickly before I can start thinking about them, or I'll have to trash it. What are hotdogs made of, anyway? And oatmeal has a very bad texture.

Jrand: Good food? Well, kind of going against everything said today, I had a delicious piece of rum cake for the first time today and fell in love with it.

WEL: You are so smart, every time you post, I'm amazed at your knowledge. Just thought I'd share that.

Posted by Sarah @ 09/14/2003 06:05 PM PST

Regarding chicken feet: They were a standard item to be found at my grandmother's house. The butcher would add them to my grandmother's order for free, and they were a key ingredient in her delicious chicken soup. They added great flavor to the soup, as well as gelatin, so the soup had good body. (When refrigerated, the soup would gel.) My brothers and mother and grandmother and I would all fight (good-naturedly, of course) over who got to eat the cooked chicken feet after the soup was made. "Losers" had to make do with the neck or gizzard (which we called the "pupik.")

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 06:08 PM PST

Another slimy food: poi. I don't particularly care for it, but I don't have the violent reaction to it that most people I know do. Besides which, if I'm eating poi, it means I'm in Hawaii, and if I'm in Hawaii, I'm in a complete state of bliss, and if the poi is gooey, so be it!

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 06:13 PM PST

Jay, in my family the neck of a chicken or turkey is always called "The Pope's Nose".

Don't ask me why, or which Pope it's supposed to resemble, but all I know is that it is the least wanted piece of fowl.

For all cultures there's a short end of the chicken. :)

Posted by Emily @ 09/14/2003 06:22 PM PST

Hmmm... The piece I know as the "Pope's nose" is at the opposite end of the bird, at the, um, base of the spine. In my family, this was another part of the fowl that was fought over. (That is, when the chicken or turkey has been roasted.)

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 06:44 PM PST

Another favorite slimy food: lox (smoked salmon, for the goyim amongst the Dear Readers.) Which is not nearly as slimy as some of the other smoked fishes that found their way to my table on Sunday mornings when I was growing up, like whitefish and, slimiest of all, cod. I love them all.

Posted by Jay @ 09/14/2003 06:47 PM PST

Jrand - An Unlocked Window comes up with frequency on eBay - usually coupled with the color remake, which is awful. Which track didn't you care for? I'm sure everyone will have one they don't like - hard to bat 100% with an album like this.

I'm fighting a horrendous headache right now. Have been dozing most of the afternoon in hopes it will go away.

Very unusual for Sunday to top Saturday but we haz done it!

Posted by bk @ 09/14/2003 06:54 PM PST

Well well well - I have just finished listening to Mr. Donald Feltham and Mr. Bruce Kimmel on the latest Broadway Radio Show and have the following comments.

1. Run, don't walk to buy this cd on scarletstreet.com - it's amazing..

2. Luker, Kaye and Fraser kick vocal heiney

3. Craig Brockman does NOT do fan sites, but does official websites of performers (but he thanks Bruce for his wonderful praise and comments during the show)

4. If you haven't heard the radio show yet.. you are wasting time reading my post... go.. listen, and while listening, you can read...

...I think we might JUST hit 100 posts today...

Posted by Craig @ 09/14/2003 07:19 PM PST

bk--I hope you feel better! I sometimes get intense headaches, so I feel your pain. Also, I just listened to the Broadway Radio Show, and yes I was afraid to post the day of the KISS MY A**. Thanks for the mention haha

Posted by Laura II @ 09/14/2003 07:31 PM PST

WFO, My mother was an alcoholic and I know your success did not come easily. Thank you for sharing your story with us. I admire and respect you for your inner strength to change your life.

Posted by Jane @ 09/14/2003 07:33 PM PST

Arggh! The two valuable lessons of the day--don't drink, and don't buy $500 PCs at Wal-Mart like my family did (I'm typing this from the MAC, which stands for Maddening, Annoying Computer). The server on the PC isn't working and I can't get on AIM, on the internet there or finish listening to the second half of the Broadway Radio Show!

BK--feel better soon! Maybe if you get to bed nice and early tonight, a good night's sleep will take care of it. Either that or a good dose of Tylenol Headache.

I just finished watching the summer finale of Sex and the City and a new show on HBO called Carnivale. S&tC was hilarious as usual and featured a guest appearance by Mikhail Barishnokov as Sarah Jessica's new love interest. I didn't realize how utterly charming that man was! He's really something.

Carnivale took me a while to get into, but it's quite good I think. It's like a David Lynch movie joined together with a Steinbeck novel. I love HBO!

And I really should start on my homework now, considering how I put it off all weekend ;)

Posted by Maya @ 09/14/2003 07:47 PM PST

I will eat fried okra or okra in vegetable soup, but to eat stewed okra (like my mom fixed for years and years) just turns my stomach to think of it.

Posted by Matt H. @ 09/14/2003 08:17 PM PST

It's quite weird to be half-reading, half-listening, and all of the sudden hear "Young Sarah, young sixteen year old Swishy Sarah..." or something of the sort. Very fun mention, you said very nice things about everyone, Bruce and Donald, thanks!

Laura IMed me the second she heard her "mention", cracking up, wondering how on earth you knew that, BK. Oh and I'm sorry about your headache, you should go to sleep tres early tonight.

I am SO excited to get Jeepers Creepers, it sounds fabulous! All of the people are obviously extremely talented, it looks like a great CD.

Posted by Sarah @ 09/14/2003 08:19 PM PST

I am now listening to WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR on the radio show...my gosh that song is beautiful! I simply cannot wait until the CD is out!

Posted by MBarnum @ 09/14/2003 08:48 PM PST

Thanks Bill. I think the "Lucy" episode must be the one my memory has kept in a compartment with a label missing.
Now for the name of the actor who played Minerva the cat. It wasn't Grace Kelly was it?

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 09:27 PM PST

Great radio show, Bruce and Donald! Just finished listening to the whole thing and JEEPERS CREEPERS sounds great--not that I hadn't already heard it. Here's some info for those unanswered questions voiced during the show:

"Hey, You!" is from THE MUMMY'S CURSE. This was the last of Universal's Mummy movies and is unique in that the Mummy and his Princess rise from the Louisiana Bayou after sinking into a swamp in Massachusetts in the previous picture. It baffles science!

Stella Meredith (for whom Ray Milland as Rick Fitzgerald composed "Stella by Starlight" in THE UNINVITED) was played by Gail Russell. She wasn't a ghost herself, but was haunted by two spirits--one of them her mother and the other a vengeful killer.

I first saw THE BLOB at a Saturday matinee in the early sixties. (God, I feel old!) To the best of my deteriorating memory, the title tune was played over the opening credits. However, when the film reached TV a year or two later, the opening credits were often snipped off by such stations as New York's WOR, and the song vanished with them.

And here's a bit of trivia I just realized today: the lyrics for "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" were written by Bette Davis' daughter!

If anyone has trouble getting beyond the opening pages at Scarlet Street, you can go directly to the JEEPERS CREEPERS page at this address: http://www.mycottage.com/SCARLET/CDjeepers.htm. If you still have trouble, drop me a line at reditor@aol.com and I'll get you there. We're hoping this CD is the great big smashing success it deserves to be . . .

Richard Valley
www.scarletstreet.com

Posted by Richard Valley @ 09/14/2003 09:38 PM PST

YOU feel old? What about me? I saw the fershluganah The Blob in 1958. I'm fairly certain the song was not in at that point.

Now, are you telling me we cannot get to 100 posts in the next hour? Are you TELLING me that? Are YOU telling ME that? ARE you telling me THAT?

Posted by bk @ 09/14/2003 10:40 PM PST

We can do it, we can do it, we can help our Cinderelly!

Posted by Gus, Jacques, and the mice @ 09/14/2003 10:44 PM PST

I'm so enjoying the radio show. For some reason, though, its frozen up just before the BABY JANE songs. What's up with that?

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:14 PM PST

OH! I forgot to mention...I saw the new movie, "Lost in Translation" tonight. It was VERY good and I recommend that all of you see it. It was funny and touching and they didn't cop out and go the way you expected at the end. Bill Murray really surprised me with this one. He was excellent.

How's that for a third grade book report?

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:15 PM PST

Baby Jane is up and running.

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:17 PM PST

Does anyone remember the episode of 'Designing Women' where Mary Jo and Julia were in a community theatre production of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" They were made up like Joan and Bette and they looked AMAZING! It was so funny.

Anyone else noticed that I'm puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuushing for 100?

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:21 PM PST

Some of us are much closer to 100 and don't have to push so hard. Stop the clock!

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 11:23 PM PST

PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:25 PM PST

100??

Posted by George @ 09/14/2003 11:26 PM PST

That 'Baby Jane' track was incredibly fun! I loved the overlay at the end, BK. You're brilliant.

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:26 PM PST

No-one ever answered my question about "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane"/"I've Written A Letter To Daddy" - It was released here on an MGM 45 rpm disc by Debbie Burton (with help from Bette). Was the disc released in the USA?

An answer will lead to post 100.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 11:26 PM PST

Thanks George. Baby has arrived and no more need to push.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 09/14/2003 11:27 PM PST

I'm at my sister's house, house sitting (not on the house, just in it) while she's on vacation. Damn, I hate not having a life. Anyway, I am now going to watch Ebert & Roeper.

Also, I just read that Bennifer have separated. I guess they haven't officially "broken up" but it's a little more serious than just postponing the wedding.

Posted by George @ 09/14/2003 11:29 PM PST

Oh, my God! I just heard myself on the Judy track. How funny! Thanks, BK, for leaving me on there (and mentioning me on the show).

Posted by Jason @ 09/14/2003 11:47 PM PST

I will check EBAY for the "window."

As to the track I didn't like = as I said, it's not important, and it may grow on me. I am so used to the original, that it takes awhile to adjust...so I guess I should have said, it is one I like "less" than the others.

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/15/2003 03:29 AM PST

Off to school, nice and early today. Hope you all have faaaaaabulous days :)

Posted by Sarah @ 09/15/2003 04:50 AM PST

Thanks for the comment, Sarah. One other OUR MISS BROOKS fact.
Eve Arden was the 3rd choice (for the original radio version). The role was first turned down by Lucille Ball and Shirley Booth!

I got my credit card bill and the Paypal charge for JEEPERS CREEPERS was already put through. Normally when I buy something on-line, over the phone or by mail the charge does not appear until the item has been shipped. Does this mean that the CD was shipped in late August and should arrive any day?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/15/2003 06:01 AM PST

LOL...Bill. No.

I think BK says on the radio show that it should ship this week or next.

And didn't Illona Massey sing that drinking song in 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.' Although it may have originally been in 'New Wine' the story of Franz Shubert.

Posted by Jrand53 @ 09/15/2003 06:40 AM PST

For Tom fr Oz

Kangaroo with Quince and Okra

You need:

Char Grilled kangaroo Back Straps
2 cups of diced Quince
2 cups of okra
1 tsp black mustard seed
1 tsp yellow mustard seed
1 tsp dejon mustard
½ tsp of tumarack
½ tsp of Tamarind
1 ½ onions
1 ½ leeks
1 cup of vegetable stock
salt & pepper to taste
1 glove of garlic equal amount of crushed ginger

Method:

Pan fry all the the ingredients in oil, then pour in the stock and cover in foil.

Place in oven for 20 minutes to simmer.

Grill the kangaroo until medium rare, when cooked slice and place on top of sauteed vegetables.

Posted by Galloping Gour-met @ 09/15/2003 07:01 AM PST