Steve Reeves "So Handsome" February 28, 2006

Bo Derek wrote to Steve, “On a scale of 1 to 10 Steve, you destroyed the meter! You still do“.

STEVE REEVES(1926-2000)–SUPERSTAR, SUPERSTUD, SUPER MAN! In his day he was one of the most popular stars in the world … he was one of the few athletes to successfully cross over into a career in the movies … yet Steve Reeves is all but forgotten by most moviegoers today. He and his movies are rarely mentioned even as footnotes in movie reference works. To many he is little more than the favorite movie star of Dr. Frank-n-furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (“Or if you want something visual that’s not too abysmal, we could take in an old Steve Reeves movie”). Yet Steve is still legendary in the world of bodybuilding and to a dedicated band of afficianados to whom he will always be the one and only Hercules of the screen.*

Steve in his 1998 still HOT!!

Did you know..? February 28, 2006

1. It is impossible to lick your elbow.
2. A crocodile can’t stick its tongue out.
3. A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
4. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
5. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. And, if you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.
6. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
7. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

Steve Reeves “So Handsome” February 28, 2006

Bo Derek wrote to Steve, “On a scale of 1 to 10 Steve, you destroyed the meter! You still do”.

STEVE REEVES(1926-2000)–SUPERSTAR, SUPERSTUD, SUPER MAN! In his day he was one of the most popular stars in the world … he was one of the few athletes to successfully cross over into a career in the movies … yet Steve Reeves is all but forgotten by most moviegoers today. He and his movies are rarely mentioned even as footnotes in movie reference works. To many he is little more than the favorite movie star of Dr. Frank-n-furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (“Or if you want something visual that’s not too abysmal, we could take in an old Steve Reeves movie”). Yet Steve is still legendary in the world of bodybuilding and to a dedicated band of afficianados to whom he will always be the one and only Hercules of the screen.*

Steve in his 1998 still HOT!!

Did you know..? February 28, 2006

1. It is impossible to lick your elbow.
2. A crocodile can’t stick its tongue out.
3. A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
4. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
5. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. And, if you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.
6. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
7. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com | Feature: Who’ll win Oscars? Get EW’s predictions February 27, 2006

Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com | Feature: Who’ll win Oscars? Get EW’s predictions

Did you know? February 27, 2006

• “When classical music was played, patrons spent on average $40 per person, compared to $36.75 when pop tunes were featured and $35 when there was silence .”

Why? The researchers speculate that classical music makes diners feel more affluent, cultured, and sophisticated so they are more willing to spend money on items they equate with such qualities. Study leader Adrian North said classical music makes us “feel a bit posh. In a restaurant, this has the effect of making you spend a bit more money.”

• once the tab eclipses $100, diners tip less. The larger the bill, the smaller the tip. While tipping etiquette calls for a tip of 15 percent to 20 percent of the total bill, this only seems to hold when the tab is in the double digits. The researchers analyzed nearly 1,000 tips received by two cab drivers, two hair salons, and two restaurants over several weeks. In most cases, the tip increased along with the total amount of the bill. But once the tab hit $100, the tip plateaued. Lead study author Leonard Green says that servers are likely to get the same tip for a $100 bill as they are for a $200 bill

Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com | Feature: Who’ll win Oscars? Get EW’s predictions February 27, 2006

Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com | Feature: Who’ll win Oscars? Get EW’s predictions

Did you know? February 27, 2006

• “When classical music was played, patrons spent on average $40 per person, compared to $36.75 when pop tunes were featured and $35 when there was silence .”

Why? The researchers speculate that classical music makes diners feel more affluent, cultured, and sophisticated so they are more willing to spend money on items they equate with such qualities. Study leader Adrian North said classical music makes us “feel a bit posh. In a restaurant, this has the effect of making you spend a bit more money.”

• once the tab eclipses $100, diners tip less. The larger the bill, the smaller the tip. While tipping etiquette calls for a tip of 15 percent to 20 percent of the total bill, this only seems to hold when the tab is in the double digits. The researchers analyzed nearly 1,000 tips received by two cab drivers, two hair salons, and two restaurants over several weeks. In most cases, the tip increased along with the total amount of the bill. But once the tab hit $100, the tip plateaued. Lead study author Leonard Green says that servers are likely to get the same tip for a $100 bill as they are for a $200 bill

Make your Bet. February 27, 2006

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Philip Seymour Hoffman – CAPOTE-1/9
Terrence Howard – HUSTLE & FLOW-10/1
Heath Ledger – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-5/1
Joaquin Phoenix – WALK THE LINE-3/1
David Strathairn – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-35/1

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

George Clooney – SYRIANa-2/3
Matt Dillon – CRASH-7/1
Paul Giamatti – CINDERELLA MAN-1/3
Jake Gyllenhaal – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-3/1
William Hurt – A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE-20/1

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Judi Dench – MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS-30/1
Felicity Huffman – TRANSAMERICA-2/1
Keira Knightley – PRIDE & PREJUDICE-25/1
Charlize Theron – NORTH COUNTRY-30/1
Reese Witherspoon – WALK THE LINE-1/6

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams – JUNEBUG-7/2
Catherine Keener – CAPOTE-13/1
Frances McDormand – NORTH COUNTRY-12/1
Rachel Weisz – THE CONSTANT GARDENER-1/4
Michelle Williams – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-4/1

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Ang Lee – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-1/17
Bennett Miller – CAPOTE-22/1
Paul Haggis – CRASH-25/1
George Clooney – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-15/2
Steven Spielberg – MUNICH-4/1

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-1/10
CAPOTE-15/1
CRASH-1/1
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-15/1
MUNICH-8/1

Make your Bet. February 26, 2006

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Philip Seymour Hoffman – CAPOTE-1/9
Terrence Howard – HUSTLE & FLOW-10/1
Heath Ledger – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-5/1
Joaquin Phoenix – WALK THE LINE-3/1
David Strathairn – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-35/1

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

George Clooney – SYRIANa-2/3
Matt Dillon – CRASH-7/1
Paul Giamatti – CINDERELLA MAN-1/3
Jake Gyllenhaal – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-3/1
William Hurt – A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE-20/1

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Judi Dench – MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS-30/1
Felicity Huffman – TRANSAMERICA-2/1
Keira Knightley – PRIDE & PREJUDICE-25/1
Charlize Theron – NORTH COUNTRY-30/1
Reese Witherspoon – WALK THE LINE-1/6

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams – JUNEBUG-7/2
Catherine Keener – CAPOTE-13/1
Frances McDormand – NORTH COUNTRY-12/1
Rachel Weisz – THE CONSTANT GARDENER-1/4
Michelle Williams – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-4/1

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Ang Lee – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-1/17
Bennett Miller – CAPOTE-22/1
Paul Haggis – CRASH-25/1
George Clooney – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-15/2
Steven Spielberg – MUNICH-4/1

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN-1/10
CAPOTE-15/1
CRASH-1/1
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK-15/1
MUNICH-8/1

Romance in Venice February 24, 2006

American school teacher,Jane Hudson (Katherine Hepburn) single and growing older she carefully saves her money to enjoy a holiday trip to Venice in the faint hope she may find the romance that she has been seeking for so long. Jane soon discovers that even in a city as beautiful and fascinating as Venice, going it alone can still leave one feeling terribly lonely.While shopping near St. Mark’s Square she stops to look at two goblets in a shop window, the handsome art dealer ( Very Handsome) Renato Di Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), compliments Jane on her good taste in purchasing the antiques. When Jane returns to her hotel she meets a couple who have just returned from a tour with identical goblets, it appears the antiques are being produced in bulk. Jane returns to Renato’s shop to complain, but he sweeps her off her feet and offers her the romance she has been searching for. Jane’s dreams come to a crashing halt when she learns that Renato is the married father of a large family. Jane is initially outraged by Renato’s deception but remains determined to keep her romance alive whatever the outcome, but she finally does what’s best for everyone involved and returns home to America with the lasting memory of the happiest summer of her life.

Summertime (1955) ****

Academy Award for Best Director (1955): David Lean (nominated)
Academy Award for Best Actress (1955): Katharine Hepburn (nominated)

Romance in Venice February 24, 2006

American school teacher,Jane Hudson (Katherine Hepburn) single and growing older she carefully saves her money to enjoy a holiday trip to Venice in the faint hope she may find the romance that she has been seeking for so long. Jane soon discovers that even in a city as beautiful and fascinating as Venice, going it alone can still leave one feeling terribly lonely.While shopping near St. Mark’s Square she stops to look at two goblets in a shop window, the handsome art dealer ( Very Handsome) Renato Di Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), compliments Jane on her good taste in purchasing the antiques. When Jane returns to her hotel she meets a couple who have just returned from a tour with identical goblets, it appears the antiques are being produced in bulk. Jane returns to Renato’s shop to complain, but he sweeps her off her feet and offers her the romance she has been searching for. Jane’s dreams come to a crashing halt when she learns that Renato is the married father of a large family. Jane is initially outraged by Renato’s deception but remains determined to keep her romance alive whatever the outcome, but she finally does what’s best for everyone involved and returns home to America with the lasting memory of the happiest summer of her life.

Summertime (1955) ****

Academy Award for Best Director (1955): David Lean (nominated)
Academy Award for Best Actress (1955): Katharine Hepburn (nominated)

Sudden Fear *** 1/2 February 23, 2006

For a San Franciscan, the rewards of watching the classic film noir “Sudden Fear” are obvious: it was made here in locations that are still recognisable. Joan Crawford’s lavish Pacific Heights home on 2800 Scott Street is now the Indonesian Consulate and Gloria Grahame’s Tamalpais apartment building can still be seen on 1201 Greenwich Street. But even if you have never been to San Francisco, “Sudden Fear” is great film noir, superbly acted by Crawford and co-star Jack Palance, who both received Academy Award nominations, and by Grahame, who won the Oscar that year for another movie.

“Watch Joan Crawford who could actually WALK all the way from Scott/Green to Greenwich/Hyde in high heels & a mink coat after falling down a flight of stairs and THEN run up & down the hills of San Francisco .”*

*Monica Sullivan from movie magazine international

Heart Breaking February 23, 2006

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)*****

Shirley Booth won five major awards, including the 1953 Best Actress Oscar, in her role as an aging woman dealing with loss; the loss of “herself” and her dreams twenty years before, and the recent loss of her dog, her replacement for a child.. a lonely woman, married to an alcoholic (Burt Lancaster), They take in a young girl(Terry Moore; Best supporting nominee) going to college , It’s just a couple of days in their lives. Lancaster has been sober for one year and when he used to drink, he would get real violent…. Booth isn’t able to have children and she acts like a mother to the girl they take in. Lancaster at the same time resisting being a parent to her (or more!). Richard Jaeckel plays the young stud that dates Moore’s character, pressuring her for what all males his age (and older) & vitality would.

Days of Wine and Roses and The Lost Weekend deal with the problem of those afflicted with Alcoholism. Both are fine films but this movie is my favorite. To see Shirley Booth performance (I’ve never seen her before) . I’m just speechless. Highly recommend

warnning Pleas have your hanky ready

Sudden Fear *** 1/2 February 23, 2006

For a San Franciscan, the rewards of watching the classic film noir “Sudden Fear” are obvious: it was made here in locations that are still recognisable. Joan Crawford’s lavish Pacific Heights home on 2800 Scott Street is now the Indonesian Consulate and Gloria Grahame’s Tamalpais apartment building can still be seen on 1201 Greenwich Street. But even if you have never been to San Francisco, “Sudden Fear” is great film noir, superbly acted by Crawford and co-star Jack Palance, who both received Academy Award nominations, and by Grahame, who won the Oscar that year for another movie.

“Watch Joan Crawford who could actually WALK all the way from Scott/Green to Greenwich/Hyde in high heels & a mink coat after falling down a flight of stairs and THEN run up & down the hills of San Francisco .”*

*Monica Sullivan from movie magazine international