Chaos Theory

Vague review of S-Town.

Hope that helps you decide if you want to hear it!

"I'd sound like an idiot if that was my voice."

Stephen Hawking auditions sexy voices.

Kiss the fish, become a Newfie

Here is a photo of Samantha Bee with a fish at Come From Away.

Thirty years of Steel Magnolias

Yes, someone can really die like that--the author's sister did. Anyway, this is a pretty powerful read. 

Also, I love that this is on the website gardenandgun.com. 

"Harling says he went to a place of “rage and anger,” a state exacerbated by the fact that his sister’s widower remarried shortly after her death. Even more difficult was the fact that his nephew began calling his stepmother “Mama.” Harling was afraid Susan would be forgotten.

SHIRLEY MACLAINE  Herbert called and said, “I’m going to send you this script, and you can play any part you want, except for M’Lynn and the daughter.” So I read it and I said, “I want to play the really bitchy one.” I think I was rehearsing for my old age. I was seeing if I could get away with saying what I negatively felt and still be funny. And it’s kind of turned out that way, actually.

She had on that white cashmere sweater with the marabou around the neck, and she was just swinging, cool as a cucumber. Julia said, “Dolly, we’re dying and you never say a word. Why don’t you let loose?” Dolly very serenely smiled and said, “When I was young and had nothing, I wanted to be rich and famous, and now I am. So I’m not going to complain about anything.”

SHIRLEY MACLAINE  We immediately saw that Herbert was cruel to both Dolly and Julia. I don’t know why, except he was basically a choreographer, and choreographers tend to be cruel in the name of art. Julia’s feelings were hurt, and we lived next door to each other, and she was over every night. We talked about life, and I tried to help her because I was a dancer and understood the choreographer mentality. Then one day I basically told him to go f**k himself and everybody heard it and things got better.

But you know, my sister died and I wrote about it and people look at it and think it’s all limos and glamour and sitting next to Princess Di at the royal premiere. My sister had to die for all that to happen. So almost daily I think about what my life would be if she had lived. It can take you to an uncompromisingly dark place sometimes. Then I just have to go back to the honesty of the first impulse, that I just wanted somebody to remember her.

From the author Q&A link:

"Speaking of cake, had you ever seen an armadillo groom’s cake?
There was indeed an armadillo groom’s cake at my sister’s wedding. The red velvet part was my writerly creation. The original one was very simple—a sheet cake cut in the shape of an armadillo. Not like the high art form it’s become. I’ve seen some amazing edible armadillos. The New York Times credited me with the rediscovery and revival of red velvet cake. I consider this as one of my great life achievements."

You're got a reputation now, boys

Shockingly, women don't want to work at Uber now. Sorry, recruiters! Of course, I don't think women are actually wanted there anyway, so I guess it's no big loss! 

"For almost 25 years, that lone film has remained, for good or ill, his calling card."

“I’m the guy who wrote Groundhog Day,” he says now. “I’m not the amazing screenwriter who’s had this long and storied career. I’m not Tom Stoppard.” But if you have to be stuck with one movie, it could be a worse movie than Groundhog Day. “It’s delightful to be so associated with something so well loved,” Rubin says. “You could break your heart thinking you’re the victim of this amazing life you’ve got.”

This is the story of how Danny Rubin wrote Groundhog Day not once but twice — maybe more times than that, but who’s counting. It’s unusual for any artist to live so long under the shadow of a single work, let alone a story that is itself intimately concerned with limits and repetition. It’s more unusual still for an artist to return to that story in another medium for an encore nearly 25 years later. Yet here Rubin is, in a Broadway theater, listening to his words echo, again and again and again, into the dark."

More on Carrie and Debbie

• The Dan Ackroyd bit I missed.
• Teen Vogue recap.
• US Magazine.
• USA Today.

The Carrie and Debbie Public Memorial Liveblog

• Still waiting for it to start and it's 1:12 p.m. Oh, showbiz. I do like the Leia-rain costume drawing that they have up on the screen. 
• There is a cute little gray furry dog (not Gary) that is sitting on a reserved chair and getting filmed periodically, I wonder whose that is? 
• 1:17 p.m. someone asks people to indicate any empty seats, where else to go upstairs, etc. My mom just called as a dude starts talking. Not now, it might actually start!
• Is that redhead they're filming famous? I can't place her. I wonder how many non-performing famous people in the audience for this having to mingle with hoi polloi since this is the public event. 
• Mom just called wondering if the redhead is Debbie's sister. Does she have a sister? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. Mom posits that the dog is Debbie's. 
• 1:24 p.m. Todd is all "better late than never." My mom is still not figuring out what website to watch this on. Debbie gets a color guard, literally. Mom figures out the website and hangs up.
• I do not think anyone knew what to make of them quietly marching around. Me either.
• This show was designed for one big family to be in the living room telling each other stories, more or less. I appreciate the sentiment, Todd. 
• "These are my people, just like you are my people." -Debbie. Awwwww. 
• "My mother decided to change her plans a bit." "I never want to go to my daughter's funeral service. She is now, differently though." Todd says he didn't know she was going to leave that day and didn't pick up on that when she asked to leave. She said she wanted to be with Carrie, closed her eyes and went to sleep. "which only my mother could have orchestrated." Trained to make great entrance and exit. It was beautiful. 
• The Carrie and Debbie directors chairs are on stage. I think Debbie's is from Will and Grace and Carrie's is of course from Star Wars. 
• Todd plugs the sales of Forest Lawn, complete with hummingbirds. Is he being compensated for this? 
• Todd promises to put rooms of Debbie's and Carrie's in a museum as is, in the rooms they held court in. I wish I could see the collectibles in the lobby.
• Time for some video. 
• Space baby! Literally! With Leia's birth certificate.
• Dogs!
• Go Leia, saving everyone's skins.
• R2-D2 is there, crying? Todd kinda...hug pats it.
• "Someone is staring at you in personal growth."
• Warren had to come over and convince Debbie to say "fuck" in Shampoo rather than "screw."
• GO ROCKET LAUNCHER!
• Honey, maybe you need to think about things before you kill him, huh? (Blues Brothers)
• Speaking of entrances, never hurts to jump out of cake.
• "She wanted to be a gym teacher." -Todd. Whaaaaat?
• The glasses Debbie and Carrie are sporting in more modern shots are a hoot. Where did Debbie get giant purple ones? 
• Why was it called Thalians? I hate to make a $cientology joke, but every time I hear that name I think of them. 
• Loooong list of Debbie's charities.
• Now we have a lesson on fabric? 
• Oh, HERE's Debbie's sister....by choice. 
• Mom can't ID her either except she was in movies. 
• Both of them didn't like flowers, so don't buy any flowers ("god, I hope the Florist's Guild isn't here") or put candles anywhere. Just give money to the Thalians. Btw, check the envelopes we have left around for donations.
• "Now, forgive the commercial I just gave..."
• Two things to worry about: well or sick? If you're sick, two things to worry about. If you get better, no worries. If you die there are two things...heaven or hell. If you go to hell... I guess you have plenty of time to worry? sigh Streaming.
• Debbie's birthday is April 1. Time for some of her favorite songs. 
• Calling for a standing O.
• Rita is that woman's name?"
• "These old broads, right?" says Todd. "Margie Duncan?" Apparently Margie is having a hard time getting out of the audience. Billed as Debbie's oldest friend, still runs the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio. Oh, THAT's the redhead!
• Debbie does her own commercial for the studio. 
• Patsy Metzger Dancers.
• Debbie introduced herself to kids as "Princess Leia's mother."
• "Dirty Boogie." 
• Now for Bill and Debbie Bartlett.
• Green was Debbie's favorite color. Now for another group that the streaming cut the name off of.
• They're doing the Good Morning song. V. appropriate. 
• Solo tap number to guess what song.
• Here come the raincoats and umbrellas for Singin' In The Rain.
• And that just got more modern.
• If they have a Star Wars dance number later I will squeal. Not expecting it though.
• Ben Mankiowitz is on from Turner Classic Movies. He's a little bit flustered and off his game because someone stole his hat? He idolized but didn't know Carrie. He found an article about her on webMD about her getting past Princess Leia--but she IS Princess Leia. "when I'm at a restaurant, I don't tell people I wrote Postcards From The Edge."
• Mom ID"s the first lady as Rita Lee.
• "Make the women smarter and the love scenes better." --Carrie on script doctoring.
• Debbie knew the power of classic movies. Robert Osborne got offers from TCM a year before they started up and another place and Debbie said he'd be #1 host rather than 2 at AMC, and TCM had better movies, so go to TCM. They are grateful to her.
• Gay Men's Chorus did "True Colors."
• My computer crashed abominably, Mom tells me I missed Dan Ackroyd. WAAAAAAH.
• James Blunt wrote "You're Beautiful" in Carrie's bathroom, it's played to a lovely slideshow of her. James's original Carrie song will be on later.
• Marty Gatz sings. 
• CARRIE AND BILLIE IN GLASSES TOGETHER IS SO CUTE. 
• Uncle Bill Reynolds doesn't like talking, but he's in the audience. "He is the last man standing besides me....He is hiding under his chair. He went to the bathroom. That makes sense." 
• "All of Carrie's pets ended up at my ranch." Including Archie. Cousin Leslie Reynolds handling Dwight the dog. 
• "We have to stop at some point. But not yet."
• Griffin Dunne may be around, or not. 
• Marty(?) is talking about the Beverly Hills smartass version of Our Gang.
• He was roommates with Carrie and Debbie would make her nag phone calls to him instead. "Neither of us were sleeping." (On coke, I guess.) Being her roommate was like being in a 24-7 musical comedy. "We never had one serious moment." She'd call from England while he was waiting tables at Beefstick Charlie's saying "this movie is so stupid." "This big ape chases me around." "You're gonna hate this movie." But after seeing it they knew movies would never be the same. The doorman called him Mr. Fisher. 
• Dude calls up Gavin de Becker. Oy. 
• ARGGGGGGGGGGGH GAVIN DE BECKER HAS BEEN THE FUNNIEST THING AND MY COMPUTER CRASHED WHILE I WAS WRITING ALL OF IT. I give up, I'm watching it on my phone. 
• I hope to god someone saves a better recording of this because this is so touching and funny. 
• Todd's wife Catherine is up. She says Carrie urged Gavin to write The Gift of Fear, which she calls a guide for life. (There, anyway.)  She has an emotional wellness chicken. She's serious. I want to see this. Debbie had the family join her for her last show and they have a clip of it. It was Billie's first time singing. 
• This is so cute, Carrie and Billie singing. 
• Oh, sure, now that I watch this on the phone there's no lag whatsoever. 
• James Blunt song time. It's a video. Not sure what to make of it but I did enjoy the photos.
• One last dance number. Janet Jackson. 
• And now, more Dirty Boogie. 
• That's the end of our show! 

Here's a brief recap. And another.

I approve

Lisa Frankenfoods

I approve

Lisa Frankenfoods