#Robert Harling

[theoscarsproject]

Steel Magnolias (1989). A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.

I feel like this is so woven into the pop culture lexicon, but weirdly I didn't actually really know what it was about? Anyway, I loved this weird movie. Sure, it's unfocused, sprawling, and picks and chooses which characters to add real depth to, but it just works for me. A lot of that is probably based on the strength of the cast (Sally Field and Shirley MaclLine in particular, the actresses you are!), but there's also just this throughline of big, messy, beating heart that gets me. 8/10.

[willstafford]

Hair Dos and Home Truths

STEEL MAGNOLIAS Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, Tuesday 21st March 2023 Best known for the stellar film version starring Julia Roberts, Sally Field et al, Robert Harling’s story started out as this stage play thirty years ago. Set in a Louisiana hair salon between 1983 and 1985, it’s a golden opportunity for half a dozen actors of the female persuasion to strut their stuff, as the characters…

[vintagewarhol]

[clancarruthers]

LOUISE CARRUTHERS - CLAN CARRUTHERS CCIS

LOUISE CARRUTHERS – CLAN CARRUTHERS CCIS

EMMA LOUISE CARRUTHERS   Emma Louise Hoelzeman Carruthers, age 91, of Morrilton, Arkansas, passed away Friday, January 9, 2009. She was born March, 21, 1917, in Morrilton, Arkansas, a daughter of the late Aloys Hoelzeman and Margaret Koch Hoelzeman, and the widow of Dr. Harl Clifton Carruthers. She was a retired dental assistant and a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Survivors include her…

[pu-cci]

Modern Furniture and Decoration Robert Harling 1971 HUGE Space Age Mod Mid Century Modern Design Book

[mistycreativelilacs]

Thawing of A Heart Pt.3

Authors note: what’s this? Not me updating this fic three years later.

Whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯… Anyway here’s the (maybe) long awaited third part filled with tension and plot twists.

Content warning: Violence, gun use, references to castration, references to mental health, use of the word crazy, mild angst, mentions of character deaths, Peacemaker exists (rip to people who like him)

Pt.1 (x) Pt.2 (x)

You’re lost in the ever-changing branches of Rick’s timelines when Cleo nudges you. Your eyes sweep the plane, unable to stop the pang of longing for your old team. The pang turns to a dull ache in your chest as you attempt to block the visions of your friends' flickering timelines. If you were going to be any use to them, you’d need to re-adopt the Ice Queen persona you’d had when you started this job five years ago.

“So how does Bruce Wayne’s eldest charity case end up working with a bunch of second-rate criminals?” Bloodsport interrupts your pondering. He’d been watching you since the debrief, eyes trained on you like a puzzle he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to solve. You could imagine what Harl’s would have to say if she were here.

‘Ooooh, looks like someone’s got themselves a shiny new criminal admirer. Should I lick you to show him you’re already claimed?’ Said in the world’s worst stage whisper to garner Flags attentions. Subtlety and Harley were not synonymous, and no one cared more about the pseudo-relationship between yourself and Flag then your self proclaimed ‘BFF’. She’d expressed her feelings on the matter several times over the years. Your favourite instance being several months ago, during one of your last missions with the team. You and Flag had been arguing about sending you in to get information from the target when Harley sauntered over wicked grin on her face. ‘You twos should just relieve this obvious tension already. Seriously, here’s a broom closet. Go at it, for the good of the team.’ Manic smile still firmly on her face as she attempted to drag you into said closet.

“I believe the words you meant to say, Sergeant Dubois is ‘Bruce Wayne’s eldest child’. To which I’d have to say we have more of a sibling relationship. Not that it’s any of your business.” You hold his gaze. “As for joining the squad?” You shrug, “Wrong place at the right time.” He quirks his brow clearly unamused.

“I haven’t been a Sergeant in a long time.”

“And just what would you call your current roll here?” You gesture around the plane while he glares at you. The corner of your mouth twitches against your will.

“Waller evidently had been keeping tabs on me, due in part to certain rumours about my participation in corporate espionage. So, when I got picked up by GCPD for allegedly crashing Bruce’s new Ferrari into the lobby of LexCorps newest eyesore of a skyscraper in downtown Gotham, Waller swooped in.” Your little chat had garnished the attention of the plane's other occupants, their heads all turned towards you and Robert.

“You want us to believe that the daughter of Billionaire Bruce Wayne got hauled off to Belle Reve for crashing a car? And what could Waller want in a civilian like you anyway?” Peacemaker. You’d been attempting to avoid him since Waller introduced you at the debrief. If his persistent existence as the antagonist in your visions of Flag’s current timeline wasn’t enough to turn you off, the skin crawling sensation of his eyes constantly roaming over your body was enough to put him firmly in the creep category.

“Crashing a car didn’t get me sent to Belle Reve. As I said, I’d been the subject of corporate espionage rumours for years. Waller used my accident combined with those rumours to get me whisked to Belle Reve under the guise of my being a National Security risk. It took one phone call from Bruce to get the charges dropped, but by then I was already in the middle of Midway City on my first Task Force mission.”

“If the charges were dropped, why stick around?” Your eyes wonder back to Robert.

“Can’t a girl want to be part of something bigger than herself?” There’s a teasing lilt to your voice and somewhere in the back of your head a voice - that sounds suspiciously like Harley- reminds you that you’re here to save Flag, not flirt with attractive violent Englishmen. Even if they did fall perfectly into your type of the emotionally constipated older dilf. “No, much like all of you Waller has a small amount of blackmail to keep me compliant.” You cross one leg over the other, adopting the oh so familiar public persona of a Wayne. “Unlike all of you, I’m being paid to be here.”

“But why does she want you here?” Peacemaker leans forward in his seat.

“Originally, she believed me to be some sort of hacker savant or a meta with some sort of compulsion powers. I was neither of those, but I did prove to be quite useful in the field.” Your gaze moves to you lap as timelines tickle the back of your mind, begging to be seen. “I do dread the day she realizes just what kind of bird she’s caged.” An image of Rick in pain flashes through your mind. Gone before you can really grasp if it was a future timeline or your own imagination.

“Are you saying you’ve got some sort of bird powers?” You toy with checking the timelines to see just how fucked you’d be for killing Peacemaker here and now but ultimately decide it’d give Waller more ammunition against you.

“My powers lie more in the line of a… second sight than with birds, although…” You pretend to mull it over, “I’d probably get along better with you if my powers were more avian in nature.” You could see the ghost of a smirk flirt across Robert's face and a warmth flits through your chest.

You avert your gaze before the familiar itch of branching timelines can pull you under. Perhaps Flags icy demeanour of the last few months had affected you more than you thought. It’d been a long time since such minor attentions from a man had you near slipping into the branches of time.

“What the fucks that supposed to mean?” Peacemaker stood abruptly, moving towards you only to be halted by Robert’s hand on his chest.

“Alright tough guy, sit back down.”

“Was it my use of verbose vocabulary words that has you confused?” You stand, waltzing closer to where they stand, one strand of hair curled around your finger. Perhaps Harley had been rubbing off on you more than you cared to admit. “Let me put it in words you’d understand.” Your standing face to face with Peacemaker now, Roberts body only partially between the two of you. “You.” You jab your finger into Peacemaker's sternum, brushing against Robert's arm. “Dumb.” Another jab. “Like.” Peacemaker's eyes had drifted to your finger on his chest while Robert attempted to move himself more in front of you. “Bird.” With the final jab you run your finger up and flick him in his nose, a move reminiscent of your nephews. With that final flick all hell broke loose.

Peacemaker moved to advance on you, having shoved Robert aside. You were expecting this, having let slips of the timeline penetrate your consciousness, and turn your back to him at the last minute grabbing the arm he’d reached forward to attack with. You flip him over your shoulder and as he slams into the planes floor, you dig your foot into his neck pointing your gun at his face.

“As you can see Robert, those fears of me being dead weight can be put to rest. I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself. Even against dumb brutes like him.” Peacemaker moves to grab your leg, and you let off a shot beside his head. “Stay down or the next ones a castration shot.” You move the gun to point at Peacemakers crotch and you catch a glimpse of fear in his eyes.

“Bitch” he gasps out as you dig the ball of your foot a little deeper into his neck.

“A bitch with near immunity, not that anyone would care if I wounded trash like you. Now are you going to shut up and behave like a good little dog.” Theres a flash of defiance in his eyes and you twitch your trigger finger.

“What the hell are they teaching in those fancy prep schools?” Robert's face didn’t give much in the way of what he was feeling, much like Flag, however you’d noticed that unlike Flag, Roberts eyes displayed his every emotion, if you knew what to look for. God, a few hours with this man and you’d already believed you could discern his emotions from a single glance. The sooner you got out of this plane the better.

“Looks like Rickies got some competition…” There goes the phantom Harley once again. Maybe her crazy is rubbing off on you like Bruce feared.

“Dancing.” You spit out, holding Robert's gaze as you remove your foot from Peacemaker's throat. “They teach you how to dance.” You’re finding far too much enjoyment in this little rapport you’ve started with the mercenary, but even Harley didn’t put up with your idiosyncrasies for this long, unless she was in a mood. The last person who could, ended up on the wrong side of Jokers crowbar. Perhaps Waller was right when she claimed the only thing separating me from the rest of the Belle Reve residents was the Wayne family name.

“I highly doubt dance lessons taught you how to do that.” There’s a spark of amusement in his eyes.

“Dancing, fighting.” You shrug “They’re one in the same are they not?” You sit back down, aware that the rest of the plane has gained a new wariness of you. You feel more than see Robert give you a once over.

“You truly are something else Wayne.” Robert exhales as he sits back down, the hint of a chuckle shaking his bulky frame.

Alarm bells start going off in your head. The kind of alarms that sound like Bruce and scream ‘life altering, name ruining, PR nightmare, absolutely atrocious decision making incoming.’

“You don’t even know the half of it Sergeant.”

Tag-List: @paryl @nerdgrrlramblings @weallhaveadestiny @a-girl-who-loves-disney @boristhepineapple @girlnred @romanticgumchewer-reactivated @lacontroller1991

[of-monsters-and-werewolves]

Bloodsport: Harls, why do you call me Milton? My name's not Milton, my name's Robert or Bloodsport.

Harley: I thought it was Milton.

Bloodsport: No, it's Robert.

Harley: You sure?

Bloodsport: Yeah, I'm positive. I've looked it up on my birth certificate and passport and everything. It is definitely Robert.

Harley: Oh, well you live and learn. So what's Milton, a nickname?

Bloodsport: NO! You're the only one who calls me Milton! Everybody else calls me Robert or Bloodsport and the reason they call me Robert or Bloodsport is because those are my names.

Harley: Oh. I'll have to get used to calling you Robert or Bloodsport then.

Bloodsport: Thank you.

Harley, to Waller: Hey Waller, can you get this thing started? Me and Milton ain't got all night.

Bloodsport: ...

Waller: ...

Harley: ...

Harley: ...what?

[nem0c]

Vietnam War - Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, June 1968

Sourced from: http://natsmusic.net/articles_galaxy_magazine_viet_nam_war.htm

Transcript Below

We the undersigned believe the United States must remain in Vietnam to fulfill its responsibilities to the people of that country.

Karen K. Anderson, Poul Anderson, Harry Bates, Lloyd Biggle Jr., J. F. Bone, Leigh Brackett, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mario Brand, R. Bretnor, Frederic Brown, Doris Pitkin Buck, William R. Burkett Jr., Elinor Busby, F. M. Busby, John W. Campbell, Louis Charbonneau, Hal Clement, Compton Crook, Hank Davis, L. Sprague de Camp, Charles V. de Vet, William B. Ellern, Richard H. Eney, T. R. Fehrenbach, R. C. FitzPatrick, Daniel F. Galouye, Raymond Z. Gallun, Robert M. Green Jr., Frances T. Hall, Edmond Hamilton, Robert A. Heinlein, Joe L. Hensley, Paul G. Herkart, Dean C. Ing, Jay Kay Klein, David A. Kyle, R. A. Lafferty, Robert J. Leman, C. C. MacApp, Robert Mason, D. M. Melton, Norman Metcalf, P. Schuyler Miller, Sam Moskowitz, John Myers Myers, Larry Niven, Alan Nourse, Stuart Palmer, Gerald W. Page, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Lawrence A. Perkins, Jerry E. Pournelle, Joe Poyer, E. Hoffmann Price, George W. Price, Alva Rogers, Fred Saberhagen, George O. Smith, W. E. Sprague, G. Harry Stine (Lee Correy), Dwight V. Swain, Thomas Burnett Swann, Albert Teichner, Theodore L. Thomas, Rena M. Vale, Jack Vance, Harl Vincent, Don Walsh Jr., Robert Moore Williams, Jack Williamson, Rosco E. Wright, Karl Würf.

We oppose the participation of the United States in the war in Vietnam.

Forrest J. Ackerman, Isaac Asimov, Peter S. Beagle, Jerome Bixby, James Blish, Anthony Boucher, Lyle G. Boyd, Ray Bradbury, Jonathan Brand, Stuart J. Byrne, Terry Carr, Carroll J. Clem, Ed M. Clinton, Theodore R. Cogswell, Arthur Jean Cox, Allan Danzig, Jon DeCles, Miriam Allen deFord, Samuel R. Delany, Lester del Rey, Philip K. Dick, Thomas M. Disch, Sonya Dorman, Larry Eisenberg, Harlan Ellison, Carol Emshwiller, Philip José Farmer, David E. Fisher, Ron Goulart, Joseph Green, Jim Harmon, Harry Harrison, H. H. Hollis, J. Hunter Holly, James D. Houston, Edward Jesby, Leo P. Kelley, Daniel Keyes, Virginia Kidd, Damon Knight, Allen Lang, March Laumer, Ursula K. LeGuin, Fritz Leiber, Irwin Lewis, A. M. Lightner, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Katherine MacLean, Barry Malzberg, Robert E. Margroff, Anne Marple, Ardrey Marshall, Bruce McAllister, Judith Merril, Robert P. Mills, Howard L. Morris, Kris Neville, Alexei Panshin, Emil Petaja, J. R. Pierce, Arthur Porges, Mack Reynolds, Gene Roddenberry, Joanna Russ, James Sallis, William Sambrot, Hans Stefan Santesson, J. W. Schutz, Robin Scott, Larry T. Shaw, John Shepley, T. L. Sherred, Robert Silverberg, Henry Slesar, Jerry Sohl, Norman Spinrad, Margaret St. Clair, Jacob Transue, Thurlow Weed, Kate Wilhelm, Richard Wilson, Donald A. Wollheim.

[rjalker]

K you can now reblog. If you find places to read any stories without links as actual text for free, please let me know!

1933

January 1933 Under Arctic Ice by Harry Bates The Floating Island of Madness by Jason Kirby The Fifth-Dimension Tube by Murray Leinster

March 1933 Salvage in Space by Jack Williamson Lords of the Stratosphere by Arthur Josephus Burks The End of Time by Wallace West The Death-Traps of FX-31 by Sewell Peaslee Wright Wanderer of Infinity by Harl Vincent Invasion by Murray Leinster

October 1933 (PDF) The Orange God by Nat Schachner A Race Through Time by Donald Wandrei (PDF) Burroughs Passes by Kenneth James Anything Can Happen! by Peter Gordon From the Wells of the Brain by Paul Ernst Don MacKinder's Model by F. S. Howard-Burleigh The Coffin Ship by Desmond Winter Hall Fire Imps of Vesuvius by Nat Schachner Ping-Ting by Charlton Lawrence Edholm Where Four Roads Met by Gladys St. John-Loe Callahuaya's Curse by P. H. Fawcett

November 1933 (PDF) Beyond the Sphinxes' Cave by Murray Leinster The Lovely Ghost by Stuart Jackson Prisms of Space by Robert H. Leitfred In the Shadow of the Tii by D. W. Hall [as by Ainslee Jenkins] Dead Star Station by Jack Williamson The Man from Cincinnati by Holloway Horn Plane People by Wallace West My Lady of the Tunnel by Arthur J. Burks Telegraph Plateau by Harl Vincent

December 1933 (PDF) Land of the Lost by Charles Willard Diffin The Machine that Knew Too Much by A. T. Locke The Invading Blood Steam by Paul Starr The Purple Brain by Hal K Wells Ancestral Voices by Nat Scachner Last Sacrifice by J. Gibson Taylor Jr. Farewell to Earth by Donald Wandrei Terror Out of Time by Jack Williamson The Demon of the Flower by Clark Ashton Smith

[byneddiedingo]

Kay Francis, Miriam Hopkins, and Herbert Marshall in Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932)

Cast: Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, Charles Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Greig. Screenplay: Samson Raphaelson, Grover Jones, based on a play by Aladar Laszlo. Cinematography: Victor Milner. Art direction: Hans Dreier. Music: W. Franke Harling. Costume design: Travis Banton.

If you want a good example of the damage done to American movies by the enforcement of the Production Code, look no further than Trouble in Paradise. Ernst Lubitsch's comic masterpiece could not have been made two years later, when the Code went into effect. It could not even be re-released or shown commercially until the death of the Code in the late 1960s. The loss to the art of cinema is incalculable, even though filmmakers including Lubitsch went on to find other ways of being witty and sexy. On the face of it, Trouble in Paradise sounds trivial: Con artists Lily (Miriam Hopkins) and Gaston (Herbert Marshall) fall in love when each tries to filch the other's belongings: a wallet, a brooch, a watch, a garter. So they team up and go off to Paris where their target becomes the wealthy and beautiful Mariette Colet (Kay Francis), owner of a leading parfumerie. What will happen to Lily when Gaston falls in love with Mariette? What makes it work is Lubitsch's unflagging wit: A film that will soon be wafting the scent of Mme. Colet's perfume opens with a Venetian garbage man dumping the contents of a can into a loaded garbage scow and punting off into a canal singing "O Sole Mio." It's only the first of the many Lubitsch touches. But perhaps the greatest touch of all is the casting: Hopkins was never funnier or sexier and Francis never more radiant. I have to admit that on my first viewing I was initially put off by the casting of Marshall: a sad-eyed, somewhat slumped middle-aged man with a wooden leg. (The scenes in which Gaston sprints up and down Mariette's staircase are probably the work of a body double.) But Marshall turns out to be perfectly charming in the role, credibly wooing both leading ladies. A heartthrob like Cary Grant would have wrecked the chemistry, becoming the apex of what needs to be an equilateral triangle. William Powell would have been too vivid in the part, echoing his previous teamings with Francis. Fredric March had a touch too much of the ham -- Marshall succeeds by underplaying the role. There are some other nice surprises: Those peerless character actors Charles Ruggles and Edward Everett Horton were usually used as comic relief, but Trouble in Paradise is a comedy that needs no relieving; Ruggles and Horton are there to do their own thing and they do it well. The ending, which flouts a key commandment of the Code, is suitably bittersweet, but paradise needs a little trouble to make you appreciate it the more.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"HUNGER STRIKE ENDS AT PEN IN ITS 111TH HOUR," Baltimore Sun. May 21, 1933. Page 20. ---- Prison Gandhis Finally Yield To Call Of Empty Stomachs --- 'ACE CRIMINALS GO FOR MILK TOAST ---- Group Still Kept Segregated After Wage Protest Collapses --- The hunger strike in which fourteen prisoners at the Maryland Penitentiary united Tuesday morning ended in its one hundred and eleventh hour at 9.45 o'clock last night, Warden Patrick J. Brady announced.

At that hour, he said, the fourteen recalcitrants, whose names read like a "Who's Who in Maryland Crime." sent word to him that they were ready to eat.

As soon as the message was received, the warden said he had set before the strikers a meal of soup, milk and toast, specially prepared in the diet kitchen of the prison hospital, the regular penitentiary kitchen being closed at night. They will stay where they are however -and this may be for a long time - until it has been decided what to do with them, and whether to risk letting them mingle with other prisoners.

Fourteen Capitulate As One The fourteen capitulated as one to the pangs of hunger, according to Warden Brady, who added that throughout the day in the cells where the fourteen were segregated there had been an intermittent hum of surrender talk.

Eighteen men have been living in that west-wing special segregation tier on the fifth floor ever since the prison wage strike last December, but only fourteen of them decided to emulate Gandhi and let their stomachs be their instruments of protest.

Those Who Gave Up The names of the fourteen, nearly all of whom are serving long terms for crimes ranging from burglary, robbery and assault to murder, follow: RAWLINGS WHITTEMORE LEO MERCER, JAMES MCCLOSKEY, JOHN KELLER, AUGUST BEYERS, JOHN RYAN, ROBERT MINNERS, RAYMOND HILL, EDWARD WEST, CHARLES KRAMER, HUNTER LEWIS, JERRY OFFEREDA, FRANK CAMPBELL, EDWARD HARLING One Negro In Group Campbell is the only Negro in the group, which began its strike five days ago by refusing breakfast Tuesday morning.

Warden Brady said that during the final twenty-four hours of the strike he had instructed the guards watching the strikers to tell them they would "gain nothing by refusing to eat and merely save the State money on its food bill." During the day, he said, several strikers were heard from time to time urging their colleagues to answer their stomachs' call, but unity did not come until nearly 10 o'clock.

[jksimmonscompletist]

The First Wives Club (1996)

Format: Live-action feature length movie.

Director: Hugh Wilson

Writer: Robert Harling

Is J.K. Simmons in this? Barely, but yes.

Who does he portray? A nameless federal marshall, acting (I believe) on behalf of the IRS.

What does he do? He announces himself and arrests a guy.

How bald is he? Reasonably bald. He's obviously not trying to hide it, but he's also kept a bit of a crown.

Is anybody else in this? Yes, it's mostly about women, so some of them are in this.

Is it worth seeing if I’m not a J.K. Simmons completist? It is. It's an uplifting and funny story about women finding comfort in each other's friendship and thriving in middle age after a divorce. Having watched it, it's a bit sad that I can't think of more movies in this mold, but this one is definitely worth checking out.

[purplefeathersandblackleather]

*sighs* I still can't reply on posts, so I shall have to cross my fingers that you receive this Ask.

First, I will be missing you terribly while you're off to celebrate your holiday, but will find some consolation, enjoying your commentary (by the questions you listed) on your works. So though you don't plan to write or draw anything new for a while, I'll be glad for you to keep in touch in at least that way.

And second - you are seen, my friend. As a talented Artist and as a thoughtful, kind, and loving soul. I know how it is to feel that your works go unnoticed & unappreciated (it's a problem I've struggled with from the first story that I finally worked up the courage to publish) but please know the eyes and hearts that witness your artwork are amazed not only by what you create, but the process you undertake, of mind and heart, to bring your vision to life! You have gathered those to you that can appreciate you best, and though the universe may seem to have us as distant points of light to one another, we are near in spirit and affection...and will remain so🥰🥰. Wishing you joy and peace of mind & heart, as well as revitalization of spirit, during your time away!

💜💜Thank you so much, my dear. I needed to see this today. 💜💜

I have been struggling a little bit with my self-worth, so reading your sweet words helped more than you know. I know in my heart that it's just the trauma and issues that a writer/artist goes through that makes me say these things, but sometimes it's hard for me to ignore them. Even still, I also know that it's healthy that I vent rather than keep all of it inside like I used to. I'm so thankful to have become friends with you, V, more than you realize. I know that if I ever get upset for any reason, you're going to be there to extend your hand or offer a kind hug to help me get back on my feet. And that goes for so many others that I've met on here as well, like Harle, Fanartka and Sinister. I just have far too much going on in my head that sometimes, it's hard for me to ignore it all.

The trials of a writer and an artist are hard, that's very true, and I've found that no matter how far we come, we never truly escape them. Whether it be the fear of someone stealing our works or just that we'll get more hate on our characters than we will have positive replies on the plot. We never truly outrun our fear, just learn to take shortcuts. The Ancient One was absolutely correct about living above our demons They're always there, unfortunately.

I'm glad that you'll still be visiting my page even when I cease to be drawing or writing. I hope that the things I put down will indeed entertain you and hold you over until I come back in the spring. I will be watching you and Eldritch very closely, as well as many others. And hopefully when I return, I will have more ideas of things I can share with all of you. Remember that if you ever need me, no matter what the time of day or how small it may be, I will always answer your asks. Come chat with me about Ben some time. I'm sure I have stories about Robert I can share in return. I'm just glad your shadow ban hasn't removed you completely from my communications.

Be safe my dear and have a wonderfully "strange" day. xx

[thebeautifulbook]

THE ART OF LIVING by Robert Grant. (New York: Scribner’s, 1895) Illustrated by C(harles) D(ana) Gibson, B. West Clinedinst and W.H. Hyde. Cover design by Margaret Armstrong.

source

[ulkaralakbarova]

After years of helping their hubbies climb the ladder of success, three mid-life Manhattanites have been dumped for a newer, curvier model. But the trio is determined to turn their pain into gain. They come up with a cleverly devious plan to hit their exes where it really hurts – in the wallet! Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Elise Elliot Atchison: Goldie Hawn Brenda Morelli Cushman: Bette Midler Annie MacDuggan Paradis: Diane Keaton Gunilla Garson Goldberg: Maggie Smith Shelly Stewart: Sarah Jessica Parker Morton Cushman: Dan Hedaya Cynthia Swann Griffin: Stockard Channing Bill Atchison: Victor Garber Aaron Paradis: Stephen Collins Phoebe LaVelle: Elizabeth Berkley Dr. Leslie Rosen: Marcia Gay Harden Duarto Feliz: Bronson Pinchot Chris Paradis: Jennifer Dundas Catherine MacDuggan: Eileen Heckart Uncle Carmine Morelli: Philip Bosco Dr. Morris Packman: Rob Reiner Gill Griffin: James Naughton Jason Cushman: Ari Greenberg Ivana Trump: Ivana Trump Kathie Lee Gifford: Kathie Lee Gifford Gloria Steinem: Gloria Steinem Elise’s Fan: Lea DeLaria Jilted Lover: Debra Monk Woman in Bed: Kate Burton Brett Artounian: Timothy Olyphant Federal Marshall: J.K. Simmons Young Brenda: Michele Brilliant Young Elise: Dina Spybey-Waters Young Annie: Adria Tennor Young Cynthia: Juliehera DeStefano Miss Sullivan: J. Smith-Cameron Eric Loest: Mark Nelson Gil’s New Wife: Heather Locklear Security Guard: Richard Council Film Crew: Producer: Scott Rudin Set Decoration: Leslie E. Rollins Second Unit Director: Jack Gill Director of Photography: Donald E. Thorin Editor: John Bloom Associate Editor: Antonia Van Drimmelen Casting: Ilene Starger Costume Design: Theoni V. Aldredge Music Supervisor: Marc Shaiman Production Design: Peter S. Larkin Associate Producer: Craig Perry Production Manager: Ezra Swerdlow Makeup Artist: Angela Levin Director: Hugh Wilson Screenplay: Robert Harling Hairstylist: Alan D’Angerio Assistant Art Director: Ed Check Art Direction: Charley Beal Choreographer: Patricia Birch Executive Producer: Adam Schroeder Camera Operator: Rob Hahn Casting Assistant: Kim Miscia Post Production Supervisor: Tod Scott Brody Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Lee Dichter Production Coordinator: Ray Angelic Sound Editor: Richard P. Cirincione Hairstylist: Frances Mathias Storyboard Artist: Brick Mason Construction Coordinator: Ron Petagna Makeup Artist: Bernadette Mazur Sound Editor: Laura Civiello Boom Operator: John Fundus Sound Mixer: Peter F. Kurland Location Manager: Joseph E. Iberti Assistant Art Director: Paul D. Kelly Negative Cutter: Noëlle Penraat Costume Supervisor: Hartsell Taylor Music Editor: Nic Ratner Special Effects Coordinator: Matt Vogel Costume Supervisor: Michael Adkins Still Photographer: Andrew D. Schwartz ADR Editor: Kenton Jakub Sound Editor: Eytan Mirsky Supervising Sound Editor: Maurice Schell Chief Lighting Technician: Jerry DeBlau Hairstylist: Werner Sherer Makeup Artist: E. Thomas Case Hairstylist: Robert Ramos Foley Editor: Bruce Kitzmeyer First Assistant Director: Michael E. Steele Script Supervisor: Shari L. Carpenter Music Editor: Nicholas Meyers Unit Publicist: Eric Myers Music Programmer: Nick Vidar Second Assistant Director: Julie A. Bloom Art Department Coordinator: Julia G. Hickman Transportation Captain: Steven R. Hammond Stunt Double: Joni Avery Transportation Co-Captain: Tom Heilig Color Timer: Tom Salvatore Cableman: Tommy Louie Co-Producer: Thomas A. Imperato Novel: Olivia Goldsmith Associate Producer: Heather Neely Associate Producer: Noah Ackerman Property Master: Octavio Molina Storyboard Artist: Lorenzo Contessa Makeup Artist: Marilyn Carbone Assistant Costume Designer: Wallace G. Lane Jr. Assistant Sound Editor: Jay Kessel Foley Editor: Stuart Stanley Movie Reviews:

[amilst]

Magnolia Stellata or Star Magnolia.  The Star Magnolia is my favorite tree and the plant that really inspired me to garden, having been taken with one blooming in the cold on the University of Maryland Campus.

If you remember from past entries, Magnolias were around 100 million years ago when dinosaurs walked the earth, a time before the bees. Because of ancient birth, the flowers are different than usual tree or perennial flowers and can only be pollinated by primitive beetles which, you might imagine, are a rarity in these parts. You never see bees flying into Magnolia flowers even though they are rich in fragrance. 

The pure white flowers have a sweet clean scent, not heavy like the flowers of the Grandeflora Magnolia, the giant trees that are planted beside the Smithsonian Museums. When you smell a Magnolia flower, you are catching a scent that is as ancient as early life on earth.

The flowers are tough because they have to endure the cold of a March day but they sometimes turn brown if it is too cold or if brushed against. The playwright Robert Harling said his mother would always say “handle magnolia blossoms carefully because they bruise easily.” The quote about the combination of steeliness and gentleness inspired the name of his play Steel Magnolia, a term that has entered the language to mean a woman who has both beauty and fortitude, like Gram

The Star Magnolia is associated with Candlemas, the Christian celebration of the purity of the Virgin Mary, both because of the whiteness of the flowers and because of the furry flower pouches, which look like candles before the flowers emerge.

Most flowers open from a bud which then forms the bottom of the petals called sepals. In other words, the outside of the buds become the underside of the flowers. But not these. Magnolia flowers are enclosed in these furry containers called bracts which are like eggs from which the flowers emerge like little chicks. The flowers don’t have petals, which have an outside and inside, but instead the beautiful white folds are called tepals, identical front and back. The flowers have no nectar just a famously sweet smell to attract the beetles and other ancient insects. What the beetles like is the pollen and the aromatic oils the flowers produce.

Magnolias have long been thought to have magical properties. They increase love and loyalty; reduce the power of addictions and obsessions; help skin problems; restore strength after a long illness; promote psychic development; help meditation and spiritual opening; and promote harmony, peace, and tranquility.  Magnolias help learning from past experiences; ease restlessness and confusion, help to maintain balance during difficult life changes; and promote a sense of freedom and relaxation.

If you’re worried about someone reading your journal, put a Magnolia leaf on the cover and it will remain untouched..

With such a history, it is no surprise that Magnolias, perhaps more than any plant other than Roses, have been the subject of so many songs. In the Dylan song about Blind Willie McTell, he sings of “Sweet Magnolias blooming.” And in the Grateful Dead song, they harmonize:

Sugar Magnolia blossom's blooming Head's all empty and I don't care Saw my baby down by the river Knew she'd have to come up soon for air

Sweet blossom come on under the willow We can have high times if you'll abide We can discover the wonders of nature Rolling in the rushes down by the river side