#a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning: william

[nxttheendxfthestxryarch2]

“Uh, right, my uh, my bad, I guess I, um, I um, I forgot that uh, I forgot that rich boys don’t have hearts, right? My, um, my bad, I uh, guess.”

[mazojo]

Cinderella Phenomenon Thoughts

*Heavy sigh*

B O I

Soooo, for the past two weeks I have been deeply entranced with the otome of Cinderella Phenomenon recommended by my beautiful friend @ladykateofhousebeaumont (thank you queen for having me play this masterpiece, I am blessedddd) and I have many thoughts I need to get out of my system because

b o i

anyways spoilers below soOOo beware

Can I start by talking about Lucette’s evolution went because

Home girl went from being the most hated on the land to understanding her toxic behavior through her different suitors and coming to the realization her mom was very toxic and growing from that. Truly, poetic cinema at its finest.

Also hi yes, my favorite character (apart from the suitors which ill talk about in a minute) was Delora. Like you cannot tell me she isn't totally Lucette’s adoptive mother. Like, hi? yes? I need some napkins for my teARS. Delora is the mother figure Lucette never had and Lucette represents the daughter Delora had and Hildyr killed and I just.... ugh, my emotions 

Also, is it bad I lowkey wanted a Garlan route?? lmaooo he was so cute with Jurien and I love me some soft shy boys and asdfghhgfds, like I shipped him with Jurien and all but Garlan I luv you too ;w;

Anyways, the boys, I will comment on them from my least favorite to my most favorite, so bare with my screaming as it will become louder and louder, i’ll also include the highlight of some CGs and a song that reminds me of the pairing because I don't have anything better to do aasdfghjhgfd

Rumpel

Lets start with doctor boi. To be honest when I saw the pictures of the guys in the downloading page I thought my favorites would be Rumpel and Waltz (I mean, I got one of those right lmao) because he wears glasses and home girl loves loves lovessss glasses. Then with his first interaction with Lucette It was very meH to be honest. He is just not my type and I would rather have Rumpel as a friend, although he did gave me quite a couple of laughs when he interacted with Karma lol.

His ending cg is brutal tho, his along Rod’s are the most heartbreaking ending CG’s (even though his ending in of itself wasn't the worst in my opinion because I wasn't too attached to him).

Anyways in short, Rumpel, flirty doctor boi. with good heart even though you roll your eyes at half the things he says xD

“And I wish that you could see. Oh, what you do to me, and I hope this letter covers everything. I'm yours, sincerely me” - Sincerely Me, Artist vs. Poet

“And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be, right in front of me, talk some sense to me” - I found, Amber Run

Fritz/Varg

Oh boi, baby Boy Fritz. The only reason why Fritz isn't higher is because throughout his route I felt like I don't get to know much about Fritz in of itself but rather Varg, but the little we get to see Fritz I find adorable. He was one of the routes I was most excited on playing because he was adorable in the other routes, always looking out to protect Lucette and he always did <33

And Varg. To be completely honest I kinda liked him at the beginning but not much, the moment I trully fell for him was at the end when he gave up himself to let Fritz be with Lucette. Boooooi that scene where he says Fritz would never deserve her but he still wants her to be happy asdfghj broke me. 

Like in the end even though I liked Fritz and Varg individually a lot, I feel like there wasn't enough time with either to come on higher in the list and thats the only reason why he is number 4, but I still love them very much ;w;

Also like, the good ending?? its like the saddest one?? I mean yeah, they got to be together and what not but my home girl Delora dies?? and Parfait?? no magic? hello? I cried so much? asdfghjkl Truly the most angsty ending by far and I just..... Can they be happy pls? </3

Also as a side note, Fritz was the only route I could get all the positive choices at once without having to reload the files and I feel very proud about that lmao bye

“But a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning” - Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, Set it Off ft. William Beckett

“All that I can do is beg as hard as I can, but the nightmares keep on haunting me. Even though I’ve seen you leave a hundred thousand times, I can only watch you disappear” - Eine Kleine, Rachie

Rod

Rodddddd <33

Honestly between Rod and Karma it was a tough choice, and I think I could say they were fairly tie with one another, just putting Karma a little higher because his good ending was one of my favorites and Rod’s was kinda sad (well, I mean, I get it, they are step brothers so they cant be publicly involved but its still sad ;w;).

Y’all know I live for my tsundere characters and Rod did not disappoint. Not only does he have some of the cutest blushing moments (thx Sebby!) but he and Lucette have such a great dynamic! They understand each other and I think Lucette had one of the best developments in his route, understanding Em and getting her good deeds by growing close to her family was such a cool way for her to become a good person, my queen Lucette is everything in this route.

The bad ending is also super sad and the CG was so heartbreaking. To think if only Lucette would have said that he loved him (which she did) at the end to save him asdfghjkl, my feelings.

“How much longer will it take to cure this? Just to cure it cause I cant ignore it if its love” - Accidently in Love, Counting Crows

“Oh, how it feels so real, lying here with no one near” - Tiny Dancer, Elton John

Karma

Now onto my manz Karmaaa

what a ride man

Honestly I didn't expect to like Karma that much. I mean, he was nice, he looked playful and I liked the teasing dynamic but I did not expect him to end at my #2 at all. But boi was I in for a ride. Once you get to know Karma? understand him and the reasons he is close off? how he truly doesn't consider anyone loving him as an option to break his curse? uh, um, excuse me to say this but, poetic cinema at its f i n e s t.

God and Karma and Lucette’s dynamic, iconic. He teaches her how to open up and live life, be happy, while she helps him realize he is much more than his looks and how he fell for his personality, god I love them.

Also the good ending was one of my favorites, they were just so comfortable with each other and I cant wait to see their dynamic with their family, its gonna be awesome. His bad ending was in my opinion, one of the worst too. Dying thinking the girl he loves never truly got to love him and see past the beast and just when she realizes he is holding the rose thing that he is Karma and she killed him? brutal

“Like the ache in my chest that my heart didn’t invite. But if the prettiest romance isn’t perfectly right, that makes every love lost just a holiday every night” - Paper Tigers, Owl City

“I could have another but I probably should not, I got somebody at home” - Honey I’m Good, Andy Grammer

Waltz

*Screams*

MY BOY WALTZ

*Resumes Screaming*

I knew he would be my favorite from the start. Girl loves me some sweet boys with some secrets to hide, and since the other routes gave tiny clues that they were childhood friends, big y E S.

What’s there not to love about Waltz?? he is not only a cute boy who is in love with her best friend, her only family left, and taught her how to become the good kind hearted person he knew she was deep on the inside but he would also give it all for her happiness?? they protect each other?? powerful witch couple?? uh por favorrr

His bad ending broke me, thinking his conscious is ruined thanks to Hildyr and watching the girl he loves become basically a puppet? heartless. And his good ending, their dynamic, everything everything I love Waltz and everyone should know it.

They are the biggest power canon couple to exist and I stan.

“Call a name I'm longing for, call the name that only you know. I'll find you there, in dreams we shared, that called us once before” - I’ll call your name, Dima Lancaster (Cover)

“And when I'm feeling small you get me through it all, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again” - Kids Again, Artist vs. Poet

Anyways its over, it ended, I am coping, I will go back to staring at my screenshots of Waltz while I cry ;w;

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off. Not really Johnlock, more like Sherlock and evil!Mary.

[Intro: Cody Carson]Ha ha ha ha, this is about you[Verse 1: Cody Carson]Beware, beware, be skepticalOf their smiles, their smiles of plated goldDeceit so naturalBut a wolf in sheep’s clothing is more than a warningBaa baa, black sheep, have you any soul?No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals?Jack be nimble, Jack be quickJill’s a little whore and her alibis are turning tricks[Chorus: Cody Carson]So could youTell me how you’re sleeping easyHow you’re only thinking of yourselfShow me how you justifyTelling all your lies like second natureListen, mark my words, one dayYou will pay, you will payKarma’s gonna come collect your debt[Verse 2: William Beckett]Aware, aware, you stalk your preyWith criminal mentalityYou sink your teeth into the people you depend onInfecting everyone, you’re quite the problemFee-fi-fo-fum, you better run and hideI smell the blood of a petty little cowardJack be lethal, Jack be slickJill will leave you lonely dying in a filthy ditch[Chorus: Cody Carson]So could youTell me how you’re sleeping easyHow you’re only thinking of yourselfShow me how you justifyTelling all your lies like second natureListen, mark my words, one day (one day)You will pay, you will payKarma’s gonna come collect your debt[Bridge: Cody Carson]Maybe you’ll changeAbandon all your wicked waysMake amends and start anew againMaybe you’ll seeAll the wrongs you did to meAnd start all over, start all over again[Spoken: Cody Carson]Who am I kidding?Now, let’s not get overzealous hereYou’ve always been a huge piece of shitIf I could kill you I wouldBut it’s frowned upon in all fifty statesHaving said that, burn in hell[Chorus: Cody Carson]So tell me how you’re sleeping easyHow you’re only thinking of yourselfShow me how you justifyTelling all your lies like second natureListen, mark my words, one day (one day)You will pay, you will payKarma’s gonna come collect your debt[Outro: Cody Carson]Karma’s gonna come collect your debt (oh, oh, oh)Karma’s gonna come collect your debtJazzy

(Lyrics from Genius.com)

Hi Lovely!

Hahahah YES Totally evil Mary I LOVE IT. The lyrics are great. Too bad they didn’t keep with this plot line, but mreh, in my head she’ll always be a villain. Thanks for this suggestion!

I’ll file it under the playlist so I can find it, LOL.

[m7-hacertanrikulu-blog]

Change of paradigm: Breastfeeding is the Norm and anything else is Less. *

*After some valuable exchange of thoughts and suggestions from one of my experienced supervisors, Annelies Allain, I’ve come to the decision to revise my latest entry to make myself clearer on the importance of a need in change of paradigm that confirms Breastfeeding is the Norm and anything else is Less. 

I keep getting asked why Penang (let me assure you it’s no vacation, just paradise) and where exactly I’m interning. I try to give an answer people can relate to but I usually end up getting funny looks telling me to let go of this “sophisticated/pretentious” attitude I’m often accused with and start talking human. 

Well, I start mentioning the Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which has become my Bible (Koran if you think it’s more appropriate) and I elaborate on the ICDC’s role as a whistle-blowing, “Big Brother Is Watching You” kinda organisation that tells companies and manufacturers of baby foods to abide by the rules: 

                    Sell your products - Don’t promote them!

Sometimes, I still get the vibe that my gibberish does not seem to convince people how marketing regulations match with my field of studies (Public Health Nutrition).  This is the point where I have no option than mentioning breastfeeding and this also the point where I get the attention of most people as they can all relate to breastfeeding in some way.

Some still feel uncomfortable, imagining or seeing a mother breastfeeding her child - it’s ok if you feel so but please try to change. 

However, there is a consensus across the world that breastfeeding is a good practice and the (biological) norm. When I say biological norm, I sincerely try to choose my next words very cautiously as I don’t want to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. It’s is important that we are all on the same page that the aim of the Code is not only to promote and to protect breastfeeding but it also aims to provide adequate information for the proper use of breastmilk substitutes. It ensures, moreover, that companies are hindered from influencing mothers’ decision to use infant formula and protect all infants - those that are breastfed and not breastfed- from misleading and unethical marketing.

Regarding ethical and unethical marketing, let’s see if you agree:

 Would you consider the following examples as ethical? 

The following example is a harmless brochure from Thailand. 

The picture is actually nice, one would think it promotes breastfeedig 

BUT when you open the folder, you see…

…how Nestlé physically separates the baby from the breast.

P.S.: This is an old example. Nestlé had to stop this practice after receiving complaints from ICDC!

                    How about the next example from Ethiopia?

A nurse in the neonatal section wears a uniform embroidered with (Model on the picture is Elsie-ICDC staff and colleague). The uniform does not only provide free advertising for Danone, it also is a medical endorsement of Danone’s products. Do you think mothers are influenced seeing a doctor endorsing Danone’s products? Do you think this creates a conflict of interest? 

I’ll talk about conflicts of interest in my next blog episode and also elaborate on how I had the chance to teach health workers from all over the world on the Scope and how I used this opportunity to network at the same time).           For now, I want you to try to understand what unethical marketing can cause.

Jan Bennink, the former Chairman of Dutch Numico (since acquired by French multinational Danone) surprised the Public Health World with his rather bold and FRANK statement saying 

     “Breastfeeding is the direct competitor of formula.”

Numico is a combination of three brand names - Nutricia, Milupa and Cow & Gate,  now owned by Danone, the second biggest baby food manufacturer. This short and clear statement is a clear admission that the industry is competing with breastfeeding.

This is why there is a movement stressing the importance of a change of paradigm confirming Breastfeeding is the Norm and everything else is LESS: 

Less nutritious

Less antibodies

Less sterile

Less bonding

Less expense 

and NO living substances

To make it clearer, let’s talk about the example of buying a new car: Most families will buy a car that is good enough, a normal car that will take them form A to B. Very few will think of getting the best, most luxurious car. 

Many women also think they don’t need to go for the very best. Many believe that formula is good enough. Hence, we should reassure them that breastfeeding is the norm, not a luxurious “best”. A change in paradigm. 

It is important to acknowledge that women do not have any obligation to breastfeed. It is their own body and their own decision to breastfeed or not to breastfeed, provided on the basis of objective information.

Breastfeeding is not an easy practice, it requires, without any doubt, a lot of support on different levels including support from immediate family, health workers, community and most importantly the government by introducing policies such as paid maternity leave, baby friendly hospitals, national regulations etc. 

It is no surprise that the industry keeps using the power of language to convince consumers about the similarity of formula to human breastmilk. A quick check on any baby food company will let you recognize that each one is just another wolf in sheep’s clothes, playing the good Samaritan to save babies. Every company will agree that breastfeeding is the best nutrition for babies and each of them will praise their efforts to invest in research to provide a good alternative…out of cow’s milk? Formula is made of cows’ milk. That’s good for calves but not for babies. Calling “Breastfeeding is Best” has offered companies to come up with the idea of providing “Something Good” or “Close to Best” in the first place. This is why we need a change of paradigm that confirms: Breastfeeding is the norm and everything else is less!

Hypothetically, if one says “Breastfeeding is best”, does this mean that “Bottle-feeding is less good? Would it help to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates?  

Let us travel back in time and see how bottle-feeding has been criticized in the past: 

In 1939, BC, (before the Code), Cicely Williams, presented her talk, “Milk and Murder” on bottle-baby deaths and condensed milk and said that “misguided propaganda on infant feeding should be punished as the most criminal form of sedition, and that those deaths should be regarded as murder.” 

In 1968, Dr. Derrick Jelliffe coined the term “commerciogenic malnutrition” to describe the impact of industry marketing practices on infant health. (This term has caught my deep interest and makes me very passionate to look closer at it in future!) 

In 1974, War on Want (waronwant.org), an anti-poverty charity based in London, published “The Baby Killer”, a report on infant malnutrition and promotion of artificial feeding in the Third World. Thereupon, a group of students in Switzerland (Third World Action Group) first translated “The Baby Killer” to “Nestlé Kills Babies” and published the translation.

As someone with a background in translation, I admit that this is rather a free, not quite accurate but definitely hell of a successful translation.

Nestlé, a Swiss company and biggest baby food manufacturer, was obviously not quite thrilled by being called a murderer and sued the group for libel.

Two years after hearings, the student group was found guilty of libel, but only for the title and while the students were given a small fine, Nestlé was warned by the judge to change its marketing practices. 

Has Nestlé changed? Well, remember the Nestlé boycott? It was launched just shortly after the Nestlé hearings in 1977 by INFACT (Infant Formula Action Coalition) in the US and is until today the longest worldwide boycott in history. So, has Nestlé changed? Clearly not enough AND the boycott is still going on.

Research has shown that low (exclusive) breastfeeding rates are caused, among others, by poor government policies, lack of support for mothers AND by aggressive and relentless marketing of the formula milk industry. 

Each year, the deaths of more than 800 000 children can be prevented through universal breastfeeding (Lancet, 2016). 

Bottle-feeding puts infants and mothers at many risks that breastfeeding could prevent. Here is a list of some risks that are associated with bottle-feeding: 

For infants and children:

Increased risk of asthma

Increased risk of allergy

Increased risk of acute respiratory disease

Increased risk of nutrient deficiencies

Increased risk of chronic diseases

Increased risk of diabetes

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Increased risk of obesity

Increased risk of side effects of environmental contaminants

Increased risk of mortality

 For mothers:

Increased risk of breast cancer

Increased risk of overweight

Increased risk of ovarian cancer

Increased risk of osteoporosis

Increased risk of maternal diabetes       

Increased risk of stress and anxiety

Source: Risks of Formula Feeding by Infact Canada, 2002 and also confirmed by Lancet Breastfeeding Series, 2016. 

In conclusion, if we say “Breastfeeding is best” it means bottle-feeding is never as good. Therefore, a change of paradigm is needed that confirms and emphasises Breastfeeding is the Norm and everything else is LESS. 

Have you ever heard of breast crawl - the instinct that babies are born with enabling them to move towards the mother’s nipple and attach to it, all by themselves? Check out the short video (it’s in Spanish but you will get the gist) and ENJOY.

                                          Babies Do Know Best. 

P.S.A BIG THANK YOU to those among you who read my last entry in the first place and then made the effort to send interesting materials to be verified as potential Code violations! Keep up the good work!!!

[bookloversofbath]

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: The Road Car & WRC Story (Brian Long) soon to be presented for sale on the special BookLovers of Bath web site!

Published: Dorchester: Veloce Publishing, 2002, Hardback in dust wrapper.

Contains: Black & white photographs; Colour photographs; Tables;

From the cover: Lancer The name conjures up many different images. For some, it evokes memories of the first generation cars, introduced in 1973, which fought with the best on the Safari Rally and came out the victors. Others will remember the second generation models -especially the turbocharged versions, the original Mitsubishi wolf in sheeps clothing and who could not be aware …

Introduction by: Shinichi Kurihara

Very Good+ in Very Good+ Dust Wrapper.

Red boards with Silver titling to the Spine. 192 pages. Index. 10¼” x 8½”.

Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I woo you with the cream of the crop in my Transport Automotive catalogue?

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j howard jacobson jonathan cape 9780224101974

more than a game the story of crickets early years john major harperpress 9780007183647

quayside bristol the city and its port in recent years frank shipsides robert wall redcliffe press 1872971962

flora britannica the definitive new guide to wild flowers plants and trees richard mabey sinclair stevenson 18561937721

irek mukhamedov the authorised biography jeffery taylor fourth estate 185702074x

the opium eater selections from the autobiography thomas de quincey the cresset press

frank richards the chap behind the chums mary cadogan viking 0 670 81946 8

a midnight clear william wharton jonathan cape 0224020501

meriwether nevin tom doherty associates 0 312 86307 1

Champions in Conflict The Bath Rugby Revolution Dick Tugwell Robson Books 1 86105 213 8

for fuhrer and fatherland ss murder and mayhem in wartime britain roderick de normann sutton publishing 0750912820

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: The Road Car & WRC Story (Brian Long) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo: The Road Car & WRC Story (Brian Long) soon to be presented for sale on the…

[whovillebutslutty]

Music

I was bored so here are the lyrics of Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Set It Off (ft. William Beckett)

Ha ha ha, this is about you

Beware, beware, be skeptical Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold Deceit so natural But a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning

Bla-bla-black sheep, have you any soul? No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals Jack, be nimble, Jack, be quick Jill's a little whore and her alibis are dirty tricks

So could you Tell me how you're sleeping easy How you're only thinking of yourself Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words, one day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt

Aware, aware, you stalk your prey With criminal mentality You sink your teeth into the people you depend on Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

Feefifofum, you better run and hide I smell the blood of a petty little coward Jack, be lethal, Jack, be slick Jill will leave you lonely dying in a filthy ditch

So could you Tell me how you're sleeping easy How you're only thinking of yourself Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words, one day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt

Maybe you'll change Abandon all your wicked ways Make amends and start anew again Maybe you'll see All the wrongs you did to me And start all over, start all over again

Who am I kidding Now, let's not get overzealous here You've always been a huge piece of shit If I could kill you I would But it's frowned upon in all fifty states Having said that, burn in hell

So tell me how you're sleeping easy How you're only thinking of yourself Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words, one day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt

Karma’s gonna come collect your debt Karma's gonna come collect your debt

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ifhsL4kKw

[classicfilmfreak]

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/01/26/good-girls-go-to-paris-1939-starring-joan-blondell-and-melvyn-douglas/

Good Girls Go to Paris (1939) starring Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas

“I’d be a much happier man if I’d never met you.”  — Ronald Brooke

Of the three films they made together, all screwball comedies, Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas had their best pairing in Good Girls Go to Paris.  The year before, in 1938, they had starred in There’s Always a Woman, a husband and wife comedy-mystery, and later that same year Douglas reprised his role as detective Bill Reardon in There’s That Woman Again, only now his wife was Virginia Bruce.  The two films had the same zaniness, but Blondell’s magic and the chemistry with Douglas were missing in the sequel.

In the early part of his career, Douglas appeared in horror films—James Whale’s The Old Dark House(1932) being the best—and detective capers.  His only appearance as the Lone Wolf was to launch the series in 1938 with The Lone Wolf Returns—the “return” heralding the first sound Wolf film since the silent days.  Most often, however, Douglas settled into romantic leads, often tuxedo-attired, playing opposite such ladies as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and Claudette Colbert.

During much of his early Hollywood career, Douglas said he was bored by his “one-dimensional and non-serious roles.”  It was only when he began character parts in his sixties, this coinciding with the decade of the 60s, that he found meatier parts worthy of his talents.  He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar portraying the decent father of the amoral Paul Newman in Hud (1963).  The next year, in The Americanization of Emily, he was loony Admiral William Jessup, insisting that the first dead man on a D-Day beach must be a U.S. sailor, foreshadowing another loony military Jessup, U.S. Marine colonel Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men (1992).

In 1970, Douglas was nominated Best Actor in I Never Sang for My Father, about an insensitive, then ill, father of Gene Hackman, and in 1979 the actor received his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar as a bed-ridden business man in Being There (1979), influenced by an inept Chauncey Gardner (Peter Sellers) taken for a political pundit.

That Melvyn Douglas might have been bored in his role in Good Girls Go to Paris isn’t apparent.  He’s debonair, a smooth operator, his hair and clothes never rumpled, the dinner jacket, drawing room type.  His dignity is threatened, sometimes to the point of controlled exasperation, by the antics of a waitress who comes into his life.  She never seems able to tell the truth and leads him into all sorts of confusing and compromising situations.

Douglas’ co-star and, really, the only other actor in Good Girls Go to Paris who makes any striking impression, is the animated Blondell, one of the masters of the screwball comedy.  If Douglas adds the dignity and a center of gravity, however tenuous—he’s almost stiff by comparison—Blondell sets the tempo and provides, all at the same time, the effervescence, charm and craziness that keeps him, and the plot, wonderfully off balance.  This appealing mixture is found in few actresses.

Walter Connolly seems counterproductive to the best interests of the film.  Known for over-the-top acting, his delivery is often loud and without nuance.  He is best remembered for It Happened One Night(1934) as Claudette Colbert’s father, who is about to give her away at her wedding when she runs off to the man (Clark Gable) she really loves.  In Good Girls Go to Paris, Connolly rehearses giving away his granddaughter for a wedding that never happens.

An exchange professor from England, Ronald “Ronnie” Brooke (Douglas), arrives to conduct his first class in Greek mythology.  Born in Macon, Georgia, Douglas makes no attempt to sound British, except for the occasional long “a.”

In a hallway on his way to his classroom, Brooke casually mingles with some young men who assume he is a fellow student and expect their professor will be a “grumbling old fluff,” with a “long, white beard.”  The students, expecting an easy course, are surprised when Brooke walks in as their professor.  He uses the incident in the hall as an example of an Aesop fable—the wolf in sheep’s clothing—and warns that, at end of term, they must pass a rigorous exam.

In the university’s restaurant, Brooke is attended by waitress—not “server”; this is the 1930s—Jenny Swanson (Blondell), who demonstrates how to dunk a tea bag in his cup of hot water.  Accustomed to proper English tea etiquette, he responses, “And then you . . . drink it?”  In It Happened One Night, Gable had shown wealthy socialite Colbert how to dunk a doughnut.

Later, when Jenny has explained to Brooke how she plans to earn a trip to Paris by blackmailing some handy rich man’s son, he warns her with another Aesop fable.  Seems a sick lion asks a fox to come into his cave and hold his paw, but the wise fox notices that the animal tracks leading into the cave never lead out.  “Never venture into anything,” Brooke says, “unless you can see your way out.”

Literally moments later, she is almost run over by Ted Dayton’s (Stanley Brown) speeding roadster and is understandably upset until he mentions his rich father.  She says she needs a ride and jumps in his car.

In her first effort to get to Paris, she attempts to blackmail Ted’s father (Clarence Kolb), saying she has his son’s letters of proposal in her purse, but when she doesn’t produce them, the father threatens to call the police unless she leaves town.

On the way out of town to her home in Maple Leaf, Missouri, Jenny stops in to see Brooke.  She tells him she “forgot about the sick lion and walked right into his den.”  She didn’t show the letters, she says, because she remembered his warning, which caused a funny feeling in her stomach.  He explains it’s a “flutter,” her conscience talking, and reminds her that “good girls go to Paris, too.”  After giving her a book of Aesop fables, he says he will soon finish his lectures and leave for New York to marry Sylvia Brand (Joan Perry), then return to England.

At the train platform—here happenstances really begin!—Jenny accidentally meets Tom Brand (Alan Curtis), Sylvia’s rich playboy brother, on his way to New York for her wedding.  Seeing in Tom another way to Paris, Jenny buys a ticket for New York instead of Maple Leaf.

In New York, Tom and Jenny go nightclubbing and meet Sylvia with Dennis Jeffers (Henry Hunter).  Eavesdropping, Jenny learns that Sylvia is in love with Dennis, not Brooke, and that Tom has a gambling debt.  Also present is Sylvia’s mother Caroline (Isabel Jeans), out with boyfriend Paul (Alexander D’Arcy), a gold-digger himself.

The by now drunk Tom takes Jenny to the family home and she puts him to bed.  In slipping out, she meets Caroline slipping in.  They awaken the ailing grandfather, Olaf (Connolly).  When Olaf loudly inquires about this stranger, Caroline improvises that Jenny is one of Sylvia’s bridesmaids.

Jenny quickly makes herself a part of the family and begins winning over Olaf with a Swedish remedy for his sore throat.  One morning when the household assembles for breakfast, Sylvia is flabbergasted to find that Jenny, this stranger, is an “old friend from college,” and Brooke, who has arrived, is surprised to find Jenny is a guest in his fiancée’s home.  Both Sylvia and Brooke play along.

The climax, although less civilized and scattered over numerous scenes, is reminiscent of the kitchen scene, the gathering of all the characters in Moonstruck (1987).  A Mr. Schultz (George Lloyd) comes to collect Tom’s $5,000 gambling debt, but Jenny promises to pay him the next day, so Olaf won’t learn of it.

Earlier, when Sylvia was in Dennis’ car and his driving had injured a man, she had identified herself as Jenny Swanson to avoid a scandal.  Now, when Sylvia asks Jenny to take the blame, Jenny demands $5,000 for her silence—money for Tom’s debt.  As for Paul and Caroline’s planned elopement, Jenny exposes Paul as a leech out for her wealth, and Sylvia receives Olaf’s approval to marry Dennis.

After these couples have paired off, Brooke proposes to Jenny: “England, while the climate is not all that it should be, is very well known for honeymoons and has the added advantage of being just across the Channel from Paris.”  So, you see, good girls do go to Paris!

The end is much, much more complicated than here described—and much funnier, with Connolly, in his best moment, bewildered by the confusing family revelations.  A movie fan has to see the film to perceive all the, let’s say, “subtleties,” if that’s the word, and to appreciate this crazy comedy.  Screwball, it certainly is!

Judging by Good Girls Go to Paris, it’s not obvious that the year of its release, 1939, was Hollywood’s greatest year.  The number of memorable pictures, including Stagecoach, Dark Victory, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Good Bye, Mr. Chips and, of course, Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, would never be equaled again, or even approached.

Appearing in one of the last years of the long Great Depression that had begun in 1929, Good Girls Go to Paris, is, however, representative of its era, the ’30s, when one point of the screwball comedy, like the concurrent Busby Berkeley musicals, was to lift the spirits of the American people out of their troubles.  In that regard, the film succeeds admirably, coincidences, implausibilities, silliness and all, thanks mainly to the sparkling appeal of Joan Blondell and the stabilizing anchor of Melyvn Douglas.  Not a masterpiece certainly but a fitting movie for late-night insomnia.  If it doesn’t cure the insomnia, the film is still a suitable diversion until the dawn breaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmNrIPunmP8

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Flashback Solo Para: & That’s Who I Am (Teresa)

Will drums his pencil on the table as they work, wrinkling his nose. “Hey, uh, Teresa, uh, if it’s not too, um, too personal, can I ask for your whole... story?”

Teresa frowns, looking at him, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow. “My story?”

“I, uh, I just mean... you, um, you’ve said that, that, that uh, that your relationship with, with...” He pauses, snapping.

“Madame Bonfamille?” She cocks her head.

He points to her, “With her, was, was uh... complicated.”

“Oh.” Teresa pauses and nods a bit with a shrug, lowering her pen. “Well, it was. It’s a bit of an unusual story.”

“I’d, uh, honestly I’d still like to, um, to hear it,” Will shrugs. “We, uh, we partner up for a lot of um, a lot of advanced classes, and, and, and, and, and I know so little about you.”

Teresa blinks, shrugging again and nodding. “Yeah, that’s fair enough... so, I guess we can start back when I was about two.”

The toddler had been left on Madame Adelaide Bonfamille’s doorstep. Nobody really knew where she came from, but even at such a young age, the girl bonded quite well with the cats in the household. Perhaps that was why the madame had decided to keep her around. The truth was, nobody knew for sure why.

Just that she kept the young girl around, and wrote a clause into the will that allowed her to become the caretaker and executor of the estate, ensuring the money allotted to the cats would in fact be used for them. She would, of course, have additional support when the time came, as she was only a child, and likely wouldn’t be old enough to be entirely on her own when the time came.

(”I wasn’t,” Teresa adds with a small, half-hearted smile. “The madame passed when I was ten.” She clears her throat.)

Growing up in the house, while Teresa got a good education, a LOT of her time revolved around learning to handle the job she would one day handle, and caring for the madame and the home a bit as well. She didn’t know it at the time, but because of the work she was doing happily, the madame had established a bank account for her where she was earning regular pay. So when the madame passed, she had her own money separate from the cats.

(”Some of the people who were hired to help me while I was too young also helped with the account, investing the money properly and the like. Whatever’s left of the madame’s money when the cats are gone will be donated to a shelter.” Teresa scratches Marie’s ears as the cat pops out of her purse, stretching after her nap. “I have enough.”

“You’re, uh, that is to say, um, uh, y’know, you... you are, uh, an honorable person,” Will remarks with a nod.)

She hadn’t initially gone through the madame’s things when the woman had passed. She’d had too much to deal with. Then it had been about putting her lessons to work. Then it was--

(”You, you were uh, you were stalling, right?” Will asks.

Teresa shrugs. “Hard not to.”)

But, finally, she knew she’d put it off long enough, and had begun slowly working through them. She’d kept some of the jewelry out of sentiment. (Her hand comes up to a pendant around her neck at the remark, but she doesn’t take the opportunity to show it off, and he doesn’t ask.) Most of it had been sold so they had a better idea of how much the cats had. But in a drawer at the madame’s vanity she’d found something unusual.

It had taken time to find the keys to unlock the skinny little drawer across the middle, and then working through the other little belongings before she’d found the note, that some of the staff had reluctantly informed her had been pinned to her shirt when she was left at the doorstep.

(”What, uh, um, if you don’t mind me asking, what did it, uh, that is, er...”

“I... don’t remember, exactly,” and Teresa’s not sure why she lies but something in her gut tells her it was better this way. “And I left it at home when I came here.”)

The note, however, alluded to the existence of her father, spurring her on her search for her family, whoever they really were. After all, the madame had no family-- it’s why the money had been left to her cats. Even Teresa could hardly call herself the woman’s family, considering the unusual circumstances of her entering the home.

But the search had turned up nothing, and... she’d elected to come to Auradon Prep, to give herself a break from her search and get some proper education.

(Again, she has no idea why she’s lying about her search. Maybe it was the unconfirmed story from that strange man that had stopped her as she was leaving that dance that one time.)

“...and, here I am,” Teresa finishes with a laugh and a shrug. “Somewhat maid, somewhat adopted family to the madame. Manager of her estate and proud caretaker of Marie here and her family.” She scratches behind Marie’s ears.

“Wow,” Will says softly, shaking his head. “I couldn’t, er, I, that is, I can’t begin to, uh, to imagine. That’s a lot for, uh, for anyone.” Pausing, he adds, “So you’ve, um, you stopped, er... looking for, looking for, looking for your family?”

Teresa nods. “For now. I think I’m better suited focusing on my future, not my past.”

Will nods slowly, clearing his throat. “That’s, uh, like I said, it’s, it’s a lot.”

“It is, but I’ve long since adjusted.” Shrugging, Teresa picks up her pen. “Where were we?”

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Double Open Starter: Focus! (Teresa/William)

“So, I was thinking for the presen...” Teresa looks up, blinking and frowning, sighing. “William.”

“Huh?” William looks over from the doorway, blinking at her. “I-- I was, uh, um, I was listening, sorry.”

“Were you? William, seriously, I need you to focus,” Teresa rolls her eyes slightly. “If we’re going to be partners on this I need you to pull your weight. I don’t want to get a bad grade or have to put in all the work. I don’t know how you got into advanced classes that assign summer homework when you can’t even manage to listen to me for more than a few seconds at a time.”

“Look, I, well, I’m, that is, uh... I’m really, um, really sorry,” William manages. “I was, uh, I was just, um, kind of, well...”

“Just...?” Teresa crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow.

He clears his throat awkwardly and adjusts his shirt collar. “Uh, um, well, uh... it’s, um, it’s nothing. Sorry.”

“Unbelievable,” Teresa rolls her eyes, glancing to someone nearby and rolling her eyes with a motion to him.

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“Hold– hold– hold on. Uh. Hold on, just, um, wait, uh, a minute, I, uh, that, you, you can’t be, can’t be, serious, right? How– how often do, how often does, when– how often do evil takeovers just happen, exactly?”

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Tag Dump - William