Mike and Gloria

One of my favorite TV couples is Mike and Gloria from the classic 70's sitcom All in the Family.  My family and I always watched this show.  Nowadays I watch it on TV Land.  For those who haven't seen the show, Gloria is Archie and Edith's daughter.  She and her husband Mike live with the Bunkers while Mike finishes college.  Mike is a frequent thorn in Archie's side. 

Mike and Gloria are a really cute couple.  The other day I saw the episode called Black is the color of My true love's Wig.  Blond Gloria buys a brunette wig and Mike loves her in it.  So much so that he wants her to keep it on in bed!  Gloria thinks it's a way to have sex with someone else without cheating on his wife.  You can see the whole episode on the TV Land website or on YouTube.  Here's is the beginning:

Oldies

I remember Roger Miller's songs from when I was a kid.  We may have had one of his records. He passed away in 1992.  I thought it would be fun to share his best known songs.  See if you remember these two:



This one is really funny!

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House was a must-see destination for us in Amsterdam.  This is the place where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in occupied Holland.  She wrote her world-famous diary there (which is on my list to read) in 1942. 

The museum has been open since 1960 and you can see how Anne decorated the walls of her room with movie posters.  It was most moving to see the tiny bit of sky that was visible through the attic window. 

We went at a good time since the line was short.  It felt somewhat claustrophobic in there though but it didn't seem to bother Jackson.  They took great care to preserve the house and it's belongings. 

There was a movie made of Anne's life called The Diary of Anne Frank.  Shelley Winters won an Oscar for her role in the film.  I haven't seen it yet but we did see a really good Masterpiece Theater production of the story before we went there.  It helped to bring the story alive so the house was somewhat familiar when we saw it.

Evidently, Shelley Winters told Anne Frank's father that if she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, she would donate it to Mr. Frank.  It is there on exhibit so we saw 2 Oscars on this trip - hers and Grace Kelley's.

I highly recommend a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  I will post a review of the her book once I read it.  I have a huge list of books on my "to read" list!

Put your records on

I seem to be in a musical mood lately.  Today's case in point is the lovely song called Put Your Records On by the British singer Corinne Bailey Rae.  I first heard this song in the movie Venus starring Peter O'Toole in his Oscar nominated role.  Here is a link to a description of the movie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(film)

Corinne Bailey Rae's song is so lovely and is one of my favorite songs.  Enjoy -

Shall We Dance?

One of my favorite actors of all time is Richard Gere.  My favorite movie of his has to be An Officer and a Gentleman.  Right now though, I'd like to talk about another favorite called Shall We Dance? from 2004.  It's a remake of an equally good Japanese film of the same name from 1996.  Besides Richard Gere, the movie stars Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez.  It's about a married Chicago lawyer who takes secret dance lessons from a beautiful woman he saw through the window on his ride home on the subway.

We have the soundtrack which is loaded with great songs.  My favorite is called Sway by the Pussycat Dolls.  Here's a clip from the movie featuring this song:

Happy reading!

I belong to a wonderful online reading group called Goodreads. I've been a member since November of 2008. You can keep track of the books you have read, are reading now, and what you plan to read in the future. I love reading reviews that my friends have written and find out about authors and books I hadn't heard of before. There are also smaller groups within the group that anyone can join.

I have met some wonderful friends from all over the country and in foreign countries as well through Goodreads. I look forward to chatting with good friends every day. This group has really enriched my life and I strongly encourage everyone to join!

Get candy!

In the spirit of Halloween coming up this month, I offer the hilarious views on the holiday according to Jerry Seinfeld -