Double Take
Rinse and repeat.
To any avid reader of fiction or weary hurricane watcher, it’s all about the deja vu view.
Obviously the drama, the high stakes, the conflict, and the sly foreshadowing swirl all about in both.
A great book – or a well tolerated storm – often floats on the characters bookended in each.
Yes, it’s a squirrel on water skis. This is all I could think of when I saw the following picture.(eBay image of book cover)
Tropical Storm Beta flirts with the Gulf Coast and here we go again: Tropical Storm Beta.
Pretty much able to do storm prep sleepwalking by now.
Just going down the same familiar path – like a book where you’ve already guessed the ending.
Seriously. What else could come to mind? (Screenshot Salt Lake City Fox13/Humphrey family)
The rain arrives and the real quandary remains: what to do stuck inside. Stuck inside again. Again!
Seriously. What hasn’t been already viewed during the months of COVID lockdown is pretty slim.
Are there any home remodeling shows, Dog Whisperer, travel, buying the you-wish-it-was-you real estate episodes, or TV/Netflick series reruns that haven’t been revisited ad nauseum? (No, I am not watching any football, baseball, basketball as those are mere shadows of themselves right now.)
Forced to return of the glorious days of yesteryear: old movies…full of double takes
Bad boy Marlon Brando about to tempt fate – risking it all for a gal who is way out of his league and from a different world. (Of course anyone in a NYC sewer would be tempting fate, then or now.) (Screenshot Guys and Dolls)
Vintage Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando are cool.
To find them both in a musical, “Guys and Dolls” (1950 stage/1955 film) was a surprise:
- Because Sinatra is really skinny
- Brando actually did sing all his songs.
- The Cuban night club avant-garde dance scene – with Brando dancing. Sharp. What can I say?
- It’s a period piece – a window into the past of fashions, cars, and culture. The “Pet Me, Papa” night club act must have been quite risqué for the time. Today’s Cancel Culture probably hate that performance which may be why it’s hard to find these days, But darn it, it’s sweet, funny, and cute. Lighten up people. “Entertainment” doesn’t have to preach a message: fun is fine.
- Who couldn’t smile with the performance of “Sit down. You’re rocking the boat“
- And this show is the original source of the song “Luck, be a Lady Tonight”( Video of Brando singing as he rolls the dice on a big bet in a dark NYC sewer)
That scene of crap shooting is where it dawned on me.
Same old story: a girl breaking up the gang. (The Jets/LA Theater Review)
Was “Guys and Dolls” the inspiration for the sets and choreography in the 1957 stage/1961 film musical “West Side Story”?
- Michael Kidd choreographed the dances of the “Guys and Dolls” movie.
- Jerome Robbins created the original dance moves for the “West Side Story”, the NYC gang rumble in a dark subterranean setting
You watch a few scenes and you decide. Lots of similarities.
If intrigued, watch the “Guys and Dolls” movie here. (You gotta love that poodle. Shows up twice.)
Looks like a storm brewing. But she finally does get him to the altar..and the poodle shows up. (Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit) and Vivian Blaine as Adelaide (Marilyn desperately wanted that role) in Guys and Dolls duet “Sue Me”. Screenshot )
Watching snatches of the vintage musical, reinforced the old concept that “Everything under the sun has already been done”. Everything is just variations.
Variations of Boy meets Girl…and suddenly the future looks different.
Lyrics From “Guys and Dolls”: “Love is the thing that has licked ’em”, When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky
You can bet that he’s doing it for some doll” (Enjoy the entire song with Sinatra – and the poodle- here)
Sound familiar? “Maria”, “Tonight”, One Hand; One Heart”. More parallels to Guys and Dolls’ “A Woman in love” and “Adelaide”?
Nothing like a challenge and a little conflict to make a good story.
Fictional plots may be stormy in parts, like hurricanes, but that doesn’t seem to keep people away from either.
Always a story line in the making.
Whatever floats your book.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
OK. Here’s the real story of the iconic 61st Street Fishing T-Pier and Hurricane Beta
Interview with the owner here. He cut away part to save the rest.
And now, the end piece with was ripped off last night?
Floated on the waves and beached around 69th Street…and is a new tourist attraction…
Yep. Even as the storm gets closer. So Texas.
Waves cover the walkway of the 61st Street Fishing Pier as they roll in Sunday. It was a matter of time. Beta is supposed to dance across town here on Wed.(KHOU screenshot)
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Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 
Isolation, storms, it’s all so tedious. I’ve been lightly binging through Netflix and Prime series. I carefully ration out only a few a day because I fear I’ll run out and go completely mad. Right now I’m with The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel. I miss my NCIS franchise. Hope to see them soon. Stay safe. 2020 is a sucky year all the way around.
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Tedious is the word (We can always look forward to an asteroid flyby Sept 24…it will fly by and not stop…they promise…HAHA) Always something if you look hard enough?)
We rationed Ozark. I’m really not a sit down and watch tv person (especially now – just too distracted and bored so easily…a harsh TV show critic at this time), but it would be nice at the end of the day to have something entertaining to watch…(entertaining is the trick apparently). I’ve helped The Crown back in reserve – it seemed like a cooler weather show – so that’s probably up next. And I never saw all of the Sopranos which Netflix/Prime has.
We are oddly in between two very strong rain bands so Molly has been able to get out without her rain coat…although last night it was getting close. Beta is moving at 3 mph and expected to rain here solid for 2 more days…but hey, the lawn and tropical flowers are loving this…so is my water bill.
A year for the books indeed. Thanks for floating a comment this way.
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Yup . . . on many counts.
The observation about stories I sort of covered in my Novel short story. Everything has already been told because the stories don’t change because humans haven’t changed much.
Also, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers might (probably for sure) be another no-go for the PC/Cancel culture. Interestingly, the Italian version of the many songs’ lyrics (which I heard before the English version), are not as bad.
And even back then, I cringed at John Wayne spanking his love interest (and her being pleased and reading it as an expression of his interest).
Different times, indeed. Perhaps not good times, either. Domestic violence is still a problem, perhaps even more so today as families are forced in close contact (then again, they shouldn’t be families if they can’t handle being around each other, but that’s another story).
Few people realize the current administration narrowed the definition of domestic violence back in April (there was something about a pandemic in the news, so it slipped under the public’s radar) as well as reworded the definition for some forms of physical abuse.
Anyway, good luck with the storm, and if you haven’t yet, I suggest watching Firefly (series first, movie second).
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Thanks for the reminder about Firefly – I saw the first couple of episodes of the series, then wandered off. I’m just not much of a sit still /tv viewer, but, yes, that one was good.
Actually I saw Seven Brides on the tv listings fairly recently. It appears the networks/providers are running out of things to show with few in production and sports being stilled for a while. Yep, attitudes have changed (in public/in the protests at least). Difficult for many to alter perspective from modern behavior criteria and even catch a glimmer of what was. Everything has flaws. As you say, basically humans change little no matter what they say in public.
Fortunately states have the responsibility and rights for many laws. Local control and authority is better – you can always walk in and scream at people not doing their jobs – and the local media can stay on issues to bring pressure. Feds? Bah. Useless in most cases. This state has some of the best anti-stalker laws in the country…if enforced…that’s the rub: time and will and understanding that domestic violence victims are not at fault or kidding about the situation…and waving a protective order does nothing if the individual is determined nonviolence “to get even for turning me in” or doesn’t care if the individual lives or dies. Schools and workplaces were safety networks for some. Emergency shelters not only needed for violently mentally ill but also for those fleeing violence ( and I know a couple personally). Shelters desperately need quarters/accommodations for pets which are pawns if left behind and anchor many in desperate circumstances.
Personally I enjoy reading history, seeing art work and watching movies/tv shows from various eras – those are all reflection of the times/those attitudes – and are the roots of what we have become. Take the good in it and toss the uncomfortable or negative. Analysis as well as entertainment if one can suspend modern belief and detach a bit. You know, the old If you don’t know the past, doomed to repeat it. Right now, this virus seems to have brought back a good bit of repeat – not only on the screens.
About time for a mother set of stories? (Will have to float over and check soon) Thanks for splashing down with a comment
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who had the idea to add one day more to THIS year? and even one hour with the time change…
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Noooooo! I’m going to just hide in the closet.
Even RC Cat is getting really grumpy about no sunny window. (She is sure we are hiding it somewhere and is determined to follow us around loudly complaining…actually I can commiserate)
(Oh, actually cooked those veggies featured in your blog – bit hit, thanks)
Hang on Weims. We’ll get through this year yet. Thanks for digging up a comment to leave….Molly tried to respond, too but those muddy paws…
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“Stuck inside again.” Well, ain’t that THE theme of this year?
I love Guys and Dolls. When I was in high school it was the fall musical my senior year. I was in the orchestra so I saw rehearsals and performances and enjoyed them all. Funny how one musical could stick with me, while the other ones are just a faded memory.
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