Ghosts and Other Characters

On Sunday Laureen joined me for a viewing of the 1963 classic The Haunting. (See Laureen above with 2 of her fans, as well as Claire Bloom and Julie Harris.)  In a good (or even great) ghost story, the ghost is not merely something that says "boo," but a real (dead) character with psychological connections to the other characters.
 The Haunting is one of my favorite spook-flicks.  Every time I watch it I notice little things I'd missed before.  Of course, I can't think of an example now.

I continue to probe the mysteries of old TV shows.  I just finished seeing several episodes of Biff Baker, U.S.A. featuring character actor Alan Hale (aka "The Skipper").  Though still in his early 30s, Hale's signature character had already jelled into a hearty, jolly, joking, unpolished regular guy.  In this case, he was a regular guy defending American interests all over the world accompanied by his equally jolly wife.  It isn't very good, but it's a source for American post-war psychology.

Of course, when dealing with Alan Hale, the question that always comes up is whether he is related to Barbara Hale (aka "Della Street").  IMDB.com mentions nothing, but nothing mentioned is not proof of nothing being there.  The fact that they both appeared in The Giant Spider Invasion suggests a blood connection: why else would they act in that turkey of a flick?

Speaking of character, recently a research assistant approached our ref desk with a strange request.  Her boss wanted to do some kind of scientific psychological measurement of people who had just read various kinds of literature, such as fiction with characters and fiction without characters.  She needed to find some examples of fiction without characters: no human characters, no animal characters, no alien characters, and no anthropomorphized objects.  No characters.  Not surprisingly, she couldn't find any examples.

For the benefit of Science, I wish to fill this literary lacuna...

The House

A piece of fiction

There's a house on Maple St. with white aluminum siding and a dark green pitched roof.  It has a front door in the front and a back door in the back.  It has a front yard in front and a back yard in back.


Furthermore, it looks just like every other house on Maple St.  This house has no character.

CD Creep

Somebody has let his CDs creep all over the office.  It's a stealthy way to take over!

Crazy Weather

January 21

January 28

Year of the Dog?

Most of the birthday cards I received had a dog theme.  (The bottom one is a gray wolf.)

Today's Birthdays

Tippi Hedren

Dolly Parton

E. A. Poe

Paul Cézanne

Robert E. Lee

Happy Birthday Mr. Bears

What's New?

Not Really Old...

...but very funny!

A Sober New Year's Eve

My neighbor Rosemary and I went to Boston to check out the "family" (early) New Year's activities.

 As we passed Colman's, we saw Shop Cat sleeping under a ladder.  How unlucky is that?

 At Copley Square, the parade was already in progress.  There was a light display on The BPL

 We saw parade leftovers as we walked to Boston Common, where we saw a splendid fireworks display.

 We checked out ice scuptures.

 A clever display in a Newbury St. store.

More Gifts!

 From Rosemary, a kitty-cat mug with a tail handle and different sunken pictures on both sides.

 From Dad, a foot-spa to soothe my aching feet.

 Also from Dad, a new bag to soothe my soul!

New Year's Eve Brunch

I went to Cafe Luna this morning with some of my buddies.

 Julie and Dave,

 Lynn and Sue,

 and my special friend Mr. Banana-split French Toast.

 Sue passed along another novelty candle: a teapot with a maple-leaf raised design.

It was proudly designed in San Diego, CA, USA; but made in China.

Relaxing at Home

Unusually mild weather fooled this tree into budding.

Techies Tell Me Why....

Why does my laptop screen periodically have curtain shadows at the bottom?

It doesn't have to do with a low battery; it happens sometimes after the battery is totally charged.

UPDATE:  Here's a screen capture of when shadows manifest.

A Nice Old Post Card

This nice old post card is from a Map Collection collection not-yet-processed, so I cannot provide a call number.  They are using the image to advertise an exibition of the Panama Canal in maps.  It is a rare illustration of Aqua-eroticism.

Retro Office Supplies

While rummaging around in Ranald's cubicle, I found a handsome metal document box.

He told me he had rescued it from the trash.  Why are they always throwing out good stuff and replacing it with crappy new stuff?

Weekend Gifts

Dave gave me a bottle of his home-brewed beer, which I must store in a dark place at 66-72 degrees for a least 10 days.  Sue gave me a candle that looks like a piece of cheese.

Romeo was fascinated by the flame.

Foreign Food

Some Japanese librarians were visiting our library.  To thank us for our hospitality, they left us a box of Japanese cookies.  I couldn't figure out what they were made of, because I can't read Japanese.  But they were pretty enough to photograph.

A New Me

I am treating photos to pumped-up hue then the filter "find edges."  After which I usually lighten the shadows or brighten up the whole thing.