Fifth Anniversary

Posted on November 25, 2017 by

75 Comments

Woah! WordPress notified me that today my blog is five years old. Thank you, friends, for liking and commenting over the years. You make me happy, and I appreciate the time you’ve taken to comment and share your thoughts. This marker made me wonder–what was my first post on November 25, 2012?

Illinois Slag Pile

Hail to the Litvak, the Pole, and the Italian.

I started looking through the gallery of posts, almost 500, varying from film to photography and other cultural topics like art, books, and music and thought I’d share several that meant something to me for varying reasons.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

1. I spent many seasons hiking around this Virginia lake before moving to Arizona.

Hiking Around Lake Laura. Virginia

 

Vivien Leigh
Cate Blanchett

2. I enjoyed connecting a pair of films and placing them side by side for analysis. I fell away from doing that; it was an activity that attracted traffic and encouraged fun conversations.

Blue Jasmine vs. A Streetcar Named Desire

3. I enjoy sharing my favorite music. The musicianship from these three favorites never grows old. Here’s a preview — start at 3:00 for the Tony Banks solo.

YES, RUSH, GENESIS

4. When I started the Lucky 13 Film Club 3 years ago–yes, three–this entry wins for the most thought-provoking conversation with 123 comments.

L13FC: The Revenant

5. I spent time creating this pairing between the film and the book with hopes it would be intellectually interesting to those who appreciate history.

In the Heart of the Sea

6. I was in the right place at the right time when the desert cacti exploded into magnificence.

Five Shots: Cacti Blooming

DSC02825

7. Greece. It’s hard to take a bad picture in a beautiful place.

Rhodes

8. Creative Writing–The research behind the writing was fun to post.

Saloons and Theaters in Jerome, Arizona

Two dogs leaped out of a canoe and flipped the boat, and the lady went flying. We thought that funny.

9. “In My Opinion” posts are personal. I’d like my children and grandchildren to get to know me through these posts one day.

Time Passes

 

Looking forward to 2018. Thanks, everyone! 

Category: actors, books, culture, Five Shots of..., five shots...., hiking, Lucky 13 Film Club, movies, nature, photography, travelTags:

75 Comments on “Fifth Anniversary”

  6. Blessed are those who can quantify their posts! At the rate of a century for each passing year, you are going great guns. I did enjoy the nostalgic meandering.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Like you, I started blogging in 2012, in the late summer.
    Sine we met online, (I don’t recall where or when, like the song…) I have treasured our exchanges, your comments on my posts, our collaboration on the L13FC, and seeing your photos of a country I have never visited. When you take you blogging breaks, I genuinely miss your presence, and anticipate your return. That says it all, really.
    Best wishes as always, Pete. x

    Like

    Reply

  11. Congratulations on your blogs 5th anniversary Cindy, fun to read your recollections and look back on past posts. Here’s to another great year of blogging in 2018 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Yes, always interesting to look back on these occasions for posts that meant a lot, resonated in some way, or inspired others. I like to mix my posts up, which can sometimes lead to confusion or lack of response, but I sling to the original idea for starting one: to share things of interest to me. Music, movies, travels, books, food and yes, cult cinema in all of its forms…thanks for sharing so much of your life and passion with us!

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks for the good wishes, John! I have enjoyed getting to know your quirky posts and appreciate your regular commenting. My blog is like yours, posting what interests me with hopes others will share their thoughts with me. Cheers!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. Time sure flies. I’ve enjoyed your site over the last few years, especially your beautiful photographs of Arizona and your Lucky 13 posts, although I do miss Bill White’s contributions. Here’s to 2018!

    Like

    Reply

  18. Congratulations Cindy. Time sure flies when you’re blogging. It’s hard to imagine that a good selection of us have all been conversing for so long now.

    Like

    Reply

    • I’ve always valued your intellect and dark comedic style. Thanks for commenting! Let’s do another L13FC.
      I hear DeNiro’s recent portrayal in Wizard of Lies was compelling!

      And Dustin Hoffman did a superb job in Meyerwitz Stories. We could call it The Kings’ Comeback. Just a thought and a shameless way to work with you again. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • My intellect and dark comedic style? Why, thank you, Cindy. That’s quite the compliment. 🙂

        I haven’t seen Wizard of Lies yet but, needless to say, it’s in my list to get to.

        I’d be happy to get involved in another L13 and something with Bob always appeals to me. That said, I’d create a little distance from Dustin at the moment due to the recent allegation against him post Weinstein-gate. The allegation wasn’t as bad as others, of course, but it still disappointed me when I heard it. I’ve always loved Hoffman.

        Like

        Reply

        • Men have been behaving badly for centuries. I’m not shocked. However, I’m not condoning it and glad things are changing. Make me think of Polanski debate–I love him as a director even though he’s morally deplorable.
          Anyway, I just watched Wizard of Lies last night–awesome! What surprised me was how perfect Michelle Pfeiffer was.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          • Yeah, Polanski and Woody Allen always spring to mind. Two great directors but I struggle to watch their films now.

            Wizard of Lies holds up then? Good stuff. I’ll get on that as soon as I can. I’ll also have a wee think of a possible DeNiro/L13 project. 🙂

            Like

  20. Well this was a blast from the past. How the heck did you get so many comments about The Revenant?! Oh that reminds me, I really should get around to watching that film. I enjoyed looking back at some familiar and some unfamiliar posts Cindy. Hope you are well. Regards Lloyd.

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks for taking the time to explore the posts and comment. Are you kidding about The Revenant? You were half of them ;). I’ve always appreciated your heartfelt enthusiasm about the movies and your willingness to share your thoughts. Cheers, friend.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Thank you Cindy, always a pleasure to check out your site when I get the time. WordPress reader acting up again too so that helps. 🙂 Hope you’re enjoying thanksgiving.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  21. Congratulations on your anniversary. I love the idea of personal blogs being a way for people to get to know us when we are gone. I think that is why I keep going. It’s like evidence that I existed and thought and felt and had opinions and ideas.

    Like

    Reply

  24. HAAAAPPY (belated) ANNIVERSARY! I remember around the time you first started (said in my best crusty old man voice). No really, congrats Cindy. It has been such a joy reading and sharing thoughts with you! Here’s to five more!

    Like

    Reply

I ♥ comments.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

Today I’m happy.
BOOK ONE: It all begins in 1900.

HERE on Amazon.

Riot, Fire, and Murder

THE RESEARCH IS HERE.

Ethnic Regionalism Masters

BOOK 2: Inside The Gold-Plated Pistol

It is 1928. German Expressionism, The Western, and the Hollywood Musical

Book 3: “The Lost Sisters of Bataan” is set in 1942. Two Jewish sisters from Minneapolis end up in the Philippines. One becomes a POW nurse. The other is a spy.

Join us all on the thirteenth.
to talk about the movie industry
Instagram
Words I take to heart

Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. –Eleanor Roosevelt

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. –Benjamin Franklin

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.–Milton Berle

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. — Robert Louis Stevenson

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” –Teddy Roosevelt

I miss Gene Kelly.
West Side Story. Best Film Ever? No, but darn close.
Entertaining blogs found here.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.
Marlon Brando. On the Waterfront. Best ever? Yep.
I’d rather be outside than in.
%d bloggers like this: