Monday, March 21, 2011

The Stylish Blogger Award

Venus Armida of the blog "They Had Faces!" has bestowed upon the Monkey the "Stylish Blogger Award"—hey, good for me! Like the Monkey, Venus has devoted herself to, in her own words, "discovering, and helping others discover, the cool interesting world of silent films." A worthwhile mission, if I may say so myself.

According to the rules of the award, I have to post a link to Venus's blog, reveal seven facts about myself and pass the award along to seven more stylish bloggers. The first is easy (done), the last well-nigh impossible, the second is as follows:

1. I've been watching the animated series Archer on FX recently. A cross between James Bond, Charlie Sheen and Brewster Rockit, Sterling Archer is the sort of spy who can't quite grasp why it's not a good idea to loudly announce he's a spy everywhere he goes.

"M as in—what?!"
"Mancy. What'd you think I said?"
"Nancy! You idiot!"
"Oh. Yeah. I could see how you might—"
"Tell me what to do!"
"Uh, do you have parachutes?"
"No!"
"Because that would be, you know, problem solved."

The entire first season is available for instant streaming on Netflix.



2. Speaking of Cold War jibber jabber, I ran across this photo on Unexplained Cinema, a blog I follow and that you should follow, too:

Yes, I used to tell my toys the same thing, but I recently had an epiphany, that our solar system's sun will one day burn out and when it does, the human race will vanish from the universe like a soap bubble, which not only means that the whole of human endeavor is completely pointless, but also that I can safely skip my law school reunion later this week. Win-win.

3. By the way, the kid is reading from the wrong text—this is Marxism for beginners:

4. No, actually the epiphany was, as Thomas Boswell put it in the Washington Post sports section this morning, "Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you have." And I woke up recently and realized I am a happy man. Probably after napping with Katie-Bar-The-Door while watching The Thin Man for the hundredth time.

"Nickie, can you reach the water? No, I just—I don't want it. I just wanted to be sure you could reach it."

5. Just to underscore that I'm not a nihilist, I built this train layout for my brother's kids a couple of Christmases ago:

Nihilists rarely build train layouts for their brother's kids, especially at Christmas. It's like a rule or something.

6. Speaking of brothers, I have two, which you may have surmised from careful reading of this blog over the years. My older brother is the one who lives in Auburn and saw the Beatles play live. My younger brother has played drums and guitar live with some of the finest session musicians Nashville has to offer—which is to say, the finest in the world. As our former neighbor and lifelong friend Bobby Bare Jr. once sang, "In Nashville, Tennessee ... the world's greatest living guitar pickers can deliver you a pizza." Talk about the boulevard of broken dreams!

7. And lastly, a family portrait:

I'm more of a speak-no-evil kind of Monkey myself, but I've seen and heard plenty. And I keep meticulous notes. So don't get any ideas.

As for passing this award on to seven more bloggers, well, that's easier said than done—I follow something like 160 blogs and I like them all. There are a few, however, I owe a favor for various reasons; perhaps this will balance the books:

Zoe at The Big Parade who once tagged me with the Kreativ Blogger award.

Hanner at Hanner's Blog Mmkay? who inspired one of my own favorite posts.

Who Am Us at Who Am Us Anyway who inspired the "Missed It By That Much Award."

Movie Nut 14 at Defiant Success who inspired the Movie Nut Trivia Award.

Mister Muleboy at The Mouth O' The Mule who buffaloed me into writing this blog in the first place.

Monty at All Good Things because, dammit, you need to get over there and vote in the 1960s bracket of the March Madness greatest actress tournament.

and Ginger Ingenue at Asleep In New York who has haunted this blog of late during her late night bouts of insomnia.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out The Vintage Vamp, Erik Beck (of the Boston Becks), Carole & Co., whistlingypsy at Distant Voices and Flickering Shadows, The Lady Eve's Reel Life, Dawn at Screwball Cinema, Thingy at Pondering Life who is practically family, Plain Chicken who is family, and hundreds of others who I encourage to leave a comment and demand a plug for their blog.

Postscript: Oh, and I forgot to mention KC at Classic Movies! Now I know why acceptance speeches at the Academy Awards run so long.

Oh, well, God bless what's his name, to quote Julie Andrews.

Post-postscript: ... and Page at My Love Of Old Hollywood, and Clara at Via Margutta 51, and Pink Champagne For Dancing and Sketches and Other Thingies and Classics Forever and Dr. Heckle and Flappers and Flickers and ... Lord, I read a lot of blogs.

P.P.P.S. ... Oh, and Cool Beveridge and She Blogged By Night and Open The Pod Bay Doors, Hal and Film Noir Photos ... cue the music.

24 comments:

  1. MM, congratulations on your win, Venus shows great discernment and style. Thank you for the blog love and for the mention. I don't wish to appear an ungrateful wench, Lady Eve is a good friend with an excellent blog, but I (whistlingypsy) can actually be found at DISTANT VOICES AND FLICKERING SHADOWS. Thanks again, and as always I enjoy the randomness of your very stylish blog (especially your focus on silent films).

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  2. A deserved award!

    I always wanted a brother. : )

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  3. Congratulations on the award, and thanks for giving "Carole & Co." a plug while you were at it. (Keeping my fingers crossed for a competitive Nats season...)

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  4. Congrats! and thanks!
    :)

    On a side note:
    I tried to watch Archer, man, it grated on me. I didnt really think it was that funny. haha.
    BUT this is coming from the girl who faithfully watches My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic every Friday @ 1:30
    haha

    :D

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  5. Lady Eve is a good friend with an excellent blog, but I (whistlingypsy) can actually be found at DISTANT VOICES AND FLICKERING SHADOWS.

    Whoops. Actually, I knew that. So much for meticulous note-taking -- I clicked the wrong blog when I went to your personal profile to get your blog's URL. But as you know, I follow both Distant Voices and Flickering Shadows and The Lady Eve's Reel Life, and I have corrected the post.

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  6. On a side note:
    I tried to watch Archer, man, it grated on me. I didnt really think it was that funny. haha.


    Truth is, Katie-Bar-The-Door doesn't like it either and I trust her judgment implicitly. She finds that it's too much.

    But what can I tell you, I'll laugh at practically anything.

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  7. I always wanted a brother. : )

    Turns out I have an opening for a sister. How about I pencil you in?

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  8. (Keeping my fingers crossed for a competitive Nats season...)

    We've sat through enough uncompetitive seasons to last a lifetime. But there's talk that Jerry Hairston Jr. will wind up platooning in centerfield -- that can't be a good thing, right?

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  9. Woo hoo!! A well deserved award Monkey, congratulations! And thanks for mentioning me in your post :) xoxo!

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  10. Woo hoo!! A well deserved award Monkey, congratulations!

    Thanks, Vamp!

    Or should i call you Vintage ...

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  11. Double thanks here.

    First for the shout out in the lower list.

    Second for not including me in the upper list, because every blog I follow I follow through you and you already mentioned.

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  12. Well, at least I have something to write for tomorrow.

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  13. I notice that you stunningly revealed:

    (1) that you're happy; and

    (2) that you built a train set for a nephew.

    Only one is a revelation, and train sets would take Freud to understand.

    You are one elusive monkey, Monkey




    word verification: dindsl, which is damned close to "Dinsdale!". . . .

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  14. Congrats on your award for Stylishness, a well deserved win!
    & thanks for returning the goods. lol :)

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  15. Congrats!
    Venus has great taste!
    Page

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  16. You are one elusive monkey, Monkey

    I try.

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  17. Congrats MM! And thanks for giving me my own postscript. It totally makes me feel like I've got that awesome "And Guest Starring" credit they have in movies sometimes.

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  18. Hooray for the award from Venus, goddess of filmlove that she is. You've indeed got style, not to mention guile, and I imagine you've been shot five times in the tabloids.

    Seriously, yours is one of my favorite film blogs. Thanks for monkeying around.

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  19. It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.

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  21. oops -- i forgot how to make links. OK THIS better work. But where was i? Oh yeah: Nashville.

    Nashville!?! Slooowly i turned! Step by -- no wait, that was that other town. But ah, and does your bro still live in Nashville, Mr. Monkey? Because if you had a brother in Nashville and a sister in Austin, you'd be totally set for music city digs. I think thingy is pretty set on the Midwest though, more's the pity. Still, a brother in Nashville would mean a brother that can play twice as better than I will.

    But I know what you mean: even just looking at the live music scene in the Midwest, the level of talent and dedication is so high for even the smallest gigs. I can't hardly stand to pay big ticket prices for national acts when I can see great musicians play jaw-dropping licks for a $10 cover charge after they finish their day job. Musicians are just in the flat-out toughest biz in the world.

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  22. Actually, my brother finally hung up his drumsticks and moved to Philadelphia, although he still plays drums in the basement and with the neighbors. And once in a while with his pals who are still out there on the road somewhere.

    Interestingly, Katie-Bar-The-Door is originally from Philadelphia (well, the Main Line), but most of her family has moved to Nashville. Whereas I now have more family in Philadelphia. So ironically, when I go to Nashville now, it's to visit the in-laws.

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  23. YOU LINK TO *BUSTED* WEBSITES:

    http://mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
    "I ran across this photo on Unexplained Cinema, a blog I follow and that you should follow, too:"
    http://unexplainedcinema.tumblr.com/rss

    This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.




    Unexplained Cinema: Movies, Pop Culture and Vintage Ephemera “If the blogosphere is a realm that’s predisposed to linguistic profusion, Unexplained Cinema stands out for its beguiling reticence.” -Matthew Connolly, Film Comment Magazine The above quote from Film Comment magazine and The Lincoln Center’s film website was for the previous incarnation of Unexplained Cinema that focused exclusively on film. Now that I’ve moved to tumblr I include all aspects of pop culture and don’t focus exclusively on cinema. I have combined it with another old site of mine, The Invisible Edge, for a blend of cinema and vintage ephemera but, for consistency sake, kept the name. My name is Greg and my flagship site remains Cinema Styles where I review films, television and music. I make short promotional films for the annual “For the Love of Film” blogathon which raises money to restore film as well as design its posters and banners. It provides a valuable outlet for my work as it is promoted everywhere from personal blogs to Vanity Fair and The New York Times. I am also a music critic with Mondo Cult Magazine and, finally, take part in a monthly roundtable about raising kids on classic horror (it’s called “The Horror Dads”) hosted by Turner Classic Movies.

    NO WEBSITE---JUST UNFORMATTED CODE

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  24. That's odd because it the link seems to work okay for me -- I wonder if it has something to do with the web browser (I'm using Mozilla Firefox) or the setting or something. Or maybe this has something to do with Blogger's on-going issues.

    I'll keep an eye on this, though. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

    And welcome to the Monkey ...

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Direct all complaints to the blog-typing sock monkey. I only work here.