Buying the New Yorker 1996 - page 19

This is an ad for a Lifetime movie. This article on Wikipedia gives us the character archetypes that are purported to always appear in Lifetime movies:

• Good Girl - this is the innocent girl and usually the protagonist of the story who falls victim to one of the following situations: kidnapped, murdered, corrupted by drugs and/or alcohol, gets raped, becomes a gambler, becomes a prostitute, is being stalked, gets pregnant, or a variation of these themes.
• Bad Molly - the "friend" who corrupts the Good Girl and urges her to have sex, drink, stay out late, lie, etc. The Bad Molly is sneaky, manipulative and is usually at odds with the Good Girl's Mom.
• Good Molly - the friend that tries to help the Good Girl but is ignored in the beginning and middle of the movie. (see Good Boy)
• Bad Boy - the cool older guy in high school who has sex with the good girl, rapes her, gets her pregnant, stalks her, threatens her or a variation of the above. But in the beginning he seems really nice, she really likes him and he always cons the parents. This type of character is meant to caution female viewers on the less than honorable intentions of many high school boys.
• Good Boy - the friend or lame dude who tries to help the Good Girl but is ignored until the end of the movie when the heroine realizes he is the one for her. In some extremely clever Lifetime movies the Good Boy is secretly the Mean Man (see below), only to be revealed as such after the heroine's epiphany and right before the end of the story.
• Mean Man - this character is a completely scary guy in appearance and behavior. He plays the part of the kidnapper, stalker or murderer, usually in a plaid or flannel shirt. Lifetime has some of the best shady villains.
• Weak Mom - the mother who can't control her kids because she is naive or has her own issues going on.
• Dad - Yells a lot, tries to control his daughter's antics. But sometimes he can be involved in something shady himself.
• Mistress - Has an affair with husband and causes drama at home. Aka "Home Wrecker".
• Religious Mom - Preaches religion but does not realize her daughter breaks most of the 10 commandments on a weekly basis. This role was played perfectly in She's Too Young.
• Younger Sister - she looks up to the Good Girl but is slowly becoming a Bad Molly because of the drama she is influenced by.
• The Black Friend - the protagonists of most Lifetime Movies are often Caucasian, with too few powerful black characters. However, it is typical for the white protagnist to have a black best friend who is very wise. Little is given about the black friend's life, aside from her willingness to help the protagonist. There also are few powerful characters outside the U.S.

Now, let's go to the ad.


From the IMDB we see that the synopsis is this:

A woman pits herself against her husband and his Ku Klux Klan member friends when she learns that they are planning an attack against her black maid and her husband.

Must have made for an awkward laundry day.

This film is currently unavailable on video, and was on basic cable in 1996. I've pretty much given up on totaling this up, if you haven't guessed.

Buying the New Yorker 1996 - page 15

"Vanity? Hardly. More a choice between anonymity and relationship."

I have absolutely no clue what that is supposed to mean.

The Cloister is still there and it has a lovely website. The site opens on a picture of a young couple sitting on the beach, watching their toddler run off into the ocean. The images alternate between the present and the late 1920's. I have to say it is a handsome looking place.

From the 1996 ad you would have no idea that it is a handsome place. It looks like a swamp with a golf course going through it. I can't imagine who this ad would appeal to beyond the retired banker who is looking for someplace to take the girl from the secretarial pool who is starting on the track to be promoted to trophy wife. So anonymity and relationship simultaneously, to be honest.

I think I much prefer the image they have for themselves now.

One night at the Cloister, 2006 - $875.00 ("Rates and availability change often." Price does not include taxes, service charges and tips for the maid and butler. Yes, you get a butler.)

Today, everyone is Norwegian!

"I was a Thor guy when I was a kid. Thor ... I remember resonating, probably because I was a Norse god in my past. I must admit."

-Kelsey Grammer

Looking for a reason to have a parade today?

"The Kingdom of Norway is a free, independent, indivisible and inalienable Realm. Its form of government is a limited and hereditary monarchy."


I'm sort of a day early, but the 17th has already started in Norway, so I think I'm safe.

Let's visit New York

This brochure was in a packet of stuff that belonged to my great-grandfather.

He picked up this brochure in 1912, when the Flatiron Building was only ten years old. I have no idea if he actually went on the tour.


The reason why I am putting this up now is in response to a post on BoingBoing about "poorism" -- tours of slums. The BoingBoing post links to an article that shows a number of tours that are presented as learning experiences ("It's not like we want to peer at them in the zoo, like animals, but the point of the tour is to experience their lives.").

This tour offers no such pretense. I'm sure that the "Bowery Boy and his 'Goil'" stopped "enjoying life in their characteristic way" and took the opportunity to hurl some epithets or perhaps a rock or two at the gawkers on this gigantic contraption.

Sometime when I have a lot more time on my hands, I might sit down with all of the points of interest to see if I can plot out the path that this tour took. Please don't think it will be any time soon.

Before the internet there were no worries about music sharing

To be frank, I'm just testing the coding to see if this works:



This was Bow Wow Wow's first single. Notice how hard Annabella works to get the syncopations right. She improved as the years went on.

I notice that they are going to play a double bill with the Go-Go's next month. I'd be interested to see what sort of crowd shows up.

The Comic Strip, Interlude - I am rewarded for my attention

So I am poking through my links and I see this post on Cool Hunting.

Ordinarily, my reaction to this post is "Oh." And then I forget about it.

But I catch this bit: "The 20-year-old daughter of actor and sometime booze-hound Keith Allen," and I pause. I know that name, thanks to this project. This alone inspires me to have a look.

Interesting stuff. Hard-edged lounge with a smirk - I'm interested in seeing what she's up to in five years or so.

It looks like her album is coming out in July.