Ellen Degeneres

Ellen Degeneres

Obsession Level: Keeps Me in Stitches!

I've been on a blogging hiatus for a few days now.  My work has been keeping me busy and I haven't really revisited any obsessions that I haven't posted about so far.  Then, today, while eating my late lunch, I stumbled on Facebook and read through some of the things that my friends had posted.  One of their links lead me to the Ellen Degeneres Show page, which of course meant that I had to stop and go through some of the stuff there since I love Ellen!


I have loved Ellen since she had her sitcom.  It was a great sitcom, and I really wish that they showed reruns of it somewhere.  Her stand up is hilarious too, and I like to watch it on YouTube anytime I need a quick laugh.  


I admit that I don't watch the Ellen Degeneres Show very often because it seems like I always miss it because of work.  I do catch it every now and again, and when I see it on the channel guide I will always flip over there.  


Some of my favorite things about the Ellen Degeneres Show:


Dance Dares (which I've been watching this afternoon) - These are hilarious!  Ellen gets people to sneak up behind people in random places and dance behind them, attempting not to get caught.  She's done a few herself.  Every now and again she shows some of the best ones she receives, and she posts them on FB as well, so that's where I get to see them.  It looks like so much fun that I can't believe I have never done it before.  


Gladys:  Gladys is an old woman that called in to the Ellen show once to tell her to move a plant because it made it look like Ellen had spikes coming out of her head.  Ellen called her back and she was hilarious!  One of her best lines is "I love Jesus, but I drink a little."  Since then, Ellen has called her several times and every conversation is hilarious!


Ellen seems like an amazing person.  She's funny and very generous.  She's been an amazing role model the the LGBTQI (did I leave anyone out) community.  I just hope she keeps doing what she's doing because she's doing a fantastic job!

Lonesome Dove (movie and book)

Lonesome Dove

Obsession Level: Epic

I didn't update yesterday.  It had been a very long week and I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by anything.  I didn't want to do anything that was going to force me to use my exhausted brain at all.  That being said, I spent the entire night on Facebook.  I did nothing all night but look at people's pictures, look at my own pictures, and just stare, waiting for status updates where my Facebook friends would tell me how exciting their lives are while I stared, blurry eyed at my computer screen.  Pathetic, I know.  


Today, however, I've decide to talk about one of my obsessions.  Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.  The obsession doesn't stop just at this book, it expands throughout the entire series.  This saga that he writes is probably the best saga of all times.  McMurtry has an amazing writing style and I've never disliked anything that I've read by him.  I will get around to discussing the other books in the future, but for the time being I'm going to just focus on this one.  


If you've never read it, this is a book that you simply cannot miss.  The story is beautiful and engaging and the characters are some of the most memorable characters available in literature.  McMurtry writes with a simple style that makes his books easy to read and get really involved in without having to get too wrapped up in overly flowery language.  I promise that once you read this book you'll be so intimately acquainted with the characters that you will want to read the rest of the series just to spend more time with them.  Whenever I read this book, or watch the movie adaptation of it, I feel like I'm spending time with old friends.  My three favorite friends in the book are Gus, Call, and Clara.


Gus is the charming, witty cowboy who doesn't take life too seriously.  He's always up for a poke and a drink and realizes that life is too short to not take advantage of fun when it's available.  His lifelong friend and working partner couldn't be more the opposite of him.  Woodrow Call is far more serious and his mind is on getting things done.  He's not the dreamer or the lover like Gus is, rather he is a doer that typically runs away from love and relationships.  He never really seems to let anyone get too close, except Gus.  Though he did have one love in his life, he never really treated her right, so you can suspect that he has a little guilt and regret built up that causes him to be the stand offish person that he is.  Clara was the love of Gus' life, and he was the love of hers.  Their brief time together in their youth is something both of them treasure, and even though they never end up happily ever after with each other, it's a beautiful love story.  

The movie adaptation of the book is actually very good.  Many of the movies made after McMurtry's books do a fabulous job of telling the story as it is in the book.  Many of his novels are long, so the movies are too, but it's worth it not to leave out any of the really important details that come up in his complex stories.  Lonesome Dove is a 6 hour movie (it was actually a miniseries like many of the films about McMurtry's books) with an awesome cast.   Robert Duvall's performance as Gus is wonderful.  He brings the character of Gus to life in a way that's even better than the Gus that I had pictured in my head while reading the book.  He won me over so much that I was persuaded to name my cat Gus as a tribute to the character that I loved so much.  Tommy Lee Jones plays the serious and practical Woodrow Call, and even though Call was never my favorite character in the book, there's something that draws you to him when you see him played by Jones.  

I of course was thrilled to discover that the strong, independent, and sometimes coy and difficult, Clara was played by Anjelica Huston.  I don't know who they could have gotten to play the part that would have been better for it.  Huston, as always, gives a stellar performance.  


If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, you need to do both.  The movie is great, and it's mostly accurate to the book, but I think that no matter how good the movie adaptations of McMurtry's books are, you are still missing out if you don't read them as well.  

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin 

Obsession Level: As Big As Edith Ann's Chair!

Today's obsession was decided by signing on to Facebook and finding out that there's a new television show coming in November that will unite two of my obsessions, and possible provide me with a new obsession!  The show Malibu Country will be starting in November and it's starring Reba, one of my obsessions which I've already posted on, and Lily Tomlin, and obsession that I have yet to discuss.


Where do I begin with Lily Tomlin?  I feel like I've been laughing at her for years.  She's appeared alongside so many of my other obsessions, and I'm always thrilled to see my obsessions joined together on screen.  


It seems to me that Lily Tomlin has a way of making her characters really come to life, and no matter who she's playing she makes them timeless.  She's a universal type actress...she's the kind that can appeal to audiences of many different generations.

Edith Ann is my favorite one of Lily Tomlin's characters.  The first time that I saw Edith Ann I thought I would cry from laughing so hard.  The voice is classic, the costume is too.  I remember the very first skit I saw with Edith Ann was about Edith Ann making a really disgusting sandwich.  It was the kind of sandwich that all of us made as children if we were turned loose in the kitchen.  It was, of course, disgusting, but she had no idea why it was gross because she had carefully thought out all the ingredients.  

Then there's Ernestine, the operator.  She made appearances on the Cher Show.  She was so funny, and between her voice and her face, she'll crack anyone up!  She made me wish that we still talked to the operator when we wanted to call someone.  I'd probably just call Ernestine to talk..."No, I don't want to be connected to anyone, I was just calling you!"  LOL

So now there's the promise of Malibu Country.  It's my chance to see Reba and Lily Tomlin working together on a weekly basis.  I'm excited about the possibility of adding a great new obsession (television show) to my already long list!  I'm sure that Tomlin's character is going to be hilarious, since the trailer promises great things.  She looks like a tell-it-like-it-is, heavy drinking, funny mom, and I'm excited to see her make this character as epic as all her others!  

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball

Obsession Level: I Love Lucy

It was easy to see why Lucille Ball was everyone's favorite redhead.  She was beautiful and she had an amazing personality.  She was funny and good at all kinds of humor, physical and verbal.  This came, especially, from a special ability she had, and that was the ability to laugh at herself and to share that humor with others.  


I've watched her shows and movies and read her autobiography.  She really was an amazing woman.  What is even more entertaining to me about her is the fact that she really had the desire to do things like Broadway, but was told at one time that she couldn't act.  She wasn't destined to be a Broadway star like some of her contemporaries, but she was destined to be a household name.  


I also heard once that she was a little self conscious about her walking because she had a slight limp from having had polio when she was younger.  Apparently this led her to develop a type of humor about herself where she was often clumsy.  I never noticed the limp, but I did enjoy her humor, and being a person who both walks with a limp and is very clumsy, I think that little fact just made me love her more.

I loved the show "I Love Lucy".  Who didn't?  I love so many of the episodes that it's hard to name any one that was my favorite.  I also speak Spanish, so I always enjoyed when Ricky would go on his rants because I was curious to see what he was actually saying.  


I always found it interesting that Ethel (Vivian Vance) was one of the youngest people on the show.  I always thought she was older than Lucy.  I was also surprised to find out that Fred (William Frawley) did not get along in real life.

It's hard to say what my favorite episode of I Love Lucy was.  I loved the one where she keeps breaking John Wayne's footprints, the one with the giant freezer, etc.  I think, though, that my all time favorite episode had to be Vitameatavegamin.  I love when she finally gets drunk from the stuff and starts to love it, drinking it directly from the bottle!  


All the way around, I love Lucy, as does most everyone!  

Grumpy (and Grumpier) Old Men

Grumpy (and Grumpier) Old Men

Obsession Level: Started Out Great and Got Better!

Today I'm going to talk about two movies.  I know it's more than one topic, but they're related, so it counts.  The two movies are Grumpy Old Men starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margret, and Grumpier Old Men starring the same three, but also adding the beautiful Sophia Loren.  


The movies center around two men, two neighbors, who have had a life of feuding.  The men pretend to hate one another, but it's a love-hate relationship since it's clear that they're also best friends.  They are both ornery old men.  John Gustafson (Jack Lemmon) has his daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah) and his father (Burgess Meredith).  Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) lives alone but has his son, Jacob (Kevin Pollak) close by.  The feud between John and Max generally circles around a giant fish that they want to catch called Catfish Hunter.  It is fueled however, first by the romance between their children, and later by the arrival of the beautiful and somewhat flaky Ariel (Ann-Margret) to town.  The two men immediately start fighting over who will get to woo Ariel.  I won't tell you anymore, since it would spoil the movie if you haven't seen it yet.  ;-)


The movie is full of laughs and all the characters are perfect in their roles.  Lemmon and Matthau are classics, and they are hilarious.  Ann-Margret is beautiful, as always, and is easily seen as worth fighting over.  She is also very good at playing her somewhat flaky, aloof, and artsy role.  She does sculptures, including a nude of Lemmon.  


In my opinion, Burgess Meredith did a really great job and he was one of my favorite characters.  He's the beer drinking, smoking old man who spends his time sitting down by the lake on an old couch.  Almost all of his lines are hilarious!  I loved him!

The second movie, Grumpier Old Men, came out two years later in 1995.  The original cast returned.  The neighbors are still feuding, of course, and they're still "secret" best friends.  John is now married to his sculptress wife Ariel, but Max is alone.  He spends his evenings at home eating macaroni and cheese and watching Geraldo.  


Then Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti (Sophia Loren) and her mother (Ann Morgan Guilbert) move to town to take over the old bait shop.  The men go down to investigate and find out that she is determined to turn their bait shop into an Italian restaurant.  They decide to join forces to stop it from happening.  The only thing that stands in their way is the tension of the possible/budding romance between Maria and Max.  


As with the first movie, the cast really  makes this movie.  The addition of the lovely Sofia Loren is just a bonus.  She's great in her role and she plays well opposite Matthau in the scenario that they might form a relationship with one another.  The banter is hilarious!  Her mother is a great addition to the movie as well, since she's the perfect fiery little Italian woman.


Both of these movies are a must see, though I do have to admit that I am partial to the second one. 

Glenn and Mitchell Guist

Glenn and Mitchell Guist

Obsession Level: As Obsessed With Them As They Are With Squirrel and Dumplins!

R.I.P Mitchell

Today's post was pretty obvious to me.  When I got home from work I found out that one of the Guist brothers, Mitchell had passed away.  It's very sad news.  I've become so attached to them on the show that I felt like I knew them.  


If you don't know anything about them, the Guist brothers were a duo of hillbilly type swampers who lived off the land.  They lived together for their entire lives, needing nothing more than the land which provided them with everything they needed from food to eat to materials to build their house with.  The brothers were inseparable.  I can only imagine how terribly lost and heartbroken Glenn must be feeling without his brother.

The duo, though not alligator hunters, were an integral part of the show.  Mitchell is the one in red in both of these photos.  The show is not going to be the same without them.  They were so much fun to watch because they had so much fun together.  Both of them have always had a real thirst for living life to its fullest, and the jokes and laughter of the duo will be missed on the show.  

O ya ya, bay.  R.I.P. Mitchell!

Fran Drescher

Fran Drescher

Obsession Level: Love The Laugh!

So today it was difficult to find an obsession.  Honestly it's one of the most dreary, rainy days in history.  Or maybe it's just me.  Meh.  It's bad enough that I planned to just spend the day on the couch watching television.  Then I realized nothing is on.  I decided to put a movie in to entertain me.  I actually laid there, on the floor, staring into my cabinet and lamenting that I had nothing to watch until the cat convinced me that I should just put the first thing in that I grabbed.  I realize I was being irrational.  If you've read any of my blog posts (which I'm thinking nobody has), then you can probably imagine the enormity of my movie collection.  Still, I decided to just put some random movie in and attempt to find an obsession that I could blog about.


That's when I thought about something that would make me laugh.  Fran Drescher.  She's great!  I fell in love with her on The Nanny, which is one of those shows that I have seen so many times that I doubt there's an episode out there that I haven't seen about forty times.  I also loved her in the movie The Beautician and the Beast.  The movie is hilarious and I cannot think of anyone that would have played the role better.  As you can well imagine, I was absolutely tickled when they said she was going to be in a new show, Happily Divorced.  I'm thankful that TVLand loads the show online each week so that I never have to worry about missing an episode ever.  

The Nanny was one of those shows that I never missed when it was on television.  When they started showing reruns of the show, I continued watching them, even though I knew them by heart.  First of all, I loved Fran's voice, even though I know it bothers some people.  It's something that's distinctly Fran.  Secondly, she had great costumes on the show.  I only wished I had the style to be able to pull off some of her fashion choices.


I also adored her family on the show, which made it really cool (in my opinion) when they brought them to be guest stars on Happily Divorced a few weeks ago.  Niles was my second favorite character on the show.  He had the most great one liners ever, especially when he was heckling C.C. Babcock.  I always felt sorry for C.C.  She was absolutely obnoxious and snooty, but she just never could seem to accept that she was not going to win Mr. Sheffield.  He was always clueless.  I think the only unbelievable thing about the show was that it took so long for him to fall in love with Fran, but then again, I know that was the entire point of the show.  I would have liked to have seen more of the show, though, especially after they had the twins.  I feel like it could have shown a little more of their family life, but I guess that all good things have to come to an end.  

For anyone who isn't watching this show these days, you're really missing out.  It's not The Nanny, but it has very much the same tone to it.  There isn't a single episode where there's not some great line I want to remember, and I'm guaranteed to laugh during most of the show.  Fran's parents are hilarious.  Much like her parents in The Nanny, they are always criticizing her lack of a relationship, and the fact that they don't have grandchildren.  Peter and Fran have a great relationship, and it appears that they're going to be together forever, just as best friends instead of husband and wife.  Judi, Fran's best friend, and Cesar, the gardner are also hilarious costars on the show.  Cesar has a little bit of a Niles type quality to him.  Judi, however, is nothing like Fran's best friend Val on The Nanny.  Judi is actually usually the one that has a tendency to be the voice of reason about things.  It's a great show, and if you were a Nanny fan, you need to see this!  

Well, there goes.  That's my obsession for the day, and it's a great one.  Fran is awesome!  It's too bad she's not on TV today to help relieve my boredom!  

Tanya Tucker

Tanya Tucker

Obsession Level: Still There, But Latent

Today I wasn't sure what obsession to go with.  So many are raging right now, but I just wasn't in the mood to talk about any of them.  Why not go back to one of my old obsessions, then?  That's just what I decided to do.  Therefore, I've decided to talk about Tanya Tucker.

My obsession with Tanya started when I was in early high school.  I had always known who she was, saw her on CMT and knew a few of her songs, but it wasn't until then that I really paid attention.  I started listening more to her, collecting a few CDs here and there, and I got hooked.  I loved her vibrato voice and I also loved her "rough and strong" personality.  She was the kind of person I would have wanted to be friends with.  

Of course, as with every good obsession, I had to do a lot of back tracking to find out all I wanted to know about her.  She had been popular long before I had put her on my radar.  I collected the music and I watched the videos, even hunting down the movie and television appearances that she made, and I read her autobiography, Nickel Dreams, which was actually one of the most interesting autobiographies that I have read.  

I got to see her in concert once as well.  The venue was a small one, and there weren't very many people there.  We were, therefore, able to get very good seats for a small  price.  She was a half hour late because of weather complications, and though some people were ticked off about it, I didn't mind.  We can't control the weather.  What was important to me was that when she got there she put on one of the best concerts I've ever been to, played an extra half hour to make up for the tardiness, and agreed to stay and sign autographs for anyone who wanted one.  I wanted one desperately, but I lost out to the other members of my party who were wet rags about the tardiness and just had to leave immediately to go and do absolutely nothing.  Yeah...I still have sour grapes about that.

In the past few years Tanya has fallen off the radar.  I haven't heard anything new or seen her on anything new.  I'm not entirely sure if it's because she has pretty much quit putting things out there, or if it's just that I have been distracted by new, shiny obsessions.  I do continue to enjoy the collection I have of her, and I do still love her.  Her music just has something so irresistibly unique about it that you have to appreciate.

Maybe it's time to look this diamond in the rough up again and rekindle completely the obsession that I enjoyed for so many years.

If you're a country music fan, even if you don't know anything about Tanya, you should make an effort to listen to her.  You'll probably find a nice new obsession for yourself as well!  

Sonic

Sonic

Obsession Level: A Drive-In Dream!

I decided today to do something a little different and look at a different kind of obsessions that I have.  Some of my obsessions are foods, or in this case, restaurants.  

The Sonic in my hometown is a very happening place.  It's mostly owing to the fact that the town has very little to offer anyone in the way of entertainment or places to hang out.  Sonic was about the only choice you had when I was growing up.  That was the Friday night spot to be.  It was also owing, of course, to the delicious food!

I love Sonic.  First of all, they have a pretty varied menu as far as fast food restaurants go.  You have some healthy choices if you're into that, and you have a very wide variety of not so healthy food.  The drink menu is another bonus because you can be as creative as  you want to be!  I've definitely seen some people order some pretty freaking complicated (and gross) drinks.  I tend to be more the calm type, and I don't want to be disappointed, so about the wildest drink I ever order is a Cherry Limeade.  Yummy!  Not to mention that Sonic ice is simply the best ice in the world for crunching!  

The dessert menu there is great too.  Lots of yummy ice cream and quite a few choices of how you can have it.  I really like the banana split, but I seldom get it because it is a lot of ice cream for one person.  At one point Sonic offered something that was like a half a banana split.  It was normal sized ice cream, but it had a little of everything that comes in the split.  It was also half priced.  Unfortunately it was a limited time item, and one that I think they should consider bringing back.  

I love the idea of a drive-in in general.  You see, I live alone, so that means that I often eat alone.  If I go out to get something to eat, it generally looks something like this:

If I actually want to eat outside of my house because the walls are closing in on me:

1) I can go into a restaurant, sit down, eat alone, and generally feel like people are staring at me...or maybe they're just responding to the fact that my eyes are darting all around the restaurant because, let's face it, eating by yourself can be boring.

2)  I can go to a drive thru, and then pull my car into a parking spot and eat in the car.  I generally feel awkward doing that because I think that people are staring at me and wondering why I went through the drive thru to eat in my car.  They're wondering why I didn't go in to eat if I was going to stay there, or why I don't just take the food home and eat it.  Probably they really don't care, but I spend the entire time I'm eating over thinking the situation.  

So, you see...Sonic gives me the perfect option!  They bring my food to me, in my car!  They also expect me to stay there and eat it there, so no one can find it odd.  Also, I'm in my car, so I can listen to the music that I want to.  It's a win win situation!  

So there you have it, my homage to Sonic!  It's delicious and it's got a great ambiance!  :-)

Troy Landry

Troy Landry

Obsession Level: Not What it Used To Be

So I got on board the Swamp People crazy train a little late in the game.  I admittedly have watched none of the first season.  I really have no desire to watch the first season since it lacks the one person that I really watch the show for, Liz, who I paid homage to in an earlier post.  As I said in the earlier post, however, I am completely hooked on the show now.  I warned you once, and I'll warn you again, this won't be the last you'll hear about Swamp People since I could probably dedicate an entire blog to it!  Who knows, I might do that some day.  


Back to the topic at hand.  When the second season of the show came on television, my parents were beginning to watch it and it was spreading more among my friends and family.  It was a good show, they said.  You need to watch it, they said.  You'd love it, they said.  I didn't, however, feel the need to watch it.  Then one day I was at home visiting my family and I came home from an outing with friends to find my mother watching Swamp People on the DVR.  I remember this evening vividly.  


I walked in, looked at the television for a few seconds.  Then I asked my mother.  "What are you watching?"  She said "Swamp People.  You should watch it with me."  "Why?"  I asked.  "It looks dumb, I mean aren't they just riding around in boats and shooting alligators?  It'll be like watching fishing."  (Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy fishing myself, but I don't want to watch other people do it.)  "You'd like it.  It's exciting."  She said.  Finally, I gave up and sat down on the couch with a book.  I had nothing else to do.  As the show played, I found myself peeking over the top of my book.  I wasn't reading, I was watching Swamp People.  That was it.  I was hooked better than one of their gators.  


It was the second season, several episodes in, the night that I became a fanatic.  I was hooked by this one boat.  It was Troy and Liz.  Ok, really it was Liz that got me, but I liked Troy too.  Troy was funny and he was always yelling "Choot'em Liz" which became such a catch phrase that my friends and family use it constantly.  


Here's the back info.  Apparently Troy hunted the first season with his partner Clint.  When the second season rolled around, Clint had left the boat to take up other business endeavors.  Troy was hunting with his son, Jacob.  Jacob, however, was apparently not working out well on the boat and they were at risk of not filling their tags.  That's when Liz showed up and got a job working on Troy's boat.  Good choice, Troy.  


The funny thing is that I remember watching the entire rest of the season and thinking that Troy and Liz were amazing.  I thought they got along so well and worked great as a team.  I figured they had been lifelong friends or something.  I was always so happy watching them banter back and forth.  It was like Swamp Heaven for me...but then a funny thing happened when I received my DVD collection of season 2 in the mail and had a few days off of work.  

Me and my cat snuggled down on the sofa and were determined to have a Season 2 marathon.  It wouldn't take all that long since we were only watching Troy and Liz and fast forwarding through everyone else.  I think it was a two day endeavor for me, kitty, and all the snack food we could stand.  I was so excited.


I started watching the first show, caught up on the back story of how Liz came to be part of Troy's boat, and then the fun began...except it wasn't exactly how I remembered it.  First of all, I didn't see some of the earlier episodes when Liz first started.  I didn't realize how worried Troy was about having a woman on his boat, or how doubtful he was about Liz at first.  She was going to have to prove herself to him.  When he said things like that, though I understood to some degree that anyone isn't sure about working with someone new, I got a little mad.  It seemed like Troy yelled a lot more than I remember, and that he was far more critical of Liz than I remembered.  He badgered her more, criticized her more, and suddenly things didn't seem as wonderful on the boat as they once did.  Troy's obnoxiousness got passed off as him trying to be funny, keep moral up, etc.  I didn't really see it that way.  I felt like some of it was just uncalled for.  


The experience didn't sever my love of Troy completely.  I mean he's still funny sometimes, and some of his joking around isn't aimed at anyone, but I have to admit that it did put a spin on things and knock my enthusiasm level down a notch.  


It also had an effect on the way I felt about Liz.  If it was possible, it knocked my level of obsession up a notch with her.  I felt bad for her with the taunting and wondered how much self-restraint she had to practice not to blow up one day and pistol whip Troy for some of his stuff.  I wondered how many times in her head she was fed up to death with his nagging and insisting that everything be done exactly the way he wanted.  How many times was she smiling because she felt like she had to when really she was contemplating shooting him and using him as alligator bait?  Well, ok...maybe she didn't feel that way, but I would have!  I did want to high five her though when she finally yelled at Troy "Troy, if you call me Elizabeth one more time, I'm gonna kick your ass."  'Atta girl!

Now that we're in Season 3 of the show, Clint is back.  Troy is hunting with Clint again and his sons are managing a boat of their own to help him fill tags.  I find it obnoxious because all of the new boats on the shows are making it where you don't get to see everyone except for every other show (and by everyone, I'm sure you know I'm really just mad about not seeing Liz every show).  I don't care if he wants to run two boats.  In fact, I think the the whole father/son thing is excellent.  I just don't need to see both of them.  

I have to admit, I don't watch as carefully now when the episodes are ones that don't have Liz and Kristi on them.  I mean, I still watch it, but I'm not glued to the television set.  I will get up and have a snack or go to the bathroom, or whatever.  It's not like the Thursdays when Liz and Kristi are on there and I have a 20 minute preparation period prior to the show to make sure that there is no reason, short of a short circuit fire, that I will have to move from being glued to the television.  You never know when they're going to show them, so I sit through commercial breaks too, just in case.  See...obsessed!  LOL

As it turns out, Troy and Liz are seldom on the same episode this season.  Generally they flip flop weeks.  If I had to guess, I'd say that History is doing that on purpose since they are the two most loved characters.  They're hoping that it will ensure that people will tune in every week in order to see both of them.  It's actually a good idea.  A better idea would be to get rid of some of the newbs and put them both on every show.  I'm just sayin', History...

So it's not that I've lost all my love for Troy, or that I don't watch him at all.  I do enjoy his singing and a few of his jokes sometimes, especially when he's being silly.  I also love hearing "Choot 'em" and things like "We got us a tree shaker".  I am simply a little less impressed with him than I once was.  

No worries though, I remain a dedicated viewer of Swamp People, and my lessening obsession with Troy hasn't hurt my crazy obsession with Liz.  :-D

Betty White

Betty White

Obsession Level: It's Betty White!  Who in Their Right Mind Isn't Obsessed?!

Choosing today's topic was difficult.  Not because I was out of obsessions, but rather I just didn't really know in what direction I wanted to go.  Then I decided that I would dedicate today's obsession to Betty White since tonight is Hot in Cleveland night.  Then that created a chain reaction of possibilities!  Betty White, Hot in Cleveland, the ENTIRE CAST OF HOT IN CLEVELAND...Betty White, Golden Girls, the ENTIRE CAST OF THE GOLDEN GIRLS!  Suddenly I was going nuts!  Which one to do since I obviously couldn't do all the obsessions at once and I didn't have time to sit down and compose the novel that it would take to cover them all. I argued with myself for a while and then decided to just go ahead with the common denominator of all these now-brought-to-my-attention-again obsessions: Betty White.


Betty White is awesome!  I loved her on Mama's Family and Golden Girls.  I'm not sure which of the programs I discovered first as a child, but Golden Girls was my favorite.  Every single day while eating my after school snack I sang along with "Thank You For Being a Friend" and waited patiently to find out what everyone would be up to.  It doesn't matter how many times I've seen the same episode, nor does it matter that I can almost recite each and every episode by memory, I AM GUARANTEED to watch the show if I come across it in the television line up.

My mother always used to call me Rose, insinuating that there were many times when, even though I'm actually very intelligent, my common sense lacked a little to be desired.  Thus, I was often pulling Rose-like moves.  I didn't really mind this, however, because I loved Rose.  I thought her antics were great, and I thought living with her would be so much fun!  


I also wanted to visit St. Olaf.  Did you know that there's a St. Olaf College in Minnesota?  There's also a township called St. Olaf, but it is located in a different part of the state than the fictional St. Olaf.  Ok, so I don't really want to visit St. Olaf, but I would have loved to go to the fictional place that Rose came from.  It sounded like a blast, and on top of that I probably would have been elected mayor or something upon my arrival for my superior intellect.  LOL...St. Olaf's smartest woman.  

When I first heard that Hot in Cleveland was going to be coming on television I was super excited!  Betty White was back in my life and she was coming back with some pretty awesome costars!  I'll get to the rest of the cast in further obsessions...right now I have to limit myself.

The show is even better than I expected it to be and I loooove Elka!  She's completely different than Rose, but she's still great.  I have to admit that I, having always thought of Betty White as Rose, was a little shocked when I began to see her on interviews and such.  She's seems to be a lot like Elka in person.  It's fine with me.  I loved her as Rose, but she's even cooler as Elka!

No matter what her role is, or even if she's just chatting in an interview, Betty White is amazing!  I hope she keeps doing what she's doing because this obsession is going strong.  On top of everything else, she's a super role model for people everywhere.  There's no reason for famous people to think their careers have to be over just because they're young and afraid the cult of youth is not going to accept them.  It's like something she mentioned in an interview once, a lot of people said she couldn't make a come back at 89, but she did, and she did it big!  

Cher

Cher

Obsession Level: She's The Ultimate Diva

I've loved Cher since I was a child and heard Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves on the radio.  I asked my father who was singing the song and he told me it was Cher.  Christmas rolled around and I asked for a Cher tape for Christmas.  My parents knew who she was, but they weren't really what I would call fans.  Still, they got me some tapes and I was hooked.  They didn't really understand the obsession, but then again they seldom understand my obsessions.  LOL  It didn't matter if they understood it, it was taking off and they knew what that meant.


My music collection grew.  I wanted it all: old stuff and new stuff.  My movie collection grew, including the Farewell concert collection.  This obsession also quickly spawned my obsession with Sonny and Cher, of course.  I have to admit, it also led to quite a few other obsessions through watching the movies and picking up new people that caught my attention.  I even dressed up as Cher, forced my best friend to dress as Sonny, and we put on the Sonny and Cher show for my family.  My father taped our production and we still laugh at it today.  I had bought a two tone wig during Halloween because there hadn't been one solid black one.  My best friend and I saw this as not problematic and also bought two cans of spray paint.  In the back yard we spray painted the wig black and let it dry.  Now here's a little bit of information that might be helpful for anyone thinking about spray painting a Halloween wig.  The paint does not bond well with the synthetic hair.  Throughout our production, the wig slowly covered me in dried spray paint.  By the end of our production it looked like I was covered in bruises.  Still, we had fun.


I've never seen Cher in concert, but maybe I will someday.  It does make me very happy that she continues to make albums and star in movies.  I'm hoping she'll never stop.  This is an obsession that's something like 18 years old and still going on!  LOL

Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston

Obsession Level: Wildly Obsessed

I'm not sure when I first saw Anjelica Huston on television, but I know the moment the obsession began.  It was Buffalo Girls.  This was yet another case of obsession begot obsession.  I purchased the movie to complete my Reba collection.  The first time I watched it, I was watching solely for Reba.  I even spent most of the movie frustrated because it wasn't until after several hours that Reba even appeared, and her appearance in the movie was limited at best.  Still, by the end of the movie I was in love with all the characters and the story line.  Then I read the book to see how different the movie was and fell deeper in love with the story.  My obsession was triggered at that point for Calamity Jane.  I had to revisit the movie to focus entirely on this character, and I did.  In fact, I've seen the movie tons of times, and I have to admit that Anjelica Huston does a stellar job of playing Calamity.  

So that was it.  The obsession ball was rolling.  I went in search of all the movies that I could find, and Netflix was a great help since it often streams more obscure and difficult to find movies.  (You're welcome for the advertisement, Netflix).  Anjelica is amazing because she is such a versatile actress.  It's hard to pick a favorite movie with her in it because there are so many choices.  Buffalo Girls, Lonesome Dove, Prizzi's Honor, Agnes Brown...the list goes on and on, but they are all exceptional!  I still have a lot of movies to go, but I'm sure they're all going to be great.  

Upon further investigation, watching interviews, reading articles, I also became aware that Anjelica Huston was a model and apparently has an amazing personality.  Someone once described her saying "It's a beauty that captures your attention, a personality that captures your soul".  That's when you know someone really has it all together.  They're beautiful, a remarkable and versatile actress, and they have a great personality.  Good package deal!  This is one obsession that is definitely going to be long term for me!  

Under the Umbrella Tree

Under the Umbrella Tree

Obsession Level: Watched it Everyday!

So I figured today I would take a little trip back in time to a show that I absolutely loved.  Every chance I got I watched Under the Umbrella Tree.  It was fascinating.  I watched it so often that my parents even make references to the puppets to describe people.  


It never seemed odd to me that this random woman, Holly, had more or less adopted three "friends" that she could interact with and mentor.  It also wasn't surprising to me that she had chosen to share her home with a blue jay, an iguana, and a gopher.  Of course it was also not problematic that she lived in what was essentially a giant doll house that was completely decorated with pastels.  No, it's funny, as a child nothing like this bothers you.  All you know is that there's something that keeps you coming back to watch these characters.  


"In your imagination, you'll find an invitation, under the umbrella tree..."  Those lines were beautiful to hear drifting through the television speakers.  It mean that another episode was coming on and you were just in time to see the entire thing!  


I do think it's funny now to go back and watch shows like this on youtube and the like.  I remember the shows as being wonderful and fascinating.  Now I just wonder what in the world was going on in my brain as a child!  Still, as crazy as some of the shows I watched were, I still think they were of better quality than most of the children shows they show these days.  

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

Obsession Level: She's A Classic!

I have discovered over the years that Meryl seems to be one of those people that you love her or you hate her.  I've very seldom met anyone that was just "on the fence" about her.  If she comes up in conversation you'll either hear "Oh my gosh, I LOVE her!"  or you'll get the classic "Yuck, Meryl Streep!"  


Classic movie lines about her, in my opinion, include a line from First Wives Club when Bette Midler holds up an award that Goldie Hawn's character won and says "Look, it says 'I beat Meryl.'"  The same Miss Midler also talks about Meryl in her shows, stating that the tried out for the same part but Meryl got it because of the way she read the line.  The Divine Miss M declares that "Nobody talks that way, except Meryl."  


It's true that Meryl Streep has her own style, but she's very versatile.  She has played a variety of characters in a variety of different roles and she's amazing at all of them.  I have loved everything she has done, and I get excited each time something new comes out.  Admittedly, I've watched Mamma Mia countless times.  I was excited to see her in that role since it was something a little less dramatic than many of her other roles and it was refreshing to see her in something fun!  I will never forget, however, my brother's lack of enthusiasm when I tried to get him to watch the movie.  He's on the other side of the Meryl fence, so his response to me was "It's Meryl Streep...in a musical.  No thank you!"  LOL


Whether you love her or you hate her, it's definitive that you're going to know who Meryl is.  She has certainly made a place for herself in the world of acting...and in musicals.  Some people are definitely anti-Meryl, but I'll always be one of those who loves everything she does!  

Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Obsession Level: My Scottish Love! 

So, when I found out Sean Connery was Sir Sean Connery, it only made him hotter!  My obsession with him began when I found the movie Entrapment, but it just continued from there.  I've loved everything I've seen him in, though I have to admit that I'm not a James Bond fan.  In my opinion, Sean Connery is like a fine wine.  He's gotten better with age.  His voice is enchanting and it goes great with the rest of him!  


One of my favorite lines about Sean Connery comes from The First Wives Club when Goldie Hawn, distraught over being asked to be Monique's mother, declares:


"Sean Connery is Monique's mother...No!  Sean Connery is Monique's boyfriend.  The man is 700 years old and he's still a stud."  


I had to love that line.  It may not be true that he's 700 years old, but it's certainly true that he's always the boyfriend because he's always a stud.  He seems to have hit a certain age and just stayed there.  I don't know if it's that he has a look that's timeless or if he's found the elusive fountain of youth (or fountain of remaining a certain age forever) but the man certainly has it going on!  


It's hard to pick a favorite movie with Sean Connery in it.  I'm torn between many movies, including First Knight, Entrapment, and Finding Forrester, but I believe that Finding Forrester was my favorite.  I loved his character in that movie and it made me want to find some hermit writer and befriend them.  LOL!  

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton

Obsession Level: Long Term Commitment 

My first exposure to Diane Keaton was Baby Boom when I was younger, but I was immediately fascinated with her.  I loved how quirky she was, and she reminded me of people that I actually knew.  She was the kind of actress that I wanted to be friends with.  As I continued watching her movies, I realized that she plays that same character consistently, leading me to believe this is probably her real personality and that the characters that she takes on (or that are written for her, whatever the case may be) all have to be somewhat the same as far as personality goes.  


I found out, through reading articles and such, that she's a steel vault.  Apparently she's not that interested in being around people and certainly not about sharing details about her life.  In interviews she always manages to turn things around to a degree that it seems more like she's conducting the interview rather than being interviewed.  She seldom answers fully any of the questions that she asks.  I think it's the fact that she's such an interesting person and she's so elusive that probably makes her captivating for so many people.  


I also have to respect her greatly for her now popular roles of older women.  For so long it seemed like Hollywood was going to force every start to try to remain eternally in their twenties, but Diane Keaton blew that out the water.  She has proved that she can play roles for people her age and still be every bit the ticket seller that she was before.  I think that gives a lot of hope for Hollywood and for the stars who have finally realized that there is no fountain of youth.  It also makes her an amazing role model, pointing out to people that you don't have to be perfect or magically enchanted to live a good life.  Life doesn't stop at 30, and she keeps proving that.


Diane Keaton will always be one of my favorites!  

Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews

Obsession Level: Practically Perfect in Every Way

I was, like most children, sucked in by Mary Poppins.  What an amazing nanny!  Who wouldn't want a magical nanny that can pop into pictures, clean your room with a snap, and sing you amazing songs?  As I got older, I realized there was a person behind the character of Mary Poppins, and so I had to find all the movies that I could.  I admit that The Sound of Music was a stellar performance, but the movie couldn't hold my attention more than once.  It was just too long for me.  I loved Victor/Victoria and I liked 10 too.  


I was upset to find out that Julie Andrews had lost the ability to sing, so I admit that I was one of the people who was very moved by The Princess Diaries 2 when she was able to sing a little song. When I watched the bonus interviews on the movie, everyone admitted that it was a very touching moment, and I agreed.  I had the tissue out for that one!  


Even if she can't sing like she once could, I still love Julie Andrews, and I try to watch her in anything that she comes out in!  

Liz Cavalier (Choate)

Liz Cavalier (Choate)

Obsession Level: Ridiculous!

So don't think this is the last you'll hear of Liz, I'm far too obsessed for one post.  This woman is the Queen of the Swamp and is the most kick A individual that I've ever seen!  Who wouldn't want to know her?  I loved her on season 2 of Swamp People with Troy, and I probably would never have watched the show without her!  She rocks!

Liz brought her helper, Kristi, on board for Season 3 and I was excited to see an all girl boat.  Kristi, though clueless at times, is a great addition.  Everyone I know loves the duo!  They are the hottest thing on the swamp right now, literally!  I'm in love with both of them.  My only complaint is that Swamp People has too many people to give them the air time that they deserve!  I think they need to be on every episode and not every other episode!

Here's another picture of the Alligator Queen herself.  Liz rocks!  She definitely shows all the men how gator hunting is done!  

Billie Burke

Billie Burke 

Obsession Level: Best Witch Ever!

When I was a child, I watched The Wizard of Oz so many times that I wore out three copies of the movie (no joke).  My parents could put the movie on automatic play and I would sit there all day and watch it if they needed to get something done.  I would even sit patiently as it rewinded, knowing that it would come back on again in a few minutes.  The movie itself merits its own post here, but I want to talk about a specific element of the movie: Glinda!  

There she was, a beautiful witch with a tiny, cute little voice, all dressed in pink sparkles and ruffles. She has 12 minutes of screen time in the film, but for me those 12 minutes made the movie!  When I was little, my obsession with Glinda created my obsession with the Wizard of Oz and all things Oz, the books included.  The Glinda in my books, however, was not the same Glinda that appeared on the film, thus making her a little disappointing.  

When I got older, and my obsessions started to become more numerous, I went in search of Glinda, or better said, the actress who played her.  Unfortunately I discovered that there weren't that many movies that Billie Burke played in, and that many of them were difficult to find.  I did manage to find a few.  I had never expected Billie Burke to be a comical actress, but she does do a good job at it in movies like Doubting Thomas.  

I have to admit that my obsession for Billie Burke herself was lukewarm at best.  Once it had run its course and I had managed to see her in two or three other movies, read about her on the internet, and spent a little time indulging in the obsession it more or less flickered out.  Billie Burke, for me, was a good actress, but she was one that belonged to a certain era, and it was an era that I could not fully connect with.  That is not to say, however, that I don't completely love her still for bringing Glinda to life, and her character there will remain forever one of my obsessions.  Any time that I see anything related to the Wizard of Oz I rush over to find out if it has Glinda on it.  If it does, then I'll have to add it to my collection of random what-nots, if it does not, then it really isn't representative of my love of the movie and I can pass.

Billie Burke may not have been a lifelong obsession for me, but Glinda will always be the most awesome witch ever!  

Sam Elliott

Sam Elliott

Obsession Level: He Made Me Love Westerns

I don't remember the first time I laid eyes on Sam Elliott, but it wasn't long before I was in love.  He was the perfect man's man.  He was rugged, tough, and his voice was amazing.  It's like "velvet over gravel" according to one of my friends.  I have seen him in a lot of movies, always playing a tough guy and something of a charmer. (Obviously, I mean who wouldn't he charm?)  For me, though, his real masterpiece was when he played Wild Bill Hickok in Buffalo Girls.  I got the movie originally because Reba was in it and I needed it to finish up my collection of Reba movies, but then I discovered I had a billion other reasons to fall in love with the movie.  First of all, it was based on the book by my favorite author, Larry McMurtry.  Actually, it was the movie that led me to Larry McMurtry, but I'll get to my obsession with him as well as the other obsessions spawned by this movie in later blogs.  In fact, I think that Buffalo Girls deserves its own post.

The point here is that I fell in love with a man named Wild Bill Hickok, both the character and the man with a mustache behind the character.  I had absolutely no problem understanding why Calamity Jane (Anjelica Huston, another plus!) had fallen in love with him and had a child with him.  He was gorgeous, charming, and his voice would basically paralyze any woman around!  I knew after seeing Sam Elliott in that role, we were going to enjoy a long and happy relationship together through my newly formed obsession!  It's an admittedly small role in the movie, but it was enough for me!  

After Buffalo Girls I picked up a lot of movies with Sam Elliott, many of which you'll probably end up reading about here, if you're reading this, that is.  Mask was another one of my favorites.  Now I got to see Sam not as Wild Bill Hickok, but as a bad A biker!  He was just as amazing as he was in Buffalo Girls, but I got a different taste to what he was capable of.  It was also an added bonus to see him with Cher, another obsession.  (If you haven't noticed, a lot of my obsessions overlap, leading me always to question which obsession begot the other.)  He's both sensitive and tough in the movie, and that signature voice and mustache are there for all the world to enjoy.  Besides that, who doesn't love a man who can sport leather (whether it be "animal hides" or a biker jacket) and look totally amazing in it?!