BUY IT! Silver Scenes Sells Stellar Stills

"Let's see now. If I sell this dog and kid, I can buy ALLLL those movie stills!"

“Let’s see now… if I sell this dog and kid, maybe I can buy ALLLL those movie stills!”

(photo from Silver Scenes)
 

Want a piece (or a few pieces) of Hollywood history for a potential song? Even if you can’t carry a tune at all (and there’s no need to sing for your supper here), you can carry a wallet or purse and that means you can (and should) support classic film site Silver Scenes through their an awesome movie stills auction on ebay. The auction is off and running with a few bids already, so click on over to peruse the lovely selection of primarily black and white stills (only one is in color) and bid away at your leisure.

Prices start an an affordable $9.95 for each still and proceeds from the auction will go to the UCLA Film & Television Archive. So go do some charity work this weekend and add some beautiful black and white images to your collection. And hey, if you happen to strike it rich today in the lottery, make sure to spend some of Saturday’s Millions on tomorrow’s treasures!

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Stuff Stuff.

stuffed cabbage round two 002 (Large)
 

“My hobby is stuffing things. You know, taxidermy. And I guess I’d just rather stuff birds because I hate the look of beasts when they’re stuffed…”

(You Know Who as You Know Who from You Know What, You Know When)

stuffing thingsOkay, so it’s not perfectly rolled golabki at all (and YES, I added a bit to a lot more pureed tomato before popping both dishes in the oven). But that what I do when my brain is boiling over at stupid stuff others do. I cook something to relax or pretend I’m cooking my problem to relax or something. Nope, I’m not going to eat all that stuffed cabbage. Some will go to mother dear and I’ll probably freeze the rest. Given that it’s only the second time I’m making this dish (using bits of a few online recipes just to mix things up) I think it’ll turn out as well as the first time or even better. Results will appear in about an hour and a half or so. Maybe I’ll put up a second post… but don’t bet on it. I have a few fish to fry before the evening is over (and I’m not talking about actual fish).

Um, anyone else want to come over for dinner? Sixteen pieces of stuffed cabbage can serve about four more hungry folks and I put some potato slices in both dishes just because I had two spuds left and they do go well with cabbage…

stuffed cabbage round two 003 (Large)

Yes, Rasputin Celebrates Hump Day HIS Way

(thanks, Sleaze-O-Rama!)
 

 
TGVB 2015 FondaI keep meaning to review Don Sharp’s 1966 flick Rasputin, The Mad Monk one of these days for the site or perhaps a blogathon or something. But I also keep forgetting to track down a personal copy so I can watch it whenever I need a good laugh. Waiting for TCM to show it again sometimes pays off in the long run because there’s a decent enough chance they’ll also show something suitably loopy.

 

This is one of those films that defies proper categorization because it’s kind of all over the map in terms of tone. It’s a biopic, a horror film of sorts, a gold mine of unintentional comic relief and of course, a showpiece for the great Christopher Lee. Yeah, I’d normally have done this up already (and most likely for The Great Villain Blogathon 2015). But it’s been busy as hell here what with the roof being repaired (again!), more work going to happen in the apartment (STRESS!) and some other stuff that’s keeping my productivity lower than usual.

That said, I’ll give ol’ Raspy a two word review for those of you curious types who need to know: SEE IT. You’ll very likely laugh yourself extremely silly and get your cringe on as well because the film can be a bit creepy on a few fronts.

PSN Flash Sale: Break Your Backlog With 81 Great Game Deals

PSN Flash Sale Madness 

As soon as I saw this PSN Flash Sale page, this scene from The Bridge on the River Kwai popped into my head and made me cackle madly for a few seconds:

(thanks, The Dork Knight!)
 

Anyway, wow. Don’t pass this one up, folks! It’s ONLY available to US PSN users, doesn’t require a PlayStation Plus account and as you can see, covers PSOne Classics, PSP, PS Vita, PS2, PS3 and even four PS4 titles! I had measly $1.82 sitting in my account for a while doing nothing. Now, all but 3 cents is left because I couldn’t pass up two older PSP games I missed out on. I was tempted to spend more money, but I’m needing to save up for a new TV and some other stuff that can’t wait. That said, YOU know you need about a dozen or more of these games for under a buck each, right? RIGHT? Yeah, I knew it. Go spend frivolously and report back on what you bought so I can live a bit more vicariously than usual.

Hikari Friday: Steel Yourself For Platinum Frankenstein!

Hikari logo 

Yeah, I know, I know – that was a putrid pun. But I couldn’t help myself you know… just couldn’t Karl it off, heh. Anyway, this weeks Funko giveaway is a limited edition Platinum Frankenstein, #1 of 750, at that. Check him out below in all his glory:

Platinum Frankenstein Hikari Friday 

Yes, he can be all yours if you’re the lucky winner of this week’s giveway. All you need to do is click it on over to one of Funko’s social media sites:

Facebook!
Twitter
Instagram

Follow the rules and you’re good to go! If you win, you get a nice note saying so from Funko and shortly after that, your cold-eyed swag staring back at you from the confines of its packaging. If you’re a loser (and aren’t we all from time to time?), you can just boogie on down to your nearest Funko retailer and buy one of these limited run Frankies for your own. Hey, wasn’t one of your New Year’s resolutions to get more exercise? Well, there you go, mister or miss(us). One more reason to get off the couch and take a stroll in the cool winter air. In other words, if you win, you WIN… if you lose, you still WIN!. Good luck in any event!

Hikari Friday: Win A Colorful Creature For Your Collection!

Hikari logo 

This week Hikari Friday giveaway from Funko is a sort of amusing one to me. I’ve always seen The Creature From the Black Lagoon as a “serious” (yet somewhat amusing) monster in those films (well, except for the last one when Universal tried to make him a half-man half amphibian thing). However, seeing this week’s giveaway made me crack up because Funko went and made him the least threatening-looking classic Hollywood monster I’ve ever seen. Take a gander at Secret Base Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure:

Secret Base Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure
 

I was laughing because my first thought was along the lines of “So, what’s that secret base filled with? Fruity Pebbles?”. Clearly, this Creature has managed to sneak his way inside, slaughter all the guards plus Fred, Barney and Dino and eat up every box of Pebbles in the formerly “secret” secret base. Yeah, you laughed too. Anyway, as usual, this one is a limited edition (winner gets #1 of 1500) and entering is easy as pie. Click on over to one of Funko’s social hubs:

Facebook!
Twitter
Instagram

Enter by any rules necessary and you’re all set. If you’re the lucky winner, you’ll be notified next week and soon enough, this glitter filled sea beastie will be decorating your home. Disco ball and strobe lights not included. If you don’t win but still want this cool collectible, just boogie on down to your favorite Funko retailer to grab one for your very own. That one won’t be a freebie, but it’s definitely going to be quite the conversation piece!

Holding Patterns: While You Wait, Shall We Dance?


 

Well, today I’m working on some CES and other posts for the other site I’m writing for, GamerFitNation, but I don’t want to leave you all un-entertained here while I get stuff done elsewhere. Here’s a fun sequence from 1944’s The Canterville Ghost to watch and grin over. Just track down the complete film and watch it, as it’s a pretty amusing take on the old Oscar Wilde story you may or may not have read in grade school. Or seen on a small or large screen, as it’s been made into a few TV movies and films over the years. Alrighty, I’ll be back in a bit…

With Firm Resolve, A New Year’s Rhyme Exercise…

(Thanks, SPARTEN2!) 

Well, this 2015 greeting is not so hot, but that’s what happens when you stay up too long with the TV on. You need a resolution because you hate making them and your Procrastinator’s Club card has yet to arrive (don’t worry, they’ll get to you eventually)? Feel free to divine one from that wretched text below or get the hint on what you need to take care of if it’s a negative habit. And stick to it this year so I don’t need to do this again!

Happy New Year!
Hippie No Hair!
Boozy No Beer!
Scaredy No Fear!
Lazy Kick Rear!
Cloudy Get Clear!
Fishy Off Pier!
Whiny No Tear!
Yakky No Smear!
Dummy Get Seer!
Opaque Not Sheer!
Gloomy Get Cheer!
Cranky Get Jeer!
Snarky No Sneer!
Worldly Get Sphere!

Okay, that’s all I’ve got. Actually, there were more, but I wanted to stick to one syllable words and also wanted some of you out there to chime in with your own suggestions. As mother says, “knock yourselves out!”

TCM Remembers: It’s Been A Year of Falling Stars…


 

Hmmm. These TCM tributes are getting longer and harder to watch as the years zip by and we lose a few more stars. Yes, it’s not complete, but that can be rectified with a bit of creative calendar juggling. I suppose the thing about starting a new year fresh is big with too many people that changing this tribute’s air date to January would be seen as sacrilege to many. But at least this would insure they got in everyone including actors whose films would probably never be shown on the channel. Okay, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a job programming content for a cable channel. All you’d get would be old “B” movies you’ve never seen (or haven’t seen for decades), silly comedies from around the world, oddball random cartoons and the occasional documentary.

Finally Friday: Let Cary Show You Some Moves For That New Year’s Party…


 

Other than a clip here and there over the years, I’d actually never seen all of Stanley Donen’s 1958 film Indiscreet until a few days back when I was up late stressing over some stuff. Yeah, the kitchen and other major repair jobs that are needed but seem to be hard to impress on the folks who run this place about how urgently they need to get taken care of. Bleh. Anyway, it’s an interesting and not quite perfect film about a woman (Ingrid Bergman) who thinks she’ll never find love who ends up falling for a man (Cary Grant) who she thinks is married. There’s more and a twist or three, but I’ll let you track this down and watch it if you’ve yet to, as it’s a fun film to wile away some time.

I’d have to say this dance sequence was the funniest thing I’d seen in a while at that hour of the morning, as I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t sleep afterwards thanks to the scene replaying itself in my head a few times. While I knew that Grant could hoof it like a maniac when he needed to in his earlier films, I didn’t think he did any fancy dancing this late in his career. That, and the scene is played entirely for laughs and gets them even when seen in that out of context clip above. Anyway, study those moves well and use them at that New Year’s party you’ve been invited to. I’d bet those steps work with any modern uptempo beat and I’d also bet that someone’s going to try and out-step you at some point on that dance floor. Of course, if they’re not in on the gag and have never seen this film, they’ll look a lot more foolish than you do, that’s for sure…