Today is the birthday of Dorothy Jean Dandridge (1922).  Dorothy Dandridge is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Dandridge was a legendary actress, singer and dancer. She was the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for 1954’s Carmen Jones. Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1959 for her role in Porgy and Bess. Early in her career Dandridge performed at the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. After starring in Carmen Jones, Dandridge went    on to star in Island in the Sun (1957) which also starred Harry Belafonte. Other films include: The Decks Ran Red, … Continue reading Dorothy Dandridge Day Thread (11/9)

Hola Guacs, today’s pop culture jump off point: Board games. (Note to younger members, these were like Xbox except you played them with your grandparents) Today would have been the 181st birthday of Milton Bradley, founder of the company that bears his name, creators of Battleship, The Game Of Life, Operation and many other rainy Sunday time killers. Classics such as… (Yeah, maybe consoles are the way to go) Alternatively, you can have a quick try of the game invented by another birthday boy Hermann Rorshach, where you identify inkblots like this (How you lot are supposed to recognise that’s … Continue reading It’s All Fun And Games Day Thread

Welcome to my first Open Thread! Today I want to spotlight one of my all-time favorite films: 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the film stars Errol Flynn as Robin, Olivia de Havilland as Marian, Claude Raines as Prince John, and Basil Rathbone as Guy of Gisbourne. Flynn is the heart of the film, he’s exuberant, energetic, and full of life. De Havilland is never lovelier. For the archery, heavily padded stunt players and actors were paid $150 per arrow for being shot by professional archer Howard Hill. The score is by Erich Wolfgang Kornhold and … Continue reading Robin Hood Day Thread (11/07)

On this day in 1854, American composer John Philip Sousa was born.  Sousa is most famous for composing marches, many of which are still regularly performed by marching bands across the country.  Even if you’re not a marching band geek like me, you’d almost certainly recognize tunes like “Stars and Stripes Forever,” “The Washington Post,” and of course “The Liberty Bell,” which as used as the theme song to Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Sousa also has a musical instrument named after him: the sousaphone.  A brass instrument that coils around the player’s body, the sousaphone is essentially the same thing … Continue reading John Philip Sousa Day Thread 11/6

It’s Sunday! I hope everyone is able to enjoy themselves today. Lazy Sundays are the best! If you can, take today to relax and recharge. Most importantly, be good to yourself.   Have a wonderful day! Continue reading Lazy Sunday Day Thread (11/5)

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WITH GUITAR! KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ALL THREE OF ‘EM YOU HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO LOSE THREADS WRITING IS A TASK UNLESS IT WAS DONE BY A SHITPOSTER OR A STRIDEMOTHER YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO POST THREADS PROVIDING OF COURSE YOU DON’T MIND A LITTLE SIGNING UP HERE SOME PROPER TAGGING AND IF YOU CROSS YOUR FINGERS I WILL GO AND FIX IT THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS OH, KNOW THESE RIGHTS NUMBER THREE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT DUMB ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY TRY IT IT HAS … Continue reading Day Thread: 11/04/2017

Do the Right Thing is a Spike Lee Joint. Spike Lee is a ground breaking, phenomenal film maker. Do the Right Thing (1989) is one of his best films. It is a brilliant film that was humorous but also unflinching, in its portrayal of racial tension in a Brooklyn neighborhood. Do the Right Thing was ground breaking and is still very relevant today. The film covers events that take place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year. Racial tensions boil over when a dispute arises over the neighborhood pizzeria, owned by Italian, Sal (Danny Aiello). Pizzeria employee, … Continue reading Do the Right Thing DAY THREAD (11/1)

Alright, folks, this is your open thread for the soft rollout of the new Avocado! All OT posts will be here today, and the open thread over on Disqus will be closed with just a link to this in the body. Let’s enjoy testing this out and cursing as much as we want, and making many jokes about the phrase “soft rollout”. From the previous thread: Yes, another one of these threads talking about my second Completely Unofficial and Totally Voluntary Avocado Member List thread. Feel free to skip it, because it is pretty much the same as the last … Continue reading The Soft Rollout Open Thread