Apparently *today* is Hannah Waddingham's Birthday

I made a mistake a few days ago and believed that day was Hannah Waddingham's birthday.  It was not.  It is today.

So, happy correct birthday, Ms. Waddingham.  We are happy to have an excuse to once again post a photo.

Ms. Waddingham is, apparently, in the new Smurfs movie.  And makes a full denim outfit work.  Who knew?

Happy Birthday, Darlene Love

Happy 84th birthday to Ms. Darlene Love - one of the greatest vocalists of the past 84 years.

Ms. Love was maybe *the* voice that came out of Phil Spector's studio/ Philles Records - and a colossal force in American music, often when people had no idea whose voice that was on a record.  She performed her own solo work, that of The Crystals, the Blossoms, The Ronettes, and performed with everyone from Elvis to Boris Pickett on The Monster Mash.  

She's been in movies - she's Glover's wife in Lethal Weapon - and been on Broadway.  Every year since the mid 1980's on Letterman she's been on TV singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and it's a highlight of the holidays.

Personally, I saw her Christmas show at Austin's Paramount Theater - and it was the greatest concert I've ever been to, and I'll stand by that one.

Happy birthday, Ms. Love.  

So, here she is singing a favorite version of a favorite song

Happy Birthday to Hannah Waddingham

Happy birthday to Hannah Waddingham, who has had a busy year - and looks to return next year to TV screens as Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso Season 4.  

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy birthday to patron saint of The Signal Watch, Ms. Lynda Carter.  May her next trip around the sun be as glorious as every year prior.

I've never looked that glamorous in an office chair...

With her daughter, another talented vocalist, Jessica Carter Altman

Happy Birthday, Debbie Harry

Today marks the 80th birthday of music and arts icon, Deborah Harry.

We're big fans here at The Signal Watch, and have seen Blondie twice to date.  

Last week we were at my brother's house and my eight year old niece came out in a Blondie shirt, and I was like "hey, what?"  Apparently she heard Debbie's solo effort song "French Kissin' in the USA" and was spellbound.  The parents weren't thrilled with the content, but nonetheless, my niece knows a bop when she hears one.  And, thus, two days later my SIL was at Target, saw the shirt, and bought it for B.  

What a world when there's a kid's Blondie shirt at the Target.

I tried to school B on the superior drumming of Clem Burke via "Atomic", but I think she just wanted me to shut up.

Anyway, B and I have now bonded over Blondie.  Happy birthday, Debbie.  We hope you have a great one.

50th Anniversary Watch: Jaws (1975)

Watched:  06/21/2025

Format:  Peacock

Viewing:  (shrug emoji)

Director:  Steven Spielberg

June 20th marked the 50th anniversary of the release date of Jaws (1975), and, so, Jamie selected it for our viewing on the 21st.

As I was born mere months before the release of the movie, Jaws existing as a cultural force is a key early memory.  The movie came out, and did not just go away - it became part of the cultural lexicon overnight and then just stayed.  We had teenagers who lived next door when I was in pre-school, and those kids told us about things like the band KISS, and movies like Jaws.*  But, also, the poster and music for Jaws was as omnipresent as Star Wars in my youth, the triangle of the mouth rising toward the woman above.  The 1970's also saw maybe the final real explosion of classic Universal horror monster interest, along with Hammer and other horror scenes, and I remember things like "Monster Maze" books that would include "Jaws" beside Quasimodo and Dracula.  My brother, who has always been able to play music by ear, figured out the key few notes to Jaws on the piano and would play it - he was five or six.

But I don't think I actually watched Jaws until high school, and on basic cable at that.  That said, the first time I remember really liking it was in college when I was in film school and they kept talking about Jaws as the first summer blockbuster and I figured I should know what it's all about.

Since those viewings, I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen it.  A lot?  Probably two dozen.  

On this viewing I was thinking about how Jaws would be made today, and what makes it work for me as it is.  I dunno.  I feel like part of re-watching this movie and celebrating something that's somehow endured when even ET and Close Encounters seem to have faded over the decades - or, rather, have not been as embraced by subsequent generations as Jaws -  should be a moment to ponder what it is about the movie that's made it resonate.  

Happy Birthday, Kylie Minogue

Kylie's war room for when she plays "Risk"

Over COVID, my passing interest in the music of Kylie Minogue turned into a whole thing.  I wrote about it here after JAL, TreyMerica and I saw her in Austin in April.  Here's the photo album of us attending.  Rita Ora opened, and was great.

I am not an expert-level fan, but I am a fan!  And so it is that I wish Ms. Minogue the happiest of birthdays.

She's on tour now in England, so I hope it all goes swimmingly for her.

Here she is from Disco, performing Magic.

Happy Birthday, Siouxsie Sioux

 

Best wishes to Siouxsie Sioux on her birthday. 

With any luck, she's pondering new music.

Happy Birthday, Sheryl Lee

 

April 22nd marks the birthday of actress Sheryl Lee.  

Lee, through her relationship to both Twin Peaks series and the movie Fire Walk With Me has filled an inordinate amount of my brain space since I was 15.   

Lee, herself, only works in film sporadically these days.  Some ink was spilled when Twin Peaks: The Return hit in 2017, sorting out where she'd been and what she'd been up to.  She has some health issues that make acting a bit difficult, but she does do it.  

But I think wrecking me during Twin Peaks, Fire Walk With Me, and then devastating me during Twin Peaks: The Return was probably enough for one lifetime.  And when I think about her now - after we spent COVID pondering nostalgia and what made for the best of our generation - going through reunions of youth-friendly media, identifying Gen-X favorites, I don't really recall Twin Peaks getting included.  But in her way, maybe Lee's creation with Lynch and Frost, Laura Palmer, was the ultimate Gen-X icon.

Laura had loving parents, she had a house in the 'burbs, dressed in the clothes of a different generation, and as a youth of the era, still ran wild, unknown and unknowable, what she was up to only really discovered when she was no longer there.  And, of course, the scream of Laura Palmer/ Sheryl Lee when she returns to where she's told she belongs?  Someone else is there.  And she never quite existed, but went along to find out.  Middle-aged and displaced, being told she was someone she was not.

There's a parallel in there somewhere.

Sheryl Lee isn't Laura Palmer, of course.  But she did bring her to life.  And as she's never been one to hog the spotlight, she's maybe her own version of unknowable.  

But we're going to wish her a happy birthday anyway.

90th Anniversary of "The Bride of Frankenstein"

Today - April 22nd, 2025 - marks the 90th anniversary of the release of one of the greatest American films ever put to celluloid (created by and starring mostly Brits), The Bride of Frankenstein.  Not just a great horror movie, or horror-comedy, but a great film.  If you've slept on it, you're missing out.

Long time readers will know that Bride is one of my absolute favorite films.  I think I've watched it every Halloween for over a decade at this point, and had seen it numerous times before I started that habit.

If you've never seen it, it's short!  You should absolutely watch it.  But do watch Frankenstein first.  They're essentially a Part 1 and Part 2, much like the Godfather films.  

always cool when two dudes find common ground

Bizarre, hilarious, campy, frightening, insightful...  The Bride of Frankenstein has a bit of everything, including incredible set design and make-up.  It's still astonishing just to look at it nine decades on.  All this, and I think it has a phenomenal story with an ending you'll never see coming if your knowledge of The Bride comes from pop culture osmosis.  It's a shockingly modern film in many respects.

Anyway, I won't go on too long.  Even if you think you don't like old movies, I think this one is essential viewing.  

Also, shout out to Elsa Lanchester for making this look seem like a great idea.

50

And It's Still Alright

Nathaniel Rateliff

It ain't alright, the hardness of my head

Now, close your eyes and spin around

Say, hard times you could find it

Ain't the way that you want

But it's still alright

Late at night, do you lay around wondering?

Counting all the lines, ain't so funny now

Say, times are hard, you get this far, but it

Ain't the way that you want

I'll be damned if this old man don't

Start to count on his losses

But it's still alright

They say you learn a lot out there

How to scorch and burn

Gonna have to bury your friends

Then you'll find it gets worse

Standing out on the ledge

With no way to get down

You start praying for wings to grow

Oh, baby, just let go

I ain't alright, you keep spinning out ahead

It was cold outside when I hit the ground

Said, I could sleep here, forget all the fear

It will take time to grow

Maybe I don't know

Hey, tonight if you think about it

Remembering all the times that you pointed out

Say, the glass is clear but all this fear

Starts a-leaving a mark

Your idle hands are all that stands

From your time in the dark

But it's still alright

SNL at 50

wrapping it up at the end of the 50th Anniversary special

The past few weeks have felt like the lady in your office who declares "it's February and I celebrate my birthday... all... month... long..."  And when you don't usually celebrate your own birthday, it can feel like a lot.  

NBC has decided that Saturday Night Live's 50th Anniversary is at least as important as a general election, and so it's been non-stop hype for the anniversary and for the special that aired Sunday night (02/17/2025).  Former cast members appeared on talk-shows, in the media, and in general.  And it's been great seeing former stars of the show make appearances promoting the event and maybe reclaim some of their glory while talking to, say, Savannah Guthrie or Andy Cohen.

And I do think Saturday Night Live is an institution - maybe not the one demanding respect the way it's been insisting on for the past couple of months, but certainly SNL is the U.S.'s hub for comedy, a constant, there week after week.  It's the mountain to reach for young comedians, and it's the launching off point for some brilliant careers, and the high point for others.  It manages to comment upon culture, politics, and the zeitgeist of the moment in a way that even the late night talk shows rarely achieve with their monologues and bits.  It's hard to know how many ideas and catch-phrases that are tucked away in all of our brains as easy reference points were sourced from SNL.

The first time I ever saw any SNL, I was in 4th grade (circa 1984), and it was the night we were literally moving into our house.  My parents were assembling my bed and told us to watch TV while they quickly got furniture and blankets together.  I was about 9.*

Happy Birthday, JLC

Happy Birthday to one of our patron saints, Jamie Lee Curtis, my second favorite Jamie after the one who lives in my house.

A terrific actor who has starred in great movies, and through sheer JLC'ness, made some movies great -  She's a great interview subject, and someone who seems to embrace the work she does in a way that's inspiring.

And her work in The Bear is some of the best acting I've seen on planet Earth.

May she have a fantastic birthday.

Happy 70th Anniversary Watch: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Watched:  11/03/2024

Format:  AMC

Viewing:  4th

Director:  Takashi Yamakazi

So... I think today, November 3rd, 2024 - is the 70th Anniversary of the release of Gojira.  

If you've never seen the original Gojira, do so.  It's a moody meditation on impossible odds, destruction brought about by one's own hand, and the impossible decision to use unthinkable science to end a conflict.  All pretty big stuff for Japanese audiences back in 1954.  

It's a solid movie, and it's amazingly weird that within a few movies that walking metaphor was battling Mechagodzilla and teaming up with Mothra.

Since then, there have been a few attempts to bring Godzilla back to his roots as a fearsome product of nature and man's bungling with science.  Godzilla 1984/ Return of Godzilla is a notable version.  And I thought Shin Godzilla from a few years ago was a slam dunk - and continue to think so (and am ready for a rewatch).  

But for those who follow this site, Godzilla Minus One is the one that landed with me.  I wound up seeing it three times in the theater during the initial run from November of last year, through January of this year.  

• Screening 1
• Screening 2
• Screening 3

To celebrate G's 70th Anniversary, Toho re-released Minus One in limited theaters and for a limited time.  Honestly, I'd have gone to see any Godzilla movie except maybe All Monsters Attack.  But on the heels of an Academy Award win and with Godzilla's big birthday, Toho announced they're going to make a second installment by writer/ director Takashi Yamakazi just this week.

Big news in my world.

look at these nerds

At the screening, Toho provided about 15 minutes of interview/ Q&A footage with Yamakazi and his creative partner, whose name I failed to get.

I do love me some Godzilla in all of his forms (more or less).  It was good to spend a couple of hours with the big guy once again.

Lauren Bacall at 100

 

Yesterday marked the 100th birthday of Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske), one of the greats of 20th Century cinema.  

Bacall came to fame as soon as she hit Hollywood, following a meteoric rise as a magazine model.  She famously wound up in LA somewhat by accident, noticed by the wife of Howard Hawks.  Hawks meant to send an inquiry about her, and his secretary misunderstood and had her sent out to LA.  

She was placed into a major studio picture immediately by Hawks (who was managing her career) and her introduction to Humphrey Bogart made her one half of of one of the most storied romances in cinema history.  

I'll be honest, I've never seen her less than great in anything.  Bacall was a natural beauty, sure, but she was also a natural talent from day one.  To Have and Have Not, her first picture, makes her seem like a seasoned pro, and she was, I believe, 19 at the time of filming (with the apparent world-weary maturity of a 40 year old).

We think she's great here at The Signal Watch, and are so very glad that Mr. Hawks' staff made their error and got Bacall into the movies.  Now get out there and watch Key Largo.

Happy Birthday, Hannah Waddingham

Happy Birthday to actor, singer, dancer, award winning presenter, etc...  Hannah Waddingham!  I believe that today, Ms. Waddingham is 50.*

Ms. Waddingham has had a stellar year, co-starring in The Fall Guy, voicing a cat in Garfield, winning an award for Eurovision 2023, presenting at the Oliviers and BAFTAs, I think.  She has a Mission Impossible movie coming, and a show with Octavia Spencer.  And, she's up for an Emmy for her voice work on Krapopolis.

This year she met the Royals a few times and even came briefly to Austin, TX for the SXSW premier of The Fall Guy. 

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy birthday to patron saint of The Signal Watch, Ms. Lynda Carter.

Happy 90th Birthday, Donald Duck!

Today, pals, is the 90th anniversary of the first appearance of Donald Duck.

Here at The Signal Watch, we have an affection for the duck in the sailor suit and with the speech impediment.   To us, Disney's "Mickey and Friends" characters work because they're different aspects of "the everyman".  Mickey is the spunky, energetic underdog we may see ourselves at in our youth - and, in some appearances, the center of gravity holding chaos together.  But Donald is us just trying to get through the day with its infinite frustrations and what we know we're like when we aren't handling our challenges with grace.  He can also be a tad vain, and would love to be the star, but, you know... Donald be Donald sometimes.

He first showed up in the short "The Wise Little Hen".

The funny thing is that these characters have been around so long, and can be interpreted through so many lenses, I keep the Donald of "Mr. Duck Steps Out" in my head right alongside the gag/ joke character and adventuresome Donald of Carl Barks and Don Rosa.  While also knowing one of my favorite Donald bits is his agent of chaos in "The Band Concert" (apologies for the short clips.  YouTube doesn't carry the full cartoons.) 

I think most folks in the US are aware that Donald Duck appeared in comic books - most folks of a certain age can recall spinner-racks with Disney characters included.  But what most only caught a glimpse of was the work of Carl Barks and Don Rosa that Disney has turned into Ducktales.  

Dashiell Hammett at 130

Today, according to the internet and the granddaughter of the author, is the 130th Birthday of American writer, Samuel Dashiell Hammett.  

Hammett is probably best remembered as the author of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon, and - - among crime and mystery fiction fans - put down the foundations for what became the modern idea of a pulp/ noir detective.  Hammett's creations, Sam Spade (Maltese Falcon) and The Continental Op (short stories, Red Harvest, etc...), would be refined into Lew Archer by Ross McDonald and Philip Marlowe by Chandler.  The winding, complex stories would become standard issue for detective fiction, and Hammett's international impact can be felt in places as unlikely as Kurosawa and Leone movies.  

In many ways, we're still chasing Hammett.  

The leg up Hammett had, aside from an astoundingly punchy and economical prose, was his background as a Pinkerton Detective* and his first hand experience.  As well as his time swapping stories with his fellow private eyes.  

Hammett himself was as interesting a cat as they come.  He left his family, was an ardent leftist and anti-fascist, served in WWI and again in his late 40's in WWII in Alaska - despite a lifetime of health issues, and spent most of his middle-age and to his death as the lover of renowned playwright Lillian Hellman.    He served time for his political convictions,  and didn't publish any new original fiction for the last 25 of his life.

I've read all of Hammett's novels and a lot of his short fiction.  My bookshelf at home is kind of a mess of Hammett and Chandler, somewhat to the neglect of other writers.

I'm maybe a little quick to point to Hammett as the source of everything that came after, but that's okay.  I'll be that guy.  In my personal pantheon, he's about as important as it gets.  And I still very much reading my first Hammett, purchased in a used book store - a 1980's hardback collection of his books, starting with Red Harvest.  And it was one of those instances of feeling like you're both entering a whole new world and, also, this is what you've been looking for all along.  

Anyway - pick up some Hammett some time.  And if not that, put on The Thin Man or Maltese Falcon this week, and have a cocktail for Dash.  

*yes, I know the Pinkerton's legacy is complex to say the least

Happy Birthday, Siouxsie Sioux

Today marks the birthday of Susan Janet Ballion, better known as Siouxsie Sioux of the bands Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Creatures.  And, recently, a solo performer.  

We've been fans of Siouxsie since the video for Peek-a-Boo hit MTV.  And we still think Peepshow is a killer album.

Sioux recently did some dates in Europe.  It's unclear if she's thinking of a longer tour or hitting the US.  If not, fair enough.  But it would be great to see her again.