She appeared in five of director John Ford’s films including How Green Was My Valley, Rio Grande and The Quiet Man, has died. Awarded an honorary Oscar last year, O’Hara was 95 and died at her home in Boise, Idaho
More from her movie past:
She appeared opposite John Wayne in the aforementioned Ford pictures Rio Grande and The Quiet Man (Steven Spielberg replicated their famous kiss in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial ) as well as The Wings of Eagles, McLintock! and Big Jake. She also starred in the original 1947 Christmas classic Miracle On 34th Street
Although several of the movies O’Hara starred in were nominated for or won multiple Academy Awards, she was never nominated. The Academy rectified that oversight with the honorary Oscar presented to her at the 2014 Governors Awards ceremony in November. She made her final major public appearance then to accept the long overdue honor. It was a night to remember.
The 40-second cellphone video, released Thursday by the Nevada Department of Public Safety two days after the Las Vegas Review-Journal had requested it, was taken from a berm atop Trench No. 11 overlooking the soil cap of Trench No. 14.
Trench No. 14 is where containers of low-level radioactive waste were buried in part of a pit the size of a football stadium in the 1970s.
Think about this for a second before reading on..
And now some more words from Rogers’ excellent newspaper reporting on the subject:
State Fire Marshal Chief Peter Mulvihill said Tuesday investigators don’t know yet what caused the “energetic burning” in that pit Sunday but whatever caught fire below the surface of the unlined, clay terrain “definitely burned very hot.”
The state’s public safety team decided to allow the fire to burn itself out instead of trying to douse it because they didn’t want to put water on any material that might be reactive to water, fearing that could potentially exacerbate the problem.
But as usual.. Nothing to see here. Go about your business. IT’s all under control.
Of course it wasn’t going to be released until an information request from a newspaper made it happen.
As being reported in several publications including the linked USA TODAY story:
A Pleasant Valley man has been accused of strangling his mother, and then keeping her remains in a Pleasant Valley motel for seven weeks before moving her body to a small town in South Carolina.
The gruesome details came to light during a state police press conference Saturday at the Troop K headquarters in Millbrook.
Police are alleging that the crime occurred on August 16..
“I find it hard to imagine,” state police Capt. John Ryan said, “the circumstances that would lead a son to strangle his mother, but also to live with the body in a motel room and then travel several states away and dump her like trash.”
More .. Earth may be in great danger as the sun’s path through the galaxy sends comet flying towards our planet, scientists have warned. Researchers have identified a 26 million-year cycle of meteor impacts that coincides with the timing of mass extinctions over the past 260 million years.
There is a close shave on Halloween set by an asteroid .. And now days before that hopeful non event, this news about how eventually a comet accident could kill us all..
“I think if she killed someone, I would literally be like, ‘I got it, where do you want me to help you bury the body?’ ” the actress says. “I wouldn’t even question it, and I can’t say that about anybody else in my life.”
And there you get the headline.. reported over and over again by entertainment rags that proclaim journalistic integrity.
That is my problem with these types of publications. It would go without saying..
Lay off Kunis.
She’s a mom and the voice of Meg.
And I don’t think she deserves headlines in NEW YORK MAGAZINE proclaiming:
The same thing that has always been wrong, I would say. As said before, horror is an elementary education of the pop culture of the time. The fears presented in horror are the fears of the age they appear it. When a movie comes a little too early, or a little too late, they flop. You have to strike while the iron is hot. UNFRIENDED would not work two years from now. It works now. BLAIR WITCH worked when it did, and began a series of unfortunate “found” stories..all of which are becoming quickly hackneyed under the weight of time.
The SAW films? Enough already.. ROB ZOMBIE? I never could stomach it.. REMAKES? I never appreciated them to begin with.
The website BLOODY-DISGUSTING’S Brad Miska wrote up a story about what is wrong with the genre.. a few valid points presented:
For me, the biggest thing he nails is that modern horror is littered with fake jump-scares. I often cite the use of authentic scares in reviews of films I love – most notably ones directed by James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring). Many studio films fatigue the audience with bullshit jump-scares that utilize loud sound design to make the audience jolt out of their seat. They aren’t being scared, they’re being yelled at. That’s not horror. He relates it to having sex – films are blowing their load and releasing tension too early, leaving the film’s climax to have little to no effect.
Graphic description .. but I see the point. Horror is slow and methodical.. it brings you to a point where you realize the conclusion is awfully scary.. Deep and disturbing .. that was the success of this autumn’s M NIGHT film THE VISIT. It took a while. You got to enjoy it.. and you got surprised at the end.
Lastly, he [
Chris Stuckmann] points to expectations vs reality as a major issue. Marketing of The Village is his prime example, in which he points out that even M. Night Shyamalan regrets the false advertising. Studios need to get asses in the seats and will do so by any means necessary (For example, much of the footage in The Gallows trailers and TV spots weren’t actually in the movie).
I agree.. Another good example of advertising to seduce is this past week’s failure CRIMSON PEAK. It was a romance horror.. And it failed, because as people found out it was not the ‘scariest movie of the year’ that was promised, they shunned like an Amish sinner in Lancaster county.
Fans vote with wallets, for sure. But sadly they vote for what is heaped on them by studios that just want quick bucks off of horror flicks.
A few horrors that were good, and not because of profit, exist in the past few years.. THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT, IT FOLLOWS, and the BABADOOK.
You can find a lot more gems on Netflix. Lower budget gems. I talk about them often on this website. And you should search them out as well..
Rummage through the pile of studio-produced garbage and find the things that matter.. the prizes in the puzzle of horror.
There are truly really scary things out there. Sadly in the way we’re given films, you have to search them out yourself. They certainly will not be handed to you.
I would love to hear feedback.
What do you, reader, say is good and bad about modern horror?
THE HALLOWEEN LEGEND: THE STORY OF STINGY JACK
We are days away from my favorite day of the year, Halloween.. the history and amazing aura of culture that has been passed down through the ages leading to Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallo’ween is amazing. You can pick your name. Some would say you’re picking a poison. I say you’re taking part in a celebration and festival that dates back centuries.. The Celts. The Romans.. Bobbing for apples even has a history. The skimpy sexy outfits of today’s Halloween look different than what was done prior .. but that’s just the natural pop culture evolution of a populace.
But pumpkins.. Now that is one interesting topic.
I told a few folk this week of where Jack O Lanterns actually came from. They looked at my like I was crazy–literally. They rolled their eyes, raised their brows, and dismissed my brief history lesson about the origins of one of the coolest Halloween traditions that humans still keep.
With that said, here is the legend of Stingy Jack..
Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who loved playing tricks on anyone and everyone. One dark, Halloween night, Jack ran into the Devil himself in a local public house. Jack tricked the Devil by offering his soul in exchange for one last drink. The Devil quickly turned himself into a sixpence to pay the bartender, but Jack immediately snatched the coin and deposited it into his pocket, next to a silver cross that he was carrying. Thus, the Devil could not change himself back and Jack refused to allow the Devil to go free until the Devil had promised not to claim Jack’s soul for ten years.
The Devil agreed, and ten years later Jack again came across the Devil while out walking on a country road. The Devil tried collecting what he was due, but Jack thinking quickly, said, “I’ll go, but before I do, will you get me an apple from that tree?”
The Devil, thinking he had nothing to lose, jumped up into the tree to retrieve an apple. As soon as he did, Jack placed crosses all around the trunk of the tree, thus trapping the Devil once again. This time, Jack made the Devil promise that he would not take his soul when he finally died. Seeing no way around his predicament, the Devil grudgingly agreed.
When Stingy Jack eventually passed away several years later, he went to the Gates of Heaven, but was refused entrance because of his life of drinking and because he had been so tight-fisted and deceitful. So, Jack then went down to Hell to see the Devil and find out whether it were possible to gain entrance into the depths of Hell, but the Devil kept the promise that had been made to Jack years earlier, and would not let him enter.
“But where can I go?” asked Jack.
“Back to where you came from!” replied the Devil.
The way back was windy and very dark. Stingy Jack pleaded with the Devil to at least provide him with a light to help find his way. The Devil, as a final gesture, tossed Jack an ember straight from the fires of Hell. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed-out turnip…one of Jack’s favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. From that day forward, Stingy Jack has been doomed to roam the earth without a resting place and with only his lit turnip to light the way in the darkness.
And now you know.
The pumpkin you carve has a brilliant history .. filled with paranormal tales of long, long ago.
For those who fear the mystery and ghoulish days to come before HALLOWEEN, you may not want to let your guard down. Halloween begins it all. And the paranormal tales and ghost stories will continue all the way through Christmas–perhaps one of the most paranormal holidays of all..
It wouold appear that despite the fact Patricia was the strongest storm for a time on the planet earth ni history, her devastation may not of been as widespread as some feared..
MORE..
Reporting from USA TODAY:
MONTERREY, Mexico — Early reports on the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia — one of the biggest storms to ever make landfall — were cautiously optimistic: No deaths reported and no signs of major damage along Mexico’s Pacific seaboard.
TV stations in Mexico broadcast news on Hurricane Patricia throughout the night, showing bright-red satellite images of the monster storm’s landfall on the Pacific Coast and its slow trudge northeast and interviews with residents and officials near the impacted area.
Landslides and flash floods were reported, but the mass evacuations that occurred prior to the hurricane’s landing appeared to have worked in saving lives. There were no deaths initially reported or major infrastructure damage, according to early TV reports. Residents from Colima to Puerto Vallarta heeded the warnings and evacuated out of dangerous areas or stayed indoors.
Whatever they did worked well. It would seem.
And whatever storm punch that was packed appears not to have been as deadly as feared. As quickly as the storm strengthened, it just as rapidly decreased in intensity.
It will now, however, be a dramatic rain storm for Texas..
It will not be razor blades in apples–kids don’t eat them anymore.. not it’s ecstasy in the candy..
From CBS NEWS:
Parents across the country may have been spooked by warnings spread through social media in recent days, raising fears that Ecstasy tablets could be mistaken for brightly colored Halloween candy – potentially putting children at risk.
Police in Jackson, Mississippi, posted about it on their Facebook page, and the warning went viral.
“If your kids get these for Halloween candy, they ARE NOT CANDY,” the post said. “They are the new shapes of Ecstasy and can kill kids through overdoses!!!”
But don’t panic.
This is yet another baseless fear for Halloween–one spread by rumor and now helped by social networking.
It twas always thus and always thus shall be.
I can see the scares of the future: There may be nanotechnology in your Butterfinger.
This from the AP: The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that Patricia continues to be the strongest eastern north Pacific hurricane on record and is heading toward a “potentially catastrophic landfall” in southwestern Mexico later Friday.
The storm is going to be devastating.. Historic.. Dramatic. And as these events would go, deadly.
240+mph gusts. Over a foot of rain. And so many in the impact zone..
The VHS Vault is an ode to ‘80s and '90s reverie, from the Reagan-era, scare-inciting titles it proffers (Day of the Dead, Adjust Your Tracking, Night of the Demons and more) to the site itself, designed as if it’s straight from 1998, complete with a traffic counter, low pixel GIFs and the quintessential Dancing Baby.
I had those nights in high school–as VHS became DVDs but still not streamed.. we popped movies in. Had popcorn, or soda, or pizza.. and laughed often times until sunrise. Horror movies all night. Bad horror movies.. complete with MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER style sarcasm from friends and me as well.
I know there is always a melancholy attempt to bring back nostalgia. But nothing will ever be like those summer nights of horror again. HALLOWEEN 3 and CARNIVAL OF SOULS.. they are two movies I can’t watch again. I want to keep them in the past, on one of those magical nights, and let them sit in memory. In posterity. In nostalgia.
I applaud anyone attempting to bring back the VHS ‘vault.’ But it’s just not going to be the same..
I have heard some good things about THE FINAL GIRLS..
The film is a horror comedy, a slasher with laughs.. It’s directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmigaand Malin Åkerman in the two leading roles, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Chloe Bridges, andAngela Trimbur. The film follows Max, a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, who finds herself and friends pulled into the world of her mom’s most famous movie Camp Bloodbath. Reunited, the women and others must fight off the film’s maniacal killer.
It received a March 2015 film festival premiere and had a limited release on October 9 in the United States..
The film is even getting attention from the NEW YORK TIMES, showcasing some of the most important ‘final girls’ ever in horror, such as Jamie Lee Curtis in HALLOWEEN and Amy Steel in FRIDAY THE 13TH part 2
The TIMES also writes,
A game changer arrived in 1996, when the winking “Scream” featured an in-control final girl who knew what a final girl was. Time travel in the new film “The Final Girls” introduces two fresh twists: mother-daughter final girls and a tear-jerker ending.
At first, Bush, struggled to come up with an answer, but he quickly found his answer.
“I saw that ‘Supergirl’ is on TV,” he said. “I saw it when I was working out this morning. There’s an ad promoting 'Supergirl.’ She looked kind of — she looked pretty hot.”
The safest answer would have been by saying “I am a DC Comics fan.” Instead Bush took the other route.
He needs to learn that the only candidate capable of being able to say such things in Donald Trump..
[gallery]
Hurricane Patricia in new images ..
One of the hurricane itself and he other of a forecaster I follow from Accuweather, Henry Margusity, on how just how dramatic this storm is.. 200 mph winds. Over a foot of rain. Gusts to 245mph
We are about to see weather history and, that my friends, is always scary
YouTube made its top video creators an offer they literally couldn’t refuse, or they’d have their content disappear. Today YouTube confirmed that any “partner” creator who earns a cut of ad revenue but doesn’t agree to sign its revenue share deal for its new YouTube Red $9.99 ad-free subscription will have their videos hidden from public view on both the ad-supported and ad-free tiers. That includes videos by popular comedians, musicians, game commentators, and DIY instructors, though not the average person that uploads clips.
It’s a tough pill to swallow that makes YouTube look like a bully. Though turning existing fans into paid subscribers instead of free viewers could earn creators more than the ad revenue, forcing them into the deal seems heavy-handed.
This is the amazing part; This storm intensified quick–24 hours to go from a Cat 1 to a Cat 5..
MORE..
The estimated central pressure of Patricia dropped to 880 mb, breaking the record of 894 mb from Hurricane Linda set in 1997. The maximum sustained winds of 200 mph (160 knots) breaks the winds from Linda (185 mph) for the strongest surface winds ever in the eastern Pacific and in the area of responsibility of the National Hurricane Center.
There are high degrees of risks associated with this storm–property and lives are in the eye of the system..
The red area, along with winds, will also see 12 inches of rain or more..
Developing story.. As the storm churns..The eye burns.. and the earth warms.
Days ago, there were global rumors reported in a number of papers that Pope Francis was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor by a Japanese doctor..
X X X
The story got lots of play in both religious based and non religious fishwrappers. Even the Drudge Report picked up the scoop and ran with it, giving it a headline for more than 24 hours on the page.
And now after the tumor turmoil, the Vatican has clearly denied the story..
“I fully confirm my previous statement, having verified the facts with the appropriate sources, including the Holy Father,” said Father Federico Lombardi, director of the press office. “No Japanese doctor has visited the Pope in the Vatican and there have been no examinations of the type indicated in the article.”
In a related development, Dr. Fukushima removed from his own personal web site photos of visits to the Vatican in October 2014 and January 2015. The web site had shown photos of a meeting between the doctor and Pope Francis; those photos appeared to have been retouched. Dr. Fukushima has said that he only met the Pontiff briefly, in the course of a public audience, and never for a medical consultation or treatment.
She noted that “Centralia” will not be a documentary but a story inspired by the town and the people that still live there. The story will be based on the same events that took place over the years, but Averill will add her own elements to the story.
In reality, Centralia currently has around 5 residents, but in the story, Centralia will have roughly 100 residents. Averill wants to portray the current Centralians as heroes who still have hope in saving their town. There will be an element of sadness felt but you will want to be rooting for them to succeed.
Within the timeline of the show, the government is threatening eminent domain to take the town but in the shows timeline, it has not taken it YET. The government’s reason for removing the residence of the town will be for their safety, due to the fire burning below, but the feds will have ulterior motives. The tourism draw of the town will also come into play, where they will have their own walking tour. Graffiti Highway will be included in the show. Averill also said characters will be unaware of the “evil” lurking below.
Even more, according to the interview, Averill has worked on a number of projects in the past. But this, she told the site, is giving her the most widespread attention she has ever received and generated one of the biggest responses..
