I Survived The Ten Commandments! Or, "How I learned to stop worrying and avoid cutting bangs."

I love the movie, "The Ten Commandments". I also love, "Ben Hur". I love them in the same way that I love the Indiana Jones movies, only not nearly at the same intensity. 

That's not why I'm so happy though. I have overcome a major seasonal malfunction. You see, every SINGLE year when they show, "The Ten Commandments" on TV, I want to cut bangs because of this woman...

Her name is Anne Baxter and she plays Nefertiri in the movie. I LOVE this hairstyle and it's partially because of her. I've just love that Egyptian look, probably due to all those old Mummy movies I grew up watching. I also always wanted to look like Virginia Christine from, "The Mummy's Curse". It's tough to find a good picture of her, but here are a couple...

But you see, when I cut bangs, I do not look like either of these women. BECAUSE THEY WERE WEARING WIGS. When I cut bangs, I look like Spock. Or one of the Beatles. So for the first time this year, I reminded myself of these differences and actually managed to resist temptation. I did NOT cut bangs. I did, however, dye my hair black. Baby steps.

By the way, this is how I looked with bangs. It's a big ole ouch on the eyes.

So rejoice for me! I learned to stop cutting my own hair this Easter!

Hannibal Lecter, Pavarotti, and the Marx Brothers

Speaking of being mesmerized by music upon its first hearing at the movie theater, this one really really got me. I actually cried just for the sake of the music. The rest of the movie...eh, but still, you get the idea.



Who knew a handful of years later I would interview Gary Oldman's body double from this film? (Doug Jones.) But isn't it incredible? Then again, I've always had a soft spot for opera. Some songs in particular push this invisible button I have marked "cry instantly" when I hear them, it's the weirdest thing. Especially this, even though I know it's cliche of me. Right from the 2:10 mark on, to quote Scrooged, "Niagara Falls".



That made me all teary...quick, I need to recover. Here, it's still opera centric. It's a little montage from the Marx Brothers', "A Night At The Opera". Another one of my ALL TIME FAVES!

The Flaming Lips

My friend Jen posted a link to The Flaming Lips cover of Madonna's song, "Borderline".

Here it is.

I love the Flaming Lips. The first time I ever heard them was sitting in the Royal theater in Daville as a pre-teen and watching, "Batman Forever". They had a song on the soundtrack called, "Bad Days" that mesmerized me. It was the first song I ever made my parents listen to. They loved it.

So thank you Jen, for reminding me of how much I love the Flaming Lips.

The Wilhelm Scream

Because I can NEVER get enough of this old editor's joke.

So now here's the history of the Wilhelm scream, it's actually really interesting, I can never get enough of this behind the scenes info.

Remember the Smurf Ride at Paramount's King's Island?

I decided to google the Smurf Ride today because I'm writing a review of the ride that now occupies the former Smurf Ride, which is Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle. In my opinion, the current ride is the weakest of any of the incarnations of that dark ride. Tops in my book was the amazing, Phantom Theater.

But maybe that's the nostalgia talking.

Anyway, I got a sensory blast from the past when I finally stumbled upon some video of the Smurfs ride. It's a theme park geek's dream, and it's probably at the root of why I'm so obsessed with dark rides today. This and the Haunted Mansion had me mesmerized as a kid. I would absolutely LOVE to ride this again. Since we can't, here's the next best thing.

"Look at all the smurfs, Ryan!"

I couldn't find any quality footage of the Phantom Theater, but I did find some great audio. Sidenote, I don't remember the Phantom sounding so much like the Mad Hatter or the guy who sings, "Wipeout".

The two guys at the end of the ride manning the furnace always reminded me of the positively traumatizing Scoleri brothers. Anyone remember this ride? And I know it's vastly off-topic, but check out this great behind-the-scenes video of a Scoleri brothers costume-fitting.