by John Walters
Cloris Leachman
I discovered Cloris Leachman, who died yesterday at the age of 94, the way most from my generation did: backwards. I first became aware of her as Phyllis, Mary Richards’ hot-to-trot neighbor with the forever unseen husband Lars on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Phyllis was almost entirely unlike the only other Phyllis I knew (my mom): vapid, self-absorbed, annoying, a little too progressive.
I did not realize, at the time, that she was part of the greatest sitcom cast ever assembled. I also did not realize that this part hardly showed off the Iowa native’s and former Miss America contestant’s real gifts as an actress.
At about the same time I was being weaned on the likes of MTM, M*A*S*H and All In The Family, Leachman was appearing in two Mel Brooks comedies: first, the classic Young Frankenstein as Frau Blucher (insert whinny) and later in High Anxiety as Nurse Diesel. For such a beautiful actress to portray twisted, sado-masochist characters and to be made up as nearly hideous in doing so, well, that defies type-casting.
Leachman, a Northwestern grad, excelled in these comic roles. Look at how her body swings as if on hinges here. And how she shuts her eyes as soon as Gene Wilder snaps, “Nothing!”
But it wasn’t until two or three years ago that I finally came to appreciate just how special Leachman was. It was then that I at last watched The Last Picture Show, courtesy of TCM. In a later viewing, hosted by Ben Mankiewicz with guest Peter Bogdanovich, who directed the 1971 film, Bogdanovich allows that after filming the above scene, the movie’s final scene, he as much informed Leachman that she’d probably win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar on the strength of her performance in this scene (with Timothy Bottoms). And Leachman, who was already 44 when she filmed this scene, did. It’s impossible to argue against.
Not bad for a former beauty queen out of Des Moines.
Trading Places
There’s a moment in the 1983 comedy Trading Places when the two younger fellows, played by Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, decide to stop fighting one another. To pool their talents, and energy, and take it to the old suits at Duke & Duke.
How? By beating them at their own game.
Which brings us to GameStop and the events in the stock market of the past three days. I could type more but I think Will Brinson lays it out pretty simply below:
It was funny yesterday, watching CNBC and texting with rich friends, to see how patronizing and condescending the establishment behaved. Some trading firms even ceased allowing its clients to trade GME or AMC at points.
Why? Is it that they were really “worried” about investors or market manipulation or is it simply that the house was being beaten at its own game?
Me, I love ALL of this (and I’ve made no money off it). I love it because young people harnessed one of the weapons they know best (social media) and used it to come together for dual purposes: 1) to make money and 2) to save companies that have been afflicted particularly hard by the pandemic. In the process they found an unsympathetic victim, billionaire hedge funds, which actively have shorted these companies, exploiting their demise.
What’s not to love?
I don’t know where the stock prices of GME, AMC or BBBY will be in two weeks or two months. Nor do I care. What I do know is that the Robinhooders who came together to make this happen, most of them have far more capital at their disposal than they did one week ago. That means the next time they strike they’ll wield an even heftier hammer. It’ll be interesting to see how the lobbyists in Washington try to re-rig the game in their favor.
Out Of The Mouths Of Babes
Where do they find talent like this? I don’t know.
Klan-destine Behavior
Three weeks ago an armed mob tried to wrest control of the U.S. government from Congress. They failed, but ever since most Republicans have not condemned them. Given the opportunity to impeach Donald Trump, the man who incited the riot, most Republicans are taking a hard pass. As AOC astutely states, “their silence is acceptance.”
Let’s not be fooled here: it’s not only about Trump. It’s hardly about Trump. He was just the cartoonish instigator. What it’s about is a portion of this country waking up (thanks, Obama) and recognizing that the future of this country, should it remain a democratic nation, may not be the exclusive property of white people. Here comes diversity ready to knock white power on its ass.
And just like those hedge funders above, now that white people realize that they don’t always get to win, they want to change the rules of the game (many of these people are the same as the hedgefunders, as you know). The only way to win the game now, they see, is through violence, intimidation and voter suppression.
Joe Biden seems to me like nobody’s fool. And a decent man. Who brought his German shepherds to the White House. I hope he’s ready for this fight. Because America is on the brink of a civil war, with the confederate capitol a dilapidated resort in a coastal Florida town
Philly, Special
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/basketball/2021/01/27/tobias-harris-lifts-76ers-past-lakers-107-106/PXC122-128_2021_021956.jpg)
In what might be a preview of the 2021 NBA Finals (or a look back at the 1983 NBA Finals), the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-106. Each team entered last night’ game with the best record in its respective conference.
The Sixers were lifted by Ben Simmons’ triple-double (17-11-10…so he’s not an outside shooter, he’s still a contributor) and Joel Embiid’s team-high 28. The Lakers were buoyed by LeBron’s 34, which are easier to come by when the refs never whistle you for palming or traveling (watch the highlights, Susie B.).
Curious note: The Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games, with each defeat coming to a team with a Curry brother.
Before anyone forms an opinion on what is happening right now in the stock market, I recommend they go and read r/wallstreetbets. The people are out for vengeance. And they are smart. And they have money. This isn’t ending anytime soon.
I saw Cloris Leachman in SHOWBOAT at the Kennedy Center some 16-20 years ago & again, she was unrecognizable in the role & fabulous. She played Parthy Hawk (wife of Capt Andy, played by Disney 60s-70s stalwart Dean Jones, who was also fabulous). Cloris always reminded me of a 1930s-40s movie star in that she could do it all – comedy & drama. And if noir voir had still been a big genre in the last 3 decades of the 20th century, she could have taken over for Barbara Stanwyck as the, er, torch bearer.
And again, I do NOT see the Reditt “rebels” as heroes. What they are doing may make it harder for the REST of us to make money by actually INVESTING. At the very least, new regs will be put in place & they WON’T be for the benefit of we “retail investors”, I can guarantee you. Another thing that chaps my ass is CNBC had the founder of Robinhood on the other morning & he went on & on how HIS site has “FOR THE 1ST TIME IN HISTORY” allowed “average folks” to invest & not have to rely on “institutions”. Bullshit. Discount online brokerages have existed for at least the last 16 years & anyone could have signed the hell up & buy/sell whatever stock they wanted! What that site HAS done is delude thousands that “investing” is easy & pain free. Just wait till the next crash comes. Some of these people are taking HUGE risks & don’t even understand what the hell they signed up for. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Wipe up your own barf.
And everybody knows “senior citizens” are granted allowances; Sweet Pea is now older than me, in “NBA years” so stop picking on him! BTW, did you see that he SCORED 46 in the previous game? “Coast in the regular season”, my ass! He’s the MVP so far. 🙂 And I thought the Nets (with their ballyhooed Big 3) were the East fave? Although if the Sixers keep them out of the Finals, I’m alllll for it!
You know what happens when young investors take HUGE risks & don’t understand what they signed up for, Susie B.? They learn a valuable lesson. That’s how life works. It’s funny how everyone is suddenly concerned about their welfare. Let them fail and get an early lesson in smart investing. And if they don’t fail, who are you or I to condemn them for using social media to harness their influence and turn a profit? The game either works or it doesn’t. It’s kinda like letting one player get away with traveling every other time down the floor but not letting others, ya know?
I don’t care what happens to the hedge funders & I barely care what happens to the now-arrogant Robinhooders. What *I* care about is….HOW IT AFFECTS MY INVESTING! At the very least, the actions of these think-they-know-it-alls will bring back trading FEES!
Also, supposedly Robinhood put a stop on trading GME & the other targeted stocks yesterday NOT because of some conspiracy with a boardmember or big money company but because of “liquidity problems” – i.e. THEY WERE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY.
I know you think this is just the “little guy” getting one up on the obnoxious hedgefunders & other 8-figure/year income Wall Streeters but these antics are breaking the system. I don’t want the system broken! And these guys are NOT “freedom fighters”, they are just younger & poorer versions of the hedgefunders & just as arrogant! Without the stock market & investing (over the last 36 years), I would NEVER be able to retire! You think putting all that money in CDs, money markets or bonds would have enabled that? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. At this point in my life, I’m looking out for ME & if the “establishment” wants to crush these usurpers like bugs, I will not stand in the way.
“I’m looking out for ME.” I’ll just leave that there.
Don’t move the goal posts. Ever.
Susie B.,
Have you taken the time to actually read how this all started?
Imagine a world in which Susie B. owned shares of GME before they skyrocketed. Would you hold the same opinions as you do now? I just have this feeling you wouldn’t.
Also, Susie B., it must be noted that Mama Dubs has taken umbrage with your, well, frequent use of profanity in the comments section. As she’s more likely to read the comments than what I actually write, it would be appreciated if you kept it more PG. Always love reading your comments, though.
Well, I actually HOLD BACK on this site. I rarely use the full “fuck” except when occasionally writing about the SOCIOPATH & the other NAZIS & instead insert a * or use the inoffensive substitute “freakin”. If even the use of “hell”, “ass”or “bullshit” (the 3 I used above), is problematic, I may have to rethink my participation here.
After a Linguistics class my sophomore year in college & a paper on curse words (origin, derivation, etc), curse words lost all power for & on me. Until that paper, I NEVER swore, not even a “damn”. After, the, er, “dam” had broken. (See what I did there? 🙂 ) I use the words these days because of the impact on others as they still believe they have power. I don’t mean to offend mamadubs (or you), but you tell me what is worse : that NAZIS have infiltrated our government & came thisclose to overthrowing democracy or the use of a few words that were declared “bad” centuries ago? For me, the there is not a strong-enough curse word to apply to the former.