I don’t think the nicknames in Waiting for Godot were just coincidental. I can’t imagine the playwright being so careless or casual in choosing. And we already know that “Godot” was a significant choice.
True. Not openly. But take a second look at the relationship between the two men in Gilda. Nothing is spelled out. There is just a little erotic tension. It took many viewings and a question from a friend before I could see it.
Miracle on 34th Street:
Maureen O’Hara, the actress who played the role in the 1942 version, is still alive and kicking and quite a plum!
I don’t know if this is still true, but merchants at that time could purchase just about anything wholesale – even if you were not in a business that usually sold that product.
The judge in the 1942 version was Gene Lockhart, the father of actress June Lockhart. He wrote a song that was popular during the Depression called “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise.” It was rerecorded and repopularized by Les Paul and Mary Ford in about the early 1950s.
This sounds reasonable, but as best I remember, the popular songs that were recorded on 78s were also about that long. And I do remember that by the mid-1950s, there were 45s that had two songs on one side and two on the flip side. The were considered as sort of short “albums.”
rowrrbazzle, loved the information about the music in West Side Story. The older I get, the more I appreciate that particular musical. I was told that some famous building – the Kennedy Center or the Met – is located where they shot the final fight scene. What is a shofar? (And don’t tell me it’s a man who drives rich Southern women to the spa. I know better.)
Finally, the man who played the Tin Man. Jack Haley, was it? I read not too long ago that when he was growing up it was just a very short distance from the factory that makes all those little heart-shaped Valentine candies with things written on them. * “If I only had a heart…”*
It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of the Harry Potter films, but don’t the characters say ‘Diagon Alley’ as if it really were a street name- i.e. not with the same emphasis as the word ‘diagonally’? If so, then the simplest explanation is that when Rowling said ‘DI-a-GON ALL-ey’ in the interview, she was referring to the street. (I’m aware this largely depends on how you choose to pronounce the nonsense word ‘Diagon’- but pronouncing it this way at least matches with similar-looking words like ‘hexagon’)
There’s no doubt in my mind that the ‘A’ in Audi’s line up of cars is there because it’s the first letter of the manufacturer. I don’t think it’s anything to do with aluminium. Those who believe it is are invited to explain why Citroen’s range of cars comprises the C1, C2, C3, C4 etc., what Ferrari were thinking of when they released the F355, the F460, and so on.
I’d heard the Beatle’s song “Girl” thousands of times before I realized that in the background they are singing “tit tit tit tit tit tit tit tit” over and over… :smack:
Unbelievably late in life, I realized that “Twinkle, twinkle…” and “ABC…” had the same melody. I think a comedian brought this to light for me. I had just never really thought about it. Dumb ass!
There’s quite a bit of room between “careless” and “deliberately chose names that could be shortened into arguably meaningful words in a language neither the playwright nor his audience spoke.”
Beckett seemed to offer different explanations for that all the time.
Um, no. I’m with you on the Cowardly Lion (inasmuch as it matters that he’s gay at all), but you are wrong re Macaronis. (And you’re wrong re Dandies as well, but I’ll let that one go–the article explains both).
I speak in an English “RP” accent and I pronounce “diagonally”:
dye-AG-ən-əl-ee
“Diagon Alley” would be pronounced
dye-AG-ən AL-ee
But it’s close enough for the pun to be recognised. I got it after a few pages.
That said, for those of you who are criticising the unsophisticated names and spell words in HP, can I just remind you that even though adults read them, these are and always have been kids’ books - and that the level of sophistication in these words seems about perfect to excite curiosity, research, and discovery in the 8-14 agegroup.
There are several different stories told about this:
In some, the line made the recording.
Other accounts have him singing the line on a demo or during a session when Epstein was visiting. Mostly because that’s the kind of guy John was. In these accounts it’s not in the final song and was never released.
A simple no doesn’t work for this. There’s testimony that he said it at some point and it’s exactly the sort of thing Lennon would do as a private jab. I can’t believe he would let it reach public years, not as early as 1967 when their images were still important and I don’t hear it in the final lines even listening carefully. In private - sure.
I agree with that and with your view on John’s sense of humor, but the question was whether or not the words “rich fag Jew” appear on the recording everybody knows. Like you, I find the idea inconceivable and unsupported by listening. Could he have sang it in a demo? Maybe. But gigi was asking if that’s what they sing on the album version.
Funny you should ask; I was fortunate to receive bona fide college credits for a course devoted to Sgt. Pepper’s, Magical Mystery Tour, and the White Album. The Prof fancied himself The expert on lyrics, meanings, and debunking misconceptions about the Beatles, and this topic came up. He claimed that John Lennon had indeed shouted those words during an early take that never made it onto vinyl or tape, but the story persists to this day. It is certainly not as clear in the last chorus just what they are saying, but even the digitally remastered sounds seem to be “…rich man, too!”
I had to listen to this tune again, and don’t hear the slur, but I did recall that Brian Jones played the synth intro, and Mick Jagger can clearly be heard wailing his distinctive vocals as a backup.
