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A copyrighted film that I expect won’t be on YouTube forever is Black Narcissus, a sort of pessimistic answer to Lost Horizon. Like many Powell and Pressburger productions it’s unusual and not to everyone’s taste. The climatic scene where Deborah Kerr confronts Kathleen Byron, who is going mad with sexual desire, is truly remarkable, being both hilarious and terrifying. The influence of Powell on Hitchcock is apparent here, especially in Vertigo.

https://youtu.be/iL8FpRgLeu0

What the heck, here’s another favorite that’s even stranger. A Matter of Life and Death is known in America as Stairway to Heaven. It starts with an emotionally devastating radio chat between David Niven and Kim Hunter. He quotes Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” indicating his dying words are intended to seduce the girl he can hear but not see. Which he succeeds in doing.

Joe Pera doesn’t scream at his audiences and, as far as we know, he doesn’t jerk off in front of other comedians.

Here I am in a high school class play. If Elaine looked like she could have been captain of the cheerleading squad, that’s because she was. Such great acting, “pretending” to not be interested in me! 😉

Tonight I will be attending my — ulp! — 50th high school reunion. I just realized I’m dressed exactly the same way as in the picture, so I’ve made no progress at all in half a century. I’ll probably be wearing a party hat before the evening ends. Wish me luck.

7:32 p.m. Three young female walk-ins asked for rides home, as it was raining hard and they did not have rides. Officer Cody Normandin spoke with them, and they walked home on their own.

I was afraid this would be what I saw.

Are you as annoyed as I am that so many headlines end with “Here’s Why”?