Jean Harlow: Goddess of Bling and Cosmetics

Imagine you are in Macy's Jewelry Department. There are three counters to choose from: one that offers cheap but irresistibly shiny and huge imitation rings and bracelets, another that offers real glittering gems and gold, all just a little too bold for the average consumer, and lastly, a counter filled with tiny, understated 10k gold pieces, just perfect for the shy and demure. For those who are attracted to bright shiny objects,...

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Star Struck

I love movies, and do appreciate the director, the writer, the editor and all the other creative forces that combine to create them. But, there is no denying the Stars. I can't help it. I am Star-struck. They are the champagne of the cinema, bubbly and intoxicating. The rare vintages are unforgettable and addictive.My tastes are eclectic, and while I love most of the big ones, there a few that creep in that are not so common. So, in no particular...

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Beautiful Edna, the Last Unsmashed Idol

By now you may have guessed that Norma Desmond is my classic movie guru - wisdom wrapped in warped glamorous illusion and delusion. "They took the idols of the world and smashed them!" Somehow, they all became real. And even those who managed to maintain their god and goddess-like state while alive were revealed as all too real after death. But not Edna Purviance.Beautiful Edna Purviance was Charlie Chaplin's leading lady. It was all about Charlie,...

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Alone in the Dark

In a dream, in a place and time that never changes...... in a piece of film......that is where I long to be. Forever surrounded by mood music, all of the beauty,all of the passion, all of the drama, the comedy, the startling moments, all unchanged. Always unchanged. The world grinds along, but for all of us wonderful people out there in the dark, the seat in the theater is sacred. The dark rises up from the floor, it embraces us and we are, collectively, alone together. We are carried away and experience intimacy with the shadows whose lives are...

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