“Three years previously, this film probably would have been a smash hit, but audiences were by now tiring of cynicism in films. They wanted optimism, and they wanted the good guys to win again. Twilight’s Last Gleaming was released in February 1977. Just three months later, a small film from George Lucas was released and changed the movie industry forever.”
The Parallax View was 1974, the remaking of the 1962 Manchurian Candidate was in 2004, Watergate was in 1972. It’s fairly easy to trace the public mood in such matters.
(0510) Guess what universal, wall-to-wall colour the sky is out there? (0809)
10. Moo corner … have we already had this?
9. Macron Mariechal took on Macaroni
8. Naturally, the women and girls debate and action plans
… are going to occupy vast amounts of column inches. While men tend to focus on the raped girls and the flood of lowlifes, women encompass that, plus a range of female-centric other issues.
7. Housekeeping … UHC-WP
I mentioned yesterday that UHC-WP is a bit of a conundrum. It’s one of the “free” WP sites and the difference between that (dotcom) version and the pay version dotorg (UHC-HQ) is stark … the functionality of the dotcom is greatly impaired for semi-professionals, fairish for newbies.
The killer is the storage space limit … 1 Gb, compared to 3 Gb for NOWP and near enough to unlimited in Tb for HQ. In plain terms, text takes almost nothing in space, each compressed screenshot takes up about three times a longish text post, ditto with an ordinary picture, say in jpeg form. Pics are not profligate at HQ by any means … on the dotcoms though … each pic is a killer.
The implication for UHC-WP is it’s almost all text or else something hosted elsewhere … just the occasional pic. UHC-WP is thus primarily a text archive and one way to organise it is to divide it by reader-patron name.
Still in embryonic form, I’ve been working on it. Currently, I’m making each person a “homepage”, linked to in the sidebar, transferring all shorts from that person onto that homepage. Longs stay where they are so far and are indexed on that person’s “homepage”.
It’s a bit of a job but I’m doing some of it today.
6. Dear oh dear
… what have I been doing to myself?
"A Genetically Modified Cracker: Ritz Crackers contain bioengineered ingredients requiring WARNING labels & flagged in over 60 other countries worldwide." pic.twitter.com/OcPOYVsQFK
— Valerie Anne Smith (@ValerieAnne1970) May 3, 2026
(0411) Morning all, light appearing now. Giuliani in critical condition in hospital … little wonder with what he’s been saying. (0502)
5. The north-south divide
4. Steve corner
At 1372:
Desperate Iranians Reportedly Considering Deploying ‘Kamikaze Dolphins’ to Target US Ships in Strait of Hormuz
Russian Forces Edging Towards Fortified Ukrainian Stronghold of Konstantinovka, in Northern Donetsk Region
Civil War Imminent in British Labour Party as Health Secretary Wes Streeting Gains the Backing of Enough MPs To Challenge Failing Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Ports, Rails, Oil: Key Targets Of A Week Of Russia-Ukraine Strike Exchange
Coffee Consumption Linked to Changes in Gut Microbiome, Reduced Stress and Depression
UAE Leaving OPEC is About More Than Just Oil
Iran’s Ghalibaf Says US Blockade Aims to Cause Internal Collapse, Urges National Unity
Steve also has:
Have a great Early May Spring Bank Holiday tomorrow – got any bluebells left in your garden? Don’t eat them, they’re poisonous.
Plus:
If you intend going out in your glad rags try this.. (JH: Oldie but a goodie):
JH: Just a word about the editing … quite often, the item has text, followed by pic and footage. If a reader doubts that it was said, then you have the X handle, Subrosa has checked and retweeted … by all means confirm yourself … I’m not giving that creature column inches here.
2. DAD at 1372
a) France. Jean-Luc Mélenchon announces his candidacy for 2027 presidential elections. “It leaves a bitter taste for some… starting with those who remember his post-defeat speech in 2022 where he aspired to ‘be replaced’”.
b) Beauvais (60): A Moroccan woman, a mother of four [19 to 26] , is refusing all proposed relocation solutions. “Proud of her roots,” she cites the strength of “tradition in Morocco” to justify her choice. Although the building is slated for demolition next June as part of an urban renewal plan, the tenant is sticking to her criteria. She has already rejected at least four offers deemed “too small.”
c) Sex Crime rises across Europe as Western Nations top the list.
d) Canadian Military’s Immigrant Experiment serves as warning to Europe. Lack of language skills and cultural competence along with hostilities between cadets from the same continent highlight risks of recruiting recent immigrants into armed forces.
… as southern Louisiana music. Problem with that is Tuba Skinny were over in France near Lyon at the time.
An old YT from Breaux Bridge … Zydeco:
This final one, the Cajun … mixed feelings. The keyboardist was a right prat, the guitar was OTT and did not suit this music, the best imho were the fiddler and saxophonist.
Now, Kelli Jones-Savoy … she joined in 2014 when the other girl went to a rock circus with animals … KJ-S was not from cajun, creole country, she had to learn some French … this performance was in 2017. I’ve seen later work in the 2020s … she and the leader got on well. Then, in 2023, that leader was killed in a car crash.
Not saying too much but how that keyboardist acted in the song … I could imagine some wildness in their lifestyles. Tragic.
“According to Kinematograph Weekly, the film was a ‘money maker’ at the British box office in 1955.[8] However, Dirk Bogarde said “The film was a failure”:-
‘It was the first time I had come under another star’s name – Margaret Lockwood – and it just died, which was a pity because it was a very good movie, and I had persuaded Maggie to do it. I remember being on tour in Cardiff with a play and I saw a poster for Cast a Dark Shadow, it had ‘Dirk Bogarde in Cast a Dark Shadow‘ and, at the very bottom, ‘with Margaret Lockwood’. They altered the billing order because they saw it was dying and that, astoundingly, her name had killed it, though it was probably her best performance ever’.[7]
Lewis Gilbert later said, ‘It was reasonably successful but by then Margaret [Lockwood] had been in several bad films and her name on a picture was rather counter-productive.’[4] He said she got “wonderful notices” but it was “too late for her. She’d already lost her audience. The film just scraped home, we just made a profit.”[9]
‘I’m glad I did it, but am still wondering exactly where it got me’, said Lockwood in 1973 (after making the movie, she did not appear in a feature film for another 21 years).
Monthly Film Bulletin wrote “This is an old-fashioned and thorough-going melodrama, adapted from the stage and retaining – notably in the big scene in which Bare confronts his victim’s sister – a decidedly theatrical flavour. It is conventionally but competently managed, achieving an occasional note of the authentically squalid and shabby in developing Bare’s dealings with the three women. Although built up largely through mannerisms, Margaret Lockwood’s performance as the retired barmaid has considerable spirit.”[10]“
“This week saw the TPA team returned to the streets of Cardiff, fighting the fight against the city council’s plan to impose higher parking charges on vans and family cars. The first-of-its-kind scheme would see tradesmen just trying to make a living having to pay more to park their vehicles outside their own homes. As the plans are based on vehicle weight, family cars will be included too, penalising households who need larger cars to get their kids to school or do the weekly shop. Our team were joined by local Reform activists for a spot of door-to-door campaigning alongside a street stall near Victoria Park.”
8. Von Leyen wants to stop your VPN
7. IYE and the colour of your pee
Sun 3. The colour of your pee is a good indication of how hydrated you are. Food contains water too so drinking buckets of water all day long as the youngsters seem to do these days is OTT.
