greetings!

I absolutely love carnivals.

Before each summer ends, I must visit at least one fair. On Monday I managed to go to two with my best friend Katie. We started with the Carbon County Fair, which had wonderful things to offer, such as this precious cow:

And this Marie Curie made out of completely recycled items:

Maybe it was the sun beating on our flesh or the lack of desire to view any additional bean art, regardless, our interests waned rather quickly at the Carbon County Fair. Fortunately, we received a text from my niece Kylie in just the nick of time about the Kutztown Fair happening simultaneously. A quick map search showed us it was within driving distance. Little did we know this adventure would be life changing.

Our first order of business was to procure a bucket of fries and, upon seeking a place to devour, we ended up waltzing right into a cake auction. This was hands down one of the most thrilling events that the two of us have ever witnessed. We were absolutely riveted by this sweet spectacle. Cakes were flying out of the tend for three figures, and it was truly beautiful to see such a public appreciation for the culinary arts. Shout out to the lady that procured the best in show cake for $135 clams. And I would remiss if I didn’t recognize the bartender that bid on a cake and then immediately decided to donate his payment and have the auctioneer sell the cake again!

If you have the summer blues, the carnival is the cure.

what’s the latest scoop?

When in Rome

Next week Benjamin and I will be headed to Rome… Rome, New York that is, for the 23rd annual Capitolfest.

Each year, cinephiles young and old gather at the glorious Capitol Theatre for a three day weekend of rarely-seen silent and early talkie motion pictures. This is an absolute dream weekend for those that have a fondness of classic Tinseltown and pre-talkie days. The majority of the fare is shown on film and are often rarely screened. Beyond experiencing these films in a beautiful movie palace, one of the other highlights is the dealers room, featuring cinematic treasures ranging from books, film prints, records, and classic Hollywood ephemera. MovieJawn will of course be on hand slingin’ zines and other goodies - make sure you say hi!

Each year the festival celebrates one to two actors and highlights motion pictures from their respective filmographies. This year, from August 13th to 16th, Capitolfest will honor two character actors: Charlie Ruggles & Skeets Gallagher. If you are remotely within driving distance, I highly recommend you check out this amazing festival. Snag your tickets here ( I must add that the price is extremely affordable). Here’s a short article I published this past week for MovieJawn about this fantastic event:

I also had the pleasure of chatting with programmers, Julie and Art Pierce. You can find the video on MovieJawn’s YouTube channel here:

Shout out to MovieJawn’s Media Maven, Shayna Davis for editing this video.

this week i am proud of…

three things

I appeared on the latest episode of Hollywood Kitchen
This past week I was a guest on Karie Bible’s wonderful video show program, Hollywood Kitchen, watch here. Each episode Karie features a new guest, and together they make a classic Hollywood star’s recipe.

I joined my pal Liz Locke and Robert Mitchum’s niece Cindy Mitchum Azbill to chat about his career, films, and his famous chili recipe. Watch the episode here, and stay tuned for my next appearance!

I am still reeling over Cindy’s love of my chef hat.

The Morning Pages
Week five of the morning pages left me feeling a bit frustrated. This week was a struggle to get the pen to paper, but the important thing is that I got the job done and did not skip a single day. I am very proud of myself for sticking with this routine. What are the morning pages? Find out here.

My coverage of Turner Classic Movies’ Summer Under The Stars
I continued my coverage of TCM’s Summer Under The Stars with my flick picks for week two. As I write this, I am sad to report that I have only been able to watch one movie thus far on my watchlist, Storm Warning (1951). Ginger Rogers costars with Doris Day in this noir thriller about a fashion model (Rogers) that travels to the south to visit her sister (Day). While there, she witnesses the murder of a journalist by the Ku Klux Klan. This inevitably ended up being quite a heavy flick and never did I ever think I would be on the same side as a character played by Ronald Reagan.

I hope to catch up with some more watches soon (and will let you know which I find to be standouts) but in the meantime, the Leonard family digital video recording device is getting quite the workout. Follow my TCM’s Summer Under The Stars coverage here

this week i recommend…

Strangers on A Train (1951)

On Thursday evening at Ambler Theater with Tommy Udo perched on my lap and my mother and Benjamin on either side, I finally got to witness one of my favorite films on the silver screen.

What’s it about? 
Two strangers meet on a train, Guy (Farley Granger) and Bruno Antony (Robert Walker - aka my birthday twin) and a conversation is sparked. Bruno suggests they exchange murders, concluding that neither of them would be caught given the lack of motive. Guy, unfortunately, does not take Bruno’s proposition seriously, leading to quite the series of misadventures.

Why I (and Tommy Udo - his new favorite movie) recommend: This is one of my favorite films. I love everything about it, from the introduction of the characters within the train sequence, to the carnival scene that leads to Bruno popping a child’s balloon, to the awkward dinner party and talks of murder. What an absolute treat this motion picture is. Read more about my obsession with this film in an old Sundae post here. And if you want even more reading, may I recommend an article from the MovieJawn archives that I penned with my fellow classic coroner, Dr. Ashley Jane Carruthers in which we dissect the performance of Robert Walker as Bruno Antony, read it here:

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy you are here. xx.
goodbye.