Words of Wisdom - Carrie Fisher edition

"Stay afraid but do it anyway. What's important is the action. You don't have to wait to be confident. Just do it and the confidence will follow." --Carrie Fisher

Photo snicked from lucasfilm.com.

Carrie Fisher passed away this morning at the age of 60. Who would have thought that as far and away the youngest of the original Star Wars trio, that she would be the first to die.

I only just saw her one-woman show Wishful Drinking a couple months ago (on DVD) and was impressed how she could find such entertainment and humor in what was not always a happy or healthy life. Her biography is well-known enough that I don't need to repeat it here, but in addition to her fame and the Hollywood privilege she was born into, the woman dealt with a lot demons. She was a survivor and will be missed by a lot of people. I only wish she had at least lived long enough to survive her mother - having to bury your child has got to be the worst thing imaginable, regardless of their age.

TCM has had to update its 2016 "In Memoriam" segment twice, to add Zsa Zsa Gabor and now Carrie. We've got four days left, here's hoping they don't need to update it again.

Updated 12/28/16: This tweet says it all:

Updated 12/28/16: You can't make this stuff up - the day after Carrie's death, her mother Debbie Reynolds has died. Singin' in the Rain was one of the greatest things ever. I think everyone knew Carrie's death would be crushing for her, but not this fast. Condolences to everyone involved.

TCM Remembers 2016

Turner Classic Movie's annual memorial is predictably - and reliably - beautiful and heartbreaking. We lost some good ones this year. A couple days ago while watching TCM I noticed that they added Zsa Zsa Gabor in at the end, right before Gene Wilder (she's not in this original version, which was created prior to her recent death). Here's hoping they don't have to add Carrie Fisher at the last minute. 2016 has been brutal in celebrity deaths.

Updated 12/27/16: Unfortunately they had to add another one in today - RIP Carrie Fisher.

Updated 12/28/16: You can't make this stuff up - the day after Carrie's death, her mother Debbie Reynolds has died. Singin' in the Rain was one of the greatest things ever. I think everyone knew Carrie's death would be crushing for her, but not this fast. Condolences to everyone involved.

Merry Christmas to all

Be on the lookout!

A Christmas alert from the LAPD.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Venus Flytrap Claus

This is really bizarre...but also funny as hell. Enjoy!

H/T to Reggie Dunlop on Twitter for the link.

Christmas on!

Joy to the world!!!

This is one of the neatest things ever! So beautiful!

Possibly the best cat video ever

Sophie won't eat cat treats, but I still have to give Temptations props for this. Having lived through it, I can vouch for how perfectly they nailed the 1980's MTV music video aesthetic. NAILED. IT.

Enjoy!!!

That old Disney magic

One of the things I learned on my trip to New Orleans is that when a ship (or in the case of my trip, a steamboat) sounds off, it's not just a random series of horn blasts.

On the Steamboat Natchez cruise (highly recommended by the way) we were informed that the boat announces its departure with one long blast of the steam whistle, followed by three bells, then another long blast of the steam whistle. When approaching the dock upon her return, the Natchez sounds off with this series of whistles: one long, two short, one long, two short.

Which brings us to this battle of the horns:

What can you do, Liberty of the Seas? Disney's gonna Disney!

H/T to Islands Magazine on Facebook for this one!

Update: Looks like cruise ship horn battles are an actual thing. Having never been on a cruise, I had no idea. Here are a bunch more to check out! Kiss the next few hours goodbye!

Still one of the greatest things ever

The Silent Monks performing at a Christmas show.

MasterClass just keeps upping their game

The online school that numbers James Patterson (writing), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriting), Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman (acting), Serena Williams (tennis), Christina Aguilera, Usher and Reba McEntire (music) and Gordon Ramsey (cooking) among its instructors has hit another grand slam: you can now learn TV writing from non-other than Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice). Ninety bucks and Shonda Rhimes is your instructor. Do it.

Hey, it's another Foamy the Squirrel rant! No Christmas for you!

Too many quotable lines in this one to pick just one for the caption.

More Foamy the Squirrel can be found here, yuppie scum.