"It was love at first ride!" RIP Ron Turcotte

Ron Turcotte, the jockey for Secretariat, has passed away. He was 84.

In addition to his success in racing, most famously as the jockey who piloted The Big Red Machine to his astounding Triple Crown success, Turcotte was a class act on and off the track. In recent years he had been not only active on social media, but gracious and friendly in his interaction with fans, who never tired of asking him what it was like to ride one of the greatest racehorses that ever lived.

Turcotte was the last surviving member of Secretariat's team. Owner Penny Chenery passed away in  2017, trainer Lucien Lauren in 2000, and groom Eddie Sweat in 1998. Secretariat himself died in 1989 at the age of 19.

 

Ride in heavenly pastures, Ron, and thanks for your role in one of this horse-crazy girl's favorite childhood memories.

Updated 8/23/25: A lovely tribute to Turcotte from the the president of Secretariat.com.

 

Countdown to 20

One month from today Sophie will turn twenty years old (God willing). I never thought she'd still be around at this point and I'm truly grateful to still have her. Someday she will be gone and I will miss her terribly.

 

The key thing I've always focused on in terms of keeping her going is quality of life, and except for being thinner than she used to be (due to aging) not much has changed. She's still the same Sophie, she can still jump onto and off the bed, my desk, the bathroom counter, and her favorite chair.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

(These are her most recent pics).

July Words of Wisdom

The monthly quotes, they are dwindling...

 

Victory is not won in miles, but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more. (Louis L'Amour)

The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage. (Thucydides)

I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. (Henry David Thoreau)

Oh. My. GAWD!!!

In-N-Out does it again. Seriously, I hope whoever designed this got a big, fat bonus. Knowing In-N-Out, they're already really well paid.

 

Now we can all get the Double Double Mug!!!

 

I don't need more mugs, but damn this is tempting! On the other hand, since I don't eat cheeseburgers, this one might be more my style:

 

Recent reading: "Devil's Advocates: Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror"

Devil's Advocates: Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror 

by Cristina Massaccesi

 

Cristina Massacessi, a professor at University College London, takes an academic look at the creation of F.W. Murnau's horror classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, starting with the Expressionist movement during the Weimar Republic, through the film's production, release, and the suits brought by Florence Stoker, widow of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, Nosferatu's unauthorized source material. She then applies the Complex Discovery Plot template (from Noel Carroll's The Philosophy of Horror) to Nosferatu.

The book features a forward by E. Elias Merhige, director of Shadow of the Vampire, a fictional retelling of the making of Nosferatu that was inspired by the urban legend that Max Schreck's uncanny performance as Count Orlok (renamed from Dracula) was due to him being a real-life vampire. The book also ends with an interview with Merhige, who was apparently very helpful to Massaccesi, who had been a fan of Nosferatu since she first saw it as a teen.

 

As stated in the book, "The Devil's Advocates is a series devoted to exploring the classics of horror cinema." Other titles include Halloween, Let the Right One In, The Curse of Frankenstein, Saw, The Silence of the Lambs, The Thing, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Based on how much I learned from this volume, I've already added The Silence of the Lambs to my Amazon wish list.

Happy 4th of July America!!!

Have a great fireworks day!

 

 

Remember this little gem?

 

Images snicked from around the internets.

June Words of Wisdom

Solitude is dangerous. It's very addictive. It becomes a habit after you realize how peaceful and calm it is. It's like you don't want to deal with people anymore because they drain your energy. (Jim Carrey)

The poison was never forced - it was offered gently, until you forgot it was poison at all. (Mark Twain)

 

And the wise Queens went on with their business, having no time for fools, fakes, and fuckery. (Ann Marie Eleazer)

 

If you want to know where your heart is, look to where your mind goes when it wanders. (Walt Whitman)

 

So I therefore dedicate myself to my art, my sleep, my dreams, my labours, my sufferances, my loneliness, my unique madness, my endless absorption and hunger because I cannot dedicate myself to any fellow being. (Jack Kerouac)

 

It's hell writing and it's hell not writing. The only tolerable state is having just written. (Robert Haas)

A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity. (Franz Kafka)

Feeling different, feeling alienated, feeling persecuted, feeling that the only way to deal with the world is to laugh - because if you don't laugh you're going to cry and never stop crying - that's probably what's responsible for the Jews having developed such a great sense of humor. The people who had the greatest reason to weep, learned more than anyone else how to laugh. (Mel Brooks, who celebrated his 99th birthday on Saturday. What a gift to the world he has been.)

Recent reading: "L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood"

L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood

by Anne Soon Choi

This is a terrific look at the career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, L.A.'s legendary "coroner to the stars". Noguchi was a fixture in local news during my younger years and I'd always heard he'd done amazing work with the L.A. County Coroner's office. He was regarded as a brilliant pathologist by many, but his political savvy and administrative/management skills were lacking. His most fatal flaw, and the one that eventually cost him the job he loved, was developing an affinity for the limelight, and this book doesn't sugar coat how this affected his reputation and career. At times this weakness made him his own worst enemy.

 

Initially shy of it, Noguchi soon succumbed to the lure of the media spotlight, and this (along with administrative issues in the department) would cost him dearly when he was regarded as overstepping the bounds of his position. Beyond establishing causes of death, he would increasingly lay out for the press his interpretations of crime/death scenes, something that irritated the police and DA's office. He also created a badly conceived "reinactment" of one case with cameras in tow. Finally, following the deaths/autopsies of Hollywood legends William Holden and Natalie Wood in which he gave detailed versions of his interpretations of the deaths to the media, the County Board of Supervisors had enough. These issues combined with managerial disarray at the coroner's office, plus Noguchi's increasingly distracting outside endeavors, resulted in the end of his career as L.A.'s coroner.

Among the high-profile cases covered in the book is the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy and the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Holden, and Wood, as well as the Manson Family Murders. The book is also a revealing look at the racism faced by the Japanese-American community in Los Angeles in the 1960's-1980's, especially in terms of their assimilation back into the city following internment in World War II (Noguchi wasn't among them; he emigrated from Japan after the war ended). 

 

Anne Soon Choi is a local historian and college professor, and the notes in her acknowledgement detailing the research she did for this book are as fascinating as the book itself. If you're a fan of L.A. history (especially the time period Noguchi served as coroner) this is well worth your time. Highly recommended. Disclaimer: I bought this book directly from Anne when she was signing at the Sisters in Crime L.A. booth at the L.A. Times Festival of Books in April and she was kind enough to sign it for me.

From the book:

With the investigation in its early stages, Noguchi refrained from any speculation. As the chief coroner, his job was to report the cause of death and let the investigation move forward. Subsequently, Noguchi's "perfect autopsy" of Kennedy would become the standard in forensic science and vault him into national prominence in the field.

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest films ever!

 

 

Released fifty years ago today, Jaws was a phenomenon, the first great summer blockbuster. Plus it's a boatload of fun to watch. Just a perfect, perfect movie.

More Mythology humor

Friday I finished what turned out to be a brutal end of a semester in terms of the workload, especially at the last few weeks when my Mythology professor was really loading up on the written assignments (how do I loathe MLA format, let me count the ways). 

I actually loved both classes (the other was History of International Film) but between the two I was really going down to the wire with both finals due Friday night. And yes, my legendary procrastination was a factor, although the workload was as well. The pleasant surprise was that I finished the Film class on Thursday, then completed the final Mythology project on Friday early afternoon. But I've never been so glad to be done with a semester. It really took over my life at the end.

So this popped up on my social media this morning and I couldn't help but wonder what people who haven't studied the Odyssey would make of it.

Because, you see, Odysseus was the only one to survive the journey. Yep, that's the joke.

Happy Dad's Day to all the Dads!

My Dad died the month before Father's Day, so this marks the 15th Father's Day without him. Crazy to think about that, it's just mind-boggling how time marches on. 

One of his favorite treats was See's Peanut Brittle. After he moved to Hawaii in the mid-1990's I would often send him this peanut brittle for Father's Day and his birthday. Eventually, thanks to the joys of technology, he could order it for himself. 

 

There's a See's in my town, so I thought that in order to celebrate Dad (and the end of a particularly brutal semester) I would get a box. Also, these are great excuses to get some great chocolate. Win Win!

 

Sophie approves. Pic is dark thanks to dreary coastal fog.

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and all the Dads out there.

Yeah, I used the same pics every time. They're my faves.

Farewell May 70's Dance Party!!!

It was fun while it lasted!

 

Monday, May 26: "Got to Give It Up" - Marvin Gaye

Tuesday, May 27: "Shining Star" - Earth, Wind & Fire

Wednesday, May 28: "The Boss" - Diana Ross

Thursday, May 29: "She's a Lady" - Tom Jones

Friday, May 30: "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" - Barry White

Saturday, May 31: "Last Dance" - Donna Summer (Well played, 70's dance party!)

 

Already had Shining Star (always loved EWF, what a great band) and Last Dance. 

iTunes got my money: The Boss, She's a Lady, and several others by both artists.