Kelly Clarkson Says It is a Girl
Just as Kelly Clarkson had announced that her Christmas television special guests would include some pretty impressive stars, she also let the world know that she is expecting her first baby. She says it is a girl, or at least, she “feels” that it is. According to Clarkson, this will be the beginning of a large family.
Alec Baldwin Too Little Too Late
Alec Baldwin, after first denying it, admitted to using a homophobic slur; unfortunately for the actor, it is too little too late. His “fessing up” of the anti-gay comment has not stopped MSNBC from yanking his show Up Late on Friday this week and it has been cancelled for next Friday as well.
As Author Edwin F Becker points out, there were no Ghost Hunters a la TAPS in 1970. There was also no Amityville horror; at least not until 1977 when Jay Anson put pen to paper and wrote about the “alleged” ghostly problems of the Lutz family in the house where an entire family sans one was murdered.
It would not surprise me to learn that Jay Anson was not already aware of the ghostly events that plagued the Becker family via a NBC newscast that was aired both locally (where Becker and his wife lived) and nationally. Where else could he have gotten the idea? And where Anson, admittedly, stretched the truth to breaking and beyond in search of a fast buck; Becker did not profit one cent from his haunted house experience until years later when he self-published his story.
I’d bet a pretty penny myself to say that he’s not profiting much from the sales of his story; his e-book is very affordable.
In 1970, Becker and his new wife and baby, wanted to buy a house. Finding a two-story house with two ready-made apartments already under one roof, he thought he’d found a bargain. Sure the house needed work and they needed to get rid of the “crazy” woman who lived in the downstairs apartment, but Edwin was not afraid of hard work and the “crazy tenant” was on her way out.
So what could go wrong?
Apparently, everything.
Becker recounts what happened when he and his young family moved into the house in the suburbs of 1970 Chicago and the traumatic affect the property had on friends and family. He tells of the Church’s refusal to get involved and of seeking help from two (the only two in the Yellow Pages) paranormal investigative societies available.
He tells his story in a straight forward, no-nonsense manner that convinces and disturbs and (for me anyway) made the hair on the back of my neck stand-up which resulted in my deciding to read the rest of the book in the daylight. What he does not do is embellish the events to “sell” his story. He steadfastly refused to sensationalize any of the occurrences that he and his family experienced. Hence the self publishing.
When he and his family encountered what, at the outset, seemed like odd events: a kitchen door that refused to stay shut, a mixer that refused to hang on the wall, a phone that kept taking itself off the hook and countless other things, that he found “logical” explanations for. Or so he thought.
As the haunting began to escalate, he and his wife (who to be fair, sensed this a lot earlier than her skeptic husband) realised that the house was haunted by not one, but several ghosts.
It was Mr Becker’s sincere and plain retelling that both convinced me of the truth of his story combined with “strange” experiences that I myself have encountered that sold me on the validity of his tale.
This is a very understated book when compared with Jay Anson’s nefarious tale of the Amityville “hauntings.” You’ll find no oozing black stuff pouring out of the sockets; no overabundance of flies; no voice telling anyone to, “Get Out!” and no pigs floating outside a second story window.
What you will find is a simply written(not in a negative sense) tale of growing fear and financial difficulties. Your heart will go out to his (then) young family and the fact that they had so few avenues of help. Before the modern “ghost busting” equipment of today and the digital revolution that enables ghost hunters to track down “spirits and demons” you had psychics and clairvoyants and the odd paranormal scientist. Oh and the clergy, if you could get them to acknowledge the problem. This was a time of real “hit and miss” ghost hunting and something that not many of the main populace knew about.
This was a great read and, as I said before, one that literally “creeped” me out. I will warn you, this is not a book for the overly imaginative. I slept with the light on after reading this book.
I’d give this a full 5 out of 5 stars for no-nonsense reporting of one family’s experience with a haunted house. Do not miss reading this book, it is a great story, even if you don’t believe in ghosts.
That’s right, Michael J Fox is returning to full time acting after over a decade of doing part-time jaunts on other shows because of his Parkinson’s. He’s going to be doing a show for NBC “based” on his ‘life’ after being diagnosed with the disease.
Michael has gone on record saying that the new drug regimen that he’s currently on has made it possible for him to return to a full 22 show schedule. This must be a glorious moment for him after finding out that he had the disease in 1991. When he was diagnosed it took him a while to come to grips with his situation and to make it known to the public.
Since that time Fox has been campaigning for more public awareness of the disease and for a cure. He has never given up and only stopped full time acting because of the strain and, as he put it, the unfairness to his co-workers.
Fox could almost be considered a national treasure, if he wasn’t Canadian. But be that as it may, he still qualifies to a huge degree, because dammit the guy is likeable, talented and gutsy, all great qualities of any national treasure. He’s written two books (both dealing with his life and his disease),the first one Oh Lucky Man was a best seller and one of mine and my brother’s favourites.
My brother took it as a personal affront when Fox made his announcement about Parkinson’s. As he told me, “I grew up watching Michael on TV in Family Ties, I wanted to be Alex and so did a lot of other kids who watched the show. I was so angry when I heard he’d been struck down with this.”
I didn’t fall into that category, I just loved watching him work. Whether is was on the telly or the big screen, he had that combination of talent, comic timing, delivery…Hell, he had the whole shooting match.
Of course my brother and I weren’t his only fans. Fox has won a lot of awards in recognition of his works. Not least of which was the honorary degree of medicine from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute after he started his own organisation to raise funds and awareness about Parkinson’s in 2010.
So welcome back Michael, although you were never really gone, I can’t wait to see how this new ‘comedy’ program about you and your disease will actually do. I’m sure that more than a few folks are wondering how a show about having Parkinson’s can be funny. Well I’ve seen a show that is a comic/tragedy about dying from Cancer, Parkinson’s has definitely got to be a step up from that.
I mean lets face it, when we are faced with anything that falls into the category of ‘life changing’ it has it’s funny moments. When we are experiencing these moments it is important to find the funny side and more importantly to share it.
Fox is doing just that, he is showing us the funny side of the disease and it’s effects (I am really guessing here as the synopsis of the show that NBC have released is quite ambiguous) on the family around him. More importantly, I think, is the ‘reach’ that this program will have on telling the world about Parkinson’s and its need for a cure.
I think the program will be funny but with ‘a sting in the tail’ at the end of each episode. Probably replicating the reality of what Michael himself went through as the disease continued to change his life.
So come on NBC and Michael J Fox, lets be having you!
Mikes Film Talk 
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