Happy Thought for 2 December 2022

Have a Happy Thought: 

 You may have learned a new word when Merriam-Webster published this year’s Word of the Year – Gaslighting.

(or maybe you just learned this word now – if so, congratulations, you're one of today's lucky 10,000!)

 

What’s mentioned in the write-up from Merriam-Webster Dictionary is that the word comes from the name of a 1938 play, that was then turned into a movie – more than once! A UK version was made in 1940, and then this version in the US in 1944.

Movie Poster from the 1994 movie Gaslight. Pastel drawings. A woman's head and upper torso leans to one side, with a man's head and torso shown leaning over her. Another man watches, concerned, from the background. The names Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten are written in large letters above the image. Angela Lansbury is listed along with other supporting cast and crew below the image in smaller text.

Image in public domain, original Copyright 1944 Loew's Incorporated - Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from original image.

 

What’s that? Is that Angela Lansbury* listed on that poster? Yes it is!

*later of Murder She Wrote fame, and yes we sadly lost her in October this year

 

Not only was she in this movie that none of us have ever seen but has become immortalised in the English language, Angela Lansbury also …

 

...wrote a diet and exercise book.

Book cover. Angela Lansbury's Positive Moves: My Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being (9780385302234) by Angela Lansbury; Mimi Avins. Shows Angela Lansbury in a suit jacket, nicely done hair and makeup, and pearl necklace under flowing script.

Image: Delacorte Press, 1990  https://www.bookfinder.com/author/angela-lansbury/

 

Yep, and it’s honestly the kindest, most ease-yourself-into-being-good-to-yourself exercise book you could ever want. An official review of the book notes:

In a down-to-earth, straightforward style, Lansbury emphasizes seeking a realistic level of comfort and activity to enhance physical and psychological fitness. What separates this from other celebrity diet/exercise books is Lansbury's optimistic yet commonsense approach and her acceptance of herself [along with] many personal anecdotes.

-Janet M. Coggan, Univ. of Florida Lib., Gainesville. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 

Oh, and there are videos and an audiobook. Both of which I highly encourage you to check out, whether you like Angela Lansbury, or hate working out!

 

 

Also, ok and this is crazy – the US makers (MGM) of the 1944 film were trying to gaslight all of us into thinking there never was an earlier British version. Check out this excerpt from Wikipedia:

Encouraged by the success of the play and the British 1940 film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the remake rights, but with a clause insisting that all existing prints of the first film be destroyed, even to the point of trying to destroy the negative. Evidently that order was not honored to the letter, since the 1940 Gaslight remains available for both theatrical exhibition, television screenings, and DVD release.

-

 

Completely unrelated… if you’re interested in volcanoes, make sure to check out the webcam that’s trained on Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Since no property (other than some observatory and climate monitoring equipment) is at risk, you can watch with a clean conscience.

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa/webcams

 

 

 Thanks to the podcast Maintenance Phase for an excellent review of Positive Moves!