Celebrating an Eighth Anniversary

This week marks eight years since Once Upon a Screen has been in existence. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime, and at other times it’s as though the years have flown by. Overall it’s been an enjoying ride thus far with periods of frustration strewn in for good measure. As I admitted a few years ago, I am at once both shocked at my stick-to-itivenessand happy I still enjoy sharing my thoughts on all things classic on this blog. It remains an important respite from all the negativity that surrounds us.

Before I get to my celebrations of 8, I must recognize the friends and bloggers who make it a point to stop in on occasion. You inspire me to keep going and to have fun at it.

As is the usual custom for these types of occasions, I begin this celebration with a presentation of gifts appropriate for the occasion. Gifts suitable for an eighth anniversary are either pottery or bronze. I’m happy to accept the following pottery items on my own behalf. You may notice the pottery is adorned by a movie star in each.

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88 years ago it was 1931. Here are 8 of my favorite films from that year:

Chaplin’s City Lights

Wale’s Frankenstein

Browning’s Dracula

Lang’s M

Brown’s A Free Soul

Capra’s Platinum Blonde

LeRoy’s Five Star Final

Brown’s Possessed

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Actors with 8 Academy Award Nominations:

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Eight this-n-thats:

• Behind the eight ball: Behind the eight ball means placed in a difficult situation from which one is unlikely to escape. The idiom behind the eight ball was first printed in American newspaper stories in the 1920s and was derived from the game of pool. (Grammarist) Magic eight ball is another common term loosely related to the first. Here, we get to know the future.

 

• The 8-track tape – A magnetic tape cartridge technology introduced by Lear Jet in 1964 as Stereo 8, although widely known by its 8-track moniker. The Stereo 8 was an 8-track version of the 4-track Muntz Autostereo, the first commercial music player for a car. Stereo 8 allowed two stereo recordings on the same tape providing a similar experience to flipping over an LP record of the era. The 1966 Ford Mustang was the first car with a built-in 8-track player, and aftermarket units became available. (pc.mag)

 

• One over the eight – a British expression that is used to say that a person (or yourself) has had one drink too many. It is first served in the early 20th century and may have originated from the notion that having just one more than eight drinks will make you—drunk

 

• A piece of eight – an old Spanish silver dollar, or peso, which once had the value of eight reals (dimes) and was therefore stamped with a large figure 8. In Colonial America, the piece of eight was adopted as legal tender, and it remained so as late as the Civil War. Its value was almost the same as that of the United States dollar.

 

• Eight-hundred-pound gorilla: any formidable obstacle

 

• The Beatles with Eight Days a Week

 

• The Eighth Wonder of the World

• My favorite sports #8 is Yogi Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015). Berra threw right-handed and batted left-handed. His number was retired in 1972.

  A mainstay for the most dominating teams in history, the Yankee that played from the end of World War II until the early 1960’s. Although he never led the league in a single major offensive category, he was just the third man to win three Most Valuable Player awards. Selected to play in 15 successive All-Star games. Played on 14 pennant winners and 10 World Champions, more than anyone in history. Led Yankees to the 1964 pennant as manager. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. (MLB.com)

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8 1930s movies with Eight:

Cukor’s The Women, there are 8 of them:

 

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With that I extend a happy anniversary wish to Once Upon a Screen! To ensure eight blessings to it, you and yours here are 8 Jimmy Stewarts. With him I send best wishes and heartfelt appreciation for your continued support.

Aurora