October 19, 2009
Hiding Behind The Mask
Scary doctors, spooky masks, and special treats in this issue - fitting for the ghostly season!
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Behind the Scenes with Dr. Julia has as its mission to be both informative and humorous. Neither may be accomplished, but if you have nothing better to do I highly recommend reading every issue.
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In This Issue...
1) This Month's Funny AdviceWhy Hide Your Feelings?
2) Who's the Scariest, Spookiest, Creepiest Doctor?
Dr. Julia needs to know
3) Entertainment Peck Of the Month:
Arsenic and Old Lace
4) Interview of the Month:
September's Caption Contest winner, Caroline Pointer
5) They Said - She Said:
Dr. Julia takes on Dr. Phil
6) What's New On Advice with Dr. Julia.com
And My Market Research Poll
*Special*
Two new SPOOKY eCards for you to send to your friends! October 31st, at the stroke of midnight... they'll be gone! Ha ha ha ha! (inflected with evil laughter for creepy effect)
October's Funny Advice
Why hide your feelings or true intentions? In the end, you only fool yourself.
Who's the Spookiest?
There have been books written, plays performed, and movies made about some pretty scary doctors. Well, Dr. Julia is on a mission to find out which one is the scariest of them all.Click the image below to see who Dr. Julia picks!
Entertainment Peck of the Month
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)You can almost bet your life (almost) that when you see a film directed by Frank Capra that it's gonna be a good one. When a film is staring Cary Grant as well... then go ahead and bet your life.
Arsenic and Old Lace is a spooky, crazy funny film that takes place on Halloween!
The cast of characters (besides leading man Cary Grant) include Josephine Hull, Priscella Lane, and CREEPY Peter Lore, to name a few.
The story starts out with Mortimer Brewster (Grant) - an unwavering bachelor (and famous for it) preparing to wed on Halloween in Brooklyn.
Before the trip to Niagara Falls, Mortimer rushes home to tell his aunts, the Brewster sisters, the good news. Unfortunately, he discovers that his aunts have news of their own - news that they would prefer be kept secret.
Mortimer also wants to keep the secret! In order to protect his sweet, crazy aunts, Mortimer decides to have Teddy Roosevelt committed to Happy Dale insane asylum. Oh, Teddy is Mortimer's other brother... who thinks he's the President. Didn't I mention that?
Things seem to be moving right along (in a madcap sort of way) until Mortimer's long lost, psychopath brother (Raymond Massey) shows up, looking like the spitting image of Boris Karloff!
In the Broadway play, Jonathan Brewster (Mortimer's brother) really was played by Boris Karloff. So, I guess that's why in the movie they really impress upon you the creepy resemblance.
Actually, the Brewster sisters (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) were performing Arsenic and Old Lace with Boris Karloff on Broadway. Hull and Adair were given a leave of absence in order to make the film - a film that was created in just eight weeks! Karloff, unfortunately, could not do the same. Still, I think that Raymond Massey does a great Boris, I mean, Jonathan Brewster.
Take my word for it. Dr. Julia and I just watched this movie for the umpteenth time the other night. It is a CREEPY, SPOOKY, FUNNY, HALLOWEEN Peck of the Month! You'll LOVE it.
***Video will only work for the month of October!***
Interview of the Month: Caroline Pointer
Remember September's Caption Contest? If you lost, you may be trying to forget. Caroline Pointer remembers it very well... because she was the winner!
Dr. Julia and I interviewed Caroline the other day on Twitter - of all places. Caroline was plum too lazy to come into the office (but I really think it was her fear of couches... especially those belonging to Dr. J).
Caroline is a feisty Texan that would do anything to win a mug. Put a picture of Dr. Julia on it and look out! It is our pleasure to introduce her to you now.
Dr.J: Dr. Julia here. I've never conducted a counseling session via Tweeting before - Should prove interesting.
Me: Oh, Dr. Julia, this isn't a session. It's an interview.
Dr.J: Same difference, dear, same difference. And another thing, I will not tolerate typos - so mind your keyboard! If I can do it with feathery fingers, you can too - despite your lack of manicure.
Me: I, I...
Dr.J: Lora, I'm your boss - not your captain.
Me: Um... So, Caroline, very nice to be Tweeting with you today! You were able to pull off a great victory in last month's contest. How long did it take you to come up with that winning caption anyway?
C.P.: Probably about 30 seconds.
Dr.J: Hph, not surprised.
C.P.: Yes, I'm pretty quick like that.
Dr.J: Caroline, what was the inspiration "behind" it? Did you catch that? "Behind" it!
C.P.: From the exquisite sketch, I could tell that snail seemed a bit insecure about its shell, so I felt like the caption was a good "fit".
Dr.J: Caroline, do you suffer from insecurities from time to time - when wearing certain clothing, that is?
C.P.: Absolutely not. I am what I am. And I know what makes my butt look big... I don't need to ask.
Dr.J: I'm sure you don't.
Me: Dr. Julia! Yes, um... oh yeah. Caroline, we had a lot of entries - we're you ever worried that you might not win?
C.P.: Absolutely not. I knew my fellow tweeters would not let me down. They are the reason I won.
Dr.J: So you tweeted - or as some may call it, "cheated".
Me: It was looking pretty bleak, I thought for a minute there... and then... your caption took a massive lead!
C.P.: It was all a part of my master plan to let the competition feel overconfident.
Me: You have the very first piece of Dr. J merchandise. 100 years from now - it will be...
Dr.J: Probably broken to pieces.
C.P.: ...still sitting on the shelf. Hopefully worth something.
Me: How does it make you feel to own such a rarity?
C.P.: Words cannot express the immense emotion that churns within my soul on my ownership of such a rarity.
Dr.J: I know exactly what you mean!
Me: Caroline, Tell us a little bit about you and what you do.
C.P.: I'm a wife, mom, and when I can get them out of the house, I manage to do a little genealogy research and family history writing.
Me: Yes, I have visited your website, Family Stories.com, many times and find the stories intriguing.
C.P.: Thank you.
Dr.J: I've never read it.
Me: That's okay, Dr. Julia. We know you're busy.
Dr.J: Oh, that's not why.
Me: Whoops...
Dr.J: Caroline, sort of a grave digger, are you?
C.P.: Well, I'm not an actual grave digger, but I'm well acquainted with a few cemeteries. You never know what you might find!
Me: Is there any creepy story that you've come across that you could share with us now?
C.P.: No, not really.
Dr.J: So I made popcorn for nothing?
Me: While researching genealogies, do you find that strangeness is an all in the family thing?
C.P.: I think that "strangeness" is in every family and can really spice up your research.
Dr.J: Have you run across any murderers, mad scientists, monsters, ANYTHING?
C.P.: I have run across two murders of ancestors that I plan to talk about on my blog. One was never solved. Now I'm gonna try!
Me: There, Dr. J - satisfied now?
Dr.J: I am... But a mad scientist would have been more fun. Shelly wrote about a good one. Why can't Caroline?
C.P.: When I find a mad scientist in my family tree, you'll be the first to know, Dr. J. How's that?
Me: Well, Caroline, I think we have taken enough of your time - It was very interesting. Thank you, and enjoy your Dr. Julia Coffee Mug! Get back to your research.
C.P.: Thank you, I will. Honestly, I don't know how you put up with Dr. J! You deserve a medal, or something.
Me: There's one in every family - and no one should know that better than you, Caroline!
They Said - She Said
Dr. Julia said... "I'm almost seven inches tall on my tiptoes... and I'm a flaming redhead. Be very afraid!"
What's New On Advice with Dr. Julia
- Take The Poll! Dr. J won't pay me! Don't you think somebody should? I seek advice from my three subscribers - Please Take My Subscription Fee Poll
- Here's an article that the "old" Mortimer Brewster may not have believed in... confirmed bachelor that he was. But if you're married or thinking about marriage you may find this article on
How to Prevent Divorce very helpful.
Dr. Julia has not supplied me with an accompanying photo yet (she keeps "forgetting"), but I hope to have one up in the next few days or so.
- In the Ask Dr. Julia section, we have a new letter from a subscriber who asks What to Do About Clingy Friends?
I think Dr. J gave a pretty good answer. Check it out and see if you agree.
- You should most definitely be a Dr. Julia Chicken Fan on FaceBook!
- You are welcome to Follow Dr. Julia Nowhere on Twitter.
- And how do you expect Dr. J to pay her bills if you never Buy Dr. Julia's Stuff at Zazzle?
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Feel Free to Chat!
The three of you are always invited to chat about this issue (or any issues you have) with me, Dr. J, or each other right here on BTS Chat. Why not see what the other two are saying!
Other Stuff
That's it for this issue of Behind the Scenes with Dr. Julia. Tune in next month for more of the same - only better, of course. And make sure you recommend Dr. Julia to all those individuals that desperately need help.
Until next time,
Lora and Dr. Julia
PS.
Dr. Julia and I would love to know your thoughts on this issue of Behind the Scenes with Dr. Julia, tell us about them here and Dr. Julia herself just might answer you back!