To Dos Day

___ Item 1: BE AMAZED...
...by just how close the voting turned out as y'all voted to determine the year of the December Smackdown. 'Twas perhaps the closest contest in StinkyLulu history. 'Tis perfect, though: another year full of classic films (tho' I am perhaps the single person looking forward to this performance). All told, December's month of Supporting Actress Sundays promises to bring a great finish to the 2nd year of Smackdowns, so thanks to all who voted. As you know, Supporting Actress Sundays goes on hiatus during Award Season and, thus, will remain (sorta) "dark" after the Supporting Actress Blogathon until April (or March). Which means, lovely reader, that December represents your last chance in 2007 to be a Smackdowner! To be a Smackdowner, you must have a blog or website, you must be able to acquire the films on your own, and you must be willing to commit to re/screening the films and submitting your zingers no later than the crack of dawn on December 30. If you're seriously interest and if you meet these criteria, shoot StinkyLulu an email and we'll get you looped in for what I hope will be a mostly newbie New Year's Blast. (Veterans - there may be room for you to play with the new kids; holler if you're interested.)

___ Item 2: CHOOSE...
...your favorite among these brilliant holiday gift ideas. I can't settle on the one I love best. Yes, indeed, I want them all...

___ Item 3: TASTE...
...the Macho. What's your flavor?...

___ Item 4: PLACE YOUR BETS...
...whether or not StinkyLulu will ever finish 1955 Supporting Actress profiles. The Smackdown's behind us yet Marisa Pavan's still begging for attention and Betsy Blair's still being taken for granted (though she does have one not-so-secret admirer). Wish me well, dear one, my momentum's dragging and I'm finding it difficult to muster...

___ Item 5: CHECK OUT...
...this quickie slideshow I built from images of the Japanese actor, Komagiro Wada, who also happens to be the great-grandfather of one of my students. These are images from a family scrapbook of Wada's early days as a working actor near Osaka in the early 20th century. The girl child is Emiko Wada, my student's grandmother, who emigrated to the Oklahoma in the middle 1950s after marrying an American GI. I haven't been able to find anything on Komagiro Wada, let alone the surprising range of roles he performed (traditional Japanese stock characters as well as more Western roles). The grandmother is apparently something of a pill and it's not clear whether or not she knows much about her father's career as a young actor. So, enjoy, and if you happen to be able to help me with any research hints on finding out more about Wada, all the better.

___ Item 6: GET YOUR THEME ON...
...by contemplating suggestions for StinkyLulu's 3rd Year of Supporting Actress Sundays. The big question is: how do I determine the year under scrutiny for each month? We've discussed some strategies in the past -- taking things decade by decade, letting selected people select, etc. BUT two realities to consider: first, I like having y'all vote, at least some/most of the time; second, I'm craving something a little different from my old numerology technique for grouping each month's possible fields of contenders. SO I've been thinking of running the voting along THEMES: selecting among years that have features in common, like "one scene wonders" or "controversial upsets" or "worst nominations" or somesuch? Whaddaya think? A good idea? Too esoteric? Too random? What themes would you suggest as best? And, aside from all that, are there particular years that are -- in your humble estimation -- just MUSTS for 2008 -- fields that the Smackdown MUST get to sooner rather than later? (And, yes, I know it's way early to be thinking about something that's not even gonna start for at least another 4 months but, hey, StinkyLulu's old and old Stinkys move slow, so shuddupayaface.) Let me know in comments what you're thinking, lovelies...

Have at it, lovelies...