ETC.: Still alive

ETC.: Still alive

• Still swamped with my 80-page Visitors Guide project this week, but I did get nifty spoils of war -- the new work computer I'd been promised for a good year or two finally came in. Behold the glory of my new flat-panel iMac!

She is a beauty, with an enormous screen that is so wide I feel like I'm at the movie theater. Actually it will take some getting used to, I'm likely to get crosseyed until I adjust. This fine computing machine definitely makes our now-aged 1999 iMac at home look even more poky, though. Replacing that bad boy will have to wait until we win the lottery or something, alas...

• Sad to note in the news today that actress Ruth Hussey died at age 93. Who? What? You say? Admittedly I wasn't sure where I knew the name either, but then I realized she is the last of the four stars of one of the all-time greats, "The Philadelphia Story."

While not as legendary as her co-stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, Hussey did shine in a nice cynical turn as Stewart's reporter character's wisecracking girlfriend and photographer. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for it. Curiously "The Philadelphia Story" was on TV just last week so I watched some of it again. The fast-talking, loud and dramatic style of golden age farces like this don't work for everyone, and I'll admit not all of 'em work for me, but you can't go wrong with this one. Everyone's firing on all cylinders, and 70 years on or so, it still crackles. Rest in peace, Ms. Hussey.

• Hey, my Jay's Days Giveaway contest entries have slowed down. Don't forget the deadline for it is coming up in a week or so -- April 29 is the last day to e-mail me with what you would call your imaginary autobiography. The most original, funny, wacko titles get a shot at prizes of great autobiographical comix by my pal Jay Marcy. Step up, people!