Today we join Paul Wilborn and Doug Clair of the Having Beers With podcast to raise our coffee mugs (and their beer cans) in salute to movies! We have a rousing discussion about some of our all time favorite movies, including those guilty pleasure films we almost don’t want to admit to out loud. You might be surprised at what ours are…and maybe even discover you’re not alone in yours.
Doug stumps us (Ok. Kris. Doug stumps Kris.) as we do a round-robin guess-the-movie-candy game. Apparently when Kris’ brain thinks, “Snickers”, or “Butterfingers,” or “Reeses Pieces,” her mouth spits out Jordan Almonds. Not literally, but you know what we mean. Kris would just like to say in her defense, it’s her mom’s favorite candy and Kris crumbles under pressure. We’re pretty sure Kym won the game, but Kris did guess the number one candy (of course, Paul helped by providing a great clue…ahem). No we’re not telling here. That’s what the podcast is for. Go. Go listen NOW. Shooo. Go on…
Ok, well, thanks for sticking with the blog. Anyhoo, we go on to to talk about the top money-making movies of all time, many of which have made billions of dollars. BILLIONS with a B. NINE. ZEROES. Kris and Kym would like to say, “DAYUM, we are in the wrong business!” Sadly, some of our favorite blockbusters (Jaws, E.T., etc.) were blown out of the water by today’s newfangled upstarts, but Kris’ nerd heart is stilled with the inclusion of two films from her all time favorite franchises, Harry Potter and Star Wars. #nerdsunite.
Of course, what would a podcast episode with the Mugly Truth be – whether it’s ours or one we’re guesting on – without a major detour? So we veer off the Cinema Interstate and take the Bathroom Etiquette offramp. Yes, dear friends, we do Potty Talk on this episode. But fear not, it’s alllll relatable with no discussion about gross stuff. And there’s just one air-biscuit reference. 20 Listener Gold Stars if you know the movie reference without Google, and can answer before Kym.
Check out our “It’s Movie Time!” collaboration episode with Having Beers With on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
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Happy Tuesday and Happy National Tell a Fairytale Day!! That’s right, February 26 is all about celebrating fairytales. Naturally Kym and Kris have chosen to take what’s lovely and beautiful and seemingly happy-ever-after and turn it on it’s morbid little head. Because if you really believe all those Disney happy endings, honey sit down, because the truth is downright scary. AND mugly.
First of all, the fairytales we all know and love have been around for centuries (the oldest known tale called “The Smith and The Devil” is believed to be 7,000 years old!). Among the most well known set of stories published in the early 19th century were by librarian brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm as a way to prevent the stories of their Germanic heritage being lost forever. Prior to that, most tales were passed down in oral tradition as moral teachings and guidance. Apparently, telling children not to wander into the forest for fear of being baked by a witch was a great way to keep them playing in the front yard.
But beyond just moralizing opportunities, the tales were a snapshot of the social norms of the day. The value (or lack thereof, let’s face it) of women and children, the struggles of day to day existence, famine, disease…many of the stories we fawn over today as lovely and feel-good really were quite gruesome. So much so that over time some storylines actually became omitted. (Do you know what the ugly step sisters actually did to get that damned slipper to fit?? DO YOU??) We’ll warn you now…many include the deaths of women and children and there seemed to be just a smidge of cannibalism going on. Remember, famine.
Interesting side-note: according to this article History of Fairytales, by Susie McGee, the oral origins of the stories made famous by male authors like the Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault, “[go] back much further than the 17th century, and many of these stories are actually just retellings of age-old tales, many created by women and retold throughout history” and “women typically created fairy tales with a distinct purpose in mind-to protest the societal constraints that were placed upon them and to emphasis their own rights as women in a man’s world.”
Hmmm.
Mostly the takeaway is we’re REALLY glad we’re 21st century women and that our kids have no idea how great their lives are.
Speaking of grim, those brothers are the ones mainly responsible for the rest of the world learning about Little Snow White, The Golden Goose, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Brave Little Tailor, The Pied Piper, and Rumplestiltskin.
Wilhelm Grimm (left) and Jacob Grim, 1855, painting by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Photo from Wikipedia. This photo is in public domain.
Frontispiece and title-page, illustrated by Ludwig Emil Grimm of the 1819 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen). Source: Toronto Public Library and Wikipedia. This photo is in public domain.
The Deutsche Sagen (German Legends) included stories such as “Pied Piper of Hamelin”, shown here in an illustration by Kate Greenaway. Artist: Kate Greenaway (1846–1901) Engraver: Edmund Evans (1826–1905) Photo from Wikipedia. This photo is in public domain.
But they’re not the only ones who you know about even if you don’t know you know them. Mm-hmm.
In France, Charles Perrault created the classic Tales of Mother Goose including a version of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, as well as Puss In Boots, The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, and Bluebeard. In Denmark Hans Christian Andersen gained fame with The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Snow Queen, and many others.
Clearly, ticking off popular Disney movie title after movie title after movie title, one doesn’t have to look very far in today’s entertainment industry to understand how far-reaching the legacies of these stories have been.
Don’t even get us started on how all the happy-ending purty la la renditions have caused a whole generation of people to expect unrealistic life arcs. Which makes them easily offended. Which makes life annoying a lot of times. There’s no scientific data to back that statement, we just feel VURRRY strongly that that is accurate. Just an observation.
We ARE glad certain huge movie makers are creating better female characters who are heroic, brave, and can save their own hide and a couple other people’s as well. And they don’t necessarily have to marry anyone in the end either. You go Elsa and Anna!
Anyway. Hey. Look. Looklookie here. Listen. Don’t mind us. Have we mentioned we’re getting older and hormonal? OF COURSE we’re going to find the bitching in the pudding (by the way, the story behind Jack Horner is kind of cool)…but don’t let us ruin a perfectly amazing opportunity to crack open your favorite Beauty and the Beast illustrated book and read it to a loved one (including yourself) if you’re so inclined. Because truth…mugly truth that is…be told, we’re suckers for happily ever after, so bring on the sanitized versions dear friends. Let’s all d’awwww together.
For more information on the articles cited in this episode and blog post please visit the following:
Check out our Please Don’t Eat the Children episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Kris and Kym enjoy coffee to the LAST DROP! Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px.
Kym and Kris take the podcast to new heights when they hang out in Big Bear, CA, for the weekend in search of epic history (some tragic) and haunted happenings.
Kym bundled up for recording outside on a deck in Big Bear.
We started off visiting the small and poignant Big Bear Cemetery. The cemetery opened in the late 1980s and unfortunately has had some financial difficulties over the years. It is under new management and by all accounts, seems to be the only cemetery in Big Bear.
We spent quite a bit of time walking through and viewing some of the lovingly decorated gravesites.
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Throughout the cemetery were homages and tributes to the heart and soul of loved ones who have passed on, including some who must have had quite a sense of humor in life.
Humor is forever.
Afterwards, we went into Big Bear Village and visited the Knickerbocker Mansion (or, at least, the chained fence surrounding it). Couldn’t discover if the mansion is haunted, but it is a lovely compound and apparently has the oldest still-standing vertical-log cabin in the area (if not the state, or the country…or perhaps…even…THE WORLD!!) It’s currently closed but we couldn’t figure out if it’s because of renovations or for sale. There was no sale sign, but there was a box full of flyers espousing the virtues of the property.
The Knickerbocker Mansion, Big Bear Lake
We then visited the Captains Anchorage restaurant (once the Sportsmans Tavern, owned by actor Andy Devine) just up the street. We were too early to go inside, so had to be content with just walking around the building while the kitchen crew eyed us through the window. Not creepy at all. Something weird happened to Kym’s camera phone as she tried to take a photo of one of the upstairs windows. Now. There is a story about a man named George who was found dead in his office on the second floor, whether by murder or by suicide no one really knows. But his ghost is said to haunt the restaurant. So. Ghost? iPhone glitch? Hmmm…..we may never know. There was nothing untoward in the photo, but we are planning to go back and next time…go inside! So bring it on George!
Captains Anchorage steakhouse, Big Bear Lake
Our Tour Guide to Macabre Big Bear (Kym’s mom) pointed out a home in her neighborhood and a couple businesses in the village with tragic histories, and at one point we did stop near the condo where Christopher Dorner holed up during a manhunt that ended in a fatal shootout with police. During his vengeful spree, he ruthlessly murdered Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, Officer Michael Crain and Officer Jeremiah MacKay, and caused injury to many others before dying in a fire in a cabin off Highway 38. It’s a tragic addition to the otherwise rich and beautiful history of Big Bear.
To lighten the mood, we end up by touching on the relationship Big Bear has with Hollywood. This has nothing to do with Halloween, or hauntings, or spookiness. Nope. This is alllll about the “make us feel better please” after spending a day talking about death.
In the early 1900s, the mountains, valleys and lake were discovered to be as much a goldmine for filmmaking as the actual gold mining industry had been in building up the town in the 1800s. Aside from a laundry list of classic westerns made in the early first half of the 20th century, scenes in notable movies including “Gone With The Wind,” “Paint Your Wagon,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Old Yeller,” and “Davy Crockett” and television shows including “Lassie” and “The FBI” were filmed in the area.
And just because they were so danged cute, here’s some parting shots of just some of the critters who kept us company during the recording.
Eat up little Chip!!
He wants a peanut mom!
To hear our BIG SCARE episode, go to iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and then subscribe, download and listen! If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review! The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Yep. Kris and Kym…are only brats. There are plenty of pros and cons with Only Child Syndrome. We had everything we needed, most of what we wanted. We never had to fight for the last cupcake, always got to ride shotgun (unless both parents were in the car) and we were the center of the Universe (we like to believe. And maybe still do…*sideeye*). And yet there were a lot of lonely days, and when things went south at home (because, you know, even in the very healthiest and happiest of households that happens) there was no one to turn to, to share the fear or the sadness with. There wasn’t a brother to feel safe with, there wasn’t a sister to whisper and giggle with. There was just…ourselves. And not all experiences for only children are like this, in fact, our experiences are quite different from each other although we both expressed that similar overall feeling of loneliness. A lot depends on the parents and Kym is proof one parent can more than compensate for one not so great BioPU (Biological Parental Unit…pronounced bio-poo for good reason). When both parents are trying to get their lives together and rebuild and work and cope…sometimes the child gets a bit lost in the mix (Kris). And while we’re not going to outright say, “hey, that’s ok really, we ended up fine,” because it’s really NOT totally ok…there is an element of peace in that statement. Because we both did. And here we are, one raising two girls, one having raised a daughter…and all the offspring are doing a-ok. Because even though we’re only children, we really did learn how to share (I always say the ultimate and supreme sacrifice of love is letting the one you love have that last bite of cake) and we took the things we didn’t want to carry into our motherhood and made a real effort to do things differently for our children. Even better, we took the things we DID love and learn from our parents to be pretty decent parents ourselves. We think. We have expressly forbidden said offspring to indicate otherwise in any fashion verbal, body language, Snapchat, texting, YouTube rants, tweeting videos, IG IMs, etc., etc., etc., et al, legal verbiage infinity.
Just kidding. Titter teehee laugh laugh.
A bit selfish? Check.
Confident with being alone? Check check.
Center of the Universe? CHECK CHECK CHE….
Just kidding. AHHGAIN.
…maaayyyyyybe…
Well-adjusted and loving life? Definitely maybe could be possible Check.
Working on the above? For sure CHECK.
There’s lots of good in being an only child, and a lot of wishful thinking…
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