Merry Christmas

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Happy Thanksgiving...

Just about like my family...

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Just curious...

... d'you think the guy at lower right wishes he'd been three or four feet to his left?

Wow.

A rare moment of overtly sexist raving from The Cat. But this was too good to pass up.

Back to more... noble posts soon.

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Happy Birthday, Sigourney.

Mike C. here, hoping to beat The Cat to the posting... hah!

So... October 8th.

Enjoy it.

 Sleep in.

 Call some friends.

Light some candles.

Enjoy some cake.

Get with your buddies.

And let it all hang out...

Happy 63rd, lifelong Muse.

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October.

Hi again On Ripley readers, Mike C. here with a nod to the arrival of October.

Hallowe'en is coming, time for costumes and pretend monstery goodness...

Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn pretend to be the dreaded

Alien Queen on the set of Aliens (1986).

Hope you all have your costumes picked and your treat route planned.

And I hope to see you all at my door.

Happy October.


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More #8.

Just musing for tonight.

I know I will always see the classic, young Ripley in the Nostromo when I think of 'Ripley' as an icon and an archetype.

But I think I have realized my personal favorite iteration is her clone.

# 4 gave us #8.

Good numbers in my book.

Add up to Superhero.

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Caged in.

Okay, I don't really feel caged in. I'm just quite busy.

But it was a good excuse to post this stunning image I was just sent by On Ripley fan Kenzie180.

I don't care if you love, hate or are indifferent to Alien3 -- this is pure hot.

Thank you Kenzie, and thank you Ripley.


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Comforting the enemy.

Oh... to be a Xenomorph.

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Insp-hair-ation.

A quick but important thought today.

Yes, she did it on purpose, temporarily, and for a film role...

... but she also had to live the rest of her daily life for the duration of her Alien3 shoot, wonder about her husband's true feelings on his temporarily bald wife, explain to her little girl why Mama looks this way.

Of course, when you're Sigourney, you make it work to your advantage...

... but in so doing, she inspires to feeling beautiful the many women who look like this not because they're in a film or having fun, but because they must in order to get through the tough card life's handed them.

Precisely like each cinematic iteration of Ripley, Sigourney shocks, ignites, supports, nurtures, protects, defends and fights and flat out survives.

She would also be the first to assert that she is not even a mixed fraction the real fighting hero that is each of those real women who fight cancer every day and night, braving the disease and its effect on their bodies, minds, hearts, families.

But even the simple joy of admiring strength and the aesthetic of real beauty have great value. And more to the point, there's no denying that ever since Ripley began fighting her way across cinema screens, she has inspired millions of women of all races, ages and conditions to fight, to be strong and brave, to be the people they need to be.

Sure, she dies in Alien3, just as many of these fighting women will succumb to the disease conspiring to kill them.

But in choosing the time and manner of her death, and in stopping not only the alien plague that invaded her but the male-dominated corporate mindset that put her in that position, she accomplishes so much more than just living on. She frees herself and her memory continues to inspire the fight for others.

Not a bad thing to strive for, would you agree?

You're a continuous gift, Ripley.

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Going back so far, things are 'sketchy'...

Greetings On Ripley readers.


Mike C. here, with another autobiographically bent bit of Ripley love from the very summer -- the very day -- we first got to see Ripley in action after a 57 year long nap.

Like many of you who were lucky enough and old enough to be around and able to do so, I went to see Aliens the day it was released nationally, which was just 26 years yesterday -- happy Alien-iversary, Ripley!

I think it changed me forever. I know it changed much about how I view women, motherhood, cooperation and basic human failings like cowardice, disloyalty, and greed.

But it also inspired me -- I should say, she inspired me -- to set ink to paper the very hour I returned home.

And I still have it.

Ellen Ripley

pen, ink and watercolor on paper, 7-18-86

I wasn't even going to attempt recreating that incredible face -- I wanted it to be more like a wardrober's or conceptual designer's sketch.

I also love that, since it was from memory, I had much of it almost right. Sort of.

I did note the red in her shoes, to my credit, though I cannot explain why I forgot so quickly that they were those hightop sneakers and not the nearly-kneehigh boots you see here.

I knew I wouldn't get the gun right, and as you can clearly see, I didn't feel strong enough about the overall look to really finish it right.

But it's my first real Ripley tribute, and it was made the very day I saw her become a real hero.

Thanks for indulging the in-love-teenaged-artist I was.

Enjoy-

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I'm alright...

... don't nobody worry 'bout me.

Thanks for calling me out, friend Mike. 

It's been a long, hot summer here in the SFValley, and we're not even a week into July. Well, okay, we are one week into July. 

But life has been up and down, as it is for all of us most of the time, and after a trial-n-tribulation stretch of weeks, I have merely been resisting the urge to come to the computer and vent and give too much information and generally do the things that less mature but no less emotional people tend to do when they're going through trials and tribulations.

No worries, though. My home, family, health, love, and friendships are all what they have been for a long time -- wonderful and good and whole. 

Just taking some Cat time.

I want all of you to be sure to do the same when the time comes, because it will -- more than once.

Just bask in the long hot summer, all of you.

I have a little more exploring to do...

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It's been far too long...

... but I've been busy traveling, working, performing, traveling again, and working, performing, always...

"Hello mah baby, hello mah honey, heloo mah ragtime gaaaal..."

And I feel bad about not getting in here for over a month!

"Uh, that is not the real chestburster and you are not off the hook!"

Yes, I know. I feel shame.

But there is some fun to come.

And where in Hell is the Cat?  

Hope you're doing alright my friend.

Enjoy your summery sunshine happy time, all.

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Summer.

Time to wake up.

Maybe grab some coffee.

Hit the shower.

Put on something cool.

Take a dive.

Explore the deep.

And come up refreshed, ready for a long, luxurious Summer.

Only... don't forget The Cat.

Happy June, happy Summertime.

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Happy birthday to you...

33 years ago today, one of the finest characters to grace a cinema screen was first unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

On May 25, 1979, was 'born' into the fabric of modern culture an unassuming warrant officer on a space ship called Nostromo.

She did so much.

To those who were paying attention, she taught by example how to fight for what is right, not cave in to pressure from within as well as from without, and how to survive by trusting your instincts.

She proved that one needn't be perfect to be a hero, nor be a hero in order to survive.

Throughout four films, numerous graphic novels and reviews, Ripley has consistently been hailed as a true warrior, a champion not just for women but for all who struggle with oppression from without and self-doubt from within.

She teaches us that bravery, that real courage, is not about being fearless, but about accomplishing what must be accomplished when you are in fact terrified.

She eventually had to do it alone.

And while many of us marveled at her vulnerable rise to victory over her fear and her enemy in those stunning final scenes...

... we didn't realize until later that she didn't just change clothes.

She changed everything.

Thank you Ripley. You deserve a good long rest.

Happy birthday.

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