6 years ago, I wrote : So I just returned from a matinee of "Cats," and I have a few thoughts. When the surly teenager manning the ticket booth said "Which movie?" I said "'Cats,' naturally!" He kind of sneered as he pushed the ticket through, saying "Don't get crushed by the mob." I've a good mind to call his manager! When I went into the cineplex I was the ONLY PERSON THERE. (I'm not kidding; I'm thinking everyone just assumed it was sold out and figured it was useless to even try to get tickets). I've never seen the play but I had a vague idea what it was about (cats singing or something), so I was prepared to be wowed by Andrew Lloyd Webber's magnum opus, but honestly...I found it lacking in the dramatic department. There's not a great plot. The majority of the film is introductions to kitty characters vying to be reincarnated (or something). And let's not even TALK about the tap-dancing cockroaches! A...

  Diane Tell - Canadian musician, singer-songwriter - 66 Louis Tomlinson - English singer-songwriter and producer - 34 Austin Stowell - American actor - 41 Robert Schwartzman - American director, screenwriter, actor and musician - 43 Michael Raymond-James - American actor - 48 Stephanie Ruhle - American journalist and tv personality - 50 Ryan Seacrest - American media personality, game show host and producer - 51 Stephenie Meyer - American novelist and film producer - 52 Ricky Martin - American singer-songwriter - 54 Amaury Nolasco - Puerto Rican actor and producer - 55 Will Oldham - American singer-songwriter and actor - 55 Diedrich Bader - American actor and comedian - 59 Mark Valley - American actor - 61 Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs - American singer and violinist - 62 Lee Daniels - American producer, director and screenwriter - 66 Ian Burden - English musician - 68 Anil Kapoor - Indian actor and producer - 69 Peter te Bos - Dutch graphic designer - 75 Kate Spade - Am...

► One of my favorite entertainers/singers, Barry Manilow (82) has been diagnosed with lung cancer.  During a routine physical exam, his doctor ordered an MRI as a precaution. It came back showing a cancerous spot on his lung. Barry said, “The doctors do not believe it was spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So, that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.” Barry is canceling tour dates in January to allow himself time to recuperate.  Read More Barry Manilow in concert, July 2025. Photo: Mat Hayward via Getty Images/Huffington Post Comment: Barry is so talented. A good piano player, singer, songwriter, and entertainer. He started his career writing commercial jingles. He hit his career stride in the 1970s - 1980's with one hit song and album after another. He has so many songs that I love. I never get tired of hearing them.  One of my favorites is "Weekend in New England". Wishing Barry a speedy recovery and good he...

Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today's blood-cirdling entry is from Raincoaster! You won't thank me for this one. If Tarnhelm was creepy, this seasonal story is next-level terrifying. Ready your night light; you'll need it. A jarring mashup of an anticipated jolly holiday for a joyful young man, and a terrifying, yet morally understandable haunting by the most horrific of criminals, this tale shows the true mastery of the short story form by Anglo-Canadian author Algernon Blackwood . He wrote several seasonal stories, and his catalogue is rich, even if he never was. Blackwood had the kind of resume to which modern writers can only aspire: dairy farmer, theosophical society founder, yellow press reporter, proto-pulp author who skillfully wove indigenous legends into contemporary fiction, whether the setting were the French marshes (The Willows) or the northern Canadian woodland...

  Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today's seasonal entry is from Glamour Doll! I unabashedly love it when local radio stations start playing Christmas music in November. I even have a Christmas playlist I start playing while cooking for Thanksgiving. Recently, I was groovin' in my car to the Christmas station when "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Martina McBride came on, I immediately - Grinchly - frowned and changed the station to protect my sanity. See, I despise that song because it's dreadfully slow and boring. I grew up watching "Meet Me in St. Louis", where the song was debuted by Judy Garland herself. And yes, literally every time I watched that movie, I fast-forwarded through that song (remember doing that?). I have never heard a rendition of it I can tolerate. Judy's is about 2.5 minutes, Martina's drags on for over 4 minutes. Who ...

  Happy Christmas Eve Eve, Peckers! Here's a piece by Louis Wain from 1910. Those cats know how to get down! You could say they're some real party animals.

  Susan Lucci - American actress, tv host, author and entrepreneur - 79 Finn Wolfhard - Canadian actor and musician - 23 Anna Maria Perez de Tagle - American actress and singer - 35 Harry Judd - English musician, dancer and author - 40 Holly Madison - American tv personality - 46 Kat Perkins - American singer - 45 Sunny Ozell - American singer-songwriter - 47 Estella Warren - Canadian actress, model and former synchronised swimmer - 47 Esthero - Canadian singer-songwriter - 47 Jodie Marsh - English media personality, model and bodybuilder - 47 Naked Cowboy - American street performer, singer-songwriter and occasional actor - 55 Quincy Jones III - American music producer and documentary film producer - 57 Jess Harnell - American voice actor - 62 Eddie Vedder - American singer-songwriter, musician and leader of Pearl Jam - 61 Joan Severance - American actress and former model - 67 Anthony Phillips - English musician and composer, original lead guitarist of Genesis - 74 Harry Shear...

Since being censored by Trump, The Ellisons and Bari Weiss from last Sunday's CBS broadcast of "60 Minutes," Sharyn Alfonsi's must-see report about Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to a brutal prison in El Salvador has begun popping up on the internet - and just as quickly, it's being pulled down, mostly from X, aka Twitter, and other sites loyal to Dear Leader, or else they're afraid of payback.  We're posting it here in hopes that you can share it with as many people as possible. You can also download it RIGHT HERE in an mp4 file. If the download file is removed, EM breedaniels4evuh@yahoo.com and another download site will be found.  Will this be removed from Peckerwood Manor? Time will tell, but we shouldn't stand for censorship of any kind, should we? Oh, and kindly fuck Trump, fuck the Ellisons and fuck Bari Weiss. With chainsaws, if you please.  Photo Credit: CBS

  ► The anointed holiday queen, Mariah Carey, has been dethroned by Wham. The duo's 1984 holiday song, "Last Christmas" sashayed up to Mariah's "All I Want For Christmas" waging its finger and told it "Now you know who I am. Have a seat". For several years, Wham's song has been slowly sleighing towards the #1 spot. And lo and behold, it's a Festivus Miracle! It finally reached #1 on Billboard. Wham co-founder, Andrew Rigley, had this to say:  Read More   "This is a remarkable moment for me, (Wham!), (George Michael) and (Sony Music UK), to learn that 'Last Christmas' is currently the world's favorite song," Wham! bandmember Andrew Ridgeley wrote in a Dec. 17 Instagram post. "(It) is the best Christmas gift we and George could ever have wished for." Mariah Carey; Andrew Rigley & George Michael. Photo: Official Charts.com Comment : I'm glad Wham's song finally overtook Mariah. I much rather hear the...

Greetings music slutinos, and welcome to a special Winter Holiday Edition of Manor Music Monday! For me, the holidays aren't complete without a few things, like delicious dark chocolate, squealing chirruns and Vince Guaraldi. If that name is unfamiliar to you, I'll bet his music isn't, since he composed the indelible music for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," a 1965 TV special that's all but imprinted on our minds, much like "The Wizard of Oz." And just like the music was important to "The Wizard of Oz," it was crucial to "A Charlie Brown Music," conveying not only seasonal giggles 'n fun, but Charlie Brown's deeply melancholic state of mind. And perhaps most head-turning of all for a mass-market TV special in the mid-60s, the score was jazz.  In fact, it was the very first time jazz was used prominently in animation - for the big or small screen - giving Peanuts a wholly unique, sophisticated, yet accessible sound. The soundt...

  Richey Edwards - Welsh musician, lyricist and guitarist of Manic Street Preachers - (1967-2008) Joshua Bassett - American actor and singer - 25 Latto - American rapper and singer - 27 Hennessy Carolina - model, tv and media personality - 30 Aliana Lohan - American singer and tv personality - 32 Meghan Trainor - American singer-songwriter - 32 DaBaby - American rapper - 34 Jordin Sparks - American singer and actress - 36 Greg Finley - American actor - 41 Jennifer Hawkins - Australian model, tv presenter and beauty queen - 42 Chris Carmack - American actor, singer and former model - 45 Anthony Jeselnik - American comedian, writer, actor and producer - 47 Mia Tyler - American actress, model, media personality and socialite - 47 Rei Hance - American writer, businesswoman and retired actress - 51 Vanessa Paradis - French singer, actress and model - 53 Dina Meyer - American actress - 57 Ralph Fiennes - English actor, film producer and director - 63 Luther Campbell - American ra...

Saw this beauty the other day, and although I generally prefer older vintages, it looks pretty darn pristine to me so I love it. Also, it's Sunday, and there's no school, so let's hop in the Mustang with our best galpals and go to the drive-thru for a burger and fries, although (let's get real) the main reason we're all there is to check out the hot surfer guys with their shirts off. "Oh, turn it up, the new song by The Fifth Dimension is starting!" Happy Open Post, darlings, let the sun shine in! Photo Credit: AK

  Tony Lewis - English singer and musician, member of the Outfield - (1957-2020) Madelyn Cline - American actress and model - 28 Kaitlyn Dever - American actress - 29 Quinta Brunson - American writer, producer actress and comedian - 36 Steven Yeun - American actor - 42 Tom Payne - English actor - 43 Shaun Morgan - South African musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist of Seether - 47 Rutina Wesley - American actress - 47 Lukas Rossi - Canadian singer and musician - 49 Jemele Hill - American journalist - 50 Natalie Grant - American singer-songwriter - 54 Khrystyne Haje - American actress - 57 Michelle Hurd - American actress - 59 Kiefer Sutherland - Canadian actor and musician - 59 Govinda - Indian former actor, comedian, dancer - 62 Ray Romano - American actor, stand-comedian and screenwriter - 68 Jane Kaczmarek - American actress - 70 Chris Evert - American former tennis player - 71 Jeffrey Katzenberg - American media proprietor and film producer - 75 Samuel L. Jackson - ...

  Here's Ed Sheeran showing off his new toned (and inked!) bod for Australian Men's Health . When discussing his physical transformation, the 34-year old singer shared that he spent his 20s living pretty unhealthily and says he generally felt like shit within himself. The birth of his daughter, Lyra, helped propel the singer to pursue a healthier way of living. "I didn't want to pick my kid up and have my back be fucked up," Sheeran says. He has lost over 30lbs and follows a routine that consists of pilates, strength training and running.  Here are some more pics from the shoot: Source: Australian Men's Health