#mrs murphy

[filmbrainbmb]

Do you dismember the time when Ricki Lake tried to solve a murder with the help of her pets - who aren't really much help - in a Disney TV movie? @allisonpregler and @phelous (and an uncooperative Ziggy) look at Murder She Purred! (I edited this!)

[mrs-jake-blues]

Happy Birthday Aretha Franklin!

[elsewhereuniversity]

When the first faeborn student made her way into the school’s art department during orientation it was almost as if the world stopped. Everyone with any knowledge on the subject knew what she was the moment they saw her. Her long blonde hair, her elegant black clothes, her almost pointed ears, the sparkle in her eyes, and the mystical way she seemed to see everything others could not told everyone she was different.

She never left the school. Even after all these years she’s still there. She’s made herself a place at the school. Mrs. Murphy is the head of the art department now. She is wise. She is special. She is tricky. She is capable of chaos.

If you ask her, you can become her student. You will spend hours awake at night pouring over old books and trying to prove yourself. If you cannot prove yourself, you should best consider yourself dead.

Damien has never returned even after all these years. He can be found pacing around the basement of the art building, mumbling to nothing in Latin. He almost seems to be stuck in time as he hasnt aged a day in the decade he’s been gone. It’s not known how he’s still alive in any capacity. No one dares to question it. He couldn’t prove himself. It wasn’t what she did to him. It was what the fair folk did.

One of Mrs. Murphy’s most successful students is Dr. Brown in the geology department. She is knowledgeable. She is willing to help. She will offer you protection if you take her classes. If you can pick up on how she talks about the properties of each rock you can learn the stones. She will tell you the stones for protection. For confidence. For luck. She will not teach you. She will tell you she is not a teacher of those things. She will, though, tell you what you need to know about Mrs. Murphy.

Treat Mrs. Murphy as you do the fair folk. Treat her with respect and caution. She will never lie. She will take all of your promises seriously. She is as close to the fae as you can ever safely interact with. And she will never use one thing against you, your name.

-spencer

[thisraremoment]

GIGANTIC

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Mrs. Murphy's Basic Info

Name: Dorothea Rose Witt-Murphy

Faceclaims: 60s - Yvonne De Carlo, 80s - Jaclyn Smith, 00s - Lauren Graham, now - Jordana Brewster

Nicknames: Dotty, (by her brother) Didi, (by her parents and brother) Thea

Age: 29, almost 30 at the time of her death, but would be 39, almost 40, if she was still alive

Date of Birth: April 7, 1923

Date of Death: March 20, 1953

Zodiac: Aries

Birthstone: Diamond

Nationality: French

Sexuality: Given the times, I'd say straight, but I think she'd most likely be pansexual or bisexual in the modern world

Born: Lot. le Florida, Sainte-Maxime, France

Past residence(s): Rue Riverin, Beaumont, Quebec, Canada

Current/Last known residence: Duffy Street, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Occupation: Seamstress and baker (out of the home)

Schooling: Graduated at the top of her class from an all-girls high school

Talents/Skills: Painting, sewing. singing, embroidery, baking

Birth order: Oldest

Siblings: Thomas Pierre Witt (she is older by 7 years)

Parents: Philippe Arthur Witt and Amelie Louise Blanchet

Children: Miles Andrew, Royce James, Bentley Robert, and an unborn daughter she had only just found out she was pregnant for at the time of the accident.

Signature:

Height: 5’9” or 175cm

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Chocolate brown

Glasses or contact lenses: Reading glasses

Distinguishing features: Freckles, scar on her arm from an accident when she was younger (she stole her cousin’s motorcycle and ended up flipping it into the grass)

Mannerisms: Tucking paintbrushes into her hair and forgetting them there, biting the inside of her cheek when thinking, constantly correcting her posture when she feels she's been slouching for too long

Health: Asthma and ADHD

Hobbies: Singing or humming whatever comes to mind, playing piano (she's particularly good at playing by ear), painting, ballet, and baking

Greatest flaw (in their opinion): Her stubbornness. While she was somewhat proud of the way she knew what she wanted and wouldn't be strayed from such, her tenacity and ability to dig her heels in on issues that mattered to her were occasionally points of contention between herself and others. She was never one to back down when things got rough - something that was very attractive to her future husband - but that also meant arguing against the people she cared about when she knew, in her heart, that they were wrong. She knows that her stubbornness was often perceived negatively, and, in a way, she understands that it's a problem as she's worked hard on fixing it over time, but while she clings to her beliefs, she detests the way she can hold grudge for far longer than necessary.

Best quality (in their opinion): Optimism. As stubborn as she is, Dorothea loves to see the great in everyone and everything she comes across - a trait she unknowingly passed along to her youngest son. Though the world occasionally proves her wrong, she is steadfast in her belief that everyone has good in them somewhere, but some people just have to look a little harder to find it.

Biggest fear: Whilst claustrophobia is something she readily admits to fearing, her ultimate fear - like any mother, I'm sure - would be her children dying before she does. In her mind, any world without her babies is a world she doesn't want to live in. When they were in the car accident that took her life, her only thoughts were of Bentley - was he safe? Was he breathing? Would he make it if she didn't? Overall, she is a devoted and loving mother, and regardless of how old her sons are, she will be there for them if and when they need her (Well... until her death, that is).

Favorite ice cream: Fudge ripple

Favorite color(s): Lavender and burgundy

Favorite number(s): 41 (the year she got married)

Favorite song(s): (You're The) Devil In Disguise by Elvis Presley, Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers, and Daydream Believer by The Monkees

Favorite movies: Pretty Woman, Miss Congeniality, The Parent Trap, Little Women, and The Notebook

Favorite TV shows: The Odd Couple, Three’s Company, Little House on the Prairie, The Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch

Favorite books: Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, The Giver, The Scarlet Letter, and The Color Purple

Favorite video games: Spiritfarer, Firewatch, and Terraria

A musical they love: Hello Dolly

A place they want to visit most: Hawaii, specifically Oahu

[iklees]

Cat of the century / Rita Mae Brown

Mrs Murphy #18

Harry met hond en katten gaat naar een bijzonder evenement op een universiteit ter ere van de honderdste verjaardag van een goede kennis van haar. Daar verdwijnt iemand en begint een reeks akelige gebeurtenissen.

Harry looked down at Tucker. “Oh, little one, we’d better get our evening constitutional in right now.” “I’m not going out in that,” Pewter quickly spoke up. “I’m using the dirt box.” Harry had put the dirt box in the basement and left the door ajar. She cleaned the box about every hour on the hour. Outside, the snow, coming down in large flakes, was beautiful. Tucker, in her blue collar and blue leash, looked smart as she, Mrs. Murphy, and Harry took a brisk walk. Harry figured that walking behind the stables was the best idea. Just in case Tucker couldn’t make it that far, she had a yellow plastic bag unwrapped over her arm. Her winter coat somewhat got in the way. Fortunately, Tucker waited until behind the stables. When the corgi was finished, they walked by the manure pile. The last stall-mucking had been completed, and steam rose off the piled-up mixture of bedding and manure. “Blood.” Tucker sniffed, pulling Harry to the pile. “So it is.” Mrs. Murphy put her nose at the bottom of the large manure pile. “Come on, Tucker, you’ve smelled horse poop before.” Harry tugged at the leash. “Mom, blood. Fresh blood. If I can smell it through all this, there’s a lot of it!” To no avail, Harry chirped to her friend, “Come on, Tucker. It really is cold, and it’s snowing harder.” Reluctantly, Tucker gave up. She knew that when the pile froze, no scent would lift off.

Tot een heel eind in het boek, weet niemand dat er een moord is gepleegd. Uiteindelijk wordt-ie ook niet echt opgelost, het is meer dat al het gepor eromheen ertoe leidt dat de moordenaar zich blootgeeft. Maar het is gezellig lezen. Ik vroeg me wel af waar al dat gedoe over belastingen over gaat? Blijkbaar iets waar de auteur erg mee zit, ze vind het enerzijds teveel staatsbemoeienis, maar anderzijds toch ook wel iets waar dan goede dingen mee gedaan kunnen worden.

[lesbiannewsmag]

Rita Mae Brown: Writing a landscape for lesbians

At 72 years old, Rita Mae Brown is still as feisty as ever. Known for her landmark lesbian novel Rubyfruit Jungle as well as her Mrs. Murphy mysteries, the author still speaks her mind.

For example, Brown gave an interview to Time Magazine in 2008 where she talked about her hatred for marriage and the ambiguity of her sexuality.

“The funny thing is, I don’t believe in straight or gay. I really don’t. I think we’re all degrees of bisexual,” Brown said during the interview.

Rita Mae Brown’s origins

Just like the protagonist in her seminal novel, Brown– born on November 28, 1944– was left in an orphanage by her teenage mother as her father was already married.

Fortunately, Julia Brown– her mother’s cousin– and her husband Ralph took her in and raised her as their child.

Brown became a scholar at the University of Florida but was expelled for her civil rights movement activities.

She later enrolled at Broward Community College before moving to New York and studying at the New York University for a degree in Classics and English.

The author would eventually receive a certificate in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts and a doctorate in literature and political science.

Rita Mae Brown, the writer

In 1973, she published Rubyfruit Jungle, regarded as one of the most important literature for lesbians for its frank portrayal same-sex relationships.

For a lot of people, the book “changed their lives,” something Brown herself couldn’t believe. Before being bought by a little publishing house called Daughter’s Press for $1,000, the novel was rejected many times.

When it became a bestseller, the small company couldn’t keep up the orders and sold it to Bantam Books where it sold a million copies.

Brown also wrote a number of novels (like the Mrs. Murphy mysteries), as well as screenplays, non-fiction works, and even poetry.

Rita Mae Brown and fame

Brown was later thrust into the celebrity spotlight when she met and fell in love with Czech tennis player Martina Navratilova.

They met at a luncheon in 1979. Brown said of their meeting: “It was a lunch that never ended.”

In 1980, they bought a 20-room mansion and moved in together. By spring of 1981, after Navratilova played at the Wimbledon, their relationship ended.

“She just walked out on me,” Brown told The Washington Post. “She, Navratilova, fell in love with somebody else.”

Rita Mae Brown’s causes and opinions

But despite her writing and her brush with fame, Brown has always been a fighter.

This was because in the ’60s, she had participated in the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and the Gay Liberation movement. These- activities later led her to being expelled from school.

For a time, she was also part of the National Organization for Women (NOW), but left in 1970 when the organization excluded lesbians.

Later on, she helped found the lesbian newspaper The Furies Collective in the ’70s.

Despite the passage of years, Brown is still as opinionated as ever.

Sources:

Time

Washington Post

Wikipedia

Rita Mae Brown Books

Rita Mae Brown: Writing a landscape for lesbians was originally published on Lesbian News