Comments on: Sunday morning roundup: Good lord.

By: Daveigh

Daveigh — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:19:41 +0000

Thanks guys, I just about lost it looikng for this.

By: squadratomagico

squadratomagico — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:43:11 +0000

I’m so glad everyone here loves Rhoda! Gosh, my older sister always used to say that MTM was such a wonderful character, an early icon of the independent career woman, and I sorta felt bad for finding her vapid and annoying. It seemed to me that every show featured her crying in her boss’s office and wailing, “Oh, Mister Gra-a-a-ant!” Never understood the appeal, and always liked Rhoda’s sardonic style much more.

By: Fratguy

Fratguy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:57:51 +0000

Help me, Rhonda.

By: John S.

John S. — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:33:42 +0000

I was sad to see the news about Bea Arthur. I am still amazed at Maude, both the character and the show. The fact that they ran a storyline about Maude having an abortion (and the show aired before Roe v. Wade!) is still shocking. (I don’t know if those eps ran in reruns, however.) And BA was funny in that and in so many other things. I’ll miss her.

My brother’s high school sweetheart was named Rhonda. It was, as I recall, a family name–her parents were old school genteel southerners moved to South Jersey. They were not at all like Rhoda Morgenstern, in my experience.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:38:38 +0000

Rhodina? Now that's a name to run through the Social Security baby names database. According to the database, Rhoda hasn't been in the top 1,000 girls' names since 1975, and even then, it was in the 700s-900s in the early 1970s. Rhodina is not in the top 1,000 names any time in the past 100 years.

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:35:50 +0000

I was thinking it would be more like brand the notes and geld the arguments, which would be a good way of keeping people from taking any ill-advised pot shots at you.

(Some of) the women of those iconic black and white ’50s first-half-of-the sixties shows I think in retrospect turn out to be more substantive, subversive, etc. than their transitional successors. No citations available.

The only thing that worried me about that invisible millionaire donor thing is that if ze insists on anonymity to the recipient as well as the public, then later turns out to be a reprobatable source, there’s virtually always blow-back that falls to the recipient. That would keep me up some if I ran a grantee school.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:16:52 +0000

I had a colleague named Rhoda — good feminist research methods person.

By: Mother of ALL

Mother of ALL — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:28:58 +0000

Just watched Sunday Morning on CBS and they re-ran an interview taped in 2002 with Bea Arthur. Strangely enough, she was, in person, nothing like her stage persona. She was a very shy quiet-type person. I also read a quote that when she was asked about being type-cast as these loud, brassy, opinionated women. She said that at “5’9, raspy-voiced and large boned, what else would she be and as long as the roles were good, so what?

As to the name Rhoda, I did now a Rhodina long ago and thought that a real interesting name. I also liked Rhoda more than Mary.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:14:59 +0000

Erica--yes, Rhoda for sure. I liked her snappy Jewish attitude--in contrast to Mary's dithering, un-self confident WASP. And of course the TV show Rhoda offered Julie Kavner (a.k.a. "Marge Simpson") her breakout role as Brenda Morgenstern. Has anyone known anyone else named Rhoda, ever? I've never met anyone with that name. Mabye it's poised for a comeback?

By: Clio Bluestocking

Clio Bluestocking — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:54:24 +0000

I so wanted Bea Arthur to be my grandma! As I grew older, I appreciated her more and more, and then I didn’t want her to be my grandmother, I wanted to be her myself. That is, be like her.