Today is Doris Day day on TCM. Let’s all watch TV and eat things!

I think I jinxed myself when I started off yesterday’s Howdygram post with a diabtribe about contaminated food, because a couple of hours ago Dr. M’s office called to let me know that E.coli bacteria was responsible for my bladder infection and I should be sure to finish all of the antibiotics she prescribed for me. Holy crap.

Also, in case you care, I got my blood work results today, too. My hemoglobin A1C (the “holy grail” blood test for diabetics) is down to 5.9%. This is such great news I might watch a few Doris Day movies tonight! Everything else looks good, too, although my cholesterol and triglycerides are up because I stopped taking Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) back in January when I found out it was causing the severe muscle pain in my legs, back and arms. Dr. M actually wanted me to cut my dose in half, but I couldn't do it. (I mean this literally. A store-bought pill-splitter crushed the damn things into powder.) Also, around that same time the FDA released a study that Lipitor had been discovered to cause permanent muscle damage and kidney failure, so I decided to throw that crap in the garbage and see what my cholesterol results looked like after my next round of lab tests. Now I know. Dr. M is starting me on a low dose of a different statin prescription.

Hey, movie fans ... it’s August, and time for TCM’s popular Summer Under the Stars festival! Today was officially Doris Day day (seriously) and there’s still a chance to catch several of her movies. In my view, her best are yet to come tonight: Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960) co-starring David Niven and Love Me or Leave Me (1955) co-starring James Cagney. Other featured stars during the next few days include: Alec Guinness on Saturday, August 3; Mary Boland on Sunday, August 4; Charlton Heston on Monday, August 5; and Joan Fontaine on Tuesday, August 6.

If you’re planning to record some movies on your DVR, my picks for a few of the best include:

• ALEC GUINNESS, 8/3. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).
• MARY BOLAND, 8/4. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), The Women (1939) and Pride and Prejudice (1940).
• CHARLTON HESTON, 8/5. Soylent Green (1973) and Ben-Hur (1959).
• JOAN FONTAINE, 8/6. A Damsel in Distress (1937), Suspicion (1941) and Rebecca (1940). While two of these films — Suspicion and Rebecca — can be seen pretty regularly on TCM, A Damsel in Distress is NOT, and it’s absolutely worth watching for a couple of excellent reasons: 1) co-stars Fred Astaire, George Burns and Gracie Allen are in rare form and fantastic; and 2) this movie features some of the funniest musical comedy scenes EVER, especially Fred Astaire mocking the faces of a madrigal choir that’s performing at an English country estate. First time I saw this thing I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants. Also, there’s an unbelievable number where Joan Fontaine dances with Fred Astaire, thereby demonstrating all the grace and rhythm you’d expect from a serious dramatic actress: ZERO.

And now, at last, it’s time for dinner. I’ve been pondering a number of different options but think I waited too long because it’s already past 7:30, my blood sugar is plummeting and for expediency’s sake I think I’ll probably just nuke the rest of my leftover Mongolian chicken ... proving yet again that Chinese food solves damn near ANYTHING. Thank you.