So, I thought I would post some pictures of the garden below taken from above---me on my deck---looking down at different plants, as well as from down there and looking up at my house---the picture above was taken way down in the garden looking up at a beautiful Euphorbia Cooperii... This is the view from the South East corner of the garden looking up at my house...The big plant on the right is a very small Saquaro that is about two hundred years old....They are very very slow growing...about one half inch a year, if that! And here I am in the South West corner looking up at my house...It is very hard to get a real sense of how big the garden really is when you are in these corners...cause you really cannot see that there is so much more too the 'whole'..... This picture above was taken by me looking down on the garden from my deck...it is just a small portion of the right side as you are looking down...You can see this bronze statue of a Ram towards the lower center of the picture....And just below is a closer look of this really beautiful piece of sculpture.... And here below is a picture of a beautiful Agave...there are hundreds of different kinds of Agave's...this particular one gets very very big so you need a lot of room for it to grow and it is a beautiful rich green color.... So, when you are standing up on my deck, which runs the length of my whole house, you can look down to the left side and see this Date Palm, below....This was a 'volunteer'...I didn't plant this---some bird did! You know what I mean? Some bird dropped a seed or two and Volia! There is a Date Palm growing there... When I first started my Cactus Garden 20 years ago this was so tiny I thought it would never grow enough to be recognizeable. Well, it is not really BIG yet, but compared to what it was twenty years ago, it is miraculous! And it won't ever have dates, but they call it a Date Palm, anyway! I think it is extremely gorgeous! Here is a beautiful Euphorbia Amak Verigated with an abundance of flowers and you can almost see the necter oozing out of them...Incredibly beautiful flowers and teeny tiny, too...

Here is a cluster of plants which are many different sizes and types...But what I love about this picture is that you can see the city behind all these plants....and there to the right of center of the picture is some of that 'visual polution' I've talked about many times...I just love these plants so much. They are so sculptural and the variety of greens and blues in these plants is phenomonal!

And here below are a couple of Aloe's in silouette, with the mid city beyond...you can see some of the buildings on Wilshire Blvd. and Park La Brea and beyond that the horizon and the ocean.
That building in the foreground is a large apartment building on Hollywood Blvd. just after the city part of Hollywood Blvd. ends, and the residential part begins....My first and only apartment was on Hollywood Blvd. where I lived for three years until I found my house and I've been here, ever since.... And here above, a gaggle of Euphorbia Amak's Verigated with a darling Morning Dove sitting right in the middle, there....I have a lot of these plants because they all came from the mother plant! They have grown incredibly and I love that! I also love that the birds just lite wherever they please....delightful! And those ball-like things on these Euphorbia's are the seed pods, btw.

And here is another dear Morning Dove sitting on a small tree that hasn't bloomed yet.... I love that we can see his eye so clearly....and behind him is Park La Brea and another big building on Wilshire Blvd.

And one more bird sitting on the Waterful Sculpture partaking of a bath and a bit of a drink, too.... And just to remind you what started this post....it was that first picture of Wendy and Mark ascending the middle staircase down in the garden...And here it is again.... And this is just the middle of the garden from a quarter of the way down to not quite all the way down....but there is so much on either side that you can't really see in any one photograph...well, possiby in a panoramic shot, but not even then, I'm afraid...the scope of it is just too big. It covers the whole hill below my house....

Part 2 of this post will be coming along next time....



More to come....

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In the category of Outstanding Drama Series, my first choice was not the final choice of the Blue Ribbon Panels when all the votes were counted. "24" came away with the Emmy, and my first choice had been "The Soprano's". This category had a very large group of people voting and it was a difficult category because there were no bad shows here. Each one of the five Nominees were worthy contenders. But the overall consensus was not my first choice. We never know how close the voting is by the way...Now that would be very interesting to know, wouldn't it?

In the third category announced last night,
Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series, again, my pick for "1" was not the same as the the outcome of the final vote. The Emmy went to Mariska Hargity and my "1" went to Frances Conroy. This was another very very difficult category to choose the "1" for....all these actresses were right up there, for me, except Geena Davis. In comparison to the other actresses and the episodes they chose for our 'consideration'---only one episode was allowed---Geena Davis' episode was not as strong as the other four people. I loved Mariska Hargity's speech, by the way....it was so heartfelt and I love that she always mentions her father....very touching.

In two of the other categories that I did not vote on....two actors that I hoped would get the Emmy, did. Blythe Danner, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for "Huff" was right on the money as far as I was concerned. I happened to love the series "Huff", but Showtime did not renew it, which is very disappointing to me because I really thought it was wonderfully written and directed and I loved all the actors in this series, too. This was a great cast of people. And in so very many ways this show was better than so very many other shows one see's on television. Canceling this show was, to me, a big mistake, but I'm not the Showtime Network!

And the other actor that I was so very pleased about his getting the Emmy was Andre Braugher for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini Series Or Movie for "Thief". This was a real triumph of a win. This Mini Series was on FX and not a lot of people saw this series because of that....so, for this really superb actor to come away with the Emmy renewed my faith in the process. This was not a "popular" win by any means, which, for instance, Alan Alda's win for "The West Wing" surely was a very popular win. I think Alda was wonderful in "West Wing" but, in my opinion, Oliver Platt, to my way of thinking was extremely outstanding in "Huff". I mean he was perfection! But, Alda walked away with the Emmy and Platt, did not. Yup, I was disappointed. And of course this is my personal opinion based on what moves me and speaks to me and on what I understand about the craft of acting as well as the X factor in acting, too. It is all subjective. And that is why I think it is important that these final Blue Ribbon Panels should be as broad a group voting as possible. The more the merrier, I say, for a fairer cross section of opinions based on what we all see and are moved by.

I got to see them one more time, I'm happy to say, today...well, yesterday now! Wendy called yesterday morning and said they were checking out of the Hotel and had rented a car so they would love to come up and see me and take some more pictures. And I thought that was a swell idea! So I got this fun picture of Wendy talking to the Starline Tour Bus guy---these buses come by my house every half hour in the daylight hours...and this was the same Tour company that the E! Channel had arranged for Wendy & Mark to take last Thursday when they came by my house!

Here are Wendy & Mark down in my garden. I didn't walk down there with them because of the bad air today. So I stood out on my deck and got this long shot of them walking up some of the steps.They are right in the middle of the picture....They didn't stay down in the garden too long because it was very very hot today, and down there, on a very very hot day, it feels like 'hell' down there...But, I'm glad they experienced the garden below and here is a closer look at them ascending the steps. And because I am excessive, I got one more picture of them ascending and got in real close...but I was still waaaaay up above them. The camera doing all the hard work! And I asked Mark to take a picture of Wendy and myself by George, but somehow Mark didn't get that picture. He had a bit of trouble with my camera...but a bit later he was able to get this sweet picture of me with Wendy by another beautiful plant.... And I got a very sweet picture of the two of them in front of another favorite and beautiful plant right in the front of my house, my Webercereus Johnsonii...a rare plant with this very rare and wonderful couple in front of it! I gave them some lunch and as they ate their Ice Cream for dessert, they were checking their map to see what they had to do to get out of our very congested Los Angeles on their way to the less congested city of Anaheim where Disneyland resides. And after a bit, they went on their way, leaving my home wending their way to the 101 freeeway.... And as they drove away and out of my sight, I thought to myself how incredibly special the Internet is that a wonderful blogging friend from half-way round the world could have been right here on my hill today. And this is someone I never would have met before Blogging, and had never even heard of nine months ago, and feel so close to now because of this fantastic way we all have of communicating, called The Blog! Amazing, Amazing....And there they go....almost out of sight...Till next time, dear Wendy & Mark...

A few last gossipy thoughts about The Emmys:

Farrah Fawcett....poor dear....she is really kind of gone, isn't she? Could it be too much bad stuff has been ingested that shouldn't be? These last few years have not been her best years, I'm afraid....Whenever I have seen her on any show----weather this one or Letterman or wherever----she has looked kind of loopy! And last night was no exception....only more so, next to those other two women....the only word for this that comes to mind is....OY!

And Ray Liotta....Can we talk about him for a second? What did that man do to himself???....He was such an attractive beautiful man! Now, he looks embalmed! At least, that's how he looked last night....Oh Dear!

And, I was exremely happy that Jon Stewart and The Daily Show won Emmy's, again! Well deserved! Very well deserved, indeed

And "Elizabeth 1" and Helen Mirren, too. Beautiful Beautiful film and a Super Superb performance by this always exceptional actress. I've never seen her give a bad performance. Have you? Frankly, I think this was a no-brainer, really! And that's all I have to say, for now......

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Here is another picture of him....she thought he belonged with the Sleeping Hippo and the Mouse and the other pair of Hippo's. So here he is, lying on the Little White Baby Baby Baby Grand Piano, next to his buddies....All sleeping peacefully together.... Wendy and Mark had been to the E! Channel before coming to my home and because of a change in the E! Channel people's schedule, they got to me quite a bit later than we thought they would, so our "afternoon" together started quite a bit later than originally talked about. But, here they are, the lovely New Zealanders, about to sit down on my couch, in the living room! This seemed a miracle to me that they were right here in my house, finally, having come half way round the world to be here for The Emmy's. And the fact that they were staying just down the hill from me was also quite extrordinary....With all the hotels there are in Los Angeles....some much closer to the Emmy Venue--The Shrine Auditorium--that they would be so close was another miracle! They are so cute here...I loved that we all felt right at home with each other, immediately! We never stopped talking and truthfully, completely forgot to take pictures because we were just yakking away like three little Kiwi's!

It was pretty overcast with air that was rather bad yesterday....But this is what they were looking at when we stepped out on my deck. That black thing along the horizon is polution! You can see Wendy & Mark's hotel in the middle of the picture and then the city behind it, with downtown L.A. over to the far left...with that horrendous layer of black polution going all across the top of the city....this is what we were all breathing! Not good.

As Wendy and Mark looked down at the garden they could see Outpost Drive way below as well as La Presa, which is the street that winds up to my street, we all saw the Starline tour bus turn the corner about to come up the hill where the day before, on Thursday, Wendy and Mark had been and had indeed come right by my house...Wendy I'm sure will blog about that trip. Well, we decided to go out front and wave at the tour bus when it got to my house...(Wendy took a photo of the bus)...which we did. It was great fun and we even spoke to the driver, Wendy telling him that Pierce Brosnan used to live next door to me...The driver did not know that and said "Your kidding me!"....That was really funny to me that a New Zealander had to tell the tour bus guy this information!

It was pretty late in the afternoon when we got into my car and I drove them up the hill and showed them a few things that the tour bus had not shown them, like this. This is David Lynch's house....it is on the same street as The Bill Macy's, only at the other end of it....It is really 'Pinker' than this but I took this from inside my car...Here is a photo that is a little closer to the house... It has some very interesting design work in the 'deco' style....I believe this house was designed by a famous architect, but I don't remember who....

We drove further along on that street and came to the Macy house which is way up on the top of this hill....They had seen a different view from Outpost Drive on Thursday....but this is the view from their actual street. It's not the greatest picture because the sun was going down and getting in the lens to some degree....Just look at all those steps....You have to be in good shape to maneuver those! (lol)

Then I turned onto Outpost Drive and continued uphill... We were heading up to that famoue and infamous street....Mulholland Drive. I wanted to show them this road that is at the top of the hill and is the sort of dividing place between the city side and the valley side of Los Angeles.
Mulholland traverses the Santa Monica Mountains from the 101 Freeway, all the way to the ocean....It is a great street to take because you avoid a lot of traffic...but, curves and hills better not be a problem for you. I wanted to show them the place that is called The Universal Overlook, because you can see all of Universal and City Walk and Burbank, beyond it. Of course it helps if it is a clear day, but it's still worth seeing even on a 'bad air' day, as yesterday and today was...very very bad.... And another shot, further west right on the road where the summer brush is looking dry and kind of dangerous in terms of fire hazard.... I took them to Laurel Canyon where Mulholland and Laurel Canyon intersects because I wanted to take them down to the Valley side towards Studio City where Betty lives. (You may remember that Wendy had called me to wish me Happy Birthday on 'The Day' and had spoken to Betty, too....)This is the crest of the hill and the dividing line between the city side and the valley...It is rare to see no cars at this intersection.We did go down Laurel Canyon and I drove them past Betty's house...unfortunately Betty is in rehearsals and could not be with us....I had hoped she might be able to join us for dinner, but she is soooo exhausted at the end of her rehearsal day that it was just not possible. (One forgets that she is 87 years old!)

I took them back up the hill a whole other way....there is an area of newer homes and all the streets are named beginning with Dona....so the area is often called 'The Dona's'....it is off of Laurel Canyon down near the bottom of the Studio City side....and it kind of cuts through and again, you avoid a lot of traffic by taking Dona Pegita....It is a very steep hill which takes you all the way up to Mulholland, once again. But you can't tell how really steep it is in this photograph....but believe me, it is long and s-t-e-e-p....And here is another picture showing how Mulholland winds around.... You see that gray line going across ther middle of the picture and going almost all the way acoss? Well that is the continuation of Mulholland which is the road I am on in this picture...there is a big curve and then the road continues....a very twisty road because it was built around the mountains....

Closer to Outpost Drive again there is this empty place where you can see the city. The first shot is a long shot.... And then zooming in a bit closer on Downtown Los Angeles.... Again, you can see all that black polution going across the horizon. They keep telling us the air is better than it used to be. I assure you, it is not. That black that is going across the horizon? It was once just tan. and then it became brown, and now, it is black! I think Wendy & Mark were kind of shocked to see this because where they live they don't have this kind of polution, at all.

By this time it was about 5:30p.m. or so.....I had wanted to take Wendy & Mark to Hollywood Forever. This is the famous cemetary right in the heart of Hollywood, surrounded on one side by the old RKO Studio--then Desilu--and Paramount Studio, that used to be called just The Hollywood Cemetary. It is a wonderful place filled with much great Hollywood History. It was in terrible dis-repair and was actually on the verge of bankrupcy when the people who own it now, bought it and renamed it Hollywood Forever. I first came here in 1961 with my dear friend Sammy. And I loved it. There are beautiful Palm Trees and other foliage, too. And this very beautiful lake with lots of ducks and egrets and all sorts of other birds...It was not in great shape even back in 1961, but still gave one the feeling of 'old Hollywood'. It is a place I always bring out-of-towners, if they are interested, because it is not a part of the Starline Tours....It took us quite a while to get their from Outpost because the traffic was horrific. And I wasn't sure it would still be open....and, it almost wasn't! The guard at the gate said he was closing at 6:30pm and it was now 6:15pm....well, it wasn't very much time, but, at least we had 15 minutes. I haven't been there since it became Hollywood Forever and it was wonderful to see how well cared for everything is and how green the grass is, too. Everything looked well taken care of which I was very happy to see.

Douglas Fairbanks Sr., and Junior are both buried here in a very beautiful strip of land that has a pool on it and it's own archway. It was really wonderful to see how beautifully cared for this is now. I had never seen the fountains working in all the years I have been visiting this cemetary. And here below is a closer look at the actual monument.On the other side of the road, Wendy noticed this monument. Here below is a closer picture of this particular monument... As you can probably read...it is Johnny Ramone of "The Ramones". Wendy took a picture of it from the car....(I did not take these pictures...I found them on the Net...) And as you can see from the first picture, the small lake or whatever you want to call it is right behind....there were lots and lots of birds there and I took this picture from the car of a few of these sweet birds... There are many many interesting people buried here. Rudolph Valentino, Marion Davies, Harry Cohn, (the head of Columbia Pictures), Tyrone Power, John Houstan, The DeMille Family, The Talmadge Sisters---Norma and Constance, etc., etc., etc....I think this is why it has such an old Hollywood feeling to it because it is filled with so very many early film stars from the 'Silent Picture' days to today.

We had to leave so quickly that I didn't get to show them a lot of the wonderful gravesites like Tyrone Power. But as we were driving back to the entry way, Mark saw a squirrel and got very excited because they don't have any squirrels in New Zealand, which btw I did not know....and then he saw another and both Wendy and Mark got very excited about that.

We went back to my house and there they both saw two deer down in my garden and crossing over to the hill on the right...I had said that I see deer all the time and so I was so pleased that they got to see a couple themselves.

We had some dinner and sat and talked some more and then I took them back to their hotel. It was quite a big full day for me and I was quite tired by 1o:30pm....But it was a very very special day and one that will stay with me for a long time. Here are another couple of pictures of Wendy & Mark....
And last but not least by any means....a sweet picture of Wendy and me, taken by Mark.... It was as if we had all known each other forever and were just catching up once again. The Internet and blogging in particular really gives one this feeling so that it didn't seem odd to be meeting Wendy, at all! And by extension, her dear husband Mark. I wish we had taken more pictures of us, but as I said, we just comletely forgot about our cameras we were talking so much and enjoying each others company so much...well, I speak for myself here(lol). We'll find out how Wendy felt when they return to New Zealand next Wednesday. But suffice it to say, I wish we had had more time together because there are many other places I was going to take them...well, next time. Right?

I will leave this post up for a few days....it's a long one and I hope and enjoyable one, too....I'm going to go and rest now....

More To Come.....

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And another shot of this beautiful hotel, that I did not take.... This is from the Hollywood Blvd. side....pretty, isn't it?

There is so much that dear Wendy & Mark can see right there really close by and within walking distance, too...Like.... Everyone knows this image, don't they? Grauman's Chinese Theatre, now called Mann's Chinese.... but it will always be Grauman's Chinese to me....here below is a photograph of some of the doors to the theatre... You don't hardly see doors like these anywhere anymore....And of course, the famous forecourt with all the signitures and hand and foot prints in cement started by the original owner, Sid Grauman... And this wonderful old Postcard that shows quite a bit more of the forecourt prints though it is in the abstract sort of....But a very clever postcard none the less, and really old, too.... And also right close by is the famous Hollywood Walk Of Fame...which, over the years has become a huge tourist attraction and righfully so...

And , I assure you, pictures will be snapped, and snapped, and snapped, for sure...

I had a lovely long conversation with Wendy on Wednesday afternoon, right after they arrived at the hotel....

Thursday was a day of "tours" for them, which I am sure I will hear all about when I see them later today...I am hoping to take them on my own private "Naomi's Hollywood Tour"....if all goes well....!

So, till Saturday, please be patient, my darlings, and ALL will be revealed.....(lol)

More To Come, you can be sure......

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Billy Crystal spoke about his daughters and the fact that they are both in show business---one of them, an actress, and the difficulty of having that last name. A famous name. And what that means and how it affects her. He said something so profound, when speaking about the daughter who is an actress, going on an interview for a job. He said: "When they say something like 'If we could just get your father to do this picture....' he said, 'it moves her, (his daughter) right out of the room'. (

Jane Fonda spoke of similar problems. Someone actually said to her once, "So what else have you done besides being Henry Fonda's daughter?" That would have completely destroyed me. Completely Destroyed Me, I tell you. Fonda said some other very meaningful things and among them was the importance of not waiting until it is too late to truly connect with ones parents or children...to put aside those things of the past that keep you from having that close meaningful relationship, and that it needs to come from you to your parent.

These interviews were really wonderful in so very many ways....Poitier spoke of being a father to 6 girls and that he was very hard on all of his daughters. Too hard, he said. And he explained why, as well as alluding to the fact that he came from the economic "depression" mentality of the '30's and lived with this all his life even after he was successful.
Martin Sheen shared much about his kids and how large he loomed over them without even understanding that THAT was the case, as well as how he was given the opportunity to get closer to his children once he was no longer working so hard to establish himself in his career....

The film is over. And Haskell Wexler just sits staring at the now black monitor---the film being over. The camera comes into the room---Mark running it though we don't see him because
we just see what the camera sees as it moves in on his father just sitting there. He moves over towards him with the camera and we see that Haskell Wexler is terribly terribly moved. We see Marks hand go to his father's shoulder....and indeed, Haskell Wexler is so emotional he can barely speak. And then he says through his tears: "If I can just get past all this emotion...I want to say to you that this is a great film, Mark." We hear Mark Wexler immediately begin to sob off camera....I tell you...you want to talk about "Reality TV"? These moments are truly 'Reality TV'. I burst into tears...into sobs, myself. Finally, Mark Wexler was given the acknowledgement by his father that he has always needed and has always wanted to hear.

Much much more was said....and all of it so incredibly moving and satisfying....because we as an audience are witness to this truly profound thing that has just spontaneously happened between father and son.
All the pain; all the hard work; all the hope that went into Mark S. Wexlers making of this film about his famous father....the careful thoughtful editing that he did....all of it came full circle in the most moving, satisfying and rewarding way....And by making this film he has now connected in the most real way to his Dad, before it is too late for both of them. The son, reaching out to his very difficult critical father.....Magnificent!

Further Update: 11:41pm-

Here is where our dear Wendy and her husband are sleeping tonight...

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Here they are moving dirt to drop behind the wall, and packing it in as tight as they can after each dirt drop.... I watched as they did this, amazed at the percision that goes into what they do to move this crane around in a very very small area....Here, below, the man running that crane moves in closer, maneuvring to get into the correct position, having already scooped the dirt up. Then he gets into the correct position and proceeds to drop the dirt right behind the still unfinished wall....this is how they do this each day, every day.... And then, the guy running the crane lifts the dirt carrier part and moves backwards to then goes to get some more dirt....And so it goes.... Here he is having backed up to his former position and there are the guys who tap that dirt down, and you can just see a little bit of the wall that is on the street level, sort off....Here below, is a more extensive view of the wall that's being built on the street level...So, there you have the most recent update on this endless construction. If this is where they are now after five and a half months....well, God only knows how long it will take to actually build and finish the house that will sit on this hill....

Just a little bit of a reminder of how this street level looked on March 2, 2oo6, in the photograph below....this photo was taken looking up the street as opossed to the photo above it with the partially built wall, where I was looking down the street... Is it just me or does this look so much nicer back then....Progress, it stinks sometimes, doesn't it? Well, maybe when it is all finished it will look fabulous, but right now, it sure looks a mess! OY!

More To Come....

Update: 1:24pm Go read this story...it is unbelievable!

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/man-trapped-in-110-degree-chocolate/20060818095509990004

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The legend of how the Cobb Salad came into being is this: Mr. Cobb, the owner, had some dental work done and was unable to chew just about everything! And one late night he was very hungry, so, he went into the kitchen and took out all sorts of goodies from the fridge and created this salad for himself, putting in protein, and veggies so that he would be able to eat something nutritious and by chopping everything in it very very finely there was a minimal amount of chewing needed. The salad was held together by the famous Brown Derby French Dressing. Within a very short time they began to serve this salad to their customers and it became one of the most popular items on The Brown Derby Menu. This is where I first encountered the true original Cobb Salad. And the ingredients below have actually been modified just slightly to reflect today's palatte...but not so much to ruin the actual salad. The most important thing about this salad were these three words. "Very Finely Chopped", and this applied to ALL the ingredients, each and every one.

This was a brilliant salad which was so completely memorable that you always wanted to order at when at The Brown Derby. And I have never had this salad anywhere else that was actually made correctly. Never. What restaurants dub as a "Cobb Salad" is usually a completely basterdized version of this salad---their own little twist on ingredients and---never ever ever chopped finally enough, the way it should be. Sad but true. Even this recipe below does not direct you to chop everything finely, so it too, is no longer the original authentic recipe that people still wish they could wrap their mouths around! I know I sure wish I could!

This was the second Brown Derby which was located on Vine Street in the heart of Hollywood. It attracted lots of Hollywood people; movie stars and movie moguls and even the two reigning queens of the Gossip Columns of the day, Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. It had these beautiful generous red leather booths and caricatures on the walls of all the famous movie stars of the day....it was a great place to go and have lunch or dinner, especially after the Huntington Hartford Theatre opened across the street from the restaurant. A perfect evening was dinner at The Brown Derby and then off to a play, across the street. And then, after the theatre going back to The Brown Derby with your friends who were in the play at The Hartford. That was a beautiful theatre. Very much like a Broadway theatre, actually...many wonderful shows played there when it was The Hartford and later too, when it was the Doolittle Theatre. I spent many happy times at the Derby and at the Hartford/Doolitle too, before the Deerby's closing.

So all that is left of these great restaurants with their rich history are ones memories of the good times one had there and the great meals one had there and those very special concoctions like The Cobb Salad. Here is the recipe, below. The dressing by the way can be purchased through the Disneyland/Disneyworld organization, so I have read, if you don't want to try and make it yourself, but if you do want to make the dressing, here it is, along with the recipe for the "original" Cobb salad:

COBB SALAD (serves 4-6) 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, 1/2 bunch watercress 1 small bunch chicory, 1/2 head romaine lettuce, 2 medium sized tomatoes, peeled; 2 breasts of boiled roasting chicken, boned; 6 strips crisp bacon, 1 avocado, 3 hard-cooked eggs, 2 Tablespoons chopped chives, 1/2 cup crumbled imported Roquefort cheese, 1 cup Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing
Cut finely lettuce, watercress, chicory and romaine and arrange in salad bowl. Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds, dice finely and arrange in a strip across the salad. Dice the breasts of chicken and arrange over top of chopped greens. Chop bacon finely and spread over the salad. Cut avocado in small pieces and arrange around the edge of the salad. Decorate the salad by sprinkling over the chopped eggs, chopped chives and grated cheese. Just before serving mix the salad thoroughly with French Dressing.
BROWN DERBY OLD-FASHIONED FRENCH DRESSING 1/4 cup water (optional), 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, Juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon English mustard (dry), 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced; 1 cup olive oil, 1 cup salad (vegetable) oil;
Blend together all ingredients except oils. Then add olive and salad oils and mix well again. Chill. Shake before serving.

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What makes this particular documentary truly universal is that it is more about the father-son relationship than Haskell Wexler's career...something all of us can relate to in many ways. In this case, a son trying to come into his own and establish his own identity behind a powerful controlling famous father. And by doing this documentary, one feels Mark S. Wexler has accomplished this difficult passage. He has made many documentaries before this one and will after this one, too...but this, it seems to me, is a true 'right of passage'. There is also the 'sins of the father' theme...Haskell Wexler's father was not exactly "Father Knows Best"...having said to his son Haskell, 'You can take a lot of money and turn it into shit!'.

There are many famous people who were interviewed for this film and even their participation is different because you feel that each of these people---like Martin Sheen and Jane Fonda and George Lucas and Conrad Hall and Sidney Poitier for instance, are terribly sympathetic to Mark Wexler and this difficult relationship. What I personally found so moving were the things that each of them said to Mark Wexler, on camera, about how important it was to make peace with one's parent before it is too late.

Jane Fonda's words were particularly sensitive and touching, having emerged herself from a difficult father-daughter relationship with a father who was larger than life and was also afraid of intimacy, as we see that Haskell Wexler is, too. She was so articulate and spoke in such a caring manner....I found that quite moving and actually her words were very very profound, too. What she said probably resonated to me more than the other people who were filmed, having had a larger than life father myself. I plan to get the DVD for myself because one of the 'extras' on it is more of these interviews in a fuller and more extensive way.

Of course there is quite a bit about the film business and Wexler's struggle with his need to control the films he shot and the film director's he worked with....This is very interesting, too, because this is not an easy man in any way...But, he was and is a genius, behind the camera. He is forgiven much because of this. But to be his child growing up in his shadow----Oh My Lord! This had to be incredibly difficult and in some ways, impossible. But Mark S. Wexler not only has survived his childhood but he rose above it to where he is a very productive member of society, having become this wonderful Documentary film maker himself. Here he is with his father, still the hard task master, waving his finger at his son

An interesting side note: The Wexler's lived up the hill from me for many many years. I never met Haskell Wexler or his son, Mark. But I did know Marks mother, Marian. She was a very fine artist and during those years --the 60's and early 70's--the Los Angeles Art Scene was much smaller than it is now. I never knew her terribly well, but she was a very strong presence if you were in her presence. A woman with strong beliefs and convictions...which I always find attractive! A very definite personality and someone I never forgot. It is terribly sad to me to think of her in the state she is in now. Their home on Oporto was one of the older wonderful Spanish Style houses built in the late twenties and early thirties...A great looking house, now with so much foliage covering much of it, it was difficult to photograph. But, here it is, anyway....

Can anyone tell me who the people in the picture below are? Awwwww give it a try....Come on and guess....This is just for the fun of it you know?....What the heck, why not try? Leave the answer in your comments....!

More To Come.....

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These BEAUTIFUL Flowers are so sweet smelling....they are very much like the Plumeria Blossom in look and scent....except, the plant they are on is nothing like a Plumaria....It is from Madagascar and it is a Pachypodum. And here below, is a far away shot of the plant itself. And, in case you cannot see this too well, here is a closer look at the trunk of this Pachypodum....I took this some time ago, when these beautiful green leaves first begin to appear....This is the close-up, below. And next, here are the leaves just as they began to grow in once again...the plant having lost it's leaves in the Winter, and then in Spring, new life appears on these lonely dangerous looking little arms....

And then in this next picture below, it was about a week or so later and the leaves had grown in just a little more....

And then, some more time passed and I took some more pictures when the leaves were not fully grown in but, just about ....so here below is one of those pictures of these really lush beautiful slender dark green leaves... And then, a few days ago, I took this next photo below....the first flowers had opened....plus, you can see the flower buds as well.... And below, a slightly different angle on those same flower buds....
Who would believe that such delicate sweet smelling flowers could grow on such a lethal looking plant? I happen to love these plants. They look like little Palm Trees to me in a way, except for the fact that the trunk is filled with those really sharp protective 'tack-needle' like thingy's.... What a lovely way to be greeted as you come up the front entry way towards the gate...this sweet delicate scent that reminds one of Hawaii....Gee, I hope they are still blooming when Wendy gets here...

An Update: I swear, the little sharp things on this seed pod have grown since I posted about them a number of days ago....What do you think?

More to come....

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So that's it. There are many many other books that fall into all the catagories, but these are the ones that come to mind immediately. I'm not tagging anyone but if you feel like doing it, do. And if you do, let me know when you post it.

More To Come....

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Cami, as he was called, was such a very important part of my life, as was Barbara, too...and Cami's son---Maria's older brother, Dick. The record we were recording that day is this.... It was a kind of an R&B-R&R version of that old old song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin....It was, I think, a good record....but, it didn't do much of anything unfortunately....that's how it goes sometimes in the music business....one wonders how many really terrific recordings only see or saw a little bit of the light-of-day because of all sorts of reasons....most of them having very little to do with how good a recording actually is or was.

The people in that first photograph are, from left to right, Nat Jones, (A wonderful accompinist and good friend who died much to young of a brain tumor and the 'Nat' Maria is referring to...), then me, then a young woman who I didn't know...she was with another terrific accompanist--Eddie Swanston--known as Swan, (not in this picture), and next to her is Barbara's mother who was visiting from England where she lived and where Barbara was born, then the aforementioned Barbara and Maria on her lap, and I believe the last two people were Eddie Camillucci, Cami's brother, and his wife. This was a family affair in almost every way. Cami's son was a part of this recording because Cami and Dick and I believe Eddie, too, had started this record company. Here, below is another photo taken that day... This was New York City so there were some fantastic musicians on this recording...I wish I could remember all of their names...but, time has dimmed the memory on that...those that stand out clearly are Swan, at the piano--an amazing pianist...and that very tall good looking young man in the center was Gino Telli....he was recording his songs that day, too...he sure was a knock-out looking guy, but was, I'm afraid a bit of a jerk. He found out by going to these Record Hop thingy's that the girls just tore his clothes off weather he sang or not and so he realized he didn't really even have to sing; all he had to do was just show up! So, consequently he didn't really work very hard on his singing. And behind that standing wall was Nat Jones, and though you cannot see me, I believe he was talking to me cause that's where the singer had to stand.

Here below is another shot taken that same afternoon, probably within a few minutes of the above shot, and there is the wonderful Cami next to me and then Nat Jones, next to him. The thing that was so amazing about what Cami did as a voice teacher was not so much his emphasis on the voice, but his emphasis on 'opening you up' emotionally...filling that voice with some real feelings...that was, I think, his great gift as a voice teacher. He was a very very special man. And I was lucky that he came into my life when he did. He was, for me, a wonderful father figure as well as my teacher and friend.

Gee, I hope that Maria or her daughter see this post and leave some kind of address so I can get in touch with them. It would be such a wonderful thing to talk to her, once again. The last time I saw her was in 1991, in Sarasota, Fla. when I had a show of my paintings at a gallery there and Barbara, who lives there, graciously gave a party for me on the Opening Night. It was a truly wonderful night and here is this one picture from that evening... This was taken at that party...there is Betty, who had come to Sarasota for the opening, me, my father's widow Olga, and the lovely lady that Betty was staying with in Sarasota, gone now, I'm sorry to say. I would so love to hear from any of the Camillucci family....

More To Come.....

Update: I am much better than I was and hopefully I will begin visiting as many people as I can tomorrow....I thank all of you soooo very much for your lovely and kind words of encouragement. Your concern truly warms my heart....

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Remember these guys? Well....now, a few months later, they have turned into these guys, just below.... If you recall, I said those pods in the top picture---not-quite-flower-pod-thingy's---would become round balls with those little tops that you see above. These are seed pods. And the seeds are really fruit! Yes, the inside of these are edible....Here below is another view ---a closer shot---of these amazing wonders. Natures designs are utterly fascinating. Look at these hairy spike things that have formed on this now and are coming out of it at a length of about 1/2 inch to one inch. Talk about a protective covering....And I think these are there so that as the fruit gets closer to being ripe and ready that no bird or other small animal can get too close to it without risk of great great pain....I could be wrong...but I know these spiky things are there for a reason.

So, back in January and early February those pod-thingy's were little buttons, like you see in that second photo from the top. Then those that developed and turned into the larger pod-thingy's that you see at the very top, eventually, as you might recall, flowered beautifully.And here is another view of this very beautiful flower...a different flower at a different angle in better light....And then after they closed up, we began to see this bulbous thing which began to form at the semi top of the flower and where the actual flower itself had been, now was closed up...(the flower having only been open for less than a day....talk about striking while the iron is hot, camera-wise, that is)....we see that that portion of the bulbous thing remains smaller... And that now, August---whatever date I took these most recent photo's----these are now round seed pods. The design on these is so extrordinary...the small round puffs with seams...plus those spikes. Amazing! And in the above picture you can see the contrast of where these little buttons that never developed were....and now seven months later, what they have become. I think of all the plants in my Cactus Garden, George's flowers have the longest evolutionary period of growth. When these seed pods burst open, I will try to get some pictures of that. And, incidentally of all the flowers and possible flowers that did develop, only three came this far. The rest fell to the ground before they turned fully into the round seed pods. Here is the third one...just a little behind in it's growth cycle than the other two up top... The protective---or whatever they are---spiky things have just begun to develop. I love the tops of these where the flower had been open...it looks like you could just take it between your two fingers and pull the seed pod off...I'm not about to do that, of course...I want the joy of seeing this evolutionary process to it's end...and maybe, even tasting the fruit before the birds get to it....

More To Come

Update: I apologize to all of you blog buddies that I haven't gotten around to visit much these last days....I haven't been feeling very well and so have not been on the Internet as much as usual...I will try to be better when I feel better...Thanks for understanding....

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5 Things always in my purse:

My Wallet, My Change Purse, A Packet of Kleenex, An Extra Set of Car Keys and A Little Address Book. (pretty boring stuff....)

5 Things always in my wallet:

Credit Card, Medicare Card, AARP Drug Card, License, AAA of So. Cal. Card. (More boring stuff here, too.....)

5 Things always in my closet:

Clothes, Shoes, A Broken Guitar, 3/4 Inch Video Tapes, and Old Magazines. (Yawn.....)




5 Things always in my car:

An Umbrella, Audio Tapes, A Big Box Of Kleenex, A Big Bottle Of Water and My Cell Phone. (Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

5 Things always on my desk:
Pens, Pencils, Floppy Disks, Post-It Note Pads and my Staple Gun. (Help Me Oh Nurse....this was a real sleeping pill...)

And the most interesting thing about this list of mine? The pictures!

5 People to tag:

Well, I don't like to tag people, so if you feel like doing this, do it and just let me know if and when you do!

More To Come

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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 1:00 AM

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Friday, August 04, 2006

emmy viewing - 5

The DVD's for the next panel arrived and I have watched them all, very carefully. This category---the last one I will be judging---is Outstanding Drama Series and the nominees are:

"GREY'S ANATOMY"
"HOUSE"
"THE SOPRANO'S"
"24"
"THE WEST WING"

Another very challenging category for me to judge. Each of these shows gets to pick two episodes for our viewing which seems like a very fair way to do this, since you are judging the entire show....and one episode might not be enough to give you a real sense of the sweep of any series. Two may not either but it is better than just one, for sure.

Okay. So here we go, in alphabetical order:

"GREY'S ANATOMY" is for me a strange mixture of things. A Hospital Drama dealing with sometimes very serious and painful things, and then it is a comedy, too. Not just a Drama Series With Humor, and that's where I have my problem. I feel like sometimes it doesn't know what it is and so therefore, neither do I. My understanding of the reality of this series puts me into "suspension of disbelief" mode here to a point where I almost have trouble with suspending my disbelief because the other side of that coin is/are some very real problems that are dealt with....I find mixing these two things in this hospital setting isn't for me, I guess. Interns doing Heart Surgery in a stuck elevator??? I cannot believe that. And there is at least one or two of these kinds of things in every episode. It is beautifully acted and very well written and the production values are excellent---I just have a lot of trouble with the plot points being too unbelievable.


"HOUSE" is another 'medical' show, but this one revolves around one particular eccentric fantastic diagnostician who also happens to be somewhat of a drug addict...as played by Hugh Laurie, this character is not only believable, but lovable with all his warts! Now here is a Drama Series with Humor! This I 'get' and I found it fascinating and riveting. House is like a Detective Doctor....trying to figure out these very difficult mystery's that confront this special "Clinic Staff"....and all the actors are wonderful as is the writing. This is a super series! This is another show with a wonderful ensemble of actors...All of who are perfect in their roles. And then we have the actor who plays Dr. House, Hugh Laurie. He is an exceptionally talented man who's work has always been superb...He "makes" this series work, like gangbusters!


I love "THE SOPRANO'S" and have always found this show to be one of the Best Ever on Television. The writing, the acting, the direction....the whole premise of this show was and is unique to television in almost every way...but let's start with the premise...the story is about the head of a Mafia type family who is having heavy duty emotional problems and begins to go to a psychiatrist...and now, in it's 6th season, Tony Soprano is still doing this. To have a series where the hero is a terrifyingly powerful criminal that shows us his vulnerability---this has never before been seen on television. The two leads, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco (who plays Tony's wife Carmella) are utterly sublime talents---that neither of them received Emmy Nominations this year is a travesty and to me, that means there is some breakdown in this 'new' voting process that this could happen. But be that as it may....this is a brilliant heartfelt drama series that also falls into the category of a Drama Series with Humor. Another very special series that I will be very very sorry to see leave the airwaves when it ends it's long run, after eight more new episodes go on the air beginning in January 2007.


"24" is nominated this year in this category.
This is a kind of "perils of pauline" show---for those of you who don't get this reference, this was a "serial" shown in the silent movie days where each week people were left with some horrific unsolved problem that kept them panting and wanting to come back to see the outcome---"will the train run over Pauline or not?....Come back next week to see"....This is kind of what '24' is like, only there is something happening like this every hour of each day, which means every episode each week! You could get exhausted just going through what Jack Bauer and his cohorts go through in every episode. This show, too, asks you to put your "suspension of disbelief" into High Gear! It is action packed and is a beautifully filmed and produced show. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and if this is your cup of tea---this show is for you! Wonderful performances by all the actors---particularly it's star, Kiefer Sutherland.


And last, but by no means least, we have "THE WEST WING". It is a testament to this series that in it's final year it was once again nominated in this category having been nominated every year of it's television life.
Superb writing, acting and direction....fantastic production values, and a show that made you feel---right or wrong---there was hope for America. No easy feat, and, on top of that, this show survived a huge 'changing of the guard' when it's writer/originator Aaron Sorkin left, along with his creative partner, Director Tommy Schlamme---the men who made this series what it was---to somehow rise like the phoenix with the fine hand of John Wells at the helm, and to remain one of the top top drama shows on television. This was a refreshingly different series when it arrived on the scene. And it had this wonderful ensemble cast of actors who made it all completely believable. It is missed by many...me, among those very many.

So, there you have this category. Many many people vote on this category---in fact there are two panels...the "A" panel and the "B" Panel....The difference is that each panel has different episodes so that all together four separate episodes are viewed. And, of course, what all of us are trying to do is to pick the Outstanding Drama Series for the 2005-2006 television season. And as with the other three category's I have had to judge, this one is a mother-bear, too.

Stay tuned, as they use to say....



More To Come....

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| posted by OldOldLady Of The Hills at 12:15 AM

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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

my hippo, etc.

Mysterious Lady named one of my posts A Perfect Post for July. I thank you dear ML with all my heart and want you to know I dearly appreciate this more than I can say. If any of you want to read that particular post, click on the Perfect Post Icon at the top.

Enjoy!

Moving right along....

When we did the Tour Of Homes post, I showed a photo of my little Electric Baby Baby Baby Grand Piano and on top of it, among many other things you could see this very delightful and dear person!

My Hippo. And as you can see here in this picture he is with a few of his friends. On his left is "Babe" or a sweet pig that kind of looks like 'Babe', and a little piggy right near 'Babe' that is rather old, I think, and is bursting with milk for her many babies. In front of My Hippo, on the left, are a pair of little tiny Hippo's made of wood and this is a Netsuke. (pronounced Net-skee and I have a small collecton of these wonderful little art pieces). And next to those dear little guys is a Sleeping Mouse. He is a bronze little sweetheart and was sculpted by the same artist who created My Hippo!

When I was in London in 1993 for that most memorable of trips that I blogged about some time ago....one of the places I went was to The Old Vic Theatre. Charley Berliner and I went to see a play there---a matinee---on one of our free afternoons...(I do not remember what we saw that day...). We were quite early getting to the theatre because we had no idea how long it would take us to get there, this historic theatre being on the South Bank. So, being early we had quite a bit of time before the play was to begin. So we looked around and there across the street, sort of, was an Art Gallery. The Llewellyn Alexander Gallery. So off we went, not having any idea what we were walking into or how wonderful or terrible it might be. It was just something to do to pass the time, you know?

Well, it turned out to be a treasure trove. As I walked in, there on a table close to the front door was My Hippo. It was love at first sight. I could not take my hands off of him/her....I just kept petting this wonderfully dear sleeping person, who actually looked like he or she had a smile on his/her face...!

See what I mean? Now, doesn't that look like a contented smile to you? Like he/she is having a lovely dream or just enjoying everyone coming over and petting him...! I looked around the gallery quite a bit but kept coming back to him...He is made of some kind of resin or something like that....he is very very heavy. At first I thought he was bronze because the Patina was so exquisite as you can see, but they told me that he was not bronze and that is why the price was not totally outrageous. I knew he was mine. My Credit Card was whipped out in a flash before anyone else in the place could possibly steal him away from me. The madness of 'The Collector' taking over my whole entire body, the way that happens---it's a real addiction. This wonderful gallery had many other beautiful fabulous things...among them were a lot of 'miniatures'. I had never seen anything like these beautiful small paintings before. Expertly painted little perfect still life's or cats and landscapes...and very very small...no bigger than 3 inches by 4 inches at most, and some smaller than that as well. I fell in love with one of these miniatures, too.This post box just "spoke" to me. You can't really tell from this photo, but the detail in this little tiny painting is quite extrordinary....I absolutely loved the post boxes that I saw in England....and to find this little painting of one that I could possibly buy and take home with me was, to me, a sweet little treasure.

This next miniature also amazed me. It, too has extrordinary detail as well as capturing the dearness of the felines we know and love. I just love this very dear kitty...He kind of looks like a combination of my dear Sugar and Sugar's nephew, Teeny. So, I ended up buying these three pieces on that trip to England and have never regretted doing this for one moment. And, that My Hippo arrived safe and sound and unbroken was surely rather miraculous, considering it had to travel 6000 miles to it's new home. Here is another view of this very pettable person. I mean...you just want to stroke him, you know? He feels so wonderful and even though this material that he is made of is hard...he really gives you the sense that he is soft. He makes me smile every time I see him and I cannot go by him without petting him! Go Figure.

Fourteen months later, when I was in London once again, Llewellyn-Alexander was an absolute 'must stop'. And that's when I found this dear little sleeping mouse which was created by the same artist that did My Hippo. I thought it only appropriate that they should be napping right near one another...so here they are. I haven't been back to London since then, but I have certainly been in touch with that gallery. Do go to their website....(pass your cursor over their name at the top of this post and click...) They have a great many pages devoted to their miniatures...and they have a special show of these miniatures every spring of every year...

More To Come.....

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