The following post is about this record that you see above....a 45rpm recording, which was THE Format for single recordings made in the fifties and into the 60's, too. I found the pictures you are about to see while doing that Big "cleaning out" of my house in November/December, just passed. (Remember I said I found some treasures?) I do not remember who gave them to me, but I am absolutely thrilled to have found them once again.....These songs were recorded in 1955-56-maybe '57. I'm sorry to say, I cannot remember what the exact year actually was....."IF" (You Want To Be My Baby) was a really wonderful upbeat song written by this very very talented songwriter named Sid Wyche. The 'flip side' of this record--the "B" side was "Before You Say Goodbye", also written by Sid. Personally, I liked both songs, a whole lot!......They were very much 'of the period'. This was a "posed" picture taken at VAMP Studios, where we actually met, Sid and I.....and that is Sid at the piano.....Notice the cigarette in my hand.....It really was such an addiction, and, another lifetime in a way....Dear dear Sid was a very successful writer at that time, too. One of his most famous songs was, "Alright, Okay, You Win"...recorded by just about everybody....But the two most popular recordings 'back in the day' being Joe Williams singing with The Count Basie Orchestra, and the other was by Miss Peggy Lee! Later...many many years later, Bette Midler recorded this song, too.....

So, I was thrilled that this very talented and successful writer wanted me to record these two songs of his....They were very much in the mainstream of what was being recorded at that time....And I really loved the Ballad a whole lot! So, nothing could have been better! This picture above was another 'posed' picture at VAMP Studios. Sid is way over on the left, standing next to me, Buster Newman, my coach, leaning on the piano, and my accompanist Nat Jones, playing the piano....These were talented men who were a big part of the career we were trying to build....It was really an exciting time...(

And by the way.....I have absolutely no memory at all of these pictures being taken, but I am sure glad they were, because just looking at them brings back many memories of that time.....)And there we are in the recording studio....Sid, standing next to me....

Ember Records decided they wanted to record me and I think it was through Sid, who had an on going relationship with them.... Taking a little coffee break during 'the session'....Sid had heard me sing and liked my voice very much and he was looking for someone new to record his work, and these two songs were chosen....And somewhere along the way, the great and amazing Arranger, Sy Oliver, was chosen to do the arrangements for both songs. Above, Sid & Sy.....two giants of the music business at that time....Once again, knowing the great Sy Oliver would be doing these arrangements---well, this was a thrilling thing for me.....Sy really liked my voice a lot, too.....And that meant a great deal to me because I knew who he was and was very aware of what an incredibly talented and special Arranger he was....having done arrangements for some of the greats...like Lena Horne.....Here above, Sy and I, listening to a playback....and he is giving me some notes on 'the cut'.....I don't think I can convey how deeply meaningful it was to me that this great musician loved the way I sang....it did so much for my fragile ego and the underlying insecurity I felt. In point of fact, all these talented men gave me tremendous confidence because of their belief in my talent....like Buster Newman...in the photo below, sitting with Sid in the booth.... And here below is another shot of Buster, in the booth, listening and giving instructions to the sound guy..... I spent a lot of time with Buster....we would go to a bar on 6th avenue, part of a chain of bars around Manhattan at that time called Martin's. It was up the street from VAMP Studios, which was on 44th street at that time, right next to The China Bowl, which I think may still be there. Martin's was around the corner, on 6th. Buster would order Scotch and Milk....and would talk to me about life and music and the plans for my 'career', and he would call me 'Doll'...(I think he called every woman 'doll'....It was nice and endearing.) And as he drank his Scotch and Milk, I would have Coffee....and we both would eat a little bit of the 'free lunch', that Martin's was kind of famous for....all the while talking about the future.... Here's the wonderful Nat Jones....always there on that piano, backing me up in the most caring manner....These men---Buster Newman, Nat Jones, Sid Wyche, and Sy Oliver-- were my teachers, my mentors, and I looked up to them as many students look up to their teachers....They were serious professionals who taught me the ropes and stood by me when I was pretty frightened----especially in the Nightclub world where one met a lot of guys with crooked noses and scary hatchet faces, and one time an arm missing...(There was no doubt in my mind that it had been shot off.....) .I was really such a baby....but, I wanted to learn and I wanted to do the best I could for them, as well as for myself....Buster was like the good loving caring encouraging Daddy I never had....He was like a life coach, as was Richard Camilucci, my voice teacher....again, he too, was more than my teacher....he was my mentor, too. It was an exciting time and a great time for learning and for doing, too....There is more to this story...But I will save that for another post....when there will be.....

More To Come......

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This particular day was filled with the most GORGEOUS sky's....Cloud formations that kept changing by the minute---well, by the second, really....And I didn't know where to look and click first.....So, I just pointed and clicked all over the place.....! This picture above makes my deck look much bigger than it is....the distortion of the lens....But, it does give you a little bit of an idea of the Panoramic view I see....and this is just one third of that view---the view looking mostly to the East, and downtown....You can't really tell how amazing the sky was that day from this picture, but....you can see a lot more in these next pictures.... Above is another third of the Panorama....this one looking West, towards The Pacific Ocean....and my beloved trees in the distance...! Those little buildings in the distance are the big buildings of Century City....Do you know why they call it Century City? It's because that huge piece of prime property on which these buildings are built was part of the 'back-lot' of Twentieth Century Fox Movie Studio. My very first job in films----I was an extra. It was in a Paramount film shot on 'location' at Twentieth's Train Station/Small Town on their back-lot. Just about where those buildings are right now. (It would be many many years before I was in front of the cameras again....and then, I would actually have some lines to speak.....)

I was in my first and only semester at USC and they needed students for this picture with Bing Crosby and Nancy Olson called "Mr. Music". And there we all were.....including Robert Stack who was in the cast of this film, too.....It was a very exciting thing for me....Not only an extra in a film, but, a Bing Crosby film on the back-lot at 2oth, at that! Because we were "on location" they had to feed us, too. I remember thinking at the time that this was a feast an incredible feast! In the Hot dishes alone, you had three choices, Roast Beef, Chicken, and Fish, and all the fixings, too! These were two of the best meals I had had in months, at that time....!

Here above.....a little closer to those buildings on another rainy day....And then, below.....a closer look yet again.....And below, a closer yet again...Here is Century City as it pretty much looks today....I didn't take this picture...... It amazing to me that back almost 60 (count them) 60 years ago I walked all over this piece of land during the lunch break, wandering around looking at ALL the sets that had been built for pictures I knew so well....."Pinky", a Southern Plantation Mansion.... "A Bell For Adono", a war torn Italian Village during WW2....just to name two.....And of course that little town with the train station, including a train.....! The Magic Of The Movies, back in the day.....
And here below is another cloud picture that really knocked me out..... This ominous darkness hanging over the city, with a range of many colors...magical! I will post some more of these, the next time....but just to tease you a little bit, here is one more of my beloved trees.... Yes, indeed, there certainly will be.....


More To Come......

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The view has been quite something these last 5 days or so what with the rain that we have had, on and off now, since late last Monday night. And they say it is going to rain ALL weekend long....Of course, they are wrong a lot...But in this case, I hope they are right....Besides the amazing sky's....there is the extreme need we have had for all this rain, too. What has been wonderful, at least where I am, the rather steady rainfall has been mostly gentle enough that it is soaking the ground in a nice slow easy way....And the cloud formations each day have been very beautiful.... .....And I want to share a few more of these amazing sky's with you...These are from the last two days.....This next one below is the view looking towards The Pacific, and as you will see....my favorite trees are right there in all their beautiful glory....... I love that little bit of sun peeking through----trying hard to come through in a bigger way.....And in some of these pictures you can see that it is raining in certain places, but not in others.....I love that....! You can see the rain in this picture above, coming down in large clumps....A fascinating phenomenon, I think. I love that I can see what is happening all over the city....And in this next picture below, you see another view of Downtown Los Angeles in the distance....

More To Come.........

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You asked for it and here they are! You can see the Chickens/Roosters in this little Video....they are there and moving about a bit......It was a very cold windy somewhat dark day.....so, not the greatest video ever, but.....proof that there are some kind of 'fowl' living below.....And this next little video shows a very cute puppy who seems to be quite interested in the 'fowl', too!

I also got a few pictures of those two critters....and here they are, below......It turned out they were eating something out of a little round white dish....Seeds or something like that.....Here below you can see that little dish!I must admit they are really kind of cute....! I just hope I still feel that way in a few weeks! (lol)Remember I mentioned the 'food bin'? Well, here is a picture of it....And it has all sorts of stuff in it. Orange Rinds, some Vegetables, and other stuff that I cannot tell what it is....etc....And, the other structure that is being built? Well as you can see from this picture below, there is barely anything there yet, but I noticed that there is a small sliding window that is quite prominent.....Better to retrieve eggs from.....?And a closer look at that sliding window below.....This little window tells me that more 'fowl' are probably on their way.....Well, it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out.....Meanwhile, here is one more picture of the 'fowl' that are living there right now......Like I said....they are kinda cute!

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This is an interesting little saga about my neighbors. The ones who live below me and have been doing a lot of work on their 'upper garden'....this is a little video I took on Sunday....This story doesn't end there though...in fact, it is just beginning.....

So....here below is a close up of the Chicken Pen or Turkey Pen or whatever you want to call it....I know the Chickens or Turkeys are there because I saw them moving around last Wednesday.....

In the video you just saw, the camera went past a bin of food of some sort...(I must try to get a close-up of that...it looks like Grapefruits or melons or something....) And late today I saw the lady of the house, after she had fed these little Chicken guys, putting the pail she used back in it's non-place on the ground near the food bin....The picture above was 'the lady of the house' on Sunday....feeding her family. Okay, so now the stage is set: There are Chickens or Turkeys living in the Pen, just below the end of my garden. (I love the irony of Hollywood Blvd. being 2 minutes away, don't you? People getting their "stars" on Hollywood Blvd., and there are Chickens a thousand or so yards away....Only in Hollywood?) So around 2pm today my maid Lucy, who was here today for the once a week cleaning of my house, was working in the Guest Bathroom---the window in there looks down on the neighbors upper yard...and she hurries in to me, to tell me she sees two coyote's down there....I hurriedly grabbed my trusty camera, and rushed out on the deck....by this time the Coyote's are scurrying through my yard and going on to Marilu Henner's property which is next door, to the right of my property----which, by the way, is all scrub land below her home....So, as you can see in the picture above of my Cactus Garden underneath my house, I was too late; they had moved too fast for me....I quickly went over to the right side of the deck hoping to get a picture or two of these guys over on the scrub....And....I lucked out! Here below, you can see
Coyote #1. kind of turned around waiting for his buddy, his son, his daughter, his wife---whomever----waiting for the other coyote..... Let's get in a bit closer on this picture so you can really see him.... And then he kind of looked around quickly....still waiting for his Buddy, I think.....But he didn't dawdle to long....very quickly he turned away, hurrying towards the safety of the brush, where he could hide......out of sight, I'm afraid......Almost immediately his buddy followed and I got one or two good shots of him/her.... Oh, let's get closer to this baby, too..... He too, moved pretty fast..... But I kept clicking away....and then, he/she was gone, too......One of the things they were doing while in my garden, was eyeing those two Chickens, and I know exactly what they were thinking...."Here is our next meal!"
Stay tuned.....


More To Come......

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One of the reasons I watched it twice was because I found Ms. Redgrave's performance so amazingly layered and thorough and deep....
I think she is one of the great great actresses of our time....And this performance is exquisite. And if you have never seen "Isadora"...well, it is a breathtaking performance of epoch proportions....And currently you can see her in "Atonement"....Her performance in that lovely film, comes at the very end of the movie and it is an Award Winning three minutes, let me tell you....This is an actress who does not display any vanity in her work...the naked age that she plays is not all dolled up, especially in "Evening"....Then there is Meryl Streep, who plays Ann's old old friend Lila. She comes in quite late in the film and has really just three scenes...but, they are powerful and moving and again, the attention to detail is inspiring to watch....To see these two Great Actresses together....well, I find this kind of acting, utterly thrilling.....! Why? Because it is so 'real'.

There are other performances too, that are really wonderful and special.....Mamie Gummer, who I have not seen before in a part this important, plays the young Lila, is just terrific....! So when her older self arrives much later in the movie, it is perfect, since her older self is played by her mother, Meryl Streep. (Mamie Gummer was cast first and her mother, much later.)...Another kind of marvelous connection here is Natasha Richardson, a brilliant and talented actress, plays one of the two daughters of the dying woman....Another brilliant stroke of casting since Vanessa Redgrave is her 'real' mother. Their scenes are very very touching.....Then, there is the magnificent actress, Toni Colette, who plays the other daughter.....again, a perfect bit of casting. One really believes these two woman are sisters, though in the story, they have two different fathers. Again, we are watching two very powerful actresses, both of whom bring a wonderful reality to their scenes together.....The wonderfully gifted Clare Danes plays "Ann", the dying woman when she is young, and again, here is another very talented actress, but I must admit of all the performances of these amazing women, hers was the least impressive to me....And I am not sure why. Something just a little bit off in some strange way....but, this is not to say she doesn't pull it off, it just doesn't come up to the other performances for me, and I do think that she is incredibly talented...Remember the TV series, "My So Called Life"?

Probably the weakest performances for me were the two main men played by Patrick Wilson, ("Angels In America") and Hugh Dancy, a lovely English actor who in this picture plays an American. The part of 'Harris' as played by Patrick Wilson is the most under developed character....the fault of the writing, I think....and for me, Hugh Dancy's performance as 'Buddy' was a little self indulgent I'm afraid....a bit of 'chewing of the scenery'....It is a difficult part and I personally think there were problems in the writing and the direction with his character, too....still, it did not take away from the over-all feeling that I was left with at the end of the film....One other young actor, Ebon Moss Bachrach who plays 'Luc', Toni Colette's characters husband, is quite wonderful! He only has three scenes, but he makes them memorable in every way---particularly his last scene, by getting all the juice out of them in a very real way!

There are two other actresses in this film that must be mentioned. Eileen Atkins, who plays Ann's Night Nurse, and who is one of the most brilliantly talented actresses around, and Glenn Close, who's part is quite small, but who has one scene that was surely worth her wanting to do this part! A tour de force for any actress, and not easy to pull off, let me tell you.

One more thing, the Director, Lajos Koltai, who is a very talented Cinematographer as well as a terrific director, did a masterful job. He is Hungarian, and it is interesting to me that Hungary seems to produce incredibly talented Cinematographers, (like Laslo Kovacs, just to name one other great Hungarian cinematographer...). It is beautifully filmed and his attention to detail is wonderful in every way.

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I took a little Flip Video of Sweetie playing with a toy that we've had for a long time. But I hadn't taken it out for "playtime" in a long time, and it was so much fun, I took the little video above....And as it turns out he was more interested in the other end of this toy....the end that I hold so I can dangle the "Toy" Toy in front of him.....Go Figure.....! And here below, are a few more pictures of the Food Dishes....Taken this morning...this shows what was actually left over, 24 hours later......

More To Come.......

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But, we have not come to the end of the day yet....These photos were actually taken in the mid-to-late afternoon..... And on different days, I might add.....Yes, this is a daily affair here on the hill.....I am often asked, "How many cats do you have?" When I say "One"....there is shock, surprise and amusement....! "One?" someone asks not sure they actually heard me correctly. Indeed! This is Sweetie's Smorgasbord....and it starts out, like this..... And in very short order----like 5 minutes or so, it goes to this.....And, depending on someones interest and ability to look at me with this very penetrating stare that never wavers till I fulfill his wish....it then goes to this..... And, so on and so forth....I think you are getting the picture.....Later in the day....like, two or three hours later...more dishes get put down, as I said...And it is a variety of flavors, of course....And just to illustrate the fact that he does eat off all of these dishes during the day....guess who came into the kitchen to nibble a bit while I was taking pictures! And then...... He actually was eating off of Dish #2....once again....And then....back to Dish #1...... And then....he moves away. Sweetie is a great believer in the '6 small meals a day' theory of weight control! He eats a little off of each dish throughout the day, switching to the dry food for a nice little change of pace occasionally...... Here he has moved away to lick his chops while cleaning his lovely whiskers....and,doing a little bit of washing of other parts, as well.....He is a very happy camper.....(To see what the dishes look like in the morning, I will have to take a picture when I get up.....) And after having his fill, 'The Mister' goes off to his favorite spot on my bed for a little snooze.....After all, one must rest after a hard day of eating.....!

More To Come......

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I had a little visitor yesterday...or was it the day before? Well...anyway, I went into the kitchen in the morning to feed Sweetie and myself.....and I was washing Sweetie's dishes....(yes, dishes---sometimes 6 or 7....Don't Ask......one of these days I will really embarrass myself and post those dishes....lol) I saw movement and there building a web was this really teeny tiny little guy..... You can see how little he was....I mean.....really really little.....But the reason I saw him was the sun was coming in the room from the windows in the living room, behind me....And so that made a kind of shadow on the backboard and that is where I saw movement..... And there he is coming down almost to the spout....(That stuff that looks disgusting on the edge of the water spout is dried compound, used by the plumber to secure the sprayer, which is not on there anymore....) I was amazed that this little guy stayed around for any length of time at all, with the water running..... Here you can see that section of my sinks and it gives you a better idea how really tiny my little visitor was.....About 20 minutes later, when I went back in to the kitchen...he was gone. Maybe he decided this was not the safest place to build a web.....But I loved being able to capture him with my camera....Nature, doing it's thing. These little things bring me great joy.....

More To Come......

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1.- When I was 25 years old, I never ever thought I would be living in Los Angeles....ever ever! It was the last place I wanted to live, back then....but, circumstances conspired to change that when I was 29 years old.....And I have been here ever since...adding up to 46 years, on February 1st. It's been a wonderful place for me to live....Everything that is good in my life, happened here in what many people call La La Land. For me? It has been the most creative, productive, wonderful place on every level, including the dearest friends anyone could possible have.

2.- It never occurred to me at 25, that there would ever come a time when I would not smoke.That was completely unimaginable to me! Everyone smoked. There were no "warnings" about the true dangers of smoking. It was all about how good smoking was for you....When I was 25, I had already been smoking for 10 years. Well, the smoking ended when I was 39 years old, never to pick up another cigarette again, Thank God.....Which leads me to #3.

4.- At 25, I might have fantasized about being on Broadway as an actress...but never in my wildest imagination could I have seen that not only would I actually be on Broadway at the age of 32, but that it would come through my singing and my composing.....And especially, when, at 29, I felt deeply suicidal....I truly was lost in a maze in a way that I never thought I would ever actually find my way out. But I did 'find my way out' by confronting my inner demons and working hard to reduce them to a much smaller size...A manageable size, shall we say, paving the way to having 'a life'. Not a particularly conventional life....but one that has suited me very very well.

5.- At 25, there is no way I could have known what 'growing old' really meant or what it held. I realize that if I had done this meme at 40, or 50, or even 60....it would be quite different in many ways, then it is today. This growing 'older' can be really daunting, especially if one has health issues....And never, at 25 did I imagine living with a cat, or two or three or 5...! I didn't even like cats when I was 25.
But part of what is so very comforting in these 'older' years is having this beautiful dear sweet cat who comforts me on a daily and nightly basis....If anyone had told me at 25 that I would fall in love with a cat at 35 (In fact, three cats at once)....I would have said, "No Way, No Way", and how wrong I would have been.....

Not ever having a true "significant other", is another thing that I don't believe I thought would not be in the cards for me at 25. I really thought I would be married or at the very least, that I would have a long term loving intimate relationship, married or not....Well, my most enduring intimate relationship was with my cat "Baby"....20 and 1/2 years we had together...which was certainly longer than any close loving relationship I've had with a human. (lol) And you know what? That's okay. That is really okay with me. Do I feel badly that I have not had that? Of course I do. But, it wasn't meant to be, so, from this vantage point now....well, as I said, it is really okay. Have I known love? Yes, indeed I have, and I am very grateful for that....

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On Monday....there was the most amazing BEAUTIFUL Sunset....Unreal looking, really....and I tried to capture it with my camera....The above picture is looking center, directly across the city at Baldwin Hills and that is La Brea Avenue in the center...... This is the same view from a bit further back....So we see more of the sky and more of what is directly across from me...to the left of Baldwin Hills, we start to see Long Beach. It was so incredibly clear and sparkly....The camera really doesn't do this Sunset justice..... Because I have this one hundred and eighty degree view that goes from East (above) to West (you will see that further down)...this picture above is Downtown Los Angeles. What is scary is, that as clear as it was, you can still see the smog sitting behind the city.....And in fact, that kind of pollution is what makes a Sunset that looks like this, below..... It looks totally unreal....And in fact....this camera really didn't capture the truest of the true....It was even more magnificent then this, to my eye.....Here below, another view of this same view..... This is from further back so you can see more of the sky and the mountain, too.....and as always, beyond that horizon is the Pacific Ocean.....and this picture below.... That little mound left of center way off in the distance is the same Baldwin Hills mentioned in the very first picture....the lights, left of center, La Brea Avenue, again.....I love this picture because of ALL the changes visible in the sky.....I know I've said it before, but when people say to me, 'you must be bored with your view'? How could I possibly be bored with this....it is different every night of every year....This was Monday, January 7th, 2008. A Lovely early January treat.....

More To Come......

NOTE: Please forgive me for not visiting a lot of you this last week or so....there has been a lot going on around me concerning three people I love and care about, and am very close to....

One, my dear friend Seemah Wilder, (You have seen her picture here on my blog many times)....lost her husband on New Years Eve...After a long horrific illness, he is finally at rest....

Two, another dear friend has just been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma...in a word, "cancer". She was in the Hospital for over two weeks through New Years, but is home now, though dealing with a lot---including Dialysis three times a week...

And Three, another dear friend is struggling with the inability to truly take care of herself....I am listed everywhere as the "contact" person for her....So it has been and continues to be a very difficult and painful situation, since I have severe limitations as to what I can actually physically do....There are very few people left who can truly help her.....Everyone else, except for just a few people, is dead....Right now she is being held in a psychiatric facility to determine her status regarding her ability to make decisions for her own care because 'protective services' were called in...It is hard to know what the doctors will decide....She is pretty much Bed-Ridden, so she needs 24/7....It is a complicated situation on every level...and, needless to say, heartbreaking. To know that this is where she is at this point in her life, is deeply deeply painful to all of us who know and love her....I am on the phone a lot of the day, talking to whomever....hoping for the best solution to this. There is no really wonderful solution, I'm sorry to say....but, there ARE solutions....and trying to make the best one happen, is a true challenge.

I rarely write about things like this on my blog....but I am overwhelmed with sadness for these three people and in the case of H., trying as best as I can---given my own Health Issues---to 'be there' for her and help to find a solution that no doubt will be a compromise, but one that those of us involved feel will give her the most of what she would like....This was a woman whose life could be a movie....(She lived through the Nazis as a teenager, loosing everything...She lived through the Communists, again, loosing everything)....In the old Hollywood Studio days, her life would have been made into a movie....To see her like she is now.....well, there are no words....So, please understand as best you can, and bear with me....And I thank you for understanding, with all my heart.......

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I saw four films over the weekend, all on DVD's....Three through the kindness of a friend who had them on DVD because of The 'Awards' Season, and one that I rented from Netflix, also part of The Awards seasons "For Your Consideration"......The first film was "A MIGHTY HEART", the movie about the kidnapping and subsequent death of journalist Daniel Pearl, adapted from the book by his widow, Marianne, as played by Angelina Jolie, in another very beautiful performance....One can sometimes forget what an extremely talented actress this young woman is, because of all the tabloid excess known as "Brangelina", that has taken over everything including some of our greatest newspapers.....But, a fine fine actress she is, and her rendering of the amazing Marianne Pearl proves this, once again. Anyone who has never seen the HBO Film "Gia", should rent it and be stunned by the bravery of this glorious actress. "A Mighty Heart" is a fine picture and should be seen if you haven't seen it already.

The second picture I saw was"STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING", a small gem of a movie with an stunning performance by the wonderful Frank Langella. One can only hope he will win a lot of awards for this beautiful beautiful portrayal of a published novelist in his 70's, still trying to find his way. The three other actors performances are very worthy of mention, particularly the fantastically talented Lauren Ambrose of "Six Feet Under" fame....and the underrated Lili Taylor, as well as the very subtle-acting of the attractive Adrian Lester, too. This is a slow moving, take-your-time-film......It is in no hurry to move quickly from image to image....it lingers on 'the moments' which are filled with subtext when just looking at Langella's face and body language, and the same can be said of watching Lauren Ambrose, as well, in her very thoughtful sensitive performance.....I found it a very moving film. And the interesting relationship that develops between Frank Langella's character and Ambrose' character is handled most carefully and realistically, too.....This is a film very much worth seeing.

Third, is a film called "RESERVATION ROAD"....a strange mixture of cliches and implausible twists and turns, which are somewhat predictable after the 'set-up' is handed to us in those first 10 or 15 minutes.....Some very talented actors---Jaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connolly, Mark Ruffolo, Mira Sorvino, etc.....cannot save this film from itself. Is it watchable? Very! Is it good? Not Very!The fourth film was Todd Haynes "I'M NOT THERE".....which I personally found rather pretentious and really do not know have a clue as to what this writer/director is trying to say with this film....This is the film that usesBob Dylan's Music and 6 or 7 sort-of versions of Bob Dylan-like-characters, including Cate Blanchett looking a lot like Dylan, but she is not Dylan, nor is anyone else in the film who sort of looks like him, Dylan....OY! Maybe it is me, but I could not continue to watch after slogging through a good hour of this.....I understand some people think it is a 'masterwork'....well, if it is, I did not get it, at all. This film went right by me.....Has anyone out there seen this? What do you think about it and/or about the three other films, if you have seen them?

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It is quite special because of a very sweet surprise.....

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There was a WONDERFUL Documentary on PBS here in Los Angeles, on Tuesday night...What a glorious way to begin 2008! There were many wonderful things about this documentary, not the least of which some of the beautiful songs that were sung by some of the theatre greats...
people like Carol Channing and Angela Lansbury and George Hearn.....And the fabulously uplifting music that was played.....

Jerry Herman's an amazing composer. And here is a very interesting fact: He does not know how to actually "write" a note of music....that is, he is not able to write down on paper any of the music he writes! Someone else must 'notate' that for him....And his music is very sophisticated and complex in many ways....He has written some very popular and hugely successful shows: "Hello Dolly", Mame", and "La Cage Aux Folles"....all Tony wining 'successful' Broadway shows which are still performed all over this country and throughout the world, and I am sure one or more of them are playing right this moment as you read this, somewhere in the world! No small thing.

Many years ago, the S.T.A.G.E. Benefit (The Event I was Co-Chair of for over twenty years) honored Jerry Herman with an evening of his songs, raising over $300,000. for AIDS related organizations....I had the privilege of writing out or 'notating' some 8 bars of three different songs, which he signed at the bottom of the large piece of Art Paper I had written each one out on. We then framed them very elegantly. (All donated, by the way) and auctioned them off to our Audience---adding to the coffers of this annual fund raiser.....It looked similar to this one above, only much bigger, in every way, and all written out with a red pen, including his signature....He couldn't have been sweeter about it. He was still living in his very beautiful home in Bel Air, at the time. (I only mention this home because it is the only other house besides my own I have seen in the 47 years I have lived in Los Angeles that I felt I could live in....A peaceful serene home with generous sized rooms...comfortable and beautiful in every way....) I had to bring them to him so he could sign them, and then, take them from there, right to the framer, the wonderful Jerry Solomon....I don't remember which songs they were now----I did this two different years, so it is difficult to recall, cause that made a total of six.......

But, two of the ones I did of the six were
"I WON'T SEND ROSES" and "TIME HEALS EVERYTHING", both from a wonderful show named, "Mack & Mabel"....about Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand---two very important 'Silent Screen' people. Here below is a very sweet pairing of these two songs as sung by Michael Ball and Ruthie Henshall, those of you across the pond will know these two very talented people....The character of Mack was unable to express the love he had for Mabel....he was a very self involved man, so the story goes....and was just incapable of expressing the deep love he felt, he sings "I Won't Send Roses'....Mabel, sings...."Time Heals Everything" which is rather self explanatory....Here they are....
.
"La Cage Aux Folles" was very ground breaking because it was about two men who love each other, yes, two Gay Men...It was the first musical ever to appear on Broadway where two men held hands....One of the men is a Female Impersonator and the other has a son born from an early marriage---but they, have brought this boy up as their own....The son is getting married and the family he is marrying into is terribly conservative so they don't want them to meet 'Zza Zza'....This is terribly hurtful to him and he tries very hard to act "macho"...but it is just not in him. At the end of the first act, he sings this next song...."I AM WHAT I AM".....the fantastically talented George Hearn won a Tony for his performance as 'Zza Zza'....Here he is, in a stunning performance in 1994 at a special tribute evening to Jerry Herman, at The Hollywood Bowl, here in Los Angeles. This song and what it means could be sung by anyone and it is a great reminder to be who you are....and just say, 'this is me'.....George Hearn, here rendering these brilliant and touching lyrics....

And here is Davis Gaines....Best known for playing "The Phantom", in "Phantom Of The Opera", but who can do so much more, and does....Here he is singing "SONG ON THE SANDS", also from "La Cage"...a beautiful love song if there ever was one, sung very movingly by Mr. Gaines.....
There is so much more to Jerry Herman and his music...this is just a little sampling. The theatre is such a wonderful way to be moved and changed, if you will....the theatre can do things that legislation cannot do...It can open up your heart to the truly larger issues and enlighten in ways that no other medium can....If you get a chance to see the documentary "Words & Music by Jerry Herman" on your PBS Station....settle in for a wonderful stirring, delightful and touching experience....I promise you, you won't be sorry.....I for one am so grateful to PBS for these fabulous films of the Great Great Broadway composers like Jerry Herman......More, please....More......and, here....there will be.....

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Anyway....enjoy these dear creatures while we wait for Blogger to do it's thing.....(if it is going to, that is....!) I love when I am able to 'capture' two bees at once....These are the Senecio Flowers from a few months ago and they really attracted the bees, Big-Time! Do click on these to make them bigger, because the detail is quite amazing...Doesn't this guy above seem to have more legs than one would think? (lol) Oh...I see, they must have six legs! And I love that you can see the outline of those wings over on the right there, in the picture above....I feel like I have been getting a real education just taking all these pictures of these amazing creatures..... Another sweet little guy, above....And that outline of his wing right there in the center...love it! Ahhhhh, there are some really beautiful wings.....Very very handsome fellow, this guy.....I love the way the light hits his back....very 'artful', I'd say......And another pretty guy, below..... And then, below....another pair of bees.... Love that guy over on the right....take a real good look at him, bigger.....!

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