WINTER

Just saying the word WINTER cools one off in this really hot weather we're having, doesn't it?
I find it so inspiring to go see theatre, especially if one of my friends is associate producing and directing, as in the case of WINTER and Janne Halleskov Kindberg.

This play, by internationally acclaimed Norwegian playwright, Jon Fosse, seemed to be dialogue challenged, as the same phrases were used over and over, eventually with different meanings. It made one listen and watch more intently. It was quite the opposite of David Mamet's works with his clever, terse dialogue, using arcane stylized phrasing.

A lot of talent went into this show besides the Norwegian lead actors, Terje Skonseng Naudeer and Lene Pedersen. Show design by Ray Woodbury (Backstreet Boys, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson), Lighting Programmer Andy Figueroa (Neil Young, Stevie Wonder), featuring music composed by Gabrial McNair (Green Day, No Doubt) all added to the interesting, innovative elements, which made me happy I came to see this play, even if the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics were going on simultaneously. Janne had a nice crowd despite the competition.

And the locale, The Culver Studios, has such a great history, it makes one feel invigorated just walking through it...or on late nights, golf-carting through it. Gone With The Wind (my favorite movie of all time) was filmed there when it was the David O. Selznick Studios. Throughout the years, sets have been used and reused, from the days of Cecil B. DeMille's enormous stages for King of Kings, later used in King Kong, before they were burned down for the Atlanta sequence in GWTW.

RKO controlled it for 30 years bringing stardom to Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and those wonderful hoofers, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Desilu Productions took over in 1956, where television emerged as the primary business at the studio, where Andy Griffith, the Nelson boys, David and Ricky, with their parents, Ozzie & Harriet, and Lassie all could be seen on the lot.

Thanks to the $26 million renovation in the mid-80's by Grant Tinker and Gannett, much of the original luster and beauty was restored. So successful was the restoration that it has served as a model for other studio projects.

In 1991 Sony Corporation bought the studio and sold it in 2004 to PCCP Studio City Los Angeles. Numerous feature films (Rush Hour 3, State of Play) and television projects, such as Deal or No Deal, America's Next Top Model, and The Bonnie Hunt Show are all home to the studio.

Ghostly sightings, i.e., Gloria Swanson roaming the halls of the mansion as she did years earlier, have been unsubstantiated, but eerily similar reports occur year after year

Free Stuff

Don't cha just luv getting free stuff? I do. I mean, nothing's really free, is it? Example, I went to the Smart & Final...extra store opening a few days ago. Ask me why! Wall to wall, people. I even found out I could still have gotten the same savings throughout the coming week.

But, maybe they would have run out of free cups. Cups? With Smart and Final extra on them. So, now, I'm drinking my morning Starbucks coffee out of a white Smart & Final extra cup, instead of my glass Starbucks cup that I'm sure I paid for, since they don't give those away. Oh well, it was free, and it's sturdy. Even if it did cost me over $40 to shop there. They now have smaller quantities, but I'm not convinced the savings are as good as WalMart on some of those items. Yes, I shop at WalMart. I can get Starbucks Breakfast Blend for $7.

I'm sad...I just heard that Bernie Mac died...and I just wrote a post about him. As one of his many show biz friends said, "Heaven's a whole lot funnier now." I wonder if they give out free stuff.

Need a laugh?

If you missed the comedy, Guess Who, when it was released in 2005, and you could use a little laughter, I think you'll enjoy this movie. This modern take on the classic, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, has a great cast: Bernie Mac and Judith Scott as Zoe Saldana's parents, who meet Ashton Kutcher, who plays her fiance. I thought the direction by Kevin Rodney Sullivan was spot on.

I'm not really a fan of remakes, especially when they're a classic, but the script was quite different. It's interesting, however, that I had rented the former movie recently, with the stellar cast of Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, to prepare for a scene in my acting workshop. While I wouldn't dare compare the acting, I thought this recent movie was far more entertaining.

While we're on the subject of Sidney Pointier, my actress friend, Barbara, who knew I loved autobios, loaned me Sidney's The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography. I loved it!

Earthquake Preparedness

Several years ago when I was producing and co-hosting a tv talk show, we had a lady on demonstrating a survival kit in case of an earthquake. I ended up buying one. Then, not long ago, it dawned on me that the food and water meant to last for years had surely expired by now. Since we were preparing for a long road trip, we decided to update our kits, which we did a month ago.

The Red Cross has great information on what to do, where to go, what should be in your kit. Check it out.
Now's the time. Today was a wakeup call. We're about five miles from the epicenter of this 5.4 quake today.
I was in the car in Pasadena, so I didn't feel it at all. Not even an aftershock. But, it's a little disconcerting when you get home and see all the pictures on the wall askew, the photo frames on shelves fallen, opening the kitchen cabinets carefully, because glasses are leaning on the door, ready to fall out.

Funny thing...as I washed my favorite champagne glasses last Saturday after our company left, I remember thinking as I put them way up on that open glass shelf above the bar, "Gee, I hope these don't get broken in an earthquake." It's one of the few shelves that not a single thing moved. We shouldn't be so attached to material things, I know.

Text Messaging Etiquette

I read an article today from a mom who just got into text messaging so she could communicate with her teenage/adult children. It was humorously written saying how she liked it because it eliminated "the attitude and rolled eyes" from her kids.

This reminded me of one of my plays I did where a girl in the front row text messaged through the whole first act. I wasn't aware of it because usually you can only see the first couple of rows because it's so dark, and I don't look so I won't be distracted. However, I did notice when I was attending the theatre recently that it was distracting to me as an audience member to see someone texting near me during the production.

It's gotten so bad that apparently when the announcers give their welcoming speech now, they not only tell you to turn off your cell phones, but ask that you refrain from texting during the show. Next, we'll probably have to check them upon arrival.

I'm just now getting into texting because it's how my agent notifies me that I have an audition.
It will be a while I'm sure before I get so addicted.

Past Lives

My friend, Mary, who lost her mom at age ten, asked me recently if I had read, "Many Lives, Many Masters" by Brian L. Weiss, M.D. I had certainly heard about this New York Times Bestseller. It was probably on my list to read.

Since Borders sent me a coupon for my birthday (isn't that nice), I decided to forego any further procrastination and buy it. I was surprised to see that this was the 20th Anniversary Edition.

What a good book! It's the true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient, and the past-life therapy that changed both their lives. I read it in one sitting...well almost, I read the epilogue this morning. I'm more prone to liking books that may give me some insight as to why my brother died two weeks before his 16th birthday or why my beautiful mom's life was cut short at age 46.

Of course, it doesn't hold all the answers, but it certainly gives one something to ponder about our own mortality, or in this case, immortality. This may be something to check out if you have lost someone close to you. I think it might bring comfort to someone who has a terminal illness. I know it's a difficult subject to write about...truthfully, it is for me, but I'm mentioning it for the same reason Dr. Weiss decided he had to write the book. It may help someone.
And it did.

Songs of the Heart

(Be sure to read my post on Taos below if you read these in sequence.)
Since I have been telling you about the parks we've visited over the years, it brought to mind an experience I had at The Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite National Park a few years ago.
Reservations at the resort are made a year in advance at this popular resort. An evening dress code is observed here.

We were enjoying appetizers and champagne before ordering dinner in this grand hotel's huge dining room, with a giant vaulted ceiling, massive peeled-log trusses and 24-foot plate glass windows. A beautiful haunting melody was being played on the piano at the far end of the room. It went straight to my heart. I can't remember ever having that exact experience before. I asked our waiter to please ask the pianist the name of the song he just played. I had to know. It was Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings.

Upon further investigation, I learned that this is the song Eric wrote the lyrics to in memory of his son, Conor, who tragically fell out of a New York City apartment window in 1991. Conor was only four years old.

If you have a chance, download on iTunes or listen to it on You Tube - Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven. We all have our own way of dealing with pain, don't we.