Tree in Bloom

It is hard to believe it is January when noticing this flowering pear tree in full bloom.

SAG Awards

When these actors from "Slumdog Millionaire" presented an award earlier in the evening  little did they know that their ensemble cast would win the top award.  They aren't even members of the guild and  they now hold the coveted statuettes.  Even the actual orphans who portrayed the children in the film will have an ACTOR.   Those same young orphans are now enrolled in school with a trust fund awaiting their adulthood.   Is this another case of "art imitating life or life imitating art"?  What a beginning to the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards!  

Meryl Streep is definitely not doubtful as to who she is looking to when winning the leading female actor award.  So fresh and natural...it is no wonder...

His "comrades" gave Sean Penn a standing ovation as he won lead actor for "Milk."  

Kate Winslet was waiting to hear if she had won the female best supporting actor award for her performance in "The Reader."  The film has been nominated for an Oscar for best picture.

Gary Oldman, who was in "The Dark Night" with the late Keith Ledger,  accepted the supporting actor award on his behalf.

Hummingbirds

When coming to visit, my friend, Mary-Laure, noticed the hummingbirds.  She said they were the first thing she saw when she came for the first time.  There have been three birds for such a long time.  All of a sudden last night at sundown there was a swarm (or flock, or bunch...certainly not a gaggle).  It was so much fun to see them all taking turns...but not always so nicely.  

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

When leaving the theater after seeing "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" the manager was waiting to give me two free tickets to an upcoming film.  He was salving the fact that the beginning of the film hadn't been shown due to an technical glitch.  

Since I missed the beginning of the film I came home and started reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's, 1921, short story on which the movie had been loosely  based and was mesmerized.   Eric Roth did the screenplay and some are calling it his "Forest Gump II."  I had the privilege of hearing him speculate about the possibility of a sequel at a Women in Film networking breakfast years ago and would agree.  

The film was a tapestry, filled with lessons of living life to it's fullest no matter the circumstances.   I'll be glad to use the two complimentary tickets, but doubt if I will learn so much about acceptance and undying love.

Ironically, on the same day Eric Roth was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his screenwriting for this film he learned he had lost all his retirement money to an alleged Ponzi scheme. The actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were also at the Golden Globe Awards show.  Pitt  had been nominated for starring in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"  and Jolie was cited for her performance in "Changeling."

  

The Soloist

Growing up in Los Angeles I am very familiar with the tunnel where The Soloist was first discovered by the newspaperman, Steve Lopez.   It is no wonder that even with two strings on his violin he was impressing all with his talent and musicality.  After all, Nathanial Ayers was classically trained at Juilliard School.  

The tunnel was in skid row.   When I was a little girl skid row was in the same place it is now.  My Mother would warn me never to get off the bus there.  It was then and still is no place for a little girl. But, indeed, there are homeless little girls and boys  who don't have the choice I had.   The homeless, the mentally ill,  the addicted and the disadvantaged are all thrown in together in an unfortunate situation because that is where the services and missions are.  And, in the midst of it all this melee one can hear music of Nathanial Ayers.

The friendship of the newspaperman and the musician explores that simple act of kindness are sometimes hopeful and sometimes disappointing.   Through it all, this book shows that music is a conduit from one soul to another. 

P.S.  Those are my Grandmother's eye glasses in the photograph.  I still wear them.

Golden Globe Awards

For the first time in history an actress has won the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's award for both the Best Actress and also the Best Supporting Actress.  Last night, at the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton, Kate Winslet accepted her two Golden Globe Awards.  The much nominated actress won the Best Actress award for her part as a wife pretending she was living the life she wanted in "Revolutionary Road."  The Best Supporting Actress award was for depicting a taboo subject in "The Reader."  (Caution do not link to information about "The Reader" if you do not want the movie spoiled).  

Full Moon and Low Tides

As the sun came up this morning the full moon was still in the sky. Barely visible on the horizon at the middle of the picture are the Channel Islands which are off Santa Barbara, more than fifty miles in the distance. 

The tide was so low that the ocean floor revealed grasses, starfish and sea anemones.  An English Springer Spaniel couldn't resist taking a swim. 

Revolutionary Road

Attended World Premiere in the rain.  DiCaprio says, "it is about two people trying to become happy."

Doubt

I first saw the stage play DOUBT at the West Coast Premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2005. To say it was a riveting experience would be an understatement.  

And, now the movie comes out to such acclaim that every major cast member is being cited for exceptional acting.   And, wow, what a plot!  

Is the super strict headmistress really so mean?  Did she refuse to let a child be unprotected to the 

at the expense of her own integrity?  I doubt it.

Does the priest really care so much for the children in his charge?  Does the bacchanalian feast with other men of the church belie that?  It makes me doubt.

And, was the sweetly naive nun thinking of the children when she questioned actions without any evidence?  She seems so close to God  that it feels bad to doubt her.  

I need to hear a sermon on "doubt" to help me sort out all of this.

Yesterday morning

After running an errand I decided to stop in for a cup of coffee and am glad I had my camera with me... sitting under a huge coral tree filled with blackbirds; strolling over to the garden center...snapdragons in bloom, cacti in row, Talavera pots and a hidden pond... 

Last Chance Harvey

When leaving the movie theater I overheard the comment, "I am surprised that someone as homely as Dustin Hoffman could be a romantic lead."   He's unlikely alright, but don't discount that adorable grin. And, speaking of adorable, can the Emma Thompson character possibly be so good, so compassionate, so up for anything?

They both have past hurts, they both are lonely, and they both are awkward, and their great acting portrays all of that and more in a most delightful way.  You will be rooting for them even though she is taller than he is, he is American to her English, and they seemingly have nothing in common except that they might care about each other.  Another movie goer turned to me and said, "what a sweet movie"!

Paradise Cove

Remember the 70's television drama called THE ROCKFORD FILES?  Remember the beautiful seaside cove where the characters lived?  If you do, then you may know it as the current home of the Paradise Cove Beach Cafe.  

We weren't there to watch movie stars, listen to jazz, view the vintage photos, or eat the best calamari in town (served in a giant martini glass---really).  We were there for a better reason---the reunion of two dear nieces and a nephew.  "A memory in every visit."