The Postcard

Spilling the days no memory will restore,
time's fountain climbs its own perpetual core.
The edges are ragged, all tattered and torn,
with the sepia tones of yester year
washing over the faded scene.

The summers and winter have slowly passed
leaving memories of a love once lost,
captured in the inscription, though short and sweet,
scrawled in a tattered corner.

The ink, slowly fading, almost non-existent,
'with love to thee Bessy,
you have stolen my heart'.
Only the faded picture holds the key.

A bridge, over water.
A brook?.....maybe a stream?
Surrounded by flowers - their colour, unknown.
This bridge, this place, has meaning.

A vision of butterflies flashes in the back of her mind,
She can feel the cool breeze of a spring day.
Is it the day she met this man?
But her memory.....
She knows it has some significance,
Something to unlock her past.

The back is bare.
No stamp. No indication of where it might be from.
Where the place may be, what the year is.
Nothing.
1915 - but why that year does she think of?
Men in uniform march the streets -
but what significance is this to her?
There is something about the bridge...

The times she has looked at it,
stared at the inscription,
hours on end, but nothing.
The card is 'well worn'
like a good book that has been read many times.
But still nothing.

It is placed back in the drawer,
gently, with obvious care,
as if it has some sentimental meaning
she is unaware of.
'Better left until another day'.
The drawer closes with a 'click'.
and the past is left to lie.


c. 1999

Luggagitis....Update!

As in my previous entry, Luggagitis, I lamented over the issues I have with packing for holidays, mainly for my epic US adventure. So did I succeed? You be the judge..... 

Leaving Australia

Allowance = 2 x bags @ 23kg (50lbs) each

Tim = 1x bag @ 18kg (39.6lbs)

Sherry = 1 x bag @ 19.7kg (43.3lbs)

Leaving USA

Allowance = 2 x bags @ 23kg (50lbs) each

Tim = 1x bag @ 22.3kg (49lbs)

Sherry = 1x bag @ 22.5kg (49.5lbs)

Joint Luggage = 1x bag @ 19.5kg (43lbs)

= SUCCESS!!!!

Spring Cleaning......in Winter

We have a lot of crap. I don't use that term lightly. We just do.

Fact.

One of the downsides of having your own place is that, over time, it is slowly filled with a lot of useless things, or multiples of things, that you don't really need, but hang onto. When Tim and I moved in together he already had a house full of stuff, which is to be expected when he had been living in the place for 10 years prior. Add into the mix all of my stuff and all the donations of extra items from our families over the years, put all of this into a small place with a serious lack of storage and, well, you have a problem. So after all the years of procrastination, it's finally time to get rid of it all. My goal for the rest of this year, and as I head into my 30's, is to become as minimalistic as possible ( for me anyway). Now I don't expect to completely transform and banish all my hoarding ways, that is going to take time, but after beating my issues with Luggagitis earlier this year, I am going to give it my best shot. It's time.

So, how am I going to achieve this monstrous task? Well, thankfully, Tim is on board with the plan. He has come up with the idea of two boxes -

1. Rubbish

2. Salvation Army

and at the end of every week we need to 'collectively' have at least one box full, so that by the time Christmas comes around, our lives should be 'de-cluttered'. Seeing as Christmas is 5 months away, I think that is pretty do-able. However, knowing my own track record with throwing stuff out and the tendency to 'over sentimentalise' objects, I have also given myself 3 simple rules:

1. The standard 12 month rule (which I never usually follow) - if an item has not been used/worn in 12 months it has to go! No 'ifs' or 'buts' or 'I might use it' - it's gone!

2. If I find something I 'forgot I owned' I clearly don't need it, so it goes.

3. If I own multiple/excess amounts of any item - it goes!

At this stage I need to be pretty ruthless on myself. I really want to avoid in 10 years time, being featured on one of those 'excessive hoarders' shows. So, by actually writing about this and putting it out into the world, I am hoping it's going to force me into actually achieving this goal.

Stay tuned for updates on my progress....

Gone with the Wind

A few months ago, on a Saturday, 'Gone with the Wind' was playing on television. I hadn't seen this movie in years, and as much as I wanted to sit down and immerse myself in the world of Scarlett and Rhett, I had to go to work. But it got me thinking, I had never actually read Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winning book. So I loaded it onto my Kindle and over the course of the next couple of months (it's a long book and I was on my honeymoon for a few weeks) I finally finished this epic novel. So I decided to go back and re-visit the film and see how close the adaptation was.


Now this entry is by no means going to compare the two mediums blow by blow, but more my thoughts and feelings on them. I absolutely adored the book, by the first chapter I understood by it had been such a phenomenon in 1936. It's such a fascinating, page turning story with strong, intriguing characters, exciting plot twists with actual history thrown into the mix. I was pulled into the world of Scarlett O'Hara and the 1860's Deep South, the characters grew on me, and my thoughts and opinions changed from chapter to chapter until I was weeping at Melanie's death in the final pages. I really was deeply moved by this book, it took a few weeks before I could start a new one as I felt I needed to digest and analyse this epic story and it's characters. So, with the anticipation of anyone who has had a novel they treasured turned into the film, I made some popcorn and put GWTW into the dvd player.


The reception of the film on it's opening in 1939 was phenomenal. It is still classified as one of the greatest films ever made. It had a stellar cast; Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia De Havilland, Leslie Howard and Hattie McDaniel, to name but a few and won 10 Academy Awards (it was the first film to ever win more than 5). The lead up to the film's release had also been sensationalised in the news and papers, everything from the casting of Scarlett (which every actress in Hollywood and beyond wanted to play) to the firing of George Cukor as Director during filming, but the final product turned into a world wide smash. So my thoughts on this film adaption....72 years since its premiere....


I really enjoyed it, for what it was. The casting of Scarlett and Rhett, in my opinion, was perfect. I couldn't imagine them being portrayed by anyone else at that time, it was if they were lifted straight from the book. I loved that films at that time were an 'event' that people attended. I love that the film has an overture, interval music, entracte and such a strong score (that's the musician in me). The problem I did have with the film, and this is due to the fact that the book itself is over 1000 pages, is that, in writing the screen play and editing the book, a lot of the character and plot exposition was eliminated.


Now I have the utmost respect for people who can take a novel and turn it into a film or play and can see the piece as a whole and then work out what to cut without affecting the overall plot and message of the piece - I know I could never do that - just come and look at my house and see how much stuff I have - culling is not really in my nature. But with GWTW I found so much of the essence of the book, and what I loved about it, was missing, and I think was a detriment to the film, the audience and the lovers of the book. These are a few examples of things I didn't quite felt work.


Act 1

• I felt the plot was a bit like a dot to dot drawing. They had picked the 'best moments' of the first half of the book and quickly got to them, which meant you lost all the character back story, you lost the build up over the 4 year period in Atlanta of Rhett and Scarlett's relationship (which I think is really important to be able to understand them as a whole by the end) and by cutting out so much of the war and the fall of Atlanta, you don't appreciate the second half with the returning to Tara and the rebuilding of Atlanta and Scarlett's actions once back in Atlanta.
• What happened to Scarlett's child to Charles?
• Why was the character of Will cut? Which begs you to think who is looking after Tara when Scarlett goes back to Atlanta? and who is Sue-Ellen going to marry?
• Why did they change the order of the weddings (Melanie and Ashley get married after Scarlett and Charles and Scarlet does NOT cry at the wedding) and also the ring donation in Atlanta (it is Scarlett who donates her ring first and Melanie gets her strength from this action and donates hers as well) both of these changes put Scarlett in a bad light.
• Why did they feel the need to have Ellen's body in the front room, saying she had died the night before, when he had actually died days before and they had already had her funeral - the story has enough drama without adding gratuitous things.

I would like to state though, that most of Act 1 is pretty accurate to the chain of events and what happens, I just wonder whether those who have not read the book would have a different feeling of the movie as 'under developed' or have any connection to the characters, where as those who have read the book can fill in the gaps with what they know - I guess this is the same for any novel to film translation and how the Harry Potter fans must be feeling...anyway I digress...


Now this second half annoyed me (to the point of throwing popcorn at the screen) as some things were completely WRONG for NO reason


Act 2

• This second half, I felt, was a betrayal to the book. I am fine with things being condensed and time lines altered, but I don't understand completely changing things.
• Why was the incident surrounding Gerald O'Hara's death changed? (in the film they have him chasing Wilkerson off the property, which is where he falls off his horse while jumping the fence and dies, but in the book he doesn't die until Scarlet is back in Atlanta and Sue-Ellen tries to get him to sign up as a Republican Yankee supporter when he realises what she is doing he takes off on his horse and falls off while jumping and dies, which is also further character development for Sue-Ellen and Scarlett.
• What happened to Scarlett's child to Frank?
• Why did they change the whole outcome of Scarlett marrying Frank? She is supposed to marry him, take his money he is saving to buy the mill, pay the taxes on Tara and then borrow money from Rhett to buy the mill, which becomes successful and then she purchases the second mill. When she goes home to Tara for Gerald's funeral is when she then asks Ashley to come and run one of the mills - NOT help her start the business. Also because all this is changed (and the Atlanta stuff) you don't really have an understanding as to why the 'old guard' hate Scarlett and Rhett so much and why they think she deserved the attack. Incidentally I was driven to throwing popcorn at the screen in the scene where Frank questions her running the mill and says he never wanted one - wrong!!!
• What happened to Archie? and why did they think it would be ok to amalgamate part of his storyline into Mammy's character?
• Why was Prissy an adult and not a 12 year old child?
• Why did they make Melanie's death the same time as Bonnie's when it's supposed to be months later and Scarlett needs to travel back for it, all of this helping with the relationship development of Scarlett and Rhett. Also by changing this they could not show Rhett's demise after Bonnie's death.
• Finally, I realise that for dramatic effect it helped having him pack his bags, say the famous 'frankly my dear I don't give a damn' and walk out the door, but if you've read the book you know it's night time, not day time, he has a few more lines in which he says he won't divorce her, will come back from time to time to save her reputation, then goes up to his room. Scarlett does not have 'reminders of Tara' swimming thru her head and there is definitely more hope that she could possibly win him back

On a side note, it has always been Hollywood legend that Clark Gable changed the script from 'frankly my dear, I don't care' to 'frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' which was a bold and exciting 'censorship' action. I am sure this is indeed true, however I tip my hat to Clark as, besides the frankly' part, that is actually what he says in the book.


So there are a few of my thoughts about the film. I still love the film for what it is, even though I have picked the plot to pieces, it still is a great piece of cinema history, but 72 years on, and even though I am not usually a fan, I think it's time for a remake. Not a film though, I would like to see a 4 part mini-series which could properly explore the whole novel. In the mean time, if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. As well as the characters and story, it gives a great insight into the South's opinion of the Civil War and how they were affected as a whole.

Countdown!

So it’s countdown time….finally! 10 more sleeps and we are off on our epic adventure! I can’t wait! So unfortunately…if you are reading my blog…the next few entries are going to be holiday filled! I will try to limit entries to the highlights of each city, and hopefully it will be of some interest to you, but until then…..it’s countdown time!

I have to admit I hate the few days/weeks leading up to a holiday, or anything exciting. Mainly because, as hard as I try, my brain switches into holiday mode FAR too early, making concentrating on current projects and any type of work extremely difficult! I have no motivation, except to pack my suitcase. The problem with being only a few days away is that all the major things have been done. At least with a few weeks to go, you can still be organising and booking things to keep the excitement going but now – we have picked up all our documents, our money is converted (and at a great rate I might add! Thank you world economy!), everything is booked/paid for/deposits put down, our itinerary is all done, I have made my packing list (see Luggagitis) so except for a few small jobs we are all ready to go now I just have to sit….and work…and wait….

Now, so this blog isn’t completely about me complaining about waiting to go on a holiday – because I know you all have so much sympathy for that – I thought I would send you some links to some interesting blogs I am currently following that you may also want to have a look into:

London Still – penned by the gorgeous and multi-talented Al Silber – currently based in NYC she is a writer/actor/singer/photographer – you name it – well worth a read!

Miss K Goes Forth – one of my best friends – she has just moved to London to make a career for herself in ‘the biz’ – so follow along with her epic adventures making it in the business!

Screen Writing 101 or Misadventures in WA Film – talented Perth Screen Writer Richard W Hyde – a fellow West Wing/Aaron Sorkin fan – check out his views on the industry from the Screen Writer point of view!

FLIP SIMMONS – Yes it’s in capitols – because his title is in capitols – but he has totally earned the capitols – awesome vocalist/performer – this blog is also his webpage – check out some of his tunes you won’t be sorry!

Ok, they are my plugs for this week! Now off to plan for the Andrews Sisters gig this weekend in Geraldton – if I get time next week I may pen a quick entry on how it went!

Luggagitis

I suffer from Luggagitis.

Yes it’s true.

What is Luggagitis you might ask? Well, it is the inability to be able to pack light when I travel. It’s a curse. I always seem to over pack, no matter where I go. Even if it’s just an overnight stay. I pack for any possible occasion that may arise – I make sure I have some kind of outfit/shoes/bag/underwear/jewellery to match , so that I am always prepared, but this ends up with my luggage overflowing, me stressing over weight restrictions and being charged at the airport – and no room for possible purchases on trips! It is stressful. I hate it!

I must admit, I am getting better over the years, not much, but I have made a slight improvement….so I am determined, for my upcoming trip, to break free of this disease and pack minimal, light and with only the bare essentials….no….really…I will! I have a plan……

It all starts with the shoes.

Shoes are the heaviest/bulkiest part of the packing. So I figure if I can narrow this part down, the others things should be easy! Right? It’s all about mixing and matching and, as we will be doing a LOT of walking, comfort. So I have narrowed it down to 4 pairs:

Black Sketchers
Black Boots
Black and Silver Sandals
Black Thongs (Flip Flops)

I figure black goes with everything, and it keeps all possible occasions covered. All these shoes are comfortable, the latter 2 are thin and light and will pack well and I will wear my boots on the plane…..leaving room to buy more on holiday (along with bags and hats – my downfall).

So that’s the shoes done – which pretty much means I can’t take any clothes that don’t go with these shoes! So the clothes plan – well that is going to be where, hopefully, the mix and match theory comes into play! I am going to try, like in the magazines, to take a small amount of items that can be mixed and matched to create a multiple amount of out fits – and will take up hardly any room in my suitcase. Throw in a jacket to cover possibly cool weather, and anything else I can buy on the trip. I guess the great thing about going to/from the US is the luggage allowance is so much better!

So, this is the plan to avoid another case of Luggagitis. Will it work? Will I be tearing my hair out? Will I actually be able to make a decision about what NOT to take ‘just in case I need it’, will I end up letting my husband pack for me? Stay tuned to find out…..the holiday is still 4 weeks away, but these are things I need to start planning now to avoid complete meltdown hours before boarding the plane!

Wish me luck!

Quotes

While I was re-discovering my love for the early years of Hollywood a few weeks back, I also stumbled across some great quotes from the legendary Charlie Chaplin. So I thought I would share them with you, as well as some other quotes I enjoy…..

‘A day without a laugh is a wasted day.’

‘Through humor, we see in what seems rational, the irrational; in what seems important, the unimportant. It also heightens our sense of survival and preserve our sanity.’

‘Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot.’

‘All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.’

‘I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.’

‘I do not have much patience with a thing of beauty that must be explained to be understood. If it does need additional interpretation by someone other than the creator, then I question whether it has fulfilled its purpose.’

‘Movies are a fad. Audiences really want to see live actors on a stage.’

‘Actors search for rejection. If they don’t get it the reject themselves.’

‘I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can’t help it. It’s the truth.’

- Charlie Chaplin

‘Don’t dream it, be it’ – Rocky Horror Picture Show

‘The prettier the flower, the further from the path’ – Stephen Sondheim (Into The Woods)

‘The trouble is Charlie, that’s what everyone does. Blames the way it is, on the way it was, on the way it never, ever, was.’ – Stephen Sondheim (Merrily We Roll Along)

‘Art, specially the stage, is an area where it is impossible to walk without stumbling. There are in store for you many unsuccessful day and whole unsuccessful seasons; there  will be great misunderstandings and deep disappointments….you must be prepared.’ – Anton Chekov

‘Build a stairway to paradise with a new step every day, tap your troubles away, sing you heart out and everything will be beautiful at the ballet’ – Tim

‘Ladies and Gentlemen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.’ – Dr Sidney Freedman (M*A*S*H*)

‘The slotted spoon doesn’t hold much soup’ - Stephen Sondheim (Into The Woods)

‘Out flew the web and floated wide-

The mirror crack’d from side to side;

“The curse is come upon me,” cried

The Lady of Shalott.’ – Alfred Lord Tenneyson

‘Wind’s in the east, there’s a mist coming in, like something is brewing and about to begin…’ – Mary Poppins

‘Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year’s time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, reall affections and enduring undertakings.’ – Andre Maurois 

‘If you reach for the stars, all you’ll get is the stars, but we’ve found a whole new spin. If you reach for the heavens, you get the stars thrown in’ – Mary Poppins

‘Time heals everything’ – Jerry Herman (Mack and Mabel)

‘You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have’ - Stephen Sondheim (Into The Woods)

‘I’d rather regret the things I have done, than the things I haven’t done’ – Lucille Ball

RE-MAKE

Why?

This is a subject I have ranted about on many occasions – just ask my Husband – and seeing as a particular subject has brought it into the foreground again, I feel compelled to  comment.

If it’s not broken – don’t fix it!

I don’t see the point of remaking a perfectly good film. Seriously. If a film has been made so well, why would you try to recreate that success years later with new actors/directors etc… it won’t and does not work. And what has brought about this latest set of ranting from me? This week it was announced that Baz Luhrmann is to direct a new 3D version of ‘The Great Gatsby’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

COME ON!!!

This is a 1974 film classic! Why would you try to remake that masterpiece? (bearing in mind it is a re-make itself) What’s the point? Do you really think Leo is going to be any better than Robert Redford (and I just want to point out I am a Leo fan). Is 3D really going to enhance this film? (do not even get me started on everyone using 3D  at the moment, it’s like the people who think it’s a great idea to make every musical now ‘actor-musician’ but I digress…) Was the 2000 TV Film successful – no – so why bother? It just makes me mad. What is the point of re-making films when there are so many great stories out there to be told! So many classic books that have never made it to film, new works that deserve some screen time. What about converting some plays? Seriously people use your imaginations!

Films that have been overly successful are usually due to a number of factors – right timing for the piece, great cast/crew that have a great bond/chemistry, lots of factors. And producers/directors come along thinking ‘hey let’s remake this film from 20 years ago – it was successful then, it will be successful again and we will make money’ WRONG! Do you really think you can make an Alfred Hitchcock film BETTER than Alfred Hitchcock?

I mean there are exceptions to this rule. For example ‘Little Women’. It was originally made into a film in 1933 starring Katherine Hepburn – but does anyone really remember this version? No because it was the 1949 remake that was far superior and the ‘definitive’ version in my opinion. Starring June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor,  Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien and Janet Leigh it was a beautiful film. So yes, sometimes re-makes can be better, but Hollywood, not satisfied with this then went and did 2 more re-makes of this film – one in 1978 starring Meredith Baxter (has anyone ever seen this??) and then the 1994 version with Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder – why???

Here is a list (just for you Richard) of some notable films that were re-made and did not live up to their originals:

12 Angry Men

Alfie

It’s A Wonderful Life – remade in 1977 as ‘It Happened One Christmas’

The Karate Kid

King Kong

Little Miss Marker

The/A Little Princess

An Affair To Remember - remade in 1994 as 'Love Affair' (although 'AATR' was a re-make of the 1939 film 'Love Affair')

Miracle on 34^th Street

The Nutty Professor

Annie

Oceans 11

The Parent Trap

Dial M for Murder

Planet of the Apes

Psycho

The Time Machine

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane  - !?!?!?!$*##;@#$%^%%!!!

Yours, Mine and Ours

The Pink Panther


One re-make I didn’t mind was ‘The Italian Job’. I liked it because they brought it into the present day, they were able to incorporate modern technologies to make it their own film, without trying to be the original and they paid homage to the original. And also Hairspray – the musical version is SO much better than the original!

And then you get films like FAME! Well the original was woeful – nothing could possibly save it, so….I know, let’s re-make it and it will be much better – no people, have you never heard of the saying ‘you can’t polish a turd’?

Next they will be re-making ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ or ‘The Godfather’ – could you imagine anyone else other than Marlon Brando? What about ‘The Sound of Music’ or ‘Mary Poppins’ without Julie Andrews? Of course not! But 20 years from now some ‘bright spark’ will think it’s a good idea….

I am not saying all re-makes are bad, they aren’t. Especially if has been over 50 + years since the original and they can be updated and portrayed in a new way. It’s the classics, the Oscar winning, world renowned films, that are of a time/place, that just shouldn’t be touched. Leave them as they are and go discover something new. Go find or write your own ‘Gatsby’ and let’s not even talk about ‘sequels’…..

Rant over.

Honeymoon Update!

Well it's only 8 weeks and 3 days now until our Honeymoon (not that I'm counting or anything...) and I thought I  would share some more details of this epic adventure, so y'all know what we have in store - but not too much - just a bit of a teaser, as I will be going into much more detail whilst actually on the holiday! So let's start at the very beginning.....

San Francisco 

We are spending 5 days in this beautiful (altho one of those days is dedicated to getting over jet-lag!). SF is a place I have always wanted to go and have heard nothing but great things from everyone I know that have been there, so here is a run down on this city.....

Accommodation: Hotel des Arts

Highlights:
Hop-on Hop-off Tour of San Francisco
Muir Woods and Sausalito Tour
Alcatraz - night tour
San Francisco Movie Sites Tour (we had to get some Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry films in the trip somewhere!)
Napa Valley Wine Country Tour
Golden Gate Bay Cruise
Visit - The Emabrcado, The Piers and Fisherman's Wharf
Beach Blanket Babylon

We then hop in our hire car and start the 2 day journey down the West Coast to Los Angeles! (side note it doesn't actually take 2 days to drive to LA - for those that have never been - we just want to take our time and stop and see the sites!)

Accommodation: Inn at Morro Bay

Highlights:
17-Mile drive (The Lone Cypress, Fanshell Overlook, Spanish Bay, Point Joe, Lodge at Pebble Beach)
Monterey
Carmel (the home of Doris Day)
Pacific Grove
Morro Bay
Hearst Castle
Malibu
Santa Monica
Venice Beach

By the end of this 2 day drive/sightseeing adventure we will be ready to have a good night's sleep before 2 days of excitement, fun and adventure at......DISNEYLAND!!!

Accommodation: Disneyland Paradise Pier Hotel

Not really much more to say about this - 2 days filled with Disneyland magic! I AM SO EXCITED!! After our second full day at Disneyland, we leave our hotel in Anaheim and transfer to our cheaper, but location friendly hotel in Hollywood!

Accommodation: Hollywood Orchid Suites

Highlights:
Grand City Tour of Los Angeles and Hollywood Homes
Hollywood Blvd sightseeing
Behind-the-Scenes-Tour of the Kodak theatre, Grauman's, El Capitan, Egyptian and Roosevelt Hotel
Warner Bros. Studio VIP Tour
Hollywood Museum

We then pick up our next hire car and start the drive thru the desert to meet up with the Adlems in LAS VEGAS!

Accommodation: MGM Grand

Highlights:
Grand Canyon
Hoover Dam
Checking out the Hotels and Casinos
Hanging out with Ann and Andrew

After a few days we then jump in a plane, leaving the West Coast behind, and head across country to New York!

We are staying in NYC with our friend Lauren at her apartment in Manhattan - where I have stayed the previous times I have visited. NYC is not going to be as tour/tourist filled as the other cities as we have both been before and we want to spend time catching up with all the friends we have living here and checking out some great bars and restaurants and just generally exploring the place. We are here for 9 days , so we do have a list of things we may or may not do depending on how we feel!

Highlights:
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Museums
Lincoln Centre Tour
Greenwich Village Walking Tour
Sopranos Tour
Movie Sites Tour
Yankees vs Red Sox game
Sightseeing Cruise on the Hudson
Brooklyn Bridge

Shows:
Anything Goes
Catch Me If You Can
How to Succeed in Business

After 9 fabulous days we will be heading to our final destination - for a bit of relaxation to finish off this epic trip - Miami!

Accommodation: Fountaine Bleau

We wanted to end the trip with a few days relaxing lying by a pool, drinking cocktails, eating and not doing a lot do our travel agent suggested a resort in Miami. So that's pretty much what we are going to do - we may hire a pool cabana one day and do a tour of Key West, but otherwise it will be plenty of  lying pool side or o the beach!

So that's the overall plan - well highlights anyway! We have been given some great recommendations from friends on places to go, where to eat, shop etc... but if anyone else had any recommendations please send them our way! I will do my best to update each city as we go with all the details! Ok... back to work so I can actually afford this trip!

Where Would You Go?

Movies are a fad. Audiences really want to see live actors on a stage - Charlie Chaplin


So, last week I watched the movie Chaplin starring Robert Downey Jnr, which is loosely based on the life and Biography of Charlie Chaplin. I had seen the movie years ago, and felt like a trip down nostalgia lane - and it was. Not just the re-discovery that Robert Downey Jnr is a fabulous actor, but it also took me back to a time when this world - silent movies - were my fascination, my passion.


I spent the majority of my early-mid teens immersed in the glamour and intrigue of the early 20th Century film world. The glamour of names like Chaplin, Pickford, Fairbanks, Swanson, Valentino, Bow, the intrigue of 'Pickfair', the creation of United Artists, the scandals and just the general creation of the motion picture.


So last night, on the way home from my Swing Dance class in Fremantle (swing originally came out of dances like the Charleston - a popular 1920's partner dance - there is a connection here I promise), I started thinking about travelling back to that time period. What would I do and where would I go if, in fact, I had my own DeLorean?

Everyone has different points in history they would like to travel to, if they had means, and see things/people/places that have been lost in time or immortalised through books, film, stories and legends. For me I really would only want to travel within the last 150 years or so, that's really where my fascination lies. Sure, civilisation has been evolving over thousands and thousands of years, but the things that really capture my attention are the more recent ones. I mean, sure I would probably want to have a quick wander around Dickensian London, and discover the world of Oliver Twist and Jack the Ripper - but maybe not too closely, and just see how different London was compared to the London I lived and breathed for 2.5 years. But mainly it's America in the 20th Century that fascinates me.


I have always had a love for the era's between 1920-1960. I don't know why, it's something I can't explain, but I am drawn to America during this period. From the 1920's Silent Era, to the invention of 'Talkies', from the glamour of the Ziegfeld Follies & Gypsy Rose Lee to the Wall Street crash of 1929 plunging the country into Depression. From FDR to Hoover, the  Gangsters, MGM Musicals to WWII and the 1940's with all the Big Band music to the Golden Age of Hollywood and Doris Day, this is where my passion lies, even to the extent that for a lot of my teens I wanted to be an historian. I was lucky enough, as part of my Year 11 History class, to be able to study 'America: Between the Wars' and this just helped to fuel the fire. So I guess, if I were to jump in the Delorean and have Doc set the date, these are some of the things I would like to do:

• Experience when the Movies became more than 'a fad'
• Drink Gin from a tea cup in a real 'Speakeasy'
• Have a dance lesson with Gene Kelly
• Crash the set of Gidget
• Ride in a Chrysler Imperial E80 
• Become an avid listener of many Radio Programs
• Participate in a Dance Marathon
• Join the hordes of screaming fans at Grauman's Chinese Theatre for the premiers of Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin films.
• Explore New York City and the birth of 'Broadway'
• Participate in the war effort
• Cut my hair short, put on a Cloche hat and dance the Charleston
• Listen to the Glenn Miller Orchestra LIVE
• Make a Mack Sennett picture
• Be an extra in a Beach Party Movie or MGM Musical 
• Wear authentic Vintage Clothes!
• Hang out at the Cotton Club
• See Babe Ruth hit a home run
• Experience the music of Gershwin and Cole Porter for the very first time
• See the HOLLYWOODLAND sign
• Go to opening nights of so many shows
• Have a soda at Schwab's Drug Store
• Walk around the MGM Studio lot - when it was still MGM
• Sneak a peak at Hoover's secret files!
• Be at the first meeting of United Artists
• Be styled by Max Factor
• Attend a party at Pickfair
• Hear the Andrews Sisters live - and many other performers for that matter!

I wouldn't want to try and change the world or the events of history causing my very own 'Butterfly Effect' because, as the wise Doc Brown said: 'the consequences of that could be disastrous'. And I believe everything happens the way it does for a reason. I would just like a glimpse into those times that interest me, so that I may have a better understanding of them, a better grasp on what was or wasn't, in any case, it would be interesting.

So, where would you go?

25 Random Things

1) I am addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Seriously.....and a West Wing Junkie!

2) I love eating milo out of a glass filled with cold milk

3) My goal in life is to be the voice of a Disney Princess...

4) I don't do mornings....ever

5) I have 'emotional' pressure points.....if you press my right hand I laugh and am happy, if you press my left hand it makes me sad!

6) I LOVE costume parties!

7) I am a fan of Young Talent Time....and proud!

8) I love cheesy 80's pop songs/ballads.....bring on Rick Astley!

9) I love it when tv shows have musical theatre references

10) I LOVE 70's/80's/90's Tv Themes

11) When I am bored, I do things like this :)

12) I always order a 'special' burger at McDonalds

13) I have really bad road rage - pedestrians annoy me

14) When my sugar levels are low I get grumpy.....so give me chocolate!!

15) I HATE curry

16) I used to want to be a journalist like Lois Lane

17) I LOVE playing mini-golf

18) I want to be a Mouseketeer

19) I collect Musical Theatre Scores/Cast Recordings and other quirky merchandise 

20) I am scared of horses

21) I HATE mice and rats

22) I don’t eat breakfast – it’s not that I don’t like it, I just forget

23) I bake cupcakes…..and they are good

24) I hate being the first to arrive anywhere, yet hate being late.

25) I want to travel more and see more of America and Europe

Honeymoon Adventures

So, as was mentioned in my somewhat scarce blogs from last year, I was getting married....well now I am....married that is. So last year was a crazy, stressful, wonderful time spent planning and organising every last detail - of which there were many - and the day itself exceeded expectations, it really is the best day of your life. But, as wonderful as it was, it was also nice for all the stress and anxiety be over and to just be married:) Which just leaves us no with the fun part....planning the HONEYMOON! (oh yeah and spending the rest of our lives together.....)


I love planning holidays. Organising things is what I do well, and this is not exception! So where are we going you may ask? Well, after 8 years together (!) it turns out we have never actually had a proper holiday! Sure we have had the odd weekend away, but any major trip, longer than a week, has resulted in it being a work trip for either one of us with very little time to fully relax and enjoy. We have both wanted to explore the USA a bit more so.....America the Beautiful here we come!


It is currently 11 weeks and 4 days til we depart......not that I am counting or anything.....so I imagine there will be a few blogs in the coming months tracking our planning/packing process as well as the trip itself! We will be gone just under 5 weeks and a trip like this definitely needs planning! For a bit of a teaser here will be some of our destinations:


San Francisco
Disneyland - it is a destination within itself!
Los Angeles
Las Vegas
New York
Miami


When I say I like organising holidays.....I really mean that. NO seriously! Itineraries and all, from monthly calendars, to daily itineraries (all colour coded), to our own travel 'booklets' rather than carrying around 5-6 Lonely Planet guides. Too much you might say? Maybe for some, but I figure if I am going to be somewhere for a short amount of time, I am going to make the most of it. I mean, not every minute of the trip is planned....really....REALLY! There are just some things you need to think about in advance so you are not walking around in some foreign city not really sure what to do or where to go! Luckily my Husband is happy to smile, say 'yes dear' and just go with the flow! So I look forward to updating you on the Honeymoon adventures that lay ahead - but needless to say I (we - well I am sure he will be at some point!) am very excited!! So stay tuned.......

The West Wing

So, I have just finished watching all 7 seasons of what is possibly the best television show ever written - The West Wing. I could never do the show justice trying to describe how brilliant this piece is, how amazing the writers/creators/actors/Aaron Sorkin - are, but I am indebted to those that suggested I watch this show after I had finished my epic Will & Grace Marathon earlier in 2010.


Last night I watched the final 2 episodes - 'Institutional Memory' and 'Tomorrow', and whilst still in mourning, and not quite sure what I am going to do this evening as I have no more episodes left to watch, I thought I would take up the challenge by my friend Richard and share some of my highlights - both good and bad - from the series. For reference, here is Richard's blog:


http://rwhyde.blogspot.com/2011/01/west-wing-my-loves-and-few-hates.html


I agree with most of these, but here are my own to throw into the mix, in no particular order - and certainly not everything as that would pretty much include the ENTIRE series!


*Spoiler Alert* - if you are currently watching TWW or plan to at some stage, you may not want to read on in case of major spoilers!


LIKES


Any scene with Martin Sheen & Stockard Channing together - you don't get much better than that!


Donna & Josh finally sorting it out!


CJ & Danny finally sorting it out!


Scene between Sam & Mallory in Season 1 where it become apparent that the White House Deputy Communications Director has nothing to say about the White House or Roosevelt Room.


Season 7 - Josh recruiting Sam back to the White House as he did in the very beginning - I love parallels.


Episodes: Two Cathedrals, Shutdown, Access


Mallory giving President Bartlett the 'Bartlett for America' napkin back in the final episode.


CJ becoming Chief of Staff


Allison Janney


The genius that is - Martin Sheen


Stockard Channing being amazing and looking absolutely stunning - ALL OF THE TIME!


Sam writing '"the streets of Heaven are too crowded with angels tonight" in the car.


Bartlett rant at Dr. Jenna Jacobs over her opposition to homosexuality by quoting the Bible 'chapter and verse' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHaVUjjH3EI


Bartlett rant at God in 'Two Cathedrals' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScv89J6rro


Storyline with Zoey being kidnapped and Bartlett stepping dow from the Presidency


Casting Alan Alda as Vinick


The entire cast


Season 2 flashbacks to the Bartlett for America campaign and everyones back grounds


Santos winning me over - it was touch and go for a while!


CJ and the Turkeys - Eric & Troy.


That President Bartlett calls her by her full name 'Claudia Jean'.


Donna & Danny both telling Josh & CJ to get a life and commit to a relationship.


Charlie throwing the kid from the Big Brother program against the wall and telling him to give CJ respect.


Season 1 finale.


Donna standing up to Josh and getting a new job - leaving him with a temp.



Donna becoming Chief of Staff to the First Lady.


The Plane.


All the 'protective father moments' with Bartlett.


'Live' debate between Vinick & Santos.


Abbey, Amy, Donna & CJ getting drunk at Abbey's birthday party.


Big Block of Cheese Day.


Danny coming back dressed as Santa.


Toby and his stress ball and how he reminds me of Eyore.


Mad TV Parody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnxQk8C_-kE


John Spencer filming the opening scene of the Pilot episode (9 pages) in one take!


DISLIKES


Will Bailey  - should have kept Danica McKellar around!


Sam leaving in Season 4.


Aaron Sorkin leaving in Season 4.


Mandy - not really a fan, I also think they should have actually had her written out of the show rather than just disappearing with no trace.


Mrs Landingham dying - NOT OK! Altho I get the reasoning for it, and I loved Lily Tomlin as her replacement - still not ok!


Leo dying - altho inevitable it still sucked.


Falling out between Leo and Jed and then the fight in 'The Birnam Wood'.


Fitzwallace dying - seriously? Was that necessary?


Josh being pushed out after his screw up.


CJ's body guard being shot - what's with all the death?


Andy turning down Toby after he bought her the house.


Bartlett needing a cane.


Margaret's unexplained pregnancy, then no mention of the baby again after she gave birth?


Richard making me choose only 1 favourite character - not fair!.......it was CJ.


Crying for the entire final episode.


Fear of never finding a show as good.


THE SHOW ENDING!!!


I am sure I will add to this over time, but this is a start :) So what are your thoughts?