Fan Flirtation

The fan itself may not be as old as time, but flirtation certainly must be.
Was Adam enticed to eat the apple when Eve's flirtatious eyes fluttered above
a palm frond, gently wafting a cooling breeze in the sunlit Garden of Eden?
Practical, ceremonial or decorative - fans were in use more than 3000 years
ago and the form has changed, but surprisingly little, over those thousands
of years. Fans of a simple design were discovered in 1922 inside Tutankhamen's
tomb. A fixed palmate screen fan, mounted on a long handle and wafted by
Cleopatra's slaves, an ancient Chinese hand fan made of beaten gold, an
extravagant peacock feather fan from Asia 500 years BC - all would be instantly
recognisable as symbols of luxury and rank but with a practical purpose too.'
~ Henry Gillard Glindoni (1852 - 1913 ) British

Riding on a Carrousel

Riding on a Carrousel, face towards the wind ... going 'round in circles,
coming back again. Grabbing for the brass ring, just when it's in sight...
lights are shinning all around ... maybe some too bright.
Sometimes as you feel in life, going 'round and 'round for like this happy
Carrousel it has it's ups and downs. The music plays so gaily, sometimes it's
way too loud, enjoying the excitement... you're caught up in the crowd.
You've come again full circle, you think you have returned ...now in search
of another ticket ....more lessons to be learned.
You hope this ride will last forever, you know it never will ... too soon
your time is over ... the motion ever still. The music quickly ceases, so
silent as the night, your vision slowly dims .....the lights are not so bright.
You look within your pocket, no ticket to be found...with sadness, slowly
walk away .. as quiet as it's sound.
In life just like the Carrousel..... there's not another ride ... never is
in black and white, real life and dreams collide. You turn to take, just one
last look ...to ride it one last time. The lights are on for others now...
you understand this rhyme?
You had your fun, you rode it well ..... you know it's now their turn. The
music comes alive again ....the lights now brightly burn.
You thought you had the brass ring ..... held tightly in your hand but it
no longer glimmers ....will never shine again.
It now is realized what you've learned .... the lessons you have found in
life there's many ups and downs ....but only one go round. ~ Ms. Isabella

Theory of Imprisonment

'A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe,
a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest-a kind
of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind
of prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection
for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free from this
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.' ~ Albert Einstein

A Sheltered Life

You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book ('Lady Chatterley's Lover', for instance), or you take a trip, or you talk with Richard, and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness.
The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. . . ~ Anaïs Nin

To Be a Writer . . .

'Ordinary life does not interest me. I seek only the high moments.
I am in accord with the surrealists, searching for the marvelous.
I want to be a writer who reminds others that these moments exist;
I want to prove that there is infinite space, infinite meaning,
infinite dimension. But I am not always in what I call a state of grace.
I have days of illuminations and fevers. I have days when the music
in my head stops. Then I mend socks, prune trees, can fruits, polish
furniture. But while I am doing this I feel I am not living.' ~ Anaïs Nin

Man & Woman

The man is the highest of creatures.
The woman is the most sublime ideals.
God made to man a throne for the woman an altar.
The throne emphasizes, the altar sanctifies.
The man is the brain. The woman's heart.
The brain, heart, light factory produces love.
The light is wonderful, love revives.
The man is strong for reason.
The woman is invincible to tears.
The reason is convincing, moving tears.
The man is capable of all the superheroics.
The Queen of all martyrs.
Ennobling heroism, martyrdom sublimates.
The man has the supremacy.
The woman preference.
Supremacy means strength;
represents the right preference.
The man is a genius. The woman an Angel.
The genius is immeasurable;
the Angel indefinable.
The aspiration of man is the Supreme glory.
The aspiration of the woman is virtue.
The glory makes it all great; virtue makes everything divine.
The man is a code. The woman a Gospel.
The code fixes, the Gospel perfects.
The man thinks. The woman is dreaming.
Think you have a larva's skull;
dream is having on his forehead a Halo.
The man is an ocean. The woman a lake.
The Ocean has the Pearl that adorns;
the Lake poetry that dazzles.
The man is the Eagle that flies.
The woman is the Nightingale that sings.
Flying is dominating the space.
sing is conquer your soul.
The man is a temple. The Lady shrine.
Before the temple we discover;
in front of the shrine we bow. Finally:
man is the end of the Earth,
the woman where the sky begins.

~ Victor Hugo

Woman's Abyss

'Man can never know the loneliness a woman knows. Man lies in the
woman's womb only to gather strength, he nourishes himself from this
fusion, and then he rises and goes into the world, into his work,
into battle, into art. He is not lonely. He is busy. The memory of
the swim in amniotic fluid gives him energy, completion.
Woman may be busy too, but she feels empty. Sensuality for her is
not only a wave of pleasure in which she is bathed, and a charge of
electric joy at contact with another. When man lies in her womb, she
is fulfilled, each act of love a taking of man within her, an act of
birth and rebirth, of child rearing and man bearing. Man lies in her
womb and is reborn each time anew with a desire to act, to be. But for
woman, the climax is not in the birth, but in the moment man rests
inside of her.' ~ Anaïs Nin

Finnegan Bond

‎'He was the kind of young man whose handsome face has brought him plenty of success in the past and is now ever-ready for a new encounter, a fresh-experience, always eager to set off into the unknown territory of a little adventure, never taken by surprise because he has worked out everything in advance and is waiting to see what happens, a man who will never overlook any erotic opportunity, whose first glance probes every woman's sensuality, and explores it, without discriminating between his friend's wife and the parlour-maid who opens the door to him.

Such men are described with a certain facile contempt as lady-killers, but the term has a nugget of truthful observation in it, for in fact all the passionate instincts of the chase are present in their ceaseless vigilance: the stalking of the prey, the excitement and mental cruelty of the kill. They are constantly on the alert, always ready and willing to follow the trail of an adventure to the very edge of the abyss.

They are full of passion all the time, but it is the passion of a gambler rather than a lover, cold, calculating and dangerous. Some are so persistent that their whole lives, long after their youth is spent, are made an eternal adventure by this expectation. Each of their days is resolved into hundreds of small sensual experiences - a look exchanged in passing, a fleeting smile, knees brushing together as a couple sit opposite each other - and the year, in its own turn, dissolves into hundreds of such days in which sensuous experience is the constantly flowing, nourishing, inspiring source of life.'

Determination - Firmness of Purpose

So many times people think that success has mostly to do with talent and luck. It's easy to think this when we see athletes standing up on the podium receiving their trophies and medals. That's the problem, though we only see what they display to us publicly. What we see is the result of what they have done in private. Few people get to see what these athletes go through when they are not publicly competing. Few people fail to realize that these athletes put themselves through intense rigorous training for years.

Michael Phelps said that he worked out days seven days a week for 4 years. Most swimmers will take a day off each week, but he didn't. He said the reason was that every time he takes a day off, it takes him 2 days to get back to the same level he was at that took him 6 days in a row of training to obtain.

It is easy to look at him and say the reason he won was because of his body shape or his longer than normal arms. I'm sure if most people went through the same training as he did for 4 years, they wouldn't be all that surprised by his results. That one shining moment was made possible by the thousands of hours of sweat and hard work that was put into it. If you want to experience great success, outwork all of your competition and you will have a good shot.


* Naomi Campbell & Cheetah by Jean-Paul Goude @ Harper's Bazaar '2009

'Phenomenal Woman' ~ Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

* courtesy of Linda Gaye Smith

Advertising Dilemma !

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?" "Eight," the boy replied. The man continued, "do you know what these are used for?" The boy replied, "not exactly, but they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can't do either."

'Sutton' by J.R. Moehringer

Born in the squalid Irish slums of Brooklyn, in the first year of the twentieth century, Willie Sutton came of age at a time when banks were out of control. If they weren't taking brazen risks, causing millions to lose their jobs and homes, they were shamelessly seeking bailouts. Trapped in a cycle of bank panics, depressions and soaring unemployment, Sutton saw only one way out, only one way to win the girl of his dreams.
So began the career of America's most successful bank robber. Over three decades Sutton became so good at breaking into banks, and such a master at breaking out of prisons, police called him one of the most dangerous men in New York, and the FBI put him on its first-ever Most Wanted List.
But the public rooted for Sutton. He never fired a shot, after all, and his victims were merely those bloodsucking banks. When he was finally caught for good in 1952, crowds surrounded the jail and chanted his name.
Blending vast research with vivid imagination, Pulitzer Prize-winner J.R. Moehringer brings Willie Sutton blazing back to life. In Moehringer's retelling, it was more than need or rage at society that drove Sutton. It was one unforgettable woman. In all Sutton's crimes and confinements, his first love (and first accomplice) was never far from his thoughts. And when Sutton finally walked free--a surprise pardon on Christmas Eve, 1969--he immediately set out to find her.
Poignant, comic, fast-paced and fact-studded, "Sutton" tells a story of economic pain that feels eerily modern, while unfolding a story of doomed love, which is forever timeless. Praise for "Sutton"

"With a voice at once sentimental and muscular, Moehringer is like the kid brother of John Irving or Roddy Doyle. He brings a raconteur's grace and rhythm to his first novel, "Sutton," a stirring portrait of Willie 'The Actor' Sutton. A-." -- "Entertainment Weekly" "A captivating and absorbing read." -- "Kirkus" (starred)
"Moehringer relays, in electrifying prose, the highs and lows of Sutton's dramatic life . . . Readers will be riveted by this colorful portrayal of a life in crime."-- "Booklist" (starred)
"A mesmerizing portrait of a remarkable man . . . The author's eye for detail and sense of place make every stop on Sutton's internal and external journeys resonate--from smoking a Chesterfield to Sutton's first sight of the moon as a free man, every scene is saturated with life."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"In Moehringer's more-than capable hands, the story has a life all its own beyond the historical fact." --"The Daily Beast"
"A moving and thoroughly absorbing novel. Filled with vibrant and colorful re-creations of not one but several times in the American past."-- Kevin Baker, author of "Strivers Row"
"In Willie Sutton, the greatest bank-robber of all time, thinker and lover, escape artist extraordinaire, J.R. Moehringer] has found an historical subject equal to his vivid imagination, gimlet journalistic eye, and pitch-perfect ear for dialogue. The result is a terrific first novel by turns suspenseful, funny, romantic, and sad--in short, a book you won't be able to put down."-- John Burnham Schwartz, author of "Reservation Road" and "The Commoner"
""Sutton" presents a glorious romance, a riveting heist novel, a financial history of the 20th century, a loving portrait of New York, and an empathetic portrait of the bank robber as a young man, all in one crisp, sad, and often hilarious novel. It is an utter joy to read."-- Anthony Doerr, author of "The Shell Collector and Memory Wall"

Leonard Cohen @ Jazz Festival‏

It was a strange mix of old-timers, young people, and
spirituality, which was fitting, considering it was
Leonard Cohen.
At 7:30pm, precisely, the lights came down and the
curtains began their ascension. First, his nine-piece
band, with an arsenal that ranged from pedal steel and
Hammond B3 organ to archilaud (a type of Spanish flute)
and bass clarinet. Along with a strong vocal support
provided by the Webb Sisters, (Charley and Hattie, a young
British-based duo), and Sharon Robinson, a long-time
collaborator and co-writer of several songs, make their
way to center stage.
Followed by the Dean of Cool, the Master of Zen, the
Buddha Monk, dapper and smart, wearing his usual attire,
a perfectly pressed Armani suit, crisp shirt and Fedora,
which he removed to take a bow after each song. The audience
rose, and an uproar of claps and cheers ensues. The native
son had come home.
At 73, Montreal poet, novelist, songwriter and singer
Leonard Cohen truly merits the label 'immortal'. An icon
of song as well as literature, he is considered one of
the most important and influential songwriters of our time.
He has forged a resolutely unique, inimitable body of work.
The singer with the singularly deep voice played to a packed
room, one of three, at Place des Arts, his first tour in
15 years, since 'The Future' brought him to the Forum in
June 1993. It was a non-stop, eclectic, drunken stupor
of classics.
Cohen bowed and broke into a huge smile, and he never stopped
beaming the rest of the night. While quipping that at shows
in the 1990s', "I was just a kid of 60 with a crazy dream."
He also took time to express concern about the state of the
world, and how fortunate he was to have come from, and live
in such a beautiful city with pretty streets. Plenty of
irreplaceable banter, and surprisingly speaks French well,
which completely sent the audience into a whooping standing
ovation, with sporadic shouts, LEONARD. The poet dazzled
the audience.
His age is beginning to show... he moved slower, stooped
and sang just a little quieter. Cradling a handheld microphone,
he was able to move energetically around the centre stage
to interact with his band, and played guitar on several occasions.
He was still in the kind of form you'd be a fool to undersell.
He played through 40 years of song classics such as 'So Long',
'Marianne', 'Bird on a Wire', 'Hallelujah', 'Everybody Knows'
and 'I'm Your Man'.
Cohen knows his songs well and so did the audience, many
of them old enough to recall that first album in 1967. Already
one of Canada's young literary lions, the poet and novelist
seized the time to marry his muse to popular music, whose
boundaries were expanding under the influence of slightly younger
contemporaries such as Bob Dylan. In March of this year, he
was inducted into the New York's Rock and Roll Hall of fame.
On the road again, Cohen is once more among his own folk,
less melancholy than his reputation and as passionate and
articulate as ever. After all, public performance is a literary
tradition at least as old as Homer.
On a personal note, listening to Cohen, took me back to
a place, on the main, called Di Salvio's. A private club,
filled with the beautiful people. Cool to nth degree. Women
not girls, in droves, wearing the skimpiest and shortest
skirts, parading across the dance floor. Leonard Cohen blaring
from the refrigerator-sized speakers, and you wishing that
some day you could be as cool as he was.

* From Where I Sit!
June 26, 2008

Great Dads !

'I'd like to take a moment to show appreciation to 'Great Dad's' all around the world! I have observed over the years that the numbers of great dads are growing and I think they should be commended for the outstanding care they are providing to our children! Many times, sadly, I notice their surrounding criticize them for not having a job and financially supporting their family, this is such shallow thinking! A Real Dad is.... 'A Dad is someone you can count on ... Someone who is always there ... Someone who listens when you talk ... Who knows when you are lying... And when you are telling the truth. A Dad is someone who protects you ... And cares about you. A Dad is always kind, and understands what you say... He understands what is wrong... And makes you feel okay ... A Dad is someone who loves you no matter what you do.' This type of Dad is worth more than any amount on a 'pay check' they will bring home!' ~ Rose E. O'Donnell

Journey's End

Lead me to the field of dreams
Where our souls can bask in splendor
Not knowing any loneliness
For tis only love there rendered.

Lead me to your open arms
Your waiting warm embrace
Where safety and security
Is found within that space.

Loose me in your loving gaze
Where time is stilled forever
Let me glimpse inside your soul
Where deception lies surrendered.

O’ lead me to that field of dreams
Where our hearts become as one
Knowing we’re at journeys end
And our search for love is done.

copyright 2012 TLS

*** November Rain ***

When I look into your eyes I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you, don't you know I feel the same? yeah
Nothin' lasts forever and we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain, ooh yeah
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An' no one's really sure who's lettin' go today, walking away

And if we take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine, all mine
So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin' in the cold November rain

Do you need some time on your own?
Do you need some time all alone?
Everybody needs some time on their own
Don't you know you need some time all alone?

I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal the broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you?

Sometimes I need some time on my own
Sometimes I need some time all alone
Everybody needs some time on their own
Don't you know you need some time all alone

And when your fears subside and shadows still remain, oh yeah
I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness we still can find a way
Nothin' lasts forever even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one, you're not the only one

Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody...

'L'Eclisse' (1962)

One salient stylistic feature that struck me about this film was its sparse use of music. Aside from the Italian song, followed by the eerie orchestra music playing during the opening credits of the film, music does not appear until about a half hour into the film, when we hear the diegetic African drum beats on the record player. The next time we hear diegetic music is about 45 minutes into the film, coming from the stereophonic at the bar at the landing strip. Around an hour and a half in, we hear the upbeat diegetic music of a pianist while Vittoria (Monica Vitti)and Piero (Alain Delon) are walking through the park, although this music is carried over and becomes non-diegetic as they run through the park. About ten minutes later, non-diegetic piano music returns, but this music is sad and eerie, as Vittoria turns around to see that Piero is not standing in the street; he has disappeared. About an hour and 45 minutes in we hear the diegetic music of the same Italian song from the opening credits playing in Piero's bedroom. About ten minutes later we hear eerie orchestra music similar to the opening credits and the moment in the street when Vittoria sees that Piero is gone. This same eerie music plays at the end of the film, when we are shown that Vittoria and Piero's meeting place is empty; neither of them have shown up. This music gets loudest during the last shot of the lamp post, finalizing that it is now dark and late, much past their meeting time, and that neither are ever going to show up.

I think the dramatic sparseness of music during the film serves to not only emphasize the importance of the rare moments when music is used, but also to emphasize the emptiness of the characters’ lives when music is not used. The African drum beats, the stereophonic sound at the landing strip, the upbeat pianist, and the Italian song all mark moments when Vittoria is relatively happy during the film. When she is with her friends, looking at beautiful landscapes, dressing up and joking around; after she flies on the plane with her friends and sees aerial scenery; when she and Piero are carefree and messing around in the park; when she explores Piero's childhood apartment and bedroom. Yet, the times when the dark and eerie orchestra music is used all mark moments when Vittoria is brought back to the emptiness of her life and the realization that she doesn't know what she wants or who she wants because she is incapable of truly being in love.

One eloquent feature that struck me about the film was its juxtaposition of chaotic stock exchange scenes with quiet, landscape scenes (both portraits and real locations). There are many shots of landscape portraits of exotic and beautiful places in Vittoria's friend’s apartment, which obviously intrigue Vittoria. There are also many shots of the architecture in Rome: the aerial views from the plane, the shots of different places throughout the city, the park, as well as many sites of uncompleted architecture and construction. These quiet, serene shots are contrasted with the loudness and disorder of the stock exchange. I believe that it is through these scenes that Vittoria's incompatibility with Piero becomes clear. 'You never stand still,' she tells him. He is a cog in the stock market machine, and he can never stop, or the whole machine will collapse. Whereas Vittoria does not wish to be a part of some system, she does not want to play the part of the doting wife. She does not want to simply be a role.

* Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

Emmanuelle : The Final Chapter

Dutch actress, Sylvia Kristel (1952 – 2012) died of cancer at age 60.
Kristel, was a model who turned to acting, who had performed in over
50 movies, but was best known for playing the titular character in four
of the seven erotic, 1970s 'Emmanuelle' films. She had been fighting
cancer for several years.
Kristel was born in Utrecht, Netherlands, the elder daughter of an
innkeeper, Jean-Nicholas Kristel, and his wife. In her 2006 autobiography,
'Nue', she claims to have been sexually abused by an elderly guest at
the hotel at the age of nine, an event which she has refused to discuss
in detail.
Her breakthrough came in 1974 in 'Emmanuelle', the erotic tale directed
by Frenchman Just Jaeckin, about the sexual adventures of a man and his
beautiful young wife in Thailand. She later hit the US market with the
success of 1981's 'Private Lessons'.

'Habitat 67'

'Habitat 67' is a model community and housing complex in Montreal,
Canada designed by Israeli–Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It was
originally conceived as his master's thesis in architecture at
McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, the
World's Fair held from April to October 1967.
Safdie's design for 'Habitat 67' began as a thesis project for his
architecture program at McGill University. It was 'highly recognized'
at the institution. 'Habitat 67' comprises 354 identical, prefabricated
concrete forms arranged in various combinations, reaching up to 12
storeys in height. Together these units create 146 residences of
varying sizes and configurations, each formed from between one to
eight linked concrete units. The complex originally contained 158
apartments, but several apartments have since been joined to create
larger units, reducing the total number... and each unit is connected
to at least one private terrace.
It is located at 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy on the Marc-Drouin Quay
next to the Saint Lawrence River. 'Habitat 67' is widely considered
an architectural landmark and one of the most recognizable and
significant buildings in both Montreal and Canada.
I have very dear friends who have lived there since the early 1980s'
and the inside of these units are just as eclectic as the outisde...

Sir Sean Connery

Thomas Sean Connery was born in the Fountainbridge district of
Edinburgh, Scotland on August 25, 1930. He grew up impoverished.
The son of a truck-driver, he came from a background very different
from that of his most famous screen alter-ego.
After leaving school, he joined the Royal Navy, but was released
due to ulcers. He had many jobs, including laborer, lifeguard and
model for art classes. But it was his career as a bodybuilder that
led to his representing Scotland in the 1953 Mr. Universe contest,
in which he placed 3rd. This in turn led to a job in the chorus
with the touring company of South Pacific. He appeared in several
stage productions, and made his television debut in 1956. He signed
a movie contract with MGM in the late 1950's, which led to a string
of film roles.
He was cast as the first cinematic James Bond in Dr. No in 1962.
He won the role over Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Trevor Howard, Patrick
McGoohan and Roger Moore, even though Ian Fleming was quoted as
saying, 'He is not exactly what I envisioned' ... as the fictional
British agent. However, the film was a success, which led to 3 more
Bond films in the next 5 years.
Tired of being identified only as 007, Connery quit the role after
'You Only Live Twice', in order to devote more time to his family
and to golf. The next Bond film starred George Lazenby, but Connery
was persuaded to return as Bond in 'Diamonds are Forever'. With that
role, he said he was finished as Bond, but he returned in 1983's
'Never Say Never Again', which was not an 'official' Bond film, as
it was produced by Kevin McClory instead of Eon. This film did not
help his relations with Bond producer Cubby Broccoli, with whom
Connery was feuding.
Connery has played many varied roles in films over the years,
working with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and
Brian De Palma. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
as well as the Golden Globe award in 1987, for his role as the Irish
cop Malone in 'The Untouchables'. He was also named People magazine's
'Sexiest Man Alive' in 1989.
Connery is an avid golfer (he learned the game for 1964's Goldfinger)
and in 1996 won the Lexus Challenge golf tournament with pro Hale Irwin.
In 1990, Connery received the British Academy of Film and Television
Arts (BAFTA) Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1995, he received the Cecil
B. DeMille Award for 'outstanding contribution to the entertainment field',
given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
In 1997, he was honored with a Gala Tribute by the Film Society of
Lincoln Center in New York and in 1998, received a British Academy
Fellowship from BAFTA. He was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1999.
He became Sir Sean Connery in July 2000, received a knighthood from the
British government, despite being refused the honor 2 years previously
for political reasons. He has also received awards in France, including
the Legion d'Honeur, and the Commandeur des Arts and des Lettres.
He has been married twice. His first wife was actress Diane Cilento.
In an ironic twist, their son, actor Jason Connery, portrayed James Bond
creator Ian Fleming in the film 'Spymaker'. Sean has been married to
French artist Micheline Roquebrune since 1975.

'The Elemental Fact'

'The elemental fact, present in our consciousness
every moment of our existence, is: I am life that
wills to live, in the midst of life that wills to
live....
The essence of the humane spirit is: Preserve life,
promote life, help life to achieve its highest destiny.
The essence of Evil is: Destroy life, harm life,
hamper the development of life.' ~ Albert Schweitzer

The Man She Loves . . .

She loves the man who calls her beautiful instead of sexy ... calling her name even after having hung up ... Who stays awake just to watch her sleep ... and kisses her forehead .... who takes her hand in front of his friends ... What do you tell what amounts ... and when he is lucky to have you ... Love him because he loves you and never ceases to do it ..!

H.H. The Dalai Lama‏

'Every obnoxious act is a cry for help. Successful
people are always looking for opportunities to help
others. Unsuccessful people are always asking,
"What's in it for me?"

Positive thinking will let you do everything better
than negative thinking will. People often say that
motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -
that's why we recommend it daily.'

'Hemingway & Gellhorn'

'Hemingway & Gellhorn' is a study in the art of machismo . . . just as much
from a woman as from a man. This film, which premiered on HBO, dramatizes
the volatile coming together and falling apart of the famous novelist and his
third wife. Martha Gellhorn, a renowned war correspondent and the only one
of his brides who was also a fiction writer. The film is a big-name affair,
with Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman in the leads and Philip Kaufman directing
a screenplay by Barbara Turner ('Pollock') and Jerry Stahl ('Bad Boys II').
It is based on Martha Gellhorn's memoirs, and researched with dialogue that
scavenges the principals' own writing, either as history or drama. At the
outset of this explosive new film an aged but still feisty Gellhorn recalls
how she was more interested in chasing battle action around the planet
than in pleasing her man in the boudoir.

'Of course,' she adds, 'there are wars and there are wars.'

Especially when one is involved with the ever-mercurial Ernest Hemingway,
as Gellhorn was to learn over her intense romance and subsequent four-year
marriage to the man. Really hard to say what was more life-threatening for
Gellhorn: the Spanish Civil War or grappling with the demons of Papa Hemingway.
To be sure, it's practically impossible to re-create with complete any accuracy
an actual person, and biopics are typically deformed by the need to cover a lot
of ground in short order . . .As one crisis follows quickly upon another, characters
can seem both abnormally intense and insufficiently motivated. Kidman benefits
from Gellhorn's relative obscurity in creating her, of course; the original person
matters less. And yet given the unknowability of even as public a figure as
Hemingway, there are as many plausible ways to play him as to play Hamlet,
but Clive Owen delivers a stellar performance... down to the extra pounds he
packed on, apparent in all those sex scenes. One doesn't need to feel that, yes,
it was really like this, only that it might have been.

From the moment the young writer Martha, 28, sidles up to the celebrated
Ernest, a decade older and covered in marlin blood, at a Key West bar -- Sloppy
Joe's -- 'Friend or foe?' asks Hemingway. 'Or faux friend. You never know',
answers Gellhorn, who might be Lauren Bacall teaching Humphrey Bogart to
whistle. ('To Have and Have Not' 1944)

And they're off, from Florida to the Spanish Civil War to Cuba and China
and D-day, as competitors and collaborators. They meet other famous faces
(the starry supporting cast includes David Strathairn as a rather too pathetic
John Dos Passos and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, as documentary filmmaker
Joris Ivens, Molly Parker as Hemingway's second bride, Pauline, Parker Posey
as Hemingway's fourth wife, Mary, Joan Chen as Madame Chiang and Robert
Duvall as an unhinged Soviet general); enact passages from future memoirs
and biographies rejiggered for dramatic effect; dodge bullets and down
cocktails . . . 'You're more of a man than most men I've met,' he says admiringly,
as he fails to drink her under the table.

Kaufman, who also directed the erotic period pieces 'The Unbearable Lightness
of Being' and 'Henry & June', puts a lot of energy into sex scenes that make
Gellhorn (Kidman) seem like a goddess of the literay world. In a particular scene,
one of my favorites, they go at while bombs rain down on their Madrid hotel,
covering their naked bodies in plaster dust.

The other scene I truly appreciated was in Cuba at the Copacabana in the
dressing room. They sauntered in while the ladies were dancing … he practically
dragged her, while both very intoxicated, until they found a spot hidden behind
costumes and other paraphernalia . . . he turned her around and raised her
dress … just as she was swaying to his thrusts a group of cancan girls stormed
in to change. He placed his hand over her mouth and continued pressing on… and
they pulsated together in a harmonious rhythm…Kidman had this look of such
utter ecstasy. Delicious!
Integrating the actors 'Zelig' style into old newsreel footage, sliding from
color into monochrome and back again. Sometimes, you don't notice the trick at
all, but even when you do, it can be sort of charming: It gives the film a kind
of picture-book quality not out of step with its self-dramatizing subjects.

Yet in spite of his wild chauvinistic ways, something about the freethinking
and alluring Gellhorn charms him. Hemingway is smitten, for a spell, until
Gellhorn proves to be a tad too independent and not so subservient. Then Ernie
gets angry, and you won't much like Ernie when he's angry. He gets really
blitzed . . . ornery . . . and self-centred, and declares,

'John Dos Passos is the greatest writer in America ... not named Hemingway'.

Papa is no one's notion of politically correct. But it isn't just self-
aggrandizing bravado when he declares himself to be the greatest wordsmith
in America... Hard to take that away from him.

The returns in their relationship eventually diminish: The student outlives
her need for the teacher, who derides her as 'Little Miss Human Interest'.
It turns out that he's the conventional one who needs a base and a gang;
she's the footloose free spirit who wants to be where the action is.

Kidman's Gellhorn and Owen's Hemingway, as well as the others, are mostly
on fire, and under fire. And when not dodging gunshots during the Spanish
Civil War and the Japanese invasion of China, Gellhorn and Hemingway are
mostly engaged in personal combat – physically and mentally. But the two
have something in common: a romanticized idealism. They are rebels with
a cause, eager to quash fast-rising fascism, be it in Franco's Spain or
Hitler's Germany. Hemingway prevails upon Gellhorn to chuck objectivity
in her dispatches for Collier's Weekly.

They are also fearless, bordering on foolhardy. What else to make of their
desire for some nookie while their hotel is being blitzkrieged by Franco's
bombers … Or Hemingway's challenge to play Russian roulette with an equally
unravelled and real Russian General (Robert Duvall). The two are also
world-class tipplers. But even Gellhorn marvels how Hemingway could put
away bottles of scotch, absinthe and wine at night and still take his post
at the typewriter the following morning.

'Writing is like Mass. God gets mad when you miss it,' explains
Hemingway, whose second bride convinced him to convert to Catholicism.

While the film focuses on the passion between Hemingway and Gellhorn, it
also addresses prevailing patronizing attitudes toward women with ambition
back in the late 1930s and early 1940s, which is when the film is set.

Despite finding religion as well as adventure, causes, acclaim and women,
Hemingway, a senior Gellhorn contends in retrospect, was rarely at peace
with himself . . . 'He tortured no one so much as he is tortured himself.'
Such was the price Papa Hemingway was willing to pay for his place in the
writers' pantheon. As is abundantly made clear here.

The movie, which has concentrated more on her journey than his, gives
her a kind of payback: It jumps from their final breakup, in 1945, to
a diminished Hemingway's suicide some 16 years later. Gellhorn exits on
two feet, as the older woman who has remembered this tale, grabbing her
backpack and heading out the door.


* From Where I Sit!
www.fromwhereisit.co
May 31, 2012

Gripped by Passion

'It is realized that experiential freedom is not in rejecting
our humanness - but accepting it more and more fully.
One is then free to experience life with a vulnerability like
never before.
Through simply seeing through fixed ideas / assumed
'truths' by a relaxed vigilance, one is gripped more and more
tightly by the embrace of life itself - until only experiential
union remains' ~ Karen Richards

Life According to Marilyn‏

'This life is what you make it. Not matter what. . you're
going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the
good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it
up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway.
But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay
with you through everything - they're your true best friends.
Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best
friends in the world.
As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And babe,
I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all
of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give
up because if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate.
You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that
goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't
mean you're gonna fail at everything.
Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe
in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie?
So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most
importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful
thing and there's so much to smile about.'

Shamrock Toast

John O'Reilly hoisted his beer and said, 'Here's to spending the
rest of me life!, between the legs of me wife!' That won him the
top prize at the pub for the best toast of the night!

He went home and told his wife, Mary, 'I won the prize for the
best toast of the night.' She said, 'Aye, did ye now. And what was
your toast?' John said, 'Here's to spending the rest of me life,
sitting in church beside me wife.' 'Oh, that is very nice indeed,
John!' Mary said.

The next day, Mary ran into one of John's drinking buddies on
the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, 'John won
the prize the other night at the pub with a toast about you, Mary.'
She said, 'Aye, he told me, and I was a bit surprised myself.
You know, he's only been there twice in the last four years. Once
he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears
to make him come.'

Eleanor Roosevelt

'You gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience
in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able
to say to yourself, “I have lived through this horror. I can take
the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think
you cannot do.' ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Bellagio Guest Cabanas

In Las Vegas at the Bellagio Hotel, they reserve the
luxurious guest suites for their largest gamblers.
These elegant apartments have a contemporary feel and
include all of the best amenities. While they are given
on a complimentary basis to their highest rollers, they
do come at quite a high price .
To qualify to stay here, you must place a bet of $100,000
or more, and also have a credit line of $4 to $5 million.

Timothy M. Parker

'Timothy M. Parker' has been interested in art since his
early childhood. He lived in New York for 22 years where
he worked as an artist, illustrator and creative director.
There he also earned his Mastery in Art. He currently
lives in Naples, Florida.
His artworks cover a wide range of styles from classical
painting and tropical themes to contemporary abstract
art. I like his style and I want to share with you. . . Miriam

Jazz Diva . . . Randa Ghossoub‏

Ladies & Gentlemen,
Let me introduce you to my dear friend Randa Ghossoub . . . a
Lebanese-Canadian jazz singer extraordinaire. Randa has dwelled
between Beirut, Africa, and Europe, which allowed her to illuminate
her music with many colours. Embracing rhythms and melodies that
breach the boundaries of region and era, Randa draws upon varied
global influences to bring unlikely musical combinations to the
here and now.
As her interpretations meet exotic traditions, the delicious
music evolution continues. Randa Ghossoub promises oriental jazz
lovers an exceptional renditions.

'The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.' ~ Herbie Hancock

Internationally renowned jazz musicians Cyrus Chestnut, Michel
Donato and Jim Hillman, boldly mix the genres and venture in the
experimental channels of improvisation, all brilliantly borne
by Randa's crystalline voice. An excellent prelude for those
not acquainted with oriental jazz.

In the 'age of communication', solitudes abound, and any attempt
at dialogue leads back to the Genesis Tower of Babel.

However, some rare, unusual or irrational complexities subvert this
modern-day dictum and thwart its laws! Creators . . . both local
and international, form daring and uncommon alliances, which will
transform the uproar and cacophony into polyphonic harmony and
exquisite consonance. Encounters between traditional music and dance,
both classical and contemporary, and a fusion of hip hop, flamenco,
Gnawa, pop, rock, metal, and electronic trends ... such unusual
hybridization of styles and practices, so many moments of generosity
that challenge isolation and solitude.


'Eclecticism is the word. Like a jazz musician who creates his
own style out of the styles around him, I play by ear.' ~ Ralph Ellison

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/randa#.TyCGoVRJsv0.facebook

* album cover by Nadine Hennelly
http://www.nadinehennelly.ca

The Dalai Lama

'Self-discipline, although difficult, and not always easy
while combating negative emotions, should be a defensive
measure. At least we will be able to prevent the advent of
negative conduct dominated by negative emotion.
That is 'shila', or moral ethics. Once we develop this
by familiarizing ourselves with it, along with mindfulness
and conscientiousness, eventually that pattern and way
of life will become a part of our own life.' ~ His Holiness
the Dalai Lama

Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, born 28 September 1934, is a controversial
former French fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist.
She was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1960s. Starting in 1969,
Bardot's features became the official face of Marianne (who had previously
been anonymous) to represent the liberty of France.
Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer in early life. She started her
acting career in 1952 and, after appearing in 16 films, became world-famous
due to her role in her then-husband Roger Vadim's controversial film
'And God Created Woman'. She later starred in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963
cult film, 'Contempt'. Bardot was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best
Foreign Actress for her role in Louis Malle's 1965 film, 'Viva Maria!'.
Bardot caught the attention of French intellectuals. She was the
subject of Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay, 'The Lolita Syndrome',
which described Bardot as a 'locomotive of women's history' and built
upon existentialist themes to declare her the first and most liberated
woman of post-war France.
Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1973. During her
career in show business, she starred in 47 films, performed in numerous
musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. She was awarded the Legion
of Honour in 1985 but refused to receive it.
After her retirement, Bardot established herself as an animal rights
activist. During the 1990s she generated controversy by criticizing
immigration, Islamization and Islam in France, and has been fined
five times for 'inciting racial hatred.

The Piano House

A construction without false notes this form of Piano House
is located in the city of Huainan, in China. The main building
resembles a black piano and stairs, to a transparent violin.

* Rem Koolhaas, architect

'Geishas'

'Geishas' are traditional female Japanese entertainers.
They are skilled at different Japanese arts, like
playing classical Japanese music, dancing and poetry.
Some people believe that geisha are prostitutes, but
this is not true. Geisha are very respected and it is
hard to become one.

'A Beautiful Woman' . . . Audrey Hepburn‏

'For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely
eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share
your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child
run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk
with the knowledge that you never walk alone.'

'People, even more than things, have to be restored,
renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out
anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will
find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older,
you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping
yourself, and the other for helping others.'

Spring Interrupted‏ . . .

Today I woke early, without a headache ... such a bonus,
and I lay there for a moment of thankfulness, acknowledging
the pain free area across my forehead with a smile. I got
up to be greeted by freshly fallen flakes of white powder
. . . when I peeked out between the blinds. The fog in my
head has moved outside of me, and it's perfectly fine because
I can see clearly now exactly where I am and the direction
I'm headed, even if I'm not sure of the final destination.

'Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world.
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your
soul take you where you long to be. . . Close your eyes let
your spirit start to soar . . . and you'll live as you've
never lived before.' ~ Erich Fromm

I have been feeling tense and restless recently, plowing
my energy into projects that don't seem ready for me. Two
days off has given me the space to gain some valuable
perspective, to acknowledge areas that have been neglected
and focusing on my ultimate goals, rather than just the
stuff that is necessary for living.
Sometimes we search so hard for the answers to our dreams,
that we miss the vital steps we need to discover them; and
sometimes we just need to have faith that every step we
take is in the right direction to becoming the people we
are meant to be with all the experience life has to offer
us. I'm not very patient with myself, but I can see that
the only obstacles in my path are the fears that I place
there, built out of some insecurity and stubborn wishes
for different gifts to those I have been blessed with.

'Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather
the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the
journey.' ~ Alex Noble

Taking a moment to accept myself, forgive my weaknesses
and understand their role in my journey, has given me fresh
perspective, and I'm feeling brave again. This has been
helped along by some dear friends, who somehow understand
my mission, and are able to show me parts of myself that
I miss when I'm too focused on a small issue to see the
bigger picture, and to whom I am eternally grateful.

So today I am feeling back on form, which is just as well
as it's going to be a busy one, but somehow it seems much
more manageable, just one step at a time, and if I keep
moving, I'll end up where I'm meant to be eventually. I hope
that today presents some opportunities for you to discover
the steps on your path that will bring you joy, love and
happiness.


* From Where I Sit!
March 28

Zou Bisou Bisou !

The original version from 1962 . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2vFOzG3GYqo#!

Here's a rough translation . . . “Oh! Kiss kiss ... My God, they
are sweet! Oh! Kiss kiss ... the sound of kisses . . . Oh! Kiss
kiss... That means, I confess ... But yes, I love only you!

Forever Friendship . . .

Sometimes in life, you find a special friend . . . Someone
who changes your life just by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop . . . Someone
who makes you believe that there really is good in the
world.
Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked
door just waiting for you to open it. . . This is Forever Friendship.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy‏

Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi was born in Turin, Italy, and is heiress
to the fortune created by the Italian tire manufacturing company CEAT,
founded in the 1920s by her grandfather Virginio Bruni Tedeschi . . . later
sold to Pirelli.
The family moved to France in 1975, reportedly to escape the threat
of kidnapping by the Red Brigades, a Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary group
active in Italy in the 1970s. Bruni grew up in France from age seven and
attended boarding school in Switzerland. She went to Paris to study art
and architecture, but left school at 19 and signed with City Models.
Paul Marciano, president and creative director of Guess? Inc., came
across her picture among composite cards of aspiring models and chose
her to model with Estelle Lefébure in campaigns for Guess? jeans. Bruni
subsequently worked for designers and fashion houses such as Christian
Dior, Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Karl
Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Yves Saint-Laurent, Shiatzy Chen, Chanel
and Versace.
By the 1990s, Bruni was among the 20 highest-paid fashion models,
earning $7.5 million a year. While modeling, Bruni dated Eric Clapton,
then Mick Jagger. In 1997, Bruni quit the world of fashion to devote
herself to music.
In November 2007 she met the recently divorced French president
Nicolas Sarkozy at a dinner party. After a brief romance they married
in February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

Power of a Woman

Powerful woman floating in cyberspace drawing others into her
circle. She can be everything that you wish for . . . a Goddess,
a Bitch or a Friend. She is every flavor of woman . . . feast
your senses with her words.

In the Rain . . .‏

A little girl had been shopping with her Mother at Sears. She must
have been 15 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image
of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes
over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it
has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the
awning and just inside the door of the Sears.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed
up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost
in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust
of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child
came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we
were all caught in. "Mum let's run through the rain," she said. "What?"
Mum asked. "Lets run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey.
We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mum replied. This young child
waited about another minute and repeated, "Mum, let's run through
the rain," "We'll get soaked if we do," Mum said. "No, we won't, Mum.
That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she
tugged at her Mum's arm. This morning? When did I say we could run
through the rain and not get wet? "Don't you remember? When you were
talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us
through this, he can get us through anything!"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear
anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left
in the next few minutes. The Mother paused and thought for a moment
about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her
for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was
a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent
trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you
are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us
get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mum said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as
they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held
their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked.
But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children
all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet.
I needed washing.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions,
they can take away your money, and they can take away your health.
But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So, don't forget
to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day.
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under
Heaven.


* From Where I Sit!
www.fromwhereisit.co
March 20

Monday Blues !‏

Today I woke early, my brain alternating between churning over all
the tasks that await my attention, and the thoughts I'd rather dwell
in, as the clock ticked gently on to a decent hour. I drifted in and
out of consciousness, witnessing those weird dreams that appear so
real, yet make no sense at all.. Eventually the tasks won, and I
breakfasted at my desk, preparing some notes and researching for my
new novella becoming absorbed in my work, still in my nightshirt till
now (11.30am).

It's a beautiful sunny day here in Montreal, rather exciting and
inspiring . . . brimming with possibilities for the beginning of
another week. It's very quiet and still where I live, just moments
from a busy high street and main trajectory and the birds chattering
are the only sounds to compete with the mellow jazz sounds emanating
from my computer. . . and my breath as I sigh at what I have done
and have left to do.

However, as I pause to write, a familiar quote runs through my
mind . . . 'Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.' ~ Jim Rohn

. . . and I know that's all it's going to take to get me pumped and
motivated to step outside for some fresh air and time to reflect on
the bigger picture. Hope you're having a great start to the day, and
if you're not that you have time to notice it and find a way to nourish
your soul in whatever way suits you.

* From Where I Sit!
March 19

The Confessional

A married Italian man went into the confessional and said
to his priest, "I almost had an affair with another woman."
The priest said, "What do you mean, almost?" The man said,
"Well, we got undressed and rubbed together, but then I
stopped." The priest said, "Rubbing together is the same
as putting it in. You're not to see that woman again.
For your penance, say five Hail Mary's and put $50 in the
poor box."
The man left the confessional, said his prayers, and
then walked over to the poor box. He paused for a moment
and then started to leave. The priest, who was watching,
quickly ran over to him saying, "I saw that. You didn't
put any money in the poor box!" The man replied, "Yeah,
but I rubbed the $50 on the box, and according to you,
that's the same as putting it in!"

American Industrialists

'A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.' ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

* Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison and Harvey Firestone, at Edison's home in Fort Myers, Florida, were generally considered the three leaders in American industry at the time, and often worked and vacationed together. They enjoyed an annual camping expedition from 1916 to 1924. All three were part of a very exclusive group titled 'The Millionaires' Club'.

International Women's Day‏

International Women's Day is marked on March 8 every year
in different regions to focus on the celebration of respect,
appreciation and love towards women . . . Celebration for
women's economic, political and social achievements.
Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended
in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe,
Russia, and the former Soviet Union. In many regions, the
day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion
for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat
similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.
In other regions, however, the original political and human
rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong,
and political and social awareness of the struggles of women
worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

Racism . . . Still lingers !‏

A 50-something year old white woman arrived at her seat and saw
that the passenger next to her was a black man. Visibly furious, she
called the air hostess.

"What's the problem, ma'am?" the hostess asked her.

"Can't you see?" the lady said. . . "I was given a seat next to a black
man. I can't seat here next to him. You have to change my seat."

"Please, calm down, ma." said the hostess. "Unfortunately, all the
seats are occupied, but I'm still going to check if we have any."

The hostess left and returned some minutes later.

"Madam, as I told you, there isn't any empty seat in this class - economy.
But I spoke to the captain and he confirmed that there aren't any
empty seats in the economy class. We only have seats in the first
class."

And before the woman said anything, the hostess continued. . . "Look,
it is unusual for our company to allow a passenger from the economy
class to change to first class. However, given the circumstances, the
commandant thinks that it would be a scandal to make a passenger
travel sitting next to such an unpleasant person."

And turning to the black man, the hostess said, "Which means,
Sir, if you would be so nice to pack your handbag, we have reserved
you a seat in the first class."

And all the passengers nearby, who were shocked to see the scene
started applauding, some standing on their feet.

* From Where I Sit!
www.fromwhereisit.co
March 7

Virna Lisi‏

'A subject that is beautiful in itself gives no suggestion to the artist.' ~ Oscar Wilde

* Virna Pieralisi (1936 – 2014), better known as Virna Lisi, was an Italian actress. Hollywood producers sought a new Marilyn Monroe and so, Lisi debuted in Hollywood comedy as a blue-eyed blonde temptress opposite Jack Lemmon in 'How to Murder Your Wife' (1965). She then appeared with Tony Curtis in 'Not with My Wife, You Don't!' (1966), and the same year she starred with Frank Sinatra in 'Assault on a Queen'
Some other titles in her filmography include 'Beyond Good and Evil' (1977), and 'Follow Your Heart' (1996). For the film 'La Reine Margot' (1994), she won Best Actress at Cannes and the César Award for Best Supporting Actress. She garnered attention for a photo of her 'shaving' her face that appeared on the March 1965 cover of Esquire magazine.

© Frank Borsellino™
© From Where I Sit™


* photo by Douglas Kirkland '1965