Aprilbaby's California Life

Republic Pictures 75th Anniversary

Yesterday, I volunteered at the 75th Anniversary of Republic Pictures event and had a blast. Republic Pictures was one of the San  Fernando Valley's great movie studios of Westerns and B movies. As a lover of California history and Hollywood's past, I enjoyed every minute.

 

Many of the Republic Pictures stars or their children were there to speak on panels and sign photos. Since I was working elsewhere on the CBS lot, I wasn't able to see many of the events. But I did spend my last two hours checking out the memorabilia and taking photos.

Awkward Celebrity Moment!

What's the matter with me, flirting with a man in his 80s? How inappropriate! When I came upon Hugh O'Brian (Wyatt Earp) signing photographs, he asked, as I checked out his photos, "Do you see anything you like?"

So I pointed to a photo of him - bronzed skin, wearing only a skimpi mankini - and said, "Yeah, that!"

 

Then he said, "You show me yours and I'll show you mine." After some more inappropriate back and forth that's now a blur, the blonde lady to his right asked me, "Do you want to purchase anything?" Then Hugh mentioned his "Wyatt Earp" DVDs. But I muttered something about my DVD player not working and scampered away when someone else came to ask Mr. O'Brian a question.

So there it is - I flirted with Hugh O'Brian and then ditched him when he gave me a sales pitch. Yes, I am pathetic.

Of course, I meant no disrespect to the still charming Mr. O'Brian. I honestly do have a broken DVD player and am watching my dollars.

 

Cool Hollywood Encounter

After my Hugh O'Brian blunder, I turned around to find an elegant older man, looking cool and refined in spite of the 100 + degree weather, dressed in a pinstriped seersucker suit. He took my right hand in his hands and looked into my eyes. I smiled and said, "And how are you?" To which he responded, "Fine right now." And then I moved on.

I asked one of the event coordinators, "Who is that elegant man in the pinstriped suit?" and told her about my encounter.

"Oh, yeah, that's A.C. Lyles, Mr. Paramount."

Intrigued, I Googled him when I got home. Yep, A.C. Lyles is one of the great Hollywood producers. He started as a young man in Hollywood under Adolph Zukor. So cool!

I adore old Hollywood! (photo: A. C. Lyles posing with costumed event attendee)

More fun Hollywood Moments

I met beautiful Republic Pictures actress Linda Stirling's son Chris Nibley, a Director of Photography. Since his parents met on the Republic lot (his father was screenwriter Sloan Nibley), he practically grew up on the Republic lot. A real sweet guy, Chris had great stories about the caves that were once there, the Gunsmoke set, the L.A. River before it was paved over and how his mom faked knowing how to ride a horse to get her first starring role as "Tiger Woman".

I never tire of hearing about Hollywood history. Those stories are how imagined Hollywood to be. They're why I moved to Los Angeles and dreamed of being in movies. I told Chris that the Hollywood I encountered didn't really live up to my dreams, "You know" I said. "Too many dirty old camermen asking me if I wanted to look into their cameras." D'oh! Could I stick my foot in my mouth any farther? He's a cameraman.

Chris just laughed.

Another great guy I met was Ben Costello, author of "Gunsmoke: An American Insitution" and "Jack & Walter" about Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. I love Lemmon and Matthau, and struck up a conversation with Ben and got to hear some of his jaw-droppingly wonderful Hollywood tales of Jack Lemmon, Steve McQueen and more.

Who else did I see? Adrian Booth, Dan Haggerty, Theodore Bikel, Leonard Maltin, Chuck Connors' son, Robert Blake (yes, that Robert Blake!) and more.

So I just had a blast spending the day with so many kind, creative and entertaining people, while soaking in the Valley's history and hearing some great Hollywood stories. In spite of the 100 plus degree heat, all seemed to have a great time.

The Studio City Neighborhood Council and San Fernando Valley Museum put this entire event on for absolutely no charge. Great job!

(Left Photo - Adrian Booth/Right Photo - Dan Haggerty and fan)

More of my photos here and this blog, Hollywoodland, has some great photos.

 

 

 

"Oscar's Cuba": Documentary on Dr. Biscet's Struggle for Cuba's Freedom

 

Cuban prisoner of Conscience, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, wrote from prison:

"I am convinced of my ethical principles, the suffering of another human

being is also mine, I cannot accept evil, because if I did my bones will erode

and my soul will never be at peace.”  (From Oscarscuba.com)

 

 

In an earlier post, I mentioned my older Cuban friend who grew up in Havana, Cuba, before Castro’s revolution .  My friend showed me photos and told me his memories of Cuba’s turquoise waters, palm trees, balmy air, the wonderful Cuban folk music… But it all came to an end when three of Castro’s thugs entered his home. They took his belongings, took his business and put him in prison. He escaped imprisonment only by a fluke of timing and some sort of mistake. He then fled to the United States and hasn’t been back to Havana since.  He now has only memories and photos to share with his children.

My friend’s story made me appreciate, with passion, the freedom I have – freedom to speak  without fear of neighbors reporting me and without fear of my home being bugged by the government. So last night, after Joe Lima posted about the documentary, I attended a pre-screening of “Oscar’s Cuba.” The documentary's about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet’s imprisonment in Cuba and the Communist government’s treatment of the Cuban people. Filmmaker Jordan Allott became passionate about Dr. Biscet’s story, went undercover into Cuba and secretly filmed about Dr. Biscet’s and the Cuban peoples’ plight.

Born shortly after Cuba’s Communist revolution, Dr. Biscet had been indoctrinated with government propaganda his entire life; he was told since he was small that individual rights were evil and other ideas to make the government more powerful and the individual  weaker. Even with a lifetime of Communist-attempted brainwashing, Dr. Biscet grew up to speak out against the totalitarian government. And for that he’s in prison - in a dark, isolated, filthy and miserable cell - for 25 years.

But there’s hope.

In "Oscar's Cuba", Cuban punk rocker Gorki Aguila, of the band Porno Para Ricardo, tells how he was imprisoned for being “socially dangerous,” for crimes he may commit in the future (twisted government, huh?). But, thanks to social media and the outcry of the International community, the Cuban government didn’t want the negative publicity and so released Aguila.

Like all involved in the making and promoting “Oscar’s Cuba”, I want to believe that if more people around the world become informed about the Cuban people’s struggle for freedom and if more speak out for them, they may have a chance to live in freedom once again.

Until then, this is the rot that is today's Cuba.

About the screening and pre-show:

The screening for “Oscar’s Cuba” was at the Barnsdall Theater, up on a hill with a view of the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory. During the cocktail hour, I sipped wine and ate many, many delicious Cuban pastries from Porto's Bakery (a sponsor for the film) and met some really nice people. We then went inside the theater where the host Maria Conchita Alonso spoke. I’d tell you what she said, but it was in Spanish. Next, the filmmaker Jordan Allott spoke about how he was so moved learning about Dr. Biscet’s fight for Cuba's freedom, he wanted to let the world know about Dr. Biscet’s and the Cuban people’s story.

Before the film, photos streamed above on the movie screen: paint-worn Havana, despondent looking Cubans, and the Damas de Blanco, the Ladies in White: wives, sisters and mothers of men imprisoned in Cuba for opposing the government. When these women appeared on screen, the audience erupted in applause.

 

The Ladies in White are often beaten by government-led mobs for standing up for freedom. Mobs also gather in front of prisoners' homes, as shown in the film, and yell with total vitriol: “Down with human rights!” and “Long live Castro!”

Angry mobs, a brutal government – it doesn’t matter to the independent thinkers of Cuba, they refuse to be silenced. And for that they are beaten and put in prison.

What can we do?

Please spread the word and write to political leaders about Dr. Biscet and other Cuban prisoners.

If enough people speak out for the Cubans who have been silenced, they may one day get to speak and live in freedom. One day soon, I hope.

Four-time Grammy winning musician, Arturo Sandoval, created the musical score for "Oscar's Cuba". Here, in the video, he explains well the struggle in Cuba.

 

For more info: Dr. Biscet's site.

I’m a Movie-Lusting Vidiot!

Vidiots: 302 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405 – 310-392-8508

What’s a Vidiot? From their website I learned Vidiot is derived from “Vidiots’ Delight”: someone who loves the pleasure of a prolonged movie trance.

Movie Nirvana

Do you lust after movies? I found the best Video & DVD store I’ve ever been to: Vidiots. I can’t believe they’ve been opened since 1985. Where have I been? Their film selection (more than 45,000 titles – specializing in foreign, documentary, independent and rare out of print titles) is so vast and eclectic, you can find that Jean-Luc Godard or Akira Kurosawa film you’ve been searching for. Or you might stumble upon a Frank Zappa video you never knew existed.  And then you may just get so excited to discover this film-nirvana that you’ll join other new Vidiots and spontaneously tear up your Blockbuster card.  I was told people did this so often upon discovering Vidiots, there used to be a wall covered in shredded blue, white and yellow plastic.

Big Deal!!

Here’s a secret! I discovered this while fondling the foreign films and drooling over documentaries –  Vidiots is having a sale, half-off membership (lifetime and annual), now through August 15, 2009. Check out the regular membership prices on their site. Yep, those prices will be cut in half! Also, if you stop into Vidiots anytime until July 31^st and say, “Summer”, you’ll receive a free rental with another rental (limit one per customer).

Vidiots and the Film Industry

If the amount of titles is a bit overwhelming Vidiots’ employees are all so passionate and knowledgeable, they’ll be able to give you great recommendations. They even help film production companies with research, rent to film critics and host in-store appearances by Angelica Huston, Wes Craven, Oliver Stone, Callie Khouri, Kenneth Anger and other biggies in the film industry.

Vidiots film collection is so large it’s divided into very specific sections: English Language Directors and Foreign Directors, for example. These sections make an impact. Director Nicolas Roeg came to Vidiots to have his photo taken in front of his film section. And some Directors have been known to get insulted if they don’t have their own section; one Director even had a letter sent to Vidiots asking why his section was so small.  

Vidiots, what a huge selection you have!

A few other sections are: Cult films (Betty Page, Mexican wrestling, etc.); Noir; Vintage Comedies; British TV; Silent; A documentary section so large it’s broken down into many areas, including – Beats, Space, Philosophy, Americana, World History, etc., And the Music area is sectioned into types (Funk & Soul, Gospel & A Capella, etc.) and Artists area, such as Elvis and Les Banks. They’ve got things you’ve been searching for and things you may have never imagined existed - even a DVD titled “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” with this review: “Unintentionally hilarious.”  

 In the beginning…

Vidiots' owners, Cathy Tauber and Patty Polinger, grew up in West LA, and have been friends since they were three years old. Cathy used to work as an office manager for late musical genius/rocker Frank Zappa and Patty worked for MGM/UA in foreign distribution. They were frustrated film-lovers who could never find the movies they wanted at video stores. After reading an Esquire magazine article about a few unique video stores in other states that specialized in independent films and such, Cathy and Patty got the idea to open Vidiots. They started with only 800 titles.

Things Happen at Vidiots!!

24 years later, they’re still in business and have experienced nearly everything: The ’94 earthquake, fire, floods, Elvis impersonators, people disrobing, girl fights, women flashing boobs to have them signed by Russ Meyer (Director of “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”). Director Henry Jaglom, at one of the Vidiots' events, hired a guy on the spot, after he raised his hand and asked how to get into the industry. Jaglom's answer, "You've got a job." Then there are the various animals and reptiles that’ve escaped from the pet store next-door, and have been found amongst the aisles and up in the rafters:  An Australian Monitor lizard and three boa constrictors; the last snake – a white boa – was given away to a customer, after many warnings to the pet store owner. (photo of Australian monitor lizard taken by Maureen)

Become a Vidiot, too!

So film-freaks and cinephiles, instead of depending on the artificial intelligence of computer generated film recommendations, or rather than aimlessly drifting through the drab aisles of those boring chain video stores, have an experience! Walk past the brightly painted windows (painted by assistant manager and artist Patrick McGilligan) and into the doorway of Vidiots. You’ll discover a film nirvana, a place where vintage film favorites of your past sit beside those until-now undiscovered film rarities. If you’re like me, you’ll become a Vidiot, too.

Hey check Vidiots out here on Youtube with Michael Cera. Vidiots appears at 5:45 on the video.

 

Chipmunk Stalking, Underwear Showing & Kooky Dancing

My Home Movies! My dad and my grandpa took 8mm movies during my childhood and my mom's in California and Europe, so I edited and accompanied them with the Bealtes' "Obla Di Obla Da"  -

*San Francisco, 1947 - Aunty Pat (older one) & mom (smaller one).

*Same two, playing near S.F. Great Highway

*Cut to: 1968, S.F., Golden Gate Park below Hippie Hill.  My sister (small, cute one) and I dance.  Notice rust jacket guy in hat who hands joint to guitar player.

*S.F. zoo train - my sister, friend & me

*Greece, 1970 - lady with thick black hair who tousles my hair is someone we called "the Goat lady." She'd bring her goats by selling goat milk and cheese at our camp above a cove near Varkiza.

*London (Dad, us, mom, changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace)

*Christmas '67 - I'm the kid with the underwear showing.

*Disneyland '68 - Here's where I, in short hair (I cut it myself), tell a blond girl to keep her stinkin' hands off Chip or Dale, 'cuz he's all mine!!!

*More various hilarity ensues back in California

It all ends in one big extravaganza type show put on by my sister, me and our cousins (Dudley and Nancy) from Texas.  We were forever "entertaining" our family with our shows.

The End
 

My Home Movies set to "Here Comes the Sun"

My family & childhood set to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" -

*1946, Ocean Beach, San Francisco - my aunt & mom as a toddler

*1968 to mid 1970s Lots of California shots: California Coast, Golden Gate park near Hippie Hill, Sunset District in San Francisco and then on to Europe: Mediterranean in Greece, our trailer, Venice, Rome and more.

It ends (about 1974) at Tilden Park in Berkeley, where my family (me in striped pants, mom in maroon turtle neck, dad in mustache, sister is cute little brunette) and friends are spending the afternoon frollicking and hippie dancing. 

When that day ended in Berkeley, our van wouldn't start.  Maybe it ran out of gas?  So the women - my mom and her friend Priscilla - hid the men and kids behind some sort of shed and put out their thumbs to catch a ride.  A car with two men screeched to a halt.  And then, to the dismay of the guys in the car, out piled a crowd of men and children from behind the shed.

To the Moon!

Saturday night, the air was chilly and the streets glistened with rain.  It was a perfect night to see a movie, so my husband and I went to Laemmles Theater in the Fallbrook mall to see the documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon."  I highly recommend it. 

Not only is the film fascinating and informative, but I found it inspirational, philosophical and spiritual.  I walked out amazed at what we humans are capable of.  And, as it shows in the film, the accomplishment of stepping on the moon was celebrated worldwide - not just a U.S. feat.  It was something humans all over the globe took pride in.

While I watched the film, it was hard not to look at the swirling blue marble we call earth without wondering what I was doing on the planet at the time.  In my father's journal he kept as we traveled Europe, he noted that we were in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 20, 1969.  He wrote, "The US astronauts landed on the moon.  Shelly (that's me) still vomiting."

One small step for man...

Hey, Valleyites!!  Please don't forget the Laemmle Theaters in the Valley. They're great for good independent films and documentaries.  My husband and I usually go to the one in Encino, but last Saturday night we went to the one in the Fallbrook mall.  Neither one get tons of business - and that worries me.  I'd hate for Laemmles to get boarded up and plowed down like the other older Valley theaters.

*Photo on left taken around the time the astronauts first landed on the moon.  My sister (left) and me on a crazy car at the Bakken Fun Fair in Copenhagen.

Home Movie Day

It was pretty thrilling to see my family films, which I edited down to a montage, displayed on a huge screen.  I narrated over a microphone, "Oh, and I'm the kid with the underwear showing," as me, circa 1967 at three, sang on stage in an over-starched crinoline skirt sticking straight up in the air revealing my frilly white underpants.  "Notice the people passing joints in the background," I pointed out as my sister and I innocently danced on the grass of Golden Gate Park's Hippie Hill in San Francisco, oblivious to the other kind of "grass" being smoked at the time.   

"Obla Di Obla Da" played  as my suburban family - mom in a flip and dad in crew cut - change from one clip to another into long haired twenty-somethings in bell bottoms doing hippie dances on a sunny day in the hills of Berkeley - or was it Marin? - as "Here Comes the Sun" fades out and the screen goes to black.  Yep, it was quite a thrill.

After I narrated my film, some guy came to talk to me from the audience, something about showing my film in San Francisco at a Summer of Love Anniversary.  But another film was already starting in the dark and someone else was trying to narrate, so I asked if we could talk later.  But I never saw him again.

The films were a potluck of stuff - 1940s dads mowing lawns and matronly women in floral dresses shooing away the camera.  And there was some really interesting footage:  Beverly Hills, circa 1932, covered in snow; P.O.P (Pacific Ocean Park) amusement area in Venice, California with high-diving mules and transportation pods dangling over the ocean; camp kids in the 1930s doing Indian dances and canoing; a 1930s transvestite film; Yvonne De Carlo and her movie star boyfriend playing in the snow and deserts of California; 1950s family vacations of the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and motels across the nation; birthday parties and barbecues of families from the 1920s to the 1960s - providing a history of hair-dos (Louise Brooks-style bobs to Annette Funicello-Beach-Blanket-Bingo-bouffants of the 1960s.)

One woman brought some film she shot as a young college student of the New York 1964 Worlds Fair.  "Oh, there's my sister who I don't talk to anymore," she pointed out.  Members of the audience yelled, "You should call her!"  "You two need to talk.  Life's too short!" and the lady groused into her microphone, "That's not gonna happen."  Someone else in the crowd piped up, "Does your sister have kids?"  The narrator's answer was short and sharp:  "Unfortunately, yes." 

We watched family of many eras who all seemed perfectly happy waving, dancing, eating, laughing... but who knows what's become of them.  Do they talk to each other any longer?  Are they still living?  Did their lives unfold as happily as their brief film moments?  What would they think of an audience of strangers watching them as they dive into public swimming pools or blow out candles?

Many of the films shown were from family collections, but some were brought in by people who collect films from estate and garage sales.  While they were interesting to watch, I got sad wondering why the families don't own the films themselves.  There was one beautiful 16 mm colored film of a family in the suburbs of Westchester, California.  The doorway of their yellow and white ranch-style home was the focus of many shots.  The five or six blonde girls and boys - the boys in cuffed jeans and the girls in circle skirts - streamed out of the home, waving and smiling.  The blonde mom in her salon-set hairdo, waved and smiled a red-lipsticked smile - looking proud of her brood as she walked behind them.  Later, the kids as teenagers are shown on a family camping trip.  The boys are playing horseshoes and one of the girls, in a red and white gingham shirt and denim clam-diggers, is now a teenager with her hair in a flip.  Another scene, one of the girls, maybe the teen in gingham, is getting married.  The family, now grown, is streaming out of the yellow and white house in suits with corsages and silky dresses with hair upswept.  The parents are older and beaming with pride as they surround the young bride at her reception.

The woman who brought the film said she bought the family's movies from the same Westchester house that is shown in most of the scenes.  How could one family with so many kids not want to keep those films of vacations, weddings and growing up in one home?  I still can't figure that out.

But it was definitely interesting to watch how people lived once.  The homes seemed smaller, the families seemed to spend a lot of time outdoors in backyards - maybe because they didn't have air conditioning.  Large families seemed to think nothing of traveling the country with a car full of kids.  Today, people are more likely to take cruises or fly somewhere where the parents can drink while the hotel or cruise staff placate their children.

Anyway, thanks to the archivists and all for putting on this event.  They are very passionate about all film - not just of the Hollywood star variety - and that it should be preserved for generations to enjoy for years to come.

I Can Relate!!

The Arclight, Amoeba Music and Melinda & Melinda

Friday night, my daughter and I wanted to go to a movie.  I'd heard good reviews of Melinda and Melinda,  Woody Allen's new film (my review below), but as of that night it was playing at only a few theaters - one of which was the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, in the Cinerama Dome.  After going online to get the film times, I reserved seats in the middle of the theater.

Amoeba Music:  We parked in the lot next door to the Arclight, then walked over to Amoeba Music, since we had a bit of time to spare before the movie.  Oh man!  Amoeba is music and D.V.D. nirvana!  I had to ask myself why exactly have I driven by a million times, met people who've worked here, heard about it and, yet, have never gone inside? With so little time before the movie, I couldn't even begin to explore all that they had available - there was just too much.  Though I did buy  Beck's new C.D., and then went upstairs to discover that they had a killer documentary D.V.D. section.  Lover of a good documentary ("Crumb", "The Last Waltz", Bob Dylan's "Don't Look Back," etc.) that I am, I know exactly where I'll be heading next time I want to buy any.

The Arclight:  I could really get used to reserving movie seats online.  We were able to head right in the middle of the theater, where I always like to sit, without having to worry that someone else was going to snag the seats first.  When my daughter went to get a snack I didn't have to throw down some territorial marking, like a coat or purse, in order to make it known the seat was taken.  People simply looked to their tickets and found there seats without having to stand in the aisles arguing with friends and loved ones over the best seating, or over who would have to ask the entire row to move down and make room. It was all very painless.

Here's my review of Melinda And Melinda.

My Review Of Woody Allen's "Melinda And Melinda"

Every time I see a Woody Allen movie, I hope for a glimmer of Annie Hall, Sleeper, Bananas, Broadway Danny Rose, Radio Days, Hannah And Her Sisters, Husbands And Wives, Crimes And Misdemeanors, Bullets Over Broadway - heck, even Take The Money And Run or Play It Again Sam.  Melinda and Melinda was none of them; not even close. 

I think I've seen too many Woody Allen movies so that l'm hyper-aware of his characters' perfectly choreographed stutters and quirks; I've seen them in different form over and over again so often that I no longer see real people conveying emotions, but, instead, Woody the puppeteer manipulating the actors with strings from above. The actors' mouths move but I only hear Woody's voice. 

I'd read good things about Will Ferrell in this part, but, again, I just see Will playing Woody's nervous character, with all the same nervous ticks, phobias and comic timing; he appeared to be doing a cutesy-neurotic imitation of Woody - imagine Ferrell's Elf character with phobias and a frustrated sex drive.

And the two parallel story lines were no help; neither the tragic version nor the comic version interested me.  Melinda as a tragic character didn't get my sympathy.  And Melinda's comic version simply seemed crazed and pathetic, and, unfortunately, not too humorous. 

Regarding the other actors -

Radha Mitchell: Probably did the best she could with the characters written (both versions of Melinda).

Chloe Sevigny:  Has so little charisma, she sapped my energy; every time she appeared on screen my eyes grew heavy and I felt the urge to yawn.

Amanda Peet:  Came off as a low-budget Diane Keaton.  (note to Woody: There's one Diane Keaton.)

Johnny Lee Miller:  What's up with casting him as Chloe Sevigny's husband? His character plays an actor, and is referred to during the film as "the most charismatic actor" during his university days, but he just comes off as a waspy, whiney slime-ball. Wow! Horrible casting there. Who did he sleep with to get that part?

And every other actor was poorly cast, in my opinion, for parts that were all unrealistic and unsympathetic.  If these are the type of people (selfish, pompous, whiney wasps) Woody knows in Manhattan, I'm staying in Los Angeles.

When I can feel my butt going numb and begin to wriggle in my seat - as I began doing in the first third of Melinda And Melinda - that means I am aware of my surroundings (I am in a movie theater watching actors struggle), rather than immersed, a disembodied part of the experience, lost in a story.  My butt test never fails; if I need to wriggle it, I'm not into the movie.  Then I begin noticing the too expensive Manhattan apartment, the stilted speaking, the agitated movements... this was a real butt wriggler!

With all that said, the two women seated next to me seemed to enjoy it.  They  got quite a few laughs out of Melinda And Melinda's comic portion, but they also reeked of alcohol fumes...which might explain their enthusiasm.  Maybe after a couple shots of tequila I, too, would have liked the movie.

Here's Roger Ebert's review of Melinda and Melinda. Ebert seems to believe that Allen's work is beyond the general public's understanding, and only a cinema aficionado such as himself can fully understand the film's nuances and deeper meaning.  No, Mr. Ebert, I did understand the concept.  I simply didn't like much about it, and not because I was frustrated there was no beginning or ending, as Ebert mentions.

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

Last night, my husband said he would go buy "The Godfather" DVD for us to watch if I made an Italian meal to go with it.  Since I was only a little kid when the film came out in '72, I - I'm embarassed to admit - had never seen "The Godfather."  And since the rain, once again, was coming down, the trade of a meal for a movie sounded like an offer I couldn't refuse.

I returned from Trader Joe's with their unbelievably good prepared dough, some mozzarella, fire roasted tomatoes, basil and a bottle of Italian red wine.  After letting the dough sit, I kneaded it into a round, sprinkled on olive oil with pressed garlic, spread on some tomatoes, basil leaves and slices of mozzarella as I sipped some wine, then baked the pizza for a half an hour at 350 degrees.  It came out bubbling, golden and crisp, but soft inside...it was, I've got to say, the best pizza I've had in a long time.

While the rain poured, we turned off all the lights, put on "The Godfather," then movie's score swelled out of the darkness.  I then became immersed into the life of the Corleones.

I sat silent until baby-faced, ex war-hero Michael Corleone just finished popping bullets into two men in Louis' Restaurant over plates of pasta..."Go, go!  Get out-a there! Hurry!" I sat up with clenched fists and yelled at Michael - who stood over the dead men too long.

My husband looked at me like I'd gone over to the dark side. "You realize he just shot two people, right?"

After we turned the lights back on, and pulled the DVD out, I returned to the slightly more rational person he knew.  That's also when I remembered we could have had a true mafia meal from a cookbook I picked up at a garage sale called "The Mafia Cookbook," by Joe Cipolla, published in 1970.  Inside are recipes with names, such as:  Beet It! Pig's Guts dell'Uomo de Fiducia, Bloody Murray, Blood Shots alla Nicola Barone....

Actually, this one - Vermicelli Greaseball - would have been perfect considering it's an initiation dinner and last night I was initiated into the family of "The Godfather."  Well, maybe not.  But I have been wanting to see that film for thirty years and now I can finally say I have.

Just Give The Man His Oscar And Call The Whole Thing Off

I'm sick of seeing Hollywoodites, and other movie types, awarding themselves over and over again - with the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Independent Film Awards, The Sundance Film Festival, etc. - it's just too much.  So why don't we just call the Academy Awards off?  Give us all a break from the fawning, kiss-ass, glittering extravaganza and hand the Oscar to the only actor and film that deserves it this year: Jamie Foxx and "Ray." 

I've seen "The Aviator" and "Sideways", two other movies competing with "Ray," and while I found them enjoyable enough, neither comes close to touching "Ray," which my husband and I rented last night. 

Jamie Foxx, as Ray Charles, blew me away; just give him the Oscar, send every other winner for art direction, film score, make-up, etc. a nice telegram along with their Oscar, and give us all an award-free evening for a change.

As the credits came up for "Ray," last night - I thought about my missed Ray Charles photo opportunity.  My husband's friend Fred invited us to an Elton John benefit for music education in January of 2003.  It was an evening of different singers (John Mayer, Diana Krall, Norah Jones and others) singing Elton John tunes.  Ray Charles sang "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word," and was  accompanied  by our  friend  Fred, playing guitar.  Just Ray and Fred on stage.  Since it was a charity event, I was allowed to  go  up as close  as  I wanted to get a photo, and took the opportunity to run  up to the stage.  I thought, What a photo it'll be... just Fred and Ray. I was so proud.

Until, I got home and realized I forgot to put film in my camera.  Now I always go digital.