Down, down to Disneyland

Having safely negotiated the cattle-car exigencies of air travel on Wednesday, I arrived in beautiful, sunny and warm Santa Barbara and was whisked away by Melissa to her place for a reviving cuppa tea.  We had an early dinner with our bro, and then went out to La Casa de Maria for a spirituality training session that my sis attends weekly these days.  The subject of the evening was Death; actually appropriate for Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten period. Someone pointed out during the discussion that Carl Sagan had once reminded his listeners that the human body is made up of stardust; and walking back to the car after the meeting, we saw that the clear skies were pulsating with that energy (amazing expanses of stars and planets and the new moon).

Thursday morning I had time to have my hair cut and styled (something we mountain women just don't bother with on a regular basis, but I had come down to the urban plane and needed to spruce up a bit).  I met a dear friend from Trinity Parish for an early lunch and catch-up on news; and then Sis and I drove down to MouseLand.  The roadtrip through Los Angeles traffic left us feeling beat, so we had a light supper in the hotel room and a long, deep sleep.

Today, Melissa is over at the huge convention center, with about 50,000 other religious liberals, listening to some preaching-to-the-choir.  I have sole occupancy of the nice big hotel room with sliding glass doors to a small balcony and view of the garden and pool area below.

I come along to these weekends to have some girl-time with my sis, and some quiet time on my own for writing and meditating.  (Last year I spent a lot of the time here in working out what I felt about retirement and the move to our current new location in Boulder Creek.  That was a very fruitful exercise, as all my readers now know.

This year, I am preparing to launch the writing of my life story with a sentimental journey home to the town where I grew up, Ann Arbor MI.  I will spend a little time today looking at and sorting out travel data for that trip, planned for late May/early June of this year.  And I am also going through the assignments in a workbook on autobiography, "Courage and Craft: Writing Your Life Into Story."  I have been working on this for the past couple of months, and it's a very good warmup exercise, I'm finding.

Oops: it's lunchtime!  Back later; I have a salad and a bit of bread left from last night's room-service supper – that'll do.

Up, up and away

Hi there folks:

I'm writing this from the San Jose International (!) Airport; and I'm on my way soon to Santa Barbara.  Am I not so cool, for a 73-year-old grandmother?  Blogging from the airport on my laptop – it's a piece of cake.

Today I'm visiting and staying with my little sister and brother; tomorrow morning I have a couple of coffee/lunch dates and a few errands to run; and in the afternoon, Melissa and I are driving down to Anaheim.  No, we're definitely NOT going to Disneyland.  Sis is attending the Religious Education Congress at the Anaheim Convention Center; I'm just along for the ride and planning to do some heavy-duty writing on said laptop, during the daytime at the Sheraton Park Hotel.

I think I'll run a daily blog as a record of this trip and to let you know what's happening in Southern California these days.

Sigh

Well, I owe Julie a lunch now.  She did a fantastic job of prognosticating the Oscars.  I do agree with her that all three of the top films (Slumdog, B. Button, and Frost/Nixon) were deserving in just about any of the categories.

Overall, however, I don't think 2008 was the best Oscar year. In any year you can mention there have always been some fine performances and beautiful cinematography, and this one was no exception; it's the reason I'll always love movies.

But now I'll just indulge in a little nostalgia.  Was there anything this year as fine as "On The Waterfront," or "Gone With The Wind" or "2001" or "The Godfather" or "Chinatown" or "Lawrence of Arabia"?

It certainly may be true that my taste in films was formed in ancient times, and so my evaluation of "Best" is colored by those I saw when I was younger.  (My mother loved really silly old romantic comedies that I would find cloying; but I certainly inherited her taste for musicals, and would love to rewatch "Gigi" or "Oklahoma" or "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" any time they are available..... Turner Classic Movies was my favorite TV channel when we had a TV.)

I'm always interested in new trends in movies though: I want to see "Coraline" when it comes to our little backwoods Santa Cruz area.  I saw previews of "Waltz with Bashir" and found it a fascinating attempt, but I could not stand to watch it for the subject matter.

Now I have to go to CNN.com and have a look at the Academy red carpet dresswear!

Fran's Oscar Picks

Here are my picks for the 2009 Academy Awards 

(tune in Sunday, Feb. 22, to see how I fare).  

Actor/Lead: Sean Penn, for Milk  

Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt  

Actress/Lead: Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married  

Supporting Actress:  Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona  

Animated Feature (guess): WALL-E   

Art Direction: Curious Case of B. Button    

Costume Design and Makeup: Curious Case of B. Button

Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire   

Director:  Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon   

Picture:  Milk  

Writing (original screenplay): Milk  

Writing (adapted) Curious Case of B. Button

Stormy Weather

Last weekend's storm brought 10 inches of much needed ground-water to our valley – within 10% of our normal quota for a year without drought. Let us pray that the coming weekend's predicted hydro-technics bring us up to the prospect of a lovely summer here in our verdant hills.

Oscars A-Weigh!

There is a very tough decision to be made for Best Actor in a Leading Role this year: two fine thespians portray two famous men who were admired and hated in equal strength during their lifetimes.

I just saw "Frost/Nixon" today, and it is indeed a good film (Ron Howard directs with the same punchy verve he has brought to other works, notably "A Beautiful Mind" and "Apollo 13").

The first Oscar-worthy film I saw this season was "Milk" – and I opined at the very beginning that it was the film and performance to beat this year.

I still have to stay with my original impression – partly because although Frank Langella's Nixon (most effectively) and Michael Sheen's Frost portrayals were both excellent, these guys were reprising the roles they played in the Broadway and London stage productions of "Frost/Nixon." However, since "Milk" was the right film at the right time, I predict it will take Best Picture; and because Sean Penn so completely immersed himself in a role that bears no resemblance to his own persona, I think he should take Best Actor.

Tune in tomorrow when Julie and I plan to post our final Oscar predictions in list form. Anyone can play! So if you want to check in with your choices in any or all categories, just click on "Comments" and fire away! The Oscar show is this coming Sunday, February 22, so jump in.

Bollywood Redux

Yesterday the intrepid movie critics, accompanied by my doggy friend, went to a good Indian restaurant for lunch and to a local cinema for a pretty good Indian-clone film, "Slumdog Millionaire." We all enjoyed the lunch – (thanks again, Julie, for the food and for the so-appropriate birthday gift of a lovely sheer wool stole from India).

The reactions of the three of us to the movie were not exactly uniform, however.

John was grinning when the credits were rolling; although this director, Danny Boyle, was a child of Great Britain, John said that he'd created a very authentic take on the sort of soap-opera movies he'd watched on TV in New Delhi – complete with evil gangsters, thwarted lovers, and a happy ending with dancing. He added that when he had driven through the slums of Delhi a few years ago, they certainly looked much more horrible than anything he'd just seen on the silver screen.

My reaction was somewhat parallel to that of my consort. I thought that even the garbage and the latrine slime had a sort of ethereal glow-look, and that the whole film was bathed in dreamy Technicolor light. And the conclusion, offering the vision of happily-ever-after, was completely unrealistic given the horrors those lovers had endured from birth.

But I think Julie's reaction illuminated the reason this film has been so widely acclaimed: she said, "I loved it! I've decided I love a film that makes me feel good." I think everyone does, and especially now when there is so much of a mood of crisis and worry in the world.

Julie, you should certainly add your comments and rebuttals to this, as I believe you saw something more in the movie than I did.

The performances were all excellent, however, and the emphasis on the value of truth-telling was striking and unusual in a film.

I thought about "Benjamin Button" in conjunction with "Slumdog," because they both present a fable rather than graphic realism. I wonder if there isn't a parallel between these sorts of stories and the cheery movies of the Depression era.

I still favor "Milk" as Best Picture; we will try to catch "Frost/Nixon" next week, before I summarize.

73

I't's my birthday! Good grief; I'm supposed to write Something Profound, I suppose, as I turn toward my 74th year on this earth.

I love life: but that doesn't seem especially "deep," I fear. Still, I think my love for life has been my sustenance and courage during all the ups and especially the downs that came my way over the years.

I know I've been very blessed by God; so many good things and great people have come my way that I can't begin to enumerate them all (but Beloveds, you know who you are).

Have I never been discouraged, despairing, distraught? Of course I have; but always, always I've come through the bad tunnels and out into the light again, even unto this latest and best of times.

The Sage can offer only two things I know, now:
There's a dance in the old girl yet; and life just gets better and better as it goes on.

MY BALLOT (SO FAR)

HAVE SEEN:
Best Picture: Milk
Best Director: Gus Van Sant, for Milk
Best Lead Actor: Sean Penn for Milk
Best Actress, lead: Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt;
Best Supporting Actress, Penelope Cruz for Vicki Cristina Barcelona.
Cinematography: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Screenplay (original) Milk

HAVE NOT SEEN, BUT GUESSING:
Documentary: Man On Wire
Screenplay (adaptation): Frost/Nixon

HOPE TO SEE THIS MONTH:
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon

Movie Nuts

Yes, it's the Fran and Julie Show again: we've been trying to see all the bigger contenders for the Academy Awards that we can find in the Santa Cruz area. (It's not as easy as it was for me in Santa Barbara – otherwise known as Hollywood By The Sea – where all the newest and greatest films seem to screen as soon as they come out of the starting gate.)

So, yesterday we saw "Revolutionary Road." Don't. I'd heard it was a downer, so I was prepared for that: I wore all black, in fact, as a gesture of sympathy. But there was no one in the least sympathetic in that film. The two protagonists were so self-involved and self-destructive, so shallow in fact, that I just sat there thinking, "So what?" (I have to confess that I just don't get women who find raising children, caring for one's family and keeping house to be a living death.) P.S.: And to top it off, as my acerbic daughter Leenie commented, "Leo Di Caprio has gotten podgy".

So far, we have seen the following films that are in the running in major categories: Milk; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Rachel Getting Married; Doubt; and Vicki Cristina Barcelona.

We want to see Frost/Nixon and Slumdog Millionaire, because they are likely to be in the running during the final lap.

There are some smaller films we've missed because they just haven't been shown in Santa Cruz; if they win any honors we may get to see them later (at the top of that to-do list is "Frozen River").

So what are your picks for the major categories? I call those Best: Picture; Actors/Lead /Supporting; Actresses/ditto; Direction; Art Direction; Screenplays/Orig. and Adapted; Documentary; and if you care, Costume Design.

All entries invited here: and Ju and I will reveal our choices after we hear from some of you at least.