Sunday, August 27, 2006

On America's Oldest Teenager

"Before I had my stroke I was thinking about all of (the) things I've been involved with all of my life - music, comedy, drama, even talk shows, even reality TV. And I realized that I have accomplished my childhood dream to be in show business. Everybody should be so lucky to have their dreams come true."__Dick Clark, 2006 Emmy Awards


AP Photo Credit:Chris Carlson

Saturday, August 12, 2006

On Peace

There's a beautiful documentary called Women of Tibet: Gyalyum Chemo-The Great Mother airing around the country on PBS, first shown at Telluride Film Festival in 2006, the film has been on American Public Television since Mother's Day. Filmmaker Rosemary Rawcliffe explores archetypal energy and influence in a portrait of Dekyi Tsering, the 14th Dalai Lama's mother and The Great Mother of the Tibetan nation. Rosemary's second film in her Women of Tibet trilogy, Incense Broken--Country Lost chronicles the events of 1959 when more than 15,000 Tibetan Women joined together in an extraordinary peaceful uprising against the Chinese Communist forces. 47 years later in a world increasingly being torn asunder, it's worth reflecting on both the strength of the human spirit and the power peace has in bringing together an entire country in exile.

To view trailers of Rosemary's films, Click-On the blog title above: On Peace
Artwork Image Copyright © 2004 Frame of Mind Films. All rights reserved.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

On Marilyn

MarilynMonroe.com"I used to think as I looked out on the Hollywood night, 'There must be thousands of girls sitting alone like me, dreaming of becoming a movie star. But I'm not going to worry about them. I'm dreaming the hardest."

It's hard to believe Marilyn Monroe's been gone 44 years, found dead, lying across her bed in the nude, phone in one hand, and empty pill bottles strewn about. I remember hearing this news that Sunday morning August 5, 1962 as my Father drove us along a narrow road on Sanibel Island, one of my favorite spots off Florida's Gulf Coast. It was a beautiful sunny day, no one in the car commented, I remember feeling a sense of loss.

What's remains true about her films today as much as yesterday---when Marilyn was good, she was very very good. Another cultural icon forever emblazoned in our memory.