GrandPa Elliot - Playing For Change in LA

On Julia Child After Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep whipping up the essence of Julia Child in Julie & Julia proves to be Nora Ephron's best ingredient. Who else but Streep could paint the portrait of Julia Child we hold in our hearts and minds? Only Streep could capture Julia's zest for life with the same fervor she displays Julia's utter sadness at her inability to have children, the most poignant and private moment of the entire film.

I had dinner with Julia Child early one Sunday evening at a restaurant in Marin (a stretch but I count it since a friend of mine and I were having dinner when Julia and friends came in; it may have been on our way back from Copia and Julia's Kitchen).

Not being an avid cook, let alone French cooking, I wondered why Julia was stopping at this restaurant. While local restaurant critics gave it a decent rating, it was not exceptional or even mildly wonderous so it ended up on my "overrated" list. I'd probably have a heart seizure (sans excessive butter usage) if Julia Child had ever entered a restaurant that I owned.

'A Quiet Revolution' Awarded EMMY®

Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution awarded EMMY® by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences San Francisco Northen California Region during the annual awards ceremony. 'A Quiet Revolution' is the second in Bay Area filmmaker Rosemary Rawcliffe's Women of Tibet trilogy. Even more poignant, the honor marks the 50th Anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and forced exile of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Rosemary's film depicts three generations of Tibetan women and His Holiness the Dalai Lama telling the story of one of modern history's greatest movements in nonviolent resistance. An estimated 15,000 unarmed Tibetan women took to the streets of Lhasa in 1959 to oppose the violent Chinese occupation of their country. The surviving exiled elders are the last generation of women left to tell the story of the Women's Uprising and transmit their cultural legacy. Having survived decades in prison and perilous escape across the Himalayas, they have become the architects and builders of the new Tibet in exile. His Holiness the Dalai Lama pays tribute to their spirit and influence.

To learn more about Rosemary's trilogy: Women of Tibet

Playing For Change: "Stand By Me"

Susan Boyle, I Dreamed A Dream . . .

_Susan Boyle,Great Dreamer

Kudos to IKEA France, Earth Sustainability Car Ad

Kudos to IKEA France with the launch of an eco-friendly car ad last week. It's either a great inspiration or hilarious April Fool's Day joke.

Expectation setting is in order for consumers who might consider buying an IKEA car.

It's not yet clear how many different aisles you'll need to find or the number of boxes you'll need to pick off the self-serve shelf before heading to check-out.

Detroit Automakers beware!

Linked In, A Global Warming

A string of people from my past have found me in the last few months---or I've found them.

Not that any of us were lost.

Our paths crossed over the years through childhood, college, weddings, and work. Today some of our paths cross online over Linked In.

Linked In gives new meaning to "global warming"---we're reaching out to those who loved us, liked us, laughed with us, encouraged us, appreciated us, collaborated with us, and simply touched us in some small or large way.

We're seeking comfort, familiarity, and one another.

On a recent trip to see dear friends in Florida, sort of a "ROOTS" tour back to my home state, I had a chance to visit my paternal Grandparents home located at 40 Derby Street in Cocoa, Florida. My Father sold the home back about 1987, some years after Grandma died. A lovely woman named Gun owns the home today. Now a widow, she and her husband bought it around 2000. She graciously gave my friend Mary and I a tour.

Another day, we took an excursion to see what was formerly the old Florida Hotel and then Howey Academy in Howey-in-the-Hills. My friends Gary and Mary kept telling me that some state funded program had taken over the property as I described what I remembered 50 years ago when attending boarding school there. To my utter dismay, the old main building had been blown up during filming of The Incredible Hulk and no one would believe that the equestrian stables and riding rink ever existed. Thankfully, the lakefront setting remains.

On my last day full day in Florida, Mary and I rediscovered another dear friend from college, Janie. We hadn't seen or spoken with one another for at least 35 years. We all talked and laughed 'til we cried. I could not remember many of our adventures from a 1970 tour of Europe. Amazingly, Janie's precious 94 year-old mother still thrives.

Everything has changed . . . personal histories recorded.

Linking In, a clear signal to come together.

40 Derby Street

GREAT dream PRODUCTIONS 2009 Oscar Picks

Most Missed:

Original Screenplay: In Bruges
Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
Directing: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire





Best Picture:

Best Actors: Leading & Supporting Roles

American History

Caricature by high school pal, Ken Fallin
for the Wall Street Journal, October 2008.

Suze Orman in The First Church of Harpo

When one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world is speaking at a local event, check it out. Especially when it's Suze Orman talking while the global economy spirals downward into the worst meltdown of our life time.

Orman appeared in San Francisco on October 25 courtesy of O You!, a wildly successful 'live your best life' experience delivered by O as in The Oprah Magazine. O Yes!---if you've never been in The First Church of Harpo live with Oprah herself, you've simply got to make an effort.

Never underestimate the power of individual brand identity and marketing. My 20th Century top three include Madonna, Martha, and Oprah. Once Oprah embraces you and your message, you're sphere of influence sky rockets. As Suze Orman's brand positioning and financial expertise gained credibility, she's created her own mini-empire worth millions. She talks with Oprah weekly. And in this economic climate, one can imagine those conversations.

When the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury beckoned Orman to Washington in September and asked, "What should we do?" Orman replied, "Now you're asking?" For those folks paying attention, she's been telling all of us for the past 10 years what we should do.

Passion for money, it's power, and how one manages money to control one's destiny define Orman's message and brand success. She ends her television show on cable's CNBC with the mantra "People first, then money, then things."

In The First Church of Harpo, Orman delivers the same diagnosis and prescription we've seen her deliver recently all over cable news and network shows. On this warm, beautiful sunny October day in San Francisco, Orman took the stage where she masterfully held our attention for about an hour.

Suze flashed her trademark sparkling white teeth, walked us through what's happening, and pleaded with us to listen to her. Orman's tired and frustrated about the economic disaster, in fact, Suze's mad as hell.

Video Story:

Oh, This and That and Stuff Like That, Tina Fey on Palin

"Not since Sling Blade has there been a voice that anybody could do," Tina Fey.

The Four Tops' Songs Make A Girl Feel Good

"Well, I'm rather loud and raw," Levi Stubbs told the Los Angeles Times in 1994. "I don't really even have a style; I just come by the way I sing naturally. When I learn a song, I try to live it as best I can."

Chart toppers throughout the mid-60's,The Four Tops lost a third founding member on Friday with the death of Levi Stubbs. Stubbs experienced a long series of debilitating illnesses for more than 10 years and had not performed with the group since at least 2000.

Levi Stubbs' sang lead on a string of Top 10 Motown hits from 1965 - 1967, "Baby I Need Your Loving," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Bernadette," and probably the most widely used hit on film soundtracks, "Can't Help Myself." It's the latter song's hook line "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" that has stayed with us forever--at this point in time, just two years shy of five decades. Best of all, with Levi Stubbs and The Four Tops singing any one of these tunes, a girl couldn't help but feel good!

Four Tops on Ed Sullivan (1967)

When it can't be done, deliver a gift of hope

Tony Melendez began learning how to play the guitar at age 16. People told him it couldn't be done. Tony played before Pope John Paul II in 1987, he has delivered his "Gift of Hope" playing guitar as a full-time musician ever since.

Let it be.

Tony Melendez, great dreamer.

Ringo "Too Much To Do" But He Loves You

After more than 40 plus years of signing autographs, Ringo Starr claims "Peace," "Love," and that he has "Too Much To Do" now to sign anything else. I'm thinking he has a point, eBay sellers may make a killing, and wondering will he sign autographs when fans approach him in person? He looks a little tired and scruffy on his web site video clip, but he loves you. . .yea, yea yea.

SNL Mavericks Take On Biden-Palin

"Gosh Darnit" NBC's Saturday Night Live Mavericks delivered another hysterical parody with the Biden-Palin VP Debate. The gang surprised us with a guest spot for Queen Latifah as journalist and moderator Gwen Ifil. A perfect pitch for Ifil's new book, who could ask for any better publicity? Latifah really held herself together as she tried not to laugh outright at Tina Fey's too funny Sarah Palin. To be fair, SNL gave "scrappy" Joe Biden the "Scranton is a hell-hole" business, too.


Links:
Tina Fey at"30 Rock"SNL's Perfect Palin
Queen Latifah Lights Up Symphony Hall