louise on the left (coast)

Hannah and Her Sisters , by Woody Allen.   It may be my favorite film of his, let alone of all time. Story centers around several members of Hannah's family, who unite at Thanksgiving. To be honest, it's during another Thanksgiving scene in the film that I find most moving, but I couldn't find it on YouTube.   If you haven't seen this film, yet.  What can I say?  Do.   It's wonderful.  You don't even have to love NYC, although it certainly helps if you do. Here's the opening clip of Hannah ... justifying it's presence on my holiday-themed film clip list.

- over the river. and through the woods. to grandmother's house we go suburb. Fair Oaks. We started in the day before Thanksgiving post-fire rainstorm. Car packed to the gills with too many clothes and car-fun items. Too little sleep. Family gathering of 35+ await us after spending the day on the 5. The way to Grandmothers house was strewn with doll parts. Cactus plants. Power lines. Cars. Peeing in soggy, crowded Del Tacos. Homeless lying impossibly under rain-soaked blankets in the back of fast food restaurants somewhere south of Gilmore. Anderson Pea Soup. Almost there. But not quite. Patience is a virtue. Patience. Like the farm animals who still nibble for something green at the foot of scorched hills. Blackened posts man fields of barren land. Lone power lines the only sign of life past the grey smudge of a horizon. We note the amount of drivers who brazenly talk on cell phones while driving. We count Obama stickers. Note the absence of McCai

Tomorrow we all four pile into my cozy van and drive straight up the center of California to the city of Fair Oaks, for a big family Thanksgiving visit with husband's family. It's a large gathering and we will have about 30+ people for Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of family love and laughter. Seriously, what could go wrong? And so, in light of the advent of our entire holiday season, I am embarking on my own holiday salute. Louise's Holiday Film Clips . (All courtesy of YouTube.) Tonight, the night before the day before Thanksgiving I salute: Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

If you have to spend time at home with family this Christmas, and that doesn't always sound like the easiest thing to do -- and --- If you and your spouse don't always see eye to eye with each other about the kids and your parents, then here's your movie. Dennis Leary and Judy Davis aren't just funny, they're razor sharp-hilarious in this film.   In my personal best movies book, this one is a classic.  But, you do have to have a cynical side to enjoy it.  If you are zen and yoga and light and love, then this probably isn't your kind of flick.   But, if you find family issues as thorny and challenging as I do, then I highly recommend this movie. Let me put it like this, when it came out it made me laugh so much I actually went out to buy a copy. And that was when one bought them as tapes. As in VHS. That was then, this is YouTube.

Lucinda Williams played at The Wiltern last night. It was the last stop on her long tour promoting her newest CD Little Honey , and yet, she sounded as strong and real as if it were their first show out. I've seen her shows before, and I can tell you that her voice is even mightier now than it was in the past. She's expanded the intensity her range both musically and artistically. And talk about power. She's got it in spades, let me tell you. This woman is my inspiration for how to Not Go Gently Into That Good Night. But, meet every stage of our journey with grace, love and a deep appreciation for what is good about this Sweet Old World . Anyone who had wanted to be there, but couldn't make it? Well, sorry, but, you missed a fine night of great of great roots, rock 'n roll. Forgot to mention that she was joined for a few songs by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (who, for the record, has much better legs than Matthew.) for a cover of Cinnamon Girl . ( Ma

I'm very proud to know people like the ones who made this video -- People who have the courage to walk the walk and talk the talk, the kind of people who are willing to stand up for justice. I don't want to know the haters, I want to know the people who stand up for what they believe and aren't afraid of their own uniqueness. Those are the people I want to know. What makes America great is our very spirit of mandating equality and freedom for all which is the heart of what I am most proud of about being American. It is this fighting desire for a common equality that I love about America, but it requires a very important quality -- that we continue to keep our hearts and minds open. If this process stops, if we throw in the towel toward and give in to religious fundamental dogma, then we are doomed. Doesn't anyone take history anymore? Closed minds miss the boat when they refuse accept the one quality which will keep us alive, prosperous and relevant -- to recog

And we didn't burn up, our neighbors did. And last night the show did go on.  And today it will, too. My daughter is more stressed by her homework than the air quality, so that is a pretty good barometer of how life just goes on in California. I should add that this doesn't mean I don't feel horrible about our neighbors houses going up in smoke, we all do. I find it horrific. And it's mind numbing. We go outside, cough, and try to ignore that we're inhaling someone's apartment complex on the way to work. We turn on the TV and watch the virtual fireplace in our livingroom, and have to work hard to keep in mind this is not fake, but, is, in fact, a very real part of our own county burning. It happens so often, here in California. Disaster seems like it's part of the culture here. "Oh, a fire is burning in so-and-so's neighborhood." "Oh, the ground is moving. So what? I've seen worse. See you tomorrow. same time, same place.&q

When I woke up there was a hot, crazy wind blowing. I went outside and it felt like the devil's hairdryer was left on. A hot wind was blowing all the leaves, and dirt and branches about in a crazy manner, not gusts -- just hot, swirling wind...it's an odd and disturbing sensation being in this insistent, hot dry wind. And then in the early afternoon, I took the kids to GoodWill to find some treasure, but once we actually saw the distant sky, we drove home immediately. It was a thick, brown-black band of an almost liquid that spread out over the distant horizon on what was otherwise a clear and perfect day.

I admit it. At first, the title of this post was something weak and whiny like "Stand with me against hate!" Later, I changed it to an equally pathetic plea, "Take a stand with me against hate!" Then, I realized it. I'd been spending way too much time at middle school with my 6th grader, looking at the club signs, on the school grounds, there. So, let me say this differently, now. I'll say what I mean as adult to adult, as possible. Hate kills. All hate kills. Homophobic rage. Racist rage. Rage kills. We have to stamp out the fires of rage before they become a sick wildfire. Hate is a part of us, the potential for this is in our human DNA. However, what make us human is to recognise it's a constant defect we must check ourselves against. It does exist, but so does cancer. Both are not something we want to encourage. My father served in WWII. The holocaust is only one generation away. Hate kills. And hate is contagious. We need to take action

Not really.  Almost. This kind of caught my eye on Huff Post. The ENQUIRER's exclusive bombshell expose as Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, is caught with another man! Not only that but multiple witnesses have caught the pair lip locking on several other occasions. "I couldn't believe I was watching Cindy McCain passionately kissing and hugging another man!"...   Can you really blame her?  

This is Neil Ravenna.    Chef Neil Ravenna. And this is also a testament to how cool technology can be: Neil is a very, very, very old friend of mine. Knowing him goes so far back, it's almost a reptilian memory for me, it's so old. Therefore, finding him, via facebook, was something of a shock to my memory cells. I simply didn't think they worked that far back. Turns out even though I knew him as a kid in pre-1970 Vermont -- he's now gone even farther back to my old stomping ground, (the south.) And is currently a chef at Miss Melissa's Cafe in Moundville, AL! Holy Moses! This is from a podcast off their site called The Liars Table . I love it. Here he is cooking something so delicious that I'm going to have to go out and make it for us all tonight. Yes, Chef Neil Ravenna , you do need a cooking show. A cool one. Complete with Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale on the radio over your grill and finishing by enjoying desert with you out in your Mary gro

...The Monkees was occasionally pre-empted for the CBS Children's Hour, a highly acclaimed hour-long series of 3 specials beginning with Jane Wagner's poignant teleplay J.T., the story of a shy Harlem youth's tough Christmas with an injured stray cat that he can't bring home because of his grouchy dad. So, does anyone else remember the line, "I want me this cat I found?" Well, it's from the TV movie. "J.T." which I've been trying to find for years , which aired one fateful Saturday afternoon on CBS in 1969. Here's how someone else on IMDB described "J.T." "I first saw J.T. in the late 60's or early 70's on a show possibly called "CBS Children's Television Workshop". It was on Saturday mornings about noon after the cartoons were over. It was aired sporadically after that around Christmas in the mid 70's. It isn't a Christmas movie per say but the plot is set around the time of Christmas. &qu

back by popular..., okay, by my second grader 's demand...

Clearly, this was a show that didn't seem so far fetched to a kid abruptly transplanted from New Orleans, to New England, who now lived in a cluttered little home across the street from a graveyard and abandoned church in Vermont. A place so rural and peculiar that kids skinny dipped at recess, or counted beans for math and some even smoking pot by 4th grade. A place where the Grown Ups lived for The Opera, or attending Bach organ recitals held in derelict barns, and would think nothing of driving hours down to New York City just to see anything starring an Original British Cast . This was a world were there were wild winter storms, and long, summer days where not even a plane over head could disturb the remote cool green of the summers days. A world where grave stones were places to play hide and seek, and no matter what time of day, the Grown Ups never missed even one cocktail party being thrown by Vermont's most glamorous Episcopalians. It was elegant, and eccentri

I was going to ask if it was okay to have some post-election coverage fun, yet, but, apparently the folks at S omethingawful.com already has been for a while now. So, why didn't I ever know out about Photoshop Phriday , before this? These two images are from their Election   2008: Tasty Surprises and Election 2 008: Fuzzy Surprises sections.

I saw Bill Maher last night and his "New Rules" was so absolutely perfect that it had to go into my blog. As always, Bill Maher was entertaining, but he did, however, become quite profound, I thought, with this line: "You know what phrase ( from Republicans ) I do not want to hear used frivolously for the next four years?...'Disrespect for the rule of law." Right, so, we won. They lost, and the ugliness is only getting started. Look what they did to Clinton when he was in power, and all the others like him. -- We have so much work to do, please don't let them pull any evil, distracting, expensive, "Ken Starr" crap, now. Not right now with our planet as seriously in crisis as it is. We have so much work to do. We can't afford to become more divided. Can't we put partisan fighting aside for the sake of our kids? They deserve a better world than, well, the last 8 years provided them with. Palin's whining that she never did anything

What surprises me the most is when they honk from behind. This is new for me. But, twice today I've been honked at and passed by drivers thrilled by my Obama stickers, giving me an enthusiastic "thumbs-up" sign as they gleefully pass me. One even rolled down his window to shout "Me, too! I thought I was the only one, here!" Huh? When did it get to be cool to support Obama in the OC? Seriously, this is Orange County. I thought I was the only one. When you live here in Orange County, CA, it's easy to think you're the only Democrat or Obama supporter in town. But when you look at actual final vote count, it's clear you've got a lot of company. Check out the numbers from Tuesday: McCain: 430,360 votes for just 50 percent of the total. Obama; 401,605 votes for 47 percent of the total. That's the best a Democratic presidential candidate has done in the OC since at least 1964, and also the worst a Republican has done since then. So it goes

Thanks to someone with very good taste (okay. My husband.) I'm have a link to one of the best photo books regarding President Elect Barack Obama, out there. Seriously, I know you're like, me. Tired and happy -- and feel entirely sapped and saturated with his awe inspiring win, but this is so big . You just have to take another moment to absorb it and see it from all sides, to fully appreciate. This Boston Globe photo collection of President-Elect Barack Obama includes astonishing images from over the past several months. (35 photos total.) Check them out. Take a look back at Barack Obama's rise to victory.

Last night I "had"  to be away from home due to a rehearsal responsibility I had to some fellow singers, and even though I previously, in writing, requested not to be rehearsing from 7 - 930 PM Election night, I was told I would not be "off the hook."   Okay, so I honored my commitment.  I left my kids at home, even though they were so sad knowing how personally important this night would be to me. And I went into rehearsal.  But, once I got there -- still,  all I heard from people running the rehearsal were dismissive comments about our missing the election results -- such as "Oh, well I'd rather be with my friends singing than just watching TV.   I can watch it later on TV, anyway."  What?!   Sorry, but that's offensive to me.   I have spent a great deal of time and energy working so hard to do what I could to help get Obama elected, local Democrats into office, and -- this is what really strikes me as unfair -- I've done so much to prevent P

The day began on a happy note, and the children's sincere enthusiasm for this historic election day had my spirits high..., but then , after I dropped them off I began what I can only describe as a creepy ride home on Election Day, in Los Alamitos, CA. Then, I started noticing the signs...Which I think were actually pranks, but only showed up now. I don't know who "B.A.M.S.M.A.S.H." is, but they managed to plaster the area this morning with some bizarro signs. Later, I passed a Prop 8 Rally where the demonstrators were people happy to show their colors -- until, that is, I pulled out my camera...then they hid behind their signs. Pretty funny, actually. See for yourself the kind of signs I saw today on the way home from dropping my kids at school. I don't even get some of these signs...

From the moment we woke up... ( "Mom! Today we decide who our President will be! " ) ...To dressing for school in celebration of our right to vote. ...To the kids at Juliet's middle school, all clearly as happy as we grown-ups are to see that it's finally ELECTION DAY, at last! The excitement -- everywhere-- is infectious. Some photos of this early morning's events...

First, there was the general excitement at our house about this historic day as we left home to go to school. Turns out my oldest daughter's middle school is having their own election today. She and my youngest daughter showed off their pro-Obama Biden duds for the camera! The kids at school were very excited, today, as well, as you can see by their election day signs and T-shirts.

So, according to "a very, very good friend" of mine, not all marriages are in agreement as to how far one should go to fight for their beliefs. Take, for example, the subject of Yard Signs. Or rather, the removal (?) of them. Is this act always officially considered to be "foul play?" Even if the yard signs are mean lies? Well, this was the subject of some debate for a "good friend" of mine last night. According to my good friend, here's how her day went yesterday, on this very important final Sunday prior to the all important Election Tuesday. At the encouragement of her family, my "friend," (let's call her "Emily") spent the afternoon at a rally for Debbie Cook (running for Congress in her area) and then she came home and did some online work blogging for her, after going door to door in her district handing out fliers where registered Democrats could find their polling spot... Then, later on, post sunset, with her two

no need for this now...

  SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2008 -- Some photos I took today at  the local Progressive Democrats For America rally for   Debbie Cook For Congress ,   in Huntington Beach, CA Today is the Sunday before election day.  Just two days to go. I've already voted.  I have been blogging for Obama and to support voting No on Prop 8.  However, due to having had a cold for a while, so I haven't been to a rally for a long time. Luckily for me, there actually was one near my house today. This one was for Debbie Cook, our Huntington Beach, CA mayor who is currently trying to unseat Dana Rohrabacher for Congress.   This may sound easy given the support for Obama and other Democrats lately, but here in Orange County, a largely very red population , this will not be an easy victory.  In fact, she may lose if every one of us doesn't do everything we can to help her win Tuesday.   So, I went to the Progressive Democrats For America Rally for Debbie Cook ... Get Out The Vote Rally and neighborhood