Ova, Sadie, Ova! ;-) KJ

Well, just being on the same island doesn't guarantee good reviews. This is from a review for Maybe Baby by The Scotsman: "...while Tom Hollander should be immediately hospitalised until they work out why his Scottish accent sounds like it does." *hee hee*

(Moon) Studio heads are very insecure people with no balls. (SadieR) Now, now, musn't be sexist. We all know the real problem is that they lack ovum! Actually, what they would be lacking is ovaries.

(Evelyn)...SUNSHINE needs all the good reviews it can get.... It got bad ones in Portugal. On the other hand, Portuguese critics seem to have enjoyed High Fidelity.

Yikes! Ovum, ova, ovaries - surely could be one, all, either/or. Such sticklers. ;-) Had a good chuckle, Sadie. Thanks for the reminder, ladies on A&E. Forgot entirely and now have it on. Wondering if I've missed Jennifer yet. Some guy in a fright wig who souns like Count Almasy (but looks nothing like Rafe) is talking to Clara Schumann.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEIDE thanx murph

"Heide, I've heard you also can be tempted with to-mah-toes..."

"OK, I've finished warming up. Heide, get over here!"

"Now, I don't want you to get too upset, but I've decided to give the job to a better looking American woman who not only has a first name (Heide) but who more importantly doesn't sit around wide-eyed, with her mouth hanging open. No hard feelings."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDE!!! Have a great day!

Heide, have a lovely Birthday! I wish I was more skilled in putting up pictures here but because I�m not I�m just sending you big and warm congratulations! xoxo

I'll keep it simple, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEIDE!!! Bet you still don't look a day over 18.

A very happy birthday to you, Heide! (And congrats on snaring that job with The Master.;-)

Indeed, happy birthday to you Heide!

Happy Birthday Heide! Since you have been working so hard lately, I thought I would give you a trip to the Turks & Caicos for a little R&R and F&F (fun & Firth). I took this picture, it really is heavenly. Enjoy your day!

Happy Birthday to a very nice lady who I have only had the pleasure of meeting once, but I am sure there will be more opportunities in the future. Talking of which what about a Spring Reunion 2001 for the Premiere of Bridget Jones' Diary!!! in London.

Happy Birthday Heide! *fingers crossed*

Just popping in to add my wishes to a special lady that can sure light up Cf and the Donmar lobby !!! Cue music and chardonnay corks popping. Cheers Heide, have fun,and as we said when your "twosome" snappy came out LOOK OUT LIVIA!!

Happy Birthday, Heide! Have a (insert alcoholic beverage of your choice) on me:-) Hope you're enjoying your special day!

Happy Birthday Heide. Hope I'm not too late.

HAUOLI NA HANAU, HEIDE This is a white ginger lei and is the most wonderfully fragrant lei in the world

yikes! Oops! fixing my html tags

*sigh*

*Darcy is tan breeches is placing lei around neck and kissing you* I asked him if he would fill in for me since I am so far away......He was most eager to help and so understanding. Mind you, I do not provide this service for just anyone, and with my programming skills elsewhere this morning, I'd best leave it to your imagination (which I happen to know are excellent) *Happy Birthday Hugs*

*Darcy in tan breeches is placing lei around neck and kissing you* "Getting leid by Mr. Darcy"....Marcia...what a pal...you're all heart...

For special ladies only the best will do. I try...

FIRST of all I have only one thing to say when it comes to VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS! ... YOU GUYS QUACK ME UP! (**HEEHEE**) SECOND of all, I still have not expressed my feelings upon Heide no longer exerting her comforting and sanity-inducing influence on Drool... I'll miss that and ... Truly heartfelt, believe me! And finally, THIRD of all, greetings and good wishes upon your natal day, oh, fellow gemini! ...I'm so excited that the day is here at last! I want you to ...     , on this ...Heidi

I just love a good party and when it's mine so much the better. Everybody shows up including those of you who have little time to post frequently anymore. We miss you! Thanks for the warm wishes Evelyn, Elena, Cheryl B (pssst, I'm only 17;-)), Mari (just call me Genie), Lizza, Cathey and Susan. The alcohol is flowing. What kind of reputation do I have anyway? Karen, my employment advisor, what would I do without you? Moon, that vacation is just too dreamy. I may never come back. Ann, a BJD reunion sounds good. When was that date again, Mari? Tracy, loved the hearts and flowers. You're getting to be a gif queen. Marcia, thanks for arranging that lei from Darcy. (Evelyn, you beat me to it!). KJ, one can never have enough cake (as opposed to booze). You made me so hungry, I'm heading off to the freezer for some chocolate truffle ice cream before the Tonys begin. Here's hoping my great day carries over for Jennifer (and Stephen). Hugs and kisses, ladies.

Oops. I'll end that bold.

You don't know how close to sending you a "You've been Lei'd" card....but we are so couth here that I did not wish to offend.....;D

YIPEE...THEY WON Our gang cleaned Up...Thank you Heide....you brought us luck!! THREE TONY'S BEST REVIVAL THE REAL THING BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY STEPHEN DILLANE BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY JENNIFER EHLE I tell you...i'm in shock.... Bring on the bubbly!!! Stuff the Olivier's!!

Yippee!!! YeeHAW!!! Watched Jennifer's interview this morning...twinkly eyes of Elizabeth Bennet all over again! I am delighted! Okole Maluna, Evelyn *hugs*

My HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to you too Heidi. I,m a little late but this has been a hectic weekend. Loved seeing Jenifer win. Loved Rosie and Nathan, I am a huge Nathan Lane fan. With the cooperation between the Donmar and Broadway maybe there is a hope for ODB to make it to New York.

(Lucie)With the cooperation between the Donmar and Broadway maybe there is a hope for ODB to make it to New York. First of all he's got to get away from that "jail" (AKA BBC)

First of all he's got to get away from that "jail"(AKA BBC) We can hope and maybe pray a little.

Gaah! Away for awhile and I miss the start of Drool's birthday-o-rama! A belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Marcia. Hope it was a good one ;-) And to you, Heide, a belated one as well! I have it on good authority that Vinny and the boys from Gang Green have dedicated their first touchdown to you. Keyshawn's also promised to drop every pass when the Bucs play them on Sept. 24th. Just for you, my dear... LMAO at the TTOTS pic and caption, Karen. Heide, a condition of employment with the master is to resist every urge to peel off those annoying sideburns. Also, willya please buy him a suit that fits?

(Eileen)LMAO at the TTOTS pic and caption, Karen. Heide, a condition of employment with the master is to resist every urge to peel off those annoying sideburns. Also, willya please buy him a suit that fits? Didn't you know?.....Character actors don't have to look good or wear clothes that fit... It's just not that important in the UK or Australia ;-)*winkie, winkie*

Evelyn you crack me up!

Wow, I go away for a romantic weekend and return to find wild partying and CF exploding all over the board! (I mean that metaphorically of course, a discreet reference to all the super photos) First of all, happy belated birthday wish Heide. Even though I was wrong, and you weren't the tootsie woman (Gi, it had to be you), that's okay. Still love your stories. Ova, Sadie, Ova! ;-) KJ (Cheryl) Actually, what they would be lacking is ovaries. (Heide)Yikes! Ovum, ova, ovaries - surely could be one, all, either/or. Such sticklers. ;-) Had a good chuckle, Sadie Well I see I shall have to explain my complex theory on "Generation of Animals" which is intricately intertwined with my inexplicable metaphysics and posterior analytics. Actually, it's not, it's really just a prejudice . . . but pretend Aristotle is alive, a woman, and making up for centuries of misogyny perpetuated by Aristotle: one ovum = two testicles/testes (tests, hmmm) ERGO (Carl Sagan voice required) BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of little swimmers. Ovaries? Now that's an entirely different sphere/universe of influence! I see I didn't get to the 'generation of animals' part, but all you need is a photo of CF and your imagination. :-)

LOL Sadie - *sitting at your feet to learn more of your philosophy*

Which part, Marcia? Personally, I find the 'generation of animals' my favorite part! (Should this be on the Darcy Drool board?)

(SadieR)Even though I was wrong, and you weren't the tootsie woman (Gi, it had to be you) Wrong. Esbee is the tootsie woman. I'm very "gestaltist" about men :-) Happy belated Birthday, Heide! For some reason, I thought it was on the 7th... Sorry:-( Look who I brought home to you, though: I hope you had a great day!

Wrong. Esbee is the tootsie woman. I'm very "gestaltist" about men :-) Sorry Gi! Oh my poor nerves. I was just all aflutter when you said you downloaded the photo! For I love to be of use (but I'm much much calmer than Mrs.B and nicer than LadyC). I too am a "gestaltist", but I always start with the eyes.

Congratulations to The Real Thing. That was... Truly didn't expect Jennifer to win but our good vibes carried her through. I'll check the Dillane topic where I suspect there's more about TRT's near sweep. Thanks for the birthday greetings my dear Lucie, Eileen, Gi, and Sadie. The more I look at Flashman, the more I'm relieved that this one was a bust. ;-) Thoguh I always did go for a man with facial hair. Just sans the muttonchops.

I was just looking back over older posts, and realized another belated Birthday wish is appropriate. Best Wishes to you Marcia. Really envy you the Spam!

FYI to anyone in Mass., "Sunshine" premieres in Boston tomorrow night at the Kendall Sq. Cinema. Israel Horovitz, who co-wrote the screenplay (and is a local boy), will introduce the film.

A belated happy birthday, Heide. Sorry to be lazy enough not to post this before.

LOL...just had an email from the A&E producer.... "Due to the overwhelming response, we will re-show the Jennifer Ehle Interview on "Breakfast with the Arts" on July 23" . ~~~~~~ Honestly guys I only wrote one thank you note....

Kenneth Branagh was on Rosie this afternoon, he was great, I love his sense of fun. He is in a musical opening this weekend. The Way We Were, he dances and sings. The clip was great, he's really a good dancer but I laughed at his stories of his aches and pains after doing it. He said that in drama school they had to take dancing and singing lessons every morning. Didn't he and Colin go to drama school together? Hmmm, the thought of ODB in tights is intriguing to say the least.

Don't tell anyone, but... (oh, go ahead tell everyone)

Happy Birthday Lizza!!! I heard you were having a masquerade party on your birthday and I would not miss it for the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZA "I was nice to see you at the Donmar"

AP review of SUNSHINE http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/e/AP-WKD-Film-Review-Sunshine.html

Having seen Sunshine, I think this review sums up what I thought of the film and I wholeheartedly agree with his comments about Debra K. Unger!! RH was very very good but so was Jennifer as the younger Valerie.

"Now, listen old man, I don't know how else to put this, but would you push off? There's a luverly young thing named Lizza that I'd rather be with. She's the finest looking babe in this spa."

"I'm telling you, Elizabeth, there was this woman in the front row...on both Friday and Saturday nights. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. That hair!! It drew me toward her like a fly into a flame. I'm sure my performance suffered as a result. How am I to go on?"

"Would you mind signing this 'To Lizza'? She came all the way to the Dome to see you and sat through the movie twice."

LIZZA!!! (have fixed the bold tag, trust me)

ROTFLOL, Karen! *sigh* These are the times when I really miss my access to Netscape. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIZZA DEAR! Seen anything interesting while waiting on the loo line lately? ;-D Andrew (my chief collaborator) and I are working on a new story (long delayed, but he was tied up with that BJD project forever). It has to do with a luvvy *oops* lovely young lady with beautiful hair, who goes out for a walk one day with a charming gentleman who has handsome thighs. Suddenly, it begins to rain... Have a great day!

Have a great day, Lizza. To use Eileen's virtual image, *waving at you from the other end of the M4*.

Lizza, with all these great pics and captions, I'm enjoying your birthday almost as much as you are!:-) Wishing a very Happy Birthday and a great year to a neat lady. Looking forward to the next reunion . . .

"I'm here for Lizza's party. I like nothing better than a good country hoedown. Will there be a tractor pull?"

WOW!!! You certainly know how to make a girl's day. Moon, Evelyn, Karen and Eileen. Thank you all so very much for your hilarious and wonderful comments, wishes and gorgeous pictures. I am all of a birthday quiver, I can tell you, I just want to break into song (know that "My Fair Lady" number sung by AH with the "wouldn't it be luvverly" refrain?). Moon come and join the party, in your diamante mask of course. Evelyn, you know how I adore big digits. Karen, too funny! That's a man I would sit through amillion Dome shows for. Eileen, you know I am very keen to take shelter from the storm, a cottage and a real fire..... Thanks for making my day special (I have to share it with Tom "the voice" Jones!) and I can't think of anything nicer than wishes from such lovely droolers. Off to test the water in that Spa Karen, hope it's hot ......... cold water doesn't remove kohl!

Long, but fascinating article on dialect coaches, from the LA Times. (I *think* Carla Meyer worked with CF on ATA.) A Pronounced Trend Today's films demand that more and more actors speak in authentic accents. Enter dialect the coach. By ELLEN BASKIN The rain in Spain may fall mainly on the plain, but, as Eliza Doolittle complained, being trained to explain that refrain (with the proper accent) can be a real pain. "Essentially it�s like taking your mouth to the gym," says Welsh actor Rhys Ifans (familiar to U.S. audiences as Hugh Grant�s daffy roommate Spike in "Notting Hill"), who is learning how to speak "posh American" for the independent feature "Human Nature." "Your tongue�s a muscle, and you�re training it to work in a different way." Once upon a time, what characters said in a film was more important than how they said it. For years, Hollywood played fast and loose with foreign accents, generally relying on a stable of European character actors to provide international flavor, with the overall attitude being something along the lines of "one accent fits all." But that�s no longer the case, and long gone are the days when an American star such as Katharine Hepburn could sound the same whether she was playing a Philadelphia socialite, Eleanor of Aquitaine or Mary, Queen of Scots. Many give Meryl Streep credit for raising the accent bar in 1982 with her Oscar-winning performance as a Polish woman in "Sophie�s Choice." (She�s subsequently done everything from Irish and Italian to regional American--Southern, New York, etc.). Since then, many actors and actresses have altered their natural accents for film roles, with varying degrees of success, but Streep is still considered by most to be the standard against which other accented performances are measured. Now, in an increasingly international market, actors are expected to be masters of accents. "It broadens the scope of characters you can play enormously," says Minnie Driver, whose most recent film, "Return to Me," featured the English actress as a character from Chicago. Driver returns to the Midwest in another American role in the upcoming "Beautiful." "Accent informs so much about a character," she says. "It completely changes the rhythm of your speech and movement." In these days of ultra-political correctness, where filmmakers are called on the creative carpet for a seemingly endless variety of historic inaccuracies, vocal verisimilitude has become a highly prized commodity. Enter the dialect coach, well-armed with a verbal bag of tricks. In the past decade, dialect coaches have become a significant presence on the Hollywood scene--and on many a film set as well. It�s a process that involves repetition, studying audio- and videotapes, visits to locations where the characters live, along with breathing and vocal exercises. Dialect coaches don�t all use the same methods to get talent to mind their properly pronounced Ps and Qs, but all are in agreement when it comes to the finished product. "You don�t want to call attention to it," notes Carla Meyer, one of the busiest dialect coaches in Hollywood. "You want it to look as seamless as it can be." Using far less equipment, these sought-after instructors work the same kind of transformational magic usually associated with makeup and special effects. They keep a low behind-the-scenes profile, but their influence is being felt where it counts. Consider the recent Academy Awards: Though it�s a rare Oscar season that doesn�t feature several nominees from Britain or Australia, what was especially notable this year was that every non-American in the four acting categories was nominated for a role in which he or she portrayed an American character, including best supporting actor winner Michael Caine. It�s possible to look at this trend of non-American actors striving to take on American accents as yet another dreadful sign that this country is, indeed, taking over the global cultural landscape. While that particular point is up for debate (except perhaps in France), the reality is more marketplace-based: For one thing, films are often financed at least in part by interests outside the U.S., which could make non-American actors appealing to producers. And then there�s the undeniable fact that there�s more film work for English-speaking actors and actresses here than elsewhere; by becoming adept at American accents, actors make themselves more competitive. Certain actors find a change in vocalization a fundamental part of the acting process. "Every time I create a character, I don�t assume they speak like I do, even if they�re Australian," says Cate Blanchett, who worked with Meyer for "Pushing Tin" (1999) and the yet-to-be-released "The Gift." "Like finding the way the characters move, you have to find the way they speak." In "Pushing Tin," Blanchett was totally credible--and almost unrecognizable--as Connie Falzone, a disenchanted housewife from Long Island, or, to use the vernacular, Lawng Geylund. (Coming after her Oscar-nominated performance as Queen Elizabeth, it was about as different an accent as you can have and still be speaking the same language.) Meyer recalls that for that role, "I had recorded a woman who was a nurse for my dad, and she was a great model for Cate to use." Meyer didn�t draw on one specific individual for "The Gift," in which Blanchett speaks with a rural Georgia accent. Instead, while on location, the two wandered the aisles of a local Wal-Mart. "Normally, I might go to the Wal-Mart to observe the way people move," Blanchett says. "But when you go with Carla, as you�re picking the Cheerios off the shelf, you�re listening to what people are saying around you. The great thing about not being American is that you don�t assume you know what a Southern accent sounds like, so you have to be specific. "And that�s what�s great about working with Carla," she adds. "She�s like a piano tuner, but she�s also a concert pianist as well, because everything that we discuss she can do herself." Meyer went to drama school at Carnegie Mellon University, where her speech teacher was Edith Skinner, who, almost 20 years after her death, is still spoken of with reverence by those who employ her methods. Skinner developed an approach to speech and dialect training built upon the International Phonetic Alphabet and Standard American speech, which, Meyer explains, "is very good Eastern speech, upper-class New York or Connecticut--without the lockjaw." This is generally taught for more "theatrical" applications, whereas films are more likely to use General American, "more conversational everyday speech--unaccented American, if there is such a thing," as Meyer explains it. Judi Dickerson, who also uses the Skinner Method, was Russell Crowe�s dialect coach on "The Insider." "We studied videotapes of Jeffrey Wigand [the real-life figure Crowe was portraying] and listened to that man speak over and over and over again," she recalls. They picked up specific sounds in his speech that Crowe could use "while at the same time not seem to be doing an impersonation." Dickerson worked with Crowe again on "Gladiator," where his Australian accent was minimized so his speech wouldn�t be too marked a contrast to the rest of the cast, which was largely British. "Russell�s got a great ear," Dickerson says. "Usually I�d just repeat a certain word for him, and that would be enough; he�d do it perfectly the next time. Or sometimes I�d give a hand signal--sort of like an airplane controller on the ground--and he�d know just what I meant." The specifics of dialect coaching vary from accent to accent and actor to actor, but certain principles remain constant. The coach generally starts by breaking down a script phonetically. Many actors, however, aren�t familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet�s symbols, which resemble a cross between shorthand and Greek, so it�s then up to the dialect coach to get the message across in other ways. Word lists are made for the actors to use in practice sessions. "I�ll take words from the text that use a particular sound and make lists of them, then we�ll build sentences out of those words," says Meyer, who�s currently on the set of "Pearl Harbor," where she is working with Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett, whose characters are from Tennessee. Tapes help actors hear what a particular accent sounds like when spoken by a native of the region--and help them listen to their own voices, both naturally and with the new accent. Most coaches have huge stashes of dialect sample tapes--people they�ve approached while on the job, at an airport or anywhere else they may be when struck by a particularly distinct voice. The best accented performances are those in which you stop noticing the change in voice at all. Clunkers draw undue attention to themselves and away from the film. Reviews of Kevin Costner in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) focused as much on his in-and-out attempt at a British accent--"more Sherman Oaks than Sherwood Forest" noted one review--as on his swashbuckling heroics. And Al Pacino�s version of colonial Brooklynese in 1986�s "Revolution" was thought more an assault against the English language than the British army. Of course, there are no vocal recordings for people who lived before the Edison age (for all we know, maybe Costner and Pacino weren�t too far off the mark). This presents a dilemma when making a period film such as "The Patriot," the Revolutionary War epic starring Mel Gibson. Both Meyer and Dickerson worked with Heath Ledger, who plays Gibson�s son in the film. Ledger and Gibson are Australian (although Gibson was born and spent his early childhood in New York state). Francis Marion, the legendary "Swamp Fox" on whom Gibson�s character is loosely based, was from colonial South Carolina. So what�s a dialect coach to do? Taking their lead from the filmmakers, Ledger was instructed to speak with a nonaccented American accent. "We were going under the assumption that the Southern dialect had not yet fully developed," explains "Patriot" producer Dean Devlin. "We had a lot of discussions about accents, and we decided to go with a standard British accent for the British characters and a General American accent for the Americans, just to establish the difference between them." Meyer and Dickerson are two of a group of about a dozen coaches who use the same teaching technique. But not all dialect coaches subscribe to the Skinner Method. Robert Easton, the self-labeled "Henry Higgins of Hollywood," is a pioneer in the field who hung out his coaching shingle in 1964. Easton sets himself apart from the "Skinnerites" who, he believes, focus too much on Standard American, a dialect he thinks is rarely if ever used and too "semi-British" for most American applications. "Some people are extremely auditory," he says. "They listen, and they get it." With a more visually acute client, Easton writes out a phonetic transliteration of dialogue that emphasizes the appropriate dialect changes. For example, the phrase "stark naked" could read "stock naykuhd" for a character from Brooklyn, "stalk naykid" for someone from New Orleans, "stack naykid" from Boston, and "stork nekkid" if the character was from Fort Worth. If Easton had coached Strother Martin, who played a Deep South character in 1967�s "Cool Hand Luke," the often-mimicked line "What we have here is failure to communicate" would look like this: "Hwutt we have hee-uh is fay-ya tuh kuhmyoonykay-eet." Those clients who can�t pick up verbal clues very well either by ear or eye Easton dubs "kinesthetic," noting: "Many of the people I coach have been dancers or athletes and have a great feeling for musculature. So I talk to them about mouth position, tongue position, maybe I even make little drawings of where the tongue should be." Easton has especially high praise for British actors, who, he feels, "in general are very open to doing whatever is necessary to create the character, not only in terms of dialect, but in terms of body language, mannerisms and so forth. It�s an oversimplification, but the English tend to try and use themselves to find and express the character, whereas Americans are more likely to use the character to express themselves." In 1997, Easton coached Driver in an American role in "Grosse Pointe Blank." Since then, Driver has sharpened her stateside speech skills with other coaches in a number of films. Despite her experience with different accents, Driver says it�s still "terrifying in the beginning. When you�re first starting an accent, it rules everything, and I�m always trying to figure out how the hell to focus on a scene when I�m so worried about an accent. Then, when you get loud or you get sad or you get angry, your accent is often the first thing to go." It�s often at such emotional points during filming that a dialect coach comes in, noting such shifts and gently pointing them out to the actor during a break in shooting. But coaches are not always hired for the duration of a film. When credits list a dialogue "consultant," odds are he or she helped during rehearsal or post-production but was not there when the cameras were rolling. Naturally, the coaches themselves are keen to be on the set from start to finish--though that�s often not the case--and actors generally concur. "It�s just so good to have a coach on the set with you," Driver says, "because they can be listening up." At the same time, Dickerson says, "My job is not to interfere with the actor�s creative process. You do your training [as an actor] and then eventually you find your own way." Dickerson, who is working with Hilary Swank on the Charles Shyer film "The Affair of the Necklace," recently coached Ifans in "Human Nature." "It�s �listen and repeat,� �listen and repeat,� " the Welshman says of the challenge to learn the new sounds and mouth movements of American speech. One element in particular needed special attention. "I roll my Rs," Ifans explains. "When I speak American, my tongue kind of feels left out. I�ve had to learn to let it lie lazily in my mouth like a futon." Dickerson "knows the mechanics of the mouth and tongue," he says, adding in a roguish tone that transcends any accent, "she�d probably be a very good kisser."

Thanks for all your super wishes Mark and Mari. Let's get that party going, I know a good hotel bar in Soho, close to Earlham street! Virtual drinks are on me.

I'm late, as usual! Happy Birthday, Lizza!!

Ifans is vv.v. funny! Interesting article, Mari. Where could we buy the International Phonetic Alphabet�s Symbols Book? It sounds like a must have. ;-) Karen, luv, you are cracking me up! Lizza, great party! Liam Neeson also celebrates today with you. :-)

And here's the sequel 'Pralines: the Edge of Reason'.It's a good read, I assure you;-)

And here's the sequel 'Pralines: the Edge of Reason'.It's a good read, I assure you;-)

Sorry about the double post. I don't know how that happened.

(Moon) Karen, luv, you are cracking me up! Words fail me, so I'll rely on one of my favs from Bridget: Mmmmm (another bit of Bridgetese) for those chocolates, Tineke. Think more would read if we supplied with such goodies. ;-)

This message is from AnnW (Imagine it is in big red lettering): Happy Birthday from me too,Lizza, hope the sun is shining on you, it is in sunny Sussex, at last!! (sorry, only way to fix the tag problem)

Thanks Mari....good article. The 3 DOR crowd could have used one...including the American!

sorry about that Karen, I'm sure I closed the tags or whatever.

Happy Birthday Lizza (better late than never). I hope you had a wonderful, firthful day. I still hope to see you again in your neck of the woods, but it won't be until March/April next year now.

Delicious greetings Tineke, much appreciated and Ann and Cathey too, it's great to see greetings from the three of you that I have met in the last year,

Liam., Tom and the "droolers", not forgetting ODB. It's a memorable occasion. Bring on the brandy with Tineke's chocs.

Excellent article. Thanks for posting, Mari. Loved this: In "Pushing Tin," Blanchett was totally credible--and almost unrecognizable--as Connie Falzone, a disenchanted housewife from Long Island, or, to use the vernacular, Lawng Geylund. Is there another way to say it? :-D (Tineke) 'Pralines: the Edge of Reason' Hee hee! Keep those chocolates comin', we've got another celebration tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's to you, Lizza! Bad, bad, Karen. Baddest girl in the whole da*n town...

No Bubbly or Chardonnay? What kind of a party is this anyway?

They always card Evelyn at the store, so I'll buy: Drink up: To Lizza, a luverly gal! *clink clink*

Merci...It always tastes better when other people buy;-) He's to you Lizza- Luv! Hic!

Cheers, from me too. You know I do not resist champagne. :-D

Just a few more minutes, Lizza, until your birthday is over. But we're celebrating still... Just don't have too much of that or you may wake up like this... ...which is okay, I guess, if you also wake up with this...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lizza!

Happy Birthday Lizza! Good Firth haul. How long before you come back Lizza? *wink, wink* I think you're all talented enough to start an e-greeting-card business. A slug of booze, a box of chocolates, and THE MANY MANS HIMSELF. *biblical reaction* You know how to elicit all the important sentiments!

Wolfie and KJArt tomorrow, the 8th! Don't forget!!!

Happy Birthday Lizza

We got your birthday Last Lizza, so here you go: It is sent in this form to protect the blossoms but it will open like Heide's and be fragrant beyond belief - WITH LOVE FROM HAWAII! HAUOLI NA HANAU LIZZA DEAR

Actually, I didn't forget Lizza (I was thinking of you all day, honest!) but I by the time I could sit down to make your birthday post, it was already past 4 in the morning, your time! Mea Culpa! [**beats breast**]. Well, if it's any comfort to you, I have a h*** of a backache right now, too. Nevertheless, I will embark on a wild series of celebratory stuff, albeit apologetically ! Pssst! ... Hey there ... Lizza... over here.. I, ahem ... um ...Hi, there. I came a little late (sorry) to .. um .. wish that you, sort of, ..um ...had a neat birthday. I hope you ended up with lots of: : and : That you were supplied with multitudes of: And that wherever you were became: AND THAT EVERYONE WISHED YOU A:

Very good review for Sunshine for James Berardinelli (he who absolutely adores P&P) at http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/s/sunshine.html

Great article in NY Daily News with JE & RH at http://www.nydailynews.com/today/New_York_Now/Movies/a-69202- The Sunshine promotion seems to be in full swing.

sorry this is the correct URL and I also meant to say there is a very cute picture of JE & RH 25 years ago - http://www.nydailynews.com/today/New_York_Now/Movies/a-69202.asp

Happy Birthday KJ!!! To a brilliant lady, a diamond. KJ, Will you marry me?

Happy Birthday Wolf! We Geminis seem to be a majority in Spring. Any political aspirations? ;-)

For some reason I couldn't post on this topic yesterday or this morning either, so I am late again for a special birthday :'-( Anyway, I wish you a Happy belated Birthday, dear Lizza! and I guess I'm early but Happy Birthday, KJ!

And also, of course, Happy Birthday Wolf!

Not a very good review of Sunshine in the Village Voice. No mention of Jennifer, but singles out RH and Unger. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0023/taubin.shtml