(Evelyn) IMO Madonna can sing and dance....Period. Just wanted to make sure that I said **IMO**.... Excuse me...is it okay if people have opinions around here....even if we don't underline them? :-D BTW I didn't say I didn't like the film. EVITA was v. close to an opera and brilliantly directed...haunting music ( I saw the show). Madonna belted out the songs with gusto.Danced a mean tango Argentino with Antonio. If only she hadn't spoken ;-D

The underline was an accident!!! :) Of course you can opinions, I can too;)

This is from today's Times, which I thought was interesting, wasn't it Handmade Films who were responsible for SLOW languishing in the Bank Vault for so long? - "Key role for Alibi in Madonna film. Alibi Communications, the British film and television group quoted on the Alternative Investment Market, has won the worldwide distribution rights to a new film starring Madonna. The company, which is headed by former management team of George Harrison's HandMade Films, is understood to have paid several million pounds for the rights. The film is called Quadrille and is a remake of the Noel Coward play of the same name. Alibi will start reselling the rights immediate y to local distributors around the world. The film is the first to be distributed by Alibi's films division.Filming of Quadrille, funded and produced by both British and American companies, will begin in February. The film is abodut a philandering English aristocrat who elopes to the South of France with the wife of an idustrialist. Madonna will play the philander's spurned wife. The rest of the cast is not yet complete, although Alibi says that it will include "A-List" Hollywood actors and actresses. Qua rille, which will be shot on location in both Britain and France, has secured a 1million pound grant for the Arts Council of England. Alibi shares were barely changed yesterday at 801/1p."

(AnnW) wasn't it Handmade Films who were responsible for SLOW languishing in the Bank Vault for so long? Yes, Handmade's bankruptcy caused the lockup. However, that probably has nothing to do with its showing at the film fest. One of two things has happened: (1) Somebody has bought the film or (2) the bank is actively trying to do so. The first is more likely. This Alibi group consists of the "former" management team of Handmade. Nothing prevents those guys from starting up a new company, but they do not own the assets of Handmade, which underwent a Chapter 10 type bankruptcy (liquidation of assets). If it had tried a Chapter 11 type (reorganization), then it would have had the same name and some of its assets. At least, this is my interpretation. ;-D

One of two things has happened: (1) Somebody has bought the film That must have happened after that someone read that we were going to organize and buy it ourselves, set up distribution, promotion...I guess they beat us to it, to good a deal to pass up. ;-) Laura, that comment you made about wanting Madonna to succeed! PLEASE! Does she need any more success? She has already made more films than most and sold quite a bit of records too. I pity her not!

(Laura) I can't win. You will dismiss every female actress that isn't so and so and who and who. This is about winning? There are plenty of actresses I admire (BTW, who exactly are so and so and who and who?). Madonna doesn't happen to be one of them. More power to you if you like her. You must be very excited about this project. Uh-oh, I suppose this means Madonna's not going to be Bridget Jones :-P

Eileen - I suppose this means Madonna's not going to be Bridget Jones neither is Cate Blanchett I think, I read today that she has joined the cast of Lord of The Rings? or something like that, unless thats why they posponed things until next year.

(Eileen) I suppose this means Madonna's not going to be Bridget Jones Casting against type? ;-D Madonna as the mousy Bridget, interesting. Read the same, Ann, about Cate Blanchett. Everybody, but everybody, is going to be in Lord of the Rings and they are shooting three films simultaneously. Don't know how big a part this will be though. She's also doing Faulks' Charlotte Grey among others... Tags all fixed.

...I suppose this means Madonna's not going to be Bridget Jones :-P Good idea....Let's start a petition....:-D

Bedrooms & Hallways is playing at: Alliance Cinema 927 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139 305-532-9710

Bedrooms and Hallways also playing at The Egyptian Theatre , Seattle, Coolidge Corner Theatre , Brookline, Mass Towne Cinema in San Jose, Ca. Atlanta, Portland and Oklahoma City Gay & Lesbian FF. On the 14th it will be released at Reel Affirmations FF in Washington, DC That's it for this week. Tune in later for the rest of the schedule.

Well, I did drag my DH to see B&H last night. After 3 minutes into the film and two men kissed, he gets up and tells me he will wait for me at the bookstore nextdoor. He would not have liked the film and with good reason, it is terrible! Once again, we get to see another contemporary British film with no redeeming value about characters that seem to think only about their sexual relations. JE comes in about an hour into the film and her role was not believable (why would she want to sleep with a gay guy?). She is very pretty and that comes through, although her wardrobe was...ugh! MLSF should be in Miami at the end of October, and it can not be soon enough for me. I just have to figure out how I will manage multiple viewings.

I'm sorry you didn't like B&H Moon, I thought it was very funny, I must admit I didn't like the male kissing but I thought JE was excellent and I also liked Tom Hollander when he wasn't kissing!, as to Jennifer's wardrobe I thought it was fine especially the dress she wore in the last scene. I don't think my hubby would have liked it either but I got over that problem by renting out the video whilst he was away taking my son to Uni. I really only rented it for JE and didn't think I would like it but if ou don't take it too seriously then I think it is fine. It has actually received very good reviews, I think I have read only one bad one. Glad you will finally be getting to see MLSF, if only we were getting it then, oh hum.

Evelyn, B&H only got two stars from the reviewer here in Boston. He did say that it had an interesting ending. From reading the review, it sounds like a confused story line! But interesting nonetheless!

OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNES Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald Fraser HarperCollins �16.99 pp320 Peter Kemp In the late-1960s, George MacDonald Fraser had a brainwave. What better way to cast a quizzical eye over the swagger of Britain's imperial past than by following the military career of the man who was the most disreputable schoolboy in Victorian fiction: Flashman, the cowardly bully in Tom Brown's Schooldays. From 1969 onwards, 10 novels - purportedly instalments from the memoirs of Sir Harry Flashman VC - have provided an exuberantly deflationary view of momentous episodes in the annals of the empire. Flashman has been seen behaving like a cad on the North-West frontier, in the Punjab, in South Africa and Borneo. Occasionally, he has also fetched up in regions as far-flung as the Wild West and China's Celestial Empire. Although resolutely craven and unswervingly self-interested, Flashman always emerges bathed in glory from the perils into which fate keeps pitching him. The blind funk to which he instantly succumbs when in danger inspires feats of ingenuity that not only save his skin but enhance his reputation. Accidentally earned medals are pinned on to his corpulent bulk. Doted on by his admiring monarch, he is a favoured guest at her court. As his memoirs bear witness, Queen Victoria isn't the only regal female to look fondly on Flashman. During his service overseas, the Empress of China, an Apache princess, the Queen of Madagascar and a nymphomaniac Maharani have all found cause to express their approbation in more palpable ways than tea and crumpets at Windsor. Shirking military skirmishes, Flashman is a seasoned veteran of amorous ones. The lengthy tally of gratefully satiated females strewn throughout his reminiscences testifies to the v gour and dash with which he deploys his "Adam's arsenal". Flashman and the Tiger, which consists of a novella and two stories, affords an opportunity of watching him operate outside his usual arena of reluctant participation in military events. These three tales respectively display him embroiled in an intrigue concerning Bismarck and the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz-Josef; trying to puzzle out the truth behind a baccarat scandal that embarrasses the Prince of Wales; and struggling to save his granddaughter from a fate worse than death in an 1890s London patr lled by Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Although these stories aren't set, like the Flashman novels, against a backdrop of thrilling military action, they are far from short of the sensational. There is a duel to the death with sabres in an icy salt mine, an assignation with a voluptuous Middle European royal in a sleeping car on the Orient Express, and a deadly tussle with a villain hell-bent on exacting vengeance for a long-resented injury. These excitements are zestfully unrolled, but what most energises the pages is Fraser's virtuoso historical expertise. His prose is constantly perked up by lively use of period slang: people don't knock on doors but "knuckle the walnut", characters don't die but "have their gas turned off'". Vitalising substance is given to scenarios of tongue-in-cheek melodrama by a wealth of know-how about 19th-century military, political, social and cultural life. Co-existing subversively with this meticulous re-creation of the 19th-century scene are the 20th-century-sounding tones of cynicism and scabrousness let rip by Flashman's narrative voice. There is a further jolting juxtaposition, too. Although Flashman is shamelessly devoid of Victorian virtues - patriotism, duty, courage, fidelity - he bristles with prejudices of his era. International relations, for him, are a matter of distrusting the Frogs and Square Heads, keeping down the Fuzzy-Wuzzies, groaning whe "some daft fakir" stirs up the natives, and taking to his heels when "monstrous black-limbed savages" start brandishing their assegais as the war drums beat. Sexual attitudes are correspondingly unreconstructed. Women who feature in Flashman's gamey recollections tend to take the form of a "fascinating Balkan bint" or "a delightful little spanker". Their attributes that stand out in his memory are "a fine full rump", "jutting young bumpers" or noteworthy "bouncers". "I slipped the flimsy stuff aside to get a proper grip of the meat," he typically recalls of one encounter. But, eluding his grip in other ways, women prove slippery customers. "Would it surprise y u to learn that she is a trained criminologist, speaks fluently four languages, rides, fences and shoots, and is a valued member of the d�partement secret of the Ministry of the Interior?" he is asked as he ogles a slave girl naked but for ankle-fetters and a turban. Each of these stories ends with a twist that gives a tantalising glimpse of female tricksiness. Farcically outrageous and disgracefully entertaining, they show no diminishing of Fraser's comic verve and constitute a vintage 30th-anniversary addition to his Flashman Papers.

Thanks, Karen. This sounds like a fun book. But I'm not sure I liked this part :-0 "Accidentally earned medals are pinned on to his corpulent bulk Haven't all the bits we've seen of Flashy made him appear svelte? I suppose I shouldn't worry. If ODB decides to play him, we know there's no way he could be described as corpulent!

That must have happened much later in life...way after all these adventures. The Flashman Papers are put forward as memoirs. So far (and I've just finished Flashman's Lady), he's still one good looking stud (literally, as the Queen of Madagascar's boytoy). ;-D

(Karen)"a delightful little spanker". I love it, I love it! LOL!

I have just seen BEDROOMS& HALLWAYS at the OKC G&L Film Festival.. LOL Moon, I'm sure your DH might have been upset with same-gender kissing..Don't take him to see Wilde with same-gender graphic sex scenes between Oscar Wilde(SF) and Bossie(Jude Law). I thought it was v. funny...and I don't think it was ever mean't to be taken seriously by the director or author.Simon Callow was a hoot.I thought JE , who looked as beautiful as ever, played her role well. Even though it was not a major part. The clothes...were v. English- Camden -Town variety.In UK , and in some sections of US nothern cities, the 20 somethings dress like that.... Trainspotting(which you liked) was about drugs....B&H is about sex....."Different strokes, for different folks"Who am I to judge? I found it entertaining....whether one approves of that lifestyle or not... It has received generally good reviews....including the Philly Inquirer. Is it Oscar/BAFTA worthy? No...but hey, it's making money. Took in $17,000.first weekend in NY. (Bless those gays). It is now playing in mainstream cinemas across the country and Australia. I understand even in Brazil. In all fairness, it is a film for the younger generation.It's difficult for the rest of us to reconcile ourselves to alternative lifestyles.

From Empire: Hugh Grant's Hornby Lead? 09/10/1999 After several months of unsuccessfully courting Hollywood actors like Brad Pitt, Robert de Niro seems set to sign up Hugh Grant for the lead role in de Niro's production of the Nick Hornby novel About A Boy. A report published in the Telegraph that the two are 'close to a deal' will please fans of Hornby who were, to a man, upset by the Americanisation of the author's last novel High Fidelity, which was optioned by John Cusack. The role of Will Lightman seems perfect for Hugh - he's a thirty-something, child/man, commitment-phobe whose search for the right woman leads him to adopt a child (a scheme which bears some resemblance to Adam Sandler's recent hit Big Daddy. ********* I think it's a riot that they are still calling the character Will Lightman, when it was changed to Will Freeman just prior to publication.

"Adam's arsenal" LOL! There's a new one! "jutting young bumpers" or noteworthy "bouncers" Hee hee! The best was from Flashman (first book of the series)--Karen, you e-mailed it to me--something about "her utters nearly fell into her soup." Outrageous! (Jana) Haven't all the bits we've seen of Flashy made him appear svelte? Of the books I've read, he's the oldest (53) in the second half of Flashman and the Redskins--and he prides himself on his 'pancake flat' stomach. He is described as tall and wide-shouldered, though (remind you of anyone?). Perhaps that's what was meant by "bulk." Hugh Grant's Hornby Lead? If I *ever* read that Hughie's going to play Flashy, I'll need to be sedated...then put into a rubber room... That's a good point about AAB and Big Daddy, though. They'll have to work to avoid another 'EdTV vs. Truman Show' problem.

Eileen, what about "rogering"? Shagging has become so commonplace these days, think I'll use the 19th century equivalent. ;-D Started to read, "Flashman and the Mountain of Light," last night which starts out during 1887, with the preparations for Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year, but flashes back to Harry's years in India during 1845-6. He's an old man and Sir Harry already, but no physical description is given. Had to put the book down as pages are torn out again! Maybe I'll go back to reading them in the order of publication, because it's getting too confusing when Fraser refers to later adventures in previously published books. Ann, you got a kick out of "spanker"! ;-D

Whose "spanker", sorry you have lost me!!

Sorry, Ann, I misread. It was Amy who seemed to like "spanker"!

Karen, I thought Flashman and The Mountain Of Light was hilarious. From the beginning when he and his wife are having tea with Queen Victoria ( she's lacing her tea with whiskey). Him shagging Mrs Madison under the pool table when his commander walks in with another officer to have a game. His escape from the bath and the falling ceiling. Hanging under the balconey while his the assasians are looking for him. Thats just the first few chapters. It's great so you'll enjoy I know.

Mike Binder's The Sex Monster will be shown on Cinemax this Friday for the first time. This little capsule review is from Entertainment Weekly and does not bode well for Londinium. :-( WAS IT BAD FOR YOU, TOO? 8-9:45PM THE SEX MONSTER (Cinemax, TV-MA) This is what happens when you spend too many hours watching Neil LaBute movies and listening to Howard Stern. Writer-director Mike Binder (''Blankman'' -- ha!) stars as an L.A. contracting exec who finally talks his wife (Mariel Hemingway, left with Binder) into a m�nage � trois, only to see her ravenously embrace her sapphic side, often to his exclusion. But he's not half as frustrated as we are. Thanks to Binder's leaden script and a per ormance suggesting Paul Reiser at his whiny, flailing worst (now, that's saying something), you find yourself wondering less why Hemingway's character takes to lesbianism and more why she ended up with this clich�-spouting jerk in the first place. D

Ouch! I hope Mike was just getting his practice shots in with this one...

Sounds like another one destined for the bank vault...

Do not worry.If there is a lesbian theme it will probably be shown.

There's another review of the Sex Monster out there! From Todd McCarthy of Variety and he liked it. Must appeal to some very base level. Also says that it would have very limited appeal and not enough titillation for cable! ;-D http://www.variety.com/cannes99/cannes/subsequent_pages/review.asp?recordID=1117499874

Low- brow -audience-pleaser, indeed. But mild-mannered??A little oxymoron here. The whole premise sounds sick to me....give me some good ole titilation any day :-)

Translation request: I saw Ratcatcher last night and, as some know, it takes place in a real slummy area of Glasgow. With the accent being as heavy as it is, the entire film is subtitled, with good reason, for our American ears.* Most of the slang I could handle, but there were a couple of words that I hadn't a clue. Unfortunately, the only one I remember was "pong" and I don't remember the context. What does it mean? (other than it being an old video arcade game) *I could understand more of the spoken dialogue in an Israeli film without reading the subtitles than in Ratcatcher.

P.S. Shame I didn't get to hear a whole lot of Finnish, Elena. The film I saw "Juha" is done as a silent film. ;-D

Unfortunately, the only one I remember was "pong" and I don't remember the context. pong = bad smell at least it does in english. Cannot answer for scots.

Thanks, Allison. Makes sense, as throughout the film, a major garbage strike is taking place and it's piled up everywhere.

"Rules for Writers" 1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects. 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. 4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) 6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration. 7. Be more or less specific. 8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. 9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. 10. No sentence fragments. 11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used. 12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 14. One should NEVER generalize. 15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. 16. Don't use no double negatives. 17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 18. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 20. The passive voice is to be ignored. 21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas. 22. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice. 23. Kill all exclamation points!!! 24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. 25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas. 26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. 27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." 28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. 29. Puns are for children, not groan readers. 30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 32. Who needs rhetorical questions? 33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 34. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters. And finally... 35. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

In the Sunday Times: The limping progress of Captain Corelli's Mandolin towards being made into a feature film continues, despite the fact that its would-be director, Roger Michell, has suffered a heart attack. Presumably he is overcome by the success of his latest film, Notting Hill. Happily, according to sources at Working Title Films, Michell is now said to be "doing fine", and shooting on Captain Corelli will start as planned in the spring. There is also an article about P&P, the novel, by Fay Weldon. so so and no mention of Darcy as a character by name.

Wasn't it Fay Weldon who adapted a previous TV version of P&P? Is she still sulking that it has now been completely overshadowed?

Oh Karen, I didn�t notice your comment about Juha before but now I did and I�m all amazement, is the film being shown in Chicago??!! Please please please tell me honestly what you thought about it. It�s a strange movie and somewhat ridiculous too, isn�t it. I can�t imagine what it looks like to Americans, really can�t. The reason why I�m so interested in this is that the director if the film lives here in this town, Karkkila I mean. The film was also shot in this town and surroundings and there are the local theater folks in small roles. I also eat often in the restaurant that�s portrayed in the film (in the "brothel")!

Hey..gang...we have a celebrity in our midst... Pl. tell us Elena...did you see the movie being filmed? Do you know anyone who is in the film? Wish I could see Juha...

Not a celebrity I�m afraid, unfortunately I�m not in the film but there are many people I know in it. It�s a real village movie. Evelyn, I�m really not sure you�d like to see it, like I said it�s a strange one and I�m sure Karen can confirm this!! It�s a silent b&w tragicomedy. The director Aki Kaurismäki has made much better movies than Juha. Btw he often uses some excellent foreign actors in him films, like Andre Wilms in this one.

Juha had a couple of showings at the film fest, so it doesn't have a regular run. I thought it was an interesting exercise for Kaurismaki and one in which he succeeded in recreating the mood/feel of silent films, with the actors overemoting (wish you could see the faces I'm making right now like the ones they did for shock, surprise, happiness!!) and a classic good vs. evil storyline. Loved the silly, mechanical waving by the villagers (did you know those people??). I did wonder why he chose to have th singer at the brothel (your restaurant) actually sing and then, in french. Also, why he chose to date the story in the '60s, I think. Also, was Karkkila the big town he takes her to? Or was that supposed to be someplace else?

Thanks for the list of rules, Arami. I shall stick to them like peanut butter to an aspidistra (sp?). Hee.

Karen, I appreciate it that you got the basic idea of Juha exactly! It�s an old tragedy told again and again in different forms over here. Originally the old and ugly seducer of the innocent wife of Juha is a Russian salesman (and Finland is traditionally portrayed as a young blond maiden). There�s even an opera about the same story but I don�t think anybody has tried to make it comical before. The big town was Helsinki I think but all the indoor shots and the villagers are from Karkkila. And why 60�s....Kaurismäki often dates his films in the fifties or sixties, it�s one of his personal trade marks. This also has something to do with the problem of innocence that�s very important in all his movies.

Elena, that's fascinating. I hadn't taken it to a symbolic level (Finland vs. Russia), although it does make sense historically. The innocence of Juha and his wife (back on the farm) comes through in the scenes where they're going to bed. I remember the biggest laughs (tragic in retrospect) were, after the stranger left and the wife is becoming disillusioned with her life/role on the farm--putting on the makeup and when she serves him that dinner. Overall, I thought it was an interesting film.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting film I promise to tell that to Aki next time I see him in the local bar!

And tell him I really liked the mechanical waving! ;-D

Karen...I thought for sure you would have posted..... Rupert Everett has been nominated for the European Oscar for AIH , Moon ..along with RF for Sunshine.

Karen...I thought for sure you would have posted..... Rupert Everett has been nominated for the European Oscar for AIH *am still in shock* (Rupe, hon, I'm just kidding) Ashame this didn't happen about a week ago, huh, Moon? ;-D

Karen...I thought for sure you would have posted..... Rupert Everett has been nominated for the European Oscar for AIH *am still in shock* (Rupe, hon, I'm just kidding) A shame this didn't happen about a week ago, huh, Moon? ;-D

Will you still be my friend, Moon, if I root for Rafe? After all, I've got a vested interest in this film....Sunshine also nominated for cinematography and screenwriting awards by the Euro Film Academy. What? They're gonna give it to a guy that wrote a 4 hour script before the cut? Ten lashes.

Karen, too bad you don�t live in Spain!!! :-) I just heard that nineteen of Kaurismäkis movies are to be shown in the Gijon film festival in the end of November.

Elena, I'll check to see if any of his others are available on video. BTW, tell him that if he submits any of his films to the Chicago fest next year, he should visit. Lots of directors do. Last night, Scott Hicks (director of Shine) was there, with Ethan Hawke for "Snow Falling on Cedars." The night before, the director of Tumbleweeds (highly recommended) was there with Janet McTeer, who BTW I think would have been perfect for Nan/Lina in 3DOR. Tumbleweeds was picked up by Fine Line and will open in NY/LA right before Thanksgiving and other markets in mid-December. A Chicago reviewer called McTeer's performance a dark horse candidate for an Oscar. She mastered a southern accent (said she orked very hard with a coach, watched every movie she could find, listened to every country album in the world, and hung out in NC)--perfect for Lina. As her real self, I could visualize her as Nan.

Karen, Kaurismäki�s attitude to publicity is exceptional. For instance in the Berlinale last spring he was reported by the British press to have behaved amazingly badly = drunk and totally uninterested in their questions. He very seldom gives interviews. Typically, he also recently refused to attend our annual meeting of journalists in this area (taking place next Friday). We�re gathering in that very restaurant/brothel in Juha to discuss the Finnish film industry today, and naturally asked him to come and give his views, but he�s �not interested�!

Arami, loved yout "Rules for writers". This is the kind of stuff that Marciaposts in her topic in "Screwed", have you checked it out? (Evelyn)Rupert Everett has been nominated for the European Oscar for AIH Forgive the ignorance, what is the "European Oscar"? (Elena)Karen, too bad you don�t live in Spain!!! :-) I just heard that nineteen of Kaurism�kis movies are to be shown in the Gijon film festival in the end of November. Nineteen! Do you think anybody will watch "all" of them? :-)

This was in THR today: Sliding to TV's door CBS may look to develop a small-screen version of Miramax-Paramount romancer and Gwyneth Paltrow starrer "Sliding Doors," sources said. The script is from Paramount Network TV and Sidney Pollack's Mirage, which produced the film in 1998. It is unknown whether Pollack would direct the project, should the eye order the pilot. "Sliding Doors," penned by writer-director Peter Howitt for film, focuses on two divergent directions a woman's (Paltrow) life would take if she did or did not catch her commuter train ********* Are they kidding? This I gotta see! ;-D

Nineteen! Do you think anybody will watch "all" of them? Ah, dearest Gi! You�re JUST the right person to ask this, considering your geographical location. Start packing! :-D

(Gi)Forgive the ignorance, what is the "European Oscar"? The European Film Academy...given for European films and European actors onlyLast year the awards were presented in London ( to Roberrrrrto) and this year will take place in Berlin on December 4th. http://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/ ~~~~~ (Karen) It is unknown whether Pollack would direct the project, "Sliding Doors," penned by writer-director PeterHowitt I liked Sliding Doors...thought it was brilliant. Better they should keep Howitt as the director...Sidney Pollack pulled a loser with Random Hearts...

(Evelyn) I liked Sliding Doors...thought it was brilliant. Me too. I really liked this film, mostly because of it's clever script. I loved the parallel story lines and the way they made it clear which life story you were watching. But I can't imagine how they'd make this into a decent weekly TV show. I will reserve judgement, but it's hard to imagine how this could work!

Irene Jacob was in Helsinki yesterday promoting a movie where she stars with Bill Pullman. The film opened here today and it�s directed by the Finnish Ilkka Järvi-Laturi, and it was also filmed here. Irene is a KGB agent in it!...Unfortunately I don�t know what�s the English name, in Finnish it�s "History is made by night" and it�s been sold to many countries including the US.

"History is made by night" That's the title being used. If you go to this ink at the IMDB, there is a user comment from when the film was screened at Toronto. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0170107 Re: Sliding Doors I can't imagine how it could be turned into a series, but then again I don't have as much imagination as those TV people. ;-D Since one of the characters dies at the end and the other chucks off slimey Jerry, what are they going to do follow long-haired Helen while she has chance meetings with James? I too like the movie and the music.

The LA Intl Film Fest opens tonight and there are a number of interesting films to see. This article at the LA Times links to the AFI's website with a full info. However, I did notice that "Dreaming of Joseph Lees" is playing I think on the 28th. Eric Styles will likely be there, so time to ask about Relative Values and Colin! http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/lat_afi991021.htm

You are making me nostalgic, Karen. I always attended the LA Film Fest when I lived there. Got to meet lots of "new" directors including Aldomovar before anyone knew who he was. "History is made by night" is one film I will see, I also like Irene J. very much. "Slidding Doors" I also enjoyed. I did not like the leading actor. I would have liked to see Jeremy N. instead. :-)

Karen, this is a little present to you. For all your hard work, always digging up the scoop. To our chic-cow-girl, that wonderful town. :-D ;-) http://www.cowdance.com

Yoohoo, Moon. Just read in today's paper that your honey (Rupe) is in town filming "Unconditional Love." Are you jealous? Also a little blurb that location scouts are out for the Kangaroo's next film called "What Women Want" or some such thing to shoot here next spring. ;-D

Love the cowdance page! I changed the moosic to "Stayin Alive." Moooooch better. ;-D

Yoohoo, Moon. Just read in today's paper that your honey (Rupe) is in town filming "Unconditional Love." Are you jealous? LOL! Maybe you can bump into him at a restaurant this time. Keep me posted.;-)

It did say he was spotted at Gordon (which I thought was closing). So I know where he's been, but not where's he's going. :-(

The Kangaroo in town? And he's going to give us "What Women Want"? Well, he doesn't have to go far to look for it, does he?;-) And now for something completely dofferent: read in the October issue of InStyle: C'mon, tell us What cheers you up when you're in a bad mood? Colin Firth, actor, my Life So Far "Rome, Italy. All I have to do is head to Rome and walk around." :-)

The Kangaroo in town? And he's going to give us "What Women Want"? Well, he doesn't have to go far to look for it, does he?;-) And now for something completely dofferent: read in the October issue of InStyle: C'mon, tell us What cheers you up when you're in a bad mood? Colin Firth, actor, My Life So Far "Rome, Italy. All I have to do is head to Rome and walk around." :-)

Sorry for the double post. Karen, please delete posts #1569 and 1571, will you? Thanks...

Thanks Moon...Those dancing cows are priceless!! They thought of you Karen...when they put up that website:-D

Moon, you spend almost as much time online as I do, but I will never know how you found that fantastic cow page. Too good!

Moon, you spend almost as much time online as I do Marcia, I share with DH, so it is not always me. I have three boys and they take up most of my time. I loved that cow page (I have my secret internet agents out there), and immediately thought of our Chicago girl.

From the Sunday Times: Spam surprise - it's sushi On Tuesday Britain's leading authority on food sat down to a celebratory lunch. Alan Davidson, the former British ambassador to Laos who has spent the past 23 years compiling The Oxford Companion to Food, had prepared a special treat for his assistant Helen Saberi to toast the success of her book on Afghan food. The fare was corned beef and salad cream. Davidson, 75, may know more about food than anyone else in Britain, but two decades of unearthing details on how best to cook anteater, or the true origin of the croissant, have failed to influence his eating habits. "My tastes have remained pretty simple," he says. "I have fond memories of the food on the lower deck of a naval ship during the war. Institutional food seems to me much better than it does to other people. I like things such as toad-in-the-hole and stew." This, however, is gourmet fare compared with some of the meals he has eaten. These include "white trash cooking" - he has a cookbook that features illustrations of the contents of fridges in American trailer parks. "I do have pretty depraved tastes," he says. Davidson has also been seduced by the Elvis Presley cookery book. "The reader is meant to be horrified by the food. But I thought 'wow, it sounds quite good' - things like sweet potato pie and fried potatoes with lots of ketchup. Elvis was keen on ketchup and I like it too." When he is looking for something extra special, he goes for Spam. "I enjoy it," he says. "We tend to have it as a treat." His research led him to discover that the world enthusiasts for Spam are Hawaiians, who enjoy Spam sushi, Spam won tons and Spam tempura. It comes as no surprise to learn that Davidson hails from the land of the chip buttie. Although born in Northern Ireland and raised in the north of England, he considers himself Scottish and his formative food memories revolve around his grandmother's Bearsden kitchen, where high tea was a particular delight. Unlike other food writers, he does not dismiss Scottish cuisine as second rate. The Oxford Companion to Food, a 900-page, 5lb tome featuring 2,650 entries detailing the culinary habits and preferences of 120 regions and countries, gives Scottish fare a reasonable billing. "Scotland, to venture an understatement, is not at all difficult to distinguish from England," he writes. "In food and cookery . . . the people of Scotland have closer links with Scandinavia and France than do the English. Geographical differences have tended to give them different staple foods, especially in the northern part of the country; a lower level of prosperity in the past has imprinted a certain frugality on their kitchens." Scottish fare such as the bannock, black bun, clap shot, cullen skink, kale haddock and stovies all receive separate entries, as does the cuisine of Orkney and Shetland. Davidson establishes Scotland as the home of marmalade, describes the contents of a bottle of Irn Bru and advises that Scotch pies must be eaten piping hot. He gives a Scotch broth recipe from 1755 that includes marigolds and records Dr Johnson's fondness for the national soup. Davidson has lived and eaten all over the world. To some extent he can be seen as an apologist for inferior cuisines. "It's true to say that some countries have a much stronger reputation for food than others," he says. "The reasons for this are quite complex. Factors of geography and history come into play as does transportation and links with other places. It is not so much a difference in quality; that is a very subjective thing." He claims never to have visited a country where the food was truly dreadful but admits that, because he likes outlandish food, he has a tendency to confuse interesting food with food that is good to eat. It was while serving as a diplomat in Tunis that his interest in researching food took off. His wife, Jane, whom he had met while he was third secretary at the British embassy in Washington, asked him to find a book on Tunisian fish as she found it difficult to identify the varieties at the market. Discovering there was no such publication, Davidson set about writing it himself with the help of a visiting Italian authority on Mediterranean fish, Professor Giorgio Bini. The result was Seafish of Tunisia and the Eastern Mediterranean, published to critical acclaim from Elizabeth David, among others. He followed this up with Mediterranean Seafood, described by Auberon Waugh as "the best book ever written on this, or possibly any other, subject". He managed to produce a book on the fish of Laos, despite it being a landlocked country, while he was an ambassador there. It was, he says, a delightful posting. The British ambassador had his own aircraft, and British interests in the country were slight, so the workload was pretty light. With ideas for several more books, he left the foreign office to write full-time. He co-founded the annual Oxford symposium on food and, along with his wife, set up a small publishing company, Petits Propos Culinaires, which publishes obscure essays on aspects of food. But it is the Oxford Companion that has dominated his life. A classicist by training - he took a double first at Oxford - he says he is by nature a cataloguer of material. He has the academic's enthusiasm for debunking myth and searching out spurious beliefs. In the course of his research he has learned that it was crumpets, not cakes, that King Alfred burnt; that searing meat to keep in the juices is a fallacy; that Marco Polo did not introduce pasta to Italy from China; that puma tastes like veal and that cats are "rarely eaten, for reasons discussed under 'Dog' ". Our fascination with all things gastronomic means there is probably a much larger audience for the book now than there had been when it was commissioned. "Foods that were quite exotic in the 1970s are commonplace now," he says. "It is fair to say that there are far fewer discoveries to be made by people in the western world. Previously it took a long time to change fashions in food. A fashion at court might take some time to filter down to the ordinary populace. Nowadays the speed of change is much faster " If he were to predict a new trend in cuisine, it would be increased popularity of Laotian food. The illustrator of the Oxford Companion is Laotian and now cooking Thai food in Richmond. "I think he feels the time is just about right to out himself as a Laotian cook," says Davidson. "But that is just a personal favourite of mine which I think could have a wider audience." Not forgetting, of course, the Spam.

Last sports item of the day: NEW WORLD RECORD!!! 2:05:42 by Khalid Kannouchi

Someone is going to have to call Marcia with that Spam news! LOL! Karen!

(Moon)Someone is going to have to call Marcia with that Spam news! Yeah...if Hawaii is the Spam Capital of the World......looks like Marcia is the"Queen of Spam".:-))

It's October 25 in Portugal so to one of our favorite party girls - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GI!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GI, DEAR! I think this is really what she needs but I did want to get her something frivilous and frothy and feminine...

and many fragrant flower leis to go with whatever you are wearing for your big night out with Antonio

We have been working our fingers to the bone making them just for you and found a little guy to present them to you...

I was gonna send his daddy - a really good looking hunk - but you being married and all...I though it would not be proper...! HAUOLI NA HANAU

Forget the leaping frogs...just picture yourself on the divan...

Is someone coming to suck her toes??? Thanks, Heide, for the early warning...she will arise in about 2 hours. It is nice to have some things here for her to awaken to...!

Not toes, though that's a thought. Let's just say there's someone who wants to admire her fine eyes.

I think she will be most happy with that...!

EVERYBODY REJOICE! It's Gi's Birthday! A BEAUTIFUL ROSE FOR A BEAUTIFUL LADY . . .

Those hopping frogs...!!!

What hopping frogs??? ... (Weren't we supposed to forget about those LEAPING frogs??!) Oh ... and Gi ... Happy Birthday from me ... the other Karen ...

The ones Heide was having so much trouble with earlier? Don't know, actually!

For your birthday, Gi, I'm going to paint your picture

Happy Birthday, dearest Gi Love, Patas P.S. Jana2 taught me how to type.

Many Happy Returns of the day, Gi. From your friends:)

Happy Birthday Gi! Something a girl should never do without, the pearls! I hope you wear them when DB paints your picture. Just think, you can take tuns painting each other. ;-) Tanti Auguri!

Gi, you didn't show everyone pictures of your tour group leader in Tunisia: Keeping him all for yourself? ;-D

I just don't see the resemblance! ;-D

Where is that lovely Latina from the Donmar lobby? I would love to dance with her... ...and then maybe end the evening with...