Goodbye Joel

My very dear friend, the film critic, Joel Siegel passed away today. As I write this blog I remember how he had recently sent me his new film blog for my "opinion" as I was a blogger. As if he needed my advice!
Joel and I went to UCLA together and had resumed our friendship when I moved to NY in 1989.
In between his marriages of which there were a few...he'd take me out to movies and theater and we were very good if platonic friends. He would invite me to his country home and we shared a lot of laughs and then great sadness when he found out he had cancer.
Over the years he waged a valiant battle against the disease, mostly for his darling little boy Dylan.
He had waited a long time to be a dad and he was a great one.
I had just called his voice machine at Good Morning America because I hadn't heard from him when I emailed as we used to do, nor had he returned a few calls and the last time I saw him about ten days ago, he was very weak.
Then I found out he was in the hospital and passed away.
I have many memories of Joel, but that is not enough to keep me from feeling very sad and I know I will miss him forever.
Value your friends. Tell them you love them.

bye for now

Dear Readers, am off to Aspen for a few weeks, and probably won't be blogging. But look for it in last week of July plus some fun stuff I've been doing! luv, ss

Kill the Cougar please

It is hard enough being over 40 and dating, now they want to call us "cougars?" I think not!
There is a new "reality" show on TV which puts a naive 30 year old (gorgeous by the way) tennis player into the "dating ring" with five women in their 40's...called Cougars. They were very attractive and sexy, thank god.
But he almost had a heart attack. Then upon reflection and a little nooky it seems, he changed his mind and decided age was not everything.
Then...drum roll please...they released 5 twenty something broads into the mix. The fact that they were rather dumb and bimbo like, no matter. He lit up and the cougars went into deep depression.
I shouldn't watch, but like an accident, I am drawn to it. We'll see what happens.
But please forget the animal names unless you call the 20 year olds "tadpoles!"

Yuchh!!

Maybe I'm getting old..well, yes, I am actually. But I don't think my sensibilities have changed. I still love to laugh. I was a comedy writer. I do know what's funny. And the new hit film "Knocked Up" is not!!
Rather it is first...disgusting, nauseating, insulting, sophmoric, then funny, sometimes.
I guess I don't get it. Nor did my friend who went with me to see it with all the great expectations we had from the reviews.
I loved Judd Apatow's TV series that didn't make it, Freaks and Geeks. It was sweet and silly and real.
This may be the way really immature guys talk and act, repleat with vomiting, vagina jokes, and the F word every two seconds...but I don't want to have to see it and hear it for two hours.
The lead guy, the lovable shlub has some great comic abilities and is likeable, but the plot makes no sense at all and could have with a few little details. Like this gorgeous lead girl isn't dating, or hasn't had sex in ages...anything to set up her going to bed with this slob the first night she meets him.
And no, strangers are not allowed to go into the gynecologists office to watch the exam. Really, they're not.
But why go on...trust me it is really gross. And if you like that go, if not...don't bother!

The Princes

I was never a big fan of Princess Diana. But one thing seems certain, she was a wonderful mother. The NBC interview of the two Princes, William and Harry was fascinating. These two gorgeous, charming, lovely boys who clearly loved their mother have turned out pretty great!
Well spoken, of course, drop dead gorgeous, and with delightful senses of humor, I fell in love with them both.
William is quieter, more introspective. Harry has a puckish look and obviously loves to have fun.
Incredible lives they lead and what their futures hold! She would have been proud.

A Mighty Heart

I saw a preview of the new Angelina Jolie movie about the brutal murder of the Jewish journalist, Danny Pearl by jihadists. It was wonderful. She is wonderful.
The director, Michael Winterbottom, who comes from the documentary world has made a drama that feels so real you believe it's a documentary...but far from dry.
The visuals of Pakistan, the teeming, filthy,desperate place. The editing..crisp and filled with the unbearable tension of the days passing without knowing if he was alive or dead. The performances of many of the actors whom I hadn't seen before were controlled yet agonizing.
This isn't a feel good summer movie, but rather about the triumph of spirit in the worst of times...so maybe you'll feel ok anyway! Go...see it! It's important in the world we live in.

oh noyou didn't

When I was a child, I saw a TV show called The Lady and the Tiger. For those of you who do not know the myth, there is a line up of doors...one having the safety of the Lady, the other the danger of the Tiger. The end is ambiguous about which door the person chooses.
This traumatized me! I do not like ambiguity.
The Sopranos, which I loved, loved, loved, ended with the same ambiguity...does Tony live or die. They set it up beautifully, the tension was palpable. But the end was a cop out to me.
I am going to pretend to myself that he lived.
There were lots of laughs though and the cat spooking Paulie was wonderful.
I would like to think they left it this way so maybe they could come back with a sequel. That would be great!

Stress- Yes!!

Oy! Today I went for my first stress test and by the time I got there, boy was I stressed. If that sounds like a comedy routine..it was. The traffic was so awful that I had to jump out of the cab 14 blocks away from the hospital and run to get to the appointment. I don't know what was going on in NY today!? What a mess.
And, as I ran, thinking...hmmm is this the stress before the stress test, I tripped!
So to stop myself from falling, I jerked my back and hip into a pretzel and limped the rest of the way.
The stress test was fine, they told me I had the heart of a 40year old...I'd like the rest of him.
But getting home..no buses, no cabs, more traffic!
I limped part of the way and then got a bus that was again stuck in traffic.
I took a pill and am lying on ice packs.
Living in New York can definitely be stressful, but a car with a chauffeur would help! Accepting all offers.

DO NOT FLY NORTHWEST AIRLINES!!!

I went to Minneapolis to visit my precious little nephews and my jewelry was STOLEN from my checked bag on Northwest airlines!! I know I know, don't check important things, but it was costume jewelry from Paris that I loved though not the real deal and I wasn't thinking I guess.
Who the hell steals people's jewelry when going through their bags? Workers at Northwest Airlines I guess! Let's put them back into bankruptcy for good this time! I am pissed!
And as for getting a human on the phone, forget it. You have to go BACK to the airline at the airport! Yeah sure!