Peter Sarsgaard and Other Good Things...

Peter Sarsgaard and Other Good Things…

I am taking the 'high road' for a change; the road less followed for me, when saying that I have the UTMOST respect and awe for Peter Sarsgaard's acting ability and his choice of roles. And I swear, the movie-guy-crush came MUCH later, after I had put him on a pedestal for his acting skills. I discovered ('things' tend to not exist till I "discover" them :o) this guy a couple of months ago after adding HBO to my cable system. One random day, at one random moment, the movie "Shattered Glass" came on. I remember hearing about it. A true story about a political magazine writer's downfall due to fabricating stories and presenting them as fact. I settled in to watch the movie and learn more about what happened…So I am watching this movie and it strikes me that the guy playing the editor is lighting up the screen each time he is on it with understated intensity. I am not one to notice 'good acting.' Usually I chalk up the accolades for single actors as really being attributed to the myriad of things that make a movie: script, lighting, director, story, yaddayadda. I'm not good at picking out good acting…BUT, not in this case. He was mesmerizing in his performance. And I still swear, I hadn't noticed he is a cutie till after watching the movie a random second time.

Then comes "Garden State" a few weeks later. I'd heard the title but knew nothing about the movie. I did however note that Peter Sarsgaard, that intriguing actor, was in this movie too. This guy is a chameleon. His characters and looks were infinitely different. Both stellar performances and Garden State is one helluva movie.

After learning this guy's name of course I am seeing it all around. Most recently: Kinsey. Skeleton Key. Flightplan (w/Jodie Foster). Jarhead. The Dying-Gaul…Anyways, nevermind this guy is c.u.t.e. (note to self: nevermind this guy is cute!) he is an amazing actor. I predict an Oscar within 2 years. I'd like to be the presenter if any Hollywood types are out there reading my blog. (hehe)

Other good things? I don't have skin cancer. My doctor told me this afternoon the random lump on my arm that's been there a couple of years and that started changing shape this month is some sort of scar tissue event. Maybe from a mosquito or noseeum bite. Just when I would have been perfectly ambivalent about having a life threatening illness, the potential for one comes up when I have a damned trip to Italy planned. But, all is okey doke afterall. I think I'll finish my glass of Merlot and stick 'Garden State' in my dvd player…and internalize the notion that I do value my life, at least a bit.

Neglect...

If you think this blog seems neglected, you should see my carpet. My vaccuum needs to be dusted. My bathroom is a Darwinian petrie dish with primitive language the next step on the life-form progress scale. My dog has learned I am just no fun lately. My job is a mountain range. I have, after a month, reached the summit and am now on the easier downhill side of efforts equaling results. I am writing this. I survived another quarterly hell. Yet, I still embrace what I do. The freedom of working at home and being in charge of this enterprise that is so closely intertwined with my Life for so many years, that untangling Myself from what I do, when the time comes will be an adventure in itself. I am beyond tired and rambling and will now post this nonsense. Me and my cup of peppermint tea wish you all a Goodnight or Goodday. Laurie

I'm almost positive this is Verona, Piazza Erbe. I'll verify this when sipping an espresso next to the fountain in the piazza come end of March. If it's NOT there, so what!?!  

Picture taken through a short outdoor corridor in Verona. The character of the far wall was created by age. When I entered this passage to look at the broken column, I detected the strong smell of livestock and expected to see a horses or horse signs when I got there. There was nothing of the sort. I have concluded it was a ghost scent from centuries past.  

Vegas?? Fuggedaboudit

What a difference a day makes....Yesterday afternoon I looked at Bocelli's schedule and saw that he and Steven are going to be in Florence, Italy for 3 concerts of Puccini's, Messa di Gloria at the Teatro Communale. Cha-ching. Who needs Vegas??!! It is tied with Detroit as my least favorite city to travel to.

A mere 90,000 miles from my Alaska Airlines mileage plan got me a free ticket from Juneau to Rome (Thank You ~ British Air!!) Two weeks in Italy in March.
Hello Venice!
Hello Verona!
Hello Rome!
Hello Florence!
Hello marble muscles (and other interesting body parts!)
Hello Beckee!

I love having months in advance to plan trips like this. I get to dust off my Italian travel books, my Italian cheat-sheets, my Italian furs....Just kidding!!

THIS is gonna be a Trip. :o)

Ana Maria, Andrea & Steven 

Bocelli musings...

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend, Becs, emailed me a picture of her and a few other friends standing around a cluster of empty theater seats upon which the back of one, Andrea Bocelli's casually clad bottom rested as he stood and conversed with them. They looked very happy. I wished I was there. I miss those days of close encounters of the Bocelli-kind, the excitement of travelling, of seeing old friends and acquaintances. I suddenly missed it all or at least missed the feeling. The feeling of being special, of doing something 'special.'

It has caused me to daydream recently about the 'good ole days' when I was globe trotting to concerts and operas. Becoming fiscally responsible caused me to stop my travels about 3 years ago. Remaining fiscally responsible is preventing me from doing it again. Gawd it was fun!!

I am however trying right now to get 'Invite Only' tickets for a special concert planned for Las Vegas, December 9 & 10. It is a long shot, but not impossible. I'll find out Monday if my one (so far) email gets me anywhere. I am accepting any and all wishes of Good Luck on this task :o)

So back to my travels….One of the most special events was the outdoor concert in Hyde Park. It was special even before it turned out me and Beckee ended up in Bocelli's, 'Tuscan Skies' dvd from footage of this concert.

It started out with me learning there were tickets available that included dinner and dessert, on-site tents, special reserved bathroom facilities AND something called Pims. There was a package deal for all this and what was supposed to be the best concert tickets available. I jumped at the opportunity, emailing the company that was in charge of the dinner/tickets experience. The gal at this company assured me that we had very good seats. It was like a leap of faith to go this route since we would not know exactly where we were sitting till the night of the concert.

This trip was my first trip to London and I fell in love with the city and Hyde Park. We stayed at the Hilton where a short walk through the underground tunnel connected us with the park. On the day of the concert we headed over there hours early to scope the place out and to finally see where our seats actually were. It was a warm, but overcast summer day. We meandered further and further toward the stage. We knew it was Front Row, but it could have been off to an extreme side for all we could tell from the ticket. We were as close to front row, center as you can get. Needless to say, we were very happy campers. It would make for some great photos. And of course the view just doesn't get any better than this.

It was still pretty early, even for the dinner, so we walked around, chatted with some of the guys who were Security. One of them did a killer Kermit the Frog impression. Then we found where the entrance for the 'backstage' and hung around there, lounging in the grass, waiting to see if we recognized anyone going in. After a while Steven Mercurio showed up. We first met him in Detroit a couple of years earlier. He is a frequent conductor for Andrea's operas and concerts and a down-to-earth friendly guy. Beckee had brought a gift for Andrea and Steven agreed to take it and pass it on for her.

It was time to eat and discover what these mysterious "Pims" were. In a word: Yum. It is a delicious champagney-fruity thing. Yum. The tent set-ups were pristine white things with table and chairs both inside and out and faux windows. The mostly all British crowd was a subdued hush of quiet voices that we had become accustomed the last few days that seemed to exaggerate our naturally loud American voices. It was lovely and quaint. And we had good seats. And it got better.

We were just a few feet from the stage. When Steven came out, he gave a wave to me and Becs, then on with the 'William Tell Overture' to warm the crowd and orchestra up! Then Bocelli, and the crowd goes wild…As the concert went on the sun started to go down. At the end, it was dark out with only the stage lit up and the first few rows of seats. When the women with the bouquets of flowers for Andrea, Ana Maria Martinez (the soprano) and for Steven came onto the stage, we were all on our feet clapping. To my great surprise, came one of the highlights of my life. Steven cupped a hand to his mouth and yelled, "Laurie!" to get my attention and threw me his bouquet. Camera in one hand, I did a one handed swoop and caught them and got a few chuckles from folks close enough to see what happened. It was just a sweet, simple gesture on his part. I was tickled beyond words. We were leaving the next day for Dublin for another outdoor concert the very next night, so I took some pictures back at the hotel of my bouquet, pressed a few into my book, and had to leave them. Such a sweet memory….