• I took this yesterday. Today, we have a lot of rain coming down, very heavy at times. There’s a flash flood watch through tomorrow. I’m not especially fond of rainy days, considering the excessive amount of rain we’ve had this year, but the cottage does feel nice and cozy at the moment.
• Don and I practiced some French phrases this morning. I found a great little truly pocket-sized book, French Phrasebook & Dictionary – published by Lonely Planet. It really has just about anything you might need as a tourist visiting France. I would be able to get by without it, as I’m finding my long-ago French skills returning, but I sometimes screw up the word order. Don wants his own copy, so I’ll get one for him at B & N, which is where I found my copy. It’s well thought out and organized and so, so helpful!
• Critics. We’ve talked about them a lot this year, haven’t we? I never read critics and I find the influence they have troubling, to say the least. Any critic, try as he/she might to do otherwise, writes from a subjective point of view. The good critics try to take themselves out of it and speak to the experience in broader terms. But the bad ones are all about ego and judgment. Like the critic at the New York Times, Jesse Green.
This past Sunday two productions closed on Broadway. One of them was Getting the Band Back Together, directed by a friend of ours. We never got to see it, but many actor friends of ours did and they all loved it. I kept reading glowing reports from them on Instagram. I heard nothing but raves.
It closed after only 40 performances. While there were most likely other factors, the main reason? Jesse Green, who wrote a scathing review. So. Here we go again. Even though audiences loved it, couldn’t say enough about it, Green’s review effectively tanked it. They ran for only five weeks.
Actors, crew, house staff, stage management – all out of work. Future audiences deprived of a delightful experience. All because of a critic and, I’ll be frank, one with an agenda.
Let’s hope, for everyone’s sake, that Jesse Green and I never meet. I could end up in the slammer.
• Do I gird my loins and venture out to buy jeans today? That’s the big question. I’ve gained some weight and I need to go up a size, something I’ve been dreading and avoiding, but I also realize I need to feel comfortable and I don’t at the moment. Do I say, “Screw it, it’s a rainy day, why not go with it and do some shopping?”
• Didn’t watch the Emmys. We found, even though we both know some of the nominees, that we weren’t remotely interested. I’m less and less interested in awards shows nowadays. Instead, we watched an episode of The Great British Baking Show and The Goodbye Girl (one of my favorite movies) on TCM OnDemand. A perfect evening!
We’ll see.
Happy Tuesday.
I didn’t watch the Emmys either. Don’t know what’s the matter with me because I used to move mountains to clear space to watch these OTO shows but, like you, could NOT summon any interest, even for the pretty dresses, as shallow as that sounds. I’d think it could have something to do with my diminished interest in a lot of TV in general, yet I’d watch the Oscars never having seen most of the movies. Short attention span in old age? Too distracted with hard news? Have no idea. I think I also get weary of the acceptance speeches, too. A lot of self-congrats. Maybe; maybe not. Dunno.
Claudia, buy the jeans. Be comfortable. It’s why a lot of us gave up heels. Can you imagine our 19th century heroines all laced up in whale bone stays? Ye gods.
Watch those extra pounds whittle away-and-gone once you’re walking all over Paris!
That’s what I’m hoping for!
Ye gods, indeed! Yes, I never wear heals and I need to be comfortable!
Oh, those evil critics! Of course they have an agenda!
I saw that Peter Donat died a few days ago and wondered if either of you had ever worked with him. He was ninety years old and had seemingly been in everything at one time or another. Our son worked with him in a Cabrillo college production of My Fair Lady, back in the eighties, so he made his impression on us.
I love your impatiens with that red gingham check on the glider cushion. (But I do not envy your having to shop for jeans!)
He was such a wonderful actor. Especially big on the west coast as he had strong connections to ACT in San Francisco. Neither of us worked with him, but I worked with his ex-wife, Michael Learned, at the Globe, and we chatted about her sons by Donat.
Since it’s raining …might as well jean shop. It’s something we all seem to hate…no matter our age. Remember when they didn’t make women’s jeans…way back when? Only men’s. Those were challenging days, too, way back in college.
I haven’t seen The Goodbye Girl in ages…that was a favorite of mine. Thanks for the reminder. It’s raining here today…but, we actually need it. We hadn’t had any rain in 2 weeks…and it was getting pretty dry, believe it or not. Enjoy your day! ;)
I will. We could do without more rain, but do we have a choice? Nope.
I need to watch the British Baking show. I just finish Sarah Beeny’s shows, and I LOVE Stay Here (Peter’s British). Time to watch the baking shows. Good luck on jeans shopping, hate it myself!
You’ll love it, Tina-Marie!
Good luck on the jean shopping. Have you tried Kohl’s? I just seem to find jeans there that actually fit this old woman and are comfortable. And comfort is at the very top of my list. I know I am not trendy in my jeans ~ no carefully placed rips or low-riders for me, so Kohl’s just seems to work. Oh, and I don’t have a stomach ache when I see the prices, either. (esp with a 30% off). No, I have not one single thing to do with Kohl’s, just sharing a place I can find jeans that actually fit!
Our flowers are still doing well, with the exception of petunias which are so tired, I have let them rest in peace. My Coleus pots are amazing right now. The Impatients are also so full and pretty. I bought some mums, and they are blooming happily. And our miracle sunflower still has 18 beautiful heads!! As Donnamae said, we are getting some nice rain today. Soft but steady.
Have a fun day chatting with Don in French! Hope you take the plunge and get the shopping done so it is behind you, and not in the dreaded To-Do list going forward. Not long now….!!
Kohl’s is where I buy my jeans, Chris. That’s where I’m headed today!
Buying new jeans is my least favorite thing to do, but sometimes it must be done. I watched the Goodbye Girl again too. A real favorite of mine and I love Quinn!
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Quinn is extraordinary in the movie. I can’t imagine anyone else playing that role.
My husband and I went to London and Paris last year. No problem in Paris. It seems most of them speak English.
I’m sure they do and that’s good. But I do feel it is good to make an attempt at conversing in their native language. After all, we’re visiting them!
Claudia, I used to long for any taste of culture and would watch every award show, every beauty contest(for the fashions) Now I freaking hate all those with the over the top egos in the entertainment world….that all need a damn award. People who work hard to hold shows together never get the recognition they deserve. Just as you are saying about the wonderful show with all that praise and one big ego (critic ) cuts it down. Then the rest of the attention seeking sheep follow his lead. Gee, don’t get me started. LOL. Blessings , xoxo, Susie
p.s. Thanks for letting me vent . :):) I am still mad about Don’s show.
I don’t necessarily think there are a lot of over-the-top egos in the entertainment world. I know and have worked with many of those people and, generally, they are as nice as nice can be. You have to remember that awards shows are for lead roles, not minor characters – for directors and designers and producers, that sort of thing.
But I do agree about critics. And I’m still mad about the show, as well.
I did watch the Emmy’s as it came on early here in Cali. I found the humor well, not funny at all. Most of the acceptance speeches boring, but a few special moments made it worth it. I too buy my jeans at Kohl’s and I’ll have to see if I’ve gained more weight this summer so my old jeans don’t fit. Ugh. I really do need to lose a few lbs! I love the french phrase book although I did find some everyone in Paris spoke some English. I do think they appreciate it when you try to speak French. Resting today after an amazing day at the beach. Whales were playing off shore and just made my day!
I think we should make the effort to converse – just the basics – in French. I think it shows respect.
Go buy jeans that are comfortable, Claudia. Size is just a number. I found jeans that fit me and sit below my belly button at Costco. I wear the same brand, Calvin Klein, $19.99, ultra skinny leg. I have three sizes in my closet and wear them all. I wear the smallest size most often and the two largest sizes when the smallest are in the laundry. I need a belt for them, as I lost the perennial last 10 pounds while on Invisalign. After decades of trying to lose them, it took an orthodontic procedure!
I did buy them, but it was a very depressing day.
The Award shows are no longer fun or an enjoyment to watch. It has gotten too political. We hear enough of politics on the news.
Marilyn
Oh, I think it’s entirely okay for them to be political. After all, they are tax payers just as you and I are. They have a right to speak out. And, if I were in their shoes and had the opportunity to speak out in front of an audience of over a million people, you can darn well be sure I would! I’ve never subscribed to the idea that people in Hollywood are elitist (they aren’t) or should just stick to what they do. I say go for it. There are times I haven’t agreed with whatever message was being sent. Nonetheless, it is their right to say it.
Your impatiens look pretty in that white bucket and close to the red and white gingham…I keep telling my flowers how much I will miss them this Winter and they keep giving me more blooms!…I do think that when it comes to most things that you need to be judge of those things yourself…I have loved things that other people have hated and hated things that other people loved…It is to bad that people like the critics have such power and even more sad that some people let them have it!!
Bonne journee!
Why anyone reads them, I’ll never know!
the old classic … actually there are two of them… about critics and their art of destroying.
one is with David Niven and Doris Day. it’s ‘Please Don’t Eat the Daisies!’ he loses sight of what he is supposed to be and becomes enthralled with his own power. it’s rom com I think but has a very deep and important message.
the other is Lucille Ball and Bob Hope and it’s excellent as well! ‘Critic’s Choice.”
as for clothes in Paris… I would buy two fabulous looking scarves and wear my beautiful jeans…
and I would let the Parisians wonder what a great looking woman I was and “how do I do it! ” LOL
Yes, I know both movies. Just saw the last 30 minutes of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies recently.
Thanks, Tammy!
I didn’t watch the Emmys either. I find I only like the dresses. I saw later on TV that some guy thought it was an appropriate moment to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Most may think that was sweet, I don’t. I probably am an old meany. And I love “The Goodbye Girl”!
Such a great movie!