Wanting to smile
Last night Charlie Rose interviewed Nora Ephron and Meryl Streep. Nora Ephron directed the new movie about Julia Child, and we all know that Meryl Streep is Julia Child in the movie. I loved listening to Meryl Streep being interviewed by the very clever Charlie Rose. She's the best actress of our generation, if not the best actress ever.
My oldest sister is the same age is Meryl Streep. Apparently, in 1949 (when she was born), Tarzan. So her invitations say what do Michaeleen and Tarzan have in common? They both started in 1949! Duh, Michaeleen! Use a better cultural reference with MERYL STREEP!
She has an amazing sense of balance. She knows she's an excellent actress. Yet, she finds a way to be humble without making people roll their eyes and thinking she's putting them on. She was asked about the toughest role she ever played. She explained about the process of how she usually assumes a character in a movie. Then she discussed how that doesn't work, and she has to "start from scratch" and figure out how to do the role better. Then in the middle of explaining how she performed her toughest roles, she looks at Ephron & Rose and said, "Neither of you know what I'm talking about" and the implication was, "& I feel embarassed going off on a tangent!" Then they stated in unison they understood what she was saying and wanted her to continue to explain herself. But she didn't........
She has an amazing sense of balance. She knows she's an excellent actress. Yet, she finds a way to be humble without making people roll their eyes and thinking she's putting them on. She was asked about the toughest role she ever played. She explained about the process of how she usually assumes a character in a movie. Then she discussed how that doesn't work, and she has to "start from scratch" and figure out how to do the role better. Then in the middle of explaining how she performed her toughest roles, she looks at Ephron & Rose and said, "Neither of you know what I'm talking about" and the implication was, "& I feel embarassed going off on a tangent!" Then they stated in unison they understood what she was saying and wanted her to continue to explain herself. But she didn't........
Consistency at a high level is one of the hardest things to do. That's what makes Meryl Streep such a great actress. I've seen her read many of her interviews. She consistently doesn't want the interviewer to go on and on and count the ways she is great. With Rose, she didn't have to!
Seeing her be interviewed is nearly as fun as watching her act. Wish I saw last night's interview from the very beginning.
Wanting to frown
I had a written a previous blog entry about Michael Jackson. Now that I read the large Rolling Stone (Issue 1,084), I feel a strong sense of loss. Why do I feel this way??!?? I only like about 5 of his songs and the rest I either don't like or am entirely indifferent to. Why does it hurt that he's dead? I'll try to answer that now.
The pognant feelings are on 2 levels. We heard that when M. Jackson was trying to be revived, his kids were fearfully crying, "Daddy! Daddy!" That situation strikes a painful chord for many parents. My biggest fear (as recent as 1 1/2 yrs. ago) was that I would retire sick and poor. I haven't saved nearly enough money for retirement, & in the next 3 years, I know that I will invest less than $500 in my retirement accounts. So, that's a big fear, but the worst fear is leaving my kids, b/c I died before they were 18. There's an unbreakable bond between my three kids. The scary thought hurts, and it makes one think about a tragic death and the kids left behind. You can think of one instance right now as you read this. I think of President John Kennedy being shot, and during the funeral procession, his 3 year old son salutes him. Ouch.
The second level/reason why I feel bad is the sense of what might have been. I read in Rolling Stone that Jackson was finally somewhat in touch with reality. He wanted to be better than his rival Prince. He was preparing for his concert. Who knows if it was going to be the best ever as he wanted it to be, but even with me being biased against 90% of his music, even I knew the concerts in London were going to be something to behold. Then he died.
The pognant feelings are on 2 levels. We heard that when M. Jackson was trying to be revived, his kids were fearfully crying, "Daddy! Daddy!" That situation strikes a painful chord for many parents. My biggest fear (as recent as 1 1/2 yrs. ago) was that I would retire sick and poor. I haven't saved nearly enough money for retirement, & in the next 3 years, I know that I will invest less than $500 in my retirement accounts. So, that's a big fear, but the worst fear is leaving my kids, b/c I died before they were 18. There's an unbreakable bond between my three kids. The scary thought hurts, and it makes one think about a tragic death and the kids left behind. You can think of one instance right now as you read this. I think of President John Kennedy being shot, and during the funeral procession, his 3 year old son salutes him. Ouch.
The second level/reason why I feel bad is the sense of what might have been. I read in Rolling Stone that Jackson was finally somewhat in touch with reality. He wanted to be better than his rival Prince. He was preparing for his concert. Who knows if it was going to be the best ever as he wanted it to be, but even with me being biased against 90% of his music, even I knew the concerts in London were going to be something to behold. Then he died.
He was in better physical shape, and he didn't act as old and go around in a wheelchair like he was last year. He wasn't sleeping with little boys anymore. He was trying to be a good father. He wasn't even dangling his kid off of hotel balconies anymore. Then he died.
Like millions of people, including me, he had a problem with insomnia. Unlike me, he was one of the very, very few that would take 40 Xanax to sleep and live to tell about it. The night before his death, after his very triumphant rehearsal, his physician give him an IV of a drug that is used to sedate patients before surgery. Then he died.
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