Merry Christmas, to whom it may apply

(I stopped the car to take this photo...Where did they find the bow?)

Have you heard the lyrics to the following Stevie Wonder song? They're chilling.

Someday at Christmas

Someday at Christmas men won't be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December our hearts will see
A world where men are free

Someday at Christmas there'll be no wars
When we have learned what Christmas is for
When we have found what life's really worth
There'll be peace on earth

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime
---

I actually saw Stevie Wonder several years ago at LAX airport, and no he did not see me (insert drum roll here). He looked like he does on tv, the long braids and elaborate wardrobe. He took a picture with me and I still have it. He's actually my favorite male singer and all I could say to him was, "My name is Tara." I was so excited that I saw him that I called my father at a pay phone (pre cell phones) to tell him, but he was like, "did he say you were the most beautiful women he ever saw?" I was soo annoyed with his non plussed attitude that I almost hung up the phone, lol.

I'm off visiting all my Italian Aunts and Uncles today (my dad had 6 brothers and sisters). I'll be collecting boosts and eating lots and lots of yummy food. I make all the same stops I used to make with my father when he was still alive, just by myself now. I even go to relatives houses where no english is spoken and we communicate through hand gestures. I have to eat something at each house, because otherwise would be disrespectful. Meetballs, Pasta Fagoli, chocolate chip cookies, prime rib ... fa la la la la, La la lah!

Newsweek Article: Into each life some really atrocious presents must fall. A how-to guide to re-gifting

A few days off


I spotted actress Karen Allen with her son at Butternut Mountain on Wednesday when I went skiing in Mass. It was her freckles and smile that gave her away. Her hair was in braids, her ski boots had a fur trim around the tops, and she looked great. I smiled but didn't say hello, I didn't want to bother her. You can probably catch her movie Scrooged on TV this week.

Please Drive Safely
My mother's Ford Explorer was rear-ended on our ski trip while we were at a traffic light. Luckily no one was hurt, but the 82-year-old woman who hit us was really shook up. Our rear bumper barely had a scrath, but look at her poor car:

It's Christmas Time in the City
Now Playing: Silver Bells (by Stevie Wonder)
It has finally snowed here in New York City!

My friend and I were just saying that it didn't feel very Christmasy and we blamed it on the lack of snow, but yay, now it's here.

Here is a photo of my snowy balcony (fire escape) that I took when I woke up this morning and then froze my face and other parts of my body off on my walk to the subway. It was 12 degrees out!




My First Christmas in my Apartment


This is my very first Christmas tree on my own. Granted it's tiny and lacks all my Hallmark Gone With The Wind and Star Wars ornaments but there is a bigger tree waiting for me in Connecticut at my mother's home with all that. In the meantime the planted tree and my decorated mantle make my little apartment very cozy and holidayish.

PS: wow I just got a bomb dropped on me... and yet I manage to sing the song "you dropped a bomb on me" repeatedly in my head.

Rush Limbaugh? Don't get me started...
Urghh like I needed another reason not to like him:

"Feminism is just a way for ugly women to get into the mainstream of America."
-- Rush Limbaugh

According to Dictionary.com the definition of fem?i?nism is: Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

By the traditional definition I would hope that everyone would be a feminist. Limbaugh like most, confuse feminism with extremist women's groups. Either way feminism does not equal ungly women, lol.

The Aviator

I just went to another advanced screening, this time to Scorsese's new film The Aviator.

It's about the oil man, film director, famous aviator, and Texan billionare, Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I love Scorsese's work and this film was as meticulous and beautifully shot as his other classics and a lot lighter than Raging Bull and with less blood. However, there is a rather bloody scene, just wanted to warn you.

At times the film reminded me of Citizen Kane. Both films feature brilliant creative men who go crazy while building their empires. Instead of whispering "rosebud," Aviator ends with a close up of the lead actor repeatedly muttering "the way of the future," with an eerie similarity.

The flight scenes are very beautiful but there are lots of them. Pilots and old Hollywood film buffs should really enjoy this film since it pays tribute to both.

Leo does such a good job as Hughes that it was painful watching the once lively playboy gradually dissent into madness and become a recluse with twitches and OCD.

I wanted to see this film as soon as I had heard about it, because I'm a huge Katharine Hepburn fan and have read about her relationship with Howard Hughes in her biography. It was interesting seeing Cate Blanchett playing Ms. Hepburn. She had the voice and laugh down pat, but her first scene on camera takes place on a golf course and it seemed like Blanchett was all over the place and just doing an impression of Kate and not really being her. However, as the film progressed so did Cate's portrayal of the Hollywood legend.

Despite what the film shows, Kate did not meet Spencer right after being with Hughes, but a few years later in 1942 when filming Woman of the Year. It would have helped if they but more dates and locations at the bottom. They started doing this at first but stopped midway, so it was hard to tell how long they were together and when exactly World War II started in the film.

I was surprised they didn't include that even after they broke up, Hughes still gave Hepburn the script The Philadelphia Story Especially since the 1940 movie helped re-launch Hepburn's career and let her escape the label "box office poison," which Hepburn in the film declares she is being called. It would have provided more closure.

Gwen Stefani in her brief appearance looked amazingly like Jean Harlow. Although, I wasn't really impressed by Kate Beckinsale playing Eva Garder, for me she was just there. Meanwhile, Jude Law appears in the film too (seriously how many movies did this guy do this year? he's everywhere) he plays the swashbuckling playboy Errol Flynn. Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin also stars.

Scorsese, the film, Cate Blanchett and DiCaprio have already been nominated for Golden Globes.

The picture releases in NYC and LA on Dec. 17 and Christmas weekend through out the country. Beware, buy food and pee first, because the film is almost 3 hours long but definitely a must see. Check out the official website HERE. Also check out the New York Post review, which gave the new film 3 stars.