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THE NEWS-Spring 2008 The economy got you down? Well, you don’t see me on strike, honey. Sure, times they are a changing and it ain’t over til the fat lady sings. Guess what? Apparently, she’s got laryngitis. Sure, the Writer’s Guild strike is over. But an impending SAG one is on its tail. And that, dear friends, means that there are now plenty of words to go around but there may be no one to utter them. Oy! Can the party circuit handle another devastating downturn? The WGA strike cost Tinseltown oodles of cash. What’s a few hundred million among friends? Well, when stems and buds are your bread and butter, it’s nothing to shake a Golden Globe at. Oh sure, there were some parties to speak of, being the charity season and all. Here in La-la land, the bi-annual talk of the town Carousel of Hope fundraiser went on as usual with a strong turnout by the likes of QUINCY JONES, ANNETTE BENNING and the always debonair SIDNEY POITIER, to name a few. Event designer Mindy Weiss utilized iconic carousel-shaped centerpieces and draped the silent auction area with pink and white fabric, which was uplit in fuchsia, while baskets of pink roses were draped over the saddles of 20 carousel horses. In New York, it was the fashion crowd drumming up support for worthy a cause at the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America annual event. Silver weeping willow canopies hanging from the ceiling and digitalized snowfall projections adorned every wall. The fashionable crowd included CAROLINA HERRERA, GABBY KARAN (yes, dear, Donna’s daughter) and VANESSA CARLTON, who belted out songs from her Heroes & Thieves CD. Fabulous. Doing it up for charity bi-coastal style, the Snowflake Ball, Unicef’s annual black tie fundraiser, was held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York with TEA LEONI and JULIANNE MOORE, while Grammy-winner DAVID FOSTER and NATALIE COLE held court at the posh Beverly Wilshire on the West coast. Not a lot of pomp and beyond circumstance, however, these days. Rumor has it that celebs who weren’t serving coffee on the WGA picket line had jetted to worldly locations for low-key party times. And the rest of us were inflicted with bad TV. (If only they really did broadcast a reality show called “MILF ISLAND” as seen in one of my favorite 30 ROCK episodes!) So, it appears that in these trying times, nobody
is getting a lot of action, in front of or behind the camera. So what
to do? Live a little, honey! Step up your game and make it happen for
yourself. Nobody wants to hear the whining. We’re floral people,
for crying out loud. Nature’s beauty. Did you ever see what happens
after a forest fire - flora, fauna, foliage and floral delights come back
stronger than ever? Enough trite analogies. It’s time to turn that
frown upside down and get ready to bloom! |