Weekly Wilson

http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ProductDetailPage.aspx?audienceGroup=6098&sku=1935590073

 Follow that link and read about the book I’m taking to the BEA, “Hellfire and Damnation.” I’ll be signing on May 27th at 2 p.m.

In the film Letters to Juliet, Amanda Seyfried (see previous article on Associated Content) comes of age as the bride rather than always the bridesmaid. Cast in most films as the best friend, Seyfried portrays Sophie Hall, a young “New Yorker” fact checker who travels to Italy with her boyfriend (Gail Garcia Bernal) and finds true love. The true love she finds is not her boyfriend, however, as any veteran moviegoer will suspect is going to be the case.

The title refers to the practice begun by Ettore Solimani in 1937 of replying to the love letters for advice left at the Juliet memorial in Verona, Italy. As many as 7,000 letters come in, and, in real life, twelve secretaries answer them. (2 are men). It’s even possible to send them by e-mail at info@julietclub.com or to snail mail them addressed to “Juliet, Verona, Italy.”

In the film, Sophie Hall (Amanda Seyfried) and her soon-to-be husband Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal) take a “pre-honeymoon” trip to Italy, since Victor is soon going to be opening a restaurant in New York City. Victor is the kind of fiancée who seems like he has serious ADHD or some other ailment that renders you overly effusive. No matter what the comment, he would exclaim as though it was the Second Coming. He was very irritating after about 10 minutes. One wondered what Sophie’s character found so charming about him, especially since his workaholic tendencies immediately manifested and he was off to this wine auction or that vineyard, leaving Sophie to amuse herself in gorgeous Italian locations like Siena, Tuscany, Soave, and Verona, where Sophie follows the girl gathering the letters to Juliet and discovers the fact-checkers (reduced in number for the film version, and all female).

As luck would have it, Sophie also discovers a letter long-hidden behind a loose brick, which turns out to be from Claire Smith (Vanessa Redgrave) of England. Sophie answers Claire’s letter, which is 50 years old, and Claire and her grandson Charlie, whom she raised, come to Verona looking for a love of Claire’s life whom she knew when 15.

One of the flaws in the film occurs when Sophie is asked by the letter-writers if she is the English translator, since all of them seem to speak perfect English. Another is trying to pass Vanessa Redgrave off as being 65, when she is actually 73. Redgrave is more than equal to the task of portraying Claire, being the only actress to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, at Cannes, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors’ Guild Award, but she does not appear to be 65 years young. Her grandson, Charlie, as played by Christopher Egan, who resembles a younger Ryan Philippe may look good, but he moves gracelessly and has about as much charm as a pet goldfish.

If Victor was annoying in his effervescence, Charlie is equally as unlikable in his cold fish British way. There is even a line when Charlie says of his Grandmother Claire, who raised him,  “She took the angry obnoxious young man I was and turned me into the simply unpleasant type I am today.” I couldn’t have said it better, and I’m still wondering why Sophie, with her double major from Brown with a minor in Latin, her writing talent, and her good sense didn’t dump both of these Lotharios.

The thing that makes the film fascinating is watching Vanessa Redgrave reunited with Franco Nero, her real-life husband since 2006. Since most of the film from the point that Claire and Charlie show up involves Sophie riding with them to find the love of Claire’s young life, whom she lost 50 years ago (should have made it more like 60 years ago), we know that eventually that individual will be found. The fact that it is Franco Nero, now a handsome, well-preserved 69 years young, just makes the film ring truer.

A little history:  Vanessa Redgrave was married to Director Tony Richardson from 1962 until 1967, but he left her for French actress Jeanne Moreau. Vanessa met Franco Nero while playing Queen Guinevere in 1967’s “Camelot” and the two produced a son, Carlo Gabriel Nero. However, their paths drifted apart, and Vanessa Redgrave was with Timothy Dalton (of the ’87 and ’89 James Bond films “License to Kill” and “The Living Daylights” from 1971 through 1986.) It was only after 37 years, in their case, that Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero rediscovered their great romance and married on New Year’s Eve of 2006. In fact, it was Franco Nero who gave away the recently departed Natasha Richardson when she married Liam Neeson.

It is perfect casting to have the two reunited lovers played by two real-life reunited lovers when lines like, “People want to believe in love” and “I didn’t know that true love had an expiration date” resound throughout the film, courtesy of screenwriters Jose Rivera and Tim Sullivan.  Gary Winick directed the film and Ellen Barkin was one of the film’s producers.

For me, the gorgeous scenery, very reminiscent of Diane Lane’s “Under the Tuscan Sun” or Keanu Reeves’ film “A Walk in the Clouds,” was a great treat, and the female leads were fine (although I do have the previously noted comment about Redgrave trying to play 65.) However, both of the male leads were lacking. Hugh Dancey was originally supposed to play the Victor lead, and I’d never seen Christopher Egan, who plays Charlie, before. Not only does Charlie come off as stiff and unlikeable throughout, there is almost no reason to believe that the two will fall madly in love, when they have only one chaste love scene.

The use of “Love Story” (Taylor Swift) in one park scene is great for music selection and the phrases, “When we’re speaking about love, it’s never too late’ and “If what you felt then was true love, why shouldn’t it be true now?” will probably spice up some high school reunions this season. The main reason to see the film, however, is the scenery and the performance by Amanda Seyfried,  finally coming into her own as a leading lady.

The old saying is: “Let sleeping babies lie,” and we don’t mess with that when on vacation here in sunny Mexico. Ava Wilson…surely a dead ringer for the Gerber’s baby…is dead to the world, with finger strategically placed on left cheek. And that’s exactly the way we left her until she woke up, poolside.

Elise Wilson, (Ava’s 14-month old twin), has that clasped corpse-hand thing going on as she sleeps on her side of the double stroller. All that fresh air will do a girl in, especially if she’s as fair as Elise, who is the blonde to Ava’s dark-haired beauty. (Check out the “Dora the Explorer” hats!)

This blonde is a slightly older model, wearing bunny ears on Easter. I read somewhere that it was “all the rage” on Easter for cute girls like this one to post such pics on Facebook and elsewhere. This one’s just to say, “Come on in! The water’s fine!”

And Happy Easter!

Thirteen of us descended on Cancun for the (annual) trip to the Royal Sands and Royal Islander properties.  Some went to Coba (pyramid site in the jungle) today, but I contented myself with falling down on my way into the pool and watching “American Idol” in Mexico, courtesy of a Michigan station. Here are some pictures of the trip. The first one shows the drop off to the water from the beach, caused by the resort’s putting in $40 million of new sand after the beach was severely damaged, both by weather events and by erosion. This was done after the Hurricane in 2005, but it has become necessary, again, and the drop-off to get to the water is about 5 feet.

Ava (in hat) is 14 months old and was completely fascinated by the parrot that was being “posed” with various tourists (here, another little girl). She could not quite figure out what was going on with that bird on that little Asian girl’s head. The men with the bird did not want anyone else to take a picture of their bird without paying pesos for the privilege, but we “papparazzi” have to get pictures of the small fry in our party when and where we can.

Cousin Hannah Nelson takes Ava for a swim in her “floatie.” Ava’s twin, Elise did not take to the floating toy quite as readily, but Ava was up for birds or water or sand or whatever you threw at her.

Dad Scott holds Ava…who gives the camera a winning smile…at dinner at La Dolce Vita on Easter Sunday.

What’s a little sand among friends when you’re only 14 months old?

Elise laughs out loud, while Ava plays with her foot on the beach at the Royal Sands, Cancun, Mexico.

Polly want a cracker….and $6 dollars US for a picture with the blue bird perched on one’s head or shoulder or other portions of one’s anatomy.

Parrot Entrepreneur holds parrot preparatory to collecting cash for the purpose of posing with the blue bird.

Elise makes some adjustments to the sand on Ava’s shoulder, while they share the beach outside the Royal Sands on Easter break.

When you’re outside all day and you have duties with parrots and sand and keeping your sister out of trouble, it takes it out of a kid. The girls are totally flaked out poolside in their stroller.

Sister-in-law Wendy (Wilson) from St. Louis and I share a smile as we

debark from the van, where Wendy was loaded in like luggage. (That’s

what happens when you are trying to transport 13 people at a time!)

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, southernmost tip of the United States. Never gets below 48. Yearly annual temperature of 77. Never gets above 98. Or so say the guide books.

So, what’s the temperature here? Uh…well….it was in the forties yesterday, but it has risen to the fifties and sixties. But, tomorrow, it may get up to 78 degrees…….!……And rain.

We have checked into Parrot Key, a very cool brand-new place that I scoped out online. I’m only sorry I didn’t book it online, as I would now have enough www.hotel.com bookings (after our trip across the Southwest on Route 66) to give us one free night’s rental.

This place has a 96% approval rating, and it’s easy to see why. For one thing, it’s new. We have a 3 bedroom, 3 and 1/2 bath house, with a private little sandy backyard area which will be great if it does get up to 79 degrees tomorrow. There are 4 pools, I’ve read, and I’ve actually seen 3 of them. There are palms and ferns surrounding us on all sides.

I have now read, aloud, 200 pages of “The Dome.” It take me approximately one minute to read one page, so the trip has yielded 200 pages of an over-1000 page novel by Stephen King, his newest. So far, Stephen, we’re both liking it, although we’re both concerned that the new Sheriff has sworn in Junior as a Deputy. But nevermind about that. Let me return to our trip here from Fort Lauderdale, through places with names like Key Largo (remember Bogie and Bacall in that one); Plantation Key; Windley Key; Upper Matecumbe Key; Lower Matecumbe Key.

Somewhere near Islamorada and a place called Wilson Bay we stopped to have lunch at a place that had boats and pelicans galore.  We pulled into a rustic-looking ramshackle bay area where you could rent boats (for $500) with a name like “Woo Woo’s,” a place called Whale Harbor. The lobster/shrimp bisque was absolutely delicious. I also ordered the shrimp salad, thinking it would be like chicken salad. It was more lettuce in a bowl, with mandarin oranges and a shish-ka-bob inserted in the bowl with 6 shrimps. The bisque made up for my misunderstanding of the term “shrimp salad,” which, for me, indicated, as with tuna salad and chicken salad, that the shrimp would be diced and mixed with other similar ingredients.

I took the pictures of pelicans that you see here during lunch.

Then, we took off through Fiesta Key, Long Key, Duck Key, Grassy Key, Seven-Mile Bridge, Boot Key, Vaca Key, Big Pine Key, Little Torch Key, Middle Torch Key, Big Torch Key, Summerland Key, Upper Sugarloaf Key, Saddlebunch Keys, Big Coppitt Key, Stock Island, Boca Chica Key (my personal favorite) and, ultimately, Key West, the southernmost point in the United States, home to Mallory Square and the Duval Crawl and cheering when the sun goes down and, hopefully, warmer weather tomorrow than we have had, to date.

It sounds like tomorrow is “the day” to try to catch some rays. There may not be many to catch before the rains move in, but at least we’re not experiencing Snowmageddon back in Illinois/Iowa.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, the New Orleans Saints just won, and we checked out of Daytona Beach and are now in Fort Lauderdale, on our way to Key West. We were concerned that the Super Bowl might give us some traffic problems and/or hotel accommodation problems, but, aside from an accident in the lane going the OTHER way (a semi trailer truck on its side) that had traffic backed up for miles, things went pretty smoothly. I read “The Dome” aloud to the driver, and we arrived about 3:45 p.m.

I specifically asked for a mini-frig, as we have a lot of left-over food from our stays in time shares. The desk girl was asked, again, and I had asked hotels.com on the phone. No mini frig has materialized, and it is now 1:45 a.m. The Internet hook-up is better than the Grand Seas, but it is a standard hotel room and that is bad, since we are on almost diametrically opposed sleep cycles (as witnessed by the fact that one of us is sawing “zzzzzz’s” right now, and has been for hours. I can’t sleep early, and, although I will try to turn in momentarily after posting this article and some pictures, it’s just not as convenient as having a separate bedroom with a door.

I discovered that…despite the really cheesy towels (and only 3 of them for the both of us…THREE for 2 people? Are you kidding me? I need one for my hair and, given the size of these towels, 3 is going to be enough for one person. I called and, unlike the mini-frig, we did get 3 more towels.) the Internet connection is great. (As we walked to our room on the 2nd floor, the door to a room was open and some guy was working at the desk attired only in his skivvies. Surely a “whoops!” moment).

One of us went out to a bar and watched the first half of the Super Bowl while the other one of us took a nap. (Guess which one?) Then, the husband returned with a very nice shrimp dinner. Before the game started, I discovered that the hotel movie service had A LOT of movies I had missed. We watched “A Serious Man” before the SuperBowl and “An Education” after it, so I’m a happy camper there. (Both were great.)

The weather is really not warm. I am wearing a sweatshirt I bought at Universal Studios that says, “Thing One” and has a hood AND a fleece-lined zip up jacket, and I’m cold…And I’m IN the room. Tomorrow I wear the winter coat I brought as we head for Key West. Nevertheless, it isn’t snowing here, which is something.

Yesterday, in Daytona Beach, I had a manicure in a mall. I was getting ready to leave when tornado warnings forced me to stay inside till 4;45 p.m., so I had a pedicure, too. (The sacrifices  I make!) Orlando got hit worse than the Daytona Beach area, and the tornados were more like circular wind things.

Perhaps I’ll write reviews of the two films mentioned above, but, before that, some pictures from Daytona Beach.

“Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue” at Universal Studios on January 27, 2010 had showings at 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. this day, a day when zero-degree weather back home in Chicago made the light jacket weather feel just fine.

The Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue is hosted by a faux Beetlejuice (“the ghost with the most”) whose voice was a dead ringer (pun not intended) for Tom Arnold’s. The M.C. did some schtick, much of it very au courant, as with the Tiger Woods joke. There was also a Paris Hilton joke about her “availability.”

Venturing into the audience, the fake corpse asked a hapless female tourist if she had ever “made it with a dead guy.” Looking at the woman’s husband, seated in the audience, when she answered “No,” the quick-thinking host said, “Are you sure?”

The Mummy was the opening act, coming out of a coffin, and he was soon joined by Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Bride of Frankenstein, a Goth girl and two boob-a-licious girls in short cheerleader costumes, one with a “B” on her chest, and one with a “J” on her chest.

Then came the music. What kind of music, you ask?

“Jump,” an old Van Halen offering gave way to Bruce Springstein’s (Frankenstein’s) singing “Dancin’ in the Dark.” “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor) gave way to the Rick Springfield chestnut “Jessie’s Girl,” revamped as “Frankie’s Girl.” Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name” featured 7 performers onstage: 2 cheerleaders (Hip and Hop), Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Bride of Frankenstein and Betelgeuse. And, of course, with lines like “Shot through the heart” changed to “Shot through the head,” and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” what’s not to like?

The entire free revue, which lasted about 30 minutes, was booty-licious, if that is the term that was used in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when most of this music was popular. He crowd filed out and Beteljuice, who had coerced the poor audience member into sharing her first name (Anne), said, out loud, “Call me, Anne…I mean it.”

Another free show fit for the family, as most of the double entendres will go right over the kids’ heads, just as the explosions from the volcanoes in the background of the stage will. Have fun!

The Blues Brothers (Jake and Elwood) arrived on the streets of Universal’s theme park that resembles a movie set in a souped-up cop car. They were, of course, on a mission from God…just as they were in the 1980 movie of the same name…the one that had them growing up in an orphanage in Rock Island, Illinois. The impersonators doing the honors were preceded by a wonderful female singer (the Aretha Franklin role in the film) and a Soul Man Saxophone player.

Jake and Elwood made the assembled crowd this day (January 27, 2010) shake their tail feathers and led a conga line in the cobblestone street as their set ended. They sang the “Rawhide” song from the movie, and Jake even broke out the whip, (although he didn’t do much with it.)

It was 4 p.m. in the afternoon and they’d be back at 5 p.m. for an encore; the previous day the Blues Brothers act played to a crowd of about 100 tourists at 11 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. [The times are constantly changing, depending on the season].

Jake The John Belushi impersonator was by far the closer in appearance to the original Belushi but both sang well and put themselves into their role(s). The Dan Ackroyd look-alike was tall and thin. He danced around in the background, just as the original Ackroyd used to do, but not with as much demented fervor.

The show played at 12:30 and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the day of Obama’s State of the Union Address.

“Jake” winked at me, put his hand to an imaginary cell phone, and mouthed, “Call me” as he exited. It was a quick, fun show, well worth the price of admission, which was nothing. (You do have to stand throughout, however.)

A fun (and free) half hour of entertainment on the grounds of Universal Theme Park on Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

Mayor Richard Daley’s 2010 budget hole is something like $520 million, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. What to do, given the fact that Chicago already has the highest taxes in the country (10.25%) and experienced a –17% plummeting of hotel tax revenue?

The answer from the Mayor, expected to propose a $6.14 billion budget (up from $5.97 in 2009) is to raise the money from the unpopular parking meter 75-year lease, taking $370 million to shore up the leaking financial situation and (drum roll here, please) to sink the annual Venetian Night Parade that his father established when Mayor in 1959. The annual event only survived this year because it was bailed out, financially, at the last minute by Red Bull. It costs $100,000 for the fireworks and $200,000 for the policement, firemen, porta-potties and other things necessary to control a lakefront crowd of half-a-million people.

Some, like Scott Baumgartner of the Chicago Yachting Association, feel that the Mayor’s proposal is premature. Baumgartner released a statement: “We still feel strongly that we can do this event.  It’s a tradition we would be very reluctant to let go of.” (That’s a Yachting Association guy talking, for you.)

Baumgartner actually had some support for the Alderman of my ward, 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti who said (in a “Tribune” article), “We shouldn’t cut off our nose to spite our face. (*Don’t blame me for the cliched expression. Fioretti said it) We need to keep attracting people to Chicago.  Wasn’t that the real purpose of the Olympic bid? …It’s clearly a big draw.”

Yes, Venetian Night has been a big FREE draw, with over 500,000 people taking their kids and their lawn chairs to the lakefront to watch the decorated boats float by. This year, my husband and I set up on the hill across from the Shedd Aquarium early, and if the fates allow, you’ll be able to see some photos of what may well be the very last Venetian Night right here on WeeklyWilson.

The current Mayor Daley’s Special Events Director, Megan McDonald, in discussing how the popular regatta that attracted over half a million people this year was targeted for extinction said, “It’s more than just boats and nice fireworks. It’s being able to accommodate half-a-million people on the lakefront.” It should also be noted that the Jazz Festival is being cut from 3 days to 2, and many events are being moved to the Pritzker Pavilion from Grant Park. Also, some local festivals and arts spending will come under fire.

The 52^nd annual Venetian Night was held on July 27^th this year, and I was there.
R.I.P., Venetian Night.

East Moline’s “Fright Night” festivities (4 to 7 p.m., October 23, Friday) were miserable, with a light drizzle and cold temperatures. Fortunately, I was allowed to share the tent that the pumpkin carver set up. He was carving pumpkins and selling chances on them.

I set up my table next to his and decorated with a “Ghostly Welcome” carving, a jar of candy, and a large spider web, complete with spider. The young ghosts and ghouls and goblins of East Moline trickled by our blue tent, which was in danger of blowing down at any minute.  I felt sorry for the event’s organizers, who had to contend with lousy weather.

People who drifted by my table told me they had heard me “live” on WOC-AM and heard the book signing mentioned on WLLR radio. There was a headshot in the events area of the “Quad City Times” calendar, a small two-paragraph article in the Arts & Entertainment section of the Sunday “Dispatch,” and I had a nice tablemate, Dean Klinkenberg from St. Louis, who was selling his two travelogue books on the Quad Cities and LeClaire.

If you came by, thanks. If you bought a book, double thanks. If you WANT to buy a book, go to www.ghostlytalesofroute66.com and use the Pay Pal option or dial the 800 number of Quixote Press (1-800-571-2665). Price of the book is $9.95 (plus postage and handling).