Tarnished Lady

Happy birthday Miss Earth Day!

Its pretty cool when you think about it that my earthy Taurean pal Darcy's birthday was fittingly on Earth Day itself.
She had an intimate get-together to celebrate with good eats and wines a plenty at Farfalla's Vinoteca Wine Bar on Hillhurst in Los Feliz the other night.
Here are some snaps...

The gorgeous Kelly Farrell my favorite director of choice!

Can't you just feel the luv?

Sadly, this is the only snap I got of Tobe (my former on screen hubby and fellow actor in 2 flicks last year). Thankfully, his profile is Barrymore-esque:)
Since there are none of me, here is a fun one from the night before of Matt & I at a house party. There was inexplicably a fluffy fake dog next to the couch so we posed as the "happy family" with "Fido"...

I will close on this shot of the cute-as-friggin-button birthday girl. Adorable.

Artsy

Seems like this past few weeks with the Spring weather in full effect has also brought about fun art get-togethers.
I have been lax on making entries this past month-sorry for that- can only blame my busy life and my newish camera and not having it figured out yet.
Well, let's see, I went to my great friend Nicole Quaid's art opening and got to enjoy her thoughtful work.
She and boyfriend Lance have been on a whirlwind travel schedule due to the success of his debut film "Ballast". Lance by the way won the Best Director Jury Prize at Sundance for it...yay Lance!
As a result of the buzz and great reviews, they have been the past few months to Berlin and Argentina to name a few exotic locales.
I was psyched to see both of them of course and to check out the delicate art.

The fabulous jeweler Kim Faith & Matt of course.

Nicole's sis Andrea and my favorite poet du jour...soon she will have her doctorate and WILL indeed have poetic license...har-har.
Forgive the blurriness. Think of it as a style choice if you must. In truth, I just didn't have the new camera down just yet.
The very next night, Showpony had its unveling of its remodelling!
To say I was blown away puts it quite lightly.

Kime's cute coif!

I snagged this one from Kime's blog to prove I really was there myself. Doesn't Fran have a gorgeous smile?

Miss Jasmine looking quite svelte.

Wombat's future playpal Signe with his daddy.

Paris becomes part of the art.

I got boy parts inside of my girl parts!

Okay get your mind outta the gutter!
But yes, I have some news to share with my peeps aside from the wonderful wedding news (May 23rd)...we are expecting a baby.
Our little Wombat is currently cooking up in my lady parts and will join our family come fall.
We waited the prerequisite amount of proper time to spill the beans but I am safely past the scary chancy time of a pregnancy and hurtling into the 2nd trimester, matter-of-fact!
Here is Bebe Wombat back a month ago when he/she was still a blobby little Wombat.
Head is to the left, the whitish part in btw. the arms is the heart- awww- even then, he/she was waving their arms & leggies around...

Then, we went in today for a defect screening and another ultra sound.
The head is now more proportional, arms and legs are longer, all the tooth buds are in place, brain is fully formed and Wombat can swallow and even take a whizz.
We jokingly asked the asst. ultra sound tech if she could tell the sex and she quickly said it was "too early to tell that".
The main tech came in and started taking the measurements.
Found out Wombat doesn’t have any of the taletell signs of Down’s Syndrome  *whew*, has a strong heartbeat, and the lil sweetie sat up and moved from side to side for us, bobbed his/her head like they were chilling out to something funky and then stretched their arms and began to suck his/her thumb!

Then the head ultrasound lady asked if we wanted to know the sex!!!
SO of course we said, "YES!"

She said she is pretty sure its a BOY!

And proceeded to show us where and how from different angles...basically we all stared at his peenie for a while.
She said its a 90% sure thing so this made us excited to see Bebe Wombat as a little individual and a boy to boot.
And of course, they all thought it was sweet when we had his name all at the ready too!
We decided we are gonna be kinda hushy on the name until our 20 wk. u/s in the 10% off-chance that he is a girl so we can "save" the boy name for another time!
The nurse later when I said she told us he was a boy said, "If she told you that, she is usually dead-on and doesn’t even say unless she really knows."
I also have lost 5 pounds since last month- thanks to my thyroid hormones- yay- getting back to looking like me...just me and all belly at this point. For those who didn’t know, I was diagnosed by my midwife through the blood work as being hypothyroid. I had this prior to getting pregnant which is pretty crazy (being hypothyroid makes it hard for you to conceive). It makes sense in terms of a slight weight gain I have had over the past year, two years and constant fatigue and lack of drive. So glad to have gotten this regulated and all it takes is one teeny tablet a day like a bc pill and not nearly as invasive as say being diabetic and having to inject yourself with something.

They had to retake my blood pressure twice b/c it was so high but I assured them it was due to excitement of the u/s and finding out everything was healthy, getting a no on the DS and then to find out the sex too and see him suck his thumb put me over the top!
Matt couldn’t stop smiling at lunch and he videoed the ultra sound so I can watch the Wombat over and over now to my heart’s content while waiting for the new episode of Battlestar Galactica!
Anyway, wanted to share our good news we have been keeping secret.
We are pretty stoked.

Hallelujah- Cheesus has risen!

Like a true Easter miracle, behold the splendor of a Jesus-shaped Cheeto!

Seriously. This Texas minister says he stumbled across this divine symbol inside of a bag of cheesy eats.

Mmm...I always did wonder if Jesus would be of the  Flamin'  Hot Crunchy flavor variety or more of a pure and uplifting Natural White Cheddar Puffs kinda guy.
Guess we now have that answer! Praise Cheesus!

Happy Easter y'all...I love each of you more than a big bag o Peeps!
Vivlish

Here is the original news link:  http://www. ketv. com/video/15674652/

another video of the divine cheesy snack:

Sugar cane, blackcurrant & musk, oh my!

Headed up to Black Phoenix last evening for the Sugar Moon Brick & Mortar Lunacy full moon party where the dress code was: Liberatores! Et tu Brutus?

The Liberatores is the name the assassins of Julius Caesar gave themselves so we were asked to bring out our tunics and togas and commemorate the Ides of March.

This gave me a flashback to my 10th grade English teacher who taught me a love for Shakespeare along with letting his class "kill him" in a drawn-out fun toga-wearing yearly event each Ides of March. I remember being excited for his class after hearing about it from my older brother.

Back to the full moon though, my goodness, was she ever so beautiful as she rose up into the sky? Did any of you see it? Seriously, as we drove Valley-bound in the quickening dusk and came around a corner, we both exclaimed at the same time upon seeing the firey orange full moon hanging low before rising. It was soooo vividly orange early on!
I picked up a bottle of the irresistible Sugar Moon the name of March's full moon.
If you missed it...

SUGAR MOON
No way to see him
on this moonless night ---
I lie awake longing, burning,
breasts racing fire,
heart in flames.

Sugar cane, blue musk, mahogany, black orchid, black currant, violet, blackberry leaf, teak, strawberry, and dusky rose.

This oil is perfection- ahhhh- what I have been waiting for!

I also scored bottles of both Lunar Eclipse & Love's Philosophy- limited ones that were back-ordered for the last few months and with good reason. Yum.
Lunar Eclipse was made specially for last month's eclipse event and I couldn't wait to get my paws on it. Better late than never...

LUNAR ECLIPSE
Skoll the wolf who shall scare the Moon
Till he flies to the Wood-of-Woe:
Hati the wolf, Hridvitnir's kin,
Who shall pursue the Sun.

Red musk, black currant, violet leaf, wild frankincense, lavender, black orchid, Darjeeling tea, vetiver, red moss, myrrh, Moroccan spices, blackened fruit gums, and tobacco.

Upon applying, the first impression is the tobacco and the myrhh but that quickly dries down to the red musk, the blackcurrant, violet leaf and a little bit later, the black orchid and the lavender come into focus. I love tea scents and am such a sucker for anything earthy with vetiver or moss and to add blackcurrant into the mix, I am one happy girl. This is a special oil.

Love's Philosophy for your poetry lovers is part of the Valentine's/Lupercalia series of oils based on famous love poems and represents Shelley.

LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY
Percy Bysshe Shelley
The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever,
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle; --
Why not I with thine?

See! the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower would be forgiven,
If it disdained it's brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea; --
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?

  Vanilla, saffron, and cream.

This is light and sheer and sooooo beautiful. The saffron gives it a depth it needs.
Here's to gorgeous full moons and even more gorgeous perfumes...

The above painting is Moonlight's Children by Jeanie Tomanek.

Yoo hoo Battlestar is coming back April 4th!

Patience, “Battlestar Galactica” fans. It’s not too long until the fourth season of the Sci Fi show begins April 4.

And if you’re really dying, ten stars of SCI FI Channel's original series Battlestar Galactica will make an appearance on CBS' Late Show With David Letterman to present the Top 10 List on March 19.

They include Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas and Lucy Lawless. The show airs at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.

The fourth season of Battlestar Galactica kicks off on March 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with two back-to-back half-hour specials, with the first new episode premiering the following week, April 4, 10 p.m.

I garnered some tidbits about the new season from Ron Moore, the executive producer of “Battlestar Galactica” in an interview last week. I’ll post a full transcript of our hourlong talk in early April, but until then, here are few nuggets of news:

• Moore is directing Episode 12 of the fourth and final season; his first-ever directing gig begins March 25. Because Episode 11 had been filmed before the writers' strike began last fall, Moore’s episode is the first episode that the “Battlestar” staff will shoot when the show resumes production in Vancouver. As it happened, the post-strike shooting schedule “worked out for the best,” Moore said. “I’m up here prepping the episode and no one has anything to do but help me. I’m spending a lot of time with the director of photography walking through the sets and talking about things. If we were in the normal production mode, he wouldn’t have the luxury of spending so much time with me.”
• I asked Moore about the rumor that Joss Whedon had been tentatively lined up to direct one of the final episodes of “Battlestar.” Moore confirmed that “Buffy” creator Whedon, a big fan of “Battlestar,” very much wanted to direct a “Battlestar” episode, but it looks as though he probably will not be able to do so, thanks to his commitment to a new Fox series, “Dollhouse.” “He really wanted to do it, but I’m dubious that it will work out,” Moore said.
• Filmmaker John Dahl, who had been lined up to helm an episode before the strike, is still directing an episode of “Battlestar”: He’ll work on Episode 13.
• Fan favorite Romo Lampkin, a wily lawyer played by Mark Sheppard, will be back for one episode before the first 10 episodes of Season 4 finish airing in June. Lampkin should be back once more before the series wraps up for good, Moore said.
• Moore has no idea when the final 10 episodes of the 20-episode fourth season will be shown. The show’s cast and crew will be shooting episodes until June, and it’ll take until at least fall to finish post-production on the last batch of “Battlestar” outings.
• There is renewed interested from Sci Fi in the proposed spinoff series “Caprica,” but Moore has no idea when or even if that pilot will be greenlit.
• By the way, before the strike, he and fellow “Battlestar” writer Jane Espenson had been working on “Warehouse 13,” a series in development at Sci Fi, but both have exited the project.
• Along with several other film and TV projects, Moore and fellow “Battlestar” writer Michael Taylor have a sci-fi flavored pilot in development at NBC. 

• Finally, Moore, who worked as a writer for many years on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” recently wangled a visit to the Los Angeles set of the new “Star Trek” film, which is being directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Damon Lindelof (both of whom are also executive producers of “Lost”).

(Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan)

April showers bring May flowers.

Soooooo, I am excited.
We just locked down our dates for our semi-spontaneous elopement in one of my favorite places.

I know, I know...to elope is to just go off and do it but b/c of work and time frames and for us to get the cutest lakeside cabin right on the water up in June Lake Loop, we had to book it now and kind of plan it out.

My parents and Matt's parents will be flying in and maybe a few other peeps but it will be small and intimate and very relaxingly fun. My dad will marry us right there on the edge of the water in the beautiful Sierra mountains and I couldn't be happier.
We will be up there for 5 days. Its gonna happen on May 23rd!
Yay.

"And what glorious landscapes are about me, new plants, new animals, new crystals, and multitudes of new mountains, towering in glorious array along the axis of the range, serene, majestic, snow-laden, sun-drenched, vast domes and ridges shining below them, forests, lakes and meadows in the hollows, the pure blue bell-flower sky brooding them all..."
.....John Muir, "My First Summer in the Sierra," 1869

Full Moon + Total Lunar Eclipse tonight

Total lunar eclipse promises to be colorful
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Skywatchers alert!

The Earth's shadow will swallow the moon for almost an hour Wednesday evening - and if rainy skies don't cloud it out, the sight should be spectacular throughout California.

Neither telescopes nor binoculars will be needed to follow the event from start to finish, as it will all be happening in plain view. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse occurs only at night, so there's no danger like the one that exists from staring at the sun during a solar eclipse.

The first sign of a shadow passing across the full moon's face - the partial eclipse - will come at 5:43 p.m. It won't be dark then, but the evening light will be dim enough to see the moon itself gradually grow fainter.

At 7:01 p.m., the shadow of the Earth will cover the moon entirely, and the eclipse will be total.

Totality will end at 7:51 p.m., and then, as the shadow slowly passes off the moon, the eclipse will be partial again - until 9:09 p.m. when the partial eclipse will be over, leaving the full moon shining brightly once more.

Total lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth and moon are exactly lined up in space with Earth in the middle. The moon slowly moves in and then out of Earth's shadow as the Earth-moon pair revolves around the sun.

These eclipses take place only when the moon is full, and because Earth's atmosphere filters out most of the sun's blue light, watchers see only the red wavelengths - which means that during totality the moon can appear anything from a rusty red-brown to a brilliant orange.

The last eclipse over the region in August was fogged-out in many parts of San Francisco, but was spectacularly colorful wherever skies were clear. It may well be the same this time, although some weather forecasters predict partly cloudy skies and a chance of showers.

Amateur and professional astronomers will be on hand at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, Foothill College in Los Altos, the Randall Museum in San Francisco and the College of San Mateo to explain the celestial event for the public. They will also train telescopes on the moon to show details of lunar crater rims that will become highlighted during the partial phases of the eclipse.

In ancient times, frightening legends surrounded lunar eclipses: the moon was being gobbled up by monsters; evil spirits were practicing their powers; sacred chants and spells could make the moon return from its hiding place, or bring it back to life after death. We now know better.

As Andrew Fraknoi, the ebullient chairman of astronomy at Foothill College, says, "The round shape of the Earth's shadow suggested to the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago that the Earth's shape must be round, too. Eclipse after eclipse, they saw the same round shape of the Earth's shadow and deduced that we live on a round planet - long before spacecraft and astronaut pictures showed the Earth's blue globe from orbit."

Fraknoi offers a suggestion for Wednesday's eclipse:

Because it will begin so early in the evening, the moon will be just rising in the east, so when looking eastward it's best to choose a high vantage point lest hills or tall buildings obscure the rising moon entirely.

Fred Espenak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has calculated all the lunar eclipses that have or will ever happen during the 7,000 years between 2000 B.C. and A.D. 5000. He finds there have been or will be 3,505 total eclipses, and 4,213 have been or will be partial.

The next total eclipse of the moon that will be visible for California viewers will be on Dec. 10, 2010, at about the same time as this one.

Catch Wednesday's eclipse if the sky is clear, Fraknoi says, because it may be foggy or cloudy two years from now.

When the show begins and ends

Wednesday evening's lunar eclipse will begin in the eastern sky.

Partial eclipse: 5:43 p.m.

Total eclipse: 7:01 p.m.

Total eclipse ends: 7:51 p.m.

Partial eclipse ends: 9:09 p.m.
(times are PST).

This is so cool...check it out!
An animation of the lunar eclipse happening tonight (times on mulit-media animation are east coast)...
ECLIPSE ANIMATION!

Also, tonight is Black Phoenix's Full Moon Lunacy Will Call event beginning at 7 pm.
Sadly, they are backordered on the Eclipse oil so it won't be available but Cheshire Moon and all the Valentine/Lupercalia oils will be as well as regular catalog.
Dress code is Lupercalia.
Be there!

One year down.

We were in the Billy Wilder Theatre tonight for the UCLA Pre Code Film Preservation Series having a fun conversation with this amazing older couple sitting in front of us earlier tonight.
Waiting for the early 30's pre code Murder by the Clock with the glammy Lilyan Tashman to begin (followed by The Cheat with Tallulah Bankhead) we all chatted on about life, things we are looking forward to, how we met and how long we have been a couple.

The exuberant couple we were conversing with were in their mid-80's and had met 11 years ago at a rainy day screening at the Television & Radio Sciences Academy. They were the only 2 that day who chose to brave the weather and the only people in the whole theatre and consequently, they fell in love. They both had 2 prior marriages which ended in their respective partners passing away and lucky for them, they found each other. They share a love of going to the movies and stepping out.

We realised as we checked the date which was the 17th that tomorrow (February 18th) is exactly one year since Matt & I's very first date- our anniversary being just a few days after Valentine's Day...aww! The lady we were talking with reached her hand out and clasped mine and winked at us both smiling the biggest grin. Its hard to explain but it was a special moment shared with strangers...so intimate and I almost teared up.

***sappy sentimental warning: skip ahead if you hate mushy talk hahaaa***

Its hard for me to believe that just one year ago I was still getting over some dumb guy who really wasn't a very nice or classy person to begin with and for me to imagine that I didn't know or have Matt in my life back then.
I mean, aside from us living together for nearly half a year now and all our camping and various travels, he is my best friend.
This year has truly been the best one yet.
I am so glad I talked myself into going to dinner at El Compadre that Sunday night a year ago. We for the most part have been peas-n-carrots ever since.
I can't imagine my life without him and am excited for our next year together which will be even more chockful of special memories, travels and especially new beginnings...

Tonight's pre code schedule at UCLA

Sunday February 17 2008, 7:00PM*

MURDER BY THE CLOCK
(1931) Directed by Edward Sloman

Draped in skin-clinging satin, star Lilyan Tashman delivers a fiendishly demented turn as the impatient niece of a wealthy matriarch who dupes her lover into a plot to get her inheritance early. A string of murders, a horn-alarmed crypt and Tashman's brutish embrace of the matriarch's mentally feeble son help make this an overlooked camp classic ripe for rediscovery.

Paramount. Screenplay: Henry Myers. Cinematographer: Karl Struss. Cast: William Boyd, Lilyan Tashman, Irving Pichel, Regis Toomey. 35mm, 74 min.

THE CHEAT
(1931) Directed by George Abbott

The inimitable Tallulah Bankhead plays a thrill-seeking housewife who gambles away $10,000 (at the height of the Depression), pinching it from her local charity only to lose it in a shaky market deal. Her actions leave her desperate and open to the lascivious charms of a local art collector who gives her the dough, but expects a pound of flesh in return.

Paramount. Screenplay: Harry Hervey, Hector Turnbull. Cinematographer: George J. Folsey. Editor: Emma Hill. Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, Harvey Stephens, Irving Pichel, Jay Fassett. 35mm, 70 min.

* Please note the early start time.

Billy Wilder Theater
          Courtyard Level, Hammer Museum
          10899 Wilshire Boulevard (intersection of Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards)
          Los Angeles, CA 90024
        310.206.8013