Leila can dance again...

I don't know if you've ever met someone who lived in a country where music was controlled by the state. I have - my dad's Afghani friends, the Dildars. My dad loved music and loved musicals and always seemed to have extra tickets for one event or another. So he would invite those he thought would appreciate it the most. 

One time, Emily was involved in a musical at her high school, and Dad brought Lema Dildar, who was around 17 at the time. I can't remember which show it was (City of Angels?), but I was worried that it wouldn't make sense to an Afghan refugee who had been living in Pakistan and hadn't been in America but for a few months. And worse, I was worried it would offend. But Lema loved it. It was (and it still takes my breath away thinking about this) the first time she had ever seen musicians perform live. It was the first time she'd ever seen instruments.

My dad taught me to keep a careful eye on what freedoms totalitarian governments take away first. Those, he thought, must be the most important things to cherish and protect - freedom of assembly, press, religion, and the arts - for they lead toward other freedoms.

So I was happy to read in today's Wall St. Journal about the effect an election has on a Pakistani transvestite who goes by the stage name of Leila.

Years ago, the former Pakistani government (of Taliban sympathizers) shut down Peshawar's theater, Nishtar Hall, and banned music in buses and public areas, including the hundred-year-old musician's market. Their reasoning for banning music in public places was that not all the public wants to hear public music in public places so out of respect for the public, they would ban public music. At first they banned music shops from showing their wares in the window. Then they just burned the shops down.

Due to segregation of the sexes, there is a long tradition in Pashtun culture of cross-dressing performers at weddings and social events. Leila used to dance before large crowds. For the past five years, it's been too risky to do so. But with a new government may come music and dancing. Hallelujah.

Are you ready?  Heeeeere's Leila....

In case you missed it...

Claire illustrated the front and back covers of the latest "Steampunk Magazine" which (as you probably already know) is a magazine dedicated to "fellow time-travelers, artists, vagrants, engineers, pirates, bookworms, performers, and other such folk."  (I think that covers just about all of us, right?)  Here are the front and back covers, illustrating how impossible it can be for equipment-laden time-travelers to get past airport security these days.  Click here for the link.

Anne's hair makes another Academy Awards show appearance

I was hoping for two things to happen on the Oscars show.  First (and seemingly most important, at least to Christine my hairdresser) was to see if Rob and I could be spotted when they show the teeny blip from the Academy SciTech Awards that's held earlier in the month.  And second, I was hoping for a win for "Falling Slowly," the song from the movie, "Once." 

I'm sure that the producers of the Oscar show spend half their waking hours trying to find clever ways to decrease the time allotted for the SciTech Awards portion of the Oscars.  But sometimes it's really interesting stuff, and part of the fun is watching the cute young presenter (in this case, Jessica Alba) try to pronounce the technical words.  Things like, "This system is used to create simulations of gaseous phenomena integrated into the widely available Maya tool suite, using an unconditionally stable semi-Lagrangian solver."

My favorite award was that given to Christien Tinsley, for the "Tinsley Transfers" - a way of applying tattoos, bruises, and wounds by using a thin adhesive material that can be reused. Instead of having to do the same thing each day with makeup, and trying to match what was done the day before, a tattoo or wound can be done on one of these transfers, and then taken off at night and stuck back on the next day.  Very cool. (No, that photo of George wearing Tinsley Transfers is not just a lame excuse to put him on my blog....)



Rob is on the Academy's SciTech Council and also on the Awards Committee and the program is probably the only time his name appears anywhere on the same page with Tom Hanks, Ed Begley Jr, and Henry Winkler.  For a while, the Academy kept adding an extra "L" to our last name, but they seem to have it straightened out now. Anyway, it's more than a thrill to see his name listed. (Click on program to enlarge.  See middle of right hand column.)

During dinner, Rob disappeared for awhile and later returned giving the excuse that he "had to help Jessica." "With?????" I asked.  He said he was pulled over to Jessica's table by his friend, Tad Marburg, who told him that Jessica needed help in the script with the pronunciation of the phrase, "cinematographic image." (Try it yourself - it's not easy...)  Rob told her, that's easy, just say, "cinematographer's image" instead.  Once again, Rob saves the day.  She then (according to him) grabbed his hand with both of hers and said, "Thank you SO MUCH!" Miraculously, he found his way back to our table for dessert.  

Now, for the indisputable evidence that my hair (and a little hint of Rob) were on the Oscars telecast.  Thanks to the miracle of High-Def television, along with Tivo, here is the wide shot of the event as shown last night, under the looming image of Jessica, with my hair plainly visible (see blue arrow).  Hard to believe that our own children did not see us.... 

In the close-up, Rob is to my right, covered with golden Oscar dots...

Here are the Oscar candies they gave out.  Cuteness.

When they showed the "in memoriam" segment, it hadn't occurred to me that I might see someone I knew.  But when our sweet friend Laszlo Kovac appeared on the screen, we all got teary-eyed.  He is known elsewhere as the award-winning cinematographer of "Five Easy Pieces," "Paper Moon," and "Ghostbusters" (not to mention "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies"), but known to Emily and Claire as "Mr. Basket Head" as he and his wife Audrey would babysit them in their early years and Laszlo would crawl around the house with a laundry basket on his head, trying to entertain them.   Em and Claire both called during the show to say how emotional that was for them.   This photo of Laszlo fills me with joy....

Another name mentioned in that segment was Peter Ellenshaw.  He is the father of our friend, Harrison Ellenshaw, and is one of the gods of matte painting.   (Harrison followed in his dad's career choice and did the matte paintings for a little film called, "Star Wars.") Here is Peter getting Julie Andrews positioned for the shot of her floating above London for "Mary Poppins."

And here's the final shot as it appeared in the movie.

And now for the part of the evening I enjoyed even more than looking for my hair:

"FALLING SLOWLY" WON! 

How great is that?  The movie that cost $100,000 to make, shot in 3 weeks, with two handicams.  Its song topped the big Disney production extravaganzas.   Wow. Glen Hansard sings like he's singing for his life.  Like he can't stop peddling or he'll fall off the bike into the depths of oblivion.  It's so raw and authentic (I'm becoming Paula Abdul) and, I guess, real.  No hype.  No big names.  Just music.  With feeling.  Hard to believe that sometimes an idea doesn't need lots of money, rules, opinions, analysis, focus groups, more money. Sometimes the idea is right, just as it is.  Love overflowing.  Pure.  Complete.

Raise your hopeful voice.  You have a choice.

Just in time for Valentine's Day....

Niece Abby was invited to go to Baltimore for the cast & crew screening of Step Up 2, the movie on which she was the production assistant this summer. So she flew into DC where she was picked up by Emily, and they both went to the screening together. Abby even got a screen credit - yay! (Rob is jealous because Abby's first credit came while she was still in college. He didn't get his until he was 25. It was on Raging Bull and he never told his dad about it because he was afraid his dad would think it was too violent.) From the poster, it looks as if a lot of water was involved in the filming, so Abby will have to fill us in on the details on that. I saw in one of the reviews the term, "booty-shaking charm" was mentioned, so we'll have to see what that's about too.

Anyway, Abby and Em both loved the screening and the after-party and the two gals headed back to Em's apartment.  First photo is Abby and her friend, Jake, under the marquee (on the left - kind of hard to make them out...) and second is Abby and Em.

The Last Two...

I have plenty to blog about, including the last bits of the London trip, but am stuck on oranges. On two oranges in particular.  The last two remaining on our wildly prolific orange tree outside our bedroom window.  There's something about that color orange against the green when I wake up in the morning that makes me excited to get up and on with things.  Well, almost.

I now have exactly TWO oranges left on the tree.  This is not due to squirrel consumption.  This is due to the Breville Company which invented the best citrus juicer known to man, which caused Rob and I to become fresh-squeezed-orange-juice-addicts.  It's a good thing that Rob's sister, Marguerite, and family didn't stay longer, else I would have run out of oranges in December, as they became addicts as well. 

Every morning for the past several months, I've trotted out to my tree and picked four oranges - two for me, two for Rob.  My juicer manages to squeeze every last drop from their gorgeousness and we drink as if we've discovered some fantastical elixir.  I guess that's what happens to people who don't drink alcohol. They find a substitute. Mine used to be Diet Coke. Now, it's definitely orange juice. 

I guess tomorrow morning it will be one small glass for Rob, one small glass for Anne.  And then we will patiently wait while our lovely tree regroups and reblossoms, and we will eagerly await the first signs of the color orange outside our bedroom window.

London - Post Daniel Craig Day

Well, I was listening tonight to Rob talk about how he had to sign non-disclosure agreements about the Bond film, and then I got to thinking about my blog and how I really sorta shouldn't put photos up of Mr. Bond, and so I decided to, for now anyway, disguise his pretty face with a black rectangle.  If you haven't seen the real photo (that'll teach you to miss a day with my blog), then I'll be happy to email it to you, which Rob says is fine.  Then you can print it out and stare at his beautiful countenance to your heart's content.....

Rob and Dan went out to the studio where they're shooting Harry Potter and got to see the sets and Rupert Grint (aka Ron Weasley) flying on a broomstick.  I didn't get to go.  Wah!

London - Daniel Craig Day

We weren't sure we'd be able to go on the Bond set until I got a call from Rob at 9:30 this morning.  Since this was the very same Rob who had put in an 18 hour day the day before and had left for the shoot this morning at 6, I didn't know if he was delirious or not when he gave us the ok.  I called Jana who was still asleep and told her we're on.  Jana had already cancelled a visit to her sister's for today due to the off chance we could go on set and the off-off-off chance we might see a flash of Daniel Craig.  She said she'd been looking to add more men in her life after her husband Richard passed away and Daniel just might fit the bill.  So we planned to meet at the Knightsbridge Tube stop and then travel together by train to Bedford.  

Right before she left her home, she got a call from her daughter-in-law asking her to babysit Flynn, her grandson, who was home ill from school. "Sorry," said Jana, "I'm off to see James Bond!"  "Good luck with that, Grandma," said Flynn with a sigh, much to Jana's dismay.  Somehow she managed to overcome her concern that she could be turned in by the authorities for choosing Bond over her own grandson, and on we went.

We took a train to Bedford and then took a taxi to the middle of nowhere, where this 1950's military-test-facility-turned-bodyflight-facility loomed above the fields.  We were escorted inside to find this guy:

It turns out that anyone who was going to be in the viewing area of the wind tunnel had to wear the bodyflight suits, so that nothing on their clothing could become dislodged and caught up in the wind and thus hurt Daniel or Olga.  With all the bodysuits and monitors and cables, we felt as if we'd stepped into some really awful science fiction movie. Here are the three of us. (And contrary to appearances, I had not been in the wind tunnel earlier in the day...) 

The eight Dalsa cameras were behaving admirably and Jana and I could watch the monitors to see Daniel and the stunt girl hovering in mid air.  In the 170 mph wind, their skin would ripple and flap as if made of water.  It was especially amazing to watch the stunt girl, as she was wearing a dress and heels (!!!) and was as toned as a girl could be.  And still, her legs flapped.  Jana and I decided our bodies did enough flapping already, so we didn't need to go inside.

Daniel and Olga have been training since November for this one day of shooting which will probably be on the screen for 10 seconds.  They wear special contact lenses to protect their eyes, and special ear plugs to protect their ear drums.  Daniel was wearing a suit with little green dots on it so that the CGI people could later map him on their computers and complete the special effects.  I thought the little green dots looked cute against the red blood on the front of his shirt.

I wasn't sure we were going to see Mr. Bond in person, but you can only stay in a wind tunnel for so long and you've got to come out and have the makeup guy put visine in your eyes.  So Jana and I positioned ourselves strategically so that he had no choice but to walk past us when he came out.  Jana, being the sensitive and loving person she is, wanted to be there to offer to massage his bruises, were he to require such services.  I think she said something about licking them too, but I will leave it to her to explain that further.

Here he is walking past Jana who is trying to catch his eye....  (I had to hold the camera in my lap as I wasn't authorized to take pictures of the actors.)  She couldn't decide whether or not to take her glasses off so she would look more alluring, or leave them on so she could actually see him when he walked by.  She chose to keep the glasses on.

And here's a blurrier but better shot - proof positive of Daniel and Jana within touching distance.

And here's what Jana and I believe to be clear evidence that he couldn't take his eyes off of us.  Case closed.

When it's all said and done, I'll take Rob in his cute little flight suit anyday of the week... right?

London - Day Six

I spent the afternoon with my new friends, Ruth and Graham Smith, watching sports. I know it was Super Bowl Sunday, but being in London, we chose to sip tea, eat biscuits, and watch the "Six Nations" playoff game between Scotland and France. France won, 27 to 6. We were in their home on the Thames, and Graham patiently explained why a "try" is more than a try, and what was going on in the scrum. I enjoyed it, partly because I subconsciously was expecting football moves, and when they caught the ball on a bouce, or someone grabbed the ball after a tackle, it was such a surprise. I kept thinking, they can't do that! But they could.

I met Ruth and Graham at church and they asked me to join them and their daughter, Heather, for lunch. Ruth is a Christian Science practitioner, Graham an investment manager, and Heather a textile designer. Heather currently works for a super high end designer who does three-dimensional leather designs for couches. They're really quite astonishing pieces.  Here are some examples from helenamymurray.com

Heather's website is heathersmithcollections.com.  Besides textile design, she does designs with metal and wood where the metal is allowed to rust and stain the wood, which creates the patterns below.

Rob, on the other hand, was finalizing the cameras for the shoot tomorrow.  He left the hotel at 6:15 am and returned just before midnight.  He spent the whole day in the wind tunnel.  For some fun wind-tunnel viewing, here's the link: Bodyflight

It looks like so much fun...

London - Day Five

Today was Rob and Dan's only day off. We met Andrea Kalas for lunch at Bibendum, a very very cool restaurant. The building was the UK headquarters for the Michelin Tyre Co., built in 1909. There are Michelin man themes throughout - from exterior flourishes to stained glass windows to mosaic tiles. It's an awesome corporate logo extravaganza.







Andrea is the Senior Preservation Manager for the British Film Institute. She used to work with Rob and Dan at Dreamworks, and shares their passion about saving old films. Rob told her about our family films from 1926 and she's really looking forward to seeing them. She worked on restoring the films of Mitchell & Kenyon, a "late Victorian and early Edwardian film company" based in Blackburn, Lancashire. They would be a footnote in history (known primarily for their faked footage of the Boer War) except that in the early 1990's, two barrels containing 800 reels of nitrate film were discovered in Blackburn. It was footage shot by Mitchell & Kenyon. Most of it was of everyday, turn of the century life throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. They would go to fairgrounds, boardwalks, factories, mining camps, etc. and film the people there, in return for those same people coming to pay to watch themselves, their friends, and families on the big screen that evening! Imagine finding 800 of those films...and then having to restore them all.

London - Day Four

Today I was struck by the differences between Rob's days vs. mine. I spent the afternoon having lunch with my friend, Jana Hunter, who I met at a Society of Childrens' Book Writers Conference many years ago. We were part of a wonderful critique group, and then Jana moved back to England and managed to become a successful writer. After lunch we met up with her friends, Anna (writer and editor) and Margaret (writer and storyteller), and I sat in as they plotted their business strategy for the Bologna Book Fair. I'm in awe of these brilliant women brainstorming ideas for joint projects and planning how to promote their work to publishers. Here's the cover for one of Jana's books (since Rob had the camera today, but didn't take any photos. Bad Rob.).



Meanwhile... on the Bond set at Pinewood Studios....



They'd recreated the world under the streets of Siena, Italy, and Rob was grateful he had his Merrells on because apparently the world under the streets of Siena is very wet and mucky. Daniel Craig was very wet and mucky too. (No report about Olga...) Since I have no photos of grimy Daniel, I'm including spiffed-up Daniel. Still hoping that Jana and I can visit him on Monday. Stay tuned...