My Past Loves - February 2005

One of Patsy Cline's close friends is honored!

From Reuters - February 13, 2005

LORETTA LYNN WINS FIRST GRAMMY IN 33 YEARS

LOS ANGELES, CA - Veteran country singer Loretta Lynn, who launched a bold comeback last year by joining forces with Detroit rocker Jack White of the White Stripes, won her first Grammy Award in 33 years on Sunday.

Lynn, 69, who received five nominations in four categories, won the country collaboration with vocals prize for her performance with White on "Portland Oregon."

She lost the female country vocal performance race to best new artist nominee Gretchen Wilson, and the best country song race -- where she was nominated twice -- to Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman, the writers of the Tim McGraw hit "Live Like You Were Dying."

Lynn's album, "Van Lear Rose," was also nominated for best country album, the winner of which will be announced during the televised ceremony later in the day.

Lynn's sole Grammy to date was for "After the Fire is Gone," her duet with the late Conway Twitty, which they won in 1972.

"Van Lear Rose," the 71st album of her 45-year career, earned wide critical acclaim and attention from a new generation of fans, thanks to the unlikely involvement of White, who coaxed her out of semi-retirement.

Loretta Lynn accepts the award for best country album with Jack White of the White Stripes during the 47th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles February 13, 2005. Lynn won for her album 'Van Lear Rose.

Photo by Gary Hershorn

I'm surprised Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight wasn't on this list.

From The Daily Republic, Fairfield, CA - February 13, 2004

THE REAL, DEVIOUS TRUTH BEHIND
THE PURPOSE OF VALENTINE'S DAY

by Brad Stanhope

A man-hating, cruel, spoilsport invented Valentine's Day.

Oh, sure, you can believe what the mainstream media tells you - that Valentine's Day was founded by early Christian leaders to commemorate the courage of St. Valentine, who secretly married couples when the Roman emperor forbid marriage so he could have more unwed soldiers. (Actually, believing that would show that you believe theholidayspot.com, a Web site I found that gave the history of Valentine's Day. But it could be considered "mainstream media." In a way.)

But the truth is more evident to anyone who's lived through Valentine's Day.

It's an effort to make men look stupid - as if we needed any help.

When the sun rises on Monday - and believe me, there will be many of us who would prefer otherwise - it begins the most pressure-filled, disappointment-guaranteed day of the year for men who are married or dating.

Or both, if you're Brad Pitt.

You can't win on Valentine's Day, because there are three options and all are losers.

The first is that you forget it's Valentine's Day or choose to do nothing about it. In that case, your wife or girlfriend is angry at you and tells everyone about it the rest of the year.

If, somehow, she says she doesn't mind not getting candy/chocolate/flowers, her friends will be angry at you: You aren't romantic enough. You don't care enough. You've stopped thinking about romance and long walks on the beach and sipping Pina Coladas in the dunes of the cape. (Wait a minute, those are lyrics from a 1979 song by Rupert Holmes. Never mind).

If you don't do anything on Valentine's Day? You're a romance-deprived loser.

The second option is to remember and give her flowers or a box of candy or - in the case of Mrs. Brad - a 25-cent box of "conversation hearts," with phrases on them like "2 Cool" and "My Man."

In this situation, you met expectations, but get no credit because it's Valentine's Day. You're supposed to be romantic. You're only doing it because it's expected. You can spend $50 on a bouquet of flowers and get little credit because you did it, of course, because it was Valentine's Day and you were expected to do something.

If you meet expectations on Valentine's Day? You just did your duty.

The third choice is to come up with a great idea - have your significant other's name spelled out by jet smoke or buy an expensive ring or have Julio Iglesias sing a song with her name in it over the telephone. You blow out the doors and surprise her with a fantastic Valentine's Day gift, something that makes her friends envious and makes your pals think you're a dope.

If you exceed expectations on Valentine's Day? You create an impossible follow-up act. No matter what you do the next year, it will fall short. You made it impossible to avoid a disappointment! and set yourself up for failure.

No matter which option you select - being a loser, doing your duty or setting an impossible standard - Valentine's Day is torture. Just like the man-hating, cruel spoilsport wanted when she invented it.

Morning musings . . .

High five: Top Valentine's Day-related famous names.

5. Bobby Valentine. Good baseball player, solid manager.

4. Gary Hart. Presidential front-runner in 1988 until womanizing ruined his campaign.

3. Karen Valentine. Was great on "Love, American Style," and "Room 222," then disappeared.

2. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Star of "Party of Five" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

1. Heart. The Wilson sisters are rock music's greatest female duet.

E-bay item of the week: A satin-like piece of material, probably intended as a pillow cover, with "Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Field" written on it - probably from the 1940s! . The opening bid was $4.99.

So, to summarize: Valentine's Day is torture, Heart beats Hart and you can get an old pillow case for $5.

THE STORY: After spending the months following graduation from Music Theatre Performance at Sheridan College doing shows in small towns and living with the actors she worked with, Sheps wanted a place of her own. "It got to the point where nothing in the world would bring me more joy than living without actors," she says dramatically. She quickly learned an actor-free life would be expensive.

When she was performing in places like Drayton, Sudbury and Penetanguishene, the theatre was subsidizing her rent. "I was paying $50 a week or $90 a week to live in a fancy house in cottage country," she says. "That was the trade-off for having to live and work with actors." (One notable exception was when she stayed with family in Victoria while acting as Jennifer Love Hewitt's hand and foot double for the upcoming made for TV movie, Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber.)

Sheps, who has family nearby and has worked at coffee shops in this area, was determined to find a place here she could afford to live in alone. "I love the Loblaws (at St. Clair between Spadina and Bathurst), this is a beautiful area, I can walk everywhere." Her boyfriend lives nearby and it's near the TTC -- in her mind it was perfect.

She was about to give up trying to find a bachelor apartment for under $800, when an ad in the paper brought her to this place, which she liked instantly. Sheps was third in line for the apartment. Lucky for her, the landlord, a musician who apparently made some money touring back in the 1970s, has a soft spot for artists and she got the place. "He's very generous and sympathetic to artists," says Sheps.

The attic-style apartment is on the fourth floor of an old house that has been divided into several units. "It's Sarah size!" proclaims the pint-sized performer, flinging open the door into the small space. The main room functions as her living room/office/bedroom. The roof is slanted and a futon doubles as a bed. The bathroom is just outside her front door, and though she technically shares it with a woman who rents a room downstairs, Sheps is usually the only one up here. The apartment has a small, attached kitchen with a mini counter, a two-burner stove and a table and chairs for two. She's got two big windows and two huge storage rooms that are practically empty.

The floor beneath has a large communal kitchen with two big fridges, lots of room to cook and space to host a dinner party. There's a washer/dryer in the basement, where laundry is 50 cents a load. There are four other rooms/ apartments in the house, and all the tenants are women. "I feel very safe," Sheps says. "And my landlord is here to protect us," she jokes.

Her street is quiet and lined with trees and large homes which, Sheps has discovered, often leave excellent treasures on the sidewalk on garbage days. She's picked up several items to decorate her place, and a couch for her boyfriend that she describes as "beautiful."

Sheps is very proud of her first apartment.

"I love living alone, even though I'm rarely home. My stuff is always exactly where I left it, and not living with actors means there's no competition." Sometimes all you need is room for one.

When your Mom is over-critical...

"My mom finds my clothes too dull; and the orange and yellow on my walls too gaudy!" says Mala, a 29-year-old career woman and a veteran of many arguments. "She doesn't like any of my friends, and she's very resentful of the fact that I think them more important than extended family. She says I'm too choosy about my food, and contradictorily, don't know how to appreciate good food." Having a critical mother, as Mala has discovered, is not only distressing, but can end up permanently damaging a mother-daughter relationship. "This is unsurprising if the only communication you have is, a constant flow of criticism and rebuttal," says counsellor Leah Harvey. Eventually, there's no talking - just two people stuck in opposite corners."

Make It Better: Maternal criticism often occurs when mothers have trouble seeing their daughters as individuals who make different life choices. The key to dealing with this is never to assume that she's right and you're wrong, says life coach Steve Errey. To avoid feeling hurt by her feedback, Steve suggests setting clear boundaries. Explain that her criticism can be hurtful. "Lots of us feel that we don't have the right to do this, but our mothers can take it. Sometimes, they simply need to know exactly how far they can go and why".

When your Mom is competitive...

"Somehow, my mother manages to bring every conversation back to herself," says Mita, 30. "If I'm unwell, she's near death's door; if I've lost three kilos, she's lost 10! It's infuriating" The real problem isn't the competition, but the feeling that she's too absorbed in herself to support you.

"Mothers who are competitive tend to feel they're being supportive by showing they're in the same boat, but most daughters would prefer it if their mothers were on the shoreline!" explains Leah.

It's often to do with how you viewed your mum when you were growing up.

If you saw her as Superwoman and put her on a pedestal, you probably don't want to know she's suffering like you do. Which is why," says Steve, "it can help to acknowledge your mother as a 'real' person, by listening to her for a change."

Make It Better: It's worth remembering that your mum's competitiveness could be a result of loneliness. Or may be she's bit jealous of your lifestyle and some of the things you've achieved. So listening to her not only helps create a deeper and more satisfying relationship, but also helps erase the competitiveness, as neither of you ends up feeling misunderstood or ignored.

When your Mom is interfering...

My mother manages to be both interfering and childish at the same time," says Hanifa, 25. If your mum can't stop interfering, it's likely she's suffering from mother-knows-best syndrome.

Make It Better: To stop the conflict, you need to regain your power.

The way to do this," says Steve, "is to realise that her interference isn't actually about your decisions but her attitude, which means you're entitled to say how you feel when she crosses the line." However, when setting boundaries, tact is essential as it pays to preserve the positive side of your relationship. After all, most mothers are interfering not because they want to make you miserable, but because they want the best for you.

When your Mom treats you like a child...

"Sometimes, I want to ask my mom how old she thinks I am," raves Shumi, a 28-year-old software engineer. "She certainly doesn't respect my decisions, doesn't think I'm particular enough about things (she's a perfectionist)... The fact that I'm an accomplished professional seems to count for nothing - in her eyes, I need her help to keep my life in order."

"Mothers who over-parent tend to have separation issues," says Leah. Deal with this by looking at how you're trying to claim your independence. If you're still rebelling like a teenager, it's time to call a truce".

Make It Better

"To get your mum to take serious, confront issues in an adult way," Leah suggests. ' Explain the problems and propose solutions, remembering that clashes over lifestyles are solved not by proving her wrong but by showing her why you're taking a different path." Steve agrees. "Mothers who won't let go tend to hang on because they fear losing you. Get your mum to back off by showing her that being an adult doesn't mean you're moving away from her, simply that you need her support in a more grown-up way."

Great Mommy movies to watch together

* 'Stepmom' - This one's at the top of our list. Susan Sarandon plays a dying mom, who must hand over her kids to their new stepmom, played by Julia Roberts... Just the star cast makes it worth watching.

* 'Freaky Friday' - Mom Jamie Lee Curtis and daughter Lindsay Lohan are inadvertently put into each other's shoes... great fun, we promise.

* 'Heartbreakers' - Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play mom-and-daughter conwomen who work at taking guys on a happy ride... towards marriage and a nice settlement if possible.

LIZ FRIEDLANDER and her
music video singer-actress

She directed Jennifer Love Hewitt in the music videos "BARENAKED" and 'CAN I GO NOW"

From The Hollywood Reporter - February 2, 2005

BANDERAS GETS THE
'LEAD' ROLE NL DANCE FILM

by Borys Kit

Antonio Banderas is putting on his dance shoes for New Line Cinema's "Take the Lead." Liz Friedlander is directing, while Diane Nabatoff, Chris Godsick and Michelle Grace produce.

Inspired by the true story of international ballroom dancer Pierre Dulane, Banderas will star as a former professional dancer who volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system. When his ballroom methods clash with his students' hip-hop instincts, he teams up with them to create a new style of dance and becomes their mentor in the process. Dianne Houston wrote the script. New Line originally acquired the rights to Dulane's story in 2002. He also was the subject of the hit Slamdance festival documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom" that recently was acquired by Paramount Classics, which will distribute the film with Nickelodeon Movies.

"Lead" is slated to begin shooting April 25 in Toronto.

SARAH SIZE IT