What A Life!

Elizabeth Taylor lived a life that many women only fantasize about.   Glamour, fame, fortune, beauty, jewelry and love.  Born in England to American parents in 1932, this blue-eyed beauty would grow up to be admired my women and lusted after by men all over the world.

Even though she is well-known for her beauty and her many marriages,  people fail to forget that the reason she is such a legend has to do with her immaculate talent.  This two-time Oscar winner proved that you can have it all: beauty, talent, grace, sophistication and be smart enough to know what to do with it!  How many women in Hollywood are currently living up to those standards?   Her charitable contributions, activism and philanthropic work can not be ignored either.  And even though she had many marriages and lovers, it was and will always be Mr. Richard Burton who will forever be remembered as the love of Elizabeth Taylor’s life.  How could he not be with the exotic vacations and fabulous jewelry he gave to her, as well as all the drama,  a relationship that toxic can only be remembered as such!

This Dame will be missed, but will always be remembered as an iconic legend.

Wearing a ring given by Richard Burton

Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Taylor-Burton Diamond in a necklace by Cartier

Published in: on March 23, 2011 at 10:28 am  Leave a Comment  

New Discoveries

For the past few weeks I have been in between a hibernate yet depressive mood.  This in between state of mind is never good for the soul, so I decided to read about anything and anyone for some sort of inspiration to get me excited and motivated.   Before I started my search, I decided to isolate myself in stillness and engross soul in my own thoughts, asking my Creator to guide me toward not only what I wanted, but also what I needed .  Because of my love of art, culture, music, language and literature, I figured that I have gained adequate knowledge about  obtaining inspiration without having to search outside of myself, but by searching within.  Knowing and understanding that everything first begins with God and ones own inner strength and inner peace.

Last night, I called my father.  I usually speak to him several times a week, but because of this isolation process, it was going on two weeks without him hearing from me.  During our phone conversation, we begin to speak about affairs concerning an upcoming family reunion and the conversation began to turn into a family history/genealogical lesson.   As my father is running down the names of his ancestors, I begin to tell him about my recent depressed state, my father says, “I remember when I was really young and I was feeling a little down and my Grandfather said that ‘A man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.’ ” His Grandfather’s first cousin Auguste once told this to his Grandfather and his grandfather told him.   It seems as if my great-grandfather spoke of his cousin Auguste, who lived in France, frequently.   Auguste was a writer who not only wrote plays and novels, but he also helped to write great novels along with other French writers.  I told my father that the quote he said sound very familiar, as if I read or heard it somewhere before.   So I ask my father if he knew the surname to cousin Auguste from France and he said, that it  was either McKay or Markay, but being that it was a french surname, he was unsure of the spelling.  So this morning when I googled the quote, the quote is actually from my favorite author of all time-Monsieur Alexandre Dumas!  If you don’t know much about this author, please do some research on him.  It is because of him, I love literature as much as I doand it is also because of him, some of the greatest adventure movies have been made.  I knew that I had read that saying before, and as I did further research I discovered that one of Alexandre Dumas’ most famous assistants in writing some of his greatest novels was a man named Auguste Maquet!!  Talk about a motivational discovery of ones self and history.  I feel like one of those celebrities sitting in front of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

I will definitely be doing more family research to find out if this Auguste Maquet is the same first cousin of my great-Grandfather.   I will keep you posted….

Published in: on March 21, 2011 at 1:52 pm  Leave a Comment  

Vanity Fair Oscar Party

 

 

 

 

I must admit, I love seeing the pictures from the Vanity Fair’s after party for the Oscars.  So much glamor…I absolutely love it!!!!

For more pics click here.

Published in: on March 3, 2011 at 1:54 pm  Comments (1)  

Professional Addicts

As of late, the name Charlie Sheen seems to be the topic of conversation.  By now we have all heard about his rants and arrogance about him being the greatest actor on prime-time television.   However, when observing and really listening to what Charlie Sheen is saying, in some strange way, I have to wonder, does he have a point?  I do not condone his behavior, his actions or his arrogance, but when observing the history of numerous drug-induced talents, is there some truth to what he is saying?

Some people are highly functional addicts-a proven fact.  However, when performing their jobs well and act accordingly, we don’t question or punish them for their addiction.  Once the job performance suffers, their behavior gets out of control or which ever comes first, then their addiction becomes a concerning factor.  This is exactly what has happened in Charlie Sheen’s case.  The public has known for years about his addiction to drugs and numerous liaisons with prostitutes, but as long as he behaved and performed well, not much was being said.  When coming to the television set to film his weekly show ‘Two And A Half Men’, it was reported that he was a professional on the set and performed his job well.  At times, he did this while being high.  Even with the drug addiction rumors, the chaotic circumstances involving him and his ex-wife Brooke Mueller drug induced fights, and the all night drinking and partying that surrounded him while being employed at Warner Brothers, there was no outcry by his employers or the public for him to get help.  He was doing such a damn good job, that Warner Brothers decided to give him a salary increase of $2 million per episode and the show ratings increased!  Yet, as long as he behaved and performed well, the producers and creator of the show, didn’t seem to mind.  Maybe because of the show high ratings along with the millions of dollars being made, no one at CBS or Warner Brothers noticed.  It wasn’t until his public rants and unflattering comments about the producers and creator of the show, that it was decided that Charlie Sheen must be fired!  The well-being of Charlie Sheen was not of  much concern in comparison to the image of  CBS and the creator of the show.  That is what’s so shocking.  He wasn’t fired due to coming to work late, not coming to work at all or poor job performance.  He was fired for acting unprofessional while OFF the set!  But being high ON the set is okay as long as you act professional and give a great performance?  Wow, the standards of Hollywood never cease to amaze me!  Depending on the circumstances of his contract, maybe he does have grounds for a lawsuit or at least he should.

When I think of actors such as Robert Downey, Jr., Colin Farrell and others, it is truly amazing to me that while high on dope, some of these people perform better than those who are sober.   Could that be the reason why Charlie Sheen is so upset?  To come to work on time, remember lines, perform well, and remain professional while high as a kite, yet your sober co-worker is bullshitting around, not remembering all their lines and acting like a clown–but you end up getting fired for some shit you said on your “off” time!?

When you look at it from that point of view, maybe he does have a right to be pissed-off.

Published in: on March 1, 2011 at 2:08 pm  Leave a Comment