Fun and Fans at the "Barbara" Streisand Charity Auction

The Barbra Streisand Auction held October 17th and 18th at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills raised funds for The Streisand Foundation  in New York which contributes to such causes as the Natural Resources Defense Council, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, Institute for America’s Future, People for the American Way, Center for Public Integrity, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Watch and Youth Arts USA.

Gowns Barbara Streisand wore for concerts were auctioned off.  There were costumes from “The Way We Were”, “Funny Lady”, “Nuts”, “The Mirror Has Two Faces”, and “Meet the Fockers” with a surprise anoucement that for continuity reasons, who ever purchased the jewelry from “Meet the Fockers” might be getting a call from Barbra asking to borrow them back for the sequel, "Little Fockers". There were portraits, some good and some not so good, almost life size cardboard figures of Barbra and a wooden letter “a” that she kept as a momento signifying the “a” she dropped from her name changing it from Barbara to Barbra. There were everyday items and antiques, tables, bookcases, fire place poker sets, antique commodes and ceiling fans (that sold, due to a bidding war for $7,500). Mementoes from all over the world included some exquisite Japanese netsuke carvings including a baby bird in an egg shell, a frog riding a whale, a man holding a cat and a hand holding a monkey. There was also a miniature replica of one of the chariots in the tomb of the Chinese Emperor Shi Huang from the Museum of Shanghai.

Many in the audience were avid fans with some even wearing concert T-shirts and hair styles from the seventies, shoulder length wings in front, cut shorter in back. Their knowledge of their idol was extensive and not to be challenged. It was a fun audience with bids also coming in from places as varied as Miami, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium and Canada.

Barbara Streisand is a singer, writer, actress, and producer. She is the number one selling female recording artist in the United States and is tied with the Beatles for “Most Albums Reaching Top 10 Status”, with only The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra out pacing them both. Her career began in 1962 and has lasted over four decades. She has released 63 albums, 50 of which, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, went Gold, 30 of those going Platinum and 15 of those Multiplatinum, winning ten Grammys, two Oscars and numerous other awards including Kennedy Center Honors. With nine Number One albums, her latest album “Love Is the Answer” is listed at Number One on Billboard as of October 17, 2009, Barbra Streisand’s career shows no sign of slowing down.

Whatever your favorite song may be, People ; Evergreen ; The Way We Were ; You Don’t Bring Me Flowers ; I’m the Greatest Star ; Don’t Rain on My Parade ;Cry Me a River ; Happy Days ; Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair ; On a Clear Day ; and A Sleepin’ Bee just to name a few, their popularity is undeniable.   Perhaps part of the magic is that her beauty is not flawless nor is it dependent on surface perceptions but is based on talent, self confidence and an inner radiance that shines through when she performs.  She doesn’t let anyone dictate her actions, she doesn’t accept defeat or settle for less than the stars she aims for, but she herself is relatable and down to earth. She represents hope and dreams despite the odds stacked against us. She is both strong and feminine and her songs and vocals touch a universal chord that is basic and eternal. 

My one regret is that I was only able to attend the last day of the auction as once again Darren Julien presented a charity event that was both entertaining, fun and thought provoking for a cause well worth supporting.

Where the Wild Things Are

“Where the Wild Things Are” is a celebration of imagination. While it may be too scary for children under the age of 10 anyone older will be missing out if they don’t go see it. Any parents who don’t take their children are missing an unusual opportunity to promote maturity and perspective in an entertaining and unexpected way.

Using a deceptively simple story line that everyone can relate to there are dimensions beyond the obvious touched upon and developed in this movie. Parallels cause role reversal. How strange does it feel when our parents words pop out of our mouths unbidden, unasked for? How often is this change in perspective experienced as a child?

Childhood is not all warm and fuzzy. In reality big, warm, fuzzy piles are fleeting, rare and somewhat smothering. Life is not all warm and fuzzy. People who love each other sometimes hurt each other especially when caught up by intense emotions. Going too far is easy to slip into, you can’t take it back, and is hard to extricate ones self from.

Seeking out new experiences like Bob and Terry changes perspective, it doesn’t change who one is but it can change how one sees the world. Change can be perceived as a threat by others.  Change can lead to lack of control. Frustration and hurt stemming from lack of control in a situation can be exhibited through anger, destruction and the desire to lash out and hurt in return. The balance between losing control, being controlled and learning control is a process that takes a lifetime to master, the scale balanced with maturity, empathy and knowledge. Realizing that control does not extend beyond one’s own fingertips is a difficult lesson to learn.

Simple situations, competitions, and challenges can spiral exponentially to a plateau where play crosses a line into hurt in a self sustaining escalation that is no longer fun anymore. Intent determines the line where hurt can be forgiven and where it can’t. It is easier to hug hurt close and ride the emotions generated than it is to let hurt go and move on. Someone allowing you to step on their head in retaliation does not give the same satisfaction and spontaneous absolution acting in the heat of the moment would. Being granted control is not the same as actually being in control.

A perfect world, a perfectly controlled world is a static world, an artistically beautiful diorama, awesome to perceive but unchanging, unchallenging, and unforgiving of imperfections.  The differences corresponding to individuality also create discord.  Imperfections can be perceived as negative character traits but perception and reality don’t always sync, whether one is filled with blood or sawdust, whether one is a king or a normal person, isn’t determined by perceived character traits however, the way others treat us is. Outer shells shown to the world are deceptive.

Is there any way back after going too far? Yes. Always. If love exists there is. Is there a place where only the things we want to happen, happen? In our dreams, in our imaginations, on television, in books and movies but not in real life. Should the pursuit of happiness be abandoned or is it enough in and of itself? Goals don’t have to be attainable to be worth striving for. By turning expectations upside down artistic dreams can be realized.

This is not a feel good movie. It is melancholy, giddy, scary and sad. It is controlled and wild, beautifully harmonious and darkly morbid and destructive. There are times when everyone needs to howl.  The impression is left that those who’s artistry and creativity went into the making of this movie “get it” and “it” is very hard to define. Let the wild rumpus begin.

Ruby Slippers & Kinky Boots

There is a store on Hollywood Blvd., Lady Studio Exotic Shoes, in which can be found some of the kinkiest boots on the planet. Towering stiletto heals, day glow neon colored boots, platforms, vynel, leather and plastic, if you can imagine it, it’s probably there.

If it’s true that shoes make the man or woman, in Hollywood at least, footwear has created timeless images shared by all. From Judy Garland’s ruby slippers to Julia Roberts thigh high boots signature footwear has made it’s mark on the big screen. During the height of the cold war ballet shoes faced off against tap building a bridge of mutual respect and showing we’re not as different as me might think. Dying with your boots on is a Western tradition that took on new meaning when Tommy took on Elton John at pinball.  Footwear completes and compliments a character.  White shoes, biker boots and stilettos tell vastly different stories about the person wearing them and the story being told.

The Bata Shoe Museum gives a historical perspective to the study of footwear. A used pair of combat boots at the Vietnam War Memorial strikes an unexpected chord of pathos and humanity.  Shoes have inspired superstitions from lucky horseshoes to caling out "baby needs a new pair of shoes" for luck when playing dice. They’ve inspired proverbs and fairy tales in many countries.  Sayings like "walk a mile in my shoes" or "I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes" are commonly used. 

You can have a pair of shoes but if you have two left shoes you tend to fall over.

Whether you get a good pair of walking boots, gladiator sandals or blue suede shoes there is a certain magic in finding the right ones. The shoe maker’s elves were there when times were tough and during the Great Depression shoe soup was always an option, however today’s footwear would probably hold less nutritional value being made mostly from synthetics instead of leather.  Gum shoes look for shoe prints and hope they don’t end up in cement shoes when investigating organized crime.  Puss in Boots had a wonderfully uncomplicated outfit and Crocodile Dundee had boots that perfectly fit his character.

Jumping in mud puddles wearing a yellow pair of rubber boots may seem like defeating the purpose of wearing them to begin with but it is glorious fun. Not too many year ago Converse and Keds were the only athletic shoes available now the market is flooded with options.  Children play at being adults by wearing a pair of their parents shoes. Evolving into parents they find out how big those shoes really are to fill.

Shoes protect us from the elements, they help shape the way we want the world to perceive us. The right pair of shoes inspire confidence. But sometimes, the best feeling of all, comes when we take off our shoes and walk barefoot in the grass.

From Shakespeare to Star Trek

Every year West Hollywood pulls out all the stops and holds their annual book fair. Something new and exciting that keeps one enthralled, intrigued or laughing can be found there every year.

Past Book Fairs have featured autograph sessions with political writers such as Gore Vidal who was as out spoken in his younger days as he is today and continue to be controversial with such authors this year as Jordan Elgrably, Mir Tamim  and Reza Aslan.

Last year Ray Bradbury spoke of his early years when another young man by the name of Hugh Hefner published his short stories in an up and coming men’s magazine and Lucile Ball was his landlord. This year Carol Channing and Bruce Vilanch spoke at the Entertainment Pavilion keeping the audience in stitches for an hour. Their frank discussion of back stage antics and promotion of the arts in public schools earned them a standing ovation and left the audience wanting more. Carol sang gospel and a song promoting the arts in schools. She talked of working with Ethel Merman and Ann Miller, Andy Rooney’s Sugar Babies and Love Boat. Carol may have outlived the competition but she certainly never let the parade pass her by.

Nicholas Meyer talked about directing and how, as a child he sat next to Albert Einstein at dinner, found a hair on his food, said so out loud, and was told by Einstein “Shhhhhh… not so loud or everyone will want one.” His works are a combination of different approaches to a common theme, the contrast providing richness and depth that would otherwise be missing. “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution” with Sherlock Holmes visiting Sigmund Freud starring Alan Arkin and Nicol Williamson (a Shakespearian actor who’s version of Hamlet is widely acclaimed to have rivaled that of Richard Burton), has its roots in Meyer’s father being a psychologist and likening his craft to detective work. The subtitle of The Wrath of Khan, “The Undiscovered Country” is Shakespeare’s way of describing death in Hamlet but also references Eden and becomes politically topical for it’s time with the concept of virgin territory corrupted by two massive forces fighting for dominance regardless of the harm done in their wake. All art forms are influenced not only by the past but also by our perception of it. The “what if” aspect of successful fantasy has a basis in actual, literary or artistic history, it has to have a jumping off point to make a connection the audience can relate to. It is influenced by our current body of knowledge combined with present forces and past history then takes a step beyond.

There is a little bit of everything at the West Hollywood Book Fair, from comic books to politics, from poetry to television, from Edgar Allen Poe to the Brady Bunch, mystery, drama, fiction and fact, the influence of women and alternative lifestyles are all represented. Writers are the foundation, the inspiration and the imagination of Hollywood. The Book Fair brings writers, actors, comedians and politicians of all kinds together in one venue that celebrates the arts and imagination originating with the written word.

Pianos and Piñatas on Wheels

This past Saturday downtown Los Angeles went from ghost town to race town as the Red Bull Soap Box Derby hit the streets. Trying to get an unobstructed view, more than 110,000 people climbed speakers and light poles and lined the barriers twenty deep from the starting line on Grand Avenue to the finish line on 5th Street.

I don’t think this was what he had in mind when Myron Scott started the first official All-American Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio in 1934. Throughout it’s early years the derby was marketed as patriotic and idealistic stressing team work, sportsmanship, courage, individuality and the pursuit of dreams. People were so scandalized in 1973 when a participant at Derby Downs was caught cheating that his guardian was indicted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

This modern day derby held in Los Angeles retains the individuality, creativity and team work but in an entertaining world of twisted and amusing grown up visions and dreams. With names like America’s Economy; Banana Hammock; Big Pianists; Crash & Burn; Ludicrous Speed!!!; Pole Position; Shaken, Not Stirred; Team Wild Things; Buccaneer Biddys; The Human Factor and Rehab Projects these weren’t your average soap box racers. From pianos to piñatas, heavy metal to country and rock, pole dancers to firemen, 40 teams came over the rainbow and from galaxy’s far, far away to compete. The winning team Ironheade hit 46 miles per hour to take the lead.

Since the Model T first came off the assembly line in 1908 people have been fascinated with how fast they could get gravity driven vehicles to go. So embedded in American culture is the soap box derby that even the Smithsonian has a racer in its collection and there is a Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame. Events nationwide go through a sanctioning process to qualify, conforming to uniform rules and racing conditions. From it’s beginning during the great depression it was billed as an all American pastime for fathers and sons to participate in. Although not quite a He-Man Women Haters Club the first girl did not compete at Derby Downs until 1975.

What ever country or state you build your racer and compete in, from Japan to Germany, from New Zealand to the United States be sure and bring the family along to watch the race. Soap Box Derby cars are as fun to watch as they are to build, bringing out that often forgotten inner child in all of us.