figured i'd get that out of the way
The quote of the day:
I think Bill Clinton and Henry Hyde with rubber chickens at twenty paces would be a more dignified and meaningful way to put the whole thing to rest.
Yes, you should call your representative or sign the Moveon petition or maybe both.
Not that calling your representative will do any good: this is a straight party-line vote. They're hoping the Senate will straighten them out.
Just remember this from this little charade, however: the extremist wing of the Republican party is the Republican party. When push comes to shove (from the party hierarchy), "moderate" Republicans cave, every time.
Think about that when you think about your personal freedoms and what it means to live in this country.
I've been busy. (Also busy not running, Rob--you can relax...until the new year.) I've taken to writing down each and everything I do in my handy calendar, so I can easily flip back and see what I've done recently.
Saturday
The last day I've gone running. For a few blocks I kept pace with a British guy who thought I looked "hardcore." Ha. He dusted me when we reached the bank building. No, he didn't ask for my phone number or anything. It made me think about how much more fun exercise is when you have someone to do it with.
I wrote for about 3 or 4 hours in the afternoon. The high school script. I was overcome by crushing nostalgia and regret. I see I've written an entire entry about this. Right then.
Sunday
I wrote on Sunday too. Yay me.
I also chatted with Mary-the-Disney-fellow for quite a while about various things, including printers and the Robert McKee seminar she just took. She loved it.
I watched what I thought was one of the worst X-Files episodes ever: "The Ghost Who Stole Christmas," which was written and directed by none other than Chris Carter, who ought to know better. (Or ought to know his characters better.)
Monday
I did a lot of errands today, starting with a dentist appointment at 8:30am. (Like that's even a time.) The dentist removed the retainer I've had bonded to the inside of my lower teeth since the second time I got braces--1990; orthodontia by my own choice. I then had impressions of my teeth taken so that he can make some removable retainers for me to wear at night. The top mold came off without a hitch. The bottom mold, though...
The attendant put the mold into my mouth and I immediately felt a stinging sensation in several places. Nothing horrible--my air passages weren't cut off--but I hadn't felt the stinging with the upper mold.
Then I started drooling.
A lot.
The attendant came back in after a minute and found me trying to keep the flood off my clothing with the bib. "Oh, did I forget to mention you'd drool a bit?" she said. She took the mold out of my mouth and I used a couple of paper towels to wipe my face off. It was the most humiliating experience I've had since...well, no need to go there.
I also had my year appointment with the optometrist to check my eyes. A year ago I had the Lasik surgery on my eyes. Darin, because he is such a sweetie, still feels bad about how the tape ripped at my skin when he removed the protective shields--I'd totally forgotten about that incident.
I haven't written much about my eyes recently because I don't think about them. I wake up in the morning, they're usually a little dry and I always have extremely dilated pupils, I put some saline solution in my eyes, and then I go about my business. The only artifact I have is at night I see a halo around lights, and that's caused by a residual ridge around my cornea, where it was sliced open. (Sounds bad--wasn't. And if ol' Princess-n-the-Pea moi can do it, you can too.)
In short: I highly recommend this procedure for the myopic.
And yesterday I found out that my vision has, over the past 12 months, finally settled down.
I have 20/20 vision. Darin has 20/15. We were blind as bats a year ago.
I love science and technology.
We immediately went out and celebrated. Okay, not really: we immediately went out and got lunch at Benihana.
Darin went back to work. I couldn't concentrate--I'd slept badly and had to get up early for the dentist. (Melatonin always makes me sleep like the dead.) I was groggy and unfocused, so I decided the only thing to do was go spend money.
I went to Borders and bought a bunch of books. Then I went to the luggage store nearby to buy a giant suitcase for me and Darin (no more maneuvering in two tiny wheel-ons when we're both traveling somewhere for an extended period of time).
Then I came home, had an extended period of moroseness and nostalgia mixed with general crankiness and decided to call my best friend from high school.
I know roughly the last time I talked to Elizabeth: Darin and I weren't married yet. And we just had our 5th anniversary. The last time I saw her I think was in 1990 or 91. So this phone call was going to be weird, not just for me doing it, but for her getting it.
I called and to say she was surprised was to put it mildly. We must have talked for an hour, at least, trying to bring one another up on what was going on. A typical outpouring: "I got a master's degree at USC. In film. Screenwriting. It was fun."
Or her: "I'm working in medical education. I've been doing it for 4 years."
You don't have a lot of time to go into details. But she gave me sketches of what everyone we'd known was doing now. I mentioned my sister had gotten married and Elizabeth said, "For the first time?" Because these days you have to ask what number marriage it is. I said, yes, the first time.
I am, of course, reminded that time is marching on.
We met 20 years ago. I wanted to talk to her because Elizabeth had just moved from Encino and the actress Kim Richards had gone to her high school--Kim Richards had starred in the movie version of my all-time favorite book, Escape to Witch Mountain, and so I wanted to talk to Elizabeth. You see? Ulterior motives all over the place.
It didn't take long to elicit from Elizabeth that she still hates our high school. Well, not hate, exactly: just highly detests it.
So I guess the feelings this writing has been stirring up inside me are not just mine alone.
After talking to Elizabeth, I called Aaron.
I'd read his pages, and they were good. More than that, I discovered Aaron does something I thought no one else did: he actually rewrites. He took all of our feedback from the last session and opened a new file to start writing. He wrote anew. I am very happy with Aaron for that.
He said he hadn't heard from Jody, so he didn't know what the deal was with her about getting together this week. We decided that if he didn't hear from Jody we'd arrange a time to get together to give one another comments.
I went out and picked up some dinner. Then I went to bed. I'd had a very long day.
Today I read a book--a supernatural romance; sadly, not very good, but I read it anyway--and made a DMV appointment for Darin and wrote this entry. The day's young yet.
(Actually, the day is half over, but I'm trying to stay positive.)
So, what's this about Anthony Hopkins wanting to quit acting?
From today's New York Post:
SIR Anthony Hopkins, the Academy Award-winning star of such films as 'The Silence of the Lambs,'' 'Howards End'' and 'Meet Joe Black,'' announced on Sunday that he is quitting acting forever. He told British journalists in Rome, 'Acting is bad for the mental health. I can't take it anymore . . . I have wasted my life.''
His decision comes soon after the debacle of 'Meet Joe Black.'' The Brad Pitt vehicle was one of the worst-reviewed films of the year, and a box-office catastrophe for Universal.
Although Hopkins himself did not receive bad notices, insiders say that the film's reception, combined with the stress of filming Shakespeare's 'Titus Andronicus'' in Rome, may have pushed him into depression.
One friend of the Hopkins family told The Post, 'This has happened before, and it'll happen again. He's just going through one of his moments. He'll calm down and get over it. If someone offers him a terrific part, he'll take it. He's just depressed because he's working on this film in Italy and because of 'Meet Joe Black.' ''
A self-described loner, the 60-year-old Hopkins lives in California while Jenni, his wife of 25 years, lives in London. In Rome, he has been seen in the company of another woman.
Hopkins' publicist, Lois Smith, would neither confirm nor deny the reports. She told The Post that she has been unable to reach Hopkins on the set.
Hopkins is known for his extraordinary dramatic range, and for having had what is in effect a two-act career that has been at times threatened by depression and alcoholism.
A protege of Laurence Olivier, Hopkins became a theatrical star in Britain's National Theater in the late '60s. He made his movie debut as Richard the Lion-hearted in 1968's 'The Lion in Winter,'' with Peter O'Toole. But until he moved to California to begin a television career, he was best known in this country for his starring role in John Dexter's 1974 Broadway production of the Peter Shaffer play 'Equus.''
Hopkins made headlines one night when he stopped the performance to chastise latecomers who were still taking their seats.
During the late '70s and early '80s, Hopkins took television and film parts that might have seemed unlikely choices for a classically trained British actor, including a role in the 'Hollywood Wives'' miniseries.
In the late '80s, Hopkins made a sensational return to the stage in London. In 1991, he co-starred with Jodie Foster in 'The Silence of the Lambs.'' His bravura performance as the creepy, brilliant psychopath Hannibal 'The Cannibal'' Lecter won him an Oscar for best actor.
Hopkins has also received nominations for performances in 'The Remains of the Day,'' Oliver Stone's 'Nixon'' and Steven Spielberg's 'Amistad.''
Maybe it's the holiday season. It's got us all weirded out.
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Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com