Love it all but the Star Signs and Hair Day Weather graphics - the old ones were so much more wOw: original, sassy, and bold!

To add on only, to this lovely, growing list of spectacular inspiration and remembrances:

From my babysitter when I was 7 or 8 years old, in my autograph book, because I so admired her and in fact she has been one of the greatest influences of my artistic life, a quote by the Beatles (I believe originally penned by John Lennon): "The sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful, and so are you"

From the great novelist Stephen King:

"The most important things are the hardest to say.  Theyare the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out.  But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away.  And you may make revelations that cost you dearly onlyto have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you though it was so important that you almost cried while  you were saying it.  That’s the worst, I think.  When the secret stays locked within, not for want of a teller, but for want of an understanding ear."

The incomprable W.H. Auden:

"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good."

Another musical icon, David Bowie:

"And these children that you spit on, as they try to change their world, are immune to your consultation, they’re quite aware of what they’re going through."

And the words I live by daily, most often attributed to the late, great Nat King Cole (who indeed sang them beautifully), but were really written by one Eden Ahbez (aka George McGrew, George Alexander Eberle):

" …The greatest thing you’ll ever learn

Is just to love, and be loved in return" 

Neglect not the Vietnam and Korean vets about whom this article was written and study done.  There also appears to be a learned behavior, perhaps from observed cocktail parties in the 50’s, that while socializing "it’s not a party unless everyone (2 or more persons) has a glass (of something alcoholic) and it is constantly refilled until the party is deemed over".  Sad but true in this observer’s experience.

For sundaes and all things ice cream related, CC Brown’s in Hollywood was the place for me.

I also had the good fortune to live for a time next to the Original Claim Jumper, many years before the exploitation and franchising occurred.  The chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast were truly incomparable!  A cozy cocktail area with small tables set up for checkers or chess, all nestled around the floor to ceiling rotisserie which was always going.  The bar mixed perfect cocktails and always had a personable, yet unobtrusive bartender to attending the proceedings.  And the food … every morsel a treasure. Tender meats, accompanied by handcrafted side dishes, and the desserts were truly a revelation - the subtle blending of fresh ingredients into a flavor and texture sensation not dwarfed for a second by the sheer enormity of the dish itself.

Aaah, skinny dipping in the dark!  A small series of treasured memories and more moments to look forward to.

However, during the day a girl has got to be sun conscious, and, I assure you all of any age, the thing to be seen in today is a long-sleeve SPF shirt (an update of surfers rashguards and available in all sizes for all ages!) and board shorts (as short as you dare or down to the knee). The beaches of Hawai’i and the Caribbean are full of them.  If you’re feeling daring, go for the bikini or one piece and a pareo/sarong for cocktail hour, not to mention one of the hundreds of fabulous silk and/or cotton open weave or knit shrugs or shawls which cover a multitude of sins between the two of them.

Bottom line: functional and hip during the day, fabulous at all other times!

I know (and love) that this is a women’s site, but let us please not forget that domestic abuse is NOT exclusively a "women’s issue".  Men and children are abused everyday by spouses, parents, and siblings.  Dave Pelzer chronicled his life and overcoming abuse in three very challenging books.  We are all called to action to see the evidence of abuse in our fellow human beings and not ignore this insidious issue in our communities and families any longer.

As a grown woman, but not yet considered "of an age", I relish every moment spent within the pages, made of actual fibers, of a book. The digital varieties that are slowly beginning to pervade our culture lift my spirit when I consider that other great and powerful force in my life: wanderlust! The thought of being able to travel with more than a small selection of titles, without requiring an extra suitcase, steamer trunk, or porter to heft them, has created a feverish frenzy in me, knowing that I will have so many worlds at my fingertips even as I soar thousands of miles above new adventures.

Liz, I got so excited when you wrote that "A Salute to the Hollywood Musical" would be touring California, that I researched it for tickets to take my mom for our birthdays, only to discover that the series kicks off in Naples, FL, not Naples, Long Beach, CA. Sadly, I cannot travel to Florida at this time and will have to hope that Mr. Feinstein, Ms. Dahl, Miss Russell, and Ms. Powell will grace the West Coast with their talent!

For all of you out there enjoying your wOw on a Mac, simply depress the "command" key and then the "+" key to increase the text size to your satisfaction.  The ‘View’ tab will also offer you a "Zoom" option (but it is rather more time consuming).