The Morning After

Faye isn't the only one lounging pool-side, exhausted, surrounded by scattered papers.



I'm midway through Dunaway's autobiography, 'Looking for Gatsby,' and just reached the apex of her career: Her Oscar-winning role in 'Network' (i.e. my favorite movie of all time). This photo is on the back cover, and it's a perfect snapshot of 70's Hollywood.

After back-to-back readings of Jane Fonda's 'My Life So Far' and Mia Farrow's 'What Falls Away,' it's interesting how the careers of these, arguably the top three zeitgeist actresses of the late 60's/early 70's, intersected——perhaps even bifurcated——each other's.







Fonda, for instance, recalls how Dunaway's breakthrough in 'Bonnie & Clyde' set her on edge. Farrow, meanwhile, snagged the lead in 'Rosemary's Baby,' which made her a movie star, after Fonda turned it down. Years later, Dunaway laments a futile audition for the Daisy Buchanan role in 'The Great Gatsby,' a part already promised Farrow. Fonda was Sidney Lumet's only other choice to play Diana Christensen in 'Network' (full circle).

Can you imagine anyone else in those films?

Let's Go to the [Tonys]

I was at the Tonys and must say:

Best Speech: Mariane Seldes, hands down. She was literally speechless! (And, you know, brevity is the essence of wit.)

Worst Speech: That weirdly smug Memphis composer with the straw hair. (He popped up *during* the end number, too!)

Best Dressed: Kristen Chenoweth & Jada Pinkett Smith, who proved that petite ladies can look dynamite in sparkly or ruffly strapless minis that put Amazonians to shame.

Best Number: The troupe from Fela!, especially the powerhouse vocals of the actress who played the titular character's mother.

Best Role Models for Aging: Helen Mirren, who graciously acknowledged theatergoers in the rafters, & Raquel Welch, both of whom looked sensational in person well into their 60s. (Angela Lansbury also looked great in her red dress.)

Death from Within

Another day, 'nother thwarted terrorist attack from young disaffected Muslim immigrants determined to one-up their predecessors, both in plot and in action.



As the criminal complaint against Alessa and Almonte shows, "homegrown" terrorists are increasingly more determined and resourceful (if not sufficiently covert) to carry out jihadist machinations against the U.S., inside our borders. Has the enemy within (and our own permissive naturalization process) scared you yet?

Fantastic Floor: Rise of the General Lee

I'm not saying that drunk driving is funny, but flying like the General Lee over a toll booth at DFW Airport *is* funny.