celebrities

WDP — Most Expensive Meal

Fandango4 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?
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The honest answer to both questions is “I don’t remember.”

What I do remember is that when we lived in Southern California in the mid-80s, we would drive into Los Angeles and treat ourselves to dinner once or twice a year at the Ivy Restaurant.

I think it was a fairly expensive restaurant and I think the food was good, but I can’t specifically remember how much the meals actually cost or how good the meals tasted.

But I do remember that every time we had dinner at the Ivy, we always saw some celebrity dining there, too. TV personalities, movie stars, musicians. Every time we ate there.

Please don’t ask me to tick off the names of the celebrities we saw there. It was almost forty years ago since we last dined at the Ivy in Los Angeles. I do recall the one time we ate at the Ivy Restaurant in Santa Monica, one of the other guests dining there was singer/songwriter Jackson Browne.

SoCS — Put Down That Cellphone

Fandango19 Comments

I have to say, all modesty aside, that I excelled at being a host for our out-of-town guests this week. My wife insisted that I put down my cellphone except for taking photos with it, so that we would be able to view those photos and remember the excellent times we all had.

Wanting to be attentive to and present for our visitors, I did as she suggested and minimized my cellphone usage this week. I really wanted our guests feel as if they were being treated like celebrities during their visit.

The only day we had to cancel any of the miscellaneous plans I had made was on Tuesday because it rained all day. Otherwise everything went off without a hitch. We were able to celebrate together our decades long friendships.

Last night was cool and crisp, and there was nary a cloud in the night sky. So we all gathered around our backyard fire pit to keep warm and to gaze up at the sky and look at stars and planets in their celestial splendor. It was spectacular.

But alas, all good things must come to an end, and tomorrow our guests will be leaving and heading back home. I will miss them after they leave, of course, but because I tried very hard to minimize my time glued to my cellphone, as I often otherwise am, I have missed reading many of your posts. And I have missed our interactions.

My plan is to resume my normal blogging activities, which I do exclusively on my cellphone, the day after tomorrow. I’m looking forward to reading your posts and responding to more of your prompts and challenges.

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, in which Linda asked us to find a word that begins with or contains “cel” and use it in your post any way we’d like.

Truthful Tuesday — Celebrities

Fandango10 Comments

Di, host of Pensivity101, is once again standing in for Melanie, of Sparks from a Combustible Mind, for today’s Truthful Tuesday prompt. This week Di is asking about celebrities. She wants to know…

How do you feel about ‘celebrities’ getting their fizogs in the press all the time, despite having said they want privacy then still crave for attention, can’t seem to make the headlines without getting their kit off, or basically aren’t happy unless they are slagging someone off.

First, I needed to break out my British English to American English translation dictionary to understand what Di meant by:

  • Getting their fizogs
  • Getting their kit off
  • Slagging someone off

So, if I can translate Di’s question to something I understand, here’s what I think she’s actually asking…

How do you feel about ‘celebrities’ getting their faces in the press all the time, despite having said they want privacy then still crave for attention, can’t seem to make the headlines without taking off their clothes, or basically aren’t happy unless they are harshly criticizing someone.

Personally, I don’t closely follow any “celebrities” in the press, although I imagine that, as celebrities, they would want to keep their names and faces in the limelight. After all, isn’t being highly visible the essence of celebrity?

That said, I don’t know or care about any of them disrobing for headlines, and I am not aware of, nor do I care about, who they may be dissing or denigrating at any point in time.

So, bottom line, I don’t feel much about celebrities or what celebrities do one way or the other. If they are actors or musicians or singers or authors or whatever kind of celebrities they may be, the only thing I care about is the quality of their work.

Now, if you ask me about politicians…. Well, on second thought, don’t ask me about politicians.

Fandango’s Provocative Question #132

Fandango32 Comments
FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration.

By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

I recently read that the actor, Jake Gyllenhaal, is among a small but growing group of celebrities who say they rarely take daily showers or baths. “More and more,” Gyllenhaal says, “I find bathing to be less necessary.” He believes that daily bathing strips the body of its natural, healthy oils and changes the biome of the skin. Other actors, like Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Cameron Diaz, Matthew McConaughey, and Brad Pitt, have apparently shunned daily bathing or using deodorant.

This piqued my curiosity, so I Googled daily hygiene and saw that some well respected dermatologists suggest that if you don’t have a personal, essential need, like getting dust, grime, or germs cleared off, daily bathing can actually be detrimental to your skin.

One article I came across noted that when you shower daily, you dry out your skin, especially if you are scrubbing with an abrasive material or soap. Further, you can deplete the essential oils, lipids, and bacteria that help your skin fight off inflammation, maintain a smooth look, and reinforce its protective barrier.

I’ve always showered daily, but after I told my wife what I read, she suggested, given the severe drought and water shortages we are experiencing in northern California, that it might be prudent for us consider cutting back to every other day, or even every third day to shower.

So with this in mind, my provocative question this week is this…

Do you regularly shower or bathe daily? If not, how often do you shower or bathe? If you do shower or bathe daily, is there anything that might persuade you to do so less often?

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