beaton in the sixties // you've got mail // thanksgiving

i'm going to expound on yet another bookstore find: beaton in the sixties (link to amazon) with introduction by hugo vickers (knopf, 2004). i've been on a rad mid-century art kick lately. and woe is me, i had never really considered cecil beaton worth reading about until he was mentioned -- very briefly -- in the book pop: the genius of andy warhol by tony scherman and david dalton (my entry here). the mention? one of warhol's factoryites kicked beaton out of one of their parties because she didn't recognize him. ha!

beaton is one of those names i've always heard, but never really learned much about. he was an extremely prolific photographer, artist, and designer, and he wrote the greatest diaries! he did the most spectacular portraits of socialites, celebrities, an royalty at the time. one of my favorites is a photograph of pablo picasso with some of his work in 1965. like most artists, his personality is that of someone who wanted so much to become famous. those people are sometimes the most fun, because their ambitions are so large.

and, for the girl in me...


enough said. every year i watch this at some point. i've finally gotten my hands on my own copy. maybe what makes it so brilliant is that it's sleepless in seattle, but a few years later, with AOL. not that AOL actually exists like it did then, with dial-up and the whole shebang. there's something nostalgic about it -- nostalgia! for the internet! -- something about that short wait to get online, to see if the mailbox opens, to see if anyone wants to AIM. ;) not to mention it's the best rom-com duo in the world, plus their wonderful director, nora ephron. can i say enough good things about nora ephron? no. and parker posey! and dave chappelle! and greg kinnear!

this movie is corny. but it's hilarious. and most of all, it's sentimental EXACTLY the way i want it to be sentimental. this is the only movie of its kind where i've ever really really REALLY wanted to be the protagonist. i work in a bookstore; maybe twelve years after this movie was released, i'm unwittingly trying to become kathleen kelly. this is the movie that made me want to go to new york city for the first time; new york is magical for me in this movie. i don't care; it's because i was 14 years old when i first saw it and in you've got mail, love is perfect, and life is magical. and vice versa.

it might be just another silly rom-com to most people. but this is the singular movie that on the worst day of my life, could make me smile -- through the entire thing.

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happy thanksgiving! full of family and friends, and a drive to southern wisconsin this year. oh, the food. you bet i will have plenty to report on the food. :)