Current mood: amused


Hi everyone,

I was amused to see an AOL news teaser today about an 80's icon, whose $23,000 + plastic surgery rendered her almost unrecognizable. Of course, I felt compelled to click the link and no, they weren't talking about Priscilla Presley, Lara Flynn Boyle, Meg Ryan, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers or Barry Manilow, despite the fact none of them even remotely remsemble themselves anymore either.

No, the item referred to none other than that loveable little cartoon gal Strawberry Shortcake. I did get a laugh out of the item...and also a little wave of sadness. Strawberry got a full facelift, eyelid lift, collagen plumped lips, different eyes...is nothing sacred anymore? ..oooh don't get me started.

The world has gone makeover mad and it ain't always good news, people!

As a writer and human being living in Los Angeles, I treasure my little stress release moments. My favorite tea rooms (many gone now) and book shops - poof! - and closed beaches leave two things left to me.

The tram ride at Universal Studios has actually undergone a pleasant transformation - well, it did until the fire last week. Now I don't get to see King Kong anymore or get the scent of bananas wafting into the tram as part of the ride.

To top it off, the one other sacred beauty left to me was the Resurrection Painting at Forest Lawn. This little known painting is actually an amazing experience with quite a story behind it. It is free to the public and I have taken many visitors to LA to experience it, all of them overwhelmed by the pageantry, music and drama associated with the little 'show' accompanying it. So what did Forest Lawn do?

They went and changed the show - for no apparent reason. It's not half the show it used to be. I understand they wanted to clean up the canvas...but replacing the booming, Moses-like voice relating the story of the painting's creation and the scene of Christ's last moments on earth and all the special effects - thunder, lightning, rain and pale light at the moment of the resurrection also stripped away the passion and presence of this magnificent work of art.

Replacing it with a woman's voice that is so high pitched it sounds like Gidget on helium seems...very, very wrong. I wonder what Errol Flynn (buried right outside with six bottles of whiskey by his thoughtful drinking buddies) thinks about all this. Come to think of it, he might have been a swashbuckler onscreen but he dug the chicks offscreen so maybe he's happier than a pig in mud...

As I myself age, I plan on keeping the wrinkles, frown lines and all the stuff that make up me, AJ Llewellyn. As for little Miss Strawberry Shotcake and all our other icons, I say leave these sacred beauties alone.

Aloha oe,

AJ 

Currently listening : Tropical Swing By Bill Tapia Release date: 2004-03-02