Written by:
Demetria Daniels

P: 212-332-9991

718-885-6576 A chatty, informative column of New York events featuring places, people and personalities and celebrities. demetriadaniels@gmail.com

 
MONACO takes NEW YORK - The French are here - and what a whopping start - a reception at LE CIRQUE, the grand dame of restaurants in New York. Ambassadors and Consuls together came to celebrate the French arrival. Francisco J. Olavarria, Consul of MEXICO was one of the first to arrive to wish the French well. Farouk Abou Lenna, Consulfrom EGYPT said he was looking forward to all the activities. Bradford E.Billet, Deputy Commissioner, Commission for the United Nations, was there to greet the guests on behalf of MAYOR BLOOMBERG. Outside on the patio, BMW was showing its cars - the ones that race in the Monaco Grand Prix race. Cierge which offers private shopping for Sony products was also attending. On Monday, May 24 there is a lecture Monaco's Royalty Meets Russia's Royalty; A party on Randall's Island will include Cirque du Soleil's ALEGRIA; midtown restaurants will be having lunch menus and
WQXR-FM will be playint the Monte Carlo Philharmonic. - Viva La France
posted by Demetria at 11:35 AM

 
ASTRONAUT GENE CERNAN, the last astronaut to walk on the moon was at the American Museum of Natural History to tell children - "you can become anyone you want to be and go into space". He looked wonderful with white hair and standing in front of the photo taken on the moon, he talked about his time in space.
He answered questions from the children and then he and Neil deGrasse Tyson,the Director of the Rose Space Center, rode in the Mars rover.
He believes in extraterestials _ "God made us humans, and he probably made them too".
Part of the SPACEFEST, at the Museum, presents lectures, demonstrations of the rover, the movie, The Search for Life: Are We Alone?, narrated by HARRISON FORD and daily images of Mars.There are lots of activities for this weekend
May 22, 23, so rush right over and bring the kids.
posted by Demetria at 3:05 PM

 
The ELLIS ISLAND AWARDS presented by the NATIONAL ETHNIC COALITION of ORGANIZATIONS (NECO)was hosted by WILLIAM DENNIS FUGAZY and JOHN CATSIMATEDES on the island. These awards go for leadership and contributions, and have been received by BOB HOPE, ERNEST BORGNINE as well as FRANK SINATRA. Mr. Borgine spoke with great emotion and was accompanied by his beautiful wife. The army band played,the SOS entertained as 133 men and women received their awards. Among them were Warner Wolf, Sal Marchiano, Leroy Neiman. MARC SIMONE MC'ed.

Past recipients include six presidents of the United States, members of Congress, Nobel Prize winners.
For the first time an "International" medal was given to a non- US citizen, Michael J. Smurfit.

Later there was a lavish dinner and everyone had attended a pre-dinner reception at the Battery Park Restaurant. We took little boats over and came back in the thunder and lightening watching the Statue of Liberty all the way. My parents names are on the wall . They represent Greece.
posted by Demetria at 4:45 PM

 
At "MUSIC and the MOVIES",MARTIN SCORSESE didn't need his interviewer from Vanity Fair - who had two mikes and still could not be heard, and probably doesn't know what the flip side of "In the Still of the Night" is He was so full of energy, and humor, and enthusiasm he gave a continuous monologue about the music in his movies.

Reminiscing about his childhood on the lower East Side - he talked about the street music which included sounds of TONY BENNETT, (two seats away from me) and classical music and opera."Music is counterpoint to my life", he said as he talked about the 50's and his films- Mean Streets, and Taxi Driver. He talked about showing films on the rooftop with Elvis Presley and Fats Domino in the background.
He recalled Man With the Golden Arm, On the Waterfront and owning lots of '78's.
(some of the audience wouldn't know what that meant- but I have lots of them).

"Music became my passion", he continued. He spent time at the Brooklyn Fox where he saw Cuck Berry,Buddy Holiday.

Dimitri Tiomkin ,the great Max Steiner and the music of Bernhard Herman were all in his mind as he added to the sound tracks of his movies. Buying the rites to some of his favorite scores for CAPE FEAR starring ROBERT DE NIROOne of his family gave him "Favorite Intrmezzos" which he used in "Raging Bull" with the titles, and then used silence in the fighting sequence.

And in The Last Temptation of Christ", something happen electrically by mistake and he left the result in the movie just as Christ dies. He even included Moroccan rock'n roll in that film which he heard while filming in Morocco.
He said "I became obsessed with music".

He is doing a current movie with Leonardo Di Caprio called THE AVIATOR about the live of Howard Hughes. ----

Mr. Scorsese, will you be using "Fly Me to the Moon" , "Earth Angel", "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", "Come and Go With Me", "Angel Eyes"? - I could let you borrow my 45's.
posted by Demetria at 2:25 PM

 
At the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, another winner-A TOUCH OF SPICEa Greek film directed and written by TASSOS BOULMETIS, is a beautifully made film about the expulsion of a Greek family from Turkey to Greece in 1967. It mixes politics and religion and is set in a spice shop in Constantinople with beautiful scenery, and mood music. It is comedic to see Fanis, the young boy devleop a love for cooking - who spends much time in the kitchen - something that is not common with Greeks.
His friendship with a young girl is "I'll cook, you dance". Somehow in Greece, he also winds up in a kitchen for a bordello - which adds alot of humor. He however studies astrophysics and returns to Turkey for his dying grandpa , and his childhood love.
A beautiful scene when his father lays out different spices and accords them with the planets. There is alot of talk about cinnamon, and cumin, pepper, oregano and salt.
This movie is a culinary delight and a taster's choice **** - 4 stars


posted by Demetria at 1:45 PM

 
Amidst the sea of burkas and dust, a magnificent movie has been made called :
THE BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL, directed by Liz Mermin, and produced by Nigel Noble and the BBC and DISCOVERY.

Three women from the United States set up a beauty school called "Beauty Without Borders" in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003. This project was funded by VOGUE and CLAIROL.
It is a school for local women to learn the latest cutting, coloring, perming techniques; in the three-month course, they can go out and develop their own beauty parlors - many in just one-room .
They wait patiently for the "heads" to arrive - those are the manequin heads with hair that the ladies can practice their techniques.

Interspersed in the teachings are interviews with many of the women - one who said she saw hands and feet cut off and burka-claden women set afire by the Taliban.
The horrors of the war are forgotten by the women's smiles and joy.

We visit the Nazira Salon where the owner makes $6 per day and the Fazula Salon and the Hanifa salon. With their children at their side, these ladies are now "working women" with income and self-respect.

The philosophy behind this picture is that Afghanistan must change - the women can heal - and that peace can happen.
It is a brilliant movie of hope and survival - **** - four stars.
posted by Demetria at 3:46 PM

 
The TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL is off to a great start. It is being sponsored by AMERICAN EXPRESS and several other companies. DESMOND TUTU joined ROBERT DE NIRO and JANE ROSENTHAL for the starting festivities. That evening, AMERICAN EXPRESS hosted a magnificent affair at the Winter Garden with dancers from South Africa and a wonderful view of the Hudson River by sunset. One of the films I've seen is TONY N TINA'S WEDDING, which is a takeoff of the off-Broadway production. It is a combination of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING with THE SOPRANOS - the music by Tony Travis, is outstanding as is the graphic design of the wedding cake by Jane Gussein (it is so great they should make it into the poster for the show)..

GOLDIE HAWN appeared with her daughter KATE HUDSON at RAISING HELEN....like Mother like daughter.

COMMERCE BANK at 25 Hudson Street hosted a reception with magnificent hor's d'oeuvres- I even won the door prize - a magnificent digital camera.
posted by Demetria at 3:31 PM