Time Magazine wrote their own tribute to our lovely Audrey on the 14th anniversary of her death. At first, I was wishing I had just posted their story instead of writing my own awkwardly expressed tribute, but the more I read, the more I was disgusted that this article was printed by no less than Time. While starting out as a lovely remembrance for one of the few top-notch celebrities who lived their life drama-free and managed to turn their life into something meaningful, it quickly degenerates into a crass article that you'd think was talking about Lindsay Lohan or some other tartlet that isn't held very high in anyone's esteem. To give you some lowlights of this "serious piece," author Richard Corliss accuses Audrey of having anorexia during her UNICEF work to make the starving children she was visiting feel better about themselves, and gives a very crass image of Albert Finney's attraction to Audrey during filming of Two For the Road. I understand the idea behind not whitewashing the past and being wary of putting anyone on too high a pedestal, but why is making up drama considered an okay thing to do? In journalism, no less! Audrey faced this even in her own life, and she said, "If you lead a simple life, and that story is written, then that story will not satisfy. It needs an angle. Suppose there is no angle?" I guess Time's answer is, "Make something up." If you'd like, you can read the story for yourself (note that there are two pages), and then click on the author's name to write him a letter.
Seemingly in answer to the work mentioned above comes another article called "What Ever Became of Class?" Though it's not particularly an Audrey-heavy article, it does draw heavily on her image and that aura she and a few others had of real grace and style. Audrey's name was evoked a lot in recap articles about the Golden Globes, and it seems that people are finally realizing that Hollywood has lost its class. "Where's Audrey Hepburn when you need her?" columnists wailed, and in today's article, Audrey, Grace Kelly and Jacky Kennedy are invoked to remind women of a more subtle femininity. Girls today are taught how to be women by buying toy stripper poles and wearing tube tops. Has subtlety died when we weren't looking? The article ends on a cautiously optimistic note, and invokes a line from the aforementioned Sam Levenson poem Audrey loved, talking about a women's charm: ". . . The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides."
Je suis désolé, es tut mir leid, I am so sorry about taking so long with the contest! I won't waste your time with excuses, so I'll just get straight to it an announce the winners of the December contest. Second prize is a copy of the new Taschen Icons book on Audrey, and was won by Amy! First prize is a copy of the new special edition of "Gardens of the World," and has been won by Rosana! Ladies, please check your email so we can ship off your wonderful new prizes. And since the drawing was delayed until after the holidays, if you've received your prizes from someone else in the meantime, we'll work out some other prize you don't have. :)
Speaking of "Gardens of the World," I received my own copy for Christmas, and I've already watched half of it! I can't express to you how wonderful it is. The first disc starts off with roses, and really captivates you from the first. They couldn't have picked a more addicting first segment, honestly. If you're a horticulture fan like myself, then you'll absolutely swoon over these fantastic gardens and beautiful flowers. Audrey herself looks radiant and genuinely happy, so even if you're not a gardening nut, you'll be happy with the view of Audrey. I'll write up a real review later, when I've finished all 3 discs, but I can already tell you this is going to get 5 stars. Absolutely fantastic and very addicting. And I'm making myself wait on this one, but the third disc with the special features has footage from the Audrey Hepburn tulip ceremony! Now I can finally see what it looks like.Now that things have settled down, there's more time for updates on the website, too. Three new people have joined the Audrey Hepburn community this month, so stop by and check them out. If you're looking for a fellow Audrey fan to chat with, this should be the first place to look! Alas, a couple of people recently have been forgetting to leave their email addresses, so no one can write to them! So if you do have a profile on the community, please check it and make sure you've left an address. If you've forgotten, just write to us and we'll fix it.The quotes page has also been updated! More and more quotes coming in all the time, both quotes by Audrey and quotes about Audrey from her costars, directors, family and friends. Also, if you have a favourite quote that's not on the page, feel free to drop us a line and let us know!
And if you haven't noticed, this page has had some fixing as well. I'm still working on trying to get the heading picture back up ("upgrade" my foot, Blogger!), but we now have a picture of the week and a way to subscribe! If you have a customizable homepage, like AOL, Yahoo or Google where you can add news feeds, you can now get your Audrey news on the same page. Just click the link on the right and it'll take you to the subscription page. From there, all you have to do is choose the button with your homepage brand, and the Audrey news is added! Easy as pie. And more updates are coming, too.
Well, that's all for now. Remember, if you entered the contest, check your email! After about a week, unclaimed prizes will be redrawn and given to people who want their goodies. :)
Note: The Taschen Icons book on Audrey has been pushed back yet again in the US! The last known release date was December 22, but as of yesterday Amazon still doesn't have books to ship and no local bookstore of mine has any copies. So Americans will either have to order from Canada or keep waiting ...
Time Magazine wrote their own tribute to our lovely Audrey on the 14th anniversary of her death. At first, I was wishing I had just posted their story instead of writing my own awkwardly expressed tribute, but the more I read, the more I was disgusted that this article was printed by no less than Time. While starting out as a lovely remembrance for one of the few top-notch celebrities who lived their life drama-free and managed to turn their life into something meaningful, it quickly degenerates into a crass article that you'd think was talking about Lindsay Lohan or some other tartlet that isn't held very high in anyone's esteem. To give you some lowlights of this "serious piece," author Richard Corliss accuses Audrey of having anorexia during her UNICEF work to make the starving children she was visiting feel better about themselves, and gives a very crass image of Albert Finney's attraction to Audrey during filming of Two For the Road. I understand the idea behind not whitewashing the past and being wary of putting anyone on too high a pedestal, but why is making up drama considered an okay thing to do? In journalism, no less! Audrey faced this even in her own life, and she said, "If you lead a simple life, and that story is written, then that story will not satisfy. It needs an angle. Suppose there is no angle?" I guess Time's answer is, "Make something up." If you'd like, you can read the story for yourself (note that there are two pages), and then click on the author's name to write him a letter.
Seemingly in answer to the work mentioned above comes another article called "What Ever Became of Class?" Though it's not particularly an Audrey-heavy article, it does draw heavily on her image and that aura she and a few others had of real grace and style. Audrey's name was evoked a lot in recap articles about the Golden Globes, and it seems that people are finally realizing that Hollywood has lost its class. "Where's Audrey Hepburn when you need her?" columnists wailed, and in today's article, Audrey, Grace Kelly and Jacky Kennedy are invoked to remind women of a more subtle femininity. Girls today are taught how to be women by buying toy stripper poles and wearing tube tops. Has subtlety died when we weren't looking? The article ends on a cautiously optimistic note, and invokes a line from the aforementioned Sam Levenson poem Audrey loved, talking about a women's charm: 
