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Sasha Stone

Fundraiser Draws Celebrities

by Sasha Stone on January 18, 2009

We held one of our biggest fundraisers so far yesterday at a location near Emma’s school. We had a garage sale on one end and a cookies and lemonade stand on the other. I was dispatched to the lemonade stand with my friend Karen and several of our kids. It became a celebrity magnet. First, an actress none of us recognized gave the girls a hundred dollar bill, which made their day. Then Scarlett Johansson walked up to the booth with a friend. She asked them what they were raising money for (Washington, D.C. trip) and how much they had to raise ($15,000) and that it was “to see Barack Obama,” we all hope. And Scarlett and her friend gave some money and walked on.

They were so nice, so laid back – the only weird thing was that Scarlett had dyed her hair dark red, maybe so as not to be recognized. She was stunningly beautiful, more so than she looks on screen. She had skin the color and luster of milk and long legs. Very nice person.

By contrast, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale drove by and though Gwen waved she did not stop nor give any money to the fundraiser. She also visited our yard sale to ask about the preschool they have there — and the paparazzi popped out of cars and started snapping photos of them. Perhaps they were being chased, which maybe explains why they didn’t help out with the school fundraiser.

Then they drove back by our fundraiser and once again didn’t stop. I can only assume they didn’t want to have a million pictures of them in their new neighborhood – I don’t know.

All’s well that ends well as our fundraiser made our single highest total so far for any fundraiser, $4,000.

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Slumdog Millionaire

by Sasha Stone on January 1, 2009

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDC47NsoRE0[/youtube]

2008 delivered some transcendent films, and it’s a tough thing picking a top ten.¬† So many of them will play better on the second and third viewings.¬† For instance, I fell asleep the first few times I tried to watch both Frost/Nixon and Man on Wire.¬† Because I’m peripherally in the business I get the swag and screeners (not all but enough).¬† But both films turned out to be among my favorites of the year.¬† But I have to say that, for me, the year has been defined, really, by three films: The Dark Knight, Wall-E and Slumdog Millionaire, which will probably win, and may deserve to win, Best Picture.¬† It is a film that everyone in my family was able to sit down together and watch and not a single person didn’t like it.¬† This isn’t true of any of the other films released this year that I can think of. The worst you can say about Slumdog is that it’s too much like a fairy tale to be believable.¬† But that isn’t really true.¬† It is a magnificent film in every respect.

The other films that would be on my list:

The Wrestler
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
Rachel Getting Married
Frost/Nixon

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Watching Movies with Emma, Hello Wanda

by Sasha Stone December 22, 2008 WATCHING MOVIES WITH EMMA

My ten year old is turning out to be a great movie watcher.¬† She has been watching many of the Oscar contenders for Best Picture – and likes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire, along with The Dark Knight.¬† She was just a tad bored by Frost/Nixon and isn’t really old enough to see Milk or Doubt (although I think she’d like Doubt).¬† Wall-E is her favorite film of the year and even asked for a DVD for Christmas. But one film she’s really taken to is one of my favorites – A Fish Called Wanda.¬† It is probably the single most underrated comedy of the last twenty years.¬† Many, I’m sure, would fit that bill.¬† Wanda stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin and John Cleese, who also co-wrote it.¬† Although it is somewhat blue with profanities — Emma still loved it and “can’t wait [...]

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A NEW Day

by Sasha Stone November 8, 2008 Misc
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Follow-Up

by Sasha Stone November 7, 2008 Misc

You know, I found the papers to Emma’s Student Council election in her backpack.¬† They were there all along.¬† Neither of us thought to read them. So I apologized to the administrator and I never should have used the word “snippy.”¬† Poor old Emma will just have to learn how to be more responsible.¬† Sigh.

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Lessons Hard Earned

by Sasha Stone November 7, 2008 Misc

My daughter Emma was effected by the recent election in a profound way, so much so that it made her want to run for Student Council as 5th Grade Vice-President.¬† She was hope in a jar, this kid, all confidence and pride.¬† She wanted to run even though she knew she might lose and Barack Obama was her role model.¬† The wrote a great statement of purpose and was ready to go.¬† But something happened along the way – there was an information lapse between what she was supposed to know to run and what she knew.¬† I watched the school’s administrator putting up the posters one morning, Emma of course, hadn’t even mentioned to me that she had to make one.¬† The administrator was snippy about it. “Everybody knew this stuff,” implying that Emma knew but blew it off because I guess that’s the kind of kid she is?¬† [...]

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BACHELORETTE SHOCKER

by Sasha Stone November 3, 2008 Misc

LOL: In Touch can exclusively reveal that DeAnna Pappas is back on the market, after breaking up with Jesse Csincsak, whom she fell in love with on The Bachelorette. “I really felt like I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. I thought he was my fairy-tale ending” DeAnna tells In Touch. “But after the show was over and we settled in to our normal lives, I slowly came to realize that we are two totally different people and it wasn’t going to work out.” But DeAnna, who’s going to donate her engagement ring to charity, isn’t totally turning her back on love. “I still believe in love,” she says. “More than anything, I want to find someone I can spend the rest of my life with,” she adds.

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The Best Homemade Hot Chocolate

by Sasha Stone October 20, 2008 Misc

The truth about me is that I secretly want to be a chef.¬† I would love to be one of those great cooks out there who can make the most amazing things you’ve ever seen. I would love to have an SLR camera to shoot the stuff I make.

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Drudge’s Conservative March

by Sasha Stone October 19, 2008 Misc

I just want to point out Drudge’s headlines today, seriously.¬† I know he has rabid conservative readers to cater to, I get that, but Jesus, don’t they care about reality even a little?

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Bruuuuuuuce Does it Again

by Sasha Stone September 30, 2008 Misc

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y6-PHB8Vm8[/youtube] Man I love Bruce.¬† It’s just been announced he’ll do a free show for Obama.¬† Alls you gotta do to get tickets is sign up to volunteer for the campaign.¬† This is righteous: The Obama campaign has just announced that Bruce Springsteen will play a free, acoustic, set on the Parkway Saturday afternoon. The stated purpose is to assist voter registration and volunteer efforts, and, indeed, to get “preferred” tickets you¬†have to go to an Obama campaign office and sign up to volunteer. General admission is available via the web. And did we say an acoustic set? So no E Street Band. Bummer. For extra credit, tell us who will provide McCain with his musical theme? Here’s excerpts from the Obama release: “…Bruce Springsteen¬†an acoustic set at a rally on the Ben Franklin Parkway… Free concert for Pennsylvanians will be huge opportunity to register voters and sign up volunteers; [...]

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