Dear Elisa,

Happy Friday! It was unusually hot in Los Angeles last week and I don't have air conditioning so my overhead fan has been working overtime. I was out of town for a few days this week and forgot to turn it off before I left. Hopefully, the plants appreciated the breeze! I learned there had been an earthquake yesterday as I was boarding the plane to come back to L.A. I hope everyone living in L.A. was safe! Thankfully, temps have cooled off significantly and will be around 73 tomorrow when I'm in Newport Beach. So come on down if you are free. See the show info below!

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REMINDER THAT THIS SATURDAY

I will be in Newport Beach at the

19th Annual Art in the Park put on by the Newport Beach Arts Foundation

Date: Sat. Sept. 14th - One Day Only

Hours: Sat. 10 am - 5 pm

Address: Civic Center Green, 100 Civic Center Drive, Newport Beach

(off of Avocado)

Booth Space: #C-10 *I've been moved to a corner in the same row

(instead of C-7)

Free parking + free to attend - so if you are in the area, please stop by!

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A Movie to Recommend:

If you like British Art Films, here's a sweet little 2023 Comedy/Mystery I watched when I was out of town this week called, Wicked Little Letters on Netflix.

It has a fun cast headed up by Olivia Coleman ("The Crown"), Jessie Buckley (who was nominated for a Supporting Actress Award playing Olivia Colman's daughter in, "The Lost Daughter"), Timothy Spall ("Harry Potter," "Turner," and "Secrets and Lies"), Eileen Atkins, and a host of other recognizable character actors. The movie is based on the true "hate mail" scandal between Rose Gooding and Edith Swan referred to as The Littlehampton Letters.

I will say as a former casting director, the thing that bugs me is when they mix the casting of actors in roles that wouldn't be accurate for the era in which the story took place. My feeling is that if you are going to portray a true story as it happened in time, I prefer that they don't mix it up just to satisfy a diversity quota. I understand the need for diversity casting but I find it takes me out of the story as my mind races to re-cast the actor with someone else. I know the show 'Bridgerton' does that - but frankly, I can't watch it. The actors are just too modern with their movements and manners and affectation of speech. I found the 'Rose' character played by Jessie Buckley also a bit too "modern" in her looks and cheeky brazenness (she reminded me of a young Minnie Driver) – and only after I researched who she was did I learn she had just played Olivia Colman's daughter in a movie so it was probably not a normal casting pairing.

Storyline: "When a pious woman accuses her neighbor of sending lewd letters, a police officer pursues the truth behind the sensational headlines in 1920s England."

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Feeling Michelle Obama's call to "Do Something?"

If you have been wondering how to get involved in this particular election, here's an easy way to consider helping. I am participating because I would have shame on my conscious for my young nieces if I didn't – and because I am tired of living in this era of radical insanity which I find frightening and scary. I want my cortisol levels restored and do not want to receive text and emails every day that ring a 5-alarm bell every twenty seconds. And, honestly, it would make my mom so happy to know she hadn't failed as a mother. Getting involved was important to both of my parents but it just wasn't my thing. I hated current events and never read the paper because it was boring. I just feel the need to do my small part. My friend Kitty told me what she's doing this so I'm passing it on because it feels doable.

If you are interested in writing postcards for the elections in the Swing States, here's how to do it. You need to be willing to buy the postcards and pay for the postage to send them out. I've attached an Amazon link so you can pick out your own postcard design and choose how many you would want to send. It was about $15 to buy 100 postcards and if you have Amazon Prime, you already get free shipping. Then you can hop onto the Activate America website. You decide which states you want to help out. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, CA, Montana, New York, or choose any of the major Ballot Measures. Activate America will supply you with the names/addresses and the template for writing the postcards to your email in an Excel spreadsheet (and in a Word doc) in case you want to print out the address labels.

You can then get creative by using some color markers for your note (which I believe you can customize so it sounds like you while hitting the main reminder points). Then you can pick up some postcard stamps and mail them out on the day they prefer the campaign goes out into the mail. You can fill them out at your leisure or grab a friend for an ice-blended and make a coffee date at the park. I just ordered the postcards the other day and they came within 2 days.

If you are someone who is more actively involved, more power to you. I am not someone who is going to cold-call people or send texts. I get enough texts per day and don't want to be the person who sends texts which people like me often delete without reading. People will read a postcard if it's respectful and hand-written – even if they eventually throw it away. When it's from a real person and not a form letter, (similar to receiving a greeting card in the mail), I believe people tend to at least look at it. At the very least, it's a reminder to vote and to say "Thank You for being a Voter."

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And in case you didn't know this already about me...

As always, my newsletter is meant to inform, entertain, and inspire. I am solely responsible for my content and do not expect all of my subscribers to share my views. Take what you like and leave the rest. But, I do hope you know that enjoying ART does not take sides.

Have a great weekend. Stay safe and keep the faith! Thank you for enjoying my work.

Elisa

Coupon Code:

Feel free to use the coupon, Kindness2024 at checkout, to receive 20% off of your purchase. NOTE: Special requests, custom orders, or items currently on sale are exempt from loyalty coupon discounts. Thank you for your understanding.