actor61

I'd like to thank everyone connected with this honor. I'm just thrilled!

Church and Evancho are dreadful singers but they appeal to people who think they're listening to classical music when pop singers stand in front of a mic and belt something from La Boheme. I abhor this trend.

The filler "um" has been replaced by the odious "like". I prefer um.

And Des Moins!

Which often get shortened to "Va bien?" or "Tu vas?" Kind of the French versions of "Ssup?"

Curate

So am I. Here's my last example of bad French - "bon appetEET". Even Julia Child said it that way and it's wrong. The final t is not pronounced. It's "bon appetee". CROISSant BEEday Bon appetee Coupe de grace There. I'm done. You all stand corrected. Je vous souhaite une tres bonne journee.

I remember that. I used to hit the mute button so fast I think I broke it. Recently, on "Madame Secretary", an actor portrayed a French diplomat and spoke some dialogue in French. It was so bad that I barely understood a word. There are lots and lots of American and Canadian actors who speak French fluently and without an accent, including myself, so I don't understand why it's so difficult for casting agents to cast someone who can actually speak the language in a role that requires it.

You're almost right. I was over stressing the emphases to make the point. My ears just hurt whenever I hear croissANT. A neutral pronunciation, as you point out, would be correct. Croissant. Bidet. CroissANT and biDAY are like nails on a chalk board to me.

Speaking of French terms: I'm 1/2 American, 1/2 French, fully fluent in both languages. I go nuts when I hear Americans say croissANT for the pastry or biDAY for a bidet, the great ass cleaning bathroom appliance. In French, the accents are on the first syllables, so a croissANT is a CROISSant and a biDAY (bidet) is a BEEday. And it's not a coup de gras, it's a coup de grace. (Grace shot.) A coup de gras could be loosely translated as a shot of grease. A coup de grace is what it says: a grace shot. I could go on and on but every time I hear someone in line in front of me at Starbucks ask for a croissANT, I want to yell.

Thanks.

I can't get behind ANYthing with Bernadette Peters!

No, I'm serious. As I recall, the theory was that since the murderer was ostensibly the last thing the victim saw, the murderer's image was imprinted on the victim's eyes. Anyway, whatever the premise of the book was, I didn't enjoy it.

Is that the book in which the theory was that an imprint of the killer was left on the victim's eyes? I remember not liking it at all in spite of the good reviews and friends' recommendations.

I saw an interview with DHP in which he said that he didn't want to play Vandergelder at all when it was offered to him but his husband told him, "She's gonna come down that staircase whether you're in the show or not." So, he took the gig. He was unenthusiastic about it from the get-go so maybe that explains his inconsistent and bored performance. If they were to do an interracial version of the show, I think Debbie Allen would be a great choice, and I'm not being sarcastic. She's the right age, can be very, very funny and certainly has the chops for the role. Nathan Lane isn't such an outlandish choice for Dolly. The long running London production had a version with Danny La Rue in the title role and the show sold out for months and months.

Apparently, Matthau detested Streisand so that might explain his very grumpy performance. I actually thought he was the truest character in the film. Streisand was not yet 30 and herself says she was way too young to play the role. I always get very tired of her mouth twisting when she lip synchs, and the showing off of her hands and butt - she seems to be very proud of her posterior in every film. God only knows what Michael Crawford was doing! I put down his very weird vocal mannerisms and inflections to having trouble with an American accent but that might be going too far in giving him the benefit of the doubt. Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful performance.

Your diatribe, not you're diatribe.

Are you going to follow your own advice too?

Hear! Hear! And when you add to that the attitude of the bitch that everything "she" says is right and you're stupid for not agreeing, it's doubly hard to take. I run for the door when a queen snaps fingers at me, wags the head and intones "uh-huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh."

Mr. Slater - I'm always so impressed with your intelligence and literacy. I'm planning to contact you when I'm in NYC this fall and am really looking forward to it. I hope this message finds you well. Yours very truly.

He invited my husband and I. My brother and I's parents. Please speak to my mother and I. I'll give the presents to you and he.

We're working as best we can.

Masseuse

Back in the dark ages, I took a secretarial course and there was a large emphasis on proper letting writing form. We were taught to almost always open a letter with "I hope this letter finds you well", and to close with "Yours very truly." I never understood if "I hope this letter finds you well" meant I hope the letter arrived unharmed or if it meant I hope you're feeling well. Similarly, how could I be yours very truly if I'd never met you?