Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Wolfgang Hampel, Betty MacDonald and Hollywood

Several people told journalists that they were surrounded by groups of youths that forced them to hand over mobile phones, a watch and other items.
Betty MacDonald in the living room at Vashon on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.



Wolfgang Hampel - and Betty MacDonald fan club fans,


 Betty MacDonald fan club research team is working on a new Betty MacDonald exhibit.

If you are interested in joining this Betty MacDonald fan club project you are welcome.
 
Several Betty MacDonald fan club fans shared very interesting details and info regarding Betty MacDonald's fascinating experiences in Hollywood.

Marjorie Main was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Ma Kettle in 1948 for her role in The Egg and I.

Celeste Holm was the Oscar winner instead of Marjorie Main.

I wished Marjorie Main had won it because she really deserved it.

Marjorie Main was outstanding. 

I'm very happy for Leonardo DiCaprio who won the Oscar this year.

He had to wait for 22 years and it was his 6th nomination. 
( see info below ) 

Congratulations dear Lenonardo DiCaprio!
 
We are going to publish some new Betty MacDonald fan club interviews  by Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel who is working on an updated Betty MacDonald biography.
 
Good luck dear Wolfgang Hampel!

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli is a great guy even if he is a bit strange.

My British friends would say he's a bit eccentric but that's like Onions in the Stew, don't you think. 
 
Do I agree with Betty MacDonald's description of women and men? Oh yes I do! 

Betty MacDonald was such a very intelligent lady and she knew very well what she was writing about.
 
If we believe that Mr. Tigerli acts a bit strange what can we say of the behaviour of some men?
 
Betty wrote the truth! By the way I don't hate men! I love them - some of them - especially mine!

Let's go to the bookstore and enjoy a new breakfast with Brad and Nick.


Jamie-Lee and  'Ghost' is a very hot favourite.


Poland and France are my other ESC 2016 favourites.

We are going to publish the new Betty MacDonald fan club ESC 2016 TOP 10 very soon.


We miss Roger Cicero very much.

My family and friends adore Traci Tyne Hilton's books very much.

We are very happy that she is our new Betty MacDonald fan club honor member.

Betty MacDonald fan club fans from all over the world like Linde Lund's interview with Traci Tyne Hilton very much. 


Take care,

Astrid


Don't miss this very special book, please.






Vita Magica 

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I  

Betty MacDonald fan club groups 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund    












Linde Lund shared Rita Knobel-Ulrich's photo.
Rita Knobel Ulrich - Islam in Germany - a very interesting ZDF  ( 2nd German Television ) documentary with English subtitles 
 
Betty MacDonald fan  club interview with author Traci Tyne Hilton
           
Copyright 2014/2016 by Traci Tyne Hilton & Linde Lund
                                            
                         All rights reserved



I can find several interviews with you. Which two ones do you prefer?

Here are two recent interviews. The second one is a "character interview" with the characters from my newest book, which is kind of fun.



 
http://shannonvannatter.com/traci-tyne-hilton-character-interview-part-1-of-1/
 



This is a picture of me on my tenth wedding anniversary at The Betty MacDonald Farm on Vashon. My sweet husband planned our weekend away, but didn't realize that I actually wanted to STAY at the farm! But he did drive me there to see it before we went home, though. I'm pretty little in the picture, but if you look closely, you can see me by the door to the barn.


Which book by Betty MacDonald did you read first?


My mom gave me her copy of The Egg and I when I was about 11. It was my first taste of Betty Macdonald, but I was definitely hooked! I read it at least once a year until I was in my twenties and finally got around to finding the rest of her work at my library...and then collecting reprints.


What do you like most in Betty MacDonald's books?


I love her over the top humor paired with her brutally honest representation of life. 


Is there anything you dislike in Betty MacDonald's books?


One could call her portrayal of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest in the Egg and I racist, but she was a woman of her time, and the things she writes about, such as alcoholism, are not untrue. They are just reported with that brutal honesty that she also uses for her white neighbors--no one is safe from her sharp pen. So, it makes me a little uncomfortable to read, but at the same time, I think it is real (from her perspective at least, and her perspective is valid,) and I don't dislike it, if that makes sense.


Did you ever read Betty MacDonald's books for children for example The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series and  Nancy and Plum?


Oh yes! I wish I had had them as kids, but I have been reading them to my kids which is even better! My sister in law bought me Nancy and Plum several years back, and I love it. I don't know why it's not a classic on par with the Secret Garden or the Little Princess! But...even better than Nancy and Plum are the Piggle-Wiggle books. They crack my kids up, and were the first chapter books that my girls really devoured. They crack me up, too!


What is your favourite book by Betty MacDonald?


It is still The Egg and I. It's a book that formed so much of my opinion on fiction and held such an important part of my growing up--I don't think anything could beat it. My husband and I call snobby activities "The Theatah and the Dahnce" and I've been known to say "I itch, so I scratch, so what?" 


Did Betty MacDonald influence you as author?
 
Absolutely. Though I write mysteries I want them to be funny, and I hold Betty MacDonald's work up as a standard for humor.

What do you think is the reason Betty MacDonald is beloved all over the world?

Betty's work gives us a glimpse into a world that we would have never known without her. Both life in the Olympic Mountains and on Vashon are so different from regular town and city life. I think readers love to escape, and the more remote the location, the more different the people we get to meet, the more we love the work! Betty's books help us all escape to a time that is getting farther and farther away, and a place that doesn't even exist anymore, but even when it did, it was unexpected, hilarious, and stunningly beautiful.


Dearest Traci I hope I don't bore with so many questions.

I wasn't a bit bored! Betty MacDonald is definitely my favorite author and I loved having a chance to talk about her work and why I love it so much!


As I already mentioned there are several Betty MacDonald fan club fans who enjoy your books very much.
 
That people who love Betty MacDonald also like my books is almost unbelievable to me, and really is a dream come true, as an author. When I was a young girl, curled up with her work, escaping to that remote egg farm, I never dreamed that someday people who loved her, would also enjoy what I had to say.
 
Dearest Traci thanks a million for this wonderful interview.
Lots of love to you and your family.

Lots of love to you, as well! Thank you.


Traci


Oscars 2016: Leonardo DiCaprio finally ​won an​ Academy Award

The internet sighs and looks for new jokes.

Updated by on February 29, 2016, 12:28 a.m. ET

Leonardo DiCaprio didn't have an Oscar, and that was hilarious, according to the internet. There were memes about it. Someone even made a video game where players stepped into the actor's shoes and tried to chase down that elusive award.
It all stemmed from DiCaprio being just about the only major cast member from Titanic to not be nominated for an Oscar when that film won 11 awards (and was nominated for 14) in 1998.

Well, the internet will now have to find somebody new to laugh at. On Sunday, at the 2016 Oscars, DiCaprio finally won his prize for Best Actor, for his work in The Revenant.
His win wasn't exactly unexpected. DiCaprio had won every major pre-Oscar award of the 2016 awards season, including the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award. But with DiCaprio, there's always the sense that someone might swoop in at the last moment and win instead.
DiCaprio thanked numerous collaborators, from his Revenant co-star (and fellow nominee) Tom Hardy to Martin Scorsese, who directed DiCaprio to two previous Oscar nominations, for The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street.
But DiCaprio saved his most glowing praise for Revenant director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who'd won his second consecutive Best Director trophy earlier in the evening: "You have forged your way into history these past two years. What an unbelievable talent you are. Thank you to you and [cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki] for creating a transcendent cinematic experience for all of us."
DiCaprio concluded by talking about how The Revenant had to keep switching locations during filming, because the production team wasn't able to find cold enough temperatures to keep going. And the longtime environmentalist tied that into the battle to stop climate change.
"Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work together and stop procrastinating," he said in the most passionate moment of his speech. "We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters ... but who speak for all of humanity."
He concluded with gracious thanks — "I do not take tonight for granted" — and then slipped backstage, finally an Oscar winner.

Pressure on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to Shine at Home

By ALAN RAPPEPORT


Hillary Clinton sampled the product Monday during a campaign stop at Mikey Likes It Ice Cream in the East Village. Sam Hodgson for The New York Times
After a week of canvassing matzo factories, cheesecake bakeries, hot-dog stands and pizza shops, the presidential candidates put local delicacies aside on Monday and told New Yorkers what they were really hungry for: votes.
The five remaining contenders sought to leave nothing to chance the day before New York’s primary, dashing across the city and state to make their final pitches while assailing their rivals as unelectable and incompetent. With the Republican and Democratic races becoming extended delegate battles, the spotlight on the state is unusually intense, with Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump both desperate to avoid disappointing performances in a place where they have deep roots.
Polls show Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump holding wide leads in New York, but that did not mean the pressure was off. Senator Ted Cruz continues to peel Republican delegates away from Mr. Trump at state conventions across the country, and Senator Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist who has sharpened his tone against Mrs. Clinton, has defied the odds before.
Mrs. Clinton’s campaign events took her to a veritable United Nations of voters around New York City, where her campaign has left hardly any ethnic group unturned ahead of the primary.
“You know, I never count any chickens before they hatch,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters after stopping in for a bubble tea at Kung-Fu Tea at the Queens Crossing’s food court in Flushing, when asked if a big victory on Tuesday would mean that she had locked up the nomination. “I’m not taking anybody or anything for granted.”



 
Supporters waited Monday for Senator Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally at Hunters Point South Park in Queens. Damon Winter/The New York Times
And Mr. Sanders showed no signs of easing up either. The Vermont senator spent most of the sunny Monday face-to-face campaigning, an unexpected shift for a candidate who has spent most of his days holding mega-rallies before thousands of supporters. Mr. Sanders shook hands on sidewalks across the city, visited a public housing complex in the Bronx, hosted a round table with local community leaders, and stopped to eat a B.L.T. sandwich in Queens. He also hit the streets, walking 14 blocks through Midtown and speaking to striking Verizon workers.
“I just want to say a word to thank all of you for the courage to stand up for justice and against corporate greed,” Mr. Sanders said through a megaphone as the strikers chanted his name. “We will not tolerate large profitable corporations sending jobs to low-wage countries, throwing American workers out on the street, cutting back on health care benefits, and then paying their C.E.O. $18 million a year.”

As Mr. Sanders courted union workers, Mr. Trump was across town trying to improve his standing with members of minority groups.
At Trump Tower, he gathered with select members of a recently formed “diversity coalition,” the brainchild of his company adviser, Michael Cohen, who drew on longstanding relationships with some black pastors to form an umbrella group meant to rebut questions about Mr. Trump’s attitude about race and criticism that he appeals only to white voters.
There was confusion around the meeting, which was expected to draw about 40 people but mushroomed into a crowd of more than 100. Mr. Trump’s guests all entered by the Trump Bar on the ground floor of the building, then were shepherded downstairs by the Secret Service and screened for weapons before they went down the escalators. Reporters and attendees jostled for position.


Graphic

The Battle for New York’s Key Voting Blocs in the Primaries

A look at where the candidates are competing for votes.
OPEN Graphic
Mr. Trump eventually descended from his office and offered brief remarks, expressing cautious optimism about the Tuesday election results and hitting his Republican opponents as New York pretenders.
“We love the city — you look at the other folks running, they couldn’t care less about New York,” he said. “We care about New York a lot.”
Mr. Trump then went to Buffalo for a campaign rally.
Although they appeared to be long shots in New York, Mr. Cruz and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio continued to pound the Republican front-runner from afar. Mr. Kasich, who has won only his home state, held town hall events near Syracuse and in Schenectady, pressing his positive message and lamenting Mr. Trump’s tone.
“He feeds into their anxieties and their fears,” Mr. Kasich said. “Does he have any solutions for how he’s going to deal with it? I don’t think so.”
Mr. Cruz, who squeezed in a campaign stop in Maryland between two private events in New York City and national television appearances, also hammered Mr. Trump for offering empty solutions on the economy and foreign policy. On ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the Texas senator warned that Mr. Trump would be crushed by Mrs. Clinton in a general election and suggested that he was nothing more than a vapid celebrity candidate.
“He’s always interesting to watch,” Mr. Cruz said. “He’s a fun entertainer. But Donald has no real solutions.”




 
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